Reigning Supreme in Every Reality

Lyon knew who she was.

Betty Ross, Bruce Banner's ex-girlfriend.

A cellular biologist and, at the same time, the daughter of General Ross.

To be honest, even though Banner and Betty had broken up, he was undoubtedly still deeply in love with her.

Even when he transformed into Hulk, becoming an entirely different person, he would never harm Betty. In fact, he would instinctively protect her.

Even their breakup had been for her sake—Banner didn't want to put her in danger.

After all, any surge of intense emotion, even one caused by hormones, carried the risk of triggering a Hulk transformation.

And for his significant other, that was a fatal risk.

Lyon placed Banner into Betty's arms, watching as she tenderly smoothed the furrowed lines on his forehead with her fingertips.

At that moment, an idea—still rough and unformed—sparked in Lyon's mind.

Perhaps he could use magic to help Banner solve some of his problems with the Hulk.

And maybe, just maybe, he could recruit Banner into Kamar-Taj's sparring team for the upcoming duel with Asgard.

Meanwhile…

General Ross, who had been held back by the MIB agents, finally caught up.

"Betty!" he called out his daughter's name, but his gaze remained fixed on Banner.

It was clear that, in his mind, his daughter's importance paled in comparison to what he saw as a "valuable test subject."

Sure enough, as he approached the group, his eyes turned to Tony.

"Stark, Banner is military property. We appreciate your intervention, but now I ask you to hand him back over to us."

"Absolutely not!" Betty was the first to react, her voice filled with anger. "Banner has never been your so-called military property! He belongs to himself!"

Ross shook his head. "Betty, you don't understand anything."

"Sorry, but I happen to think she makes a lot of sense," Tony interjected, crossing his arms. "Look around at the destruction, General. All of this was caused by your so-called 'property.' You might want to start preparing for the military tribunal that's going to come after you."

Ross let out a cold snort. "You're part of this destruction too!"

"That was emergency damage control, not destruction," Tony corrected.

He pulled out an official document. "As of now, Banner and the other big guy are under the jurisdiction of the Avengers, a sanctioned body of the UN Security Council. So, General… you're dismissed."

Seeing that Ross still intended to argue, Tony stepped aside and gestured toward Lyon.

"Besides, Hulk was taken down by Superman. Maybe you should be asking him?"

Only then did Ross finally take notice of Lyon, clad in his black uniform. His expression froze instantly.

"Su…Superman!?"

Lyon nodded. "I believe Hulk and Abomination should be placed under the supervision of a more internationally recognized organization. What do you think, General Ross?"

"But I… Yes, you're right. They should be under the Avengers' jurisdiction," Ross admitted, his face turning pale.

Just a few months ago, he had regarded Superman as a hypothetical enemy.

But now, standing face to face with this man—despite Lyon's warm and sunny smile—Ross couldn't suppress the cold dread creeping up his spine as he recalled the terrifying power this man wielded.

Superman was Tony Stark's brother, and they stood on the same side. What leverage did he have to argue?

Everything had failed.

He had lost control of Hulk, and now he was about to face severe consequences from the military.

"My apologies, I just remembered—there are urgent matters requiring my attention. I must take my leave."

Ross gave Lyon a slight bow, unwilling resignation flickering in his eyes, before turning and walking back toward the military convoy, his figure looking utterly defeated.

Lyon watched Ross's retreating figure and murmured to himself, "This General Ross actually has quite a bit of political acumen."

In the movie universe, Ross eventually became the President.

But in this parallel timeline, that outcome was far from certain.

"So, what's next? Aren't you going to tell me more about other things—like this whole movie business?" Lyon turned to Yelena.

"Uh, boss… shouldn't we be handling the cleanup first? Maybe we can talk about it after we get back to HQ?" Yelena chuckled awkwardly.

...

Over the past month or so, Tony had successfully established a new version of S.H.I.E.L.D.—now known as the Avengers Initiative.

He had absorbed some of the former S.H.I.E.L.D. agents while also recruiting a new core team.

For example, Ho Eathen Yinsen, the man who had survived captivity with Tony in Afghanistan, was now serving as a field medic and research scientist within the Avengers.

Tony had also brought in his most trusted bodyguard, Happy Hogan, appointing him as a field agent.

Additionally, several black-suited agents had joined the team, including notable figures like Agent K and Agent M.

Lacking loyal subordinates in the early days of the Avengers, Tony had temporarily borrowed a few members from Lyon's team, placing them in key leadership roles.

Just a few days ago, during a combat training exercise, a few of these black-suited agents had even given Hawkeye, the former top S.H.I.E.L.D. operative, quite a beating.

Afterward, Hawkeye nearly started questioning his entire existence.

He couldn't help but wonder where the hell these monsters had come from.

One of them had nearly shattered his leg with a single palm strike, and another had caught his explosive arrows with their bare hands.

At the Avengers Base in New York, Lyon listened to Tony's rambling, which had somehow shifted to Hawkeye, and couldn't help but interrupt.

"So, you got my email, found out I went to another world, and immediately convinced Yelena to make a movie?"

Compared to the Avengers, Lyon was far more interested in this so-called film.

"How could you call it 'convincing'? That was strategic planning!"

Tony objected. "Iron Man & Superman: Origins—based on real events. Huge box office success. Your company made a fortune off it!"

"You mean the real event where 'Superman' had his first flight, but then froze at high altitude and nearly fell to his death—only to be heroically saved by Iron Man? That is what you're calling 'real'?"

"The main character might be a little different, but it's still a real event. I don't see the problem," Tony said with a completely straight face.

"And the rest of the plot? Superman accidentally enters another world, nearly causes an apocalypse, and Iron Man swoops in to save the day—that's real?"

"What's the issue? That part was adapted from that zombie world incident!"

"...You really understand creative adaptation, don't you?" Lyon was speechless.

"Do you realize that adaptation doesn't mean making things up? Otherwise, you might have to issue a public apology."

Natasha and Yelena had stayed behind in the district to handle the cleanup efforts, so they weren't here.

Otherwise, Lyon would definitely be knocking his knuckles against Yelena's forehead, demanding to know how she could have possibly agreed to film such a ridiculous plot.

"It's already been released, so what's the point of arguing? Come on, my office is this way."

The two walked all the way to the top-floor office.

As the door swung open, a holographic projection system in the center of the room lit up, displaying a floating data sphere.

Jarvis's voice came through the speakers.

"Long time no see, Master Lyon."

Lyon nodded. "It's been a while, Jarvis. It must be exhausting taking care of Tony every day—like babysitting an overgrown old child."

"That is my duty, Master Lyon."

"Hold on," Tony interrupted. "Jarvis, aren't you going to defend me here?"

"But, sir, I do accompany you every day," Jarvis replied smoothly.

"I meant the last part! I'm not old!"

Lyon burst into laughter. "Give it up, Tony. Jarvis spelled it out for you—you're an insufferable old man. That's just a fact!"

"Speaking of which, I brought a gift for Jarvis this time."

With a flick of his wrist, Lyon retrieved a metallic box given to him by "Zhou"—a key capable of triggering the evolution of artificial intelligence into true sentience.

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