Chapter 65

  Arc 5 - Ch 18: The Abomination

  Date: Friday, June 3, 2011.

  Location: St. Nichos Park, West Harlem, Manhattan, New York

  As they reached the stairs down into the park, Bruce Banner found himself regaining some of his strength. He was now able to walk steadily on his own without assistaogether they desded the crete steps. Ohey were out of sight of the campus, Tyson properly introduced himself.

  "I'm known as Mirage," Tyson began, hoping to reassure the stist. "But sidering you've been off-grid for a while, Dr. Banner, I doubt you've heard of me." In a gesture of trust, Tyson removed the mask c his face, revealing his true identity. "My real yson Smith, and I'm a senior at Midtown High School."

  Tyson tinued early, "I know we're short on time here, but if you're willing, I'd like to tell you my story." he offered sincerely, attempting to build uandiween them.

  Banner looked startled, his eyebrows shooting up in surprise. "A senior in high school? How in the world did you wind up mixed up in all this?"

  Sensing the man's intense curiosity, Tyson replied didly, "Because, Bruce, I'm special. Like you."

  To emphasize his point, he gave a small wave of his hand. Their surroundings instantly transformed. First into a vast desert, then Tyson snapped and it became a sun-drenched beach, followed by another snap and a lush rai, before phasing back to the inal city park. The rapid, seamless transitions vividly demonstrated Tyson's remarkable abilities.

  "Well, ly like you," Tyson amended. "But I think you get the idea."

  Banner's eyes widened in surprise as he took in the dispy. "Incredible," he murmured, a note of awe creeping into his voice.

  Sensing an opening, Tyson broached a topic he hoped would resoh the man. "Dr. Banner, are you familiar with Dr. Curt ors? He was the head of the Department of Geics, Bioengineering, and Cellur Studies at Oscorp."

  Banner houghtfully. "I never met him personally, but I'm familiar with his work in the field."

  Enced, Tyson tinued his tale. "If you didn't meet him, you might not know ors was missing an arm. His researto cross-species geics was entirely motivated by a desire trow that lost limb." Tyson paused, letting his words sink in. "A few months back, ors had a breakthrough and hastily tested the unfinished formu on himself. It worked. He regrew his arm ht."

  Tyson allowed a grim too enter his voice. "But there were unforeseen sequehe formu transformed him inting lizard monster and afterward, he went on a destructive rampage through the city."

  Tyson held Banner's gaze, allowing the weight of his story tister. He then posed a subtle but pointed question. "Does any of this sound... familiar, Dr. Banner?"

  Banner's eyes widened slightly at the question, as Tyson's words stirred a swell of uneasy reition within him. Though framed as rhetorical, the inquiry probed at his deepest vulnerability; the ck of trol over his monstrous alter-ego.

  Sensing Banner's dawning prehension, Tyson pressed on, drawing out the parallels between their plights. "The Lizard is strong enough to toss around cars, but he's not even close to the Hulk's strength. However, in his transformed state, ors retained his human intellect. The metamorphosis corrupted his mind, fueled his aggression, but did not wholly erase his identity."

  Tyson paused, letting his words sink in. Banner's gaze was distant, his jaw tight. Tyson could almost see the stist visualizing that sario, his brilliant mind spinning out the implications.

  "Now imagiyson tinued, "the Hulk unleashed inside a crowded high school, amid throngs of ieenagers."

  Banner's eyes snapped bato focus, his head shaking slightly in mute horror at the proposed sario. The notion of the Hulk rampaging unchecked in such a vulnerable enviro was ao him.

  "Unfortunately, that sario came to pass," Tyson said heavily. "ors hunted one of the other local heroes, Spider-Man, to his high school, intending to front him. However, the Lizard did not anticipate I would be there that day." A hard gliered Tyson's eyes at the memory. "Together, we were able to drive him back."

  Tyson delved deeper into the heart of his story. "The parallels in your experieh ors isn't the only reason I'm telling you this," he said, his gaze steady on Banner as if to ehe stist grasped the true purpose. "It's the clusion that matters most. Instead of turning ors over to the authorities, I sheltered him. Given the Lizard's rampage, transformed state, and threat to the public, it was uhe authorities could provide the necessary resources to cure him. ces were that he'd either be imprisoned indefinitely or killed."

  Tyson's voice carried a resolute yet passioone. "My unique abilities allowed me to hide him from the world. To everyone else, the Lizard escaped the high school after the attad simply vanished. But iy, I set ors up with a fully equipped b in the lower levels of my building, providing the resources and solitude he o work on a cure for himself."

