Sorcerer in the Marvel Universe

Ross flipped through the proposal, occasionally letting out an impressed whistle.

Unlike Ivan Vanko, who had grown up in the Soviet Union with limited access to American military history, Ross had seen enough classified files to recognize the idea.

Shortly after World War II, back when S.H.I.E.L.D. still operated firmly under American control, the United States had carried out a secret initiative known as Operation Paperclip.

Scientists who possessed valuable expertise but hadn’t committed unforgivable atrocities were quietly recruited from the defeated Axis powers, exchanging prosecution for service to the United States.

Ross vaguely remembered one particular scientist, German... or perhaps Swedish. Decades ago, the man had proposed a radical concept.

Mechanical limbs directly connected to the human nervous system.

The body wouldn’t merely wear prosthetics.

It would control them as naturally as flesh and bone.

The research had eventually disappeared. Whether the project had failed or simply been shelved, Ross never learned. The scientist himself had died many years ago.

Because of that history, the proposal in front of him felt audacious rather than impossible.

He slowly closed the folder.

"As long as the nervous system remains mostly intact and the patient is conscious, the exoskeleton can restore mobility."

His finger tapped the title.

"The Gospel Project."

He chuckled.

"The name fits. This could change the lives of people with severe spinal injuries. If anything, I’d expect to see this partnered with the medical industry."

Aurecess shook her head.

"General, what you’re reading is only one component."

"The project’s official designation is Edge of Tomorrow."

"We do intend to release a civilian medical version for disabled patients."

Her eyes narrowed.

"But helping a disabled person walk again is medical technology."

She leaned forward.

"Helping an ordinary soldier throw a five-hundred-pound punch..."

"...is something else entirely."

"Human muscles require years of training to become stronger."

"A hydraulic actuator doesn’t."

Ross nodded.

"I understand."

His earlier comment had been half a joke. The military applications were obvious.

"But can you honestly say this is better suited for the armed forces than enhancement technology?"

He had devoted half his career to super-soldier research. It had ended in disaster, but not before teaching him countless hard lessons.

Exoskeletons, however...

He’d heard the concept discussed before.

Nothing more.

Saloras folded her arms.

"You’ve seen the bodies of those enhanced soldiers."

"What did you think?"

Ross grimaced.

"Honestly?"

"They were hard to look at."

He’d never seen them in person, only classified recordings.

The enhanced soldiers had grown far beyond normal human proportions.

And their faces...

The Abomination was still uglier.

But these men weren’t exactly winning beauty contests.

Saloras became unusually serious.

"I can tell you with complete confidence that, with current technology, every healthy human who undergoes enhancement ends up looking like that."

"The transformation is permanent."

"Irreversible."

"Once it’s done, that’s how they’ll spend the rest of their lives."

She looked directly at Ross.

"Do you honestly believe your soldiers are willing to sacrifice that much?"

Ross didn’t need time to answer.

Absolutely not.

Serving in the military lasted a few years.

Living with a permanently disfigured body lasted forever.

The average American volunteer simply wasn’t going to make that trade.

"The exoskeleton is different," Saloras continued.

"As long as installation is performed correctly, it causes no lasting injury."

"Remove it..."

"...and the wearer is an ordinary human again."

"It’s ultimately just a sophisticated tool connected to the body."

She activated another page of the proposal.

"This light exoskeleton allows a soldier to maintain twenty-five kilometers per hour for two continuous hours."

"It reduces a hundred-meter sprint to under eight seconds."

"It enables the user to overturn a passenger car with their bare hands."

"The compressed-air boosters mounted on the back allow vertical jumps of up to fifteen meters."

"The magnetic adhesion system built into the boots permits short bursts of movement along vertical walls."

She smiled.

"Everything an enhanced soldier can accomplish..."

"...this system can replicate."

"And in several areas..."

"...it performs even better."

Much of that functionality owed its existence to Ivan Vanko.

Before his death, he’d not only organized Granos’ original designs but also incorporated Sarah’s recommendations, refining the exoskeleton into something dramatically more versatile.

"And there’s another advantage."

Saloras spread her hands.

"No accusations of biological experimentation."

"No violations of anti-bioweapon treaties."

"No humanitarian controversies."

Ross rubbed his chin before pointing at one section.

"But the protection seems... inadequate."

The design really was minimal.

A half-enclosed helmet connected to an articulated metal spine.

Twin rectangular modules mounted near the shoulders housed the neural interface and compressed-air system.

Armor covered only the chest and abdomen.

The rest consisted of hydraulic supports and exposed mechanical joints.

It maximized mobility.

Protection, however, was another matter.

"Why not build something closer to Iron Man’s armor?" Ross suggested.

He wasn’t asking out of curiosity alone.

Iron Man had become legendary overnight.

If the military could field something visually comparable, cooperation would become far easier.

Saloras sighed.

"We could."

"It simply isn’t practical."

"Tony Stark’s armor isn’t just armor."

"It relies on artificial intelligence, an Arc Reactor, proprietary high-strength alloys, and a weapon system designed specifically for that platform."

"Every component matters."

