919: Earth's Mightiest Heroes

by Reborn Dark Phoenix

Temporarily on Hiatus until further notice. See most recent update.

13. Teamwork for Dummies! Part 5

I've made some adjustments to the story to accommodate for future arcs. I really recommend looking back in the mentioned chapters below to fully grasp what has been changed and such, or just reread everything again:

1) Stephen Strange is not the current Sorcerer Supreme. That title currently belongs to Jericho Drumm, Brother Voodoo. Strange will be his successor in a future arc. (See Chpt 1 & 9)

2) Quicksilver, instead of his 90's Avengers Vol 3 look, has the Avengers: Age of Ultron movie costume/look. (See Chpt 2)

3) Hank Pym, while still known as Yellowjacket, will not wear his Yellowjacket costume, but instead be in his "Wasp" attire (the black; with yellow lines, gauntlets and boots; with the goggles). Hey, if the movie guys can make an evil Yellowjacket with tentacles for a modern take, then I can do the same here with this interpretation. He still has the typical Yellowjacket powers (size alteration stingers, insect communication now provided by the goggles' tech, etc). He keeps the artificial wings for flight when in small size. (See Chpt. 2)

4) Prior to Nick Fury, the Director of SHIELD was Victoria Hand. She began the concept of the SHIELD Secret Warriors, starting the first unit in the 1980s; she was also responsible for the first S.T.A.R.S. formation. Victoria was Director of SHIELD until 1999, when Fury replaced her. (See Chpt. 6 & 8)

5) The incident where it is mentioned that at one point Wanda was captured and almost 'Decimated' the mutant race by the Hellfire Club trying to use her powers in that manner...it was foiled by the X-Men and mutantkind is still as numerous as always; the incident allowed for Logan to regain his memories, as it did in the comics post-HoM. (See Chpt 6) I may revisit this for another arc for some SW development.

6) In accommodation for an "Extremis" arc, Stark no longer has 45 suits, but 22. As in IM3, Stark here has implanted the microchips in himself to allow for remote summoning for his newer armors. Also, regardless of what designs are seen here, the method of Stark putting on his armor is the method used in the MCU, not any bio-armor methods. All models will be revealed in a later chapter (See Chpt. 1, 2 and 12)

7) Carol actually cares about a secret identity in this universe, and the cowl that comes with the Captain Marvel look is a staple part, keeping anyone from recognizing her. (See Chpt. 2)

8) The SHIELD Helicarrier is now called the UNS Odyssey. It was built by Forge & Stark Industries in the late 1980s and took flight in the early 1990s. It is based on the Helicarrier from "The Avengers." The Iliad will come at a later date.

9) To introduce a new origin I planned for a Spidey villain, I changed the method that's keeping him away from the battle. No Doom involvement, no guys in the shadows, just a crime gone wrong (See Chapter 11 & 12)

Alright, now in regards to characters getting changes in their looks...This story is a modernized retelling of the Marvel-verse. Costumes, attires and the like look more realistic in this time period (hence Logan in the Hugh Jackman appearance). However, even with this, I do so while still trying to remain true to the lore of Marvel itself and true to the characters' personality and character. The X-Men will have their black costumes, the FF will have their Foundation looks with the Foundation also already up and running, etc etc...but these characters will retain their core personalities. Many costumes will still look like the originals from the comics (ie-Spiderwoman; I'm not a fan of her new look…), just made of material that isn't spandex (unless you're Peter, then the spandex is a must).

Alright, that's enough from me. Last time, Doom turned Thor against the Avengers and now the team's only hope, and the world's, against him is the Incredible Hulk. Of course, not everyone is going to see it that way…

Also, I found Avengers Vol 1 #1.5 on the Marvel app, where the original five face Doom. Sure to be of help for this arc :D

Disclaimer: All recognizable characters from media are trademarked by Marvel. Their actions are of my creation and manipulation.

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Chapter 13: Teamwork for Dummies! Part 5

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*E52 St and Madison Ave; Midtown, Manhattan*

8:34 PM EST June 16, 2012

Despite not having eye-bulging superhuman speed or flight, Peter thought he was pretty quick when it came to web slinging.

He had once swung the entire length of Manhattan in a straight line, point to point of the island, in just under 10 minutes. That had been his fastest time, without stopping to intervene in any crimes or such. Manhattan was just over 13 miles long. After some mental calculations, Peter had determined from that speed and time frame that he could swing at least 80 mph at his fastest.

Of course, that was barring stopping to fight crime, without interruption.

And unfortunately, that was what he had run into when the Amazing Spider-Man had arrived when he was webbing along Madison Avenue, closing in on Park. It seemed a bank robbery had occurred, and the NYPD had been quick to respond, most likely with most out in response to the attack at the UN. Peter knew that the Avengers needed his help in fighting off Victor von Doom, and that they were counting on him.

But, Peter knew that people needed his help down there, too. And no matter what, Peter was a street level superhero and never left the cops to hang dry if he could help it. After all, with great power must come great responsibility.

"Sorry, guys, but these people need my help," Peter murmured to himself. "Just hang in a bit longer."

With a rapid flick of his wrist, Peter again diverted his path from his route to the UN towards the gunfight raging on below in front of the bank. From what he was able to see, multiple squad cars and a SWAT truck were on scene with the cops and SWAT shoot at a group of about seven or eight goons. Despite superior numbers, the cops were getting torn apart by these guys; they had five heavy machine guns, two laser guns and even a bazooka. The thugs apparently just finished off hitting bank and were pinning the police down, trying to set up an escape route.

"Yeesh, talk about scissor beats paper..." Peter mused as he zoomed down onto the scene. He quickly fired web lines and ripped a gun out of one of the thugs' hands, preventing a couple of cops from getting torn to bits. "Guys, guys! C'mon, enough with the shooting here! Think of the property values!"

"It's the Web Freak!" one of the thugs yelled out as he started shooting at him. Immediately both sides took notice of the Amazing Avenger arriving on scene.

"Oh, now that's offensive! I am not a freak at all, my good sir...maybe an occasional jerk and a pest, and Captain Marvel once called me a-"

"Shut up!" the thug ringleader, Mac, yelled in anger as he started shooting at the arachnid. "Shoot this damn creep!" As the others soon started splitting their attention between the cops and Spider-Man, Peter quickly recognized the voice of Mac and couldn't help but let out a loud and over exaggerated sigh.

"Mac Gargan? Really, dude, again?! What is this, like, the ninth time this year ALONE!? We're not even halfway through 2012 yet!"

"Well, it's gonna be different this time, ya stupid-!"

"Like I haven't heard that one before…"

"SHUT UP, YOU STUPID BUG!"

"And again with the 'bug' misconception...Y'know what, I'm not even going to bother this time."

As Spider-Man engaged the heavily armed thugs, they were forced to stop shooting at the police to focus on him. Thus, the cops were finally able to breathe with ease.

"Stand down, boys," came the order of the scene's commanding officer, Lieutenant Jean DeWolff. "The cavalry is here." Though the force was roughly divided in many ways in terms of views on Spider-Man after the deaths of Captain George Stacey & his daughter Gwen within the last five years (and even despite his being an Avenger now), there were still many cops who knew that the Webhead was on their side. Though skeptical in the early days, Jean DeWolff now certainly knew he was the real deal.

"OK, time for some shopping," Peter quipped as he jumped and leapt with pristine agility, easily dodging the many bullets coming his way with his Spider Sense. With a thwip and a flick, he shot a pair of web lines and hooked a pair of heavy machine guns. "I'll take that...and that..." Ripping them out of their hands, Peter quickly threw them to the side and snatched a belt of ammo away as well. "Oh, and this too! Definitely matches my dashing white eyes! Now see, this is much better than online shopping. Amazon is never this exciting with their products!"

Without their toys, the thugs resorted to their fists as they tried to land some punches. Their efforts, however, were in vain. Spider-Man easily avoided their blows while simultaneously keeping himself and said thugs out of the line of fire.

"OK, well that's all I'm buying, gentlemen, so I'll just put these in my cart," Peter continued as he webbed a few more ammo belts and a couple more guns, webbing them to the bank wall with the others he had grabbed. "Oh...crap" he added with a mock gasp as he landed in front of the four now unarmed thugs. "I left my wallet at home...oh well, you all accept IYF's, right?" Peter then quickly delivered rapid punches to their faces, knocking them unconscious. "You know, those new In Your Face things? They are such GREAT money savers!"

"Someone make him shut up!" another thug yelled as he madly shot his laser weapon, blindly firing at the arachnid.

"What is it with people wanting me to surrender my freedom of speech? I feel like society is trying to tell me something...can't put my finger on it, though." With that, he kicked the laser gun out of the thug's hand and webbed both it and him to the bank's glass windows.

