Melting Chapter 82: Infinite Rage, Grammar Rays Absorption... (Patreon)

Tony Stark dropped down from the sky, staring at the Abomination who had just sent him flying over ten meters with a single punch.

“What on earth did you just do?”

“You don’t know?” Aaron replied, genuinely surprised.

“Am I supposed to?” Tony asked, feeling a little baffled as he met Aaron’s odd gaze.

“I guess you haven’t bothered paying attention to Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters.”

Tony racked his brain, quickly searching the relevant data, and his expression changed. “Mutants…? Is that—are you using Professor X’s telepathy? You controlled the Abomination’s body?!”

His face sank instantly. He’d already considered Aaron borderline monstrous, but this new revelation confirmed he’d been underestimating him.

“JARVIS!”

“Sir, I’ve recorded it all, but I must remind you, I don’t have sufficient data to design the next suit. With current tech, it’s simply not possible.”

Jarvis was always honest. Tony’s brow twitched. “For me, nothing’s impossible. Take down the notes. All I need is to spark my genius, and I’ll figure it out.”

He lowered his voice, then addressed Aaron aloud again. “So you’ve got other powers as well, apparently? Care to show off?”

Aaron knew what Tony meant. He flashed a cryptic smile. Designing an anti–Aaron suit? Good luck. You’d probably need the Mind Stone, at least. Keep on tinkering. Let’s see if you don’t go crazy in the end…

“Roaar!!”

Emil Blonsky, still reeling from the recent events, let out another roar. This time, he didn’t charge in blindly. He grabbed a car nearby and hurled it forward, then lifted a bus to fling it next.

Aaron merely lifted his eyelids, clasped his hands behind his back, and stood tall as an invisible force seized the car and bus midair. Step by step, he advanced.

Blonsky, in a panic, desperately flung everything he could get his hands on—seven or eight cars, lampposts, all of which hovered in midair. Yet Aaron strolled leisurely past the floating heaps, gracious and unhurried, like a nobleman.

“No way…!” Blonsky, taking in that handsome face and terrifying power, felt a deep unwillingness. A moment later, he recalled that the man also controlled unimaginable wealth.

Blonsky let out a resentful roar. The world was just too unfair. So he, Blonsky, would break the sky if need be. Planting a foot down like a raging bull, he smashed a crater into the ground. His colossal form shot forward like a heavy artillery shell, all his strength concentrated into one hand, hoping to destroy Aaron’s terrifying telekinetic barrier.

Aaron nodded slightly, and a faintly glowing blue barrier appeared five meters ahead of him. Blonsky’s fist slammed onto it—and with a dull thud, he was knocked backwards.

Undeterred, he scrambled to his feet, hammered the shield punch after punch, dozens of times within seconds. Each blow could demolish a tank; each strike matched a missile in power. Aaron just kept walking, that barrier remaining unmoved.

Within seconds, Aaron had calmly walked right up to Blonsky, looking up at the enormous, brutish face. Blonsky stopped his futile pounding to glare back at the comparatively smaller man.

Despite trying to hide it, he was deeply afraid. They just stood there, separated by the transparent shield. One big, one small—like a mismatch of extremes. At some point, the shield vanished. Blonsky lifted a trembling finger but felt no resistance. Even so, he hesitated to strike, no matter his belief that a single finger could crush an ordinary man.

Tony Stark watched this spectacle from a distance, feeling a peculiar sense of dissonance. Ordinarily, you’d expect a terrifying monster humiliating a puny mortal. Yet it felt as though Aaron was the demon, and the three-meter-tall Abomination was a cowering rabbit. The world must be insane!

Aaron finally spoke. “I dislike it when people stare at me that way.”

Blonsky’s heart skipped a beat, remembering that moment of helplessness earlier. Though his legs weren’t fully healed, he reflexively dropped to his knees with a thump. Aaron arched a brow. He’d been about to use his gravity and telekinesis to force Blonsky down anyway, but now the guy had just done it himself, leaving no sense of accomplishment.

Their gazes met again. Blonsky, on his knees yet still huge, saw the displeasure in Aaron’s eyes. Without waiting for Aaron to speak, he abruptly planted both hands on the ground and bowed his head.

“Great ‘Miracle God,’ I was wrong!”

