Luke was naturally resistant to A.I., and had never thought of roping in Vision.
Besides, Vision was at least half of Jarvis, and had the face of Jarvis, Howard Stark’s butler.
Given that was the case, Luke felt it was gauche to steal Vision from Tony.
Thus, the Avengers now had a reserve member and two ‘quasi members.’
These three still had a lot of issues that needed to be solved slowly, but they were all very strong.
No matter how good Natasha and Hawkeye were, they couldn’t compare with the Hulk and Thor in a head-on clash, but these three could.
One was a combination of a vibranium body, the Mind Stone, and artificial intelligence, and could fly, fight, resist, and pass through walls – his abilities were over the top.
Wanda and Pietro weren’t all-rounders.
However, the little witch’s violent output and mental abilities were top-notch.
And as long as Pietro used the right approach, he could charge at his opponent and kill them without giving them a chance to fight back.
These were existences that truly stood at the peak of superhumans, and could determine success or failure in a critical moment.
Now that the Avengers had them, Tony’s apprehension that the team wasn’t strong enough was significantly reduced, and he could devote more energy to his love of research.
As for Rhodes, it was the American government that had stuffed him into the team.
This was an awkward fact, but he had a close relationship with Tony, and his character had been tested.
He was used to playing the ‘go-between,’ and as ever, effectively reduced any direct conflict between the government and the Avengers.
Actually, after Killian used the Iron Patriot Armor to kidnap Ellis, Rhodes had lost half of his actual power in the government.
It had nothing to do with his loyalty; it was purely because Killian had almost turned Ellis into teppanyaki. When he saw that d*mn Iron Patriot, Ellis recalled how he had been tied up and hung on a cross.
Rhodes was hence inevitably marginalized by the government, so his focus naturally turned to the Avengers.
This way, the Avengers didn’t lag behind the Justice League in terms of numbers.
There was no helping it – after all, Luke was playing several people.
After chatting for a while, Luke finally asked, “Where’s Steve?”
Rhodes chuckled. “He’s found a potential team member, so he’s taking the time to make contact every now and then.”
Looking at his face, Luke asked, “Why do I feel like you’re very happy?”
Rhodes shrugged. “He’s a retired USAF Pararescueman – you could say we’re from the same line of work.”
Luke asked about the man again.
This potential team member was called Sam Wilson and he was also African-American.
The only difference was that Rhodes was a senior officer and Sam was a junior officer.
No wonder Rhodes was so happy. In the future, there would probably be more people to high five.
After a while, the topic returned to the second monster battle which took place in Hawaii.
Luke wasn’t in the mood to lie. He simply said that the bigshot had helped Godzilla kill the new Muto with his small pet.
The others didn’t react strongly, but Rhodes was aghast.
He swallowed. “How… small is small?”
Luke quipped back, “About 100,000 tons. It’s indeed a little small.”
Everybody was lost for words. This was quite a unique description for something ‘small.’
The siblings were more interested in the pet, but Rhodes wondered: Then, in the future, could the bigshot still be considered as part of the same category as the rest of them?
What kind of small pet could take down a Muto?!
No matter how dutiful a superhero was, they weren’t pets. They had their own personalities and bottom lines.
As long as a pet was raised well, however, it would charge forward as soon as it was given the order.
For a moment, Rhodes’s danger assessment of the bigshot skyrocketed.
After chatting for a while, Luke got up and had the siblings come out for a chat.
Rhodes tactfully said that he was going back to change. Vision stood silently in front of the glass window and watched the three of them walk out onto the lawn.
After hesitating for a long while, he didn’t listen in.
Big Dipper’s gaze before he left made him a little uneasy.
After Luke left, he said a few words to Pietro, who then went back to training.
Luke and the little witch walked into the woods which bordered the lawn.
The stars twinkled in the clear night sky. They walked slowly through the woods in silence.
Luke finally asked, “Are you and Vision close?”
Wanda was stumped. “It’s not bad.”
Luke said, “You’re not someone who likes to get close to just anyone.”
Only then did Wanda realize that her attitude toward Vision was indeed a little strange.
Luke said, “Maybe it’s because both your and his abilities come from the Mind Stone, which makes you feel close to him.”
Wanda was uncertain. “Is that so?”
Actually, she felt that Vision was a little… naive.
He was very smart, but unlike most people, he didn’t have intense or repulsive thoughts.
Luke stopped and looked up at the stars. After a long while, he said, “Fine, this is actually caused by your ability.”
Wanda was at a loss. “What?”
Luke said, “You’re not the only one in this world who can sense other people’s thoughts. Some people get this ability when they’re kids, and can become autistic because of it. You only got yours as an adult, but you don’t want to interact with too many people. That’s not good.”
Thinking for a moment, Wanda nodded slowly. “What about you?”
Everybody knew that Big Dipper had a powerful mental ability.
Luke chuckled. “I’ve killed a lot of people. They’re murderers, human traffickers, drug dealers, Hydra, and terrorists. Each of them is countless times more disgusting than an ordinary person. But I’m still me. Do you know why?”
Wanda’s mouth dropped open as she finally remembered.
Sometimes, the answer was right there. It was just that you subconsciously didn’t want to think about it.
Staring at her, Luke tapped her forehead lightly and used Mental Resistance on the witch.
She instantly calmed down.
Luke said, “Because I’m me and they’re them.”
Wanda nodded thoughtfully.
Luke turned around and continued walking. “People have to eat, drink and take a dump from birth. To live better, they’ll definitely use all sorts of methods to fight for resources. We can hate those crimes, but we can’t refuse to interact with people because of them.”
Wanda subconsciously nodded.
Luke suddenly changed the topic. “Would you feel disgusted if a man walking down the street stared at your chest?”
Stumped for a moment, Wanda blushed. “This… a little?”
Luke chuckled. “Then would you be happy if they were gentlemen who looked straight ahead and didn’t have any thoughts about you?”
Unless they were all robots, how was that possible? Wanda replied honestly, “Probably not.”
Luke said, “What if it’s someone you like, and they don’t even look at you?”
Wanda: …
