Phase One

Doom had clearly anticipated Gene's response. Just as Gene finished speaking, the thrusters on Doom's armor flared to full power, and a fist the size of a sandbag—gray and black—was already barreling toward Gene's face.

Gene raised his arm to block, confirming what he'd already suspected: Doom's strength had been massively enhanced by his infusion of dark energy. Doom's other hand swept aside Gene's guard, transforming into a clenched fist that slammed toward Gene's shoulder.

Gene matched Doom's tactics blow-for-blow. He deflected Doom's strike, clenched his own fist—armor glowing with concentrated magical force—and drove it toward Doom's abdomen. Doom mirrored the same move, his own fist wrapped in swirling black energy, also targeting Gene's midsection.

Boom!

A thunderous explosion echoed from their clash, sending shockwaves rippling across the rooftop. The sheer force of their collision cracked the building's structure, and the dimension shuttle—its mission seemingly complete—tumbled from the rooftop into the collapsing skyscraper.

Despite the exchange of blows, neither combatant seemed seriously injured. But Doom was the first to shift tactics. He launched into a flurry of attacks, techniques that didn't match anything in Gene's combat database. Doom's neural network was evolving in real-time—calculating, adapting, countering—with trillions of computations per second as his body drew from the darkness within.

His movements were chaotic, almost unnatural—but Gene's response was even more unpredictable. His leg swung up at an impossible angle for a human body, targeting Doom's torso. Forced onto the defensive, Doom stepped back, his black-and-gold boots grinding against the concrete with a deep scrape.

The prideful Doom, drunk on his newfound power, could hardly bear the thought of being forced back.

In that moment, Gene seized the upper hand. All of his thrusters lit up, twin arms brimming with raw dark energy, launching toward Doom with devastating force.

Doom responded in kind, the rooftop crumbling beneath their godlike clash. With a final groan of protest, the structure gave way. The platform shattered, sending the two titans soaring into the skies above New York.

They clashed mid-air like mythic warriors ripped straight from a high-budget cinematic epic—light flares, shockwaves, and trails of blazing energy lighting up the heavens.

Doom roared, twisting mid-flight. His right fist gathered dense black energy, surging with crackling darkness. He hurled the blow forward with cataclysmic momentum—air itself tearing apart under the pressure.

Gene conjured a golden sigil—an arcane disk shimmering with defensive energy. Doom's fist struck it directly, but instead of a clean hit, his attack veered off-course. The dark energy from his knuckles erupted violently into the air, slicing through a distant skyscraper, boring a thirty-meter hole clean through the steel and concrete.

Gene didn't miss a beat. His elbow thruster ignited with a flash of blue, smashing into Doom's chestplate. Magic-laced force poured into the cracks of Doom's armor, bypassing the Kree alloys and shaking his core. Doom's eyes widened as pain surged through his chest.

Launched backward, Doom flailed in midair, struggling to stabilize himself. But Gene was already there—blinking in front of him like a ghost. His arm shot out, locking Doom's throat in a brutal grip, and together they rocketed toward a nearby high-rise.

CRASH!

The two blasted through layer after layer of reinforced walls, finally bursting out the far side of the building.

With a furious roar, Doom activated every thruster he had, catching Gene's arm and pushing back with all his might.

"Not bad," Gene said coolly in the middle of the chaos. "You've made some solid upgrades, Victor."

Then, in a sudden move, Gene deactivated the power flowing through his arm. Deprived of opposition, Doom stumbled—his balance ruined—and plummeted like a missile toward the pavement.

Doom flipped midair, barely regaining control, but it was too late. A blinding blue beam burst from Gene's palm, striking him dead center in the chest.

Though Doom's armor regenerated swiftly, repairing its alloy plating, the magic had already seeped deep into his body, bypassing metal and circuitry to strike at his soul.

Gene landed softly on the ground.

Doom, on the other hand, didn't look nearly as dignified. Dust clung to him, and the clear water from shattered pipes had turned to grimy mud along his armor. His once-emerald cloak now hung in tatters, blackened and drenched.

His eyes blazed with fire as he stared upward.

What's happening?

Why can't I defeat him? I've embraced the darkness—why isn't that enough?

I'm supposed to be invincible now…

Then it hit him.

No. I haven't absorbed enough. That's it. I just need more. More darkness!

With a furious roar, Doom rose again. From the skies above, boundless waves of black energy responded to his call. The dark energy descended like a waterfall, wrapping around Doom, solid and crushing, coating him in pure shadow.

Gene paused, boots clicking against the fractured pavement as he looked on.

"To still be drawing energy at this stage…" Gene whispered in admiration. "Impressive."

The energy readings continued to climb. Doom hovered above the ground, arms raised toward the heavens as if invoking an ancient rite. And the "god" in the sky answered.

A curtain of black descended. A true deluge of darkness surged down onto Doom like divine baptism, turning the air itself to void. Buildings collapsed like dominoes, streets cracked and buckled.

The first phase of Doom's plan had begun. And New York would never be the same.

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T/N:

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