American Comics: I Started As Superman and Swept Through the Multiverse!
Change Arthur to Arthur
Chapter 1: Starting Out as Superman
[ Brain Storage ]
[ Loli Adoption Center ]
[ Happy Superman, Unhappy Superman type. If you cannot accept it, please go easy on the criticism. ]
...
[ Multiversal Superman System... Booting up! ]
"Tony Stark's older brother... Arthur Stark. As long as we brainwash him, we can take down Stark Industries Groupand Iron Man one by one."
A cold and indifferent voice echoed in his ears.
On the operating table, Arthur Stark felt as though he had dreamed a very, very long dream.
In the dream, he was still in his original world, an ordinary office worker living a day-to-day routine.
But those scenes quickly faded and peeled away, as another brand-new and unfamiliar set of memories surged forward.
His name was Arthur Stark, the eldest son of Howard Starkand the older brother of Tony Stark.
However, unlike his younger brother Tony's dazzling brilliance in technology and business...
He seemed to have always lived in the shadows, with a low-profile personality and even a bit of... mystery.
"Mmh..."
Intense pain and dizziness surged like a tidal wave, forcibly dragging Arthur Stark out of the torrent of memories.
He wanted to raise his hand to press his agonizingly throbbing forehead, but he discovered with horror that his limbs were tightly bound and unable to move.
Forcing his eyes open, he discovered that everything before him had changed.
There was a cold metal ceiling, along with various high-end instruments whose names he did not know, but which at a glance were clearly not benevolent devices.
The air was filled with a strange mixture of disinfectant and a hint of... engine oil.
And he was firmly strapped to the operating table right in the center.
His wrists, ankles, waist, neck...
Were locked tightly by cold metal clasps!
Memories flashed through his mind like lightning.
Tony Stark... Iron Man!
And himself, Tony's older brother, Arthur Stark.
The current situation...
It seemed he had been captured by Hydra and was undergoing brainwashing experiments!
"Increase the concentration of the brainwave inhibitor by another three percent; his neuronal resistance is stronger than expected."
Beside him, Dr. Mayfield pushed up his monocle as his cold voice came through.
Researcher Carla stood half a step to his side, her fingers sliding quickly across the control panel.
"Doctor, we are already pushing close to the tolerance limit of his neural synapses."
"If we force an increase further, I'm afraid it will cause irreversible cognitive damage, or even... brain death."
"To Stark Industries Group, a vegetative heir doesn't have much utility value."
"Value?" Dr. Mayfield's mouth twitched.
"Carla, what we need are the core secrets of Stark Industries inside his brain."
"And that status of his as Tony Stark's only blood relative."
He raised his head slightly, his gaze crossing over the operating table and casting toward the deeper parts of the laboratory.
There, a more complex array of instruments was waiting to be activated.
"An obedient, formatted puppet is far more useful than a prisoner with a rebellious consciousness."
"Once we control him, Stark Industries Group... hmph, Tony Stark will find all his resistance becoming laughable."
"Ah... Is he already awake?" Dr. Mayfield turned his head to look at Arthur Stark, who had already woken up.
"Mr. Arthur Stark, no need to rush; you will soon become one of us."
He grinned coldly, his face full of mockery, as if in his eyes, Arthur Stark was about to be brainwashed and become a member of Hydra.
Beside him, Researcher Carla lowered her gaze, her eyes filled with pity as she looked at Arthur Stark.
"No..." Arthur Stark roared out.
He certainly didn't want to be brainwashed right after time-traveling.
He tried to twist his wrists, bend his knees, and even used all his strength to arch his back, wanting to break free from those restraints.
However.
Everything was in vain.
The metal clasps didn't budge an inch, not even showing the slightest sign of deformation.
The rebounding force made his muscles and bones go numb.
"Tsk, look, how pathetic. The dignified eldest son of the Stark family, Tony Stark's older brother... now tied up here like a beast waiting to be slaughtered."
A voice full of teasing and contempt sounded from the side.
Arthur Stark looked toward the source of the voice and saw a man wearing Hydra's black uniform.
The other party crossed his arms, leaning against an instrument, looking at him with the gaze one would use for monkeys in a zoo.
The man was tall, with neat short hair, gloomy eyes, and a mocking sneer hanging on the corners of his mouth.
Red, the director in charge of this secret base and also a friend of his predecessor.
It was precisely this person who had tricked his predecessor here to prepare for the brainwashing experiment!
Red slowly walked forward, looking at Arthur Stark with a face full of mockery.
"Struggle, why aren't you struggling anymore? Arthur Stark, I quite like watching you waste your effort."
"These things on your body and the bed beneath you are all made of high-strength Adamantium."
"Indestructible and impossible to destroy; at least as far as currently known means of humans and Mutants are concerned, no one can break it."
He paced around the operating table, his voice echoing in the spacious laboratory:
"So, save that pathetic bit of strength of yours."
"Even if Hulk came, it would take some effort, and you?"
"You're just an ordinary, somewhat family-despised young master of the Stark family."
"Your struggle is meaningless, other than making yourself more uncomfortable."
Arthur Stark's breath hitched as he stared closely at Red, his face filled with resentment.
Adamantium?
The hardest metal in the Marvel World, which even Captain America and Hulk couldn't break free from...
Was he really going to be brainwashed like this and become a puppet without self-awareness?
Arthur Stark was not reconciled to this.
He had just time-traveled, and Tony Stark, that genius younger brother...
Soared through the skies, becoming the respected hero Iron Man.
While he, this cheap older brother, was going to exit in such a humiliating and suffocating way.
He was not reconciled!
Despair flooded his consciousness inch by inch like a tide.
Arthur Stark could even feel the cold instrument needle approaching his carotid artery.
As long as that drug was injected, everything about him would be erased, and he would become an obedient puppet.
Arthur Stark could feel it.
The scene before him began to blur, and the sounds in his ears gradually faded away.
Only the increasingly faint heartbeat remained.
Thump-thump!
Thump-thump!!
At the height of despair.
A cold mechanical voice resounded in his mind.
[ Ding! Detected that the host is facing a fatal threat, mental defense lines are on the verge of collapse, physical tolerance has reached a critical point... ]
[ Multiversal Superman System... Booting up!! ]
[ Currently loading template—Normal Superman 30%!! ]
[ Warning: This system involves multi-dimensional energy collapse and physiological structure reshaping; the process will be accompanied by severe pain... ]
[ Current task: Destroy the Hydra base! ]
[ Reward: Normal Superman template progress 20%, Sentry with the Power of a Million Exploding Sunstemplate fragment * 10 (Collect 100 Sentinel template fragments to unlock the Sentry with the Power of a Million Exploding Suns template!) ]
Arthur Stark had no time to ponder the source and meaning of this voice.
Because immediately following...
He felt an unprecedented power, as if a supernova was awakening inside his body.
From the deepest part of his body, from inside every single cell nucleus...
A scorching and world-destroying terrifying power erupted!!
He... became Superman!!!
Chapter 2 — "Huh, can we reconcile?"
Inside the laboratory, the piercing alarm sounded without warning.
"What is going on?!" Supervisor Red frowned.
Dr. Mayfield suddenly raised his head and looked at the vital signs monitor connected to Arthur, his expression changing drastically.
The data on it was skyrocketing in a frantic manner that defied all common biological sense.
"Dammit, his cellular energy response is growing exponentially!"
"Energy fluctuations... Goodness, my God, what kind of energy level is this?!"
Carla's face turned pale, and she pointed toward the experimental table, her voice trembling.
"Doctor, Supervisor! Look!"
Without needing her to say it, everyone's gazes were already firmly locked onto Arthur on the experimental table.
The man who had been struggling in despair just moments ago was now enveloped in an invisible aura.
The surrounding air even showed visible distortion to the naked eye.
In his eyes, two clusters of brilliant golden light as blazing as the sun flickered.
"Oh my god... What the hell is going on?"
Red instinctively took two steps back, crashing into the wall.
He stared intently at Arthur on the experimental table, his face filled with bewilderment.
How could this ordinary Arthur... have such a light appear in his eyes?!
"Impossible... This is strictly impossible..." he muttered, "He clearly just..."
Dr. Mayfield paid him no attention.
This man, who had always considered himself calm and rational, now had his hands braced on the operation panel.
His eyes frantically swept across the rapidly jumping data stream, his face filled with shock.
"Cellular energy index... exceeded the detection limit, the second monitoring module has overloaded and melted down!"
Vital signs are completely disordered, body temperature soared within seven seconds to a threshold the detectors couldn't read...
And heart rate... Good grief, his heart rate has already exceeded three thousand times per second!
This is simply not human, this..."
Before he could finish.
Arthur slowly clenched his right hand, which was locked by the Adamantium restraints.
Snap!!
A crisp snapping sound rang out abruptly.
Under the nearly dazed gazes of Red, Dr. Mayfield, and Carla.
The Adamantium restraints, acclaimed as indestructible and difficult even for the Hulk to break free from,
were crushed to pieces in Arthur's hands as if they were rotten wood!
How the hell was this possible?
This was Adamantium!
The hardest metal in the world.
