January 7, 2009
Summary: After the events of Planet Hulk, the Hulk and his warbound escape the dying world of Sakaar with their stone spaceship through the Great Portal to another universe. But will his rule be enough to keep the disparate races together, or will they blame the death of their planet on the Worldbreaker? Destruction and ruin seem to follow the Hulk's every footstep. Is peace unattainable?
Disclaimer: I do not claim any rights to the Hulk.
The Ruin of the Worldbreaker
The Lament of Sakaar
SAKAAR.
The savage planet. The wartorn planet. Now, the Green King's planet. Long ago, the most pre-eminent superheroes of Earth known as the Illuminati had flung the Green Scar from their planet. Hurled into space, the Sakaarson was trapped in a space vessel bound to a vacant planet full of youth and simplicity.
It was not to be.
In his glorious rage, the Hulk defied his betrayers and smashed a hole through his ship. Through a cruel twist of fate, his ship swerved and flew through a portal of mystical energies that had landed him on Sakaar. The strongest ruler of the half-tamed planet quickly subdued the Hulk with the power of technology. Enslaved through an unknown device on his chest, the Hulk was forced to fight in brutal gladiatorial battles against odds that would annihilate any other mortal being.
Except the Hulk.
For every blow, for every slash, for every single strike, the Hulk grew angry. With aid of the Silver Savage, the Hulk tore free from the mental constrictions of the Imperials' slavery. With his escape, he was joined by other former slaves and soldiers who saw their hope in his strength. Korg the Kronan. Miek the Native. Hiroim the Shamed. Elloe Kaifi. No-Name of the Brood. And Caiera the Oldstrong. With the allegiance of his Warbound companions, the Hulk tore apart the fabric of Imperial society. Together, they incited rebellion against the tyrannical Red King and took the crown by blood. The Hulk became a King, and with a pregnant Caiera by his side, a new age dawned upon the world of Sakaar.
It was not to be.
-WARP CORE COMPRIMIZED-
The Illuminati's final message began to play yet again. "Time and time again, your anger and power have threatened the entire planet. So when we learned that Fury sent you into space, we had to seize the opportunity. I have always thought of us as friends, Bruce. So I am truly, genuinely sorry. But for your sake and ours, we're sending you away. It's the only way we can be sure."
BEEP BEEP BEEP
When the Earthen space ship that had carried the Hulk to Sakaar began to show signs of going into meltdown, the stab of betrayal began to seep deep in the Green King's heart. The red-skinned Imperials and the insectoid Natives did not have a clue what was about to erupt. Even Caiera did not suspect a disaster. But not the Hulk. Hulk knew technology, knew how puny Banner tinkered with devices for some stupid purpose. Deep within the mind of Hulk, the frantic voice of Bruce began to pound.
BEEP BEEP BEEP
"But I believe in my heart that this may be the greatest opportunity of your life. We picked your destination carefully. A lush planet, full of vegetation and game. But no intelligent lifeforms. There will be no on there to hurt you. And no one you can hurt. You always said you wanted to be left alone... May you finally find peace."
"Stupid..."
The Hulk sprinted quickly to the wreck, lifted the metal ship above his head with his incredible green muscles and flung it as far away as he could in the sky.
"Puny..."
It was not to be.
"...Humans!"
The ship had flown only for a few hundred meters before it detonated above the greatest civilized city on the planet. A yellow burst of heat and force erupted from the centre of the blast, annihilating every form of life and crumbling every building in its wake. The Hulk desperately tried to shield Caiera from the ravages of the nova, holding her lithe grey form in his massive arms.
"CAIERA!" He shouted, as the power of technology began to wash against his back. His wife had called upon the powers of the Shadow People to turn him into stone, protecting him from destruction but leaving herself exposed. The Hulk did not accept her sacrifice. Nothing mattered more than the life of his wife. "Take your stone form for yourself!"
"No Holku! I will not leave you to the mercies of the—"
"It doesn't matter!" The hulk hollered into the roaring winds. "You carry our child!"
The queen spent a brief moment touching his husband's cheek, afraid of a life without his presence, but her king was right. She carried another life in her womb, and the loss of her unborn child would be an even greater tragedy to her. Reluctantly, she withdrew the stone from the Hulk and took on the stone for herself. Seeing his wife prepared, the Hulk began to grip her waist into a single palm and flung her to the endless sky and into the depth of space.
The Green Scar was left alone, mere moments away from utter annihilation from the main wave front of the blast. The sight of the ever-heatening flames disheartened his spirit, until that same puny human voice that warned him of the explosion began to speak yet again.
It was not the humans who engineered the explosion. The ship's drive had drained itself from all its energies when the ship was pulled into the Great Portal. It was impossible for it to have the power to shatter the planet.
No, someone put another engine in the wreck, then moved it in the middle of the city. Someone wanted it to explode.
A traitor.
There was a traitor in their midst who was willing to wipe out millions of lives. Like Iron Man. Like Dr. Strange. Like Mr. Fantastic. Like the Black Bolt. They were scared of the Hulk. They used him when they needed him, but scorned him as a monster the moment he wasn't needed anymore. No doubt the orchestrator of the explosion intended to wipe him off the face of the planet and take the remains for himself. The voice in the Green King's head egged him on, turning his thoughts away from despair and towards his building rage.
If there was one universal law, it was if the madder Hulk gets, the stronger Hulk gets.
"PUUUUUNY HUUUUUMAAAAAAANNSSSS!"
WHOOOOOOOSSHHH!
Then, there was nothing.
Caiera of the Shadow People ascended into space, looking back towards Sakaar as a mighty pillar of flame and fury expanded to engulf a part of her precious planet. Her Old Power screamed out to her, crying out its agony through her connection with the soil. The planet was cracking, its fragile tectonic plates already fracturing in pieces and sinking in a terrible ocean of lava. Nothing pained her more than to see the life of the planet leaking out, red tendrils of lava expanding outwards as an ever-expanding crack. Oh how she wailed as she reached the apex of her flight, her stone form protecting her from the cold dark embrace of vacuum but leaving her unable to form tears. Holku was down there, and as powerful as he was, he was still a being of flesh and blood. Already she could feel the rage bubbling beneath the surface of Sakaar, its seas of red and black beginning to churn in increasing turbulence. There was no doubt to the source of that deep, primal anger.
'Oh Holku... Oh Sakaar...'
