Ch: 51-60
Chapter 51: The Second Mutation of Dr. Lizard, Still Crushed!
The dispersal device had indeed not been stopped; it was successfully launched.
But... that concentrated serum launched by the machine weirdly froze in mid-air. Instead of spreading out, it was actually compressing inward!
Until finally, it compressed into a green palm with its middle finger sticking straight up!
F**k!
Seeing this scene, the Lizardman doctor's eyes widened. Realizing something, he frantically looked around as if searching for someone!
"Stop looking. Your grandfather is right above your head, little lizard~"
Looking up, the Lizardman saw two people floating above him at some unknown time.
One was Karl, who was using telekinesis to wrap up the launched lizard serum.
The other was that BYD Parker who had just been thrown off the building by Dr. Lizard!
Peter was being held by Karl like a little chick. He awkwardly waved his hand at the people looking up from below: "Hi..."
Lizardman:???
Tony:???
Tony also looked up at Karl, who had his arms crossed in mid-air. He felt his fists hardening—they were already clenched tight!
Not just because he had previously claimed to be the Lizardman's father, and now Karl was claiming to be the Lizardman's grandfather—wasn't that like saying he was Tony's father?
But also because if Karl had heard him say he was the Lizardman's father, it meant Karl had arrived long ago and had been secretly watching him make a fool of himself!
What a damn good brother!!!
Karl controlled the serum mist to flip the middle finger at the Lizardman. Tony, gritting his teeth, also reached out and flipped a middle finger at his malicious friend Karl.
"Tsk, what a bunch of rude guys. Taste my Great Desolate Imprisoning Heavenly Finger!"
Seeing Tony constantly waving his middle finger, a wicked smile curled on Karl's lips. He directly slammed the giant green finger in the sky down toward Dr. Lizard!
Tony's soul almost left his body in fear. I haven't slipped away yet!
But it was too late for him to run. After the giant green middle finger pressed down on the Lizardmandoctor, the resulting explosion of mist covered the entire rooftop, naturally including Tony!
But the next moment, Tony piloted his armor and broke through the smoke. Except for the surface of the armor being a bit green, he hovered in front of Karl completely unscathed.
Wearing the iron armor, how could Tony possibly be infected by the lizard serum?
But before Tony could demand accountability, Karl threw the Peter he was holding directly at him:
"I'll handle them. You and this kid go down to the streets and evacuate the crowds around Oscorp Tower."
"Evacuate the crowd? Why?" Tony's face under the mask was full of confusion.
In his view, Karl, who could already summon two different types of Shadow Soldiers, was strong enough to easily deal with these two Lizardmen.
Now that Karl had also shown an ability similar to telekinesis, there should be absolutely no need to evacuate when facing these two Lizardmen.
Karl looked at Tony and said calmly:
"Who told you there were only two Lizardmen?"
"What?!" Tony was startled and suddenly looked down at the streets below!
Through the thermal imaging of his armor, he saw sewer manhole covers around Oscorp Tower being pushed open one after another. Lizardmen crawled out and were attacking the surrounding citizens!
"Damn! This is a big problem! Little Red Guy, leave this to the show-off Karl. We're going down!"
Tony cursed, and regardless of whether Spider-Man was willing or not, he took him and flew down toward the base of Oscorp Tower!
Karl remained alone in the air above the roof, looking down at the top of Oscorp Tower shrouded in green mist, his eyes flashing.
It seemed that his and Tony's intervention had not only resulted in the original Spider-Man plot having two powerful allies for the side of justice, but also caused changes for the villain, Dr. Lizard... Dr. Lizardhad not only transformed Coulson into a Lizardman but had also created many more Lizardmanminions!
And while these Lizardmen were just minions to Karl, to ordinary people, they were unstoppable prehistoric beasts!
This was also why Karl insisted on taking Gwen into the Shadow World.
Furthermore... Karl squinted his eyes as he looked at the changing green mist.
This time, the changes weren't limited to just more minions. That 'finger' of his just now didn't seem to have harmed Dr. Lizard; instead, it seemed to have given him a buff... Within the green mist below, a massive figure slowly stood up, and a hideous head poked out from the smoke. It was none other than the twice-mutated Dr. Lizard!
Because he had inhaled a massive dose of the lizard serum, Dr. Lizard's size had surged from about three meters to a terrifying five meters!
Moreover, his skin, which was previously covered in fine lizard scales but still relatively smooth, had now become lumpy like pustules. Sharp dorsal fins, like those of Godzilla, had grown on his tail and back!
His appearance had become even more terrifying!
Karl's mouth twitched: "Uh, so ugly. Can he even turn back into a human..."
He had originally planned to let Dr. Lizard revert to Dr. Connors to use him for his own purposes... Dr. Lizard also felt his second 'evolution.' His even more hideous lizard face suddenly looked up at Karl, his eyes filled with bone-deep hatred as he roared:
"Karl Fisk! I will tear you to pieces!!!"
Having 'evolved' again, he was now confident he could defeat this enemy whom he couldn't beat even with full strength before!
Dr. Lizard bent his legs, charged up, and launched himself upward, the reaction force cracking the ground beneath him!
And then... Karl easily dodged sideways, controlled him with telekinesis, smashed him, lifted him, smashed him, lifted him, smashed him... Dr. Lizard was defeated!
The Coulson Lizardman, who was also nearly four meters tall after his second mutation, saw this scene and suddenly felt his brain—which was previously filled with chaos, only knowing slaughter and following Dr. Lizard's orders—clear up quite a bit!
I'll die!
Can't win, run!
The Coulson Lizardman didn't hesitate; he turned around and jumped off the building again!
But no matter how fast Lizard Coulson ran, could he be faster than a single thought from Karl?
Karl reached out: telekinetic control, smash, lift, smash, lift, smash... Lizard Coulson was defeated!
Lowly physical warriors will always be lowly physical warriors. Did they think a little blood-rage could stand against someone like him, who was a combined Mage, Summoner, Assassin, and Warrior?
Ridiculous!
Glancing at the helicopters in the sky that had filmed the entire process, Karl took the unconscious Dr. Lizard and Lizard Coulson with him as trophies and leaped down from Oscorp Tower.
In the streets below, Tony and Peter had already formed a defensive line with the police to jointly combat the continuously emerging Lizardmen.
But the opposition was entirely composed of superhuman Lizard mutants, while only Peter and Tonycounted as superhumans on this side. The power gap between the two sides was huge; the police were about to break, and the defensive line was shrinking!
And Chief Stacy, who was at the very front of the defensive line, hadn't noticed that a few clever Lizardmen had crawled out of a restroom within the perimeter and were sneakily circling behind the police line, intending to ambush them from the rear!
Chapter 52: God Karl!
"Watch your back!!"
By the time Tony, who was responsible for the other side of the defensive line, noticed something was wrong, it was already too late!
The Lizardmen had already succeeded in a sneak attack from behind. After killing several officers, they completely disrupted the Police defense line from within!
Even Chief Stacy, who was in charge of commanding this Police line, was targeted by a Lizardman that lunged at him with its bloody maw wide open!
Roar!
Crack——————
But just as Chief Stacy could see the cavities in the mouth of the Lizardman lunging at him, it was eerily frozen in mid-air, as if someone had pressed the pause button!
And there was only one person who could do this!
Chief Stacy jerked his head up and saw Karl slowly descending from the sky like a God, with his arms wide open!
Or rather, to the officers present and the citizens within the defensive line, Karl was their God right now!
Because Karl hadn't just frozen the Lizardman lunging at Chief Stacy; he had controlled every single one of them—hundreds of Lizardmen—both inside and outside the defense line!