Even the Hulk couldn't break free, yet Arthur easily crushed it?!
Arthur stood up from the experimental table, looking up at the three dazed people beside him.
The corners of his mouth turned up, revealing a cold smile.
"Just now, who said... I couldn't break free?"
In an instant.
The air in the laboratory seemed to have frozen.
The piercing alarm continued, and the Red warning lights spun wildly on the ceiling, casting the entire space in a bloody hue.
Red pressed his back tightly against the wall, his chest heaving violently as he stared dead at Arthur opposite him, his eyes filled with disbelief.
"No... Impossible..."
After a brief moment of distraction, Dr. Mayfield turned and rushed toward the console almost like a reflex.
His fingers trembled as he pressed buttons on the panel, large beads of sweat rolling down his forehead.
"Alarm! Highest alert for Sector Nine of Hydra!!"
"Test subject out of control! Immediately initiate emergency protocols! Immediately..."
Hiss!!
His voice came to an abrupt stop.
A blazing Red ray instantly blew up the instrument in front of him, melting the steel.
"Don't move..." Arthur's voice was icy.
Dr. Mayfield stood silently in place.
Then...
He suddenly drew a pistol from his waist, pointing the muzzle at Arthur, and roared hysterically:
"Don't come over... Don't come over, you monster, stop right there!!"
Arthur tilted his head and sneered: "You think... bullets can hurt me?"
He had just awakened the Superman system, possessing all the abilities of Superman.
Heat Vision, Super Strength, Super Intelligence, flight, super speed, and Super Vision...
Although he wasn't bathed in sunlight at the moment, he was still unmatched by ordinary people.
"Go to hell, go to hell!!" Dr. Mayfield roared and pulled the trigger.
Bang!
A silver bullet spun out of the muzzle, carrying a sharp whistling sound through the air, and shot fiercely toward Arthur.
But...
Arthur didn't dodge.
That bullet stopped ten centimeters away from the center of his brow.
As if it had hit an invisible wall, the bullet tip spun wildly in the air, unable to advance even a fraction of an inch further.
Biological Force Field!
It can also be called a biological magnetic field, which, as the name implies, is a manifestation of the human body's magnetic field.
But to Arthur, it was far more than that!
"Such a weak thing." Arthur sneered and waved his right hand.
Bang!!
The bullet flew back at a speed even faster than when it arrived, precisely piercing the center of Dr. Mayfield's brow.
Dr. Mayfield widened his eyes, his face full of disbelief.
His entire body fell backward, dying cleanly and swiftly.
Until his death, he couldn't figure it out.
How could this young man right before him, who was just tied to the experimental table and at the mercy of others, suddenly turn out like this.
"Doctor!!"
Researcher Carla screamed, her whole body collapsing limply onto the ground, her face as pale as paper.
She instinctively crawled backward in a panic, frantically kicking off one of her high heels.
Feeling Arthur's gaze, she shuddered all over:
"No... Don't kill me, please don't kill me... I don't know anything, I'm just a researcher..."
Red also snapped back to reality.
He suddenly turned around and sprinted toward the side door of the laboratory.
"Want to run?" Arthur's icy voice came from behind him.
Just as Red ran a couple of steps, he felt the back of his neck tighten.
A hand like iron pincers gripped his neck, lifting his entire body up.
"Let... Let me go!"
Red struggled desperately, kicking his legs wildly in the air.
"Arthur, you killed the doctor, you have completely offended the entire Hydra!"
"If you kill me too, Hydra will never let you go, nor your younger brother Tony Stark!"
"Oh." Arthur acknowledged expressionlessly, "And then?"
Red froze.
And then?
What and then?
"You... You'd better let me go, I can plead on your behalf, we can pretend nothing ever happened..."
"You certainly didn't say that when you had Mayfield brainwash me." Arthur's voice was flat.
"We can completely reconcile!" Red continued.
"Reconcile?" Arthur sneered, "At a time like this? You must be joking, right?"
"Just now you guys still wanted to brainwash me, and now you want to reconcile? Too late!"
Arthur's tone was icy, and his right hand suddenly exerted force.
Snap!!
Red's neck tilted to the side at a bizarre angle.
His entire body hung down limply.
Arthur gave a casual flick, tossing Red's corpse aside like trash.
Carla was already too scared to speak, able only to curl up in the corner, trembling all over.
Just as Arthur looked toward her, his Super Hearing had already captured movement from afar.
Da da da da da!!
Dense footsteps were rushing toward this laboratory from all directions.
Hydra's soldiers had arrived.
"Plea... Please let me go... As long as you let me go, I can do anything..."
Carla raised her tear-stained face, her voice intermittent.
Only then did Arthur turn his head to look at her, grinning broadly: "Is that so? Willing to do anything?"
Hearing this, Carla nodded frantically, as if she had grabbed onto a straw to save her life.
"Yes, of course, I am willing to do anything, as long as you let me go!!"
Arthur's mouth split open into a smile reminiscent of Homelander.
"Alright then, crawl over, crawl to my feet..."
Chapter 3 Happy Superman
"I…"
Carla was slightly stunned, glanced at Arthur, and then looked at his lower body.
After a few seconds of silence, she slowly crawled over, like a dog, and came in front of Arthur.
Grabbing his waistband with both hands, she trembled as she tried to undo it.
However.
"You're actually doing it?"
Arthur's voice made her movements stall.
"W-What do you mean?"
Carla quickly raised her head, looking at Arthur in terror with a puzzled expression.
But…
A fist the size of a sandbag rapidly grew larger in her vision.
Bang!!
Carla's head exploded like a watermelon, and her body collapsed limply.
Warm blood splashed on the wall, merging with the red warning light.
Arthur straightened his body and shook the blood off his hands.
"Tsk… Such a bitch, and she still wanted to take advantage of me?"
He had just escaped death and was in a very bad mood, not wanting to Superman at all.
And…
Arthur's Super Hearing also heard that the footsteps outside were getting closer and closer.
Along with the click of firearms being loaded.
Someone shouted:
"Hurry! This way! Seal all exits!"
"The test subject has gone berserk! Execute on sight!"
Arthur grinned.
He walked to the laboratory door and kicked the heavy alloy door flying with one kick.
Outside the door, several fully armed Hydra soldiers had just arrived.
Before they could raise their muzzles, they saw a slender figure walk out from the smoke and dust.
And in the dark corridor, a pair of eyes lifted, burning with a light even more dazzling than the sun.
In an instant.
"Team A, in position!"
"Team B, seal the western passage, don't let him run!"
"Execute on sight! Repeat, execute on sight!"
Six Hydra soldiers raised their muzzles simultaneously.
They wore Hydra standard black combat uniforms, with only a pair of eyes exposed beneath their bulletproof masks, exuding a cold, fierce killing intent.
Seeing Arthur, their hearts trembled, and they pulled the triggers without hesitation.
"Fire!"
Da da da da!!
The gunfire exploded like popping beans in the narrow corridor.
Bullets poured out like a rainstorm, and tracer bullets dragged dense orange-red trajectories in the air.
The entire corridor was instantly filled with the smell of gunpowder and metal fragments.
But the next second, the six soldiers widened their eyes.
They saw a scene they would never understand in their lives.
The bullets had clearly been fired.
But half a meter away from Arthur, they all stopped.
Dozens of bullet heads suspended in mid-air, as if the pause button had been pressed.
"What the f**k?"
One of the soldiers instinctively released the trigger and took half a step back.
"Are you done?" Arthur tilted his head, "Then it's my turn now!"
He raised his right hand and waved it gently.
The suspended bullets flew back at an even faster speed, accurately slamming into every soldier's chest.
Pu pu pu pu pu!!
Countless blood splatters instantly burst open.
Six corpses fell backward neatly, obviously suffering from heavy metal poisoning.
"Oh my god…"
A trembling voice came from the walkie-talkie.
Obviously someone saw all this through the surveillance.
"H-He is not human, we need sup—"
Before he finished speaking, only harsh static remained in the walkie-talkie.
"Since I have already awakened Superman's powers, let's try flying."
Arthur thought to himself, then put his hands behind his back, slowly flew up, and flew forward.
The Hydra secret base was hidden deep in the desert, divided into three layers: upper, middle, and lower.
Where he was now was the bottom layer, which was the core experimental area.
Going up were the soldiers' dormitories and ammunition depot.
Further up were the command center and communication room.
At this moment, across all three layers, more than two hundred Hydra soldiers were closing in on him from all directions.
"F**k, I am Superman now!" Arthur smiled, "Do you think I'm afraid of you?!"
He suddenly accelerated, turning himself into a golden afterimage, violently crashing through the heavy alloy door ahead and rushing into a wider passage.
On both sides of the passage, the soldiers who had long been lying in ambush opened fire simultaneously.
Bullets like rain.
But Arthur was faster than the bullets.
He casually grabbed a metal table nearby and threw it out like a frisbee.
The metal table rotated in the air, smashing the soldiers on the left into a mass of minced meat, and then deeply embedded itself into the wall.
Before the soldiers on the right could react, Arthur had already appeared behind them.
Fists swung, flesh and blood flew everywhere!
Someone tried to throw a grenade.
