The early morning sun shone warmly over New York City.
A new day was always supposed to be beautiful.
Light Inksworth had originally thought that way, but reality had other plans.
"Sister Gwen, how about buying this one?"
Gali, wearing her signature purple dress, practically drooled as she stared at the cake displayed in the glass window.
"Okay," Gwen Stacy said happily, gently patting the little girl's head.
The four of them walked into the bakery together.
Yes, Lorna Dane was also with them.
Lorna's expression was a little unnatural.
A trace of sourness swelled in her heart when she saw Gali and Gwen talking so easily.
Lorna had always had a lot of fun with Gali.
In her opinion, gaining the little cosmic entity's approval meant getting one step closer to Light.
Unexpectedly, Gwen had invited Light and Gali out today, leaving Lorna feeling a little worried and a bit stubborn.
'Even if the two of you are boyfriend and girlfriend right now, it doesn't mean I don't have a chance,' Lorna reasoned internally.
'Even if people get married, there can still be a divorce.'
This was an opportunity for a gathering, and she absolutely couldn't show any weakness.
Lorna would never admit defeat, so she clenched her fist, bit the bullet, and walked up to chat with Gwen.
Light, who was trapped in the center of this romantic whirlpool, scratched his head helplessly when he saw the interaction.
He turned his attention away and looked up at the massive digital screen on the outer wall of the building.
Tony Stark was currently standing at a press conference podium on the broadcast.
Light also noticed Phil Coulson standing in the background.
The S.H.I.E.L.D. agent with the receding hairline kept gesturing to Tony on the stage, but the billionaire remained completely indifferent.
"Tony Stark, is the picture on this page you?" a reporter asked, holding up a copy of today's newspaper.
The front page clearly showed Iron Man in mid-air flight.
The dazzling gold and hot-rod red colors, along with the incredibly flashy design, perfectly revealed the arrogant character of the man inside the armor.
"There is also the person in this second picture, do you know her?" the reporter continued.
It was another photo, but unlike the dazzling golden-red armor, this one was much darker.
Only a faint streak of blonde hair could be seen flying in the wind.
This was a blurry snapshot of Genoko moving at high speed as she approached the Iron Monger.
Because Genoko's cybernetic limbs were dark and her central clothing was white, the glowing halo of her energy weapons made it impossible to clearly see her face.
"As for the second question, I refuse to answer," Tony replied.
"But I can certainly answer the first question for you."
Tony's face was uncharacteristically serious, which made the reporters at the scene tremble with anticipation.
The infamous playboy had always been frivolous and unpredictable.
Such a grave expression had only been seen when he shut down Stark Industries' weapons manufacturing division.
It was obviously going to be another massive announcement.
"The truth is, I am Iron Man."
Tony Stark answered everything with that single sentence.
Even though Obadiah Stane had been killed by Genoko, it did not prevent the topic from exploding in popularity.
As the chairman of a world-renowned conglomerate, the exposure of his superhero status was far more influential than he himself had imagined.
Light deeply knew that this sentence represented the Marvel Universe officially entering the era of superheroes.
It was the ignition point for supernatural phenomena and enhanced individuals emerging in various parts of the world.
All the pedestrians on the street fell quiet for a brief moment.
In the very next second, a massive clamor erupted.
The entire world began talking about Iron Man at the exact same time.
The employees in the bakery were completely distracted by the customers' constant discussions.
However, Gwen and Lorna did not turn the outing into a bloody battlefield as Light had originally expected.
Instead, the two women were surprisingly talking and laughing together.
Gali curled her lips, ran over to Light's side, and tugged on his clothes.
She raised her head and said proudly, "You see, it's because of me that the two of them didn't start fighting."
"Light, you can figure out how to reward me for that."
Smack!
Light lightly slapped the back of her head and let out an exasperated sigh.
"I'm not blind, so don't try to lie to me."
"You just want me to buy you more food to eat."
The group of three women and one man continued walking down the street.
Unlike before, Light was completely left trailing behind them.
As he was walking, he suddenly felt the solid ground shake violently beneath his feet.
"ROAR!!"
A deafening roar resembling a primordial giant beast resounded nearby.
The glass windows on the adjacent tall building instantly cracked, shattering completely and raining down like a deadly shower.
