~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For 40 advanced chapters, visit my Patreon:
Patreon - Twilight_scribe1
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Henry's meeting with Mickey Schulhof ended on bad terms.
There was no ambiguous wording meant to leave room for future possibilities—Henry rejected the old white man's delusional ambitions outright.
Even without relying on foreknowledge, and regardless of whether this was the Marvel universe or not, anyone who paid attention to U.S.–Japan industrial and economic news could see that the conflict between Sony's Japanese headquarters and Sony America was practically out in the open.
Aside from former president–turned–supreme leader Akio Ohga's blind trust in Mickey Schulhof, Sony's upper management had long been dissatisfied with Sony America's feudal-lord style of governance—acting independently and ignoring the "king" (headquarters).
Especially now, Schulhof's fate had become little more than a battlefield in the power struggle between former president Ohga and current president Nobuyuki Idei.
If Idei had seized power by rebellion, then a clash with Ohga, the retired emperor, would have been inevitable.
But Idei was Ohga's own chosen successor.
Would Ohga really fight his handpicked heir just to protect an American who had caused Sony losses exceeding three billion dollars?
Anyone with eyes could see that Mickey Schulhof was doomed sooner or later. It was only a question of how he would be discarded.
Why should Henry jump onto a sinking ship?
All for a pie-in-the-sky fantasy of turning Japanese Sony into American Sony?
Even with Japan's economy weakened by the burst bubble, there was no way they would sit by and watch a giant like Sony be swallowed by Americans. If things ever reached that point, intervention was guaranteed.
Henry recorded Schulhof's delusions in his regular report and sent it to Tony Stark's secure email, then promptly stopped thinking about the matter.
Whether Stark even read the report had nothing to do with him—Henry had fulfilled his duty to report.
Within Hollywood circles, Sony Pictures Entertainment was now firmly in "little brother" territory. Aside from having money, it was widely looked down upon. So Henry had no fear of retaliation from Sony, nor would anyone rally to Sony's call.
Everyone's mindset was the same: figure out how to take Japanese money and use it for their own purposes. Anything else was off the table.
Henry returned to his normal life, continuing to hover at the edges of various circles—half in, half out. His days consisted of work at Stark Pictures, then spending time with his girlfriend whenever she wasn't filming.
Charlize Theron's career, however, had changed dramatically once work picked up.
Sometimes evening acting practice was replaced by script analysis, with Henry helping her figure out how to approach a role. Charlize would first explain her own interpretation, then Henry would add his thoughts.
These scripts weren't always for roles she'd secured—some were just partial scripts used for auditions. Even so, Charlize still devoted time to thinking through how she would perform them.
Though work occupied most of their time together, whenever they did meet, intimacy was never lacking.
Charlize seemed to prefer this kind of relationship—rather than being smothered by constant affection and losing herself in it.
While acting drills had become less frequent than before, Henry still watched movies regularly—both in theaters and on rented tapes.
It wasn't that he'd stopped reading or flipping through comics. It was just that, with paper books and no one else around, he'd unconsciously activate super-speed and finish them in seconds.
By comparison, once a videotape started playing, it locked him into one or two full hours.
And unlike future digital media, VHS tapes couldn't be fast-forwarded at high speed without destroying the image—fast-forwarding filled the screen with static, making it impossible to see anything.
So this was a precious way to "waste time" for a Kryptonian with super-speed.
Don't ask why he wasn't doing research instead—research required a goal. Was he supposed to set sail for the stars? That wasn't something you solved just by flying upward.
Watching at least one movie a day, hugging his girlfriend when she was around, and doing "serious" research with whatever time remained—this had become Henry's routine.
He usually returned tapes to Blockbuster before work, since it was on the way and gave him an excuse to try different breakfasts.
This kind of decadent life—no money worries, a girlfriend to hold, and a job where he could slack off—made Henry feel like he could live this way forever.
But today's Blockbuster… had been attacked?
A lone police cruiser sat out front, alongside a local security vehicle. One of Blockbuster's large glass windows had been shattered. Police tape had been lazily strung up, keeping people out.
Henry stepped closer and peered inside. The interior looked like it had been hit by a siege engine—there was a huge hole in the ceiling, and shelves inside had been smashed.
Near the shattered window lay a destroyed cardboard standee from one of 1994's popular films, True Lies, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Most of the male lead's image had been destroyed. Only Jamie Lee Curtis's figure remained, along with the lower half of the movie title.
"Hey! What are you doing?" a police officer shouted from behind.
Henry quickly raised the bag in his hand.
"I'm here to return some tapes, officer. Today's the due date. I was just wondering… can they even open like this?"
Since it was legitimate business and Henry stayed outside the cordon, the officer said nothing more.
Instead, a heavyset local security guard walked over and said,
"Just put the tapes in the 24-hour return box. The police finished collecting evidence this morning.
"Now we're just waiting for Blockbuster staff to come in, clean up, and reopen. Once they're back, they'll process the tapes from the return box as usual."
As the guard spoke, Henry sorted the tapes and casually asked,
"What happened here? That hole in the ceiling—don't tell me it was a meteor.
"If something that big hit, this whole Blockbuster would be gone, not just a few shelves smashed. Was there some mutant battle here?"
The guard, clearly eager to talk, answered immediately.
"No. I already told the FBI—it was a woman in a green bodysuit who fell out of the sky. The window was blasted open by a laser.
"She also hit the RadioShack next door and looted communication equipment. I don't know what she took—they'll have to wait for the RadioShack staff to do inventory.
"If you'd come earlier, you might've seen her. But there was another clash, she chased someone off, and the FBI ran after them. After that, the place was empty.
"Well, not completely empty. One unlucky guy got left behind—young, hairline already way back, shiny forehead, definitely going bald early. He was taken away not long ago."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
🎉 Power Stone Goal Announcement! 🎉
I'll release one bonus chapter for every 500 Power Stones we hit!"
Let me know what should I do
Your support means everything—let's crush these goals together! Keep voting, and let the stones pile up! 🚀
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~