Abomination Vs. Wonder Man
New York City.
Heralded as the greatest city in the world, it is known for its culture... its politics... but, above all, its known for its super-heroes. Those costumed crusaders, defenders of the innocent... and avengers of all those who suffer life's petty tyrannies and despicable threats. These heroes make the city feel secure in its knowledge that come the morrow, the sun will dawn on it anew. Its citizens feel protected. They feel safe. But safety... is an illusion.
For though the world possesses hundreds if not thousands of heroes, ranging from those whose powers could level worlds to those whose only power is the strength of their heart and the determination of their spirit, so too does it possess that which stands in cosmic balance to their good - it possesses evil. In the hearts of men, gods, and demons alike, there forever exists that lust for power and destruction... that siren song of self-interest which pushes one to take all that one wants with force, regardless of the cost. There exists that urge to give in to baser instincts. And in none is this more evident than in one of the most powerful forces of malevolent destruction to stride this Earth - the Abomination.
Empowered by the same radiation that gave birth to the Hulk, yet twisted by a nature far more coarse and cruel than ever the good Doctor Banner could ever fear to embrace, the Abomination is a force of nature unto himself. Many a hero has felt his wrath; few have been able to respond in kind. He is a demon of old made flesh... a man-made monster of which ancient Greeks and Romans would have told many a tale... and now, he stands in downtown Manhattan, rage writ across his green face.
The hulking brute, standing well over six and a half feet tall, lumbers out from an alleyway like some nightmare gained flesh. At first, the only one to notice the scaled menace are those who traverse the city on foot - businessmen on the way to their offices, joggers out for an afternoon run, mothers pushing strollers as they go about their daily lives, and more. But no matter their race, sex, creed, or any other denomination which Man uses to separate itself into tidy categories, the response to the sudden appearance of the Abomination is the same.
They scream in sheer terror as the Abomination strides towards the street, a sinister snarl upon his inhuman lips, the crowds before him scatter in every direction save for that from which he comes. Several trip and fall in their panic to remove themselves from his presence; few pause in their flight of terror to help. Fortunately for those few and the ones they tend to, the Abomination shows no interest in them - yet. Rather, he continues forward until he begins to enter the street itself... and that is where the chaos truly begins. For, not yet noticing the green-skinned behemoth's presence, a taxi comes roaring down the street with its horn blaring repeatedly - a warning for anyone and everyone to get out of its way. The Abomination, however, is not 'anyone'. He is not 'everyone'. And no matter the taxi driver's sense of self-importance, this terror made flesh simply does not care.
The taxi driver, seeing the monstrous super-being too late and being unable to change course, plows straight into the Abomination, who only takes notice of it at the last second in order to reach out with one mighty hand. It is an impactful collision - glass windows shatter, a metal frame bends, and the man inside screams his shock and dismay. But for the Abomination, it is as if nothing more than a stiff wind has struck his nigh-invulnerable form. One outstretched hand is enough to halt the speeding taxi in its path; and afterwards, without having taken a single step away from his intended path, the villainous brute glances to the side at the stunned driver... and grins in an unholy and spine-chilling fashion.
"A-Ahh!" Screaming as if to hold the monster at bay, the taxi driver bails from his vehicle immediately - and that's not a moment too soon, for the one to cause this wreck now has plans for it. With massive hands that seem meant for the breaking of bone, the Abomination turns and bends down to grab hold of the damaged taxi; and then, with barely any effort at all, he lifts it above his head... and throws it with a lion-like roar. The flying vehicle soars through the air before crashing to the ground a good distance away, skidding across the street and causing several other vehicles to swerve to the side in an effort to miss it. Then, as more than one person steps out of their cars in confusion, some even looking as if they are about to raise a fuss, the Abomination steps out further into the road until he is standing in its center, seen by all. His malevolent eyes scanning the area, where many on-lookers flee yet more remain transfixed by this sudden rampage, the irradiated menace flexes his clawed hands and begins to sneer with sinister satisfaction.
"That's it..." The bestial menace exhibits all the signs of pleasure as he takes in the terror of the crowd and the smoke that rises from the thrown taxi. "That's what I want!" He takes another step, this time with enough force to pound the ground and create a mighty crack which runs down the street from where his foot touched down. "Scream for me!" He roars this at one crowd of on-lookers, causing them to do exactly that - scream. Then, with a mad laugh, he turns to the side to repeat this process at even more New Yorkers who are either too scared to run, too intrigued to be smart, or too foolish to sense danger when they see it. "Show me your fear! Your terror!" Suddenly, he charges towards a bus that has remained parked at a nearby bus stop, and upon reaching it he grabs onto it with claw-tipped fingers that possess the strength of a hundred men. Doing so sends a jolt of terror through this pinnacle of public transportation, and dozens of civilians pour out of it in a desperate attempt to escape what is to come. Those who do so before the exit gets jammed with panicked bodies are fortunate; those who remain trapped inside are much less so. For after getting a grip on the bus, Abomination heaves it over his head with barely any more effort than it took to lift the taxi moments before... and with another maniacal roar, he throws it across the street with enough force that the front of the bus crashes into an opposing building while the men and women in the way scramble to the sides.
By now, cries of pain have begun to mix with the screams of terror that have met this green-skinned brute every step of the way since he emerged from the alley... evidence, clearly, that not all who have encountered the Abomination remain uninjured. The Abomination himself, meanwhile, throws his head back and laughs. He wanted terror. He wanted chaos. And now? Now, he's getting everything he wanted, and as of yet there appears to be nothing to stop him from having it some more...
Having decided to engage in a little senseless mayhem, the Abomination stands in the middle of a Manhattan street with a defiant sneer upon his green lips. "Come on! More! More!" Laughing at the terror that he has inspired, the hulking brute marches over towards a nearby intersection and snatches a sign pole from out of the ground with ease. He then hurls it through the air like a spear, sending a dozen panicked civilians ducking for cover before it harpoons into a building with shattered glass and a woman's scream.
