Watching Black vanish, James let out a sigh as he muttered to himself-
"Am I really that annoying?"
In this world, no, even in the Nasuverse, few people knew James' subordinates, his creations better than himself. Black and his counterpart Red were the oldest of his "masterpieces", works that even Einzberns couldn't replicate.
Alas, due to their nature- or maybe because of his own, his creations all turned out to be just as… eccentric as their creator.
"Not that I could do anything about it though~"
Recalling the scolding he had to endure when his creations were discovered made him smile-
"Ah~ Maybe I'll use that to make Black cringe? Hehehe~"
The scene of his creations acting like a hero party, filled with emotion, coming to "save him" was truly a sight he would never forget. Their eyes filled with emotion, their words filled with passion and the emotions within them that held various colors-
Unlike the meat puppets who, even with the ability to "perceive" emotions, still lack the true "human factor".
James' "children" were perfect replications of humans, but their abilities far surpassed even that of a magus-
"Unfortunately, their talents are still limited, if only I could find a method to create a magical energy reactor…"
Even though he was an anomaly among Magi, James was still a person who was steeped in mysteries.
A life chasing after mysteries did not simply give one "an experience". Even a person with a "previous life" would realize just how convoluted the world of mysteries could become.
James himself had witnessed the madness of a magus who had summoned a past version of themselves through the Holy Grail War.
How was that possible? It was a convoluted system really but that event and the experience of that crazy Holy Grail War is what allowed James to do what many were unable to- completely analyze the Holy Grail War.
Although his conclusions were the result of the combination brought forth by his previous lifes knowledge and that of his current knowledge, it all ended well with how he was able to completely replicate a certain summoning system.
Unfortunately, this world was not his previous one, forget about summoning heroic spirits, even common magecraft was almost unusable in this world!
Fortunately though, James nature allowed him to use magecraft even in such a state. It was also worth noting that all his "companions" were able to use magecraft for the reason that their fates were all tied to him.
Maybe it had something to do wit the catalyst he used for their creation as he did use his own blood to cause some… positive changes into the Einzbern formula.
Right now, it could be said that James is a living cheat in this world.
If he followed the standard path of many transmigrators and started to accumulate power and funds in order to, "Defeat big purple man and avoid getting b*tch snapped into oblivion". It was a common trope and James was no stranger to such tales.
His memory, despite being quite blurry, still had images of such tales.
But he didn't really want to be like all those idiots- he's already been there before after all.
The Nasuverse was not a happy place to live in, it was- if your were a normal human. But if you turn out to be a magus…
The things that James had gone through had molded him to become who he is currently.
Some may say that he's just a broken man but James knew, right now, he was a true Magus and as a true Magus, that which he desires, the reason why he was doing all the convoluted tasks he was doing is-
"What would the Avengers do if they could summon Heroes to fight for them?"
His ultimate goal was not to become the number 1 hero in this world, he wasn't Deku. What benefit does it give anyway?
Glory? Is that delicious? Does it fill one's stomach? Does it satisfy one's desires?
Well, Pride maybe, but how about the others?
James was not some purehearted 16 year old wanting to save the world because he believes in the power of friendship. When he perished in his previous life, he could still recall that he was quite mature and jaded already.
He didn't want to become the Harem King, after all taking care of relationships is too much of a pain. Also, if he wanted to sleep with others it was all a matter of having confidence and leaving the house. A lesson he learned in the Nasuverse.
No matter how handsome or rich one is, you will never get laid if you spend most of your time indoors.
Sex is merely a product of social interaction, you meet someone, and after some time you just naturally get an opportunity to sleep with them.
Now marriage and "love" is a different matter entirely, but why complicate things?
Many men who talk about love also "love" spicy content. Ask someone how many different female models they have saved in their phone and if they have more than 1, can you really trust them to not sleep with a hotter, younger woman when given the chance?
Flip that and you get the same situation for women.
In fact, the only reason James learned to control his lust was to prevent some crazy witch from creating a clone of his! That and some bitches trying to curse him through some convoluted method using bodily fluids.
But those were minor issues compared to the actions taken by magus families.
At this point, James did not really have the dreams of a typical transmigrator. But he still had dreams and his dreams all stem from one desire of his, a desire he had developed after years of living in the world crafted by Nasu, and to achieve that desire he had done plenty of twisted acts.
But few of his plans bore fruit, fortunately, he was given an opportunity.