The planet pulled her back in its embrace, its rage and confusion grasping out to her Old Power. She let the planet take her back. After all, where else would she go? The searing hot winds whipped around her as she broke through the upper layers of the atmosphere. Sheering winds whipped up at her as the smoke of Sakaar's rage blinded her. She was not afraid. She was of the Oldstrong, and the planet was her ancestor. Still, she slowed her flight as best she could, spreading out her arms and legs in a largely fruitless attempt to increase her drag. Once the worst of the smoke faded out, she was able to see the open wound on young and ancient shell of Sakaar. Instinctively, she aimed her fall towards the center of the carnage, towards the source of the roaring echo in the plains of the Old Power. Though she was several leagues away, the burning scar had eagerly pulled her towards its rage, feeding off her strength in order to further fan the flames and seek out thousands more lives to burn.
BOOM!
Her landing was far from graceful, but she landed true. The crater she had formed was already threatening to be filled by lava. As quickly as she could, Caiera leaped towards higher ground. Her eyes surveyed the scenes of devastation. Half-charred skeletons. Crumbled structures. And lingering all around her were the dying screams of millions of people, all snuffed together in the expanse of a single minute. Her despair caught up with her as she realized that the spot where Holku had stood once before was empty and charred.
Caiera collapsed on her knees, feebly grasping the ashes of Holku's remains.
The tears began to burst, not from her eyes, but from her skin as her hold on her stone form crumbled. Distraught, she stayed silent as she brushed her fingers through the soot, hoping for a sign of life but knowing it was not so. Seconds, minutes, hours passed on as she sat on the scorched earth numb with grief. Where would she be without her one true love? Who would her future child look up to when he or she grew older?
She had never felt so alone.
Even after the ancient stone ship that once brought her people to this dying world hovered near her, she felt no life left inside of her. Footsteps crunched closer to her, but she need not to turn her head to see who was there. Her connection to the earth was strong, and she could instantly detect the presence of the Green King's warbound. They all stopped a few paces away, except for a single individual. Only Hiroim dared to tread closer, his calming sadness soothing her injured soul. Though he could not wield the Old Power directly, he was formidable in manipulating the webs of Shadow. All of her people could to some degree. She respected his knowledge and wisdom, as well as his will and level-headedness. If there was one person left alive who could understand her pain, it was her former enemy.
"Where... where's the Hulk?"
"I.." Caiera started, the words hurting her heart too much for her to speak them out. "I could have saved him, with my Old Power. But he saved me instead."
"Wait." Miek let out, his insectoid face in shock. "No no no -kik- no.."
The Oldstrong spoke with an air of finality. "Yes. The planet speaks to me. He is gone."
"But he is the Hulk!" Miek exclaimed. "Nothing can -kik- kill him!"
BRAAAAKOOOOOOM!
"He's coming! Two-hands! I knew you'd live!"
"No Miek!" Korg called out, and went after the hysterical giant insect as they both headed straight towards a raging inferno. "Those are just the aftershocks, come on before—"
"GRAAAAAAAAAHHHRR!"
"Miek!"
"No!"
Brood's anguish was palpable as she saw the only other insect warbound companion go up in smoke and flame. Korg stood shocked at the spot, the flames beginning to superheat his stone exterior. Only Hiroim could see the danger they all faced if they stayed any longer.
"Elloe!" Hiroim called to the Imperial. Though she lost her mother not an hour ago, he could rely on her discipline. "It's not safe here. Take Caiera back up the ramp."
When the red-skinned girl snapped out of her spell and moved to obey, Hiroim grasped his other companion and began to drag him back to the ship. Though Korg was a being of immovable stone, the Shadow Priest's strength was enough to push the Kronan into a walk. They gathered at the top of the ramp and looked out to the raging seas of lava one last time. They had lost much.
"We must leave." The Shadow Priest stated sympathetically. "The Green Scar has left his mortal shell, but his rage is continuing to fuel the madness beneath our feet."
"... Why?" Caiera asked in futility. "Why am I left alive while my king is dead?"
"He lives on, my queen, in your heart and womb."
She stayed silent for a moment, but then jumped back out into the unstable soil. Her mind resolved, she touched the angry earth with her supple hand and began to draw upon the planet's life.
"What is she doing?" Korg asked, amazed at the intensity of light that surrounded Caiera.
"Bear witness, Korg. She is the Oldstrong." Hiroim paused to make sense of the weavings of the Old Power. "Her power comes from the planet itself. Now she gives it back, to heal what the humans have broken."
"No." Caiera called out, her voice resolute and her eyes steeled in rage. "Now I take it ALL!"
As she spread out her arms, the ground beneath began to crack all around them. The very crust of the planet began to tear apart as the Old Power that had stabilized it began to leave the surface of the earth and begin to draw into Caiera. Vast primordial power converged towards her location, the very rage of Sakaar but fuel for her hatred. She did not think of the consequences, of the millions and billions of other lives that would perish at the result of her actions. It mattered little, for the planet was doomed to its end in a month in any case. She could redeem herself in one other action though.
"Oh relics of the distant past, I call upon your strength to do what I cannot. Awaken from your slumber and salvage the legacy of my dying planet."
And with a single flare of energy, she willed the remaining dormant ships to come alive from their different resting places. All over the planet, a dozen of huge stone ships began to break from the earth they were buried beneath and converged to the closest intact population centers. Though the vessels could carry thousands, it would not be able to bear all who were deserving of a new life. Such was the tragedy that had plagued Sakaar from its very moment of existence.
Her will be done, Caiera jumped back inside the ship. She took one measured look at Hiroim. "Save as many survivors as this ship can support. Then plot a course for Earth. The humans must pay."
As her iron greaves clanged against the stone floor, Hiroim bowed his head in obedience. After Caiera was out of sight, he directed his attention to the remaining warbound. They all stared at his grey visage and his black tribal tattoos.
"I will go to the bridge to coordinate the rescue effort with ARCH-E-5912. Korg, since you are the most resistant to heat, you should herd any survivors to the ship. Elloe, you are in charge of settling the Imperials. Brood, likewise for the Native insectoids. If you have time, scavenge for any food and machines. We'll need it to survive more than a week in space. The ship contains barely any supplies."
The following hours were spent in mundane matters. There was hardly any life left in the ruins of the capital city, so the ship travelled on a straight path towards the next nearest city, descending several times along the way to pick up groups of stragglers. The grateful refugees were mostly farmers and Natives, but there were also a few former Shadow People slaves. They had also picked up a substantial group of Wildebots, with some hesitation from the ship's increasing population. The skeptics were reluctantly swayed over by ARCH-E that his brothers would be useful in upgrading the ship's capabilities. While the feral robots once posed a menace to civilized society, the ending of the world had convinced them of the necessity of cooperating.
