Gwen leaped down from the building, landing lightly in front of the assembled heroes. "Are you all from Marvel?" she asked, her eyes wide with admiration. "That was really awesome!"
Leon felt a flicker of recognition. He focused his senses on her and was surprised. "You're the woman I met at the company earlier today!"
"I was recognized already?" Gwen was surprised. She hadn't even taken off her mask.
Not far away, the bloody, broken form of Bruce Banner began to twitch. His skin took on a sickly green hue and his body started to swell. Leon glanced over at the transformation and said with a touch of horror, "Has that person mutated?"
Everyone turned to look. A massive green hand emerged from the crumpled figure, followed by a roar that was more beast than man. "Hulk!"
"He must be the Hulk that Klein mentioned," Scott said with certainty.
Leon grew curious. "Is he going to attack us? That won't do." Through his previous manipulation of Banner's luck, he had sensed the man's delicate, unstable state. Now, he focused on the Hulk, reaching out with his power once more to drain the creature's fortune.
The Hulk felt its rage dissipating, its eyelids growing heavy. It wanted nothing more than to retreat back into Banner's subconscious and sleep. Banner, in his desperation to be rid of the Hulk, had sought out an online contact, "Mr. Blue," who had developed a serum to suppress the Hulk's power. Banner had injected himself with it, which was why the Hulk was now so weak.
"Hulk wants to sleep," the creature grumbled like a petulant child. Its massive form began to shrink, reverting back to Bruce Banner, who was still unconscious and wearing only a pair of shredded shorts.
"Those pants are incredible quality," Piotr noted with genuine interest. "When he wakes up, I'm going to ask him where he bought them."
Several of the accompanying staff members adjusted their monocles. They produced a large cloth from somewhere, wrapped up the downed Abomination, and then carefully carried the unconscious Banner onto the fighter jet. One of them, who seemed to be the leader, pinched his monocle and declared, "Mission successfully accomplished!"
At that moment, a military helicopter descended, and General Thaddeus Ross stormed out. But before he could speak, a woman rushed past him, running straight for Banner. "Bruce! Bruce!" It was Betty Ross, Bruce Banner's girlfriend and General Ross's daughter.
"You're from Marvel, aren't you?" General Ross said, striding toward them, his face a mask of fury. "Abomination and the Hulk are military property. You can't take them!" He puffed out his chest. "I know you're working with the government, but that means nothing to me."
One of the staff members, an Amon clone, looked at the General with an amused expression. "General, what are you talking about?"
General Ross froze. Yes, what was I going to say? The thought, the entire purpose of his tirade, had vanished from his mind, stolen by the Amon clone.
"Alright, let's call it a day!" the clone announced. "You there, woman, if you're worried about Bruce Banner, come with us. General, we won't disturb your thoughts any longer. Just stay here and think. If your memory is really that bad, you should eat more fish." With that, the clone made the arrangements.
The group quickly boarded the fighter jet, taking Betty with them. General Ross remained standing there, lost in thought, not even attempting to stop his daughter from leaving. Just as the jet took off, Wolverine finally arrived, panting. He looked at the departing aircraft and the lingering signs of battle. "Damn it," he cursed. "Too late. Those guys already finished the fight."
Not far away, Peter Parker ran up, gasping for breath as he leaned against a lamppost. "Gwen? Where is she? I can't see her." Just as he spoke, he was pulled into a nearby alley. "Hey! Gwen, there you are!" He looked her up and down. "Are you okay? Is the monster dealt with?"
Gwen nodded. "Yeah, the heroes from Marvel came and took care of that thing, Abomination."
"That's great!" Peter said, relieved. "Now that it's over, let's go home. It's getting late."
"Okay."
On the way, Gwen said to Peter, "Peter, I remember you were always really good at chemistry. You even got an A in the lab."
"Yeah, what's up, Gwen?" Peter asked. "Do you need help with your chemistry homework? I thought your grades were pretty good."
"No, I don't need tutoring," she explained. "I was just wondering... could you make a device that shoots out spider silk? A strong, thick silk. I think using it would make my abilities much more convenient."
"Using spider silk to assist your abilities?" Peter rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "That's a good idea, but making real spider silk is a bit difficult."
Gwen's face fell. "Oh, is it?"
Peter's expression brightened. "However, it wouldn't be a problem to use some other materials as a substitute. The strength could be even higher than real silk. You know, I'm Dr. Connors's intern, and the Osborn Group happens to be conducting research in a related field. I have some knowledge of it."
Gwen's disappointment vanished, replaced by a radiant smile. She threw her arms around Peter. "I knew you could do it, Peter! There's nothing you can't do!"
Feeling the pressure around his neck, Peter felt a little light-headed, but he just scratched his head and smiled. "It's not as great as you say, Gwen. Haha!"
As for the mess left by the Abomination, that would be left for the military—and General Ross—to clean up. It was hard to say whether he would still be a general after today.
Inside the Marvel building, Betty sat by Banner's bedside, but he had yet to wake up. There was a knock on the door. Betty opened it to find Klein. "Thank you so much, Mr. Moretti," she said gratefully. "For taking Bruce away from my father. I can't imagine what he would have done to him."
"Ms. Ross, it was no trouble. We are a superhero company, after all. This is part of our job." After a brief exchange, Klein got to the purpose of his visit. "Ms. Ross, we are aware of Mr. Banner's situation. Due to the Super Soldier Serum and gamma radiation, a separate personality has manifested within him. When this personality takes over, he transforms into the Hulk, a being of incredible power. Our company has a way to help him control this power, so it doesn't spiral out of control and cause destruction."
Betty's eyes widened. "Really? That's wonderful!"
"There is one other thing," Klein said with a smile, handing her a syringe. "This can help you gain the same strength as the Hulk. It has no side effects, and your abilities will be fully controllable after use. I think you will need it."