Arthur caught the grenade and shoved it back into the soldier's mouth with a backhand motion.
Boom!
The fire engulfed half the corridor.
"Monster! He is a monster!"
"Retreat! F*****g give the order to retreat!"
The surviving soldiers began to collapse.
They turned their heads and ran desperately toward the exit.
But just as they ran to the stairs, they saw Arthur already standing there.
"Hydra, is this all the level you have?" Arthur tilted his head, his tone cold.
Everyone held their breath.
Then…
Chih!!
The scorching Heat Vision instantly shot out, leaving no bones behind wherever it passed, and the entire corridor quieted down.
Arthur continued to fly upward.
He flew to the ammunition depot, didn't even open the door, and punched through the wall.
The explosion was deafening, and the entire floor was shaking.
Wherever he went turned into ruins.
Laboratories, data rooms, cells, interrogation rooms…
Everything related to Hydra turned to ashes in his hands.
And on his face, a calm, almost casual smile gradually appeared.
Finally, the top floor.
The door of the command center was locked from the inside.
Arthur stood in front of the door, raised his hand, clenched his fist, and punched out.
Boom!!
On the heavy alloy door, a fist print half a foot deep appeared.
Following that, countless cracks spread from the fist print to the surroundings, and finally shattered with a bang.
Behind the door, a group of Hydra officers in high-ranking uniforms looked at him in terror.
"Heh… Hydra." Arthur put his hands behind his back, his eyes bursting with scorching red light.
"Die!"
The scorching laser bloomed with a radiance enough to ignite stars.
Corpse after corpse fell to the ground, blood pouring like rain.
A few minutes later, in the huge command room, only one woman was left.
She slumped on the ground, leaning against the corner of the wall, wearing a white protective suit.
As the chief researcher of this base, Melina was extremely frightened at the moment, trembling all over, even causing her large, plump mounds to shake along with it.
Like jelly, wobbling and full of elasticity.
"Y-You… What are you going to do?" Melina looked in terror at Arthur suspended in mid-air, her voice trembling.
She had just sent out a distress signal, believing that Hydra's men would arrive immediately.
By then, the guy in front of her would definitely not be able to run away!
Observing Melina's micro-expressions through Super Vision, and then analyzing through Super Intelligence, Arthur naturally knew that the other party had requested support.
But now that he had destroyed this base, he was very happy and didn't care about these at all!
Arthur flew in front of her, looking at the pitiful yet hot-bodied Melina.
A happy smile bloomed on his face.
"Heehee… It's nothing, I'm very happy right now, I am Happy Superman!"
Chapter 4 Sentinel Template, Silver Superman Template, Six-Dimensional Superman Template...
Melina curled up in the corner of the wall, trembling all over, her exquisite and cold face full of humiliation and resentment.
She... she was no longer clean...
"You... you damned guy, you fucking ruined everything..."
Melina's voice was sharp and hoarse, full of resentment.
"Do you know what kind of place this is? Do you know what you have done?!"
"Of course I know."
Arthur tilted his head slightly.
"A Hydra base, but so what?"
"Uh-huh~ You will pay the price!"
Melina screamed, and the fear in her eyes turned into an even more intense resentment.
Her face was distorted, tears streaming down uncontrollably, yet the corners of her mouth curled into a crazy smile.
"You think you won? You think killing everyone here is the end of it?"
"Hahahaha... You are too naive!"
She propped up her body, raised her head, and stared fixedly at Arthur, her gaze like a poisonous knife.
"Hydra will not let you go, Red is just a minor supervisor!"
"The entire Hydra is far more massive than you imagine, they are everywhere, hidden beside every single one of you!"
Her voice grew louder and more frantic as she spoke.
"Your family, friends, everyone you care about!"
"As long as you dare to leave here, they will all become targets!"
"Our people will find them, torture them, carve their flesh off piece by piece, wishing neither life nor death!"
She was practically roaring.
"And all of this is because of everything you did today!"
"Hydra can kill everyone around you, starting with your younger brother, Tony Stark!"
Arthur paused slightly.
Melina thought he was scared, and the smile on her face deepened a bit more.
"What? Know to be afraid now? It's too late!"
"You have already provoked someone who shouldn't be provoked, and done something that shouldn't be done!"
She propped herself against the wall, her body still trembling, but her chin was held high, like a victorious general.
"However, if you kneel down now and beg for mercy from me, perhaps I can still give you a quick death."
"Otherwise, once reinforcements arrive, wanting to die will be difficult!"
Arthur looked at her with an expression of looking at a fool, looking at this woman.
"You're right."
Melina tilted her face up, her face full of a haughty smile.
But the next second, Arthur pinched her chin with his right hand and said in a cold voice:
"Hydra is indeed a bunch of troublesome bugs, beat the small one and the old one comes.
So... if I kill everyone here, won't the news be unable to get out?"
Melina's body stiffened, and she froze in place entirely.
"As for what you just said about wanting to kill my brother?" Arthur sighed softly.
"That guy Tony has a foul mouth and begs to be beaten, but he is my brother."
"I am the person who hates others threatening my family the most!"
The moment the words fell, Arthur raised his hand.
Melina didn't even have time to scream.
Her neck was grabbed by Arthur, and her entire body was lifted up.
She struggled desperately, her two legs kicking wildly in the air.
Her hands clutched tightly at her own throat, yet grabbed nothing at all.
"You... I..."
She desperately wanted to say the three words "Hydra", as if grasping at the last straw.
But...
Arthur just exerted a gentle force.
Snap!!
Melina's neck crooked limply to one side.
Her eyes stared wide, her face full of disbelief and humiliation.
[Ding! Host has completed the "Destroy Hydra base" mission!]
[Reward obtained: base Superman Template progress 20%, Sentry with the Power of a Million Exploding SunsTemplate Fragment * 10 (Collect 100 Sentinel Template Fragments to unlock the Sentry with the Power of a Million Exploding Suns Template!)]
[Name: Arthur Stark]
[Current Template: base Superman (30% → 50%)]
[Templates to be unlocked: Sentry with the Power of a Million Exploding Suns Template (Pending unlock, Fragments * 10), Silver Superman Template (Pending unlock, Fragments * 0), Six-Dimensional SupermanTemplate (Pending unlock, Fragments * 0)...]
[Abilities: Heat Vision, Body of Steel, Super Strength, Super Intelligence, Super Vision, Super Flight...]
[Current Mission: Kill Hydra Pursuers]
[Reward: base Superman Template progress + 30%, Sentry with the Power of a Million Exploding SunsTemplate Fragment * 10 (Collect 100 Sentinel Template Fragments to unlock the Sentry with the Power of a Million Exploding Suns Template!)]
"The progress of the base Superman Template has increased, along with the Sentry with the Power of a Million Exploding Suns Template Fragments.
And there are so many more Superman Templates that can be unlocked later..."
In an instant.
An indescribably scorching power surged forth from the deepest part of Arthur's body.
It felt like a miniature sun was ignited within his chest cavity.
Following closely, his body temperature skyrocketed, his strength surged, and his cellular activity became even stronger!
Heat Vision, Super Strength, Super Intelligence, Super Speed, Super Flight, Bio-Field, even Freezing Breath...
Arthur had become even stronger than before!
"I've gotten stronger again, and there are new missions, as well as the Sentry with the Power of a Million Exploding Suns Template..."
He took a deep breath, put his hands behind his back, and turned to fly toward the exit of the command center.
"Hydra, you have already brought about your own doom!
No matter how many come, I will kill them all!"
Rumble!!
The roaring sound of propellers could already be heard in the distance.
Arthur flew to the blown-out wall and took a look outside.
It was already nighttime.
In the night sky, three Hydra armed helicopters were rapidly approaching from the northwest.
Searchlights swept across from a distance, illuminating the shattered outer wall of the base brightly.
On the ground, several black armored vehicles were also crossing the dunes, driving toward the base.
"They're here." Far from hiding, Arthur smiled instead.
He leaped forward, his entire body shooting like a cannonball toward those three helicopters.
The pilot of the lead helicopter saw him, and his eyeballs almost popped out.
"He's flying towards us!"
"Open fire! Fucking open fire on him right now!"
The onboard autocannon opened fire with a roar.
Tracer rounds traced streaks of fire across the night sky.
Arthur did not dodge or evade.
Bullets hit him without even breaking his clothes, only sparking across the surface of his skin.
Like a golden lightning bolt, he smashed directly through the cockpit glass of the helicopter.
Subsequently, Heat Vision swept across.
Two helicopters turned into fireballs in mid-air.
The third one hurriedly turned around.
But...
Before it could fly far, its tail boom was sheared off by a piece of propeller debris thrown by Arthur.
It crashed into the sand dunes and exploded with a bang.
The Hydra soldiers on the ground had just jumped out of the armored vehicles when they saw those three fireballs falling from the sky.
"My god..."
They raised their heads and saw a figure descending from the night sky, its feet slamming heavily onto the sandy ground.
Dust billowed like waves in all directions.
Arthur walked out of the dust, his golden pupils like the sun.
The soldiers screamed and opened fire.
