Carol gently closed her bedroom window, making sure no one would hear her leaving the house. However, because of the ruckus that her drunk father was making a few rooms over, there was almost zero risk of her being caught by anyone because the click of her closing window would have been drowned in the shouts of her father. Mr. Danvers was not inherently a terrible father, but one who had been plagued by bad luck. Losing his son, coupled with his job, which was a major source of income for the Danvers household, would have caused anyone to spiral out of control.

Once outside, Carol turned away from the house and rushed out into the darkness. Before mass consumption of electricity and artificial light, darkness ruled the night. Mankind was not terrified at the existence of monsters, but rather by its curiosity and imagination. Monsters did not lurk in the night, but what if they did? However, once artificial lighting became universality consumed by humanity, the fear of the unknown dissipated. Unfortunately, the artificial light causes an effect that makes the stars in the night sky seem dimmer. Even going out into a dark field will not be enough if there is a neighboring city polluting the sky with light.

Even though the amount of artificial light did not make that night perfect for star gazing, Carol picked out the Andromeda constellation from the various stars twinkling in the night sky. While she could barely pick it out, Carol could discern a dim light, which was actually the Andromeda galaxy, located right next to the “knee cap” of the Andromeda constellation. While it is not the closest neighbor to the Milky Way (the Magellanic Clouds and a few other smaller galaxies are closer), it is one of the largest neighbors to our own galaxy.

Suddenly Carol was blinded by a blaring light. Has her father already found her? However, Carol deduced that it could not be her father because of the direction from which the light was originating. Instead of coming horizontally, somehow the beam of light was coming from above. Carol reached down to touch her hand on the ground, but she was bewildered to discover that her hand did not feel anything solid underneath her. In fact, when she looked down at the ground, she had already risen up several feet off the ground. Panicking, Carol flailed in vain as she tried to get back to the ground. Whoever (or whatever) was abducting her must have decided that the commotion that this Earthling was making was putting them in a vulnerable position to be discovered, forcing them to activate some kind of device that knocked Carol out cold. For the rest of the way up to the alien space-craft, Carol did not make another sound, nor did her limbs stir.

The Hulk landed, people began running away from him the second he did. Already he could hear the helicopters beginning to close in. It wouldn't be long until they caught up to him, and the other people were probably not far behind. The ones who were sneakier than the people that worked for the nice ladies dad. They were worse, they made him madder. They hurt him more, so he hurt them more. He jumped up into the air again, making sure to stay near the buildings. They wouldn't try and hurt him, he could get away from them. That's when he noticed the problem, they saw where he was going. He could see the edge of the water front and they were waiting for him. He landed a street away, and let out a roar at them. People were already running away. He took a step, then another. Starting to break into a run, if he jumped he would just be shot back. Breaking into a run towards them shots began to rattle of his skin, obviously the streets were clear. The occasional one would begin to pierce his thick skin however few of them did.

When he ran out, right on front of them he could see the ships in the water and let out another roar. They just wouldn't let him go, why did they have to chase him? What did they want? Then he snapped, his rage increasing to a whole new level with some form of sonic beam struck him from the sides wedging him in the middle. The pain and sound was intense, he fell to his knees covering his airs screaming. His rage just getting greater and greater the longer he was trapped. Moving his hand down to the ground he hit the ground then picked up a clump of pavement before throwing it at one of the vehicles, letting him free enough to pick up a nearby lamp post and send it sailing towards the other. Screaming, he began to tear through everything around him.

He picked up a Humvee, brandishing it and waving it around to force people to get back, as another one of the sonic cars appeared he sent it sailing into it. Buckling the roof on both cars, Banner would have cared about those inside. Though at this point he couldn't become any less like Puny Banner. He was Hulk.

Nobody was stronger than him. He could hear the helicopters now, some of them had humans hanging out the doors with weapons. Others with Cameras, as everyone on the ground were running away. He screamed towards the sky hitting his chest. He had to let them see, let them know what happened if he went after them.

New York

There were quite a number of reasons why Loki enjoyed the company of humans over other creatures; The fact that they were similar in appearance to himself was part of it (and sex was an absolutely wonderful thing) but what he loved the most about them was just how they danced when it came to the matters of Order and Chaos. Most of the other races that he recalled from the old days had tended to lean one way or the other and stayed that way, but humans stood out because they seemed able to jump from one state to the other like the drop of a hat.

Of course, there was a downside to this. Sometimes humans just went plain crazy... This was even more of a problem when the person who had gone stark raving mad was in a position of power in charge of a lot of trained solders with fairly dangerous weaponry... it tended not to end well.

This was the only conclusion that Loki could came to as he watched the green hulking humanoid 'beast' below from his unseen perch on one of the buildings near the docks; Whomever was in charge of those solders down their was stark raving mad and needed to be removed from a position of power before he got even more people killed. Loki had been trailing the green beast for a little while now, trying to work out its abilities and pick the best method of attack when it came time to finally strike and he had noticed something that had made him reconsider his decision.

It wasn't attacking anything, it was just trying to flee from the city.

Some might argue that the dead and injured solders that had already been left behind was proof otherwise but the beast only attacked to defend itself, or when escape had been cut off. Had it been left to its own devices, Loki suspected it would have just jumped into the sea and been on its merry way without a single casualty but some Odin's damn fool had decided to cut it off and engage it in a gods damn city!

Despite Odin's many, many flaws the old bastard wouldn't have been stupid enough to pick this as a battleground; He would have let it get clear of the city and if the beast was enough of a threat or a concern that it needed to be dealt with in one way or another he would have sent someone to hunt it down in the wilds.

Gears turned in Loki's head as he started to formulate a plan to end this as quickly as possible with a minimum loss of life... and if possible humiliate the fool that had brought this situation about in the process.

Tarene was fortunate, or at least, she tended to think good fortune favoured her. From her narrow escape during Ragnarok, to her gaining the powers of Thor, to her trip to Midgard, while the odds seemed stacked against her, somehow, a little worse for wear, she managed to pull through. Midgardian society was utterly confusing, she was totally out of her depth when she first arrived, terrified of cars, absolutely incompetent in terms of technology, society was very advanced on Midgard and much of it alluded her. She'd spent some time living with an amish group and found she fit in much better there, but cut off from the rest of the world, it hampered her search, and so she left.

Finding a place to live in a town or city was a much more complex operation than she'd ever anticipated, for a start she had no money, no identification documents and hadn't a clue how to use a phone or computer, she'd spent quite a few weeks roughing it on the streets until she noticed a "Norse Mythology" exhibition advertised in a nearby museum, pursuing it as a potential lead to Thor's location, if he'd survived Ragnarok that is. The exhibition was dreadfully disappointing and she went to the curator to complain about how dreadfully inaccurate it was, amused, the curator decided to help her out, in exchange for information about Asgard. It seemed a fair trade, the curator had Tarene's inexhaustive knowledge of Asgard and it's legends in exchange for the curators aid in Tarene's search. The curator, Dwight Parkins, wasn't a technical genius by any means, but he could use a computer, drive and had a cell phone, to Tarene he was nothing short of a technical wizard. Though Dwight couldn't dig up much about Thor's whereabouts he did help Tarene create a new identity and land a job she could handle in the human world, plus, he'd become a good friend.

