The hero of DC and Marvel

As soon as we stepped through the portal, we appeared inside a large briefing room. The walls were sleek, metallic, and lined with monitors displaying maps, schematics, and live data feeds.

The moment we arrived, my disguise faded away. The illusion peeled off like smoke, revealing my true form.

Lorna and Marco stared at me in shock.

Lorna was the first to speak. "Wait… what the hell? I thought your power was opening portals?"

I smirked. "It is. What you just saw was magic."

Marco frowned. "Magic? Like, actual magic?"

I nodded. "Yeah. It's real. That shouldn't be too hard to believe—considering we all have superpowers."

Lorna crossed her arms, still skeptical. "Okay, fine. But why do you need magic to change your appearance? And more importantly, why did you help me?"

I leaned against the table in the center of the room. "I had to make sure my real identity wasn't linked to you two. As for why I helped you…" I paused, letting my words sink in. "…Because I want you to join my team. A team that fights to make mutants' lives better."

Marco raised an eyebrow. "Your team? What kind of team are we talking about here?"

I gave them a small grin. "The Vanguard Initiative."

They both glanced at each other, clearly unfamiliar with the name.

"Never heard of it," Lorna admitted.

"Yeah, what's the Vanguard Initiative?" Marco added.

I chuckled. "That's because we're still operating in secret. But I guarantee you've heard of the members." I stepped forward and listed them off.

"All Might. Starlight. A-Train. Green Ghost. Silent. And me… Arsenal."

Their eyes widened.

"Wait… all those heroes are working together?!" Marco looked stunned.

Lorna narrowed her eyes at me. "And you're Arsenal?"

I nodded. "That's right."

I let them process the information.

"Our mission is simple," I continued. "We protect Earth and everyone on it—including mutants, metahumans, and mutates. And when the time comes for the Inhumans to reveal themselves, we'll protect them too."

Lorna tilted her head. "Inhumans? And mutates? What's the difference?"

I leaned forward, resting my hands on the table.

"Mutates are humans who were experimented on and gained powers unnaturally. People like the Hulk, or Spider-Man."

Lorna nodded slowly. "Alright… and the Inhumans?"

"More than half a million years ago, the Kree—an alien race—came to Earth and experimented on early humans. Their goal was to create super-powered soldiers for their intergalactic wars. But instead, it was prophesied that their creations would one day destroy them. So, the Kree abandoned the project and left Earth, assuming the test subjects would die off."

I glanced between them.

"But they didn't. They survived. Their descendants built an entire society, hidden from humanity. And when they finally reveal themselves… they'll need protection too."

Lorna and Marco sat in silence for a moment, taking it all in.

Finally, Marco let out a breath. "So… you want us to join your secret team of heroes?"

I nodded. "That's right."

Lorna studied me carefully. "And what exactly do you want us to do?"

I smiled. "I want you two to help me change the world.

"You want us to help you change the world? How exactly are we supposed to do that?" Lana asked, arms crossed.

"It's simple—we need more mutant heroes, and we need people in the government who support mutants. I've been thinking about placing my own people in power, but so far, I haven't found the right candidates. And to be clear, I'm not just looking for one or two—I want multiple people in key positions." I paused, then added, "And I'm planning to take over a country that exploits and enslaves mutants."

Their expressions shifted from curiosity to shock.

"You want to take over a country?" Marco asked, eyes wide. "Are you even powerful enough to do that?"

I let out a small chuckle. "I'm strong—probably the second-strongest being on the planet. But even I can't take down an entire country alone. There are too many factors to consider. I have to protect innocent people, avoid unnecessary collateral damage, capture the right people before they flee to another country, and, most importantly, gather undeniable evidence of their crimes. If I don't, the world will see me as nothing more than a warlord—a criminal. That's why I need to expand my team and collect as much evidence as possible before making a move."

Marco narrowed his eyes. "So that's why you want to recruit us—to add to your ranks?"

"You make it sound like I'm building an army," I said with a smirk. "I'm not. I'm building a team of heroes—mutants who want to help others. I'm not trying to take over the world. I just want to create a safe haven for our kind. And taking control of this country is the best way to do that."

"But what you're suggesting... it's still war," Marco pointed out, tension in his voice. "People are going to die. We'll have to kill people, won't we?"

I didn't sugarcoat it. "I won't lie to you. Yes, there will be casualties. But I'm assembling a team that will handle the worst of it—the ones willing to do what needs to be done. You? You'll be focused on rescuing mutants, not getting your hands dirty."

Lorna crossed her arms. "And once we take over this country? Do you really think the world will just leave us alone?"