When the ship reached the disintegrating city of Okini, the remaining survivors poured in like a flood. The warbound and their enforcers were barely able to hold order, but Elloe managed to force the local leaders to cede their authority. With the city folk came a few essential supplies and manufacturing components. While the masses of people strained organization, Elloe and Brood managed to direct the heaviest hands in looting the Imperial research center where every extraterrestrial object that came through the Great Portal was stored.
A final great rumbling began to erupt, and the workers all frantically dropped what they were carrying and scrambled up into the hold of the ship.
"ARCH-E! Bring us up!" Hiroim commanded, his own two hands busy working on his own controls as best he could. He was not adept at manipulating technology, but he was one of the few on the ship who could read the Shadow Script.
"The engines are straining their maximum, but the additional weight is slowing us down. It will take fifteen minutes to escape the atmosphere!"
"Prophets be damned!" Hiroim cursed, slamming his fist against his console. "The planet is in its final stages of its death throes. We don't have enough time before it cracks apart!"
Nothing could be done to lift the stone ship faster in the sky. "Unless..." Hiroim abandoned his station and ran down the corridors, barely knowing the way inside the huge labyrinth but somehow able to rely on his senses to guide him in the right direction. He stopped at a huge door, its twin stone slabs closed and sealed to any of the outside world. He regretted his following action, but he had to do what must be done. As he entered the access code to the keypad to the side, the ancient doors pushed open, revealing an empty cavernous room and a giant stone bed in the middle. Caiera, his queen, sat forlorn on the purple sheets, her eyes empty with tears. Hiroim carefully made his way to her, and dropped to his knee.
"My queen. We have gathered as much survivors as we could. The ship is leaving orbit, but it is moving too slow to escape the death of Sakaar. You must do something, Caiera."
Disturbingly, the tall women didn't respond to his request. She sat as rigid as the stone she drew her power upon as the memories of her love overwhelmed her connection to the present. Hiroim repeated his request, but Caiera showed no move towards action. He had to do something drastic.
As he drew himself up and approached the fragile queen, Caiera suddenly snapped her head down and focused her eyes towards an indiscriminate direction. With the suddenness of a leaping predator, she jumped to her feet and ran out the door, knocking Hiroim aside as he wondered what had begun to possess her. He picked himself up and followed in her wake, the loud sounds of metal footsteps his guide. He followed her down the upper corridors, the winding circular stairs, the vast open cargo hold before stopping to a closed cargo hatch. With not a single ounce of hesitation, Caiera sprung forth a fraction of her Old Power, commanding the hatch to open. The ever-shrinking land of Sakaar was barely visible in the distance between the thickness of smoke and ash. Caiera spent only a moment to hone in on a particular spot, then took a graceful dive at the astonishment of everyone.
"Caiera no!"
It was far too late though. Hiroim looked distraught at the apparent act of suicide.
"Hiroim, what—"
"I do not know, Korg. What madness she had caught she did not share with me."
B—LM!
A pulse of immense energy passed over the ship, knocking almost everyone of their feet. The wave seemed to originate from the planet's surface.
"What is that?" Elloe asked. "Is it the Old Power, or.."
"No." The Shadow Priest spoke with conviction. "It is not of my people, but it is magic strong and old. I have never felt anything such as this in my life, except for..."
Clang!
Caiera's stone-formed feet crashed on the surface of the cargo deck as she collapsed in unknown agony. The warbound quickly approached her sickly form as she shed her stone skin.
"What..."
Elloe's words trailed off as they all noticed a single male form in the arms of Caiera. It was a peculiar creature, thin but mildly muscled. Its hair was of a strange shade of brown, while its skin was of a shockingly pale shade of pink. The man was naked and unconscious, its chest heaving up and down in a slow, steady rhythm.
"That.." No-Name of the Brood started, her own eyes wide in surprise. "Is a human. From Earth!"
The female Imperial immediately drew her spear. "The Green Scar's enemy. We must kill it."
"No." Hiroim commanded loudly, making sure his voice was heard in the entire cavern. "Our queen, your queen has brought him here for a reason. Until we can ascertain Caiera's reasons, we must take measures to keep this individual alive. Take him to a secure but comfortable room, Elloe."
Grumbling softly to herself, she ordered a pair of Imperials to bring a stretcher to carry the strange human away. Seeing that it was being dealt with, Hiroim brought his attention to the sweating form of Caiera. Though her stone form could keep her invulnerable from the heat of lava, it seemed whatever she did had drained much of her strength.
"Caiera.. the planet... I know not what you have done, but it is still going to explode. You must do something before its destruction threatens to destroy us as well."
She didn't respond for a moment as she recovered from her ordeal. Finally, she weakly lifted her eyelids and glanced around the area. "Where is.. him.."
"He is safe, my queen. We brought him to a bed where he can rest and recuperate."
The Oldstrong smiled as her head shook in strain. "I am glad... then.. I can.." And she lifted up her hand, the Old Power coursing through her palm and out to the roof of the giant cargo bay. Unknown systems whirred to life and for a moment, people thought the ship was about to break apart. The noise disappeared though, leaving the ship in its silent hum. Only the harsh winds from the open cargo hatch provided any noise, but Korg quickly moved to close it. Hiroim looked in puzzlement for a moment.
"What have you done, my queen?"
The smile never left her lips. "A way out."
As the planet began to rip apart in huge continent-sized chunks, the stone ship began to glow in an ethereal shade of blue. Its crystal engines sputtered for a moment as its power was diverted from providing thrust to providing power to another component. The blue surrounding the ship then blasted forwards, rotating along itself as it shot out in front of the ship. The circle stabilized itself for a moment then, turning itself into a large portal able to transport the ship instantaneously to another sector in space. The ship headed straight towards it, and was about to go through the portal unscathed if not for one final event.
In its dying lament, the great savage planet of Sakaar left one final legacy to the fleeing stone ship. A large chunk of lava and rock the size of an apartment building had blasted itself from a larger fragment and sailed towards the ship with rapid speed. Before ARCH-E could instruct the ship to dodge, the fragment collided against the huge crystal rods at the stern of the ship, damaging some of the thin crystals and putting more out of alignment. The portal crackled suddenly, its vague circular shape deforming to a wobbling ellipse. Electric currents rankled along its edge as the portal took a deep red hue. Before anyone could do anything else, the stone ship flew right through the unstable portal towards an unknown destination.
