Vincent Hall entered the massive underground bunker.
Following the signs left by "kind" people, he moved quickly. It had taken him nearly twenty minutes to get here from the surface entrance.
Finally, he reached the lowest level.
In a cavernous underground space, a huge cage made of strange, gleaming metal sat in the center. Inside the sealed cage was a table. Behind the table was a screen showing Jessica Jones.
On the table was a remote detonator.
Jessica looked up at the camera, her face bruised and bloody. "Vincent! It's a trap! Run!"
"Jessica, I'm sorry for dragging you into this," Vincent said, his voice cold as he stared at the screen. Behind Jessica stood the Abomination, Emil Blonsky.
"I hear you have a beautiful wife, Captain Blonsky. Any children?" Vincent asked casually.
Blonsky scowled. "Threats won't work on me. You'll never find them."
"Really? Can the military hide them? Can S.H.I.E.L.D.? Can the entire US government hide them from me?" Vincent smiled, but his eyes were dead.
Blonsky raised his right hand, checking his watch. "You have one minute and thirty seconds to decide. Enter the Death Cage I prepared for you, or Miss Jones gets blown to pieces."
He stood fearlessly next to Jessica.
"Your courage and willpower are admirable, Captain. But rest assured, I will kill you personally."
Vincent stepped through the open door of the Death Cage.
Blonsky laughed. "The moment you press the switch, the door seals. Don't blame me for being despicable, Ice Demon. I gave you a chance."
Vincent didn't hesitate. He pressed the remote on the table.
CLANG.
The door of mysterious metal slammed shut, sealing him inside.
"To deal with you, the military used vast resources to build this," Blonsky sneered over the intercom. "Secondary Adamantium. Indestructible. Even your ice powers can't break its molecular structure."
"Don't worry," Blonsky continued. "I'll release Miss Jones. Whether she lives or dies depends on her luck. She's been bleeding for a while."
He looked at Vincent in the cage like he was an idiot. A god brought low by love.
Vincent smiled back at the camera.
"Captain, may I ask a question?"
"Go ahead."
"You have a backup plan, don't you?"
"You'll see it in your final moments."
"That's not my question. My question is: If you suddenly stuffed New York City into a sealed room, would the room explode?"
"Any material has a limit," Blonsky said, frowning. "Adamantium is strong, but if the matter inside exceeds the volume, yes, it would burst. But under that pressure, you would be crushed too."
"I'm just asking for a way to break your cage," Vincent said, scanning the screen for clues.
"Are you trying to find my location?"
"Yes. When I get out, I need to find you, kill you, and take Jessica home."
"Interesting," Blonsky admitted. "If not for General Ross's orders, I would release you just to fight you properly. But a soldier obeys orders."
"Pity. Guess I'll have to visit General Ross later," Vincent shrugged. "By the way, good news. Your Death Cage is flawed. When the door closed, did you notice the frost on the hinge?"
Blonsky's eyes narrowed.
"Also, Adamantium is tough, but near Absolute Zero, even the strongest metal becomes brittle. Physics is a bitch."
Vincent's smile widened.
"Are you stalling?" Blonsky asked suddenly. "Do you think someone is coming to save Jessica?"
"Captain Blonsky, do you know the difference between standing on land and standing on a ship? even a stable ship moves with the water."
Vincent's eyes gleamed.
"Your perception is terrifying," Blonsky said quietly. "But there are thousands of ships in the ocean. Can you really find me? Besides, you should worry about yourself. You're stalling, but you're just giving me more time to kill you."
"You can't kill me," Vincent shook his head.
"There is no one who cannot be killed. Even a demon can be nuked."
Blonsky grinned savagely.
"Adamantium can't hold me. I was just waiting for your backup plan."
Vincent looked at Jessica's pale face on the screen.
"Let's end this."
Blonsky pressed the button.
BOOM.
The Nevada test site erupted.
A 2-megaton hydrogen bomb detonated beneath the desert floor. The shockwave flipped tanks like toys. The mushroom cloud rose into the stratosphere, visible for hundreds of miles.
"NO!!!" Jessica screamed, struggling against her bonds.
