-Harlem, New York-
The villainous Abomination stomps through Harlem, hurling cars and attacking lots of innocent people. Police officers arrive on the scene and without hesitating, shoot at the large creature, though the bullets don't even bruise his tough skin. Abomination grins as he slaughters all of the policeman, punching and crushing them with his fists. As he approaches a car, with a woman clutching her infant child in fear, a loud roar was heard, originating from the other side of the long street.
"Leave them alone! You want to smash someone? Smash me!" Hulk roars, hitting his chest to goad his opponent into attacking him.
"Hulk! Finally! A real fight!" Abomination says with joy as he runs towards Hulk, who starts running towards Abomination, several people watching the two titans of physical power run at each other and collide, a sonic boom emitting from the impact as they press their hands against one another. "I'll crush you...like a bug!" Abomination says as he grinds his teeth.
"Good luck with that!" Hulk retorts as the two monstrous combatants keep pushing against each other, one trying to overpower the other. As Hulk applies more force, he hears the citizens of Harlem cheering him on, making him smile as he beats Abomination in the show of strength before gripping the back of his head and slamming Abomination onto the ground, getting louder cheers from the citizens as Hulk stands over his foe and begins to punch him with savage brutality, not letting up even as Abomination spits out his own blood and teeth. He can't even mutter out a word of mercy as Hulk continues to punch him, though his attacks eventually slow down as Hulk starts to take in deep breaths. Abomination takes note of this and weakly kicks Hulk away, skidding him across the road as Abomination slowly rises from the ground, a deep crater appearing under him due to the unbelievable beating he suffered through.
As Hulk finally stops sliding along the asphalt street, he slowly gets up and shakes his head like a dazed canine before turning his attention towards Abomination, who wipes some blood off his mouth as he sneers at Hulk.
"I'm gonna kill you, Hulk! Then...I'm gonna kill all of these people!" Abomination says loudly.
"Just try it, fish breath!" Hulk says tauntingly, making Abomination charge towards him in anger, his fist colliding with Hulk's as another sonic boom bursts. Before Abomination can attack again, Hulk headbutts him, stunning him long enough for Hulk to send him flying away from Harlem with a brutal right hook. Hulk roars victoriously as the citizens cheer. They've heard of Hulk before, and were hugely familiar with his heroism. Hulk turns around and begins to walk down the ruined street as he starts to be enveloped by a bright light, eventually vanishing, much to the shock and confusion of the Harlem inhabitants.
-Norse Realm-
Hulk falls from the sky, plummeting thousands of feet into the middle of a snowy forest. Hulk groans tiredly as he crawls on his knees, his vision becoming blurry as he passes out, reverting into his Bruce Banner form. Seconds after this, several men wearing pelts and carrying bows and swords approach the unconscious man.
"Where'd he come from?" One of the men asks.
"That crater...it's massive. He must've fallen from the sky. But...how could he survive, let alone make a crater of this size with such a frail body?" Another man asks.
"I do not care if Odin himself farted him out of his ass. All I see is a meal..." The leader of the men says as two others drag Bruce along the ground and tie him to a stone table.
-Cabin-
Elsewhere in the forest, a funeral is being held, a woman's body lays on a table inside a cabin, wrapped in a cloth adorned in flowers as a young boy says a sorrowful prayer as a bald headed man with a thick beard and a red tattoo running across his body sets up a pyre outside.
"Lo, there do I see my mother. Lo, there do I see my father. Lo, there do they call to me." The boy says in mourning as he light several candles around her body. Shortly after, the bald headed man, Kratos enters the cabin as the boy wipes his eyes of his tears. "She's ready, Father." The boy says as Kratos approaches the woman's body, leaning towards it.
"Find your way home." Kratos softly says to the body. "You are free." He carries the body outside and sets it on a pyre made out of tree trunks before setting it and the body on fire using a large axe. As the two watch the body slowly burn, the boy grabs a small knife off of the body, its handle burning his hand due to the fire heating it up. The boy hisses in pain as he drops it on the slow covered forest floor.
"Sorry." He says apologetically, looking at his burnt palm as Kratos applies a ball of snow onto his son's injury.
"Squeeze." He commands tenderly, which his son does as Kratos uses a loose bandage on his arm to cover his son's wound before picking up the knife, its handle cooled down by the snow. "This knife...it was hers. Now it is yours." He says as he hands the knife to his son handle first. "She taught you to hunt?"