Bullets, rockets, and rifle grenades smashed toward him all at once.
Arthur was not afraid in the least, charging through recklessly.
Boom boom boom!!!
A series of explosions erupted among the cluster of armored vehicles, turning the entire patch of sandy ground upside down.
A few seconds later, only one soldier was still alive.
He sat paralyzed on the sandy ground, his gun only having half a section left, his face covered in blood.
"Don't... don't come over..."
Just as Arthur was about to step forward, his footsteps suddenly paused.
He looked up toward the rear of one of the armored vehicles that had already burned into an empty shell.
A tall figure walked out slowly.
That was a man wearing a black mask, his left arm gleaming with a metallic luster under the firelight.
Instantly, Arthur recognized the other person.
Hydra's super soldier, the Winter Soldier.
Winter Soldier Bucky.
At the same time... he was also Captain America's friend, the murderer who killed the predecessor's and Tony's parents!
Chapter 5 Winter Soldier Bucky's Ultimate Insult
The Winter Soldier walked out of the fire.
He wore a black tactical suit specially made by Hydra.
The mask covered most of his face, revealing only a pair of eyes so cold they lacked a trace of warmth.
His mechanical left arm was covered in scratches and battle damage, like a weathered weapon.
He did not speak, simply staring at Arthur.
His gaze was like some kind of domesticated beast.
Numb and cold.
Only one thing remained.
Kill the target.
"Winter Soldier Bucky, Hydra's number one enforcer..."
Arthur looked him up and down, the corners of his mouth curving upward.
"I heard you... killed quite a few people?"
The Winter Soldier slowly raised his left arm, his mechanical fingers clenching one by one, the metal joints making clicking sounds of engagement.
The next second——
He was like a Black Panther pouncing on its prey, his mechanical arm carrying a harsh whistling sound as it smashed down toward Arthur's head.
Seeing this, Arthur scoffed, gently opening his mouth.
Whoosh!
A white cold current gushed out from his mouth.
Extreme Cold Breath!
Instantly, the water vapor in the air condensed into ice crystals.
And this cold current, like a wave, hit the lower half of the Winter Soldier's body head-on.
Crack! Crack!
Before taking another step, the Winter Soldier's feet were forcibly frozen.
His legs from the knees down were completely wrapped in thick ice.
Firmly fixed in place, unable to move.
The Winter Soldier's expression changed drastically.
He looked down at his sealed legs.
On the half of his face exposed outside the mask, astonishment appeared for the first time.
"This... how is this possible..."
"Nothing is impossible!"
Arthur's voice appeared behind him.
The Winter Soldier's heart tightened, and he quickly raised his mechanical arm, fiercely smashing it toward Arthurbehind him.
The metal fist carried the sound of wind, enough to shatter rocks!
If an ordinary person faced this punch, perhaps even their head would burst apart.
But...
Arthur just gently raised his right hand.
Bang!
A dull sound.
The Winter Soldier's mechanical fist was grasped in Arthur's palm, easily.
"Just this?" Arthur raised an eyebrow.
His five fingers tightened.
Creak!
The sound of twisting metal rang out.
Under Arthur's large hand, the mechanical arm forged by Hydra's cutting-edge technology deformed and dented piece by piece like sheet metal squeezed by a hydraulic press.
The Winter Soldier's eyes instantly widened.
He watched helplessly as his mechanical left arm twisted and deformed under Arthur's grip.
The metal shell cracked, precision parts flew around, and circuit sparks splattered everywhere.
"Impossible... this is Hydra's strongest alloy..."
The Winter Soldier's face was filled with disbelief, speaking with a trembling voice.
"Strongest alloy?" Arthur scoffed and shook his head, "Don't make me laugh, can the strongest be stronger than me?!"
As his voice fell, his right hand suddenly exerted force.
Snap!
The mechanical arm was forcibly crushed from the elbow, fragments flying in all directions.
The Winter Soldier was shaken backward, but his feet were still frozen to the ground.
He was stuck in the ice in a distorted posture.
Arthur stepped forward, looking down at him condescendingly.
"When you killed Howard and Maria back then, did you ever think that one day it would end up like this?"
The Winter Soldier's mask was soaked with blood and sweat, his pupils contracting violently.
He wanted to struggle, but could not move.
Arthur raised his fist and grinned coldly.
"This punch is returned to you on their behalf!"
A punch enough to shatter stars suddenly blasted out.
But...
The Winter Soldier did not die.
He only fell unconscious from severe injuries.
Because Arthur did not want the Winter Soldier to die just yet.
The original body's memories were vivid in his mind, so seeing a vengeful fellow like the Winter Soldier...
Killing the opponent just like this was simply letting this guy off too easily.
What he wanted to do... was to make the opponent feel pain and insult.
And coincidentally.
Arthur had learned some things before time-traveling.
For example...
Ultimate Insult!
...
A dim and cramped basement.
A few dim tungsten lamps hung on the walls, with weak light that could barely illuminate a small area in the middle.
The Winter Soldier slowly woke up.
His head hurt a lot, as if it had been heavily smashed by someone with an iron hammer.
Amidst his blurred consciousness, he instinctively wanted to move his hands and feet.
But...
He was shocked to find that his three limbs were firmly suspended in mid-air by several thick alloy chains.
"Awake?"
A familiar voice came from ahead.
The Winter Soldier suddenly raised his head.
Arthur was sitting on an old wooden chair opposite him, crossing his legs.
Holding a can of cola he did not know where he found, he was drinking it leisurely.
"What... are you going to do?" The Winter Soldier's voice was hoarse.
"Nothing much." Arthur took a sip of cola and smiled.
"I just feel that since you like being a dog for Hydra so much, you must have a great talent for enduring pain."
Bucky was somewhat puzzled.
"So, I prepared a little gift for you."
As Arthur spoke, he raised his hand and snapped his fingers.
In the darkness on the other side of the basement, footsteps sounded.
Out of the shadows, eight Britain guys walked out.
They varied in figures, some tall and thin, some short and stout, but each had bulging muscles, and their faces wore a certain lewd smile that made one's hair stand on end.
As if realizing something, the Winter Soldier's expression instantly changed.
"What... on earth are you trying to do?!"
He struggled hard, the chains rattling loudly, gouging deep bloodstains on his wrists and ankles.
But it was of no use.
"Nothing, just wanted to let you experience the feeling of being tortured." Arthur smiled, stood up, and flew toward the door.
"Torture him well for me, during this time, he will be yours."
"You dare? Hydra will not let you go!"
The Winter Soldier roared madly, his voice carrying a rare trace of panic.
But Arthur ignored him completely, simply flying out slowly.
A few minutes later.
The Winter Soldier's desperate and angry roar, mixed with torturous laughter, came out.
"Hehe... darling, your body is full of sturdy muscles!"
"Hixi... you are ours..."
"No! You disgusting guys, get away from me, I will fucking blast you to death!!!"
...
A few days later.
Washington, S.H.I.E.L.D. Triskelion.
Steve Rogers sat in the conference room, with a pile of intelligence documents about the Hydra base spread out before him.
He was wearing a uniform, with his shield leaning against the chair, and his handsome face full of exhaustion.
"Hydra's base deep in the desert was destroyed?" He looked up at the satellite map on the screen, frowning tightly, "Do you know who did it?"
"Unknown, Sir." An S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent replied, "The energy reaction at the scene is abnormal. Preliminary judgment indicates it is at least a Level 10 or higher supernatural event."
"Where is the Winter Soldier? Any news about him?"
"Not for now, Sir."
"..."
Steve was silent for a moment.
Ever since his last fight with Bucky, he had been tracking down Hydra's clues.
Bucky was still alive.
It is just that the good friend who once fought side by side with him had now become a weapon in Hydra's hands.
He had to find him.
Just then, his communicator suddenly vibrated.
Steve looked down and saw it was an encrypted message.
There was only one sentence and a set of coordinates.
"Bucky is here."
Steve stood up abruptly.
Without the slightest hesitation, he grabbed his shield and walked out.
"Sir Rogers, where are you going?"
"I have something to do." Steve kept walking, "Tell them I will be right back."
He rushed out of the building, straddled a heavy motorcycle issued by S.H.I.E.L.D., and galloped toward the location of the coordinates.
In the night, the roar of the motorcycle was like a beastroaring.
Steve's heart beat fast.
Bucky.
I am here to save you.
Half an hour later, he came to an abandoned industrial area in the suburbs.
The place pointed to by the coordinates was an old factory building with mottled outer walls.
Steve stopped the motorcycle, held the shield in his hand, and slowly approached.
The surroundings were dead silent.
Only the night wind blew through the dilapidated windows, making a wailing sound.
He pushed open the rusty door of the factory and walked down the stairs step by step.
The door of the basement was half-open.
Steve clenched his shield, raised his foot, and kicked the door open.
"Bucky!"
The voice echoed in the spacious basement.
Then...
Captain America saw...
Bucky's body hanging there in a distorted position.
His whole body was covered in scars, as if he had experienced some indescribable, extreme torture.
His eyes stared wide open, and he was no longer moving.
A chill rushed from his spine to his skull, and Steve's whole body stiffened in place.
