"Damn it!"
For Hydra, both Abomination and the Hulk were enemies—monsters born of chaos, unpredictable and uncontrollable. The automated artillery barrage that had just been activated was designed to annihilate anything within its range. No mercy was programmed into its targeting systems.
"Shut down the cannons! Stop the launch sequence—now!" Captain America barked.
The tech team frantically pounded their keyboards, sweat dripping down their foreheads as the countdown hit its final seconds. One of them turned toward the Captain, his voice trembling with despair.
"It's too late, sir!"
"C-Team! Evacuate Sokovia immediately!" Captain America shouted into his communicator.
But his words were drowned out by the deafening roar of artillery fire.
"BOOM—BOOM—BOOM—BOOM!"
A storm of shells rained down on Sokovia's city center, the explosions merging into an unbroken wall of thunder. The ground quaked beneath the relentless bombardment, entire blocks of buildings reduced to fire and rubble.
The city was swallowed by a sea of flame.
And at the heart of that inferno—stood the Hulk and Abomination.
No, not stood—they fought still, oblivious to the destruction raining down around them. When the first shells detonated above their heads, both titans finally realized they were the targets.
Explosions erupted in every direction, the shockwaves hammering their already battered bodies. For the Hulk—already fighting on the back foot—the punishment was brutal. Each detonation sent him sprawling, his green skin shredded by fire and debris, healing and tearing again in an endless cycle.
Abomination didn't care. Even with half his face burned black by a direct hit, he refused to release his grip on Hulk's arm. He would not let his nemesis escape—not now.
"Only one of us walks out of here alive!" he roared.
Once, he had been Emil Blonsky, a decorated soldier—a man who had volunteered to recreate the super-soldier serum. Now, twisted by hate and gamma radiation, only Abomination remained. His hatred of Hulk had long since consumed everything else.
If killing Hulk meant his own death, then so be it.
His colossal fists pounded down on Hulk in rhythm with the falling shells, each strike driving the green titan deeper into the ground. The air filled with the crack of bone, the hiss of vaporized metal, and the roar of explosions.
Hulk's body was breaking—again and again—and healing only to be broken once more. Each blow chipped away at his fragile restraint. Each shockwave brought him closer to the edge of madness.
The last fragments of Bruce Banner's reason trembled within him, screaming warnings that he could barely hear.
And then—another shell exploded behind him, followed by Abomination's vicious uppercut that snapped his head back.
"Die, Hulk!"
Abomination raised both fists high, muscles bulging grotesquely, ready to crush Hulk's skull once and for all.
And then—
"RAAAARGHHHH!!!"
The sound tore through the Sky.
Hulk caught Abomination's arms mid-swing. His bloodshot eyes locked onto his foe's face, glowing with something primal and terrifying.
The eyes of a beast.
Before Abomination could react, Hulk twisted his torso and hurled him over like a rag doll, slamming him into the cracked street. Then he climbed atop him and began to strike.
Once.
Twice.
Again.
Each punch landed with the force of an earthquake. The asphalt split, the ground caved in, and Abomination's massive arms—raised in defense—were crushed under the relentless assault. Flesh tore. Bone shattered.
With every hit, Hulk's wounds sealed faster. His skin glowed faintly green, energy pulsing beneath it. Every cell in his body screamed with rage, with power, with release.
There was no more holding back.
Hulk was truly, utterly angry.
His roar echoed across the burning city, so loud that even those aboard the S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier high above could hear it.
Nick Fury closed his eye and rubbed his temple. "Oh, hell…"
He didn't need anyone to tell him. He knew. Once the Hulk reached this state, nothing on Earth could stop him.
"Director," Maria Hill said tensely beside him, "if we don't intervene, he'll destroy all of Sokovia!"
"Send in the decoys," Fury ordered grimly. "Keep him busy. Whatever happens, don't let him reach the Hydra fortress until we recover their data."
"Yes, sir."
Moments later, Hill relayed the command: "Squadron 60, scramble immediately! Engage Hulk at range—no close combat! Draw him away from the fortress!"
"Roger that," came the calm voice of a pilot who knew he wasn't coming back. He gunned his engines, guiding his jet toward the inferno that was now Sokovia City.
---
On the ground, Hulk continued his rampage.
Abomination's defenses collapsed. His arms—once capable of bending steel—hung broken and useless. Blood and marrow painted the shattered pavement. Hulk's fists rose and fell, over and over.
The first punch caved in Abomination's nose, splattering gore across the crater.
The second smashed into his brow, bursting one of his eyes in a spray of red and white.
The third came down on his temple with a sickening crack.
And then—silence.
Only the echo of breaking bone lingered.
Abomination—the monster who had devoted his existence to destroying Hulk—was dead.
But his death changed nothing.
In killing his rival, Hulk had shattered the last chain holding back his fury. His breath came in ragged growls. His veins glowed beneath his skin like molten lava. There was no Banner now—only rage given form.
He stood, blood and dust clinging to his skin, and looked around for something—anything—to destroy next.
Another shell screamed through the sky and detonated against his chest. The explosion did nothing but draw his attention toward its source.
Toward the Hydra fortress.
"RAAAARGHHHH!!!"
The roar shook the Sky.
Even the battle-hardened S.H.I.E.L.D. soldiers felt their hearts freeze. They had heard that sound before—on battlefields where Hulk had fought with them.
But this time, that roar wasn't directed at Hydra.
It was directed at them.
Those who knew the Hulk best understood the truth: once he reached this state, there was no bringing him back. His anger would only grow—feeding on itself, burning hotter and hotter until nothing remained.
And at that moment, S.H.I.E.L.D. had only one priority left.
They had to protect the Hydra fortress—their hard-won prize—from the monster who had once been their ally.
___
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