Vanessa Was a Member Too

By the time countless police cars arrived, the harbor had long since returned to calm.

"George, there are signs of a fight."

"Where are they?"

a middle-aged police captain asked.

"They probably escaped by sea,"

an officer guessed.

George Stacy thought for a moment. "Let's check the sunken ship first. Be careful."

"Captain George Stacy?"

Just then, a balding middle-aged man approached with a friendly smile.

George Stacy watched him and the men in black behind him warily. "And you are?"

Coulson pulled out a badge. "FBI!"

"We need to know exactly what happened here, too."

Faced with the assertive FBI, George Stacy had no choice.

"They've already fled."

"I know."

What they didn't know was that Li Chen was still holding Gwen Stacy up in the sky.

"That's my dad."

The two of them were watching Li Chen's "father-in-law."

"I won't meet him today. Tomorrow, then."

Li Chen spoke up.

"Tomorrow?"

Gwen Stacy was a little surprised.

Li Chen asked, "You won't let me come see you tomorrow?"

Gwen Stacy blushed, lowered her head, and murmured, "Mm," agreeing.

In fact, she was a rather introverted girl. She had been a loner since childhood and had few friends.

It was precisely because of this that she was rather rebellious, liked playing music, and let her imagination run wild, making her so easily moved by a hero saving a beauty.

A girl who had been showered with admirers since childhood and juggled them all wouldn't have fallen so easily.

"Come on, I'll take you flying."

Li Chen didn't linger. He had seen the people from S.H.I.E.L.D., but he didn't want to make contact with them yet.

An intelligence agency that had been thoroughly infiltrated like that had practically no secrets to speak of.

Soon, Gwen Stacy grew excited.

"Darling, are you Superman?"

"Of course,"

Li Chen said with a smile.

Gwen Stacy actually still didn't know him very well. She had only just learned his name.

But that didn't stop her from admiring him.

The power to break free from the pull of gravity was the most primal fantasy humans had of a hero.

Li Chen flew around the sky with Gwen Stacy in his arms. Only when she became a little short of oxygen did he take her back to New York.

"My home is right there."

Gwen Stacy took off her hood, a blush spreading across her face.

"Li, come see me tomorrow."

"Don't worry, I will."

Li Chen had nothing much to do tomorrow, so it was a good opportunity to look around New York.

He carried Gwen Stacy straight down onto her balcony.

Her home was in an ordinary building, the kind with two bedrooms and a living room.

Even though her father was a police captain, their living conditions weren't particularly good.

"I'll get going."

But as soon as Li Chen said that, Gwen Stacy suddenly grabbed him and kissed him.

"That was my first kiss earlier. I wasn't used to it."

After explaining, she let go of Li Chen and ran inside.

Li Chen smiled, took off, and returned to the Hellfire Club.

However, the night wasn't so peaceful for the other people in New York.

"We did it. The Hand had some nerve, trying to sell that stuff in New York."

Bullseye spoke to Kingpin with a look of disdain.

Kingpin was an imposing presence. His two-hundred-kilogram frame sat in a chair like a mountain of flesh, yet he looked powerfully built.

Even Bullseye, arrogant as he always was, didn't dare speak too loudly in front of Kingpin, afraid he would punch him to death.

Bullseye had once seen Kingpin beat a man into a patty of flesh with his bare fists.

"Those idiots."

Kingpin said coolly, "New York doesn't need that stuff, and it doesn't make any money anyway."

What age was this, and they were still selling that unprofitable stuff?

That was another reason Kingpin looked down on The Hand.

Whether it was arms or avocados... wasn't either more profitable than drugs?

But The Hand liked harming people, and they couldn't even make big money doing it.

Of course, most importantly, as New York's underground emperor, Kingpin naturally wouldn't allow anyone else to reach into his territory.

That was also why they had fought The Hand for so long.

He couldn't drive The Hand out completely, and The Hand couldn't defeat him either.

Kingpin waved a hand, dismissing Bullseye.

Not long after, a woman in a red evening gown walked in.

The woman looked to be around forty. Although her face bore some marks of age, she was still graceful and attractive, and one could see how beautiful she had been when she was young.

"Vanessa, how was the party?"

At the sight of his wife, a gentle smile appeared on Kingpin's face.

Vanessa had been with him since they were young, and she was an ambitious woman as well.

To that end, she had joined the Hellfire Club as a representative of Fisk Industries and become a member.

"Not bad. I saw Lord White Rook."

Vanessa looked a little displeased. "I wanted to introduce myself to Lord White Rook, but your people caused too much of a disturbance."

If the party hadn't been interrupted, she might have been enjoying a conversation with Lord White Rook right now, and obtaining the status of a senior member would have been easy.

Because Kingpin's wealth couldn't compare with Tony Stark's, she was only an ordinary member of the Hellfire Club.

"Darling, I can't let those damn Japs reach into my territory,"

Kingpin said.

"Hmph."

Vanessa reminded him, "Without the Hellfire Club's protection, your empire would have collapsed long ago."

Kingpin absolutely disagreed, but he wouldn't argue with his wife about it.

"I'll help you become a senior member. You just need to be patient, Vanessa."

Vanessa said nothing more.

Meanwhile, the people from The Hand had returned to their base in a sorry state.

Lady Deathstrike touched her abdomen, where Li Chen had kicked her.

At her rate of recovery, an ordinary injury would have healed long ago, but she could still feel pain.

"He's definitely not an ordinary person."

Lady Deathstrike reported the matter to her superiors.

She had thought she could handle Li Chen, but she hadn't expected to end up in such a sorry state all the same.

When the leader of The Hand learned of it, he immediately reprimanded her. "Our goal is to open up the market in New York. We suffered such heavy losses today, and you went and provoked a new enemy."

"I'll send Elektra over. You come back for now."

Lady Deathstrike was furious, but she didn't dare do anything and had no choice but to agree.

She didn't trust Elektra, though.

That was a bitch who, given the chance to betray The Hand, probably wouldn't hesitate.

"I don't trust her."

Lady Deathstrike spoke up.

The leader of The Hand immediately said, "I'll send Madame Gao over to take charge."

Madame Gao was one of The Hand's Five Fingers and held an exalted position.

Lady Deathstrike had no objections to that.

With Madame Gao overseeing things in New York, nothing would go wrong.

Besides, Madame Gao had worked with Kingpin before. Perhaps, for the sake of their past dealings, Kingpin would be willing to give up some of his interests.