This morning Tarene, using the alias Tara Olsen, was getting coffee with Dwight who was working on a new paper regarding Norse warfare and the Legendary battles between Vanir and Æsir.
"Morning Dwight" Tara beamed, stepping inside the pokey old-fashion cafe, even though she was growing used to the technology all over Midgard, she liked to escape it sometimes, and the cafe "The Book Nook" was perfect. The furniture was ancient and the walls were lined with books, there was soft music in the background and no televisions or distracting screens, it had an homely earthy feel.
"Hey Tara, I ordered the usual" Dwight replied, looking up from a stack of papers he was shuffling through, his eyes were lined with dark circles from nights of 'eff-all sleep while he researched furiously.
"Great!" Tarene grinned, of all the things on Midgard, coffee was one of her favourites, it was an unusual drink with a strong bitter taste, vastly different from the subtle sweetness of mead. Lately Tarene quite enjoyed cafe-au-lait, though Dwight warned it was rich in calories, whatever the heck they were.
"Any luck finding any leads on you know who?" she asked.
Dwight shook his head. "Nothing new, not that you expected me to say otherwise"
Tarene nodded, it was unlikely answers would just fall into her lap, as much as she wished it were that way. "What about that Alliance ... the one where heroes are joining together? Do you know where I can meet them? Has the google device told you anything?" she asked keenly.
Dwight laughed, adjusting his glasses, "There is no google device Tara" he attempted to correct her.
"Why do you attempt to trick me with such a fickle lie? I've known Loki Laufeyson, the God of Lies and he's not fooled me with a far more crafty tale. You've told me you use google for information, and when I asked who google was you said it is a tool humans use for searching, how can google suddenly not exist?" she said, frustrating herself at her own ignorance somewhat, at least Dwight was patient, he had the patience of a saint.
"I don't mean- Tara, google isn't a person or a thing, it's ... It's like a book, but inside a computer, I use the computer to read google. Do you understand?"
Tarene pondered for a moment, taking a sip of her cafe-au-lait but then threw her hands in the air. "I simply don't understand, you must explain again when you have your computer with you. Anyway, the details matter not, have you found this hero alliance? If there is any place Thor would go ... it is there, if I can find it, I have some hope of finding him."
Dwight nodded in agreement, if Thor was on Midgard, thats where he'd be, or at the very least, perhaps someone would have more clues, a lead for them to follow. "Well I'm working on it, I'll use the google this evening and see what turns up. I'd text you but you don't have a phone and goodness knows what you do if you did" he said.
"You're a comedian Dwight, I'll have you know I aim to learn this technology stuff soon."
"Now that's something I'd like to see, it took you a week to learn to work the doorbell in your apartment." Dwight retorted.
"Didn't I tell you to stop bringing that up every single time!" Tarene groaned, "It's not easy yknow, I'd just love to see how you'd fare in Asgard if you were suddenly transported there."
"I like to think I'd do quite well actually, given that I've done so much research and you've taught me so much. I'd say I'd fit right in" he grinned.
"Yeah but you cheated. I didn't get a guidebook to Midgard-society, you did" she smirked.
"I guess you could say that. What will you do if this hero group doesn't turn up any leads?" Dwight asked, it was something she had'nt considered.
"I hadn't thought that far ahead" Tarene sighed. She was a lot like Thor herself, the original that is, she didn't plan miles ahead, unlike Loki, though she was trying to, instead of blindly tearing through Midgard looking for clues, she'd found herself and ally and was doing a systematic search, she liked to think that was a good example of strategic planning, something Thor probably wouldn't have come up with. She sighed, feeling a little defeated again, sometimes those kinds of feelings crept up on her.
Here she was, sitting in an old Midgardian cafe drinking coffee and wearing regular Midgardian clothing. Her outfit today was a simple pair of jeans which hugged her lean atheltic figure (then again she had a hard time finding clothes that fit her properly given her height and muscle mass), she wore a plain slogan t-shirt that Dwight had gotten her, he found it incredibly amusing, it said something about "Hipsters" whatever that was, it was a joke she didn't seem to get. She gathered Hipsters were similar to the Amish family she'd lived with, Dwight toldher they don't use technology and dress differently to other Midgard-folks. She had a shoulder bag, left under her chair so no one tripped over it, and inside it was Mjølnir, Thor's legendary hammer. SHe wondered what would happen to it if she found Thor ... Would he take it back? She didn't exactly want to part with it herself, but it was his hammer was it not? Perhaps they would battle for it, though she hated to fight with her old ally and great friend, he was a worthy opponent and sparring with him seemed like an incredibly exciting activity. She didn't linger on that thought too long, afterall, she had to find Thor first before that became an issue and right now she didn't even have a good lead to go on.

So far, America’s trip to Earth-76031 wasn’t going all too well. The first issue was that she had been right in thinking that this New York was significantly lacking in its Korean Barbeque delicacies. She had already been here a good couple of hours and her eyes had yet to fall upon an acceptable eating establishment! To make matters worse, the young Latina had received the most judgmental and confused looks when she had enquired about the location of New York’s Koreatown that in the end she had just given up with her search. Honestly she wasn’t that bothered, although considering she had been out cracking skulls for most of the night before jumping over to this dimension, her stomach was starting to rumble. Especially given that it had been midway through the morning when she had arrived.

Her arrival. Now that was another issue entirely! America Chavez had expected to arrive in the midst of a huge interdimensional Mutant Growth Hormone operation although all she was met with during her arrival was a seemingly abandoned warehouse located near the docks. No guards. No drugs. Nothing. Honestly if anything that concerned her. Not only was this chico able to hop across the multiverse, but they were certainly good at clearing their tracks. They were definitely here though. She’d be able to tell instantly if they had darted off again. That left America with a dilemma. What now? Surely it would be wise to go for help. Maybe even find the Avengers if this world had such a thing. Or differently, she could simply hit the streets and hope that the drug trade was also taking place here. Find the user. Find the dealer. Find the supplier. How hard could that be?

“Er... Miss?” A gruff voice caught America’s attention. “I… er.. I know y’ didn’t take the elevator but y’ still need t’ buy a ticket to be up ‘ere!”
Lowering the hot dog she had been eating from her mouth, America eyes fell upon an extremely large middle aged security guard. Stifling a laugh, she rose from where she had been sat; the corner of the Empire State Building’s observation deck. She often found herself perched on the top of one of the many Empire State Buildings back on Earth-212, with her even owning an apartment at the top of one neither Liberty Mountain. She had flown up here at the earliest opportunity to relax, with the place reminding her of her home. Well, one of her homes.

“Sorry Chico. I’ll be on my way then.” Giving the man a short salute, she dived into the air off the side of the building and plummeted. After relishing the rush of air for several seconds, America took off, souring forward through the air.

That was when America was hit by a flying green monster.

It was like being hit by a wall of bricks. Under the force of the humungous beast, the teenager was sent flying into the ground, her body tearing up a small section of the road. Her ears ringing from the collision, America winced and groaned in pain as she lifted herself up out of the ground. Sure she was durable, but that still hurt like a bitch!

She strained her eyes as she took in the sights around her. Everywhere she looked, civilians were screaming and panicking. Sirens filled the air, as well as the hum of helicopters and screeching of rubber on concrete. Oh dios! How had she missed this. She watched as several military grade vehicles charged along the street past her, heading in the opposite direction as the evacuating people. Heading towards the abomination that had hit her. Abomination was entirely the wrong word. America’s jaw dropped as she realized what that creature was. The Hulk.

Despite the fact that she preferred to stay away from the big players wherever she visited, America Chavez knew exactly who this bozo was. People who said she had anger issues had definitely never met this guy. The Hulk was stronger. Stronger than strong even. Normally he was out fighting the good fight, a fact America Chavez was very fortunate of, although now that didn’t seem the case. The being that lay before her, reaping havoc to New York City, was certainly not here to smash any bad guys. He was out of control.

Grimacing, America stepped forward and brushed the remainder of the debris from her denim jacket. Old big, mean and green may be considerably strong, but she had to at least try to help. Charging forward, she once more took to the sky and shot towards the green beast. Verging towards the sidewalk, her hands clasped around the top of a street light and with a short tug, she had pulled it free from the ground. Slowing down she steadied herself behind the beast.

“Oi, Hulkling!” She called, swinging the street lamp towards the Hulk as if it were a baseball bat. “Lighten up!”

As Loki watched the exchange that was going on between the hulking beast and the poor bastards that had the misfortune to have been assigned under a complete idiot of a military leader, the gears in his head turned rather quickly in order to come up with a plan. Several plans were considered but cast aside due to... well, the fact that he was trying not to be a complete and utter bastard and maiming and killing a lot of people tended to be the signs of a complete and utter asshole.

A stray thought occurred to him. At first it merely seemed far to simplistic to be considered a proper plan but as he explored it a little and tested it for faults even Loki himself was surprised at just how effective it would be. Sometimes the simplest plans really were the best...

Which made the arrival of the teenage girl with the lamppost all the more annoying. She seemed to be wearing some sort of tacky American flag jacket as well, which only caused Loki to face palm harder then he would have otherwise. Whenever there was a molehill to turn into a mountain by facing it head on, the American flag seemed to be present more and more these days. Still, this merely added another factor into the situation that made the first draft of Plan A unuseable. Not impossible but more work was going to be required... and the first thing to do was stop the rain of bullets that the military was sharing with the world. At least that would be easy enough to deal with...

Hopping off of the building he had been perched on and gliding down so that he was between the military personal and the super powered melee brawl, Loki took a moment to look at the varied forces that had been deployed before waving his hand and using magic to make his will manifest.

The bullets stopped flying. The horsemen of chaos and confusion would ride through the ranks of the military personal as it quickly became clear that NO ONE HAD ANY BULLETS ANYMORE. The bullets that had been in their guns had vanished, their extras clips of ammunition had disappeared as well and even the grenades were gone. The vehicles had likewise suffered the strange disappearance of their ammunition and missiles... Hopefully, without the ability to use their weapons common sense would drive the humans to withdraw instead of trying to join the melee. It would only end in their deaths.

This only left the idiot child and the beast to deal with. Turning to look at the battle, Loki waited for his moment to move in.

"You called me out to check your papers though, right? I'll not waste your time further, hand 'em over" she said, cracking her knuckles.
"Ugh must you do that Tara? That noise gives me the creeps" Dwight shuddered, sliding the neatly organised papers over the table, she just grinned and took up the stack of papers, her eyes scanning the words.
She nodded as she read through the first number of paragraphs. Given the size of his research, Dwight had prepared a summarised version for Tarene to read before submitting the full version to his peers for review, they'd have all the time in the world to read his works, he knew Tarene had a very important goal and that she was helping him with his papers simply out of the kindness in her heart so he decided to avoid eating too heavily into her time whenever he could.

