chapter 24

Sanctuary – Medical Wing

Angela crossed her arms, shaking her head slightly. "I gotta be honest—out of all the people you've brought here, bringing a goddess? Didn't think I'd ever see that happen."

I glanced at Amora, lying unconscious in the medical pod. "Well, to be fair, she's not actually a goddess. Her race just visited Earth a long time ago, and humans mistook them for gods. They live a long time, sure, but they're far from divine."

"So… she's just an alien?" Angela raised a brow. "Huh. That's interesting."

"Yeah, basically."

Angela finished patching up Amora's wounds, carefully pulling out small pieces of metal embedded in her body. "It's weird—she's not bleeding, but whoever did this made sure the wounds wouldn't fully heal on their own. She's stable, but we'll have to wait until she wakes up."

Before I could respond, Gamma appeared.

"Sir, there's a giant monster attacking a cruise."

I blinked. "…I'm sorry, what?"

"A giant monster. Attacking a cruise."

"…Where did it come from?"

"Unclear."

I sighed. Of course it's unclear. Things just couldn't be simple, huh?

Turning back to Angela, I warned, "Even though Amora's injured, be on guard. She's dangerous."

Angela smirked. "Please. You don't have to worry about me."

I turned to Gamma. "Where's the attack happening?"

"The Bay of Biscay—between France and northern Spain."

Got it. I teleported immediately.

As soon as I arrived, I activated my sensory abilities. A huge life force stood out near a cluster of smaller ones—the passengers. Found it.

I shot forward through the sky, and when I saw the monster, my eyes narrowed.

It's a Kaiju, it's big, and completely blue.

Alright. Let's do this.

I blitzed through it, just like how Arissa did in the show.

The impact tore through the beast, sending it crashing backward into the ocean, away from the cruise ship. At least it's not sinking anyone with it.

I hovered for a moment, scanning the cruise ship. The passengers were cheering—no injuries.

Good. I got here in time.

I turned my back on the ship and focused on the monster's corpse.

I teleported it to an island where I could study it later. No way was I letting something like this just disappear without figuring out where the hell it came from.

That's when Church's voice came through my earpiece.

"Ed, we got a problem. And you probably won't believe it, but—Abomination is wreaking havoc."

"…What?"

Parasite.A giant Kaiju.And now Abomination?

What the hell is going on?

"Where?" I asked.

"New York. Harlem."

I clenched my fists.

I teleported immediately.

I appeared in Harlem, and immediately, I saw the destruction. Buildings were damaged, cars flipped over, and people were running in terror.

My eyes locked onto Abomination.

He looked exactly like his comic book version—bulkier, more monstrous than the MCU one. Right now, he was mid-attack, charging at a terrified family.

No time to waste.

I blitzed forward, grabbed him, and teleported us straight to the desert.

The second we materialized, I threw a powerful punch to his chest.

He was sent flying, skidding across the sand before coming to a crashing halt.

Slowly, he got back up, shaking off the impact. His massive form swayed slightly—dazed, but recovering fast.

I flew closer, watching him regain focus. His reptilian eyes locked onto mine.

"So, you're Arsenal," he sneered. "Gotta say, I didn't expect a punch from you to actually hurt—but it'll take a lot more than that to stop me."

I smirked. "If you think that was my full power, you're sadly mistaken."

But something was off. He was speaking clearly. That meant he wasn't some mindless rampaging monster—he was fully aware of his actions.

"Since you're still coherent, answer me this—why were you attacking innocent people and wrecking Harlem?" I demanded.

A twisted grin formed on his face.

"To test my power."

That was all I needed to hear.

I blitzed forward, uppercutting him straight into the sky. Before he could recover, I followed up with a relentless barrage of punches, each hit launching him higher and higher.

Then, with one final hammer strike, I sent him plummeting back to Earth.

He hit the ground hard, shaking the entire desert on impact.

I hovered above, waiting. His massive body lay motionless in the crater. He was unconscious—but something was wrong.

Why isn't he transforming back?

I exhaled, shaking my head. First a Kaiju, now Abomination… what the hell is going on today?

"This day can't get any worse."

A familiar voice crackled through my comms.

