Hyperion? Who's that? Never heard of him.
Attuma, the Warlord of Atlantis, stood baffled. Schooled in vast knowledge and privy to countless secrets, he'd never encountered the name Hyperion. Perhaps this figure was renowned in some cosmic corner? To claim the title of mightiest Eternal was bold.
The mightiest Eternal in the universe?
Attuma's expressionless gaze shifted to Ikaris, standing beside Hyperion, probing for answers. He knew Ikaris was formidable, nearly flawless, every ability a strength. On Earth, Ikaris ranked among the elite.
Sure, he'd faltered against Adam, but that was a fluke, caught off-guard, exposed globally, doused in Xenomorph blood, he'd fled in panic. Ikaris could even survive and move swiftly in space. Now, after a long absence, he'd returned with this Hyperion, an Eternal, to Earth.
Attuma scrutinized Hyperion, skepticism brewing, but he held his tongue. So far, Hyperion seemed only arrogantly brutal, with no standout traits.
"Welcome to Earth. We share a common enemy, making us unbreakable allies. The ocean's might joined with your cosmic power will make short work of those land-dwellers." Attuma said.
"Shut up. Ocean, land, what narrow, childish divisions. Like kids squabbling over turf." Hyperion scoffed, glaring down at Attuma with disdain. "And you think you're worthy to be my ally? Adam's crew might qualify as my enemies, but you? I could kill you with a glance!"
He turned, irritably glaring at Ikaris. "This planet wasn't even on my radar. Your incompetence dragged me here, wasting my time."
Ikaris frowned, a flicker of displeasure crossing his face. "I don't get why you're so unhinged. We both serve Arishem. I've met other Eternals, and none were as volatile as you."
"Ha! Other Eternals? You dare say that? Besides Ajak's crew and me, name one you've met. Forgotten your place? You're a tool, memory-wiped by Arishem after every mission." Hyperion sneered.
Ikaris' face darkened, about to retort, when Hyperion's eyes blazed crimson, unleashing a searing heat vision. "You're insane!" Ikaris shouted, startled, channeling energy to his own eyes, firing golden heat beams.
Red and gold clashed over the sea, their beams colliding. Attuma watched silently as blistering heat vaporized swathes of water. The red beam swiftly overpowered the gold, engulfing Ikaris, hurling him hundreds of meters. He tumbled across the sea like a shattered stone, briefly cleaving the surface.
It happened in seconds, a single exchange revealing a stark power gap. The difference was vast.
"You both use heat vision? And flight… Do you have identical powers?" Attuma asked after a long pause.
Cold-blooded as he was, Hyperion's volatile brutality unnerved him. A powerful foe wasn't scary, but an unstable, powerful lunatic who might kill over a slight? That was trouble. Ikaris, a fellow Eternal, was a mere tool to Hyperion, utterly dismissed.
Ikaris' chest heaved, fury boiling. In millions of years, even in fragmented memories Arishem hadn't erased, no one had humiliated him like this. Not even Arishem, his creator, treated him so.
Yet Hyperion dared. This maniac killed even allies if it suited him, Ikaris thought, perhaps just to clear the field. But he couldn't deny Hyperion's strength.
Their powers mirrored: flight, heat vision, superhuman sight, hearing, strength, speed, healing, energy manipulation. What one could do, the other could too, as if carved from the same mold. Yet Hyperion outclassed Ikaris in every metric, the gap staggering.
"It's not heat vision, it's atomic vision." Hyperion corrected, his reddened eyes cooling to normal.
"What's your plan? I know you despise me for resembling you, like a copy. But we share one truth: serving Arishem is our fate." Ikaris said, swallowing his humiliation, maintaining restraint. To stop Adam and hasten Tiamut's emergence, he needed Hyperion's might.
Lying low wasn't an option. The thought of Arishem, vast as a planet, sent shivers through Ikaris' core.
"Our task is simple. These natives lead us to Adam. We kill him and wipe out his pathetic Xenomorphs." Hyperion declared.
Hyperion pointed at Attuma, his gesture as casual as patting a stray dog's head, utterly dismissive.
Everyone present could sense Hyperion didn't see Attuma as human. In his eyes, Atlanteans were doomed fodder, destined to be sacrificed for Tiamut's emergence. Wasting time or emotion on them was pointless.
A flicker of cold anger crossed Attuma's face, quickly masked. "Don't underestimate Adam. He conquered Jotunheim and now expands aggressively in the oceans, with hundreds of thousands of troops, exceptional in both quality and quantity." He said. After a pause, whether deliberate or not, he added, "And his lieutenant, Reynolds, is immensely powerful. From what I know, his abilities closely mirror yours."
"Sentry? I've heard of him. Some cosmic types mention him. So, he's Adam's top lapdog? Kill him, and no one will say he's like me." Hyperion snapped, his mood souring. He felt everyone was copying him lately.
