c9: Unwelcome Guests, Seeking Their Own Death
Queens, Smiths Bar
This was one of the most luxurious Bars in the entirety of New York City.
It was not only popular among young people.
Many elites and white-collar professionals also frequented the place for drinks.
The Bar's business was extremely good; often, even before nightfall, a large number of customers had already arrived.
Many staff members believed that if the owner hadn't refused to expand, Smiths Bar could have grown into a nationwide chain across the United States.
And this high volume of traffic was precisely one of the main reasons why Kingpin had set his sights on it.
At this moment, in a corner of the Bar, more than a dozen men sat across three tables.
They were all dressed in black suits and sunglasses, exuding an unmistakable aura of danger.
At the center of them sat a bald man wearing a leather jacket.
The most striking feature about him
Right in the center of his forehead was a target symbol.
He was none other than Bullseye, also known as Lester.
One of Kingpin's most dangerous assassins.
Bullseye possessed an almost supernatural level of precision.
Anything he threw Coins, toothpicks, playing cards could become a lethal weapon.
He had even killed targets using objects as trivial as paperclips.
In terms of combat positioning, he was often compared to Hawkeye from the Avengers.
However, unlike Hawkeye's discipline, Bullseye was utterly unstable and sadistic.
His past was complex.
He had been a professional baseball player, a mercenary, and later one of the deadliest assassins in the underworld.
Now, he worked directly under the so-called underground emperor of New York Kingpin.
Today, Bullseye had brought his men here under orders.
The goal was simple:
To familiarize themselves with the territory in advance.
Because in two days, this Bar was supposed to belong to Kingpin.
At least, that was what Kingpin believed.
He never thought Karl would refuse his offer.
After all, the price offered had been extremely generous.
Even Bullseye and his subordinates thought there was no reason for rejection.
But to Bullseye
This entire mission was unbearably dull.
He had once even accepted a contract to assassinate Kingpin himself.
Only after being offered better terms had he switched sides.
Compared to assassination missions, scouting a Bar was beneath his interest.
Still Kingpin paid well.
So he showed up.
"Boring as hell. This kind of thing could be done by anyone."
Bullseye picked up his drink and stood up, scanning the dance floor.
"Might as well find some fun."
His gaze swept across the crowd Until it locked onto a woman.
Beautiful.
Alone… or so he thought.
Bullseye walked straight toward her without hesitation.
However—
She wasn't alone.
Standing beside her was a tall, blonde man.
The man looked down at Bullseye with clear disdain.
Not only was he taller, but in front of the woman, he was eager to assert dominance.
Without hesitation, the blonde man shoved Bullseye.
"Fuck!"
"You freak with a mark on your head—are you blind?!"
"William, nice work!" the woman beside him cheered.
The man named William smirked proudly.
Tonight, he thought, his chances had just improved significantly.
But at that exact moment, he failed to notice the expression on Bullseye's face.
A twisted, sinister smile.
"You've got some strength, brother."
Bullseye casually drew a dagger from his waist and flicked it forward.
The motion was effortless.
The result is perfect.
The blade pierced straight through William's palm with terrifying precision.
"Ahhh!!!"
A scream tore through the Bar.
Blood poured from his hand as William instinctively clutched it, trembling violently.
He wanted to pull the blade out but the pain was too overwhelming.
He didn't dare touch it.
The surrounding crowd instantly panicked.
Skye, who had just entered the Bar with Karl, also noticed the disturbance.
Her instincts immediately sharpened—something that, in the future, would define her as Quake.
At that moment her vision blurred.
For less than a second.
Then
The figures of William and Bullseye vanished.
…
In a dim alley far from Smiths Bar.
Four figures suddenly appeared out of thin air.
William.
Bullseye.
Skye.
And Karl.
Both William and Bullseye looked around in confusion.
Their surroundings had completely changed.
No noise.
No crowd.
Just silence.
"What… the hell…?"
Even Bullseye frowned slightly—
For the first time, something had happened that he couldn't immediately comprehend.
Skye was equally stunned.
She looked at Karl in disbelief.
At that moment
Karl spoke calmly.
He glanced at William.
"Your hand is injured. There's a hospital a few hundred meters to the south."