I shook my head. "Not a chance. The world will fear us. They'll try to turn us into the enemy and wage war against us. That's why I need people in the government who can advocate for mutants. That's also why we need solid evidence to expose Genosha for what it is."

"So Genosha is the country you're targeting," Lorna murmured.

"Yes. But we won't stop there," I said firmly. "There are other threats—mutants being experimented on, organizations trying to create their own super-soldiers. We already rescued some teenagers from one of them, but I know there are more out there. That's why I need to expand this team—to save them."

Silence stretched between us as they processed everything.

"It's a lot to take in," I admitted. "Take a few days to think about my offer. If you decide to join me, I'll welcome you both with open arms. If not, I'll return you to the city, and you can continue living your lives as you see fit."

They exchanged glances, having an unspoken conversation before Lorna finally spoke up.

"We've talked about doing something to help mutants for a while, but we never knew where to start. This... this is an opportunity we can't ignore."

Marco took a deep breath. "We want to join you, but we're not killers. We're not soldiers."

I studied them both. Lorna, despite what he said, didn't seem as opposed to the idea of killing as Marco was. But that was a conversation they'd have to have later.

I smiled. "Glad to have you both on board. But first thing's first—you will be training, and I'll be designing suits for you to conceal your identities."

Lorna scoffed. "Training? I don't need training. My powers are all I need." She smirked confidently.

I raised an eyebrow. Then, without a word, I activated my Erasure ability.

The moment her powers vanished, her smirk dropped. Panic flickered in her eyes as she instinctively tried to use her abilities—and felt nothing.

"What the hell—?!" she gasped.

I crossed my arms. "Reality check. Your powers won't always be there to save you."

Lorna glared at me, but this time, she didn't argue.

"Fine, I guess you're right," Lorna muttered, reluctantly accepting the need for training.

"Good. Church will show you to the living quarters," I said.

"Who's Church?" Marco asked.

Right on cue, Church and Tex appeared out of nowhere.

"That'd be me, newbie," Church said with his usual smirk.

Marco and Lorna both looked startled by their sudden arrival.

"My name's Tex," she added.

As they stood there, I couldn't help but notice how often Church and Tex had been hanging out lately. If they were actually in a relationship, I had to know how he pulled that off. I deliberately made Tex meaner toward him, yet somehow, he still managed to rizz her up. I needed lessons.

"Can you two show our new members to the living quarters?" I asked.

"No problem, boss," Tex replied.

Before they left, I added, "Take a few days to familiarize yourselves with the base and the people here. And just a warning—you're going to see some strange things."

"Strange things? Like what?" Marco asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Trust me, you'll find out soon enough, newbie," Church said with a chuckle.

With that, they left.

My team was growing—slowly but surely. I knew it would take a long time before we were ready to take over Genosha, but I had patience. This was the perfect time to strengthen our ranks and prepare for the battles ahead.

I just really hope nothing bad happens in the next couple of days.

I paused.

"...Did I just jinx myself?"

Peter Parker / Spider-Man's POV

Swinging through New York City, I kept an eye out for crime—though lately, there hadn't been much. Ever since Starlight and I started cracking down on criminals, things had quieted down.

We took down drug dealers, human traffickers, illegal arms dealers, multiple bank robbers, and plenty of muggers.

Now?

I was mostly helping people with small stuff—helping old ladies cross the street, finding lost pets, rescuing cats from trees. Hell, I even helped a kid with his homework.

Honestly? With Starlight around, I felt like I could finally take a break.

That was until I heard a scream.

I swung toward the sound, landing on the side of a building and spotting the scene below.

An older Asian man lay on the ground, bleeding from a deep cut on his forehead. A young Asian girl stood protectively in front of him. Five men surrounded them, one of them sneering as he spoke.

"You know, at first, I just wanted your money," he said, his voice dripping with arrogance. "But now? I think I'll take the girl too."

"We could have some real fun with her," another one chuckled.

My blood boiled.

Not only was what they were saying disgusting, but the girl looked around my age. I was definitely about to break some bones.

But before I could move—she acted first.

She kicked the first guy in the gut, sending him stumbling back. Then, in one swift motion, she punched the second guy and roundhouse kicked the third—all of them dropping like flies.

Her movements were fluid. Precise. Familiar.

The last two thugs tried to rush her, one swinging a right hook.

She caught it. Effortlessly.

The other threw a left punch—she caught that too.

These guys were twice her size, yet she held them in place like they weighed nothing.

Then, she squeezed their hands.

They screamed in pain, bones cracking under the pressure.

