"Come fight me!"
As Abomination lunged forward, just ten centimeters from Luke's face, the two giants' heads nearly colliding, Luke finally couldn't hold back—and he fired.
…Yes, he fired heat vision.
Blazing hot, nearly white beams of energy burst from his eyes. His mouth could've emitted them too, but Luke stubbornly kept it shut—firing from the eyes alone made him feel more like Superman and less like the monster Doomsday.
While it might be tempting to describe this as an epic battle between giants, the truth was far less dramatic: the unprepared Abomination didn't last even 0.1 seconds. Unaware of Luke's powers, he had leaned his head in—and it was instantly vaporized by the intense heat and force of Luke's heat vision. His massive, ugly body was launched skyward, and as Luke's beams widened, they engulfed the corpse. The body, which the military had intended to use to showcase the power of Hulk's genes, was reduced to drifting ashes.
"Ugh—"
Pain shot through Luke's eyes almost immediately.
Fortunately, there weren't any tall buildings nearby, so his heat vision was able to discharge harmlessly into the open sky. But what drove Luke to despair was that the residual heat left in his eyes was reabsorbed by his body as energy. Using heat vision to expel internal energy simply didn't work.
Enduring the pain, Luke gradually adapted to the ability. His eyes returned to normal, but the heat in his mouth… began to chill—until it turned cold.
Yup. Now he had ice breath too.
Gotta say… Kryptonians are awesome.
As he scanned the terrified faces of the fleeing crowd, Luke felt uneasy. To them, the one who had just instantly vaporized Abomination wasn't a hero—but a stronger, scarier monster.
"Thanks," he whispered, glancing at the kind woman who had struggled back to her feet. Then his massive body floated into the air and soared into the night sky.
"Oh my god…"
The woman stared at the disappearing figure and muttered to herself, "Please don't let the boss put me in charge of this mess…"
The Manhattan Giant Battle—well, if Abomination getting one-shotted counts as a battle—was already drawing attention from numerous global forces the moment he started rampaging. But the event ended so quickly that by the time General Ross, who was escorting Bruce Banner back to base, received word and considered turning the chopper around, the beam of light shooting into the sky had already signaled that the crisis was over.
…Except it had just been replaced by a new one.
Naturally, S.H.I.E.L.D., the organization adept at handling unnatural disasters, had already locked onto the Manhattan event. Especially after detecting an energy source a hundred times stronger than Abomination's. If not for the possibility of a sensor glitch, some agents feared this might call for a nuclear response.
In the orderly command center, all footage, energy data, and relevant intel from the chaotic Manhattan streets were being rapidly analyzed and compiled.
Nick Fury, the director, massaged his glowing bald head with a headache. Hulk, a.k.a. Bruce Banner, had long been on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s radar. General Ross's aggressive manhunt had caused such a commotion that the agents didn't even need stealth to gather information. It wasn't even Ross's people who first identified Abomination—it was Fury himself, operating in the shadows.
But since the whole operation was unofficial, S.H.I.E.L.D. agents couldn't intervene when Abomination began his rampage. Luckily for them, Abomination's luck ran out fast—he turned a corner and got vaporized by someone.
"Director, Target B is on the move."
From the limited surveillance footage available, the new giant didn't seem to have a strong desire for destruction. This gave the observing agents a sliver of hope.
"Speed: Mach 3."
"Target has disappeared."
As they watched the giant vaporize Abomination, then take off unaided and disappear from all surveillance—and finally even of the energy sensors—the command room fell into dead silence.
"Alert all global divisions. Continue monitoring. Report immediately if the target reappears."
After giving the order, Nick Fury hurriedly left the hall. He'd done all he could here. He couldn't afford to delay another matter: the Hulk project involving Bruce Banner.
At that moment, Bruce Banner was shouting at his father-in-law.
"What the hell did you do?! Wasn't one Blonsky bad enough?!"
General Ross, grabbed by the collar, looked just as stunned. How had a simple capture turned into this? Had a traitor slipped off and conducted experiments on someone else? Surely Banner hadn't done it—he looked just as clueless.
Footage from a distance showed the out-of-control Blonsky joyfully dashing into the street, only to be incinerated by another giant using completely unorthodox methods. The sky-brightening blast of light was visible across the city. What was originally just a Super Soldier spin-off had suddenly escalated. Ross now suspected the situation was spiraling beyond his control. He might not even be able to hold onto Bruce Banner anymore.
—
Meanwhile, Luke, the pivotal figure in this incident, was now standing on the moon.
After flying out of the city, he'd intended to land somewhere safe—only to plunge into a fiery teleportation portal. For a moment, he wondered if he had somehow unlocked Kamar-Taj's magic. But then he thought—he's a DC character, how could he be getting a Marvel plotline?
Only after landing on the moon's surface and seeing the bald woman standing there did Luke realize who was behind this.
It was the Ancient One, Supreme Sorcerer of Kamar-Taj, guardian of Earth's mystic realms, holding the glowing green Eye of Agamotto. She stood calmly in front of the towering Luke.
Luke felt slightly nervous. If the Ancient One had come with hostile intent, things could get messy fast.
Sensing Luke's thoughts, the Ancient One gently shook her head and asked, "Need help?"
Luke was stunned for a moment. Her tone was oddly familiar. Since he was certain they hadn't spoken before, he quickly guessed the truth: the Time Stone. Familiar with the lore, he immediately replied:
"I need a place where I can safely release this out-of-control energy."
Yes. Wielding the Time Stone, the Ancient One could see the past and future—she would know Luke wasn't some evil being like Abomination. So her presence here wasn't surprising. Maybe she had even seen his future actions—and that's what brought her here now.
"There's a place that meets your needs. I'll send you there," the Ancient One nodded. "Once you've sorted yourself out, I'll bring you back…"
Elsewhere, in the Dark Dimension, the dread lord Dormammu suddenly felt… a flicker of anxiety.