It is then that something new reaches his over-sized ears - the sounds of police sirens. This new development makes him grin, though there is no warmth to it, as he turns towards an approaching cop car. The police vehicle comes screeching to a halt nearby, and from it springs two young and fit officers with guns drawn. "F-Freeze, mister!" Though one does his best to order the Abomination's compliance, he cannot hide the terror in his voice. The Abomination hears it... and grins all the more for it.
"I can /taste/ your fear..." Announcing this loud and clear, the mocking monster takes several steps towards the police officers. His hands open and close, flexing the muscles therein as he prepares a vicious assault, "...and it tastes oh so /sweet/!" With a roar, the Abomination charges the two overwhelmed cops, who quickly open fire upon him - though it does them no good. Bullets ricochet from his gamma-irradiated flesh, and finally they are forced to dive to the side as the vicious villain crashes shoulder-first into their squad car. The vehicle itself is instantly knocked off of all four tires, its metallic hull being bumped further down the street before ending up rolling onto its side. Then, with another sinister laugh, the irradiated menace turns towards the first officer to regain his feet and swats him aside with the back of one large fist. "You are gnats!" The second officer, still crouching, opens fire upon him once more to the same effect as before. "And you are fit for only one thing!" The officer's face pales as he looks up into the scaled visage of the Abomination, who sports a twisted grin and eyes which gleam with malice. Frozen in place, he can do nothing but look up in terror as the murderous menace finishes his declaration. "Squashing!" With one foot in the air, the Abomination prepares to step on the police officer - an action that would surely lead to his demise...
The city is in chaos. In downtown Manhattan, Abomination has emerged with but a single purpose on his irradiated mind - destruction. The average civilian, as one may well guess, was powerless before this monster of the atomic age. The police, those valiant defenders who came forward to protect the innocent even in the face of a force far beyond their abilities, were likewise outmatched... and even now, one such officer stares up in a wild panic at certain death.
But, finally, there is hope. From far off in the distance, there is suddenly a glimmer of purple light. Small at first, it quickly grows... and grows... until at last it appears as if a man-sized meteor has come down from the Heavens above and is swooping in over the street which leads straight to the rampaging villain. This glowing comet, moving too fast for the common eye to see clearly, aims itself straight for the laughing villain - and without warning, it comes striking in directly for the Abomination's chest with enough a crushing amount of force
"Back off, 'Bomy- NOW!" Hope has arrived in the form of Simon Williams, the many-faced hero known as Wonder Man... and, because of it, an innocent man's life may be saved... Before he can stomp the life out of the police officer, the Abomination spots a light in the distance. Puzzled, his green lips twist into a frown. "Wha-?" His eyes then grow wide as that light rapidly approaches him, its true size becoming evident as it does so, and ultimately he is given no time to work out a response to this turn of events before getting struck in the chest, "Whuff!" An explosion of air comes from his surprised mouth as he is hit in the gut, and the sheer force of the blow sends him flying backwards through the air; and when he finally touches back down to the ground head-first, he skids along the street on his back while leaving a rubble-lined groove behind him until he comes to a stop against a pair of abandoned cars.
"Urrr...," groans the Abomination in a daze afterwards, and as he sits up he rubs at his scaled head. Upon knocking the scale-covered villain away, Wonder Man stops in mid-flight in order to hover in place. As he does so, he looks down at the fallen police officer in concern. "Are you alright, sir?" The officer, still too stunned to speak, can do nothing but nod his head. It is enough. "Good." Wonder Man looks towards his old foe as he resumes speaking. "Check on your partner, and then get yourselves and everyone else out of here. I'll deal with the Abomination." The Ionic Avenger's eyes glow red behind his shades, and a motes of purple energy form a miasma around his powerful form. His expression, meanwhile, is grim - grim and determined. He knows the Abomination, having faced him before - even if it wasn't technically Emil Blonsky in control at the time. It was a brutal confrontation... one that, at the height of his arrogance, showed him that even a man as powerful as himself was not completely invulnerable. He learned that day that being an Avenger was about far more than power... and so it is fitting, perhaps, that this is who he faces now. Such matters as these are best left for after the battle, however, and so he quickly crushes them. History has shown him that the Abomination is not to be taken lightly, and so as he faces down this foe once more there is a preeminent thought within his head. Namely, that he has a fight on his hands!
When his brief moment of being dazed ends, there is one over-riding emotion which floods the gamma-irradiated brute - rage. Lumbering to his feet like some great beast, the Abomination looks towards the one who brought about this unwelcome development and recognizes him instantly. Yes, he recognizes the black and red costume... the signature sun-glasses... those movie-star good looks. He recognizes Wonder Man, for he faced this Avenger once before, when his mind was not his own. Indeed, he suffered a humiliating defeat at the ionic powerhouse's hands; and then, when he attempted to get payback, he suffered a second insulting defeat at the hands of an even weaker foe. And, oh, how he /loathes/ those memories.
"You..." This is spoken in a growl, a low and glutteral utterance filled with all of the hate that one can pour into but a single word. Memories, half seen as if through a haze, flash in his mind of a Hollywood studio... and of that bitter defeat. This fuels his rage, thereby causing the green menace to see in shades of murderous red. "Wonder Man!" Identifying the ionic powerhouse verbally, the Abomination takes a threatening step towards him. "I was hoping for the Hulk... maybe his bitch of a cousin." Finally, a grin that shows off a row of sharpened teeth but not an ounce of warmth appears on his face. "But you'll do." Twisting to the side, he reaches out to grab one of the two cars that he bumped into. Super-strong fingers rend and tear the metal of the car's hood, allowing him to get a sure grip - not that he'll need it for long. "I've been itchin' to tear someone up...," declares the Abomination as he then hurls the car at the hovering hero, "...and you'll do just fine!"
