"W-what the hell is that!?"
"Monster! It's a monster!"
"Run! Run for your lives!"
The entire school building exploded into chaos the instant the Hulk appeared. Students and teachers screamed as they bolted in every direction, panic spreading faster than fire in dry grass.
And then—
RAT-A-TAT-TAT!
The soldiers inside the school opened fire, muzzle flashes lighting the halls as bullets rained against the giant's body like a metallic storm.
Sparks erupted across the Hulk's skin—but not a single bullet pierced it.
Instead, the sting of those attacks only enraged him further.
"RRAAAAAHHHH!!!"
The monster's roar shook the entire floor as he charged.
It was like a freight train made of pure muscle.
Soldiers were tossed aside like rag dolls, their bones snapping audibly as the Hulk plowed through them, unstoppable, unstoppable, unstoppable!
BOOM!
He hit a wall head-on, unable to stop his own momentum. The reinforced concrete cracked like glass, spiderweb fractures racing up the structure.
Chunks of brick and concrete rained down toward two petrified students below.
And then—
Thwip! Thwip!
Two white strands of web shot out of nowhere, catching the students and yanking them clear an instant before the debris hit the ground.
No one noticed the rescuer in the chaos…
No one except Darren.
He caught the flash of motion, the faint sound of webs snapping taut, and the blur of a familiar figure sprinting away.
Of course.
The kid was changing costumes.
Darren smirked and calmly stepped into a corner, pulling out his phone.
"Director," he said, voice steady, "I found Bruce Banner. He's… green now. Fighting General Ross's troops. It's a mess."
[Mission "The Green Monster of Midtown" Complete!]
[Reward: +1000 XP, +20 S.H.I.E.L.D. Reputation, Item: "Infinite Bottle"]
[Item Description: Infinite Bottle — once emptied, instantly refills with a random new liquor.]
"Motherf—Ross!" Fury's voice thundered through the earpiece. "That lunatic actually started a firefight in a school! He's worse than HYDRA!"
"Listen carefully, Agent Darren. Ross cannot be allowed to capture Bruce Banner. Stop him if you can, but whatever you do—don't let any civilians get hurt! Banner's crucial to the Avengers Initiative."
[New Mission: The Hulk's Wrath]
[Objectives: Stop Ross from capturing Banner; Prevent Hulk from harming innocents]
[Rewards: +3000 XP, +50 S.H.I.E.L.D. Reputation, Random Gear ×1, Random Item ×2]
"Understood, sir."
"…And my car—was it you—"
"Sorry, bad signal, gotta go!" Darren cut the line instantly.
He pocketed the phone just as more soldiers stormed the hallways, taking up positions behind desks and corners, firing in organized bursts.
The entire building thundered with explosions.
"RRRRAAAHHHH!!"
The Hulk's patience finally snapped.
He slammed both fists down, shattering the floor beneath his feet—and then leaped straight through it, crashing into the level below like a green meteor.
AAAAAAHHH!
A high-pitched scream pierced the smoke and chaos, so shrill it actually made the Hulk pause mid-rampage.
He looked down.
A terrified red-haired girl stood frozen beneath him—Mary Jane Watson, separated from her boyfriend in the evacuation.
"AAAAHHH!!"
Her second scream was even louder.
"RRRAAAHHH!!"
The Hulk roared back in annoyance. How dare this puny creature out-scream him!
But there was something strange about that scream—something… supernatural.
It wasn't just fear.
It was a trigger.
Because in the next instant—
A red-and-blue blur streaked through the air, and a size-42 sneaker smashed square into the Hulk's face!
THUD!
The impact echoed like a cannon blast.
Caught completely off-guard, the Hulk staggered backward, crashing into another wall and leaving a massive crater in the plaster.
But pain only lasted a heartbeat.
With a low growl, the green behemoth lifted his head—his glare locking onto the masked figure now standing protectively before Mary Jane.
Red and blue suit.
White spider emblem.
And a mouth that never seemed to stop running.
Spider-Man.
"Hey, big guy! You seem upset! Lemme guess—itchy back you can't scratch? Don't worry, your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man does house calls!"
Yep. Definitely talking too much again.
"RRRRAAAHHHH!!!"
The Hulk didn't reply—he punctuated his feelings with a haymaker the size of a small car, swinging straight at both of them.
Peter's spider-sense screamed.
He dove, grabbing Mary Jane by the waist and rolling across the ground as the fist obliterated the spot where they'd just been standing.
"Run!" he shouted. "Get out of here, MJ! As far as you can!"
Mary Jane, eyes wide and heart racing, nodded.
For one surreal second, she stared up at her savior—
and fell just a little bit in love.
Again.
As she ran, Peter exhaled in relief—
until every nerve in his body suddenly flared in warning.
Move!
He sprang upward, clinging to the ceiling just as another punch cratered the ground beneath him.
The sheer power of it made the entire library quake.
Peter stared down at the hole, swallowing hard.
One hit like that, and he'd be nothing but red paste on the floor.
The Hulk snarled, glaring up at him like an angry gorilla spotting a bug on its ceiling.
Peter fired a volley of webs, dodging wildly between columns. "Easy, big guy! Stay still, okay?"
He tried to bind the monster, wrapping him in layer after layer of tensile webbing.
"C'mon, buddy! Time to calm—"
RRRAAAHHHH!!!
The Hulk flexed, and the webs snapped like rubber bands.
Then, before Peter could react, the giant seized one of the lines still attached to his wrist—
—and yanked.
"Uh oh."
Peter became a human flail.
WHAM!
He smashed through a wall like a ragdoll, crashing into the library with enough force to knock every book off every shelf.
"Ughhh—my back," he groaned, sprawled on the floor. "Gonna feel that in the morning."
A shadow fell over him.
He looked up—
and saw two enormous green feet.
The Hulk loomed above him, fury blazing in his eyes, muscles coiled for another strike.
Peter gulped, brain already planning his obituary.
Then—
CLANG!
A massive hand—just as big as the Hulk's—caught the descending punch.
The shockwave rippled through the room.
The Hulk froze, confused, nostrils flaring.
Slowly, he turned his head—
and found himself staring at a figure towering even taller than him, more than three meters of muscle and calm menace.
It was Darren.
Now enlarged, transformed, radiating raw power.
He smiled faintly down at the raging monster.
"Easy there, little guy," Darren rumbled, his voice like rolling thunder.
"Sun's getting real low."