"Good timing!" When he saw a burst of fire rushing toward him, Baron Strucker didn't flinch, even though he was already badly injured by Johnny Storm's explosive flames. In Baron Strucker's view, if Johnny stayed at a distance and threw fireballs, he'd be hard-pressed to do anything about it. But since this "mage" insisted on engaging in close combat, Baron Strucker would show him the unmatched physical strength of an animal warrior!
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
In the next instant, Baron Strucker's fist collided with Johnny Storm's body, just as Johnny's flame-imbued punch struck Baron Strucker. However, what Baron Strucker didn't expect was that his punch seemed to have no effect on Johnny, while the flames on Johnny's body flared up and spread rapidly onto Strucker's body.
"Whoosh!"
"Whoosh!"
"Whoosh!"
"Ahhh!" In a flash, fierce flames engulfed Baron Strucker, causing him to cry out in pain.
At that moment, Baron Strucker couldn't comprehend why his attack had no effect on Johnny Storm, or why Johnny's flames clung to him like a persistent curse, especially when Johnny's flames had previously shown explosive effects.
"This guy doesn't seem too bright," Johnny muttered to himself as he watched Baron Strucker struggle before him. Initially, Johnny had thought Baron Strucker would be a formidable foe, given his confident demeanor. But after exchanging blows, Johnny realized that Strucker had no experience dealing with enemies like him. Strucker genuinely believed that Johnny was merely a long-range fireball-throwing mage, which was why he had been so excited when Johnny chose close combat.
With a soft "puff," Johnny didn't stop to ponder further. His flame-imbued hand pierced through Baron Strucker's chest!
"Ugh!" Baron Strucker's body shuddered from the intense pain, but Johnny soon felt a resistance on his hand, as if the flesh was forcibly trying to heal around it. Upon closer inspection, Johnny noticed a faint energy fluctuation from Strucker's gear.
"Hmm? Your natural healing ability is impressive, but it shouldn't be this fast, otherwise your injuries wouldn't be so severe. So, is this equipment healing your wounds? What kind of gear is this?" Having encountered many supernatural events, Johnny had developed a keen sense for these things. The tenacity of the animal warriors, including the one he'd obliterated earlier, made Johnny suspect that their gear was highly unusual.
"Damn it!" Baron Strucker didn't answer Johnny's question. The flames continued to burn him, even as his chest rapidly tried to heal and push Johnny's hand out. However, the continuous burning made it impossible for Strucker to fully recover, even with his N-metal-enhanced gear.
This relentless burning enraged Baron Strucker, but he couldn't find a way to break free from the situation. Originally, Strucker believed that his successful animal warrior experiment would allow him to sweep the world, despite having limited intelligence. Strucker thought the Avengers and Superman were nothing special, especially with the support of N-metal. His ambition swelled, and he even dreamed of leading HYDRA openly before the world.
Unfortunately, while the animal warriors were powerful, they weren't strong enough, and they had many weaknesses. They didn't even get to face Clark and Robert before falling to the Avengers.
"Enough. Let's kill him and strip his gear," Johnny muttered to himself as he saw the furious lion face of Baron Strucker. "I'm not the one who needs to worry about this gear... Hmm? Martian Manhunter's already gone, so maybe he's dealing with this."
With that thought, Johnny gathered a terrifying amount of fire in his hand. Even as it formed, Strucker's flesh began to char and turn to ash.
"No! You can't kill me! I have many secrets! If you kill me..." As death approached, Baron Strucker panicked. He wasn't someone who could calmly face death, especially not when he still had so much ambition and revenge against HYDRA and the official agencies. How could he fall here?
"Sizzle!"
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
Johnny showed no intention of stopping despite Strucker's desperate plea. A wave of searing flames rose within Strucker's body, igniting him in a massive explosion. What Johnny didn't expect was that Strucker's body triggered not one but two distinct explosions.
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
As Johnny tried to grasp what was happening inside Strucker's body, one explosion after another began to ripple across the battlefield, leaving Johnny confused as he watched one Avenger after another emerge, looking a bit worse for wear.
Yes, the explosions weren't just within Strucker—they erupted from the animal warriors fighting the Avengers, catching them off guard.
If not for the Avengers' extensive combat experience, and their instinct to back off when they sensed something was wrong, a few of them might have been taken down with the animal warriors in a fiery death.
"What the...? Were these beastmen linked to that guy's life force? The one I killed earlier didn't explode like this!" Johnny muttered in a daze as he watched the chaotic scene unfold.
Johnny now believed that Baron Strucker was completely insane. Animal warriors were no pushovers, with their immense physical strength, and it would take a powerful bomb to kill them. If the Avengers hadn't been cautious, Johnny might have unwittingly helped Strucker take them down!
"Boom!" Meanwhile, back at the Avengers' base, a series of terrifying explosions rocked the facility, startling Reed Richards, Ben Grimm, and the vampires and werewolves.
Almost instinctively, everyone rushed toward the source of the explosions, including Reed and Ben. Even though they lacked superpowers, they couldn't stand by while their home was under attack.
