Mario turned his attention back to the screen, where the Hulk was currently ripping the turret off a tank like someone opening a particularly stubborn can of beans.
Blade didn't know much about this Ivan character Mario had just spoken with, but he couldn't imagine Ivan being stronger than Mario. "You worried?"
On screen, the Hulk finished tearing the tank's upper half clean off and tossed it aside like garbage.
"What's the point of me going? I can't beat him, and I sure as hell can't kill him. Honestly, with how fast that thing regenerates, I could probably spend an hour hacking away and do less damage than he heals in five minutes."
"Then—"
"You're thinking about Ivan?" Mario shook his head. "He's not stupid. His job is to draw the Hulk out of New York, away from civilians. And don't forget about S.H.I.E.L.D., I'm sure they've got some kind of contingency plan for this."
What he didn't know was that Fury was currently staring at the same footage with a splitting headache. S.H.I.E.L.D. was still recovering from the Hydra incident, barely functional as an organization. To deal with the Hulk properly, they needed to get him out of the city, otherwise they couldn't use any heavy ordnance without causing massive collateral damage. But that raised an obvious question: who the hell had the ability to piss off the Hulk enough to follow them, and still manage to survive the experience?
Fury had considered sending in Captain America, but no matter how he looked at it, even Cap couldn't take that monster in a straight fight. If something happened to Rogers, he would never forgive himself.
---
On a bustling New York street, Tony was currently embedded in the side of a building.
It was embarrassing as hell, but he'd made the tactical decision to stay exactly where he was. Every HUD display in his armor was flashing red with damage warnings, and his entire suit felt like it had been through a trash compactor.
"Where did this guy even come from?"
In the original timeline, Tony should have been in Malibu right now, drinking himself into a stupor over his palladium poisoning. He shouldn't have been anywhere near New York, let alone in the middle of whatever catastrophe this was. But things had changed. He'd stayed in New York to collaborate with Ivan on armor improvements, and his brand-new Mark VI suit, which he'd only completed a few days ago, was now scrap metal.
Guess I'm building a Mark VII sooner than planned.
"Mr. Stark," J.A.R.V.I.S. interrupted his thoughts, "there's an incoming communication request."
"Patch it through."
Ivan's voice crackled through the suit speakers. "Tony, I'm here."
"Airborne contact approaching rapidly," J.A.R.V.I.S. warned.
BOOM!
The earth-shaking impact came from directly above. Ivan's armor dropped from the sky like a meteor, slamming into the Hulk with the combined force of three tons of metal and terminal velocity. The unprepared Hulk was driven straight down into the pavement, creating a crater that spider-webbed outward in all directions.
"Ouch," Tony muttered from his VIP viewing position in the wall. "That looked like it hurt."
Despite his usual disdain for Ivan's brutish, inelegant designs, watching that display of raw kinetic force made something stir in his brain.
Maybe I should develop some anti-large-unit protocols. Heavy assault suits specifically designed for... oh shit.
A roar erupted from the crater. The massive iron suit was flung aside like a toy as the Hulk launched himself back into the fight.
This time, though, the green monster wasn't completely unscathed. A visible gash ran across his torso, leaking luminescent green blood that dripped onto the asphalt.
The Hulk glared at the standing suit with murder in his eyes. He threw his arms wide and roared again, and Tony watched in fascination as the wound began closing at a visible rate. Within seconds, the damaged flesh had knitted itself back together.
That's not fair at all.
"Warning," a female voice announced through Ivan's HUD. "Target mass has increased by approximately seventeen to eighteen percent. Current enemy strength exceeds armor tolerance threshold."
The AI was named Natasha, a collaboration between Ivan and Tony that barely qualified as artificial intelligence. It was more like a very sophisticated analysis program, but it got the job done.
And as far as Ivan was concerned, as a proud Russian, naming his AI Natasha was perfectly reasonable. It had absolutely nothing to do with the Black Widow.
He didn't respond to the warning. His focus was entirely on the hulking figure advancing toward him. Without taking his eyes off the Hulk, he reached back and detached the massive shield mounted on his armor's spine, locking it onto his left forearm.
