Conquering the Multiverse Starting with the Black Robe

Brooklyn, New York.

Black neighborhoods.

The air on the street was filled with a stench of cheap marijuana, car exhaust, and kitchen waste. The light drizzle falling from the sky did not suppress the nauseating smell; instead, it added to the dampness, making it smell like swill soaked with rat carcasses.

Along the roadside, posters of the Seven Superheroes were vandalized with graffiti: Queen Maeve grew "Dick"; Homelander's eyes were bloodshot and devil horns sprouted from his head; Deep Sea's cheeks were red and his mouth was stuffed with octopus tentacles... Only A-Train was spared, and not only that, but a large "S" symbol representing Superman was sprayed on his chest in red paint.

Not far from the poster, in a place out of the light, several gang members surrounded an Asian teenager.

Wow, wow, wow~

Look at you, the little girl has run away from home and can't find her way back.

"Where are you from, Korea? Pretty boy?"

At the alley entrance, several menacing Black people blocked the way. They surrounded the boy and shoved him.

The Asian boy seemed stunned, as if he had forgotten how to run away, and was dragged into a dark alley by the thugs.

They had no idea that the person they were coercing had been deliberately loitering in this unmonitored area for more than ten minutes.

A Black man pulled a switchblade from his pocket and said menacingly, "Take out all your valuables, and that cool coat of yours too. Hurry up, or I'll stab you in the stomach!"

Seeing the boy standing there motionless, someone couldn't wait any longer and went up to roughly search him.

"You're wasting your time; there's nothing in there."

Rean said to the black man who came up and searched his pockets.

"Shut up, you bitch! You think you can teach me how to do things? You think I won't tear your mouth apart?"

Rean glanced at him. "I've always been curious why someone would commit a crime in a country full of superhumans. Do you think these guys are all easy to talk to?"

The police won't protect you. Have you ever thought about what would happen if you were doing something wrong and unfortunately ran into Homelander?

Aren't you afraid of being cut in half by his laser eyes?

I bet that's no harder than cutting a piece of butter.

Someone mocked, "The people of our motherland don't care about a yellow-skinned monkey like you!"

"Shut your dog mouth, you racist idiot."

"What did you say?"

Rean didn't even look at him, pointing to his head. "Is your brain filled with shit? Would an ordinary person be this calm in the face of a robbery? A bunch of idiots!"

The three black men exchanged glances, and then burst out laughing at the same time.

"Did you hear that, guys? He's trying to say he's a superhero!"

"Oh my god, I'm so scared! Kid, are you trying to kill us with your 'verbal attacks'?"

The man with the knife stepped forward, brandishing it in front of Rean with a mocking expression. "Kid, have you been watching too many movies? I advise you to behave yourself. With your skinny arms and legs, I could punch you right back to your mother's throat..."

Rean's expression turned cold. He had said enough nonsense. He grabbed the man in front of him by the collar and, before he could let out a terrified scream, threw him into the air.

"A generous gift, thank you!"

"Wozefak?!"

The black men were so frightened that their voices went off-key, and they blurted out a series of vulgar phrases.

Then they saw a screaming figure fall from above, crashing heavily to the ground and smashing to pieces.

Terrified, they turned and ran, but a figure instantly passed them, blocking the alleyway's only escape route.

"Hand over all your valuables before I lose my patience, or I'll make each of you ride a roller coaster."

……

WOT, Omega Experimental Base.

Having received bad news, Stan Edgar returned to the place, surrounded by several superhuman bodyguards.

Because of the extensive destruction Rean left behind before he left, the place was a complete mess, almost like ruins.

The walls were riddled with bullet holes, half of the ceiling had collapsed, and broken light tubes hung precariously from them, flickering on and off, making the surroundings look like a scene from a horror movie.

For Edgar, he had only just left.

He remained unusually calm in the face of everything before him, even straightening his slightly crooked tie.

They arrived at a corridor filled with blood and gore.

This was the very spot where Rean fought the Vought fighters. The pieces of flesh and the marks of battle on the floor silently testified to how horrific everything that had happened here was.

Edgar ignored all of this. He silently bent down and sifted through the pool of blood until he found the capsule chip that Rean had crushed and rendered completely unusable.

He picked it up with two fingers, held it up to his eyes, and examined it for a moment.

Edgar looked around and remained silent for a long time.

Being proven wrong is obviously not a pleasant experience.

"Vogbaum, you've really given me a big surprise."

Edgar turned to look at the ashen-faced man behind him. "Now, this 'defective product' has destroyed our experimental base, vanished without a trace, and destroyed all the research data before leaving."

