Awakening Kryptonian Bloodline In Marvel.

Half a month passed quickly.

Nick Fury said he'd be back, but he never showed up.

Tony said he had compiled all the Hydra intel and forwarded it to Fury's inbox.

Malrick figured the man was probably sitting in his ruined S.H.I.E.L.D. office, cursing under his breath a hundred times a day.

During this time, Natasha had led the freed Widow agents—more than 200 of them—to shake off their old programming.

Most of them chose to follow Malrick, even though his new organization hadn't been officially established yet. Fewer than a dozen decided to walk away, either exhausted or chasing a new life.

Malrick, as promised, destroyed their records.

Still, part of him suspected that some of them might one day regret that choice.

Tony, at Pepper's insistence, had returned to the company to help manage the new energy project. It couldn't progress without him.

For Malrick, the biggest gains over the past two weeks were the steady growth in his power and the conclusion of the upper limit prediction experiment.

---

Two days earlier.

After a sunbath and finishing a thrust test, Malrick returned home.

Tony stared at him like he was some sort of alien creature.

"Eight hundred and ninety thousand tons of force? You've nearly doubled your strength in just two weeks!" Tony exclaimed.

Malrick nodded calmly. "I can feel it accelerating—kind of like geometric progression."

"But lately, the jumps have been getting smaller. I think I'm approaching my peak growth period."

"So you want the upper limit prediction now?"

"Today's the final check, right?"

"Yeah. Give me five minutes." Tony turned to his computer and tapped rapidly across the keyboard.

Exactly five minutes later, a prediction chart full of plotted data was printed out.

"Okay, here it is."

Malrick took the blueprint and examined it.

Tony, acting as narrator, explained, "The dots mark your strength after each solar exposure. The lines chart the increase over time."

"Based on the model, your maximum strength output is projected to hit around two million tons... per arm."

He glanced at Malrick's face for a reaction, but the man stayed perfectly calm.

"Your peak growth rate happens around one million tons. Up to that point, your strength increases like a snowball rolling downhill. Afterward, it slows down until it plateaus."

Tony paused, waiting for Malrick to show some disappointment.

Instead, Malrick raised an eyebrow and smirked. "What's that look for? Like you're afraid I'll start crying, so you already have tissues ready to console me?"

"You're not upset?" Tony asked, pointing at the graph. "Knowing you have a ceiling?"

"Why would I be? I expected this. Now that I know my limit, I can aim higher." Malrick's tone was composed. It was the truth.

Two million tons per arm—if that was his cap, then he would work within it until he found ways to break past it.

First, there was always the mystical route—Kamar-Taj came to mind. Or perhaps Kunlun, where the ancient art of chi cultivation still existed.

Too many paths to power existed in the Marvel world. Kamar-Taj alone offered a dozen twisted ways to enhance strength—like signing contracts with demons and working your way up by consuming lesser ones.

Strange had already proven that was a viable—if risky—route.

Kunlun had its own hidden treasures. The dragon power was rare but real. It might be a long shot, but it was worth exploring.

And if this world offered no further path, he always had one last option—travel to others.

Malrick had once been cautious about crossing over. But now, he might be strong enough to start that journey.

Tony chimed in, breaking the silence. "Hey, I was watching an old Superman cartoon the other day."

"In the story, Superman absorbed too much solar energy, hit around two million tons of force, and started to fall apart."

"I'm starting to think that two million is probably a race-wide cap for Kryptonians."

Malrick thought it over. "Maybe. Every race has a ceiling…"

So if I want to break that ceiling, do I need to stop being a Kryptonian? he mused internally.

---

Two days later.

After a massive dinner, Tony retreated to his lab to continue his research.

Malrick, as usual, flew into space.

Lately, he'd been spending most of his time inside the space capsule, returning only for meals or rare updates.

He'd even ignored Natasha's request for payroll yesterday.

Once back inside the capsule, surrounded by cold titanium walls, Malrick quickly drifted into a comfortable sleep.

It should have been a peaceful night.

But unexpected guests never knock.

Tony Stark didn't yet know that revealing his identity had stirred forces from the darkest corners.

---

The moon hung high above, its glow muted by thick clouds.

A group of masked figures crept along the shadows, moving like specters toward Stark's mansion.

Clad in black, with only their eyes exposed, they resembled ancient assassins—silent, disciplined, and deadly.

Each footfall landed in the print of the person before them. They didn't speak. They didn't stumble.

They existed like shadows that had been trained to kill.

Their movement was in perfect sync—sometimes leaping, sometimes crawling—like water spiders gliding across a pond.

Eventually, they reached the rooftop of the mansion.

They spotted Tony's room and moved swiftly into position.

Laser cutters. Glass suction cups. Silent gloves.

They removed the glass with precision and slid in one after the other, like a school of deadly fish.

The leader scanned the room and signaled—Tony Stark wasn't here.

Then he gave new orders: kill everyone downstairs. Leave no one alive.

The countdown began.

---

Meanwhile, in the lab.

Tony was slumped in a chair, deep in thought, his eyes locked on the Jarvis defense grid still in mid-upgrade.

He'd been too busy lately. Half a month had passed, and Jarvis was still operating at 80%.

A hand suddenly waved in front of his face.

"I was thinking, Tony… but the enemy's already here."

Malrick plucked the glasses from Tony's face.

He had been in space when he heard the sound of glass being cut and too many unfamiliar footsteps.

The noise had snapped him out of sleep.

A quick glance with super vision told him everything. Five seconds later, he was back in the lab.

His enhanced strength had boosted his bio-field as well—now even flying at hundreds of Machs, he barely made a sound.

"Huh?" Tony jumped, startled. His eyes widened when he saw Malrick.

"What enemy? Jarvis didn't detect anything—don't tell me it's that black-marinated egg again?"

Tony had picked up that nickname from Malrick. It had both flavor and sting.

"No," Malrick replied, flexing his wrist. "It's a bunch of martial arts assassins—ninja-style. I came back to tell you to finish upgrading Jarvis."

"And I'll handle the rest."

---

More chapters? You know the drill! (＾▽＾)

Powerstones = fuel for extra heat!