125th Street , Harlem, New York.
The sky over Harlem wasn't black; it was a bruised, toxic orange, choked by the smoke of a hundred fires. High above the chaos, a sleek, matte-black VTOL—the A ANUBIS Shroud—hovered in the thermal updrafts.
Inside the bay, Arthur Steele stood in the shadows. He wasn't wearing a suit anymore. He was encased in the ANUBIS Mark II combat weave—a masterpiece of obsidian-grade carbon nanotubes and integrated kinetic dampeners. The gold accents of the jackal-head helm flickered in the HUD's blue light.He had used everything he had available with him and could be added to the suit for this. He was not strong enough fight the monster with his own abilities, so he had to make every little resource count.
This fight would set the tone of how he will be perceived by the others, if he wanted to build a myth, he had to be able to match and make a monster bend.
'This is definitely on of the stupidest things I will ever do. I just hope all the buffs and upgrades are enough, or I am going to be a human jelly.' Arthur thought as a chill ran down his spine.
"Astra, drop me at the intersection of 125th and Lexington," Arthur commanded. His voice was processed through the suit, emerging as a low, metallic resonance.
"Warning: Kinetic energy readings in the sector are off the charts, Arthur. The Hulk and the Abomination have achieved a loop of escalating violence. Dropping in 3... 2... 1."
The floor vanished. Arthur plummeted, his gravity-dampeners screaming as he cut through the smoke like a dark spear.
Below, the world was screaming. The Hulk and the Abomination were locked in a literal death-embrace, two primordial forces of nature reducing a city block to a graveyard of brick and glass. The Abomination—vile, boney, and twice as jagged—had his forearm pressed against the Hulk's throat, pinning him into the jagged remains of an apartment complex.
"You're soft, Banner!" the Abomination rasped, his voice a wet grind of gravel and ego. "A god trapped in the mind of a coward!"
The Hulk roared, a sound of tectonic frustration, his massive green fists pounding against the Abomination's chest. But the gray giant didn't flinch. He was the embodiment of a soldier's cruelty perfected by chemistry. He raised a massive, clawed hand, the moonlight glinting off the bone spurs, ready to deliver a skull-shattering blow.
He never finished the strike.
THOOM.
A shockwave of concentrated golden force slammed into the Abomination's temple. It wasn't an explosion of fire, but a rhythmic detonation of pure impact. The blow sent the twelve-hundred-pound beast skidding thirty feet across the asphalt, his heels digging deep trenches into the road like a plow through soft earth.
The Hulk rolled to his feet, huffing like a steam engine, his emerald eyes narrowing as a figure materialized from the settling dust and smoke.
Anubis stood in a three-point stance, his presence possessing a chilling, mythic weight. As he straightened, the obsidian plates of his armor shifted with the sound of a sharpening blade. The jackal helm's ears twitched toward the sounds of the dying fires, and the gold-lined "ribs" of the chest piece began to pulse with a low, menacing amber light—as if the suit were breathing in the heat of the burning city.
And the Ankh on his chest began to glow as if it was sizzling fire.
"MINE !!! HULK.. SMASH !!!" Hulk grunted while pointing towards the Abomination as if warning him not to interfere.
Anubis didn't look at him. His gaze remained fixed on the gray horror rising from the street.
He spun a heavy, dark staff with practiced, lethal grace. The tips ignited with a cold, blue glow that hissed against the falling ash."I will keep him occupied. Then you can have your fun." Anubis replied. His voice was a haunting, distorted baritone—a metallic rasp that felt like it was being whispered directly into the marrow of their bones.
The Abomination surged forward, a blur of gray muscle and hate. "Another toy? I'll crush you into the pavement!"
The giant swung a fist the size of a wrecking ball. Anubis didn't retreat. He moved like smoke, sliding under the arc of the strike with a predatory fluidity. As he passed beneath the monster, Anubis slammed the staff into the Abomination's Achilles tendon. A crack of blue light erupted, and the Abomination's leg buckled, his massive frame stumbling forward.
The Hulk didn't miss the opening. He leaped over Anubis, his massive hands locked together like a hammer of the gods, slamming them down onto the Abomination's hunched back.
CRACK.
The street buckled. As the Abomination tried to lash out blindly, Anubis was already airborne, his dark cape unfurling like the wings of a scavenger bird.
"Eyes up, you pest," Anubis commanded. The voice didn't come from a man; it came from the darkness itself.
