Invincible Ian Fears Nothing

The assassination of Ian was being planned.

Asong knew none of this. Miguel knew none of this. Kenta knew none of this. The people screaming, crying, and cheering on the streets of New York knew none of this.

Of course, the people frantically reposting Umbrella's message on social media knew none of this either. All they knew was that today, someone had kept a promise.

Today, there was one more reactor in the world that needed no fuel, cost no money, and produced no pollution. Today, the "maybe someday" they had been waiting for so long had become "today."

"Oh! We're all saved!" Asong stood in the crowd, her tears already dry. Her eyes were still red, but the corners of her mouth were turned up. She watched Ian walk back inside the company entrance, watched the silver-white cube get pushed back into the building by the staff, watched the security guards in black uniforms begin dispersing the crowd.

She took out her phone and sent her daughter a voice message. Her voice was hoarse, but very certain. "Mommy is very happy today. Mommy's going to buy you a new schoolbag."

Miguel stood in the crowd without crying or laughing. He just stood there.

His hands were still stuffed in his pants pockets, and his lips were still trembling. The sunlight fell on his face, very warm. He raised his head and looked at the sky—a blue sky, cloudless for ten thousand miles. He took a deep breath. The air smelled of car exhaust, hot dogs, and the sweat of thousands of people.

But for some reason, he thought the air smelled especially good today. He took out his phone and sent his mother a message. Just three words.

"It is real."

The words were few, but they carried tremendous