The whole world was watching New York, and even Iron Man had decided to scramble.
"Tony Stark, we don't need you here!" General Ross shouted from the helicopter, megaphone raised.
"Ha! You don't get to tell me what to do. If I'd turned a perfectly good super-soldier program into this mess, I'd jump out of that chopper myself." Tony's voice crackled with mockery.
He streaked down like a meteor, blazing with light, arms outstretched toward the clashing figures of Abomination and Hulk. "Make a wish, boys."
Two repulsor blasts slammed home. They did nothing. Not even a scratch.
The two giants might as well have ignored him, roaring as they hammered each other... neither managing to break the other's skin.
"Sir, the subdermal density on the opponent is at least three times that of steel. We should increase output," the ever-loyal Jarvis reported.
"Will cranking the power actually knock these two down? Maybe I should break out the shoulder-mounted armor-piercers."
"That might at least get their attention."
"You're a regular comedian. I need to upgrade that AI of yours."
Tony weaved between the two behemoths, little more than an annoying gnat. The Mark III just wasn't built for a fight on this scale.
Worse, his sensors showed Hulk's strength climbing steadily. What had started as Abomination dominating had become an even match. In a little while, Hulk would shrug off the suppressant serum entirely, grow even stronger, and smash Abomination into paste.
The real question was whether a rampaging Hulk at full power could still hold back his destructive instincts.
"Hey, vampire, you planning on helping anytime soon?" Tony swooped beside Blade and called out.
Blade's reputation preceded him; the dark-web files had been easy for Jarvis to pull. The Daywalker's eyelid twitched... he was seriously tempted to test how well that armor held up against his sword.
"I've already saved a dozen people," Blade said coldly.
"Then what are you waiting for? Or are you pinning your hopes on that kid over there with the weird pets, hoping he'll turn the tide?"
Blade stared at Tony with open dislike. This was the first time he'd truly hated an AI. He suspected the satellite feeds watching the battle had already been cracked by Jarvis.
Still, the man wasn't wrong. Blade was very interested in what Adam would do next. His instincts told him the young man was waiting for something specific… but what?
"Damn it… damn it!!"
Abomination took another brutal hit, blood spraying across his face. To his fury, he realized his upper limit had been surpassed. Hulk's power truly had no ceiling?
"If I hadn't wasted so much time and strength on those freaks, I never would've lost! As long as that blue guy is still alive, I just need more Hulk serum…"
Abomination's rage burned hotter. He had become something neither man nor monster, all to surpass Hulk. No one could understand the bone-deep awe and terror he'd felt the first time he saw the Hulk as an ordinary soldier.
BOOM!
Another punch sent him flying. When he climbed back to his feet, a crushing wave of exhaustion hit him. This is impossible. Why was he getting tired? The longer the fight dragged on, the more it felt like something inside him... something far worse... was draining his strength.
His massively enhanced organs were going numb, as if they no longer belonged to him. Something horrifying was trying to claw its way out of his chest. The sensation was unbearable.
"I just need a short rest… another dose of serum, and I'll surpass him! Once he's down, I'll drain every drop of his blood and transplant his spine into my body!"
Worship twisted into poisonous jealousy and possessive hunger.
Clutching his chest, Abomination turned and fled under the glare of countless helicopter spotlights. Even his running speed had dropped to less than half of his peak.
If anyone had gotten close enough, they would have seen grotesque bulges rippling beneath the hand he kept pressed to his chest... like something was about to burst free.
"He's running!"
"I still don't understand where these two came from or why they're fighting."
"Blonsky may have been a disappointment, but at least the man still had a brain!"
The chaotic scene sparked frantic chatter across the channels.
Hulk hesitated, unsure whether to pursue, but eventually used the confusion to leap away in a series of bounding jumps.
General Ross watched him go, still unwilling to give up. Hulk might be uncontrollable, but his prize creation... Blonsky... could still be salvaged. The man had become a powerful super-soldier who actually kept his mind.
Just then, a civilian news helicopter shifted its lights, illuminating a figure who had suddenly begun moving.
Though the view was blurry, the camera caught enough to record the shapes.
A person seen mostly from behind, accompanied by several bizarre creatures, was sprinting at an unnatural speed.
The lens quickly lost them in the ruined streets. Adam's trail vanished into the chaos.
"Was that my imagination? Did we get that on tape?"
A reporter rubbed his eyes and checked the footage again.
The clip spread rapidly, seen by millions glued to their screens.
Most people barely registered it. After hulking monsters and a billionaire in a metal suit, one guy walking weird pets didn't seem that strange… right?
"Deviants! Those things are Deviants! But we wiped them all out over five hundred years ago... how are they back?!"
In London, Sersi... one of the Eternals, tools created by the Celestials... sat stunned in front of a television at the school where she taught.
The footage was dark and grainy, but the silhouettes were unmistakable. They looked exactly like Deviants.
The eleven Eternals had spent thousands of years eradicating those creatures after being sent to Earth. So why were any still alive? And why was a human running with them?!
Sersi's blood ran cold. Deviants were monsters that fed on intelligent life. If left unchecked, they would slaughter countless more people.
Of course, at this point Sersi still didn't fully grasp the true purpose of her kind. They weren't here to protect humanity. Their real mission was to grow the human population, accelerating the awakening of the Celestials slumbering in the planet's core... gods who fed on the collective psychic energy of intelligent beings.
All at the cost of Earth's destruction and humanity's extinction.
Sersi immediately began calling for help. The first person she thought of wasn't their leader Ajak, but her partner... the Eternals' premier warrior, Ikaris, master of flight, heat vision, and an indestructible body.