Hi!
Well, I got some comments due to the fact that I put both languages in the conversations, so to avoid this from happening again I decided that now I will only write in English and I will make it clear at the beginning of the conversation in which language is really being spoken, so I hope this will improve the reading of the story. Thanks for the constructive criticisms, always welcome as long as they are to improve the story and with good intentions. Anything else you want to let me know I'm looking forward to it.
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Chapter 5:
It was a sunny morning in Mexico City, and the market was bustling with life. Street vendors shouted their offers, and the bright colors of fruits and vegetables blended with the crowd's buzz. In the midst of it all was Namor, transformed into Captain Marvel, though no one knew him by that name. At this moment, he was just another tourist, observing and strolling without his characteristic red and gold costume, white hood, and cape. Now, he was simply wearing regular black pants and a white t-shirt he'd bought on the surface for his Captain Marvel physique.
But unbeknownst to him, in a nearby alley, a group of armed criminals had taken several hostages in a small shop. The police were on the scene, but the situation was delicate.
Captain Marvel, noticing the chaos, discreetly slipped into an alley and uttered the magic words: "Pu Tius!"
In a flash of light, Captain Marvel appeared dressed in his iconic red and gold costume, along with his white cape and hood that cast shadows, making his face impossible to see. Without a second thought, he launched himself toward the scene. He flew in through the shop's back door, moving with a speed and agility that left the criminals stunned. One of them, a bulky guy with a gun, aimed directly at his head.
"Who the hell are you?" the thug shouted in spanish.
Namor, as Captain Marvel, was very tempted to say the phrase: "Your worst nightmare"
But that was too cheesy, so he decided not to say anything. After all, he wasn't there to chat with the criminals.
Captain Marvel just gave the thug an amused smile and, with a quick movement, disarmed him and threw him into a pile of bean cans, which clattered noisily to the floor.
Another criminal tried to attack him with a knife, but Captain Marvel stopped him with a simple hand movement that bent the knife as if it were a fragile leaf… leaving the attacker paralyzed with fear.
The hostages, initially terrified, now watched with amazement and gratitude at the hero who seemed to share some similarities with the well-known Superman.
Captain Marvel winked at them before disarming the last criminal with a quick punch. Within minutes, the shop was safe, and the police entered to take away the thugs.
"Thank you, thank you," said the shop owner, an older man with tears in his eyes, also in Spanish. "I don't know how to thank you…"
"No need to," Captain Marvel replied, still using the basic translator spell to communicate. "Just make sure everyone's okay..."
A boy, barely catching his breath, stared at Captain Marvel with eyes full of awe. His body was still slightly trembling from the recent scare, and his heart was pounding. With a mix of excitement and gratitude, he approached Captain Marvel, his voice shaky but full of curiosity.
"Th-Thank you for saving me, sir… err… Can I know who you are? Are you one of those superheroes they talk about on TV like Superman?"
Captain Marvel just smiled and knelt down to be at the boy's level.
"You can call me Captain Marvel. And yes… you could say I'm a superhero, kind of like Superman, although just between us…" Captain Marvel whispered jokingly as he winked at the boy. "I consider myself better than him"
"Wow! And do you have superpowers? Can you fly? What you did… was incredible."
The boy, still in awe, dared to touch Captain Marvel's suit, as if wanting to make sure everything was real.
"Well, yeah, I can fly, and I've got some special powers too," he replied with a smile, then patted the boy on the shoulder before standing up and getting ready to leave. "Now, go to your parents"
After that, Captain Marvel flew away as the boy looked up at the sky, a feeling of admiration and gratitude filling his heart. That day, he had found his favorite hero.
And it wasn't just the boy who was impressed—Captain Marvel had left behind a captivated crowd and a headline in the newspapers: "Mysterious Hero Saves the Day in Mexico City!" "Boy Claims Mystery Hero's Name is Captain Marvel!"
…..
For Lois Lane, this should have been just another routine work trip. She took the train back to the hotel where she was staying and only had to walk a few minutes to get there. However, today was different. After a brief scare from a lightning storm, she realized that three men had been following her since the press conference, crossing the train, and now on the street. She did her best to lose them, but nothing seemed to work. Unfortunately, her luck ran out when she found herself in a dead-end alley. She turned to face her three pursuers.
The man in the middle was dressed in casual attire. What set him apart was the large black hat on his head and the rope he carried on his belt. The man on the left was shorter than her and also wore a suit. His most striking feature was his large, immaculate mustache. And finally, the man on the right was dressed more casually. He was a giant of a man with red eyes.
"Wh-What do you want from me?" Lois asked.