On the scene, as Karl slightly raised his arms, the dense crowd of Lizardmen began to lift off the ground, floating into the air and losing all their threat!
With his own power alone, Karl easily resolved the Lizardman disaster that had nearly wiped out the New York Police Department and threatened all of New York!
In the crowd below, a chubby black officer patted the tall, thin, bald officer next to him—who wasn't quite as dark—and said blankly:
"My God, Andre, look! He's like a God..."
"No! He's not like a God, he IS a God, Migan!" The officer named Andre looked at Karl with an exceptionally fanatical gaze. After answering Migan, he suddenly raised his hands high and shouted:
"God! God! He is the Superhero, God!!!"
Hearing his black best friend Andre shouting like that, Migan didn't hesitate and followed suit immediately!
He also raised his hands, jumping and shouting along with Andre, calling Karl 'God'!
As everyone knows, Superhero codenames in American comics are usually given by the bystanders, like Tony's Iron Man and Peter's Spider-Man.
When the other officers and citizens heard the black brothers calling Karl 'God', they immediately felt the name was perfectly appropriate!
Karl's ability to save countless believers and defeat countless demons with a wave of his hand—wasn't that exactly what a God would do?!
This hero codename is great! Simply fantastic!
The word 'God' spread from one to ten, ten to a hundred, a hundred to a thousand, and a thousand to ten thousand, until everyone within the defensive line began cheering for Karl as 'God'!
And these ten thousand people would surely spread Karl's 'God' codename to a hundred thousand, a million, ten million, a hundred million, until it spread across the U.S. and even the world!
In response, Karl, who was controlling hundreds of Lizardmen in mid-air, gave a helpless smile. He pressed his hands down toward the fanatically cheering crowd, though he couldn't suppress the grin on his face, and said casually:
"Keep it low-key, low-key. Everyone, there's no need for such an exaggerated title like 'God'. Just calling me 'God' is fine..."
Of course, Karl's voice telling them to 'keep it low-key' was immediately drowned out by the fanatical waves below, failing to stop them from continuing to call him God.
So Karl could only helplessly, reluctantly, and very unwillingly accept this high-profile hero codename.
The only thing Karl could guarantee was that in the future, these fans would definitely not regret giving him such an exaggerated hero title.
By the time he gathered all nine Shadow Legions and the twelve talismans in the future, he truly would be an omnipotent 'God'!
Of course, he wasn't there yet; right now, he was just a person with a bit of extraordinary power~
While everyone was jumping and cheering for Karl in the sky, Chief Stacy—who remained relatively calm and restrained, or rather, was too embarrassed to lose his composure in front of his daughter's boyfriend—cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted up at Karl:
"Hey, Karl, don't kill these Lizardmen! They're all innocent homeless citizens transformed by Dr. Lizard. Let's handcuff them first!!"
Although Karl's hearing wasn't superhuman, it was still quite excellent.
Therefore, even in such a noisy environment, he could still hear Chief Stacy's words clearly and looked down to nod at him.
Tony also flew to Karl's side at this moment, turning on his armor's loudspeaker: "Hey, guys, I totally understand your excitement at seeing our savior appear in your most desperate hour. Really, nobody understands it better than I do!!"
"But please, can everyone calm down? Especially the officers on the scene—you need to exercise some restraint and fulfill your duties first. I'm sure whether you want autographs or photos later, your God's father-in-law, Chief Stacy, will arrange it for you, won't he~"
Tony's words not only successfully restored order and calm to the scene but also gave Chief Stacy a boost, raising his prestige among the Police and citizens to another level.
The father-in-law of God... Heavens, after this incident, Chief Stacy's prestige in the New York Police Department would likely surpass that of the Director himself.
Well, this was already enough for Karl to arrange his promotion conditions... That's right, he didn't just plan to replace the Mayor of New York City; he also planned to replace the Director of the New York Police Department.
And keeping the benefits within the family, the Mayor's position was for his old man, Kingpin, while the Director's position would naturally go to his prospective father-in-law, Chief Stacy.
Karl patted Tony on the back to show that he had done a great job with that assist!
However, watching the Police below take out their small handcuffs intending to restrain the Lizardmen, he shook his head.
Those things were fine for ordinary people, but it was impossible to restrain these Lizardmen whose strength started in the tonnage range.
With one hand controlling the hundreds of Lizardmen in the sky, Karl reached his other hand toward the ground. After a tremor, steel bars burst out from the concrete ground and rose into the air, wrapping each Lizardman in mid-air into a steel cocoon!
However, although Karl appeared to be using his hands to control things, he actually didn't need any physical movement at all to use the rooster talisman's telekinesis.
He only needed a thought to achieve the same effect.
Karl did this intentionally to mislead anyone watching from the shadows into thinking his powers required his arms to activate.
If there were any future actions targeted at him, this misconception might cause the opponent to suffer a major loss~
And this 'divine hand' of Karl's once again made the people below cry out that it was a miracle!
It also meant that even without Karl's telekinetic control, these Lizardmen became completely harmless. After all, Karl had stuffed a piece of steel bar into each of their mouths.
Citizens could even get up close to view these Lizardmen, just like watching monkeys behind bars in a zoo~
Chapter 53: Captain America Found, The Avengers Initiative!
However, there were some consequences: the underground rebar for several nearby streets had been completely drained by Karl, leaving the concrete pavement riddled with potholes.
The subsequent reconstruction costs were sure to be a hefty sum.
But it didn't matter; Karl lacked many things right now, but money wasn't one of them!
Today's total destruction would be paid for by Young Master Fisk... or rather, the Young Master Starknext to him!
Karl patted Tony's shoulder and smirked, "Little Tony, since your 'daddy' has solved all the trouble, I'll leave the after-sales service to you. No problem, right?"
Without waiting for Tony's answer, Karl soared into the sky and disappeared into the night, leaving only Tony in mid-air giving him the middle finger as a farewell.
Of course, before leaving, Karl also took away the Lizardman that Dr. Connors had transformed into.
After all, this was also one of his trophies this time... After flying through the shadow of a building, Karlsuddenly dove into the Shadow World with Dr. Lizard, shaking off all the tails following him.
Especially that tail in the sky... Hundreds of meters above the ground, within the invisible dark clouds, a quinjet came to a stop.
Hawkeye Barton frowned as he watched Karl suddenly disappear from the scan and pressed the communication button in the jet:
"Director, I've lost him. Karl Fisk has disappeared with Dr. Connors..."
Nick Fury fell silent for a moment before his cold voice came through: "Mission over. Return to headquarters now!"
Barton hesitated and asked, "But didn't you say Dr. Connors was very important to us? Aren't we going to try and get him?"
Nick Fury snorted, his tone tinged with a bit of resentment:
"Hmph! If it were anyone else, we might have a chance, but that little brat will never hand him over. We can't afford to provoke the people behind him either, so just give up on Dr. Connors!"
"Also, get back as soon as possible. I have a top-secret escort mission for you to carry out immediately!"
Barton raised an eyebrow at the news, his tone complaining, "Another escort mission? Your last escort mission was a disaster for Natasha. She almost died on that one, and it left a hideous scar on her stomach that will never go away!"
...Nick Fury choked for a moment on the other end and cleared his throat:
"Cough, last time was an accident. That escort was carried out in cooperation with the Israeli Military, but as you know, the situation over there is extremely unstable. It's very likely the security route was leaked from within the Israeli Military."
"But this time, the personnel involved are only from our agency, so I guarantee there won't be any leaks. As long as nothing unexpected happens, I guarantee nothing will go wrong!"
Barton's lip twitched, thinking that this big black guy was just talking in circles.
"Nothing will go wrong as long as nothing unexpected happens." But what if something unexpected does happen?
