[Third Person's PoV]
Firestar soared toward the massive T-Rex thrashing in the center of the burning village. The pyramid that had once been its shrine lay in ruins, likely destroyed by the creature as it reacted to the rising smoke and heat.
Spotting Firestar's approach, the dinosaur unleashed a thunderous roar, a primal declaration of its dominance as the King of the Tyrant Lizards.
Firestar wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Ugh! Ever heard of mouthwash, mister?" she quipped, her voice ringing with disdain. Her hands began to glow as she gathered microwave emissions in her palms.
The T-Rex charged, jaws wide and teeth glinting menacingly, but before it could reach her, Firestar thrust her hands forward. A searing beam of heat erupted from her palms, slamming into the dinosaur. The impact detonated in a fiery explosion, launching the beast backward, far from the village.
The T-Rex landed in the swamp with a guttural, pained roar, water splashing in all directions. It scrambled to its feet, shaking off the blow, and swung its massive tail through the swamp water in a desperate attempt to extinguish the flames surrounding Firestar.
But Firestar charged through the watery attack unscathed, the swamp water evaporating as it neared her. In a flash, she cocked her fist back, her body radiating intense heat, and delivered a devastating punch to the T-Rex's snout. Her strike unleashed an explosive force that sent the creature stumbling backward.
This time, the dinosaur managed to hold its ground, planting its massive feet firmly in the mud. It spun with surprising speed, its powerful tail whipping through the air in a bid to swat Firestar out of the sky.
But Firestar was quicker. She darted around the beast, her movements a fiery red-orange blur as she unleashed a relentless assault, each strike chipping away at the T-Rex's defenses.
From a distance, Ka-Zar and Shanna arrived astride Zabu, skidding to a halt as they took in the scene. The Swamp Men's village lay in ruins, smoldering from the chaos. They saw that the sacrifices were now safe beside Spider-Man and the others all stacked together looking both worried and confused as they were still in their cages.
"Wait... you're already done?" Shanna asked, her tone laced with exasperation as she glanced between the wreckage and Firestar. "Why am I even still surprised at this point?"
"And why are they still imprisoned?" Ka-Zar asked with a frown.
"Huh?" Spider-Man muttered, confused, before realizing the situation. "Right, sorry," he said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.
The group sprang into action, jumping up to unstack the cages and free the captives.
"We got distracted by Firestar…" Nightwing admitted, tearing the door off a cage with one hand. The captives inside yelped in fright.
Nightwing softened his expression and offered them a reassuring smile. "I know you can't understand me, but everything's going to be alright now," he said gently, motioning with his hands.
Though they didn't understand his words, the captives recognized his intentions. Slowly and cautiously, they began to step out of their cages. Nightwing pulled out a Wing-Ding, his customized version of a Batarang. The sudden movement made the captives flinch.
Raising his hands in a calming gesture, Nightwing pointed to the ropes binding their hands.
Meanwhile, Spider-Man used a chi-blade formed from his fingers to slice through the bonds. The captives sighed in relief, their expressions shifting to gratitude as they rubbed their reddened wrists. Tears filled their eyes as they looked at Spider-Man.
Turning to Ka-Zar, who was watching Firestar from atop Zabu, Spider-Man called out, "Hey, you speak their language, right?"
Ka-Zar nodded, glancing at him curiously. "Do you need me to say something to them?"
"Yeah, but first, I want to ask you something. Depending on your answer, I'll need you to tell them," Spider-Man said. "Could you guide us to their tribe and help us deliver them home?"
"What? Why would I do that? They know their own way back. You'd just be wasting everyone's time," Ka-Zar replied with a scoff.
Spider-Man met his gaze seriously. "As you've said, the Savage Lands are unforgiving. It doesn't care what they've just been through. They could be attacked or captured by another tribe. I just want to make sure they get home safely."
Ka-Zar studied Spider-Man for a moment before letting out a resigned sigh. "Alright. But know this—it could take all day. You won't have time for the proper tour you wanted."
Spider-Man chuckled, shaking his head. "I don't mind. And I'm sure the others won't either. Besides, visiting other tribes is a tour in itself," he said, flashing a peace sign.
Ka-Zar sighed again before addressing the captives in the Savage Land's native tongue, explaining Spider-Man's intentions. The captives listened and expressed their gratitude with nods and murmurs of approval.
Spider-Man watched intently, instructing Aria to record and decipher the language for him to learn later.
They turned their attention to Firestar, who was still battling the T-Rex. She used her flames to boost her propulsion, tackling the massive creature with immense force. The T-Rex roared in surprise as it felt its feet leave the ground.
It clawed desperately at Firestar, but its arms were too short to reach her. Higher and higher she ascended, breaking through the clouds. Once above the clouds, Firestar released it and streaked away in a trail of orange light.
