Pietro and Wanda exchanged a long look after hearing Richard's question, their expressions reflecting the internal struggle between desperate hope and hard-earned cynicism. Finally, both siblings shook their heads in unison.
While they couldn't detect any obvious malice radiating from this mysterious stranger, trust wasn't something they could afford to give freely. Not only had they never encountered Richard before today, but the casual display of telepathic control he'd just demonstrated made it impossible for them to let their guard down completely.
Living as orphans in war-torn Sokovia had taught them that survival depended on maintaining healthy skepticism toward anyone offering help—especially when that help came from someone with superhuman abilities.
"Whether you believe me or not, I'm telling the truth," Richard said with patient understanding. "As for how I can help you... let's start with something concrete. Something that can improve your immediate quality of life."
He reached into what appeared to be empty air—actually accessing his system storage space—and withdrew a palm-sized brick of pure gold, placing it carefully on the small table between them.
The metal gleamed warmly in the afternoon light filtering through their apartment's modest windows, its weight evident even from the soft thunk it made against the wooden surface.
"I don't carry Sokovian currency," Richard explained matter-of-factly. "But gold is universally valuable. This should be more than sufficient to improve your living situation considerably."
Pietro and Wanda stared at the golden brick, their wariness momentarily overshadowed by sheer astonishment. In a struggling nation like Sokovia, where basic necessities were often luxuries, the small fortune sitting on their table represented a complete transformation of their circumstances.
The gold brick wasn't particularly large—roughly the dimensions of a smartphone—but they both understood that its value could literally change their lives overnight.
After another silent exchange of glances, Pietro carefully picked up the brick. His eyes widened slightly at the unexpected weight—the density of gold made even this modest piece surprisingly heavy in his hands.
This was encouraging. Pietro had seen enough fake jewelry and counterfeit goods in Sokovia's black markets to recognize the difference between real gold and cheap imitations. If this had been hollow or made from some lesser metal, it would have been immediately obvious.
To be absolutely certain, he bit down gently on one corner—an old but reliable test for gold purity. The metal yielded slightly under his teeth, confirming its authenticity.
Satisfied that the gift was genuine, Pietro set the gold brick back down and fixed Richard with a direct stare. "Why do you want to help us? What do you get out of this?"
"There are several reasons," Richard replied with refreshing honesty. "But the one you're most likely to accept is simple: I'm attracted to Wanda."
He gestured casually toward the young woman sitting beside her brother. "I'm a healthy man with normal preferences, and Wanda happens to be a beautiful woman. Is that so difficult to understand?"
Both siblings blinked in surprise at his straightforward admission. In their experience, men with ulterior motives typically went to great lengths to disguise their intentions, not announce them openly within minutes of first meeting.
"Are you American?" Pietro asked, his tone suggesting this might explain Richard's unusual directness.
"Not exactly," Richard answered.
"Tell us more about what you can do," he requested. "The teleportation and... mind control thing."
Richard provided a brief explanation of telepathy and spatial manipulation, keeping the details simple enough for laypeople to understand. Even though the twins had witnessed both abilities firsthand, they still showed expressions of amazement as he described the theoretical principles behind his powers.
This reaction reminded Richard of an important fact about the current timeline in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While his own reality was populated with superheroes, supervillains, and various enhanced individuals, this version of Earth was still largely ignorant of such possibilities.
Captain America remained the only widely known superhuman, and even his abilities were generally attributed to experimental super-soldier serum rather than anything truly supernatural. The age of open superhuman activity hadn't yet begun.
"You don't need to look so surprised," Richard added with a slight smile. "Both of you will develop your own superhuman abilities eventually."
The statement hit Pietro and Wanda like a thunderbolt. They stared at him with wide eyes, temporarily speechless.
"Are you serious?" Pietro finally managed to ask.
"Completely serious," Richard confirmed. "Otherwise, I wouldn't have sought you out specifically."
"When will this happen?" Pietro pressed eagerly. "What kind of powers will we get?"
While Richard possessed detailed knowledge of their future abilities—Pietro's superhuman speed and Wanda's reality-warping chaos magic—he decided to maintain some mystery about the specifics.
"You'll discover that when the time comes," he said with deliberate vagueness. "Some things are better experienced than explained in advance."
