Lord of Cinder in American Comics

Doom quickly found Susan, but seeing the scene made him feel as if all his bones had been removed, and he collapsed into a chair.

Ash glanced at the surveillance footage, which showed Susan smiling as she walked into the restaurant with Reed's arm around her.

At this moment, Ash felt a little sorry for Doom, whose woman had tricked others into giving away his investment resources and then used his money to squander on others.

Ash looked at Doom more and more and more, feeling that Doom was being cuckolded, so green that it could make a thousand horses gallop.

Chapter 284: The Pseudo-Superhero Act

Doom was in a very bad mood at the moment. After all, who would be happy to see their girlfriend using their money to support someone else?

Doom's metallic transformation is expanding, and now half of his face is metallic.

Lightning began to surge along the metallic part, and the blue electric light pierced the air, filling the surroundings with an indescribable aura.

Not to mention the smell of burnt clothes on Doom's body after they were pierced by lightning, which made Ash frown.

Ash tapped the table to get Doom's attention and said, "Doom, calm down! Your health is the most important thing right now. Since you were affected by cosmic rays, everyone who went to space with you must have experienced similar changes..."

Doom stretched out his hands, looking at the metallic color of his fingers, and muttered to himself, "Yes, there's no reason why I should be the only one changing, but they didn't show any physical changes at all. Instead, I was the first to change..."

Ash said, "There are many factors that influence change. You already have witchcraft and soul blessings within you. It's possible that the conflict between different forces brought this outburst forward."

"Yes! Witchcraft, witchcraft must have a way..."

The changes in Doom made him restless, so he took out the book he had hidden under the table and started reading it in front of Ash.

As he flipped through the pages, Doom muttered to himself, "Gypsy witch's soup, should work, a backup plan. Hell Contract? Can change the body as requested, no, requires a soul trade..."

Ash shook his head as he looked at Doom's focused expression. "These researchers, once they start studying, they don't care about their surroundings. Your girlfriend is out partying with someone else using your money!"

However, Ash did not disturb Doom's research; it was better to leave the time to Doom at this time.

In American comics, there's an old saying that the poor rely on mutations while the rich rely on technology. Doom is a genius who excels in both magic and technology, so maybe he really can find a unique path.

To prepare for any potential crisis, Ash decided to call George Stacy and make preparations in advance.

“George, you need to prepare in advance…”

George was already taking deep breaths when he received Ash's call, and when he heard this, he almost choked to death.

Hearing George cough, Ash said, "George, you have bronchitis, a little fluid in the lower lobe of your left lung, and some backflow in your heart valves. You need to take care of yourself and smoke less..."

Upon hearing Ash's words, George shouted, "Is this the time to talk about this?! What happened?"

"It's just a suspicion. The police need to be prepared in advance. There might be someone causing trouble in the city. I need you to send a notice to every community, asking all people with superpowers or suspected physical alterers to report to the Control Bureau for registration..."

Ash's words made George frown. This approach undoubtedly exposed one's special status, and unless one was a public figure or someone in a special position, no one would agree to such a notification.

Even the Ninja Turtles recruited by the police force would never be exposed to the public eye unless required for their work.

George said, "Do you know what you're doing?"

Ash rested one hand on the table, his index finger tapping rhythmically like a metronome, and said, "Of course I know, it's just a notification, just to prevent anyone from causing trouble. As long as they don't cause any trouble, it doesn't really matter whether they come or not. I'm not some control freak who has to restrict everyone..."

After meeting Doom, Ash's sympathy for Doom prompted him to make the call to George. If things could be resolved peacefully, all would be well.

As long as there's no trouble, Ash can still sit at the negotiating table and have a proper talk. After all, Ash isn't some kind of demon who would force someone to their doom.

George acted swiftly; before Doom had even finished reading the book in his hand, a text message notification had already been sent to everyone's phones.

As for the best and worst neighborhoods, George would send people to notify the residents and bosses, whether they listened or not was another matter.

But Ash's actions really got the whole city's heart pounding.

This registration policy is undoubtedly similar to the superhero registration act in the Avengers Civil War. The reason why the Avengers split was because this act exposed the original identities of most of the masked street heroes.

Even if such registration is a means of maintaining stability for those in power, these street heroes will not trust the government's secrecy; they will only believe that they will be exposed, which will only lead to unbearable consequences for them.

The retaliation from rivals and enemies, and the hatred from haters, will inevitably drag them into a vortex, and then they will die under the pressure of public opinion and reality.

