Early the next morning, a single ray of sunlight fell upon the sea. The surface of the ocean, illuminated by the golden light, looked like countless shimmering fish scales. Though a bit blinding, it was incredibly calm and peaceful.
Cassius and Wanda lay in a large bed, their faces flushed by the sun. They looked at each other and shared a smile.
"You're a truly wicked man, but I guess... you're not entirely wrong about what you said!" Wanda's breath was like orchids. Although she was a bit reluctant, she realized it wasn't so bad. At most, she would just have another sister to talk to. After all, she didn't have many close friends at the Avengers.
"My witch, you are the best." Cassius pulled Wanda into his arms and kissed her cheek. He was lucky to have found such a good witch.
After breakfast, Cassius remembered Lorna, who was still at the mansion. "Oh, right, I have a surprise for you," Cassius whispered to Wanda, who was leaning against him. He hadn't forgotten about Lorna. After all, she was Wanda's sister, and Wanda would surely be happy to meet her. The witch valued her family and friends more than anyone; her heart was very lonely.
"A surprise?" Wanda froze, then looked him up and down. "Are you sure it's not a shock? Are you going to tell me about another girl you're with?"
She had just said that having another sister was okay, but he couldn't drop a bombshell on her like this. If he did, she wouldn't be able to handle it. She had said it was okay as long as he didn't abandon her, but he couldn't take advantage of that!
"..." Cassius's mouth twitched. "It's a surprise, that's all you need to know!"
He couldn't understand how a woman's intuition could be so accurate. He was starting to wonder if all women had Spider-Sense. He hadn't even said anything yet, and she already knew what he was thinking. It was a little embarrassing.
"It better be!" Wanda pouted, glaring at Cassius.
At that moment, the phone on the table began to vibrate incessantly.
"Hmm... I understand." Wanda answered the phone, her expression serious as she said a few words before hanging up.
"What is it?" Cassius noticed the serious look on Wanda's face and asked. Wanda rarely had such a grave expression.
"That was Natasha. She said she has something important to discuss with me," Wanda said, holding Cassius's hand with an apologetic look on her face. "I'm sorry, it seems I'll have to go over there when I have time."
Natasha's tone was so serious that it couldn't have been a small matter. Although she wanted to stay with Cassius, she couldn't ignore the Avengers. They might have encountered something serious and needed her help.
"Alright, you should go ahead and get to it." Although Cassius was a little disappointed, he knew Wanda's character. He figured it was probably related to the situation in Germany. After all, Captain America was on Winter Soldier's side, and who knew how that would turn out? The only thing that could make Steve lose his reason was his friend Bucky.
"Oh, right, can't you tell me what the surprise is in advance?" Wanda turned to Cassius, a curious look in her eyes. She was very curious about what kind of surprise Cassius had prepared for her.
"The surprise..." Cassius said, a mysterious smile on his face. "I'll tell you when you come to the mansion tonight!"
He was sure that when Wanda saw Lorna again, she would be completely shocked.
"Hmph... If you're not going to tell me, then don't!" Wanda huffed, crossing her arms and looking disdainful. She suspected that Cassius was just trying to trick her into staying at the mansion. Besides, this guy was like a restless bull and couldn't sit still for a moment.
"Alright, go get to it!" Cassius ruffled Wanda's fluffy hair. Now that things were sorted out with Wanda, a weight was lifted from his chest.
"I'll see you later then." Wanda didn't hesitate anymore and flew out from the balcony.
"Looks like I should head back too." After watching Wanda leave, Cassius stretched. He made his way downstairs. This was a seaside villa he owned, but it was mostly left vacant. Although the beach view was nice, the salty, humid air wasn't as comfortable as the mansion.
Before leaving, he didn't forget to call Imelda and have someone come and clean the villa. Since they didn't live there much, a team only came to clean it once every three days.
Back at the mansion, Cassius stepped out of an Inter-Dimensional Portal and into the southwest corner of the yard. After unlocking the door with his fingerprint, he was about to go inside when he suddenly felt a sense of danger. He subconsciously moved a step to the right and extended his left hand to catch something.
