As Iron Man raced down the building, I had already transformed into my form as Captain Marvel. Wielding the power of Shazam, I wasted no time making my way down the tower, speeding toward the ongoing battle.
The moment I arrived at the scene, I was greeted by a rather spectacular sight. Hulk had grabbed the Xenophage by two of its whip-like tails and was swinging the creature around with enough force to make its entire body almost blur through the air. With one final, powerful twist, he slammed its head into the side of a nearby building, sending chunks of concrete scattering before hurling the beast straight through a window and out into the night sky.
"Now, that's a home run." I let out a low whistle, genuinely impressed by the sheer force behind the throw.
Unfortunately, my little commentary seemed to catch Hulk's attention. The green behemoth turned toward me, his eyes blazing with unrestrained fury as a thunderous roar erupted from his throat.
There were fresh scratches across his body, but even as I watched, the wounds began to close, his skin knitting itself back together as though the damage had never occurred. His expression only grew more ferocious, and the way he glared at me left little room for interpretation.
Whatever had happened between him and the Xenophage, Hulk had no intention of letting anyone else interfere.
Apparently satisfied that he'd made himself clear, he bent his knees and launched himself into the air, following the trajectory of his unfortunate prey.
"Okay... that wasn't disturbing at all." I couldn't help but quip, watching him disappear into the night.
Can you really blame me? That had been my first actual encounter with the Hulk, and those few seconds of eye contact had been more than enough to leave an impression.
There had been nothing but raw, unfiltered rage in his eyes. Not a hint of Bruce Banner. It was as though the man had been buried so deep beneath all that fury that nothing short of a miracle could bring him to the surface.
Still, I didn't have the luxury of standing around and contemplating the psychological implications of what I'd just witnessed. The fight was far from over, and considering what we'd already seen the Xenophage survive, I wasn't about to assume Hulk had things under control simply because he'd managed to throw it out of a window.
I took to the air and followed them, keeping a reasonable distance between myself and the two combatants. I had no immediate intention of jumping into the middle of their fight, especially when Hulk seemed more than happy to handle things himself. Besides, I wanted to see just how much of a threat this beefed looking Xenophage really posed to someone like him.
I didn't have to wait long for my answer.
A piercing shriek tore through the night, echoing between the surrounding buildings as the Xenophage righted itself in midair. Its whip-like tails lashed violently behind it, the jagged spikes protruding along their lengths catching the faint glow of the city lights.
The creature's entire body seemed to tense as it turned toward its pursuer, its maw opening to reveal rows of vicious fangs. Whatever restraint it might have shown earlier was gone. It was done playing around.
Hulk closed the distance in an instant.
His fist connected with the Xenophage's body in a brutal, bone-rattling impact that sent a shockwave through the surrounding air. Judging by the sheer force behind that punch, it's predecessor we'd fought earlier would probably have been sent flying several blocks away, assuming there'd been enough of it left to fly in the first place.
This one, however, barely budged.
The Xenophage absorbed the blow, its body recoiling only slightly before its spiked tails snapped forward with startling speed. Two of them whipped across Hulk's chest, their sharpened protrusions tearing into his skin with enough force to leave deep, bloody gashes.
Hulk staggered, one foot slipping backward as the impact forced him off balance. Before he could retaliate, the creature's tails shot out again, moving with precise movements that was frankly unsettling.
They coiled around his torso and limbs, winding tightly around his body until his arms were pinned against his sides. Hulk immediately strained against the restraints, his muscles bulging as he attempted to tear himself free, but the Xenophage wasn't about to give him the opportunity.
It lunged.
Its claws raked across Hulk's face and chest in a vicious flurry, each strike aimed at tearing through his flesh. The sound of its claws scraping against his skin mingled with Hulk's furious growls as fresh wounds opened across his body. Blood streaked his green skin, splattering across the creature's limbs as it continued its relentless assault, seemingly intent on ripping him apart before he could break free.
For someone who, from everything I'd heard, could survive a nuclear blast, it was unsettling seeing his gamma skin spill blood for that alone proved this beast was a whole lot frightening than the last.
And that was putting it mildly.
This wasn't the same creature we'd fought before. Whatever changes its body had undergone, they had clearly made a difference. Its attacks were faster, its physical strength was nothing to scoff at, and those tails gave it a means of restraining an opponent while its claws and fangs did the real damage.
Of course, whether it could keep Hulk down was another matter entirely.
