"What?"
"Wiped out… completely?"
At S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters, the black, bald director froze on the spot when he heard the frontline report. It hit him so hard he fell into stunned silence.
"Where's the Captain? Where's Agent Romanoff?"
"I'm alive."
Natasha cut into the channel. Her voice sounded… off.
"I'm hiding in the ventilation ducts," she said with difficulty.
Because, in truth, she was hiding—but only halfway.
Her upper and lower body were just a bit too… well-proportioned, so not long after crawling into the duct, she got stuck.
Now she couldn't move forward or backward.
"Where's the Captain?"
"He drew the bullfrog away," Natasha replied helplessly.
Steve had clearly underestimated the bullfrog monster's destructive power. His shield blocked the frontal attack, but he hadn't expected the beast to collapse the floor beneath his feet!
Of course, Steve himself was fine—his vitality rivaled that of a cockroach.
But his shield was knocked away.
It wasn't until the agent squad caught up that he managed to retrieve it again.
As for that squad—
After their firepower proved useless, the bullfrog swept them away like it was cleaning up a battlefield, its massive tongue lashing out.
Several unlucky agents were swallowed whole. Even those who weren't eaten collapsed instantly after being struck—the impact was no different from being hit by a speeding car. Their bones were likely shattered to pieces.
Fury never imagined those highly trained agents would be taken down so quickly.
After a brief silence, he cursed furiously:
"Motherf—!"
Forming a superhuman task force was no longer optional—it was inevitable!
But right now, the immediate crisis still had to be dealt with.
He picked up an old-fashioned pager.
"Do I really have to call her back…?"
Calling Carol back—just to deal with a frog?
Even Fury thought that sounded ridiculous.
"If it comes to it, we'll have to request heavy fire support," he thought grimly.
At the end of the day, it was just a monster. Fury didn't believe a few missiles couldn't kill it.
But if it came to that, Manhattan—the most prosperous area of New York—would be finished.
As the financial center of the country, large-scale destruction in Manhattan would cause catastrophic economic losses.
Yet if they didn't act—
All of New York might be lost.
Fury hesitated.
Thankfully, at that moment, the Captain cut into the channel.
"I've got a plan. This time, I really do," Steve said loudly as he slid aside to dodge another attack.
"The bullfrog's skin is extremely tough—it's hard to damage from the outside. But I doubt its insides are just as indestructible."
"Captain, what are you planning to do?"
Of course—stuff a grenade straight up its ass.
That was what the honey-tongued Captain really wanted to say.
But considering his image, he chose a different phrasing.
"Feed the explosives into its stomach."
"Then let me handle it," Hawkeye spoke up.
He was currently on the rooftop of another building, providing cover for Tony with his bow—and doing a damn good job of it. He'd already shot out one of the giant bird's eyes, and he'd also spotted Dong Wu.
"Captain, lure the bullfrog to the rooftop. I'll take care of it with explosives."
As he spoke, he bundled all his explosive arrows together.
Steve wanted to say that his throwing arm was pretty good too—but he nodded instead.
After all, the enemy wasn't just the bullfrog. He still had a mad scientist to stop.
Steve led the bullfrog in a violent charge upward. The monster practically hollowed out the building from the inside as it rampaged. Several times, Steve nearly got caught by its tongue—but he narrowly escaped each time.
Now, he burst out onto the rooftop of Stark Tower.
The moment he emerged, a red suit of armor roared past him.
"Where'd this clown come from?" Tony muttered, still unaware of Captain America's identity.
Steve didn't have time to look at Stark. He rolled away instantly—
And the next second, a colossal mass burst out behind him!
The bullfrog threw its tongue like a whip!
Hawkeye, bow already fully drawn, released without hesitation. The arrow streaked through the air and plunged precisely into the bullfrog's throat!
"A target that big—zero challenge," he said, shaking his head.
The bullfrog felt like a thorn had suddenly lodged in its throat.
The next instant—
BOOM!!!
A dull explosion erupted inside its body.
The blast instantly bloated the creature like an overinflated balloon. Its mouth twisted, thick black smoke pouring out as if its soul were escaping…
"Nice shot!" Captain America pumped his fist excitedly.
Up in the air, Tony saw it too and nodded. "Internal destruction—smart."
He decided to copy the homework.
Of course, compared to a big-mouthed bullfrog, pulling the same trick on a flying monster wasn't nearly as easy.
The commotion naturally caught Dong Wu's attention. He'd been busy adjusting his serum, but when he saw his mutated frog blown apart, his expression darkened.
"Surrender immediately!" Steve shouted.
"Wrong!" Dong Wu snarled, stepping forward.
"It is you who will submit—to me, the genius animal doctor—Dong Wu!"
He grabbed a syringe beside him and slammed it into his own body.
The next moment—
Mutation began.
Dong Wu's skin turned blue-green, his body swelling to several times its original size!
He was no longer the frail human he once was.
He had become a gene-mutated—prehistoric evolved new human!
At this moment, Dong Wu looked even more terrifying than Connors had. Curved horns sprouted from his head, fangs filled his mouth, and a pair of massive bat-like wings unfurled from his back!
He looked like a demon straight out of hell.
Before arriving at Stark Tower, Dong Wu had even made a stop at a prehistoric fossil museum, extracting genetic material from numerous extinct creatures.
The horns on his head came from mammoth tusks.
The fangs in his mouth—from saber-toothed tigers.
The wings on his back—from pterosaurs…
He was a prehistoric chimera—a living abomination.
Yet his power hadn't been diluted.
Under the effects of the Variator, it had stacked—multiplied!
Standing atop Stark Tower, his towering body looked like a Demon King finally ascending his throne.
"So much power!"
Dong Wu clenched his fists, savoring the unparalleled exhilaration.
His massive figure formed a stark contrast with Steve's—
And the next second, Dong Wu lunged!
With a single claw, he seized Steve and smashed him downward!
The rooftop was punched straight through!
Dong Wu carried Steve, smashing through the entire building—
From the top floor all the way to the first-floor lobby!
Steel-reinforced concrete shattered like flimsy boards used in a taekwondo demonstration—one touch, and it broke.
But after being slammed down hundreds of floors—
Steve's eyes were unfocused, his body barely clinging to life.
No matter how tough he was, even he couldn't endure an attack like that.
Now, whether Steve lived or died—
Depended on a single thought from Dong Wu.
"Captain?"
"Steve Rogers!"
In the comms, Nick Fury's voice grew increasingly frantic.
But—
There was no response.
At S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters, Fury's heart sank halfway into his chest.
A moment later, he finally picked up the phone, his voice heavy.
"Prepare immediately. Five minutes from now, initiate fire coverage over Manhattan—"
"Wait!"
Hawkeye cut in urgently.
"I hate to interrupt, but the situation's changed."
"What?"
"It's hard to explain—but whatever that is, it doesn't look like an enemy!"
Above New York—
A blazing silhouette plunged downward like a falling meteor!
Before Hawkeye's stunned eyes, the fireball slammed into the fast-flying monstrous bird, carrying it straight into the interior of Stark Tower!
BOOM!!!
In that instant, Bant descended like heavenly fire!
"A hero makes his entrance!"
/-\
~ PLEASE! don't forget to leave a REVIEW!
~ +20 Advanced Chapters Available on my Patreon!
https://p-atreon.com/Its_Zack
(Just remove the hyphen (-) to access Patreon normally.)
/-\
~# Keep the chapters coming - Support with Power Stones!
~# Every 50 Power Stones = Bonus Chapter