Hovering above the falling creature, Firestar shouted, "Although you are merely a beast surviving on your wild instincts! All those people who have been previously unwillingly sacrificed still need someone to avenge them!"
With her fist glowing intensely with heat and fire, Firestar shot downward like a fiery comet. "May this be your retribution so all those souls could finally rest in peace knowing that they have been avenged!!" she declared, her voice echoing through the sky.
Her fiery punch struck the T-Rex square in its abdomen. The force sent the beast hurtling downward, breaking the sound barrier as it fell—a blur of brown and red.
SPLASH!
BOOM!
The T-Rex crashed into the swamp with an earth-shaking impact. Muddy water surged in a massive wave, extinguishing the fires that had consumed the village. The shockwave sent the Swamp Men flying backward.
Everyone braced themselves as the shockwave swept past. When the dust settled, they looked up to see Firestar floating atop the unconscious T-Rex.
Her fiery red hair blazed like an inferno, her disguise amplifying the effect. The star emblem on her chest and her mask glowed a brilliant orange, her entire body still wreathed in flames.
"That's my girl!" Nightwing shouted, thrusting his arms upward in celebration. "Hahaha! That's my girlfriend right there! Man, I am one lucky guy!"
The others glanced at Nightwing, struggling to suppress their laughter as he puffed his chest out proudly.
Firestar, who was flying closer, heard Nightwing's enthusiastic shouting. Her face turned as red as her hair as she descended and extinguished her flames, landing gracefully beside the group.
"I can hear you, y'know," Firestar muttered, clearly embarrassed.
Nightwing winked at her. "I know~ I was just letting everyone else know how amazing you are."
Firestar covered her cheeks with her hands, swaying bashfully from side to side. "Oh, you~"
Spider-Kat, standing nearby, placed a finger by her mouth and made an exaggerated gagging motion toward Spider-Man.
Spider-Man chuckled and shook his head. "You two can flirt all you want later, but for now, we've got to focus on getting these people back home safely."
Nightwing and Firestar nodded in agreement. Ka-Zar began leading the group toward the nearest tribe, with Spider-Man and Ghost-Spider covering the left flank, Scarlet-Spider and Spider-Kat taking the right, and Nightwing and Firestar watching the rear—where the two could be seen holding hands.
"This feels like an extravagant date," Firestar whispered with a shy smile.
Nightwing chuckled softly. "I mean, considering how crazy our lives are, I'd say most of our dates are extravagant."
And so soon Spider-Man and the others lead the human beast mutates to their tribes. When they arrived at their village their chiefs expressed their immense gratitude towards them for bringing their lost tribe members back towards them.
They had been protected from the wild creatures and dangers of the Savage Land, like pterodactyl that tried to dive down and capture them. Even some of the plant lives were wild and carnivorous.
It was close to the end of the day when they left their last surviving sacrifice,
"Thank you!" Said the tribe chief of a Zebra tribe as he hugged his daughter, "Thank You for bringing my daughter back safely to me"
"It is our pleasure… Just be more careful… Next time," Spider-Man said slowly.
Ka-Zar and Shanna both looked towards Spider-Man in surprise after they had settled everyone.
"Have you known how to speak our language all this time? If so, why did you make me translate?!" Ka-Zar asked, annoyed in the Savage Land's tongue.
"I have been learning as I, listened? No, heard you talk… It's a bit different– Difficult though, as I switch, I mean confuse some of the words" Spider-Man said with a bit of difficulty still getting a hold of the language.
"Wait, have you seriously just been learning from listening to us talk?" Shanna asked in disbelief as she asked in English.
"Yeah," Spider-Man replied back in English, "But as you clearly saw I still need more practice with the language,"
"That's incredible," Shanna said, impressed. "Honestly, it's probably more impressive than your powers."
"Oh, stop it~" Spider-Man replied with a playful grin. "If you keep flattering me, I might just fall in love with you."
That earned him a playful beating from Spider-Kat, Scarlet-Spider, and Ghost-Spider.
As the group bantered, the sound of something zipping through the air caught their attention. Turning toward the noise, they spotted a small spider-bot hovering toward Spider-Man. A familiar voice crackled from the bot's speaker.
"Daddy! Daddy! You've got to see this! You won't believe what I found!"
"Daddy?" Shanna muttered, her eyes wide with surprise. Ka-Zar also stared at the hovering machine, puzzled.
"What is it, Aria?" Spider-Man asked, rubbing his shoulders where the others had playfully smacked him.
"I was exploring the Savage Land and mapping the area," Aria's excited voice continued. "And I found a cave! Inside, there's a massive Vibranium mine!"
"WHAT?!" The group shouted in unison, except for Ka-Zar and Shanna, who looked at each other in confusion.
"Uh… Vibranium?" Shanna asked, clearly unfamiliar with the term.
Spider-Man exhaled sharply. "This just got a whole lot more exciting."
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