His Spider Sense suddenly blaring, Peter just managed to avoid a small missile, which exploded harmlessly in the air seconds later. Mac Gargan had grabbed the bazooka from one of his cohorts, seeking to blow the arachnid up himself. The lead criminal then yelled for the others to keep shooting; of course, this failed miserably as Peter continued to dodge and shoot webs. Within just over a minute, all the other thugs were webbed up with their weapons and ammo taken care of. Only Gargan remained with his bazooka.

"Ok Mac," Peter said as he readied himself. "I think we ALL know how this is going to end. Save yourself the total shame, AGAIN mind you, and just give up. I'm sure your buddies on Ryker's will be thrilled to see you again!" It was then that his Spider Sense began ringing again, and Peter noticed that Gargan was gripping the bazooka tightly...and that there was one more rocket in it. 'Oh no, is he going to...?'

"Yeah, don't think so, Spidey!" Mac snapped back with a feral grin. "You ain't getting me tonight!" With that, he fired the bazooka...right towards the police.

What happened in the next several seconds happened so fast. Without even thinking about the consequences, Peter threw himself after the speeding rocket now heading for the cops. The cops themselves had begun backing away and fleeing in pure shock and terror, seeing the projectile flying towards them. And Mac Gargan threw the bazooka to the side and ran off in a random direction like crazy. It was as if time slowed down in those moments as the police ran for their lives, the Amazing Spider-Man trying to reach the rocket in time, the criminal running for his life, and the groups of people who were watching the whole thing from across the streets.

Doing some quick mental calculations, Peter realized that he wasn't going to physically reach the rocket in time before it hit one of the squad cars and cause a good deal of damage and injuries. So, acting without a second thought, he fired a few web lines and managed to snag onto the rocket. The high velocity of the projectile almost caught Peter off guard but he held firm; with a yell as he landed firmly on the ground, he forced the rocket back as he used his webs to spin it and change course, making it fly off now in a random direction, away from the police.

...and in the direction Mac Gargan was headed.

"Oh god...Mac, wait, no-!" Peter yelled, trying to catapult himself over to the criminal in time.

"No way, freak!" Mac yelled back, just as the rocket reached a parked car that Mac happened to be running right for; in his madness to escape, he didn't see what had just transpired. "Can't just-!"

"MAC, NO!"

KRABOOOOOMMM!

"AAAAAAAHHH!"

Mac found himself withering on the pavement in extreme pain as the flames consumed his skin and body, having been caught within the flames of the explosion. By some sick miracle, he had survived being killed, but it seemed as if death would be a much sweeter release. Cursing and screaming and wailing, the criminal continued to burn and wither frantically as Peter and some of the officers dashed for him. They were shocked and horrified by what had transpired before their eyes; none more so than Spider-Man.

"Get the damn fire extinguishers, now!" DeWolff yelled to some other officers. "Get an ambulance down here, and call the fire department!"

"It hurts, it HURTS! God, make it stop, please! MAKE IT STOP!"

"Crapcrapcrapcrap...!" Peter muttered frantically to himself. In an attempt to restrain the burning man, he fired multiple webbings at his arms, pinning him to the ground. His webbing wouldn't last long in the flames; thankfully, the officers who had gone for the fire extinguishers had come back and were now getting to work. The Amazing Avenger could hear sirens in the distance, and hoped the paramedics could save Gargan. "Hang on, Gargan, the paramedics are almost here and they're-!"

"I'm gonna kill you, Webfreak!" Gargan spat vehemently as he screamed in agony, shocking the Webhead with the hate in his pained eyes. "This is your fault, ya hear me!? I'M GOING TO KILL YOU FOR THIS!"

Peter could only back away in shock and horror as the paramedics and firefighters arrived and got to work. DeWolff, though unable to see the hero's face through the black face mask, could tell that those words had rattled the hero quite a bit. She had seen that the Webhead hadn't meant to redirect the rocket to Gargan's direction. She felt she had to say something...but what?

---

*SHIELD Helicarrier UNS Odyssey, entering US.-New York airspace. 1900 ft above sea level*

8:40 PM EST June 16, 2012

"I need strike teams at the ready for deployment as soon as we arrive in New York!" Maria Hill yelled out, her voice echoing through her comm and the Helicarrier's Command-&-Control bridge. "I want Mandroid units Three and Seven suiting up and ready to deploy, and I need them yesterday! I want all international UN workers and representatives secured and I want this contained within a two block radius!"

All across the Helicarrier, SHIELD agents and soldiers were moving as fast as they could to follow the Deputy Director's orders; in 24 of the 30 weapons rooms, rapid deployment strike teams were assembling their weapons and their combat gear in preparation for the soon to come battle on their hands. Of the eight 12-man Mandroid platoons stationed on the Helicarrier, two were amassing and securing their armor for rapid deployment. When it came to combating the machinations of Victor von Doom, recognized as one of the world's most dangerous human beings, Maria Hill wanted to no chances to be taken. All resources were currently diverted to focus on the Latverian assault on the United Nations.

"Coulson, what's the status of the Warriors?!" Hill asked Coulson with demand.

"Well, besides the five already on scene with the other Avengers, they're all en route," Coulson replied from his position by the satellite feeds' computers. "Falcon's unit is coming from the HYDRA raid in northern Canada, ETA 10 minutes. Thirteen's unit is en route from-"

"If they can't make it here in less than 10 minutes, I don't want to hear it!" Hill snapped, taking her lover somewhat by surprise. Although, in retrospect it was understandable due to the events going on at this moment. According to the news and satellite feeds, it was utter chaos down there; the Avengers had engaged Victor von Doom immediately upon arrival and were now getting their asses handed to them. Latverian forces continued to wreak havoc as they captured international representatives and teleported away with them to parts unknown. The NYPD, stationed soldiers and UN security were doing their best to fight off these soldiers but Latverian forces were known for having superior technology to most powers on Earth. Hill had been unable to raise Rogers, Barton, Morse, Romanova or Drew on their SHIELD comms at all, further keeping her in the dark on everything going on at the UN.

Thankfully, Fury managed to contact her and gave her the news. She knew that Thor and Hulk were duking it out in Roosevelt Island because of Doom now mind controlling the Asgardian, and that Doom was managing to take the vast majority of the Avengers on at once. What was worse was that Captain Marvel, the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver had been incapacitated and Spider-Man was apparently MIA.

This had definitely gotten out of hand, and if the media were any indication, this wasn't looking good for any of the Avengers. This was especially true in regards to the battle between the Hulk and Thor; regardless of the true nature of the battle, all this portrayed was the Hulk going crazy and Thor trying to stop him. Either way, it seemed as if there was strife between the Avengers and that the Hulk was causing problems.

Hill didn't know how it could get any worse.

"Ma'am!" one of the communications techies called out, gaining the attention of Hill and Coulson. "The United States Army Command is on the line! It's General Ross of the HulkBusters, ma'am!"

Apparently, it could...

"I...don't need this," Hill muttered darkly as she pinched the bridge of her nose, before ordering the techy to patch the call through. On her Deputy Director's stand, a feed screen hologram came to life and on it was the furious face of General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross, leader of the HulkBusters Corps.

"General Ross," Hill all but snarled as she narrowed her eyes at him, simultaneously keeping eye contact while continuing to organize & coordinate the SHIELD response. "I haven't got the patience or time to deal with you right now, so if you could-"

"Good, then just listen," the hardened general interrupted with his own attitude and Alpha male character, instantly clashing with Hill. "You're obviously dealing with the Latverian show of force at the UN. I'll leave you with that in your hands; what I'm more concerned about is how the Hulk is battling a member of the Avengers on Roosevelt Island and creating untold destruction! While the other damn supers are losing against Doom, the Hulk is-!"

"Ross, you have no idea whatsoever as to why the Hulk is-!"

"He's a damn monster destroying a residential area where hundreds live and the only thing stopping him from causing more untold destruction is another of those damn self-proclaimed world protectors!" Ross was clearly a man on a mission, a mission that Hill knew all too well of since she first became SHIELD Deputy Director under Fury in 2006. And she knew that what Ross was about to do would throw in a monkey wrench into the chaos and worsen things even more. "The UN World Security Council officially gave us back the Hulk a month ago before the invasion, so in all legal sense-!"

"General Ross, you are in no position to do anything at this moment! The Hulk is a member of the Avengers and he is currently the only thing keeping a possessed being of literal godlike power from destroying all of New York City! But more importantly, SHIELD is in control and in command of the situation at hand! You are ORDERED by the power of SHIELD and the United Nations to stand down! Clause 201-7 states-!"

"You are only in command of scenarios such as these until the local military and government no longer requires your services, Hill," Ross snapped back, sneering inside as he brought up one of the legalities of SHIELD. "And as of fifteen minutes ago, the President has ordered the Hulk taken down. Effective immediately, the HulkBusters Corps are taking command of this situation, Hill. My troops are already evacuating the islands, and the HulkBusters units are en route. Stay out of our way."

With that, the call went dead. And with it, any chance that this whole thing couldn't get any worse.