The car whistles through the air on its path towards Wonder Man, and the hulking brute sneers confidently as it does so. He may have lost to this hero once... but that is in the past. Here, today, he's going to show Wonder Man what it means to face the /true/ Abomination - and he's going to show the world why even the Hulk walks warily around him! Still floating in place as the Abomination throws an automobile at him, Wonder Man turns to the side slightly while cocking a fist. "That's funny...," he muses loud enough for his foe to hear, his eyes still gleaming brightly behind his shades and the aura of ionic power around his body alive like fire, "...because I've been itching to do the same!" He then brings that fist forward, delivering a blow worthy of Mjolnir - and against that, no car is a match.
After stopping the car in mid-flight with a stiff punch which crumples it up like a used Coke can, the Ionic Avenger allows it to drop to the ground before him with a loud thud, and it goes unnoticed by Wonder Man as it does so. Already, his attention is on the Abomination once more, that green-skinned brute responsible for the afternoon's chaos. "This rampage is over, 'Bomy." Unlike the police officer earlier, Wonder Man's voice is sure and confident as he offers fair warning to his foe. The other man's rather demonic visage holds no terror in this valiant heart. "You're going down. One way...," announces the ionic powerhouse as he flies forward in a miasma of ionic energy, "...or another!" The determined expression on his face leaves little doubt that he expects the hard way - expects it, and is ready for it!
As Wonder Man races towards the Abomination, he draws his fist back once more. There is only one way to reason with a brute like this, he knows - beating him into submission. Fortunately, with enough power to give Thor and the Hulk a run for their money, he's just the man to deliver such a beating. Accordingly, as soon as he draws near the green-skinned menace, Wonder Man strikes out with one powerful fist for a punch towards the gamma-irradiated villain's jaw. As before, his attack is delivered with a crushing amount of force, as is fitting for one of the world's strongest men. Against a foe like the Abomination, he knows, he can afford no less.
There is a disdainful sneer on the Abomination's face as his opponent closes in on him. It was the direct approach, he could see immediately; an approach that was favored by not only his classic foe, the Hulk, but he himself as well. It was an approach that a brute of his size, strength, and disposition was perfectly suited to respond to, "Heh..."
Even as Wonder Man rockets towards him, the ionic powerhouse giving off a decidedly purple glow, the Abomination reaches out to the side once more. This time, he grabs he second of the two cars that he had ended up against after taking the first blow of the fight; and, as before, his fingers dig into the vehicle's metallic form with ease. "Bring it on, pretty boy!" With a heave and a snarl, the Abomination twists about in order to swing that car directly at the Ionic Avenger right as his foe gets close enough to punch at him. This interupts the punch, allowing the gamma-irradiated villain's makeshift weapon to take the brunt of the hero's assault. And then, it's time to retaliate.
Releasing the car after battering Wonder Man with it, the villainous powerhouse curls his other hand into a fist as mighty as any seen on this Earth. It is a fist that has shattered lives and brought even the Hulk to his knees. Now, it's time for Wonder Man to feel its might, and so the Abomination lashes out with it in a wild manner, aiming for the hero's skull. More, the Abomination makes this move with such force and determination that, if it were to connect, he would follow through with it - seeking to ultimately bear the Ionic Avenger to the side and ultimately towards the ground in an effort to smash him into the street in a brutal manner.
The car used by the Abomination to shield himself shatters as an ionic fist plows into it, delivering the full force that was meant for the scale-covered brute's face. Pieces fly past the grim powerhouse's face, though his red shades remain firmly in place before his inhuman eyes; and when those eyes then see the Abomination's fist coming towards him, they widen slightly in dismay. "Nnn!" Wonder Man raises one arm to try to deflect the blow - but it's no good. The Abomination's strength, equal to that of the Hulk under most circumstances, is therefor equal to his own; and so, still off-guard from the use of the car, the punch pushes past his arm to connect with his cheek. Then, as the Abomination hoped, the follow-through brings Wonder Man crashing down to the street with a grunt.
As he hits the ground, Wonder Man's shades finally become dislodged as the force of the double impact, one of the fist and the other of the street, snaps them; but if the Abomination hoped to inspire terror in an Avenger, he is mistaken - those red orbs show no hint of it. Rather, there is anger on the heroic powerhouse's handsome visage, which now bears a scuff from his ordeal. "All right... rck... Blonksy!" His eyes blaze with power as he grunts in between words and breathes, an arm raised against the fist that plowed him into the ground. "You want to get dirty...," notes Wonder Man with a hint of disapproval, and afterwards he uses that aforementioned arm to push that fist away, freeing him up, and immediately launching another punch, "...so let's get dirty!" Wonder Man's fist, glowing purple with ionic energy, is driven towards the scale-faced villain's nose. His hope is clear - he intends to break his opponent's nose in a show of brutality to equal that of the rampaging brute's.
The Abomination laughs victoriously as his fist slams Wonder Man into the street. "Ah! This is what I wanted! The feeling of flesh /bruising/ beneath my fist!" He then resumes laughing... but not for long. Though he has temporarily overwhelmed Wonder Man with his power and sheer brutality, the ionic powerhouse is not wirthout strength of his own. Case in point, all it takes is a nudging of his fist, and then the man who was to be his victim frees himself up enough to launch an attack of his own. That attack, a punch, quickly connects with the green-skinned menace's nose... and as it does so, time seems to slow. The Abomination feels every millimeter of his nose that gives way to the ionic-enhanced fist until, finally, there is a spurt of green blood and a loud snapping sound. His nose... has been broken.
"Graah!" The Abomination howls in pain and frustration as his nose is broken by the Ionic Avenger's punch, and on instinct he recoils away from the source of that pain. "Mah nowse!" His speech is temporarily impeded by the sudden rush of blood inside of his new disfigurement, but there is no disguising the sheer rage that swells up inside of his black heart at this development. The Abomination is the one who breaks things, he tells himself - not the one who is broken! Once again, he finds himself looking out at the world through a red haze that centers around Wonder Man, and with an inhuman growl he launches himself at the powerful Avenger with outstretched hands. He wants nothing more than to wrap those hands around Wonder Man's throat and wring the life from his ionic form!
