3rd POV:
''Here is everything we gave gathered on the Spider people, look through it, form a plan,'' Fury said before immediately leaving the Avengers Tower.
''He really grows on you, doesn't he?,'' Tony joked. Recently he has been getting better, through he still was conflicted about Zero. It was more that he had to focus on Peppers pregnancy.
''He is busy,'' Natasha said grabbing a folder.
''Understatement of the century,'' Tony muttered slotting in an USB and looking through the files particularly the videos.
For a while the entire time, minus Thor, who briefly came, informed them about the stones and left again, looked through the documents.
''I still can't believe that something like the infinity stones exist. I mean, really? Just touch a stone and you wield an aspect of the universe?,'' Clint said.
''Well, you heard Thor. They emit incredible amounts of energy. Which most people can't endure by touching them, let alone use them. This is precisely why they are contained by something, like the Tesseract or Loki's scepter,'' Banner said.
''Except Zero touched one right in front of us, no problemo. Why is that?,'' Clint asked.
''Well, I don't know precisely. Too little data. But if I had to guess, creating portals should take an incredible amount of energy. Either his body creates that energy, which I doubt, or he absorbs it from the surrounding and stores it. For him it was probably a snack and no more different than he was already used to,'' Banner explained.
''Oh, yeah. That is incredible comforting. Just a guy wandering around with an infinity stone. Noting can go wrong,'' Clint scoffed.
''Well, take it or leave it. Right now, the matter is out of our hands. At least take comfort that we know at least the location of the Space Stone and the Mind Stone. If someone wants to gather all stones as Thor and Odin suspect then we just need to keep eyes on them. Whoever that puppet master is, needs to come to them,'' Banner said.
''Which leaves four stones unaccounted for. That is still incredible comforting,'' Clint bit out.
''Enough. Bruce is right. There is not much we can do except keep an eye on the two stones we know about and recruit for a possible confrontation. We need to trust in our allies that they know what they are doing,'' Steve said.
''Allies? Well, someone came around incredible quickly to trusting a stranger. Surely you don't believe the matter is as simple as him saving the people in that city. Life is more complicated than that,'' Natasha probed.
''Is Zero currently posing a threat to the world? Are there any mysterious killings? Do people act irregularly? S.H.I.E.L.D is keeping an eye out for all of that. So do we. Unless the answer to any of them changes from no to yes, I would like to think of Zero as an ally. Maybe that is me trying to see the best in people, but I would think that the only problem Zero has with us is Tony. Once that is resolved I doubt he would have any problem with working with us,'' Steve countered.
''Enough about that. Jarvis will warn us about any sightings of Zero. I'm more interested in those Spider People. Can I just say, whoever manufactured those web shooters and that web is a genius. Its tensile strength is off the charts to not snap under their weight. And their aerodynamics in the air is incredible. Some off these moves even an olympic athlete would struggle with. And their strength, incredible. Just look at this,'' Tony said trying to shift the topic away from his son.
The team looked as Spider-Man swung into a car chase scene and landed on the criminals car roof. One by one he pulled them out and webbed them somewhere, while dodging bullets. Finally he webbed the steering wheel and pulled hard sideways. The car flipped over with him casually catching it and putting it softly on the ground, before swinging away.
''You think they have the proportionate strength of a spider?,'' Banner asked.
''I doubt it. They probably have greater strength with some of the feats seen here. I'm more interested in how they can dodge attacks from blind spots or dodge bullets point blank,'' Tony said looking at a few of the videos.
''It says here that S.H.I.E.L.D suspects them to have a sixth sense in the form of precognition or maybe hyper aware senses that pick up every little movement around them,'' Clint summarized some of the assessment folders he read.
''Then why doesn't Nexus use it? He never seems to dodge any attack from his blind spot?,'' Banner asked also looking at the videos.
''That is because he either doesn't have it or he traded it in for durability. Jesus Christ, look at this,'' Tony said.
Nexus swung in with a corner tether at incredible speeds and landed on the roof top of a truck trying to escape with stolen plutonium. He opened the drivers door and climbed in just casually tanking the bullets and hitting the breaks, the truck stopping. He proceeded to kick everyones butt there, dodging most of the attack from the front but taking hits from behind and then left the criminals for the police.
''So we can assume they all have some different variations in their power. They are not all copy and paste. If that is the case, then I really want to have a talk with whoever came up with this genetic engineering, because they seem to have cracked the super soldier serum and improved it beyond what most people dreamed of,'' Banner said, appreciating the marvel he saw on the screen.
''I'm more worried with Nexus' viciousness. How does he even know who is beyond reprehensible and who is only in it out of desperation? Here is the medical report from a pedophile and one who robbed a bank,'' Natasha pointed out and then quickly summarized the report.
The pedophile had 16 broken bones, one busted eye, a few missing teeth, 4 cracked ribs and he was punched in the balls strong enough to pop them like grapes, He was still in a coma. Whereas the robber just had the signs of an incredible powerful slap and was tied with his hands behind his back by webs. His son had an incredible malformed spine forcing him to walk crouched. The medical bills were too much.
''Yikes. The police and public must love him,'' Clint snorted.
''Most of the public loves all of them. The police don't like the other two, though they have been slowly coming around. They despise Nexus however. They consider it a great overreach of him to judge people in this manner. This goes beyond vigilantism. All the same, they have been doing everything in their power, to keep his brutal beatings shush whenever they could,'' Natasha told them.
''Why?,'' asked Steve.
'' We are talking about hardened criminals and organized crime. They are not gonna get frightened by this little display. If anything they are gonna retaliate with a man hunt. And possible war on the streets of New York if things escalate, once he kills someone and shows he has no problem with killing. Clearly he hasn't considered this,'' Natasha told them.
''You think he has some tech in that helmet of his that warns him of peoples crimes?,'' theorized Clint.
''If he does, then it must be ONE incredible piece of technology. They only found out afterwards why he was so brutal with that pedophile. He had no records of any crime nor were there suspicions of it, before he was simply snatched from the street while walking home and brutalized,'' Natasha told them.
''This seems to be everything new about them. Should we make contingencies?,'' Tony asked, pointing at him and Banner.
''No! I may not like his methods, but I can understand where they are all coming from. If we go in with the mindset that we expect something to go wrong, then we will deploy the contingency at the slightest resistance. Then we will have lost possible allies. We will find them and talk. At the very least we must find out where the spider serum comes from. Anything else comes after that,'' Steve firmly replied.
