News About Superman

A few days passed quickly.

The Stark household remained as calm as ever.

Every day, Leon clocked in to bask in the sun, waiting for the new academic year to begin.

As usual, Tony never went to work. The moment he woke up each morning, he stuffed buttered bread into his mouth and rushed off to the Middle East.

According to him, the inherently wicked Ten Rings would soon disappear from the world.

And ever since he had coordinated with Rhodey, the military had never managed to track him down again.

As for Pepper, she had discovered Tony returning home in armor riddled with bullet holes the evening before last, and she had been quite angry.

But as usual, there was nothing she could do about Tony. After getting angry, she still diligently shouldered the heavy responsibility of advancing Stark Industries every day.

That was life in the Stark household. Like the sea beyond the mansion, waves occasionally surged, but most of the time, it was peaceful enough to seem utterly carefree.

But for the rest of the world, the effects of Superman's appearance had begun to ferment, and hidden currents stirred on all sides.

"KNKV Television Station reporting."

That morning, after Leon returned from his morning training in space and finished making breakfast, he saw KNKV's report about Superman on television.

"Superman has appeared in our world. That now seems beyond doubt."

The female anchor held her script, her expression grave.

"Though he has not appeared again in recent days, countless people are still proving his existence and praying for his return."

"What he did that night completely changed our world."

As her voice fell, the news footage switched to a noisy press conference.

At the podium stood only a middle-aged Afghan man with graying hair and beard.

Flashes of every size went off constantly below the stage, but his eyes remained fixed on the camera, bright and intense.

"It was Superman who saved our country and our people!"

He raised his voice as much as he could, seemingly trying to make his words all the more thunderous.

"I was fortunate enough to capture him on camera that night. He was fighting for us!"

"He is Superman, the one upon whom all things depend! He came from nowhere and goes nowhere. Nothing can stand against him!"

"He is our god, our savior! The Father is in him, and he is one with the Father!"

At the same time, someone brought a thick monitor behind the middle-aged man. Once it lit up, it began playing footage of Superman facing missiles head-on.

"Look at him! How magnificent he is! He drove away every wolf, and we are all his lambs!" the man shouted at the camera.

The footage finally ended there, and the view returned to KNKV's live news studio.

The female anchor sat upright. "The man in the footage is Abdullah, an Afghan war correspondent. He once captured footage of Superman's first appearance and raised his arms at a press conference, declaring Superman to be the reincarnation of Allah's Holy Spirit."

"During this time, countless others have also stepped before the cameras to recount what they witnessed of Superman entering reality."

The footage switched again.

A little girl spoke firmly during an interview with a reporter. "That night, two bad guys tried to break in. Superman suddenly appeared and stopped them!"

The girl's father also said, "Superman said the Ten Rings would soon be far away from us, and he truly did it! Not only that, now even the Americans..."

The rest of his words were not aired, and the news footage cut to someone else.

"He fell from the sky! Like a shooting star! I didn't make a wish, but he destroyed the terrorist who wanted to force himself on my sister!" a boy described, gesturing wildly.

There was much more footage like that.

There was a clip of Afghan guards saluting a photograph of Superman;

footage of everyone in a ruined village weeping and shouting Superman's name before a rice field;

and more...

Only after a full five minutes of related material did the live broadcast return to the studio.

"As more and more people confirm Superman's existence, we must begin considering what kind of impact he will have on our society!"

"Is he like the Superman from the comics—just and selfless, a God of Man?"

"Or is he merely a clumsy imitator in a uniform, using Superman's name to satisfy his own vanity?"

"According to information obtained by our station's reporters, a large number of our returning soldiers were forced under Superman's pressure to abandon their aid to local residents yesterday."

"Whether he is a dictator or a hypocrite behind a mask, we do not know. We cannot immediately make the correct judgment."

"Next, let us hear sociologist Francis Windham's analysis..."

Leon propped up his chin and watched with interest as the scholar who had just appeared spoke eloquently about Superman.

From comic-book analysis to reality, from his clothing to his childhood, he spoke as if it all made perfect sense. His final conclusion was that Superman was a paranoid maniac who loved drinking milk.

His analysis was so packed with quotations and references that Leon himself was nearly convinced.

"You're watching this boring coverage again? Haven't you had enough after all these days?" Tony asked as he came downstairs.

"It's either endless praise or completely extreme condemnation. What's so interesting about these opinions?"

"Especially these television stations. They've all taken political funding and want to turn you into a complete villain."

"Why is it that you always find this stuff so entertaining?"

He slammed a rolled-up newspaper onto the table and dropped down beside Leon.

"And look at the garbage these people are writing. It's all Superman. Haven't they ever read comics? They see one Superman and get this excited?"

Leon lowered his gaze and glanced at it.

The newspaper read: "Mysterious Armored Man Appears Again in the Middle East—A Clumsy Imitation of Superman!"

So that was the problem.

Tony had worked himself to the bone for several days, basically wiping out the Ten Rings across most of the Middle East.

Yet almost none of the media had reported on him.

Even when they did, they only mentioned him briefly before immediately shifting the topic back to Superman.

No wonder Tony was so resentful. He was not someone who liked doing good deeds without receiving recognition.

"Maybe you could buy a newspaper and have them write reports specifically about you."

"The headline could be: 'Iron Man Returns, the Hero Protecting Middle Eastern Civilians!' What do you think?"

Tony raised an eyebrow. "That's a pretty good suggestion, but you know I'm not the vain type. I'm standing up for you, Leon!"

"Oh, please. If you really wanted to stand up for me, you'd be better off stuffing some money into those media outlets so they'd learn to tell the truth," Leon said.

Tony got up and took a piece of bread from the dining table.

"If you want, I can do that."

He ate as he spoke. "But do you really think it's necessary?"

"No." Leon still propped up his chin. "Once Hydra is destroyed and my strength is on display, the media will naturally speak for me."

"That's exactly right!" Tony said approvingly, tapping the screen with his index finger.

"The media only praises those who can make them shut up!"