Tony, I swear, I'll go kill that damned bastard first, and then tonight, when you're asleep, I'll set your armors and you on fire!"
Blake slammed the table, his face twisted as if constipated.
"Take it easy, take it easy!"
Tony quickly grabbed Blake.
Natasha also hurried to her feet, trying to stop him.
"You can't stoop to his level, Blake. You're an Avenger, a superhero! Whether or not you have superpowers doesn't matter. Remember when we first met? You weren't nearly as strong as you are now!"
"That's right, Natasha is spot on. You're a superhero! Tomorrow, I'll hold a press conference and formally announce to the world that you definitely didn't lick my butt!"
"Hahahaha!"
The room erupted in laughter, even Captain America was laughing heartily, holding Peggy by his side.
Perhaps it was the joy of taking down Hydra once again, or maybe reuniting with Peggy and seeing Bucky, who had finally regained his senses but voluntarily stayed in the dungeon. Either way, Captain America was in high spirits.
"You're dead, Tony Stark. I'm roasting you like a chicken…"
As they teased and bantered, Blake's mood gradually eased.
To everyone else, this was no big deal—except for Blake, of course. But letting him face off against Duteland in a basketball one-on-one? That would be outright bullying.
A physical fight? Not even worth mentioning. Unlike Captain America, Blake never let a grudge go.
The next day, a photo appeared on the Avengers' official social media account.
The image showed an ordinary, somewhat old toilet. The toilet seat had Duteland's name carved into it, along with a date and a note about what had infuriated Blake.
Beside the carvings was a photo of Duteland, fixed onto the toilet with a piece of clay molded into the shape of poop.
Since Blake didn't have a social media account of his own, he had to borrow the team's shared one. Once the post went live, though, it nearly broke the internet with laughter.
Wasn't this just like writing Duteland's name in a little revenge notebook—except the notebook was a toilet?
Blake's creativity was off the charts. A high-and-mighty superhero, bickering with someone on social media, became a source of immense amusement for the fans.
Soon, hordes of netizens flooded Duteland's account.
"Hey! Blake's got you in his little revenge book! Congrats, you've officially caught the attention of an Avenger."
"Duteland, Blake carved your name on a toilet and even included your photo. Be a man and duel him already!"
Most netizens took it as an opportunity to mock him. After all, in the eyes of ordinary people, Avengers were practically on another level of existence.
To challenge Blake? Duteland would have to be out of his mind.
In response to the ridicule, Duteland posted a photo of himself dunking and another showing his hand adorned with a championship ring. Alongside the photos, he wrote:
"Without the cloak of superpowers, you're nothing. This is the glory earned through the hard work of an ordinary man. I'll be waiting for you on the court!"
Whether Duteland's actions were to gain clout from the Avengers or because he genuinely liked Natasha and felt insulted by Blake, one thing was clear: he was reaping the benefits of the situation.
Thanks to the buzz, Duteland even landed an endorsement deal for a blue pill commercial.
The tagline read:
"Restore your manhood—gain the strength to stand against an Avenger!"
PS: Just half a pill each time!
It's said that Duteland earned at least an eight-figure endorsement fee from this deal. No matter how others judged him, he made a tidy profit.
On Blake's side, ever since posting that toilet photo on the Avengers' social media account, he hadn't given Duteland any further attention.
This made Duteland feel rather smug. Blake's prolonged silence boosted his confidence, and he began to feel invincible.
At one point, after drinking too much, Duteland even publicly declared that Blake wasn't a real man. He claimed that if Natasha had a fair choice, she'd undoubtedly fall in love with him instead.
Some more level-headed friends reminded him, "He's an Avenger. Maybe he's just too dignified to engage with you. You should tone it down a bit."
But Duteland, drunk on his newfound fame, refused to listen.
Other friends warned him, "If Blake ever did decide to play basketball with you, forget skill—one collision would probably kill you. Haven't you seen the Wakanda battle footage?"
Everyone underestimated Blake.
Using superpowers to dominate Duteland on the basketball court? That wasn't Blake's style. But letting this whole thing slide? That definitely wasn't his style either.
Soon after, Duteland accepted an invitation from a university to play a friendly game with the students.
After the game, at the organizers' insistence, he agreed to perform a high-difficulty dunk on the spot.
Recently basking in his rising popularity, Duteland waved confidently to the surrounding students before attempting a move he'd secretly been practicing for a while: a 360-degree spin with a between-the-legs double dunk.
He focused, took a deep breath, glanced at the hoop, and began dribbling before accelerating into his jump.
Just as Duteland leaped into the air, a small blue-and-black portal appeared between his legs.
At this moment, everyone's eyes were fixed on the dunk. The portal was no larger than a fist, and no one noticed it.
As the portal opened, two mischievous fingers reached through, grabbing the waistband of Duteland's shorts just as he jumped.
With his powerful leap, the shorts slid right off his body.
Duteland was entirely focused on completing his high-difficulty dunk and had no idea what had happened.
Unluckily for him, since it was a casual game with university students, he wasn't wearing his usual gear—just a basketball uniform with no extra protection underneath.
The shorts barely stayed airborne for a fraction of a second before falling to the ground.
Meanwhile, Duteland completed his 360-degree spin mid-air, passing the basketball between his legs twice before slamming it into the hoop with a powerful dunk.
All of this happened in less than a second, perfectly synchronized.
When Duteland landed, he saw the students rising to their feet, screaming wildly. Almost every one of them had their phones pointed straight at him.
Feeling victorious, Duteland raised both index fingers to the sky and shouted at the enthusiastic crowd,
"I love you all! Thank you for your energy!"
The scene erupted into even more chaos, with applause and whistles flooding the gym like a tidal wave.
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