Becoming Supreme In Marvel World

"Mr Titan, a moment please."

Kane turned around and saw the young man sporting a mustache in a suit that he had spoken to earlier in the evening weaving his way towards him through the stream crowd.

"Ah Mr Stark what can I do for you? As I am sure you can understand, I am not in a good mood right now."

"It's just Howard if you please or some of my friends call me Howie though that's mostly the ladies. I wanted to say that I think your research has merit and was hoping we could collaborate in a few endeavors. Don't worry about not being accepted by those short sighted fools, it's an open secret that scientific progress is a popularity contest. If it infringes on others interests or accepted viewpoints then no matter how solid the theory or how much evidence you have it will get tossed out the window."

"I have read all of your published work and it made for an invigorating and enlightening read. Some of the theories you have published are decades or even centuries ahead of our time and that is exactly what we need. Someone with the foresight and guts to push scientific progress to new heights and break established boundaries. I especially loved your works on nuclear fusion and nuclear fission, alternate realities and the possibility to bridge them if they do indeed exist and your gravity research. Also your piece on genetics was an exquisite masterpiece although genetics is not my forte. It is the gravity research that I am most interested in, as I have been tinkering with making a new engine or drive to make anti gravity vehicles. Unfortunately I have hit a few road blocks and could use some help on it from an expert such as yourself. I have a rough theory and with some further refinements I hope to have a proof of concept within a few years and from then on a few more years, maybe a decade tops, to putting it into practice to start to capitalize on it commercially. Can you imagine the untold wealth it could bring us and the scientific doors it could open for us to benefit all of humanity. It might usher in a new golden age!"

Kane thought about it for a few moments and mulled the ideas over in his head. With his knowledge and intellect plus his current financial state there is no need to work with anyone and he could take all of the benefits for himself. However he respected Howard Stark as he relied only on his own abilities to struggle up to his current position in society. Kane had read about him before in some papers after all one must be wary of the competition and the market trends plus the ideas of the man where rather advanced for the current time.

On the one hand he could snub the offer and take everything for himself but that would make a new unnecessary rival and other complications plus Howard's distribution channels would be a great help. From that he could infer Howard Stark was very well connected in high places so he could make trouble for him, either for his company or personally as say he could be charged on a trumped up excuse and deported. On the other hand if Kane managed to overcome the potential minefield and commercialize the idea himself he might make himself to wealthy and valued to be easily moved against. As Kane opened his mouth to give a reply, before he could do so however he was interrupted by a third person who spoke up.

"Mr Stark, Mr Titan I wonder if I could have a moment of your time? My name is Abraham Erskine and if you are willing I would also like to discuss working together. I have been working on a formula that I have dedicated my life towards and I think that you two could help me complete it. Both of you are brilliant men and stand out from the crowd. If everyone here at this convention are geniuses in their respective fields then you are the geniuses among geniuses, blazing brighter then the sun and stars in the sky. Mr Stark you are very unconventional and have a grasp on mechanical engineering that eludes me and Mr Titan I am not ashamed to admit to being inferior to you in most things, especially after reading your work on genetics. Perhaps we could go somewhere else a little more private and work something out?"

"Mr Erskine-"

"It's Doctor actually but I don't like to put on airs."

"Apologies then Doctor Erskine, there is no need to flatter either of us so much and I am sure even a man as humble as I would get an over inflated ego and float off into the sky, not to mention a modest man like Howard here. It is natural for scientists and smart fellows like us to be a little arrogant and aloof as we generally have a reason to be so however there is no need to compliment us and feed the ego. I prefer people to tell it to me straight and honestly as it helps keep me grounded. Having too much confidence or arrogance can get in the way of many things and obscure research. A great man once made a comment that I completely agree to and that was; that the true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination. Because of that I keep an open mind and am always available to have a discussion and trade new ideas that I otherwise would not have thought of.

At this Stark spoke up with a smile on his face. "That is a nice quote but I prefer this one; Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family. That one speaks more to me as my mother was a seamstress and father a fruit seller and I have come a long way through self education."

"How about this one then? Ignorance is the curse of God; knowledge is the wing wherewith we fly to heaven. That is rather fitting for some of the research I am working on."

"Shakespeare eh? You know, I've been to this theater in Brooklyn that has some great Shakespeare plays and the actors are excellent if you fancy going when we get back to America Mr Titan?"

"Yes, Howard I would like that very much and although I realize it is a bit belated but you can just call me Kane or Titan if that is easier as I am not really fussed either way. Actually that being said I do prefer Titan as I aim to become one of the scientific and commercial industries."

"Titan it is then and as much as I enjoy trading verbal quips and quotes from our predecessors, we have somewhere else to be. I know of a place a little down the way from here that would be a perfect to talk in."

With that the three of them gathered their things and made their way down the street, after a few twists and turns arrived at an unexpected place.

"Seriously, Stark a gentleman's club? Looks like you live up to your reputation of being an incorrigible playboy." Titan said to him with a raised eyebrow.

At that comment Stark at least had the decency to be chagrined and embarrassed.

