"Follow the plan. Be careful. I'll stay on the perimeter. You only need to distract him for five seconds. Remember, five seconds." Doctor Doom activated a device on his armor, and his presence rapidly diminished. Though everyone knew he had not turned invisible, once their eyes met the ripples emanating from his armor, it became easy to overlook the living man.
"Mr. Sitwell, please negotiate with them on our behalf!" said a European middle-aged woman.
"Yes, yes, please, you must agree to this request."
"Ow, my knee! Mr. Sitwell, I'd really like to go with you, but my leg was injured in the war years ago, and it hurts unbearably now..."
A crowd of people chimed in, all wanting Baldy to take the lead. Obama had stopped kicking his legs and lay on the ground with an exaggerated expression, pretending to be dead. Russia's leader was also gasping for breath, slumped to one side as though he did not have long to live.
A bunch of cowards! Well-traveled and knowledgeable as he was, Baldy had utterly failed to see just how abundant the energy inside Pharaoh Akhenaten was. He stretched out his right hand and summoned Gungnir with a standard Thor gesture. As he stepped forward, the Mindless Armor automatically equipped itself around him.
If a hideous monster five meters tall and weighing a thousand tons had appeared before him now, he definitely would have backed down. Even if Doctor Doom—or even Director Daisy—had tried to encourage him, it would not have helped...
But Pharaoh Akhenaten's appearance was still some distance from terrifying. He was the same height as an ordinary person, just a little dark-skinned. Had Baldy not seen plenty of Black people before? What was there to fear?
If Daisy had been present, she would certainly have been