"Coulson, get the American President on the line," Hill ordered the veteran agent as she faced him. "I don't care what you do or how you do it, but get her to stop Ross ASAP. Get Sitwell up here, too. I need him here, now." She then looked out the glass panels serving as the command bridge's windows, seeing the celestial thunder dancing in the heavens in rhythm to the brawl between the Hulk and Thor; and in the glow of the lightning, she could make out several fleets of choppers heading towards the East River, in the direction of Roosevelt Island.

"This is not going to end well..."

---

*United Nations complex, Manhattan*

8:45 PM EST June 16, 2012

To say that the battle wasn't going so well for the Avengers was definitely an understatement.

"HANK!" Jan cried out as her husband crashed into the side of the United Nations Building. His 20 foot form was soon followed by that of Iron Man, Stark letting out a very loud scream of pain. This didn't deter him, though, as he shot out of his self-made crater only several seconds later, repulsors on full blast as he aimed at Victor von Doom, soon slamming back into him. He was soon joined by an angry Wasp as she zoomed in with her stingers on full power.

Hank, meanwhile, managed to stand back up, shrinking back down to regular size. "Doctor Pym," T'Challa called out as he hurried over to his ally. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," Pym groaned as he popped his arm back, a painful experience no matter how many times he did it since he learned the tactic. "Thankfully, my headgear is still intact, because we're going to need some help…"

The cybernetics in his goggles activating, the genius scientist gave one command in the descending mouthpiece: attack. Growing back to a height of 20 feet, Yellowjacket roared as he charged back into the fray, a horde of millions of flying insects soon following behind him. T'Challa hesitated for only a second before he dashed after him, daggers in hand.

Less than twenty minutes had passed since Doom had engaged the Avengers at the United Nations, and he was confident in saying that his plans were going in his favor. He had reaped disunity amongst the Avengers already, and he was simultaneously tainting their image. The monarch's plan of breaking the Avengers inside and out was coming together nicely. These fools thought they could keep his world from him? They were now seeing just how wrong they were to challenge Doom as they had.

Doom's thoughts were interrupted as the horde of insects summoned by Pym began consuming him and swarming over upon him, thus forcing him to releasing a choking Spider Woman from his grip. Being the prideful monarch, to be taken upon by insects was something Doom wouldn't stand for; with a few chanted words, a massive energy pulse rang outward from his armor, thus dispersing the insects. The distraction proved effective enough, though, as Pym landed two powerful punches and forcefully drove the monarch into the ground. Panther then came in and slashed away with his daggers madly and with precision before Doom blasted him off.

Yellowjacket, Wasp and Iron Man then followed up with a barrage of their energy attacks in an attempt to keep Doom pinned for the others to strike in close quarters. That was not to be, however, as Doom activated his magical shields to block the energy attacks. With powerful electrical lightning strikes, he struck Stark and the Pyms down, their screams of pain echoing in the chaos of the night skies.

This now left Doom free to handle the other Avengers in melee combat, all of whom were rushing at him. It proved to be excellent timing in his favor as Wolverine lunged with savage claw swings; Doom managed to bring up his gauntlets in defense in time, blocking the strikes. His armor, though very similar in technology to Stark's, was also able to withstand Logan's blows being mystically forged. Focused in that second on keeping Logan at bay, though, Doom was unable to block the bum rushing tackle Spider Woman managed from behind.

In that slight moment Doom staggered forward, Black Widow struck as she jumped onto his back, quickly bringing out an adamantium garrote wire and forcing Doom's head upward. Instinctively, Doom grabbed at Widow's arms and at Widow herself; this had the desired effect as Hawkeye got in two clean shots with impact arrows. Unfortunately, Logan and T'Challa had made to slash away at the monarch's armors at that exact moment, and had been caught in the sonic blasts of the arrow's explosions.

Laughing at this, Doom then activated his armor's electrical defenses, unleashing a vicious electrical current, shocking Natalia badly and sending her falling to the ground screaming...or she would've if Doom had not grabbed her by the arm and thrown her into an oncoming Spider Woman. As he blasted them both with an arcane bolt from his gauntlet, Mockingbird attacked as she merged her battle staves into a pole, landing a hard pole vault kick on Doom's mask. She was rewarded swiftly as Doom grabbed her arm and slammed her into the ground, earning a barrage of explosive arrows from Hawkeye.

Shielding himself from the first two, Doom effortlessly redirected the rest back at the Avengers. Morse and Romanova returned to engage in close quarters, quickly and savagely dealing all forms of hits and strikes as per the training drilled into them. Unfortunately, Doom's armor prevented them from being of any significance. Wasp's enlarged fist, however, did do something as Doom was slammed into the ground. Stark send a number of missiles racing for the monarch, but they were easily destroyed by electrical blasts. Sending Widow and Mockingbird flying with swift punches, Doom fired another burst of electricity at a charging Wolverine, electrocuting him and rendering him momentarily unconscious.

A haymaker from seemingly nowhere sent Doom flying into the thundering night sky, courtesy of Hank Pym. All the Avengers who were able to do so began a relentless firing barrage up at him, unleashing everything they had. They were able to land a few good hits before the Latverian brought up his shields again. Now protected, Doom activated his armor's flight and began his own relentless barrage of electrical and arcane blasts, beginning a vicious exchange of attacks as the Avengers did all in their power to try and force Doom down.

Meanwhile, Captain America had carried both Maximoff twins towards the paramedics and police barricade set up as the temporary command post. Having managed to head over to Quicksilver and get him out of harm's way, Steve had decided to get the twins to safety to allow them time to recuperate from their unconscious states. To his dismay, he had been unable to reach the still unconscious Captain Marvel.

Quickly assessing the battlefield after handing the twins to the paramedics, Steve saw that the Avengers were getting decimated. With three of the team out cold, two laying waste on a nearby island and one apparently MIA, the situation wasn't looking too well.

The only good news at the moment was that SHIELD had arrived on scene to reinforce the NYPD engaging the Latverian soldiers, with Fury on the front lines. What was bad, however, was that though many international representatives and workers had been evacuated, a number had still been captured. The Latverian soldiers had stopped capturing bystanders, but were now fully focused on battling their enemies.

A sudden gasp from behind him made him return his attention to the mutants behind him. Pietro had suddenly jolted awake, panting and breathing heavily. "Wanda!" he gasped, searching around for his sister frantically before seeing her unconscious form beside him on a stretcher, several paramedics tending to her. "Wanda! Is she-?!"

"She's still unresponsive," one of the paramedics replied as he got a defibrillator out. "We're still trying to get her conscience again, but it might take a while."

"Pietro," Steve called, regaining the Silver Avenger's attention. "Are you ok?"

"Yes, yes, I'm fine, Captain," Pietro replied dismissively, returning his attention to his sister. "It's Wanda I'm concerned about. Dammit, when I get my hands on Doom...!"

"Stand down, Pietro," Steve interrupted, anger in his voice. "You're working with a team now, so it's not 'I,' it's 'we.' Remember that next time." Despite a nod of an affirmative, Pietro shot him an angry look, but Cap didn't give a damn. The speedster's reckless actions earlier could've gone south for himself and the team. Steve would definitely have words with him later about that.

Back on the battlefield, a blast from an arcane attack struck where Logan had been lying unconscious, sending the Mutant Avenger flying. The blast, while burning away half his uniform, also managed to jolt him back into consciousness, albeit painfully. Landing with a thud by Mockingbird's defensive position behind some rubble, he quickly assessed the situation. With he and Morse the only two of the battling Avengers unable to attack Doom while he was airborne, they could do nothing.

"So...this looks pretty bad," Logan mused as Steve and Pietro came over to their position. "We're not even tirin' his ass."

"That's not the worst of it," Steve replied. "We're stretched thin, with two of our best guns in a death brawl and the other two out cold." As if to punch in the point, a massive lightning bolt flashed across the sky. "Not to mention Spider-Man is still MIA." The Super Soldier turned to Logan. "Logan, you vouched for him and said that he'd be a great addition to the team. So far, I'm not impressed."

"Trust me, Rogers, if he ain't here," Logan countered, the brutal collision of Iron Man's uni-beam hitting Doom's arcane blasts ringing in the skies, "there's a damn good reason. He's probably caught up with another crime or somethin.'"

"Regardless, I'd rather him be here-"

"How about less arguing and more fighting!?" Wasp yelled in agitation as she landed with a hard and painful thud beside them before growing to 20 feet and jumped at Doom with a glowing fist, only to be swatted aside by a powerful backhand strike. This forced Hawkeye and Widow, who were making to utilize a combined assault tactic, to scramble before the Wasp squashed them. This proved to hinder Stark as he had chosen that moment to fire his repulsors. Jan had ended up being caught in the attack, sending her crashing into the ground in pain.

Steve continued, "We need to force Doom back down here as well, if we're all going to be able to defeat him as a team. The four of us can't help the others with Doom airborne."

