NEW YORK CITY
SHIELD STORAGE FACILITY
In the underground hanger, dozens of SHIELD agents and scientists bustled through the spaces, offices, and catwalks that spanned the bunker. An elevator hummed and chimed as it lowered itself down a shaft, passing one level after another. Two people rode inside, standing in awkward silence.
Bruce Banner held his files at his side, his eyes darting to his right at the woman next to him.
"It's nice to see you back at work Betty."
Elizabeth Ross regarded him carefully, their long and painful history not easily ignored in such a small space.
"Given my experience with… extraordinary cases, they actually called me. How'd you wind-up down here?"
The elevator shifted, jostling the pair inches closer to each other. Diffusing the tension by averting his gaze, Bruce adjusted his glasses.
"I uh, I was in the city for a consultation, and-"
"That wouldn't be anything to do with that radioactive skyscraper that leveled SHIELD would it?" She asked accusingly.
"In a peripheral manner yes, but-"
"Jesus, Bruce." Betty Ross put a hand across her face. "Of all people to get involved with something like that, it had to be you."
"Hey!" Bruce faced her and pointed a finger in her direction. "That's not fair! All I did was some research due to the radioactive nature of Godzilla, the whole plan was Reed's idea."
"So that's its name huh? Where's he from, Poland?"
Banner straightened himself out and held his files over his stomach. "A parallel universe actually."
The elevator came to a stop and the doors opened, revealing to the pair the reason for their involvement. The battered bodies of Giganto and Megataur lay side-by-side on platforms in the enormous hanger. Catwalks that spanned their prone forms held dozens of scientists who took notes and pointed to the various wounds both exhibited.
Adjusting his glasses, Banner was unmoved by the sight. "If I didn't already know what put these two creatures on slabs, I'd be a little bowled over right now."
"Not more so than they were I bet." Betty said as they set out for their work station
"Mmm."
The pair walked out over the grotesque remains, it was unnerving, even for Bruce Banner to see such powerful creatures reduced to such pitiful states. Giganto's torso blackened to a crisp from the atomic beam that punched it into a building. Megataur's skeletal structure crushed, its form a misshapen and bloody mess carefully collected off of the Manhattan pavement.
"It'll take days to document all the injuries." She remarked "And I'm not sure what good an autopsy would do."
They walked on a pathway that took them beside the behemoths "Nonetheless I'd like to run a full battery of tests, get blood samples."
As he spoke the words, a bulge on Megataur's right thigh burst, spilling gallons of blood and yellowish pus onto the floor.
"Seems like that won't be too hard. I'd also like to get data on the residual radiation left by their contact with Godzilla."
"I don't know if I want you anywhere near radiation Bruce."
"I'll wear a protective suit, don't worry. It's not like the Hulk stops me from
being a scientist, I've been working for SHIELD for years."
Giganto's head, cradled by steel cables attached to a crane, was raised up and brought at an angle to gaze out over its body. The eyes rolled to the back of their sockets, its tongue lolling to the side and nearly severed in half, the former hench-monster looked as if its face had been used for a punching bag.
"Do you think things like this could be the new horizon?" She asked as they passed by.
"What do you mean?"
"With people who can defy physics on a whim to fly, shoot fire, or take on the Avengers single-handedly…" She gave Bruce Banner a measured glance. "How far are we really from monsters like these two, or even Godzilla becoming more commonplace?"
"Well, fate is often a capricious thing, but nature is not. We may have been taken off guard by the Mutants, but that's only because they were kept hidden. The signs of their arrival were there, we just didn't even think to look. If creatures like these two are gonna be the next trend to break out, we'll see it coming. Literally if not metaphorically."
Betty looked down to where scientists were collecting samples of material from between Megataur's teeth, she didn't envy them.
"I like to think that as long as our monsters don't get much larger than these two, we'll do just fine."
Moving through the darkness of the New York sewage system, another monster shuffled through the mire of refuse and decades of accumulated slime. The meager meal it made of the humans the night before had been enough to hold its form together for the time being, but its cells were still not strong enough to maintain for long. With most of its body destroyed, the struggle to fight off the cellular dissolution drove it to seek the protection of the shadows. It needed to build itself back-up, but it needed more material, it would require larger prey.
"Ah, Dr. Banner, Dr. Ross, so glad you could make it."
A stocky man sporting a thick pair of glasses and a lab coat approached the pair as they entered a spacious and meticulously organized laboratory. But what always struck Bruce about the man was the peculiar bowl haircut that he wore.