He stood up from his chair and gestured toward the gold brick. "But let's not get ahead of ourselves. I noticed you were having lunch when I arrived. How about we go out for dinner? I'd like to try some authentic Sokovian cuisine."
Pietro and Wanda exchanged another glance, then nodded in agreement. The prospect of a proper meal—something they couldn't always afford—was too appealing to refuse.
After clearing away the remnants of their interrupted lunch, the twins led Richard out of their modest apartment building and onto the streets of their neighborhood.
"We should exchange the gold for cash first," Pietro suggested practically. "I know a reliable place where we can get a fair rate."
"Lead the way," Richard agreed.
Pietro's confidence in his "reliable channel" was based on years of surviving as an orphan in a economically depressed nation. While he was only in his early twenties, circumstances had forced him to become familiar with various elements of Sokovia's unofficial economy—the network of black market dealers, money changers, and less-than-legal entrepreneurs who operated in the shadows of legitimate society.
He'd always been careful to keep Wanda away from these connections, preferring to handle any necessary dealings with questionable characters himself. As her older brother—by twelve minutes, but he took the responsibility seriously—he felt it was his duty to protect her from the darker aspects of their world.
Richard had no particular interest in where Pietro planned to conduct this transaction. Even if the twins were unknowingly leading him into a meeting with terrorists or Hydra agents, he couldn't bring himself to be concerned. With his current level of power, no one on Earth posed a genuine threat to him.
Expanding that assessment to cosmic scale, there were perhaps a handful of entities in the entire universe capable of challenging him in direct combat—and none of them were likely to be operating a currency exchange in Sokovia.
As they walked through the city streets, Richard noticed Wanda glancing at him periodically, as if she wanted to ask something but couldn't quite work up the courage.
"Whatever you want to know, just ask," he encouraged her.
Wanda remained silent for several seconds, clearly wrestling with some internal debate. Finally, she seemed to reach a decision.
"In the apartment, you said you were attracted to me," she began hesitantly. "But you also claimed we'd never met before today. How can you be interested in someone you don't know?"
"Who said I don't know you?" Richard replied calmly. "I've observed you many times—you simply weren't aware of it."
This answer clearly alarmed her. "When? Where?"
"I have limited precognitive abilities," Richard explained, sticking to his cover story. "I've seen glimpses of possible futures, and you feature prominently in many of them."
While Wanda already knew he possessed supernatural powers, this particular claim still seemed to stretch her ability to believe. Her expression reflected pure skepticism.
Their conversation was interrupted as Pietro led them into a neighborhood that was visibly different from the residential area where the twins lived. The buildings here were in worse repair, with peeling paint and broken windows that spoke of urban decay and municipal neglect. Trash littered the streets, and the overall atmosphere carried an undercurrent of barely contained violence.
This was clearly Sokovia's equivalent of the rough neighborhoods found in any major city—the kind of place where legitimate businesses couldn't survive and illegal enterprises flourished in the shadows.
Pietro's posture shifted noticeably as they entered this territory. His casual demeanor became more alert and purposeful, his eyes constantly scanning their surroundings for potential threats. He moved with the practiced wariness of someone who understood that projecting weakness here could have serious consequences.
Wanda, meanwhile, fell silent and drew unconsciously closer to Richard. While she maintained her vigilant awareness of their environment, there was something about his presence that made her feel marginally safer in this dangerous area.
Richard himself remained completely relaxed, his expression as calm as if they were strolling through a peaceful park. The various gang members and street criminals they passed posed no more threat to him than a collection of housecats.
Several of the local predators took obvious notice of their group—particularly Wanda, whose youth and relative innocence marked her as a potential target. Their calculating stares and whispered conversations left little doubt about their intentions.
Under the watchful eyes of these street-level predators, Pietro guided Richard and Wanda into what appeared to be an ordinary convenience store. The exterior was unremarkable enough to blend in with the surrounding businesses, giving no hint of its true nature.
However, once inside, the store's unique character became immediately apparent. While it did stock normal convenience items—snacks, drinks, basic household supplies—the shelves also displayed merchandise that would never be found in a legitimate establishment.
Handguns and rifles with empty magazines sat openly on display racks. Body armor hung from wall hooks like clothing. Various knives and tactical gear were arranged with the same casual presentation used for candy bars or cigarettes.
