In the light curtain video, a fight was breaking out atop a cemetery hill.
Hank Pym was shocked to realize that the Nick Fury in front of him not only reacted faster than he did, but was also much quicker overall. Even if Fury stood still, Hank couldn't so much as brush the hem of his coat.
Anyone with eyes could see it—Baldy was toying with Hank Pym, batting him around like a cat playing with a mouse.
After taking several hits in a row, Hank finally came to his senses. He decided to shrink down and fly away, but before he could escape, another Nick Fury appeared above him. With a casual wave, Pym was frozen solid by an ice spike and sent crashing to the ground.
Looking up, he saw that the area around him was filled with countless Nick Furys, each one laughing mockingly.
Perhaps deciding he'd had enough fun, the Nick Furys all shifted into the form of another man—Loki.
Outside the screen, Tony Stark shook his head.
"That bastard! I can't believe I actually forgot about him for a moment. Just watch—he's not going to let this go easily."
Natasha Romanoff frowned. "We've fought him before. He's a cunning, slippery opponent. Let's hope these tragedies can be changed."
"Interesting…" Homelander stared blankly at the video of Loki. After capturing the man who had killed his brother, Loki of course didn't honor his promise to leave Earth with his army.
Instead, he blatantly broke the deal and stormed into the UN headquarters, using overwhelming force to declare to the world that from now on, Earth would be under his rule.
Erik glanced at Homelander. "He's not human—he's a god."
Homelander grinned, flashing white teeth against his darkened face. "With enough power, a man becomes a god. Like me."
Erik studied him with interest. "I've seen some of your future footage. I'm curious—what is it you actually want? To rule the world… or destroy it?"
Homelander fell silent. Perhaps he didn't even know himself. Did he crave recognition, praise, and glory? Or was it a real, loving family of his own?
His eyes showed confusion.
Erik smiled faintly. "You know, even though you're a villain, you're just a petty, ordinary kind of villain. No ambition. No purpose. You're just a pathetic, ordinary man—like a baby—who happened to get power and completely lost himself."
Homelander's face twisted with rage, eyes locked on Erik. His fists clenched as if he might burst through the light beam and smash Erik's skull right then and there.
But he had already experienced the punishment of this quiz game firsthand, and the memory of the electric shock still made his body shiver.
Instead, he jabbed a finger at Erik, snarling, "You'd better be glad we're in here. If we were outside, I'd crush your skull in my hands! You have no idea what I've been through!"
Erik chuckled dismissively. "A lab rat tortured and experimented on? Honestly, I used to think people should learn to grow strong from pain.
But after seeing your future, I realized only a few can do that. Most ordinary people, like you, just get crushed by it. Trust me—without your powers, you're nothing."
Tony leaned back and applauded. "Well said, Erik. Even if you're a villain, you nailed it."
He shot Homelander a mocking smile. "Do you even know who you're talking to? This guy once kidnapped America's president single-handedly and live-streamed killings to the whole world!
He's been through the same pain you have—spent his childhood in a Nazi concentration camp, then was locked in a lab as an experimental subject."
"And when he grew strong, the first thing he did was hunt down and kill the man who tortured him—no matter the cost. Now look at you, Homelander. What have you done? Played a movie star at some film company?"
"Hahaha! Thanks for the laughs, really. Your future videos are pure comedy gold. I'm sure plenty of others agree."
Homelander was on the verge of exploding. He had never been humiliated like this before. Suddenly, he laughed coldly. "Good… very good…"
Then his expression hardened into a snarl.
"You'd better watch yourselves. Don't let me win this game, or I'll show you what real despair looks like!"
Tony, unfazed, shrugged. "Please. You're in dead last with the most negative points. Stop dreaming about winning this game—you'll need a miracle."
Homelander just sneered twice, saying nothing. He knew he couldn't win in a war of words—especially against two of them.
Just then, the correct answer video ended, and a new question appeared:
[In a world infected by the zombie virus, which of the following superheroes will not turn into a super-zombie?]
[A: Iron Man (Tony Stark)
B: Spider-Man (Peter Parker)
C: Captain America (Steve Rogers)
D: Black Widow (Natasha Romanoff)]
Outside the screen, Tony Stark let out a "Wow." "A parallel world where a superhero catches a zombie virus? Can I just say—that's kind of cool?"
Erik shot him a glance. "Then I can only say you're cold-blooded, Tony Stark."
Natasha mused, "So the question wants us to guess. Maybe it's about who's more likely to escape being infected?"
"Who knows?" Tony shrugged. But in his mind, he had already chosen B.
With his usual ego, he'd normally pick A—himself—but he'd been wrong enough times to learn his lesson.
Spider-Man seemed the most likely to survive. His danger sense combined with his agility made him well-suited to dodging zombie attacks.
Besides, if one person had to make it out alive, Tony would rather it be the kid.
So, both emotionally and logically, he picked B.
At the same time, the light screen showed short intro videos for all four options—just to give the newcomers some background.
Among them, Iron Man soaring through the skies and Spider-Man swinging through the steel canyons of the city drew the most attention from the players.
_____
T/N:
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