“What the—?!” Tony blurted out in shock. Hulk just scratched his head, nonplussed.

Aaron remained calm. “Where did you go wrong?”

“I—I see now that you’re the only real God! I’m just an ugly monster, a fool who doesn’t know his limits. I used to be the best commando. Please, have mercy! I’ve shed blood for the country, I’ve performed meritorious service—”

“What’s that got to do with me?” Aaron shook his head. Look at Justin Hammer, or Loki. They at least know how to flatter me properly. You’re so clumsy at it…

Hearing that, Blonsky’s head jerked up. Seizing his chance, he lunged forward. Fear and shame contorted his face—he swung a giant fist bigger than a human head, aimed straight at Aaron’s chest at supersonic speed.

Boom!!

Blonsky gawked in disbelief. He’d struck a perfectly steady target, but Aaron didn’t even budge an inch.

“That’s… not possible!”

“You never understood a god’s power,” Aaron said, raising his hand. “Wait, I really was wrong—spare me!” Blonsky pleaded desperately.

“Oh, sure,” Aaron replied lightly. Before Blonsky could even feel relieved, Aaron’s finger brushed his chest, unleashing a terrifying burst of particle energy. It punched clean through that supposedly unbreakable hide.

“Better luck next life,” Aaron added. Withdrawing his hand, Blonsky’s eyes went dull, expression flooded with disbelief as he toppled over. No matter how resilient an Abomination is, losing your heart is fatal.

“A ‘god’? Heh…” Aaron looked at his right hand, a faint glow flickering. Disappointed, he shook his head. “Worthless.”

After all, devouring Abomination’s remains hadn’t advanced his strength at all—didn’t yield even a single new useful ability. That was it? Hardly any “godly” figure.

Then Aaron glanced over at the Hulk. The green behemoth was still recovering from being thrown around. Seeing the “fake tough guy” now lying dead, Hulk’s—and Banner’s—shared consciousness paused momentarily. Warily, Hulk stared at Aaron; at that gaze, Hulk let out a quiet grunt.

“Oh dear, don’t you provoke him again,” Banner’s consciousness tried to warn Hulk. After all, he’d seen how Aaron toyed with Abomination. Challenging a man like that was suicide.

“Rrraugh! Hulk strongest!” The Hulk growled, refusing to yield so easily. “You claim you’re the strongest?” Aaron vanished into a blur, suddenly appearing in front of the Hulk so they were eye-to-eye. “You don’t seem too thrilled about me?”

Hulk bared his teeth in a furious snarl, muscles bulging. “Wait! We’re just kidding around—Hulk’s basically a big kid; we mean no harm!” Banner seized control again, making the Hulk’s giant face do an awkward grin. The sight was so bizarre that it almost felt comedic. “We’ll just go, we won’t interrupt your ex… expo, was it?”

He tried to steer his body away. “Aw, come on, don’t cause trouble!” But as soon as Banner started speaking, Hulk forcibly took over again.

“HULK!” roared the green giant.

Aaron frowned. “Settle down!”

A formless power descended, evenly spreading across the ground within a few meters. With a boom, that patch of street sank 20 centimeters. Hulk felt as if an entire mountain had crashed on his back, forcing him to his knees. Even though he exerted all his might, tearing up the pavement, he couldn’t escape the crushing telekinetic force.

“No!” Hulk hollered, only for Banner to momentarily re-surface. “S-sorry! He’s just a kid,” Banner sputtered, “Please don’t take offense.”

Aaron had no sympathy. “A disobedient kid needs discipline!” he snapped. Ignoring Hulk’s struggles, Aaron grabbed him by the arm, effectively manhandling the unstoppable green monster and smacking him across the face with two solid punches.

Seeing that, Banner quickly relinquished control. Two more punches later, Hulk’s head lolled, no longer resisting. “Still going to shout?” Aaron asked coolly. Hulk didn’t answer. Another punch. Hulk’s eyes rolled as he nearly blacked out.

“Going to shout?” Aaron repeated. Hulk shook his head frantically. Banner swiftly reemerged. “He says he’s sorry! He won’t yell anymore!” Banner called out, hoping to spare himself the pain. Every blow landed on Hulk’s body, which was still his body, after all!

