Mark stood in his lab within the Dimension of Solitude around shelves that were filled with books he had collected from all over his Earth and alternate Earths from the Marvel Universe.
He had been bouncing back and forth between Earth and this isolated dimension for weeks now—collecting books on gamma radiation, building medical devices to aid his tests, and studying the blood sample he'd carefully taken from Jennifer Walters.
While, he was studying Jennifer's blood he began contemplating giving it to Amanda. Jennifer's blood was filled with radiation and Mark began to fear that it will just give Amanda cancer and kill her, without the true source of a Hulk's power being present in their universe.
THE ONE BELOW ALL
Mark had no idea if Amanda would be able to become a Hulk using Jennifer's blood, without the One Below All being present in their Universe. So he had to conduct some more tests to see if becoming a hulk was possible without the One Below All's power.
To determine this, Mark travelled to many different universes in the Marvel multiverse to aquire more blood samples from, not only Jennifer Walters but also Bruce Banner. He aquired samples of her blood before and after becoming She-Hulk and did the same for Bruce Banner. However, it seemed as though many versions of Hulk were vigilant and seemed to always be on edge, leading to him even having to fight one in order to obtain a proper blood sample (This will be a side story I plan to write so look out for that).
Still, his efforts had paid off.
Through careful testing, he'd discovered that both Jennifer and Bruce possessed a unique genetic trait that allowed their bodies to process and survive gamma radiation in ways others couldn't, but only when there were extremely large amounts of gamma raditation could they turn into a Hulk. So, he didn't have anything to fear with the One Below All.
Now, all he had to do was recreate that same genetic trait in Amanda. Safely.
Before anything else, though, he had to return her to her real self.
Mark stepped in front of the medical pod and pressed his palm to the glass. His eyes glowed faintly as he called on one of his Air-magi abilities—Purification. Soft green energy flowed from his hand and enveloped Amanda's monstrous form, gently peeling away the layers of cursed magic clinging to her DNA.
Her form shimmered.
The monstrous exterior began to fade away like smoke. Her muscles relaxed. The giant hands shrank. What was left was Amanda—the real Amanda, her 24-year-old self, floating unconscious and uncursed.
The monitors on her chamber flared red as her body began to register the full extent of her injuries again. Her limbs twitched. Her brow furrowed in pain.
Mark calmly kept his hands on the glass and channeled his Kryptonian water magi healing. The green medicinal liquid filled in the pod glowed a neon color, and her vitals began to stabilize. The curse was gone and now she was fully recovered.
He sighed in relief, a weight lifting off his shoulders. She would still be out for a while, but her body was finally healed. Her mind—fractured by pain and trauma—would take more time.
Looking at her, Mark noticed the outfit she wore before transforming had returned. He didn't hesitate. With the efficiency of a field medic, he gently removed the torn remnants and dressed her in a plain, dark-blue bathing suit to preserve her modesty. No awkwardness, no lust. Just duty and care.
A knock echoed from the lab's entrance.
"Come in," he called without turning.
The doors slid open with a gentle hiss. Anissa entered, dressed in jeans, a loose blouse, and flats. An outfit she wouldn't have usually wore before he almost 2 months on this planet. Earth was really rubbing off on her.
"You never told me she looked like this," Anissa said, glancing at Amanda. "I just thought you had some… peculiar tastes."
Mark snorted a laugh. "That's her real form. I removed the curse that was placed on her, so she returned to who she actually is."
Anissa tilted her head, taking a better look. "She's beautiful."
"She is," Mark agreed, almost absently.
Anissa moved closer to him. "I can't wait until we can share you," she said playfully, running a hand down his arm.
Mark didn't mind her flirtations. Over the last month and a half, they had gone on a few dates. He'd helped her understand Earth, helped her loosen up, and she, in turn, had shown him an emerging new side beneath her hardened shell.
They'd kissed once or twice. Actually, they've kissed multiple times. But he hadn't made anything official.
"You'll just have to wait until I talked to Amanda," Mark said. "I need to get her answer after about the confession I made before leaving for Talescria. It's only fair."
