Night had fallen.
On the rooftop of X Pet Shop, there was a grassy area specially set aside for the cats and dogs to play on during the day.
“Bi-bi!”
Celebi happily darted back and forth above the grass.
The tremendous vitality emanating from its body made the lawn beneath it grow even greener, overflowing with vigorous life energy.
Adrian Cross, meanwhile, was comfortably basking in that vitality as his thoughts raced.
Now that he had obtained Confusion, he could technically be considered a superpowered individual himself.
And he also had Celebi at his side.
The little creature might look adorable, but its status as a Mythical Pokémon was no joke.
At the very least, Adrian Cross could now be considered someone with genuine power on Earth.
But…
“It’s still not enough.”
Adrian Cross muttered to himself.
The sheer number of dangers Earth would face over the next few years was enough to make one’s head spin.
The Chitauri, the Dark Lord Dormammu, the king of the Dark Elves, and all sorts of other aliens would come one after another, practically treating Earth like a tourist destination.
And setting everything else aside, Adrian Cross would inevitably have to confront the problem of Thanos arriving a few years from now.
As the universe’s self-appointed director of population control, that purple sweet potato’s snap wasn’t going to spare Adrian Cross just because he was a transmigrator.
“I’ll have to deal with that purple sweet potato before I can peacefully enjoy my lazy life.”
Adrian Cross understood that perfectly well, so he began thinking about how he could obtain more Points.
“…Celebi, got any ideas?”
“Bi-bi?”
Celebi blinked its large eyes adorably, clearly having no idea what its master was talking about.
But just then…
Boom!
A massive explosion erupted from a street in the distance, booming through the night like thunder.
Along with the explosion came the blaring alarms of countless cars, and Adrian Cross could see thick black smoke rising in the distance.
At a glance, he could tell that it was coming from somewhere around Brooklyn.
“Celebi, let’s go take a look.”
Figuring he had nothing better to do sitting around at home anyway, Adrian Cross immediately stood up.
After returning Celebi to the System Space, he casually activated Confusion.
Adrian Cross’s body effortlessly broke free from gravity, and he flew through the night toward the rising smoke.
His flying speed was quite fast, so it only took him a few minutes to reach the scene.
He landed in a deserted alley where no one could see him.
But just as Adrian Cross stepped onto the street, before he could even get a clear look at what was happening, a Jeep traveling at a speed that was unquestionably illegal came barreling toward him.
“Hahahaha!
You idiot cops think you can stop me?
Eat shit!”
Atop the Jeep, a man wearing a black cap and looking every bit the stereotypical criminal was wildly spraying machine-gun fire at the police behind them.
When Adrian Cross suddenly appeared ahead, the robber behind the wheel froze for a moment.
But instead of slowing down, he floored the accelerator and drove straight at Adrian Cross.
Faced with the Jeep hurtling toward him, Adrian Cross said nothing.
Since the other party was clearly trying to kill him, Adrian Cross wasn’t about to let himself be pushed around.
So he casually stomped his foot.
Of course, the gesture was completely unnecessary.
He simply thought it looked cooler that way.
Boom!
The next instant, the Jeep was struck by an enormous invisible force and sent flying sideways.
It rolled four or five times across the road before finally coming to a stop on its side.
As for the robber who had been firing from the top of the Jeep, he was thoroughly dead.
“Robbers?”
Adrian Cross looked at the bundles of U.S.
dollars spilling from the bags that had tumbled out of the vehicle and roughly guessed what kind of people they were.
[Congratulations, host.
You have defeated the enemy ‘Robber’ and obtained 1 System Point.
Summoned Pokémon Celebi has gained 1 Experience Point.]
“…I can actually earn Points from taking out ordinary mooks like these?”
Adrian Cross hadn’t expected that at all when the System’s notification suddenly sounded.
But while Adrian Cross was momentarily distracted, the robber who had been sitting in the driver’s seat struggled out of the wrecked vehicle, his body covered in blood.
“You bastard!”
The robber clearly had no idea what had just happened, but he at least knew what he intended to do next.
He immediately grabbed the light machine gun beside the driver’s seat, chambered a round, pointed it at Adrian Cross, and opened fire.
“Bastard!
I’ll show you what happens when you mess with me!”
“Courting death.”
Adrian Cross had no idea who the man was, but one look was enough to tell him that this was a hardened criminal who had almost certainly killed before.
So Adrian Cross had no intention of showing mercy.
He simply raised his right hand.
“Stop!”
The instant his hand rose, every bullet flying toward him abruptly froze in midair.
The sight resembled the bullet-time scene from The Matrix, bizarre and fantastical in equal measure.
“Y-you’re a mutant…”
The robber’s eyes widened in horror at the impossible sight.
“You cannon-fodder villains really need an education.
Does everyone with superpowers have to be a mutant?”
Adrian Cross muttered casually before waving his hand again.
The bullets instantly reversed direction, flying back toward the robber at the same speed they had come.
A series of wet thuds rang out.
The robber was hurled backward and collapsed onto the ground, completely motionless.
“Cool!”
But at the exact moment Adrian Cross finished off the robber, a voice came from above him.
Adrian Cross turned his head and saw a metal-clad figure hovering in the air not far away.
With that red-and-gold armor and the slightly flippant way he spoke, there was no way Adrian Cross could fail to recognize the man before him.
Tony Stark.
CEO of Stark Industries and a famously wealthy billionaire.
Of course, he also had another identity—
the world-famous superhero known as Iron Man.