Upstaging the Host

As she laughed, Jessica's body gradually began to tremble.

She looked at Heisenberg with a twisted expression, but after only one glance, she tried her best to control her face.

She did not want Heisenberg, whom she had acknowledged, to see her ugly side.

But she could not do it.

The hatred and humiliation Purple Man had planted in her heart had been carved deeply into her soul.

No matter how much she believed in Heisenberg's strength and promises, she could not change the fact that she was afraid.

So, what exactly had Purple Man done to her?

Probably the kind of despair a woman would never, ever want to experience...

Purple Man was a superpowered individual who could control others through pheromones.

Back then,

Jessica had not withered away. She had still been an innocent and kind, weakened version of little Supergirl, using her immense strength and incredible speed to fight crime, the sort of thing superheroes loved to do.

And back then, Jessica's hero name had been Jewel.

Until Jewel met Purple Man.

She had been controlled by Purple Man in an instant.

And the first thing Purple Man did after controlling her was order her to take off all her clothes.

After that, Purple Man controlled her to kill, controlled her to do what he loved to do, controlled everything about her.

This lasted for a full eight months.

Eight full months of imprisonment and conditioning meant that even after she escaped that cage, she had nearly lost the courage to take revenge.

She was even too afraid to feel the urge to kill her enemy.

That was probably what hurt her the most.

The Jewel of the past, the trash of today.

Even Jessica herself thought she was trash.

But Heisenberg did not think so.

After all, Jessica was so fair...

Noticing Jessica's pained expression, Heisenberg thoughtfully pursed his lips, then rubbed his chin against the hair at her temple.

"What are you thinking about? How about I take you somewhere fun to clear your head?"

"Where? Your big bed?"

Jessica sighed and forced out a teasing remark.

But Heisenberg did not answer. He simply held Jessica and flew toward Earth.

Before long, the two stood atop a boundless snow-covered mountain.

The wind and snow around them could not affect them at all, while the scenery beneath the heavens seemed to lie within their sight.

This was the charm of the world's highest peak.

And it made Jessica look thoughtfully at Heisenberg.

"Standing on the highest mountain in the world, would you still be afraid of the height of the Burj Khalifa?" Heisenberg asked Jessica.

Jessica thought for a moment, then asked in return.

"So you're trying to tell me that the gap between you and that demon is like the gap between Mount Everest and the Burj Khalifa?"

"No, I'm asking whether you're afraid of heights. If not, we can ski down."

"Go to hell!"

"Haha."

Heisenberg's joke made Jessica's expression look a little better.

Then he took Jessica straight through the clouds and plunged all the way into the Atlantic Ocean.

The ocean first showed them its outer beauty, then told them that it was deep, dark, and full of water.

Within the nearly endless trenches, Jessica could already see enormous creatures over a hundred meters long.

Jessica covered her mouth in astonishment.

"What do you think? After seeing these giant creatures more than fifty thousand meters beneath the sea, do you still think Purple Man is something terrifying?"

Hearing Heisenberg's question, Jessica hesitated for a long time, but in the end, she still nodded.

Perhaps nothing could ever wash away the fear Purple Man had left in Jessica's heart.

The result disappointed Heisenberg somewhat. He had thought this would be enough to ease at least a little of Jessica's fear.

Even a little would have been enough.

But clearly, Jessica's mind had been hurt too badly.

So there was only one final method: find Purple Man, tie him up, and let Jessica kill him herself.

Perhaps before Purple Man died, he could arrange several hundred torture sessions for him too, so Jessica could properly enjoy the sight of her enemy's misery.

That should solve the problem!

Thinking that, Heisenberg picked Jessica up and brought her back to New York.

He did not go anywhere else. He went straight to his Nightclub.

He pressed Jessica down onto a sofa in the Nightclub...

"Sit here. I need to make a call!"

As he spoke, Heisenberg called Bullseye.

A moment later, the call connected, but the first thing Heisenberg heard was not Bullseye's voice, but...

"You're not allowed to answer the phone while I'm changing your bandages. Hang up!"

"Fuck off, change your damn bandages. It's the BOSS calling, Bos... Aahhh! Fuck! Aahhh, be gentler! I was wrong! Aahhh!!!"

Click!

After the scream, it seemed someone had snatched away the phone.

A moment later, the greeting from the other end was as follows.

"You're Bullseye's boss? You're the one who did this to Matthew?"

"Mm-hm. You're Eliza, the only assassin under Kingpin who didn't join me?"

Heisenberg asked expressionlessly, gently patting Jessica on the head at the same time.

"Be good and sit here for a while. One of my subordinates has caused a little trouble."

"Okay, go handle it. And you probably don't need anyone's help, right? I mean, if you need me, I'm still somewhat capable!"

Jessica seemed expressionless, but she had her own way of caring about others.

