"WHERE THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOING?"

  Frank stood where Kraven just killed him. Blood-covered wounds all over his body, but most of the wounds were starting to heal at a speed visible to the naked eye. It wasn't something natural but unnatural! Something was wrong!

  Kraven quickly pressed his pressure points to stop the bleeding. The fight just took a U-Turn, the predator has now bee the prey. His eyes fell on his severed arm, twitg on the ground. He wondered how the hell did Frank severed his arm. He couldn't even see or

  uand what just happened.

  Kraven's men waiting at the end of the alley rushed in with their guns.

  "Mutation?!" Kraven yelled with a rge grie the pain, he was smiling iement, "You bastard! Don't tell me your mutation awakened on the brink of death!"

  He could see bck liquid had begun to erupt from Frank's chest, slowly spreading over his body. Kraven's eyes fell on the ribcage he was carrying just before his arm got severed, to his surprise, the ribcage had morphed into a white bde and was lying near his feet. 'He trol bones! Ah! So that's how it is, huh? Damn that cockroach bastard! I barely move my body.'

  Frank ched his fist as the wounds he suffered earlier had mostly healed. New muscles covered with bck carapace started f, further healing the remaining open wounds on his body. After a few seds, it turned into his new armor. He g Kraven and his men... 'What is going on with me?' Frank wondered as he could see their skeleton structures. He then g his arms, and just like the others, he could see his bones, with green lines across his skeletal structure.

  Whatever it was, Frank right now has the upper hand.

  "Boss. We should fall back for now," One of Kraven's men whispered.

  Kravehat falling back was the right choice. The first bout was over a new information about his prey. Right now, a strategic retreat was the wisest decision. However, the beast in him couldn't give up. His prey was still alive even after he killed him ohat 't do! That will be a blot on his career as a hunter. But, there was no other choice. The poison in his body is about to kick him down at any moment.

  'Withdrawal is dishonorable, but saving my life es first. As long as he's alive, there'll always be time to hunt him again.'

  "Hold him here," Kraven ordered his men as he dragged his feet toward the car waiting for him at the end of the alley.

  Kraven's men open-fired, but Frank wasn't affected by any bullets. They just bounced off his skin as he sloroached.

  Frank could see green strings floating in the air, that were ected to their skeleton. He felt a weird e to those floating strings. It was as if they were a part or extensions of his own body. He extended his palm forward. To his surprise, those strings ed around his palm almost instantly.

  "What the hell is that fucker?! Use grenades!"

  Kraven's men took out grenades and threw them toward Frank.

  Booom! Massive explosions occurred in that enclosed space. As the dust and smoke settled, they were surprised to see Frank standing there unharmed. "Impossible!" Kraven's men yelled in disbelief.

  "I wonder what would happen if I pull these strings," Frank pulled on the green strings, the moment he did that, those ten men before his eyes... Well, their skeleton and flesh were separated instantly. Their flesh fell to the ground with loud plops while their botered over their flesh. Ten men died, just like that without any scream. They died before their brain could uand what was going on or that they had died.

  Even Frank himself was surprised to see that.

  "Mutation!" He mumbled to himself as his eyes fell on Kraven who just ehe car and was about to get away. Frank couldn't allow him to escape his grasp or else he might e back for revenge. Although Frank khat the poison should be enough to kill Kraveill had doubts

  'Better to kill him off now than to create future problems.'

  As the car started, Frank wasn't ied in rag or chasing after the vehicle. Instead, he was trying to remember how he transformed his bones into that bde, "Was it like this?" He ed those green strings around the skeletons and squeezed them together. Immediately, the bones began to crumble and stick together, f a big nce. He picked it up and tried to run, but his speed was way too slow. The bone armor around his body was too heavy for him to run, although he could move his arms, and walk, but running was a different matter.

  He tried to trate as the anies around his body shattered, allowing his body to get out of the shell. Just like his on, Frank, too, could trol his anie armor. He wasn't sure about how it worked, but to him, it was like a part of his body. As soon as the armor shattered, he dashed toward the car, grabbing that n the way.

  Frank charged using his full speed. He could see the car moving... He was desperate. He 't allow Kraven to run away. His heart was hammering like a drum inside his ribcage. Soured down from his skin... Then something happened...

  For a brief moment, everything before his eyes seemed to stand still and to his surprise, he was right standing behind the car as it was very slowly moving forward.

  'What the?!' He goward the inal spot where his broken shell was lying. That rox 200 meters or maybe a bit less. Too many thoughts assaulted his mind, but Frank decided to focus on the enemy before his eyes. But before he could even move, everythiuro normal. The car before his eyes moved fast as the tires screeched against the road surface. The driver quickly ged the gears as the car started to gain its speed back.

