Upon leaving the Embassy building, Bruce runs across the street and into an alleyway and transforms into Hulk. Upon transforming, Hulk stretches before leaping upwards out of the alley and bounds towards Time's Square to confront the U-Foes.
-Time's Square-
The U-Foes are causing all kinds of mayhem. Ironclad grabs a bus and hurls it at some civilians. However, Hulk catches the bus before it hits them.
"Go! Get somewhere safe!" Hulk shouts to the people he just saved.
"Thank you!" One of the people says as they run for cover.
Hulk turns around to fight the U-Foes, punching Ironclad in the face multiple times in the face before grabbing him and tossing him into a building. Next up is X-Ray, who electrocutes Hulk, but he's able to shrug off the attack and knocks the top off of a fire hydrant and uses his foot to direct the water at him, taking him down. Vapor growls as she envelops Hulk in her gaseous form.
"Join us, monster..." Vapor says softly, trying to get Hulk to join them.
"Fat chance!" Hulk says as he performs a thunderclap, dissipating her and taking her out of the fight as he sets his sights on Vector, who is hovering high above him, surrounded by large pieces of concrete.
"I grow tired of you, monster! For too long, you have gotten in the way of our plans!" Vector shouts as he uses his telekinesis to toss some of the concrete chunks at Hulk, though he easily smashes the projectiles with no effort at all before picking up a car and throwing it at Vector, though he uses his powers to stop it. However, this was all part of Hulk's plan, as he lunges at Vector and punches the car. The resulting shockwave sends the two combatants flying in opposite directions, though Hulk recovers faster than Vector and easily knocks him out. Unfortunately, Ironclad rejoins the fight, having finally recovered from Hulk's flurry of punches.
"Hey! We're not done yet!" Ironclad says as he cracks his metallic knuckles. Hulk rolls his eyes in annoyance before growling. The two titans of strength then collide and lock hands in an attempt to overpower one another, though Hulk grins as he manages to gain the upper hand, kicking Ironclad's knee before lifting over his head and tossing him into an empty bus. Dazed, Ironclad is unable to move as Hulk starts to punch him repeatedly. Suddenly, the earth begins to shake violently, confusing the U-Foes and Hulk himself.
"What the-?" Hulk asks, naturally confused by what just happened. Suddenly, white tears in reality appear near them and begin to suck all matter of objects into them. The U-Foes make a run for it, but the tears of reality have a surprisingly strong pull, and none of them can get away as they're sucked in. Hulk can't help but smile at this, but that smile fades as he feels the tear pulling him towards it. "Crap!" He exclaims as he's dragged closer, even when his feet indent themselves into the pavement. Eventually, he's sucked in and the tear of reality closes.
-Flashback Sequence-
New York, 33 Years Ago
Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, Hawkgirl, Flash, and Hal Jordan, aka Green Lantern are battling Franklin Hall, aka Graviton, as he was rampaging through the city, using his powers of gravitational field manipulation. Superman leads the charge, slamming into Graviton and swinging his right fist at him, only for Graviton to alter gravity on Superman's arm, stopping it from hitting him before increasing it, making Superman fall to the ground with a hard 'oof'. Green Lantern blasts Graviton with his ring, but he shrugs it off and knocks him aside.
"Superman!" Wonder Woman shouts as Hawkgirl flies up to Graviton and swings her mace at Graviton, but like with Superman, he uses his power to stop her attack and hurl her away, though Martian Manhunter catches her. The Flash gets into a runner's pose and starts running circles around Graviton, confusing the supervillain as he couldn't comprehend the speedster's next move. After a while, Flash starts punching Graviton at various points on his body, alternating between speed punching and running around him more until Graviton gets irritated and unleashes a gravitational blast, knocking the Flash several feet away.
"Ow!" The Flash groans as he slowly picks himself up off the floor. Having enough of this, Wonder Woman unsheathes her sword and shield and charges at Graviton, swinging her sword at the villain, but like with the others, he uses his powers to deflect her attacks before pushing her away, though she's able to resist his counterattack to an extent due to her status as a demigoddess. Superman gets back up and swings at Graviton, though he flings the Kryptonian into a building.
"You pathetic fools. I possess the power of gravity practically a god!" Graviton taunts loudly as the heroes struggle to stand, only for Graviton to unleash a wave of gravitational energy, pinning them to some surrounding buildings. "I am stronger than any of you, even the demigoddess! I am the strongest force on Earth!" His monologue is suddenly interrupted by a loud, booming thud. Graviton turns around to see Hulk, who growls at the villain.
"You...get away from them!" Hulk roars as he rams into Graviton with such intensity that even when he shields himself, he's sent flying. Hulk repeatedly hits him harder and harder as the fight escalates greatly, several buildings shaking in response to the brutal brawl between the gamma monster and the master of gravity. With his mind focusing on Hulk, the Justice League are released and groan. Needless to say, they were surprised by Hulk showing up and lending a helping hand, even though he has helped them take down big threats like Starro, the White Martians, Mongol, and Brainiac.
