Superman Marvel Adventures

After slightly altering the meteorite's trajectory, the group prepared to rest and then go aboard, hoping to find some clues. After all, if Athena's analysis was correct, this meteorite seemed to have acted intentionally, aiming to destroy habitable planets in the solar system or disrupt their cosmic environment.

The four of them flew quickly over the meteorite, observing the surroundings and using their instruments to transmit the images back to the watchtower for Athena to analyze further.

"It's right here. Look, what's carved on that wall? Let's go take a look," Phoenix Girl said, pointing to a ruined wall not far away.

The group nodded in agreement and immediately flew toward their destination, landing in front of the ruined wall. They then discovered that the wall was actually a door, with a dark opening not far from the entrance, blocked by several fallen stone pillars.

"Look quickly! What's painted here doesn't seem to be humanoid creatures, but insects?!" The Sun Goddess exclaimed, looking at the mural.

"Hmm, it seems to be a group of insects. Look here, and here too. It should be some kind of giant beetle," Luo said, pointing to a graphic.

“It looks just like the one in the movie from a few years ago,” Phoenix said, looking at the mural with a hint of disbelief. “This should be the brain worm from the movie, but how is this possible? Isn’t this just a movie made up of human imagination?”

The man carefully examined the images recorded on the ruins and then said, "We can't deal with this for now, but if the records on the murals are true, then this should be the burial ground where the Zerg sealed their enemies. Look here, it records this event, and the appearance of that burial ground seems very similar to the space island beneath our feet."

"What do we do now? Go in and take a look?" Logan asked. "Or should we leave now? After all, we don't know if we'll break the Zerg's seal. These guys up there are no simple creatures, and in this endless space, their weaknesses seem to be protected. They're a very difficult opponent to deal with."

Upon hearing this, everyone fell into deep thought. If they wanted to destroy the meteorite, they might release the terrifying enemy recorded on the ruins that would cause serious losses to the Zerg. However, if they did not destroy the meteorite, Earth would be in crisis again. Thus, everyone was caught in a dilemma.

“Let’s go in and take a look. If it’s a sealing technique, I know a thing or two about it, and this thing has a very obvious weakness. Besides, I don’t believe that those guys will survive if we throw them into the Sun Star!” the Sun Goddess suddenly said.

After hearing this, the man said, "Alright, let's go in and take a look. After all, we need to confirm whether this mural is real and whether this altar is truly the sealed place." With that, he threw the pillars at the entrance of the cave aside and went inside.

Upon seeing this, the Sun Goddess and the others followed her into the dark cave entrance. They walked up the steps for nearly ten minutes until they reached a large hall. Along the way, illuminated by the Sun Goddess's magic, they also noticed and memorized some of the murals on the walls.

It is certain that, unless this mural is a prank, it comes from the star system where the Zerg once ruled. The Zerg's destruction seems to be related to the demon sealed in this sealed land, which is what the Zerg called the race they sealed away.

It was a strange life form, like a lump of oil. When it existed alone, it had no power, but it emanated a strange spiritual energy that lured creatures to fall and attach themselves to the bodies of powerful beings. First, it completely copied the other's abilities, and then it began to devour the other's life force until the other died.

According to the murals, these creatures suddenly appeared in the universe where the Zerg lived. At first, the powerful Zerg did not pay attention to this weak creature until it replicated itself, continuously multiplied, and controlled most of the Zerg at that time, causing the Zerg to fall into internal strife.

After hundreds of years of fighting, the Zerg incorporated a strange gene targeting that creature into several suicide squads, and had them sacrifice themselves on the battlefield with this gene. As a result, this powerful creature, which they called the Symbiotic Beast, finally developed a fatal weakness. Ultimately, it was sealed in this altar by the Zerg's powerful warriors and permanently banished from its own universe. It is unknown why it appeared in the Milky Way galaxy or why it was deliberately lured into the solar system by someone.

At this moment, everyone was already in the hall, where there was a circular altar with a strange stone on it.

"It seems this is the sealed land, and that strange stone must be the symbiotic beast that caused that powerful insectoid race such a great loss, right?" Logan observed the surroundings and noticed that apart from the altar, there were only a few giant mantis-like beetle statues. He spoke up.

The Sun Goddess squinted slightly and said, "That's right, this is the sealed land, but something's not right. Everyone, be careful."

Upon hearing this, the man immediately became alert and quickly scanned the entire hall with his sharp eyesight before shouting, "Watch out, this is a trap!"

Boom! ...

