Still Defiant! SI-OC [Marvel/DC]

[Emma Cruzader]

20: Ten Rings

Obadiah Stane was having a very bad day. He had believed everything was in order, that things would go according to his plans. Even if Tony wasn't dead, that didn't matter; Obadiah was confident he could easily get rid of him.

Now he wasn't so sure. He had seen the images; they were on the news. Others might have no idea who or what the "robotic suit" was that helped in the attack on the Ten Rings.

Stane knew. He had been in contact with the Ten Rings since he was the one who asked for their help to get rid of the Stark brat. Of course, the stupid greed of one of their commanders had prevented Tony's death. That had infuriated Obadiah so much that he had promised to kill him himself.

It wasn't necessary; Tony had done it. Obadiah knew it had to be him. Raza had sent him some images of what they had managed to find in the desert after Tony's departure. It was rough and clearly made hastily, but the basics were there. Obadiah had planned to travel personally to see it, but recent events had changed that plan.

He entered his office with some sweat on his forehead, wondering if Tony would seek revenge against him in the same way he had against the Ten Rings. He poured himself a glass of whiskey and took a long drink. Nothing should go wrong, he told himself. Tony didn't even know he was the one who ordered his kidnapping.

Of course, they weren't on the best terms now and he surely suspected him a lot since he had somewhat confessed to being the one who sold those weapons illegally. But things weren't irreparable; he could fix this, somehow.

"You seem stressed" the voice from the darkness pulled him out of his thoughts, making him almost jump backward. He quickly turned his head to see two intensely red eyes staring at him from the darkness of his office, glowing like two beacons in the dark.

The figure stood up and casually approached him. As his face emerged into the light, his eyes reverted to an ordinary light brown, losing that supernatural glow.

The man stood beside him and took his own glass of whiskey, pouring it slowly.

"You..." Obadiah swallowed hard. He knew he would come but didn't expect to see him so soon.

"Surprised? You shouldn't be. With what's happened, things have become... difficult, if you know what I mean" The man walked over to the large window in Obadiah's office, looking out at the view with a subtle smile on his face, a smile that soon turned into cold fury.

"The Mandarin is not pleased with this, Stane. The Ten Rings have lost much of their influence in Central Asia. He wants answers, he wants those responsible to pay" He looked at him, his eyes glowing once more, radiating an inhuman heat.

"Tell me, are you responsible for this?"

Stane trembled, his throat dry and his hands starting to sweat. He shook his head quickly, almost stammering as he spoke.

"Of course not! I ordered Tony to be killed immediately, but it was his man, Raza, who was greedy. He let him live and now he wears that metal suit" It was better to completely deflect the blame; the Mandarin was not someone Stane wanted to cross, not in a million years.

The man smiled mockingly.

"You blame a dead man? You know the dead can't pay for their mistakes, so the living must"

Stane frowned deeply.

"What... what do you mean?" he asked hesitantly.

The man snapped his fingers, and a cloth that had been covering part of Obadiah's office fell. Obadiah hadn't noticed it before, given the size of his office, but now he saw it and what was behind it.

With wide eyes, Obadiah approached the metallic remains and picked up the steel helmet from the pile of cables and pieces.

"This is what you were going to steal from Raza. Certainly innovative, don't you think?" The man stood beside him, observing the remains of the Mark 1.

"How?" Obadiah turned in panic, realizing that his plans had been uncovered.

The man sneered but didn't respond. He took the steel helmet from Obadiah's hands and spoke clearly and coldly.

"The Mandarin will not tolerate more mistakes. The blood of his men flows over the grounds of Afghanistan like a crimson river. He wants revenge, and you will be the one to pull the trigger" His hands began to glow a bright orange that soon turned to a brilliant yellow.

The steel in his hands melted, dripping from between his fingers like water. Obadiah took two steps back in evident fear.

"I don't—" He tried to refuse, but eyes as fiery as flames stopped him from finishing his words.

"This is not a request. Either you kill Tony Stark and this "Defiant" or you will be the one to face the consequences" The man calmly wiped his hands with a handkerchief and then pulled something from an inner pocket of his chest.

Obadiah's eyes widened as he saw the vial glowing with an orange liquid inside.

"T-this is!?"

"Beautiful, isn't it? More power than anyone could imagine in the palm of my hand" The man took the vial and placed it in Stane's hands.

"The latest and improved Extremis formula, a completely stable serum... No matter how, you have to kill them both, do you hear me?" Stane nodded, feeling the heat emanating from the vial in his hands.

He held it tightly, almost fearing it would be taken away. The man smiled and patted his back.

"Then I'll leave it to you. Remember, the Mandarin never forgets"

Obadiah watched Aldrich Killian's back as he walked away and left his office. The air rushed out of his lungs as if he had been holding it the entire time. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked again at the vial in his hands. He couldn't help but let a wide smile form on his face.

Not only that, he looked at the remains of the Mark 1 and the blueprints taped to the side. The Mandarin's men must have recovered them along with the pieces. If he had these two things, maybe... no! He could definitely do it!

He could get out of this. He would kill Tony and that stupid hero in tights. Then he would find a way to make the Mandarin kneel before him.

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Daniel returned to Smallville and entered his farm cautiously. He dragged his body to the living room and looked around. He didn't remember it being so clean; he could even see his reflection on the floor.

He looked at himself, his suit covered in dirt and blood—definitely not a pleasant sight.

He had come back because he didn't think Harleen would be too happy if he stained her apartment with blood and dirt.

He saw the sunlight starting to come through the window; dawn was approaching. He decided to take a quick shower and maybe a nap. He wasn't physically tired, but he was mentally exhausted.

He heard the door open behind him and felt Carol rushing toward him. Before he could warn her, he felt her embrace him, almost hearing his ribs creak. "This girl... really doesn't know how to hold back eh?"

"You're back!" she almost shouted, a big smile on her face. Daniel looked at her and gave her a tired smile.

"Maybe you shouldn't hug me right now" he said, causing her smile to fade and her brow to furrow deeply. Daniel then pointed to himself, and it was then that Carol noticed the dirt and blood covering him. She looked at herself, realizing her clothes were already stained.

"Oh..."

Daniel gently pushed her away and looked at her. She had arrived quite quickly, almost at the same time as he did.

"When was the last time you slept?" he couldn't help but ask.

Carol brushed off some of the dirt and looked at him thoughtfully.

"Since we started training? Maybe a few days before that"

That was concerning. Daniel didn't know much about Carol's biology, but so far, she didn't seem much different from humans and Viltrumites. That's why he remembered what Harleen had said several days ago.

"You should start sleeping more, you need rest" Carol blinked in confusion and chuckled a little.

"No, we don't need to sleep" she said plainly. They never got tired, so why waste time sleeping?

Daniel sighed, went to his sofa, and slumped down on it, not caring if he dirtied it or not. Carol followed him and pouted as she watched him sit down.

"You know, getting stains out is quite difficult..." She gestured to the sofa, but Daniel simply waved his hand.

"Don't worry about that. I'll just buy a new one or something" Honestly, he didn't care right now.

"Let's not change the subject. You need to start resting. Physically, we may not get tired, but mentally, we still can" Carol sat beside him, studying his face, noticing something odd in his expression.

"If I say I will, will you tell me what's going on?"

Daniel stayed silent. He didn't exactly know what to say. How do you express the feeling that comes to you after possibly killing hundreds of people?

He looked at Carol. There weren't many people he could vent to these days. Harleen would probably be willing to listen, but he felt he had already burdened her enough. Adding more to her plate just didn't feel right.

He scratched his head, tousling his hair, thinking about his next words.

"When I started doing this, I told myself there would be no games, no second chances for monsters, and I wouldn't leave things half-done. I committed to doing whatever it takes, but now I'm not sure if that's right"

He looked at his hands. He had thought his resolve was stronger than this, that he was stronger than this.

Carol took his hand, staining her hand with red, the blood standing out starkly against her fair skin. Despite this, she didn't let go and helped him remove his gloves.

"When we met, you told me that you didn't accept a world like this, a world where people couldn't live without fear" She looked directly at him.

""Isn't it supposed that you should defy all injustice?" So why doubt? Those were nothing but monsters terrorizing people; their lives had no value. Getting rid of them was the right thing to do" Her voice was cold, and Daniel could see that she firmly believed in what she was saying.

"So don't worry, you're a hero. What you do is right and for the good of others. I'm sure those people in Afghanistan who had been living under their rule will be very happy now that they are free, and that's thanks to you, because you saved them"

Daniel thought about it. He didn't know for sure if it would be like that, but at least many families wouldn't have to worry about losing their children or parents, at least not at the hands of the Ten Rings.

"Maybe you're right" he said, not wanting to argue anymore.

"Of course, I am, because I know you're doing the right thing" she said. Carol didn't think too much about what Daniel had done. As she had said, she thought Daniel did what was necessary, whether he killed one person or a thousand didn't matter. In her eyes, his actions must be justified

Carol helped him to his feet.

"Come on, you need a shower" He let her drag him; his body felt heavy.

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Tony entered his workshop with a cup of coffee in hand. After returning from Afghanistan, he had removed the Mark 2 and taken a long shower. He didn't think about sleeping, not now. This trip had brought certain revelations, and ideas had been pounding in his head, demanding to be implemented.

"I need to improve the reactor protection system" he massaged his chest, although barely noticeable, a red line crossed through his skin.

Not only there, his body had a lot of small wounds that had accumulated throughout the conflict. Fortunately, they could all be treated in private.

The destruction of the Ten Rings' bases, combined with his fight with "the monster," had taken a considerable toll on his body. He had been too impulsive, not properly testing the impact cushioning system, resulting in numerous bruises covering his body.

The Mark 2 wasn't better off either. Although it was an amazing piece of engineering ahead of its time, it wasn't indestructible. Tony himself didn't have much experience in handling it, although he learned quickly. That cost him several direct hits that he could have avoided, compromising its structure, making the accumulated damages too much to justify investing in its repair. It simply wasn't worth the cost.

That's why he started a new project, the Mark 3.

After witnessing firsthand what Defiant was capable of, he realized he had been underestimating him. The guy was a monster; Tony had seen all the weaponry possible within those bases hit him directly and barely ruffle his hair.

He had created those weapons, so he knew perfectly well what they were capable of, and none had even caused the slightest harm to him. Hell, they barely managed to scratch his clothes, which left him completely perplexed. What the hell was his suit made of?

The Mark had been designed with the best alloys he could get and the most resistant materials, yet it seemed like he had walked into a blender. Meanwhile, Defiant's clothes were almost intact in the end.

Of course, Raza had a lot to do with it, but the point still stood; his armor wasn't resilient enough.

"Jarvis, analyze all the data we have so far. Give me an estimate of how resistant Defiant is" he requested. A series of projected screens unfolded at his inquiry, calculations of hundreds of pages carried out in seconds, and soon Jarvis's voice was heard.

"Do you want the short answer or the long answer, sir?"

"Give me the short one. I trust you" There was no way Jarvis could be wrong in his calculations.

"There's no weapon, apart from nuclear weaponry, theoretically capable of harming him. Although there could be two materials capable of doing so" Tony almost demanded to recalculate until he heard the last part.

"One should be Vibranium, right? Considering its characteristics, there's no doubt it could stand up to him. But the problem is that the majority of it on the planet was used to make the most expensive frisbee"

Vibranium was and had been the most coveted material by the world's arms manufacturers. It was a shame that all that existed had been used and lost during World War II.

"Remember the rumors that spread a few years ago, sir? About the illegal trade of Vibranium on the black market?" Tony furrowed his brow. Of course, he remembered them. He had heard of them but hadn't taken them seriously, thinking they were just false rumors. And since he had been more occupied with dating models than attending to his company, he had never really thought to investigate them thoroughly.

Maybe it was time to change that.

"Tell me about the other one" he asked curiously. He had heard of Vibranium but never of anything comparable.

Jarvis then displayed the information in front of him.

"Adamantium..." he read through all the information Jarvis had on the synthetic material, theoretically indestructible. Nothing they threw at the little they had managed to create could damage it, not even nuclear weaponry.

One would think that such a discovery would have been more widely known and used.

The problem lay in the process of its creation; it was extremely complicated and costly. A single mistake would mean the loss of hundreds of millions. Additionally, shaping it was extremely difficult, and once hardened, it was impossible to reforge into something different.

Moreover, the method for synthesizing it was a closely guarded state secret. Now that he had turned his back on the arms trade, and therefore the military, obtaining the method to create it legally would be impossible.

Thinking about all this, several ideas began to flood his mind.

"Jarvis, pull up all the data recorded on my father's study of Vibranium" Maybe obtaining either of these two materials would be extremely difficult if not impossible, but no one said he couldn't create his own.

After all, someone accidentally created adamantium during World War II.

Tony didn't trust luck, so he knew this wouldn't be easy, but he was confident he could achieve it with enough time and effort.

On the other hand, he needed a more immediate solution. Problems wouldn't wait; his luck wasn't that good. So, he had to find a way to improve more immediately. As he contemplated this, his eyes met the holographic screens.

"Energy projection?"

An idea struck him; perhaps this could work.

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Note:

I don't know how there are authors capable of writing a daily chapter, they're probably half Chinese or something hahaha.

The next update of Still Defiant is now available on Patreon (patreon.com/EmmaCruzader) and soon there will be another chapter there, If you don't want to wait for a public update, you can take a look at it n.n

 

[Emma Cruzader]

As promised on my Patreon, I will make original illustrations of the characters in my stories, the possible sketches and previews will be seen there, the complete illustration will be available 12 hours up to a week before (the same as the chapters) in the best possible quality on patreon and later I will publish them on the sites where I upload this story if possible, if not then I will leave a link to my Twitter where they will also be published after the grace time stipulated above.

After quite a while I finally have a preliminary design of Carol, (this is an illustration of her wearing a normal hero outfit, I'm still not clear about the design of the hooded cape and the mask) I still think I need to add a few more things, but I think the design is almost complete. At least in regards to the face and body characteristics, I don't think I will change anything, I will mainly focus on improving the suit.

 

[Emma Cruzader]

21: Last Daughter

Daniel dried his hair and left the bathroom with his mind less dazed than before. He tossed the towel into the laundry basket and went to the kitchen where Carol, who had changed clothes, was preparing a traditional breakfast.

Watching her from behind, Daniel thought about everything that had happened since he found her, about all the time he had spent around her. It was a lot, enough for his mind to remember various things but at the same time too little. There was something strange about it; he only needed to look at Tony's armor in person once to start remembering who and why he was behind that armor.

He even remembered the name he would later bear, Iron Man.

The same thing happened with Matt; he only needed to find him once to remember several important things about his. With neither of them could he say he knew exactly everything he should have known, but at least now he knew their basic backgrounds and had a clear idea of who they were. Over time, his memories about them would fully return even if he no longer interacted with them.

But Carol... there were things, small clues that left little flashes of information but at the same time, if compared, it was like picking up crumbs compared to what he got from Tony and Matt... why? He couldn't help but have that question swirling in his head since he started investigating the radiation that Greg emitted.

Somehow he knew that this radiation was not natural, at least not on Earth. It had to come from another place, another world, and he knew that this world should be the home world where Carol came from.

He felt an instinctive connection, but why didn't that fact reveal more to him? Why did she still have a dark cloud covering the information that, logically, should have been revealed to him long ago? My god, he had spent entire weeks just interacting with this girl!

What made her special? Apart from everything else that was obvious, of course.

It was that veil of mystery around her that made him unconsciously defensive when dealing with her, even if he could clearly see that she was completely on his side. He couldn't trust her due to his own biases born of a subconscious paranoia.

In a somewhat sinister way, he knew that if he told her right here and now to leave her home and go with him without even giving a valid reason, she would follow... because it was obvious to him that she trusted him to that extent. That was another reason he didn't want to get too close; having so much influence over another person's decisions and actions was something he didn't know how to handle.

Especially when that person was a super-powered teenager who could probably destroy the world if things got out of control.

That's why dealing with Harleen was so easy. He knew who she was, where she could go, and what she could become, and how to largely prevent that from happening. It helped that she was attractive and getting along with her was easy. You could say that leaving Smallville for a while was also partly a way to distance himself from Carol for a few days and spend more time with Harleen.

She was a grounded, adult woman who could easily remind him of his humanity just by spending time with her. And for Daniel, losing his humanity was the one thing he wouldn't allow; it was something he needed to protect to keep being Defiant.

"What's wrong?" Carol turned to look at him, her light blue eyes as dazzling as ever. Daniel avoided looking at her too much since it was easy for his gaze to wander if he wasn't careful. Beauty was hard to resist, after all.

"I need to talk to you about something important," he approached the kitchen and said, looking at her seriously. It was time to try to resolve some mysteries that wouldn't let him rest.

Avoiding her was too childish, and now that his investigation was on pause, he had no excuse to keep avoiding solving the mystery surrounding her. Besides, he needed to deal with the source of the radiation in Smallville before another Greg decided to suddenly appear.

Like killing several birds with one stone, simple.

Carol looked at him and stopped cooking. It was easy to get her attention.

"I discovered something while doing my investigation I—" Daniel's words were cut off by the sound of Carol crushing the cooking spoon in her hand. The metal of the kitchen utensil bent like hot plasticine, causing Daniel to raise his eyebrows as Carol's expression remained calm even if her eyes now had a tint of red in them.

Carol looked at the spoon for a moment, easily used her super strength to fix it as best as she could, and then looked back at Daniel.

"What were you saying?"

With no small amount of confusion, Daniel continued.

"While I was investigating the changes in Greg, I found residues of a strange type of radiation inside his body, something never before seen by humanity. Its molecular structure is completely different from any other type of radiation on Earth..."

Carol frowned, not missing the words, never before seen by humanity and any other type of radiation on Earth. Her stomach suddenly sank a bit but she still asked.

"What do you mean?"

"That it might come from the same place as you. Do you remember how it affected you? The way your powers seemed to diminish? I analyzed some of the blood samples you let me take at the same time I did some other experiments" Daniel had taken some of Carol's blood samples to study why she had weakened.

The answer was simple.

"In all my analyses, this new type of radiation has almost negligible effects on other forms of life. Of course, this changes depending on the amount, but in itself, a small dose is as harmless as any other type of radiation. But In you, it's not," he pointed at her.

"Or more precisely, in your cells. Even the smallest exposure causes a process of cellular degradation. Of course, the solar energy within you helps combat this, but the greater and more prolonged the radiation exposure, the faster the solar energy depletes to prevent the radiation from poisoning you. This indirectly causes your powers to diminish slowly."

It was a fascinating process to observe. The blood samples managed to withstand several days of significant radiation exposure until the solar energy in them was exhausted. Then their structure began to collapse rapidly. Without solar energy, Carol could only survive a few seconds in the presence of large amounts of this radiation. With solar energy, although she would be affected and begin to weaken slowly, she could still survive for a very long time.

Carol took a few moments to process this. While she didn't understand how Greg ended up with this type of radiation in his body, the fact that it might have come from the same place as her certainly left her bewildered.

"But how?" she asked, and Daniel responded with something he had already theorized.

"I think it came with you in that meteor shower."

Carol looked up, recalling the circumstances of her arrival on Earth. The event was famous in Smallville, and she hadn't thought much about it until now.

In fact, she hadn't thought much about her true origins, the place she came from.

