The reception room had been transformed into a miniature television studio. Lights on portable stands bathed the seating area in soft, even illumination. Mike had positioned his camera for the best angle, while Sara monitored audio levels on a small mixing board. Eddie stood off to the side, reviewing his notes one final time.
When Smith Doyle walked through the door, Eddie immediately straightened and extended his hand.
"Mr. Smith Doyle, I'm Eddie Brock. We actually met briefly at the Universal Capsule Company product launch a few months ago."
Smith studied Eddie's hand for a fraction of a second before shaking it. The reporter's grip was firm, professional, and entirely human. No symbiote yet, then. Smith found himself wondering if the Life Foundation's spacecraft had even returned to Earth yet, or if those particular complications were still years away.
"Hello, Mr. Brock," Smith said with an easy smile. He moved to the single armchair that had been positioned for him and settled in comfortably. "I understand you've made quite a few trips to see me. Eight previous visits before today?"
Eddie's smile turned sheepish as he took his own seat across from Smith. "Nine total, including today. I have to admit, the persistence was partly professional ambition. Every media outlet in the country wants an exclusive with you, but no one's managed to get one."
He leaned forward slightly. "I'm incredibly grateful that my determination paid off."
Smith had seen Eddie's past interviews. The man had a talent for disarming his subjects with charm before going for the throat with unexpected questions. The humble act was exactly that—an act. A good one, admittedly.
"I've watched some of your work," Smith said, his tone light but his eyes sharp. "You're not here to write a puff piece, are you? Planning to dig up some dirt?"
Eddie's laugh was genuine, if a bit nervous. "Mr. Smith, you're a superhero, an entrepreneur, and a philanthropist. The insurance program you created for superhero-related property damage has helped thousands of people who lost everything through no fault of their own."
He spread his hands. "The public needs heroes like you. I'm just hoping to help them get to know you better."
Smith waved off the compliment. "My time is valuable, Mr. Brock. Let's skip the flattery and get to the actual questions."
He glanced at his watch. "I have other commitments later today, so we should make the most of this opportunity."
Eddie nodded, his professional demeanor snapping into place. He gestured to Mike, who gave a thumbs-up from behind the camera. The red recording light blinked on.
"Let's start with your origin story, so to speak," Eddie began. "At just twenty years old, you became a major shareholder in Stark Industries and accumulated significant wealth. You then founded Universal Capsule Company, which has revolutionized consumer technology in less than two years. Can you walk us through how you built your fortune?"
Smith took a moment to consider his answer, knowing that whatever he said would be analyzed and dissected by financial experts and conspiracy theorists alike.
"My first real capital came from Tony Stark, actually," he said. "This was during the period when Tony was attacked and went missing in Afghanistan. Everyone remembers the media frenzy, the stock crash, the uncertainty."
He leaned back in his chair. "Stark Industries contacted me through intermediaries and commissioned me to lead a rescue operation. They knew I had certain... capabilities that made me suited for that kind of work."
Smith's expression grew more serious. "The outcome is public knowledge. I brought Tony home safely and was compensated accordingly. That payment became my seed capital."
Eddie's eyebrows rose. "So you essentially earned your fortune by saving Iron Man's life?"
"In a manner of speaking, yes. But the rescue fee was just the beginning." Smith smiled slightly. "With that initial capital, I bought substantial short positions against Stark Industries stock. The company was in chaos, Tony was missing, and the price kept falling. I rode that decline all the way down."
He paused, letting the implication hang in the air. "Then, just before Tony announced he was becoming Iron Man, I closed all my short positions and immediately went long. Bought as much Stark Industries stock as I could afford."
Eddie let out a low whistle. "That's... incredible timing."
"I believed in Tony," Smith said simply. "I knew that if anyone could turn the company around, it was him. And I was right. The stock price exploded after his announcement. That series of trades multiplied my initial investment many times over."
Smith gestured around the room. "The profits from those trades funded Universal Capsule Company. And once Bulma perfected our product, the rest became a matter of execution."
Eddie scribbled notes on his tablet. "I have to say, Mr. Smith, you demonstrated remarkable skill in the stock market. Do you have a background in finance? Any other major trades we could verify?"
