[Bonus chap!]
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Abomination let out a muffled snort, a trickle of blood spilling from the corner of his mouth.
A massive force pressed down on his chest, but instead of fear or pain, all he felt was seething rage.
He refused to bow.
"Bastard, I'll kill you! I'll tear you to pieces!" Abomination snarled, his claws reaching for Ethan's shoulder, ready to rip him apart.
But when he pulled with all his might, all he managed was a small tear in Ethan's shirt.
Abomination's eyes widened.
He couldn't even scratch Ethan's skin, let alone rip him in half.
'What was this guy fucking made of?'
Frustrated, Abomination abandoned the idea of breaking Ethan and opted to hurl him away instead.
But when he tried to lift him, nothing happened.
His heart pounded.
It felt like Ethan was an Adamantium nail driven into the earth, completely immovable.
Ethan smirked. "Looks like you can't kill me."
"But I can kill you!" Ethan's foot rose and came crashing down onto Abomination's chest.
BOOM!
The ground trembled violently, sending out a shockwave that shattered windows for blocks.
The crater beneath Abomination deepened, the street collapsing another few meters.
Abomination let out a choked gasp, coughing up blood.
Even Hulk's punches hadn't broken his ribs, yet now most of them were shattered.
A clear footprint was embedded in his chest.
Ethan's own shoe had been destroyed from the sheer force, a sign of his still-developing control over his power.
If he was more precise with his vector manipulation, even stronger attacks wouldn't have ruined his footwear.
But right now, he didn't care about a pair of shoes—he only cared about making this bastard pay.
Abomination stared at Ethan in horror.
He had always considered himself a monster, but now, looking at Ethan, he felt like he was staring at something even worse—a monster wrapped in human skin, something more terrifying than himself.
A sickening crack filled the air.
Abomination's ribs were already healing, the fractures knitting together.
But it wasn't just simple regeneration—Ethan could feel it.
His skin was hardening, forming something tougher, like a natural armor plating over his chest.
Abomination's fear faded as his confidence returned.
He grinned, laughing wildly. "That's it? That's all you've got? You can't kill me! No one can kill Abomination!"
Ethan chuckled coldly, sending a chill down Abomination's spine. "Oh? Who said that's all I can do?"
He glanced at the deep crater below them, seemingly talking to himself.
"The ground should be hard enough."
Abomination's eyes widened in realization.
Normally, the streets felt no different from soft mud to someone like him.
But this wasn't normal. The sheer force of Ethan's attacks had already compressed the soil beneath them into a solid rock-like layer, far tougher than any concrete.
And Ethan wasn't done yet.
"No!" Abomination shouted in panic.
Ethan's foot rose again. "Die."
He brought it down with raw, devastating power.
An explosion-like sound tore through the street.
Dust and debris shot out like a shockwave.
Cracks raced up the nearby buildings, too weak to withstand the overwhelming force, and many began to collapse.
BOOM!
Fire hydrants burst from the street, water spraying in all directions, creating what looked like a torrential downpour over the ruined battlefield.
At the center of it all, Abomination lay broken.
Blood and chunks of his organs spewed from his mouth.
His chest had caved in entirely.
Every bone in his body was shattered, leaving him little more than a pile of crushed flesh, barely resembling the monster he had once been.
His regeneration was formidable, but he wasn't Deadpool, nor was he Wolverine.
This much damage meant only one thing—death.
Ethan didn't spare him another glance.
He turned and walked away, letting the falling water wash over him as he approached Ms. Emma.
"What happened?" he demanded, his jaw clenched as he saw Katie unconscious in Emma's arms, her body pale from blood loss.
Emma held the girl tightly, eyes red with unshed tears.
She didn't respond, but Ethan didn't need an answer.
He looked toward the orphanage, instantly understanding.
Hulk had deflected the two cars Abomination had thrown earlier, protecting Emma and the children.
But one of those cars had crashed into Katie's room.
Ethan's hands curled into fists.
Behind him, heavy footsteps approached.
He didn't need to turn around to know who it was.
Hulk stood a few feet away, his massive form still.
As soon as he had finished saving Betty and Ross, he had rushed back—only to find the battle already over.
He stood silently, his expression unusually complex. He had always known his fights led to destruction, to injuries, to death.
But knowing was one thing.
Seeing a young girl bleeding out before him was another.
This wasn't his fault. He had been forced into this situation.
Yet from the moment he became General Ross's lab rat to now, everything had spiraled beyond his control.
He had been used, hunted, and manipulated, and all it had brought was suffering.
He opened his mouth as if to say something, but no words came. Frustrated, he shook his head and turned to leave.
"Wait." Ethan's voice was sharp as he turned, his gaze ice-cold.
"I know you can hear me, Bruce Banner."
Hulk paused.
His power was tied to his anger, but reason still lingered within him.
Especially now—after his recent experiments to suppress the Hulk, his control had weakened his rage but strengthened his consciousness.
That's why he had been able to save Betty and Ross.
Right now, Bruce Banner wasn't entirely gone.
Ethan took a step forward. "I get it. Controlling the monster inside you isn't easy. But listen carefully—if I ever see you lose control again, I'll make sure you suffer just as much."
Hulk froze, turning to face Ethan.
For a brief moment, the wildness in his eyes faded, replaced by something human.
Bruce Banner's voice, rough and weary, emerged from within the beast.
"Thank you-Th-Then I'll lea-leave it up to you when that happens."
Then, just as quickly as it had come, the human side vanished.
