Shadow of the Beautiful World

Gideon Malik? Who's that?

On the rooftop of S.H.I.E.L.D., almost everyone remained silent.

Only Thor, the carefree God of Thunder, was leaning on a black umbrella. He turned his head to look at Natasha beside him curiously. He asked:

Why did Merlin kill him? Is that a big bad guy?

Malik is an honorary member of the World Security Council and has a deep background in the political circles of various countries.

Natasha explained in a low voice to Thor who was confused about the situation:

He was assassinated in his own mansion a few years ago. Almost every country has issued a reward for the murderer. If you still can't understand, then you can imagine his status as a member of the royal family of your Asgardians. ...

Well...

Thor's eyes blinked, and he pursed his lips and said:

Then it seems that Merlin has indeed done a 'big thing'.

The entire world security council is in a tizzy.

Fury said with a serious expression:

It happened so suddenly that we were unprepared. In fact, no one knew the authenticity of this video, but... those guys who are eager to avenge their friends and benefactors are going crazy.

The Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. has sarcasm in his tone:

The political legacy left by Gideon Malik is quite terrifying. Everyone wants to inherit it, but there is no reason for it. Now, that reason has appeared.

Even if Merlin didn't do it, even if it's a clumsy frame-up, they will find a way to turn this into an iron case...

Do you understand what I mean?

Fury said emphatically:

Merlin is now wanted by almost all countries represented by the entire World Security Council, and his situation is very dangerous...

So your speed must be fast!

Fury said:

Bring him back before other forces find him!

They are no match for Merlin!

Thor pouted, and said disdainfully:

It's not that I look down on your Earth warriors, but Merlin is a true warrior, and he can't be defeated by relying on numbers and your weapons.

No!

Fury shook his head:

I'm not worried about his personal safety...

It's reputation.

Steve rubbed his forehead, feeling upset, and said:

If Merlin is found by someone else and he resists arrest, all his reputation will be ruined.

It would have been worse if he had been caught.

Yes, S.H.I.E.L.D. cannot lose its Deputy Director.

Fury said:

I also don't allow my friend to be put in such a shitty pot... So I ask you, at this moment, to help him.

Clark had only just become a reporter for the Daily Planet when Gideon Malik was assassinated.

But he also knew how many things were involved behind that incident from Louise's evaluation at the time.

And his intuition as a reporter also told him that Merlin was indeed in trouble.

Let's go immediately!

Clark nodded to Fury, and was about to turn around and fly out.

But at the moment Clark set off, Agent Natasha, who had been frowning, suddenly asked:

Director, there is absolutely no need to use the Avengers for this matter.

According to what I know about Merlin, you just need to send someone there to find Merlin and explain the situation. I believe he will make the right judgment.

yes.

Agent Patton also spoke:

The more people go there, the harder it is to guarantee the concealment. We're not going to fight Merlin... We don't need so many people at all.

Fury's expression changed, he coughed lightly, and he said:

Because I tried to contact Merlin just now, but he didn't respond to me, and I don't know what happened. Let you all go to prevent bad things from happening...

I can go alone.

Clark turned to the others and said:

My speed is fast enough, and I can guarantee to bring him back before others find him.

No, you must go together!

Fury said stubbornly:

I can't explain too much, but you guys have to...

Hey, come on, look at your clumsy lies, even I can't stand it.

Just as Fury explained the reason with some poor words, a voice that sounded a little noisy sounded from the stairway behind everyone.

swish

Barton immediately drew out his war bow, put on a sharp arrow, and turned behind him, but...

He misses.

The sharp arrow with petrified light flew out, brushing the clown's head and nailing it to the masonry, the tail of the arrow was still shaking endlessly.

And the fist that Superman rushed out at the first time stopped in the air less than 2 inches in front of the clown.

Well, it's dangerous, it's dangerous.

The clown flicked his chest exaggeratedly, and he looked at the Avengers in front of him.