"Octavius." Banner returned the greeting. "Surprised to see you here."
Bruce reached out and shook the hand of Dr. Otto Octavius, who in turn shook Betty's as well.
"Why would that be? Because those short-sighted fools at the Royal Academy got a little squeamish, SHIELD wouldn't touch me? Director Fury is a practical man, and recognizes useful talent when he sees it."
Betty was well aware of Otto's notorious reputation for being unorthodox, or as others had termed 'demented'. "You didn't exactly give them much choice after you tried to convince them to fund your "Human-centipede' project."
Octavius coughed and lowered his eyes for a moment. "Yes, well, probably for the best anyways."
"So what have you discovered so far?" Bruce asked to try and vanquish the awkwardness.
"Ah, A number of things!" Octavius moved swiftly to where an array of X-ray images were pinned to a long glass panel. Switching on the backlight, the internal structures of Giganto and Megataur were displayed from various points.
"As you might have noticed on your stroll through the facility, both monsters suffered catastrophic internal injuries, Megataur getting the worst of it."
Indeed, the images of Megataur's internal structure was basically a sack of pulverized bones and organs. its skull flattened into a contorted mask of fractures.
"What I found to be particularly curious, was that despite taking the full force of a beam of radioactivity, the creature shows no trace of the, frankly atmospheric levels of radiation you'd expect. There are increased levels to be sure, but most of the energy must have dissipated after expulsion."
"Remarkable." Bruce marveled, examining a printout with various radiometric charts. "I'd damn near expect the body to be glowing!"
"Thank god for small favors." Ross mumbled.
"Indeed." Otto went on while a monitor on a table replayed news footage of Godzilla incinerating the Triskelion. "Had the radiation acted in a more, conventional manner, Manhattan would be uninhabitable right now."
The monster's snout perked up, catching the faintest scent of a familiar source of potent material. It had to hide itself from the origin of the power earlier, knowing it was far too weakened to stand any chance against Godzilla. But this lingering taste, it was the residual power seething from something else, something nice and large.
Saliva dripped between its malformed jaws with the anticipation of a more palatable meal. The scent was coming through vents further down the sewer line, coming up from some other place even deeper than the tunnels. Its own massive claws striking out in the direction of the trail, hauling itself along, the craving pushing it onward.
The memories of waking up were blurry and chaotic, shades of light and darkness, smoke and fire. Then came the void, where it lingered for an unknown time, perhaps an hour, perhaps years. But what felt familiar, what remained from before, was the hunger and the manic desire to consume.
The skin cell sample under the microscope, aside from the bacteria growing on it, elicited a curious sound from Bruce Banner.
"Despite the massive damage from the blast, Giganto's skin seems to have survived remarkably well. Perhaps Godzilla just used a lower level of force for a much smaller opponent."
"That's what I'm thinking." Betty Ross examined her own readings of fluid samples, the data listed across three computer screens.
"From what I'm seeing here the beam used was mostly force. Otto is right when he says there should be lethal levels of radioactivity present, but there just not here. Do you think he can control this weapon to that fine a degree?"
"Well…" Bruce took his face away from the eyepiece, massaging the bridge of his nose. "If that were true, than that could either mean that he can't always use the beam at full power, or he chose not to use too much radioactivity. If the latter is the case, than that would possibly be an implication of strategic forethought. An understanding of the effects of his weapon on other living things or the environment.
Could you imagine Betty, a creature with that much destructive capability, exercise that level of strategic thinking."
"He certainly seemed to be considering his actions this morning." Octavius said as he passed through the double doors to the lab, another tray of tissue samples in his hands. "From what I saw, Godzilla noticed the two hapless creatures making a ruckus of downtown, and intervened to stop them."
"Otto, are you saying that Godzilla was responding to protect us from Mole Man's monsters?" Banner asked.
"Think about it Banner, Godzilla defeated Giganto and Megataur, but didn't become hostile until Captain America and SHIELD began to attack him." Setting the tray down, Octavius used a pair of forceps to lift a chunk of lavender flesh onto a hanging weight scale. "In fact I dare to say that he might have felt rather indignant afterwards."
Betty fixed Octavius with a stare that seethed with the intent to throttle.
"Godzilla killed hundreds of people today, and single handedly crippled America's national defense within an hour."
Using a magnifier on a mechanical arm, Octavius examined the layers of Megataur's flesh.
"I'm not trying to put a positive spin on anything, I'm merely saying that it was self defense."
