Author's Note:

Hello everyone! Here's the next chapter for Earth's Mightiest Huntsmen, and the moment you've all been waiting for has finally arrived! It's time for the Hulk to join the party! But first, let's answer a few reviews!

SuperSaiyanFever: This has been a long time coming with Hulk's debut. This story arc was planned roughly the same time as all the Act I stuff, so I knew I wanted something like this relatively early. And now the moment has finally come for Hulk to start smashing things.

SulliMike23: Yeah, Hulk is a little...ticked at the Avengers right now. You'll see why shortly.

EndriRigs: I'm not going to be answering questions of specific shipping and what not, since several ships can start up some arguments pretty quickly. I will say that there will be some RWBY characters that will get together, but that's still some ways away, and that's about all I'm willing to reveal at this time.

Noire12: Hmm, not bad ideas. Thinking about these designs is certainly tough for me, so I thank you for your suggestions.

Blackmetalzane22: Yeah, Wakanda takes vibranium very seriously, considering people like Klaue like to try to steal it from them.

Deathwing: Good memory for that episode. Yeah, the "permanent" effects certainly will come into play as part of the whole "ticking clock" going on here.

Ironchef13: I will say that there are potential plans for Genosha in place, but sadly not until Act III.

Guest: See, the potential of Auras protecting them is debatable. But even if their auras could protect them from this kind of radiation/energy, keep in mind that aura isn't limitless. And given that they're going to be surrounded by gamma monsters right off the bat, it's a safe bet that their auras wouldn't last too much longer, thus allowing them to be transformed. At least, that's how I see it.

Red Scorpion: Definitely check out Earth's Mightiest Heroes when you get the chance. It's certainly one of my all time favorite cartoons, and it does well to pay homage to several comic book arcs, including their own take on Secret Invasion (done significantly better than the MCU's garbage take on it), and it remains having the only decent media portrayal of Doctor Doom.

Thank you all for your continued support. Now, let's get back to the action.

Wakanda Throne Room—November 12th

"The Hulk?" Yang repeated. "Who's that?"

"I've heard of him," Ruby spoke up. "He was one of the founding members of the Avengers."

"Correct," T'Challa confirmed. "Dr. Bruce Banner. Many years ago, he was exposed to lethal doses of gamma radiation. But instead of killing him, he was transformed into the Hulk, gaining incredible strength and durability. He is quite literally the strongest hero on Earth."

"Really? Even stronger than Thor?" Yang asked.

"Supposedly. The key to that is his rage. The angrier the Hulk gets, the stronger he gets."

"Okay, so if he's an Avenger, then why haven't I seen him around before?"

"Jarvis mentioned that something happened to him," Ruby added. "Something about making mistakes. But he didn't' go into detail."

T'Challa put a hand to his forehead. "It is…not a pleasant story. But it is one that you will need to hear."

"What happened?"

T'Challa hesitated briefly. "What you first have to understand is that the Avengers…are not perfect. We've made mistakes. And what happened to the Hulk was one of our biggest."

"Start talking," Yang advised. "We're kind of on the clock, apparently."

"Very well." T'Challa folded his hands together. "About six years ago, the Hulk was still a part of the Avengers. But his actions had begun to become more and more destructive. It was starting to cause much more unnecessary damage. And after one particular rampage through Columbus, it was clear that something had to be done.

"So the Avengers met in secret and held a vote. A vote to decide whether or not to exile the Hulk from Earth for the good of humanity."

Ruby's eyes widened. "You didn't…"

"That's horrible!" Yang exclaimed.

"At the time, we believed it was the only way to prevent further lives from being lost," T'Challa told them. "The vote was cast…and we agreed to force the Hulk to leave Earth."

Yang could hardly believe what she was hearing. The Avengers—the heroes that Ruby had hyped up so much the past few days—had sent one of their own—a friend, no less—away from Earth against his will. How was that anything other than completely horrifying?

She managed to keep a straight face despite the shocking news she had just heard. "What happened next?" she asked.

"We tricked the Hulk into a rocket ship and sent him into space," T'Challa answered, a hint of regret in his voice. "The plan was to send him to an uninhabited world where he couldn't hurt anyone else. Sadly, these plans were ruined. A malfunction occurred, and instead of a peaceful world, the Hulk wound up on Sakaar."

