The hero of DC and Marvel

After two weeks of being a hero, I've become really popular—probably because I travel around the world like Superman.

Right now, I'm on patrol in Gotham. It's nighttime, and, unsurprisingly, crime is at an all-time high.

So far, I've stopped at least twenty muggings and five bank robberies—and the night is still young.

As I continue flying over the city, I hear commotion coming from a chemical factory. Curious, I head toward it.

The scene in front of me? Batman fighting Clayface.

It looks like Batman is struggling a bit, so I step in. I extend my hand and use my freezing powers to encase Clayface in ice. He stops moving instantly.

Batman turns to look at me as I float down beside the frozen villain.

"Church, open the Ground Bridge," I command.

A swirling portal opens, and large robots step through. They grab the frozen Clayface and carry him back through the portal before disappearing.

Batman glares at me. Here we go...

"What are you doing? Where are they taking him?" he demands.

I meet his gaze. "Somewhere safe—where he can actually get help."

His eyes narrow. "You don't have the right to do that. What you're doing is kidnapping."

I cross my arms. "No, what I'm doing is giving that man a real chance at a normal life. Instead of throwing him into prison over and over again, I'm going to cure him."

Batman stared at me, probably trying to intimidate me.

Yeah, that's not gonna work.

I kept my tone calm. "Let's not start off on the wrong foot. I'm trying to help him. As soon as I find a cure, I'll return him to the proper authorities."

Batman's eyes remained locked onto mine. "How can I trust you? For all I know, you just took him to turn him into a weapon."

I let out a small chuckle. "Batman, I'm already strong enough—I don't need weapons."

His expression didn't change. "Be that as it may, what you're doing is still illegal."

I shrugged. "So is vigilantism. Yet, we both do it for the greater good."

He didn't respond right away. I could tell he didn't like the comparison, but he couldn't argue against it either.

"You may not trust me now," I continued, "but once Clayface is cured, he'll be returned. First, I have to find a way to do it."

Batman took a step closer. "Gotham is my city. Clayface is my responsibility. Return him."

I raised an eyebrow. "Unless you legally own the city, it's not your city. And like I said, he'll be returned after he's cured."

His jaw tightened slightly. Then, his voice lowered. "Who do you work for? I know you're connected to All Might and Starlight."

That actually caught me off guard. "Oh? And how did you come to that conclusion?"

"The teleporter." Batman's tone was absolute. "It's all the proof I need. Starlight and All Might disappear and reappear in random locations. You use the same technology."

I smirked. "You're good. No wonder they call you the World's Greatest Detective. Got any more theories?"

"A-Train, Green Ghost, and Silent are likely working with you as well. I'm starting to suspect you might be the one leading all of this."

I tilted my head. "Silent? Since when did they start calling her that? …Doesn't matter. Yes, I'm the leader of our group—the Vanguard Initiative. Our mission is simple: to help Earth and its people."

For the first time, Batman looked slightly impressed. Then, after a moment, he stepped forward and extended his hand.

"I may not agree with what you just did, but I do respect that you're willing to help people."

I shook his hand.

That's when I felt it. He planted a tracker on me.

Slick. But not slick enough.

As he turned to leave, I casually plucked the tracker off me and flicked it onto his cape. He didn't even notice.

Try harder next time, Bats.

With that, I flew up and out of the building. The night was still young—and there was plenty of crime left to stop.

Fury POV

The past few months have been a massive headache. Every time I turn around, more superheroes seem to be popping up. And despite my best efforts, Starlight and All Might keep avoiding my agents. Now, A-Train, Green Ghost, Silent, and Arsenal have appeared.

This world is getting stranger by the day, and S.H.I.E.L.D. still doesn't have a damn clue who these heroes really are.

The higher-ups want to declare them criminals and try to capture them by force. That's a stupid decision. We don't have the technology or the manpower to take them in—especially not Arsenal or Superman. Those two alone are more powerful than the rest combined.

