Manhattan. The streets of New York.
The smoke hadn't fully cleared yet, but cheers were already ripping through the sky.
"We won!!"
"Homelander sent that alien boss flying!!"
The trainees collapsed onto the rubble, laughing, crying, hugging one another like survivors of a nightmare.
Pietro Maximoff leaned forward, gasping for breath. His flashy silver suit was torn in several places, his face smeared with dust and blood.
"Hey, bro," he nudged the figure beside him. "Your leg… that thing's really okay now?"
Next to him, Deadpool was busy stapling his leg back together.
"Of course!" Wade Wilson grinned through clenched teeth, firing a stapler into his own thigh. "This leg's been with me for twenty-eight whole weeks. I'm sentimental like that! As long as it's not ground beef, I'm not giving up on it. Ow—damn it, these staples are rusty!"
Not far away, Tony Stark had JARVIS scanning nearby buildings, evaluating structural damage.
"After this mess," Tony muttered, "my Damage Control division's gonna be working until the next century."
Nearby, Steve Rogers knelt beside a wounded civilian, carefully bandaging their arm.
For a moment—
It felt like it was over.
Then—
BOOOOOOM—!!!
The ground shook violently.
Every head snapped upward.
A massive black monstrosity slammed down from the sky, crashing into the heart of Times Square!
The shockwave flipped cars like toys. Asphalt shattered like brittle crackers.
As the dust cleared, a towering figure straightened slowly.
Eyes blazing with cursed fire.
Algrim scanned the heroes before him.
"W-what the hell is that thing?!" a trainee staggered backward in terror.
"Looks like a surprise encore," Deadpool said, hopping on one leg and waving his katana. "Hey, big guy! Show's over! No bonus performance! Your alien mom says it's dinner time!"
The Kurse didn't bother responding.
He grabbed a nearby fire truck and hurled it straight at Wade.
"WATCH OUT!!"
Steve shouted, charging forward with his shield.
But someone moved faster.
"My turn!!"
Robbie Baldwin—Speedball—launched himself forward, curling into a sphere midair and slamming into the fire truck with his kinetic field.
BANG!
Deadpool followed up, slashing downward.
"Let me give you a foot massage!"
His blade struck the Kurse's ankle.
CLANG!
Sparks flew.
The katana shattered.
"…Well," Wade stared at the broken hilt. "That's awkward."
The Kurse looked down at the red-clad clown hopping at his feet.
He reached out.
One hand seized Wade's shoulder.
The other grabbed his waist.
"Hey, big guy—let's talk this out—violence is a slippery slope—" Wade's voice cracked.
RIIIP—!!!
Before the eyes of a live national broadcast—
Deadpool was torn cleanly in half.
Blood and viscera splattered the pavement.
"Oh—my—God! My lower half! My little Wade!! Is this an R-rated set?!"
His upper body hit the ground, screaming and crawling.
Silence.
The entire battlefield froze, stunned by the brutality.
"RUN!!"
Steve was the first to react.
He raised his shield and charged.
"This monster is beyond you! Fall back—NOW!!"
But the Kurse gave them no time.
Like a runaway heavy tank, he plowed straight into the heroes.
BAM!
Firestar — Angelica barely unleashed a burst of flame before she was backhanded into a clothing store.
THUD!
Speedball tried to absorb the impact—only to be stomped straight into the ground, pinned and unable to move.
"STOP!!"
Pietro couldn't take it anymore.
Silver light flashed.
He entered max-speed mode, darting behind the Kurse, aiming for his joints.
But the monster reacted instantly.
A single backhand swing—
The air pressure alone sent Pietro flying.
He slammed into the street. Before he could recover, the Kurse was already there, lifting a massive slab of concrete overhead.
"Die, insect."
Pietro shut his eyes.
BOOM—!!!
The pain never came.
He opened them.
A gold-and-red figure stood between him and death.
Iron Man.
Tony Stark had arrived at the last possible second, his Mark 42 armor bracing as it caught the concrete slab head-on.
"Run… kid…" Tony grunted, faceplate open, veins bulging from the strain.
"JARVIS… full power output!"
"Sir, armor integrity critical. Support systems nearing failure!"
"Hold it!!"
CRACK!
The Mark 42's arm plating shattered. Hydraulic fluid sprayed into the air.
The Kurse sneered and pushed harder.
BAM!
The slab forced Tony down to one knee.
Still, he held it—creating just enough space for Pietro to survive.
"GO!!" Tony roared.
Pietro stared at him.
This man he once hated.
This "arms dealer."
This billionaire he called an enemy.
In that moment, Tony Stark wasn't a symbol.
He was just a man—
desperately trying to save someone else.
"…Why?" Pietro whispered.
"Because there's no time for why!" Tony shouted. "I'm Iron Man!"
The chest unibeam erupted, shattering the concrete slab—and draining the suit's last reserves.
The Kurse staggered back two steps.
Unharmed.
He lunged forward and punched Tony square in the chest.
THUD!
The armor disintegrated.
Tony flew like a rag doll and crashed into the street, unconscious.
"STARK!!"
Steve's eyes burned red.
He charged, swinging his vibranium shield into the monster's knee.
CLANG!
The Kurse's leg bent slightly.
"Not bad, Midgardian."
He turned fully to face Captain America.
The two collided.
Steve lacked the brute strength—but he had mastery, experience, and a shield that defied physics.
He rolled.
Jumped.
Blocked.
Countered.
For a brief moment—
He actually held his ground.
But strength was absolute.
After thirty exchanges—
The Kurse seized the shield's edge.
"Give it… to me!!"
With a roar, he ripped the shield from Steve's grasp and hurled it back.
BAM!
The shield slammed into Steve's body, sending him flying.
He hit the ground hard, blood spilling from his lips, unable to rise.
The Kurse stepped forward and reached for Steve's head.
"Resistance is meaningless," he said coldly.
"This is fate."
…
"HULK—!!! SMASH!!!"
A thunderous roar descended from the sky.
--------------
T/N:
Access Advance Chapters on my
P@treon: [email protected]/PokePals