"Is Tony Stark crazy?" This was Natasha's first sentence as she walked in.
"He just finally understood, good for him." Nick spun around in his office chair.
"I don't quite get it," Natasha said, "Even if he's afraid we'll put him on trial again or worried that the old Iron Man might return one day to replace him, it shouldn't have changed him so drastically, right? Turned into a big philanthropist?"
"He hasn't changed at all," Nick said, "He's still a staunch capitalist; he's just realized that making money alone won't keep you alive."
Nick's words clearly had a deeper meaning, but Natasha didn't catch it. She tentatively asked, "Are you saying wealth could be plundered or something?"
"Of course not. Wealth at his level will only accumulate more and more." Nick's hands were resting on the table, his fingers interlaced, "Have you ever wondered why fate insists on making him play the villain?"
"Isn't it because he's inherently a villain?" Natasha said bluntly, "Because he was never a good person in the first place, causing some trouble seems only natural, right?"
"Let me put it another way," Nick said, "Why make him the first villain to appear?"
Natasha was about to say he wasn't exactly the first to appear, weren't there groups like the Court of Owls? But then she realized, groups like the Court of Owls and Hydra belonged to criminal organizations, which were somewhat different from individual criminals.
If you use the otherworldly visitors' arrival as the dividing line, the first to act up indeed was Iron Man. The problematic batch of fish wasn't created overnight.
"With so many super villains on two Earths combined, those wanting to sabotage weddings, destroy cities, or just vent, it wouldn't be his turn, right?" Nick added.
"True," Natasha agreed, "The Joker hasn't come out, neither have the folks from Arkham Asylum, and our Sinister Six isn't here either. Kingpin seemed to show up once before, but he didn't commit any crimes."
"Have you ever played video games?" Nick asked, "A game doesn't have just one boss; often, there's a small boss in the earlier stages, and only after several stages do you face a big boss."
"It's the same in movies. The protagonists might first deal with a minor villain, only for the stronger antagonist to appear later. Iron Man is playing the role of that minor villain. Can you guess why?"
"When you put it that way, it does seem odd. Iron Man is a well-established superhero," Natasha said with arms crossed, "In The Avengers, he held considerable influence, and even when entering the Rebirth Alliance, he was appointed as the head of strategic logistics. How did he become the first to appear as cannon fodder?"
"It's because he only wanted to make money," Nick finally revealed the answer, "Think about it, in movies, do those who chase money survive till the end?"
Natasha hadn't watched many movies, but she thought about it and realized it was true. Any villain with prestige either wants to conquer the world or to destroy it; no one is known purely for making money.
Only those mercenaries or regular people taking risks for money appear in the first scenes of movies and die within minutes.
"So, Iron Man was targeted first because he was too focused on making money and lacked ideals?"
Nick nodded and said, "Fate places such people upfront. The sooner they appear, the sooner they die, thus making room for the real big villains behind."
Natasha felt a chill, "There are even bigger villains?"
"Then who were we researching before?" Nick said, "It's obvious there's someone pulling strings from behind."
Natasha remembered, they had mentioned the Mutant case might not be entirely Iron Man's doing, which in movie terms is akin to foreshadowing a bigger villain lurking in the background.
"I didn't expect him to realize," Nick said with some amazement, "I initially intended to put him on trial and then kill him so we could move swiftly to the next chapter."
"Weren't you talking about faking his death?!" Natasha finally revealed the conspiracy she had with Nick.
"I arranged for a fake death, but fate would see it as a real death." Nick clearly had a good grasp of the situation, he said, "I could leave the gun unloaded, carry a bow without arrows, dig a trench only half a meter deep, and he would still die."
"And if he didn't step into the trap..."
"It proves someone else is helping him, and on a deeper level at that." Nick said, "First, they gather evidence to keep him off trial, then somehow make him aware of fate's existence, and find ways to alter his style to avoid being the first sacrificial pawn."
"In fact, I also gave him a hand," Nick said with some helplessness, "I almost told him outright not to obsess over money and instead to protect the world for a change, to be a proper Iron Man. As a first-tier hero, if you're running pyramid schemes, who else would be cannon fodder if not you?"
"So now he's disclosed the patent for the Extremis Virus and directly sent the research results to poorer countries. Is this his redemption?"
"He has very favorable conditions," Nick said, "If it were the previously righteous Iron Man, doing so would be expected because he was a good guy, and everyone assumed he would do just that."
"But as a saying goes, the prodigal son returns home, and no price is too high. If someone who was once a bad guy suddenly does something good, you'll find it more delightful. If he's actually changed for the better, more people would come to like him."
"In fact, those flawless good men are often criticized as hypocrites, while those who have done bad things, those with flaws, are praised for doing a little good as being warm-hearted despite a cold exterior."
