Chapter 363: Man Of Steel
Valkyrie reminded Thor not to act impulsively.
But after Thor's initial outburst, he regained his composure and said solemnly, "I have to do this, or else we will be caught sooner or later."
Dr. Banner chimed in, "Thor, I can accompany you on this run!"
Loki raised an eyebrow, "Running forever isn't a solution; changing tactics might be a good idea."
They hadn't witnessed the immense power of Thanos, and with the timely intervention of Superman, they didn't realize the severity of the situation. Thor's plan seemed reasonable to them.
Thor was confident and declared, "No matter who the enemy is, I will give my all to defeat them! Listen, when I'm not here, this place is in your hands, Valkyrie. You must protect everything here!"
Valkyrie was a bit anxious, but at that moment, a voice came through the communicator. Clark Kent said, "We do need someone to draw their attention, but don't provoke Thanos; he now has the Power Stone!"
"The Power Stone?" Loki narrowed his eyes.
Thor was also surprised; they had heard legends of the Infinity Stones, but they didn't expect to encounter one here.
Superman continued, "My colleague suggested that Thanos doesn't care about this ship or the refugees on it. What he wants is the Space Stone! The ship's current target is too conspicuous. Thanos's battleship is heavily armed, so we need to find a way to divert their attention and give this ship a chance to escape! Who among you is good at running? Take the Space Stone and lure Thanos out. I will help you get to a safe place, but remember, this is a dangerous mission, one wrong move could be fatal!"
Clark Kent had been reporting their situation in real-time on the team channel while avoiding the attacks on the ship.
Batman learned of their predicament and came up with this plan. Iron Man informed him that Captain Marvel was on her way, but it might take some time.
Superman had confidence in his abilities, and even if he couldn't defeat Thanos with the Power Stone, he was sure he could outrun him. However, this mission was not about defeating Thanos but about saving the Asgardian refugee ship and protecting the Space Stone. So they needed a strategic approach.
Upon hearing this plan, Thor and the others exchanged glances, realizing that the "helpful stranger" outside wasn't just passing by but had a purpose.
"Who is he, and how does he know that we have the Space Stone?" Loki, the god of trickery, began to smell a familiar plot.
Thor shook his head, "Now is not the time to think about this. The ship's protective shield is going to break soon, we must act immediately. Loki, give me the Space Stone, and I will lure Thanos and his fleet away!"
Loki, somewhat hesitant, took out the Space Stone but didn't hand it over to Thor. He said firmly, "I think this mission is better suited for me!"
Surveying the situation, Loki believed he might not be the best fighter among them, but when it came to evasion, he had absolute confidence that no one could surpass him.
As a protective older brother, Thor didn't want to put his brother in danger. But before he could say anything, Loki patted his shoulder and, with a mocking tone, pointed to the frightened Asgardians outside, saying, "They need you more, Thor. I must congratulate you; you've become a worthy king of Asgard. Odin must be pleased that he chose you to be the king instead of me..."
After these words, without hesitation, Loki turned and walked away. Thor reached out to stop him, but when he glanced at the other Asgardian refugees and saw their worried expressions, he furrowed his brow and said, "Stay safe Loki!"
Valkyrie stepped forward, "I'll go with him, Thor. He's right; everyone needs you!"
Dr. Banner watched them leave. He had considered joining them but then heard Superman's voice over the communicator, "Hold on tight; I'm coming in!"
Almost as soon as Clark's warning was issued, the pursuing Thanos battleship showed movement. A blinding beam of light tore through the darkness, carrying an annihilating force, heading straight for them!
The energy beam effortlessly pierced through the obstacles in its path, including asteroids and wreckage from other ships. It continued its relentless advance, targeting the Asgardian refugee ship and Clark Kent, who was carrying it!
Superman had no problem with the barrage of attacks from the battleship's cannons, but his danger sense was screaming at him. He realized that trying to resist this energy beam head-on would not end well.
Gritting his teeth, he accelerated with the refugee ship and instinctively made a manoeuvre to evade. If he wanted to, he could avoid this attack, but suddenly, he stopped evading and turned to face the blinding beam, using his steel body as a shield!
"If I dodge, the ship will be in danger!"
Before being struck by the surging energy beam, Clark Kent couldn't help but feel a small sense of relief that the attack wasn't directly aimed at the refugee ship but at him.
If this attack had been directed at the ship, he would have had a much harder time protecting it. After all, carrying the ship was already a challenging task, let alone carrying it while avoiding the energy shockwave.
Boom!
The space remained silent, but Superman felt a wave of dizziness and deafening noise.
His enhanced Superman suit had a high defence, but under this energy wave's impact, it quickly suffered severe damage, revealing his robust body.
The high-energy shockwave was like a raging flame, and Superman's body became red-hot, with visible cracks appearing on his skin.
"Ah!"
Superman roared, gritting his teeth to withstand the impact. However, some residual shockwaves still reached the refugee ship.
The ship's protective barrier, already weakened by the continuous barrage, finally collapsed, and the shockwave shattered a section of the ship's structure as if it were disassembling building blocks. Fortunately, this part of the ship wasn't fatal, and amidst screams and chaos, the people on board remained unharmed.
In the end, it was Superman who bore the brunt of it all...
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone