A/N: Thanks to LinShoe85 for beta reading this chapter, and thanks to all that have read and reviewed. Here's the penultimate chapter of this story.


Chapter 4: Party Crashers

Without care, Peter shoved down Agent Simon into a chair, making the Englishman hiss. Olivia had cuffed his hands behind his back, but she handed Peter a bunch of wires she'd snatched from a computer, so he'd tie the man to the furniture as well. Better safe, than sorry.

"So, Agent Simon." Olivia positioned herself in front of him, purposely pausing. "What are you doing here?"

After checking with Agent Broyles, it was decided that Peter and Olivia would start interrogating Agent Simon to look for some answers. Indeed, Agent Francis hadn't made it to the breach location. The second floor had been clear. And then, Francis had been blocked on his way, stumbling upon several locked doors. He had been trying to either get around it or find a way to unlock the way, both taking some time. He'd since been joined by Lincoln—once Peter and Olivia's partner had been released by the medical team—and a few other agents. They were working on it, currently on the fourth floor. But the team needed answers now.

Simon didn't reply, and after a moment of silence, he cursed and sent a glare Peter's way. Peter glared back, tugging even more forcefully on the power cord he was tying around Simon's torso.

"Who are the people that you're changing into..."

"Hulks?" Simon offered in his British accent at Olivia's hesitation. He smirked.

"Yes, Hulks," Olivia said, dryly. The man had been onto them the whole time, pretending to be on their side. It stung. "Who are they?"

Simon just looked away, ignoring her.

"She asked you a question," Peter said, shaking him, before crouching down to tie his legs.

Simon's breathing was labored against his restraints as he straightened up. "They're volunteers," he said finally.

"Volunteers?" Olivia asked.

"Yes."

"And now they can't confirm their volunteering, can they?" Olivia said.

Simon looked away, over Olivia's right shoulder. "They knew death was a risk," he said. Even though his words could have suggested otherwise, he didn't sound like their fates had meant nothing to him. "We didn't mean to hurt anyone, and we didn't—no civilians were hurt."

"What about Rizzo and Walker?" If it hadn't been for Olivia, the two pop stars might have been killed on the third incident last month.

"It was an accident," Simon said, glancing back at her. "They weren't supposed to be there, they shouldn't have been taken to the other side where Bryan was."

Bryan—so that was the name of the person Olivia had had to kill. She considered Simon's words as Peter rose to his feet and settled beside her, arms folded over his chest. Every incident had happened in deserted areas, that was true, and Simon couldn't have easily anticipated the civilians' involvement. Though, tonight, the Hulks were dangerously wandering around. Even if the individuals transforming—such as Bryan, if Bryan even existed—were volunteers, the whole affair was hardly innocent. It was even less secure.

"Who's 'we'?" Olivia said.

"What?"

"You said 'we'."

"Oh, uh, the volunteers and I," Simon said.

He didn't seem so sure about is own answer, which send warning bells to Olivia's head. It reinforced the possibility that he wasn't working alone. Not that it was in any way surprising.

"What are they volunteering for, Agent Simon?" she asked.

He rolled his eyes. "My name's not Simon."

"No? What is it, then?"

"Doesn't matter."

"Then we'll keep calling you Simon," Peter said. "I like it."

The man glowered at Peter once more, before sighing. "Dr. Clarkson."

"What are your associates volunteering for, Dr. Clarkson?" Olivia asked.

"Saving the world."

Peter snorted. "What on Earth are a bunch of Hulks going to save the world from? And don't say Chitauri!"

"Your father was right, you know," Simon told him.

"Let me guess," Peter said, "you're a big fan of his work."

"Aren't you?"

Olivia spoke before Peter could reply. Exploring Peter's daddy issues wouldn't exactly help. "What was Dr. Bishop right about?"

"We need to prepare ourselves."

"Okay," Olivia said, and waited for Clarkson to focus back on her. "Prepare ourselves how? What for?"

"The Cortexophin trials were Dr. Bishop's attempts at creating super-soldiers." An all too familiar, uneasy sensation passed through Olivia's stomach. "This," Clarkson said with a bob of his head. "This is mine."

"Great," Peter said. "Another Dr. Frankenstein."

Olivia was more tempted to call him a Dr. Erskine-wannabe, considering how this case was seriously becoming more and more Hulkian by the second. "Why do you need super-soldiers?" she asked.

