After seeing the footage of different aliens Jarvis showed him, something suddenly struck Tony's mind about the Omnix who had saved him — who could also transform. Thinking about it now made him uneasy.
"Is he one alien, or are they different ones?" Tony had always thought aliens were far away from him, but after thinking about Omnix, he was no longer sure.
"Jarvis, create a top-secret file not connected to any company server and place all this information in it."
Tony didn't know why Omnix had saved him. At first, he thought Omnix was just some superpowered person who wanted something from him. But if he was really an alien, then what exactly did he want from him?
Tony didn't know.
But one thing was clear to him now — creating his suit was the only thing that could give him any real security after learning aliens existed.
"And Jarvis, did you send the team with all the items I told you to send to my friend?"
"Yes, sir. As ordered, I sent a team with all the supplies needed for your friend Yisten in Afghanistan."
Tony knew that with Yisten's personality, he would never ask for help himself. Still, as a friend, Tony wanted to support him however he could.
"Good."
Tony continued getting ready for the party he had arranged. He wanted to talk with S.H.I.E.L.D. and learn more about Omnix and their motive for saving him.
Hell's Kitchen, New York
At night, a club full of young people was alive with loud music and flashing lights. On one side of the room, two men quietly watched the crowd from the shadows.
"George, are you sure Sin-Eater will attack here tonight?" one of them asked.
"I am." George kept his eyes on the people around them. "Sin-Eater's killings all have one thing in common. He targets people he believes are sinners, but most of the victims were never proven guilty."
Edward stayed silent and listened.
"After investigating the victims," George continued, "I found a pattern. Every one of them had been involved in criminal cases at some point. Some escaped because of lack of evidence, some were only suspects, and some were forced into situations they couldn't control. The law couldn't punish them — but Sin-Eater believed they were guilty anyway."
Hearing this, Edward frowned. "Even if that's true, how do we know who's next?"
George subtly pointed toward a black-haired woman sitting alone in the middle of the club.
"You see her?"
"Yeah. You think she's the target?"
"Today she was released from a major case because of insufficient evidence. The media covered it everywhere." George narrowed his eyes slightly. "The last victim had a similar situation. Public case. Public outrage. That's the pattern."
"But New York has dozens of cases like that."
"Exactly." George nodded. "That's why we identified more than ten possible targets. Jean DeWolff and her team are secretly protecting all of them. We're using them to lure Sin-Eater out."
Edward looked surprised. "Then why didn't you tell me earlier?"
George's expression became serious.
"I think there's a mole in the department. Every time we get close, Sin-Eater disappears. So only a small number of people know about this operation."
Edward was quiet for a moment before nodding.
"Fair enough."
As they continued watching the room, a waiter approached the woman and whispered something to her. A few seconds later, she stood up and headed toward the back exit.
George and Edward immediately looked at each other.
Then both moved.
George followed the woman while Edward stopped the waiter near the counter.
The woman stepped into a dark alley behind the club. George followed carefully, keeping one hand near the gun on his waist.
At the far end of the alley, he spotted a man speaking with her in the shadows. George couldn't clearly see his face.
Slowly, George walked closer.
"What are you doing here?"
Both of them suddenly froze and turned toward him.
"Who are you? Mind your own business," the young man said rudely.
But the moment he saw George reaching for his gun, his face instantly went pale.
"We're just talking," the young man said nervously. "We're friends."
George checked the man's ID and quickly realized it was a false alarm. The guy was just an ordinary civilian.
A few moments later Edward arrived after questioning the waiter. After hearing both sides of the story, they realized there was nothing suspicious happening.
Just as they relaxed slightly, the walkie-talkie on George's belt suddenly crackled to life.
"The target— Sin-Eater— has appeared on Hell's Kitchen West 12th Street! Copy! Officers are under attack!"
George instantly grabbed the radio.
"Copy. This is George. We were nearby. We're moving now."
Without wasting another second, both of them rushed toward their cars.
The location was nearly ten minutes away.
By the time George and Edward reached the location, Sin-Eater had already killed the target along with one police officer.
"Where is he now?" George asked another officer who had been shot in the shoulder and was taking cover behind a car.
"He's inside that building!" the officer shouted while pointing forward. "He's heavily armed!"
George quickly looked at the wounded officer. He was losing blood fast and needed emergency treatment immediately.
"Edward, take him to the hospital. I'll keep Sin-Eater here until backup arrives."
Edward stared at him in disbelief.
"What? George, are you crazy? He already took down two experienced officers. Going in there alone is suicide."
"We don't have time." George kept his eyes on the building. "Backup is still minutes away, and if we lose him now he'll disappear again."
Edward hesitated, clearly conflicted.
"That's an order."
Hearing that, Edward clenched his fists before finally helping the wounded officer toward the car.
Before entering, George took extra ammunition from one of the fallen officer and put on a bulletproof vest from the police car.
He knew Sin-Eater was dangerous.
Going in unprepared would be suicide.
Hearing no more gunshots, George slowly moved forward, using nearby cars and walls as cover while approaching the building.
The entire street had gone silent.
Then suddenly—
BOOM!
A shotgun blast exploded from above.
George quickly moved aside as pellets slammed into the street near him. Using the opening between shots, he rushed into the building.
The inside was dark and quiet.
Step by step, George moved upstairs carefully.
Then he saw him.
A man wearing a pale mask and a long black coat stood near the upper floor staircase.
The masked man immediately opened fire.
George barely dodged the blasts and took cover behind the wall as more shots echoed through the building.
Then the shooting suddenly stopped.
George narrowed his eyes.
He knew most shotguns couldn't carry many shells.
Using that short moment, George quickly rushed to the upper floor and aimed his gun.
"Don't move! It's over, Sin-Eater!"
Slowly, the masked killer raised his hands.
But behind the pale mask, George could see a disturbing smile.
Something felt wrong.
Before George could react, Sin-Eater suddenly grabbed a metal pipe from nearby and threw it directly toward George's gun hand.
George fired instinctively, but the attack knocked his aim off. His pistol fell across the floor.
Sin-Eater instantly rushed forward.
The killer moved with frightening aggression, slamming George into the wall before he could recover. George tried to fight back, but this man was way too strong.
Within seconds, Sin-Eater grabbed George by the throat and lifted him slightly against the wall.
George struggled to breathe.
"Still protecting sinners, George?" Sin-Eater said with a disturbed laugh. "The law protects them. You protect them. So I punish them."
His grip tightened harder around George's throat.
A/N:🚨 Power Stone Goals! 🚨
🔥 200 PS = 1 Bonus Chapter
🔥 500 PS = 2 Bonus Chapters(Max 2/week)
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