Chapter 3073

California did not have any obvious seasonal changes; all four seasons were like the most beautiful summer in people's memories, with intense sunlight and cool evening breezes.

The helicopter's rotors pushed aside the heat waves, blowing the nearby palm trees until they swayed left and right. Before the helicopter had even landed, a shiny, gold-and-red figure darted out with a 'whoosh', traced a graceful arc in the air, and landed with a boom.

With a 'click', the faceplate opened. Stark scooped up Helen, who had rushed over, and rubbed his rough, bearded chin hard against her little face, making Helen shriek.

Pepper, who had stepped down from the helicopter, pushed Stark with some dissatisfaction and jerked her head backward, telling him to go push the stroller while she reached out to hold Helen, but Helen had grown quite a bit, and she could no longer carry her.

Helen leaned into the stroller to look at little Morgan, who had grown quite a bit, and Shiler and Eddie also leaned over.

"Little babies really change every day," Shiler remarked. He remembered that when little Morgan was just born, she was all wrinkled and looked like a red mouse; not much time had passed, and she had already grown white and chubby.

Stark retracted his armor. He was wearing a floral shirt with shorts, sandals on his feet, and his beloved sunglasses. He shooed everyone away, pushed the stroller forward, and said, "A baby's skin is very fragile and cannot be exposed to such strong ultraviolet rays for a long time. Why haven't Ma Te and the others come down yet?"

"He really has the look of a father now," Eddie teased.

At this moment, Ma Te and his wife finally got off the helicopter. The little tot Elektra was holding walked unsteadily, but everyone was pleasantly surprised. Helen ran past Pepper, looked at the child in amazement, and said, "He can actually walk!"

Elektra smiled and said, "Yes, little Jack is almost a year old, but he is indeed a bit earlier than other children. The doctor said his cervical spine development is better than his peers, so there's no problem with him learning to walk now."

Elektra led him over. Shiler picked up little Jack, looked at his kicking legs, and said, "He's developed so well; his legs are too powerful."

"Actually, a bit too powerful," Ma Te sighed, reaching out to rub his waist before saying, "When I was changing his diaper, he kicked me once, and it hurt for a week."

Everyone laughed. Eddie asked curiously, "Is 'Little Jack' his full name?"

"Oh, no, his full name is Thomas," Ma Te said. "His nickname is Jack because his grandfather is named Jack."

The group chatted as they walked toward the house, but since they weren't far from the Stone House, they arrived quickly.

Stark and Ma Te were both here for the first time, so they kept looking up and around. Stark spread his arms, sat hard on the sofa, crossed his legs, and said, "The decoration is not bad, it's just a bit small."

The area he was in was the right side of the main hall, which was a sunken living room. On the far right was a huge floor-to-ceiling window where one could see the scenery of the cliff and the beach. To the left of the window was a bar counter, where one could sit and watch the beach sunset.

"This window was opened especially for you all," Shiler said, taking drinks from the refrigerator to mix them. "When the children are a little older, they will play on the beach or in the cliffside swimming pool, and we can sit here and watch them to prevent them from doing anything dangerous."

"What could be more dangerous than that slide you built?!" Eddie said loudly, but he still walked behind the bar and started producing ice cubes from the ice maker.

It was still early, and they didn't plan on drinking alcohol. Shiler opened several fresh coconuts, had the Gray Mist mix the coconut water and coconut oil into a milky white drink—it was fragrant enough as it was—and Shiler squeezed in two drops of perfume lemon juice to cut the richness. He poured the juice back into the coconut shells, inserted straws, and added two flowers. Helen handed a coconut to each of the ladies.

Stark sat on the sofa, watching longingly as Helen made several trips without giving him one; even the two mice had gotten a coconut. So, he began to cast murderous glares at Shiler.

It wasn't until Shiler finished the last coconut and served it to him personally that he huffed, picked up the coconut, bit the straw, and then, as if remembering something, said, "Eddie, isn't that batch of photography equipment you just ordered still on the East Coast?"

Eddie was also stunned. He said, "Oh no, I forgot. That equipment is still in the warehouse. Are you starting the shoot today?"

"Not exactly. This time we aren't filming a full documentary, just the night before the wedding and the wedding itself," Stark said, scratching his hair. "I want to take some videos and photos of Helen; maybe we can play them at her wedding in the future."

Shiler knew that Stark probably felt he had been neglecting Helen lately and had deliberately found this excuse, but Helen wasn't really a little girl of a few years old and wasn't that clingy; she was having a great time playing in the Fighting Realm on her own.

However, Shiler didn't intend to expose Stark. His heart, so full of emotion and sensitivity, was a treasure of the world and his own antidote. Besides, giving him something to do would keep him from standing there every day giving speeches about every detail of his house's interior decoration.

Eddie thought for a moment and said, "I intended to bring it along before I came, but I forgot when I was packing. Should I take the next flight back to get it?"

"Better not," Stark shook his head and said, "You brought a regular camera, right? You shouldn't need such professional equipment just to take some daily life photos."

"Of course I did." Eddie went back to his room and brought out his equipment bag, taking out a camcorder, a regular camera, and even a digital camera. Stark tried operating the camcorder, and then, like a curious baby, he started filming everywhere.

"Why don't you use your phone?" Shiler asked.

"Phone cameras are simply blaspheming the art of photography," Stark said. "Even the Apple phone, which claims to take good photos, looks like a pile of dog shit compared to real professional equipment."

Pepper, who was holding her Apple phone to take pictures of Helen, turned dark.

