If not for Tony's upgraded armor, his body would have turned into meat splatter. His systems screamed warnings as he picked himself up from the rubble, nanites already working to repair the micro-fractures in his suit. He groaned, flexing his fingers as his HUD recalibrated from the impact.
He had been hit by a damn truck.
No.
Not a truck.
A bear.
Standing before him was a 7'5" monstrosity of muscle and fur, its massive paws curled into fists the size of cinder blocks. A humanoid brown bear, breathing heavily, and he looked angry.
Ursa Major.
Tony's mind raced as he processed the scene.
'Wait... I know this guy.'
He had read about him in the comics in his past life. A Russian mutant with the ability to transform into a massive bear while retaining his intelligence and combat skills. His strength in this form put him on par with mid-tier powerhouses, capable of lifting 15 tons and tanking damage that would flatten normal humans.
His lips curled into a smirk under the helmet.
"They really brought a bear to a high-tech fight? Cute."
Ursa Major cracked his knuckles. "You are strong," he rumbled in Russian, his voice like gravel being crushed under steel. "But not strong enough."
Tony barely had time to react before the massive bear lunged at him, moving deceptively fast for something his size.
45 miles per hour.
That was the speed of a charging brown bear, and right now, Tony was experiencing firsthand why that was terrifying.
The beast closed the distance in a second, swiping a paw at Tony with enough force to send a jeep flipping end over end.
Tony barely managed to dodge, thrusters firing at the last moment to push him aside. But not fast enough. The edge of Ursa's claws scraped against his armor, sending out a shower of sparks as deep gashes formed along the nanite plating.
That's a problem.
Before he could reposition, Ursa was on him again, his massive frame looming over Tony as he raised both arms and hammered down with a double-fisted strike.
BOOM!
The impact sent shockwaves through the room, the floor beneath Tony cratering as he was slammed into the reinforced steel ground.
"Sir! Would you like to activate auto-battle mode?" Hermes asked.
"Nah! I wanna stretch my muscles a bit and see how far I can go without Auto Mode," Tony groaned. His HUD flickered for a moment before stabilizing. His enhanced armor had absorbed most of the impact, but that hurt like hell. "Damn! The kinetic energy absorber needs some more work and I am already seeing the limits of this Stealth grade suit. Gotta make combat suits. If only I had more vibranium. Oh, well..."
Ursa Major grinned, showing massive teeth. "Not so tough now, are you?"
Tony coughed, rolling onto his back. "Buddy, you have no idea who you're dealing with."
Ursa snorted. "I do not need to. You will die all the same."
The bear leaped into the air, aiming to bring his full 1,500 pounds of muscle down onto Tony.
Big mistake.
Tony's palm lit up with a sudden pulse of repulsor energy.
BOOM!
The blast caught Ursa mid-air, sending him slamming into the ceiling before gravity took over and he crashed back down, flattening a nearby metal crate.
Tony shot back up, dusting himself off. "Huh. Big guy, but I expected more out of Russia's finest."
Ursa Major roared and charged again. This time, Tony didn't dodge.
He caught the bear's fist.
A shockwave rippled through the air as metal-clad fingers clamped down on Ursa's paw, stopping the attack dead in its tracks.
Ursa's eyes widened. "What?!"
Tony twisted, leveraging his enhanced strength, and flipped the bear over his shoulder, slamming him spine-first into the steel floor.
CRASH!
The ground dented under the force, cracks spreading outward.
Ursa gasped, the wind knocked out of him.
Tony didn't let him recover. He jumped up and smashed into Ursa's ribs, followed by a brutal kick to the jaw, sending spit and blood flying as the bear staggered back. His HUD showed Ursa's shattered ribs and jaws.
'Nice.'
Before Ursa could even think, Tony grabbed his head and slammed it into the wall, leaving a crater in the reinforced steel.
The bear slumped for a moment, dazed.
Tony cracked his knuckles. "You hit like a drunk panda. Now, my turn."
He grabbed Ursa's massive arm, twisting it behind his back. A sickening crack echoed through the room.
"ARRRRGHHH!" Ursa howled in pain as his shoulder dislocated.
Tony then planted a boot against the back of the bear's knee and kicked forward, forcing him to collapse onto all fours.
With a smirk, Tony placed his boot against Ursa's head and pinned him to the ground.
The once-proud warrior of Russia was now completely immobilized, his massive frame quivering in pain.
Tony sighed dramatically. "So much for 'not strong enough,' huh? You talk a big game, but when it comes down to it? You're just a big, hairy punching bag."
Ursa growled but couldn't move.
"Shhh," Tony whispered mockingly. "Let me just..."
