The representatives were in the other room, discussing the details. While the bosses, Norman Osborne and Tony Stark were in Tim's office.
The unlucky guy, Ryan, was stuck there awkwardly during the meeting.
"So this is the new Tony Stark!" Tony said sarcastically. He felt a little mad that the media kept comparing them. He strongly believes his genius was unparalleled compared to the other people in the world. A thing like smart tech, he cracked it with no effort at all.
The first time he saw the toddler in an adult body, Ryan became amused. Tony Stark before the kidnapping is still a dick.
Surprisingly, he did maintain some professional manners as courtesy. Emphasis on some. Otherwise, things would be a lot worse.
"You know the media likes to exaggerate stuff. How could I compare to the genius of our time?" Ryan muttered in a polite tone.
It was a true statement coming from his heart. He only has the trading site to support him. He could not be compared to the rest of the geniuses.
"First you plant trees, then you find ways to grow them out. Now you've done it, what will you do next? Clean the ocean? Stop wars?"
Tony was dissatisfied with the kids' attitude. He knew that the guy did a lot of humanitarian aid — this wasn't a difficult matter for him to find out. Ryan unknowingly entered Stark's radar, causing him to get investigated inside out.
But Tony couldn't understand his thought process with his capitalist nature. His attention seeker characteristic also rejected what Ryan had done.
Tony thought, 'When the kid used his money to help others, he didn't even take credit for it. That's stupid, and wasteful publicity. If I do it, heh, I will surely take credit for all the things I have done. Profits will soar then. But I am too late. People will think I copied the younger Knight if I do it now!'
"Maybe I'll clean up the ocean. You know the plastic isn't gonna clean up themselves. Thank you Mr. Stark for the suggestions. I was wondering what to do next," Ryan said playfully while pretending to be thinking, causing Tony to roll his eyes at him.
"Maybe we can partner up in that," Osborn, who's been keeping silent, interjected.
Before this, Norman had a bad impression on Ryan. His effort in making the world a better place to live was making all the capitalists feel bad. Norman needed to either stop or join him.
He changed his impression when he looked at the guy and noticed that in front of him was only a naive kid instead of an opportunist like him. He thought that he could use this.
Previously, the younger Knight's efforts and new inventions had caused the stock price for Knight's company to soar!
They could rival Osborne's and Stark's in reputation and technology, as compared to the previously beneath them. It caused worry in Norman's heart as the younger Knight seemed to have a Midas touch. Everything he ventured brought immense profits without even failing once!
Knight Industry was still considered a startup company compared to their company as its influence wasn't great in the public arena. When Ryan took over in the company's direction and referenced his knowledge in his previous life, he made some interesting changes.
Stark and Osborn did make their own smart technology after they cracked Ryan's invention. However, the Knights Industry holds the patents and also has the brand recognition as the leading company in smart tech. Their company's product seemed second rate although their product wasn't inferior.
If Ryan knew their thoughts, he would think about Apple and other smartphone companies in his previous world.
Tim joked with the duo, "If my son weren't fearful, we might not have met"
"Really? How so?" Norman asked curiously. When Tim explained why…
"That seemed about right," Norman agreed with Ryan's thought process.
Seeing the surprised expression, Norman sighed and explained reluctantly. He only did so to create a beneficial impression on Ryan.
"Unlike the 'other' rich second generation, whose dads already stabilised their company, or leaving the management to someone who knows how the world works, your fear is real."
"Hey!" Tony yelled, but was ignored.
"The government has interfered with something my company is doing many times. Most people who created their own business will experience it. They came with laws and morality, however they are vultures coming to eat you alive."
Norman looked at Tim. "I guess you have a backer before, or your Industry wasn't special enough for the government to interfere."
Tim has a slight acknowledgement for the statement as he did have a big backer.
"But now? They will try. Under the guise of patriotism . Under the guise of
… humanitarian effort. These people are like hyenas, waiting to tear a piece of your flesh."
"You're exaggerating," Stark interrupted. He couldn't believe it as he never experienced any of it.
Norman smiled and concluded, " Ask yourself this, if food becomes abundant, what do you think will happen?"
"It'll solve world hunger?" Stark said.
"It'll cause war… " Ryan said.
Stark and Tim were looking at Norman and Ryan in disbelief. The two of them were the same type of pessimistic person.