Betty thought of Otto Octavius as a creep, a sociopath, and a borderline mad scientist, but she had to admit his observation made sense. Her mind flashed back to the day Bruce Banner's other half, the Incredible Hulk, stopped a Hydra plot to take over a missile silo in New Mexico. Once Hydra was defeated however, her father General Thaddeus Ross, ever resentful of his inability to make the Hulk into a weapon, ordered the Hulk-Buster unit to capture him.
She screamed at her father to stop the assault, if for no other reason than the Hulk had just prevented a terrorist group from launching a nuclear warhead on American cities. She had known the Hulk had tried to do a good thing, but the fear and mistrust of others had caused him to lash out in rage. Despite the monster on the outside, Betty saw the man on the inside. Perhaps there was more to Godzilla than just fire and fury. Perhaps the fault for the day's tragedy lay at SHIELD's feet, the consequences of attacking a dangerous animal.
"Well I can certainly relate to that." said Bruce, nonchalantly switching out one Petri dish for another. "Though, much like the Hulk, there has to be some response to the damage he does. Even I can understand the necessity of bringing down a dangerous animal."
"Quite right." Octavius piped, using a large pin to prod the layers of dermis. "It must be rather poetic for you I imagine."
Putting his face back down to the eye lens, Banner turned a few knobs on the side of the microscope. "At least I have the Avengers to look out for me. Apparently all Godzilla has is a magical Lepidoptera."
Elizabeth Ross turned back to the ampoule collection of blood, saliva, and endocrine secretions, but her mind had again drifted into reminiscence. After all the drama between she and Bruce, she remembered how normal he could be, how thoughtful. She eyed the swirling yellow fluid in one of the glass cylinders, trying to recollect the justification for her frustration with him.
She might have remembered the cause, if not for the sudden blaring of the alarm system. Red lights and a loud siren sent the facility into a flurry of rushed activity. Banner, Ross, and Octavius watched through the transparent lab walls as agents and staff scientists ran to do whatever their emergency protocols instructed them to do.
"Do you think Godzilla has returned?" Otto asked, the uncertainty making him visibly tense.
"I don't think so." answered Bruce, rising from his chair. "I'd be alerted the second he did. I was flown out of the city this morning, and would be again if he returned."
The sound of concrete crumbling and equipment being thrashed drew them all to the wall, where hands against the glass, they saw the far end to their left engulfed in chaos.
"Someone or something has breached the facility!" cried Octavius, rushing back to the biological samples, putting protective covers over them. "We must secure the samples! Who knows what they could be after!"
Without arguing, Betty and Bruce joined him in the effort. Bruce took a moment to extract a small silver box from his pants pocket, and from that, a white pill. He placed the pill on his tongue and swallowed, exhaling smoothly afterwards. Ignoring the ruckus going on outside the lab, he felt his heart rate slow down and his body relax. He had designed the compound himself, to combat the anxiety and stress that would trigger what he liked to call 'an episode of the Green'. With the medication at work, he set to helping Betty box the fluid samples.
Outside the lab, armed agents approached the epicenter of the uproar, stepping carefully towards the breach where the severed pipelines to the super cooling units spewed their contents and obscured the point of entry. The leader of the team of five tactically uniformed SHIELD agents, assault rifles at the high ready and gas masks lowered, signaled to form a line facing the breach.
Through the mask the lead agent could smell the rancid stink coming out from the breach, and he mentally back-tracked the route of the intruder.
"Be careful, whatever broke in here dug its way down from the sewer lines, and through five feet of reinforced concrete."
Answering his warning from the cover, a distorted growl cut through the cold mist. The lead agent raised a fist and the team stopped, their semicircle formation poised to empty their magazines onto whatever had been so brazen or unfortunate to breach the facility.
"IDENTIFY YOURSELF!"
At the sound of his voice, the shape in the mist shifted, it focus drawn towards the sound.
"IDENTIFY YOURSELF OR YOU WILL BE FIRED UPON! THIS IS YOUR LAST WARNING!"
Another low growl was the only audible reply.
"OPEN FIRE!"
At once the five men commenced the assault, dozens of rounds a second pouring onto the shaded intruder. The sign of slight movement was the only thing that confirmed that the rounds were actually striking, but the figure remained in place. Another moment and the leader waved his hand across his face, the signal to cease fire, and the men obeyed, giving each other nervous glances. A new light emerged dimly through the fog, yellow and growing.
One of the men aside the lead agent lost his nerve "Sir?"
The team leader lowered his rifle, his eyes widening; "FALL BACK!"
But by then it was too late as a beam of yellow energy burst out of the
vapor and engulfing the lead agent, lifting him off his feet and slamming him against the platform holding Giganto.