"Well, hate to burst your bubble, but we've got another problem."

It was Church.

I groaned. "Damn it. I shouldn't have said that. What is it now?"

"Meteor shower. A lot of big chunks heading toward several cities—you might want to stop them before people start dying."

I sighed. What the hell is going on today?

Flying into space, I spotted the meteor shower—massive chunks of rock hurtling toward Earth, with smaller fragments breaking off along the way. There were too many for me to stop them all physically, but the small ones would burn up in the atmosphere. The big ones? Those were the real problem.

Positioning myself in front of the largest meteors, I focused, extending my telekinesis. This was my first time attempting something at this scale, and at first, it felt tricky—but the longer I used it, the more natural it became.

One by one, I stopped the bigger meteors, shattering them into smaller pieces that would harmlessly burn up before impact.

I exhaled, relieved. Crisis averted.

Still, something wasn't right. First parasite, then a Kaiju, and Abomination, now a meteor shower?

Something big is coming.

Teenage Boy POV

I was just walking home from school, minding my own business, when I noticed people looking up at the sky.

Curious, I followed their gaze.

A meteor shower? That was… kinda cool. Weird, but cool.

Shrugging it off, I took my usual shortcut through an alleyway. But before I could make it to the other side, something crashed into the ground in front of me.

The impact blasted me backward, and I hit the ground hard. Groaning, I pushed myself up and rubbed my head.

"What the hell was that?"

Peering into the small crater, I expected to see a chunk of rock. Instead, I found something metal—sleek, blue, and shaped almost like… a beetle?

"What the hell?" I muttered.

Curiosity got the best of me. I stepped forward and reached out.

The second my fingers touched it, the beetle sprang to life.

It scuttled up my arm, latched onto my back, and then—agony.

A burning pain shot through my entire body, like something was rewriting me from the inside out. I barely had time to scream before everything went black.

MODOK POV

"Sir, the monster was a success… but it was defeated by Arsenal."

I gritted my teeth. Then it was a failure.

No matter. This was only a test. We will create another—something stronger.

Arsenal and Superman are the only true threats to my rule. The rest of those so-called heroes? Inconsequential. But those two? They could ruin everything.

Fools, the both of them. Wasting their power saving people when they could rule. If I had their strength, I would have conquered the world by now.

But soon, that won't matter.

All I need is the perfect weapon.

And once I have it… the world will be mine.

General Ross POV

"Damn you, Blonsky. Damn you straight to hell."

Everything was going according to plan—until that idiot ruined it all.

We had tracked Banner to a small hideout. The place was barely furnished—just some books, a few personal items, and an old, beat-up laptop. But that laptop? That was our goldmine.

Through his messages, we discovered he had been corresponding with someone under the alias Mr. Blue. And even better? Banner had sent him a sample of his blood.

That was the break I had been waiting for.

We traced Mr. Blue to New York. Dr. Samuel Sterns. And the best part? He had successfully replicated more of Banner's blood. Enough to create controllable super-soldiers. The U.S. wouldn't just have an edge in global warfare—we would be unstoppable. Even Arsenal and Superman wouldn't be able to challenge us.

It was within our grasp.

And then Blonsky, that arrogant bastard, ruined everything.

According to my men, he snapped—shot his entire squad and forced Sterns to inject him with the serum. The fool wanted more power, and he got it.

He became Abomination.

He rampaged through Harlem, nearly leveling the city. And then Arsenal showed up and took him away. Now, I have no idea where Blonsky is, Sterns has disappeared, and every last sample of Banner's blood was destroyed in the chaos.

I swirled the whiskey in my glass, staring blankly at my office wall. I had just come out of a meeting with my superiors. They were furious.

My career was hanging by a thread.

All because of one mistake.

I gritted my teeth.

This isn't over. Not by a long shot.

Ed POV

Seven hours.

That's how long I spent being a hero today.

I have no idea what the hell was going on, but after the meteor shower, it was like the world decided to fall apart all at once. First, I had to put out a massive forest fire. Then, I was alerted about an avalanche that was about to wipe out a small town. Right after that, a cave-in trapped nearly fifty people, and if I hadn't shown up, they wouldn't have made it.

