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*****
The first "Civil War" within the Avengers ended with Steve taking on everyone single-handedly and wiping the floor with them.
Through his fists, as well as stack after stack of medical reports, he proved that there was absolutely nothing wrong with his body.
The reason they hadn't conceived a child yet was simply a matter of probability.
However, even though he had defeated a group of jerks, he somehow felt as if he had lost.
Regardless, the matter was finally over.
"You're saying all of them suspected Steve was infertile, or that he simply couldn't... do that?"
Hearing the news Raven had brought back from Pepper Potts, the corners of Mike's mouth twitched uncontrollably.
"Yeah! I heard Steve even got into a fight with them and had no choice but to bring out his medical reports to prove he didn't have any issues."
Mike was stunned for a moment, then: "Haha! Hahahaha!"
He laughed maniacally, feeling like he was going to lose his mind with joy.
"Stop laughing. Steve is pitiful enough as it is."
Raven rolled her eyes at Mike, though the corners of her own mouth couldn't help but curl upward.
"I can't help it! It's too funny!"
Mike's laughter didn't cease.
Just then, Gwen, having returned from school, pushed the door open and walked in.
"Dad, I'm on break! It's summer vacation!"
"Hahahaha!"
The only response Gwen got was laughter.
Gwen froze, looking at Mike, who was sitting on the sofa laughing his head off. She asked in confusion, "What's wrong? Did something good happen?"
"Hahaha! Let me tell you! Steve... hahaha! He was suspected of... haha! Being unable to have kids, and he even fought the Avengers over it! Hahaha!"
Hearing this, Gwen's eyes flickered, and she suddenly let out two dry laughs. "That... that is pretty interesting, huh!"
Mike looked at his daughter and suddenly felt that the little girl's expression was a bit off. He asked suspiciously, "That look on your face... you didn't know about this already, did you?"
"How is that possible! I study hard every day; where would I have the time to care about these things?"
Gwen spoke with righteous indignation.
"No, something's wrong!"
Mike rubbed his chin and muttered, "Given your gossipy nature, your first reaction after hearing this should have been to rush over and ask me exactly what happened."
Gwen felt a guilty pang in her heart. "Haha, hahaha! Isn't it because I've grown up? I need to focus my mind on my studies, I..."
"Stop, stop! Don't give me that nonsense."
Mike narrowed his eyes and said coolly, "Just tell me, does this have anything to do with you?"
"No, no!"
"Really?"
"No... maybe a little bit!"
Under Mike's gaze, Gwen held up two fingers and made a small gesture.
"Come here and tell me what happened!"
Mike kept a straight face as he spoke to Gwen.
"Oh!"
Gwen hung her head and explained the situation to Mike.
After listening, Mike looked at Gwen, who was twisting her hands together nervously. He rubbed her head, then flicked her forehead and said, "Although this happened because they spread rumors that got more and more exaggerated, you do bear some responsibility."
"Oh!"
"You should have told me first."
"I'll remember that."
"As long as you remember."
Hearing this, Gwen looked at Mike in surprise. "Dad, you're not going to punish me?"
"Why should I punish you?"
Mike smiled. "It's not worth it. Besides, it's already happened, and it doesn't have much to do with you anyway."
"That's great!"
Gwen breathed a sigh of relief.
"By the way, what are your plans for the summer vacation?" Mike asked.
Gwen thought for a moment and said, "I plan to go on a trip with Peter and the others. We've already picked a place."
"That's fine, but before you go, you must make a detailed plan and keep in touch with me at all times."
"Yes! Sir!"
"Cheeky!" Mike pinched Gwen's cheek affectionately. "When do you plan to leave?"
"If nothing unexpected happens, probably the day after tomorrow."
"Do you need me to help you prepare anything?"
"No need!" Gwen patted her chest and said confidently, "We'll prepare it ourselves."
"Alright!"
Mike responded. Watching Gwen leave, he couldn't help but sigh with emotion. "Sigh, Gwen has grown up."
"Children always grow up."
Raven gently held Mike's hand and suddenly said, "You just said Gwen should have told you first... are you upset because you felt like you were the last to know?"