  The at Tyson shared with Banner was one of empathy, uanding, and taking a to improve the situation of someone who unwittingly transformed themselves into a mohis revetion held significe beyond merely proteg another individual with extraordinary abilities; it offered hope and a path to normalcy. Tyson's steadfast gaze and ear words made it clear he believed Baoo, deserved su opportunity.

  "I know you've been running a long time, Dr. Banner. Always looking over your shoulder, rusting anyone. I imagier esg the army's clutches, the st thing you want is to fall into SHIELD's hands."

  Banner's shoulders tensed ever so slightly at the mention of SHIELD, his eyes darting around the empty park.

  Tyson raised a pg hand. "While I do tract work for SHIELD, they allow me a measure of autonomy. I'd like to offer you a safe haven in my building if you'll accept it. At the very least, it will buy you some time before SHIELD catches wind of your presence." Banner's expression remained wary, but Tyson pressed on. "You would have full use of my bs and teology, with Dr. ors' assistance should you . I have millions to fund any equipment or assistance you need. And regarding the Hulk..." Tyson paused, holding Banner's gaze, "Illusions isn't my only ability. I'm uniquely suited to fight the Hulk. I'm not exaggerating when I say that I'm one of the few people on the p who could possibly match him in raw strength. If you lose trol, I'm uniquely equipped to stop you. But I don't want it to e to that. I only want to help you, if you'll let me."

  They reached the far side of the park, and Banner slowed, sidering Tyson's offer. Behind the caution in his eyes y a glimmer of temptation at the thought of an equipped b and a powerful potential ally.

  Tyson stepped to the curb and waved doproag yellow cab. He retrieved three crisp hundred-dolr bills ahem out to Banner.

  "I'm certain you've bee quite adept at avoidiiohe years," Tyson said, "But if you're tired of running, head to the House of M. 68 Lexington Ave. Ask for Felicia Hardy and say I sent you. She'll set you up with a room, no questions asked."

  As the taxi pulled up beside them, Tyson grasped the handle and swung the door open for Banner. "I hope to see you again soon, Dr. Banner. But if you opt to disappear instead, I wish you the best of luck," he offered kindly, aowledging Banner's need for autonomy given his plex predit.

  Banner paused, gng between Tyson and the open cab door, sidering. After a moment, he slid onto the worn back seat.

  Tyson watched as the yellow taxi merged into the flow of traffid disappeared dowreet. Though the door was now open, it remaio be seeher Banner would choose to walk through it. The stist had two paths before him; seek refuge at the House of M, where Tyson and Dr. ors could provide research support to help trol the Hulk, or leave the city entirely, putting as much distaween himself and Tyson, SHIELD, and the military as possible. Even if he opted to vanish, Tyso would only be a matter of time until the Battle of New York forced Banner's return. For now, simply getting Banner away from the city would prevent the immi shoith the Abomination and the catastrophic damage their fight would unleash upon Harlem. Hopefully, Tyson saving him from the military and help would put him in the stist's good graces going forward.

  Tyson turned and sprinted back up the hill. He did not know if the Abomination would still emerge with Banner gone. But if it did, Tyson o be ready. He'd do what he could to prevent the neighborhood from being a war zone. Just as he reached the campus, a cloud of dust and debris erupted from the side of the building they'd captured Banner. ks of crete rained down amidst the haze.

  A massive, hulking shape lurched out from the gaping hole in the building's side.

  The Abomination.

  Tyson's eyes wide the sight of the grotesque creature. Standing at least teall, its body was a horrific perversion of the human form, swollen with distorted, bulging muscles. The Abomination's skin was a sickly greenish-gray, stretched taut over its freakish frame. Sharp, ueeth filled its snarling maw. Spikes of boted out along its shoulders and spine, pleting its terrifying visage. The Abomination barreled down the alley with shog speed. Each pounding step cracked the crete below its feet. The rampaging behemoth disappeared from view down the narrow alleyway, leaving crumbled rubble and clouds of settling dust in its wake.

  The pu, earthy stench of the Abomination assaulted Tyson's senses as he leaped into the gaping hole left in the creature's wake. The potent, musky odor g heavily in the air, impossible to ig was thick with the raw, animalistik of an untamed beast, underid by the sharp tang of metal. Tyson grimaced reflexively, the overp reek nearly taking on a physical presen the fined space. Yet beh the Abomination's overwhelming stench, Tyson's heightened senses detected another, more wele st; the subtle hints of exotic spices aher that denoted Natasha's presence. Arm jolted through him. With the Abomination's capacity for destru, anyone crossing its path was in mortal peril. Urgency drove Tyson to traatasha's st through the maze of debris. Log her became his sole focus; her safety aramount, no matter hoable he knew she was.

