"So you're the one behind all this chaos just to kill us? Do you even realize how many people died during this madness?" I asked, fists clenched.
MODOK's smug face filled the hologram, looking completely unbothered.
"Insignificant. If anything, this is your fault. Had you shown up sooner, had you been with Superman from the start, I would've eliminated you both quickly. So all those deaths? They're on you."
I raised a brow.
"Wow. That might be the dumbest excuse I've ever heard. Dude, I was in another dimension."
His expression twitched, clearly pissed.
"Don't you dare insult my intelligence, fool! I am the most brilliant mind on this planet!"
"Eh, debatable," I muttered. "But sure, let's hear it. What's the big plan after you kill us? You gonna monologue the Earth into submission?"
MODOK's eye twitched. Oh, I hit a nerve.
"Fine," he snarled. "Since your simple mind can't possibly comprehend the brilliance before you, I'll dumb it down."
God, I thought, why do all genius types love hearing themselves talk? This might be my new strategy for every villain.
MODOK straightened up, voice booming with dramatic flair.
"You see, heroes… this 'controlled destruction' is to demonstrate my power—to prove that I have an unstoppable army that I can unleash anywhere, anytime. And once you're dead, I'll broadcast your mangled corpses across every screen on Earth.
"Two of the Mightiest Heroes, fallen at my feet. The world will have no choice but to kneel. I'll be crowned King of the Earth, and your mask, Arsenal, along with Superman's cape, will hang above my throne as trophies!"
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!" He laughed like a budget Bond villain, soaking in his own monologue like it was Shakespeare.
"That's it? That's your big master plan?" I said flatly, arms crossed.
MODOK stopped laughing and glared at me.
"First off, that monster over there? Sure, it beat down Superman, but only because of that giant glowing rock jammed into its chest. Kryptonite, obviously. Gonna ask about that later." I took a step forward. "Second, I'm not a Kryptonian. That crap doesn't affect me. I could knock that thing into orbit with one punch. Third, and this one's important, if I were you, I would've stopped the monster attacks and broadcasted a live stream of us getting our asses kicked. People would've watched in horror as their so-called heroes died in real-time."
I shook my head. "But instead, you gave us time to regroup. Amateur move."
MODOK's smile dropped. Then he grinned again, sharper this time. "You think that piece of garbage was my ace? Please. That was just a distraction."
He clapped his little hands, and a massive containment pod dropped from the hovering ship, slamming into the ground like a meteor.
"This is my masterpiece!" he bellowed.
The container hissed open.
What stepped out was huge. Easily ten feet tall. Thick armor plated across its body like a tank, except for the head, vaguely draconic, with molten orange eyes. And in the center of its chest?
image here
Another massive, pulsing shard of Kryptonite.
"Okay," I muttered, "where the hell are you getting all this Kryptonite? I thought this stuff was supposed to be rare."
"That's what I thought too," Superman said, finally standing up, still wincing from the radiation but determined.
"Hey Supe—let me handle this one," I said. "Kryptonite only affects you. I'm good. Hang back."
"There's two of them," he replied, ready to jump in.
"Yeah, and I've got thirty of me out there cleaning up the planet. One more fight? I got this."
I blitzed toward the monster at blinding speed, fist cocked back—only for it to block the punch with a calculated move.
What the—?
"You think this is just some brute?" MODOK taunted from his screen. "I studied you. Every fight. Every move. Every trick. For months. This creature knows you better than you know yourself."
Before I could react, the monster threw a punch straight at me, fast.
I went intangible just in time, letting the hit pass through me and flipping back to gain distance.
"Alright," I muttered, cracking my neck. "Guess I gotta do this the fun way."
"ROAR!"
The first monster lunged at me, mouth wide and fury in its eyes.
CRACK!
Before it could even reach me, the second monster—the dragon-looking one—grabbed its head and crushed it like a soda can.
"Weak," it muttered, voice deep and metallic, almost...bored.
Okay... didn't see that coming.
This one was different. Smarter. Meaner. Stronger.
But I wasn't worried. Not even close. I've leveled up far beyond what I used to be.
"Alright then. Let's see what you've got."
We charged at each other, fists cocked back—
BOOM!
Our punches collided with a shockwave so loud it shattered every window within a block. Neither of us budged. We just kept throwing hands like two gods trying to punch time itself.
And to be honest?
I was impressed.