"Oh come on what nonsense are you spouting. This is a perfect place as nobody will think we are having a private or secret discussion in such a place as this and even if they did, it would be very hard to heard us with the loud music in here. I have cultivated this reputation for a reason you know and it quite often comes in use for situations like these. You should also think about doing something similar. If we really need to keep something secret though we can always write it down to avoid being overheard as I can always burn the evidence up." Saying that he showed a pen and paper as well as a box of matched he had stowed away in his jacket pocket.

"Well I can't reveal all of the intricate details of my lifetimes work but I can give you a very broad overview. Or at the very least some parts of the formula that could use further refinement."

Perhaps it would be of help if we all knew what we wanted out of this meeting? I know what Stark would like and that is to cooperate on gravity research to make a vehicle that can defy gravity and replace the common wheeled vehicles as well as potential technologies and further cooperation down the line. You, doctor Erskine would like my help on a formula to do with genetics and that could be anything from curing the common cold to immortality or something, as the potential is nearly endless with genetics. They are after all the building blocks of God and there is so much that we do not understand. The amount of untapped potential… I can't even begin to wonder how far that path of research will go. You both do not know what I want though do you? Can you hazard a guess?

Stark was the first one of them to comment, almost instantly.

"Recognition. Every scientist and inventor wants their work to be recognized and immortalized through the ages. To be mentioned in the same breath as Newton and Tesla and the like."

After hearing Stark's comment the older man hesitated for a while deep in thought before we replied.

"To make an informed decision or educated guess if you will we need more information. For instance what is your dream or goal that you are working towards. Once we know that then we can guess what you want from this meeting and how best we can help each other. You already know that my only dream is to finish the project that I have spent my entire life working towards then after seeing the results come to fruition and be implemented."

"Mine is multifaceted. I want to be the pioneer and trailblazer in all technology and economics of the country and to make this country great by my own hand. Every store or every street has something built or in some way related to me and the name Stark to resound throughout history. A legacy to pass down even if I do not have any children to pass it down to. My only little part in the annuals of history in shaping the world. Ambitious I know and probably unrealistic as well bet there you have it. Now you know our dreams what's yours?"

"I won't find fault with your ambitions and dreams as sometimes an unobtainable dream or idea is a great thing. It can help us to persevere against all odds and be the driving force when all seems lost or at our darkest moment to make us keep putting one foot in front of the other to make things better. My dream is simply and yet probably even more complex and unobtainable then yours. You dream for the country but I dream for the universe. I do not believe that we are alone in this immense, fascinating universe and I would like to take humanity to the stars. To explore the farthest reaches of space and to watch a world be born or a star taking its last gasp before dying. I think if we have so many problems and wars on this little planet of ours, then do other races hold the answers that we seek? Will they be friendly or hostile and if they are hostile how will we be able to stand against them? I want to carve a little portion of the galaxy out for humanity. To do so I would like to create technologies to traverse the stars, weapons and defenses to protect ourselves with and to make the human race stronger. That is why I am so passionate about genetics. If I could cure all the illnesses in the world, extend human live span and change what it means to be human from the building blocks of our DNA then I believe we could have a chance at something new and a chance against some of the other races out there that have been around since our ancestors first discovered fire. Of course there is no proof that such races do exist but I would like to think that they do. Adds a lot more flavor to life and makes the universe even more interesting and mysterious if I think that way."

"Well you are right, that is even more outlandish and impossible then my own dream. Maybe we won't be able to achieve that in our lifetimes, but we can at least lay down the first paving slabs on the long road to the future and our dreams even if someone else has to complete them after we are gone. Those people we were quoting earlier, who knows but maybe in the future, people will be quoting us after our achievements."

With that out of the way the trio spoke at length for hours swapping idea, theories and experiences. None of them wanted the evening to end as they were so enthralled by each others company and the futures they imagined, but good or bad most things have to eventually come to an end.

"This was a great evening gentlemen and very productive in terms of information sharing. It is a pity that you are so busy with other research and developing your own company Titan, as that prevents us from collaborating, but I thank you for your invaluable insights and pointers. I will have to redesign everything from the ground up but it will be worth it and when I have a working prototype I will send it to you as thanks. Of course that is the long game as I still have some other things I need to do to make money and obligations to fulfill. Just a thought though, maybe we can get together and bounce more ideas off of each other in the future, hopefully a regular thing say every six months to a year? Also we could get some other like minded people to join us?"

"I am a research maniac as well as a bit stubborn and obsessive and tend to lose myself in my work when I get started. I like to see a tangible result before I come up for air and stop. So long as I have someone providing me food and the daily essentials I can get swallowed up in a deep hole losing complete track of time and by the time I come out it will be months or even years later. Seriously I was researching and when I came back to civilization I had missed a year… What I am trying to say is that as much as I would love to, I can't commit to a regular schedule in meeting up. I can keep in contact via telephone or letter if you like. Here are my contact details for both of you. Hopefully we can get together soon though as I enjoyed this evening immensely."

After exchanging contact methods they went their separate ways and while they were able to gather in various pairs, it wasn't until years later that the three came together again.