Captain Marvel and the Silver Surfer blazed like twin stars in the arena's center, their energies clashing in stark contrast, gold against silver, radiant light against cosmic sheen. Their very auras rippled through the air, warping the space around them with raw, unrestrained power.
Without hesitation, Carol raised a hand, "WHOOSH!" a column of golden energy erupted from her palm, searing toward her opponent. The Silver Surfer spun effortlessly to the side, silver streaks trailing in his wake, and retaliated with a cosmic blast of his own.
"WOOOM!"
The beam tore through the air and slammed into the arena's shimmering barrier, scattering excess energy into cascading shards of broken light. The crowd gasped as the fragments disintegrated harmlessly before reaching them.
From above, Carol dove like a hawk, her body twisting into a spinning kick ablaze with golden fire.
"THUD!"
Her boot slammed into Norrin's shoulder with enough force to crater the ground beneath him, pinning him down like a meteor strike.
"RAAAAAAH!"
The crowd erupted into deafening cheers, the sudden shift igniting a wildfire of excitement.
Yet in the stands, a young man with emerald eyes narrowed sharply. William's instincts screamed a warning, and he was right.
The Silver Surfer's eyes flared with dense silvery light, and with a calmness born of countless battles, he pushed off the ground, grabbing Carol's forearms in a steel-like grip. With no hesitation, he drove his forehead into hers.
"POW!"
Carol's head whipped back, but stubbornness blazed brighter than pain. She snarled and delivered a brutal headbutt of her own.
"POW!"
Again and again, they battered each other like titans, refusing to yield. Carol's aura began to shimmer unnaturally, her energy compacting into something fiercer, something transcendent.
"WHOOSH!"
In a blinding flash, her form blurred, moving faster than mortal eyes could track. To the crowd, she seemed to vanish, only to reappear inches from the Silver Surfer, her iridescent fist already in motion.
"BOOOOOOM!"
Norrin crossed his arms to block, but the force of the blow shattered the defenses instantly. His forearms, normally reinforced with the Power Cosmic, hung limp and useless at his sides. He staggered back, struggling to remain upright, silver ichor leaking from unseen wounds.
Above him, Carol hovered like a vengeful goddess, her arms wide as she summoned a sphere of energy between her palms. It crackled and pulsed, expanding rapidly into a miniature sun, bathing the arena in dazzling iridescence.
Norrin stood, wounded, smirking.
Carol's veins bulged as fury overtook her. "TAKE THIS, YOU BASTARD!" she howled, her voice raw and fraying.
With a thrust of both hands, she hurled the colossal orb downward.
"RRRUUMMMBLE!"
The very foundations of the arena trembled. Buildings nearby shook; the sky itself seemed to waver under the assault.
The ball screamed toward Norrin, but a split-second before impact, his body flickered, gone. Carol barely had time to widen her eyes before an explosion of pain erupted in her abdomen.
She looked down in disbelief.
A blade of condensed cosmic energy, forged from Norrin's hand, was buried deep into her gut.
"HAKKK!"
Blood gushed from her lips in a crimson arc as the crowd fell into stunned silence, the energy ball fizzling harmlessly into the distance. Her body crumpled forward, caught mid-collapse by gravity's cruel hand.
The arena descended into chaos, cheers, gasps, shrieks. No one had seen it coming.
From the stands, Peter Parker surged forward, heart in his throat, only to be caught by William's firm grip. "Not yet," William growled, his voice low and strained. "Be patient."
Guards rushed onto the field, surrounding Carol's twitching form. They lifted her onto a stretcher, the golden glow around her flickering weakly like a dying star.
Norrin Radd, battered, bloodied, victorious, gave the fallen warrior a respectful nod before turning his back to the stunned crowd and walking silently out of the arena.
Inside the dim, humid expanse known as the Blood Chambers, a sprawling section beneath the arena where the wounded were taken to recover, or at least survive long enough to fight another day, Captain Marvel stirred weakly on her stretcher. The acrid scent of blood, sterile bandages, and burning incense filled the air, mixing into a nauseating cocktail that clung to her senses. Flickering crystalline lights cast long, grim shadows against the stone walls, creating a haunting, near-sacred atmosphere.
From her elevated cot, Carol Danvers forced her blurry vision to focus across the room, where a thick cage of shimmering, rippling energy hummed lowly in the background. Behind it, hulking and unmistakable, sat the Hulk. Even through her haze of pain, his massive frame was impossible to miss.
