Marvel: Reincarnated as Superman

"I almost died back there, and you just left me."

"You stood there and watched me nearly get killed."

"Are we even friends?"

Quill didn’t stop complaining. As he and Daniel walked, he stayed right beside Daniel, grumbling bitterly the whole way, making sure Daniel heard every word.

Finally, fed up with Quill’s nonstop whining, Daniel stopped dead, turned around, and gave Quill a long, hard look.

After a few long seconds under Daniel’s intense stare, Quill started to feel seriously uncomfortable. He shifted from foot to foot before finally grumbling.

"What are you looking at? Come on, let’s keep moving. It’s getting dark, we’re stuck in the middle of a giant junkyard, and I really don’t want to spend the night here. And honestly, I have no idea why you won’t just carry me and fly us straight into the city."

Without another word, Quill turned and marched ahead. Daniel watched him go, a faint smile tugging at the corner of his mouth, then followed after him.

It wasn’t that Daniel didn’t want to carry Quill. The problem was that this idiot had transformed into a massive fat slob. If Daniel didn’t make him get a little exercise now, how on earth was he supposed to act like a superhero in the future?

Every superhero out there seemed to be built like a tank; they were lean, muscular, and ridiculously fit. Even the ones who weren’t jacked usually had a normal, healthy build.

Quill, meanwhile, had gone way past that point. He’d packed on so much weight that calling him overweight barely seemed to cover it.

If Daniel hadn’t spent the last five years with Quill, he probably wouldn’t have recognized the man standing in front of him as the future Star-Lord from the Guardians of the Galaxy.

Standing at a height of six foot one yet weighing a whopping 300 pounds, he was morbidly out of shape. He actively sported a massive beer belly, and yet somehow, he still harbored a profound passion for hitting on women.

And every single time he scored a success, he would boast excitedly before Daniel, bragging about how impossibly immense his personal charm was.

Did he truly believe Daniel was blind and couldn’t see what was going on? The only reason he successfully hooked up with those ladies was because he paid them cold, hard cash. It had nothing to do with his looks.

At this point, Daniel wasn’t even sure Yondu would be able to recognize him if they ran into each other.

With their separation coming up, Daniel figured he had to do something before Quill completely let himself go. That was why he’d deliberately refused to fly him this time. Instead, he was making Quill walk extensive distances as a form of mandatory cardio.

The man needed the exercise. Otherwise, sooner or later, he was going to end up getting caught by bounty hunters and sold off for the reward on his head.

Then again, it was hard to say. Daniel took another look at Quill.

Maybe there was more to it than that.

The bounty notices still used a picture of Quill from five years ago, back when he actually looked like himself. And every bounty hunter who had managed to track them down and see Quill in person had ended up dead.

So, with Quill looking like this now, anyone who didn’t know him extremely well would have a hell of a time recognizing him.

Daniel narrowed his eyes and thought.

’I wonder if Quill is doing this deliberately. Perhaps he is intentionally letting himself get fat so that bounty hunters won’t recognize him. After all, his head is worth quite a hefty sum...’

After five miserable hours of walking, the two of them finally made it into the city.

It was already getting dark. Twilight had settled over the skyline, and the streets below were coming alive with the glow of neon signs.

By the second half of the journey, Daniel had gotten so bored of walking that he’d simply started to float lazily in midair while holding a cable, allowing Quill to pull him along like a human balloon.

Getting into the city hadn’t been completely straightforward, either.

The city kept a strict separation between itself and the surrounding wasteland. With so many desperate scavengers living out in the junkyards, the authorities had built enormous reinforced-steel walls around the entire city to keep people from sneaking in.

Fortunately, Daniel found a isolated section of the wall with no one around. He used his enhanced vision to check the other side and made sure there wasn’t a single living thing nearby.

Once he was certain they were alone, he focused his heat vision on the wall and carefully burned a clean circle straight through the barrier, and a few moments later, the two of them slipped through into the city.

"Man, this place is incredibly lively." The moment they breached the perimeter, Quill’s excitement instantly surged back, his complaints of fatigue vanishing entirely. Gazing upon the dense crowds flowing back and forth, he addressed Daniel with immense enthusiasm.

"Let’s find a bar to unwind a bit."

Daniel offered a casual, indifferent nod. He had grown thoroughly accustomed to this routine; whenever Quill arrived at a fresh destination, the absolute first location he sought out was invariably a bar, hoping to pick up women.

Yet every single time, he would be met with absolute disappointment, ultimately forcing him to plunge headfirst into the nearest adult entertainment district instead.

"You know what? Don’t even bother looking. Finding a good bar is basically my superpower. I know exactly where we need to go."

Daniel was about to use his enhanced vision to scan the area, but Quill stopped him.

Grabbing Daniel by the arm, Quill led him through a maze of streets, taking one turn after another until they finally stopped in front of a crowded bar.

"See? Told you." Quill puffed out his chest, clearly pleased with himself. "I could smell the rich scent of alcohol from a mile away."