"I think I got an idea," Logan replied with a smirk as he unleashed his claws once again. "Yer throwin' arm still good?" At that, Cap could only smirk.

"JARVIS, direct full power to the uni-beam!" Tony roared as he slammed his metallic fists repeatedly into Doom's armored face, the monarch having grabbed the Armored Avenger by his neck. Within seconds, the arc in the Avenger's chest whined to life as a powerful blast exploded outwards, forcing Doom to release his grip as he was sent flying.

As he managed to regain his momentum, Spider Woman blasted him with her venom blasts, yelling out "Alpha Tango Triad!" as she then delivered a savage axe kick onto Doom's shoulder followed by a flurry of punches, sending the Latverian plummeting down. This was the cue for Hawkeye and Black Widow to open fire with everything in their arsenal at the falling form of Doom, with a few grenades and explosive arrows to give the finishing touch.

Unfortunately, that was the precise moment when Cap and Wolverine launched their "Fastball Special," with the mutant Avenger flying through the air at a rapid speed for the monarch. Seeing the opportunity presented to him, Doom grabbed Logan's outstretched arms, claws and all, as he was falling and thrust him down for the two SHIELD agents. The X-Man yelled in pain and fury as he was blasted with bullets, arrows and stinger blasts. Doom then managed to regain his footing and landed gracefully back onto the ground. With a wave of his arcane-infused hand, he sent Logan flying towards the two SHIELD agents. Natalia managed to dodge the incoming hit, but Barton wasn't as lucky or as agile, with Logan's claws embedded in his shoulder when the mutant landed on him. Doom then sent a massive blast of energy at the two of them while sending the Russian Avenger flying up into a charging Jess.

"Pathetic," Doom chuckled. The Avengers were making it too easy for him.

"Well...that didn't work," Morse stated.

"No, it didn't," Rogers agreed as he mentally swore. This had just presented another problem now: the Avengers who were also agents of SHIELD had a wealth of formations and combo strikes they had to utilize with each other against Doom. But the rest of the Avengers had no knowledge of the agents' tactics or training.

In fact, Cap could easily see now a major problem as Wasp zoomed forward with her stingers on full power, just as the Avenger again charged towards Doom. He could see it as both Pyms began a stinging bombardment just as Black Widow was about to jump kick Doom. The Russian Avenger was caught in the barrage of attacks, breaking her momentum and allowing Doom to grab her and throw her at an incoming Wolverine, claws at the ready. Logan hastened to stop his own attack and grab Natalia instead, and that was all the opportunity Doom needed to strike the two with an arcane blast.

Steve saw that the team had nearly no coordination with each other. Those who had prior connections with others were sticking to tactics comfortable with each other. Stark had no idea how the SHIELD agents fought, Logan had no idea how the Pyms fought, and the agents had no idea how T'Challa fought.

And Doom was clearly using it against them, and succeeding. He was turning their own teamwork against the Avengers, making them return to their independent styles. He was tearing them apart.

Steve had to admit, begrudgingly, that it was genius.

Iron Man fired at the Latverian Monarch from above with his uni-beam. Doom was caught in the downward blast, crying out in pain and agony for a good few moments before his shields again kicked in and he met the blast head on with his own powerful electrical blasts. Wasp chose the moment to strike in surprise, which also happened to be the time T'Challa attacked with his daggers again. The Wakandan Avenger screamed out in pain and surprise as he was caught alongside Doom in the attack. The Latverian grabbed the Wakandan and threw him into the Wasp.

The world famous shield then struck Doom on the head, sending him staggering a few steps. That was all the time needed for a rapid combo of punches to be delivered. As the Latverian began to regather his bearing, his torso was struck with a jumping kick, courtesy of Morse' pole vault attack.

"You continue to test my patience," Doom remarked as his arcane blasts caught Panther's daggers and then blasted the Wakandan Avenger. "You Avengers continue to try and defy me, and yet you cannot succeed. I am your better, your conqueror. Nothing you can do will stop Doom."

"Well, forgive us if we want to keep trying," Iron Man yelled before he slammed himself into Doom, using his uni-beam to him force the Latverian Monarch into a powerful impact on the ground. With a resonating impact, the Armored Avenger successfully managed to do so, and quickly continued to fire his repulsors as he tried to keep Doom forcibly on his back. Of course, Victor von Doom would have none of this, and quickly engaged Stark in a mix of melee and up-close ranged combat. The metallic ringing of gauntlets echoed as their fists were exchanged, and explosions rang out as Stark fired his repulsors and missiles, with Doom firing his electrical and arcane blasts.

As the two armored beings battled, Jan, Pym, Barton, Romanova and Jess immediately began a bombardment of their own, aiming to strike at Victor von Doom while he was distracted by Stark's attack. They hadn't agreed to it, but it seemed like an excellent idea to take advantage of Doom's lack of attention.

Unfortunately, Captain America saw that that was a bad idea. "No, all of you, cease fire-!"

"AAAARGGHH!"

His warnings came too late, however, as Doom grabbed Stark by the armored neck and forced him around, effectively using him as a shield against the other Avengers' attacks. Taken by surprise, Stark didn't call up his shields in time and his armor was rattled.

Doom moved quickly as he blasted Stark towards Spiderwoman and Wasp, both airborne. Pym went into giant mode and lumbered forward, only to be bombarded and struck down by debris Doom sent flying to him. Black Widow and Hawkeye began firing again at Doom, only to hit Quicksilver as he sped in to deliver a flurry of punches. Yelling in pain from the stinger blasts and arrows that struck him, Pietro couldn't stop Doom as he grabbed the Silver Avenger and threw him back at the two SHIELD agents, who barely dodged.

Captain America and Mockingbird raced forward, shield and staves at the ready. Steve flung his shield, but Doom managed to blast it back with an arcane bolt. Morse avoided Doom's electrical blasts with a skid before attempting a sweep kick, but Doom easily sidestepped her attack before delivering a powerful punch, sending her flying into Cap.

"This is truly pathetic...you Avengers are writing your own defeat!" the Latverian roared as he unleashed a surge of electrical energy, sending the two flying. Doom grabbed a pouncing Logan and threw him at an incoming T'Challa. He activated his shields to keep Jan and Jess' blasts at bay. "Do you not see how you cannot mount a successful attack upon me, what with you-"

KRAKAKOOOM!

"DOOOOOMMMM!"

Victor von Doom turned his gaze upwards to see a golden missile-like object blast from the ground into the air. Captain Marvel had regained consciousness.

In the blink of an eye, he was slammed back into the ground by the fully powered heroine. Her glowing fists delivered precise haymakers as she repeatedly punched him before she flew back up and fired a photonic blast into his armored face.

"YOU DARE?!" Doom roared as he aimed a pulsating gauntlet at Carol. Before he could fire, though, he was suddenly engulfed in a mini cyclone of fists and kicks, courtesy of Quicksilver.

"HOW DO YOU LIKE THAT?!" Carol yelled in a mix of fury and glee. Pietro phased back into existence as he took a battle ready stance alongside Captain America, Widow, Hawkeye and Mockingbird, albeit he was still in pain from the friendly fire moments ago. Spider Woman and Wasp joined Carol, all three with their fists glowing.

Doom stood back up, took a look at the heroes standing before him, and then a look at the other heroes who were struggling to stand back up. He smirked, his gauntlets pulsating once more with electrical and arcane energy.

"I will admit, you possess more fight than the Fantastic Four," Doom said. "However, it will not help you here in any way."

With that, he began firing another series of blasts at the now charging Avengers.

---

*Roosevelt Island, East River, New York*

8:52 PM EST June 16, 2012

"WHY-?!"

KATHOOOOM!

"-DON'T YOU-"

FRAKAKOOOOM!

"-STAY DOWN?!"

SHRAKAKOOOOMMM!

"THE SON OF ODIN DOES NOT YIELD TO THE LIKES OF YOU, CREATURE!"

The skies again roared with thunder as Thor slammed Mjolnir across the Hulk's face, having just taken a trio of punches himself. Unrelenting in his assault, Thor repeated the blow several times as he brought his weapon down again and again. Each impact unleashed a powerful resonating shockwave that rang out for miles. Just as the Asgardian Avenger was about to deliver what he hoped would be the killing blow, the Incredible Avenger slammed his two meaty fists into the former's face, Mjolnir dropping from his hand. Thor staggered back in surprise from the impact, and Hulk jumped on that moment and slammed the Asgardian into the ground.

Hulk then began viciously beating into Thor's face and torso, forcing a bigger crater into the ground with each blow. Hulk then made to use his large foot to further land a massive blow, but Thor then took those few seconds to summon his hammer. The mighty weapon zoomed for him, hitting the Hulk in the small (?) of his back and sending him crashing into the crater walls. Grabbing Mjolnir, Thor summoned a mass of lightning bolts and fused them into one massive surge of electricity, all directed to the Hulk.

