The Hulk staggered.
It was subtle at first—so slight that anyone watching from a distance might have missed it. His next leap fell short, landing with a heavier impact than before. The pavement shattered beneath his feet, but instead of immediately springing forward again, he paused.
Li Jie hovered high above, watching through the mech's targeting display, heart steady but alert.
"There it is…" he murmured.
The antitoxin was working.
Just not instantly.
The Hulk wasn't an ordinary infected host. His metabolism alone operated on a scale no other creature could match. The virus inside him was likely far denser, far more entrenched. It would take time for the antitoxin to circulate, to suppress, to begin dismantling what had taken hold.
Below, the Hulk shook his head violently, as if trying to clear it. His roar came again—but this time it was different. Less fury, more confusion.
Then he charged again.
Li Jie didn't retreat. Instead, he angled downward, drawing the Hulk's attention and leading him away from the shattered streets and burning wreckage of Ross's retreating convoy.
The mech's thrusters roared as he skimmed just above rooftop level, deliberately staying within sight.
The Hulk followed, bounding from building to building, each impact sending concrete fragments raining into the streets below.
Good, Li Jie thought. Keep moving. Keep him breathing it in.
The antitoxin fog still lingered in the air behind them, drifting through the ruined avenues like pale mist.
A minute passed.
Then another.
The Hulk's leaps began to slow.
His movements grew less coordinated, less explosive. Twice he stumbled, catching himself on the edge of collapsing rooftops. The rage in his eyes flickered, replaced by something raw and disoriented.
Then, with a final, thunderous landing in the middle of an empty intersection, he dropped to one knee.
Li Jie descended cautiously, hovering thirty feet above.
The Hulk looked up at him.
For a brief moment, something almost human flickered in that enormous green face—pain, confusion, exhaustion.
Then the giant collapsed forward, the asphalt cracking beneath his weight.
Silence spread across the ruined street, broken only by distant fires and the creak of shifting metal.
Li Jie remained in the air for several seconds, watching carefully.
The Hulk's chest still rose and fell. He wasn't dead.
Just unconscious.
"Good," Li Jie said softly. "That's better than I hoped."
Killing the Hulk outright would have been wasteful. Banner was still valuable—perhaps one of the most valuable minds left alive. And even the Hulk himself… properly controlled, properly timed… could be a decisive weapon.
The ground trembled faintly behind him.
Li Jie turned.
The Abomination was still alive.
Broken neck or not, the creature's regeneration was already at work. Muscles twitched beneath torn skin; bone shifted with faint, wet cracking sounds as his spine began to realign.
Li Jie descended slowly, landing beside the massive form.
Abomination's yellow eyes rolled toward him, still conscious but unable to move.
"You…" the creature rasped, voice thick with pain and fury.
"Yes," Li Jie said calmly. "Me."
Abomination bared his teeth weakly. "You tricked me…"
"Of course I did."
Li Jie crouched slightly, looking into those reptilian eyes.
"You wanted the Hulk. I gave you the Hulk. Fair trade."
Abomination tried to laugh but only managed a choking sound.
"He'll wake up… and I'll kill him… next time…"
"Maybe," Li Jie said. "But not today."
He raised a hand.
Another antitoxin fog grenade dropped beside Abomination's head and burst with a soft pop, releasing a pale cloud that drifted over the creature's face.
At first, nothing happened.
Then Abomination's breathing became uneven. His eyelids fluttered. The rage in his expression faded into something dull and heavy.
Within seconds, he too lay still.
Li Jie exhaled slowly.
Two monsters. Both down.
The street around him looked like a battlefield from another era—craters, shattered vehicles, half-collapsed buildings leaning at dangerous angles. Smoke drifted across the skyline, illuminated by distant fires.
Footsteps approached cautiously from behind.
Barney.
He was still holding a rifle, though it hung loosely in his hands now.
"Is it over?" he asked quietly.
"For now," Li Jie said.
Christmas and Gunnar followed, both staring at the two fallen giants with a mixture of awe and disbelief.
Gunnar whistled softly. "We were shooting at that thing earlier."
"Yes," Li Jie said. "And you survived. That's something to be proud of."
Barney looked at the unconscious Hulk.
"What happens now?"
Li Jie was silent for a moment.
"Now," he said, "we move them before they wake up."
"Move them?" Christmas repeated. "You're kidding."
Li Jie glanced at the sky.
In the distance, the low hum of aircraft engines was already growing louder. SHIELD would be arriving soon—Coulson wouldn't miss an opportunity like this.
"No," Li Jie said. "I'm not kidding."
Mechanical tentacles extended from the Black Dragon armor, anchoring into the pavement as he prepared to lift the Hulk's massive body.
Barney shook his head slowly, half amused, half astonished.
"You really are something else, Li."
Li Jie allowed himself a faint smile.
"No," he said quietly. "I'm just getting started."
....
Want to read ahead by more than 60 chapters. Then join my pa*treon now.
Link: pa*treon.com/Amelie796 (Remove the *)
Also you can read till chapter 17 chapters for free.