Jessica had no choice but to ask Wanda for help. But Wanda had grown up in a chaotic place like Sokovia and never really went to school either. She had only started studying recently as well. The two of them were basically in the same boat. After Uld understood the situation, she arranged private tutors for them and had them start from the basics.
That day, Jessica carried a huge stack of books home. On the way, she ran into a robbery. She originally didn't plan to get involved and only wanted to leave quickly, but the robber's gun went off by accident. The shot pierced the old man who was talking to him, and the bullet tumbled irregularly through the air.
Jessica felt like everything slowed down.
She watched with her own eyes as the bullet ricocheted toward her, even though most of its power had already been reduced by passing through the old man.
But who could say whether it could still kill? Jessica didn't want to gamble.
Just as Jessica was panicking, she suddenly felt like she could move. In this absurdly slow world, her speed began to increase, and she dodged the bullet.
When Jessica snapped back to her senses, the bullet had already struck the wall behind her. Debris flew everywhere, leaving a small crater.
The robber stood there in a daze before his accomplice dragged him away. The old man who had fallen was quickly surrounded by onlookers and rescuers. Just then, a young man rushed in.
Jessica only heard the old man call him Peter. But after triggering her powers, she felt completely unaccustomed to her own body. When she walked, she would accidentally crack the concrete. If she held a streetlamp, she would push it over. Terrified, she hurried home.
"Sir, I think you need to see this."
Black Queen played a video for Zod. In the footage was Jessica's entire route of turning into a public menace to city infrastructure.
"Did you erase the traces?" Zod asked.
He wasn't surprised. After Jessica woke up from her coma, she should have awakened her powers within a few days. But she hadn't shown any signs for a while, and Zod had thought something had gone wrong.
Now it seemed it had simply happened at the right moment.
"It's already been cleaned up," Black Queen replied. Otherwise, Jessica would have been targeted by Serpent S.H.I.E.L.D.
"Mhm. She should be very uneasy right now. Where is she?" Zod asked.
"She's in Wanda's dorm," Black Queen said, then played another video.
Jessica was telling Wanda about her changes. She had become incredibly strong, bulletproof, and she could even fly.
She was basically a nerfed version of Superman. Of course, since the DC company in the Marvel world hadn't released the Superman series yet and released the Batman series first, unlike the real world, this comparison was the narrator's analogy.
Wanda looked at Jessica with envy. Even though Jessica was still scared, a Jessica with superpowers could help Zod Heath now, right?
And Jessica was probably the only human with superpowers, unlike Wanda.
Zod had originally wanted to go comfort Jessica, but seeing this, he stopped paying attention. He couldn't compete with a best friend.
With Wanda comforting her, Jessica finally realized this wasn't a bad thing. It was a good thing.
Then she thought of today's robbery. Because she had been too frightened, she chose to run instead of saving someone. Did that mean she had indirectly caused a death?
The thought made Jessica's feelings complicated, but she still followed Wanda's advice and quickly contacted Zod Heath.
"Mr. Heath, I… I have a secret to tell you."
Jessica noticed Uld nearby and hurriedly changed her words.
A secret?
A subtle glint flashed through Uld's eyes. What secret required talking to a minor alone?
Doing that kind of thing with a minor was illegal!
"Uld, why did the legal department receive more than a thousand lawyer letters?" Zod asked her instead.
"An investigator from another company dismantled our War Machine," Uld said quickly. "Then they found that one screw on it had a slightly high similarity to their patent. They suspect we copied their patented product. At first it was only one letter, but I didn't expect them to keep sending so many."
Since every component of War Machine was manufactured in-house by Blade Tech Industries, it was easy enough to imitate in theory, but the most crucial technology was the energy core.
"One screw?" Zod didn't expect something this ridiculous.
"What company?" Zod asked, genuinely curious.
"Roxxon Energy Group," Uld said helplessly. "A notoriously bad energy company, famous worldwide for sending lawyer letters."
Uld continued, "Roxxon Energy Group is also Earth's number one energy company. Besides that, the main social software for global internet users, Footbook, Itter, and over a hundred other social platforms, were all founded by them. As an oil industry monopoly, Roxxon also has many subsidiaries that produce petroleum derivatives, like lighters."
Zod had already recalled memories from a previous, previous life through his superbrain, and he instantly knew who this company's CEO and true master was.
The supervillain Dario Agger, one of the major antagonists in Marvel comics. While fleeing pirate pursuit by sheer luck, he encountered the tomb of the ancient Greek mutant, the Minotaur, and under hunger, he ate the remains.
Unexpectedly, his genes mutated, and he became the new Minotaur.
Of course, because this universe didn't have mutants, even if he had awakened the X-Gene by chance, he wasn't a "mutant." His power leaned toward the mystical side.
A real, genuine bull-man.
Normally, Dario maintained a human appearance. Only in battle did he transform into the Minotaur, gaining terrifying strength and defense.
But if this was just a lawsuit, Blade Tech Industries' legal department and its team of lawyers weren't freeloaders. Most of them were top-tier legal elites, even big names poached from other companies.
After dealing with the legal department's flood of lawyer letters, Zod finally had time for Jessica. He brought Jessica into a secret room. That kind of respect moved Jessica deeply.
After all, many adults didn't understand how to respect minors, and that wouldn't fly in a place like America that valued independence and freedom.
"So what secret did you want to tell me?" Zod asked with a smile.
"I… I ran into an accident today," Jessica said. "Then while dodging a bullet, I got superpowers."
She was timid at first, but when she met Zod's gaze, she gathered her courage and said it out loud.
"Superpowers?" Zod didn't look like he thought it was a prank or a child's imagination. He repeated it in a serious tone.
/-\
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