The crater was engulfed in a massive blast of celestial lightning, blasting it into larger size and striking the Incredible Hulk. The pure power of the bolt tore up massive chunks of grass, rock, concrete and stone; the entirety of Roosevelt Island shook from the impact, houses across the island shaking and quaking and the echoing of car alarms screaming into the night skies. Chaos swamped the streets and people and civilians fled in all directions, the battle sending them into utter terror.

At last, Thor stopped the lightning strike. He was confident that the bolt had handled the creature he had been fighting, and would then proceed to handle the others who had been chosen for death. A vicious roar, however, shook him from his thoughts. Turning to the center of the now smoking crater, Thor was shocked to see the smoking and charred, but very much alive, body of the Incredible Hulk, standing and snarling at him as his cooked flesh molded under his healing factor.

"That...made...me...MAD!" the titan roared before surging forward and delivering a massive haymaker onto Thor's jaw. His weapon again dropped, Thor could only use his own two hands and the godly strength behind them to engage Hulk in a battle of pure brute strength. The exchanged blows caused rippling shockwaves to form and streak across the land, their sheer force destroying everything in their path.

The park that the Incredible Hulk had managed to slam Thor into from the United Nations on Roosevelt Island was quickly being torn apart as the two titans continued to fight, trying to subdue the other. It was a ghastly sight to behold, as the two Avengers fought with all their power washing out. Already, the park had basically become a sheer wasteland, but for the Hulk, it was better that it was in the park and not in the actual streets where civilians could be hurt or killed. As per the Avengers' plan, he was doing his best to keep this battle contained here in the park, away from any innocents. He knew that with Thor having just as much power as his, and perhaps even more, he was currently the only one able to stop him right now, or at least have a chance.

In all essence, Hulk was the only defense the city had against Victor von Doom's newest weapon.

Unfortunately, the people he was protecting didn't see it that way. Nor did the dozen or so news choppers filming the battle from the skies, broadcasting it to the entire world. To the entirety of the Earth, thanks to the reputation that Bruce Banner was tainted with, it looked as if Thor was battling an out of control Hulk.

And no one believed this more that General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross. "Talbot, what's the status of civilian evac?"

"We're reaching the last few neighborhoods now, sir," a man in his thirties with a black mustache replied through his comm as he directed a large group of civilians to an army truck. Currently clothed in dark green and black mecha-armor and armed with a heavy duty machine gun, Major Glenn Talbot waved the truck off to proceed with evacuation. "ETA should be about five to ten more minutes."

"Very well," Ross replied. He was currently in dark army fatigues and chomping on his cigarette, binoculars in his hands as he looked at the battle at the southern island tip from his position on a small hill. Looking up to the skies, the general saw a multitude of highly advanced attack choppers racing down towards the battle site, each one the proud product of Hammer Industries' best technology. The rumbling ground at his feet alerted him that his Corps' tanks were now on the move, each one powerful and well equipped with cannons and machine guns. And he could easily see the dark green and black of the mecha-armors Hammer Industries had also provided his troops, each one fully capable and durable for combat with the Hulk. At his back was a massive dark green Stryker Command Vehicle, manned by 12 men and four gunners.

This was the pride and joy of "Thunderbolt" Ross. This was the sixth branch of the US Armed Forces: the United States HulkBusters Corps, formed to capture and kill the Incredible Hulk since 2004.

"Talbot, listen up," Ross continued, "hand all remaining evac back to the local cops; they can handle the rest on their own from here on out. I want you to head the ground units; Air One will be heading the aerial units. Use formation Delta Typhoon-67. Keep this contained and, no matter what, I want this to end tonight. Bring down the Hulk, no matter what it takes!"

"Yes sir." With that, Talbot switched comms and called upon his partner-in-arms. "Ground One to Air One, the OK just came in from Thunderbolt. We have the green light to engage. Repeat, we're clear to engage."

"Copy that, Ground 1," replied the voice of HulkBuster Corps Pilot Captain William "Wild Bill" Gregory, currently flying a HulkBuster attack chopper. In sharp contrast to his fellow soldiers and men, Gregory wore standard Texas Ranger/cowboy attire, reminiscent of his days with the Texas Rangers.

"Air One to all HB Helis, proceed to Kill-Zone. Green Light is confirmed, repeat, Green Light is confirmed. All packages, ready to engage; strike on Thunderbolt's order. Entering the Kill-Zone...now!" With that, all airborne HulkBuster units began quickly closing in onto the island's park, heading right into the carnage that both Hulk and Thor were causing.

At the same time, Talbot also gave his orders to the ground troops of the USHBC, with the tanks and foot soldiers surging forward with their weapons ready and loaded. Back in his HB Stryker, Ross was already barking orders for his men to follow them. The general chomped on his cigar, refusing to accept loss as an answer this time. The UN had granted him the return of the Hulk, and he was not about to let this go on any further. It was time Banner learned his place and purpose.

One way or another, General Ross was determined to finally bring down and bring in the Hulk, regardless of the cost.

Back in what was left of the park, Hulk blocked another strike from the Asgardian Avenger's first, ramming his own thick head into Thor's. He crashed into the ground with a thunderous impact, his winged helmet falling into the dirt with a very noticeable dent in it.

"This is getting really tedious," Banner mused in their shared mindscape.

"You're telling me," Hulk muttered in reply as he raised his two fists back into the air, ready to lay another smashing blow.

...before a trio of missiles suddenly arrived on scene, exploding violently on both him and the ground below, but somehow missing Thor. The Incredible Avenger was sent flying into the air before crashing heavily onto the ground several dozen meters away. His flesh burned once again and with a small ringing in his ears, the Hulk slowly got back from the small crater he had crater. With a loud grunt, he turned to the direction the missiles came from before snarling in rage. He didn't need this, not now of all times...

'Oh, you have got to be kidding..." Bruce muttered.

"Ross," was all the Hulk snarled. They should've known.

Rumbling in the skies and on the ground, the battalions of the HulkBusters Corps began surging forward, their weapons at the ready as the tanks and helicopters advanced. The soldier platoons could be seen behind them, as could the hulking form of the HB Stryker Command Vehicle, where both Banner and Hulk knew Ross was in. And sure enough...

"All HulkBuster units," Ross yelled into his radio comm. "OPEN FIRE!"

As one force, the HulkBuster tanks and choppers began attacking, their cannons and missiles and machine guns lighting up the destroyed area. Instinctively, Hulk raised his arm to cover his face, even though he knew none of their weapons could harm him. The missiles exploded both upon and around him, blinding him with smoke and debris as the resulting flames burned him again. Roars of fury echoed across the park as Ross' forces continued their assault.

"Ground troops, prepare to move in!" Talbot called out, motioning for his men to advance.

They never got the chance as a powerful shockwave rang out, quickly dispersing the heavy smoke that had surrounded the Hulk. With a powerful and earsplitting roar, Hulk charged forward, ignoring all the bullets and shells hitting him, and slammed his fists into the first tank he caught. The impact send the tank crashing backwards into two others, the first exploding violently as the latter collapsed violently into the ground.

The HB choppers retaliated with heavy missile bombardment, which Hulk took head on. This was something he definitely had no need for right now. It seemed that the Army wasn't exactly taking his fight with Thor sitting down; for all he knew, they thought he was going out of control again and Thor was trying to stop him. Grabbing a nearby tank, the Incredible Avenger ripped off its cannon before shoving it aside. He then threw the cannon into the chopper fleet above him, managing to destroy one and crippling two others.

The ground troops then began advancing, their weapons firing away as the tanks and choppers gave support. Unwilling to hurt the humans trying to bring him down, Hulk simply slammed his fist into the ground, sending a gaping fissure their way to force the soldiers to flee while simultaneously trapping a few of the tanks. With a powerful jump, Hulk grabbed one of the retreating tanks and threw it towards the somewhat distant HB Stryker Command. The armored vehicle was just barely able to escape the incoming metallic projectile.

Ross swore. He was not going to let Hulk best him once again.

As Hulk continued to battle the HulkBusters, Thor got back up to his feet. Shaking his head and grabbing Mjolnir, he looked up and took in the scenes of battle before him. Unfortunately, the Asgardian was still under the effects of Doom's mind control spell, and as such he was still under the command to destroy the Avengers. He had been engaged with one of them, the monster known as the Hulk, who was now in battle with an army of mortal men. This did not sit well with the Odinson; his master had commanded him to make the kill, and as the Norse God of Thunder and a true warrior of Asgard, arguably the greatest, he refused to let the honor of victory and the rush of the kill be ripped away from him.

KRAKAOOOMM!

Hulk was suddenly sent flying as Thor flew into him in full force, hammer in hand as he struck the Hulk. The Incredible Avenger was sent flying into the skies, where Thor chased him and struck him back down into the ground with a powerful hammer blow. As Hulk crashed, Thor followed with a powerful slamming kick right into his face.

