Chapter 22: Freak of Nature
At a military office in Washington D.C., General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross was going over some papers when a knock came at his door.
"Who is it?" Ross asked.
"Your superior." a female voiced answered.
The door opened to reveal Maria Hill standing in the doorway, much to Ross's surprise.
"What are you doing here?" Ross asked.
"I'm here to inform you that the Hulkbuster units have been disassembled." Hill informed him. "Your men are being reassigned as we speak."
"What?!" Ross exclaimed standing up. "You can't do that!"
"I can, I have, and I will." Hill responded, unperturbed by Ross' outburst. "The Hulk has been cleared of all charges against him and is under the protection of both the Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D."
"The Hulk is a fugitive from the US government being protected by a gang of costumed vigilantes!" Ross rebutted. "He's a menace and needs to be brought in."
"He's a hero that saved countless lives in the Chitauri invasion." Hill retorted. "And if you try and move in on him, I will have you court martialed and demoted before you can say 'oops'."
Ross growled in response.
"Get out of my office." he told her.
Hill looked down at him, then turned and walked out.
"You've been warned, Ross." she told him as the door shut behind him.
Ross slumped back into his chair in frustration. Just then, his phone started ringing. Curious, he decided to answer it.
"Hello?"
"Hello General Ross." a slightly accented voice responded from the other end of the line. "I heard about your quarry being plucked from your grasp. Such a tragedy."
"Who is this?" Ross asked. "And how did you get this number?"
"Who I am is unimportant." the voice replied. "All you need to know is that I share your sentiments about the Hulk. He is a brute, and one that needs to be dealt with accordingly."
Ross stroked his chin, considering the words this new voice had to offer.
"What did you have in mind?" Ross asked.
…
Rick rolled over, snoring loudly as he flopped onto Hulk's stomach. The big guy was snoring as well, the two of them having somehow ended up on the floor at some point in the night. Peter and Tony were staring at them, wondering if they should wake them, or leave them.
"So... how do you think this happened?" Peter asked.
"There are many possibilities to consider." Tony replied. "But Rick said that no matter what, the two of them needed to wake up early for today."
"And how are we supposed to do that?" Peter asked.
"Very… Very… carefully." Tony answered.
He then pulled out an airhorn and blew it loudly, the sound echoing through the mansion. Almost immediately, Peter's spider senses went haywire and he grabbed Tony's arm, yanking him out of the room as both Rick and Hulk sat up. Unfortunately, the former nearly went flying, landing hard on his stomach as Hulk roared.
"Who's the genius who decided to get smashed today?!" Hulk exclaimed.
Rick sat up, rubbing his head.
"I think… asked them to do that." He let out, wiggling his pinkie in his ear to try and get rid of an incessant ringing.
"Why?" Hulk asked.
"Don't you remember?" Rick questioned. "It's April 3rd… Betty's birthday."
Elizabeth Ross, or Betty to her friends, was Bruce's ex-fiancée. Their engagement had been broken after the accident, especially since her father, the infamous hulk-hating General, was put for his head. Still, even after a few years on the run, Bruce had always tried to at least call on Betty's birthday, and this year, he wanted to do more than that.
"Right… it's that day." Hulk recalled. "Guess Banner will be wanting to come out now."
Rick nodded, standing up.
"Please and thank you." He replied.
Hulk nodded before calming down, slowly shrinking and losing his green tint. Finally, Bruce Banner finally showed himself. He was visibly weak, and Rick quickly caught him.
"Morning Bruce." Rick greeted him, helping him sit down on the edge of the bed. "Long time no see."
"Hey Rick…" Bruce greeted, still feeling a bit fatigued. "Can't believe it's that day already."
"Yeah." Rick agreed, grabbing some clean clothes from the closet. "Then again, this has been one hell of a year, even by our standards. You want a shower before we go?"
"Naturally." Bruce responded.
…
Down below, the other Avengers were going about their usual business. Thor was gorging himself on pop tarts, Hank was doing some reading, Steve was doing pushups on the floor, Logan was drinking a beer, Jan was having some coffee, Clint was taking the coffee straight from the pot while eating some bacon and eggs cooked by Natasha, Tony was looking at some new armor specs on a computer and Peter was eating some cereal while doing some science homework. Jane shuffled in, a robe on over her pajamas and her hair a mess as she let out a yawn. Thor held up one of his pop tarts for her, which she took with a barely perceivable grunt of thanks.