A furious roar of challenge announced Orga as he stepped out of the mist and grasped two agents in his massive claws, shattering their skeletons in an instant. The shoulder cannon continued to pour out alien energy, carving a path of demolition up the wall and along the ceiling. Debris rained down on the scrambling scientists as they ran for their lives.
The two remaining agents emptied their magazines at point blank range, the bullets sinking into Orga's hide, only for the entry wounds to heal almost instantaneously. With the two broken men still in his clutches, Orga lunged to his right and took the fourth agent in his expansive maw, swallowing him like a python in two gulps. The last man realizing the cause was lost, turned and fled.
"Fascinating…" whispered Otto, watching in total captivation, paying no attention to the agent as he sprinted past the lab.
"Pay attention Otto!" demanded Betty as she and Bruce hauled several hard cases over to the only exit at the front of the room. "We can't carry all these by ourselves!"
Snapping his body away from the glass, Otto let his mind continue to fantasize about the experimental possibilities. "Of course…" he muttered, taking three of the cases in his hands and following Bruce and Betty towards the door.
Orga leapt atop a platform, the legs of some hapless SHIELD agent sticking out of his mouth, which disappeared down his gullet with one last gulp. From the corner of his eye, he spotted the trio of fleeing scientists heading for the elevator. Instantly the alien glutton sensed something different about one of them, the scrawny one. But Orga's attention was drawn aside by a barrage of automatic fire that buried themselves into his hide.
Snarling in contempt, Orga unleashed a blast from his shoulder cannon that destroyed the catwalk that held the assaulting agents. Turing sharply, Orga brought the beam over the heads of the ones trying to escape, and obliterated the elevator shaft.
"LOOK OUT!" Betty screamed as chunks of concrete and steel rained down. Otto, too late in evading the debris, yelped in pain as a length of steel strut fell across his back and pinned him to the floor.
"Help me…" he pitifully muttered, his complexion paling. Betty and Bruce stooped down, and managed to lift it just enough to shove it off of Octavius' back.
"We have to leave the samples behind Betty" Bruce said, his face turned to where Orga was swatting away the gunfire of several more agents. "Get Octavius out of here."
"What are you going to do Bruce?" she asked, her tone implying that she knew exactly what he had planned.
Bruce began taking his lab coat off, not taking his stare away from the rampaging freak. "I don't know where that creature came from, but I have to stop it."
"So figure something out!" she scolded, the corner of her eyes filling with tears as she heaved Octavius' arm over her shoulder. "You're Bruce Banner! The smartest there is!"
"I know what you're saying Betty, but right now we need the other guy." Banner removed his glasses, and gave her one last glance. "Go."
Betty returned the look before hustling away where others were in heading towards an alternate escape route.
Several agents were scattered on the second floor as Orga leapt from below and landed among them, swinging his arms and snapping at those closest. Below, Bruce centered himself in the hanger, between the bodies of Mole Man's creatures.
"Hey!"
Orga slammed a man into the floor tiles with his massive claw, reacting to the voice. The alien looked down and recognized the strange human, now strangely presenting itself.
Unseen to any in the hanger, Orga's eyes focused on Bruce Banner, looking closer and closer, past his skin, past his blood, and into his cells. There Orga found something it had not seen since before its defeat. The sheer power within this humans cells made him salivate with anticipation.
Casting the limp body aside, Orga roared and vaulted back down to the lower floor, directly for Bruce. But as the alien sailed through the air, arms outstretched and maw agape, the puny human transformed into something else. Just as Orga was about to land, the Incredible Hulk struck an uppercut to the alien's jaw that sent him rocketing to the ceiling.
The Hulk roared, his shredded clothes strewn on the floor around him. With little effort, Hulk jumped upwards and met Orga as he descended, grappling and grunting all the way down. The two slammed into the floor in a crater, where Hulk rained blow after furious blow onto Orga. Temporarily satisfied, Hulk reared back and pounded his chest; "RRRRAAAAAAAHHHHHH! HULK SMASH!"
But just as fast as Hulk had rearranged Orga's features, Orga put them back. The lingering ability of having amplified Godzilla's regenerative prowess allowed the Millennian mutant to recover from the earth-breaking hammering. Standing over his opponent, watching the grotesque process, Hulk grunted in confusion, understanding only dimly what was occurring.
