The
next time the Avengers were called to action, it seemed like a routine B-level
super villain trying to rob a bank. It seemed so harmless; they just sent
Clint, Bruce, and Shadow to deal with it. As it happens, this “B-level” villain
had teamed up with the Red Hulk who, after escaping from S.H.E.I.L.D, was out
looking for blood; The Hulk’s blood, to be exact.
The
three arrived on the team to witness the Red Hulk rip the off a vault and sling
it towards a group of workers who were unable to escape. The Hulk tore through
the air with a vicious roar, and caught the door like a Frisbee.
“Ross,”
the Hulk growled. The Red Hulk turned and grinned, “It’s been too long,
Banner.”
Clint
shifted on his feet, taking a more solid stance and preparing to fire. Shadow
looked over at him. She had never fought the Red Hulk before, she had no idea
what to expect.
“What’s
up with this guy?” Shadow asked Clint.
Clint
spoke without turning, “His name is General Thaddeus Ross, or it was ‘till he
became the Red Hulk. He used to be the leader of the Hulkbuster units. He went
crazy and decided the only way to beat Bruce was to become a Hulk himself.
S.H.E.I.L.D was working on a serum to create a controllable Hulk, and Ross
stole it and injected it into himself. He’s just as strong as our Hulk but
military trained. The worst part about him is how angry he makes Bruce. You’ll
need guns, missiles, and armor. May I suggest War Machine?”
Shadow
nodded, and began to change. A silver tone spread up her skin; turning it hard
and solid. Her clothing shifted into platelets of metal and arranged itself
like Rhodey’s armor. A bright blue circle emerged from the metal and rocket
launchers sprouted from the shoulders. With a final, sick crunch as her bones
settled, Shadow stood at the ready; waiting to make a move.
“What’s
the plan here, Hawkeye?” she shouted.
“We let
the Hulk take him out,” Clint answered, “Nothing we do will dent Ross.”
“Then
why am I decked out as a flying tank?” Shadow growled. Changing shape was easy
for her, but creating suits of armor from nothing but carbon was exhausting.
The way her power worked, she could change anything that was organic, the
carbon being what stabilized the shifting molecules. Unfortunately, that meant
she could never exceed her current mass. That’s why she likes to layer her
clothes; to add mass to her form.
“We
follow them, make sure they don’t destroy New York, and herd them into the
water if we can. Then when Bruce takes out Ross, we’ve got to calm him down.
The Hulk can rage for weeks after an encounter with Ross,” Clint groaned. He
already sounded tired.
Shadow
sighed; she hated having to fire at Bruce, even though, as the Hulk, he was
nearly invincible.
The
Hulk roared and leaped, grabbing a fistful of Ross’s hair and pulling him
along, swinging him against the bank wall. Ross rolled back onto his feet and
charged at the Hulk, pushing him through the front wall and onto the street.
Hulk landed on a parked car. He clambered to his feet and threw the car at a
building. Shadow blasted the vehicle before it could break through a plate
glass window.
“Ross, you messed with me for the
last time,” Hulk growled, “You’ve hunted me for years, why won’t you leave me
alone! I’m on the side of the good guys now!”
“You’ll
never be a good guy,” Ross spit, “You’re nothing but rage and destruction.
Banner can’t control you; your teammates can’t control you. You’re a wild card,
and have to be eliminated.”
The
Hulk bellowed, and tackled Ross, plowing him into the pavement. Ross, with his
face still pushed into the pavement, reached back and grabbed Hulk by the
shoulders. The Red Hulk swung forward and Bruce went flying, smashing back into
the ground a few blocks away.
The
fighting continued like this, with the two monsters exchanging blow after blow.
Neither man tired, he only got angrier. They fought down the streets of New
York, smashing cars, and buildings, and a hot dog stand.
“Aw,
come on!” Clint shouted, “Louie’s was my favorite!”
