Custom Armor

"Oh, damn it! You're swearing in my lab!" Tony had finished checking Duncan's injuries and finally felt relieved. Only his legs had been grazed by shrapnel; all his vital areas were fine.

Duncan's injury had also served as a wake-up call.

His plan to advance his world relied heavily on Duncan. Until he found a reliable way to travel between dimensions, he had better keep Duncan safe.

A suit of armor was undoubtedly a proven way to protect Duncan with technology.

After the doctors took Duncan away for treatment, Tony set aside his work for the time being and began custom-building him a suit of armor based on the Mark 43.

Tony's biggest problem was always his height. The armor he could wear wouldn't fit Duncan.

Duncan was wheeled into the operating room. They removed the shrapnel from his legs and stitched up the wounds. In his current condition, he wouldn't have much strength to run around if he went back, so he decided to stay at Tony's place and recover, then return in a few days.

He also had a small amount of T-virus in his body. The small dose of the virus introduced by the Healing Serum would speed up the healing process. Once he returned, all he had to do was get a vaccine shot to avoid the virus spiraling out of control and turning him into a zombie.

With nothing else to do, Duncan limped back to Tony's lab and slumped onto the sofa, letting loose at him. "Racism, drugs, guns everywhere... Any ordinary person can buy high-powered firearms in a store and efficiently slaughter unarmed civilians! Maybe I'm not normal, but I can't understand what there is to be proud of about living under the constant threat of death. Ordinary people are really being taken for a ride."

"Hey! I can't get any research done with you here..."

Tony was still working on an experiment, but Duncan's rant made it impossible for him to focus. He simply abandoned his work, fetched some liquor from the lab's bar, and poured a glass for each of them.

"Hey..." Duncan sighed too, then took his glass and downed a big gulp.

Even after several months, he still couldn't get used to living somewhere his personal safety was never assured.

This injury had been another wake-up call. Maybe he shouldn't be out in public all the time. Once he got back, he'd have to find a stand-in to go out and handle business for him.

Thinking of a stand-in, Duncan looked at Tony. His eyes lit up, and he grinned. "Tony, you're the smart one. Help me make a robot that can disguise itself as me. I'll let it handle my work outside from now on. We've got so many business deals together. Surely you can protect your business partner!"

Getting something for free made people happy!

It was a perfectly reasonable request. Tony thought it over, then agreed. "I'll make you a custom suit of armor too!"

"Now that's an offer!"

Duncan perked up as soon as he heard Tony say that. He'd been perfectly happy just asking for a robot, but now he'd get a suit of armor for free—one Tony treasured more than anything!

He immediately made a long list of modifications. The helmet had to have sharp, angular lines, the Arc Reactor on the chest had to be covered with armor, and the paint had to be black. It had to look tough and imposing.

Tony rolled his eyes repeatedly as he listened, tearing Duncan's design references to shreds. The aircraft-grade alloy he used had been upgraded; unless it was hit by a large-caliber armor-piercing round, the pilot would basically be unharmed.

The sensors built into the armor could also predict bullet trajectories in advance, and the AI would guide the pilot in dodging them. Heavy armor was hardly necessary.

But Duncan still insisted on thicker armor. He didn't care if it wasn't very practical. He wouldn't be fighting often; he mainly wanted the suit to show off and add to his collection.

Since it was a collector's item, practicality wasn't the most important thing. Looking cool was!

In the end, the suit's design ended up looking a bit like Colonel Rhodey's War Machine. It was incredibly flashy.

Satisfied, Duncan was kicked out of Tony's lab. He went up to the top floor of Stark Tower and played games on the computer. He couldn't return to the Resident Evil world until the suit was finished.

Before starting the game, he sent a message to Alice, who was still on a mission. The Avengers' mission was over, and the two of them could meet again at Stark Tower.

Resident Evil world.

The plane Duncan had been traveling on was attacked and crashed. Raccoon City was on the verge of descending into chaos. Several rows of police cars, fire trucks, and ambulances sped toward the crash site outside the city.

They crossed Meimen Bridge and searched the woods near the construction site.

The police were the first to arrive. Since they had hosted the party, the Raccoon City Police Department took the incident very seriously.

Two groups from the squad set out first in separate helicopters. Their low-flying helicopters caused quite a commotion in the city.

Jill and her Alpha Team companions peered out of the helicopter. She was now wearing full tactical gear. Her khaki uniform and tied-back hair made her look even more like a soldier than she had at the banquet.

When she received the mission briefing and learned that Duncan, the head of Umbrella Corporation, had been attacked, she remembered what he'd said on the balcony the night before.

Umbrella Corporation lacked elite personnel to protect itself!

It had only been a few hours, and now she'd received word that Duncan had been attacked. The news hit Jill hard. Every time she thought of the moment he'd invited her to join Umbrella Corporation, she felt guilty for not helping him.

If Duncan hadn't spoken to her about it privately, she wouldn't have felt so strongly.

Even Peyton, who had been somewhat critical of Duncan on the plane, fell silent. He stared at the woods ahead, where black smoke was rising, and tightened his grip on his gun.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

A sudden, urgent alarm sounded on the helicopter as it flew along. A rocket shot up from the woods and came straight toward them.

"Brace for impact!!!" The pilot watched in terror as the rocket approached. The surge of adrenaline sharpened his reflexes, and he reacted instantly, forcing the control stick down. The helicopter's nose plunged toward the woods below.

The rocket hadn't had enough distance to travel, so it didn't explode when it struck the rotor blade. Its warhead detonated only after flying a few more meters.

By then, the shrapnel from the explosion had lost much of its force. It barely damaged the helicopter's specially reinforced armor.

Watching the woods draw closer, the pilot, who had narrowly escaped death, shouted again, "Prepare for the crash!!!"

Everyone on the helicopter quickly crouched with their heads covered, trying to minimize their injuries when it went down.

The helicopter crashed into a spruce forest. The sparse branches provided plenty of cushioning, and since the helicopter had been flying low, Jill suffered only minor injuries when it hit the ground.

"Shit!" Peyton swore. He hadn't adjusted his trajectory properly, and the impact of the crash had left him in excruciating pain.

"Is everyone all right?" Piers, the Alpha Team leader, shouted to check on his team. Fighting through the pain of the impact, he helped his teammates undo their seat belts.

Most of the six team members said they were fine. Once they had recovered, they switched off their gun safeties and climbed out of the helicopter.