Henry nodded slightly, feeling a mix of satisfaction and sentiment.
The Avengers—no, scratch that—the founding members of Stark's Private Demolition Company had finally assembled.
The overall vibe might've been a little off… but the combat power? Absolutely off the charts.
Next, it was time for those HYDRA bastards to truly understand what "the power of capital" meant.
...
Afternoon
In one of the villa's rooms, Wanda and Pepper had also come to a decision.
When Pepper opened the hospital room door again, carrying their lunch, what she saw was no longer two confused children.
Wanda and Pietro were both wearing clean clothes now, sitting neatly side by side at the edge of the bed like two students waiting to be scolded by their teacher.
"Miss Potts." Wanda was the first to stand up as Pepper entered. There was a hint of nervousness in her eyes.
"We've made our decision."
Pepper blinked in surprise before smiling warmly.
She set the tray down on the table and asked softly, "And your choice is?"
Wanda took a deep breath, glanced at Pietro beside her, and saw the quiet encouragement in his eyes.
"We've decided to stay," she said slowly, each word firm and clear. "We want to see for ourselves the future Mr. Stark spoke of."
A trace of relief flashed in Pepper's eyes.
She had known from the start—these two weren't bad kids at heart.
"I'm glad you made that decision," she said with a gentle smile. "Believe me, you won't regret it."
"But…" Pietro suddenly spoke up, his tone stubborn.
"We're staying, but that doesn't mean we trust you. We're only doing this so we can avenge our parents. If we ever find out you're working with HYDRA…"
"You can leave anytime you want."
A familiar voice came from the doorway.
Henry was leaning casually against the frame, a lollipop in his mouth.
"We don't force anyone to stay," he said as his eyes met theirs. "But let me remind you—if you want revenge, just talking about it won't do you any good."
He paused, then stepped into the room slowly.
"Your powers are strong, but too raw," he said bluntly. "You're like two kids holding nuclear detonators—without the slightest idea how to control them, let alone use them properly in a fight."
Pietro's face darkened with irritation. He was about to retort, but Wanda gave him a warning look, silently stopping him.
Instead, she looked at Henry—her eyes filled not with anger, but curiosity and longing.
"Then… what should we do?" she asked quietly.
Henry smiled.
"That's easy," he said as he walked up to them, voice calm but firm. "From today on… I'll be your teacher."
The room went silent.
Pietro stared at him warily, suspicion all over his face.
He couldn't understand it—why would this man, the same one who had knocked him out cold a few days ago, suddenly offer to teach them?
To him, this smelled more like a trap.
Teach us? Yeah, right. What's his game?
Was he trying to train them into obedient attack dogs for the Starks? Or maybe trying to steal their powers for himself?
Every instinct in Pietro screamed danger. His muscles tensed, if it weren't for the suppressor collar around his neck, he might've already grabbed his sister and bolted.
Wanda, however, was different.
She looked at Henry quietly, her once tear-filled eyes now showing something new.
From the memories she'd seen in Henry's mind, she'd caught glimpses of a very different kind of Stark.
A man who, despite his sharp tongue and careless demeanor, carried a crushing burden of responsibility and loneliness beneath it all.
Especially when she saw him charge alone into a terrorist base just to save Tony—something inside her cracked open.
The hatred that had frozen her heart for so long began to thaw.
This man… was not the "devil" Baron Strucker had described.
He was something else entirely.
"Why… why are you helping us?" Wanda's voice trembled slightly as she asked the question weighing on her heart.
"Helping you?" Henry raised an eyebrow, pulling another lollipop from his pocket. He unwrapped it lazily and stuck it between his teeth.
"Oh no, no, no, Miss Maximoff—you've got it all wrong," he said, pacing the room while talking around the candy stick. "I'm not helping you. I'm helping myself."
He pointed at them one after another with his lollipop stick.
"You two are like unstable bombs—powerful, but defective. And honestly, having you both in my house gives Tony nightmares every night. He keeps worrying that one morning we'll wake up to find our multi-million-dollar villa blown to dust because someone didn't like breakfast."
Pietro gritted his teeth so hard it was audible.
This bastard!
If not for the collar on his neck, he'd have already rushed forward and shown this smug jerk what his fists could do.
"So," Henry went on, ignoring Pietro's glare that could've set him on fire, "for the sake of my villa, my cars, and my unopened limited-edition gaming consoles, I think it's in everyone's best interest that I personally train you two."
"I need to teach you how to control that power inside you—to know when to hit the gas, and when to slam the brakes."
"…Instead of doing what you're doing now — flooring the gas pedal with your eyes shut and crashing wherever fate takes you."
His analogy was crude, but it painted a vivid picture.
Wanda's cheeks flushed slightly as she recalled the scene in the lab when she lost control.
If Henry hadn't intervened at the last moment, her energy might have truly destroyed the entire base.
"So?" Henry stopped walking, looking down at them with that teasing smile.
"Do you want to keep being dangerous weapons who can't even control themselves, or do you want to become masters of your own power?"
"The choice is yours."
Another choice question.
This man really seemed to enjoy throwing choices at people.
Wanda glanced at Pietro beside her, then at the confident man standing before them.
She took a deep breath and slowly nodded.
"I'll do it."
"Wanda!" Pietro shouted, disbelief flashing across his face. He couldn't believe his sister would agree so easily to this man's so-called teaching. "We can't trust him!" he said urgently. "He's a Stark!"
(T/N, Lmao this reminds me of tobirama senju in some fanfic, "He's an Uchiha")
"I know," Wanda replied, turning toward him with firm eyes.
"But he's right, Pietro. We need to learn control. For our parents… and so no one can ever use us as weapons again."
Pietro looked into his sister's determined gaze. His mouth opened, but in the end, he swallowed all his protests.
He'd always listened to her, ever since they were children.
"…Fine," he muttered reluctantly. "But let me make this clear—if you ever try anything funny with Wanda, I swear, even if it costs my life, I'll—"
"You'll get knocked out and hung from the ceiling like a human fan," Henry interrupted flatly before he could finish.
"Relax. I'm not interested in girls who don't understand emotions—especially the kind who blow up houses whenever they get moody."
Wanda glanced at her hands, a little embarrassed, while Pietro's expression twisted with rage.
This guy… is insufferable!
…
Meanwhile, in the lab—
Tony was staring intently at a holographic screen marked Top Secret: HYDRA Base.
This one was among the most difficult targets.
Beside him, Bruce Banner frowned as he analyzed a separate data display, while Blonsky stood silently nearby with his arms crossed.
"Jarvis, zoom in on the structure layout of this base," Tony said, his hand slicing through the air.
A massive 3D model of the base expanded until it filled half the lab.
"Simulate the outer material. I need to know how much laser power it'll take to cut through."
"Analyzing, sir," Jarvis replied calmly.
"Preliminary assessment… alloy… thickness exceeding three meters. Recommended high-frequency laser, power output above seventy-five percent."
"Only seventy-five?" Tony frowned, lips curling. "My designs are that conservative? Crank it up to full power! I want those rats hiding under their icy shell to feel the warmth of the sun!"
Banner adjusted his glasses, concern etched across his face. "Tony, based on the energy model, if you use full power, it might trigger a chain reaction and cause the core to explode early. We'd lose all the experimental data inside."
"I know that, Bruce. You think I was asking for your opinion?" Tony shot back, not even turning his head. His arrogance was back in full force.
"I'm just stating a fact. Data's important, sure—but sometimes, a truly spectacular fireworks show makes the bigger impression."
***
Please throw power stones if you can 🙏
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