Marvel: I, Homelander, Do Whatever I Want
Chapter 1: I, Homelander, Do Whatever I Want
"You promised me when we were little that you would be my lover when I grew up."
"Does that still count, Felicia?"
"Eros, I haven't seen you in years. You're just like before, not changed at all."
Felicia was wearing a black shirt, with the collar slightly open, revealing her plump upper bust.
The hem of the shirt was gently tied around her waist, outlining her slender waist without a trace of fat.
As she spoke, Felicia sat down opposite Eros, crossing her arms and crossing her legs. Her long, slender legs in black silk were heart-stirring, and her dainty little feet could be held in one hand.
"Many people say that I've been getting more and more handsome these past few years. Why don't you take a closer look?"
Eros leaned forward, moving close to Felicia.
Felicia Hardy was Eros Pierce's first love. The two met four years ago when Eros was fourteen and Felicia was seventeen.
One of them was a ninth-grade freshman at Midtown High School, and the other was a twelfth-grade graduate.
Therefore, this romance lasted for about a year before fizzling out without a definite outcome.
Felicia rolled her eyes. Was it that she wasn't willing to wait for Eros?
Listen to what this guy was saying—asking her to be his lover!
But... she hadn't seen him in years, and this guy really was getting more and more handsome. Her taste back then was truly excellent.
Felicia looked at Eros, who was getting closer and closer, her heart pounding.
Eros before her had slightly curly long hair, and on his upper body, he wore an ultra-short yellow vest with black borders, exposing large chest and abdominal muscles, exuding a primitive charm.
Ancient Greek mythology believed that gods had human forms and attributes, possessing perfect physiques.
In Felicia's eyes, the Eros before her was a primitive deity stepped right out of mythology, pulling at her love... and desire.
If not for having serious business tonight, she really wanted to pounce on this ex-boyfriend and fulfill her regret from three years ago.
Looking at the alluring red lips before him, Eros was just about to bite down when he noticed the owner's gaze instantly shift from hazy to clear. So he nodded slightly and straightened his body:
"Felicia, it seems you didn't come to me to rekindle our past romance."
"Spit it out, what do you need my help with?"
Felicia watched Eros retreat, a sense of loss welling up in her heart.
But her father's safety was paramount. She parted her red lips and recounted the whole story step by step.
Felicia's father, The Cat John Hardesty, worked in the Strategic Scientific Reserve, the predecessor of S.H.I.E.L.D., when he was young. Relying on his photographic memory, he secretly memorized a portion of the super soldier serumformula.
After the war, he left the Strategic Scientific Reserve, went into hiding, and created a version of the super soldier serum for himself to inject, transforming into The Cat and becoming a Master thief, while getting married and having a child along the way.
But secrets always have a day when they are leaked.
During a theft, The Cat's overly agile skills aroused the suspicion of Kingpin Wilson Fisk.
After capturing The Cat, Kingpin used The Cat's daughter, Felicia Hardy, to force The Cat to reveal the secret of his superpowers.
Just like that, The Cat was forced to help Kingpin make the super soldier serum.
Fearing that The Cat would play tricks, Kingpin first used The Cat's daughter Felicia for experimentation.
The experiment result was very successful, and Feliciagained super enhancement.
She was currently in an observation period, forced to work for Kingpin and infiltrate Oscorp to steal a document.
A few days ago on Eros's eighteenth birthday, the Masterof Oscorp, Norman Osborn, gave Eros a luxury car as an adult coming-of-age gift.
As Norman Osborn's assistant, Felicia reunited with Erosat that time.
Upon accidentally learning that Eros's Grandpa was former S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Alexander Pierce, Felicia's mind became active.
She wanted to use the power of S.H.I.E.L.D. to get rid of Kingpin's control.
Asking S.H.I.E.L.D. for help was also The Cat's intention; working for S.H.I.E.L.D. would at least guarantee safety of life.
"You've suffered during this time."
Eros sat down beside Felicia and gently gathered her into his arms.
"Eros, can you help me?"
"Don't worry, Felicia. No matter what, I will silently support you from behind."
"Eros, I knew you would help me."
Looking at her increasingly hazy eyes, Eros did not hesitate at all this time, kissing her directly and capturing those rosy, plump lips.
I don't know when, but a drizzle began to fall from the sky, dampening the untrodden forest path.
Out in the open sea of New York, due to tidal gravitational pull, on the shimmering water's surface, endless waves beat against the shore again and again.
Eros also fulfilled his promise, silently supporting Feliciafrom behind.
...
Washington.
The top floor of the Triskelion, S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters.
In the office of former S.H.I.E.L.D. Director and current World Security Council Minister Alexander Pierce, a somewhat festive, round-faced bald man walked in holding a phone.
"Thank you, Sitwell."
Alexander Pierce took the phone, discovering it was a call from his precious grandson, so he answered it directly and joked:
"Eros, it's so late. Why aren't you out dating a girl instead of calling this old man of mine?"
"Grandpa, I have some good news to tell you."
"Oh, am I going to hold a great-grandchild?"
Through decades of effort plus a hundred million points of luck and connections, Alexander Pierce's career went smoothly, rising step by step.
Now, Alexander Pierce publicly held the high position of World Security Council Minister, while secretly being one of the leaders of HYDRA, the World's most vicious terrorist organization, holding power that could be described as at its peak.
But he had a hidden worry.
The Pierce Family had few descendants, with only one son per generation for three generations.
"Uh, it's not that fast."
Eros guiltily touched his nose. Alexander Pierce was eager to hold a great-grandchild, but he didn't want to become a father so early; he wasn't ready yet.
"Oh..."
Hearing the disappointment coming from the other end of the phone, Eros quickly changed the subject: "It's like this..."
Eros concisely told Alexander Pierce about Felicia and her father's situation.
"super soldier serum formula..."
As Eros recounted, Alexander Pierce sat straighter and straighter, his tone unconsciously carrying a hint of tremor.
"Are you sure?"
The complete super soldier serum formula had been lost ever since Dr. Erskine died.
To recreate the formula, the U.S. Military, S.H.I.E.L.D., HYDRA, and various factions didn't know how much capital and talent they had invested, but the harvest was meager.
The new formulas either had too large of side effects or their efficacy was far inferior to the original version.
It could be said that the super soldier serum was the Jerusalem in the eyes of all factions.
They couldn't live without the super soldier serum, just like the West couldn't live without Tifa.
Chapter 2: Drink wild dog milk, enjoy an immortal life
Eros touched his waist, savoring the strength of Felicia's legs. If he hadn't loaded the Homelander template, he might have been snapped in half just now.
"There's no mistake."
"Alright, what do you need me to do on my end?"
"Just arrange a completely trustworthy squad to clean up the mess."
"When?"
"As soon as possible."
Hanging up the phone, Eros downed the wild dog milk in his hand in one gulp, casting his gaze back down at Manhattan, New York beneath his feet. Piercing through the clouds and reinforced concrete, his eyes fell upon Felicia, a smile inevitably curling the corners of his mouth.
He hadn't expected this ex-girlfriend to actually bring him such a huge surprise.
As for trouble?
Could Kingpin count as trouble?
Don't treat Homelander like he's not Superman; a beggar-edition Superman is still Superman!
On the day Eros turned eighteen, his memories of his past life awoke, and he awakened the Strongest SupermanSystem, loading the Homelander template.
Right off the bat, he was the complete version of Homelander.
The super soldier serum wasn't of much use to Eros, but using the super soldier serum to cultivate forces and increase his own influence and right to speak was very important.
As an unremarkable third-generation Hydra, Eros had two dreams: one was to build a brave new World, and the other was also to build a brave new World.
...
[Host: Eros]
[Template: Homelander]
[Abilities: Steel Body lv3, Heat Vision lv3, Super Strength lv3, Super Speed (Flight) lv3, Super Vision lv3, Super Hearing lv3, Super Brain lv3, Bio-field lv1.]
