When Gravity Chose the Wrong Battlefield
"Are you telling me all of this is a lie?" Steve said, his tone genuinely upset, almost angry, staring directly at Banner, who had been explaining Owen's plan.
"Well… yes. More or less. It's necessary to show the world what could happen if heroes fought each other. There were softer ways to do it, but they would've taken much longer. Though, in truth, none of us fully understood Owen's plan until we reached the actual confrontations," Banner said calmly, almost as if trying to soften the impact of his own words.
"And the injured? The families who lost their homes… the dead?" Steve asked, more anger creeping into his voice, his jaw tightening.
"Uh… that's false too," Banner replied.
"False?" Steve froze for a moment, several emotions crossing his face in just a few seconds.
"Yes. Tony's technology. The holograms they create are extremely realistic. The buildings were destroyed, that part is real. But the owners were compensated with a significant amount of money directly from Owen's own pockets. Technically, he stopped being a millionaire. Now he barely keeps much for himself. The rest was covered by General Hawthorne, who's been monitoring things since the beginning of Owen's plans and supporting them politically and militarily," Banner added.
"And what about the ones locked up on this island?" Steve asked, turning and looking out the office window.
From there, he could see people actually enjoying themselves, even playing with inflatable beach balls by the shore. It wasn't just supposedly detained heroes. Their families were there too, laughing under the sun as if this were some kind of vacation retreat.
"They can leave whenever they want. But just in case, they brought their families so they'd be somewhere safe. Some of them are even helping quietly behind the scenes. Like Doctor Reed Richards," Banner added.
Steve pressed a hand to his forehead, as if he couldn't process everything fast enough. Beside him, Bucky didn't say much. He simply watched his friend, who was clearly going through a rather serious emotional crisis, to put it lightly.
Steve lifted his head, about to ask something else.
But before he could—
He felt something.
The same thing every person on the island suddenly felt.
A weight.
A heavy weight on their shoulders that made some of the heroes' families nearly collapse to their knees. The heroes reacted quickly. They stood up and positioned themselves in front of the civilians, all turning to look in the same direction.
An alarm began blaring across the island.
Banner glanced at a nearby screen where something appeared to be approaching at high speed. Without wasting a second, he ran out of the building.
And looked up at the sky.
There, a man floated above them, observing lightly, almost curiously.
"Hmm. This is a nice place," the man said, hovering above everyone while watching the heroes shield their families, enduring a pressure that kept increasing. "Wasn't this supposed to be a prison?" he asked with mild interest.
Almost immediately, as the alarms intensified, different types of defense drones emerged from various parts of the island. Automated weapons slid out from hidden compartments and locked directly onto the man in the sky.
"Don't worry. Get your families somewhere safe," Banner said quickly, keeping his eyes on the floating man while also tracking Tony's defense drones activating in sequence.
Some heroes hesitated for a moment. But seeing civilians—clearly powerless—being dragged down by a weight they couldn't withstand, they moved, guiding them toward protected areas.
Though several seemed convinced Banner could handle this.
The man, now surrounded by drones and weapons, smiled mockingly before raising one hand.
Then the pressure, which had already been affecting them slightly, began increasing rapidly. Most of them dropped to their knees, barely managing to stay upright. Even the drones struggled to remain airborne.
The weapons opened fire immediately.
But every shot, every bullet, every projectile stopped midair just inches from the man, as if hitting an invisible wall. He looked at all of them with open contempt. Then, with a slight flick of his hand, everything fell to the ground.
The sand on the beach began compacting slowly, as if the planet itself were being pressed down.
"Where is that guy? The one with the perfect serum. Owen Colt," the man asked, scanning all of them.
Banner, barely able to endure the weight, was already on the ground. His skin was slowly beginning to turn green.
Meanwhile, the man continued increasing the island's gravity with effortless control.
Except for one person.
One man still sat by the pool, drinking from an enormous barrel of alcohol. His expression was faintly sad, staring at his feet in the water as if he didn't even notice the crushing pressure weighing down on everyone else.
The man floating in the sky noticed him and frowned. He looked irritated that someone could withstand the force he was applying.
He pointed his hand at him.
Closed it.
Suddenly, the ground beneath the man sitting at the edge of the pool compacted violently. It crushed inward all around him, as if gravity at that exact point had multiplied a hundredfold.
But the spot where he sat wasn't affected.
Not the water touching his feet.
Not the pool.
Only everything around him.
"Hmm?" The man who looked like a vagabond glanced around, seeing everyone on the ground staring at him. Then he lifted his gaze toward the man floating above them. He raised his hand slightly, as if trying to feel something.
"Is it drizzling?" he asked, as though the immense gravity pressing down on him were nothing more than a light breeze.
The mocking expression on the man in the sky turned cold and irritated at the comparison.