"What? No way! Don't talk nonsense!"
As Mike spoke, his eyes drifted elsewhere.
Raven couldn't help but chuckle.
Meanwhile, Little Lamb sneaked into Gwen's room.
After knocking politely, Little Lamb pushed the door open and walked in.
He was holding two bags of snacks. He walked up to Gwen's bed with a grin, looked at Gwen who was half-lying on the bed, placed the snacks on the mattress, and began gently massaging Gwen's calf with his small hands, his face full of ingratiating fawning.
"Sister! Here! New flavor of potato chips! How is it? Is the pressure okay?"
Gwen glanced at Little Lamb, took off her headphones, and asked warily, "What do you want?"
"I don't want anything. I just saw that you work very hard, Sister, so I wanted to help you relax!"
Little Lamb giggled, but his eyes darted around.
Gwen laughed inwardly, rubbed Little Lamb's head, accepted the chips, and pulled her legs back. "I've received your kindness. If there's nothing else, you can leave. I need to prepare things for my trip."
"I can help."
"No need!"
Gwen flatly refused Little Lamb.
Little Lamb shook Gwen's arm. "Sister, my dear sister..."
Gwen shuddered and pulled her arm back. "Speak. What exactly do you want to do?"
"You're going on a trip. Can you take me with you?"
Little Lamb's eyes were full of longing.
"No!"
Gwen rejected the little guy's request without a second thought.
"Why?"
Little Lamb pouted, looking very unhappy.
"One, you are too young. Two, you don't have Dad's permission. Three, we don't want to bring a drag like you along."
"You're the drag! Hmph!"
Little Lamb shouted unhappily. He waved his hand at the chips placed to the side. The bag of chips flew up and landed in his hand. He made a funny face at Gwen. "I'm not giving them to you! Bad sister! Hmph!"
With that, his figure flashed and vanished.
Gwen shrugged, put her headphones back on, and continued listening to her music.
Back in his own room, although Little Lamb was a bit unhappy about Gwen's rejection, it wasn't long before he started snickering.
"Hehe, if you won't let me go, I'll just go secretly by myself!"
"You can't stop me! Hmph, hmph!"
In the City of Inhumans, Attilan.
Daisy and her boyfriend, Lincoln, walked along the pristine streets. Looking at the almost perfect surroundings, Daisy no longer felt the satisfaction and happiness she had felt a week ago.
Whenever she thought about the increasing number of Inhumans outside this city—being wanted, arrested, experimented on, or turning to a life of crime—she felt anxious and heartbroken.
She wanted to do something for the Inhumans, not just live peacefully here.
Thinking of their suffering and then looking at her current life, she felt a sense of guilt.
"What are you thinking about?"
Lincoln gently squeezed Daisy's hand, bringing her back to reality.
"I... I was thinking, is it really right for us to turn a blind eye to what's happening outside?"
Lincoln was stunned for a moment, then said helplessly, "But what can you do? This is Attilan, ruled by the Royal Family, and we are just ordinary citizens here."
"But is their rule really a good thing? They..."
"Shh!"
Lincoln glared sternly at Daisy. "Don't talk nonsense!"
Daisy bit her lip. "But Attilan clearly has the ability to help those Inhumans. And as the leaders of the Inhuman race, they have that responsibility."
"Didn't they say it already? They are only responsible for the Inhumans here!"
Lincoln looked at his girlfriend helplessly. "We live very well here. Why do you want to break that? This is a paradise for Inhumans. Why do you want to change it?"
Hearing this, Daisy lowered her voice but shouted emotionally, "Because they are also Inhumans! They are our compatriots! When we have the ability to help them, we should help them. That is the reason God gave us these abilities!"
Lincoln looked at the agitated Daisy, let out a long breath, and revealed a smile.
"Daisy, I really do love this side of you. Responsible, purposeful, accountable, and full of dreams. You shine with a captivating light like this."
Lincoln's sudden romantic words made Daisy blush slightly. She couldn't help but say, "Doing this all of a sudden... what are you trying to do?"
"Nothing, just speaking my heart." Lincoln smiled faintly and said, "Tell me, what do you plan to do next?"
