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Light flared—that same disorienting sensation of reality folding in on itself—and then Marcus was standing in the basement of his Manhattan townhouse with Alice, Jill, and Ada beside him.
Alice blinked, looking around at the shadows. "Babe, is this your world? Why's it so dark?"
"We're in the basement," Marcus said, trying not to laugh.
He'd given them the broad strokes about the Marvel universe during their last few days in the RE world, but there was only so much you could explain about a reality where aliens invaded major cities on a semi-regular basis. They'd figure it out soon enough.
This time around, Marcus had spent ten Origin Points to unlock cubic meter of system storage space—basically an invisible pocket dimension he could access at will. No weight limit, just volume. Perfect for carrying things between worlds without burning through points on mass transit. Including the three women he'd brought back, the whole return trip had cost him twelve Origin Points total.
That left him with eighty-six. Plenty of breathing room.
He opened the storage space now, pulling out several portable hard drives. These drives contained everything valuable he'd taken from the RE world—research data, technical specifications, manufacturing processes. But more importantly, they held something he'd created himself: an artificial intelligence he'd been developing in his spare time.
He'd named it Skynet.
Yeah, he knew what movie that name came from. He didn't care. The name fit.
At the same time, Marcus extended his awareness outward through telekinesis, scanning the surrounding blocks for anything suspicious. Sure enough—half a dozen agents positioned within a quarter-mile radius, all watching his property.
SHIELD, probably. Maybe someone else. Didn't really matter.
With a thought, his telepathic suggestion slipped into their minds like smoke under a door. Nothing dramatic—just a gentle nudge toward forgetting what they'd seen, losing interest in this particular address, deciding their time would be better spent literally anywhere else.
Marcus brought the women upstairs to the main floor, then headed straight for his study. His home computer was custom-built, running an operating system he'd designed himself—significantly more secure than anything commercially available. But compared to what he was about to install, it was basically a kid's toy.
He plugged in Skynet's flash drive and initiated the activation sequence.
The screen went black.
Then it came back up, an umbrella logo flashing across the desktop—red and white, the universal symbol he'd borrowed from Umbrella Corporation because, honestly, it looked cool and the branding was already built-in.
Lines of code scrolled past faster than human eyes could follow.
After a moment, text appeared: Umbrella System online. Please verify identity: password, facial recognition, biometric scan.
Marcus entered his credentials and went through the verification process. When he finished, new text replaced the prompt: Identity confirmed. Skynet operational. How may I assist you, Mr. Reed?
A small avatar materialized in the corner of the screen—a stylized figure with wings, vaguely elfin, definitely not threatening at all.
Marcus immediately set Skynet to work integrating with his home network and upgrading his existing systems. His current setup was good. Skynet would make it exceptional.
Then he gave Skynet broader access: connect to the internet, start learning everything it could about this world's technology and infrastructure, and most importantly, create legal identities for Alice, Jill, and Ada.
Birth certificates, social security numbers, driver's licenses, bank accounts, employment history—the works. All of it seamlessly integrated into government databases, completely undetectable.
With a world-class AI handling the logistics, Marcus felt the weight lift off his shoulders. This was going to be so much easier than doing everything manually.
Several months passed.
Marcus stood at the floor-to-ceiling windows of his office, looking out over Queens. The Manhattan skyline rose in the distance, familiar and strange at the same time. It had been a while since he'd seen it without Leviathans tearing through the sky.
He'd been busy.
First priority: a proper base of operations. He'd purchased a large piece of coastal property in the Hamptons—several acres of pristine beachfront with direct ocean access. Then he'd built a compound that would've made Tony Stark jealous.
Well, maybe not jealous. But definitely impressed.
Three main houses above ground, all connected by underground corridors. The real base sprawled beneath the surface—multiple sub-levels, laboratories, training facilities, armories, vehicle bays. Several escape routes, including a few that led straight into the ocean via underwater tunnels.
Everything powered by Arc reactors, naturally. Marcus had spent weeks in the RE world perfecting the design, and now he had a dozen of them running simultaneously, generating more power than a small city.
Skynet's main server farm occupied an entire sub-level. The AI had grown exponentially, learning and adapting at a rate that probably should've worried him. But Marcus had built in safeguards—multiple layers of control and override commands that only he could access. Skynet was a tool. A very powerful, very useful tool.
Nothing more.
While setting up the compound, Marcus had also been expanding his business. Rockwell Industries—the company he'd founded before leaving for the RE world—had been operating on autopilot through various shell corporations and automated processes. Now he officially launched Umbrella as a subsidiary, with himself as chairman and Alice as CEO.
People raised eyebrows at that. Fresh-faced CEO with no apparent background running a multi-billion-dollar biotech company? But Alice had the super-brain now, thanks to the perfected NZT-49 formula. She could walk into any boardroom and talk circles around people with decades of experience.
Jill took on the role of security consultant for both Rockwell and Umbrella. She'd adapted to civilian life faster than Marcus expected, probably because "civilian life" in the Marvel universe still involved preparing for alien invasions and supervillain attacks.