Ruby perked up slightly. "The fighting planet that Pyrrha and Blake were on?"

"Correct. At the time, Sakaar was ruled by a ruthless tyrant known as the Red King. He forced his prisoners to fight in gladiatorial fights—including the Hulk. But Hulk managed to escape, lead a revolution, and kill the Red King.

"For a time, he was…happy. He had met a woman there and fell in love with her. He was at peace, ruling Sakaar alongside her. But then…" T'Challa's fists closed slightly. "The rocket he had crashed in blew up. One of his followers, fearful that he would lose his fighting edge, sabotaged it without his knowledge. The resulting explosion killed thousands…including the Hulk's wife."

Ruby instinctively covered her mouth with her hand. Yang's fists clenched. "The Hulk blamed us for what happened," T'Challa continued. "He vowed revenge. So he and his followers came to Earth for our heads."

He bowed his head in shame. "In a way, he was right. It was our ship that led to devastation. Our foolish actions that caused the problem in the first place. Perhaps we deserved what he had planned for us."

"And what…what did he have planned for you?" Ruby asked.

"He beat us—one by one—until he had us all at his mercy. And then…he forced us all to fight in a gladiatorial arena, much like he had been forced to do."

"So how'd you beat him?" Yang asked. "Obviously, you found a way out to beat him, or none of you be here right now."

"The only reason we are alive is because the Hulk let us live," T'Challa answered. "He chose to spare our lives. To prove that he appeared more human than we had been when we sent him away. As for how we defeated him…that honor went to the Sentry."

"Who?"

"The most powerful superhuman on Earth."

"I thought Hulk was the most powerful," Ruby spoke up.

"Hulk is the strongest. But in terms of pure, raw power…none can match the Sentry. He was the only one that could stand up to him in that state. With how mad he was, how…in control he was…the Sentry was the only hope we had. I won't delve into the details about their fight…but the point is that the Hulk was defeated and talked down. His companion's treachery was revealed, and the guilty party was locked away. The rest of his people, the Warbound, were arrested. But the Hulk managed to escape. He's been on the run ever since."

"So how are we supposed to find him?" Ruby asked.

"And how are we supposed to convince him to help?" Yang added, crossing her arms. "Because if I were him, I wouldn't want to do anything for the people that shot me into space, blew up my friends, and have been hunting me even after I came home."

"The Avengers have not been hunting him," T'Challa argued. "We understood our faults. We knew that, deep down, the Hulk was a hero. But others…only saw him as a monster."

"That doesn't answer my question."

T'Challa was quiet for a few moments. "I…do not believe I could do it," he admitted. "He's still quite angry with us." He then looked at Yang and Ruby. "But perhaps you two could convince him."

"Us?" Ruby repeated.

"Neither of you were around for his attack. Neither of you know him. If anyone is able to gain his trust and convince him to help, it is you two."

"Do you really think that's going to work?" Yang asked, skeptical. "After everything that's been done to him, do you really think he'll come back?"

"We don't have much of a choice. The Hulk is the only one left that is immune to the Leader's energy, and Bruce Banner is the only one that could come up with a cure for this."

"He's right," Ruby agreed, her voice cracking as she spoke. "Our friends—the entire world—they're all in trouble. If the Hulk can save them…then it's up to us to find him and talk to him."

Yang nodded. She didn't want to argue with her sister, and she frankly didn't have any better ideas. "But that still leaves the question on where the hell this guy is," she pointed out.

"Jarvis said that Cap knew where he was," Ruby told her.

"Good idea, but he's all gammafied now," Yang reminded her.

"I believe I have the solution." Yang turned around. She had forgotten that Shuri was still in the throne room with them. She had been silently working on her data pad the entire time. "I have Agent Coulson of S.H.I.E.L.D. on the line."

T'Challa stood up from his throne. "Put him through." A moment later, the holographic image of Agent Coulson appeared before him. "Agent Coulson," the Avenger greeted him. "I imagine things are a little hectic right now."

"More than you know, Your Majesty," Coulson answered. "Let me guess—you want to know where Dr. Banner has been hiding out."

"We know that Fury no doubt knows where he is," T'Challa continued. "And as one of the only people he fully trusts, you probably know as well."

"I don't know where he is exactly," Coulson warned. "But I do know that there's a Hulkbuster operation going on in Northern Canada right now. And we both know that Ross doesn't deploy his unit lightly. I'll send you coordinates. I hope you've got a good plan to convince him to help."