We have footage of Arsenal freezing an entire wildfire, lifting a sinking ship and bringing it safely to shore. Another video shows him in some war-torn country, growing crops, building a well, and making it rain. Then there's the plane rescue—the guy carried an entire plane to an airport. And that's just scratching the surface.

Right now, he's the second most powerful superhero we've seen.

All Might? He's dropped to third.

To top it all off, one of my mentors just died. So yeah—these last few months haven't exactly been great for me.

Just then, Agent Hill walked into my office.

"You better have good news for me."

"I do, sir," she said. "We finally made contact with one of the heroes."

I sat up straight. "Which one?"

"Arsenal. He reached out to one of our agents in New York. He wants to talk to you."

That caught me off guard.

How the hell did he know how to find our agents? We weren't even trying to contact him. All our efforts were focused on Starlight and All Might—who've been dodging us at every turn. They must have some connection to Arsenal.

"Where does he want to meet?"

"He gave us a location—an abandoned warehouse. He also told you to wear a coat."

A coat? That's interesting.

I leaned back in my chair. "He's planning to take me away from the warehouse. He probably knows we'd try to bug it."

Hill frowned. "Sir, I don't think this is a good idea."

"His actions so far don't mark him as a threat—for now. This is an opportunity to learn more about him… and maybe plant a tracker on him. When's the meeting?"

"Morning."

I nodded. "That gives us time to prep. Load me up with as many trackers as possible—ones that won't fall off at high speeds. We can't waste this chance. If we play this right, we might gain an asset."

Batman's POV

After patrol, I sat in front of my computer, staring at the tracker I had placed on Arsenal.

Him being the leader of a superpowered group was a surprise. But in hindsight, it made sense. The footage of him displayed various powers and immense strength. He was the last of these new heroes to appear, and I couldn't help but wonder—

Why did he wait so long?

I activated the tracker… and frowned.

It's showing that he's… here?

I immediately stood up, scanning the Batcave. Had he followed me? Did he figure out my identity?

I checked the shadows, the rafters—every possible entry point.

Nothing.

Then I felt it.

Reaching behind me, I grabbed my cape and found the tracker—the same one I had planted on Arsenal.

Damn it. He must've noticed when I put it on him.

This just confirmed what I already suspected—Arsenal is a high-level threat.

I need contingency plans for him. Immediately.

And I need to find his base.

Because if I'm right… and all these heroes are too good to be true…

Then the world is in serious danger.

Ed POV

I woke up feeling refreshed after a long night in Gotham. After dealing with the whole Batman situation, I decided to stop a couple more crimes before heading home. That's how I caught Killer Croc robbing a bank.

Now, fully rested, I got dressed and headed to the cafeteria for breakfast. When I got there, I saw Sabrina, Annie, and Kimiko already seated. I grabbed my food and sat down with them.

"Hey, guys. How's your morning going?" I asked.

"Pretty good. How was hero work last night?" Annie replied.

"Not bad. I captured two villains—Killer Croc and Clayface. I asked Angela, Mary, Richard, and Bruce to look into a cure for them. I also have a meeting with Fury today, and after that, I'll be meeting with Osborn. What about you three?"

"Me, Annie, and Kimiko are heading to Escanor's bar to check on him," Sabrina said.

"Sounds good. I should stop by later once I'm done with my meetings."

Escanor had opened a bar in Hell's Kitchen, and it had quickly become popular. The man was a master at brewing beer and wine, and people loved his drinks. Hell's Kitchen was still dangerous, even though the crime rate had dropped. But Escanor could handle himself—especially since he, along with Sabrina, Mary, Richard, May, Angela, Ashley, Bang, and Peggy, had taken the Super Soldier Serum. 

Over time, a lot of people had formed strong friendships

Sabrina, Annie, and Kimiko had become like sisters. Annie, being the oldest, acted as the big sister, while Sabrina and Kimiko treated each other like younger siblings. When Annie and Kimiko weren't doing hero work, they usually hung out together.

