After a long bout of deliberation, Riku finally redeemed the hero template of Zed, Master of Shadows.
The Machine Herald would be better for grand spectacles. The age of superheroes had not yet begun, and standing out too much could draw a heavy-handed response. Mechanical ascension might even lure trouble from the Ancient One.
Zed's abilities fell into three branches: shadow arcana, assassination arts, and the way of balance.
The strongest was the shadow arcana. It was the core of Zed as a hero. His entire power set hinged on this art.
"Truth lives within shadow."
The low voice sounded in Riku's mind.
He smiled. This template was even stronger than he had imagined. In methods of assassination, Zed could rank in the top three across all of League.
Converted to this world's scale, if he struck from surprise, he might even kill a Skyfather-tier being.
Of course, only if the other side was not cheating, like a certain bald man who liked to rewind time.
To rebuild a Shadow Order here, the template alone would not suffice. He needed the Order's core artifact, the Ominous Box, which he named the Shadow Core.
It was the same mysterious box from Zed's lore.
It was ominous because within it slumbered the Source of Shadow, something akin to a Reality Stone.
Only through it could he cultivate assassins who wielded the arcana of shadow.
"So damn expensive. It had better be worth it."
Grimacing at the outrageous price, Riku purchased it anyway.
As people say, money does not disappear. It only changes form and stays with you.
After buying, he did not take the box out. He stored it in system space instead.
Tony Stark seemed to be sleeping nearby, but Riku could not guarantee the box would not trigger some unwanted reaction if brought into reality.
Dark-leaning artifacts were notoriously unruly and prone to slipping the leash.
With everything redeemed, Riku stretched out on the sofa and drifted off.
He did not know how long he slept before James Rhodes woke him.
They had arrived in New York.
Tony had disembarked ahead of them. Riku followed down the gangway.
At the foot of the steps he saw Pepper and Tony in a tight embrace.
Riku clicked his tongue.
"When I have money, I am redeeming a female hero," he vowed inwardly.
Pepper Potts was not exactly stunning. In the films she was maybe slightly below average in looks. She was not even slightly above average. Yet she and the playboy Tony Stark actually made it to the finish line.
The lesson: the line that simps always end up with nothing is not always true.
Pepper was the kind who ended up with everything.
Riku did respect her. She had capability, patience, and grit. Night after night, watching the man she liked tumble with different partners, that kind of endurance was beyond most women. And that was not even all she had to put up with.
Back on home soil, Tony became very busy.
After their hug, the pair got in a car and skipped the hospital for a press conference instead.
"I think Tony is about to drop big news. You sure you do not want to talk him down?" Riku asked, uncomfortable sharing a seat with the Black officer, James Rhodes.
Rhodes, missing the subtext, nodded. "Big news? Well, him coming back alive is big news."
Riku gave him a pitying look. The man still did not grasp how serious this was.
Rhodes had risen to colonel young mostly thanks to Tony's backing. As a weapons mogul, Tony's sway in the military rivaled a general's. If he announced the closure of Stark Industries' weapons division, Tony's influence would vanish overnight. Then a young Black colonel like Rhodes would find himself in a very awkward place.
Riku did not explain. He changed the subject, asking about life in the service.
He had always found Marvel's American military a puzzle. If the cops were set dressing, the army was a punchline. In the Battle of New York, the police at least got some shots. The military did not show up at all. Aliens invaded, and the people on site were cops and superheroes. The military's presence was a joke.
Only a few felt active, like General Ross in the Hulk storyline, and Colonel Stryker of the Weapon X program.
In short, Marvel's U.S. military hit hard at home and folded abroad. Against fellow humans like mutants and the Hulk, they played every trick and sometimes even had the upper hand. Against aliens, they fared worse than the cops.