Three days later, Anton returned to New York from Los Angeles.
At the same time, the old man and John Jameson, who were working at Wayne Enterprises, received a text message from Anton.
[Come home tonight. Meet your grandson.]
The moment they saw the message, both men were stunned.
A second later, they found each other, exchanged shocked glances, and immediately rushed out of Wayne Enterprises, heading straight home to confront Anton.
Neither of them had expected that Anton would return from a simple business trip with a child.
"Anton!"
"What the hell happened?"
Both men were a mix of excitement and curiosity. They wanted to know exactly where this "grandson" had come from.
Anton had been unusually well-behaved lately, but given his past… adventurous lifestyle, it wasn't entirely unbelievable that he might have fathered a child somewhere along the way.
After all, if anyone could suddenly end up with a son out of nowhere, it would be Anton.
John Jameson, Anton's father, had certainly set a precedent—being a prime example of someone who had experienced an "unexpected" pregnancy outside of marriage.
"See for yourself."
Anton gestured toward the crib.
Inside, a baby—who looked about a year old—lay peacefully. He had fair skin, a wide, toothy grin, and bright, curious eyes that sparkled with innocence as he gazed up at the two men.
The moment the child's eyes met theirs, something in their hearts softened.
"He looks just like you," the old man remarked, his voice filled with warmth.
John Jameson nodded approvingly. "Not bad, Anton. For once, you actually did something right. I'd even say this might be the best decision you've made—besides not joining the Justice League."
Both men were overjoyed. It was unexpected, sure, but an addition to the family was always welcome. The sheer joy of seeing a new life in their home was hard to replace.
Anton, however, stared at them, dumbfounded.
"Looks like me?"
His expression twisted in disbelief. Were they blind?
If Hellboy was truly his son, that would mean… he had been with a female demon.
Did they seriously think he had that kind of taste?
"Forget it."
Anton waved a hand dismissively. "I'm not even going to entertain this nonsense. He's not my biological son. I adopted him."
The room fell into silence.
The old man and John froze, their joyful expressions stiffening as confusion overtook them.
"Adopted?"
Their voices overlapped in surprise.
Anton… adopting a child? That didn't make sense.
They had seen a change in him recently, but this? Settling down to raise a child? That was not in character.
"What's really going on?"
Both men fixed their eyes on Anton, waiting for an explanation.
Anton sighed and gave them a carefully worded response.
"He's… a special child. He has unique abilities. To ensure his safety and prevent any incidents, I discussed it with the Justice League and decided to take him in."
Of course, he left out the part where the kid was actually a demon.
As much as he trusted these two, dropping that bombshell on them right now wouldn't go over well.
Even if they had strong nerves, telling them he had adopted Hellboy—a literal demon—would be too much.
It was better to let time do the work. Once they bonded with the kid, they'd be more willing to accept the truth.
The old man considered Anton's words for a moment before nodding seriously.
"If this was a Justice League decision, then so be it."
Then his tone shifted, carrying a firm authority.
"But next time, if you're going to do something like this, make sure you discuss it with us first. We may not object, but we are part of this family. Do you understand?"
"Understood."
Anton nodded. "I'll keep that in mind. But I don't think something like this will happen again."
"Good."
The old man sighed. "I don't know how to take care of a child, and frankly, I don't want to learn. I'll hire a nanny immediately. You do whatever you need to do, just don't let this become my problem."
"Get lost."
John Jameson scoffed, rolling his eyes. His stance was even more obvious than the old man's.
Still, despite their grumbling, neither of them would neglect Hellboy. Even though the child wasn't biologically related to them, Anton had adopted him, which meant taking responsibility to the end.
That was a fundamental principle of life.
"By the way," the old man said as Anton was about to leave. "What's the kid's name?"
"Anung Un Rama."
Anton replied before walking out.
Once Hellboy was settled under the old man's care, Anton finally relaxed. He checked his system panel and reviewed his recent gains.
Another task, completed.
He was in a great mood.
Not only had he handled the situation that the Ancient One had warned him about, but he had also secured Hellboy's future. And as a bonus, his Justice Value had skyrocketed to 50 million.
That was a personal record.
If he doubled it, he would finally meet one of the conditions to redeem Batman's Ultimate Battle Armor.
Sure, the Justice Value had been significantly devalued ever since the system introduced additional conditions, but it was still useful.
And most importantly, it gave Anton an extra layer of confidence to face the inevitable challenges ahead—confidence that even Superman or Shazam couldn't provide him.
"So… that's two out of the predicted future events completed."
Anton mused to himself.
Hellboy's situation was settled.
As for the Men in Black, Jason Wann—one of their villains—had been reassigned to fieldwork under Agent Z's supervision.
With Z keeping an eye on him, Anton wasn't worried about Wann getting out of control. If the man ever stepped out of line, the Men in Black, along with the 13th District and the Dark Justice League, would eliminate him instantly.
So far, though, Wann had been behaving himself, playing the role of a model agent.
Of course, neither Anton nor Z believed he was actually innocent.
Anton had foreknowledge of the plot.
Z had faith in the Justice League's intelligence network.
Both were enough to keep things in check.
Two Key Issues Remained
First, the Power Stone—or rather, the Orb of Morag.
Nick Fury and Captain Marvel (Carol Danvers) were already monitoring the situation. Anton didn't need to intervene for now—just wait for their signal.
The second issue was Stark Industries and Ultron.
Anton didn't need outside help for this one. With his vast intelligence network, he could track Ultron's movements personally.
Lately, Ultron's market share had been steadily increasing, making Stark Industries an oligarch in the AI assistant industry.
However, Donatello and the Sewer Lab had been secretly trying to monitor Ultron's operations… and they had failed.
It seemed that Ultron—or Tony Stark himself—had detected their surveillance attempts.
The Sewer Lab couldn't extract any meaningful data, leaving the entire operation at a deadlock.
Anton leaned back, tapping his fingers on the desk.
"Tony… no matter what you're planning with Ultron, by now, you should have already started Phase Two of your plan, right?"
He smirked.
Things were about to get interesting.
….
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