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After Arthur finished speaking, Brock fell silent. It took him a while before he finally asked, "Do we encounter situations like this often?"
"No…" Arthur shook his head. "This was an accident, an unexpected circumstance."
"What if that girl… had died back there?"
"Then we would've left her where she was. Waited for someone else to find her…" Arthur said. "But since she still had a sliver of life left, I brought her back. If we can save her, isn't that a better outcome?"
"But what if she can't be saved?" Brock pressed. "I mean… it might not have originally been your responsibility, but now that you've brought her here, if she dies, wouldn't her parents blame you? Wouldn't they think it was because of you that their child died?"
"So that's what you were trying to ask." Arthur gave a faint smile, then paused for a moment before shaking his head. "I didn't think that far ahead."
Brock looked at Arthur, then smiled himself. "You're right."
"Hmm?"
"Maybe anyone in your place wouldn't have been able to ignore that child," Brock said.
"If you hadn't saved her, then her life or death wouldn't have had anything to do with you. No one would've blamed you. Her parents might've been heartbroken, but that would've been their burden to bear. But now, you've shouldered that responsibility.
And I admire that decision. The scariest part is… you didn't even stop to consider the consequences."
"Not everything in this world needs to be weighed by pros and cons," Arthur replied with a shrug. "Sometimes, something just happens, right there in front of you, and you don't get to weigh the options. You just follow your gut. And ask yourself: Which path will I regret the least?"
Brock nodded thoughtfully.
Then Arthur added, "To be honest, even if the girl dies… no one's going to blame us.
Because from start to finish, we're never actually going to show ourselves to her parents."
"Even if she survives?"
"Even if she survives."
Arthur's calm, definitive answer once again left Brock speechless. Arthur didn't say anything more. He just sat there, waiting quietly.
Though what they were doing was, technically, saving the world, they couldn't save everyone. All they could do was act when fate placed someone in their path.
There's a line from classic martial arts novels:
"A true hero serves the nation and its people."
But Arthur knew in his heart, he wasn't quite that noble.
What he could say with certainty was that, for now, his stance happened to align with the side of the world that held the scale steady. But if, one day, someone told him:
"Your death could save the world."
Would he accept it without hesitation? Probably not. He might very well abandon the entire world… just so he could live.
But thinking about it that way felt unnecessarily melodramatic to Arthur. It was a meaningless mental exercise, a hypothetical only born out of the need to emotionally torture oneself.
All he really wanted, was to do what felt right.
If, in the end, the world was okay, he was okay, the people around him were okay,
Lily was okay, If everyone was okay… If every evil ambition had been shattered, and every conspiracy undone…
Then maybe, when everything was finally over, Arthur could take Lily to the most beautiful corner of the universe, watch the sunset on the horizon, and see for himself if it was really as beautiful as they say.
The wait continued in silence.
Brock was lost in his thoughts. And so was Arthur.
A full half hour later, the doors to the medical bay finally opened. Princess Shuri appeared at the doorway: "Good news, the girl is going to be fine."
"Good." Arthur stood up, visibly relieved.
Brock, on the other hand, was excited: "Really? She's okay? There won't be any aftereffects, right?"
Shuri glanced at him curiously: "Hmm, I never asked, who is this?"
"This is Brock. And Venom," Arthur introduced.
Shuri blinked, visibly confused. Why were there two names for one person? Still, she remained composed and polite, extending her hand: "Nice to meet you... both?"
"Hi, I'm glad to meet you too," Brock said, shaking her hand. "Venom likes you as well. Also, will the girl have any lasting effects?"
"None at all," Shuri shook her head. "Her internal organs did show signs of systemic failure, but nothing beyond recovery. What caught my attention was that this wasn't normal organ failure. It felt more like… a strange force had drained her body's vital nutrients. Once I replenished those, her system stabilized. She just needs proper rest now. Hmm… I suppose you're planning to store her in your dimensional device?"
"Exactly," Arthur nodded. "She can't be allowed to see Camp Lehigh. I'll have someone identify her parents and send her home. Once she's back with them, she'll be safe and sound under their care."
"Can't argue with that." Shuri stepped aside to let them through.
Arthur went inside briefly, then returned and looked at Brock.
"So? What's your decision? Do you want to stay here for two days, or return to San Francisco for a bit? I get that life's crossroads are never easy to navigate,
but what I can promise is this: if you ultimately decide to walk away, I'll make sure your life goes back on track."
Brock hesitated for a moment before replying: "Can I stay here for a day, then head back to San Francisco for another day? There are… some things I need to do. You can come with me, if you want."
"Understood." Arthur nodded. "You're free to move around. There's nothing at Camp Lehigh that's strictly off-limits, just be careful. Some areas are more dangerous than others."
"Where are you going now?" Brock asked again.
"To find Natasha," Arthur replied. "When it comes to intel, she's the most resourceful one we've got."
"Can I come with you?" Brock added, "I'm really curious about you right now."
"Just don't write a dedicated exposé about me," Arthur said with a shrug, but didn't refuse.
After saying goodbye to Shuri, Arthur took Brock to find Natasha.
At the moment, Natasha was genuinely swamped. Her office was so cluttered it was hard to even step inside. When Arthur and Brock entered, she didn't even look up:
"If possible, I really need one or two assistants. Also, can I just say, Harry's selection of staff is ridiculous. Why are all of them scientists? We need field agents, intel operatives, professionals, Arthur!"