Chapter 36: The Ugly Problem with Gamma
Dominion had grown.
After the productive chaos of recruiting Jessica and handing Frank his transforming murder-toy, Adam had actually felt something strange. Something unfamiliar.
Momentum.
The Vault hummed like a living thing—magic danced through the mana-sea air, crops were beginning to sprout under layered enchantments, and spiritual fruit trees were rooting like they knew they had divine real estate. His internal population was still low, but he was officially past the "weird guy with a magic base" phase and firmly into "founder of a terrifying empire" territory.
Which is exactly when Harlem started screaming.
A portal opened midair, and a Dominion sensor glyph blinked over his map. Gamma radiation—fluctuating, uncontrolled, and... angry.
Adam didn't need the system to tell him who it was. He zoomed in, sighed, and muttered:
"Blonsky's entered his mid-life crisis early."
He stepped through the portal.
On Earth, Blonsky—half-man, half-lizard, all rage—was losing a very one-sided argument with gravity. He'd just pile-drove a city bus into a taxi and was roaring something incoherent about injections and betrayal.
Adam hovered above the street, cape fluttering (because of course he added a cape module).
"Emil. You're throwing taxis again."
The creature looked up with glowing eyes and hissed. "Who—?"
"I'm your new solution," Adam replied, descending like an arrogant wizard-CEO.
Blonsky charged.
Adam rolled his eyes and snapped his fingers. The air turned thick as molasses. Blonsky's sprint slowed, then halted. A ring-shaped glyph circled his head.
"This is getting repetitive," Adam muttered. "Note to self: install warning signs in front of gamma mutants."
With a wave, he teleported both of them directly into Dominion's stabilization chamber. The mana-pressure there would keep the beast from throwing buildings while they talked.
Blonsky roared, then gasped as the mana air hit his lungs.
"What—where—?"
"You're in my house," Adam said. "And I don't do guests without house rules."
He summoned a floating chair and dropped into it. "Option A: the military hunts you down and carves you into a science project. Option B: you work for me. You keep your mind, your power, and a shiny contract to make sure you don't do... this," he gestured at the room, "without asking."
Blonsky's gaze narrowed. "Why?"
"Because I collect problems. And you, Emil Blonsky, are a very valuable problem."
A pause.
Then: "Do I get to break things?"
"Oh, yes," Adam smiled. "In fact, I may have an entire castle that needs demolition."
Blonsky blinked. "You got yourself a deal."
A ring dropped into his palm—black obsidian with red veins of ambient energy. As it slid onto his finger, his monstrous form began stabilizing. Bones aligned. Muscles tightened. Rage cleared... slightly.
"You're... stabilizing me."
"I'm improving you," Adam said with a wink. "Let's get you a shower and a sword."
Blonsky cracked his neck. "I prefer hammers."
"Of course you do."
Back in the command hall, Wong looked at the alert log and groaned. "You know, Adam, most people don't kidnap gamma-mutated war criminals."
Adam sipped a soul-fruit smoothie. "I'm not most people. I'm building an empire."
Wong pointed to the broken training arena.
"And apparently it comes with remodeling bills."
Adam raised his glass. "Cheers to progress."
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