Daniel didn’t bother responding. He walked past him and headed straight inside.

Once they settled into a private booth, Quill’s eyes immediately started wandering around the room. He scanned the tables one by one, clearly on the lookout for his next target.

Daniel took a slow sip of his drink, watching Quill’s bloated face over the rim of his glass. He couldn’t help wondering what would happen to him after they went their separate ways.

Five years together had changed things. Somewhere along the way, Daniel had stopped thinking of Quill as just a traveling companion and started thinking of him as a real friend.

And that was exactly why he was worried. If Daniel left, how long would it take before Quill got himself caught?

Sure, Quill looked completely different now. But who knew what kind of crazy technology existed out there? Facial recognition was one thing. An advanced alien civilization might have genetic scanners, biometric tracking, or some other way of identifying someone from halfway across the galaxy.

Daniel had no idea what they were capable of.

Quill, meanwhile, hadn’t noticed a thing, as he was too busy searching the room.

Then Quill’s eyes suddenly lit up. He’d found someone.

"Hey," he gave Daniel a sharp nudge and pointed across the room. "Check her out, she’s so gorgeous."

Daniel followed his gaze.

A woman sat alone at the bar. She looked almost completely human, except for the intricate tribal markings covering her face and her skin possessed a rich, sun-kissed bronzed complexion. Her hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail, and even from across the room, it was obvious she was built like a fighter.

"Forget it," Daniel said.

"She’s way out of your league. Look at her, she’s got more muscle in one arm than you’ve got on your entire body. Anyone with eyes can tell she’s a strong warrior."

Daniel knew exactly who she was.

Valkyrie.

The woman who had appeared in Thor: Ragnarok.

"A female warrior, huh?" Quill’s grin widened. "Even better than."

He practically looked excited enough to drool.

"Female warriors possess far more raw stamina; I just like that." He gave Daniel a confident wink.

"And if she wants to be on top, I’m not gonna complain. Just sit back and watch me work."

Before Daniel could say anything, Quill stood up with a confident grin, the layers of fat across his frame jiggling slightly as he strode directly toward Valkyrie.

Daniel stayed where he was, watching him go.

’Maybe getting his ass kicked will do him some good.

At least then he might think twice before throwing himself at every woman he found attractive. Sooner or later, he was bound to pick the wrong one.’

Daniel wasn’t worried about Quill getting seriously hurt, either. With him here, even if Valkyrie turned out to be stronger than expected, he could step in before things got dangerous.

"Hey there, drinking all by yourself?" Quill approached Valkyrie’s side, leaning in slightly as he delivered his opening line.

Valkyrie was already drunk, her gaze hazy and unfocused as she stared back at Quill. She possessed absolutely zero recollection of this fat slob within her memory, prompting her to snap coldly.

"Beat it."

"Come on, gorgeous. Drinking by yourself is boring. How about we have a few together?"

Quill remarked smoothly, casually resting an arm across Valkyrie’s shoulder.

Valkyrie didn’t even flinch, she calmly finished her drink, set the cup down, and stood. Then she delivered a lightning-fast, brutal kick straight between his legs.

Thud.

"Ooohhh..."

A look of absolute, excruciating agony instantly washed over Quill’s face as he clutched his groin, curling into a ball right on the floor.

"Whoa, someone actually tried hitting on Valkyrie. That guy must be new around here."

Several onlookers among the crowd started to laugh.

"He’s in for a world of hurt."

"Hahaha...."

The tavern erupted in laughter.

"Burp..."

Valkyrie let out a heavy alcohol burp. Swaying unsteadily on her feet, she hoisted Quill up by his collar, staring right into his eyes as she muttered, "Which exact hand did you just touch me with?"

Her voice was slurred, but there was nothing playful about it. "I’m going to chop it off."

Daniel immediately got up and walked over.

"Sorry about him. He’s completely wasted and clearly has no idea what he’s doing." Daniel gave her an apologetic smile. "I’ll take him and get him out of here."

"No." Valkyrie tightened her grip on Quill’s collar.

"If I don’t cut off his hand, he’s not going anywhere."

She looked unsteady on her feet, but the hand holding Quill might as well have been made of steel.

With her free hand, she drew a dagger out of nowhere. "Which hand was it again?"

"There’s really no need to go that far."

Daniel reached out and pinched the very tip of the blade between two fingers and with a gentle, effortless flex of his fingers, he snapped the metal blade cleanly into two pieces.

"Look at that, your weapon is broken. It appears slicing his hand off is completely off the table for today."

Valkyrie stared blankly at the broken blade in her hand. For a moment, she didn’t move, then the drunken haze disappeared from her eyes. Now, she was completely sober.

"Who are you?"

Her voice was cold now.

That dagger wasn’t some ordinary blade. It was a weapon she had brought with her from Asgard, a genuine divine weapon and this man had just snapped it in half between his fingers.

Dropping into a tense, defensive stance, Valkyrie glared at Daniel with absolute, dead seriousness.

"Me? I’m just a regular guy," Daniel replied with a casual smile.

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