Doing Things My Way

The morning at Stark Villa was shattered by a piercing alarm. Tony Stark rubbed his sleepy eyes and stumbled into the lab. "JARVIS, what's going on?"

"An anomalous energy fluctuation has been detected, originating from Mr. Xiao Han's room. The energy level is increasing exponentially."

Tony sighed and grabbed his communicator. "Xiao Han? What are you messing with in my house this time?"

Xiao Han's lazy voice came through the communicator. "Testing a new idea. Your house's soundproofing is terrible."

"That's not a soundproofing problem!" Tony practically roared. "Every energy monitoring station on the West Coast is sounding the alarm!"

Suddenly, the lab door was kicked open, and Xiao Han walked in holding half a donut. "So? Let them sound the alarm." He took a bite of the donut. "Your coffee machine is broken again."

Tony pointed at the screen full of alerts. "You can't just do whatever you want! Your energy fluctuations could destabilize the multiverse!"

Xiao Han raised a brow. He casually picked up an energy monitoring device and gave it a light squeeze, crumpling its metal casing like paper. "Problem solved."

At that moment, Captain America's hologram suddenly appeared. "Tony, S.H.I.E.L.D. detected..." He noticed the chaos at the scene. "Again?"

Xiao Han waved at the hologram. "Morning, moral role model. Want a donut? Though the brand Tony bought isn't much good."

Steve's expression turned serious. "Xiao Han, we need to talk about your use of energy. Director Fury has already received complaints from seventeen countries..."

"What does that have to do with me?" Xiao Han cut him off. "They can complain all they want. I'll live my life." He picked up another energy monitor and flung it out the window like a frisbee.

Tony clutched his head and groaned. "That was a precision instrument worth eight million!"

"Now it's worthless trash." Xiao Han dusted off his hands. "Anything else? I'm going to sunbathe."

Steve tried to remain patient. "Listen, we understand that you want freedom, but the impact your abilities have..."

"Stop." Xiao Han raised a hand to interrupt him. "Let me guess: 'With great power comes great responsibility'? 'Think of others'? 'For the greater good'?" He sneered. "Save it."

"I'm not your pet, and I'm not your weapon."

Suddenly, a pillar of rainbow light descended onto the beach, and Thor strode out. "Friends of Midgard! I have brought gifts from Asgard..." He noticed the tense atmosphere. "Ah, another meeting?"

Xiao Han glanced at him. "Perfect timing, Hammer Guy. Tell these mortals, would a god restrain his power just because mortals complained?"

Thor laughed loudly. "Of course not! Divine power is a gift from the heavens. Why should it be restrained by the opinions of ordinary mortals?"

Steve frowned. "Thor, that isn't helping..."

"See?" Xiao Han raised his brow smugly. "Even your godly teammate says so."

At that moment, Strange's portal opened in the living room, and the sorcerer stepped out with a grave expression. "Xiao Han, your energy fluctuations are tearing apart the dimensional barrier. I must ask you to..."

"Ask?" Xiao Han's voice turned cold. "You're asking me?"

Strange paused. "Requesting you. For the safety of all reality."

Xiao Han slowly walked up to Strange. Though he was slightly shorter than the sorcerer, his presence completely overwhelmed him. "Listen, magician. I don't care about dimensional barriers or the safety of reality. I'll use whatever abilities I want, whenever I want."

A dangerous red glint flashed in his eyes. "If you find that troublesome, that's your problem. Either adapt or get lost."

Tony tried to smooth things over. "Everyone, calm down. Xiao Han, we're not trying to restrict you. We just hope you can... restrain yourself a little."

"Restrain myself?" Xiao Han laughed. "Why? Because you're afraid? Because you can't control me?" He suddenly punched the wall beside him. The entire wall collapsed, revealing the ocean beyond. "See? Much better view now."

Everyone was stunned. Xiao Han leisurely walked through the hole in the wall to the beach and lay down in a beach chair. "I'm going to sunbathe. Whoever bothers me again, I'll throw them into the sea to feed the fish."