Vogelbaum forced a smile and said, "Sir, we tested the anesthetic inhibitors, and the concentration was three times the standard. Logically..."

"I'm not trying to assign blame to anyone."

Edgar raised his hand to interrupt and shook his head.

Suddenly, the tone shifted, "Aren't you afraid, Doctor?"

Before the other person could answer, Edgar said to himself, "I'm scared because I feel betrayed."

It's like you adopt a pet, put a collar on it, take good care of it, and it always behaves docilely and obediently, until one day, you suddenly realize that you've never truly tamed it...

He paused for a moment, then continued, "It's all a facade. It gains your trust, waits until you lower your guard, and then bites you through the throat in the end."

"Admit it, Doctor, he is not a 'failure,' but a masterpiece. He deceived us all and caused us great losses."

Edgar's expression was sinister, but he showed no sign of defeat.

He turned around and began to issue orders methodically, "I want you to issue an internal warrant to track down his whereabouts, but do not use official power. I don't want those members of Congress to know about this."

"Also, call Madeline and have her notify the 99th floor to have everyone on standby except Homelander."

We must recover the company's 'assets,' no matter where he is now, we must find him alive or dead."

……

On a secluded street.

The neon sign was old and dilapidated, sizzling in the rain. Rean stopped in front of a bar called "Dark Tune".

Outside the door, a nearly two-meter-tall black security guard stood there with his arms outstretched, blocking the way.

He glanced at Rean as he approached, and gestured for him to stop with his hand. "Minors are not allowed. Milk is more suitable for you, little guy."

Rean pulled a US dollar bill from his coat pocket and waved it in front of the burly man. "The Franklin on this piece of paper in my hand is older than your grandmother, so, get lost, okay?"

"Oh...this." The burly Black man glanced to both sides, calmly taking the banknote. A grotesque smile stretched across his fleshy face. "Fine, normally I shouldn't let you in, but Franklin's my buddy, so to hell with the rules!"

He opened the soundproof door and shouted inside, "Katie! Give this yellow-skinned brother a good welcome!"

Upon entering the bar, he found it filled with smoke and already packed with people. Some glanced at him, then looked away shortly after.

Rean went to the bar and found a relatively quiet corner to sit down.

"Hey, good evening. What would you like, handsome?" Katie swayed over, her exaggerated eyeshadow and low-cut neckline revealing two soft, black breasts swaying in front of her.

"Whiskey on the rocks, and one of your signature set meals, too. I'm starving, so you'd better hurry up," Rean said, glancing at her.

Katie leaned closer, her warm breath brushing against Rean's ear. "No problem. Is this your first time here? You must be feeling lonely coming out alone so late at night. Sit here for a while, and when I get off work, I can chat with you about 'adult topics' to help you relax and unwind."

Rean ignored her flirtation; he had no interest in this kind of woman of the night. His gaze went past her shoulder to the television hanging on the wall to his right.

The line above displays a replay of the midday news.

On the screen, Madeline stands in the center, the locomotive turned to the side facing the camera, with a seemingly sorrowful expression on her face, publicly apologizing for an "accident".

"My deepest condolences go to Robin Ward's family... This is a tragedy. I was chasing a bank robber when she was standing right in the middle of the road. I couldn't..."

"Wait, the plot just started? Hughie's girlfriend's body isn't even cold yet?" Rean raised an eyebrow, pulled out the phone he had snatched from the black men, and unlocked it with a severed finger.

Open Twitter and search for "invisible man".

The latest update was posted a few hours ago.

The most liked comment was from a young boy with terminal cancer who hoped that an invisible person could visit him in his hospital room; this was his last wish.

Several hours later, the reply had received over ten thousand likes, generating immense buzz. The Invisible Man, twenty minutes earlier, had given a positive response: "No problem, kid. You're my role model, you're the real hero. DM me your address, I'll be there as soon as possible!"

Rean didn't comment. Maybe this voyeuristic pervert would reply to this message and then disappear into some women's restroom to masturbate to someone else.

Enough of the small talk. The point is, if the Invisible Man himself is still replying to tweets, then he probably hasn't been stuffed into the trunk of a car and locked in an electric cage by Butcher yet.

Thinking of this, Rean couldn't sit still any longer.

He downed the whiskey in one gulp, placed the banknotes under the glass, and pushed open the door to leave.

Once outside, Rean opened Google Maps to find the video store where Hughie worked.

The story of Black Robe is set in the United States in 2020. The physical audio-visual industry has long since declined, which saves Rean a lot of trouble. In addition, the location of the locomotive incident was easily found after the news reported it.

A store called "Brightman Audio-Visual" appeared on the phone screen.

"bingo."