A metal bowl wrapped in a green light fell into his hand. He looked up and saw Lorna staring at him blankly, her hand extended.
"Sorry, Mr. Cassius, I didn't mean to!" Lorna said awkwardly, scratching the back of her head. "I was just trying to test my abilities." She had known she had powers when she was in the lab, but she hadn't had many chances to test them out.
"It's okay." Cassius smiled and placed the metal bowl on a nearby table. "You look a lot better, by the way!" He had noticed that Lorna's cheeks were much rosier than they had been yesterday.
"I haven't had such a comfortable sleep in a long time. And big sister Imelda has been taking good care of me." Lorna twirled her hair, her cheeks red as she looked at the ground. She had never been very outgoing, so she didn't even dare to look Cassius in the eye. She had to admit, she hadn't slept in a comfortable bed like this in a very long time.
"I'm glad you like it." Cassius stepped forward and ruffled Lorna's hair. He really liked this girl. Although she seemed a little introverted, she was so shy and sweet.
"Oh, right, Mr. Cassius, my name is Lorna!" Lorna seemed to remember something and quickly introduced herself. She had been so tired from the trip back that she had forgotten this crucial part. The only reason she knew Cassius's name was because Imelda had told her.
"Okay. From now on, we're a family, so don't be so shy." Cassius couldn't help but smile at Lorna, who was still tugging at her sleeve.
"So, what about your abilities?" Cassius suddenly remembered that Lorna was trying to use her powers just now. He was curious to see how different the current Lorna was from the Polaris he knew.
"My power is Magnetic Force Control," Lorna said, looking up and answering quickly. "To be precise, my power only works on metal!" It was as if she was afraid of being scolded if she didn't answer fast enough.
"Magnetic Force Control?" Cassius was stunned for a moment, then he understood. The current Lorna didn't understand her true power yet. Her ability should be called Magnetic Field Control, but because she was so young, it hadn't been fully developed yet.
"Your power is more than just that," Cassius bent down slightly and said in a gentle voice. "You can try a little harder."
This was the famous Polaris in the making. She just hadn't figured out how her power worked yet.
"Huh?" Lorna looked a little confused and didn't understand what Cassius meant.
"Try again, and I'll see if I can explain it to you." Cassius stood next to Lorna. This way, he could see what she was doing more directly when she used her powers. Since he also had the same ability now, it would be easier to teach her.
"Okay!" Lorna nodded firmly, slowly extending her hands and gritting her teeth. Then, the metal bowl not far away began to sway and lift. It was as if there was an invisible hand, but this hand couldn't control the bowl very well. Even when it was floating, it felt like it was about to fall at any moment.
After a while, Lorna put the bowl down with a serious expression. "Phew~" She looked at Cassius with a satisfied expression, waiting for praise.
"That's great, you did really well!" Cassius smiled and rubbed her head. "But we need to switch to something heavier. Let's try that iron statue outside!"
Seeing the complete change in Lorna's demeanor, he couldn't imagine that this was the same person who would become the future, unhinged Polaris.
He could understand why. All of Polaris's family had a history of mental illness. She would be fine normally, but once she was triggered, her mental state would change. For example, Polaris had two personalities, which was why she became so unhinged later on.
"That..." Lorna looked in the direction Cassius was pointing, pursing her lips. "That's too heavy. I can't lift it."
She had tried before, but she could only make objects levitate. Her powers weren't very strong. She could only make things levitate for a short time, and she couldn't control them with precision. Let alone something that heavy. She couldn't even move it a millimeter!
"I believe in you. Just try it." Cassius looked at Lorna with a look of encouragement. Lorna's power was far more than this, so he was confident that she could do it. She just didn't have enough confidence.
"Really?" Lorna met Cassius's encouraging gaze, and a flicker of confidence appeared in her eyes. Since this gentle man said she could, then she must be able to. She was willing to believe this man who gave her an indescribable sense of comfort. Because she believed that he would never lie to her.
