Chapter 3: A Foot on Abomination, the Hulk in Hand
The world swam in the Hulk's vision, his brain rattling inside his skull.
Ethan gave him no quarter, no chance to recover. He unleashed a furious, non-stop barrage of punches and kicks, hammering the green goliath with overwhelming force. In a fight for survival, holding back was a fatal mistake. Total annihilation was the only courtesy he would offer an opponent.
The Hulk's power came from his nigh-invulnerable body and limitless strength, allowing him to simply overpower any foe.
But now, he faced Ethan, a Titan Giant who was even stronger. Combined with Ethan's superior combat experience, the Hulk's usual advantages were useless. He was completely suppressed, able to do little more than roar in pain and frustration.
The Abomination, having just scrambled back to his feet, froze in place, staring at the beatdown.
"He's... so powerful," he breathed in awe.
Watching from the helicopter, General Ross was equally stunned by the scene.
Beside him, Betty saw her beloved Bruce Banner being helplessly beaten and her panic grew. "Dad, you have to help him! Please, save Bruce!" she begged. It was a familiar pattern; whenever her father's plans were on the verge of success, Betty would inevitably appear to throw a wrench in the works.
"Don't worry, your boyfriend isn't that fragile," Ross snapped, his voice laced with annoyance. He knew firsthand how indestructible the Hulk was; even heavy artillery couldn't kill him.
"Then let me down there!" Betty demanded. She had to get to him, to give him strength. Every time the Hulk was in danger, her presence seemed to fuel his power, pushing him to new heights.
"Don't be ridiculous," Ross growled. If she weren't his own flesh and blood, he would have been tempted to shove her out of the helicopter himself.
Down below, the relentless assault was having an unintended effect. The Hulk's pain fueled his rage, and his rage fueled his strength. With a sudden, explosive roar, he caught Ethan's leg, hoisted the massive Titan onto his shoulders, and slammed him violently into the rock face of the cliff.
Seeing his opportunity, the Abomination charged.
With a guttural shriek, he leaped onto the Hulk's back, wrapping his arms around the green giant's neck.
Freed from the Hulk's grip, Ethan pulled himself from the rubble. He was covered in dust and debris, but otherwise completely unharmed—a testament to the incredible resilience of his new Titan form.
"Hulk," Ethan roared, his voice dripping with fury. "Now you will face my wrath!" He had gotten careless, and it had given the Hulk an opening. He wouldn't make that mistake again.
Ethan dug his feet into the ground and launched himself into the air like a rocket, landing with his full weight directly on top of the Hulk.
BOOM!
The Hulk was driven deep into the earth by the sheer force of the impact.
Without pausing, Ethan crouched, grabbed the Hulk's neck with one hand, and lifted him into the air.
In his colossal grasp, the Hulk looked like a mere child. Ethan's strength was so immense that the Hulk, even with his own prodigious power, couldn't break the one-handed grip.
BAM! BAM! BAM!
The Hulk roared, pummeling Ethan's body with his free fist, but the blows had no effect.
In his Titan form, Ethan had nothing to fear from this version of the Hulk. This was not the world-breaker from the later sagas; this was the Hulk in his infancy, still growing into his power.
"Willingly give me your genes," Ethan said, his voice a cold, low rumble. "Or you will die."
The Hulk struggled, forcing out a few defiant words. "Hulk... will... never... yield."
"Hmph." Ethan squeezed harder, choking the Hulk until his tongue lolled out. But still, the green monster wouldn't die, a stubborn testament to his incredible vitality.
Suddenly, the Abomination attacked. He lunged forward, spinning his body and driving the sharp bone spur on his elbow deep into the Hulk's chest.
The Hulk screamed in agony, his body going rigid before suddenly weakening.
"STOP!"
Like a Valkyrie descending to the battlefield, Betty appeared, running toward the fight.
Ethan was unmoved. He continued to tighten his grip.
The Abomination was even more vicious, repeatedly stabbing the Hulk with his spur, leaving deep wounds that gushed green blood.
Throwing all caution to the wind, Betty ran to Ethan and grabbed at the green cloth tied around his waist, her voice cracking with tears. "Please, I'm begging you, let him go!"
"Extracting his genes won't cause him any permanent harm," Ethan stated flatly. "But he refuses. Therefore, he must die."
From a distance, General Ross heard Ethan's words and remained impassive. He wanted the Hulk's blood; he couldn't care less if Banner lived or died.
"Bruce, just agree with him! Please, or you're going to die!" Betty cried.
Perhaps it was the sound of her voice, but the Hulk, who had been on the verge of suffocation, managed to speak again. "No. Hulk... will never... surrender."
Losing his patience with the Hulk's stubbornness, Ethan's other hand shot out and grabbed Betty by the throat, lifting her into the air beside her lover. "How about now?" he asked the Hulk. "Do you yield now?"
"Cough... let... let me go..." Betty choked, her legs kicking uselessly in the air.
ROOOOAAAR!
The sight of Betty in danger caused the Hulk's power to skyrocket, his rage erupting in a deafening, world-shaking roar.
"Hunt, let her go! That's my daughter!" General Ross shouted frantically from the helicopter.
"Whether she lives or dies depends entirely on whether the Hulk gives me his genes willingly," Ethan replied coldly.
In the Marvel Universe, kindness was a sin. To survive, you had to be ruthless. Only the strong had the right to exist.
"Blonsky, stop him! That's an order!" Ross commanded.
The Abomination hesitated for a moment, but his ingrained military obedience won out. He charged Ethan.
He tried to drive his bone spur into Ethan's back, but the Titan's skin was like steel. The spur shattered on impact, the shards flying everywhere.
Ethan ignored the attack completely. He turned, and with a single, brutal kick, snapped the Abomination's right leg.
The monster collapsed onto one knee, howling in agony. The Hulk's strength grew with his anger, but the Abomination's did not. Against Ethan, who was ten times stronger, the outcome was inevitable.
Ethan kicked the Abomination onto his back and then brought his foot down with crushing force.
CRACK!
The Abomination's chest cavity caved in under the pressure. He let out a final, gurgling scream and went limp, all fight gone from him.
With one foot pinning the Abomination to the ground and the Hulk held aloft in his hand, a feeling of pure, unadulterated power surged through Ethan. He threw his head back and let out a triumphant roar that echoed across the valley.
"ROOOOAAAR!"
General Ross, seeing his daughter's life hanging by a thread, spoke quietly into his radio. "Snipers, target the new hostile's head. I want a one-shot kill."
"Copy that," the sniper's voice confirmed.
Seconds later, the sound of several high-powered rifles cracked through the air.
PING! PING! PING!
Several bullets slammed into Ethan's head. They didn't even break the skin, but they stung. Enraged, he shot a glare at General Ross's helicopter. "Are you trying to use me to kill your own daughter?!"
Ross's face was grim. He ignored the question and gave another quiet command into his radio. "Switch to armor-piercing rounds. If you can't kill him, you're all fired."
Ross's military force was formidable, armed with advanced and heavy weaponry. Ethan decided it was time for a tactical retreat. He already had the Hulk.
For now, Betty was also a necessity. He needed her to coerce the Hulk, and he needed her as a hostage to ensure his escape.
Gripping Betty in his left hand and the Hulk in his right, Ethan crouched and leaped into the air, soaring high above the trees.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
A volley of armor-piercing rounds slammed into his back, and he fell from the sky.