Marvel Reborn: Gems Of Infinite Potential

It was three days later that Chan Ho Yin stepped through the portal, Natasha at his side, and started looking around in wonder. It's not every day you experience teleportation for the first time I suppose. Given that Natasha had spent the last two days on legwork before having Chan willingly come along with her an hour later I wasn't sure whether he was just that much of an idiot or Natasha was just that good, probably a bit of both.

Regardless, I held out a hand and said "Ah, it's a p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e to meet you, Mr. Chan. Octavian Raith, the sponsor of this little undertaking."

He shook and said, "I'm glad to be here Mr. Raith, Natasha was very persuasive."

I smiled, "She does have a way about her. But come", I turned slightly and put a hand on his shoulder as I directed him towards the team "let's introduce you to the team. Dr. Bruce Banner, one of the worlds leading experts on enhanced human abilities and our Chief Scientist."

Bruce held out a hand "Mr. Chan, it truly is a p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e."

After the requisite handshake I said "Dr. Maya Hansen, she is the lead scientist on Project: Extremis. It's hoped that your gift will allow us to solve the final issue with the project."

Another handshake, "Dr. Elizabeth Banner, Dr. Hansen's second."

After she had given a smile I twitched a few fingers and sent a message to Bruce "Why don't you three show him around, see if you can get at least some baseline testing out of the way. I need to debrief Natasha."

Bruce gave me a slight nod "How about we show you around the premises, Mr. Chan?"

Once the four of them were out of earshot I said to Natasha "That was faster than I expected, how did you convince him so easily?"

She shrugged "Money. You would be surprised what people are willing to agree to in exchange for a million dollars per day, especially when the first million is laid before them on the table."

"Not what I expected, but then you are the expert and it did work. Good work, it's going to make a hole in our accounts moving that much around but I should be able to make it work. You have time to start setting up his accounts tomorrow or should I ask Elektra to do it?" I asked.

Natasha gave me a cat that ate the canary grin and said: "You misunderstood Octavian, the bargain was that he gets a million dollars in hundred dollar bills with breakfast every day."

"Oh, very good work." I said with a smile of my own "Using the un-laundered Black Thorn profits I assume?"

"Of course. And he even agreed to sign a non-disclosure agreement along with the various contracts, I assumed that you would be able to make that binding?" she asked.

I winced slightly "Not easily. There is a reason that the Covenant Tablet and the Black Thorn Table are so ornate and involved, I could come up with something but it would be easier and faster to just have Elektra bind a Chi compulsion on him to honor the terms."

Natasha gave a nod of acknowledgment, accepting the information and filing it away along with everything else in the event that it proved useful someday. "How does that work? I've focused on the more physical advantages of Chi, I just haven't had the time to study the more esoteric uses yet."

"You should make the time, it really is fascinating." I opined.

She elbowed me slightly before saying "Someone keeps me busy all the time. With Elektra having to handle New York, the Defenders and being all lovey dovey with Matt she hasn't been doing much of the fieldwork. And you are kept even busier than I am with everything you are up to."

I nodded acknowledgment "True, I'll see what can be shifted. But to answer your question, to perform the Chi binding you feel out the subjects Chi and wait until they honestly commit to a contract or oath. Anything that they perceive as inherently and willingly binding on them really. Then you use your own Chi to bind their Chi into the state it is in at that moment, from then on they will always be just as committed to the binding agreement as they were the instant they made it. At least that is the basics, Elektra throws in all kinds of advanced tricks and variations."

"Interesting, and probably good enough. How long do you think it will take them to get Extremis viable?" she asked.

I snorted "With Betty wanting a baby? I wouldn't be surprised if they had it ready for testing in two weeks."

Natasha had a sad little smile on her face as she said: "I'm glad Chan showed up when he did, I felt bad for her and Bruce."

I winced, remembering the simulation Bruce had shown her when she first started pushing him to get her pregnant. A baseline human was most manifestly not capable of carrying a godling of anger to term, not when a single kick could shatter her spine or punch organs out through the stomach. "I did too, thankfully Extremis is enough to make it possible. At least according to Bruce's simulations."

I gave her a one arm hug before saying quietly "And you? It has been nine, almost ten years since I made you that promise and it looks like I'm finally going to make good on my word."

She gave me a look, a mix of serenity, sadness, longing, regret, and resolute determination "No, I'm going to have my variant of Extremis keep me sterile. At least assuming that later versions will overwrite previous versions. The knowledge that I will be able to have the children I want someday is enough. Our lives have no place for children right now, and won't for years or even decades. Thankfully Extremis will give us millennia."

I gave her a searching look, my eyes locked on hers for a long time. An entire conversation of things unsaid, things that would never be verbalized, passed between us and I nodded "I think I'll do the same, I need no bastards dropping in my wake. Can you imagine it though, what wonders humanity will produce when death no longer limits us?"

"And what terrors," she said.

"So Russian."