The Honored

The Honored

Tomb heads to Grand Concourse, searching for a trail of destruction so he can fight. Looking from above, he sees the experiment, and just like they saw on the news, they witnessed it destroying the city and killing civilians.

Then he lands, catching the experiment's attention.

"HEY, YOU. Ow John, what name should we give him?"

"Goo'thulhu?"

"What a crappy name, huh." - Then Tomb speaks to the experiment again - "HEY, TOXIC!"

The experiment doesn't know how to communicate, so it only lets out grunts.

"Haha, bring it on, %!**@!"

Then they start fighting. Toxic hurls cars at Tomb, but that wasn't a problem for him, as he was highly resistant. He burned, "tore apart," and crushed the cars thrown at him. Seeing that this wasn't working, Toxic creates tentacles to attack Tomb.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?"

Tomb grabs the creature's tentacles, which flings him backward. Then Tomb starts pummeling the experiment. Toxic then fights back, using more tentacles to throw Tomb across the street. At that moment, Tomb uses a magnesium jet, which wounds the creature.

"Is he…?" - John asked.

"Yeah, he is."

The creature starts regenerating and not only heals itself but also grows, developing more muscles. Tomb is startled, but that wasn't enough to make him stop fighting. Then he looks up and sees a white metal figure in the sky.

"You know who that is, John?"

"It's Will, duh. Aren't you inside my brain?"

"Don't mess with me. Anyway, is it Behavior?"

"That's right."

Behavior descends and hands a device to Tomb. As he prepares to return to the sky, Toxic decides to attack Tomb, and the fight continues.

Toxic was stronger, MUCH stronger. Tomb hears some noises coming from the device Will gave him and puts it in his ear.

"John? You there?" - Will asks.

"Not now, Will. If he leaves, he'll die, but he's listening. Say what you need to say."

"What's your plan, and what's your name?"

"John calls me Tomb. I need you to gather as many explosives and flammable liquids as possible in an open field far from here."

"For what?"

"You asked for a plan, right? Do what I'm asking."

Their fight continues. Sometimes Tomb would pummel and unleash fire, while other times, Toxic would slash and beat up Tomb. The battle was intense. Eventually, the fight moved to the Bronx County Courthouse, a very important building.

With every blow, the Bronx County Courthouse trembled. Windows shattered, chunks of concrete fell to the ground, and streetlights flickered. Toxic, now larger and more muscular, used his tentacles to lift a fire hydrant and hurl it at Tomb. Water gushed onto the asphalt, forming a puddle that reflected the red and blue lights of sirens in the distance.

Tomb rolled to the side, dodging the impact, and spat a jet of fire, evaporating the water around him and creating a cloud of steam. He rushed through the smoke screen, delivering a blazing punch to Toxic's face, making the creature roar in pain. But in response, Toxic extended a sharp tentacle and slashed Tomb, tearing part of his armor and throwing him against the courthouse steps.

John shouted inside Tomb's head.

"He's adapting too fast! John, I need Will to hurry up with the explosives."

From above, Behavior monitored the battle, watching shockwaves scatter debris across Grand Concourse. He adjusted his communication.

"WILL, THIS ISN'T WORKING, HURRY UP!"

Meanwhile, Toxic let out an even louder roar, his body pulsating with a dark energy. He leaped toward Tomb, trying to crush him against the ground. But Tomb rolled and counterattacked with a burst of blue fire straight into the creature's chest.

Toxic's growls echoed through the ruined courthouse. He staggered back, his slimy fibers burning and regenerating at the same time. The battle was far from over.

Toxic let out a primal roar, his body pulsating with dark energy. His muscles expanded, and even more tentacles sprouted, slithering across the cracked ground. The monster ripped out one of the courthouse's ornate columns as if it were made of paper, spinning it in the air before launching it at Tomb.

Tomb barely had time to react. The column struck him, sending him crashing into the Bronx County Courthouse facade. The impact destroyed part of the structure, making the Statue of Justice at the top lean dangerously. The building was no longer the same part of the facade crumbled, huge cracks ran through the walls, and a cloud of dust covered everything.

Tomb struggled to his feet, spitting out a bit of blood mixed with the molten lava inside him. He glared at Toxic, who now looked even more monstrous, growing and regenerating faster than ever.

The sirens grew closer. Helicopters cut through the sky, searchlights scanning the wreckage. Chaos was only beginning.

Toxic twisted a distorted smile, his body pulsating as if something inside him was about to explode. His tentacles grew even longer, whipping through the air violently, cracking the concrete beneath his feet.

Suddenly, a loud crash echoed. One of the courthouse towers began to collapse, tilting dangerously. Security forces retreated, trying to prevent an even bigger disaster. Behavior watched from above, realizing time was running out. Will needed to act fast, or the entire Bronx could be consumed by this uncontrolled battle.

Then Tomb heard a noise from the device:

"TOMB, TOMB! IT'S READY! I'M IN THE SKY, FOLLOW ME, I'LL SHOW YOU WHERE TO GO!"

As Tomb spread his wings, Toxic sprouted wings of his own. The two ascended into the sky, heading for their destination—Tomb to execute his plan, and Toxic to kill him.

They soared above the battlefield. Tomb turned back and attacked Toxic, causing him to fall into the designated field. Toxic tried to regenerate his wings, but… Tomb's plan was complete. He unleashed a jet of magnesium in that location, triggering a massive explosion that killed Toxic, leaving nothing but a pile of bones on the ground.

Three days passed since that day. John kept wondering how everything had happened in just one day. He took Will's nephews out for a walk, as Will and his sister, Maria, were at home after the military arrived with some mysterious news.

"Johnny! Johnny!"

"What's up, Thomas?"

"Uncle Will's here!"

Will arrived in a black car, his face somber. In the back seat, a woman was visibly in tears. John followed Thomas and Zoe to the car.

"Will, what happened?"

"You know Xavier, the kids' father?"

"Hm."

"He was in Iraq, right?"

"Don't tell me…"

"Yeah, he's dead…"

Tom and Zoe got into the car, and their mother gently explained to them, saying that their father had become a star in the sky.

They attended the funeral. Then, John woke up from a blackout. This flashback had happened after he hit his head during a mission.

"Damn, John, that was intense." - Said Thomas, who had become a hero alongside Tomb and John, calling himself Smiley Face, just like Zoe, his sister, who had become Galaxy.

"Yeah, it was, hahaha."