''Why spiders though. Couldn't they have found another gimmick?,'' Tony acquiesced. The others followed suit.
''Then it is only a matter of finding them all. But with how erratically the come and go it is difficult to find out who they are let alone catch them. Unless it is one massive confrontation like a super villain or something, they are gonna appear and disappear after stopping the threat and making some quips,'' Banner analyzed.
''Maybe not. We don't need to find them in their superhero get. Jarvis find anything related to their appearances. Give me everything you think is important. Actually, you know what? Find me anything in the world related to spiders in the world. Experiments conducted by corporations. Geneticist analyzing spider DNA. Hell, find me any radioactive spider in Chernobyl if you must. Maybe we have another case of the Hulk on our hands. Make a timeframe between those different events and the Spider peoples appearance. With a bit of luck we may find something,'' Tony ordered only to receive an immediate reply from Jarvis.
''I may have found something. Oscorp conducted experiments on spiders while irradiating them to try and achieve different effects. However, aside from that there is nothing else on their servers. A few months ago, most of the data disappeared. I only know about the experiment, because just two weeks ago the experiments restarting program was listed as a failure. The servers were wiped clean just one month before Nexus' and Ghost Spiders first sighting,'' Jarvis informed politely.
That was incredible fast.
''Guess we know now who makes these spider people. Still doesn't answer who they are,'' Banner concluded.
''No, I don't think so. If Osborn was responsibly for this he would announce it to the seven continents. He would make deals with the military and make massive profit. The prick is smug like that. And he would use it as advertisement for his mayor campaign, for keeping the city safe and the like. Almost like me before Afghanistan. It's not him who made them. If anything I think they stole his research and improved it, while destroying everything in Normans server to wipe out any trail on them,'' Tony argued.
''I was about to say the same thing. However, they only wiped the servers. Maybe they forgot the paperwork. Maybe they could reveal something?,'' Clint said.
The entire team looked at Natasha. She rolled her eyes.
''I get it, I get it. I will sneak in and get the paperwork. I doubt we'll find anything, but it is worth a look,'' Natasha told them.
''Don't worry, I will give you the latest face altering cloaking device, cutting edge,'' Tony assured her making Natasha nod. The problem with fighting to stop the Chitauri invasion and revealing all S.H.I.E.L.D files to the world was that her face was known by all. She needed make up or face altering cloaking devices.
''Mr.Stark, you asked me to inform you of any sightings of Zero. He is currently in Washington D.C. buying clothes with the Maximoff Twins and two unidentified females,'' Jarvis informed them, making Tony snap at the hologram displaying their location. The others looked at it as well.
''Oh, great. He has been gathering allies. Should we confront them?,'' Clint asked Steve. He on the other hand looked at Tony for a bit, to see how he handled it.
''You all should go without me. Though I want a camera on one of you,'' Tony demanded.
''You don't want to meet Zero again?,'' asked Steve.
''Of course I want to. But I have to be realistic, the tensions between of us are still too high and I have to be more considerate about my safety with a child on the way. I'm not fucking this up again. Sometimes I want to punch you in your perfectly white teeth with how insufferably idealistic you are, but you're good at this. This whole moderating thing. See if you can't put in a good word to him about his old pops,'' Tony tried to joke, but they all could see his clenched jaw at the end, despite trying to smile.
Steve released a sigh and looked at Tony for a bit before nodding. It made sense, they knew the group didn't hate the rest of the Avengers and it was perfectly logical to make dialogue without volatile elements in them, but he knew Tony was suffering for it all the same.
The group boarded the modified Quinjet and made their way to Washington D.C. with Steve equipping the body cam.
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Pietro lazed on the couch the couch his feet draped over Wandas lap as she watched another episode of LoL of Arcane. He was looking into the phone at YouTube videos.
Sarah was sorting and organizing different drugs and equipment into a medic box should she ever need to provide medical aid to the others.
Meanwhile Zero was making his favorite dish for dinner, before they finally leave for a shop to buy clothes. The others were glad for not needing to accept his clothes anymore that he got from ... somewhere and was used for who knows what.
They busted two more HYDRA bases with only Sarah staying behind, but while one didn't hold anything of great significance, the other was emptied. They were too late. Now while they wait for another drop of intel from Zeros 'information broker' they could get their affairs in order.
''Can I help,'' Laura asked standing close to the table.
''Huh? Oh, sure. Can you take the vegetables and cut them up into slices. The cutting board is in the second drawer,'' Zero said pointing somewhere while he was adding salt to the water. Now he just needed to wait a bit for the water to start boiling before he could add the spaghetti as well. Meanwhile he could do something else.
''Whoa! What are you doing?,'' Zero said grabbing Lauras hand as she attempted to slice the tomatoes with a singular adamantium talon.
''Sorry,'' Laura muttered dejectedly. Zero rolled his eyes behind his helmet. He noticed quiet quickly that Laura had problems about the few people she killed under HYDRAs orders. She though she was only a killing machine and trying to come to terms with her guilt by trying to feel less like a killing machine. She was also incredible starved for affection and there was a bit of a hero worship going on for killing Kimura. Which was... something.
''Look, Laura, I don't mind you using your talons to cut the vegetables. But please clean them, before doing so. Otherwise it would be incredible unhygienic,'' Zero told her.
She nodded firmly feeling reinvigorated and did exactly as instructed. It didn't made things better, but at least she proved to herself that she could use her powers for other things than killing.
Yaaaayy.
Zero took out the meat from the fridge that he minced yesterday and removed his gloves. Then he pulled his sleeves slightly and washed his hands, before starting to form the minced meat into meat balls.
It was around this time, the episode ended. And while Wanda was incredible tempted to watch the next episode, because it left on such a cliffhanger, she couldn't help herself.
The sight in the kitchen triggered fond memories of bygone days. Her chest clenched slightly with heartache at the memories, but she was fine. She was fine. Besides she always enjoyed cooking before, she couldn't help herself. She helped whenever she could back then.
It was just unfortunate that Zero didn't tell her what they were going to eat until she already began watching the episode, else she would have helped from the beginning.
She slapped Pietros legs who just lifted them up while continuing to watch videos on the phone. There was nothing else to do here which was incredible boring for him, but hey look, a distraction.
''So, what can I do to help?,'' Wanda asked leaning against the table.