Having been shown concern, Heisenberg smiled and shook his head.

"No need. It's just a small issue. I'll get you two bottles of wine.

Something low-proof. Don't get too drunk. I have a surprise for you later."

As he spoke, Heisenberg brought over a bottle of champagne and tossed it to Jessica. By the time Jessica caught the bottle, Heisenberg had already vanished.

On the other end of the call, Eliza stood stunned in the hospital's VIP ward.

She had never expected Heisenberg to have such a fiery temper.

Shouldn't bosses all be like Kingpin, never showing joy or anger on their faces?

She had merely wanted to say a few harsh words before backing down, and he was already coming over to kill her?

At the same time, Bullseye, whose bandages were being ruthlessly changed by a nurse, howled while gloating at Eliza.

"The boss is fast. If you don't kneel now, it might be too late soon!"

"Bullshit, I..."

Before Eliza could finish her harsh words, Heisenberg had already passed through the glass and stood beside Bullseye's hospital bed.

By the time he stood still, the sound of the shattering glass had not even had time to ring out.

Crash!

Only then did it sound.

The young nurse looked up in shock, first at the glass, then at Heisenberg.

"Ahhh~~~."

She fainted just like that, her voice trembling.

And Heisenberg...

Smack!

He slapped the back of Bullseye's head.

"Who are you calling fast...?"

"Haha, Boss, I was wrong! Do you have any superpowers that can get me out of the hospital earlier? I'm in a hurry to work my life away for you, Boss!"

"No."

As he spoke, Heisenberg casually sat down on Bullseye's bed.

He glanced at the bed beside him. Naturally, Matt Murdock lay on it.

As for Eliza, she stood beside Daredevil's bed.

Less than five meters away from Heisenberg.

"Eliza, hello. I heard you have some complaints about me, so I came to see you personally."

Heisenberg greeted Eliza. Then, without waiting for the stiffened Eliza to answer, he continued.

"You used to work for Kingpin, and you were satisfied with your former job. So your dissatisfaction is with me?"

"Not exactly..."

Eliza was fairly courageous. She turned her head away and replied coldly.

Hearing her answer, Heisenberg nodded.

"Is it because of Matt Murdock? Because of love? Because you long for a new life in the future, or because you yearn for an ordinary world?"

Heisenberg suddenly rose to his feet and strolled over to Eliza.

"Matthew is destined to hate me to the bone. His personality means he will never let go of his hatred for me. So tell me, I gave him one chance this time. How many more chances do you think I'll give him in the future?"

"You won't give him another chance!"

Eliza answered expressionlessly. The reason her face had gone blank was because she understood that Heisenberg was right.

Matthew was that kind of stubborn person. He would always cling to the justice he believed in.

But no matter how great his justice was, it could never withstand Heisenberg's fists.

And Heisenberg patted Eliza's shoulder.

"Woman, your gender gives you the right to be emotional, but the future you want will not follow an emotional path.

Do you want me to show mercy to Matthew Murdock when he provokes me again in the future?

That's impossible.

But let's look at it another way.

The person I send to deal with Matthew Murdock might be me, might be Bullseye, or might be some other assassin. But it could also be you!

I'm a generous person. As long as you do your usual work well enough, I can tolerate the occasional failure on certain assignments, right?"

As he spoke, Heisenberg leaned his head close to Eliza's ear and whispered softly.

"I heard your status under Kingpin was higher than Bullseye's. Then let me first see how rational you are, shall we?"

"No problem!"

Eliza immediately lowered her head to Heisenberg.

Eliza had indeed fallen in love with Daredevil, but love was not enough to make her lose her mind.

She was certain that everything would unfold exactly as Heisenberg had said.

Since Heisenberg had offered a balance between her and her lover in that future, she had no reason to refuse.

Seeing Eliza submit as he wished, Heisenberg smiled in satisfaction and returned to sit on Bullseye's hospital bed.

In Eliza's eyes, the Heisenberg before her no longer had the spoiled petulance and irritability from a few days ago.

This Heisenberg seemed even larger than Kingpin.

And this Heisenberg raised his right hand toward her!

Thud!

Seeing Heisenberg's gesture, which seemed to be a command, Eliza immediately dropped to one knee and respectfully waited for his orders.

Heisenberg gave his instructions in satisfaction.

"After your lover wakes up, I'll give you one day to talk about love. Then go do something for me.

Purple Man. I don't care whether you've had contact with him or not. Within three days, I want to know his exact location!

S.H.I.E.L.D. will cooperate with your work. Note that they will cooperate with you.

You are my subordinate, and I stand behind you. There's no need to fear them, and don't let them upstage you.

Purple Man's ability is especially useful to S.H.I.E.L.D., and I don't want Purple Man to fall into their hands. Understood?"

"This subordinate obeys!"