Chapter 79: Five Years

Chapter 79: Chapter 79: Five Years

Five years had passed since Daniel and Susan got together, and during those five years, Daniel had wandered all over the world. Originally, he had wanted to stay by Susan’s side all the time, but Susan had firmly rejected that idea.

After graduation, Daniel bought a villa in Long Island, New York, right next door to Tony’s mansion. At first, they lived together happily enough, but after a while, Susan noticed something.

Daniel was restless. He spent his days hanging around the house, playing games, lounging around, and generally looking like someone who had no idea what he wanted to do with his life.

One day, she looked at him and said, "I don’t want my boyfriend to be a lost child."

Just one sentence and Daniel was kicked out to find himself. Women really were strange creatures. Before they got together, Susan had always been incredibly sweet to him. After they became a couple? Suddenly he was getting criticized.

Life was unfair. These days, the two only met about once a week. No matter where he was, Daniel always set aside one day every week specifically for Susan.

A proper date day. Of course, there was one rather embarrassing issue. Even after five years together, Daniel was still technically a virgin, they had done practically everything else.

Everything except the final step. It wasn’t because Susan didn’t want to. The problem was entirely Daniel. He still couldn’t perfectly control his strength. For the last five years, whenever he wasn’t spending time with Susan, his schedule was remarkably simple.

During the day, he traveled around the world. At night, he either slept inside the sun or floated through space smashing asteroids and random celestial debris.

After all, he had a girlfriend now... and not just any girlfriend, a beautiful one.

If he didn’t hurry up and gain complete control over his powers, how was he supposed to enjoy the benefits of having such an amazing girlfriend?

Unfortunately, Daniel had failed. Recently, the growth of his powers had slowed dramatically. It felt as though he had reached a bottleneck, like an invisible membrane was blocking his progress.

His speed had become stuck slightly just below lightspeed, and no matter what he did, he couldn’t cross that final threshold. It was maddening, sometimes he felt as though all he needed was a few more meters per second.

Just a tiny improvement, then he would finally break through. Yet no matter how close he got, he could never reach it.

Daniel had a strong feeling that once he surpassed the speed of light, his abilities would undergo a complete transformation. Not only would his power increase dramatically, but he would also finally achieve absolute control over it.

And once that happened, he wouldn’t have to keep staring at Susan without being able to truly enjoy being with her. The finish line was right there, yet somehow, he remained stuck and that feeling was unbearable.

Like having something caught in your throat. Every time things became romantic between them, Daniel would lose his nerve at the crucial moment, and every single time, Susan would reward him with a look of utter disappointment.

A look that practically screamed, pathetic.

Daniel had even attempted alternative solutions. At one point, he’d suggested letting Susan take the lead.

The result? Before she had even fully settled onto his lap, Daniel nearly squeezed her hard enough to fracture her ribs.

After that, they both agreed the idea needed more work. Still, aside from that one frustrating problem, their relationship was wonderful.

So wonderful that marriage had already become a serious topic. Unfortunately, Carol still hadn’t returned, and Susan was extremely career focused. She also refused to let Daniel help her professionally, otherwise, the two of them might have already been married by now.

At heart, Daniel still retained many traits from his previous life, especially the traditional mindset of wanting a stable home and family. Even so, these five years had been incredibly rewarding. He had traveled all over the world, seen breathtaking landscapes, tasted food from countless countries, experienced cultures and traditions from every corner of the globe.

He had also tried a ridiculous number of jobs: factory worker, truck driver, superhero helping ordinary people, journalist, and many more.

When he actually counted them up, he had worked over twenty different professions. The experiences gradually matured him. Slowly, he began developing a clearer understanding of the future he wanted.

But before anything else, he was waiting for Carol’s return.

This year, Daniel had turned twenty two, and it was probably time to settle down. As for building a career, that wasn’t necessary, Daniel was already an invisible billionaire.

Future Technologies had become an enormous success.

For example, the touchscreen phone currently in his hand. It wasn’t a true smartphone yet, but compared to the rest of the world, it was already decades ahead of its time. It could make calls, play music, watch movies, take photographs, and even run simple games.

At the moment, Daniel had just finished another temporary job, which meant he was currently unemployed again. With nothing better to do, he sat on a couch playing a mobile game. He was just about to clear the final stage when his phone rang. His first instinct was annoyance, then he saw the caller ID.

