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*****
"La, la la la la!"
Gwen sat on the sofa, hugging a tub of ice cream. She scooped a small bite with her spoon, placed it in her mouth, and hummed happily under her breath.
On a scorching summer day, only ice cream could soothe the ache in her heart from not being able to travel through time with them.
After scooping another spoonful into her mouth, Gwen let out a cool breath, bit down on her spoon, and glanced at the clock.
"Only three minutes have passed."
She muttered to herself, her heart filled with unease.
What if this time was like the last, and they disappeared for six whole months? What would she do then?
"No, it shouldn't be like that. Tony's with them this time."
She reassured herself nervously, continuously digging spoonful after spoonful of ice cream into her mouth.
Suddenly, her expression changed.
Her stomach felt uncomfortably cold—had she eaten too much?
Looking at the empty tub of ice cream, large enough to be half the size of her head, Gwen pressed her belly and frowned.
"Got it!"
Her eyes lit up. After making sure her dad wouldn't suddenly return, she let out a soft shout and transformed into a blazing skeleton.
"Ha! Much better!"
Gwen grinned as blue flames spurted from her mouth.
Then, as if remembering something, she lifted her T-shirt.
"…"
Seeing her stomach gone, replaced only by a visible spine, Gwen pouted.
"No wonder it doesn't hurt anymore—there's no stomach left."
"What doesn't hurt anymore?"
"My stoma—" Gwen froze mid-sentence. Her face tensed as she hastily canceled her transformation, pulled her shirt back down, and turned around. Seeing the sudden figure, her eyes lit up with delight. "Dad! You're back so fast this time!"
Mike tilted his head. Tony, however, couldn't hold back his laughter and mimicked Gwen's tone.
"Wow, so fast!"
Mike's face darkened. With a wave of his hand, he opened a portal and kicked Tony through it before dismissing the portal entirely.
Gwen stifled her laughter, but when Mike's gaze turned to her, her eyes darted nervously to the empty ice cream tub on the table. Abruptly, she asked, "Dad, so how was it? What's the future like? Did you see me there? I bet I was really pretty, right?"
Mike silently walked toward her, step by step. Just as her heart began to panic, he suddenly pulled her into his arms and gently stroked her hair.
A question mark practically floated above Gwen's head.
What's going on?
Mike looked at his daughter and sighed deeply in relief.
You're fine just like this. The Gwen of the other world endured far too much… Hm?
His eyes fell on the ice cream tub.
"In the few minutes we were gone, you ate a whole tub of ice cream?"
Gwen's eyes flickered with guilt. "Uh, I… well…"
"Maybe I should just smother you!"
Mike growled, suddenly tightening his arms around her.
"Ah! Ugh—!"
Gwen struggled in his embrace, her arms flailing wildly.
Three seconds later, Mike let go. Gwen quickly fixed her hair and complained, "Dad, you're so annoying. You messed up my hair."
With that, she slipped on her slippers, ran to the door, changed into her shoes, and dashed outside.
Bang!
Hearing the door slam shut, Mike rubbed his forehead.
Moments later, the door creaked open again. Gwen's little head poked through the gap, and she called out, "I'm going to play with my friends! Hmph!"
With that, she slammed the door again.
Mike chuckled warmly.
Glancing at his home, he closed his eyes for a moment.
Things weren't over yet. At least, not in this world.
The Star Company…
Mike's eyes turned cold. Leaving his home, he walked to the neighboring house of Maria.
After knocking, Maria greeted him cheerfully. "Here to play a few rounds with me?"
"Sorry, no time now. I'm here for Tony."
Seeing his serious expression, Maria nodded, then checked the time. "He should be in the lab right now. Go ahead—I'm heading out with Peggy."
Mike nodded and went straight to the lab.
In this world, he and Tony had only been gone for a few minutes. No one could have imagined that in those few minutes, they had traveled to another world, fought a war, and resolved a massive crisis.
Mike made his way downstairs to Maria's "basement."
Thanks to Tony's modifications, the once modest basement was now much larger, filled with advanced technology and even several suits of Iron Man armor.
"Welcome, Mr. Kent."
As Jarvis's smooth voice rang out, the lab door opened. Mike strode inside and found Tony adjusting his battered armor.
"It's time to move."
Tony's hands paused briefly. He nodded. "What's your plan?"
"Collect evidence on the Star Company and strike them?"
Though Star Company had developed rapidly and gained attention, it was still in its early stages.
The superheroes they promoted had risen to fame through relentless publicity, but compared to true heroes like Tony and the others—those who fought in the Battle of New York and had been protecting people ever since—they were still nothing.
And beneath the surface, Star Company had engaged in plenty of illegal dealings. With what they had learned from the future, gathering evidence and striking them down would be easy.
Mike's voice lowered. "That's what you'll need to do—and what must be done later. But right now…"
His eyes flickered coldly. "What I want most is to eliminate those two."
Those two?
Again?
Tony thought for a moment, then nodded. "Alright."
Those two were indeed dangerous. The sooner they were dealt with, the safer it would be.
If they caught wind of the investigation into Star Company, things would get far more complicated.
Still…
Tony hesitated. "If we take out Jason Stryker now, won't Star Company fall into chaos before we finish gathering evidence? Couldn't that give others a chance to interfere?"
Mike said flatly, "It's not as complicated as you think. Collecting the evidence won't take much time."
"I'll have Raven impersonate Jason Stryker for a couple of days to manage the company. The disguised Raven can also assist you in the investigation."
"That's perfect."
Tony's eyes lit up.
That would indeed make things much simpler.
"Then let's go."
Mike's lips curled into a faint smile. "The sooner we end this, the sooner we can be at peace."
If Tony hadn't been needed to wipe out the backup consciousness, Mike would've already taken care of it himself.
Tony nodded. After suiting up in a fresh set of armor, he stood beside Mike.
With Tony providing a map, they no longer needed to waste time scouting.
Mike opened a portal directly into the enemy's base—the fourth underground level of Mr. Sinister's stronghold—and together, he and Tony charged in.
(End of Chapter)