The destruction caused by the green titan, Hulk, was no less than that of any super-criminal. Even when left unchecked by the military, his rampages left behind devastation that was impossible to ignore.
If Hulk weren't so destructive, he wouldn't have been such a high-priority target for Nick Fury.
A powerhouse like him could be a terrifying weapon—capable of tearing through enemies with ease. But the problem was, if he wasn't controlled, he could just as easily level his own home in the process.
As government operatives, Fury and his team understood all too well how officials thought. If superheroes could be controlled, the government would certainly welcome them. If not, they were a problem that needed to be handled.
However, this particular issue wasn't entirely in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s hands. The Superhero Registration Act was being pushed by the government itself. S.H.I.E.L.D. operated in a unique position—above all intelligence agencies but not fully belonging to any single country.
"The Age of Ultron..."
In his high-rise New York tower, Tony Stark stared at the diary in deep thought.
Once again, he saw the name Ultron—but this time, it was paired with the phrase "Age of Ultron."
What did that mean?
It seemed likely that Ultron had caused significant destruction—enough to define an entire era.
"Looks like Ultron really became a major villain," Tony muttered to himself. "For something to be called the 'Age of Ultron,' it must have been a disaster on a massive scale."
He had previously speculated that Ultron might be an AI of his own creation. But now, with this confirmation, a sinking feeling settled in his chest.
If Ultron had indeed caused such large-scale destruction, then Tony himself was responsible.
And now, reading further, he saw that the Superhero Registration Act had come after the Age of Ultron.
"Superhero Registration Act?"
At this point in time, Tony was far from the man he would become in later years. He was still a free-spirited, rebellious billionaire—someone who had once laughed in the faces of senators during a congressional hearing.
He could already tell what this bill was about just from the name alone.
And he hated it.
"This is a violation of liberty!" he muttered. "How could something like this even be passed?!"
Tony Stark was, at heart, a capitalist with a deep distrust of government oversight. A bill forcing superheroes to register and operate under government control? It disgusted him.
"But sir," J.A.R.V.I.S. interjected, "if the bill was passed, it likely had significant public support. Congress wouldn't push such legislation unless something drastic had happened to shift public opinion."
Tony sighed. "Yeah… something big must've happened. The Age of Ultron…"
If their earlier suspicions were correct, and Ultron was an AI that he created, then his actions may have directly led to an omnic crisis.
Maybe it wasn't just one event. Maybe Ultron caused a global catastrophe.
Or maybe… the problem wasn't just Ultron.
Maybe superheroes themselves had become a problem.
"J.A.R.V.I.S.," Tony murmured, his mind racing, "do you think the public even considers superheroes to be people?"
There was silence for a moment before J.A.R.V.I.S. responded.
"It depends on how superheroes are perceived, sir."
Tony thought about the heroes mentioned in Luo Chen's diary—Spider-Man, Spider-Woman, Hulk, Abomination…
Many of them weren't even fully human in appearance. They were monstrous, powerful beings, capable of causing unimaginable destruction.
Could the average citizen really look at them and feel a sense of kinship?
"People fear what they don't understand."
That was a universal truth, not just limited to any one culture.
"If the Superhero Registration Act became law, then it means people wanted it," J.A.R.V.I.S. said. "Luo Chen's diary suggests that superheroes often act without regulation—causing trouble, even if unintentionally. Over time, this could lead to increasing conflict between superheroes and the general public."
"Yeah…" Tony sighed. "Superheroes looking for trouble… that sounds about right."
If Luo Chen's diary was to be believed, Tony himself might have played a role in creating that trouble. He could already imagine it—his own AI creation, Ultron, spiraling out of control, leading to worldwide consequences.
And then, there was something else.
That damn line in the diary.
"That purple bastard snapping his fingers."
It was the second time Luo Chen had mentioned it.
Why?
If it were just some small event, he wouldn't have repeated it.
J.A.R.V.I.S. spoke up again. "Sir, if Luo Chen considers this 'snap' event to be significant, it must be a catastrophe of unimaginable scale. Perhaps even greater than the Age of Ultron itself."
Tony leaned back in his chair, rubbing his temples. "Yeah… But what is it? Is it a literal snap? Or some kind of metaphor?"
Luo Chen's diary often referenced inside jokes—things that, frustratingly, only made sense to someone with knowledge beyond their reality.
To Tony, it was just cryptic nonsense.
"Can't this guy just write a proper diary?"
Back at S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, Clint Barton groaned in frustration. "This whole thing is filled with weird references and metaphors! Who the hell is 'purple sweet potato guy'? And what's with the constant finger-snapping? And which superheroes are 'just looking for trouble'?"
The more they read, the more confusing it got.
If he could, Barton would've loved to find Luo Chen and shake some straight answers out of him.
"One thing's for sure," Nick Fury said, arms crossed. "Whoever this 'purple sweet potato guy' is, he's an extremely dangerous villain. And the finger snap? Probably a reference to something devastating he does."
"But what's even scarier," Natasha Romanoff added, "is the fact that Luo Chen hinted at something even worse than that event."
Everyone turned to her.
She tapped a specific line in the diary.
"There is a timeline far more dangerous than even the one where the purple bastard snaps his fingers."
"Luo Chen has mentioned this snap twice now," she continued. "It's obviously something major—something that might even threaten the entire world… or universe."
"And yet," she paused, looking around at the others, "he's implying that there's an even worse timeline."
A chilling silence filled the room.
Hill, who had been deep in thought, finally spoke up. "He mentioned timelines specifically… That suggests something different from parallel universes."
Nick Fury nodded slowly. "Yeah… Physically speaking, parallel universes are created by different choices. Every decision a person makes branches off into a new universe. But timelines… that's a different concept."
"A timeline might be altered by a key event," Hill continued. "For example… what if, during World War II, the United States lost?"
The room grew even colder at the thought.
A single historical event could shape an entire era.
So what was this terrible timeline Luo Chen had hinted at?
What event could be worse than the destruction caused by Ultron?
What event could be worse than whatever happened when the purple bastard snapped his fingers?
No one had an answer.
But they were starting to fear the possibilities.
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