Bruce Banner took a deep breath, forcing calm into trembling lungs.
"General Ross," he said firmly, though his voice carried both fear and resolve. "This began because of the Hulk. Let me end it."
Ross turned, eyes narrowing on him. For a moment, the general said nothing. His gaze shifted back toward the battlefield.
The scene before them was chaos incarnate.
Abomination was a hurricane of destruction. Every time his massive fists slammed into the pavement, the earth shook. Iron Man darted through the air, his thrusters blazing, but even Stark's advanced armor was struggling. He could distract, maybe stall but against this creature, it was like a man holding back a tidal wave with his hands.
And the APU exosuits? The very machines Ross had once believed would change the balance of power?
They hadn't even been given a chance.
Abomination had targeted them first, recognizing their threat. With one monstrous leap, he crashed into their formation. The APU suits, built for long-range suppression and not close combat, were helpless. It was like throwing sheep into a lion's den.
In moments, they were reduced to rubble.
Ross clenched his jaw. His carefully laid plans, his pride as a commander shattered. And in the pit of his chest, an unwelcome truth gnawed at him.
Perhaps only the Hulk could face this monster.
He spat the words like they tasted of ash. "Fine. Release him."
The soldiers holding Banner exchanged uneasy glances before letting him go.
Banner rubbed his wrists, then stared out at the battlefield. His eyes widened.
The city street was unrecognizable. Twisted steel beams jutted from craters. Cars lay crushed like soda cans. Flames licked at collapsed walls, and the air smelled of smoke and gunpowder. This was no longer a battlefield. It was a graveyard for men and machines alike.
And he, Bruce Banner, was nothing more than a fragile human.
He wasn't even sure the Hulk still existed. Had the monster inside him truly died in the earlier conflict? If so, stepping into that arena meant certain death.
But deep inside, Banner knew he had no choice.
Another deep breath. Another step forward. Then another.
At first his feet shuffled hesitantly, dragging like those of a condemned man. But as he ran, his pace grew faster, his eyes harder, his resolve sharper.
"Hulk," he screamed in his heart. "Come out! I need you!"
The ruins loomed closer. His chest pounded, his heart racing like a war drum. Bullets whizzed past him, stray rounds ricocheting into shattered stone. Pebbles and chunks of debris shot through the air like shrapnel. Each step carried him deeper into danger.
Still, there was no sign of transformation.
His desperation mounted.
Then, suddenly a sharp sting. A jagged piece of stone grazed across his cheek, slicing the skin. Warm blood dripped down, and pain flared.
That was the trigger.
A primal force awoke within him. His cells screamed, his genes ignited. His muscles surged, bones stretched, skin flushed green.
Banner fell to his knees, clutching the ground, as his body expanded and transformed.
The Hulk was reborn.
"ROARRR!"
The roar tore through the battlefield, a sound raw with fury.
But he was small by Hulk standards. Barely three meters tall, smaller than his former self.
Abomination froze, then broke into a wide grin. His reptilian eyes glowed with excitement.
"HULK!" he bellowed, the word dripping with mania.
In a heartbeat, Abomination abandoned Iron Man. The armored Avenger, forgotten, hovered uselessly as the true monsters locked eyes.
Abomination lunged. Hulk, still trembling but unwilling to back down, surged forward.
Two forces of nature collided.
The impact thundered across the street, rattling windows blocks away. Dust billowed into the air, blanketing the city in a suffocating haze.
For all his rage, Hulk struggled. His strength came from anger, and right now, he wasn't angry enough. His blows lacked the raw, infinite fury that defined him. His opponent was bigger, stronger, and more experienced.
Abomination's fists rained down like meteors. Hulk staggered. Then he was thrown.
The green giant slammed into the side of a bus, metal shrieking as the vehicle crumpled beneath his weight. Abomination was on him in seconds, fists pounding into Hulk's skull and ribs. The ground quaked with every strike.
The beatdown only fueled Hulk's fury. His eyes burned. His chest heaved.
With a guttural roar, he shoved upward, hurling Abomination back.
The street became their arsenal. Cars became projectiles. Light poles turned into spears. The battlefield was chaos. And through it all, Iron Man hovered, searching desperately for an opening.
But even he had to admit it: against these titans, his presence was nearly irrelevant.
The crowd watching through news broadcasts gasped in horror. Around the world, millions saw their so-called heroes struggle and falter.
Abomination taunted, laughter booming. "Is that it, Hulk? Is that all you've got?"
Hulk's response was another furious roar, his body swelling as anger poured into his veins. He grew larger, nearly matching Abomination's size, but his attacks remained clumsy, unfocused.
Abomination, a soldier at heart, fought with brutal efficiency. He dodged, countered, punished every mistake. Again and again, Hulk found himself slammed into the pavement.
Iron Man clenched his fists inside his armor. He couldn't just watch.
"J.A.R.V.I.S.," he commanded. "Prepare a missile strike!"
"Locked," the AI replied.
Stark fired. Explosions rocked Abomination, briefly staggering him. Hulk took advantage, surging to his feet.
But then the unthinkable happened.
Hulk's furious eyes turned not just on Abomination, but on Stark.
"ROARRR!"
With one mighty swing, Hulk smashed Iron Man out of the air. Stark's suit screamed warnings.
"Damage report!" he barked.
"Suit integrity reduced by fifteen percent," J.A.R.V.I.S. reported calmly.
Stark cursed. He was being ignored. To the monsters, he wasn't a warrior. He was an insect.
The realization stung worse than the damage. He was Tony Stark. Billionaire genius. The man who changed warfare. How dare they dismiss him?
Grinding his teeth, he made a decision. "Fine. You two want a fight? Then you'll both get one."
And so the chaos grew.
Iron Man darted between the giants, firing repulsors, launching missiles, trying to manipulate the battlefield with cunning rather than strength. But against such raw power, his influence was fleeting.
The street collapsed into madness. Entire blocks trembled under the force of their clash. Civilians watching live broadcasts wept. Some prayed. Others screamed at their screens in helplessness.
General Ross himself faltered. For the first time, doubt gnawed at him. Were his Hulkbuster programs worth anything at all? Or were they just another futile attempt to cage the uncageable?
The truth was bitter. They needed to destroy these monsters or humanity itself would pay the price.
But for now, there was no hope.
Until a new sound split the chaos.
"VROOOM!"
A motorcycle engine thundered, its roar louder than gunfire, fiercer than the crumbling city.
All eyes turned.
Through the smoke rode a lone figure clad in a sleek, black battle suit. The machine beneath him growled with restrained power, and behind him marched a formation of towering mechs, their steel frames glinting in the firelight.
Nolan Lock had arrived.
He kicked the bike to a halt, one foot stabbing the ground. The machine growled at idle, like a predator eager to pounce.
He looked up at the battlefield, lips curling into a cold smile.
"Well now," Nolan said, his voice steady, carrying across the ruins. "Isn't this lively?"
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