"Attention, robbers inside the vehicle—you are now surrounded by me alone. Surrender immediately. You have the right to remain silent, but everything you say will be recorded and may be used as evidence in court!"
Carl smashed the windshield with one punch and rattled off a long string of words.
"So this is what it feels like when they say this stuff in those Hong Kong cop dramas…"
The robber jerked the steering wheel violently. The truck spun into a full one-hundred-and-eighty-degree drift, and the massive inertia flung Carl straight off the roof.
"Hahaha! A little brat trying to play superhero? Go die!"
The robbers burst out laughing. Carl was only in his early twenties—nothing more than a kid in their eyes.
Suddenly, a green wind blade appeared in front of the truck. Before the robbers could even react, it sliced cleanly through the vehicle.
The truck split straight down the middle. With the driver and passenger still wearing blank expressions, the vehicle disintegrated and slammed into a roadside fire hydrant.
Banknotes filled the air like confetti, and pedestrians immediately began scrambling to grab the money. Carl ignored the cash entirely and walked straight up to the robber in the passenger seat—the one who had just mocked him.
"You may call a lawyer. If you can't afford one, you have the right to request legal aid."
As he finished speaking, Carl punched the man in the face. Blood sprayed instantly as the robber's nose shattered. His head lolled to the side and he passed out. The driver had already lost consciousness without making a sound.
Onlookers tried to rush forward to seize the intact bags of money, but Carl casually waved his hand. A violent gust of wind blew them straight back.
"Do you want to become robbers too?"
Carl's gaze was sharp, like that of a hawk, fixed on those who had tried to grab the money bags. He didn't care about the loose bills scattered everywhere—that was picking up dropped cash. But the intact bags were different. Taking those was robbery.
Unfortunately, Carl underestimated the American people's passion for "freedom." Once one person moved, others quickly followed. Plenty of people were already eyeing the money greedily.
"Everyone, get him! He's just one guy—we've got dozens of people! First come, first served!"
Someone shouted, and the crowd surged forward. Some even pulled out guns. A very American scene.
Carl was instantly annoyed. To him, they were nothing but a mob. Typical Anglos—violence etched into their bones. A people who survived through plunder and bloodshed.
Boom!
Flames erupted into the sky. Several arcs of fire instantly formed around Carl, sealing off a five-meter radius. At the same time, lightning crashed down from above, reducing the first wave of attackers to charred corpses.
"Anyone who wants to die—take one more step forward."
Carl didn't bother raising his voice. Fire and lightning coiled around him.
"Don't be afraid! He's only one person—we can—"
Slash.
A wind blade tore through the speaker, shredding him into more than a dozen pieces.
"Don't make me say it a second time."
Carl's voice was calm, but icy to the bone. There was a reason the Romans once called them barbarians—these people acted without thinking. No wonder all they ever did was pillage.
His display completely cowed the crowd. Their first instinct was to run—now realizing they might be arrested as accomplices.
But Carl had no intention of letting them escape. Flames surged up instantly, encircling those who had tried to loot the money bags and trapping them in the center.
"Now you want to run? Too late."
At that moment, more than a dozen police cars finally arrived. The officers were stunned by the scene before them—especially the people trapped inside the ring of fire.
"What happened here?!" the police chief demanded, gun trained on Carl.
Carl pointed up at the surveillance camera above them.
"Check that, and you'll understand everything. The rest is up to you. Everyone inside the fire circle is a robber."
With that, he rose into the air and left without waiting for a response.
The chief immediately ordered an officer to retrieve the footage. Meanwhile, the people trapped by the flames began shouting accusations, claiming Carl was the real robber and that they were only trying to help.
As a veteran officer, the chief didn't trust one-sided claims. He had already recognized Carl. He had participated in the Battle of New York and, while evacuating civilians, had seen all the Avengers from afar—Carl included.
Between Carl and the people trapped in the flames, the chief trusted Carl far more.
Sure enough, after reviewing the surveillance footage on a tablet, the chief ordered all those inside the fire circle to be arrested.
The officers hesitated, unsure how to cross the flames—only for the fire to automatically part, opening a gap as they approached, allowing them to escort the suspects away without issue.
After the Battle of New York, the state government had expanded police recruitment. The existing force simply couldn't handle a city as disaster-prone as New York. With federal authorization, they had increased numbers across the board—local police, state troopers, and even the New York National Guard.
---
After regrouping with Peter, the two sat on a rooftop eating pizza. Carl preferred pizzas without fruit—just meat and sausage, as indulgent as possible.
"Aren't you worried about skipping the lab?" Carl said, chewing his pizza and washing it down with a big gulp of cola. "What if Pepper writes something like 'unsatisfactory' on your internship evaluation?"
"No chance," Peter replied casually. "Pepper would never do that. Besides, the lab's already full of people—one less won't matter. The AI simulations handle most of it anyway."
Carl nodded, then added, "I'm more worried that Felicia won't see you for too long and gets swept away by some handsome guy."
He was genuinely concerned. Felicia was stunning—way out of Peter's league. Yet Peter no longer clung to her like before. Where did all that puppy-love energy go?
"Relax," Peter said confidently. "That'll never happen. I know her. Anyone who tries to get close gets knocked flat."
"If you say so," Carl replied, shrugging.
They drank cola and looked out over the city. Sitting atop the second-tallest building in New York, most of Manhattan lay spread out beneath them. The tallest tower—the Stark Tower—stood nearby, its glowing logo shining day and night.
---
Meanwhile, in London, Darcy was flooring the accelerator of a rented car, weaving through the streets as she followed the detector's signal.
"So?" she said proudly. "London roads are completely under my control. I don't even need GPS."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For 20 advanced chapters, visit my Patreon:
Patreon - Twilight_scribe1
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you enjoyed Marvel Manifestor, please give it a Power Stone and leave a review! Your support means everything.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~