Hero Association Online Part 16
"You can stop pretending now... Strange, he's here," Owen said in a somewhat serious tone while everyone else continued staring at the spaceships above them.
Instantly, Tony, Pietro, and even Peter turned toward where Owen had shouted, toward the building where the "unconscious" Doctor Strange was being held up by his Cloak of Levitation.
Hearing Owen's words, Strange calmly opened his eyes as though he'd only been taking a short nap.
Then he stood up, making his presence known to everyone.
"Hey, hey, hey," Tony said immediately when he saw the guy they'd just destroyed half of New York trying to rescue from the enemy's hands.
"I have to admit, your plan was effective... but rather uncomfortable, Colt," Strange said as a portal opened where he'd been standing and another opened beside Owen. Strange calmly stepped through it, looking at Owen with a composed expression. Then he turned his eyes toward the sky, where the various ships waited alongside the flagship.
"This is the first time you'll ever hear me say this, but right now I'm very confused," Tony said, sounding more than a little annoyed. "And I'm not sure whether I should be a little jealous," he added, looking toward Owen.
Owen merely glanced at him, ignoring his nonsense.
"Hold on. So we've been running around all this time carrying Sleeping Beauty in our arms to stop him from getting kidnapped... and he was actually just slacking off?" Pietro complained as well.
Peter also had plenty of things he wanted to say, but the pain running through his body was enough to keep his mouth shut.
Even Wanda, Owen's wife, was now staring fixedly at her husband.
Then a crack began to form out of nowhere.
At first, it was only a thin dark-blue line suspended in midair.
But it kept growing.
With every passing second it expanded a little more, warping space until it opened into a massive circular portal filled with dark-blue mist.
At the same time, footsteps began echoing from the other side, drawing closer at a slow, steady pace.
Each step resounded like a heavy blow, and even before its owner appeared, an invisible pressure descended upon the heroes present.
Even Hercules frowned more deeply.
It wasn't fear.
It was more like their instincts were screaming at them that whatever was about to walk through that portal...
Was no ordinary enemy.
Then, at last, they saw him step through with complete calm.
He was a purple-skinned man, easily over two meters tall, broad-bodied, surrounded by an aura that made the danger radiating from him impossible to ignore.
With every step, his massive golden armor gave off a soft metallic clang.
His face was calm.
There was no arrogance.
Only absolute composure.
Like someone completely convinced that the outcome had already been decided long before the battle had begun.
He looked at every person present without saying a single word, nor waiting for any from them.
Then his gaze swept over the destroyed buildings and the rubble before finally pausing on the corpses of Ebony Maw and Supergiant.
"So you're Thanos," Strange said, as though he already knew the Mad Titan's name—the one now standing before them.
Thanos raised his eyes, focusing first on Strange...
Then on Owen beside him.
"I suppose Proxima and Corvus are dead as well," he said without the slightest trace of sorrow in his voice over the loss of those who called themselves his children.
No one answered him.
And he didn't need an answer.
"This day has been costly. Even so... they fulfilled their mission," he said as his gaze fell upon the necklace hanging around Doctor Strange's neck. Then his eyes settled on Owen.
Feeling that gaze, Owen moved one hand, and a yellow gem enclosed within a small transparent sphere spun between his fingers.
"Pulling a Stone out without harming its owner while buying time to kill your children wasn't that difficult," Owen said in a dry yet mocking tone as his gaze lowered to the golden gauntlet on Thanos's right hand, where four glowing Stones could be seen, along with the empty spaces for the final two, which were now in Strange's and Owen's possession.
For a brief moment, Thanos showed an almost amused smile.
"I cannot tell whether you are exceedingly clever, and thus lured me to your home... your planet... or simply too foolish to believe you can defeat me," he said as he briefly clenched the gauntlet, causing the Stones to shine even brighter.
"Maybe the second one," Owen replied with a calm smile.
"Then I'll have to tear those Stones from your corpses," Thanos said, looking at both of them. "You are far too few to face me."
"About that..." Owen said before touching the earpiece in his ear.
"It's time," Owen ordered in a commanding tone.
"Copy that," came the reply through his earpiece.
Thanos frowned slightly as dozens of golden portals suddenly began opening all around them.
Large groups of humans, mutants, and countless other warriors, clad in armor and carrying advanced weaponry, began marching through them.
Heroes with extraordinary abilities.
Champions from every corner of the planet.
One army.
One after another, the members of the Association emerged like a vast army ready for battle.
Among them, heroes who took to the skies using their unique abilities drew more than one glance from Thanos, who could sense the danger each of them possessed.
The Hero Association...
Was now online.