On the other side, Phoenix Flames ignited around Logan and Phoenix Girl, instantly vaporizing the inky liquid that had been aimed at them, putting them safe. Meanwhile, the man continuously evaded the ink attacks using his speed and constantly employed his heat vision. Unfortunately, such defenses were prone to lapses; a small ball of inky liquid flew from a blind spot, quickly attaching itself and enveloping most of his body in the blink of an eye.

"Adam!!! Damn it, get out of my way!" Logan roared upon seeing this, immediately raising his now golden metal claws and swinging them at the person enveloped in the ink-colored liquid.

Three sharp claws were hardly a good way to attack this liquid. Aside from being blocked by the person's powerful body, Logan's attack had no effect whatsoever. Meanwhile, the person who had been struggling earlier began to slowly stop, as the inky liquid had already covered their neck, and a few more steps would completely engulf them.

"Let me do it!" The Sun Goddess's voice was very calm, and she did not panic because of the fact that people were symbiotic with the enemy.

The Sun Goddess uttered a few strange syllables, and with a wave of her hand, a burst of solar fire suddenly appeared on Adam, followed by a mournful cry from him.

"Christine, Adam can't take it anymore, stop it!" Logan shouted immediately, having already smelled the aroma of roasted meat and heard Adam's screams.

“No, this is not Adam’s voice. Calm down, Logan!” Christine’s voice was calm and tinged with heartache, but she quickly regained her composure and did not waver because of the voice of 'Adam'. Instead, she continued to cast the spell to burn the symbiotic beast covering Adam.

"You don't mean to burn Adam alive, do you?" Logan roared, seemingly taken aback by Christine's cold-bloodedness.

Christine scoffed and said, "What I created is merely solar fire. It poses no threat to Adam whatsoever. Don't be fooled by the symbiote, Logan!"

"Keep burning, I'm fine!!!" A human voice came out from the flames, one word at a time. He said, "This thing on my body should be the symbiotic beast. It's absorbing my energy. I can't resist for now, but the solar fire seems to be working. Keep burning, I can hold on!"

"Damn it, I'll make you all die!!!" A voice that seemed to come from hell came from the mouth of the person engulfed in the fire of the sun. Then, with a few cracking sounds, the mantis statues standing on the side of the hall suddenly came to life, turning into three giant black insects, wielding scythes and rushing towards Logan and Phoenix.

Logan was already feeling embarrassed and angry at being deceived by the symbiote, and now, seeing the mantises awaken, he didn't hesitate to extend his claws and roar as he charged towards the foremost one. 8

Chapter 262 Tony is Attacked

On the watchtower, Athena helped Dr. Reed analyze the meteorite's composition while simultaneously editing footage of the four people's actions and transmitting it back to Earth, making people believe that the meteorite had completely changed its trajectory and would not collide with Earth.

"Will this really work? After all, although this meteorite won't collide with Earth or the Moon right now, it could still collide with Venus and change the environment of the solar system." The Thunderman, who had just rescued a group of people, asked Athena with a puzzled look after seeing her actions.

“Athena wants to give the people of Earth hope, and we’ve already calculated that their actions have bought us two days, which is more than enough time to complete this mission,” Susan said to her brother while assisting Dr. Reed.

"Hey, where are those four people? Why is there nothing on the screen?" Thunderbolt suddenly pointed to the now completely dark screen and asked.

“They discovered an altar and have already entered the cave beneath it,” Athena explained. “Perhaps because of the mysterious power on the altar, we have now lost contact with them.”

"What should we do then? Should we go over and take a look? I remember there's a fighter jet in the hangar downstairs that seems to be able to fly in space," Spider-Man, who was also with the Human Torch, asked immediately upon hearing Athena's words.

"No need, the masters are fine, it's just that the signal was lost. You should rest for a while. If we need your help, we'll call you over," Athena said, shaking her head.

Human Torch and Spider-Man looked around and, seeing that no one seemed worried about the four people, and recalling the strength of those four, nodded in realization. They didn't want to disturb the group's research any longer, so they shrugged and left the hall, returning to the nearby leisure market.

"Looks like we're only suited to be pure thugs," Thunderbolt said with a sneer.

"No, I'm a research-oriented person too. I made the web-shooters on my body myself," Spider-Man said with a hint of pride. "What they're doing now is just not related to my expertise."

"Huh???" Human Torch looked at Spider-Man speechlessly and said, "I thought we had a lot in common."

On the other side, the morning after the news of the meteorite impact broke, Earth...

