Chaos as a Plan Fails Exactly as It Should. Pt Final
"Idiots," Owen muttered as he watched the missile, then turned his gaze toward Carol as she launched herself at him with all her strength, firing beams of energy from her hands. Owen dodged them effortlessly. Their fists collided, and Owen grabbed her by the neck with his right arm, while she twisted her legs, trying to lock that same arm.
Instantly, Owen's arm burst into flames, scorching Carol's skin once again.
She frowned, a flicker of pain crossing her face, and her grip weakened for just an instant.
That was enough.
Owen drove her straight into the missile, detonating it in the sky. The explosion bloomed into a massive mushroom of fire and smoke. The ground did not escape the damage either; the entire forest beneath them was completely wiped out.
"First missile impact," a general reported as they watched the screens, which shook violently and nearly lost signal.
Even so, seconds later, red and golden flashes reappeared, weaving through new explosions caused by the clash of their energies.
Another missile came into view.
This time, the golden light seized the red one and slammed it into the missile, triggering yet another explosion.
"Second missile impact," the general announced again, swallowing hard as he watched the red and golden trails rise once more, while explosions of pure power continued to tear through the sky.
Now several missiles appeared directly above the two combatants. But instead of avoiding them, they drove each other into the missiles, using them against one another, triggering blasts powerful enough to erase an entire city. It was as if the missiles themselves had become weapons in their fight.
"Seventh and eighth missile impacts," the man said, his face pale as he turned toward the president. "Sir, we need to deploy the most powerful ones," he added, clearly urging him to make the final call.
The briefcase in front of the president stood wide open. It did not contain a button, as many believed, but a secure military satellite communication device. The channel used to authorize a definitive nuclear strike.
"If you do this, there's no turning back," Nathaniel said calmly, as if the decision meant nothing to him at all. The responsibility would fall solely on the president.
"If this continues, they'll destroy the world," shouted another man nearby, the Secretary of Defense, supposedly the highest-ranking military authority present.
"It's either that," Nathaniel replied with the same calm tone, "or we'll be the ones who destroy it."
The president stared at the screens as they shut down one by one. The battlefield sky was stained red and gold, choked with the smoke of continental missiles. The flames seemed to set the heavens themselves ablaze.
They could no longer make out the fighters' silhouettes, only the violent flashes of color crashing into each other.
The president slowly reached toward the device… then stopped at the last second.
On one of the few remaining screens, barely holding its signal, a new blue flash appeared on the battlefield. It placed itself between the two combatants, stopping the golden attack with its own body. At the same time, another figure appeared, instantly recognizable.
Iron Man intercepted the red attack, forming a massive shield in front of him almost as if it were magic.
…
Owen's fist stopped just inches from Iron Man's face. It had pierced the shield, which desperately tried to regenerate around Owen's arm, only to melt away the closer he got.
Tony reacted instantly and issued a command. His armor began to retract as damaged nanobots fell from the sky, completely useless.
"You know," Tony said, looking at Owen with forced calm as a bead of sweat ran down his face, "you owe me at least a hundred million… for each one of those."
"Move," Owen replied coldly, as if he had no time left to play around and intended to finish what he started.
He looked toward Carol, who was now being restrained by Blue Marvel.
She stopped when she noticed the two newcomers. One of them had halted her attack without being injured, though clearly not without effort. That alone made it obvious just how strong he was.
"Don't you think this is enough?" Adam asked calmly, gesturing toward the ground below.
Carol stared at him for a moment. Owen lowered his gaze as well.
The forest where they had been fighting no longer existed. In its place stretched an absolute wasteland. Twisted fragments of missile metal were scattered everywhere. The ground itself burned, and not a single living being remained for miles.
At least the equivalent of an entire city had been destroyed by their fight.
And that was considering it had technically taken place in the sky.
"The plan has reached its perfect point, Owen. I don't think there's any need to push it further," Tony said seriously, opening his helmet to look him directly in the eyes.
Owen watched him in silence, then turned his gaze toward Carol with clear irritation. He noticed that both of them had nearly destroyed suits and multiple wounds across their bodies, blood dripping freely. They were evenly matched. Continuing the fight would only lead to more destruction, with no clear winner.
"Tsk," he clicked his tongue. "My transmitter's broken. Tell the others to pull back and end their fights with a strategic withdrawal," he said, his thoughts now cold and composed. "And get the global media ready. We need to shape public opinion," he added.
He gave Carol one last look before letting his body drop toward the ground.
The moment he touched down, Owen vanished in a series of red flashes, moving at a speed impossible to follow.
Tony let out a long breath and then turned toward Blue Marvel.
"Sorry. I'd love to keep talking tech with Mister Antimatter, but I've got work to do," he said, before taking off into the sky.
Blue Marvel followed Tony's trajectory with his eyes, then looked back at the spot where Owen had disappeared. He nodded slowly before turning his attention to Carol, who remained on guard.
"I've heard you're looking for Fury," Adam said, staring straight at her. "I know him… or I could say I had the misfortune of being known by him. And if I'm right, you're probably being used to confront something he can't. Just like he used me," he added, his tone serious.
Carol frowned at his words.
…
People remained hidden inside their homes or specialized bunkers, paralyzed by fear. Panic had spread across the entire country. Explosions and tremors echoed everywhere, as if there were no safe place left.
Until, little by little, they began to fade.
The explosions stopped. The ground ceased to shake.
Silence returned.
That alone caused countless confused expressions. Almost immediately, news began spreading at an unsettling speed, while evacuation alarms fell silent.
The battles between heroes were over.
People could come back outside.
Confusion reigned. Some, still afraid, cautiously stepped out of their shelters, trying to understand what had happened.
Like a story passed from mouth to mouth, the information spread without the need for radios or televisions. Everyone seemed to know at the same time.
The heroes in favor of the registration law withdrew from combat against those who opposed it, but not without leaving one final warning. From that moment on, all heroes who resisted the law would be classified as criminals and arrested.
For ordinary people, that was hardly good news.
It meant only one thing.
This had merely been the first battle between two sides. A war that was far from over, and that had already left behind a level of destruction no country could endure.
Panic among civilians only grew stronger at the thought of something like this happening again.