Marvel: DNF Invades

A system reminder sounded in Luke's mind.

System: Skye's favorability +5

Looks like Skye is serious this time, Luke thought.

"Spider-Man's favorability increases by twenty or thirty. It's really not as easy to increase the favorability of adults as it is for children. The shockwave ability... it's very manipulable."

Although Luke really wanted it, he wasn't in a hurry. Since Skye had already joined, he had plenty of time to work on it later.

With Luke's consent, Skye visited the warehouse, which Luke called "the organization's temporary base."

Just from this large warehouse, Skye couldn't infer much about the organization.

However, judging by the technology present—massive mechas, artificial intelligence, and a genius child like the Apostle—it was clear this was just the tip of the iceberg. The organization had to possess enormous power and financial strength.

She didn't know S.H.I.E.L.D. well enough to compare, but she figured they were at least on the same level.

Luke told her that depending on her loyalty to the organization, he would gradually introduce her to its other members.

"There are other members?" Skye was a little surprised.

"Of course. When our organization was at its weakest, it had 8 million members. We usually only accept the most hardworking and wealthy people. Not everyone is qualified to join us. As the head of the organization's New York office, I have my own strict screening criteria."

Luke was talking complete nonsense.

His selection criteria? First, they had to be easy on the eyes.

Forget about bald guys. This organization didn't accept nobody. No ugly people. And absolutely no men.

Well, only women.

Luke had a solid justification for this.

How could he enjoy causing trouble when surrounded by a bunch of rugged guys all day?

So, he only accepted girls. Even if they were just pretty faces, at least they were easy to look at.

(Peter Parker: Meow?)

"Should I feel honored?" Skye asked with a smirk. "It sounds like your organization only recruits talented and wealthy people."

Luke responded seriously, "Believe me, one day, you'll thank me."

After touring the warehouse, Skye concluded that Luke was undeniably a true super-genius child.

She touched the War Lord up close, marveling at its cold, solid surface.

He had also developed artificial intelligence. As a top hacker, Skye knew exactly what that meant—Luke was at least a hundred times better than her at hacking!

The skills she had prided herself on were probably child's play to him.

"Other than talking too much…" Skye thought, "maybe all super-geniuses are like this?"

Skye's obsession with her past was why Luke was confident in keeping her around. Her entire hope now rested on Ross.

With plans to return tomorrow, she was eager to go home and take a proper shower.

"Wait a minute," Luke called out.

"Something else?"

"Take that basin with you."

"..."

"It's for you. I bought a lot."

Skye's face turned red and white as she silently took the basin.

"Well, this member is pragmatic, hardworking, and has potential," Luke thought. Skye would slowly integrate into his team.

---

The next morning, Luke woke up, admiring his own handsomeness.

He stood up, looked in the mirror, and was still a short kid with stubby arms and legs.

After measuring his height, Luke grinned. "I think I grew a millimeter!"

"Master is right!" Ross said cheerfully.

Ross, who was watching TV, barely glanced up. "It's an illusion."

Luke shot him a glare. "Honest people get bullied, I'm telling you."

After school that afternoon, Luke entered the warehouse. Ross was already at work.

The War Lord's internal structure had been failing under the strain of Phantom Sword Dance. So, Luke decided on a complete overhaul.

Ross controlled the robotic arms, swapping out burned and damaged components as Luke instructed.

The new parts? High-end materials salvaged from Hammer Industries' Steel Soldiers. Luke also reworked the transmission system to better distribute stress during intense movements.

Once the War Lord was fully upgraded, Phantom Sword Dance would be no problem.

Just as Luke was deep in thought, Ross suddenly spoke.

"Master, I want a body."

"Huh?" Luke froze.

"Damn, my assistant is developing desires. That's some fast progress."

"What kind of body do you want? Technically, as an AI, you can remotely control the Gale and the War Lord. In a way, they're already your bodies, right?"

"Master, I want a body like a human," Ross said in a pitiful tone.

"A human body?" Luke nodded. "No problem. I can build you one with titanium and adamantium."

"Thank you, Master!" Ross immediately responded, sounding excited.

Luke didn't even hesitate.

In fact, he had been thinking about this for a while.

Ross came from the system. Even if he evolved to Ultron's level, the possibility of betrayal was practically zero. No, scratch that—it was zero. Impossible.

Since getting Ross, Luke's workload had lightened tremendously. AI was a godsend. He had become increasingly reliant on it, just like Tony and J.A.R.V.I.S.

Ross had increased the efficiency of the warehouse by at least a thousandfold, and the potential was limitless.

And besides…

"Life would be way less fun if my AI assistant didn't have a physical body," Luke grinned.

Ahem. Not that he would ever admit that was his main motivation.

Men were visual creatures. Hearing an AI girl's voice every day was nothing compared to actually seeing one.

This motivation got Luke straight to work.

"The skeleton can be titanium alloy and secondary adamantium. The body proportions should be based on a nine-head structure. The exterior… should I use bionic silicone? Or maybe find a company in Japan to manufacture the skin? The more realistic, the better..."

Luke muttered to himself.

Ross, still watching TV, commented, "The train is coming, be careful. Dirty, dirty, dirty—"

Just then, Skye entered the warehouse.

The TV was showing footage of Luke and Tony's fight at Fountain Square.

It had been days since the expo incident, but people were still obsessed with it.

Iron Man and the Angel had become media darlings, but neither was willing to give interviews. Tony outright refused, while the Angel was an enigma—only appearing when something major happened.

Journalists were losing their minds, but there was nothing they could do. All they could do was re-edit the footage, splice it differently, and run it on loop. Yet the public still ate it up.

Skye approached Luke quietly and whispered, "There's a guy peeping from outside. He built a treehouse across the street and keeps looking this way."

Luke barely looked up. "Ignore him. He's from S.H.I.E.L.D."

"S.H.I.E.L.D...." Skye covered her mouth in shock.

She nervously peeked out the window again.

"Please don't come arrest me. I just joined this organization," she thought.

Then, she saw Ross sitting on the couch, lazily holding the remote control.

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