In Asgard, Odin stood with Frigga at the great gate, gazing out at the boundless sea of stars.
But what they were looking at was not the same thing.
Odin's eyes landed on the drunken Thor, and he shook his head without changing expression.
"He's still this lazy. I hope the trip to Midgard made him gain something worthwhile!"
"You mean Thor?" Frigga turned to Odin, her face filled with sorrow.
"What could possibly be wrong with Thor? He's always so happy. If anything, I'm worried about Loki. I don't know how he's doing out there…"
"Hmph. How could it be? He has his own destiny."
"Odin, you're too harsh on that child!"
"Different people require different approaches. Loki needs our warning and guidance!"
Their conversation ended on a sour note. Odin returned alone to the throne, stroking Gungnir in his hand with a look of lingering contemplation.
"If we're talking about who's most suited to inherit my seat, if she weren't so stubborn… sigh…"
…
Midgard, three days after Iron Man was dealt with.
Heisenberg stepped out of his nightclub and got into the car Billy had arranged for him, heading to his new base.
There was no helping it. The nightclub was nice, but for Heisenberg, it was truly too cramped.
He had so many underlings now it was impossible to count. Even if not everyone needed to meet him personally, he still needed a suitable place that could gather them all together.
Especially for days like today, when Heisenberg wanted to announce certain things.
So, to make Heisenberg's future work easier, Rumlow and Bullseye put their heads together, made a plan, and decisively remodeled the Nuke Gang's largest opera house.
Heisenberg moved into the opera house with the momentum of it.
As for his personal living space, Bullseye carved out an open-air lounge just for him. When Heisenberg was not working, he could bask in the sun there to his heart's content.
After he arrived, the convoy behind him, more than a thousand cars strong, made many people near the theater look over in curiosity.
It was also lucky this opera house had once hosted Hollywood's Oscars Night. Otherwise, it would never have had a scale like this.
Around the theater, outside the red carpet, countless reporters packed together so tightly it was hard to move.
So many passersby were drawn over as well. They all guessed it must be some kind of premiere event.
But the moment they saw who got out of the car, it was Heisenberg.
"Wow, Superman!!!"
"Ha, honey, come look, it's God!"
"So imposing, he really is worthy of the name Superman!"
"You saw the video too, right? The hottest one on YouTube, he used just a few punches and the Hulk lost!"
"That's Heisenberg, our New York guardian!"
"Because of him, nobody's selling that damn powder to my kid in Brooklyn anymore. This is amazing!"
"I love him, oh God, I really want to sleep with him!"
"We should remake the Superman movie. At the very least, the face should be changed to Lord Heisenberg's face!"
"He doesn't look like a superhero. He looks more like a godfather!"
"This is how New York heroes should be. Whether it's Superman or Iron Man, they're the coolest!"
"Yeah, those two guys just look rich…"
The crowd muttered excitedly, one remark after another. Very few people truly found Heisenberg annoying the way the gangs did.
After all, since Heisenberg came to New York, he had not actively harmed ordinary people's interests, and he had effectively improved the city's overall crime rate.
And by now, the Planet Daily, the Bugle Daily, and all kinds of news media had all been "friendly communicated with" by Heisenberg's people.
As a result, Heisenberg's public image was still extremely positive.
The US government and S.H.I.E.L.D. also let it happen.
If anything, they wanted Heisenberg to have a good reputation even more than Heisenberg himself did.
To the US government, Heisenberg was clearly a powerhouse they could not restrain at all.
So for a powerhouse like that, the government would love nothing more than to gift him the persona of a kind-hearted, great hero.
Even if Heisenberg was not necessarily such a positive figure.
But if he listened to praise from all sides of society long enough, and if he became smug about it, even proud of it, then his mindset would gradually shift toward the direction everyone praised him for.
Even if there was only the tiniest chance of turning Heisenberg into a truly good man, the government would do everything it could.
If Heisenberg really became the kind of person they advertised, then Heisenberg would be easy to deal with later.
But would he?
Heisenberg frowned, shut off his powerful hearing, and walked indifferently through the passage the reporters had left for him, striding straight into the opera house.
After he entered, the passersby outside not only did not leave, they gathered in even greater numbers.
Their discussion grew more heated.
"It's Heisenberg!"
"He came to Manhattan!"
"That's how it should be. How could a powerhouse like him stay in a slum like Brooklyn? That's a waste!"
"He's too charming. He should come to Manhattan and live with us nobles!"
"Nobles, you?"
"At least we're rich."
"Manhattan is way too safe. We've got Iron Man and Superman!"
"But Iron Man hasn't shown up these past few days. Did that playboy go back to messing around with young models again?"
"Who knows. We've got Superman now, that's enough!"
…
Inside the opera house, Heisenberg passed one subordinate after another, until he reached the center and sat down in his own seat.
His seat had its back to the stage and faced forward toward an auditorium with more than two thousand seats. His position was also slightly higher than the rest.