Panda and Ted had formed a close friendship. They spent a lot of time together, and I was pretty sure Ted had convinced Panda to start smoking.

Ashley and Angela had gotten along really well and became good friends.

Reggie and Alana had also bonded. At first, I thought they were dating, but they assured me they were just friends.

Anissa and Battle Beast had a unique friendship. Anissa originally kept an eye on him to make sure he wasn't causing trouble. But after realizing he was just existing, she decided to get to know him. They talked about their pasts, and over time, they started training together. That's how their friendship grew—both of them loved fighting, though Battle Beast loved it more.

Bang had taken up training Peter and the other teenagers in combat. That one caught me off guard. Apparently, Koro Sensei and Cecilia were okay with it as long as things didn't go too far.

Speaking of them, Koro Sensei and Cecilia had gotten really close—almost romantic. I wasn't sure yet, but I had my suspicions.

Harleen was doing great. She'd been a huge help with the teenagers. After finishing breakfast, I headed to the lab, where I found The Parkers, Angela, and Bruce already at work.

"You guys are up early," I said.

"Yeah, we wanted to get an early start on curing these villains," Angela replied.

Mary nodded. "And I have to say, it's interesting how they got their abilities."

Waylon Jones, a.k.a. Killer Croc, was born with a rare genetic mutation that gave him reptilian features. Surprisingly, he wasn't a mutant—he didn't have the X-gene.

His past was brutal, his mother died in childbirth, and his father abandoned him. His aunt raised him but abused him terribly—she would force him into scalding baths, trying to wash away the scales to make him look 'normal' he was bullied, relentlessly for his appearance—except for two people, a detective who occasionally bought him ice cream, and a girl named Emma, his only childhood friend.

One day, one of Waylon's bullies went missing. Emma asked Waylon to help find him, so they searched the swamps together. They found the bully's dead body, but before they could react, a mutated crocodile attacked them.

Waylon tried to save Emma.

He failed.

He carried her body back to town, but when the police saw him, they assumed he killed her. They sentenced him to 18 years in prison. 

By the time he got out, he tried to live a normal life, but society wouldn't let him, he got a job at a circus, wrestling alligators, but his boss paid him less than promised. He applied for other jobs, but no one would hire him because of his appearance. With no options left, he turned to crime.

 'Out of all of Batman's rogues, I felt bad for Waylon, the world never gave him a chance.'

"Ed, I don't think we can cure Waylon," Richard spoke up. "He was born this way. If we try altering his genetic code, we might do more harm than good."

I had expected that answer. "I figured as much, but I still wanted you guys to check. What about Ethan?"

Ethan Bennett, a.k.a. Clayface, was a completely different case. He was once a GCPD detective, the Joker tortured him, driving him insane eventually, he was transformed into Clayface.

Strangely enough—he had been best friends with Bruce Wayne. No wonder Bruce reacted so strongly when I took him.

"We can actually cure him," Angela said. "We just need samples of the chemicals that turned him into Clayface. With that, we can develop an antidote."

I nodded. "Alright, I'll see what I can do about that."

After leaving the lab, I went back to my room and changed into my hero outfit.

I had a meeting to get to.

I floated above the warehouse, scanning the area below. This was the spot I had set for my meeting with Fury.

Inside, I could see him standing alone, dressed in a long coat—a smart choice considering where we were about to go.

I descended, landing softly on the rooftop. Making my way to a nearby window, I unlatched it and opened it, and slipped inside, I floated down in front of him. Fury stood there, arms crossed, his expression unreadable.

"Arsenal." His voice was calm but laced with curiosity. "Gotta say, I'm surprised you wanted to talk—especially since you shouldn't even know I exist."

I smirked. "I know a lot of things, Fury. That's exactly why I want to talk."