With a deafening roar, Hulk's muscles swelled as he forcibly pried himself loose. The tails tightened around him for another moment, their spikes digging deeper into his skin, but raw strength eventually won out. He tore through the creature's hold and seized it by the throat, his massive fingers closing around its neck before he slammed his forehead into its face.
The headbutt landed with a sickening crack.
The Xenophage's head snapped backward, and before it could recover, Hulk drew back his fist and drove a devastating uppercut into its body. The blow lifted the creature off the ground, sending it hurtling upward as Hulk's roar reverberated through the night.
For a moment, I thought he'd finally managed to put some distance between himself and the beast.
Then the Xenophage's tails moved as two whipped around Hulk's arm while another pair coiled around his torso, their spiked lengths tightening as the creature used him as an anchor to pull itself back toward him. Even while reeling from the uppercut, it refused to release its grip. Its body twisted in midair, its jaws opening wide as it closed the remaining distance.
Before Hulk could react, the Xenophage buried its fangs deep into his shoulder.
The resulting roar was absolutely deafening.
It tore out of Hulk's throat with such ferocity that I wouldn't have been surprised if it had awakened every light sleeper within several blocks. The sound rolled across the surrounding buildings, carrying an unmistakable mixture of pain and rage that if courage hadn't been one of my attributes, surely it would have made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.
And just like that, the fight took another turn.
Hulk had the raw strength to smash the Xenophage around like an over grown rag doll, but the creature had found a way to make every close encounter count. Its tails restricted his movements, its claws tore into his flesh, and its fangs had managed to pierce his skin deeply enough to make him roar in pain.
The worst part?
It didn't look remotely intimidated by him.
If anything, the creature seemed more determined than ever to tear Hulk apart.
- - -
Hulk unleashed blow after blow, hammering his fists into the Xenophage as he struggled to free himself from the creature's fangs embedded in his traps. With the beast refusing to let go, he stumbled around the lobby, smashing it against the walls of nearby buildings before barreling straight through one of them.
The wall crumbled under the impact as the two monsters crashed through the structure and into the building's lobby, sending chunks of concrete and debris scattering across the floor.
Behind the reception counter, the doorman, who had been taking cover from the chaos, cautiously raised his head to peek over the edge. His eyes widened at the sight of the two monsters tearing through the lobby, and for a brief moment, he could only stare at the destruction unfolding before him.
When he spotted Hulk struggling to pry the Xenophage off his shoulder, punching and twisting as the creature fought to maintain its grip, the doorman decided he had seen enough. He quickly scrambled away from the counter and disappeared through a door leading to the back, desperate to find somewhere safer to hide.
Meanwhile, Hulk finally managed to get a firm grip on one of the Xenophage's limbs. With a furious roar, he squeezed until the limb snapped beneath his enormous palms, sending a surge of pain through the creature.
The Xenophage immediately recoiled, its fangs tearing free from Hulk's shoulder as it released a shrill, guttural screech. Hulk wasted no time taking advantage of the opening. He seized the beast by the neck and began pounding it with a relentless series of punches, each blow forcing it further backward.
Under the assault, the Xenophage's whip-like tails finally loosened from around Hulk's body. Unfortunately for the creature, the fight had only made its opponent angrier, and an angrier Hulk was a stronger Hulk.
Grabbing the Xenophage with both arms, he lifted the beast off the ground and slammed it down with enough force to crack the lobby floor beneath them. The impact sent a tremor through the building, leaving a crater where the creature had landed.
Hulk wasn't finished. Grabbing the Xenophage's tails in a bundled fistful, he carefully positioned his hands between the rows of spikes lining them before lifting the creature again. He swung it to one side and smashed it into the ground, then repeated the motion in the opposite direction.
The beast's body struck the floor with bone-rattling force, each impact sending fresh cracks racing across the lobby as Hulk continued to swing it around like a particularly troublesome rag doll.
Watching the building shake under the punishment, Iron Man quickly realized that the fight was becoming as much of a danger to the civilians inside as it was to the two combatants. He had already flown to the scene, but rather than immediately joining the fray, he opened a comm channel to Shazam.
"Captain Sparkles, get them out of there now! And if you can't, evacuate the building!" Iron Man ordered.
He wasn't entirely confident that Shazam would be strong enough to separate Hulk and the Xenophage, especially with the creature proving far more troublesome than expected. Thor's absence on Asgard meant Hulk was the only heavy hitter available to keep the beast occupied until Shazam could join the fight.
He had no idea just how powerful Shazam truly was, but considering the fact that the guy could hold his own against Thor, he could at least make an educated guess about the kind of strength he was dealing with.