"Quite a good account I must say" Tarene nodded, Dwight's papers read much like the stories she'd been told growing up about the Vanir Æsir war which took place long before she was born. "You left out the part where All Father Odin beheads Mimir and preserves his head with herbs though. You should put it in your next study."
Dwight exhaled, greatly relieved his research had paid off, and that the Asgardian Goddess sitting across from him was satisfied, after all, he was writing about her people, her old legends, he'd have been mortified to have mixed something up dreadfully and have it read by a woman who was nothing short of a creature from legend.

"Thats a relief, at least I won't go hungry for another few months with the research funding I need locked in now! Thanks Tara" Dwight grinned.

Tarene enjoyed his company, she enjoyed humans in general, but many didn't have the same patience and interest in accompanying her like Dwight did. She'd found some men were utterly rude to her, and a lot of women were intimidated by her height and physique. Dwight wasn't phased by her presence at all, at least he wasn't anymore, at the start he was utterly in awe, then again he was in the presence of a Goddess, though over time he relaxed somewhat as Tarene seemed rather ordinary in some ways. Then again, she was trying to keep a low profile.

Suddenly chaos erupted outside. Bricks and mortar crumbled from the front of the cafe and a woman appeard to fall from one of the upper floors. Tarene shot up, grabbing her bag on the way, Mjølnir swinging from her shoulder inside the bag. To her surprise, the woman who'd fallen from above got up and proceeded to tear a street lamp from the sidewalk and brandish it like a club. Tarene instantly concluded that this woman was certainly not human, or at the very least, she was no normal human. She decided it wasn't worth asking if she were injured, not that she had time, as the Hulk caught her attention next. She quickly pieced it together, the woman had been thrown into the building by the large green monster.

She tugged Mjølnir from her bag and tossed the bag aside, although she was dressed in typical civilian attire, she felt ever so slightly more Asgardian, brandishing Thors hammer again for the first time in what felt like eons. She wished she had her old faithful armour on, but she'd simply have to do without it in this case.

The improvised bat made contact, the strength of the girl knocking him down the road and into the ground. Picking himself up he barely noticed that the others had stopped shooting at him. He looked at the girl and let loose a roar, turning to the left he grabbed the back of a car and threw it towards the girl. Before jumping and following through with a punch. Why wouldn’t they leave him alone?!

Flying car? Easy. America bounded upwards as the vehicle rushed towards her before dropping downwards in a sudden burst of speed, kicking it violently. Her strength instantly grounded the car part, with the newly formed pile of scrap plummeting downwards. She gave a short smile at her handiwork, although the sight of an incoming green fist wiped it from her face as quickly as it had form.

Luckily she had managed to get her hands up in time or honestly her face would have probably resembled a pile of jell-o for the rest of her life. Saying the punch had hurt was an understatement with America having to hold in her screams of pain as she rocketed back towards the ground. As she struggled to pull herself out of the second Chavez-sized hole she had made today, a thought cross her mind. Well more of a memory than a thought. The green giant over here had anger issues and bad ones at that!

He wasn’t the only one though.

“Stand down, Hulk!” she screamed, wiping her forehead of some sweat.

Hulk turned to face her again, and he was ready to jump when she stood up, and without hesitation… shouted at him. Just shouted at him. He stopped in his tracks, almost in a double take. He obviously wasn’t entirely sure how to react to the shouting, though then it just angered him more. After all whoever she was she had hit him first, she had been the one to stop him getting away. If it wasn’t for her, he’d be away already.

It was during this double take that the rational part of his brain kicked in a bit more, shaking his head he realized that he still had to get away. He looked over to see the military pulling back, a strange man in green walking amongst them. He doubted this new girl would let him get away though. She would chase him, and hit him. He growled slightly before raising his arms in the air, for a moment it looked like he may say something.

However he slammed both his arms into the ground, shaking the street as cracks spread out towards where she was standing, the intention for it to knock her down or cause her to fall into the cracks, not that he was really thinking on that level.

Regardless it worked. America found herself once again thrown onto the floor, with her barely managing to remain stable on the now collapsing road. Reacting quickly, she kicked off from the ground and found air once more, hovering above the street.

“Fine Chico.” She grimaced as she clenched her fists. “Now it’s personal.”

The young girl shot forward, her arms directed in front of her. Moving like a bullet, she rocketed towards the Hulk, gaining momentum quickly until…

Slam.

The girl got up again, flying (Literally) straight at him. However he braced himself for the impact, one leg forward one back. She slammed into him, he slid back slightly one of his heels digging into the pavement slightly however it probably didn’t have the desired effect. He grabbed her around the waist, then threw her up into the sky roaring/Screaming as he did so.

Tarene lifted Mjølnir up in the air and it sparked with lightning, electric energy building up, she felt it course through her, the ends of her hair fanning out with static, her eyes briefly flashed a blinding silvery-blue shade, the pupils and whites of her eyes disappearing for a moment in the bright silvery glow and then she swung the hammer to face the Hulk, holding it steady in her grasp, the lightning shooting out towards the beast, she let out a shriek, like rolling thunder. She'd charged up enough electricity to stun the Hulk, but it was unlikely to be fatal or even leave any significant damage given the size of the beast, after all, shooting him with a fatal charge was dangerous to the civilians nearby, should they get caught in the blast. She hoped she'd charged up just enough to get the Hulks attention, or stagger him somewhat at the very least maybe she'd caught his attention enough to stop him tearing up the city.

Dwight stared at the spectacle, dumbfounded, jammed in the doorway of the cafe with other humans who were half cowering, half pushing forward to see what was happening. He'd never seen a real Asgardian warrior in action, even though she had no armour, it was an impressive sight. He was too dumbstruck to call out for her, to warn her to step away and not take on the monster, she'd been a relatively normal woman in all the time he'd known her, it was easy to forget that she possessed the power of Thor and was not a normal human.

The blue light came out of nowhere, originally Hulk recoiled against it. However then, despite being supercharged with his skin and healing factor it was no different than a static shock. Turning to face the cafe he let out another roar. Where were all these people coming from? What did they want? He picked up part of the wrecked car, and swinging around in a clockwise turn he cast it towards the woman with the hammer.

As the car went soaring towards her, and the café behind her he began breaking into a run after the car, against the beam of electricity screaming/roaring as he did so.

Tarene braced herself, legs bent at the knees, she swung Mjolnir, aiming for the car, she needed to get it out of the way before it crashed into the cafe and harmed someone. Dwight saw his life flash before his eyes, and maybe fainted just a little, but with one mean swing, Tarene bounced the car out of the way, it crashed among the mounting pile of rubble from Hulk’s rampage. She knew she needed to get the green beast away from here, there were too many people, it was too dangerous. Her mind raced, then it occurred to her, one way to move the beast, throw him.

“Hey! You big green vegetable monster thing!!! FETCH!” she yelled, chucking Mjolnir towards the Hulk. Clearly her taunts could use some work, human language had some great insults, she just hadn’t learned many yet.
Mid jump she threw her hammer at him, while shouting something that didn’t really make sense. Moving his arm to grab it, instead of it changing direction and going with him he changed direction and went with it. He went careering down the street, bouncing off the ground and leaving Hulk sized dents in the road. When the hammer landed he tried lifting it, but he couldn’t.

Why couldn’t he lift it? He grabbed it with both arms pulling as hard as he could, the ground beneath him beginning to crack. He let out a roar down the street as he got even madder before he instead just grabbed a chunk of pavement and hurled it toward the women who threw it.

She smirked as the Hulk tried, and failed, to make the hammer budge even a fraction of an inch. She let him struggle with it for a few moments, at least while he was occupied with that, he wasn’t tearing the city upTarene’s eyes widened at the monster suddenly chucking the freaking ground at her. “Oh Gods” she gasped, ducking down as the pavement and dirt flew over her head, narrowly missing her.

“Peak-a-boo!”

Having taken the last minute to recover from her last confrontation with the beast, America subsequently hovered above the conflict as she returned to the street, her eyes widening at the sight of the new player in the game. America eyed the hammer wielding woman up and down as she attempted to fend off against the Hulk’s attack. The woman was adamant, America had to give her that. Attractive too. That was when her eyes focused on the hammer she was holding. The markings. Was that… Mjolnir?

A smile crept across America’s face. Thor was a woman! Nice.

Moving quickly, she dropped down onto the beast’s back, wrapping her legs around his overly large body. Before “Big Mean and Green” had any time to react she spread her arms wide before slamming them together. Right into the Hulk’s ears.

Loki’s jaw had dropped a little at the sight that was taking place before him, only giving a fraction of his attention to the sounds of soldiers yelling retreat orders behind him as they bugged the Hel out of a bad situation.

The idiot child wearing the red, white and blue had clearly committed herself to the fight and was displaying a number of abilities that were going to make his plans somewhat harder to pull off; Not impossible but still something that needed to be addressed. But she was not the only...complication that needed to be addressed.

Mjolnir was here. He would recognize that cursed thing anywhere; His pride had been the motivation for its creation, his concern for its perfection the reason that he had sabotaged it to only be a one handed handed hammer instead of the two handed weapon it was designed to be… His shock as Thor deemed the flawed weapon to be greater than his wife’s beauty and his humiliation as his mouth was sewn shut by its creator to the laughter of his peers...

