Marvel Multiverse: Family System

Although Vex found Stark annoying now, he couldn't deny the admiration he held for the future Iron Man who would one day snap his fingers to save the universe.

Otherwise, if it had been anyone else who had insulted him, he wouldn't have even bothered to go to the hospital to help back then.

"Alright, send me the address."

"Got it! Right away!" Stark pleaded desperately, "Please! You have to save Pepper! I can't lose her! I…"

"If you keep talking, she'll really die."

"I'll shut up right now!"

After hanging up the phone, Vex turned to Jean and extended his hand. "I hear the sunrise at Santa Monica Beach is beautiful. Want to go check it out?"

Jean placed her hand in his, still confused.

"While I'd love to, he seemed pretty urgent. How are we going to get there?"

"It is a bit urgent, so forgive me."

With a quick warning, Vex pulled Jean into his arms.

Then...

"Teleport."

The two vanished from their original spot, reappearing kilometers away.

This wasn't the limit of the spell, but rather Vex's own limit. However, with the system's power, there was no cost for using it.

So...

"Teleport!"

"Teleport!"

"Teleport!"

...

From Los Angeles to New Jersey, it was a 4,000 km journey, nearly crossing the entire United States. A fighter jet would take at least an hour to cover the distance, but Vex only needed 40 teleports to cross it.

On the 41st teleport, Vex appeared above the Expo, holding the still-startled Jean.

The Expo site was in complete chaos—several three-meter-tall iron soldiers were slaughtering the helpless people.

Vex's gaze swept across the scene, and his powerful super vision instantly locked onto Pepper, hiding backstage. She was cornered by three iron soldiers, their cannons aimed at her, while Happy's half-lifeless body lay nearby, a testament to his failed attempt to fight back.

As soon as Vex appeared, all the iron soldiers exploded without hesitation.

—Whoever was behind this clearly wasn't afraid to take drastic measures.

Seeing Pepper was about to meet her end…

"Buzz—"

The time-stop field activated, freezing everything at the brink of destruction.

Jean stood wide-eyed in shock.

Time... had stopped!

Vex could stop time?!

She was stunned.

What else could this man do?

Vex casually descended, gently releasing Jean before turning to the terrified Pepper.

"I suggest you walk out of there now. Once I undo the time-stop field, you'll still get blown up if you stay."

Pepper jumped to her feet

She sprinted out but stopped when she saw Happy's mutilated body. She looked at Vex with hope in her eyes.

If he could heal a paralyzed Stark and stop time...

Maybe...

"Can you save Happy?" Pepper begged, "I know it's difficult, but…"

Vex kicked "half of Happy" with a swift motion, and when his body landed, Happy was whole again as the time-stop lifted.

Happy, confused, clutched his side, wondering why his waist hurt so much.

The speed of the recovery left Pepper speechless, her plea stuck in her throat.

Jean, however, accepted it rather quickly.

—After all, compared to what Vex had already done, this was child's play.

"Well, that was... quite a unique healing method," Jean laughed.

"Oh, I just didn't feel like bending over," Vex shrugged. "Happy was lucky to still have a sliver of life left, otherwise, I'd have been kicking a corpse."

His blunt honesty made Jean laugh.

"And if it were me, would you bend down for me?" Jean asked, her tone hinting at something deeper.

"Not possible," Vex immediately shook his head.

Jean's smile froze a little, thinking she'd misjudged the situation...

But just as she was feeling down...

"I'd never let you get hurt in the first place. Why would I need to heal you?" Vex said, genuinely confused. "If anyone dared to hurt a woman as beautiful as you, I'd turn them to dust."

Jean: "..."

Realizing she had been teased, Jean wasn't mad at all. Instead, she felt a little spark of joy in her heart.

Vex's protective charm was off the charts!

How could anyone resist?

Satisfied with the moment, Vex didn't push the flirtation any further. He turned his attention to Pepper and the bewildered Happy.

"Step back a little, I'm about to undo it."

Pepper and Happy hurriedly ran to safety.

Vex glanced around to make sure none of the self-detonated iron soldiers had any survivors nearby before lifting the time-stop.

"Boom—"

"Boom—"

"Boom—"

...

Explosions went off in succession, the heat and shockwaves knocking Pepper and Happy off balance.

The ten minutes they had just experienced would take them much longer to process.

Pepper's phone rang, but she was still too dazed to pick it up.

Seeing this, Jean's hands glowed with a soft orange light, using her telepathy to calm both of them down.

Only then did Pepper snap out of it and answer the call.

"Tony, I'm okay."

"I thought I'd never see you again!"

"Mm!"

"Alright!"

After a brief conversation, Pepper handed the phone to Vex.

"Tony says he wants to thank you personally, and about the payment…"

Vex waved his hand.

"Just have him send me one of each new Iron Man suit he makes from now on. Fully armed, of course. They'll make for nice collectibles."

This condition...

Pepper didn't know how to respond, so she relayed the message over the phone.

After a few moments, she turned on the speaker, and Stark's voice rang out.

"No problem! I agree to your terms!"

"Thank you for saving Pepper! And for saving Happy!"

"Otherwise, I really would have been..."

"No matter what happened before, from now on, you're my friend, Vex. Whatever you need, you know where to find me!"

One thing had to be said about Stark—though proud, he never failed to acknowledge what was owed.

Since that was the case...

Maybe I'll give you a little push

°°°

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