That's when I noticed—one of the guys she knocked down earlier was getting up, pulling a knife. He rushed toward her from behind, ready to stab her.

Before I could warn her, she reacted instantly—shoving the two men she held onto the ground. She spun around and punched the knife-wielding guy before he even had a chance to react.

One hit. Knocked out cold.

The rest of the thugs groaned on the ground, completely wrecked.

She took a breath before turning to the injured man—her grandfather, I assumed.

That's when I decided to step in, dropping down from the building.

"You two okay?" I asked.

"Yes, we're fi—" The girl turned around to answer me but stopped mid-sentence.

She froze.

And so did I.

The moment our eyes met, my spider-sense flared—but not in a danger kind of way. It was something... different.

She felt it too.

Recognition flickered in my mind.

I knew her.

She went to my school.

Her name was Cindy Moon.

image here

And based on what I just saw...

She was like me.

For a few seconds, we just stood there, staring at each other.

Then she snapped out of it.

"Yes, we're fine," she said quickly. "But my grandpa needs a hospital. I need to take him there."

"Go ahead. I'll make sure these guys end up in jail," I assured her.

She nodded, lifting her grandfather up and walking away.

As I watched her disappear into the night, one thought filled my mind.

I need to tell Ed about this.

Ed POV

After talking to Lorna and Marco, I went out to do some hero work. Right now, I'm in Gotham, and as usual, crime is through the roof. If I summon more heroes, I should place one here to help at night—Batman is just one guy, and he doesn't have a Robin yet. He can't cover the whole city alone.

Just in the past hour, I've already stopped five bank robberies. As I was flying over the streets, I heard an alarm blaring from a jewelry store. I descended towards the entrance and saw someone inside. The door had been busted open.

Walking in, I immediately recognized the man robbing the place—Mr. Freeze. He looked just like his Arkham Knight version.

I smirked."You know, if I had a nickel for every time I saw a guy with blue skin in a weird suit, I'd have… well, one nickel. But it's still kinda weird that it's happening at all."

Freeze looked at me, momentarily surprised, before pointing his freeze gun at me and firing. I raised my right hand and shot a stream of flames, colliding with his freeze ray mid-air. The beams clashed, evenly matched—at first. But then, I increased the heat. My flames overpowered his weapon, and the gun exploded in his hands, sending him flying backward into a wall. It wasn't a big explosion—just enough to disarm him.

"Okay, now that that's over, let's talk," I said, stepping closer. "I know who you are, Dr. Victor Fries—aka Mr. Freeze. What are you doing robbing a diamond store? Shouldn't you be trying to cure your wife?"

Freeze's expression shifted slightly—surprised I knew about Nora."A cure takes time… and money," he admitted, "but how do you know about my wife?"

"I know a lot of things about a lot of villains. Now, I'll give you a choice." I held up one finger. "Option one: you come with me willingly. I'll put you in a prison you cannot escape from, but I'll also find a cure for you and your wife. When she's healed, I'll release you, and you'll have to face justice for your crimes. But I promise to keep her safe until then."

I raised a second finger."Option two: you refuse, we fight, I break your weapons, and I still take you to my prison. The difference is, you'll get there in pain. I'll find Nora on my own, cure her, and you will still have to face justice."

"Why should I trust you?" Freeze asked skeptically.

"Because I want to help everyone—including villains. Take a leap of faith with me."

For a moment, he hesitated. Then, slowly, he raised his hand. I thought he was going to accept my offer. Instead, a hidden cannon on his arm deployed and fired another freeze blast at me.

Sighing, I countered with fire again, overpowering his attack just like before. In an instant, I was in front of him, crushing the weapon on his arm before he could fire again. Then, I disabled his other arm just to be safe. With that done, I teleported him straight into my prison—right into a specialized cell.

Freeze glared at me from behind the energy bars."You know, we could've avoided all this if you had just agreed to come peacefully," I said.

"Go to hell. I'll escape this prison," he spat.

I smirked."Good luck with that. This place makes Arkham look like a daycare."

He didn't seem to believe me—probably because he's broken out of Arkham too many times.

"He's not lying, Freeze," a voice called from another cell. "I've been trying to break out for two weeks."

"These energy cells are impossible to break," another voice added. "I don't know how many times I've tried."

I turned around to see Clayface and Killer Croc in their own cells.

Just then, Eta and Iota appeared.

"Number of times Killer Croc has attempted to break his cell: 105," Eta stated.

"And the number of times Clayface tried to squeeze himself out: 77," Iota added.

I sighed. "Could you two call them by their real names instead of the nicknames the public gave them?"

"Understood," they both responded.