Norman nodded and felt a sense of kinship with Ryan.
"When food is stable, it's easy to fight long wars. You can even disrupt another country's dependency on the serum if necessary, to destabilise a country. The CIA will especially be interested in the serum, especially because it'll work in a harsh environment."
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Norman was talking about a few things and Ryan jotted it down carefully. Tim was a little jealous of Norman's and Ryan's 'friendly' conversation while Tony felt left out.
After talking for a while, Stark and Osborn left their representatives here to finish the discussion as they are busy men. They needed to get back to their own business.
Ryan believed Norman's excuse but maybe Tony was busy as a human planter as he saw Tony's slutty date waiting for him at the company lobby. He was on his way to get back home when he decided to drop in unexpectedly in the Knight Industry.
Ryan's first meeting with the future superhero and supervillain ended just like that.
'To be honest, Norman and I are kindred spirits. Will I become a supervillain in the future?'
He even got Norman's personal number, but not Tony's.
The three company's partnership soon became known to the world!
Many governments of different countries reached out and came to an agreement with them. The US government did look at this as some kind of opportunity and tried to swoop in so they could get some benefit from these countries.
But with Osborn and Stark company as backup, even the government was hesitant to make a move. The agreement with these countries went smoothly after a period of discussion.
The media was going crazy about it as the agreements were made public to raise the company's reputations.
"Ryan Knight Achievement in genetic modification and biotechnology that he used in creating the serum was something spectacular," Dr. Curt Connors said in an interview. "I hope to meet him one day to discuss more about this matter."
Stark was feeling naughty and he complimented and put the credit towards Ryan, causing him to become the focus of the media for a while.
The media tried very hard to ambush Ryan, but he seemed to have precognition and could escape from them everytime.
When Ryan kept avoiding the media, Tony became the target for it. His narcissistic tendency makes him love the attention. But when being interviewed, many questions were about the inventor, making him regret his actions a little.
Gwen was sitting next to Ryan on the sofa in his penthouse and was watching a new movie released by the Knights entertainment.
"So, what do you think?"
What he just showed Gwen was the movie
"It's really good. I like the songs. I don't know that my boyfriend is also a songwriter." Gwen was a little bit depressed about it. Her boyfriend is a little too good at everything.
‘Once it gets out he's making movies now, many more celebrities will make a move on him,’ she worried. Even now there's an 'accidental encounter', blatant flirting, some straight-up seducing him. Luckily, he doesn't pay much attention to them.
He trusted her a lot, and that separated her from the others. He already told her about his coma, his stand-in, and everything that happened to him before. Gwen was surprised about it and finally understood why she hated the previous Ryan so much compared to him now.
She's also tried to comfort Ryan about his missed years, in which Ryan gladly accepted her 'comforting'. Gwen was staying here for a while as the media was surrounding her house.
The more Gwen learned about Ryan's deed, the more surprised she was. Ryan is very low-key.
She even knows about the Bugatti, the most sought-after sports car, even Tony Stark praised, which was invented by him as soon as he woke up. If she knew who Ryan was from before, maybe she'll think that he had switched bodies with someone.
They are cuddling together on the sofa after finishing the movie.
"Are you going to clean the ocean?" Gwen asked while resting her head on his chest.
Ryan wrapped his arm around her. "I already started. But it'll take a lot of time and effort to complete it."
His ocean clean-up crew was already online. He shared proper waste management procedures with the world, not hiding it a little bit.
About how you can use waste to get energy, repurposing plastic waste, trapping trash before it gets into the waterway, the danger of overfishing and fishnets being thrown into the sea, and more.
"What drives people is profit, if I show you can make money with this, people will compete to clean up the ocean."
He also hired a film crew to make documentaries about the seas, Seaspiracy (seas conspiracy) that will be shown on Netflix.
[A new subscription-based streaming service that shows your favourite television shows and movies that was released by the Knights Entertainment.]
"You know, you should get rewarded for your good deeds," Gwen said before kissing him
"Well maybe I should…” he kissed her neck and said with a smirk, "...But how?"
Gwen rolled her eyes and pushed him on the sofa.
Kai's POV.
"It's been 3 weeks since I took Skye in. As she is also in the rebellious age, it's fun to tease her. "
Although Kai didn't go home very much, he spent time with Skye in the clinic where the girl was helping out.