Ada became his executive assistant and, unofficially, his intelligence gatherer. She had a gift for reading people and situations, and the super-brain made her terrifyingly efficient at corporate espionage—the legal kind, mostly.
Umbrella's product line drew heavily from the RE world: advanced medical treatments derived from carefully controlled viral research (all the healing, none of the zombification), next-generation pharmaceuticals, biotech applications for agriculture and environmental restoration. Plus energy solutions based on Arc reactor technology, which Marcus was carefully releasing in limited quantities to avoid flooding the market or attracting the wrong kind of attention.
Within six months, Umbrella's valuation hit fifteen billion dollars.
Not bad for a company that didn't exist a year ago.
Marcus split his time between the Hamptons compound—where he did most of his research—and the Rockwell Industries headquarters in Queens. The office here was comfortable enough, though he preferred working from home where he could lock himself in a lab and experiment with telekinesis without worrying about security footage.
Or spend quality time with Alice, Jill, and Ada testing the practical applications of various superpowers.
Telekinetic flight was particularly interesting. Turned out sleeping suspended in midair did feel different. Marcus had extensive notes on the subject.
Right now, though, he was at the office because Stark had invited him to something called the Stark Expo, and Ada had just reminded him it was starting soon.
The door opened. Ada walked in wearing a white blouse, black pencil skirt, and heels that made her nearly as tall as him. The whole ensemble radiated professional competence with just enough edge to remind everyone she could absolutely destroy them if necessary.
Marcus appreciated the aesthetic. Maybe a little too much, judging by the way his attention lingered on the way the skirt fit.
Ada noticed, obviously. She always noticed. But her expression remained perfectly neutral as she said, "Mr. Stark sent another reminder about the Expo. Opening ceremony starts in two hours."
"Right," Marcus said, dragging his focus back to her face. "I'll head over soon."
He'd already arranged for Umbrella to showcase some of their less sensitive technology—medical devices mostly, some environmental tech. Nothing that would draw serious scrutiny from SHIELD or whatever alphabet agency was watching him this week.
Ada raised an eyebrow. "Is that all, or did you call me in here to stare?"
"I still like the red dress better," Marcus said, because he was nothing if not honest about his preferences.
"The red dress isn't office-appropriate."
"I'd let you wear it if you wanted to."
"I know. That's why I don't wear it. The red dress is for home." She gave him a look that was probably meant to be stern but came across as amused. "Also, you're going to be late if you don't leave soon."
"Fine, fine." Marcus stood up, stretching. "Tell Alice and Jill I'm heading out. They're welcome to come if they want."
"They're both at the compound running combat drills. I'll let them know."
Marcus nodded. He grabbed his jacket from the back of his chair, then headed for the door with Ada following. They took the private elevator down to the underground parking garage where Marcus kept his cars.
His current favorite: a custom Lamborghini Aventador, midnight blue with enough modifications under the hood to make it street-illegal in at least fifteen states. Ada slid into the driver's seat without being asked—she'd taken on driving duties along with everything else—and Marcus settled into the passenger side.
Theoretically, he could just fly to the Expo using telekinesis. But billionaires didn't fly around under their own power unless they were Tony Stark, and Marcus wasn't ready for that kind of public attention yet.
So, luxury sports car it was.
Ada pulled out of the garage smoothly, navigating through Queens traffic with the kind of precision that suggested she was enjoying herself. Marcus leaned back and watched the city scroll past.
It felt good to be back.
Even if this world was significantly more dangerous than the one he'd left behind.
Half an hour later, they arrived at the Stark Expo venue in Flushing Meadows. The event sprawled across multiple pavilions, all lit up with holographic displays and enough flashy technology to make Times Square look understated.
Marcus scanned the crowd as he stepped out of the car. Lots of suits. Lots of corporate types. A few faces he recognized from news coverage—scientists, entrepreneurs, a couple of politicians probably here for the photo ops.
And there, near the entrance, stood Pepper Potts and Happy Hogan.
Pepper spotted him first. She smiled and waved him over. "Marcus! Glad you could make it."
"Wouldn't miss it," Marcus said, shaking her hand. "How've you been, Pepper? Happy?"
"Good, good," Pepper said, though she looked a little frazzled. "It's been a busy few months. You know how it is."
Marcus did, in fact, know how it was. Running a multi-billion-dollar company while trying to keep Tony Stark from accidentally killing himself was probably exhausting.
He glanced around. "Speaking of Tony—he invited me personally, so where is he?"
Pepper's smile turned slightly pained. "He said he'd be here soon."
"Ah." Marcus nodded knowingly. "Let me guess: you're about to call him right now to ask where the hell he is?"
"That obvious?"
"Little bit."
Pepper sighed and pulled out her phone. "I'll see if I can track him down. Give me a few minutes?"
"Take your time."
As Pepper stepped away to make her call, Marcus turned to Ada. "Well, this is off to a great start."
Ada's expression remained carefully neutral, but he caught the hint of amusement in her eyes. "Welcome back to Earth."
Yeah. Welcome back indeed.