Marvelous Mutations

In a well-guarded cave…

Tony Stark sat hunched over a makeshift workbench, deep in discussion with his unlikely savior and newfound friend, Dr. Ho Yinsen.

They were supposed to be prisoners, helpless, cut off from the world.

But Tony had already begun hatching a plan to escape.

With the vast store of knowledge locked in his mind, it didn't take long before a rough sketch was laid out on a bunch of scrap papers, a blueprint for a suit of steel armor.

It wasn't elegant. It wasn't subtle. But it would get them out.

Yinsen stared at the drawing in disbelief.

Tony had not only devised a new power source in under a day to replace the crude car battery rigged to his chest, but he had also outlined their entire escape strategy.

It was insane.

It was absolutely genius.

And Yinsen, already inspired by Tony's resilience, felt his determination harden. If Stark could do all this under captivity, then he'd follow him to the end.

But just as they were beginning to discuss materials and logistics, their plans were interrupted by a thunderous boom.

Gunfire echoed in the distance. Explosions shook the walls. Shouts rang out through the cave entrance like a battlefield had erupted outside.

Tony's head snapped up.

"Sounds like a full-on war out there," he muttered, a glimmer of hope lighting in his eyes.

They weren't ready yet, the suit was still nothing more than a dream on paper, but maybe, just maybe, they could use the chaos to make a break for it.

Whoever was fighting out there, friend or foe, didn't matter right now.

If they were lucky, the distraction might prove enough to let them slip out unnoticed.

...

Outside the cave.

The desert had become an inferno.

Flames roared through the air, scorching earth and sky alike. Smoke blackened the sun.

And at the heart of the blaze… towered a monstrous creature.

The three-headed dog of hell had returned.

Each of its massive heads bared fangs the size of swords, eyes glowing with murderous flame. Wherever it walked, fire followed.

It didn't need to touch anything. The mere heat radiating from its body was enough to ignite dry branches and char the ground beneath its paws.

The terrorists had never stood a chance.

Some tried to flee, shooting blindly over their shoulders.

Bullets fizzled into molten sparks before even grazing the beast's hide. Completely ineffective.

As for the unfortunate few who had tried to make a meal out of Doggo earlier?

Let's just say the tables can be turned around really fast.

With terrifying ease, the three heads of the cerberus scooped up bodies three at a time, swallowing them whole like they were peanuts at a bar.

The other terrorists could only stare in horror before turning and running like madmen, screaming, tripping over one another in their panic.

Whatever bravado they'd had was long gone.

They were not feared terrorists anymore.

Just prey for a much more terrifying monster.

...

From a safe distance, Natasha and Coulson watched the carnage unfold through binoculars.

Even though they'd already seen video footage of Doggo fighting the Abomination, this… this was different.

No screen could prepare someone for the sheer terror of seeing it in real life.

The flames. The screams. The monster.

Natasha lowered her binoculars slowly.

"We really let a monster loose," she muttered.

Coulson nodded, pale.

"And to think there's someone out there that kicks this monster around for fun," he added grimly.

Suddenly, Luke Yale didn't seem like a simple teenage anomaly.

He seemed more like a walking nuclear threat.

...

Back in the cave.

Tony and Yinsen had crept to the thick steel door that sealed their prison.

Tony ran his hands along the surface. Solid. Reinforced. It wasn't something they could open on their own.

But they suddenly noticed that something was moving on the other side.

The ground shook with each footfall. Dust trickled from the ceiling, and small stones bounced on the floor.

The sound alone made their hearts race.

Whatever it was, it was big.

Then it stopped right outside their cell.

The silence was somehow worse.

Tony and Yinsen froze, staring at the door with growing dread.

And then, the steel began to glow.

Not just glow, burn.

In a matter of seconds, the thick metal turned bright red, then orange, then white-hot. It began to drip, molten iron hissing as it hit the cave floor like falling lava.

Yinsen backed up so fast he stumbled into a crate. Tony was right behind him.

They ducked behind the wooden boxes, peeking just enough to see what was coming.

And then, it appeared.

One massive head smashed through the softened metal, knocking out a jagged hole in the center of the gate.

It filled the entrance entirely.

A colossal dog head wreathed in dark red flame, eyes glowing like burning coal. Magma-like drool spilled from its mouth, hissing as it pooled on the floor.

Its eyes scanned the room, slow and deliberate.

Yinsen made the mistake of looking straight into its eyes and instantly fainted.

In those monstrous pupils, he saw visions, an endless sea of corpses, mountains of skulls, rivers of blood. It was too much for any human mind to bear.

Tony lasted five seconds longer.

He grit his teeth, trying to hold on, but the burning in his eyes became unbearable.

He smelled something acrid. His hair was curling, his eyebrows were singeing from the heat alone.

And then, his vision blurred and everything went dark before he collapsed right next to Yinsen.

…

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