"Late night, Dr. Foster?" Tony joked.
She murmured a reply, taking a bite out of the pop tart.
"Jane was in the middle of a report on the Einstein Rosen bridge and the alignment that occurred not too long ago." Thor explained.
"Riiiiight." Clint remarked.
At that moment, Bruce entered the room, decked out in a fancy suit, freshly shaven and his hair combed back. Rick had cleaned up as well, wearing a button-down shirt and a pair of slacks. Peter looked up from his homework, blinking in surprise.
"Dr. Banner." he said, his pencil slipping from his grip. "You… you're out."
"So, you're the man behind the beast." Thor noted.
"That I am Thor." Bruce replied. "Though I'm hoping to give the big guy a break today."
"I surmised as much by your attire." Thor responded.
"Yeah Bruce, out for a night on the town?" Logan asked.
"You could say that." Bruce admitted. "I have a date."
Jan spewed her coffee, coughing somewhat.
"Wait, hang on. You have a date?!" she asked in sheer disbelief.
"Yeah." Bruce confirmed. "It's Betty's birthday today. I wanted to surprise her with a visit."
"Good for you, Banner." Tony congratulated. "I hope you two have a good time."
"Thank you." Bruce replied. "Just, try not to need the big guy today."
"We'll do our best." Steve reassured.
Rick grabbed Bruce's arm, practically dragging him to the door.
"C'mon." he insisted, "the cab's waiting for us outside."
"See ya guys." Bruce called back before heading out.
With that, Bruce and Rick were out of the mansion and off to Harlem to see Betty.
...
Elsewhere, former military soldier Emil Blonsky, had just returned to the security office at his job at a local mall. He sagged into his cheap office chair, tossing his hat off and letting out a groan. Suddenly, his cell phone started going off. He picked it up and answered it without bothering to check the id.
"Blonsky." he let out gruffly.
"Blonsky, it's Ross."
"If you called to yell at me some more, I get enough of that from my new boss. And my ex-wife."
"I'm calling you for a proposition."
Blonsky sat up, now honestly paying attention.
"I'm listening."
"I believe I have found something that can finally put the Hulk out of commission, but the Hulkbuster unit has been disbanded. You're the only one I trust to take this job. You in?"
"A chance to take out the Hulk, and a new job? Where do I sign?"
"Meet me in New York. we'll talk more there."
Blonsky hung up the phone, then stood up and turned to the door. As he tried to leave, his boss entered the security office, glaring at him.
"Where do you think you're going, Blonsky?" he questioned.
"I quit." Blonsky replied, tossing him his hat and storming out.
…
Betty Ross moved about her apartment, getting some much-needed tidying done. She arranged some flowers in a vase, setting them down by the couch before smiling a bit. The flowers had been a gift from her father, and though the two had an uneasy relationship after what happened with Bruce, it was still nice to know he was thinking about her.
As her thoughts drifted to Bruce, her eyes drifted over to the phone. Bruce usually called by this time, and she was getting a bit worried. Just then, a knock came from the door. Not expecting guests, she approached the door cautiously, peeking through the peephole. Once she saw who it was, she gasped, then slowly opened the door.
"B-Bruce?"
"Hi." he greeted.
There was a moment of stunned silence, then the two hugged, Betty choking back tears of happiness as her fingers dug into Bruce's jacket.
"Bruce… I've missed you so much..."
"I missed you too." Bruce told her, holding her tight. "It feels like an eternity."
Rick leaned against the wall of the hallway, smiling at the scene silently. Eventually, the two released one another, Betty having to wipe her eyes.
"I-I can't believe you're here." she whispered.
"I thought after everything that's happened, I'd make this year special." Bruce told her. "I… hope you like it."
"I love it." she told him. "Come in. Both of you."
Bruce and Rick wasted no time obliging and entering the apartment.
…
At a construction site in another part of the city, Blonsky found Ross and the two started to talk about their plans.
"So, what's this big plan of yours to take down Jolly Green?" Blonsky asked.
"Ever heard the phrase, 'fight fire with fire'?" Ross asked, grabbing a suitcase and opening it up.
