You can read ahead up to 70 chapters on my patreon, and I've also activated a (date to date) subscription model on my patreon https://www.patreon.com/GGS6395
This scene was probably something no one had ever witnessed before: Earth's mightiest heroes, taking turns getting knocked out cold.
The brute didn't hold back, moving with ruthless precision. In the blink of an eye, every Earth-based superhero, except for Tony, had been knocked out and tucked away in Arthur's Disassembler space.
Then, Arthur turned his attention to Star-Lord and his crew. Star-Lord blinked rapidly. "You know, my piloting skills are actually top-tier. I could help the guys flying those ships outside."
He didn't get another word out before Arthur booted him in the rear. Then came a fist the size of a car hubcap slamming into his face, Star-Lord hit the floor, lights out.
Arthur stored him away without ceremony and glanced at Gamora, thinking this woman really has a knack for throwing her man under the bus.
Gamora stepped forward, closed her eyes, and simply said, "Action…"
Thud.
As Arthur stored her away, he muttered, "Was she trying to make an entrance?"
Rocket glanced at the giant brute, then back at Arthur, and gave a helpless smile. Without hesitation, he pulled out a tranquilizer gun, jabbed it into his neck, and fired. "Just stash me, man… I'd be roadkill if he hit me."
That massive fist really could turn him into confetti.
"I was actually planning to handle you gently," Arthur said as Rocket slumped over, unconscious.
"No one knocks me out!" Drax's declaration was bold and instantly proven false. Before the last syllable left his mouth, he was already on the floor.
Arthur stored him away and turned to face the last one: the tree-like creature.
"This one's... tricky."
Arthur studied it. Humans, aliens, all had a weakness, a joint, a nerve cluster, a vulnerable spot. As a seasoned warrior, Arthur had taken down the strongest of opponents, from Norse gods to cosmic juggernauts.
But this one? It was literally a walking tree. Yet it looked up at him with wide, innocent eyes, blinking slowly.
"I am Groot," it said to Arthur.
Arthur blinked.
Then it repeated, "I am Groot."
"…" Arthur tilted his head.
"I am Groot!!" Groot said louder, spinning in a circle twice and then, thud, collapsed dramatically.
Arthur poked it with his foot. "Faking it won't help."
Groot cracked open an eye and gave him a confused look.
Arthur sighed and placed a hand on Groot's shoulder. "Alright, don't fight it. Let me try something…"
Groot gave a little nod, closed his eyes, and the next second, vanished into the Disassembler space.
Arthur stood still for a moment, blinking in surprise. Then his eyes drifted to Tony.
Tony raised an eyebrow and said, "If the others find out you don't need to knock them unconscious to store them, "
"I suggest," Arthur interrupted, drawing his sidearm with a meaningful look, "you keep that to yourself."
"Right, right! No need to get violent," Tony said quickly. "Let's just bring out the gear."
Arthur nodded and, with a thought, summoned the towering Mark Series Units.
Tony tapped his wristband, and the dormant Mark blocks transformed before their eyes. Panels shifted, weapons deployed, and anti-grav systems powered up.
Each unit was embedded with its own onboard AI system. Simultaneously, Tony's armor formed around him with its signature whir. "J.A.R.V.I.S, sync up with the Mark system terminal."
"Connection established, sir," J.A.R.V.I.S confirmed. "Analyzing atmospheric composition, sunlight radiation levels, microbial density…"
Arthur glanced at Tony. "Uh… what are you doing?"
"Just getting acquainted with Xandar's environment," Tony said, removing his helmet and glancing at Arthur. "So, what's next?"
Just then, the tabletop communication console lit up.
Nova Prime's image flickered into view. "Ronan has entered our planetary orbit. Our fleet is engaging him outside the atmosphere. If you plan to execute a decapitation strike, this is your window."
"Understood."
Arthur tapped the console, ending the transmission. Then, with a glance toward Tony.
Tony took a deep breath. "My first real battle beyond Earth's atmosphere... I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little anxious."
"Sir, biometric scans indicate elevated heart rate, adrenal spike, and cortical stimulation. You're clearly excited," J.A.R.V.I.S. chimed in, exposing the fib without missing a beat.
"Shut up." Tony's expression darkened. He shot Arthur a sidelong glare, then barked, "Deploy Mark units. Initiate chain formation, full offensive mode!"
The Mark constructs unfolded in unison, their modular frames expanding well beyond the limits of the room. Arthur had the odd feeling that Tony was forgetting something, until he watched the man casually step forward, smash through the floor-to-ceiling window with a pulse blast, and rocket into the sky in a blaze of blue-hot propulsion.
Behind him, a dense formation of Mark units followed, trailing a dark shimmer as they ascended.
From the ground, it looked like a swarm of high-tech locusts had taken flight.
Suspended in mid-air, Tony hovered as the Mark drones assembled behind him in flawless formation, weapon ports glowing ominously and targeting systems primed.
And then, he saw it.
Ronan's warship came into view, drifting at the edge of the atmosphere. Though still far, its titanic silhouette was unmistakable, radiating raw menace.
Suddenly, the air trembled with a sonic boom. Kree fighter ships cut through the sky like blades, streaking toward the battlefield with screeching intensity.
Tony patched into the comms. "You know, I was worried about friendly fire... but now? Not so much."
The contrast was stark.
Xandarian design was sleek and harmonious, radiating order and refinement, the kind of disciplined elegance expected from a galactic civilization.
The Kree fleet, on the other hand, looked cobbled together by warlords and forged in battle, an unruly, brutal architecture that radiated raw, unfiltered aggression.
"So?" Arthur's voice crackled through the earpiece.
Tony turned to see him floating nearby, wings fully extended, gleaming against the starlit sky.
"So," Tony grinned, "this fight just got interesting."
He raised his arm. "Scan target signatures. Prioritize clusters. Initiate Phase One strike!"
At once, the Mark units pulsed crimson as their targeting arrays locked onto enemy vessels. Arthur looked back, the red glow stretched across the horizon like a rising tide.
Each drone adjusted, weapons humming as they synchronized aim.
"Fire!"
At Tony's command, a storm of plasma blasts and energy bolts surged into the sky. The night was drowned in flashes of searing light and raw power.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!!!!!!
A symphony of explosions lit up the heavens, red energy blooming like fireworks in a chain reaction across the upper atmosphere.
Arthur watched the barrage unfold, calm amid the chaos. "I'll leave this part to you and the Mark…"
With a powerful beat of his wings, he ascended through the clouds, vanishing into the upper layers of the sky.
(End of Chapter)