The Legendary Mechanic in Marvel Universe - Chapter 206
Chapter 206 Bucky’s Boredom
TL: Kyous
“Get in.”
Looking at Ulysses, Leo pursed his lips at the metal box and kicked the driver sitting on the ground. Ulysses and the driver exchanged glances, then looked at Leo with a mournful expression before obediently climbing inside the box.
With a wave, the two massive metal boxes shrank to the size of fingernails before flying into his palm and Leo stowed them away in his Storage Belt. These two metal boxes were his unique creation Capsule Cell, used specifically to detain his captured enemies temporarily.
While in his Storage Belt also held a Capsule Prison that was modeled after the Capsule House. The interior was equipped with an air ventilation system, so holding hundreds or even thousands of prisoners wasn’t an issue.
At that moment, Erik had already exited the car and witnessed the entire process of Leo capturing Ulysses and the driver. But he wasn’t afraid at all, instead, he excitedly exclaimed, “Uncle Erwin, how did those two and the boxes suddenly become so small? How did you do that?”
In front of Erik, Leo removed Viper Mark VII and shrank it down, and placed it in his Storage Belt. He then looked at Erik, who was staring at him in amazement, and smiled, “This is the power of technology.”
“Can you teach me?” Learning that this was a skill that could be learned, Erik immediately expressed his desire to master it.
Nonetheless, Leo couldn’t possibly teach such a crazy skill to Erik. But he also didn’t want to stifle the child’s natural love for learning. So he gently said, “Well, I can’t teach you that just yet, kiddo. But if you want to be like me, you gotta study hard at school and learn some fighting moves from Uncle Bucky. And when you return to Wakanda, you’ll find that there’s even cooler tech than this shrinking stuff. There’s a lot to learn there.”
“Does that mean Wakanda also got some shrinking and growing tech too?” Erik asked, sounding curious and a little possessive about his homeland.
“Of course not. Even though Wakanda’s technology is cutting-edge, there are always plenty of talented and extraordinary people out there on Earth. Don’t ever underestimate them.” Leo replied, unintentionally sounding like he was giving a lecture.
After living with Erik for over a year, Leo realized he really liked the kid. Erik wasn’t just quiet and well-behaved, but he also loved learning, was willing to work hard, and had ambition.
Furthermore, Erik’s life trajectory had been altered. He was no longer on the path to becoming the murderous villain, Killmonger. He was now just a pitiful child with no parents or support. His father had been accused of betraying Wakanda, but the child was innocent. Perhaps that was why, back then, King T’Chaka didn’t have the heart to kill Erik on the spot.
It was worth noting that with his extraordinary abilities, King T’Chaka must have known N’Jobu had a child. But regardless, Erik was just a pitiful and innocent child who had shown maturity and ambition beyond his years. It was hard not to like a kid like him. Not only Leo but also Bucky, Natasha, and Ol’ Tom liked Erik too.
Leo suddenly had a strange feeling that Erik had been forcibly given a protagonist halo by all of them. He was certain Erik would become a remarkable figure in the future.
Listening to Leo’s lecture, Erik nodded seriously without any rebellious thoughts that a child of his age should have.
Erik looked at the surroundings and asked, “Uncle Erwin, where should we go now?”
“I’ll send you back to school now so you can catch up on your classes,” Leo said as he opened the back door for Erik. “Your sudden disappearance had the school and teachers worried sick, so make sure you come up with a good excuse to smooth things over when you get back.”
Nodding again, Erik got into the back seat without any concerns about the possibility of being scolded by his teachers when he returned to school.
Leo started the car, making a U-turn and driving toward New York City at full speed. Shortly after, he drove Erik to a spot near the school gate and Erik got out of the car and walked towards the entrance. Next, everything was up to Erik to handle.
Watching Erik heading towards the school gates, Leo then stepped on the gas pedal and headed towards his house in Hell’s Kitchen.