But as a mere employee, Barton didn't have much of a say, let alone the ability to refuse a mission assigned by his boss.
So he could only ask helplessly, "Well, can you at least tell me the target of this escort in advance? I hope it's not someone who likes to run around like the one Natasha escorted last time..."
On the other end, Nick Fury's lips curled into a confident smirk. "Don't worry, even if you wanted your target to run around this time, he wouldn't be able to!"
Barton frowned at those words, and then something suddenly occurred to him, making him lean back. "Can't run even if he wanted to? Another important person? You're not making me escort Hawking, are you...?"
Even over the radio, Barton could feel how speechless Nick Fury was at that moment.
After a long silence, Nick Fury sighed and answered:
"Sigh, according to procedure, I shouldn't tell you about the mission beforehand. But since you're the person I trust most, and to stop you from overthinking, I'll make an exception and tell you who your escort target is..."
"Actually, I believe you're very familiar with him—or rather, all Americans are. He's the national hero who thwarted HYDRA during World War II, and the World's first Superhero. He is..."
"Captain America!"
Barton and Nick Fury spoke almost simultaneously!
However, the two expressed two completely different emotions.
Barton's was shock and disbelief.
While Nick Fury's was pride and confidence!
Over the past year, the appearance of superhumans had become increasingly frequent, which was a major headache for Nick Fury as the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., a supernatural department!
After all, while S.H.I.E.L.D. had some superhuman Agents and weapons to deal with them, it lacked a comprehensive plan or a super-team capable of handling all superhumans... If S.H.I.E.L.D. were to face off against those off-the-charts superhumans, like the 'Hulk' inside Dr. Banner, or the newly appeared 'God' Karl.
Nick Fury had no guarantee of victory... But just two days ago, a scientific expedition in the North Polesent back intelligence that they had discovered Red Skull's aircraft, which had crashed nearly seventy years ago during World War II.
News about HYDRA was naturally a top priority for S.H.I.E.L.D., which was originally created specifically to deal with HYDRA.
So Nick Fury even went there in person.
As a result, he found a pleasant surprise: an antique that had been frozen in the aircraft for nearly seventy years!
Captain America, Steve Rogers!
Furthermore, through life-sign detection instruments, Nick Fury discovered that Captain America, who had been frozen for nearly seventy years, actually still showed signs of life!
This was simply an incredible miracle!
At the same time, a bold plan began to take shape in Nick Fury's mind!
A plan he had envisioned over a decade ago, after that woman as powerful as a God descended upon Earth!
And that was... the Avengers Initiative!
A team composed of superpowered individuals to respond to extraordinary events!
A super-team that S.H.I.E.L.D. urgently needed in this era where superhumans were appearing more and more frequently!
And what is the most important part of a team?
Without a doubt, it must be a qualified Captain!
And who could be more suitable to lead this super-team than Captain America, whose strength and reputation were unparalleled?
Therefore, Nick Fury attached great importance to Captain America and planned to arrange for his ace Agent, Hawkeye Barton, to escort the frozen Captain back!
After a long moment of shock, Barton regained his composure and laughed, "Heh, if Coulson knew the target of the escort was his idol, he'd be more than willing to take on this mission."
Nick Fury sighed on the other end of the line:
"Yeah, I actually intended for Coulson and you to carry out this mission together, but unfortunately..."
The smile vanished from Barton's face, replaced by a flicker of worry:
"By the way, Fury, after Coulson turned into a Lizardman, he underwent a secondary infection, and his level of infection is much deeper than that of other citizens. Earlier, Karl Fisk tied him up with rebar and left him on the street. Should I bring him back now for treatment at the agency?"
On the other end, Nick Fury fell silent again before saying in a low voice, "No, leave him at the New York Police Department with the other mutated citizens. We'll wait until Tony Stark develops an antidote to return him to normal..."
Barton was a bit surprised:
"Oh? Leaving Coulson with Stark? You seem to have a lot of faith in that playboy."
Nick Fury said seriously:
"Don't underestimate him. To be able to shrink the arc reactor left by Howard to the size of a fist and create a generational armor, his talent is no less than that of one of our S.H.I.E.L.D. founders, his father Howard Stark!"
Chapter 54: Karl's Murderous Intent Toward Captain America, Verifying the Results!
"And Tony Stark, as well as Karl Fisk... these two are useful for an important plan I have coming up. Leaving Coulson with Stark might help us build a closer connection in advance..."
Barton was stunned: "Plan? What plan?"
"That's not something you need to know right now. In short, once you bring the Captain back, you'll naturally find out..."
After saying that, Nick Fury cut the communication directly.
"So, am I also a part of this plan..." Barton thought to himself. After muttering a few words, he didn't think much more of it, started the quinjet, and left.
What Barton didn't know was that this top-secret conversation between him and Nick Fury was heard clearly by the Ghost Shadow Ninja hidden in his shadow, and shared with Karl in real-time.
In the Shadow World, Karl's eyes narrowed slightly, also lost in thought.
The Avengers Initiative, Captain America... how interesting. And Nick Fury, that Black Braised Egg, actually included me in his list of candidates for the Avengers... Hah, as expected of Nick Fury!
Always trying to control power he cannot master!
Simply foolish!
He hadn't actively provoked Nick Fury, yet Nick Fury had already set his sights on him. Then don't blame him for being unkind!
The Avengers can appear, but they absolutely cannot be under the control of the Black Braised Egg or Captain America.
Or rather, the powerful force of the Avengers cannot be in anyone's hands; it can only be in the hands of Karl Fisk!
Any competitor has only one path: death!
Furthermore, Captain America, Nick Fury's designated leader for the Avengers, is a mortal enemy to HYDRA!
In the original story, before Captain America woke up, HYDRA had been lurking for decades. Not only were they not discovered, but their influence grew larger and larger globally!
But after Captain America woke up, in less than ten short years, HYDRA completely collapsed!
The long-prepared Insight Project was sabotaged; Alexander Pierce's lineage, the largest S.H.I.E.L.D.branch of HYDRA, was wiped out; most of HYDRA's data was exposed; several other frozen Winter Soldiers were killed; the precious digital lifeform Dr. Zola was destroyed; Baron Strucker's branch of HYDRA was also annihilated... Therefore... a cold light flashed in Karl's eyes; he already had murderous intent!
Captain America's strength is merely optional for the entire Earth.
But for Karl, who already considers HYDRA his own, the disadvantages outweigh the benefits!
Thus, in Karl's heart, Captain America already has a path to death!
This escort journey for Hawkeye is destined to be far from peaceful.
It might even be more miserable than that of Natasha, that poisonous spider... After all, Hawkeye is just as useless to Karl.
After all, Hawkeye is just an 'ordinary person' with slightly better eyesight and more accurate arrows.
However, Hawkeye is still on his way back to S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, so there's no rush. Karl needs to check the experimental results first.
His entry into the Shadow World this time was, of course, not just to shake off the few tails following him.
The main reason was to enter the Shadow World to verify the rules for the book of ages' rewards.
Karl descended from the sky, slowly landing beside Gwen, who was anxiously pacing back and forth in the palace.
Seeing Karl land, Gwen's face lit up with joy. She looked him up and down while asking with concern, "Karl! Are you okay? Are you hurt?"
Karl smiled slightly and shook his head gently. "I'm fine. Chief Stacy is also fine. I've already resolved the matter."
Hearing this, Gwen finally let out a long sigh of relief.
Then she looked at the 'iron-wrapped bundle' floating down behind Karl. She already had a guess about his identity, and her gaze was somewhat complicated. "Karl, is he..."
Without needing Gwen to say the name, Karl nodded directly.
"Yes, he is your teacher, Dr. Connors. Because he injected an untested Lizard Healing Serum, he mutated into his current Lizardman form. The drug also caused a second, violent Dr. Lizard personality to emerge."