"Fate manipulates us, and we can manipulate fate. As long as he grasps this and properly follows the road to redemption, not only does he not have to be cannon fodder, he doesn't even have to be a villain."
"But I don't think he minds being a villain," Natasha said, "Can he really be the normal Iron Man?"
"That depends on whether he learns his lesson." Nick said, "If he truly knows fear, he might just pretend well enough, at least be more cautious and get into less trouble."
"That's actually a good thing," Natasha said.
"But if he really decides to be a normal Iron Man, then he will again fall into Iron Man's destiny." Nick's tone was surprisingly relaxed, "Whatever bad things Iron Man encounters, he will also encounter. Whether he can handle it, no one knows."
"Everyone has their own fate to fight against." Natasha sighed, concluding, "It's a relentless spirit, isn't it."
"Do you think destiny is completely a bad thing?" Shiller looked at Superman and asked.
"Isn't it?!" Superman raised his voice, noticed people looking his way, then lowered his voice, "It keeps us from achieving what we could have, makes everyone listen to it, and even pinned me to the Origin Wall..."
"Then why aren't you dead?"
Superman opened his mouth.
"The best way to make someone shut up is to kill them completely. Surely you know that?"
Superman fell silent, then couldn't help but ask, "Then why not kill me?"
"That's something you need to figure out for yourself," Shiller said, "Regarding all the key nodal questions of destiny, they cannot be revealed by others, or they risk being noticed, and those who reveal could be entirely out of the game due to a series of coincidences. Just like you back then."
Superman showed a shocked expression again and said, "Is it that terrifying? Even those subtle hints won't do?"
"Not exactly," Shiller thought for a moment and said, "It might be difficult for others to understand, but it should be easy for you to think of. What's the best-selling comic in your universe?"
"Of course, it's 'Batman'." Superman replied, "He's the most popular superhero, though 'Superman' isn't bad either, just hasn't been doing so well these past few years, maybe because it's too traditional."
"Okay. Then suppose you're a fan of the Batman comics, and one day the comic company tells you that Batman has died, and they will never release another issue. How would you feel?"
"No way!" Superman stood up again. But then he sat down and said, "Batman is so amazing, how could he die? If he did, it must be a fake death, or it would be a rumor spread by Joker or... illusion technique! Batman can't possibly die."
"You don't seem to be faking it." Shiller commented.
Superman realized his indiscretion and felt a little embarrassed, saying, "I've read so many comics and indeed, I like 'Batman' the most. If they drew Batman as dead, I might go to the company and knock on their window, telling them to change the story to a fake death, or have him disappear and return after a few years..."
As he spoke, his complexion started to change, and his fingers began to tremble: "I really... I too am..."
Superman started breathing heavily. Shiller reminded him to take a sip of coffee. Superman gulped down a few sips, finally suppressing his panic.
"Now you've realized it's not entirely a bad thing. As long as destiny wants you alive, you just can't die. Is there anything more important in this world than being alive?"
"Moreover, even if not for yourself, ordinary people also want to live. What wrong have ordinary people in the cartoon world done? If you don't live well, wouldn't all the ordinary people in the entire universe have to die with you?"
"So Batman can't..."
Superman showed a pained expression, "I shouldn't have done that to him before..."
"Your entanglement with Batman can wait to be discussed." Shiller said, "Now you should understand part of the rules, right?"
Superman took a few more deep breaths, and after calming down, he said, "Can't speak plainly, can't spread it, nor can we resist too directly, and we must be careful not to resist too thoroughly."
Shiller nodded and said, "This can't be considered a revolution because the significance of many universes existing is to accept the arrangement of destiny. If you choose to completely overthrow, making their very existence lose meaning, everyone would perish."
"But not resisting isn't an option either. Destiny is rather rigid, or you could say limited, mostly just repeating the same moves. This doesn't benefit destiny at all. Like you said, why can't Superman comics outshine Batman?"
"Because Superman has been around for many years," Superman sighed, "and nearly every story is about Superman flying to save this and that, and everyone is a bit fed up with it."
Then his expression changed a bit, as he realized why Shiller said that resisting destiny and not letting superheroes repeat the same stuff is also good for destiny. Keep repeating like this, if the comic company goes bankrupt, everything's over.
"This is too hard." Superman wrinkled his entire face, "Can't talk about it, can't overtly resist, and can't be too aggressive; so what can be done?"
"If you're only starting to ponder this problem now, it's a bit late." Shiller said truthfully, "Even if you go back to hanging on the Origin Wall, it wouldn't matter anymore."
"No way," Superman shook his head like a rattle-drum, "I just won't go back! Now that I know, I have to do something... right, where's my invitation?"
"We did send it to you," Shiller said, "and the invitation was indeed delivered to the designated place. If you couldn't find it, it might have been taken by someone else."