"No mortal shall rob me of my victory, brute," Thor snarled as he raised Mjolnir again for another blow. "The Avengers are MINE to destroy!" He brought down his arm to slam the Hulk's face with his hammer, but Hulk grabbed his wrist, keeping the weapon from striking. Hulk immediately noticed how difficult it was to keep the Thunderer's arm at bay.

"Shove it up yours, Goldilocks!" Hulk roared as he slammed his other fist into Thor's face, sending him skywards. As the Asgardian quickly rectified himself midair, Hulk jumped after him with his fists at the ready. Thor met him head on, both titans impacting powerfully with their blows before they both crashed back into the ground.

"Sir," Talbot barked into his comm. "The Avenger Thor just returned back onto the scene, and just reengaged the Hulk!"

"I see that Talbot. This changes nothing; our target is still the Hulk. If that Thor guy is going to be fighting him, too, then that just makes it easier. The Hulk can't fight us as much if he's focused on the Avenger. Take advantage of the distraction and proceed as planned, soldier!"

"Copy that."

"Aerial units, proceed with Delta-Typhoon formation!" Wild Bill barked before leading his air battalions to another strike. Their machine guns roaring to life once more, the HulkBuster choppers reengaged their target, bombarding the Hulk with their bullets. The whines of rocket-propelled engines soon followed as their missiles soon joined the fray, striking heavily and explosively. The tanks began creating a circular formation as they began attacking from all sides, allowing no possible escape from any side. Hulk roared in fury as he tried to both battle Thor and protect himself from the vicious and continuous bombardment of the HulkBusters.

All the HulkBusters were now raining metallic hell onto the Incredible Hulk...and also the Mighty Thor.

"You DARE?!" Thor yelled out as he turned upwards towards the HulkBusters. Their bullets and missiles meant less than nothing to him, for no mortal weapon could fell the Son of Odin. But they dared to try and lay claim to his battle, to his quarry...his victory?! "HAVE AT THEE!"

Wild Bill blinked.

"OH, SHI-!" was all that could be heard as the pilot barely managed to veer his chopper out of the way of Mjolnir. Unfortunately, the two behind him had not been so fortunate. With a devastating explosion, Thor's hammer destroyed the attack choppers, both breaking apart and crashing viciously onto the ground below. It was clear that the pilots didn't have a chance to escape or parachute out. For all they knew, they were dead and burning.

"What the-?!" Talbot cried out, horror creeping into his voice and mind. All his fellow HulkBusters stood slack jawed in horror.

"You mortals have interfered in Asgardian affairs for the last time!" Thor roared as his weapon returned to him. The skies began rumbling and crackling with thunder and lightning again, just as vicious as last time.

"What in God's name-?!" Ross cried out, his face covered in shock, as was those of the rest of the crew in the Stryker. "What the hell just happened-?! That damn-?!" He had just witnessed one of the Avengers, one of the superheroes, a brand new superhero just possibly murder several of his men. Words had escaped him upon seeing this.

Even the Hulk had frozen in utter shock at what had just happened.

Thor, however, continued with what he was going to do to these mortals. He would not allow them to take his glory, his victory. "You mortals will learn the price to pay this night for seeking to take victories that are not yours! Face the wrath of Mjolnir!" he roared as he charged forward, heading right for the HulkBusters tanks, the hammer in his hands aglow with power. The Norse God of Thunder, under the control of Victor von Doom's spell, was out for blood.

"Stop him! Take him down! DO SOMETHING!" Talbot yelled out desperately as Thor slammed Mjolnir into one of the tanks. It was sent flying the full distance of the island, crashing violently into an abandoned house. The crew barely managed to escape the wreckage of their war machine before it exploded and blew apart.

The HulkBusters suddenly found themselves forced to engage the Asgardian Avenger, and they did not like the turn of events. Bullets and missiles were fired in desperation as the soldiers tried to both attack and retreat at the same time, wanting to avoid the wrath of the Thunder God. Unfortunately, their weapons had no effect on the Asgardian; bullets just flicked off of his impenetrable skin, and while shells and missiles impacted him with explosive results, they did little to slow him down or deter him.

Thor, however, was easily able to bring destruction upon the HulkBusters, and he was demonstrating it quite easily. Summoning the lightning that was his to command, the Asgardian struck at many of the choppers with the electrical surges, making them all explode and crash down, their pilots barely managing to eject in time. Wild Bill tried his best to get his aerial battalions to re-engage properly against their opponent, shooting everything in his arsenal at the Avenger. Several of the choppers joined with their field leader, but they couldn't harm Thor.

Against the tanks, Thor went more physical as he easily grabbed them and slammed them against each other, no regards for the crew within. With Mjolnir in hand, Thor would also whack away the tanks as they tried to shoot him down. No matter how much the tanks tried to push Thor back with retaliatory fire, Thor would not stop attacking them.

In desperation, the ground troops fired their guns at the Asgardian, but this proved to be less than ineffective. No bullet or rocket or grenade was able to do anything...except gain Thor's attention to them. With a roar, Thor jumped towards them, making to slam Mjolnir into them. Panicking, the soldiers scattered and ran, but the impact and seismic waves of Thor's attack hitting the ground caught many of them, nonetheless. They were all sent flying forward, landing painfully on the war-torn grounds of the park. Their armors were chipped and damaged, their helmets broken. Talbot had been one of those caught in the blast, and had the unfortunate luck to be the closest to Thor. The soldier froze as he saw Thor menacingly lumber towards him, hammer crackling with power and the intent written on his face to send Talbot into oblivion and to his maker.

And Talbot would've indeed possibly met his maker...had a jade colored body not slammed itself onto the Asgardian, sending the Avenger crashing into the ground. With a powerful punch from a gamma-empowered fist, Thor was slammed deeper into the ground before he was grabbed in a holding lock made of powerful green muscles.

"GET OUT OF HERE!" the Incredible Hulk roared to the soldiers. "NOW!"

Major Glenn Talbot didn't need to be told twice.

"All units, fall back now!" he yelled into his earpiece. No member of the HulkBusters Corps present hesitated to obey as the remaining tanks and choppers quickly turned on their heels and sped away, not even bothering with cover fire. The ground troops also began running as fast as they could, some even dropping their weapons. Screw the voice of "Thunderbolt" Ross yelling in their ears. As far as Wild Bill and Talbot were concerned, they were alive to be chewed out. That was good enough for them.

With the HulkBusters were finally getting out of the way, Hulk was finally free again to focus solely on Thor, and he took full advantage. Even after everything that Ross and the HulkBusters Corp had done to him and done to ruin his life, the Hulk would not let Thor try to kill them all.

With a powerful thunderclap, the Incredible Avengers sent the God of Thunder flying again as the latter made to come in with a powerful hammer strike. Unwilling to be deterred, Thor quickly rectified himself and simply sent Mjolnir crashing into the Hulk. Taking advantage of the Hulk staggering under the blow, Thor bum rushed the titan and slammed him into the ground, quickly unleashing a powerful series of punches and strikes onto Hulk's face. Mjolnir quickly returning to his hand, Thor then continued with a vicious hammer strike, the skies roaring with lightning in tune with the hit. Roaring, Hulk retaliated with a vicious headbutt, sending the Asgardian staggering.

Quickly pressing his advantage, the titan delivered a mighty haymaker, sending Thor crashing downwards where the Hulk's foot was waiting to kick him right in the face. Before Thor could be sent soaring, his hammer falling out of his hand, Hulk grabbed his cape and used it to slam Thor face first onto the ground again. Thor quickly reacted with a sweep kick, sending the Hulk

Thor then noticed that the HulkBusters had by now retreated a considerable distance away. Looking quickly between them and the now roaring and charging Hulk, he smirked before readying to meet the gamma-powered beast. He unleashed a war cry as he began twirling Mjolnir in his hand. The Asgardian was infuriated that the mortals had tried to interfere with his battle, but he still had a duty to perform in destroying the Avengers.

And this brutish monster had been willing to be the first of them to approach the slaughter. Who was Thor to deny him his desire to be the first to welcome Hela's embrace?

With a jumping leap, Hulk made to deliver his signature strike. "HULK SMASH-!"

"I SAY THEE NAY!" Thor retorted as he struck first, strike with a spinning hammer blow into Hulk's chest. The wind knocked out of him, Hulk had no chance to react as Thor began summoning a vicious storm of winds, encompassing him within a cyclone that slowly began sucking him into the air. Thor flew up as the Hulk went higher, bombarding him with several lightning blasts from his hammer. Hulk roared defiantly, sending a wave of sonic blasts with his thunderclaps in retaliation. Before he could do anything else, though, Thor suddenly rushed in and slammed the Hulk right in the head with Mjolnir. The force was so great that not only did the seismic waves resulting from it spread out in all directions for several miles, but the Hulk was also send flying right out of the cyclone. Thor sped after him, striking blow after blow, with the Hulk responding in kind. But Thor had the advantage of the winds pushing in his favor, and he used it wisely as he battled the Hulk midair, pushing them both back to where they started.

