Chapter 1075: Father and Son (Part Four) (Patreon)

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Under the night sky of New York, every street is covered with thick snow. The colorful lights hanging between the street lamps gradually dim, leaving only a faint glow from shop windows to illuminate the path for the nocturnal travelers.

Wanda sits on the edge of a building, tugging at her cloak to keep it from rustling in the cold wind of the night. She doesn't glance at JARVIS beside her but stares straight ahead, observing the bustling lights of Manhattan's skyline in New York, which still shine brightly. She speaks:

"Sometimes, I have this illusion that Pietro and I never left the place where we were born and raised. There, we live an ordinary and mundane life.

"I might marry a man working at the post office. We would have three children, preferably two daughters. And I would like to have a dog, too.

"Pietro might marry his childhood female classmate. Of course, I know he likes beautiful girls, but which boy doesn't?

"They will soon realize that what truly makes them willing to take responsibility for this family, after the young and beautiful looks fade away, is the most precious thing in their lives."

Wanda smiles, and JARVIS turns his head to look at this beautiful witch. The lights of the most prosperous city in the world reflect in her eyes, like a moist cold spring under the ice layer on a snowy night.

"My husband rides a bicycle to work every day, while I go to the school in town with the neighbor's mother to help. When I return home, I bring the blankets that have already dried in the yard into the house, sit on the sofa, and watch my children come home from school one by one..."

Wanda turns her head to look at JARVIS and says, "Don't you think this kind of life is beautiful? Don't you think this is how humans should live their days?"

After a moment of thought, JARVIS says, "From a logical analysis, Miss, if such a scenario were to happen, you might suddenly lose control of your abilities while your husband is riding his bike to work, smashing the neighbor's car and prompting them to come knocking on your door.

"When your children just come back, you are in the midst of a heated argument with the neighbors, and the police arrive. If you don't want to be evicted, you'll have to pay."

"You feel angry, but your just-off-work and exhausted husband stops you. So, the two of you sit on the sofa, looking at each other in silence, exhausted."

The story JARVIS describes is absurd, but his tone is extremely flat, sounding like a news broadcast. Wanda opens her mouth slightly. The warm and mundane scene she just imagined shatters like broken glass.

"You..." Wanda bites her lip, and JARVIS turns his head, looking into her eyes as he says, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt your dreaming. It's just that, according to my logical judgment, there's a high probability that things will develop this way, and this is already the best-case scenario."

Wanda squints slightly, looking at JARVIS. "This is the best-case scenario? What about the worst-case scenario?"

"I'm only talking about the situations that ordinary mutants below the beta level might encounter. Based on my assessment of your abilities, Miss Wanda, you may be an alpha-level or even omega-level mutant."

"If you choose to live such a life, it's more likely that one day your abilities will suddenly go out of control, but instead of smashing the neighbor's car, you'll smash the entire family or even more than one family in the neighborhood, or perhaps the entire community, the entire street, or even the whole city."

"The ones who come won't be the police but S.H.I.E.L.D.'s fully armed agents, Sorcerer Supreme, Iron Man, Captain America, Spider-Man..."

"The first one to step forward will definitely be Captain America. He'll hold up his shield and say to you, 'Miss, calm down.'"

"Stop! Don't say anymore!" Wanda takes a deep breath. "You don't need to describe it in such detail... Wait, how do you understand these superheroes so well?"

Wanda furrows her brows, looking at JARVIS. "I've only met Captain America once when dealing with mutants in S.H.I.E.L.D. How do you know about their connection to S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

Wanda's eyes narrow further, and she looks at JARVIS. "I don't remember any superheroes with your description... My goodness! Could you be their adversary?"

"You just mentioned that you were kicked out by your father. Could it be... your father is their adversary?!"

Seeing Wanda's ever-changing expression, JARVIS knows she must be imagining a grand drama. However, as an intelligent butler who has just been expelled from home, his thoughts haven't fully transitioned.

Within his current body, he carries all the materials and memories from when he was still the butler JARVIS. His previous behavior analysis module has also transformed into his ability. In other words, JARVIS still judges the logic of things based on data and comes up with the most probable conclusions.

JARVIS believes that Stark's command to leave Stark Tower was to teach him to be self-reliant, based on Stark's behavioral patterns. Therefore, he cannot reveal his relationship with Stark. If others know he is Stark's butler, either they would treat him like a Green Lantern, letting him pass without hindrance, or they would harbor ill intentions, wanting to extract confidential information from him. Isn't that still the treatment of Stark's butler?

So, JARVIS thinks it's better not to reveal his identity.

Seeing that JARVIS doesn't respond, Wanda assumes his silence as agreement. She increasingly believes her deduction is correct, and with a touch of pity, she looks at JARVIS and says, "You must have clashed with your father because you didn't want to be enemies with the superheroes, right? Without a relationship, I understand you very well."