"Rain?" he repeated, continuing to increase the gravity around the vagabond.
But it didn't seem to affect him in the slightest.
Banner, who was already turning green, looked toward him for a moment. He took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.
This was not the moment for Hulk to come out.
If he did, the island might survive the villain… but not him.
Hulk was more controlled than before. But he was still Hulk. And the island wouldn't survive two disasters at the same time.
So Banner thought fast.
He looked toward the man by the pool and spoke.
"A villain just showed up. Perhaps you'd like to do something about it, Mr. Hercules," Banner said.
"Villain?" the vagabond replied, glancing up at the sky. "Do you need my help?" he asked, looking directly at Banner. "Will I truly be useful… or just in the way?"
Banner didn't seem to fully grasp the last question. But he answered anyway.
"Yes. We could use a hand to make sure the place doesn't get destroyed."
"Useful. Yes. Very useful. Divine strength is always useful," he said, beginning to laugh slowly. "Of course. Everyone needs a Hercules, even in a world filled with superheroes. The heroes of the past are useful," he added, his mood visibly rising.
Without hesitation, he tore off the clothes he was wearing, revealing massive upper muscles, perfectly toned.
"Of course they are," he said proudly.
As the heroes around him watched for a moment, it became clear not all of them were reacting the same way.
First, there were those protecting civilians.
Shang-Chi maintained a steady perimeter using different rings to ease the pressure around ordinary people. Jean Grey held several sections of sand in place with telekinesis as they began to compress. Emma Frost, in diamond form, had literally positioned herself as a shield between several families and the epicenter of the force. Even She-Hulk, still lying on her towel, had placed one hand against the ground to stabilize the area beneath her and keep anyone from being crushed.
Then there were the ones relaxed… but attentive.
Wonder Man continued sipping his daiquiri, though his eyes never left the man in the sky. She-Hulk hadn't fully stood up yet, but the faint smile on her face suggested she could step in at any second. Scott Lang was on the ground, yes—but more because of the pressure than a lack of willingness.
And finally, there were the ones already prepared to kill.
From concealed positions, Night Thrasher, Hawkeye, and Black Widow had already taken firing angles. Daredevil stood motionless, focused. The Punisher didn't seem particularly bothered by the gravity; he was simply calculating trajectories. And Ghost Rider, in his Johnny Blaze form, merely observed… as if waiting for permission.
And apart from all of them, there were those pretending not to be involved at all.
Ikaris and Gilgamesh, arms crossed, under the excuse that they did not participate in human conflicts.
But compared to Hercules—who seemed to draw attention wherever he stood, perhaps thanks to his own divinity—the man in the sky focused only on him.
Unaware that individuals just as dangerous—or even more—were watching him as if he were a steak tossed into a den of lions.
That's right.
Owen Colt had gathered the most powerful heroes and beings on Earth and placed them on the same island. Every single one of them could devastate the world if they chose to.
Why else would he keep them there?
So they wouldn't interfere in the conflict outside.
The destruction these individuals would cause if unleashed would be far worse than anything he had planned.
"State your name, warrior. I do not strike without knowing who I am about to defeat," Hercules shouted as he prepared for battle.
The man in the sky looked down at him with irritation, as though being addressed by a barbarian.
Still, he answered.
"Listen carefully, neanderthal. My name is Graviton. And I'm here to destroy you all," he said, staring at Hercules with pride.
"Perfect," Hercules shouted, visibly excited.
He rolled his shoulders as if warming up for a trivial workout.
And then he jumped.
The ground shattered beneath his feet, leaving a deep crater that made the island tremble for a brief moment like a small earthquake.
In the next instant, he appeared directly in front of Graviton, whose eyes widened in surprise at seeing him suddenly there.
Graviton raised one hand, and a surge of intense gravitational force burst from his palm.
But Hercules barely reacted, as if struck by nothing more than a light gust of wind.
Then he threw a punch.
The impact erased the villain from the scene, sending him flying across the sky and breaking the sound barrier.
"Ha! Finally, a decent fight!" Hercules roared as he descended back toward the island.
The moment he touched the ground, he launched himself again toward where Graviton had been hurled, moving so fast that the ocean waters split in his wake from the sheer force of his legs.
Meanwhile, the heroes on the island watched for a moment…
And then went back to what they were doing.
As if nothing had happened.
Inside the VITAE control room, Owen sat with a completely calm expression. A notification appeared indicating that the island had been attacked.
He simply pressed a random button and dismissed it.
Without the slightest concern.
After all, Even now, despite being among the strongest himself—some of the individuals on that island could give even him a serious fight.
And if they truly needed help, they would ask for it.
He let out a faint smile.
Who would be foolish enough to attack that island right now?
Then he returned his attention to how things were progressing on the political front.