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Natasha sipped her juice, flashing Jasper a flirty look, as if to say, "Hey there, cutie, don't I look good?"
Jasper stared at the woman showing off in front of him, the corner of his mouth twitching.
Is she seriously trying to seduce me? Has she no shame?Come on, I'm not even an adult yet! This isn't right at all!
He sat silently on the couch, watching Natasha's little moves. She did look really good, no denying that, but he couldn't help recalling what Raiden Shogun had taught him: "A person must have strong willpower."If he gave in to Natasha now, wouldn't that mean he lacked self-control?
Sipping his juice, Jasper slowly calmed himself. A moment later, Natasha stood up, rolled her eyes at him, and left in a huff.
What, does he think I'm some performing monkey? Hard to like a guy with that attitude… but damn, he's handsome.
Jasper let out a small sigh of relief. That was a test… and I passed.
After finishing his juice, he began working on his powers again. Lately, he'd gotten way better at controlling his lightning, and his command over electromagnetism had improved too. But he could feel it—he'd hit a plateau.
Right now, even in his normal state, a casual punch from him packed nearly thirty tons of force. And if he activated his Purple Lightning Form, a single punch could hit close to a hundred tons, with crazy speed to match.
Yeah, he was strong… but compared to Raiden Shogun? Still a huge gap. That woman could slice open a canyon with one swing—literally god-tier.I should ask her how to push past this limit next time I see her.
His last breakthrough had only happened because he pushed both his stamina and willpower to their limits.
Maybe I should try that again today.
Jasper used his Shadow Step and teleported into a forest.
To burn through stamina quickly, he immediately entered his Purple Lightning Form.
Sparks of violet lightning danced across his body.
He clenched his fists—lightning flashing wildly around them.
He began gathering electricity. The power on his hands grew brighter, more intense, more terrifying by the second.
When it felt just right, Jasper slammed his fist into the ground.
BOOM!!!
A deafening crash echoed through the forest. Purple lightning snakes raged across the trees.
A few minutes later, the dust finally started to settle. As the air cleared, Jasper stood in the middle of a massive crater, fists clenched.
That was one of his full-power punches. The power looked crazy, sure… but still not enough.
He kept going—gathering more energy, then releasing it again.
Time passed.
Eventually, Jasper could feel his body reaching its absolute limit. Still, he forced himself to keep going. His stamina was running dry, but his willpower hadn't hit the wall yet.
He kept training, repeating Raiden Shogun's teachings in his mind.
Half an hour later, he finally felt it—his willpower was reaching the breaking point. But that feeling of breaking through... still wasn't there.
Keep going.Keep going.Keep going.KEEP GOING!
Soon, his mind was consumed by a single thought: Keep going.
"What the hell are you doing?" Iron Man landed from the sky.
He'd spotted Jasper on satellite, going totally berserk—leveling the forest like a madman. It worried him, so he flew out to check.
Jasper didn't respond. His mind was a blur, barely conscious. He didn't even hear Tony Stark speak.
Tony got closer.
BAM!!
Jasper suddenly punched him and sent him flying.
Keep going! Keep going!
That voice in Jasper's head urged him onward—though he didn't even know why anymore. Subconsciously, he felt Tony was a threat, so he just struck out.
"I'll take it from here," a cold, dark voice said.
Jasper's consciousness faded completely.
"Haaa~ Finally, I'm free!" chirped a cheerful voice.
This was Jasper's dark self—a wicked consciousness born from his training in dark magic. Jasper had never even realized she existed, but she had always been watching him.
This time, because his will was so drained, she finally managed to take control.
"Who are you?" Tony asked.
Even though she looked exactly like Jasper, he could tell right away—this wasn't him.
"Hmm~ Just a bad girl, I guess. Call me… Lin Dark."Lin Dark stretched out her body, enjoying the sweet taste of freedom.
She turned to leave, but Tony lunged toward her.
She rolled her eyes—and suddenly, black threads shot out from the shadows like spiderwebs, wrapping Tony up tight.
She handled power way better than Jasper.
And she was his total opposite. Jasper was male—she was female. Jasper was good—she was evil.
Same powers, totally different being.
She raised her hand and zapped Tony with a bolt of purple lightning, blasting him away.
Unfortunately, since Jasper had drained so much energy before she took over, she wasn't strong enough to kill him in one hit.
Not that she cared. Tony Stark wasn't worth her time anyway. What she wanted was to explore the world.
She'd existed inside Jasper for so long, never once tasting freedom.No way was she wasting her first real chance stuck fighting Iron Man.
Lin Dark vanished using Shadow Step and reappeared in the city.
The moment she emerged from the shadows, she saw tons of people around.
She smiled. Freedom. What a lovely thing.
She was going to enjoy every second before Jasper woke up again.
Walking through the streets, she looked around, soaking everything in.
A soft breeze brushed against her face.
So nice.
Just then, a Black man accidentally bumped into her. She frowned, feeling a little annoyed, and was about to walk away——but the man reached out to grab her hand.
BAM!!
She casually swatted him away. One hit sent him flying—his bones shattering under the force.
She didn't give a damn.Whatever she did, Jasper would be the one paying for it later.
Then a thought crossed her mind.
Jasper's always such a pain in the ass. Why not cause a little extra trouble for him while I'm at it?
She grinned.
BOOM!!
Iron Man crashed down from the sky again—this time in his latest suit. It was specially designed to contain Jasper if he ever lost control.
He never thought he'd actually need to use it.
"Where's Jasper?" Tony demanded.
"Who knows? Maybe he's dead," Lin Dark replied, purple lightning crackling around her hand.
Suddenly, white webbing stuck to her arm.
Spider-Man flipped down next to Iron Man, eyes fixed on Lin Dark."What's going on here?"
"What's going on? You talk way too much, you know that? You're really annoying."Purple lightning sparked—burning through the web.
Lin Dark raised her hand—and in an instant, bolts of violet lightning burst toward Iron Man and Spider-Man.
But it didn't work.
Spider-Man dodged it.Iron Man absorbed the energy completely.
"Didn't work, huh?" Lin Dark muttered to herself.
"....."