章 27: Careless!
"SuperBoy Saves New York—Who Exactly Is He?"
"Unveiling the Superhero—SuperBoy!"
"Hero or Hidden Agenda? A Deep Dive into SuperBoy!"
"Monster Maker: General Ross's Secret Plan!"
...
Lynch glanced over the newspaper stand, where the headlines were all quite similar. He adjusted his hat and picked up a Daily Bugle.
The commotion from last night was too big to keep under wraps, and it had already caused a massive stir in New York.
Abomination had been obliterated, not a trace left, thanks to heat vision. The government pushed the deceased Ross forward as a scapegoat, claiming Abomination was the result of his personal dangerous experiments.
SuperBoy, guided by certain forces, had become the focus of public attention.
Everyone was eagerly discussing SuperBoy—his immense power, why he didn't wear a uniform, his handsome Asian features, and so on.
But Lynch noticed that most of the discussions were positive and superficial. No one questioned where Lynch came from, why he suddenly appeared, or even tried to look for him.
Given the ethics of New York's journalists, if an unknown superhuman really emerged, they'd swarm in like vultures, digging deep to unearth every detail about his identity.
Lynch guessed that S.H.I.E.L.D. had stepped in, preventing those folks from prying into his background.
As a result, reporters showered SuperBoy with praise in their articles, making even Lynch feel a little embarrassed.
Their intentions were clear—using SuperBoy's identity to market him as a superhero.
That way, if Lynch ever caused any trouble again, it'd be difficult to turn against the people cheering for him.
But Lynch didn't mind. The battle and this wave of media coverage had already earned him over 300,000 righteousness points.
It also helped him avoid a lot of potential trouble.
Unlike Superman, Lynch didn't deliberately hide his identity.
Speaking of Superman, he was indeed a master at concealing his identity among superheroes.
The saying "the best hiding is in plain sight" certainly applied—Superman never wore a mask, yet no one recognized him.
In the comics, it's explained that Superman intentionally disguised himself.
While working at the newspaper, he adopted a different hairstyle, expressions, and mannerisms to come off as a timid, clumsy, and goofy guy.
Coupled with the contrast of Superman's god-like status, when people saw him at the paper, they'd just think, "This guy kinda looks like Superman."
But no one would suspect that this ordinary person was actually Superman.
Lynch couldn't be bothered with such disguises.
After the fight with Iron Monger, some blurry images of him had already surfaced. Back then, the impact was mild, and after a few days, the forgetful citizens of New York had mostly moved on.
But after Tony's press conference, Lynch had to wear a hat and mask whenever he went out.
Luckily, Lynch slept during the day and was active at night. With his keen senses and quick movements, he never got the chance to experience what it felt like to be a New York celebrity.
However, after the public witnessed the massive Abomination incident, while no one was bothering him now due to certain connections, there's no guarantee that fame-hungry journalists wouldn't come looking for him later.
It seemed like Chinatown wouldn't be a safe place for long. Too many people here had seen his face.
Lynch leisurely returned to the rooftop.
With Ross dead and Abomination completely wiped out, Lynch finally felt a long-overdue sense of relief.
It was December 2009. According to the timeline, the next major event in this world would be Iron Man 2, but that wouldn't happen until next year.
For now, no villains were popping up with plans to destroy the world, so Lynch could relax and enjoy life for a bit.
But where should he go?
Should he ask Tony for a place to stay? Stark Tower wasn't even built yet.
Maybe S.H.I.E.L.D. could arrange something? Nah, if Hydra had infiltrated, that could bring trouble.
Or maybe…
"Hm?"
Lynch was holding the newspaper when he suddenly noticed something.
"The owner of the house where the monster first appeared, Dr. Samuel Sterns, has mysteriously disappeared..."
Dr. Sterns?
Mr. Blue?
No, it's the Leader!
Lynch's mind flashed to the movie, where after creating Abomination, a grinning Sterns lay on the ground, his head swelling.
Right! How could I forget him?
In the comics, the Leader and Abomination are like brain and brawn, both major enemies of the Hulk.
Just like Abomination's intense will to survive, the Leader has an insatiable thirst for knowledge.
He, too, gained superpowers through gamma radiation, just like Abomination.
He possesses powerful intuition, computational thinking, information storage, and logical and philosophical structuring. His intelligence is nearly limitless in potential. Theoretically, he can surpass normal human thought processes to acquire knowledge and understanding, mastering every field of science in the world and grasping concepts beyond human comprehension.
Though he never appeared again in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the movie left a clear hint.
He lay on the ground, bleeding from his head, and the gamma serum spilled from a shattered machine touched his head, causing it to swell in a bizarre way.
Just like the Hulk and Abomination's transformations.
It's unclear how much of the comic book abilities he's gained in this world, but based on the film, the portrayal is very accurate!
He exhibited a strong curiosity and no fear of danger.
Although he didn't show up in later films, that doesn't mean he didn't do anything nefarious afterward.
In the comics, after his transformation, he gathered a team to steal the world's scientific secrets.
This guy… has disappeared…
I've been a bit careless.
Lynch thought to himself.
To Lynch, intellectual villains like this were trickier than the ones who relied on brute force.
After all, with 50% of his "Young Superman" template complete, Lynch wasn't afraid of combat.
But when it came to mind games and strategy, Lynch wasn't the best player.
I have to find him!
If he's allowed to hide and develop in secret, who knows when he'll pop up with a plan to destroy humanity?
Although his primary drive is knowledge, Earth's technology won't satisfy him forever.
Then, will he try to unite the world, eliminate wars and conflicts between nations, and gather all the world's resources and intellect to advance technology?
For someone controlled by an insatiable drive, making such a choice would seem reasonable, right?
With this thought, Lynch pulled out his phone, intending to call Natasha and have S.H.I.E.L.D. handle it.
But then he reconsidered—The Leader is insanely smart and seems to possess some kind of intuition.
Would S.H.I.E.L.D.'s involvement scare him off?
Sigh, looks like I'll have to handle this myself.
Sensing that no one was around, Lynch took off with a quick leap, heading towards the site of yesterday's battle.
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