All of us shared a hearty meal for lunch. It was a lot of meat that was boiled into a large pot of stew. Adding a bunch of vegetables into the mix, it was very savory, and filling. We were all stuffed. Compliments to the chef. Momo is very much catered to being a housewife over her other two sisters. I was also surprised to see that the Black Widow was also a good chef. It's likely a skill she picked up during her many jobs she's had as a SHIELD agent. There's no way she would order take out every single day during her work.
Once we finished eating, it was the War Machine who stood up first.
"I'd love to stick around and chat with you all, but I've a busy schedule, thanks to a certain someone. I'm glad you're still being you, Tony. Nice to see you've made some new friends. I didn't think I'd become this buddy-buddy with a group of aliens.", Colonel Rhodes said, taking another glance at us, acting as if he was committing us to memory. I smiled back at him.
"It was nice meeting you too, Mr. Rhodes. Outer space is a wide, wide place. Excluding what happened last week, not all aliens out there are aggressive. A lot of folks in Lala's homeworld were pacifists.", I responded.
"Great. So you're saying there's a ton of 'em out there. To be honest, I should have seen this coming.", Colonel Rhodes said, sighing.
"Oh come on Rhodey. Surely you didn't think us Humans were the only ones out there, right? Other parties just sought us out first, even if it was for nefarious actions.", Tony retorted. "Anyways, you'll spot me one, won't you? I want those IDs for these guys.", Tony said, reminding Colonel Rhodes. He nodded his head in response.
"I'll see what I can do. If your situation was more like Thor's, it'd be different, but you have no place to go back to. Our world is essentially your home now. I think the government can turn a blind eye to that.", Colonel Rhodes responded. "I'll catch you all later. My work day isn't done yet. And it was nice to meet you all too. Baki, was it? Don't cause too much trouble or that'll dampen your chances at what Tony is requesting.", Colonel Rhodes continued to say.
"Got it. We'll try to stay out of harm's way. I already had one too many-life risking adventures, thank you very much.", I replied, letting out a laugh. At the same time, I glanced back at Tony.
"Boy you can say that again. I for one am not looking to randomly fly through a portal anytime soon. Been there, done that. It's home sweet home for me.", Tony answered, causing us to laugh. Once we finished laughing, Colonel Rhodes departed from our group, and wandered over to the same elevator that was shown in the movie. It opened, and his fleeting figure vanished.
Now, it was just Pepper, Tony, Natasha, me, and the girls.
Before we realized it, he walked toward the same elevator shown in the movie, and his departing figure vanished. It was just Pepper, Tony, Natasha, me, and the girls now. Tony's eyes glanced my way, showing interest.
"That meal was fantastic, by the way. How about I hire you as my personal chef? Having something home cooked just hits the right spot now and then. Plus eating at too many fancy restaurants can be a killer on your stomach. I'd normally have Pepper do this, but she's been too busy being CEO at Stark Industries.", Tony suddenly said, distracting us. He spoke this in Japanese, and looked directly at Momo.
"What, you mean me?", Momo questioned. It was clear she was caught off guard by Tony's remark right now. I mean, she's had more exposure than us, being here likely for a week and all. Momo said she woke up the same day as we initiated our soul binding of our system. She has already gotten used to being here. Or I hope, anyway. I'm sure she's cooked plenty of meals for Natasha. But by the sound of it, this was the first time Tony got to taste Momo's cooking. I didn't even expect to hear that invitation.
"I won't lie. Your home cooking really does hit the right spot. I mean sure I know how to cook too, but not to your level. I'm more used to eating out.", Natasha said, also chiming in. "You could do well as a personal chef. I wouldn't be so quick to turn down a job, especially if it's coming from someone like Tony.", Natasha continued to say.
"It's as she said, beautiful. And tell you what, being the nice guy I am, I'll start you off with a six digit salary. I'm quite well-known around here. You need earth currency to do things that you want to do. I couldn't give a rats ass as to whether outer space has its own local currency or not. We Humans do things differently. And I just happen to be one of the richest guys on the planet.", Tony said, puffing his chest out acting prideful.
I mean, Tony's titles weren't just hearsay. He was a millionaire. I wouldn't be surprised if Tony was a billionaire by this point. He had way too much money to use as a single person. A lot of it went to building Mark after Mark after Mark of his Iron Man Suits. Even though he tried to cope with his emotional and physical damage by doing that, he had the money to actually do it!
I nodded my head at their words and spoke to Momo.
"It's as Nat said, Momo-chan. I wouldn't be too quick to turn down such an offer. We have to build our lives from scratch again. We don't have any sources of revenue right now. Having a channel like this would do us wonders.", I said, urging Momo to not immediately decline Tony.
"Heck, I'll even throw in a down payment. Find a certain lot that you like and I'll buy it out for you, within reason of course. It's not like I can sell you out my entire tower. But if you wanted to rent out an entire room, I think we can work something out. Unless you prefer to live elsewhere. That also works.", Tony said, throwing me another offer I didn't expect. I raised my eyes at him.
"Why're you going so far for our wellbeing, Tony? We've only been around each other for a week at most.", I said, surprised by everything Tony's wanting to give us.
"That's a fair point. But actions speak louder than words, and I'm a firm believer of that. My suit remained in low power mode while I was stranded up there. It had enough juice to record the ongoing situation at the time. You pulled me over to you so we could make it down. You saved me. It's clear as day. The least I can do is make sure you all are squared away. I would have tried to find a way to send you back where you came from, but that isn't an option.", Tony answered with a serious look in his eyes. So he was able to record that, huh?