To see it again after all this time filled him with nothing but dread. Looking towards its wielder with full expectations of seeing it in the hands of Thor, Loki found himself surprised to see that the legendary hammer was clearly in the possession of a new owner. A female owner at that.

As the battle continued to rage, Loki did nothing. His mind was still trying to process what he was seeing and possibly what it meant for him and the world around him. The woman herself seemed… familiar in a way, but if she was it was a truly old memory… from a time that he would rather remain largely forgotten. Still, considering that she jumped right into the fight without a second thought about what she was fighting or why, it was clear that she shared Thor’s basic line of thinking.

“Okay…” He muttered softly to himself aloud, “Time to think of a Plan B…”

There was a ringing in Hulks ears as the woman on his back struck them, he shouted out his entire body shaking in rage, his muscles tightened and his eyes looked bloodshot. He began trying to grab the woman on his back, bucking wildly as his own hands were almost clawing at his back trying to grab her, eventually he managed to get a hold of her.

Pulling her over his head and shoulders he threw her towards the other woman, the hammer one. At this point all reason was out the window. He didn’t want to get away anymore, he wanted to smash.

As the Hulk’s muscular green hand finally wrapped around America, one word was passing through her mind. Shit. Honestly in all her travels and interdimensional hijinks, she had only ever heard stories of what she believed to be witnessing now. A savage Hulk.

At the wave of the beast’s hands, she was sent hurdling towards Thor. She fell hard, knocking into the woman, resulting in the two stumbling into the ground. Normally such a thing would have been one of America’s all-time dreams, landing on a beautiful warming while all hot and sweaty, although now definitely wasn’t a time for that. Especially since this had been her doing. She had been a fool. Rule #1 of battling the Hulk; don’t make him angry.

Rising to her feet, she outstretched her hand and helped up her temporary partner. “Ok Chica.” she spoke, trying to sound confident. “We need a plan.”

“Chica? What is that?” Tarene asked, then shook her head slightly, now was not the time for trivial questions. She held out her hand, a soft humming sound filled the air and mjolnir soared from its spot on the ground, back into her grasp. “The plan is to keep this beast from the city centre, there are too many civilians, we need to contain it.”

She brushed some of the dirt and debris off her torn jeans and muttered something about how Asgardian armour would not be so easily ruined. “Are you ready for another round? You are uninjured?” she asked, though they were both taking a bit of a pounding, they were both in one piece, or so it seemed.

“Sounds good enough to me!” America replied stepping forward, shaking her head slightly at her not understanding her Spanish. “Don’t worry about me, I’m good for a few more rounds!” Her eyes scanned the area once more, with America assessing what to do. A small idea quickly popped into her mind.

“You go high and I’ll go low.” She stated firmly. “We’ll pop in and out. Then head for the water n’ hope that the shit will give chase.”

One of the heavy duty APCs left behind by Ross’ men sat abandoned, a gun turret on the top now useless thanks to Lokis magics. He began hitting and tearing at it, until eventually the turret came off. He then grabbing the turret with both hands spun it around and threw it, whether he threw it intentionally at the heroes or not wasn’t really easily discernable. He had become unpredictable, acting purely on rage.

As after he had finished tearing off the turret he continued to tear into the APC trying to break it apart.

“Well shi…” was all Loki managed to get out as one of the turrets that he had dealt with earlier was thrown towards his head more or less by chance. More out of an inbuilt survival instinct than anything else did he duck, thankfully avoiding having his clock cleaned by the flying metal weapon.

The situation had clearly changed… rage had clouded the beast’s mind and it was now lashing out at anything around it out of anger… and it seemed to be getting stronger because of it. This needed to end. Now.

Deciding to just bloody ignore the two ‘heroines’ for now, Loki started his own dash towards the hulking beast. He needed to grab the bugger if what he had in mind was going to work.

Tarene seized her chance to make a dash at the Hulk, following the plan, she stayed high, using her powerful legs to push herself up, leaping over wrecked cars and piles of debris. She swung Mjolnir back, it lit up with sparks like a christmas tree only far more epic, and she screamed, readying to whack the Hulk square in the jaw. SHe hoped America, wherever she was on the ground, was keeping up and would be able to push him back as well.

And keeping up she was! America darted forward, with her failing to notice the oncoming green-clad Asgardian approaching from the left. She pressed hard, attempting to slam into the beast’s knee and potentially buckle him.

Without even meaning too, Hulk “Dodged” Americas blow, by moving his leg out of the way, he did this in order to stick his hand out in front of the one with the hammer. Catching her before she could do anything he saw green out of the corner of his eye and without even thinking about it he threw the hammer one at whoever was running at him.

His rage now again fixated he stared down at America. He jumped at her, raising his fists to slam down upon her with all his force. Roaring all the way down…

“Oh dios!” America, moving as quickly as your legs would take her, firmly planted her feet onto the wall she had collided with after missing her target. Kicking out, she propelled herself forward, narrowly missing the Hulk’s flying fists.

Tarene hadn’t expected to get caught mid-swing, but the Hulk had snatched her up as easily as a child would snatch up a doll and before she could wriggle loose, he’d already tossed her aside. As she spiralled out of control, she dropped Mjolnir, the hammer landing with a booming sound like thunder somewhere amid the rubble.

She expected to collide with debris, or a building or something, but instead, she’d crashed into Loki, finally her fall juddered to a halt as she lay sprawled across him. She groaned, pulling herself up, feeling totally dazed it took her a moment to stop seeing double.

When she finally came to, she had to do a double-take just to make sure what she saw wasn’t some kind of delusion.

No. It wasn’t. It was real. Loki Laufeyson.

”LOKI” she screamed, her hand shooting out to summon Mjolnir, the hammer hummed and flew back to her grasp and she was blinded by rage. For a split second her heart was filled with unadulterated joy, if Loki was alive … Odinson surely must have survived Ragnarok too. Her joy was short lived however, as it was instantly consumed with her rage. “This is your doing!” she shrieked, swinging her arm back, Mjolnir lighting up again, this time she wouldn’t let herself get tossed around by the Hulk, she wouldn’t rest till she socked Loki in the face with the hammer which should have crushed him eons ago.

So far, Plan B (Which was really only a continuation of Plan A to be perfectly honest) wasn’t going well. What had started off as a flying charge had instead resulted in getting hit by a flying woman wielding a hammer that he hated on such a deep level that he had found a strange zen like calm about the whole thing somewhere on the otherside. Not the greatest of starts but strangely enough not the worst either…

Shaking his head a little in order to recover from the surprising blow, he managed to get a good look at the woman that was now on top of him. She was fairly attractive; Attractive in the old sense too unlike what people considered beauty to be now a days. On top of which, the feeling that he had seen and met her before became more apparent but he couldn’t remember the exact details anymore. Did she know who he was?

That question was answered when she shouted his name and called forth that bloody hammer with the clear intent on using it. She knew who he was alright. As the ground started to shake from something powerful striking it and Mjolnir was on route for his head, Loki did what any self respecting shape shifter would do under the circumstances; turned into a mouse and avoided getting hit completely.

Darting out from under the hammer wielding madwoman, the ‘mouse’ quickly regained a humanoid form. “I didn’t start this; The combined efforts of yourself, the idiot child and whatever fool was in charge of those soldiers earlier brought this about without anymore help!” He doubted it would make her stop, but he prepared to dodge and made peace with himself that he had tried to be civil and diplomatic about it.

Hulk landed in a small crater, which he made. Lifting his hands screaming he noticed the absence of the girl, the one who his rage was directed at. Turning he saw her nearby, obviously caught in the shockwave off his contact to the ground. He was soon distracted however, as more military choppers had obviously turned up, and with the entire street by this point being evacuated once they got within range they would have no quarrels about opening up.

He screamed again, he could see a helicopter. Not discerning that it was a media helicopter rather than a military one he jumped up in an attempt to grab it and pull it down.

Rising to her feet, having previously been knocked to the ground by the shockwave that had been the result of the Hulk’s latest attempt at destruction, America glanced around, noticing the disappearance of her hammer wielding companion. That was when she spotted her. She was apparently stood half way up the street, attempting to savagely attack a green clad man. From this distance America had no idea as to who it was but obviously considering the situation she failed to see how this was necessary.

“Oi, sort out your priorities!” She cried angrily towards the two. “We have a fucking Hulk to stop!”

Feeling the rush of air as the Hulk bounded forwards, America watched as he launched himself into the air and towards what appeared to be an idiotic news-copter that had decided to pry on the situation. Rolling her eyes, she cracked her knuckles, before rocketing forward into the sky after him.

“You expect me to believe you? The God of Lies? The Trickster? Chaos follows you in your wake Laufeyson. Is it not because of you that Asgard fell? And you expect me to believe you have come to Midgard to redeem yourself?” Tarene hissed. Years upon years of hatred were unleashed in one burst. She’d never thought about what she’d say or do if she ever found Loki alive and well, the very thought that he could possibly have survived seemed impossible. Yet here he was. Same as ever, or so she thought. Only her anger could guide her now, and it was uncontrollable and all consuming.