Hmm, Eros didn't know about other Homelanders, but his own Homelander template had a Bio-field. It was just that this Bio-field was a tiny bit weak, and still had a hundred-million-little gap compared to the real Superman, basically only able to wrap around objects or people in close personal contact and negative-distance contact.
Although Homelander didn't quite match up with the strongest Superman, fortunately, the rewards for Eros's system missions were extremely powerful.
Main Quest: John craves his father's approval. Make your father praise you.
Reward: The original Compound V and its formula.
Permanent Quest: John craves motherly love. Drink wild dog milk, enjoy an immortal life.
Reward: Gain a 24-hour immortal and indestructible buff per box, infinitely stackable.
Permanent Quest: John craves to become a true tough guy. Challenge enemies stronger than you.
Reward: Braver-the-more-you-fight buff, lasting until the end of combat.
Note: Attributes enhanced during combat will not decay after combat ends.
After reading the system's quests and quest rewards, Eroscouldn't help laughing right then and there.
The buffs rewarded by the two permanent quests—one immortal and indestructible, the other growing stronger with every fight—stepping on your left foot with your right foot, wouldn't that make him directly invincible?
Who would dare say Homelander is in the basement of Superman's combat power this time?
The only regret was the main quest.
Eros felt that to complete this main quest, he would have to wait until his stats were stacked up and he punched through Hell to have a chance.
Eros's parents passed away when Eros was very young, and Eros was raised by his Grandpa, Alexander Pierce.
Hmm, to add a point, Eros's father married into the family, so Eros took his mother's surname.
...
Fisk Tower.
"How has our Black Cat been lately, Landon?"
"The observation results are very good, Mr. Fisk. It can be confirmed that this formula has no side effects; we have succeeded."
The two people conversing were strange.
One was robust and bulky like a small mountain.
The other had half of his body mutated into a green monster while the other half remained looking like a normal person, neatly and symmetrically split down the middle.
The former was Kingpin, Wilson Fisk, and the latter was Herbert Landon, a biological scientist working for Kingpin.
Kingpin: "Since that's the case, there's no need to keep those two stinking cats around anymore. As soon as Oscorp's data is in hand, get rid of them."
"Alright, Mr. Fisk." Herbert Landon nodded in agreement with a recognizing expression, then added, "Should we make more preparations? After all, that's The Cat John Hardesty. What if his friends..."
"What friends could this old cat possibly have?" Kingpininterrupted Herbert Landon, showing disdain for his concerns.
What life-and-death friends could a thief have?
As for the Black Cat Felicia Hardy, needless to say, just a few days ago she was still an ungraduated, pure and stupid college student. What big shots could she possibly know?
Who was he, Kingpin?
The underground king of New York!
Who would dare come and ruin his plans?
"Mr. Fisk, Miss Felicia is looking for you."
"Oh, bring her in."
...
"Did you bring what I wanted, Miss Black Cat?"
"Right here."
Felicia took a USB drive out of her bag, flashed it in front of Kingpin, and pulled it back when Kingpin reached out to take it.
"Where is my dad, Fisk?"
"Oh, I thought after cooperating so many times, we already had a tacit understanding." Kingpin chuckled a few times, stood up and walked outward, "Follow me."
On the way to where Felicia's father was imprisoned.
"Before seeing your father, Miss Black Cat, shouldn't you explain to me where you just went? My men saw you leave the Oscorp Building quite early."
"You sent people to track me?"
Felicia rolled her eyes, and lies came out of her mouth effortlessly: "Norman Osborn asked me to deliver a gift to his nephew. You know, that kid named Pierce from a few days ago. Oh, god, that kid is a total pervert, he's been pestering me for a long time."
"I hope you aren't lying to me, otherwise..." Kingpingrinned, revealing a threatening smile: "Your father won't have such an easy time."
"If anything happens to my dad, then I guarantee that all of New York, no, all of America will know that the renowned philanthropist Wilson Grant Fisk is the mafia boss of Hell's Kitchen, and holds the formula for the super soldier serum."
"Mr. Fisk, you know how badly the Military wants to replicate the super soldier serum. You wouldn't want the Military coming to look for trouble with you, right?"
Facing Felicia's threat, Kingpin's expression didn't change much. He led Felicia to a prison cell, inside of which was imprisoned Felicia's father, The Cat John Hardesty.
"Dad."
The cell door opened, and Felicia threw herself into her father's arms. Kingpin suddenly flashed a ferocious grin and slammed the door shut.
"Felicia, you wouldn't think I'd give you the chance to report me, would you? The formula has been successfully tested, and I don't need the two of you anymore."
"Guards, get rid of these two stinking wild cats for me."
"Landon, go to your lab, manufacture enough serum, and build a super army for me."
Kingpin was full of vigor and couldn't help humming lightly.
He seemed to see a future where he ruled New York and pulled his hometown Hell's Kitchen from hell into the human World.
Only, he wondered if Kingpin had ever heard this saying:
There are two major tragedies in life: one is complete despair, and the other is being full of high ambitions.
Chapter 3 Hail HYDRA
Crack!
High above the sky, after using super vision to discover that Felicia had already seen her father, Eros swooped down, his speed instantly exceeding the speed of sound and whipping up a ring of sonic boom clouds behind him.
The outer tempered glass and reinforced concrete walls of Fisk Tower were as fragile as foam boards in front of Eros's steel body, shattering at a single touch.
Carrying howling winds, Eros suddenly appeared before Kingpin, while behind Eros came the continuous sounds of sonic booms and shattering glass walls.
"What kind of person are you?" While his subordinates were still raising their guns at Eros and sternly demanding answers, Kingpin quietly shielded himself with the others and then slipped away.
Although he was strong in limbs, he wasn't a fool.
This terrifying destructive power obviously didn't belong to an ordinary person, and even far exceeded the scope of a super soldier.
Kingpin certainly didn't think that his subordinates' automatic rifles, stun guns, and capture nets—originally meant to deal with Black Cat and The Cat—could handle the opponent.
Seeing that Eros did not reply and was pressing step by step, Kingpin's subordinates panicked under the pressure, and one of them couldn't help pulling the trigger, followed immediately by a deafening chorus of gunshots that merged into one.
Eros stood in place, watching the pouring rain of bullets, and even had the interest to tilt his head and observe the markings on the bullets.
Look at this mark, Stark Industries, from Stark Industries?
It seems Kingpin was doing quite well; the firearms and ammunition used by his subordinates were all boutique goods like Stark, not defective products like those from Hammer Industries.
It's a long story, but everything happened in the flash of lightning.
The next instant, countless bullets poured onto Eros, emitting faint clinking sounds of steel colliding.
...
Inside the cell, Felicia shielded her father behind her, and the two hid in a corner.
They couldn't see the situation outside, but they could hear the sounds.
With this continuous chain of explosions and gunshots, it was obvious that a fierce battle was being fought outside.
"Felicia, do you know what is going on?"
"Don't worry, Dad, it should be our reinforcements coming." Felicia whispered and quickly explained to her father about asking Eros for help.
"Felicia, I didn't expect you to know such a powerful friend. You really have heaven-reaching means to organize manpower to attack Kingpin so quickly."
"Yeah, he is really amazing." Felicia used a double entendre.
Eros looked at Kingpin, who was fleeing in panic and disappeared around the corner, and the corners of his mouth hooked up.
Interesting, he still thought he could run.
Crack!
The sound of a sonic boom rang out, and Eros disappeared from his spot, reappearing in front of Kingpin the next moment, while everyone blocking him simultaneously stopped pulling the trigger at that very second.
The next moment, many of Kingpin's subordinates fell down neatly, their necks twisted into a terrifying angle.
"Should I call you Mr. Fisk, or Kingpin? Interested in a chat?"
"Can I refuse?"
"What do you think, Mr. Fisk."
Kingpin looked at the freak in front of him who was wearing a tight suit, draped with the Stars and Stripes, and completely unharmed in the face of rifle strafing, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help twitching.
"Alright, let's talk. What do you want?"