...right back towards the United Nations

It was time that he finished this. Doom had commanded him to destroy the Avengers. He was going to do it in one fell swoop this night.

---

*United Nations complex, Manhattan*

8:57 PM EST June 16, 2012

"DREW!"

"Foolish woman...Doom's will bows to no one."

With that, Doom flung Spider Woman's still convulsing and electrocuted body into the charging form of Iron Man. Stark was forced to stop and catch her, which gave Doom the chance to bum rush them both into the ground and strike them swiftly with electrical surges and metallic punches. Captain Marvel quickly retaliated with a vicious blast of photonic energy, but it proved futile as Doom willed a shield of debris to protect him. Grabbing an arrow aimed right at him inches from his face, Doom redirected it at a charging Captain America and Wolverine, both barely evading the arrow as it exploded.

Jess had come up with the idea to strike at Doom using her pheromone manipulation abilities. Breaking away from Carol and Barton, she had glided and weaved through the chaotic mess that was the battle between the Avengers and Victor von Doom. Doom had seen her coming, and reacted accordingly by sending a powerful blast of arc lightning electricity straight at her. Jess had barely managed to avoid it, Pym distracting Doom with a haymaker as she got even closer.

Just as the Latverian monarch had used Pym's body to block a series of repulsor and stinger blasts, and shielded himself from Cap's shield, Jess had struck. She had blasted Doom in the face with her venom blasts, momentarily blinding him, before grabbing him in a choke hold. She immediately unleashed her full abilities in pheromones. The British Avenger had called out to her teammates that she had Doom, that she had gotten him under her influence and control, her manipulation. Jess was certain beyond reason that she had finally succeeded in bringing down Victor von Doom.

To her horror, Doom had instead simply turned to look at her with the same cold, merciless and unrelenting expression that was his. That was what had led to her being grabbed within his choking grasp, electrocuted and blasted for her insolence.

"Crap, even Jessica's pheromones have no effect on Doom!" Mockingbird exclaimed as she and Hawkeye dodged another round of electrical blasts.

"I always did wonder if she could bring him down if she tried," Barton offered.

"Well, there goes the experiment of the day! Now what do we do?!" Yellowjacket called out as he managed to land an enlarged haymaker on Doom. The unfortunate part was that Doom's shieldings had managed to catch it first.

"Keep hittin' him, that's what!" Logan roared as he came in for another strike with his claws, only to be blasted with a surge of electricity, again rendering him unconscious momentarily. Mockingbird had the unfortunate luck of having been going behind him, and was caught under the taller mutant's weight as they both collapsed.

Captain America was frustrated to say, the least. He was a leader, first and foremost. He had led armies back in World War II, and he had led the Howling Commandos with Bucky and Logan and Jack Fury. He had led the Invaders against the Axis and their own superhuman weapons. He was second in command to Quake of the SHIELD Secret Warriors. And yet, he couldn't get the Avengers working into one fighting unit. He had started off well in the initial engagement, but everything had gone downhill once Hulk had to engage a mind controlled Thor and he had to get Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver to safety. In those moments, the Avengers had relapsed into their own individual styles of fighting and combat. At least in the military, soldiers all conformed into one unit, but this was different all together.

Victor von Doom, meanwhile, looked at the battle before him and had to say that everything had come around quite nicely. However, even with the immense well of patience that Doom could have, it was starting to wear thin. He had come here to America, to the United Nations, to prove a point, and now that he had proven it, the continuation of this means was no longer necessary. He had met most of the Avengers' strikes and attacks. He had also found that several of them were possible potential threats. These self-proclaimed mightiest heroes of Earth could possibly one day be a threat to Doom.

But they were not so tonight.

"This has become tedious, repetitive," Doom mused as he blocked an energy blast from Captain Marvel. He then turned and shot a blast of electricity at Quicksilver, who had to dodge and cancel out the vortex of punches he had meant to unleash. "I grow tired of this."

"Oh yeah, because we're going to let you have a five minute break right now," Stark retorted as he fired a rapid barrage of repulsors. Doom easily sidestepped them and shot Iron Man with another arcane blast.

"I don't think you understand, Stark," Doom replied as his gauntlets began pulsating with green arcane energy. He muttered a few words of an ancient language, which resulted in his whole body becoming consumed in the same energy. "I...grow...tired of this."

And instantly, the villain unleashed the massive surge of vicious arcane energy, shooting out in all directions. The Avengers, who had been coming right at Doom for one massive attack, yelled out in immense pain as they were struck by the magical attack. Their weapons dropped as they convulsed and shuddered and shook in their pain and agony. Screams and yells of extremely excruciating pain rang out as Doom unleashed his full torment upon them. With them all considerably exhausted having been in constant and intense battle with Doom, this served to only make matter that much worse for them.

After what felt like hours of excruciating pain and torment, Doom's arcanic surge subsided, its course run on the Avengers. The heroes collapsed onto the ripped up grounds of the United Nations, all in immense pain and drained of much of their energy. They still stirred, albeit with pain, and their groans were evidence that they were still conscious; however, it wasn't of much comfort to many of the Avengers. Some tried to stand, but it was no easy task.

"Truly...pathetic," Doom said as he gazed upon each of the fallen Avengers. "Your effort is somewhat admirable, but sorely lacking."

"Don't... Don't count...out...yet," came the voice of Captain America. The Super Soldier was struggling to stand, using his shield as a support. "As long...as we have...breath...we won't...give up."

"You would be wiser to remain on your knees, Captain," Doom replied as he allowed power to pulsate in his gauntlet. "There is no use in continuing to fight. Doom has already defeated you."

"Don't bet on it, Doom," Stark hoarsely added, cringing and wincing. The Heartbreaker armor was damaged in several places, a few pieces torn off and sparks crackling here and there. The ARC Reactor was blinking in low intensity, signaling the damage that the suit had taken. JARVIS was hastily working the self-repair system.

"Stark, Stark...you were all already defeated from the moment you all responded to T'Challa's distress call."

It was the Wakandan Avenger's turn to glare at Doom. "What do you speak of now?"

Doom chuckled darkly, his eyes holding that malicious glint in them. "You really do not see it, do you? Look at yourselves, Wakandan, Avengers. Is this really the best that the Earth's 'Mightiest' Heroes can give me? You amuse me. You have all garnered considerable reputations as...heroes, as the world has taken to call you. And yet, it is as individuals that you have all fallen before Doom. Ironic."

"The hell ya talkin' about, ya stupid tin head?" Logan growled as he got back up. "We're all right here, aren't we?"

"No, Logan," Cap replied, glaring non-stop at the monarch. "He's talking about our individuality as heroes. The Pyms as a duo, us SHIELD agents as a single unit, Tony and you and T'Challa as loners...he exploited our individuality. He tore us by driving us back into our own comfort zones. Our Fastball, hitting Stark while trying to hit him, all because he made us forget the team and resort to our individual tactics. Divide and conquer."

"A simple and yet time tested strategy throughout millennia. You provided the divide, and I simply put in the conquering. Pathetically easy; you have only become a team in the last couple of weeks, and you just seemed to think that saying you are a team makes you one. And yet in this entire bout of ours, you failed to take into any consideration what a team entails. I turned you against each other. I sowed chaos within your ranks. I rekindled personal attributes within you. I took everything that made you somewhat formidable adversaries as individuals, as pairs or as soldiers and agents...and used it against you all. You resorted to familiar tactics, and it cost you dearly on multiple instances, as to your teammates. It was Doom who showed you the true colors of your insignificant union. You are no team...and Doom has showed the world the truth."

"You did all this..." Wasp panted as she struggled to stand, "...just to prove a point?"

"Not only that, Jan," Carol added, wincing in pain. "He did it to demonstrate his power. To show off."

"Correct, Captain," Doom replied. "Our battle has been broadcasted across the entirety of the planet. From Europe to the smallest islands of the Pacific, the world has witnessed their new self-proclaimed protectors, their champions...fall against the superiority that is Doom. You claim to be the mightiest heroes of the Earth, when you cannot even properly work as a functioning team. As Doom is your better, the outcome of our battle is of no surprise, of course. But did you truly believe that with how you all operate, with how independent you all, how close minded and reluctant you are to work with those unfamiliar...you really call this union of yours a team? You think that you could face Doom in battle and succeed with this pathetic little coalition?"

The Avengers could find no way to respond, not even Captain America.

The sudden impact of two colossal and powerful entities slamming into the ground between them shook their attention. Within the newly created large crater, a series of powerful and shockwave inducing punches rang out, followed by a monstrous roar. The thick dust and smoke that obscured the crater was dissipated by a heavy impact that shook the ground, revealing the bruised, burned and bleeding form of the Incredible Hulk.

