Still Defiant! SI-OC [Marvel/DC] ENG

14: Metamorphosis

14: Metamorphosis

March 16, 2007.

In the end, Daniel had bought some stocks from Stark Industries, which almost put him in the red. He had been spending a lot lately and would soon have to find ways to start making money legitimately.

"Will I have to dust off my degree?"

He had never expected to have to practice his profession again, and certainly it wouldn't be as easy now that he had to obtain his certification again.

Fortunately, these were just idle thoughts. With his plans in motion, he wouldn't really have to get that job, or any kind of job.

If he really needed it, he would just go diving for a few hours in search of some treasure or something like that.

For now, that building in the distance seemed to be emitting too much smoke. Without hesitation, he hurried towards it.

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"The fire was quickly controlled by Defiant, authorities still unaware of its origin, but thanks to the hero's swift intervention, there are no casualties, and material damage is also kept to a minimum"

Carol watched the images broadcasted on the news from her cellphone, chewing her lunch with interest. She saw Daniel exhaling icy air, easily extinguishing the fire, and wondered how he did it.

Although he had taught her a lot during the past few days, it seemed he had skipped this part; she would have to ask him later.

"Things seem to be going quite well, don't they?" Chloe's voice caught Carol's attention, who turned to look at her, raising an eyebrow.

Chloe pointed at the images on the phone.

"You know, it's been months since he appeared, and so far, everything seems fine. I just wonder how long it will last"

That made Carol furrow her eyebrows.

"What do you mean?"

Chloe looked at her while taking a sip of water.

"A lot of people on the internet have been placing bets on when the first villain will appear or something like that. Many believe that since a comic book hero appeared in real life, it's likely there'll be someone or something like him to oppose him, like a supervillain or a monster."

Carol rolled her eyes; she wanted to tell Chloe that this wasn't a comic, that monsters didn't just appear out of nowhere in real life.

But before she could say anything, Chloe kept talking.

"I think it'll happen, sooner or later, something will go wrong. You know, this isn't a utopia. I like heroes like everyone else, but if we're realistic, for every yin, there's a yang. The question is, where is that yang? What motivations will it have? Will it be another person with superpowers? Or something else?"

Chloe began theorizing non-stop; as an aspiring journalist, extraordinary cases had always been her favorite. It's why she spent her time searching for and compiling data on Smallville's mysteries.

Carol shook her head; monster or villain, it didn't matter; Daniel would take care of them.

She had faith in that.

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Malibu, California.

In Tony Stark's mansion.

The man himself chewed on a slice of pizza as he watched the recent images broadcasted by the news.