Ever since she found out she wasn't human, she hadn't wanted to dig too deep into it. There was some fear and, at the same time, anger. Why? Why had she been sent to Earth? Why alone? At first, a part of her wanted to know, but over time, a larger part of her began to lose interest. Maybe it was childish, but if she had been abandoned or thrown away like garbage, it wasn't something she wanted to know.

She used to look at the stars, searching among them for some clue, but soon decided it wasn't worth it. Over time, she thought about it less and less, to the point where she thought she might forget it altogether.

She was too focused on living her current life to waste time thinking about a place she had never seen, a distant and illusory place, a place where she had never been and probably never would be, and about which she knew nothing. She really lost the desire to know that place over time, to the point where even the smallest interest began to fade. Was it really necessary for her to learn more about that place when her life was and always had been on Earth?

She looked at Daniel. If it were possible, she wouldn't want to find out more, but she could see the curiosity in his blue eyes. She almost got lost in them for a moment but managed to come back to the present. If he wanted to know, then why not? In fact, this could work quite well—a secret that only they shared. It sounded quite romantic in her mind.

"Maybe it's time I find out where I come from," she said, looking in the direction where she and Daniel had hidden her ship.

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After finishing their breakfast, they decided to set off.

Daniel waited under a tree, watching Carol return from her parents' house. She had said she needed to pick up something before they left together. He thought she would want to do this on her own and then tell him what she had found, but she insisted that he come with her and do this together, so he didn't refuse.

"All set?" he asked when she reached his side. She nodded, showing him a dark metallic, elongated cylindrical object with some kind of emblem engraved on one end.

Daniel frowned at the sight of the S-shaped engraving on the object. Some images came back to his mind, but they were still incomplete. It was so frustrating.

Seeing his interest in the object, Carol explained what little she knew.

"My parents said this came with me in the ship. I'm not exactly sure what it's for, but I think we'll need it." She remembered seeing an empty space in the ship with a similar shape where this might fit.

Daniel took the object Carol handed to him. The material and texture were strange, with intricate engravings and geometric patterns of unknown purpose around its surface. It was undoubtedly something that seemed otherworldly.

"Then let's go." He handed the object back to her and carefully looked around. Moving through Smallville was still somewhat complicated but less so than before. Enough time had passed for the town to calm down. It wasn't the same as it used to be, but for Carol and Daniel, it was easy to navigate through it and leave with their super speed.

They soon covered hundreds of kilometers, deep into a forest. Remembering the location was easy for both of them. Daniel looked at the huge rock they had used to cover the entrance of the cave and easily moved it aside. Then they both entered the artificial cavern.

It wasn't natural; it was something they had created specifically in a location and terrain very difficult for humans to access.

The cave was deep, a long path that ended at another entrance to a cavern. This entrance was also blocked by another enormous rock that Carol removed. Then they both ventured inside and saw that in the center of the cavern, covered with several pieces of fabric made from Element V, was the ship.

Carol stepped forward and removed the fabric, revealing the silver-colored ship once again.

Even though Daniel had seen it once before, he still couldn't help but be amazed. After all, it was a genuine spaceship.

Its silver color and surface full of interconnected lines gave it a strange aura. Daniel couldn't help but approach and touch it once more, feeling its metallic texture against his palm. On one side, he saw a hole that he now recognized as the place where the strange object Carol had shown him should go.

He didn't stay close for too long; he carefully stepped back a few paces and looked at Carol. Now, everything depended on her.

Carol looked at the ship, unsure of what to think or feel, but she had made a decision. It was time to see what secrets this thing could reveal to her. She just hoped it wouldn't be a disappointment or this trip would have been all in vain.

She took out the cylindrical object and carefully began to insert it into where she believed it should go. It easily slid in more than halfway and then stopped.

She frowned slightly and, with some hesitation, used her palm to push the object fully inside.

Then a light began to illuminate the entire place.

Daniel watched and felt the light hit his face with astonishment. It was warm and welcoming, like the gentle embrace of a mother.

It was strange. How was it possible that a light projection could generate such clear sensations and feelings?

he watched as Carol looked somewhat bewildered by the light, then slowly, the light converged in front of the ship, forming a highly advanced projection of a figure.

Carol took a few steps back upon seeing the figure that had formed in front of her.

From the side, Daniel looked at Carol and then at the projected figure. He could easily deduce the relationship between them just by comparing their appearances.

"My dear daughter, you have grown so much," a voice, soft and feminine, swept through the area like a gentle breeze. Carol blinked, at a loss for words.

The figure approached her, looking her up and down as someone might look at something of immeasurable value.

"Tell me, how have you been?" the figure asked. Carol opened her mouth and then closed it. What should she say? It was strange and unexpected, this woman calling her her daughter... She couldn't help but frown; she didn't like it at all.

"Who are you?" she asked, and seeing her cautious gaze, the figure's smile faltered slightly.

"I am your mother... or at least what remains of her, just a remnant, a part of her consciousness stored in this ship," she gestured to Carol's ship.

The woman tried to caress Carol's cheek, but she backed away a bit, making the woman sigh. Then she looked at Daniel with curiosity.

"And who are you?"

Daniel blinked and raised his hands.

"You can ignore me; I'm only here because of her," he gestured to Carol, who had been the one to bring him along in the first place.

The woman raised an eyebrow and looked deeply at Carol, who nodded towards her with clear affirmation in her gaze.

"it's ok, he came with me. I have... a lot to ask and I need answers," the woman fell silent for a few seconds but still nodded in understanding.

"I have waited for this day for a long time. The ship has been in stasis and could only be reactivated by the master key and by you. It's good that you have finally decided to do so," she had been waiting, dormant but somehow aware that at some point, she would have to awaken. She hoped it would be sooner rather than later, but it was never too late, even if it wasn't when she expected.

"Where do you want me to start?" she asked, and Carol hesitated for a moment before responding.

"Just start," she had no idea what to ask, so she decided to leave it to her.

The woman seemed pensive for a few moments before reaching out her hand. Her actions were extremely natural and fluid, and Daniel would have truly believed she was there in front of them if he didn't know she was just an image.

In the palm of her hand, a second projection of high resolution and extremely detailed began to form—a planet, one very similar to Earth.

"You come from a distant planet called Krypton," Carol looked at the image. Even if she was reluctant, she couldn't help but let some of the curiosity that still lingered in her awaken.

"It was a very beautiful and vast planet, with a large population and diverse fauna. But with an environment slightly more hostile than that of this planet. We Kryptonians spread across its surface, colonizing every part of it. Our civilization was beautiful," the woman looked at the projected world affectionately. But Daniel and Carol noticed the past tense in her words.

"Then we decided it was time to expand, to go beyond our world... to the stars," in the projection, thousands of ships departed from the world, into the vast universe.

"We managed to explore our solar system, then the nearest solar systems to it. We discovered many amazing things by stepping foot on other worlds. The yellow suns in them gave us strength and power beyond comparison, causing our expansion to grow even larger. We formed alliances, made friends and enemies, and over time, the empire of Krypton grew larger and larger, although we never completely left our home planet. Our activities expanded far beyond it."

Several images were shown, displaying the glorious feats of the Kryptonians, showing their past and how their people navigated the cosmos.

The smile on the woman's face faded.

"Then He Happened..." her words were almost a whisper, the projection abruptly changed, and the revealed image caused Daniel's pupils to shrink.

In the projection, a titanic humanoid figure stood before Carol's homeworld, adorned in futuristic purple armor. Yet, perhaps the most striking aspect was the scepter in its hands, emitting a brilliant purple light that flooded the entire space with raw power.

In the projection they could see how this being approached Krypton, hundreds of Kryptonian ships returned from space and countless small figures flew out of them fighting against the being head on in a battle without equal.

"His name is Galactus, the Devourer of Worlds. He has existed since before the creation of the universe. Some perceive him as a natural force of the cosmos, while others worship him as a deity. However, labeling him as a god would be inadequate, for even gods bow before him."

The figure of the giant of unimaginable proportions became clearer, his face looked too humanoid.

"krypton was an ancient planet, its core was old, and we knew its natural life would end at any moment. He knew this too, and that's why he arrived."

Daniel looked at the projected being and cold sweat ran down his back, this being, he knew it, had plagued his thoughts as one of the concerns why he could not remain calm.

Although what he remembered of him were vague images, they were enough to give him a sense of unparalleled crisis every time they crossed his mind.

It was one of the greatest threats Daniel could remember and one of the reasons he sought to become stronger..

Carol watched the projection in disbelief. Countless Kryptonians engaged Galactus in the void of space, yet the outcome was not as hoped. Their numbers dwindled continuously, and to her incredulity, the battle seemed to reach a stalemate. Even when the Devourer of Worlds was wounded, he persisted in his advance toward Krypton.

The purple light from the scepter swept through space, wreaking havoc upon all it touched.

"Although the yellow sun gives us unparalleled powers, the red sun that illuminates Krypton does not. In that battle, all the Kryptonians who had gone to explore the stars returned, thousands of them recharged with the energy of the yellow sun. Even so, that energy could not be replenished under the presence of the red sun. Gradually, their strength waned, and the powers granted by the light of the yellow sun did too."

Carol saw it. With each passing second, more and more Kryptonians fell. At first, Galactus could not even approach the planet. Even with his powerful scepter, his power could not withstand thousands of Kryptonian soldiers recharged with the light of a yellow star mercilessly charging at him.

They broke his armor and tore his energy body without mercy, but Galactus looked like a cockroach, no matter the wounds he resisted, resisted until the strength of the Kryptonians was sapped by the red sun that illuminated their world.

The one who had given life to their species now took away their strength to protect their world.

"Krypton was going to fall, we all realized it, but no one stopped fighting. It was our home, our world. Although we had explored the stars, we had never colonized other worlds. We didn't think it was necessary, and that was our mistake," the woman looked at the images with sadness.

"Your father and I were scientists and tried to use Krypton's most advanced weapons to hold out a little longer. Even so, we knew the end was inevitable." Beams of yellow solar energy were fired at the Kryptonian army to artificially recharge their powers, but at the same time, Galactus extended his hand, causing Krypton's core to begin destabilizing and fragments of the planet started being abruptly torn away, bright green crystals flooding space.

It was then that the Kryptonian army fell.

Galactus arrived at the planet and began to devour its energy, devastating it mercilessly, causing visible havoc from space.

"The end was imminent, we knew it, and even if we were not willing to fall like this, there was nothing we could do to prevent it. We had no options left, not for us at least, but you... both of you still had hope."

Carol frowned.

"Both?" she asked hesitantly.

"You and your brother," she said, and looked at her with sadness, a look that showed a pain very few could understand and somehow made Carol feel some pity for her.

The projection changed, showing two small babies being placed each in their own individual ship.

"We didn't want you to share the same fate as us, so we planned to send you far away, to a place where you would be safe. We wanted to send you together, but all the advanced ships were being used for the battle. Your father managed to salvage some old single-passenger models and hastily adapted them for you."

In the image, a man moved quickly, modifying the ships at full speed in what looked like a messy lab. Blood trickled down the side of his head; he was injured but didn't stop working.

Soon both ships were ready, and a baby was placed in each.

Carol looked at the two small figures with amazement and disbelief.

The two ships took off, both navigating the sky in the same direction, but something went wrong. One of the planet's debris hit one of the ships, diverting its trajectory closer to Galactus. The giant noticed the small ship and extended his hand.

He took it between his fingers and brought it towards his mouth, then with one bite, the ship was devoured before Carol's horrified eyes.

"Even with the best calculations, we couldn't prevent it. We couldn't save him," Carol's mother looked at the image with a sadness that could be felt, her eyes were teary, but no tears came out; she couldn't cry, not anymore, even if she wanted to.

Carol stood still, feeling numb, watching as her home world was devoured until it disappeared in a great explosion, not knowing what to say or feel.

"His name, what was his name?" remembering the image of that small baby in the ship, she couldn't help but ask.

The woman turned off the projection, bringing the cavern back to its original darkness, and answered with sorrow in her voice.

"His name was Kal-El, and he was your older brother."

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Night had fallen again. Carol and Daniel returned to the Evans farm and sat on the porch, looking up at the sky, each lost in their own thoughts.

Carol was thinking about everything she had learned, everything she could have had but lost.

Daniel, for his part, was quite worried and relieved at the same time.

Galactus—thinking about him was another headache he didn't want to deal with, so he directed his attention to something else, at least temporarily.

Carol... Kal-El, Superman.

Now he remembered almost everything, now he understood why he couldn't find out more about Carol despite spending so much time around her. Unlike Tony and Matt, she wasn't directly the source of his lost memories. Sure, she was extremely related, but she wasn't him, she wasn't Clark Kent.

Once he heard the true name of the last son of Krypton, it was as if that closed door had shattered and an avalanche of memories flooded his mind.

The world's greatest hero was dead or missing, never having made it to Earth, and instead, someone else took his place.

Something that wasn't supposed to happen had happened...

Remembering one of his disadvantages, he couldn't help but wonder if this was his fault.

[Madness Mashup in the World: things that shouldn't exist do exist, and they're all a problem]

He hadn't understood it at first, but now maybe he could get an idea...

He glanced at Carol out of the corner of his eye. Now that he knew her true identity and origin, there was no longer any reason to draw a barrier between them. In fact, now that he knew the truth, he felt incredibly foolish for having worried about her and her future.

Well, maybe not so much. Carol wasn't at all like the Clark Kent in his memories. Sure, she had grown up on a farm raised by two loving parents, but... she was different.

Clark was like a beacon of hope, lighting up the world, a pillar of justice, truth, and good.

Carol... she might have the same blood running through her veins, but... she wasn't like him. He didn't know why, what made them so different? He thought for a second about the theory of the good twin and the evil twin, and for a moment he wondered if Carol was really the evil twin.

But that was stupid... she wasn't that bad, most of the time, but she wasn't a being of light full of goodness either. She was... simply herself.

He decided to stop thinking about it. Searching for explanations about how and why people turn out so different even if they come from the same place made no sense. Every individual has their own personality and traits independent of their origin or upbringing.

Carol was simply Carol.

With this new understanding, he couldn't help but relax around her in a way he never had before.

But he couldn't fully enjoy it, at least not as much as he would have liked.

Because the threat he feared, he now knew, was real and out there, in deep space, destroying worlds and entire civilizations.

At any moment, it could come to Earth, and he wasn't sure he could save this planet, its people. He didn't believe he would die against it; he had many ways to survive, and wandering through space was easy for a Viltrumite.

If he wanted, he could go anywhere in the universe.

But Earth and its inhabitants were another matter. What purpose did his life, his existence, have if he simply escaped and let humanity be destroyed?

What meaning would he have in such a situation?

If he fled, what would differentiate him from trash?

No, actually, trash would be better because at least trash serves the function of being trash.

Without humanity, what function did he have?

He couldn't allow this world to be destroyed. He would rather die again than let something like that happen.

If the worst came to pass, he would simply take as many humans as he could and find a new planet, create a new Earth.

And he would find a way to avenge the old one.

Avenge, huh...

No matter what, as long as there was life in his body, he would not allow humanity to be destroyed.

If necessary, he would force humanity's evolution. Of course, he didn't want to use that method.

He wanted to be a hero; if he used the most radical method, he would end up being nothing but a conqueror.

A dictator, a monster.

And deep down, he was pretty sure that if cornered, he wouldn't hesitate to do whatever was necessary, no matter how horrible and cruel it might be.

Wow, those thoughts were too dark; he needed to correct that. Maybe it was time to get some therapy. He wondered if Harleen would be willing to help him with that.

"Do you think blonde would suit me?"

The unexpected question snapped Daniel out of his deep thoughts. He blinked and looked at Carol, who was playing with one of her locks and looking at him.

"Why do you ask?" It was a strange, out-of-the-blue question. He expected her to be more focused on the new discoveries they had made.

"I think I want to dye my hair, you know, just to change my style or something," she said, trying not to sound too obvious and looking at him with a hint of anticipation.

"I think you look pretty good with your natural color; it makes your eyes stand out," Daniel said, unsure of what else to respond. Sure, blonde was good, but he didn't think there was a dye that could really penetrate Carol's hair, at least not one that would withstand the friction from her speed without wearing off.

His answer made Carol frown.

"Really? So you prefer the dark color?" she asked, pointing to her hair. Daniel hesitated for a fraction of a second before responding, a fraction that felt like hours to Carol.

"I think any color is fine as long as you like it," he shrugged. Denying that he liked blonde would be a lie, but it wasn't as if it was something too important. In retrospect, any color was fine as long as the person wearing it liked it.

'But I want you to like it,' Carol thought with a pout. She sighed and leaned back in her chair before patting her bag and pulling out a 15-centimeter-long white crystal out of her bag.

It was almost transparent, and if one looked at it casually, it would just seem like a piece of jewelry, like a quartz crystal you might see being sold in shops for just a few dollars.

"Have you decided what you're going to do with it?" Daniel asked, looking at the crystal in her hand. Carol shook her head.

"No idea. Suggestions? Or are you going to say any place is fine too?" She couldn't help but say it with a hint of sarcasm. She regretted it instantly, but before she could say anything to fix it, Daniel spoke.

"Actually, I think there's a very suitable place." Carol looked at him curiously, and Daniel smiled.

"Tell me, do you want to go to Antarctica?"

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Note:

Five thousand words.

I wanted to bring this chapter earlier, but I'm an idiot and I injured myself by mishandling a sharp knife. Blood gushed like a fountain, but I managed to fix it. The only problem is that now I only have 9 fingers to write until I heal, which makes it somewhat uncomfortable to write, but not impossible. I can adapt.

SuperSoldier week ends today, I hope to be able to release another chapter before we return to the usual schedule, then I hope to be able to compensate for the lack of Still Defiant chapters.

You know the drill, comments, suggestions, criticisms, don't hesitate to leave them all!

Tell me what you think of this revelation, what did you think?

 

[Emma Cruzader]

22: Fortress

When the Kryptonians began their expansion through the cosmos, they needed outposts, fortresses where their people could reside comfortably.

Thus, they created a model of structural construction very different from any other species, one that allowed them to quickly and easily create a place for them to inhabit, no matter the world they were on.

Daniel looked pensively at the white, almost transparent crystal, about 15 centimeters long, in his hand.

What did he remember about this? Truthfully, he remembered quite a bit, but all those memories were somewhat confusing because the "fortress" was always something strange that was represented in different ways over time.

He couldn't tell, just by looking at the crystal in his hand, what kind of structure he would encounter once it was deployed.

"A Kryptonian meta-structure, that's interesting," Daniel returned the white crystal to Carol, who received it and nodded.

It was the morning after Carol discovered her true origin. In reality, there was more conversation between Carol and her mother, but Daniel decided to leave them alone during that time. Sometimes people needed privacy, and he could see that "Lara" needed that privacy with her daughter, even if now she was nothing more than a remnant.

It was strange to remember someone's name out of nowhere, but he supposed he would have to get used to it as it happened more frequently these days.

"So, what will you do? I gave you some suggestions considering what you've told me about this, but it seems that you are still waiting," Carol looked at him and blinked, confused.

Daniel felt a headache. He felt a bit sorry for Lara; that woman didn't know that her daughter had thrown privacy overboard and had come running to tell him everything they had talked about.

Obviously, Daniel and anyone else could infer that the fortress was an inheritance, something only Carol should have. But this girl was so careless that right after receiving it, she brought it to his farm and started chattering about it with him.

