Chapter 366: Tony Stank
"Oh goodness, General Ross, that's not Destiny. Destiny wears a red mask," Tony chuckled into the phone.
"Don't play dumb with me, I'm telling you—" Ross began to roar.
Tony immediately cut him off. "Wait! The signal is getting choppy here. Gotta go!"
With that, Tony hung up. As long as he didn't admit to it, Ross could have all the evidence in the world and it wouldn't matter.
Tony propped his head on his hand. He tilted the package Steve had sent, and another object tumbled out: the emergency burner phone. If Tony ever truly needed Steve, he could use this specific line to contact him, and Steve would come.
Fiddling with the phone, Tony tapped his desk with his right hand. "Jarvis, send a message to the Masked Boy."
Queens
"Hey Silas, where have you been? Why did it take you so long to get back?" Peter greeted Silas with a massive grin.
Silas instinctively took a step back. "What's gotten into you?"
"Mr. Stark gave me a bonus!" Peter pulled a bag from behind his back, containing twenty thousand dollars in cash.
"This is amazing! How much did Mr. Stark give you?" Peter assumed Silas's situation was the same as his—being hired by Stark with money.
Peter would have helped regardless of the pay, but Tony had mentioned a "scholarship" at the time. So, Peter had thickened his skin and asked Mr. Stark if that scholarship could be processed after the battle. To the billionaire Tony, twenty thousand dollars was pocket change; he simply pulled two stacks from his bag and handed them to Peter.
Unlike Silas, who usually had to hide the source of his money, Peter now had a legitimate "scholarship" from Tony Stark to show off.
"Silas, whatever game console you want, I'll buy it for you," Peter said, waving a hand like a high roller.
"Keep it. Buy something for Aunt May and Uncle Ben instead," Silas replied, unimpressed. Every game he played was produced by Parker Industries—which he owned—so he didn't exactly need money for consoles.
"Alright then." Seeing Silas wasn't interested, Peter happily ran downstairs to tell Aunt May the news.
"It's just twenty thousand dollars, why is he so excited..." Silas muttered, though he understood. Peter's life before had been incredibly modest. Their house was so poor that Peter's computer was a custom build made from literal scrap. Most of their appliances were outdated relics from when Uncle Ben and Aunt May first got married.
Since Uncle Ben's job situation had improved thanks to Silas, they had bought many new appliances, but Ben kept the old ones in the basement as mementos. Silas was just waiting for Peter to graduate so he could get him into Parker Industries with full benefits.
Silas stretched in front of his computer, but before he could start a game, he heard Aunt May's shocked scream from downstairs. Yep, they're definitely related, Silas thought.
Evening
Uncle Ben was so thrilled about Peter's "scholarship" that he went out and bought a massive seafood platter to celebrate. After dinner, Ben and May went out to run some errands. Peter, feeling protective, suited up as Spider-Man and followed them secretly.
Finally, Silas was alone in the house.
Ding!
A notification popped up in his secure inbox. "From Tony?" Silas hadn't expected an email so soon.
It was about the Raft prison break. In the email, Tony complained about how Silas hadn't even bothered to hide his identity when he broke in. Now, a "cranky old man" (Ross) wouldn't stop harassing him.
At the end of the email, Tony asked Silas to look after Wanda. He had used his influence to create a fake identity for her, but he needed Silas's help to change her face so she could re-enter society without being caught by the government.
Tony had initially wanted Wanda to stay in the villa, but Wanda had flatly refused to stay in another "prison." Left with no choice, Tony provided the social security data, but the physical disguise was up to Silas.
"Sigh~" Silas shook his head. He hadn't expected to be doing makeup duty. But then again, no one wants to live as a shut-in fugitive forever. In the original timeline, Vision was there to help her endure the isolation. Now that Vision was gone, Silas had naturally filled that role.
"Transformation Scroll." Silas pulled a glowing green scroll from the Shadow Kingdom. This scroll could change a person's appearance, but it had to be physically attached to the person. It was a one-time use; if removed, the effect ended.
The Monkey Talisman's current level only allowed for animal transformations, not human-to-human mimicry. He'd need an upgrade for "Great Sage" level shapeshifting.
"I thought I could finally play some ranked matches, but there's always something," Silas grumbled. He cancelled his queue and headed to the villa.
The Villa
"Why are you back again?" Pietro asked in surprise.
Silas sat down. "Why don't you ask your sister?"
"Oho?" Pietro leaned in with a sly grin. "Silas, it seems like Wanda has a thing for you~"
By now, Silas had revealed his true identity to the twins. Silas gave Pietro a look that said, 'No kidding, we've already kissed.'
"Hey! Silas!" Wanda had just finished her shower. Wrapped in a bathrobe, she was heading to her room when she saw him. She excitedly threw herself into his arms, her soft body pressing against him.
Silas suppressed a gulp. He could definitely feel her curves. "What brings you here?" she asked happily.
Feeling the warmth of her hug, Silas pulled out the Transformation Scroll. "Someone wants to go out but needs a new face, otherwise I'd be climbing the gaming ranks right now."
"Sorry, sorry~" Wanda said sheepishly, hiding her hands behind her back.
Pietro looked on suspiciously. "What are you two talking about?"
"Nothing!" Wanda snapped at her brother, before grabbing Silas's arm and dragging him toward her bedroom. Pietro was stunned. Sister! As a woman, you need to be more reserved!
Click!
Wanda closed the door and looked at Silas expectantly. "Is this magic that changes faces?"
"Yes," Silas nodded. "You just stick it on yourself and think of the face you want to become."
"That sounds so cool~" Wanda was eager to learn. With this, she could go anywhere without fear.
"One catch—it's one-time use," Silas warned, explaining the rules of the scroll.
"Let's start!" Wanda was impatient. Since she had just showered and was only wearing undergarments beneath her robe, she easily stuck the scroll to her back.
She closed her eyes and focused on the face she wanted. Silas watched as Wanda's body began to shift...
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