Saiki Kusuo, silently observing the twins who were on the fast track to becoming Loki 2.0, felt his world tilt when Wanda called out his name.
He began to seriously consider if he should jump again, prevent the siblings from ever gaining their powers.
But ultimately, he abandoned this impulsive plan, choosing instead to confront them directly. He knew the twins' animosity towards SHIELD stemmed from their hatred of Stark. Their desire to steal the scepter wasn't just about getting back at Stark; they also wanted to use its power to create a world of harmony and love.
Therefore, all he needed to do was sever the root of their objective – their hatred for Stark – and the twins would no longer cause trouble.
Despite Saiki's deliberate efforts to conceal his presence, Wanda, with her innate sensitivity, detected him. At Wanda's signal, Pietro, carrying her, arrived in front of Saiki in an instant. Chaos magic combined with super-speed was practically invincible, but as Loki had said, the two had only recently acquired their abilities, and their understanding and mastery of them were still quite lacking.
This allowed Saiki to easily control them.
Finally, Saiki erased the twins' hatred of Stark from their memories, and, out of kindness, even tucked the unconscious siblings into bed. Having completed all this, Saiki finally breathed a sigh of relief, planning to treat himself to some coffee jelly at that newly opened dessert shop in Queens.
The next day, Stark, enjoying a rare day off and indulging in some romantic time with his girlfriend, Miss Potts, was met with the darkest day of his life.
The super-powered twins, who SHIELD had been desperately searching for, had somehow appeared in his tower.
Jarvis's defense systems were utterly useless against them. Stark's first instinct was that they were there to attack him. He subtly positioned himself protectively in front of Pepper, instructing Jarvis to prepare his suit.
Wanda, full of fury, rushed forward and unleashed a torrent of accusations. "Scumbag!"
Pepper: "…"
Stark: "…"
Seeing Pepper's gaze shift, filled with a mixture of confusion and suspicion, Stark, spluttering slightly from the verbal assault, coughed and said with a forced air of seriousness, "While I have no idea how you two ended up in my tower, I believe you might be in need of assistance. Would you like me to contact SHIE—"
The last syllable of "SHIELD" was cut off by Pietro.
"You did something so unforgivable to us siblings, and now you want to run away? I guess that's just like the chairman of the incredibly wealthy Stark Industries. Money can buy anything, right?"
The other wasn't as agitated as Wanda, but his words dripped with sarcasm.
Pepper's eyes narrowed at him, conveying the look one might give a deviant, as if accusing him of stooping so low as to target children – not just a girl, but a boy as well.
Stark felt the urgent need to salvage his image in his girlfriend's eyes.
"Even though you two are just kids, you should still be responsible for what you say." Stark shed his previous nonchalance, his expression hardening into the resolute Tony Stark who could single-handedly sway the board of directors.
However, the twins didn't buy it. Wanda scoffed derisively, "You're the one who should be responsible. What? Are you going to deny what you did?"
Stark sized them up and down before shrugging, "I don't believe I'm so desperate that I'd resort to preying on children who haven't even hit puberty."
His words momentarily stunned the two kids, but then Wanda retorted furiously, "You heartless monster! Not only did you humiliate our mother, but now you're even going after your own children?"
"What?" Not just Stark, but even Pepper was shocked.
As Stark's secretary, Pepper had cleaned up countless messes for him. She knew Stark, before settling down, had been a notorious playboy, constantly indulging in the pleasures of women. But he had always ended things cleanly, and she had skillfully handled any lingering attachments. This was the first time she'd ever heard of Stark fathering children.
"Don't talk nonsense. That's impossible!"
Stark refuted vehemently. Aside from Pepper, he had never given any woman false hope. Having children? It was simply out of the question.
Yet, the twins seemed fixated on him, relentlessly branding him a scumbag, irresponsible, and accusing him of abandoning his wife and children.
Exasperated, Stark noticed their gazes directed at Pepper, filled with the condemnation one might reserve for a home-wrecker. To prevent any potential harm to Pepper, Stark had no choice but to call in SHIELD.
"Hmph, you think calling SHIELD will give you an excuse to get rid of us?"
"As long as we're alive, we won't let you and that woman have a moment of peace."
Stark, who had never bowed his head to anyone, was practically ready to kneel before these two relentless tormentors.
Seeing the usually sharp-tongued Stark at a loss for words, even the normally stoic Steve was struggling to hide his amusement. He clapped Stark on the shoulder, seemingly offering comfort, but his words suggested otherwise.
"Could it be you've forgotten? Although they don't look much like you, that stubborn temper is practically identical. Maybe you should consider a paternity test?"
