Norman Osborn tumbled through the air, smming into the corridor wall with a deafening crash. Most of the impact was absorbed by his nanite armor, but the impact sent cracks through the reinforced steel behind him. He jumped up and growled, "Now what do we have here?"

  Across the room, General Thaddeus Ross, now transformed into the hulking, crimson-skinned monstrosity known as Red Hulk, stood t over the wreckage. His body gave off heat waves in a fiery silhouette, giving the impression that he had stepped out of hell itself. "Hello, Ozzy. You shouldn't have made me angry. Now, time to die."

  Norman's lips curled into a maniacal grin as his nanite armor shifted, energy bdes extending from his wrists. "Hahaha! Ross. To think you had a monster hiding inside you... But you are a knockoff version of Hulk. I am evolution!" He lunged forward with inhuman speed, the green energy of his bdes crag in the dim light.

  Ross met the charge head-on, swinging a massive fist. The collisioed a shockwave that bsted apart the remaining walls a debris raining down. Norman's bdes sparked as they cshed against Ross's superheated skin, but they mao pierce the thick hide, drawing lines of glowing molten blood.

  Red Hulk roared in pain and fury, grabbing Norman by the torso and hurling him through a support n. The base shook violently, ses of the ceiling colpsing as fire and smoke filled the air. Norman nded hard, his armor already repairing itself as he stood, ughing.

  "Is that all you've got, Ross? I expected more from the great Thunderbolt!" Norman taunted. His nanites morphed again, his cws elongating into scythe-like bdes.

  Ross charged, the grouh him crag with each step. He threw a haymaker aimed at Norman's head, but Norman ducked with unnatural agility, tering with a spinning ssh across Ross's abdomen. The bde sliced deep, spilling more molten blood that hissed as it hit the floor. He stumbled, but only for a sed. "DAMN YOU! NORMAN!" He terattacked with a thunderous cp of his hands, the shockwave fttening everything in its path.

  Norman was bsted backward, crashing through another se of the base and out into the open air. He rose from the rubble, his nanite armlowing brighter as it worked to keep up with the damage. "Hahaha! Now this is a fight!" He spread his arms, green energy radiating from him.

  Red Hulk charged again, this time jumping high into the air and ing down with a devastating sm aimed at Norman's head. Norman sidestepped at the st sed, sshing at Ross's arm as it came down. The bde dug deep, severing muscles, but the wound healed almost instantly. Steam rose from Ross's flesh as his wound healed.

  "You're tough," Norman admitted. "But time to end this."

  The naransformed into a on-like extension from his left arm. It glowed with green energy as it emitted a focused bst of energy directly at Ross. The bst hit him square in the chest, sending a deafening shockwave but Ross didn't move. He staggered slightly but was otherwise unbothered.

  "ry," Ross grabbed a k of debris and hurled it at Norman. Norman tried to move, but his legs felt sluggish for a moment. He didn't have the ce to dodge it. The crete crashed, burying him uons of rubble.

  The entire base was destroyed. A couple of walls were still intact at this point.

  For a moment, there was silehen the pile of debris exploded outward as Norman emerged, his armor dented but still funal. "Impressive," he said, dusting himself off. "But you'll have to do better than that." His body was responding again like befain.

  Their battle raged on, each strike more devastating tha. Norman used his agility and precision to nd blow after blow, his nanite bdes slig through Ross's defenses. But Ross's raw power and regeive abilities kept him in the fight, his attacks relentless and overwhelming.

  Norman noticed something peculiar as the battle dragged on. His energy bsts seemed to have no effe Ross, the beams absorbed by the Red Hulk's superheated body. But his bdes—those were w. Each cut left a wound that, while healing quickly, still slowed Ross down.

  "Iing," He muttered, a pn f in his mind. "Let's test your limits, shall we?"

  He darted in close, feinting with an energy bst before sshing across Ross's chest. The move caught Ross off guard, and he roared in pain as the bde sank deep. Norman pressed the advantage, delivering a flurry of precise strikes that left Ross staggering.

  But Ross wasn't do.

  "ARGGGG!!!"

  He smmed both fists into the ground with a deafening roar, creating a massive shockwave that leveled the surrounding area. The remaining walls crumbled, trees were uprooted, and Norman was thrown off his feet.

  As the dust settled, Norman rose again, his armor flickering as the naruggled to keep up. He was grinning, but his movements were slower, less fluid. Something was wrong.

  "What's the matter, Osborn?" Ross taunted, his voice dripping with venom. "Starting to feel the strain?"

