Multiverse , Leveling Up in the World I Created

Chapter 409: 409 MCU 84

I followed the direction the big man had run, leaping across rooftops.

Harlem doesn’t have many tall buildings, so moving this way was easy.

It was faster and also helped avoid drawing attention.

In reality, Harlem had once been considered one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in New York, but it had improved significantly before the nuclear war.

During the day, tourists often visited.

But in the Marvel universe, Harlem was still a dangerous, chaotic area plagued by poverty, drugs, and gang problems.

’That’s just how hero stories are. If there’s no crime, there’s no need for heroes.’

Still, it wasn’t the kind of place where major crimes happened often enough to warrant the Avengers’ involvement.

At most, it was the usual American crimes like arms smuggling and drug dealing.

"Huff huff... Damn it..."

The big man was catching his breath in an empty alley, tired from running.

When I appeared from the rooftop and landed lightly in front of him, he finally gave up running and took a fighting stance.

"Want to fight? I don’t mind. Come at me."

At that, the big man threw a punch, but I easily dodged a few times, caught his fist with one hand, and squeezed.

SQUEEZE!

"Guh!"

He winced in pain, so I let go.

"Hmm... Good strength and durability, but your technique is terrible. Luke Cage. Or should I say, ’Carl Lucas’?"

"Damn! You knew all along."

The big man’s identity was Luke Cage.

Luke Cage’s real name is Carl Lucas.

He was originally a police officer but was framed and imprisoned.

To make matters worse, a corrupt guard threatened his loved ones, forcing him to become a fighter in an underground betting ring.

He never gave up, though, and looked for a chance to escape—but his plan was leaked, and two prisoner informants beat him severely, leaving him fatally injured.

A doctor then performed illegal experimental surgery on prisoners, and Luke gained his abilities.

He escaped prison, changed his name to Luke Cage, and went into hiding in Harlem.

Luke Cage’s abilities include incredible durability that can withstand bullets and explosions, superhuman strength, and rapid recovery.

On the surface, he seems like the most typical superhero among the Defenders, but in reality, he’s somewhat underwhelming.

His durability can be pierced by specialized rounds, his strength is outclassed by Jess, and his recovery is closer to faster-than-normal healing rather than true regeneration.

"I know what abilities you have."

"Hah... Seems like running was pointless."

Luke sighed heavily and raised his hands, surrendering.

He had escaped before serving his sentence, so he had a lot to lose.

That’s why he ran the moment he saw me.

"I think you’re misunderstanding something—I’m not here to arrest you. I’m here to recruit you."

"Wha, what?!"

"Let’s go. This isn’t the place to talk."

I took Luke to a famous fried chicken place in Harlem and talked over chicken.

"So, you came here to recruit me as an Avenger?"

"Yeah. But you won’t be active right away—you need training. From what I saw, you learned some sloppy techniques somewhere, and that won’t cut it. By the way, this chicken is good."

"Sloppy? I learned from the Marines... Anyway, I decline. I’m just trying to get by."

"That’s because of your escape, right?"

"Can’t hide anything from you. Yeah, I escaped. So I can’t be an Avenger."

I handed Luke the materials I’d prepared.

He opened them, and his expression grew serious as he read through them carefully.

Inside were documents proving his innocence, along with evidence that the prison had run illegal fighting rings and performed experimental surgeries on inmates.

"This is..."

"Yeah, that’s right. Evidence to prove your innocence."

"How did you..."

"Who do you think I am?"

At that, Luke was convinced.

"Right... I shouldn’t have asked."

"I’ll also connect you with a good lawyer, so you won’t have any problems with the past."

"That’s a relief. Thank you."

"So let me ask again. Join the Avengers. You’ve seen the news—we have a lot of work. We need people with abilities like yours."

Luke thought for a long time.

I waited, eating chicken and drinking beer.

"I appreciate you finding that evidence for me, but I still can’t."

Surprisingly, he refused.

"Why?"

"You probably know, since you looked into all this, that I’ve been through a lot. I just want to live a normal life. I don’t want to get involved in big things."

"Hmm... I see. But with abilities like yours, living a normal life in this neighborhood won’t be easy."

I didn’t try to force him.

He was bound to get deeply entangled in many things.

Someday, he would definitely need help.

With Jessica Jones already recruited to the Avengers, the Defenders would be weaker, and he’d have no choice.

I handed him two business cards—one was mine, the other was Matt’s (Daredevil).

"If you change your mind, contact me. One is mine, the other is the lawyer I mentioned. I recommend contacting him right away to clear your past."

"Understood. I’ll do that."

Luke, feeling grateful for the evidence and guilty for declining, insisted on paying for the meal even though money was tight.

"Then, see you around."

