The Unreal Race

At the same time as the signal fired, the Grandmaster waved his whip that glowed red at the tip towards Superman's back.

"!!!"

Superman grimaced under the pain but held it in and began to fly forward as he pulled the chariot along.

He couldn't think about the bomb again as he simply focused on the race.

Anyway, it should be just his imagination…

At the stands, Carol and the rest saw the race had begun and the scene of Superman pulling the Grandmaster's chariot.

Carol clicked her tongue.

"Tsk, how cruel."

"Is that even allowed?"

Nightcrawler asked.

Daredevil sighed and shrugged.

"I don't know about alien laws but, considering this is the Grandmaster's planet, his word is the law."

"Don't worry. That guy has a strong body. His muscles are simply perfect. Better than Quill."

Drax added.

Starlord's face twitched.

Why do these guys keep making fun of me!? And my muscles aren't that bad!

"Anyway, what's up with Ben and Thor?"

Iron Fist asked.

"Come to think of it, where are they?"

Carol frowned as he looked at the participants racing neck and neck.

There's the Grandmaster ahead of the group, Voyager behind him, Valkyrie and Korg almost catching up, and several other participants following behind.

As for Benjamin and Thor…

Carol and the group traced the track backward some more and found them…right at the starting line!

Moreover, they could clearly see Benjamin and Thor's heads bobbing up and down.

…They seem to be listening to some music…?

Inside the Infinity Car, Benjamin and Thor were indeed listening to some songs.

Right now, they're listening to Led Zeppelin's Immigrant Song.

"Oh I like this music! I can somehow feel very connected to it!"

Thor laughed while still bobbing his head to the tone.

Benjamin chuckled and thought to himself.

Of course, you feel connected to it. It was played in the movie Thor Ragnarok!

While they listened to some background music, they also watched the race while laughing.

"Ooh look! Valkyrie's catching up to Voyager!"

"She overtook her!"

"Oh no! Voyager's firing some blast thingies at Valkyrie!"

"And Valkyrie fires back!"

"Hsss! So close! See, she should've aimed for the head. Classic rookie mistake."

Benjamin looked at Thor at a loss.

This guy seemed to be addicted to commentating. He won't shut up…

Benjamin sighed and simply turned up the music.

Forget it. Just treat him as background noise and enjoy the show.

Meanwhile, back to Carol and the others.

While the group was still confused as to why Benjamin and Thor hadn't made a move, Carol simply looked around once and sighed.

"Alright, let's just enjoy the show. If I guessed right, Ben has already used the Reality Stone and is already at the finish line."

Hearing her, everyone was speechless.

No…is that even allowed!? Isn't that too much of a cheat!?

Everyone turned to look at Daredevil.

"...There's no rules that said he can't use an Infinity Stone."

"But still…ah whatever. In any case, it's already our win."

Starlord sighed and shook his head.

Rocket Racoon frowned as he rubbed his chin.

"Say, would he agree if I asked to borrow an Infinity Stone? I won't be greedy. Just one would do."

Starlord was speechless.

Can you even hear yourself!? Just one would do!? You think an Infinity Stone is a marble or something!?

"I am Groot."

Exactly!

Starlord agreed with Groot.

Rocket rolled his eyes.

"Fine. I'm not going to 'borrow' it then."

"...If you're thinking of stealing it, I'm letting you know now that we're strangers who don't know each other. In fact, I don't even know you right now. Who let this racoon out?"

Starlord knew Rocket well enough to think what he meant by not 'borrowing'.

He was prepared to cut ties with him to save himself!

"Tsk."

Rocket clicked his tongue but no longer said anything.

He only said it for the sake of saying it. It's not like he doesn't value his life!

Only an idiot would think of stealing an Infinity Stone under the hands of that monster!

"I am Groot."

"Okay! Fine! I won't do it!"

…Alright, it seems he still had planned to do it before Groot spoke.

Drax added at the side.

"Well if you're not going to ask him, I will."

"Who're you? Why am I even talking to you? I don't know you."

Starlord immediately cut ties with Drax as well.

Gamora glanced at the Guardians and sighed.

"I am surrounded by idiots…"

Carol smiled wryly and patted her on the shoulder.

"You had it tough."

"..."

Daredevil also looked at the group speechlessly.

"...Those guys don't seem to be lying. Should we be worried?"

"It should be fine…right?"

Iron Fist asked.

Nightcrawler also didn't know what to say.

In the end, the three of them decided to take a step back and distance themselves from these people.

Well, knowing Benjamin, those guys would probably not succeed in stealing or borrowing an Infinity Stone from Benjamin so it should be fine.

While their group was fooling around, on the race track, the Grandmaster and the other racers had finally noticed Benjamin and Thor's absence in the race.

The Grandmaster saw that they haven't moved and couldn't help but sneer.

"Hah! They saw that Superman was carrying my chariot and directly gave up! What cowards! Still, I commend them for being smart enough to know they're bound to lose."

On the other hand, Superman and Voyager were dubious.

"Why did they not start? Are they overly confident and want to give us a headstart? Did they really give up?"

"Did I think wrongly of that man? I thought he would be better than this…"

Valkyrie also frowned.

She couldn't understand what Thor was thinking.

He looked so confident when making the bet before!

It can't be that he was just going to give up in the end, right?

Valkyrie sighed and shook her head.

Whatever. What she needed to do was still unchanged.

She needed to win!

It wasn't just because of the bet with Thor. She also needed to win to pay back her debt to the Grandmaster.

After Hela decimated the Valkyries, she managed to escape somehow and landed here in Sakaar.

It was the Grandmaster who found her and pulled her from the brink of death.

Of course, in exchange, she now has to fight for him.

Back then, they agreed that she simply needs to win a hundred games in the arena.

She had long won 99 games. However, ever since the Grandmaster got a hold of that Superman, she has failed to win even a single game.

Valkyrie knew that the Grandmaster was targeting her.

After all, she has already become quite famous in the arena. It would be a loss to lose her.

"No matter what, I will win!"

Valkyrie gritted her teeth and continued to race while Korg continued shooting at their opponents.

It didn't take long for the group to start nearing the finish line.

Seeing as the race was about to end, Benjamin stretched.

"Well, it's finally to end this farce and go home."