Chapter 15: A Mental Breakdown
"This strange appearance does indeed resemble the Deviants."
Sersi, the Eternal with the ability to control energy, was the one who had notified Ikaris. She was now repeatedly watching the video that had been uploaded online. By her estimation, Ikaris, who was already in North America, should have flown to the scene by now.
To be honest, making a public appearance in modern society would easily cause trouble. After all, the last time they had exterminated the Deviants was back in the sixteenth century.
In the past, they could act without restraint and not attract global attention. After a few decades, their existence would be forgotten.
But that was no longer possible with all kinds of recording devices.
And yet, the Deviants, who fed exclusively on humanity and should have been wiped out by them long ago, had inexplicably reappeared?
"The Celestials bestowed life upon us, so we must use our lives to carry out their will—to protect humanity from the Deviants. I hope Ikaris can quickly confirm whether these never-before-seen things are Deviants."
Sersi was still unaware that the lover she trusted, harboring some indescribable mentality, had crudely defined Du Wa and initiated a fierce battle.
But she soon found out, her eyes wide as she watched the intense confrontation between the two figures causing immense destruction online.
...
"The current situation is very clear: a man of unknown origin flew to New York at ten times the speed of sound and is confronting Du Wa for unknown reasons."
Fury pointed at the image projected by the satellite, his expression blank, his face frighteningly dark. "The energy-monitoring satellite shows that this person has an extremely astonishing energy signature. Where on Earth did this superhuman come from?"
As the spymaster, he was always prepared to deal with any emergency, but he absolutely detested any unexpected factors.
Soon, a factor that was even more unexpected, even shocking, appeared.
From the shattered laboratory that Abomination had walked out of, another imposing figure emerged.
"Abomination? He's teamed up with Du Wa?" Beside him, Hill was very surprised, but she quickly realized her mistake.
That guy wasn't Abomination.
The satellite AI was performing computations in real-time. Although the perspective was limited, the result it provided was clear: based on body type, this strong individual was clearly a size smaller than Abomination—a "smaller brute."
"This is a Xenomorph." Dum Dum Dugan was silent for a moment, his voice a little hoarse. "Maybe I'm misremembering? Abomination, after being injured by the Hulk, returned to this laboratory, perhaps seeking the origin of his transformation. In the end, what came out wasn't Abomination, but a... Xenomorph... that looked extremely similar to Abomination?"
The few people present were all seasoned top agents, but at this moment, they all fell silent. The profound implications of this brief footage were horrifying and utterly unbelievable, shattering their fundamental understanding of the world and of life forms.
Could things really be as they imagined?
"If that's really the case, then it's understandable why Du Wa engaged Abomination before we could," Coulson, who had also rushed over, said in a low voice, his brow furrowed with unprecedented gravity.
Soon, they saw the mysterious man, for some reason, try to attack Du Wa, only to be intercepted by the strong Xenomorph resembling Abomination, and a battle erupted on the spot.
Everywhere the man and the Xenomorph passed, buildings were battered beyond recognition. Sturdy structures made of reinforced concrete were as fragile as paper before them.
It was an absolute clash of violence, a brutal exchange where every punch landed. There was no defense whatsoever; they seized every opportunity to attack, just to land one more blow on each other!
Brute force was all they needed.
The bloody and brutal confrontation made Fury and the others frown deeply, remaining silent for a long time.
The level of destruction was heart-stopping.
Especially Du Wa. If he had really used some mysterious method to take Abomination's power to create a new Xenomorph…
"I originally thought he was a minor player who just needed close surveillance, but I never expected him to be such a dangerous shark."
Fury broke the silence. "He used us. He took this opportunity to obtain a Xenomorph of absurd strength."
"Boss, I get the feeling that this new Xenomorph is much stronger than Abomination, and it's still getting stronger. How long has it been? It's gotten more muscular, and its strength seems to be gradually catching up to that mysterious man. It's almost like..."
"Hulk," Fury said. "One of our theories is very likely to be reality. Combined with the instance of Du Wa capturing several vampires alive, we can already draw a preliminary conclusion. We just don't know the specific method he uses to allow the Xenomorph to obtain the power of different life forms."
"It can only be one of a few scenarios: surgical organ transplantation, devouring, or genetic stripping. But all of these require time. From the moment Du Wa made his move on Abomination until now, how much time has passed?" Coulson wracked his brains but couldn't figure it out.
"Raise Du Wa's classification level. Increase it by... four levels. He warrants our utmost attention and caution," Fury ordered.
Did a creature that could seize power and then grow at an exaggerated rate truly exist?
Everyone at S.H.I.E.L.D. had underestimated Du Wa. In this event, they had been played by him, becoming nothing more than a backdrop for the rise of a new, formidable power.
The feeling was bitter.
But Du Wa was in an incomparably cheerful mood. He watched the two figures' intense clash from a distance, feeling extremely gratified.
Initially, the newly born Abomination Xenomorph was indeed at a disadvantage, often having to take many punches before getting an opportunity to land a claw on Ikaris.
But as time went on, the Abomination Xenomorph's terrifying potential was revealed. This Xenomorph was born from seizing Abomination's prime genes—to put it bluntly, the Hulk's genes!
The more it battled, the angrier it became. The angrier it became, the stronger it grew!
This exaggerated power-up was so unbelievable that even Ikaris found it inconceivable. They had only exchanged a few rounds, yet this Deviant, as he perceived it, was already able to fight him on even terms!
His fists no longer had any effect. Firing his Heat Vision could at most scorch the Abomination Xenomorph's metallic exoskeleton but couldn't harm it internally.
Ikaris's only advantage was... he could fly!
He refused to believe this thing in front of him could evolve a pair of wings on the spot!
"I don't care what you are. Since you're willing to fight for that human, I'll just kill him!"
A vicious glint flashed in Ikaris's eyes. He threw a punch into the Abomination Xenomorph's chest, knocking it back, and immediately followed up with a blast of Heat Vision. He was about to fly high into the sky, abandoning the Abomination Xenomorph to kill Du Wa.
The Xenomorph was so powerful, but Du Wa, as its controller, didn't necessarily possess the same level of combat power. He could be stronger, or he could be weaker.
But the Abomination Xenomorph possessed powerful combat instincts. It couldn't fly, but relying on its thick thighs and powerful tail, it leaped up, charging straight for Ikaris. It grabbed Ikaris's thigh with its massive hand, yanked him down from the sky, and swiped its claws, tearing through Ikaris's battle suit and leaving behind bloody gashes.
When powerful life forms clash, once they become familiar with each other's strength, they are essentially fighting with their cards on the table. Ikaris wanted to escape, but was repeatedly thwarted.
The more he fought, the more Ikaris's composure shattered. He was even injured!
He had been willing to risk exposure to billions of humans just to silence his target, hoping to use the Deviants as a trump card for his own benefit, and this was the result?
"I can't fight anymore. Even if I manage to win against this damned thing, it's pointless now."
Ikaris gritted his teeth. After this battle, he also realized that this creature didn't seem to be a Deviant after all. Its changes in form were normal muscle expansion and skeletal shifts, fundamentally different from the Deviants' method of converting energy into their bodies.
What was worse, it was obvious that the handful of individuals with astonishing strength on Earth had now officially taken notice of him and the Eternals behind him.
"Enough! This ends now! They are definitely not Deviants!" Ikaris roared loudly.
"Well said. I've also confirmed one thing: you are the vile Deviant, the mortal enemy of all humanity!" Du Wa's righteously indignant voice rang out.
(end of chapter)