New Equipment

Wu Yanzu stood before the screen with his back to the others, watching the videos scroll endlessly.

"If we don't find them and put them under the spotlight for supervision..."

"That silver kid might go rob banks. That self-healing lunatic might become a killer."

"And now..." Wu Yanzu turned around and spread his arms as if embracing the coming storm. "They're on my show, bound by my rules."

"Under these rules, only those who follow them can climb higher."

"This is called... 'entertainment-based assimilation.'"

Tony Stark looked at Wu Yanzu, his expression complicated. He picked up the bottle and filled Wu Yanzu's glass.

"But I have a warning for you too, Anthony."

Tony's gaze sharpened.

"When you stare into the abyss, the abyss stares back at you. These people... you'd better be able to keep them under control."

"If one day they lose control." Tony pointed at himself, then at Steve. "We'll stop you, whether we're friends or not."

Wu Yanzu looked at Tony and raised his glass.

"I look forward to that day, Tony. But that day... will never come."

The party lasted until two in the morning.

Pepper helped the slightly tipsy Tony back to his room.

Steve bid them farewell politely, then vanished into the snowstorm on his Harley motorcycle.

Wu Yanzu also had the driver take them back to Jessica's place.

Jessica stood before the door, looking at the street that was still brightly lit.

"I should go," she said. "Training starts tomorrow."

"No rush."

Wu Yanzu walked over and handed her something.

It was a small gift box.

Jessica froze for a moment. "What is it?"

"Open it and see."

Jessica took the box suspiciously and opened it.

Inside lay a key.

It was an ordinary-looking brass key with a leather key fob that bore no logo.

"This is?"

"An old brownstone apartment in Brooklyn." Wu Yanzu looked out the window and spoke softly. "Top floor, with a rooftop terrace. Great view. You can see the bridge."

"And... it's close to where you lived as a child, but this place is brand-new."

"I don't..."

"Don't rush to refuse." Wu Yanzu interrupted her. "This isn't some employee benefit from your boss."

He turned and looked into Jessica's eyes.

"That crappy apartment of yours has nothing but a mattress and liquor bottles all over the floor. That isn't a home, Jessica. It's a shelter."

"You need somewhere you can sleep well. Somewhere... with windows, sunlight, and no smell of mildew."

"Think of it as... preparation for your independent film." Wu Yanzu shrugged. "After all, Queen Jones can't live in a dump. If the paparazzi catch it, it'll hurt the box office and your popularity."

Jessica gripped the key.

Its metal edges pressed into her palm, yet somehow made her feel secure.

She wanted to say something harsh, to say, "I don't need your charity," to say, "I have money, I can buy my own place."

But when she looked into Wu Yanzu's seemingly casual yet genuinely concerned eyes, all those words stuck in her throat.

Tonight's party, the talk about orphans, the warmth of the eggnog, and this key...

Her heart, once hard as iron, seemed to have been wrapped in a layer of soft cotton.

"...How much is the rent?" After holding it in for a long while, that was all she managed to say.

Wu Yanzu smiled.

"I'll deduct it from your appearance fees. Don't worry, you're a high-income earner. You can afford it."

"Hmph."

Jessica put away the key and clenched it tightly in her hand.

"Thanks... boss."

She turned toward her door. Just as it was about to close—

"Hey, Jessica."

Wu Yanzu called out to her.

Jessica looked back, a trace of barely perceptible anticipation in her eyes.

"Merry Christmas," he said.

The corners of Jessica's mouth finally rose beyond her control. It was a smile free of any burden.

"Merry Christmas, Anthony."

The door shut.

Wu Yanzu stood alone on the empty street.

The system notification sounded!

Ding! Special Popularity Points gained +20,000 (from Jessica Jones)

Current Special Popularity Points: 59,500

"Hehe! Excellent! Just as expected of me! Jessica really is a treasure of a girl." Azu couldn't help grinning wickedly.

In the distance, a cloaked Quinjet hovered above the clouds.

Nick Fury held binoculars as he watched the flood of eager applicants, his one eye filled with gloom.

"Sir, the number of applicants has already exceeded 150,000." Hill's voice came through the communicator. "At least a hundred of them... are genuine superhumans."

"He's gathering an army." Fury lowered his binoculars.

"We need to move faster."

Fury glanced at the number constantly jumping across the screen.

"Launch the Avengers expansion plan."

"We need more people. Since he wants to use human-wave tactics..."

"...then we'll fight him to the end."

January in New York carried the damp, cold smell of rust in the air.

Half-melted snow mixed with car exhaust and the sour stench of garbage heaps, becoming pools of nauseating black slush.

For most New Yorkers, this was the hardest season to endure.

But for the newly established Queen Jones, it was merely an insignificant backdrop in her hellish schedule.

At six in the morning, she was awakened by that damned alarm clock. At six-thirty, she appeared at the Vought Advanced Training Center.

"Listen, Queen. For the next month, your schedule will be busier than the president's."

Ashley handed Jessica a tablet, speaking as fast as a machine gun. "Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings are combat training, while the afternoons are media response classes. Tuesdays and Thursdays are joint law enforcement operations. We'll be working with the NYPD's ESU tactical unit and the FBI to crack down on superhuman crime. Saturdays are fan meet-and-greets. Sundays... oh, Sundays, Mr. Homelander has graciously given you half a day off for spa treatments and skincare."

"I don't need skincare. I need sleep." Jessica rolled her eyes and tossed the tablet back to Ashley.

Vought International, Equipment Development Department.

"This thing looks like a stage prop."

Jessica Jones was holding up a pair of silver-white metal bracers on her arms, scrutinizing them critically beneath the lights.

The bracers were light, made from some specialized titanium alloy. Their surfaces bore streamlined honeycomb patterns, while the sections against her skin were lined with soft memory gel.

"Watch your wording, Queen."

Wu Yanzu leaned against an equipment rack, an espresso in his hand as his gaze swept over the data streaming across the tablet. "This will be your exclusive equipment from now on."

He stepped forward and lightly tapped Jessica's forearm with a finger.

Click—!

The bracers instantly detected the faint electrical signals from her muscles.

A crisp mechanical locking sound rang out as the metal armor that had covered only her forearms instantly unfolded and reconfigured.

Countless tiny metal scales seemed to come alive, rapidly assembling and locking together before Jessica.