Susan.

Instantly, his expression softened.

"Hello, sweetheart."

His voice became unbelievably gentle.

"What are you calling for?"

"Oh?"

Susan’s voice immediately turned dangerous.

"So I need a reason to call my boyfriend now?"

Daniel’s survival instincts activated instantly.

"Of course not!"

"You called at exactly the right time. I was just thinking about you."

Susan didn’t believe a single word.

"Stop talking nonsense and get back here."

"T’Challa’s visiting."

"He’s sitting in the living room right now."

"Okay."

Daniel immediately stood up.

"Two minutes."

After hanging up, he quickly straightened his clothes and flew home. The moment he entered the house, he spotted T’Challa sitting in the living room. Susan was handing him a glass of water.

"My brother from another mother!"

Daniel enthusiastically walked over and pulled T’Challa into a hug. Then he turned and kissed Susan.

"Miss me, sweetheart?"

Over the years, Daniel’s emotional intelligence had improved dramatically. Susan rolled her eyes at him, but she was clearly pleased.

It had been six months since Daniel last saw T’Challa. The previous year, T’Challa had graduated from MIT with a master’s degree. After seriously considering the suffering required to earn a doctorate, he wisely gave up. He returned to Wakanda to resume life as a prince.

"So what brings you here?" Daniel asked after sitting down.

"Nothing special." T’Challa shrugged. "I got bored at home, so thought I’d come visit you two."

Naturally, that wasn’t the real reason. The truth was much more embarrassing, ever since returning to Wakanda, his mother had been relentlessly pressuring him to get married.

Every conversation somehow ended with grandchildren. She wanted grandchildren and she wanted them immediately... as soon as possible.

T’Challa felt like his head was going to explode. His little sister Shuri wasn’t even ten years old yet, and somehow his mother was already demanding children from him.

The problem was that he wasn’t done enjoying life. So, unable to endure the endless lectures any longer, he escaped Wakanda and flew to New York.

Seeing old friends was just a convenient excuse, experiencing the nightlife of New York was the real attraction.

"Tonight we’re calling Tony." T’Challa grinned. "And then we’re going out."

Daniel laughed, "Tony will be thrilled to hear you’re here."

Five years had passed. Tony had long since emerged from the grief of losing his parents, now he managed both Stark Industries and Future Technologies with incredible success.

Unfortunately, Tony had also become even more of a playboy. At this point, his romantic scandals alone were keeping over a dozen New York tabloids in business.

That evening, the four friends gathered together.

After dinner, Tony and T’Challa immediately threw their arms around each other’s shoulders. Their destination was obvious. Nightlife, parties, women, questionable decisions, naturally, they also tried to drag Daniel along.

But Daniel firmly refused, because now, he had someone waiting for him at home. Besides, he had never really enjoyed that environment.

Tony immediately laughed, "Don’t bother with that."

Then he looked at T’Challa. "Keep inviting him and Susan will come after you next."

Everyone burst into laughter. Soon, the group split into two teams. Tony and T’Challa went searching for adventure, Daniel and Susan went home.

Later that night, the two lay together in bed, as Daniel wrapped an arm around her waist.

"How’s work at the university lately?"

Out of their original group, Susan was now the only one still involved in academia. She had earned her doctorate in physics from Columbia years ago. Currently, she worked as an assistant in a professor’s research laboratory.

"It’s going well."

Susan nestled comfortably against him.

"Everything’s pretty smooth."

"If you ask me, you should quit that lab."

Daniel spoke casually.

"You’re basically doing everyone’s busywork."

Susan immediately frowned.

"Here we go again."

Her tone grew slightly irritated.

"I have my own career, and I like this job."

Daniel instantly shut his mouth. Experience had taught him valuable lessons, if Susan got angry, there would be severe consequences. First, he’d lose all physical-contact privileges. Second, there was a high probability he’d be kicked out of bed. Neither outcome was acceptable.

Changing the subject immediately, Daniel asked, "Oh, right."

"How’s Johnny doing lately?"

Susan sighed.

"Same as always."

"Running around causing trouble."

Then she smirked, "If Johnny ever met Tony and T’Challa, the three of them would probably become best friends."

Just mentioning her younger brother gave her a headache.

Johnny Storm was many things, but responsible wasn’t one of them. He never stopped giving her reasons to worry.