After the pool was cleaned, all the children jumped in. It didn't matter if they couldn't swim; they could fly, so they weren't much affected by Earth's gravity. To them, the pool was just a big hot spring, and merely soaking in it and playing with the water was quite fun.
And since their homework was finished, the parents couldn't stop them from playing, so they simply left two people by the pool to watch them and let them play to their heart's content. The others returned to the estate to help Greed arrange furniture.
The furniture Greed selected was all in a medieval style, blending well with the house. Adding his decorations gave the place an elegant yet quirky charm, a bit like the castles you might see in an MGM-style cartoon.
The children could play by themselves, and the work was done as well. Everyone gathered in the living room to watch the excitement. Frontline reporter Stark had already arrived at the scene of the fight between the Witches and the Shi'ar Empire nobles. The fight had ended, but the surroundings were still a mess.
The witches didn't understand environmental protection; they went all out with their moves. The pavement within dozens of meters was lifted up, and much of the surrounding lawns and trees were destroyed. There were many bloodstains on the ground, but they seemed to belong to aliens. It was clear that the Shi'ar Empire suffered a major loss here.
Stark put away his mecha suit and walked over to investigate, but didn't expect to see a bunch of people sneaking around by the roadside, including the Avers couple. Perhaps because the Avers were outsiders and hadn't been here long, they somehow managed to avoid the earlier paranormal outbreak without dying.
"Hey, Tony," Alfred called out, "what's going on here? Is your Avengers Alliance fighting someone again?"
"Which eye of yours saw us fighting?" Stark didn't give him any face, "I only came to investigate after hearing the commotion. I'd like to ask you, did you see who was fighting here?"
"We just heard some noises," Mrs. Avers said, "it sounded like someone fired a gun, one of those flashing laser guns, and some sort of bird screaming."
"You have a pretty sharp ear." Stark looked again at the crime scene, "It seems like someone from the Shi'ar Empire died. But that's not surprising; these nobles may be able to use Divine Power, but their physical strength is nothing compared to the Aesir. Previously, a mutant power explosion killed many people, so a surprise attack from these superpowered witches causing casualties is normal."
Stark thought for a moment, deciding that these nobles likely wouldn't shout about it publicly but would seek revenge in private, so he told the Avers couple: "Someone has occupied Augustus's house."
"What?!" Mrs. Avers's eyebrows shot up, "Could there be a homeless person who's gotten in?! What are the police doing?!"
The two hurriedly left, clearly to confirm the situation and find the police. In a community like theirs, having a homeless person sneak in would be very frightening. On one hand, if the homeless person is on drugs, they might start shooting people, threatening their safety; on the other hand, if anyone finds out, the community's property values will certainly drop.
So many people had died before, already affecting the community's value greatly. They might not be able to handle ghosts, but they sure can handle a homeless person, right?
Unfortunately, the occupier this time wasn't a regular person. Stark, flying in the sky, saw the police Avers called quickly surround Augustus's estate, rush in angrily, then scramble out in a panic.
The Shi'ar Empire evidently didn't intend to let it slide. Just after the police left, Stark saw a small mechanical bird from the Shi'ar Empire hovering over the estate. The alien nobles had already found the witches' home base; a surprise retaliatory attack was inevitable.
The locals weren't easy to bully either. Stark saw that the Avers couple had gathered many people, primarily because the consecutive paranormal and violent events had a significant impact, causing many ancient estate owners hidden within Hampton to become alarmed. They might not care about property values, but they certainly cared about the safety of their family members.
As the saying goes, money can make the devil turn millstones. Although when dealing with paranormal phenomena, the summoned ghosts might not turn millstones, some might even turn them backward. However, the struggle against the witches wasn't much about good or evil, or rather, in the eyes of many superpower users, these witches who emerged from nowhere and occupied someone's house were the evil ones. The wealthy spent a lot of money to hire a number of superpower users.
Among them were the famous New Warriors Team, Blade Warrior, and even Mutants. The entire situation in Hampton became even more chaotic; one could say there was a high-intensity superpower skirmish going on around Augustus's estate. Stark didn't even need to fly to the front line—he could see it standing at the entrance to Rodrix Manor.
Steve stood at the door, sighing, wanting to go help but unsure which side to assist. Seeing them destroy public facilities left him feeling uneasy; eventually, he could only make a video call to Carter.
As for Bucky, he had plenty to entertain himself with. Clearly, he hadn't given up on Natasha and kept gravitating towards her. Meanwhile, Natasha, under the influence of alcohol, began to show interest in Punisher Frank. Or maybe she just liked that kind of cold badass in the first place, but unfortunately, Frank was impervious to her charms, and Black Widow's allure didn't sway him.
