Bella was being as careful and thorough as possible, but still missed her flight because—of course—the flight was delayed. Nothing unusual.
"Damn it!" She slumped into a chair, face full of frustration.
She didn't want to just sit around and wait, but this wasn't her turf and she had nowhere else to go.
After thinking for a bit, she decided to wander around the airport shops. Maybe pick out a small gift for her biological dad—whom she had never even met.
Even though Forks was a tiny town with barely three thousand people, practically a speck on the map, her dad was the sheriff. Compared to the rest of the townsfolk, he was kind of a big deal. At least his title gave him some status.
The original Bella didn't take advantage of that, but she would. Worst-case scenario, getting closer to him wouldn't hurt.
"Fifty, a hundred, a hundred five, a hundred six..." She counted the dollars in her wallet.
It was March 2000. No mobile payments, and the original Bella didn't even have a credit card. All she had was cash.
She was walking and counting at the same time when—bam!—she ran straight into someone. A girl was coming from the opposite direction with headphones on, head down. Neither of them saw each other, both walking fast. They crashed headfirst, no warning.
Thud!
Bella, being taller, hit the girl square on the forehead with her chin.
"Ow!" Bella stumbled back a couple of steps, her chin numb, head buzzing. She had to grab the wall to keep from falling.
The other girl didn't look much better—squatting on the ground, rubbing her forehead like hell. That hit must've hurt.
"Sorry, so sorry."
"My bad, I wasn't looking!"
Both of them spoke at the same time, apologizing.
Bella genuinely didn't see where she was going. And being out of town, she didn't want any trouble, so her apology was sincere.
The collision had knocked her wallet out of her hand. Bills flew everywhere—fives, tens, the kind of cash that looked like a lot just from quantity. They scattered across the floor like confetti, making the other girl feel even guiltier.
While both were still apologizing, the girl's family quickly came over and helped Bella gather her money.
A middle-aged man even asked if she needed to go to the hospital.
Unlike Bella, who was an only child, this was a standard American family of five—a couple with three kids: two boys and a girl. The girl was the one who ran into Bella. The older boy standing next to her seemed like her brother, and the younger boy in the distance hugging a toy box was obviously the little brother. Total brat vibes.
But damn—this girl was really pretty.
Even Bella had to admit it.
The girl's eyes had a natural flirtiness, her features delicate like a painting, lips slightly upturned, glowing with youth. Her figure was graceful, and she didn't even seem fully developed yet. Probably a year or two younger than Bella.
The girl had clearly taken a good hit. She discreetly rubbed her forehead, and when she looked up—she was also stunned by Bella's looks.
Smooth forehead, perfect brows, snow-white skin with a healthy glow like she had her own built-in moisturizer.
Bright lips, shiny teeth, and not a trace of makeup. Bella was drop-dead gorgeous—way beyond normal standards. But the troubled look between her brows and her slightly pale complexion gave her beauty a tiny flaw.
Natural beauties are rare. Two of them crashing into each other like this? Even rarer.
"Seriously, I'm really sorry."
"No, it was my fault. I wasn't looking where I was going."
They were just strangers passing by. No reason to keep in touch. Bella had too much on her mind and politely said goodbye to the family.
"Over there! I see them! Grab them!" a loud voice suddenly shouted from not far away.
Bella and the family of five looked up at the same time. Four people—three men and a woman—came charging at them from both ends of the corridor. All four looked intense as hell.
The family froze. Bella was confused too. What the hell? Robbers? In broad daylight? In an airport?!
The dad instinctively reached for his phone to call the cops, but the group was already on them.
The guy in front—burly, with a face full of meat and black hair—lunged at Bella, grabbing for her shoulder.
They were after her?
No way she was letting that happen.
Ever since she found out this was the Marvel Universe, Bella had been on guard. She already had pepper spray ready.
She emptied half the can straight into the guy's eyes. Then came the classic "say goodbye to your kids" knee strike.
Being tall meant long legs. She had been charging up this kick for a while. It was clean, brutal, and zero hesitation.
The black-haired guy couldn't handle that kind of hit. He dropped instantly, rolling on the floor, clutching his family jewels, tears pouring from his eyes.
Before Bella could even catch her breath, another skinny guy rushed at her.
Without the element of surprise, she was just a regular person—no martial arts training, no secret masters, no superpowers.
Thankfully, the mom from the family of five looked like she had trained in something. She stepped in front of Bella, caught the guy's punch mid-air, spun around, and slam!—a clean over-the-shoulder throw took him down.
In the blink of an eye, two attackers from the west corridor were on the floor.
Bella wasn't even surprised. After learning how crazy the Marvel world could be, she was mentally prepared. Robbers? Aliens? Bring it on.
The family of five had different reactions:
The dad looked unsure and hesitant. He wanted to say something but kept his mouth shut after his wife handled things.
The pretty girl who ran into Bella? She looked excited, biting her lip like she wanted in on the action.
The older brother? Expressionless. Might've been in shock.
The younger brother? Definitely in shock. Fully frozen.
Bella plus five meant their group had the numbers. And this was an airport—people were already pointing and whispering from a distance.
The remaining pair—a man and a woman—coming from the east looked unsure. They hesitated. The woman gave her partner a look, then tried to sneak around while he drew attention.
She made a quick move toward the little boy.
"I got it! Split up!" the woman yelled, snatching the toy car from the boy's hands without even looking at it. Then she took off running.
Bella: Σ(⊙▽⊙）!!
She was stunned!
All this chaos... for a toy car? Are you Americans serious?
Forget the toy—there was a gun hidden in the guy she kicked earlier.
No matter how sketchy things were in America, people don't usually carry guns into airports like it's nothing.
Something was seriously wrong here.