Perhaps someone else would have seized this opportunity to get their hands on advanced alien technology. Certainly, Daniel could use it to advance his future plans more quickly.

The problem was that Daniel had no interest in "stealing" from Carol what was rightfully hers.

Not because he didn't think it would be useful—it would be—but his self-imposed morals were in a dilemma. He knew that Carol could be quite... permissive with him. It wasn't new to him that she did that, and he would be very foolish not to notice.

In his most private thoughts, Daniel really believed that if he told her to jump, she would do it, no matter how strange it sounded. This certainly did not please him, especially now that he knew who she really was.

It might sound stupid, but he had a great deal of respect for Superman. He was like an ideal he aspired to reach, even if it was somewhat unrealistic. so having his younger sister in front of him and "taking advantage" of her felt like insulting the man in some way.

Carol looked at him, confused, noticing the strange gleam in his eyes as he looked at her.

Normally, she would have enjoyed being looked at by him, but this time, for some reason, she felt it wasn't a pleasant gaze. Suddenly, she felt like hitting someone but didn't know who.

Without being able to help herself, she suddenly poked him in the forehead, snapping him out of his thoughts abruptly. Daniel blinked, feeling the slight tingling in his head, and couldn't help but look at Carol with clear doubt.

"Don't look at me that way, it's weird," she couldn't help but say.

Way? What way? For his part, Daniel once again found that he didn't understand the thought processes of women.

Carol sighed, took the crystal, and put it in front of Daniel.

"I'm waiting for you," she said, answering his first question.

Daniel rubbed his forehead and looked at her, thinking about what he should say.

"Listen, this is yours, Carol. It's your inheritance. So you should...you know, go and do this alone?"

He didn't want to sound rude, but he could only be direct.

Carol furrowed her brows and pouted.

"Don't you want to see it? I thought you were interested." She looked at the crystal with dismay. In the first place, she didn't care too much about any inheritance. If she had done all this, it was because she thought it could be something they could both share.

"It's interesting, but it's also yours. You know, something important. I thought you'd want to keep it to yourself."

Carol blinked and looked at Daniel. It seemed there was a misunderstanding here. She swallowed and, with some nervousness, moved closer to him. They were both in Daniel's kitchen having breakfast, so it was easy for her to get closer since they were sitting next to each other.

"I want you to do this with me. You said it's important, and important things should be done with important people, right?"

Oh shit, she was giving him puppy eyes. Daniel sighed, looked at her for several seconds, and decided to let her do what she wanted. She was too stubborn, and he didn't feel like changing her mind about something she had already decided.

"Alright, let's do it." In the end, what Carol decided to do with her things was something he couldn't change. If she wanted him there, then he could only comply. After all, it was also his responsibility to take care of her.

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Antarctica, Central Zone

The cold wind, which would have sent any other form of organic life running with its tail between its legs, felt like a refreshing breeze to both of them.

Daniel and Carol looked down from the sky at the white continent. The landscape didn't have much to offer beyond snow and ice everywhere.

"Is it cold?" said Carol awkwardly as she adjusted her grip on her ship. Their capes fluttered in the wind as they landed softly, causing the snow to sink beneath their feet.

Carol set her ship down on the ground and looked at Daniel, waiting for his opinion.

"Cold and desolate, the best place to hide something you don't want anyone to find," he said. There were other options, of course, but Daniel believed that the more complicated and dangerous it was for ordinary people to access, the safer it would be.

They were currently at the epicenter of the frozen continent, a place that could be considered the most inhospitable on Earth. For Daniel, there was no better option than this.

Of course, what he wanted and what Carol wanted could be different.

"Though this is the most logical option, tell me what you think. Maybe you want a more... welcoming landscape?" Carol walked around as if inspecting the terrain, pretending to squint for a few moments. Then she smiled and spoke clearly.

"I'm not someone who cares much about those things. Besides, you're right that this place is the best for hiding it. You're never wrong when it comes to thinking about precautions."

What she really meant was that it was fine as long as he thought it was fine.

She took the crystal she had been holding and walked to a place that seemed stable with a large flat surface.

"Are you ready?" she asked with clear excitement. While she wasn't too interested in her inheritance, that didn't mean that trying out "alien technology" didn't excite her at all.

She could appreciate technology as much as anyone else.

"As long as nothing explodes," Daniel joked, but he stepped back several paces just in case. Carol saw him and laughed, then decisively buried the crystal halfway into the icy ground and pressed one of its sides with her thumb. The crystal suddenly began to glow with lights of different colors, with unknown energy emanating from it.

Carol stepped back beside Daniel, and they both watched as the crystal suddenly sank deeply into the ground by itself. Then there was a slight tremor that shook the entire area.

Then it began.

Any other human would have taken longer to notice, but both of them could immediately see the change. First, it was a small fragment of white crystal, then two, three, four. Rapidly, the crystals began to create and grow by themselves.

The count was lost as their size began to increase. Layer upon layer of crystalline structure formed, and in less than a minute, a structure at least five or six stories high took shape. It appeared semi-triangular with crystals of hundreds of meters protruding from it.

Certainly, an alien architecture.

The ice in the area trembled for a few more seconds until everything stabilized and only "silence" remained.

They both looked at the building in amazement. A glow of various colors projected between the crystals, giving it an "ethereal" appearance, but soon that glow faded, leaving only the white behind.

"Well, it's a bit conspicuous?" Daniel said, and Carol nodded. Although from a distance, maybe it could blend in with the Arctic ice, it was obvious that it wasn't a natural structure. If someone got close enough, they could discover it with just a bit of common sense.

Daniel frowned thoughtfully. Perhaps over time, snow could cover the place and hide it better, but how long would that take? It wasn't a small structure, after all.

"Hey, do you want to learn something interesting?" Daniel said, and Carol turned to look at him with clear interest in her eyes.

Actually, Daniel should have taught her this before, but he had been putting it off for no particular reason. The opportunity simply never arose, well, not until now.

Daniel pointed to his lips, pursed them, and tightened as if he was going to whistle to indicate what he meant.

Carol blinked and then blushed, shyly looking at him and then at the ground.

"H-here, in this place?!" Daniel raised his eyebrows at the strange reaction.

"Of course, I don't think there's a better moment. Besides, I think it's time. I've postponed it too long, unintentionally, which wasn't fair to you," he said firmly. After all, he had promised to teach her everything he knew.

Carol felt her heart start to beat too fast. They were in Antarctica, the coldest point on the planet, and yet she felt the heat beginning to reach her head.

She couldn't help but rub her hands together and squirm nervously. Although she had been waiting for this, she didn't expect it to be now or in this place. Well, it didn't really matter where it was. She licked her lips and nodded to herself. It wasn't time to hesitate!

"O-okay, if you want to do it here, then I have no problem with it." She approached him timidly, anticipation filling her. She felt her legs slightly tremble, but she kept moving forward.

She wanted to look him in the eyes but felt she would faint if she did, so she simply closed them. She took a deep breath, seeking to calm her heart that threatened to leap out of her chest, and lifted her head, not knowing what else to do. She decided to leave it in his hands, surrendering completely to whatever he decided to do with her.

"First, you need to take a deep breath. The freeze breath requires you to use the oxygen in your lungs to create an effect called the Joule-Thomson by releasing the air in a controlled manner. That means you have to control the pressure using your—"

Daniel continued explaining the process in detail. For her part, Carol stood still, immobile like a statue, feeling as if her heart had suddenly been pricked with a needle and burst like a balloon.

She looked at him with a dead gaze, the brightness in her eyes extinguished, and only moved to nod robotically when he asked if she understood.

"Alright, let's go. I think we can create a good camouflage this way."

They both circled the new crystalline structure. With some annoyance, Carol took a deep breath and then followed the steps exactly as Daniel had taught her. Cold air began to flow from her lips in a controlled manner, and soon ice started to form over part of the artificial crystals.

In less than a minute, they managed to camouflage the structure, carefully modifying the terrain so that it appeared to be just more ice in a continent where everything was ice.

"What do you think?" Daniel asked, looking at how it was now difficult to tell if there had ever been an alien structure there. The only clue was an opening resembling a cave entrance left where the "door" should be.

Carol looked at him with annoyance, sighed, and let her body relax. She smiled slightly and gave a thumbs-up in approval.

"No one will notice anything," she said, walking to her ship where she took out the key and looked at it.

It was strange to know that the "consciousness" of her biological "mother" was housed in something so small and fragile-looking. And not only that, if what she had said was true, all of Krypton's knowledge was stored in this key—all the history, from the beginning to the end of an entire civilization, in the palm of her hand...

And she could simply squeeze it a little and turn it into dust...

"Let's go," Daniel said as he approached and lifted the ship over his head. Carol nodded, and they both walked towards the "door." Carol looked at the crystalline wall and raised her hand, following the instructions her "mother" had given her.

When her palm touched the white surface, a golden light illuminated its outline for a moment before it faded. Then, an opening began to form in the crystal.

It seemed that even if the structure appeared robust, it could still reshape itself in some way, which greatly surprised Daniel. He wondered what kind of technology this was.

With Carol leading the way, they both stepped forward and began to enter.

The tunnel was somewhat long initially, but they quickly entered an extremely spacious area, a large hall that seemed connected to many others by various "paths," or at least they could tell due to the visible entrances.

There were many extensive areas and wide paths, much to explore, but at the same time, the place felt empty.

It was like a hollow structure, for lack of a better term.

In the center was what seemed to be a huge pillar that appeared to sink into the ground and beyond, suggesting that there were likely several floors below as well.

Despite its vast space, the place did not feel dark. It was well-lit, thanks to the reflective light generated between the crystals. One might think the light came from the outside, but that would be a mistake since the entire exterior had been covered with "artificial" ice. So, it was likely artificial lighting providing the interior illumination.

"This place seems much larger than it should be," Daniel said, frowning. he put the ship down and He made a few small jumps, feeling something different but unable to pinpoint exactly what it was. Something was off with the gravity.

Carol nodded. She could also tell there was something strange, but it was difficult to identify what it was.

"We just need to ask," she said as she approached the enormous central pillar.

She took out the key and placed it against the pillar, then it began to fuse with the crystalline structure until it disappeared.

"It seems everything went well," the voice of Lara Lor-Van reached their ears. The place briefly illuminated with a golden light, and then her figure materialized in front of them. Unlike before, this time it was impossible to tell she was just a projection.

She opened her eyes while smiling, but her expression quickly turned to one of astonishment upon seeing Daniel next to Carol.

"You're... not human?" Lara asked, causing Daniel to blink. How did she realize that?

Carol also looked at her mother with doubt.

"What do you mean?" she quickly asked.

Lara frowned slightly but explained in detail.

"When we began traveling through the cosmos, we faced various types of difficulties. Among them, differences in gravity and atmosphere were some of the most pressing, at least in places where a yellow sun was not present. In those places, we had to adapt to different types of ecosystems. It was a small challenge to overcome, but nothing that adequate technology couldn't solve," she said, still looking at Daniel, and continued explaining.

"To make the explorers more comfortable and at the same time to make all non-Kryptonian life easier to investigate, all the fortresses were equipped with an environmental simulation system capable of changing the interior atmosphere and gravity as needed, at any desired moment. It can be applied to the entire place, specific parts, or particular areas as required." She finished speaking, and then Daniel and Carol felt something change again. This time, the strange sensation they had been experiencing disappeared.

"The fortresses have some of Krypton's default characteristics enabled for greater comfort, one of them being gravity. Until now, you have been feeling 15 times the gravity of this planet, or better said, Krypton's natural gravity." She then pointed to Daniel.

"If you were human, you should have been writhing on the ground the moment you set foot in this place." There were many differences between Kryptonians and humans despite the remarkable aesthetic resemblance. One of them was their baseline starting point. While without a yellow sun the Kryptonians may appear "weak" the reality was that they were easily dozens of times stronger and more durable than the average human, their gravity was proof of that.

Even without a yellow sun, Carol would still be a "superhuman" on Earth thanks to its lower gravity.

Having understood why she thought he wasn't human, Daniel sighed inwardly and smiled, speaking confidently.

"That's a great explanation, but saying I'm not human just because of that might be a bit hasty. Certainly, I have human parents, and I've grown up on this planet for as long as I can remember." While Daniel knew he wasn't human biologically, mentally and spiritually, he still considered himself one. He didn't like being called otherwise.

Lara looked at him thoughtfully. Carol, from the side, waved her hand.

"Daniel is human... he's just different from all the other humans," she explained, though she didn't know how to say it correctly.

Lara looked at her daughter and then at the boy beside her. She rubbed her chin thoughtfully. It seemed that her daughter had a special relationship with this "human"; otherwise, she didn't understand why she would bring him to the fortress when it was supposed to be just for her.

Daniel suddenly felt a stern gaze on him. He looked, not understanding, at the woman who seemed to be analyzing him.

Even as a remnant, Lara felt her maternal instincts coming to life.

Thus, they stared at each other in a strange way, the tension growing by the second. From the side, Carol frowned and snapped her fingers to get their attention.

"You said you'd give me a tour of this place, why don't we start?" Carol reminded her mother, who had previously talked about the fortress and how she was "dying" to show it to her.

Lara looked at her daughter and nodded, sighing inwardly.

"Alright, I'll give you a tour although there's not much to show for now. This is a 'virgin' fortress, chosen specifically to become whatever you want it to be, so don't expect a big show." When they decided to send their children to Earth, they also thought about their future.

They didn't know what path they would take. They were the first Kryptonians to be born naturally in millennia, and their future was solely and entirely in their hands. That's why the chosen fortress was one that could adapt to anything.

"Virgin, huh? Well, I think we can do something to fix that. Decorating this place should be fun, don't you think?" Carol said, patting Daniel on the back. As usual, she forgot to hold back, causing the air to crack and strong gusts of wind to sweep through the area.

Inwardly Daniel winced at the pain but as always his core made any damage disappear instantly.

He gave Carol a brief look of annoyance causing her to stick her tongue out at him.

Meanwhile, Lara slightly widened her eyes. It didn't appear so, but the fortress was filled with sensors connected to it. She could sense "everything" that happened inside, as an artificial intelligence it was her job to analyze every piece of data and respond accordingly using the available technology.

That's why she could calculate and measure with extreme accuracy the force behind Carol's simple gesture. It seemed her daughter was stronger than she expected.

It had to be known that while Kryptonians made use of yellow sunlight, they did not do so for extended periods. Kryptonians still preferred their natural atmosphere and often returned to their home planet periodically, causing the "blessings" bestowed by yellow stars to fade after a certain period, purging their bodies of any temporary changes they might have conferred.

Carol was the first and only Kryptonian to have grown up under a yellow sun; there was no precedent for this. Experimentation with infants was forbidden on Krypton, hence no one had studied what biological changes prolonged exposure to a yellow star from infancy could bring to Kryptonian babies.

Her husband had said that their children would be the strongest Kryptonians to ever exist. He was Krypton's chief scientist, so his word was almost law and although Lara was not far behind, she was more specialized in the military area so she didn't know exactly what he was referring to, not until now.

Her sensors had been studying her daughter's body's condition, looking for anomalies, diseases, anything. They found nothing; she was perfect, and the amount of energy within her had no comparison to any previously recorded data.

Carol had spent almost her entire life bathing in sunlight.

More than a complete decade, almost two.

The power Carol should possess right now wasn't easily measurable, even among her own kind.

The longer a Kryptonian spends under a yellow sun, the more changes occur in them—not to mention one growing directly under a yellow sun.

That had never happened, until now.

So why? Why was a "human" able to withstand, even the weakest, of her daughter's blows?

Lara looked at Daniel, the scientific curiosity still in her beginning to rise.

'What an interesting thing...'

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Note:

only about 240 words short of four thousand but I decided this was a good point to end the chapter, what do you think?

I've started a public poll on Patreon, it's about the update schedule for all my stories! You can vote if you want, the winning option will also affect the public update schedule!

Lastly, remember that you can find the next chapter of this story on Patreon (patreon.com/EmmaCruzader). If you want to read the next chapter in advance and get some other benefits, you can go and check it out. All the support received helps me a lot ;D

 

[Emma Cruzader]

23: Smart Atoms

"This is the living area; each fortress can house hundreds of Kryptonians at the same time, so its space is quite large. Even so, thanks to the advanced technology it possesses, its structure can change according to your desires. If you think having so many rooms is useless, you can make them turn into something else," Lara said as she demonstrated an example of what she meant.

The numerous "rooms" began to disappear until there was a huge but empty space.

"I've been wondering, this place seems much larger than it is from the outside. Is it some kind of spatial technology?" Daniel couldn't help but ask as he looked at the space, which was at least a kilometer in diameter. While the fortress was immense from the outside, its interior was simply beyond comprehension at first glance.

Lara nodded and began to explain, "Although we Kryptonians don't specialize in it, we certainly have some significant advances in its use. This is just one of its most basic applications."

Manipulating space was difficult and had some limitations, yet enlarging a place "artificially" was still something they could do, although not in an unlimited way.

"Of course, don't expect infinite space. There are certain limits related to the number of objects and the 'real' size of the fortress."

The tour was informative but, as she had said before, there wasn't much to observe. The place was mostly empty, a blank canvas waiting for someone to start painting on it.

For the most part, Lara focused on explaining various functions that could be useful, many with scientific and research applications. After all, the fortresses were created with the goal of exploring and studying other worlds.

For Carol, much of that information was useless. Although she was by no means stupid, the truth was she hadn't bothered to study beyond what she needed to get good grades in school.

It wasn't that she wasn't interested; she simply didn't feel it was necessary to learn... well, not until she saw how her mother and Daniel chatted for what seemed like hours about many of those functions and their practical uses, without her being able to say or contribute anything.

When did he become so smart? No, he probably always was, but she never realized it.

That was... worrisome. How could she walk beside him if she couldn't even have a proper conversation like her mother seemed to do so effortlessly?

Before Carol realized it, the tour ended right where it had started, at the large pillar in the center of the fortress.

"And this is the central command pillar. From here, you can direct and monitor everything happening both inside and outside the fortress," Lara said, looking at Carol.

The crystalline pillar was certainly different, with lines of light in various colors occasionally running through its structure and unknown characters appearing as if they were text.

Lara waved her hand, and the structure began to change. Soon, a part of the pillar transformed to resemble a central command computer positioned on a crystalline desk.

"I suppose this might look more familiar," Daniel looked at the computer with a raised eyebrow.

"I thought you didn't know much about Earth," he said curiously, noting the three large screens that looked like monitors projected in front of them, the keyboard and mouse, and the semi-transparent chair. Everything was "human" or at least very similar to their aesthetic.

Lara looked at him and smiled. "The fortress has a pretty good quantum connection network. Since it was installed and my consciousness awakened here, I've been able to easily access every electronic signal this planet has. I've certainly learned some... interesting things." She hadn't delved deeply into the network yet but had done some basic research to understand the environment in which her daughter lived.

She looked at the symbol on Daniel's chest, the same symbol her daughter wore. She hadn't asked about it initially, thinking it was a form of human dress, but now realized it was more than that.

Carol approached the computer, watching as lines of text in another language formed on the monitors. She didn't even bother trying to understand it and just looked at her mother, who stopped looking at Daniel and nodded towards her. Then the text began to translate automatically into English.

Carol and Daniel started to play with the device. Its functions were strange yet familiar. Clearly, Lara was modifying the internal software using human technology as a base, but this surpassed any technology on the market by hundreds, maybe even thousands of years.

