Blonsky stood quietly on the side, saying nothing.
He was a soldier—trained to obey orders.
Although this kind of operation reeked of individual heroism and recklessness, he had to admit… this straightforward, overwhelming approach was oddly satisfying.
"Alright, jokes aside." Tony stretched lazily and rose from his chair.
He looked at the new recruits standing before him and slowly began to grin.
"Gentlemen," he cleared his throat.
"Welcome to the first all-hands meeting of Stark Private Demolition Co. The agenda is simple—how to efficiently and eco-friendly erase our competitors from the face of the Earth."
He pointed at the several marked bases on the holographic screen.
"These," he said, "are your starter missions — HYDRA's most critical secret facilities. Strong defenses, heavy firepower, and conveniently hidden in the middle of nowhere."
"My requirement is simple." Tony's eyes narrowed, his tone sharp.
"Erase them from the map — completely."
Banner glanced at the holographic display filled with base schematics and dense layers of weapon placements, then swallowed hard.
But when he remembered that he was the Hulk, he relaxed a little.
"Just the three of us?" he asked suddenly. "What about Henry?"
"Oh, him," Tony said, sounding mildly annoyed.
"He's outside giving those two new students of his a 'lesson in love.' Don't mind him. That guy doesn't care about anything. Genius intellect beyond compare — and yet he's lazy as hell. Always relying on that so-called 'super power' of his."
"So this glorious, world-changing task falls to us." Tony clapped Banner and Blonsky on the shoulders with mock solemnity. "Well, gentlemen? Don't you feel chosen by history?"
Banner and Blonsky exchanged a look — both seeing the same helpless resignation in each other's eyes.
…
Outside the villa—
Henry's "lesson in love" had officially begun.
He didn't take Wanda and Pietro to any fancy training facility. Instead, he led them straight to the private beach behind the villa.
The sea breeze was salty, and the sun hung bright in the sky.
"Alright, new students." Henry had a lollipop in his mouth as he eyed the two.
"Before we start the real lessons, let's do a little entrance test."
He pointed at a large rock nearby, half the height of a person.
"Pietro," he said, turning to the silver-haired boy who was already looking defiant.
"Run from here to that rock and back — as fast as you can. Let me see just how fast you really are."
"That's it?" Pietro snorted, almost laughing.
To him, that was easier than breathing.
He didn't even bother to stretch. His body lowered slightly, and in the next instant — a silver blur shot forward, racing toward the rock!
Fast!
Too fast!
To Wanda, it was like her brother had vanished. In the blink of an eye, he appeared by the rock — and then another blur — he was back in front of them.
The whole thing hadn't even taken a full second.
"Well?" Pietro asked smugly, his grin practically saying, Go on, praise me.
"I'd say that's about as fast as it gets!"
But Henry didn't even lift an eyebrow. He just said two calm words:
"Too slow."
"…What?!" Pietro's smile froze. He thought he must've misheard.
"I said—you're too slow." Henry took the lollipop from his mouth and pointed the stick at him.
"At your speed, you're about as fast as an old man taking a stroll in the park. No—actually, that's an insult to old men. You're more like a snail learning to walk."
"You—!" Pietro's face turned bright red with fury. He felt utterly insulted.
"Don't believe me?" Henry smirked.
He casually stuck the lollipop into the sand, then looked at Pietro with a playful gleam.
"How about this — same course. You versus me. If I win, you clean every toilet in the villa for a month. If I lose…"
He paused, then added, "I'll let you punch me once. I won't even fight back."
"Deal!" Pietro said without hesitation.
To him, this was an easy win — a total no-brainer.
"Good." Henry nodded.
He didn't take a stance, didn't prepare — just stood there casually.
"Ready, Mr. Snail?"
"You—"
Pietro was just about to snap back when Henry's figure suddenly vanished.
Not the kind of vanishing caused by extreme speed — but a complete, instantaneous disappearance.
Pietro's pupils shrank. Instinctively, he turned his head — and saw Henry already standing on the rock, one hand in his pocket, the other lazily waving at him.
And then — in the blink of an eye — Henry disappeared again. The next second, he was back in front of Pietro, bending down to pick up his lollipop and popping it back into his mouth.
The entire process happened faster than Pietro could react.
"So?" Henry said around the candy, his voice muffled but amused.
"Still think you're fast?"
Pietro stood frozen. His pride — and confidence — shattered completely under Henry's effortless display.
"H-how… how did you do that?" he finally managed to croak, disbelief written all over his face.
"Speed has never been just about running fast, kid." Henry looked at him, his tone unusually serious.
"It includes reaction, perception, and understanding of space and time. And you… you haven't even touched the door yet."
"From today on, you have only one training task." Henry pointed toward the vast ocean stretching into the horizon.
"Run a hundred laps around this city. When you can finish before I blink… that's when your first stage of training will be complete."
Pietro: "…"
He felt like his whole life had just turned grey.
After dealing with this overly energetic brat, Henry turned his gaze to the girl who had been silent all this time—Wanda.
The Scarlet Witch. Wielder of Chaos Magic.
To be fair, Chaos Magic ranked among the higher tiers of Marvel's power system. Maybe not the absolute peak in raw force, but at her strongest, she could rival the Five Great Cosmic Entities.
Most importantly, this magic thrived on emotion—the more unstable her emotions, the stronger her power became.
Wanda's most infamous feat came from the House of M arc in the comics: just one sentence—"No more mutants." That single phrase drastically reduced the mutant population across the planet.
"All right, your turn, Red Lady." Henry walked up to Wanda, his expression softening slightly.
"Your problem is much more complicated than your brother's." He met her confused gaze and began to explain.
"The origin of your power—I'll keep that to myself for now—but you can think of it as being born from emotion. The more anger or sadness you feel, the stronger it becomes… and the more uncontrollable."
"I know." Wanda sighed, lowering her head.
"That's why your training isn't about how to become stronger, but how to become weaker."
"Weaker?" Wanda looked up, puzzled.
"That's right." Henry nodded. He extended a finger and pointed at a single grain of sand on the beach.
"See that?"
"Mm-hmm."
"Now use your power to make it float. Remember, only that one grain of sand—no more, no less. Nothing else around it can be affected."
It sounded simple—but it was anything but.
Wanda took a deep breath and closed her eyes.
She tried to feel the energy flowing inside her, carefully guiding it toward that tiny grain of sand. But just as her power was about to touch it, her mind was suddenly flooded with memories—her parents' tragic deaths, Strucker's twisted grin.
Hatred and fury tore through her control.
BOOM!
A deafening blast erupted!
The spot where that grain of sand had been turned into a massive crater. Waves of sand shot tens of meters into the air, a miniature sandstorm swirling around them. Wanda staggered back several steps from the backlash of her own power.
"See it now?" Henry's calm voice echoed beside her.
Not a speck of dust touched him, as if that explosion had nothing to do with him at all.
"That's your problem." He stepped closer, looking at the still-smoking crater and shaking his head.
"You're carrying too much inside—hatred, anger, sorrow. They're like dry tinder, and your power is the flame. One spark, and you'll burn everything—yourself included—to ash."
"I…" Wanda's eyes reddened instantly. She felt useless, like a complete failure.
"Don't cry." Henry reached out and gently wiped away her tears. His touch was soft, radiating a warmth that made her heart settle a little.
"From now on, forget the hatred. Forget the pain." He met her gaze, speaking slowly, clearly.
"Your first lesson… is to learn how to smile."