Seeing Kingpin agree, Eros nodded with satisfaction:
"Someone will come later to copy the data of the super soldier serum and delete the backups. Mr. Fisk, you should understand that this is not something you can own."
Kingpin's expression sank; the worst result had happened, and the other party came for the super soldier serum.
Interesting, is this still refusing to give up and trying to test him?
Eros smiled mischievously, and whispered in a voice that only he and Kingpin could hear: "Hail HYDRA."
Kingpin's expression changed abruptly. Oh no, he heard something he shouldn't have heard; wouldn't he be...
"Don't be nervous, Mr. Fisk, we HYDRA just want to rule the World, not some evil organization."
Kingpin:...
Hearing you say that makes me even more nervous.
Taking a few deep breaths, Kingpin forced himself to calm down.
Since the opponent's strength was so terrifying, yet he didn't kill him directly, it must mean he had something that the opponent needed but couldn't plunder through such a simple and crude method as killing him.
"You HYDRA want me to work for you?"
"Not you HYDRA, it's us HYDRA."
Eros placed his hand on Kingpin.
The next instant, Kingpin only felt the scenery in front of him change rapidly. When he came back to his senses, he was already back in the office where he had just talked with Black Cat.
His position at this moment was precisely where Black Cat had just been!
The other party had been watching him all along!
"Please sit, Mr. Fisk."
Eros sat swaggeringly in Kingpin's office chair, reaching out to gesture for Kingpin not to be nervous and to take a seat himself.
Kingpin looked at Eros, who had taken over as the host, and the corners of his mouth twitched again, but he didn't say anything, walking over to the side sofa to sit down and lighting a cigar.
Seeing that Eros didn't make a move, but instead invited him to join HYDRA, Kingpin secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Blowing out smoke rings for a while to ease the emotions in his heart, Kingpin slowly spoke: "What should I call you, sir."
"Homelander, you can call me Homelander." Eros replied with a smile.
Since the Homelander template was loaded, he might as well just use the title along the way.
In addition, Eros's Homelander suit was provided by the system; although it didn't have much defensive capability, it was durable enough.
"Mr. Homelander, if I join your esteemed organization, I wonder what responsibilities I have to fulfill and what treatment I will enjoy."
Relaxing down, Kingpin's capitalist attributes flared up, and he began to negotiate terms.
"Welcome to HYDRA, Mr. Fisk." Eros showed a smile, shook hands warmly with Kingpin, then raised his elbow and patted him on the shoulder,
"Don't worry, Mr. Fisk, HYDRA is no longer the HYDRA of the past."
"Today's HYDRA upholds the concept of making the Worlda better place, full of the drive to change the World, and it won't disappoint you."
"As for the specific conditions, a specialist will come to talk to you later."
"Right, The Cat will be taken away by my people, remember not to stop them."
Releasing Kingpin's hand.
Eros took a small step forward with his left foot, while giving Kingpin a thumbs-up with his right hand. Withdrawing his right hand, he raised his left hand and crossed both hands in front of his forehead.
At the same time, his right foot also took a small step forward with a bent knee, his center of gravity squatting down, forming an overall graceful pigeon-toed posture. When his center of gravity dropped to the lowest point, he instantly jumped upward.
A perfectly flashy pigeon-toed takeoff was completed; Eros instantly smashed through the glass and disappeared into the horizon.
This was the first time Eros had done this.
Needless to say, apart from being a bit showy, it was actually quite awesome!
As for inviting Kingpin to join HYDRA, it was just a casual, idle move by Eros.
Kingpin's influence was not limited to New York; taking New York as his stronghold, it spread across the entire America.
Killing Kingpin was very simple for Eros.
But after Kingpin died, the position of New York's underground king would become vacant, and it wouldn't be long before another Silver King popped up to take his place.
In that case, it was better to keep Kingpin.
The premise was that he was sensible enough.
Chapter 4: No Matter What, I Will Always Have Your Back
Outside Fisk Tower, sirens blared endlessly, and in the distance, a steady stream of police cars was rushing over.
Fisk Corporation was one of the large companies in Manhattan, donating a significant amount of money to the New York Police Department openly and secretly every year.
Just a few minutes after the alarm sounded, the nearest batch of New York Police Department police cars had already arrived.
Looking at the flashing police cars downstairs, Kingpintiredly rubbed his brows, walked over to the desk, and picked up the desktop communicator:
"James, have someone send the NYPD downstairs away."
"In addition, come over here by yourself."
Soon, James Wesley, dressed in a high-end suit, appeared at the door.
As Kingpin's most trusted advisor and private butler, he was always ready to serve Kingpin.
"Mr. Fisk, I'm here."
"Come in."
Kingpin's voice was so calm that it frightened James Wesley.
He pushed the door open and walked in, sure enough seeing Kingpin sitting gloomily on the sofa blowing smoke rings.
Kingpin expressionlessly and indifferently opened his mouth: "Just now, I almost died."
James trembled slightly and eagerly said: "What happened, Mr. Fisk?"
"Did you hear the explosion just now?" Kingpin answered irrelevantly.
"I heard it. Did something go wrong in which laboratory? Or did someone come in to make trouble?"
"It was a person. The sound of a person crashing through glass and walls while flying."
"He is terrifying. Bullets hitting him are like eggs hitting a stone; apart from making a sound, the stone won't suffer any damage."
James's pupils rapidly shrank to pinholes, but he quickly provided an analysis:
"I suggest that you go to a safe house to hide for a while, Sir, and the work here can be controlled remotely."
"In addition, the fact that you are still alive shows that he needs you. We can cooperate with the other party first, investigate their purpose and background, and then evaluate their danger."
"Mm." Kingpin nodded; James Wesley's idea coincided with his own.
"The other party will send someone over to negotiate with us later. James, get ready. The other party's background is not simple."
Kingpin's palms clenched and loosened, and after repeating this several times, they finally loosened.
This wasn't the closest he had ever been to death. From a drunkard's son to the King of the New York underworld, Kingpin had experienced countless life-and-death crises.
But this time was the most powerless one for him.
A physical body that could resist bullets without even breaking the skin, and could also fly at supersonic speeds. Most importantly, behind him was a massive force he couldn't imagine.
How to deal with such an opponent? What is there to deal with them with?
...
Click.
The cell door opened, and Felicia and her father looked over, only to see a team of expressionless Agents in black suits standing outside the door. The fierce-looking man at the lead flashed his identification badge:
"Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division!"
"Miss Felicia, Eros asked me to say hello to you."
"Mr. John Hardesty, please come with us."
"Who are you? Why are you taking my dad away?" Feliciablocked in front of her father, looking defensively at the opposite side.
"Don't worry, Felicia."
The Cat John Hardesty behind her patted Felicia's shoulder, signaling her to calm down: "They are the S.H.I.E.L.D. I told you about."
John Hardesty stepped past Felicia and calmly looked at the other party: "I'll go with you."
"Dad! We just reunited, are we going to be separated again?"
Downstairs, in a silver-white luxury car, Eros looked at the tearful Felicia and sighed.
This was the reason he hadn't followed them up just now.
HYDRA must get its hands on The Cat John Hardesty's super soldier serum formula; this concerned Eros's cause of building a beautiful new World.
When it came to career, Eros was serious!
But he was too soft-hearted. For the sake of his future happy and intimate life, he could only wrong Crossbones Brock Rumlow to act as the bad guy first, and he would go up later to play the good guy.
A moment later, Crossbones Rumlow led a team of Hydra-Shield elite, escorting Felicia and her father out of Fisk Tower.
Seeing this, Eros drove the car over slowly, honked the horn, and rolled down the window.
"Good evening, Uncle Brock."
"Good evening, Eros."
Seeing Eros appear, a trace of expectation flashed in Felicia's eyes. She blinked her watery eyes and looked at Eros pitifully.
Eros secretly sighed again and began his performance.
Eros: "Uncle Brock, where are you guys going?"
Crossbones: "S.H.I.E.L.D. secret Base, John Hardesty stole S.H.I.E.L.D. secrets, we must lock him up."
