Hero Association Online Part 12
Steve looked over the battlefield for a few seconds.
Hulk was being smashed through empty buildings by Hercules. The strangest part was that both of them seemed to be enjoying it, especially Hercules, who fought with a huge grin while giving everything he had against his friend.
Pietro was dodging Spider Man's webs, while Spider Man moved with precision that was almost too perfect, so cold and calculated it was as if the only thing stopping him from fighting like this in his daily life had simply been himself.
Especially considering he was facing a speedster whose movements even Steve struggled to follow.
Tony was in the air, preventing Ebony Maw from tearing apart half the street using everything he could find around him.
And Strange was still floating unconscious beside Supergiant, who watched everything with that calm smile that made even someone like Steve feel that something was terribly wrong.
"Summary," Steve said as he raised his shield, adjusting it onto his arm.
Tony fired an energy blast through several chunks of debris flying toward him before answering.
"The tall ugly guy moves everything with his mind. The blue woman seems to be able to control minds. Peter and Hulk are under her control. Strange is out. The spaceship blew up thanks to Mr. Son of Zeus. And I'm pretty sure Owen isn't answering because he's on a date with Wanda. Oh, and about our new friends... they want the Time Stone."
When Tony said the last part, the amusement vanished from his voice, replaced by a serious tone.
Hearing that, Steve's expression also turned serious.
"So what Owen predicted has finally happened," Steve said gravely. "Then our priority is getting Strange back and neutralizing the woman."
"Thanks, Cap. I never would've figured that out without you," Tony replied sarcastically while dodging a steel beam that passed just inches from his helmet.
Steve ignored the comment.
"Barton, Nicolás, keep supporting Tony against Ebony Maw. Don't let him move freely."
"Understood," Barton answered from the building where he was positioned, his bow fully drawn and ready to release another arrow.
"Sure," Nicolás added over the communicator just as an electromagnetic flash shot from his position straight toward Ebony Maw, forcing him to create a massive shield made of rubble to protect himself from the rifle's attack.
The debris exploded violently, creating an opening for Barton to fire one of his special arrows.
But unlike Nicolás's projectile, which was almost impossible to react to, Barton's arrow was effortlessly knocked aside by Ebony Maw with a slight movement of his hand before it could explode.
Ebony Maw smiled disdainfully at such a primitive weapon.
But that smile didn't last very long when the explosion instantly filled the area with thick smoke, blocking the alien's vision.
Ebony Maw moved his hand again to disperse the smoke.
The instant it cleared, he saw Tony already standing right in front of him, aiming an energy cannon formed by both hands of his armor.
Ebony only had time to widen his eyes before Tony fired a point-blank energy blast that sent him hurtling backward into one of the surrounding buildings.
Steve never lost his rhythm.
"Pietro, keep Peter busy. Don't hurt him if you can avoid it."
"I'm trying," Pietro answered, appearing for a split second on top of a wrecked car before vanishing again to avoid a web net that exploded behind him. "But the little monster isn't making it easy."
Spider Man appeared above him, throwing a kick straight at his head.
Pietro dodged by mere centimeters, and the impact cracked the pavement.
Pietro shifted sideways with his super speed, but Peter had already fired a web toward the exact spot where he was about to move.
Pietro clicked his tongue and pulled away before it could catch him completely.
"Damn it... he's starting to predict me better."
Peter landed on the ground with one knee and one hand pressed against the concrete before rising back into a guarded stance.
But Pietro, after fighting him for several minutes now, started noticing something.
Peter's breathing wasn't as steady anymore.
That gave him an idea.
...
Ebony Maw raised one hand, and the remains of a bus split in half shot toward Tony.
But Tony easily dodged through the air using his thrusters.
Meanwhile, Nicolás and Barton never stopped attacking from long range. For someone like Ebony Maw, who could manipulate objects so effortlessly with his mind, they somehow seemed to be the only attacks he could never completely ignore.
"Persistent insects."
"Yeah, we hear that a lot," Tony replied while several nanotech pieces detached from his back, forming small armed drones. "Friday, do you have anything on the mind control yet?"
"Partial analysis, sir," Friday replied. "Peter Parker's brain activity does not appear to be completely suppressed. There is a constant external interference attached to his neural patterns."
"Attached?"
"It would be an inaccurate comparison, but functionally it behaves like a mental parasite."
Tony frowned inside his helmet.
"That sounds every bit as disgusting as I expected."
"It is continuously inserting commands and reinforcing them. If the source moves too far away or weakens, the control may become unstable."
Tony looked toward Supergiant.
She was still there, calmly floating in the air with the unconscious Strange beside her.
As if this entire battle were nothing more than a small show put on for her entertainment.
"Then we have to interrupt the signal."
"Correct, sir."
"Great. We just have to get close to the woman controlling Hulk and Spider Man. Perfect plan."
"If you let her control you, I'm still shooting you," Tony said as he watched Steve sprint toward Supergiant.