T'Challa shot a glance towards Ruby and Yang. "I have…a plan."

Coulson smiled slightly. "I've gone in with worse. Good luck…and you'd better hurry. Director Fury can only keep the generals from bombing the entire area at bay for so long."

With that, the transmission ended. T'Challa turned to Ruby and Yang. "We have a few spare Quinjets," he told them. "Take one and go. Quickly."

"You're not going to come with us?" Ruby asked.

He shook his head. "My presence would only aggravate him. Besides…I must prepare my people for what's to come."

"So, uh…who's going to fly us there?" Yang asked. She had gotten a few flying lessons from Star-Lord, but it wasn't anything substantial.

"Oh! I can fly!" Ruby piped up excitedly.

"You have not yet passed the flight simulator," T'Challa warned. "Nor lasted longer than five minutes in it."

Ruby slumped in defeat. Yang patted her sister's shoulder comfortingly. "Sorry sis, but we do need to last more than five minutes in the air. Canada's a little farther than that." She frowned, then looked back at T'Challa. "It is farther than five minutes away, right?"

He nodded in confirmation.

"If I may make a suggestion," Phyllis spoke up suddenly. "If I am given access to the Quinjet's controls, I can remotely fly it to your destination."

"Sounds like a plan," Yang decided. "Thanks…uh…" She frowned, briefly blanking on the AI's name.

"Phyllis," Ruby informed her.

"Right. Thank you, Phyllis." Mentally, Yang cursed. She may had gotten most of her memories back, but she sometimes had trouble remembering things. Even more recent memories and information sometimes slipped out of her mind briefly.

"Get a move on," T'Challa told them. "Time is of the essence."

Quinjet—En Route to Hulkbuster Operation, Northern Canada—November 12

"The Hulk, huh?" Logan repeated.

"That's the idea," Ruby confirmed.

"Be careful," he warned. "I've tangled with the guy before. He's one tough customer."

"We will." Ruby paused. "Any word from the others? Any at all?"

"Sorry kid," Logan apologized. "If they were in the Cube when the dome first went up, they're probably under the Leader's control."

Ruby flinched slightly. "O—okay."

"You okay, kid?"

Ruby shot a quick look at Yang, sitting in the co-pilot's chair. Her eyes were closed, and she was presumably resting briefly. "You know how I feel about this," she said quietly. "What I went through—the others are going through that same thing right now."

"Can't think about that now, Ruby," Logan told her. "Gotta focus on taking down the Leader. With any luck, when this is all over, they'll have no recollection of anything they did."

"If they're lucky," Ruby thought grimly.

"Good luck, Ruby," Logan told her before ending the call.

Ruby let out a small sight, slumping in her seat slightly. Having to fight her mutated friends was going to be tough for her—especially after what she had been through.

"Was that Logan?" Yang asked, her eyes flickering open slightly.

"Yeah," Ruby answered. "I wanted to check in with him and let him know what we're doing."

Yang stretched her arms before rolling her right shoulder and flexing the fingers of her new prosthetic. "Might as well take a look at the extra information that T'Challa gave us about this Ross guy."

"Right." Ruby tapped a button on the Quinjet's console. "Phyllis, pull up the information on Ross."

"Affirmative." Soon, images appeared before them of an older man with graying hair and a mustache. "General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross. Leader of the Hulkbuster task force. He and his forces are equipped with armor specifically designed to fight the Hulk, known as Hulkbusters. However, the effectiveness of this armor has yet to be proven. Ross himself was involved with the initial project that transformed Doctor Banner into the Hulk in the first place."

"No wonder Ross wants to chase down the Hulk," Yang noted. "He's the guy that created him in the first place."

"Let's hope we can get past him and get to the Hulk," Ruby agreed, looking back out the cockpit window at the growing darkness of night. "We're going to need him if we're going to save the others."

Yang paused. "Are…you okay, Ruby?"

Ruby shifted slightly, turning her head away from her sister. "I'm fine."

"You don't sound fine. What's going on?"

Ruby's hands started to tremble slightly. "I just…don't like the idea of our friends being turned into monsters," she admitted. "Having to fight them…and seeing them trying to kill us."

Yang was quiet for a moment. Then she shifted her body so she was facing Ruby directly. "Okay, what happened?" she asked.

