"Well, well. Preaching your strange anti-capitalist rhetoric again?"
The person whose every word was dripping with mockery was, of course, the young master of an industrial conglomerate who had the right to look down on 99.99% of the people on Earth: Tony Stark.
Although there was no longer a head of the family above him, this guy hadn't married or had children yet, so Henry could hardly call him "Master."
The guy in the other universe had an old butler waiting on him, had both a biological son and an adopted son, and had the support of an entire city's underworld and legitimate society. Only then had he earned the title of "Master."
The guy standing before him was still running around wreaking havoc among beautiful women, with the attitude of a heat-seeking missile: fire and forget. Even treating him nicely felt like putting one's own moral standards on the ground and stomping all over them.
Faced with the mockery, Henry replied evenly, "Don't assume that just because I don't represent any pharmaceutical company, everything I say is anti-capitalist. I'm only pointing out the ways pharmaceutical companies muddy the waters for the sake of profit."
"Of course. You're always so selfless, standing on the moral high ground."
Literally, it was praise. Coming from Tony Stark, it had to be taken as sarcasm.
Henry simply pretended not to notice and cheerfully accepted the compliment. His shamelessness left the young master, who had just lost the exchange by a hair, somewhat unhappy.
The Kryptonian could ignore the corporations and financial power represented by the young master, but other people couldn't be nearly so calm. The male lead whom everyone usually saw only in the company of women and in gossip columns had appeared in person, and naturally a swarm of flies came buzzing over like they'd spotted a pile of shit.
Since this was Katherine Hepburn's birthday party, Tony Stark couldn't afford to behave as he normally did, looking down on people with his nostrils and responding to everything with a dismissive snort. If he acted that way here, the old lady really would beat him up.
There weren't many people in this world who dared discipline him anymore. So he should treasure every opportunity to get beaten.
So the young master, already thoroughly seasoned in the ways of society, linked arms with Katherine Hepburn and dealt with a crowd of elderly men and women, as well as the other old members of the Hepburn family.
With Grandma serving as his shield, there weren't many people who dared go too far. After all, Katherine Hepburn really would hit or humiliate someone in public!
The person being hit naturally wouldn't suffer any serious consequences. What was frightening was if something happened to the person doing the hitting. By then, the people standing behind this old lady could probably tear the offending party to pieces.
And so, an otherwise impossible little social circle came into existence. With Tony Stark standing among a group of old men, Katherine Hepburn's presence gave the whole scene a peculiar sense of balance.
Having found his opportunity, Henry slipped away. A crowd of old men and women he couldn't afford to offend or even casually provoke—if he didn't run first, he'd have wasted the fact that he had been born with two legs.
He looked around for the friends he knew.
Gwen and Sky were chatting with some girls around the same age as the Hepburn family. They had probably become acquainted during 9/11, when they had followed Katherine Hepburn to the seaside villa in Fenwick to take shelter and interacted with the Hepburn family.
Normally, these girls might not come to the family's seaside villa, but they would return with their parents during holidays, so the two groups still had opportunities to interact.
The information carried by Henry's super-hearing revealed that the girls were currently teaching one another the art of being a "green tea"—there was no question of who was more skilled, only whether the techniques were practical. If a helpless little Kryptonian lamb barged in carelessly, they might tear him apart and eat him alive.
Better not get involved.
Henry turned his head and continued looking for someone else.
The two Eternal heavyweights, Gilgamesh and Thena, had a circle of younger children gathered around them. They were listening to the tall West Asian strongman recount tales of ancient adventures.
Whether it was the dramatic rises and falls in his voice or his accompanying hand gestures and animated acting, every bit of it held the children's attention. They would occasionally let out cries of surprise or admiration.
His ability to entertain children had at least seven thousand years of experience behind it.
Although Thena wasn't the main storyteller, she played along with Gilgamesh's performance. The two of them traded lines and played off each other, keeping the children utterly captivated.
Seeing how much fun they were having, there was no need to worry about these two heavyweights getting bored or feeling offended by anyone. Their patience and affection toward human children were so impressive that they could probably run an orphanage or daycare center and be extremely popular.
Henry continued looking at the other guests while putting food onto his own tray. The dishes personally overseen by Wesley Washington were delicious and appetizing, although their nutritional balance wasn't necessarily perfect, so Henry could only make up for the deficiencies with quantity.
He then picked up two champagne glasses with his fingers and walked over to the solitary woman sitting by the window.
"Want a glass of champagne?"
Cathy Webb smiled faintly and reached out to take one of the glasses.
Henry held out the tray as well. "I used tongs for everything, and I haven't eaten any of it yet. Today's chef trained at Le Cordon Bleu and is extremely skilled. It'd be a shame not to try some flavors you don't normally get to eat."
"Thank you."
The paramedic picked up a small bacon-wrapped scallion skewer and carefully began eating.
Henry placed the tray on the small table and sat down as well, eating while looking out the window. The New York streets of a wealthy neighborhood in spring looked like another fashion-week runway. Everyone walking along the street wore expensive coats, showing off their sense of style.
After watching the woman finish the skewer and take another sip of champagne, Henry finally said, "You probably feel pretty bored being invited here when you don't know many people, right?"
"Oh, no. How could I? It's just that I'm a boring woman to begin with. I'm not the sort who likes hanging around bars or can strike up a conversation with just anyone. I'm just that boring. Pretty disappointing, huh? Haha."
"So when Kate invited you, you couldn't bring yourself to refuse. And here you are. It was the same last time, and it's the same this time. These old folks are pretty forceful, aren't they? Sometimes they give me a headache too."
"No, I wasn't embarrassed to refuse. I'm honored to attend Mrs. Hepburn's birthday party. I just hope she doesn't dislike the gift I brought, even though it really was very cheap."
"Ah, you mean that cat mug. She absolutely loves it. She always says I have no eye for or interest in buying those fun little knickknacks, so the house is too plain. When you gave her that mug, she immediately announced that she was going to start using it tomorrow."
Cathy Webb smiled shyly. "Well, whether those things are true or not, I'm happy to hear it."
"Of course they're true. That old lady says she likes something when she likes it, and says she hates something when she hates it. If you put on a fake smile and stiffly claim to like something, she'll bonk you on the head."
"Quite a forceful old lady, huh?"
Cathy Webb echoed the phrase Henry had used earlier, and the two of them chuckled.
Still, this also revealed something about her personality. She seemed to have a somewhat ingratiating nature. If she hadn't grown up in a family with many siblings, placing her on the weaker side of the family dynamic, she might even have come from an orphanage or foster home, growing up timidly and cautiously.
For this woman with whom he had such a strange connection, Henry found himself becoming curious without realizing it. What was her background? Did she have a place in the Marvel universe?
At least in his own memories...
Damn, there really seemed to be someone like this.
Madame Web...
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