Marvel : Endless Power

A woman with brown hair and heavy makeup strutted over, flashing a practiced smile. "Hi! Claire, who's this handsome guy? I was just about to introduce you to some high-flying Wall Street elites."

Rody glanced at her, immediately sensing the artificial charm. Her designer dress and jewelry screamed wealth, but the way she carried herself felt cheap like someone trying too hard to fit in. Still, since she was Claire's friend, he decided to stay polite.

"Lydia, this is Rody. Rody, this is my classmate, Lydia," Claire introduced them, looking slightly uncomfortable.

"Hello," Rody extended his hand in greeting.

"Hello, handsome," Lydia purred, shaking his hand a little too long, her fingers grazing his palm suggestively.

For someone like Tony Stark, this kind of flirtation would be an invitation, but Rody barely reacted, simply offering a neutral smile. He was about to pull his hand away when he suddenly heard Lydia's inner thoughts:

"Claire, that little nobody, actually managed to find such a good-looking guy? And rich too! Damn, I should've told her to wear something even worse now she looks like a diamond in the rough. This could've been my chance to bag a real golden ticket!"

Rody frowned slightly but masked it well. Lydia's outward demeanor remained sugary sweet as she turned back to Claire, pretending to be a supportive friend.

"Claire, let me introduce you to some friends." Lydia gestured toward a group of sharply dressed men, their watches worth more than most people's annual salary. Rody barely registered their names as she rattled them off.

As someone who had spent time in Stark Tower, surrounded by cutting-edge technology and some of the greatest minds in the world, these men didn't impress him. It reminded him of a quote from Bruce Wayne: "It's not who I am underneath, but what I do that defines me." And from what he could tell, these guys did nothing meaningful except count money.

His lack of enthusiasm didn't go unnoticed.

"What's with this Rody guy?" one of the Wall Street men muttered. "He acts like he's above us."

"Yeah," another sneered. "Looks like one of those spoiled rich kids who think they're better than the real power players."

Rody wasn't paying attention until he caught another thought aimed at him:

"Tch, probably another idiot whose daddy handed him everything. Doubt he even knows how the stock market works."

He exhaled slowly, keeping his composure. He had no interest in arguing with people who measured success in stock portfolios and sports cars. Instead, he continued his conversation with Claire, making her laugh at a joke about SHIELD agents having the worst dress code.

The casual way Rody ignored them only made the others more irritated.

"Lydia, Claire's your friend, right? Then why is she dressed so… basic?" a man named Bled asked with a smirk.

Lydia feigned concern. "Oh, well, Claire and I haven't seen each other in years! She didn't have anything suitable for tonight, so I was nice enough to lend her a dress."

Her words were carefully chosen pretending to be generous while making Claire look like she didn't belong.

"You should cherish this opportunity, Claire," Bled continued smugly. "It's not every day you get to attend high-society events. Surrounding yourself with people who have no future won't do you any favors."

Claire flinched slightly, clearly unprepared for such blatant condescension. Rody, on the other hand, remained perfectly calm though in his mind, he was already debating whether to mess with them a little.

But when another man scoffed, "People like him probably don't even have the intelligence to understand how real business works. Maybe his parents just failed at raising him properly," that was the last straw.

Rody's eyes snapped toward the speaker, and for a split second, something shifted in the air. A cold, oppressive force pressed against the man's mind. Unintentional, yet powerful.

The man paled instantly, staggering back as if an invisible hand had just grabbed his throat. His champagne glass slipped from his fingers, shattering against the floor.

Everyone fell silent.

Bled looked from his trembling friend to Rody, suddenly uneasy. He was just about to call security when Rody turned his gaze on him. That same invisible weight hit him like a crashing wave.

A deep, primal fear gripped him irrational but overwhelming. It felt like he was standing in front of something… inhuman.

Just as the tension reached its peak, a familiar voice cut through the air.

"Hey, what's up, beautiful people? What's everyone talking about?"

Tony Stark had arrived.

Unlike the others, he wasn't the least bit fazed by the atmosphere. Instead, he shot Rody a knowing look as if trying to assess whether his cousin had just traumatized some poor fools.

"Oh, Mr. Stark! I'm Bled. I saw you at a financial summit last month!" Bled instantly switched gears, trying to salvage his reputation.

The rest of the group followed suit, flocking to Tony like moths to a flame. Lydia, in particular, was practically glowing. If she could get even one minute of Tony's time, it could change her entire social standing.

Rody sighed, rubbing his temples. "Claire, this whole scene is getting exhausting. Wanna go somewhere quieter?"

Claire smiled in relief. "Yes, please."

The two had barely taken a step when Tony suddenly called out, "Whoa, hold on a second! You're just gonna ditch me like that, Rody? That's cold, man."

Lydia's attention snapped back to Rody at Tony's words. Wait… Tony Stark knows him?

The realization hit like a freight train. If Rody had a connection to Stark, then he wasn't just some random rich kid he was someone with real power.

Bled, who had been smug just moments ago, now looked like he was going to be sick.

"Tony," Rody called back with an amused smirk. "Shouldn't you be worrying about Pepper instead of me? I heard some guy in the finance world has been trying to impress her."

Tony's eyes narrowed. "The hell he is." Without another word, he turned on his heel and disappeared into the crowd, already looking for his fiancée.

Rody chuckled. Classic Stark.

Claire giggled beside him. "That was kind of mean."

"He'll survive," Rody said, leading her away from the vultures still lingering in shock.

Meanwhile, Bled wiped sweat from his forehead, silently cursing himself. What the hell did I just get myself into?

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