The chamber allocated to him was different from the others. Where most wounded were crammed onto beds like cattle, Hulk's spacious cell looked almost... comfortable. It was practically an apartment, a large bed with reinforced steel frames, a small table loaded with exotic fruits and steaming plates of Sakaaran cuisine, an entertainment module that flickered with holographic games and battles from other arenas. The walls were adorned with murals and strange Sakaaran writings, almost like he was royalty rather than prisoner.
But despite the luxury, there was no fire in his eyes.
Bruce Banner, or rather, the Hulk, seemed hollow, his spirit snuffed out like a candle. Slouched against the reinforced headboard, he mindlessly chewed on a thick leg of roasted beast, his monstrous arms too lazy to even flex as he ate. There was no rage, no resistance, no plans of rebellion, just a towering mountain of muscle slowly giving in to the golden cage crafted for him by his captors.
Carol grimaced as she watched, a twinge of sympathy twisting in her chest. Earth's betrayal still lingered in his heart, poisoning every thought and crushing any will to fight back. As long as he was fed and kept entertained, the Green Goliath seemed content to rot away in his cell.
Then, movement.
Carol's half-lidded eyes tracked a figure stepping confidently into the cell: A tall, ash-grey Sakaaran woman, her skin bearing ancient, flowing tattoos that pulsed with faint light under the chamber's illumination. Her outfit was practical, a lightweight armored uniform, but nothing could hide the powerful build of her body, the way her hips swayed naturally despite the burden she carried.
In her hands, she balanced three enormous trays of food, each piled high with smoking meats, fruits, and thick loaves. Hulk barely grunted in acknowledgment as she set the trays down beside him with a soft thud. Without missing a beat, the woman knelt beside him, speaking in low, musical tones that Carol couldn't make out from her distance.
Forty, maybe fifty minutes passed.
When the woman finally exited the cell, Carol noticed immediately, the faint limp in her step, the small grimace of soreness she tried to hide as she adjusted her armor. But what caught Carol's attention most was subtler, almost hidden:
The signs of pregnancy.
A slight, but undeniable curve to her otherwise taut abdomen, shielded cleverly beneath layers of tactical gear and the natural athleticism of her body. It wasn't obvious to the average eye, but Carol had spent too long in the field, she recognized the changes.
Her lips parted slightly in surprise.
"Damn..."The word slipped out in a rasped whisper as a fresh wave of unease washed over her.
She turned her head away sharply, trying to banish the image from her mind, but it clung to her thoughts like a burr. The Hulk, broken and pacified. The woman, carrying a child.
A child born of captivity?
Of loneliness?
Of compromise?
Before she could delve deeper into those troubling thoughts, a sharp, stabbing pain lanced through her abdomen.
Carol gasped and instinctively clutched her stomach, feeling the rough, hurried bandages press against the still-seeping wound. The pain was electric, lighting up every nerve in her torso and forcing tears to well in the corners of her eyes.
She bit down hard, drawing blood from her lip, refusing to cry out. She wouldn't give the guards, or anyone else, the satisfaction.
Her fingers trembled slightly as she tried to breathe through it, heart hammering against her ribcage like a trapped bird.
All she could do now was survive.
The next day, Carol Danvers stood once more beneath the burning twin suns of Sakaar, her body mended beyond what mere medicine could achieve.The energies of the Power Cosmic she had absorbed from her grievous wound now thrummed quietly beneath her skin, coiling like a living current.Every flex of her muscles, every pulse of her heart, felt stronger. Sharper. She hadn't just healed, she had evolved.
Her boots crunched against the dust as armored guards led her back into the Arena of Blood and Glory, where tens of thousands of alien spectators packed the towering stands, their roars a living tidal wave of sound.
"RUMBLE!!"
The arena quaked, ancient stone trembling under the sheer force of the crowd's excitement.
The massive iron doors at either end of the arena groaned open, their hinges shrieking against the weight of history and bloodshed they carried.
From one side: Carol Danvers, her hair tied back into a high, battle-ready tail, her body wreathed in faint, swirling bands of golden and iridescent light. From the other: The Hulk.
He emerged like a living avalanche, monstrous, titanic, green, his body rippling with so much raw power that the ground cracked under each of his footfalls. There was no hesitation in his bloodshot eyes, no restraint left to hold him back.
He roared.
"RRAAAAGGHHH!"
With a single brutal stomp, the Hulk launched himself across the battlefield, spiderweb fractures bursting outward from his departure point like broken glass underfoot.