Gwen sighed silently. "Professor, why did you have to..."
As Dr. Connors' most outstanding student, having even followed him in research, how could Gwen not know how deep Dr. Connors' obsession with a healthy body was... Karl pulled the emotionally conflicted Gwen into his arms and smiled:
"But don't worry. Although the trouble Dr. Connors caused this time is significant, fortunately, his identity hasn't been exposed, and his actions weren't of his own volition, so I will protect him."
"But a mistake is a mistake. So I can't really let Dr. Connors continue to act recklessly on his own as before. All his future activities must be under my supervision, and he can no longer be your teacher."
"Ah? Is that allowed?" Gwen was stunned. It wasn't that she thought Karl was wrong, but as the daughter of a police chief, she instinctively felt this seemed illegal... After all, while Karl had an extraordinary background and a godfather who was the United Nations Secretary, and was now a Superhero...
But in the end, background doesn't represent the law. The United Nations Secretary has no authority over America's affairs, and superheroes have no law enforcement power. So, logically speaking, Karlhas no right to confine Dr. Connors.
Unless it's illegal imprisonment... but would Karl be a person who breaks the law?
Gwen absolutely didn't believe so!
After all, her boyfriend was a Superhero who had just saved New York!
Karl saw Gwen's doubts, stroked her hair, and said calmly, "Don't worry, I won't illegally imprison someone's freedom. After all, that's a serious crime. I am acting legally."
"Tomorrow, the New Mayor and the New New York Police Department Commissioner will grant me the supervisory rights to look after Dr. Connors."
"New Mayor and new Commissioner?" Gwen was even more confused.
She had only been in this strange World for a little while. What on Earth happened outside?
A great rebellion?
Seeing Gwen's dazed and adorably silly look, Karl rubbed her head dotingly. "Alright, don't think too much. You'll understand everything tomorrow."
"So, you saw the records on there, didn't you?"
After Karl finished speaking, he changed the subject and pointed to the book of ages in the center of the palace.
But to his surprise, Gwen looked puzzled. She looked at Karl, then at where he was pointing, and shook her head. "See what? There's nothing there..."
"Hmm?"
Karl was slightly taken aback. He looked closely into Gwen's eyes, and indeed, he couldn't see any trace of the book of ages in the reflection of her pupils.
Could it be... only he can see the book of ages?
Chapter 55: sheep talisman, Captain America's Transformation Plan!
He hooked his finger, and the rooster talisman floated out from the pitch-black ground.
The Shadow World was a dimension belonging to Karl, so as long as the rooster talisman was within the Shadow World, he could exert the power of the talisman.
This also avoided the risk of the talisman being stolen.
Karl held the rooster talisman and gestured toward Gwen. "Can you see this?"
Gwen still shook her head. "In my eyes, you have nothing in your hand."
Karl became thoughtful upon hearing this. "Stretch out your hand."
Gwen obediently stretched out her hand.
Karl placed the rooster talisman on Gwen's hand.
Sure enough, just as Karl had guessed, the rooster talisman passed directly through Gwen's palm like a phantom and fell to the ground.
So... the book of ages, and the treasures it drops, can only be seen and used by Karl himself?
This... was a mix of good and bad news.
The good part was that there was no way for the book of ages or the talismans to be taken by others.
The bad part was that he couldn't lend the treasures dropped by the book of ages to others to use.
For example, his old man or Gwen.
But overall, the fact that others couldn't see or touch the book of ages and the talismans was more beneficial than detrimental to Karl.
After all, these two things were vital to Karl and could not be lost!
After thinking it through, Karl's face lit up with a satisfied smile. He turned his head to look at Gwen, who was waiting obediently to the side without interrupting him.
I'll have a Personal Guard send you to Chief Stacy first. I might be out for a day or two. Dr. Connors is too dangerous, so until Tony develops an antidote, he'll be locked in this World first."
Gwen naturally had no objection to Karl's arrangement. She nodded in agreement without any extra questions.
Karl snapped his fingers, and two cool-looking Ghost Shadow Ninjas wearing black suits and sunglasses immediately emerged from the ground.
The suit-clad Ghost Shadow Ninjas stepped forward, bowed to Gwen, and respectfully raised their hands.
The strength of Ghost Shadow Ninjas was not uniform; there were differences in rank.
And these Ghost Shadow Ninjas wearing black suits, who were clearly more intelligent, were the 'Personal Guard' who were a level stronger than ordinary Ghost Shadow Ninjas.
In reality, Ghost Shadow Ninja was a unified title, and there was no official designation for a Personal Guard.
This term was just a joke made by netizens because the Ghost Shadow Ninjas summoned by Shenduwere kicked away one by one by Jackie Chan, while the ones summoned by Jade could beat him up.
However, some Ghost Shadow Ninjas in the Shadow World were indeed stronger.
Gwen placed her forearms on the raised hands of the suit-clad ninjas. The two Ghost Shadow Ninjas immediately took Gwen and sank into the ground, leaving the Shadow World to escort her to find Chief Stacy.
Karl, meanwhile, turned his gaze back to the book of ages and took a deep breath.
Three Pure Ones, Jade Emperor, Buddha, God, Virgin Mary, Jesus, Old Man Stan Lee—please protect me and let this be a success, and let it drop something gold!
After finishing his prayer in his heart, Karl reached out and pressed his hand onto the book of ages!
Next, it was time to witness a miracle!
Whoosh—
The book of ages did not disappoint Karl; it truly shone with a brilliant light just like last time!
It then automatically turned a page, recording the entire process of Karl's participation in the Spider-Man plot on a blank page!
Under Karl's expectant gaze, the golden light of the words recorded in the book of ages began to converge and materialize, and another talisman wrapped in golden light appeared once more!
Yes! Yes! Yes!
Karl's face was full of excitement. He was excited not only because the book of ages had dropped another talisman for him, but even more so because it proved his guess about the book of agesdropping 'gold' was correct!
In that case, he wouldn't have to worry about being unable to obtain other talismans or other treasures in the future!
As long as he changed and participated in the plot, he could obtain a steady stream of treasures!
"Now, let me see which little darling this talisman is!"
Karl couldn't wait for the golden light on the talisman to disappear. He directly reached out and grabbed the talisman floating in mid-air in his palm.
As the bits of golden light were violently crushed by him, the talisman finally revealed its full appearance.
Carved on it was none other than a small green sheep!
The gentle sheep, allowing you to master the power of the soul!
Powerful soul energy surged from the sheep talisman into Karl's soul, causing a substantial flash of light in his eyes, as blinding as two high-beam headlights!
"Astral projection, soul stripping, traversing dreams, and even... soul attacks and soul modification!"
When the white light in Karl's eyes receded, he had already mastered the soul abilities of the sheep talisman!
In addition to the few simple abilities shown in the animation, Karl discovered that the sheep talismancould actually be used for attacks and brainwashing!
First was the attack. The sheep talisman's attack was similar to the rooster talisman's; both were invisible.
But the difference was that the rooster talisman's telekinesis caused damage on a physical level, while the sheep talisman's attack caused damage on a spiritual level!
He could use the sheep talisman to perform skills similar to a spiritual Impact wave!
In a way, it was even more impressive than the rooster talisman's telekinesis!
After all, most heroes and villains in American comics might have a powerful physical body, but their souls were not much stronger than those of ordinary people!
Next was soul modification. As Karl said, this was brainwashing at the soul level!
And it was even more terrifying and inescapable than the electric shock therapy brainwashing used by HYDRA!
With HYDRA's physical brainwashing, you could still break out of the brainwashed state through memory awakening or technological means like those in Wakanda.
