American comic book: My Father is Superman, am I just an NPC?

Chapter 178 Zombie Alliance! The Gaze from the Dark!
On top of the ruins.

A crack appeared in the dark clouds.

Amidst this desolate, apocalyptic scene, Morgan Stark's figure stands out starkly in the rising dust; she is the daughter of Tony Stark and Pepper Potts.

Because Tony Stark added some personal touches to the Infinity Gauntlet before Ian reopened the universe, Morgan Stark has always been placed within this microcosm.

This microcosm can be considered Tony's "final Easter egg" before rebooting the universe, and Morgan, who is immune to the zombie virus and placed in it, is a continuation of his bloodline.

They are also the "administrators" of this world.

Fatherly love is so silent, yet so great.

In Western culture, the name Morgan has ancient cultural connotations related to the legendary witch Morgan le Fay. It's easy to imagine that a girl with this name would likely have a quirky and mischievous personality.

Morgan Starkley landed, removed her tactical goggles, revealing a pair of bright, expressive eyes. Her gaze swept across everyone's faces before finally locking onto Ian.

"Uncle Ian!"

Morgan Stark suddenly exclaimed, her voice clear and crisp, and used the [Entanglement] skill on Ian. Before Ian could react and his eyes widened in astonishment, she rushed over like a joyful deer, opened her arms, and hugged Ian's neck tightly.

"no!"

Before Ian could even ask a question, he was jolted back half a step by a solid hug. The girl smelled of engine oil and strawberry shampoo, and her hair tickled his chin. He froze, his hands awkwardly hanging in mid-air, slightly at a loss. The story of Lord Ye's love of dragons had taken on a new interpretation in his case.

Although Ian had always wanted to be Batman's uncle, being suddenly called "uncle" and then given a hug left him a bit bewildered and flustered.

"Well, although I don't mind being an uncle again, how come you're faster at recognizing relatives than I am?" Ian patted Morgan's head cautiously.

It's like comforting a puppy.

"Oh? Uncle Ian, what happened to your face? You had the same expression when my mom caught you stealing my milk powder! I have visual memory, I won't forget!"

Morgan looked up, winked slyly, and faced with Morgan Stark's Gusu Murong Fu ultimate technique and nonsensical combo, Ian's CPU, who should have been an expert in this, was clearly overloaded.

He opened his mouth.

He wanted to say that this was something only his older brother Jordan would do, but no one in the world knew that he had a good brother, which made Ian's face turn a little red.

"Tsk tsk, stealing baby formula, I knew it was something you would do." Thor made a suspicious "pfft" sound from the side. Gwen had already silently taken out her phone and started recording, while Captain America—poor Captain America—was still lying on the ground, but he had already managed to give a thumbs up to indicate that he couldn't miss this good show.

Clearly, Ian's money hasn't bought him absolute loyalty.

“You must have stolen my divine skills… Damn it, I knew Tony Stark was being so nice to me for a reason. He even stole my two most core abilities from you!” Ian frantically “torn” Morgan off his body and held her out of his arm as if she were some dangerous object.

He coughed twice tactically, then suddenly pulled a plush toy from his pocket—a dirty Batman doll—and waved it in front of Morgan.

"Sweetie, see that over there? Go pick it up." Ian spoke in a coaxing tone, tossing the bootleg toy a short distance away. An eerie silence fell. Thor covered his face, Gwen's recording hand trembled, and Captain America's backside ached from trying so hard to hold back his laughter.

"Ha ha ha ha."

Morgan Stark, of course, did not take any action, but the zombies that had been struck by the [Reverse Evolution Ray] and rejuvenated crawled toward the doll, howling loudly.

It's clear that their latent childlike instincts have been triggered.

“Uncle Ian, you’re still as unlikable as ever!” Morgan Stark’s cheerful laughter echoed through the ruins, as if she were already used to Ian’s behavior.

He was at least more composed than the surrounding New Justice League reservists. Seeing the young zombie approach the doll, Morgan Stark used his gun grappling hook to pull it back.

"I remember when you were a kid, you gave me a Batman with 108 abs. My dad said Batman doesn't look like that, but you insisted that your Batman was the real Batman." Surprisingly, Morgan Stark actually knew Batman. She cleaned the toy with cleaning equipment while showing a look of reminiscence.

"Unlikable?"

Ian's focus wasn't on Batman; he overheard Morgan Stark's comments about him, immediately flew into a rage, snatched the doll back, and stuffed it back into his four-dimensional crotch.

