...
The next day, we flew back to South Korea. Helen still had dark circles under her eyes, but the future didn't frighten her. She was determined to fight back.
"I need to push my research further," she said, her voice steady. "I want to find a way to protect humanity with my work, I know you don't care about it but I do."
With the supercomputer at home, she accelerated her research, and her application for MIT was approved. Immersing herself in her studies all the while, she excelled and impressed her professors with her work. Meanwhile, I focused on market research for social media and computer software. A year passed.
By then, Helen had moved to MIT after receiving her offer, pursuing a double Ph.D. in bio-nano engineering while I concentrated on computer science and engineering.
"I'm excited about the possibilities here," she shared one evening, her eyes alight with ambition. "This is my chance to make a real difference. I will make my debut as an entrepreneur and with our abilities build a bio tech company... 'successful life story of the most successful women on planet...' articles on international magazines. Girl Power! "
"Yeah, I get the enthusiasm, but remember you don't have a citizenship here, the visa application was obtained that fast only due to my manipulation."
Meanwhile, I had completed projects for a universal operating system. While open-source operating systems existed, their adoption remained low, primarily limited to command-line interfaces on servers. I had submitted both open-source and enterprise versions of my programming language, kernel modules. Licenses, and agreements were issued. I sped up the processes using reality manipulation, ensuring everything was in order with my technopathy to avoid commercial strikes or legal pitfalls. After six months, I uploaded the projects to hosting platforms and established myself as a self-owning entrepreneur. Another year went by, followed by release of social media apps, private web-based messaging solutions. It already had competitors in market however the innovative concepts included with future technology, and novel UI stood them out.
"Your software is gaining traction," Helen noted during one of our discussions. "It's impressive how quickly it funds itself."
"Yeah, but navigating tax laws as an international student has been a nightmare," I replied, my tone more pragmatic than enthusiastic. "I had to hire a legal officer for my projects."
Helen nodded, understanding the challenges. "At least your social media app is progressing. New algorithm for making user see relevant ads has brought in serious returns. I can see how our work intersects. South Korea has taken some initiative to adopt and convert to our open-source systems by end of this year. "
Helen originally had some competitiveness with Maya Hansen after initially knowing about the work, but after learning about her death in sacrifice from the scene, they have communicated more in private. But how can a company like Advanced Idea Mechanics entertain such communications between competing companies, so they put some restrictions over her phone and spywares.
But she obviously used technopathy to bypass all that and still maintained a friendship with her. As the months passed, my projects began funding their own hosting fees within the first month itself is now creating very high profits. Now it was 2003—two years of regular classes, commitments, and half a year dedicated to producing a research paper, I completed my PhD in Computer science. I was ready to transfer my knowledge to Helen through her soul, and she followed my instructions diligently.
"Your guidance has helped me a lot," she said one day, a hint of gratitude in her voice. "I've learned so much from you."
"I'm just doing for fun, I don't have much to do in the coming 4 years anyway.," I replied, less concerned with sentiment.
I earned my Ph.D. in three years, while Helen took an additional year for her research. My company, Cho Technologies, was thriving, having received significant investments. I secured permanent citizenship in the U.S. based on a national interest waiver due to my online LLC. The construction of our company headquarters was done in Boston near MIT after a year.
Utilizing reality manipulation and simple mind control to ensure everything ran smoothly day to day.
"I've brought in several new graduates from MIT," I told her as we move to newly established office. "They'll contribute to our bioengineering division."
"That's a smart move," she responded, her mind already racing with ideas. "We can push the regenerative beds forward with those talents."
"Hey, the reason, I didn't license other companies to build the beds is to safely store the secrets with us. Even if I am not in control of your body during your work, you can use my power to ensure their loyalty. Human hearts can change their loyalties for rewards. Be careful. "
Our computational facilities employed quantum technology and cryptography, masquerading as traditional server systems. The resource allocation and in-house open-source systems ensured zero downtime since the company's inception.
"How's the AI coming along?" she asked one day.
I shrugged, "Its done. I named it Sage. It's designed to manage operations and ease our workload."
"Will it be able to handle everything? and there would not be any Ultron situation, as you have explained to me before?" she inquired, a slight frown on her face.
"Yes, I optimized it with a flawless futuristic neural network architecture, complex learning mechanism and data acquisition and management systems and gave it a year's worth of training in one second using time manipulation by myself," I explained. "It should significantly reduce our burdens. But if it comes to fighting with Ultron, then in raw calculation and adaptive capacity Sage is better, but Ultron with a mind stone, nah that's not a level playing field."
