Marvel Cybernetic Girl

Chapter 87: 87 Are the Good Days of the Gamer Girl Coming Back!?

The chaos brought by "Whipnet" had come to an end.

Ivan Vanko was arrested and locked away in one of the most secure prisons in New York.

Meanwhile, SHIELD had uncovered the collaboration between Hammer Industries and Hydra.

Through financial and administrative measures, they managed to arrest Justin Hammer and put a definitive end to Hydra's plot to obtain Iron Man's technology and control the global arms trade.

I have to say, Hydra is truly a strange organization.

Whenever there's a crack in the stability of the world, they pop up and cause trouble.

But when the countermeasures become too strong, they disappear without a trace.

Although Hydra itself wasn't completely eradicated, through this incident, Kagura Hitomi managed to uncover a wealth of information about Hydra's secret operations and their hidden networks.

Rhode Island Industries took control of all of Hammer Industries' equipment, factories, and research facilities.

After deep scans and data mining of Hammer's servers, many of Hydra's illegal transport channels, financial networks, and connections were revealed.

In fact, nearly all of Hydra's underground network in New York was exposed, thanks to their involvement with Hammer Industries.

This laid a solid foundation for Kagura to continue battling Hydra in the future.

........ 

2010, New York

The girl was lazily lying on the couch, a big bottle of soda and a large bag of chips beside her.

Holding a game controller, she was playing the latest RPG on the giant screen in front of her.

"Master, you've been playing video games for 14 hours straight. I recommend you take a break and relax."

"I don't want to!" Kagura replied. "Just one more round! This is the last one!"

"Master, long gaming sessions may have a negative effect on your body and mind. I suggest you—"

"Silence!" Kagura gave the command, and Cortana's voice immediately went silent.

"Ugh... this AI is starting to sound more and more like my mom," she grumbled, taking a few big gulps of soda and starting a new game.

Being a homebody is human nature! No one can stop a girl from staying at home and playing games (right?)!

All in all, the situation had ended smoothly.

Iron Man had completed the upgrade of the Ark Reactor, and Tony Stark himself was in good shape.

The superhero identity of "Flashblade" had gained worldwide fame, and Rhode Island Industries had further expanded its power.

The planned superhero organization "Griffin Security Corporation" was steadily being put together.

Everything seemed to be heading in a good direction.

And so, once again, Kagura's life was filled with games, comics, and anime.

The good days of being a homebody had returned!

But during the resolution of the "Whipnet" incident, there was still one thing that kept bothering Kagura.

Even while playing games, she couldn't stop thinking about it.

That was the mysterious disappearance of "War Machine."

James Rhodes, after receiving the Mark II Iron Man suit from Tony Stark, had vanished.

Logically, once the military obtained the technology for the Iron Man suit, they should have started making weaponized versions and used them as a symbol of the US military's power, to be publicly showcased.

But now, the Mark II seemed to have disappeared, as if it had evaporated into thin air.

To investigate, Kagura used Rhodes Island Industries' channels and inquired with military contacts under the alias of Bruce Wayne, but even within the military, no one seemed to know much about the Mark II.

Something was off.

Kagura put down her game controller and thought about the situation again.

She didn't have James Rhodes' direct contact info, so she couldn't ask him directly.

"Cortana, any updates on the investigation into James Rhodes' whereabouts?"

"According to the latest report, James Rhodes recently completed a reassignment to the 'Special Reaction Force.' Specific details are classified and not for public release."

Special Reaction Force? What was that? Kagura found it strange.

She didn't recall hearing anything about it.

Could it be another shift in the timeline?

Oh well, she was used to these kinds of changes.

It seemed that the US military didn't intend to publicize the Mark II suit, instead using it as a secret weapon.

This made sense logically.

Since Iron Man had returned to his role, the military didn't need to make a spectacle of "War Machine" to overshadow Tony Stark.

After all, in the original timeline, Rhodey had only fought alongside Iron Man after being modified by Hammer Industries, which was what had made "War Machine" famous.

"Is this the latest news?" Kagura asked.

"The report about Rhodey's reassignment?"

"Yes, the official news was released this morning," Cortana confirmed.

"It has been verified through internal networks, and everything checks out."

"Good."

Kagura relaxed. "If there's nothing unusual, we can leave it for now."

It wasn't good to keep obsessing over the military's plans.

As long as she knew that Rhodey wasn't in danger and the Mark II suit wasn't lost, that was enough.

"Ah—" The girl let out a lazy yawn, stretching on the couch. "Ah... being at home is the best!"

"Master, you have a new email message."

"... Again!? Why does this always happen to me QAQ!"

"Would you like to decline it?"

Cortana asked.

"Hmm..."

Kagura turned over, snuggling into the soft couch. "Declining sounds too harsh. I'm a gentle, kind-hearted girl, so let's see what it's about."

"Command confirmed, reading..."

"Done."

Cortana relayed the message. "It's an invitation from Tony Stark, inviting you on a family trip to New Mexico."

"Ah... New Mexico, huh?" Kagura's golden eyes twinkled. "Wait, New Mexico?!"

She suddenly realized what was about to happen in New Mexico in 2010.

The God of Thunder would descend from the sky, and the gateway to the stars would once again open for this world.

From then on, when people looked at the stars, their awe would be mixed with fear and concern.

"So why now, of all times!? What a coincidence!!"

"Would you like to decline?"

"No." Kagura answered decisively. "I'll accept the invitation. If I'm lucky, I might get to meet a certain handsome person there!"

Thinking about it, she even felt a little excited.

......

New Mexico

A meteor streaked across the sky. The high temperature of the atmosphere didn't affect the foreign object as it plunged through.

An unknown object fell to Earth, creating a massive dust cloud in the vast desert...