''I guess you can add the spaghetti. You can also take the mixer and shred the vegetables into a sauce. Then I can add the meatballs and we can all make the sauce, I guess,'' Zero ordered her.
''Is spaghetti bolognese you favorite dish?,'' Wanda asked doing as instructed.
''Yes. It has been a while since I ate it. Laura can you set the table? Don't forget to take the bowl with the grated parmesan as well. Just leave the cutting board in the sink,'' Zero requested. She did just so.
It was cozy. It was very cozy. Wanda liked it. She didn't imagine that following Zero would be such a good idea.
Time passed. They talked a little, but mostly focused on making the dish well. That was fine. The silence wasn't uncomfortable. Before long the dinner was ready to be served. It smelled heavenly.
''Yo, you two. Take a seat, dinner is ready to be served,'' Zero told them and then equipped his gloves again, letting his sleeves drop back down.
''Do you want me to put some spaghetti in your bowls?,'' Zero offered, waving the skimmer around after putting some in his own bowl. Wanda levitated the sauce with the meatballs on the table. At their decline he handed the skimmer to the next person and used a ladle to put some sauce over the spaghetti. He finished the dish with some sprinkles of parmesan. The rest followed his example.
''Mhm. Can I just say this tastes delicious,'' Pietro complimented after taking a bite.
''Indeed,'' added Sarah. Laura hummed and Wanda nodded.
''Thank you, but I had some incredible help from two people,'' Zero chuckled, before neatly spinning his spaghetti with a fork in a spoon, so that none of the spaghetti would hang, before he put it through a portal in his mouth.
''Dude just remove the helmet. Why do you insist on wearing it all the time anyway,'' Pietro complained.
''I don't know. I just... I guess I just prefer it this way. It's not that I don't trust any of you, but I like it this way more,'' Zero told them. Technically none of that ways a lie. The others grumbled a bit, but they moved on. They made small talk and ate and then they finished and made some more small talk, while Wanda was levitating everything into the sink.
''Your on wash duty, Pietro,'' Wanda said.
''What? Why am I on wash duty? Put Sarah on wash duty, she didn't do anything as well,'' Pietro complained pointing at her.
''Oh, I guess preparing that medic kit was me just doing nothing. You know something that I can use to perform on any of you, should you need medical aid,'' Sarah retorted smiling.
''Try not to use your super speed too much. You'll just splash water every where and make more of a mess,'' Wanda put her foot down. He was going to wash those dishes if she had anything to say about it. Pietro threw his hands up.
''I can wash the dishes,'' Laura offered.
''No!,'' everyone except Pietro replied firmly.
''Fine, damn it. Can we buy a dish washer when we move?,'' Pietro acquiesced. Wanda immediately hit him over the head, causing Zero to chuckle.
''Sure,'' Zero affirmed. Wanda looked like she wanted to protest, but she relented. Zero already agreed so what was the point. Pietro whooped.
''Anyway. I promised you clothes and clothes you shall receive. Except not here. It's what? 22:24 here? Let's go to America. It should be day there and they are also open on Sundays. Ladies first,'' Zero opened a portal. It was like a 13 hour difference between Bern and Washington D.C.
They all went through the portal and ended up in front of a decent clothes store. They entered it.
''Knock yourself out. Don't worry about the money,'' Zero told them while he took a seat on a chair. It was genuinely hard to spend his money in a lifetime, let alone several. He has only been growing and since he allows ads at the beginning and at the end of his movies on YouTube he is making big cash. He literally couldn't care less if they wanted to buy out this entire store. Besides he wasn't THAT much of an asshole that he wouldn't reward people who helped him.
Say what you want, but he had had a lot of fun busting HYDRA bases with them. Sure he could have done it alone, but the fact that he didn't want to do that did not detract from the fact that they helped him.
Pietro used his superspeed to find some clothes, tried them and then put them all near the chair he dropped into. It was right next to Zero. The girls starred at the two, before shacking their heads. The two had no sense for inconspicuousness. They attracted the attention of the entire store. They left knowing it would be futile to chastise them.
''Ugh, this is gonna take sooooooo long, dude. Woman always take so long to buy clothes,'' Pietro complained throwing his head back. He still remembered when he was 9 and the Maximoff family went shopping. It. Took. So. Fucking. Long.
''You don't find me disagreeing with you. Wanna play Super Smash Bros?,'' Zero asked taking out the Switch and two controllers.
Pietro starred at him with a face of pure betrayal, before punching him several times on the arm.
''You mean to tell me you had that thing the whole time and forced me to watch videos in boredom? I hate you. Sincerely. I just want you to know that,'' Pietro said, snatching a controller from his arm. Zero chuckled.
They played while waiting for the girls. At first Zero won a few times. Pietro was still completely new to this game and was just learning the buttons. But after the 4th time, Pietro won all the time. Ironic for a speedster to main Sonic. Zero didn't really have a main. He just used whoever stroke his fancy in that particular moment, minus a few characters since they just didn't exist in this world. Thankfully Pietro was not a sore winner.
Bell was shocked. SHOCKED! When he discovered that while some video games from his world existed, many did not. Granted they had other video games instead, but still, this left an unexplored avenue.
He was 200 million away from a billion, give or take. And Steam existed, they allowed anyone to publish their games for a fee. If he were to introduce some of the timeless classics or other successful video games, like Elden Ring or Final Fantasy 7 (though it would be FF1 in this case) he would easily push him past the 1 billion mark. That was one of the benefits of not needing to pay anyone and just basically spawn a work of art in existence. All the profits with none of the losses.
Since his works were not patented anyone could claim them as theirs. Sure he had no problem with someone making edits or publishing bits from his movies. But the entire movie? They probably hoped to blackmail him into obedience since you can't sue someone without revealing your identity. But he was called king of the internet for a reason.
The moment someone uploaded one of his entire works? Straight up deleted. Banished to the shadow realm. You want to see his movie? You can see it on his channel. He had Ads at the beginning and at the end so the money just kept adding up, even after paying taxes and giving half of his profits to Google. There were no losses in court battles as well.
Yes he was going to do that. He created another puppet clone and connected it with his consciousness, like a proper hive mind and tasked himself with creating video games.
He didn't invest and didn't donate, because those fucking leeches would just take his money and not give it to a good cause. They would write it off as tax breaks and tax cuts. He knew the economy was suffering for hoarding so much money, but fuck them. The people can suffer for it.
