Many Days After the Naked Incident, State-University(Earth-616150)
Not name Watcher POV
Reed Richards had many plans, but his first and foremost goal was to make his AI famous. To do that, he needed publicity—so he looked for a journalist who could interview him. Surprisingly, he found one: Betty Brant. In this universe, she was a reporter.
Reed anonymously wrote her an email posing as a student: "A genius named Reed Richards has created an AI that could revolutionize several industries." Naturally, Betty was intrigued.
While Reed was on his way to a lecture on genetics and microbiology, Betty found him.
She had short black hair, an hourglass figure, and wore a black dress, black heels, and a white jacket. With a bright yet serious tone, she approached him.
"Excuse me, are you Reed Richards? The 18-year-old genius who earned his PhD in just 70 days and created an AI that could transform industries like gaming, medicine, film, and logistics?" she asked, eager to confirm what the anonymous email had hinted at.
"Yes... that's me. And you are?" Reed replied, slightly confused, though we both know it's just an act. Only I, The Watcher, am aware of that.
"Perfect!" she exclaimed. "I'm Betty Brant. A student tipped me off that I'd find a once-in-a-millennium genius here in the State-University. I'm a journalist for the Daily Bugle."Her voice was filled with joy, after all, she'd spent hours trying to find him, even searching his dorm room without success.
"I'd like to ask you some questions, about your work, your AI, your future. May I, Dr. Richards?" she asked politely.
Reed smiled calmly."Nice to meet you, Betty Brant. But please, just call me Reed, no 'doctor.' Ask anything you like. Fire away."
Betty smiled back."You can call me Betty. So, how did it feel to receive your PhD?"
Reed paused, his expression turning thoughtful."It was wonderful. A huge relief. I worked hard for that PhD, and finally holding it in my hands was... beautiful. My friend Benjamin Grimm and I celebrated at a frat party that night, no alcohol, of course."A faint smile returned to his face.
Betty continued:"We've heard about your AI. Could you explain in simple terms what it does?"
"Sure," said Reed. "Imagine you want to make a game. You just tell my AI what kind of game it should be—say, a single-player open-world game. You give it those parameters, and it codes the game for you."
…
"Last question," Betty said. "What is your dream? Why are you doing all of this?"
She genuinely wanted to know what fueled this young genius. Of course, I know his real motivation, protecting Earth from beings like Thanos, Hela, and Knull.
"My dream is to explore space," Reed said sincerely. "I want more than just the Moon. I want to be the first person to reach Mars. The first to colonize it. Maybe even terraform it. That's what drives me, with all my heart."
Yes, that was the truth. He longed to discover new planets, encounter new civilizations. He wanted to become the Christopher Columbus of the 21st century. And secretly? He dreamed of traveling the multiverse, especially to Universe 616 just to mess with his counterpart there.
"Wow, that's a fabulous dream, Reed!" Betty said with genuine admiration. "And if you ever need a reporter to document your journey, call me!"She handed him her business card."We'll probably publish this interview in one or two months, our editorial team is swamped. Anyway, have a great day, Reed."
"You too, Betty. Bye."They shook hands and parted ways. Reed walked toward his lecture, Betty back to the Bugle.
As Reed walked, he couldn't help but smile.'Everything is going according to plan.'
One Month Later
Reed had just earned a second PhD—this time in microbiology. Using his reincarnated knowledge, he rediscovered CRISPR in E. coli, the bacterial immune system that defends against viruses. He developed the theory that it could be used to create a universal virus killer.
He had more ideas, of course: designer babies, nanomachines that could remove X-Genes, and others he dared not reveal, for fear that someone might abuse them.
Now, his phone was ringing constantly. Corporations were desperate to get their hands on his AI. One call, from Oscorp, went like this:
"Hello, am I speaking with Reed Richards?""Yes, who is this?""I'm a recruiter for Oscorp Industries. We saw the article in the Daily Bugle. We'd like to recru—""Not interested. Either buy a license for my AI, or stop calling me," Reed said, annoyed. It was the 20th call that day, trying to recruit him.
"Y-yeah, we'd like to do that. Does Friday, November 20th, 1992, work?""Sure. Thanks for the call." Click.
Reed sighed."Ben, it's like no one reads the damn article. Even the FBI tried to recruit me. Some guy calling himself Agent Coulson. Sounded shady as hell."Of course, Reed and I both know that "Agent Coulson" was from S.H.I.E.L.D.
