Nick Fury slammed his fist on the command table.
"Dammit! Who is he? And what exactly is he trying to pull? Is he showing off?"
"Sir," one S.H.I.E.L.D. analyst said while adjusting his glasses, "whoever he is, he's incredibly strong. And the public reaction is immediate."
In the corner of the screen, live broadcasts from multiple news stations rolled nonstop.
"We just witnessed it with our own eyes. Unbelievable! This mysterious superhuman tore that creature apart like it was nothing!"
"Is he Superman? He looks like Superman, but there's no S on his chest!"
"Mom! Look, it's Superman! It's really Superman!"
Crowds filled the broadcast audio with cheers.
Ding! Popularity +501
Ding! Popularity +442
Ding! Popularity +641
Current Popularity: 150,124
Popularity skyrocketing!
New York's Hottest Topic: The Rise of a New Superhero!
Power Surge Detected! Heat vision output increasing!
Marcus Lee felt raw power flood through his body. The sensation was intoxicating, almost enough to make him exhale in pleasure.
The battle raged on.
Ever since Marcus joined the fight, the Chitauri forces looked like they were drowning under a tidal wave of red and blue light. He moved across the battlefield like a living streak of color, carving arcs through the smoke and fire.
He wasn't fighting.
He was performing.
Every punch was delivered with perfect heroic framing.
Every burst of heat vision landed with surgical precision.
Every rescue had to occur at the most dramatic, heart-stopping moment.
He spotted a commuter bus about to be crushed by a collapsing building.
In the blink of an eye, he was already on top of the falling structure. One hand shot out.
CRASH!!!
He caught the entire slab of concrete with a single palm.
"Oh my god…" a passenger whispered from behind the glass, staring up at him in disbelief.
Marcus stood above them like a myth forged from sunlight. His cape shimmered behind him, radiant like a comet streaking across the sky.
He even had time to wink at the child pressed against the window.
"Wow…"
"He saved us!"
"It's Superman! It has to be Superman!"
"I'm posting this online right now!"
The cheering erupted like a wave.
Phones and cameras pointed at him from every direction.
"Yes… that's right," Marcus thought with hungry satisfaction. "Look at me. Worship me."
Ding! Popularity +550
Ding! Popularity +601
Ding! Popularity +666
Current Popularity: 170,124
Another surge!
He casually tossed the concrete slab at a squad of Chitauri, flattening them, then soared upward in search of his next perfect cinematic moment.
Sometimes he carved through enemies with heat vision like a surgeon.
Sometimes he shredded them apart with sheer speed before they even realized he had moved.
He even spiraled above Black Widow during a tight moment, landing in front of her as Chitauri closed in.
"Ma'am, need a hand?" he asked, a faint red glow flickering in his eyes before he sliced a dozen aliens into ash.
Natasha tightened her grip on her batons and eyed him carefully.
"Thanks, but you're standing in my line."
"My pleasure." Marcus winked and shot into the air.
"Showoff," Natasha muttered, though she silently admitted he had cut her workload in half.
"That caped guy is stealing all the spotlight," Hawkeye called from a rooftop as he loosed a triple kill shot.
"He looks stronger than Thor," Natasha observed coolly.
"He's powerful," Captain America replied through the comms. "We don't know who he is, but right now, anyone helping us is a friend."
"Speaking of help, we still have Loki to deal with," Stark growled. "I'm almost at Stark Tower. Loki's inside."
Right at that moment, Loki sat on a Chitauri skiff, scepter in hand, admiring the chaos he orchestrated.
"Target locked," Hawkeye murmured before letting loose a specialized explosive arrow.
Loki didn't even turn around. He caught the arrow with one hand, smirking.
Then he frowned.
BOOM!!!
The explosion flung Loki through the air, hurling him toward Stark Tower in a ridiculous arc.
Marcus watched the scene with interest and shot after him.
Inside Stark Tower.
Loki lay sprawled across the floor, covered in dust. He struggled to his feet, only to see Marcus hovering above him with a bright, too-perfect smile.
"Ugh…" Loki groaned, clutching his head. The prince of Asgard was thoroughly disgraced.
"Enough!" Loki roared as he stood. "Do you know who you're speaking to? I am a god! You are nothing but a foolish, inferior mortal!"
"You dare mock me? I will not be defeated by some "
Before he could finish, Marcus vanished.
Loki's pupils shrank.
Too fast.
A heartbeat later, Marcus was in front of him, one hand clamped around his throat, lifting him off the ground.
"What did you just say?" Marcus asked with a cold smile.
"You dare…!" Loki choked, face turning red.
Marcus' grin widened.
He hurled Loki straight upward, then appeared above him and stomped down on his chest.
CRACK!!!
The marble flooring split open, leaving a human-shaped crater.
Loki barely had time to breathe before Marcus seized his ankle and swung him like a hammer.
Loki pinballed through the tower, smashing into pillars, walls, and ceiling.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
Concrete shattered. Steel bent. The whole tower trembled.
Loki's helmet vanished somewhere along the way. He foamed at the mouth, eyes rolling back.
Marcus slammed him into a support column.
Gary
"Say it again. What are you?"
THUD!!!
Then he spiked Loki like a volleyball into the glass façade, blowing out an entire section of the wall.
Marcus grabbed the limp trickster by the collar, dangling him like a trashed grocery bag.
He shrugged and flashed a flawless heroic smile.
"Alright. Finale time."
He shot upward with Loki in hand, broke through the ceiling, flipped midair, and performed a devastating power slam that sent Loki headfirst into the floor.
CRACK! SHATTER!!!
Half of Loki's body disappeared into the concrete. Only his legs remained above ground, twitching helplessly.
"…"
Iron Man landed just in time to witness the scene.
Captain America and Black Widow burst out of the elevator and froze.
Natasha: "Did… did he just bury Loki in the floor?"
Tony lifted his mask. "I have to be honest. That was beautiful."
"…"
"Brother!"
Thor crashed down from above.
He saw Loki's legs sticking out of the floor like a sad decorative plant.
Thor's face flushed red. He lifted Mjolnir and pointed it at Marcus.
"You mortal! How dare you disgrace my brother like like…"
He held the "like" for several seconds, unable to find a fitting word.
After all… Loki did start the invasion.
"You have embarrassed my brother beyond measure!"