Happy Hogan felt like he had had a very long dream. In the dream, he had returned to the boxing ring, being pinned to the ground and ground into the dirt by a monster with infinite strength. His bones were breaking one by one, and in the end, even breathing became a luxury.
Then, he was soaked in a pool of warm spring water, and all the pain vanished.
He opened his eyes abruptly and sat up.
"I—where am I? Am I dead?"
The surroundings were filled with piercing Police sirens and the hushed whispers of the crowd; the air was thick with the smell of burning and blood. He looked down at himself; his suit was covered in bloodstains and holes, but his body was completely unharmed.
He touched his chest and abdomen, which had been in excruciating pain before. There were no wounds, no pain, not even the slightest discomfort.
"Great, you're okay now."
A gentle female voice sounded in front of him. Happy looked up and saw the girl with long orange hair. She was squatting in front of him, a faint smile on her face with two shallow dimples, looking relieved.
"Was it you—who saved me?" Happy's voice was a bit hoarse.
"Mm-hmm!"
The girl nodded vigorously, then added somewhat shyly, "Your body was severely injured and was bleeding constantly, so I asked my power to heal you."
"Asked your power—to heal me?"
Happy repeated the words, his mind struggling to process it. He looked down, confirming his body once more.
The excruciating pain of his bones shattering in his memory was so real, yet now, apart from the bloodstains and holes in his clothes, he couldn't find even a scratch.
He moved his arms and twisted his waist, feeling even more energetic than after an afternoon at the gym.
What was this? Superpowers?
As Tony Stark's former bodyguard, Happy was no stranger to the term "superpowers."
He had seen a big green guy, and he had seen a god with a hammer.
So, this orange-haired girl healing him in a way he couldn't understand, while absurd, wasn't entirely unacceptable.
He struggled to stand up, looking at the girl's delicate and innocent face, then at the blind man beside her, who was as tall as a mountain and whose mere presence was suffocating.
Happy knew that he had just taken a trip to the gates of hell and had been pulled back by these two people.
He solemnly straightened his ruined suit, cleared his throat, and put on a serious expression.
"My name is Happy Hogan, the Head of Security for Stark Industries."
He introduced himself first; it was his habit.
"Thank you both very much for saving my life. I owe you my life."
"Ah, you're welcome!"
The girl waved her hands repeatedly, feeling a bit flustered by his solemn thanks.
"Hello! My name is Orihime Inoue, nice to meet you!"
The moment the girl stated her name, the pair of light blue flower-shaped hairpins on her head glowed slightly.
At the same time, she saw a translucent, soft green glowing shield pattern flash and disappear above the tall, blind man's head.
A companion?
Orihime's eyes lit up, and the tension and unease she felt from being in an unfamiliar environment instantly dissipated for the most part.
Before Orihime Inoue could think about it further, the man spoke.
"I am Fujitora Issho."
His voice was low and steady, as if the earth-shattering explosion and the rain of glass just now had nothing to do with him.
"It was a mere trifle, not worth mentioning."
Although Fujitora was blind, his Observation Haki saw more clearly than any eyes could.
The moment Orihime Inoue stated her name, he "heard" the aura emanating from her—gentle, pure, and filled with the will to protect, echoing the "benevolent justice" he himself upheld.
That aura resonated strangely with the [Guardian Faction] mark on his system panel.
He turned his head slightly, his face covered with a cross-shaped scar turning toward Orihime Inoue.
"Rejecting all phenomena in the world, returning them to nothingness. Miss, your ability is truly remarkable."
This praise was plain and simple, yet it carried an unquestionable weight.
He praised her from the bottom of his heart. Gravity was a pure force that could protect or destroy. But this girl's ability seemed to be filled with compassion at its very root.
"Eh?!"
Orihime Inoue's face turned bright red instantly, and she waved her hands nervously in front of her, becoming incoherent.
"No, no, no! That's not it! I, I just—just did a tiny little thing! Compared to you, sir, it's nothing at all!"
She hurriedly pointed to the sky, then to the distance, explaining eagerly: "If you hadn't thrown that person who was about to explode into the sky, and gathered up all the glass, this place would have already—already—"
She couldn't think of the right words, so she could only wave her arms vigorously, gesturing that "everything would be finished."
"My insignificant power can only save a few people. It was you, sir, who saved everyone here!" The girl's tone was incredibly sincere, her eyes filled with admiration for the strong.
Happy listened to their conversation from the side, his mouth slightly agape.
Threw the exploding person into the sky? Gathered up all the glass?
He recalled the last scene he saw before losing consciousness: the man named Taggart had turned into a human torch, and then—then it seemed like he flew up? And then, there was a deafening explosion.
He looked up at his surroundings. The skyscrapers that had had their glass shattered were now just rows of dark, hollow window frames, yet not a single shard of glass could be seen on the ground.
Linking this to the loud noise coming from the river in the distance, an incredible theory formed in his mind.
This blind man had molded all the broken glass in the city into a ball and thrown it into the river?
Happy swallowed hard, feeling his worldview being refreshed once again.
Compared to these two, his boss, who could only fly around in the sky and shoot lasers, didn't seem so cool anymore.
Their conversation was interrupted by a commotion.
"Police! Nobody move! Hands up!"
A dozen Police officers finally recovered from their immense shock, raising their guns and cautiously surrounding the center of the wreckage.
Their expressions were tense, and their palms were sweaty as they gripped their guns. They couldn't help but be nervous; everything that happened tonight had completely exceeded the scope of their duty manuals.
First, a person flew into the sky and exploded, then all the broken glass in the sky turned into a big ball and flew away, and now a person who was about to die was hit by a golden light and was jumping around.
They didn't even know who to aim at. The tall blind man? The glowing girl? Or the guy pinned to the ground, unable to move?
A middle-aged Police officer who appeared to be the leader, sweat beading on his forehead, spoke with difficulty: "Who—who are you people? We received a report, what happened here?"
Before his question could be answered, an angry voice interjected from the side.
"Who are you pointing your guns at!"
The blonde female Doctor who had treated Happy strode forward, spreading her arms and standing fearlessly in front of Fujitora and Orihime.
"They are the heroes who saved all of us! The criminal is that guy lying on the ground!"
She pointed at Savin, who was still being suppressed by gravity, lying on the ground like a puddle of mud.
"That guy hurt this gentleman and tried to steal something! And the one who exploded was his accomplice too!"
Happy Hogan immediately followed up, straightening his back and bringing out the presence of a Stark Industries Head of Security.
"She's right, Officer. I'm the victim. If it weren't for this gentleman and this lady, not only would I be dead, but that madman who was about to explode would have leveled this place. You should be thanking them right now, not pointing your guns at them."
"Yeah! They saved us!"
"That uncle in the kimono is super cool! He made all the glass disappear!"
"And that big sister, she glows! My leg was injured from being stepped on, but after being hit by the light, it doesn't hurt anymore!"
A little girl hugging her mother's leg shouted excitedly.
The crowd grew restless, and those tourists who had just been pulled back from the edge of death spoke up, defending Fujitora and Orihime.