With another bellow, Hulk brought down both fists to smash in Orga's snout, but his limbs were caught in the aliens own massive paws. Stalemated for a moment, Hulk and Orga glared at each other, Hulk's teeth bared. A single droplet of saliva coalesced in the corner of his mouth, and overcame its molecular bond to fall into Orga's maw.
In an instant, Orga's eyes went wide, the taste of the intense cellular power like a shot of adrenaline directly to his heart. Orga pushed Hulk's hands aside and lurched upwards, biting down on the shoulder of the jade giant.
Hulk roared, trying to fight off the bizarre Kaiju, but Orga adapted by the second, cloning the genes. His limbs became more muscular, his grip stronger, the siphoning of Hulk's abilities closing the gap between them. When Hulk finally managed to break free of the hold, he stumbled and held his head, the draining process having left him groggy. Through blurred vision he watched as Orga stood, its body morphing, becoming larger, more Hulk-like.
Hulk grumbled, trying to clear his sight; "Hulk still smash ugly monster!"
Vocal chords not being one of the new gifts, Orga shrieked as he charged forward, arms wide and mouth ready. Still dazed, Hulk struck out in reflex aiming to knock his voracious foe back down long enough to get himself straight.
But when the punch was thrown, instead of evading it, Orga moved to meet it, and caught the fist in his mouth. Even the Incredible one was suddenly confused by the counter, but with Orga's maw up to his elbow, he felt the draining start again. Holding off Hulk's other arm with his left, Orga used his right hand to grab around the waist, and lift Hulk of the ground.
Thinking quickly, Hulk brought his knees in and shoved both feet into Orga's jaw, breaking the two apart.
Orga staggered, growling in starved frustration. He readied himself for another go at his stubborn prey, but when he looked, the Hulk was gone. As Orga scanned frantically for his god-send meal, he didn't see the object directly above. Hulk slammed into Orga's back feet first, crushing his enemy down, and proceeding with another volley of pummeling. Hulk roared and Orga wailed, the resistance of his prey seemed endless.
Digging his fingers into the floor, Orga got his feet under him as Hulk's thunderous blows continued. Pushing off, the pair of them shot upwards; Orga spinning around to backhand Hulk and create distance. As gravity retook and they fell, Orga launched his shoulder cannon, and without the ground to aid inertia, Hulk was propelled into the ceiling.
Hulk hit the roof with a thud, and left a body imprint before dropping. Orga landed, and immediately sprung back up. The two met mid-air, and both struck home with punches before they tumbled down to the floor.
Orga grabbed Hulk in one hand, and slammed him face-first into the concrete floor. Hulk rolled and grabbed Orga's hand, swinging him over. Not letting go, Hulk stood and swung the alien overhead and into the ground. Hulk raised his arms to smash them both down, but a torrent of yellow power struck his face, and knocked him off his feet. Charging before Hulk could recover, Orga slammed into him shoulder first, and drove him against the base of Megataur's platform.
Pinning the living Gamma weapon against the wall, Orga bit down on Hulk's head, drinking in more power. Hulk responded with one upper-cut after another, until the hold broke, and used one more punch to the chest that sent Orga reeling. Leaping forward off his feet, Hulk struck Orga across the mouth, dislodging a lower jaw. Standing beside one of the bucket cranes used by the scientists to overlook the corpses of the giants, Hulk tore the arm from its base and swung it with the bucket striking Orga so hard it splintered.
Thrown bodily against a wall, Orga had to no time to counter the crane arm as it was heaved like a spear, going through his torso and lodging into the concrete. Orga slumped over, his head going slack. Hulk grunted, beat his chest, and turned. "Stupid monster."
He started to walk away, but a noise from behind turned him back. With both hands, Orga was pulling the crane out, and once done, his body shifted, jaw realigning with grotesque sounds, and the hole in his gut healed. Hulk exhaled with frustration, and grabbing Orga by his left arm, lifted and slammed the alien into the floor, sinking in a punch for good measure, and griping either mandible with both hands.
"Hulk break stupid monster! Stupid monster stay broke!"
Hulk began pulling the upper and lower jaws apart, intent on simply tearing his foe in twain. But Orga's mouth suddenly got wider on its own, doubling in width in an instant. The sight baffled Hulk, and before he could continue, Orga reached up, seized Hulk by the shoulders and brought them closer. The gaping maw coming down over Hulk's head and most of his chest.
Hulk struggled, but the longer Orga fed, the stronger he got. Out of desperation, Hulk grabbed hold of Orga's upper arms, and ripped them off. The alien wailed in agony as Hulk shoved away and pulled himself free. Hulk glared at Orga for a moment, his teeth grinding together in a furious sneer. Orga shrieked in defiance, and Hulk bellowed as he clapped his hands on either side of Orga's head so hard, the alien's skull warped into a cartoonish deformation.