After forcing the gamma-irradiated villain off of him, Wonder Man is able to quickly rise to his feet - and right in the nick of time. His opponent, enraged at his injury, lunges towards him with outstretched hands, and so the ionic powerhouse immediately steps forward to respond in kind. "I'll break more than that if I have to, Blonsky!" He says this through gritted teeth as he locks hands with the Abomination to prevent the other man from reaching for his throat; and, by doing so, he instigates a classic power struggle. Wonder Man grips the murderous brute's hands tightly, securing them in place, and at the same time he exerts all of the pressure that his ionic-enhanced muscles can bring to bare. Those muscles bulge with this effort; those on his arms standing out as rock-hard in the manner of the Greek gods of old. At the same time, he sets his feet in a concentrated stance to prevent himself from being thrown off-balance. "Ng...," he grunts involuntarily as he does his best to hold the monstrous menace at bay, and his eyes gleam with the ionic power that drives his efforts to safeguard his own life - and the lives of others.
Upon locking hands with the Ionic Avenger, the Abomination grins through the blood that leaks from his broken nose. If it's a show of strength that the heroic actor wants, then it's a show of strength he'll have! "You think you're stronger than /me/, pretty boy?!" The Abomination's tone is one of condescending amusement, as befitting one of both base villainy and a lengthy career of going toe-to-toe with the Hulk. His eyes, meanwhile, twinkle with malice, "You better think again!"
With a roar, the powerful brute begins to exert pressure of his own. Every fiber of his irradiated being sings with it; the gamma radiation coursing through his veins pulsates with the effort. Unlike the Hulk, of course, he cannot grow stronger simply by being enraged - but with the rage he's in, he's going to apply every ounce of strength that science gone awry has given to him in an effort to crush the infuriating Avenger once and for all. The force of the Abomination's attempt to push him backwards as they engage in this test of strength and endurance hits Wonder Man like a freight train. "Rrr..." He groans between gritted teeth once more... and yet, he stands. Against this gamma-irradiated brute... against this foe who could challenge the mightiest of Earth's defenders... Wonder Man doesn't budge an inch. Once again, he shows why being 'not quite Thor' is no mean feat, and he responds to the menacing brute's mocking question with conviction. "I know I am!" But in spite of this, Wonder Man knows that this will not be enough; not against a foe such as the Abomination. Rather, he must bring his combat skills to bear... the results of long hours training with the likes of Captain America and Hawkeye, two of the finest men he's ever known... if he is to tame this beast.
And so that is exactly what he does. Using his foe's own size and momentum against him, Wonder Man suddenly drops down onto his back while pulling up his legs to plant his feet against the Abomination's chest. "Here, you fang-faced freak...," grunts the Ionic Avenger as he kicks out upon completing his roll in an attempt to hurl the villain overhead, "...let's see how well you fly!" The Abomination begins to grin further as Wonder Man falls backwards before him, for he initially believes this to be because he is overpowering the other man. He is wrong. No sooner does the Ionic Avenger fall back than is the Abomination yanked forward, his eyes widening in surprise. "What are you-?!" He has no time to finish uttering this surprise, as Wonder Man's feet suddenly push against his chest with incredible strength right as he goes over the Ionic Avenger - and with a grunt, the Abomination is sent flying through the air once more.
"Grah!" This time, the Abomination finds himself crashing through a storefront window, the glass shattered before his bulk. Several mannaquins are crushed beneath him once he barrels into the store itself, rolling from head to rear as he does so, but the Abomination himself does not stay down for long. With a growl of resentment, he twists about and rises into a crouched position, looking for all the world like some unchained beast. "I'm going to rip your head off, Avenger!" Blood continues to leak from the irradiated villain's busted nose as he kicks off against the floor to send himself flying in a vertical leap meant to allow him to tackle and grab the Ionic Avenger - and the speed of which may be surprising.
After sending the Abomination flying over his head to crash into a nearby building, Wonder Man rolls to the side and reaches his feet as fast as he can. It is barely fast enough, however, for the gamma-irradiated brute's bloodlust is giving him the frenzy to react quickly to every setback - and so sooner have both men reached their feet than does the Abomination hurl himself at the Ionic Avenger with great rapidity. For his part, Wonder Man is not caught completely unprepared, for he manages to throw a quick punch before he can be tackled by the enemy. A single punch, however, is not enough.
"Oof!" Wonder Man grunts as the wind escapes his lungs, pushed out by the impact. But the Abomination isn't the only one to react quickly - the ionic powerhouse clasps both hands and raises them above his head as he gets pushed backwards by the gamma-powered menace. "Let... rn... go!" With a shout, Wonder Man brings his clasped fists slamming down towards the scaled villain's shoulders in an attempt to force his freedom from his foe. The Abomination barely even feels the blow to his shoulders thanks to his super-dense hyde. More, the Ionic Avenger's request for freedom is denied emphatically - for rather than releasing him, the gamma-irradiated menace tightens his grip around his foe. "Now it's /my/ turn to have fun, pretty boy!" As his feet touch the ground following his prodigious leap to tackle Wonder Man, the Abomination keeps his momentum going by charging forward. Ultimately, he aims for a parked car in order to smash his unwilling captive between the proverbial rock and a hard place.
"Rah-ha-ha-ha!" Laughing maniacally as he does so, the Abomination squeezes harder. "Hear that, Avenger?!" There is a sick grin on his face, and the blood from his nose only makes it even more of a twisted and terrible visage. "That's the sound of your /spine/ being ground to dust!" Wonder Man throws his head back and shouts in pain as he feels the monstrous villain's arms tighten around him. "You-!" Grunting, he tries to power out - and that's when he finds himself slammed against a car. With a body as invulnerable as his, this is not as damaging as one might think; however, the experience rattles him all the same, temporarily affecting his ability to try to break free. Those precious moments cost him.