  "Humff!" He threw the the car, aiming at Kraven's skeleton. He wao pull out Kraven's skeleton, but there were no green strings this time and he could only see the two skeletons in that car. One belongs to Kraven and the other one belongs to the driver.

  The nce pierced through Kraven's left shoulder bde and then pierced through the driver's chest, killing him on the spot.

  "Fuck!" Kraven tried to get out of the car, but it flipped around the er, smashing right into the wall, and crushing him. He could feel the poison slowing him down as his body burned in excruciating pain. He didn't dare to breathe anymore. Breathing will worsen his situation and maybe push him over the limit, 'Not yet, not fug yet..."

  Frank walked up to the smashed car.

  Smoke was rising from the smashed-up car.

  Kraven io the seat and his bloody head was stig out from the windshield. The bone nce shattered and pierced through his body along with the metal parts of the car. He could tell his internal ans were damaged and a bone shard had pierced through his right lung. The rest, he couldn't feel... That meant all the rest were also destroyed...

  Fra down on his knees and looked into Kraven's eyes. His right eye is gone. A bone shard was stig out. Half of his right cheek was missing, revealing his teeth. Blood was dripping from all the holes in his face, falling through those empty gaps into a puddle beh his face.

  "Why waste your life over something like this? You had the power to make a difference, yet, you chose to bee the so-called alpha male. The world's greatest hunter or whatever you wao be known. Was it really worth it?" Frank's eyes showed no mercy as he watched Kraven struggle to say something.

  "At....the ..end," blood poured from the cracks and openings between his teeth, "It was a great fight. I had the upper hand... Cough! Cough! Haaa... thanks to my potions and the info I gathered over the months..." He coughed hard.

  "You killed me once..." Frank said with a sigh. He took out a pack of cigs that he always carries around, but he never smoked. It was a memento from a beor who helped him once. He took out a cigarette and used the fme from the hood to light it up. He held it out and asked, "You smoke?"

  Kraven could barely breathe or say a single word, but seeing the cig, his mouth involuntary started twitg, saliva gathered up... He did want one. Frank put the cig between Kraven's lips, aried to breathe it in. His lungs and respiratory system were gone, so smoking the cig was no different from drinking water. Blood still leaked from his mouth and his facial muscles twisted painfully, tears p from his single eye.

  After a few puffs, Frank pulled the cig out from Kraven's mouth.

  "It was the best battle of my life. Thank you. Frank Castle," He spoke weakly as he closed his eyes with resignation. His sciousness faded away...

  The siren could be heard from far away... Someone must've heard the gunshot and explosion earlier and must've informed the police. This was the perfect opportunity to make a break and disappear without a trace.

  Frank took out his gun and aimed at Kraven's head. But realized that the guy before him wasn't breathing anymore. He put the gun bad walked away. His legs felt sluggish and his entire body was ag. His eyes were burning. He somehow went back to his minivan and drove to his base, before losing sciousness ihe car.

  .

  .

  [Back at the crash site]

  A red blob crept out of the drainage system, crawling all the way towards the wrecked car. It checked Kraven's status, shook its blobby body, a out a blood curdling sound. It theered Kraven's body.

  The entire wreckage trembled a bit.

  Kraven slowly opened his single eye, the empty eye socket was still bleeding, his teeth had goo a creepy grin and a red anic matter began to cover his entire body, healing his wounds as multiple red tentacles erupted from his body, ripping through the burning car. Then he walked out of the burning wreckage.

  The cops were getting closer.

  Kraven's body was now covered in red anic armor-like skin as his body became bulkier. The anic matter covered his fad repced the eyeballs ah that were previously missing, turning him into a walki.

  "What a nice body you got there, Kraven. Sadly, you have reached the limits of a huma me in and I'll show you what real power is... The epitome of human evolution. The path we were always meant to take... The true path to glory, I shall unlock that secret for you. It's time, boy...Time to experience a power only a few have ever felt..." A weird voice echoed into Kraven's head as he was trying to grasp what was going on with him.

  "Who the hell are you?" He wao ask as multiple voices were eg inside his head as if a crowd was chatting nonstop. His vision was now enhanced beyond what he thought ossible. He felt a surge of immense power ing from his body. Suddenly the noise around him stopped, a new voice repced all of the other voices and was heard inside his head.

  "I AM AGE!"

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  Support Link: .pat reon./XcaliburXc

  ?Read 16 advance Chapters?[Early Access to my new ff- SL in Marvel. I might ge the er, but this time I am going for a different approach.] [Avaible for all tiers]

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  , Ch: 151: Threesome- Maddie & May

  Ch: 152: Sue's decision

  Ch: 153: Frank needs help

  Ch: 154: Storm & Rogue

  Xcalibur_Xc

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