A needle extended from his wrist. He jabbed it into Ursa's thick fur, extracting a blood sample. He never expected to come across a mutant... An evil mutant at that. Now with his blood, he should be able to create counter measures against them... Nullifiers, cures, or boosters. Well, it all depends on who's good or evil.
The bear grunted in protest but was in no condition to stop him.
"Thanks, big guy. You might be useless in a fight, but your mutant DNA? That's valuable."
Tony stood up, stepping off the bear's head. Ursa tried to rise, but his arm was useless, his body battered, his pride shattered.
Tony shook his head. "Pathetic."
Ursa Major panted, glaring at him with a mix of fury and humiliation.
"This isn't over," he snarled.
Tony just chuckled, twirling the vial of blood in his fingers.
"Oh, it really is."
Ursa Major's breathing was ragged, his massive chest heaving. Blood dripped from his broken nose, his jaw hung at an odd angle, and his right arm was completely dislocated.
Then... Crack!
A drop of blood mixed with whatever he took fell on the floor.
Tony's HUD immediately flared with alerts as he detected a foreign chemical compound being released into Ursa's bloodstream.
"Sir! His vitals are spiking—adrenaline, endorphins, muscle density—he just crushed something in his mouth!" Hermes warned.
Tony's eyes widened as his sensors analyzed the substance.
Mutant Growth Hormone.
A temporary, high-risk power boost derived from mutant DNA. It overloaded the body, granting immense strength, speed, and endurance at the cost of life itself.
Ursa Major had just turned himself into a walking nuclear bomb of raw power.
"Ah, shit."
The bear's eyes rolled back for a second before snapping forward, now glowing a deep crimson. His muscles bulged, veins throbbing like thick cables under his fur. The dislocated arm? It snapped back into place on its own. His shattered jaw realigned, his wounds sealing in mere seconds.
Then he moved.
FA-WHAM!
Tony barely had time to react before an unbelievable force slammed into him, sending him through six reinforced steel walls like a ragdoll. His world became a blur of twisted metal and concrete as he finally skidded to a halt, smashing into a storage room.
He groaned. His HUD flickered violently.
"Suit integrity at 92%."
Tony shook his head, clearing the ringing from his ears. "Okay... ow..."
The roar that followed made the ground tremble.
Ursa Major tore through the debris, his massive form now even larger, standing at nearly nine feet tall. His fur crackled with energy, his claws extended into razor-sharp talons that could probably tear through titanium.
Tony sighed. "Yeah, see, this is why you don't take mystery drugs, buddy."
Ursa didn't respond. He wasn't just stronger.
He was gone.
The MGH had overridden his rational mind, leaving behind nothing but pure, animalistic rage.
And it was all directed at Tony.
Ursa lunged.
Tony barely had time to throw up a hard-light shield before the bear's claws shredded through it like paper. A massive swipe sent him flying again, crashing through more reinforced walls.
Tony groaned, pushing himself up. "Okay. This is getting ridiculous."
"Sir, at his current output, he's operating at nearly 50 tons of lifting strength. Avoid taking direct hits."
Tony spat out some blood. "Yeah, I figured that out when he punted me like a football, Hermes. Tsk. The laser has 2 more shots, can't waste it. And I can't use stronger explosives down here. Repulsor beam won't work on his thick skin..." He tried to lure the bear away from the widows.
Ursa charged again.
This time, Tony was ready.
His nanites shifted, forming impact dampeners across his arms and legs. His thrusters roared as he dashed forward, meeting the behemoth head-on.
Ursa swung.
Tony ducked. Barely.
The sheer force of the swing split the air, sending out a shockwave that shattered nearby windows.
Tony capitalized. He countered.
A repulsor-charged uppercut slammed into Ursa's gut, sending out a massive kinetic shock. The beast stumbled, but he was already healing from the internal damage.
Tony scowled. "Okay. Plan B."
He vaulted over Ursa, landing behind him. His gauntlet shifted, forming an energy scalpel.
One way to beat a healing factor?
Shut down the nervous system.
With a swift, calculated movement, Tony drove the energy blade into the base of Ursa's skull, targeting the brainstem.
SPARK!
The bear seized up, body spasming violently as the electrical surge overloaded his nervous system.
Ursa let out a choked roar before collapsing, twitching uncontrollably.
Tony exhaled. "And... nap time."
His HUD ran a scan. Ursa's vitals were critical. His body was literally tearing itself apart from the overdose.
Ten minutes.
That's all the MGH gave him.
Tony sighed, rubbing his helmet. "Jesus."
He turned, activating his comms.
"Nat, you still there?"
"I—what the hell was that roar?!" Natasha's voice came through, urgent.
"Long story short? Big angry bear. Took steroids. I won."
"…what?"
"I'll explain later," He stomped on Ursa's head, splattering blood and brains under his heel. "Time to wake up the Widows."
....
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