The area where Thor stood was now eerily quiet, with only a single vibranium shield lying amidst the devastation. It served as the sole evidence that Soldier Boy, a recently famed superhero, had died here.
"What happened? Did you find the Parademons? Or maybe Steppenwolf?" Robert's voice came through the communicator just as Thor was preparing to leave.
Thor's earlier clash, though not his full strength, was significant enough to emit powerful energy fluctuations, naturally drawing Robert's attention.
"It was three people who claimed to be members of some group called the Black Cloak Watch. They seemed mentally unstable, and one of them was a Hydra agent who tried to use their brainwashing commands on me. So, I killed them," Thor said with a shrug, sounding indifferent.
After all, killing three people—even if they were extraordinary individuals or superheroes—wasn't a big deal to him. They weren't part of the Avengers and had provoked and attacked him first. By Thor's reckoning, he was completely justified.
"Black Cloak Watch? What's that? And Hydra's reappeared? I thought the Skrulls had entirely replaced them," Robert replied with a hint of surprise in his voice.
Having just returned to Earth, Robert wasn't yet familiar with the situation regarding the Black Cloak Watch and had no idea what they were about.
"They seem like a government-backed superhero organization. As for Hydra, their resilience is well-known. It's not surprising they haven't been completely wiped out. After all, anyone could use Hydra's name to operate in the shadows," Thor said, his tone tinged with the insight of someone who had once been part of Hydra.
"But judging by how they knew about my brainwashing and personal details, this looks like the original Hydra organization, not some offshoot," he added.
"Were they powerful enough to make you take them seriously?" Robert asked, frowning. While he hadn't sensed any truly formidable energy signatures, anything that warranted Thor's seriousness was worth noting.
"No, their strength wasn't much of an issue. Honestly, I could've handled them when I first came to Earth. What annoyed me were their personalities and actions, which were irritating enough to provoke me," Thor replied with a faint trace of displeasure in his voice. Even after eliminating the trio, he wasn't entirely pacified, given how Storm had tried to control him and the Invisible Man and Soldier Boy had repeatedly attacked him.
"Let's focus on Steppenwolf and Darkseid for now. Compared to them, this Black Cloak Watch is no real threat," Robert said, shaking his head. He dismissed the Black Cloak Watch as an afterthought, reasoning that if they were truly troublesome, Steve or someone else would have already raised the alarm.
"Fine. I'll keep searching. But I doubt we'll find Steppenwolf anytime soon. I contacted Heimdall earlier, and even he couldn't locate Steppenwolf," Thor said, though he seemed skeptical.
"You think there's a chance Steppenwolf fled Earth with the Mother Boxes? Otherwise, where could he hide that Heimdall can't see him?"
"Do you think he left to set up a full-scale invasion?" Robert asked, now uncertain. Having not been present during the earlier events, he wasn't entirely clear on how Steppenwolf operated.
"If that's the case, there's only one way to find Steppenwolf—and possibly Darkseid."
"You mean to lift the Space Stone's lockdown and bait Steppenwolf into revealing himself?" Thor immediately grasped Robert's plan.
"Exactly," Robert confirmed with a nod and promptly contacted Tony Stark and the others to share his idea.
"Are you sure about this? The last time the lockdown was lifted, J.A.R.V.I.S. detected numerous spatial fluctuations. Even if you're incredibly powerful, opening so many portals and unleashing so many Parademons could allow some to slip through the cracks," Tony said as he and Steve quickly returned to Avengers HQ. Stark looked hesitant, his expression serious.
While he trusted Robert's strength, this plan felt like gambling with the lives of everyone on Earth. Tony found it hard to convince himself that no one would die as a result. Even one death would weigh heavily on him as a personal failure.
"Don't worry. I'll handle it," Robert assured him, casually forming a massive ki blast in his hand. The glowing orb hovered menacingly in the air, triggering an alert from J.A.R.V.I.S., which displayed the energy's threat level.
According to J.A.R.V.I.S.' calculations, even with Earth's reinforced structure—far more durable than most planets—this single ki blast could obliterate the planet if it made contact.
"You've seen this technique before," Robert explained, glancing at Tony and Steve. "It's the same one I use to deal with swarms of minor enemies. This time, I won't control it directly. It'll float in the air and wait for the Parademons to show up."
Robert's technique, similar to a "rain of destruction," could systematically eliminate enemies with precision. Even if there were billions of Parademons, he could ensure none escaped, making it the perfect tool for clearing the battlefield of lesser threats.
"As long as you're confident, I'll trust you," Tony said, exhaling deeply. J.A.R.V.I.S.' data had made it clear just how devastating Robert's attack could be.
