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Arthur had given Brock three days to make a decision, but he made up his mind in just two. When he returned to Camp Lehigh, he felt a completely different mindset from before.
Last time, he had viewed it with the curiosity of an outsider; this time, as one of their own, Camp Lehigh felt like home. Everything seemed right.
He couldn't quite explain it, but after just one day away, everything felt intimate and familiar. Whether he knew someone or not, it seemed like anyone could become a friend.
Arthur didn't bother to ask what Brock was thinking; he simply dragged him over to Natasha's section. Natasha didn't stand on ceremony either; she pulled him straight in and dumped a mountain of tasks on him, bombarding him with instructions.
For someone who had almost gotten used to a lazy lifestyle, Brock suddenly felt like he'd landed in hell! While Brock's situation had basically settled, things were just beginning to heat up on the Life Foundation front.
Looking over all the pending tasks, Arthur couldn't help but feel overwhelmed.
First, Drake from the Life Foundation was currently locked inside the Disassembler Space. Arthur planned to pull him out for a proper conversation at some point.
Second, Arthur intended to fully acquire the Life Foundation. There would undoubtedly be resistance, but he didn't foresee major issues. A meeting was needed to lay out the takeover strategy.
One consequence of this was that some earlier plans needed to be adjusted. Most notably, Riot's host, Rettas, was now obsolete.
With Drake already captured, Rettas had become meaningless. Arthur would dispose of him, whether that meant killing or exiling him, there was no point in keeping freeloaders around, even at a small outpost.
Then there were the results of the Riot symbiote interrogation.
Just after returning, Arthur was handed a report by a staff member who claimed they had obtained a trove of symbiote-related intel from Riot, including the location of a comet drifting through space.
The staffer wore a white lab coat, but the way he reported made Arthur feel like this guy wasn't a scientist but a seasoned interrogator. Honestly, Arthur thought the most terrifying interrogation uniform might just be a white lab coat.
This was Riot they were dealing with; any average person would've gone weak in the knees just seeing someone dressed like that.
Thanks to this new intel, Arthur now had to add a space mission to his schedule to locate and secure that comet. As for what to do with the comet afterward, that was a matter for later. For now, it absolutely couldn't be left floating in the void. Who knew if some cosmic powerhouse might casually pick it up while passing by?
That wrapped up most of the business with the Life Foundation and symbiotes, but unfortunately, there was one more frustrating issue, one that even Arthur didn't know how to handle. It revolved around Bucky, Steve, and Tony, and the tangled mess of grudges between them.
Arthur was technically uninvolved, but due to the friendships of the past generation and the implications for the present, he couldn't avoid the fallout. If handled poorly, the entire Superhero Alliance could collapse.
So it had to be dealt with carefully. The problem was that the right opportunity still hadn't presented itself. Arthur figured he'd better have a heart-to-heart with Bucky and try to avoid Steve as much as possible in the meantime.
But if he actually voiced that request, wouldn't it make him seem like a terrible person?
"Feels like I've become the monk, trying to separate people…" Arthur sighed inwardly.
This was one issue that truly felt urgent. It couldn't be put off, not even for a moment.
"I'll go find Bucky tonight."
With that decision made, Arthur also had to deal with the receding-hairline uncle in Asgard and the matters on far-off Xandar. These issues needed resolution soon.
Once Natasha's assignments were complete, the plan was to transition directly into these next operations seamlessly. Otherwise, once Natasha's side was fully operational, bringing in new information might lead to security leaks, something absolutely unacceptable.
Before all the intel from space had been fully synchronized, Natasha's operations couldn't properly launch, not even for a day. At first, this delay might not cause any issues, but over time, unexpected problems could definitely arise.
"So… tonight I'll talk to Bucky, then head to space to find that comet, and finally travel to Asgard before heading to Xandar!"
After mapping out a basic itinerary for himself, Arthur suddenly felt exhausted.
'Why did he have to personally take care of everything?'
Then, for no apparent reason, a famous quote from Spider-Man popped into his mind:
"With great power comes great responsibility."
"Damn it… when did I become someone with such great power?" Arthur grumbled. "And if I really am that powerful, why haven't I started floating yet?"
He was annoyed for no reason, but in the end, he could only accept his fate. After dinner, just as Arthur was about to go find Bucky for a heart-to-heart, a communication request came in.
It was from Natasha, and it contained just one short sentence:
"Come see me."
Arthur had no choice but to adjust his schedule and head to Natasha's office. That woman practically lived there, spending 20 out of 24 hours a day in the office. Yet she still complained about not getting paid, even claiming she didn't have money for makeup.
Arthur didn't believe a word of it.
'Come on, did she really not save up a stash over the years working for SHIELD?'
Alright, that was clearly a joke. But it did get Arthur thinking: if everyone needed an income, why not set up a company in their names?
Each person could own shares. Saying "salary" might be too basic; just call it profit-sharing instead.
This kind of arrangement would satisfy both the wealthy (who wouldn't mind more) and the broke (who needed it badly). Plus, it was a way to give back to the world under a legal front.
Surely everyone would be on board!
"I really am a clever, quick-witted young man, aren't I?"
Satisfied with himself, Arthur knocked on Natasha's office door. It swung open, and before he could even see who was inside, he started talking: "Believe it or not, I actually have another meeting tonight. So no matter what this is about, we don't have much time…"
As he spoke, he looked up and realized the person standing in front of him wasn't Natasha.
It was a blonde-haired, blue-eyed young woman.
She had beautiful features and wore a perfectly fitted suit that highlighted her curvaceous figure. Arthur stared at her for about three seconds, then dug into his memory and realized… they'd met once before!