"Ba... Bucky..."
Chapter 6: Black Widow, You Wouldn't Want...
[Ding! Host has completed the "Kill Hydra Pursuers" mission!]
[Reward obtained: Base Superman template progress +30%, million-sun sentry template fragment * 10 (Collect 100 sentry template fragments to unlock the million-sun sentry template!)]
[Name: Arthur Stark]
[Current Template: Base Superman (50% → 80%)]
[Templates Pending Unlock: million-sun sentry template(Pending Unlock, Fragments 20), Silver Superman Template (Pending Unlock, Fragments 0), Six-Dimensional Superman Template (Pending Unlock, Fragments * 0)...]
[Abilities: Heat Vision, Body of Steel, Super Strength, Super Intelligence, Super Vision, Super Flight, Super Breath, Super Hearing, Super Speed...]
[Current Mission: Get rid of the surveillance of S.H.I.E.L.D.and Hydra]
[Reward: Base Superman template progress +20%, million-sun sentry template fragment * 10]
Early morning.
Arthur was hovering ten thousand meters above New York.
The sun had just leaped from the sea level of the Atlantic Ocean.
Golden light penetrated the thin clouds, spilling over the entire sky.
He closed his eyes, feeling the temperature of the sunlight falling on his skin.
Like a sponge, Arthur's body greedily absorbed every bit of energy from the solar radiation.
His cells were cheering, and his blood was surging!
Every muscle fiber... was trembling at a frequency invisible to the naked eye.
"Is this what it feels like to be Superman..."
Arthur slowly opened his eyes.
Golden light suddenly flashed from his pupils, and then slowly dissipated in the air.
He moved his wrist and casually clenched his fist.
Boom!!
The air was instantly squeezed and exploded, bursting out an unimaginable, terrifying sonic boom.
He felt that his body was filled with power at this moment, able to churn up the seawater of the New York port at any time.
The Superman template progress had reached 80%...
Even placed across the entire Marvel, it was still passable.
Of course...
Arthur knew that this was still not enough.
After all, this was Marvel, with all kinds of Celestials, Eternalss, six-gem Thanos...
Dangerous guys emerged endlessly, and combat powers surpassing the multiverse were countless.
Sentinel, Scarlet Witch, Jean Grey, Franklin...
Just being Superman was not enough!
Arthur focused his gaze on his million-sun sentry template; he was still 80 fragments short of unlocking it.
"System, how strong am I now?" Arthur asked in his heart.
[Under 80% progress of the base Superman template, the host's comprehensive combat power has surpassed the base Thor and reached the planetary level.]
[If you absorb the power of the sun to grow stronger, you might be able to upgrade to surpass the planetary level.]
"Planetary level... It's okay." Arthur twitched the corner of his mouth.
He turned around and looked towards the New York urban area.
Buildings were like a forest, and traffic was like ants.
His Super Vision penetrated the clouds and distance, clearly capturing the most conspicuous building.
Stark Industries Building.
"Next, it's time to go home."
...
Stark Industries Building.
Ten o'clock in the morning.
When Tony Stark came out of the laboratory, Jarvis's voice happened to ring out.
"Sir, there is a matter that needs to be reported to you."
"Speak." Tony pulled off the protective gloves stained with engine oil and casually threw them to the nearby robotic arm Xiaodai.
"Your elder brother, Mr. Arthur Stark, arrived at the building a minute ago and is currently waiting in the lobby."
Tony's footsteps paused.
He raised his eyebrows, and the expression on his face was somewhat complicated.
"My brother?"
"Yes, sir. According to the facial recognition system, it is Mr. Arthur Stark himself."
"..."
Hearing this, Tony was silent for two seconds.
His relationship with Arthur had always been very subtle.
They were quite close when they were young.
But as he gradually showed extraordinary talent, Arthuralways remained unknown like an ordinary person.
Afterwards, the distance between the two... grew further and further apart.
Later, Arthur left home and disappeared for several years.
Now suddenly coming back...
"What does he look like?" Tony recovered from his memories and asked.
"Mr. Lin looks... to be in very good condition, sir."
"Very good condition?" Tony let out a soft hum, "It's truly rare for that guy to come back."
"Where is he now?"
"In the 27th-floor lobby."
Tony nodded, then walked towards the direction of the elevator.
In the lobby.
With his hands in his pants pockets, Arthur was looking around listlessly.
Tony came out of the elevator and saw him at first glance.
As expected of his overly low-key brother.
"Isn't this my elusive good brother?"
With his hands in his pants pockets, Tony walked over with his signature stride.
"What, is your plan to travel around the world over?"
Arthur turned his head and looked at Tony.
This kid still had that punchable look.
"Tony."
"You indeed look not bad, much more spirited than I imagined."
Tony walked up to him, looked him up and down, and a gratified smile appeared on his face.
"What, couldn't make it out there anymore, so you came back to rely on your genius younger brother?"
Arthur smiled: "I want an office to handle some things, but you don't need to throw the trivial matters of Stark Industries Group to me."
Tony raised his eyebrows, somewhat not expecting Arthurto say that.
"I thought you were going to join forces with me to make Stark Industries Group better..."
"Oh right, don't forget to arrange a secretary for me; there are some things that need them to do." Arthur continued.
If he remembered correctly, at this time Stark Industries Group still had quite a few undercover Agents from Hydraand S.H.I.E.L.D.
It was just right to come back and purge them.
"You're certainly direct." Tony crossed his arms, "Sure, there are plenty of offices. As for a secretary, do you have a candidate?"
Arthur's gaze crossed Tony and looked towards the entrance of the lobby.
A woman was walking in from outside.
Red hair, black dress.
Delicate and cold facial features, tight figure, natural waist curve when walking.
High heels stepped on the marble ground, making a crisp sound.
She glanced over here, her gaze lingering on Arthur for half a second.
Arthur raised his hand and pointed at her.
"Just her."
Tony looked over following his finger, then smiled and patted Arthur's shoulder with his right hand.
"You have good taste, that's the new secretary, NatalieRushman."
He shrugged: "But I must remind you, she is quite a thorny one."
"Doesn't matter." Arthur withdrew his gaze, "I didn't plan to look for a vase in the first place."
Natasha obviously heard the conversation here.
She stopped her footsteps, looked at Arthur, and a just-right expression of doubt appeared on her face.
"Gentlemen, is there anything I can help with?" Her voice carried a bit of the respect unique to a secretary.
"Starting today, you follow him." Tony raised his chin and pointed at Arthur.
"This is my brother, Arthur Stark."
"He just came back and needs someone familiar with the company to help."
"Okay, Mr. Stark." Natasha nodded and looked at Arthuragain, "Mr. Arthur Stark."
Half an hour later.
Arthur stood in his new office.
The entire floor-to-ceiling window faced the New Yorkstreet view, with excellent lighting.
He sat behind the desk, the swivel chair spun gently once, and then he looked outside the door.
Thump, thump, thump!!
A knock on the door sounded.
"Come in."
The door was pushed open.
Natasha walked in.
She had changed into a more form-fitting office lady uniform, with the top button of her white shirt undone.
The deep cleavage was eye-catching.
The black hip-hugging skirt outlined the waist and hip curves just right.
Beneath her two slender and straight legs were a pair of black pointy-toe high heels.
"Mr. Arthur."
She walked to the front of the desk, the corners of her mouth raised, revealing a faint smile.
"Is there something you want me for, sir?"
Arthur leaned back against the back of the chair, looking at the woman in front of him.
Perhaps others didn't know who she was.
But he knew.
Black Widow.
Natasha Romanoff.
S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent.
"There is indeed a matter."
Arthur raised his hand and pushed the black-rimmed glasses on his face.
"Black Widow... S.H.I.E.L.D. senior Agent, am I wrong?"
Natasha:???
How do you know?!
"You... What are you talking about? Mr. Arthur, I don't quite understand." Natasha spoke doubtfully.
"Still pretending?"
Arthur nodded slightly, his Super Vision having already seen Natasha in front of him from inside out.
"I have already conducted a thorough investigation on you."
"Black Widow, you wouldn't want the matter of you undercover in Stark Industries Group..."
"To be discovered by others, right?"
Chapter 7 Flying Superman
The smile on Natasha's face vanished at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Her traditionally alluring green eyes narrowed slightly.
Like a cat sensing danger, her entire body's muscles tensed instantly.
"Mr. Arthur, I think you might have misunderstood something."
Natasha's voice remained soft and steady.
But there was already a trace of imperceptible coldness in her tone.
"I am just an ordinary secretary of Stark Industries Group."
"An ordinary secretary?"
Arthur sneered.
He nodded, wearing an expression that seemed to say, "Are you treating me like a fool?"
"Would an ordinary secretary hide a ceramic dagger on the inside of her skirt?"
"Place a miniature tracker in the corset's interlayer?"
"And tuck a folding pistol on her thigh strap?"
Hearing this, Natasha's expression changed instantly.
Almost at the same time, her hand reached towards the back of her waist.
"Don't move!"
Arthur's voice was not loud, yet it carried an unquestionable sense of oppression.
Natasha froze.