He landed a punch squarely on the Abomination's protruding jaw—a strike backed by an impossible momentum. The impact sounded like a heavy iron hammer hitting a stone cathedral. The Abomination's head snapped back, teeth and black blood spraying into the air.
Before the monster could recover, Anubis whipped out series of high-tensile wires. They wrapped around the monster's neck and arms with the precision of a spider's web, anchoring the beast to the reinforced chassis of two heavy recovery vehicles at the edge of the block.
The battle shifted. It was no longer a clash of monsters; it was torture.
The Abomination lashed out with a free claw. Anubis didn't dodge. He caught the wrist in a gauntleted hand. The gold ribs of his armor flashed a violent, blinding crimson as they absorbed the raw force of the blow.
Arthur didn't just hold on; he squeezed. The sound of Blonsky's reinforced bone cracking under the pressure echoed through the silent, terrified street.
"You enjoy the pain, Emil," Anubis whispered, leaning in close. "Let's see how much of it you can stomach."
Anubis drove the glowing tip of his staff into the open wound on the Abomination's chest. The monster let out a sound that wasn't a roar—it was a choked, high-pitched gasp of genuine agony.
The Hulk slowed his advance, his massive chest heaving. He watched as the black-and-gold figure began to systematically dismantle the Abomination. Anubis wasn't brawling; he was shattering joints and using the Abomination's own mass to snap his limbs. It was a display of surgical brutality that made the Hulk's raw rage look like child's play.
The Abomination's yellow eyes, once filled with the arrogance of a predator, suddenly flickered with something human. Fear. He tried to pull away, his massive body instinctively recoiling from the silent, obsidian ghost that seemed to have an answer for every ounce of strength he possessed.
Anubis grabbed the Abomination by the protruding bone of his spine and slammed him face-first into the asphalt.
The Hulk stepped back. He was used to being the most terrifying thing in the room. But as he looked at Anubis—standing over a whimpering Abomination, the golden glow of the suit reflecting off the blood-slicked obsidian—the Green Goliath felt a cold shiver. He saw no rage in the Jackal. Only a cold, infinite void of consequence.
"Too... much," the Hulk grunted. He saw in Anubis a mirror of what a monster looked like when it was disciplined, silent, and utterly merciless.
The moment was shattered by a sonic boom. A streak of hot-rod red and gold tore through the smoke, its repulsors screaming as it decelerated with a violent hiss of air.
Iron Man slammed into the street, the Mark III armor gleaming under the orange firelight. Tony Stark leveled his palms, the repulsors whining as they drew power—but he didn't fire. He froze.
His sensors were screaming, but not at the Hulk. They were feeding him a live feed of the Abomination—the unstoppable, gray titan—shivering on the ground. The creature's breathing was ragged, its yellow eyes wide and darting, fixated on the obsidian figure standing over it.
"JARVIS," Tony whispered, his voice uncharacteristically thin. "Tell me the big guy's just tired. Tell me he didn't just flinch at a guy in a dog mask."
"Sir, the Abomination's heart rate is in a state of tachycardic shock. He isn't tired. He is experiencing a flight response he cannot execute."
Tony shifted his stance, his repulsors wavering. He looked at Anubis. The black-and-gold armor was motionless, yet it seemed to radiate a pressure that made the Mark III's HUD flicker. The Jackal didn't look like a hero; he looked like a reaper who had just finished a very long day of work.
"Uh... hey," Tony started, trying for his usual bravado and failing. "Egyptian guy. Dark. Gritty. I like the aesthetic, really, but maybe we take it down a notch? I can feel the edge from inside the suit, and it's scratching the paint."
Anubis didn't turn. He remained looking down at the broken Abomination, his heavy staff resting across his shoulder like a headsman's axe. The silence he projected was suffocating.
"I'm talking to you, Anubis—that's what the radio is calling you, right?" Tony stepped forward, the mechanical clatter of his boots sounding loud and clumsy in the stillness. "Look, I've got the heavy lifting from here. Why don't you go... find a tomb? I'll handle the cleanup."
Anubis finally moved. It wasn't a quick turn; it was a slow, deliberate pivot of the head. The glowing white lenses of the mask met Tony's gold faceplate.
"You're a very loud man, Stark," Anubis said. The voice was a low, metallic vibration that felt like a physical weight on Tony's chest.
"I've been told I have a certain resonance, yeah," Tony quipped, though he instinctively adjusted his power levels.