"Huh? Oh… oh…"
William nodded instinctively, still in shock.
Then he looked down at his hand and froze.
The dagger that had pierced through his palm
Was gone.
Not just removed
But completely gone.
Even the wound had already begun stabilizing unnaturally fast.
Meanwhile
Bullseye slowly turned his head toward Karl.
For the first time
His eyes showed genuine interest.
This was certainly a good thing, but he had to see a doctor as soon as possible.
And more importantly
He had to stay far away from that bald lunatic.
William glanced at Bullseye with lingering fear, then turned and ran out of the alley without looking back.
"Thank you, sir and miss!"
His voice came from the entrance of the alley.
Clearly, he believed the two strangers had saved his life.
"Alright, now it's your turn."
Karl casually played with the blood-stained dagger in his hand.
His gaze fell calmly on Bullseye.
Just moments ago, after entering his Bar, Karl had heard the scream.
Using abilities derived from the Silver Age template of Superman particularly super vision and super hearing he had instantly located the source of the disturbance.
To avoid chaos inside the Bar, he simply removed the involved parties from the scene.
Well…
And Skye too.
After all, it was his own establishment.
Any violent incident would have disrupted business and frightened customers.
Moreover, the bald man in front of him looked familiar.
Thinking carefully, Karl quickly recalled he was one of Kingpin's top enforcers.
Which raised a question.
What was this man doing in his Bar ahead of schedule?
"Karl, what's going on?"
Skye finally snapped out of her shock, her eyes filled with disbelief.
Just a moment ago, her vision had blurred and now she was here.
Karl smiled lightly.
"Well, to put it simply… I suddenly awakened superpowers."
"You know Superman from the comics? My abilities are roughly similar to his."
In this version of the Marvel Universe, DC Comics still existed as fictional media.
Characters like Superman were widely known through comics and films.
Although ironic it made Karl's explanation easier.
"Really? Are you joking?"
Skye stared at him, clearly unconvinced.
"Whether I'm joking or not… didn't you already experience it yourself?"
"After all, the bed collapsed."
"Huh? Ah!"
Skye froze for a moment
Then her face turned bright red.
She immediately understood what Karl meant.
"Whoosh! Whoosh!"
At that moment
Two black streaks cut through the air toward Karl and Skye.
Karl didn't even turn his head.
He casually raised his hand and caught both projectiles midair.
His expression turned cold as he looked at Bullseye.
"You dare attack us?"
"Do you want to die?"
Bullseye's pupils contracted sharply.
He had killed countless people with thrown weapons.
Even highly trained opponents, People on the level of Daredevil would treat his attacks with extreme caution.
Yet this man…
Had caught them casually.
"Karl Smith!"
Bullseye sneered, masking the shock in his heart.
"You're just a spoiled rich kid."
"How dare you talk to me like that? Are you tired of living?"
"Looks like Fisk won't even need to spend money buying your Bar!"
He knew Karl's identity.
A wealthy young man with no known combat background.
Even though something felt off, Bullseye still refused to believe Karl could truly threaten him.
He raised his hand again, Two more darts appeared between his fingers.
But Before he could throw them, a sharp pain suddenly erupted in his hand.
Bullseye froze.
He looked down instinctively.
And what he saw made his blood run cold.
The dagger he had thrown earlier
Along with the two darts Karl had just caught
Were now embedded in his own hand.
As if they had reversed direction instantaneously.
A trick reminiscent of overwhelming speed
Or something even beyond that.
Bullseye broke into a cold sweat, forcibly suppressing a scream.
He raised his head, staring at Karl in disbelief.
"You… what are you…?"
But before he could finish
Karl had already appeared directly in front of him.
No movement.
No sound.
As if he had simply been there all along.
"I said…"
"You are seeking death."
A crimson light suddenly flashed in Karl's eyes
Heat Vision.
A power identical to that of Superman in its most destructive form.
The beam fired instantly
Without warning.
Bullseye's right hand
Along with the weapons embedded in it
Was completely disintegrated.
Not burned.
Not cut.
But erased.
As if it had never existed.
The alley fell into silence.
Only the faint smell of scorched air remained.
And for the first time in his life
Bullseye felt something he hadn't experienced in years.
Fear.
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