She stared intently at Arthur, her mind spinning rapidly.
"What, not pretending anymore?"
Arthur stood up from his chair, walked around the desk, and strode toward her.
Natasha instinctively took a step back.
Following closely...
Her body, like a sleek snake, erupted into action within an extremely short distance.
Her left fist went straight for Arthur's throat, and her right leg swept across his lower body.
Standard Agent combat technique, crisp and neat!
If the person opposite her were an ordinary person, this combo would be enough to knock down a strong man within three seconds.
But...
Arthur was not an ordinary person.
He was Superman!
Before Natasha's fist could touch Arthur, her wrist was gently grasped by a palm.
"Too slow."
Arthur shook his head.
Natasha's eyes condensed, her right leg's attack unwithdrawn, and her entire body leveraged the momentum to leap into the air, her left knee slamming fiercely toward Arthur's temple.
Arthur didn't even tilt his head.
Her knee struck his shoulder, feeling as if it had crashed into a mountain.
Arthur didn't move at all!
Natasha was stunned for a moment: "No... This is impossible!!"
She was a professionally trained Agent, and she knew very well how lethal this move was.
Yet...
Arthur had actually blocked it?
And he looked completely unharmed?!
Natasha tried to break free from Arthur's hand, but found that she couldn't shake it off at all.
"Who on earth are you?"
"Superman."
Arthur grinned.
Without hesitation, Natasha drew her pistol from the small of her back, aiming the muzzle at Arthur.
"Don't move!"
This time it was her turn to speak.
Arthur stood in front of her, his expression calm to the point of indifference.
"Try shooting."
"You think I don't dare?"
Natasha sneered.
"Go ahead and shoot."
Bang!
The gunshot exploded in the office.
The bullet flew toward Arthur's forehead.
Then...
It stopped.
The bullet head hovered three inches in front of Arthur's glabella, as if blocked by an invisible barrier.
Seeing this, a trace of shock flashed across Natasha's face.
How could this be?
Unwilling to believe it, she pulled the trigger continuously.
Bang, bang, bang!!!
All six bullets were fired.
The bullet heads floated neatly in front of Arthur, like golden little insects suspended in the air.
"Finished?"
Arthur tilted his head.
The next second, all six bullet heads fell to the ground simultaneously.
Natasha felt a shock in her heart.
What on earth is going on with this Arthur Stark?
This is simply not human, right?
Without the slightest hesitation, this top-tier Agent turned and ran.
She rushed toward the office door, her hand just touching the doorknob when a gust of wind blew from behind.
Arthur was already standing in front of her.
"You..."
Natasha's breath hitched.
Arthur reached out and grabbed the collar of her white shirt.
Rip!!
Natasha's white shirt was ripped open with a large tear, revealing the black lace lining inside and the plump curves of her chest.
Her breathing grew rapid, her chest heaving violently.
"You... Who on earth are you, and what do you want to do?"
Natasha growled in a low voice, but did not strike again.
Because she clearly knew how huge the strength gap was between herself and the person in front of her.
It was just like an ant and a god.
"Do you Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. all like this?"
Arthur's gaze moved down from her face and landed on her chest.
"Saying no on one hand, while deliberately undoing your buttons on the other."
Natasha took a deep breath and looked at Arthur.
As a senior Agent, she had already thought of several ways to deal with Arthur in her mind.
"Since you already know my identity, why don't we change the way we solve the problem."
Her voice grew soft and charming, her body leaning slightly forward.
Making her proud curves even more obvious in front of Arthur.
"Whatever you want, I can give it to you."
Arthur looked at her, a hint of mockery showing in his eyes.
"You Agents are really strange."
"Why do you say that?"
"Always thinking about seducing others with sex."
Arthur said, but reached out to wrap his arm around her waist.
"However, I don't mind."
A flash of coldness crossed Natasha's eyes, but her face still wore a smile.
Their breaths intertwined.
The temperature in the office seemed to rise by a few degrees.
After the pleasure, Natasha nestled in Arthur's arms.
Her body was soft, and her breathing had not yet fully recovered.
Yet her hand had already quietly reached under the skirt scattered to the side.
There, an even smaller knife was hidden.
The next second...
Natasha flipped her wrist, the tip of the blade fiercely stabbing toward Arthur's waist.
Clang!
The dagger landed on Arthur's skin, actually producing the sound of metal clashing!
Then...
The blade broke.
Natasha froze completely.
She looked down at the remaining half of the broken knife in her hand, then looked up at Arthur's uninjured waist.
"This... How is this possible..."
"What, very surprised?"
Arthur looked down at her, his face full of banter.
"What the hell kind of monster are you..."
The charm on Natasha's face completely vanished, leaving only terror.
"A monster?"
Arthur smiled, "Consider me one."
He stood up and casually wrapped his jacket around Natasha.
"Now it's time..."
"Where to?"
Natasha hadn't recovered from the shock yet.
"S.H.I.E.L.D."
Natasha's brow furrowed sharply, staring intently at Arthur.
"You... What on earth do you want to do?!"
"To have a chat with your Director, Fury."
Arthur said indifferently, "And by the way, tell him to keep his Agent under control and stop stuffing people into other people's companies all day long."
Natasha: "..."
She wanted to say something more, but Arthur had already grabbed her wrist and pushed open the window.
"This is over a hundred stories high."
Natasha's voice grew tight.
"I know."
Finishing his words, Arthur directly picked up Natasha and jumped down from the window.
The wind whistled in their ears.
Natasha's scream was drowned out by the wind.
And Arthur, holding her like a human cannonball, flew toward Washington.
On the other side.
S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, the Triskelion.
Steve Rogers sat outside the conference room, his facial expression cold enough to freeze someone to death.
He had just returned from the abandoned factory not long ago, his uniform not yet changed, and his shield leaning against his leg.
Bucky's body had already been sent to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s morgue.
He swore that he would definitely find the person who killed Bucky.
No matter who that person was.
Right at this moment, a harsh alarm suddenly sounded.
Red warning lights flashed continuously in the corridor.
A hurried voice came from the broadcast.
"Alert! Alert! An unidentified flying object is approaching the headquarters airspace at high speed!"
"All personnel enter combat status! Repeat, all personnel enter combat status!"
Steve suddenly stood up and looked up at the sky.
He saw a dark stream of light flying in from the direction of New York at an unimaginable speed.
And within that stream of light, it seemed to be holding a person.
That is...
Superman?
Flying Superman?
Steve:???
What the hell is this?
Chapter 8: I Don't Mind Making the Entire S.H.I.E.L.D.Disappear
Triskelion.
Dense footsteps and roars came from all directions.
"Alert! Be on high alert!"
"Unidentified flying object has breached the outer air defense identification zone!"
"All combat units, in position! Repeat, all combat units, in position!"
In less than thirty seconds, the apron and plaza outside the Triskelion were already packed with fully armed S.H.I.E.L.D. soldiers.
They wore black combat uniforms, held automatic rifles, and aimed their muzzles squarely at the sky.
At the end of their line of sight, a black speck of light was rapidly enlarging.
Boom!!
Arthur was holding Natasha, crashing down into the center of the plaza like a meteorite.
The ground exploded outward in a circle of spiderweb-like cracks centered on his feet.
The wave of air blew nearby soldiers back repeatedly, and some even lost their footing and fell to the ground.
"Freeze!"
"Put your hands up!"
"Drop your weapons immediately!"
The soldiers steadied their footing, raised their muzzles again, and pointed them all at Arthur.
Arthur let go of Natasha and let her step aside.
He didn't look at those soldiers, but simply raised his head to glance at the towering Triskelion before him, then looked down at the cracked floor tiles near his feet.
"S.H.I.E.L.D.'s welcome ceremony is quite mediocre." Arthurshook his head.
"Mr. Arthur, you are currently at S.H.I.E.L.D.'s headquarters." Natasha covered her red hair blown by the wind and lowered her voice.
"The defense level here is the highest."
"So what?" Arthur smiled.
"So you must immediately stop this..."
"Open fire!"
Natasha hadn't finished her sentence, and it was unknown which Commander gave the order.
The gunshots rang out.
Da da da da da!!
Dozens of automatic rifles fired simultaneously.
Bullets poured toward Arthur from all directions like a torrential rain.
Natasha's expression changed, and she instinctively rolled aside to avoid it.
But Arthur didn't move.
He stood in place, not even raising his hand.
The bullets all stopped half a meter away from his body.
Dense bullet tips hovered in mid-air, as if pinned in the air by some invisible force.
"My God..."
Natasha raised her head, looking at this unimaginable scene before her.
Those soldiers were also stunned.
Their fingers were still hooked on the triggers, but their eyeballs were almost popping out of their sockets.
"What the f**k..."
"Bullets can't penetrate?!"
"Is he a monster?!"
The next second.
Arthur slowly raised his head.
In his eyes, two red lights lit up, instantly turning into two extremely blazing red flames.
"Are you done shooting?" He tilted his head slightly, his voice very soft.
Yet in this suddenly quieted plaza, it was terrifyingly clear.
"Then it's my turn."
Heat Vision burst forth with a bang.
Two crimson beams of light gushed out from his eyes.