Orga's body went limp and collapsed to the floor, his head now shaped like a mohawk with Hulk's handprints embedded in the sides. The Incredible Hulk grunted and turned away, still breathing heavily from the battle. His knees went weak for a moment, and he steadied himself against Megataur's platform. He put a hand to his head trying to shake off the dizziness. "Hulk… sleepy."
A grotesque mewling sound caused Hulk to turn back where Orga was reforming, its arms regenerating, head cracking and morphing. Hulk laid his back against the platform, slamming his fist into the metal in frustration. He walked back over to Orga and grasped the creature by its jaw, lining it up for another shot. But a torrent of yellow power erupted from Orga's shoulder and drove Hulk across the room.
Hulk was embedded into the wall, and left with a circular burn pattern across his chest. Orga spasmodically got back to its feet, its body and head jerking and morphing as it reformed in structure. The arms sprouting and branching fingers like budding plants in accelerated motion, the ends expanding into the massive claws that Hulk had just torn away.
The undeclared Avenger climbed out of the crater and fell to his knees, the siphoning of his strength taking its toll. But as Hulk glared back at his approaching foe, his determination surged and he pushed off of his fists, ready to fight again. However it was now Orga who sensed the fight was nearing an end as it felt the unbridled power coursing through its arms. The Millennian scout growled, its eyes narrowed on the feisty prey.
When they were at arm's length apart, Hulk threw a right punch, only to be caught in Orga's left claw. Hulk tried to power through it, but by now the alien's strength was enough to annul his own. The limb continued to reform around Hulk's fist, solidifying and expanding with the incorporation of the stolen might.
Hulk reeled back with his left, but a pulverizing blow from Orga's right to his chest stopped him cold. Sensing the advantage, Orga leaped into the air, pulling Hulk with him by his leg, arching the green goliath over its head. The alien landed first, the concrete and tiles shattering under its feet, then back first came down Hulk, creating a form-fitting impression in the floor.
The gamma infused genetics continued to course their way through Orga's body, increasing muscle mass, lengthening bones, its height rising by the second. The metamorphosis forced the Millennian monstrosity to grasp its head in its claws, trying to withstand the intense convulsions. A groan from his opponent drew his attention back to the fight, and with a slight bend of the knees, Orga leapt into the air, and came crashing down on Hulk's ribcage with all its weight.
Not finished, Orga began to drive its oversized mallet-fists into Hulk's face, pulverizing the ground underneath. After a few shots, the Avenger managed to get his hands in front of him but Orga grabbed both in one claw, pinned them to the floor above Hulk's head, and poured on the fury of its shoulder cannon at point blank range. A few seconds and the beam was spent, Hulk's arms limp in the melted mixture of cement and ceramic.
Breathing heavily, Orga scowled down to his foe, his irises focused to a point from the adrenaline in this state. Raising both balled fists above his head, and brought down both sledgehammers hard enough on Hulk to create a fissure underneath him. The entire facility trembled from the force of the blow, the echo reverberated off the walls into a thunderous cacophony, and bits of damaged structure crashed down from the ceiling.
Unmoving in the alien's shadow, the monster began to shrink, reverting back to Bruce Banner. As the transformation developed Orga recoiled, not understanding what was occurring before it. When finally the reversal was complete, Orga stepped away and wailed, no longer sensing the same power it craved. Instead his attention turned back to the two giant corpses on their slabs.
Leaving the puny human to lay in the crater, Orga approached the hand of Megataur, shuffling along on its knuckles like a gorilla. Once again his maw opened and the fleshy umbrella bloomed like a flower as he took in the closest finger. The tiny pairs of tendrils that were located along the perimeter of the opening clutched and clawed along Megataur's skin, taking in more and more.
He grew as he fed, becoming larger by the heartbeat, the flow of genetic material streaming into his cells fueling the regeneration. As the structure of the facility began to break apart, chunks of concrete falling, walkways collapsing, machines exploding, Orga knew only one thing, one desire: consume.
MURKY DEPTHS OF THE PACIFIC OCEAN
The embrace of the deep sea was a welcome feeling. Godzilla's eyes saw through the darkness with little problem, allowing him to see the submerged terrain and all it offered. There were a few underwater cities back home, and this world proved no different. Some time ago he had passed by several large domed metropolis sprawled across the ocean floor. He had detected the movement of their occupants in response to his approach, but after the fight with the humans on the surface, he had no interest in prodding another human nest.