Eros: "Can't you make an exception?"
"If this secret is leaked, it may destroy the World."
Seeing that Crossbones's serious words shattered Felicia's fantasy, Eros secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
It was worth him instructing Crossbones Rumlow to exaggerate the seriousness.
Eros feigned difficulty as he looked at Felicia for a moment. Seeing her lower her head sadly, his heart couldn't help but soften:
"How about this, Uncle Brock, at least let me drive John Hardesty home to say goodbye to his wife and daughter. Their family hasn't reunited for many years."
"Uncle Brock, I promise you, I will bring him back to S.H.I.E.L.D."
At least when Eros met Felicia four years ago, she hadn't seen her father for several years.
This time Crossbones really hesitated. There was no such plot in the script, but looking at Eros's serious expression, Crossbones still chose to agree.
Eros did not deliberately conceal his first layer of strength, namely Homelander's steel body, super strength, super speed, flight ability, and so on.
As Alexander Pierce's direct confidant, Crossbones Rumlow also had some understanding of Eros's strength.
In his view, Eros was almost omnipotent. The only one who could contend with Eros was the Hulk created by the Military a few years ago.
But even the Hulk couldn't snatch anyone from Eros's hands; after all, the Hulk couldn't fly.
Thoughts flashed through Crossbones Rumlow's mind as he stepped aside, letting Felicia and her father get into the car.
The night sky of the Big Apple hung with a bright moon, constantly scattering brilliance all over the ground.
"Eros, thank you so much just now."
Eros looked at Felicia's father's expression through the rearview mirror and said with an unchanged expression:
"I said it before, no matter when, I will always have your back."
It was easy to fool Felicia, an inexperienced and naive college student, with his performance just now, but it would be difficult to fool The Cat, a ninety-year-old veteran with decades of thieving experience.
Fortunately, the other party didn't seem to intend to expose him.
Chapter 5: I Promise Not to Let Anyone Bully Felicia
After dropping Felicia and her father back home, Erosdidn't follow them up.
He didn't like scenes of parting like this.
Anyway, he had super vision and super hearing, so he didn't need to worry about Felicia's father running away.
Of course, in Felicia's eyes, this was a manifestation of Erosrespecting and trusting her.
Early the next morning in the study, Felicia's family hugged together for a final farewell, but Felicia still found it somewhat unacceptable that her father had to leave just as the family had reunited.
By comparison, Felicia's mother was probably used to it and took it much more easily: "At least this time we can say goodbye."
Felicia's father: "I don't want to leave either, but I have no other choice."
Felicia's mother: "Twenty years ago we didn't have a chance."
"I'm so sorry, Anastasia."
Felicia's father hugged her mother tenderly for a moment, then let go and turned to leave. Felicia grabbed her father's arm from behind.
She said tearfully: "I can't let you leave again, I love you too much, Dad."
Felicia's father placed a hand on Felicia's shoulder: "I love you too, kiddo, so I have to go. With me around, you can't live a normal life; I know too much."
Saying that, Felicia's father walked over to the window and waved at Eros downstairs. After Eros came up, he grabbed Eros with one hand and Felicia with the other, placing Felicia's palm onto Eros's palm.
"Young man, my daughter is in your hands now. I hope you'll treat her well in the future."
John Hardesty wasn't blind; the way Felicia looked at Erosearlier was practically dripping with affection, so how could he not understand his daughter's feelings?
As for Eros's little scheme from earlier.
Looking past the appearance to the essence, the young man was willing to risk him escaping just to give them a chance for a family reunion and a proper farewell.
Didn't this prove the young man's doting affection for his daughter?
Eros: "Of course, I promise not to let anyone bully Felicia."
Except me.
Felicia's father: "Then I can rest easy."
Inside the room, Felicia watched her father and Eros go downstairs and get into Eros's car, unable to help hugging her mother tightly: "He's left us once again."
Felicia's mother: "Yes, but thank God, he's still alive."
In the car, Eros asked: "Regrets? The Cat."
John Hardesty shook his head: "This little secret packed inside my head might destroy the World. I think there's only one place that can keep this secret safe."
"Maybe." Eros shrugged and was about to start the car when he saw Felicia following behind.
"I... I want to see Dad off a bit further." Felicia explained.
"Get in."
The vehicle started and headed toward a secret stronghold of Hydra-Shield in the suburbs of New York.
John Hardesty would transfer here, boarding a quinjet to head to another safer and more private Hydra-Shield Base, where he would be closely guarded.
If the super soldier serum formula copied from Kingpin had no issues, John Hardesty's supervision level would be lowered, and he would be transferred to the S.H.I.E.L.D.Agent family town.
"Don't worry, Felicia." Watching the quinjet take off, Feliciakept her gaze fixed on it for a long time. Eros gently pulled her into his arms,
"Perhaps it won't be long before you see your dad again."
"Hmm?" Felicia shifted slightly, lifting her gaze to look at Eros in confusion.
"Felicia, do you know about the Federal Witness Protection Program?"
The Federal Witness Protection Program, in short, was a program where the government provided individuals entering it with brand new identities, secretly settled them in a new city, and provided 24-hour police protection—or you could call it surveillance.
S.H.I.E.L.D. had a similar mechanism.
Felicia's eyes gradually lit up, and she cast a reproachful glance at Eros: "You bad guy, why didn't you say so earlier and let me make a fool of myself."
She had thought her father would be sentenced to life imprisonment and she would never see him again.
"Whether I'm a bad guy or not, don't you know by now?"
That day, heavy rain poured all day in Midtown Manhattan, and the waves in the outer sea of New York were exceptionally fierce, almost swallowing the reefs along the coast.
Felicia: "Remember to bring an umbrella when it rains!"
Eros: "Don't you know I have a nickname called 'The Blade-Wielding Man Who Walks in the Rainy Night Without an Umbrella'?"
Felicia severely reprimanded Eros.
What's the difference between not carrying an umbrella in the rain and not wearing a seatbelt while driving?
Both could get someone killed!
Eros argued eloquently that Felicia clearly loved dangerous driving too, riding motorcycles without a helmet; what right did she have to lecture him?
This left Felicia so angry she was speechless, and she prepared to teach Eros a lesson.
...
While Eros was toiling away all day, Kingpin cursed him all day long too.
Initially, when Eros's Grandpa Alexander Pierce sent people to negotiate with Kingpin, Kingpin thought they were people from HYDRA and was extremely cautious.
Although HYDRA had been dormant for many years, its reputation still preceded it.
But during the contact, Kingpin noticed something was amiss.
This was clearly that secret Agent organization whose abbreviation was "Shield"!
Facing an official organization, Kingpin, as a taxpayer, instantly grew a spine, yet...
"F*ck!"
"Are these bastards from HYDRA or S.H.I.E.L.D.?!"
He couldn't tell, he really couldn't tell!
...
Early the next morning, when Eros woke up, Felicia had already left.
Having broken free from Kingpin's control, Felicia hadn't resigned from Oscorp. These past few days were workdays; she had taken a day off yesterday, so she had to go to work today.
Felicia took a day off, and Eros was no exception—the difference was that he directly skipped class.
By the way, Eros didn't take such a trivial matter as skipping class for a day to heart; as a twelfth grader, he already had enough credits.
After washing up and finishing breakfast, Eros came to the garage and found...
"Where's my car?"
Eros looked around. In the garage, the van, the RV, the vintage classic cars... not a single car belonging to GrandpaAlexander Pierce was missing, and his own cars were left with only a mere Mercedes-Benz S600 worth just over 200,000 U.S. dollars.
...
"Good morning, Felicia."
"Good morning, Chairman."
When Felicia got out of the car, she happened to run into Norman Osborn.
Norman Osborn: "Felicia, do you know Eros?"
Felicia was somewhat puzzled, then she followed Norman Osborn's gaze to see the car beside her—a matte black Bugatti Veyron priced at over a million dollars.
Of course, that wasn't the point.
The point was that this car was the one Norman Osbornhad given to Eros.