"Was that...Hulk?" Superman asks as he takes heavy breaths.
"What's he doing here?" Hawkgirl inquires as her wings droop.
"Who cares? Now that he's here, we stand a chance!" The Flash says, only focusing on Hulk, who continues to beat down Graviton. Now focused on winning, Flash speeds off towards Hulk and Graviton.
"I will smash you!" Hulk roars at Graviton as he punches him into a wall, noticing Flash running around out of the corner of his eye. "...Flash?" Hulk asks.
Graviton smirks, using Hulk's minor distraction to push him back with a strong push of gravity. With Hulk finally away, he starts to manipulate the gravity of the abandoned warehouse district they were now fighting in, lifting hundreds of vehicles and trailers and hurls them at the heroes. While Hulk, Flash and Superman are able to use their respective powers to knock away or evade the projectiles, there are just too many, and they pile on the heroes as Graviton then enhances their gravitational fields, making it impossible for any of the heroes to move, though after some struggling, Hulk is able to move, albeit slowly, much to the shock of everyone, especially Graviton.
Martian Manhunter groans as he slowly uses his telepathy to make Graviton's brain hurt, breaking his concentration long enough for Hulk to break free of Graviton's hold and tackle him to the ground. Wonder Woman recovers and uses her lasso of truth to restrain him as Hulk, Superman, and Flash trade blows, making sure not to kill Graviton,
"Stop. He's had enough." Batman says as he puts his hand to his side.
"Grr." Hulk growls, reluctantly standing down, though he knew Graviton was beaten.
"Thanks for the assist, big guy." Flash says. "Seriously. I thought we'd never beat that guy."
Hulk chuckles as he crosses his arms. "Sure."
Wonder Woman smiles. "Why did you help us?"
"Yeah. Why?" Green Lantern asks.
"Saw you getting your butts kicked. We're friends, aren't we?" Hulk asks, remembering when the Justice League was first formed, with him as one of its founding members.
"Yeah, we're friends, green." Flash says with a smile. He was always happy to see Hulk, as the two were very close.
Before a celebration could begin, however, General Thunderbolt Ross and a large army of troops arrive and point their weapons at Hulk. "Justice League, stand aside! The Hulk is under arrest! Move out of the way now!" Ross says through a bullhorn. However, much to Hulk's surprise, the Justice League stand in front of the gamma goliath.
"This is becoming tiresome, General." Martian Manhunter says, annoyed by Ross' obsessive pursuit of Hulk.
"General, Hulk saved our lives...as well as the lives of everyone in this city. If you want to arrest someone, arrest the one truly responsible for this destruction." Superman says as Wonder Woman displays Graviton, who still has her lasso of truth wrapped around him.
"Graviton?!" Ross exclaims in fear, clearly knowing how destructive his power was.
"Yeah, that guy. He should be locked up, not Hulk." The Flash says, defending his green-skinned ally.
"Do the right thing, General. Lock up Graviton, and leave Hulk alone. He is not the monster you think he is." Wonder Woman says. After much thought and consideration, General Ross and his men put a power dampening collar on Graviton and take him in, leaving the heroes alone. Satisfied, Wonder Woman then sets her attention on Hulk. "What happens now, my friend? Will you be staying with us permanently?" She asks, since Hulk's usually the type to go out on his own, despite being a founding member of the Justice League.
Hulk crosses his arms again as he thinks about his answer before smiling and nodding his head. "Yeah. I'll stay." The entire League smiles at his answer, especially Wonder Woman and the Flash, as the scarlet speedster and Hulk were practically the best of friends.
-Present Day-
Alternate Reality
Bruce Banner wakes up, laying on the cold, dirty floor of an alleyway. He groans as he slowly stands up, confused about where he is until he exits the alley and looks at some of the surrounding buildings before realizing where he was. "I...I'm in Gotham, but...it's different. Or at least...feels different." Bruce softly says to himself as he approaches a clothing store. He 'borrows' some clothes and a fresh pair of shoes and starts to wander around 'Gotham' for thirty minutes before coming across an abandoned newspaper stand and grabs one of its papers, only to gasp in horror about what it says.
It reads, 'Atlantis sinks half of Europe in Atlantean-Amazon war. King Aquaman's wife beheaded by leader of the Amazons, who proceeded to conquer Great Britain.'
Bruce drops the newspaper, overwhelmed by what he has just learned. "Something's wrong. Diana wouldn't kill Mera, and she certainly wouldn't lead her people to war with Aquaman." Bruce says, muttering to himself before coming up with a plan. "Batman. Oh, if there anyone that can figure out what's going on, it's him." Bruce says as he steals a bicycle and heads for Wayne Manor, hoping Batman will be able to help him and explain what happened...