Ash's phone rang rapidly, and he was overwhelmed by the calls from various people.

But that's exactly the effect Ash wanted. If a room is too dark and someone suggests opening a window, it will inevitably be met with opposition from everyone. But if someone advocates tearing down the roof, they will mediate and agree to open a window.

Mr. Treeman's words apply to all of humanity; this innate choice transcends race.

Ash replied to each of their text messages, reassuring them and telling them that the Bureau of Control would soon hold a press conference to explain the announcement.

Anderson was also completely bewildered after receiving Ash's call. He was originally supposed to provide logistical support for Ash's various wildly imaginative ideas, but now he also had to host a bizarre press conference?

Fortunately, Ash sent Anderson a detailed explanation, which gradually put his mind at ease.

Seeing Doom flipping through books while simultaneously brewing witch's soup, Ash's opinion of Doom's talent rose even higher.

Gypsy witch's soup was originally a secret potion made by Gypsy witches to win the hearts of their beloved, a potion that could make the beloved fall in love with them.

However, during subsequent development, these witches discovered that this fantastical Gypsy witch's soup was actually a wish-granting potion that could grant the user's every fantasy.

This made all the wizards flock to it, but the brewing of witch's soup was a subjective process. As long as you were a Gypsy wizard, you could boil a pot of water and it might be done according to your mood at the time.

Of course, boiling water to turn into a potion is too difficult. Other Gypsy wizards need to add various fantastic materials to help them complete the task. The more valuable the material, the less personal ability is required.

Doom's mother was a Gypsy witch who fell into hell because of a deal with the devil, and Doom inherited her magic book.

Now, Doom has actually managed to replicate the Witch's Soup just by looking at the description in the spellbook. This is no different from looking at the three-view drawing of a vehicle and replicating a complete car. He is so young yet so terrifying.

Doom didn't hide anything from Ash; once he finished making the potion, he drank it all in one gulp.

The magic of the witch's soup shone on Doom's body, and magic and mutation began to clash within Doom's body. The healing effect of the witch's soup instantly cleared away all the metallic mutations in Doom's body.

However, this healing was only temporary, and not long after Doom finished drinking it, the metallization started again from his fingertips.

Flipping through the spellbook, Doom kept checking the ingredients for each dose of the witch's potion, but in the end he gave up on making this wish-granting potion.

Ash, of course, wouldn't miss this opportunity for gossip, and asked, "What's wrong?"

Doom looked dejected and put away his spellbook, saying, "This mutation starts in the DNA, and once it starts, it won't stop. The witch's soup can only temporarily remove this change until the mutation is complete."

However, after the complete mutation, it's unknown whether the witch's potion will still have such a powerful effect. Although it's a wish-granting potion, everything in this world must adhere to the principle of equivalent exchange. To prevent this change, either use unique materials to amplify it, or trade with souls..."

Doom watched as his fingertips began to metallize again, playing with the lightning within them, when suddenly a crucial piece of information came to mind.

Doom quickly turned on his computer and started searching for information about the aerospace research that had cost him a large sum of money.

While reviewing the research data, Doom said, "Reed already knew that this solar storm in the corona would cause the evolution of life on planets. What he didn't tell me was that this storm would also promote the evolution of life, since he knew the timing and trajectory of this storm..."

As he entered the data into the computer, Doom looked at the result generated by the computer's calculations and muttered to himself, "Since he knew, he must have done simulations beforehand. He must have a nuclear reactor that can simulate this kind of change, but the reactor's energy supply couldn't provide the answer he wanted, which is why he was so eager to go to space to find out..."

Upon seeing the computer's conclusion, Doom slammed his fist on the table, unable to contain his excitement, and exclaimed, "Just as I thought! Unless Reed has a five-megaton nuclear weapon to provide instantaneous energy, he would have to absorb 5833 megajoules of energy, which is equivalent to 1.62 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity! He simply doesn't have that much energy supply!"

Only now did Doom realize what Reed had stolen from him, but he forgot that Reed had also stolen his career and his girlfriend.

Seeing the excited Doom, Ash didn't know what to say. Why couldn't this kid grasp the point? Maybe Susan wasn't important to him at all?

At this moment, an excited Doom was about to go find Reed to find out what was going on, but Ash could only stop him. Would going there now be to catch them in the act or to solve his own problems?

Besides, before marriage, there are only moral constraints, not legal relationships, so Susan can naturally date anyone.

Doom was puzzled and looked at Ash with a face full of doubt.