"Don't worry," Blonsky said with mock sympathy. "The Ice Demon is dead. I won't kill you. General Ross will handle you."
Atlantic Ocean.
A US Carrier Strike Group was returning to base from San Diego (via the Panama Canal).
Suddenly, the ocean heaved.
Sailors on the flight deck were thrown overboard as a massive wave struck the ship.
"Man overboard! Rescue teams!"
Rumble.
Clear skies turned black in seconds. A hurricane formed out of nowhere, cold and hot winds colliding to create a vortex.
Waves, ten meters high, smashed into the fleet.
Inside the carrier, Jessica glared at the Abomination with hatred. She knew Vincent had died for her.
"Congratulations, Captain. The plan worked," a Navy Admiral entered the room, shaking Blonsky's hand.
"Even a monster is still a man," Blonsky said emotionlessly. "He had a weakness. We exploited it."
"You saved the world, son. God will welcome us in Heaven," the Admiral said, crossing himself.
"Send me back," Blonsky said. "I want to see the crater in Nevada."
"We're in a storm, Captain. Once we clear the hurricane, I'll arrange a flight."
Suddenly, alarms blared.
"General! The Frigate! It's... it's gone!"
"What the f*ck? Gone?"
The hurricane stopped.
But the ocean didn't calm down. Massive whirlpools opened up, swallowing the escort ships whole.
The nuclear carrier was trapped in the center of the largest vortex, pinned by hydraulic pressure.
"My God..."
Blonsky rushed to the window.
He didn't see the seawater seeping into the brig, finding Jessica, wrapping her in a protective bubble, and gently carrying her out of the ship and into the deep ocean.
"How is this possible?" Blonsky stammered. "He was in the cage! The nuke went off!"
"ROAR!!"
Blonsky transformed into the Abomination. He ran to the flight deck and roared at the sky.
"Is this your power, Ice Demon?!"
"Come out! I'll tear you apart!"
The whirlpools rose higher, walling off the carrier from the rest of the world.
A figure in a blue suit emerged from the water, landing on the flight deck. He looked dry, elegant, and bored.
"How did you escape?" Blonsky growled. Soldiers aimed their rifles at Vincent.
"Are you sure the man you killed was me?" Vincent asked.
Figures formed out of the swirling seawater. They solidified into ice statues, then took on Vincent's appearance.
"They are all me," the nearest Ice Clone said. "In my Domain, I am everywhere. I can transfer my consciousness to any water molecule."
"I told you the cage was flawed," Vincent's voice boomed, shaking the ship. "The 'me' you locked up was just an Ice Clone. A puppet."
Blonsky grabbed a fighter jet and hurled it at the clone.
Vincent's main body glowed with golden light.
[Dragon Elephant Wisdom: 13th Layer]
[Fire & Ice Fusion]
"Fire-Ice Palm!"
Vincent struck. A palm of purple fire hit Blonsky's chest, melting the scales and burning into his organs.
His left hand followed up with a blast of Absolute Zero shockwaves.
CRACK.
The whirlpool stopped.
The ocean froze.
The entire carrier strike group was instantly encased in a glacier. The nuclear reactor shut down. Thousands of sailors turned into ice statues in mid-scream.
Blonsky, thanks to the ice, survived the fire palm for a second. The cold numbed the pain of his melting insides.
He looked up at the young man in the blue suit.
"Is this your true face?"
"No," Vincent said coldly. "You only saw the Ice Demon. You forgot I control Fire. And Water. And Strength."
"Your internal organs are burning," Vincent explained. "My inner energy, infused with the Mera Mera no Mi, is destroying you from the inside out."
Vincent had evolved. He was conceptualizing his powers now. Fire wasn't just heat; it was destruction.
"Ross was right," Blonsky wheezed as smoke poured from his mouth. "You can't be tamed."
The Abomination turned to ash.
The purple fire burned through the flight deck, dropping into the ship below. It ignited the fuel stores.
Vincent dissolved into the ice and swam down to finding Jessica.
Behind him, the frozen aircraft carrier began to burn from the inside, a funeral pyre on a sea of ice.
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