But the brainwashing of the sheep talisman, which acted on the soul level, could no longer be considered brainwashing in the conventional sense!
Instead, it was equivalent to killing the original personality and 'fabricating' a new personality. Since the new personality was inherently this way, how could it change back to the original?
So, this sheep talisman was simply terrifyingly powerful!
Wait!
Karl suddenly thought of something!
Now that he had the sheep talisman, maybe he didn't have to kill Captain America anymore!
He could also brainwash Captain America, turning him from Captain America into the opposite—Captain HYDRA!
The more Karl thought about it, the more feasible and interesting the idea seemed. He was even getting a bit impatient!
Just thinking about changing Captain America from righteous, kind, and polite to evil, cruel, and foul-mouthed made him feel a burst of excitement!
Fun, this was simply too much fun!
But just as Karl wanted to set off immediately and follow Hawkeye to the North Pole to transform his 'polite' Captain...
Suddenly, a mutation occurred in the Shadow World. The ground and the sky began to vibrate violently at the same time!
"This is..."
Karl's eyes widened slightly. He soared into the sky and looked down at the Shadow World below from a high vantage point.
He saw that the edges of the Shadow World were currently expanding and growing larger!
Chapter 56 – New Legion: Night-Bat Regiment; New Mayor: Kingpin!
Looking up, the sky—once capped at ten thousand meters—kept climbing higher and higher.
The Shadow World was expanding on every front.
Karl's eyes widened in disbelief: "So the Shadow World really is growing again…"
He knew its last expansion had been eight years ago, the day he turned ten and awakened the second Shadow troop type.
Back then, just like today, the world had doubled in size amid violent tremors.
When the growth finished, a second ghastly face tattoo had appeared on his body, granting him the power to summon the second Pincer Shadow Legion.
So this time he was bound to receive yet another Shadow corps.
But… hadn't the ten-year cycle not yet arrived?
Why had the third expansion started two years early?
Could the growth cycle not be ten years after all?
No—impossible. The Shadow World was his innate ability; he couldn't have sensed it wrong.
Its natural expansion interval was definitely once every ten years.
Since it had surged ahead of schedule, only one explanation remained—Karl looked toward the book of ages within the palace.
History must have messed with it again!
It had forced his Shadow World to grow early.
Which raised the next question: what condition had the book of ages set off for this expansion?
And why hadn't it triggered last time, yet had done so now?
Karl rubbed his temples… there had to be a pattern, just like when the Book spat out talismans; it couldn't be random.
But what linked the two events? Let me think… This was his second completed storyline, the second time the Book bestowed a treasure, and his awakening had advanced by two years—wait, he saw it… Two!
The connection lay in that "two."
Every time he recorded a full storyline in the book of ages, not only did it cough up a relic, it also shaved one year off the natural awakening timetable of the Shadow World.
In other words, he no longer had to wait until eighty to awaken every Shadow Legion naturally.
As long as he kept chronicling events in the book of ages, he could unlock every corps soon—and become a true Lord of the Dimension!
Holy crap! Holy crap! Holy crap!
A surprise this huge, just dropped in his lap?
If that were true, the book of ages wasn't just Big Brother History—it was Daddy History!
A better dad than his real father or his godfather ever was.
Unable to stop grinning, Karl watched the Shadow World swell until it had doubled once more.
At the same moment, a fierce new ghost-face tattoo surfaced over his right pectoral.
A horned demon visage…
Bator?
At a thought, figures unlike Ghost or Pincer Shadows burst from the black ground of the Shadow World.
Taller than Ghost Shadow Ninjas yet shorter than Pincer Shadows, with spindly-muscled arms, wasp-waists, knobby knees—and wings!
Fwoosh—
Huge bat wings unfurled, and the new Shadow troops soared up toward Karl in the sky.
Night-Bat Regiment: flying shadows!
The only aerial unit among the nine Shadow Legions.
Watching the flying shadows circle him, Karl nodded in satisfaction.
Their arrival filled the gaping hole in his forces—until now he'd had no air power.
With the Night-Bat Regiment in play, he wouldn't need to lift a finger in sky battles anymore.
And, if he remembered right, the Night-Bats weren't just fliers; they were one of the few corps among the nine that boasted a special ability.
flying shadows could launch sonic-like light blasts from their palms—strong enough to shatter boulders, virtually bomb-grade.
The same beam could turn into ribbons of light to bind foes, making them supremely versatile.
Overall combat strength: top-tier among the nine legions.
As he sized up the flying shadows, Karl's expression shifted again.
Wait… this time the world hadn't merely expanded and birthed the Night-Bats; he'd gained extra powers himself.
Staring at a flying shadow's bat wings, he willed it—and a massive pair of bat wings sprouted from his own back!
A light flap shot him upward.
Eyes widening, he focused again; jet-black armor encased his body while his hands morphed into enormous pincers.
The Hunting-Claw Regiment's Pincer Shadow ability!
Holy shell! So he could now wield the troops' powers himself?
And there was more: with another thought he dissolved into wisps of black smoke, vanishing mid-air—and reappeared beside a Ghost Shadow Ninja inside the palace.
Essentially teleportation.
A power he'd never possessed before.
Previously he could only share their sight and, within a thousand-meter limit, jump to any Shadow through a shadow.
Just now he'd been ten thousand meters up, and he hadn't stepped through a shadow—he'd blinked out of thin air.
Which meant distance no longer mattered; anywhere a Shadow soldier stood, he could snap to that spot instantly.
A mobile Flying Thunder God technique!
A Ghost Shadow Ninja brought a chair for the pondering Karl, eased him down, and served his favorite think-time beverage—an ice-cold Coca-Cola.
Karl took a sip; the sugar lifted his mood, and his eyes gleamed. "Looks like when I act as the Shadow Assassin, I'll have a rock-solid alibi…"
He'd planned to tail Hawkeye to the North Pole personally to pick up their "HYDRA" Captain, but now he could simply send a flying shadow.
Then he'd warp straight to the destination—much simpler.
And it would keep the suspicious types off his back… perfect.
The next day.
After the mayor's recent disgrace, even the authorities couldn't shield him; they announced his resignation and slapped him with dozens of charges before hauling him off to prison.
A new mayoral election was rushed through.
Or rather, it couldn't be called an election—before campaigning even started, the successor had already been chosen.
Backed by ninety percent of New York's officials and enjoying a ninety-nine-percent popular approval, Wilson Grant Fisk—father of the Superhero "God" who had just saved New York—was sworn in as the new Mayor of New York City by an overwhelming margin.
Chapter 57 – Ancestral-Style Speech: Hawkeye Receives Captain America
Rather than an election ceremony, this was more like an official announcement!
After taking office, Kingpin's first act was to denounce and replace the ten percent of officials who hadn't supported him—those corrupt bureaucrats—with HYDRA's own 'clean' bureaucrats.
The move instantly boosted the public's opinion of their new mayor.
Next, the New York Police Department Director and deputy director suddenly took the stage to announce their 'voluntary' resignations and jointly recommended five-star Sheriff George Stacy as the new Director.
Kingpin, as the new mayor, naturally approved their 'voluntary' departure on the spot.
He then invited a bewildered, completely out-of-the-loop Chief Stacy onstage to congratulate him on his promotion.
Afterward, Kingpin, speaking for all New Yorkers, thanked the three Superheroes who had resolved last night's Lizardman crisis: God, Iron Man, and the guy who failed at being a man!
Of course, the real thanks went to his son Karl.
When he mentioned Karl, Kingpin's formulaic smile turned utterly sincere and proud; speaking of the hero name the public had given Karl—'God'—his grin nearly split his ears.
Facts prove no one truly hates Superheroes; even Kingpin only hates the ones who oppose him.