Ruby blinked. "What?"

"I know something happened to you while I was up in space. Something that clearly traumatized you. Something that no one wants to tell me about for some reason. And it's clear that whatever happened, it had something to do with you." Yang's face softened. "You can talk to me, Ruby. Whatever it was, whatever happened—I can help."

Ruby swallowed. "It's—it's complicated."

Yang hesitated. "Does it have something to do with being under someone else's control?"

Ruby flinched. "I…almost killed Weiss," she finally admitted. "A bad guy called Mesmero…he made me do it. I—I couldn't stop myself."

Yang's eyes widened in realization. "Oh, Ruby…"

Ruby lowered her head slightly. "I've…talked with others. I've…been able to come to terms with it for the most part. But it's something that I'll have to deal with for…well, forever."

Yang's fists clenched as her face contorted from sadness and pity to one of anger. "Where is this guy now?" she asked.

"Yang, wait," Ruby insisted. "He's in jail. He can't hurt any of us anymore."

"After what he did to you—we have to get him back."

"He's in jail," Ruby insisted. "We don't have to deal with him anymore."

Yang's eyes flickered dangerously red. "He made you almost kill Weiss," she reminded her. "That doesn't make you upset at all?"

"Of course it does," Ruby told her. "But I can't focus on that. I was distraught for an entire week after what happened. I don't want to think about what happened anymore. All I can do is…prove that I can bounce back from this. If I send anyone after him to beat him up in prison, he'll know that I got to him. And I'm not going to make him think that he's won."

"He won't think he's won," Yang told her. "Not after I knock a few of his teeth out."

"Yang, please don't," Ruby pleaded. "This is exactly why I didn't tell you yet. You're getting angry and want to go get revenge."

"Why is that a bad thing?!" Yang challenged. "I want to make sure that he doesn't even think about hurting you again!"

The sisters stared each other down for a minute. Ruby took a deep breath. "Yang…it's not your fault. You weren't there. There's nothing you could've done."

Yang turned away. "Maybe that's the point," she admitted. "I wasn't there for you for all that. I wasn't there to protect you. Hell, I didn't even remember you fully back when all this happened."

"That wasn't your fault either. That was Ultron."

Yang slowly turned back to her. "That doesn't mean I don't feel like I could've done more if I had been here."

Ruby opened her mouth to speak, but it was at that moment that Phyllis reported, "We have arrived at the last known location of General Ross' Hulkbuster unit."

"Thanks, Phyllis." Ruby looked back at Yang. "Can we talk about this later?"

Yang nodded. "Yeah, sure."

Ruby took a deep breath. "Now, all we have to do is find the Hulk. Or find General Ross."

Suddenly, multiple spotlights shot up from the ground, illuminating the Quinjet as it hovered in place. "You have entered a restricted area!" a voice boomed through the radio. "Land your Quinjet immediately you will be fired upon!"

Ruby and Yang exchanged a look. "Well…I guess we found the General," Yang commented.

Ruby lowered her goggles over her eyes and flipped her hood over her head as the Quinjet's ramp lowered. Yang activated her helmet as well. The two of them had agreed that it would probably be best if Ross and his soldiers didn't know who they were. Based on what they learned about him from Phyllis, he didn't seem like he would be a good ally to them.

The moment the ramp came down, the two were met with dozens of armed soldiers, who were all aiming their rifles at them. Behind them were six larger figures, each in some sort of mech suit. To Ruby, they looked a little like Tony's armor, albeit slightly larger and bulkier. This was probably the Hulkbuster armor that Phyllis had mentioned. But they too were armed with rifles, which were aimed straight at them. They all stood in front of a large camp filled with tents, crates, and military equipment.

A man that she quickly identified as General Ross himself was standing at the back of the group, looking annoyed. "And who in the name of high Heaven are you supposed to be?" he demanded to know.

"Uh…" Ruby trailed off, trying quickly to come up with a cool codename for herself. She had been running through different names over the past few days, but nothing she had thought of had really worked with her yet. But now that she was on the spot, she couldn't—"

"I'm Emberfist," Yang spoke out loud. "This is…Red Ranger. We're here for the Hulk."

Ross stared them down. "I don't have time to babysit children, missy. The Hulk isn't someone that wannabe heroes can take on."

"We're not here to fight him," Yang told him. "We need his help."

