Chapter 72: Super X-Ray Vision
2023-05-02 Author: Yue Shang Xintou
"Tony, how much longer?"
"5350km to our destination, expected to take another week."
Inside the cockpit, Howard asked.
As a product of the last century, the Narwhal's cruising speed was average, and its old hull couldn't sustain very high speeds.
This world's Howard had lost the backing of Stark Industries and seemed less wealthy than the Iron Man Colin remembered. For transport, he could only use equipment discarded by the US Military.
…
"Adeline wants to join The Resistants."
Inside the cabin, Hawkeye Clint was talking with Nick Fury.
"Did you tell her the cause of Jacques' death?"
Shaking his head, Clint replied silently, "She found out herself. Apparently, Jacques left some things behind."
…
"..."
In the narrow cabin lounge, The Punisher Frank stared blankly at a photo in his hand.
A hint of softness appeared on his stern face.
The combination of Super X-Ray Vision and Super Hearing allowed Colin to see everything within the entire Narwhal without moving.
"Too bad, I'm still missing Super Telescopic Vision," Colin muttered regretfully to himself while observing the movements of the Dark Avengers members with his Super X-Ray Vision.
Currently, he had only unlocked Superman's X-Ray Vision, which allowed him to easily see through the Narwhal's structure. However, it clearly couldn't help him see further. According to Colin's estimation, with his Super X-Ray Vision, he could at most see objects within fifty meters inside the vessel; any further and he couldn't see clearly.
This wasn't a limitation of Super X-Ray Vision itself, but simply because Colin's current visual range only allowed him to see objects clearly within that distance. He could still see further, but not very clearly. Therefore, he couldn't apply his X-ray Vision to those distances. After all, what he unlocked was Super X-Ray Vision, not Super Telescopic Vision.
Perhaps he should find an opportunity to unlock Superman's telescopic vision ability as well.
And while he was at it, he should also expand the Messenger Newspaper in the Main World.
With The Messenger's hot sales and Messenger Comics' distribution gradually getting on track, it was time to consider the Newspaper Office's issues.
He couldn't possibly keep relying on Old John and Little John, the father and son, to do all the work. Even during The Great Depression, if Colin decided to use the father and son as tools day and night, no one would bother him, a capitalist. In fact, Old John and his son might even be grateful to him for providing them with work opportunities.
However, for a Newspaper Office to be maintained by just one typesetter and one reporter who was almost a comic editor, it was clearly understaffed. This wasn't an issue in the past when the Messenger Newspaper was on the verge of bankruptcy. After all, the Newspaper Office was almost collapsing, and he, the boss, was about to face unemployment, so why hire anyone? But now, in the Main World, the Newspaper Office's sales were flourishing, and its scope of business was gradually expanding, so it was time to consider hiring people.
While it was true that Colin, having unlocked Super Brainpower, could effectively do the work of two people alone and barely cope with the lack of manpower in the Newspaper Office, he was, after all, the Newspaper Office boss and also the author of the Superman Comic. He couldn't constantly have his energy tied up by the Newspaper Office's trivial matters. That wouldn't be very capitalistic at all.
Meanwhile, Colin was using his Super Brainpower to multitask, observing the situation inside the Narwhal vessel while also contemplating the Newspaper Office's development in the Main World.
Suddenly, his Super Hearing detected something amiss, coming from not far behind him.
Looking in that direction, under the effect of his Super X-Ray Vision, Colin quickly saw Scott, about five or six meters behind him, behind the submarine's deck. Scott was wearing his specialized Ant-Man Suit, which came from Hank Pym. He took a deep breath and put on the Helmet he held in his hand.
"This isn't revenge. I'm just practicing for the upcoming action."
Muttering to himself, Scott stretched his neck and pressed the button on the side of his index finger.
The next instant, he vanished into thin air.
It seemed that not only Super Telescopic Vision but also Microscopic Vision were among the powers I needed to unlock.
Scott didn't vanish into thin air, of course. He had merely shrunk to a size imperceptible to the naked eye under the effect of the Ant-Man Suit.
The Ant-Man Suit was also Dr. Hank Pym's greatest invention besides Ultron.
During World War II, Dr. Hank Pym had collaborated with Dr. Phineas Horton to research unknown Subatomic Particles. Although the two eventually parted ways due to differences in their research philosophies, Dr. Hank Pym continued experimenting and eventually discovered a type of Subatomic Particles that could change the size of objects, naming them "Pym Particles" after himself.
Later, Dr. Hank Pym even integrated "Pym Particles" into a combat suit, allowing himself the powers to freely change the size of his body and control all types of Ants. For a period after that, he utilized this power to briefly engage in Superhero activities during World War II.
However, everything ended with the conclusion of World War II and the defeat of the Allied Powers.
The Ant-Man Suit Scott was wearing came from Hank Pym's residence. To be precise, Scott had stolen it from his home.
Of course, to a certain extent, this was also under Hank Pym's special permission. After all, as the first Ant-Man and the scientist who created Ultron, if Hank had wanted to, Scott would have had no chance to enter his residence at all, much less access the suit he left behind.
…
"Anthony, come closer..."
Using the Ant-Man Suit to shrink his body to a size imperceptible to the naked eye, Scott controlled a Carpenter Ant with the Brainwave Device inside his Helmet, making it flap its wings and fly towards Colin in the Narwhal's corridor.
Under normal circumstances, it would be extremely difficult to detect Scott's presence when he operated at his current size. This was why Nick Fury sought him out to execute the infiltration mission.
However, Colin, who had obviously unlocked Superman's powers, was already beyond the scope of normal circumstances. Even without Microscopic Vision, he still couldn't immediately detect Scott's presence.
However, his Super Hearing had clearly picked up the buzzing sound made by the Carpenter Ant's flapping wings, which is almost impossible for an ordinary person to do. Especially with the Narwhal's engine operating noise, the ant's flight sound was completely suppressed. Yet, with the aid of Super Brainpower, Colin easily isolated it.
Looking in the direction of the sound, he immediately noticed the constantly flickering black Figurine in mid-air.
Without a doubt, he was Ant-Man, or rather, Scott.
(end of chapter)