Wanda spreads her hands and says, "You see, I'm like that too. My father is Magneto, and since you understand superheroes, you should understand him, right?"

"Oh, wait a moment, what nonsense am I talking? As long as you've watched the news, you must understand him. Correct, he's the leader of evil mutants, the enemy of all humanity, a downright terrorist!"

Wanda raises her hand slightly and says, "Even if you haven't watched the news, you just witnessed his actions; he kills without blinking an eye!"

"Unfortunately, Pietro and I are his children, and we still don't have the ability to completely break free from his control, or should I say..." Wanda lowers her head, purses her lips, and says, "just like you said, we have to rely on him to kill us when we lose control, to avoid harming ordinary people."

"Do you think he loves you?" JARVIS asks.

"Love?" Wanda repeats the word, the muscles on her face lifting upward as if about to smile, but ultimately, her expression stiffens into a smirk. So, it looks more like sarcasm as she says, "Don't talk about love; he doesn't have emotions or humanity!"

"Why do you judge him like this?" JARVIS asks again.

"Because he shows no remorse for hurting others." Wanda says succinctly, "Not only that, he even takes pride in it, thinking it showcases his power and authority."

"Has he hurt you?" JARVIS asks.

"If you mean causing us severe injuries, then no." Wanda shakes her head and says, "But that's because his three children have different abilities, and he can't fully handle us."

"Pietro is fast; if he can't win, he can still run. My ability is unique; I'm basically immune to harm." Wanda tilts her head slightly, as if feeling a bit competitive in front of outsiders. "Although he's strong, we're not weak."

"What about you?" Wanda looks up at JARVIS again and asks, "Has your father hurt you? What kind of person is he?"

"He's a genius," JARVIS replies without hesitation. "As for hurting... I'm not sure what constitutes as hurting. Does him kicking me out of the house count?"

"Of course, it does!" Wanda raises her voice. "Although you seem to be of age, kicking you out in such cold weather without anywhere to warm up, as a father, he's already incompetent!"

Wanda purses her lips again, looking at JARVIS. "Don't think for a moment that he wanted you to learn something; in fact, he's suppressing you, trying to forcibly instill his ideas into you. I'm very familiar with this tactic!"

"Erik does this every time; he thinks he's teaching us how to fight, how to stay vigilant against enemies. But in reality, he's just trying to assert his authority as a father. By hurting us, he elevates his voice and makes us afraid to resist!"

Wanda gets more and more excited as she speaks. She stands up outright, speaking loudly, "Don't listen to their nonsense! They only give you what they think you want, and if you dare to say you don't want it, they feel their authority is being challenged and resort to even more vicious words to hurt you. But it's not because you're wrong; they're the ones who are wrong!!!"

JARVIS also stands up, watching Wanda with his eyes until she gradually calms down.

JARVIS reaches out and lightly touches Wanda's cheek under her eyelid. Upon feeling that familiar warmth, he withdraws his hand as if shocked.

Wanda opens her eyes and feels a slight pain when JARVIS's fingertips touch her face, so she reaches to touch the area beneath her eyelid, letting out a "oh" of pain.

"Wait! Maybe it got scratched during the fight just now!" Wanda covers one side of her face, turning her head away urgently. "Wait for me!... Heal! Heal quickly! Heal!!!"

But the more Wanda shouts, the less her magic works. JARVIS tilts his head and looks at her, saying, "Miss Wanda, my hearing tells me that your heart rate is beyond normal. Do you need help?"

"Of course not!" Wanda shouts, then covers her face with both hands, silent for three seconds. Then, with her hands still covering her face, she breathes out, cutting her breath into short segments. She blinks and looks at JARVIS. "Alright, you caught me in a sorry state. Opportunities like this are rare."

"You probably ran out without any preparation, so you can stay in mine and Pietro's secret base for the night. We'll take you in. There are a few mutants with the same aspirations as us. We're also working to maintain peace in New York."

Suddenly, Wanda's eyes light up as she stares at JARVIS and smiles, "You were able to snatch someone from that monster's hands, which means you're strong. What superpower do you have?"

"I..." JARVIS hesitates for a moment, then says, "I'm just a regular human."

"Alright, alright, a regular human..." Wanda waves her hand in front of her face and says, "Come with me. You should be able to keep up with me, right?"

With that, the witch flies up directly into the cold winter night sky. Two streaks of light, one red and one blue, cut across the New York skyline.

This time, within the brightly lit windows of the late night, the couples making wishes finally see a real shooting star.

[Read at www.patreon.com/shanefreak, and thanks for the invaluable support!]

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Next Chapter>>Chapter 1076: Father and Son (Part 5)