Heavy mechanical sounds echoed through the street as the suit reconfigured itself. The nearly five-meter-tall frame compressed down to just over three meters, the armor plating redistributing and thickening. What was lost in height was gained in sheer density.
This was the Titan model. No fancy weapons, and no flashy tech. Just one purpose: to take a beating and keep standing.
The Hulk charged.
His massive feet hammered into the pavement, leaving deep footprints with every step. He closed the distance in seconds, then launched himself into the air, coming down on the Titan like a living wrecking ball.
Ivan raised his shield, bracing for impact.
BANG.
The shield warped on contact, metal screaming in protest as it bent under forces it was never designed to withstand.
The Hulk didn't stop. Both fists hammered down again and again, bang bang bang, each impact sending shockwaves through the armor's frame.
Tony had finally extracted himself from the wall. He raised both hands and fired his repulsor beams at the Hulk's back, the blue-white energy splashing harmlessly across green skin.
The Hulk didn't even look at him. All his rage, all his focus, was directed at the metal man who had hurt him.
From behind his buckling shield, Ivan drew a weapon, a three-edged blade somewhere between a large dagger and a short sword, about thirty inches long. The metal was slightly warped from being stored in the impact zone, but still functional.
Anyone with half a brain could guess whose idea this had been.
Under normal circumstances, Ivan's pride would have rebelled against such an underhanded tactic. But against an opponent like this, pride was a luxury.
SCREECH.
The blade scraped across the Hulk's skin, failing to penetrate. The incredible resistance bent the weapon further, and the Hulk's next punch finally shattered what remained of the shield, sending Ivan staggering backward.
---
Back in his office, Mario watched the live feed with a critical eye. "Ivan's blade can't penetrate. Standard titanium alloy isn't going to cut it. If that thing was made from Uru metal or vibranium, he could've stabbed clean through."
Blade had been completely absorbed in the fight. Hearing Mario's comment, he made the connection. "That armor... your company built that?"
Mario nodded and pulled up a schematic on his computer. The design showed a sleek black suit with a silver longsword mounted on its back. Compared to the company's other models, it looked almost delicate.
"I had the R&D team design something for you. Anti-vampire combat suit, optimized for speed and precision strikes." He tapped the screen. "But you'll have to wait a bit. I need to outfit the security division first. Can't have the boss' personal bodyguard better equipped than the actual security team, bad for morale."
Blade stared at the design. He hadn't expected this. "You designed this for me?"
"Yeah, well." Mario shrugged, suddenly looking uncomfortable. "Can't have you getting yourself killed. Who else is going to help me clear out vampire nests?"
But Blade could see through the deflection. This was Mario's way of saying he valued their partnership, maybe even their friendship.
This is what it means to have backup.
On screen, Ivan had apparently made a decision. Two more suits dropped from the sky with twin sonic booms, forming a triangle around the Hulk.
He looked up at the news helicopter circling overhead, and a cold smile spread across his face.
The air reeked of ozone, that metallic smell that came from high-voltage electricity tearing through the atmosphere. One of his suits, the one they'd nicknamed "Electro," wielded two whips crackling with enough voltage to power a small city block. The cables lashed toward the Hulk.
Nobody in their right mind wanted to know what it felt like to get hit by those things. But then again, the Hulk wasn't exactly in his right mind anymore.
A massive green hand shot out and caught both whips mid-strike. The powerful current surged through the Hulk's body, making his thick hair stand straight up like he'd stuck his finger in a socket. A thin wisp of white smoke rose from the top of his head.
But aside from that? Nothing. The voltage that could have fried a normal person into charcoal barely made him blink.
Tony, who'd stopped his supporting fire to observe, frowned. "This guy is way too strong."
He contacted Ivan directly. "We need to get him out of the city. The collateral damage is getting insane."
Ivan's voice came back. "Already working on it."
The remaining two suits sprang into action. Another set of electrified cables shot out, wrapping around the Hulk's torso and limbs. The green giant immediately began pulling at the restraints, but Ivan wasn't giving him time to break free.
The Titan armor, which had started this whole mess, discarded its shattered shield. Blue plasma flames erupted from its thrusters, and the heavy suit rocketed forward.
BOOM!