“Your brother may have spared you time and time again, but I am no fool.” she growled. “Odin should have destroyed you as an infant, you are beyond redemption Loki Laufeyson” she seethed, her hair was crackling with static though it was unintentional, she didn’t mean to call upon her thunder magic. “You’ll not face Asgardian justice out here … but by the All Father, I’ll see to it you are punished” she snarled. In her anger, the Lady Thor had totally forgotten about the Hulk and his destructive rampage, all she saw was Loki and the years upon years of suffering he’d caused.

Loki rose his hands a little in a sort of surrender, attempting to calm the situation down somewhat if only because getting hit in the face by that gods damn hammer hurt like the netherworld. “Fair point, I admit that I’ve done a lot of horrible things in my time to quite a few people that didn’t deserve it; Most of them were merely collateral to get at those who wronged me and for that I am sorry… But if you don’t mind me asking, who are you again? Your face rings a bell…”

Tarene growled, too angry to fathom basic words, so she resorted to the universal language of violence. Her frustration got the better of her and she lashed out, her fist flying forward at lightning quick speed to crash into Loki’s face. She heard the young woman who was battling the Hulk yelling, but her body was paralysed with anger, all she wanted to do was pummel Loki’s face beyond recognition, Hulk be damned!

There was much to be said about why she was angry at him; Considering the fact that the last time he had been to Asgard Loki had been heralding the end of the world and the deaths of his former ‘peers’ he couldn’t exactly blame the woman for wanting to rip his head off. Still, the fact that he had deserved the punch to some degree didn’t change the fact that it still hurt like freaking hell!

It was clear that the woman was not going to be listening to reason any time soon. Thankfully, the promise of pain had always been a powerful motivator for quick thinking and Loki rose his hand and seemed to explode in a blinding flash of light. When the light cleared and vision could be blinked back into existence, the Mjolnir wielding woman would see the former God of Lies fleeing away from the battle at a very fast pace.

An illusion as an invisible Loki turned his attention towards the battle between the Idiot Child and the Hulking beast, but given the woman’s current state of mind he was betting on her anger getting the better of her.

Hulk managed to grab onto the chopper, and it began to be pulled down when something solid collided into him. Not yet fully gripping the chopper he slid off it and fell into the top of a nearby building. However as he neared the building he felt something collide with his chest, as he looked he could see the girl pushing down on him pushing him towards the building.

With considerable force they moved through floor after floor, desks, computers, filing cabinets. Hulk was unable to grab onto her as he was using his arms to try and slow his descent. However with considerable abuse this was starting to wear at him, when they begun to near the bottom having built enough speed she stopped pushing and he went down to the bottom floor and into a crater.

Fortunately America Chavez could fly considerably faster than the Hulk could jump. That was always a bonus. She hit the creature like a bullet, knocking him away from the helicopter. This needed to end. Fast. Chavez pressed forward, charging once more into the Hulk and pushing him downwards, right into an already slightly Hulk-worn office building.

Debris flew around the two as she continued, with her literally using the Hulk as a battering ram, smashing through the floors and office supplies with ease. Releasing one last burst of strength, America pushed outwards sending the Hulk tumbling further through the floors, while remaining where she was hovering.

“Eat shit, Chico.”

The entire building creaked and groaned, when Hulk sat up his mind was slightly clearer. He grunted looking around, a small family lay on the ground beside him, shocked to see him come careering through the roof. Piece of the roof caved in, and what he did next was unexpected. He rolled himself over them, arching his back as the roof tumbled ontop of his back, looking as if it squished them all.

Thor was furious, and when Loki disappeared, which, had she not been so angry would have come as no surprise, she quickly snapped back to the situation at hand. America needed her help. She’d get Loki later, but only after allowing herself some time to process everything, perhaps then she’d be better equipped to face Loki should she find him again. Blinded by anger, she’d easily have been blindsided by him. It wouldn’t do to let that happen again. Next time she found Loki she’d be prepared, and she wouldn’t go straight for the kill, as much as it pained her to think it, she’d spare him, but only for long enough to interrogate him, she’d get some answers.

Back to the situation at hand, Thor jumped into the destroyed building, allowing herself to land a couple of floors up, so that momentum would carry her to the crater the Hulk was currently sprawled in, at a greater speed. She twisted her wrist and Mjolnir began to spin, making a powerful whooshing noise and sparking with electricity. It would take her mere-seconds to plummet down to the bottom, and if luck were on her side, the force would be enough to KO the beast … She wasn’t entirely sure luck was on her side anymore though, not with Loki’s appearance like an ill-omen looming over her. Then the beast did something surprising, rolled over, appearing to crush a terrified family, though Thor noticed the muffled screams didn’t suddenly cut short … the beast aimed to protect them from falling debris not to crush them. THe static dispelled from mjolnir harmlessly and she stayed her swinging arm.

Today just seemed to be full of surprises it seemed. When he had created his illusionary doppelganger Loki had fully expected the strange hammer user to have charged after it like a bull seeing red but it seemed that she processed some kind of common sense after all… admittedly this was something of an improvement over Mjolnir’s former wielder but it did leave her as a possible problem still.

Following her at a more subdued pace after the beast in order to avoid being detected prematurally, he arrived to hear the sound of muffled screams, collapsed rubble and a lack of both the raging beast and the two ‘heros’ doing anything about the rubble and the screaming underneath it.

It had finally sunk in what a gigantic mistake America had made bringing the fight here had been. She had assumed beforehand that anyone with common sense would have evacuated at the first sight of the Hulk. Given the screams and cries for help being emitted from various locations around the collapsing office block, that evidently wasn’t the case. Obviously she couldn’t blame them. This was on her. This was her responsibility.

Deciding that the Hulk could be left alone for a mere moment, America set to work. Gliding gracefully, she quickly maneuvered through the falling rubble, using her ears to guide her; something that was considerably hard considering everlasting sound of destruction around her. She soon came upon a middle aged woman trapped under a fallen desk somewhere on the 7th floor. Removing the desk was easy work, although removing the woman herself another matter considering her left leg was most likely broken. With the woman’s permission, America hoisted her up, before catching sight of a few more possibly injured civilians. It wasn’t long before she found herself swooping out of what remained of the south wall, a person under each arm, as well as a weedy elderly man huddling onto her back.

Luckily America didn’t have to stray far in order to find some paramedics, with a small blockade of SWAT vans and the occasional ambulance building up a block or two over. Leaving the people in safe hands, she swooped back around and headed back. By now the majority of the building was just a mound of rubble and debris. Groaning she hovered down next to Thor who was watching something miraculous.

Did the Hulk just… save people? America smiled. It would seem that Banner wasn’t completely out of control. She moved forward in order to assist the green giant, although she found that she wasn’t met with open arms.

Hulk pushed the rubble off the top of him as he stood up, shouting at the top of his lungs. He didn’t want to hurt people, he just wanted to be left alone. He wasn’t a monster. That was when the women that did this came soaring down closer to him, and he just let out a snarl in her direction. As the family had run away and the area was clear he turned ready to jump at her again. His head was still groggy however it wasn’t as bad as it had been, his healing factor was beginning to take care of it.

A piece of rebar in each hand from building supports he moved completely with the intention, and a very obvious intention at that, at hitting her as hard as possible with both bits of rebar. This was her fault, she was no better than the men with guns!

At long last, the moment had come. The opening that Loki had been waiting for but had been prevented from making earlier had finally arrived. Ignoring the Idiot Child and the Mjolnir wielder completely, Loki darted forwards and intercepted the charging beast in midair, his invisibility dropping as he gave the two idiots who had escalated this conflict to far greater heights than it had truly needed to be the one fingered salute of the folk before one final working of magic kicked in and both himself and the beast vanished from view.

Reacting quickly, America threw her arms up, her eyes widening at the sight of the oncoming Hulk. However what followed was something that she would never had expected. She watched in awe as a green clad man seemingly appeared out of thin air, diving towards the Hulk. She knew who it was instantly, given the snake-like colour of his outfit and the ridiculous horns of his helmet. Loki. Before she could question what was going on he… gave both her and Thor the finger and vanished, along with the indestructible Hulk himself!

Silence was all that came from America’s mouth as she drifted down to the floor. She smiled briefly. They had done it! The Hulk was gone. Sure Loki had him, but nethertheless he was gone! However that was when America realized something. Her smiled dropped as her eyes stared around at all the destruction that laid before them; the rubble, the fire, etc.

This was on her. All this destruction was because of her. America Chavez dropped to her knees, a single tear running down her face as she realized one simple truth. The Hulk hadn’t been the only monster in New York today.



Before the two of them even had the chance to hit the ground, the landscape had changed dramatically. Instead of the ruined sub-urban area filled with people that they had been standing in before, now there was only dusty sands, light plant cover and a night sky that was absolutely breath taking if either of them were inclined to gaze up at it.