Hearing that, Nana's body shuttered. She remained mostly quiet during our meal. Sounds like she was still trying to come to a realization of what happened.
"We really can't go back...can we, Baki-sama?", Nana questioned, speaking up for the first time.
"I'm afraid not. While it is true there is a Japan here, it isn't the Japan we know. There isn't a house waiting for us to return to. Well, maybe my choice of words is wrong. Our previous house is no longer. Depending on where we choose to go from here, we could potentially move back to Japan.", I replied, comforting Nana. I placed my hand on her head and ruffled her hair. Her eyes remained downcast, but she knew I meant well.
"Haha! Well So you're used to being in Japan, but the Japan we have isn't the one you know. Sounds to me you're from the Multiverse alright. Now it makes sense as to why you all can speak Japanese so fluently.", Tony mused after hearing us say that.
"Yeah, well I still think the Multiverse is a bunch of bullshit. I won't believe it until I see it with my own eyes.", Natasha retorted.
"Heh. Believe what you want to believe. Regarding what Tony has said though, has it interested you at all, Momo-chan?", I said, taking my hand away from Nana's head. Nana looked on at her sister with an expectant look in her eyes.
"Well, honestly speaking that really is an enticing offer. And it is true we don't have a source of income right now. Though we could probably make do with Onee-sama's talents. But the more important thing is we have nothing immediate. I don't need to decide right now, do I?", Momo questioned.
"I'd miss out on some great food if you decide to move back to Japan or something, but no, you don't need to decide right away. The job's open if you decide to stay closer to home. That is, in New York City. I also have some homes over in California if you decide that route instead. But if you do decide to fly back to Japan, I could buy you guys a home there. That place is much more cost friendly.", Tony responded.
"Now that's the question of the day now, ain't it?", I mused.
It really was a big question. This would decide where we wander off to, and become a permanent home for us. And Tony's offering to buy it outright. Something that I didn't expect to receive. But then again, he has more money than he knows what to do with it. The amount of parties he's thrown in the past is off the charts. Where do you think all that money comes from? Buying up one or two pieces of land should be as easy as it is taking candy from a baby.
Yet as if responding to the question at hand, I heard an unexpected notification sound off inside my head, courtesy of Aura. In fact, there were several notifications, prompting me to pause my thoughts.
[Ding! You have been met with your next crossroad of your life, Master. Depending on what you will choose to do, you will be rewarded for it. This does count as a major action, and your decision will influence the characters you'll be able to interact with on a daily basis. As this is counted as an action, it is being influenced by the Reward System that went online. It is not seen as a Quest, or a Mission. I do not have that functionality.] Aura said, explaining the situation to me.
'So depending on the place we decide to live on, I will be given some type of reward. Interesting. And you are stating you have some choices for me?', I decided to ask.
[Indeed. Even if you decide to not choose one of the suggested places, you will still be rewarded, as this is considered a major stepping stone in Master's life.], Aura continued to explain.
'I think I get the idea. No matter where we go, it will give me some kind of reward. That's pretty cool. I might as well see the list of places you've chosen for me. I'm assuming the rewards will be different for each place.', I thought.
[Correct.The places are now available for viewing. You can see the places, and their corresponding rewards.] Aura responded before proceeding to give me a list of places I could potentially choose from. I don't have to choose from these places either. But if I want to stay closer to the whole plot of the MCU, it probably is better to decide on one of these. And to that point, I won't be alone either. I'll have the girls with me.
[Places of Interests]
-Malibu, California
Reward: [Kung Fu - Lv1 (0/100)]
-Midtown Manhattan, New York City
Reward: [Mixed Martial Arts - Lv1 (0/100)]
-Brooklyn Heights, New York City
Reward: [Boxing - Lv1 (0/100)]
-Queens, New York City
Reward: [Demonic Sense - Lv1 (0/100)]
-London, England
Reward: [Swordsmanship - Lv1 (0/100)]
-Tokyo, Japan
Reward: [Grappling - Lv1 (0/100)]
-Washington D.C.
Reward: [Hacking -Lv1 (0/100)]
'Seven places of interest, huh? I'm sure each has their reason. If we want to move westward, we'll get to meet Hawkeye and Shang-chi. Getting Kung Fu as a reward for that makes sense. Then you got a couple of locations in New York City, which houses their respective heroes. The latter has the Avengers directly involved while Manhattan has those mid-tier heroes that fight crime just so they can keep their daily lives in check---the Daredevil, Punisher, etc. What's probably most surprising is seeing London on this list...', I mused, seeing some possible places I could start living at.
'But it does make sense seeing that it's London. It's where part of Thor: The Dark World takes place. Part of it anyways. That's set to happen near Iron Man III where Thor tries to restore order to the Nine Realms, and restore the bridge that connects the realms together. If we decide to move to London, I'll have chances to interact with Thor...', I continued to think, wondering the best place to choose.
As I thought that, I glanced back at Tony.
"You're being serious here, right Tony? No matter where we go, you'll buy us a house?", I questioned, wanting to be extra sure.
"That's the plan. Don't wear it out.", Tony immediately replied, half-jokingly. But I could see the seriousness in my eyes.
If that really is indeed the case, then I won't stand on ceremony. And even if one place decides to turn out to be a bust, we could always move to another home. Especially if Momo decides to get that job, we'll be swimming in dough. Enough to where we could buy a home or two.
As for the place of interest, I think I'm going to go with...