"What...?" Thanos asks, before being hit harder than she has ever been hit before.
The shockwave sends Tony Stark flying in the air followed by Captain America.
"What?" Tony asks in dazed confusion.
In uncanny speed the Hulk manages to turn, gently grab the captain and Tony as she leaps away from the point of impact.
"What is going on!" Scott Lang shouts as Wasp comes flying in and has to catch her.
"I don't know!" Hope shouts. "What is that?"
The shockwave comes flying outward picking up large chunks of rock previously loosened by Ebony Maw. Unfortunately, despite not touching the ground, Maw is hit by one of these large boulders and it continues off the asteroid into space taking her with it.
"Whoa!" Spider-Man shouts as she webs Dr. Strange to move her out of the way. "What is going on?"
"Kid, I have no idea!" Dr. Strange answers.
"What did I just fly into?" Rocket shouts as she approaches Natasha and Clint, who're still on their speeders. Even Groot seems fascinated by the unexpected chaos.
"I don't know what's happening!" Natasha shouts over the growing noise. The shockwave pushes them back, but they are able to ride it out.
Wanda has to utilize his energy to hold onto the asteroid and avoid flying off, while Vision uses his power to phase through anything that might harm him.
"What just happened?" Wanda shouts. "Is that Bruce." He gestures toward the Hulk.
"I..." Vision hesitates to answer, as Bruce moves closer. "I believe so..." He turns to Wanda with a looks of confusion, "and it would seem he... or she... is a hermaphrodite."
"What?!" Wanda asks.
The shockwave moves away, and it becomes eerily quiet. Bruce lands on the grounds gently seting down Tony and Captain America.
The Captain is still unconscious, but Tony is even more confused now by what he is seeing. It doesn't help that he may have a concussion. He sits on the ground and sways a little trying to get a good look at the Hulk. "What... Bruce" Tony tries to ask.
"Shhh..." The Hulk responds. "It's okay now." Hulks voice has a very deep but very soothing baritone quality to it. Despite all the pain Tony is going through, it somehow comforts him. "Don't worry, Tony." The Hulk says, caressing the side of Tony's face. "I won't let anything bad happen to you."
Tony is unsure if he is dreaming or not, but he really does feel safe, for once. The Hulk stands up, turns away and looks around. "I'll be right back." Hulk says, before leaping into the air.
Star-Lord is gathering her thoughts as she dusts herself off. She watches the Hulk jumping off into the distance. "Ok now..." She says toward Antman and Wasp as they start to land. "What the Hell is that!"
"He's so beautiful now!" Mantis says, seeming to come out of nowhere, causing Peter Quill to jump and shout.
"Where did you come from?" Star-Lord asks.
"My new friend brought me." Mantis replies with a smile, and gestures toward Black Swan.
"New friend?" Star-Lord asks. "Who the hell is that?"
"She is our enemy." Nebula responds approaching from a distance.
"What?" Star-Lord asks.
Moment's later, the Hulk lands in front of everyone, carrying Thor and James Rhodes.
"We need to get him and the Captain back to the ship." Hulk says in a silky deep voice, before setting the two down.
"Wow!" Mantis says giddily as he rushes up and gives Hulk a hug without asking. His face barely reaches Hulks waist and he does not seem to care that Hulks genitalia is pushed against his own chest.
"Hello Mantis!" The Hulk says, stroking Mantis' hair.
"You look so amazing." Mantis says.
"Thanks." Hulk responds.
"Ugh!" Rhodes says, pushing himself over. "Wait, What? I'm confused. Are you the Hulk? Bruce?"
Hulk kneels down to look at Rhodes. "I guess you can say, I'm both... and neither."
James Rhodes looks at Bruce then his eyes dart down toward Hulks breasts, then privates. "So what are you? A boy or a girl?"
The Hulk snickers. "I don't think that matters right now." Hulk stands up and looks away. "When Thanos gets back, she's going to be pissed. We need to be ready."
"Do you think we still have a chance?" Rhodes says, laying back down.
"I don't know." The Hulk responds. "But we knew we had no choice before we even arrived."
"You cannot defeat Thanos!" Supergiant shouts over the group. Hulk and everyone turn to look at him. He tries walking toward them, but now has a limp. He was clearly injured during the shockwave. "Thanos is destiny! She will be the one who leads the Universe into salvation! Only true balance can stop the..." *Thonk*
Supergiant falls face forward as Hawkeye walks up from behind him. He is holding the antimatter spear from earlier. "He was really starting to piss me off." He says. "What's up Hulk? Looking good."
"Hey." The Hulk responds with a wave.
