New York, the Bronx. In front of Empire State University.
A sleek, black Aston Martin DBX slowly pulled up to the school gates. The driver's eyes were vacant, his body ramrod straight. As the back door slowly opened, a woman in a black dress extended her pale white legs from the car. She wore a tea-colored trench coat, a stylish small leather bag, and a pair of dark sunglasses.
Hela stood outside Empire State University, a smile on her face, and snapped her fingers. The driver of the Aston Martin DBX behind her suddenly jolted awake, looking around in confusion.
"Finally found it!" Hela removed her sunglasses, her lips curling into a smirk. She had been busy restoring her power, which was now mostly back. She had spent a long time searching for a trace of the Phoenix Force. The Midgardians were incredibly good at hiding their auras. After days of searching, she had finally detected a faint trace of the Phoenix Force's aura here.
"A familiar Phoenix Force aura." Hela took a stride and walked into the school building. The men around her were all drawn to her, unable to look away. This woman carried an indescribable aura, like a bottomless abyss that they couldn't help but be drawn into.
Following the aura, Hela entered the teaching building, taking off her sunglasses and putting them in her small bag. "It should be on this floor."
She could clearly feel that the aura was coming from a classroom on this floor. Although it was incredibly faint, she was certain that it was indeed the Phoenix Force.
Inside a classroom, a professor with round glasses began calling out names. "Gwen Stacy!" The professor called again. She saw a girl with short, light-blonde hair raise her hand a little dreamily. "Here..."
"Gwen, you don't look very energetic," the professor said, looking at Gwen. She had a deep impression of this girl, who was usually very focused in every class. But for some reason, she looked dispirited today.
At the same time, Hela walked with an elegant stride to the front door of the classroom. Her gaze swept across the room. She quickly locked her eyes on Gwen, who had just been called on.
"Gwen? It's coming from you!" Hela wasn't surprised to see Gwen, because the amount of Phoenix Force was too little. To be more precise, it was only a trace of the Phoenix Force's aura. It was certain that she had been in contact with the user of the Phoenix Force. But now that she knew the connection between this person and that man from the other day, she would surely be able to find him soon.
"Alright... Richard Gerald!" The professor checked off the rest of the names on her list before nodding in satisfaction. It seemed that not many people were absent from this class. When she turned around, her peripheral vision caught sight of a sophisticated-looking woman standing at the front door of the classroom. "Excuse me, are you Ms. Shirley?" she asked, adjusting her glasses.
"Yes?" Hela, who was still examining Gwen, frowned in response to the professor's question.
"I've been waiting for you to come substitute for me. The previous teacher got sick, so I asked you to sub for a week," the professor explained in a helpless tone. She was only a substitute herself, but the teacher hadn't shown up for over a month due to personal reasons. They had asked someone from another school to substitute, and she only knew the substitute teacher's name.
Substitute? Hela hesitated for a moment, then a brilliant smile appeared on her face. "That's right, I'm here to substitute!"
She had wanted to get in touch with this girl named Gwen, and now she had an opportunity. So she casually agreed.
"Then I'll leave these kids in your good hands. The lesson plan is already organized." The professor's expression brightened at her words. After all, she finally wouldn't have to teach this class anymore. She handed the lesson plan to Hela and left in a hurry.
"Alright, students, today I'll be the one to have a nice class with you!" Hela walked into the classroom in her high heels and casually tossed the lesson plan onto the teacher's desk. Her heavily-lined eyes looked at the group of curious Midgardians in front of her.
"This teacher is so beautiful!"
"Yeah, but her eyeliner is so dark. I wonder if she likes rock music?"
"Who knows, she's just a substitute teacher from another school!"
"But I heard that her teaching experience is very rich, and she's even taught a lot of outstanding students!"
The students in the classroom had more or less heard the name "Ms. Shirley." They had expected her to be a serious, old-fashioned woman, but they never thought she would be such a fashionable woman.
Although her eyeliner was heavy, she was so beautiful that it only made her look even better. This even made the boys in the class a little excited. After all, she was a beautiful woman; who wouldn't want to have a pleasant relationship with her?
"Teach?" Hela ignored the stares and whispers below her and opened the lesson plan. On it was a long line of text: Deep Analysis and Pathway Exploration for Clean Energy Technology Innovation and Industrial Collaborative Development in Achieving a Sustainable Energy System.
"What is this nonsense?" As the Goddess of Death, Hela would never be able to understand a Midgardian's lesson plan. She flipped through a few pages in annoyance and threw the lesson plan directly into the trash can. She wasn't in the mood to teach these people, and even if she did, it would be a class on how to dissect a person!
"Congratulations, you have met me!" Hela tilted her head back and looked at the students with contempt. "So you can all stay in the classroom and study quietly this period."
"Huh? What's going on? She's not going to teach?"
"I still haven't passed this class. Don't mess with me!"
"Shouldn't she be teaching us about energy? This is so irresponsible!"
"If you're not going to teach, then just leave. We don't need to study by ourselves!"
The students in the classroom were in an uproar. Empire State University was a good school, after all, so they were much more disciplined than students at other schools. When they heard the news, they were instantly unhappy. They paid money to study, not to be here studying by themselves.
"Shut up, all of you!" Hela looked at the noisy crowd with a look of disgust. With a roar, the entire classroom instantly fell silent.
An indescribable aura began to linger in the room.
When this aura appeared, the students' expressions changed dramatically. It felt as if something was pressing down hard on their lungs. The awe of the Goddess of Death permeated the classroom, and everyone looked at Hela with fear.