Then there was a tornado in Texas. And after that? An earthquake in California.

I spent the entire day flying across the country, saving people, healing them, and sealing massive cracks in the earth with my Earthbending.

And now?

It's 5:00 PM, and I'm exhausted.

I was sprawled out on my bed, too drained to even think about moving. I wasn't even going to say those cursed words—because knowing my luck, something else would pop up the second I did.

That's when Church appeared.

"Oh, come on," I groaned.

"Relax, nothing major," he reassured me. "Ashley just wants to talk to you."

"Oh, thank Mom," I muttered.

"Don't you mean God?"

"I know what I said."

Church just rolled his eyes. "She's at her house."

"Alright… just give me a few minutes, and I'll head over."

"I'll let her know." He disappeared.

I didn't move right away.

And in case you're wondering—yes, Ashley has a house. Well, a mansion, technically. She didn't feel like living on the island, and honestly, it was probably a good idea for her to have a separate residence for her public identity.

Same with Escanor—he got his own place in Hell's Kitchen. And surprisingly? His bar has become insanely popular. In fact, it's now a neutral zone because the gang leaders in the area love his beer.

Yeah, I know how crazy that sounds. But come on—it's Escanor. The man made alcohol so good that even high-ranking demons liked it.

After a moment, I pushed myself up, changed into normal clothes, and teleported to Ashley's house, appearing in her living room.

"Ashley?" I called out.

"In the kitchen!" she answered.

I walked in and found her cooking.

"I didn't know you could cook," I said, taking a seat at the table.

"Anyone can cook if they follow a recipe," she shrugged. "Besides, back in my old world, I had to cook my own meals. Didn't really have anyone else to do it for me when I got home from work."

There was a hint of sadness in her voice.

"Well, if you ever want a home-cooked meal, just ask me. I'd be more than happy to cook for you."

She smiled. "I'll keep that in mind. But actually, I needed to talk to you about something—it's kind of important."

I sat up a little straighter. "What is it?"

She turned off the stove and washed her hands. The oven was still on, so I figured something was baking. Drying her hands, she took a seat across from me.

"There's someone who wants to invest in our company," she said. "But she's on the list of people to be wary of."

I immediately knew which list she was talking about—the one Church and I made for her. We weren't about to let any shady individuals get involved with the company.

"Who is it?" I asked.

"Emma Frost."

My stomach dropped. Not for me—for Ashley.

"Please tell me you didn't meet with her face-to-face. Or any of her daughters." I asked, a little panicked.

She gave me a confused look. "No, we just talked over the phone. She wants to set up a meeting."

I let out a slow breath. "Good."

"Why? What's the big deal?"

"Emma Frost is a telepath," I explained. "She can read minds. So can her daughters."

Her eyes widened. "Oh… hell no."

"Don't worry—I already made something that can block telepaths. I'll give you one."

"Please do. I don't want anyone in my head—too much messed-up shit and personal shit."

I chuckled. "Understandable."

She sighed. "Anyway, she wanted to set up a meeting. I told her I'd get back to her—I wanted to talk to you first before agreeing to anything."

I thought about it for a moment.

She wouldn't be able to read my mind or control me, but that would definitely make her suspicious of me. Still… this was the perfect opportunity to gauge who she really is and see if she could become an ally.

"Set up the meeting," I said. "I'm interested in talking to her. But you won't be there."

"Alright. I'll tell her you'll meet her at her company."

"Good. Is that all?"

"Yeah, that's it. Nothing major came up—the company's doing fine."

I nodded. "How are you enjoying this life?"

She blinked, caught off guard by the question. But then she smiled.

"I love it," she admitted. "I'm finally putting my degrees to use, and I don't have to live in fear anymore."

She paused for a moment, then softly added,

"Thank you, Ed. For bringing me here. I honestly forgot what it felt like to just… live."

I smiled. "I'm glad you're enjoying this life. And hey—if you ever want to take a vacation, just do it. You don't have to stay in New York. You can go somewhere peaceful, explore places you never got to see in your old world. There's so much more out there."

She chuckled. "I'll keep that in mind."