"Not cyborg ."
Jarvis spoke with certainty. "The Captain vanished very suddenly—as if he turned invisible, or traveled through time and space and was teleported away. Cyborg didn't mention anything about it. But I believe he noticed too."
Tony raised an eyebrow. "Interesting. Hidden right under our noses?"
So many incidents, and yet there's still some unknown underground force at play.
Tony frowned and thought for a moment. "What's going on with the Justice League?"
"Nothing," Jarvis replied. "Anton stayed at the company all day. He hasn't attempted to contact Batman."
"Even if he did, it wouldn't be so easy to find him," Tony said, shaking his head. "That Batman… he's not someone you deal with easily."
"Where's Harry?"
He asked suddenly, "Before Harry found me and told me about my parents' deaths and the Winter Soldier, had he spoken to Anton or anyone in the Justice League?"
"No," Jarvis responded.
"No, you still can't find any trace," Tony muttered.
"I don't know, sir," Jarvis admitted. "I'm just an ordinary artificial intelligence. Your question is too broad."
"…"
Tony was speechless. Eventually, he decided to upgrade Jarvis's logical systems—and while he was at it, improve Ultron too.
The Bucky incident had disrupted Tony's original plans.
Although he was caught up in conflict with the government, he wasn't going to give up on his earlier preparations. At most, he'd delay them for a while.
Ironically, his meeting with Batman and the others last night only fueled his desire to challenge the Dark Knight.
…
With the explosion of public opinion, both Tony and the Captain disappeared from public view.
To the general public, it seemed like the Captain had completely vanished—almost as if he had evaporated from the world.
Tony hadn't vanished, but he was constantly going in and out of the White House, closely monitored by all sides, unable to appear freely.
Neither side attempted to control the narrative, letting public discussion run wild.
Even Batman, who showed up at the event that night, became a hot topic online.
Netizens agreed—Batman shouldn't have interfered. He shouldn't have stopped the fight between Tony and the Captain.
Both heroes' reputations took a massive hit as more details emerged.
A strange, yet widely accepted opinion began to take hold: that the two were secretly enjoying the fight for its own sake.
This bizarre view somehow became mainstream.
Anton wasn't surprised.
But he didn't care either.
As the incident faded into the past, Anton turned his attention to other matters.
Like the Power Stone—or the Cosmic Orb.
Yes.
After waiting a long time, Anton finally received word from the universe: Star-Lord had obtained the Orb.
However, during the retrieval, Star-Lord had—rather predictably—provoked Ronan the Accuser of the Kree.
Now there was a full-on grudge between the two sides.
Realizing the Orb's value, Star-Lord named his price and gave Carol an ultimatum: pay more, or he'd hand the Orb over to Ronan.
After receiving the news, Carol handled the negotiations with Star-Lord while also sending a message to Superman.
Anton understood the situation clearly now. He remained calm, though a trace of coldness flashed in his eyes.
He had overestimated Star-Lord's sense of integrity.
Then again, thinking about it, in the original movie plot, Star-Lord never had a particularly high moral baseline.
As someone raised in space by a gang of Ravagers, Star-Lord had been learning all kinds of tricks since childhood.
Among the Ravagers, as a human child with no special powers, Star-Lord managed to survive and thrive—partly thanks to his adoptive father Yondu's protection and guidance, and partly due to his own cleverness and resourcefulness.
He did have a sense of justice—but that didn't cancel out his flaws.
Greedy, impulsive, lustful, reckless—that was who Star-Lord was.
And in this case, it was obvious—he'd fallen into his old habits and was chasing money again.
Unfortunately for him, he picked the wrong target.
"If it's money you want," Anton murmured to himself, "then I'll make sure you don't get a single cent…"
He had made his decision.
…
Nowhere.
A paradise of alien wanderers.
Superman walked through its strange, hollow streets and spotted Carol and Nick Fury, who were already waiting for him.
"Tell me specifically," Superman said calmly. "Where is Star-Lord?"
"No idea," Carol replied, shaking his head. "I agreed to buy the Orb from him at a higher price. So he asked to meet here, in Knowhere. You know how massive the universe is—if he doesn't show himself, it's almost impossible for us to track him."
"What about Ronan?" Superman asked again.
"After Star-Lord found the Orb on Morag, he ran into Ronan's forces during extraction. That's what made him suspicious."
Carol had already pieced together the situation. "Ronan, as an Accuser in the Kree military, holds immense status. Very few in the galaxy would dare cross him. So when Star-Lord realized Ronan was also after the Orb… his priorities shifted."
"He wants to auction it off to the highest bidder," Superman concluded.
Exactly.
Star-Lord wanted to sell the Orb at the best possible price—conveniently forgetting that he had only learned of the Orb's location because someone told him.
But for someone raised by Ravagers, this wasn't exactly a betrayal of principle.
Among those mercenaries, morality was flexible. As long as the price was right and the emotional stakes were low, changing sides wasn't considered wrong.
The only true taboo? Betraying your own crew.
"So Ronan is also after Star-Lord," Superman said. "Do we know where Ronan is now?"
"We're investigating," Carol said with a nod. "I'm tracking Ronan's movements to see if they'll lead us to Star-Lord. But it'll take time."
Time?
Superman glanced at Nick Fury, standing silently beside Carol.
Despite meeting these two old acquaintances from Earth here in deep space, Superman hadn't yet seen the others Nick Fury had supposedly brought with him—the Skrulls, shape-shifters from Earth's shadows.
Superman had good reason to suspect that the Skrulls had secretly infiltrated the Kree.
After all, the Kree and the Skrulls had been enemies for many years.