"Yeah, thanks for everything."

I left Luke behind and moved on to my second recruitment target.

They were located in Washington state, quite far away, so I remotely called the Aurea from the Avengers base and traveled by ship.

After a long journey, I arrived at a house—the target was in the basement.

To avoid trouble, I simply rang the doorbell.

DING-DONG!

"Coming."

It wasn’t Morpheus—it was ’Bill Foster’ who opened the door, looking shocked to see me.

"Wh-why are you here..."

"I’m looking for Ava Starr. I checked S.H.I.E.L.D.’s records—Black Ops files. I also saw your information."

Ava Starr, codenamed Ghost, was a Black Ops agent used by S.H.I.E.L.D.

After S.H.I.E.L.D. fell, she appeared as a villain in Ant-Man and The Wasp.

Later, she would work under Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, who would become CIA director.

But Valentina wasn’t a good person either, and Ava was eventually discarded.

She wasn’t as tragic as Antonia Dreykov (Taskmaster), but she still lived a very unfortunate life.

Her abilities came from a quantum experiment accident—she can phase through matter and turn invisible.

This grants her superhuman agility and combat ability, but the side effect is constant pain as her cells undergo unstable division and recombination.

She also leaves afterimages when moving, earning her the codename ’Ghost.’

"What do you want with her?"

"I want to assess her condition and see if she can be treated. And if possible, I want to recruit her to the Avengers."

"You mean you can treat Ava?"

"I won’t know until I see her condition, but I think it’s possible. Right now, I only know that she was exposed to quantum energy and has her abilities."

Bill sighed, thought for a moment, and said,

"I don’t know if I can trust you. S.H.I.E.L.D. promised to cure her too, but instead they trained her and made her do dirty work. All she got in return was a suit to control her abilities."

"Bad luck. Back then, S.H.I.E.L.D. was mostly Hydra. It was Hydra that created and operated the Black Ops. You can’t compare the Avengers to them."

"I suppose. Come in—I’ll make you some coffee."

I followed Bill inside.

Bill Foster, who resembles Morpheus, is a former S.H.I.E.L.D. scientist who worked with Hank Pym.

He took pity on Ava during his time at S.H.I.E.L.D. and has been helping her ever since.

As I sat on the sofa, Bill brought me coffee.

Every time I saw him, I couldn’t help but think of Morpheus from The Matrix.

"I don’t know if it’ll suit your taste—a rich man like you must always drink the finest coffee."

"I wasn’t always rich. I lived pretty normally as a kid. So don’t worry about that."

"I see."

I took a sip of coffee and said,

"You can tell the young lady hiding beside you to show herself."

Bill looked surprised, and just then, Ghost de-cloaked beside me.

She wore a form-fitting white suit, and her lean build was noticeable.

She must have phased in with Bill while he was getting the coffee.

"How did you know?"

She removed her white mask and stared at me—she was quite exotic-looking and beautiful.

In the lore, she’s of mixed white and black heritage.

"I’m a sorcerer, so I can read energy changes around me. That kind of stealth doesn’t work on me."

"Impressive. So you really are an Avenger."

She pulled up a chair and sat in front of me.

"So, can you cure me or not? I don’t have much time left."

"I don’t know yet—I need to check. Come with me. I have diagnostic equipment on the ship."

Ava flinched at the sight of the Aurea parked in front of the house but pretended not to be impressed.

She had a bit of a tsundere streak.

I had Ava lie down on the medical bed on the ship and began scanning her with diagnostic equipment.

This gear analyzes and reports any abnormalities in the body and is installed on all Avengers ships for accurate diagnosis when members are injured.

"Hmm... Your molecular structure is quantumized, causing continuous division and recombination. The pain must be immense—you’ve held up well."

"Yeah. And I can’t control this ability. So whenever I leave the quantum stabilizer Bill made, I have to wear this suit. So... can you cure it?"

"There are two ways. One is to stabilize your molecular structure using quantum energy. The other is to use magic to fix your condition to the point where you can control your abilities. Both are difficult, but the second is more viable—since you have a magic user right in front of you."

"So it’s treatable?"

"Yes."

Ava’s face lit up.

Bill, who had come along, also looked happy.

"Congratulations, Ava. You can finally leave that prison of a suit."

"Yeah, I’m so relieved."

Honestly, what I was doing wasn’t so much magic as it was sorcery.

Using [Matter Creation] and [Control], I could keep her phasing ability while fixing her body.

"Let’s start right away. It’ll take a while, so if you need to use the bathroom, now’s the time. And Bill, I’d like you to make sure no one disturbs her until the procedure is done."

"Got it. Leave it to me."

I cleared out Bill’s basement to make room, drew an elaborate magic circle, and had Ava sit in the center.

