Marvel: Raising — Chapter 174 - Lively (The End — Toss the Flowers)
"LOL."
Azu watched Batman get cuffed and hauled away, and live-streamed every second of it.
Glorious.
The original Dark Bat Dance Crew had been absorbed by a company on the Marvel side. Also scooped up and traffic-repurposed: Supergirl, Harley Quinn, Raven, Poison Ivy...
As for the rebooted Bruce Wayne?
Still Batman.
But against the power of the masses, he couldn't stir up a single wave.
When it came down to it, he was just an ordinary man. Rush him all at once, how could he possibly hold?
Once he was checked into Arkham.
Azu put on a disguise. Mainly a pair of black-framed glasses. Suddenly, no one recognized him.
Playing the reporter, Azu conducted his interview: "Mr. Bruce Wayne — Batman — may I ask: what drove you down the path of crime?"
"I was punishing criminals!" Bruce's neck went red. "Because my parents were murdered by a criminal in an alley! I am a noble avenger!"
"So you'd hit them once, then catch and release, release and catch?"
"..."
Staring at the crowd wildly agreeing with everything Azu said, Batman had nothing left.
He'd had ten thousand theories ready. Ten thousand arguments.
But today.
He saw how ordinary people actually reacted.
"Superheroes, get the hell out of Gotham!"
That was the public verdict.
"Alright, alright. Don't be so down. Go enjoy yourself in the psych ward. Less martial arts training, more short videos."
"Getting yourself happy — that's what meaning looks like."
Azu sent Batman inside.
Then took off the glasses.
"Whoa!"
"It's him, it's him, The Homie!"
Like magic, the crowd erupted.
"?"
Somewhere in that crowd, the rebooted Clark Kent stood with his jaw on the floor. Holy crap, one pair of glasses and they're all completely fooled?
That's way too unscientific.
Even though he could do the exact same thing.
But watching someone else pull off the identical trick, the feeling was definitely not the same.
"A Kryptonian?"
"He's far more powerful than I am!"
Clark watched Azu zip through the sky, eyes bright, and saw him stuff The Flash into the cosmic treadmill and walk away with all of Central City's love and adoration.
He went quiet for a moment, thinking.
This, it seemed, was the correct way to use power.
A fellow Kryptonian really knew how things worked.
...
At this moment.
Beyonce Parker was still dancing. BOOM-CH-BOOM-CH. Hadn't stopped once.
He'd grown, too.
After becoming a superstar, he bought up New York's largest secondhand clothing wholesale market and mailed a custom suit straight to the boss of the Daily Bugle.
Life was easy. Life was good.
"Superheroes plus singing and dancing?"
Inside Arkham Asylum, Bruce Wayne sat on the toilet and scrolled through short videos. He'd noticed that ever since he got himself a mental illness, his whole spirit had somehow sharpened right up.
Strange videos.
Hard to say. Better watch again.
"The Hulk, can lift a continent, currently doing yangge folk dance. Has a massive green fanbase."
"Thor... clean-energy generation wizard. No power? Thor's on it."
"Ghost Rider: official spokesperson for the All-You-Can-Eat Big Bones Buffet?"
"AHHHHH FAMILY WHO CAN RELATE, WHAT EVEN IS THIS FORMAT."
...
WHOOSH!
In The Boys world, Azu roared past and dropped a stack of company flyers. Scared Hughie into running bare-assed. Starlight transformed into mini Captain Marvel and took off on a double jump.
Come to think of it.
In The Boys world, where durability is strength and tankiness is power, Starlight's abilities actually counted as top tier.
She barely ever got her defenses cracked.
"Plenty of talent here, moderate overall combat strength. Perfect for a company superhero training camp."
Azu thought: doesn't this just add another show to the lineup?
Like Spider-Man vs. Internet Trolls.
...
Task done. Dad's assignment wrapped up. He brought Naruto back to the farm.
Sat down.
Turned on the TV.
"Ultraman Tiga has fallen!"
"The demon who seeks to dominate humanity, Flame Demon Warrior Kyrieloid II, has defeated Ultraman Tiga!"
"Ultraman, you're fading, please, help us!"
A brand new channel had appeared out of nowhere, contents wildly varied.
Yep. Another fusion.
And this one was different.
Not the abstract chaos of Marvel. Not the brain-rotted nonsense of DC. Not the realistic-but-very-American world of The Boys.
A world with Ultraman.
Ultraman is made for kids. But when you see a truly great Ultraman, everyone turns back into a kid.
"Become the light! Become the light!"
Right now, Guan Fuyun was losing it, cheering, bouncing on his heels, already halfway to grabbing a flashlight to shine at Tiga himself. Engagement level: maximum.
!
Azu took one look and lit up immediately. "Let Dad play! Dad gets to shine the light!"
Wanda: "I want to play too!"
Godzilla: "Roar? (Are we fighting the Ultraman?)"
The whole group had the energy of people whose wallets were full and a trip already booked.
Azu: "Kyrieloid II, you shameless bastard, no honor at all! Quit hitting him!"
He was terrified Tiga's light would flicker out for good.
He launched himself out first, hit the scene, and addressed the Flame Demon Warrior Kyrieloid II with great courtesy: "Hey. Hold on. Just hold on a second. My dad's on his way. Once I say go, then you fight."
Kyrieloid II: "?"
Absolutely not going to accept that.
Kyrieloid II ignored the stupid human entirely. Cackling its weird, scraping laugh, JIE JIE JIE, it lunged to finish off Tiga.
"I told you to stop. Are you deaf?"
So Azu slapped it into a spinning top, and it whirled like a top through the sky.
Meanwhile.
Back at the farm.
BANG BANG BANG!
"Open up, Mr. Guan! It's Ashley, another crisis! There's a monster!"
"Mr. Guan, Tony here. You're invited to the Iron Man party. One complimentary Iron Man armor included, fully customizable."
"Mr. Guan, it's Doom! Enjoying the recent programming?"
Sounded like old friends dropping by.
Very lively.
...
THE END, throw the flowers!
Thank you for every gift, thank you all! Wishing everyone a life where everything goes your way, loud, warm, and full. Wishing you health, happiness, and a body that is just absolutely built different.
See you in the next one!
ღ( ´･ᴗ･` ) heart.