Become a Homelander and a Marvel superstar

The former Stark Tower, now Avengers Tower.

The elevator doors opened, and Jarvis's gentle voice rang out: "Welcome, Mr. Starr, Ms. Jones. Mr. Stark is waiting in the living room."

There was no loud music in the living room, only the soothing sound of vinyl records turning.

Outside the huge floor-to-ceiling windows, snowflakes danced in the air, while the lights of New York City twinkled.

Tony Stark, dressed in a somewhat comical reindeer sweater, stood by the window, a wine glass in his hand, lost in thought.

Steve Rogers, dressed in a beige sweater, looked like a friendly older brother next door, sitting on the sofa looking at a picture book.

Hearing footsteps, he turned around, a cynical smile on his face.

"Wow, look who's here!" Tony exclaimed dramatically, spreading his arms wide. "Our American icon and his cold-noodle queen! Seriously, Anthony, did you cut up the flag on your suit? There are even stars embroidered on it."

"Tony," Wu Yanzu said with a smile, giving him a hug. He wasn't angry at Tony's teasing. "Your reindeer costume is quite unique. Does your nose even light up?"

"That's Rudolph, you kid who never had a childhood." Tony rolled his eyes, then looked at Jessica. "Ms. Jones, I must say, this outfit suits you very well. Much better than that blindingly bright white bodysuit. Who designed that? Is Walter's aesthetic still stuck in 80s aerobics videos?"

"That was Ashley's idea." Jessica poured herself a glass of wine without any hesitation and downed half of it in one gulp. "I also think it looks like a condom."

"puff--"

Steve Rogers, who was walking over from the side, almost spat out the eggnog he was drinking.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Queen Jones." Steve extended his hand generously. "I'm Steve."

Jessica stared at the hand, somewhat bewildered. This was Captain America, a living legend.

She shook hands a little awkwardly. "Just call me Jessica. I grew up listening to your stories... I mean, um... your stories about beating up Nazis were really cool."

Steve smiled, a smile so warm it seemed to melt away snow: "Thank you. I watched your presentation too. You're very brave!"

"Good evening, Homelander." Steve turned to Wu Yanzu and extended his hand. "It's a pleasure to have you here."

"Good evening, Captain." Wu Yanzu's attitude towards Steve was clearly much more sincere than his attitude towards Tony. "No need to be so polite, just call me Anthony."

"Okay, Anthony." Steve smiled. "The atmosphere here... might not be as lively as you imagine."

"This suits me perfectly." Wu Yanzu looked around. "Are we alone?"

"And Pepper, she was trying to handle a turkey in the kitchen...it was a disaster," Tony complained. "Dr. Banner, our big guy, felt like a threat and went into hiding. As for Clint, he went home to his wife and kids. That's his only vacation of the year."

"And our Black Widow..." Tony sighed, glancing at Steve, "Natasha has gone all over the world looking for him."

"Looking for Banner?" Jessica asked curiously. "Why? To bring him back?"

"No." Tony gave a gossipy smile. "It's 'finding' him. You know, the kind of searching that's tinged with emotion."

"You mean..." Jessica's eyes widened, "Black Widow and the Hulk? Beauty and the Beast?"

"Bingo!" Tony snapped his fingers, winking. "I hacked into SHIELD's communications channel. Don't tell Fury, that one-eyed bastard, about the messages Natasha sent Banner. Tsk tsk, they were so heartfelt. Something like, 'Hey, big guy, the sun's gone down...'... I'm sick of hearing it. Seriously, I don't understand. Why would Natasha like that guy who turns green?"

"Because he's 'bigger'?" Jessica suddenly blurted out.

"Pfft—!" Steve, who had just taken a sip of wine, spat it out.

Tony paused for three seconds, then burst into laughter: "Hahaha! God! I love this chick! Anthony, where did you find her? She's totally my type!"

Wu Yanzu shook his head helplessly: "Your Majesty, mind your image. You'll lose fans if you do this."

"Relax, Starr." Tony poured Jessica a glass of wine. "There are no cameras here. There's no Homelander tonight, no Queen Jones, just Anthony and Jessica."

Steve shook his head helplessly: "Tony, don't talk nonsense. Natasha is just... concerned about her teammates."

"Come on, you old popsicle," Tony scoffed. "You know nothing about modern relationships. It's called tension! Sexual tension! Like..."

Tony's gaze swept back and forth between Wu Yanzu and Jessica.

"...Just like these two."

"Cough cough!" Jessica almost choked to death on the red wine.

Wu Yanzu remained calm and even patted Jessica on the back, saying, "Drink slowly, no one's going to take it from you."

"Look! That's it!" Tony pointed at them. "That natural physical contact! That possessiveness of 'She's mine, don't touch her'! Admit it, you two slept together, didn't you?"

"Tony!" Steve frowned. "That's incredibly rude."

"It's alright, Captain," Wu Yanzu smiled. "Tony is just jealous. After all, Miss Pepper is busy rebuilding Stark Industries lately, so she probably doesn't have time to deal with him."

Tony, stung by this, scoffed, "Pepper's a career woman! We're soulmates!"

The atmosphere became more relaxed through jokes and banter.

Pepper finally gave up on the burnt turkey and put the pre-made pizza in the oven.

The group sat around the table, eating pre-made pizzas covered in cheese and salami, and drinking red wine that cost tens of thousands of dollars a bottle.

Alcohol is the best lubricant. After a few drinks, the barriers and defensiveness between the people gradually melted away.

"You know what?" Tony swirled his wine glass, his eyes slightly unfocused, "I hated Christmas when I was a kid."

"Why?" Steve asked.

“Because of Howard… my dad, he always locks himself in the lab.” Tony looked at the fire. “He doesn’t even remember buying me presents. It’s always Jarvis… I mean old Jarvis, the butler, who buys me whatever he can and tells me it’s a gift from Dad.”

"I know it's fake," Tony said with a wry smile, "but I'll still pretend to be happy."

He turned to Wu Yanzu: "We're quite similar in that respect, aren't we, Mr. Starr? I heard your father was a workaholic too?"

Wu Yanzu remained silent for a moment.

He didn't actually have this memory, but he infused it with the emotions from his past life.

"Pretty much." Wu Yanzu leaned back on the sofa, his eyes becoming somewhat profound. "Wealthy families are always alike. The nanny is closer than the parents, and the boarding school feels more like home than home."

"I remember that year..." Wu Yanzu began to act, "I was seven years old. My parents were abroad on business. It was just me and the maid at home. I sat alone in the empty living room, staring blankly at that huge Christmas tree."

"At that time, I thought, 'If only there were Superman. Superman would fly in, take me away, and leave that cold, lifeless house.'"

He chuckled self-deprecatingly, raised his hand, and looked at his palm. "In the end, I became Superman myself. But I'm still... alone."

These words struck a chord with everyone present.

Jessica turned her head and looked at the man beside her. For the first time, she saw something called "loneliness" on the face of this arrogant native.

She subconsciously reached out and gently covered Wu Yanzu's hand under the table.