Anissa nodded. "Ah. So it's a matter of… placement."
That wasn't how he would've put it, but it worked. He let it slide.
She leaned in and kissed him, her lips lingering with heat and a hunger she didn't bother to hide. "I really can't wait until the day comes."
Then she winked and turned to leave. "I'm off to find Amber or Eve. They promised to show me how to make those croissants I love."
Mark watched her go, a smirk tugging at his lips.
'I hate to see her go, but I love to see her walk away.'
When the door slid shut, he turned back to Amanda.
She floated peacefully now, her breathing even. All that was left was to give her the She-Hulk's blood mixed with one of the serums he's made.
XXXX
During his time in his Dimension of Solitude, Mark had always known his hybrid DNA was unique, but he managed create the miracle that was himself on his own terms. Two serums sat in cold stasis beside him—one for humans, one for Viltrumites. The challenge hadn't been simple.
While using the data stored in his blood from the codex, Mark managed to easily make a serum that'll turn a human who drinks it into a Kryptonian, and grant them the standard Kryptonian abilities.
Whereas, making a serum that'll grant Viltrumites, Kryptonian abilities was more challenging. Viltrumite physiology, thanks to their smart atoms, resisted unnatural genetic alteration with ferocity. Their bodies were nearly impervious to forced changes, especially after centuries of their smart atoms getting used to how they were constructed. Meaning, although smart atoms are known to adapt to different evironmental stressors, they still follow a certain blue print of how a Viltrumite is constructed causing them to be rigid and reject unnatural changes to this blueprint.
Mark, however, had both Viltrumite and Kryptonian DNA awaken simultaneously, letting the two merge and strengthen each other. The others wouldn't be so lucky, since their Viltrumite DNA would try to reject the Kryptonian DNA. So, he had to construct this serum to bypass the smart atoms's resistance and merge seemlessly with a Viltrumite's DNA.
After a couple of days in his Dimension of Solitude, he had done it. Luckily, he had no need for sleep so he worked 24/7 until hefinally perfected the Serum that will turn a viltrumite into a Viltrumite-Kryptonian hybrid.
He named the two serums with the Human-Kryptonian serum, being called Compound HK, and the Viltrumite-Kryptonian serum, being called Compound VK. Both were synthesized from his own blood, meaning anyone who took them would inherit his resistance to both species natural weaknesses. More importantly, they'd eventually adapt to those weaknesses entirely with enough exposure, rendering them obsolete.
XXXX
Before mixing Jennifer's blood with compound HK and giving it to Amanda, Mark had two things to do. And the first was to translate the genetic trait both Bruce and Jennifer had into Amanda's DNA.
To do so, Mark brought Amanda to his Dimension of Solitude, in order to use a device he had previously made. The gene infusion device—the same one he had once used to integrate Angstrom Levy's dimensional ability into himself. He had spent months upgrading it, making sure it wouldn't cause pain or stress to Amanda's body like it did for him.
Carefully, he lifted Amanda from her chamber and placed her into the smaller infusion pod. With practiced movements, he inserted the gene solution based on Jennifer Walters' blood into the device, locked it, and initiated the sequence.
A soft hum filled the chamber. Amanda's body glowed faintly, her cells shifting on a microscopic level.
Mark watched the monitors carefully. No rejection. No immune response.
It was working.
After an hour, the procedure was complete. He returned her to her main chamber and watched her vitals steady again. Amanda was stable and had the same trait both Bruce and Jennifer had.
Now… it was time for the final step. The testing phase.
While he knew both of his serums should work. He needed to test them on a Human and Viltrumite to not risk his families's live.
"I need test subjects."
The words hung in the air like a verdict. He knew what that meant. The ethical line he was about to cross wouldn't stop him. It was like he told Levy, he is a selfish person.
Waving his hand, two green portals opened into alternate realities. Out of the portals came too figures, one was a version of D.A. Sinclair, nearly identical to the one from his world—save for a shaved head and a lot more detached in regards to human lives. The other… a version of Thragg, still arrogant, still powerful, cloaked in a regal garment that looked like Battle Beast, a trophy of his conquest.
