On the screens of Central Avenue in New York, reports about the events at Orchard Beach were constantly scrolling. Even the surrounding newsstands had a fresh supply of newspapers reporting on the incident and the Scarlet Witch's contributions.
Of course, this was largely thanks to Stark Industries pushing the narrative, spreading the news as quickly as possible. Even though the incident didn't have much to do with the Avengers, it was a good opportunity to boost public support. At the very least, all the recent public opinion about the Scarlet Witch was positive.
"I can't believe the Scarlet Witch is so powerful. Thank goodness she was at Orchard Beach today!"
"Tell me about it. If it wasn't for the Scarlet Witch, the tourists there would have been as flat as my Uncle Tom's blueberry pie!"
"It seems we really misunderstood her before. What happened then was just an accident."
"But who was that mysterious person? Was he a new member of the Avengers?"
"..."
The citizens looked at the reports and sighed in admiration.
They had learned from the news that if their houses or cars were damaged in a battle, they could file a claim with Stark Industries. In addition, even civilians injured before the superheroes arrived could have part of their medical expenses reduced.
This was a huge blessing for them. After all, all they wanted was a peaceful life. More than that, they were curious about the identity of the mysterious person. Because as soon as the person appeared, the situation immediately turned around. Judging from the live broadcast, he looked incredibly cool.
Meanwhile, in Queens.
Bare feet padded on a soft rug, and a pale figure wrapped in a towel leaned on the sofa, idly scrolling through her phone. The fresh scent of shower gel lingered in the room, and a speaker on the side played soft, calming music.
"Huh! Isn't that Mr. Cassius?!" Gwen sat up straight as she saw the news report. Her white bathrobe slipped down a little, but she didn't even notice. Her eyes were completely glued to her phone!
She immediately opened the live broadcast and watched it carefully. Although she couldn't see his face clearly, she could tell from his clothes and the way he carried himself that this was the Mr. Cassius she had been thinking about.
"I can't believe Mr. Cassius saved so many people. He's amazing." She gripped her phone, her toes curling slightly, and her whole body trembled with excitement. Her cheeks, already a little pink from the steam, were now even redder, as if they were about to drip blood. She was incredibly happy that the person she liked had done such a great thing.
"It seems Mr. Cassius is a low-key person, just like me." In the live broadcast, Cassius had disappeared from the scene. In her mind, he was a hero who did good deeds and then disappeared, without seeking fame or glory. He was so much cooler than she could have imagined.
Thinking about this, she couldn't help but recall everything that happened on the clock tower that day. The suffocating feeling, the neon lights shining on her face... all of it was deeply etched into her mind like a brand.
'I was so brave!'
Recalling everything that happened, a blush spread from Gwen's cheeks to the tips of her ears. Even her body felt a little hot. If she didn't have something to do tomorrow, she would have gone to find Cassius right now.
"Gwen!" Just then, her mother, Helen, called from outside the room. "Come down and drink your warm milk!"
The sudden sound jolted Gwen out of her memories.
"Coming!" Gwen responded, quickly put on her pajamas, slipped on her slippers, and trotted downstairs.
In the living room.
George held a newspaper and sat on a chair in front of the dining table, carefully reading the news. "I didn't know these superheroes were so incredible."
He hadn't gone to Orchard Beach today because he didn't have to work in the field. But he had heard from his colleagues that the scene was quite a spectacle. Looking at the newspaper now, he couldn't help but nod in agreement.
"Tell me about it." Helen placed a glass of warm milk on the dining table. She hadn't had a great impression of these superheroes before. But recently, her opinion had changed.
She realized that there was always a group of people in this world who were working hard for others. And with these superheroes, her husband would be a little safer. Otherwise, if something like this happened, George would have to be on the front lines. She didn't want anything to happen to her husband.
