"Half a month from now?"
"I'll attend."
Alex made his decision and nodded to Charles.
"Well… that's a bit unexpected."
Charles was genuinely surprised.
Based on his understanding of Alex, he hadn't expected him to attend someone else's wedding at all.
As for Charles himself?
And Tony Stark, Doctor Strange, and the other members of the Illuminati?
Right—
Reed Richards hadn't invited them in the first place.
The Illuminati was a secret organization, one that only gathered discreetly when events occurred, dealing with them in absolute secrecy.
Outside of that, the members had almost no interaction in daily life.
In the public eye, Reed and the others didn't even seem to know one another.
So why would Reed invite Alex?
The reason was simple.
Reed had previously collaborated with Krakoa on several scientific projects.
After all, Reed Richards was known as the smartest man in the world, a super scientist of the highest caliber.
Krakoa had even sponsored some of Reed's research.
Inviting Alex was perfectly reasonable.
But it was clearly a courtesy invitation—
Reed himself never truly expected Alex to show up.
"Just… consider it experiencing life," Alex said with a faint smile.
Since everything was still speculation, he didn't elaborate further and simply brushed it off.
Charles, of course, knew that Alex's decision wouldn't be as simple as "experiencing life," but he didn't ask further.
If Alex had decided something, there was always a reason.
"I imagine Reed will be quite shocked when he sees you there."
Charles pictured Reed's expression at the wedding and couldn't help but find it amusing.
---
Half a Month Later
New York.
A luxury high-rise.
Click! Click! Click!
Camera shutters snapped nonstop as flashes illuminated the scene.
The entrance of the building was packed with people, with police maintaining order on-site.
The reason was simple.
This was the wedding of Reed Richards, Mister Fantastic of the Fantastic Four, and Susan Storm, the Invisible Woman.
Nowadays, people were already used to superheroes.
But still—
a wedding between two superheroes was explosive news no matter how you looked at it.
Screech!
A sleek, eye-catching supercar came to a stop.
The door opened, and a flamboyant playboy jumped out, instantly igniting the atmosphere.
The man was none other than Johnny Storm, the Human Torch.
Even among superheroes, he was extremely popular.
After all—
his powers were ridiculously cool.
A man engulfed in flames, streaking across the sky like a meteor—
the visual impact was maxed out.
"Johnny!"
"Johnny!"
Reporters outside the cordon thrust their microphones forward, shouting desperately for an interview.
"For this wedding, I only want to say one thing—please respect our privacy,"
Johnny said with rare seriousness.
But less than a second later, he grinned.
"Just kidding! We'll sell the exclusive photos to the highest bidder—so start bidding online!"
Classic Johnny Storm.
Very much like Tony Stark.
The crowd instantly erupted again.
---
BOOM!
Suddenly—
An explosive sonic boom rang out.
Everyone's vision blurred for a moment, and a familiar figure appeared before them.
There was a brief silence.
Then—
The place exploded.
"Alex!"
"It's Alex!"
"Alex is here!"
Like a bomb thrown into the crowd, the scene instantly went wild.
Nobody could have imagined that a wedding between Mister Fantastic and the Invisible Woman would attract someone on Alex's level.
This was massive news.
In an instant, all attention shifted to Alex.
Johnny Storm was completely ignored.
"Alex?"
"I can't believe you actually came."
"I thought Reed was just bragging."
Johnny Storm froze for a moment before regaining his composure and stepping forward to greet him.
Normally cocky and flamboyant, Johnny suddenly became far more restrained—
like a mischievous student standing before the homeroom teacher.
"You sure you're not related to Captain America?"
Alex teased.
He couldn't help it.
Johnny looked way too much like Steve Rogers—practically identical.
"Didn't expect you to gossip like that, Alex," Johnny laughed.
He then enthusiastically ushered Alex into the venue.
---
"Alex!"
"It really is Alex!"
"No way—Alex actually showed up!"
Inside the hall, guests had been chatting casually.
But the moment Alex appeared, he instantly became the sole focus of the room.
Everyone rushed over to greet him.
"I'm starting to think inviting Alex wasn't a great idea."
Johnny Storm rubbed his face helplessly.
"He's completely stealing the spotlight."
"It's an honor problem," his girlfriend snorted.
"Stark's wedding didn't even get Alex, and Stark's practically his nephew."
"I know, I know—I'm just flexing," Johnny said with a grin.
After a while, things finally calmed down.
Alex took his seat along with the other guests.
The atmosphere was warm and celebratory.
About twenty minutes later, under everyone's gaze, Reed Richards and Susan Storm appeared.
Hand in hand, they walked toward the priest.
…Hmm?
At that moment, Alex's expression shifted slightly.
His super senses had picked up something.
He instinctively looked up at the sky.
There—
A silver figure riding a shining silver surfboard, his entire body gleaming like liquid metal, entered Alex's field of vision.
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