“Really,
Clint!?” Shadow hissed. “Let’s get this over with!” At that moment, Ross had
jumped into the air, preparing to slam the Hulk into the ground. Shadow aimed
and fired a small missile at Ross. It hit him, square in the stomach, and
pushed him through the air towards the harbor. The Hulk quickly turned to
follow. Shadow took off flying, scooping down to pick up Clint by his armpits.
The two caught up to the Hulks just as they landed in the water. Ross crashed
into the water few feet away from the Hulk who landed on his feet. Bruce took
his advantage and grabbed Ross’s head and held it under the water. Ross kicked
and splashed, but after a moment he stilled. Shadow held her breath, fearing
the worst; that Ross was dead, until Clint turned to her. “He’s not dead,”
Clint said, as if reading her mind, “The Hulk serum gave him powerful lungs.
He’ll pass out, but he won’t asphyxiate.” Shadow breathed a sigh of relief. If
Bruce killed Ross, Fury wouldn’t be able to protect him. Bruce would be thrown
into prison and never released.
Just
when Shadow thought they were in the clear, the Hulk turned to his teammates
and roared. His eyes blazed red, and the veins in his neck bulged till they
looked like they’d pop. Shadow was suddenly scared. She thought back quickly.
What had they done wrong? Did they land a blow to the Hulk on accident? She
didn’t recall any mistakes, but the Hulk was mad regardless. He growled again
and turned toward Clint. Bruce grabbed Clint about the waist and tossed him
into the air. Shadow shot towards Hawkeye and caught him around the ankle. Shadow
heard a sickening pop, and Clint cried out. Shadow needed to reason with the
Hulk, to try and get him to let Bruce out; but she knew Hulk would never listen
to her through the War Machine armor. He never trusted anyone who hid their
face. She set Clint down on the sand, and slowly morphed back into herself. The
silver plating flattened out and turned pale. Missiles dissolved into a green
striped shirt and black trench coat. Brown hair fell across her face and her
eyes turned from brown to green.
Taking
a deep breath, she waded through the water. “Bruce, it’s me,” she gently spoke,
“We need you to calm down. You took care of Ross; now let us take care of you.”
The Hulk breathed once. He took a forward; Shadow stopped moving. After a few
tense moments, Bruce held out his giant green hand. Shadow stepped forward to
place her hand on his thumb, which was almost as big as she was. For a second,
it looked as if his skin was paling, but Ross stirred, and splashed the water.
This set the Hulk off again. With a terrible roar, he swung his fist and
back-handed Shadow back onto the beach. She landed with a crunch, and laid
there motionless
“BRUCE!
What have you done!?” Hawkeye shouted. Clint ran as fast as he could to his
fallen friend. Lying in a deep pool of blood, Shadow moaned, and stirred a
little.
“Hulk!”
Clint shouted again, “She’s dying! We need Bruce! Now! Hulk, please!”
The Hulk began to visibly panic. He hadn’t meant to hurt
her, he just didn’t always trust the changing girl. The changing girl was never
the same person. She looked the same and felt the same, but she changed every
time. The Hulk didn’t want her to die, though. He needed the little man to come
and fix this; the little man was a doctor and he could make her better again.
The
Hulk relinquished control over his shared body. He started shrinking and
growing pale. When Bruce had taken back over, he fell forward onto his knees
into the water.
“Bruce,
buddy. You gotta get up! Shadow’s dying over here. We need your help,” Clint
shouted.
Bruce
got up slowly, and stood, blinking for a moment. All at once, his eyes snapped
open wide and he took off at a dead sprint. Running to where Shadow was lying
in the sand, he dropped down beside her. His hands moved quickly and found the
damage. The worst of the bleeding stemmed from her side where she had landed on
a broken bottle. Her ankle, jaw, and one rib had all broken. She was lucky the
Hulk hadn’t hit her any harder.
“Come on
sweetie, stay with me. I need you to pull through this,” Bruce whispered to
Karmin.
“Bruce,
I’ll be fine.” Karmin mumbled.
“No,
you won’t,” he sobbed back, “You can’t fix yourself this time. The damage is
too severe.”
Clint
broke through the silence. “Bruce, the quinjet’s here. Let’s get her to
medical.”