"Our neural interface can replace the AI pilot."

"But if we build the suit from conventional materials using ordinary military hardware..."

She shrugged.

"You’ve already seen the result."

Ross nodded slowly.

Justin Hammer’s armored drones had been dismantled almost effortlessly during the recent incident.

Compared with Iron Man, they might as well have belonged to different centuries.

"And even those suits cost around one hundred million dollars each."

"The cost-performance ratio is terrible."

"More importantly..."

"We still can’t solve the power issue."

"With current energy storage technology, a full suit would operate for perhaps twenty minutes."

"Unless you install a miniature nuclear reactor..."

"...or Tony Stark hands you an Arc Reactor."

She smiled knowingly.

"Given his current relationship with the military..."

"...do you think that’s likely?"

Ross gave a dry snort.

Not a chance.

"If a full suit isn’t practical," he said, "at least reinforce vulnerable areas like the thighs."

"A gunshot there can cripple a soldier."

"No need," Aurecess replied.

"The legs exist to preserve mobility."

"Our exoskeleton already guarantees that."

"Even if the muscles are destroyed..."

"...the machine keeps the soldier moving."

Ross stared at her.

"Have you considered the pain?"

"If someone takes a rifle round through the thigh, forcing them to keep running isn’t exactly merciful."

Aurecess considered it for a moment.

"Then we’ll integrate a powerful analgesic into the spinal interface."

"If the system detects severe trauma, it administers the medication automatically."

"The soldier won’t feel the injury."

Ross blinked.

"What if the bullet remains lodged in the leg?"

"Running on it could turn a recoverable wound into an amputation."

Saloras answered without hesitation.

"Our civilian prosthetic exoskeleton can restore full mobility afterward."

Ross fell silent.

Then a horrifying possibility occurred to him.

Wait...

Low armor means more disabled veterans...

Disabled veterans need prosthetic exoskeletons...

The military pays for veterans’ treatment...

These people are selling both the injury... and the solution?

That was disturbingly good business.

Then another thought surfaced.

Actually... lifelong disability benefits are expensive.

Maybe removing the chest armor would be cheaper.

He immediately buried the idea.

...Mostly.

Aurecess continued as if none of that had crossed anyone’s mind.

"Don’t worry."

"The design you’re looking at is the light exoskeleton."

"It’s intended for special operations forces and field agents."

"They prioritize speed, stealth, and agility."

"Heavy armor would only hinder those missions."

"For frontline assault units, we’ve also designed a heavy exoskeleton with significantly greater protection and firepower."

"The trade-off, naturally, is reduced mobility."

Ross nodded.

That made perfect sense.

When bullets were filling the air, armor mattered far more than acrobatics.

"If the performance matches what’s described here..."

He lifted the proposal.

"...then I can confidently say the military will want this."

A moment later, his expression became more complicated.

"There’s one problem."

"This concept has been proposed before."

"The research went nowhere."

"Most decision-makers will view neural interfaces as science fiction."

"I can’t promise the Pentagon will approve substantial research funding."

Ross understood how projects like this normally worked.

A company presented a promising concept.

The military provided development funding.

The company delivered a prototype.

But after countless Cold War programs had burned through mountains of taxpayer money chasing impossible dreams, the Pentagon had become extremely cautious.

Weapons?

No problem.

Armor?

No problem.

A neural interface directly linked to the spine?

Many generals would dismiss it before reading page two.

Aurecess simply shook her head.

"We don’t need military funding."

Ross blinked.

"I’ll do everything I can to... wait."

"What did you just say?"

"I said," Aurecess repeated calmly, "we don’t require government investment."

"Our research budget is already fully secured."

In truth, neither demon had anything against money.

They’d spent enough time on Earth to understand that those little green pieces of paper could buy an astonishing number of enjoyable things.

This decision, however, wasn’t theirs.

It had come directly from Evenson.

As the head of what was essentially a shell corporation, Evenson understood one important principle.

If you wanted people to believe your company possessed unfathomable resources...

You had to act like money meant nothing.

Government funding?

Please.

Our finances are deeper than anyone can imagine.

We don’t need your pocket change.

Why?

Because mysterious organizations are supposed to look effortlessly wealthy.

...

My wallet is crying.

Aurecess finally made her request.

"There is one small favor we’d like from you, General."

Ross was still processing the fact that someone had just refused billions in military funding.

He wasn’t sure whether he’d met the world’s most powerful corporation...

...or its biggest idiot.

"What do you need?"

"To facilitate future cooperation, we’ll soon establish a front company dedicated to manufacturing these exoskeletons."

"The company will be called NERV."

"Our startup capital and research funding are already prepared."

"However, S.H.I.E.L.D. has been watching us rather closely."

"We need a secure account where we can quietly transfer those funds."

Ross considered it.

"I still have access to a military account used for classified procurement."

"S.H.I.E.L.D. won’t be able to trace it."

He paused.

"Out of curiosity..."

"How much money are we talking about?"

Aurecess answered without hesitation.

"Sixty billion dollars."

Ross stared at her in silence.

...

Was she founding a startup...

...or buying a country?

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