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Chapter 10: First Responders

The Cube

The facility was in chaos. Prisoners were escaping, and Gamma Radiation Levels were rising. The most recent explosion released Bruce from his bindings, but he was currently trapped underneath the rubble. The drugs currently in his system prevented escaping on his own.

Doctor Leonard Hall coughed and struggled into the cell, moved towards the trapped Bruce.

Banner already noted his friend's physical changes, including his green hair. "Oh, no. NO! Leonard, listen to me, you have been exposed to Gamma Radiation!" Leonard got down to his knees. "We have to get you to a hospital!"

Leonard coughed in pain and opened his green eyes, "You were right, the prisoners, they're all free. It's a disaster."

Bruce thought about that, "Listen to me, Leonard. You have to help me because right now, the Hulk is the only hope we've got."

Understanding the severity of the situation, Leonard got back up and walked to the large slab of concrete. As if following his will, the radioactive energy within him flowed into all of his muscles. Leonard lifted the massive slab above his head with glowing eyes and smashed it to pieces against a wall. The doctor looked back at his hand, surprised by his feat. However, before the man could collect his thoughts, electricity struck, scaring him.

Bruce glared behind him at the yellow being of energy. "Zax!"

SHIELD Helicarrier, Level 3, The Big House

As the Helicarrier lost altitude, Wasp continued through the corridors before coming across the ruined Prison. "Oh, shit!"

Inside, Hank took an uppercut from Mandril, narrowly grabbing onto a ledge. Before pulling himself back up. Just as he reached relative safety, the reptilian a snake man King Cobra fired rockets at Hank.

Meanwhile, three Ultron drones approached the Red Ghost. "This course of action is ill-advised. I hope you will be subdued now." They fired their lasers only for Red Ghost to phase right through them, destroying one of their own. Suddenly Super Apes of varying species descend on the group, destroying the remaining Ultrons.

Hank continued to run, but Cobra subdued him. Mandril caught up to the two, coming closer. The doctor struggled to get free. "This is really disappointing, Mandrill, and you have come so far in your counseling." The mammal replied in sign language before charging to attack. "Disappointing." Hank leaned back, using the momentum to kick the villain back before shrinking out of Cobra's grasp. Seeing the villain confused, he regrows in his uniform, landing a successful punch.

Hoping for a brief reprieve, Ant-Man looked up to see the Griffin flying towards him. "Aw nuts." Just as Griffin attacked him through a wall, Hank shrank and was now falling a few stories. He adjusted to normal size before impact, hitting the ground with a thud but still alive.

Before Griffin could attack, the entire ship shook, sending both into more rubble. SHIELD managed to land in the bay.

Helicarrier Bridge

Hill ran in, "Director Fury. The Big House is wide open. sir!" She reported as Fury looked at her, "Prisoners are reported on all levels, "Our agents are engaging, but- but, sir, containment is at 0%!"

"Forget about the Big House. Our priority is the Raft!" Fury looked at a trash barge not too far from them.

Hill's eyes widened in shock before she realized. "The Fourth Prison."

The Raft

Wendigo, Purple Man, and Baron Zemo left the confines of their cells.

In the deepest cell of the prison, the containment field shut down. Objects floated around him as the binding keeping him secured were molded into gloves and boots. A middle-aged man with long black hair and a very gruff beard in a blue jumpsuit awakened, eyes glowing silver.

The Cube

Zax electrocuted Bruce at full power, bringing the man to the ground. Unfortunately for Zax, the energy was enough to burn the leftover depressants in Bruce's blood.

Banner glared with emerald eyes. Immediately, Bruce's muscle mass increased, his grunts becoming screams. In a second, the Hulk stood in front of Zax and yelled in a fury.

In the security room, a short green man watched the videos of all the prisons, "Whatever occurred here at the Cube, seems to have occurred at the Vault and at the Big House as well. Intriguing."

Crusher Creel spoke up. "Yeah, it's a mystery, so how about we just get the hell out of here?"

The small man looked at him, "Leave? Why would we ever leave here? This is where I am going to change the world." The Leader heard a familiar roar getting close. "Our old friend." He turned to his cohorts. "Go. Deal with the Hulk once and for all."

New York City

A blue blur sped through the city streets, zipping through traffic while his godly ally flew above. Approaching the disturbance, he spotted crowds of people gathering on the waterfront. Both heroes witnessed the heavily damaged aircraft. "What the hell is going on?"

Thor spotted several SHIELD helicopters coming toward the shore compared to the others still in the bay. "Why would their vessels split off and come here?"

As soon as the helicopters made it to land, pandemonium struck. All sorts of villains jumped out of them and scrambled to leave the area, and no one would stand in their way of freedom. With fervor, the god of thunder took to the rooftops.

Breaking into action, Fasttrack narrowly pulled the panicking civilians out of danger. Villain attacks were thrown carelessly, hoping to cause enough chaos. "Get back! Get back!" The alien pushed every person in the area into nearby stores or apartments to take cover. A cry of a child wailed from outside. As soon as Fasttrack came to a stop on the street to find the source, someone rammed him into a brick wall. Recovering, Ben took note of the attacker, a white-furred beast with long ears.