Falling through the sky, the glass looked a little charming under the reflection of the sun.
However, those sharp, deadly shards were dropping straight toward the crowded sidewalk.
Light immediately grabbed Gwen, who hadn't reacted in time, pulling her into his arms and taking two swift steps backward.
Gwen's face flushed bright red, as she clearly hadn't expected Light to be so bold in public.
But the terrified screams erupting all around them quickly snapped her back to reality.
Lorna and Gali had already flashed sideways into the safety of a nearby street shop.
The other pedestrians, however, were directly injured by the rain of falling glass shards descending from the sky.
Although the fragments were small, they were dropping from a terrifying height, meaning the damage they caused could not be underestimated.
For a time, horrific screams and cries for help echoed throughout the street as the people fled in absolute panic.
"Where did that sound come from?" Gwen asked in surprise, the blush fading from her face as sheer panic took over.
"Is it in front of us?"
Light's heart moved as his heightened perception fed him the surrounding environmental feedback.
He shook his head and spoke.
"No, it should be coming from the next street over."
"That monster's voice is incredibly loud."
"It isn't safe to stay here in the open," Light said, turning to his assistant.
"Lorna, you and Gali escort Gwen home safely."
Gwen was surprised and immediately grabbed Light's hand.
"What about you?" she asked.
"Why aren't you coming with us?"
"You forgot that your father will definitely show up to manage such a big event," Light teased lightly.
"He will be fine with me being here."
"I must..." Gwen started to protest.
Light directly stopped Gwen from raising any more death flags.
He signaled Lorna, letting the mutant drag a reluctant Gwen away from the danger zone.
"Light, are you planning to do bad things again?"
Gali leaned over and spoke with absolute certainty.
"I can tell just by looking at your face."
Light shooed Gali away with a dark expression on his face.
He then turned his gaze toward the smoke-filled street not far away.
Amidst the panicking crowd fleeing the scene, Light walked directly against the current.
Covering nearly ten meters with each step, he quickly arrived at a dark alleyway.
From here, the beast's roars were becoming more and more deafening.
Whoosh!
Light completely disappeared from his spot in the alley.
He instantly reappeared on the high rooftop platform of an adjacent building.
From this vantage point, he had a clear view of Broadway Avenue.
This was the incredibly prosperous street directly connected to Times Square.
At this moment, explosions were erupting everywhere.
The desperate calls for help echoed endlessly, staging a horrific human tragedy right in the heart of the city.
Light's eyes flashed with a bright, calculating glint.
"It's really interesting," he murmured to himself.
"Do you think this stage is a little too small?"
Skynet Alice projected her holographic avatar from his watch.
She turned her head to look at Light, frowned, and spoke up.
"Are you absolutely sure you want to do this?"
"You know S.H.I.E.L.D. can only guess right now, but if you take action publicly, you will be confirming everything."
"Confirming everything?" Light asked, smirking.
"That term is used quite well."
"Actually, the previous incidents are already very obvious."
"The first was the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, and the second was Genoko."
"The latter had some changes in gender, but S.H.I.E.L.D. has likely already run a complete comparative analysis long ago."
"Maybe the photos in the hands of the media are blurry, but S.H.I.E.L.D. possesses military satellites."
"They have undoubtedly already analyzed all the relevant pictures of Genoko down to the very last pixel."
Alice heard his words and asked curiously, "Then what exactly do you want to do?"
"Me?" Light replied.
"Every civilian who dies to a monster is a dead potential fan."
Light looked up at the sky, the corners of his mouth rising slightly to reveal a highly playful smile.
"The truth is..."
"This world needs me to make it entirely different!"
There were many hidden forces in the Marvel Universe.
Officially, there was a shield in the West, and a spear in the East.
The ultimate behemoth of private mystical institutions was Kamar-Taj.
And from the very beginning, Light had embraced the power of countless fictional worlds.
"Now is the time to end this chaos with a lot of fun."
"But, I'm just a pragmatic cartoonist."
"Mindless fighting and killing is not really for me."
'[Congratulations to Host, you have obtained...]' the System's mechanized voice chimed.
Within a burst of dazzling white light, a shiny, perfectly bald head materialized into reality with a soft pop.
"Justice Execution!"