It was taking my hits like a champ, even though I was holding back.
A small part of me wanted to let this fight drag out, see how far I could push this thing, test its limits.
But the rational part of me remembered:
There are still civilians nearby. This needs to end.
I clenched my fist and shot upward.
BOOM!
A devastating uppercut rocketed into the monster's jaw—its head exploded clean off.
For a second, I thought it was over.
Then... it regenerated.
"Tch. Figures."
Grabbed it by the neck, took the Kryptonite out of its chest, and threw the body into the sky and fire, a cruel Sun, completely destroying the body. Then, I teleported the Kryptonite to sanctuary. Did the same with the other shard from the first monster.
Out of sight, out of danger.
Now… time to finish this properly.
Now that the Kryptonite was handled, I flew straight into MODOK's ship, phasing through the hull like it was made of paper. I kept my intangibility active so I wouldn't accidentally blow the whole place up just by passing through.
I landed inside the command chamber.
MODOK was right there, red-faced, furious, surrounded by terrified scientists.
I started walking toward him.
"You know… out of all the things I've faced, that thing was probably the least scary."
"How—HOW did you destroy my masterpiece so easily?!" MODOK screeched, eyes wide and twitching.
"Because that thing was designed to match my old strength. I've gotten stronger."
"No. No, no, no, no—this is impossible!" His voice cracked as panic set in. "I had everything planned! You weren't supposed to win! This was supposed to be my moment, my day! I was supposed to be king! YOU were supposed to be dead!"
"Yeah, that was never going to happen," I shrugged. "Even if I failed, my team would've come for you. And trust me, none of them are weak."
"SHUT UP!" MODOK's whole body was shaking now, his face red enough to fry eggs on.
Then… a wild, unhinged grin spread across his giant face.
"FINE! If I can't rule the world, then I'll BURN IT!" He screamed like a lunatic. "My monsters are still wreaking havoc! I won't give the order to stop them! Let it all fall! HAHAHAHA!"
I blinked slowly and looked around.
The scientists surrounding him weren't laughing. They looked… terrified.
Each one of them had metal collars around their necks. This wasn't loyalty, it was slavery.
I raised a brow.
"Alright, quick show of hands, who here is basically a hostage?"
MODOK stopped laughing and looked at me like I just asked if he wanted pineapple on his pizza.
There was a long pause. Then… one by one, every scientist raised their hand.
"Cool. Now, second question: if I take this maniac down, does anyone know how to shut off the monsters?"
A woman near the back cautiously raised her hand.
"Y-yes. Each monster has a central chip. If we activate the kill signal, they disintegrate—melt into ash and sludge."
"You DARE!" MODOK shrieked, slamming a button.
Or at least, trying to.
His hand froze mid-air.
"W-what… what's going on?! Why can't I move?!"
I narrowed my eyes.
"Telekinesis."
"WHAT?! That's impossible! I should be immune to psychic interference!"
"Your tech is advanced, sure. But my power? It's way beyond anything you understand."
I clenched my fist.
MODOK's hoverchair collapsed in on itself, his armor peeled away like aluminum foil, and soon he was just a floating grotesque head with stubby arms and legs, flailing helplessly in the air.
Held still by my will alone.
"Alright, folks," I looked at the scientists. "Somebody hit that kill switch. Let's clean up this mess."
Firecracker POV
Bang! Bang! Bang-bang!I was blasting every monster I could see. My aim was solid, but I was outnumbered, and behind me, a whole crowd of terrified civilians. Honestly? I didn't want to be here. I was perfectly fine hiding in that damn apartment. But that AI gave me the order.
And I'm afraid if I don't follow it order, it will blow my head off.
So here I am. Armed with advanced weapons, wrapped in armor that hides my face and keeps me alive, for now. Still doesn't feel like enough for what's out here.
Then suddenly… the monsters stopped.They began to melt, turning into mush right in front of us. Finally. This nightmare was over.
The people behind me started cheering, clapping, even crying. One man ran up to me with gratitude in his eyes.
"Gracias señora por protegerme a mí y a mi familiar." A man said
I didn't understand a word of it. And he wasn't the only one; people were speaking Spanish, maybe Japanese, and a bunch of other languages I didn't know. If I'm being real, I wouldn't have protected them if I had a choice. But fear? Fear kept me in line. I've seen what happens when you cross the one who brought me back. And I'm not ready to die. Again.