"I definitely wasn't talking about you, Pepper! You must have the power to turn dog shit into magic!"

"Yes, just like how I married you!"

Eddie walked over and held little Jack in his arms to tease him. Children at this age were the cutest; they walked unsteadily, babbled, had little initiative, and found it hard to express their meaning, but they reacted to adults' teasing, making them fun to play with.

Eddie covered his face with his hands, then opened them, covered them again, and opened them again, making little Jack giggle.

As a result, when he covered his face and opened it again, Venom suddenly darted out, covered his face, bared its teeth, and revealed a smile. Little Jack burst into tears with a 'waa'.

Eddie roared at the air, "Venom! What are you doing!!"

Venom's voice was also confused, "Why didn't he cry when you teased him?"

Eddie opened his mouth, not knowing what to say. He couldn't say 'you look too ugly and scared the child,' could he? Wouldn't Venom fight him to the death?

Eddie hurriedly picked up little Jack to soothe him. Little Jack seemed to have just been startled by the sudden scary face, but after realizing what happened, he started babbling at Eddie again.

Eddie really couldn't understand what he was saying, so he had to carry him to find Ma Te. Ma Te coaxed him for a long time but couldn't figure out what he wanted. When he was in Elektra's arms, little Jack was so anxious that he kept waving his hands.

"……Teeth? What's wrong with his teeth?" Elektra held little Jack and bounced him, looking at the two men in confusion.

"Haha, he must like my teeth!" Venom darted out again, this time covering half of Eddie's face. Little Jack saw him and revealed an expression of amazement, then started clapping with a smile.

Eddie said to Ma Te with some helplessness, "You should really correct your son's aesthetics."

Stark was answering a phone call in the living room, which seemed to be from Steve. After hanging up, he said, "Very unsurprisingly, there is a traffic jam in Los Angeles again."

Shiler said with some surprise, "They didn't take the shuttle?"

"They are stuck in a shuttle jam," Stark shook his head and said, as if in disbelief, "There are traffic jams when there are cars, and shuttle jams when there are shuttles. Is Los Angeles cursed?"

"You should send a suit of armor to pick them up."

"That's the problem. Carter is in her early months and can't handle the bumps right now, otherwise they would have come with us by helicopter. My armor is safe, but it's hard to guarantee a smooth ride."

Shiler paused and said, "When is Stephen arriving? Should we have him open a portal?"

"Didn't he tell you? He can't make it. The Presbyterian Hospital is too short-staffed. Other than being able to show up on the day of the wedding, don't count on him."

"I'll go," a voice sounded from the door. Shiler looked up and found that it was actually Loki.

She was wearing a colorful Bohemian-style dress, wearing a huge sun hat with a wreath of flowers on it, and sunglasses that covered most of her face, with a style identical to Stark's.

"Why did you come over? Are things over in the Fighting Realm finished?"

"Not yet, but after Bruce went there, I can finally relax for a while," Loki sighed deeply, stretched, and said, "I've been exhausted lately; I need to have a good vacation."

She grabbed at the void, and a staff appeared in her hand. With a light wave, a portal appeared. Not long after she walked in, Captain America Steve and Carter walked out of the portal.

As soon as Carter came out, she started vomiting. Loki said in shock, "That's impossible. The portal I used is the smoothest kind. How could……"

"She isn't motion sick from the portal; it's just the adverse reactions of early pregnancy," Steve said while helping Carter to the sink. Carter vomited for a full three minutes, and everyone gathered around.

"How could it be so severe?" Pepper said. "When I was three months pregnant, although I was a bit uncomfortable, I didn't vomit like this. Have you been to the hospital for a checkup?"

"Of course we have. The doctor said it varies from person to person, and unfortunately, Carter belongs to the more sensitive type," Steve said, constantly patting Carter on the back. "But I think it might be because I've undergone genetic modification……"

"That has nothing to do with it," Carter said while vomiting. "Didn't we go to the S. H. I. E. L. D. headquarters for a checkup? There were no abnormalities in the embryonic development."

"Are you expecting him to learn how to wield a shield while still in the womb?" Stark walked over, frowning. "Just because there are no visible abnormalities on the surface doesn't mean there's really nothing wrong. Why not come to my lab for a checkup?"

Steve gave Stark a helpless look, and Stark immediately understood. Carter probably didn't want to go; she was worried that if it really was because the child had superpowers that caused her so much discomfort, it would make Steve feel guilty.

"Ma'am, even if not for the child, you have to be responsible for yourself. If the child really has any abnormalities, the entire prenatal care plan will have to be changed, and you will need regular observation to ensure the safety of both your lives……"

Stark gently tugged on Pepper's arm, and Pepper also stepped forward to persuade her, "After all, this can't go on like this. No reason justifies avoiding medical treatment."

Steve pulled Stark aside and said, "Are Wanda and the others coming too? Perhaps you could let her help take a look."

Stark clearly trusted his own equipment more, but seeing that Carter's mental state wasn't very good, forcing her to get a checkup definitely wouldn't work. Jarvis also had a life-scanning function; having him take a look might work too.

"They are arriving this afternoon," Shiler said from the side. "New York is cooling down today, and Billy has a bit of a cold. They were afraid the child wouldn't adapt to the climate here, so they stayed with Professor X first. When Professor X comes to attend the wedding, he will bring them over."

Stark calculated the time in his mind and said, "Wanda's pair of brothers should be able to walk by now, right?"

"More than that, they can already fly."