Inside it was a vial containing some green serum, and a syringe for injection.
"What's that?" Blonsky questioned.
"This is a gamma serum." Ross explained. "This stuff should give you all of Hulk's strength without reducing you to a mindless monster."
"And how did you come across this?" Blonsky asked.
"An anonymous source." Ross answered. "It doesn't matter. What matters is that this will finally help us get rid of the Hulk once and for all."
Blonsky just smiled at the prospect, still looking down at the vial.
"Then what are we waiting for?" Blonsky asked.
Ross smiled as he loaded the vial into the syringe and handed it to Blonsky. Blonsky wasted no time grabbing the syringe and injecting himself with it. Nothing seemed to happen at first, much to Blonsky's irritation. Suddenly, he hunched over in pain, dropping the syringe as he did so. Ross stepped back in shock as Blonsky's muscles started growing. He tore right through his clothes as he continued growing, his skin also turned a shade of olive green as he slammed his fist on the skin began to transform, taking on the appearance of scales. His ears elongated and became pointed, his teeth sharpened, and he let out an inhumane roar.
…
Back at Betty's apartment, Bruce and Betty were sitting in the dining room eating a nice lunch. Rick had excused himself, choosing to eat in the kitchen and allow the two some much needed alone time.
"I saw you on the news." Betty told him, twirling a piece of broccoli on her plate with her fork. "Working with those other heroes to save the city."
"Yeah, the Avengers." Bruce replied. "It's been... something to say the least."
"I bet." Betty admitted. "I'm just happy to hear that there are others out there that realize the Hulk isn't a monster."
"It almost feels unreal how much support the other guy's been getting lately." Bruce confessed. "Haven't heard anything from your father since the Battle in New York."
Betty chuckled, setting down her fork.
"Oh, I have." she said. "He's more than a little pissed about Hulk being placed under the protection of S.H.I.E.L.D, swears up and down they're gonna regret it. I think he nearly gave himself a heart attack he was shouting so much."
Bruce couldn't help but chuckle at the sound of the news.
"I can imagine." He commented.
Betty's chuckles died down a bit as she looked up at Bruce.
"There's also one thing I noticed." she added. "Every time the news does some coverage on the Avengers, all I ever see is Hulk, even when there's no danger around. Did something happen?"
"It's part of a... deal I made with the Hulk to work with the Avengers." he told her. "I let him decide whether Bruce or the Hulk comes out. To be honest, this is the longest I've been out since joining with the others."
Betty looked at Bruce with a bit of worry in her eyes.
"So… Hulk is in charge, and in exchange, he stays with the Avengers." she surmised.
"And keeps Rick around." Bruce added. "I'd like to think it's a small price to pay for the good he's done."
Betty nodded slightly.
"I guess so." she admitted. "As long as you're content, then I'll support your decision."
"I do wish we could do this more often though." Bruce said, taking her hand.
"Who knows?" Betty asked. "Maybe one day, we can."
"Until then," Bruce spoke, picking up his glass. "To some day."
"To some day." Betty agreed, lifting her own glass.
Off in the kitchen, Rick raised his own glass, smiling as he watched the two lovebirds.
…
At Avengers Mansion, everyone was milling about, doing their own thing. Tony was down in the armory tinkering with a few new suits. Clint was in the training room getting some practice done with Nat spotting him. Hank and Jan were out in the garden out back, with Hank exploring an ant hill and Jan sitting on a lawn chair with a lemonade and a fashion magazine. Peter decided to take a break from his studies and decided to take advantage of the entertainment center. At the moment, he was in the middle of a Mortal Kombat death match with JARVIS. Thor was down in the lab with Jane, watching her work on her latest calculations on trans dimensional travel. Cap and Logan were on the roof engaged in a game of Texas Hold 'em.
"Looks like I beat ya again, Cap." Logan declared, dropping his cards and collecting his chips.
"Only because you've had a few decades to sharpen your skills." Cap taunted.
"The great Captain America making excuses." Logan quipped. "Never thought I'd see the day."
"Don't get used to it soldier." Cap retorted. "Up for another round?"
"Always." Logan replied, grinning.
As Cap shuffled the cards, he heard a small boom off in the distance. He blinked, then glanced in the direction he'd heard the noise. Logan perked up as well.
"Jimmy, did you-?"
