"Hah… Marvel's full of treasures, but I can't seem to get my hands on any of them," Luke muttered under his breath as he watched the slow crawl of traffic nearby.
Right now, there were two of the most powerful Infinity gems on Earth: the Time Gem and the Space Gem. Yet neither was within his reach.
The Tesseract—the Space Gem—was locked away in a S.H.I.E.L.D. high-security facility, guarded by layers of technology and agents. Luke didn't even know exactly where, just that it was beyond any casual infiltration.
And the Time Gem? That one was with the Ancient One—the Sorcerer Supreme, and quite possibly the strongest person on Earth.
Asking her for the Time Stone was out of the question. Anyone bold enough to make the request risked being banished to the Mirror Dimension, trapped forever in that endless, shifting reflection of reality.
Besides him, a large metal barrel rested next to the gas pump, steadily filling with petrol. The barrel was almost half his height—definitely not something most people filled at a gas station without drawing curious—and worried—glances.
But Luke had a plan.
Why the fuel? Did it even need explaining? Stored safely in his inventory, it was the perfect surprise weapon. Just a quick tilt from above, a flicker of a Fireball, and boom—a roaring sea of flames would erupt, cutting off pursuers or blasting through barricades.
In a world packed with gods, monsters, super soldiers, and high-tech weaponry, sometimes the simplest solutions remain the deadliest.
With a smirk, Luke settled back into his car and summoned the barrel into his inventory with a mere thought.
It joined several other gallons of fuel he'd already scooped up. Honestly, if he wanted, he could probably ignite a street-level inferno rivaling Asgard's fiery pits without breaking a sweat.
He started the engine, ready to head home, but something caught his eye—a newspaper stand on the corner, its front page plastered with a big, bold headline.
Curiosity won. He pulled over, stepped out, and paid the vendor for a copy.
The headline screamed: "What Is the Military Doing at Culver University?"
The article detailed a chaotic scene that had unfolded just yesterday—Culver University transformed into a battlefield. Gunfire erupted across campus, heavy weapons blazed, and parts of the historic university buildings lay in ruins.
The official military statement labeled it a "terrorist incident," a familiar cover-up line aimed at calming the public.
But eyewitness accounts from terrified students painted a far different picture. They spoke of a massive green giant, rampaging and locked in a fierce battle with soldiers.
Of course, the military stuck rigidly to their narrative of suppressing terrorism, denying any mention of monsters or superhumans.
Luke didn't need to read any further to know exactly what had happened.
The "green giant" could mean only one thing—the Hulk.
His mind raced as he pieced together the timeline. This had to be the moment in the story where Bruce Banner, grappling with his unstable transformation, had returned to Culver University to retrieve his old gamma test data—the catalyst desperately needed to understand or control his condition.
That meant, within just a few days, Bruce would be heading to New York City.
And when Bruce arrived, a storm was certain to follow.
"Finally… now I won't have to wait," Luke muttered with a grin, sliding back into his car. Within two to three days, Harlem would be reduced to rubble. The titanic clash between the Hulk and the Abomination—the gamma-fueled nightmare—would erupt, shaking the city to its core.
---
Two days had slipped by since the news broke.
Night had settled over New York City, cloaking the streets in a mix of soft streetlight glows and the pulsating hues of neon signs. Luke stood on the sidewalk, his eyes sharp and unblinking as a military helicopter hovered steadily above, its powerful searchlights cutting through the darkness.
The unmistakable emblem indicated one thing: General Ross's presence meant the Hulk and Abomination were already in the city—and chaos was imminent.
Luke had only come out for something simple—some alcohol to take the edge off—but the unmistakable buzz in the air told him the time for the Harlem incident was fast approaching.
"Selene, I'll be home late," he said into his phone, his tone calm but laced with a quiet intensity. "Got some work to do."
He had no plans to pull her into this—at least not yet. He was at least ninety percent certain that stepping into the fray now would draw the attention of both S.H.I.E.L.D. and the military in a way that could put her directly in harm's way.
Selene didn't need to get caught in the crossfire until Luke had the strength and power to face their enemies without fear or hesitation.
Luke slipped his hands into the gloves hanging from his coat pocket.
"Time for battle," he thought, the city's distant rumble heightening his resolve as he prepared to step into the storm.
In Harlem, the night air hung heavy with acrid smoke and the sharp stench of burning rubber. The ground trembled beneath the relentless footsteps of a monstrous figure unleashed upon the city streets.
The Abomination—massive, terrifying, and raw with gamma-fueled fury—moved like a force of nature. He tore through cars as if they were mere toys, smashing metal and glass without a second thought.
With every crushing step, chunks of asphalt and concrete exploded into the air, raining debris down like deadly hail.
Sirens wailed in the distance, their urgent cries blending with the panicked screams of civilians fleeing the wrath. Streetlights snapped like twigs under the Abomination's immense strength, plunging pockets of the city into darkness amidst the chaos.
The roar of twisting metal and shattering concrete echoed off the towering buildings, sending shockwaves rattling through the narrow streets.
Cars lay overturned, storefront windows smashed to shards, and street debris scattered chaotically in every direction. Sparks flew from twisted metal, while occasional fireballs from exploded vehicles cast an eerie flickering light across the scene.
"HOLY SHIT… seeing it in the movies and seeing it in real life is a whole different nightmare," Luke muttered under his breath, eyes unblinking as he locked onto the hulking figure rampaging just a few minutes' walk away.
The streets of Harlem were a war zone—utter chaos incarnate. Civilians scrambled desperately, dodging falling debris and each other while trying to escape the destructive path of the gamma-infused terror.
"It's time to use… 10 skill points," Luke muttered, his fingers brushing the edges of the glowing interface flickering in his mind.
He allocated every single point to Fire. This wasn't a fight for basic pyrotechnics—small enemies could be handled with simple flames, but monsters like the Abomination demanded power on another level.
Intermediate skills were essential to stand any chance against a creature of this magnitude.
Almost instantly, two new abilities materialized before him
[Meteor Flame Strike Unlocked] – Hurls massive fireballs the size of boulders that explode on impact, devastating everything in their blast radius.
[Pillar of Fire Unlocked] – Summons a towering column of scorching flame from the ground, delivering intense heat capable of melting flesh and bone alike.
Luke flexed his fingers as flames gathered around his boots, swirling and dancing with fierce intensity, alive with raw energy.
The Meteor Flame Strike was a monstrous upgrade of his usual fireball, packing a destructive punch at least ten times deadlier. The Pillar of Fire formed a perfect vertical area-of-effect strike—ideal for concentrating searing heat directly onto the towering brute before him.
"Time to have a serious fight," Luke muttered, a confident grin spreading across his face as he lunged forward, streaks of fire erupting from his boots, trailing him like fiery wings.
Meanwhile, the Abomination laughed with brutal arrogance, utterly confident in his own overwhelming strength. "Hahaha! Now even Hulk can't match me!" he bellowed, casually kicking a stray car aside with ease.
His jagged, monstrous face twisted in cruel delight as destruction unfolded around him. The streets of Harlem were pure chaos—cars crushed like tin cans, debris soaring through the air, and civilians scattering in panic.
Suddenly, the asphalt beneath the Abomination shuddered violently. Sharp, jagged stone spikes burst upward from the cracked ground, forming a lethal cage encircling the beast. At the same moment, a colossal fireball hurtled through the night sky, crashing into the Abomination with a deafening explosion.