Marvel: Starting as a Time Criminal, Stealing Powers

Pyro narrowed his eyes slightly.

Sabretooth wasn't weak. Whether it was his healing factor, strength, or combat skills—he was powerful.

But now he had been killed in an instant—without even being countered by some kind of ability!

Spider-Man had been hunted before, but this was different.

The Human Torch stood dumbfounded.

He thought this pretty boy might win, but he didn't expect him to win so easily.

Speed.

Strength.

Skill.

He completely overwhelmed Sabretooth.

But the most important part…

"Who's next?"

Damn, that was such a badass line. Why didn't I get to say it?

The Human Torch silently made a mental note to use that line someday.

But then, the next second, he instinctively took a step back.

He saw Pyro, Toad, Deathstrike, Callisto (a mutant with tracking and speed abilities), and Quill all moving!

Only an idiot fights one-on-one.

They might be villains, but they weren't stupid.

Sabretooth being killed instantly had been too much of a shock.

The first to strike was Pyro.

He raised his wrist, igniting a small flame with his mechanical lighter, which instantly expanded into a searing inferno. A massive column of fire burst out, engulfing Russell in a flash.

The heat distorted the surrounding air.

Thunderbolt (Johnny Storm) swallowed nervously. Not from the heat—but because he didn't expect the guy who just looked so cool to get turned into BBQ that fast.

Maybe this wasn't Spider-Man's terrain. Meet the wrong enemy, and you still die—even if you're a badass.

Just as he was about to bolt, a lazy voice came from within the flames:

"Can you make it any hotter? I'm still comfortable."

Yellow flames only burned at around 900 degrees—not nearly enough to faze Russell, who could withstand temperatures over 2,600 degrees.

Johnny froze mid-step and puffed out his chest.

"Bro, you're awesome!"

"I knew you wouldn't lose!"

"Screw those bastards!"

...You were literally about to run a second ago.

Toad gave him a dirty look, though he was also stunned that Spider-Man wasn't even slightly afraid of fire.

No wonder he didn't dodge.

Pyro's face turned grim.

His target was treating this like a warm bath—and even had the nerve to complain about the temperature. It was humiliating.

"You're dead!" Pyro roared.

He raised both hands this time, releasing a compressed tornado of fire.

Thunderbolt, a master of fire himself, recognized it instantly—he was trying to concentrate the flames to reach a high-pressure, high-temperature state.

But looking at the flame's color… it hadn't changed much.

"Tch. Low-level mutant," Johnny scoffed. "Nice idea, but too bad you don't have the skills."

Getting mocked by a loser he'd just flamed made Pyro feel like he'd swallowed a mouthful of crap.

In truth, the flame's temperature had risen by a few hundred degrees—but it still hadn't reached the threshold for a qualitative change.

"Quill!" Pyro shouted.

Quill arched his back. In the next second, sharp spikes launched from his body and into the flames.

His mutation had clearly evolved—he couldn't do that before.

That's why the TVA had marked him for pruning.

But just before the spikes reached the center of the flames—something leapt out.

"Heh, I've been waiting for you."

Toad, who had been lying in wait, grinned and shot out his tongue, instantly wrapping it around the figure that emerged.

At the same time, Callisto vanished.

In less than half a second, she crossed more than twenty meters, appearing behind her target.

As she raised her dagger, she heard Toad let out a shriek—and then a hissing crack right beside her.

But she didn't hesitate.

Even if a teammate was screaming or dying, it didn't matter. Not to her.

She stabbed downward—only to find nothing.

Her blade met no resistance, no flesh.

The failed strike threw her off balance—and before she could recover, she heard a mocking voice behind her:

"You're so predictable. Pathetic."

Before Callisto could react, her neck snapped.

She crumpled to the ground, not even able to scream.

Thunderbolt watched the whole thing—stunned.

Now he finally understood why Pyro's fire hadn't worked.

How could 900-degree flames harm someone who could generate heat thousands of degrees hotter?

Toad's tongue had been scorched instantly, then torn apart with brute force.

It had all been a trap—Russell wanted them to hit him.

Even more terrifying—this Spider-Man could predict their movements.

He had dodged the high-speed attack without even looking and shattered Callisto's spine like it was nothing.

Another one—dead in seconds.

He hadn't just dodged death.

He was dominating.

But the battle wasn't over yet.

The next moment, Quill rushed forward—full of confidence.

Johnny grew tense.

That guy still dared to charge after everything?

He had to be powerful… right?

Maybe I should take a few more steps back…

Bang!

Just as Johnny stepped back, Russell sent Quill flying with a single kick.

He spun through the air, blood spraying from his mouth, before crashing to the ground with a splat.

Dead. Instantly.

Like, really dead.

Johnny froze. Then slowly straightened his posture.

…That was embarrassing.

He'd been scared by a total loser.

Hopefully his "good friend" hadn't noticed.

At that moment, Russell turned to him and asked with a curious smile:

"Why'd you step back? Was the ground too hot?"

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