Marvel: Reincarnated as Superman

After what felt like dozens of jumps through space, Quill looked like he’d aged ten years. At last, the two of them reached Planet Sakaar.

Sakaar was basically a giant junkyard drifting through the cosmos, but despite its reputation as a dump, it was also one of the busiest transportation hubs in the galaxy. Mountains of garbage stretched across the planet’s surface, yet somehow, the sky above remained a beautiful, cloud-dotted blue.

Their ship came down smoothly in the middle of a massive scrapyard.

The second Quill stepped onto solid ground; relief washed over his face. He took a long, deep breath, closed his eyes, and spread his arms wide, happily soaking in the fresh air.

"We finally made it. I nearly died out there." Quill lamented. "The air here is so incredibly fresh, I can almost smell the scent of freedom."

"That’s because you just stepped in shit," Daniel’s voice rang out from behind him.

Quill looked down and realized he had planted his boot squarely in a dark, sticky mess that smelled absolutely awful.

"Oh, damn it."

Quill immediately scrambled to the side, frantically scraping his sole against a nearby piece of debris.

Daniel ignored his antics, casting his gaze out into the far distance to take in the vast scenery. He observed countless wormholes tearing open across the atmosphere of this world, connecting to both known and unknown dimensions, it was truly a fascinating marvel.

"This place is pretty strange," Daniel remarked.

"Yeah, trash everywhere," Quill muttered in response.

A row of dark lines surfaced on Daniel’s forehead; the two of them weren’t even operating on the same wavelength.

After successfully scraping the unidentified substance off his boot, Quill turned back to Daniel with a forced grin.

"Let’s move. Get out of here, this place reeks of absolute garbage."

"Didn’t you literally just say it smelled wonderful?" Daniel said with a smirk.

"You misheard."

Quill left it at that and ignored Daniel, heading straight ahead. Daniel didn’t bother moving, he knew Quill would be back soon enough.

And, sure enough, less than a minute later, Quill came stumbling back into view with both hands raised in surrender.

"Back already?" Daniel poked fun at him.

"The locals here aren’t particularly friendly," Quill whispered frantically as he hurried back to Daniel’s side, his confidence instantly multiplying the moment he neared Daniel.

A few seconds later, a band of bizarrely dressed alien scavengers marched forward, with diverse weapons in their hand.

"Food, our two portions of food." The leader of the group shouted.

"They want to eat us. Take them down quickly." Quill hissed under his breath.

"I don’t particularly feel like fighting today, so you handle them," Daniel said calmly. "They’re not particularly strong. Besides, you can’t rely on me forever."

Before Quill could respond, Daniel closed his eyes and went completely still. Within seconds, his breathing settled into a slow, steady rhythm.

Daniel had fallen asleep.

Using his ’suspended animation’ ability, he simply entered a deep sleep right where he stood. The alien scavengers weren’t particularly strong, so if Quill used his head a bit, he should have no trouble dealing with them.

Daniel was supposed to return to Earth soon, which meant Quill would be on his own. That was exactly why Daniel had chosen this moment to start whipping him back into shape.

For five straight years, this idiot had followed Daniel around, doing little more than watch from the sidelines and carry his bags. At this point, his combat instincts were practically nonexistent.

One look at his increasingly rounded belly was more than enough proof of how lax he had become over the last five years.

"What?" Quill’s eyes widened in disbelief. At a time like this, Daniel had actually passed out while standing.

He shoved Daniel hard, desperately trying to wake him up. He put every ounce of his physical strength into it, but Daniel remained completely motionless, as immovable as a mountain.

Watching the alien scavengers get closer and closer, panic began to grip Quill. So, summoning his courage, he clenched his fist and threw a heavy punch straight at Daniel’s face.

However, Daniel was currently in a state of ’suspended animation’, causing his passive physical defenses to rise to their absolute maximum. Every molecule in his body had become exponentially harder than cosmic alloy steel.

Crack!

"Ow...."

Quill had put everything he had into that punch. His fist connected squarely with Daniel’s jaw, only for his own hand to swell up almost instantly, and Daniel didn’t even flinch.

Realizing there was no way he was waking up anytime soon, Quill held his throbbing hand against his chest and stared at Daniel with a deeply wronged expression, there was nothing else he could do.

Quill quickly slipped behind Daniel’s body and pulled the twin blasters from his belt. They had been sitting there untouched for the past five years, but he had a feeling they were about to get some use.

He cautiously peeked around Daniel’s side and aimed the blasters at the approaching aliens.

"Stay back! I’m armed!"

The threat might have sounded more convincing if Quill hadn’t delivered it with such obvious desperation.

The scavengers initially froze when they saw the blasters, instinctively diving behind nearby cover, but the moment they heard Quill’s shaky warning, they slowly came back out.