"I hope the world can be at peace and that there won't be any more conflicts," George sighed in resignation. Because he hadn't been back to work for so long, the first thing he did when he returned was to look through all the previous cases. The more he read, the more shocked he was. Peaceful days were truly few and far between.
"Mom!" With a sound of footsteps, Gwen skipped down the stairs, humming a tune. A beautiful smile was on her face, as if she had encountered something incredibly happy. After sitting down, her body fidgeted like she had a case of ADHD. If Cassius did something good, she would be happy for him.
This was the first time Helen had seen Gwen so happy. Before George had woken up, Gwen had always been moping around, only managing to force a smile every once in a while. But now, she was smiling beautifully.
"Gwen, are you in love?" Although Helen was a little older, she could tell from Gwen's expression that she was in love. Her eyes were completely smitten, and she hadn't even looked at her milk when she held it.
"Huh?" Gwen froze, and the milk in her hand sloshed in the cup. She hadn't expected her mother to figure out her thoughts so quickly.
"You're my daughter, of course I can tell." Helen pulled her chair next to Gwen and sat down, holding her small hand. "Can you tell me about it?"
"..." Gwen shook her head first, then nodded. Although they were already very close, they still hadn't officially confirmed their relationship. She could feel Cassius's affection, but she couldn't be sure in her heart.
"What? You really have a boyfriend?" George, who was reading the newspaper, put it aside with a nervous look. He really hadn't expected his daughter to be in love so soon. How old was she? He didn't want some bad boy to steal her away.
"Calm down, she's in college now." Helen shook her head at George.
"Haha... I forgot my daughter has grown up." George awkwardly rubbed the back of his head. He had been in a coma for so long that he subconsciously still treated Gwen like a child.
Since she was already in college, these things weren't that big of a deal. As long as it didn't affect her studies, it was fine. After all, he had started dating Helen back in high school.
"Gwen." Helen's blue eyes met Gwen's, and she said with a gentle smile, "I hope you can bring him home for us to meet."
Although she didn't know what kind of person Gwen's boyfriend was, it was always a good idea to bring him home. They wanted to see what kind of person Gwen liked.
"I... I'll try. I'll bring him home when the time is right." Gwen took a deep breath and nodded her head with a determined expression. She also hoped to get her family's support after they made their relationship official.
But for now... The biggest problem was that she had to find a way to make Cassius her boyfriend first.
At the mansion.
The first thing Cassius did when he got back was to take a shower.
"Phew~" Dressed in a bathrobe, he lay leisurely on his custom-made sofa. "Turn on the TV and play the news," he said calmly. He had a habit of watching the news and lay on the sofa, watching the news of the day. After seeing the reports, a slight smile appeared on his lips.
"Sometimes, pretending to be a superhero is quite fun." Cassius picked up a glass of coffee with milk on the side and took a sip.
Occasionally going out to show off was a great way to relieve stress. What's more, he hadn't been exposed at all this time. But this was only something he'd do occasionally. If he did it all day, it would get boring. It was just like Tony Stark. He didn't want to be a playboy, but he had to save the world.
"It seems that once something interesting becomes a job, it gets very tiring." He rested his head on the edge of the sofa and muttered, "I'd rather be a hero for fun." Besides, that old woman today had given him a pretty big surprise, so it wasn't a complete waste of time.
[...A reporter from this station found traces of a meteor landing in the suburbs of New York today...] After reporting on the events at Orchard Beach, the reporter moved on to other news. Seeing the giant crater in the middle of the road, Cassius rubbed his forehead helplessly, and a trace of fatigue appeared in his eyes.
"That Hela woman isn't going to come bother me again, is she?"
That woman was a "sticky plaster," and he figured he would have more trouble with her in the future.
"Worst case scenario, I'll just tie her to a hundred-ton rock and make her stay underwater forever, right?" Cassius sighed and thought to himself. Although Hela was powerful, she still had a limit. Just because she was immortal didn't mean there was no way to trap her. But he couldn't help but remember the feeling of her soft body...