Daisy bit her lip. "I'm still going to see Black Bolt."
"How many times has it been?"
"No matter how many times, I must persuade him."
She had a good relationship with Crystal. The first time Crystal took her to see Black Bolt and Queen Medusa, she voiced her suggestions.
As a result, Black Bolt simply nodded at her with an indifferent expression, and then he and Medusa rejected her proposal.
Since then, she had requested to meet Black Bolt again, but all requests were rejected.
Lincoln sighed. "I'll go with you."
Daisy looked at her boyfriend and couldn't help but smile.
This action of support was more powerful than any words.
The two crossed the street and arrived in front of the Royal Palace. After explaining their purpose to the guards, the guard simply said expressionlessly, "Please leave. Black Bolt will not see you."
"But you haven't even gone to..."
"This is Black Bolt's order."
Hearing this, Daisy's face was filled with unwillingness. She clenched her fists in anger, and amidst a humming sound, several cracks appeared on the ground beneath her feet.
A cold light flashed in the guard's eyes as he assumed an attack stance.
"Daisy!"
Lincoln cried out in a low voice, hurriedly grabbing Daisy's hands. "Don't make a scene! This is the Royal Family's home! This is Attilan!"
Daisy took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the anger in her heart. She withdrew her ability and said coldly, "A man with no sense of responsibility like him is not fit to be the Inhuman King!"
"Daisy!"
Lincoln was shocked and hurriedly shielded Daisy behind him.
The two guards looked at them coldly, their bodies glowing with unusual light.
Just as a conflict was about to break out between the two sides, a voice carrying a hint of laughter rang out.
"Don't make the atmosphere so tense! It's just a misunderstanding! I don't think she meant to say that on purpose, right?"
"Right, right!"
Lincoln hurriedly spoke up. "She just talks nonsense sometimes, but she doesn't mean any harm."
"Alright, David, you two get back to work. I'll take these two away."
Saying this, the man waved to Lincoln and Daisy, a smile appearing on his sinister face.
Looking at the man, Lincoln hesitated, but seeing the unfriendly expressions of the two guards, he and Daisy followed him.
From the first moment he saw this man, he recognized his identity.
A member of the Royal Family, Black Bolt's brother, Maximus.
For some reason, looking at him gave Lincoln an uncomfortable feeling, as if he were looking at a venomous snake.
"You seem to be wary of me?"
Maximus looked at Lincoln with a smile.
Lincoln hurriedly said, "No, it's just my first time meeting you, my lord, so I'm a little nervous."
"Don't be nervous." Maximus gave a cryptic smile and said, "Follow me. I have something to say to you."
With that, he walked forward.
Lincoln and Daisy glanced at each other and hurriedly caught up.
"Lincoln, Daisy. Those are your names, right?"
Maximus turned back to smile at the two, calling out their names.
Surprise flashed across their faces, but they nodded, secretly speculating in their hearts.
"Yes, you guessed right. I have investigated you."
Maximus said straightforwardly, "I know you come from the outside, I know your abilities, and I know... Daisy, why you looked for Black Bolt—my stubborn brother—before."
Hearing this, the two were startled.
To investigate in such detail... what was it for?
They speculated internally but followed the suddenly silent Maximus forward.
A moment later, Maximus stopped, pushed open the door in front of him, and invited them in. He turned to face them with a smile and said, "Make yourselves at home. This is my room. You can speak freely here."
Saying this, he winked at Daisy. "Let me state first, I am on your side. I think my brother is being a bit unreasonable in how he treats other Inhumans."
Daisy and Lincoln were stunned.
"To put it simply, I want to work with you to change the current state of Attilan."
Rebellion?
Seizing the throne?
The two were shocked and inwardly cried out that this was bad.
For Maximus to tell them such a thing...
This situation had become complicated.
"I think highly of you two," Maximus said with a smile. "Your abilities are very good, especially Daisy's."
Daisy squeezed out a smile.
Maximus made no attempt to hide his ambition and purpose.
"Join me. Let's change Attilan together, change this world together, and make Inhumans the greatest race on this planet!"
(End of Chapter)