"For real?"
Tony stared at Mantis, his eyes sparkling with pure curiosity.
Even though they had witnessed a fraction of her abilities back at Chernobyl, he was still fascinated by this newly arrived alien girl.
"Come to think of it, it's been ages since I had a proper rest... Come on, show me what you've got!"
Mantis reflexively glanced at Peter. Seeing him nod with a warm smile, she gingerly reached out, lightly pressing her index finger against the back of Tony's hand.
After tuning into his mind for a brief second, her delicate brows furrowed deeply:
"Such an overwhelming sense of responsibility... or rather, guilt?!"
Mantis looked at Tony with the tender, pitying gaze one might give a wounded puppy—making Tony squirm with profound discomfort.
"You really don't have to live like this. You shouldn't let these emotions crush your soul. Perhaps you should try enjoying things that genuinely help you relax."
"So you're saying the second I land, I should call up eighty or a hundred supermodels and throw a wild bash?" Tony adopted his trademark playboy persona on instinct, hiding the raw vulnerability within.
"That's not healthy. You're hiding your authentic self beneath a shell of armor," Mantis shook her head like an earnest counselor, speaking with gentle guidance:
"You should try expressing your truest emotions. That is the only real path to relaxation. And I can help you."
While Harry stood to the side daydreaming about rather scandalous scenarios, Mantis's pupils suddenly expanded until the glossy black pigment almost swallowed the whites of her eyes.
In that very instant, Tony burst into loud, hysterical sobs!
The raw, agonizing grief in his weeping sounded closer to a tragic howl, sending shivers down everyone's spines.
The crew watched in absolute shock as Tony wept until he could barely draw breath, frantically whipped out his smartphone, and began passionately rambling to Pepper on the other end about how madly he loved her.
The jarring contrast made every hero in the cabin shudder violently.
Their collective gaze shifted back toward Mantis, eyes filled with even greater dread than when they had looked at Wanda!
This girl was the true monster!
She wouldn't kill them, but she held the power to inflict absolute, irreversible social death at a moment's notice!
"Uh..." Harry glanced at the sobbing, broken Tony, swallowing dryly: "Are you sure he won't murder you once he snaps out of it?"
"Why would he murder me?" Mantis tilted her head innocently, her large eyes filled with pure bewilderment.
"Put it this way—he doesn't like showing his vulnerable side to others," Peter supplied helpfully.
"Is that so? Earthlings are so strange," Mantis murmured. She placed both palms gently against Tony's temples:
"Forget everything that just happened."
Tony's weeping cut off instantly.
Sniffling, he stared blankly at the phone clutched in his hand:
"Wait... what just happened?"
"Nothing, absolutely nothing~!" Everyone waved their hands in frantic denial, quietly shuffling two steps further away from Mantis.
Good lord! Not only does she force total social ruin on you, she erases your memory of it afterward! Who could possibly survive that?!
Noticing their sudden retreat, Mantis puffed her cheeks out like a little bun, looking at Peter with a crestfallen pout:
"Do they not like me?"
"Don't worry." Peter patted her head soothingly, speaking with deep amusement: "Many of them will probably be begging for private therapy sessions with you later. Trust me, they'll end up loving you to pieces."
Right as he spoke, his smartphone buzzed.
Peter pulled it out, seeing Coulson's name flashing on the screen.
"What's the situation?" Peter set it to speakerphone.
"Director, we just received intelligence that a massive explosion occurred in Eastern Europe. Based on our analysis, the subterranean structure destroyed was likely the primary Hydra headquarters for the region!"
Hearing this, everyone forgot about Mantis, turning their attention toward Peter.
"Any survivors at the site?" Peter asked.
"None," Coulson's voice came through the speaker. "Forensic experts estimate an internal detonation with a yield of roughly two hundred tons of TNT. It occurred without warning, wiping the entire base completely off the map. Not a single living soul was left behind."
"An internal detonation?" Daisy's eyes widened in surprise. "What is that, Bushido spirit? Knowing you were coming for them next, they decided to blow themselves to kingdom come?"
Harry couldn't resist chiming in: "Talk about spending your own life just to spite someone!"
"It's not that simple!" Captain America offered a different perspective.
"I know those people. They're fanatic zealots—they don't make choices like that under normal circumstances!"
"Knowing them, if they believed they were at the end of the line, their first move would be strapping bombs to themselves to inflict maximum collateral damage, not gathering together for a quiet group suicide!"
Gwen immediately caught on: "You mean... they're shedding their tail to survive? Sacrificing their garrison to bury secrets they don't want us uncovering?"
"More than likely!" Cap gave Gwen an approving nod before looking at Peter:
"Director, assign this investigation to me and Bucky. Consider it settling a lifelong score for us."
Peter agreed that Hydra's maneuver was far from ordinary. Yet even with his knowledge, it was hard to guess what game-changing play those remnants could muster under these conditions.
"In that case, I leave it in your hands. Agent Coulson will manage your intelligence pipeline directly. Furthermore..."
Peter scanned the cabin, pausing for a moment before deciding:
"Natasha, you'll accompany them to guarantee their safety."
Having fused with the Okuchi-no-Makami Devil Fruit and upgraded via the symbiote suit, Natasha was no longer the bottom-tier combatant of the original timeline.
Her single-target combat prowess was second only to Felicia—who commanded the Ten Rings—and Daisy with her Quake abilities.
More importantly, Natasha was one of Peter's cherished teammates. The status HUD of his Stand: Merciful Soul Fall allowed him to monitor her vital signs at all times. If Natasha ran into any mortal danger, Peter could teleport directly to her side to provide instant support!
After dropping Cap and Natasha off at their designated drop point, the digital clock crossed midnight.
Right on cue, a mechanical chime rang out in Peter's mind:
[Countdown Reached: 00:00:00]
[Monthly System Shop Refreshed. Welcome, Host, to browse the new catalogue!]