"Y-Yaaaaagh!" Once again, Wonder Man cries out in pain; and if the Abomination's boast is an over-statement, it only counts as one barely. Agony coarses along the Ionic Avenger's spine, and with each passing second he finds strength fading from his super-human limbs. The sound of the hero's agony is music to the Abomination's ears. It makes his grin broaden, showing off gleaming white teeth, and he then shows his pleasure by squeezing all the harder. "That's it, Wonder Man! Scream!" Once again, the Abomination laughs from the sheer thrill of the battle - and, just as importantly, from the thrill of having the upper hand in battle. It's a hand he intends to keep.
While Wonder Man is still rattled, the hulking brute decides to keep his momentum going. After all, he doesn't just want Wonder Man to suffer - though, of course, he considers this to be quite the bonus. No... he wants blood. He wants /death/. And so, whirling about away from the car, which has been caved in sufficiently to be considered totalled once the owner gains the courage to return to it, the Abomination hurls the hero away from him with an aim meant to direct his opponent's unwelcome flight towards the bus that had been thrown earlier; and as he does so, he shouts. "I'm going to /kill/ you, Avenger!" He then begins marching towards him, cracking his knuckles while grinning broadly... malevolently, "And I'm going to /enjoy/ it!"
The Abomination then charges forward, one massive fist drawing back... and then being thundered forward as he attempts to follow up his throw of the Ionic Avenger with a punch to the mid-section. The ionic powerhouse continues to struggle to escape the Abomination's vice-like grip right up until he is thrown, at which point he shouts wildly. "Yaaah!" Then, as he strikes the overturned bus, still half-buried in a building, he lets out a groan. Sitting up inside the dent when his invulnerable form has left in the destroyed vehicle, Wonder Man finds himself temporarily dazed. If he had just a moment, perhaps he could gather his wits and go on the offensive once more. If he had just a moment, perhaps he could swing the tide of battle back into his favor - he's done it before. If only.
Before Wonder Man can get his bearings and stir from the hole that he has made in the bus's rear, the Abomination comes charging in to deliver a stiff blow to his mid-section. Red eyes widen and his mouth forms an "O" shape as he is doubled over that large fist, which belongs to an even larger individual - one clearly taking pleasure from his current success. Yet, even so, the red-eyed actor still has years of experience upon which to fall back on, and almost without thinking about what he is doing he reaches up to grab at the Abomination's fist. He then begins to push against it while struggling to get the right position within the wreckage of the bus to go on the offensive once more - because he knows that's the only way he's going to survive... let alone win!
The efforts of the Ionic Avenger to force him to back off amuse the Abomination. "What's the matter, 'Wonder' Man?" The tone of his question leaves no doubt that he is disdainful of the other man's heroic name; to him, there's nothing wonderful about this two-bit actor. "Not enjoying yourself?" The Abomination then laughs. If Wonder Man is suffering now, he's felt nothing yet. The villain's vicious sneer promises that, "Here...," the Abomination offers as he withdraws his fist just enough to suddenly grab onto the trapped Avenger's leg, "...let's see how you like /this/!" With a snarl, the gamma-irradiated brute yanks the red-eyed hero out of the wreckage of the bus in order to swing him overhead - and then, at the conclusion of the arc, to bring him slamming down towards the sidewalk. Meanwhile, at the very corner of his eyes, he sees people cowering behind a nearby car. These civilians, unable to avert their gaze from the battle taking place in the very streets they traverse on a daily basis, gasp in dismay at the green-skinned monster's treatment of the heroic Avenger; and, having caught sight of them, the Abomination becomes temporarily distracted. "What do you think of your hero now, New York?!" The hulking villain's sudden shout causes the people he questions to suddenly scurry away, terror at the thought of being next on his list finally giving them the impetus needed to flee, and so the Abomination laughs derisively at their departing backs.
Thanks to being pinned in by the wreckage of the bus, Wonder Man can do little as he is suddenly yanked out by the leg and then swung overhead to be slammed into the sidewalk by the hulking brute. "Uhn!" Grunting, Wonder Man is left temporarily dazed once more... but this time, he experiences a sliver of fortune. The Abomination, having grown cocky, turns his attention to those who are watching their titanic struggle; and with his focus elsewhere, he leaves the Ionic Avenger a chance to turn things around. That's a mistake - because he's going to take it! Glaring up at the Abomination with eyes that literally blaze with anger, Wonder Man reaches out to the side to dig his fingers into the concrete that is all around him. His hand then squeezes hard, causing the chunk that he has grabbed to quickly be ground into dust. "Hey! 'Bomy!" Calling for the Abomination's attention, Wonder Man then hurls the ground-up dust at his opponent's face. It's a dirty move, true... but in a fight like this? Against the worst that humanity has to offer? Wonder Man's conscience will remain crystal clear.
Trying to obscure the villain's vision is only part of the plan, however. At the same time, the ionic powerhouse kicks out at his foe's green hand with his other foot, attempting to free himself. He can't win this battle so long as he remains at his foe's mercy - especially since that foe has no mercy - and so escaping that monster's deadly grip is imperative. The Abomination turns his gaze back to his opponent just in time to take a handful of ground-up concrete in his eyes. The pain is insantaneous. "Rrraah!" Snarling in surprise and anger, the gamma-irradiated menace reaches up with his free hand to begin rubbing at his eyes, trying to clear them of the concrete dust... though, in truth, his actions only exacerbate the inflammation. Worse, being distracted costs him a second time in as many minutes, for he quickly loses his grip on Wonder Man's leg thanks to the kick to his hand. As with all brutes, however, pain is fleeting; and when he finally opens his eyes, which are now bloodshot and angry, he sets his menacing gaze on Wonder Man once more. "Throw dust in /my/ eyes, will you?!" The Abomination is outraged; he's not taking this dirty little trick lightly.