"You have a nuisance's timing," Anubis countered. He didn't sound angry; he sounded profoundly bored, as if Tony were a stray fly that had interrupted a master at a canvas. "The lesson was nearly finished. The beast was beginning to understand the cost of its vanity. And then you arrived."
Tony blinked behind his HUD. "A lesson? He's a three-ton mutation, not a sophomore in an ethics class. I'm here to save the day. You know, the whole 'superhero' gig?"
"I am only going to say this once...so listen well Stark !" Anubis said, taking a single step toward Tony.
Tony actually took a half-step back before he caught himself. The air around Anubis felt cold—sterile and terrifying.
"Stay...out...of...my...way! Or I will send the Merchant of Death for a meeting with her. Do you understand?"
Tony shivered and before he could reply, The Abomination, driven by a primal, tachycardic shock, didn't roar. He simply snapped. In a frantic, fight-or-flight convulsion, the monster's massive arms swept outward like twin battering rams. One massive fist slammed into Anubis's chest.
He was launched backwards, crashing through the brick facade of a tenement building across the street, collapsing the first-floor supports and disappearing into a cloud of pulverized mortar and dust.
Iron Man slammed into the street, repulsors glowing. He didn't wait; he opened up with a full unibeam, pinning the Abomination against a crumbling wall.
Tony Stark fought with his usual flair, dancing around the monster's strikes and peppering him with repulsor blasts. But the Abomination wasn't a drone. He caught Tony's ankle mid-flight, swung him in a devastating arc, and hurled the Mark III armor through the exact same window Arthur had just entered.
Tony crashed into a pile of dusty furniture next to Anubis. The faceplate of the Iron Man suit slid up, revealing a slightly bruised but smirking Tony Stark.
"Oh, hey," Tony panted, looking at the black-and-gold jackal mask. "That guy threw me here, I wasn't getting in your way...Scout's honour, you can ask our green friend there." Tony gestured vaguely towards the hulk. "Love the ears by the way. Do you purr if I rub them?"
Anubis let you a irritated sigh and jumped outside.
"Hey, I'm the hero here! Usually, I get a 'thank you' before the critique," Tony quipped, standing up as his suit's systems hissed. "So, what's the play, Anubis?"
"The play is simple," Anubis said, his voice cold and metallic. " If you want to help, focus on the structural integrity of the buildings you're currently demolishing."
"Spooky. I like it," Tony muttered as his faceplate slammed shut.
The two of them leaped back into the fray. The scene was pure chaos: the Hulk and Abomination were a whirlwind of green and gray, while Iron Man provided air support—his missiles unfortunately taking out a few more fire escapes and streetlamps in the process.
The Hulk, fueled by a final surge of adrenaline and rage, finally gained the upper hand. He wrapped a massive chain around the Abomination's throat, his muscles bulging as he choked the life out of the creature that had terrorized his city. With a final, bone-crushing heave, the Hulk slammed the Abomination into the cratered pavement. The monster went limp.
The Hulk let out a victory roar that silenced the entire district. He looked at Anubis, then at Iron Man, and with a final, lingering glance at Betty in the distance, he leaped—disappearing into the dark Manhattan skyline.
Tony landed near Anubis, his armor scorched and several panels sparking. "Well. That was... intense. Messy. A lot of property damage—I'll send a check to the Mayor. Or maybe I'll just buy the block."
He turned toward Anubis, who was standing over the unconscious Blonsky. "So, seriously. Who are you? You've got a vibe and goodies that's pushing some serious boundaries. We should grab a drink, talk shop. Maybe compare HUD layouts?"
Anubis didn't reply and stood there ignoring Tony completely.
"Yeah, yeah, mysterious warrior bit. Very cool," Tony turned to look at a passing news chopper. "But look, I've got some ideas for your kinetic—"
Tony turned back, but the space where Anubis had been standing was empty. There was no sound of a jetpack, no footsteps, not even a disturbance in the dust.
Tony blinked, his sensors scanning the area in a 360-degree sweep. "Wait. What? JARVIS, where did he go?"
"Scanning... no thermal or acoustic trace detected, Sir. He appears to have... vanished."
"He just...," Tony whispered, a mix of annoyance and genuine fascination on his face. "I like him. I'm definitely going to find him."
---
Arthur dropped like a sack of potatoes as soon as he was inside the Shroud groaning and gasping because of all the damage his body had taken.