  The trail led Tyson to a borated by the Abomination. His shoulders sagged in relief at the sight of Natasha, unharmed amidst the destru. The b was a shambles, with equipment and supplies scattered wildly across the room. His eyes settled upon the slender, pale green-skinned figure standing beside Natasha. Though diminutive in stature, an air of formidable intellect emanated from the man. His head was enrged and egg-shaped, suggesting a massive brain housed within the smooth, unlined expanse of his high forehead. Small, deep-set eyes veyed keen intelligend calcution. Below them, a thin nose and pursed mouth pleted the man's distinctive visage.

  Tysoated, not wanting to intrude on the se before him. But for Natasha propelled him forward through the debris-strewn boratory. Though the man posed no obvious threat, he remained wary.

  As Tyson drew nearer, Natasha addressed the man, “Dr. Samuel Sterns?”

  The man exuded fidence. “I was Dr. Samuel Sterns. But now, I am ged,” he procimed, his voice carrying an eerie surety. “My exceptional intellect has been unleashed. I see the future unfolding before me, a future defined by power and influence, with my augmented mind shaping the world.” Sterns paused, his intense gaze b into Natasha. “This illustrious future begins at this very moment.”

  Tyson tensed, ready to act should the peculiar man attempt to harm Natasha. But she showed no fear in the face of Sterns' grandiose cims.

  Samuel Sterns' gaze shifted, scrutinizing Natasha with a calg eye that seemed to peel back the yers of her being. "Assist me in gathering my work and eluding the authorities, and this radiant future will be yours as well, my little Russian darling," Sterns proposed, his words dripping with both e and manipution.

  Natasha's face registered a flicker of surprise at Sterns' bold proposition and his casual use of the intimate term of endearment. Uerred by her rea, Sterns pressed on eagerly, "The faint traces of your at have not escaped my notice. They reveal to me that you were born in Stalingrad, do they not?"

  His observation demonstrated not only his heightened powers of perception but also his ability to use personal details to attempt to sway others to his grand cause. Sterns' newfound fidend sense of destiny were palpable in his void bearing. His offer was clearly just one part of a rger, more ambitious pn he had devised for himself now that his intellect had been unleashed.

  And that fact was not lost on Natasha.

  In a moment as swift as it was ued, she smoothly pulled out her handgun. With a single practiced motion, she fired, the shot eg through the ruined b. The bullet tore through Sterns' kneecap and he colpsed to the floor with a howl, clutg his mangled leg as blood seeped between his fingers.

  Tyson raised an eyebrow, surprised by Natasha's swift, ruthless as. She justified her decision, "He's been transformed, and not for the better. His intellect makes him maniputive aive. A dangerous bination." Her pierg gaze shifted to Sterns, writhing in agony on the cold floor. "We 't risk him being out there with his capabilities and iions. The up crew will take care of him and all of this." She gestured around the ruined b, indig that Sterns and all evidence of his work would be handled by SHIELD.

  Tyshe logic behind Natasha's calcuted as. Though harsh, she had disabled a potential threat. He approached Sterns, his muscur frame and anding presence capturing the stist's attention from his throbbing wound. Steryson's distinct mismatched eyes. When Tyson spoke, his voice was backed by his power. "Heed me well. That's my Russian darling you tried to deceive." He jerked his towards Natasha. "Do not attempt to manipute her again. Do not speak beyond answering our questions."

  His words were not just a warning, but a and to proteatasha from further attempts at coer. Tyson's power and tone allowed no room for anything but plete obedience.

  "Now tell me about the thing that caused this destru," Tyson demanded.

  Sterns bliwice, still reeling from the shock of the gunshot and Tyson's illusion powers. Despite the pain ng through his leg, Sterns' supreme intellect was evident in his sharp gaze. Tyson could sehat Sterns artially resistant to his coer, the stist's mind too keen to be fully swayed. Regardless, while Tyson's knowledge of Marvel ics was far from extensive, he knew from his meta-knowledge that Sterns had bee The Leader. A vilin who was the terpart in intelligeo what the Hulk was in strength.