"Everyone loves me! I have millions of followers! I have my own cult! I—no, I don't run my own technical school, so where did you steal Ian's secret techniques from!"

"【Interpersonal Connections】is a supreme technique. It is clearly an ultimate divine power that only SSSVVVIP level students have the opportunity to spend money to collect 18,000 fragments through a lottery!"

"The way you hugged me just now was clearly a prelude to the activation of [Interpersonal Connections - Beginner - Family Link]! I didn't even teach Thor this skill! How could a little girl like you, whom I've never met, possibly know about it?!" Ian's expression kept changing as he looked at Morgan Stark with eyes full of confusion.

He was indeed completely bewildered by the other person's friendly gestures. If his super brain remembered correctly, this was the first time he and the other person had met.

At that moment, Ian sensed something strange and suspicious, and began to imagine conspiracies, tricks, and whether there was some deeper information hidden behind Morgan Stark's attitude.

"Wait a minute, you're not in your horny phase yet, so why are you pretending not to know me?" Morgan Stark's expression was even stranger than Ian's upon hearing this.

"I don't even know you!"

Ian took a step back and asked warily, "Your dad didn't arrange a child marriage for me when I was little, did he?! I was only fourteen! You look like you're eighteen thousand years old!"

He began to test the waters.

It was as if he wanted to use this seemingly absurd question to verify a certain guess in his heart.

"..."

Morgan's expression changed from surprise to speechlessness.

“Uncle Ian, your logic chain is even more chaotic than Saturday’s code.” As if she had thought of something, she suddenly became suspicious and began to sniff Ian’s body.

"Did you steal and eat those radioactive fish from the sewers again?" Morgan's expression changed from confusion to shock, as if he had thought of something.

"I didn't. Batman ate all the radioactive fish in Gotham's sewers. I didn't get a single one." Ian instinctively retorted before realizing he had switched channels.

“Uncle Ian, I’m not a child anymore. I know that Santa Claus and Batman are fictional!” Morgan Stark responded to Ian with a sneer.

The conversation between the two was observed by several members of the new Justice League. Apart from Gwen Stacy, who seemed to be deep in thought, Captain America and Thor were completely baffled.

They huddled together, whispering amongst themselves, as if discussing why the evil god could find acquaintances everywhere. Just as Ian was about to argue with Morgan Stark about the authenticity of Santa Claus, a deafening roar interrupted his thoughts; a ferocious roar ripped through the silence of the ruins!

Everyone turned around abruptly.

From the thick smoke in the distance, several twisted figures slowly emerged. A zombie, clad in tattered star-spangled armor, with half its face rotting and its shield covered in rust, roared as it advanced.

He is the zombie Captain America.

Behind the zombie Captain America are a zombie Iron Man with a protruding spine and a mechanical arm, and a zombie Spider-Man covered in black symbiotes, dripping venom from his mouth. Even more terrifying is the zombie Hulk, whose rotting skin is a nauseating purplish-green, leaving a trail of corrosive slime on the ground with every step.

"Damn it."

Gwen's voice was strained, her nerves on edge.

Where did they come from?

She is an individual with memories from before the universe rebooted, so she has some understanding of the zombie universe. Now, she is greatly shocked to see the zombie Avengers appear.

Thor had already raised Mjolnir.

"Who cares where they come from, just take them down first! What disgusting imitations! The one with the hammer isn't me!" He seemed to have rediscovered some of his former reckless nature.

Above the ruins, the wind and sand swirl up fragments of the remains, a whisper of the apocalypse.

"Ouch~~"

The outline of the zombie avengers became clearer in the thick smoke, their rotting bodies exuding an aura of death, and their empty eye sockets burning with eerie green soul flames.

Especially the Hulk zombie, which is enormous; every step it takes causes the earth to tremble.

"No! Why am I in there too! I'm just a World War II veteran!" Captain America looked at his zombie version of himself and felt a chill run down his spine, filled with inexplicable fear.

Fortunately, these zombie heroes do not possess the zombie intelligence they should have.

They are approaching.

However, the speed is not very fast.

“I don’t know either.” Morgan Stark stood beside the wreckage of the fighter jet, his brow furrowed, his fingers rapidly sliding across the holographic projection on his wrist, bringing up a series of data streams.

"No... This can't be... I've never seen them here before! Dad's trial grounds should only have ordinary zombies, how could Avenger zombies suddenly appear?"

she muttered.

There was a hint of panic in his voice.