Out in deep space, far from any celestial object, a strange reddish portal appeared. Mere moments later, a strangely curved warship up to one-and-a-half kilometre long flew through. The portal then deformed itself out of existence, leaving a single silent ship dead in unknown space, far away from any watching eyes.
The ship had arrived.
Some time later, the warbound and other unofficial leaders had gathered to the bridge to discuss their next course of actions. They had been busy these last few days.
The white wildebot ARCH-E had not left his station in the bridge since their arrival here, needing no rest or sleep. His task was far too important to be left idle.
The red-skinned and black-haired Elloe had worked herself to exhaustion trying to get the stubborn Imperials to work together and form a rudimentary hierarchy. As a former aristocrat, she was more than capable in handling the largest group of refugees on the ship.
The slim, buzzing No-Name of the Brood had a harder time keeping the leaderless and fragile Natives in check. Without Miek, the yellow-skinned hivelings wandered around in chaos. Some of the larger alpha's even threatened to take over the ship. With the help of some of the fearsome robotic Dead Hand Guards, No-Name quickly got rid of the troublemakers. A more compliant alpha was picked to provide guidance to the excitable children.
Korg and Hiroim meanwhile saw to it that the ship was kept in shape and its damaged engines repaired. One of the remaining surviving Shadow Elders happened to carry a codex with some detailed technical information, and with the help of the wildebots the secrets were uncovered. Korg and the most resilient wildebots had worked an entire day out in open space repairing the cracks in the blue crystal rods and pushing them into proper alignment.
Now that the ship was not in immediate threat of coming apart, the warbound were able to come together for the first time since days.
"Where is Caiera?" Elloe asked as she looked around, her weariness evident in her pasty face. "She is our leader after the Hulk. Can we even make decisions without her?"
"She is resting, and..." Hiroim hesitated for a moment. "Looking after the human she brought in. She does not respond to any of us, and she shows no interest in our affairs. We must leave her to her needs and command the ship in our own capability while she recovers."
"Now our first order of business, how is our food supply holding up?"
As Brood was in charge of the Natives, most of whom had experience in farming, she was the one that answered. Normally, no one present in the room would have been able to understand her hisses and cracks, were it not for the translation nanobots resting inside everyone's ears. "We have gathered a number of Eleha'al vinesss and some other crops, but we lack enough to feed the entire population sustainably. By my estimatesss, we have but ten days, more if we reduce rations."
"Hmm.." Korg mused. As a being of stone, he did not hunger in the conventional sense. "Then it is best to reduce everyone's rations to three-quarters for the next three days, and after that to a half."
The Imperial girl didn't look too happy about that. "I know it's necessary." She began. "But the people will grow discontent with a hungry belly. Some of the more rebellious leaders will no doubt exploit the unrest and perhaps try to stage a coup."
"We are the warbound." Hiroim stated, his palm cutting into the air as if he chopped off a head. "Resistance will not be tolerated, not in our desperate state. Assassinate these leaders if needed. We do not need them as much as they need us."
"Yes Hiroim." Elloe replied reluctantly. As a noble familiar with political manipulations, she was well aware that the worst thing she could do was to kill Imperials in cold blood. As much as she would want to kill a few pesky individuals, she could not risk such a rash action. Without the Green Scar to force everyone in obedience, a lot of people would probably feel that they could get away with things, especially if the one who led them was a young girl in her twenties. Elloe Kaifi needed to use all her wits for the next week in order to keep her fellow Imperials from doing anything stupid.
Satisfied, Hiroim turned to the next topic. "Now then, ARCH-E, what is the status on our location? Where has Caiera's portal deposited our ship?"
The robot glanced down from his single console with his single rectangular glowing eye. It twitched a few times as it rapidly processed a few pieces of data. "-ZZZT-... It is.. puzzling. According to the star positions of other neighboring galaxies, we should be in the exact location of the Tayo System in the Fornax Galaxy. Sakaar should have been less than a million kilometers off our starboard side. Instead, there is nothing but space dust all around us. More disturbingly, the Fornax Galaxy does not even exist. Not a single star or black hole is anywhere within a radius of twenty thousand light years."
Now it was everyone's turn to look up in surprise. "Are you certain you have made any mistakes?"
"-ZZttt-.. I have not. Before we have become feral wildebots, we were interstellar travelers. I have a map of the entire explored universe. Almost every galaxy is in its place. Only the Fornax Galaxy and a few other distant galaxies are missing, while others do not show up in our database at all."
"Then... where are we, really?" Korg uttered. "Surely this could not mean we are in another universe?"
"It is possible." ARCH-E replied instantly. "Most likely, the damaged incurred to our engines was the most likely cause of a destabilization of the portal, but that might not be the only cause. There are other variables in play that I have not been able to determine. Without knowing the exact nature of the disruption, it will be nigh impossible to replicate the event and return us to our universe."
There was an oppressive silence in the bridge as each formed their own conclusions about their sudden isolation. Cut-off from Sakaar and their universe, they were truly alone. The other stone ships might have been able to escape this fate, leaving at least some of their legacy behind. Still, the warbound and their refugee crew were completely alone now, their ship out in the middle of vacuum and far away from any other star system. They had nothing to live for now but for themselves.
Slowly, Brood began to speak. As the last of her species, she was more accustomed to the fate of loneliness than the others. "We are alone, yes, but we have to move on and keep ourselves alive. We must seek a planet full of life to replenish our food stock, then find a new home to settle in. We are survivors. Our old hive may be gone, but we can make a new one in any other system."
Nodding, Hiroim said, "The old Sakaar is dead. We are the new Sakaar, and we have a responsibility to the people we have taken with us to find a new life in this fresh and bountiful universe. ARCH-E, plot a course to the nearest suspected life-capable planet."
"Zzttt.. affirmative.. relying on database and spectral analysis.. 30 minutes until destination is determined."
"Good. Now, another issue. Just because we are new in this universe does not mean that we are welcome. What are our weapons capabilities?"
"Only EMP weaponry. Nothing else."
Grimacing, Hiroim stared at Brood as she silently hovered. "Not every enemy we encounter is going to use machines to fight."
"I've already thought about it." Elloe added. "We've managed to salvage a substantial number of ship-based weapons from the Okini research centre. Turns out it is one of the manufacturing sites for the Imperial warnoughts. We've got disintegrator cannons, energy blasters, energy harpoons, air-to-surface missiles and 10 Deathfire Bombs. Some of the Imperials we rescued there are familiar with the weapons, and at my word they can begin to modify the ship to install them immediately."