  Tyson's eyes darted to Natasha quickly. He repared to end Sterns if necessary. Leaving an unknown vilin to bite him in the ass ter was not on his list of things to do. He released his talons with a snikt ahem poised at Sterns' throat, repeating his and, "Tell me. Now."

  pelled by Tyson's unpromising stand perhaps realizing he would follow through with his lethal threat, Sterns began to speak. "That soldier came to me seeking power," he said. "He wanted what Banner had. It was evident he had already undergone some chemical modifications to his physiology."

  Stern's expnation painted a picture of a man driven by ruthless ambition, willing to take extreme risks in pursuit of power.

  "I've dohing wrong. I warned him of the potential sequences of using Banner's irradiated blood as a mutagen, but he remained adamant. Blonsky gave his informed sent before we proceeded with the procedure," he asserted, his gaze fixed steadily on Tyson and Natasha despite the cws at his throat. His words also revealed Sterhical detat, as a stist focused more on the relentless pursuit of knowledge with little thought for the moral implications. "Blonsky was well aware there was a ce he would bee an Abomination. A, I was assaulted with a deadly on." His accusation was clearly directed at Natasha, refereng her shooting him in the leg to disable him.

  Sterns' self-assured words only hardened Natasha's resolve. She maintained her firm stance, ret sharply, "Don’t make me shoot you iher leg." Her tone was like iron. The threat hung heavy in the air between them.

  Sterns g the gun still gripped tightly in Natasha's hand. Reizing the seriousness of her threat, he chose not to tinue arguing his supposed innoce.

  Iense silehat followed, the full reality of the threat posed by the Abomination crystallized in Natasha's mind. She khat this creature, born from Banner's blood and Blonsky's body mutated by a variation of the Super Soldier serum, represented a dahat could not be left unchecked. If Banner, a man of normal physical ability became the Hulk, what would a supersoldier bee? It was a votile bination, a monster created by sce without thought for the sequeurning to Tyson, she saw a glint of hardened resolve in his eye, indig his readio front the Abomination. He gave a subtle wink, a gesture of fidend assurance, but Natasha was immediately apprehensive.

  "You ’t go after it," Natasha argued, her voice ced with as she stepped closer. "If that thing was made from Banner’s blood, it's far too dangerous. We don't fully uand what we're dealing with."

  Tyson uood her fears but responded calmly, "I know the risks. But remember, I’m the oh the best ce of stopping the Abomination. My ability match its strength." His tone veyed both reassurand certainty.

  Natasha's breath caught ihroat as the weight of their predit settled upon her. Her analytical mind raced through sario after sario, calg the potential outes and risks associated with each course of a. Allowing the Abomination to rampage unchecked was simply not an option. It could inflitold damage and casualties in the densely poputed city. Yet the thought of Tyson fronting the beast head-on filled her with dread.

  As she stood there, Natasha was torn by flig impulses. The pragmatic agent in her hesitated to send her partner into the jaws of almost certain danger. But her heart, which had e to care for Tyson as more than just an ally, rebelled at the thought of putting him at such risk. She searched his face, seeing the steadfast determination in his stance coupled with a glimmer of in his eyes that betrayed his awareness of the peril he would soon face. Her mind drifted back to a harrowing memory from months earlier. She vividly recalled watg Tyson ehe Lizard in brutal bat. The se had left an indelible mark on her psyche. Particurly the heart-stopping instant when Tyson was struck by the Lizard's powerful tail a crashing violently into a nearby car. She hadn't known about his healing at the time. She had thought for certain that Tyson was dealt a fatal blow. The moment remaiched deeply into her memory. She had felt a sharp pang of failure at that moment, believing that she had utterly let down the brave young man who had shown sucredible ce against the rampaging creature.

  Sihat fateful day, Natasha's retionship with Tyson gradually evolved. Over time, they had grown closer, and Natasha came to fully prehend the true extent of Tyson's formidable physical strength and capabilities. But now, as she faced the stark prospect of sending him into battle against the nightmarish Abomination, seeds of doubt crept insidiously into her mind. She wondered, was even Tyson's power a true match for the monstrous creature born of Banner's mutated blood? She khat she herself was utterly helpless against the Abomination's devastating power, but Tyson was different. His unique abilities gave him a fighting ce, a atch the unstoppable creature that y far beyond her own reach.

  After a tense moment that seemed to stret infinitely, Natasha's sense of duty won out over her personal worries. With great reluce, she gave a single nod of sent. "Okay," she said, her voice taut with ay. "But please be careful."

  Though deeply worried for his safety, she khe gravity of the situation demanded a. With a heavy heart, she trusted Tyson, hoping it would be enough.