The large beast snarled at the feline hero and sniffed the air. It had been locked up for so long and lusted for a fresh meal. His senses pointed to the end of the street, where a child was running for her life. Ignoring the blue alien, he charged at his easy prey.

Fasttrack glared, feeling the primal instinct emanating from the predator. He chased after the beast. To him, the world began to slow as he flexed his arms, the blades extending out with a sharp gleam. It would seem as if nothing happened when Fasttrack sprinted next to the creature to an outsider, but they would be wrong. The air shimmered with streams of light. The alien hero slowed down the instant the white beast sprayed red, cuts revealed throughout its body. Their surgical precision in location, depth, and length assured that the beast would be incapacitated for some time. The hero frowned at the creature. "What the hell was that?"

From the Omnitrix, Azmuth spoke. "Preliminary scans are upsetting, but it appears to be some modified human."

Fasttrack got down on one knee and examined its unconscious face. "Can we reverse the genetic changes?"

"Unfortunately, no. There seems to be strange energy permeating from within, maintaining the transformation. We would need further examination before we can intervene."

Ben closed his eyes and sighed. That would have to wait. He got back to his feet and continued to track down the criminals. "Contact the closest police precinct."

"Connecting now."

The other line picked up. Numerous officers were yelling in the background. "Captain George Stacy. Who the hell is calling at a time like this? We're flooded with reports from all over the city!"

"Listen, Sir. A friend of mine and I are handling the influx of supervillains coming in, but we need all hands on deck to help with crowd control. Worst-case scenario, we may need to evacuate the city."

The Big House

Whirlwind pummeled Ant-Man, sending him on his back. The mutant took his time stalking towards him. "And then, I'm going to find the Bug girl and tear her apart."

Ant-Man glared down below at the Griffin crawl out of a pile of rubble. so he smirked as Whirlwind picked him up, "I'd let you tell the Wasp yourself, but you're about to get knocked out." With that, Hank shrunk right as Griffin tackled Whirlwind."

He was falling until Wasp flew in and caught him, "So how's your day been?" She asked casually.

"Painful… But I don't think it's over yet." He muttered.

The Cube

Hulk put Leonard down and raised his fist and punched right through the facility walls revealing the Nevada Desert. He turned only to be grabbed and thrown by Abomination.

Abomination threw a right hook before Hulk returned the favor two-fold. The villain's surprise haymaker launched the green fury right into a metal wall.

Before Hulk could recover, arms grew from the metal and wrapped around him. The Absorbing Man had him in his grasp and smiled. "Payback time!"

Abomination charged at his trapped adversary, but he forced his way out of the grip and into the air, causing Crusher to take a face punch.

Hulk roared, ready to fight again, but the heaving of his friend cut off those thoughts. Seeing the two coming for him again, he ripped out a support pillar, raising dust into the air. With the distraction, Hulk grabbed Leonard and leaped out of the Cube.

Absorbing Man and Abomination were about to go after him when Stern's voice came through the speakers. "No, do not follow him. Let the Hulk go. We have work to do."

New York Bay, Shield Helicopter

With the Shield Helicarrier halfway in the water, all personnel was evacuated. Unfortunately, a few were hijacked by the prisoners, allowing them to escape in the chaos.

While the Big House was in Ruins, the Raft was still a high priority. Director Fury stood ready to deploy at the facility, speaking to Maria Hill on his communicator. "You are the acting director until I get back, Hill. Save who you can. Contain any escapees you see. I'll update you from The Raft."

"And if the Raft prisoners are free?"

"Then, you should enjoy being acting director while you can." The Helicopter soon landed on the Raft, all agents at the ready. "Look alive, boys. Shoot first, ask questions later." Suddenly, the floor shook, and the Raft started rising out of the water, carrying them along.

New York, Earlier

Thor landed next to his alien companion. "I have subdued several ner do wells, but there were too many as they escaped me."

"That's fine. The people are the prime concern. We can hunt them down when everything settles."

All around them, police and EMTs were assisting in getting people out of the crossfire. Everyone seemed to stop when the Earth quaked. A massive object seemed to rise out of the ocean in the distance, startling all the locals.

The alien narrowed his eyes. "What the hell?"

Thor simply blinked at the structure. "I take it that floating islands aren't common on Midgard."

Fasttrack kept staring at the rising hunk of metal. "No, Thor. It's not."

The Raft

Nick Fury ran to the edge to confirm his suspicion. Seeing the prison floating high above the waters, he looked up, finding the source of it all. The prisoner in blue held his hand out with glowing eyes. Steeling his nerves, Fury got to work. "Evac now! Abort the mission! Everyone off this barge!" The man attempted to retreat only to be lifted up into the air to the man in question, losing his rifle. Fury pulled out his pistol only for it to be ripped out of his hands. The director shifted his glare to the superhuman. "Graviton."

Next Time: Breakout Part 4

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