After Heisenberg sat, most of his underlings gradually took their seats. The more than two thousand seats were completely filled, and quite a few people were even standing around the outer ring!
That surprised Heisenberg.
Yes. Even though he rarely handled matters personally, under the hard work of his subordinates, the number of mid to upper-level people qualified to attend meetings had already exceeded two thousand.
Looking at everyone before him, Heisenberg nodded.
In the front row, he only recognized a few. Bullseye, Night Demon, Elektra, Jessica, Rumlow, Sitwell, Billy, and a handful of regular drinkers he often saw at the nightclub.
As for the others…
They all sat bolt upright, not daring to be as casual as Bullseye and the rest.
As for Bullseye and the other absolute top figures, their sitting posture was not exactly proper.
Aside from one Daredevil who sat in a subordinate's manner, the others…
Bullseye lounged with his legs crossed, a cigarette hanging from his mouth.
Elektra and Jessica were chatting about what lip color they would wear tonight.
Rumlow sat with his legs spread, wiping down the gun in his hands.
Even Sitwell kept adjusting and wiping his glasses.
Alright.
Looks like these people had really figured out his temperament.
Heisenberg would not get angry over such small things. Their respect for him was not proven by posture.
Heisenberg would never hold it against people who fought and bled for him.
He crossed his right leg over his left, resting his hands naturally on the armrests.
Then he spoke softly.
"I… have been here about two months. Even those who've been with me the longest, it's only been two months."
He looked at Bullseye and the others.
"How have these two months felt?"
"Haha, my ass hurts!" Bullseye said brazenly, making Heisenberg sigh in weakness.
"I really shouldn't have given you a chance to speak. Starting now, you should learn some manners!"
As Heisenberg spoke, he clapped his hands toward everyone.
"Two months ago, we each had our own identities, our own stances.
Some of you came from the streets. Some came from large corporations. Some came from the FBI and CIA. Quite a few came from S.H.I.E.L.D. and HYDRA.
But now, we are the rulers of this city, at least the rulers of its night!"
After saying this, Heisenberg lowered his hands and nodded to the crowd.
"You did even better than I expected. We turned New York into our New York, and it only took two months.
So, will our steps stop here?"
"Of course not, haha!"
"How could that be possible!"
"Boss, we've been dying for it!"
"But there are still some troubles we haven't swept away, like those Five Fingers, and that Black Light they keep talking about!"
Clap, clap, clap!
The sound of Heisenberg's clapping forced every voice to stop. After he clapped, he continued.
"As far as ruling the night goes, we've already reached the extreme in New York.
Foreign forces like the Hand, each of you just take your fiercest methods and drive them out.
Today's gathering is not to discuss what we do next.
The reason I called everyone here is simply to let you all see one another.
Your backgrounds are different, and between some of you, there are even old grudges.
But now, I want everyone sitting here to treat the person beside you as a comrade you can rely on!
The unification of New York's night starts with you and me, but I do not want that unification to end with you and me either. Remember this well!"
At this point, Heisenberg raised a hand, and Bullseye immediately stood and walked over.
When Bullseye reached his side, Heisenberg patted Bullseye's arm and said to everyone.
"This is Bullseye, my first follower. I will hand the night I hold tightly to him.
I need every member of the Nuke Gang to treat Bullseye as if he were me. He has the ability to lead you forward just like I do, and the orders he delivers to you will be my orders.
In the future, our gang will become our foundation. Bullseye, teach our brothers well. We are not a traditional mob. We are rulers who are about to create miracles.
Use a ruler's way of thinking when facing the citizens. Don't steal, don't rob, don't threaten. That's boring.
Trade them safety. They pay, and we give them protection far beyond what American police can provide.
This country has long since become twisted, and we will become the force New York's citizens, and even citizens elsewhere, trust the most. I want their trust in us to surpass their trust in the police system.
Until the end, I want us to no longer be the night in their eyes, but the sun in their hearts!"
"Yes!" Bullseye nodded at once.
Heisenberg waved for him to step back, then beckoned to Rumlow. Rumlow stood up with a wild, unruly look on his face.
"That expression is ugly, Crossbones. He will become the Nuke Gang's chief instructor, and he will also become one of the Justice League's commanders!"
As he said this, Heisenberg rose from his chair and walked to Rumlow's side.
He patted Rumlow on the shoulder and continued to the crowd.
"In these two months, I've discovered that there are far too many troubles on Earth that ordinary people cannot solve.
So I've decided to establish the Justice League. Within the league, we will only recruit outstanding elite talents to serve as members of the intelligence and logistics departments. These members will be selected from the Nuke Gang's existing top talents.
As for the Justice League's combat personnel, I only need powerhouses who are superior to others in at least one aspect.
At present, the Justice League will consist of Crossbones, Bullseye, Jessica, Elektra, and Daredevil.
Oh right, that makes six, because I'm included too!"
/-\
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