Even so, the differences were still there. It was complicated to navigate through it, despite everything being in English. They would have to study it more deeply over time.

As Daniel looked at the different data, he couldn't help but click on one labeled "Phantom Zone."

Suddenly, there was a sound similar to a beep and a message appeared on the screen.

[Access denied, insufficient authority]

Daniel blinked with some disappointment. It seemed he wouldn't be able to take a look.

Carol beside him frowned and looked at her mother, clearly seeking answers. Lara quickly explained.

"All the technology in the fortress has an extremely deep biometric lock. You have absolute control over everything in it to do as you wish, but other people can't access certain functions or information without your authorization."

It was simple. Advanced technology needed to be safeguarded; they couldn't let just anyone access it carelessly.

For Lara, her daughter was the most important thing. Even if she was now just a remnant, she would always find a way to look out for her well-being. Therefore, not trusting Daniel was something she did from the start.

Even if all the information she was gathering about his "heroic identity" gave her a new perspective on the boy.

Carol thought about it and quickly smiled, an idea forming in her mind.

"How do I assign someone else an authority similar to mine?" Upon hearing her question, Lara slightly furrowed her eyebrows but answered honestly. She had spoken the truth when she mentioned that Carol had absolute control over this place. Not even she could deny her anything.

"You need to do two things. First, dictate a maximum command to the fortress's central artificial intelligence, the Codex. Second, perform a deep biometric scan on the person to whom you will assign the authority, to register their data as precisely as possible."

At the mention of the scan, Daniel became slightly tense, though he didn't show it too much outwardly. Internally, he had some reservations about this.

It wasn't that he didn't trust Carol, but he wasn't very comfortable with having data about his body stored, even if it was in a theoretically "impenetrable" alien fortress.

Beside him, Carol smiled at her mother's words and placed a hand on Daniel's shoulder.

"We should do it now. I'm sure you'll be able to conduct your investigation more easily here." Somehow, he felt that she was smiling strangely at the mention of his investigation.

Daniel didn't immediately nod but instead asked a question that had been on his mind.

"How deep is this scan? Cellular level?"

Lara chuckled a bit and smiled amusedly.

"A cellular-level scan is too simple to bypass. For greater security, each scan is at the atomic level."

Well, wasn't that even worse? Daniel wanted to sigh. What to do, what should he do?

"Is something wrong?" Carol asked, her smile fading slightly as she looked at him with concern. She had thought he would be more enthusiastic and willing.

Looking into her eyes, he couldn't help but sigh. This girl was too good to him; he would have to talk to her at some point. For now, he needed to explain why he was hesitating.

"Do you remember what I told you when we met? About not knowing where my powers come from?" he said, and she blinked but nodded curiously, so he continued.

"With everything that happened with Greg, I've been studying my own body a bit. On the surface, there's no difference from other humans, so I've tried studying my cells, but I haven't found anything significant. I theorize that it all comes from something deeper—my atoms. I just didn't expect to have the opportunity to find out so soon." This was a half-truth mixed with a lie.

He knew what it was, thanks to his meta-knowledge, but knowing something because you read it in another life and knowing it because you studied it personally were two different things.

He was simply trying to hide his initial distrust, using the excuse of nervousness about discovering "the truth" about his abilities.

"I understand. If you think you're not ready, we can do it later," Carol said sympathetically, believing she understood his feelings.

Lara, for her part, listened with interest. She knew Daniel wasn't normal and had been pondering for a long time why that was. Denying her interest in finding out the reason would be a blatant lie—she was a scientist, after all.

Daniel smiled and patted Carol's head.

"Don't worry, you're right that it's better to do it now. I'll have to find out sooner or later anyway," he said, looking at Lara.

"Do I need to go somewhere?" He didn't know how this scan was carried out, so he asked.

Lara shook her head. "No, as long as you're inside the fortress, the scanners can work without a problem. We just need Carol to start the process."

Daniel nodded and indicated to Carol that she could proceed. She understood, and soon Lara explained what she needed to do, which turned out to be much simpler than they expected.

With a bit of clumsiness, Carol approached the computer and spoke aloud.

"Codex, begin a new authority assignment. Assign shared maximum command capacity to Daniel Warren Evans." There was a strange sound, then the computer glowed, and a synthetic voice emerged.

"Command received. Assigning new shared maximum command authority to designated subject Daniel Warren Evans. Proceeding with biometric scan." When the words ended, Daniel suddenly found himself illuminated by a faint blue light coming from an unknown source.

Daniel thought he would feel something strange, maybe a tingling or something like that. Instead, the light quickly covered him and then disappeared.

Then a projection began to appear in front of him.

It began constructing from his atomic structure to his molecules, cells, nerves, veins, bones, muscles, flesh, and skin.

The projection completed quickly, and Daniel saw his perfectly detailed naked figure in front of him. A holographic screen appeared on one side, displaying various data in real time.

"Biometric scan complete. New maximum command authority assigned. Welcome to the fortress, Daniel," Codex's voice faded, and Daniel blinked, surprised by how fast it had been.

"That's it?" he asked, doubtful, looking at his naked self.

"Yes, you both now share the same level of authority over the fortress," Lara said, observing the projection of Daniel's body with curiosity.

Meanwhile, Carol was left speechless, too shocked to speak. She hadn't expected to see Daniel naked out of nowhere; she had never seen him like that before, so her brain went blank for a moment. She wondered if she should cover her eyes, or maybe her mother's eyes. Not knowing what to do, she looked at the projection, then at Daniel, and despite herself, her eyes briefly glowed a slight blue as her X-ray vision activated. Her face turned even redder.

At least now she could confirm that the projection was one hundred percent accurate.

"It's strange, nothing seems different," Lara said, examining the data. The scan was flawless, analyzing the atomic structure that composed Daniel's being. So why? Why did he seem like just an ordinary person? A normal human?

Daniel thought for a moment and made a suggestion.

"This data is displayed in real-time, right? Then I need you to do something."

Lara looked at him and nodded, curious to see where this was going.

"Increase the gravity gradually until it's one hundred times that of Earth."

Lara didn't understand what he wanted to achieve with this, but she complied. Suddenly, the pressure on their bodies began to change gradually.

Daniel observed the scans closely, focusing on his atoms. The higher the gravity, the more noticeable the strange behavior of his atoms became.

"That's it!" Lara's eyes widened in amazement. Being partly an AI, she could "see" in greater detail the changes in Daniel's atoms as she was connected to the fortress scanners. She could understand how incredible what was happening was.

"What is it?" Carol frowned, still with red cheeks. Maybe she should start studying more.

Lara wanted to explain in depth, but seeing the confused look in her daughter's eyes, she couldn't help but sigh inwardly and speak more simply.

"His atoms, it's like they reactively adapt to the environment and the forces exerted on his body, as if—"

"As if they were smart atoms?" Daniel said, deciding to give it a name straight away. Lara looked at him and nodded in agreement.

"Yes, as if they were smart atoms, capable of changing and adapting actively and on their own, varying their properties at every moment... it's fascinating." She had never seen anything like it. Krypton had explored much of the universe and studied many planets and races, but this was the first time she encountered something like this.

Lara attempted a deeper scan to understand why Daniel's atoms could act the way they did, but it was impossible. These were not normal atoms and couldn't be scanned in the same way. It was difficult to study them and obtain precise data once they started varying their properties.

The more abnormal the environment they faced, the more different they were from ordinary atoms, and Lara couldn't help but want to study them in depth.

Daniel observed the scans for a moment longer until the gravity was one hundred times greater than that of Earth. Then he decided it was enough.

"all right let's stop for now. I've seen enough," he said. Using the information from his memories and the presented data, he knew that everything was "in order" and his Viltrumite body was functioning as it should.

More importantly, his core was not detected by the fortress scanners, which was a great relief.

"Are you sure? If we continue studying this, we might—" Daniel cut Lara off, shaking his head.

"It's interesting, and I can understand why you want to keep studying it, but not now. I still have some issues to resolve, and finding an explanation will take more than just a day. There's no rush," Daniel decided he needed to postpone this "investigation." He didn't need to discover things he theoretically already knew.

Lara could only furrow her brow and reluctantly nod. The projection disappeared, and the gravity returned to normal.

Daniel then used the central computer to check something he had been ignoring for too long: the news.

"...it's still unknown why Defiant decided to intervene in the conflict—"

"Governments are alarmed while the public wonders if this was just a fleeting act or a message—"

"This clearly violates international norms—"

"He doesn't respect the laws! It's not his duty to intervene in—"

"The military has issued a ceasefire, the war has entered an unexpected pause—"

Carol looked displeased at the various news broadcasts. With everything that had happened, she had forgotten that Daniel had caused a great commotion recently.

"I know there's much more to do, but I need to resolve this before it becomes too troublesome," He needed to calm the public. It seemed it was time to talk to the people of this world, and thanks to Carol, he already had an idea of how to do it. He just needed a journalist.

"Do you need help?" Carol couldn't help but ask. Daniel shook his head and replied.

"I'll handle it."

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.

.

Carol watched Daniel leave the fortress, feeling a bit concerned, but he was right—he could handle it. For now, she would finish exploring the fortress before heading home. She still had to help her parents with the farm, and school would be starting again soon.

It was annoying, but she consoled herself with the fact that she would soon graduate, giving her much more free time.

"Come with me," her mother's voice pulled her out of her thoughts, causing her to turn and raise an eyebrow.

Lara gestured towards a direction where a long hallway suddenly opened up.

Carol followed her, curious to know what she wanted.

They walked in silence for a few moments before Lara broke it by asking a question.

"Tell me, daughter, what do you seek to do in this world?" Taken by surprise, Carol paused for a moment before responding and continuing to walk.

"I guess help, save people," and to use her powers freely.

"Like that boy? Do you want to be a symbol? To guide them?" Lara asked, looking at the symbol on her chest.

Carol frowned and quickly shook her head.

"No, I'm not a guide. I'll help when I can, but nothing more." She was not like Daniel in that sense.

She wasn't interested in people remembering who she was or admiring her. She had simple goals: help people, use her powers, live happily and freely, simple and direct.

She might not be human and might not be ordinary, but deep down, Carol knew she was still, in part, just a farm girl.

No matter how many extraordinary powers she had or how strange her origin was, none of that changed how or where she grew up, nor who her parents were who raised and taught her.

Carol knew and understood that a large part of her was still that girl who helped harvest the crops, feed the animals, and clean the stables.

Her ambitions were never grand, nor did she believe she had any duty beyond helping when she could.

Maybe that was the biggest difference between her and Daniel.

Lara frowned slightly at her daughter's clear refusal, this could complicate some things.

"You could do much more if you were more proactive. If you truly want to help them, you need to think bigger. They will need someone to guide them, a beacon to show them the right direction in the darkest moments. Primitive species often tend towards self-destruction if left alone. Very few manage to go beyond that, and humanity is no different..."

Carol raised an eyebrow but said nothing in response. What she thought of humanity was still a gray area in her mind. She couldn't contradict or agree with her mother, but what she did know was that she had no interest whatsoever in the position her mother mentioned.

"With the technology and knowledge of Krypton, you could make the greatest difference this world has ever seen, be a pillar, a beacon, a one of hope." As if in response to her mother's words, the corridor they were walking through suddenly expanded, and a part of the wall opened, revealing a full-body mannequin dressed in a dark blue suit with red accents, was a suit somewhat similar to the one she now wore, one that hugged the mannequin's body accentuating every part of it.

A bright red cape fluttered behind the suit as if caught by the wind, and on the chest, a large symbol resembling an S was displayed, a very familiar one.

Her mother approached and placed her hand on it, with clear nostalgia in her gaze, then turned to look at her.

"That's what this symbol means, the emblem of House of El, Hope," Carol looked at the suit and the symbol for a brief moment, then looked away and continued walking down the hallway.

Lara watched her daughter walk away and sighed; the wall returned to normal, and the suit disappeared. She followed after Carol; she still had much to say.

Carol glanced at her mother from the corner of her eye and spoke.

"Why show me this?" She had been clear about her goals, yet Lara seemed very insistent.

"I just want you to know that your destiny is much greater than you think; your future is limitless, and what you can do for this world is boundless." There it was again, it seemed her mother had some big expectations for her.

"Perhaps you're right, but I'm not the right person for that. You might need to talk to Daniel; he might be much more enthusiastic," Carol could certainly see that.

Lara furrowed her brows, thinking for a moment before speaking.

"You know, that boy has ambitions, very big ambitions. The people who can walk beside him and follow in his wake will all be equally extraordinary... If you stay as you are, you'll simply be left behind," it was a slight gamble, but when she saw Carol stop, she knew she had hit the mark.

"What are you trying to say?" Carol asked with clear Defiance.

"I'm just saying something you already know. While he's out there saving people and trying to change the world, you're still here, waiting for him to come back and give you some of his time, time that is too valuable and that he will eventually find something more important to spend it on," maybe she pushed a little too hard there, but she needed Carol to have some ambition; she was probably the last of her kind! Even if she and Jor-El had said she could be whatever she wanted... the reality was that a father always hoped his child would be more than just average.

Lara wanted Carol to be something extraordinary.

Maybe she was expecting too much, trying to impose ideals that were too big, but she couldn't help it; Whether it was the mother, the scientist or the Kryptonian that was still inside her, all those parts of her wanted to see Carol's full potential come to the fore, wanted her to be everything she knew she could be and more.

But she didn't seem willing at all...

Carol remained silent for a moment before clicking her tongue and shaking her head.

"Maybe you're right." Carol thought about the recent past; certainly, Daniel seemed much happier spending time with others.

"But I also think you're wrong." In the end, Daniel had returned; maybe he had gone away for a while, but he had always been there when it mattered, and for Carol, that was the only thing that really meant anything, the only thing she needed.

However, she couldn't help but think about Lara's words. Maybe she needed to be more enthusiastic? While she didn't believe she would become something like what her mother expected, it would certainly be better if she could show Daniel that she was still important.

"So, what will you do?" Lara asked with uncertainty, not knowing what was going through Carol's mind.

Carol rubbed her chin; she still had some time before returning home, so...

"I need to study a bit." First, she needed to fix her lack of scientific knowledge.

Lara nodded, figuring this was the best she could get for now, but she wouldn't give up easily. After all, hope always had to be present.

She watched Carol walk towards the central pillar, ready to start learning more about science. Lara admired her figure for a moment; she had grown so much... as a mother, she couldn't have hoped for more.

Even with all the preparations, the truth was that everything happened too quickly. There were no guarantees of anything, as Kal-El was proof of that. Fortunately, thanks to Rao, her daughter had arrived safe and sound and could now be with her, even if it wasn't as soon as she would have wished.

The last daughter of Krypton, the last hope of her people...

Or maybe not. Remembering her husband's brother, her brother-in-law, and his final actions before dying with them, she couldn't help the anticipation that arose within her.

Maybe her daughter wasn't so alone after all, but telling her that now wouldn't serve any purpose.

Their scans on the planet showed that the third ship that left Krypton that day still hadn't reached Earth.

And if it hadn't reached Earth in all these years, the odds were too great that an accident had occurred.

Telling her about this wouldn't serve any purpose.

Not now, at least.

She would have to wait, improve the technology they had access to, and then search to see if there was another hope waiting for them out there.

But it wasn't the time yet; for now, she had to help her daughter.

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.

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Note:

Four thousand words.

Writing this chapter was a bit challenging as I wasn't sure how to simplify the information that needed to be conveyed, but I think it all turned out quite well.

Carol begins to explore her heritage, and Daniel prepares to resolve the lingering issues.

I hope to bring more interesting things and some action to the mix soon.

In the next chapter we delve deeper into the mind of Daniel and finally I will explain the reason why he acts the way he does with respect to Carol.

Lastly, remember that you can find the next chapter of this story on Patreon (patreon.com/EmmaCruzader). If you want to read the next chapter in advance and get some other benefits, you can go and check it out. All the support received helps me a lot ;D

 

[Emma Cruzader]

24: Mom, why is the F.B.I. knocking on my door?

Daniel sat atop a mountain covered in snow and ice, still in the Arctic but several kilometers away from the fortress. He felt the fierce icy winds hitting his face and his cape fluttering non-stop. It was a bit uncomfortable but nothing that really bothered him. Even so, he couldn't help but think that he should create a special suit for snowy climates, something more padded.

He thought about it idly before rubbing his forehead with some frustration.

Although he had said he needed to resolve the whole Ten Rings issue, the reality was that he wasn't in much of a hurry. Giving a good statement, the first of them, was very important. Daniel wanted to form an image after all, not just be another hero in the crowd.

Maybe it was somewhat vain from an external perspective, but it was something he believed was necessary.

For that reason, he needed to think about his actions and words, in a way that could convey what he needed and at the same time not create a misunderstanding that would ruin his newly emerging heroic career.

Keeping that in mind, why didn't he do it in the fortress? Why didn't he use its first-class facilities and highly advanced technology to map out his next steps appropriately? Why did he leave abruptly saying he was in a hurry?

Why was he sitting on a freezing mountain letting his balls freeze? Metaphorically, of course.

Admitting it out loud was somewhat embarrassing. Here was the great Defiant, faster than bullets, tougher than steel, stronger than a locomotive, and he was running away because a teenage girl made him uncomfortable.

That's right, Carol was the reason he decided to leave, not her mother, who seemed to want to dissect every part of his body, but the girl who decided it was a good idea to activate her X-ray vision on him.

It was hard not to notice. After all, her eyes acquired an unnaturally blue glow that obviously wasn't part of her heat vision, not to mention her heart beating like crazy or her blushing face.

Now that he remembered many things about Superman, not remembering one of his most basic powers was impossible. That's why he knew what she was doing instantly.

"I understand looking at the front but why the butt too?" Well, if he thought about it, maybe he could understand. The suit did make his butt look amazing even if it wasn't on purpose.

But that wasn't the point here!

Daniel could ignore her thinly disguised displays of affection, he could ignore her clumsy and childish attempts at flirting, and he could act as if he were blind if necessary, just like he did when she closed her eyes and thought he was going to kiss her earlier today.

Which was actually a bit funny, seeing her reaction made him have to try really hard to keep a straight face and continue explaining without bursting into laughter.

But what he couldn't ignore was her starting to blatantly look at him using her X-ray vision. Not that he would have minded in any other circumstance—hell, if it had been another woman, he might have teased her a bit, maybe even flirted a little. God knew he needed some fun these days.

The problem was that it was Carol.

"Dealing with her is getting harder every day."

A rather silly part of himself told him he was an idiot—fresh meat served on a silver platter, why not eat it?

That was the part he least wanted to listen to right now. He was trying to be a better person here, damn it!

Carol simply wasn't cooperating.

Daniel rubbed his chin. What would his brother say in this situation? As if it were a divine answer, his voice sounded in his mind.

"Just do it, man! Or are you a fa**ot?!"

Well, maybe his brother wasn't the best role model right now.

So… what would his father say?

"Son... are you sure you like women?"

Daniel frowned deeply; that wasn't helpful either.

Great, two of the three people he cherished the most were now doubting him inside his mind...

Without being able to help it, another thought came to him.

What would his mother say?

As quickly as that thought came, Daniel tried to get rid of it. Wasn't she the main reason all his problems with women occurred in the first place?

No, Daniel stood up and quickly shook his head. he didn't want to hear the voice of the woman for whom he ended up running naked in the middle of the day running away from three girls.

