Back in these days—before Kingpin ever showed his true nature—ordinary people still saw him as a celebrated philanthropist and big-name entrepreneur.
"Wait… doesn't Kingpin have Bullseye? Why come to me?"
The employer's identity was obvious. Though it was also possible the drug dealer's associates were scared he'd drag them down with him.
After all, if the guy dared bite at Kingpin, who knew what kind of lunatic thinking he had left?
One thing was certain: Kingpin had been raking in cash ever since partnering with Madame Gao of the Hand to move product. No wonder he was willing to spend big.
In truth, Kingpin worried that if he offered too little, the White Devil wouldn't take the job. Bullseye was currently tied up with another mission and couldn't return; Kingpin had no choice but to rely on the Midnight Hotel's rising star.
Zod skimmed the mission details. The target was being held at a high-security prison in New York. Breaking in wasn't impossible, but it would draw S.H.I.E.L.D.'s attention. And tomorrow, when the man took the stand, he'd be surrounded by layers of protection.
The only viable time to strike was during transport.
But Zod preferred to end things quickly—he had no interest in dragging out a job.
Through the Midnight Hotel's network, he reached New York in no time and flew straight to the prison.
He planned to slip inside and kill the target directly.
Activating his X-ray vision, he identified every camera and blind spot with ease. With a god's-eye view, he avoided guards, bypassed sensors, and located his mark—Daichi.
Daichi trembled with fear, isolated in a single cell. They'd kept other inmates away to prevent Kingpin from bribing someone to kill him inside.
Zod used his heat vision to slice clean through the lock. Before Daichi even processed what was happening, a hand clamped over the top of his skull.
"N—!"
He never finished the scream. Zod wasn't one for unnecessary chatter.
A sharp twist snapped Daichi's neck. Zod left just as swiftly.
At dawn the next day, NYPD Commissioner George Stacy arrived with a large escort to pick up the witness. Instead, he found Daichi long dead in his cell.
"What happened? The prisoner's dead?!"
George's pupils shrank. He rushed forward, hoping there was still a chance—but the corpse was cold and stiff. Completely gone.
"That's impossible—we watched him all night!"
The warden was drenched in sweat. The guards exchanged panicked looks. They had monitored one another to avoid internal corruption. No one left their post. So how did the man die?
"The lock was cut through by extreme heat. You didn't hear anything this loud?"
George studied the door. Blackened metal. Melted edges. In his mind, he pictured an assassin welding the lock open—noisy, impossible to miss.
His expression darkened. A full internal investigation was inevitable.
The Midnight Hotel received the intel later. They had assumed the White Devil would strike during transport—never imagining he would infiltrate a maximum-security prison. How had he even gotten inside?
Zod received the payment. He no longer bothered with cash; it was troublesome. The hotel wired money straight into his account.
As for drawing attention from the IRS—people seriously underestimated Hydra. There were probably Hydra agents in the IRS itself.
Kingpin, meanwhile, was astonished that the White Devil had managed to kill Daichi inside the prison and escape unnoticed. His appreciation grew. After all, even Bullseye—his most capable killer—was originally recruited from the Midnight Hotel. If the White Devil wasn't quite Bullseye's equal, he couldn't be far off.
However, the hotel had learned from past experiences. All information related to the White Devil was heavily classified. For Kingpin to uncover anything, he'd need time—and a lot of it.
…
Three months later.
Zod returned home covered in travel dust, carrying a massive haul of vibranium.
His basement was piled with failed experiments—half-finished armor prototypes that, if shown to the public, would cause a sensation despite being unusable.
But today, at last, he could finish the real thing.
After countless attempts, he had finally discovered the perfect ratio between K-Gold and vibranium. He spent the last of his funds buying vibranium for this final trial.
By now, his heat vision could vaporize steel. Zod had no idea how hot steel needed to be to sublimate, but it was terrifyingly high. Using that power, he heated both metals and, with bare hands, merged the molten alloys together. After more than five hours of work—
He finished the armor.
Pitch-black, without a hint of reflection, its design matched the aesthetic of top-tier superheroes. In terms of style alone, it would rank among the best.
K-Gold combined with vibranium made the armor nearly indestructible. Nearly—because Marvel's continuity tended to contradict itself so often that Zod had no idea whether vibranium would stay consistent.
The armor drew its power from its wearer, meaning only Zod could use it. Along each forearm, an array of retractable blades could extend or fold back at will. With heat vision, he could superheat the blades, turning them into thermal cutters capable of slicing through almost anything.
Beyond the arm blades, he had also incorporated Wolverine-style metal claws, which could likewise be heated. Because Zod himself fought with overwhelming speed and power, the armor had no long-range weapons—he didn't need them. He could close distance faster than a bullet.
He named it—the Sun God Armor.
Once he put it on, he took it for a test flight.
It performed beautifully. The power system he designed synced perfectly with his energy output. It was unfortunate he lacked certain materials and key technologies; otherwise, he could have embedded a true AI.
The Sun God Armor also contained a super-battery capable of storing excess energy he radiated naturally, plus solar energy absorbed from sunlight.
Having seen Superman fail spectacularly too many times, Zod decided he needed countermeasures. The armor was his safety net.
As long as the Sun God Armor had energy, it would maintain excellent combat strength. If he ever weakened because of magic or red sun radiation, wearing it would instantly turn the tide.
"Maybe I should install a high-frequency blade too? In case something knocks out my heat vision…"
Zod muttered to himself.
Paranoia about weaknesses and fear of insufficient firepower gnawed at him. He stared at the newly completed Sun God Armor and suddenly felt his previous design wasn't enough.
Fortunately, weapon add-ons didn't require major modifications.
High-frequency blades had existed on Krypton long ago—Kryptonians simply preferred energy weapons. Most saw using advanced tech to enhance melee weapons as the hobby of fools.
But Zod was no purist. If it worked, he'd use it.
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