[44] : The Last Avenger
Banner had no idea who Doctor Strange or Wong was, but he instantly recognized the person in the Iron Man suit. As soon as he saw Iron Man, Banner felt a surge of relief. He had always trusted Tony Stark, just as Tony had always trusted him.
"Yes! That's the way! Give them hell!!"
The moment Iron Man and the others arrived, they clashed with two members of the Black Order. Seeing this, Banner excitedly cheered them on.
Iron Man's repulsor blasts and Doctor Strange's magical ropes alternated in attack. The Black Order members were caught off guard, and the Avengers had them on the ropes, barely allowing any chance to fight back.
Watching the battle, Banner was thrilled. He knew Iron Man wouldn't let him down. But as he watched, something started to feel off.
The ship's turbulence stirred up dust on the ground. Earlier, Iron Man and the others had been fighting within the smoke, so Banner could only make out vague shapes, just enough to know which side had the upper hand. But as the dust gradually settled, he noticed that Iron Man and the others seemed to be… biting the Black Order's skin with their mouths!?
"Guys… isn't this a bit much?"
Banner's mind went blank for a moment. He instinctively didn't want to think of the worst, so he tried to call out to the others to stop, but his voice caught their attention, and they turned their gaze towards him.
After the two members of the Black Order were bitten to death, Iron Man and the others stood up, walked out of the clearing dust, and stared directly at Banner.
"Oh no…"
When Iron Man and the others emerged, Banner finally saw what had happened to them. Their skin was pale, their mouths were covered in blood, and their eyes were filled with a monstrous hunger…
They had turned into zombies, just like something out of a horror movie.
"Oh no… no no…"
For a moment, Banner couldn't accept what he was seeing. He looked at Tony, now completely devoid of humanity, with deep sadness in his eyes. This wasn't how things were supposed to turn out.
But reality gave him no time to grieve. Seeing a living human in front of them, the zombified group charged at Banner, who immediately fled, shouting as he ran, "Don't eat me! I don't taste good! Oh my God!"
But the zombified Avengers didn't care about what Banner said. Doctor Strange's left hand glowed with golden light as he prepared to open a portal. In this critical moment, a red cape suddenly shot out, wrapping around Doctor Strange's arm and throwing him aside.
Banner kept running. Wong, who was standing on the other side of Doctor Strange, successfully cast a portal, instantly appearing in front of Banner.
But in the next moment, a crimson beam shot from afar, piercing Wong's skull through the portal!
"Oh… God, I'm gonna puke… I'm really gonna puke…"
Banner fell to the ground to avoid Wong. He stared in shock at Wong's now grisly corpse, patting his chest to keep from throwing up.
Wong's death made Banner realize that someone was trying to save him. He looked up and saw a figure in black combat gear, wearing a black cape, flying down from above.
"Hey, are you alright?"
The person in the black cape landed and showed concern for Banner.
"I'm fine… but… can someone explain what the hell is going on?! Who are you, and what happened to Tony and the others?"
"My name is Roger, but you can call me Superman. As for Iron Man and the others… I'm sorry, but I don't know what's happening either. I just got here."
"What?"
Banner looked confused, but Roger knew this wasn't the time for explanations. In the distance, the zombified members of the Black Order had started moving again, with Ebony Maw using his telekinesis to drag Banner toward him!
Roger quickly grabbed Banner, and a beam of heat vision shot out, heading straight for Ebony Maw!
If the Black Order were alive, Roger wasn't sure he could beat them, but now that they were just mindless zombies, Roger could easily take them down alone!
The red heat vision beam pierced through Ebony Maw's skull, ending his life.
Roger felt relieved after taking down Ebony Maw. Thankfully, it was a high-attack, low-defense mage like Ebony Maw who turned into a zombie. If it had been Banner or Thor who turned, Roger would have worried if his heat vision could penetrate their skin.
But with Ebony Maw dealt with, there was still Black Dwarf and Iron Man to face.
Seeing that Roger could shoot heat vision, Iron Man immediately took to the air, flying straight at Roger!
Roger tried to use his heat vision to deal with Iron Man, but the latter dodged it easily. Iron Man's high mobility made it impossible for Roger to hit him.
"This is exactly what I was worried about!"
As Iron Man flew towards him, Roger gritted his teeth and flew to meet him.
If he couldn't hit him with long-range heat vision, then he'd use it up close!
With this in mind, Roger collided with Iron Man in mid-air. The two clashed, and Roger quickly used brute force to restrain Iron Man's hands before unleashing his heat vision at close range!
The red beams pierced through Iron Man's neck, instantly decapitating him. The zombified head plummeted to the ground, smashing into a bloody mess.
Iron Man's headless body also fell, but thanks to the armor, it remained largely intact.
"…I'm sorry. I actually liked you before all this."
Looking at the fallen Iron Man, Roger felt a twinge of regret. In his previous life, he had liked these Avengers when watching movies. He never thought he'd have to kill them with his own hands.
After a moment of silence for Iron Man, Roger rushed back to Banner.
Doctor Strange was still being controlled by the red cape, swinging in the air, while the remaining Black Dwarf charged at Banner with a roar!
Roger was about to land beside Banner and use his heat vision to shatter Black Dwarf's skull, but at that moment, he heard a buzzing sound.
Using his super vision, Roger saw a swarm of insects flying towards them, led by a small armored figure the size of the insects.
It was Ant-Man!
No, judging by the wings, it should be the Wasp!
Knowing that the Wasp was leading the swarm, Roger decided not to land but to wait in the air for the Wasp to arrive, avoiding any collision with her controlled swarm.
From the moment Roger saw the Wasp to the decision to remain in the air, only three seconds had passed. The Wasp's insect army immediately swarmed over Banner and landed on Black Dwarf's body!
The buzzing insects bit into the zombie's flesh, devouring Black Dwarf in an instant, leaving only a skeleton behind!
The remaining insects then flew toward Doctor Strange, who was still being controlled by the red cape, repeating the same devouring process.
Two once-living zombies were reduced to skeletal remains in the blink of an eye, making the already nauseous Banner feel even more like vomiting. He couldn't help but retch on the side.
The Wasp returned to her normal size in front of Banner. Ignoring his current state, she pointed to the large, pet-sized ants surrounding them and said, "Follow them! They'll protect you!"
"So, who are you? What the hell is going on?!"
Banner, on the verge of breaking down, shouted.
The Wasp turned to look at Banner and said, "It's hard to explain everything right now, but… I think I might be the last Avenger…"