Rai_jin
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#16 VCM
🕑 Added 2025-03-23 04:05:03 +0000 UTCOn a main road in the suburbs of New York, a red old-fashioned convertible was parked under the dim glow of streetlights. Sitting in the passenger seat, Melinda May's face was dark with frustration, her arms crossed tightly.
"Phil, we screwed up."
Coulson let out a deep sigh, sinking into the driver's seat, eyes fixed on the road ahead. "May, we did everything we could."
After receiving their mission, Coulson and May had infiltrated a classified research facility run by General Ross, where he was developing enhanced super-soldiers. Using resources from Fury, they had managed to sneak inside.
After a painstaking effort, the two elite agents successfully retrieved crucial data on the Hulk.
It wasn’t the highly classified origin files, but it was enough to piece together how the green behemoth came to be.
More importantly, they discovered something even more alarming—Ross had begun work on another experiment, something far worse. He was trying to recreate the process, and the result was far worse than they could imagine.
Once they had what they needed, Coulson and May made their escape, evading relentless pursuit.
It had taken all their skill, experience, and a fair bit of luck to slip through Ross’s security, but in the end, they had made it out.
They immediately reached out to Fury to deliver their findings—only to be met with the worst possible news.
"What?!" Coulson had nearly dropped the communicator. "You're telling me the Abomination is already tearing up the streets with the Hulk, and we haven’t even sent the intel yet?!"
It was almost laughable, except neither of them felt like laughing. Two titanic creatures were battling in downtown New York, and their hard-won information had just become obsolete in real time.
May exhaled sharply, shaking her head. "If I had been driving, we would’ve lost them faster."
Coulson gave her a sidelong glance. "Oh, come on, May." He sat up straighter, defensive. "I know you're pissed, but let’s not pretend this is my fault."
May arched a brow. "I’m just saying—"
"No, no, I drove flawlessly!" Coulson interrupted, getting out of the car and pacing toward the hood. "Lola handled like a dream. This? This was just one of those freak situations."
He threw up his hands. "It’s like saying, ‘Hey, I’m standing here, but what if I suddenly took off flying?’ What are the odds of—"
Before he could finish, a deafening gust of wind howled through the trees, sending leaves spiraling into the air.
From the darkness, a massive shadow burst through the forest, tearing through the underbrush at impossible speed.
Coulson barely had time to react before the force of the shockwave sent him flying backward, knocking the wind out of him.
"Coulson!" May’s sharp cry rang out as she rushed to his side.
"I’m fine," he groaned, shaking his head as he pushed himself up from the grass.
May barely acknowledged him, her focus locked onto the thing that had just passed them. Her sharp gaze followed the deep trail of destruction carved through the forest, leading directly toward New York City.
"What the hell was that?"
Coulson dusted himself off, eyes wide. "I don’t know, but it’s fast. And whatever it is, it’s definitely not normal."
His gaze followed the path of destruction until his stomach dropped. "Oh no," he muttered. "That thing’s headed straight for downtown. Contact Fury. Now."
In his office, Nick Fury leaned back in his chair, humming a quiet tune as he monitored the news.
The clash between the Hulk and Abomination was already causing catastrophic destruction, but he had no intention of interfering.
This was General Ross’s mess to clean up, and frankly, Fury had little interest in playing janitor.
Ross had been obsessed with recreating the super-soldier serum for years, always chasing after Captain America’s shadow.
Now, his arrogance had finally come back to bite him.
Fury smirked as he watched footage of Ross deploying military-grade firepower—aerial gunships, Gatling guns loaded with depleted uranium rounds, and howitzers on the ground.
If all that couldn’t stop the two raging monsters, what else could he do? Drop a couple of Jericho missiles from Stark Industries? This was New York, not a battlefield.
Just as he settled in, a 3D holographic display popped up on his desk—Coulson’s communication request.
Fury tapped the interface. "Coulson, what is it?"
"Director, we’ve got a situation." Coulson quickly relayed what had just happened.
Fury’s easy demeanor shifted, his eye narrowing. "A high-speed unidentified object headed straight for New York?" He rubbed his temple. "Great. As if we didn’t have enough problems."
He opened another communication line. "Hill, bring up the satellite feed."
"On it, Director."
Within seconds, multiple camera angles flickered onto his screen. The object was a blur, a streak moving at supersonic speed toward the city.
It was moving too fast for standard visuals, showing up only through thermal imaging.
Fury leaned forward. "Enlarge that."
As the image zoomed in, his breath hitched. The core of the heat signature wasn’t some experimental aircraft or a projectile. It was shaped like a person.
Fury’s expression darkened. "Hill, trace where it came from."
"Tracking now," she replied. "Source identified: Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters. Director, this might be a mutant with extreme-speed capabilities."
Fury frowned. "No. Most speedsters don’t create a wake like this. Usually, their powers help them bypass air resistance. But this guy? He’s not avoiding the sound barrier—he’s tearing straight through it."
A bead of sweat formed on his brow. "That means he’s not just fast. He’s a human missile."
"Sir, running a comparison against known mutant files now," Hill reported. "There are no high-level speedsters operating in New York."
Fury’s jaw tightened. Then he turned back to Coulson. "Do you think it could be Ethan?"
Coulson hesitated. "I don’t know, Director. His file is still incomplete. The only time we’ve seen him in action was during the Liberty Island incident. We don’t even have confirmation on his full abilities."
Fury steepled his fingers. "Regardless, we now have an unidentified, high-level mutant tearing toward an already chaotic warzone. Whether he’s friend or foe, we can’t ignore this."
