POV: Baldur
Space, Outside the Solar System
Simultaneous Time Frame
Our exchange of blows makes the very fabric of space tremble. Sigel's blade strikes with precision, aiming at the Surfer's body. But now that he knows my blade can hurt him, he surrounds his hand with a concentrated force field and strikes, deflecting my blow.
Seeing that direct attacks aren't yielding the desired results, I distance myself. Sigel's blade ignites with golden flames. When I attack from afar, the flames form a slash that flies toward him.
The small flame consumes the elements of space, growing into a cloud of golden fire. The flames expand into a crescent shape, surrounding the Surfer who stands still, watching them. As the crescent forms a circle with him at the center, the flames converge from all directions simultaneously.
The effect of my attack is not as expected. The flames, which should have exploded with the force of several nuclear bombs upon impact, seem to be absorbed instead. The flames disappear, revealing the Surfer on his board, now with a few golden spots on his silver body.
"Your flames are produced using energy, so I can convert them back into pure energy and absorb them," he communicates telepathically.
He then points his open palm at me.
"And then return them!"
Sensing danger, I react instinctively. Spinning in the air, I speed towards Pluto. At that moment, he fires a beam of pure golden energy mixed with silver. It crosses space, heading straight for me. By now, I had already reached the other side of Pluto, but the energy beam pierces through the small planetoid's center, causing it to explode.
Realizing the attack is still coming for me, I spin around and launch a counterattack with Sigel. The two energy beams collide, but my attack is overpowered, hitting me directly.
I believe I lost consciousness for a few seconds. My body is in a dreadful state, with burns all over my torso, and one of my arms torn off. I see it floating in the void and grab it with my good hand, reattaching it to my stump.
I then activate my rune, focusing all my concentration on healing. It doesn't take long before I can move the fingers of my reattached arm, but it still needs a few more minutes to be fully functional. This limb reattachment was possible because I ignored my other injuries, focusing all my energy on my arm.
"Do you understand now?" the Surfer speaks telepathically again. He watches me from the position of his previous attack.
Something to study later. His raw power isn't shocking, but the refinement in how he uses energy to maximize its damage is magnificent. He clearly has more experience in energy manipulation.
"What is your name?" I ask, using my rune to share my thoughts.
The Surfer seems to contemplate whether to answer or not, but then he responds.
"A long, long time ago, my parents named me Norrin Radd."
"My name is Baldur Odinson. Norrin, I ask once more, will you please retreat and not involve yourself in the battle against Galactus?"
"I cannot do that. If he commands, I must obey."
"Even if we can defeat him and spare my world?"
"Until now, I've seen no evidence that you can achieve that."
Once again, he refuses my request. He needs proof that we can defeat Galactus before he risks betrayal.
"Very well then, Norrin, I will show you!"
There's no point in holding back. This isn't an enemy I can defeat without going all out, and the location is perfect for me to unleash my full power. I stop using my rune to heal my arm and instead channel it to enhance my abilities.
Four spears, each a hundred meters long, materialize behind me, formed from manipulated light. Norrin may be able to convert my flames into energy to absorb them, but I doubt he can do the same with constructs of light.
Norrin doesn't appear surprised by the sight of the spears, nor when I launch them at him. Instead of using flames at the tips of the light spears as I've done many times before, I use them at the opposite end, transforming the spears into rockets. His greatest attribute is his speed, so I must focus on that as well.
Three spears shoot towards him, each targeting a different position, predicting his evasive maneuvers. Yet, like a snake, he slips through them, using the small spaces between the attacks to escape. As he is about to dodge the third spear, I launch the fourth.
When the fourth spear heads towards him, I create a light rope and wrap it around the spear, which pulls me along. As Norrin dodges it, I use the rope to emerge from behind the flames that had been concealing me. The plan works, and I find myself face-to-face with Norrin, completely caught by surprise. I seize the opportunity and pierce his body.
POV: Third Person
Boston, Massachusetts
Simultaneously
The heart of Boston lay in ruins, a testament to the merciless destruction wrought by the Fire Lord. When cornered by two formidable women, he unleashed a devastating attack—a miniature sun that erupted at the city's center. In an instant, anyone within a ten-kilometer radius was incinerated. Those fortunate enough to be farther away survived the initial explosion, but the ordeal was far from over. The attack wasn't merely a blast; it was a creation.
The Fire Lord had conjured a massive sphere of red-hot plasma, five kilometers wide and one hundred kilometers high—a miniature sun hovering above the city. The only beings left alive within or near this fiery behemoth were the Fire Lord, Sue Storm, and Angela.
"Are you alright?" Sue asked, helping Angela to her feet.
Angela, who had been closest to the Fire Lord when he struck, bore the brunt of the damage.
"I'm fine, and it seems he is too," Angela replied, her eyes fixed on their enemy hovering above.
"The temperature here has reached levels that no human could survive. You're lucky I managed to shield you with my psychic barrier," Sue explained.
"I am not human. This heat wouldn't kill me, but it would hurt and burn my skin. Thank you," Angela said, retrieving her beloved sword from the ground.
