Locke opened his mouth to speak but watched as Gwen gave him a cute little roll of her eyes and headed inside Steve Rogers former residence. He blinked, wondering.
'Did I... say something wrong?'
He followed her in, still pondering the question. Beside him, Gwen cast another glance his way, her eyes rolling frequently.
'What kind of beautiful dream is he having? Did I agree to move in together? His brain must be fried; if I don't get him to a therapist, there's no telling what kind of nonsense he'll come up with next.'
However, after that last eye-roll, a very pretty smile tugged at the corners of her mouth as a certain thought crossed her mind.
Locke, watching her expressions, felt she was exceptionally beautiful, but only one phrase came to mind: A woman's face is like June weather.
Truly! A top-tier student is a top-tier student; even Gwen had masterfully acquired the gender-based talent of being unpredictable and ever-changing. Impressive.
In reality, there wasn't much to see inside the Rogers residence. It was just a standard home environment where you weren't allowed to touch anything. They had installed a TV playing a "Short History of Captain America" on a loop. The shaky camerawork and black-and-white footage made it hard for Locke to feel truly immersed.
The Captain America Museum, however, was quite decent. Various items once used by the Captain were on display. A large screen played interviews with soldiers who had served with him, including an interview with Peggy Carter in the prime of her life.
"Ms. Carter, do you think Captain Rogers..."
"He won't!" Peggy Carter, with her fiery red hair, stared into the distance with unwavering conviction. "He will definitely come back. I miss him; he will definitely come back."
Then the footage cycled back to the introductory narration. Over and over.
A group of elementary schoolers from Brooklyn, there on a field trip, huddled around the TV. They expressed their awe, saying, "When I grow up, I want to be Captain America too."
Locke was genuinely amused. 'You think you can just become Captain America because you want to?'
Beside him, Gwen rose and led him away from the crowd of kids. She glanced back and said, "I remember saying the same thing the first time I came here."
Locke raised an eyebrow. "You wanted to be Captain America?"
"What? No, of course not." Gwen shook her head. "I told my mom I wanted to be someone as outstanding as Peggy Carter."
'Peggy Carter, huh.' Locke's brow went up.
Gwen caught his expression. "Is something wrong? When you were little, didn't you ever think about who you wanted to be?"
'Yes. Gatanothor!' Locke thought to himself. As they walked out of the museum, he advised her, "Maybe pick a different idol."
(T/N:- for those wondering, that's a Cthulhu-inspired kaiju once destroyed ancient humans according to ultraman lore)
Peggy Carter's story was inspiring, but...
Gwen was curious. "Change? Why? Do you not like Peggy Carter?"
Locke shook his head. "No, I admire the Captain and respect Ms. Carter. It's just... Ms. Carter's personal life wasn't great. Better to pick someone else."
Gwen blinked, then realized what he meant. Peggy Carter met the Captain, and then he vanished. When she finally managed to get married, the man died of illness within a month.
"This..." Gwen couldn't help but roll her eyes at him again. "Your perspective is always so strange, Locke Broughton."
Locke tilted his head and thought seriously. "I'm just compassionate."
He had always been a sentimental person with a bit too much empathy. Otherwise, he wouldn't have felt bad seeing all those lights rushing toward Tiga while Gatanothor stood there all alone with no light at all. Out of compassion, he sided with Gatanothor.
Pity that Gatanothor lost in the end. Outnumbered.
From that, Locke learned a valuable lesson: there is strength in numbers. That was the first idiom Locke ever truly learned and understood in his life.
Gwen looked at his earnest face. She wanted to say that wasn't what she meant, but after a moment, she gave up.
...
An hour later, Locke pulled into the parking spot in front of Gwen's house and followed her inside.
"Hi, Locke!" As soon as they entered, Gwen's brother, who was in sixth grade, shouted, "Want to come play games?"
Locke greeted Helen at the kitchen door, hung his coat on the wall, and shrugged. "Sure, give me a minute."
"Great!" The sixth-grader nodded and zoomed off to his room to set up the console.
