"What, really? Ah... that thing from back then..."
Seeing Deadpool's troubled expression, it seemed like something clicked.
"Why on earth did that happen?"
"Well, I got caught up in the moment, and I was curious too. Heh."
"Heh my ass! Seriously!"
It was utterly ridiculous. Deadpool looked puzzled and said,
"That's weird... Is it that easy to get pregnant? The women I've been with didn't seem to have that issue."
"Come on... Women take care of their bodies, use contraception and all that."
"Oh! Right."
First things first, we decided to deal with the mess since it happened.
"So who's the father?"
"That's... well... um... I'll keep it a secret."
Deadpool hesitated and ultimately didn't say. Since he insisted, I didn't push further. Considering Deadpool's movements, the suspects were Cap, Sam, Murdock Perker bro, or Tony, but even if I knew the truth, it wasn't something I could fix. He had to sort it out himself.
"But if you turn back into a man, what happens to the baby?"
"Hmm... Since it's still small, it might get absorbed into the body and disappear when I change back. If it grows bigger, it might not absorb and stay as a tumor in the stomach..."
At that, Deadpool thought seriously and said,
"I'll just give birth to it."
"What??? Are you for real... Now you want to try being a mom too?"
"What else can I do? Since it's come to this, I have to give birth. Life is precious."
Then Natasha burst into the room with an angry face.
"What? A baby what?? Who is this woman!!?"
Natasha must have overheard our conversation and misunderstood.
"Natasha, calm down! It's not my child. We were just counseling about an unwanted pregnancy."
"Ah... Is that so?"
"Don't you trust me?"
Natasha apologized to me.
"Well, it's just that my boyfriend is so charming..."
True to her spy nature, Natasha mixed in a compliment. It was obvious, but since she's cute, I let it slide.
"Anyway... Did you resolve the Hydra issue?"
"Yeah, but not all of Hydra is caught. Some ran off to China."
"I see. Can't be helped. It's an old organization there too. Anyway, good work. Rest up for now. Let's talk after we finish this counseling."
"Alright. I heard Cap was hospitalized, so I'll go check on him."
"Wait, let's go together."
"Then I'll wait in the next room."
With that, Natasha went to the next room, and I continued talking with Deadpool.
"So what will you do now?"
"What do you mean? You have to give me maternity leave."
Deadpool boldly demanded maternity leave.
"Good grief... Fine. Since you worked hard this time, I'll deposit a big bonus in your account. And check the parking lot at home; there's a BMW i8. Take it."
I handed the car keys to Deadpool.
"Oh~ Nice. Hard work pays off after all. And if you're going to the hospital, let me come too. We fought together, so I should visit. I do have some sense of loyalty."
"Sure, go ahead."
Natasha, Deadpool, and I took the Talaria, bought some fruit, and went to the hospital where Cap was admitted. Cap was already awake, lying in bed and watching TV with Sam.
"Welcome, Cassian, Natasha, Eleanor. This is Sam; he helped with the Hydra incident."
"Heard a lot about you. Former special forces, right? Nice to meet you."
Sam also stood up and shook hands with me. This was my first time seeing Sam in person.
"Good to meet a celebrity. Sam Wilson. Call me Sam."
Sam exchanged greetings with Natasha and Deadpool too. After the introductions, Cap asked me,
"I heard you took the Helicarrier. What are you planning to do with it?"
"I stripped all the offensive weapons and kept it as a supply or research base."
Hearing that, Cap was relieved.
"I see. That's good. I was worried it might fall into the wrong hands and be misused."
"Anything in my hands is safe. But Murdock Perker bro took one he repaired, so I can't vouch for that."
"Nick Fury went through this mess too, so he won't let that happen."
We chatted about various things while eating fruit. Then Cap made a request.
"Cassian, you know about the Winter Soldier, right?"
"Yeah, I know."
"I need information on the Winter Soldier. You're the best in this field."
"Got it."
Natasha, who was listening, also seemed curious.
"I'd like to know too."
"I'll get it for us, and we can look together."
"Sure."
After the visit, we returned home. Natasha was tired and went straight to wash up and sleep, while Deadpool announced a temporary hiatus and went back to his place.
I went to Gundam Island and sent three Talaria campers to the Avengers base, gifting one to Tony. With more people and demand, I decided to make a few more. Talaria was a popular means of transport.
And I planned to make four more androids to manage the Avengers base. Since the design was done, it wouldn't take long to start production. Then I prepared various things for quick repair and modification of the Helicarrier.
With that done, I thought about going to Xandar and Nowhere to check on Star-Lord, but aside from being wanted by the Nova Empire on Xandar for stealing vibranium ingots, nothing had changed.
'Where the hell is this guy and what's he up to?'
Worried he might have taken the Orb, I went to Morag, but seeing the Orb still there, it seemed Guardians of the Galaxy hadn't started yet. But I couldn't keep going back and forth, so I hid a device that would send a signal when the temple door holding the Orb opened and returned to Earth. Since it was a spaceship communication device, receiving signals on Earth wasn't a problem.
A few days later, hearing that Cap was discharged, I organized the Winter Soldier materials as promised to deliver. I showed the materials to Natasha too.
"Hydra's brainwashing... So the Winter Soldier is a victim too. And he's Cap's friend... That's sad."
"True. I'm meeting Cap tomorrow; want to come?"
"Let's. I don't have much else to do."
The next day, Natasha and I went to the meeting place. It was the grave Murdock Perker bro made to fake his death, where besides Cap, the grave's owner Murdock Perker bro and Sam were also present. Murdock Perker bro looked at us and said,
"A lot of rats escaped from the sinking ship. I could use some help."