  As Tyson turo depart and front the Abomination, Natasha's eyes were filled with a plex torrent of powerful emotions. She felt lingering fear for his safety, fragile hope for his success, and above all, a deep sense of faith and trust in his extraordinary abilities.

  Meanwhile, Sterns y prone upon the hard ground, his keen intellect making him a silent but observant wito the iion unfolding before him. Despite the pain wrag his body and the disorienting shock of his situation, he closely watched the subtle dynamics between Tyson and Natasha, his razor-sharp mind calmly calg...

  — Rogue Rept —

  Tyson burst out of the building through the gaping hole the Abomination had smashed through mere minutes before. Immediately orienting himself, Tyson spotted the trail of utter devastation the monstrous creature had left in its wake and the musky st of the monster. Both were unmistakable.

  Sprinting down Broadway, Tyson took in the horrific aftermath of the Abomination's rampage. Vehicles of all shapes and sizes were strewn about like discarded toys. Some had been viciously crushed and crumpled nearly beynition, while others burned and smoldered, twisted metal skeletoing pilrs of greasy bck smoke. Storefronts along both sides of the street had been shattered, their tents vomited out onto the road in heaps of broken gss, debris, and merdise. The urban ndscape itself had been savagely rearranged. Streetlights and traffic signals y bent and snapped like fragile twigs, the crete, and asphalt underfoot gouged by deep furrows and craters where the Abomination had unleashed its terrible strength. ks of brid masonry from damaged buildings littered the area, f Tyson to use his agility to find a path. Despite the destru, car arms tio bre out their futile warnings, mingling with the distant wail of approag sirens. The air was choked with crete dust, limiting visibility and coating the se with a grim, hazy pall.

  Several blocks away, Tyson spotted the Abomination's unmistakable silhouette. Even at a distahe creature was a mountainous figure of pure menace. Without an instant's hesitation, Tyson broke into a full sprint, his own prodigious speed rapidly closing the distaween them.

  As Tyson drew o the rampaging behemoth, the se erupted into greater chaos. A military Humvee roared into view, firing a rocket directly at the Abomination. The creature snatched the speeding projectile right out of the air. Then, in a twisted parody of a frat bro crushing a beer , the Abomination smashed the live rocket against its head, detonating it harmlessly against its seemingly impervious skin. The explosion washed over the monster, who absorbed the impact as though it were nothing.

  The Humvee, already battered and damaged, reized the hopelessness of its attack. In a desperate bid to escape the Abomination's wrath, the vehicle jerked into reverse, tires screeg as it sped backward down Broadway in panicked retreat.

  The Abomination thundered after it in pursuit, flinging aside cars and debris easily. Vehicles were sent cartwheeling through the air, tossed aside like children's toys by the creature's overwhelming might. It was a surreal and nightmarish sight, watg the hulking Abomination stampede down the road, swatting anything in its path aside with casual indifference, as though brushing away is.

  Tyson withe chaos unfolding, and the wantoru this rampaging behemoth unleashed with each sweepiure. He uood the o stop Blonsky before the damage and loss of life grew more severe. The Abominatio only havod ruin in its wake. Steeling himself, Tyson spriowards the creature, prepared to front one of the most dangerous foes, aainly the stro, he had ever faced.

  The desperate chase through the streets ended as the Humvee, trying in vain to escape the pursuit of the rampaging Abomination, careened into a wall of abandoned vehicles. The soldiers ihe armored truck braced themselves, trapped with no way out, as the monster closed in.

  At that moment, a taxi cab ehe interse, the driver unaware of the unfolding situation. The car collided with the Abomination.

  Despite the impact, the creature was utterly unfazed. With a stomp of its gigantic foot, the Abomination crushed the taxi partially underfoot, the force sending the vehicle's back rising into the air. Grabbing the car as it rose, it hoisted the yellow cab over its head with terrifying ease.

  Its guttural voice echoed through the streets as it challenged, "Give me a real fight!"

  Holding the taxi high, the Abomination prepared to sm it down onto the helpless military vehicle, intending to crush the civilians ihin, and the soldiers in the Humvee, destroying both vehicles in a single, devastating blow.

  In an act of sheer audacity and bravery, and what Tyson knew was stupidity, he positioned himself directly in front of the trapped Humvee.

  As the taxi came crashing down. Tyson raised his hands, intercepting the vehicle in mid-air.

  Tyson stood locked in a tetle of strength…

  with the Abomination.

