Strategic Operations Department.
Hannibal Lecter was slowly cutting a cake with a small knife.
" Victoria," he said without looking up, "What's new on today's menu?"
Victoria Hand sat opposite him and turned the tablet she was holding towards him.
"The target has changed, Doctor."
The list no longer features warlords and politicians, but rather young faces, each labeled with their "superpowers."
A guy named " Spark " can discharge electricity, but he can't control it well. He can steal an ATM and cause a blackout in half a street.
The solution is "accidental electric shock".
Another guy, nicknamed " Rock," had skin that could harden. He fought in underground boxing matches and injured many people. The solution was for him to "accidentally die" during the fight.
Hannibal wiped his mouth with a napkin.
"Too rough."
He commented that it was like a gourmet eating leftovers.
"A group of savages who had just learned to use fire were waving torches around aimlessly, unaware that fire could be used for cooking."
"They're not criminals, Victoria." Hannibal looked up. "They're unauthorized defective products who have ruined the reputation of superpowers."
Victoria nodded. "So, we need to clean up the market."
Hannibal put a small piece of cake in his mouth, tasted it, and said, "Get all these knockoffs off the shelves."
His gaze lingered on the last person on the list; the photo showed a young man in his early twenties.
Code name: Phantom.
"That's interesting," he said, pointing to the name.
Victoria quickly retrieved his information.
"He can teleport. In the past six months, he's gotten into the vaults of major Wall Street firms thirteen times using this trick."
"He didn't take a single penny; he only stole documents related to the company's falsified accounts and insider trading, then anonymously sent them to the media, causing several stock market disturbances."
The screen even showed footage of him moving things from the Vought warehouse.
"He also stole a batch of military nutritional supplements from one of our warehouses and gave them to people in the slums."
A modern-day Robin Hood?
"Yes." Victoria's tone turned serious. "The problem is, the public buys into it. Online, everyone's calling him a hero who rebels against capitalism. He's more popular than several of our B-grade heroes."
"A living public relations disaster."
"Just take it out?"
In the corner, Jenkins, a young planning officer eager to show off, chimed in.
"Let something unexpected happen when he teleports. For example, he might accidentally teleport into the wall, or... into the middle of the Pacific Ocean."
"No."
Hannibal looked at Jenkins as if he were looking at a fool who wanted to eat steak with ketchup.
"A tragic hero who fought against large corporations for the poor and ultimately died in an accident; his death was more troublesome than his life."
He picked up his coffee cup. "The dumbest thing to do when dealing with this kind of idol is to take direct action."
"We can't kill his people," Hannibal smiled at Victoria. "What we want to kill is his reputation."
No one spoke in the meeting room.
"Doctor, you mean..."
"Frame him." Hannibal's tone became lighthearted. "Give him a crime he can't clear his name for. Nothing destroys faith more than watching a hero fall from grace, and that feeling... is truly wonderful."
"For example?"
Hannibal's smile was enigmatic, "Send him to attack an orphanage? To steal the children's lunch money?"
"No, that's too gentle." He shook his head again, finding the idea uninspiring. "We need something more ruthless."
He looked at Victoria: "Darling, how much popularity do you think a city thief who sneaks into an ordinary house to target a ten-year-old girl has left?"
The young planning officer Jenkins, turned his head away at the thought of the scene, feeling nauseous.
"A perfect plan."
Victoria, however, had an appreciative expression on her face.
"This could turn him from a hero into a monster that everyone spits on."
"Then... who will play him?"
We have professional actors.
Hannibal laughed.
He picked up his tablet and sent out the task directly.
[TO: Intelligence and Infiltration Department, Head: Ada Wong]
[Mission: Image Destruction]
[Target: Phantom ( Leo Cohen)]
[Requirement: Skrulls No. 07, disguised as the target, execute " Violet " plan. Ensure the entire process is filmed.]
Queens, a middle-class community.
A black van was parked in the Shadow on the street corner.
Inside the car, Ada Wong herself was seated.
I was really bored today, so I decided to come out and watch a live stream.
The screen in front of me is monitoring a villa not far away, which is tonight's "stage".
Standing next to her was a man—" Phantom," Leo Cohen.
Or rather, Skrulls No. 07.
A perfect substitute.
He not only looks just like Leo Cohen, but he also perfectly captures that carefree, irreverent attitude.
He is a perfect actor.
"Let's begin."
Ada tilted her head slightly towards the " Phantom " beside her.
The Skrulls grinned, looking exactly like Leo Cohen.
The next second.
He vanished on the spot.
On the main screen, his figure appears in the children's bedroom on the second floor of the villa.
Inside the room, a little girl was fast asleep in bed, hugging a plush bear.
" Phantom " made no noise and didn't touch the girl.
He was just acting, following a script, performing a pantomime that could ruin an idol.
He feigned greed as he surveyed the pink bedroom, the hidden camera clearly capturing the sickly expression on his face.
He walked to the bedside, then reached out and slowly reached for the blanket covering the girl.
Just then...
A family car drove in from outside the villa.
The girl's parents happened to be home.
The door lock clicked.
" Phantom " quickly put on a panicked expression and then made a noise.
"Who's upstairs?!"
A man's alert shout came from downstairs.
Immediately following was a woman's piercing scream.
" Amy!"
Cries and footsteps mingled in a chaotic mess.
" Phantom " turned around in a panic and teleported away through the wall.
As he disappeared, one of his gloves "accidentally" got caught on a latch on the windowsill and fell to the floor.
Those were custom-made gloves modified by Leo Cohen himself.
Made by Vought, it's even more authentic than the real thing.
The physical evidence is perfect; the charge is established.
Less than three minutes.
Nina Williams led a team of Vought's internal security personnel in and stormed in immediately.
"Seal off the area! No media allowed near!"
She glanced at the little girl, who was being held tightly in her mother's arms and trembling with fear, and then at the gloves on the ground.
Her deputy had already taken out a encrypted phone and dialed the number of the editor-in-chief of Vought News Network.
"We have a headline."
"The city's thief ' Phantom,' a devil beneath the hero's aura, sneaks into a house at night with the intention of assaulting a young girl..."
"Yes, the evidence at the scene is conclusive."
The story was written the moment it happened.
Inside the command vehicle, Ada Wong cut off all communications.
She took out a cigarette, lit it, and sent a message to Hannibal Lecter.
"The play ended, and the actors' performances were perfect."
Outside the city, a cheap motel.
The real Leo Cohen is leaning against the bed, drinking beer and watching an old movie.
Suddenly, the movie was interrupted by breaking news.
His face appeared on the screen, but not as a hero; he was a suspect.
At the bottom of the screen, the red scrolling text is eye-catching.
[Urban thief " Phantom " suspected of breaking into a home and assaulting a girl; police have identified the suspect]
The news anchor, in a somber tone, reported on the "horrific crime" that had just occurred in Queens.
The image shows a close-up of his glove.
Leo Cohen was completely dumbfounded.
His expression changed from blank to incredulous.
He looked down at his hands.
The beer can slipped from his hand and fell to the ground, spilling beer everywhere.