Stark shot him a cold glare, ignoring his ill-advised suggestion. If he actually took a paternity test, regardless of whether the twins were his children or not, it would be an admission of guilt, and Pepper would leave him.
He stated firmly, "Impossible. I may have been a playboy in the past, but I would never do something like this."
Natasha chimed in, "But they look so serious. It doesn't seem like they're lying."
"It's also possible that since SHIELD has been hunting them, they've decided to resort to trickery to escape capture," Stark continued to deny any connection to the twins, believing they were playing a game.
Just as the standoff reached its peak, Banner intervened in this ludicrous dispute.
When he had received the news of the twins appearing in Stark Tower, he knew this was likely Saiki's doing. He quickly sought confirmation.
(I erased their hatred of Stark. This cut off their desire to steal the scepter and cause trouble. However, I didn't expect their memories of Stark to morph into those of a deadbeat dad who abandoned his wife and children. It's truly… wonderful… cough. Anyway, they originally lost their parents because of Stark. It's only right that Stark takes responsibility for them.)
Banner relayed the situation to the others. Some considered it a family matter, while others were simply eager to watch Stark squirm. In any case, they all swiftly dumped the mess onto Stark's lap.
Stark wasn't actually averse to suddenly having two children in his life. As long as they didn't cause trouble or make Pepper misunderstand, the immensely wealthy him could easily support two more people.
But… Stark, suddenly a father, stopped Banner, pressing him for information.
"I appreciate your friend's help in resolving our problem and… gifting me with two children. I believe it's necessary for me to meet this remarkable friend of yours and personally express my… 'gratitude'."
Banner didn't dare carelessly reveal Saiki's information to Stark. Getting on Saiki's bad side could result in more than just being banished to an island; it might mean ending up like those Chitauri – flung into outer space.
However, Stark wasn't easily fooled. If he didn't get a reasonable explanation, he might not say anything outwardly, but he would definitely launch a covert investigation.
Banner thought for a moment, then put on a troubled expression, stammering for a while until Stark began to lose his patience.
"Fine, if you won't tell me, I'll find out myself."
"Wait, wait." Banner, having calculated that Stark would lose his patience, called out to stop him. He then took a deep breath, adopting an expression of forced courage.
"It's not that I don't want to tell you, but he asked me to keep it a secret. You know, altering memories… that kind of superpower is easily coveted and feared."
Stark considered this; it made sense. If such an ability fell into the wrong hands, the entire Earth could be controlled.
"Alright, I understand. I won't pry any further."
Banner nodded, feigning relief at Stark's words. But in reality, he knew Stark wouldn't give up. Stark, faced with such a dangerous individual, might not engage directly, but he would definitely monitor them discreetly.
So Banner continued, "Of course, I trust you completely, Stark. While I can't tell you his name, but…"
Banner paused, then under Stark's eager gaze, added, "Remember what Loki and his brother said as they were leaving?"
He couldn't directly reveal the identity to Stark; being too straightforward would arouse the clever Stark's suspicions.
Stark furrowed his brow, recalling the moment, and then his eyes widened in realization.
Banner patted him on the shoulder and added another clue, "Think about who he looked at when he said that."
The hint was now quite obvious, prompting Stark to exclaim, "This is… quite something."
Banner outwardly gave him a knowing smile, as if to say, 'We see it, but we won't say it,' but inside, he was panicking.
[Thank me, Kusuo. I've offended both Stark and Fury for you.]
(Don't worry, Doctor. To repay your kindness, if that Director comes looking for trouble, I'll take care of it.)
Saiki, who had witnessed their entire conversation, mentally gave Banner a thumbs-up for his quick thinking.
Saiki believed that by resolving the twins' issues, he could return to his peaceful life. However, a week later, he saw two familiar figures in his classroom.
Unlike the utterly ordinary Saiki Kusuo, the rest of the students were practically in an uproar over the two new transfer students.
The eye-catching duo of a handsome boy and a beautiful girl received a warm welcome from everyone. Even Peter excitedly nudged Saiki.
"That girl is even prettier than Jane… cough, of course, I'm completely loyal to Jane."
Saiki had no time to deal with Peter; instead, he furiously questioned Banner, who was currently enjoying a romantic interlude with Natasha at SHIELD.
(Doctor, what is the meaning of this?)
[What do you mean? Oh, are you talking about the twins? They've caused Stark quite a bit of trouble this past week. Stark decided to send them to school for a proper education. However, they are still under SHIELD's close watch, and they're not entirely comfortable with them interacting with ordinary people. So, I recommended your school to Stark, hoping you could help keep an eye on them. That way, if they cause any trouble, you can resolve it immediately.]
Saiki seemed to have heard something utterly unbelievable.
(Are! You! Kidding! Me!)