"You gonna put some pants on, or what?" Hawkeye asks before turning toward the others, to see their response. They all seem too tired to joke right now. He turns to Natasha for a reaction. "Are you actually blushing?" He asks.
"I'm sorry." Natasha responds before looking at Hulk with gleaming eyes. "You look... good, Bruce."
"Thanks Nat." Hulk responds.
"Yeah, I'll say." Hawkeye responds. "He sounds good, too. Kinda like silk had a baby with hot chocolate. Heads up!" Hawkeye draws an arrow and aims it past Hulk.
They all turn to see Thanos approaching fast.
"Get everyone off the asteroid!" Hulk shouts before turning away. "No, Dr. Strange!" Hulk shouts, noticing she is getting ready to fight. "I need you to take care of Rogers. You might be her only chance of survival."
Dr. Strange looks between Hulk and Steve Rogers for a moment, trying to weigh her options when the two opponents crash. Another shockwave filled the air, not quite as big as the first.
"Dr. Strange." Peter Parker calls out. "I don't think we can get close, even if we want to."
"You can go!" Wanda shouts in his Russian Accent. "I will stay. Red energy surrounds him protecting him from the shock waves of battle."
"As will I." Vision responds.
"Alright everyone else!" Peter Parker shouts at the rest. "We need to get off of this asteroid. Someone, call the ship."
"They can't approach right now." Natasha shouts. "They're under attack."
Several of them peek upward and can spot the drop ship is indeed surrounded.
"We need someone who can get up there, and clear those ships." Natasha shouts. They all look around, but feel a little helpless.
"Can someone wake up Thor?" Peter Parker asks.
"I've got it!" Dr. Strange calls out. She does a few hand gestures and creates a round glowing symbol in the air. After holding it a few seconds she shoots it toward Thor. It has the desired effect, as Thor sits up immediately.
"Huh what?!" Thor says loudly as he looks around. Peter Parker rushes up to him.
"Mr. Thor, we need your help!" She says in a panic. "We have to get off this asteroid, but our ship is surrounded by Thanos' troops.
"What?" Thor asks, looking around. He turns back and sees Hulk fighting Thanos. "Thanos!" he roars, before summoning his axe, leaping up, and charging into battle again.
"No! Wait, Mr. Thor!" Peter calls out, but Thor is already gone.
"Well, that was a lot of help." Clint Barton says.
"Hey guys!" Falcon calls out as he comes flying in. "Am I glad to see you all... and is that the Hulk?" Sam watches the fight between Thanos and the others.
"Yes, it would seem so." Natasha replies.
"Why's he naked?" Sam asks, not expecting a response. "What's going on, what are our plans?" Sam turns back toward the others.
"We're trying to get back to the ship, but it's under attack and we still have to deal with Thanos." Spider-Man says.
"You're still fighting Thanos?" Sam asks. "Did you try the butt thing?" He turns toward Ant-Man.
"No, we didn't try the butt thing!" Ant-Man responds. "We're not trying the butt thing. Even if we wanted to try the butt thing, we can't because I no longer have any expansion discs."
"I still have a disc." Hope says. "But I don't know if we could get close enough to get in."
Sam looks at Scott inquisitively.
"What's the butt thing?" Spider-Man asks.
"I'm not going up anyone's ass!" Ant-Man shouts.
*** A few moments earlier ***
The Hulk rushes at Thanos as she comes flying in. Just when Hulk is about to land a hit, Thanos teleports behind Hulk. She waits for the Hulk to stop stumbling before moving in.
"You and your ridiculous race are notoriously hard to kill!" Thanos says angrily. She moves in and punches Hulk in the lower back. "I have half a mind to just let your planet die!"
The Hulk fakes a fall forward, lands on both hands and does a donkey kick, nailing Thanos in the lower abdomen. Since her chest armor is broken, she feels the full force of the hit and it temporarily knocks the wind out of her.
"Killing half the planet is not going to save the rest!" Hulk responds. Hulk pushes upward, leaps into the air, does a spin and tries to deliver a huge blow to Thanos, who unfortunately teleports away before the hit lands.
"Not if you don't see the big picture." Thanos says from a few meters away. "Even I had my doubts, until recently." Thanos says.
The Hulk digs into the ground and pulls huge slabs of rock out from under both of their feet. Thanos has to leap to avoid the attack. Hulk starts throwing huge boulders at Thanos.
"If you knew what I know." Thanos keeps talking. "You would understand."
"I understand that you're insane." Hulk growls.
"No." Thanos responds before vanishing.
"Let me show you!" Thanos says from behind the Hulk. Bruce turns around to see Thanos reaching forward. Despite trying to back away, Thanos is too close. The Hulk's eyes close.
