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Pedestrians on the street suddenly looked up at the sky, eyes fixed on a figure flying at high speed. Someone gasped:
"Sh*t… Did we seriously just attract Superman?!"
At that moment, Obadiah felt like he'd just walked into a bathhouse and found himself surrounded by a special forces unit—absolute panic.
CLANG!
But soon, he realized it wasn't Superman. A red-and-gold armored figure dropped from the sky like a meteor, landing on one knee right in front of his car.
"I don't care who you are—DIE!"
Obadiah's face twisted with rage. He slammed his foot down on the gas pedal, speeding straight toward the metal man.
BANG!
With a loud crash, the front of the luxurious Rolls-Royce crumpled like a soda can.
THUD!
Obadiah's head slammed into the airbag with a sickening sound.
"You forced me to do this…"
Dizzy and dazed, he shook his head. But instead of backing off, the madness in his eyes only deepened. With a trembling hand, he pulled out a small vial of pale yellow fluid and jammed it into his body.
"I, Obadiah, ain't gonna be human anymore!"
The next second, a terrifying force surged through his body.
A primal, savage madness flooded his brain like a tidal wave.
Meanwhile, in Antarctica...
Inside a large, empty high-tech lab.
A glowing "sun" sat in the middle of the lab, radiating intense light.
A group of scientists stood around it, making the final checks before starting the shrinking experiment.
"Mr. Superman, everything's ready. We can begin the miniaturization test."
Dr. Hank Pym gave the setup one last careful inspection before turning to Peter, who was standing a short distance away.
"Then let's get started…"
Truthfully, after hours of prep, Peter couldn't wait any longer.
"Everyone, clear the area around the artificial star! We're starting the experiment!" Hank called out to the team.
Right now, Dr. Pym was clearly the lead on this entire operation.
He reached into the bag he'd brought and pulled out two red vials of Pym Particles.
"So this… is the legendary Pym Particle?"
Everyone around couldn't help but stare, eyes full of curiosity and awe.
Ever since Peter had brought them here—okay, "kidnapped" might be more accurate—they'd witnessed several world-shaking pieces of tech firsthand.
In just over a month, Earth had seen more upgrades than it had in decades. They were honestly starting to go numb.
But even so, the idea that something could shrink matter by adjusting molecular spacing? That was still mind-blowing.
"I really hope… I made the right call," Dr. Pym muttered to himself, staring at the tech he'd devoted his entire life to developing. His eyes hardened with resolve.
Without hesitation, he injected the red Pym Particle fluid into the vibranium housing surrounding the artificial star.
"Now, activate the energy shield!"
With that, Pym quickly stepped away from the star, heading to a safe distance.
Reed didn't hesitate—he hit the button to raise the protective energy field.
In an instant, a transparent energy dome appeared, completely enclosing the artificial sun.
They were confident in their preparations, but just in case things went south, they didn't want everyone but Peter ending up as barbecue.
Safety was top priority.
"Alright everyone… keep your eyes wide open."
To have his life's work recognized by this many top minds—it was a huge honor for Hank Pym.
The next moment, he pressed the button on the shrink controller.
Bzzz… BZZZ…
Right away, strange energy ripples pulsed from the star inside the force field. It looked like it had come to life—like a heart slowly starting to beat, leaving afterimages in the air with each pulse.
The pulsing got faster…
Then suddenly—
The artificial sun disappeared in an instant!
No—wait. It didn't vanish completely. The glow was still there, lighting up the lab. It had just… gotten smaller.
"Wait… it really worked?! That's insane!"
Everyone's eyes were glued to the lab floor, where the artificial sun now sat—shrunken down to the size of a freakin' egg.
"We… we actually did it."
Dr. Pym broke into a small smile and calmly announced their success.
"This is... unbelievable."
Everyone stared at the tiny "star" with wide eyes, afraid it might vanish if they blinked.
"Dr. Pym, thanks for your hard work."
Peter's gaze was calm and steady as he slowly expressed his gratitude to Dr. Pym.
"By the way, since you can shrink an artificial star… is it possible to shrink a real one?"