"Perhaps our arrival triggered some kind of abnormal reaction? Or perhaps Tony Stark didn't clean up these erroneous messages when he eliminated this universe?"

Ian stroked his chin thoughtfully.

“Anyway, this is a great opportunity to prove myself!” Morgan Stark took a few deep breaths, her eyes gradually hardening, and she raised her wrist to tap on her necklace.

next moment.

The nanotech armor quickly covered his entire body, the red and gold steel suit gleaming with a cold luster in the setting sun—clearly a modified version of Tony Stark's classic style.

However, the lines are smoother, and the joints shimmer with light blue energy patterns.

"Look at me!"

Morgan Stark was about to make his move.

However, Ian reached out and stopped her.

"Let me handle it."

Ian's eyes were incredibly deep, making him seem like an extremely reliable person. However, his sudden grin and excited tone somewhat ruined the image he had created.

"I've wanted to try this for a long time—to punch Thor and kick Captain America!" Ian is a well-mannered person, and under normal circumstances, he wouldn't dare to lay a hand on the people around him.

Encountering a zombie version of a superhero is something Ian would love to do, so instead of using the [Reverse Evolution Ray], he rushed out directly.

Hey! We're still here!

"What is it about us that you don't like this time?"

Captain America and Thor protested in dissatisfaction, while only Spider-Gwen was relieved. At that moment, Ian had already charged out, his first step shattering the ground with a deafening roar!
Because Ian instantly killed the ugliest zombie Spider-Man, Zombie Iron Man was enraged and launched the first attack. His palm cannon glowed with a ghostly green light, and a corrosive energy beam shot straight at him! Ian neither dodged nor avoided the energy beam as it hit him.

then.

His clothes weren't even torn.

Ian's mimicry armor is so powerful that it can create a bio-force field even when he's not flying.

"That's it?"

He chuckled, and the next second, his figure vanished!

"boom--!"

Ian's fist pierced through the zombie Iron Man's chest, tearing the super alloy armor apart like paper, sending rotting internal organs and mechanical parts flying everywhere.

The zombie Iron Man's electronic voice emitted a piercing scream.

Just now.

Ian had already grabbed its head and slammed it to the ground!
"boom!"

Spiderweb-like cracks exploded in the ground, and the zombie Iron Man's helmet shattered, revealing a half-mechanical, half-rotten face.

"If Tony knew he'd become like this, he'd probably jump out of some shadowy place in anger." Ian seemed to be sneering and mocking, but he was actually secretly testing the waters.

Unfortunately.

no respond.

Just as Ian was pondering why Tony's children knew him so well, and whether there was another reason why Tony had offered him such full assistance during their first meeting.

Zombie Captain America seized the opportunity to throw his shield, the vibranium disc spinning rapidly, aiming straight for Ian's head! However, Ian didn't turn around, and instead grabbed the shield from the direction it was coming from.

"Snapped!"

He caught the shield steadily, and then, to everyone's disbelief, this powerful young man actually took out disinfectant and carefully cleaned the Vibranium Shield several times.

"Quack quack~"

This wasn't Ian chuckling; he was actually munching on a cookie that had been delivered to his door.

[Entropy Annihilation Lord Experience Points +81]

[Entropy Annihilation Lord Experience Points +79]

[Entropy Annihilation Lord Experience Points +78]

……

Although the vibranium shield was very hard, what was even harder was Ian's enchanted teeth. He chewed on it as if it were a normal person chewing on military-grade compressed biscuits.

Although it was a bit strenuous, he was eventually able to digest it. After all, it's one of the hardest metals in the Marvel Universe; the energy it provided to Ian was definitely not insignificant.

He even had a bit of a urge to take Captain America's shield and eat it—as if sensing Ian's gaze, Captain America, who was lying on the ground, quickly hugged his shield like he was protecting his wife.

"That's vibranium..."

Watching Captain America's shield disappear into Ian's mouth, no one was more horrified than Captain America Steve Rogers, who knew all too well just how hard that metal was!
An evil god... indeed, quite wicked!

"now you."

Ian licked the shards of the shield from his fingers and turned to look at the bewildered zombie Captain America, now without his shield. Amidst the desolation, the zombie Captain America, having lost his beloved, roared as he charged towards Ian.

Under the influence of the loss of his beloved.

This guy's rotting muscles unleashed astonishing speed. He threw an uppercut straight at Ian's chin! However, Ian simply raised his hand and easily caught the punch with one hand.

