"You mean a super soldier serum?"
Nick Fury froze. This was even more unbelievable than he had imagined!
But when he thought about how much of a genius Zod Heath was, it did not seem entirely impossible either.
"It might not be the same kind of super soldier serum as Captain America's," Natasha said with a sigh. "It could be something more stable, and stronger."
She really was getting outdated, wasn't she? After all, she was already an older model now.
A sharp glint flashed through Nick Fury's one eye.
More stable, and stronger?
He knew the flaws of the super soldier serum Captain America had used back then. Good became better, evil became worse.
On top of that, the success rate was extremely low. Even though America had obtained samples and partial data, and had burned through tens of billions of dollars over the years, they still had nothing to show for it. In the original timeline, the serum Ross injected into Blonsky was already the best incomplete version America had, yet its success rate was still terribly low.
"With Zod Heath's level of genius, he might have developed a super soldier serum long ago," Natasha said. "He just chose not to sell it as a commercial product for some reason."
As she spoke, she started feeling bad for all the things she had bought.
Without next month's paycheck, how was she supposed to pay them off?
If she relied only on her S.H.I.E.L.D. salary, it would take dozens of months to clear the debt.
Carrying a heavy heart, Nick Fury returned to the Helicarrier. But before he had even settled into his seat, his hand froze halfway to a donut, because Coulson had just delivered some explosive news.
Zod Heath had applied to establish an association.
A fully legal one.
Its name was the Superhero Association!
The association president was Dark Knight Zod, and he was publicly calling on all capable people to join the Superhero Association, become superheroes, and step forward to resolve crises whenever danger appeared!
"How can he do that?!"
Nick Fury stared in disbelief. Honestly, he had always thought only someone as flashy as Tony Stark could pull off a move this shamelessly stylish.
And yet Zod Heath had beaten Tony Stark to it.
Then, exactly as expected, Tony Stark became the first person to publicly announce that he was joining the Superhero Association.
For a time, the Superhero Association instantly became the hottest news and discussion topic around, and it resonated with quite a few people who had gained powers through mutation or technology.
"Want to become a superhero? Then join the Superhero Association!"
Nick Fury had a headache.
A massive one.
A splitting headache.
Tony Stark joining in the chaos would have been bad enough on its own. But once Tony Stark and Zod Heath's capital combined, it became one giant capitalist force. Even though being a superhero had originally been something without legal recognition, under that kind of capital influence, it suddenly became legitimate!
After all, the Deep Sea Folk incident had only just passed. At a time like this, public approval of superheroes was stronger than ever before. Citizens had already trashed the military and the police as utterly useless, saying that without the superheroes turning the tide, New York would have been finished.
These past few days, the military brass had been running around with dark faces, holding press conferences every day trying to recover their credibility and prestige. The police had started acting up too. Their case-solving rate was climbing in a straight line. If they did not want their wages docked, and did not want superheroes stealing their jobs, then they had no choice but to step up and compete with them head-on.
In the past, they could still arrest those street-level heroes under charges of obstructing law enforcement.
But now they could not.
Any superhero officially registered through the Superhero Association now automatically carried the protective halo of capital around them. The influence of the name Zod Heath was no joke.
After all, his public image had always been excellent. Even though Zod Heath had not shown his face once in a year, the inventions he created had brought enormous benefits to people, and he constantly helped others through free checkups and charity work...
By now, the X-gene and Inhuman gene samples he had collected were nearly approaching one hundred million.
Zod Heath himself was also the legal representative. In any case, all those lawyers he kept around were not there for decoration.
"So why am I only an A-Class hero?"
Tony Stark argued his case seriously. He felt he ought to be an S-Class hero, the highest rank.
"Unless you can reach the level of Metal Knight, Drive Knight, or the Demon Cyborg of legend, then you're A-Class."
Zod Heath merely glanced at him and replied.
"Who the hell is Metal Knight?"
Tony Stark looked completely baffled.
As soon as the Superhero Association's official announcement went public, applications started pouring in.
Zod hesitated a little when he saw Reed Richards, Mister Fantastic.
Should he reject him?
After all, Mister Fantastic was terrifying in a very particular way. At critical moments, he had a bad habit of dropping the ball, and once he accidentally screwed someone over, he could ruin them completely. More importantly, trying to kill him was practically impossible.
Zod was not afraid of much, but he was genuinely worried the Superhero Association might get killed off by Mister Fantastic's disasters.
So, better reject him.
The others, though, could join.
"Zod, where's your suit?"
Tony asked with interest. The reason he had joined, aside from realizing his own shortcomings after the Deep Sea Folk incident, and aside from the fact that having everyone gather together looked like fun, was mainly because it would let him show off.
And the fact that this whole thing had been Zod Heath's idea made Tony pound his chest in regret. Why had he not thought of such a brilliant plan first?
Without Captain America in the picture, Tony Stark had not really cared about joining some superhero team.
But becoming the leader?
That was absolutely necessary.
"That's not called a suit. It's called armor."
Zod rejected Reed Richards's application, then designated Invisible Woman Susan as an A-Class hero, Human Torch Johnny as a B-Class hero, and The Thing, Ben Grimm, as an S-Class hero.
"Wait a second, why is that big rock pile an S-Class hero?"
Tony Stark happened to see that and immediately protested.
"Because he can flatten you with one punch," Zod Heath answered.
In the world of One Punch Man, The Thing might count more as a monster than a hero, but his combat power was probably well above Puri-Puri Prisoner and Tanktop Master, so there was no problem at all with him being rated S-Class.
As for Silk and Venom, after some thought, Zod gave Silk a B-Class ranking and Venom an A-Class ranking.
Under his management, every superhero in the Superhero Association received a salary.
At first glance, that might seem like an insult to the spirit and definition of being a superhero.
But Zod firmly believed that sooner or later, every single one of them would come around and admit it smelled sweet.
Lastly, as for the Superhero Association's headquarters, Zod chose Manhattan, New York.
That way, when the Chitauri invaded, they could face them head-on.
When that time came, they should be able to completely crush the Chitauri, right?
One month later, an outrageously flashy skyscraper appeared in Manhattan, New York.
Because hanging right on the outside of that building were the words:
Superhero Association.
/-\
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