Like that blind guy in Hell's Kitchen who keeps wrecking his business!
But if the Superhero is his son, he couldn't be happier.
Finally, Kingpin invited the three Superheroes to the ceremony and personally awarded them the City Hero Medal.
Wearing plain clothes and standing center-stage to receive the medal, Karl looked left and right at Peter in his Spider-suit and Tony in his Iron Man Suit and fell into thought.
Compared with Tony and Peter, he lacked his own armor and seemed a bit less imposing… but Karl's Superhero persona was anything but low-key.
Low profile was reserved for his Shadow-assassin identity!
When Kingpin invited him to say a few words, Karl simply lifted off the ground and floated above the sea of people.
'God! God! God!'
As Karl levitated, his already-excited die-hard fans below went wild, chanting his heroic name.
Especially the ten thousand he'd saved last night—egged on by the clowns Migan and Andre—they raised their hands in fervor, hopping and shouting their gratitude for being rescued.
If this weren't a mayoral election, it could've passed for a superstar's concert.
High above, bathed in sunlight, Karl spread his arms toward the crowd like a true deity embracing them all:
'No need for many words, no need for thanks. My father taught me: with great power comes great responsibility.' (Kingpin: I never said that…)
'So I, who have this power, am no hero. You—ordinary people striving to live—my friends, you are the real heroes!!'
Karl's voice wasn't loud, yet it swept the vast plaza.
Even amid the roaring crowd, every word rang clear, igniting their blood.
'Mightiest hero—God!'
Someone in the crowd shouted, and instantly everyone added the weighty prefix 'mightiest' to Karl's heroic name.
It was one of Nightbat's abilities—like an ultrasonic directional speaker.
Watching Karl bask in universal adoration, on-scene and TV audiences reacted differently.
On-site, Kingpin—and Alexander Pierce watching from the Triskelion—looked on with satisfaction.
Tony and Peter felt genuine joy for their friend.
Gwen and Maria Hill, also at the Triskelion, stared transfixed at the radiant, godlike Karl.
Lastly, inside the Triskelion Director's office, Nick Fury's dark face darkened further as he watched the screen.
Karl was indeed a candidate for his Avengers, and greater influence would benefit the team.
But that influence shouldn't be this great—this soon!
It should have come after the Avengers were assembled, after Karl joined and gained fame as an Avenger.
If Karl were already this influential, it could threaten the leadership of Captain America—whom Fury had slated as team leader.
If the public later insisted Karl be made leader instead of Rogers, it would be unacceptable.
Looks like the Avengers Initiative had to accelerate; Captain America needed thawing—now.
Fury pressed the comm on his desk. 'Clint, have you reached the target?'
On the other end, Hawkeye Barton, having just landed the quinjet on the glacier, replied helplessly:
'Director, I left at dawn and only just reached the temporary Base. You said I had until tomorrow to bring the Captain back.'
Fury's voice was low: 'Plans changed. Pick him up right now and return at max speed. We need him thawed immediately—six hours.'
Barton's eyes widened. 'What? Six hours? This is a quinjet, not a starship. Even if I leave now it'll take eight!'
'You have seven. If you and the Captain aren't back by then, your mission bonus is halved.'
Click————————
Without waiting for an answer, Fury cut the call.
'Damn capitalist, working me like an ox!' Barton muttered, lips twitching.
Still grumbling, he unstrapped and sprinted from the quinjet toward the temporary Base.
Last time Fury was here, Red Skull's plane and Captain America had still been entombed in thick ice; now they'd been excavated.
But the site lacked the tech to safely thaw the Captain after seventy frozen years, so Rogers remained in suspended animation.
Barton flashed his badge and Fury's authorization, ordering S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents to load the Captain—shield and all—into the quinjet.
Without even time for a sip of hot water, he blasted back the way he'd come.
He didn't notice the 'Batman' silently trailing the quinjet from above.
Meanwhile, in New York, Karl—mid-ancestral-speech—saw Hawkeye depart with Captain America in real time.
He knew it was almost his turn to appear.
After his closing classic—'God bless America'—Karl ended his speech, floated back to the stage, and ceded center spotlight to Tony in his Iron Man armor.
Chapter 58: The Three Superheroes Branded as a Clique—Bullseye's Nightmare!
Tony couldn't hold back any longer; Karl was already flaunting himself, and Tony had never been one for modesty.
He shot into the air, arms spread wide like Karl, popped the faceplate of his helmet, and revealed his face.
Yesterday had been Tony's debut; apart from Karl, no one yet knew he was Iron Man.
The moment Tony stepped into the spotlight, the whole place exploded.
No one had imagined that Tony Stark—infamous for everything except genius—was the same Superhero who'd fought shoulder-to-shoulder with the police yesterday: Iron Man!
Equally stunned was Peter, the man behind Spider-Man.
It wasn't that he was shocked Iron Man turned out to be Tony Stark; Karl and Tony's grand reveal had left him high and dry.
As one of the three heroes who'd saved New York last night, how was he supposed to follow their unmasking?
Peter had never planned to expose himself, and unlike Karl and Tony he lacked a bullet-proof safety net; revealing his identity would bring more harm than good.
Reading Peter's plight, Karl clapped his shoulder. "Relax, Peter. Tony will handle it. You don't have to expose yourself. As long as you're with us, no one can force you."
Peter:???
"H-how do you know..."
He'd never told anyone he was Spider-Man, not even Uncle Ben or Aunt Mei—how could Karl know?
Karl winked his right eye at the rattled Peter. "Peter, did you forget my title? In this World names are never wrong; only people are. I know everything."
"So chill. With Tony and me around, nothing bad's going to happen."
"I'm off to grab a glass of water. Enjoy your moment of glory~"
With that, Karl nudged Peter toward the stage.
Just as Tony finished his speech and reached out to him:
"Folks, let's welcome our third star today—our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man!"
"But before this beloved kid comes up, remember: not every hero is as shamelessly flashy as Karl and me about showing his handsome face~"
"So do us a favor—don't hassle our Little Spider. Let him stay mysterious and speak as anyone, okay?"
That was the script Karl and Tony had agreed on backstage.
If Peter had said it himself, some might've grumbled: the other two unmasked, so who does Spider-Manthink he is—better than a God and Iron Man?
But coming from the ever-irreverent Tony, backed by Karl, it landed perfectly.
If the heroes' own team was fine with Spider-Man staying masked, what right did the peanut gallery have to demand otherwise?
Thanks to careful marketing buzz, Spider-Man, Iron Man, and Karl were now seen as an inseparable super-clique.
And today, the trio's joint appearance at the mayoral rally felt like an official seal on that rumor.
Tony, of course, didn't mind; he and Karl were partners anyway.
Peter felt no resistance either and simply accepted it.
Maybe Uncle Ben's incident had taught him that a lone hero walks a hard road; a strong team—and backing—could avert many tragedies.
Amid the crowd's cheers for Spider-Man, Karl quietly slipped backstage.
Bullseye, waiting there, immediately lowered his head and pulled open a lounge door for him.
"Guard the door. If anyone comes in before I'm out, I'll break your legs when I return!"
Karl glanced at the bowing Bullseye and stepped inside.
Bullseye shuddered, slammed the door behind Karl, and stood ram-rod straight in front of it.
Only then did he realize his back was soaked in cold sweat.
The reason the usually untamable Bullseye feared Karl so much went back years.
When Karl was ten, Kingpin recruited him and assigned Bullseye as his driver and bodyguard.
Young, cocky, and only tamed by Kingpin, Bullseye bristled at taking orders from a kid.
So once Kingpin left, he hurled an insult about Karl's mother.
That sentence became the single most regrettable line of his life.