"Look! Steve! He's no match for you!" Ian exclaimed to the real Steve not far away, then slowly tightened his grip on the zombie Captain America's fist.

"Crack!"

Zombie Captain America's hand bones were crushed to pieces!

“Ouch!”

The zombie Captain America let out a painful howl, but Ian had already grabbed it by the neck and lifted it up.

“You know what?” Ian tilted his head, “I’ve always wanted to try this…the villains’ favorite move.” He slammed the zombie Captain America’s head into the zombie Iron Man’s head!
"Bang!!"

Two rotting heads collided and exploded like watermelons, splattering black blood and brain matter everywhere. Ian disdainfully shook his hand, tossing the two headless corpses aside like trash.

The scene was somewhat quiet.

This scene was truly shocking.

All of a sudden.

Aside from Morgan Stark, who was watching with bated breath and cheering Ian on enthusiastically, everyone else was a little confused about who was the villain between the zombies and Ian.

"Roar! Roar! Roar!!!" Seeing his companions die one after another, the mute zombie Thor roared and summoned lightning. Dark clouds rolled and thick bolts of lightning struck Ian!
However, Ian only looked up once—and then his mouth dropped open.

[Entropy Annihilation Lord Experience Points +34]

[Entropy Annihilation Lord Experience Points +23]

[Entropy Annihilation Lord Experience Points +21] ...

Ian has already proven that he is not a picky eater, having even devoured Mephisto's hellish dimensional power. Naturally, the lightning summoned by the mere zombie Thor is no match for him.

This outcome still left Ian extremely disappointed.

"That's all the power you have? As expected, you bootleg Avengers are nowhere near as powerful as the real thing." Ian could tell that the zombie Thor wasn't entirely without intelligence.

This is not.

His taunt instantly enraged the other party. The Zombie Thor roared and charged forward, Mjolnir slamming down on Ian with devastating force! The power enough to split mountains crashed down!
"Roar!" The zombie Thor roared deafeningly, his rotting muscles bursting with astonishing power, and Mjolnir roared in, carrying with him violent lightning power.

The air is torn.

Electricity crackled and danced wildly around the hammer.

The power of this strike was enough to level a small mountain.

However, faced with such an attack, Ian neither dodged nor evaded; he simply stood there, confident not only in his own strength but also in the confidence brought by the [Ian Kent Defense Technique].

[Ian Kent's Defense Technique [Elite]: When you are standing still, you will receive 30% less damage. The face and vital areas receive double the damage reduction.]

With this incredible skill, Ian not only remained unmoved, but he also deliberately used his face to meet the attack. To everyone's horror, Thor's hammer slammed squarely into his face.

The deafening clang of metal shattered the surrounding ruins, turning them to dust. The shockwave was like a hurricane. Captain America instinctively raised his arm to shield himself, while Gwen's spider-sense made her cover her ears in advance. Morgan's armor automatically activated its protective shield, but the real Thor was blown away.

However, he managed to climb back on his own.

That's something to be encouraged.

As the dust settled, everyone stared in disbelief. Ian remained with his hands in his pockets, not even a wrinkle on his clothes. His face was completely unharmed, not even a red mark—clearly, the combination of his universal divine skill and Ian's naturally thick skin made him the epitome of being utterly unscathed.

"!!!!!!!" For the first time, a human-like shock appeared on the rotting face of the zombie Thor. Its cloudy eyes trembled violently, and its jaw almost dropped to the ground.

"Huh~"

Ian gently blew on the hammer, seemingly trying to recreate a classic scene.

however.

All he exhaled was a sulfurous fel energy aura; it didn't even produce a spark, let alone freeze anything. This failed replication enraged Ian, who immediately turned red-hot.

He abruptly pulled his right hand away.

He clenched his fist and smashed it down on Thor's hammer, which was stuck on his cheek.

He clenched his right fist and slammed it out to meet the hammer handle!

"boom!"

With the first punch, spiderweb-like cracks appeared on the hammerhead.

"boom!"

The second punch sent half of the hammer flying, scattering fragments of Uru metal everywhere.

The zombie Thor let out a piercing howl, as if each punch was landing squarely on its heart. Thor himself was utterly dumbfounded, and the beer in his hand fell to the ground with a "thud."

"impossible!"

"This is impossible!"

Thor, who was not far away, shouted in shock.

"How could Mjolnir be smashed by someone's fist!" He really couldn't help but overthink, wondering if Ian could smash another of his hammers, and if he could smash his own hammer too.

