Author's Note: Sorry for the delay! I've been caught in other projects and I hit about a thousand walls with story. But now I've got some new ideas and I'm looking forward to returning to it! So, without further ado . . .

Chapter Three

Bullseye ran his fingers across the palms of his hand, surprised at just how much the government cleaned up. A few months ago, a bullet had sliced through them, leaving two smoldering holes. Luckily, these government stiffs helped him out, repairing the damage. And all it cost him was a trip to Canada to stick a few needles into a monster.

At that thought, Bullseye pulled out a small case from his duster pocket. He poped it open, revealing eight long syringes, full of super-strong tranquilizers topped off with adamantium tips. One was to be delivered to the creature's neck, two more to the arms, and the rest wherever else Bullseye could put it. One of these could knock out an elephant, so the hope was that eight could knock out Banner.

Bullseye sighed and pulled off his headphones as the pilot of the helicopter turned to him. "We've got a sighting. He should be nearby."

The assassin-for-hire looked out the window and spotted something strange, but not totally unexpected. Trees were collapsing below them and he could have sworn he saw a flash of green flesh. The helicopter made for the trees and Bullseye, putting the case away, jumped out.

***

General Ross was far from happy.

Files had been pulled without his permission, calls were being made that weren't supposed to be made, and he was being left in the dark. 'Angry Man' - Banner - had been his project for the past six months, but it was suddenly feeling it was all being pulled out from under him. He had been given the runaround for the past three days, but had finally been able to meet with someone that would hopefully give him exactly what he was looking for.

"Agent Pratt," Ross said straightly to the man in front of him.

"General Ross," Pratt replied. Comparatively, Pratt was a larger man; taller, wider, with dark hair and a goatee. "My apologies for all this, General Ross. This is a major smoke-and-mirrors project, as you know. I'm with NSA, but it goes bit deeper than that."

"Let's cut the bullshit," Ross said harshly. "What's this all about?"

Agent Pratt smiled, which only angered Ross more. "Mutants. I take you've heard of the mutant problems this country has been having."

"Of course."

"They want to send your . . . 'Angry Man' after these so-called X-Men in up-state New York."

"Who are 'they?'"

"A group left-over from Colonel Stryker's task force. But between you and me, that's just a test run. We're allowing them to take down the X-Men and all of the mutants under their tutelage for one purpose - to keep them out of enemy hands."

Now Ross was just confused. "What?"

"There's a secret war going on here, General. One that your 'Angry Man' is playing a vital part of. If our enemy gets to that mutant facility and manages to take it over, then all of humanity is over and done with. We're allowing your 'Angry Man' to wipe them out for us, and therefore saving the day."

"Just how is this enemy?"

Pratt pulled out a file folder and handed it over to Ross. Ross opened and looked over the information inside. "You've got to be kidding me."

"I'm afraid not. This conflict has been happening for years."

"Vampires?"

"Yes. A living race of them and they've set their sights on the Xavier School. We wipe out the school with 'Angry Man' and we not only ensure that the military isn't connected, but we also ensure that the Vampire nation does not add the mutant gene to their gene pool. Vampires with mutant powers . . . humanity would fall."

Ross closed the folder and threw it on the desk. "This is crazy," he sighed. "This is just insane. You're playing - "

"Come with me, General Ross."

Agent Pratt stood up and led the elder general out of the room, down a corridor to a metal door with a computer panel next to it. Pratt placed his hand on it and the door came unlocked. Both men walked in.

And General Ross would never be able to forget what he saw on the other side.

***

The helicopters had made him nervous. Banner had been on edge since he was forced to fake his death, so that didn't help things. But when the helicopters showed up, it pushed him right over. The Hulk came back and took control.

Hulk was wandering now, calming down. The woods were quiet now that the helicopters were gone and the Hulk managed to soak the small noises of nature. He walked towards a frozen lake and sat down, eyes peering into the ice, and passed that frozen surface. Beneath, the fish were swimming as if it were still summer.

A rustle from behind him caught the Hulk's attention. Just as he began to move, something sharp pierced the back his neck. The Hulk stood and roared. A bald man with a target on his forehead stood not far away.

"Leave Hulk alone!" yelled Hulk.

"You can talk?" gasped Bullseye. He had never seen anything like this. Even the between the briefings and video from San Francisco hadn't prepared him for this. Bullseye's mind stopped the flight option of the flight-or-fight options and he quickly dispatched another dart. It struck right on target - the left forearm.

Hulk roared again and thundered over to Bullseye. Bullseye immediately ran back and tossed another dart. It hit the right arm now.

"LEAVE HULK ALONE!" the green behemoth groaned loudly.

Hulk threw a punch at Bullseye. Bullseye ducked, leapt forward and slammed the rest of the darts into Hulk's chest. Instantly, Hulk's swings became weaker, his shouts quieter, and his face was looking more and more weary by the second.

After nearly twenty seconds, the Hulk collapsed.

***

Peter woke up, not really sure as to why. His spider-sense wasn't going off, but he felt that something was different. His eyes darted to his window, and there crouched Daredevil.

"Ahhh! Don't look! What are you, a peeping tom?" Peter groaned, getting out of bed. "Er, uh, no offense."

Daredevil smiled. "None taken. Get into your costume and meet me on the roof."

"Um, yeah. Sure."

Stupid! Peter thought, pulling on his traditional red and blue costume. He chided himself for a blind joke to a blind guy, but pushed it out of his mind. As Spider-Man, he crawled out of his window and up the wall of the building to the roof.

Daredevil stood there, his senses telling him that Spider-Man had arrived. "Good to see you again," Spider-Man said, then proceeded to kick himself. "Oh, geez, sorry about that."

"You're going to joke if you keep putting your foot in your mouth."

"Yeah. No kidding. Now what's this all about?"

Daredevil could hear Spider-Man's heart beat a little faster. There wasn't a whole lot of trust here. Not that Daredevil could really blame him. If someone dressed in devil outfit found out that you're really a super-hero, it would make things a little harder to work with.

"Spider-Man . . . Peter . . . we need to talk first. I know you're having doubts about this . . . 'super-hero team-up' situation we have going on. But we need to trust each other. You know who I am, and I know who you are. It's as simple as that. I know you do good work, like saving those kids on the bridge. You know I do good work - like taking down the Kingpin. Now, you could just as easily reveal my true identity as I could yours. So, you and I need to realize that only together and by trusting each not do just that are we going save lives here. Do you understand?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"The reason I revealed my identity to you is because it's a responsibility and it's that responsibility that we're going to bonded with. That secret. It's a power that we both hold over each other. You see, Spider-Man, with great power . . ."

". . . Come great responsibility. Yeah."

"Yeah. So, do you trust me?"

Spider-Man paused, then slowly nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, I do."

"Good. And I trust you," Daredevil replied. "Now . . . this is what's happening . . ."