The New York sky was as black as ink.

Jason smashed through the base’s successive ceilings to reach the open air. After orienting himself, he rocketed toward the outskirts of the city. Being out of the base didn’t mean he was safe; with his current power, if he truly cut loose, there would be no safe zone within a ten-kilometer radius. He didn’t care much for the New York government, but he did care about his own hard-earned assets.

Thud!

Not far from the base, while flying, Jason slammed head-first into a solid wall of air. His forehead bruised instantly, yet the air wall didn’t show so much as a hairline fracture. Hovering in the air and scanning his surroundings, he saw Harley appear nearby, watching him with a playful, mocking expression.

"Not bad. You’ve improved," Jason said, rubbing his aching forehead with a look of genuine appreciation. The impact force of Jason at full speed was enough to level a mountain peak. For Harley’s spatial abilities to bind him so effectively was a feat worthy of praise.

Harley didn’t look pleased. She extended her small hand and swept it violently downward. An invisible wall of air fell from the sky like a hammer, smashing into Jason’s head.

BOOM!

Jason was driven straight into the ground, his impact shattering the asphalt into a spiderweb of cracks.

"AAAAHHH!!!"

Predictably, nearby New Yorkers screamed in terror, fleeing like madmen in every direction. As Jason stood up, Harley arrived. Swish, swish, swish—several more spatial restraints locked him inside a ten-cubic-meter prison of air.

Jason pressed his palm against the invisible barrier and looked up. "Do you really think a simple spatial cage can hold me?"

Harley remained stone-faced, her arms spread wide as she funneled every ounce of her will into the restraint. "I have confidence in my strength. Holding you for ten minutes won’t be a problem."

"Ten minutes?" Jason let out a weak, dry laugh. "Harley, we’re husband and wife. You have way too little faith in your husband. Your spatial cage is impressive, but if I want to break it, ten seconds is all I need!"

"Keep dreaming!" Being told her proudest skill could be shattered in ten seconds—even by Jason Walter—felt like a slap in the face.

"Don’t believe me? Then let’s find out!"

Jason’s eyebrows knitted together, his expression turning bone-chillingly cold. Those who knew him understood: he was charging.

Seconds later, a massive sphere of pale blue energy manifested around him, filling the cubic prison to its limit. Not enough. Still not enough! Jason dropped into a slight crouch, fists clenched tight. The energy within his body roared out like a floodgate opening, pouring into the sphere. As the density increased, the blue deepened into a violent, electric purple.

"Harley! this sphere contains ninety-nine percent of my energy. Let’s see if you can catch it!" Jason panted, weak but wearing a triumphant grin.

Burst!

Instantly, the purple sphere detonated. A blinding white light erupted from within Harley’s cube—a light so intense it rivaled the midday sun, illuminating half of New York City.

"Nngghh!!!" Harley braced her arms, letting out a guttural roar as she fought to keep the cube stable.

CRACK!

A fissure suddenly appeared on the air wall!

"Hold on!" Harley’s face was contorted in a grimace as she pushed her superpower to its breaking point. In the instant the energy exploded, she finally understood the gap between her and Jason. One word: astronomical.

She no longer hoped to hold him for ten minutes; she just wanted to last ten seconds to prove him wrong. But the gap in power wasn’t something that could be bridged by sheer willpower. No matter how hard she struggled, the cracks grew wider and more dense.

"Harley! It’s going to blow! GET OUT OF HERE!!!" Jason’s frantic voice echoed from inside the cube.

"Heh... really... underestimated you..." Harley muttered with a bitter smile.

A second later, she teleported herself to a desolate mountain ridge ten miles away. The moment she arrived, her stamina bottomed out, and she collapsed face-first into the dirt.

Without Harley’s power to sustain it, the cube stood no chance against Jason’s energy. With a world-shaking roar, the spatial restraint was pulverized. A massive wave of energy, comparable to a tactical nuke, expanded in all directions.

RUMBLE!!!

The earth heaved; the shockwave was catastrophic. Everywhere the wave touched, pedestrians, vehicles, and buildings were reduced to dust in the wind. The power of a nuclear blast was something no human could withstand. Minutes later, the energy finally dissipated, leaving several square miles of South New York in total ruins.

New York had become a living hell once again.

Huff... huff...

Jason drifted into the air, gasping for breath. Expending almost all his energy in one go had taken a massive toll on his physical stamina. More importantly, his reserves were empty. He was now like a traveler lost in a desert, desperate for a drink.

"At this distance, the base should be fine," Jason muttered, squinting to estimate the distance. Before he could catch his breath, a row of blue lights ignited in the night sky.

As the leader of the organization, Jason knew exactly what that meant: the ten Iron Man-style suits stationed at the New York HQ.

"Franklin..." Jason gave a bitter smile. With his energy depleted, he couldn’t run. He’d have to fight his way out.

Moments later, the ten armored suits surrounded him. The faceplates retracted, revealing his turncoat comrades—and the instigator of it all, Loki. The sight of the utter devastation below left Loki stunned. He had lived for thousands of years and participated in planetary wars, but to cause this much destruction with sheer physical power... besides his brother Thor, perhaps only his father, whom he had never seen go all out, could achieve this.

"Jason..." Loki stared at him, his gaze burning with a feverish heat. He looked like a starving man eyeing a steak, or a lecher eyeing a beauty.

"What are you looking at, you creep?" Jason spat, his eyes full of contempt.

"You..." Loki recalled the earlier humiliation. Rage flared, and he raised the scepter, firing a massive energy blast.

Seeing this, the core member screamed in desperation, "NO! STOP!"

As his inner circle, they knew Jason’s abilities better than anyone. Even if Jason was trying to look weak, they could tell he was truly drained. This was the one moment they shouldn’t fire energy at him. They needed to use powers he couldn’t absorb—ultrasonics, freezing force.

Unfortunately, they had a teammate who was a liability. Taunted by Jason, Loki had fired without thinking. The moment the blast left the scepter, Loki regretted it. But the energy was an arrow already loosed from the string; there was no taking it back.

"THANK YOU!!!"

Jason shouted with excitement, throwing his arms wide. He let the energy blast slam into him, absorbing it like a greedy sponge until he was fully recharged.

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You can read advance Chapters and view R-18 images of the characters on pat reon page.

pat reon.com/GreenBlue17

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