Not to mention the biggest problem—Steve and Frank didn't get along at all; they were practically like oil and water, resulting in a showdown where one raised a shield and the other fired guns.
In theory, both of them were old soldiers, and even if they didn't get along, it shouldn't come to this. Yet there are people in the world whose vibes simply clash, and their mutual dislike was reaching the level of Stark and Strange.
Stark and Strange only liked to verbally spar, but these two old soldiers were different—one wanted to fight at the drop of a hat. The vast backyard became their arena, with Bucky cheering and Natasha placing bets, making it incredibly lively.
What delighted Greed the most was that Peter finally made it over. He also brought along a batch of equipment for setting up a Flying Shuttle station on the mountainside, which was very important. The nearest Flying Shuttle station to Hampton was quite a distance away; private shuttles could land, but lacked the facilities for maintenance and repair, so a simple station was a huge help.
However, Peter was a bit puzzled, and he asked, "What happened here? Why is there a fight going on downstairs?"
"Oh, you didn't get involved, did you?" Greed asked while setting up the equipment for him.
"No, because if it was bullying, the Captain would have stepped in a long time ago. Since he's not down there breaking it up, it means the ones fighting aren't good people."
Greed gave him a thumbs-up. A shield whooshed over his head, and Peter turned to see Steve and Frank fighting again.
"Hey! Hey!" Peter shouted, "Frank, what are you doing here? What are you two doing?"
Peter obviously knew the Punisher because he had a good relationship with Matt. Peter was also Little Jack's godfather. Overall, Peter had been providing technical assistance to the Punisher and Night Devil, and many of the high-tech devices they used were made by Peter Parker.
Seeing Peter, Frank quickly put away his gun. He greeted Peter, "Peter, what brings you here?"
The superheroes of New York were in the same circle, so it wasn't surprising for them to gather together. Peter said, "Did you finish your plan in Hampton? How are your enemies doing?"
"They've all been called to the Lord." Frank glanced at Steve, then walked over to Peter and said, "The portable tracking device you gave me last time has a problem. Can you come over and take a look at what's wrong..."
Steve stared at their retreating backs with a deep frown. He was indeed a bit displeased with Peter hanging out with Frank, but Peter was an adult, after all, and no one could interfere with his friendships.
Steve grabbed a can of beer and sat down on the threshold. Greed came over and sat down beside him, then said, "Are you okay, Captain?"
Steve took a swig of beer and shook his head. Greed didn't offer any advice or guidance; he just said, "The situation in Hampton is too chaotic. I think we can intervene a little."
"The wealthy will eventually come after Frank because although he has killed quite a few people, he stood out during the supernatural incidents, and his strength is indisputable. The rich will pay him to deal with the Witch."
"And you, Captain America, leader of The Avengers, and an outstanding navigator. Your name of justice echoes between the stars, and the Shi'ar Empire nobles have heard of it. They'll also eventually seek you out to help them uphold justice."
"Both sides want to target the Witch, but if they do, S.H.I.E.L.D. will probably be under a lot of pressure. But if some internal conflicts arise between them, the waters will be muddied even further. You can also outperform Frank in strategic vision and tactical deployment, proving that you are right, can't you?"
Steve crushed the beer can and looked at Greed, saying, "I'm truly sorry, but I oppose war, so I'm afraid I can't help."
"It's okay," Greed smiled and said, "there's another matter you can help with. Let's go into the sea together and fish out that sea monster. Recently, there've been too many superpower users wandering around here, and I'm afraid it'll be discovered."
Steve's hand froze. He looked back down toward Hampton and then up at Frank. Could he really go fish out a sea monster?
"You two either go down the mountain together or into the sea together."
"I have no choice."
"Yes."
The two soon left. Although they didn't get along, engaging in proxy wars was better than going into the sea to fish out a sea monster. Eventually, Arrogance and Greed went down to fish that thing up.
Greed used an ice gun to freeze the thing and kept it in the basement, as it would surely come in handy later. But because the thing was actually quite large, laying it flat on the ground took up too much space, and many other things had no place to go. Greed, with his large collection, had seven or eight freezers filled with densely frozen fresh ingredients.
Greed thought for a moment and then stood it up, placing it at an angle in the corner. But because the sea monster was circular in shape, placing it that way looked like a wreath, which was very inauspicious. Finally, with no other option, Greed hung the thing on the ceiling, so it wouldn't take up floor space.