He felt the elemental forces of this world; like a different flavor of a familiar food it was easily adapted to, but still slightly off. Nonetheless he could still tap into the strong and weak forces, sensing sources of energy, the movement of notable signs of life, and even the churning of the Earth's mantle. Annoyingly, he felt the pursuit of his old ally as she trailed him. Mothra worried after him too much Godzilla thought. He respected her role as guardian, and considered her one not to be trifled with, but the way she always tried to put herself between him and the humans was irksome. He would let her find him eventually, for now he just wanted to explore.
Movement…
Below him there was activity on the floor. Humans… down here? He could sense them, hundreds of them, but there was no sign of the machines they usually used to travel down here. Godzilla's curiosity was peaked, but he still had no intent on getting involved so he left them to whatever they were doing.
It's a common fact that sound travels faster through water than air, and even if not, Godzilla could have heard what was said.
"SEIZE THE BEAST!"
Though he had no understanding of speech, his natural instinct for a threat was triggered. Now the masses of the humanoids were ascending;
Strange… Godzilla thought, humans typically ran away from him.
A cacophony of detonations erupted below and the sound of objects racing through the water confirmed his suspicion that they were attacking. Godzilla grumbled, if battle is what they wanted, he would show them the meaning.
Watching from his position atop the sunken mountain, there stood an imposing figure with his arms crossed. The throne of Atlantis might elude him for the present, but if he could use this gigantic beast as a bludgeon on the city's defenses, then he could finally topple Namor once and for all. He would have what rightfully belonged to him at long last, and Attuma would reign over the oceans.
"Subdue the creature!" He bellowed, seeing his soldiers launch their cables designed to restrain large animals. The lines would wrap around his body and deliver a paralyzing shock. Once captured, they would enthrall it to their leash much as they had other mega-fauna that they had in reserve to unleash upon Atlantis one day.
"Soon I will have Namor under my heel, and Atlantis at my command." Attume smiled at the thought; "Perhaps I'll make a codpiece with his skull at the center."
Dozens more of the half-fish-half-humanoid creatures that comprised the aquatic warlords army swam towards the slow moving target. They approached in pairs, wherein one wore an apparatus on their back which launched the restraint cable, and the other manually aimed and fired it. Previously, they had imprisoned several other titan's of the deep, but this one outclassed them all, thusly all webbed-hands were taking part in its restraint.
Godzilla dove at a steep angle towards the beings who though to challenge him, and was met by a storm of metallic cables that entangled themselves around him. Like being covered in Christmas tinsel, it was bothersome but did no damage. The further he went in this game of chicken, the more relatively tiny cords clung to him.
The Skarkan soldiers who served Attuma, now aligned in whole battalions, continued to fire, darkening the sea above. But as Godzilla continued to bear down on them, a lot of nervous glances were traded among them. Usually the dumb beasts they captured reacted by now, thrashing to flee, but this one showed no sign of slowing down.
"Lord Attuma," began a soldier at the warlord's side anxiously; "we should start shocking the creature now!"
Not one who liked to be rushed, Attuma nonetheless saw the practicality in the suggestion; "Fine."
The order went out, and the relieved Skarkans manning the controls turned their dials all the way to the limit, sending a signal out to activate the charge. Their fear of being thrashed by the creature subsided as they felt assured that they were only moments away from watching it writhe in agony.
The mass of cables that now nearly covered Godzilla's body ignited with yellow energy, eliciting a sharp cry of pain, but little else. Arcs of the electrical charge crackled across his skin, being absorbed into his internal power reserves.
The ranks of Attuma's army panicked, having literally nothing better to fight the monster with. They scattered as Godzilla barreled through their positions, screaming to each other.
Attuma's body guards closed ranks around him, their weapons trained on the behemoth. The warlord grit his teeth, the same humiliating feeling of defeat he had incurred at the hands of the sub-mariner over the years bubbling to the surface again. Whatever this beast was he had no intention of letting it defy him, especially not in front of his men.
"Stand aside you lot of puffer-fish!" he scolded them, pushing his way out from behind their protection. "Let your king show you how to conquer!" He stretched out his right arm, palm open; "My sword!" At his command, two underlings approached, carrying an elongated golden casket. As Attuma kept his gaze on Godzilla, they knelt down at his side, lifting the box above their heads. Attuma reached down and lifted his sword from its place, hefting it in a single hand. He looked down and saw his reflection across the three blades.
"I will smite this beast and bend him to my will!"