Strange raised his trembling hands, and a golden magic circle began to form. "I cannot allow..."

The next second, the sorcerer found himself hanging in midair by his collar. Xiao Han had somehow appeared in front of him, moving so fast that no one had seen it.

"Allow?" Xiao Han's voice was soft, yet it sent a chill through everyone's hearts. "Who do you think you are?"

Tony hurried forward. "Let him go, Xiao Han! We can talk this out!"

Xiao Han glanced at Tony, then casually tossed Strange onto a sofa ten meters away. "Talk? There's nothing to talk about. I live here because the sunlight angle is good and Tony's coffee is drinkable. I didn't come here to listen to you lecture me."

He swept his gaze over everyone present. "Remember this: I do whatever I want. If you don't like it, feel free to try stopping me." His gaze finally settled on Strange. "But you'd better be ready to bear the consequences."

Thor tightened his grip on Mjolnir. "Friend, your attitude..."

"I'm not your friend," Xiao Han interrupted. "I'm a tenant here. And all of you are uninvited guests."

Steve took a step forward. "We're thinking about the safety of the entire Earth!"

"What does Earth's safety have to do with me?" Xiao Han raised a brow. "I came from the stars, remember? If the sunlight here weren't decent, I would've left long ago."

Tony suddenly laughed. "Don't you get it yet?" Everyone looked at him. "He was never a superhero," Tony said. "Nor was he some protector. He's just a tenant who happens to have enough power to do anything he wants."

Xiao Han nodded approvingly. "Finally, someone gets it."

Strange got up from the sofa and straightened his robes. "But your actions will affect everyone!"

"So?" Xiao Han returned to his beach chair. "That's your problem to solve, not mine."

Just then, dozens of small drones appeared in the sky, all equipped with some kind of energy suppression device. Fury's voice came through their speakers. "Xiao Han, this is your final warning. Stop releasing energy, or we will take forceful measures."

Xiao Han did not even look up. A red flash flickered in his eyes, and every drone exploded at once, blooming in the sky like fireworks.

"Forceful measures?" He chuckled. "That's it?"

Fury's voice carried suppressed rage. "You're declaring war on the whole world!"

Xiao Han finally stood up and looked toward the sky. "War? No. I'm just being myself." His voice suddenly boomed, carrying across the entire coast.

"Listen up, everyone watching this. I am Xiao Han. I do whatever I want and go wherever I want. If you're dissatisfied, feel free to try stopping me."

He slowly rose into the air, his eyes shining like the sun. "But remember: anyone who comes looking for trouble should write their will first."

Tony muttered, "Now we're screwed..."

Xiao Han turned in the air and looked at everyone inside the villa. "As for you, if you want to maintain this... relationship, stop trying to control me. I'm not your weapon, not your tool, and certainly not someone you can guilt-trip."

He descended back to the ground, and the energy fluctuations ceased completely. "Now, I'm going to sunbathe. Whoever bothers me again..." He glanced at the smoking drone wreckage. "Will bear the consequences."

The entire beach fell into deathly silence.

Thor was the first to break it. "To be honest, that kind of attitude would be quite popular in Asgard."

Steve shook his head heavily. "But it will bring Earth countless problems..."

"Earth has always had problems," Tony suddenly said. "It's just that we used to go looking for trouble. Now trouble won't dare come looking for us." He pointed at Xiao Han. "With him here, what alien empire would dare invade?"

Strange frowned. "But the threats from the multiverse..."

"They'll think twice," Tony interrupted. "After all, who wants to provoke someone who can throw them out of the solar system?"

Xiao Han had already returned to his beach chair, completely ignoring the discussion behind him. After a while, he spoke. "Tony, did you fix the coffee machine?"

Tony froze. "What? Oh, I'll go take a look..."

"No need," Xiao Han said. "I just fixed it with Heat Vision. There's a hole in it now, but at least it works."