Right after the insult, Karl glanced at him—and exiled him to another World for an entire week.
That week became Bullseye's worst nightmare.
The place was black-and-white, devoid of food or life, haunted only by two humanoid, un-killable monsters that chased him day and night.
If they caught him, they'd inflict agony short of death—far worse than dying.
They never killed him; instead they'd heal him after each torture, toss him aside, and start the chase anew.
Once he recovered enough to run, the cat-and-mouse game resumed until exhaustion delivered him back into their claws.
Again and again—an endless hell.
By the seventh day, even the hyper, half-deranged Bullseye felt his sanity fraying and contemplated suicide.
Only then did Karl finally reappear.
Karl never raised his voice, never even spoke a full sentence, yet the moment Bullseye saw him he collapsed, weeping and clutching Karl's leg in full repentance.
From then on, whenever Kingpin wasn't around, Bullseye suffered severe PTSD anxiety at the sight of Karl—not that Karl cared.
Karl had barely noticed the weakling; after Bullseye mouthed off, he flicked him into the Shadow Worldlike trash.
If Kingpin hadn't asked seven days later whether Bullseye was still alive, Karl would have forgotten anyone was trapped in there at all.
Chapter 59: Brainwashed Hawkeye and Captain America!
He was a bit surprised when he saw that Bullseye was still alive at the time.
It was the first time he had seen someone last until the seventh day in his Shadow World without food or water, while being chased 24 hours a day by Shadow Soldiers... The reason he said Bullseye was the first was that Bullseye wasn't the first person he had exiled to the Shadow World, nor would he be the last; Bullseye was simply the most tenacious one who luckily survived.
After all, the Shadow World could be described as a natural graveyard.
Anyone without spatial abilities trapped inside would have only two choices: starve to death or die of loneliness.
Even a big guy like the Hulk, whose strength has no upper limit, would have no way to escape if he fell into his Shadow World.
After all, once Karl withdrew the Shadow Soldiers inside, nothing that could trigger the Hulk's rage would exist; for him, only endless loneliness would remain.
Therefore, besides summoning Shadow Soldiers with various abilities, the Shadow World itself was actually Karl's greatest weapon and treasure, with many abilities waiting to be discovered and awakened!
And Karl was now using one of the new abilities that had only appeared in this treasure yesterday: Shadow Transfer.
Ignoring spatial distance, it allowed him to transfer to any location using a Shadow Soldier as a coordinate.
For example... the North Pole!
Boom!
Black smoke appeared amidst the cold clouds of the North Pole, staining the endless white with a touch of black.
Karl appeared out of thin air beside the flying shadow that was currently following the quinjet.
At this moment, Karl was not using telekinesis to fly, but instead, like the flying shadow, he had grown a pair of huge pitch-black bat wings from his back!
Furthermore, he wasn't wearing the casual clothes from before, but a suit of form-fitting pitch-black armor, a set that even fully enclosed his head!
With the current completeness of the three legions in the Shadow World, the flying shadow's bat wings could reach a maximum flight speed of Mach 3!
The hardness of the Pincer Shadow's armor could also withstand bombardment from small missiles!
That's right, the strength of the Shadow Soldiers would increase as the Shadow World expanded; it was not static.
For example, the Ghost Shadow Ninjas didn't have Elite Guards before, and their strength was uniform; it was only after the first expansion of the Shadow World when he was ten years old that stronger Elite Guards gradually began to appear.
Moreover, Elite Guards were not exclusive to the Ghost Shadow Ninjas; the Pincer Shadows and flying shadows also had them.
However, in terms of numbers, the personal guards were much rarer than ordinary Shadow Soldiers... and after a personal guard dissipated, their 'rebirth' time in the Shadow World was much slower than that of ordinary Shadow Soldiers.
So Karl rarely used the personal guard Shadow Soldiers; they were one of his trump cards.
He had only used them as the Pincer Shadow against Rhino, the Ghost Shadow that escorted Gwenout, and this time as the flying shadow tracking the quinjet.
Otherwise, an ordinary flying shadow wouldn't be able to keep up with a quinjet whose speed exceeded Mach 2~
Because of Karl's appearance, the flying shadow stopped, and by now, Hawkeye had already pulled ahead a certain distance while piloting the quinjet.
However, Karl was not flustered at all. After leisurely recalling the personal guard flying shadowbeside him, heatwave-like transparent ripples suddenly appeared on the wings behind him!
This was... the telekinetic power of the rooster talisman!
Boom!
After a violent sonic boom, Karl, trailing a series of Mach rings, shot out like a black shadow arrow, his speed instantly reaching Mach 6!
More than twice as fast as the fastest fighter jets today!
This was the terrifying explosive speed of the rooster talisman combined with the flying shadow's bat wings!
In the blink of an eye, Hawkeye suddenly saw a tall figure with wings like a demon appear out of thin air in the previously empty sky, hundreds of meters ahead of him!
Standing a full two meters tall in his armor, Karl gave a friendly wave to the oncoming quinjet. His deep voice, altered by the Pincer Shadow armor, bypassed the barrier of space and the quinjet to reach the ears of Hawkeye in the pilot's seat:
"Hello~ Aerial inspection. Could you please stop the aircraft and cooperate with the inspection?"
Aerial inspection? In the North Pole? And the other party is wearing an unknown humanoid combat armor?
Do I look like an idiot?!
Barton didn't say a word, pulling the control stick up as the nose of the plane soared skyward, choosing to bail immediately!
Fighting was out of the question, impossible in this lifetime. If the other guy's suit allowed him to keep up with the quinjet's speed, one could guess with their rear end that his attack power wouldn't be something this quinjet could compare to!
While fleeing, Barton pressed the emergency call button on the plane, intending to call for backup!
But before the call for help could connect, a large green electronic face appeared on the quinjet's display screen!
The giant face wore an evil smile: [Clint Barton, the sharp arrow Hawkeye in Nick Fury's hand, I'm sorry, I cannot let you send out this call for backup. Please cooperate with the aerial inspection!]
In the next moment, the quinjet actually came to a stop, beyond Hawkeye's control; no matter which button he operated, it was useless!
Hawkeye's pupils constricted sharply: "Who are you? Why can you hack into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s security network?!"
[You ask why I can hack into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s security network? Then why don't you ask yourself why you can open your own house? I was involved in the construction of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s security network from the start~]
"You're an undercover Agent in S.H.I.E.L.D.?!"
Hawkeye's pupils shook; he never imagined that S.H.I.E.L.D., the World's largest intelligence organization, could be infiltrated to such an extent that a mole was even in charge of its most important security network construction!
Dr. Zola's electronic face smiled disdainfully: [Undercover? I'm no undercover Agent. Proportionally speaking, you and Nick Fury are the 'moles' among us!]
[But you needn't worry; soon you will also become a member of our regular army!]
"I won't be a traitor!" Although Hawkeye knew his situation was dire, he still intended to resist to the end!
[That won't be up to you. No one says no to us in HYDRA!]
"HYDRA... ugh..."
Hawkeye let out a startled cry, but before he could finish his sentence, a large hand silently pressed down on the top of his head from behind, causing him to lose consciousness instantly.
The soul power of the sheep talisman invaded Hawkeye's brain, beginning to modify Hawkeye's self-will from the soul level.
This process lasted for a minute. When Hawkeye opened his eyes again, his expression had returned to a look of indifference as he stood up, knelt on one knee before Karl behind him, and shouted respectfully:
"Young Master..."
Karl nodded and looked at the freezer in the cabin: "Open the freezer."
"Yes!"
Hearing this, Hawkeye immediately stepped forward, entered the password, verified his iris and palm print, and opened the freezer that was freezing Captain America.