With an impatient wave, unintentionally unrestrained, he unleashed a gust that hurled an entire squad of elite Atlantean soldiers, save Attuma, skyward, vanishing to who-knows-where. Before Attuma could decide whether to voice his discontent, Hyperion fired a heat vision blast into the distance, piercing the ocean and instantly killing a stealthy Xenomorph.
Its corrosive blood mingled with seawater, bubbling like boiling water, sending plumes of steam skyward.
"Xenomorphs here mean Adam's already aware of your arrival. He always knows exactly what they see and touch." Ikaris said, regaining his composure, at least outwardly.
"Good. We find him, kill him, and take out his minions too." Hyperion declared, soaring high, arms spread, basking in golden sunlight. Led by Ikaris, the two streaked toward New York City as beams of light.
Attuma remained on the churning waves, his face impassive. He knew Hyperion likely had superhuman vision and might be watching for any shift in his expression. Contacting Ikaris was meant to secure a powerful ally. Earth's Eternals were nearly wiped out by Adam, most turned into his Xenomorphs, but the cosmos held many Eternals, especially Arishem's elite enforcers.
Now, Ikaris had brought reinforcements, but this ally had no respect for Atlantis. Not purging them outright was a small mercy.
"Fine. Let the Eternals and Xenomorphs slaughter each other. The more powerful ones die, the better. Then we can drown the surface." Attuma mused coldly, setting off to recover his scattered soldiers.
He ignored Namor's frantic messages, sent via high-tech or magic, with disdain. Namor was nothing. Once Attuma drowned the continents, replacing him would be natural.
Oh, and Wakanda, its people would die without exception, stuffed into the seas, drowned alive, every last one.
…
"That's Hyperion, no doubt. This universe has a Hyperion? This is thrilling." Adam said, eyes gleaming. Monitoring battles, he'd received a Xenomorph's relayed intel, sparking excitement.
This was Hyperion, Marvel's true Superman. Including Ikaris, the Marvel multiverse boasted five Superman analogues: Ikaris, Sentry, Hyperion, Gladiator, and Blue Marvel.
All Hyperions shared the same origin: Eternals. He absorbed omnipresent cosmic radiation, selectively boosting specific abilities. Unlike Sentry, Hyperion's muscle density was extraordinary, suppressing fatigue toxins, ensuring he never tired, always fighting at peak condition.
"So, Attuma and the surviving Ikaris called in off-world reinforcements? No, it's not just Ikaris' move, Arishem's likely behind this." Adam reasoned. As long as Tiamut, slumbering in Earth's core, remained untouched, Arishem or other Celestials wouldn't intervene. That was their line.
Sending a combat-ready Eternal suggested Arishem's bid to resolve Earth's chaos, ensuring Tiamut's birth. This surprised Adam, but thrilled him more.
One Eternal tool recruiting another made sense. Likewise, neutralizing both at any cost was even more logical.
Soon, the two Eternals soared into New York City. Hyperion unleashed his might, atomic vision scorching everything with 6000-degree heat. Skyscrapers were bisected, upper halves crashing seconds later.
Screams filled the air. Civilians had no time to flee, Hyperion's flight speed was blinding, his attacks too swift.
Furious superheroes roared, lunging at Hyperion to halt his city-wrecking rampage, only to be effortlessly slain in an instant. Those left intact were the lucky ones.
But Hyperion soon met resistance. A golden streak arced through the sky, and a robust figure soared to confront him. Moments later, a slower, flame-wreathed silhouette joined.
"Your name's Hyperion, right? Just heard about you… This is perfect. Our new Superman Squad's short on members. We were hunting Ikaris, the last Eternal, but not only did he show up, he brought you. You're a textbook 'Superman', top-tier in every way!" Reynolds said, rushing forward with Sunspot, his face alight with glee, as if Hyperion was already recruited.
"If you'd shown up sooner, I might've asked Adam to make you deputy captain." Reynolds added, grinning wider.
Sunspot's already dark face blackened further. "What're you blabbing about, pretending I don't exist? This Hyperion's clearly not joining us, he'll end up a Xenomorph. You'd rather a pure Xenomorph be your deputy than me?"
Four figures faced off in the sky. Sunspot stood out, slightly out of place, while the other three shared eerily similar powers.
Hyperion sensed it, his brow furrowing. "Interesting. So you've already planned to steal my power… You're Sentry? Getting some buzz in the cosmos for a few decent wins."
"Oh? My rep's reached space?" Reynolds asked.
"Heard of you, sure." Hyperion said, his smile turning feral. "But how much of your 'achievements' are yours? Call out your master."
He fired a heat vision blast, aiming to bisect Weyland Tower. But Sentry was faster, darting forward, seizing Hyperion's jaw, and shoving upward, redirecting the atomic vision skyward.