If not for the Kree's relentless pursuit, the Skrulls wouldn't have been forced to flee their homeworld, wander the galaxy, and eventually settle on Earth.
Given that, it made perfect sense for Nick Fury to leave Earth with the Skrulls and join Carol in counterattacking the Kree.
"Since it's going to take time, why don't we solve this problem in a simpler way?"
Superman thought for a moment before speaking calmly.
"What way?"
Carol looked at him, curious.
"As far as I know, Star-Lord is actually an Earthling named Peter Quill. He left Earth as a child and was raised by a team of Ravagers. Their captain—Yondu—is essentially his adoptive father," Superman explained.
"Although we can't contact Quill directly, Yondu likely has a way to find him."
"…What are you suggesting?"
Carol's eyes widened as she instantly understood what Superman meant.
This wasn't the Superman she remembered.
His strategy could only be described as ruthless.
"When necessary, we do what must be done," Superman said, catching Carol's reaction. His voice remained calm.
"I overestimated Quill's integrity. Trying to deal with someone like him through normal means only puts us at a disadvantage. The issue will never get resolved that way."
"I don't object," Carol said, nodding. "I'm just… surprised."
But she wasn't naive. After years in the universe, she knew better than to be idealistic.
The decision was made.
Nick Fury, standing beside them, had no say in the matter—and of course, he didn't object.
Back on Earth, he had long since gotten used to these kinds of tactics.
Among the three of them, it was fair to say Fury was the one most willing to use dirty methods—a black face with a black heart.
…
Now that they had decided to pressure Star-Lord through Yondu, the next step was figuring out the situation with Yondu and his crew.
That part was simple.
All they had to do was post a mission request to the Ravager team led by Yondu. Eventually, Yondu would come to them.
Of course, it wasn't quite that easy.
But for Carol, it was no trouble at all.
She could just file a formal complaint—directly to the Ravagers.
After all, Star-Lord was still officially part of Yondu's crew.
And from what Carol knew, even though Quill had taken the mission under the Ravager name, this time he was working solo, off the record.
Yondu could have ignored the complaint.
Ravagers didn't care about the employer—they cared about the money.
But for Yondu, Quill using the team's name for a side job without permission was a serious offense.
It was a slap in the face to the captain.
And in a crew like the Ravagers—where loyalty and unity mattered—going behind the team's back wasn't tolerated.
So Yondu would definitely come.
And sure enough, after receiving the complaint and hearing about Quill's freelance deal, Yondu brought the entire Ravager crew to Knowhere—seeking out Superman, Carol, and Nick Fury.
To Yondu, the three people in front of him—each looking exactly like Peter Quill—were just humans.
He instinctively dismissed the dangerous aura radiating from Superman and Carol.
"I've already heard what happened," Yondu said seriously. "Peter's actions have disgraced our crew. We'll take full responsibility for this."
"How exactly do you plan to take responsibility?" Superman asked coldly.
"He raised his price while threatening to sell to our enemies. We agreed to his terms and set a meeting here in Knowhere—only for him not to show. We gave him our trust. Yondu, what can you do to restore it?"
"We're doing everything we can to track Peter down," Yondu replied with a sigh. "But right now, he's gone dark."
"You mean… you can't find him?" Superman pressed.
"Correct," Yondu said. "I assumed he was on vacation. I had no idea he'd taken on a private job. Once I received your complaint, I immediately began looking for him. But he's gone off-grid—no reports, no updates."
Superman narrowed his eyes. "Can you give me a deadline? A time frame to resolve this?"
"No," Yondu answered flatly. "I can only promise you that we'll resolve the situation. I won't make any other promises."
"Isn't that convenient? Sounds like you're just stalling," Superman replied calmly. "This kind of evasive attitude fits the Ravager reputation."
He stepped forward slightly, his voice cool. "Since you can't offer a solution, why don't we try mine?"
"Oh?"
Yondu raised an eyebrow. There was something unsettling about the near-perfect man standing before him—an aura of danger building with each passing second.
"What's your solution?"
"You stay here."
Superman's tone didn't change. "From what I know, Peter Quill—Star-Lord—was raised by your Ravager crew since childhood. If we keep you here, odds are he'll try to come save you. I've heard he's the sentimental type."
"…What?"
Yondu blinked, then burst out laughing. He clutched his sides, as if he'd just heard the joke of the century.
His laughter was so infectious that his entire crew joined in, laughing uproariously at Superman's words.
"Sorry—sorry," Yondu wiped away a tear, still grinning. "I haven't heard something that ridiculous in ages."
Then his expression turned sharp.
"Kid… where did you get the guts to threaten me and my crew?"
Click!
The Ravagers raised their weapons in unison.
BZZZT!
Energy guns powered up, humming with deadly force. The temperature in the room spiked, and a suffocating pressure filled the space.
"You're lucky I even showed up," Yondu said coldly. "Don't mistake that for weakness. I didn't come here because I careabout your complaint—I came to clean up our mess.
But now? Looks like you're the problem."
"You talk like we're the villains here," Superman said, unbothered by the dozens of weapons aimed at them.
Carol stood beside him, calm as ever.
Nick Fury, however, took a cautious step back—discreetly positioning himself behind them, just in case things exploded.
"Even if we are the villains," Superman continued, "we've been forced into that role."
He locked eyes with Yondu, his expression unreadable—but supremely confident. That unshaken calm made Yondu hesitate for a split second.
Something's wrong…
A chill shot through Yondu's spine.
"Wait… no good—there's an ambush!"
BOOM!
In the next instant, he was sent flying, crashing through his own men like a cannonball.
"You're right," Superman said, stepping forward with a smirk.
"There is an ambush. It's me."
"And I'm all it takes… to ambush every single one of you."
…
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