◉◉◉◉◉
Hulk tightened the heavy iron chain around Abomination's neck, pulling with raw, violent force. The metal groaned as Abomination clawed desperately at it, trying to pry it off.
But Hulk's strength was overwhelming.
Even when bone spikes shot out from Abomination's back and pierced into Hulk's chest, the green titan didn't flinch. He planted his feet deep into the cracked pavement, refusing to let go.
Abomination, fueled by survival instinct, lifted Hulk off the ground and slammed him into a nearby building. Two enormous bodies crashed through concrete walls and into terrified civilians hiding inside their homes.
Tony prepared to intervene only to watch dark silhouettes blur through the dust.
The Shadow Legion appeared, yanking civilians out of danger with surgical precision.
"Where the hell are these black-suited guys coming from?" Tony muttered.
"Unknown," JARVIS replied, scanning them. "But body proportions, height, and uniforms appear identical. Minimal variation across the group."
Tony's eyes narrowed at one figure in particular Mintar.
"So everything leads back to the mask guy," he said.
Sylas felt Tony staring and gave him a polite nod before returning to save more civilians.
At one point, Abomination's wild punch nearly killed a little girl Sylas blinked across the street, cutting into the path and lifting her out of danger just in time.
Tony watched this closely.
"…Even I'm starting to believe this isn't the same guy who robbed me," Tony admitted.
JARVIS projected a comparison hologram between Tāra (Sylas' Sin persona) and Mintar's current mask.
"Sir, physical measurements match with 100% accuracy. Only the mask differs."
Tony groaned. "Great. Either he's lying, or he's really good at improv."
He stepped forward, landing on the battlefield.
Repulsors hummed, palms lighting up.
"Everyone DOWN!"
Civilians ducked.
Twin beams erupted from Tony's palms one aimed at Abomination, one at Hulk.
Seeing the blast coming, Hulk roared and heaved Abomination upward, using him as a shield.
"No—!" Abomination widened his eyes as the golden laser burned into his torso.
"JARVIS, more power."
"Yes, sir."
Tony's palms flared white-hot.
Full-power lasers turned the street into a miniature furnace temperature spiking, air shimmering.
Abomination shrieked as his body began disintegrating under the blast.
CRACK!
The chain melted. Hulk lost his leverage, stumbled, then leapt backward to avoid the heat.
He glanced toward a helicopter overhead, glaring at someone inside… then bounded away, leaving the scorched battlefield behind.
When the light faded, half of Abomination's upper body had turned to black ash, frozen mid-kneel.
Tony's armor smoked. His repulsor ports glowed red-hot.
He deployed a coolant vent, releasing a burst of freezing vapor over his hands.
"Yeah… that test was a disaster," he muttered.
"At full output, your armor cannot sustain stable power flow," JARVIS confirmed.
Tony rolled his eyes. "Thanks, I noticed."
He looked up at Sylas on a rooftop.
"Hey, spectator! You owe me ticket money!"
Sylas tilted his head. "So you're an actor now?"
"No, I do charity work," Tony said dryly. "Speaking of charity what's in your mask? Those laser eyes earlier weren't natural."
Sylas replied smoothly, "Built-in equipment."
It was the perfect cover. That way, when he used his Pig Talisman laser vision under his Tāra persona, Tony wouldn't see it as a contradiction.
Tony's shoulder-mounted projector fired a hologram onto the wall.
Sylas leaned forward.
The image was unmistakable him wearing his Tāra mask.
"Tāra…" Sylas murmured internally, already forming a lie.
Tony frowned. "Tāra?"
Sylas nodded. "Leader of the Shadow Legion. I left the organization recently… disagreements."
Tony nodded slowly. "Interesting. And those identical body shapes? Care to explain?"
"Our uniforms regulate shadow density. Makes all of us look similar and harder to identify."
Tony raised a brow. "So if that big green guy wore it, he'd look like you?"
Sylas shrugged. "Only works if the wearer is within a certain range of size."
Tony crossed his arms. "Alright then. Ever heard that your so-called leader stole something from a very respectable gentleman?"
"No," Sylas said. "But Tāra did mention stealing something shiny and red."
"Respectable gentleman? It's Iron Man. You can say it." Tony huffed.
Sylas ignored him and waved casually. "Goodbye."
"Wait! Name?" Tony called out.
"Mintar."
Sylas opened a swirling black rift, the entrance to the Shadow Realm, and slipped into it.
Tony just stood there, stunned.
"What was that, JARVIS?"
"No known equivalent. Not magic, not tech. Unknown phenomenon."
Tony smirked beneath his helmet.
"Mintar, huh? I'll remember you. And I'll be expecting a sequel."
He lifted off toward the city skyline.
---
"This ability is insane!" Sylas grinned, reappearing in his room.
Dimensional travel.
Instant escapes.
Perfect dual identity.
No one could track him anymore.
In the shadows, the Shadow Legion raised their hands in a synchronized bow.
◉◉◉◉◉
~Support with 200 PowerStones = 1 Bonus Chapter
◉◉◉◉◉
For early access to advanced chapters on P-atreon:
P-atreon/iamxeno
(Just remove the - hyphen to access Patreon normally)
Thank you so much for your support and for reading!