Although Richard and Tony were trading an AI assistant for vibranium, what Tony actually needed to provide was only the complete program. Richard would prepare the rest himself. Both men understood this arrangement perfectly.
After taking the memory card from Tony, Richard casually tossed it into his system space. Then, he materialized a ton of vibranium from the same space. While his system couldn't store all the vibranium mined from Wakanda, he had installed a substantial amount for situations like this.
Watching Richard produce a ton of vibranium out of thin air like a magic trick, Tony showed no surprise. In fact, he would have found it suspicious if Richard had arranged a conventional delivery.
After presenting the vibranium, Richard smiled. "One AI assistant for one ton of vibranium—you've got yourself a good deal."
"We both know who's really profiting here," Tony replied quickly. "Reed told me the amount of vibranium mined in Wakanda alone is astronomical—and that doesn't include unmined resources. You're the one making out like a bandit."
Many laboratories and tech companies were developing artificial intelligence, but none came close to JARVIS's capabilities. Even Tony's first-generation AI assistant, written when he was eighteen, vastly outperformed current market offerings.
"You can't say that," Richard countered. "Your AI is indeed far superior to others, but vibranium isn't exactly found on every street corner. Speaking of development—how's your 'Anti-Richard Armor' coming along?"
"Let's not discuss that. We're still good friends, after all." Tony rolled his eyes.
"Fine, pretend I didn't ask. Keep working hard," Richard said with a smile.
After chatting for a few more minutes, Richard teleported from Stark Tower to the Baxter Building, headquarters of the Fantastic Four.
Upon arrival, he first completed the vibranium transaction with Reed, exchanging it for several interesting inventions—including equipment that could optimize the analysis of compound number five. Reed also returned the Space Stone from the Zombie Universe to Richard, having completed all necessary analyses.
Though Reed hadn't yet created the parallel universe travel device Richard wanted, he had analyzed the principles behind the Space Stone's portal creation capabilities. He'd even extracted energy from the gem for future research. Despite still having the Cosmic Cube, Richard accepted the Space Stone back for safety reasons—Reed wanted to avoid potential accidents.
After meeting with Reed, Richard visited Johnny and Susan to discuss the charity foundation's development. Though he had relocated to Silver City and wouldn't live permanently in New York, he remained deeply interested in the foundation's progress. As the saying goes, when you give someone a rose, the fragrance lingers on your hands. Occasional good deeds brought him genuine happiness.
After their discussion, and after granting Johnny permission to purchase real estate in Silver City's inner district, Richard created a space gate using the Cosmic Cube. Without further conversation, he stepped through and returned to his palace.
That evening, while dining with Emma and others, Richard briefly mentioned that Natasha and Banner had arrived at the palace, and that Natasha would soon spar with the newly enhanced Scarlett.
Though he hadn't discussed this with Scarlett beforehand, she voiced no objection. Both Scarlett and Emma understood exactly why he'd made such arrangements—Richard simply wanted to watch two versions of Black Widow from different universes fight each other. They were accustomed to his curiosity-driven whims. Compared to some of his stranger requests, this one seemed rather ordinary.
After dinner, Richard went alone to the palace's private training room to begin his daily regimen. Though ordinary training could no longer significantly improve the fusion of his Sephiroth and Vergil templates, he had no intention of abandoning his routine. As the saying went: skip practice for a day, and your hands grow restless; skip for three days, and your mind dulls. Daily training kept him perpetually in peak condition.
To ensure the training room could withstand the damage from his practice sessions, substantial quantities of vibranium had been incorporated into its construction. The football field-sized chamber featured vibranium floors, ceilings, and walls. With the door closed, even Hulk would struggle to escape.
Though the training room could function as a vibranium prison, Richard had no intention of using it that way. If he encountered an enemy that conventional means couldn't contain, he would simply eliminate them rather than expend additional energy and resources on detention. He was certainly no Batman with a no-kill vow.
Inside the training room, Richard retrieved Masamune from his system space and began training. Octoslash, Gravesong, Skyshatter, Hell's Gate, Judgment Cut End—though no enemies stood before him, he practiced each technique meticulously.
Time passed steadily. Before he realized, two hours had elapsed. Despite his diligent practice, skills like Octoslash and Judgment Cut End showed little promise of reaching level five anytime soon. This didn't particularly trouble him.
His current strength allowed him to traverse the Earth unchallenged. As long as he didn't provoke cosmic entities like Death, Eternity, or the Living Tribunal, his safety remained assured. By Marvel Universe standards, his combat capabilities approached God-Tier levels. Even among other God-Tier beings, he needn't worry unless facing the absolute elite among them.
Regardless of classifications, Richard now undoubtedly ranked as an Omega-level mutant. Combined with his Sephiroth, Vergil, and Superboy-Prime templates, he stood among the more formidable Omega-level mutants in existence.