Springboarding off of the beast and some distance away in order to get out of retaliation range in case it was still enraged enough to take a swing at anything nearby, Loki took a moment to right himself as he sighed. “Sorry it took so long to get you out of there, but idiots kept crawling out of the woodwork.”

Peter dashed forward toward the techno-organic monster, side-stepping any of its attempts to blast him with its energy bolts. Utilizing his amazing agility, Peter closed the gap between the two combatants and grasped the creature’s horns. In one, fluid motion, Peter leaped over the “Triceratops” and flipped it over his own head, slamming it into the ground.

“Hot, hot, hot, hot, hot!” Peter waved his hands in the air as he tried to blow on them through his mask.

However, immediately after slamming the creature to the ground, Peter began to regret it because the energy from its horns had heated those projections up, burning Peter’s hands while he was tossing the monster to the ground. The only solace that Peter had was that his hands were not burned as badly as what would have happened if anyone else had touched them. By tomorrow morning, they would be all healed up, as if nothing had happened to them.

‘Killer Unicorn’, as it called itself, stumbled back to its feet. Although it was obvious by its attempt to regain it balance that Peter’s latest attack was at least successful, the fact that the monster had not yielded was not the result that Peter hoped for. What else could he do against this thing? Beat it down to submission? But that would probably cause more collateral damage than was worth for defeating this creature.

Suddenly, Peter’s Spider-Sense began to buzz, alerting him to something approaching in his general direct. However, Peter knew that could not be coming from the metallic cretaceous dinosaur that had resisted all his attacks. There was a swooshing noise filling the air and then two THUNK’s sounded when two purple arrows collided with the torso of the bipedal prehistoric creature. A third arrow struck the ground next to Peter. However, this arrow was attached to a long coil. Down from this coil came down two costumed character: one decked-out in purple while the other in white and navy.

“Tick, Tick, Boom.” The man in purple said. Right after he said ‘boom’, the two arrows that were lodged into the chest of the beast imploded, creating a giant explosion that enveloped the bizarre triceratops. After the explosion, a cloud of dust swirled around the impact site, inhibiting any attempt to see what was the result of those explosive arrows. “Man, I always wanted to use those arrows!”

“Did you just BLOW UP that thing?” Peter exclaimed, placing the palms of his hands on the top of his head, showing his shock at what had just happened. While Peter had been trying to knock the thing out, he had no intent of killing it!

“No, I just put up a giant light show.” The man rolled his eyes at Peter. “Anyways, that thing is definitely not human, so what’s the problem.”

Another buzz alerted Peter to yet another incoming projectile that was heading straight towards the three of them. Instinctively, Peter dove to the side, pulling the two newcomers along with him so that they would not be struck by whatever was coming towards them. From outside the cloud of dirt, that was at that moment starting to dissipate, two laser blasts departed. Fortunately, Peter had already got the two costumed characters out of the way.

“I think all you did was make it angrier!”

---

The Brand Corporation was one of the science-focused branches of the Roxxon Corporation, which was a conglomerate business that expanded into numerous fields: energy, pharmaceuticals, you name, they probably has investments in a portion of that market. Herbert Landon, the founder of the Brand Corporation, who was allowed to remain in a position of control once Roxxon absorbed his company, strolled through the plant that was located in Queens. However, once he heard his pager going off, he excused himself and ducked away into his office.

Once he was seated, he turned on his computer. On the monitor was head of the Manfredi crime family, Silvio Manfredi, better known as Silvermane. This aged crime-boss was once one of the most influential members of the Maggia. However, due to his growing age and a past imprisonment, Silvermane’s influence has slipped significantly, especially with the rise of the Kingpin of Crime. While Silvermane was able to regain some turf from the relatively recent criminal civil war started by the man known as the Rose, Silvermane knew that his age was becoming a detriment to his job.

“Landon, what is the progress of Project Fountain of Youth?” Silvermane had been seeking a means to rejuvenate his withering bones so that he might be able to indefinitely hold a place of influence in the Maggia.

“The results are incredibly promising.” Landon’s tone hinted at that there was going to be a ‘but’ to his good news and Silvermane picked up on that cue instantly. The mob-boss furrowed his brow as he awaited the ‘bad news. “While we have been able to replicate the enhanced super-human physiology and rapid healing factor, we unfortunately have run into a snag. We have found physical deformity to be a side effect of the treatments.”

Disappointment quickly overtook SIlvermane’s face. Was he not providing him enough resources to get this breakthrough drug perfected, under the nose of the Roxxon Corporation, which was also not known for always having the most legitimate business investments. However, Landon had one last ace up his sleeve.

“We found something else during trials. The formula that I have developed seems to be corrosive toward the so-called ‘X-gene’. If tension rises anymore about the ‘mutant question’, we might be able to take advantage of such a situation. We could offer it as a ‘cure’ for being a so-called ‘mutant’ and when people start to mysteriously dying, people will turn a blind eye due to the tension.

A toothy smile appeared on Silvermane’s face once he heard this news. “Keep me updated.”

Hulk was jumping at the woman, and then at nothing. Turning rapidly in mid air he fell to the ground throwing up sand, nearby some wild goats scattered from where the green goliath landed. He looked around, huffing and puffing. He screamed into the sky, which was when he noticed the stars. He didn't even register Loki or what he had seen. It was a stunning view, no light pollution anywhere nearby had the whole sky lit up with one of the most beautiful stars, the vastness of the universe was beautiful. He may be the strongest one there was, but out there there were countless other things and beings. Somewhere out there he could truly be alone, it filled Hulk with an odd sense of hope.

Then his breathing, began to slow from his laboured breathing to calmer, until he fell onto his hands and knees. The green hue fading, his entire body shifting back. Bones grinding and cracking as they adjusted to their original size and then in the crater kneeling, was Bruce Banner. He shuddered slightly, putting his hand to his head before standing up.

Well, at least wherever they were it wasn't cold. So it must be a warmer country, well to most residents it would seem cold but as he was used to the New York climate it wasn't too bad. He would have preferred to have been in more than ripped trousers however it was bearable. No houses, no lights. Nothing for miles, he was torn between glee and a slight twinge of sorrow. He was alone, nobody would be able to find him out here and he wouldn't be able to hurt anyone however... It would be tough to survive and the chances of him finding a way to cure himself out here would be tough to do. Though ther ewere always markers he could call to try and get some equipment out here... it would be a long shot but even if he couldn't he'd be out here all by himself. There was nobody to hurt, and nothing to destroy.

His mouth turned into a slight smile at the prospect of that, not even Ross could find him all the way out here and everyone would be far safer. Surveying his surroundeds a little more closely he noticed the man clad in green for the first time. He recoiled slightly, almost tripping over a stone in the Hulk sized crater. "Who are you?" He looked around even as he said this, checking that there was no-one else nearby.

"What do you want?" Bruce looked around for a ready way to escape or somewhere to hide, could his peace truly be ruined already? He could feel his heart rate already elevating. However he took a deep breath, and let it out slowly through his nose. No, it'd be fine. Probably just some... kind of hunter. That was it, he'd probably be just as surprised as he was.

Loki's day had simply been absolutely full of surprises it seemed.

The Jolly Green Giant with a short temper had taken a long hard look at the night sky and calmed down dramatically; Loki suspected that it was a combination of the beauty of the night sky (And out here it really was beautiful) combined with the fact that no one was provoking or attacking the green beast in any manner out here. Somewhat pleased with his vindication, Loki was surprised by the fact that the beast shrunk down to what would otherwise be a normal human being had he not witnessed the transformation himself. Granted he had seen shape shifters before (He was one himself after all) but this kind of transformation was quite new even for Loki. He was inclined to learn more...

When the man finally noticed him, his reaction suggested strongly that he had no recollection of what had taken place when he was big and green; Not a voluntary shape shifter and more a cursed transformation akin to a werewolf then. Taking this new piece of information into account, Loki offered the man a friendly smile that seemed to reflect the moonlight... largely in part to the sliver lines around his mouth actually reflecting moonlight. "My name is Loki. What I want is a couple of answers to some very interesting questions but I can't help but feel that you would rather know where you are and how you came to be here first."

"See, a little while ago I was staying in New York when I came across a strange but powerful green creature that was trying to escape from the city with a minimum of fuss. Unfortunately in one of the greatest collaborated acts of stupidity I've witnessed in a long time a combination of the US Military and several 'Heroes' more dedicated to fighting the 'Rampaging Monster' then actually observing the situation and using their brains decided that a city filled with innocent people was the perfect place to start a fight. Due to a desire to help keep the damage to a minimum and because it was clear that the creature wasn't harming anyone that didn't attack it first, I grabbed the creature and teleported the both of us far, far away from New York and people in general. Which is where we are now."

"As for where we are..." The smile on Loki's face grew playful as he stated in a perfect Australian accent "Welcome to the Australian Outback mate. So what's your name?"

