"No! Stop it!" Betty's scream was hoarse, tearing at her throat, but it was completely lost in the chaos.
Nobody listened. Not the soldiers, not her father, and certainly not the Hulk. The monster's attention had narrowed to a single objective: swat the annoying metal fly out of the sky.
The Hulk looked down at the charred, smoking marks on his chest. As he watched, the blackened tissue cracked and flaked away, revealing unblemished green skin underneath. Within seconds, no trace of Tony's attack remained.
He roared, a sound of pure defiance that rattled the damaged panels on Tony's suit, and charged.
"Here we go again," Tony muttered. Red "AMMO DEPLETED" icons flashed across his HUD. His suit could only carry so much ordinance, and he'd burned through his entire payload. Time for the backup systems.
Tony locked his forearms together. A new, high-pitched whine spooled up as concentrated red beams erupted from emitters built into the back of his gauntlets.
"Try this, big guy."
The cutting laser was different from the chest cannon. Less raw power, more focused destruction. Designed to slice through reinforced steel like butter.
The beam struck the Hulk center mass. It sizzled, kicking up small puffs of steam, and did absolutely nothing.
"How is that possible?" Tony's voice was tight.
The chest cannon had at least knocked him back. This laser, specifically designed for penetration, couldn't even slow the Hulk's charge. The monster ran straight through the beam and swung one massive hand in a backhanded slap.
The impact was a deafening CLANG of metal on flesh. It sent Tony spinning through the air like a baseball. He hit the ground hard, skipping twice across the torn-up field before sliding to a stop in a shower of dirt and sparks. The laser emitters on his forearms sparked, popped, and ejected from their housings, completely fried.
The first attack had worked because the Hulk had been at one power level. The second failed because anger had pushed him higher. The madder he got, the stronger he became.
Tony pushed himself up on one elbow, his head ringing. He was furious. "JARVIS, scan that thing. I want to know exactly how strong he is. How does he keep getting stronger?"
A warning klaxon blared in his helmet.
"Sir, the combat power detection module has been destroyed. It registered one hundred fifty points before catastrophic failure."
Tony's eye twitched inside the helmet. "Smith, you bastard! You capped the maximum reading!"
The Hulk charged again, closing the distance in three massive strides. He kicked Tony, center mass, like a football.
Tony engaged his remaining repulsor and launched into the air, trying to create distance. He was too slow. The Hulk's hand shot out and grabbed his ankle mid-flight. The repulsor flames seared the back of the creature's hand, turning the skin black, but he didn't let go. Instead, he ripped the left boot thruster completely off with a screech of tortured metal.
Tony's flight became a barely controlled, lopsided spiral.
The Hulk roared and hurled him across the battlefield.
Tony tumbled through the air, completely disoriented, shouting involuntarily as the world spun between green grass and gray sky.
A figure appeared behind him, moving faster than thought.
Strong arms caught him mid-flight, killing his momentum instantly. Smith Doyle hovered in place, holding Tony like he weighed nothing.
"Dude, I show up and the first thing I see is you getting your ass kicked?"
Tony's pride reasserted itself immediately, even as his suit sparked. "You're late, then."
He gestured dismissively. "You didn't see me dominating that big guy earlier. I just got careless for a second and let him get too close."
Smith grinned but didn't argue. He genuinely hadn't witnessed the earlier fight. Though he suspected that without the Hulkbuster armor, Tony's current suit was outmatched.
Smith set Tony down gently on solid ground. "I'll handle it from here."
He was genuinely interested in fighting the Hulk. A proper sparring match before the Dragon Ball tournament would be valuable. A chance to test his limits against someone who could actually take a hit.
Betty watched Smith's arrival, her hands flying to her mouth. A breath she hadn't realized she was holding escaped her. "God is here," she whispered. "Bruce will be okay."
Her worry had transformed over the course of the battle. At first, she'd been terrified for Bruce. The sonic cannons, the missiles, Iron Man's full arsenal. Each escalation had made her fear for his life.
But now? Bruce didn't have a scratch on him. He'd defeated every opponent. Even Iron Man would have been in serious trouble if Smith hadn't intervened.
She was still worried about Bruce being captured, but it seemed like nothing could actually hurt him. The question now was whether even this god could match him.
General Ross observed Smith's arrival with narrowed eyes. He'd approached Smith previously about Banner. The man had refused.
So why was he here now? Tony Stark, probably. Everyone knew those two were close. Multiple joint appearances, parties, coordinated superhero activities. Tony must have called him.
Tony limped over to Ross's position, his suit's damaged servos whining. It was struggling to maintain flight on three functioning thrusters. He set down heavily and popped his faceplate, his face slick with sweat.
"Does anyone here actually know what that thing is?"
Smith floated down until he hovered directly in front of the Hulk, wearing his combat gear.
"Hulk. My turn to spar with you."
The Hulk froze at hearing his name. Confusion flickered across his brutish features, then cleared into raw determination. He spoke, forcing the word out through a gravelly throat.
"Hulk!"
Smith smiled and dove forward, throwing a punch.
The Hulk's massive fist met Smith's smaller one. The collision generated a visible shockwave that rippled outward in a white sphere, bending trees at the edge of the field and kicking up massive dust clouds.
"Haha! Powerful!"
Smith pulled back and attacked again, his expression eager. "This time, I'm going all out."
Ever since acquiring the Saiyan bloodline, Smith had been itching for a proper fight. But there'd never been an opponent who could withstand his full strength. The werewolves and vampires hadn't warranted personal intervention. He'd let X and Alexei handle those.
But the Hulk? Smith had no reservations. He could cut loose completely.
With two hundred twenty points of combat power, he might still need his Great Ape transformation if things got really out of hand. But that was fine. He wasn't afraid.
Smith and the Hulk traded blows in rapid succession. Each impact created thunderous booms that echoed like cannon fire, sending out visible shockwaves. The air itself seemed to distort around them. Grass and soil exploded outward in radiating circles.
Blonsky stared, his mouth slightly open. "He actually has that kind of strength."
Ross grabbed his radio immediately. "Lock onto Smith Doyle! I want a combat power reading now!"
The soldier beside him looked uncomfortable. "General, Banner's transformation earlier destroyed all our scouters. They exceeded maximum capacity."
Ross didn't miss a beat. "What about the attack helicopters? Do they have scouters?"
"If not, get one here immediately. I want to know his strength."
Tony, still leaning against the command vehicle, flipped up his faceplate and snorted. "It's obviously over one hundred fifty. What's the point? You'll just blow out another scanner."
His tone suggested he'd learned that lesson the hard way about thirty seconds ago.