Gojo, true to himself "unbearable" nature, was holding court with a small, captivated audience of beautifully dressed women.
He was charming them with witty remarks and, much to their delight, performing "magic tricks." Empty glasses floated lazily in the air, bottles tipped themselves to pour drinks (non-alcoholic for him, of course), all achieved with an effortless flick of his wrist or a subtle application of his Infinity.
He called it "a little something I picked up," much to their amusement.
However, even Gojo's capacity for entertaining (and being entertained by) admiring onlookers had its limits.
After a while, the persistent suggestions for him to try a "real drink" or to stay and share "just one more story" began to wear thin.
With a disarming smile and a promise to "be right back," he subtly warped space just enough to slip away from the eager group without causing a commotion.
He spotted Steve Rogers across the room, deep in conversation with Sam Wilson, also known as the Falcon.
Deciding that looked more interesting, Gojo, with a near-imperceptible shimmer, warped himself directly behind them, appearing silently between their shoulders.
Sam, understandably, jumped a little, startled by the sudden appearance of the white-haired young man. Steve, though less overtly surprised, still tensed for a moment. Sam looked Gojo up and down.
"So, you're the kid they found in that HYDRA base," he said, his tone a mix of curiosity and caution.
Gojo, still wearing Tony's sleek sunglasses, met Sam's gaze. "Are you one of this group?" he asked, his head tilting slightly. "Because, no offense, but you look… kinda weak, man. Compared to the others, anyway."
Sam's eyebrows shot up. He glanced at Steve, a disbelieving look on his face. "Well, this kid is hella rude, Steve."
Gojo shook his head, a small, almost pitying smile on his lips. "There's nothing rude about telling the truth," he stated matter-of-factly. "If you went into a serious fight, against someone big, you'd probably get killed in a minute or so. Though," he added, as if an afterthought, "I suppose you could handle the weaker ones. So, you're not really core team, more like a background character, huh? Support staff?"
Steve quickly stepped in before Sam could retort, placing a calming hand on Sam's arm. "Gojo, that's not really—"
Gojo raised both his hands in a placating gesture, though his smirk remained. "Understood, understood. I'm going," he said, already starting to back away. "It seems some people can't handle the truth. Sensitive." With another almost invisible warp, he vanished from between them.
He reappeared a moment later near a quieter section of the party, where a few isolated seating areas offered a reprieve from the main throng.
He spotted Dr. Bruce Banner sitting alone at a small table, nursing a drink and looking somewhat lost in thought.
Gojo strolled over and, without invitation, pulled up a chair, sitting directly in front of him. "Why are you sitting all alone, Doctor Banner?" he asked, his voice surprisingly gentle compared to his earlier interaction.
Banner looked up, a little startled, but his expression softened when he saw Gojo. "Oh, Gojo," he said, offering a small, tired smile.
"Hello. Well, I… I just like to be alone sometimes. I don't really fit in with big groups at parties. Not my scene." He took a sip of his drink, his gaze distant.
Dr. Banner, intrigued by the bits and pieces Tony had no doubt excitedly relayed about Gojo's abilities, looked at the young man with a scientist's curiosity.
"So," Bruce began, his voice soft, "Tony mentioned your powers are… space-related? That's one hell of a superpower, I have to say."
Gojo nodded, a casual air about him. "Well, yes. It seems armor man did tell you. It's not just space-related, though. It's more like space and time. And I can even, you know…" He trailed off, then gestured subtly towards an empty glass on a nearby table.
A faint, azure glow enveloped the glass. With a sharp crack, it shattered, but instead of falling, the shards reversed their trajectory, pulling inwards, attracting towards a central point until they coalesced into a small, dense ball of glass resting on Gojo's extended fingertip.
He then calmly walked over to a nearby trash can, dropped the glass ball in with a soft thud, and returned to his seat. "...do that too," he finished, as if he'd merely performed a simple card trick.
Dr. Banner's eyes widened, a look of genuine scientific fascination on his face. "Amazing!" he breathed.
"What… what was that? Reversal? Attraction? And you seem remarkably open about your abilities, Gojo. Most people with powers, they… well, they don't tend to casually reveal them like this."
Gojo just shrugged, leaning back in his chair, the epitome of unconcern. "Well, I'm not really like 'most people,' am I? I mean, what could you guys even do to me, even if you know everything I can do? A bomb couldn't touch me. I can stop anything literally anything and my brain automatically filters out what's harmful, keeping it outside my Infinity. Even your… uh… big green guy," he said, glancing meaningfully at Banner, "wouldn't be able to lay a finger on me."
He paused, then added with a confident smirk, "If anything, by all measurable factors, I'm pretty strong. Maybe the strongest."
Gojo and Banner continued their conversation, with Bruce asking more detailed, albeit still cautious, questions about the nature of Gojo's powers.
Banner, unlike Tony's more bombastic assessment or Steve's concerned caution, found Gojo to be… well, a kid.
A kid with an ego and an almost unbearable level of arrogance, certainly. But underneath that, he seemed surprisingly normal, almost endearingly so.
Tony and Steve might have theorized about brain damage or deep-seated trauma, but Banner saw a young man, perhaps a little lost and certainly overconfident, but not inherently malicious.
And don't most teenagers have a degree of ego and arrogance? In that sense, Gojo seemed almost… typical.
….
A/N: So, How was it? 2 more chapters After this. Send Power Stones.
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