After the AI came online Helen Cho regained contact with Maya again seamlessly, removing every spyware and restriction in their systems. As of now, Helen's papers also accelerated Maya's research and so the product is nearly formed but is super uncontrollable. Killian also participating in the research now. Aside from that, the influence of social media apps and open-source apps were spread significantly as they were universal and many new and improved developments were happening simultaneously over the globe due to such optimized operating systems as evident by even Tony Stark contributing to many modules for it, under his secret identity of 'The_PlayBoy007'.
Besides they were ready for quantum architecture, which is a significant power for every nation as of this stage. As proprietary patents on quantum architecture and cryptography on our side is staggering and besides, they were highly efficient too. These combinations make me, Helen Cho, a hot potato, even though I made many of the OS core features open source.
Despite this, I remained cautious. Several entry attempts from Hydra infiltrators were detected and neutralized, with their memories altered to ensure loyalty to SHIELD and work as traitors to HYDRA who will intercede in their intelligence operations whenever possible and went back failing their missions.
"I can't believe the lengths they'll go to," Helen said, her tone serious. "We need to stay vigilant."
"Don't worry; everything's under control," I replied dismissively. "Your plans are moving forward, but I am starting to get bored. But don't worry soon there will be one to relieve my boredom. " I smirked thinking about fighting with hulk.
'Since we both are inhibiting the same body, recently there is a rumor in company that boss often talk to herself. I needed to avoid this too. what an annoyance.' Time passed.
Finally, we announced our first revolutionary biotechnology project: the regeneration cradle. This system would automate surgeries to remove cancerous cells or clean cut off parts and print fresh tissues, with effects visible within an hour under accelerated growth.
We limited to healing flesh and not remodeling entire body. 100 of them was distributed under a cooperative agreement to a hospital with 80% returns and rest goes to their service charges. I did some manipulations behind the scenes and all things went smoothly.
It promised a long-term solution for cancer treatment, and though we faced criticism, the government ordered a thousand units for military deployment at a premium price. Helen was also bound by some patents which made her create a alliance with a subordinate hospital in Seol employing 100 regenerative beds. We added restrictions to prevent human cloning operations with it after including some celestial technology based on cosmic energy, so we have received reports of many disordered systems after many of them tried to reverse engineer the expensive systems. Their bad. All of them were remotely deactivated.
Those people will face a series of misfortunes from them and all of them for valid reasons but not one related to our company influence.
"Your vision is becoming reality," she remarked, pride evident in her voice. I offered a nonchalant nod, my focus already on the next phase of our plans. "Yeah, I already known this would happen."
...
Helen Cho had a good relationship with Maya Hansen and exchanged their communications often with them, both of them are working for with betterment of humans at mind. But ever since our regeneration cradle came out, Maya is under increased pressure of Aldrich Killian, and he decided to do human experimentation lately, years ahead of actually doing in the plot due to increased pace of development due Helen's own papers from human cell regeneration issues. Thinking about it, if an extremist soldier was to kill Tony now, Iron man won't be born.
Maya decided to visit me privately. I gave her instructions to reach us remotely using divine sense to map a safe way and using some manipulations and by avoiding monitoring, she reached us. I have systems and knowledge which could study this extremis effectively than their think tank, but she is bound by contracts which would bind her one more year under him.
She explained her grievances. By the looks of it, Killian understood its potential to form human weapons and is actively inviting many researchers into her project against the rules and will probably kidnap her and make her work for him after contract ends. She herself said so.
In his words" That damned Cho industries have already made the debut of finished product, and we can't even complete the theoretical stage up until now. I have decided to focus more on human empowerment rather than regeneration. This is my opportunity to prove to Tony. I will make him pay for the humiliation he made me feel."
He is in the process of some sort of damping agent which he plans to inject himself together with extremis, but it's still protype phase. Which didn't explode like others immediately but will respond to hosts emotions now, but it will only delay the inevitable considering he tested on a kidnapped homeless woman.
'Is this powered by plot?' Since, Helen also has some responsibility in changing her situation, we changed their fate already.
Looking at Maya, Helen Cho asked, "What do you wish for, Maya?"
"I want to complete this bio technology—it will be the next step in human evolution. But my own safety is compromised now. Helen, you were the only one I had communications with. If you don't help me, I'll probably have to follow his instructions. Yes, the serum will be created, but he'll kill many to achieve it."
Helen narrowed her eyes. "I could help you through legal maneuvering, leveraging some external pressure to get results. We could find evidence to slow them down. But a certain illegal organization already has their sights set on the project. Bringing in the government would just replace the lead scientist and continue the experiment elsewhere, and you'd end up shouldering the blame. They'd paint you as the culprit."