He was almost 16 and soon Gwen would too in a few months. The economy could wait 2 years and a few moths until he founds his company. Because fuck them.
THEY RUINED FUCKING EVERYTHING! SITTING ON THEIR FUCKING ASSES AND LETTING THE DAMN LEECHES SUCK THEM DRY OF EVERY PENNY. THEY ARE THE FUCKING REASON WHY THINGS GOT SO FUCKING BAD BACK HOME, ALLOWING THE LEECHES TO MOLD THE SYSTEM TO THEIR BENEFIT AND START A FUCKING WAR. HE HATED THEM THEN AND HE HATES THEM NOW, THEY CAN FUCKING SUFFER FOR THEIR FUCKING COMPLACENCY FOR 2 MORE YEARS. HE COULD WELL RECOGNIZE THE FUCKING PARALLELS IN SOME OF THE THINGS THAT HAPPENED HERE.
'Don't hate the player, hate the game'.
'Don't hate the player, hate the game'.
'DOn't HaTE tHe pLAyeR, hAte THe gAME'.
THE PLAYER WAS THE GAME. HATE THE PLAYER FOR FUCKS SAKE.
But hey he was just playing by the games rules, no one could hate him for that.
Right?
Why was he protecting these fucking morons again?
Oh,yeah.
Character Development.
He was calm again. The therapy sessions before the war on his anger management, coming in clutch.
Anyway.
Point was, that soon he will found a company in 2 years. And the idiots can benefit of it, because he will actually price his products reasonable. There will be no overpricing from his side. And if any of these leeches will give him trouble aside from healthy and friendly competition?
He will find them and make the holocaust look like a picnic date.
He could feel his blood pressure start to rise again.
He was happy for seeing what he wanted to see from Pietro. He noticed that he wasted one of the more powerful skills speedsters possessed. Speed processing. He saw Pietro react immediately the moment he made his character do anything in the game. Even if he was using his ability instinctively, he could make him recall this moment when they train and then go from there. Honestly his only weakness was metabolism. But like a muscle he could train himself and have more endurance, before needing to eat again.
Even so, that still made him OP as fuck.
Some stranger approached them.
''Listen here you damn mutie,...'' he began.
No.
Zero created two small portals and a big one and shoved him through the big one without moving from his chair. Then he closed all of them.
Pietro and Zero looked at each other a bit, before Pietro shrugged and they returned playing Smash. It really needed to further talking about that distraction.
He shoved the idiot in front of the white house. If the secret service picked up how he appeared in front of the gates and would use advanced interrogation techniques to find out what he planned to do to the president, then good.
He felt no sympathy for his kind. Knowing them he would just double down in his bigoted beliefs, instead of reevaluating his beliefs and choices. The were also a problem back home. Fuck him and let him suffer he says.
Innocence was a bubble. They amounted to nothing and did nothing. They just went trough their day, procreating and tried to make the best of life, without ruining another persons life. At least not with intentional malice. This granted them the right to be left well alone. In peace and in prosperity.
For them he felt sympathy and empathy.
The downtrodden and the misbegotten.
The homeless who had no say in their future, who were kicked while down in the ditches. The malformed who had no ability to exercise their own agency, forced to endure ridicule and a future they did not choose. People who tried their best to cure diseases, but were held back because of corporations buying out the medicine with patents, only to leave it on the shelf, because it was more profitable to treat the symptoms then cure the sickness.
His heart went out to them.
It really did.
But it was so incredible easy to leave that bubble. Once you were out you were responsible for your choices and must bear the responsibility of them. He knew where those beliefs lead. He saw it with his own eyes. Lived it, even if he wasn't part of the target group that was hunted down. Those people are not innocent.
But as one man said. 'A man may die. Nations may rise and fall, but an idea lives on. Ideas have endurance without death.'
He could kill them all. New people will be born, they will grow and form their own ideas.
The only way to win this battle was to wipe out all of humanity. Because, otherwise it was a losing battle. He will never get rid of these idiots. He was a realist like that.
So he will settle for punishing those who act on their bigoted beliefs. After or before, depending on the circumstances and if he was close enough to intervene early.
The girls were done. It was... a lot.
''Are you sure, you can pay for all of this?,'' asked the cashier, when he saw the sheer pile that formed on the counter.
''Can you do your job? If I couldn't pay I would just rob you and save myself the time of you scanning each article,'' I replied making him scowl. Fuck you buddy. You won't receive a tip for that stupidity alone. Don't you see this suit? It was fine satin.
And if no one knew he simply conjured his clothes, then hey, all the better.
One eternity later.
''That would be 23.791$ and 54 cents,'' the cashier tiredly informed. His wrist was aching like hell. After a quick cash swipe he just deposited the packeted clothes in their living room through a portal. The cashier blinked not even being bothered by it. Enhanced we becoming more common by the day, after all. And of course, thanks to his technomancy no one would trace the money.
''You wanna walk around a bit and eat some ice cream, since we are already here?,'' Zero asked them, with all of them nodding. If Zero wanted to eat ice cream, then they damn well would eat ice cream even if they were a little tired. They were quite thankful to him for buying them clothes. Except Laura she genuinely wanted to try out this 'ice cream'.
They left the store and would you look at that. They stumbled on the Avengers. Oh no, somebody 'forgot' to scramble the video feed. How clumsy of him.
Tehee.
''I see your missing two members. While I don't care for Thor, I do wonder where my illustrious father is. Is he somewhere around here? Or has he abandoned me now willingly as well?,'' Zero asked them. The rest of his group tensed into a battle position, minus Sarah who moved near Wanda as instructed.
''We came here to talk, not to fight,'' Steve said holding up his hands in a peaceful manner.
''Then talk, while we walk. We want ice cream,'' Zero told him walking away casually. The rest following him as well. Though with some reluctance. This was not at all how they imagined this confrontation going.
''He is Starks son, alright. I already find him insufferable,'' Clint murmured. Natasha shushed him.
''First we want to thank you for helping us stop Hulk,'' Steve began.
''Sorry for that by the way. I was made aware in how much danger I put the innocents in that city,'' Wanda apologized.
''It's fine,'' Banner amended. It wasn't. He was greatly displeased with what she did to him, but diplomacy and all that trite.
''Second we wanted to talk about you and your father. Is there no way for you two to make up?,'' Steve asked.
''Make up? I'm sorry, I wasn't aware that Stark was the wronged party here in any way,'' Zero said.