"Go ahead, Shoot!" The lead scavenger mocked him.

"You’re one guy with only two blasters. We’ve got more than a dozen men and just as many rifles."

"Don’t come any closer!" Quill tightened his grip on the blasters. "Take one more step and I’ll open fire. We can still talk this out."

Quill quickly weighed his options. There was no way he could win a straight fight. With Daniel completely out of commission, he had no advantage whatsoever, so instead of shooting, Quill decided to try talking his way out of it.

"Look, I’m armed. Even if you manage to capture me, I’m not going down without a fight. You’ll take casualties, and nobody wants that. So why don’t you just let me walk away? No bloodshed, no trouble. Everybody wins."

"Haha!"

The scavengers burst out laughing.

"You’re hiding behind your buddy while trying to negotiate with us. Why the hell should we be afraid of you?"

The leader glanced back at his men and pointed toward Daniel.

"Look at this guy, fellas. Isn’t he a complete idiot?"

The others nodded enthusiastically.

"I’ll count to three," the leader said coldly. "Step out now, or else..."

He paused, letting the threat hang in the air.

"Three... two..."

Bang!

Before the alien could finish counting, Quill pulled the trigger.

He might not have seen a real fight in five years, but his basic combat instincts were still there. The enemy had him badly outnumbered, and if he didn’t take the initiative and drop a few of them right away, he’d never even have a chance to take some of them down with him.

Unfortunately, it had been far too long since Quill had actually fired a gun. He’d spent the past five years enjoying a much softer, more comfortable life, and his once deadly aim had gotten rusty.

The plasma bolt went wide and struck a pile of garbage just inches from the leader’s head.

"Holy shit." The leader was startled out of his wits, and the moment he realized how close he’d come to getting his head blown off, his fear instantly turned into rage.

"Light him up!"

As he spoke, he violently threw his body to the side, ducking behind a heavy scrap heap.

He’d been standing out in the open because he was too arrogant to believe Quill was actually a threat. If Quill’s aim hadn’t been completely garbage, his life would have ended right then and there.

His heart was pounding violently against his ribs, necessitating a brief moment to steady his nerves.

The moment the others heard their leader’s order, they opened fire, and the junkyard erupted into a deafening barrage of gunfire.

Quill had already ducked completely behind Daniel after firing his first shot, so every incoming blast slammed directly into Daniel’s body.

Most of the scavengers were using energy weapons, and the concentrated barrage filled the area with blinding flashes of light.

Once the glare faded, the scavengers narrowed their eyes, only to discover that the standing figure remained completely unscathed. A wave of profound bewilderment and dread instantly gripped their hearts.

Before any of them could figure out what was happening, Quill squeezed off two more blind shots from behind cover. This time, the bolts actually found their mark, clipping one scavenger cleanly through the arm.

"Damn it! I was aiming for his head," Quill cursed under his breath, and then immediately took off running.

Staying behind Daniel was no longer an option. The junkyard wasn’t big enough to keep hiding in the same spot forever. Even these idiots would eventually figure out they could simply spread out and flank him.

Quill slipped out from behind Daniel, deliberately drawing their attention toward one side. Then, while they were focused on him, he quickly circled around to the opposite flank and crouched down, waiting in silence.

He was ready to ambush them. Unfortunately, Quill had seriously overestimated their tactical ability. After a brief exchange of confused shouting, the scavengers did the one thing he hadn’t expected: they charged at him.

All of them rushed forward with no formation, no strategy, no attempt to flank him. They simply rushed forward in a chaotic mob.

Bang! Bang!

The fight continued, and with every shot, Quill’s movements became smoother and more confident. His body was beginning to remember.

The brutal training he’d received from Yondu when he was young had carved those combat instincts deep into his muscles. Five years of peace hadn’t erased them; they had only been buried beneath years of laziness, and now they were coming back.

Quill moved, fired, and repositioned with increasing precision. After a frantic and exhausting battle, he finally fired the shot that dropped the last remaining scavenger.

"Hah... hah..."

Quill’s chest heaved as he struggled to catch his breath. His lungs felt like they were on fire. He hadn’t pushed his body this hard in years, well... unless you counted what he did in the bedroom.

Quill collapsed onto the dirt, completely exhausted.

"Ah..."

He had barely started recovering when Daniel suddenly opened his eyes. The next second, Daniel stretched lazily, his entire body extending with a series of satisfying movements.

"Man, that was one hell of a comfortable nap." He let out a contented sigh. "I feel completely refreshed. It’s like I’m overflowing with energy again."

-----------------------

Guys do leave your comments and reviews.

And if you want some extra Chapters, be sure to check out my Patron page, it’s 30 Chapters ahead of NovelPhoenix and the Chapters are also long so you can check it out.

p at reon . com / NovaScribe

(Just remove all spaces and then search)