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Looking at Tony flying away in a hurry, Kai smiled. If he hadn't reminded him, Tony would have forgotten to tell Pepper he was back.
Once Pepper found out Tony had returned and didn't say anything, things would get awkward for him.
That's why, even though Tony wanted to stay and study together, Kai still reminded him to go.
It was around the time school let out, and Wanda and Pietro had just returned.
Since their school wasn't too far from the manor, the twins had been coming back to eat and rest every day after classes.
As soon as they entered the manor's front gate, they saw Kai lounging on a recliner, sipping tea leisurely.
"Oh! Kai, you're back?" Pietro asked in surprise.
Kai looked up, saw Wanda and Pietro, and replied, "Yeah, just got back. You guys done with school?"
"Yup!" Wanda nodded.
Pietro immediately crowded around Kai, firing off rapid questions: What was the universe like? What kinds of alien forces were out there? What did the aliens look like? What kind of sights did Kai and the others see? Did anything crazy happen?
Hearing Pietro's nonstop barrage of questions, Kai felt a bit overwhelmed.
But there was no escape. Tony had flown off to see Pepper. Yinsen had returned to the temple. Only Banner was left who'd gone on the space trip with him.
But given Banner's personality, he could probably sum up the entire journey in one sentence.
So in the end, all the questions would come to Kai.
Still, Kai had predicted this would happen. Knowing people would be curious about space, he had asked Gear to record everything.
"How about this," Kai said. "I had the whole trip recorded. I'll have Gear edit it. You can get a copy from him and see everything for yourself."
This was his way of telling Pietro to stop crowding him with questions and just wait a bit.
Seeing the universe through a video was way better than trying to imagine it from Kai's descriptions.
"Really? There's a video?" Pietro was wide-eyed with disbelief.
Kai nodded, and Pietro immediately dashed to the basement to find Gear.
After Pietro left, Wanda chatted with Kai about the manor's recent happenings.
Nothing major—just some small matters, nothing that needed urgent attention.
"Thanks for taking care of the place," Kai said sincerely.
Wanda nodded and then followed her brother to the basement. She was just as curious, though she tried to act cool in front of Kai earlier.
Once both of them were gone, Kai stretched out again. He had a feeling more people would be showing up soon.
Sure enough, word spread fast. One after another, people arrived at the manor upon hearing Kai and the others were back.
Seeing everyone gathered in the living room, Kai waved off any thoughts of cooking and told Wanda to relax. Instead, he ordered takeout.
With everyone together, Kai clapped his hands. "Perfect timing! Let's have a barbecue party!"
Everyone immediately agreed. While waiting for the food and equipment, Kai asked Gear to project the edited space trip video.
"Let's show everyone what a real cosmic civilization looks like," he said with a grin.
The video started right when Kai and the others arrived on Xandar. As soon as the footage rolled, the room fell silent. Everyone stared, completely engrossed.
Gear's editing skills were top-notch. He wove together the highlights of their Xandar adventure into a compelling, fast-paced film without a single dull moment.
Time flew as everyone was immersed in the footage.
When Kai got the delivery notification, he quietly left, retrieved all the takeout, and set everything on the lawn.
He began prepping for the barbecue while the video neared its end.
In the final scene, Kai tricked Yondu and transported the team back to Earth in one move.
Everyone burst out laughing—none of them had expected that side of Kai.
Steve walked up to the lawn with a slightly concerned look. "Kai, are you sure that was okay?"
He and Bucky had just returned from destroying another Hydra base and had joined in on the gathering.
Kai laughed. "Don't worry, Steve."
"Yondu's a tricky guy. He'll be fine."
Then he turned and called out, "Come on! Barbecue time!"
Seeing Steve's expression shift, Kai knew the distraction had worked. He happily grilled and drank with the rest, enjoying the lively evening.
That night, since everyone had been drinking, Kai invited them to stay over at the manor.
The next morning, when Kai got up, he saw Steve jogging around the grounds.
As Steve ran past, they greeted each other.
"Morning!"
"You're up early!"
Steve nodded but didn't slow down. Kai returned to his room, washed up, and sat down to breakfast, casually scrolling through his phone to catch up on news.
Soon, Steve came in, freshly showered, and sat across from him, looking hesitant.
"What's up?" Kai asked.
Steve hesitated a second, then said, "When we were taking out the last Hydra base, we got word of a larger one in Eastern Europe."
"But it's massive. Bucky and I might not be able to handle it alone."
After saying that, Steve looked at Kai.
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