Aaron let go, though he decided to siphon away some of Hulk’s blood.

[Infinite Rage (Incomplete): When enraged, your overall physical attributes slowly increase over time, as does your mental power (incrementally).]
[Super Intelligence: You become more attuned to certain fields—physics, biochem, engineering, etc.]

[Energy Absorption (Gamma Rays): Similar ability detected; merged. You can absorb gamma radiation, gradually strengthening all your cells and raising your life form to higher levels!]

“Oh-ho, turns out the real deal is still the best,” Aaron mused. A quick attempt, but sure enough, the Hulk delivered loads of goodies.

“Infinite Rage” sure sounded in line with the lore, though it was incomplete. No wonder this Hulk felt half-baked. Real comic Hulk, growing infinitely stronger the angrier he got, was unstoppable.

This one had emotional issues limiting his powers. Still, it was a percentage-based improvement. Might not come up often, but it’s better than nothing.

Super Intelligence presumably came from Banner’s side. Aaron already had a bigger intellect than Banner, so it just slightly boosted knowledge in certain areas. Banner had a lot of practical experience, after all.

Meanwhile, the best perk was definitely the gamma-based absorption. Earth’s atmosphere blocks most gamma rays, but deep space has them in abundance, especially gamma-ray bursts that can in seconds or minutes release more energy than the Sun during its entire lifetime.

If he keeps upgrading that absorption, the whole universe might become his feeding ground. He could become a cosmic devourer…

Aaron clicked his tongue. “One day, maybe I’ll evolve into something akin to a cosmic devourer?” He shook his head. No more daydreaming. He glanced down at the battered Hulk. “All done here,” he declared, shifting his gaze to Tony, who’d watched the entire thing.

At first, Aaron had no intention of siphoning Tony’s powers. But maybe gleaning a bit from Stark’s genius wouldn’t hurt. Or maybe just pick up his experiences with thousands of women?

“What’re you staring at?” Tony asked warily, stepping back with arms crossed. “I wasn’t shouting or anything.”

“Calm down; I’m not into men.” Aaron peered at the wrecked battlefield. “You can handle the rest.” With that, he vanished on the spot.

Tony blinked. “So I’m in charge of cleaning up?”
“Hulk…scared…” The Hulk mumbled, then abruptly reverted to Bruce Banner, who stared at his battered reflection. “Oh, man. That hurt.”

Up on the rooftop, Aaron returned. “No more trouble—nothing else to see. Let’s go.” Jean, who’d watched the entire fight, was floored. She’d assumed Aaron was more like a “mage,” only to find he was more like an unstoppable juggernaut. Two punches—one for Hulk, one for Abomination—and the whole thing was done. The sheer force of it left her stupefied. So strong…

“How terrifying is the power hidden in that body?” she wondered. Lacking answers, she obediently followed Aaron. Along with Felicia, she stepped through the dark-energy portal that Aaron casually opened. In the blink of an eye, they arrived at a seaside villa in New York’s upscale district.

“What do we do next?” Jean asked tentatively. Aaron was about to answer when he suddenly looked toward the private garden. “Second floor, first room on the left is yours. Go rest awhile. I’ve got business to take care of,” he said. Then he motioned Felicia to follow him out to the garden. Jean felt something amiss but didn’t push. She quietly headed for her room.

As she entered, she heard a delighted female voice below. Curiosity piqued, Jean approached the window, peering down into the garden and pool area.

At once, she froze in astonishment. The modest garden was bursting with strange, exotic flora; under the sunlight and breeze, each plant sparkled as if gently glowing.

Dozens of multicolored butterflies fluttered around like sprites, weaving among the blooms. Now and then, she even glimpsed what looked like a mythical stag poking its head out. Farther along, she spotted two women—one in a white gown, one in green—chatting animatedly with Aaron. Their very presence looked sacred, seamlessly merging with the garden’s almost otherworldly beauty—a stunning picture.

“Is…is this paradise?” Jean gasped, eyes wide. She felt a sudden urge to go down there, but also an inexplicable sense of unworthiness, fearing to break that perfect atmosphere.

Gazing at those two women who seemed to have stepped out of a fairy-tale world, talking with Aaron, Jean felt a twinge of discomfort in her heart.