The party lasted well into the night.
As the night wore on, the revelry aboard the yacht drew to a close.
For the Stark brothers, drinking on the yacht was merely the prelude.
The real entertainment was always in the hotel suites.
Happy had already booked three presidential suites at a five-star hotel.
At two in the morning.
Three black Maybachs pulled up outside the hotel.
The car door opened.
The first to step out was Luca, who had put on a magnificent display that night.
Luca looked slightly tipsy, but he was putting it on.
With his enhanced physique, he could drink for days and nights without a damn thing happening to him.
His left arm was around a Latina beauty, and his right was around a blonde model.
That wasn't all. Following behind him was an Asian beauty in a tight black skirt, with a pair of unbelievably long legs.
Luca had brought three gorgeous women all by himself!
Tony had ground his teeth at the sight.
Luca looked back at the three enchanting women and smiled.
"Sweethearts, tonight I'll show you what stamina beyond human limits looks like."
The three beauties giggled at his words and pressed against him without any reservations.
Then the door of the car behind his opened too.
Tony stepped out, yawning.
He looked a little tired. After all, he was still an ordinary human.
He had also suffered through all that torment in the desert. Even though he had forced himself to keep going by drinking on the yacht today, he was struggling to hold up now.
Still, to save face, Tony had brought along the two models from earlier.
He forced himself to perk up and walked over to Luca with an arm around each beauty.
Luca spotted how listless Tony looked and immediately burst into amusement.
"Well, well, Tony. Why'd you only bring two? Doesn't that go against your usual rule of taking on five at once?"
Luca deliberately raised his voice as he mocked him.
"Look at those dark circles. They're practically down to your chin. Are you sure you can still handle two gorgeous women?"
He patted Tony on the shoulder, wearing an expression that said he was only looking out for him.
"How about this? Tomorrow, I'll have the pharmaceutical company rush you a few boxes of special little blue pills overnight. On the house. Guaranteed to bring back the confidence you had in your prime. Don't push yourself. It'd be a real problem if you had a heart attack."
Tony rolled his eyes in anger and immediately straightened his back.
"Fuck! I'm saving my energy! I can handle those two without breaking a sweat! You don't know the first thing about technique!"
Tony shot back, stubbornly refusing to admit defeat, but inwardly he was feeling miserable.
Damn it, looks like I really do need to get some supplements from Luca's pharmaceutical company tomorrow.
This body really has gotten a little weak.
While the two were trading jabs, the person in the last car got out too.
It was Yinsen.
The sight of Yinsen was enough to make anyone laugh.
His tie was crooked, and he had taken off his suit jacket and was carrying it in his hand.
His face was as red as his neck.
A beauty was clinging tightly to his arm, practically hanging off him.
Yinsen let the beauty pull him along with some reluctance, his eyes constantly darting to Luca and Tony for help.
"Luca... Tony... I... I think I'd better go back to the lab... I..." Yinsen stammered, trying to escape.
"Don't chicken out, Yinsen!"
Luca shouted and gave Yinsen a thumbs-up.
"Once you're through the hotel doors, it's a battlefield! No backing down! Go enjoy your spoils of war!"
Tony joined in from the side. "If you dare come running out tonight, I'll fire you from Stark Industries!"
With the two brothers egging him on and threatening him, Yinsen finally gave up resisting.
His face red, he resigned himself to being pulled into the hotel lobby by the beauty.
Watching Yinsen walk away,
Luca and Tony exchanged a smile.
"Tomorrow's headlines are sure to be interesting."
Luca stretched and headed for the elevator with his arms around the three beauties.
"Hopefully Pepper Potts won't come after me with a knife when she sees the bill tomorrow morning."
Tony muttered under his breath and followed with his arms around the two models.
"Good night, big brother. Sweet dreams. And just a reminder: if you can't manage it, go to bed early. Don't force yourself."
Before entering the elevator, Luca couldn't resist one last jab.
"Fuck off!!"
As Tony's furious roar rang out, the elevator doors slowly closed.
The Los Angeles night remained as intoxicating and indulgent as ever.
Meanwhile, elsewhere.
Washington, D.C.
The S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters building.
The director's office on the top floor of the Triskelion was dimly lit.
There were only two people there.
Nick Fury, the current director of S.H.I.E.L.D., stood before the floor-to-ceiling window with his hands behind his back.
His one eye gazed out at the bustling night scene. He said nothing.
No one knew what plans he was turning over in his mind.
Agent Phil Coulson stood behind him.
Coulson held a thick report in his hand.
"Sir, we've established the Stark brothers' movements today. I'm here to report everything that happened during the day, as well as Luca and the others attending a party tonight."
"Go on. What outrageous things have they done now?" Fury turned around, walked behind his desk and sat down.
Coulson opened the report in his hand and studied the data, his expression grave.
"After the press conference ended this afternoon, they immediately chartered a yacht on the coast."
Coulson paused, seemingly gathering his thoughts.
"Luca Stark had dozens of models flown in on short notice from a lingerie modeling agency. He also bought out the red wine in several blocks near the Los Angeles coast."
"They threw a massive party on the yacht. Even the Coast Guard could hear the music."
Fury's brow furrowed deeply when he heard this.
Naturally, his dark face looked even more overcast.
"Two hopeless playboys."
"They just spent two months eating sand in Afghanistan, and they're already in the mood to party when they get back! Are their nerves made of reinforced concrete? Or are their brains full of nothing but alcohol and women?"