"What's that? A second sun in the sky?" Soon after Robert's ki blast began hovering in Earth's atmosphere, people started to notice. Earthlings were already accustomed to such anomalies—Clark's energy often glowed like a miniature sun, for example.
However, these phenomena always signaled significant events. After the recent Parademon invasion, Earth's inhabitants had developed a reflexive fear of such signs and began panicking, retreating to safety in underground shelters.
Over the years, Earth had become well-prepared for such emergencies. Bunkers, air-raid shelters, and basements were abundant, and people instinctively sought refuge in these spaces. The odds of survival were far higher underground than out in the open.
Meanwhile, the Black Cloak Watch received reports about the "new sun." Vault Group, still investigating the mysterious deaths of three of its members, decided to send their strongest asset—Homelander—to investigate. They wanted to determine whether this new phenomenon was related to their losses and posed any threat.
"A new sun? Let's see what this is all about," Homelander said confidently as he flew toward the ki blast, showing no fear.
After all, Homelander believed himself to be invincible. The experiments had made him perfect—or so he thought. Not even Superman, the so-called "God among Men," could compare to him. In his mind, he was the ultimate version of what a superhero should be.
"It doesn't feel dangerous. What is this? A pure energy source? Some kind of tech? Maybe an Avengers clean-energy project?" Homelander muttered as he examined the ki blast. He couldn't recognize what it was and assumed it was related to the Avengers' experiments. Though his logic was off, his conclusion wasn't entirely wrong.
"Should I test it out? Making life difficult for the Avengers is part of my job anyway," Homelander said with a smirk. His eyes began to glow red.
"Shhh!" A beam of heat vision shot toward the ki blast, but it didn't leave a single mark. Homelander froze in disbelief, his expression darkening.
Though no one else could see him or knew what he had done, Homelander felt as though he'd been humiliated.
"Hmm!" Infuriated, Homelander ramped up his heat vision's intensity, surpassing even the energy output of Soldier Boy's earlier self-detonation.
But no matter how much energy he poured into the attack, it was like throwing pebbles into an ocean. The ki blast remained entirely unaffected, and his actions drew Robert's attention.
"What's this?" Robert sensed energy assaulting his ki blast and picked up on Homelander's aura. Raising an eyebrow, he casually directed a small portion of energy from the ki blast toward Homelander to teach him a lesson.
"What the—?!" Homelander barely had time to react as the ki blast shot a beam toward him. The energy struck him before he could dodge.
"Boom!" Homelander's body was sent hurtling backward, faster than he had ever flown. When he regained his senses, he was embedded in the side of a mountain, his body wracked with pain. For the first time in his life, Homelander nearly blacked out.
Robert hadn't intended to kill him, not knowing who Homelander was. He simply wanted to punish whoever was messing with the ki blast. But even this minor reprimand had nearly ended Homelander's life.
"Shit! What is that thing? It's terrifying! This can't be the Avengers' work, can it? Their files don't show them having this kind of power..." Homelander thought as he slowly regained his composure.
Homelander had been injured before, but that was before the experiments that had made him what he was now. Since becoming this "perfect being," no one had managed to harm him—until now. This incident shattered his confidence.
Meanwhile, at Avengers HQ, Robert ignored Homelander, focusing instead on monitoring the situation as Tony Stark deactivated the Space Stone's lockdown. Robert sharpened his senses, ready for any changes.
"Whirr!" The spatial lockdown dissipated, but initially, nothing seemed amiss.
"The spatial barrier is down again. Should I try again? But I still don't know what the Avengers are planning..." Steppenwolf noticed the change but hesitated, wary of falling into another trap.
However
, after waiting for a moment and confirming that the barrier didn't return, Steppenwolf grew excited. He assumed the Avengers must have reached their limit.
"Begin the operation!" Steppenwolf commanded, taking a deep breath as he activated the Mother Boxes.
In the skies above Earth, spatial portals began to open one after another.
"Swish!"
"Swish!"
"Swish!"
As Parademons poured through the portals, Robert's ki blast erupted into action. The energy waves instantly obliterated the incoming Parademons, leaving no room for escape. Against the ki blast, they were as helpless as ordinary humans, unable to withstand even a single strike.
"Such a distant planet..." Robert's eyes lit up as he locked onto the energy signatures of Steppenwolf and the Mother Boxes. Through the portals, he could now sense the far-off world housing Steppenwolf's army of Parademons!
______
(≧◡≦) ♡ Support me and read 20 chapters ahead – patreon.com/INNIT
For every 50 Power Stones, one extra chapter will be released on Saturday.