That light was more dazzling than the midday sun, and hotter than the molten iron in a furnace.
The beam swept across.
The teams of soldiers surrounding the very front didn't even have time to scream before they were hit head-on by the Heat Vision.
The human bodies instantly evaporated under the extreme high temperature.
Firearms turned into molten iron.
The air was even burning.
In just a split second, more than half of the firepower points on the plaza were cleared out.
The remaining soldiers completely collapsed.
"Retreat! Retreat quickly!"
"Mom!"
"He really is a monster!"
Some dropped their guns and turned to run, some sat limply on the ground with their pants soaked.
Others knelt on the ground, making the sign of the cross toward the sky.
Thick smoke and a burnt stench permeated the air.
Arthur withdrew his gaze, his red pupils slowly returning to calmness.
He turned his head to look at the entrance of the Triskelion.
Several people were walking out from inside.
Captain America Steve Rogers walked at the very front, holding a Vibranium shield, his face ashen.
Behind him was Nick Fury in a black trench coat.
Beside him followed Agent Coulson in a tailored suit, and the stern-faced Agent Hill.
Looking at the scene before them, their expressions were uglier than the last.
"Nice to meet you, everyone."
Arthur waved at them, like greeting an old friend.
"You are Arthur Stark?" Nick Fury stopped in his tracks, his single eye staring fixedly at Arthur.
"It's me." Arthur nodded.
Nick Fury looked at the lingering burnt smoke on the plaza, as well as those soldiers lying on the ground dead or alive.
His face was ashen: "Do you know what you are doing?"
"I know." Arthur said, "I'm here to demand an explanation."
"What explanation?" Nick Fury narrowed his eyes.
"You sent Agents to lurk in my company, causing serious interference to my daily life." Arthur said with a straight face.
"I need emotional damages compensation."
Nick Fury: "..."
Coulson: "..."
Hill: "..."
"You mean... compensation?" Nick Fury almost thought he misheard.
"Yes." Arthur nodded, "Emotional distress fee, lost wages fee, and the energy I just consumed must all be factored in."
"A preliminary estimate would be about one billion. US dollars."
"Are you crazy?" Hill finally couldn't help speaking out.
"I think you're the crazy ones." Arthur said calmly, "Planting moles in someone else's company, what's the difference between this method and Hydra?"
Nick Fury and Coulson's expressions changed at the same time.
"Watch your words." Nick Fury said in a deep voice.
"I am watching them very much." Arthur smiled, "Otherwise I wouldn't be standing here talking with you."
As he spoke, he raised his hand and pointed at Natasha:
"Her, Black Widow, the mole you sent to Stark Industries."
"Do you want me to continue? Or should I also point out how many Hydra people are hidden inside S.H.I.E.L.D.?"
Hearing this, Nick Fury's eyes suddenly shrank, and he looked at Arthur with utter disbelief.
"What did you say?"
"Hydra." Arthur slowed down his speech, saying word by word.
"Your S.H.I.E.L.D. has already been riddled with holes by Hydra infiltration."
"And you actually still have the leisure to send moles to Stark Industries Group?"
"..."
Nick Fury was silent for a moment.
His single eye stared at Arthur, trying to see a trace of a flaw on this young man's face.
But Arthur's gaze was too calm.
So calm that it gave him the creeps.
Right at this moment.
A voice suppressing anger sounded.
"I'm asking you, did you kill Bucky?"
Captain America stepped forward, gripping the shield in his hand tightly, his face full of anger.
Arthur looked at him, grinning to reveal a faint smile.
"Of course...
Bucky Barnes, Winter Soldier.
I killed him."
Almost in an instant.
Steve's expression and eyes changed.
Anger, pain, hatred...
These emotions burned wildly in his blue pupils like raging fire.
"Bastard!!"
He let out a furious roar, charging toward Arthur like an arrow shot from a bowstring.
The Vibranium shield carried a piercing whistling sound as it fiercely smashed toward Arthur's head.
However.
Arthur gently raised his right hand.
Bam!
The shield smashed into his palm, producing a dull metallic impact sound.
Then...
It was gently batted back by him as if swatting a fly.
The shield flew back out of hand, smashing toward Stevewith even greater force.
Steve's pupils shrank as he hurriedly sidestepped.
The shield whistled past his shoulder, smashing into the marble floor behind him and deeply embedding into the wall.
Steve was dragged to stumble two steps, his face full of shock.
"Your good friend killed my parents."
Arthur looked at him, his voice calm.
"It is only right and proper for me to kill him."
"You..."
"Don't rush." Arthur interrupted him, "I only killed him once; I've already been very merciful."
"If you make a move again, I wouldn't mind sending you to keep him company."
Seeing that Captain America and Arthur were about to engage in a huge fight, Nick Fury finally stepped forward.
"Stop!" He stood in front of Steve, looking at Arthur, "What on earth do you want?"
"Very simple." Arthur raised two fingers.
"First, withdraw all the informants you placed around me and my brother."
"Second, keep your people in check and stop bothering me, otherwise..."
He paused, his gaze sweeping across every person present.
"I don't mind making the entire S.H.I.E.L.D. disappear from this world."
Chapter 9: Crushing Captain America, Sweeping Through S.H.I.E.L.D.!
"Are you threatening S.H.I.E.L.D.?"
Nick Fury lowered his voice, his single eye staring fixedly at Arthur.
At this moment, the smoke of battle in the square had not completely dissipated, and the air was filled with a burning stench and the smell of blood.
Captain America stood behind Nick Fury, gritting his teeth and staring fixedly at Arthur with a face full of anger.
"Threat?" Arthur tilted his head. "No, I'm merely stating a fact."
"Since its establishment, S.H.I.E.L.D. has never been blackmailed like this by a single individual," Nick Fury said in a deep voice.
"That's because you haven't met me before." Arthur smiled.
"You'd better be clear about who you're talking to, Arthur Stark."
"This is the S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, and S.H.I.E.L.D. was established by your father, Howard Stark, which represents..."
Before he could finish speaking, Captain America behind Nick Fury suddenly moved.
Steve Rogers lunged out from Nick Fury's side like an angry lion.
Gripping his shield with his right hand, he viciously slashed toward Arthur's neck.
"Die! You bastard who killed Bucky!!!"
Holding nothing back.
This time, Steve used all his strength.
Arthur frowned: "You're courting death."
Without even looking, he raised his right arm and casually blocked it.
Clang!!
The shield was steadily caught by Arthur.
The Vibranium, which was enough to cleave through walls, was completely useless in Arthur's hands.
"What?" Steve's expression changed abruptly, and he immediately tried to pull back his shield.
But...
It was already too late for him to withdraw his hand.
Arthur grabbed his wrist with a backhand grip and twisted it fiercely.
Crack!
The sound of bones breaking clearly reached everyone's ears.
"Ugh ah!!"
Steve let out a muffled grunt.
His right arm was twisted at a bizarre angle.
Bones protruded from the flesh, and blood dripped down his fingers to the ground.
"You..." Steve raised his head, his forehead covered in cold sweat, forcing himself not to fall to the ground.
"You're just like Bucky, weak... simply too weak."
Arthur spoke indifferently and kicked Steve in the chest, sending Captain America flying.
"Captain!" Coulson exclaimed, rushing over.
"Hill, take him away!"
Nick Fury immediately gave the order while taking a step back, his right hand resting on the gun at his waist.
"You should be glad that my mood isn't too bad today." Arthur nodded slightly, his expression calm.
"Arthur Stark, doing this is equivalent to making an enemy of the entire S.H.I.E.L.D." Natasha's voice was icy. "You will regret this."
"Regret?" Arthur chuckled softly. "I hate it most when people provoke me again and again."
He turned his head to look at Natasha, who was standing not far away with a pale face.
"Especially you." Arthur spoke.
Natasha's whole body stiffened.
"I gave you a chance to live." Arthur walked toward her. "Yet you always mistake other people's mercy for weakness."
"Arthur, what do you want?!" Natasha instinctively retreated.
"You Agents always think you can solve all problems by relying on sets of psychological tactics and physical transactions."
Arthur slowly raised his hand, aiming his index finger at her forehead.
"But you forgot one thing."
"In front of absolute power, all schemes and tricks are just jokes."
"No..."
Boom!
The finger directly pierced through Natasha's head.
Her body fell backward, her face filled with horror and disbelief.
"Today, consider it a lesson for you all." Arthur withdrew his hand.
"What are you going to do?" Nick Fury sternly demanded.
With his hands behind his back, Arthur flew in front of the heavily injured Captain America.
Coulson and Hill guarded in front of Steve with faces full of vigilance.
"Move aside." Arthur's voice was icy.
"No." Hill shook her head.
Arthur smiled and waved his right hand abruptly.
Whoosh!!
Coulson and Hill were struck as if by an invisible giant hand, their bodies flying backward.
The two of them crashed heavily against the wall of the lobby and passed out.
Steve forced his head up, his gaze staring fixedly at Arthur.
"You will pay the price..."
"Is that so? You should look forward to what happens next instead."
Chapter 10: Captain America's Ultimate Insult, Baseline Superman Template 100%!
