"Get lost. Is that how lions mark their territory, by borrowing someone else's villa?"
Axel cut Tony off with a mocking scoff.
Before Tony could answer, Axel flashed a grin.
"Fuck you, Tony Stark. This is a robbery. Every villa you own belongs to me now. They're only a few dozen houses, why would I borrow them from you? Forget hard work, taking them by force is much easier. Use your brain, you bastard."
He burst into loud, unrestrained laughter.
Aboard the Helicarrier, Tony froze for a brief moment before letting out a frustrated curse.
"Fuck. I'll never get used to working with a bastard like you."
"Steve is stubborn enough, but at least he's a decent person. You, Axel, deserve to rot in hell."
Without waiting for another response, Tony immediately cut the communication. He had no intention of listening to whatever insane nonsense Axel might come up with next.
With the call disconnected, Axel lost interest in teasing him.
Clark, who had kept his eyes tightly shut, spoke with obvious excitement.
"Axel, stop messing with Tony. Tell me about Midtown High. That's where Spider-Man is supposed to be. You didn't only meet Jessica Jones, right? Did you see Peter Parker?"
His voice was filled with anticipation.
Although the DC Universe had its own legendary heroes, Clark had always enjoyed reading about Marvel's famous superheroes while growing up. Between comic books and video games, Spider-Man had always been one of his favorites.
Axel glanced through the thinning crowd until his eyes settled on a stunned young Peter Parker.
His attention lingered even longer on the blonde girl standing nearby, who practically looked like she was glowing.
"Hallelujah."
Axel chuckled.
"You guessed right. I saw Peter. Actually, I saw someone even more interesting."
"I'm disappointed, though. Peter looks about ten years old. He hasn't even started at Midtown High yet."
"But Gwen Stacy is here. Maybe this world follows Spider-Woman's timeline instead."
"You wouldn't believe it. That girl practically has a holy aura around her. I'm starting to think about becoming a Christian in this universe."
"Bullshit!"
Clark's shout echoed through the communicator.
"Can you stop making those insane jokes?"
"But wait... wasn't Gwen supposed to meet Peter much later? Why is she here already? Is this really Spider-Woman's timeline?"
While asking the question, Clark slowly opened his eyes under Bruce's guidance.
The burning pain had almost disappeared, replaced by only a faint warmth.
Maybe...
He could finally control his Heat Vision.
His eyes glowed with a dim crimson light as he looked toward the sky once more, seeing beyond the clouds into space.
Bruce's steady voice sounded beside him.
"How does it feel? Can you control it?"
"I think so. Give me a second."
Clark focused.
Golden solar energy gathered inside his eyes before erupting into two brilliant crimson beams that pierced the sky.
After only a brief burst, he shut the Heat Vision off.
Apart from slight discomfort, everything felt normal.
When Clark looked back at Bruce, Batman instinctively tensed.
Seeing that reaction, Clark sighed and lightly patted Bruce's shoulder.
"Come on, Buddy. You really think I'd lose control and hurt you?"
"It isn't difficult to manage. Once I understood it, everything became straightforward."
"You should trust me."
Bruce remained silent for a moment before returning the pat on Clark's shoulder.
"I do trust you."
"But New York needs us more than I do."
"Most of the Hydra forces aboard the Helicarrier have been eliminated, but plenty are still operating throughout the city. They've occupied areas around City Hall, the Avengers Tower, Wall Street, and the Stock Exchange."
"Tony and Lex still have to repair the Helicarrier."
"So let's help New York the way the Justice League would."
Clark immediately smiled.
"That's exactly what I wanted."
The thought of saving people quickly pushed Axel out of his mind.
Moments later, Maria Hill, Phil Coulson, and several others approached, eager to speak with Superman and Batman from another universe.
While the Helicarrier became a symbol of hope once again, Axel simply clicked his communicator and muttered,
"When they need me, it's 'Brother this' and 'Brother that.' The second they don't, the radio suddenly dies. Bastards."
