🎂🎉Happy New Year To All Cake 🎉 🎂
He didn't know how he'd slept, but when Ryden woke up, his back was aching.
He really envied those readers with titanium-reinforced kidneys.
Back at school, he was surprised to see the fat Rocca and his lackey, Bunter, actually in class.
Their faces were swollen and bruised, black and blue all over. Someone had beaten them badly. Whoever it was hadn't held back.
He didn't know why, but seeing it made him feel strangely happy.
When Rocca and Bunter spotted Ryden, they both visibly trembled.
Something big had clearly happened.
There was fear in their eyes.
Terrence jogged over, full of energy.
"Hey, Ryden, where were you yesterday? Didn't see you all day. Look at those two pig-heads, pfft! Haha! It's hilarious! I heard Rocca's dad, that army officer, beat the crap out of him! I'm dying! Ryden, how did you get his dad to teach him a lesson? Look at his face! Haha, I can't breathe!"
Between classes, Rocca finally worked up the courage to approach.
He looked hesitant.
"Ryden... I'm sorry. I was wrong before. My dad asked if... if you'd come over for dinner tonight?"
The surrounding students were stunned.
The school bully was apologizing?
And so politely?
Did the sun rise from the west today?
"It's fine. I'm not that petty," Ryden said without even looking up. "Tell your dad I forgive you. Don't bother with dinner. Just go away and let me study."
He had no interest in wasting time on small fry.
If he couldn't even deal with a school bully, he might as well find a tree and a rope and prepare for the afterlife.
"Oh! Okay, okay! I'm going!"
Despite Ryden's dismissive attitude, Rocca didn't dare complain.
Last night, his father had beaten him nearly to death.
Later, his mother explained what had happened.
The military had been getting very close to Stark Industries.
Howard Stark had casually mentioned that his nephew was being bullied at school.
Officers eager to curry favor immediately turned their attention to Rocca's father.
If his superior hadn't kept things quiet, he might have lost his commission on the spot.
Realizing it was all because of his useless son, Rocca's father had exploded.
Rocca had seen people fail before.
He'd never seen someone fail their father so completely.
His father had ordered him to invite Ryden to dinner and smooth things over. If he couldn't do that, he shouldn't bother coming home.
At the very least, he had to lower his head and apologize.
The classmates grew increasingly curious about Ryden.
First MIT.
Then the bully getting beaten.
Now the bully, backed by the military, was bowing his head.
A complete reversal.
A classic underdog story.
A living role model.
"Nice job, man!" Terrence punched Ryden's arm, unable to hide his excitement. "You really broke him!"
The school tyrant was finally finished.
There was no class with Dia that day.
Ryden actually found himself missing her.
He spent the day studying biology.
If he wanted to become stronger, there were only two real options.
The Super Soldier Serum.
Or something like the Iron Man suit.
The first was almost impossible to obtain.
The second was a massive technological challenge. Physics. Mechanical engineering. Artificial intelligence. A reliable power source.
Without an Arc Reactor, the suit was just scrap metal.
So that was out.
The remaining options weren't promising either.
Find the sorcerers in the Himalayas?
Learn magic from the Zatara family?
Volunteer for Hydra and become a Winter Soldier?
Side with Dormammu?
Become a vampire?
None of the plotlines he knew felt useful.
Ryden felt a bit discouraged.
Maybe he should just wait for Wonder Woman and win her over.
Then whenever danger appeared, he could shout, "Wife, save me!"
Even Ryden thought that was too shameless.
When he got home that afternoon, he saw a woman sitting in the living room.
She was wearing a police uniform.
Her silver-blonde hair was tied back in a ponytail.
Her features were sharp and attractive, her skin fair, but her presence was hard and dangerous. The kind of aura only someone who had killed could have.
The moment she saw Ryden, she rushed over and pulled him into a tight hug, pressing his head against her chest as tears welled up.
"You little brat! You finally show your face! Still doing experiments after all that? Hmph! Not even saying hello to your sister? You scared me to death! Don't do dangerous things anymore, okay? We don't lack money. I can take care of you!"
Ryden froze.
Who is this?
Why is she so affectionate?
Then he remembered the photo he'd seen earlier.
This was his sister.
But he felt no excitement.
He had the memories, not the emotions. The connection just wasn't there.
"Uh... sis, let go. Sit down. Why are you back?"
She hadn't seen him in over a month.
She wasn't letting go.
"Kid, you think you're grown now? Call me 'Big Sister'! Don't call me 'sis'! Did you blow your brains out? Let me see-are you hurt anywhere?"
He couldn't breathe.
He nearly became the first person in history to be smothered to death by his own sister.
"Cough-whew. Why are you back? Weren't you busy?"
She pinched his ear.
She looked fierce, but she didn't use much strength.
"Brat, do you really not want to see your sister? My mission's over. I'm being transferred back as a patrol captain. I'll be keeping a close eye on you now. No more trouble. If something happened to you, how could I face Mom and Dad? They told me to look after you!"
Her eyes reddened as she thought of their late parents.
Her hands, rough from holding a gun, gently stroked his head.
Like she was petting a dog.
Ryden wasn't having it.
What sister?
He didn't feel anything.
He slapped her hand away and moved aside.
"Hmph. No need. I've been accepted into MIT. In two weeks, I'm heading to Massachusetts. You focus on your career. I have Aunt Sarah to look after me."
Sarah brought over two cups of tea.
She didn't interrupt.
But for some reason, she felt the newly arrived sister was hostile toward her. A woman's intuition.
"You brat, talking to your sister like that!"
Sera looked angry, fist clenched.
Even angry, she was beautiful.
The uniform gave her a heroic presence.
Her expression softened.
She sat beside him and patted his hand.
"Ryden, don't be mad. I know you're upset I wasn't around for a month. I was on a mission. Now that it's done, I'm back at the precinct. I won't be leaving again. I'll spend more time with you."
She froze.
"Wait. MIT?"
Her eyes widened.
"My God, how did you get so smart? Let me see you-are you hurt anywhere? Let me check!"
Surprise mixed with guilt.
Surprise at his achievement.
Guilt for not visiting after the explosion.
"Yeah. It's nothing," Ryden replied flatly. "I'll be reporting soon. If there's nothing else, I'm going to my room. That's Aunt Sarah, the housekeeper I hired. She's also my friend's mother."
He didn't want to keep talking.
The more they spoke, the more confused he felt.
He wasn't ready to accept this family.
Sera bit her lip.
Her happiness at seeing him dimmed.
At least he seemed fine.
She turned to look at the radiant housekeeper.
"You're Sarah?"
She straightened.
"What happened to my brother? Sit down and tell me everything. He's changed a lot."
IF YOU LIKE THE STORY PLEASE COMMENT AND RATE THE STORY AND ADD IT TO YOUR LIBRARY
YOUR SUPPORT IS VERY MUCH APPRECIATED