The boy nods. "What she knew."
"Show me." Kratos says almost immediately.
"Now?" The boy asks, to which Kratos says the same word in answer. The boy slowly walks into the cabin as Kratos watches the woman's body burn. Seconds later, the boy walks out, a bow in his hand and a quiver of arrows strapped to his back. "What are we hunting?"
"You are hunting deer." Kratos says sternly.
The boy sighs as he looks around. "Which way?"
"In the direction of deer."
"Okay. Uhh...this way." The boy says as he walks in a random direction away from the house, Kratos following him slowly.
-Bandit Camp-
Two hours pass as Bruce slowly wakes up, his wrists and ankles bound to the stone table by cuffs linked to short chains to limit his movement as the bandit leader sharpens a knife.
"Boss. He's awake." One of the lesser bandits says as the leader looks at Bruce, who lightly struggles.
"Ahh. Good." He says as he walks over to Bruce. "Hmm..." He says, rubbing his chin as he inspects Bruce. "A bit thinner than our last meal, but I'm sure we'll live till we catch a deer or something."
"You are really stupid. If you don't let me go, I'll kill you-" Bruce begins to talk back to his captors, only to be stabbed in the leg by the bandit leader. "Ahhh!"
"Sorry. Did you say something?" The bandit leader asks as he sadistically twists the knife and leaves it in Bruce's leg as he pulls out another knife, this one significantly bigger than the previous one.
"Hulk...if you're in there, it's time to come out because I'm about to get filleted and served as dinner!" Bruce screams mentally, finally getting Hulk to slowly come out, his eyes turning a bright green.
"Ahhh! What in the Nine Realms?!" The bandit leader exclaims as he backs away from Bruce as he convulses, screaming in pain as his body slowly shifts into his Hulk form, shattering the cuffs that were holding him down as if they were made of paper. "Kill that-that Troll!" The bandit leader hollers out as his men draw their swords while others hurl spears and shoot arrows at Hulk, though their arrows are too dull to even pierce his flesh. Hulk roars as he pulls the knife out of his leg, his wound healing instantly, much to the astonishment of his captors.
"I'll kill you!" Hulk roars as he charges at the bandits, punching and tossing them before turning his attention to their leader, who runs at Hulk and plunges a spear into his stomach, forcing the giant monster to fall on one knee as he grips the handle of the spear.
"Not so tough now..." He taunts, only for Hulk to turn the situation around, pulling the spear out of his stomach and impale the bandit leader with the same spear.
"Shut up!" Hulk says angrily as the bandit leader coughs up his own blood, eventually dying from blood loss while Hulk's stomach wound heals up. "Urgh..." Hulk groans as he stands up and looks around at the strange environment. "Where am I? How'd I get here?" Hulk asks himself as he begins to walk through the forest, the snow crunching beneath his massive feet.
-Elsewhere-
Kratos and his son, Atreus walk through the forest, now aware of Hulk's presence due to his loud roaring.
"What was that, Father? Sounded pretty close." Atreus says, clearly worried.
"I do not know. Keep quiet." Kratos softly says as a large white deer with big, glowing antlers steps into view. Atreus eagerly draws his bow and releases his arrow without thinking twice, missing the deer completely and startling it, making it run away, much to Kratos' anger.
"Aw! I missed him-!" Atreus complains right as Kratos snatches the bow from his hand.
"What are you doing?! Now his guard is up! Only fire...when I tell you to fire..."
"I'm sorry..." Atreus says as he lowers his head like a sad puppy.
"Do not be sorry. Be better. Now...find it." Kratos says.
"Can I have my bow back?" Atreus asks as he reaches for the now, only for Kratos to move the bow further away from his reach.
"No. Find...the...deer." Kratos says as he holsters the bow.
"Okay..." Atreus says as he scowls at his father before following some tracks the deer left behind when it ran.
-Later-
Atreus finally manages to track the deer down, which is peacefully feeding on some grass. Atreus and Kratos kneel down next to each other as they observe the animal.
"Can I have my bow back now?" Atreus asks softly.
"Can you hit it from here?" Kratos asks in answer.
Atreus looks at the deer and decides that he can't. "We should get closer..." He says with a sigh.
A few minutes of traversing later, the two get close enough to get another shot at killing the deer. Kratos slowly hands the bow back to Atreus, who slowly draws an arrow and pulls back the bowstring.
