"What exactly is it that you need from me?" asked Pepper, still in her suspicious voice, taking a sip from her drink while at it.
Adam, without changing his expression, replied. "First, let's introduce ourselves. My name is Grisha Adam Sokolov, or Adam for short. Nice to meet you, miss…?"
"Virginia Potts, but you can call me Pepper," replied the skeptical woman.
"Can I sit across from you?" Adam asked, signaling to Max with his hands that he was taking a short break. He got a quick nod in return.
"Go ahead, but aren't you still working?"
"That has been taken care of. I am currently on a small break."
"Back to the topic, Miss Potts. I don't need anything right now, but Stark Industries currently has a blind spot in its analytics, and you are doing the work of three executives. I am a perfectly functioning pair of eyes. When you realize you'll need someone who can see the board clearly, you know where to find me." Adam replied with a confident and sincere smile.
"Oh, and what makes you so confident that what Stark Industries needs, you can provide it? You must be what, eighteen years old?" Pepper replied smoothly.
"I actually just turned seventeen," Adam replied, his confident smile never wavering. "I also recently dropped out of high school for personal reasons. But diploma or not, no one can deny my analytical skills."
"Oh, you're seventeen? Then what makes you think you can join Stark Industries with no diploma or degree, while underage?" she asked while narrowing her eyes.
"Well, people can still work under the age of eighteen if they are particularly smart or skilled in their field, plus you already saw a demonstration of what my mind can do. If you're still hesitating, then I can do nothing about it." He said the last part with a casual, dismissive shrug.
Pepper didn't answer immediately. She took a slow, deliberate sip of her drink, letting the silence stretch to test his nerves. "This is good coffee. Pass my compliments to the barista."
She considered his words. In some dark corner of her mind, she knew he was right. Besides, if he couldn't back up his claims, she could just fire him.
'If what he showed today is truly his demonstration in his observation and analysis, then I truly need him working under me.' She thought as the idea to hire Adam became solid in her mind, but she would not make it look easy for him.
"Good, you have convinced me for now. Come to Stark Industries tomorrow, and I will give you five minutes of my time. If you cannot pass my tests, then you can remove the idea of working at Stark Industries from your head." Saying this, Pepper stood up, took her tablet, and slid a card towards Adam, which he took and read.
"You're Tony Stark's personal assistant?" Adam asked, widening his eyes and letting a perfectly calculated look of shock wash over his face.
"Yes, and we're done here." After paying her bill, she took her leave.
Adam got up from his seat and went back to taking orders and delivering drinks, as well as continuing his observations.
As he went to the counter to place the order, Max, in a teasing voice, asked, "Hey, Adam, just saw you with that beauty. From the looks of it, you were having quite the chat. Do you like older women?" While saying this, he also wiggled his eyebrows with a grin.
Adam, caught off guard, stuttered his reply with a blush. "It's not like that! We were just having a conversation about some personal topics. It was just a chat, and I do not like older women," he replied.
"Hahaha… If you say so," Max said with a sly grin, not believing Adam one bit.
As the day passed without any more interruptions, it came time to end his shift and head home.
"Hey, Max, need any more help around here?" Adam asked as he took the apron tied around his waist off and got ready to go home.
"No, I am just about to close for the night as well. It's late already, you can go ahead," Max replied while cleaning the counter.
"Sure, see you tomorrow." With that, Adam left the cafe and headed in the direction of his home.
'Well, no time like the present, let's go see Hell's Kitchen, but first I need to change my clothes.' With that, after around twenty minutes, Adam found himself in his apartment, already heading for a quick shower.
After getting refreshed, Adam put on a heavy black hoodie, black jeans, and white sneakers. Looking at himself in the mirror, he thought, 'Looks like the previous Adam really liked black clothing and hoodies. I look good in this.'
After that, Adam got the keys, locked his apartment, and went out, taking a deep breath while walking towards Hell's Kitchen. It was not far from his neighborhood. He arrived in about half an hour and already felt the difference between his neighborhood and Hell's Kitchen; here, the atmosphere was depressing at night, and the streets were empty except for some people who looked like they were gang members.
Just as Adam was wandering in Hell's Kitchen, he spotted a bar, and he thought how this was a perfect place for spectating a conflict, as bars in these areas are famous not only for their liquor but also for the bar fights.
Adam walked toward the bar and pushed the door open. Just as he stepped inside, the first thing to hit him was the mixed smell of booze and sweat. Adam wrinkled his nose in slight disgust but pushed it down.
People sitting around all turned toward the door. After spotting Adam, they went back to what they were doing.
Adam got in front of the counter and ordered a beer for himself, and went to a corner to sit with his back to the wall, his gaze covering all of the bar.
Adam relaxed and blended in with the surroundings, taking a sip of his beer. In these types of bars, no matter if you're a teenager or an adult, if you have money, you can drink any booze here.
***
MASSIVE SPOILER ALERT. Do not read if you don't want to be spoiled. Read at your own risk. Otherwise, skip it. It is a draft of a scene from far in the future that will happen, which has been coming to my mind way too often, and I had to share it with you guys. It can and will be changed in the future.