Thor, who was still unaware that different individuals in the multiverse possessed varying strengths and artifacts of different qualities, was sweating profusely and seemed completely unwilling to accept reality.

Just now.

"Oh, right, I can answer that to you, my dear believer, you have no idea what is possible... Don't glare at me, I'm just recreating a famous scene!"

Ian even has the leisure to guide the real Thor through his mental journey.

When he threw his third punch.

Thor's hammer was completely destroyed.

The broken hammer handle shattered into pieces, turning into flying iron filings! Before the zombie Thor could react, Ian's left hand gripped his head like an iron clamp!

"Pfft~!"

Ian clenched his five fingers together!
The head of the zombie Thor, burning with green flames, exploded like a ripe watermelon! Brain matter and putrefactive fluid splattered everywhere, and the headless corpse crashed to the ground.

It stirred up a cloud of dust.

“There’s one last one.” Ian didn’t stop. He lightly touched the ground with his toes and flew into the sky, heading straight for the gigantic zombie Hulk that was crawling out of the ruins!
The monster roared and slammed its fist down, compressing the air into a sonic boom! It roared as it charged forward, its rotting giant fist smashing towards Ian! Ian neither dodged nor evaded, and threw a punch in return.

"boom--!!"

The shockwave exploded the moment the two fists collided!
The ground within a radius of 100 meters cracked inch by inch!
The Hulk's arm shattered the moment it made contact, and rotting flesh and blood splattered like mud!
"Roar--!!"

The zombie Hulk roared in pain, but Ian had already grabbed its head and slammed it to the ground!
"Boom!!"

The ground was smashed into a huge crater with a diameter of over a thousand meters, the sound of which was tremendous, and the body of the zombie Hulk was deeply embedded in it.

"You can't give me a career or experience, so let's leave it at that." Ian formed his right hand into a claw and plunged it into its chest—his hand pierced through the heart of the zombie Hulk.

then.

The surging force of the punch pierced directly through the Hulk's seemingly indestructible chest.

There was even a burst of punching force coming from behind!

"boom!"

The Hulk's heart exploded in Ian's palm, black blood gushing out. The Hulk's body convulsed violently a few times, then he looked down at the bloody hole in his chest. The soul fire in his eyes flickered intensely before slowly extinguishing, and his massive body collapsed to his knees, motionless.

The battle, from start to finish, lasted less than ten seconds. Ian shook the blood off his hands, jumped out of the crater, and gave the stunned crowd a bright smile.

"nailed it."

Ian felt like he hadn't even warmed up before the zombie Avengers were all lying on the ground. He was still a little unsatisfied, but there weren't even any baby zombies left within a radius of dozens of kilometers.

Looking at the debris on the ground, Ian thought for a moment, then picked up the fragments of Thor's hammer, washed them with disinfectant, and then kept stuffing them into his mouth along with the Iron Man Zombie armor.

[Entropy Annihilation Lord Experience Points +77]

[Entropy Annihilation Lord Experience Points +86]

[Savage Tyrant Experience Points +198]

[Entropy Annihilation Lord Experience Points +65]

[Entropy Annihilation Lord Experience Points +99]

……

For some reason, some of the experience from the "Savage Tyrant" was mixed in. Ian had clearly washed himself very clean, yet it seemed as if he had still ingested some zombie virus.

But don't panic.

The zombie virus was not as virulent as the virus in Ian's body.

It can't generate much airflow.

All of it turned into "protein," becoming Ian's nourishment. Ian squatted on the ground, carefully searching for fragments of Thor's hammer, like picking out fresh vegetables at a market. He picked up a relatively intact piece of Uru metal, blew off the dust, and then crunched it into his mouth with a loud chewing sound.

"It has a slightly burnt aroma."

Food critic Ian Rui commented on the fragments of Thor's hammer that still had electric arcs.

The adjectives are very precise and sharp.

Thor and Steve stood to the side, their expressions complex, as if they had just been forced into marriage—a truly indescribable mix of emotions. Thor instinctively hugged his only remaining companion, Mjolnir, as if afraid Ian would target it at any moment. Steve did the same, immediately tucking his shield under his clothes for protection.

They were both worried that Ian wasn't eating comfortably enough, and then they'd turn around and scam their own precious child. The two unfortunate souls huddled together, whispering and discussing what Ian wouldn't put in his mouth.

the other side.

Gwen moved closer to Morgan, who was taking pictures of Ian.

"Don't you find it strange at all?"

