Superman in Marvel: Multiverse Ascendant

The silver-white armor and the military-green missile merged into one as they soared through the sky.

Accelerating together, Leon and the missile briefly pulled ahead of the others, carving a massive arc in the air.

At this moment, the other missiles began to lose tracking accuracy, scattering as they lost their lock on Leon.

This was a clear sign—they were about to detonate.

Leon counted silently in his mind, then released his grip on the missile at precisely the right moment, maneuvering away.

"Three, two, one—bang!"

As soon as the countdown ended, a deafening explosion erupted behind him.

Boom!

Several missiles struck the one Leon had been guiding, triggering a premature chain explosion.

The shockwave tore through the air, violently disrupting the flight paths of the remaining missiles, setting off another wave of detonations.

Fiery blasts spread across the western coastline, blanketing the area in a thick, rolling cloud of black smoke.

The fighter pilots were stunned.

How had the Mark II managed to evade the missile swarm so easily?

They had no time to process it.

The sky was now choked with the aftermath of dozens of simultaneous explosions, creating an impenetrable wall of smoke.

"Target lost! Repeat—target lost!" the squadron leader reported.

"Speed up, clear the obstructed airspace, and re-engage! Do not let the enemy escape!" the command center ordered.

But Leon didn't take the opportunity to flee.

Instead, he turned and flew straight toward the chaotic battlefield.

"Jarvis, simulate the enemy flight trajectories based on their last known speed and direction."

A projection flickered across his helmet's HUD, instantly mapping out dozens of possible flight paths through the thick smoke.

Leon processed the data, estimated the timing, and accelerated into the haze.

He locked onto one of the predicted paths.

"Prepare to turn, Jarvis."

The moment he spoke, a fighter jet suddenly burst through the black smoke—right in front of him.

A head-on collision was imminent.

Leon reacted instantly, halting his forward momentum mid-air before twisting upward in a sharp evasive maneuver.

The fighter pilot's eyes widened in shock, but he recovered quickly, pulling up while simultaneously activating the weapons bay.

He pressed one of the many controls in the cockpit, deploying the machine guns and opening fire.

"Unit 13 has visual on the target! Repeat—Unit 13 has visual!"

"Engage! Take him down!" the squadron leader ordered.

Unit 13 stayed hot on Leon's trail, gunfire sparking against the Mark II's armor.

Leon felt the impact rattle his suit, but the damage was superficial.

Encouraged, the pilot pushed his thrusters to full power, closing the distance.

Then, without warning, the Mark II made another sharp turn.

The pilot hesitated for half a second—just enough time for disaster to strike.

Another fighter jet burst from the smoke in front of him.

"Shit!"

He yanked the controls desperately, but it was too late.

The undersides of both aircraft scraped against each other at high speed, causing catastrophic damage.

Flames and black smoke erupted from the jet's engines. With his systems failing, the pilot of Unit 13 had no choice but to eject.

"Unit 13 has crashed! I'm ejecting now!"

The second fighter had it even worse.

Its cockpit was shattered, knocking the pilot unconscious instantly.

Leon, noticing the disaster unfolding, pivoted mid-air and surged toward the falling jet.

With precise timing, he pulled the unconscious pilot from the cockpit just before the plane spiraled out of control.

Meanwhile, the pilot of Unit 13, now drifting under his parachute, noticed something wrong.

Two planes had gone down, but only one distress call had been made.

"Unit 7 collided with me and went down! No response from the pilot! He might have been taken by the enemy! Requesting immediate rescue! Mayday! Mayday!"

His panicked distress call was met with an immediate response.

Leon heard the roar of engines above—additional fighters diving from the clouds to assist.

He smirked.

"Looks like this little exhibition match is over."

Glancing down at the unconscious pilot in his grip, he made a smooth landing, placed him gently on the ground, and then turned toward Los Angeles.

"Good luck, buddy."

With the remaining jets occupied with the rescue, the command center could only watch helplessly as the Mark II disappeared from their satellite feed.

"Damn it! They got away!" General Ross fumed. "Send another squadron after them!"

"It's too late, General," Rhodes cut in. "Given their acceleration, we won't be able to catch up now."

Ross clenched his fists. "Damn it!"

Back at the Beach Villa

Leon and Tony regrouped mid-air, flying back toward Stark's cliffside mansion.

Thanks to the Mark armor's size and speed, it was difficult to track them—so long as they avoided direct satellite detection.

Jarvis, as always, handled that part effortlessly.

As they cruised through the sky, Tony broke the silence.

"I didn't use any weapons, just like you asked. No direct conflict, no casualties."

Leon smirked. "But after seeing what I pulled off, don't you feel like you've been taught a lesson?"

He was pressing Tony for his reaction—after all, the entire stunt had been to show off in front of him.

It had been on his mind for a while.

But at the same time, he genuinely cared about Tony's situation.

After all, Tony had strong military connections, and it was only a matter of time before he publicly declared himself as Iron Man.

To avoid unnecessary friction with the military, Leon had followed Tony's request—no aggression, no unnecessary destruction.

And in the end, he even saved a pilot.

"…Damn."

For once, Tony was speechless.

The live feed from Jarvis had shown him everything in real time.

Leon's precision—his ability to control speed, timing, and direction—was on another level.

Tony hadn't even considered that the suit could be maneuvered with such finesse.

After all, he was still getting used to it himself.

The way Leon handled the Mark II was beyond anything he had imagined.

Of course, there was no way Tony would admit that outright.

"You used your powers, didn't you? That's gotta be it."

"Absolutely not." Leon grinned. "Jarvis monitored everything. He can vouch for me."

Jarvis immediately chimed in.

"Master Leon controlled the Mark II the entire time. All data readings are within normal parameters."

Tony knew that already—he was just being stubborn.

"Well, you still shot down two jets. Not exactly a peaceful encounter."

Leon chuckled. "I didn't fire a single shot, nor did I attack first. Can you blame me for their mistakes? Come on, Tony, you don't hold yourself to that kind of standard."

"Fine, fine." Tony threw his hands up. "Considering you saved my ass and you owe me dinner, I'll admit—you were the better man this time."

"Appreciate the compliment." Leon smirked. "Keep training, Tony. Someday, you might be as good as me."

Tony's expression froze.

"Wait—what dinner?"

Leon blinked. "What dinner?"

"You're telling me you didn't make dinner? I'm starving—I could eat every cheeseburger in LA."

"Didn't have time," Leon shrugged. "Right after our strength test, I had to go save your soldier buddy."

"Then order takeout," Tony declared.

"Agreed. And while we wait, maybe you should give Rhodey a heads-up that you're the Iron Man the military's been chasing all day."

"Why would I tell him?"

"Because you're going to be exposed sooner or later. Better to warn him now so he can cover for you."

Tony paused, considering it.

"You might actually have a point, Leon… When did you get so good at this? Hanging around little girls in school, learning how to scheme?"

Leon rolled his eyes.

"I learned it from stopping you from bringing home random women when we were kids."

"Then I guess you owe me a thank-you."

Their banter trailed off as they soared toward Stark's mansion.

As the sun dipped below the horizon, its golden glow reflected over the ocean.

Three armored figures vanished into the Stark estate.

...

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