Just as Johnny was winding up for another round with Thor, a white figure simply appeared inside the ship.
“Brother!”
“Wayne!”
“Brother, you’re back!”
Wayne’s fists clenched.
He flicked both Johnny and Thor hard on the forehead without a second of hesitation.
“I’ve already told you.
Don’t call me that.”
Thor saw stars.
He still managed to raise a shaky thumbs-up.
“As expected of Brother… you’ve got power!”
Bang.
A second lump appeared on Thor’s head.
Susan couldn’t hold back her excitement.
She left her seat immediately.
Zero gravity and the ship’s speed sent her drifting toward the rear, but she didn’t look worried for a second.
Exactly as she expected, Wayne caught her.
“Nice catch.”
Susan hooked one arm around his neck.
The other hand stroked his cheek.
She tilted her head and pressed a soft, wet kiss to the opposite side of his face.
“That’s your reward.”
“Actually I was hoping for the new model that just dropped…”
“Hmm?”
“Nothing.
This reward is perfect, Susan.”
Most of the Avengers tried to look elsewhere while still sneaking glances.
Tony didn’t bother.
He just stared openly.
“Looks like I’ll need Jarvis to update the database.”
“Do you have a problem with that?”
“No, ma’am.
Absolutely none.
I, Tony Stark, have never been the type to meddle in other people’s private lives.”
“Good.”
Susan looked away, completely ignoring the expression on Tony’s face that clearly said “this was planned.”
Tony glanced at Wayne, who seemed to be thinking about something else entirely, and sighed.
The young Superman was about to get thoroughly corrupted by a very skilled older sister.
He took one more look at Susan’s face and figure, both top-tier, and felt a brief stab of envy.
He had grown up fast and seen plenty, but none of it quite matched Susan.
The feeling didn’t last.
He had Pepper.
Everything else was just scenery.
“Ahem… kid.
What about Galactus?”
Steve forced the conversation back on track, zeroing in on the only thing that really mattered to him right now.
“Galactus?
No idea.
Probably lying around in some empty corner of the void.”
“You beat him?”
“What else was I supposed to do?”
Silence.
Everyone wore a different version of the same expression.
They had believed Wayne could win… but this easy?
Not a single scratch on him.
Was Galactus really just some random nobody?
That couldn’t be right.
When they had fought the guy he had been ridiculously strong.
Looking at Wayne’s completely matter-of-fact expression, everyone could only think the same thing: as expected of a Superman with a bigger size.
Steve needed a long moment to process it.
“Um… Wayne.
You didn’t kill Galactus, right?”
Wayne looked mildly confused.
“Why would I kill him?”
“Good.
That’s good.”
Steve let out a genuine breath of relief and regarded the kid with clear approval.
“You did well… I’m sorry I doubted you.
Galactus’s survival affects the balance of the entire universe.
I should have trusted that you already knew where to draw the line.”
That was what he was thinking?
Wayne ran a quick check through Super Brain.
If memory served, the only reason he had left Galactus alive was so he could use the guy as a punching bag a few more times later.
But since Steve had already framed it so nicely…
“Yeah.
That’s exactly what I was thinking.”
Wayne answered with a straight face.
Steve looked even more pleased.
Understanding the bigger picture, thinking about the long-term consequences, and still packing that kind of power… Tony had been right.
The team really was short-handed.
He still didn’t like the idea of putting a kid on the front lines, but if they guided him properly and taught him how to control that strength, maybe it wasn’t completely off the table.
The real problem was that Wayne showed zero interest in joining.
Tony and the others had already tried several times with nothing to show for it.
He hadn’t even formally joined the Fantastic Four yet.
And how were they supposed to poach him anyway?
Reed did not look like the type to let go easily.
Steve couldn’t exactly blame him.
He wouldn’t want to let the kid go either unless it was Wayne’s own choice.
He and Tony would have to sit down and plan this carefully once they got home.
By the time the ship entered the Solar System and closed in on Earth, contact with the ground had already been re-established.
Which led to the scene waiting for them.
A safe distance from the landing zone, a massive crowd had gathered.
They were there to welcome the heroes home.
And the heroes did not disappoint.
The threat of Galactus was gone.
There was still one small issue.
Banner suddenly remembered something.
Wayne had fired that first Heat Vision from Earth itself.
When he arrived to finish the fight he hadn’t used any ship or device.
All of it had happened in full view of who-knew-how-many people on the ground.
Once you calculated the actual distance, the implications were terrifying.
Anyone with half a brain would understand just how absurd what Wayne had done really was.
Having been hounded by General Ross more times than he could count, Banner couldn’t help a flicker of worry.
“Wayne’s not going to get targeted by those people, is he?”
The second the question left his mouth, even Banner himself started laughing.
He had just panicked for no reason.
With a striking range measured in tens of thousands of light-years, President Matthew Ellis would have to be kicked in the head by a donkey before he green-lit General Ross going after the kid.
Even if someone wanted to make use of that power, they would have to approach carefully.
Anything aggressive would be pure suicide unless the person in charge was an actual idiot.
Matthew didn’t seem that stupid.
“Relax, Banner.
I’ll handle any trouble.”
Tony stepped out of the armor and straightened his suit with total confidence.
“I guarantee it.”
If Wayne’s power had just been a little out of control, managing the political side would be messy.
But the gap was so absolute it became an unbeatable trump card.
Unless Wayne himself wanted to be controlled, Tony had more than enough ways to shut any nonsense down.
“No.
Your guarantee isn’t needed.”
Reed stared at Tony with open suspicion.
The man never stopped trying to poach his people.
“I can handle this small matter myself.”
It wasn’t empty talk.
The Fantastic Four had never hidden their identities, so they had dealt with this kind of noise before.
To Reed it was all minor.
“If you need anything, call me.
I still know a few old friends who aren’t dead yet.”
Steve gave a small nod, then tried to put the kid at ease.
“You didn’t do anything wrong, kid.
Don’t carry any weight over this.
We’ll take care of it.”
When he glanced over, though, Wayne didn’t look the slightest bit worried.
He was already chatting casually with Susan and Johnny.