She whispered a question to Morgan, feeling that Morgan was just as abnormal as Ian. Upon hearing this, Morgan didn't even look up, continuing to snap photos of Ian's "food review" scene.

“What’s so strange? Uncle Ian is just like that.”

Morgan wasn't actually a crazy girl, but she once again showed a familiarity with Ian, as if she had become accustomed to Ian's words and actions as a normal person.

Tony's son, the daughter of Steel, paused slightly, as if suddenly remembering something interesting, "Did you know he used to like to make tea with nuclear wastewater?"

"They say it has a 'mineral flavor,' and now I have it for life."

Morgan once again displayed an air of nonchalance, his tone tinged with reminiscence. This single sentence sent a sharp pang of pain through Gwen's new spider-sense.

This is really wrong.

She had known Ian for a long time, but she had absolutely no recollection of what Morgan was saying. Moreover... Morgan's familiarity with Ian was as if he had grown up with him since childhood.

Upon hearing this, Gwen, who had memories from before the reboot, realized that something was wrong with Morgan, just like Ian, but she couldn't find any useful information in her old memories.

"Tony Stark and those guys over there have known each other for a long time?" Gwen frowned, realizing that old Tony had been keeping something from her and Ian.

Morgan finally put down his phone, tilted his head, and thought for a moment.

“I don’t know how long they’ve known each other. But…” she lowered her voice and said mysteriously, “I heard my mother tell me about how Uncle Ian and my dad met, and it was quite an interesting story.”

These words were spoken.

Not far away, Ian was still engrossed in gnawing on metal, but his ears were perked up like radar. He was just as curious as Gwen about the information Morgan knew that he didn't.

Morgan, seemingly oblivious, continued, "Back then, Uncle Ian was down on his luck and was even begging on live stream, but he couldn't get the boxed lunches my dad was distributing for charity."

"He was so angry that he used some magical means to sneak into my villa..." Morgan's voice was not only recalling the past, but also the warm times when his mother told him stories.

Gwen couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

"And then? They stole the vault? They blew up the lab?"

Her intuition told her that Ian was definitely not just there to cause damage or steal.

Morgan shook his head.

"neither."

She suppressed a laugh and spoke with a sigh.

"He stole several pairs of my dad's unwashed underwear."

As soon as these words came out.

Ian froze on the spot.

"……what?"

Gwen also waited for the big dragon's eyes.

“Shut up! I wouldn’t do such a thing! It’s all a fabricated memory Tony made up for you!” Ian turned his head, his face flushed, mainly because a piece of metal was stuck in his throat.

He coughed until his face turned completely red.

Ok.

That's his reason.

Morgan was completely oblivious to Ian's reaction and continued to make revelations that even Ian could not have predicted.

"He didn't steal my dad's underwear to sell to my dad's fans."

She lowered her voice mysteriously, "Uncle Ian has special methods to extract 'offspring' from underwear and sell them on the black market. It's said that after-sales service is included."

As soon as these words came out.

Ian transformed into the reddish hue of Rambo, the Mechanical Enemy.

Gwen and the others froze.

"I heard he became a billionaire in no time by doing this," Morgan said with admiration. "I can only say, no wonder he's Uncle Ian, even his money-making is so creative!"

She seemed completely unaware.

Those descendants were all her competitors.

"puff--!!"

Thor spat out a mouthful of beer and rushed toward his father Odin and the Frost Giant King, fearing that Ian would replicate the same action in Asgard.

Steve's face turned green.

He subconsciously touched his pants.

Then he looked at Ian in horror.

"You knocked me unconscious once!"

The veteran's paranoia relapsed.

Ian finally coughed up the metal fragments.

He jumped up and shouted.

"Slander! This is blatant slander! Didn't you see how cool I looked fighting monsters? Cool is my lifelong synonym!"

Ian pointed at Morgan.

"Your mother definitely has Alzheimer's! How could I do such a thing?! Yes, these could all be false memories that Tony implanted in you; you never really knew me!"

This is one of Ian's current speculations.

"I am DC Ian! Look at my belt... you have to read it backwards to get DC Ian!"

Just as Ian was unwilling to accept that this behavior was related to him, in the shadows of the distant ruins, a pair of eyes that did not belong to zombies, gleaming with intelligence, were quietly observing everything.

The figure gently pressed the communicator next to his ear.

"Anomaly detected in the timeline; target has reached the 'anchor point.' Prepare to execute the second phase protocol."

(End of this chapter)