Port Morris, Abandoned Warehouse
Elias POV
Fuck.
A man's grunting mixed with the increasing sounds from outside—footsteps, vehicles, and the thud of rotors overhead. A chill snaked down my spine. I moved swiftly to Wanda, grabbing her by the waist and pulling her close as I whispered urgently in her ear:
"We need to run."
She looked up at me, alarm and confusion clouding her face. Before she could ask what was happening, another pained, guttural sound tore from the man's throat as the woman desperately tried to hold him up.
"Bruce, please—!"
I glanced back, my horror mounting. The man in front of us fell to the ground, yelling in pain as his body grotesquely bulged, his skin taking on a toxic green color. The woman, who I now realized was Betty, repeatedly pleaded with Bruce.
"Get back, Betty... RUN away!"
"Okay... what the hell is going on?" Wanda quietly said from beside me, morbidly intrigued by the unfolding scene. Ignoring her, my mind went into overdrive, planning our escape. No matter what Wanda or I were capable of, the Hulk would simply kill us.
We had to leave.
Bruce was on the ground, his body rapidly growing. I glanced at Betty's quickly paling face as she backed away slowly. She'd have to take care of herself. From what I could hear outside, it seemed Ross's men weren't far behind. There was no other way. I scooped Wanda into my arms in a princess carry, holding her head to my chest, ignoring her yelp, and sprinted. Leaping over the transforming man, I burst out of the warehouse.
Immediately, I could tell the entire place was teeming. Armored vehicles were already forming a perimeter around the warehouse, mounted with heavy machine guns. Above us, at least four military helicopters hovered in the sky. Everything was so bright and clear to my vision, the sun beating down on us from above. I was confused.
This wasn't how it went down in the movie. Wasn't there supposed to be an attack at the university? Everything was so different...
I quickly realized we were inside a military cordon and couldn't move or act as I pleased, lest I be found out as superhuman. I hoped they weren't paying attention to my speed when I bounded out of the warehouse. As I slowly moved away from the entrance to the side of the building, I was delusional enough to think no one saw us, but the fact that they weren't shooting was a good sign.
"Eli, what are you doing!?" Wanda shrieked, looking around as the whiplash of their rapid movement caught up to her. She wiggled, trying to get down just as he was about to set her on the pathway. Further down, a man in tactical gear stood atop a Humvee, speaking through a megaphone.
"Bruce Banner, we have you surrounded. I suggest you surrender peacefully."
Another soldier emerged from the same Humvee. Eli couldn't discern his identity from this distance, even with his enhanced vision. The soldier retrieved the megaphone from his comrade and began walking toward the warehouse.
"Banner, come out! It's the end of the line, and kidnapping the general's daughter isn't doing you any favors," the man declared boldly.
"What the hell are they trying to do...?" Eli thought, incredulously. Then, a terrifying roar filled the air.
"ROOOAAAR!!"
A second passed as they all stared at the warehouse. Eli heard nothing else, his focus solely on the building, ignoring Wanda's attempts to get his attention. Then, the top of the warehouse exploded outward as a massive green figure launched itself into the air, toward one of the helicopters. It crashed into the chopper, which exploded and fell from the sky in a ball of flames.
Towards them...
Instantly, Eli transitioned from standing to a full sprint, carrying Wanda, desperate to leave this place. His enhanced perception kicked in, slowing the world around him as he scanned for the nearest cover. He spotted a large brick building to their left and made a beeline for it.
Gunfire erupted behind them, turning the area into a full-blown war zone.
Eli half-turned as he sprinted, seeing the Hulk land with tremendous force, roaring and grunting from the hail of bullets and projectiles hurled at him. He staggered for a moment, and then, in slow motion, Eli watched as the Hulk spread both arms wide before slamming them together in a thunderous clap.
A massive shockwave exploded outward.
Eli watched its approach in slow motion — the ground cracking, vehicles flipping over, windows shattering. He tightened his grip on Wanda, deftly adjusting her so she wouldn't face the brunt of the attack. Despite his attempt to root himself to the ground, the force lifted them both into the air, hurtling them through the sky.
He twisted mid-air, trying to shield her with his body as they crashed toward the side of the building. He managed to reorient himself just before impact, taking the brunt of the hit against his back and shoulder as they slammed into the wall. He felt immensely grateful for his pseudo-Spartan body as it held together despite a brief flare of pain.
I finally let down Wanda, who stumbled before finding her feet, her face pale as she took in the sight. My eyes traced a helicopter that swooped down towards the Green Giant, letting out a hail of missiles that the Hulk dodged, picking up a car and hurling it at the chopper. My mind noted that it was Wanda's car. All this had happened in a few seconds.
It shows just how quickly shit can hit the fan...
"We need to leave now...!" I said, my voice calm in a way that betrayed my thoughts of just how much worse the situation could get.
"Yeah...," Wanda said quietly. I could tell she was terrified. I held her hand, intending on fleeing the location.
I grabbed her hand and started moving, but my worst fear became reality a second later.
The Hulk came crashing through the side of the building behind us, having just taken down another helicopter. Rubble rained down as the structure groaned. The green monster's glowing eyes swept across the area before locking onto us. His rage seemed to intensify the moment he spotted us.
He took two heavy steps forward, then bounded toward us with terrifying speed. As I felt a certain dread of death staring at the nine-foot-tall green monster as it snarled and roared, rushing us with a swipe, I compartmentalized my fear and pushed aside a frozen Wanda. My body fired on instinct and thought, dodging the swipe, feeling the air pressure caused by the Hulk's attack.
I knew I could not win, but had no other option other than to fight and try to leave...