Just remembering that event sent a chill down his spine.

There was a reason why he only sought advice from his brother and sometimes from his father.

"What would Superman say?" he tried to change focus but all he got were images of an angry older brother punching him from right to left up to the sun.

Eh, it was good that the guy wasn't here then.

Daniel sighed and sat down again with his face in his hands.

Trying to be a better person was never easy.

He looked in the direction of the fortress, squinting his eyes. If Carol kept insisting, then she would leave him no choice but to teach her because playing with fire burns...

He quickly shook his head, sending a gust of wind in all directions.

That was his mother talking, damn it!

"You're a hero, the first one of all, you're supposed to be a role model, focus!" he scolded himself, damn stupid moral dilemmas.

Daniel blinked and looked around, making sure no one was watching him, even though he knew it should be impossible.

It had been a long time since he got carried away by his thoughts like this; from an external perspective, he surely looked like a lunatic.

"Maybe I should talk to Harleen?" But how would he do that? He couldn't just show up and say, hey, I have voices in my head telling me to do "bad things"? She'd probably slam the door in his face and call the police.

Or she'd pull out the bat she keeps next to her bed and try to fix his head with a few blows...

It would probably be the latter. Somehow, he found himself smiling at the thought. Yes, thinking about her was easier. Maybe he should ask her out and have some fun, release some stress.

"Yeah, because going out with another girl while you have problems with one always solves things, right?" That was his own sarcastic voice mocking himself.

"It actually worked a few times..." and now he was answering himself...

Alright, that was enough. It was time to keep busy, or he would really end up looking like a lunatic.

"Thank God she still isn't 18..." One had to be thankful for small blessings.

Daniel could have a lot of self-control, but no matter how strong his will was, he was still a man trapped in the body of a 19-year-old boy; he was no saint at all.

Even so, there were limits, barriers he wouldn't cross in this life or his previous one. One of them was age.

He might be 19 now, but in his previous life, he was a 25-year-old man. He wouldn't touch anything, no matter how tempting and attractive, unless it was of legal age.

"Though the F.B.I. can't do anything to you now..."

Daniel opened his eyes in bewilderment, somewhat alarmed he held his head. It seemed that even in another life, he couldn't prevent his mother's influence from slipping into his thoughts.

Normally, one would think it would be his older brother or father who would be the bad influences in his life, but for Daniel, that spot was reserved solely and exclusively for the woman who raised him.

"Why couldn't you just be a normal mother?!" he asked the void.

The only response he received was the wind howling in the distance. Daniel looked at the empty, desolate frozen lands and laughed quietly, a depressing air beginning to surround him.

"How pathetic," he scolded himself.

It hadn't even been a year, and he already missed them so much that he began to imagine their voices speaking to him inside his head.

He sighed for perhaps the eleventh time that day and began to rise slowly into the air.

He had spent too much time self-reflecting already. He needed to take care of pending matters and think about what to do with Carol later.

As he started flying through the sky, he couldn't help but think about his next steps.

"Should I take a page from Superman's book and give an interview?" He frowned and dismissed the idea. while it would be a classic thing to do it would also be dangerous, if he just picked one reporter out of many others he would only be painting a target on his back.

No, what he should do was something different, something like a press conference, one where dozens of reporters would be present.

Now, who did he know that could get dozens of reporters to show up with a single call?

"Uh, looks like I have to talk to a multi-millionaire."

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.

.

"What do you think?" Tony said, looking at the projection in front of him. He walked in circles around it, admiring his magnum opus.

It had taken a while, many sleepless nights, and unhealthy amounts of coffee, but he had finally done it. The Mark 3 was ready—or it would be once it started being assembled.

"An exceptional job as always, sir," Jarvis's voice responded to his question.

Several days had passed since his "debut" in Afghanistan. Since then, he had been thinking, analyzing, and trying to create something capable of keeping up with "Defiant."

His intention to create a super alloy was still in progress; it was much more complicated than it seemed. But Tony was beginning to make headway, he just needed to adjust a few more things. Even so, that project was still in a preliminary phase, and it would be a while before he had something to show.

Given that was the case, he focused on the next best option. An alternative that had the potential to be just as effective, if not more, than a super alloy.

Energy projection, or more precisely, energy shields.

A long time ago, Tony had advanced projection technology by leaps and bounds.

Even so, over time he lost interest in it. The reason was simple: power supply. While projection technology was viable, the problem was that it generated a great energy cost.

This was why the general public didn't have access to it.

It was a technology that could only be used by a select sector of people, and although those people paid well, it couldn't compare to the revenue that could be obtained by entering the public sector.

When he was younger, arrogant and cocky, Tony only thought about the profits his company could make. When he realized that projection technology wouldn't give him more than what he was already getting, he abandoned it.

How stupid.

Still, he couldn't entirely blame his past self. In fact, he was grateful to himself. Even if it had only been a passing interest, his advancements had laid a firm foundation to work with. And now that he had the Arc Reactor, it only took him a few days to surpass those advancements and take his technology to the next level.

Now he possessed solid and stable energy projection.

Tony stretched his finger and touched the projection in front of him. It felt like solid metal—same temperature, same texture. He knew that if he wanted to, all he needed was to install the necessary Arc reactors, and he could literally use the projection of the Mark 3 design as if it were a suit of armor.

Of course, it would be a highly inefficient armor with an excessively high energy expenditure—a mere shell of the real Mark 3. He hadn't stayed up countless nights for something like this.

Still, it was an incredible demonstration of what he had achieved in such a short time.

"Show me the data; I want to see the simulation results," Tony said, unable to hide his eagerness. While theoretically he knew what his new technology could do, it still needed to be tested comprehensively. That's why he had started simulations once the Mark 3 design was complete.

Soon, several screens unfolded in the air in front of him, presenting data after data.

"The energy shields have proven to be more than impressive, sir. Their defensive capabilities have far exceeded expectations. Simulations show that their structure is almost impenetrable," Tony frowned. There shouldn't be an "almost" there.

"What happened?" he asked, and Jarvis displayed the virtual simulations that had been conducted.

"The main issue is the energy expenditure. Maintaining the energy shield active at all times is completely impossible with a single Arc reactor. The greater the impact the shield receives, the more energy it consumes. Right now, using just one Arc reactor, the shield theoretically can withstand a nuclear impact of 10 megatons for 1.5 seconds," that was an impressive yet alarming figure.

One Arc reactor could only hold up for 1.5 seconds...

Tony pondered deeply on this. The primary priority now should be solving the energy supply problem. If he could do that, then he would have an impenetrable shield. Of course, Tony knew that something like that wasn't so simple. The Arc Reactor was already the most advanced power generator on the planet, and improving it wasn't easy even for him.

Fortunately, he had already thought of a provisional solution beforehand. If one isn't enough, just add more. It was something he had learned from Mark 2.

He looked at the projected design of the Mark 3 and smiled.

Though they looked similar in essence, there were still some aesthetic differences between the new armor and the Mark 2. Perhaps the most important but less noticeable were the small energy projectors carefully distributed across its surface.

They were small and easy to overlook despite being numerous. However, they were the most essential part of the design as they were responsible for covering every inch of the armor with the main energy shield.

Its color was now more golden and black, with fewer but still present red details. Perhaps it was a bit more robust, but it didn't lose any agility at all. On the chest, only one Arc reactor was visible, but behind thick alloy plates, there were three more reactors hidden—a suit of armor powered by four Arc reactors.

With this, he would have enough power to use the energy field constantly in different situations. Coupled with the already incredible natural defense of the gold-titanium alloy, it would be nearly impossible to breach his defenses.

Sometimes Tony admired himself. This time, he had truly surpassed himself by far. The Mark 2 would look like scrap next to the Mark 3 once it was assembled. In fact, why wait any longer? He wanted to test it immediately.

"Start the assembly; we'll conduct field tests once it's ready."

Tony prepared himself for a much-needed and lengthy nap; he needed to be at his best to test his new baby...

"And remind me to cut back on the coffee," he said, realizing he needed better rest or he'd start giving strange nicknames to his things.

"I'll make sure of it, sir," Jarvis responded, not entirely understanding his creator's train of thought.

Of course, that's when a strange sound filled the room, a constant beep—not very loud but enough to catch attention and echo in the place.

Tony frowned. "Didn't I tell you to cancel all my appointments?" he asked, and his faithful assistant quickly corrected him.

"I did, sir. This is something different."

Tony scanned the room until his eyes landed on the strange and intriguing device that Defiant had given him. He raised an eyebrow and began walking towards the workshop table where he had placed it.

He had only superficially studied the object; it was nothing he couldn't create himself, but certainly advanced. At least he could tell that whoever built it had solid foundations—it was functional, durable, and well-protected. Its signal was nearly untraceable unless you were rough.

Tony wasn't willing to damage it, so he hadn't studied it in depth and simply decided to leave it in a corner until something happened. He had almost forgotten about it until now.

"You know, Jarvis, change of plans, prepare me a coffee."

If Jarvis had eyes, he would have blinked in confusion, and an exasperated sigh would have escaped him.

Meanwhile, Tony looked at the device and pressed one of the buttons on it, the one clearly meant for answering, and the beeping stopped.

"Hey, it's been a while, huh?" Defiant's voice came through, and Tony picked up the device and responded.

"Just enough for me to almost forget you exist. What's up, D-boy, ready for a chat?"

"More than that, I need a favor," Tony raised an eyebrow.

"Oh? You haven't even taken me to dinner and you're already asking for favors? I don't think you know how this works," he heard a short laugh.

"Yeah, you're right, how rude of me. How about we go grab something? My treat."

Tony thought for a moment, although he already had his answer.

"Well, I know a place..."

.

.

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Note: VERY Important to read please.

This chapter mostly focused on Daniel; it's been a while since I delved deep into his thoughts and his past. In fact, I think I rarely do that, which I need to correct because he's the protagonist.

This chapter was also meant to fix an oversight I hadn't realized. You see, I thought I had explained why Daniel acted the way he did towards Carol in the story, but actually, I didn't—or well, I did, but in a comment outside the story...

I don't know why I thought I had already explained it, and it was thanks to several people's comments on Chapter 22 that I realized the mistake. I'm sorry about that, but hey! That's why it's important for you guys to comment! It helps me notice things.

Remember, I'm just a novice writer and still improving, sthat's why I ask for your opinions all the time. It helps me reflect and try to improve things to bring greater quality for you in the future.

I'm human, and I'll probably keep making mistakes. I'm not sure if I can fix every one of them, but I can certainly try.

And speaking of mistakes...

While reviewing the chapters in English, I noticed a translation error in one of the disadvantages, which I will correct soon. When I translated Chapter 1, I was still a novice and overlooked it, for which I apologize.

The error is in the disadvantage 'Challengers':

'individuals and entities will arise in response to your existence.'

should be

'individuals and entities will come your way in response to your existence.'

I want to clarify this disadvantage to avoid misunderstandings.

What the disadvantage means is that strong characters will appear in Daniel's path, or another way to put it is that he will be placed in the path of strong individuals.

These strong individuals will see him as someone to 'challenge' or as a 'challenge,' but this doesn't mean they will fight him or become his enemies out of nowhere. The 'bringing danger' part is because strong individuals always bring their own problems with them, problems that Daniel may or may not become involved in

And whether Daniel is able to be on good terms with these individuals depends on him.

In summary, it only makes it more likely that Daniel will encounter powerful individuals or interact with them, which may or may not pose a significant risk to his life.

It's a small spoiler, but Carol is an example. (Carol actually results from two disadvantage acting at the same time, who would have thought...)

Of course, the way it's written in the story makes it seem like Daniel has to confront all of them, which is intentional because it's a disadvantage. Daniel wasn't and won't be given an explanation like this because that would be an advantage.

Daniel makes assumptions based on what he knows; he can be wrong like everyone else when acting with limited information.

I hope this clarifies the issue completely, and once again, I sincerely apologize to my readers for overlooking this error for so long.

I still need to review all the other chapters to see if I made any other mistakes. I hope to correct them over time to make rereading this story a more enjoyable experience.

Anyway, I've already elaborated enough with this note. To conclude, I'd like to thank all my donors on Patreon and Ko-fi. You guys are awesome, and I'm really glad to have your support. The update schedule that won the Patreon vote with 78% of the votes will begin soon.

I'll do my best to meet it.

You can now find The next chapter of this story on Patreon (patreon.com/EmmaCruzader). If you want to read the next chapter in advance and get some other benefits, you can go and check it out. All the support received helps me a lot ;D

 

[Emma Cruzader]

25: Preparations

Daniel adjusted the jacket he was now wearing. It had been a while since he dressed up to go out. Dinners with Harleen didn't count; those were more informal, just a way to pass the time.

This time, he needed to make a good impression, not because it was a business meeting—although, in a sense, it was—but because he was asking for a favor.

Maybe his mother hadn't been the best, but she had instilled in him basic respect and manners.

So why didn't he do something like this with Harleen? Well, he had done it as Defiant, but this time he wasn't going as Defiant; he was going as Daniel.

And, well, saying that the person he was meeting didn't make things different would be a lie. Tony Stark, Iron Man—over time, his memories of the man had become clearer.

Daniel wouldn't say he was a fanatic, but he did have respect for the man and admiration for his work.

Maybe he wasn't exactly the same guy from his memories, but he didn't differ too much. it was easy to relate them, and Daniel hoped to gain a new and important ally after this.

Any god that existed knew the Earth would need more heroes soon.

He walked through the streets of Malibu until he stopped in front of what seemed to be a club? Restaurant? Well, maybe it was both, though that wasn't really important.

He entered the place and found what appeared to be a receptionist, an attractive woman in her twenties. Remembering the instructions Tony had given him, he approached her and spoke calmly.

"Good afternoon, I have a reservation, table 43." The woman blinked as she looked at him, then glanced down to check some documents quickly, and nodded at him with a smile.

"May I have your name, sir?"

Uh, did he look that old? Or was she just being polite? Unable to help it, he touched his chin, only finding smooth, soft skin, no beard or mustache.

"Daniel, Daniel Evans." That was all he needed, then he was inside being guided around the place.

It was then that he realized it really was more of a club than a restaurant, a strange club.

Rich men, beautiful women—the atmosphere was clear, a place where rich guys went to hang out. That was the description that best fit what Daniel saw.

Fortunately, table 43 was in a secluded spot on one of the upper floors, one with excellent views of the city that was beginning to be tinged with the red of the sunset.

Daniel saw the person he was looking for, sitting and calmly having a drink. He nodded to the receptionist and walked to meet Tony Stark face to face.

"Hey, you look even younger than I expected," the billionaire commented distractedly, lowering his glass.

"And you look more tired," Daniel said, taking a seat. The dark circles under the playboy's eyes were noticeable.

Tony made a gesture, and the receptionist, who was preparing to leave, approached clearly enthusiastic.

"Bring us a bottle of whiskey, a good one," the woman didn't protest and nodded, walking away quickly.

Everyone knew that when Tony Stark was present, the best tips were guaranteed, even if she wasn't a waitress, it didn't matter.

They both looked at each other in a strange silence, studying one another for a few moments.

"Are you an alien?" The sudden question took Daniel by surprise. He blinked, and a small smile formed on his lips.

"What gave it away?" he said casually, and Tony remained still, looking at him with eyes wider than usual. Daniel then let out a small laugh, causing Tony to frown.

"It was a serious question." Tony had made many hypotheses, theory after theory, trying to figure out the secret behind "Defiant." He had ruled out cybernetic enhancements when they first met, which only left some kind of mutation or power, something humans didn't normally have. Therefore, he thought maybe he was dealing with something not human in the first place.

"If you want a serious answer, then I'll say no, I do not believe I'm an alien." Believing and being were different, and Tony noticed this little clue, a spark of interest igniting in him.

"Alright, let's go with that: 'Alien who doesn't think he's an alien,'" the sarcasm was obvious.

Daniel didn't correct him; he wasn't here to reveal all his secrets. Tony could make whatever deductions he wanted.

Soon, the bottle arrived, and Tony poured them both a drink.

"You know, I get that dramatic silences and tense pauses and all that make things flavorful. We all need some drama in life, but I'd like to skip all that. I don't like beating around the bush, and I'll admit I'm curious, very curious. What do you need?"

He looked at him while taking a sip of his glass. Daniel looked at the liquid in his own before taking a long drink. He missed the ability to get drunk; the taste wasn't as good without that included.

"Maybe it will be disappointing for you, but since you want it straight, I'll get to the point. I need to make a public announcement, one where everyone, or at least most of the media, is present. And, well, I heard you were their 'golden boy' until a few months ago."

Tony snorted at the nickname. He had certainly been on more magazine covers and newspapers than any other eccentric billionaire.

"Well, D-boy, you've come to the right person." While it was somewhat disappointing, that didn't mean Tony wouldn't help. After all, this was just the beginning. He wanted to ask many things, talk about race and the "monsters," about technology, about the material Defiant's suit was made of, and about Defiant himself.

There were too many topics, but everything had its time and place, and he preferably wanted at least eight hours of sleep for those talks.

"Does that mean you'll help?" Daniel asked.

"did you expect me not to?"

Well, there was always the possibility that could happen.

"But I want something in return," Tony said casually.

Daniel smiled; of course, he expected something like that. After all, they barely knew each other. and Tony hadn't become a billionaire by doing charity.

"Speak."

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.

.

Harleen wondered if she should be upset—days, days without hearing from him, not a message, a call, absolutely nothing.

Sure, they were just "friends" or something like that, but even friends say hello once in a while, right? Maybe she had gotten too used to having him around. Losing contact so suddenly left her feeling numb for a while.

Life had started to become too interesting since she met him, and going back to monotony... it was something that didn't feel very good.

Sure, she had her own things to work on, although, for the most part, everything was progressing without complications. Her projects were undoubtedly a success so far.

She looked at the transparent glass vial, purple liquid inside.

It had taken some effort, but with enough samples, sufficient study, and a few sleepless nights, she had done it.

Now what was she supposed to do with this thing? She'd admit she had only synthesized a copy of Kilgrave's pheromones out of scientific curiosity.

Of course, she had modified it. The real thing made victims susceptible to the control of whoever generated the substance. Her version? It had been made a bit differently.

Theoretically, it still made people obey orders, but only from those with the unique chemical signature with which it was made.

While each human didn't possess "unique" pheromones to the same degree as Kilgrave, they did have unique chemical signatures within them. As a safeguard, Harleen had used her own unique signature to create what she called Obedience Serum.

In a way, it was an unreliable safeguard since she had no immunity to the serum. She had no "powers" to give her resistance, and her unique chemical signature didn't work that way.

The only guarantee was that only she could give "orders"—meaning she could self-fuck her mind but only if she did it herself.

Of course, she hadn't tested it yet; it was unethical, and she wasn't a criminal. She wouldn't use this on other people.

Still, saying she didn't want to know if it worked wouldn't be correct either.

Curiosity was itching quite a bit.

"Something simple, just a test," she murmured, glancing around her office until her eyes settled on a plant, a gift from a woman she once thought she would love forever.

Even after it ended, she had tended to that plant with care. Yet, every time she looked at it, bitter memories as well as pleasant ones flooded her mind. She usually avoided looking at it for that reason.

She had thought about getting rid of it long ago, but every time she tried, old feelings would assault her, making her reconsider, over and over again.

Who would have thought, a psychiatrist with her own problems. Well, in her defense, she wasn't a psychologist.

