Chapter 38: Jessica's Fist · The Powerless Defiance
Daredevil's desperate "game of blind chess," played with his life as the stake, had ended in utter failure, proving that any form of skill or perception was meaningless before an absolute disparity in power. The remaining heroes sank into the deepest quagmire of despair; even the air seemed thick with the smell of defeat and ashes.It was within this suffocating silence that—A hoarse curse, filled with rage and frustration, shattered the stillness.Jessica Jones staggered to her feet from behind a pile of twisted metal. Covered in dust and dried blood, a fresh trickle of blood seeping from her temple, one arm hanging unnaturally—she was clearly badly injured. In her hand, she clutched the broken half of a whiskey bottle, long since empty, scavenged from somewhere.She stared at the distant figure who remained standing, impassive as if nothing had happened, then at the heroes—far more powerful than she—strewn across the ground around her. A blind, white-hot fury surged through her."Damn it... damn it all!!" She hurled the empty bottle to the ground with all her might, glass shattering everywhere. "All of you... acting so high and mighty... and now you're all fucking down for the count!"She was no noble hero, just a private detective dragged into this mess against her will. She hated trouble, hated these bastards who casually threatened the world. All she wanted was to go back, get blind drunk, and forget any of this ever happened.But now, seeing it all, seeing that asshole's "is that all you've got?" expression, her goddamn, ill-timed stubbornness and anger flared up again."To hell with this!" She spat a mouthful of blood-streaked saliva, wiped her face with her good hand, and fixed a vicious glare on Sun Wukong.She didn't have the Hulk's strength, Thor's divinity, Stark's tech, Cap's tactics, or even Matt's超凡感知 (superhuman perception) and skill. All she had was a decent level of superhuman strength and a heart that life had beaten to a pulp but had never quite managed to break—a heart that was stubborn, tough, and utterly pig-headed.She knew it was pointless. She knew it was suicide. She knew she'd probably be lying on the ground with the others in the next second.But she just couldn't swallow her pride!"Hey! Fuzzy-face!" she yelled, straining her voice, which was hoarse and ragged from her injuries. "Look over here! You fucking... wrecked my office! Ruined my drinking plans for the night! How are you gonna pay for that?!"She started walking, not charging, but with a kind of悲壮的 (tragic-heroic), staggering determination, towards Sun Wukong. Each step crunched on rubble and glass, the sound gratingly loud in the silence.The distant heroes stared at her in stunned disbelief."Jones! No! Get back!" Luke Cage (had he been present) would have shouted.Clint Barton tried to raise his bow but found he barely had the strength to draw it.Even Sun Wukong was momentarily taken aback by this sudden, utterly unimpressive challenger. His Fiery Eyes swept over Jessica, a flicker of surprise in their depths."Huh? Another girl?" He examined Jessica's battered,狼狈不堪 (bedraggled) appearance and凶狠的 (ferocious) eyes, finding it somewhat novel. "Your aura is pitifully weak, you're badly hurt... What, you want a go at this old Sun too?"Jessica didn't answer. She just gritted her teeth, walking faster and faster, until she was practically stumbling into a charge! She leaped up, putting every ounce of her strength, all her rage, all her bitterness, into one punch from her good arm, aiming straight for Sun Wukong's face!The punch was weak, feeble, unable to even stir a breeze. In Sun Wukong's eyes, it was as slow as a snail, as insignificant as a gnat.But he didn't flick her away or blow her off like he had with the others.He simply stood there, the playfulness in his eyes receding slightly, replaced by a hint of indescribable... curiosity?A soft, almost inaudible sound.Jessica's fist landed squarely on Sun Wukong's cheek.The expected recoil didn't come. The sound of breaking bones didn't follow. Her fist felt as if it had struck something infinitely deep, infinitely pliant—like cotton. All her power was instantly absorbed, dissipated, failing to even make him sway.Sun Wukong didn't even blink.Jessica froze, suspended in mid-air, her punching arm still extended, her face a mask of stunned bewilderment.Sun Wukong looked at her, then suddenly grinned, showing a row of white teeth. "Courage is commendable. Pity the strength is too weak—not even enough to scratch an itch for this old Sun."He reached out with two fingers, gently took hold of Jessica's wrist, and lowered her back to the ground."Go back, girl," he said, releasing her wrist and even giving her shoulder a light pat. A gentle force instantly eased the severe pain in her arm. "That temper of yours... it reminds me of an old acquaintance from this old Sun's past... just your skills are far inferior. Living well is better than anything else."Jessica stumbled as her feet touched the ground. She stared dumbly at her fist, then at this incomprehensible "monster" before her. A vast, absurd sense of powerlessness overwhelmed her. All her anger, all her defiance, had become a clownish joke in the face of absolute power.She opened her mouth, wanting to curse again, but found her throat blocked, unable to utter a word. Finally, she just shot Sun Wukong one last, deeply complex look, then turned abruptly and limped away, not looking back, fleeing the battlefield that had stripped her of her dignity as fast as her injured body could carry her.Her challenge was like a stone thrown into the sea, failing to create even a single ripple.Yet it left all the heroes who witnessed it feeling a desolation deeper than mere defeat.