New York's sudden war left everyone scrambling. None were more exasperated or anguished than Nick Fury, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s director. The chaos only underscored his inadequacy and the agency's waning influence.
"Here we go again, another fight S.H.I.E.L.D. can't touch." Fury growled, nearly grinding his teeth to dust.
In theory, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s power wasn't negligible, but against battles of this caliber, they were helpless. The Avengers, Howling Commandos, or other hero teams would be obliterated if they joined, reduced to tragic backdrop casualties.
Worse, one side included Adam's forces.
"After this, we need a serious talk. Many question S.H.I.E.L.D.'s global control under your leadership. They doubt you can handle today's crises." Said Alexander Pierce, former S.H.I.E.L.D. director, now secretary-general, over a call.
Fury sneered. "Question my qualifications to lead S.H.I.E.L.D. and maintain global order?"
"I know you're pissed, but I'm out of options. I can't hold back the tide. Lately, New York's a mess, and the world's tilting toward a future we never imagined. Look at this, cultists running rampant. I get daily reports on Xenomorph worshippers. They shun humanity, luring people to idolize Xenomorphs! How's that different from worshipping demons and offering sacrifices?" Pierce said gravely.
"Don't worry, we'll manage. Those four fighting won't brawl forever. They'll soon learn who runs this place." Fury said, hands behind his back.
Pierce's eyes glinted. "Oh? Got a plan, or someone to boost your strength?"
"Yes. Captain, it's your time." Fury called.
Pierce gaped. Captain America? A joke, Steve was just… But he fell silent.
Through the screen, he saw a figure radiating blue energy fly through the door behind Fury. "Steve? You're not… What's going on?" Pierce stammered.
Captain America with new powers, flight, no less? How had Nick Fury pulled this off?
"Nick, you never mentioned using unknown means to grant Steve such power. Even without seeing him in person, I can sense how dangerous that blue energy is." Pierce said.
"It's the Cosmic Cube. I assembled a team to analyze Red Skull's old data, unlocked the Tesseract's power, and transferred it to the Captain. A gamble that paid off. I created a formidable hero." Fury said, eyeing Pierce on the screen, his thoughts guarded.
"That's fantastic. Our enemies will be gutted. But can Steve's new power handle those four?" Pierce shifted topics.
Fury's brow furrowed. "I'm not certain, but we're finally equipped to join fights of this scale."
Captain America clenched his fists, feeling the blue radiance surge within, a broad smile spreading across his face. No trace of worry, just peak fighting spirit and a resolve to uphold justice.
Barring surprises, he'd no longer be Tony's deadweight. He was now a powerhouse, ready to tangle with the fiercest foes, not just a national symbol swinging a shield for negligible damage. High-tier enemies once ignored his full-force strikes.
"Of the four fighting in New York, we have intel on three, but this one's a blank. Since he arrived with Ikaris and attacked Adam, I suspect he's an Eternal, not Earth-born." Fury said, briefing Steve, pinning high hopes on him.
Earth was too chaotic, with titans flaunting extreme power, scoffing at S.H.I.E.L.D. Adam's war with Atlantis unresolved, now this new clash, two raging battles left Fury feeling impotent.
If he could harness both Captain Marvel and Captain America, Earth would stabilize, and every scheming villain would fall. With Carol absent, he'd grip Steve tightly.
"Captain, it's on you."
"I understand. I'll give it everything." Steve said, smiling, refusing to let enemies ravage his homeland. Shield in hand, he sped to the battlefield.
"Alexander, look at our foes. It proves one thing: sticking to old ways is increasingly limiting, struggling to match a rapidly changing reality. Agree?" Fury said, hands clasped, watching Steve depart, his peripheral vision locked on Pierce's every microexpression.
"You're right. You're better suited as director. My recommendation was spot-on." Pierce replied.
"Glad you think so."
They ended the call. Fury's suspicion deepened. He knew Pierce had moles in S.H.I.E.L.D., feeding him intel. What truly unnerved him was a growing factional rift within the agency, one he couldn't yet pin down. He hoped Pierce wasn't involved.
With his grip on S.H.I.E.L.D., only a pre-organized faction could generate such centrifugal force, eluding him. If Pierce's doing, Fury thought it overestimated him, something was off.