Since Locke's release from the hospital, his visits to Gwen's house had become more frequent. He had gradually bonded with her two younger brothers who could talk; the third was still a toddler and didn't count as a conversationalist yet.
"Gwen."
"Mom."
Helen stopped Gwen, glancing toward Locke as he headed up the stairs. "So, did you mention it?" She was referring to the therapist.
Gwen looked up toward the second floor, then back at Helen. "Mom, I think we might be over-worrying."
Helen corrected her daughter with a smile. "You are the one worrying; I'm just providing my opinion. If George heard that, he'd be sulking by himself for ages."
Helen continued, "If I met someone that handsome at your age, I'd be worried too."
Gwen's face flushed. "Mom!"
Helen laughed and turned back to the kitchen. "Alright, enough. You've always been independent. You handle your own affairs."
When it came to her daughter dating, Helen was like many other Americans—it wasn't a bad thing to have a romance during one's most beautiful, budding years. Usually, the first gift boys received around this age was a pack of "little umbrellas."
After Locke had spent about thirty rounds using Batman to absolutely demolish the Wonder Woman controlled by Gwen's brother, Captain George Stacy finally returned home from a long day of work.
Locke put down the controller and patted the head of the shell-shocked "Little George." "Chin up, there's always next time."
Little George looked up. "Next time, I'll definitely beat you."
"That's a daydream, and those aren't healthy to encourage."
"..."
Locke left the dazed boy and turned to see Gwen leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed, watching them with a tilted head. She looked at the smiling Locke, then at her brother sitting cross-legged on the floor in a trance, and sighed. "Couldn't you let him win just once?"
Locke shook his head. "My skill level doesn't permit me to lose."
Gwen: "..."
What's the fun in losing? He liked winning. Always winning.
Locke laughed. "Besides, going easy on him is wrong. It would make him think victory comes easily. This is the only way Little George will learn that every victory is hard-earned and worth cherishing. That's the right way to learn."
Gwen rolled her eyes. 'As if. You just didn't want to lose to a kid.'
...
Heading downstairs, Locke overheard George talking to Helen while pouring a drink.
George took a sip. "I thought we finally had a lead on that guy, but every trail is a dead end."
He was talking about the Peerless Assassin. George had hoped to track the R8 salvaged from the river, only to find it was a stolen car reported missing last month. Then he pinned his hopes on fingerprints from the interior—nothing. Not even a stray hair.
Then there was the surface-to-air missile abandoned at the private airport in New Jersey. That was a controlled item. They followed the lead and caught an insignificant, upstart arms dealer, but all they got from him was a sketch of a man in sunglasses—the same one they already had. No other useful clues.
As for the city-wide surveillance, after extensive review, they finally realized there wasn't a single lead that could help them catch the Peerless Assassin. They didn't even have new information to deepen their understanding of his identity.
Gwen walked down and smiled at her father's complaints. "Keep at it, Dad. Even though the Assassin helped Locke get revenge this time, I believe you'll catch him eventually."
Locke added a serious suggestion from the side: "I don't know why those three DHS people thought I was connected to the Assassin, but if you need me for anything—like setting a trap—I'm happy to help."
George chuckled. "Thanks, but that won't be necessary. I'll catch him."
Gwen looked earnest. "I believe in you, Dad."
Locke nodded too. "Mr. Stacy, I believe in you as well. You can do it."
'I feel like you two are just humoring me,' George thought, looking at his earnest daughter and then at Locke, who was seriously offering himself as bait. He shook his head. "Locke, did you get your locks changed?"
Locke nodded. "Yeah. Added cameras at the entrance and replaced the front door entirely. Thank you, Mr. Stacy."
This time, he had replaced the door with one of the same manufacturing grade as a bank vault. Two layers of security—key and fingerprint—both required to open it. It was an effective way to prevent anyone from visiting uninvited.
Furthermore... the security team at Star Tower had also been replaced by the homeowners' association.
***
We hit 200 stones 🎉
Here's the bonus as promised.
Next goal 300 stones for bonus.
***
Read 30 Chapters early on P-atreon.com/Redestro666