He looked Coulson dead in the eye. "You need to make contact."
Coulson groaned. "Oh, come on."
Fury smirked. "Cheer up, Phil. If you need backup, I’ll send it. But the organization has decided—this one’s all yours. Now go."
Coulson pinched the bridge of his nose. "Fantastic."
...
Sitting inside the armed helicopter, General Ross looked down at the Hulk with a complicated expression.
The very monster he had hunted for years was now the only hope of stopping the catastrophe unfolding below.
Before Bruce Banner became the Hulk, he had been General Ross’s most brilliant scientist—and the man he had envisioned as his future son-in-law. But one fateful experiment changed everything.
Bruce became his most wanted fugitive, and his daughter, Betty, became a stranger to him.
Unwilling to accept failure, Ross had cultivated Abomination, his supposed answer to the Hulk. But now, everything was reversed. Banner had finally managed to control his transformation, leading to his capture.
Meanwhile, Abomination, intoxicated by his newfound power, had become an even greater monster by injecting himself with the Hulk’s blood.
And now, the only one capable of stopping him was the Hulk himself. This realization left the hardened general feeling conflicted for the first time in his life. Had he been wrong all along?
“Father, help him, please.” Betty Ross’s voice broke through his thoughts. Her eyes pleaded with him.
General Ross clenched his jaw, then finally barked, “Cover fire!”
“Who are we covering?” one of the soldiers hesitated.
“Green, you idiot! Kill the other one!” Ross shouted, grabbing the soldier’s collar.
“Yes, sir!” The soldier quickly raised his Gatling gun and opened fire on Abomination.
The depleted uranium rounds weren’t ordinary bullets. They contained a small amount of radioactive uranium that ignited upon impact, generating enough heat to melt steel. These rounds could tear through armored tanks with ease.
Yet, even with all that firepower, the bullets only left minor wounds on Abomination’s thick hide—wounds that healed almost instantly.
But the attack had managed to anger him.
Snarling, Abomination turned his gaze toward the helicopters. With a sudden burst of speed, he leaped between the high-rise buildings like an enraged beast.
“Take cover!” Ross yelled just as Abomination ripped a chunk of a building’s wall and hurled it. The debris struck one of the helicopters, sending it spiraling down in flames.
Abomination then set his sights on Ross’s helicopter. With a powerful kick, he launched himself toward it.
“Die, Ross!” he roared, his massive hands reaching for the chopper’s tail rotor.
But just as his fingers brushed against it, a massive green foot slammed into his chest, knocking him away. Hulk had arrived.
Despite everything Ross had done to him, despite the years of being hunted like an animal, Hulk had made his choice.
His father-in-law may have been a thorn in his side, but Betty was in that helicopter. And Hulk wasn’t about to let her—or anyone else—die.
With a deafening roar, he grabbed Abomination and dragged him down. The two titans crashed into the street below.
BOOM!
The impact shook the ground violently, sending shockwaves through the surrounding buildings. Glass shattered, car alarms blared, and bystanders screamed in terror.
Hulk, pinned beneath Abomination, was the first to react. He clenched his fist and delivered a devastating punch to Abomination’s face.
For any normal foe, that strike would have been enough to shatter bones. But Abomination merely turned his head, spat out a broken tooth, and smirked.
“Is that all you got?” he sneered.
By all logic, Abomination was merely a twisted imitation of the Hulk—his power derived from corrupted gamma-radiated blood. He shouldn’t have been stronger. And yet, he was.
Unfortunately for Hulk, Banner’s previous experiment had suppressed his transformations, and the side effects hadn’t fully worn off. Even though Hulk had emerged again, he was still in a weakened state. Right now, he wasn’t at his full strength, and Abomination took full advantage of that.
“Well, well, well… You’re not looking so tough now, are you?” Abomination chuckled before grabbing Hulk by the arm and launching him through a nearby building.
Hulk crashed through the walls, tumbling until he finally stopped inside a small, crumbling orphanage.
A late middle aged woman, clutching several terrified children, gasped in fear. She recognized him from the news.
Emma Jones had known the battle was dangerous but hadn’t been able to evacuate the children in time. She had hoped—prayed—that the fight wouldn’t reach them. But now, her worst fears had come true.
Hulk slowly got up and glanced at the orphans cowering in the corner.
His usual rage flickered, replaced for a moment by something else. A memory of Banner’s compassion.
At that moment, two cars came hurtling toward him, thrown by Abomination.
One of the children screamed.
Hulk’s eyes widened. Instead of dodging, he braced himself, raising his arms to shield the children.
The cars crashed against his massive frame, ricocheting off and smashing into the surrounding buildings.
Abomination sneered. “You’re not my match, Hulk.”
But something was changing. The effects of Banner’s experiment were beginning to fade. With each second, Hulk’s strength returned.
And the more Abomination taunted him, the angrier he became.
Hulk clenched his fists. His rage boiled over. He was ready.
With a ground-shaking stomp, he prepared to unleash his ultimate attack.
“HULK SMASH!” he bellowed, raising both fists high, about to slam them into the ground.
But just before his fists connected, a hand—slim but impossibly strong—gripped his wrist, stopping him mid-swing.
A young man in an ordinary suit stood before him, his face obscured by a black gas mask. His presence alone was enough to still the air.
“Hulk,” the man said calmly. “You really should think before you smash. If you hit the ground like that, you’ll crush the people behind you.”