Right now, Leo was in a pleasant mood.
For the past year and a half, while building the mechanical army, he had always felt that the weapons he created weren’t powerful enough, and the armor he manufactured didn’t provide enough defense. So he often sighed and imagined how great it would be if he could replace the critical parts of these weapons with Vibranium!
More so, he even thought about replacing the entire outer shell of Viper with Vibranium, instead of just coating it with a film.
Although Leo believed he had decent combat abilities, he still dared not easily venture into Wakanda, the source of Vibranium. This was because he had no idea how to slip into the outer layer of Wakanda, which had a protective shield that combined invisibility and defense based on Vibranium technology.
With Ulysses, who had successfully infiltrated Wakanda and stolen a large amount of Vibranium, now in his custody, Leo felt extremely relieved. As the only Vibranium dealer in the Marvel Universe, Ulysses had ample reserves of precious metal, which could solve Leo’s urgent need for it.
Other than that, Ulysses was familiar with Wakanda’s topography and experienced in infiltrating Wakanda, which were both things that Leo desperately needed.
By having Ulysses’ help, he felt confident that he could finally achieve his goal of creating the ultimate weapons and armor for his mechanical army.
However, it was difficult to get Ulysses to hand over his private stash of Vibranium and spill information about Wakanda. So, he had no choice but to resort to the brainwashing device that had been sitting idle in his house’s basement for too long.
Turning the car around, he slowly pulled the car up in front of his house. He got out of the car and slammed the door shut and the car beeped twice, locking automatically. Taking the car key out wasn’t necessary for him as he could start and shut the car without it.
Back then when faced with the Carbondale vault door, he was able to effortlessly open it, let alone a car. Of course, he didn’t bring his house key either. He simply raised his hand and tapped the lock, and the door opened automatically. Pushing the door, he stepped into his home.
Suddenly, a surprised voice came from the living room, “Huh? Leo, why are you back?”
“Huh? This is my house, why can’t I come back?” Leo was surprised to hear a voice in the living room, as he thought there was no one at home.
“By the way, Bucky, what about you? Shouldn’t you be in the company today? Why are you lazing around at home?”
Bucky was lying on the couch with his feet propped up higher than his head. He was playing Tetris on his Daimi phone and lazily replied, “Why should I go to the company? Patrol or stand guard? They don’t need me for that. The others can handle everything, and there’s barely enough work to go around. Besides, you know what I used to do back in the day. The security gig at the company was a snooze-fest.”
“So you stay up all night with your two apprentices, beating up gangsters and drunkards on the streets? And you even named yourselves PBM Trio? You’ve been on the news headlines for half a year, you’re really bored…”
Continuing to complain, Leo added, “And, unlike you, Matt and Peter have a heavy workload in the company. Besides, they both have families to take care of. Is it appropriate for you to take them out at night like this? Just how bored are you…”
“Well, I don’t take them out every night, at most once a week…” Bucky defended himself in a low voice, feeling a little guilty about what Leo said. “Also, I really am bored! Very bored!”
Sitting up, Bucky rested his chin on the backrest of the couch and asked Leo, “Leo, you got any ideas on how I can stop being so bored?”
“I do,” Leo replied right away.
With a pair of eyes brimming with anticipation, Bucky asked eagerly, “Then spill it, what’s the method?”
“Get yourself a wife, have a kid, and you’ll never be bored again,” Leo said with a serious expression.
Bucky rolled his eyes and laid back on the couch, picking up his Daimi phone. Just as he was about to start playing Tetris and rack up another high score, Leo’s voice suddenly boomed from above, “Since you’re bored, come down to the basement with me. I’m about to do something big and I might need your expertise as a professional scout.”
Pausing his game again, he looked up at Leo, “Are you serious? You’re not tricking me this time, right?”
Leo didn’t respond, instead, he turned and walked towards the stairs leading to the basement. Bucky quickly stuffed his phone in his pocket and followed Leo.