Maya's eyes widened in panic. "What do I do then?"
"I could provide you with a remote warehouse, maybe even a lab, to continue your research. But that would only buy you time. It's not viable. The only real option is to ask him for help."
"Who? Tony Stark?"
"No..."
My voice echoed in Helen's mind, "Do you trust this woman enough to reveal my presence?" I asked her, my tone calm. "I need allies. Can you bind her in a way that ensures her cooperation?".
" I am bored just staying with you, I could move around now." I replied. Hearing that she fell silent." You will come back right?" "Yeah you are my host while she could be subordinate there's a difference"
Helen responded telepathically, "Yes, I have same in mind. But you'll need to step in."
Turning to Maya, Helen spoke softly. "I may have to reveal to you one of my secrets, but for that, I need you to cooperate. I need you to let me touch your forehead."
Maya looked confused. "Cooperate how? What are you going to do?"
"You either trust me or you don't, Maya. This could save your life. Just let me place my finger on your forehead."
Maya hesitated for a moment but nodded slowly with a joke. "Okay... yeah, this won't kill me, right?"
The moment Helen placed her finger on Maya Hansen's forehead, I acted. A memory seal was placed upon Maya, allowing me to manipulate or replace memories at will, and block certain knowledge from surfacing unless I wanted it to. At the same time, I formed a soul connection, binding her as my subordinate.
With that, I detached from Helen Cho, appearing in front of them in my physical form.
Maya gasped, stumbling back in shock. "A ghost...!"
"No, Maya. I'm not a ghost," I said, stepping forward calmly. "I'm the person Helen was talking about. And yes, the voice you heard in your head earlier was mine. You now have a soul connection to me as my subordinate, and I've placed a memory seal on you."
Maya blinked, trying to comprehend what was happening. "Did... did I just sell myself to a demon? Helen this won't helppp.."
I shook my head with a slight smile. "No. Helen has been under my protection for a long time. I simply added you to the fold. Don't worry, I won't stay in your life forever... and, Maya," I added, my tone growing more serious, " Stop thinking of those dirty thoughts about me. I am not into it okay. I can see into anyone's mind as if it's an open book."
" Am I seeing things? Helen you know about this?...." Seeing her nooding look, she got flustered " How are you going to help me? "
" I will be with you, you can go back to Kilian see what you do then"
"Now," I said, glancing briefly at Helen, " Even though I left, I given you telekinesis as a gift you can use it as you wish"
We left.. Along the way, Maya was still trying to process everything that had just happened. Her mind was racing, but she remained silent, occasionally glancing at me.
"How do I escape?" she asked, still cautious. "He'll come after me if I just disappear. There are too many people keeping track of everything in his lab."
I nodded. "And that's where my power comes in. Killian won't even remember you worked for him. I'll alter the records, erase the digital footprints, and replace any memories of you in those around him. It will be as if you never existed in his organization."
Maya frowned, clearly still grappling with the gravity of the situation. "That sounds... impossible. But I suppose after what I've just seen, nothing is impossible anymore."
" Again, why are you going out of your way to help me?"
"Honestly, I am just looking for something to do. "
....
At Advanced Idea Mechanics (AIM), Aldrich Killian had grown noticeably more assertive and ambitious. His demeanor, once that of a mere visionary, had become one of ruthless determination. During my last week with Maya Hansen, I saw she had been forced into collaboration with other researchers under constant threat. If she refused to comply, Killian threatened her with an injection of Extremis. I personally witnessed the horrific effects of Extremis when a homeless man was injected and violently exploded before my eyes. It was the lengths Killian would go to.
In secret, I managed to gather numerous records of his illegal human experiments—proof of his ethical violations. But that was just the beginning.
By the weekend, I had begun systematically erasing Maya Hansen's identity from AIM's financial and operational records. Every mention of her in contracts, reports, and private research works was altered. Slowly, I replaced her name with Killian's, establishing him as the singular architect of AIM's most controversial projects—at least, that's how it would appear in the official documents and the memories of those involved. Using my technopathic abilities, I invaded their secure vaults of digital backups and did the same. I manipulated the minds of key staff, erasing their recollection of Maya's contributions. This included both current employees and those who had removed, but still held knowledge of her work.
I destroyed the core information relating to extremis and its relation with Maya Henson. And renamed it to NX potion and did some minor changes to the variables to keep its volatility increased, and even deleted some base parameters in all records, which would make him few years to find them again without Maya's help. Then did send the memory of new NX portion inside the researchers' mind and Killian's mind.