I turned to Clayface—Ethan.

"I really wish you'd stop trying to escape. We're close to finding a cure for you."

"I need to see it to believe it," Ethan said.

Then, I looked at Waylon—Killer Croc.

"I won't lie to you, Waylon. We can't cure you. But we can send in a therapist to help you work through your issues. If she clears you, you'll have two options: join us or live peacefully on my island, away from All the Troubles that hurt you before."

Waylon just stared at me in silence, trying to gauge if I was telling the truth.

"If your therapist says I'm okay… you'd really let me live on your island in peace? No one would try to hurt me or call me a monster?" he finally asked.

I met his gaze. "You have my word. No one here will ever do those things to you."

Waylon studied me for a moment before giving a slow nod. "Fine. I'll meet your therapist."

"For safety reasons, I can't let you out of your cell to meet her. But she'll come to you."

"Fine. Whatever," he muttered.

Then, I looked at Victor. "And you, Dr. Fries—you'll have to wait. We need to modify your cell before we can remove your suit. It's too dangerous to leave you with it."

Iota spoke up. "We estimate it will take two days to upgrade the cell properly."

Eta added, "In the meantime, we can have the automated units remove the suit once it's safe."

"Thank you both, I appreciate it," I said.

"No problem, sir," they replied in unison.

With that taken care of, I turned and left the prison wing of the base.

I made my way out of the prison wing, ready to teleport back to Gotham when Church suddenly appeared.

"Ed, I've got good news!"

I stopped walking. "Alright, let's hear it."

"First, we finally found Captain America. The robots Gamma sent out located the ship, and we're working on extracting him safely. He should be in the base in a couple of minutes."

I smiled "That's great news. Does Peggy know?"

"Yeah, she was the first person I told," Church confirmed.

"Good. Now we have the first Super Soldier."

"And Peggy is beyond happy," Church added.

"Keep me updated on the situation. I'm about to head out again."

"No problem," Church said before vanishing.

With that handled, I teleported back to Gotham. The night was still young, and crime was rampant. I stayed out of Batman's way—I really didn't feel like dealing with him tonight. I worked through the night, stopping crimes until the sun started to rise. Even after all that, I wasn't tired. Just as I was about to leave the city, a scream caught my attention.

I immediately flew toward the source and found myself hovering outside a laboratory building. Something was happening inside. Without hesitation, I flew through a window and into the room.

A woman was trapped inside, and the air was filling with poison gas. She was screaming in agony, her body twisting in pain as her skin turned green. I didn't waste time. I inhaled, consuming all the poison in the air, neutralizing it instantly. Once it was clear, I rushed to her side.

Her transformation had completed—her skin was now fully green. I turned her over and recognized her immediately. Poison Ivy.

She was unconscious, likely from the pain of the transformation, but she was still breathing.

The door suddenly opened, and a man stepped inside. Jason Woodrue. So, I had just walked into Poison Ivy's origin story.

"Oh, Arsenal! Thank God you're here!" he said, sounding panicked. "That woman—her name is Pamela. She's one of my students. She did something reckless. We were experimenting on plant and human hybridization, trying to find a way to combine them. We created a serum, but she injected herself before we could test it properly! I tried to stop her, but she pushed me out of the room. She went on a rampage, knocking things over, which caused the poison gas to spread. And then she—she injected herself!"

I could tell he was lying.

I gently placed my hand on his shoulder, activating my ability. In an instant, I saw the truth—the evil he had done.

Pamela had created the serum herself, but Jason had wanted to sell it for profit. She refused. They argued, and Pamela fought back harder than he expected. In a fit of rage, he threw her to the ground and deliberately spilled chemicals, creating the toxic gas. Then, he locked the door and left her to die, planning to frame her as incompetent and steal her work.

Desperate to survive, Pamela had injected herself with the serum—the only way she could escape death.

I removed my hand, my eyes narrowing. "That's not what happened."

Jason's face paled. "What? What are you talking about? She—she's crazy!"

"No, I think we should wait for the police. We can check the security cameras and see what really happened."

His panic deepened. "There are no cameras in this room!"

I smirked. "Maybe not. But there are cameras in the hallways. And I'm pretty sure they'll show you locking the door while Pamela was banging on it, begging you to let her out."

His eyes darted toward the exit. He turned to run, but I was faster. With a flick of my hand, I froze his legs in place.

Jason struggled. "Let me go!"

"Yeah, that's not happening. You tried to kill her."

"It was an accident!" he pleaded.

"Save it for the cops. They're already on their way."

He had no escape. I glanced back at Pamela. She was stable but still unconscious.