"Yes, he's my ex-boyfriend."
"Is that so? No wonder you two seemed quite familiar when we met last time." Norman Osborn nodded thoughtfully, pulling a smile for Felicia.
Chapter 6 Gwen, long time no see, the last time we met must have been the last time, right?
A Mercedes S600 it is, then.
After finishing the wild dog milk in his hand, Eros started the car and hit the road. He picked up Harry Osborn at the community entrance on the way, drove toward the school, and appeared on the campus of Midtown High School a dozen minutes later.
Time had already reached the end of April 2010. Many twelfth-grade students had already completed their credit requirements and were interning outside, making the campus of Midtown High School much quieter than usual.
Today, however, was an exception.
Eros looked ahead and saw more than twenty students gathered in a circle, jeering.
School bullying?
Such things were very common on America campuses. Eros did not know how many times he had seen them over the years, but every time he saw it, it made him physically uncomfortable.
...
Peter Parker was very confident in his photography skills, which was also the source of his confidence in planning to find a newspaper office job for an internship.
On this ordinary morning, he carried an ordinary camera and walked across the ordinary campus, intending to take a not-so-ordinary set of photos.
He planned to use this set of photos to impress the newspaper boss and fight for a higher salary for himself.
However, before Peter Parker could take that not-so-ordinary set of photos, he had to deal with an ordinary matter first.
School bullying.
Looking at the crowd gathered in a circle ahead, Peter Parker knew this was just another ordinary school bullying incident on an America campus.
He quickened his pace, pushed into the crowd, and saw a familiar figure—Flash Thompson.
At this moment, Flash Thompson was bullying a bespectacled, skinny, and introverted student. Not a single classmate around stood up; they were all jeering.
The person being bullied was also Peter Parker's classmate, whose name was Gordon.
In Gordon, Peter Parker seemed to see his own shadow.
Flash Thompson also noticed Peter Parker at this time, as well as the camera in Peter Parker's hand.
Flash Thompson grabbed Gordon by the collar:
"Hey, isn't this Parker? Come on, take a picture for me."
"No, I don't take pictures. Put him down, man." Peter Parkerflatly refused and persuaded Flash Thompson.
"Take a picture." Flash Thompson was unrelenting.
"Gordon, you get up too, don't let him push you around." Seeing that Flash Thompson wouldn't listen, Peter Parkerpersuaded Gordon again.
Unfortunately, Gordon was spineless; he just stared wide-eyed at Peter Parker without the slightest reaction otherwise.
"Take a photo, Parker." Peter Parker didn't notice that Flash Thompson's tone had already dropped.
As the quarterback of the school football team, Flash Thompson ran wild at Midtown High School.
As long as he didn't provoke wealthy young masters like Eros and Harry Osborn, or top students like Gwen whose father was the Director of the New York Police Department.
What was Peter Parker, an orphan, to dare meddle in his business?
"Put him down, Flash."
Peter Parker tried to dissuade him again, but not only did none of the onlookers stand on his side, they instead joined Flash Thompson in jeering:
"Take a picture!"
"Take a picture!"
Thus, Peter Parker couldn't help raising his voice to drown out the crowd, and solemnly called Flash Thompson by his real name: "Put him down, Eugene."
This time, Flash Thompson finally listened. He threw aside the scrawny Gordon, turned toward Peter Parker, raised his fist, and smashed it down.
Peter Parker let his guard down and didn't dodge, getting knocked to the ground with a single punch.
"Come on! Stand up, Parker!"
Flash Thompson clamored. After Peter Parker stood up, he grabbed Peter Parker's shoulder with one hand and threw a hook punch at Peter Parker's abdomen with the other.
Poor Peter Parker. As a well-behaved student, he didn't know how to fight at all.
Peter Parker was knocked to the ground once again. This time, Flash Thompson didn't wait for him to get up, kicking fiercely right into Peter Parker's abdomen while cursing:
"Come on! Come on! Stand up!"
The onlookers jeered again, but still no one stopped him.
Except for a girl running over from afar, draped in shoulder-length blonde hair.
Flash Thompson raised his hands high, enjoying the cheers of the crowd as if he were a knight who defeated an evil dragon rather than a bully terrorizing the weak.
Seeing Peter Parker struggle to his feet, Flash Thompsonturned around and delivered another punch.
Right at that moment, the blonde girl pushed through the crowd and blocked the space between Flash Thompsonand Peter Parker.
The blonde girl appeared too abruptly, and Flash Thompson couldn't pull back his fist in time.
The fist magnified rapidly in the blonde girl's eyes. The next second, the blonde girl felt the world spinning as her whole body flew up.
Bang!
"Ah!"
A scream sounded.
Flash Thompson grabbed his wrist, looking in disbelief at the back that had suddenly appeared in front of him.
The moment his fist struck, it felt like hitting an iron plate.
Afterward, Flash Thompson realized that he couldn't afford to provoke either of the two people standing in front of Peter Parker. After a series of changes in his expression, he hurriedly left.
After a spell of dizziness, the blonde girl came back to her senses. Looking at Eros, who was shielding her in his arms and using his body to protect her from harm, her heart couldn't help but accelerate.
"Are you okay, Gwen?" Eros looked at the dazed blonde wave-haired girl in his arms and smiled gently.
With his speed, there were a hundred ways to defuse the situation. Choosing this one naturally had its reason, and look, the effect was remarkable.
"I... I'm fine." After lingering in this familiar embrace for a moment, the blonde girl straightened her body and distanced herself.
They had already broken up; she had to keep her distance.
"Peter, are you okay?"
Gwen Stacy turned her head and found that another person had appeared between her and Peter Parker.
Gwen suddenly felt that she seemed a bit redundant.
"Do you want to call an ambulance and go to the hospital to check it out?"
"No, no need!"
Hearing the two keywords "ambulance" and "hospital," Peter gave a start and quickly let go of his hands clutching his stomach, vowing solemnly:
"I'm fine, it just hurt a bit at first, just resting for a while will do."
"Really?" Harry Osborn was skeptical.
"Of course." Peter Parker guaranteed again, his face resolute, as if taking a solemn oath.
"You should still go see the school nurse, get some medicine to apply, and it will heal faster."
Eros suggested, not forgetting to add a sentence at the end: "This is free."
Peter Parker gave a dry chuckle and, supported by Harry Osborn, walked toward the school infirmary.
Gwen withdrew her gaze from Peter Parker and looked at Eros beside her, staring straight at him like that without saying a word.
"Gwen, long time no see. The last time we met must have been the last time, right?"
Ever since they broke up, Gwen had intentionally avoided Eros. Seeing him again now, while her supposedly dormant heart started beating once more, she also felt somewhat uncomfortable.
Chapter 7: When the Sun Rises
Her heart fluttered because Eros was her first love. Aside from his playboy nature, he perfectly matched her aesthetic standards.
Her discomfort was even easier to understand. It was along the lines of, 'I'm so sad after our breakup, how can you not react at all?'—that was probably her mindset.
Eros felt a bit of guilt toward his ex-girlfriend, Gwen.
Ever since he broke up with Felicia, the younger Eros had learned his lesson and realized that some things had to be made clear from the very beginning.
It was just that Gwen thought Eros was joking and didn't pay much attention to it. It wasn't until over half a year later that Gwen discovered the band's guitarist and lead singer, Mary Jane Watson, was also in a relationship.
The two young girls shared their fun relationship stories and photos of their boyfriends, only to find they shared quite a fateful connection.
Not only did they share the same hobbies and form a band together, but they had also fallen for the same boy.
...
In the practice room, The Mary Janes band was rehearsing, but before long, the others stopped one by one and looked at their drummer.
"Gwen?"
"Gwen?"
"Gwen!"
"What?"
Lost in her own World, Gwen looked up and realized the rest of the band had stopped and were staring at her.
"Gwen, what's wrong? Your drumming doesn't fit any of our songs at all," the red-haired girl asked.
"I'm sorry, Mary Jane. I haven't been in the right headspace lately."
