Fire Against Blood
A massive explosion was the start of the battle taking place on the ship; it was now being consumed by flames so quickly that it looked as if someone had soaked it in fire-accelerant.
Owen was thrown off to one side before crashing against a container that bent right in the middle before falling. Owen pushed himself to the side, dodging the incoming strike that had been headed straight for him and which ended up smashing into the container mid-air, bending it even further. A huge amount of fire began melting parts of the metal, just slightly, showing the brutal level of heat Owen's enemy was releasing.
Owen looked at Alexei with a genuinely serious expression; the heat that man generated was so intense that even Owen couldn't get too close without feeling how his own skin started to burn. It basically felt like he was fighting a miniature sun.
Meanwhile, Alexei, his whole body completely red, wore an almost demonic expression. Unlike what the Red Hulk serum was supposed to do, instead of turning him literally into a red Hulk with heat-based power, Alexei's body hadn't changed much in structure. He was still the same height and build, except that his muscles looked more reinforced; compressed to the maximum, almost as hard as metal. His veins glowed intensely beneath his skin, as if liquid fire ran through them, obviously thanks to the Extremis virus.
Both powers combined surprisingly well, even creating new abilities that neither of them would have on their own. Like those blasts of pure heat from his eyes and mouth, or the infernal fire explosions generated by his strikes. Or how the angrier he became, the faster he moved and the more his body temperature skyrocketed. Although that part was indeed from the Red Hulk serum. Since it was a much more compressed version of what it should be, it was really complicating things for Owen.
After missing the strike that sent the container flying into the sea, Alexei landed on the ground and stared directly at Owen, wanting to destroy him right there, as if he could barely hold onto his sanity.
"Come on, super soldier; show me what you're capable of. That can't be all, right?" he said, staring at Owen, who watched him intently; parts of Owen's clothes were slightly scorched.
Owen didn't answer the provocation. He analyzed him seriously, even while feeling the sharp pain in his right arm, noticing that from the first clash the cooling glove had been destroyed. Even so, he ignored the pain and focused on the threat in front of him.
Owen tightened his hands and, in an instant, his two daggers came flying from among the wreckage of the half-destroyed ship. He caught them and took a guard stance with both.
Seeing Owen's standard stance, Alexei scoffed slightly, as if he didn't need any of those "tricks" to destroy him.
Intoxicated by his own power, Alexei launched himself forward with all the strength in his legs, causing a gigantic explosion beneath his soles… or rather, beneath his feet, since most of his clothing had been destroyed by his power. The explosion was enormous; like when a fighter jet suddenly accelerates and breaks the sound barrier.
He appeared right in front of Owen with a wicked smile as his punch headed straight for Owen's face.
Owen, using every year of his military training, moved swiftly, lifting his fist as if he were about to clash directly with Alexei's. Although his footwork was strange; strange enough that Alexei managed to notice and raise an eyebrow. And then he saw it—how suddenly the force behind his punch seemed to be absorbed by Owen's right fist.
And then Alexei saw that red energy from Owen mix with his own flames, rapidly traveling along Owen's right arm, moving across his back and then advancing to his left hand, which was already moving in a perfect uppercut straight toward his face.
Owen's clothes burst open in the areas where the red energy and flames passed, unable to withstand the force running through his body.
The blow connected fully with Alexei's face, sounding as if the sound barrier were breaking several times in a single instant. At the same time, a massive amount of Alexei's own flames backfired on him, along with the concentrated force of Owen's repulsion aura.
For a normal person, the only thing they would have seen were sudden sonic explosions shaking everything around them, right before something shot upward into the sky. Basically, a flash; a burst of light, before the clouds opened violently, clearing the sky.
Owen raised his gaze for a moment with a serious expression before lowering it toward the body still standing there. It was Alexei's body… without a head. But Owen narrowed his eyes as he saw that, instead of blood, bubbling magma began to form at the neck. A new head started growing rapidly; first the mouth, then the rest, in a matter of seconds.