"What?!" Ross looked angry. "You want that monster's help?!"

"Don't you understand what's going on right now?" Ruby asked him. "The Leader has a gamma energy dome that's consuming the entire world. The Hulk is the only one that can stop him."

"I don't care if he's won a Nobel Peace Prize," Ross shot back. "The Hulk is a danger to everyone on Earth. I'm not about to let him roam free."

"But we need his help!" Ruby insisted. "He's the only one that knows how to beat the Leader!"

"You're being naive," Ross responded. "The Hulk is a monster and the deadliest man alive. He needs to be dealt with at once."

"You're talking about one of the founding Avengers!"

"The Hulk waged war on the entire world!" he told her. "You caped freaks may have forgotten that, but I haven't!"

Yang took a step forward, which caused all the soldiers to aim their weapons at her. "We need the Hulk," she told the general. "No one else on Earth knows how to deal with whatever type of gamma energy this is. If you're going to get in our way…then we're going to have problems."

"Are you threatening a United States General, little lady?" Ross asked.

Yang chuckled slightly, and Ruby guessed that she was smiling under her helmet. "Yes."

"Uh, Emberfist?" Ruby spoke up nervously. It probably wasn't a good idea to anger an entire platoon of soldiers at this stage. They didn't have time for this. They had to find the Hulk.

Ross looked like he was about to burst with anger when a loud explosion echoed in the distance, followed by a faint roar. The general's radio crackled to life. "General!" a voice yelled. "We've spotted him!"

Ross grabbed his radio. "Lead him back towards camp!" he barked. "We'll box him in and take him down." He pointed to four of the armored soldiers. "You four—watch these two! The rest of you, with me!" He ran off, slinging a large rifle off his back while his soldiers followed. The four armored soldiers stayed put, keeping their weapons trained on Ruby and Yang.

The two sisters shared a look. "Red Ranger?" Ruby repeated.

"What? Did you have something better?" Yang asked.

"Well, not yet, but—" Ruby shook her head. "Forget it. We've got to help the Hulk out."

"Which means we have to get through these guys first." Yang gestured to the armored soldiers.

Ruby looked at them quickly. She then smiled. "Think we can take them?"

Yang chuckled slightly, no doubt smiling once again under her helmet. "They don't look so tough."

"Don't try it, kid," one of the soldiers warned. "These Hulkbuster suits were designed to go toe to toe with the Hulk."

Yang began walking forward. "Well then," she said as Ember Celica and her mechanical hand sprouted gun barrels. "This should be fun."

"Stand down!" The soldiers all aimed their guns at her. "Last warning!"

Yang cracked her neck and suddenly dashed forward. The soldiers instantly opened fire, but she shot the ground, catapulting over their bullets with ease. Ruby, meanwhile, drew Crescent Rose and slammed its point into the ground before firing several repulsor rounds at the soldiers.

As the repulsors slammed into the armor, doing little damage, that gave Yang a chance to land right in front of one. She drew her right arm back and pummeled him straight in the chest. The soldier stumbled back several paces as another tried to punch her right back. She ducked under the fist and delt him an uppercut combined with a shot from her gauntlet, which shot him straight up into the air.

As more bullets shot at the two, Ruby was forced to start dashing to the left to avoid getting hit. She jumped, twisted around, and fired another shot from Crescent Rose to propel herself faster into her Semblance. She sped towards the nearest Hulkbuster and reappeared, slashing into him with her weapon and cutting his weapon in half.

The Hulkbuster quickly responded by popping out a blade from his armor that quickly spun up into a chainsaw. "You're mine!" He slashed at her, which she quickly deflected with Crescent Rose multiple times. The two clashed repeatedly, until the Hulkbuster grabbed onto her scythe's point and dragged her closer.

"Gotcha!" he yelled, trying to throw a punch with his chainsaw gauntlet. But Ruby twisted away, kicking off his chest and launching herself backwards, firing a shot at point blank range into his helmeted face for good measure.

She rocketed past Yang, who was still engaging with her combatant. She was dodging most of his blows, but her own attacks, though heavily denting his armor, weren't forcing him back as much as Ruby knew she could do. But her sister wasn't backing down one bit.

As Ruby landed, the chainsaw gauntlet soldier chased after her, stabbing at her with his weapon. She yelped and ducked out of the way, slashing at the blade again to deflect it from hitting her. The soldier advanced on her, starting to force her back towards another soldier, who was taking aim with his own rifle.

