Chapter 24
A massive surge of gravity rippled from Graviton, smashing into the heroes. Iron Man took the brunt of the force, propelled away as if shot from a cannon. "Jarvis, give me a status report!" Tony cursed.
"Sir, the force is overwhelming. Systems are struggling to compensate," Jarvis responded.
Thor crossed his hands in front of him, lightning coursing through his body as he struggled against the gravitational force. With a groan, he couldn't handle it anymore and was launched into space at an overwhelming speed.
Gojo and Carol were the only ones unharmed, as Gojo teleported them both away before Graviton unleashed his attack. They materialized over 26 miles away, Gojo's eyes widening as he saw how the gravity had parted the ocean itself for more than ten miles. His enhanced vision zoomed in on Graviton.
"What exactly are Graviton's upper echelon of power?" Gojo asked Carol, dreading the answer.
"According to his files, Graviton doesn't have a limit," Carol replied.
'We are so screwed,' Gojo thought, feeling the gravity around them increasing steadily.
Graviton was furious. He could have ended Nick Fury already if the heroes hadn't interfered. And now there was no sign of his target. Then, the Lord of Gravity had an idea. He knew Fury was still somewhere in the city, so what better way to kill him and show the world the power he wielded? Two birds, one stone.
With a raise of his hand, the city began to shake. The heroes all felt the city begin to jerk, when suddenly the ground began to rise. Graviton had used his powers to lift the section of the city they were in into the sky. Thousands of tons of rock and earth were lifted into the air with everyone on it. Graviton smiled with sickening glee as the city rose. The world would tremble at his power, and no one would ever stand against him again.
A burst of pressure began, making it difficult for everyone to breathe. The gravity of the area was so intense most of the people in the city started to faint, and buildings collapsed. Out of nowhere, a hammer descended on Graviton.
"You all never learn," Franklin sneered.
Thor smiled as he turned slightly, revealing Gojo behind him. "Now," Gojo said, teleporting Thor close to Graviton. Thor charged a massive amount of divine lightning energy, his eyes crackling with power. The hammer returned to its master only to to be swung down again with immeasurable force. Gojo telekinetically sped up Thor's hammer, which slammed into Graviton. The sound was like a series of sonic booms, followed by an explosion of force that pushed them away.
Massive amounts of panicked thoughts flowed into Gojo's mind. He looked back, seeing the portion of the city starting to fall back down due to the lack of Graviton's hold. 'Oh shit,' he thought. 'This is probably suicidal.' He began to exude a massive amount of telekinetic force, teleporting to the city and using his powers to slow the descent.
'This weight… it's insane,' Gojo strained to hold it up. He kept holding and lowering the city until he saw Thor speeding over to assist him. Thor joined him, helping to lower the city with his godly strength.
'This is so heavy,' Gojo thought. Suddenly, he saw Graviton recovering and looking at them, smiling. Before Graviton could act, Carol shot the biggest energy beam Gojo had ever seen at Graviton, causing an explosion so bright it felt like a second sun.
Thor lowered the city back into its original spot, preventing a tsunami from the water displacement.
Gojo breathed heavily from the exhaustion of using his telekinesis, his face caked in sweat. Carol landed beside him, her eyes wide with concern. "You okay?" she asked, her voice filled with worry.
"Yeah, just need a minute," Gojo replied, wiping sweat from his brow. He looked at Thor, who was still holding up a massive chunk of the city with his godly strength before letting it down with a resounding boom that travelled along the street of the city. "We need to finish this."
Carol nodded, her eyes blazing with energy as she looked at the smoke. "Yes, we do, we've been bombarding him and yet he still keeps on coming back!!!."
Suddenly, Graviton emerged from the smoke, his eyes filled with rage. "You think you can defeat me?" he roared, his voice echoing through the ruined city. "I am the master of gravity!"
Close to earth orbit and almost out into space, Tony Stark floated, his suit's systems whirring back to life. 'It's going to be hard to take Graviton down,' Tony thought, the realization dawning on him that Graviton was still fighting despite the severe injuries he had sustained. 'Does he have a healing factor now, damnit fury what did you do?,' he speculated, his mind racing through possible scenarios.
"Sir, all systems are back online at 27 percent," Jarvis's calm voice broke through his thoughts.
"Good enough," Tony replied, adjusting his course back towards the Earth. As he re-entered the atmosphere, the scene that greeted him made him stop dead in his tracks.
Back on Earth hovering above the ruined city, Tony could see the sheer scale of the devastation. The explosion suddenly caused by Carol had created a blinding light, like a second sun in the sky. The city itself was cracked and crumbling, suspended precariously in mid-air. His suit vision zoomed in on Gojo, who stood with his arms outstretched, sweat pouring down his face as he struggled to keep the city from crashing down completely.
'If that city had hit the ground, it's game over,' Tony thought, the gravity of the situation sinking in. 'The impact would have caused unimaginable destruction, potentially killing thousands and creating a shockwave that could devastate the surrounding area.'
"Jarvis, fire the Unibeam," Tony commanded.
"But Sir, the suit can't handle it," Jarvis warned.
"Do it!!" Tony insisted.
A powerful beam erupted from Tony's chest, targeting Graviton. The beam collided with a gravitational field bubble that deflected the attack harmlessly away from Graviton. But the diversion gave Thor, who had just recovered, the time to speed up with lightning furiously dancing in his eyes. He slammed his hammer into the gravitational bubble around Graviton with full force.
'KRACOOOM'
The resounding crack of thunder throughout the city launched Graviton back into the city, crashing down onto one of the streets.
Graviton stood once the smoke cleared, sporting a few burn marks from where the explosion had affected him. He brushed a bit of blood away from the corner of his mouth. Tony landed in front of Graviton, Thor closer to his right with his hammer ready and eyes shining white with lightning, and Carol to the left.
"Give up, Franklin you are surrounded," Tony said.
Gojo 'what is he waiting for?' thought inwardly that something was wrong, feeling uneasy. There was a tense moment of silence before Graviton finally cried out, "No. No. The power I wield... you are NOTHING COMPARED TO ME!" As he said this, he spread his arms wide, causing all four heroes to be blasted back into nearby buildings by the resulting gravity wave. The ground and all buildings in the vicinity were blown away.
"I'm stronger than all of you," Graviton declared menacingly as Thor and Carol came back at him, covered in wounds. The gravity twisted around the entire space, causing all the heroes to fall face-first into the ground. Graviton clenched his hand, driving them further into the ground.
Thor, being an Asgardian, survived the crushing force due to his divine resilience, and Carol's energy powers shielded her to some extent. Tony, however, took the brunt of the attack, his suit caving in on him.
Gojo, the only one not too affected by the weight, stood his ground. Graviton noticed this anomaly. "Hmmm, what's going on? How is he standing without feeling the effects?" Graviton mused. "On your knees, boy," he commanded.
Gojo raised his right hand, crossing his index and middle fingers. Everything went strangely quiet as his hair covered his eyes. When he looked up, his eyes shone like gems, and a smile crept across his face. 'Well, it would seem I had to resort to this, huh,' he thought.
In a calm voice, he suddenly said, "DOMAIN EXPANSION: UNLIMITED VOID."