Thanks to the latest news and video footage from Athena, everyone knew that Earth was no longer in danger. So, apart from a few people shouting in the streets to thank the Justice League and X-Men-level hero organizations, the lives of the rest of the people did not change much. Those who were supposed to go to work went to work, those who were supposed to go to school went to school, and those who were supposed to be beggars were still beggars.

That morning, in front of a plane at Stark Industries' Dead Man's Airport, Pepper Potts and Colonel James Rhodes were waiting for Tony Stark's arrival. They were heading to Afghanistan that day for a weapons demonstration and to visit the local troops, which could be considered a political event between Stark Industries and the US military. Colonel James Rhodes was somewhat worried that Tony might not show up.

"Are you sure you've notified him?" Roddy asked, looking around at the people waiting.

Little Chili shrugged and said, "That's right, I already called him before I came here, and I said it several times yesterday. He's just a bit lazy in bed right now. I heard he was interviewed by a beautiful reporter yesterday."

Roddy immediately lost his temper and said, "Alright, I'll let them go first, I'll wait here for a while."

After hearing this, Pepper sighed and said, "Okay, I'll go get him. Hopefully, you won't get bored." She then had a Stark Industries helicopter take her back to her villa on the Malibu coast of California. Of course, she received a call from Tony en route, asking her to help deal with the person inside.

Chili gritted her teeth and went into the room. She cleaned up the clothes that were obviously belonging to another woman and led them into the hall. There, she saw a beautiful woman in a Tony shirt staring curiously at a device.

"That's Jarvis, um, it's a terminal of this home smart home system," Little Chili explained simply.

Jin Mei turned around, and after seeing Little Chili, she didn't seem to have any other feelings. She looked her over for a moment and said, "You're the famous Little Chili?"

"That's right, it's me. Oh, and I've already prepared your clothes. There's also a car outside that you can use anytime," Little Chili said casually.

"I never expected you would do something like this," Jin Meinu said with a hint of sarcasm as she glanced at Xiao La Jiao.

“That’s right, and I’m used to it. He always makes me do these things, and sometimes he even makes me clean up the mess he leaves behind!” Little Chili, of course, wouldn’t be polite to a woman like that. She retorted sarcastically, which shut the other woman up and made her obediently leave the room.

After seeing the woman leave, Pepper Potts ignored her and went straight to the underground laboratory, Tony's usual small research lab, where Tony Stark was currently researching sports car engines.

"She's gone? Did she say anything?" Tony asked while doing his work.

"They've already chased them away, but didn't you know your plane was already delayed a lot? And Colonel Roddy is waiting for you there too." Chili didn't want to dwell on women's issues and quickly changed the subject.

“Since it’s a private jet, it has to wait for me, otherwise what kind of private jet is it?” Tony threw the tools in his hand on the table, stood up and said, “As for Roddy, don’t worry, I’ll apologize when I get there. By the way, how’s the meteorite problem? Has it been resolved?”

"The Justice League has already sent the footage back to Earth. It seems that Mr. Adam and his team have changed the meteor's trajectory," Pepper Potts replied.

"Ah, the end of the world is over, huh?" Tony shrugged, glanced at Pepper's face, and immediately said, "Okay, I'll get it right away. Oh, by the way, today seems to be your birthday. Anyway, I've already given you the card, so buy yourself something nice and expensive. Don't be shy with me."

"I didn't mean to be polite with you," a hint of regret flashed in Little Chili's eyes, before turning into a formulaic smile.

Tony, oblivious to Pepper's change, said as they walked, "After I leave, the company's affairs are in your hands. Call me again if you can't make a decision."

"Okay, I understand. I've already had your luggage prepared. You can leave after having some breakfast," Little Chili nodded slightly.

Tony nodded, left the lab, ate the breakfast prepared by Chili Pepper, had his bodyguard drive one car while he drove his sports car from home, speeding all the way to the airport.

"Hey Roddy, it's really nice to see you," Tony smiled and walked over to greet Roddy, then signaled to the captain that they were ready to take off.

Colonel James Roddy was somewhat annoyed. After all, he had been waiting for three hours, and Tony had only greeted him, which seemed disrespectful. Although he was already familiar with Tony's bad temper as a friend, he was genuinely angry this time.

"Tony, I've been waiting here for three whole hours, you know? I got up first thing this morning..." he began to complain incessantly.

Tony realized he had gone a bit too far and gave an awkward smile, saying, "Sorry, brother, I got harassed by Vanity Fair reporters." He then called over a flight attendant, had her pour them a drink, and threw a small party as an apology to Roddy.