At the last second, Ruby activated Petal Burst again, speeding out of the way, which caused the Hulkbuster with the rifle to accidentally shoot his friend. Ruby then darted behind him and sliced Crescent Rose down his armored back, careful to make sure she wasn't cutting into his skin. The back armor fell off, sparking and revealing his exposed back.

The soldier swung around and tried to slice at her with his chainsaw blade, but Ruby darted around it, kicking him in the face several times. She then used her Semblance to speed around to his back again and fired a single shot with her weapon at his now exposed back. He yelled in pain before collapsing.

"Ha!" Ruby yelled. But then the second Hulkbuster slammed into her back, sending her sprawling. She recovered quickly and swung around to face her new opponent, who was already firing his rifle at her, pelting the area with bullets. One or two shots managed to graze her, but her Aura took the brunt of the damage.

Yang, meanwhile, was fighting the remaining two Hulkbusters all by herself. She punched up against one of their helmets, the blast knocking off his helmet. But as she did, the other Hulkbuster managed to land a hit to the back of her head, smashing her into a nearby tent.

Ruby quickly sped over to her. "Are you okay?" she asked.

Yang picked herself up and let out a laugh. "Are you kidding? This is the most fun I've had in days!" She strode forward towards her opponents, already having a stronger look to her thanks to her Semblance.

Ruby watched her briefly before turning back to her remaining opponent. She fired several repulsor rounds from Crescent Rose at him, which, of course, did nothing to him. In response, he pulled a grenade from his belt and prepared to lob it at her.

Ruby quickly took aim and fired one more shot, hitting the grenade and causing to explode in his hand. As he stumbled back from the blast, Ruby dashed forward with Petal Burst, slashing into his armor again and again while he was off balance. Pieces of it went flying off with each slash until it was almost completely off. The soldier tried to throw a punch, but Ruby was too quick, switching Crescent Rose's stun shield on and hitting him with it, electrifying him and knocking him out.

Finished with her opponents, Ruby turned around to see Yang dealing the knockout blow to the helmetless Hulkbuster. At the same time, the other Hulkbuster aimed his arm at her and fired a missile, hitting her in the back and enveloping her in a fireball.

"Yang!" Ruby yelled.

But Yang exploded out of the fireball, firing twin shots from her weapons to propel herself even faster. With one final punch from her metal arm, she blasted the remaining Hulkbuster so hard that he flew out of the camp, disappearing into the dark wilderness nearby.

Ruby ran over to Yang's side. Before she could ask if she was okay, Yang looked over at her and gave her a thumbs up. "Nailed it," she declared.

Ruby breathed a sigh of relief, which was quickly silenced by another distant roar and more explosions. "Come on!" she yelled. "We have to help him!"

"I'm right behind you, sis!" The two took off in the direction of the battle. They rounded a larger tent (probably the command tent), and Ruby skidded to a stop as a soldier was flung past her. She quickly turned her head in the direction she had came and stopped short, eyes widening in horror at the scene before her.

Several cannons were lying smoldering, surrounded by the (hopefully) unconscious bodies of Ross's soldiers. A few more of the Hulkbuster soldiers were running around, firing furiously at a huge, green skinned monster with black hair and wearing a pair of ripped, purple shorts.

"The Hulk," Ruby realized instantly. It was really him.

As she watched, she heard Ross' voice yell, "FIRE!" A second later, a massive artillery shell hit the Hulk square in the chest, sending him flying back.

"Where'd that shot come from?!" Yang asked.

Ruby quickly scanned the area with her goggles. "There!" she shouted, pointing off to the side, where a massive cannon was smoking.

"I'm on it!" Yang blasted herself forward towards the cannon just as it was about to fire again. Thinking quickly, Ruby ran forward and activated Petal Burst once more, shooting herself forward. Just as the next shot fired, she reappeared, flying right in front of a rising Hulk, and fired a shot at the same time as the cannon. The shell and the repulsor blast collided in midair, creating another explosion that blew Ruby back into a tree.

At this point, Yang had reached the cannon. She extended her gauntlet blades and slashed into the cannon's side, causing the entire thing to start sparking. The cannon operator quickly dove off his seat before the whole thing exploded.