"I've chosen my team." Wilson put the files on the desk on front of him, waiting for Fury to look them over. Fury just looked at the title of each file, the names attached to them. "Two people isn't exactly a team, what about the-" Wilson shook his head. "He'd need to prove himself first, and the other ones too young." Fury just sat there for a second, "What about the one with the h-""Again. Gotta prove herself. You've had tabs on her but we have no reali idea who she is or what she's capable off. I'm not against working with her though to see if she's material."

"And the younger one? The one who fought the Hulk?" Wilson almost laughed. "She needs a lot of work. I'm surprised you're not bringing her in under charges. Though I do have someone else I want on my team. I want Agent Milton." Fury just looked at him. "Wilson you can't have Milton. We've spent time with him, he's trustworthy and yeah he's even helped us out on occasion but you can't have him.""We need him, trial basis. He has what it takes and let's be honest he's a bit of a power house." Fury just looked at the man on front of them, no he wasn't just a man now. He was a beacon, Wilson had become that upon getting the S.H.I.E.L.D. The New Captain America. Sure he wasn't quite as strong as the last one however the ability to fly (Assisted or not) was still a game changer and gave him one hell of a tactical advantage.

"All right, you can have Milton. Though all his missions are run by me. This isn't optional Cap" Wilson couldn't help but grin inside. As a kid he had grown up, like everyone else knowing the legend off Captain America. To be the one chosen to take his place was probably the greatest honour, and biggest burden, he could possibly ever recieve. He was determined to right by the world, and help it become a better place. S.H.I.E.L.D was the way to do that, he had no doubt in his mind. They would protect the world, and help it grow into something new and exciting through world peace. He realized he had been pushing the line a bit, but this was too important. It had to be done right.

Wilson offered a salute. "Thankyou sir." Then going to turn and walk out the room Fury stood up. "Not so fast Cap. I got a mission for you-" He pressed a button on the screen behind him and pictures of the fight with the Hulk appeared. "-Before you go looking for your team you need to suit up and bring these ones in. No they're not going onto your team but they're hot commodities right now, we have to do something. After that, you need to go see Ross." Wilson just sighed. Of course he'd be the one to have to see Ross, Fury would just lose his temper after all.

Wilson began to walk out before turning back around to face Fury. "Sir?"

"What is it Captain?""About the name, I want to change it. Avengers sounds a bit too... aggressive.""What do you want to change it too then?"

"I'll get back to you on that one." With that he turned around and walked out.



So Ross had found him, and this guy was Loki. Literally the God of Mischief. That filled him with hope, though in the bright side. They were far away from anybody, and anything. Even if Ross could somehow track him it would take him days to get to him out here. If not even longer than that. He did owe this "Loki" somethanks though, the Hulk (As he had seen it named) could have caused a lot more damage, especially if Ross and these "Heroes" had been making things a lot worse than it was.

"I guess I need to thank you for getting me away from New York, from people the heroes and especially Ross-" He didn't elaborate more on who Ross was, even the name made his blood boil and- Calming thoughts Bruce, calming thoughts. He went to extend his hand, though realizing it may not be the best idea he moved it up instead on rub his head before then hugging himself. Now he was getting used to the heat it wasn't the nicest temperature ever, it was quite chilly actually. "Bruce, the names Bruce. You should go though, just leave me here. It's where I need to be."

Thor was furious that Loki had gotten away. Blinking the stars out of her eyes, the bright flash had caught her by surprise, she looked at the crater where just moments before, the Hulk had crouched. There was a family, cowering in the wreckage. America appeared to be in shock, Thor couldn't quite tell but she was frozen on the spot, mouth agape, so Thor didn't hesitate dropping down the rest of the way into the crater to land beside the family amidst the chaos.

"Are you unharmed?" she asked, carefully pulling them up to their feet. She could knock out what remained of the wall and allow them to climb to the relative safety of the pavement outside, but the building was already creaking and groaning, it couldn't take much more structural damage, and there was likely to be other people nearby who could be hurt by falling debris.
The humans stared up at her in terror after their ordeal, but shakily reached out to grab her arm, relief washing over their faces as she lifted them up towards what remained of a blasted out window, they clambered out to safety, having narrowly escaped death.

Thor pulled a fallen steel beam off a mans leg and carried him out to the window where the paramedics were beginning to swarm in, trying to find a safe access to the rubble. She quickly darted off again to catch up with America. She needed to thank the young woman for her assistance in the fight, and applaud her bravery, whomever the strange girl was, she was considerably valiant, though certainly not Asgardian, Thor felt as though she had been quite the worthy battle companion.

She leapt back across the wrecked building floor to where America stood, still silent. She placed a hand on America's shoulder. "You fought well." she said, brushing some dust off her battered Midgardian-style jeans. Her brows furrowed in concern, something was quite amiss with the young heroine. "Miss-, are you alright?" she noticed America's tears ... Thor was not particularly good at dealing with tears, it was unlike her to cry and her warrior companions back in Asgard, long ago, had seldom shed tears. "Do not worry, we will find them ... I swear it" she said confidently.

Outside a new chaos seemed to be brewing, although it wasn't the chaos of a Hulk rampage, or even Loki heralding Ragnarok, it was a mechanical chaos, helicopters and squad cars. "By the Gods ... what is this noise?" she asked, looking around, although the battered shell of a building didn't offer much of a view of the street and skyline outside.

Loki watched carefully as Bruce introduced himself, noting the slight bit of anger that had been displayed at the mention of this so called 'Ross'. The influence behind the military response perhaps? Shuffling that piece of information away for further research later, Loki considered his options in the present. He doubted that he would be able to get any of the answers he wanted out of Bruce at this early juncture, but he didn't want to just abandon the man in the middle of the outback with absolutely nothing to work with...

"Wait here five minutes Bruce. I'll be right back..." was all the warning that Loki gave before vanishing, teleporting from the outback and into a store hundreds of kilometers away that was tailored with campers in mind. While the place was technically closed that wasn't much of a hindrance; If anything it meant he didn't have to deal with shop attendants. It was a rather quick shopping trip since Loki had given himself a time limit and who knew if Bruce would still be there when he got back, but with all haste Loki had managed to secure himself a tent, a sleeping bag, a survival knife, two changes of clothing (M sized) and a few other bits and pieces that someone in the wilderness might make use of. All it really took was a wave of his hand to rearrange the shop's computer systems to recognize an extra purchase and compensated it for the trouble before Loki was off again.

The second stop was similar to the first, only it was at a supermarket. This one required a bit of invisibility due to the fact that the store was actually still open but it wasn't that hard to grab at least a few days worth of water bottles and food before another 'purchase' went through and once more he was gone.

The return back to where he had left Bruce was signaled by several bags dropping onto the sandy ground and Loki carefully placing a few more down as he glanced around to see if Bruce was still there. Hopefully he hadn't run off...

There were lots of ideas running through his head. After all he was the one being told to lead this team, the Avengers Initiative. Earths Mightiest heroes he had been told, what heroes? So far few of them had really proved themselves, at least as far as he was concerned. In fact there were only about two people he felt he could trust to help defend the Earth. Then there were the whole international laws to adhere to and the fact the Earth wasn't exactly united...

Though being Captain America kind of made things a bit lopsided. Perhaps he'd speak to Fury about tyring to get some other countries equal representation... though that would take time and effort and he had other matters on his hands currently. Swooping down out of the back of the Quinjet, wings extended he could already see New York was in chaos, in two different areas. He knew that in one of them Spider-man was throwing down with some kind of triceratops however Hawkeye had that scene locked down, his concern was with the second site. The one that had been destroyed by the Hulk and two would be heroes. He had to hand it to the other green guy (Older S.H.I.E.L.D files claimed him to be Loki, however he wouldn't believe that) He at least knew what to do in a seemingly unwinable situation in urban terrain, get the threat away from the general population.

He swooped down, into a roll and as the security doors on the office building began to slam closed (Obviously something was faulty, but with what the building had been through you couldn't blame it) he threw his own shield, timing it perfectly so that the door was held open by it. Then retracting his wings back into the pack he ran over and slid onto the ground. Helping to pull people out. He could kind of see the two so called "Heroes" in mid air. They seemed to be watching the commotion. "You two, get yourselves in gear. This buildings going to come down, get everybody out." He then turned and nodded to nearby S.H.I.E.L.D agents, who ran around the building with small explosives placing them on the building itself. A free falling building was dangerous, they had to control the fall and take it down where they wanted it to go down.





The moment he disappeared, Bruces more scientific mind was trying to figure out how he did so. If it was teleportation how did it work? Did he create wormholes? Manipulate gravity? Or was it some form of time dialtion that made it seem like teleportation to those outside of the field. Of course his newer, more realistic side clamped that down. He wasn't a scientist anymore, he was a fugitive. He had to work out how to survive, and while Loki told him to wait he didn't really expect the "god" to return. So he began looking around for some form of shelter. Though just as he was thinking about calling a nice pile of sticks home he heard some clanking.

Turning around he saw Loki with a pile of what appeared to be camping gear, some food, clothes. Everything he would need to survive out here, at least initially. However he had a high enough IQ that he could probably figure out how to get everything else going. He walked over to the edge of the pile furthest from Loki, still worried to get too close. First as this was the first person to be nice to him (Other than Betty) after discovering he was the Hulk and he still didn't know the motives that Loki was playing on. The fact Loki was a trickster god was Bruces real concern, could you trust someone that in myth and legend went down as a liar and a scoundrel? So he decided to just thank him instead, and be done with it.