I blurred forward and drove an uppercut into the Hulk's jaw. The impact sent him staggering back two steps, his head snapping upward in genuine shock and confusion.
I let out a breath and charged, not wasting the opportunity. I moved around him, striking at his joints — his biceps, the side of his thigh, anywhere I could land a hit. Every blow landed with force that would've shattered concrete, but my thoughts kept getting darker as I realized what I already knew.
I wasn't making any meaningful damage...
The Hulk roared in pain and anger, but he wasn't slowing down. In a split second of bad luck, my foot caught on a piece of debris. The Hulk brought both fists down in a devastating hammer strike. I couldn't dodge in time. Just before the blow connected, both of the Hulk's arms were suddenly wrapped in crimson energy. Wanda screamed as she strained to hold the avatar of rage, her face twisted in effort and pain.
"AAAAAHHHH!!"
The Hulk grunted in anger, struggling against unseen restraints. I poured everything into a single punch, driving it straight into his abdomen. The monster actually lifted off his feet, stumbling back a few feet. He clutched his stomach, staring at me with genuine confusion and pain. But...
I swallowed. Nothing was working.
I exchanged a quick glance with Wanda. She was holding her head, clearly in pain from overusing her powers. Before either of us could move, three rockets slammed into the Hulk's face in rapid succession. A man in tactical gear sprinted toward us, moving far faster than any normal human should. He leapt onto a pile of rubble, somersaulted over the disoriented Hulk, and fired his pistol mid-air.
Emil Blonsky.
Using the distraction, I grabbed Wanda and bolted toward a collapsing section of the building. A wrecked Humvee was lodged halfway through one of the walls — probably used by the Hulk as a battering ram against the helicopter before his crash into the building.
I pointed at the Humvee's window, through which I could see the road outside. "Climb through! Now!"
Wanda didn't argue. She climbed into the Humvee, and I followed right behind her. Just as I pulled myself into the car, the entire vehicle was sent rolling violently, crashing through the remaining wall and tumbling out of the building in a shower of debris. I wrapped myself around Wanda as best I could, trying to shield her from the worst of it.
When the car finally came to a stop, we both scrambled to get out.
Before we could fully escape, something — or rather, someone — was thrown into the side of the Humvee with bone-crushing force. Emil Blonsky's broken body slammed into the window right next to me. His eyes were glassy, and I could tell from the unnatural angle of his limbs that he was barely alive... if he was alive at all.
By this time, I was getting desperate; everything was happening so fast. The Hulk had torn through what remained of the collapsing building and was now charging straight toward us, each heavy step shaking the ground. I felt completely helpless. A hot, useless rage rose in my chest as I watched the massive green monster leap into the air, intending to crush us beneath him.
Without thinking, I reached over to Emil Blonsky's broken body and yanked the Beretta from his vest. I aimed precisely upward and emptied the entire magazine into his eyes in rapid succession.
The Hulk roared in pain and rage, clutching his face with both hands as he crashed down right beside the Humvee. The impact rocked the vehicle violently, nearly tipping it over. Wanda let out a sharp, terrified breath beside me.
For a second, I foolishly thought it might've actually hurt him. Then the Hulk's head snapped back toward us, eyes glowing with renewed fury. With a guttural snarl, he slammed both fists down onto the hood of the Humvee, crushing it like tin foil. Before I could react, he grabbed the entire vehicle with both hands and lifted it off the ground as if it weighed nothing.
"Eli—!" Wanda screamed as the Humvee was violently shaken from side to side. We were thrown around inside like ragdolls, slamming into the roof and doors. I tried to grab onto something—anything—but there was nothing to hold.
The world spun violently as the Hulk swung the Humvee in wide, powerful arcs, building momentum. I could hear Wanda's panicked breathing right next to me. I reached out and pulled her against me, wrapping my arms around her tightly as the vehicle continued to be whipped through the air.
Then, with one final, monstrous roar, the Hulk hurled us.
The Humvee was launched high into the sky, tumbling end over end. The force was so great that for a few terrifying seconds, we were completely weightless. I held onto Wanda with everything I had as the car spun violently through the air. All I could hear was Wanda's screaming and the roar of the wind rushing past the broken windows.
I forced myself to stay calm. I realized this wasn't a bad situation, as I wedged myself against the roof to avoid slamming inside the car. I turned my head and looked out through the shattered windshield, trying to get a sense of where we were falling.
We're coming down fast.
Below us, the city stretched out in a blur of rooftops and streets. I quickly scanned for anything that could break our fall and spotted a tall office building with a wide terrace near the top. There.
I didn't have time to think it through. I tightened my grip on Wanda and pushed us both toward the broken windshield.
"What... are...!" Wanda screamed, but her voice was lost in the rush of wind. I leveraged my weight and calculated the trajectory. At the last possible second, I kicked off the hood of the Humvee and leapt free, twisting in mid-air so that I was below her. I pulled her tightly against my chest, wrapping my arms and legs around her as best I could to shield her from the impact.
And then...
I slammed into the concrete on my back with bone-jarring force. The impact knocked the air from my lungs and sent a sharp, searing pain across my back and shoulders. I felt my skin tear open in several places, but I was fine.
For a few seconds, neither of us moved.
We lay there on the hard rooftop, breathing heavily.Wanda slowly lifted her head from my chest, her hair a wild mess, and her eyes wide with lingering fear. Without a word, she wrapped her arms around me, holding on tightly, and pressed her face into my shoulder.
"...Let's not do that again," she muttered, her voice shaky but with a certain dark humor.
I let out an incredulous laugh.
"Yeah," I rasped. "Let's not."
A/N - I hope I did our Jolly Big Green some justice....