In this world lacking magecraft, he could become the Pioneer, a Maverick-
He could be the source of all Magecraft and maybe… just maybe, he could obtain that one thing he sought after-
But to proceed with this he had to accomplish some small tasks first-
"Susan Storm"
"Barthomeloi Academy of Natural Science"
Two documents were laid before James, all the information had long been transferred into his mind and the two documents before him were nothing more than paperwork that required his approval.
"I really don't understand why Magi don't use homunculi like this"
James smiled as he muttered, fortunately, no other magus existed in this world. After all, if anyone else heard his words, they'd probably try to curse him- not that he wasn't cursed before.
In contrast to James, another man was also going through various thoughts that that moment.
Though unlike James, this man had a more tired and confused look on his face.
This man sported a bald head that, unfortunately, did not shine. Maybe it was his darker skin that absorbed more light or maybe it was because he did not polish his head. Whatever it is though, this man, with an eyepatch covering one eye, sat at his desk.
Inside a very futuristic office, this dark skinned man wore what could only be described as a very "comical" secret agent attire.
A black turtleneck, black trousers, black shoes and a black glossy leather trench coat. The man looked like a secret agent, he'd probably be asked to take photos if he walked around Times Square even if no one knew which character he was portraying.
Not only him, but outside his office were dozens of men and women walking around wearing clothes that screamed "I'M A SUPERSPY!".
The funniest thing about this scene though was the fact that most of these people did not really face combat. Most of them worked on logistics and record keeping. Moreover, most of the field officers actually wore common suits and other clothes that made one blend in…
James would have had a LOT to say if he witnessed this scene, unfortunately, he was too "busy" to do so.
Though, maybe if he did appear now, he would find the documents in the hands of the dark skinned, one eyed man to be quite- intriguing.
"Agent Hill, what's the status on your investigation on James Barthomeloi"
"Director, utilizing all of SHIELD's resources, we could not find any fault in the individual James Barthomeloi. The only conclusion we reached pointed to him being the son or relative of a powerful criminal lord. Maybe related to the Russians or Italian mob. There are also possibilities of him being involved with more, "English" organizations but without information there is little we could use to reach a reliable conclusion."
Hearing the report of a beautiful woman sporting a pixie cut, the dark skinned man, a famous character, an individual who many love and hate, Nick Fury, frowned.
His expression soured as he listened to the report from Agent Maria Hill.
Fury returned his focus to the documents he had on hand. It detailed the sudden appearance of James Barthomeloi in New York.
Of course, if it was only a random appearance, Nick would not really care all too much but James was different.
In barely a month of "existing", the young man had established multiple companies. Although they all only existed in name, the fact that he was able to skip the que and various complex processes to properly set up his company spoke volumes about how "abnormal" the young man was.
The worst part about it was that the young man seems to be provoking them!
James Barthomeloi appeared in New York as a young man who had inherited the fortune of his parents who had long perished.
His goal was to study and build connections.
But on his first day of coming to the city, he had already applied to establish multiple companies, by the next day they were approved and what followed was a cascade of actions that would have normally taken months, even years to accomplish.
Of course, Nick could have done the same actions in a week but that was using the status of SHIELD and the various connections the agency had to the US Government.
James Barthomeloi was supposed to be a random rich kid coming to NYC, he should have been enjoying his life. Going to clubs and partying all night was what one would normally expect someone like him to do but-
"Purchasing various properties and contracting for the construction of a school… the building permits are all signed even…"
It was one thing to get signed to start a company and a whole other thing to start a school. Then the construction plans, all of it had to go through the checks, ensuring that they comply with local ordinances and it would usually take up to a month, even more for plans to get through.
It all depends on how complex the plan is and how much money was sneaked into the auditors wallets.
Fury had tasked the investigation of James and all his matters but all the reports had brought him the same result.
They were all clean.
Of course, there was evidence for bribes and other, unsavory deals to speed up the processes but that was all.
James was not completely clean but the dirt they got on him was what others would call "normal" or expected dirt. In fact, if there were any problems, it would be on the side of the local government that seemed to have exerted a bit more pressure to get a higher "return" from James.
If anything, James was a victim, a victim of greed and bureaucracy.
Fury couldn't really find any problems but his years as a spy told him that there was something amiss. But he couldn't really quite put his mind into it.
"Director, I believe the matter of Dr. Banner is more important than chasing after a trust fund baby"
Agent Maria Hill did not hold back in her words as she directly called James a trust fund baby. This prompted Fury to look once more at the reports.