"That will prove difficult. The stone exterior is nearly indestructible, and an attempt at redirecting power from the ship's ancient systems would be a risky venture."
"Perhaps we can set up an alternative power source to power the weapons." Korg suggested. "We have plenty of space for a few large power generators. With the help of the wildebots, we can get it up and running in days."
"Good idea. See to it. The sooner we are armed, the better our chances of survival." Hiroim then directed his attention to the last item on the list. "With the death of the Green King, our remaining society is nothing but a collection of groups. This cannot continue for much longer. I propose that we form a federation, with each of us—"
"No." A strong voice called out from the door. "Holku is our king. No one will usurp his right to rule."
Everyone turned to the resplendent glory of Caiera in her elegant royal robes. Her face showed none of the remnants of sorrow and anguish, and her waist-length hair was washed from all the dirt and grime. She looked every part the queen she was supposed to be. With an old but proud face, she faced her warbound without reserve.
"With all respect, we are not worthy to become a monarch. The Green King is—"
"—Is still our king." As everyone stood puzzled in their silence, the Oldstrong motioned them to follow her as she made her way out. Caiera walked down the corridor with her bare feet, enjoying the cool touch of living stone. They passed by several crewmen and other workers who were busy tinkering with the ship. The Queen then turned into a corner, entering the quarters reserved for the warbound. She stopped before the largest set of doors, those leading to her own room, and turned to face her companions.
Brood asked the question that lingered in everyone's minds. "Why have you brought ussss here?"
The smirk on Caiera's face was so much unlike her mourning self that for a moment, some of the warbound thought she had gone insane. With a small push, the doors drew back, revealing the huge open space inside. Caiera turned and moved inside, leaving the warbound to follow in her wake. As they approached the bed, they saw the same unknown human figure resting soundlessly beneath the oversized bed. Soft purple sheets covered his body thick with warmth as he slept. The Oldstrong carefully sat on the edge of the bed and with her trembling arm grasped the hand of the man. She stared in wistful silence at the peaceful form as she caressed the small hand she held in her own large ones.
She began her story without prompt. "On the night of Holku's first day of reign, I sat before a flame in order to undergo a ritual with my husband. We both laid bare our souls."
Closing her eyes, Caiera sent a sliver of Old Power up the arm of the human. Her soothing blue energies began to vibrate along the arms until it turned into a mystical green force. For a few seconds, nothing else happened. Suddenly, the human's arm began to grow in bulk while simultaneously turning into green. In time, the puny human's arm turned into the massive barrel-sized arm of the Hulk.
"His name is Bruce. He lives inside Holku as Holku lives inside Bruce. Holku gives Bruce strength while Bruce gives Holku intelligence."
With a small command, she withdrew her Old Power, and the arm slowly faded into its normal human size.
"We.. it makes sense." Korg concluded. "The Green Scar always talked about this 'Bruce' when he talked about the weaknesses of men."
Yesss..." Noname of the Brood concurred, her tendrils drawing closer to taste the moisture on the human's skin. "In my hive's invasion of Earth, we were stopped by many so-called superheroes. Not all humans are as weak as the Green King claims them to be. They have many extraordinarily powered individuals amongst them, a handful who could even defeat us all by themselves. But to think Hulk was one of them..."
The man's eyes suddenly opened up. Strange blue eyes turned to star at each of the warbound in turn before lingering on Caiera. She smiled at him, beckoning him to sit up, which he did after he had gathered some more pillows under him.
"I'm Bruce, Bruce Banner."
"This... how have you become—"
"The Hulk?" Once, Bruce might have felt pained if he exposed this part of his life. Not anymore. "I'm a nuclear physicist, a scientist specializing in gamma radiation which can be used to power devices, or build bombs of incredible power and destruction. At a bomb testing, something had gone wrong, leaving me exposed to the full effect of a gamma bomb. I was completely irradiated, but instead of killing me, it transformed me into the green giant you know today."
"How can it be that you are so intelligent that the Hulk is... not?" Hiroim asked curiously.
"The Hulk is.. a different side of me. Sometimes several different sides, which can affect his level of intelligence. But in almost all cases, the Hulk represents a side of me that drives on emotion rather on intelligence, though I have been stupid plenty of times. As you know, anger is the driving force of his power. Back on Earth, I was able to keep my transformation limited by being calmed by others. When we first arrived on Sakaar however, the Hulk held a constant level of anger against those who betrayed us, and it would have been almost impossible to calm him down. The only reason why he is not here at the moment is because the explosion caused by the malfunctioned warp core. But when he recovers, he will be enraged beyond any measure. I fear I cannot control his destructive urges even then."
"We are in a different universe now. We might never come back in the universe we came from." Korg reasoned. "Even if there was a chance that Earth or humans exist, they are not to blame for the ordeals the Green Scar has gone through. Should I meet another version of my race-bound enemy Thor, I would not hold any enmity against him."
Bruce simply shook his head. "The Hulk will not understand. The moment he catches a glimpse of Mr. Fantastic or Iron Man, he will stop at nothing to destroy them." He opened his mouth to continue, but his eyes suddenly closed and his body slumped down. Caiera put his body back down.
"He is weak and afflicted, but he will recover." She affirmed as she stood up in front of the gathered warbound. "You have heard Bruce's words. The Hulk will return, and when he does, every human is going to be his enemy, regardless of whether they are at fault or not."
"Then how can we take away his rage?" Elloe asked. "He is the Worldbreaker. The Green King will not rest until he has avenged the death of Sakaar with the shattering of another planet."
"And that is what we shall have to prevent." Caiera spoke resolutely. "We must train him and guide him. We must make him focus his rage so that he will not turn it to us. This universe is hardly any different from ours."
"What about Earth?" Brood hissed. "The Green King will insist on going to Earth."
"We must do what we can to calm Hoku's rage before we arrive. Humans are entirely full of sin, but the planet does not deserve to suffer."
After the warbound left to spread the news of the Green King's possible return and untangle their confusion, Caiera slipped out of her robes and joined the unconscious human in the bed. Bruce was more than a head smaller than her. It made her feel strange when she thought that his other side towered over her in turn. She put her palm over her smooth belly. It won't be long before her pregnancy will start to show. Will their offspring be a man or a woman? Will her child have two faces as Holku does? There were so many questions, but precious little answers.