The impact echoed across the street as Titan slammed into the Hulk, arms automatically locking around his torso in a crushing bear hug. The other two suits' thrusters ignited simultaneously, and all three armors began dragging the struggling Hulk into the sky.
The restrained giant's rage intensified to apocalyptic levels.
Ivan heard Natasha deliver bad news.
"Target power levels increasing rapidly. Estimated time until Titan restraint failure: thirty seconds."
"Twenty-nine."
"Twenty-eight."
"Route all power to the thrusters. Maximum thrust, now."
Ivan's full attention was locked on the Hulk's struggles. Through the armor's external sensors, he could hear the sound of metal beginning to tear. The Titan's arms were bending inward.
The Hulk's strength was terrifying, but his weight was manageable. Running at full power, the three suits cleared the densely populated city center in under a minute, dragging their unwilling passenger toward the industrial outskirts.
"HULK!"
CRACK!
The Titan's restraints finally gave way. The Hulk tore free. With one overhead strike, he caved in the Titan's entire head section, crushing it deep into the chest cavity.
The Titan's thrusters sputtered twice, flickered, and died. The armor began its terminal plunge toward the ground below.
Tony, flying alongside, felt his heart stop. "Ivan!"
But then Ivan's voice crackled through the comm. "Looks like we'll need redundant control systems next time. And better protection for both."
Tony let out a breath. "I thought you were inside that thing!"
He'd called Ivan for backup. If something had happened to him, he would never have forgiven himself.
"Be careful. That monster's even stronger now than when we started."
"You're right. His power keeps scaling up, and I've noticed a pattern. The angrier he gets, the faster that power grows."
The Hulk, now free of all restraints, was plummeting from several hundred meters up. His limbs windmilled in the air, almost comical, except nobody watching felt like laughing.
Boom!
The Hulk hit the ground. Dust and debris exploded outward in a massive cloud.
For a moment, there was silence.
Then a green blur erupted from the crater, landing in a crouch. The Hulk looked up at the armored figures hovering in the sky, and for just a split second, something resembling clarity flickered in those rage-filled eyes. Then he turned and sprinted into the distance.
Ivan didn't pursue. His objective had been achieved. Whether Banner lived or died after that wasn't his concern. Besides, with the weapons currently mounted on his suits, he had no way of putting that monster down.
He guided his remaining armors down to where Tony had landed, both of them approaching the wrecked Titan. Most of the armor was scrap, but the arc reactor had to be recovered. Those things cost a fortune to manufacture.
Tony walked alongside him. "I need to start building backup suits. Or at least modular components I can swap out when something gets damaged."
Ivan had to give Tony credit, the guy learned fast. Every time he faced a new challenge, he quickly developed solutions and had the engineering chops to implement them.
"Yeah," he agreed. "I'll start designing along those lines too."
Tony's modular concept had real merit. Instead of entire suits being out of commission from damage, they could simply swap out broken components. Like right now, the Titan's arms and head were trashed, but if they had other suits in storage, those undamaged parts could be quickly transferred over.
Tony glanced at Ivan's two remaining suits, still hovering nearby.
"Which one are you in?"
The two armors grabbed the Titan's wreckage and ignited their thrusters, beginning the flight back to company headquarters.
"I was wondering when you'd figure that out. I'm in the simulation pod at the company lab. Remote piloting the whole time."
"Looks like I really do need to go home and analyze my armor data more carefully," Tony muttered.
With that, he shot back into the sky, ignoring the news helicopters circling overhead and the Hulk, who had already disappeared from sight.
---
Back in his office, Mario reached out and shut off the holographic display showing the news coverage.
"Those pants are seriously bullshit. Regular jeans stretch to ten times their size and don't even rip? What the hell are they made of, vibranium?"
He leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes. His mind wandered through the events he knew were coming in the Marvel timeline.
Power Stone. Mind Stone. Space Stone. Reality Stone. Time Stone. Soul Stone.
The Infinity Stones. Six objects of cosmic power that, when combined, could reshape reality itself. In the wrong hands, specifically Thanos's hands, they'd been used to erase half of all life in the universe with a single snap.
I need to start collecting them. Even if I can't use their power directly, keeping them away from Thanos has to be worth something.