"Looks like Karl's in trouble again?" Pepper said with a knowing smile.
Tony grinned wickedly. "Oh, definitely. This is gonna be fun to watch."
With that, he wrapped his arm around Pepper and headed for the car, leaving another one behind—clearly meant to pick Karl up.
"Let's go home first," Karl said helplessly, sensing an impending storm. "I'll explain everything once we're there."
The ride back was painfully tense. Karl sat stiffly, while the three girls—Gwen, Skye, and Wanda—stared at each other in frosty silence the entire way.
When they finally arrived at the office, George and Helen were already waiting. The moment Helen saw her son, she ran straight into his arms.
"You're safe… thank goodness you're safe…" she repeated, tears welling in her eyes. No matter how strong a mother pretends to be, she can't hide her worry.
George, however, crossed his arms and frowned. "Now explain. How the hell does my son—a walking disaster of power—get himself kidnapped?"
Everyone in the family knew exactly what Karl was capable of. The idea that someone could abduct him sounded absurd.
Karl scratched his head awkwardly. "Well… it's kind of a long story. Actually, it's sort of my fault…"
So he told them everything—from the Hydra trap to Wanda's rescue—leaving out no detail.
By the time he finished, everyone was stunned. Hearing Wanda's story, they couldn't help feeling sympathetic. Helen immediately decided the girl could stay at the office as long as she liked, and even Gwen and Skye dropped their earlier hostility.
Before long, Helen had whisked all three girls off for a "girls' shopping day," leaving Karl and George alone in the office, staring each other down.
Then George let loose.
"You! I swear you're nothing like me. Who plans something that dumb?! 'Go along with their trap,' seriously? With your power, you could've flattened them in seconds! Instead, you got knocked out by a few tranquilizer darts! From now on, don't tell anyone you're my son—I have a reputation to protect!"
George's voice thundered through the office. As the NYPD Commissioner, he'd commanded countless operations—yet somehow raised a son who thought "going undercover" against Hydra was a good idea.
Karl shrank in his chair like a guilty schoolboy, wishing he could sink into the floor. Looking back now, he wanted to smack his past self. Who in their right mind tried to "outsmart" Hydra with a fake plan? One dose of sedative later, and bam—lights out. What a disgrace.
He mentally vowed that next time, there'd be no fancy schemes, no clever tricks—just overwhelming firepower. Conspiracy or not, absolute strength crushed everything.
That night, the family finally sat down for a long-overdue dinner. Laughter filled the room again, the air light and warm.
George and Helen eventually decided to move back to their own house—it was closer to the younger kids' school, and leaving it empty for too long wasn't ideal.
Karl reluctantly agreed, but only on the condition that if anything happened, they'd return to the apartment immediately. It was, after all, the safest place in the city.
No one disagreed. With Karl guarding it—and now both Skye and Wanda living there—the apartment might as well have been a fortress.
Speaking of Wanda, when Karl told everyone about her power, jaws dropped all around the table. The Chaos Force, as he explained, could literally rewrite reality. If she ever lost control, she could erase the entire planet.
Compared to that, Skye's vibration powers suddenly seemed… quaint.
That mention of Skye reminded Karl of something important—something he'd completely forgotten amid the chaos and Tony's teasing.
Vibranium.
He needed to find it.
Pulling out his phone, Karl immediately called Tony.
Tony was in his workshop, surrounded by glowing holograms and half-assembled armor plates. He was tinkering with a new idea—portable armor. He couldn't exactly go grocery shopping in full Iron Man gear, after all.
He took a sip of his murky green chlorophyll shake and grimaced. "God, this stuff is vile. Jarvis, there has to be* a better supplement than this."
"I'm afraid not, sir," J.A.R.V.I.S. replied smoothly. "Chlorophyll remains the most effective countermeasure for your current palladium toxicity."
"Fine, fine. You win," Tony muttered, rubbing his chest. The veins around his arc reactor were turning dark again—a reminder of the poison slowly spreading through him.
He acted nonchalant, but the truth was, the fear of dying gnawed at him. That's why he'd quietly handed Stark Industries over to Pepper, promoting her to CEO. She thought it was about trust; he knew it was about legacy.
He'd even transferred access to the Mark II armor to Rhodes—passing on the Iron Man mantle, just in case.
His grim thoughts were interrupted by a call.
"Karl? What's up?"
Tony kept working, tools whirring as he spoke.
"Got a quick question," Karl said. "How much do you know about Captain America's shield?"
Tony froze. "That's… random. Why?"
"Just curious. You know anything about the material?"
Tony frowned, recalling faint memories. "Not much. My dad wrote about it in his old notes—it's made of something called Vibranium. Why?"
Karl leaned back. "You've heard of Vibranium, huh?"
"Sure. Super rare. Practically unobtainable. Even I can't get any." Tony turned a wrench absently. "Why the sudden interest?"
Karl explained, "You know Skye's power—it takes a toll on her body. I'm thinking of making her a pair of bracers from Vibranium to absorb the impact."
Tony whistled. "Nice thought. I'll keep an eye out, but don't get your hopes up. Even I don't have a source. Maybe S.H.I.E.L.D. does."
"Got it," Karl said. "Thanks."
He hung up, sighing. Great. Back to dealing with those people again. Every encounter with S.H.I.E.L.D. meant headaches and paperwork.
He rubbed his temples, muttering, "Now what was that arms dealer's name again… the one who smuggled Vibranium?"
He tried to recall the movie—something about Black Panther—but honestly, he'd slept through half of it.
"Should've forced myself to stay awake," he groaned. "Now I can't even remember the damn guy's name."
Shaking his head, Karl sighed deeply. "Guess I'll have to start from scratch.
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