The staff matched the unusual inventory perfectly. Instead of typical store clerks, the establishment was staffed by several large, intimidating men whose physical presence suggested they were quite capable of handling any troublemakers who might object to the store's pricing policies.
In normal circumstances, Pietro would never have brought Wanda to such an obviously dangerous location. But Richard's supernatural abilities provided a level of security that made the risk seem manageable.
Pietro approached the main counter with an air of false confidence, withdrawing the gold brick from a plastic bag and placing it before the largest of the store's employees.
"I need this converted to cash," he announced, trying to project more experience than he actually possessed. "Half in U.S. dollars, half in Sokovian currency."
The man behind the counter immediately recognized Pietro as an inexperienced amateur. While the store did deal in precious metals and jewelry, customers typically didn't walk in off the street carrying solid gold bricks worth small fortunes.
After examining the gold carefully—checking its weight, testing its purity, and confirming its authenticity—the man delivered his verdict.
"No U.S. dollars available," he stated flatly. "Sokovian currency only. Two hundred thousand, maximum."
Pietro and Wanda both reacted with shock and indignation. While they'd expected some degree of unfavorable exchange rates, this offer was borderline insulting.
The gold brick weighed approximately two kilograms. Even at a conservative 80% of market value, it should have been worth at least $150,000 U.S. With the current exchange rate of roughly 12 Sokovian coins per dollar, they should have received close to 1.8 million in local currency.
The offered 200,000 represented less than one-eighth of the gold's actual value.
"Forget it," Pietro said angrily. "Give me back the gold. We're leaving."
He reached for the brick, but the man behind the counter was faster.
"Whether you leave or not isn't your decision to make," the man replied coldly, pulling the gold brick out of Pietro's reach. He gestured to his colleagues stationed around the store. "Give the kid his two hundred thousand."
The clear implication was that Pietro and Wanda would be accepting this pittance whether they wanted to or not. The store's staff began moving to surround the trio, their intentions unmistakable.
However, they had miscalculated the situation in one crucial respect.
"Take one more step and you die," Richard said quietly.
His tone was conversational, almost casual, but there was something in his voice that made the man behind the counter pause mid-stride.
"Kid, do you have any idea where you are—" the man began with obvious contempt.
His sentence was cut short by twin beams of intense red light that erupted from Richard's eyes. The heat vision struck the man center-mass, boring through his chest with surgical precision and ending his life instantly.
As the corpse toppled backward under the influence of gravity, Richard casually gestured with one hand. The gold brick flew from the dead man's grip back to Pietro, guided by Richard's matter manipulation abilities.
"Your 'reliable channel' wasn't very reliable at all," Richard observed mildly.
Pietro started to respond, but his words were forgotten as the other store employees drew their weapons and aimed them at Richard.
"Look out—" Pietro began urgently.
The warning proved unnecessary. Before any of the gunmen could fire, their bodies simply... dissolved. Like smoke dispersing in a strong wind, the men decomposed at the molecular level and vanished completely, leaving behind only empty clothing and abandoned weapons.
Pietro and Wanda stared at the empty spaces where living human beings had stood moments before, their minds struggling to process what they'd witnessed.
Richard's heat vision had been startling but comprehensible—it resembled an extremely advanced laser weapon. But the complete molecular dissolution of multiple targets simultaneously was beyond anything they could have imagined.
"Let's go," Richard said calmly, as if nothing remarkable had occurred.
The twins nodded mutely and followed him out of the store, still too shocked to speak.
Richard led them away from the dangerous neighborhood and back toward the city's commercial district, where legitimate businesses operated under proper oversight and regulation.
He selected a reputable gold dealer at random and accompanied Pietro inside while the clerk processed the transaction professionally. The exchange rate was fair, the paperwork was proper, and no one attempted to rob them at gunpoint.
When the clerk had finished preparing both U.S. dollars and Sokovian currency as requested, Richard turned to Pietro with a pointed look.
"When you don't have sufficient strength to protect yourself, legitimate channels are always preferable to illegal ones," he said quietly. "Watch fewer gangster movies in the future. The real criminal underworld isn't nearly as glamorous as Hollywood makes it appear."