Blade

“Hey, Joss...”

“Call me the Holy Lance Ranger.” Joss cut off Nick Fury’s words coldly over the phone.

“Huh? What’s that? Your hero name? That’s a bit hard to remember... I suggest something simple and catchy that suits you, like Water King or Ape Hand,” Nick Fury offered earnestly on the other end.

Joss winced at Nick Fury’s suggestion, his sense of taste pained, and quickly interrupted, “Alright, alright, are you running a zoo or something? You’ve already got a spider and an eagle, and now you want a monkey? Just get to the point, I’m still in training.”

“Ahem, right, business. Do you know about vampires?” Nick Fury’s tone became serious.

“Yeah, is there anyone who doesn’t know about them? Why, are you about to tell me vampires have shown up in New York City?”

Given that the Howling Commandos under S.H.I.E.L.D. included Blade, the vampire hunter, Joss wasn’t the least bit surprised by Fury’s question.

“That’s right. Blade says a group of vampires are plotting something big. But everyone else is tied up with other missions, so I can only ask you. As for weapons, you can get them from Blade...”

“No need. Vampires? I don’t even need weapons for them.” Even though the other party couldn’t see, Joss shrugged indifferently.

“Hey, don’t joke around! Those aren’t ordinary creatures!”

Nick Fury sounded irritated, clearly thinking Joss didn’t grasp the gravity of the situation.

While vampires might be cannon fodder to most superheroes, they were notoriously hard to kill. If Joss rushed in recklessly as usual, he’d be the one to die for sure!

Fury’s voice was grave, obviously not wanting Joss to bite off more than he could chew. “Even if their combat ability isn’t on par with a super-soldier, without the right methods, they’re practically immortal. How do you plan to kill them?”

But Joss was unmoved by Fury’s agitation, replying calmly, “I’ll just kill them.”

“Huh?!”

“Anyway, send me Blade’s contact info. I’ll go find him soon.” With that, Joss hung up, not wanting to listen to any more of Fury’s nagging.

“They’re just vampires—I refuse to believe there’s a breed that’s not afraid of sunlight!”

...

“I’m Blade, a Daywalker, or rather, a half-vampire who isn’t afraid of sunlight.” The cold-faced young Black man nodded at Joss in greeting.

Usually, Blade was no sunshine himself, but today he found someone whose expression was even sourer than his.

“Oh.” Joss grunted in annoyance and sat off to the side, sulking in silence, leaving Blade baffled.

Fortunately, Blade wasn’t much of a talker either, so Joss’s unapproachable attitude suited him fine. He simply lowered his head and continued checking his gear.

Joss knew Blade’s real name was Eric, but since Blade hadn’t shared that himself, Joss wasn’t about to dwell on it.

In fact, seeing Blade made something suddenly click in Joss’s mind, as if a lingering confusion had finally cleared.

“Right, I’m not some messiah. Why should I think I have to take on Thanos alone?!”

The Avengers were still missing members, which was troublesome, and Joss wasn’t sure whether Nick Fury could recruit everyone as in the movies.

But there were hundreds of other organizations in this world!

Blade’s Midnight Sons, Wolverine’s X-Men, Doctor Strange’s Illuminati—these were all leagues of heavyweights.

And Thanos wasn’t about good or evil; his actions threatened the entire universe. If you were unlucky, you could get snapped away with a single gesture, no matter who you were.

Thinking about it this way, even the Brotherhood, the Hellfire Club, and all sorts of villainous masterminds might become allies.

Even Sentry, a planet-busting powerhouse, would be forced to act if he didn’t want to die for no reason!

“Hey... If I really can persuade all these people, I’m starting to look forward to it...”

Imagining the day Thanos appeared, and him showing up with thousands of powerhouses, Joss felt invigorated. Even his look at Blade became much more pleasant.

What Blade thought of him, though, was anyone’s guess. After all, Blade wore sunglasses.

“Did Nick tell you what sort of enemy we’re up against?” Blade said suddenly, looking up from his ammunition.

“Vampires, right? Best way to kill them is strong light, silver, that sort of thing?”

The vampires in Marvel were slightly different from the traditional kind. Joss thought they resembled advanced infected from Resident Evil.

They went crazy while feeding, but kept most of their intelligence. Ordinary weapons could hurt them, but usually not kill them.

Most importantly, they didn’t have blood magic or any terrifying powers—just high-class cannon fodder. Otherwise, Joss would never have accepted this mission.

Blade nodded, then gestured at a nearby weapons locker. “Take your pick, all silver.”

“Can I take the whole lot?” Joss asked seriously.

“Get lost!”

That day, Blade finally realized he wasn’t as hard to get along with as he’d thought.

...

In the end, Joss just took a dagger and a few boxes of ammunition.

Blade had a variety of weapons, but most required serious practice to use effectively. Joss figured taking them would only be a hassle.

Even the silver dagger was just for finishing off enemies—unless absolutely necessary, Joss didn’t want to use his blinding Dio attack to purify vampires.

Once Joss was ready, Blade finally spoke in his low voice, “Today we’re targeting the Drake family’s—”

“Wait, stop right there, I don’t want to hear it!”

Joss cut him off before he finished the first sentence.

“I don’t care about backstory, and I’m not interested in opening this side quest. Just tell me where the target is and we’ll go take them out.”

I’m busy saving the world, you know? Who’s got time to worry about the petty affairs of a nearly extinct clan of weak vampires?