She sighed, knowing herself too well. She would never get rid of that plant on her own; she would never have the courage.

"So I'll force myself," she muttered, clenching her teeth. She uncorked the vial, nervously bringing it up to her nose. The scent, for some reason, reminded her of herself. She supposed that was the effect of having modified the pheromones.

She inhaled deeply for a few seconds. Her pupils dilated, and she almost felt as if she were suddenly witnessing things in the third person.

It was like being present but not present, yet she could still control her actions easily, feeling things the same way as before.

She capped the vial again, storing it in the inner pocket of her white coat.

Then she looked at the plant. The doubts, the reluctance, the affection—all those feelings were still there but numbed, behind an invisible wall.

"Destroy that plant," she said softly, but it was as if a switch suddenly flipped in her mind.

Suddenly, she stopped being the master of herself, even though she had given the order.

Her body stood up and walked firmly to where the plant rested.

Without hesitation, she squeezed its leaves so hard they began to break. Then she started to pull it out of the pot, the soil staining the floor, and with both hands, she began to tear the plant apart without a second thought.

For some reason, she felt euphoric.

Faster than she would have liked, everything returned to normal. She blinked, somewhat disoriented, and looked at her hands. Soil and remnants of what was once a beautiful plant adorned them.

She thought she would feel regret; after all, she had forced herself to do it.

But she didn't. In fact, she felt better than ever.

She took a deep breath to calm herself, her flushed face returning to normal after several minutes.

"I need to clean this up," she thought absentmindedly, and before she knew it, she was kneeling on the floor, scooping up the dirt with her hands.

"Huh?"

She watched curiously as she cleaned up the mess she had made.

It took only a few minutes, and the place was as spotless as ever.

"Continuous effect?" She noted to herself, this time being careful with her own thoughts.

A side effect? She wasn't too alarmed, knowing such risks existed. Now the question was, was this permanent or temporary?

.

.

.

It turned out to be temporary. About an hour later, Harleen suddenly felt as if a hangover was threatening to hit her. Fortunately, it was just a threat.

Still, she felt mild chills through her body, a bit of nervousness, and for some reason, her lips wouldn't stop trembling slightly.

She noted it all down. It was valuable information; maybe she could improve the serum and get rid of such effects later.

Her handwriting was somewhat messy, but she managed to do it. Once finished, she sat at her desk, then patted her chest, feeling the pocket where she kept the vial. For some reason, she felt the urge to test it a bit more.

"Addiction?" she realized immediately.

That could be a problem.

She took a deep breath and lowered her hand. She needed to distract herself somehow.

Fortunately for her, someone knocked on her office door at that moment.

"Come in!" she called out, a bit louder than she intended.

The door opened, and she saw her boss entering. The older man with completely white hair, slightly hunched over and wearing thick glasses, walked in with slow steps, a blank expression adorning his stoic face.

"Dr. Quinzel," he greeted, approaching with a thick folder full of papers in his hands.

Probably a lot of work, which was good. Harleen wanted something to distract herself with.

"Dr. Harrison, how can I help you?"

The doctor placed the folder on her desk.

"There's a case, one I believe is most suitable for you."

A new case? That's when she remembered—the new transfers from Arkham had arrived a few days ago, hadn't they?

Curious, she opened the folder, raising an eyebrow at the information.

"Martha Wayne, huh?"

An infamous criminal, one who should have been dead but survived by a miracle.

After everything she had done, what she had done to Gotham, the general public thought she had died a long time ago. Only a few people knew she had actually been rotting in a cell deep within Arkham Asylum.

She studied the information, an interesting case in many ways, a special one.

Well, she wanted to stay busy, didn't she?

"I'll take it."

.

.

.

"How do I look?" Daniel asked, and Carol looked at him thoughtfully for several seconds.

Her eyes narrowed in concentration before she nodded.

"It's strange, I know it's you, but for some reason, it's hard to tell unless I focus entirely," she said, somewhat confused but still able to discern his true face as long as she looked at him properly. Which, in reality, was quite easy because she always looked at him properly.

"Of course, Kryptonian technology shouldn't be underestimated; something as simple as this is a piece of cake," Lara commented from the side.

Daniel nodded in agreement with her, pressed a button on the wristwatch of his right hand, and then there was a strange effect on his face, more precisely on the light reflecting off it. The distortion lasted half a second, and then everything returned to normal.

He stretched his hands to his face, carefully pinched with his fingers, and began to remove a thin, semi-transparent layer resembling a facial mask.

Although it would probably be more accurate to call it a second skin.

He looked at "his face" in his hands. It was surprising and something he had been thinking about since several of his Superman memories began to surface.

Initially, he had thought of glasses, something classic. But when he asked about technology capable of "masking" his identity, Lara had suggested something much more suitable: a layer of synthetic "skin" that distorted the way light hit his features, making them appear "different."

To anyone else, he would look slightly different once the mask was activated. Not only that, it also worked with electronic devices, so even if someone took a photo or video of him, his identity would still be hidden.

Truly interesting technology. The fortress was quite incredible, and something as "simple" as this was the proof.

While the fortress lacked all the resources it should normally have, it still possessed all the facilities and tools necessary to recreate any kind of Kryptonian technology. Coupled with the database that Carol's parents had compiled, it undoubtedly made it a great treasure, a perfect inheritance.

Still, it took some effort to gather the materials needed to create the "mask." Fortunately, it wasn't something too crazy like a unique element found only on a specific planet in a specific region of the universe, in a specific galaxy.

That would have been a huge pain in the ass.

And well, he wouldn't have had time. Soon, Daniel was going to give a lecture, and for that, he had decided to remove "the mask." so that his words would have more impact. He decided it was best to "reveal his face" to the world.

Of course, he still had to maintain a certain level of privacy, mainly for Carol.

That's what the mask was for.

He wouldn't use it as Defiant; while it was advanced technology, it was still fragile. A strong enough enemy could easily destroy it, undermining his efforts to keep his "identity" hidden.

This was for his identity as Daniel.

"So, all that's left to do is modify whatever images are on the network, is that okay?" he asked towards lara even though he knew he could "order it".

She nodded.

"That's simple. There aren't many images of your real face online, and most of them are from when you were younger, different enough that even if I didn't modify them, it would still be difficult to associate them with you," she said with curiosity in her voice.

Well, that was more due to his transformation into a Viltrumite than puberty or growth. When he reopened his eyes hanging from that rope, his body had transformed significantly.

Scars, small imperfections, all disappeared. While he still looked like himself, he was different enough that no one from his past would recognize him at first glance.

That's why he wasn't too worried about people who had known the previous Daniel.

"Very well, it's almost time." Tony should have everything prepared; now it was just up to him to do his part.

He nodded to Carol, and she returned the smile.

Her confidence in him was appreciated; it gave him more courage.

Speaking in public had never been his strong suit.

Well, he was already taking many things from Superman, so why not steal some of his speeches? That would probably annoy him less than if he fucked his sister.

Eh, it probably wouldn't matter anyway, since he planned to do both.

He stopped. Well, damn it, damn intrusive thoughts, why did they always come at the least opportune moments? He almost sighed but reminded himself to stay strong; it was an important day, after all. He would think about the rest later.

"Alright, let's do this."

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.

.

Note:

remember that you can find the next chapter of this story on Patreon (patreon.com/EmmaCruzader). If you want to read the next chapter in advance and get some other benefits, you can go and check it out. All the support received helps me a lot ;D

 

[Emma Cruzader]

26: God Among Us

"Is everything ready?" Tony asked, looking at the dozens of reporters who had arrived and the large crowd of hundreds of people that only kept growing and growing.

The stage had been set up in Metropolis, the city of tomorrow, in its central plaza, an open space where people could come en masse without fear of being crushed to death. Well, if the crowd got too big, it would be hard not to feel cramped.

Fortunately, no one knew yet what this conference was about, except for Tony, of course.

So the number of people, while large, was not yet overwhelming. But Tony knew that would change soon, once "he" arrived.

"The cameras are ready, the news stations are starting their live broadcasts, and the foreign media are in their places," Pepper Potts commented, having already checked everything at least three times.

It had been sudden; Tony's request had required moving a lot of resources in a short time. Still, with enough money and the necessary influence, it was possible. The media, after all, would never let a story go, even if they didn't know exactly what it was about.

But the eccentric billionaire had always been a maker of big news. His name and image sold well, and since he was the one who paid to bring them, it was clear they had to be there.

Even if the announcement turned out to be less amazing than promised, it didn't matter.

Tony nodded to Pepper. It had been a while since he saw her. He had been a bit too busy these days. Still, she was as reliable as ever, though not as much as Jarvis, of course; his A.I. would always be the number one assistant.

He looked up at the clear, bright blue sky, the sun just beginning to rise. It was early in the morning, so there was still a slight cool breeze. That was good; if it got too sunny, this would become uncomfortable too quickly.

Murmurs began to fill the place in anticipation of the mysterious announcement. It was rare for all the major media outlets in the world to be gathered in one place with just a few days' notice.

Such a mobilization, of course, could only be done by someone with the necessary resources. Everyone knew Tony Stark was going to communicate something, but no one knew what, which generated some controversy among the people watching either in person or on television channels through the live broadcast.

Of course, without anyone knowing, Daniel had asked Lara to intervene with the signals. He didn't want any errors or delays. Using the Fortress as the central point, Lara used advanced Kryptonian technology to temporarily and specifically enhance human telecommunications signals.

Something extremely simple for her.

.

From one of the tall buildings in Metropolis, a young man in his twenties observed all the hustle and bustle with an impassive look.

He took one of his hands out of his pockets and looked at his watch.

"It seems it will start soon," he said and turned to see the dozen shareholders sitting behind him at a long conference table.

They all had contemplative looks. In one corner, a television had begun tuning into one of the channels broadcasting the events in the plaza live.

"What do you think this is all about? Why come here? This isn't the usual way that kid acts," a man in his 60s with completely white hair commented with a frown.

All the other shareholders nodded. Metropolis was their territory, and having Tony Stark's presence wasn't a good omen. If his announcement had anything to do with the city and its businesses, it would only present more problems for them.

"It doesn't matter what he's after; LuthorCorp is still the largest company in Metropolis. If Tony Stark thinks he can stick his nose into this city, then he's in for a tough backlash," a woman's serious and cold voice was heard.

Many agreed with her. The man looking out the window smiled and turned to his sister.

"It seems you dislike him. I thought you hadn't had any contact with him until now."

The woman frowned. "I don't need to know him in person to understand what kind of man he is. Although, knowing you, I suppose you get along quite well with him, Lex."

Alexander Luthor laughed.

"I'll admit his parties are great. Still, I agree with all of you. Tony Stark won't find a place for business in this city. I'll take care of that," he said with finality.

"For now, let's watch the show. Maybe something fun will come out of all this," he stopped looking out the window and went to his seat, one of the two main seats in the room, right next to his sister.

They looked at each other, one with intensity and the other with joviality, but soon they stopped paying attention to each other and focused on the broadcast on the television.

.

"Have you found anything?" Nick Fury's voice sounded through the communicator.

Natasha Romanoff didn't stop what she was doing. She carefully observed her surroundings and, once she confirmed it was safe, responded in a relaxed manner.

"Nothing. This is the first time I can't find anything. It seems the only one who knows what this is all about is Tony Stark. Otherwise, I don't understand how there are no clues."

She had arrived at Stark Industries a few days ago. She had started a thorough investigation into Tony's kidnapping. It had been easy to find everything she needed. She was preparing to send all the information to Agent Coulson when the news spread that Tony was preparing something "big."

Fury had asked her to find out what it was once she informed him about it.

She thought it would take her an hour at most.

Days had passed, and she didn't even have a lead.

She wasn't arrogant, but she wasn't the best at what she did for nothing. This had reached the point where she couldn't help but feel frustrated, so she had come to the only conclusion that could explain it.

Only Tony Stark knew why he was making such a fuss.

If allowed, she would have extracted the information from him personally, but Director Fury had told her not to approach the man for now, so she could only stay on the sidelines.

From his office, Nick Fury narrowed his one eye and looked at his own screen, watching the newly started broadcast. The reporters on the scene were simply making the initial introductions, waiting like everyone else for the "big announcement."

"For now, stay close. If it turns out to be something unimportant, that's fine. We'll take advantage of you being there to get in touch with him beforehand. I'm sure he'll be very interested in everything you've found out." It should have been Agent Coulson who contacted Tony, but he was busy investigating some strange reports in Central City.

So Natasha would have to take his place if necessary.

Back in Metropolis.

Natasha agreed with the new orders and looked towards the stage. It seemed like it was about to begin. She adjusted the press pass hanging from her neck, smoothed the long black hair of her wig, and started walking over.

"Let's see what the surprise is."

.

Carol adjusted her trench coat and looked towards the stage. She shouldn't be here, but she couldn't help wanting to be.

Seeing it in person would surely be much more spectacular than watching it through a screen. She knew Daniel was nervous about this, but she fully trusted that everything would go well.

Still, having support was always better, and she believed her presence could help him.

She walked to a secluded spot; large crowds were never her thing. Besides, with her vision, she didn't need to be too close. Yet, she didn't stray too far. If there was any problem, she wanted to be ready to help.

She looked at the empty stage and then lifted her gaze. Others might not notice, but she could. High in the sky, almost reaching space, she saw him, looking down while his cape fluttered in the wind.

His heart beat a little faster than usual but still steady and firm.

He looked especially handsome with the sun hitting his unmasked face. If she were an ordinary person, she would have wanted to take a picture. She didn't need to, of course; the image was easily etched into her memory.

"He changed his suit." It wasn't very different, just that its colors were more similar to the suit he made for her.

She heard a sound coming from the stage. It seemed like it was time.

.

Tony stepped onto the stage and approached the main microphone at the podium. Without thinking too much about it, he tapped it three times with his finger to confirm it was on. The sound made some people wince.

"Alright, it seems I have your attention," he said calmly and waved.

"You're probably wondering why all the fuss. I've been pretty quiet these days, after all. Well, this isn't really about me, much as we'd all like it to be," he said, causing a few people to raise their eyebrows.

It's not about you? Who was he trying to fool?

One of the reporters raised his hand, but Tony quickly calmed him down.

"No questions, at least for now." That only made them want to ask questions even more.

Tony cleared his throat, looked at the watch on his hand, and knew it was time.

"Ladies and gentlemen, you are here today to talk to him," he said, pointing to the sky behind him.

People's eyes widened as they looked up and saw a silhouette, slightly shadowed by the sun, slowly descending from the sky.

His feet landed softly on the stage, and Tony stepped aside to let him stand in front and approach the podium. His job was done. He hoped this would end soon because he had something very interesting to study in his workshop after all.

As he left, he saw Pepper watching him from behind the stage with wide eyes. It was nice to see the surprise on her usually serious face.

A murmur of astonishment ran through the crowd of hundreds as they saw the figure who had become a living legend in recent months.

The amazement was even greater when they noticed his face was completely uncovered, dark blue eyes looking at them gently.

His presence was imposing. Seeing him through images did not do justice to his figure; many couldn't help but be mesmerized by the surprise.

Many reacted quickly, knowing this day could be historic.

Defiant approached the podium. Unlike Tony, he didn't try to test the microphone; it wasn't necessary.

The crowd suddenly fell silent, expectant of what might happen next.

Daniel took a deep breath. Speeches—what a complicated thing. If he said something wrong, if he did something wrong... no, thinking about it now would only make him nervous. He had to remain calm and composed, give the best impression possible, or at least an impression that wasn't disappointing.

"I want to thank Tony Stark for allowing me to do this. Without his help, it would have been difficult to gather all of you here," he said with a serene voice. Being grateful was always good, right? It showed humility.

He looked at the crowd, the cameras, and the journalists.

"I know the world has questions, concerns, and today I want to answer the most important ones. I came here today to talk with you, with all of you." He put special emphasis on the last part. Again, he had to thank Kryptonian technology because, thanks to it, Lara was translating his words in real time using the power of artificial intelligence to perfectly imitate his voice.

This way, everyone could understand his words.

Suddenly, a hand was raised. Daniel turned to see a blonde woman in her mid-twenties. She was attractive with short shoulder-length hair. He could see the logo of the Daily Planet on the badge she wore.

He nodded at her, and she quickly cleared her throat and spoke loudly. The other journalists cursed themselves internally for not being as quick and determined.

"I'm Catherine Grant from the Daily Planet. If I may ask, why now and why here, in Metropolis?" she said, looking directly at him.

.

Harleen thought the surprises were over. Of course, the surprises kept coming. Sitting in her office while watching the television, she didn't expect to see Daniel on the news like this. Sure, he was almost always in the news, but this time was different, very different.

Seeing him without a mask almost made her heart stop for a second. What was he thinking?! Revealing his secret identity like that?

To say she was confused was an understatement.

"The truth is, I wanted to do this earlier, but recent events have kept me busy. Still, I believe it's never too late. In fact, I think now is the perfect time. As for Metropolis, I think it's more than perfect for this event—a city of tomorrow that represents the future. A place where advancement is the norm seems like a fitting site to introduce myself."

Huh, that sounded... different from his usual talks. Normally, he was a bit more... informal? Casual?

It seemed that this was truly serious. It was strange and enlightening to see him act like that. It reminded her a bit of the first time they met when he seemed more like a god than a man.

Sometimes she forgot he wasn't just a man, but seeing him standing there, on that stage speaking directly to the world, yes, that was like a bucket of cold water pouring over her head, reminding her how different they really were.

She couldn't help but bite her lip, not knowing why.

"So who are you!? What are you!?" One of the reporters said brusquely, earning some glances from people around him. He had no tact or subtlety, yet no one directly scolded him because those were questions everyone had.

Daniel smiled slightly. There was no annoyance in his expression, only "kindness."

"My name has already spread by word of mouth, but I'll say it clearly: I am Defiant, and I am a hero," he said with all the confidence he could muster.

A hand was raised, a dark-skinned man stood up.

"A hero? Just a few days ago, you massacred hundreds of people in Central Asia. How can you call yourself a hero?" That question caused an uproar among the crowd, which had tripled in size since Defiant had appeared.

People from all over had begun heading to Metropolis's main square to see him in person.

Harleen frowned. She didn't recognize the man because he must have been a foreign journalist. That kind of question...

Before she could continue thinking about it, Daniel's voice was heard.

"Terrorists. I stopped hundreds of terrorists who murdered innocent people every day, people who had been forced to kneel before them without being able to defend themselves. And that is one of the reasons why I am here. I have heard people's concerns, their opinions about me and my actions. What happened in Gulmira is not something I am proud of, but it is something I would do again without hesitation if it means saving innocent lives."

"So you consider yourself a judge? An executioner? What about the laws? What about justice?" Another reporter stood up, a fair-skinned man with brown hair.

The people murmured quietly, watching the "show" without daring to blink for fear of missing something.

"I believe in justice, but I also believe this world is unjust. In an idealistic paradise, we would all be treated the same, and everyone would have the right to live a dignified and peaceful life. But this world is not an idealistic paradise, and that's why I'm here. The people in Gulmira would never have peace and justice if things were left as they were. I did what was necessary in a place where the laws abandoned them a long time ago."

His voice was forceful, causing the journalist to fall silent for a moment.

"I know many are afraid, wondering what else I will do, where the line is. But my intention has never been to harm humanity. No, from the beginning, I have always had a mission: to ensure their safety. That's why I promise you, I will never harm an innocent."

