The talkative raven in the world of American comics

Chapter 174 The Dead Heart

Magneto, like a lion, surveys his territory.

Although the neighbor's hatred had greeted him before he arrived.

Despite the commotion, he still cared about his people and came to the sinful town that Bullseye was responsible for guarding.

Sin Town had long been reduced to ruins during the battle between Abomination and Hulk.

Magneto pulled up his bright red cape and slowly landed from mid-air.

His boots crunched lightly on the rubble, and he spent some time trying to find any trace of the town's inhabitants in the ruins, but to no avail.

Finally, in a large pit, he found the Abomination, who had returned to human form.

The guy was lying naked in the pit, looking extremely disheveled.

"Bronsky".

Emil Bronsky was the original name of the abhorrent.

Magneto was aware of all this information, so when he met him, he mostly addressed him by his name rather than showing hatred.

Magneto frowned and asked, "What on earth is going on? Where are my people?"

"I don't know, and I don't want to know. Shouldn't mutants be your subjects? Why do you care so much about the lives of these lowly people?"

Bronsky braced himself on the ground with both hands, shook his head, and felt uncomfortable all over after transforming back into human form.

However, returning to his Abomination form requires a cooling-off period, as he had suffered severe injuries and needed to recuperate.

He was puzzled.

What kind of thing can deal such high damage?

It could directly obliterate his and Hulk's bodies?!

Magneto silently walked to the road where the tire tracks had been, grabbed a handful of dust and kneaded it in his hand.

He didn't really care about the lives of these civilians; it was just that they had been assigned to his territory, so he would pay more or less attention to them.

Of course, the only thing that puzzled him was why, after the night of the hero's death, the number of his fellow human beings on this planet was decreasing.

He didn't know why.

He originally thought that by cooperating with a group of villains to eliminate the world's superheroes, he could usher in a new era for mutants.

As a result, the subsequent birth rate of mutants was pitifully low.

"Um?"

Magneto suddenly beckoned and pulled a small gadget hidden in the ruins out of thin air.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a small spider robot.

He held the small mechanical spider in his hand, its several pairs of red compound eyes staring back at him calmly.

Seeing this, Bronsky exclaimed, "That's right! Now there's a new Spider-Man! These so-called superheroes are like locusts, they just won't die out! We need to report this to President Red Skull!"

"Go and tell them yourself."

Click.

Magneto crushed the tiny mechanical spider into a piece of scrap metal, then ascended into the sky without looking back, preparing to leave.

Seeing this, Bronsky shouted, "Take me back with you!"

Magneto ignored him and flew even faster.

In the blink of an eye, they disappeared into the starry night, leaving no trace.

Bronsky was slightly annoyed. Apart from their collaboration ten years ago, this guy had been like a block of ice, cold to look at.

But what could he do at the moment? He could only find a few clothes to wear in the ruins of the town.

After getting dressed, Bronsky suddenly noticed a trembling red dot on his chest.

Red dot?

He subconsciously reached out and touched it, only to find that the red dot suddenly moved upwards.

A look of horror immediately appeared on Bronsky's face.

"Hold."

call out!

A bullet whistled through the air and easily pierced his skull, ending the life of the abomination in its weakened state.

Bronsky, whose mind had been blown out of control, collapsed to the ground, his eyes still showing the look of terror he had just witnessed.

It continuously pulls horizontally along the direction of the bullet's launch.

The person who took Bronsky's life was a figure in black armor hiding a kilometer away.

He lay prone on the ground, disassembled the sniper rifle into two pistols, and carefully stored them at his waist.

Then he got up and looked at the horizon where the other lord had left.

Red Hood was quite certain that the bullet could be easily stopped by Magneto.

only...

Why not stop it?

Why did he let his teammates die?

Filled with doubts, Red Hood did not linger. Instead, he activated the optical camouflage technology of his armor and vanished from the spot.

Bronsky's body remained there from night until dawn.

The master of Sin Town returned.

Even though the country is led by wicked people, the necessary order still exists.

The police are still acting on orders from the government, but the government personnel have become the same thugs they once were.

In order to survive in this chaotic world, police officers have no choice but to do things against their conscience.

A police car, kicking up dust, arrived at the ruined crime town.

As soon as he got out of the car, the old sheriff exclaimed, "My God, what on earth happened here?"

The young officer looked around, puzzled. "There don't seem to be any injuries?"

"No."

The old sheriff keenly noticed the swarm of flies gathering not far away, and the bald head hovering in the sky.

He stepped over the pebbles and came to a corpse.

