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"Thomas kneels and hugs your thigh in gratitude!"
Tony Stark swore he had never been this disheveled in his life.
That pillar of light, piercing the sky from below, caught him completely off guard.
Blazing winds whipped at his face from both sides; if not for his armor, he'd probably be a blurry mess by now.
"Run! Run! This lunatic is serious!"
Tony's thrusters were sparking, and he was desperately drifting sideways.
Thor next to him was even more outrageous.
The Asgardian strongman wasn't running; instead, he was excitedly staring at the blinding energy pillar, muttering exclamations like "Motherfucker!"
"Hulk! Did you see that! The power!"
Thor excitedly patted the Hulk, who was hanging on his back.
The Hulk squinted his eyes, stung by the white light, and grunted impatiently twice.
Only Vision was the calmest.
He elegantly adjusted his posture in the violent airflow, ensuring he wouldn't be blown to pieces.
The four of them (plus a green giant accessory) were pushed several kilometers away by the terrifying energy aftermath before they could barely stabilize themselves in the air.
The pillar of light, spanning heaven and earth, came and went quickly.
The light dissipated.
The former floating island of Sokovia, that city suspended ten thousand meters in the sky, was gone.
Not even a large piece of rubble remained.
In the sky, only tiny dust particles sparkled in the sunlight.
"Oh… my… Deleted…"
Tony's helmet automatically retracted, and he stared dumbfounded at the empty sky, his mouth wide open.
"He… he really… vaporized an entire city?"
"What a magnificent destruction!" Thor exclaimed sincerely, his eyes full of admiration. "This power is enough to leave a profound mark in the epics of Asgard!"
The Hulk also stopped struggling, just staring blankly at the sky.
"Sir, to be precise, not vaporized."
Vision floated over, the Mind Stone on his forehead glowing with a soft light.
"Matter, under the impact of extremely high energy, was broken down into its most basic particles and dispersed into space."
Tony's mouth twitched.
"Thank you for the science lesson, Traffic Light Man, I just love your damn calmness!"
He grumbled, but his eyes were fixed on the ground below.
Kara looked in the direction of Tel-Rol and suddenly her expression changed.
"Tel!"
She cried out, and without waiting for the others to react, she plummeted straight down.
Only then did the others notice.
In the center of the cleared airspace, a small black dot was rapidly falling.
Kara's heart tightened instantly.
She didn't know what she was feeling right now.
Was it concern for a fellow Kryptonian's safety?
Or… fear of losing something else?
She had no time to ponder, no time to think.
Her body's instinct propelled her to maximum speed.
"Boom!"
"Boom! Boom!"
Three successive violent sonic booms exploded in the air.
Kara's speed was so great that she left a series of white air rings in the atmosphere.
Finally, she arrived just a second before Tel-Rol was about to hit the ground.
She extended her arms, carefully yet with a hint of urgency, and steadily caught the helplessly falling body in her embrace.
His body was scorching hot to the touch.
Tel-Rol's body was like a furnace, but his breathing was so faint it was almost imperceptible.
His eyes were closed, and the face that always wore an arrogant smile was now pale, devoid of any color.
Kara held him in a bridal carry, feeling the faint signs of life in her arms, her heart pounding fiercely.
Just then, Tony and the others caught up, hovering beside Kara.
"What's wrong with him?" Tony leaned over for a look, marveling, "This guy always gives me incredible surprises."
Thor frowned, his expression uncharacteristically serious.
"His life force is very weak."
Vision flew to Tel-Rol's side, the gem on his forehead lit up, and a soft yellow light enveloped Tel-Rol's body, scanning him.
A few seconds later, the yellow light dissipated.
"Mr. Tel is not in life-threatening danger."
Vision concluded.
"His body structure is undamaged, but his biological energy is completely depleted. To put it in a more easily understandable way… he's exhausted."
Hearing this, Kara let out a long sigh of relief.
Her whole body relaxed.
"I knew it!" Tony slapped his thigh. "Take him back, throw him in a medical pod, give him a massage, and he'll be good as new!"
"This is a warrior's glory!" Thor said with longing, "Exhausting all strength for a decisive victory! We should throw a grand party for him!"
Kara held Tel-Rol, ignoring the chatter from the two beside her.
She looked down at the man in her arms.
This guy… what exactly was his potential?
Every time she thought she had seen his limit, he would always do something even more outrageous.
Was this power truly due to the Saiyan bloodline he spoke of?
Just as Kara was lost in thought, Tel-Rol in her arms moved with difficulty.
He slowly opened his eyes, his confused gaze taking a long time to focus before he finally saw the pretty face filled with worry before him.
"Ugh…"
He let out a weak groan.
"Kara… holding me like this… it's really embarrassing for me…"
Kara: "…"
She was both angry and wanted to laugh.
This guy was so weak, yet all he could think about was his pride?!
"Shut up! Be glad you're alive!"
Kara retorted grumpily, but her arms holding him tightened even more.
A strange emotion quietly spread in her heart.
And just then.
"Zzzzt… Zzzzt…"
A static sound suddenly crackled in Tony's public channel.
Immediately after, a voice that was both familiar and headache-inducing came through.
The voice was filled with suppressed fury.
"Stark, respond please!"
Tony flinched, composed himself, and responded politely.
"Director Fury? Any instructions? We just saved the world and are about to call it a day."
Nick Fury on the other end of the line was silent for two seconds.
"Save the world?"
"Very well."
"Then I'll just ask you one question, Stark."
"My agents found real-time satellite images of Sokovia."
"Can you explain to me…"
"Why is there… a country missing from the map, out of nowhere?!"