"After this, I'll need to quell Adam's war with Atlantis. Ikaris and this likely Eternal were probably Atlantis' hires. They're right on one thing: Adam can't dominate Earth unchallenged." Fury resolved. Once the global situation stabilized, he'd purge S.H.I.E.L.D.'s factions and bolster its strength.
An unstable world demanded unified power.
"I just hope these rats don't shock me too much. I'd hate to cut off too many limbs." Fury muttered, his eyes glinting with icy resolve.
…
By the time Captain America reached the battlefield, the four combatants were fully enraged. Sunspot and Ikaris were manageable, aware they were supporting players. Though their fight intensified, they retained a sliver of restraint.
Sentry and Hyperion, however, were unhinged. These near-identical Supermen pushed their powers to the brink, their roars morphing into sonic shockwaves, pummeling each other hysterically. They'd shattered each other's energy shields, raw strength piercing defenses, leaving both bloodied.
"Die, you inferior scum! You're no match for me, why do you keep getting stronger?" Hyperion snarled, rattled. Earth wasn't what he'd expected.
He'd planned to follow Ikaris, crush all foes, and, after some effort, kill Adam, eradicate the Xenomorphs, and restore global order like a god before leaving this backwater. Now? He was battered, wounds healing fast but numerous, and hadn't even seen Adam. His first real fight, against the hyped Sentry, dragged on without a win.
Hyperion watched Sentry's power climb steadily, harnessing ever more stellar energy. That strength made him envious, his own growth relied on hyper-efficiently absorbing yellow sun radiation, the power of a prime star.
"I don't know how you got that strength, but it's wasted on you! Give it to me, and I'd be a hundred, a thousand times stronger. One finger could kill you!" Hyperion spat, jealous rage boiling. To him, Reynolds was a walking constellation, but before he could finish, Reynolds' fist smashed into his face, cracking half of it.
Hyperion wasn't just a punching bag. He unleashed a flurry of blows, slamming Reynolds into a skyscraper, leaving him bloodied and reeling. Both Supermen fought desperately, occasionally pausing to catch a breath, a brief buffer. It was clear they'd keep battling until a victor emerged.
"Hm, beyond my expectations. Reynolds, with his Xenomorph, is pushing this level of combat through his own effort. He's growing fast. This universe's Hyperion lacks that crushing dominance, giving Reynolds time to elevate himself." Adam mused, watching with repeated nods of approval.
In some universes, Hyperion could tear Sentry apart, but not here, evidently.
Then Adam spotted Captain America's arrival, soaring in with his shield. "Cap? No, something's off." Adam said, eyeing him from afar. Sensing the energy radiating from Steve, he pieced it together.
Adam's knowledge and experience grew exponentially, with Xenomorphs stationed in Kamar-Taj and Asgard, soaking up lore like sponges. While he couldn't instantly convert knowledge into matching power, it was only a matter of time.
Still, this Captain America felt strange. "Even to channel the Cosmic Cube's power and replicate a miracle like Captain Marvel's, it shouldn't be possible with just grit. How did Fury do it? Something's happened I don't know about." Adam pondered, suspecting Fury had shattered the Tesseract, or at least chipped off a fragment, and embedded it in Steve. It was the simplest, most effective method with the highest success rate.
But confirmation required closer observation.
"Enough, gentlemen! Your actions have gravely disrupted Earth's stability. Human, Xenomorph, mutant, or alien, you'll face justice!" Captain America declared, flying before them, his righteous tone stunning all. Avengers poised to act, heroes, and villains watching were floored by his entrance.
"Another one?" Hyperion roared, livid. He fired an atomic vision blast at Reynolds, forcing him to dodge, then whirled, throwing a mountain-shattering punch at Steve.
A thunderous boom echoed as Steve's shield absorbed the blow. The massive shockwave spread, then contracted, forming a brief energy vortex capable of disintegrating matter to atoms. Steve gripped his weapon, every cell screaming under the strain, yet he believed no attack, divine or demonic, could breach his shield.
Quickly, he countered, shoving Hyperion's fist back with the shield, pivoting, and slamming it into Hyperion's face with both hands. "Heh, that's it? I don't know where you stole that power, but with such feeble strength, just die. Don't waste my time." Hyperion sneered.
"You can't kill every enemy you meet. You're not from Earth, are you? Wherever you're from, I won't let you run wild here!" Steve shot back.
"Try me!"