"Eyup." Logan interrupted, sniffing the air.
"Any idea what we're up against." Cap asked, getting to his feet.
"Whatever it is, it's big, it reeks, and..." His voice trailed off and his claws came out. "Shit… it smells like the big guy."
"Hulk?" Cap asked. "Think something happened with Bruce?"
"Logan took a few more whiffs.
"No, it's not the big guy." Logan replied. "This one is more…"
Logan suddenly went wide eyed.
"Move!" he yelled, shoving Cap out of the way.
The two just narrowly avoided some large creature landed on the roof and crashed through into the mansion.
…
Hearing the massive crash, the other Avengers sprang into action. Clint and Natasha bolted out of the training room. Stark summoned a suit of armor. Hank made his way inside immediately and Jan shrunk down, causing the clothes she was wearing to fall to the ground and reveal her Wasp costume underneath. Thor summoned his hammer and armored up himself before heading out. Peter struggled into his uniform, scrambling towards the sound.
Once all the Avengers got to the crash site in the lobby, they were greeted by a large green creature with scales along his body and fins for ears. They were all surprised by this.
"What the hell is that?" Clint let out.
"I have no clue." Tony commented. "But it's trespassing."
"I just have one question for you freaks." the creature spoke. "Where's Banner?"
"Dr. Banner can't come in right now." Spidey quipped. "Please leave your name, number, and a brief message and we'll let him know you stopped by."
The creature let out a loud roar, slamming his fists into the ground.
"Testy, isn't he?" Spidey joked. "Kinda reminds me of Hulk."
"In more ways than one." Tony noted. "My scans show that this creature is emitting amounts of gamma radiation."
"He may share the Hulk's origin," Thor boasted, readying his hammer. "But I doubt he has his strength."
The creature ran towards Thor, who swung his hammer at him and knocked him into the library. The creature slowly picked himself up as Thor entered the room. Before Thor could react, the creature batted him aside, sending him crashing into a shelf. Thor grunted, then got back to his feet.
"Never mind then." he let out.
Clint came in and fired an arrow at the creature's head. It made contact, setting off an explosion. Clint let out a smirk before the dust cleared, revealing that the creature was relatively unhurt.
"You're a tough one, aren't you?" Clint remarked.
"And you're annoying." the creature responded. "Just tell me where Banner is, and I won't hurt you."
"You say that like you can." Clint retorted.
The creature grabbed a piece of a shelf and threw it at Clint, causing him to roll on the ground to avoid it. Wasp flew in close and blasted the creature in the face.
"Get lost, ugly!" she screamed.
The creature tried to swat at her, but she continually flew out of his grasp, zapping him every chance she got. Finally, the creature unleashed a massive thunder clap, sending her spinning out of control. Thankfully, Hank caught her easily.
"I don't know what this… abomination of science is doing here, but he's clearing a result of gamma radiation exposure." Hank proclaimed.
"No, really?" Tony replied sarcastically, blasting the 'abomination' with his repulsors. "I couldn't tell."
"Less yapping, more slashing!" Logan called out, charging at the abomination.
He dashed past the creature, slashing it on the side and causing it to kneel over in pain. Logan then stabbed him in the back, causing him to cry out further.
"That hurt..." the creature growled, grabbing Logan by the head and tossing him swung in and kicked the abomination in the face before landing on his head.
"Hey, you got something on your face." he remarked before webbing it. "Though if you ask me, it's an improvement."
Spidey jumped off before the abomination could attack him. The abomination then tried to pull the webbing off his face, but only succeeded in sticking his hand to it instead.
"Heh, it may have Hulk's strength, but Abomination here doesn't even have a fraction of his brains." Spidey remarked.
"Abomination?" Hank asked.
"Hey, you called it that first." Spidey reminded. "I'm just making it official."
Abomination then tore through the webs, letting out a roar of frustration.
"Enough!" He screamed. "Where is Banner?! Give me Banner!"
"Not gonna happen, monster." Cap declared.
Abomination went to attack, with Cap readying himself as well. Cap tried swinging his shield at him, but Abomination just grabbed it and threw Cap into the kitchen. As Abomination entered, ready to finish him, he noticed a note taped to the fridge in the kitchen. He squinted at it, reading the sloppy handwriting.
