"I suppose this counts as a perfect curtain call."
The crisis was averted, and a recovered Namor was dragged by Tony to attend his wedding. The wedding, which was supposed to be held on an island, was moved to the ice by Tony's whim. He even deployed dozens of Iron Man Suits to polish the glaciers. The banquet began, and Artoria watched as Tony paraded a Wedding Dress-clad Pepper around to show her off. Artoria didn't want to watch them flaunt their affection, but with Turkish Kebabs, Chinese stir-fry, French Foie Gras, and Italian desserts at the banquet, she found it hard to leave. As she ate the snacks, Artoria wondered where Tony had found these chefs; the food was delicious. She thought about poaching a few of them later.
"You're the one who sneak attacked me."
Just as Artoria was immersed in the food, a voice suddenly came from behind her. The voice sounded very familiar—wasn't this the guy she just defeated? Swallowing the last piece of roasted meat, Artoria turned around to look at him. It was that punchable face, but he was no longer in that green jumpsuit. Tony had found a suit for Namor to wear, though he seemed a bit uncomfortable with the tightness of formal wear, twisting his neck awkwardly. However, when he truly laid eyes on Artoria's face, he froze. He hadn't expected the 'despicable person' who sneak attacked him to be so beautiful. In an instant, his mood for confrontation vanished.
"Is there something you need?"
Artoria looked at the defeated man before her and spoke with a hint of boredom. The look in his eyes annoyed her, but since he was now technically one of their own, Artoria didn't summon Rhongomyniad to finish him off. This was already quite merciful. Was he looking for trouble by coming to her now?
"That..."
This guy really couldn't read the room. Didn't he understand why Artoria was standing there enjoying her food in peace, with no one daring to disturb her? At this moment, Namor had words stuck in his throat that he couldn't get out. Seeing Artoria's face, he didn't even know what to say. Yet, he completely failed to notice the women hiding in the crowd, preventing people from entering Artoria's vicinity.
"Who was responsible for that area? How did this bug get in?"
Susan glared at several women with a murderous gaze, her eyes conveying that message. Gwen looked innocent; although she was responsible for that area, she hadn't noticed how the man had gotten in. She felt very wronged. The man's speed was simply too fast; she hadn't reacted before he was already behind Artoria, calling out to her. Only then did they notice that someone had broken through the protective barrier formed by these beauties. Most people present were of high standing and understood the intent when a beauty blocked their path, so they would just smile and leave. But Namor was no high-society elite; he lived in the Underwater City of Atlantis.
The etiquette here was quite different from that of the land. He had simply woven through the crowd without hesitation or any sense of refinement regarding the others' status. He had gone there to interrogate, not to flirt. By the time Namor made contact with Artoria, their best chance to stop him was gone.
"Excuse me, sir, Artoria has other matters to attend to."
Just as Namor was stammering, Hope quickly arrived at Artoria's side and spoke to Namor politely before pulling Artoria away by the hand. Namor was left standing there, his words cut short, staring in the direction where Artoria and Hope had gone. He stood still, reminiscing about the beauty's departing figure, falling into his own world and unable to pull himself out. But he was soon snapped out of it by someone else.
"What's wrong? Did your brain get damaged in the fight?"
Tony walked over to Namor with a glass of champagne. He was keeping a constant eye on the guy's state, terrified that he might suddenly grab his 'big fork' and shout, 'Damn humans!' Tony didn't even want to think about what would happen next. But in a moment of heat, he had invited the guy to his wedding, thinking he would coldly refuse. He hadn't expected the guy to actually agree. Well, what's done is done. Tony could only bite the bullet and continue the wedding; after all, if this wedding was ruined, Pepper would likely kill him.
Tony, who had been drinking happily, had momentarily forgotten about the matter. When he found Namor, he didn't expect him to be dazing in front of a table. While breathing a sigh of relief, Tony joked. It was already good enough that this guy could stay here quietly. Tony didn't dare joke too much; he was serious about wanting this guy as a partner to form the Illuminati, an organization to maintain world security.
"Tony Stark, who was that girl fighting alongside you?"
Having come to his senses, Namor curiously asked Tony, eager to know who that girl was. He wanted to meet her and get to know her. Hearing Namor's question, Tony gave him a surprised look. Why was he still bringing this up? Was being defeated by a girl really that embarrassing?
"That is my dearest sister, Artoria Stark. Her beauty and strength are number one in the world, our family's most beautiful little princess..."
At the mention of Artoria, Tony began to talk incessantly about his sister's virtues. In his eyes, his sister was the most beautiful goddess in the world, and no man was worthy of her. If any bugs wanted to get close to his sister, they had to be prepared to face him. Even Thor had been hammered by him, let alone anyone else. Once he discovered any lowlifes lusting after his sister within fifty meters of her, he would enter elimination mode.
"She's your sister? She's truly beautiful. Could you tell me what kind of men she likes?"
Just as Tony was going on about his sister's good points, Namor suddenly interrupted him. This should have been a small matter, but what the guy said was a major issue. Tony froze. What was this guy saying? Asking what kind of men his sister likes? In other words, this guy wanted to get close to his sister, meaning he had fallen for her. He wanted to marry his sister and have children, making Tony his brother-in-law... brother-in-law... brother-in-law... Tony's eyes went blank from overthinking. He stared fixedly at Namor, making Namor's skin crawl.
"I didn't hear you wrong, did I, Mr. (Bug)?"
Coming back to his senses, Tony narrowed his eyes expressionlessly. His words seemed to have an echo. 'Mr.' seemed like a polite title, but Namor somehow heard the word 'Bug' in it, which left him quite surprised. Was there something wrong with his ears, or was Tony actually insulting him?
"Mr. (Bug), we need to find a quiet place to have a good talk."
Tony, hiding his murderous intent behind narrowed eyes, put his arm around Namor's shoulder as if they were old friends. With his other hand, he was secretly typing code on his phone, seemingly sending something to Jarvis. The two left the bustling crowd arm-in-arm. No one knew where they went; they only knew that an hour later, when Tony reappeared with a beaming smile, Namor was nowhere to be seen. No one knew where he was, except for the smiling Tony.
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