But I didn't stop there. Through Killian's memories, I uncovered a network of off-record experimental sites, hidden financial transfers, and secret data backups. I infiltrated those as well, ensuring that no trace of Maya or the original Extremis project remained. What was left was a trail of chaos and flawed serum.
By Monday morning, everything was in place. I met Maya near the parking lot just outside AIM's entrance. As we stood there, Aldrich Killian's car pulled up, his window rolling down as he greeted us with an overly cheerful smile.
"Hey, isn't this Ms. Maya Hansen? I haven't heard anything about you since MIT," Killian said, his grin widening. "I think I saw you in Bern a few years back. Wait, are you here for a research position?"
Maya was too shocked to respond, her eyes wide in disbelief. Her mind was still processing the abrupt erasure of her entire history at AIM. Before she could speak, I stepped in, taking her hand and squeezing it reassuringly.
"I'm Nathan Grey, her husband," I said smoothly, meeting Killian's gaze. "We got married two months ago. You must be Aldrich Killian, right? Maya's been a bit out of it this morning after realizing she's pregnant. We were actually on our way to the hospital but decided to stop by and visit a friend."
Killian's smile faltered for just a moment before he quickly recovered, his tone growing more formal. "Oh, congratulations! Well, if she's still interested, AIM is always open to hiring brilliant researchers. She could come by when she's ready."
With that, Killian drove into the company's lot, disappearing into the building, unaware of the web I'd spun around him. I turned to Maya, still holding her hand as she stared at me in disbelief.
"Worked, didn't it?" I smirked. "And now, AIM won't be a problem anymore."
"...What did you do to them?" she finally asked, her voice incredulous. "I was here last Friday, and everything was fine. And more importantly, when did we get married? And pregnant? Couldn't you have come up with a better lie?"
"Just a bit of reality manipulation," I replied, grinning. "And really, you were staring at him like a deer in headlights. At least I saved you the trouble of explaining anything. See? He backed off the moment I mentioned the pregnancy. It's a foolproof way to make any conversation awkward enough for a man to look away. Plus, it's a convenient excuse in a situation like this. Better than the alternative—kissing in public to deflect attention."
Maya rolled her eyes. "I didn't ask.."
"Maybe not," I said, shrugging, "but it worked. And now that AIM is taken care of, I think it's time to welcome you to Cho Industries' Biotech Division."
A few days later, I returned to Helen's host body, now standing in the lab, staring at Maya Hansen's models and calculations. She stood beside me, clearly frustrated by a persistent glitch in her work.
"I can fix your problem," I said calmly. "I already know the solution, but I'm not just going to hand it to you. I'll give you the reasons and directions to work on instead. If I just gave you everything, you wouldn't appreciate it."
Maya glanced at me, a mix of curiosity and frustration in her expression. She knew I operated differently but decided not to press further. I guided her through the steps, pointing out the flaws in her logic and where to make adjustments.
Once I'd given her enough to move forward, I added, "And while you're at it, here's something for reference." I swiped across the console, bringing up a series of advanced formulas—Super Soldier Serum, human genetic optimization, perfected Lizard Serum, an regeneration x gene structure —all drawn from future knowledge. Maya's eyes widened as she took it all in.
"These... where did you get these?" she asked quietly, staring at the data.
"From future timelines." Combining these with what I've already got, I can easily create a super- serum. It wasn't hard for me to put it all together, so I wrote out combination formulae that'll let her and Helen create a superior version soon. "Our systems will help optimize it."
I pointed at the formulas scattered across the screens. "With this, you can create different grades of strength, regeneration, or even super-ability enhancements. Individual serums for each. Think about the possibilities."
Maya looked at me, clearly overwhelmed by the information. She didn't say anything, just trying to process what she was seeing.
"Don't look so shocked," I said with a grin. "You and Helen saw what the future holds. It's better to be prepared. Imagine having an army of supers at your command."
Maya hesitated. "But we'd be opening ourselves up to threats—terrorists, Hydra, governments. They'd all come for this. Besides how to do human testing?"
I crossed my arms. "That's true. But this is the kind of power you can't walk away from. If we don't control it, someone else will. As we speak there are multiple government funded and private sponsered projects based on US itself. Same is the case with other countries doing all this in private.
As for human testing its even easier, the regeneration cradle in those room in our lab is a full body remodeler. It can create a soul less husk of human body and measure each and everything."
I retreated, while Helen Cho took over.
Maya and Helen both stared at the formulas again, already thinking about the next steps. She knew, like helen, that this was a power too great to ignore.