Outside the cave, the sun beat down fiercely.
Over twenty Terrorists spread out in a fan shape, their rifle safeties clicked off, the metallic sound jarring in the dead silence.
Every gun was aimed at the cave entrance, ready to fire at any moment.
Suddenly, the ground trembled, and gravel (small stones) rattled down from cracks in the rock face.
Footsteps approached from a distance, like the drumbeats of the God of Death, each one striking fear into the heart.
When the cold, gleaming figure emerged from the cave entrance, everyone held their breath.
The steel armor reflected the setting sun, and the crimson optical lenses beneath the mask swept across the crowd, mechanical joints humming with hydraulic activation.
"Fire!"
With a roar, bullets rained down, sparking intensely as they hit the armor, the sharp "ding-ding-dang-dang" deafening.
Yet, the Iron Man stood unmoving amidst the hail of bullets, allowing them to bounce off his chest plate, at most only staggering slightly.
When the last bullet was fired, seeing the Iron Man completely unharmed, the Terrorists trembled and retreated.
"My turn."
The Iron Man suddenly raised his arm, revealing the flamethrower nozzle beneath it.
Fuel sprayed out, passing through the flames at the nozzle, and the heat wave kicked up a sky full of yellow sand.
Screams rose and fell, burning figures twisted and rolled in the sea of fire, and the smell of charred meat mixed with gunpowder filled the air.
The Iron Man stepped forward, flames spreading in a fan shape with his movements, leaving only charred remains and still-burning gun barrels in their wake.
Regardless of the fierce battle outside, the cave was filled with the pungent smell of gunpowder and blood; Ethan's body lay quietly beside the sandbags, having been dead for a long time, yet, strangely, blood was still flowing.
Not far away, the Bald Camouflage Man was pinned under jagged boulders, his limbs twisted and caught in the crevices.
XLR8 had been watching from the side; feeling uneasy, it jetted flames from its tail, surveying the vicinity.
After confirming that no one was nearby, she stopped in front of the Bald Camouflage Man.
At this moment, the Bald Camouflage Man was struggling with all his might, veins bulging in his neck, his face covered in dust and blood.
Amidst the grating sound of rocks rubbing, he finally pushed away the largest stone pressing on him, gasping for breath, his chest heaving violently.
However, when he looked up and met a pair of cold, glowing purple alien eyes, his breathing instantly stopped.
"What's wrong? Why are you kicking off the covers again? Let me put them back on for you."
XLR8's voice was similar to Gwen's own, just with an added layer of different-pitched overtones.
So the tone of these words was like a mother scolding a child who had kicked off their blankets.
However... when the Bald Camouflage Man realized that XLR8's claws had firmly grasped the huge rock he had just pushed away, and she was starting to exert force, his face instantly changed drastically.
With a deafening crash, the stone was violently slammed back down, and the Bald Camouflage Man's piercing scream abruptly ceased.
XLR8 didn't care about the man's life or death.
Even if he wasn't truly dead, it would at most cause Tony a little more trouble.
The next second, its figure moved like lightning, instantly flashing to Ethan's corpse.
Ethan's eyes were tightly closed, his pale face devoid of color, looking as if he had been gone for a while.
But blood was still gushing from his wound, staining a large area of sand beneath him.
XLR8 tilted its head, scratching its metal helmet with its hand, looking a bit awkward.
This suspended animation device was good in every way, except that the virtual projected blood wouldn't stop automatically; it would keep flowing endlessly.
For example, now, it should have completely stopped by all accounts, but it was still flowing.
This flaw existed in the initial version of the device used by the Wayne Couple; they had intended to fix it at the time but kept putting it off until now, never remembering to do so.
Well, never mind, no one noticed anyway.
Listening to the gunfire outside, XLR8 extended a claw, gently hooked Ethan's shoulder, and pulled him up, then its mask closed, and XLR8 rushed straight out.
Outside the cave, ammunition flew wildly like a black swarm in the air, and the flamethrower's flames twisted like a colossal crimson serpent, illuminating the surroundings as bright as day.
Heat waves mingled with gunpowder smoke assailed them, deafening explosions erupted one after another, and gravel (debris) and shrapnel flew everywhere like raindrops.
However, all this chaos, in XLR8's eyes, was as if a slow-motion button had been pressed.
The flames from its tail accelerated, helping it increase its own speed.
Effortlessly pulling Ethan, it dodged all the bullets and quickly arrived at the main area of the battlefield.
The Iron Man was using a flamethrower to deal with enemies here, while the enemies quickly moved towards the heavy machine gun fixed nearby, preparing to use it.
XLR8's method of getting around was also very simple: crossing its legs and shifting positions, it began to move along the wall.
After a short distance of running on walls, XLR8 had already left the battle zone.
As it left, XLR8 slapped the guy who was about to operate the heavy machine gun.
The Terrorist preparing to operate the heavy machine gun was knocked to the ground by this sudden, immense impact, his back of the head hitting the rock on the ground, and he instantly fell asleep.
"That's good sleep quality; in a few years, when my junior comes, remember to reincarnate quickly, maybe I can even bring you two together to discuss sleeping tips." Thinking of Nightwing from Injustice League, XLR8 couldn't help but sigh.
XLR8's speed was already very fast, but Gwen still felt it wasn't fast enough.
Not to mention the Flash family of DC, Quicksilver in Marvel can even reach superluminal speeds at his limit.
So, Gwen was wondering if, besides Ultimate Evolution, there was a way to enhance the abilities of the alien heroes themselves.
For example, XLR8, or her yet-unlocked XLR8. In the DC World, could they try to master the Speed Force?
Being a naturally fast-moving race, coupled with the Speed Force, could they be compatible? Gwen was very curious about this.
Racing at lightning speed, XLR8, enveloped in a purple afterimage, returned to the temporary camp almost in the blink of an eye.
She spun a few times in place with her tail before coming to a steady stop, gently placing Ethan's "body" on the soft mat in the large tent.
Spider-Man, who had been brought in by Dr. Paradox to sit, saw XLR8 rush in and was about to greet her, but then he saw this scene.
Looking at the deceased Ethan, Spider-Man felt a pang of guilt.
He tremblingly reached out, wanting to touch Ethan but not daring to, as if fearing that with a touch, everything before him would become even more real.
"I... wanted to save him... but I..."
Before he could finish, a dazzling purple light suddenly flared, and XLR8 had transformed into a beautiful 16-year-old red-haired girl.
However, Gwen was precocious; with her current demeanor, she looked no different from an 18-year-old.
"Alright, Mr. Parker, this is my hard-won agent. How could I let him die so easily?"
Spider-Man's grief was interrupted, and he was momentarily bewildered.
"But... isn't he already dead?"
Gwen smiled, a cunning glint in her eyes: "That's not necessarily true."
She shook a remote control with several buttons in her hand, its metal casing gleaming coldly in the sunlight.
Without waiting for Spider-Man to question her, she gently pressed a button, her movements as elegant as pressing the opening key for a grand performance.
With a soft "beep," strange changes began to occur.
Ethan, who had been lying lifeless on the soft mat, his face as pale as paper, visibly regained color at a rapid pace, and his parched lips became moist.
Immediately after, he sharply gasped, his chest rising high, and his tightly closed eyes suddenly snapped open.
He abruptly sat up from the soft mat, looking as healthy as if he had never been injured.