Like juggling, he dangled the four golden balls emitting orange light in his hands.

golden apple...

4!

In the past, the Knights Templar collected a total of 6 golden apples. Except for one that was destroyed in the past war with the Assassin Brotherhood, the other 5 have been handed down.

Mephisto gave Pierce the scroll containing the location of the golden apples, and the latter immediately got all the golden apples.

A golden apple can easily affect the minds of ordinary people, or slightly change the mood of superheroes when their minds are swaying.

but 4...

Quantitative change has brought about qualitative change.

At the moment when the clown walked out of the rooftop holding 4 golden apples, almost everyone fell into a daze and stupefied.

Even the mighty Kryptonians are no exception.

Clark should have been able to resist, but he was too close to the clown, being directly touched by the power of the four golden apples, making his mind go blank at this moment.

The only two who are still resistant to this terrifying shackles of thinking are Steve Rogers and Thor.

The former took out the Dementor's Kiss from his pocket the moment the clown appeared, relying on the constant burst of negative emotions in his heart to barely maintain his sanity.

In the latter, Thor holds Thor's hammer in his hand.

The power of Thor's godhead is helping him resist the control of that kind of thinking, and he himself has experienced many battles. In the nearly thousand years of fighting, his willpower is also strong enough.

But as the clown holding the golden apple got closer and closer, holding the warhammer, the actions of Thor, who was full of thunder all over the province, also became stiff and dull.

He is powerful enough to be called a god.

But he is not a warrior who is good at handling psychic power.

He also has his own emotions, he roars when he is angry, and tears when he is lost, and after being exiled to Midgard by Odin, Thor's mind is almost no different from that of a mortal.

And being with a godhead and being aided by a god are two completely different concepts.

ah!

At the moment when his will was about to fall, Thor swung his warhammer, and with the last of his reason, smashed the warhammer at Steve who was still resisting.

The thunder-splashing warhammer hit the shield behind Steve, the powerful lightning was absorbed by the shield, and most of the power acting outside the shield was also absorbed.

But the remaining ones were enough to push the captain to fly out of the Trident building.

He drew a trajectory through the air and crashed into the highway below.

A moment later, a blue figure jumped and fled to the outside of the city, and in the sky behind the clown, two Quinjet fighter jets roared and took off, chasing after the fleeing captain.

Legendary heroes deserve to be legendary heroes.

The clown looked in the direction where the captain disappeared, a strange smile appeared on his painted face.

He turned around, put three golden apples in his pocket, held one in his hand, and said to the others:

Ah, let Teacher Clown explain it to you.

The guy in the purple suit walked up to Natasha, reached out and touched Black Widow's cheek frivolously, and said:

What Director Fury means is that each of you has no chance of winning against the terrible Merlin alone, so you must go together...

Break him down with absolute strength and bring him back.

The Clown made a fist-thumping motion, put the golden apple to his mouth, and said:

Of course, the premise of all this is to help him, not to hurt him...you have to understand, this is protection! Protection in the true sense!

I know, His Excellency Merlin is a friend of each of you, and I envy him very much, having so many friends...

The clown pursed his lips and made a mournful expression. He spread his hands and said:

It's a pity that no one likes to be my friend.

In short, you are going to help him, remember this, even if you beat him half to death, break his hands and feet, and beat him unconscious, it is to help him...

So, if he doesn't want to come back with you, then don't show mercy, but he must save his life.

He waved his finger, and said:

A group of the most powerful heroes in the world will go out, this job is definitely not difficult, so we are waiting for your good news here...

The clown smiled and said:

Oh, that's right, don't forget in the end...

All of this was ordered by Director Fury, and has nothing to do with anyone else~

go Go.

The clown waved his hands, as if driving a flock of ducks, and said:

Go help Merlin!

Just hang out with him somewhere, anyway, don't let him come to New York to make trouble...

At his urging, a group of heroes whose minds had been injected with other things took action one after another.

