Superman in Marvel: Multiverse Ascendant

Bang!

Tony fired his gun into the air.

The flare soared upward, tracing an arc, reaching a height of more than 20 meters before slowly falling back to the ground.

In the desert night, the red light was hard to miss, casting enough illumination to clearly reveal the faces of the two people below.

"Okay, wait a few minutes, and someone will come to pick us up," Tony said, tossing the flare gun aside.

If a flare appears near the garrison base, the U.S. military will undoubtedly check with satellites, quickly discovering his location and sending a rescue team.

Tony turned to Ethan. "Come with me to America, Ethan. Bring your family."

Ethan had been silent for a while, clearly conflicted.

His eyes were tinged with sadness. "My family is dead. Honestly, Tony, I want to return to Iran and help more people in need."

Tony's thoughts stumbled. It was clear that Ethan had a much more tragic past than he had realized.

That made Tony even more determined to bring Ethan to America.

"Ethan..." His voice was heavy with regret. "I didn't know about your family. I'm sorry."

Ethan shook his head, signaling it didn't bother him.

"I understand that you want to return home," Tony continued.

Ethan's determination was evident—he seemed resolved to risk his life to help others in his homeland.

"But what Leon said earlier was right. I'm going back to help more people."

Tony tapped the Ark Reactor on his chest with his fingers, his eyes burning with resolve. "Ethan, you could come with me. Together, we could help those harmed by violence and change this world—for the better."

Ethan looked at the Ark Reactor, a piece of technology that could indeed change the world. His hesitation lingered.

Boom!

A rumbling engine noise cut through the air, growing louder by the second.

A patrol plane appeared in the distance.

"The rescue plane showed up just half a minute after the flare?" Ethan exclaimed. "They're fast!"

He watched as the plane flew overhead and continued into the distance.

"...It's not a rescue team. It's a light patrol plane. They must be going after Leon—he's been spotted."

Tony stared at the plane as it flew away. "But it's too slow to catch Leon."

"We'll wait a little longer. Leon made a big splash, and that drew their attention."

"But next time, when I put on the MK armor, I'll definitely grab more attention from the military... those rednecks won't know what hit them."

Tony paced back and forth. "Of course, you'll have your own set of armor by then."

"Then we can form a team called... the MK Team? Wait, that doesn't sound right... maybe..."

Three minutes passed as Tony rambled on. Another, louder engine noise approached from the sky.

It was a formation of three helicopters.

"Oh! Look, our rescue team is here!"

The two men, parched from the desert heat, leapt to their feet and waved.

Meanwhile, as Tony had predicted, Leon had avoided the patrol plane.

Half a minute was more than enough for him to cover several trips back and forth.

By the time the patrol plane caught up with him, Leon had already flown out of Afghanistan with the Mark armor and blueprints in tow.

Unexpectedly, just as he entered California, another group of fighter jets intercepted him.

After retrieving Tony's treasure from the collapsed cave, Leon had flown into the thermosphere over Afghanistan, accelerating to Mach 30.

It only took him twenty minutes to cross half the globe and return to North America.

He descended over the west coast, slowed to low supersonic speed, and headed toward California.

The Stark family mansion was located on the west coast of Los Angeles, easily reachable by crossing the Coast Mountains.

However, his speed had decreased too much and wasn't fast enough, so a satellite had caught him as soon as he entered the country.

In the U.S. military base, a figure moving at nearly twice the speed of sound over the mountains caught the operator's attention.

After zooming in, they were shocked to see it was a small flying unit.

Despite the blurry image (obscured by a biological force field), it resembled a humanoid flying object.

The soldiers immediately reported the sighting to their superiors.

"What is that? Contact them and ask them to land for inspection! Whether it's the CIA or the Navy, let's get a look at this!"

"Sir, there's no response on the radio!"

"Sir, the CIA and Navy just contacted us—asking if that flying object is ours and requesting intel!"

"We? We don't have any small flying units that go nearly twice the speed of sound!"

"Not yet, sir!"

"Shit! Go to the weapons department and get Colonel Rhodes here!"

"Colonel Rhodes is in Afghanistan looking for Tony Stark, sir!"

"Goddammit! Then get to the database! Lock the radar! Give me the clearest satellite image!"

"Report, sir! We don't have anything similar in the database! The target's cross-section is too small, and the radar can't lock on! The satellite image is blurry due to unknown interference!"

"What the hell? Can anyone tell me what this thing flying over our heads is?"

"I don't know, sir!"

"Damn it! Is there any high-altitude surveillance in the West Coast Mountains? Send them out, and shoot this thing down!"

"Yes, sir!"

Meanwhile, Leon had been gliding to Los Angeles when he noticed the roar of four engines veering toward him.

"I've been spotted by a satellite?" Leon guessed, slowing down to check the situation. "Guess I wasn't fast enough. This is a hassle."

"Flying subsonic is too slow, and low supersonic isn't much better. It makes it easier for satellites to pick up on unusual activity."

"Next time, I'll fly faster—maybe Mach 10 or more."

Suddenly, a voice came through his ear.

"Target locked!"

"Missile launchers are ready, waiting for the final order!"

The commander at the U.S. military base gave the order: "Aim! Fire! Shoot down that flying object!"

The four planes dived from high altitudes. Though they struggled to close the gap, their missiles would still be able to hit Leon.

"Fire!"

Missiles shot out, reaching Mach 5 in seconds and chasing Leon.

He glanced back and saw a missile streaking toward him, its flames cutting through the clouds from thousands of meters away.

It was a powerful weapon capable of destroying any aerial vehicle.

But to Leon, it was inconsequential.

He was so tempted to stop and catch the missile, walking away unscathed in front of the American soldiers.

It was the kind of show-off that was ingrained in human nature—something to savor.

Maslow once said the need for self-actualization, which includes showing off, is fundamental when people are free from basic survival concerns.

Leon couldn't resist this urge.

But after considering Tony's past, he decided to wait.

Let Tony be the one to show off first—get slapped by the U.S. military.

Only then would Leon swoop in and steal the spotlight.

Just the thought of Tony's reaction made him grin.

Now, with his superhuman abilities, Leon wanted to focus on improving his strength—and have fun while doing it.

For example, showing off in ways Tony couldn't.

Thinking of this, Leon looked up at the missiles closing in.

With a thought, he accelerated to Mach 20, disappearing from the military's radar.

"What the hell? The target disappeared!" a pilot exclaimed.

"Report! The missile didn't hit!"

"The target is lost! It seems to have a stealth function!"

At the U.S. military base, the commander was stunned. "What? Impossible! This can't be happening! Search the entire area—find them!"

Chaos erupted in the command room.

It was clear that the Ministry of Defense would remain uneasy for some time.

...

Next 20 chapters are available at: Pat reon. com (slash) LordMerlin