United States Of Smash!

The machine whirred to life, and a golden brown beam of energy bloomed out from within, lighting up the courtyard in flaming glow like it had been covered in maple syrup, as it spread out the barrier over the universe beyond the void.

I wiped the sweat off my brow and patted the machine happily.

A job well done. It was nice to see it work.

And for once, I did it without the help of mega seed juice.

While a job well done is it's own reward, I'd still like an actual one from Kang.

Maybe a plot of land around here to build my own villa at the end of time?

I wonder....

I turned around, and stretched, swinging the doors open with my telekinetic module.

I yawned as I walked through the halls of the citadel, watching the cracks heal, slowly with a satisfying crunch and rumble, the pieces fitting into each other so perfectly I had no doubt it would be the top post on r/oddlysatisfying for the next week if I posted a video.

I smiled, and knelt down, running my fingers along the cracks on the weird stony marble material of the floor.

It was warm yet cool at the same time.

My power was telling me it was insanely durable too.

Something to check out later.

I stood back up and walked into the elevator, emerging in Kang's office, only to find it empty, well almost empty.

My android was sitting there looking through the files, doing his job and doing it well.

"Kang?" I called out, connecting to his intercom.

No answer.

I walked closer to the desk, checking uo on the android when I saw a TemPad sitting on my seat.

Kang's TemPad.

And with it, a letter in an ornate envelope.

I picked up the TemPad and placed it on the table before sinking into the seat, as I slicing open the envelope.

Even without opening the envelope I could guess what it was going to say.

And reading through the letter, I was right.

He had left. Into the Multiverse.

And he had left me his TemPad as an apology for yeeting out early.

I frowned.

What an asshole.

Not that I wouldn't have done the same even earlier.

Well at least I get his library. And with it some nifty secrets.

The sentry serum for example. It took a while to find but I did find it.

The serum that gave the user power on par with Superman. Of course, I wasn't about to take it yet. Not before I perfect it.

But the supersoldier serum?

Heck yes, I will.

I extracted the formula for it from a sample of Banner's blood I stole when I gave him the CodeRed, and it took a scarce thirty minutes to perfect it last night.

This is almost too easy.

As it is, even without the serum, my bionic implants make me a smidge stronger than Captain America. And I did crush the Hulk just two days ago with the addition of my nanomachine musculature.

But my nanobots won't always be available and it does me no good to remain so weak.

I snapped my fingers and a vial fell into my hands from a portal, glowing blue and red.

The new and improved, Supersoldier serum. The strength of the Hulk with the body of Cap. And maybe a bit more. No radiation required.

I leaned back into my chair and looked around.

This was as safe a place as any. Even though my ship would be safer.

But eh, whatever.

I attached the serum to an injector and rolled up my sleeves, activating my forcefield generator with a thought, isolating myself further, just in case.

I took a deep breath and let it out.

I had had a big breakfast just for this, so that I would have enough biomass to reshape my body into something better. Let's hope it suffices. If not, well I do have constant access to the pizza dimension so....

I rubbed my arm, pinpointed a vein and raised the Injector to it.

With a resolute push, I jabbed myself in the arm with it and injected the serum into my nerves.

Almost immediately, my whole body seized, skin crawling and tearing, muscles twitching and rippling, and my nerves felt like they were on fire and ice at the same time. It's like frostfure was flowing through my veins, as I spasmed and thrashed on the chair, held in place by my forcefield.

I don't know how long it lasted, the minutes felt like hours and the hours like days, but when I came to, everything was different, just a little bit. The room looked like a sauna with vapor everywhere and table before me was off....Had I gotten taller?

Probably.

I looked and felt skinnier than before too.

But none of that was on my mind, not even the absolutely foul smell ranking up the room.

No. My first thought was a fervent desire.

Thirst.

I need water!

And I can't be bothered to go to the kitchen for. I need it now!

The thirst ....it was overpowering as if I hadn't drunk a drop in days!

With a thought, a portal opened up above me, straight into my ship's potable water reservoir, drenching me and flooding the room as I drank with wild abandon, chugging down enough water to drown an dog in.