The young police officer also came up behind him, and upon seeing the body, exclaimed in shock, "What is this?!"

"The hateful king of the neighboring territory."

"Did he just die like that?"

"Look at his wild imagination, kid. This guy's fate is no different from Kennedy's back then."

"But why...?"

Their conversation was interrupted by a soft sound of footsteps.

The old man and the young man drew their guns almost simultaneously and aimed at the figures walking towards them.

"Who are you?! Why are you illegally trespassing on our crime scene?!"

The figure wore a fedora and a black leather coat that completely covered his body, and his bowed head made it impossible to see his true face.

"Our killer took Bronsky's life with a single bullet from nearly a kilometer away."

"He timed it perfectly, taking advantage of Bronsky's weakened state upon regaining human form, and delivered a simple bullet to the poor fellow, killing him easily."

"Who could have done it?"

Hearing these nonsensical words, the old sheriff's index finger tightened on the trigger, and he shouted, "I won't ask you a third time, who are you?!"

The man removed his fedora, revealing his true face.

Half of his face was made of metal, and he had a single, scarlet eye.

Even during the day, the two officers felt a strange, bone-chilling cold.

The most striking feature was the mark on the other person's forehead.

It was a bullseye pattern.

"I am very satisfied with your performance, because many people don't have the chance to talk to me."

"But today, we are all very lucky."

The old sheriff, his fingers trembling, sheathed his gun and stammered, "I'm so sorry, Lord Bullseye, I didn't recognize you..."

As he spoke, the old sheriff pulled the young officer down to kneel and pay homage to the master of the town.

In terms of territory, this area belongs to Magneto, but the mutant cannot possibly monitor all aspects of the region in real time.

Thus, smaller leaders emerged in other areas, since the entire country had been divided up by villains.

Bullseye swept past the two of them, leaned down slightly, and glanced at the hole in Bronsky's forehead.

"What did I just say? We're all very lucky today."

A strange look of excitement appeared on Bullseye's face.

He hadn't felt this way in many years.

"I'm so lucky I haven't seen someone like this in years."

Bullseye stared intently at the hole in Bronsky's forehead.

"This is fucking a superhero's masterpiece!"

A character who can possess such accuracy.

As far as he knew, there was only one superhero alive and in hiding.

You are the one!

Hawkeye!

So they've finally decided not to use that damn bow and arrow anymore?!

An unnamed refuge.

"Achoo!"

Hawkeye Clint Barton sniffed and stepped forward again to persuade the young woman in front of him.

"Listen, Kate, we need to pull ourselves together!"

"Don't be ridiculous, Patton. Haven't you killed enough of your friends already?"

Kate Bishop, the former Hawkeye and now the Vault Owner, frowned and glanced at Clint. "Times have changed. Superheroes will eventually become a thing of the past."

Clinton stepped forward, trying to grab the young woman's arm, but she slapped his hand away and said coldly, "I've said it before, Clinton, if you want to die, then go ahead and die. I won't stop you."

"Don't do this, Kate, have you forgotten your former title?" Clint continued to persuade her.

Kate sighed, her long eyelashes trembling, and replied softly, "I no longer refer to myself that way, and you shouldn't either... All I want to do now is protect these poor civilians; it's the only thing I can do."

Clint asked, puzzled, "They'll find this place sooner or later."

"Yes," Kate chuckled coldly, "as long as you leave here, they'll never find out."

Clint remained silent.

After a moment, he looked directly into the young woman's eyes and questioned her, "You just don't want to do anything, do you?"

Now it was Kate's turn to persuade him. She said, "I've tried, we've all tried, Clint, you... you should face reality..."

Clint yelled, "Bullshit! You shouldn't be so颓废 (tuí fèi, meaning decadent/dejected)!"

Kate retorted, "And what about you?! Constantly dragging your friends to their deaths, isn't that just as decadent?!"

"Matt, Jessica, Luke... Do I need to name any other people?!"

The argument between the two caused even the soldiers guarding the room to lower their heads.

It seems that heroes are truly becoming a thing of the past.

Even the surviving heroes decided to forget the past and embrace a new life...

inside the room.

Clint's chest heaved as he looked directly into Kate's eyes. "You've disappointed me greatly."

Kate waved her hand: "Don't give me that. You know exactly what I'm talking about."

Then a slightly puzzled look appeared on her delicate face.

"I don't understand, Clint."

Even at this point, do you still hold onto hope? What are you really thinking?

Hawkeye Clint seemed to have lost interest in staying any longer. He turned and walked towards the door, no longer trying to awaken Kate's dead hero's heart.