A blast of Heat hits the Hulk's face. When Hulk's eyes open, Thanos is gone. Hulk looks right to see Vision slowly approaching.
"It seems we're just in time." Vision says.
Wanda comes rushing forward, projects red energy forward pulling boulders and dirt up to consume Thanos. It buys them only a moment before Thanos comes bursting out of the rubble.
"We'll take her together." Vision tells Bruce and they both rush to join Wanda. Thanos teleports away again.
"Where did she go?" Wanda asks, angrily.
"We have to get those stones away from her, or she will keep teleporting." Hulk says.
"She's too fast." Wanda says.
"Then perhaps the time stone first." Vision says.
"What?" Wanda asks.
"Each stone has special properties, my love." Vision tells him. "If we can't remove all the stones at once, then perhaps we can remove them one by one." Hulk turns toward vision and nods in agreement. "The green stone is time." Vision continues. "The blue is teleportation. Removing any of those two, may tip the scales in our favor."
"Be careful with the mind stone." Hulk says. "That's the one Loki used to brainwash people back on Earth."
"Duly noted." Thanos says as she appears behind Vision. She glows purple for a moment as she brings her fist slamming down. Vision flies into the ground sending sparks everywhere.
"Viz!" Wanda shouts as he projects energy toward Thanos. She vanishes before Wanda can get ahold of her. Moment's later Vision tries crawling out of the rubble, clearly hurt.
"Wanda!" Bruce shouts, as Thanos appears behind him next. Wanda spins around and only catches a quick glimpse of Thanos before she gets ahold of Wanda's head.
"Shhh..." Thanos says. "It'll be alright. I just want to show you something."
Wanda is unsure what she is seeing, but for a moment it looks like a planet, teaming with alien life. There are brief glimpses of some sort of society forming and thriving, then sudden chaos. Aliens screaming in fear as large cracks form across the planet's surface.
"Thanos!" Thor shouts as he comes rushing in. He fires lightning at Thanos, who tries to block it with Wanda's body. Thor is able to pull back his power before it strikes, forcing himself to be calm.
Thanos looks at Thor and lets go of Wanda, who is still recovering from his vision. Thanos walks past him, no longer feeling threatened. Vision comes flying past Thanos and approaches Wanda.
"Wanda, my love! Are you alright?" Vision asks.
"She... showed me something." Wanda responds, tears in his eyes.
"The Asgardian!" Thanos addresses Thor. "You would try to stop me, now wouldn't you?"
"You killed my brother. You killed my people. You're trying to kill my friends." Thor growls.
"Don't act like you care!" Thanos replies. "Are you not pretending you don't benefit from any of this."
"What makes you think I would want any of this?!" Thor shouts angrily. "This ends now!" Thor raises his axe and begins to once again pulse with energy.
"Yes." Thanos responds. "The end is definitely near." She prepares to fight.
Thorchargess toward Thanos, and Hulk does the same.
"No!" Wanda shouts. He raises his hand to try and stop them when several large explosions begin to occur all around the asteroid. Thor, Hulk, and Thanos clash, grappling through the outgoing madness, not noticing their surroundings..
*** A little further away ***
"Yeah ha ha!" Rocket shouts as she sees reinforcements arrive. "You made it!" She says, tapping into her intercom.
"Hello, Guardians." Kraglin Obfonteri says through the intercom. "We'd like to extend our dearest thanks for inviting us to the party.
"Are those M-Ships?" Peter Quill asks excitedly. "Did you call the ravagers?" She asks Rocket.
"Hell yeah, I called the other Ravagers. Did you think they were going to want to sit back and miss this?" Rocket says rushing up toward Peter Quill. They give each other a fist bump.
"This is amazing!" Peter Quill shouts, before activating her intercom. "Kraglin! I can't express how happy I am to see you."
"Gee... uh... Thanks." Kraglin responds. "Who's this?"
"This is Star-Lord!' Peter Quill responds.
"Star-Lord?" Kraglin asks. "Wow! Your a... girl now."
"Yes, I'm a girl, but not for long." Star-Lord responds. "We're gonna get these stones and undo everything! All thanks to you!
"Well, you're welcome, little lady." Kraglin says, with a chuckle.
"Hey, don't call me that." Star-Lord responds. "How did you get so close? Slipping into Thanos' stronghold is practically impossible."
"About that," Kraglin responds. "We may have had a little help."
"Help? By who?" Star-Lord asks. Rocket looks at her and shrugs her shoulders, equally confused.
"By the uh..." Kraglin starts to say. "Welp, the Nova-Corps are here also."