''No that is not what I meant. Tony is sorry, he didn't know about you else he would have tried his best to raise you and do right by you,'' Steve pointed out.
''Oh, he is sorry? That is great. Everything is fine now and the sun rises in the east. You can find couldrons of gold at the end of a rainbow and there are no more homeless people. And where is my sire, that he can't apologize to me himself. To undo 12 years of abuse at the utterance of a single word?
Newsflash, popsicle. Stark will never get his act together. If he had maybe I would have not be born, and while that is unfortunate, I also wouldn't have had to suffer through what I did,'' Zero said.
Steve looked gravely at him, but he couldn't also help himself and feel some amusement at him. He was so like his father. Tony called him capsicle and his son called him popsicle.
''But he has been trying to get his act together. He hasn't slept with a stranger in three years and he even threw away all his alcohol. He really wants to connect with you. Try and form a family,'' Steve told him.
''With who? Him, me and his current bed warmer? Want me to call her step mommy and feel all cozy with feet tucked beneath the blanket as we drink chocolate?,'' Zero snorted.
''And your new sibling that is on the way. Pepper is pregnant. There is already a date set for their marriage,'' Steve revealed.
Zero stopped in his tracks.
Wait, what?
This is ONE development he knew nothing about, nor planned or foreseen.
Wasn't she born after the Thanos snap? Then again, it was self evident by now that this was a completely new universe. Take no truth at face value, do research, yadda yadda.
Look, he tried this whole omniscient thing for one hour. He should have followed Stans example and delegate this skill or not use it. Why do that ?
B.
O.
R.
I.
N.
G.
It was more fun to adapt to current developments then know everything. If he really wants to know something he can just check. But actively not passively. Maybe some people say it was stupid, arrogant. A sign of hubris. Maybe they were right. He just preferred to do it this way. The consequences would be on him.
''Well, fuck,'' Zero said throwing his head back before resuming to walk. The Twins did not like the sound of that.
''Interesting reaction,'' Natasha pointed out trying to see if she could get more of a reaction from him.
''How long until he abandons those two as well?,'' Zero asked.
''He will NOT abandon them. He is taking responsibility,'' Steve told him firmly.
He seriously needed to find the guy that just dropped these golden opportunities in his lap. This would be a perfect for him to end his 'vendetta' against Stark. Sure he may risk losing the Twins, but he had Laura and Sarah. They could be his ticket into the X-World now. Sure he wanted the Twins to stay and help them find closure, especially because they became his friends, but they were free to do as they wanted.
''Guess that's that. I guess that is on me for playing with my food,'' Zero sighed disappointed.
''You were playing with your food? Is that supposed to impress anyone?,'' Natasha immediately took the opportunity to confirm one of their suspicions. Your not subtle. Neither Zero nor Wanda needed telepathy to know what she was trying to do.
Zero stopped again. He opened a portal, reached in and pulled someone out, before dropping them on their ass and closing the portal.
Everyone looked at Tony. Tony looked at Zero. Zero looked at Natasha, his smirk unseen by her. Natasha looked at Clint at the implication of them always have been in danger and not knowing. Clint looked at Steve for his lead. Steve looked at the Twins to see if they would suddenly attack. The Twins tore their eyes from Tony and looked at Zero. Zero looked at Banner, who was starring at him. Then he looked at the Kinneys. Tony looked at the Twins. Steve looked at Zero, when he saw the Twins wouldn't attack, though they did tense. Zero looked at Steve.
''Can I just say this is mildly awkward,'' Tony said, picking himself up.
Everyone looked at him again.
''Shutting up, now,'' Tony zipped his lips with a gesture and threw away the zipper. He looked at Steve. You do the talking.
''So... does that mean, you will no longer try to kill Tony? Because that is what it sounded like,'' Steve asked tentatively.
''Not I at least. If the Twins want to kill him then by all means,'' Zero said starting to walk again.
The Twins just followed the motions at the sudden turn of events. They had a conversation with their eyes. It wasn't much of a conversation. You can only have simple conversation with your eyes. Not philosophical ones that would unravel the fabric of your worlds understanding. But both siblings felt they had come to a consensus.
''No problem from our side either,'' Wanda said reluctantly as Pietro tensed for battle.
''Wait, what? What do you mean? So all our suffering was for nothing? Our whole point was that Stark would pay for killing our parents,'' Pietro said surprised. That was not what they not what they conversed just now.
''Trust me, I want nothing more than to see Stark dead. But do we have any right to rip a father away from someone who did us nothing wrong? Besides if we kill him, we need to kill his child as well, because it is going to grow up, find out what we did and take revenge in turn. What if have children of our own one day and they kill us? Our children will take revenge and so on and so forth,'' Wanda reasoned. It wasn't completely illogical. She has seen some of the shows on the internet. She knew where that path of theirs would lead, if they continued to pursue it with this recent development. Funny. A life time of resentment gone in almost two weeks. Or at least reduced enough that she didn't want Stark dead.
''And what right did Stark have to drop those bombs on our home? We just gonna abandon our revenge because of one babe?,'' Pietro bit out.
Tony was incredible tempted to point out he only developed the bombs and was not responsibly for their use. But even he could see how stupid that would be and the wind was starting to blow in the right direction.
''Who said we're not getting revenge? We are. We are the better person and the bigger person as well. We will never make his stupid mistakes. Mistakes, that anyone else would recognize and take steps to avoid from miles away. Let him wallow in mediocrity while we rise above our pain,'' Wanda explained vindictively.
Pietro looked at her for a while. His expression going from conflicted, to defiant, then contemplative and finally resignation. He nodded.
''Look. That was not our agreement when we formed this team. If you want me to drop you somewhere, just tell me. Don't worry I will give you the clothes as well,'' Zero said.
''Who said you are getting rid of us any time soon?,'' Pietro immediately replied. Wanda nodded.
''Yes, so what if we no longer want Stark dead. We do good work. I mean just look at Laura and Sarah. We can continue that. Help people, I mean,'' Wanda added. That wasn't the complete reason however. Wanda was to embarrassed to admit that, whatever they all had going on felt like home. She really missed that feeling. She knew she could always rely on Pietro, but it was nice to no longer be in that state of them against the world.
It was nice to have family.
So what if they reneged on their agreement. Fuck their agreement.
Zero starred at them, surprised they chose to stick with them. Not that he was complaining.
This was perfect.