Laughing to himself, he shoved both hands into his pockets and casually walked toward the spectator stands.
The moment people noticed him approaching, the entire section became restless.
Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy were standing near the edge.
Peter immediately tried to rush over.
Before he could, Uncle Ben and Aunt May grabbed him.
Unlike Peter, they had listened to Axel's outrageous comments from beginning to end.
He certainly didn't resemble the kind of superhero people were used to seeing.
To their generation, heroes were figures like Captain America, symbols of honor and integrity.
Axel's shameless attitude completely overturned that image.
Uncle Ben and Aunt May watched him with visible caution.
The children, however, were fascinated.
Peter could barely contain his excitement.
Even Gwen stared at Axel with sparkling eyes.
Before Peter could break free, Gwen slipped away from her mother and hurried to the railing.
"You freaking saved us, Superhero! What's your name?"
Axel smiled.
"No swearing, Gwen!"
Her mother covered her face in embarrassment.
As the wife of a police captain and a respected prosecutor herself, she had no idea where her daughter had picked up such language.
Ignoring her mother's despair, Gwen leaned eagerly over the railing.
Axel met her gaze, then casually stepped upward.
In an instant, he appeared seated directly behind Gwen, right beside her mother and directly in front of Peter.
The sudden teleport startled Gwen's mother so badly that she nearly screamed.
Before she could react, Axel casually draped an arm around her shoulders.
"Hello there, beautiful lady."
"I'm Axel."
"A well-known scoundrel."
"I..."
Her face instantly turned bright red.
She hurriedly escaped from his arm, goosebumps running across her skin.
Gwen immediately pouted.
"Hey! I'm the one admiring you. Stop looking at my mom."
Axel laughed and ruffled her hair.
"Can you blame me? Your mom is gorgeous."
Gwen sighed dramatically.
"Maybe."
"But I'd rather my dad be the only one saying that."
"Hahaha!"
Her answer genuinely amused him.
After another playful ruffle of her hair, Axel rested his elbows on his knees.
"Fair enough."
"Flirting with someone's mother in front of her daughter isn't exactly polite."
"I may be a scoundrel, but that doesn't mean I have absolutely no standards."
Behind him, Peter stared in disbelief.
"How can you call yourself a scoundrel so casually?"
"You're a hero."
"You saved all of us."
"You even defeated the Hulk."
"That was the Hulk! During the Battle of New York he punched down those giant alien creatures with a single hit!"
Peter tightly grabbed Axel's sleeve as though afraid he would disappear.
Axel chuckled and patted his head.
"See the difference?"
"The little girl compliments my looks."
"The little boy only talks about fighting."
Uncle Ben and Aunt May nearly choked.
Peter blinked.
"What does that mean?"
"It means boys and girls admire different things."
Peter nodded thoughtfully before asking another question.
"So... did you really defeat the Hulk?"
"I kicked him clear across the Pacific Ocean."
"He should be buried somewhere beneath Tokyo right now, questioning every life choice he's ever made."
"His four-armed form burns through an enormous amount of stamina."
"If nobody strong shows up, he'll rampage for a while before collapsing into a deep sleep."
Peter's eyes widened.
"So... he isn't actually defeated?"
"Couldn't he hurt more people?"
Axel shrugged.
"Probably."
"But what do you expect me to do?"
"Have you seen how huge he is?"
"I'm just a weak, helpless street thug."
"So naturally I have to dump the problem on everyone else."
He erupted into another fit of laughter.
Uncle Ben felt his blood pressure rising.
Peter looked utterly confused.
"But..."
"Isn't that... kind of sad?"
"Why are you laughing?"
Before Axel could answer, Gwen shoved Peter aside.
"Will you stop asking so many questions?"
"He's talking to me."
"He messed up my hair, stole my seat, and even hugged my mom."
"Go bother your own mom."
Peter froze awkwardly.
Beside them, Gwen's mother blushed so fiercely that she couldn't even look Axel in the eye.
What do you mean, he hugged your mother?
Please don't say something so embarrassing...
===
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