Jen roared. The sound didn't sound human. It was animalistic. She moved faster than Titania could track, landing a strike that sent her flying three blocks. Jen followed, grabbing Titania mid-flight, and drove her into the street hard enough to leave a crater eight feet deep.
Titania tried to defend or fight back, but Jen was everywhere, using her strength without restraint. All she had was the desire to destroy.
Titania blocked a strike with each of her arms. She could feel the bones cracking with each strike. Jen grabbed Titania by the throat and lifted her before slamming her through a building. Then another and another.
This was what she wanted. To prove that Jen was a monster in sheep's clothing, but now that she had it, she realised the mistake she made.
Jen threw Titania into a construction crane, the whole structure collapsing down with her. Tons of steel crashed down on Titania before she crawled out of the wreckage. She looked up and saw Jen standing over her with a savage grin.
Jen raised her fist. Titania smiled through her cracked and bloodied teeth. She won. She proved her point. The fist came down, creating a crater along with a cloud of dust.
Titania was gone. She stared into the sky and roared. Her anger wasn't satisfied. She turned her head, hearing civilians only three blocks away. She launched towards them after grabbing a car. The people watched her leap towards them and started to run. Jen threw the car at them as they fled.
Sophist appeared, taking the civilians a safe distance away, the car now barrelling behind him. He looked towards Jen. Jen rushed towards him, no recognition showing in her eyes, just the rage.
"Jen. Stop. This isn't..." Sophist called out.
She tried to grab his throat, but Sophist was already twenty feet away. Jen roared before charging at him again.
He teleported again and again, staying just ahead of her attacks, trying to lead her away from civilians. She was fast, each strike getting close to killing him. This was bad.
He'd broken her completely. The video Titania showed of Marcus was the final straw for Jen. The trigger that pushed her over the edge. Except it was all fake. He used his Hackathon-3000 to generate a video. If only he knew how much of a fuck-up this would have been.
Marcus was safe, but Jen didn't know that. The grief and rage had created this. A monster.
Sophist teleported behind a building before bringing Marcus next to him. He was terrified and definitely not ready to be on the frontlines.
"What the hell is..."
"No time. Just stay behind me."
Jen crashed through the building and saw both Sophist and Marcus. She paused for a second. A moment of recognition fighting through the rage.
Jen roared again and charged. The rage had already gone too far. Sophist grabbed Marcus and teleported. Jen was left, destroying the empty space where they were.
"What is happening!?" Marcus demanded.
"She's lost all control. I need that back before she kills someone. Stay here and stay safe. I'll handle this. Hopefully," Sophist answered.
"Handle... She's She-Hulk! She'll kill you!" Marcus yelled.
"Probably, yes, but I caused this. So I'll fix it," Sophist replied, teleporting back.
Jen was demolishing a bus. The area was clear due to evacuation, but she didn't know that, nor did she care. Jen continued to destroy everything in her path. Sophist appeared in front of her.
"Jennifer Walters!"
Jen lunged. Sophist teleported behind her.
"You graduated Columbia Law School in the top 15% of your class, passing the bar on your first attempt," Sophist continued.
Jen spun, lunging to grab him only to catch air as Sophist appeared on a nearby rooftop.
"You worked as a strict attorney for three years and prosecuted sixty-seven cases, winning thirty-eight. You won because you were a good lawyer. You were given the hardest cases deemed unwinnable under the excuse of 'gaining experience', and yet you walked out with your head held high more times than not," Sophist continued.
Jen jumped, crashing onto the empty roof. Sophist appeared across the street, sweat dripping from his forehead and his breathing getting heavier. Jen roared and threw debris, Sophist teleporting a safe distance away.
"You have saved fourteen people through your legal advocacy. You made sure innocent people were able to see their families in their own homes instead of behind bars. If found guilty, those fourteen people might have died in a prison cell they didn't belong in. You saved them through your intelligence and heart," Sophist continued.
Jen was relentless, chasing him across the city while destroying everything in her path. She was getting closer and closer, but Sophist kept on talking.
"Jennifer Walters volunteered at a women's shelter, doing pro bono work to help domestic violence survivors get restraining orders against their abusers. You helped them rebuild their lives. You used your talent to help others," Sophist said, Jen now directly in front of him.
Jen pulled her fist back.
"You thought you were invisible before the powers. I saw you Jen. I saw you," Sophist ended.
The fist started to come down, stopping only inches away from his face, the wind from her punch almost blowing away his hat. Jen started to shake as tears streamed down her face.
Jen collapsed, kneeling on the destroyed street as her humanity returned.
"I thought... I thought he was dead. I thought you killed him. I thought I lost..." Jen started to ramble, her voice raw and broken.
"The video was a fake. Marcus is completely fine. He's just a little confused. I'm sorry for what I did. I know it was cruel, but I thought it was necessary to make you better," Sophist interrupted.
Jen looked at her hands and the destruction around her.
"I almost killed people. I was going to...if you hadn't stopped me..." Jen spoke through her tears.
"But I did stop you, and nobody died. Just a little property damage. You came back to your senses. That's what matters," Sophist replied.
"I can't... I can't do this. Can't be this. I can't keep losing control and proving everyone right," Jen replied, her voice cracking.
"You're not proving them right. You're proving you're human. Complicated. Capable of both rage and compassion," Sophist responded.
Jen sobbed, the weight of everything crashing down on her. She was broken. Exactly what Titania had wanted.
"Our fight isn't over."
Titania was still determined. She limped towards them, her wounds slowly healing and still standing, ready to fight.
"I'm not done. Not until you admit I was right," she said.
"Titania, please. Just stop. You've proven your point. I lost control, exactly as you wanted. Just... just stop," Jen replied and looked up, tears still streaming.
"No, because you're still pretending. Still acting like Jennifer exists, like she matters. Let's finish this. I've already proved to everyone that you're a monster to everyone else. Now it's just you," Titania responded while advancing forward and raising her fists.
Jen stood up slowly. She didn't raise her fists and just stood there.
"I'm not fighting you anymore."
"Then I'll make you fight."
Titania swung, connecting solidly with Jen's jaw. The impact snapped Jen's head to the side. She didn't react and just stood there. Titania hit her again with a body shot, her ribs cracking. She didn't fight back.
"Fight me!" Titania screamed.
She hit her again and again. Jen continued to just stand there, taking it all and not flinching. Not even retaliating.
"Fight me!" Titania yelled, crying now.
Titania continued, each strike getting harder and harder. Jen caught her fist.
"No. I'm not going to fight you like a monster. I'm not going to give you the validation you're desperate for," Jen replied, quietly.
"You have to! You're just a beast..."
"I'm Jennifer Walters, and I'm She-Hulk. Not one or the other, and you can't break that by hitting me," Jen replied.
Titania pulled back her other fist and swung with everything she had left. Jen didn't dodge and stood there, and blood dripped from her nose.
"I'm not your enemy. Defeating me doesn't make you any more real than you already are. It doesn't fix what's already broken," Jen said.
"Shut up!"
"You were invisible before your powers, weren't you? Just like me. I think I understand now why Sophist helped you. You're still trying to prove the version with power is the only real one," Jen replied.
Titania knelt on the destroyed street, sobbing. Everything that made her feel real was shattering.
Jen stood over her, bloodied and exhausted. She looked down at Titania, the broken woman. She powered down and knelt down in front of Titania and gave her a hug.
Sophist watched. It didn't go exactly according to plan, but the end result was still accomplished. She found her own path to being better, not his.
Jen looked up towards Sophist and gave him a small smile. He smiled back with a tip of his hat and teleported away.