The vampires and werewolves felt the same way. Though initially brought to the Avengers' base against their will and restricted in their movements, they had grown accustomed to life there over time. Especially after realizing that the Avengers were genuinely helping them overcome their physical flaws, they were determined to help if the base was in danger.
"Ugh, ugh!" When they arrived at the source of the explosions, they were greeted by a cloud of smoke, and a fit of coughing from within it. The coughs came from none other than Martian Manhunter.
The explosions on Liberty Island were manageable since the Avengers were fighting separately. Though the island wasn't large, it allowed them to spread out the battlefield, preventing any overlap and sparing any one Avenger from multiple explosions.
But Martian Manhunter's situation was different. He had captured far more animal warriors than were on Liberty Island, all in his quest to study the N-metal. When the explosions occurred, the combined blasts were too much for even the Avengers' base's sturdy walls to contain.
Thankfully, it was Martian Manhunter who brought the warriors back. His ability to phase through matter allowed him to avoid the worst of the explosions. Had it been any other Avenger—except for Robert—even Hulk and Kara might not have emerged unscathed.
"Ugh!" As Martian Manhunter coughed, he heard a faint groan beside him, which made him pause. He hadn't expected any of the animal warriors to survive such a devastating explosion. The explosion had originated from within their bodies, after all, and if they could survive that, they were indeed formidable...
A thought crossed Martian Manhunter's mind as he followed the sound. He didn't see any living beings at first—most of the animal warriors had been blown to pieces, leaving no trace behind. But then he noticed an oval-shaped metal sphere lying on the ground, blocking his view, with the groan coming from within.
"Hmm? What's this?" Martian Manhunter paused, puzzled by the metal sphere. It was made of different metals pieced together, and some parts seemed to be deteriorating rapidly.
"Crack!" After a moment, as the smoke cleared, large sections of the sphere's metal peeled away, revealing a pair of metallic wings and a head with an eagle helmet.
"Hmm? Weren't these regular bird wings before? Is this similar to Doctor Octopus?" Martian Manhunter muttered as he observed Carter Hall's new form.
Martian Manhunter finally got a clear look at Carter Hall's condition and saw that he was in a miserable state. His lower body was completely gone, with only a belt protecting the remaining flesh on his upper body. The flesh in his chest had been obliterated, and while his neck and head were barely intact thanks to his helmet, they were still severely damaged.
"Surviving that... Too bad the Saiyan isn't here; you wouldn't have to suffer like this..." Martian Manhunter shook his head in regret, quickly placing Carter Hall in a healing pod. Whether Carter Hall survived would depend on his own will to live.
Martian Manhunter could clearly sense that the metal protecting Carter Hall had reached its limit. If Carter Hall's life force wasn't strong enough, he would have been reduced to a mere corpse like the other dead animal warriors.
Fortunately, Carter Hall's life force was strong, and his will to live, which Martian Manhunter could clearly feel, kept him alive.
"I'm fine, Reed. Keep an eye on them; I'm heading to Liberty Island..." After dealing with Carter Hall, Martian Manhunter didn't stay long. He quickly instructed Reed Richards and the vampire werewolf Jack Russell, "Jack, keep an eye on this guy. If he wakes up, stay alert!"
"Got it!"
"No problem! Leave it to me!"
As soon as Reed Richards acknowledged, Martian Manhunter's form vanished. He realized that the explosions on his end were likely connected to Liberty Island. Carter Hall getting blown up was one thing, but if the Avengers had suffered similar fates, it would be a huge problem!
Back on Liberty Island, after the explosions ended, the Avengers looked at each other in disbelief before quickly regrouping. Tony Stark's armor was already at work, gathering the scattered metal fragments around them. Stark had set his sights on these metal pieces and wasn't about to let any official agency snatch them up.
"So, were those explosions your doing?" Pietro glared at Johnny Storm, clearly unhappy. Unlike some of the other Avengers, Pietro didn't have a super-strong body. He was only saved by his speed, or he'd be in much worse shape right now.
"No way, I had no idea they were self-destructing soldiers!" Johnny protested, his face full of innocence and frustration. "I was just trying to save Cap by taking down that guy. How was I supposed to know he was the leader of these beastmen and that he had planted bombs inside them, tying their fates together?"
The Avengers shared a heavy silence as they processed what had just happened. The situation had been far more dangerous than they initially realized, and it was only through their experience and quick reflexes that they had managed to avoid a disaster. Johnny's intervention had inadvertently triggered the animal warriors' self-destruct mechanisms, but it was clear that the real blame lay with Baron Strucker and his twisted experiments.
"Well, we survived," Tony said, breaking the tension. "Let's make sure we learn from this. We need to be more cautious moving forward, especially when dealing with opponents like these."
The others nodded in agreement. This battle had shown them just how dangerous and unpredictable their enemies could be. They needed to stay sharp, rely on each other, and always be ready for the unexpected. The fight wasn't over, but as long as they stood together, the Avengers knew they could face whatever came next.
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