She was also responsible for his laundry, taking out the trash, and a few chores. He knew that she would be reluctant to take the money without doing anything, so he decided on a few things for her to do.
Skye was taking out the trash in the clinic, normal trash, not hazardous ones, while Kai was treating a patient in the consulting room.
*Ting-a-ling*, the bell on top of the door rang, signalling that people were entering the clinic.
Skye widened her eyes as she saw two people wearing black suits walking in. She recognized them as she had met them several times before. They are from child protective services.
Skye panicked and dropped the trash bag she was holding! There's no way to run as the clinic only has one exit.
She likes living with Kai. She has her own room, she could eat whatever she wanted and the only downside is that Kai was forcing her to study.
He would check up on her every day for this. It's a little frustrating, but she is a smart girl. It wasn't hard for her to study. She was also secretly happy that Kai was concerned about her and taking care of her.
"Mary Sue Poots, it's not nice to run away from your foster parent's house," One of the women in the government agency spoke out. "Luckily Mr. Kai took you in, otherwise who knows where you'll end up," she continued.
Skye then realised that Kai was the one who contacted the CPS. A deep sense of betrayal was felt in her heart. Tears started pooling around her eyes.
Kai came out and took a look at the commotion.
"You Betrayer!” Skye yelled at him the moment she saw him.
He smirked when he saw her on the verge of crying. He knew what she might think.
Then he cheerily greeted the government agent, further amplifying Skye's hatred towards him.
After shaking hands with her, he asked, " Are the procedures done?"
"It's done, you are now the official guardian of Mary Sue Poots,” the government agent replied. She took out a few documents from her bag and handed them to Kai.
Kai picked them up and checked on them. He then waved the document in front of Skye teasing her. "Looks like you're gonna stay here longer than you thought,” he said playfully while grinning.
"What?"
Skye realised the situation soon enough even though her tears were still falling.. She felt extremely grateful to the doctor in the period of time she met him.
After saving her, he gave her a job, took her in and constantly showed kindness to her. When she thought about leaving a week before, she became reluctant to go.
Although Skye wanted to find her parents, it stemmed from her not getting any love from others while growing up.
It's not like she's rejecting every family that adopts her. But her unlucky streak makes her end up with bad families.
Skye wiped up her tears. She said in a low voice, "You should have told me about it and asked for my opinions!”
She showed a tough facade, but Kai just thought it was funny with her tear stains and snots.
"If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise,'' Kai said playfully. Skye inches into Kai slowly then hugs him suddenly.
"Oof,'' The sudden hug almost broke his ribs.
She said in a whisper, ".. thank you... ''
Kai has a father's smile on his face and patted her head.
"You know it's good and all, but there's bad news for you Skye. "
The little girl whose mood was rollercoaster-ing quickly released him, then asked quickly. " What is it? ".
She's afraid of the previous foster family or maybe there's trouble with Kai because of what he did. But then she heard something that shook her to her core.
"You'll have to go to school.” Kai said with an evil smile. He applied to become Skye's guardian about a week ago.
At the same time, he had reported Skye's former foster family to CPS.
Those bastards didn't even report that the girl was missing. They were already removed from further adoption applications and now facing legal charges.
The CPS agent who saw all this has a kind smile on her face. She has sent Mary Sue to other families before, but the girl had never shown emotions like this. "I hope you find happiness now Mary Sue Poots." She muttered underneath her breath before she exited the clinic.
After living with Skye, Ryan has a sense of familiarity in his actions."I feel like I've done this before."
He knows that he didn't have a child in his previous life, but maybe a niece or nephew. He likes the feeling and he doesn't want it to end early.
Even if he ends his quest, later on, he thinks that he'll just bring Skye to wherever he might end up. "There will be other quests, right? 'Kai' didn't have to end early."
He also doesn't plan to stop Skye in her search for her parents, as Skye has an important role in the future.
Looking at his quest, he now has done half of it. The notification is at (5/10) in saving people.
After knowing what to do, he tried to save some near-death people, as in Hell's Kitchen, people were dying every day.
4 other people he saved are a pair of police officers, who was shot on patrol, a beaten-up prostitute, and an overdosed drug user. He's now halfway there in completing the quest.
"I'm like a vigilante in the night. But instead of beating people up, I run around to save people."