"In that case, let's call it a day, okay?"
"Alright."
"Mary Jane, I want to talk to you," Gwen called out to Mary Jane just as the other band members were packing up to leave. "About Eros."
"Alright," Mary Jane stopped in her tracks.
Thanks to Eros being completely upfront from the beginning and not using lies to deceive them, after comparing notes, they realized neither of them was 'the other woman'. It was just that neither of them had taken Eros's words seriously, thinking he was joking.
Therefore, Gwen and Mary Jane's relationship wasn't heavily affected by Eros.
"Are you still in touch with Eros?" Gwen was the first to ask.
"Of course," Mary Jane nodded as if it were only natural.
"Why?" Gwen asked in disbelief. "He's a total playboy."
"And aside from that?"
"Aside from that?" Hearing Mary Jane's confident counter-question, Gwen was momentarily dumbfounded. Was being a playboy not reason enough?
"Gwen, we are different," Mary Jane sat down next to Gwen and began to tell her story:
"My dad is an alcoholic. When he got drunk, he would even beat my mom. My mom couldn't take it anymore, so she took me and moved to Queens to settle down."
"My family wasn't well-off—in fact, we were poor. Before meeting Eros, my mom had to work three jobs, and I had to help out after school."
"So Eros coerced you with money? He's so despicable!" Gwen gasped in disbelief, her worldview completely shattered.
"No! I won't let you talk about Eros like that!" Mary Janeretorted righteously.
In truth, Eros hadn't directly given Mary Jane much money. He had simply lent Mary Jane's mother a low-interest loan, helped choose a location to open a coffee shop, and instructed the local police station to look after them.
"Gwen, you don't understand Eros. You've never truly faced hardships, so you don't know what Eros means to me."
"He is the Sun in my life. I don't want to go back to that cold World without him."
"I've never truly faced hardships?"
Gwen couldn't help but recall this morning, when Flash Thompson's fist was expanding in her vision, and that warm embrace had suddenly appeared. She seemed to understand Mary Jane a bit now.
Pausing, Mary Jane continued, "As for being a playboy, that is just a negligible flaw. When the Sun rises, it will melt away."
...
While the Sun was rising in Mary Jane's heart, the Sun in the outside World was about to set.
Stepping through the sunset glow, Eros returned to Pierce Manor. Before he even reached the main hall, he heard bursts of silver-bell-like laughter coming from inside.
Felicia had driven off with all of his cars, and she still dared to come back?
Eros quickened his pace, crossed the garden, and pushed open the door. He saw Felicia sitting obediently next to Grandpa, Alexander Pierce.
Today, Felicia wore a white shirt and an off-white pencil skirt. The overall outfit was simple, giving her a very professional look.
When Alexander Pierce saw Eros enter, a smile naturally spread across his face. His grandson was much more capable than he was in his youth; at this rate, it wouldn't be long before he could hold a great-grandson.
"Eros is back. Let's have dinner together then."
Grandpa Alexander Pierce was very warm toward Felicia, and Felicia returned the warmth. At the dinner table, the two kept up a non-stop conversation filled with constant laughter, making Eros feel like an outsider.
After dinner, Felicia took her leave, much to Eros's regret.
He had originally wanted to teach this little cat burglar a good lesson tonight.
"Eros, go see Felicia out."
"Alright."
On the way to the parking lot, Felicia deliberately walked ahead, swaying her hips in a feline strut.
Her high heels tapped sharply against the ground, and the full contours beneath her off-white pencil skirt swayed rhythmically from side to side.
Watching her made Eros want to invest.
Injecting hundreds of millions in capital at once to become the majority shareholder.
...
Alexander Pierce: "I seem to have ruined your good time, child."
Hearing this, Eros shrugged, doing a LeBron-style shrug.
Felicia was clearly here to throw herself into his arms, but unfortunately, Grandpa Alexander Pierce happened to return today. Felicia was still a bit thin-skinned and felt too embarrassed to stay the night.
It seemed it was time to move out and live on his own.
Alexander Pierce: "She's a good girl, I like her. But I'm getting old, and I don't know if I'll live to hold a great-grandson."
Eros: "You definitely will."
Grandpa's health was still quite robust; living for another ten or twenty years wouldn't be an issue at all.
But what about twenty years later?
Thinking of this, Eros felt inexplicably irritated.
He recalled when his system had first awakened and he was drawing the Superman template, the fleeting image of Invincible Mark that flashed by.
Regarding the animated series 'Invincible'—where 'Invincible' was anything but—there was one scene that left a deep impression on Eros.
During the father-son battle in the season one finale, the father, Omni-Man Nolan, asked Invincible Mark:
"Do you know how long we live? Do you understand what that means? Everyone you know, everyone you love, will die before you even look thirty."
"What will you have after five hundred years?"
Mark's answer to this question was: 'You, Dad. I'd still have you.'
What about Eros?
Chapter 8: Five Hundred Years Later, What Else Do You Have?
Looking at the wild dog milk in his hand, Eros couldn't help but fall into deep thought.
Humans fear time, and time fears wild dog milk.
As long as he drinks milk every day, even the end of time and the final end of the Universe could not terminate his life.
But Eros had already confirmed that the immortal buff of the wild dog milk given by the system only applied to himself.
To others, this was just an ordinary box of dairy products, and the taste was just so-so.
"Have you tested the super soldier serum, and how is the effect?" Eros asked after thinking for a moment.
If the information was correct, The Cat, John Hardesty, was already over 90, yet his physique was still as robust as a 50- or 60-year-old old man, showing that the super soldier serum also had a certain life-extending effect.
"The first batch of testing is currently underway, and if there are no problems, it will be centrally injected in the special operations forces next month."
Seeing Eros bring this up, Alexander Pierce couldn't help but wear a smile on his face:
"You did very well this time. With the super soldier serum, our mid-to-high-end combat power can be greatly supplemented."
"Mm." Eros nodded, "Are the physical examination results for The Cat out? How much is his predicted lifespan remaining?"
"How come, you're only 18 and you already care about this?"
"I care about you, old man." Hearing Alexander Pierce's teasing, Eros retorted unhappily.
"Haha." Alexander Pierce laughed twice, his smile growing even more brilliant,
"The test results are out. John Hardesty's body is very healthy. According to his current aging rate, living another fifty or sixty years should be no problem."
Fifty or sixty years? It seems this life-extending effect is quite mediocre.
Eros opened the panel and looked at the main quest.
Main Quest: John craves his father's approval, make your father praise you.
Reward: original compound v and its formula.
original compound v, originating from The Boys World, is rumored to have 10 times the efficacy of the ordinary version, and can even grant eternal youth.
Regarding this, Eros expressed doubt.
After Homelander took original compound v, wasn't he still suppressed by Butcher and Ryan?
As for eternal youth, that's even more nonsense.
Of the few people who injected original compound v, the oldest was only a little over a hundred years old, at most confirming that it can indeed delay aging.
However, this was still much better than the effect of the super soldier serum.
People like Stormfront and Popclaw injected original compound v in the 1940s, and by the 2020s when the plot began, after nearly 80 years, their appearances basically hadn't changed.
After sighing with emotion, Eros closed the panel.
"Grandpa, can you tell me how my dad and mom met?"
"Why are you suddenly asking about this?"
Alexander Pierce's tone was calm, but Eros still heard that his heartbeat skipped a beat.
There was a problem.
For Alexander Pierce, his daughter dying young was undoubtedly the most tragic event of his life.
Therefore, ever since he grew up a little and became sensible, Eros had never asked about his parents again, but today was a special situation.
Under Eros's persistent questioning, Alexander Pierce still talked about Eros's parents.
Eros's mother was named Juliet Pierce, Alexander Pierce's only daughter, and his father was named Virgil Green. Both of them were S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents.
The two fell in love from spending their days and nights together across multiple missions, and finally conceived Eros.
Eros quietly perked up his ears, using his super hearing to analyze Grandpa Alexander Pierce's words.