He spoke sincerely.

.

Natasha looked at the "man" who had been causing so many headaches at S.H.I.E.L.D. Unlike many others, she did not feel uncomfortable at the prospect of hundreds of terrorists dying. After all, she had killed many more.

No, she focused on studying him, studying his expression, his body language. Was this genuine? Were his words real? S.H.I.E.L.D. had been tracking Defiant since he began appearing in public. Every life saved, every act of heroism.

Everything was recorded, and all agents had reviewed his file at least three times to try and find clues about his identity, intentions, and origin.

She herself had studied every image at least a hundred times.

That's why she could believe him. There was conviction in his words. His dark blue eyes did not contain malice; she could tell. She had seen true evil hundreds of times, even thousands if she counted the times she looked in the mirror.

She stood up and raised her hand. Fury would be a little annoyed, but she couldn't help it. She also had a question.

"How can we trust you? Trust what you say?" Natasha was not one to believe in people; betrayal was usually easy to see in her line of work.

Even so, for once in her life, she wanted to believe in something, no matter how insignificant. Maybe it was the deeply optimistic part of herself speaking, one that had always been covered by mountains of corpses, wanting to see the light of day at least once in her life.

She didn't believe in idealisms, nor did she believe in something pure and perfect. That's why, at first, Defiant had seemed too suspicious, too unreal.

When she saw him with blood on his hands, that unreality vanished.

She didn't believe and couldn't believe in idealisms, but she could believe in someone capable of acting when necessary and in whatever way was necessary.

Defiant looked directly at her, their eyes meeting for a few moments before he began to respond.

"You can't," he said, causing many people to gasp, but the sincerity in his voice was enough to bring a small smile to the corner of Natasha's lips.

"Not now, at least. I know trust isn't something given or earned easily. The only thing I can offer at this moment is my future actions. Judge my deeds, not my words." His response sent a wave of murmurs through the crowd; many nodded, others shook their heads, and others doubted.

"That's a lot to ask. Do you really expect us to somehow trust that you'll do the right thing?" Cat Grant spoke again.

"It's a leap of faith, Miss Grant," he replied simply, making her look at him contemplatively.

Faith, huh...

"So that means you won't answer to anyone?!" another reporter asked excitedly.

Defiant seemed to think about the response for a few moments before speaking.

"I will answer to you, to humanity, but not to governments or their agendas. When I set out to be a hero, I did so with the intention of challenging the injustice of this world. That is what my name, this symbol, means." He patted his chest, more precisely the silver D on his suit.

"That's why I won't let anything prevent me from doing what's right," he said gravely to make his message clear before his expression relaxed and he spoke more softly.

"That doesn't mean I will seek to go against them or antagonize them on purpose. I believe cooperation is the best option, and I will be happy to do so if they wish."

.

Lex had lost the jovial smile on his face. His expression had become flat and icy, his eyes narrowing as he watched this "thing" speak on television.

He couldn't define exactly why, but bile threatened to rise in his throat the longer he watched Defiant's face.

He had felt it before, had heard of him before, but seeing him so directly only ignited something inside him, like a fire seeking to burn everything in its path.

All of this was wrong. He didn't know why, but he felt it. This thing shouldn't exist, shouldn't be giving speeches or dictating terms, expecting humanity to simply bow its head and agree.

But for some reason, they did. He could see it, see the masses beginning to lean towards him, kneeling before a false god.

It was disgusting.

"Defiant, huh..." he ground his teeth. There was something extremely unpleasant about this.

And it seemed only he could see it. He couldn't help but look with contempt at the people around him—naive, foolish, believing in false promises and stupid hopes.

He expected more from his sister, but even she seemed to have fallen into this thing's game.

Disappointing.

But if no one else could see it at that moment, it didn't matter. He would show them to their faces.

He would show them why humanity didn't need this "hero."

.

The speech continued for a few more hours, more questions, more answers.

Carol watched patiently, sometimes in complicity, sometimes irritated. Not because of Daniel—he was doing incredibly well.

Instead, it was humanity that caused her shifting mood.

There were those who, of course, saw things as they truly were, that Daniel was only trying to do what was right and the greater good for them.

But there were also those who kept questioning, questioning his intentions, his actions.

Her mother had been right about one thing: humanity could be quite blind. But that was okay. Daniel was here, and she believed he could be that beacon to illuminate their path, an ideal.

With his guidance, humanity would advance much further, be much more than they ever believed possible, and perhaps, in time, they could truly join them in the sun...

.

Nick Fury felt a significant and future headache beginning to threaten him imminently.

The council would start barking like rabid dogs after this.

Even so, he couldn't help but laugh, even if he knew this would only bring more problems.

"Quite honest, huh?"

He sighed and turned on his communicator.

"Abort the contact attempt temporarily and wait for my arrival," he said. He had to talk to Tony personally.

And if possible, with Defiant as well.

.

Matt took the cup of coffee while listening to the television, a frown present on his face.

Defiant's recent actions... saying he wasn't happy would be a lie. His own morals and ethics had been struggling within him for a while.

Killing had always been a line he never wanted to cross, something he believed was unnecessary.

As a lawyer, he believed in the justice system, believed in the law.

But Defiant was right about one thing: this world was unjust, and a place like Gulmira had been completely abandoned by the law.

He didn't know what to do.

"I need to go to church." Perhaps some reflection there would give him the answer.

.

In an old mansion, two people watched a large television with the volume up high. One of them was a young, beautiful woman with short black hair down to her neck, softly stroking a fat black cat in her arms.

"What do you think?" she spoke without taking her eyes off the screen, watching with interest.

The man, middle-aged and missing a leg, with gray hair covering most of his head, looked at the images with his one eye, snorted softly, and replied in a deep voice.

"That it would have been nice to have a bastard like this around before," he said, images of the past flooding his mind.

"At least it would have made things easier..."

The woman narrowed her eyes and bit her lip, a clear doubt on her face.

"With someone like that, is everything I've done really necessary?"

When a "god" descends from the sky, can a mortal truly make a difference?

The old man laughed.

"Foolish girl, you're already more than I ever was. Everything you've achieved is not in vain. Besides, this world is too big for one man to cover it all. Putting all our hopes on one individual is absurd," he said, though the hypocrisy in his words amused the woman. After all, their city had once put all its hopes on one man.

"Gotham has started to rot again. I can see it, and you can see it. On the surface, things seem peaceful, but this city has always been cursed. Soon that darkness will stop hiding in the cracks and show its ugly, disgusting face again, and when that happens, I know you'll be there to stop it," he said this time with more conviction.

The woman smiled at the confidence in his words.

"And you'll let me take care of everything, Thomas? Because it sounds like you're planning to kick the bucket soon," she teased.

Thomas scoffed.

"I'm old, not useless. I've still got a few more years left, Selina."

.

.

.

Note:

Four thousand three hundred words!

I hate speeches!

I actually planned to draw a lot of inspiration from Superman, but everything I found about him in similar situations didn't align with Daniel's character and ideals, so I had to improvise on the fly.

Also, so many points of view. I don't think there's been a chapter before with so many different perspectives.

It was difficult, but I think I did a good job considering all.

Probably the one who gave me the most work was Natasha. There are too many versions of that woman. She's good, she's bad, she's crazy—it's difficult. So I decided to make my own interpretation using different characteristics from various versions of her.

Let's see how it turns out...

Don't forget to comment and like!

remember that you can find the next chapter of this story on Patreon (patreon.com/EmmaCruzader). If you want to read the next chapter in advance and get some other benefits, you can go and check it out. All the support received helps me a lot ;D

 

[Emma Cruzader]

27: After Party

"They're talking a lot. Are you sure you don't want to look?" At Tony's question, Daniel shook his head and took the glass of whiskey the man was offering him.

He never thought he would feel so stressed in his life, but speaking in front of so many people almost made him wish he could move to another planet. Fortunately, those were just fleeting thoughts that he could easily dismiss.

"I know what they'll say, it'll be chaotic, but over time they'll understand, or rather, over time I'll make them understand." Of course, Daniel didn't believe that everyone was suddenly on his side. He truly thought that it would be his actions, not his words, that would count in the end.

"Actually, global surveys show a 78% acceptance rate, 15% neutrality, and 7% negativity," Tony said casually, but Daniel blinked in confusion and looked at him.

"Surveys?" What surveys?

Tony looked at him and smiled.

"Don't blame me! It was the media's idea. You know, they treat everything like politics and will try to find out how many people around the world are on your side or against you before speaking." Daniel hadn't paid them to speak well or poorly of him, and Tony hadn't either; he had only facilitated the means to deliver the news.

Any opinion was free, just as Daniel had wanted, but the media weren't foolish. When there were no vested interests, they would guide their opinion according to what the masses dictated. They cared more about profits than news or the truth.

Of course, there were still decent media outlets, but when you put them all in one basket, it's obvious that the decent ones would be a minority.

Daniel took a long sip of whiskey. 78%, huh? That was more than he expected and less than he was aiming for. It seemed he needed to make more efforts.

"And what do you think?" he couldn't help but ask. Tony, who was preparing a drink, put down his glass and looked at him thoughtfully.

"Do you want the polite answer or do you want me to be honest?" At his question, Daniel savored the taste of the alcohol on his tongue before shrugging and replying.

"If I wanted to hear lies, I'd be drinking with a girl."

Tony snorted and laughed, nodded, and took a long sip from his glass.

"Well, I think you're dangerous, well-intentioned but dangerous."

His expression became serious, and Daniel could see that he wasn't joking.

"What you want to achieve isn't simple, and the way you want to do it isn't either. Even so, everyone should have ambitions, but you have to be careful. Putting so much power into what people think of you can end up burning you out," Daniel had said that he would only answer to humanity. That was dangerous; if humanity as a whole decided that Defiant wasn't what they wanted, then what would he do?

"Noted. I suppose that's why you do what you want regardless of what others say, huh? Maybe I should have learned something from that." Daniel knew he had put himself at a "disadvantage" when he said that, but it was necessary. He wanted humanity to trust him, and if he didn't give them something to use "against" him, it would only make them distrust him even more.

By implying that they could "judge him," he had given them an imaginary "weapon" against him.

Tony nodded and patted his shoulder.

"Don't worry, D-boy, I'm very good at teaching people," then he looked at his face and clicked his tongue.

"Still, it's strange talking to you like this. I really didn't expect you to have this kind of technology. Did it come with you on your spaceship?" he asked casually, and Daniel laughed.

"I already told you, I was born on Earth."

"Sure, and I'm from Texas," Tony teased but didn't pursue the topic.

"If you want, I can turn it off. I really only use it just in case," he said, knowing that for people who knew his true face, it would be really uncomfortable to talk to him when he used his mask.

Well, except for Carol, since she could easily see through it.

"No, it's actually convenient that you have something like that, or it would have been difficult to give you your surprise."

"Surprise?" Daniel looked at him confused.

"Of course, it's been a while, but I've always said you should celebrate great achievements appropriately! Having a 78% counts as a victory in my opinion, so we should celebrate, don't you think?"

Eh, Daniel hadn't thought of it that way. Could it really be considered a victory?

"What do you have in mind?" he couldn't help but ask. He had been working very hard these days, maybe relaxing a bit would be nice.

Tony smiled and pointed towards his garage, the garage of his house in Metropolis, of course.

"I've already prepared everything, just follow me."

.

.

Daniel should have expected it; it was Tony Stark, after all. Still, when he suddenly found himself in one of the most famous clubs in Metropolis with a drink in hand and two girls by his side, he couldn't help but think that some things never change, no matter which universe you're in.

The girl dancing on his table suddenly leaned towards him, and Daniel had to snap out of his thoughts, taking a sip from his drink and looking at Tony, who seemed quite happy.

"When you said surprise, I was expecting more of a gift, you know, like a yacht or a car," not that he was complaining too much, though…

"Do you really need a car?" Tony asked with a raised eyebrow, and Daniel could only be honest.

"No... but the yacht would have been great." Tony laughed.

"What do you think, ladies? It seems Daniel prefers sailing the seas to having fun with you," the two girls beside him complained. Daniel didn't even know where they had come from, but they seemed quite energetic.

"I think he's tense, Mr. Stark. His shoulders feel too stiff," one of them said, trying to give him a massage while pressing her body against his.

"I think he's nervous, maybe uncomfortable?" the other asked, running a finger down his chest.

Daniel licked his lips and tried to take another drink, as futile as it was. It had been a while since he'd been in a situation like this, so he thought being a bit nervous was normal.

Still, he felt more nervous than he should, and he couldn't help but activate his core to see if there was something unusual. But he could only smile weakly when he noticed everything was "fine." It seemed it was just his youthful hormones acting as they normally should.

Being young again was sometimes really inconvenient, huh?

"Just relax, enjoy the moment a bit. You'll work hard later," Tony said more seriously. He knew that soon things would get busier for Defiant, even for himself. This was probably the last party he would have in a long time... or maybe the last one he would ever have.

Due to such thoughts, he couldn't help but touch the reactor on his chest.

This gesture did not go unnoticed by Daniel; he knew he was missing something. Well, Tony was lucky; if he couldn't solve it himself, Daniel would do something about it later.

"You're right, we can stress out later," he said, making Tony snap out of his thoughts and nod happily.

Daniel pulled the girls closer to him and sighed inwardly with a smile at the corner of his lips.

The things he did for friendship...

.

.

.

"How are the preparations going?" Obadiah asked, slowly approaching the nearly finished metal frame of his armor.

It was enormous, over two meters tall, made from the hardest metal he could obtain by bleeding his fortune. He couldn't help but reach out and touch it, already envisioning an unparalleled future.

"This metal is extraordinary, sir! Even though the amount was barely enough for the main structure, its properties will undoubtedly make this armor surpass any other weapon! And it will soon be completed," one of the scientists in charge said. He had never worked with a metal with such unique properties before, making this project undoubtedly the most extraordinary of his career.

Obadiah smiled, though internally he was mortified. Obtaining such metal had been too difficult; in fact, he couldn't have done it on his own.

He had to turn to the Ten Rings again, and they only gave him the initial contact.

Ulysses Klaue had been a difficult man to deal with and very elusive. It had taken bleeding millions just to start the negotiations and dozens of millions more to finally get some of the metal in his hands and test its authenticity.

Fortunately, it was real and not a scam. Rumors of vibranium trading on the black market had been circulating for a long time, but almost no one dared to try buying such metal; its price was simply insane.

If it turned out to be fake, very few could afford such a loss.

If he weren't in a desperate situation, Obadiah wouldn't have taken such a risk.

But with his life on the line, no matter how costly or improbable, he would take all the options.

"There's only one problem, sir..." another scientist, the project's chief, spoke, stepping forward.

"The power source?" Obadiah asked, already knowing what it was about. While the main frame was almost finished, they had yet to start implementing the power system due to the lack of something that could supply enough energy to move the armor.

Initially, Obadiah had planned to steal Tony's reactor, take it directly from his chest, and easily dispose of him.

But the recent revelation that Tony now had direct and public contact with Defiant had made him change his plans.

He didn't know how close Tony's relationship with the hero was; if he acted rashly and carelessly, he might end up facing Defiant prematurely.

He hadn't spent hundreds of millions of dollars on the most powerful metal on the planet just to end up fighting without his armor.

He knew he wouldn't stand a chance in that case.

Suddenly, Obadiah's skin began to glow, and a heat that permeated the surrounding atmosphere started to emanate from within him.

His clothes caught fire, revealing a body very different from what one would expect from a rich old man.

With a smile, he looked at the astonished scientists who stepped back in fear.

"What do you think about a thermal energy source?"

In response to his question, the lead scientist, the only one who didn't step back, also smiled.

.

.

.

"Do you understand now?" Lara asked, and Carol nodded, looking at the data on the screen.

"This was much simpler than I expected," her mother had been giving some intensive courses, and even though she could only dedicate a few hours before returning home, Carol managed to progress quickly and consistently.

"Your mind and brain aren't like those of humans, Carol. Even without the yellow sun enhancing such characteristics, you must remember you come from the House of El."

Carol rolled her eyes, anticipating another speech.

"Sure, a family of scientists and all that, but personally, I prefer fighting," Carol replied. It was true, something she didn't realize until she found someone to spar with. It was much more fun than studying, much more exhilarating—when you weren't in danger of dying, of course.

Lara nodded and sighed. "Well, that's probably my fault."

Carol looked at her curiously, and Lara couldn't resist wanting to brag a little to her daughter.

"When I was alive, I was one of the most talented cadets at the Military Academy on Krypton." Remembering old times was strange, especially when you knew you were technically dead.

"I thought you were a scientist?" Carol couldn't help but ask.

"Can't I be both? Although, certainly, your father had more talent in that aspect." Maybe if she had dedicated herself to studying from a young age, she could have been as accomplished as him, but she was born to be part of Krypton's military branch.

It wasn't until she met Jor-El that she tried to change the nature dictated to her from birth.

Carol glanced sideways at her mother with a new perspective and thought about something she and Daniel had been looking for.

"Does that mean Krypton has martial arts? Not the normal ones, but martial arts for those under a yellow star?" She knew Daniel had been trying to create a combat method they could use that wouldn't limit them like most human fighting styles.

Seeing her daughter's curiosity, Lara nodded and projected a screen with information on it.

"Though saying it's only for those under a yellow star isn't entirely correct. The reality is that Torquasm-Vo shows its greatest advantages when a Kryptonian is exposed to one."

Carol looked at the information attentively.

"Torquasm-Vo and Torquasm-Rao?"

"Torquasm-Rao focuses more on the mental area. I'm not very well-versed in it, so you'd have to learn it using the recorded data. On the other hand, I can say that I know quite a bit about Torquasm-Vo, so if you want, I can teach you some things."

That sounded much more interesting than studying.

"Well, maybe I can surprise Daniel later." Surely this time she could make him fight more seriously.

And if she managed to pique his interest, maybe she could give him private lessons.

.

.

.

Daniel slowly opened his eyes and stared at the unfamiliar ceiling. Sleeping always felt strange when you didn't really need it, and so did dreaming.

Carefully, he moved the slender arms that were hugging his bare torso and sat up. There were groans from the two girls sleeping beside him, but he no longer had time to waste. It was time to discuss important matters with Tony.

He threw off the sheets and stood up. Where had he left his pants? He looked around the room, confused for a moment, until he remembered he hadn't been the one to take them off.

Then he looked up and almost sighed. How had they ended up up there?

.

Tony turned on the TV in his living room, watching the news. They were still talking about Defiant.

"They're still on that, huh?" Daniel's voice made Tony turn to see him coming down from the second floor with disheveled hair.

"What did you expect, D-boy? They'll probably talk about it for the whole month."

"Unless something else grabs their attention," Daniel said, sitting on one of the couches and watching the TV for a moment.

"The governments have yet to give a definitive response to the hero's statements, but—"

Tony turned off the TV and gestured for Daniel to follow him.

"Instead of listening to the same thing they've been saying since yesterday, it's better if we go and get something to eat. I know there's a lot to talk about."

Daniel nodded, ready to stand up. He had promised to talk about the "monsters" and other topics with him. Maybe he could even warn him about Obadiah.

"How about we chat here? I've brought breakfast."

Tony blinked, confused by the unfamiliar voice, and looked at Daniel, who was already staring in a specific direction.

He turned to see a dark-skinned man with an eye patch walking toward them, carrying two bags that appeared to be filled with food.

