[A few hours earlier]
It said a lot that the city itself and its first responders had a revised protocol for alien troubles – all depending on the scale the trouble arrived in.
In the case of a small alien force causing trouble, one of the first guidelines was finding out the reason for their presence. If/should those reasons include words relating/similar to invade/conquer/annihilation— well, those guidelines included a hotline to the Avengers Tower, and that was if they weren't already aware or on the scene.
A sharp whirring sound tore through a crowded street as a dozen missile heads flew down and embedded themselves into the thick armors of a group of reptilian aliens and instantly drilled burning holes through the armor and the body underneath it.
"Seriously, where are they crawling out from?" Tony asked as he flew over in his Iron Man armor.
[I've already identified where they are most concentrated. I'm currently scanning those areas for any irregularities.]
"Scan faster, JARVIS." He shouted as he lasered through three more aliens. Something whizzed past him, something his armor tagged but he was still not fast enough to react to, and tore through four aliens down the road before exploding in the face of six more before they could cross the road.
He tracked the path the arrow came from and saw Clint up on the roof of a building, and rolled his eyes under his helmet. The bow was impressive, even to him, but it still annoyed him somewhat whenever he saw Clint and the Belova/Romanoff sisters wielding their new toys.
Speaking of the sisters, a video opened in his HUD showing them disappearing or using whatever nifty tricks they got to take down alien after alien.
"Hey Cap, what do you think about a little makeover session after we're done here?" A very fed up sigh invaded his ears.
"Can we just focus on this?" Steve half-pleaded.
"What? It's not like you got something else on your schedule." He prodded. Honestly, he kinda forgot about the whole Merchant thing after the whole HYDRA thing since he was swarmed with work and other Pepper-related things. Miami was a good stop point though.
[Sir, I'm afraid my search has proved ineffective. Whatever means they used for their stealthy arrival is either disabled or has the means to avoid whatever means of detection I can employ. The former seems more likely since their numbers are dwindling down without any new additions.]
"Hear that, guys." He scanned the streets around him and upon confirmation of no hostiles in the area, he flew up and towards the largest congregation of these aliens.
[Incoming sir.]
"Where—"
His words were cut short as a beam of lights tore through the clouds straight to the heart of where the aliens were gathered.
"Look who showed up late." Tony chuckled as Thor stepped out of the Bifrost and immediately made the shortest work of the remaining aliens.
It could hardly be called an effort since they pretty much died to every blow his hand landed on them while his hammer just rained down lightning on the rest as it hovered above Thor.
"That's new." Tony whistled with unveiled impression, and looked slightly curious at the hammer's new appearance as it went back to Thor's hands. "That's new."
He landed with a thud and patted the blonde haired god on his arm. "Good job, goldilocks."
He took a step back and took in Thor's frame. "Did you grow taller? And buffer too?"
"No?" Thor replied with his usual earnest confusion.
[He did, sir. A few inches and pounds.]
"Where did these come from?" He swept his hammer in a half turn as he asked.
"Beats me." The others arrived shortly after catching the runaway up to everything that had happened during his impromptu exit.
"What's up with Jonathan? Hot springs and spa day?" Tony asked, pointing at the aesthetically confident and slightly bigger hammer.
Thor looked down at the hammer, having that serious look on his face that never meant anything good. With that look, it was either alien invasion, galactically-influenced uprisings or universal terror.
"Let's take this somewhere private." He sighed under his helmet as they retreated to the magnificently stylized building that functioned as the Avengers' lounge room.
Being the first to arrive, he set out two bottles, the bigger one obviously for Thor who arrived with Clint in tow.
After the others settled down, Thor regaled them with his little adventure that had Tony's jaw dropping to the floor.
"I can't believe it." Tony said with a flabbergasted expression on his face.
"About what? The fact he's selling things from other universes or the fact that Thor bought another hammer?" Natasha asked with a serious look on her face. They had assumed that he was peddling wares from the wider universe in their backyard, and they had been woefully wrong.
If Thor was right, and they assumed he was, then that meant that not only was the multiverse real, but also that the so-called Merchant had the means to hop across multiverses.
A dead Thor. Tony had a hard time figuring out why that image stayed with him.
"Well, no time like the present."
"Tony, where are you going?"
"Where else? Might as well check out what he's selling." He shrugged.
"I'm being serious, Tony. Whatever you do, don't piss him off." He gave Yelena an extra exasperated eye roll but took the warning for what it was.
He stopped at the elevator and looked back. "You guys not coming?"
.
… ... .. ... ..
.
"Honestly, I was expecting something else." The billionaire and self-actualized genius deadpanned as he took in the entrance of the shop.
"It's a pawnshop. I'm not sure if there should be a standard on what you should expect." Natasha snorted and followed him inside the shop. The last place she wanted to be was in here but someone had to keep an eye on Tony during his first interaction with the Merchant. He was by far the most unpredictable person on the team.
The familiarity of the shop did little to assuage the trepidation Natasha felt as they walked between the aisles.
"Is that a hoverboard?" Tony asked curiously as he picked it up.
"Is that what you're excited by?"