  The Abomination loomed over Tyson, using its colossal physical might to bear the taxi down on his challenger. Despite Tyson's superhuman strength, he was outmatched by the creature's monstrous force. Slowly, tauntingly, Tyson was driven down to one knee uhe immense weight and power.

  A cruel, mog ugh erupted from the Abomination's throat. "You're weak, but you might be fun for a few seds," it tauyson, its words dripping with malid dark amusement. The creature's eyes, filled with the promise of violence, locked onto Tyson's determined gaze. Maintaining eye tact, the Abomination's attention was momentarily drawn to Tyson's distinctive blue-green eyes. In that brief, entrang moment, Tyson seized his opening and enshe monster in his illusion. With a blink of his eyes, Tyson's illusory powers transformed the chaotic urban ndscape into a serene and surreal se.

  The taxi that the Abomination had been about to crush vanished, along with the surroundiru and the city itself. In their pce materialized an idyllic setting; a tranquil grassy field bordered by a lush, dense forest.

  fused and disoriented by the sudden, inexplicable ge of enviro, the Abomination lowered his massive hands and spun around, searg for clues.

  His eyes, filled with bewilderment and anger, sed the peaceful surroundings until they nded on the only ure in sight. The man he'd been about to crush now stood a distance away across the field. Though he appeared calm and posed, the man's appearance had ged dramatically. He now wore a striking bck robe embroidered with red clouds.

  Uo prehend the abrupt shift iy, the Abomination leaped towards the robed man in a single, powerful bound, closing the distaween them.

  Frustration and curiosity were evident in the beast's gravelly voice as he demanded, "Who are you?"

  Tyson stood fidently before the hulking, t figure of the Abomination. "They call me Mirage," he said.

  The Abomination snarled, rage and fusion simmering in its beady eyes. "They're going to call you dead," it growled.

  Drawing back its massive fist, the creature aimed a punch at Mirage with enough force to shatter crete. Tyson held his ground as the blow desded. The massive fist ected squarely with his face, but instead of crushing bone and sinew, it passed through. Tyson's figure dispersed into a flock of crows, leaving the Abomination stumbling forward. The crows swirled into the sky, merging and spinning in a bck vortex before coalesg once more upon the ground.

  The Abomination blinked in bewilderment as not one, but two identical Mirages now stood before it.

  "Stand still a me kill you!" the monster roared.

  It charged the twes, swinging its arms furiously, but each time it struly crows erupted from its blows. The birds reformed again as four calm Mirages, multiplying in the face of the creature's rage.

  In synized motion, Four identical figures of Mirage reached behind their backs, produg deadly kunai daggers. The Mirages began to encircle the Abomination, spreading out strategically to surround their massive foe. Then the ninjas charged as o was like watg a deadly chraphed dahe fures flowing around the Abomination as if they shared one mind. Each strike was timed perfectly to exploit vulnerabilities in the creature's defense.

  The Abomination responded with wild, powerful swings of its massive arms, attempting to bat away its adversaries. But the Mirages flowed around each blow evading the attacks effortlessly. Most of Abomination's strikes met empty air, finding no purchase as the nimble Mirages ducked and dodged each swipe. On the rare occasions when a blow did ect with one of the figures, they dispersed into a murder of crows, only to re-fain nearby.

  "You're a fly!" the Abomination bellowed in defiant rage. "Even a swarm of you 't harm me! I took a rocket to the face. What your little daggers do?"

  The boast died in its throat, transformed into a wheezing gasp. The Abomination's eyes went wide with shock as it staggered.

  A precise blow pierced its back straight through to the heart.

  Dark blood dripped from its sck jaw as the mighty Abomination sank to its knees. He colpsed to the ground, a gaping hole in his back marked the blow that had peed his seemingly unbreakable defenses.

  — Rogue Rept —

  The Abomination released its hold oaxi as it turned and leaped away, trapped in Tyson's illusion. Its release left the vehicle's full weight in Tyson's hands. Kneelih the yellow cab, he found that without the creature bearing down, he could mas weight easily.

  Tyson called to the stunned soldiers he'd saved within the Humvee, "Get out of here, now!" The firm order she soldiers back to reality. Still reeling from the shock of the enter and their ued savior, the soldiers scrambled from their battered vehicle without hesitation. Eager to distahemselves from the behemoth, they took off in the opposite dire.

  The Abomination, meanwhile, stood disoriented, attag invisible foes.

  Tyson wove misdire and manipution. The Abomination relied on straightforward brute force, but that was useless here. Each attack was unbeknownst to the creature, directed only at the empty street. Tyson turhe tide seamlessly, shifting the fight from a physical frontation to a mental battle. The Abomination was outmatched, its anger and power useless against the illusions.

