2 chapters will be uploaded on daily basis i.e. 14 Chapters will be uploaded every week apart from the bonus chapters.
1 Bonus Chapter will be uploaded for every 50 Power Stones or 1000 Collections.
[email protected]/Heroicverse
×××××××××××××××
There was a brief silence in the laboratory.
"Things seem to be getting more and more interesting." After a long time, Tony spoke slowly.
Henry nodded in agreement.
"It's internal factional fighting, and it's ancient alien monsters. I have to say, Hydra is a much more profound organization than I thought."
"Yeah, it's so troublesome." Tony rubbed his aching temple.
"I thought our European tour would be a light-hearted demolition tour at best. Now it seems we've accidentally stirred up a hornet's nest."
"Isn't that better?" Henry smiled when he heard this.
"I've been feeling a bit bored lately. It's perfect, I can use these to stretch my legs."
Tony looked at him, looking as if he was eager to stir up trouble, and shook his head helplessly.
"You battle maniac," he grumbled, then turned his attention back to the screen.
"Okay, let's put the matter of the Hive aside for now. The most urgent task is to clean up those Hydra bases in Strucker's memory one by one. As for Pierce and S.H.I.E.L.D..."
A cunning curve appeared at the corner of his mouth.
"I think we can give Braised Egg Director a big gift first."
Just as the two were discussing in the laboratory, how to stir up the world.
Inside the medical ward, the atmosphere was still solemn.
Tony's words were like a bombshell, causing huge waves in Wanda and Pietro's hearts.
"Is what he said true?"
Pietro was the first to break the silence, his voice a little hoarse and his eyes confused.
Wanda didn't answer. She sat quietly on the bed, hugging her knees with her hands, burying her head between her arms, without saying a word.
Her mind was still replaying the memories she had seen of Henry.
Those images, those emotions, were so real that she couldn't doubt it.
She saw the pain and struggle of the Stark brothers, and also saw their responsibility and love for the world hidden under their cynical appearance. Compared with them, the hatred that she and Pietro had persisted in for the past ten years seemed so ridiculous and so pale.
"Wanda?"
Pietro looked at his sister's lonely back and felt a pang of pain in his heart.
He got off the bed, walked to Wanda's bedside, and gently held her hand.
"Don't think too much." He said softly.
"No matter what he said is true or false, no matter who our enemy is, I will always stand by you and protect you."
Wanda's body trembled slightly.
"But... Pietro..." Her voice was filled with tears, "What if we really hate the wrong person?"
She slowly raised her head, her eyes filled with tears.
This question, like a sharp knife, pierced Pietro's heart.
Yeah, what if they really hate the wrong person?
Then what about the pain they have endured and the beliefs they have upheld in the past ten years?
A joke?
Just when the brother and sister were confused, the door of the ward was pushed open again.
But this time, it wasn't Tony or Henry who came in.
Instead, she was a woman wearing a smart business suit, with long golden hair and a gentle smile on her face.
It was Pepper.
"Hello." Pepper smiled and nodded at them, her eyes lingering on the peace collars around their necks for a second, but she quickly moved away.
"I'm Pepper Potts, Tony's assistant." She placed a tray in her hand on the bedside cabinet. On it were two nutritious meals that looked and smelled delicious.
"I heard about you." Pepper pulled a chair over and sat down in front of them, her voice soft.
"Tony is a guy who may have a sharp tongue, but he has a kind heart. He asked me to come and see if you need anything."
Wanda and Pietro looked at the woman who suddenly appeared warily without saying a word.
Pepper didn't care. She just said to herself, "I know you must be confused and in pain right now. But it doesn't matter. You have plenty of time to think slowly and see the world clearly."
She paused, then looked at them with a seriousness she had never seen before.
"Stark Industries has indeed made mistakes, and Tony has never denied that. But what I want to tell you is that a person's value lies not in his past, but in his present and the future he chooses."
"Tony chose to become Iron Man to protect the world and to make up for the mistakes he had made."
"And you." Her gaze lingered on Wanda's face for a moment.
"Your future should be chosen by you, not by hatred or manipulation by anyone."
After she finished speaking, she stood up and said to them with a smile, "Let's eat first. If you need anything, you can always press the call bell at the bedside. Oh, by the way.'
She seemed to remember something, took out a tablet from her pocket, and put it on the cabinet.
"There are some movies and games here. If you feel bored, you can use them to kill time."
After saying that, she turned and left the ward without saying another word.
Wanda and Pietro were the only ones left in the room again.
Pietro looked at the steaming food and tablet computer on the table, and his expression became more complicated.
"She seems different from what we imagined." He muttered to himself.
Wanda didn't say anything; she just reached out and picked up the cup of steaming milk.
The warmth slowly passed through her palm and into her heart, dispelling the coldness that had accumulated for ten years.
Perhaps, they really should re-examine Stark, the man they once hated.
The next few days were an unprecedented experience for Wanda and Pietro.
There were no interrogations, no experiments, and certainly no torture or humiliation as they had imagined.
They were like being under house arrest in a luxuriously decorated sanatorium.
Delicious meals were delivered on time every day, and the entertainment facilities in the room were more than they had ever seen in their lives.
Except for the collar around their necks and the endless sea outside the window, which reminded them that this was not a free land, everything seemed so peaceful. Tony Stark and Henry Stark never appeared in front of them again.
After giving them a choice, the two men seemed to have completely disappeared from their world.
This feeling of being ignored made them feel more helpless than any interrogation.
"What on earth do they want to do?"
Pietro was lying on the soft, big bed, poking his finger at the projection screen on the ceiling out of boredom. The latest Hollywood blockbuster was playing on it, but he couldn't focus on a single shot.
"How should I know?"
Wanda sat cross-legged on the carpet, holding a tablet in her hand. The screen did not display movies or games, but news reports about Stark Industries.