With a sigh, Ash pointed to the computer that had been logged into the traffic surveillance system and said, "What are you trying to prove to those two? Is it the consequence of your ignorance? Or that Reed stole your girlfriend? Or are you already in jail, and you're going to wish them well before you go to prison?"

Ash threw the investigation letter from the military into Doom's arms, and Doom realized that he had been focusing on the wrong thing all along. Now his biggest problem was that if he couldn't give an explanation and an answer, he would have to go to jail.

Even if Ash could help him, he could only try to exonerate him in the military's report; the compensation he was entitled to would still have to be paid.

Seeing Doom's stunned expression, Ash pressed him back into his seat and asked, "Have you always been like this?"

Doom looked puzzled and asked, "What's wrong with me?"

"He can't grasp the key points in anything he does, he can follow all the instructions of people he trusts, he ignores all the surrounding distractions during the research process, and he lets his property and capital go to waste..."

Doom was speechless. After entering university, he was exceptionally recruited to the military laboratory, where he continued to conduct research that he loved. Later, he met Susan, who advised him to redeem himself from Ash and leave.

Susan continued to manage capital operations, while he was responsible for research, a situation that persists to this day.

Today, however, Susan went out partying with Reed, leaving him alone to face the military investigation. Fortunately, it was Ash who helped him; otherwise, Doom would have already gone to extremes.

Having realized his problem, Doom lowered his head and pondered how to change it.

Seeing Doom deep in thought, Ash checked the time, turned the computer on his desk around, and redirected him to the Bureau of Control's official website.

Doom, watching Ashe's actions, asked curiously, "What is that?"

Ash said, "This is the operation in the dilapidated house before opening the window, just watch..."

During a live broadcast on the Bureau of Control's website, Anderson was hosting a press conference, explaining Ash's recent actions.

Ignoring the reporters in the audience, Anderson disregarded their raised hands and questions, and of course, these reporters dared not ask any questions here.

"Now, regarding the notification from the Control Bureau, we would like to clarify that the Control Bureau has always maintained a friendly attitude towards individuals with supernatural abilities. Without interfering with the normal lives of residents, the Control Bureau will not take any control measures against individuals with supernatural abilities."

Similarly, this announcement is merely a reminder to those who possess weapons, to live their lives in peace and not to cause disaster for momentary pleasure.

Of course, the Control Bureau will never show leniency to superpowered criminals who break the law and disrupt order. The Control Bureau will not tolerate any behavior that exposes abilities in public and disrupts normal order.

Of course, the control center also has its own set of judgment criteria for rescue and disaster prevention. These special circumstances are not a reason to arbitrarily disrupt normal order. Everyone needs to view this rationally.

Following Ash's instructions, Anderson sent a signal to the outside world: as long as you stay out of trouble, don't show off your special status in public, and abide by the law, you'll be fine.

But if you cause trouble and create chaos, then the power of interpretation lies with the control bureau, and dealing with you would be following the rules.

If you don't cause trouble, we'll treat you like an ordinary person. It doesn't matter whether you register or not. But if you cause trouble and haven't registered, then you'll be a target of the control bureau.

This explanation put everyone at ease. For ordinary people, this regulation effectively standardizes normal life. Everyone around them is the same, so even if there's a fight, they don't have to worry about someone growing thorns from their body and stabbing them through the heart.

For street heroes, they are all masked, and they are just taking down a few criminals. If they can't find themselves, they have no reason to fight back, which is no different from before.

Everyone was at peace and ignored the announcement. What fool would act recklessly in broad daylight without permission from law enforcement? Even Iron Man had a special invitation from the Bureau of Control to temporarily act as a law enforcement officer. He was completely acting legally.

However, a reporter quickly saw the message on his phone and raised his hand to interrupt Anderson's announcement, saying, "Excuse me, Mr. Anderson, there's a message here that you need to see..."

From the reporter's raised phone, everyone saw a young man walking down the street who suddenly transformed, burning the car next to him and causing a stir among those around him.

Anderson said expressionlessly, "Clearly, this announcement is specifically for this kind of situation, to protect ordinary people..."

Chapter 285: Intercepting the Spoils

Ash watched the live stream, and Doom next to him also recognized that the person who had transformed was Susan's brother, Johnny.

Seeing that Ash remained unmoved, Doom tentatively asked, "That's Susan's brother. He's also mutated?"

Ash turned to look at the cautious Doom. At this moment, Doom changed his usual attitude and tentatively tried to communicate with Ash. If it were a few minutes ago, Doom would only answer Ash's questions and would not ask questions himself.