In New York, the holographic screen in Arthur's study chimed loudly.
Elena Hayes had been sitting in her father's chair trying to make sense of a first-year Hogwarts potions textbook. She looked up and tapped the glowing console.
The image on the screen made her blink twice.
Uncle Tony was not in his normal suit. He was inside the big one. The really big one. The one that looked like a tank had eaten the regular Iron Man armor.
Behind him, through the open doorway of wherever he was, Hulk was moving.
Elena's whole face changed.
"Hulk?"
"Elena. Kiddo. Listen to me very carefully," Tony's voice crackled over the audio.
"Why are you and Hulk fighting, Uncle Tony?"
"Elena, no time to explain." Tony's voice cracked over the audio as he blocked a massive green fist. "I need your mom. Right now. Emergency."
Elena didn't waste a single second.
"MUM!" The volume she could produce was legendary in the Hayes household. "UNCLE TONY NEEDS YOU AND HULK IS BEING WEIRD!"
Eileen rushed into the study just seconds later. She took one look at the live video feed and understood the dire situation instantly. She saw the familiar green giant swinging wildly and noticed immediately that his eyes looked terribly wrong.
"Tony, what happened to his eyes?" Eileen asked quickly.
"Loki used his magic stick on him! He's mind-controlled," Tony explained, dodging a flying piece of debris. "We can't knock him out. I need you to try and talk him down!"
Eileen leaned close to the microphone. "Bruce! Hulk! Look at me!"
Tony ordered JARVIS to use SHIELD's internal holoprojectors. A ten-foot glowing blue image of Eileen spun up in the middle of the ruined command center.
Hulk did not stop. He barely paused. His head turned toward the hologram. There was no recognition. The Scepter's magic had buried his consciousness too deep. The icy blue light in his eyes flared with cold hostility.
"Bruce." Eileen's voice hardened. "Hulk. It's me. Look at me."
Nothing. Not even a twitch.
"Hulk, please," Eileen said, her voice firm but gentle. "You don't take orders from anyone. You are your own person. You have to fight it."
Hulk ignored her completely. He took a massive step toward Tony, the deck groaning under his immense weight.
"It is not working!" Tony yelled, backing away rapidly. "The magic is too strong! He is completely locked in!"
Then, Tristan ran into the study.
He was clutching a magically animated toy dragon tightly to his chest. He pushed past his mother's legs and looked up at the large screen. He saw his giant green friend with the wrong eyes, actively trying to hurt his Uncle Tony.
Tristan was not scared.
He was furious.
"HULK."
The high, clear voice ripped through the command center speakers and for the first time, Hulk's massive shoulders twitched.
It was small. A hitch mid-swing. He did not stop. But something had registered.
Eileen saw it. So did Tony.
"Tristan. Keep talking to him," Tony urged breathlessly.
"Hulk, STOP IT!" Tristan shouted, planting both small hands flat on the desk. "You promised! You promised you'd only smash bad guys! Uncle Tony is NOT a bad guy!"
Hulk's next punch landed off-center. Tony felt the difference in his bones. Something inside the giant was fighting the order.
"He's hesitating!" Tony yelled. "Keep going, buddy!"
"Wake UP, Hulk!" Tristan's voice cracked with fury. He jabbed a finger at the screen. "Make your eyes green again right now! GREEN, not blue! Blue is WRONG!"
Hulk froze. His massive fists hung in the air above Tony, trembling.
A long, pained whine tore from his throat. He grabbed his own head. Fingers dug into his scalp. He staggered back a step. The Mind Stone was screaming destroy. The small voice was saying wake up. And for the first time, the small voice was louder. For a fraction of a second, the blue light in his eyes flickered.
Elena squeezed in next to her brother.
"Hulk. Dad said you can't be controlled." The words tumbled out of her in a rush. "Dad said your anger is your real power. You just need to get mad. Get mad at not being able to control yourself. Get mad at the stupid guy who did this to you. Get super mad."
"She's right, Hulk!" Eileen added sharply. "Get angry! Banner, you too! Get mad and help Hulk push it out!"
In the command center, Loki strolled through the wrecked floor. He looked up at the glowing hologram of the Hayes family and laughed.
"Pathetic mortals." His voice dripped with arrogance. "Do you truly believe a god's magic can be broken by a child's tantrum? The beast belongs to me now. There is absolutely nothing you can do."
Tristan leaned closer to the screen. His small hands were fists on the arm of the chair. He was not crying. He never cried at things like this. But his voice when he spoke was the smallest Eileen had ever heard it.
"Hulk," Tristan whispered. "You're my best friend. Please come back. Please break out. I need you to come back right now. I need you to shut up this bad guy."
Loki smiled cruelly, walking closer to the projection. "Do not worry, little one. You are next on his list. Once Hulk finishes tearing this ship apart, I will personally send him to target you and your sister. Then I will watch as he rips you limb from limb."
Hearing the direct threat against the children, absolute silence fell over the room.
Hulk had stopped moving entirely. His massive chest ceased heaving.
Something deep, deep inside his mind had finally snapped.
Bruce Banner and Hulk rarely agreed on anything. But right now, they were looking at the man who had invaded their mind, taken their freedom, and was actively threatening the only people in the world who treated them like family.
They didn't just get mad.
They got furious.
The anger spiked beyond measurement. The raw, primal fury surged through Hulk's veins, ramming against the cold artificial control of the Mind Stone.
With a roar that shook the deck, the blue light in his eyes shattered.
Green rushed back in.
Hulk lowered his hands from his head. He was breathing heavily, his muscles bulging with absolute rage. He glared at the holographic screen, gave Tristan a short, sharp nod, and then slowly turned around.
Loki was still standing nearby, smirking, unaware that anything had changed.
"Nothing can break a god's spell." Loki commanded, pointing the Scepter at Tony and Steve. "Beast, finish them."
But Hulk did not look at Tony. He did not look at Steve. He looked dead at Loki.
Seeing no movement, Loki frowned, sensing that something was off. He looked up at Hulk. He noticed the eyes had changed back to a vibrant, furious green.
Before the God of Mischief could raise his weapon or cast a single spell, Hulk moved.
He grabbed Loki by the ankle with a massive green hand, lifting him completely off the floor.
Loki opened his mouth in outrage. "Stop this insolence! I am a god and you will not..."
SMASH.
Hulk slammed Loki face-first into the solid steel floor.
SMASH.
He whipped Loki in the opposite direction, cratering the metal deck.
SMASH. SMASH. SMASH.
He slammed the Asgardian into the ground repeatedly, swinging him like a wet rag doll. The impacts shook the floor. Steel buckled. Rivets popped.
With a final roar of disgust, Hulk spun and threw Loki like a shot put. The God of Mischief tumbled through the air, out through the ruined wall, and landed somewhere on the exterior runway with a distant, satisfying thud.
Hulk stood in the ruined room, snorting.
"Puny god."
Then, cracking his massive knuckles, Hulk leaped out through the wreckage to finish the job with the god on the runway.
On the video screen, Tristan cheered loudly. Elena pumped both fists in the air. Tony let out a long, relieved breath as the heavy plates of the Hulkbuster whined around his relaxed stance.
Steve Rogers simply stared at the massive, Loki-shaped craters in the floor in absolute awe. Then, shaking his head to clear it, he and Tony rushed outside to follow Hulk.