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The explosions rattled the Baxter Building like thunder. Through the windows, fires bloomed across Manhattan. Something massive moved between the skyscrapers, casting enormous shadows across the streets.
"Reed!" Sue shouted over the alarms. "Should we abort?"
Reed's hands flew across the control panels, sweat beading on his forehead. "The process can't be stopped now! If we interrupt it, the cellular damage could kill him!"
"Stretch, we gotta move!" Ben's gravelly voice cut through the chaos. "Whatever's out there ain't waitin' for your science experiment to finish!"
Another explosion rocked the building, closer this time.
Beast's eyes never left the monitoring screens as the others rushed toward their equipment. "His vitals are spiking," he called out with growing concern. "The external stress is affecting the enhancement process and his body's trying to respond even while unconscious."
Domino pressed closer to the observation window, her knuckles white against the glass. "Jay doesn't need this right now?"
Rogue stood frozen by the chamber, watching Jay's unconscious form flicker with otherworldly energy. "His face—he looks like he's in pain."
"Hank, Domino, Rogue—stay with Jay!" Reed ordered. "Everyone else, we need to help those people!"
"That's it," Johnny burst into flames, the lab blazing with orange light. "Time to see what's got the whole city spooked. Flame on!"
He rocketed toward the window, then stopped dead, hovering outside. Through the glass, they could see his face go pale beneath the fire.
"What is it?" Reed stretched to peer out the window. What he saw made his blood freeze.
Moving through the streets below was something out of a nightmare. Twelve feet tall, grotesquely muscular, with gray-green skin like decaying flesh stretched over steel cables. Bone spurs jutted from its spine, and its face was a mockery of human features - sunken eyes and a mouth full of jagged teeth.
It crushed cars beneath massive feet, sweeping aside a city bus with one arm. Civilians scattered as it let out a roar that shattered windows six blocks away.
Johnny flew back inside, his flames sputtering with disgust. "Okay, Ben, I thought you were ugly, but that thing down there is a straight-up abomination."
Ben's rocky features twisted into a scowl. "Very funny, match-head." He gave Johnny a good-natured shove that nearly sent the Human Torch into a wall. "Now shut up and help me figure out how we're gonna stop that thing."
The creature—Abomination, Johnny had called it—let out a roar that shattered windows six blocks away. The sound was like freight trains colliding, full of rage.
"Fantastic Four, move out!" Reed commanded. "We need to get those people to safety!"
Reed stretched his arm across the lab to grab his uniform. "Ben, get the Fantasticar ready. Johnny, start clearing evacuation routes. Sue—"
"On it," Sue interrupted, her force fields already shimmering to life. "I'll run interference, protect the civilians from debris."
Within minutes, they were airborne in the Fantasticar, New York sprawling beneath them like a circuit board of lights and disaster. The Abomination had moved deeper into the city, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake.
"There!" Sue pointed down at a collapsed overpass where dozens of people were trapped beneath twisted metal and concrete. "Those people need help!"
Reed stretched down from the flying vehicle like a human rope, his body extending nearly twenty feet. His arms wrapped around trapped civilians, lifting them gently from the wreckage and passing them up to the Fantasticar.
"I got the heavy lifting," Ben grunted, leaping from the car to the street below. The impact of his landing cracked the pavement, but he immediately began tearing away chunks of concrete that would have taken construction crews hours to move.
Johnny streaked through the air like a comet, his flames cutting through twisted steel beams and clearing paths for fleeing civilians. "This way, people! Move it, move it!"
Sue's force fields formed protective barriers around clusters of survivors, deflecting falling debris and creating safe corridors for evacuation. She worked with precision, her barriers appearing and disappearing exactly where they were needed.
"It'd be great if Jay was awake," Johnny called out, hovering above a particularly nasty collapse. "With his powers, we could've saved twice as many people by now. Reducing the causality count."
"Focus on what we can do now," Reed replied firmly, passing another family up to safety. "We do the best we can with what we have."
They worked like the team they were, but the Abomination's rampage spread faster than they could contain it. Every disaster they cleared spawned two more.
That's when Ben went flying over their heads.
The Thing tumbled through the air like a skipped stone, crashing into a fire escape three blocks away.
"BEN!" Sue screamed.
The Abomination stood in the rubble where Ben had been, cracking its knuckles. A broken tooth hung from its mouth. When it spat the fang onto the pavement, it grinned—showing far too much intelligence.
"Oh, you're gonna pay for that," Johnny snarled, his flames burning white-hot with rage. "Nobody messes with my family!"
He unleashed everything he had, a torrent of fire that could melt steel. The flames engulfed the creature completely, turning the street into an inferno.
But when the fire cleared, the Abomination stood there smoking and charred, but its regeneration already healing the worst burns.
"That's tosty." it rumbled, its voice like grinding stone.
Sue threw up a force field barrier just as the creature's massive fist slammed down. The impact sent shockwaves through her construct, cracks spider-webbing across its surface.
"Sue, get out of there!" Reed shouted, stretching toward his wife. "The barrier's failing!"
The Abomination raised both fists for a killing blow—
THUNK!
Something struck its raised arm with tremendous force, drawing a spray of dark blood. The creature stumbled backward, more surprised than hurt, looking down at the deep gash in its forearm.
They all turned to see where the projectile had come from.
A man in a brown leather jacket sat astride a Harley-Davidson, one hand extended as if catching something. In his grip was a circular shield—red, white, and blue with a silver star.
The bike's engine growled as he performed a perfect slide, turning sideways and stopping with controlled precision. If Jay were here, he would recognize the famous Akira Slide. He dismounted with fluid grace, pulling off his helmet to reveal blonde hair and sharp blue eyes.
