"Superman?" Steve frowned. "Not the comic book guy. Who do you work for?"
"I work for myself," James replied. "Just passing through, saw you needed a hand."
"Passing through?" Natasha raised an eyebrow. "The kind that stops an alien invasion?"
Tony circled James, his armor's scanners buzzing. "Jarvis can't read your bio-data, but that armor's my design! Heat vision? Freeze breath? Those aren't standard powers. Don't tell me you're actually Superman."
Thor stepped forward, Mjölnir in hand. "Mortal, you hold Asgard's relic. Return it."
James glanced at the scepter, then Thor. "This thing's too dangerous for you."
"That's not your call," Steve said sternly. "Those weapons go to S.H.I.E.L.D."
James laughed. "S.H.I.E.L.D.? The outfit half-infiltrated by Hydra?"
The words detonated like a bomb.
"What?" Steve's face paled.
"Hydra?" Natasha and Clint exchanged looks.
Tony whistled. "That's a juicy bombshell."
Thor looked lost. "Midgard's affairs are… complex."
James shifted topics, approaching the Tesseract device. He plucked the glowing cube and, with magic, extracted the Mind Stone from the scepter.
"These are my spoils. You can study the scepter."
"Wait!" Steve lunged, but James was already airborne.
"New York needs rebuilding. You've got bigger fish to fry," James said. "We'll meet again."
He shot skyward, vanishing into the clouds.
At a safe altitude, he checked the Tesseract and system prompt.
[Ding! Task completion: 100%]
[Rewards: 5000 Growth Points]
[Random reward drawing…]
[Received: Alien Black Tech—Artificial Sun Blueprint.]
James nodded, pleased. The trip yielded hefty points and a blueprint ensuring endless magic energy via a portable sun, even in sunless realms. Plus, constant energy absorption for evolution.
As for the Tesseract and Mind Stone…
"System, can I take these?"
[Ding! Detected Space and Mind Stones (Infinity Stones).]
[Can be taken, but may cause butterfly effects.]
"I'll hold onto them for now," James stored the Tesseract in his system space.
[Return to original world?]
James glanced at New York. The Avengers huddled on the platform, debating his appearance. Steve looked skyward, sensing his gaze.
"Interesting world," James chuckled. "Too early to leave. Tony's probably still tinkering with my armor. Let's grab more loot."
His super vision locked onto a hidden spot in Africa—Wakanda, shielded by advanced tech, rich in vibranium.
In a flash, he broke the sound barrier, streaking toward the continent.
Seconds later, he hovered outside Wakanda's cloaking barrier. His super vision revealed a golden city, maglev trains, vibranium mines, and a panther god statue.
"Tech meets tradition," James mused, spotting vibranium veins underground.
Smirking, he traced a golden portal to the mine's core.
Silently, he appeared in a dark cavern, surrounded by glowing vibranium ore. His invisibility spell fooled Wakanda's sensors as he targeted the purest veins.
"Wakanda's reserves dwarf what the world knows."
He touched the wall, sensing vibranium's unique energy. "System, how much can the space hold?"
[System space has 999 slots. Same-type items occupy one slot, with unlimited quantity.]
"Unlimited? You get me, System!" James's eyes gleamed.
His heat vision emitted a specific frequency, softening the vibranium. He carved out chunks, guiding them through the portal.
[Ding! High-purity vibranium detected. Absorbing…]
[Vibranium stock: 2 tons… 5 tons… 10 tons… 50 tons…]
James stopped at a sufficient haul. "That's enough."
As he prepared to leave, the cave rumbled.
THUD!
The ground quaked, as if an ancient force stirred. His super vision pierced deeper, narrowing on a massive black metallic beast in the vibranium core—panther-shaped, liquid vibranium, red eyes waking.
"Wakanda's guardian? Or a mine-born entity?"
Unfazed, James watched curiously. The beast roared, vibranium veins writhing, sprouting spikes toward him.
"Fun," James grinned, letting the spikes hit.
CLANG! CLANG!
They stopped dead against his skin, unscratched.
The beast froze, then raged, vibranium surging like a tidal wave to engulf him.
"Playtime's over." James's eyes blazed, heat vision at a tailored frequency piercing the beast's head.
The liquid vibranium healed instantly, the beast undeterred.
"Physical attacks don't work?" James smirked. "Try this."
He clasped his hands, energy surging, then spread them.
HUM!
A golden magic circle flared, rune-chains lashing out, binding the beast.
[Sun Magic: Dimensional Lock]
The beast thrashed, but the chains held, tightening until it collapsed into inert vibranium.
James dispelled the magic, musing, "Self-aware vibranium? No wonder Wakanda's tech is advanced."
He shrugged. His vibranium was secured; time to go.
Tracing a portal, he vanished.
Seconds later, Wakanda's alarms blared. "Abnormal energy in the vibranium mine!"
Okoye led the Dora Milaje into the cave, finding calm ore. "Impossible!" she checked sensors. "There was an intruder!"
T'Challa arrived, touching the ground, sensing. "Someone was here," he said gravely, "but left no trace."
"Who?" Okoye gripped her spear.
T'Challa shook his head. "Someone we can't track."
Above Wakanda
James hovered in the clouds, super vision monitoring the mine. Vibranium was his only interest; heart-shaped herbs didn't tempt him.
He chuckled, thinking, Earth's most advanced nation, outpacing Tony's tech, and they never developed a super-soldier serum? Erskine made circus serum decades ago, yet Wakanda relies on a panther.
Shaking his head, he dismissed the thought.
---------------------------------------------
The plans are now available.
Rank A: Read 20 chapters in advance + free waifu.
Rank S: Read 30 chapters in advance + 10 waifu