"This is The Frontline, what's your story?"
In the Anti-World, at The Frontline Newspaper Office.
"Hurry up, Kent! We've got a tip about a Superhero sighting on Second Avenue, 39th Street..."
Hanging up the phone, a reporter from the office shouted at a glasses-wearing colleague.
"I'm on my way!"
Grabbing the SLR camera from his desk, Colin—or rather, Clark Kent—responded immediately.
The Frontline was an independent newspaper founded by Ben Urich, a veteran reporter from the former Daily Bugle. After the old Daily Bugle was acquired by business tycoon Dexter Bennett and its integrity compromised, many of the newspaper's original employees, whether voluntarily or not, moved to The Frontline.
It was rumored that Jameson, the former owner of The Daily Bugle, was secretly sponsoring The Frontline.
Ben Urich, the owner of The Frontline, never actively denied these claims.
Taking his camera, he descended from The Frontline's floor. Compared to The Daily Bugle's massive 46-story news industry building, The Frontline's building was clearly much shabbier.
However, as a reporter who had only recently joined the newspaper and hadn't experienced the Daily Bugle era that many at The Frontline had, Colin appeared perfectly calm.
He exited the elevator and ran out with his camera.
As he passed the building's entrance, he ran into Smith, the cameraman with a thick, bushy beard.
Evidently, Smith had ultimately made his decision, choosing to leave the acquired Daily Bugle along with Ben Urich and the others.
"Hey, Kent, where are you off to?"
Watching his busy colleague, Smith casually asked.
"There's news on Second Avenue."
In response to Smith's question, Colin twitched the corner of his mouth, revealing a perfectly appropriate look of urgency.
"Then I won't keep you. Good luck with your work."
Hearing Colin's reply, Smith quickly stepped aside.
"Thanks, Smith."
Passing by Smith, Colin offered a polite smile and his thanks.
The entire exchange was ordinary and mundane. After they brushed past each other, Smith didn't detect anything unusual about Colin at all. He certainly didn't realize that this new colleague, Clark, with whom he'd just briefly chatted at the newspaper's entrance, was actually Colin Luopo, the rookie reporter he had worked with previously at The Daily Bugle.
...
Holding his camera, he sat in the driver's seat.
Colin adjusted the car's rearview mirror, opened the navigation and entered the address his colleague had given him.
Although he was no stranger to this address, as Clark Kent, he needed to act the part.
After all, Clark wasn't Colin. He had never worked at The Daily Bugle.
Naturally, he wouldn't know that the address on Second Avenue, 39th Street, was actually the location of The Daily Bugle.
Driving the second-hand car towards The Daily Bugle's location, Colin silently activated his [Super Hearing].
A cacophony of chaotic noises flooded Colin's ears. However, having unlocked Superman's [Super Intellect], his mind naturally filtered out these sounds, ultimately locking onto his desired target.
"Haha, Spider-Man, you're even scrawnier than I imagined..."
Through his [Super Hearing], Colin first heard a shrill voice let out a maniacal laugh, as piercing as a needle's point.
"You can call me the Green Goblin. Not that it matters, because you won't be alive for much longer, hahahaha..."
"I'm going to turn your corpse into a specimen to commemorate my, the Green Goblin's, birth! Haha, I just wonder if I'll be able to find an insect box big enough to hold you."
"..."
Green Goblin? Spider-Man!
Inside the car, listening to the Green Goblin's piercing laughter, Colin couldn't help but raise his eyebrows.
He didn't know if it was fortunate or not, but the very first Superhero report he was assigned to cover for The Frontline was about the renowned Spider-Man of the American Comics World, who was also the lifelong arch-nemesis of his former boss, Jameson.
From what he could gather with his [Super Hearing], this was likely the Green Goblin's first appearance.
As for Spider-Man, he hadn't been on the scene for long either.
Based on the intelligence Colin currently possessed, the popularity of this Anti-World's Little Bug (Spider-Man's nickname) was far from reaching the "good friend of New York City" level he would later achieve. He also wondered if this world's Ben Parker had delivered his classic famous line.
Also, for some reason, the Spider-Man fighting the Green Goblin seemed exceptionally silent, far from the talkative character Colin remembered.
Could this be another effect of the [Twisted Time Node]?
Regardless, this was the fated battle between a fledgling Superhero and a fledgling Supervillain.
With a hint of anticipation in his heart, Colin managed his time as he rushed toward the location of the fight.
As a reporter, he just needed to show up at the right time and snap some photos.
As for subsequent contact and the acquisition of [Time Shards], that was a problem for Colin to consider, not Clark.
While driving his car, continuing towards Second Avenue, Colin's [Super Hearing] was simultaneously transmitting the latest updates from the battle scene.
Amidst a series of massive explosions, the Green Goblin's voice grew even more shrill and piercing.
"Damn you, Spider-Man! Is running all you know how to do?! Or do you think you can defeat me like this?"
"If that's what you think, then you're far too naive! I am the great Green Goblin! Did you really think I'd be fooled by your little circus tricks? Hahaha, let me give you a big present! My specially made Pumpkin Bomb! You'd better savor its flavor, or Uncle Green Goblin will get angry, hahahaha..."
Along with the Green Goblin's sharp, maniacal laughter, a more violent explosion rang in Colin's ears.
BOOM—
This time, he didn't even need [Super Hearing] to feel the immense destructive power of the blast.
"What's happening?"
"An explosion! It's an explosion!"
"Is it another terrorist attack? An attack by the Anti-German Elements?"
"Don't those Anti-German Elements have a brain? It's been so long since the German Military's victory, and they're still fantasizing about the era of the Allied Powers..."
The sudden, massive explosion threw the entire roadway into chaos.
Many drivers slammed on their brakes, got out of their cars, and stared in the direction of the explosion, their faces etched with clear fear and shock.
*Click!*
With one hand on the steering wheel, maneuvering through the chaotic road, Colin grabbed the SLR camera from the passenger seat with his other hand. He aimed it at the billowing smoke from the explosion and skillfully snapped a photo of the scene.
(end of chapter)