Chapter 111 The Coming Sixth Draw
"What?"
Finney was stunned, looking completely bewildered. Then, glancing at Skye's conflicted expression, he suddenly realized that Skye might also want to debut as a superhero.
His brow furrowed.
Finney admired heroes, but he knew he couldn't be one. He understood right and wrong, but couldn't truly treat everyone fairly.
For example, he knew Skye's parents weren't exactly good people, but for Skye's sake, he was still willing to help them return to a normal life and give them a peaceful old age.
If it were done according to superhero standards, he wouldn't necessarily betray his family, but at least he would be punished accordingly.
Therefore, even when the media was proclaiming him and Iron Man as world-renowned superheroes, he would just smile dismissively.
Tony was now almost worthy of that title, but Finney felt he was still far from being a true hero.
Following Skye's instructions, Finney quickly hypnotized the guy on the ground with the 'Golden Grand Evolution Technique,' then left him there and took the preoccupied Skye home.
Although exhausted, Finney decided to give Skye some psychological counseling first.
"Come on, tell me what happened?"
Finney leaned back on the sofa, propping her arm up with her chin, listening attentively like a doctor examining a patient.
Skye recounted what had happened at the supermarket and on the street, but didn't mention that she had actually tried to stop the robber in the supermarket.
Skye's face then contorted with worry. After hesitating for a long time, she finally asked in a low voice, "Finney, when you had these powers, weren't you ever confused about what to do with them?"
"Of course I was,"
Finney glanced at Skye, looking at her curious expression, and said nostalgically, "Let's not even talk about wanting to grow up overnight. And when I found out my ability was to make chicken nugget wraps, you definitely couldn't understand how I felt."
Skye's expression was a little strange. That wasn't actually what she wanted to ask, but she didn't know how to bring it up. Fortunately, Finney quickly got back to the point and continued:
"I bet you think that if you stood up and stopped that guy, the supermarket wouldn't have been robbed, and no one else would have been hurt, right?"
Finney knew Skye's personality well; based on her previous words and expression, she guessed her thoughts.
Actually, Finney wasn't surprised that Skye would have this idea. Compared to her, Skye was kind and had a strong sense of justice.
So, it was perfectly normal for her to have this Spider-Man-like awareness.
But while she understood, Finney didn't want Skye to actually become a hero.
"I don't object to you helping people within your capabilities, because that's what I do," Finney said seriously, looking at Skye. "But I don't want you to strive to become a hero."
"Why?"
Skye couldn't help but ask, puzzled.
"Because behind the dazzling glory of heroes often comes a price,"
Finney said calmly. "Everyone who becomes a hero has at least one quality of sacrifice, and I don't have that quality, so I hope you don't either."
"I don't want to sacrifice anything,"
Skye shook her head, seemingly disagreeing with Finney's statement.
"But when you decide to become a hero, you will!"
Looking at Tony, Captain America, Thor, even Hawkeye and Black Widow, they all had the awareness to sacrifice themselves to save the world and its people.
But Finney didn't. He might try to solve these problems, but he would never sacrifice himself for people he didn't know.
The atmosphere became inexplicably stiff, and both of them looked serious. This was a clash of ideologies.
"Skye, the existence of power doesn't necessarily have to have meaning." Finney understood Skye's stubborn side, so he didn't force her to do anything. He simply advised, "You possess this power simply because you possess it. You don't have to feel like you have to do something because of it." Skye hesitated, seemingly disagreeing. Seeing this, Finney pressed on, saying, "Besides, your strength is only good for bullying ordinary people. You're not worthy of being a superhero. If you can beat me someday, I'll leave you alone, okay?"
Skye rolled her eyes. She didn't know exactly how strong Finney was, but she knew she couldn't sense the shockwaves of 'Demon Possession' and couldn't dodge the area-of-effect attacks of 'Explosion Magic.'
Without solving these two problems, she couldn't defeat Finney. Moreover, she didn't know if Finney had any other abilities.
"I never said I wanted to be a superhero, I was just asking how it felt,"
Skye said irritably, her expression no longer conflicted. She was just feeling a little lost. Although she didn't entirely agree with Finney's answer, she knew she wasn't strong.
Seeing Skye's demeanor return to normal, Finney secretly breathed a sigh of relief. What if Skye really did decide to become a superhero? He'd be worried about that.
Skye's minor incident didn't cause any trouble for the two of them.
Skye later came to terms with it, deciding to temporarily stop using her power to help others; after all, she hadn't even rescued her parents yet, and thinking about such things now was indeed too early.
Time slowly passed to October 20th. After daily arduous training and battles, Finney was finally just one sliver of experience away from drawing his sixth skill.
This important moment made Finney unexpectedly nervous, so much so that even Billy noticed something was off when he went to school that morning.
"What's wrong with you today? You seem strange!"
Billy asked, looking at the absent-minded Finney beside him with suspicion.
"Nothing,"
Finney replied, coming back to his senses and calming his inner speculation and anticipation about the sixth skill. "Just feeling a little unwell."
After several months of downplaying the situation, Billy finally stopped constantly asking him about the 'Divine Punishment Knight,' and even the media attention had decreased considerably.
Although many people were still secretly investigating his identity, with Tony and Nick Fury as cover, basically no one could detect him.
"Do you need me to go with you to the doctor?"
Billy asked with concern.
Although he knew Billy meant well, Finney couldn't help but show a look of disgust. Even if he was really feeling unwell, he wouldn't let Billy accompany him to the doctor.
"No, no, it's okay."
Finney waved his hand. After Billy's interference, he finally put aside his obsession with the sixth skill and began to listen attentively to the lecture and study the spell.
In the afternoon, after school, Finney contacted Banner immediately, hoping that he could call Hulk out for a fight, but was unexpectedly refused.
"Not today, Helsey. I have a very important project to test. Actually, I was just about to tell you that I probably won't be able to get Hulk out for the next few days."
Banner, who had joined Stark Industries, was finally no longer holed up in the villa every day, but was spending more time working in Stark Tower.
Finney frowned. Banner had always been cooperative since they met, and this was the first time he had refused. Finney didn't want to force him, so he could only agree.
Without Hulk, Finney had no choice but to contact Tony again. After all, the experience difference wasn't significant, and Iron Man could also meet the requirements.
However, after contacting him, he learned that Tony was currently attending a party very important to the company in another country, and wouldn't finish until very late, at least not today.
Finney was furious. He was only one bit short of experience points, and he refused to believe he couldn't find someone to grind them all, regardless of the time in Kamar-Taj.
He opened a portal and rushed to Mordo's room. Seeing Mordo sleeping in bed, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Mordo was indeed the most reliable experience booster!
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(End of Chapter)