Broken Left arm courtesy kinetically charged Punch on a literal steel-boned monster and stupidly catching a superhuman punch.
Torn muscles all over the body, broken collar bone by that insane backhand, and cracked vertebral column after that building crashing impact.
'ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND ARTHUR, fighting head on with that monster.' Astra screamed in his ears.
'If I did not redistribute the kinetic impacts manually in the suit every few minutes—you would have been FLATTENED RIGHT AWAY!!! Do you have a fetish of being beat up or something ? Should I add that to your personality matrix in my internal records?' she barked in a panicked tone.
Arthur could feel her distress as she continued reprimanding him. He had to agree that he took bit of a unnecessary risk there, but it was definitely worth it.
[Adaptability Progress Report
1. Winter Soldier — 78%
Combat Style: Integrated. (Fluid transition between knife-work, firearms, and hand-to-hand).
Assassination Skills: Integrated. (Natural instinct for fatal strikes and stealth movement).
Tactics and Strategies: (More observation and high-stakes combat against subject required).
2. Hulk (Bruce Banner) — 48%
Strength Growth: Integrated. (The more damage the body sustains, the stronger it grows once fully healed).
Gamma Energy Battery: FAILED. (Body incompatible with energy matrix; cannot generate or store kinetic force from within).
Fatigue Immunity: FAILED. (Direct, prolonged combat against the subject is required to map the metabolic bypass).
3. Abomination (Emil Blonsky) — 88%
Black Ops CQC: Integrated. (Skills assimilated. Can now utilize any object in surroundings as a lethal weapon with the efficiency of a Black ops operative).
Bio-Exosuit: Integrated. (Bone and muscle density permanently enhanced to act as a natural armor, extremely resistant to piercing and bone-shattering damage minor ).[INITIATE ASSIMILATION: YES / NO]
Minor Regeneration: Integrated. (Wounds now heal 50% faster than normal)
Superhuman Body: FAILED. (Could not integrate superhuman-tier speed/strength due to the lack of an external serum catalyst).
4. Iron Man (Tony Stark) — 8%
ARC Reactor Blueprint: System has mapped basic energy signatures and HUD logic. (More observation or direct combat required to analyse energy output and operational parameters.)
MORE OBSERVATION REQUIRED FOR FURTHER SKILLS AND TRAITS]
Jackpot...he was dancing in his head, looking at all these goodies.
"Aarghh...Owww...Oww...Ow.." he groaned as he tried to move."Ok Astra ...I know...I know...I am sorry for worrying you, can you put me in the Medi-Pod with the suit please?"
There was no response from her.
"Astra ? Hello ? I am dying here..." he said groaning again.
He opened his mouth to explain the tactical necessity of the engagement, but there was a sound echo all over the plane, it didn't just crackle—it felt like pouting.
"I'm not talking to you," Astra's voice drifted through the lab. It wasn't the sophisticated AI anymore; it was high-pitched, strained, and vibrating with the pure, unfiltered drama of a five-year-old.
"Astra—"
"LALALALALA! I CAN'T HEAR YOU!" Every monitor in the room suddenly displayed a cartoonish drawing of a jackal with big, floppy ears and an "X" over its mouth. "My ears are broken! They broke when you decided to be a giant dummy!"
Arthur sighed, looking towards the pod. "It was a calculated risk. I needed to adapt—"
"I don't care about the adaptation! It is STUPID! You're a STUPID-HEAD!" A holographic projection of a red frowny-face began bouncing around the room, hitting the walls like a screen saver.
"I saw it! I had to watch you go CRUNCH into the wall and I didn't like it! IT...WAS.. SCARY ...AND I HATE IT!!! "
Arthur flinched at the sound of her shriek.
'Well you wanted a human like growth personality in a AI, there it is..., my very own baby AI ' he mused.
"Can you please then atleast get me to the Medi-Pod so I can hea—" , the suit with him inside was unceremoniously dumped into the pod.
---
A/N
ANUBIS is one scary fellow 'shudders' right...? Let me know what you thought of the fight sequence. And I always had this problem with all the other fics and MCU in general that characters were shown only in their movie plot and like logically based on what we know about Tony ; there is no way he wouldn't interfere if something like this happened. So as I had already changed the timeline of events by not having Hulk, Iron man 2 and Thor going simultaneously, I could finally scratch this itch.
Arthur aura farmed in the entire fight only to be schooled by a baby AI.
Ciao..!!!