*Spoiler*
In a luxurious, hidden mansion somewhere unknown, several people were mingling with one another, all dressed impeccably, all rich elites of the society. Among them, three people stood out almost entirely with their demeanor alone.
Two women and one man stood with their backs straight, waiting.
One commanded the room before she even spoke. Tall and impeccably dressed in a tailored, snow-white trench coat that fell just shy of her thigh-high boots, she moved with the grace of imperious elegance. Her platinum blonde hair was styled flawlessly, framing a pale, porcelain face. But it was her eyes—a striking, glacial blue—that stopped people in their tracks.
She was Emma Frost, the White Queen of Hellfire Club.
As for the other woman, to a normal observer, she was merely a stunning, impossibly tall woman in a midnight-black gown. But to anyone who knew how to truly look, her presence was suffocating. She didn't just occupy space; she devoured it. Standing near her felt like standing at the edge of a cliff in the pitch dark.
She was Selene Gallio, the Black Queen of Hellfire Club.
The only man, standing at a broad-shouldered six-foot-two, moved with the heavy, unbothered momentum of a juggernaut. His attire was a seamless, arrogant blend of eras—a bespoke, modern black suit jacket worn over a crimson, 18th-century brocade vest and a pristine ascot. His dark hair, swept back and streaked with distinguished iron-gray, framed a stern face dominated by dark, calculating eyes. As he surveyed the table, a slow, predatory smirk curled his lips, as if he were already calculating exactly how much everyone in the room was worth.
He was Sebastian Shaw, the Black King of Hellfire Club.
And all these important people were waiting for someone who was above them, both in power and presence.
Just then, a commotion from the front caught their attention, and at the same time, the announcement was made, "The White King of Hellfire Club has arrived."
At this announcement, a man who can only be described as someone who stood at the apex of the world made his entrance.
He was in all-white clothing, the only other color being black, and that came from a matte black ring on his left hand's middle finger. The main attraction was his three-piece suit. He walked with the grace of someone who not only owned the room but everyone in it as well. He gave a small smile that, combined with his blonde hair and blue eyes, was filled with a childlike innocence, which made everyone let down their guard, but this was not for everyone. Those who stood beside him saw the bright and innocent smile, and those who stood opposite him saw divine detachment and indifference from him.
"He" was Adam.
As he neared, Adam gave them a nod in greeting, the other three instinctively stood up straighter, and after getting hold of themselves with some embarrassment, they took their seats on their thrones.
"So, as usual, you came late, Adam," Selene spoke with some amusement in her voice.
"What can I say, Selene? I like my dramatic entrances," Adam replied in a jovial voice.
"Why have you called this meeting?" asked Adam while getting a glass of wine from a waiter.
"Yes, I have some announcement to make," Shaw spoke for the first time in a crisp tone of someone who was used to Adam's behaviour.
"Oh? Go ahead, I am waiting," Adam replied with a small smile.
At the confirmation, Shaw stood up and stepped down from the dais, and everyone's eyes were on him instantly. While Shaw got the attention of everyone, Adam still sat relaxed in his throne, with Emma and Selena watching Shaw as if a monkey was about to perform.
'Oh, you poor bastard,' Adam thought, a warm smile lingering on his lips. 'You really thought you could go behind my back?'
But the next second, the air around the dais changed, as if something special was about to happen, and no one could stop it.
Adam spoke in a soft voice. "Sebastian Shaw saw himself as invincible due to his mutation, not taking seriously the fact that he had made quite a few enemies who would like him to be gone. And with this meeting as an opportunity, someone mixed a poison that would deprive the human body of its water and would kill it with dehydration. With no one the wiser, no one could help him; all they could do was watch as the man who thought himself invincible died an ignoble death. This, indeed, is a reasonable development."
Selene and Emma listened quietly as Adam spoke these words. And just as he said, Shaw took a sip from his wine glass, and the poison took effect.
***
(Sebastian Shaw POV)
As Shaw took the first sip of his wine, he coughed a bit, thinking that the wine had just slipped and gone down the wrong pipe. He was proven wrong when the coughing reached a crescendo, and he found himself incredibly thirsty.
However much he drank, be it water or wine, the feeling of thirst never left, and soon he was on his knees, gasping for air. He reached out for someone to help him, but all around him, people were looking at him with shock; those whom he had wronged looked at him with glee and satisfaction.
And as realization dawned on him, he looked toward the dais, only to see Adam sitting in his throne, one leg over the other with his left hand on the armrest of the throne, supporting his tilted head. He had a warm, small smile on his face with a childlike innocence in his eyes, with no malice hidden in them. His right hand was gripping the wine glass from the top and swirling it around. After some time, he took a sip from the glass, but the smile on his face remained.
'You thought you could get away after planning my assassination? You poor naive bastard, perhaps in your next life, be aware of the Spectator.'
That was the last thing Sebastian Shaw heard in his mind before he was consumed by darkness.
***
Author's Note: I could not help myself from sharing this scene from a possible future; as stated above, it will be edited and refined in the future. I was listening to Montagem Pedagora while writing this future scene. If you didn't mind the spoilers, I hope you liked it.