Although Hawkeye had been brainwashed by Karl, his original memories hadn't been modified much; he still remembered everything he had experienced before.
The only difference was that the object of his loyalty was no longer Nick Fury, but Karl and HYDRA.
This was the will of loyalty now engraved in Hawkeye's soul, a loyalty even more profound than his previous allegiance to Nick Fury. Unless someone brainwashed his soul again, it was impossible for him to betray Karl and HYDRA.
But Karl didn't think anyone capable of brainwashing a soul would bother with an ordinary Peashooter like Hawkeye~
Except for Loki, of course... and what Loki did wasn't Soul Brainwashing, but Mind Control.
Even if he were controlled, if Karl gave Hawkeye a Physical Brain Reboot Technique, he would still remain loyal to Karl.
As for Captain America, Karl's Soul Brainwashing of him wouldn't be as simple as Hawkeye's, merely modifying his loyalty; instead, he went for a radical overhaul!
Absolute justice? Change! Extreme Evil!
High quality? Change! Negative Quality!
Equality for all? Change! Stud Knight!
Full of Martial Honor? Change! Dishonorable!
He wanted to create a Steve Rogers, a Captain America of extreme contrast!
Chapter 60: A Hero Team Cooperating with the Government?
Half an hour had passed after Karl's extensive modifications.
Only after finally setting Captain America's deep-seated loyalty to himself and HYDRA did Karl stop, still feeling unsatisfied.
However, looking at the still-sleeping Captain America, Karl couldn't help but reveal a satisfied smile.
When the modified Captain America woke up, he would definitely give Nick Fury a huge surprise!
"Barton, continue your mission. Take Captain America to Nick Fury and cooperate with him to form that bullshit Avengers Initiative."
"But remember, notify me in advance when the Captain wakes up and meets Nick Fury. I want to witness this historic moment with my own eyes~"
Hawkeye nodded coldly: "Understood!"
Karl took one last look at Captain America before turning into a puff of black smoke and vanishing.
The show is about to begin!
*Click—*
Karl opened the door to the lounge. By now, the scene of the new mayoral election outside was nearly over, and the crowd was dispersing.
Tony, Peter, Kingpin, and Chief Stacy were talking backstage, and the atmosphere seemed fairly harmonious.
At the door of the lounge, Bullseye was vigilantly staring at everyone passing by Karl's room, playing with a cold, glinting dagger in his hand as if warning others not to approach!
"Good boy. It seems you're very dutiful with your Master's orders. Now that the task is done, go play by yourself~"
Karl came out, casually rubbed Bullseye's bald head a few times, and walked toward Kingpin, Tony, and Peter.
Being called a "good boy" by Karl, Bullseye didn't feel the slightest bit of anger; instead, he left the backstage area quickly, as if a weight had been lifted.
A dog is a dog, then. At least by being Karl's dog, he wouldn't be imprisoned and tortured in that hellish World!
"Yo, yo, yo, look who's out. It's our Lord God!"
"Lord God is a real big shot now. As your teammates, we wanted to see you, but your watchdog was actually baring its teeth at us!"
As soon as Karl arrived, Tony teased him.
Karl ignored Tony completely, silently giving him the international gesture of friendship, and changed the subject:
"What were you guys just talking about?"
Kingpin reached out to straighten Karl's clothes, which had become a bit wrinkled from being encased in the Pincer Shadow Armor, and smiled:
"Mr. Stark said he wants to cooperate with the New York City government to establish a legal Superhero team. Director Stacy and I discussed it and feel the proposal is feasible."
Director Stacy, standing nearby, also nodded: "That's right. Forming a team of you superheroes to cooperate with the government is actually beneficial for both sides."
"We in the police can provide resources and criminal information for your operations, while you can catch those troublesome criminals and supervillains that ordinary officers simply can't handle."
"Furthermore, our cooperation can prevent situations like with Mr. Spider-Man in the past, where he acted recklessly on his own and disrupted our police operations several times..."
By the end, Director Stacy glanced sideways at Peter.
Peter, being an honest person, immediately bowed his head to apologize to Director Stacy: "Sorry, Director Stacy. I really was too reckless before. It won't happen again!"
Tony also grinned and threw an arm around Peter's shoulder:
"Exactly. With me and Karl as 'parents' watching over the Little Bug from now on, he won't act recklessly. You can rest easy!"
Chief Stacy nodded and said no more.
He didn't dislike Spider-Man for his heroism; he just hated Spider-Man's lone wolf way of doing things.
Then, everyone looked at Karl together, and Kingpin spoke: "And after our joint discussion, we have decided to nominate you to serve as the first leader of this Superhero team."
Director Stacy, Tony, and Peter followed with nods, indicating that Kingpin was right.
Because Karl was indeed the most suitable candidate.
Because no matter who was present, if they had to choose someone they absolutely trusted, there was undoubtedly only one person: Karl himself!
The others were either unfamiliar with each other or had some underlying friction.
Only Karl was familiar with everyone, and everyone was familiar with him.
Karl looked at the faces before him that fully trusted him and smiled: "Since I'm the popular choice, what else can I say? Everyone, clap your hands and welcome your God Captain!"
"Get out of here, how shameless!" Tony slapped Karl on the shoulder with a playful curse, then continued:
"I plan to convert the top floors of Stark Tower into our temporary team Base. Come on, the three of us should go see how to renovate it, and grab a few drinks while we're at it!"
Peter weakly raised his hand:
"Um, Mr. Stark, I'm actually not of legal drinking age yet..."
Tony raised an eyebrow and glared at the killjoy Peter:
"Please, Little Bug. You just stopped a runaway school bus with your bare hands on the way here this morning, and now you're telling me you can't drink?"
"I'll pretend you didn't say that, or don't force me to serve you Milk Beer!"
With that, Tony didn't give Peter another chance to refuse. He grabbed Peter, activated the thrusters under his feet, and soared into the sky toward Stark Tower.
Karl nodded to Kingpin and Director Stacy, smiling: "Father, Father-in-law, I'll go keep an eye on them. I don't want my future team Base's decor to be turned into a flashy red by them."
Both Kingpin and Chief Stacy gave Karl kind smiles: "Mhm, go ahead."
They were very confident in the way Karl handled things.
But after Karl and the others left, the harmonious atmosphere between the two instantly turned cold.
Director Stacy looked at Kingpin beside him and said in a low voice:
"Fisk, don't think that just because you pulled me into the Director's position this time, I'll thank you or become your Lackey. Now that I'm Director, I'll only keep a closer eye on you!"
Facing Director Stacy's bluntness, Kingpin smiled slightly: "Of course. I didn't expect you to become corrupt after being promoted from Chief to Director. In fact... that's something I admire about you: your unwavering stance on justice!"
Director Stacy's expression softened upon hearing this. After a long silence, he said slowly:
"I shouldn't be saying this to you, but... even if it's just for Karl's sake, stop what you're doing, Fisk..."
Kingpin's expression remained unchanged as he said calmly, "George, your stereotypes of me are too strong. Even without you saying anything, I've already begun transitioning my business."
"In fact, if you truly understood me, you'd find that my position as the Underground Emperor has actually contributed more to New York—and even the entire United States—than you people standing in the light."
"Without me, New York wouldn't be better; it would only be more chaotic—chaotic beyond your imagination!"
"So, keep your advice to yourself. Just save whatever kindness you have left for the Fisk Family for Karl..."
Hearing this, Director Stacy's mind momentarily drifted, recalling the time he had handcuffed Karl and the words Gwen had said to him.
'You don't understand him at all. You were prejudiced against him from the start just because of his family!'
As it turned out, Karl really wasn't the bad kid he thought he was; instead, he was a righteous and courageous good boy!