Howls and Flight

"You come when you want and leave when you want. Did you ask me first?" Duva stood expressionless, surrounded by several Xenomorphs.

Originally, he could have quietly implanted the Abomination and accumulated his strength without revealing his powers so soon.

But Ikaris had come with ill intentions.

"Since you're here, why not stay?"

If possible, Duva would have been more than happy to make Ikaris part of his brood.

Having a bargain-bin Superman Xenomorph would greatly boost his combat power.

Though it would be immensely difficult. He still lacked the strength to defeat Ikaris, and finding an opportunity to implant him would be difficult as well.

Ikaris would not be as easy to deal with as Abomination.

Riiip!

Ikaris was finally injured.

His opponent possessed more than just hands and feet. It also had a powerful tail, and the most unexpectedly terrifying weapon of all... the Inner Jaw!

The Abomination Xenomorph suddenly shot out its Inner Jaw, tearing a chunk of flesh from Ikaris's face.

Ikaris's eyes widened as he touched his bloody face in disbelief. His eyes instantly turned red.

Not only did extreme fury surge through him, but he also felt unprecedented anxiety.

He was not the Superman next door. He could be injured, he could flee, and he had to weigh the value of a battle—whether it was worth exposing himself and taking risks like this.

Most importantly, Ikaris had no idea where the Abomination Xenomorph's limits lay. It only grew stronger the longer they fought, completely wrecking his mindset.

Ikaris roared repeatedly, smashing a fist into the Abomination Xenomorph's face before suddenly lunging forward and hammering fist after fist into its head.

The two figures moved fast enough to break the Sound Barrier with ease. The shockwaves stirred up around them were comparable to bombs, ravaging the area in visible ripples.

Tank after tank opened fire, while large numbers of armed helicopters launched missiles as well.

At this point, the losses were simply too great. If the military did nothing, they would be unable to save face.

General Ross stood aboard a helicopter, staring blankly at the chaotic scene before him.

If it had only been Abomination fighting Hulk, there might still have been a chance to salvage things. But now? Forget it. He was definitely going before a Military Court.

"Who the hell is that flying bastard?! And who is he fighting?!" General Ross finally snapped. "Target both of them! Open fire!"

Several shells struck Ikaris. He turned and swept out with Heat Vision, destroying every helicopter, including the one Ross was on.

General Ross was just about to die on the spot.

Iron Man returned just in time, taking the blast on his back. He grabbed Ross with one hand and accelerated toward a high-rise building.

"I don't like you, but if you die here, that'll be the real joke," Tony said.

"Tony Stark! You should have let those two monsters kill me."

"That's right, you're correct. That way, the government would have no choice but to deal with those two, and your Super Soldier Program could keep moving forward." Tony coldly tossed out those words, then flew into the sky and headed back toward the battlefield.

Honestly, he also felt that getting involved now would get him killed horribly. The Mark 3 could not withstand those two guys' punches, but he had no other choice.

At that moment, perhaps by coincidence, the Abomination Xenomorph was pummeled repeatedly, its head split open and highly corrosive blood spraying out.

Ikaris's eyes lit up. He was about to kill his opponent—that should have been the logical outcome. But the next second, corrosive fluid splashed onto his face, and he let out a howl that barely sounded human.

Ikaris froze. He could personally feel his face "melting"!!

"AAAAARGH!!!"

Ikaris let out a shrill scream and clutched his face. Yet that only smeared the blood onto his hands as well, causing them to dissolve bit by bit.

A Deviant?? No, this creature was countless times more terrifying than a Deviant. Once injured, it became even more dangerous and could inflict even more horrifying damage on him!!

The Abomination Xenomorph's savagery erupted. Ignoring its rapidly healing wounds, it suddenly stretched out two enormous hands, locked them tightly around Ikaris, and slammed him down.

The terrifying force sent Ikaris crashing through more than a dozen skyscrapers. He was shaken to the core. Though he still believed that if they truly kept fighting, victory would remain his, continuing against an enemy that could spray horrifying blood and deal him severe damage the closer it came to death would be a massive loss! After weighing the pros and cons, Ikaris simply used the momentum to flee! Flee without caring about anything else! There was no meaning in fighting to the death against an enemy that was not even a Deviant. Even if that human possessed unusual knowledge and seemed to know many secret pieces of intelligence, he could no longer afford to care about such trivial details.

In the end, Ikaris brutally smashed through the rooftop structure of a skyscraper. Rising from below, he precisely rammed the person blocking his path—General Ross—into a strange red mist that scattered in all directions.

At the time, Ikaris did not even pause. Bathed in blood, with strips of flesh and blood dripping from his body, he shot straight into the night sky and vanished from people's sight.

As for Ross? Sorry, no matter how powerful he was, Ikaris would not care about an ordinary human like him. He only wanted to escape somewhere safe and clean off the strong acid that had already corroded down to his bones!! Only Tony Stark, who had been rushing toward the battlefield just seconds earlier, remained silent in midair for a long while before flying back dejectedly and lowering his head to look at the bloodstains and destruction on the rooftop.

"If I say Ross's death had nothing to do with me, that I didn't intentionally put him here, and that his death was purely an accident... Jarvis, do you think the judges will believe me?"

"Hard to say, sir. Based on calculations regarding your situation, they most likely will not. However, they have no conclusive evidence."

"Good, Jarvis. Let's get our stories straight first. Don't let anything slip. If they ask whether it was intentional or accidental—"

For the first time, Tony felt that being a superhero was not an easy job.

A death was troublesome enough, especially when the dead person had such a special status—and had died because Tony had deliberately placed him here...

This was too miserable.

Don't misunderstand. Tony was not saying Ross was miserable. The shady things Ross had done behind the scenes could not bear the light of day. After tonight, even if Ross had survived, the best outcome would have been life imprisonment.

Tony thought he was the miserable one. He had only recently begun his career and had already run into something like this.

Tonight's events had taught him a harsh lesson. Abomination and Hulk were one thing, but the two powerful monsters that appeared afterward were even more reckless when they fought. Their destructive power was astonishing, and the shock they dealt to the public was even greater.

For the first time, people truly realized that these superhumans lived among them. If they fought without restraint, they could easily create an enormous disaster.

Who could deal with people like that? The military's planes and artillery? So far, apparently not. Powerful weapons could not be deployed anytime and anywhere, and even if they were used, they might not work.

Tony turned his attention to the Abomination Xenomorph and quickly followed it, eventually landing fifty meters in front of Duva.

The incomparably violent Abomination Xenomorph now had the swollen muscles across its body slowly retracting. It stood quietly beside Duva, with none of the madness or terror from moments ago.

"Beautiful. She's practically a well-behaved little girl, though I'm guessing it doesn't have a gender."

Tony flew before Duva. As he rapidly read through all the information Jarvis had uploaded about Duva, he spoke.

"Tony Stark, I'm pleased to meet you under these circumstances." Duva wore a friendly expression.

"You're happy too soon. A lot more trouble will be coming for you shortly," Tony said. "Buddy, do you know how much of a stir the creatures you created have caused around the world?"