Her eyes hardened, and a soft, eerie green light emanated from her left hand. The green light flowed through her hand, and the iron statue in the distance slowly began to tremble.
It's really working!
She gritted her teeth, and the ton-heavy iron statue slowly rose, trembling. Even though it was only about a centimeter, Cassius could clearly see it.
Just a little more, a little higher!
Lorna gritted her teeth.
Bang!
The next second, the heavy iron statue crashed to the ground with a loud bang, and dust flew everywhere. The eagle's wings on top of the statue kept shaking.
"I can't do it..." Lorna frowned, panting for breath, her voice filled with disappointment. She could feel that she had reached her limit. This was her full power, and she had even broken her previous record.
"You have a lot of room for improvement," Cassius said, pinching her collagen-filled cheek to comfort her.
He knew how strong Lorna could be, and this was less than one percent of her true power. But this was also within his expectations. After all, she was only sixteen or seventeen. Being able to do this much was already pretty good.
He didn't want to push Lorna to the point of breaking just to increase her power. Her power was only meant to give her the ability to protect herself in the future.
"Thank you," Lorna said, a flicker of unwillingness in her eyes. "But the devils in the lab said my abilities won't improve much."
She had been tested before, and even with constant training, she could only make her control a little more precise. At most, she could control some not-so-heavy objects to attack others.
This power was even weaker than a gun, so she had never thought she could become stronger. It was already a good thing if she could use it to help out a little. No matter how unwilling she was, this was her limit. She believed that Cassius was just comforting her.
"Who said that?" Cassius withdrew his hand and said nonchalantly. "Your power is Magnetic Field Control. It's one of the most powerful abilities there is."
"Magnetic Field Control?" Lorna was stunned. This was completely different from what she had imagined. She had never thought that her power wasn't just Magnetic Force Control. It was something called Magnetic Field Control. This was completely beyond her imagination.
"Yeah." Cassius didn't continue to explain. Instead, he simply spread his arms, his expression calm as he looked at the iron statue in the yard.
Humming...
In that moment, Lorna's eyes widened. "Your power!" She could feel an incredibly familiar power coming from Cassius! It was Magnetic Field Control! And this power was incredibly strong!
If she were a cup of water, Cassius's power was like a bottomless ocean. The power he was releasing didn't have any light. She could only vaguely see the air slightly wavering. She never expected Cassius to also have this ability.
Creeaaak...
Cassius simply closed his right hand, and the statue began to compress and deform. It was as if it was being squeezed by something. The iron made a screeching sound as it was compressed. Under the immense pressure, it was even flattened into a large piece of iron.
"Wow!" This sight made Lorna's eyes widen. She had never thought this power could be so strong!
"Magnetic Field Control can control more than just metal!" Cassius said calmly. He could clearly feel the power flowing through his body. Unlike Lorna, he had a fully mature version of Magnetic Field Control. Although it wasn't as destructive as Magneto in the comics, it was more than enough to match the Magneto in the movies. In fact, his control was even more powerful than Magneto's.
"Not just metal?" Lorna asked, a confused look on her face. She didn't quite understand what that meant.
"Yeah." Cassius knew that just explaining wouldn't do much, so he put his palm down. His arm trembled slightly, and a terrifying force erupted in the air.
The ground shook!
The ground began to crack, and dozens of cracks spread far into the distance at an incredibly fast speed. The ground was grinding, making a terrifying sound like a monster's roar. The trees and grass were pushed down as if by something heavy. The clear sky instantly turned dark. Black clouds began to gather.
Due to the magnetic anomaly, thunder and lightning flashed in the sky. The ground was constantly shaking, as if a terrifying earthquake was happening.
"Oh my God!" Lorna could feel that the power within Cassius was tens of thousands of times stronger than her own!
At the same time, at the Weather Bureau.
Beep, beep, beep!
"Report, sir, we have an anomaly!" a staff member shouted in a panicked voice.
"What is it?" the officer asked with a serious tone.
The staff member shouted in a terrified voice, "The New York crust has suddenly accelerated its movement and is beginning to fracture. This could be a historic-level earthquake!"
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