"Hey Mr. Stark! Listen, today is Betty Ross' birthday, and Bruce wants to surprise her with a visit. Please wake us up by 8 am so he has time to get ready. I promise I'll keep him from smashing you, just please make sure it happens. -Rick."
Abomination smiled at the note, grabbing it before jumping through the giant hole in the ceiling. The Avengers piled into the kitchen and look up at the hole, dreading what was learned.
"That can't be good." Spidey lamented.
"We have to find him before he finds Bruce." Wasp declared.
"Agreed." Cap concurred, getting to his feet. "Let's move Avengers!"
…
Back at Betty's apartment, both Bruce and Betty were snuggled up on the couch with a bowl of popcorn nestled between them. A cheesy rom-com was playing on her flat screen, the two lovebirds complete drawn into it. Rick was in the other room, playing angry birds on a phone Tony had gotten him a few days back.
Right in the middle of his game, a text alert popped up on his phone. He thumbed through it, realizing it was from Spidey. When he saw what the message said, his eyes flew wide.
"Rick, grab Bruce and scram. Some Gamma irradiated abomination is on his way." It said.
"Bruce!" Rick shouted, barreling into the living room.
"Rick, what is it?" Bruce asked.
"Spidey just texted." Rick explained. "We got a gamma monster heading our way."
"What?!" he let out.
Betty was on her feet in an instant.
"Bruce, stay calm." she warned. "We just need to get out of here before it gets here."
"Right." Bruce agreed. "Let's hurry."
Rick nodded and the three of them made it towards the door. They didn't even make it out of the apartment before Abomination came crashing through the walls, landing right behind the trio.
"Found you!"
They all stepped back in shock and horror.
"What do you want?" Bruce asked.
"The Hulk." Abomination growled. "Let him out to play, puny Banner."
"I don't think you want that." Bruce cautioned.
"Sure I do." Abomination said, grabbing Bruce and picking him up. "I have a score to settle with that freak. Him, you, and that brat you lug around."
"Put him down!" Rick demanded.
"Let him go this instant!" Betty screamed.
"If you insist." Abomination replied.
He then threw Banner out of the apartment and into the street.
"No!" both Betty and Rick shouted, running towards the giant hole in the wall.
Down in the crater created by his impact, Bruce was already beginning to change. His suit tore open, his tie snapped, and his skin became that bright shade of green as he fully transformed into the Hulk.
"Heard you were looking for me." Hulk spoke as he got up and turned towards Abomination. "Well here I am!"
With that, the two gamma monsters charged at each other. Betty and Rick scrambled out of the apartment, the former staring in horror.
"How… why?" she asked.
"Don't know, and frankly, don't want to." Rick answered simply. "Look, we need to get civilians clear of this area. It's about to become a warzone."
Betty nodded as she followed Rick and left Hulk to do what Hulk does best, smashing stuff. The two creatures continued swinging at each other, neither one letting up on the other. Abomination used both his fist to bash Hulk's head before upper cutting him, sending him flying into a car. Enraged, Hulk got up and picked up the car, tearing it in two and using both pieces as boxing gloves. He charged at Abomination and continued using the car pieces to smash at him.
"That the best you got, freak?" Abomination sneered, brushing bits of car parts off him.
Hulk just got more pissed and continued smashing at him relentlessly. Eventually the car pieces broke apart bit by bit until they were reduced to scraps. Once that happened, Hulk grabbed Abomination by the neck and kept punching him in the face. Finally, Abomination grabbed the fist and kicked Hulk in the chest, sending him flying through the street. Hulk slowly picked himself up as Abomination walked over to him.
"You don't deserve this kind of power." Abomination taunted.
"Neither do you!" Hulk growled out, jumping at Abomination.
The two landed on the ground and continued to struggle with each other. As Abomination got on top and was about to punch, Thor's hammer came out of nowhere and clocked him in the head, knocking him off Hulk. As Abomination fell to the ground, the hammer returned to Thor's hand as he and the other Avengers arrived on the scene.
"I don't need your help." Hulk spat, getting to his feet.
"You're welcome." Wasp grumbled, crossing her arms.
"So, any idea why tall, green, and ugly hates your guts?" Clint asked, coming alongside him and prepping an arrow.
"No idea." Hulk replied. "Though he sounds kinda familiar."
