Welcome to a New Era

Herman Schultz sat inside the cargo bed of the truck, the chill of the metal seeping into his bones through his armor. If this were in the past, he would have definitely thought anyone driving a truck to rob a bank was crazy. Was this like a Batman movie? Using a large vehicle to rob a bank like the Joker?

But reality was more absurd than any movie script.

Kingpin's subordinate, the black man in the purple jacket known as Prowler, had only said one thing to him: "This suit of yours can't be used to rob a bank in a regular car." And Herman certainly couldn't spend another hour putting on his armor at the bank entrance. The only solution was to find a truck and ride in the back.

And as if by coincidence, this damn Prowler had arranged for an ice cream truck to carry him! The entire truck was playing ice cream jingle music!

"Can't you guys just turn off this damn music?!"

Scarecrow slammed his fist into the truck bed, and the driver's voice came through the intercom: "Sorry, buddy, we don't know how to turn it off. It started playing as soon as we started the engine."

"FXXK!"

Actually, Prowler wasn't mocking Herman's armor's cooling system. Unlike Herman, who was an uneducated fraud pretending to be literate, Prowler was genuinely illiterate and had no idea about all sorts of fancy technology. The reason he arranged for an ice cream truck was simply because it was the only vehicle available.

They were going to rob the New York United Bank, where Horizon Labs stored a large amount of materials. The big boss, Kingpin, was very interested in something inside the vault. He needed the best locksmith, and there was no one more suitable for the job than Scarecrow.

The ice cream truck, playing its child-attracting music, arrived at the bank. The two people in the driver's and passenger's seats got out. By the time the bank's surveillance cameras captured the two masked men kicking open the glass doors, the roar of a shotgun had already shattered the chandelier.

Herman leaped out of the truck bed. The moment his armored boots hit the ground, the concrete surface cracked in a web-like pattern. But Herman didn't notice this as he walked into the bank. His two accomplices had already subdued most of the bank employees.

"The Avengers will be here in at most three minutes, and we won't be able to get away then," the driver urged Herman. "Can you handle it? Three minutes, one lock."

"More than enough time, as long as you guys didn't get the wrong vault."

Seeing this guy in high-tech armor, looking menacing, approach him, the bank manager, who had already secretly pressed the alarm, swallowed hard. He watched as Scarecrow, who had been causing chaos in the city just two days ago, walked towards him.

"Where is Horizon Labs' vault?"

He didn't expect Scarecrow to ask such a question, nor did he expect Scarecrow to shatter the bulletproof glass in front of the counter with a raise of his hand when he didn't get an answer. Then, Scarecrow coolly asked again.

"Where is Horizon Labs' vault?"

The bank manager scrambled, practically crawling, to lead Scarecrow to the vault. Scarecrow placed one hand on the vault door. In front of the bank manager's eyes, the vault door slowly warped and deformed, and then he ripped it off with a single pull. Scarecrow tossed the ripped-off vault door onto the ground and saw their target.

It was a... fish tank?

Why was Horizon Labs' experimental product a fish tank?

Herman, not quite understanding, picked up the fish tank-like object. It didn't feel like glass, but rather something made of an organic material with considerable toughness, perhaps a sample of some new material.

He walked out with the fish tank and called out to Kingpin's subordinate, who was on guard. "Got the item, let's go."

"Okay, give me the item..."

Kingpin's subordinate was also stunned. "Where did you get a fish tank?"

"Ask those nerds at Horizon Labs," Herman rolled his eyes under his armored mask and shoved the fish tank into Kingpin's subordinate's hand. "Here's your item, take it back. I'll draw the attention of any potential Avengers. We'll split up."

The robbery was completed smoothly, so smoothly that even Herman was surprised. After activating his vibration waves, he quickly bounced and shot away from the bank. This convenient but road-damaging method allowed the supervillain to leave a trail for the damn superheroes, so that his other subordinates could take the stolen goods back to Hell's Kitchen.

On this day, the crime rate in New York City increased by 400% year-on-year, and almost all of it was bank robberies. Scarecrow appeared in several of these incidents, but no one could confirm which robbery he was involved in before his true appearance. This made it impossible for the Avengers to catch him.

"Alright, let's summarize. We now have a Ram, and besides luck, there's only one other thing that differentiates him from the real Ram: so far, no lock, no matter how complex, has been able to withstand his fists."

Tony sat at the conference table, looking at the crime map of New York, where red markers spread like a rash, expressing his annoyance and fatigue. Captain America sighed.

Hank focused more on the technological aspects. He discovered that Scarecrow had excellent taste, robbing places that held technological prototypes and data, and most of them weren't weapons.

"And at the same time, the number of bank robberies in New York has surged. It's obvious they're creating a diversion for Scarecrow; only the banks he hit are the real targets. Most of the stolen items are experimental products from various labs, and quite a few haven't even been patented."

"Someone hired Scarecrow with the goal of obtaining these technological products. Based on our understanding of Herman Schultz, he is very confident in his own technology and wouldn't easily use someone else's. Nor could he mobilize so many people at once."

Captain America said, pulling up a list. New York's underground gangs, big and small, appeared on it. Normally, these weren't within the Avengers' jurisdiction, but they needed to know who hired Scarecrow.

"Hammerhead, Tombstone, Viper Gang... do we have any specific suspects?"

Captain America said, seeing Kingpin's avatar slide into view on the holographic projection.

"I am honored to join you, Mr. Schultz."

In front of the Emperor of Hell's Kitchen, the dining table was laden with exquisite food and wine that Herman had never seen before. Kingpin was powerfully built, like a wall. Herman wasn't wearing his armor, making him appear even smaller in comparison. But he suspected that even with his armor on, he wouldn't be as imposing as the man before him.

"Mr. Fisk, I am honored to be able to work for you." Herman watched Kingpin eat heartily and introduced himself. "I was born in Harlem, and for us, you are..."

"Thank you," Kingpin smiled, picking up his knife and fork, interrupting Herman. "I'm glad you recognize my past..." He waved his hand, making a somewhat inappropriate assumption. "Achievements. But this is a new era, and everyone knows the old ways won't work anymore. So, I need you to help me pry open the locks of these geniuses and see what ideas they have for the future."

After speaking, Kingpin clapped his hands. The figure in the purple jacket standing in the shadows, Kingpin's confidant who called himself Prowler, placed the fish tank Herman had brought out on a corner of the table. Then, a thin man was brought in.

"In this era, anything can create miracles, just like this... explain, Mr. Beck?"

"Oh, yes, of course, Mr. Visk."

The timid, thin white man gestured awkwardly, explaining without any coherence. "Everything we see is actually light. The reflection of light creates everything, so, uh, I, light is an image. If we can manipulate light..."

"Relax, Mr. Beck," Kingpin said with a smile as he cut his salmon, gesturing for Herman to eat with him. "I don't understand science very well, so can you explain directly what use this thing you want has?"

"Oh, okay."

The man called Beck seemed dazed but still meekly explained, "It's a projector, but it projects not onto any physical object, but onto light particles, directly changing the state of light particles. This means that if this technology is completed, we can create three-dimensional projections anywhere that look real but don't actually exist..."

"Thank you, Mr. Beck. Take him to rest," Kingpin waved his hand, signaling for Beck to be taken away. "Just imagine this... projector. If our people can complete it, we can make people see what we want them to see. For example, a Spider-Man burning and killing, or Avengers slaughtering civilians in a foreign country. People might not believe rumors, but they will believe what they see with their own eyes."

"Welcome to the new era, Mr. Herman."