Here's Your Mission, Try Not To Screw it up!
"I can't believe the Misfits have been ordered to assist Ross," Hawk grumbled as he and Duke made their way to the briefing room.
"General Eddington insisted on it sir," Duke explained.
"So it's General Eddington now is it?" Hawk mused. "That was fast."
"Yeah nothing like turning on your own boss and outing him as a traitor to get yourself ahead," Duke muttered. "There is something about that guy I really don't like."
"Like it or not we're stuck with it," Hawk sighed. "Well let's just hope that these guys know what they're doing."
They entered the briefing room. General Ross, Betty, Major Talbot and Doc Samson were there as well as the Misfits. The Misfits were all suited up. Even Trinity was there in purple and black uniforms. "So what's the mission Hawk?" Althea asked.
"You'll be briefed by Doc Samson and Dr. Ross here," Hawk explained.
"Thank you," Doc Samson nodded. He turned on the monitor. "Years ago an experiment in gamma radiation went horribly wrong. It gave Dr. Bruce Banner the ability to transform into a creature of immense power. A being we call the Hulk." The video showed Bruce Banner turning into the Hulk.
"Whoa, freaky," Todd remarked as he watched the change.
"The transformation is triggered by an intense rush of adrenaline," Doc Samson told them. "Most commonly anger."
They were then shown footage of the Hulk trashing several tanks and buildings. He was shot several times with missiles but not a scratch appeared. "That guy really needs to take an anger management course," Lance gulped as the Hulk threw a tank into the sky.
"As you can see from the footage the Hulk's powers include invulnerability, super strength of an unlimited nature, phenomenal leaping abilities as well as incredible regenerative powers," Betty told them. "The Hulk can leap so high and sustain that leap for so long it appears as if he is flying."
Todd watched the footage of the Hulk leaping with envy. "And I thought I could jump high!"
"Another thing you should be aware of," Betty told them. "His stamina is incredible. In fact, the longer and harder he fights the stronger he becomes." More footage of the Hulk fighting was shown fighting some kind of mutated monster twice his size and beating it to a pulp.
"HOLY COW!" Fred sputtered.
"This guy makes the Juggernaut look like a wimp!" Pietro sputtered.
"Does the Hulk have any weakness at all?" Althea asked.
"Other than the fact that he has no fashion sense," Pietro added. "Purple trousers? Please!"
"Hey wait a minute, didn't they used to be brown?" Todd asked.
"What?" General Ross asked.
"When he was Banner. Go back to the footage. Yeah there's what I'm talking about!" Todd pointed at the film.
"Hey you're right!" Lance exclaimed. "How'd he do that?"
"Yeah how the heck does he manage to change the color of his pants?" Fred asked.
"Forget the color, I wanna know how a guy that size can keep those pants on in the first place!" Wanda exclaimed.
"Obviously some kind of elastic band," Pietro said. "It's the color that I wanna know about."
"You know I never really thought about that to be honest with you," Doc Samson stroked his chin. "It is kind of weird now that you mention it."
"Maybe it's a side effect of the gamma radiation?" Wanda asked. "I mean it turns his skin green, maybe it changes the color of his clothes by being in close contact?"
"That's a possibility," Pietro nodded. "Maybe you could design some new pants for him that wouldn't change and clash with his skin color?"
"I don't believe this! This is your crack team of mutants?" Talbot groaned. "They're more interested in fashion than fighting!"
"Hey you want us to fight evil monsters, we'll fight 'em!" Fred told them.
"The Hulk isn't really evil," Betty told them. "He's just…"
"He's out of control that's what he is!" Talbot snapped.
"You said something about when the Hulk transforms," Althea asked. "You mean he isn't the Hulk 24-7?"
"No," Betty said. "When the rush is over, he transforms back to Bruce."
"So what's the problem?" Lance asked. "All you gotta do is follow him and wait for him to calm down and then you get him."
"The problem is that the Hulk's personality is becoming more dominant," Doc Samson told them. "He no longer immediately reverts to Bruce Banner when as soon as his rage subsides. The Hulk can now remain for several hours after the initial transformation."
"And that's bad?" Todd scratched his head. "But you said the Hulk wasn't really evil."
"He's not," Betty sighed. "But the Hulk is much more prone to violence when provoked than Bruce is. At least Bruce as some self control. The Hulk however…"
"Oh boy," Lance gulped. "I think I'm getting the picture. So let me get this straight, our job is to find and stall the Hulk long enough for you guys to get the containment unit to him? Wonderful!"
"How the heck are we supposed to do this?" Althea asked. "I don't think any of our powers comes even close to defeating the Hulk!"
"Defeating him is not the priority," Major Talbot said. "Slowing him down and trying to stop him from wrecking another innocent town is! Besides, you're mutants. You'll think of something."
"The Hulk's been spotted near the town of Buford Falls," General Ross pointed to the map. "Your job is to slow him down and/or try to contain him until we get the containment ready. You can use the Mass Device to teleport there but due to the sensitive nature of some of the equipment we cannot use it to teleport the containment field."
"Why not?" Todd asked.
"We've discovered that some of the frequencies the Mass Device uses to transport matter are not harmonious to the frequencies of the new containment unit," Doc Samson explained.
"What does that mean in English?" Fred scratched his head.
"It means that if we use the Mass Device on it, it'll blow up," Doc Samson told him.
"Oh…" Fred blinked. "That could be a problem."
"Yes and that's why we have to fly the unit to the area using the choppers," General Ross told them.
"And how long will that take?" Lance asked.
"Three hours," General Ross said.
"Oh…goody," Todd groaned.
************************************************************************
"Interesting," A smooth voice purred from the shadows of his hidden lair. "Very interesting. So now we have new players in the game. This is going to be quite challenging."
Who is watching the Misfits? What will happen when the Misfits try to take on the Hulk? Keep reading!