"We need to prepare ourselves."

"You said that already," Peter said.

Clarkson's eyes locked on Olivia's with such intensity, she doubted that he didn't truly believe what he was saying. "They're coming," he said.

Olivia broke the stare when she felt her phone buzz in her pocket. Their comm had been turned off after separating with Francis.

"Agent Dunham," Agent Broyles said, before asking about the interrogation. After sharing a look with Peter, she was assured he would stand guard. Olivia took a few steps away, turning her back for more privacy.

She told Broyles what Clarkson had told her and Peter, and learned that the fourth floor was clear. Lincoln, Francis, and their team were presently trying to get to the fifth.

She was still hearing Clarkson talking to Peter at the same time. "They're coming," he said again. "A war is coming." She whirled around in their prisoner's direction, still on the phone, when Clarkson added, "And you're too late."

"Son of a gun!" Broyles said.

"Peter," Olivia said with alarm, before turning on the speakerphone as he joined her. "What is it?" she asked into the phone.

"Agent Lee's team has encountered another creature," Broyles said.

"Anybody hurt?"

"No," Broyles said, "but this one is smarter. I'm sending Agent Rand to retrieve Dr. Clarkson. As soon as he gets there, regroup with Agent Lee."

Olivia's reply died on her lips when a roar—a sound she recognized from previous Hulks—rumbled through the office building.

In the same way he'd done while pursuing Clarkson, Peter jumped on a desk inside a cubicle, and twisted his neck around, his eyes searching for the source of the roar, she assumed. Olivia had a fleeting thought about Peter sort of taking this Hawkeye's thing to heart, before he spoke. "I see it."

"Agent Dunham?" Broyles asked.

"Sir," Olivia said, "we have another Hulk on our hands too."

"I'll wait for Randy and stay with Clarkson," Peter said. "Go."

Olivia glanced at their prisoner, remembering his words about being too late. "Someone else is still changing people into Hulks," she said. "We need to get to the breach."

"Actually," Astrid's voice chimed in, "José and I have an idea."

"José?"

"Agent Valley," Astrid said. "He's looking into it."

"Okay," Olivia said. "Peter's staying with Clarkson. He'll call you back."

"Good luck."

Olivia put away her phone, and turned to Clarkson. "Who's working with you?"

"I told you: the volunteers."

"I think the Hulk's getting out," Peter said, still standing on the desk.

Checking her gun's clip, Olivia asked, "Is there an antidote?"

"What?" Clarkson asked.

"The super-soldier process," she said. "Can it be reversed?"

Realizing what Olivia was asking, something flashed through the doctor's eyes before he looked down. Perhaps it was guilt, because his voice was low when he replied to the negative.

—A—

Olivia hadn't heard any more roaring sounds for a good minute now, and she wasn't sure where she was going anymore. Looking around her, everything in this office building looked the same.

She heard a whooshing sound through the air, before an arrow pierced through a panel ahead of her on the right. She turned back, and though she could see Peter's figure, she couldn't make out if he was telling her anything. Coming closer to the arrow, she understood: It indicated the hallway she needed to take.

Spotting the open exit door the Hulk must have taken, Olivia hurried. She raced down an emergency metallic staircase and ended up in an alley behind the building. Cool air rushed to her skin, making Olivia shiver. A commotion down the street grabbed her attention. It was followed by intense howling—no doubt coming from the Hulk by the nature of the sound. She saw a dumpster fly, plus something illuminating the night behind it. Making her approach slowly with her gun drawn, Olivia's eyes bugged out when she identified the creature on the other side of the dumpsters.

The monster was on fire.

What the hell had happened now?

The Hulk kneeled down, and completely collapsed, still burning.

Olivia pushed onward. Not far away, she caught sight of a tall man, dark haired, wearing a duster coat, and handling some sort a stick. He was standing facing the monster, with a bright blue-haired young woman behind him. They both looked up in Olivia's direction when the howling stopped, probably hearing her approaching.

"FBI!" Olivia said. Saved from one of the woman's palm that she placed apparent on the older man's shoulder, they raised their empty hands in front of them diligently. He said something, and even though Olivia couldn't hear the words, she recognized him. "I know you."

Olivia had seen him on the first Hulk scene in Chicago. Harry Dresden, that was his name. He was a consultant for the Chicago Police Department, Olivia remembered.

"What are you doing here?"

