When Shiller arrived, he just caught a glimpse of Stark's awkward moment. Stark seemed to be attempting to set up a canopy by hand, but since it was very windy on the beach, and he wasn't in his Battle Armor, the nails meant to secure it refused to go in. Then a gust of wind came, and Stark nearly took off with it.
It was with great difficulty that he finally got a foothold in the soft sand. As soon as he turned around, he saw Shiller's smiling face.
"Hey, I just ... It was a slip of the hand," Stark protested, "I'll nail it down in no time ... but are you just going to stand there and watch?"
"Don't look at me, I can't set up a tent." Shiller crossed his arms as he walked past Stark and sat down at a nearby table, "Looks like you're going to show me your tent-pitching skills after all. Go on."
Stark muttered a few words under his breath and finally let go. The staff members, who had been waiting for a while, could finally step in to finish off the last bit.
"You look much better," Shiller said, "You don't look like an angry turkey anymore."
"What? Turkey?! Is that how you see me?!"
As the two of them were still bickering, Gwen and Peter came out from the nearby changing room. Gwen hadn't changed her clothes, but Peter had put on his swimming trunks. He was evidently very hot, immediately grabbing ice cubes from the cooler to pop into his mouth.
Stark asked him what the matter was, and Peter complained somewhat: "There's no air conditioning in the changing room, I almost got steamed to death ..."
"Are you feeling okay, Miss Gwen?" Shiller asked with some concern, noticing that Gwen looked a little pale. Gwen sighed, "The air conditioning on the plane was too cold, I caught a cold, nothing serious, just feeling a bit uncomfortable."
Shiller reached over and turned the fan on the table to another direction, then suggested, "Maybe you could lie down in your room for a while longer."
"I get dizzy staying in the room," Gwen said, frowning and clutching her head, "Having a summer cold is the worst, I keep going from cold to hot, and I can't eat anything ..."
"Have you taken any medicine?" Shiller asked again.
"Of course not, you can't cure a cold by taking medicine. I know it might make me feel better, but in this heat, it won't help much." Gwen sounded listless, completely wilted.
Suddenly, as if remembering something, Shiller took out his phone and sent a message to Ultron. Ultron, upon reading it, paused for a moment then sized up Gwen with his eyes and signaled a "correct" gesture towards Shiller from behind Gwen.
"Aren't you going to swim, Doctor? I just have to take a few laps, or I'm going to die from this heat," said Peter.
"Swimming now won't cool you down much. I've brought freshly squeezed juice. I'll go make some drinks for you. Peter, come help me move the cooler."
Peter, who would have loved to plunge headfirst into the cooler, ran over at top speed. As soon as he got to Shiller, Shiller turned and said to him, "Gwen is pregnant."
Peter's eyes widened, but he didn't react with the excitement Shiller had anticipated. He confirmed the news with Shiller several times and then had a thoughtful look on his face.
"What's wrong? Aren't you happy?" Shiller asked.
Peter had clearly thought it over carefully before replying, "This was unexpected for us; we hadn't planned on conceiving."
"So..."
"Neither of us were mentally or physically prepared, especially not physically. Although neither of us have any bad habits, we've been staying up late lately, with irregular schedules and not a small amount of work stress, which might affect the child."
Shiller nodded without arguing. Although they were both young, no one could be absolutely certain that being unprepared for conception would have no effect on a child.
"Also..." Peter said with some difficulty, "We had already made a decision before coming here."
"What decision?"
"We didn't intend to have children so soon; if possible, adopting wouldn't be bad, either."
"I have no intention to question you, but why?"
"No particular reason, we just don't really want to." Peter shook his head, "Few of my colleagues in the lab have children, okay, mainly it's that we just don't want to spend the time on that. Gwen and I have many other things to do."
Shiller understood. His nod indicated that he got it, knowing that the reproductive desire among this class of intellectual middle class wasn't high, wherever they were.
On one hand, they had a clearer understanding than most people of the gravity of giving birth to and raising a child. On the other, their recognition of personal subject value was higher. They felt they should spend more time on their careers, contributing to society and realizing their own worth, rather than pinning hopes on the next generation.
Of course, the environment played a role too. Many who were engaged in scientific research were quite busy. If five or six out of ten chose to remain childless, the reproductive urges of the others would obviously be diminished.
"What are you planning to do?" Shiller asked as he moved a box of juice onto the table.
Peter shook his head and said, "Gwen is the one who's pregnant, it should be up to her to decide. But if we plan to have the child now, it will overturn all our later plans. We'll need to think long-term."
It was only then that Peter seemed to remember something and asked, "How far along is Gwen's pregnancy?"
