Marvel : Copycat System

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After Kai Vale finished speaking, he hung up the phone.

Kingpin stared at the darkened screen for a moment before calling his men.

"Get rid of this computer and bring me a new one," he ordered.

Then he sneered. "Hmph. I'm the king of the underground. Why would I be afraid of some kid's threats?"

When Kai returned to meet Matt and Ethan, he found Ethan looking at him excitedly.

Well, Ethan was involved now. Kai wasn't worried about Ethan exposing his powers — he knew Ethan wouldn't talk. What concerned him was that Ethan might be targeted because of their connection.

But seeing the burning curiosity on Ethan's face, Kai decided to focus on handling Ethan's excitement first.

Sure enough, for the next ten minutes, Ethan bombarded Kai with endless questions — and eventually even asked if he could get superpowers too.

Kai, growing tired of Ethan's endless curiosity, glanced over at Matt.

"Actually…" Kai began with a grin. "Matt's got powers too. His hearing's incredible."

If Kai had to deal with Ethan's enthusiasm, he figured he might as well drag Matt into it too.

Sure enough, Ethan's attention shifted to Matt.

"Wait, really? What can you do with your hearing?"

"Can you live like a normal person?"

Matt sighed, giving Kai a hopeless look as Ethan's questions poured in.

Kai just chuckled quietly to himself.

Yet despite Ethan's excitement, Kai noticed something else — a trace of envy in his expression. Considering how dangerous the Marvel world was becoming, Kai decided to look for a way to enhance Ethan's chances of survival. A serum, perhaps — something stable that wouldn't cause mutations. Ideally, he wanted his whole family protected too.

Later, the three of them went to Kai's restaurant for a meal. Throughout dinner, Ethan's questions kept coming, and Kai and Matt answered them with reluctant patience.

That afternoon, Kai found himself reflecting on Marvel's timeline. Right now, the only serums he knew of were the super-soldier serum in SHIELD's hands and Dr. Connors' lizard formula — which hadn't surfaced yet. Neither option seemed easily accessible.

His thoughts drifted to Tony Stark. The time of Tony's kidnapping was approaching.

How would he connect with Tony Stark? Right now, Tony was a powerful businessman at the top of his game — unlikely to notice someone like Kai.

"Forget it," Kai muttered. He'd deal with it when the time came. For now, Kingpin was the priority. Kai knew Kingpin wouldn't back down easily — sooner or later, he'd have to deal with him.

The next day, Kai decided to help his grandfather at the restaurant. Since Kai's recent promotion efforts had drawn in more customers, business had been booming. His grandfather, Li Feng, was working harder than ever, so Kai took over handling orders, serving food, and cleaning up.

That evening, Kai noticed his grandfather closing the restaurant early — something he rarely did.

"Grandpa, why are we closing so soon?"

"You ask too many questions," his grandfather grumbled. "Get to work."

Still, he added, "A guest reserved the entire place for tonight. That's why. Now hurry up and mop that corner properly."

Kai was puzzled. Who'd pay to book out the whole restaurant? He'd worked hard on his video ads, but this seemed unexpected.

After finishing his cleaning duties, Kai asked about the mysterious customer.

"You'll find out soon enough," Li Feng replied. "For now, just make sure everything's spotless."

With no other choice, Kai double-checked everything, then finally sat down to rest.

"I wonder who's rich enough to make Grandpa this excited," Kai muttered.

That evening, his grandfather sent him outside to wait for the guest.

Though reluctant, Kai stood by the door as instructed.

Before long, an Audi R8 rolled up, followed by two SUVs.

Kai recognized the car instantly.

'No way... why is *he* here?'

The R8 stopped in front of him. The driver's door opened, and out stepped Tony Stark, sunglasses on, looking as confident as ever.

Tony circled around the car, opened the passenger door, and offered his hand to help Pepper Potts step out.

Pepper approached with a warm smile. "Hello, is Chef Li here? We've made a reservation for tonight."

"Hello, Miss Potts," Kai replied politely. "I'm Master Li's grandson. He's preparing your meal right now, so I'll be the one to assist you. Please, come in."

Tony, meanwhile, had pulled out his wallet and was about to tip Kai — only to pause halfway through the motion when he overheard the conversation. Realizing Kai was the owner's grandson, Tony awkwardly slipped the money back into his pocket.

Kai noticed the gesture and smirked to himself. *He thought I was just a doorman,* Kai mused.

But Tony caught Kai's amused expression.

"Hey, kid," Tony muttered. "I know you're not a doorman... but you—"

Before Tony could finish, Pepper grabbed his arm, stopping him.

"Tony," she warned.

"Fine," Tony grumbled. "You're lucky, kid. For Pepper's sake, I won't say anything."

Kai had seen everything — and thought to himself, 'Yeah, only Pepper can keep this arrogant playboy in check.'

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