Tony Stark drew in a deep breath, forcing his racing heart to calm.
He was wearing the Genesis Armor now—his magnum opus, the ultimate suit, a fusion of technology and power that even his own imagination had once struggled to grasp. Standing across from him was the Hulk, more terrifying than ever, a mountain of fury and muscle. But Stark wasn't the same Iron Man anymore. Their earlier clash had already proven that.
This time, he had no reason to fear the Hulk.
Or at least… that's what he told himself.
A deafening roar tore through the air, shaking the walls and rattling Stark's bones. Even inside the most advanced armor ever built, his eardrums screamed as if crushed beneath the sheer volume.
Then Hulk moved.
The green titan barreled forward, faster than Stark had ever seen him. His massive feet pounded the ground like thunder, each step sending tremors racing through the building.
One second, that colossal fist was far away. The next—
It was already right in front of him.
The Hulk's speed had doubled. Tripled, maybe. Even with Extremis-enhanced reflexes, Tony barely caught the blur before the monster's enormous knuckles swallowed his vision.
Instinct screamed. He ducked low, armor scraping against the floor. The fist whooshed over his head. But Hulk's follow-up was already there.
Too fast.
Stark willed the armor to react. Silver plates rippled, reconfiguring into a massive shield across his arm.
BOOM!
Green fury collided with gleaming steel, the impact sending shockwaves through the lab. Sparks cascaded, metal groaned.
Tony seized the instant, driving his armored fist straight into Hulk's jaw. Normally, a blow like that could send tanks flying. But this time?
Nothing.
Hulk's head barely tilted. He didn't even blink.
Then came another roar, louder, angrier, primal enough to make the entire facility quake. His arm swung wide in a brutal arc.
The shield took the hit—then shattered like glass.
Tony Stark was flung backward like a ragdoll. He crashed through wall after wall, three layers of reinforced steel giving way as if they were paper. His body smashed into his private lab, skidding across the floor. Metal tables crumpled, sparks flew, and even one of his prized cars folded under the impact before he finally slid to a stop.
Groaning, Stark pushed himself upright. Dust and shattered debris fell from the Genesis Armor. The HUD flared warnings.
Then came the sound.
THUMP. THUMP. THUMP.
The enraged beast was coming.
Through smoke and falling rubble, the Hulk's massive silhouette tore into view. His colossal hands ripped through walls like tissue, eyes glowing bloodshot with unbridled rage. Nothing—nothing—was going to stop him.
Inside the HUD, Stark's scanners locked on something strange: a metallic device clamped around Hulk's neck.
"JARVIS, talk to me. What's that thing?" Stark barked, ducking another swing that could've reduced him to paste.
"Sir," JARVIS replied in that maddeningly calm voice, "scans confirm it is the emotional regulator once designed for Dr. Bruce Banner. Originally intended to stabilize his moods and keep him calm."
Tony fired off a repulsor beam that splashed harmlessly across Hulk's chest. "Oh, that's just fantastic. If it can keep him calm, it can also crank him up. Genius move."
"Sir," JARVIS said dryly, "I must remind you—that concept was proposed by you. Roughly ten years ago."
"Yeah, yeah, rub it in why don't you."
Tony darted sideways, the Genesis Armor propelling him with blinding speed. He weaved between the monster's strikes, but each swing came closer, faster, more relentless. Behind him, six combat drones formed up, unleashing searing orange energy beams that lit the lab like a furnace.
"Hurry up with that scan! I need a full breakdown of the circuitry!"
The Hulk roared again, grabbing two of Tony's luxury cars as if they were toys.
"Oh no, no, no—don't you dare—"
Too late.
Both cars hurtled through the air like missiles, spinning end over end. The first barely missed Stark, crashing into the far wall with a fiery explosion.
The second slammed into him dead-on.
"Aw, come on! Those were collector's items!" Tony shouted as the impact smashed him into the floor.
The wreckage pinned him down. Groaning, he shoved the mangled car off, sparks flying as metal scraped metal. Wheels rolled away across the floor, silent and mocking. His chest tightened—not from injury, but heartbreak. Those cars weren't just expensive—they were unique, modified with Gene Tech's bleeding-edge upgrades. Some were one-of-a-kind. Now they were scrap.
His ribs screamed, but the pain faded quickly. Extremis burned through his veins, healing him at impossible speed. Without it, that hit might have killed him outright.
Then the HUD chimed.
ANALYSIS COMPLETE.
The Genesis Armor had cracked the device's circuitry. JARVIS had a solution.
Tony grinned inside the helmet.
"Alright, big guy," he muttered as the Hulk thundered toward him again, "you broke my toys, I broke your teeth. Let's call it even. Now let me fix you."
The green titan raised his fist, a hammer of rage and power.
Tony raised his own hand.
The Genesis Armor shifted with a hiss of transforming plates, reshaping into a massive restraint that clamped around Hulk's arm mid-swing, locking it in place.
"Gotcha," Stark growled.
His other arm morphed into a laser cutter. With a flash of light, he sliced into the device at Hulk's neck. Circuits screamed. Sparks burst.
Then—silence.
Hulk's roar broke into a guttural groan. His body convulsed, rage flickering like a dying flame. Muscles shrank, skin paled, the monstrous bulk collapsing inward.
Until finally—Bruce Banner lay there, exhausted, harmless, unconscious on the floor.
Stark stood over him, panting inside the armor. Sweat stung his eyes. His limbs trembled from the sheer adrenaline crash.
But beneath the exhaustion, a fire of satisfaction burned bright.
He had done it.
Tony Stark had beaten the Hulk—on his own terms.
And for the first time in far too long, he let himself feel proud.
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