"I'll grind /you/ into dust!" Briefly lifting one large and clawed foot, the Abomination attempts to do to Wonder Man what he had tried to do to the police officer earlier - he tries to stomp the Ionic Avenger flat! Upon freeing himself from the Abomination's grip, Wonder Man wastes no time; and so, before the vicious villain can try to plant his over-sized foot upon his heroic figure, the ionic powerhouse scurries out of the way. "Not this time, 'Bomy!" He does not go far, however, for he is not a coward and he has no intention of trying to escape - or, for that matter, calling in any help. This has quickly grown as personal for him as it is for his opponent. But... that said... he's not above taking a cue from one of his oldest teammates and friends.
Quickly reaching the street once more, wanting some open space to fight in after having endured being pegged into the bus moments before, Wonder Man spots a nearby man-hole cover. Deciding that, if it can work for Captain America then it can work for him, he quickly grabs it with one hand. "Here...," he then shouts at the Abomination while ripping it out of the ground and then throwing it in one smooth motion, "...catch!" The manhole cover whistles through the air as it flies towards the gamma-irradiated brute's face. Such a move may do wonders for Captain America - but it won't work for Wonder Man! The Abomination suddenly charges forward in a rage, his bloody nose and bloodshot eyes giving him the look of a madman; and as Wonder Man has no doubt learned by now, it takes a lot to effect this particular madman. While in mid-stride, the Abomination swats aside the manhole cover with ease; and as it goes sailing off into the distance and out of sight, the hulking brute shouts. "The only thing I'm going to catch, Avenger, is you!" The Abomination then brings that same arm back forward, his hand curling into a fist as he does so.
"Rrraah!" Growling, he aims a massive haymaker down towards the heroic actor. It is a wild act, with little rational thought, and if Wonder Man is quick it should not be hard to dodge. As may be expected, Wonder Man doesn't stick around to take the haymaker. Instead, he leaps up into the air, his body glowing with purple energy, and thus removes himself from its path. Then, as the Abomination's fist strikes the ground where he stood seconds before, damaging the street even further, Wonder Man flies a quick circle around his foe. The power of flight is one of his advantages over his foe, and it's about time he takes advantage of it!
But that doesn't mean he'll be staying up there indefinitely... "You want to catch me, Blonsky?" The Ionic Avenger suddenly swoops down towards the Abomination, his expression one of determination and defiance. "Here I am!" As he undertakes this aerial manuevor, he throws an ionic-enhanced punch towards the gamma-irradiated villain's ugly face. It's his intention to make it even uglier! And then, just as quickly as he makes this strike, he is sure to try to fly out of reach once more. He's had his fill of being an easy target for those bone-crushing hands of the Abomination. The section of street which is unlucky enough to take the Abomination's haymaker in place of Wonder Man doesn't just break - it /shatters/! Bits and pieces of concrete spray upwards as the gamma-irradiated villain's fist pushes itself beneath the ground, and if the Abomination was still rampaging just for the joy of destruction he would be pleased. But he's not... and so he's not. Rather, he looks upwards with a scowl at his escaping foe, and for a moment he believes that the Ionic Avenger is fleeing. This thought does not make him happy.
"Get back here, Wonder Man!" The hulking behemoth turns about as the ionic powerhouse circles him, blood still leaking from his busted nose. "I'm not finished with you y-!" Before he can finish, Wonder Man makes his move - and right as the radioactive menace's eyes widen in understanding, an ionic fist smashes against his cheek, "Gruh!" The Abomination's head is jerked around, and he stumbles for a moment; that blow wasn't just strong, it had the power of momentum behind it. Then, by the time the Abomination steadies himself, Wonder Man is out of reach once more - and recognizing the Ionic Avenger's strategy infuriates the vicious villain. The Abomination howls that fury up at the flying hero. "Get down here and fight like a man, pretty boy!" His challenge is as demanding as it is mocking; the heroic actor would be a fool to accept.
Wonder Man has been accused of being many things during his long career as a costumed hero. He's been called everything from arrogant to good-hearted; he's also been called insane - and with good cause. But a fool? "Not a chance, 'Bomy!" Instead of complying with the agitated villain's demand, the aura-enshrouded Avenger circles the Abomination once more. He does this again and again, trying to get the gamma-irradiated menace discombobulated so that he can come at the villain from behind; and when he thinks he can, he pours on the speed to come swooping down a second time. This time, both fists are extended; and with the glow of ionic power increasing in visibility around his powerful form, he tries to nail the back of the Abomination's head with a glancing blow meant to further disorient him.
Just as the Ionic Avenger hoped, the Abomination begins whirling about in order to try to keep his eyes on his foe - with the key word there being 'try'. The Abomination quickly manages to get himself off-balance with this effort, his head spinning right along with his gamma-irradiated form, and so soon he is forced to slow down in a dizzy manner, allowing Wonder Man his chance to strike. "Raagh!" The Abomination stumbles forward as he takes a blow to the back of the head, but it was a mistake to make it a glancing one. The Ionic Avenger's attack annoys him more than anything, and along with the other man's current strategy it is enough to convince the Abomination of something
If Wonder Man won't go down, he'll go up! The muscles in his legs being just as strong as those in his arms, the Abomination suddenly takes a page from his oldest foe's book - he leaps! "Rrrraaarrr!" There is a feral snarl on the Abomination's green lips as he does so, with his goal being to leap right onto the airborne Avenger's back. Wonder Man has had a long-time working relationship with many fellow Avengers. He's trained with Captain America and Iron Man... romanced the Scarlet Witch and Captain Marvel... and played practical jokes with the Beast. But the Hulk? The two have only worked together a few times, and so his experience with gamma-irradiated super-humans is limited. As such, though he himself has been known to get around through the use of super-leaps, he failed to think of the fact that the Abomination could perform such a feat.