"Do not think of it as an animal. See it as a target..." Kratos softly says as Atreus takes aim, the arrowhead pointing at the deer's side. Atreus inhales and holds his breath, steadying his aim as he releases the arrow, which plunges into the deer's side as it collapses.
"I got it!" Atreus exclaims happily as he looks at Kratos
"Good." Kratos says as Atreus runs over to the crippled deer. As Atreus kneels in front of the wounded animal, he pulls out the knife he took earlier, moving it towards his father, who shakes his head. "No. Finish what you started."
Atreus points the blade at the deer's throat, but stops. "I...I can't." Despite his reservations, Kratos slowly pushes the blade forward into the deer, putting it out of its misery.
As the two look at the dead animal and admire the beautiful landscape, a large hand reaches upward, clutching onto the dead deer. Atreus stabs the hand with his knife, only to be pulled over the ledge by a large Troll. Kratos runs at the Troll, kneeing it in the face as he lands next to Atreus, handing him back his bow.
"We're going to fight that?!" Atreus exclaims.
"We have no choice!" Kratos says as he unsheathes his large axe. The Troll roars as he lifts a massive stone column off the ground and props it on his left shoulder.
-Elsewhere-
Not Far From The Troll
Hulk keeps walking through the forest, observing the bizarre yet beautiful landscape before feeling the ground begin to rumble, followed by the Troll roaring loudly. "Hmm...sounds like a fight." Hulk says as he rubs his chin and smiles, heading to where the sounds are coming from. It doesn't take him long to come across the fight. "Oof. Two small people against that thing? Doesn't seem fair." Hulk says softly, watching the fight continue.
Kratos cuts into the Troll's legs with his axe while Atreus shoots arrows into its chest and shoulders while the two smaller combatants occasionally avoid the stone column as the Troll effortlessly swings it at them. Eventually, Atreus is backed into a corner as the Troll approaches the small boy, raising the stone column to crush him.
"No!" Kratos shouts in protest as he charges at the Troll, only to be kicked away.
"Looks like it's my turn to attack..." Hulk says, roaring as he literally leaps into action, latching onto the Troll and punching the sides of its head while Kratos tends to Atreus.
"Boy, are you hurt?" Kratos asks, to which Atreus shakes his head.
"No, Father. I'm okay." He says as he and Kratos watch Hulk beat up the large Troll.
"What is that thing...?" Kratos asks softly as Hulk continues to overpower the Troll.
"I don't know...but I'm glad he's on our side." Atreus says.
"Do not be so quick to trust. Like that Troll, he is not human..." Kratos warns, unaware of Hulk's other self.
"Ugly monster!" Hulk says to the Troll as he leaps off of his opponent and uses the Troll's large weapon on him, swinging it so hard it shattered into a hundred pieces, dazing the Troll. Before it can recover, Hulk jumps up and punches the Troll across the face multiple times. He hit the Troll so hard, he breaks its neck, finally killing the grotesque beast as it collapses in front of him. Hulk scoffs at his enemy as he looks at Kratos and Atreus. "You alright?"
"Y-Yeah. Thanks." Atreus says with gratitude as he looks up at his green-skinned rescuer.
"Hmm. Why did you save us?" Kratos asks, clearly not trusting Hulk, despite him saving their lives. "You could've walked away."
"Would you rather be dead than alive, baldy?" Hulk asks with snark as he crosses his arms.
"No. I would not." That was all Kratos had to say in response to Hulk's question.
"That's what I thought." Hulk says as he begins to walk away, only to be stopped by Atreus.
"Wait! Don't you...have anyplace to sleep?" He asks.
Hulk shakes his head. "No. I don't even know how I got to...wherever I am."
"Easy. You're in Midgard." Atreus says.
"Huh?" Hulk says in confusion.
"Midgard. You know, realm of mortals?" Atreus says, receiving a shrug from Hulk.
"Sorry, kid. Never heard of it." Hulk says as he resumes walking away.
"Wait! You should come back to our cabin with us. Are you hungry-?" Atreus asks, only to be stopped by Kratos.
"Boy." He says sternly. "He is not coming with us."
"Why not? He saved our lives." Atreus says.
"We do not know him. He is an outsider." Kratos says.