Tony snorted. "I haven't tackled anti-grav suspension, yet." He paused, then quickly clarified. "It's not something hard to figure out, but it's just that I haven't gotten around to playing with it yet."
He picked up a pair of gravity boots as well as a pair of dark shades before turning towards the counter where the foretold shopkeeper was calmly closing a magazine he had been reading and setting it aside.
Tony paused when he saw the notice board with the written out rule and nodded in approval. "I should hang this around the house and in front of my office."
He looked up at the shopkeeper who was now standing at ease with his hands folded behind him and politely awaiting his arrival. Maybe he should get this guy for his marketing team. Or reception maybe.
"No need to stand on my behalf. Please, go back to reading your magazine. God knows I would if I were in your shoes." He started as he dropped the hoverboard and boots on the counter before leaning over it.
"That would be inconsiderate of my part and rude to my customers." The man replied, all polite and customer-service regulated. "Isaac. Your go-to Merchant for your truly exotic and rare finds."
Just then Natasha arrived and greeted Isaac with a nod and a smile. "Hey you."
"Miss. Romanoff, always a pleasure."
"So, multiverse travel: how do you do it? Drive-through, three wishes and a lamp, magic bus, magic circle – c'mon give it to me. Pretty please."
Isaac blinked, his polite smile still not faltering, which Tony noticed.
"If you're looking for options for multiversal travel, I'd suggest the technological route compared to the magical route as it's less complicated that way."
Tony looked surprised, as did Natasha beside him. He had thought it was one of those things he wasn't allowed to ask, trade secrets and all, not at all something that would be on sale.
"Should I bring out a catalog? If I'm being honest, the options for multiversal travel are not as robust compared to other catalogs."
He recovered swiftly but before he could reply, Natasha elbowed his ribs, earning her an affronted look.
"Relax, if I wanted to hop multiverses I'd figure it out myself so I can patent it." He turned to Isaac with a smile on his face. "Keep the brochure for now."
"No problem. Will these be all?"
"Hmm, no." Tony replied after thinking for a few seconds. "I need a mobility option, something easily integrated into any frame."
Isaac folded his hands and looked thoughtful for a second or two. "Brain implants are the more abundant choice but I don't think they'll suit your current needs."
"Lay off the noggin works. I don't know you that well."
"I assumed." Isaac said without missing a step before snapping his fingers and dropping something on the table. "How about this?"
"You should know that mobility enhancements, especially centering reflexes, are areas concerning the brain and nervous system, hence implants. This is an external implant, but it can also be integrated into a mechanical mainframe. If you're looking for mobility-focused exo-suits however, you'll get a lot more wiggle room in terms of options."
—Kerenzikov Implant(Tier 5/Legendary) (Cyberpunk): The Kerenzikov Implant is a hardware bridge that alters and enhances your body's motor control.
This spinal implant is attached directly to the spinal cord to interface the nervous system and intercepts neural signals, eliminate muscle delay, attain hyper reflexes and reactionary motor control and also provides structural reinforcement that aids seamless movements at breakneck speeds and general protection against high velocities and G-forces.
*For full effectiveness, it is advised to be paired with the Kerenzikov Core Cerebral Implant.
Price: $20,000,000.
"Compared to a Sandevistan, you can say that the Kerenzikov is quite the rudimentary implant." Isaac commented as Tony and Natasha read the details on the tag.
"A bit expensive for a nerve implant, don't you think?" Tony asked with an amused brow raise.
Isaac shrugged with a small laugh. Honestly, from all that he had heard of the man Tony had expected a lot of things when it came to Isaac's behavior – quiet, smug, arrogant, cold and brash – but instead he was met with the heartfelt service of a 50 year old man running a struggling pizza shop.
"You do home deliveries, right?" He asked as he slid over his card. He couldn't really buy what he wanted without him verifying Isaac's authenticity as well as Natasha's presence. Well now he knew the place, so he could always return after clearing his head and his schedule.
"I do. Express delivery – instant and seamless."
"Send it to the Avengers Tower." Tony said without thinking much about it. A few million barely warranted a thought. All he cared about was that he'd hopefully have something to keep him occupied for a few days at least, that is if he didn't crack those anti-grav suspensions tonight that is.
"Will do. Anything else?"
He shook his head as he jabbed his thumb at Natasha behind him. "For now, no. Wouldn't want tattletale over here telling on every shenanigan I get up to."
Natasha massaged the bridge of her nose, not bothering to deny the subtle accusations. "As long as you don't buy a doomsday device, Tony. Seriously. I can't tell if Fury is fed up or constipated these days."
"Heh. Maybe I should pay him a visit."
"Just keep me out of it."
Upon exiting the shop, Tony fished out a scanner from his pocket and chuckled, finding it hard to not be impressed by the empty readings it showed.
"What is that?"
"I was scanning the building the entire time we were in there, not for anything in particular, but at least for something interesting." He replied with some degree of amusement.
"Anything?" Even as she asked, her tone told him that she wasn't expecting anything worthwhile.
He shook his head. "Nope. I mean, other than the perfect room temperature, I got nothing."
"Let's just get out of here." He followed behind as she started walking away.
.
.
.
.
A/N: Tony previews addiction.
––––––
Patreøn*com/QuackVader
––––––