Eric's night had decided to get serious.
Too serious.
Susana had started breathing badly while watching cartoons, that tight, shallow sound Eric knew far too well.
They rushed her to the ER, and after a tense stretch of time, she stabilized.
Eric slid his card across the counter, burning through every recent saving he had.
"She's stable," the doctor said. "It was a mild respiratory episode. We recommend observation overnight."
Eric nodded, wearing that exhausted smile older siblings use when everything inside them is shaking.
"I'll take care of it."
They left Susana asleep, a small mask over her face, her new stuffed toy tucked under her arm.
His parents stayed with her.
Miguel with his jaw clenched tight. Elena pretending calm.
"Go home," his mother told him. "Get some rest."
Eric kissed Susana's forehead.
"See you tomorrow, princess."
"Thor will come back," she murmured, half asleep.
Eric smiled.
"He always does."
He left the hospital with his body tense and his mind empty.
When he reached his building…
The entrance was lit by a single flickering streetlight.
And then they were there.
Shadows stepped out.
Some held bats.
Others had small firearms poorly concealed.
All of them wore the same expression: impatience.
Eric stopped.
The echo of his footsteps died in the narrow alley.
"Valerian," a voice called from the back.
Eric slowly set his hospital backpack on the ground.
"I gave you a week."
The man stepped forward.
"And we told you we don't like waiting."
Eric lifted his gaze.
There was no fear in his eyes. Just exhaustion.
"This time," one of the thugs said, pulling out a knife, "we're not here to talk. We're here to avenge our brothers. Don't know what you did to them, but they say you're… peculiar."
Eric closed his eyes for a second.
Breathed in.
"Then," he whispered, "you picked the wrong day."
The first thug lunged too fast.
But Eric vanished.
The man felt the impact before he understood it.
A flash of light tore through the air, and in the next instant Eric's fist drove into his chest with a dry, brutal crack.
All the man registered was the sound of his ribs giving way before he was hurled into the wall, collapsing unconscious, critically injured.
Two more barely had time to turn their heads.
"What the—?"
The light moved again.
Eric appeared in front of them, a finger resting lightly against each of their foreheads.
"No."
Just a tap.
They were launched backward as if hit by an invisible truck, skidding across the asphalt until they lay sprawled and unconscious, mouths open, pride shattered.
Another thug screamed.
"BACK UP! BACK UP!"
Too late.
Eric was no longer in front of them.
He was behind them.
The scream cut off when a luminous leg came down like a vertical bolt of lightning, slamming into the man's back and driving him into the ground.
The knife flew free, spinning once before clattering to the pavement.
The rest instinctively backed away.
They'd thought their brothers were exaggerating, delirious from the beating.
Who could've imagined it was true?
This guy was a freak.
Eric walked toward them.
Each step left a faint glow on the ground.
"Knives," he said with contempt. "You really think that does anything."
One tried to attack from the side.
Eric turned into pure light for a fraction of a second and reappeared beside him, gripping his wrist.
"This is going to hurt," he warned.
The crack was ugly.
The knife fell.
Then the man did.
The leader stumbled back until he hit the wall, breathing hard, face pale, sweat running down his temple.
"What… what are you?" he stammered.
Eric stopped in front of him.
The light around his body slowly faded, leaving only a man with calm eyes and a steady voice.
"An older brother," he replied.
And in a blink—
Eric vanished again and reappeared inches from the leader's face, close enough to smell fear.
He didn't hit him.
He pulled a thick bundle of cash from inside his jacket.
"Look," he said dryly. "I already had the money ready."
And smashed it into the man's face.
Bills scattered across the ground.
"But you really can't wait," Eric continued. "You came looking for a beating."
The leader slid down the wall until he was sitting, shaking.
Eric crouched, calmly picked up some of the fallen money, and placed it beside him.
"These days," he said, "I've been busy keeping you from bothering my family. But I also understand part of it. My father made a mistake dealing with you."
He stood.
"So I gathered everything I promised."
Straightened.
"With this, the debt is paid. Double interest."
"If you show up again…" light flickered in his eyes, "…I'll personally go talk to your boss."
Another flash.
Eric was gone.
All that remained were bodies on the ground and one trembling man, surrounded by cash and questions he would never get answers to.
At the end of the alley, the streetlight stopped flickering.
The police arrived later, responding to noise complaints. They found only unconscious, disarmed men scattered across the wet pavement.
Eric was nowhere to be found.
He climbed the stairs of his building with calm steps, as if nothing had happened. Entered his empty apartment and closed the door gently behind him.
The apartment was silent.
That strange early-morning silence where everything feels suspended.
Eric sat at the kitchen table.
Opened the laptop.
"Let's see…" he murmured.
(Marvel Studios)
The page loaded.
Eric blinked.
Looked again.
Closed it. Opened it again.
"No…" he whispered. "That can't be right."
Subscribers: 230,412
He froze.
Just stared at the number like someone had put it there by mistake.
He scrolled.
Total views had skyrocketed.
Comments impossible to read in full.
People demanding explanations.
People asking for more.
People demanding Part 2 like it was a basic human right.
He swallowed and switched tabs.
(Marvel Shorts)
The Thor vs Iron Man short was still there.
.
.
.
✨ Do you enjoy what I write?
Support me on Ko-fi and help me keep creating stories, chapters, and futures that don't exist yet... but are already waiting to be born. ☕📖
📩 Any issues with the book or questions? Feel free to message me via DM. I always reply.
🚀 early-access chapters now available in my store!
Get access before anyone else to the story, twists, revelations, and moments that haven't been released to the public yet.
✒️ko-fi.com/kanekikun99✒️