MTL NOVEL Chapter 46: Chapter 46
"What about this one?" Batman asked, his gaze settling on the massive Hulkbuster armor.
Ashborn smirked. "Sharp eyes. In my omniverse, there's someone called the Hulk—a powerful hero who only gets stronger the angrier he becomes. As you can imagine, that kind of power can get out of control."
He gestured toward the towering suit of armor. "This is the Hulkbuster. But not just any Hulkbuster—this one wasn't built to fight just any Hulk. The average Hulk is already planetary-level in strength, but this was designed to take on World War Hulk. A version of him so powerful that his very footsteps could shatter the Earth."
Ashborn slapped the armor with a metallic clang. "The price for this big guy? A cool 800 trillion dollars."
"Eight hundred trillion?!" The sheer number sent a ripple of shock through everyone present.
Ashborn simply nodded, completely unfazed.
"I mean, World War Hulk went toe-to-toe with Thor while he had the Odin Force. At that point, Thor was already beyond universal in power," Ashborn mused. "So yeah, this armor could easily destroy the universe if you're not careful."
He paused, tilting his head in thought. "But how would a punch destroy the universe…? Oh right—Hulk did crack reality with a punch that one time." He chuckled, recalling the absurdity of that comic moment. The thought lingered in his mind. If a normal Hulk could do that… could he?
Meanwhile, through the telepathic link Martian Manhunter had established, Cyborg's voice reached Batman's mind.
'Batman, there's a force field around the armors. Every time I try to scan them, my system just keeps pulling up my search history… He's toying with me.'
Batman's eyes flicked toward Cyborg for a brief moment before shifting back to the Model 2 armor, his expression unreadable as he processed the information.
"Where's Model 1?" Batman asked.
Ashborn smirked. "Sharp eyes. You see, the man who built this armor put together Model 1 in a cave… using scrap." He let the words hang for a moment before continuing. "And yet, despite that, it's not too far behind Model 2. The guy was a genius. Makes me wonder… if you'd be able to live up to his skills while using the armor he threw away—since, you know, you can't afford the better ones."
Batman's eye twitched slightly.
"Oh, but if you're not interested in the armor," Ashborn added, holding up a small metallic piece, "I also have Vibranium. Go ahead, shoot at it."
Cyborg, still irritated by Ashborn's earlier trick, narrowed his eyes. Without hesitation, his arm shifted into an energy cannon, and he fired a blast at the metal in Ashborn's palm.
Everyone watched in shock as the Vibranium effortlessly absorbed the kinetic energy of the attack, the blast vanishing as if it had never existed. The piece of metal remained untouched—completely unfazed.
"This here is Vibranium," Ashborn said with a smirk, holding up the metallic piece. "It can absorb, store, and release massive amounts of kinetic energy. Back in my world, it was only the fourth strongest metal. My armor, on the other hand, is forged from a mix of every ore my omniverse had to offer…" He coughed. "Anyway, I'm selling this for ten million per gram."
Flash blinked. "Isn't that a bit too expensive?"
"Is it?" Ashborn tilted his head. "Isn't red diamond worth somewhere between one to twelve million dollars per gram? I thought I was being nice—especially considering this can cut through even Superman."
That last statement made everyone's eyebrows rise. Their gazes instinctively flicked toward Superman, then drifted toward the stripper… cough, I mean Wonder Woman, whose tiara had also been known to slice through Kryptonian flesh.
"You're saying this Vibranium is as strong as Amazonium?" Wonder Woman asked, intrigued.
Ashborn shook his head. "Amazonium is only as powerful as it is because of magic. Vibranium, on the other hand, is this strong without magic." He paused for effect before continuing, "And more importantly, Vibranium can be combined with other ores to create what was once considered the strongest metal in existence… though now, it's only the third strongest."
To emphasize his point, Ashborn casually pulled out Captain America's shield, the iconic red, white, and blue reflecting under the light.
"This shield can withstand just about anything," Ashborn said, turning it over in his hands. "To destroy it, you'd need to be Skyfather level or higher… in other words, above multiversal." His eyes flicked around. "Since this omniverse works differently from mine, I'll put it simply—nothing in this multiverse can destroy this shield maybe if it comes from the fourth dimension or higher it might.."
To demonstrate, he casually tossed the shield toward a wall. Everyone watched as it ricocheted off multiple surfaces with precise, physics-defying accuracy before flying straight back into Ashborn's hand.
"This here is the third most durable metal in my omniverse," he continued, spinning the shield between his fingers. "So… 40 quintillion dollars, or something of equal value. Any takers?"
He scanned the room, waiting to see if anyone dared to make an offer.
'How powerful is his armor?' Batman wondered. If Ashborn's armor was ranked number one in his omniverse, and he believed that nothing in this multiverse could destroy the shield which was ranked 3rd in his omniverse… then just what was his armor capable of?
"I'll take ten grams of Vibranium and this armor," Batman said, his voice steady. "I'll have the money delivered to you by tomorrow."
Without hesitation, Ashborn retrieved ten grams of Vibranium and handed over the Model 2 armor, allowing Batman to walk away with his purchase.
Wonder Woman watched him leave before turning back to Ashborn, raising an eyebrow. "You're not afraid he won't pay you back?"
"If he doesn't pay me back, I'll just kill him and take my stuff back," Ashborn said with a light smile, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
The group tensed. Eyes narrowed at him—not in fear, but in sharp scrutiny. The casual way he spoke about taking a life didn't sit well with most of them.
"In your omniverse… do the heroes kill?" Flash asked, his tone cautious.
Ashborn tilted his head in thought for a moment before answering. "Many follow a no-kill rule… but when they have to, they will. In fact, a lot of them wouldn't hesitate to eliminate villains deemed too dangerous for humanity." He glanced toward Batman. "So yeah, the Joker? He would've been dead a long time ago, mental illness or not."
His gaze swept across the room, reading their reactions. "Some heroes even end up killing innocents—not because they want to, but because their powers are uncontrollable." He shrugged. "In a way, my omniverse is stronger than yours. It's willing to make the hard calls instead of letting the fear of crossing that line dictate everything. They don't let the idea that killing once makes it easier to kill again control them."
He said it all so lightly, but the weight of his words settled heavily in the air.
Ashborn recalled a comic where Wolverine had killed a young mutant who had just awakened his powers. The kid hadn't even had a chance to understand what was happening to him. Before ending his life, Wolverine had shared a drink with him—one last moment of humanity before delivering the inevitable.
Marvel had its fair share of heroes with a no-kill rule, but it also had plenty who wouldn't think twice about pulling the trigger.
Deadpool, Punisher, Ghost Rider, Wolverine, Moon Knight…
His thoughts suddenly halted. Wait. His shadows contained countless warriors, monsters, and legends… but one name was missing. Ghost Rider.
"…" The heroes remained silent, their expressions darkened by Ashborn's words. They all knew the truth—killing was the easier way. If they executed someone like the Joker, countless lives would be spared, and Gotham would undoubtedly be safer.
But once they crossed that line… wouldn't it be easier the second time? And the third? Until eventually, they weren't heroes anymore—they were tyrants, deciding who lived and who died.
No matter how much sense Ashborn's world made, they refused to believe that true heroes killed. There was always another way… no matter how difficult it seemed.
Breaking the silence, Ashborn smiled. "So… where am I sleeping? It'd be rude to let your guest spend the night on the streets."