Marvel's Princess – Read Fanfic

Bella wanted to stop, but others were unwilling to let things go.

The tree wants to rest, but the wind will not cease; often, it’s not up to you to decide when the game is over.

After settling the pension lawsuit, Natasha returned to school in Prosperity Town to face two more years of upbeat education. Meanwhile, Bella spent several days in the Flight 180 compensation case.

She did receive some remuneration from the pension case—after all, not taking any wouldn’t be very capitalist. Not to mention, Miss Hogarth’s attorney fees had to be covered by her. After some old folks contributed, cash and anonymous checks were cashed, subtracting various expenses, and she was left with just under five thousand dollars.

She split the loot with the lovely Natasha, each taking two thousand dollars.

That money didn’t last long; a bit of eating, drinking, and shopping was nearly gone. Bella was more interested in the flight compensation, which was where the real money was.

After another day in court, she stopped by a convenience store to stock up on a lot of food, following Natasha’s advice that, post-“whatever her ordeal,” she needed to replenish her nutrients extensively.

While checking out, a slightly overweight middle-aged man suddenly jumped out from behind a shelf, pointing a handgun at Bella.

“Remember me, Miss Swan? Why aren’t you smiling? You seemed pretty happy before,” said the clown-like defendant from the pension case, now menacing and trembling slightly as he aimed the gun at Bella.

Damn it! Bella hated the rampant proliferation of guns. How could every Tom, Dick, or Harry pull a gun out of nowhere?

They were five meters apart. She could dodge before he pulled the trigger—the handgun wouldn’t hurt her. But the environment was wrong. In front of her was a middle-aged cashier with some stubble, and behind her were two women waiting to pay. There wasn’t much room to maneuver.

“Stay calm. This is between us. Let everyone else leave first,” Bella, whose charm didn’t work on hostile targets, tried to persuade him to let the bystanders go first.

The overweight man laughed pitifully: “You think I’d let you go? I’ve been fired, the bank took my house and car, and my wife and children left me. Why shouldn’t I take a few people with me? Huh? Everyone stay still!!! Move, and I’ll shoot!”

As his expression grew more ferocious, several black men rushed into the store, led by a chubby man.

“Mr. Todd! Stark Industries will pay you a sufficient severance package! Please calm down and put the gun down!” The chubby leader shouted while his companions prepared to tackle the man named Todd.

“Back off, back off! Mr. Happy Hogan, I’ve given so much to the company. What have I gotten in return? Mockery! Cold insults and dismissal! What did I do wrong?!”

You’ve made a spectacle of the company, that’s what.

Currently, Obadiah and Tony Stark still have a close uncle-nephew relationship. As Tony Stark’s confidant, the chubby bodyguard Happy Hogan and a senior executive were assigned to handle the situation in Phoenix.

Officially, they dealt with the media and distributed pensions to the retirees. The more covert tasks, like forcibly removing troublemakers like Todd, were left to Hogan, but no one expected things to go awry.

Todd, unable to suppress his resentment any longer, lost everything—money, honor, and reputation. What was left to lose? He gritted his teeth and fired three shots in Bella’s direction!

Bella couldn’t worry about making a scene. She pushed the two women beside her to the ground and then focused on the bullets. Using minimal movements—a tilt, a twist, a lean—, she dodged the bullets, which grazed her and struck the middle-aged cashier behind her.

Bella was shocked. She had manipulated Todd’s shooting angle through conversation and positioning; theoretically, no one should have been behind her then!

The cashier was supposed to be on her right. She had reached out to push him; how did he end up behind her?

As chaos ensued with more gunfire from Stark Industries’ bodyguards, Todd was killed on the spot.

Happy knew who Bella was but had focused on Todd and missed her dodging the bullets. He rushed over, apparently concerned for her safety, while his colleagues managed the panicking crowd, one of whom was on the phone with the company’s legal department.

“Quick, save someone! There’s an innocent person… Eh? Where is he?” Bella pushed Happy’s protective arm away, wanting them to attend to the cashier who had been shot. But turning around, she saw only a pool of blood and no sign of the man.

What the heck? Are all Americans so tough? Shot three times and still able to escape amidst the chaos?

This guy has secrets! Even a random bystander has secrets; she doesn’t know what to say.

“Miss Swan, we think there might be some misunderstanding here at Stark Industries,” the chubby bodyguard scoured his brain, trying to figure out how to convince her to drop the matter.

Bella was also a bit frustrated; she never intended to harm anyone.

However, that whole series of events with someone named Todd was linked to her, and she didn’t want to be painted as an anti-Stark warrior. At this moment, she said somewhat impatiently.

“This isn’t personal. I can pretend today’s incident never happened, but what about the police station?”

The bodyguard reassured her repeatedly, “There won’t be any issues with the police. You can leave now, and oh, here’s this.”

He handed Bella a check, a $50,000 bearer check.

Bella took the check, looked it over, and said disappointedly, “This was supposed to be Mr. Todd’s severance pay, right? Now you’re using it to shut me up? Forget it; this money isn’t much use to me and won’t make me rich. If you don’t know what to do with it, you might leave it for Mr. Todd’s family.”

She returned the check to the bodyguard, left fifty dollars at the cash register, picked up her purse and a bunch of food, sighed, and left the convenience store.

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