When chatting about his mother Juliet, Grandpa Alexander Pierce was sincere and affectionate, his heartbeat and breathing were completely normal, and his tone unconsciously carried grief and reminiscing.
But when chatting about his father Virgil Green, it was very bland. When Eros pressed for some details, his breathing would become shallow, and at the same time his heartbeat would speed up.
This was a manifestation of lying.
Eros thought of a detail: many places in the house had photos of his mother, but none of his father.
Joint photos of the two parents were also few and far between, and the two looked far from intimate in the photos.
Eros opened the panel again and looked at the main quest.
Main Quest: John craves his father's approval, make your father praise you.
Reward: original compound v and its formula.
When he first awakened the system, he thought the system had a bug, sending him a task that was completely impossible to complete in a short time.
Now it seemed that the system wasn't wrong, the one who was wrong was hi...
He himself definitely wasn't wrong, the one who was wrong was Alexander Pierce.
Eros did not directly show his cards with Alexander Pierceto ask who his father really was.
He was afraid the other party would misunderstand.
No matter what, his last name was Pierce now, and he was raised by Alexander.
Anyway, as long as there was a direction, he could investigate it himself.
"By the way, Grandpa, what is your view on Tony Starkbeing kidnapped?"
Alexander Pierce was somewhat surprised by how large the leap in Eros's topic was today, but he still gave his own analysis:
"Two possibilities. Tony Stark was unlucky, and happened to encounter a terrorist attack while on a business trip."
"Someone betrayed his whereabouts and profited from it."
"I heard that Nick Fury is investigating this matter. His suspects include Stark Industries Vice President ObadiahStane, Hammer Industries President Justin Hammer, and Roxxon Corporation's Hugh Jones."
"The former two have direct vested interests, while the latter... Tony Stark's father Howard Stark cuckolded Hugh Jones when he was young."
Alexander Pierce finished speaking, and then added another sentence: "It can be determined that Hugh Jones didn't do it."
Hugh Jones was also one of the HYDRA leaders. Although he and Alexander Pierce were not in a direct subordinate leadership relationship, they were considered close cooperators.
If Hugh Jones had done it, it couldn't have been kept from Alexander Pierce.
"Is that so."
Eros scratched his chin. It seemed this World wasn't lacking in smart people.
Although this World was somewhat different from the Sacred Timeline, Eros still possessed a certain degree of God's-eye view, knowing that the Tony Stark kidnapping case was Obadiah's doing.
What he didn't expect was that S.H.I.E.L.D., which had almost no presence in the movie Iron Man 1, had actually roughly locked onto Obadiah as well.
However, this was only reasonable.
Sorting out his thoughts, Eros continued to ask: "Grandpa, was the death of Tony Stark's parents our doing?"
"Hmm?" Alexander Pierce became alert, lowering his voice: "Child, why are you asking about this?"
"I plan to rescue Tony Stark. I might need his help with an important matter in the future."
Chapter 9: "You look really hot tonight, just like this bunch of roses, dangerous and charming."
Eros looked at the rewards for the main quest, the original compound v and its formula.
The original compound v was of no use to Eros, but its life-extending effect was very useful to Eros's relatives and lovers.
However, the original compound v was unstable, and direct injection had an extremely high risk factor, requiring further optimization.
There were quite a few smart people in the Marvel Universe, and a considerable number of them had achieved success in medicine, such as Bruce Banner, the Leader Samuel Sterns, Dr. Lizard...
But the person Eros trusted the most was still Tony Stark.
Compared to others, Tony Stark had a bit of metaphysics about him, as if there was nothing he couldn't figure out through research.
Alexander Pierce pondered for a moment and lowered his voice: "That matter wasn't done by us; it should be the handiwork of Roxxon Energy."
"Okay."
Eros nodded. Since the assassination of Tony Stark's parents wasn't done by them, Eros could rest assured and go earn this favor.
Without Eros, Tony Stark would eventually be able to escape on his own.
Alexander Pierce asked: "How do you need me to cooperate?"
"An elite squad. This time I am not planning to expose too much of my strength."
Eros the savior of the suffering, Homelander the evildoer.
Since he was going to save people, Eros naturally had to take the field in person, without using the Homelanderpersona.
Before Eros left, Alexander Pierce did not forget to add:
"Right, find Tony Stark and give me the news the first time. I'll arrange for people to go long on Stark Industries."
Eros nodded with a weird expression on his face.
Tony Stark could be said to be the soul figure of Stark Industries, and his safety was directly related to the stock price of Stark Industries.
According to normal logic, Tony Stark was rescued, the stock price of Stark Industries rose, and taking the opportunity to go long and make a windfall was very reasonable.
But Tony Stark was simply not a reasonable person.
If not for having a God's-eye view, who could imagine that an arms tycoon would suddenly announce the closure of the group's weapons department, thereby causing the group's stock price to plummet by half?
What was even more important was that after closing the weapons department, he also successfully transformed into an energy conglomerate, and the stock price even rose higher than its previous peak.
Therefore, going long was simply impossible.
Eros planned to pull off an extreme operation at that time.
Arrive in Afghanistan, directly falsely report the news that Tony Stark survived, first go long on Stark Industries, and then release the news in secret that Tony was about to be rescued.
Sell the stocks in his hand after Tony was rescued and before holding the press conference, and switch to shorting Stark Industries.
Finally, wait for the stock of Stark Industries to drop to the bottom, and then enter the market to buy the dip.
One thing, enjoying three waves of profits, and also earning a favor from Tony Stark, it was simply making a killing.
Of course, if this were operated by ordinary capital, the first step or at most the second step would attract the attention of relevant departments and directly freeze the funds.
But Eros was not ordinary capital; the several agencies responsible for investigation were all within the power and influence range of his Grandpa Alexander Pierce.
As for whether utilizing the power and position information in his hands to manipulate the stock market would affect the political status of Alexander Pierce.
Such operations in the upper echelons of America's political circles were almost an unspoken unwritten rule.
The one who did it most excessively and most frequently was a certain America blond President who had a pretty blonde daughter and served two non-consecutive terms.
But even him, as long as he flatly denied it, ordinary people could do nothing about it.
Having decided to go earn a favor from Tony Stark, Erosset off immediately.
...
In front of a high-end apartment in Long Island City, Queens, New York, a black-haired handsome young man holding wild roses knocked on the door.
Before long, the door opened, accompanied by a faint breeze of mint fragrance. The person opening the door was a tall blond with big waves around twenty years old.
With long hair reaching her waist, picturesque eyebrows, red lips and white teeth.
The blond big-waves was wearing an off-white nightdress, her heavy breasts trembling slightly, her waist slender, and under her skirt a pair of fair, tender, and straight calves without a single flaw, revealing a hint of charming allure amidst her capable temperament.
"How did you know I live here?" Felicia asked.
"I didn't know, but fate (super vision) guided me here."
Eros smiled and handed over the flowers in his hand: "You look really hot tonight, just like this bunch of roses, dangerous and charming."
Felicia took the flowers and gently sniffed them, the natural fragrance of the earth rushing into her nose.
"I just picked this, do you like it?"
"I like it very much."
Felicia wrapped her arms around Eros's neck, and Erostook the opportunity to slide sideways into the house, kicking the door shut with the tip of his toe.
The weather in New York changed extremely fast in May. That night, there was another light drizzle, and the newly grown tender leaves on the large trees along the roadside swayed back and forth inpropertyPath the night wind and fine rain.
Some couldn't hold on and drifted down from the branches in a spiral.
After a long while, the shower stopped, the wind died down, and the city under the night veil returned to peace.
"Are you leaving right now?" Felicia looked at Eros, who was putting on his clothes, her lips pouting, looking delicate and alluring.
Eros kissed her: "S.H.I.E.L.D. temporarily has an emergency mission that requires me to make a trip to Afghanistan in person."
"An emergency mission, sounds very exciting." Felicia's eyes lit up, and her innate desire for adventure began to act up.
"Can I go?"
