Seeing Nick Fury's face darken, Maria Hill felt very good inside—like finding water in a desert.
That one-eyed devil always had that cold, debt-collector expression, acting like the whole world owed him money. Getting shut down for once? He deserved it.
Hill turned on her heel, leaving only her cool, arrogant silhouette behind. Fury was left there fuming, alone.
Everyone's rebelling… Fury thought grimly.
...
The next day, around ten in the morning, Leo groggily woke up. Sunlight poured into the room.
"Ahh… now this is the life," he muttered with a satisfied sigh.
They'd gone at it until past three in the morning. Changing the sheets and showering afterward had been its own small war.
"Hey, Wanda, wake up. Don't you have work today?" Leo nudged the sleepy woman beside him.
"Ughhh… let me sleep a little longer. I'm not going today. This is all your fault, you heartless bastard…"
She mumbled before pulling the blanket over her head and promptly falling back asleep.
Leo smirked. "Tch. Who was the one screaming 'Yes, good!' all night, huh? Whose fault is that?"
Hiss!
Without even looking, Wanda's hand shot back and pinched him hard where it hurt most.
Leo's grin froze. Oh, hell no. She started this.
Catching her mischievous little hand, he leaned close to her ear and whispered, "Wanda… never show your back to the enemy."
"What?" she murmured, confused—And then she froze.
Round two had begun.
Two hours later, Leo washed up with Wanda draped limply against him, her face flushed and her spirit completely defeated.
After a quick homemade meal, Wanda shot him a glare that had zero bite and stomped back to bed.
This man was a beast.
"Hehe. My dear, rest well. I'll take you out for dinner tonight," Leo teased, grinning ear to ear.
"Get lost!" she huffed before falling asleep instantly.
Leo strutted out triumphantly. Big fight tonight. Gotta get ready.
Tony Stark's Lamborghini roared down the street, Leo behind the wheel with a freshly obtained license—much to Tony's confusion.
Leo arrived at Morgan Securities, the number one securities firm in the U.S.
The moment the Lamborghini stopped, the security guard personally arranged a VIP spot. Whether he was a real client or not didn't matter—money talked.
"Sir, hello. I'm Christian, business manager at Morgan Securities. How may I assist you?"
A beautiful woman greeted him with a dazzling smile.
Leo laughed inwardly. Power really changes everything. When you're strong, everyone in the world suddenly likes you.
"I'm opening an account. Gonna play a little," Leo replied casually.
"Of course, sir. Please follow me."
The woman practically lit up—a big client had arrived.
In the VIP room, Leo handed over his driver's license. She brought him coffee with practiced grace and quickly processed the paperwork.
Outside the building, multiple groups were watching Leo's every move.
S.H.I.E.L.D.
The X-Men
The Brotherhood
Obadiah Stane's men.
Natasha Romanoff hadn't slept well after Fury's call last night. Seething with annoyance, she'd quietly tailed Leo since morning.
"Hmph, you little brat. You're the reason I didn't get my beauty sleep," she muttered. "I will find out what's up with you. And if I don't… I'll make you pay."
She clenched her jaw just looking at his annoyingly handsome face.
On the X-Men's side, Colossus and Iceman were present.
The night before, Professor X had suddenly felt something was off. As a master of the mind, his instincts were rarely wrong. He put on Cerebro.
"Hm? Pyro John's mental signature… gone?"
Professor Charles frowned. Dead.
Pyro had been a traitor, so Charles didn't mourn him. But the death itself raised questions. Someone had killed him—and that meant someone dangerous was moving in the shadows.
When he tried to probe Leo's mind, an unnatural, overwhelming magnetic field blocked him completely.
He didn't know it, but that was the Infinity Stones' protective field. Even unlinked from the universe's rules, the Stones were untouchable.
Charles assumed Leo was a powerful mutant. Better to recruit him than leave him outside as a potential threat.
Meanwhile, the Brotherhood had already checked surveillance footage.
Magneto now knew who killed Pyro and decided to recruit this "newcomer" too. A powerful individual like Leo was worth having—or at least worth not turning into an enemy.
Leo, of course, had sensed them all. But he didn't care.
If they stretch their hands out… I'll cut them off.
He needed points and bio-energy badly. Even small fries were still meat on the table.
By the time he'd finished his coffee, the business manager had processed everything. His account was open.
"Sir, if you need anything, you can call me anytime," she said with a sweet smile.
"Okay, beautiful. Bye-bye."
"Bye-bye~"
She escorted him to the door with a spring in her step. If she could land this golden goose… who needed a lottery ticket?
But Leo wasn't interested. His tastes had grown far too refined lately.
Getting into the Lamborghini, he smirked.
Time to harvest.
And sure enough—every tail behind him followed, one by one, straight into the trap.