Arthur grabbed Steve by the collar and lifted him up from the ground.
He looked back at Nick Fury.
"Remember what I said, Nick Fury..."
"Keep your people in check."
As his voice fell, Arthur grabbed the unconscious Steve and rushed out of the building like a stream of light.
Leaving Nick Fury standing in place, looking at the wreckage all over the ground, silent for a long time.
"Captain Marvel..."
He took out the pager, preparing to call his old friend back.
"Earth seems to be in trouble..."
...
A dim and cramped basement.
Steve slowly woke up, only to find... he was suspended in mid-air by heavy iron chains, his arms raised high, completely naked.
He tried to struggle, but found that his right arm had completely lost sensation.
"Awake?"
A familiar voice came from ahead.
Steve raised his head with difficulty and saw...
Arthur sitting on an old wooden chair, toying with a video camera in his hand.
And this place was precisely where he had found Bucky.
"Arthur..." Steve squeezed two words through his teeth.
"Steve Rogers." Arthur stood up and walked in front of him, "Captain America, the embodiment of justice, the national idol."
He paused, a meaningful smile appearing on his face.
"But do you know that sometimes, the fall of a hero is even more tragic than that of an ordinary person?"
"If you want to kill me, just do it." Steve said in a hoarse voice.
"Kill you? That would be letting you off too easily." Arthurshook his head, "Weren't you quite fierce when you were avenging Bucky? Why aren't you fierce now?"
"Isn't it much better to humiliate you?"
He smiled evilly, then raised the video camera and aimed it at Steve.
"Guess what will happen next?"
"..."
Captain America ignored him.
"Well, since you won't guess, I'll tell you..."
Arthur grinned.
"I will have a few people torture you, and then film everything that happens next, making countless copies."
"One copy sent to S.H.I.E.L.D., one sent to the media, and another, I will personally deliver to Peggy Carter."
Steve's body shuddered violently.
"What did you say?!"
"Peggy Carter." Arthur smiled.
"Your beloved."
"Just imagine, what expression will she have if she sees this video of you being humiliated?"
"You dare?" Steve struggled frantically.
"I will make her watch it ten thousand times." Arthur said word by word.
Steve's eyes changed completely.
"No... No way... You can't do this..." His voice was trembling.
Fear coiled around his heart like a cold snake.
Snap!!
Arthur snapped his fingers lightly.
Eight burly men walked out from the shadows.
The smiles on their faces made Steve's scalp tingle even more.
"Help me torture Captain America well." Arthur turned around and walked towards the door.
"Right, don't kill him, I want him alive!"
"Hehehe... Captain America... This is my first time seeing one..."
"He's a bit sturdier than the last one. Captain America, your body is full of muscles, tee hee..."
"No... Get away from me, you damned guys, get away from me!!"
...
When receiving Nick Fury's call.
Tony Stark was in the laboratory, debugging the propulsion system of his new armor.
"Tony Stark, your brother Arthur Stark has committed a crime. He killed a team of soldiers, and... also killed one of our senior Agents, which is your secretary Natasha."
Nick Fury's voice came out from the speaker, hoarse and exhausted.
Tony:???
Who the hell are you?
My brother is perfectly fine, how could he commit a crime?
And...
An ordinary person, how could he wipe out a team of soldiers and kill a senior Agent?
With a peculiar look on his face, he asked, "Wait, who are you? And you... what did you just say?"
"I am Nick Fury, Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., and the so-called S.H.I.E.L.D. is..."
After explaining S.H.I.E.L.D. to Tony, Nick Fury recalled what happened before.
He took a deep breath and spoke word by word.
"Your brother, Arthur Stark...
He flew into S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, killed senior AgentNatasha, killed a team of combat soldiers, and...
Even Captain America, who was just salvaged, was caught by him and brutally tortured for several days."
Tony: "..."
Did you take too many drugs?
My brother is an ordinary person, could he do such a thing?
"Sir, everything he said is true."
Jarvis's voice sounded in the laboratory.
Cold and mechanical.
"In your mailbox, there is an encrypted video file sent by S.H.I.E.L.D."
Hearing this, Tony was slightly stunned, the wrench in his hand suspended in mid-air.
"Play it."
Instantly, the holographic projection lit up.
In the image, Arthur stood in the center of the S.H.I.E.L.D.plaza, Heat Vision sweeping across the entire field like a god.
Soldier after soldier fell to the ground like straw.
Even the air was scorched by the high temperature, twisting and smoking.
Seeing this scene, the expression on Tony's face froze completely.
"It really is my brother?" He was full of doubt, when did Arthur get this kind of ability?
The image cut to the basement.
Eight muscular British guys were constantly torturing a man.
And that man was none other than Captain America.
Tony stared at the image in front of him and blinked.
Then...
Then he turned around and rushed to the wall, holding onto the console, vomiting everything in his stomach out.
"Jarvis..."
"Sir, I am here."
"Is that really my brother?"
"Facial recognition confirmed, it is Mr. Arthur Stark, with a match rate of 99.9%."
"Damn it." Tony wiped his mouth and straightened up, "When did he get this kind of ability?"
"According to the information provided by S.H.I.E.L.D., Mr. Lin seems to have awakened supernatural abilities in a certain Hydra base."
"The specific reason is unknown, but... it is very powerful."
"Very powerful?"
Tony took a few deep breaths, trying to calm himself down.
"I need to find him and ask what on Earth is going on. Jarvis, locate him for me."
"Mr. Arthur's location is covered by some unknown force field, and satellites cannot scan it."
Tony: "..."
When did my brother become so strong?
Even satellites can't find him?
He took a deep breath, thinking of the person who called him just now.
"Then... what does S.H.I.E.L.D. say over there?"
"They have already contacted a powerhouse in outer space, however... that powerhouse is currently not within the Milky Way Galaxy range and cannot rush back in a short time..."
"But Captain America has been rescued and is now in the hospital. Do you want to go take a look?"
Tony was silent for a few seconds, then stood up.
"To the hospital."
He wanted to see what kind of state his brother had tortured Captain America into.
...
A the military hospital in Washington.
Tony stood outside the special ward, looking inside through the glass.
Steve Rogers lay on the bed, his entire body wrapped in bandages.
His eyes were open, but without any focus, looking like his soul had been hollowed out.
Coulson stood beside him and spoke in a low voice, "Captain hasn't said a word since he was rescued until now."
"The Doctor says it's severe psychological trauma and might take a long time to recover."
"Is he awake?" Tony turned his head to look at him.
"Awake." Coulson paused, "But perhaps, he doesn't wish to be awake."
"So... Iron Man."
Nick Fury walked over from outside the corridor, staring closely at Tony Stark with a solemn expression.
"You must find your brother, Arthur Stark...
He possesses out-of-spec power, but lacks the constraints of human social morality!"
Tony gave him a deep look, then looked at Captain America lying on the hospital bed.
"..."
He was silent for a moment.
Arthur... did you really do this?
...
The night grew deeper.
The top of the Stark Industries Building.
Arthur leaned against the railing on the edge of the rooftop, overlooking New York beneath his feet.
The night wind whistled, blowing the corners of his clothes fluttering.
[Ding! Host has completed the task "Get rid of S.H.I.E.L.D.and Hydra monitoring"!]
[Reward obtained: Baseline Superman Template progress +20%, million-sun sentry template fragment *10]
[Name: Arthur Stark]
[Current Template: Baseline Superman (80% → 100%)]
[Templates to be unlocked: million-sun sentry template(to be unlocked, fragments 30 / 100), Silver Superman Template (to be unlocked, fragments 0), Sixth-Dimensional Superman Template (to be unlocked, fragments 0)...]
[Abilities: Heat Vision, Body of Steel, Super Strength, Super Intelligence, Super Vision, Super Flight, Super Breath, Super Hearing, Super Speed...]
[Current Task: Seize the Space Stone]
[Reward: million-sun sentry template fragment *10, Green Lantern Ring *1]
"The baseline Superman template is finally 100%!"
A flash of excitement crossed Arthur's face as he slowly clenched his fists.
He could feel that the power within his body had reached a completely new level.
It was no longer the state from before that required deliberate activation.
It was as natural as a heartbeat or breathing.
Baseline Superman Template 100%!
This meant that he possessed abilities and potential of the exact same strength as Superman!!
"Is this... what a full-version Superman feels like?"
Arthur murmured softly.
His gaze pierced through the clouds, seeing the vast starry sky in the distance.
Super Vision allowed him to instantly see through the mysteries of this Universe.
Soon, Arthur withdrew his gaze.
"Celestials, Odin, the Five Cosmic Pantheon, God of Stories, Beyonder..."
Arthur knew that these were still far from the level he could touch right now.
The baseline Superman template was nothing more than a starting point in this Universe.
He opened the system panel and looked at the dim million-sun sentry template.
"Still seventy fragments short..."
Arthur frowned slightly, then looked at the new task.
"Seize the Space Stone... The reward is sentry fragments and a Green Lantern Ring."
The Space Stone.
The Tesseract, one of the Infinity Stones, and also something Thanos would want to seize in the future.
But right now...
Where on Earth is this thing?