"Jarvis?" Tony called out, but his AI didn't respond.

Daniel watched the scene with interest, wondering how he had let himself get so distracted. It seemed he had gotten too carried away.

More footsteps were heard, and soon a beautiful red-haired woman descended from the second floor.

"I've taken care of the civilians."

Daniel frowned slightly and focused his hearing. The heartbeats of the girls were still there, fortunately, just much fainter, as if they were in a deep sleep, likely induced by some kind of sedative.

He couldn't help but raise his hand timidly, drawing the attention of the uninvited guests.

"If I say I didn't see anything, can I leave?" At his words, Tony looked at him in "mortification."

The red-haired woman smiled and shook her head slowly.

"No, I don't think so."

Well, he had tried. What a bother; he would have to modify the features of his disguise later.

"I believe I should introduce myself. My name is Nick Fury, Director of SHIELD. It's a pleasure to meet you in person, Tony, Defiant."

Daniel opened his eyes in "astonishment" and pointed to himself.

"Are you referring to me? I think there's a misunderstanding here, sir—" Before he could finish speaking, the sound of a gunshot rang out, and Daniel saw the bullet approaching him slowly. He couldn't help but sigh and raise his hand to catch it between his fingers.

He looked at the red-haired woman and gently scolded her.

"You know, you could have hurt someone."

"Only if it wasn't you," she replied, holstering her weapon.

Daniel clicked his tongue and deactivated his mask using his watch. There was no point in continuing to use it at this stage.

He couldn't help but look at both of them and ask the question on his mind.

"How did you know?" Even if he had been partying with Tony, that shouldn't be enough to shoot him without hesitation, right?

"I had some doubts, so I put a little morphine in your drink. When you didn't fall asleep, I tried some Etorphine to be sure," the redhead said.

Eh, no wonder they tasted different. Maybe he should learn to distinguish such things even if they don't affect him.

"All right, enough idle chatter," Tony wasn't very happy; he didn't like people entering his house without permission.

"What did you do with Jarvis?" he asked Fury directly. His A.I. wasn't something that could be easily overlooked.

"Probably a backdoor in his systems. Since this isn't your main house, it must have been easy to breach its security," Daniel answered, already having an idea of what had happened.

"You're quite perceptive," Nick said, admitting without saying that it was indeed what happened.

Tony clicked his tongue; he should improve Jarvis's security in that case.

Daniel stood up and walked over to Fury, easily taking the bags from his hands, much to the man's bewilderment.

"Smells good, freshly made from what I see," he walked over to the table in the living room and began unpacking the dishes and arranging the place. When he didn't hear them approaching, he turned to look at them.

"What's up? Are we having breakfast or not?"

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Note:

Let's keep moving forward!

if there are any mistakes, you can tell me, and I'll correct them immediately.

remember that you can find the next chapter of this story on Patreon (patreon.com/EmmaCruzader). If you want to read the next chapter in advance and get some other benefits, you can go and check it out. All the support received helps me a lot ;D

 

[Emma Cruzader]

28: Initiative

Daniel picked up the cutlery and looked at his plate, a classic Italian meal, who would have thought.

"Are you really going to eat that? Are we just going to forget that a moment ago this strange and sexy redheaded lady admitted to putting something in your drink?" Tony couldn't help but ask, frowning at the plate Daniel had placed in front of him.

Daniel smiled and began to eat, savoring the food for a few moments before nodding.

"Don't worry, this has nothing in it, it's just food," he said confidently, causing Natasha to raise an eyebrow.

"You look pretty sure for someone who didn't notice his drink was tampered with," Daniel looked at her and nodded in agreement with her point.

"Oh, I knew there was something, I just didn't care. I wasn't partying as Defiant after all." The previous night, he had decided to go along with Tony's game and have some fun. It helped that it wasn't his real face that was exposed. He felt like neither Defiant nor Daniel, just another guy who could enjoy a party without the responsibilities he had imposed on himself, releasing stress and some of his repressed desires.

It was relaxing, but the time for games was over.

Natasha raised an eyebrow, noting this to herself.

Tony hesitated for a second before taking one of the cutlery pieces and starting to eat as well. In this situation, Daniel and he were on the same side. If Daniel said it was okay, then he would take a leap of "faith" as Daniel had called it in his conference.

"Hey, it actually tastes good," he couldn't help but comment.

"It's from one of the best restaurants around," Fury said.

Soon the four of them were eating in an awkward silence. Perhaps the most casual of all present was Daniel, followed by Natasha. The tensest was Tony, without a doubt.

Suddenly, Tony snapped his fingers and raised his hand, making circles with his finger on the side of his head as if trying to indicate something.

"Now I remember, what was his name? Philips? Well, never mind. He told me he was from SHIELD, and now I have you guys here, so I assume you have what I asked for?"

He asked, setting his cutlery down on his now half-empty plate and looking at Fury.

Natasha smiled. Coulson would surely be a little annoyed if he knew Stark didn't even remember his name correctly.

Fury smiled and nodded, also putting down his cutlery.

"Oh, Stark, I have much more than what you asked for, a lot of information that will surely be interesting to you." In response, Tony raised an eyebrow and opened his arms in a welcoming gesture.

"Well, enlighten us."

"You want to know now? Well, I suppose being impatient is fine, after all, it's about the reason you ended up with that in your chest," he pointed at the blue light shining through Tony's shirt.

Tony couldn't help but place his hand on his chest, feeling the Arc Reactor beneath his clothes.

"Spit it out already. I don't like beating around the bush."

Meanwhile, Daniel just watched them, quietly eating. For now, he had nothing to say. Listening to a conversation about something he probably already knew wasn't as interesting as the plate in front of him. He had thought the food would taste bad, like most meals made by regular people, but surprisingly, although not as perfect as Carol's cooking, it wasn't bad either. He would have to find out which restaurant this came from.

He looked up and met Natasha's eyes, who was smiling at him mysteriously. He nodded at her and pointed to one of the sauces that was out of his reach.

She blinked in confusion but quickly understood the gesture and handed the sauce to him.

"Thanks."

"Obadiah?!" Daniel stopped eating and quickly held onto his plate as the table shook violently when Tony slammed both hands on it.

Had he missed that much?

He turned to see the agitated man looking at Fury.

"You shouldn't be so surprised. I knew you had an argument about his illegal arms sales the last time you met. I thought you would have seen this coming," Fury said calmly.

"One thing is selling weapons illegally, but trying to kill me… that's…" Tony had learned that his godfather wasn't exactly the person he thought he was, but to this extent? He supposed he had been too naive. Even when he had already turned his back on him, he hadn't fully suspected him as he should have.

Daniel reached out and placed his hand on Tony's shoulder.

"If you know this, then you have enough evidence to declare him guilty, don't you?" Daniel asked, looking at Fury.

Fury nodded at him and gestured towards Natasha.

"This is Natasha Romanoff, one of my best agents. She handled the investigation and gathered everything necessary to send Obadiah to prison."

Daniel nodded and patted Tony on the back.

"Don't worry. With this, you'll be able to regain full control of your company, and Obadiah will pay for his crimes. Things have become simpler, don't you think?" Daniel knew Tony had been planning to regain complete control of Stark Industries. Tony had mentioned it the previous night while they were drinking.

Well, now he didn't need a plan.

"I wouldn't say they have," Natasha suddenly said.

Daniel stopped his pats and looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"What do you mean?" Tony asked in a serious voice.

"While I was investigating, I noticed that his closest personnel had been replaced and his bank accounts modified. I could track everything he had done in the past, but his recent moves became elusive. It's not something he could have done alone; he's working with someone else." Natasha was very good at what she did, but when an entire organization suddenly started interfering, it became complicated even for her to keep investigating without the necessary resources.

SHIELD had been quite short on resources these days. She had practically been working alone, so she had to step back before being discovered by Stane's sponsors and risking the entire investigation.

"At the risk of being wrong, though I don't think I am, I'll assume the Ten Rings have started to interfere," Daniel said.

"And you're not wrong. The Ten Rings are a larger organization than people think, more than just simple terrorists, though that's the reason they are most known these days," Fury said seriously.

"The Ten Rings, it's always them," Tony gritted his teeth. The Ten Rings had kidnapped him, The Ten Rings killed Yinsen, and attacked Gulmira. He thought he had dealt with them for good when he destroyed all their bases in Afghanistan, but it seemed they were like cockroaches, unwilling to leave him alone, and now they were plotting something else from the shadows.

It seemed he would have to show them why messing with him was a very bad idea.

Tony took a deep breath and calmed down, sitting back down.

"Alright, you've given me what I asked for. What do you want?" He hadn't forgotten what he had said to Philips. Now that SHIELD had fulfilled their part, it was time to see why they needed to talk to him.

"Actually, you've already given us one of those things," Fury said, pointing at Daniel.

Daniel blinked, pointed to himself, and with a look of "pain," he glanced at Tony and spoke in a "disappointed" tone, placing a hand on his chest.

"Wow, Tony, we just became friends, and you've already sold me out. A Merchant to the end, huh?"

Seeing his aggrieved face, Tony's left eye suddenly wanted to twitch.

"If you keep looking at me like that, I'll punch you even if I break my hand," Daniel laughed but quickly returned to a serious expression.

"they seem to be getting along quite well" Natasha said, and Fury nodded.

Tony sighed and looked back at Fury.

"Alright, what's the other thing? Since you said this guy was just one of those things, you must want something else, right?" he said, pointing to Daniel.

Fury nodded and spoke.

"Your arm—"

"No," Tony cut him off with a cold voice.

He wasn't surprised that they could figure out it was him wearing the armor. With Defiant by his side, it was very difficult not to notice or at least infer that the armor had something to do with him.

Many might say Tony was arrogant, but he undoubtedly had the capabilities to back up that arrogance, and everyone who knew him was aware of that. If anyone could create an armor like the one that deployed in Afghanistan, it was him. His association with Defiant only made more people suspect.

Daniel knew he was risking Tony's still-secret identity when he asked for his help, which is why he was grateful to him. While other versions of Tony Stark might not care about a secret identity, Daniel hadn't known the Tony Stark of this universe long enough to say if it would be the same with him. That's why he knew the favor he was asking for wasn't simple.

Practically, he was asking Tony to reveal that he was Iron Man indirectly. People would suspect, the government would suspect, and agencies like SHIELD would undoubtedly suspect as well.

Even so, Tony agreed, already knowing that this matter could cause him future problems. Of course, Daniel had "paid" for the favor by giving him something that could be very useful to him, leaving them in a good position where no debts interfered with their newly formed partnership.

"I had to try," Fury smiled, raising both hands.

"Better luck in your next life," Tony mocked.

Fury smiled but didn't get upset. He looked at Tony more seriously before asking another question.

"Tell me, do you know where SHIELD comes from?" Tony quickly shook his head.

"I just found out they existed." The reality was that Tony hadn't been very interested in secret agencies or criminal organizations, so he didn't know as much as he would have liked.

"SHIELD was created after World War II ended. With Captain America gone, someone had to finish what he started. There were still remnants of Hydra around the world, after all. Agent Carter, along with your father and a few others, decided to put their efforts and resources into carrying out that task," Fury explained.

Tony blinked, surprised.

"My father?" he asked in a low, somewhat bewildered voice.

The dark-skinned man nodded and continued speaking.

"Once Hydra was eliminated, SHIELD moved on to more important matters, with global security being the primary one."

"For a global security agency, you've certainly been doing a rather… poor job," Daniel couldn't help but comment as he finished cleaning his plate.

Natasha raised an eyebrow at his comment.

"You know, I could list many examples, but I suppose I can use the most recent one," he said, pointing at Tony.

"Isn't all of this due to you?" Fury couldn't help but respond, making Daniel point to himself again.

"Yes, you, the biggest pain in the ass I've had in the last ten years."

"Hope it's for my great work helping people," Daniel couldn't resist replying.

"I'd say it's more about the dozens of aerial and territorial laws you've been violating, not to mention what happened in Central Asia," Tony had to add fuel to the fire.

"I seem to recall you were there too," Daniel said with an innocent smile.

Nick sighed and spoke more calmly.

"Maybe blaming you for everything isn't fair. The reality is that in the past five years, problems have been increasing, and SHIELD can barely keep things under control." Nick then pulled a square device from his pocket and placed it on the table.

Then several projected screens began to unfold with very interesting images on them.

Videos and photographs, information about incidents clearly beyond human capabilities.

Security footage showed a tall bald man, who seemed to absorb the physical characteristics of the objects he touched, robbing a bank in Sweden.

In Paris, a beast-like man with blonde hair killed several men with his bare hands, any wound he received during the conflict healed the moment after.

In northern Mexico, images captured a figure with a flaming skull riding a blazing motorcycle, massacring a group of drug traffickers with what appeared to be a red-hot metal chain.

Australia seemed to have a plague of spiders as big as bears that had barely been contained by an entire army of troops firing nonstop.

In an African jungle, the inhabitants of an indigenous village began fleeing from what appeared to be an army of gorillas and other beasts, all too coordinated to be a "natural" stampede.

Closer to home, in Chicago, images had been taken of a man resembling a crocodile devouring a homeless person.

There were more and more incidents like these.

Probably the most striking of all was a huge green monster destroying an entire army with his bare hands, decimating tanks as if they were made of wet paper and ignoring any attack against him as if no weapon could harm him, a blind rage evident in his expression.

"These are just a few of the many incidents that keep happening day by day. At first, SHIELD could handle it. The best agents under my command and our military forces were enough to face these threats, but over time, it became clear to me that 'normal' humans simply wouldn't be enough," Nick's voice sounded somewhat bitter at the end.

"Then you arrived, and things got even more complicated." Defiant was undoubtedly a great help but also a significant headache. Without truly knowing his intentions, SHIELD couldn't afford to treat him as if he weren't a threat.

Fortunately for everyone, Defiant had shown where he stood in the already fragmented balance of the world.

Tony looked at the images with growing interest. This was the first time he saw such a mysterious side of the world he had lived in all his life.

How had he missed all of this?

"Why tell us all this? What are you looking for??" Daniel looked at the images, making sure to remember all the necessary information for his own investigations.

"What SHIELDhas always been looking for: global security. And for that, I believe—no, I'm sure the world needs your help," Fury responded more firmly.

"So, cooperation?" Tony asked, having already understood Fury's point.

"Yes, I want you to be part of a new initiative, a response team capable of dealing with threats beyond the norm," the SHIELD director concluded and fell silent, waiting for their response.

Daniel rubbed his chin for a few moments before responding with a kind smile.

"I can agree to tacit cooperation, but if being part of this 'team' means there will be restrictions, then I'll say no." He decided to make his boundaries clear.

"Not answering to any government, I heard it in your speech," Fury said.

"I have to side with D-boy here. I'm not one to follow orders, and I don't like being supervised or anything similar," Tony said, agreeing with Daniel's words.

Fury frowned. He knew things wouldn't be easy, but he had to try.

"SHIELD doesn't work for the governments," he said, but before he could continue, Daniel interrupted him.

"But it's funded by them, isn't it? No matter what you say about SHIELD, as long as its resources come from the governments in one way or another, they will have influence over you," At least that's what Daniel thought.

"Not as much as you think. While we are affiliated with them, our authority is still superior in many aspects."

Tony remained silent for a moment before speaking.

"What if I am the one who finances this team?" he said casually, causing Daniel and Fury to look at him.

"We can start by working with SHIELD, only if they do not interfere with the way we do things. We will help them, of course, but if they ask for something we disagree with, then we will refuse. I believe the governments of the world will want Defiant and me to be on their side in the public eye, making them think they have some 'control,' but it doesn't have to be that way in reality. To prevent them from having a say, SHIELD will not use any resources given by them for this team. If they refuse, I'll simply create the team without them and without SHIELD," he said, proposing his idea and waiting for Fury to think it over.

Daniel smiled and also spoke.

"Interesting idea. The governments can accept this and gain the public benefits it will bring without spending anything in return while creating an illusion of control, or they can refuse and end up with nothing, looking completely useless in the eyes of the people."

In summary, they cooperate and improve their public image, or he and Tony create this team on their own, ignoring SHIELD and the governments, making them look useless by not needing them.

Fury remained silent, deep in thought.

"If what you said earlier is true, then there should be no problem following this method, right? After all, SHIELD's authority is still superior in many aspects, isn't it?" Daniel asked, but he didn't really care if Fury agreed or not.

The only reason he wanted SHIELD nearby was because of the snake hiding within it.

After all, his father always told him to keep his friends close and his enemies closer.

It would be better if he could keep an eye on SHIELD without much effort. Once the right moment came, he could start removing the rotten parts and see if anything could be salvaged.

"An alliance, then," Fury finally said.

"But for it to be an alliance, SHIELD must still contribute something. I believe the governments can accept this, but they will also want to contribute something to maintain this 'illusion' you mentioned."

The governments would likely grit their teeth but end up accepting in the end. Even so, any facade would crumble without something to support it.

"SHIELD will use all its resources and privileges to help you deal with any supernatural occurrences, and in return, you will assist with any event that could endanger the world. On paper, it will look like you agree to be under SHIELD's supervision, like a special response team directly overseen by me."

"Only if that 'supervision' remains theoretical, of course," Tony emphasized, and Fury nodded.

Daniel thought it over and nodded slowly, but he still had one more question.

"And theoretically speaking, what would our obligations be? I don't think you would just let us do our own thing and only call us when you find something your agents can't handle on their own, right?" Of course, if it were simple things, Daniel could be lenient, but if Fury asked for something that interfered too much with his life, he would refuse once again.

"Although it might be hard to believe, that was my initial plan. I have no intentions of controlling your actions. No, I don't think that's possible. Instead, I believe working together is more suitable for global security. I'm not like those rancid, outdated politicians who want to have everything under their control," he said sincerely.

"Initial plan, huh? And what was the subsequent plan?" Tony asked with a smile on his face.

"Does it even matter now?" Since they weren't going to be under real supervision, any other plan was useless.

Daniel looked at the ceiling with his hands behind his head. What should he do? Well, he actually already knew. If Fury truly kept to what he and Tony had established, then working with SHIELD would be fine for now.

He smiled and looked at the SHIELD director and Natasha.

"Well, I will tentatively accept the offer, but if things change or if something I disagree with starts happening, then don't blame me for leaving without warning," he warned sincerely.

"I can work with that," Fury finally said. Having direct contact with Defiant was undoubtedly better than knowing nothing. At least this way, many of his questions could be answered.

Tony took a few seconds more to speak.

"Eh, I think I'll take D-boy's words here. Besides, since my father is one of the founders, I'd like to see what the old man did without me noticing," Tony was genuinely interested in SHIELD. Why had his father never mentioned it?

The SHIELD director nodded. It wasn't exactly what he had expected upon coming here, but it was better than leaving empty-handed. He stood up and smiled at both of them.

"In that case, let me welcome you to the Avengers."

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Note:

A chapter full of dialogue! Originally, I thought about including more, but it feels like too much for now. I'll spread out the rest over several subsequent chapters. For now, I think it's time for some action.

Originally I wasn't planning on uploading this until a few days later but I'm excited since tomorrow I'm going to the pre-premiere of Deadpool and Wolverine so I couldn't contain myself hahaha.}

remember that you can find the next chapter of this story on Patreon (patreon.com/EmmaCruzader). If you want to read the next chapter in advance and get some other benefits, you can go and check it out. All the support received helps me a lot ;D