"Diana Prince!"
The name echoed repeatedly in Raiden mind, pounding against his heart. But as it echoed, Raiden suddenly realized... he couldn't remember what Wonder Woman real name was!
Hmm, looking at the Diana before him, Raiden really couldn't be sure if she was Wonder Woman. After all, Wonder Woman is from DC, and this is Marvel! And if Wonder Woman is here, could Superman also exist?
At this thought, Raiden couldn't help but shiver. The world would indeed be a dangerous place.
"Sir? Could you let go? What exactly do you want?" Diana said to Raiden, who was still tightly gripping her arm.
Hearing Diana call, Raiden snapped out of his apocalyptic fantasies and quickly released her hand. But then Raiden realized something—if the world ends, so be it.
It's not like he has to be the one to save it. And if Superman is here, even better! With his saintly heart, the heavy responsibility of protecting the world falls on you!
Thinking this way, Raiden actually felt quite relieved. With a warm smile on his face, he asked Diana,
"Sorry, beautiful lady, I just wanted to invite you to dance. May I?"
"Sorry, no," Diana flatly refused.
It seemed his first impression on her wasn't great, but Raiden was tactful and didn't press further. He simply smiled and left.
Watching Raiden retreating figure, Diana raised an elegant eyebrow. He was indeed a very strange person, or perhaps... a very strange mage. But Diana didn't dwell on it.
She just shook her head and walked away, as she still had things to do.
After leaving Diana, Raiden didn't linger on the second floor and quickly returned to the main hall on the first floor. But for some reason, Raiden seemed downcast after returning to the first floor.
He felt somewhat depressed. Was it because he was worried the world was becoming more chaotic? Or because Diana had rejected his invitation? But she truly was a very beautiful woman!
Raiden returned to the bar where he had been earlier and ordered another whiskey. Coulson was already gone—perhaps he had left?
"Hey, handsome, want to have a drink?" Just as Raiden picked up his glass, a woman approached and spoke.
"Of course," Raiden raised his glass and clinked it with hers, then downed it in one go.
After drinking, the woman started chatting with Raiden. She was very excited and open, talking about various interesting topics, but Raiden seemed somewhat listless, barely responding to her. The woman was beautiful, but after seeing Diana stunning appereance, Raiden felt she was rather ordinary.
However, as the woman chatted with Raiden, more and more women began to gather around him, each one strikingly beautiful. This left Raiden somewhat puzzled.
'Could it be my charm?'
Raiden narcissistically thought, though of course, that wasn't the reason.
In a place Raiden couldn't see, through the crowd, Obadiah was fiddling with a black remote-like device, secretly watching Raiden.
In another corner of the banquet, Tony walked in from the balcony with a somewhat awkward demeanor and headed toward Raiden, or more accurately, toward the bar.
"Hey, Raiden," Tony greeted as soon as he spotted Raiden surrounded by women.
Hearing Tony voice, Raiden quickly dispersed the women around him and responded to Tony.
Tony walked over and sat down beside Raiden, first addressing the bartender "Two extra-dry vodka martinis, extra olives, and make it quick."
After handing the money to the bartender, he turned to Raiden, watching the bustling crowd at the banquet, and asked, "Did I really call out Pepper name so often at night when we were in the cave?"
Raiden raised an eyebrow and nodded without hesitation, "Yes, you did."
"Oh, I must have been out of my mind," Tony said, still gazing at the crowd.
Raiden was about to say something when a woman suddenly interrupted him.
"Hey, Tony Stark? I didn't expect to see you here tonight," a woman in an off-the-shoulder dress with flowing golden hair walked over and said.
"Oh! Hello," Tony replied, his expression stiff as he looked at her face, then uttered a name, "Carrie?"
"Christine," the woman corrected.
"Yes, yes, right, Christine," Tony responded as if he had just remembered her name.
"I was wondering why you're here tonight. What's on your mind?" Christine asked.
"Panicked, that's how I feel," Tony said. Indeed, having not attended a party for so long, Tony was struggling to handle the situation, especially with Pepper making him feel somewhat lost.
"I'm talking about the recent riot incident your company got involved in," Christine said.
"Oh, I was just invited here. I don't know what to say," Tony replied.
"I almost believed you!" Christine said with a tone of accusation.
"Didn't you know I've been away for the past few months?" Tony retorted.
"Is this what you call responsibility, Tony Stark?" Christine took out a few photos from her bag and handed them to Tony.
"This town is called Gulmira. Ever heard of it?" Christine asked.
Tony looked into her eyes, his expression grave as he picked up the photos. What he saw were weapons manufactured by Stark Industries, and now these weapons... were in the town called Gulmira.
"When were these taken?" Tony asked calmly, though beneath the calmness, a storm was brewing.
"Yesterday."
"I didn't know about this. I didn't approve any shipments," Tony explained.
"But your company did," Christine said indifferently.
"My company and I are two different things!" Tony said angrily before storming out.
After Tony left, Christine sat down beside Raiden and handed him another set of photos. They showed images of Raiden and Yinsen, perhaps taken when they passed through a certain village.
"I'm curious, did you know that all those terrorists are dead?" Christine said, taking a sip of her drink.
"I'm also quite curious," Raiden said, spreading his hands, then picked up a glass of wine and walked into the crowd.
Christine watched Raiden departing figure, a faint smile playing on her lips. In fact, there was another photo in Christine bag—a picture of an Iron Man suit.
The timing of when the Iron Man suit was photographed coincided exactly with the time Raiden left the Middle East and returned to the United States.
This led Christine to mistakenly believe that Raiden was the one wearing the Iron Man suit.
...
Meanwhile, on the distant West Coast of the United States, a figure clad in a red tight-fitting suit emerged from the Pacific Ocean.
It had been nearly four months—four long months adrift in the Pacific. And now, he was finally going home!