Owen moved his right hand and delivered a powerful strike straight to Alexei's chest mid-regeneration, sending him flying toward the sea, making him skid across the water and lift a massive spray behind him.
Yes; Owen had tried to kill him with that single blow. He couldn't allow someone so dangerous to keep existing; not only because he held such absurd hatred toward him, but even less so if he was working with Ultron. Even if he had made a promise, the safety of the world came first; even if breaking that promise caused him pain.
But seeing Alexei's body regenerate, Owen only shook his head, his expression growing even more serious, knowing the danger level had just increased several tiers.
A massive amount of steam rose from a point in the sea where Alexei was sinking. Several fish began floating dead, almost boiled, before a sudden explosion of water shot upward. In the middle of that liquid pillar, Alexei emerged, rising into the sky, and then pushed his hands back to create another gigantic explosion, using it as propulsion to hurl himself straight toward Owen.
Owen reacted instantly, meeting him with a right punch that collided fist to fist. Owen's power was on his side; the fire on the other end concentrated around Alexei's fist, as if both energies were fighting to conquer the ground between them.
But Alexei's power lost, sending him flying backward again… although this time only a few meters.
Even so, Owen cast a quick glance at his right hand, feeling the pain intensify with every second. And it wasn't only because of the fight against Alexei; it was the same pain from his dream.
And apparently, Alexei was able to notice that slight distraction in Owen.
"Looks like you're hurting. Good; seems like what I've become really can kill you," Alexei said with absolute conviction, believing the pain in Owen's right arm was thanks to him.
"Not even close," Owen said for the first time in the entire fight, looking at Alexei with a fixed, almost bored expression. Yes, his clothes were nearly destroyed, whether from the heat or from his own power… but nothing on Owen's body was damaged because of this battle. Alexei was a powerful monster; much more than many enemies they had faced so far… but he wasn't equally dangerous.
And the reason was simple: Alexei, unlike Loki, had no experience in combat or in using his own powers. It was basically like giving a mortal the power of a god; he could destroy the world, but wouldn't know exactly how to do it.
Alexei's face tensed when he saw Owen's bored expression, as if Owen were mocking him, especially considering that Owen didn't have a single scratch. Meanwhile, Alexei, even though he wasn't hurt either because he regenerated instantly, knew very well that the process consumed his stamina and drained him quickly. Even he knew he wasn't a match for Owen, although he didn't want to admit it.
"Don't take me for a fool," Alexei shouted before exploding forward again. This time, instead of throwing a punch, he appeared right in front of Owen with his mouth and eyes blazing, ready to fire a heat ray at point-blank range.
Owen, with his superhuman reflexes, was already ducking before Alexei even finished materializing in front of him. He had a perfect hook prepared, aimed precisely at the spot where Alexei's face would appear… and that's exactly what happened.
The punch connected. The beam that burst from Alexei's face shot straight into the sky, while Owen followed with a kick to the chest that launched him away at full speed, destroying and completely tearing through what remained of the ship, which was already beginning to sink slowly.
Once again, Alexei was thrown straight into the sea.
Owen brought a hand to his ear, where he had a transmitter, while still looking in the direction where Alexei had fallen.
"How's everything going on your end?", he asked the others, who were fighting dozens of Ultrons.
"It could be harder; but if you want to come help, we won't complain," Tony replied quickly, explosions sounding in the background.
"If you don't want a tan like you spent the day on a beach directly under the sun, I think it's better if I stay here," Owen said calmly.
"Owen, information," Captain America said instantly when he heard that, as if asking whether Owen needed support.
Meanwhile, the water started steaming again, as if boiling, and Alexei once more shot up into the air.
"Still working on it. Searching all possible digital details on my enemy," Owen said calmly, his eyes focusing again on Alexei.
Alexei's chest was completely sunken in, deformed… but it was already regenerating at an absurd speed, returning to normal in a matter of seconds.
"This place really never lets me rest. And it won't anytime soon, will it?", Owen said as he prepared for yet another clash, feeling the pain in his right arm growing stronger, more intense, more dangerous with every passing moment.