Oops. The ionic powerhouse pays for this oversight quickly, for the Abomination manages to land atop his back before he even knows what is happening. "Gyah!" Shouting in surprise, he is quickly borne down by the great weight of the hulking brute. This leads to him skidding across the abandoned street, a car being nudged aside by the combined mass of himself and the literal pain in his back. Victory. Sweet victory. The Abomination has rarely tasted anything so fine. Laughing with the thrill of it as he lands upon Wonder Man's back and forces him to the street once more, the green-skinned menace grins broadly once more. "You're mine now, pretty boy!" To emphasize this point, the Abomination grabs at the back of the Ionic Avenger's neck, just where it meets the shoulders - as he doesn't want the red-eyed hero to get away again. Then, still grinning, the gamma-irradiated villain brings a fist slamming down towards the back of Wonder Man's head. The force of this blow should smash it into the street itself
For a brute like the Abomination, however, one blow is not enough. Especially not after all that the two combatants have done to each other. No, as has been made clear before, he wants to crush the ionic powerhouse completely, both to satisfy his current blood-lust and to assuage his humiliation at having lost to this particular Avenger once before. Thus, no sooner does he land one punch against the back of Wonder Man's head than does he punch him again... and again... and again... Getting a mouthful of gravel was bad. It was humiliating. But getting struck in the back of the head by a radiation-enhanced fist? There was no comparison. "Urk-!" Wonder Man barely has time to grunt in pain as he gets hit by the Abomination, the force of which buries his face further into the ground. Wonder Man's entire body spasms from this action, and his hands quickly grab at the street, trying to plant themselves so that he can try to force himself back up. Alas, the Abomination isn't going to give him a chance. Again and again, the Abomination pounds his massive fist against the ionic powerhouse's head; and, again and again, Wonder Man's body spasms as his head is driven painfully into the street below. At first, he manages to make a few muffled sounds of pain and frustration as this happens. But after the fourth punch? The seventh? He becomes silent... and his body grows still... Afer landing a few more blows against his helpless opponent, the Abomination finally stops. He's had his fun... and now it's time to finish this. The green-skinned menace leans down and, rather than hitting the red-eyed hero again, grabs a hold of his black hair. Then, with a sinister smirk, the gamma-irradiated villain yanks back on that hair, intending to force Wonder Man's neck to bend backwards and reveal his battered face; and, upon doing so, he begins to berate the hero. "Who do you even think you are, pretty boy?!" The Abomination then stands up, the Ionic Avenger being pulled up with him, in order to stand there, victoriously, and with his crushed foe dangling from his clawed grip.
There is an angry sneer on his face as he continues "Who do you think you are, thinking that you could survive against me a second time?!" His tone suggests that he's offended at the implication that his opponent could; his eyes reveal that he won't allow there to be a third time. It's time to finish this, he decides. It's time to end an Avenger. Wonder Man remains limp even once the Abomination stops beating him, offering no resistance - no signs of life. When the green-skinned villain grabs his hair and yanks his head back, however, it is revealed that he is indeed alive. Bruised... battered... and with wisps of ionic energy leaking from his eyes... but still alive nonetheless.
"Ung..." The Ionic Avenger groans helplessly as the Abomination sneers at his battered visage and then begins a mocking tirade against him, and at first nothing he says registers in the red-eyed actor's head. Rattled and dazed as he is, it takes him a second - but when that second come, it comes with something more. It comes with /anger/! Wonder Man is no stranger to being treated as a joke. As an industrialist, he was always second to the fabled Tony Stark - leaving him the subject of laughter and mockery. As a villain, he was little more than Baron Zemo's lapdog - again, a title lacking in respect. And as a hero? He's always done his best, but all too often others have looked at his flashy costumes - many of which were not of his design - and his C-grade movies, and they've dismissed him as being more flash than substance. He's even questioned his own self-worth many a time. But those days are over.
Gone are the days when he felt insecure in his strength; battles against the likes of Count Nefaria, Gladiator, and even the Hulk proved that he could hang with the best - and the worst. He's saved the world dozens of times, against the greatest of threats, ranging from when Doctor Doom used the Purple Man to make himself Emperor of the Earth to when he gave his life repulsing a troop of renegade Kree. He knows who he is... what he is... and, more to the point, what he is capable of, and so when the Abomination seeks to mock him further with his demands to know who he thinks he is, he answers in an iron-clad voice filled with conviction and truth. "I'm /Wonder Man/...," growls the heroic actor, and as he does so he lashes out with one elbow to the Abomination's face, aiming to stun him, "And I'm an Avenger!"
Whirling about after freeing himself, his eyes blazing red with the power coursing through every fiber of his being, Wonder Man then launches a stiff uppercut to his opponent's jaw. Wonder Man goes all in with this desperate attack. All of his strength... all of his anger... is concentrated in a single blow meant to not only force the scaled villain to back off - but to also take a lot of the fight right back out of his cocky foe! Caught up in his feeling of triumph, the Abomination is caught unprepared when the ionic powerhouse jams an elbow back into his face. "Gyah!" The blow catches him right in his broken nose, sending fresh waves of pain through his green form and prompting him to drop the heroic actor. This quickly proves to be a mistake, for Wonder Man is not done... and his fist then connects with the Abomination's chin. Blood and spittle alike fly from the scale-faced villain's mouth as his head is jerked back with a very audible snap, his teeth cracking together hard enough to crack several of them, and at the same time those very eyes that had looked upon Wonder Man with disgust and condescension just seconds before become filled with something new - wonder. The force of the beautifully delivered upper-cut not only snaps his head back, but the sudden jolt of pain that wracks the Abomination's body prompts him to stumble back from his foe. For the moment, he is dazed... his mind awash in a haze of both pain and dim surprise, as if he is seeing himself from a distance. "Hack... grah... how...?!" The Abomination mutters aloud without even meaning to, and finally he stumbles enough that he falls to one knee; he cannot seem to see straight, nor are his legs working as they should. If one was to finish the Abomination off... now would be the time to do it!