He really needed to find someone and give them a big fat sloppy smooch. Though since he was technically responsible, wouldn't it count as selfcest? It was even weirder since he could clone himself. Nevermind, he'll just give Gwen a kiss when he sees her next.
''Well, it seems that we are all now friends. Do you want to join the Avengers and help us fight evil?,'' Tony asked hopefully, looking at Zero.
''I'm gonna stop you right here. Just because we no longer want you dead, doesn't mean we are suddenly buddy buddy. If you fuck it up and lose that protection, we will kill you quickly, before the situation changes again to your benefit. You. Go fuck yourself. As for the rest of you. Good luck in your quest against evil, I guess. Toddles,'' Zero said approaching the ice cream stand. The rest following him, with the Twins casting him one final nasty look.
Tony watched with some disappointment as his son departed. He wanted to bring him home and do things properly. Introduce him to Pepper, have him hold his sibling and make it up to him. Still, he will take what he can get. This was a massive improvement from before.
''I owe you one favor. Whatever it is tell me and cash it in. So long as it is not putting my family in danger or bankrupting my company. Tell me and I will do it,'' Tony said turning to Steve.
''Tony, there is no need for that. I'm just glad I could help,'' Steve denied humbly.
''No. I wouldn't have told him about her pregnancy too afraid something could go wrong. It was the right call, capsicle. I insist, no taksy baksies,'' Tony told him. He meant it too. He was initially angry that he revealed this info to Zero, but with the sudden development, he was glad how everything turned out right.
Steve nodded finally.
''Still to think, he could've killed us at any time,'' Banner muttered.
''Well, I did say it speaks to his character he didn't attack us. And they supposedly saved the two new females as well. It is just a pity they won't join the Avengers. We really need to play our cards right with the spider people. Actually we should look for more enhanced people besides them as well,'' Steve told them. They nodded and left for the Quinjet. It was lucky that the path they walked was more through alleys and remote areas, else they would have attracted more attention.
Meanwhile Laura loved ice cream, and enjoyed it with much gusto, before they would return back to Swiss.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
''You know. I kind of wonder. Why Bell? Don't get me wrong, he is a great guy, but why him? Is it because he saved you?,'' George asked adjusting his jacket. Gwen stopped applying some light mascara and turned to him raising an eyebrow.
''You don't think me that shallow, do you? (*She resumes applying a little make up*) Now I will admit, there was a bit of hero worship going on for a while, but while I was fawning over him I paid close attention and my feelings only grew. Then the hero worship phase was over and the feelings remained. He makes me feel...,'' Gwen stops applying make up, trying to find the right words.
George leans against the door frame to her door, after coming from the bathroom, once he was done adjusting his clothes.
''You?,'' George offered.
Gwen perked up and turned to her father.
''He makes you feel you, yourself that is. Doesn't he? Trust me it was the same with Evelyn and I. Like you can just let all your walls down, without judgement,'' George continued and upon seeing his daughters surprised face added,''What? You think your old pops doesn't know what your going through. I used to be in love too, you know.''
Gwen smiled and shook her head before adding the final touches of her make up. As usual she wore just a little bit of make up. Her preferred style.
''So does that mean we have your blessing,'' Gwen asked lightly, masking her apprehension.
''Yes, yes. You two have my blessing,'' George assured her with a chuckle before frowning,'' Though he is insufferable. Couldn't he have shared the news more kindly and asked for my blessing first?''
''I'm dating the guy. Trust me, I know. Anyway I'm done,'' Gwen said putting her equipment back into their proper place. George released a pleased sigh.
''You know it is in moments like these, that I'm glad you are a bit of a tomboy. I still remember how much make up Evelyn used to buy while she was still alive. I can't deny, sometimes it got annoying,'' George joked.
''Wow, dad, tell a girl you prefer her ugly. You're really boosting my confidence here,'' Gwen deadpanned.
''Oh, shut up. Move your ass to the car, rush hour is approaching,'' George told her in good spirits.
...
Ding Dong.
Aunt May opened the door and smiled when she saw who it was.
''George, Gwen. So good to see you. Come in. Come in,'' May told them and stepped aside.
''Thank you, May. Here are our presents. Congratulations on landing the job at F.E.A.S.T,'' George congratulated holding out his present. Gwen nodded and hold out her own present.
''Oh, thank you so much. You shouldn't have bothered,'' May said at seeing the presents.
''May,'' Melina called out. Whe May turned she cast her a stern look from the kitchen. May sighed.
''Here, let me take these from your hands. I will bring them up in the bedroom. Bell is in the backyard. I will be right back,'' May said resigning herself to her fate and taking the presents.
Going to the backyard after greeting Melina the two saw Bell cleaning the grill gate from any crust and charcoal residue.
''Bell,'' George greeted tersely, seizing him up. He turned around.
''Yo, you two. What's up?,'' Bell said smiling at them.
''I see your taking care of the BBQ. Where is Peter?,'' Gwen asked walking closer.
''Uncle Ben wrote him before he went out to buy fresh meat, but he hasn't answered, so we don't know,'' Bell informed her. That was a lie. Bell felt how Spider-Man was helping to stabilize a crane that was hit by faulty equipment, before it could crash and damage something or harm anyone.
''Oh. Fine then. If he is not back by the time Uncle Ben returns we can write him again. I'll go help in the kitchen. Do I get a kiss before I go?,'' Gwen asked shyly. Bell gasped.
''Your asking me, if I can kiss you in front of your dad who has just come to terms that his daughter is dating now, only to then leave us two alone in an awkward atmosphere? Gwen, I'm so fucking proud off you. Come here,'' Bell said with some tears in his eyes. He closed his eyes puffed his lips and slightly leaned forward, only to be stopped by a hand on his face which pushed him back.
''Actually, you're right. Terrible idea. Try not to tear at each other too much,'' Gwen said removing herself quickly while mortified.
''Thanks,'' George chose to try and build a bridge.
''Don't worry papi. I got your back,'' Bell told him shamelessly.
''No,'' George immediately denied.
''Fine then, daddy,'' Bell pressed.
''I will shoot you and no one will ever find your body,'' George warned him.
''Well, that seems like a terrible case of abusing your police authority. I approve,'' Bell joked, before turning back to scrubbing the grill gate. George sighed and rubbed his face. He knew what Bell was trying to do, but by God, you don't make a situation less awkward by making it more awkward.
''You need any help with that?,'' George asked pointlessly.