"Well," Doom mused with a chuckle as he took in the scene before him. "It appears that you all have rather...pressing issues to deal with in terms of teamwork. I am certain I have made my point well enough. Doom now leaves you all to...clean up your mess." With that, Doom began chanting before he was engulfed with a surge of arcane energy, and he vanished before their eyes with an echoing bang of magic.

The Avengers were momentarily caught off guard, their eyes trained on the spot where Doom had just been standing.

"Dammit, he teleported," Stark said finally in exasperation, his armor's scanners quickly going to work. "He's gone; I'm not picking any of his signatures or energy readings anywhere within the city limits."

"We got bigger problems right now, Stark," Logan called out as he snapped his arm back into place, his claws popping back out. Hawkeye stood by him, his last three arrows at the ready.

"Really big problems," Hulk snarled as he clenched his fists, backing away from the crater he had formed, his eyes trained on one figure. All eyes quickly turned away and followed his gaze. If any of them had felt a small form of respite in the fact that Doom had… 'retreated,' then that small feeling was quickly replaced by renewed fear and uncertainty.

The skies rumbled and flashed with thunder and lightning as Thor slowly got back up from the same crater that he had created. His armor was badly chipped, his helmet was dented in several places with a wing broken, his gloves were ripped and his cape was in tatters. There were also several bruises on his face. Nonetheless, the power that the Asgardian exuded could still be felt, and the tinges of green had still not left his eyes. In his hand was the mystical weapon Mjolnir, crackling with energy and glowing a vibrant light blue.

The Asgardian Avenger then stood up at full regal height and glared at them all, and cracked his neck. The heavens danced in tune to the action.

"Oh, sugar honey iced tea," Steve muttered as he gripped his shield tighter, Pietro slowly backing up next to him.

"You fear me, Avengers?" Thor rumbled with a vicious smirk. "You are right in doing so."

"Hulk, I thought you were taking care of him on Roosevelt Island," Jan said with uncertainty as she shrunk down, her fists glowing with power.

"I was. Then Ross showed up."

"HulkBusters Ross?" Carol exclaimed as she took a defensive stand.

"Know any other? He tried to take me down again...and Thor tried to kill them all. I had to stop Goldilocks, and managed to make Ross and his soldiers run away. Then Goldilocks sent us both flying back here."

The Avengers found themselves with quite the dilemma in their hands. They had a new dangerous opponent right in front of them, and now had to figure out what to do. The obvious reaction was to fight, and hope that they could somehow snap Thor out of the mind control Doom had him under. But even from just looking at each other, they could tell that they couldn't handle another fight of this magnitude. Their battle with Doom had taken a toll on them all, and his spell had done quite a number on them. They were exhausted, injured and their energy was spent, and they were low in ranks. Only the Hulk was in any condition to again engage with the Asgardian.

Nonetheless, they readied themselves for the coming fight that was certain to take place. They were very exhausted, but they were heroes. They wouldn't back down from a fight, from protecting the innocents. They would stand until the end.

Even if the end was right in front of them.

"Now, mortals," Thor boomed as he began to advance menacingly, Mjolnir twirling in his gloved hand. The Avengers braced themselves for what was to come. "Prepare to greet oblivion in Hel, as I smite you and deliver thy-!"

The Asgardian never finished as he was suddenly struck by a large pink blast of energy. Thor immediately began roaring in pain as the energy enveloped and consumed him, bringing him to his knees. Mjolnir landed on the ground with a heavy thud, his hands flying up to his head and chest. His eyes began glowing a mixture of blue and pink with a small touch of green that was slowly dissipating.

The heroes turned with shock to see a semi-conscious Scarlet Witch leaning on Nick Fury, her arm outstretched as she unleashed a massive blast of hex magic energy. Her eyes were glowing a vibrant pink, but the strain that she was going through was clearly evident by the stressed and pained look on her face. Sweat was beading down her brow and face in droves, and her teeth were clenched, and she seemed half ready to fall over.

After a minute, Wanda finally stopped her hex assault, the energies consuming Thor quickly vanishing. Thor gasped loudly, falling onto all fours, panting heavily. He looked just about ready to pass out. Wanda was in no better shaped, breathing heavily as her own hand collapsed to her side.

"Got...got him," Wanda groaned heavily before collapsing again into Fury, the Director catching her before she fell on the ground. She had fallen into unconsciousness once again.

Before anyone, namely Pietro, could react and rush to the Scarlet Avenger, they turned to the sound of a heavy groan. Thor was slowly getting back to his feet, shaking his head to stop the wave of dizziness, pain and sickness. He could feel that he had been struck by magical needs, at least once. His vision a bit blurry, he could just make out the Hulk standing closest to him.

"Hulk?" Thor muttered groggily, his head in his hand. Turning to the titan, he added, "Hulk, what has just tra-?"

KAPOW!

"...Nothing personal, Goldilocks," the Incredible Avenger grunted as he looked down at Thor, the Thunder God having just been punched right in the face by him. Thor landed on all fours, groaning in confusion and pain. Had it not been for those factors, he would've struck back at the Hulk with no hesitation.

"Wanda!"

Pietro was at Wanda's side in the literal blink of an eye. He gently took her from Fury, cradling her limp form and thankful that she was still breathing. He glanced up at Fury, who gave a curt nod before walking off to approach the other Avengers.

"Fury," Steve said as he approached them

Fury sighed bitterly. "We have a number of diplomats and representatives from various nations MIA, Latverian soldiers having kidnapped them during your fight with Doom. We have a large number of casualties from fighting Doom's soldiers and Doombots, with police and soldiers and delegates injured and even some dead. We have a few something million in damages. Hill's reporting in that Roosevelt Island's park is a mess, and a few residences are trashed because Thor engaged the HulkBusters Corps. That's Ross' fault, of course, but then there's the bigger issue. The news networks are blowing up the Thor and Hulk fight, with Banner getting spit on even more...and Thor being accused of being some kind of supervillain after thrashing around American soldiers. The public perception on the two of them, no so good right now, worse for Banner."

"You're kidding me," Stark sighed.

"No, I'm not. Boys and girls, this fight made a mess of things...a really big mess. The Council is going to be on my ass because of this...and because of you Avengers."

"Because of us? What-?"

"Doom did this because of you, Stark. Because you Avengers challenged him. The whole world saw that, heard him say it. It's being played across the world as we speak. And he ripped you guys apart. He played you and made a strike at the UN while doing it. He made Thor and Hulk fight each other, destroying a small part of Roosevelt Island while doing so. Doom's goal was to make the public, the entire world, turn against you while both beating you and dividing you. And he did a damn good job. The UN will be against you even more, the Council will want SHIELD to do something about you, and then the American public's reaction to Thor and his fight with the HulkBusters, not to mention the government...Doom won here, Avengers, in more ways than one."

Captain America and Iron Man found themselves unable to reply, words escaping them. Fury took that as his cue to leave, not bothering to spare a glance at any of the other heroes, not even his other Warriors.

What could they say, after all, when they knew that Fury was right?

All the Avengers could do was watch with a mixture of shock, anger, shame and humiliation as SHIELD agents, police and city paramedics swarmed the scene. Various news cameras and reporters were trying to get their attention, shouting questions at them from the barricades the police had set up, broadcasting everything to the world. They all fell on deaf ears.

The Avengers had been soundly beaten by Victor von Doom.

A sound of something sticky hitting the pavement caught their attention. They turned to see the black suited form of the Amazing Spider-Man landing, finally arriving on scene. Peter couldn't take his eyes off of all the destruction before him. He had been confident that his teammates would've handled this fine until he arrived. It was a different story, one that pushed him into a rare silence.

"...Oh, my God," he said quietly as he turned to the other Avengers. "What happened?"

The looks that more than a few of his teammates had on their faces alerted him that he was probably in a bit of trouble...

---

XXXXX-A/N-XXXXX

Wow...that was a long one...

This chapter was originally going to be longer to include a bit of scenes with the Avengers licking their wounds back at the Mansion and breaking apart even more. I decided to save that for next time.

The Hulkbusters of this continuity are the United States Hulkbuster Corps, the sixth branch of the American military. They're based off the Avengers: EMH versions. This includes their massive Stryker Command Vehicle, the tanks, the soldier armor and the choppers seen in the show. Wild Bill, the chopper pilot, is also here as well. Their tech is made by Hammer Industries.

God, this was a long chapter, longest yet in the series, with roadblocks and inconsistencies everywhere. Hopefully, this was all to your satisfaction. Please, leave some reviews and critique, and remember to reread every chapter before this one. Changes have been made in many places.

Alright, time for some advertising! Yes, you read that right! So, fellow writer Harlequin K has published his own Avengers Fic, entitled "Earth's Mightiest Heroes: Assemble," and despite similar names, his own story is quite unique. Why? Well, that would ruin the surprise, now wouldn't it? Seriously, go check it out, it's pretty cool. I've talked with Harlequin and he's got some great ideas for the story's future. Give him some love :D

Alright, next up, we see just how bad the Avengers are breaking apart and where they can go from here. Until next time, readers.