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"You're Either Perfect... Or You're Not Me."
- Perfect Cell (Dragon Ball Z)
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<(Atem POV)>
"Who are you? And why'd you come to Earth? Identify yourself, invader," War Machine—James Rhodes—demanded, his repulsors glowing bright blue as the double-barreled machine gun on his back locked onto me. I didn't sense any demonic inclination in his voice, but there was an ominous edge there, as if his voice was cold and stripped of any warmth.
"Rhodey, I can practically smell death on this guy. He's not from around here. And he sure doesn't have the 'gift' our generous masters so kindly bestowed on us," Iron Man—Tony Stark—said, eyes locked on me as his repulsors lit up too. "If I had to bet, I'd say he's from another universe. Maybe a parallel timeline." Tony tilted his head slightly, calculating. "If we can take him alive, we might learn how to get to his universe. Spreading the gift of eternal life to a new reality would definitely please our masters." He shot Rhodes a look that left no question about what he was planning.
"Hey, hey—I'm standing right here. Could you not act like I can't hear you? Seriously, heroes these days are so annoying. At least my universe's Tony has the decency to be polite... well, at least around me, he is decent," I scowled, fully aware that the other members of the team were probably eavesdropping too.
Honestly, this Tony Stark felt much more like his comic book version than the one from the movies—and way more prepared, too. He'd even managed to shield himself against telepathic scans and mental probes using neural disruptors built into his helmet.
'But regardless of all that, they are still ordinary humans, nonetheless.' I thought to myself as I felt an unknown warmth in my eyes.
"AAAHHHH!" Tony and Rhodey screamed like banshees as I dramatically squeezed my hand in the air right in front of them.
I could see it on their faces—they were itching to vaporize me with their repulsor beams and every other weapon system they had installed in their armor. But before either of them could trigger a single one of those systems, their hearts and lungs burst inside their chests under the crushing force of my telekinesis. Within a few seconds, blood began to seep from every opening in their bodies as they collapsed, falling from the top of the skyscraper to the ground beneath like broken toys.
Stepping to the edge of the skyscraper, I jumped off with a stoic expression, landing on the street below with a minor shockwave that cracked open the pavement.
Just like I'd sensed earlier, the rest of the Avengers were waiting for me down here, clearly intending to jump in once Iron Man and War Machine had finished their recon. Almost all the official roster was present—Captain America, Wasp, Falcon, Black Widow, Thor, Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch, Ant-Man, and even the Hulk, who, honestly, looked less like the Hulk and more like some demonic green minotaur.
Most of these heroes looked pretty much like their canon selves, except their costumes were shaded darker and styled to look a lot more... "villainous". Captain America, for instance, was rocking a deeper, more ominous blue suit with a bloody, red hexagon stamped on his mask, while Thor straight-up looked like a savage barbarian with a cracked hammer.
"You—what did you do to Iron Man and War Machine?" Captain America demanded the second he saw me hit the ground.
"Isn't a peak human supposed to have perfect vision?" I shot back with a smirk as I stretched my body before glancing toward the blood-soaked, mangled bodies of the two armored "heroes". "They're obviously dead." I shrugged, then caught my reflection in the mirrored glass of the skyscraper beside me. My eyes glowed with an ominous crimson light swirling with violet energy. 'Looks like I was right. These eyes really can force true death on anyone who dies in front of me... or anyone I kill myself,' I concluded in my mind with a hum. 'Maybe it can also...?'