"Well, color me surprised."
I turned around, Arsenal. Floating down like some kind of dark messiah. The civilians swarmed him, praising him, clinging to him. He handled it calmly, but he was locked on me.
He floated over, grabbed me by the arm, and flew us both up to a nearby rooftop.He let go. I stepped back, confused and a little pissed.
"What the hell was that for?"
"I have to say, I'm genuinely surprised you protected people who didn't even look like you, Firecracker."
"You're the one who brought me here."
"Yes, I did. And again, surprised. We'll talk more later. I've still got work to do."
He opened a swirling dark portal. I looked at it skeptically.
"Don't worry, if I wanted to kill you, you'd already be dead."
"Like you did Stormfront," I muttered.
"She killed herself." His voice was calm, but firm. "I don't know why she thought the man who brought her back couldn't undo it. Anyone I summon, if they try to kill me? They get yanked back to where they came from. That's the deal. Back to their world... or back to the grave. So don't blame me for your little friend's death wish."
"She wasn't my friend."
I stepped through the portal and landed back in the same dusty apartment I was hiding in before. My new safe place.
Stormfront wasn't my friend. She was a Nazi. And I'm an American. We fought Nazis.
I still don't know why Homelander picked her over me... But then again, he killed us all in the end. So I guess it doesn't really matter anymore.
Batman POV
I was doing everything I could to bring these monsters down, but our tech wasn't cutting it. Batarangs, explosives, sonic disruptors—they were barely scratching them. Robin was facing the same problem.
"Man, we really need to upgrade these things," Robin muttered, panting.
Before I could respond, we heard a BOOM, a sonic burst followed by a powerful gust of wind. Then, in a flash…
All Might.
With a single strike, he tore through the monsters like paper, turning the battlefield quiet in seconds.
"No need to fear, because I am here!" he said, full of that signature bravado.
"What took you so long?" I asked.
"I was clearing the other side of the city. Monsters were popping up all over—I handled them. This was the last pocket left."
"Whoa," Robin said, wide-eyed.
But before All Might could even move again, something strange happened. All the remaining monsters… stopped. Then melted into mush, like they were never alive to begin with.
"Well that kinda sucks," Robin said, a little disappointed. "I wanted to see All Might fight up close."
"Hahaha! This isn't something to be disappointed about, young man," All Might said, smiling. "I'm getting reports, it's happening worldwide. We've won the day!"
He raised a fist in triumph. The nearby crowd of civilians and officers burst into cheers.
I looked around at the destruction, then back at All Might. As much as I hated to admit it, we were outmatched today. I'd faced power before—Croc, Clayface, but this was something different.
Then his words echoed in my head: "There's a new era coming."
I walked up to him.
"All Might," I said, quietly but firmly. "I want to speak with Arsenal."
He looked surprised.
"Why? You gave the impression you didn't like or trust him," All Might said, arms folded.
"I'd like to change that," I replied. "When this all settles down, I want to talk to Arsenal, face to face. Doesn't have to be at his base. Somewhere neutral. Gotham. A rooftop, maybe."
All Might nodded slowly. "I can arrange that... but I've got to ask—what changed?"
"Arsenal said a new era was coming. I think he's right. And what's coming may be too big for even me to face alone."
"Ohhh, so you're joining us?" he said with a grin.
"I never said that. But I want to work with you. All of you."
All Might's smile grew wider, somehow. I didn't even know that was physically possible for him.
"It's about time. Arsenal's been waiting for you to come around, Bats. I'll set it up. But… I need a promise."
I nodded.
"Name it."
"Don't try to find out who he is. Arsenal's been careful. No one outside his inner circle knows. He could've unmasked you anytime; he hasn't, out of respect. Return the favor. No trackers. No stealth scans. Just a real talk. I want to believe you're ready to work with us… not spy on us. I like you, Batman. Don't make me regret it."
I looked him dead in the eye.
"You have my word."
"Then I'll set up the meeting when this is over. Excuse me, it's cleanup time."
And with that, an entire army of robots flew overhead, swarming through the city. They began lifting rubble, securing survivors, and cleaning the sludge left behind from the melted monsters. All Might joined them.
I stood still, watching.
I want to trust Arsenal. I really do.
But an army of robots? That still rubs me the wrong way.
Also, another thing that rubs me the wrong way as well, does Arsenal know who I am?