The Lunar Core Reconstruction Project
Everyone gathered around the so-called "reconstruction blueprint", a gigantic holo-projection that was, for all practical purposes, blank. Yet the silence in the room was filled with awe.
"Moon reconstruction? How exactly iis that going to happen?" Banner frowned as he studied the empty display. "Or rather, to what extent are we talking about transforming it?"
"Targeting the Moon itself…" Natasha leaned back in her chair, her sharp eyes narrowing. "That's a bold proposal. But let's be realistic, there are already hundreds of satellites and telescopes watching its surface. Covering our tracks won't be that simple."
She folded her arms. "And Banner's right. The real question is, how far are you intending to go with this reconstruction?"
Arthur gave a slow smile. "What about turning the Moon into a space station?" His voice lowered, almost conspiratorial. "Picture this: hollow out the Moon's interior, rebuild its core, and within that core construct something brand new, a hidden space fortress. It will sit in plain sight, visible to every telescope on Earth, and yet no one will ever realize what's inside."
"This idea is absolutely insane!"
Coulson was practically gaping. This was his first front-row seat to Arthur's brand of lunacy.
But Tony's eyes lit up. "Insane? Yes. Fascinating? Absolutely. And more importantly, constructive."
"How do you propose we pull it off?" Coulson asked sharply. "From the Superhero Alliance perspective, the number one rule is secrecy. The Moon might not belong to any single nation, but you'd better believe it's under the unblinking eyes of half the world's superpowers."
Arthur countered with ease. "True, but none of them can keep a permanent foothold up there. What matters is not their presence, it's their vision. We blindfold the machines, we blindfold the world. Concealment through illusion."
And truthfully, with the arsenal he had at his disposal, Arthur knew he could carry that out almost single-handedly.
The team exchanged uneasy glances. Finally Tony broke the tension, his voice brimming with momentum. "Then let's frame the surgery plan for the Moon. Once we blind their eyes, where do we begin?"
"First, comprehensive data scans," Banner replied. "We'll need more than diameter and radius, complete structural analysis: mass distribution, density gradients, seismic stability, magnetic readings. Alter any of those too much and Earth itself will notice the changes. The risks aren't just astronomical, they're… apocalyptic."
Tony nodded, already running simulations in his head. "Fair. But after that? Then it becomes a matter of design. Zoning the interior, optimizing energy pathways, resource hubs, life-support networks… In fact, why stop at a base?"
Everyone turned to him.
A wide grin spread across Tony's face. "What if we turned the Moon into an Interstellar Warship?"
The words hit the room like a meteor. Arthur's eyes went wide, nearly leaving his skull.
Before he could speak, Banner sighed. "I did think about that… The concept is theoretically possible. But the logistics? The sheer scale and manpower required are staggering. Even with advanced fabrication systems, the challenges dwarf anything humanity's ever attempted."
"The Mark Series can handle much of it," Tony shot back immediately. "Remote construction. Revealing only what's necessary. We wouldn't even need constant human presence on the Moon. Picture nanite swarms, digging the tunnels, reshaping the geology from inside out."
Then he turned, eyeing Arthur directly with that mischievous Stark gleam.
"Which brings me to a sudden stroke of genius."
Arthur forced his throat to stay cool, though adrenaline was spiking through his veins. "…Go on."
"Modify the Mark Series a bit. Use our new energy tech so the Mark Series can support teleportation functions."
Tony had already seized a pen and scrap paper, sketching wildly as he spoke. "First thought: carve out a cavity inside the Mark Series. If we had space-folding tech, this thing could be limitless. Sadly, we don't, so my rough design suggests a cavity around twenty centimeters wide. Plant a teleportation system inside it, and link it with power properly. Then, boom, while the Mark Series is operating, it could directly teleport lunar soil back to our base at Camp Lehigh."
Banner tapped his chin. "I suddenly feel lunar soil might have exceptional research value…"
Tony grinned. "Even if not military, imagine the practical uses, a constant stream of raw extraterrestrial material, on demand. Science pays dividends."
But then he grimaced, tapping the sketched circuits in irritation. "That brings us back to the energy issue. Running the Mark Series as it stands is one thing… but tacking on teleportation functions is an entirely different animal."
"We don't need to scale the entire system," Banner countered. "the Mark Series's built-in power systems are enough to drive its core. What we could do instead, activate specific functions with specific energy inputs. In other words, parallel tracks."
Tony's eyebrows arched. "Dual-energy operation, huh? Smart… efficient too. For now, that might be the cleanest method, and the most practical. But in the long term, I'd rather eliminate that weakness altogether. No half measures."
He paused, his tone turning almost giddy. "And speaking of long-term, if the endgame is turning the Moon into an interstellar warship, we're going to need to reimagine its entire energy infrastructure. Which brings me to a daring question… what about harnessing the Moon's core itself as an energy source?"
"The core?" Banner repeated. His eyes lit up briefly, only to sharpen into a frown. "Theoretically… maybe. But we'd need an insane amount of calculations before making any moves. If this is going to be actual lunar 'surgery,' the prerequisite is simple, we need a complete, precise map of every last parameter of the Moon. No guesswork. No margins of error."
That set the stage for what became a fierce, rapid-fire debate, Banner attacking with scientific caution, Tony countering with bold innovation, both men scribbling notes and equations onto several scattered pages. Their words overlapped, colliding, pulling the discussion into realms no one else in the room could even follow.
Arthur, meanwhile, sat back on the couch, opening a cold bottle of fizzy Xandarian soda with a hiss and taking a leisurely gulp, as if none of this had anything to do with him.
T'Challa, accomplished in technology himself, leaned in, trying to contribute… only to realize he couldn't find the smallest gap to interject. Finally, with suppressed frustration, he glanced sidelong at Arthur, just in time to catch Coulson's face frozen in sheer disbelief, mouth hanging open like he'd walked in on aliens reciting quantum textbooks.
Noticing T'Challa's look, Coulson muttered under his breath:
"Why do I feel like I can't understand a single word they're saying anymore?"
T'Challa shrugged in defeat. "I think, aside from those two… the rest of us already surrendered this battlefield."
Indeed, the others had drifted back to their own affairs, not even pretending to compete with Stark and Banner's manic exchange of ideas. Even Arthur had gone back to munching on breakfast in blissful detachment.
(End of Chapter)
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