"Who saved both of your lives, old man." Hulk remarks, getting a tiny smile from Atreus for the 'insult'.
Kratos growls lowly at Hulk poking fun of his age. "Boy. We must go. Now."
"What about the deer?" Atreus asks as Hulk spots the dead deer out of the corner of his eye and lifts it up, carrying it on his right shoulder.
"This deer?" Hulk asks.
Atreus nods. "Yeah. That deer. I killed it. I-I mean, we killed it."
"I am getting hungry. How about I carry it back to wherever you live?"
"Fine. Keep your distance from us...or there will be trouble." Kratos warns, to which Hulk rolls his eyes and nods as he follows Kratos and Atreus back to their cabin.
-Kratos & Atreus' Cabin-
The trio make it back to the cabin, the woman's body completely reduced to nothing but a big pile of burnt ash. "Put the animal inside...on a large table. Do nothing else, creature." Kratos orders to Hulk.
Hulk nods. "Right..." He enters the cabin and does as Kratos said, putting the large animal on a big table, leaving the cabin immediately afterwards. "Now what, old man?"
"We eat...then you...will leave." Kratos says rather rudely. Hulk sighs as he, Atreus, and Kratos head inside. Kratos skins the deer before gripping his big axe and chops the deer up into smaller pieces. "Eat." That was all Kratos says as the three begin to bite and chew their respective cuts of meat.
"So...what's with the little bonfire outside?" Hulk asks as he downs a nite of his deer with some water.
"It is not a bonfire. It is a funeral pyre." Kratos says.
"For my mother. She died." Atreus says sadly.
Hulk looks at Atreus and sighs. "Sorry, kid. I know what that's like." He says, remembering the day he lost his mother.
"The boy's mother had a final request: To spread her ashes atop the highest peak in all the Nine Realms." Kratos says.
"That's, uh...one hell of a final request." Hulk says awkwardly as he resumes eating his meat, which was surprisingly very good. A few minutes later, the three finish eating.
"Oh! That was good!" Atreus says, his stomach full.
"No kidding. Never had deer before. It's...very good." Hulk says as he stands up.
Right as he does this, a loud, long rumbling sound could be heard, followed by a swift thud. The three tense up, unsure of what caused those noises.
"What was that?" Atreus asks, slightly scared.
"No clue, kid." Hulk says.
The three continue to be on alert as they hear a loud knock on the door. Kratos walks up to the door and puts his ear to it.
"Come on out!" A voice yells out from the other side of the door.
"Who's out there?" Hulk softly asks, not wanting whoever's outside to hear him.
"It's no use hiding anymore. I know who you are..." The unknown man continues.
"Father, what's going on? Do you know him?" Atreus softly asks.
"More importantly, I know what you are!" The man says.
Kratos steps away from the door and looks at Atreus. "Boy, beneath the floor. Now." He whispers.
"But you told me to never go down there..." Atreus whispers back. "Who is that?"
"I do not know." Kratos says softly as me moves an animal skin rug off the floor, revealing a secret door.
"What does he want?" Atreus asks again.
"I do not know. Get in." Kratos says as Atreus does as he's told. Once Atreus is inside, Kratos shuts the door and covers it with the animal skin rug before turning his attention towards the front door, the man still knocking and yelling impatiently.
"Just tell me what I want to know! No need for this to get bloody!" The man keeps yelling.
"Stay in the house. Do not come out." Kratos says to Hulk, who nods as Kratos exits the cabin, coming across a bearded man whose entire upper body was covered in tattoos. This man was shorter than Kratos, but he looked like trouble.
The man looks at Kratos, inspecting the larger man. "Hmm. Thought you'd be bigger...but you're definitely the one. Well, where's the other large man?"
"What do you mean?" Kratos asks.
"Strange man. Green skin. Looks like an Ogre." The man says, clearly talking about Hulk. "Long way from home, aren't you?"
"What do you want?" Kratos asks, not having time for this.
"Oh, you already know the answer to that..." The man says irritably.
"Whatever it is you seek, I do not have it." Kratos says as he turns his back on the man. "You should move on."
The man laughs mockingly. "Here I am, thinking your kind was supposed to be so enlightened, so much better than us. So much smarter...and yet you hide out here in the woods. Like a coward."
Kratos walks up to the man. "You do not want this fight."
"Oh...I'm pretty sure I do." The man says as he backhands Kratos across the face.