Attuma launched himself upwards, his Atlantean physiology allowing him to soar through the water like a torpedo, his blade poised to strike. As he got closer, the bigger his target appeared, until it seemed as if a mountain had been dislodged and thrown into the ocean. A mountain with eyes that focused singularly on Attuma.
The exiled warlord brought his sword to bear as the gap rapidly closed, and at the last second brought it down on Godzilla's snout. The blade sparked upon contact with the dense material that comprised the monster's skin, deflecting the blow and lodging in between folds. Attuma found himself pressed against Godzilla's nose as it sped onward, unable to pull his sword free.
"This can't be! No-one stops Attu-!"
Godzilla swatted the irritating bug from his face.
Where are their machines? Where is something for me to fight?
The apparent lack of an opponent was disappointing, just as everything else in this world had been so far.
Attuma spiraled through the water until he was caught by several of his soldiers, but he shook free of their grip. The blow to his body was uncomfortable, but the blow to his ego was intolerable.
"That thing will not make a shrimp out of me! ATTACK! EVERYONE ATTACK!"
The soldiers hesitated, only for their king to turn his fury on them, grabbing one in each hand and throwing them in Godzilla's direction; "I said attack you school of cowards!"
Godzilla paused in place, the thousands of the undersea humans now converging on him. They offered him no threat, but the cables still stuck to his body had to go. As the leagues of Skarkan encircled, Godzilla's dorsal plates flashed with blue energy.
The sign was not lost on the fish-men, who immediately began to backpedal. But their quick thinking was not fast enough, as a pulse of nuclear energy shot out from every inch of Godzilla's body, catching the solders in its wake. The wave caused them to tumble end-over-end in every direction. The metallic cables were either disintegrated or ejected fast enough to turn them into lethal projectiles, shredding through the bodies of dozens of the Skarkan, turning the water to chum.
A heavy 'uuuuunnnkk' sound filled the sea, Godzilla surveying the decimation of the attackers. He could sense whoever was left of the aggressors fleeing for their lives, a much more familiar feeling. But the sensation of water displacement off to his right showed that at least one of them had the courage to keep fighting.
Attuma struck the side of Godzilla's head hard enough to dislodge his sword. The punch landed on the cheek, and was delivered with such might it caused a shockwave, forcing even the monster's head aside.
"LOATHSOME BEAST! YOU WILL NOT LEAVE THIS BATTLE UNBLOODIED! ATTUMA WILL NOT BE MADE A TRIFLE OF!"
Godzilla turned and fixed the irate Atlantean with a glare that could turn coal into diamond. Attuma, realizing the mistake he'd made recoiled, fearing the retaliation that was sure to come. His stubborn pride prevented him from fleeing, but he raised his hands in front of him in an instinctual defensive posture.
Instead of a overwhelming torrent of blue fire, from Godzilla's maw came a tremendous roar. Since water is a more efficient medium for sound, and since Atlanteans possess superior underwater hearing to humans, Attuma's own scream was utterly devoured by the monster's cry. Taking the roar at point blank range, holding his head in an attempt to keep it from exploding was all he could do to fight the pain he had previously imagined was impossible to inflict on him.
"MY EARS! MY EEEAAAARS!"
Attuma didn't know it, but the loss of his hearing was the least of his immediate problems. The agony in his head was such that he couldn't open his eyes, and thusly, never saw the two hands moving through the water around him.
Godzilla brought his hands together crushing Attuma between them, the thunderous echo of the slam trailed off into a mocking silence.
The hands came apart, and the once infamous bane of Atlantis began drifting downwards, blood trailing from various points on his motionless body. Hundreds of his Skarkan soldiers observed from afar as their fallen king descended to the bottom, the unblemished titan looming darkly, a shine in his eyes piercing through the murk.
Satisfied that the interesting challenger had been put down, Godzilla turned back towards the east, disappearing into the shadows of the deep.
As Attuma's body landed softly on the ocean floor, his Skarkan soldiers surrounded him, murmuring in whispers, afraid to get too close. His armor was crumpled in several places, broken in more. One of the horns of his helm had been broken off, the other was contorted and folded over itself. His face was passive and without expression, as if he were merely asleep.
A pair of solders approached carrying his sword, the third of it toward the front bent to the side. They lay the sword on his chest, the handle over his heart, and placed his hand on it just under the guard.
Those few around him reached down to lift his body, to carry it back home with reverence. Just as they knelt down, a sudden movement arrested them with surprise, and Attuma's hand tightened around the sword's grip.