"Why isn't Wanda here yet?" Cassius shook his head and threw these distracting thoughts out of his mind. He had taken a shower early just so he could be more carefree later.
Ding-dong!
Just then, the doorbell suddenly rang through the house's speakers.
"Wanda's here?" The corner of Cassius's mouth curved up, and a trace of joy flashed in his eyes. To make his life less boring, he had come up with many new ways to have fun. Thinking about the expression on Wanda's face made his steps quicken a little.
The moment he opened the door, Cassius was stunned. The person who appeared was none other than Tony, and behind Tony were several other people. At a glance, it was Steve and Rhodey!
"Why are you here?" Cassius was a little surprised. Shouldn't these superheroes be in a meeting or something right now? It seemed a little strange for them to come all the way to his place so late at night.
What Cassius didn't know was that the energy fluctuation he had caused today had caught the attention of Tony and the others. Although it hadn't happened at Cassius's mansion, they still decided to come and ask him about it. Maybe Cassius had seen the source of the energy fluctuation today.
The reason why so many of them had come together was also because they were curious about what Tony's good friend was like. After all, Tony, who was usually calm, had gotten so excited back then.
Tony saw that Cassius was safe and sound and finally breathed a sigh of relief. Although the energy fluctuation hadn't happened here today, it wasn't far away. He didn't want his rare good friend to get into an accident. He introduced him to Steve and the others. "This is Cassius."
"Come on in," Cassius said, although he hadn't expected Tony and the others to come at this time. He still opened the door wide and invited them in.
"Mr. Cassius, you have pretty good taste!" Steve looked at the decorations inside and couldn't help but sigh.
Although Tony's place was also very luxurious, it felt a little too much like a nouveau riche's. And there were instruments everywhere. This place, on the other hand, felt both expensive and cozy.
"You're too kind." Cassius led them into the living room and said, "Did you just come here to look at the house?"
If Tony had come alone, it would most likely have been to complain about something. But with so many people, they definitely weren't here to chitchat.
"Mr. Cassius, we wanted to ask if you noticed anything unusual this morning," Steve leaned forward and asked in a serious tone. The energy was too powerful to be ignored. Although he had arrived at the scene and found nothing but a dense forest, they didn't believe the matter was that simple.
"This morning?" Cassius was stunned for a moment. He immediately realized what they were talking about and shook his head slightly. "Nothing unusual."
He guessed that the commotion he had caused today was too big. That's why this group of people had come here specifically to ask. After all, he was the only one living nearby.
"It seems it'll be even harder to investigate now," a hint of disappointment flashed in Steve's eyes. He had hoped to get some useful clues, but it seemed they were out of luck.
"Cassius, hurry up and get out that good wine you've been hiding. I brought them here specifically to try your good wine!" After seeing that there was no other information to be found, Tony immediately changed the subject to something more casual. His mood today was pretty good overall. With Wanda's recent performance and Ross not bringing up the regulation issues again, he felt a lot less stressed.
"Alright," Cassius gave a wry smile and shook his head. He stood up and took a bottle of Henri IV Dudognon Heritage Cognac Grande Champagne from the wine rack. As he pulled the cork out with a corkscrew, the entire living room was filled with a rich aroma of wine.
"I can't believe you're willing to open this good stuff." Tony's eyes lit up. He had wanted to try the Henri IV Dudognon Heritage Cognac Grande Champagne before, but Cassius had always stopped him, so he had to give up. Even the others couldn't help but slightly twitch their noses. They could tell the quality of the brandy from the rich aroma.
"I wonder who Wanda's boyfriend is..." As they enjoyed the wine, Tony couldn't help but bring up the topic. After all, this person's identity was too mysterious.
"Wanda is being secretive and won't say anything on her own." The others also chimed in.
Listening to them chat, a look of hesitation appeared on Cassius's face. 'Should I tell them about Wanda and me...'
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