About that time, Rick and Betty made their way over to the group, both out of breath.
"The street's been clear, but I'm pretty sure the cops are on the way." Rick declared. "We may be in the world's good graces, but I bet they'll pin this on Hulk in a heartbeat."
"We'll deal with that in time." Cap told him. "Meanwhile, we need to figure out how to stop Abomination over there."
"Spidey's idea?" Rick asked, gesturing to Spider-man with his thumb.
"Bingo." Spidey confirmed. "Though Hulk thinks he's heard this guy before. Any thoughts on that?"
"Honestly, I wasn't paying that close attention." Rick admitted. "Maybe if I heard his voice again-"
Abomination jumped in front of the group, clocking Thor hard enough to send him flying.
"Stay out of this, hammer-boy." He growled.
Rick's eyes flew open as Hulk resumed his wrestling match with Abomination.
"Holy crap… It's the guard!" he exclaimed.
"Guard?" Iron Man asked.
"The guard in charge of the test site I snuck into!" Rick clarified. "The site where Bruce became the Hulk!"
"JARVIS, pull up files from the research site Bruce worked at during the gamma bomb project." Tony ordered.
"Accessing now, sir." JARVIS replied.
After a few minutes, the file came up.
"Got it, Emil Blonsky." Tony read off. "Apparently after the Hulk fiasco, he was discharged from the army, and was relegated to working security jobs."
"Guess he's looking to settle the score." Rick deduced. "But where'd he get the gamma upgrade?"
"We can ask him when he's locked up in a S.H.I.E.L.D. prison!" Clint declared, firing an explosive arrow at Abomination.
The arrow collided with his head before going off, only making him stumble back slightly. Iron Man took advantage of this and flew towards him, blasting at full force. Abomination retaliated by clotheslining Iron Man as he flew by, sending him careening into a tree. Tony shook his head as he got back up. Wolverine charged at Abomination and lunged toward him slashing his claws. Abomination grabbed him easily, smashing him into the ground with a dismissive snort.
"These are 'Earth's Mightiest Heroes'?" he jeered. "Pathetic."
"Anyone else want to shut this punk up?" Wolverine asked, getting up.
"I agree." Ant-Man concurred walking over to him. "But how are gonna subdue him?"
"Betty, is there a power plant around here?" Rick questioned, looking at Betty.
"Um… yes." she replied. "At the corner of 5th and Elms."
"Big guy!" Rick shouted out. "Fifth and Elms! Get him there!"
"I think the kids onto something." Iron Man pieced together. "Let's help him out."
Hulk ran over and quickly socked Abomination in the face before leaping into the air. Abomination wasted no time giving chase, with the rest of the Avengers not far behind.
"Thor, get to the plant and get it charged up." Captain America ordered. "If this thing is like the Hulk, we'll need a lot of power to take him down."
"Aye!" Thor called back before flying towards the power plant.
"Ant-Man, Wasp, back him up." Cap added. "Widow, Hawkeye, call in some back-up. I got a feeling we're going to need it."
"Roger that." Clint responded.
"Spider-man, Iron Man, Wolverine, we help Hulk keep this Abomination on the right track." Cap concluded.
"You got it Cap!" Spidey responded, swinging towards the gamma monsters.
Iron Man picked up Wolverine and rocketed to Abomination still chasing after Hulk. He then dropped Wolverine on top of Abomination, the mutant embedding his claws deep into the gamma monster's shoulders. Abomination cried out in pain as Wolverine moved his claws around inside, directing Abomination toward his desired destination.
"That's it ugly, keep moving." Wolverine told him.
Abomination kept moving a bit before stopping and reaching behind him to try and grab Wolverine. Fortunately, the mutant hero back flipped off Abomination before he could grab him, allowing Spider-Man to swing in and kick Abomination in the head.
"Looks like this little plan is working out so far." Spidey noted landing on the ground.
"Don't jinx us yet, web head." Wolverine warned, running past him. "He's still standing."
"Well excuse me for being an optimist." Spidey replied before running after him.
"Look alive people, power plant at 12 o'clock!" Iron Man declared.
In the power plant, Thor landed and raised his hammer into the air. The skies above him started getting darker as he summoned up a powerful storm. Lightning cracked, and thunder roared as Thor gathered up the electrical power of the strikes.