Hyperion attacked relentlessly, unleashing a barrage in seconds, forcing Steve to desperately parry with his shield. Enhanced as he was, Steve lacked the raw power to face Hyperion head-on, but his indestructible gear let him hold out, much like Deadpool, outclassed in strength but enduring through equipment, forcing a passive stalemate.
To the unaware, the empowered Captain seemed to be fiercely battling a reckless killer, sparking excitement. Fans flooded the internet, hyping him as if their cheers could help him defeat Hyperion, a near-perpetual machine under the right conditions.
"He's not up to par. Once that shield breaks, he's done." Reynolds said, arms crossed, assessing with superhuman vision down to the atomic level. He saw the shield's structure warping under Hyperion's relentless, multi-punch-per-second assault.
With a final roar from Hyperion, a deafening crack rang out, the shield shattered. Hyperion's atomic vision pierced Steve's chest, sending him plummeting like a broken kite, wobbling from the sky.
At the last second, Tony Stark swooped in, catching him. "Looks like you'll live. I'll give you that, you're like Banner, useful in a pinch." Tony said, scanning Steve, curious about Fury's upgrades. How had he boosted him so fast?
"Stark, thanks for the save… but if you'd skipped me and hit the enemy, that'd be better. My life's not the priority, stopping him is." Steve said.
"No dice. If no one steps up, I will. But Adam's handling it. My job's organizing civilian evac, not joining the fray. Adam doesn't need me there." Tony replied, sensing something off about Steve's newfound zeal, bordering on obsession.
The real Captain America would know he couldn't yet defeat Hyperion. That level of power was within reach, but not now.
Steve strained to turn his head, his enhanced vision tracking each fragment of his shattered shield falling through the air. Those pieces were part of him, a symbol of his spirit, now broken like refuse, scattered by the wind.
"Your obsession impresses me more than your sudden power surge." Tony said, his mask displaying a flood of data from Jarvis. His brow furrowed. "Even your body's changed, cell count, bone structure, muscle density. Unknown energy clusters are spread throughout, rapidly healing your wounds. How'd you do it? Gaining in moments what others chase for a lifetime?"
"Courage and will brought me success." Steve replied, his chest wound fully mended. He broke free from Tony, floating midair.
"The Cosmic Cube? Fury used it to amp you, right? But something's off…" Tony scrutinized Steve's data, his superhuman mind replaying every past conversation, analyzing Steve's expressions. The dissonance grew sharper. Something critical was overlooked, but what?
Fury, watching via satellite, wore a complex expression but exhaled in relief. "This proves my plan worked. With Stark and Banner's project advancing, plus the backup Matrix plan, the world will soon be back on track."
Disruptors of the status quo, those beyond his control, one by one, their best fate would be rotting in prison, never seeing daylight again.
Adam's thoughts aligned with Fury's, in a way. "Cap failed. Freshly elevated, he faced Hyperion, a foe both Fury and Steve underestimated. I don't see Cube fragments in him, but I've got a hunch what's up. Fury's one mad spy. Still, Hyperion's the priority."
Adam's gaze settled on Reynolds, who was deep in thought, using the brief seconds Steve bought to strategize. "Adam didn't send others, so he thinks I can beat Hyperion. But it's not working. If we keep fighting, who knows the outcome? Adam's never wrong, so what's the deal…?"
"It's not as hard as you think. Forgot that Cloak of Levitation behind you?" Adam's voice cut in.
"The Cloak? Is Hyperion weak to magic…? I get it!" Reynolds' eyes blazed brighter than ever. As Hyperion glared, he seized the red Cloak of Levitation, whipping it skyward.
"Gone mad? Tossing out a rag now?" Hyperion sneered, charging and landing a gut punch, then tearing a chunk of flesh from Reynolds with a clawing palm.
But his smirk faded fast, even seeming to hold the upper hand post-clash. With a whoosh, the Cloak expanded wildly, shrouding the city and beyond, blocking the sun's rays, plunging everything into darkness.
Hyperion's face twisted. "Damn you, blocking the sun, you bastard!"
He roared in disbelief, his body weakening noticeably without solar radiation. Outside combat, he could rely on stored energy to last, flying to Earth's sunlit side or even the sun itself for a recharge. But now, cut off from his power source and expending energy at a ferocious rate, he faltered fast.
Reynolds' eyes gleamed. He unleashed a heat vision blast, striking the slowing Hyperion, sending him tumbling dozens of times midair. "Be glad I don't know magic, or I'd wrap the sun itself with this gear and starve you dead, scum!"