The two Supermen erupted into battle.
"Guess we've got to throw down too, or we won't have an excuse." Sunspot said, shrugging, his flaming form lunging at Ikaris.
Ikaris, cautious, didn't recognize his foe. He flickered, moving at high speed to dodge Sunspot's scorching flames. He knew killing Sunspot was pointless, Hyperion had to take down Adam.
Adam's power had ballooned, his roster of heavy hitters daunting. Ikaris felt crushed just thinking about it. Kill one, and more would hunt him. The real fight hinged on Hyperion versus Sentry.
Their clash was peak violent artistry, outstripping even Hulk's brutish brawls. Both pushed their speed to the limit, darting across multiple points each second, landing hundreds, thousands of blows, and firing heat vision, threatening to blast the air into a vacuum.
The shockwaves slammed downward, shattering swathes of the city's skyscrapers. Glass from buildings a kilometer away shattered, raining down like a storm.
And this was just the opening chaos.
"How's this Hyperion so tough? An Eternal this strong exists?" Reynolds thought, strained. He'd met a foe he couldn't quickly subdue. His million-star power surged, funneling endless energy, yet he couldn't gain the upper hand.
"Damn it, why do you copy me? Even your fighting style's identical!" Reynolds growled. "Did Arishem craft you using me as a template? Makes sense, I'm just too damn strong."
"Bullshit! I was escorting nascent Celestials across planets while you were nowhere. Clearly, Adam modeled you after me!" Hyperion shot back.
"Nonsense! How would Adam know a nobody like you?"
"Nobody? You'll soon see how stupid you are. Hmph, then he copied Ikaris to make you, you shoddy knockoff."
Locked in heated combat, both seethed with mutual loathing, their first encounter with such a mirror, powers and all. Save for looks, they could pass for twins.
Their battlefield sprawled, and New York City suffered. Pedestrians vanished, caught in stray blasts, survival a matter of luck.
Sunspot and Ikaris, meanwhile, fought with apparent intensity but tacit restraint. Sunspot, new to such high-stakes battles, warily tracked Ikaris' moves. Ikaris, distracted, stayed alert for Adam and other elite Xenomorphs, who hadn't appeared.
Could even Hyperion's caliber not draw Adam out? Ikaris knew Adam wasn't arrogant, his absence screamed confidence.
Fighter jets soon swarmed, launching missiles, but they couldn't scratch the airborne quartet. Not even a nuisance.
Everyone saw Reynolds struggle against this unknown foe, anxiety mounting. Who was this stranger, matching Sentry blow for blow? It was unthinkable.
"My target's not you! Get Adam out here!" Hyperion roared, landing a punch on Reynolds' face, a blow that could shatter a mountain. It only disrupted Reynolds' golden aura, skewing his nose.
He bellowed, eager to stop wasting time on Reynolds. "Courting death, insulting Adam?" Reynolds' eyes reddened, whether from injury or rage. He'd considered letting Adam take over, as he'd done before, but now scrapped that plan.
Instead, Reynolds communed with the Xenomorph larva in his chest, attempting to amplify his million-star power through positive-negative superposition. For once, not relying on Adam, he drew on rare courage and rivalry, mimicking Adam's control. Though his memories were scant, post-battle talks with Adam let him emulate enough.
Reynolds' persona merged with the larva's, channeling surging energy into his burly frame, transforming it into a meteoric strike. He seized Hyperion's throat, hammering fist after fist into his face.
"Well done, Reynolds. You've grown. I was waiting for you to beg for help, so I could tell you to figure it out, either get killed by Hyperion or kill him." Adam said, sipping water, steady as a rock, watching the spectacle unfold.
A clash of Supermen, what a rare sight.
Adam had planned to bolster his forces before Knull's symbiote army struck Earth. Low-tier Xenomorph legions were easy, Earth's countless animals were natural hosts, more than enough to match symbiotes in numbers.
The focus was high-end firepower.
"Loki's due soon. Time to end this farce. The Atlanteans calling in reinforcements need a thorough purge. Clear the board, with Earth as the battlefield." Adam said, draining his cup.
He wouldn't let this universe's Earth become like the Symbiote Universe, where everyone ended as symbiotes or hosts. If such a fate loomed, full symbiotization, zombification, or Cthulhu-fication, why not full Xenomorphization?
---
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[A Survival Guide to the Marvel Universe]
Synopsis:
Marvel.
A cursed superhero world that even the craziest person alive wouldn't want to visit.
How could they? There's basically an apocalypse every Tuesday.
Only the craziest of the crazy would choose to stay in a place like this.
And Ludwig isn't one of them.
The only way for him to return to his original world is to die.
In this cursed world, dying should be the easiest thing to do.
But there's just one problem standing in his way...
Why the hell do these idiots keep stopping him from dying?!
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