"Phew, those people are crazy." Tohka couldn't help but complain when she came back. Just earlier, when she flew out to buy things, as soon as she landed, she was surrounded by a crowd. People asking for autographs and photos had her stuck in the middle, which scared her so much that she didn't dare buy anything and just flew off. She then used her spiritual power to quickly wrap herself in tight clothes, rushed to a supermarket, grabbed some food, and hurried back. However, the store owner looked at her with an anxious expression, as though seeing a criminal. Tohka could only helplessly shrug and think, "It's my fault."
"How about it? The American people are so enthusiastic, aren't they, our great hero?" Tony knew exactly how Tohka would be received, after all, people today love cute things. Haven't you seen how pandas conquered the world with their cuteness? And it just so happens that Tohka fits that perfectly. Plus, with her impressive performance yesterday, although the Hulk contributed, his appearance was also linked to the military. It seems some people chose to downplay his role and elevate Tohka to shift public attention away from the Hulk. Doctor Banner would probably agree too, as he wouldn't want his own affairs to be made public.
"Hmph." Tohka snorted dismissively, holding the bag of food in her arms as she returned to her room, leaving Tony standing there alone.
"This girl, as always." Tony helplessly rubbed his nose and returned to his lab, where he continued to go over the information Nick Fury had left for him, to deal with the poisoning in his chest.
"Hey, it's Harry. You guys are here too?" As soon as Tohka returned, she received a video call notification. After opening it, she saw it was Harry. Not just him, but also Peter Parker, Mary Jane, and Gwen. They must have seen the morning newspapers and came to Harry to contact Tohka. After all, with his identity, he wouldn't be blocked by Jarvis.
"Phew, we finally got in touch with you. We couldn't reach you on the phone earlier." As soon as the video call started, Mary Jane and Gwen, who were closest to Tohka, immediately asked with concern. Although the media reported on Tohka's heroic appearance, in their eyes, it was dangerous for the soft and delicate Tohka to physically fight with that monster.
"It's fine now. And I'm sorry, yesterday my phone got bombarded, so I had Jarvis set the call permissions. I forgot to lift the restrictions for you guys. Jarvis, immediately unblock their numbers." Tohka was grateful for their concern. She knew they were worried about her safety, but she knew that last night's battle wasn't a big deal. After all, even though Abomination looked ferocious, what appeared last night was just a defective version of the Hulk. If it weren't for the potential massive casualties, she would have taken care of him already.
"Yes, miss." Then, Tohka heard Jarvis' voice. At the same time, she muttered in her mind, ""achines, they really aren't flexible enough. This guy, clearly following Tony's standards."
"Well, you must have had a great time last night." Seeing that Tohka was fine, everyone finally relaxed. However, little Spider-Man was obviously more interested in the battle from yesterday. He knew that just thinking about such a battle now made his blood boil.
"What were you doing during the fight yesterday?" It was then that Tohka remembered that Peter Parker had already gained his superpowers. However, unlike the original story, since Uncle Ben hadn't died, he hadn't transformed into the righteous crusader fighting criminals everywhere. Instead, he was still in the hospital, taking care of his uncle.
"Yeah, I'm okay." After hearing Tohka's words, Spider-Man scratched his head awkwardly, thinking for a moment before responding, "When all this happened yesterday, I was at the hospital and then saw the streets lit up with fire. I was preparing to evacuate with Uncle Ben, so I... well..."
At this point, Spider-Man quickly stopped speaking, as he felt he almost revealed how he had gained his superpowers. Of course, Tohka didn't bring it up. Unlike other superheroes, Spider-Man was still just an ordinary person with his own family and life. Plus, he spent his days fighting crime on the streets, which meant most of the people he upset weren't high-profile figures, but rather small-time crooks. That was the real headache; no one could guarantee you wouldn't get attacked by some criminal's associate while walking down the street. Despite this, Tohka still gave Peter Parker a meaningful look.
"She didn't figure anything out, did she?" Seeing Tohka's gaze, Spider-Man instinctively shivered. But then he suddenly remembered how he had been startled by Tohka before and ended up hanging upside down from the ceiling. "She must have done that on purpose. By the way, how did she figure out I have superpowers?"
After all, strictly speaking, Peter Parker was also a high-IQ person, and he soon realized it himself. Over the past period, he had also noticed that he had a heightened sense of danger, and the feeling he had when Tohka startled him was exactly that. However, he also knew that Tohka meant no harm, she was just testing him, and he didn't think much more about it. He knew that he was still in a phase of confusion, as Uncle Ben's death didn't have the same impact on him as it did in the original story. But no matter what, he had now begun to entertain the idea of becoming a superhero, and having another partner down the road would be great.
Okay, actually, he was overthinking it. Tohka wasn't that deep or calculating. Her lack of focus on him was more influenced by her past life. The reason she startled him back then was simply because it was fun, she just wanted to see Spider-Man's reaction to gaining superpowers. She really hadn't thought about any of this.
"Oh, sorry. Tony needs me for something, I have to go." After chatting for a few minutes, Tohka received a message from Tony, asking her to come to his basement to help with something. Tohka knew Tony must be dealing with something important, so she had to say goodbye to the others. After all, there would be plenty of time later.
"Okay, go ahead," After hearing Tohka, everyone understood and said nothing more, instead, they took the initiative to bid her farewell.