As Hulk approached the power plant, he leapt into the air and landed on top of a control station. Abomination leapt into the air as well and was about to land on the same control station, but the giant fist of Giant-Man slammed on top of him, sending him crashing to the ground.
"I'm afraid that's as far as we'll allow you to get." Giant-Man threatened.
Wasp zipped right up into Abomination's face, giving him a cocky grin.
"Not so pathetic now, are we?" she taunted before zapping him in the face,
"Come on, bug." Abomination called out, trying to swat her.
While all that was going on, Iron Man looked around and saw the energy output was increasing exponentially.
"Looks like Point Break's about ready to do it." he noted.
"Everyone fall back!" Cap ordered. "Thor, as soon as we're clear, light em up!"
"Verily!" Thor declared, still spinning his hammer.
The other Avengers started retreating from the power station, making as hasty an exit as they could. Upon watching them retreat, Abomination narrowed his eyes. He looked around, as if finally realizing where he was.
"A trap!" He realized.
He prepared to make a hasty exit, but Hulk came crashing down on top of him, pinning him to the ground.
"Do it, Goldilocks!" Hulk bellowed.
"Aye!" Thor called back.
Thor then shot a massive bolt of lightning at Abomination. Hulk rolled over and shoved Abomination right into the path of the bolt. It coursed through both Gamma monsters, as well as the entire plant. Everything began to overload, sparks shooting, towers blowing, and pipes bursting. The entire plant was starting to go down, crumbling in on itself is a shower of sparks, flames, and burning rubble. The Avengers watched it go down as Betty and Rick finally arrived at the scene.
"Did it work?" Rick questioned.
"Where's Bruce?!" Betty asked in a terrified voice.
"He stayed in there to make sure Abomination went down." Iron Man told them.
"What?!" Betty let out.
Immediately, she ran towards the rubble, trying to shift it aside to find Bruce. Rick went to help her, both searching for him. Iron Man and the other Avengers came over and helped as well, moving one piece of rubble at a time.
"JARVIS, scan for life forms." Iron Man ordered.
"Scanning now sir." JARVIS announced before two green figures appeared under a particularly large pile of rubble. "Two lifeforms detected."
"Guys, over there." Iron Man directed.
Cap and Ant-Man ran over to the rubble pile Iron Man pointed out. Ant-Man went giant as Cap began moving one piece at a time. Giant-Man threw off some of the top pieces and found Hulk and Abomination. He wasted no time pulling them out and placing them on the ground. A short distance away, Thor burst through the debris, brushing himself off.
"Is the Abomination vanquished?" he questioned.
"Looks that way." Wasp answered, growing to her normal size.
"Bruce!" Betty cried out, running to Hulk's side and gently running her hand through his hair.
Just then, Hulk's body began shrinking down until Bruce Banner remained. Banner groaned slightly as he slowly opened his eyes.
"Bruce?" Betty said in obvious relief.
"Hey…" He greeted. "Not exactly… how I was hoping today would go."
Betty chuckled a bit before throwing her arms around him and holding him tightly.
"I'm just happy you're alive, Bruce." She told him.
"Ditto for me, Bruce." Rick agreed, shrugging off his jacket and handing it to Bruce. "I forgot to grab your spare clothes before we left, but at least your pants survived this time."
"Well at least there's that." Bruce replied, taking the jacket.
As Bruce got to his feet, the sounds of approaching helicopters filled the air. Everyone immediately looked up to see military copters closing in on the downed power plant.
"Think that's our back up?" Iron Man asked.
"Not sure." Cap replied.
Cap looked outside and saw several jeeps pulling up across from the plant.
"Oh great..." Rick let out, moving himself between the jeeps and Bruce. "It's the Hulkbuster units."
"I thought you said they've been debunked?" Ant-Man asked.
"They're supposed to be." Betty agreed. "How did he mobilize his troops this fast?"
"And how did he know where to start looking?" Wolverine snarled suspiciously.
"Bruce, I think you and Rick might wanna get out of here." Cap suggested.
"No argument there." Rick agreed, grabbing Bruce's arm. "Betty, you too."
Betty nodded and the three of them slipped off just as General Ross emerged from one of the jeeps.
"General." Cap greeted, walking up to him. "How can I help you?"
