Welcome to the New Era

Herman Schultz sat in the back of the truck, the chill of the metal cargo compartment seeping through his armor and into his bones. In the past, he would have thought anyone driving a truck to rob a bank had to be insane. What, did they think they were filming Batman? Copying the Joker and robbing banks with oversized vehicles?

But reality was more absurd than any movie script.

Kingpin's subordinate, the Black man in the purple jacket calling himself Prowler, had only tossed him one sentence: "You can't drive a normal car while wearing that equipment to rob a bank." Herman obviously couldn't spend another hour putting on his armor outside the bank either. The only option was to find a truck and ride inside the cargo compartment to the bank.

And whether it was a coincidence or not, that damn Prowler had actually arranged for an ice cream truck to carry him! The whole vehicle was still playing that ice cream truck advertising jingle!

"Can't you turn off that damn music?!"

Scarecrow slammed his fist hard against the cargo compartment. The driver's voice came through the intercom. "Sorry, buddy. We don't know how to turn it off. It starts playing the moment the engine turns over."

"FXXK!"

Prowler actually wasn't mocking Herman's armor's cooling problems. Unlike Herman, who was a fake illiterate because he couldn't afford school, Prowler was a genuine illiterate who simply didn't understand any of that messy high-tech equipment. He had arranged an ice cream truck because it was the only vehicle available.

They were robbing New York United Bank, where Horizon Labs stored a large quantity of materials. The big boss, Kingpin, was interested in something inside the vault. He needed the best lockpicker, and no one was better suited for the job than Scarecrow.

Blasting music meant to attract children, the ice cream truck pulled up outside the bank. The driver and passenger got out. By the time the bank's security cameras captured the two masked men kicking open the glass doors, the roar of shotguns had already shattered the chandeliers.

Herman leaped from the cargo compartment. The instant his armored boots hit the ground, cracks spiderwebbed across the concrete, though Herman didn't notice. He walked into the bank, where his two accomplices had already subdued most of the employees.

"The Avengers can get here in three minutes at most. If that happens, we won't be able to get away." The driver gave Herman a warning. "Can you do it? Three minutes, one lock."

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

Seeing the vicious-looking figure in high-tech armor approach, the bank manager, who had secretly pressed the alarm, swallowed hard. He watched Scarecrow, who had caused chaos across the city just two days ago, walk toward him.

"Where is Horizon Labs' vault?"

He had never expected Scarecrow to ask such a simple question, much less that after receiving no answer, Scarecrow would casually raise a hand and shatter the bulletproof glass in front of the counter before asking again.

"Where is Horizon Labs' vault?"

The bank manager scrambled to his feet and led Scarecrow to the vault. Scarecrow placed one hand on it. Before the manager's eyes, the vault door slowly warped and twisted, then Scarecrow tore it off in one pull. He tossed the ripped-off vault door aside and saw the target of this operation.

It was a... glass fish tank?

Why would Horizon Labs' experimental product be a fish tank?

Not quite understanding, Herman picked up the fish tank-like thing. It didn't feel like glass. It seemed to be made from some kind of organic material, with considerable toughness. It was probably a sample of some new material.

He carried the fish tank out and called to Kingpin's men standing guard. "Got the thing. Let's go."

"Okay, give it to me..."

Kingpin's subordinate froze as well. "Where the hell did you get a fish tank?"

"Ask the nerds at Horizon Labs." Herman rolled his eyes beneath his armored mask and shoved the fish tank into Kingpin's subordinate's hands. "You take it back. I'll draw the attention of any Avengers who show up. We split up."

The robbery went smoothly, so smoothly that even Herman found it surprising. After unleashing a vibration wave, he sprang away at high speed, using this convenient but road-destroying method to leave the bank. The supervillain wrecked the pavement all the way, leaving clues for those damn superheroes so the other men could bring the stolen item back to Hell's Kitchen.

That day, New York City's crime rate rose by 400 percent year over year, and nearly all of it consisted of bank robberies. Scarecrow appeared in several of them, but before he actually showed himself, no one could determine which robbery he was involved in. Even the Avengers couldn't catch him.

"Alright, let's sum this up. We now have a Ram. Aside from luck, there's only one difference between him and the real Ram: so far, no lock of any kind has been able to withstand his fists."

Tony sat at the conference table, looking at the crime map where red markers spread across New York like herpes. His voice carried unmistakable irritation and exhaustion. Captain sighed as well.

Hank was more focused on the technological side of things. He had discovered that Scarecrow had rather good taste. What he stole were all technological prototypes and data, and most of them were not weapons.

"And at the same time, the number of bank robberies in New York soared. They're obviously providing cover for Scarecrow. Only the banks he hit were the real targets. Most of what was stolen were experimental products from various laboratories, and quite a few hadn't even been patented."

"Someone hired Scarecrow for these technological products. Based on what we know about Herman Schultz, he's extremely confident in his own technology and wouldn't casually use someone else's. He also couldn't mobilize this many people at once."

As Captain spoke, he opened a list containing New York's underground gangs, large and small. Normally, these weren't the Avengers' jurisdiction, but they needed to know who had hired Scarecrow.

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

As Captain spoke, Kingpin's profile appeared on the sliding holographic display.

"I'm honored that you have joined us, Mr. Schultz."

Before the emperor of Hell's Kitchen was a table laden with delicacies and fine wines Herman had never seen before. He was incredibly powerfully built, like a wall. Herman wasn't wearing his armor, which made him seem even smaller before Kingpin. But he suspected that even in armor, he would not be as sturdy as the man before him.

"Mr. Fisk, I'm honored. I can work for you." Herman watched Kingpin feast as he introduced himself. "I was born in Harlem. To us, you are..."

"Thank you." Kingpin smiled and picked up his knife and fork, interrupting Herman. "I'm glad you recognize my past..." He waved a hand and made a slightly inappropriate guess. "Achievements. But this is a new era now. Everyone knows the old methods no longer work. So I need you to pry open those geniuses' locks and see what ideas they have for the future."

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

"In this era, anything can create miracles. Just like this... Explain it, Mr. Beck?"

"Oh, yes, alright, Mr. Visk."

The timid, frail white man gestured helplessly and began explaining without any coherence. "Everything we can see is actually light. The reflection of light creates everything, so, uh, light is images. If we can manipulate light..."

"Relax, Mr. Beck." Kingpin smiled as he cut into his salmon, gesturing for Herman to eat as well. "I don't understand science very well, so could you explain directly what this thing you want is for?"

"Oh, alright."

Beck seemed almost dazed, but he still said timidly, "It's a projector, but it doesn't project onto physical objects. It projects onto photons, directly changing the state in which photons manifest. That means if this technology is completed, it can create three-dimensional projections anywhere that look real but don't actually exist..."

"Thank you, Mr. Beck. Take him down to rest."

Kingpin waved a hand, having Beck taken away. "Just imagine that... projector. If our people can complete it, we can make people see whatever we want them to see. For example, a Spider-Man who burns, kills, and loots, or a group of Avengers massacring civilians abroad. People may not believe rumors, but they will believe what they see with their own eyes."

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