Fate had navigated his boat through a swamp soon after passing through the Panama Canal and had managed to make his way up the coast a short distance before coming to a stop at a dock in front of what appeared to be an abandoned warehouse. Bruce stepped onto the dock as Fate finished docking the boat and looked around the landscape noting the swamp that surrounded the clearing where the building was located. Bruce had made a habit of learning his surroundings so he knew where his exits would be in case things went south. Fate walked past him and spoke to him "So what did you do to need such an incognito entrance into the country?" he asked seemingly making small talk.
Bruce followed Fate off of the dock and towards the building thinking off how to answer the question "Let's just say that there was an accident and now bad people are looking for me for bad reasons." Fate opened up the door and motioned Bruce inside, Fate opened his phone checking his messages he had texted Ross asking for an explanation of what Banner was capable of and how long would Ross be.
Bruce looked around and noticed lab equipment all around the main floor with catwalks hanging above them on the second floor. Bruce picked up and looked over the various papers, his work in labs allowed him to quickly scan and note important parts of science papers. Fate was securing the door they had entered in and noticed Bruce looking at the papers. "There is a place to sleep upstairs in the office" explained Fate ushering Bruce up some stairs into an office that had "Dr. Sallis" written on the glass of the door. Bruce took a seat at a desk as Fate put his things on another desk that had a large window behind it that was letting the moonlight shine through to light the room. Fate took a seat and opened up a computer checking his messages and found an attachment from Ross.
Bruce looked over and saw unlit candles set up with what appeared to be newspaper clippings taped to the wall behind the candles. Fate looked at Banner after finishing the message from Ross, "This weak little man is the Hulk that has been gallivanting across the globe leaving nothing but destruction in his wake" he said to himself as the wheels in his mind began to turn.
Blonsky was sitting inside the stealth chopper as it soared above the Panama Canal, he looked around and saw the team he had requested Tibbits was a large brute of a man with brown hair, Masterson sat next to him with a much slimmer build and blonde hair that he kept short. Shang-Chi was the youngest member of the squad and had black hair that he kept slicked back so that it stayed out of his face while he fought. The final member Twoyoungmen was a Native American with black hair, though he preferred his codename Shaman. Blonsky stood once he was he told that they were nearing the spot where Fate was holding Banner "Listen up boys" he said as the men leaned forward as he held up a satellite image of the complex. "Our target is being held inside this facility, Masterson will cut what power the building has left, while Tibbits, Shang, Shaman, and myself enter the complex and take the target into custody. This should be a quick and easy operation. Any questions?" The group remained silent as the chopper stopped just outside the complex preparing to allow the team to rope down into the swamp below and go the rest of the way on foot, "Good."
Fate had come to a decision and he knew he would need to act quickly "Want to hear the story about this place?" he asked pretending to be striking up conversation.
Bruce looked at him and shrugged his shoulders "Sure, why not?"
Fate sat back at his desk "I have always been the best smuggler money could buy but back in the day I had a crew and we started to branch out our skills, robbed a few places. Turns out escaping from a robbery works a lot like smuggling, it's all about hiding the obvious. Anyway one day after robbing a bank we turned and came into this swamp to hide out for a few days where we found this building, worked so well that we made it our hideout."
Fate stood up and looked out the window "A few months later as police neared catching us we began to hear awful sounds from the swamp. Painful shrieks echoed through the night keeping us awake and paranoid. We decided to go into the swamp and stop the sound, we entered at sunset and explored the swamp finding no life whatsoever, and I could not understand how anything could survive in this swamp. We believed that whatever was making the sound had left when the shriek filled the night causing us all to run toward the bellow in order to make it silent. We ended up in knee deep water with nothing but foliage surrounding us, the night had gone silent again as we encircled in order to spot what was making the sound but...we saw nothing."
He turned to look at Bruce "Suddenly the eyes appeared burning in the darkness, the beast was onto my men in an instant as they fell one by one, I watched in horror as the creature burned them from the inside out, as if he was burning the hearts out of them. I ran for my life and managed to reach safety, I stayed awake for days and soon began to read about the work being done here before we arrived."
He held up a folder "Do you believe in the Multiverse Dr. Banner?"
"I've heard the theories" Bruce replied beginning to get uncomfortable with Fate's body language.
"Multiple universes with infinite possibilities that can be traveled to from a single spot, The Nexus. The lead scientist Sallis was attempting to complete this feat when unknown circumstances caused him to run into the swamp with the rest of his colleagues where they met the creature that killed my men. I began to learn about the creature from the locals who called it the Man-Thing, they called it the great guardian. I knew that I needed to kill it so I found a man in New Orleans who called himself the Hood, he promised me an object that could kill the creature in exchange for money and I have been working non-stop for almost ten years to gain this wealth."
