"Join us, Li Ang. This world needs your strength."
Nick Fury sounded sincere, mainly because the Avengers did not currently have a single combatant worth showing off.
Captain Marvel was far away, pioneering on alien worlds, while Mutants and ordinary people hated each other. Forget helping-if aliens actually invaded, it would be good enough if they did not help attack the humans.
So they urgently needed a powerful combatant who could carry the Avengers Initiative.
Faced with Nick Fury's almost pleading invitation, Li Ang pretended to ponder.
A few seconds later, he smiled and shook his head. "I'm used to being free and doing as I please. I can't stand the restrictions and control of working within the system."
Hearing this, Natasha looked regretful and asked, unwilling to give up, "Don't you have any ideals about doing something for this world?"
"Nope," Li Ang said without a shred of shame!
"Doing less for more and getting something for nothing-that's my ideal."
Natasha looked as though his words had struck her like lightning. She spent ages trying to formulate a response but could not get a single word out.
"But..." Li Ang chuckled. "I can work with you. You pay, I get things done!"
Nick Fury's dark face grew even darker.
Money? S.H.I.E.L.D. certainly had no shortage of that, but was it really a good idea to send this guy out to represent S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers?
In his mind, an Avenger ought to at least be an upright, noble hero like Captain America, someone who put people at ease.
But extraordinary times called for extraordinary measures. He was not someone who stuck rigidly to the rules, or he would never have chosen to bypass the military and establish the Avengers.
"All right. Here's to a pleasant partnership, Mr. Li Ang." Nick Fury breathed a sigh of relief inwardly.
At least they had made some progress. It was best that Li Ang was willing to help, even if it was a business partnership.
Once their partnership was confirmed, a notification sounded in Li Ang's mind.
[Mission four: Walk your own path (completed)] [Mission rewards have been issued]
Li Ang's heart leaped with joy. It really worked!
As for this pager with no data in it, he had a use for that too. Pretending to dig into his pocket, he took out the pager.
It was the kind of beeper people used back in the day, with some unusual patterns on it that looked quite pretty.
Nick Fury froze when he saw it. He looked at Li Ang, then at the pager Li Ang was handing him, unable to understand why all these superheroes had one.
Could they all conjure one up after gaining special powers?
Regardless, he accepted it. Li Ang teased, "I won't tell you how to use this thing. You definitely know."
Nick Fury's lone eye filled with reminiscence. Whether he was remembering the days when he fought alongside Captain Marvel or something else was unclear.
"I'll treasure it," he said earnestly.
Li Ang waved a hand. "Don't get the wrong idea. It's just a backup. We're both on Earth, so can't we just call each other?"
"Call each other?" Nick Fury wore the confused Black guy meme expression, then thought again. Right, this wasn't the damn pre-smartphone era anymore.
"All right, I won't keep you two for a late-night snack."
Black Nick Fury smoothly took his leave.
After seeing Nick Fury off, Li Ang headed toward his room. He had gone straight to the shower after returning and had yet to see his new suit.
He pushed open the door. Inside the room, which the maids had cleaned and tidied, stood a glass display case over two meters tall.
The suit's design was exactly the same as the one from his previous life. The only difference was that it had no cape.
He planned to replace the cape with the Magic Resistance Cloak the system had given him, adding a little magic resistance.
Then he could tank magic and show those mages what it meant for his left fist to deal high damage and his right fist to deal damage that was high!
The only thing he needed to worry about was maintaining the suit.
After all, he could not resolve every battle with Heat Vision, and this was the United States, where guns were as common as electric bikes.
How did that saying go again?
When the older generation said people today could not understand the horror of being caught in a hail of bullets and seeing a good friend shot dead before their eyes, American kids said, "Sure we can!"
He had a Man of Steel body. His clothes did not.
This suit was made from top-quality materials. A whole set cost a hundred thousand dollars.
If it was damaged in battle, patching it up would look ugly. Was he supposed to punish evildoers wearing patches?
"I should try it on first." Li Ang opened the display case, and the instant he touched the suit, a system notification popped up before his eyes.
[Homelander suit detected. Bind it?] [Special effects obtained after binding: automatic repair, one-second outfit change]
Seeing the entries pop up, a look of delighted surprise crossed Li Ang's face. "How thoughtful!"
With this, what was there to worry about?
"Bind!"
The suit vanished from the display case. Li Ang opened the system inventory and mentally selected equip.
A white line appeared on the bathrobe he was wearing. It split in two, and as the white lines swept from head to toe, the areas they passed over magically turned into the suit!
"So convenient." Li Ang moved around a little. The outfit did not restrict his movements at all. Money really did make a difference wherever you spent it.
Li Ang then bound the Magic Resistance Cloak to the suit, making the outfit flawless.
Paired with his already tall figure, the suit made him look a little more muscular. He really did have the reassuring look of a superhero.
"Judging by the time... Iron Monger should be making his appearance, right?"
Li Ang struck a few poses in front of the mirror and nodded in satisfaction. Just as he was planning to take a flight around the city, the system's notification sounded in his mind.
[Master, I must remind you that Obadiah has already arrived at Tony's house.]
"Hm?" Li Ang stopped, opened the window, and flew out, heading straight for New York!
This was his little piggy bank. If Tony really died because of his butterfly effect, it would be a huge loss, and the plot would probably go off course too.
If things really followed that whole Anchor Being premise in Deadpool 3, then this world of his would probably disappear.
He flew faster and faster, the sound of him tearing through the air resounding across the sky. A child below raised her head and saw a figure hurtling overhead!
The sonic boom and fierce winds he stirred up sent her short hair flying. She pointed at the sky. "What's that?"
"Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy," her parents said.
A short while later, elsewhere.
Tony stared at his phone. It kept ringing, with Pepper Potts calling.
Just as he was about to answer, a buzzing suddenly sounded beside his ear!
The sound seemed to possess some kind of magic, penetrating his eardrums and reaching straight into his brain, like bones being crushed and ground together in an instant!
"Ugh..." Tony's eyes instantly widened.
He slumped on the couch, unable to understand what had happened, until a familiar face leaned close.
The light from his chest illuminated a familiar face filled with greed.
"Look at it. How beautiful." Obadiah took out a tool and pulled the reactor from Tony's chest, then smiled. "I'll miss you. Say hello to your father for me."
With that, he strode away!