Abomination, sensing Hulk's weakening state, roared and charged forward once more. His massive left fist smashed into Hulk's face, snapping his head to the side. Before the green giant could recover, Abomination drove his knee up with brutal force, lifting Hulk clean off the ground. Grabbing Hulk's leg midair, the monster swung him like a sledgehammer and slammed him down into the street.
The impact thundered through the city—boom!—leaving a crater more than ten meters deep in the asphalt. The surrounding buildings shook violently, several of them collapsing in clouds of dust.
Hulk groaned and tried to push himself up, but Abomination's heavy foot came crashing down on his chest, driving him even deeper into the crater.
"You're getting weaker, Hulk," Abomination sneered, his voice guttural and dripping with cruelty. Another punch smashed into Hulk's face, shattering a water pipe beneath the street. A torrent of water burst upward like a geyser, spraying across the scene. "You're not even fun to hit anymore!"
Both monsters were born of gamma radiation, but their natures were vastly different. Hulk's strength grew in proportion to his anger—limitless, if he let go completely. Abomination, on the other hand, possessed steady, monstrous power but none of Hulk's infinite potential.
Hulk knew that to defeat his rival, all he had to do was let the rage take over—allow the fury to consume him entirely. But doing so came at a cost.
He remembered all too well what happened when he lost control. Cities leveled, lives lost. That blind rage was what he had sworn to suppress after joining the Avengers. As Bruce Banner, he had seen what unchecked fury could do to the world. He couldn't allow that to happen again.
So he fought to hold himself back—even as every blow drove him closer to madness.
Abomination's fists hammered down again and again, pounding Hulk into the ground, splattering green blood that mixed with the floodwater. Each strike shook the earth like a cannon blast.
But Hulk refused to yield.
Deep inside, Banner's voice—small, trembling—whispered that if he unleashed the monster completely, he might never come back. The thin thread of reason was all that kept the world safe from his wrath.
Abomination clasped both hands together, raising them high for a final, crushing blow to Hulk's skull. But before he could strike, Hulk's knee shot upward like a piston, slamming into Abomination's abdomen. The brute staggered back, roaring in pain as he was thrown several meters away.
With a guttural snarl, Hulk forced himself to his feet. Both titans glared at each other, muscles coiled, eyes blazing with primal fury. Then, as if by unspoken agreement, they charged again—colliding with a thunderous crack that shattered windows blocks away.
Hulk was losing ground, barely holding on. His rational side was slipping; his vision pulsed red. Just a little more pressure, and he would cross the line between hero and monster once again.
'Almost there,' Marcus murmured, watching the live feed from the Hydra command center. A faint, knowing smile curved across his lips. "Let me… help you with that."
His fingers flew across the keyboard, entering a rapid string of code. When the last line executed, he plucked a communicator from Baron Strucker's lifeless body and headed toward the castle's exit, idly swiping through commands on the screen as he walked.
---
Outside the Hydra Fortress
Under the relentless assault of Captain America's forces, Hydra's defenses were collapsing fast. The S.H.I.E.L.D. soldiers advanced in waves, their rifles spitting fire, bullets tearing through the last of Hydra's entrenched positions.
Though Hydra's technology far surpassed that of their attackers, the sheer difference in numbers had become overwhelming. Each Hydra elite trooper now faced the combined firepower of five or six S.H.I.E.L.D. operatives. No weapon, no matter how advanced, could save them from being overwhelmed.
The only reason Hydra had not been completely annihilated yet was the presence of one extraordinary figure—the Scarlet Witch, Wanda Maximoff.
Though her mind throbbed with pain from overexertion, she stood her ground, her pale hands glowing with waves of crimson energy. Bullets froze midair at her gesture, suspended motionless like beads of rain in amber, before being hurled back or redirected. Enemies were flung aside by invisible force, crashing into trees, walls, or the icy ground.
Captain America was sent flying once again, his shield clattering beside him. For what felt like the hundredth time, Wanda's telekinetic force hurled him into a wall, leaving him bruised and battered. Yet every time, he rose again—bloodied, staggering, but unbroken. His willpower was indomitable.
Wanda's patience frayed. Her voice, trembling with both fury and exhaustion, rang across the battlefield:
"Stay down! How many times do you have to fall before you give up?"
Captain America wiped the blood from his mouth, his expression resolute. "I can do this all day."
And he meant it. His body swayed, but his spirit burned brighter than ever. To Wanda, it was maddening.
"Enough!"
Her cry split the air as she gathered the last of her strength. Scarlet energy surged around her, condensing in a pulsing sphere before erupting outward in a violent wave. The explosion of psychic force sent Captain America and dozens of S.H.I.E.L.D. soldiers hurtling back over two hundred meters, scattering them like leaves in a storm.
The blast bought her a moment's reprieve—but it came at a price. Wanda fell to her knees, clutching her head, gasping for breath. Her vision blurred, her energy nearly spent.
Then her earpiece crackled to life.
"Wanda," came Baron Strucker's familiar voice. "Fall back immediately. There's a tunnel at coordinate A:H6 in the rear mountain. We'll regroup there."
"But, Baron!" she protested, glancing at the soldiers still fighting and dying around her. "If I retreat now, the men—"
"That's an order. Obey it!"
The line went dead.
For a moment, Wanda stood frozen, torn between duty and loyalty. The soldiers she had fought beside looked to her for strength, unaware that their commander had just fled—or worse.
Finally, she bit her lip hard enough to draw blood, turned her back on the battlefield, and disappeared into the forest.
The remaining Hydra troops did not falter. Conditioned through years of indoctrination, they fought on with mechanical determination, giving their lives to buy their witch the time she needed to escape.
The field was littered with fire, bodies, and falling snow.
The Hydra line—broken but unbent—was about to fall completely.
_____
T/N:
For readers who would like early access, my Patreon is available for just $4 per month. You'll unlock 90+ advance chapters and help support ongoing works.
🔗 patreon.com/user?u=79514336
You may also search Translator-Sama directly on Patreon.
Your support is sincerely appreciated