Fate looked out the window and could just barely make out Ross's team as they exited the swamp and took cover behind some fallen trees at the edge of the swamps border. "I have been guaranteed that wealth but now I am faced with a dilemma."
"I thought Rick owed you a favor and that this whole trip was free of charge?" asked Bruce standing up feeling that things were about to get messy.
"Yes, but my deal with Ross brings me all the money I need to pay the Hood but why buy the object when I could just unleash you on the creature, let the two beasts beat each other until one is left standing. If the Man-Thing kills the Hulk then I take Ross's money and get the object but if the Hulk kills the Man-Thing than Ross takes you away and I get to keep the money" explained Fate approaching Bruce.
Bruce backed up against the wall "Listen to me you do not want to do this, the Hulk cannot be controlled."
"I don't need to control it, I just need to aim it" Fate said coming within striking distance. "Luckily Ross told me in his little message to not make you angry so I am willing to bet that the Hulk feeds off of your anger to make himself known, so how about it Bruce feeling angry?" He said landing a blow on Bruce's chin. Suddenly the power to the building went out, "They are ready I see" he said looking out the door and grabbing a gun, he watched Blonsky and his team enter the facility and fired off shots that forced them to take cover.
"We are taking fire" said Blonsky over the radio, Ross shook his head.
"It must be Fate, Banner's a runner not a fighter" he explained as Blonsky looked for where the shooter was located.
Fate watched the team of soldiers intently only stopping when he heard Banner's breathing get faster. He turned and looked at Banner grunted and screamed out in pain, prompting the shriek that had haunted Fate to come from the swamp.
Blonsky looked around "What the hell was that?" he said as he looked around.
"Something is off" informed Shaman moving ahead of the team to try and get a better look of the building.
Fate began to step back as he watched Banner's skin go from white to green, he listened as the muscles and bones in Banner's body grew. "My god" he said running out of the door and heading out of the building.
Blonsky stood and watched as Fate ran by him out of the door and was suddenly on alert when he heard a roar come from the office upstairs. Tibbits and Shang came up behind Blonsky, Shaman stood next to the stairs where Fate had come from "Stay down here" ordered Blonsky raising his rifle and heading up the stairs to investigate the roar. He approached the room and could hear loud breathing coming from the room, he peered inside and saw the green form of the Hulk. It looked at him in the eyes and he could see the anger behind them and he narrowly avoided being crushed when the Hulk charged through the wall and leapt down onto the main floor.
Shaman fired off several rounds which bounced off of the Hulks skin, Hulk reached back grabbed Shaman and threw him through the concrete wall of the building and turned his attention to the others. Tibbits and Shang fell back firing as they went as Blonsky stood up and threw a smoke grenade down onto the floor encompassing the Hulk and shielding Tibbits and Shang allowing them to get out of the Hulk's sight. Blonsky loaded up his grenade launcher attachment of his assault rifle and fired it hitting the Hulk square in the back. He looked on as the Hulk turned and once again Blonsky stared into the rage filled green eyes of the Hulk, the Hulk started moving towards Blonsky when the shriek from the swamp rang through the building catching the Hulk's attention. Hulk scoffed at Blonsky and turned running through the wall heading into the swamp.
The Hulk moved quickly searching for the man who had attacked him back in the building. Hulk looked left to right not being able to get his bearings since everything looked the same to him. "C'mon big boy" came Fate's voice from behind him causing the Hulk to turn around. He growled and began stalking towards Fate when something came out of the water behind him. It was almost as big as the Hulk was, it looked as if it was made of the swamp itself. The eyes of the creature glowed yellow as it stared bullets at the Hulk who was staring straight back. Fate was in between the two creatures waiting for them to start fighting, but was shocked when the Hulk turned its gaze onto him. The Hulk leaned down and flicked Fate in the chest sending him flying into a nearby tree.
Fate groaned in pain as he watched the Hulk shrink down and return to Bruce Banner who fell to his knees from the transformation. Bruce looked up at Man-Thing and stood up and started walking north remembering that he had seen a sign on the shore right before they had entered the swamp earlier that put the closest city in that direction. "How?" groaned Fate.
Banner stopped and turned around "Want a theory? I read some papers back at the facility and it outlined the legend of the Man-Thing, fear causes it pain and the Hulk has no fear so Man-Thing has no problem with the Hulk and by extension me. The Hulk calmed itself down out of instinct and now I need to find a new ride to New York but I think Man-Thing has a few things to settle with you" said Banner walking again and leaving Fate behind to deal with Man-Thing.
Fate turned around and found that Man-Thing was standing over top of him "Please, no" he muttered as Man-Thing shrieked in pain and simply touched Fate. He could feel the burning start in his chest, the fire was engulfing his insides. Banner didn't look back when he heard Fate scream in pain.