  Norman's grin faltered as he felt a searing pain course through his body. His arman to glitch, the nanites flickering and pulsiically. His veins were glowing green. He could tell something was wrong.

  "GAAH!" His nanite suit cracked as electric sparks busted out of his skin and the burniion grew. His strength began to fade as he clutched his sides, trying in vain to hold himself together. "Impossible!"

  Ross walked up to him, "Told you, didn't I? That serum is a failure, just like you. You will get insane power and healing, but it's only temporary. The batch you sent us killed thirty of my men. A waste of their lives, an unproductive use for the experiment you developed. You couldn't trol it or predict its effects."

  "No..." Norman grunted, f himself to his knees. His senses were ing back. 'What am I doing here? Why am I fighting him? What the hell is he? What's going on? What's this pain?' Too many questions flooded his mind. He looked at his arms as they began to crumble away.

  Then, he heard a voiside his head... ["How does it feel to die without knowing what's going on?"]

  "Who's there?! Get out!"

  ["I hear you screaming in your head... So many questions, yet no answers. Yoing to die, Norman. But look at that red monster. Yoing to let him mock you till the end? That's unlike you. You still have a ce. Use the remaining nanites and push them into his body through his ears or hen transform them into sharp bdes. Cut that bastard i."]

  Norman didn't think much. If he was going to die anyway, why the hell not? He entered a simple and and maniputed the remaining nanites and did as the voice told him to. Ross didn't even notice the near-invisible nanites entering his body.

  "Ah!" Ross cracked his neck again and sighed. "Now, I'll have to rebuild everything again. You just had to fuck everything up, didn't you? Well, goodbye Norman."

  [Baam!] He punched Norman to the ground, spttering him into blood a. It was like killing a mosquito for him.

  As Ross wiped the remnants of Norman Osborn from his hands, he heard the unmistakable whir of rotor bdes and the hum of approag jets. The smoke and dust parted to reveal the unmistakable silhouettes of S.H.I.E.L.D. Quis h above the ruins, their searchlights pierg through the chaos.

  As the jet flew down a bit, from its side door, Natasha Romanoff leaned out, her sharp gaze locked onto Ross, while t Barton stood behind her, bow in hand, an arrow already nocked.

  "Ross," Natasha's voice crackled through the loudspeakers, calm yet anding. "Stand down. This ends now."

  Ross snarled, his massive fists g as he took a step forward. "Stand down? Do you have any idea who you're talking to?" He gestured around the destru. "This is your fault, Romanoff. You and your little band of spies brought this on yourselves! You people are a dao all and I'm going to get rid of you all."

  Another sound, this one more distinct—a high-pitched hum—drew Ross's attention to the sky. Ironman in his signature red armor flew down on the ground. "Big, red, and angry," Stark quipped, his tone light but his posture tense. "Man, you are really making a mess of things, Ross. Did no one ever teach you to up after yourself?"

  Ross growled. "Stark. Another one of Fury's pdogs. What are you going to do? Lecture me to death?"

  Tony smirked. "Tempting. But no. I thought I'd do this instead." He raised his palm, and with a sharp ping, a dome of shimmering energy materialized around the battlefield, its edges glowing with a blue hue. "Energy shield. Courtesy of yours truly. You're not going anywhere until we sort this out. So, turn off that red guy and e out, or put up a fight and I'll get to test my new Buster Mark 3 on you."

  Ross threw back his head and ughed, a guttural, mog sound. "You think a fancy light show stop me? I'll tear that thing apart!"

  [Slice!] "Huh?!"

  Before anyone could think what happened, Ross' body got split in half. His guts and blood spttered as his split-up body fell on both sides. A gleaming green bde was h iweewo halves.

  "Wait a sec!" Tony rushed in and quickly sed the nanites. "These are... mine?!"

  ...

  [Far away from the location...]

  "Serum and nahat you mixed and programmed within half an hour for me... Well, Tony Stark..." Aron smirked, satisfied with his little game. "You got a freaking great mind, probably better than that Reed when it es to instant ization. Now, try to figure out how your nanites got there."

  He was about to teleport away but felt someone's presence behind him... Well, there were three people.

  "Ah! Blink, Jean and Professor. Tell me something, Prof. You knew about Trask and his Sentinel program, yet you did nothing and you've been busy colleg our data. Why?" Aron asked without turning around.

  "Colleg data? What is he talking about, Prof?" Jean asked, fused.

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