Roddy didn't want to do this, but under the relentless onslaught of fine wine and beautiful women, he gradually let go. He sighed, knowing that Tony would do the same thing again next time, and stopped complaining.

After several hours of flight, a slightly drunk Tony arrived at his destination. He gave a brief speech and weapons demonstration, then refused Rhodey's request for personal protection. He boarded a local U.S. military escort vehicle to return to the U.S. base, but was met with a fierce attack. All the U.S. soldiers involved in the escort, except for Tony, were killed.

Chapter 263 Reactions from All Sides

At the Afghan military base, Colonel Rhodes and his colleagues heard the news of Tony Stark's attack an hour later. When American reinforcements arrived, they found only the bodies of American soldiers and signs of battle, but no sign of Tony Stark himself. This filled them with regret and anger. Tony Stark was a very important figure to the United States, not only because he was one of the most brilliant magnates and arms dealers of the century, but also because his brother, Adam Stark, was the organizer of the Justice League—a man of immense stature!

"Inspect the battlefield immediately and find Tony Stark at all costs!" James Roddy shouted, frowning.

“The soldiers are investigating. I think we should send this message back to the United States. After all, this is not a trivial matter!” another U.S. military officer at the scene said in a deep voice.

“If I remember correctly, Tony and his team took a very secretive route; we were the bait!” Roddy asked, “But why did they run into an ambush here?”

After hearing this, the officer said, "You suspect that someone among us has betrayed our brothers?"

“That’s the only way we can think of it now. Otherwise, who else would know about this route?” Roddy questioned.

"Sir, we've found Mr. Tony Stark's cell phone, it's over there!" a soldier ran over and reported. "And based on our analysis of the situation, it's highly likely that Mr. Stark was taken away by them, and he's still alive!"

Roddy breathed a sigh of relief and said, "This is a stroke of luck amidst misfortune. Hopefully, those guys only want money or something else and won't harm Tony himself."

“As long as he’s alive, we have a chance to rescue him!” The American officer nodded and said, “Let’s go check it out.”

Meanwhile, on American soil, a military general was shocked to hear that Tony Stark might have been kidnapped. These high-ranking officials knew the meteorite crisis was far from over, and they were working tirelessly to resolve it. But at this crucial moment, their work had gone awry, resulting in the abduction of someone's brother, even while they were protecting him.

"How could this happen? Should we keep this news a secret for now?" a council member said hesitantly upon hearing the news.

"No, immediately send out our best agents to resolve this!" another general said angrily. "This is blatant provocation against the U.S. military. We must catch the culprit and punish him severely, otherwise anyone will dare to provoke us!"

“But the problem is, Tony Stark is in their hands. He’s not just any hostage. As long as he’s with the kidnappers, we have no way to deal with him,” another senator said in a deep voice. “Mr. President, please make a decision. What should we do now?”

"This matter cannot be concealed, otherwise, they will be dissatisfied with us when they return," Bush said, resting his hands on his chin. "Moreover, for Tony Stark's safety, it's best to have the Justice League or another team of heroes rescue him, even though it will damage the reputation of our U.S. military. But this is the only way to handle things."

Hearing Bush's words, the others thought about it and agreed. After all, the missing person wasn't an ordinary person, but the most powerful known superhuman on Earth. Although the other party had always treated them very gently and had always abided by American laws, who knew what kind of trouble would ensue if things went wrong? Everyone remembered the scene at Howard and his wife's funeral a few years ago. If Tony Stark hadn't spoken up at the right moment, who knows if what appeared on Earth would have been a human or some other demon.

"Since no one has any other opinions, let's decide on this matter for now. In addition to informing the Justice League, also notify S.H.I.E.L.D. and ask them to conduct an investigation as well, so that the Justice League knows our determination!" Bush finally ordered.

In the watchtower, Athena and Dr. Reed were analyzing a set of data from the next group, while Susan quietly stayed beside them. After all, she was just an assistant, and she didn't know anything too technical. Professor X and the others had already gone back, because there was no point in them staying. After all, everyone has their own expertise, and the X-Men's Department was not as good as Susan when it came to celestial research. So they went back first to help the police keep an eye on the restless supervillains on the ground.

"Damn it, of all times!" Just then, Athena, who was conducting data analysis with Dr. Reed, suddenly paused and muttered a curse.

Susan asked, "Athena, what happened?"

“Tony’s in trouble,” Athena said, frowning. “He was ambushed and kidnapped in a valley on his way back from a weapons demonstration in Afghanistan.”