The ring clicked faintly, unfolding just enough for the scanner to catch a glimpse of its inner lattice—a geometric web of microscopic circuits pulsing with light.
Tony's eyes gleamed. "That's… beautiful. Whoever built this wasn't just advanced—they were efficient. No wasted motion, and no excess material to it."
[Confirmed. Structure density surpasses vibranium alloy by twenty-four percent. Heat tolerance exceeds known plasma thresholds.]
James grinned. 'In plain English?'
[It can survive a laser fire.]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
James stood up and put his hand on top of the lab scanner.
"J.A.R.V.I.S. One more scan."
"Yes, Mr. Gibson." J.A.R.V.I.S. scanned again. "Scan complete." As the scan completed and the holographic image appeared, James removed his hand with the ring. He and Tony Stark could step aside and study the internal structure.
"I really didn't expect the internal structure of this ring to be this complex — far more optimized and compact than what we had ever made." Tony Stark exclaimed.
"Yeah. I guess that's what we could expect from a civilization that's possibly already space faring. I don't think J.A.R.V.I.S. can fully analyze it with its unknown material composition. There is no reference or comparison. We can only study its internal circuitry and the energy architecture." James frowned. Materials mattered a lot — if they could be copied and used, the Umbra Sentinel could be fitted with far better heat- and laser-resistant layers. That would change the battlefield dynamics.
"Yeah, and since I couldn't scan it earlier. Must be some active internal field. I didn't expect tech like this. By the way, when are you going to hand the ring in? Can we study it longer?" Tony's eyes brightened; he loved a puzzle and a potential upgrade.
"I'm not sure. Depends on Natasha's call. For now, let J.A.R.V.I.S. run material analysis and compare molecular structures to find candidate substitutes. If the alloy is reproducible, we might have a chance of making hundreds of this ring." James kept his tone level. Priorities first: intel, safety, then patentable materials.
"J.A.R.V.I.S., run molecular-structure analysis, compare affinities, propose replacement materials, and record the ring's internal architecture." Tony tapped commands and reached into the hologram, beginning to peel open virtual layers of the ring.
James watched while [Cortana] began to log every information gained from the ring through the neural link and the two of them set to work dissecting the model at a microscopic level.
Natasha left James's house. The clothes he'd bought (that had irritated her for the poor design choice) felt better after she swapped out the ill-fitting pieces at the mall; the new set finally made her comfortable. She took a taxi home, adjusting the coat, thinking about the mission and the Director's inevitable questions.
She pulled out her phone and called Nick Fury directly. "Director, the mission's a success, all thanks to James."
Fury's voice was flat with curiosity for what could have happened. "Tell me the operation in detail."
Natasha walked him through the sequence. When she finished, Fury's tone went sharp. "Agent Romanoff, you are a senior field operative. How could you let pride take priority over the mission? I told you to move as a team. Personal problems are not grounds for improvisation."
"If the mission failed — and it nearly did — two agents could have been lost," Fury continued. "You know the risks. Even if you dislike Agent Gibson, you must follow the plan. That's an order."
Natasha listened and then said, "Understood, Director. It won't happen again."
Fury's rebuke stung, but the logic was unassailable. She put the phone down and breathed out, cooling the anger that had flared toward James.
At Stark Tower, James and Tony were finishing lunch.
"Materials are the sticking point," James said. "The internal architecture is nearly mapped. Can we copy the anti-scan field?"
Tony shook his head. "Not fully. This is alien engineering; you can emulate some layers, but the core architecture is baked at a scale our foundries can't see. It's not just metallurgy — it's manufactured at a precision that only unknown energy substrates could make."
"Still," James persisted, "if we can mimic the thermal tolerance and partial stealth, we could adapt it for the Umbra Sentinel and the Iron man's plating. Also—this neural-connection system is tempting. If I could route through it, the response times would be insane."
Tony's expression turned cautious. "Connecting human nerves directly is a risk. A human isn't an AI. Nerve damage, feedback loops, long-term degradation—these are non-trivial. But J.A.R.V.I.S. is faster than human reflexes; you'd be blending machine rhythm with flesh. It's dangerous if anything goes wrong."
He was right. James thought of [Cortana] — a system hosted on hardware that could mitigate damage — and kept his silence. Revealing that he'd reversed engineered the neural link through the neural overlay was not something he could do casually. [Cortana]'s existence was a secret he'd guard.
Still, the lab needed to exist. James considered a private facility — discrete, well-funded, with an R&D team under plausible cover. Where to place it would be the next problem.
"Can you obtain other alien artifacts from S.H.I.E.L.D. for comparison?" Tony asked.
"Not easily," James admitted. "Even though i got promoted to a level six, bureaucracy and secrecy have many layers. Fury watches over everything. He won't let us casually access the vaults."
Tony snorted. "Governments hoard tech until it petrifies. They'd rather file it away than let innovation happen. Fine — we'll do what we can. If anything, we document and reverse-engineer what we can."
"It is what it is," James said. "Let's talk about it next time. I'll go back first. Natasha must have reported about the mission already. I'll go back and see if I need to hand in the ring. Anyway, everything that needs to be recorded has been recorded. Now there's only the molecular structure comparison of the materials left."
"Sure, do that. I'll let you know if I find something out." Tony grinned. "And if you want to prototype a suit upgrade, call me."
James left Stark Tower and drove home. He found Natasha in the living room watching TV; Mindy was nowhere to be seen.
A muffled shout came from a bedroom. "You reported it, right? Is the ring going to the precinct or headquarters?"
"Headquarters. When do we go?" Natasha's voice replied, impatient.
"I won't be going. You can go ahead and bring it yourself. Though it would be best for you to wear it, I will teach you how to use it for your own safety."