Murdock Perker bro suggested we take down the remaining Hydra together, but Cap refused due to Bucky.
"I still have something to do. I'll join after that's over."
"I see. What about you, Cassian?"
Murdock Perker bro asked me.
"I'll provide information and inform the members. But helping is up to them. I don't force work on the members."
Murdock Perker bro sighed and said,
"Sigh... Alright."
He silently shook our hands and left. He seemed very disappointed about SHIELD's affairs. I handed the organized file to Cap.
"Cap, be careful. There still seem to be many Hydra remnants."
"Got it. Thanks."
"And since I renamed the Hero Business to Avengers, feel free to join anytime. Same for Sam."
"Sure."
Natasha also wished Cap and Sam luck.
"Cap, Sam, don't get hurt."
"We won't."
After parting with Cap, Natasha and I returned home. Then Deadpool contacted me, saying he was doing Pilates for pregnant women. I just went with it. I felt somewhat detached about Deadpool now.
With Hydra in SHILD cleared out, I boldly changed the hero business name to Avengers as I told Cap. I ordered a huge sign and put it up at the Avengers base. But I didn't really promote it.
After handling Hydra, we had a party at the base with members who gathered after a long time: Tony, Rhodey, Thor, Dr. Hansen, Tinkerer, and the newly joined Hawkeye, Sharon Carter, agents, guards, and recently joined Jane and her intern Darcy.
Jane insisted on helping protect people somehow, so she was monitoring space objects or anomalies on Earth that could be threats from the Avengers base. Darcy was helping with that too. But she was still awkward with Thor, only exchanging greetings when passing by.
Tony suddenly went up to the stage and spoke to the people enjoying the party.
"Hey folks! Since we have more people now, how about having an 'initiation ritual' for new recruits?"
I thought it sounded fun and agreed.
"Oh~ That sounds fun! But what should we do?"
"Hmm... Like dumping ice water on them... Ah, that's too cliché? Any ideas?"
People buzzed with excitement. From their expressions, they seemed serious about pranking new recruits. Then Natasha raised her hand and said,
"How about making them bungee jump from the Odyssey?"
"Good one! Any other suggestions?"
This time, Banner raised his hand and said,
"When a new recruit enters, we line up and hit their back and head until they get to the main building."
"Wow~ Won't that kill the newbie?"
Ha ha ha ha ha~
Everyone laughed loudly at Tony's comment.
"But if done moderately, it could be fun, right? Any other ideas?"
Vulture raised his hand and suggested,
"Make a box where we write simple missions and have the new recruit pick one and do it. Like, for example, bring Tony Stark's underwear."
Ha ha ha ha ha~
Everyone laughed loudly again.
"Oh~ Not bad! I should write 'bring Vulture's underwear' instead."
Ha ha ha ha ha~
Tony laughed and quipped back. Then everyone laughed even more. After a few more ideas, it was decided by vote to go with Vulture's initiation ritual. Hawkeye patted his chest and said,
"Whew... Thank goodness I joined early. Tony's underwear? That's something..."
Hearing that, Natasha next to him looked very disappointed.
"Damn! That's a shame. Should've suggested doing the initiation early."
The party ended warmly that day.
A few days passed, and Cap and Sam visited the Avengers headquarters. They seemed to still not have found clues about Bucky. So they planned to work with the Avengers to get information on Hydra. We welcomed them warmly.
"Welcome. Cap, Sam."
But suddenly, Tony brought out a black container.
"Time for the initiation ritual! No exceptions, even for Captain America!"
"There's an initiation too?"
Cap and Sam were taken aback.
"Yeah, we decided at the last party. It's to test new recruits' mission skills. Don't worry, they're all easy missions. If you're lucky, that is."
Tony grinned evilly, like a prankster about to do something bad.
"Pick a mission, and no need to tell us. We'll check if you completed it properly by 6 PM, so do your best."
Cap and Sam picked mission slips and went to complete them. We gathered in the dining hall for dinner. Then Tony came out and called Cap and Sam.
"New recruits have joined! You might know them, but it's Cap and Sam."
People cheered and welcomed them warmly.
Whoa~ Clap clap clap!
"Welcome, Cap!"
"Newbie, welcome~"
"Sam, welcome~"
"As you all know, these two had their initiation today. Let's see how skilled they are."
Tony took Cap's mission slip and read it aloud.
"Bring Dr. Hansen's bra. Pfft! Puhahaha~!"
Tony couldn't hold back his laughter after reading. Then everyone started laughing too.
"Ah~ Who wrote this... Good grief. Anyway, Cap, the bra?"
"H-here..."
Cap handed the bra to Tony. Tony held it up and shouted,
"Cap's mission skills are impressive. Passed!"
"Congrats, Cap!"
"Amazing, Cap!"
"Alright, next is Sam."
Sam also handed his mission slip to Tony.
"Kiss Sharon on the cheek and come back. Pfft~"
Tony laughed again.
"Ahem... Proof?"
Tony tried to suppress his laughter and asked Sam, who showed his red, slapped cheek.
"Puhahahaha~! Okay, Sam passes too!"
"Congrats, Sam!"
"Let's do well together from now on."
With that, their initiation ended. Later, I heard that Cap went and asked directly, and Dr. Hansen was startled at first but caught on that it was for the initiation and handed over the bra. Sam pondered how to do it and just went for a surprise kiss, which earned him an immediate slap. He apologized right after.