"You can get out of my way, so I can do my goddamn job!" Ross proclaimed, poking Cap in the chest.
"Hey, take it easy on him." Tony called out, walking up to them and lifting his face plate. "He's an antique."
"The monster you're after is just inside." Cap told him, ignoring Stark's comment.
Ross pushed past the both, looking down at the fallen Abomination. The Avengers could see a vein bulging on his head as his fists clenched.
"Where's the other one?!" he demanded.
"Which 'other one' are you referring to?" Tony asked.
"Don't play dumb with me, Stark!" Ross snapped. "You know damn well what 'other one' I'm referring to! Now hand that monster over!"
"Um, I don't know what he's talking about." Wasp announced, playing innocent.
"Yeah, we took down this Abomination ourselves." Spidey added. "Right guys?"
"That's the way I remember it." Wolverine commented.
"Verily," Thor added.
"See?" Cap said, gesturing to his teammates.
Ross looked just about ready to explode, his face as red as a tomato.
"Now listen here you misbegotten vigilantes, you better hand over the Hulk this instant, or I'll-"
"You'll what?" Stark asked. "Last I heard, you don't even have the authority to stand here and yell at us."
"That he does not." Fury's voice declared.
Everyone turned to see Fury and Agent Hill walking into the plant, flanked by several S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, as well as Widow and Hawkeye.
"Looks like backup got here just in time." Widow remarked.
"What kept ya?" Spidey joked.
"I was gathering the paperwork for General Ross' court martial in the event of his attempt to circumvent my authority and continue his pursuit of the Hulk." Hill answered, holding up a rather generously sized folder.
"Unless that's not what's happening here, is it General?" Fury questioned, crossing his arms and raising his only eyebrow.
Ross growled a bit as he clenched his fists.
"No, I suppose not." He finally relented.
"Then unless I missed my guess, there's another gamma monster here waiting transport to the cube." Fury declared, gesturing towards Abomination with his thumb.
Ross let out a hiss of rage, then signaled his men to deal with Abomination.
"Get this freak to the Cube!" He ordered. "Then we're pulling out!"
Cap and Tony couldn't help but smile at the turn of events.
"Thanks for the support, Fury." Cap replied.
"To be honest, Ross has been a pain in the ass for quite some time." Fury admitted. "Putting him in his place was just a bonus. Besides, despite our past falling outs, I do want the Avengers to succeed."
"Right..." Iron Man replied skeptically. "Either way, just glad you got here when you did. I was seconds away from blasting Ross halfway to Jersey."
"I wouldn't doubt that." Fury responded.
"I suggest you go get Dr. Banner and his companions somewhere safe, before Ross decides to try something like this again." Hill suggested. "In the meantime, we better look into how… Abomination was created."
"Right." Cap concurred as he and the Avengers started moving out.
...
Back at Betty's apartment, Bruce slipped on some of his old clothes Betty had held onto. He handed Rick back his jacket as he turned towards Betty.
"Sorry about the apartment." Bruce apologized. "I guess bad luck follows me whether I'm the Hulk or not."
"I've been thinking of getting a new apartment anyway." Betty said, brushing it off. "Besides, I knew that being able to see you again came with a few risks. And I didn't care. I still don't."
Bruce just smiled upon hearing those words.
"You're too good for me Betty." Bruce told her.
She cupped his face with her hands.
"Don't think that for one second." she told him before kissing him.
Rick was about to walk into the room, but see the two kiss, decided to back away and let them have their moment.
…
Meanwhile, in a remote part of the Nevada desert, a S.H.I.E.L.D. transport was carting Abomination off towards the Cube, a specialized super villain prison dealing with criminals exposed to radiation. Several well-armed guards brought him before Dr. Leonard Samson, who looked over his newest patient with intrigue.
"It's been awhile since a new Gamma victim was brought in." he remarked. "What's your name?"
Abomination just glared at him silently.
"Being difficult I see." Samson noted. "Don't worry. I've been working on a cure for Gamma radiation. In time, you'll be back to normal and free to return to civilization."
As the two walked past one of the cells, the inmate inside looked up at the passing doctor and sprouted a maniacal grin on his face.
"I wouldn't bet on that so soon, Dr. Samson." He mused.
...
Another sub-plot brewing in the background. Hope you guys enjoy!