  It was the mouse and Tyso, his prey ensnared in an inescapable trap.

  With the immediate threat under trol, Tyson shifted his focus to the taxi driver's safety. Gently, he lowered the battered cab to the ground, allowing the man to escape the twisted fines of the vehicle.

  Tyson approached the Abomination. Within his vision, he saw the grassy field and forest he had jured overid over the cracked crete and abandoned cars oreet. He was the master of the illusion, allowing him to navigate both worlds at once.

  The Abomination was lost in Tyson's illusory Mirages. Frustration boiled over into defiant rage and he bellowed, "You're a fly! Even a swarm of you 't harm me! I took a rocket to the face. What your little daggers do?"

  Tyson, behind the oblivious behemoth, uhed his adamantium cws. He drove both sets of talons into the Abomination's exposed back. The iructible adamantium pierced through skin, muscle, and bone before peing the Abomination's chest in a spray of dark blood.

  The Abomination's arrogant shouts transformed into a gurgling gasp. Shock flooded the creature's face as he sank to his knees, sck-jawed with Tyson's cws still buried deep in his back. The once mighty foe colpsed, the gaping wounds in its back marked where the adamantium had peed its seemingly impregnable defenses.

  He was raised in a small, unremarkable town in Engnd. As soon as he was old enough, he joihe Royal Marines. He thrived uhe rigorous demands of military life, his body and mind honed into instruments of bat and strategy. His skills and dedication did not go unnoticed, and soon he was offered a promotion to el. However, the prospect of a desk job, removed from the a and the front lines, held no appeal for him. He refused the promotion, choosing io remain where he felt he belonged; ihick of the fight, leading his men from the front. He became involved in bissions. These covert operations took him to the darkest ers of the world, where the rules of e were blurred. The danger was stant, but so was the thrill. But the thrill of bat and the satisfa of a mission aplished began to wane. He was aging, his body uo keep up with his drives. He started to crave more power, more strength, a way to push his limits beyond the natural capabilities of his body. He met General Ross who gave him a ce to beore than a soldier, a super soldier. But even so, he couldn’t defeat the monster. He needed more strength. It was this relentless pursuit of strength that made him coerce Dr. Sterns to use the monster’s blood to push him past human limitations, making him an Abomination.

  Tyson underwent a dramatic transformation. His muscles were the first to morph, swelling rapidly as they expao expoial size ay. Tearing through his clothing, each muscle group bulged and rippled, being more pronounced and powerful. His skin toughened into a thick, resilieure, while his adamantium skeletal structure adapted to support the increased mass. Tyson's height shot up as his bones lengthened and thied, reshaping his physique into an imposing, formidable form that towered over even the hulking Abomination.

  Tyson's features grew med, embodying the ferocity of his new form. His jawline hardened, and his teeth sharpened into animalistic points. His eyes, which had always been one of his most distinctive features, now glowed with an intense, fierergy.

  With staggering strength, Tyson grasped the Abomination's rapidly beati. He flexed his powerful muscles and forcefully pulled his cwed hands from the creature's ba a shower of viscera.

  Mortally wouhe monstrous being stumbled and fell heavily to its knees. It teetered there briefly before colpsing face-first onto the pavement with a resounding thud. The Abomination y unmoving, bleeding out oreet.

  Tyson stood victorious over the Abomination, the creature's heart still in his hand.

  The hulking monstrosity began to shrink. As its mass dwindled, it reverted to the human form of Emil Blonsky. The gaping hole in its back closed as it transformed.

  Tyson snatched up Blonsky's limp body in one massive hand and tossed him carelessly into the backseat of an abandoned car oreet. Gripping the sedan in both hands, Tysoed it overhead. He tensed his legs and leaped skyward, each bound propelling him high and c immense distances. After three such titanic leaps that left craters in the crete below, Tyson nded with ah-shaking thud amidst the campus grounds of Greyburn College. With a grunt, he released his hold on the car, dropping it heavily to the pavement where it nded with an ear-splitting crash of metal and gss.

  — Rogue Rept —

  The SHIELD up team had arrived on the se, handling the situation with Dr. Sterns and the critical blood samples of Bruce Banner. Natasha had just stepped out of the building when a startling se unfolded in the ter of the Greyburn College campus.