From the left portal, Sinclair came tumbling out with a yelp, hitting the ground with a graceless flop. "What the hell?!"
From the right, Thragg floated out with practiced control, arms crossed as his sharp eyes scanned the red plain of Mark's dimension.
"Where am I?" Thragg demanded, eyes narrowing. "Where is my army of children?"
Sinclair, brushing dust off his pants, snapped, "I demand to know who's responsible for this abduction. I was on the verge of capturing this red-haired superhero wearing pin—"
Mark pinched the bridge of his nose. "Yeah, yeah, we're skipping introductions."
Before either man could say more, Mark vanished.
To Sinclair's eyes, Mark simply blurred. To Thragg's, it was like a ghost had struck him. One moment, Mark stood across the field, the next—his fist was embedded in Thragg's torso.
The Viltrumite's eyes went wide. He coughed violently, blood sputtering from his lips as he tried to look down and process the gaping wound.
Mark didn't wait.
He yanked his arm back and slammed an elbow against Thragg's temple, sending him spiraling to the crimson ground, unconscious and twitching.
Sinclair stared in disbelief, his jaw hanging open.
"I—what—did you just kill—?"
Mark appeared behind him and flicked his forehead with casual precision. The force was enough to knock Sinclair out cold.
He crouched beside them, pulling out vials from his pocket. Compound HK for Sinclair and Compound VK for Thragg.
He injected each serum into its respective target. As the fluid disappeared into their veins, he picked up both unconscious bodies with ease and began carrying them across the plain.
Several minutes later, he arrived at his lab, where two large solar pods lined with yellow-sun simulation panels built by his Invinci-bots. They were perfect for supercharging a Kryptonian's abilities. He took several minutes to arrive in order to allow the serum to be fully integrated into their bodies.
He laid Thragg and Sinclair inside separate pods, secured them, and activated the sequence.
Bright yellow sunlight flooded the chambers, bathing the unconscious test subjects in pure solar energy. It would take time, but Mark was patient. The results had to be clear before he dared even think about using the serums on anyone close to him.
For the next month, Mark monitored them carefully.
Sinclair's body began to change quickly. His muscles thickened, his bone density increased, and a bio-electric aura started to radiate from his skin. These were tell-tale signs of a Kryptonian awakening their powers. His vitals showed no side effects and that there was no rejection.
Thragg, on the other hand, took like 2 days longer. The VK serum was more complex. His smart atoms resisted at first, violently. But the serum was designed for exactly this. Bit by bit, the Kryptonian DNA merged with his Viltrumite cells. The results were promising.
What should have taken Thragg three months to fully recover from Mark's earlier assault… only took one.
Mark stood outside the pods, reading the final reports.
"Bio-electric aura… solar absorption… accelerated healing..."
He nodded to himself, heart hammering.
"It works," he whispered. "It actually works."
He hovered his hand over the release switches. He pressed both.
"...Oops maybe I should've woken them one at a time."
The pods hissed open with mechanical precision. Steam poured out. Both men stirred.
Sinclair groaned, floating slightly above the ground, blinking in awe at his body's new capabilities.
Thragg opened his eyes—and locked onto Mark.
His body shot forward like a missile.
"Shit. Definitely should have woken them up one at a time."
Mark barely had time to brace before Thragg tackled him with the fury of a freight train, smashing him through three reinforced lab walls. The momentum didn't stop. They shot out of the structure and into the crimson sky of the wasteland beyond.
Mark twisted mid-flight, planted his feet against Thragg's chest, and launched him across the red plains, sending him crashing through rocky terrain like a meteor.
"Guess we're doing this again."
He glanced back toward the hole in the lab's wall, using his x-ray vision to find Sinclair still floating, disoriented and trying not to crash into a support beam.
"Invinci-bots," Mark called out, "contain Subject A. Engage if it tries to flee."
The bots zipped out in a swarm, surrounding Sinclair with force fields.
Mark clenched his fists, eyes glowing red as he flew off after Thragg. He even had a grin and feeling of excitement at the thought of facing a Kryptonian Thragg.