Stark Tower.
Thanks to the U.S. government’s efforts to win them over, both Tony Stark and Gawain had been awarded official medals of honor.
Gawain, however, had completely ignored the government’s invitation, so Tony had attended the ceremony alone.
“Buddy, sometimes I really think you should get out more.”
Tony couldn’t help commenting when he saw Gawain still sitting cross legged on the sofa in silent meditation.
When Tony had left Stark Tower for the award ceremony, Gawain had been sitting there.
Now Tony was back— and Gawain was still sitting there.
For someone as restless as Tony, Gawain’s lifestyle was practically unimaginable.
Humans were supposed to be social creatures, weren’t they?
Gawain opened his eyes.
“Then where, precisely, do you suggest I go?” There was genuine confusion in his voice.
He had deliberately avoided making too many public appearances.
Even when dealing with the scattered Demonspawn incidents earlier, he had always arrived quickly, ended the battle as fast as possible, then left.
He had absolutely no desire to deal with the media or the endless organizations trying to contact him.
Once he set that precedent, there would be no end to the irritating requests, and outright trouble, that came knocking at his door.
“Okay, fair enough. Whatever makes you happy.” Tony waved a hand and dropped the subject.
He headed into the laboratory to continue developing his latest armor.
Ever since the incidents involving Blackheart and the Molten-Blood Demon, Tony had set aside time every single day to work on new suits.
As for Stark Industries itself, he had effectively handed the entire company over to Pepper Potts.
These days, Tony’s life mostly consisted of developing new armor and chasing blondes.
Every day, he switched effortlessly between genius scientist and billionaire playboy.
While Tony was working on his newest suit, J.A.R.V.I.S.’s voice interrupted his train of thought.
“Sir, you should see this.”
A display slid into position in front of Tony.
The moment he saw the footage, his eyes widened.
“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me. Two giant green guys beating the hell out of each other in the middle of the street? Is this seriously where we’re at now?”
Two enormous green figures were fighting savagely through the streets of New York.
Military forces surrounding them were firing continuously.
The civilians nearby weren’t nearly as fortunate.
Countless people were fleeing in panic, yet many were still caught in the destruction caused by the two monsters and killed outright.
The two giants tearing through the city were Hulk and Abomination.
General Ross might have been somewhat more restrained than before, but he had still managed to create Abomination as a living biological weapon.
“We need to stop them.” Tony looked toward Gawain.
Gawain nodded, rose to his feet, and walked over.
Tony immediately suited up, then carried Gawain toward the battlefield.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
On the streets of New York, Hulk and Abomination traded brutal blows at point blank range.
Every punch devastated the surrounding area.
The U.S. military tried to intervene, only to discover that they were completely incapable of doing so.
Neither heavy caliber firearms nor rocket launchers could meaningfully injure either monster.
And missiles were obviously out of the question in such a densely populated part of the city.
Seeing the military helpless only made the surrounding crowd panic even more.
Cars swerved chaotically as people tried to escape, quickly clogging the streets and making the situation worse.
Straight toward the battlefield.
He was strikingly handsome, dressed in simple white robes with a crimson longsword hanging at his waist.
Most eye catching of all was his long scarlet hair, half tied back while the rest flowed loosely behind him.
“Stop! You can’t go any farther! Turn around!” A U.S. soldier stepped in front of him and raised his weapon, signaling for him to retreat.
The white robed man frowned slightly.
He was just about to speak when a flying car smashed into him and sent him hurtling away.
At that moment, Hulk had already fallen into a disadvantage.
A suppressant had been injected into his body earlier, weakening him considerably.
He was nowhere near peak condition.
After exchanging blows with Abomination for a while, Hulk had been completely suppressed.
Abomination drove Hulk bodily into the concrete, then turned a vicious glare toward the soldiers who had been shooting at him.
With two casual swings, he sent a pair of cars flying toward their defensive line.
Then he charged.
The vehicles smashed openings through the military formation.
Seeing Abomination bearing down on them, the soldiers paled and began retreating.
Some simply threw away their weapons and ran for their lives.
Uniforms, housing, supplies, soldiers had to pay for enough things already.
They’d fired a few shots in the line of duty.
That was more than enough patriotism for one day.
With their lives about to disappear along with their benefits, what idiot would stand there waiting to die?
The white robed man, meanwhile, simply continued walking forward.
He didn’t even acknowledge Abomination’s charge.
That complete disregard quickly caught Abomination’s attention.
Before becoming this monster, Emil Blonsky had been an elite soldier.
He had been injected with a serum derived from an attempt to recreate Captain America’s Super-Soldier Serum.
Blonsky had believed he would become the next Captain America.
Instead, an operation to capture Hulk had left him grievously injured.
Consumed by rage, he had threatened Dr. Samuel Sterns into transforming him into a monster like Hulk.
And so Abomination had been born.
His strength and durability could rival Hulk in his normal state, but the transformation had twisted his mind, making him exceptionally violent and aggressive.
Now Abomination stared at the white robed man.
There wasn’t even the slightest trace of fear in the man’s eyes.
It was as though he were looking at an insect.
That expression instantly enraged Blonsky.
He charged straight at him and threw a vicious punch.
“Oh my God!”
“Look out!”
People nearby screamed.
They had already seen this monster casually send cars flying.
A full force punch like that would turn an ordinary person into paste.
But just as Abomination’s fist was about to connect, something happened that left everyone speechless.
The white robed man raised his right hand.
His fingers closed casually around Abomination’s fist.
His expression didn’t change.
His entire body remained motionless save for the faint flutter of his robes.
If the shockwave from Abomination’s punch hadn’t sent nearby cars and debris tumbling through the air, everyone watching might have believed the monster hadn’t used any strength at all.
[Emotion Points from General Ross +80]
[Emotion Points from Nick Fury +76]
[Emotion Points from Tony Stark +106]
[Emotion Points from Abomination +130]
[…]
Tony, arriving in the distance with Gawain, stared in disbelief.
According to J.A.R.V.I.S.’s calculations, even Tony in his Iron Man Armor couldn’t safely take a direct punch from that monster head on.
Yet this white robed stranger had caught it with one hand.
And he didn’t even look like he’d exerted himself.
Abomination’s reaction was very different.
He knew exactly how much strength he’d put into that punch.
Everything he had.
Yet the man in front of him had stopped it effortlessly.
There was only one possible conclusion.
This man’s strength wasn’t merely greater than his.
It was on an entirely different level.
He could crush him.
Alarmed, Abomination immediately tried to pull back.
His expression changed.
His arm wouldn’t move.
No matter how hard he pulled, he couldn’t free his fist from the man’s hand.
The white robed man finally spoke, his voice calm and indifferent.
“A mere ant dares show such insolence before me.”
Then he casually swept his hand aside.
Abomination became a blur.
His enormous body shot through the air and smashed straight into a nearby building.
The entire battlefield went silent.
For one frozen moment, nobody moved.
Then the street erupted.
“Oh my God! He’s practically a god!”
“That’s impossible!”
[Emotion Points from Hulk +160]
[Emotion Points from Bruce Banner +126]
[Emotion Points from Abomination +190]
[Emotion Points from Tony Stark +140]
[…]
The sight had utterly stunned everyone nearby.
For a moment, people even forgot to run.
The soldiers forgot to shoot.
They could only stare.