"Mister Superman, please… don't joke like that…"
Dr. Pym instantly broke into a cold sweat. Shrinking a real star? He couldn't believe Peter actually said that out loud.
"It's fine, I was just curious."
Peter chuckled and didn't press further.
"Well… it's not entirely impossible. If we could build a Dyson Sphere, maybe…"
Dr. Pym said, clearly unsure of himself.
"Dyson Sphere?"
Peter murmured the term and quietly committed it to memory.
"You guys wait out here. I'll go in and check it out first."
Even though the artificial star had been successfully shrunk, there was always the chance something could still go wrong.
Peter walked into the protective field unscathed, resisting its force with nothing but his own body. He slowly picked up the shining star—now about the size of an egg—from the ground.
"Nice… holding the sun and moon in my hands, huh…"
He raised the blazing artificial star and examined it carefully.
After confirming there were no issues, Peter didn't hesitate to press it to his chest, slotting it perfectly into the opening in his nano suit that had been prepared for it in advance.
The moment he did, the nano suit surged to life. Nanoparticles instantly wrapped around the mini "star," fully enclosing it.
The arc reactor, which had been powering the suit until now, dimmed and shut down. It detached from the suit and dropped to the ground.
Then, Peter's body began to lift slowly into the air, as a surge of pure solar energy started pouring into him without end.
[Congratulations, Host. All of your abilities have been fully awakened!]
From the star embedded in his chest, golden energy—like sunlight—began flowing along the patterns of the black nano suit, glowing and rippling like liquid as it spread through his entire body.
Even his bright red cape was now lit up with this radiant solar glow, casting a shimmering golden light.
The golden glow lit up Peter's sharp, defined features, making him look like he was forged from gold—commanding and divine.
And in that moment, under the awestruck gaze of everyone around him…
He looked like a true god among men—the Golden Superman.
Meanwhile, on a bustling street in New York City...
Tony walked toward a Rolls-Royce that he'd just forcefully stopped. He was about to open the door and "rescue" Obadiah from inside.
ROAR!
Suddenly, an inhuman roar echoed through the street.
The roof of the Rolls-Royce bulged like it was being pushed up from the inside by something massive—then it exploded open.
"Jarvis, what the hell is going on?" Tony stared in shock and asked urgently.
"Sir, it appears to be similar to the creature you encountered earlier. Mr. Stane seems to have used some kind of special serum."
"This guy… is he seriously trying to get himself killed?"
Tony never imagined his uncle would go this far off the deep end.
ROAR!
With a massive roar, the entire car was ripped apart. A monstrous figure appeared, making everyone around scream in terror.
"Crap! Run! Another monster attack!"
"Why does this keep happening to us?"
"That's it. I'm done. I'm moving out of New York—this city's way too dangerous!"
The traumatized bystanders ran for their lives, all silently swearing they'd had enough.
The monster's wild, murderous eyes locked straight onto Tony, who was still frozen in place.
Then, with another roar, it clenched its massive fists and charged right at him.
"Uncle Obadiah, it's me!"
Tony opened his helmet, revealing his face in hopes of snapping his uncle out of it.
"Tony? What the—how is it you?"
Obadiah's giant fist stopped just inches from Tony, shock and disbelief all over his twisted face.
"Heh… well if it's you, that makes this even better!"
In the very next second, the fist that had stopped suddenly slammed forward, smashing into Tony's chest and sending him flying.
BOOM!
The impact launched Tony hundreds of meters through the air, slamming him into the side of a building like a human missile.
"Cough… good thing I planned for something like this and upgraded the shock absorbers…"
Tony muttered, relieved that he at least cared about his armor's defense systems—unlike some people.
"Well, since you made the first move… don't blame your nephew for hitting back!"
With that, Tony blasted out of the building, flying straight at the monster in a full-speed charge.
But just before he could reach it, a golden blur flashed past him—someone even faster.
A blinding golden beam shot out from the figure's eyes, instantly piercing the monster straight through.
One-hit KO.
"…Did that guy just get a new skin?"
"....."