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Jimmy went through processing covered head to toe in grime.
Name.
Reason for being in the area.
How he escaped the evacuation zone.
The usual questions.
Then came the quiet parts.
Photos deleted.
Digital records scrubbed.
A non-disclosure agreement was placed in front of him.
Sign here, Initially there.
By the time it was done, he was free to go.
Tomorrow's headlines had already been written.
Everyone involved had "died in a gas main explosion." Witness accounts were attributed to toxic fumes, heat-induced hallucinations, and mass panic. No images. No videos.
From the moment Abomination appeared, every major platform received the same directive. Zero uploads. Zero circulation, Any leaked footage was erased within seconds.
A few vague CGI stills would surface later. A controlled narrative. Some planted commentary. Enough noise to blur the truth.
And just like that, the incident would fade.
Only the people who were there would know what really happened.
---
At Stark Tower, Tony had already confirmed that Jimmy was out of danger.
He didn't say anything.
He just stood in his lab, staring at the armor schematic hovering in front of him.
"…Might be time," Tony muttered, "to design something meant for monsters."
---
As for Jimmy, this was not just survival.
He had completed a hidden mission.
And the rewards were substantial.
The interface flickered to life.
[Hidden Mission Complete.]
[Objective One: Eliminate Abomination.
Reward: Skill Points +1.]
[Objective Two: Immediate Retribution.]
[Description: I don't hold grudges. I settle them on the spot.]
[Title Acquired: Jimmy the Groin-Splitter.
Reward: Random Draw +1.]
[Objective Three: Civilian and Military Rescue.]
Each individual saved granted one percent experience toward the current level.
When the interface finished updating, Jimmy reviewed his status.
---
Name: Jimmy.
Alias: Logan Variant.
Level: 15 (17%)
Age: 2
X-Gene Rank: 2.
Abilities: Enhanced Regeneration, Feral Perception, Heightened Olfactory Sense, Advanced Unarmed Combat Mastery, Bladed and Claw Weapon Proficiency.
Secondary Ability: Absorption (Damaged).
Equipment: Memory-Edged Adamantium Alloy.
Yellow Gemstone (Unslotted).
Level: 12.
Weapon Effect: Lightning Damage, Variable.
Shield Effect: Electrical Resistance.
Attributes:
Strength: 60.
Agility: 60.
Mental: 50.
Available Points:
Stat Points: 5.
Skill Points: 1.
Skill points could be used to further develop the X-Gene or unlock dormant genetic traits.
Combat Disciplines:
Close-Range Power Striking.
Bladed Martial Forms.
Title: Jimmy the Groin-Splitter.
Inventory: Random Instance Access Token x1, Summon Draw x1, Lonely Mountain Anchor x1, Mutant Realm Coordinate x1.
---
Jimmy stared at the title.
"…Groin-Splitter?"
He pinched the bridge of his nose.
Was this seriously because he almost castrated the Hulk by accident?
That might actually be the dumbest achievement name he had ever seen.
Still.
If nothing else, he had done something no one else ever had.
He had broken the Hulk's pants.
And somehow, that counted as a legendary feat.
Laugh if you want, but history has proven one thing.
Iron Man's armor had shattered before, and Thor's hammer had been broken. Even Captain America's shield had been destroyed.
But the Hulk's pants?
Those had survived everything.
Which somehow made the title sting even more.
Thankfully, the interface was visible to him alone, If anyone else could see it, the humiliation would never end.
Still, the reward for killing Abomination genuinely surprised Jimmy.
A skill point.
That meant the system had classified Abomination as more than cannon fodder, not a world-ending threat, but not trash either.
A minor boss, maybe.
---
Back home, Jimmy stared at the interface again.
All exams completed, Paperwork done, No loose ends.
By his own habits, that meant one thing.
A trip.
Not an operation, not a mission, A break.
Somewhere quiet, Somewhere warm. Somewhere that lets him reset before diving into the next instance.
The Harlem fight had left a sour taste in his mouth.
He had not beaten Abomination cleanly.
And that bothered him.
Abomination was something the Hulk could tear apart even while half-conscious, That put things into perspective.
If Abomination was half a Hulk, then Jimmy was what? Three-quarters of one?
And if he could not beat a full Hulk, how exactly was he supposed to face Thanos one day?
Lose to Thanos, and what was the point of showing up at all?
He flipped through travel magazines and scrolled through destination listings.
This time was not about danger or exploration.
No jungles.
No ruins.
No places where people scream excitedly while jumping off cliffs.
He wanted somewhere calm, Mild weather, and beautiful scenery. Fewer people.
A real vacation.
After a moment, he made his choice.
"This will do."
---
"Hey, Tony."
"Yeah, it's me. When are you coming by? It's been too long. We should sit down and talk."
"And by the way," Tony added, "your lab is called Jimmy Biotech, not Stark Industries. Pepper is already exhausted. Stop dumping the sales workload on her."
Jimmy snorted. "Wow! A billionaire who stopped exploiting people. You're betraying your class."
They moved on quickly.
The first batch of Blood Orchid extracts had already been harvested. Results were excellent. The Blueheart Fruit was growing well, though it would take longer before flowering.
The Blood Orchid skincare line had exploded in popularity.
Not just demand. Obsession.
Buying it required connections. Money alone was not enough.
Security upgrades told the whole story.
Three increases in staff strength in a short span.
At this point, the lab had more guards than most federal buildings, not better tech. Just more bodies.
Layers upon layers.
A massive industrial park, with only one true core facility at its center.
And even then, large sections of the land were still unused. Blood Orchid reproduction was slow. Natural growth had limits.
---
Jimmy arrived at Tony's lab to find him deep in research again.
"Graduation gift," Tony said without looking up. "Want anything?"
"Pass," Jimmy replied. "But yesterday's oversized problem. That was a military experiment, right?"
He smirked. "I saw the paper this morning. Gas leaks. Chain explosions. Toxic hallucinations. Very official."
Tony sighed. "Don't act like you were invisible. Someone already traced Frank Damick's involvement back to the incident."
"You should have at least varied the wounds," Tony added dryly. "Same strike pattern every time. That's practically a signature."
"Good thing you didn't run straight home. No cameras spotting you over that distance would have raised flags immediately."
Jimmy shrugged. "They're a little busy right now, aren't they?"
"Very," Tony said. "That thing was Ross's pet project. The military's split. One side believes in biological enhancement. The other side believes in hardware."
Tony gestured vaguely at his lab.
"I'm on the hardware side."
"This disaster proved Ross's approach was flawed. And since you killed his miracle monster…"
Tony smiled thinly.
"There's an opening. And I think we're about to absorb a lot of resources that used to belong to him."
Jimmy leaned back, thoughtful.
So that was how the world really worked.
Not justice.
Not heroics.
Just who survived the fallout?
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