Melting Pot Concept in Marvel

"Damn you, demon! I hadn't even done anything yet…"

Skye instinctively tried to defend herself, but Aaron gave a light "oh" and said, "So you admit you were about to do something, then?"

"Go on—who issued this mission to the Rising Tide?"

Aaron fixed his gaze on her. With super perception, super vision, and vibration sense all switched on, any possible lie on Skye's part would be instantly detected. Even though Aaron had never specifically trained in interrogation or microexpressions, anyone with this many abilities could easily tell if someone was lying—let alone Skye, who was basically a complete beginner, with little more than decent hacking skills. Oh right, her genes were special—she was Inhuman. But that didn't help much here.

Unable to speak, Skye stared.

"Think carefully about the consequences. I can hand you to the police anytime. Considering the billions in damages and the donations—and taxes—we provide annually, believe me, the police and the courts will definitely administer justice."

"I'll pick a number: ten years."

"Yes, if I say ten years, it'll be exactly that—no more, no less."

This was a money-worshipping country; short of death, there's nothing money can't fix. With enough money, you can run for president, or even get Congress to change or add laws—just look at the Sokovia Accords in the original.

Hearing this, Skye was astonished. "You…how can you do that?! This is slander! It's defamation! I'm going to sue you for making false claims about me!"

"You're saying I—a rising star worth billions—am defaming a random hacker thief who casually breaks into others' companies?" Aaron said, his voice calm. "Whose side do you think the public's going to believe?"

Skye's face crumpled. "Alright, fine…I don't know who issued the job. It came from Rising Tide. I was just doing part-time missions while finishing my studies…"

"They told me to find out about your company's limb-regeneration research—and to see if you're doing anything involving inhumane human experimentation. Especially you—because you apparently demonstrated some…exceptional powers at your board meeting. If we confirmed you were illegally testing demonic abilities on humans, then…"

"…You'd expose it to the world and let the law punish me, right?" Aaron couldn't help laughing. "You're such a fool."

"I—I'm safeguarding the people's right to know! I'm serving the people! Companies like yours must be under public supervision!" Skye retorted indignantly.

"Oh really? Then did you investigate Pioneer Tech? Do you have any clue what they're up to? Rising Tide—'serving the people?' Hahaha. That's the funniest thing I've heard!"

Aaron found her explanation comical. "Serving the people"? In this world, no organization claiming to act purely for the public good is that clean.

He knew the Rising Tide better than anyone: as long as they're paid, they'll happily break laws and ethics, with all that "serving the people" just a convenient label. That might fool an idealistic person like Skye, but anyone who's spent time in the real world would never buy it. The world runs on profit, as the old saying goes.

Even Aaron himself—some call him the next Einstein or the pioneer of modern medicine. He doesn't care what people think.

"Alright, I can see you're ignorant—just a misled hothead. Follow me."

"What?" Skye blinked nervously. "What are you doing?"

"You. Come with me!"

Aaron asked no more questions, certain Skye hadn't lied. Continuing the interrogation would be pointless—Rising Tide was a hidden hacker collective. If they dared provoke him, they could only blame themselves.

Skye felt a jolt of fear. Oscorp Tower loomed ahead like a giant beast waiting to swallow her. She wanted to leave, but Aaron's grip was like iron, unshakeable. She was forcibly pulled inside under many curious gazes, until they reached the lab floor.

"Boss!" It was Norman again. He glanced curiously at Skye, then said, "I've contacted Dr. Helen Cho. She'll arrive today at 3 p.m. sharp."

Aaron nodded and looked into the distance, where someone seemed to be watching them. Norman noticed and explained, "That's the personal secretary to the U.S. Air Force commander. He's here about…that matter."

Aaron understood instantly. "The Air Force commander's that eager, huh?"

"He's getting old, and there are rumors he has lung cancer—though not confirmed yet. Anyway, he's quite interested in our research and wants his secretary around to help. If we need anything, we can contact him directly."

"Oh, does that include fighter jets?" Aaron suddenly thought of something.

He had many abilities now but lacked true flight. Sure, web-swinging was nice, but flight was different. He'd considered smelting some supersonic birds like frigatebirds or peregrine falcons, but maybe a fighter jet would do the trick.

Norman hesitated, glancing at Aaron's Asian face. "That…should be fine. Any other requests?"

"Sooner the better, and as advanced as possible."

Norman nodded. He turned to speak with that secretary. Skye rolled her eyes. "Can't you see? You're Asian. The Air Force commander won't let you have something that absurd—it'd be treason!"

She believed an upright American general wouldn't accept such a request. Aaron just gave a mysterious smile. "Not necessarily."

Before long, the secretary came over, shaking Aaron's hand enthusiastically. "Mr. Aaron, I hear from Mr. Norman that you lack a vehicle suitable for your status. General Ronald feels someone like you—a distinguished individual—ought to have a truly remarkable ride. For instance…a fighter jet!"

Skye's eyes widened in shock and disbelief as the secretary continued: "Would you prefer the better-performance F-22, or the faster F-15? Of course, we also have a faster YF-12A interceptor or a Blackbird reconnaissance plane, but given how old those are, they wouldn't reflect your status as well…"

"No! You can't do this! It's treason!" Skye cried, her worldview in shambles. This was the U.S. military? Selling out the country that openly?

The secretary gave her a puzzled glance, seeming to wonder if she was one of their own. Aaron shook his head. "Ignore her. Let's keep talking."

The secretary nodded. "Miss, Mr. Aaron is one of America's greatest figures, a major taxpayer and patriot. Please don't slander us. We're simply acting on behalf of the Air Force to extend courtesy to Mr. Aaron."

The blatant absurdity left Skye speechless. America is doomed…

Aaron pondered. "I'll take them all!"

The secretary froze for a moment, then his earpiece relayed an older man's voice. "Grant it." The secretary instantly recovered. "No problem, we're happy to serve!"

"Just…" the secretary began, but Aaron cut in: "Tell General Ronald that Norman will be sending him a gift this afternoon. A special early 'Christmas present.' I guarantee it'll make him feel ten years younger."

The secretary heard heavy breathing on the other end of his line but smiled. "Thank you for your generosity!"

Skye was dumbfounded. "I'm calling it—this is under-the-table corruption at its worst! 'Christmas present'? It's barely May! At least pick a more plausible reason—f**k!!"

~~~

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