A smaller, tank like vehicle, flanked by another four Hulkbusters, rolled around the corner, firing a shot at the Hulk, who simply stepped aside to avoid getting hit. With an angry roar, he jumped into the air, landing straight on the barrel of the tank. He grabbed the top of the tank and ripped it off before using it to smash the remains of the vehicle aside.

The Hulkbusters opened fire, but their bullets might as well have been mosquitos to the Hulk. He raised his arms and clapped his hands together, creating a shockwave that not only tore the Hulkbuster armor straight off their bodies, but also blew them away.

Yang quickly joined Ruby as she got back to her feet. "Woah," she commented.

"Fall back!" Ross' voice echoed throughout the screams and the chaos. "Fall back and regroup!" The remaining soldiers quickly turned around and started running. Hulk let out one final roar to hasten their departure before turning around and starting to stomp towards Ruby and Yang.

"Nice work, big guy," Yang commented.

Hulk stopped cold and glared down at the two, towering over them. "Leave Hulk alone," he demanded.

"We can't," Ruby told him. "We need your help to save the world."

He snorted. "Call the Avengers." He started to march past them.

"The Avengers are already in trouble," she replied. "The Leader has raised a dome of gamma energy that's going to turn everyone into monsters in less than two days. You're the only one that can stop him. You're the only one that can save the Avengers."

Hulk growled. "Avengers mean nothing to Hulk. Now leave me alone."

"Please," Ruby pleaded. "Our friends are in there. We need you."

"Hulk don't fight for Avengers anymore," he told her. "Avengers betrayed me. Why should I help them now?"

"Because it's the right thing to do." Yang stepped forward, deactivating her helmet and looking angry. "You were a hero before, Hulk. And from what I've heard about you, you still are. This is your chance to show the world who you really are, and you're going to turn it down because you're mad at the Avengers? I don't think so! Our friends are stuck in that dome, and you're going to help us save them!"

Hulk stared down at her. "And if Hulk say no?" he challenged with a smirk.

Yang didn't bat an eye. "Then I'll beat you up and we'll drag you along with us to the dome."

Hulk blinked in surprise. Clearly, he had never had anyone—especially not a human—challenge him so blatantly. And even with Yang's aura, Ruby suspected that not even she could stand up to him. He was literally the strongest person on the planet. There wasn't any way that Yang could take him down.

But then, Hulk did the last thing Ruby expected. He started to laugh. Bellowing with laughter, he turned around. As he did, his body began to shrink dramatically. His skin became less green and more flesh colored, and his hair brightened to a light brown. In only a few seconds, a skinny man with stubble covering his face and dark circles under his eyes was before them, still laughing while hiking up his now oversized pants.

"Okay—okay," he laughed, waving a hand up. "Give me a minute. He hasn't let me out in over a month."

"Uh…Doctor Banner?" Ruby asked.

The man finally managed to collect himself, standing fully upright while tightening his pants. "Yes. If the Leader is really creating a dome of gamma energy, you're going to need my help. Now…tell me everything."

The Hulk has been located. Now it's time to prepare for the big showdown with the Leader.

Yeah, the reason that Hulk is mad at the Avengers is because of the whole "Planet Hulk" thing. Originally in the comics, as we all know, it was the Illuminati, consisting of Iron Man, Doctor Strange, Mr. Fantastic, Black Bolt, Professor X, and Namor that exiled the Hulk (though Professor X was absent for the vote and Namor voted against it, correctly guessing that Hulk's vengeance would come back to bite them later), but for here, I decided that the Avengers should be responsible for the vote. Partly because we haven't met Namor or Black Bolt yet, but also to begin to set the seeds of doubt for the RWBY characters about the Avengers, which will certainly come into play more when they learn the truth about who built Ultron. But the official vote will be more complicated than it first seems, so stay tuned for that!

And, as you also saw, Hulk's back on Earth thanks to a World War Hulk esque event. And no, don't expect Sentry to show up anytime soon. Anyone who knows just what the Sentry is like knows exactly why that is.

Ruby now has finally told Yang about what Mesmero did to her. And while we didn't get too much into that drama, this fact is going to weigh heavily on Yang's mind going forward. As you can tell...she's ticked.

With any luck, we just might get to see the mutated versions of the RWBY characters next chapter. Keep your fingers crossed!

But anywho, that's all from me. Until next time, this is Guest 1138, signing off.