"Oh right — she was injured by that monster and passed out in an alley. I brought her back. Raven, can you treat her?" Karl said, shrugging as he spoke to Aunt May and Wanda.
He asked Raven specifically because she had lived many lives and held many identities — physician among them.
"Okay. Get her to the medical room. Now."
A manor worth billions naturally included a fully equipped medical suite capable of emergency surgery.
Karl carried Gwen inside while Aunt May and Wanda followed.
When Karl removed her mask, Aunt May gasped.
"My God… she's just a child."
None of them could have imagined that the person who had just fought a monster capable of destroying armored vehicles was a teenage girl.
Raven was already activating scanners and diagnostic equipment.
"Karl, out. May, I need you. Assist me."
She needed imaging results before treatment could begin.
"Of course," Aunt May replied immediately.
Saving a life required no hesitation.
The two women began working with calm efficiency.
Stark Biological Laboratory
After leaving the medical room, Karl vanished and reappeared inside the joint Stark bio-research facility.
Yinsen worked at one station while Samuel Stern — his enlarged cranium a visible sign of his transformation — analyzed cellular samples nearby.
Karl gave them a brief nod before moving to the centrifuge.
Following Yinsen's earlier instructions, he loaded the vial of Hulk blood.
The machine spun at extreme speed.
Gamma-saturated plasma separated from cellular mass.
The extracted serum was a deep, luminous green — faintly emitting radiation detectable only by specialized sensors.
Karl collected the vial.
Then vanished again without a word.
Yinsen merely shrugged and returned to his research. With Stern present, progress had accelerated dramatically.
Shadow World
Inside the silent darkness between dimensions, shadow soldiers formed a protective perimeter.
Karl removed the Purification Rune and pressed it against the vial.
The rune dissolved into light and sank into the glass.
The serum's color shifted.
Dark green → luminous jade → soft translucent green.
A faint radiance pulsed once… then stabilized.
Karl invoked the system analysis.
[Gamma Serum]
Extracted from gamma-mutated biological blood.
Purified of mutagenic instability and psychological degradation.
Enhances baseline physiology to extreme levels without inducing uncontrolled mutation.
Karl exhaled slowly.
Success.
He withdrew a syringe from storage.
Even purified, gamma adaptation would be agonizing.
But the reward was worth it.
He injected the serum into his arm.
Gamma Integration
The effect was immediate.
Heat surged through his bloodstream like liquid fire.
His heart pounded with explosive force.
Every cell felt as if it were being torn apart and rebuilt.
Muscle fibers thickened.
Bone density increased.
Nerve conductivity accelerated.
His endocrine system flooded his body with adrenaline and growth factors.
Pain flooded his nervous system — sharp, burning, absolute.
Karl clenched his teeth and remained standing.
Sweat poured from his body.
His vision blurred.
His muscles trembled violently as gamma energy rewrote his physiology.
Minutes stretched like hours.
Just as his consciousness began to fade—
The pain stopped.
Only heat remained.
Then even that began to fade.
Karl slowly unclenched his fists.
Power coiled beneath his skin like compressed steel.
A black, oily residue coated his body — expelled metabolic waste from rapid cellular restructuring.
The smell was horrific.
He returned to the manor bathroom and washed thoroughly.
Even simple movements shattered fragile objects.
Faucet handles snapped.
Tiles cracked under his grip.
He dressed carefully — tearing several shirts before adapting to the required gentleness.
Strength Calibration
Karl teleported to a remote mountain foothill.
He began lifting boulders.
At first, they shattered accidentally.
He adjusted.
Focused.
Gradually reduced output.
Three hours later, he could modulate his strength with acceptable precision.
Now he could:
lift multi-ton masses effortlessly
sustain vastly improved endurance
operate at hypersonic reaction speeds
maintain enhanced neural processing and telekinetic throughput
His Shadow Legion capacity surged dramatically.
He could now summon 10,000 shadow soldiers simultaneously, or deploy multiple legions in layered formations.
His Ice abilities responded faster and with greater structural stability.
His telekinetic force output had multiplied.
He estimated his maximum flight velocity now approached Mach 1–2 under full propulsion.
Satisfied, he returned home.
The Manor
Silence.
Too much silence.
Furniture overturned.
Glass shattered.
Walls scarred.
Karl's eyes narrowed.
Shadow soldiers flooded into existence around him.
Thousands.
Then more.
Dark silhouettes filled the manor like a rising tide.
He walked to the garage.
The Speedster vehicle was gone.
So were Aunt May…
Raven…
Wanda…
Peter…
Gwen.
A cold fury surged through him.
Shadow soldiers continued emerging until the grounds were swallowed by darkness.
Twenty thousand silent warriors stood awaiting command.
Then Karl paused.
He withdrew his phone from system storage.
Multiple missed calls.
Dozens of messages.
From Pietro.
From Aunt May.
From Raven.
His expression hardened.
He began reading.
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