'''Yes actually. Some of this crust is quite hard to get off, maybe some water could help? Oh and can you please bring the coal and a chair for the bowl with meat,'' Bell requested.
Bell has learned to accept more and more help from others recently.
How?
Told you.
Character development.
And heaps and loads of therapy sessions with Stan.
''Uh, sure. I will do that,'' George slowly said, before recovering and slowly stepping into the kitchen.
''George, you two need something? You haven't accidentally murdered my son, did you?,'' Melina asked jokingly. Bit of a morbid joke, but she was firm in the belief that even should they disagree they wouldn't murder each other.
''Bell has asked me to bring him water, a chair and the coal,'' George told them. All movement in the kitchen except Melinas stopped.
''Really?,'' May asked incredulously. Gwen nodded. Sure, he told her that he would accept her help more, but to straight up skip to wanting help from others as well? She almost scowled. Then the dispute before they confessed was truly for nothing, or maybe was it precisely because of the dispute that he tried to ask more for help? Now she was confused.
''Why are you all making a big deal out of it? He has been asking for help for a while now,'' Melina told them elated at having her son trust her enough to allow her to help him now.
''And you said nothing?,'' May complained. Melina shrugged.
''I didn't really get around to asking if he accepts help from the rest of you. I just assumed he did. Sorry,'' Melina shrugged apologetically while handing George a bowl of water. He took it absentmindedly.
''Why do you think he asks for help now?,'' May asked Melina.
Flashback:
''I noticed your friends and family are quiet hurt, because you refuse to ask them for help,'' Stan opened the subject, while Bell ate his pizza. Bell hummed, continuing to eat, but now his attention on Stan.
''Why is that? Is it because you just prefer to be independent or ...?,'' Stan asked. Bell swallowed and wiped his mouth with a tissue.
''No, it's not that. I just noticed I needed to be very careful with the people around me while I was Supreme Imperator. Whenever I asked someone for help they either messed it up and cost me political pull or it was an assassin that tried to kill me somehow. I guess I just developed the habit to close myself off from anyone and do things myself,'' Bell explained.
''But, don't you trust your friends and family?,'' Stan asked.
''Of course I do,'' Bell explained immediately.
''Do you think they will try and harm you?,'' asked Stan.
''No,'' Bell replied.
''Not that they even could. You're a reality warper, Bell,'' Stan chuckled.
Bell opened his mouth before closing it and then slammed his head in his palm.
Of course. It was that simple. There was nothing to fear.
''You're welcome,'' Stan told him.
Flashback end:
Melina shrugged at Mays question. She did want to know as well, but she couldn't deny that she was a little afraid she would push Bell away should she ask.
...
...
Ben came in with the meat only to stop when he saw, George tending the fire instead of Bell. They were both chatting about something while sipping their respective drinks. May looked at him and mouthed 'Later. Treat it normally' Ben nodded while handing her the bag of meat.
Ben grabbed a can of beer and approached them.
''George, It's good you two arrived safely,'' Ben greeted while knocking their cans together. Ben nodded at Bell, having greeted him already earlier he saluted him and took a sip of his juice.
''Hello, Ben. By the way has Peter written back. We can begin grilling the meat. I doubt he'll want to miss out on a warm meal,'' George asked.
''Yes he has written back. He said he'll be here in 30 minutes,'' Ben said with disappointment in Peter. George nodded.
...
...
Time passed. The food was done and the table set. And 30 minutes passed. Peter wasn't here yet. But further inquiries reveled nothing. Worriedly, except Bell, they began eating while constantly looking at their phone. Peter arrived 7 minutes later. Out of breath and slightly sweaty.
''I'm so sorry, I miscalculated how much it will take me to arrive from the library. Ned, really wanted to make some finishing touches to our project,'' Peter lied.
''Peter, I'm disappointed in you. You said you will be home in 30 minutes. In fact you should have been here from the start. We told you, today we will have BBQ,'' Ben said disappointed.
''Oh, get of his back, Uncle Ben. He is here what doe it matter. Do you expect him to be at your back and call like a dog,'' Bell chastised.
''No. I expect him to keep his word. Look, I know, you're trying to cover for your friend here, but he has to understand responsibility,'' Ben argued.
''Soooo, he shouldn't have done his project then. Just get whatever grade I guess,'' Bell mocked.
''He is clearly lying about the project,'' Ben retorted.
Peter took a seat near Bell and started to have food put on his plate by May. The others watched knowing what was coming. Ben and Bell always argued philosophy.
''Then let him lie. I trust him and he is entitled to his own secrets. Would I want him to tell me? Sure. But either way it is his prerogative to share his secrets,'' Bell shot.
''And what if these secrets are harmful to him or the others? He is almost an adult. And these are the most important years of his life. These are the years where a boy becomes the man he will be for the rest of his life. I'm just trying to teach him about responsibility,'' Ben assured.
''Responsibility?,'' Bell scoffed, knowing full what was about to come.
''With great power there must also come great responsibility. Surely you of all people can agree to that? The three of you have incredible gifts. But these gifts are not privileges. If you can do good then you have a moral and responsible obligation to do good,'' Ben told the iconic line.
Bell nodded reluctantly and Peter looked contemplative. The chatter resumed for a while, things moved on from that topic.Bell and Peter not really participating in the conversations and merely watching and listening while they all ate.
Bell initially loved that quote.
He really did.
But he could speak with hindsight. That quote caused FAR too many problems. The fact that Ben died in Peters arms, because he didn't stop this or that, caused him guilt which only made him adhere to it with fanatical devotion. Always sacrificing himself and his happiness. Always suffering. Always struggling, because of life and responsibilities. Peter got it into his head that he must bear every responsibility under the sun, with no reprieve, just because he had powers.
No time for himself. No social life. Money problems. No happiness.
Spider-Man was supposed to be relateable.
It was only after the war that he recognized his guilt for what it was.
A form of survivors guilt.
Many of them struggled with it after the war. He would have too, if he wouldn't have had all those responsibilities to distract himself. And when he didn't, he simply made responsibilities.
Somewhen Spider-Man lost that relateability. Normal people did not suffer THAT much.
The less said about One More Day the better. Which idiot made deals with the fucking devil?
Ironic then, that he surged in popularity after the war.
He wondered what that said about the direction the writers took Spider-Man in when he was more relateable to war veterans and survivors then Captain America.
