Marvel: Playing Iron Man, Falling In and Out of Love with Jinx

That same afternoon

"Ugh, I'm exhausted!"

The moment Miss Fortune stepped into her captain's cabin, she began grumbling.

"Those bastards, none of them are being honest. I told them to submit their lists, but they just kept dodging and stalling!"

"I swear, I'd love nothing more than to sink them all to the bottom of the ocean!"

"Calm down," Duke replied, casually adjusting a screw on a small gadget in his hand with a screwdriver. "If you want to take control of this city, these are the things you can't avoid."

Noticing how relaxed and carefree Duke seemed, Miss Fortune rolled her eyes.

"Easy for you to say. You've dumped everything on me."

"I'm giving you funding, weapons, and every resource you could possibly need. If I had to handle everything myself, why would I even bother teaming up with you?"

Duke gave a light snort. Miss Fortune took off her hat, letting her fiery red hair spill down her back.

"Hmph. Sounds easy when you say it. But how am I supposed to manage all of this? My head's about to explode!"

"All they care about is dividing up Gangplank's territory and loot. They're not listening to a damn thing I say!"

"If they won't listen, then make them listen."

Duke set down the screwdriver and placed the monkey-shaped toy on the desk.

With a light press on the switch, the toy's eyes lit up and it began tumbling across the surface.

"Beginner Mission Guide 9527 at your service! What would you like me to do today?"

"What... is this?"

Miss Fortune stared in confusion as the toy monkey rolled and spoke.

"You built this toy for what, exactly?"

Instead of answering, Duke pulled out one of Miss Fortune's prized flat-tipped cigars and tossed her one. She rolled her eyes again at how casually he helped himself.

"You do remember why we came to Bilgewater in the first place, right?"

"Didn't you say your family's cargo was seized by Gangplank, and you needed to take care of him?"

"That was the mission assigned to me by the family. As their top agent, it's my duty.

Especially since half of that shipment's profits were earmarked for my research."

"So basically, you just couldn't let go of your research budget."

"More or less," Duke sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

The shipment, worth over twenty million Gold Krakens, had been sold off by that bastard Gangplank, completely lost.

It wasn't enough to cripple the Ferros family, but for Dakora, who had only recently taken charge, the blow was painful.

"How much of that shipment was for your research? I'll make up the loss," Miss Fortune offered, cigar between her fingers with full confidence.

"Whatever else I lack, I can still pull together a few hundred thousand Gold Krakens on short notice."

"I've already had my men secure Gangplank's personal vault. Once it's opened, whatever's inside is yours for your research."

Her eyes sparkled with ambition. "So? Why not just stay here and help me? I'll fully fund your research!"

"Whatever you need, you'll have it!"

"That shipment was worth twenty million Gold Krakens. Half of it was mine."

Duke stared at the now-silent toy monkey on the table, completely ignoring the frozen expression on Miss Fortune's face.

The cigar slipped from between her fingers.

"If you're really serious about funding me, I won't ask for much, just fifty million a year for my research. I'll handle everything else."

Miss Fortune's face twitched.

"This little shrine of mine can't handle housing a god like you!"

At this moment, she mentally crossed out any thoughts of sponsoring Duke long-term.

Fifty million a year? He'd bleed her dry!

"Alright, alright. I'm just teasing," Duke chuckled.

He picked up the toy monkey again and began dismantling it, checking the internal mechanisms for optimization.

Miss Fortune finally let out a breath, stealing a glance at him with playful charm.

"You're the worst, always messing with me."

"But I wasn't joking about that ten million," Duke added, glancing at her knowingly.

He could already tell she was scheming to keep him here, to help her consolidate power over the city.

Her emotions were like a rollercoaster, up, down, then crashing straight into the valley.

"Enough. Let's get serious."

Still fiddling with the monkey, Duke said casually, "We came to Bilgewater under the guise of an academic research delegation."

"A research delegation?" Miss Fortune frowned.

"You've mentioned that before, but what's there to research in a chaotic dump like Bilgewater?"

"We recently developed a new technology in Piltover, Hextech."

"Your battle suit and Graves' new weapon both incorporate Hextech. I'm sure you've already seen how powerful it is."

"You're testing weapons in Bilgewater?" Miss Fortune's eyes narrowed as a disturbing thought crossed her mind.

Duke reached over and flicked her on the forehead.

"Quit dreaming."

He tousled her hair, then quickly pulled his hand back before she could bite it off.

As she grumbled and straightened her hair, she pressed on.

"So what's the real plan?"

"We've developed something called a Hexgate."

"A Hexgate?" Miss Fortune mouthed the word, testing it.

"What's it do?"

"In simple terms," Duke said, grabbing two glasses from the table and placing them on opposite ends,

"It resonates Hex Crystal energy to open a spatial link between two Hexgates."

He picked up a lead shell from her ammo stash and used it to demonstrate.

"We place a Hexgate here, " he put the shell on one glass,

", and when activated, it instantly transfers specialized airships to another Hexgate at the destination."

He moved the shell to the second glass.

"If the experiment succeeds, do you realize what that means?"

Without waiting for her answer, Duke continued.

"We'll control the transportation lifeline of all of Runeterra.

Traditional logistics will become obsolete."

"Which means," he said with a grin,

"Bilgewater's advantage as a natural port will disappear.

No more trade ships stopping here. With Hexgates, whether it's goods or tourists, all it takes is, "

He held up a finger.

"One day?" Miss Fortune guessed nervously.

"One hour."

"That's impossible!" she exclaimed.

"You're saying it can cross oceans, cross continents, in one hour?!"

"Technology transforms life, my dear."

He set the glasses back down and said again,

"Technology transforms life."

"Then what are we supposed to do?" Miss Fortune stood up, no longer calm.

"If sea trade dies, what will Bilgewater eat? Drink?

Where will our economy come from?"

"With Hexgates in place, pirate fleets will vanish, because there will be no one left to rob."

Duke's words landed like a dagger.

Miss Fortune began pacing.

"Then what's the point of all this? What's the point of me doing anything?"

"So all of this, everything I did, was just paving the way for you?"

"I cleared your biggest obstacle, so now you can freely conduct your experiments, and once Hexgates roll out, Bilgewater will be no more.

It'll lose its heartbeat."

"If Hexgates succeed, you're not wrong," Duke admitted.

"Which brings us to the real issue."

"The real issue?"

"If the success of Hexgates is inevitable, why not use it as a chance to transform Bilgewater?"

"Transform it?"

"Exactly." Duke nodded and crossed his legs.

"The Hexgates installed here won't be dismantled.

They'll remain as the first pair ever created, a historic landmark."

"With Hexgates, you'll have instant access to anywhere on the continent."

"You mean, "

"If piracy is off the table, become mercenaries instead."

"You're already dancing on a knife's edge.

Why not choose a version that society actually accepts?"