The stone ship travelled through space faster than the speed of light, by several orders of magnitude. In the intergalactic void, the engines could utilize their full capabilities without any interference from gravity. Once having reached a galaxy, its speed would have to drop, but it could still travel several times faster than light.
Inside the ship, a miniature society began to shape. With the word of the Green King's imminent return, the population shrugged out of their stupor. The warbound sorted the people by their race, then accorded status depending on their skills. Wealth, fame or birth mattered little in this new world. Pride and egos were brutally cut down. Mayors became clerks. Slaves became farmers. Servants became taskmasters. Roles were switched so much that none knew whether to bow at a former noble or not. Elloe quickly made clear what the new rules were now. You work or you die. No everyone was happy with that, especially the highborn.
The food situation was dear, but not as much as they thought. The Eleha'al vines took to the Old Power like a drunk to liquor. Rations did not have to be cut to a half for a week yet, giving the people more time to settle in their new life before they faced additional hardships. The food had started to become monotonous, and some scientists were doubtful whether the vines were completely healthy to everybody. The plants came into existence from the Green King's blood. Would any traces of it end up in their own bloodstreams? There didn't seem to be any immediate effects on any organic species on the ship though, so for lack of better alternatives the farmers decided to continue cultivating the vines.
Inside the deepest recesses of the ship, Caiera meditated calmly in a room of barren stone. Nestled between two compartments that housed the ship's EMP capabilities, the circular room was just as empty and lifeless as any other room or cavern. Not to her. The Oldstrong had felt a pull at the edge of her consciousness ever since she stepped inside the ship. Only the stress of what happened in Sakaar and the need to be at Bruce's side had prevented her from answering the call before. As she first entered the room, she could feel nothing out of place. The Old Power seemed to hum in the same frequency on other parts of the ship. When she started to concentrate, the difference was suddenly palpable.
The chamber was harmonic and reflective. The Old Power bounced across the walls, amplifying itself to its maximum potential. Just a single focused burst of additional energy could generate enough energy to lift up an island! Caiera immediately began to meditate, clearing her mind of all interferences, although her worries for Bruce and Holku proved difficult to set aside. Once she purged herself from all unclean thoughts, she began to explore the chamber step for step. Hidden beneath the regular surface of Shadow Stone that comprised much of the vessel, there was different material lining the room. It wasn't stone, neither metal. After intense scrutiny lasting half an hour, she had finally determined it to be some crystalline structure, not unlike the blue crystal rods that provided travel.
What was its purpose? Was this a ritual chamber, where powerful enchantments were wrought? A throne room where a king would feel supreme? Or simply a place to rest and relax? The Old Power around her didn't answer.
Sensing the amount of time that had passed, she finally stood up and paced towards the exit of the room. She could unlock the chamber's secrets on another day.
As queen and symbolic leader of the remnants of Hulk's kingdom, it was important to let herself be seen amongst the common folk and appreciate their simple world. She had witnessed the madness and atrocities of the Red King for many years. As a monarch herself, she was determined not to repeat past mistakes.
The inner hull of the ship was a huge, kilometer long hollow cargo bay that was as tall as a hundred meters in the middle. While there were many private compartments to the sides of the ship, much of that space were being converted in gun emplacements and other modules. That meant that most people had to carve out their own living space in the cavern.
Already, Imperials were hauling slabs of Shadow Stone removed from other areasin order to use them to create new living spaces. The Natives on the other hand had built a large nest out of biomaterial close to the miniature farms they tended. The Shadow People meanwhile kept themselves secluded in the other parts of the ship, but most of the younger ones tended to prefer the lively atmosphere of the Cave as it was called than the isolated seclusions of their elders.
"Ah, Your Highness! So good of you to grace us with a visit!"
"As is my pleasure, Aian." She smiled as she turned around to answer an Imperial.
"Forgive my impudence Your Highness, but is it true that we are heading to Earth to do to them as they did to us? My Sharnin.. she.." The worker fell silent as the tears threatened to burst.
Caiera frowned. A lifetime of slavery, violence and ruthlessness had desensitized her of the losses people suffered, though even she felt a loss when her planet was destroyed. She had seen too many crying faces in her lifetime that Aian's tears did not affect her heart. As much as she wanted to sympathize, she simply couldn't. Only the loss of her bonded husband could break her soul, but he was resting peacefully in his chambers. For a moment, she felt unworthy to escape with a loved one while many thousands didn't. Guilt tore at her emotions.
Shrugging away her own dark thoughts, she managed to console her face before she began to answer. "The humans must pay, but their planet deserves our mercy. Focus your vengeance on those deserving of our wrath."
As she walked away, she briefly considered whether she was right. The humans she really wanted to punish were in a different universe than the one they were currently in. Though it did not seem right to punish these other humans, her heart and soul were screaming for their blood. Years of battle and assassination had steeled her very being. Nothing could satisfy the fire burning within her except exacting retribution.
In her very few talks with Holku about his life on Earth, she had learned the humans were nothing if not worse than the Red King. They were weak and frail, but greedy and prejudiced. Those in power tried to destroy any who were different and control those when they couldn't. Holku had mentioned about a group of humans with extraordinary powers, mutants or something or the other, and the absolute fear and hatred humanity had directed against the mutants. Not even being a hero, as Holku had tried to be many times, would convince these humans of his good intentions.
No. Humans were dangerous. Given enough time, they would encounter Holku, and become terrified of his strength and rage. They could not appreciate his noble heart, nor the righteousness of his anger, so they would begin to plot his downfall. Though the Green Scar was a being of power, the Earth of his reality contained a thousand of other superpowered individuals. If the Earth in this universe was the same, Caiera could not let them gather their strength and make a strike on her beloved.
Her old mouth warped to a smirk as she took an elevator to the upper levels. As far as she was concerned, Bruce Banner would be the last human being left alive in this universe. The part of her that relished the atrocities of the tyrannical Red King chuckled ruefully inside her mindscape as she cycled through different ways of slaughtering the humans.
ARCH-E-5912 worked silently at the consoles. His hands patiently flew over the orange holoscreen, tweaking obscure settings and monitoring ship systems. Any organic who took in the sight must think he was at ease with the situation. Nothing could be further from the truth.
His underdeveloped sentient mind was frustrated with the archaic infrastructure of the ship. There were no cables, no plugs, no computers for him to interface. It seemed that the entire ship was one solid block of Shadow Stone. The material wasn't just a barrier. It could think. Billions and billions of invisible instructions floated from one end of the ship to the other, managing minute environments such as raising temperature or dimming lights. The ship wasn't just a machine – it was a veritable organism.