"Thankyou, Loki." He rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "I guess I owe you one. These supplies will come in pretty handy-" He looked around at the vast expanse. However he was noticably less interested in the heavens than his green counterpart was, though of course Bruce himself didn't notice that for he didn't have memories of being the Hulk anyway. "-and there's no chance I can hurt anybody out here." He hadn't forgotten that Loki had said that he hadn't hurt anyone other than those who got in his way.

However he had still hurt, possibly killed. Yes he was the one who worked on the Gamma Bomb but that was only to get into the world of Gamma energy. Nobody would fund a scientist trying to create a powerful energy source for all man kind to share, so he had to start with something that could get him recognition. Get him seen.

It got me seen all right.

After nearly dodging the energy blast thanks to the timely tackle by the red and blue colored vigilante, Clint pulled himself off the ground and retrieved another trick arrow. As the arrow flew from his bow, it emitted a smoke reminiscent of dry ice. Once this arrow hit its mark on the giant creature, an explosion of water covered the metallic dinosaur, which instantaneously froze, generating what seemed like a giant ice block surrounding whatever the heck that thing was.

“Problem solved. Dinosaur, meet the Ice Age.” Clint had an arrogant smirk plastered on his face, or at least it was there until the ice began to crack. The metal-horned Triceratops, exerting itself against the ice, shattered it, sending fragments in all directions. Eyeing the purple-clad archer, the monster squared its shoulders toward Clint and sent another energy beam at him.

Without the intervention of Spider-Man, as the media calls him, Clint only barely leapt out of the way of what would have been certain death. While Clint tumbled to the ground, some of his arrows slipped out of his quiver. While the majority of his arrows had to be activated through a device on his arm, one specific arrow that did not require such safety protocols happened to strike the ground. Around the radius of the arrow, which had landed point downward, an energy bubble bloomed outward. Since Clint was not located inside the epicenter, the expanding walls pushed him aside.

After being shoved around by one of his own arrows, Clint peered up to see what the creature’s next move would be. However, the cretaceous fiend had turned its attention toward the hero known as Spider-Man. Then he noticed that the spider-themed hero was holding something in his hands. One of his arrows, in fact!

“Hey! Don’t touch that!” Clint shouted, knowing that the arrow he was holding could be extremely dangerous (even if unarmed) or potentially useless, especially if he had picked up one of his ‘normal arrows’.

“Take a chill pill, Cupid! I’m smarter than I appear!” Spider-Man dashed forward toward the creature, almost as if he was intending to ram into the monster. However, instead of continuing forward, he leaped into the air, slamming the arrow on the forehead of the Triceratops. Once the arrow was planted on the creature’s head, Spider-Man performed a backflip off the bipedal dinosaur, landing several feet away. Suddenly, just as a similar arrow had done a few seconds earlier, an energy bubble blossomed from the arrow head. However, instead of pushing the creature outside of the bubble, as the other arrow had done to Clint, the arrow’s effect enclosed around it, trapping it inside. Even when it tried to dig its way out from underneath it, the shield did not give way at all. When it tried to blast its way out, the energy beams ricocheted of the bubble’s walls, knocking the creature onto its back.

“Well, I think you two can handle this from here.” Spider-Man said before shooting up a webline and swinging away through the city.

“I have to admit”, Hawkeye said as he crossed his arms and gazed at the captured creature, “He does have style. Not as much as I do, but he still has some at the very least.” Mockingbird just rolled her eyes and shook her head at Hawkeyes comment.

---

Miles Warren was enjoying his afternoon tea at an outdoor café. His computer was sitting on the table next to him, but nothing was opened on the screen. Only the background showed. He just watched people walk back and forth past the little café as they minded their own business. It is so bizarre how these people can be walking down these streets so calmly while so many unexplainable spectacles were happening across the city. Were they this ignorant?

*beep* *beep* *beep*

Professor Warren turned his attention back toward his computer, opening up a private instant messaging server. On the far right side corner of the application, the server showed there were two people currently in the chatroom. One handle was Doctor Jackal, which was Warren’s own username. The other one was Doctor Monster.

“Your work is quite impressive.” Miles typed into the chat interface, referring to the mechanically enhanced Triceratops that took two superheroes working together to take down. It took a few seconds before Warren received a response.

“And so is yours.” Moments after whoever was using the ‘Doctor Monster’ handle typed this, a few images of Damon Ryder appeared on the chatroom. While they were small enough that anyone passing by would not notice the images, Miles nevertheless closed the images just in case.

“Maybe we should pool our resources and knowledge. Imagine what we could do.”

“Yes. We will l have to arrange a meeting.”

It would seem that Miss America wouldn’t be mourning for long, with her lonesome session of crying and guilt soon interrupted by the arrival of her hammer wielding accomplice. America kept her eyes fixated onto the ground as she arrived, with her not even glancing up at Thor as she spoke. She seemed to compliment her fighting skills. America’s hands clenched shut at the comment. Could the bloody Asgardian not see the devastation that they had caused? Nevertheless the Latina stayed relatively quiet, with her mumbling something along the lines of “I’m ok.”

It was her final comment though that snapped America back into reality however. Oh, America knew exactly what was the cause of the noise that Thor had spoken of. It was S.H.I.E.L.D. Oh dios! Why was it always bloody S.H.I.E.L.D? Moving her arm across her face, she wiped away the tears from her now slightly swollen eyes. She would save her tears for later. Now she needed her game face. Conceal, don’t feel. The thought brought a slight smile to her face. Who knew that crappy film would actually teach you something!

“Those are the good guys.” America replied coolly to Thor as she stepped into the air, moving herself upwards.

She gazed around the destruction, pinning the guilt to the back of her mind as she did so. There they were all around them closing in. Quinjets. America couldn’t count how many. Realizing that the turrets weren’t aimed at them, she issued a sigh of relief. She really wasn’t up for punching anything else today. Agents seemed to be moving in all around them, planting what appeared to be explosive onto the bottom of the crumbling office building. For a second America was bewildered, that was until she realized what they were doing. She nodded in agreement to their actions, despite the fact that no one was looking at her to receive it. That was when she caught sight of him. The Falcon!

“Wait…” She said aloud as she further watched the hero work below. She took into account the costume. Sure he had the wings but this was definitely not a Falcon get-up. No, that was a Captain America costume. Her suspicions were confirmed at the sight of the famous red, white and blue shield. For the first time in a while, she let out a short laugh. A female Thor, a black Captain America. This earth was turning out to be better than she thought.

At the Captain’s orders, Chavez moved forward. Lashing out with her leg, she kicked apart a large piece of falling debris, seeking to lessen its blow on the agents working below. The same was done with a falling photocopier which had slid off an ascended piece of floor.

Although the focus was now to safely bring down the building, there were still several individuals trapped inside. One of which was about to be crushed by a large amount of falling rubble. Using herself as a barricade, America threw herself in front of the terrified office work, with her attempting to hold up the falling ceiling. Initially she fell under its weight, although after giving one last burst of strength, America managed to hold it up.

“Oi, Thor!” America called down to her companion. “I could seriously use a hand up here!”

"Oh, good, I have many questions for them" she responded when America quipped that the strange noise signalled the sound of the good guys. Suddenly, another strangely dressed super-human arrived. Captain America. Thor could have demanded to know who this strange costumed new-comer was and why he decided to order a GOddess of Asgard around, but, Captain America was right, they needed to evacuate whomever remained inside the shaking, gutted building. Now was not the time for her to demand answers and explanations. There would surely be plenty of time for that later, right now, the building was shaking and it was only a matter of time before it crumbled down causing devastating damage.

Thor leapt up towards the upper floors, some of the floors had collapsed in on themselves rending exit via the usual means virtually impossible, or perilous at best. The emergency fire-exit stairways that were welded to the side of the building were damaged, many groaned and creaked threatening to snap off altogether, others had already snapped from their supports and swung like garish earrings pierced to the side of the building. The only way out for many was to simply jump, and the jump was suicide for a regular human.

Thor breezed through the building as quickly as she could, taking 2 or 3 people at a time, on her back, over her shoudler, wherever they could cling to her, before jumping down to a safe enough height to place the fleeing people on the ground where they could run to a safer distance. On several occasions her denim jeans snagged on pieces of debris but she continued to power through. The sooner she could get back to her apartment and get back into her faithful Asgardian armour, the better, human clothing was horribly easy to damage and it simply wouldn't do.

Suddenly America called out and Thor leapt up along the building with the grace of a galloping gazelle, a surprising feat for someone who could literally plough through a wall, easily helping America hoist up the collapsed ceiling with her incredible Asgardian strength. "Use your flight, get these people to safety, I'll hold this up, we haven't much time" Thor said, shifting the weight of the concrete and warped steel beams onto her shoulder so that America could slip out from under the ceiling and rescue a few more humans.