Drex Valen spent the next several hours running tests on Blonsky's transformed body.
The results exceeded expectations.
This version of Abomination was vastly stronger than the original timeline's counterpart.
First, his skin structure displayed extraordinary resistance to energy attacks. The biological surface possessed an extremely high energy refraction rate, dramatically reducing the effectiveness of directed energy weapons.
Then there were the bone spikes.
The grotesque protrusions covering Blonsky's body were absurdly durable.
Despite being biological material, their hardness actually surpassed secondary Kryptonian alloy.
Worse still, the spikes radiated terrifying heat.
They were essentially living thermal blades.
Even secondary Kryptonian metal couldn't endure the temperatures they generated.
And thanks to the Extremis Virus still active inside Blonsky's body, those temperatures could continue increasing.
Heat ray breath.
Superheated biological blades.
Energy-reflective skin.
Extremis regeneration.
Red Hulk regeneration.
This thing completely eclipsed the original Abomination.
"I'm over a hundred tons now?"
Blonsky sounded genuinely stunned.
Back when he was merely a Hyper Zoanoid, he had never reached this level of power.
And according to Drex, once transformed, over ninety percent of humanity's weapons systems were now effectively useless against him short of nuclear strikes.
Blonsky could barely contain his excitement.
He desperately wanted to test his strength against someone.
Of course, Drex Valen himself was absolutely not included in that category.
"You want a sparring partner?"
Drex nodded after hearing the request.
Then Black Tank entered the laboratory.
He wore a vibranium helmet over his head.
Blonsky narrowed his eyes.
"And who's this?"
The massive figure stood nearly seven and a half feet tall, his body packed with explosive muscle.
Definitely not normal.
"His name is Black Tank," Drex explained. "One of my experimental creations."
"He possesses metalized physiology, immortality, and optic lasers."
"Eventually, I plan to replace his entire skeleton with Kryptonian alloy."
Immortality?
That immediately caught Blonsky's attention.
Drex had already told him that he himself possessed a form of practical immortality now.
A lifespan theoretically capable of continuing indefinitely.
Without another word, Blonsky and Black Tank simultaneously punched each other directly in the face.
BOOM!
The vibranium helmet protected Black Tank completely.
Blonsky, meanwhile, split his own cheek open from the impact.
The wound regenerated almost instantly.
Realizing the helmet wasn't ordinary equipment, Blonsky shifted targets toward Black Tank's body instead.
At the same time, Black Tank activated his metallic transformation.
Blonsky's fists now carried blazing bone spikes where fingernails should've been.
Red-hot biological blades erupted forward with his punch and pierced directly through Black Tank's metallic torso.
Black Tank grunted softly.
Then ignored the damage entirely.
His healing factor rendered injuries like that almost meaningless.
An uppercut exploded into Blonsky's jaw hard enough to loosen teeth.
But Blonsky instantly trapped Black Tank's arm and twisted violently into a joint-destruction hold.
The raw strength difference was too large.
Black Tank's arm snapped apart immediately.
Still, due to his metalized physiology, he barely reacted to the pain.
Blonsky looked almost disappointed.
He'd clearly expected screaming.
Then Black Tank suddenly hooked Blonsky's legs from underneath and dragged him down.
Ground fighting.
A choke-and-lock combination.
Blonsky got caught off guard for half a second.
CRACK!
Both his knees twisted violently out of alignment.
"AAAGH!"
Blonsky roared and retaliated immediately.
A sweep of the burning elbow spike on his arm tore straight across Black Tank's torso, splitting him open from chest to abdomen.
But instead of organs...
Blonsky saw metal.
Nothing but metal beneath the outer layer.
"What the hell are you?"
His legs regenerated almost instantly.
Between Extremis and the Red Hulk serum, his recovery speed probably exceeded Wolverine's at this point.
Once fully recovered, Blonsky started overwhelming Black Tank completely.
Even though Black Tank had studied enormous quantities of underground combat footage under the Black Queen's guidance and learned countless lethal fighting techniques, the sheer difference in mass and strength was too overwhelming.
Eventually, Black Tank began losing ground steadily.
He still looked capable of continuing for much longer, but Drex ended the fight before it escalated further.
Blonsky returned to human form afterward.
And unlike Bruce Banner, his baseline human state remained absurdly powerful.
Even without transforming, he possessed roughly ten tons of strength and complete immunity to small-arms fire.
Becoming this kind of ultimate lifeform left Blonsky in an extremely good mood.
Following the World Serpent and serving Drex Valen had absolutely been the correct choice.
Afterward, Drex extracted large quantities of Blonsky's blood for further experimentation.
His goal was obvious.
Abomination serum.
Unfortunately, both the Red Hulk serum and the Abomination variant seemed extremely selective regarding compatibility.
Even with Drex directly stabilizing subjects through electromagnetic manipulation, most later test subjects still died horribly.
And the failures made no logical sense.
Drex frowned.
This didn't feel like simple genetic incompatibility.
It felt more like...
Restrictions.
Limitations imposed by the universe itself.
But then why had Black Tank succeeded?
Drex rubbed his forehead.
At this point, he could only attribute it to Marvel universe absurdity.
Right around then, another major headline exploded across the media.
Obadiah Stane officially assumed control of Stark Industries.
Since Tony Stark had no children or direct heirs, his shares transferred to Obadiah.
Watching the press conference, Drex noticed Obadiah's reddened eyes and grief-stricken expression.
He'd clearly rehearsed the performance carefully.
Internally, though?
The old man was probably ecstatic.
At first, Tony Stark's disappearance genuinely terrified Obadiah.
But gradually, he began realizing the advantages of Tony being gone.
Yes, Stark Industries had suffered enormous losses after losing its greatest genius.
Stock values had crashed violently.
But Stark Industries was still Stark Industries.
Even a crippled titan remained massive.
Tony's accumulated weapons patents alone were enough to sustain the company for years.
And because Blade Technology Industries hadn't aggressively entered next-generation weapons innovation yet, Stark Industries' stock decline had finally stabilized.
Some signs even suggested recovery.
Once Obadiah understood that, he moved quickly.
Political favors.
Internal alliances.
Profit-sharing.
By the time everything settled, he had successfully secured complete authority over Stark Industries.
At this point, Obadiah desperately hoped Tony Stark was truly dead.
After all, nobody had even attempted a ransom demand.
"That worked out nicely for him," Drex muttered.
Still, he didn't consider Obadiah important enough to care deeply about.
Compared to what the Black Queen reported next, Obadiah was barely worth attention.
Doctor Otto Octavius was finally preparing to begin his tritium reactor experiment.
After burning through enormous funding, Otto had completed construction of the machine itself.
More importantly...
He had also built six alloy mechanical arms to assist him during the experiment.
Apparently he considered ordinary human assistants too clumsy and incompetent to trust near his work.