Still, Shazam was fast enough to evacuate the building if things went south, and with the structure threatening to come down around them, getting the civilians to safety was the immediate priority.
"On it," Shazam replied.
From his previous vantage point, Shazam disappeared in a flash of speed, reappearing inside the lobby just as Hulk brought the Xenophage crashing into the ground one last time.
The Green Giant immediately bent over the creature, attempting to force its jaws open so he could tear them apart. The Xenophage, however, had no intention of making things easy for him. Its claws raked across Hulk's body as it fought to keep his hands away from its mouth, and when that wasn't enough, the spikes lining its tails suddenly elongated.
With a vicious flick of its tails, the creature slashed at Hulk's heel.
The attack failed to pierce his skin, but the sudden sting was enough to make Hulk roar in anger and momentarily lose his balance. That brief distraction was all the Xenophage needed. It twisted violently, slipping out of Hulk's grasp before the Green Giant could tighten his hold again.
Neither monster had the chance to resume their struggle before Shazam stepped in.
Billy moved with a burst of speed, closing the distance between himself and the Xenophage before driving a powerful punch into the creature. The blow landed squarely against its body, carrying enough force that it should have sent the beast flying across the lobby and through whatever stood in its path.
Except it didn't.
The Xenophage only stumbles a few feet backwards. .
Shazam stared at the creature for a moment, momentarily taken aback by the unexpected result. He was certain that punch should have been enough to send it hurtling through the building.
Huh?
Without wasting another second wondering what had gone wrong, Shazam decided to put a little more power behind his next attack. It was only logical that this Xenophage, having grown larger and stronger than the one he had encountered before, would require a stronger blow to put it down. With a sudden burst of speed, he dashed forward and drove his fist into the creature with considerably more force than before.
This time, the attack had the desired effect.
The Xenophage was sent hurtling out of the lobby and through the building's entrance, its massive body crashing into a van parked outside. A bolt of lightning struck the creature at the same time, surging through its body and electrifying it before the energy spread across the vehicle.
The van exploded in a deafening blast, sending burning debris flying in every direction as the shockwave shattered nearby windows, showering the street with broken glass.
By then, Iron Man and the rest of the Avengers had arrived at the scene. Seeing a large piece of a car flying out into the air, Tony raised an arm and blasted it out of the air before it could hit anyone. Nearby, Captain America immediately moved to shield a passing civilian from the explosion, using his body and shield to protect them from the flying debris as the wreckage rained down around them.
Then, a piercing shriek rang out from within the flames.
Before anyone could react, the Xenophage burst through the fire and lunged straight at Shazam, its jaws wide open as it attempted to sink its fangs into him. The explosion, the lightning, and the force of the impact appeared to have done little to discourage the creature from continuing its assault.
"What the—?" Shazam muttered in disbelief.
The lightning bolt he had struck it with should have at least incapacitated the beast, or slowed it down long enough for him to follow up with another attack. Instead, here it was, emerging from an explosion and trying to make a meal out of him as though nothing had happened.
'What kind of juice is this thing on?' Shazam thought to himself.
Reacting quickly, he caught the Xenophage by its jaws before it could bite down on him. One hand clamped around its upper jaw while the other held its lower jaw apart, preventing the creature from closing its mouth around him. The beast thrashed violently in his grip, its claws scraping against his arms as thick strands of saliva dripped from its open maw and ran down his forearms.
"What are you doing, enjoying the view?" Clint quipped through the comms.
Shazam didn't even get the chance to respond, much less come up with a remark of his own when out of nowhere, a massive green fist slammed into him, sending him flying backward through the wreckage of the exploded van and across the street.
'What the hell?'
Shazam crashed through the scattered debris, momentarily stunned by the unexpected attack. More than the impact itself, however, it was the identity of his attacker that left him bewildered.
'Why the hell did Hulk just punch me?'
He had been expecting the Green Giant to keep pounding the Xenophage into the ground, not suddenly abandon their opponent to take a swing at him. And judging by the force behind that punch, Hulk hadn't exactly been holding back.
- - -
A/N:
By Juice, I meant steroids and all sorts.
Having tasted the sauce of Divine Lightning from Thor's wrath which ended the previous Xenophage, this one is an upgrade. An adaptation from all the encounters it's predecessor had experienced during its fight against the Avengers while chasing down Venom. Thanks to Knull.
This would be the last Xenophage to retrieve Venom as the next would be….