He was just a few thoughts away from pushing forward with an order to continue surveillance and monitoring of James Barthomeloi. But when he heard Agent Hill's words Fury snapped.
Why did he want to continue the investigation on James?
On what basis did he believe the young man to be dangerous?
Guts? A feeling?
When Fury thought about it this way he clicked his tongue, covering his eyes with his hands he truly felt ashamed at this moment.
"I still feel something amiss- but if we use our resources to chase after "gut feeling" then what's the use of data? The lives we spent to obtain information… if things could get solved with "guts" then why spend millions on surveillance?"
He let out his thoughts, thoughts that few would hear, but Agent Hill was not just anybody. She was one of his most trusted agents. Fury massaged his temples for a moment before turning his gaze up to Hill who was still there waiting for her orders.
Seeing the serious look on her face, Fury can't help but recall-
Agent Maria Hill, a former marine, had experienced quite a rough childhood and upon proving her talent in the Marines, Fury had her transferred to SHIELD. There she had gone through countless tragedies and countless betrayals.
Despite this, Maria Hill still stood strong and proved her loyalty and sense of duty.
Unfortunately she was still human, the darkness she witnessed had tainted her heart and Fury was forced to take drastic measures to ensure her and everyone else's safety.
Recalling all that, Fury sighed as he spoke.
"Cancel the investigation of James Barthomeloi, focus on monitoring all the threats that we have already marked. Thank you Agent Hill, you may return to your station"
"Affirmative"
With a nod, Hill turned and left the office.
'It's really been a long time, I still remember when she would salute and reply with "sir". Now she can maintain a normal conversation even when talking with her peers or superiors'
Fury recalled the past and a light of nostalgia passed through his eyes.
'To turn a soldier into an agent is no easy task, but to turn a duty bound individual to an agent is easy'
Closing his eyes, Fury silently thought to himself, careful to never utter his inner thoughts even when he was alone.
As the door closed, he felt a weird sense of relief wash over him. It was as if tremendous pressure had vanished.
'Maybe I do need some rest'
He thought to himself, unaware of the crimson flash that appeared in Hill's eyes as she took one last glance at Fury before closing the door.
Back in James' room, the young man had long left his desk, still piled up with countless documents- ignored.
James now stood before the large floor to ceiling glass "windows". A classic design for many modern structures in New York. One sided glass walls that allows people inside a room to see outside while those outside could not peer inside.
Unfortunately this type of glass was not completely full proof, if one's eyes were sharp enough and they looked close enough, they may be able to get a glimpse of what was hidden behind the tinted glass.
In James' case, he had enchanted the glass making it near impossible for anyone to see anything beyond the glass. This enchantment also allowed James to control the lighting within his flat without needing curtains.
Of course, the control of lighting was accessible to all his "children" as well.
At this moment though, James was not thinking of the glass or the access his "children" had to his various creations. Instead his mind was thinking about the many homunculi in his employ.
He brushed it all off last night but now that he thought about it, these "children" of his had human emotions yet he allowed them to work as if they were machines…
'What if they did an uprising? Skynet?'
Were the first thoughts he had but upon reading the documents his mind thought of something else.
'They all developed different personalities… though the greatest ones were Black and Red, these two butlers… they are opposites yet they both were heavily influenced by me…'
James thought about his two butlers, how they developed and their current personalities and quirks.
Black had gotten his mischievous, devious, serious and carefree nature. Thought Black was more attuned to the former three than he was of the latter.
On the other hand, Red was quite… an interesting one. He had been influenced by James but the influence he got was… more… well- non-standard.
Though it was a given that James is really a non-standard individual… the influence Red got was quite… extreme to say the least.
The fact of the matter is that Red and Black would work in shifts, Black obtained his influence from helping James with many of his administrative, research and casual acts while Red… he was involved with the more "active" side of James life…
'I really do hope Red won't cause much of a problem this time…'
Recalling the report on Susan, James was amazed at what he had learned about the iconic Invisible Woman but at the same time, the moment he saw the source of the information he felt a shiver run down his spine.
'The last thing I want is for him to throw another problem at me…'
The events that day would forever be ingrained in James mind, it was a memory that was both beautiful and maddening.
He did not wish to recall it but at the same time-
'Its really a shame to forget it…'
As he stared at the busy streets below, the memories rushed back into his mind. The weird mix of emotions flooded his thoughts prompting James to quickly down his glass of hard liquor.
"Red… please, please, for the love of all that is mystical… don't go too far"
James prayed as he filled his cup and downed another glass-