Hulk growled, turned, and ran, pounding down the street in self-imposed exile.
Within seconds, he was gone.
"Ethan, quickly find a way to get her to a hospital, or Katie won't make it!" Emma's voice was thick with urgency.
"It's too late." Staring at Katie's pallid face, Ethan knew she had less than thirty minutes.
The streets were in chaos, blocked off due to the battle between the Hulk and the Abomination.
Sure, he could take her to the hospital with his speed, but that kind of force would kill her instantly.
His only option was emergency treatment, right here, right now.
He turned his focus to the jagged, rusted iron lodged in Katie's abdomen.
"Hold her steady," he instructed, looking at Emma.
She nodded, wrapping her arms around Katie to keep her still.
Taking a deep breath, Ethan gripped the metal and yanked it out in one swift motion.
A burst of crimson gushed out, but before the blood could escape, Ethan pressed his other hand to the wound.
'Reverse Vector!' He activated his ability.
The blood reversed its flow, rushing back into her body as if time itself had rewound.
Through his precise control, he redirected the blood safely into her veins.
But he knew this was only a temporary fix.
Even though he avoided forcing blood back into her heart—preventing fatal damage—the unnatural circulation he created would tear her blood vessels apart in mere seconds.
That small window of time was all he needed.
Ethan carefully studied the wound, analyzing the severed arteries and veins.
As he deactivated his ability, the blood no longer spurted wildly but instead trickled gently, forming a natural connection with the remaining vessels.
With meticulous control over the vectors, he reconstructed a functioning circulatory path where there was none.
But the danger wasn't over yet.
The real threat wasn't just blood loss—it was infection.
The jagged iron was coated in rust, and even a tiny amount left inside could lead to deadly complications.
A minor scrape from a rusty nail could cause tetanus.
This? This was far worse.
A hospital could try to remove the contamination, but even with modern surgical tools, it would be nearly impossible to extract every fragment of rust.
But what a doctor couldn't do, Ethan could.
Every object in the world was in motion, and motion meant kinetic energy.
That energy shaped his understanding of reality.
He placed his hand on Katie, extending his perception.
In his mind, her body became a world of movement—her heart's steady beat, the faint contractions of her stomach, and the unwanted fragments of rust drifting through her bloodstream.
The rust stood out from the rest of her body, an unnatural invader.
Guiding her blood with absolute precision, he manipulated its flow to flush out the foreign particles.
His forehead was damp with sweat.
His powers had always been a force of destruction—undoing, breaking, shattering.
But now, he was using them to save a life.
Reversing blood flow?
Simple. It only took a thought.
But isolating and removing microscopic contaminants?
That demanded everything he had.
Five agonizing minutes passed.
Finally, dark flecks of rust trickled out along with a small amount of blood.
He had done it—or at least, as much as he could.
Infection was still a risk, but he had bought Katie a fighting chance.
As he exhaled in relief, a voice called out behind him.
"My friend, I'm Agent Phil Coulson, Level Seven with S.H.I.E.L.D."
Ethan turned his head, and Coulson instinctively stepped back, eyes wide with alarm.
Beside him, Melinda May's reaction was even sharper—she had already drawn her gun, aiming it directly at Ethan.
Despite their extensive training, the two veteran agents had never seen anything like this.
The Abomination had been a nearly unstoppable force.
And yet, it now lay crushed in a crater, defeated by a single man.
The scene they had just witnessed was so far beyond comprehension that fear was the only rational response.
"Coulson, it's me. Ethan." He pulled down his mask just enough for Coulson to see his face.
Coulson's expression shifted from fear to pure disbelief. "Ethan... my God, this is... I mean... it's really you."
"I'll go with you," Ethan stated firmly. "I'll cooperate. But on one condition—save her." He gently brushed a strand of Katie's hair from her face.
Coulson hesitated for only a moment before nodding.
A small smile flickered across his lips as he signaled for May to lower her weapon.
Ethan's power was staggering, far exceeding expectations.
But his request proved something important: he wasn't just powerful—he had a heart.
...
"Director Fury," Coulson said into his comms.
"Coulson, glad to hear you're still breathing." Fury's voice came through, sounding—was that relief?
It seemed Fury had been watching the whole battle unfold via satellite.
And after seeing Ethan take down the Abomination, he probably wasn't sure whether sending Coulson in was brilliance or insanity.
"Sir, that's not what I want to hear," Coulson muttered, rolling his eyes.
Great.
His boss had basically sent him on a suicide mission.
No, when he got back, he was definitely pushing his request for a Level Eight promotion.
He deserved it after this.
Fury, sensing Coulson's frustration, changed the subject. "Do you need backup?"
"Yes, sir. I need a Quinjet with a medical team onboard, stat. And find me the best trauma surgeon available within ten minutes. We've got a critical patient here."
As soon as Coulson finished, he handed the communicator to May.
She stepped away, likely reporting the containment details for the Abomination.
Ethan didn't care about that.
"Thank you," he said quietly, head lowered.
"No. We should be thanking you." Coulson's tone was sincere.
"You took down that monster. You saved New York. No matter how the higher-ups spin this, to me, you're a hero."
Ethan smirked. "Funny, considering you were just so terrified you could barely talk."
Coulson opened his mouth, hesitated, then just sighed in defeat. "Look, anyone who saw what you did back there—"
Ethan chuckled, shaking his head. "Relax, Coulson. I get it."
Coulson let out a short laugh, too. "Last time we met, things ended a little abruptly. Maybe this time, we can actually talk."
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Word count: 2050