His very basic wildebot instincts urged him to destroy every organic creature and even the ship itself for being such a heretical creation. Only his most recent self-upgrades insured that he would not act on his inner desires. Life under the Green King and his organic subjects was much preferable to the anarchy of Sakaar. Things made much more sense now that they didn't fight to survive.
His fellow wildebots weren't very content, but they all knew it could have been worse. More savage than ARCH-E himself, only the threat of instant annihilation by overwhelming numbers kept the group in check. They had understandably sequestered themselves in the back areas of the ship, where the louder hum of the engines repelled any curious organics.
They only ever came out of their territory to help with the installation of weaponry. The organics appreciated the bots' skill with electronics, and the bots appreciated the opportunity to assimilate the designs for themselves. No wildebot had kidded themselves that the truce they had with the organics would last forever, not when the honorable Green King was still absent.
"Good day, ARCH-E." A voice uttered from the entrance to the bridge.
"-Zzt- Hiroim."
The ever-stoic Shadow Priest took his own post behind and above ARCH-E's one. He activated the system and inserted his personal code before gaining access. As soon as he checked the diagnostics, Hiroim called upon the star chart. The holoscreen in the center of the bridge suddenly flitted to life. Beams of light formed into a large blue three-dimensional space. Most of it was empty void, but there were several swirling collections of stars. Hiroim concentrated on one in particular, zooming the view until the galaxy in question occupied the entire screen.
"Can you tell me how long it will take to reach this galaxy?"
"-Zzzt-... Current projections indicate we will approach the gravitational edge of the Large Magellanic –Zzzt- Cloud in fifty-five hours. Once we enter its perimeter, our speed will be severely reduced, but the nearest life-bearing planet should be about thirty-nine hours away."
"Hmmm..." Roughly four days then. They had plenty of food to spare, but it was better to be prudent. "Order rations to be cut to a half from now on, but full rations in the final twenty-four hours until our approach to the planet. We must be prepared to face whatever surprises we may find at the end of our journey."
A few beeps from ARCH-E's speakers confirmed the orders, and his mechanical fingers already communicated the orders to the agricultural section.
"One more thing ARCH-E..." Hiroim spoke, his voice taking a softer volume. "Are you certain we cannot return to our own universe?"
The robot's rectangular eye glowed bright as ARCH-E cycled through every calculation. It had taken him days to gather the right parameters and hours to churn out the numbers. Though his databanks contained woefully little about faster-than-light travel, dimensional travel and alternate universes, the ancient computers of the stone ship contained enough theory to present an answer.
"The -zzt- engine crystals were irreparably damaged. In addition, the breakup of Sakaar unleashed a multitude of energies that would be impossible to replicate without destroying the exact planet in the exact -Zzzt- same manner. As the Fornax Galaxy does not even exist in this reality, our chances of reaching our home galaxy are almost none."
Unlike the others who hoped to return to their own universe, Hiroim didn't shed a tear for the loss. The great world of Sakaar was dead. Only a few thousand survivors who escaped on the other stone ships was all that was left of their civilization. Wherever those survivors would settle, it would never be home to him. The sooner the others realized there was nothing left to return to, the sooner the people would start to find new joy.
In a way, he was glad to be left of his ancestral home. Though he was unable to exact justice from his planet's murderers, he would not be driven mad by the lure of vengeance. With his enemies out of reach, Hiroim and his fellow refugees could focus on salvaging a new life in this fresh universe. Sakaar was dead, but its spirit lived on in their lives. They would find a new Sakaar to settle.
BOOM!
The ship suddenly jarred as multiple explosions wracked the ship. An even greater jerk threw ARCH-E and Hiroim off their feet. The lights began to flicker as alarms began to wail.
"ARCH-E, what is happening!"
"-ZZZZTzz- I do not know! –ZZzt- It seems we have been pulled from FTL." ARCH-E quickly scrambled to his console and began to read the alarms. "Explosives have been detonated at several critical points in the ship, resulting in a -zzt- severe disruption in ship systems and several hull breaches."
"Saboteurs! Traitors!" Hiroim quickly went over the doorway leading out in the corridors, only to find it blocked by fallen debris. "They've trapped us!"
"It seems the rebels have hit several critical systems in addition to caving in most of the entryways on the upper level." The robot added as he began to stabilize the ship. "Fires have erupted all over the ship. Most of the crew is busy trying to put them out."
Hiroim's tactical mind was already processing the information. It didn't take long for the former warrior to come to a conclusion. "By the prophets! They intend to keep us busy while they make their way in the upper levels to..."
He lost his composure as he slammed his fist against the bulkhead. "The rebels are going to assassinate our king."
Korg let the feeble laser blasts scorch his yellowish rocky exterior. He had waded through the melting heat of lava before. Mere concentrated bursts of heat and light was petty compared to the rigors he had faced as a slave back in Sakaar.
The robotic Death's Head Guards behind him were firing their own lasers back at the rebel Imperials. Elloe kept her slim body behind Korg's massive bulk as she fired her lightning rod at the covered rebels, accomplishing little as her strikes couldn't penetrate the Shadow Stone.
"This is useless! We have to get to the chambers before they manage to break through." Elloe let loose a final strike. "Korg! Storm them!"
The Kronan warrior grunted before bouldering through the feeble obstacles the insurgents put in his way. Elloe and the black clad Death's Head Guard follow right behind. As they fired along the way to keep the rebels' heads down, one prepared a plasma grenade. As soon as he was close enough, he lobbed it over the Kronan's head and the round projectile landed behind the fallen rubble the Imperials were taken cover at. Only a single second passed before a loud energy discharge echoed off the walls.
"AAGhh!"
Chaos erupted as Korg tore apart the final obstacle before launching himself at a group of terrified traitors. Elloe, realizing that she was exposed, quickly dove behind some fallen rubble and launched her lightning attacks only occasionally. Not that the assault squad needed any help. The elite Death Head Guards mowed down every opposition in its way, letting the laser bolts burn their Aresian alloy armor. Utterly fearless of death, they made quick work of the Imperials with their own laser cannons.
"Hm, I would have thought my race had more guts than this." Elloe remarked as she electrocuted a survivor to death, relishing the screams. "They become frightened way too easily. Where is their passion?"
"It is likely that they were deceived." Korg remarked as he went to work digging out another blocked entrance. "Whoever their leader is knew that he or she had to make some sacrifices."