Tony opened his mouth, then ultimately just shook his head. "Whatever you say."

Steve and Strange exchanged a glance, then finally sighed. "We'll explain the situation to the World Security Council. But Fury won't be happy."

"When has Fury ever been happy?" Tony shrugged. "Besides, what can he do? Send Xiao Han a fine?"

Just then, JARVIS suddenly reported, "An anomalous spatial fluctuation detected. Coordinates: villa rooftop."

Everyone immediately went on guard. Only Xiao Han remained reclining in his chair. "If it's Loki, tell him I'm not free to play with him."

But the one who appeared on the roof was not Loki, but a mysterious figure in a silver uniform. His face was completely hidden by a helmet, and he held a glowing cube in his hand.

"I am an Overseer from Earth-619," the stranger said in a mechanical, icy voice. "An uncontrollable variable has been detected in this reality. Under the Multiverse Compact, it must be eliminated."

Xiao Han finally sat up. "Eliminated?" He laughed. "Interesting."

The Overseer raised the cube. "Variable designation: Xiao Han. Threat level: Omega. Commencing elimination protocol."

The cube began to emit a blinding light, but Xiao Han merely snapped his fingers. The next second, the cube appeared in his hand, while the Overseer was pinned to the villa's outer wall, his limbs tightly bound by his own uniform.

"Eliminate me?" Xiao Han toyed with the cube. "With this toy?"

The Overseer struggled. "All realities are under surveillance... Your existence has drawn attention..."

"Let them pay attention." Xiao Han casually crushed the cube. "One comes, I beat one. Two come, I beat both."

He walked up to the Overseer. "Go back and tell your masters this reality is under my protection. Anyone who disagrees can come try me."

The Overseer hissed, "You will destroy all realities..."

"Then let them be destroyed." Xiao Han shrugged. "What does that have to do with me?"

Tony could not help speaking up. "Uh, to some extent, it does have something to do with us..."

Xiao Han glanced at him. "Relax. If it really gets destroyed, I'll find a new reality to sunbathe in. I hear the sunlight angle on Earth-42 is good too."

The Overseer suddenly began to glow. "Initiating self-destruct sequence..."

Xiao Han rolled his eyes. "Annoying." He casually threw the Overseer into the sky. Once the figure became a tiny dot, it suddenly exploded like another firework.

"All right." Xiao Han clapped his hands. "Problem solved. Anyone else want to lecture me?"

The scene fell silent.

Thor suddenly burst out laughing. "Haha! Now that is power! That is the attitude a god should have!"

Steve and Strange looked at each other, then helplessly shook their heads.

Tony walked over to Xiao Han. "So, this is your final stance? You just don't care about the consequences at all?"

Xiao Han looked toward the distant horizon. "My entire life has been an accident. Why should I care about other accidents?" He lay back in his beach chair. "Now, either sunbathe with me or get lost. Your choice."

Surprisingly, Tony pulled over a chair and sat down. "I choose sunbathing. If the world is going to be destroyed anyway, I might as well enjoy the sunshine first."

Thor also walked over. "Count me in! Asgardians never miss good weather!"

Steve and Strange hesitated for a moment, then ultimately sat down as well.

"You know," Tony suddenly said, "even though you're being a complete asshole, it does feel pretty great."

The corner of Xiao Han's mouth lifted. "You're finally catching on, Stark."

The sea breeze swept past, carrying a salty scent. Five people with the power to change the world sat quietly on the beach, watching the waves rise and fall.

Somewhere, Fury was raging at a surveillance screen. Somewhere else, the World Security Council was holding an emergency meeting. But here, in this moment, everything was simple.

Xiao Han suddenly spoke. "Tony."

"Hm?"

"Your coffee is still terrible. Buy a better brand tomorrow."

Tony smiled. "As you command, Sun's Son."

The sunlight was perfect, and no one disturbed him. This was the life Xiao Han wanted. As for what the entire multiverse thought?

Who cared?