"Holy shit," Johnny breathed. "That's Captain America's shield! And you look exactly like—"
"Steve Rogers," the man said simply. "Someone called Coulson and said, 'The Doctor's in trouble,' so I came as fast as I could. SHIELD's setting up a perimeter, trying to contain this..." He gestured at the Abomination.
"Abomination!" Johnny shouted. "That thing's called the Abomination!"
Steve nodded grimly. "Fits." He surveyed the destruction. "You folks mind if I join this party?"
"Mind?" Johnny was practically vibrating with excitement. "Are you kidding? I used to play you in every school play! Captain America, the First Avenger, the Star-Spangled Man with a Plan—"
"Johnny," Sue warned, "focus."
But Johnny was on a roll. "I mean, you're even more handsome in person, and that slide was straight out of an action movie, and—"
The Abomination's roar cut off Johnny's fanboying. The creature had recovered from its surprise and was advancing again, its wound already closing.
"Introductions later," Steve said, raising his shield. "Right now, we've got work to do."
What followed was the kind of coordinated superhero action that would become legend. Steve's shield ricocheted off buildings and the creature's hide in impossible angles, each throw calculated to maximum effect. Sue's force fields became mobile platforms, letting the Captain bank shots off invisible surfaces. Johnny's flames provided cover and confusion, while Reed stretched himself into nets and barriers to corral their opponent.
But even with four heroes working in perfect sync, the Abomination proved resilient. Every wound healed within seconds, and its strength seemed limitless. Worse, it was learning their patterns, adapting to their tactics.
"This isn't working!" Reed called out, dodging a massive fist. "It's heading for the Baxter Building!"
The realization hit them all at once. The creature wasn't just rampaging randomly—it had a destination. It was heading straight for Jay.
"The serum," Reed breathed. "It wants the enhancement serum, or Jay himself."
The Abomination broke into a run, seeing the hero catching up, its massive strides eating up city blocks. Buildings shook as it barrelled through traffic, cars bouncing off its legs like toys.
"We need to stop it before it reaches….." Sue began.
That's when Metallica started playing.
The opening riff of "Enter Sandman" echoed across Manhattan, broadcast from speakers built into gleaming red and gold armor that dropped from the sky like a metallic javelin.
"Don't worry, Iron Man's here!" blared from the suit's external speakers before the music cut out, replaced by a cocky voice that could only belong to Tony Stark.
"Hope you folks don't mind if I crash this party. Looks like you could use some help from someone with actual firepower."
The Iron Man armor hovered thirty feet above the street, repulsors charging with brilliant white light. Weapon systems unfolded from shoulders and forearms like the wings of a mechanical angel.
"One ugly customer, coming right up," Tony quipped. "House special- extra crispy with a side of payback."
What followed was the most spectacular fireworks display Manhattan had seen since the Fourth of July. Missiles streaked from Iron Man's shoulder pods, each one guided with computer precision. Repulsor beams lanced out, and from his chest, the unibeam cut loose with enough power to slice through steel.
The Abomination disappeared in a cloud of smoke and fire, the street erupting in explosions.
"And that's how it's done, kids," Tony announced smugly. "Stark Industries- when you absolutely, positively need something destroyed overnight."
But as the smoke cleared, the Abomination stood in the crater, healing slowly but surely. Burns faded from its hide like a time-lapse in reverse.
"Okay," Tony's voice had lost some of its cockiness. "That usually works better."
The creature fixed its glowing eyes on Iron Man and smiled that horrible, knowing grin.
"Maybe we should coordinate—" Steve began.
"I work alone," Tony cut him off. "I don't need help from—"
The Abomination's leap carried it thirty feet straight up. Its massive hand closed around Iron Man's leg, dragging the armored hero down toward the street.
"Okay, maybe I could use a little help," Tony admitted as alarms blared inside his helmet.
That's when the helicopter appeared overhead.
A military transport chopper hovered above the battle, and someone was preparing to fast-rope down from its open door. They could see the figure silhouetted against the aircraft's lights, lanky and human-sized.
"Another ally?" Reed wondered aloud.
Sue threw up a force field beneath the falling figure, intending to give him a soft landing. Instead, the man crashed right through her barrier like it was made of tissue paper, the telekinetic construct shattering on impact.
He hit the street hard enough to crack pavement, but instead of the sickening crunch they expected, there was just a solid thump. The man lay still for a moment, face-down in the crater he'd created.
Sue and Reed stared in horror. Her force fields could stop bullets, deflect explosions—nothing should have been able to punch through one that easily.
"Oh no," Sue whispered. "I killed him."
Johnny started to fly down to check on the fallen figure. "Hey buddy, you okay down—"
That's when the large green arm erupted from the crater.
Johnny barely twisted aside as massive fingers swiped through the air where his head had been a heartbeat before.
The man in the crater sat up slowly, and as he did, his skin began to change. What had been normal human flesh turned deep emerald green, muscles swelling to impossible proportions. His clothes shredded as his frame expanded, growing from six feet to seven, then eight, then nine feet of pure muscle.
When he finally stood to his full height, he was a towering green giant with wild dark hair and eyes that burned with barely contained fury.
The Hulk opened his mouth and let loose a roar that shook the whole of Manhattan.
The sound hit them like a physical force, reverberating through their bones and into their souls. It was primal and pure rage.
Johnny hovered in the air, his flames flickering weakly. "Guys? Is that the Hulk" His voice cracked slightly. "I think we're in double trouble."
The Abomination and the Hulk faced each other across the ruined street, two titans of destruction sizing up their opposition. The air between them crackled with barely contained violence.
The Hulk's lips pulled back in something that might have been a smile.
"HULK SMASH!"
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