"When I get my hands on that person..." Elloe had several suspicions. The fact that they had only met Imperial opposition so far told her much on the secret cabal that had dared to cripple the ship. "I feel bad for not seeing this coming. I should have realized they would have considered doing something drastic and risky."
"Not everyone is subtle as you, Elloe." Korg mused, just before he punched away the last of the rubble. "That they acted so soon speaks much of their desperation."
The female Imperial shook her head as she and her robot command follow Korg deeper in the ship, occasionally electrocuting a passing rebel. "They launched their surprise attack at their time of choosing, when the warbound were separated." The group halted for a moment to take care a small band of rebels who had holed up in a bedroom. "Desperate opponents make for the most dangerous opponents."
The two warbound and several other strike groups were slowly making way through the blockades, but they were making awfully slow progress. Most of the population was in a panic. ARCH-E and Hiroim were occupied at the bridge. Brood was busy coordinating the fire fighting. Caiera did all she could with her Old Power to counteract the structural damage of the ship and prevent any further hull breaches. Only the wildebots seemed to keep their calm, doing all they could in repairing the engine damage before it could spread any further.
"Over there! The royal chambers!"
The Kronan locked on his target and rushed through the double doors, crushing them apart and surprising the Imperials waiting in ambush. The great yellow alien roared a guttural cry as his fists mauled the softskin rebels into mush. The others quickly fanned into the room, spreading out to enfilade the disorganized opposition.
It was over in seconds.
Sweeping her eyes across the room, the Kaifi scion found out that the Green King was taken. She quickly identified a survivor and strode over to his bleeding body. Her foot jammed in the open wound at his side, eliciting a wretched scream.
"Tell me where you have taken the Green King!" To emphasize her threat, she ground her heel in deeper in the flesh.
The young Imperial was sweating off his red skin as he looked terrified at Elloe. "He-he-he-DEATH TO THE WORLDBREAKER! LONG LIVE SAKAA-AAAAAHHH!"
"TELL ME WHERE YOU HAVE TAKEN THE KING!"
She kicked and stomped the body several times. Seeing she did not have much success, she withdrew and took out her lightning rod. The settings were turned down before she used it to torture the young man.
"AAAHHH I'LL TELL YOU I'll TELL YOU!" As the current was released, the rebel took a few breaths to recover. Seeing that Elloe wasn't very patient, he quickly blurted, "They took him… to the nearest hatch."
Her eyes widened as she immediately recognized the impending doom. "Korg! They plan to throw him out into space. We can't let them abandon him into space. Go!"
With a final withering look, she set her rod to lethal and sent a final shock to kill the bleeding rebel. She then turned to follow Korg and the Death Head Guards to the other side of the ship, sweeping through pockets of resistance along the way. The rebels only took out a few Death Head Guards at most, but they stalled the loyalists long enough for the leaders to finish their preparations.
"You are too late." The apparent leader boasted as the Korg bashed through the final obstacle. Puzzled why the Death Head Guards didn't shoot, Elloe quickly raised her rod to electrocute the noble, but she held off as she recognized the bulky Deathfire Bomb shielding his body. "Yes, dear Elloe. You don't want to unleash an inferno here, do you?"
She could only grit her teeth as she was powerless to kill the one she recognized as the former senator Ronan Ierfi. "What have you done with the Green King?"
"Don't you mean the Pink King?" Ronan smirked. "That skinny human is a disgrace, but even I'm not stupid enough to trigger the return of the Worldbreaker."
"What have you done to him?"
The insurgent leader raised a delicate withered hand to the area behind him. "The Worldbreaker is a being of mindless rage. Taking him out of the equation is so easy. Just chuck him out the airlock, and he can be angry at anything he wants in the vacuum between the galaxies. We'd be long gone by then."
"No!" Korg shouted, and for a moment he considered storming his enemies anyway despite the Deathfire Bomb in his way.
The noble only smirked wider before he signaled with his hand. "Dump the body into space."
Helpless to act, Korg and Elloe could only gape as the chamber beyond opened into vacuum, flushing out the body of Bruce into the dark void of vacuum.
Ronan let out a brief chuckle before raising a wrist communicator. "The Worldbreaker is off the ship. Send us away!"
Far away and back in the darkest reaches of the engine room, a single cloaked Imperial pulled down a lever. Hidden systems flung to life, sending out a huge pulse directly towards the engines.
A huge shudder shook the floor underneath Korg and Elloe's feet. Horror showed on their faces as they realized their defeat.
"Hahahaha yes! Even as we speak, the ship is travelling light years apart from his body in erratic jinks." Ronan boasted, not even bothering to keep the bomb between him and his opponents. "The Worldbreaker will break no world anymore. He will float around in the void between galaxies for eternity, or at least as long as he can hold his breath!"
Elloe couldn't accept his words. "Don't underestimate our king! He has leaped into space and back to free the spikes!"
"No, don't you see? There are no navigational beacons in deep space." Korg explained, his eyes cast down in defeat. "If the ship isn't travelling in a straight line, then we don't have a chance of retrieving the Green Scar. He is lost to us."
The female warbound looked at her own companion in disbelief. "The Hulk... no... he cannot die! Not now! Not when we have made it so far!"
Ronan only soaked in the despair, growing more and more amused at the fallen spirits of the warbound. "He is gone. Lay down your arms and surrender. Without your precious green-skinned king, everything is over! Hahahaha!"
Light years away, deep in the coldest reaches of outer space, a single puny human shook off his sleep as he choked. Already he could feel his body expanding, his eyes threatening to burst, and his blood beginning to boil and evaporate. Pain far greater than he had ever experienced before wracked his mortal flesh.
His desperation slowly made way to anger. Someone put him here, thrown him off the ship to die in the emptiness of space. He smoothly let his primal instincts take over, his darker side urging him to surrender to his rage.
Though there was no nearby star to illuminate the castoff, the being known as Bruce Banner had made way. In his place, the green monstrosity remained. He roared in anger, though no air was around to carry his sound. The giant figure flailed through the blinding dark of space, wishing to move but having nothing to move against. His arms and legs only flapped uselessly against the nothingness of vacuum, leaving the Hulk hurling aimlessly in the dark.
Even smashing his own body didn't move him any closer towards a star. The laws of physics were unbending to the Green King. With nothing to smash but himself, the Hulk raged uselessly in the dark.
This is the story of the Green Scar.
The Eye of Anger.
The Worldbreaker.
Harkanon.
Haarg.
Holku.
Hulk.
And how he finally came to ruin.
'Hulk must SMASH!'