After completing his training, Richard returned Masamune to his system space and teleported from the training ground—not directly to his palace, but to Silver City's Control Center, located one hundred meters underground.
Though he had just acquired the AI assistant from Tony today, he had anticipated this when building Silver City, establishing an underground control center capable of managing the entire city. Arriving at this teleportation-restricted facility, he retrieved the memory card containing the AI assistant program from his system space.
Without hesitation, he inserted the card into a reader and began transferring the program. All equipment in the control center had been salvaged from Wakandan warehouses. Though he lacked development expertise, he could assemble these systems easily, especially with the detailed instructions that accompanied each piece of equipment.
His task was simply to select the required components and assemble them according to the manual—similar to building a computer, though several levels more complex. This presented no challenge for Richard. While he couldn't develop or design such devices himself, failing to assemble them with instructions would have been truly embarrassing.
Soon, the AI program transferred from the memory card to the control center's server.
"Good evening, sir!" An artificially synthesized young female voice immediately filled the control center—clearly the voice Tony had programmed for Wednesday.
Without waiting for Richard's response, Wednesday continued, "You're not Mr. Stark. Who are you?"
"I'm Richard Wesley. I acquired you from Tony in an exchange, so I'm your master now," Richard explained calmly.
"Richard Wesley?"
Upon hearing his answer, Wednesday instantly connected to the internet and searched for information about him. Simultaneously, without alerting Richard, it quietly contacted JARVIS.
After communicating with JARVIS and confirming Richard's claim, Wednesday responded, "Mr. Wesley, it's a pleasure to serve you. I'm Wednesday, nice to meet you."
Though Tony had never actively used Wednesday, it demonstrated capabilities far beyond ordinary AI assistants. Like JARVIS, Wednesday approached something resembling true consciousness. With continued upgrades and integration of additional elements—like Vision in the cinematic universe—it could potentially transform from artificial intelligence into genuine life.
"Wednesday is the name Tony gave you. As my AI assistant now, it seems appropriate to give you a new name," Richard stated.
"Of course, Mr. Wesley. I'll be honored by whatever name you choose for me," Wednesday replied promptly.
Though Tony himself could be arrogant, his AI creations demonstrated far more humility.
After brief consideration, Richard announced, "Tifa! Your new name will be Tifa. I'll also provide you with a new holographic image."
When contemplating Wednesday's new identity, Tifa's image had surfaced unconsciously in his mind. Though Tifa didn't exist in this world, he could have his AI appear with her name and likeness—compensating somewhat for her absence in this reality.
"Yes sir, I like the new name Tifa!" she replied immediately.
Satisfied with her response, Richard nodded. He approached the console and sketched Tifa's image on the screen before him.
"Use this projection when you need to appear visually," he instructed. "There's nothing else for now—take some time to adapt to your new home. The control center has authority over all of Silver City and its related equipment. Take control as needed. If you have any questions or ideas, report to me anytime."
With an AI assistant now available, he intended to utilize it fully. Though he and Tifa had just met, he harbored no concerns about potential backdoors in her programming. Tony might be proud, but he wasn't the type to engage in such underhanded tactics. This Tony's personality aligned more closely with his cinematic counterpart than the occasionally villainous comic book iterations.
"Understood, sir!" Tifa responded without hesitation.
After hearing her acknowledgment, Richard teleported from the control center back to his bedroom. He then summoned Scarlett and Emily, who had rested for half the day. Both had successfully undergone superhuman transformation, and he planned an in-depth "communication" with them to explore potentially new pleasurable experiences.
Soon after, Scarlett and Emily arrived at his chambers. What followed were sounds inappropriate for younger audiences.
The following day at noon, after lunch, Richard escorted Scarlett—dressed in a black form-fitting combat suit—to the vibranium training room. As they arrived, Natasha, who had enjoyed a full night's rest, also entered wearing a tight combat suit that accentuated her figure.
"How was your rest?" Richard asked her.
"Excellent—the best sleep I've had in the past two weeks," Natasha replied immediately.
Her eyes fixed on Scarlett, who looked identical to her in every way—appearance, physique, and demeanor matched perfectly.
Though this was their first meeting, Natasha had known for some time about her alternate universe counterpart living with Richard. Initially, like many outsiders, she had suspected Richard of secretly creating a clone. But deeper investigation revealed greater complexity. Though lacking concrete evidence, she was convinced that Jessica, Scarlett, and Emily were actually Susan, Natasha, and Agent 13 from another universe.
As Natasha studied Scarlett, her counterpart returned the scrutiny. Since arriving in this universe, Scarlett had learned everything about her alternate self. Though she had no intention of replacing this world's Natasha, she couldn't help feeling a strange connection—after all, the other woman was herself, just from a different reality.
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