LAYING THE HAMMER DOWN
The Thunderbolts' Black Widow, Yelena Belova, arrived before the crowd giving her a mixture of cheers and boos. Also angered by what just transpired were the Avengers themselves, specifically Hawkeye, who at this point is seething as he stared a hole at the smiling Yelena.
Fearing that the enraged archer could snap at anymore, Cap, as well as the equally concerned Spidey and Wasp, coming and try to calm Hawkeye down. "Steady soldier," said Cap. "Remember, we need to keep..."
"I know!" Hawkeye snapped back, then stormed off to be by himself and cool off.
As Spidey watched the fuming archer walked over to a nearby corner, he couldn't help but frown behind his mask. He sympathized with Hawkeye, for he too knew what it was like to lose friends, especially due to heinous plans by thought up by Norman Osborn, with the difference being that he wore the guise of the Green Goblin as opposed to his current one, the Iron Patriot.
Two other Avengers, namely the team's 'co-leaders,' Captain American Iron Man, were both saddened by the loss of Natasha, as well as frustrated that the Thunderbolts just cheated they're way to victory once again. "Damn it!" yelled an irritable Iron Man. "I should've known Osborn have something up his sleeve!"
Spidey, feeling just as annoyed at what just transpired, turned and looked at the Patriot, his eyes narrowed in anger behind his bug-eyed lenses. "Yeah, he's been known for that."
Cap, though he shared his friend's sentiment, still tried to keep a cool head for the team. "There HAS to be some way we can stop them...or at least catch them in the act. Tony, have you managed to use that suit of yours to get into Osborn's computers?"
Iron Man let out a breath to calm himself before answering his fellow Avenger. "Well, I had Vision turn off the traps, so that should make things a little less difficult as far as the tournament goes. The keyword being 'somewhat.'"
A saddened Spidey could only nod in agreement to Iron Man's words. "No kidding," said the Wall-Crawler, still looking at the Patriot with bitterness. "Osborn has never been one to make things easy."
Cap sensed and understood the anger in Spidey's voice, and thus placed his hand on the young man's shoulder as he said this to him. "Easy there, son," he told Spidey in a gentle tone, then turned his attention to the rest of the team. "No one said this would be easy, but taking down Osborn is still something we can accomplish, especially since they don't have anymore traps to rely on."
Thor decided to aid in boosting the team's morale by speaking up. "The Captain is correct," Avengers!" he said with enthusiasm, as if back in his early days in Asgard, where he once fought with his fellow Asgardians against armies of Frost Giants. "And I shall prove such words are true when I win my match!" The Thunder God's optimistic tone soon turned into a mixture of disappointment and anger as he looked straight ahead to see his opponent, Skurge the Executioner, a man whom last time he was, once fought alongside him in the Negative Zone. "Where my opponent is a man that I must have a few...words with."
Over in the Thunderbolts' corner, Skurge himself is seen popping his knuckles as well as his neck in warming up for his upcoming match against Thor. And though he did not show it, he felt a small ounce of regret in fighting against the Thunder God, especially since the promise he made in helping him save Enchantress from Surtur, the lord of the Fire Dragons. However, it was the seemingly better deal from the Iron Patriot on how to save her that convinced the Executioner to join his team, and thus, reminded the Asgardian Brute of the Earth phrase 'the ends justify the means.'
As for the Iron Patriot himself, he looked up at Skurge with a stern, cold expression behind his faceplate. For before the tournament, the Executioner refused to be outfitted with unique gadgets that would aid him in winning his match, for as bad as he was, he still felt some sense of honor in his Asgardian heart, something in which the Patriot found bothersome.
On the stage, the announcer got back to work on keeping the fans attention to the tournament, which some were still sore over the outcome of which of the last match. "All right folks, let's move on to our next match! More accurately, a match-up between Gods! For we have the Avengers' Mighty Thor against the Thunderbolts' Skurge the Executioner!"
With Mjolnir in hand, Thor stood ready to partake in yet another battle against the Executioner that stood across from him. Before the Thunder God could head off, the Wasp flew up to him and gave him these encouraging words. "Lay the hammer down on him, big guy!"
"Oh, I intend to, Lady Janet," replied a determined Thor, still staring at who at Skurge and tightening his grip on his hammer.
Cap is the next to provide support to Thor, but this time, to give him caution. "Remember Thor, they may not have their traps; these guys will be fighting dirty."
Thor shook his head in disagreement before replying to the Sentinel of Liberty. "Nay, Captain. Skurge will not resort to such cowardly tactics. But you are right in using caution, and in this case, I shall do so," The Thunder God took a moment to turn and face his fellow Avengers one final time before heading off. "Fear not, my friends, for I shall bring us another victory! With that declaration, Thor turned and walked over to the teleportation pad.
As for Spidey, he, like the rest of the Avengers, watched the Thunder God walk off to battle, but secretly worried about him as she thought this. "I hope you do, big guy, for your sake."
In the Thunderbolts' corner, Skurge, with his ax in hand, stood ready to battle Thor once more. But before heading off, however, the Patriot took a moment to address the ax-wielding Asgardian with his arms crossed and his brow narrowed behind his faceplate. "Try not to screw this up, Skurge," The Patriot told him in a condescending tone, then shifted his attention to his ax. "Especially since I went through a lot of trouble to get that ax of yours back for you."
Skurge, as he usually did, said nothing. He just looked down at the Patriot with an annoyed expression, then walked over to the teleportation pad.
The two Asgardians finally stepped on to their pads, and seconds later, vanished out of sight and towards their unknown destination to begin their godly battle.
Meanwhile, high above the forests of Pikeville, Kentucky, the Hulk soared through the air as she leaped great distances on his journey to confront the man who truly wronged him, Norman Osborn. Suddenly, however, a mysterious pinkish energy beam came out of nowhere and hit Hulk in his left side, causing the screaming Jade Giant to not fall to the ground below, but send him miles away at high speeds. It then revealed that the shooter of the blast is that of the skeletal villain known as X-Ray, who is wearing a new, more advanced version of his radiation suit, one that was equipped with built-in rocket boots, giving him flight. Also joining X-Ray was that of his three other teammates of the U-Foes!
VECTOR: The galaxy composed leader of the team, using his telekinesis to keep him airborne.
VAPOR: The green, gassy formed Fem Fatale, using her gassy form to take to the air.
And IRON CLAD: The steel skinned hulking brute of the team, who also had the ability to change the density of his own body, and in this case, made his body light enough to hover in the sky.
Seeing his enemy, the Hulk, blasted out of the sky was something that brought a smile on Vector's face. "Nice shooting, X-Ray," said the team's leader. "Not as good as mine, but all and all, not bad. Anyway, let's hurry and finish Hulk off so we can earn what Osborn promised us." With that order, the U-Foes wasted no time in going after the Hulk with the intent of bringing the heroic giant once and for all.