"Don’t move from now on. It could fail."

"Okay. No matter what happens, I won’t move. How long will it take?"

"About 30 minutes. I’m starting."

Ava swallowed nervously at the word "starting."

I used Eldritch Magic to create flashy patterns around the magic circle, surrounding her.

Both Bill and Ava watched in awe.

"I said don’t move! Do you want it to fail!?"

Ava broke into a cold sweat and stayed perfectly still, not even turning her head.

For 30 minutes, I added various patterns and, at the end, placed my hand on her head and pretended to chant.

Since I couldn’t reveal my abilities, it was all a show to use [Matter Creation].

"HAAAH!"

At the same time I shouted, I made it look like the Eldritch Magic patterns were being absorbed into Ava.

"Huff... It’s done. You should be cured now. Check it out."

"This... I can’t believe it... The pain is gone. It really healed..."

Ava was clearly surprised—she must have had her doubts.

She got up, moved around, and tested her abilities.

"How is this possible? I can even use my abilities freely now."

"You’re lucky. I happened to know a spell that could do that."

"R-really? That’s a relief. I finally feel free from the fear of death..."

Ava, overcome with emotion, began to cry.

Bill quietly came over, hugged her, and patted her back.

Looking back, I’m glad I went with the "sorcerer" concept—I could just brush off anything unbelievable as magic.

Once Ava calmed down, she bowed her head and thanked me sincerely.

"Thank you. I finally feel free. You said I could join the Avengers, right?"

"Yeah. You’ve seen the news—we’ve got a lot on our plate. I thought you might want to step out of the shadows and into a brighter world."

"Okay. I’ll do it."

She agreed without hesitation—I was relieved, as I’d worried she might refuse.

"But if I work as an Avenger, Bill..."

Bill, who had been listening, chimed in,

"I’m fine. I’ll just stay here and quietly research quantum physics. Watching Ava’s achievements on TV will be its own reward. Just visiting occasionally and telling me about your hero work will be enough."

I also extended an invitation to Bill.

"Why don’t you join the Avengers’ research division? I’ll fund any research you need. We don’t have a quantum physicist, and with your experience under Hank Pym, you’re more than qualified."

"Sorry, but I can’t. After leaving S.H.I.E.L.D., I’ve been a professor of particle physics at UC Berkeley. But if you ever need help with quantum mechanics, I’m always available."

"Really? That’s a shame, but it can’t be helped. I’ll contact you if anything comes up."

"Understood. And thank you—for curing Ava. She’s like a daughter to me. Please take good care of her."

"I will."

The reason I tried to recruit Bill was to prepare for the future.

In case Tony had issues and I needed someone well-versed in quantum mechanics.

He wasn’t on Hank Pym’s level, but he was a highly capable doctor recognized by S.H.I.E.L.D.

It was a shame I couldn’t recruit him, but since he offered to help whenever needed, it wasn’t a big problem.

I took Ava to New York and bought her clothes and daily necessities.

Honestly, I recruited Ava a bit earlier than intended.

But there was a reason—she knew she didn’t have long to live and took dangerous jobs like assassinations and espionage to fund research.

Eventually, after Endgame, she would end up wanted by 15 countries.

So I wanted to cure and recruit her before she caused bigger problems.

Some might ask why I didn’t recruit Iron Fist from the Defenders.

There’s a reason for that—the Defenders’ main villain is the Hand, and the hero most deeply entangled with them is Iron Fist.

If I recruited him too, I couldn’t predict how the Hand would react.

So I deliberately left him alone.

Daredevil was a similar case—but since he was an exceptionally capable lawyer, I decided it was more advantageous not to recruit him and just rely on legal help when needed.

Also, his lover Elektra was deeply involved with the Hand, so meddling could make things complicated.

I planned to watch them from a distance and help when necessary.

"It’s been so long since I wore jeans outside..."

"Must have been tough always wearing that suit."

"Yeah. Honestly, people stared, so I couldn’t buy anything properly—Bill bought everything for me. It got a bit better after the quantum stabilizer was made. Before that, I couldn’t even shower properly."

"That’s rough."

"Tell me about it. Just thinking about that time... ugh..."

We went shopping and had dinner at a nearby restaurant, where Ava opened up about all her hardships over the years.

Then, on TV, a news report about the day’s medal ceremony aired.

The medals were for soldiers who had distinguished themselves in the war, but our contributions were conspicuously absent—clearly Ross’s doing.

What was surprising was that Secretary Ross personally pinned medals on the Hellhound pilots.

And the pilot who appeared to be the leader was none other than John Walker—infamously known in the original as "Fake Captain America."

’So that guy was the Hellhound squadron leader...’