Superman and Thor soared into the sky amidst the thunder, and the two agents quickly rushed to the Trident Building.

And Tony reached out and tapped on the watch, and then just stood there, neither speaking nor making a sound.

He is waiting for his new armor to be delivered.

The first two sets were ruined, and today is a really heavy loss. For someone like Tony, it feels like a pain in the flesh.

Fortunately, I bought insurance in advance.

As for you, Commissioner Fury.

The clown reached out and flicked his collar, he turned his head and said to the dull-faced Fury:

Do what you should do, everyone is waiting!

Fury nodded, turned and left as before.

Only the clown and Tony Stark, who was waiting for the armor to arrive, were left on the entire rooftop.

The clown stood on the edge of the roof, the howling wind hit his face, making his messy hair jump around.

The man with the confusion in his eyes opened his arms, as if hugging something.

He said:

This city, this country, is about to usher in a drastic change!

A group of people who are crazier than me claim to build a paradise of order, but unfortunately there are still terrible things about to happen in the paradise they claim...

This is really interesting...

I can't wait anymore. The yearning for order has caused unprecedented chaos. Hehe, this is really ironic.

Behind the hysterical clown, there is a strange light refracting in the pair of brown sunglasses that Tony is wearing.

After confirming that Tony was under control, Jarvis quietly sent all the previously recorded images and a message to Icarus.

Icarus...the Avengers are all controlled by the clown! They are heading towards Merlin...

Let him run!!!

At the same time, on a remote island in the center of the Pacific Ocean, Icarus projected Jarvis' warning in front of Merlin's eyes, and she said:

Military satellites have captured the trajectory of Clark and Thor's flight, and you have 27 seconds to make a final decision before they arrive.

Merlin... let's go.

Icarus said in a pleading tone:

You're in a bad state right now, you're no match for them...don't fight hard, please.

I can't go. Clark's perception range is far beyond your imagination. He wants to find it. It's useless for me to hide on the other side of the earth.

Merlin sat on a rock by the sea, his eyes were calm, and he said:

And I can't leave either, the main drama has just begun.

The clown is just the executor who was pushed out, and there are people hiding in the shadows behind him...

Merlin raised the cane in his hand, he looked at the black skull on the cane, and said softly:

Only 3 people ever knew about Gideon Malik...

Fry was replaced, and he had his memory wiped, so...

A trace of loneliness and disappointment flashed in Merlin's eyes, and the pain of being betrayed pierced his chest like a sharp knife.

Pierce...

is it you?

He closed his eyes and leaned on the cane in his hand. Icarus knew that persuasion was useless, and she looked at Merlin worriedly from her own perspective.

The passing of Qin brought Merlin a great blow, and the successive bad things also disturbed him. The disappearance and betrayal of two close friends, the career he insisted on turned into a joke in the end.

The biggest enemy has always stood behind him, and even gave him a knife at this last moment.

He was exhausted.

He has lost interest in this game of fate full of malice and betrayal.

Jean was relieved.

Merlin is also longing for his own relief...

kuang

Superman and Thor fell from the sky and landed on the island behind Merlin. Clark's blue eyes shone with worry, but deep in his eyes, there was a sparkle of paranoia and bewilderment.

The clown guy knew that forcible control would not work, so he used telepathy and buried spiritual hints to make them think that everything he did was right.

Clark stepped forward and said:

Merlin, come with us.

Thor also spoke:

We're here to help you.

Hold on...

Merlin stretched out his hand and interrupted their words. Looking at the blue sea in front of him, he whispered:

Let me take another look...

Peace like an illusory bubble, that is what I have been chasing all my life, a beautiful but stupid fantasy, I thought naively that I could achieve it...

But only now do I realize that I'm also just a marionette living a lie.

Catastrophe is coming, and I'm the one who made it all happen.

Oh, by the way, I forgot to tell you... Merlin Riley's funeral just ended, and you were absent.

It's a pity, isn't it?