Besides, wasn't Peter responsible? He was swinging through the skies, putting his powers to good use. Sure he sometimes came late, but it was not with the sheer frequency he did in the comics. Hell a few times he ignored people in distress to hang out with them.
Wasn't that more relateable? People were selfish. And that was fine. But they could also be selfless and use their gifts for good.
He liked Ben. Both as a character and as a person. Sure they may butt head sometimes, but that was fine. He liked all of them. He saw them as people, not taking them for granted, like Gwenpool or Deadpool, because 'comic books and nothing is real'. This felt real enough to him.
There was no way he would let Peter or Gwen go through any of that shit. And if he must trash that iconic line to beat some sense into their heads then so be it. Ben was not winning that debate.
''We are currently carpet bombing every inch of Afghanistan,'' Bell told them loftily, putting some food in his mouth. The chatter stopped and they all looked at him. George looked at Gwen and suppressed a smile. He knew Bell gave up to quick.
''I'm just saying,'' Bell said quickly noticing them all stare at him.
''What?,'' Ben said, genuinely confused not understanding why Bell opened up that subject.
''The government is currently defunding the department of education. Have been for a while now. No wonder then that we are ranked 23 among all our allies in Literacy and Sciences,'' Bell also added.
Ben gained understanding suddenly and frowned in disapproval.
''We are the only country where its citizens fear getting injured not because of the pain it will cause, but because of the bill incurred. It cost 5$ to manufacture insulin yet everyone who has diabetes must pay 300$. You can blame the government for that as well,'' Bell said.
''Alright, I get it,'' Ben bit out.
''There was an amazing research going on by someone. Cancer research. Funds scrapped and project red taped, because of lobbying,'' Bell said.
''I get it,'' Ben said more firmly.
''And have you heard about climate change. I'm sure...,'' Bell began only to get interrupted.
''I said I get it,'' Ben raised his voice a little.
''Do you? Because I don't think you do. Why don't you spell it out for us,'' Bell demanded. Ben remained silent and narrowed his eyes.
''You demand responsibilities from Peter and say that his gifts are not a privilege. But I have yet to hear you complain once about our government. Where is their responsibility? But sure let us put all the pressure on three minors as if they will have any say in how the world is run. As if we won't encounter red tape and resistance in trying to make the world a better place,'' Bell scoffed.
''So that is it? You encounter some difficulties in life and you give up? Never bother to try, because it is to 'hard' and to 'difficult'. Yes you will encounter challenges, but you should still try to do better,'' Ben argued.
''No, of course not. One should always try to realize his dreams. But that is not what this is about. I'm not gonna sit here and let you sell me on an ideal that is so inherently self destructive it boggles the mind. An ideal in truth, while the governments in reality take what they want and screw over the little people. And I'm supposed to to adhere to a moral obligation and constantly make sacrifices to these people? To try and make the world a better place? They are just gonna take my sacrifices and use it for themselves,'' Bell argued.
''Oh, come off of it. That is not what I meant. Of course, you shouldn't constantly sacrifice yourself to the point of destruction. I only meant when you CAN help, you should. Obviously I don't expect you to shoulder the responsibilities of the entire world, that would be insane,'' Ben bit out.
...
What?
That is exactly where Bell wanted to end up, except he wanted to be the one to say these lines. Seems Ben was holding out on him. He thought about this philosophy far more than he expected. Fine then. He can still work with this, because Peter and Gwen will receive the message either way.
''Then why not say that? Why sell us an ideal that is only one line short and can be clearly misinterpreted? Why not say that it is your obligation, but also to know when to compromise,'' Bell asked. Ben shrugged.
''It is more memorable I guess. Beside I actually wanted to talk more in depth with Peter about it after you all left. Then I would have told him that,'' Ben informed him.
So there was an entire dialogue cut short from Peters life? His entire suffering stems from a misunderstanding? Granted there was still the guilt, but still. This was ridiculous.
Bell blinked a few times.
''Then let's talk now, since Gwen and I are already here. So, just so we are clear. There is a moral obligation and responsibility to help if you can, but not at the cost of yourself?,'' Bell asked, just to drive the point extra home.
''Yes, of course. If you can help you should, but not if it harms yourself. Like at an accident. They have a obligation to provide help, but if in doing so they will put themselves in danger then they shouldn't help,'' Ben affirmed.
''So it is fine to be selfish?,'' Bell asked.
''Rarely, but yes,'' Ben replied.
''What if I told you that I have a different world view? The world is too complicated to only live by one philosophy. That sounds a little extreme to me. I'm more inclined to evaluate each situation from the ground up and go from there. Either way I will try to walk a balanced path. Sometimes do good, sometimes be selfish, never settling completely for one extreme or the other. What do you say to that,'' Bell asked.
''Well that sounds incredible tedious and time consuming. Also there may be some inconsistencies in your judgement if you follow several philosophies instead of only one. But at least it sounds like you intend do go about your moral obligation. So no, I have no problem. So long as you try to do right where it matters and reserve your selfishness where it doesn't,'' Ben agreed. Bell ignored the last sentence.
''So we quarreled over nothing, basically. We are in agreement,'' Bell concluded annoyed, throwing his hands in the air.
That is not at all how he wanted the conversation to go. But looking at Peter he seemed to no longer be contemplative, so yay, he guessed. He achieved what he wanted and kept his friends selfishness intact.
Ben nodded.
''Well, I guess that is a first. Seeing you two agree on something,'' May said with some disbelief mirrored by the others. Those two always were in disagreement about almost everything.
''No,'' denied Ben and Bell simultaneously.
''We came to an agreement that out philosophies heavily overlap. But that is not a complete agreement,'' explained Ben, Bell nodding along.
''We take what we can get,'' joked Melina. The peaceful chatter resuming.
''Daddy can you pass me the mustard, please,'' Gwen requested.
Bell seeing a golden opportunity was faster and snatched the mustard before giving it to Gwen. The table went silent as George and Bell starred at each other.
''Don't worry your daughter doesn't call me daddy,'' Bell assured, Georges jaw untensed.
''Yet,'' Bell added, causing Peter to choke on his spit. George looked murderous as the rest repressed some chuckles. Gwen looked mortified and blushed bright red.
''Ugh, i really don't know where he got this brazenness. Certainly not from me or his father,'' Melina face palmed.
George released a slow breath forcibly calming himself.
''One day you're gonna pay for that, punk,'' George promised. Bell smiled. Bring it on old man.