Smith shook his head. "I'm no stock market genius, Eddie. I don't have some supernatural ability to predict market movements."
He met the reporter's eyes directly. "The Stark Industries investment was personal. I believed in Tony as a friend and as an innovator. It was one of the very few times I've played the market, and I did it based on faith in a person, not some algorithm or insider knowledge."
Eddie nodded slowly. "Well, faith or not, it paid off handsomely. Stark Industries is still performing exceptionally well, even after Tony stepped down as CEO."
He shifted in his seat, moving to his next question. "I've been monitoring your fan communities online—yes, you have quite a few—and while people are certainly interested in your business success, they're even more fascinated by your abilities."
Eddie's tone grew more animated. "You and Tony Stark have been called the twin peaks of human achievement. He represents the pinnacle of technology, and you represent the pinnacle of human physical capability. People online have started calling you Superman, comparing you to the comic book character."
He leaned forward. "Which brings me to my question: Do you believe aliens exist?"
Smith blinked at the sudden shift in topic. For a moment, he'd thought Eddie was building toward asking if he himself was an alien. The actual question was almost a relief.
"The universe is incomprehensibly vast," Smith said, his voice taking on a more philosophical tone. "Earth is one planet orbiting one star in a galaxy of hundreds of billions of stars. Our galaxy is one of hundreds of billions of galaxies in the observable universe."
He spread his hands. "Given those numbers, I think it's statistically certain that intelligent life exists somewhere else out there."
Smith's expression grew more serious. "In fact, I'd argue that if there is no intelligent life anywhere else in the universe, that would be a far more disturbing possibility."
Eddie tilted his head. "How so?"
"Because it would mean humanity didn't evolve naturally," Smith said quietly. "It would mean we were placed here, designed, created for some purpose by some entity powerful enough to seed an entire planet with life. That's a much more frightening scenario than simply discovering we're not alone."
The logic was sound, and Eddie clearly hadn't expected such a thoughtful response. He recovered quickly, though.
"But we've never seen any concrete evidence of extraterrestrial intelligence," Eddie countered. "There have been countless UFO reports over the years, but none of them have been definitively proven."
Smith allowed himself a small smile. "I stand by my position. I believe that one day—maybe one day soon—we'll have undeniable proof that intelligent life exists beyond Earth."
He knew exactly how soon. When Loki arrived with his Chitauri army, the entire world would learn that humanity was far from alone in the universe. And they'd learn it in the worst possible way—through invasion.
Eddie seemed to sense he wasn't going to get anything more specific on that topic. He checked his notes and moved on.
"Fair enough. I hope I'm alive to see it when that day comes." Eddie's expression brightened artificially. "Though I also hope that if we do meet aliens, humanity has expanded beyond Earth by then. The planet is huge, but our population keeps growing, and the environmental damage is becoming harder to ignore. It would be nice to have options."
Smith nodded but said nothing, letting Eddie build to his real question.
"Which brings me to something more immediate," Eddie continued, his tone shifting subtly. "Since Universal Capsule Company released the combat power scouters, we've seen a surge in public awareness of extraordinary individuals. People with enhanced strength, enhanced speed, various supernatural abilities."
He set down his tablet, focusing entirely on Smith. "More and more of these individuals are being identified every day. Some of them are using their powers for good, but others... aren't. My question is this: Do you think the emergence of so many enhanced individuals will squeeze out space for ordinary people? Will it create a new kind of inequality?"
Eddie's voice grew sharper, more intense. "And more practically, if these enhanced people commit crimes, how are regular police officers supposed to stop them? Right now, we have you, Iron Man, and Blue Dynamo as known superheroes. But what happens when there are dozens of super-powered criminals and only three heroes?"
The shift in tone was masterful. Eddie had moved from softball questions about business and aliens to a genuinely difficult social issue. Smith could see the trap being laid—whatever he said would be used to frame a narrative about enhanced individuals versus normal humans.
The question struck at the heart of something that was already troubling people online. Smith had seen the forums, read the opinion pieces. The old saying came to mind: People don't resent poverty; they resent inequality.
And if wealthy people already looked down on the middle class, how would super-powered individuals view ordinary humans? Would they see them as the same species, or as something lesser?
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