"Sorry, Felicia." Eros flatly refused, and what greeted him was a flying pillow.
"Get lost!"
...
"I shouldn't be late, right?"
In the outskirts of New York, at a stronghold of S.H.I.E.L.D., Eros smiled as he looked at S.H.I.E.L.D.'s rapid-response special operations team standing ready before him.
The Strike Team was currently S.H.I.E.L.D.'s strongest armed land action force. Its leader was Crossbones Rumlow, who reported directly to Alexander Pierce and was one of HYDRA's core armed forces.
Of course, most of the low-level Agents did not know they were working for HYDRA.
"No, Officer." The leading Captain was Grant Ward, and he replied with a straight face.
After deciding to go to Afghanistan to earn a favor from Tony Stark, Eros booked a quinjet.
The time was deliberately pushed back by three hours, and look, he arrived right on the dot.
"Alright, board the plane, let's go."
Eros didn't choose to fly over by himself; choosing to ride a quinjet had its reasons.
His own normal flight speed was only 1.5 Mach, while the quinjet could reach 5 Mach.
About 40 minutes later, the quinjet landed at the Bagram Air Base.
This was the U.S. military Base where Tony Starkshowcased his weapons. Eros had Grant Ward bring people to settle down here first, while he himself went to find Tony Stark first.
Eros would then send a signal for Grant Ward to come over, staging an Agent-style rescue.
Chapter 10: Naturally evil Terrorists, actually...
In the Sacred Timeline, Tony Stark was kidnapped in 2008, but in this Universe, it was the beginning of 2010.
After leaving the U.S. Military Base, Eros found a deserted corner and soared straight into the sky.
Due to the impact of the war, Afghanistan was riddled with small armed militants during this period, and Tony Starkwas locked in a cave once again.
For the America Military and S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents, finding Tony Stark under such circumstances was a very difficult task.
But not for Eros.
Do not treat Homelander as not a Superman; a beggar-version Superman is still a Superman.
Gathering information with super speed + flight capability + super vision + X-ray vision, combined with the processing power of a super brain.
Eros only needed to fly a circle over Afghanistan to find Tony Stark.
However, before finding Tony Stark, Eros encountered a small episode.
During the search for Tony Stark, Eros saw an armed force carrying out Carnage on a team of refugees.
"Beat this guy to death."
The leading Terrorists leader kicked the man lying on the ground a few times fiercely, and then instructed his subordinates.
The subordinates immediately dragged the man aside, pointing the muzzle at the man's head.
"Daddy!"
"Daddy!"
Amidst the man's daughter's heart-rending pleas, gunshots rang out, and the man fell to the ground in response.
The next instant, a king descended from the sky, and dust filled the air.
As the dust settled, what appeared before everyone's eyes was a head of dazzling blond hair.
Homelander Eros came online.
What a pity, was it still a bit too slow?
Eros's gaze looked at the fallen man with some regret, and crimson Heat Vision shot from his eyes, sweeping across the subordinate and cutting him in half at the waist.
"Ah!"
Everyone around, whether Terrorists or refugees, was shocked by this.
After the shock, gunshots rang out one after another, but to no avail.
Bullets hitting Eros couldn't even cause the slightest bit of impact.
Carnage thus began.
Eros showed no mercy, continuously firing heat rays to assassinate the surrounding Terrorists one by one.
However, just after he assassinated several Terrorists, the remaining few got smarter and actually protected themselves with refugees in front, raising their guns at the refugees.
"Giligulu!"
"Giligulu!"
Eros couldn't understand what these armed militants were giligulu-ing about, but it wasn't hard to guess that it was nothing more than stop, or I'll kill them.
Such a threat might be useful to ordinary superheroes, but to Eros... Do you know what super speed is?
Eros's figure flickered slightly, and the remaining armed militants had their minds blown open at almost the exact same instant.
"Ah!"
Listening to the terrified cries of the refugees, Eros showed a friendly smile, indicating that he meant no harm to them, and then bent his knees to prepare for takeoff.
Just at this moment...
Slap!
A pebble smashed into Eros's back.
Eros turned around to look, and it was precisely that girl from earlier whose father had been killed and who had cried out in painful entreaty.
"Giligulu!"
("You are obviously so powerful, why couldn't you come earlier? If you had come earlier to save us, my dad wouldn't have died! It's all your fault, you killed my dad!")
Eros couldn't understand what the girl in front of him was giligulu-ing about, but he could sense her malice.
He was silent for a moment, and the next second, he pulled out his service pistol, Colt 1911.
Bang! Bang!
Bang!
Two shots to the chest and one to the head, even immortals would find it hard to survive!
"A naturally evil Terrorists, actually disguising as a little girl!"
Although the process had some twists and turns, Eros still chose to step in and rescue when encountering Terroristsattacking refugees afterward.
Thus, after wasting some extra effort, he successfully found Tony Stark by dark, even easier than he had anticipated.
Tony Stark was kidnapped by the Ten Rings Gang and imprisoned in a cave. There were many such small armed force gatherings in Afghanistan, and America's Militaryand S.H.I.E.L.D. could not quickly investigate them one by one.
But Eros could.
He flew at an altitude of several thousand meters, turning on his super vision, and could investigate a Base in a few seconds and a region in a minute or two.
...
In Afghanistan, inside the cave of the Ten Rings Gang, it was crowded at this moment.
Three months ago, after the leader of the Ten Rings Gangkidnapped Tony Stark, he demanded Tony Stark to manufacture weapons for him, the most advanced weapon of Stark Industries — the Jericho missile.
But who was Tony Stark?
Rebellious since childhood, how could he let Terroristsmanipulate him.
He superficially obeyed the Ten Rings Gang and helped manufacture missiles. In reality, with the help of fellow prisoner Dr. Ethan, he used the materials for making missiles to secretly design and build a set of iron armor, hoping that this set of iron armor could help him fight his way out.
However, the long period without any output aroused the suspicion of the Ten Rings Gang leader.
Especially since he saw on the surveillance that Tony Starkput a part on his foot and tested it repeatedly.
He was just illiterate, not stupid!
No matter how you looked at it, this had nothing to do with making missiles!
"Hasagay!"
The iron door opened, and the bald leader led people directly barging into the cave where Tony Stark was imprisoned.
"Bows and arrows once belonged to cutting-edge weapon technology. Genghis Khan relied on them back then to sweep across Eurasia and dominate for a time.
His territory exceeded Alexander the Great's by five times, four times the area of the Roman Empire.
But today, only the person with Stark's most advanced weapons can rule the World, and that person will be me. Why did you live down my kindness."
As the bald leader spoke, he walked around the cave, making a pretense of checking the blueprints and various parts, but he couldn't understand them at all.
In the end, he could only walk up to Tony Stark, staring fixedly at Tony Stark, wanting to use this method to put pressure on Tony.
But unfortunately, the bald leader giligulu-ed a lot, and Tony Stark couldn't understand at all. He looked at the bald leader with a calm expression.
"We are working hard, forgetting to sleep and eat." Ethan, who was moonlighting as a translator on the side, could only speak up to defend, unexpectedly bringing trouble upon himself.
The bald leader turned to look at Ethan. He couldn't handle Tony Stark, but couldn't he handle you?
After a round of giligulu argument between the two, two henchmen stepped forward to hold Ethan down on his knees, pressing Ethan's head onto the table.
The bald leader picked up a glowing red piece of iron with pliers and approached step by step.
Although Tony Stark couldn't understand what the bald leader and Ethan were talking about, he knew Ethan was in great danger now.
"What do you want, a delivery date?"
However, just as Tony Stark couldn't understand what the bald leader was giligulu-ing about, the bald leader couldn't understand what he was giligulu-ing about either.
But fortunately, Tony Stark subconsciously stepping forward made the henchmen somewhat reactive and overreact, attracting the attention of the bald leader.
The situation was critical, but Tony Stark was very calm.
Ten seconds later, he would move the bald leader with a few of the most straightforward, direct, simple, and easiest-to-understand words.