Wonder Man continues to blaze with energy as he watches his foe back off in a daze. His eyes, solid red, glow like two miniature suns within his face; and his body, hard and toned, gives off more and more of an ionic aura until it appears that he is not a man at all, but a force of ionic nature in the shape of a man - which, in truth, is exactly what he is. More, he is a force of nature who happens to be very, very angry... and as he sees an opening to finish the Abomination off, he is quick to take it, "Light's out, Blonsky!"
One hand, the opposite of the one that delivered the upper cut just seconds before, curls into a fist that pulsates with purple light. Wonder Man then launches himself forward with enough force to take flight while at the same time bringing that fist to bear with a punishing punch, his glowing knuckles aiming straight for his opponent's jaw. The Ionic Avenger's mouth is set in a tight frown as he delivers what he hopes to be a knockout blow, for he takes no real pleasure in victory; not at the moment, at least. Rather, he sees before him a true menace... a monster that once masqueraded as a man and is now plain to see for what he is... and a deep-seeded sense of duty drives Wonder Man as he seeks to bring that monster down. Still too dazed from the uppercut to defend himself, and with the metallic tange of blood filling his mouth, the Abomination is in no place to defend himself from Wonder Man's follow-up punch. Instead, he gets caught square in the jaw, teeth finally shattered from the collision of ionic force against gamma-irradiated flesh.
"Nnngh!" Wonder Man's punch sends the green-skinned brute flying backwards, his jaw swinging loosely in place as it becomes detached and his limbs quickly going limp. No effort is made to halt or even adjust his fall; indeed, there is nothing within his mind even capable of considering such notions. For by the time that he is airborne, the Abomination's conscious mind has already been deprived him... and when he lands on a nearby car following this flight, the metallic frame crunching beneath his weight, he does so with a completel lack of consciousness of any kind. All that remains to him is a low groan from bleeding lips and an all-encompessing darkness that finally grants him a brief respite from the effects of his lost fight with the Ionic Avenger...
After delivering the knock-out blow against The Abomination, Wonder Man touches back down onto the ground in a tired manner. He can feel his strength, great as it may be, slowly but surely failing him; that beating, and the corresponding attempt to end it, have taken a lot out of him and he needs a moment to catch his breath. As it turns out, however, he can have all of the moments he needs... for, before his red and glowing eyes, he witnesses the Abomination sail through the air as a result of his punch and then land unconscious upon a car.
For just a moment, as Wonder Man remains tense in case the battle is not yet ended, the only sound to break a still silence which has fallen over their impromptu battlefield is the instinctual groan of his opponent; but once it becomes clear that the Abomination is indeed unconscious, Wonder Man further dispels the silence by letting out a deep sigh. "Finally...," he murmurs to himself, his shoulders beginning to slump as he feels the effects of both his foe's fists and his own exhaustion take their toll. One cheek remains swollen, partially obscuring his vision, and his chest is killing him from when he was squeezed by his foe; and yet even such pains as these are suddenly assuaged when a new sound reaches his ears - the sound of cheering. Surprised, Wonder Man looks around as a crowd begins to form around him. Men and women, young and old, black and white... they all come forth from wherever they hid during his slug-fest with the Abomination in order to voice their approval of the green-skinned brute's defeat.
"Way to go! You da man! You kicked his ASS, dude!" These are but a few of the cheers that seem to float suspended in the air around the tired Avenger, who takes it all in silently. A few of the more bold civilians, as well as the police officer whose life he saved at the start of the battle, even step up to the ionic powerhouse in order to clap him on the back and shoulders, smiles on their faces and compliments pouring forth from their mouths. It's all a little much for Wonder Man, to be frank; though he has spent a considerable amount of time in the spotlight, this is a little different than what he has become accustomed to in recent years. Thanks to his own ionic nature, he has suffered irrational anger and depressed emotions which have led him down more villainous paths in recent years. But this... this reminds him of what it feels like to be a hero. It's a feeling he's missed.
Finally, Wonder Man begins to smile... ignoring how this act causes the bruises on his face to become inflamed once more... and, while one hand rubs at the back of his aching neck, the other rises to give an acknowledging wave to the public for its overwhelming approval. The police officer whose life he saved stands at the forefront of those surrounding him, and he reaches out with one hand towards the battered Avenger. "Thank you, Avenger. You're a real hero." These words touch something deep within Wonder Man, who accepts the offered hand in order to give it a shake as he responds. "I'm just... trying to do what's right, sir." It is then that the Ionic Avenger hears many police sirens blaring, and he then watches as dozens of police vehicles screech onto the scene. From these vehicles emerge dozens of police officers, many in SWAT uniforms, who quickly converge on the Abomination with the specialized equipment that is necessary for their department to hold onto the super-powered villains that the local heroes take down for them. One of these, a grizzled sergeant, approaches Wonder Man himself. "We've got this from here, Avenger." The older man frowns at the disheveled state of the hero. "Might wanna get that face of yours checked out. The Abomination sure did a number on you, didn't he? " Wonder Man can agree with that last part, at least; as an energy being, though, he knows there's little cause for him to get checked out. All the same, though, he nods.
"Yeah... gotta protect my money-maker, huh?"Then, with one last look around before rising into the air, Wonder Man rises into the air as his purple aura of ionic energy returns. He may not need to get checked out... but, by his estimation, it is absolutely time for him to take a break. The ionic powerhouse thus blasts off into the distance and heads in the direction from which he first came; and as he does so, he hears the Abomination's mocking demand once more. More, he considers his answer... and he feels certain that it was the right one. The truest one.
He is Wonder Man... an Avenger... and it feels good to be a hero once more.