"The what?" Peter Quill asks, in disbelief. Shortly later, several large starships begin to appear in the air as smaller ones join the fight. "Why did you call the Nova Corp?"
"They were here when we got here." Kraglin responds. "They saw Mojo's live show and rushed to the solar system. When they intercepted your distress signal they simply just followed us."
"This is not good, Quill!" Rocket says.
"Who's Nova Corp?" Spider-Man asks as she approaches the Guardians. "Are they more bad guys?"
"No!" Peter Quill responds. "They're Worse!"
"Worse?" Peter Parker asks.
"They're police, kid." Rocket says.
"Wait, what?" Peter Parker asks. "That's a good thing isn't it?" She notices the Guardians look down, especially Nebula who seems to be hiding his face now.
"No it's not!" Rocket responds. "If they get their hands on even one of those infinity stones, you can expect to never see it again!"
"What? Why would they do that?" Peter Parker asks.
"You haven't had many run-ins with the police have you?" James Rhodes asks, still laying on the ground. Spider-Man just shakes her head.
"Alright, new plan!" Star-Lord says aloud. "We need to work together, get those stones, and use them before any of the Nova Corp can reach us. It's the only way we can guarantee victory."
The Guardians nod, and several of the Avengers do also, but hesitantly.
"If you can fight, get ready." Peter Quill says.
Spider-Man raises her helmet then looks toward Dr. Strange. "Are you going to be okay?" She asks.
"I have to tend to the injured." Strange replies. She looks at Tony Stark also with worry.
Peter looks at Tony Stark, and Tony shakes his head. "I'm tapped out kid." Tony says through heavy breathing and glazed eyes. Peter nods and prepares to rush off. "Kid!" Tony calls out. Peter turns back. "I trust in you!" Tony's attention returns to Captain America and Dr. Strange.
Everyone who can fight rushes off.
"Don't mind me." Rhodes says, still laying on the ground. I'll just take a breather.
Black Swan is also left standing there alone. Still unsure of what to do.
*** Back to Thanos ***
Thor is breathing heavily, while Hulk waits patiently for a moment to strike.
"She's not going to let us get close." Hulk tells Thor.
"If she didn't have those bloody stones!" Thor growls.
"We have to find a way of catching her off guard." Hulk says.
"Yes, I realize that, but I'm pretty sure she also has a stone for eyes on the back of her HEAD!" Thor grumbles.
"Calm down, Thor." The Hulk says. "We're not gonna make any progress losing our cool."
Thor give's Hulk an irritated look. "Calm down?" He asks. "Did the Hulk just seriously ask me to calm down?"
"Yes, we need to..."
"No, because last I checked that was not YOUR tactic, and right now I'm feeling a little more like the old you, right now!"
"It's okay Thor." Hulk says. "It's okay. We just need to think straight."
"You know what?" Thor says, turning back toward Thanos. "THOR SMASH!" He shouts before running at his opponent.
Hulk stands up straight wondering what to do. Thor starts gathering electricity as he approaches. Hulk hears shouting and turns around to see everyone rushing toward them. Realizing what everyone is planning, Hulk turns back around to join them.
Thanos is bracing for Thor's attack when she notices the others approaching. At the distance she decides she should have enough time to block Thor's attack and teleport away. She begins to activate the Space Stone as she braces for the assault, and notices something else.
A bright orange light is quickly approaching. She tries to determine what it is, but it seems to be moving very quickly. A loud booming noise accompanies the growing light as it gets closer. Hulk slows down and looks up trying to determine what the sound is.
The bright light enters the asteroid's atmosphere, rips through the air, and causes a sonic boom as it approaches. Thanos realizes it's heading straight for her, and she does not have time to change her defenses. She hopes the shield she generated for Thor will be enough. It isn't.
The orange light smashes into Thanos at the same time that Thor's axe comes slamming down. Lightning and plasma shoot off in every direction, and for the second time since they all arrived, everyone is launched into the air, Hulk included. Fortunately none of them flew off too far, this time.
After everyone lands on the ground, the first person to push themself up was Star-Lord.
"What the Hell was that?" Rocket asks.
"I think that was a person." The Hulk responds.
It takes another few seconds for the dust to clear, but when it does there is a bright orange glowing male warrior floating mere centimeters off the ground. He turns around to check on the others. He has a gold and blue suit with an eight pointed star directly on his chest. When he floats forward he stops directly in front of Star-Lord, studying him for a moment.
"Hello, Peter." Captain Marvel says with a smug smile.
Peter Quill looks up at Carol Danvers, and aside from the chiseled chin, there is no mistaking who it is.
"SHIIIIIIIT!" Star-Lord says.