  From the night sky, a hulking figure desded with ah-shaking thud. The creature held a crumpled car aloft, its metal frame creaking and groaning. With a grunt, it released its grip, dropping the mangled vehicle to the pavement where it crashed in a bang of metal and shattering gss. A limp body was thrown about inside like a ragdoll before ing to rest.

  Natasha's heart sank at the sight. Her mind raced to the worst possible clusion.

  Tyson had failed.

  The Abomination prevailed. Fear gripped her, w if Tyson was dead.

  Nearby soldiers reacted on instinct, opening fire on the beast. Their bullets seemed iive, barely marring the creature's thick hide. It turo face them, unfazed by the barrage. But as its head swiveled, Natasha's sharp eyes caught a distinctive feature that ged everything. The creature's eyes glowed in the darkness, one azure blue and the other emerald green.

  At the sight of the beast's mismatched eyes, Natasha's mind reeled. In an instant, the truth dawned on her.

  That was not the Abomination.

  The hulking creature before them was Tyson, transformed. He must have made tact with his monstrous foe, taking on its horrific appearance. Relief washed over Natasha, followed by .

  The soldiers nearby tiheir pointless guheir bullets ricocheted off Tyson's thick hide.

  Natasha acted quickly, raising her voice. "Hold your fire!" she anded.

  To her surprise, the soldiers plied, their gunfire ceasing abruptly. Perhaps her authority gave them pause or the futility of their as finally sank in. Whatever the reason, their pliance gave Natasha the opening she desperately needed.

  With the threat of friendly fire eliminated, Natasha cautiously approached Tyson. She moved with her hands raised in a peaceful gesture. He towered over her, but Natasha showed no fear. She stopped a safe distance away, her eyes locked onto his. She sought to vey trust and reassurance. Her voice was ge firm as she addressed the man within the monster.

  "Hey, big guy," she called, "I know you're in there. This isn't you. The fighting is over. You've do. You stopped the threat."

  She took a small step forward, hands still raised. "You've saved everyone here. But I need you to e back. I he real you, not this creature."

  Natasha's voice was soothing and hypnotic. "Remember who you are, deep down. You're not a monster. You're a hero. You help people."

  "Look at me. Foy voice. You're in trol here, not the monster." Moving closer with slow steps, Natasha maintained her calming presence. "I know you fight this. You're strohan you realize. e back to us now. e bae. I know you're still in there."

  Her voice dropped to a murmur. She was close now, close enough to touch him. "Je pense que je pourrais t'aimer aussi."

  As Natasha's words reached Tyson, he slowly sank to his knees before her. Gradually, almost imperceptibly, the grotesque, rown muscles bulging uyson's skin began to wither. The thick, resilient hide stretched taut over his frame returo its inal humaure and tone. His t height diminished as he shrank back to his familiar size. The hardened features of his face rexed and reformed into their human shape. The wild glow faded from his eyes as the st traces of the transformatio him.

  Kneeling before Natasha, Tyson was himself again. Seeing the maurn from the depths of his monstrous state, Natasha immediately stepped forward and ed her arms around him in a fierce, f embrace. Her hug veyed relief, support, and care as she enveloped Tyson in the warmth of her presenatasha held him close reassuring him that he was no longer alone in his struggle and that someone uood and cared for him. In that embrace, she veyed her relief at his return to humanity, and her unwavering support.

  Tyson, still kneeling, looked up at Natasha. He fshed a grin, his eyes glinting with mischief. "I was in trol the whole time, you know," he remarked cheekily.

  Natasha rolled her eyes, though the quirk of her lips betrayed her amusement. "Of course you were," she replied dryly.

  Tyson's expression softehen, turning ear. "But it was o hear you say that you love me," he added in a gentle voice.

  Though she ofte casual, Natasha could not hide the affe in her gaze as she looked at him. The words had slipped out unbidden in a moment of relief and raw emotion. Voig it aloud made it real in a way that pierced her usual posure.

  Behind The Ses

  - Tyson's illusions made his defeat of the Abomination easy. In all my research I didn't see anything that would allow Abomination to resist psionifluehe Hulk is a bit different, there are instances of Hulk being trolled, but also instances of his rage allowing him to shake the trol and rampage as usual. Tyson was defeated by Loki by a bad matchup. Here, we see Tysohe Abomination fairly easily for the same reason.

  - Natasha spoke in French because it was the one nguage she knew from her research that Tyson and Blonsky absorbed from Sabertooth, but Blonsky didn't speak. Tyson and Blonsky both knew English and Russian. It was her way to reach him. Please excuse my transtion if it isn't correct, English is my only nguage.

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