He prepared to go and find the next friend he had ever met.

Former X-Men member, Wolverine.

Thanks to his intelligence network, he knew that his old friend was still alive.

After the X-Men were wiped out, it seems that only he survived.

As expected of Wolverine...

"Clint."

Upon hearing the way the other person addressed him, Hawkeye did not stop.

"Never mind, if you need help in the future, please come here to find me," Kate said.

Hawkeye stopped and glanced back at her.

"I'm asking for your help right now, but you've refused. What about the future? Who knows?"

Kate looked at him coldly. "You know what I mean."

"You should know what I mean! We are the Avengers, and we must continue fighting!"

"here we go again."

Kate rubbed her forehead, her tone slightly annoyed: "Barton, that's all in the past. Right now, I really want to crack open your skull and see what's going on in your head!"

Unexpectedly, this sentence immediately broke Hawkeye's defenses.

"I'll tell you what I'm thinking, Bishop!"

This time he didn't call her by her first name, but instead used her surname, as if to draw a line between them.

Hawkeye's face was flushed, for reasons unknown.

He said, "Because I believe that sooner or later, Reed and Susan will emerge from this damned timeline, that someone will be able to lift Thor's hammer and summon lightning, and that someone will refuse to simply sink into oblivion!"

"I believe in a better tomorrow!"

"Because I knew this day would come sooner or later! Even if it was decades away, it would still come!"

All I have to do is awaken the dead hearts in my friends!

That's all!

"It shouldn't be like this! They're not even willing to take that first step!"

Kate remained silent in response.

A few breaths later, she asked the question that pierced Hawkeye's heart.

"Haven't we tried?"

Hawkeye said, "I'll still try."

Kate said, "But I won't."

Ten years ago, the night of the hero's fall was a day of celebration and commemoration for the villains.

For these former superheroes, it was a devastating blow.

None of the surviving heroes wanted to talk about that day.

That was a painful day for many people.

They did try to change things.

It is precisely because I tried it that I realized how difficult it was.

Just like she always says.

Times have changed.

Heroes are a thing of the past.

He noticed that his former friend had turned his head away and was no longer looking at him.

Hawkeye knew she had made her decision.

"I'm sorry, Kate, I was a bit harsh just now. I hope it doesn't affect our relationship," he said.

Kate simply waved her hand and said nothing.

Hawkeye sighed and chose to leave. As he pushed open the door, he turned back and said, "If you need any help, you know how to reach me."

"I will if I need it. Take care."

"The same to you."

An unpleasant conversation ended so easily with Hawkeye's departure.

Kate leaned against her desk, rubbing her furrowed brows with her fingers, as if trying to crush all her bad emotions.

I don't know how much time passed, maybe half an hour, or maybe an hour.

In short, she forgot the time.

Someone suddenly knocked on her office door.

"Please come in," Kate said.

"Mayor Bishop! I have some news to report to you!" His subordinate rushed in anxiously.

Kate frowned and asked, "What happened?"

If Hawkeye dared to abduct any young people from her shelter, she swore she would personally break their limbs.

"A large number of civilians suddenly appeared in our camp! They claim to have witnessed a miracle!"

"What?"

Bruce Banner awoke from his dazed state.

His memory was chaotic, like a jumbled mess.

He clearly remembered being lured to another place by some thugs, where he suffered a gamma radiation explosion.

The explosion caused him to lose consciousness on the spot, but in its place, another personality within him awakened.

When the Hulk personality was in control, it was time to prepare for a major battle against these villains.

However, they never expected that this group would prepare some video content for the Hulk.

The content almost entirely condemns the Hulk's evil deeds, with words and radiation stimulating the Hulk and making its already not-so-intelligent brain even worse.

Banner could only watch helplessly as Hulk fled the battlefield to other places, like a child who, after being wronged, pitifully hid in a corner, hugging his legs.

He tried to communicate with the Hulk, but the gamma radiation explosion seemed to sever his connection with the Hulk.

Hulk couldn't hear him and his mental state continued to decline.

Not only did Hulk's mental state deteriorate, but his own mental state was also in a bad state.

Because from Hulk's perspective, he learned how his former comrades died one after another in a single day.

How supervillains carve up territory and destroy the existing order.

He wanted to do something, but Hulk didn't want to.

And so the days went by, one after another.

Hulk's mental state became even more chaotic.

Banner himself also felt a strange sense of fear.

He was afraid that he would adapt to this and become numb to it.

Until one day, Hulk, for some unknown reason, started wanting to mate!

The first person he thought of was his cousin Jennifer.