"Alright, the world is finally quiet." Hela smiled and clapped her hands, looking very satisfied. It seemed she was quite suited to be a teacher. Now everyone was obediently silent.
"Hello," a confused voice suddenly came from the door.
Hela turned around and saw a woman who looked to be in her fifties, holding a stack of books, standing outside the door. She kept looking at the students in the classroom, as if she was thinking about something.
Hela instantly understood that this was probably the real substitute teacher. A faint green light flashed in her eyes.
"I'm sorry, I seem to have come to the wrong place." The woman, Ms. Shirley, shook her head, her eyes vacant, and turned to leave in a daze after apologizing.
Hela found a chair, crossed her legs, and looked at the students below her. She would often look at Gwen as well.
But at this moment, Gwen was lying on her desk, looking listless. She was glad there was no lecture today because her mind was filled with thoughts of Cassius and Wanda. She couldn't focus on the lecture at all.
Ring, ring, ring...
The shrill sound of the bell rang, and noisy footsteps could be heard outside. Gwen breathed a heavy sigh of relief. "Finally, class is over."
She stood up to go home, but a figure blocked her path. It was Hela, who smiled and said, "Gwen, would you mind showing me around the campus?"
"Huh? Me?" Gwen was stunned. The new substitute teacher, who was very elegant, actually wanted me?
....
....
That night, Cassius drove a black Cayenne to a luxurious hotel. He was wearing a black tuxedo, something he hadn't worn in a long time.
After getting out of the car, he casually gave a dollar bill and the car keys to the doorman. He then walked to the back of the car, opened the door, and extended his right hand to help a girl in a deep green evening gown out.
The girl had her hair up in a bun. Although she was trying to act calm, she couldn't help but look at everything around her.
He had originally planned to ask Wanda to accompany him, but she had been too busy recently. In addition, he had to attend the Stark Industries shareholder's banquet tonight.
This banquet was held once a quarter, and it invited all shareholders and partners of Stark Industries. It was a very grand event. He hadn't planned on coming, but Tony kept calling and urging him. In the end, he agreed and also took this opportunity to invite Lorna to the banquet with him.
Since he had demonstrated his power to her two days ago, Lorna had become a little more respectful of him. Her eyes would even dart away when she spoke to him, and she didn't dare to initiate a conversation. She would only greet him when she saw him. But she had also become more diligent in practicing her abilities and would practice non-stop at home.
Considering that Lorna had spent the past few years in a cage, it was understandable that she would be so cautious. He decided to take her to the banquet to help her see the outside world.
The moment Lorna appeared, countless reporters on both sides of the hotel began snapping pictures. This was a banquet hosted by Stark Industries, and the attendees were all top-tier executives and influential people. It was safe to say that most of the rich and powerful people in New York could be seen here.
Not to mention the wealthy people who had traveled from other places. No one was willing to give up this opportunity to get in touch with Stark Industries. Everyone who received an invitation wanted the whole world to know.
In that instant, countless flashes of light went off, and the blinding light made Lorna squint. Her heart started to beat faster. She took a deep breath, straightened her back, and walked into the hotel with Cassius, afraid of embarrassing him.
"I'm sorry, I'm not accepting any interviews." Cassius was already very familiar with dealing with reporters. He simply shook his head and skillfully led Lorna into the hotel.
"Hey, my man, you finally made it!" Just as they entered the hotel, Tony walked up to them with his arms wide open and gave Cassius a warm hug. This action made many people pay attention to Cassius. They never expected that Tony would be so enthusiastic about a relatively unknown person.
"Tony, why do you look so haggard?" Cassius asked after he, Lorna, and Tony sat down at a round table in a corner. Tony looked like he hadn't slept in more than ten days. His eyes were filled with haggardness and exhaustion, and his dark circles were incredibly deep.
"Some very troublesome things have happened recently." Tony took a glass of brandy from a nearby waiter's tray and downed it in one gulp. He was truly exhausted to the limit.
"What happened? Are you interested in telling me?" Cassius was also curious about what was happening now that the team hadn't split up yet.
"That guy Steve actually covered for a criminal for his own selfish reasons!" Tony said, frowning, his eyes filled with resentment. "You heard that right. A damned criminal!"
Every time he thought of Bucky, he felt so angry, and the recent earthquake was also giving him a huge headache. The earthquake from yesterday was also too strange. All these things were weighing down on him, and he was about to suffocate.
"Maybe he had his reasons?" Cassius roughly understood the situation from that one sentence.
"Sigh." Tony shook his head and sighed, looking down. "I just feel like it's getting harder and harder to communicate with Steve."
Cassius patted Tony's shoulder and said in a kind tone, "If you have any trouble, I'm always here to help you."
"Thanks for the offer, man." In response to Cassius's comforting words, Tony shook his head. "But you know, Avenger's business is never simple." After all, Cassius was just a businessman. Even if he wanted to help, what could he do?
BOOM!
Just then, the ceiling suddenly exploded. Countless pieces of debris mixed with steel bars came crashing down. Dust and smoke filled the air, accompanied by a wave of heat from the explosion.
Ahhh!
The guests screamed. Everyone ran in different directions. And at this moment, the real ceiling was falling directly on Cassius and Tony. The two of them were right in the middle.
"Get out of the way!" Tony reacted and tried to dodge, but without his armor, he could only watch as the huge concrete slab fell.
Voom!
In this split second, a flash of energy enveloped the falling debris. Tony's eyes widened at the sight above him. What is levitating?!
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