Ben laughed."Can you blame them? You're an 18-year-old genius with two PhDs and halfway through a third. They're desperate. Don't take it personally."
"True," Reed said, calming down. "You're finishing your degree next semester, right?"
"Yup."
"So what are your plans after graduation?"
"I'm joining the Air Force. I wanna fly jets. Maybe be the best fighter pilot out there," Ben said proudly.
"After your training, come work for me. I'll need a pilot."
"Don't worry, Brainiac. I won't leave you alone in that damn lab forever."Ben smirked."Someone's gotta drag you out from time to time, to touch grass."
"Asshole," Reed said with a grin. They both laughed.
November 20th, 1992 — Oscorp Industries (Earth-616150)
Reed Richards' POV
I arrived at Oscorp—one of the most powerful, but also most suspicious companies in this world. I'd done my research: In this universe, Osborn's wife died from illness last year , and his partner Mendel Stromm got arrested for embezzlement, similar to Earth-616. I just hope Osborn hadn't made a deal with Mephisto.
And who was waiting for me in the meeting room? None other than Norman Osborn himself.
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Osborn," I said respectfully. I wasn't looking for enemies, not yet. Once I had my company, my AI, and training from Shang-Chi, then I'd tear Oscorp and Trask Industries apart.
Not named Watcher POV
"Nice to finally meet you as well, Dr. Reed Richards. Let's get down to business. I want your AI. For How much would you sell it?"
"I'm not selling the AI. Only yearly licenses," Reed replied, irritated.
"How about $10 billion for the full rights? You can work for us, get your own lab."Osborn was persistent, but realized quickly that he couldn't buy Reed's cooperation.
"Sorry, Mr. Osborn. I'll repeat myself: licenses only. I'm building my own company."
I, The Watcher, saw it: Reed was losing patience. His fingers tapped his thigh, a subtle tell.
"I understand. How much for a license?" Osborn asked.
"Thirty million per year. Demand is high. No one else offers this quality."
"Too steep. Make it twenty, and we've got a deal."Unknowingly, that was exactly what Reed wanted.
"Deal," Reed said with a confident smile, pulling out a contract.He had recorded everything. Legal or not, it would be useful if Osborn tried to back out.
"You came prepared... you knew I'd offer twenty?" Osborn sounded shocked.
"I'm always prepared," Reed replied with a smirk.
Osborn smiled back, but inside, he was seething. He'd been outplayed by an 18-year-old.
The same pattern repeated with other companies. All paid $20 million per year.What they didn't know: Reed had planted hidden codes, like a Trojan Horse.Once installed, the AI would quietly hack their servers and copy everything to Reed's private hard drive. Nobody would be able to identify it because the codes aren't accessible to look at. They would just see, changing numbers.
Some would call it illegal. Reed calls it protection, from Trask-Industries and from Oscorp.Stark Industries, Frost International, and Roxxon didn't buy it, one didn't need it, one was cautious, the last arrogant he could create it himself. For now, they were lucky. But Reed would get their data eventually.
Room 616 – State University – Earth-616150 – January 10th, 1993
Reed Richards' POV
Whoever said money doesn't buy happiness clearly never had $287 million in their bank account.But taxes suck, I had to pay $113 million. Still, the joy remained.
I need to find a building. Not as big as the Baxter Building, but big enough to start. I'll search StarkNet or check with the banks.
My First priority after is to build a CEO AI, something like Jarvis. Let it run the company while I focus on real work. Maybe I'll give her a body like in Detroit: Become Human, my own robotic secretary.
After that? A trip to Greenland. There's someone there I need, his blood specifically. The official reason will be of course "Climate change research." And then… I'll find my martial arts trainer. I hope he likes money.
--
Author Here: Yeah! Reed got his millions. Some would say bullshit but I it is plausible. It is an AI that will make programmers almost obsolete, so paying 20 million a year is realistic, in my opinion. I could have gone even higher. Now Reed is going to find someone really special, he may lose some millions because of his ''research'' but it will be worth it. After he has his company building and AI he is going to look out for Shang-Chi.
I edited a Mistake right know. Nobody pointed out so I was lucky. Mistake: Instead of 1990 it should have been 1992. Instead of 1991 it should be 1993. Sorry about that. And Webnovel didn't let update it a big let down. Again I'm truly Sorry.