He raised an eyebrow. "Well then, what are we waiting for? Let's talk."

"We will. But not here." I glanced around. "I know you've got cameras and bugs hidden all over this place."

Fury didn't confirm or deny it, but I could tell he wasn't going to argue.

Without warning, I stepped forward, scooped him up in a princess carry, and floated toward the open window.

"What the hell are you doing?!" he barked.

I grinned. "Taking you for a flight."

Then, I soared into the sky, carrying him with me.

I made sure to fly at a pace that wouldn't knock Fury unconscious, but the trip still took nearly five hours. We finally landed at the peak of Mount Everest, the freezing wind biting at our faces. I set Fury down, and he immediately adjusted his coat, standing upright.

"Damn. That was a long flight," he muttered. "You better have something important to say if you dragged me all the way out here—to the freezing-ass top of a mountain."

I smirked. "I do. But first, give me a second."

Reaching under my suit, I removed the tracker Fury had planted on me. He had only managed to stick one on—I had been watching him just as closely as he was watching me.

Then, I pulled a small device from my pocket, pressed a button, and a silent pulse of energy expanded around us for a brief moment before disappearing.

Fury narrowed his eye. "What the hell was that?"

I slipped the device back into my pocket. "Something I built just for this meeting. A mini-EMP. It disabled any microphones or cameras in the area."

My smirk widened. "Now, I know for sure—it's just you and me talking."

We stood in silence for a moment, the wind howling around us atop Mount Everest. Fury was the first to speak.

"Since you know who I am, I'll ask you a simple question—will you cooperate?"

I tilted my head. "When you say cooperate, you mean becoming one of your little soldiers, right? If that's the case, then no. But if you're asking if I'm willing to work with you,… I am."

Fury's expression remained unreadable. "Joining S.H.I.E.L.D. comes with a lot of benefits."

I scoffed. "Benefits I don't need or want. Besides, S.H.I.E.L.D. is exactly what we need to talk about."

He narrowed his eye. "What about it?"

I exhaled, watching my breath turn to mist in the freezing air. "S.H.I.E.L.D. has been compromised. It's infested with Hydra."

Fury's expression darkened. "What the hell are you talking about? Hydra is dead."

I shook my head. "No, you think Hydra is dead. But they're very much alive—thanks to your government's brilliant decision to recruit Nazi scientists after the war. Did you seriously think those guys were going to stop being Hydra? No. They rebuilt it. And now, it's stronger than ever."

Fury crossed his arms. "Everything you're saying could be a lie. You have no proof."

I smirked. "Yeah, I figured you'd say that. That's why I brought someone you will listen to."

I raised my hand and opened a portal beside us. A figure stepped through, bundled in a heavy coat—just like I had told her to wear before I left.

Fury's eye widened. "Peggy?"

Peggy Carter smiled. "Hey, Nick."

Fury took a step forward, eyes darting between her and me. "How the hell is this possible? You're supposed to be dead. And why the hell do you look so young?"

Peggy smirked. "Perks of working with a superhero."

I chuckled. "Sorry, Fury. My benefits are way better than yours."

Fury's gaze snapped back to Peggy. "Are you telling me everything this guy just said is true?"

Peggy nodded. "Every word. Hydra has been alive and growing, hiding in plain sight. And we haven't even gotten to the part about magic and aliens yet."

Fury blinked. "Magic? What the hell are we talking about?"

I rubbed the back of my neck. "Yeah, hindsight—I probably should've scripted what we were gonna say before teleporting you here."

Peggy sighed. "No kidding."

I shrugged. "Alright, let's cut to the chase. Magic is real, and aliens exist. And one day, they might invade Earth."

Fury's face went blank. "…WHAT?!"

I nodded. "Yeah, I know—it's a lot. But one problem at a time. First, we need to clean up our own planet by taking down Hydra."

Fury exhaled sharply, rubbing his temples."Motherfukcer."

I grinned. "Welcome to my world."