◇ I'll be dropping one bonus chapters for every 10 reviews. comment
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ You can read 50 chapter ahead on P@treon of which 10 are free Chapters. if you're interested: patreon.com/Heroicverse
"Motherf—!" Nick Fury slammed his fist on the desk.
"Who the hell is he?! What's he doing—grandstanding?!"
"Sir," a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent adjusted his glasses, "whoever he is, he's strong—seriously strong. And look at the public's reaction.
In the corner of the monitor, live feeds from every network rolled on.
"...We're seeing it—unbelievable! This mysterious Superman just blew that monster away!"
"Who is he? Is he really Superman? There's no S on his chest!"
"Mommy! It's Superman! It really is!"
The crowd's cheers came through the screen crystal-clear.
Ding! Popularity +501
Ding! Popularity +442
Ding! Popularity +641
...Current popularity: 150,124
Popularity skyrocketing! New York buzz: Rising star!
Power-up! Heat-vision temperature increased!
Vargas felt the raw power surging through him, so intoxicating he almost moaned.
The battle raged on.
With Vargas—this bargain-bin Superman—joining the fray, the Chitauri invasion force could barely lift their heads.
He was a red-and-blue bolt of lightning, carving reckless arcs across the battlefield.
He wasn't just fighting; he was putting on a show.
Every punch had to strike the most heroic pose.
Every blast of heat-vision had to slice with surgical flair.
Every rescue had to come at the most cinematic, cliff-edge instant.
He spotted a bus full of commuters about to be crushed by a collapsing tower.
A blink, and he stood atop the roof, one hand—
CRASH!!!
He caught the falling concrete slab single-handedly!
"Oh my God..." Passengers inside gawked through the glass at the man above.
Vargas, looking like a god descended, with the star-spangled cape fluttering behind him, formed an image that hit like a freight train.
He even had the leisure to wink at a kid pressed to the window.
"Whoa..."
"He saved us!!"
"Superman! It's Superman!!"
"I'm posting this to Facebook!"
The crowd erupted in wild cheers.
Phones, cameras—anything that could record—pointed at him.
"Yes... just like that!" Vargas drank it all in greedily.
"Look at me! Adore me!!"
Ding! Popularity +550
Ding! Popularity +601
Ding! Popularity +666
...Current popularity: 170,124
Another huge wave of popularity!
He casually hurled the slab at a Chitauri squad, then flew off elegantly, hunting the next "camera angle."
Right now he was a graceful butcher—sometimes using heat-vision for delicate surgery, sometimes ripping enemies apart with sheer speed and strength before they could blink.
He even found time to hover above Black Widow, landing in front of her as she was surrounded.
"Ma'am, need a hand?" He smiled; his eyes flashed red, slicing the dozen Chitauri in front of her into pieces.
Natasha tightened her grip on her weapons, eyeing him warily.
"Thanks—but you're crowding me."
"My pleasure." Vargas winked his left eye, bent his knees, and shot skyward.
"...Jerk." Natasha muttered, though she had to admit he'd cut her workload in half.
"That cape guy's stealing the spotlight," Hawkeye called from a rooftop, an arrow exploding three Chitauri.
"He looks even tougher than Thor," Black Widow assessed coolly while fighting.
"He's powerful," Captain America replied grimly over comms.
"We don't know him—we need to talk. But right now, anyone helping is a friend!"
"First let's deal with Thor's drama-queen brother!" Stark's voice crackled. "I'm almost at Stark Tower—Loki's there."
At that moment Loki was aboard a Chitauri skiff, scepter in hand, savoring the invasion he'd orchestrated.
"Target spotted!" Hawkeye loosed a specialty explosive arrow from high ground.
Loki didn't even turn, casually catching the arrow with one hand, smirking.
"...?"
BOOM—!!!
The blast hurled Loki from the sky in a sorry arc, smashing straight into Stark Tower... Vargas watched with interest and flew after him.
Inside Stark Tower.
Loki lay dazed, covered in dust.
He staggered to his feet—only to see the man in the star-spangled cape grinning down at him.
"Ugh..." Loki clutched his head; the pride of Asgard's prince had been trampled.
"Enough!" Loki roared, rising. "Who do you think you are?! I am a god! You're a foolish, inferior mortal!"
"You will not mock me! I won't be defeated by some..."
Before Loki could finish, Vargas vanished.
Loki's pupils shrank.
Too fast!
The next second Vargas was in front of him, hand clamping around his throat, hoisting him high.
"What were you saying?" Vargas smiled, eyes icy.
"You dare—!" Loki struggled, face purple.
Vargas's grin widened.
He flung Loki skyward, then flashed above him, feet slamming into the god's gut—an airborne stomp! CRASH!!!
Marble slabs cracked, leaving a man-shaped crater.
Before Loki could gasp, Vargas grabbed his ankle and whipped him like a hammer-throw.
With a howl, Loki became a blur, ricocheting off pillars, walls, ceilings inside Stark Tower.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Every impact bent steel and shattered concrete; the whole tower seemed to quake.
Loki's helmet was long gone; he foamed at the mouth, eyes rolling, stars in his vision.
"Say again—what are you?"
BANG!!
Vargas slammed Loki's head into an alloy support; the column caved.
"A... god?"
BANG!!!
Next he spiked Loki like a volleyball into a glass curtain-wall frame; the entire wall exploded outward.
Vargas paused, dangling the half-dead trickster like a trash bag.
He rolled his shoulders, then flashed a perfect, "heroic" smile.
"Alright—finale."
He leapt high with Loki, burst through the ceiling, flipped mid-air, and—classic piledriver—drove Loki head-first into the floor.
BOOM—SPLAT!!!
A thunderous crash.
Loki's upper body was planted in the concrete; only his legs twitched above ground.
"..."
Iron Man had just landed; Captain America and Black Widow rushed from the elevator—just in time to see it.
All three froze.
Natasha: "...He—he planted Loki in the ground?"
Stark touched down, faceplate opening: "Okay, I gotta say—that was pretty awesome."
"..."
"Loki!" Thor slammed to the floor from above.
He saw his brother—only legs sticking out.
Thor's face turned crimson; he raised Mjolnir at Vargas and roared: "You mortal! How dare you—how... how..."
He "how"-ed for a while, unable to find the word.
After all, his little brother had started the invasion.
"How dare you humiliate my brother like this!"