Suddenly remembering something, Angela scanned her surroundings.
"Sleipnir? Where's Sleipnir?" she asked, a note of panic in her voice.
"He's over there, Angela."
Sue gestured to the opposite side, where an enormous black horse with eight legs lay on the ground. His sleek coat was scorched, but he was alive.
"Thank the gods he's alive," Angela sighed in relief as she knelt beside the unconscious horse, gently stroking his burnt hide.
"I'm shielding him too, but protecting all three of us is significantly taxing my powers," Sue said from behind.
"It doesn't matter. Focus on defense; I'll handle him," Angela replied, her gaze now firmly on the Fire Lord, who remained motionless since creating the fiery dome.
"Ready?" Sue Storm asked.
Angela didn't respond verbally. Instead, she raised her sword and charged towards the Fire Lord.
---------------------------
"What's the situation, Jarvis?" Tony asked, outside the fiery sphere.
{The interior temperature of the fire dome will compromise your armor in minutes, sir,} the AI responded.
"I concur. Activate Project: Veronica."
{Yes, sir.}
Impatience drove Stark forward, even without his backup. He rocketed towards the blazing dome.
{You have company,} Jarvis alerted.
His helmet zoomed in on a distant formation of F-16 fighter jets approaching the dome.
"Finally, they're acting," Stark remarked with heavy sarcasm.
In their defense strategy meeting, the Avengers and their allies had agreed to share all intelligence with world governments. Unfortunately, this cooperation hadn't yielded the expected results. Many politicians doubted the veracity of the invasion threat. While the public admired the Avengers, political sentiment was less favorable, exacerbated by the Avengers' defiance of UN directives.
"Send them a message, Jarvis. Tell them approaching any closer is suicide."
{Yes, sir.}
Stark ignored the jets and accelerated towards his enemy.
"Max power to shields!" he yelled as he plunged into the fiery dome.
The transition was seamless, but his sensors went haywire from the extreme heat. Once inside, he assessed the situation quickly. On the devastated ground below, Sue Storm held a defensive position while Angela battled the Fire Lord. Angela leaped and bounded, with Sue creating platforms for her to spring from, allowing her to engage their airborne foe.
Stark maneuvered behind the Fire Lord, firing twin blasts from his repulsors. The shots hit their mark, sending the Fire Lord hurtling towards Angela. She seized the moment, her sword slicing towards his neck, but he parried with his flaming staff.
"BOOOOM!"
When the two weapons collided, there was an explosion of flames. Unable to stay airborne, Angela plummeted to the ground. The Fire Lord ceased paying attention to her and redirected his focus to Stark, who had just launched multiple missiles at him. The Fire Lord unleashed a sphere of flames from his staff that obliterated Iron Man's missiles, which he narrowly avoided.
"Sir, the package is seconds away from your position," Jarvis informed.
"Finally, a bit of luck," Stark muttered, dodging another attack.
Iron Man wasn't receiving protection from Sue, who was already preoccupied. As a result, he was enduring the intense heat with his own defenses. However, in the few seconds he'd been there, his armor was already looking scorched and half-melted.
"VRUMM!"
Something pierced through the fiery dome, heading straight for Iron Man. It was several objects flying in unison. These pieces quickly began to assemble around him, transforming his suit into the Hulkbuster— a bulkier, more powerful version of his usual armor.
Without hesitation, Stark launched himself at his adversary. He had maintained a safe distance since the start of the fight, but that was no longer necessary.
Despite the armor's massive size, it wasn't slow. He rapidly closed in on his target. The Fire Lord was unfazed by this new armor and attacked with his staff. Stark raised his right arm to shield himself and with his left hand, grabbed the Fire Lord's face, slamming him into the ground with all his might. The nearly three-meter-tall armor had fingers so thick they completely enveloped the Fire Lord's head, pinning it to the ground.
Still holding his enemy's face, Stark fired his repulsor beam at point-blank range. Fueled by two reactors, the normally blue energy blast turned red. After the blast, Stark released his foe and retreated.
"Jarvis, replacement," he shouted, glancing at his arm.
The arm he had used to block the previous strike was now inoperative.
His damaged arm's components were ejected, and new ones immediately flew through the flames to replace them.
"BOOOOOOOM!"
Stark was hit by a burst of fire from his enemy, who had risen. Flames engulfed his entire body, but he remained unshaken. The defenses of this armor were superior; it would take a while for them to be breached.
He then began to walk against the flow of his enemy's flames. His red-hot armor finally stood face-to-face with the Fire Lord. Stark delivered a powerful punch to his face and then fired the unibeam at point-blank range into his chest, sending the Fire Lord flying.
"Did you forget about me?"
Before he could regain control of his body, the Fire Lord heard a woman's voice behind him. Angela attacked at the perfect moment, her sword piercing through her enemy's stomach.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
Unmoved by his screams, Angela yanked her sword from his body. As he dropped to his knees, she struck him on the head with the hilt of her sword, rendering him unconscious.
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