I swear I must have drink half my body weight in water before I noticed the my skin sizzling faintly red, then pink and finally returning back to the wheatish complexion I was more used to.

Extremis? That supersoldier serum copy that caused excessive heating of the body?

But I made sure to remove that side effect.

Hmmm.....

I opened up a portal and stuck in my hand, getting it scanned and tested instantly.

The results dropped into my lap from another portal, and I picked them up, scanning through them.

Nope.

Not extremis, thankfully.

It was just a one time thing.

I breathed a sigh of relief as I looked back down at myself and noticed streams of dark sludge.

Impurities from my transformation, no doubt. The flooding had washed away most of it but nonetheless, I opened another portal and washed it off completely.

Another snap, another portal and a new pair of clothes later, I was back out in the courtyard, fidgeting with the fitting.

The serum had streamlined my growth and added another two inches on me, on both ends.

Where before I was 6'3" with top heavy muscles, now I stood at a respectable 6'5" with the musculature of a greek god; lean, mean and ready for some laundry cuz look at those washboard abs.

Woo!

I was cut before, but this was a whole new level.

I could spend all day admiring my new body but I had work to do. And powers to test. I could already think faster, see farther, hear better.

But what I wanted to know was exactly how much more power I could wield now.

I stretched for a bit, breaking in the new muscles with a bit of calisthenics before I stood back up, straight, and walked back to gate of the courtyard, taking a running pose.

I took a big gulp of air, feeling the light wind of the void rustle against my skin, as the world slowed down before me.

I flexed my calves and pushed against the floor as I took running, each step thumping like a clap of thunder on the floor.

Nearing the edge I knew it was time.

With one final step, I crouched, pushing my legs to the limit and beyond, as the floor bulked beneath my feet, cracking ever so slightly even the stone that was made to withstand the splitting of realities.

Then I flew, or at least it felt that way when I jumped.

The winds howled like a hurricane and the dust rose in a spiral pattern, a sonic shockwave splitting the dust clouds beneath me as I soared up high with all the force of a cannonball.

My hair blew wildly and I felt the butterflies in my stomach flutter like a storm was brewing when I reached the peak of my ascent, high above the citadel, so much so that the mansion looked like it could fit on the tip of my finger.

For a moment, up there, above the wispy clouds, I took in the surroundings.

The glowing aurora shimmering purple and green, the sparkling star in the sky above, that eerie reddish glow ever-present on the horizon, casting shadows across the rugged, torn landscape, the small crags dotting the plateau, even the clouds, gas and ash and dust, floating around me.

It was all so..... beautiful.

And only now could I truly appreciate it's beauty.

Of course that moment of profundity didn't last long as gravity took hold again and I barreled straight towards the ground and I don't think I can come off of this without at least a bit of a sprain. I don't know how to land properly after all.

I had made a perfect martial art and movement style of course but I never downloaded it onto my bio chip. Why bother when I have overwhelming force.

Clearly, I would never be so stupid as to skydive without a parachute!

I overestimate myself sometimes.

I sighed, but that brought another idea to mind. Sure, I could just portal myself into a water tank and swim out into my ship.

But where's the fun in that?

I wanna test something else. Something I have always wanted to try.

A ridiculous move from an anime that required the mind boggling levels of raw strength I now have at my disposal.

A wide childish grin creeped across my face as I reared my hand back, gripping my fist with all my power, the ground nearing with each breath.

Hehehehehe!

I giggled in excitement.

Let's see of this works like advertised!

"United .....States.....Of .... Smash!"

I punched into the air at the ground below, sending a torrent of winds tearing through, forming a miniature tornado below me.

The ground below cracked from the force of the winds alone, and the tornado rose up, catching me mid air, as it sent me spinning down it's spiral like a water slide, riding on it's cushioned waves till I fell to the floor not a scratch on me.

I got back up to my feet and jumped with joy!

"Wooohooo! Baby! That was so awesome!" I cheered, "Let's do it one more time!"

______________________

The extra chapter for 200 power stones is here!

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