Was he involved with all of this? Working with Clarkson?

"Uh…hi!" Dresden said, looking at everything but her eyes. He'd done that before, talking at people's chins, his eyes always flickering away. It was unsettling. "That's kind of a long story."

"What happened?" Olivia asked.

Before he could reply, a group of civilians passed by, possibly drunk, and a few "Holy crap!" coupled with "My God!" or "What the frak!" comments ensued. The passers-by were quick to bolt, clearly frightened, so Olivia turned her attention back to Dresden and his—where had they gone? They were nowhere in sight.

Again, what the hell happened? Olivia had only looked away for a handful of seconds. How could they be gone?

She looked around, and she was pretty sure it looked frantic but she didn't care. She checked in every direction, and checked again. They really had just vanished.

Putting her weapon back to her thigh holster, Olivia let out a sigh. She was starting to feel the fatigue. It was a very strange day, but with her job, burning Hulks and vanishing acts unfortunately weren't anything that surprising anymore.

The smell of burned flesh reminded her of the important questions. Forget how Dresden and his friend had disappeared, it was why that mattered right now. Why were they even here? Were they the ones who had burned the monster? If they were working with Clarkson, why would they eliminate one of their creatures? It didn't make any sense.

Olivia couldn't see how they would have done it either. There weren't any sign of gas on the Hulk, or other inflammatory substances. Spontaneous combustion, then? Was it a new side-effect of the Hulking process?

While thinking over what had happened, she called it in, asking Astrid to send a team to retrieve the body, before moving a dumpster and hiding the burned monster from view. Broyles had said he'd call Chicago PD about Dresden and had asked her to stay vigilant, but Olivia stayed as far away as possible once done, enjoying the night fresh air and keeping away from the nauseous smell.

The first thing that Olivia noticed upon re-entering the main room of the second floor in the office building was that Peter wasn't up on his hawk's nest anymore. She had called him around fifteen minutes ago, while waiting for the team that Astrid had sent to show up. He'd said he was waiting for Agent Rand's team himself, and keeping guard of Clarkson. But it couldn't have been long before the agents had arrived.

An uneasy sensation nagged at her, though, and Olivia found herself jogging her way back. She didn't find Peter. Instead, there were three FBI agents lying unconscious on the ground.

—A—

"How's Agent Rand?" Olivia asked John, one of the EMTs who'd been called in, after Olivia had found Rand's team unconscious.

"He's responsive," John said, "but he'll have to stay in observation for the night. Being knocked unconscious twice in the same evening is serious."

Olivia nodded. The two other agents had been fine too, if stunned. They hadn't been able to tell Olivia what had happened. They didn't know. Someone—or something—had knocked them out, and Dr. Clarkson was gone. Had it been what he'd been waiting for? Did Dresden do this? And how? They had no idea.

"Is it always like this?" John asked, pushing Olivia out of her thoughts. Was it? He must have misinterpreted her look because he said, "I was there last month at the CAT Squad concert."

"Yes," Olivia said, and tried to smile, "I remember."

The Fringe team and a bunch of other people that had been involved in the third Hulk incident had regrouped at Carter's for drinks afterwards. John and his colleague, the two EMTs that had been called on scene, had joined the group, on the invitation of Carina Miller, one of the CAT Squad co-singer.

"It's…yeah, I guess it's pretty much routine."

"I see," John said. "Did you need someone to look at you? Your neck's bruised."

"No, I'm fine," Olivia said, as she brought a hand around said neck. She'd almost forgotten about that. "I need to go back."

He didn't look convinced, but Olivia's phone buzzed and she indicated him to wait so she could take the call.

"Olivia, it's Astrid. Are you still with the medics?"

"Yes. They're getting ready to take Agent Rand's team to the hospital," Olivia said into the phone. "I'm going back inside. What's the situation?"

"Peter and Lincoln are still pinned down by at least two Hulks," Astrid said. "But we think we manage to close the breach for good."

"Good job," Olivia said. She didn't know how they did it, but she'd ask later.

"Walter wanted to talk to you."

"What is it, Walter?"

"Olivia," he said. Just by the way he intoned her first name, she knew he was excited about whatever he had to say. "I think I know how to stop the Hulks. Can you inquire what drugs the medical team has in their possession?"

Drugs, Olivia thought, what a surprise.


A/N: And that's all for today. See you sometime next week for the last chapter. In the meantime, happy holidays!