"I can't promise anything, but I won't be mad if you do," Steve answered without slowing down.
On the other side of the battlefield, Hercules laughed loudly as he took a punch from Hulk straight to the face.
The blow made the ground beneath his feet sink.
But Hercules barely turned his head.
Then he smiled even wider.
"That was much better!"
Hulk roared and threw another punch.
Hercules blocked it with his mace and shoved the green giant backward, not so much to hurt him, but to keep him away from everyone else.
"Come on, my green friend. Put more strength into your punches! I know you can do better than that!"
Hulk raised both hands and clashed against Hercules's.
The force of both of them made the concrete beneath their feet begin to crack and split down the middle, as though the city itself were being torn in half by their strength.
"Now that's the spirit!"
Steve watched it for a second, but he didn't let himself get distracted and prepared to throw his shield at Supergiant.
Her smile remained gentle, but there was something in her eyes that had been studying him ever since he'd arrived.
"You don't want to hurt me," she murmured calmly, with complete confidence.
Steve's arm, just about to release the shield, froze for a moment.
Seeing that, Tony, who was still fighting Ebony Maw, tensed for an instant, and Thanos's son immediately took advantage of the opening by throwing an entire truck at him.
But whatever had stopped Steve for that brief moment seemed to give up almost immediately.
Steve hurled his shield toward the woman floating in the sky.
Her eyes widened in surprise for an instant, but she shifted through the air, effortlessly dodging Captain America's shield.
"I'm sorry, ma'am, but you don't know me well enough," Steve said calmly as he looked around, noticing Cull Obsidian's axe, the one Hulk had stolen earlier.
It was enormous.
Even so, Steve picked it up from the ground with one hand while gripping its chain with the other.
"I'm more used to throwing my shield, but... this might work better," Steve added seriously.
While Supergiant stared directly at him.
...
Peter lunged at Pietro again.
This time he didn't rely only on webs.
He jumped onto a wall, launched himself off with both legs, fired a web at the ground to alter his trajectory, and appeared in front of Pietro from an impossible angle.
Pietro barely managed to dodge the strike.
But Peter's fist passed so close to his face that he felt the wind slice across his cheek.
"Damn it. Did Owen teach you how to fight or how to murder people?" Pietro couldn't help shouting, because he could tell the power behind that punch would've blown an ordinary person's head clean off.
Peter didn't answer.
He simply spun through the air and fired a web toward Pietro's ankle.
But nothing came out of his web shooters.
A smile appeared on Pietro's face for a moment before he vanished.
This time, however, he didn't attack again.
He reappeared on top of a bent traffic light.
"So? Now that you're out of webs, what are you going to do?" Pietro asked with a hint of mockery.
Peter didn't answer.
It was true that he had lost a large part of his mobility.
Even so, he was still incredibly fast compared to any normal person.
But he could no longer keep up with Pietro.
His body seemed to be growing more exhausted by the second, and his breathing was becoming faster and faster.
"This hurts my pride a little..." Pietro said.
But at the same time, it was obvious he was exhausted too, after spending so long running all over the place, dodging Peter's attacks without being able to seriously hurt him.
"I'm done."
A familiar voice came through everyone's communicator.
A brief silence followed.
Not only from Tony and the others, but also from the aliens, who suddenly seemed to grow much more serious.
Supergiant slowly raised one hand.
Peter, who had been about to attack Pietro again, stopped.
Hulk also stopped roaring for a moment, though Hercules took advantage of that single second to shove him several meters backward with his mace.
"Hmm?" Hercules blinked.
A crimson light streaked across the skies above New York.
The reddish flash cut through the ruined buildings and descended with such incredible speed that its impact shook the entire street.
"BOOOM."
The ground cracked.
Dust exploded upward all around.
Hercules looked toward it with a wide grin.
Steve let out a quiet sigh.
Tony remained hovering in the air.
"About time," Tony muttered, sounding just as relieved as he was annoyed.
Pietro slowly exhaled.
And for the first time since she had arrived, Supergiant stopped looking at everything with that calm smile.
Through the dust, Owen walked forward calmly.
His clothes were still stained with Corvus Glaive's blood, and crimson energy still flowed across his body as though it still wanted to destroy something.
His eyes swept across the battlefield.
Ebony Maw.
Hulk.
Strange.
Supergiant.
Peter.
His gaze stopped on Peter.
The young man had already stepped between Supergiant and Owen to protect her.
Supergiant smiled faintly once more.
Owen didn't respond.
He simply took one step forward.
Peter raised both hands into a guard.
Owen looked at him in silence.
The battlefield itself seemed to freeze for a moment.
Tony said nothing.
Neither did Pietro.
Even Steve understood that he shouldn't interfere.
Owen lowered his gaze slightly toward Peter.
And Peter, his eyes completely empty, looked back at him.
And there they stood.
Face to face.