Carol reacted instantly, her palms flaring with concentrated cosmic energy. She unleashed a brilliant beam, a focused torrent of searing light, directly at the charging monster.
"VOOOOOOM!"
The beam smashed into Hulk's chest with the force of a warship cannon, grinding his momentum to a near halt. But the beast would not be denied.
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!"
With every devastating punch, the Hulk battered the beam aside inch by inch, advancing, teeth bared in a furious snarl. Each strike sent shockwaves across the arena floor, and Carol felt sweat bead across her brow, not from fear, but from the sheer scale of resistance she was up against.
Gritting her teeth, she poured more power into her attack, building a massive pulsing energy sphere in her hands before hurling it forward.
"WHUMMMM!"
The wave slammed into Hulk like a cosmic tsunami, finally halting his advance and dragging him backward through the dust.
His massive hands clawed at the cracked ground, sending up sprays of shattered earth as he fought against her overwhelming force.
The crowd roared even louder, their voices crashing like a chaotic ocean.
But Hulk was not beaten, not yet.
"HULK SMASH!"
His voice thundered across the battlefield like the roar of an ancient god. He lunged forward, extending both massive arms, and with the strength of an unstoppable force, he slammed his palms together.
"CLAAAAAAP!"
The resulting kinetic shockwave hit Carol's energy pulse head-on, shattering it into raw dispersing fragments and blasting her backward as if she were weightless.
Before she could recover, a green fist the size of a boulder rocketed toward her.
"BOOOOM!"
Carol smashed against the arena barrier once, then twice, then a third time, each impact jarring her bones and cracking the air itself, before gravity finally claimed her and she plummeted into the shattered ground below in a cloud of dirt and fractured stone.
The arena fell silent for half a heartbeat... and then erupted again, the crowd sensing that this battle was far from over.
"RAAAAAAHHH!!"
Carol staggered to her feet, wiping the blood from the corner of her mouth. Her body ached, but her spirit burned hotter than ever. She summoned her vast reserves of cosmic energy, gathering it into her right fist until it blazed like a newborn star. With a roar, she launched upward in a blinding streak of light, her fist cutting a brilliant arc toward the oncoming Hulk.
"BOOM!"
The impact was monstrous. Hulk's head snapped backward from the uppercut, and the green behemoth was hurled into the air like a meteor. His massive form crashed into the shimmering energy barrier above the arena, causing visible ripples across the shield before he slammed back into the cracked dirt below, a thunderous explosion shaking the ground on impact.
Carol exhaled heavily, her breath misting in the heated air, and dropped into a guarded stance. She knew better than anyone, hurting the Hulk was one thing; keeping him down was something else entirely.
A deep, guttural rumble rolled across the arena as the audience held their breath.
Then—
"THUD."
Hulk's colossal green eyes snapped open, glowing with barely restrained rage. Slowly, deliberately, he pushed himself up from the crater he had formed, never once breaking eye contact with his opponent.
A low growl built in his throat. Without warning, he turned his head and—
"PEW!"
He spat out a thick glob of green blood mixed with fragments of shattered teeth. The sight sent a chill down Carol's spine. She watched, her heart sinking, as Hulk's already titanic body grew, muscle fibers bulging, swelling, his veins pulsing with newfound strength fueled by his unrelenting anger.
He's getting stronger, she realized grimly, her fists clenching tighter.
With a bestial snarl, Hulk pounded one foot into the ground, and the arena trembled beneath him. Then, shockingly agile for his size, he broke into a sprint, charging toward the walls of the arena.
To Carol's horror, he began to run along the curve of the barrier itself, his massive weight pounding the shield and forcing it to react, causing brilliant arcs of defensive energy to flash with every footfall.
"WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!"
The Hulk moved faster, circling her like a predator. Carol spun on the spot, trying desperately to track him, but his speed, combined with the blinding flashes of the barrier struggling under his force, disoriented her.
And then, like a cannonball unleashed from a railgun—
"BOOM!"
The Hulk broke from his orbit, launching straight at Carol with terrifying momentum. She barely had time to gasp before the Hulk's outstretched arm smashed into her chest like a freight train.
"CRACK!"
The sheer force lifted her off her feet, snapping her body backward. Carol's vision blurred as pain exploded across her ribs. She flew across the arena, slamming brutally into the ground, carving a deep trench in the dirt as she skidded to a stop.
The crowd erupted, their roaring voices blending into a single, deafening pulse of excitement and awe.