Free The Avengers Assemble by Thomas Macri Page B

soften the look of this thing.
    The creature balled its fists, lifted its head, and let out a vicious growl.
    Suddenly, a bright green beam shot out of the sky toward the monster followed by a thunderous impact. What was the government doing—nuking the thing with gamma rays now?
    The green flash was not a nuke—or any other kind of missile. It was another big ugly thing. This one was green and had hair, and was in no way as grotesque and distorted as the one tearing up the city.
    But the ugly monsters were not fighting together—they were fighting each other. The big green one pummeled the ugly one straight down 125 th street, and it left a ditch in the asphalt where it skid. A ticker at the bottom of the screen read: crowds describe rampaging beast as an abomination.
    The Abomination grabbed the green beast and threw him into a building, which crumbled around him. The green beast didn’t even need a minute to a recover, and burst from the rubble as if from water. It leaped in the air and soared a great distance to land on the Abomination, and the two continued to wrestle.
    Now the ticker read: hulk appears to have upper hand.
    The two giants faced each other, hunched in ready stances, prepared to attack. Both lunged at the same time, and they collided in midair. The impact created a disturbance that shattered windows as far as ten blocks away.
    The beasts continued to attack each other. Then a helicopter, looking very small compared to the larger-than-life scene unfolding below, began to pelt the Abomination with bullets.
    The Abomination jumped on top of a roof, and the copter flew in, attempting to achieve more effective fire at closer range. The Abomination grabbed a ten-foot girder from the roof’s water tower. He ripped it out, scattering its rivets on the ground. Then he launched the girder into the air as easily as an ordinary man might throw a spear. It clipped the helicopter’s rear rotor, and the aircraft started whirling out of control and spiraling toward Earth.
    The Hulk took the opportunity to reengage the Abomination, and the two continued to battle.
    The copter crashed into the ground, and the news cameras caught people escaping. A woman ran out of the chopper—and toward the scene of the fight.
    The Hulk roared as the woman approached. The Abomination tore from the ground two marble posts connected by a chain, using them as bolas. The woman continued to approach. She seemed to be calling out to the Hulk. She must have been in shock. The Hulk raised his arms, and his veins and muscles bulged and pulsed.
    The Hulk smashed his hands into the ground and it opened up, creating a great chasm into which his adversary fell. The Hulk moved toward him, and then finished off the Abomination. The Hulk saw to it that the woman was safe, and then bounded off into the New York City night. The Hulk was gone, and the Abomination had been defeated.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
    TONY OPENED THE dark restaurant’s splintered door, flooding it with the bright afternoon sun. Even from outside, he could smell the reeking barroom. Stale drink, cigar smoke—these were not the kinds of smells Tony was used to surrounding himself with. Though disgusted, he strode in as comfortably as if he were walking into a fundraiser at the Waldorf Astoria. He made his way past chatting couples and drinking buddies, straight to General Ross who sat at the other end of the bar.
    â€œI hate to say I told you so, General,” Tony started before General Ross even had a chance to look up at him, “but that Super-Soldier program was put on ice for a reason. I’ve always felt that hardware was more practical.”
    â€œStark!” General Ross said, finally facing Tony.
    â€œGeneral.”
    â€œYou always wear such nice suits,” General Ross said, alluding to Tony’s alter ego, who wore the coolest suit of all.
    â€œTouché,” Tony responded. He paused and then continued, “I hear you have