Boom! Reynolds surged with exhilaration, a profound sense of achievement washing over him. For the first time, he'd tapped his body's potential by emulating Adam, even if just mimicking. He'd grown measurably, defeating a foe who matched him in every way and surpassed him slightly in strength.
What could top the pride of such growth? Nothing.
His only regret was failing to fully wield the Cloak of Levitation, a gift from the Ancient One. Unrecognized by it, he wielded it awkwardly, yet it was enough to cripple Hyperion and secure victory.
"You inferior trash! I never told anyone my powers, how'd you know?" Hyperion gasped, reeling from a golden heat vision hit. His wounds were severe, his healing slowing drastically. Further delay could mean death under such blows.
He couldn't fathom how these backwater Earthlings knew his weakness and countered it so swiftly. Hyperion was immensely strong, not yet at his theoretical peak, but his flaws were many. DC's Superman feared Kryptonite and red suns, late-stage stars, though outliers like Superboy-Prime thrived on them. Hyperion's weaknesses were worse: only yellow suns empowered him; red or blue giants weakened him. A substance called Argonite could also counter him.
Reynolds had merely used the magical Cloak to block yellow sunlight. He hammered Hyperion with relentless fists, each blow harder, leaving Hyperion bloodied, his body crumbling, flesh scattering. At Adam's urging, Reynolds spread his energy field, incinerating Hyperion's drifting tissue to prevent dangerous hands from claiming it.
In moments, they clashed dozens more times, Hyperion utterly defeated. "Hmph, can't handle one sun blocked? I've got a million suns inside me! Every type you want, I've got, but none for you!" Reynolds laughed, his swelling confidence and will unleashing more stellar energy.
Hyperion nearly lost his mind. With a million yellow suns fueling him, he'd not only ditch Arishem but slap the Celestial silly, showing who's boss. Yet here he was, outdone by Reynolds, a smug lackey to the enigmatic Adam.
No amount of cursing changed the outcome. Hyperion knew, and all watching could see, he'd lost. He tried to flee, but the Cloak stretched, perpetually shrouding the sky above, trapping the slowing Eternal with no escape.
After countless brutal, shadowy collisions, Hyperion's bones were nearly all shattered. Defeated, Reynolds' final punch buried him in the earth. Surrounding skyscrapers lay in ruins, a grim garnish to the battle's end.
Reynolds, unconcerned with collateral damage, saw it as inevitable in fighting alien invaders. Amid swirling dust, he rose like a golden deity, gripping Hyperion's throat, hoisting him skyward to proclaim victory.
"Sentry won after all…"
"I thought Adam would send more heavy hitters to swarm this mystery guy, but Sentry alone pulled it off…"
"Adam barely flexed. No Laufey-Xenomorph, no Lady Thor, not even Scorch, who tore through the Hand. Insanely strong, but absent…"
Leaders of Earth's factions sighed in awe. A quick tally of Adam's forces left them speechless. They grew curious about Hyperion's identity. Allied with Ikaris, likely an Eternal, the twelfth? Or from a cosmic branch?
"With him, Adam gains another potent Xenomorph hero, potentially outstripping Sentry…" Some mused.
"Sentry's power's odd. He's beaten otherworldly gods with the Sorcerer Supreme and killed Laufey in Jotunheim, but struggled here, lacking that oppressive dominance. His power fluctuates, tied to Adam." Others noted.
"Block the sky with a weird cloak to beat this Eternal? Log it, might come in handy if he becomes a Xenomorph." Strategists whispered.
Each victory let Adam reap all rewards, snowballing his strength with steady yet exponential growth, terrifyingly relentless.
As for Captain America's meteoric rise and swift fall, few of note discussed it openly.
"Nick Fury, I need answers! This Captain's off. His behavior deviates subtly from Steve's in my archives. Brainwashing? Cloning?" Tony demanded, landing with Steve on the Helicarrier's deck.
Dr. Banner paused his work, rushing over, glaring coldly at Fury. Already distrustful of spies, he restrained his rage, barely keeping Hulk at bay.
Fury turned slowly, his expression tangled, eyeing the righteous Steve. "Even if you didn't ask, I'd have told you eventually. This isn't the Captain you know. He's my creation, born from the Cosmic Cube, embodying our idealized vision of Captain America."
---
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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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