Kratos scowls at his aggressor. "Leave. My. Home." He says sternly.
"You...are going to have to kill me for that to happen." The man says as he repeatedly punches Kratos in the face and gut before trying to hit him in the face again...only for Kratos to catch his attack.
"I warned you." Kratos says as he pulls his arm back and punches his attacker hard, making him stumble and fall to the floor. "You would not listen." He softly says to himself as he approaches the man, lifting him up by his arm.
"My turn." The man says before violently uppercutting Kratos so hard it sends him flying into the air and to the other end of his house. As Kratos picks himself up off the floor, the man suddenly appears on the roof and leaps down, Kratos barely rolling out of the way of his attack.
"What was that?" Hulk asks himself as he stays inside, though he's really tempted to help Kratos out.
Kratos and the Stranger exchange punches like two champion boxers, their blows being so powerful that they send the other flying back and destroying the many trees that surround them.
"So slow!" The Stranger says, cracking at Kratos' age, though Kratos made up for his slow movements with his strength. As the two continue to exchange more and more attacks, the Stranger bodyslams Kratos onto the ground before hurling him to the roof of the cabin. Before Kratos can recover, the Stranger jumps on top of him and starts choking him. "Tell me what I want to know!" He demands before punching the roof, making a pretty big hole that showed the inside of the house. "Why do you have two beds in there?" The Stranger asks right before Kratos punches him, changing positions, now on top of his opponent as he punches the Stranger in the face over and over again like an angry animal.
"Leave...my...HOME!" Kratos roars out as he slams both arms down on the Stranger, the force of the attack sending both fighters plummeting through the roof. Not noticing Hulk inside, The Stranger recovers from the fall first, performing a suplex on Kratos before kicking him outside, back to where they started.
Hulk growls, tired of sitting by while Kratos gets beaten up by this strange man. He walks outside as the Stranger slowly stumbles towards Kratos. "Hey, hobo!" Hulk roars, getting the Stranger to look behind him. "How about you go a few rounds with me?"
"I told you to stay inside!" Kratos yells out in anger.
"Shut up and sit this out!" Hulk shouts at Kratos.
"There you are..." The Stranger says as he charges at Hulk and tries to punch him, but Hulk catches his fist, much to the Stranger's surprise. Hulk punches him hard, sending the Stranger flying through the cabin, landing outside the front of it now as Hulk leaps over the entire cabin, landing next to the Stranger. Before he can recover, Hulk grabs him by the leg and slams him against a thick tree, completely shattering it as he proceeds to slam the Stranger on the ground as much as six times before dropping him.
"Ugh...You hit hard. Much harder than the old man. That's impressive." The Stranger says as he smacks Hulk across the face, though it barely fazes the green-skinned monster.
"You hit like a girl." Hulk remarks before punching the Stranger into a rock wall, stunning him long enough for Hulk to walk up to him and repeatedly punch him, burying him deeper into the rock wall with each punch. Kratos recovers from his earlier tussle with the Stranger, unsheathing his axe and approaching the Stranger, who could barely stand after managing to knock Hulk away long enough to pull himself from the wall. Kratos swings his axe, the sharp blade embedding into the man's chest, but he barely responds to it, unlike all of Hulk's punches, which hurt significantly more.
"Hahaha! I can't feel anything!" The Stranger says as he kicks Kratos away, only for Hulk to grab him and throw him against a large stone covered in runes of some kind. After Hulk presses the Stranger against the stone and punches him some more times, Kratos approaches the stone and shatters one of its corners causing it to fall on the Stranger, narrowly missing Hulk. The resulting collision emits a thunderous earthquake that shatters the ground, tearing it apart widely.
"Gee, thanks for the warning, old man." Hulk says sarcastically as he and Kratos slowly walk back a long way towards the cabin, only to hear a light rumble behind them. They turn around and groan, seeing the Stranger lift the colossal stone off of him.
"Is that all you got? Drop a stone on me? He asks as he charges at the two, only for Hulk to punch him to the ground. Kratos takes advantage of the Stranger being knocked down, lifting him up and tightly gripping his neck and violently twists it, breaking his neck. The Stranger goes limp as Kratos tosses his body off a cliff and into the water below.
"He talks too much." Kratos mumbles tiredly, to which Hulk chuckles in response as they resume walking towards the cabin, Kratos dragging his axe along the snow-drenched ground.