"Not much, Ms. Reporter," said the man with the whip in a rural accent. "It's just that our boss told us that the contents of that briefcase need to be delivered to an alternate location as soon as possible"
"And it needs to be handled by the most trustworthy people," said the man with the mustache. "Unfortunately, that doesn't include you."
"You can't!" Lois Lane pleaded.
"This is the job of my life!" she clutched the briefcase like it was her lifeline, after all, it held all kinds of confidential information she had gathered over time about various very rich and powerful people and their various dealings.
"Sorry, miss," said the man with the whip. "But that's how it's gotta be"
The man unhooked the whip from his belt. The rope shot out and wrapped around her ankles. Lois Lane fell but quickly got up, grabbed the case, and ran.
"She's got guts. Too many guts," the man with the whip sighed. "Jack, grab her."
"You got it," said the man with the red eyes.
Lois Lane fled deeper into the alley. Unable to find an escape, she tried to harm Jack. She punched, scratched, and threw everything she could. Nothing seemed to faze the giant, who grabbed her tightly. Lois kept fighting, even though it was useless.
"Hey, Carson, I've got her," Jack turned around and saw that his two companions were gone. "Where did everybody go?"
"Big guy…!" a voice shouted from the shadows. Jack looked around before the voice spoke again. "Up here"
Both Jack and Lois looked up and saw a man in a costume, with a red and gold suit, along with a white cape and hood that cast shadows over his face, floating above them in the alley. This man began descending slowly until he landed on the ground in front of them.
"Let the lady go, or you and your friends will be heading to the ER instead of jail."
Jack snorted, smoke blowing from his nose.
"You must think I'm stupid if you think I'm going to listen to some flashy man trying to imitate Superman"
"First… I'm Captain Marvel, I have no relation to Superman, and second… whatever you decide is your choice, but keep in mind that right now, it's just you and me. Your friends are taking a nap at the moment."
Captain Marvel pointed to two spots behind him. On opposite sides of the alley, Jack's two companions were completely unconscious.
"So, do you want to do this the easy way or the hard and painful way?"
The attitude of this cheap Superman knockoff enraged Jack, who threw Ms. Reporter to the ground hard and charged straight at the hero.
Captain Marvel crouched, anticipating Jack's charge. As Jack got almost directly over him, Captain Marvel sprang into action, landing a kick on Jack's chin while using his other foot to launch him into the air.
As Jack was dazed, Captain Marvel descended, cupping his hands and landing a blow to Jack's head. Then, Captain Marvel delivered a roundhouse kick that spun Jack 360 degrees before he fell unconscious to the ground.
"I told you it was gonna hurt," Captain Marvel said after giving Jack a good beating while practicing holding back his strength to avoid killing him in one hit.
"I guess there are few criminals who can really give me any real trouble," Captain Marvel murmured to himself, thinking about his fight with the ugly reptilian creature and how since that encounter, he hadn't had any trouble handling the other criminals he'd encountered today. He hadn't used his full strength against anyone since.
Lois Lane, on the other hand, watched everything in silence…
Captain Marvel, noticing she was still on the ground, used his great speed to quickly grab the briefcase and approached her gently, offering her his hand.
"Need some help, miss? Those guys won't be bothering anyone for a while…"
Lois Lane took his hand and stood up. She accepted the briefcase while surveying the alley.
"That was… amazing," Lois Lane said after a brief pause. "How did you take them all down so fast? Are you related to Superman or something? Do you share any powers? Are you…?"
Captain Marvel raised an eyebrow and stared at the woman in front of him as if she were crazy to be asking all these questions after going through such a terrifying situation. Even he wouldn't mind admitting that in the past, in a similar situation, he would have been very quiet due to the horrible experience.
"Oh sorry, sorry, umm… I'm a journalist from the Daily Planet, and your similarities to Superman really caught my attention," she added after realizing her behavior hadn't been appropriate and had only confused the hero in front of her.
"I see… well, I'm not related to Superman or anything like that, but I do have similar… characteristics," he responded, stretching as if this was just a light workout. "Besides, these guys are pretty fragile… a few hits, even holding back all my strength, and there are already several broken bones…"
Lois Lane quickly absorbed all this with great interest, thinking about how strong this man in front of her was, but then she noticed that the hero was starting to lift off the ground again.
"You should call the police if you want to get these guys some cells. Oh, and an ambulance—trust me, they need it"
"Wait! I still have a lot of questions to ask you!"
"That'll have to be another day, I've got several places I want to visit today"
"Do you promise?!"
"Sure…, if we ever meet again, I'll give you an exclusive interview"
With that, the hero Lois Lane heard call himself Captain Marvel flew out of the alley until he was out of sight. All she could think was that she would make sure he kept that promise, no matter what it took, and from today on, she had a new subject of interest to focus her investigation on.