"About a week or so," Shiller said. "Ultron detected it using biometric scanning technology. You probably have a week or two to consider your options. Any later and it might cause harm."
Peter nodded and said seriously, "We'll have to go back and discuss it."
"Are you still participating in tonight's event?"
"I'm afraid not, but it's not the only opportunity," Peter said with a shrug. "Tony is definitely going to be disappointed, though."
As expected, after returning, Peter quickly took Gwen away. A while later, Stark received a message saying Gwen wasn't feeling well and wouldn't be attending tonight, with Peter taking care of her.
Stark was indeed disappointed and even complained to Shiller for a bit, but Shiller didn't tell him the truth. After all, it was Peter and Gwen's private matter. Even though he felt Stark wouldn't make a fuss about it, it was best not to complicate things.
Shiller moved the juice and food over, and the guests gradually arrived in succession—mostly the same group, except this time the young members of the New Warriors Team were with them.
It must be said that the younger crowd really fit the party's vibe; as soon as they arrived, the whole place livened up. There wasn't anything they couldn't turn into fun, whether it was placed on the table, laid on the ground, flying in the air, or swimming in the sea.
They brought a whole bunch of random stuff, seemingly bought at a flea market, but there were quite a few game boards and even a beach volleyball set.
This time, they also invited Gwen Spiderman over. Gwen Spiderman seemed to look down on this world's Miles but paid extra attention to him and dragged him over by the collar.
Steve came alone this time; apparently, Carter was on a mission. He brought his own homebrewed beer, while Strange and Loki arrived one after the other, followed by Hela. They brought traditional Asgardian grilled meat skewers. Of course, Eddie was there too, bringing a vast quantity of chocolate balls. It was obvious that Venom compelled him to buy them.
Wanda and Polaris still didn't see eye to eye, but this time the Jarvis couple left their child with Professor Charles. The relationship between Polaris and Iceman also seemed to have thawed. It looked as if they were about to make up soon.
No sooner had they sat down than they began chatting with the New Warriors team about TikTok accounts. Shiller only found out after asking that Robert had become an internet celebrity famous for capturing the oddities of New York streets.
Of course, the oddities on the streets of New York were no ordinary affairs. It was either superpowered criminals cropping up, terrorists, or aliens—a regular person didn't have the life to film these events.
But Robert lived up to the name Speedball. He specialized in arriving quickly on the scene to record whatever happened firsthand. Should danger arise, he'd just run, beyond the reach of the average person.
This ability was truly maximized by him. Even the reporters from major newspapers couldn't beat his speed. He would be the first to arrive at an incident, recording from start to finish, and then post it to his personal account before any organization's public relations department could stop him.
At first, it was just him, but then the entire New Warriors Team began undertaking the same task, openly declaring the need to let the public understand the truth. They specifically ran toward danger.
Normally, Nightingale would devise tactics and gather information while Speedball was responsible for reaching the scene. The others provided backup. They weren't ordinary people to begin with and with the overabundance of youthful energy, it seemed nobody could stop them.
Matt was noncommittal about it, simply reminding them to be cautious, but Robert and the others didn't take it seriously. Not only were they having a great time, but their account followers and income were also skyrocketing. The revenue was substantial enough to support their team and even help other young heroes.
Many young heroes who trained under Matt took part in maintaining street safety afterward. The New Warriors Team already had a good reputation amongst citizens and among all heroes, were quite amicable, which brought more informants their way. As soon as there's any disturbance within their jurisdiction, they would be immediately contacted to rush to the scene.
This created a perfect virtuous cycle. The New Warriors Team's account could now be called a famous influencer.
Shiller also opened his phone and followed their account, only to see the top video titled "Exploring New York's Invisible Man."
Has Robbins returned to New York?
This was Shiller's first thought since after Robbins escaped from Kamar-Taj, there had been no news, and even the Grand Mage couldn't find him after searching every possible location, suggesting he might not be an ordinary person.
But after opening the video, Shiller found that what they were covering had nothing to do with the crimes previously committed by Robbins. A new invisible man case had emerged in New York, and it was unclear if it was Robbins.
Shiller casually scrolled through before putting his phone down. Most of the guests had arrived, and the party could begin. Steve had already readied the charcoal and set up the grill.
Shiller stood up and began placing containers on the table, enlisting their help in marinating the chicken. Those who hadn't entered the water volunteered eagerly, all except for two individuals who were less enthusiastic: Strange and Loki.
Though they both weren't typically interested in cooking, there was an exceptionally stiff atmosphere between them today. Stark gave Shiller a look, and Shiller immediately signaled to Hela. The two of them excused themselves to move something, heading towards the outskirts of the beach.