"Bang!" The wall burst apart, debris flying as the Hulk stumbled through, his massive frame bruised and covered in dust. He groaned, rubbing his neck, clearly in pain.
From the smoking crack in the wall, Ethan stepped out slowly. He was flipping through a small notebook that Bruce Banner had handed him earlier. His eyes scanned the pages with focus.
"Banner was right... Hulk's neck is still one of his weak points," Ethan muttered, pausing mid-step. "Next pressure spot should be—"
"ROAR!" Hulk's furious bellow cut through the air as he charged forward.
Ethan didn't flinch. As Hulk lunged, Ethan grabbed him mid-charge, twisted with his momentum, and slammed him to the ground with brutal precision. His hand pressed down on Hulk's chest while his other fist drove into Hulk's face.
"BOOM!" The force of their struggle cracked the floor beneath them, and the two crashed through to the hangar deck below.
Ethan stood, brushing dust off his shoulder. "Not bad... but still not enough."
"Status?!" Fury's voice crackled through the comms, barely audible over the blaring sirens.
"Working on it. Just give me a little more time," Ethan responded.
"You'd better. At this rate, the two of you will dismantle the Helicarrier before we even meet the damn aliens!" Fury snapped.
Ethan sighed and turned his gaze back to Hulk, who was already beginning to stir.
Taking down the Hulk wasn't a problem for Ethan—not with his vector manipulation ability.
But taking him down without causing permanent damage? That was the challenge.
Banner was an ally. Killing or maiming Hulk wasn't an option.
Unfortunately, the Helicarrier was no match for their brawls—every clash between them was like a wrecking ball through drywall.
That's why Ethan had relied on Banner's notebook.
It listed Hulk's weaker points—spots that could momentarily stun him or weaken his aggression.
Ethan had tried every technique in it.
None of them were effective enough.
He stared at the green brute, frustrated, and just as he was about to give up and hurl Hulk into the ocean from several hundred meters up, his eyes drifted… downward, at Hulk's legendary stretchable pants.
"..."
A thousand thoughts blitzed through Ethan's mind.
He hesitated.
Banner was still a man, after all. Doing that felt wrong.
So Ethan crushed every nearby camera with a flick of his fingers.
If memory served, Banner rarely remembered anything after transforming into the Hulk.
So… it would probably be fine.
"ROOOAAARR!!" The entire Helicarrier shook as Hulk let out a roar that could crack the sky.
There was no mistaking it—this was pain mixed with pure rage.
Somewhere deep in the ship, someone might've heard a faint, almost pitiful scream buried in the roar.
"ROAR!!!" Hulk entered a berserk state, his strength spiking wildly.
He charged again, fists slamming into Ethan.
But Ethan didn't budge.
His vectors nullified the damage entirely. "No effect," he muttered.
Then he struck back.
Hulk stumbled from a perfectly-timed counter.
More furious now, he attacked again. Another counter. Then another.
Ethan, calm as ever, picked up a fallen piece of tech that resembled a hammer.
He twirled it once and swung. "Thor's Bootleg Hammer."
CLANG!
The sound echoed across the ship.
Hulk's roars continued, but they were changing.
There was less rage now. Less fury.
More… frustration.
Defeat. Even confusion.
If anyone had been near the wrecked hangar, they might've heard a strange voice buried in Hulk's final howl—
"Haha… go ahead, scream all you want. No one's coming to save you."
One minute later, Ethan strolled out casually, whistling as if nothing had happened.
Behind him, the Hulk was sprawled on the ground, shirtless and completely drained.
His eyes had rolled back, tears clung to the corners, and drool dripped steadily from the side of his mouth.
"Fury, Hulk's neutralized," Ethan said, reaching for his communicator.
Before he could finish, a deafening explosion crackled through the earpiece, followed by violent tremors shaking the entire Helicarrier.
"What now?" Ethan muttered, eyes narrowing as he stepped outside, only to see the massive airship plummeting through the clouds.
"Hawkeye's gone rogue," Fury's voice came through, tight with urgency. "He breached the bridge and uploaded a virus. The Helicarrier's systems are crashing fast. We're in freefall."
"How long to reboot the system?" Ethan asked, unnervingly calm.
"Two minutes, best case. But one of the turbines is out.
Even with the system back online, we don't have enough power to stabilize.
Tony and Cap are working on repairs, but they need five more minutes."
"If it's fixable, that's good enough," Ethan replied. In a blink, he launched himself beneath the Helicarrier.
As the colossal structure plunged like a meteor, he floated directly below it, arm outstretched.
"Bang!" The entire Helicarrier suddenly jerked to a halt, suspended mid-air.
·······
While Ethan held the carrier steady, Thor finally reached the containment area where Loki had been held.
But the moment he opened the door, his heart sank.
The cell was empty.
"No!" Thor roared. He had come to take Loki back to Asgard—he couldn't let his brother escape and start more chaos.
Without hesitation, he sprinted down the corridor, determined to catch him.
But Loki, of course, had anticipated this.
What Thor charged toward was merely a projection.
The real Loki had already been extracted by raiders and had been waiting patiently for Thor to arrive.
By the time Thor realized the trick, he was already sealed inside the very cage Loki had once occupied.
Loki stood at the console, a smug grin stretching across his face. "Still falling for the same tricks, brother?"
He tapped at the controls slowly, savoring every second of Thor's discomfort. "Humans once believed we were gods. Let's test that theory, shall we?"
Thor glared from inside the cage, his face a storm of frustration, but he said nothing.
His silence only made Loki more gleeful.
The sheer satisfaction Loki felt in this moment was borderline euphoric. He could practically taste Thor's helplessness.
"C'mon, just a little whimper. A little 'please.' Humor me, brother," Loki purred, dragging out the process just to see Thor break.
But Thor's lips remained sealed, his pride winning out over fear.
Loki's playful expression twisted into irritation, and he reached toward the console.
"Don't move!"
The voice snapped through the tension like a whip. Loki turned to see Coulson, standing firm, aiming a massive energy weapon at him.
Loki's confident smirk wavered just a bit.
"What exactly do you think you're doing?" he asked, a note of unease creeping into his tone.
"Stand aside," Coulson ordered, tightening his grip on the weapon.
Ever since boarding this ship, Coulson had felt overshadowed by the super-powered.
But now, finally, he had a chance to take control.
"We've been studying the Destroyer," Coulson continued. "Progress was slow—different tech trees and all—but with help from the sorcerers at Kamar-Taj, we built a prototype. Want to see what it does?"
"Actually, I do," Loki's voice echoed behind him.
Coulson's eyes widened as he spun around—too late.
The weapon had already been plucked from his hands.
Loki grinned, holding the weapon casually. "Looks powerful. Let's see how well your friends handle it."
He reached into his coat and pulled out the glowing Scepter, tapping it lightly against Coulson's chest.
"No—!" Coulson's eyes widened in panic as Loki pressed the scepter against his chest. Instinctively, Coulson grabbed at it with his right hand, but he knew it was useless.
He wasn't afraid to die. But the idea of being turned against his own—his team, the ones he'd fought beside?
That was something Coulson couldn't accept. Still, Loki's strength easily overpowered him.
A surge of blue energy flared from the scepter, engulfing him.
Coulson's expression dulled as the light overtook him, his mind slipping away.
Loki released him with a casual flick. "How does it feel? Do you see your enemies clearly now?"
Coulson blinked. A trace of confusion remained in his eyes, but he slowly raised his energy weapon and gripped it tight with both hands. "Yeah... I see them."
"Good," Loki said, already turning his attention back toward Thor. "Do what needs to be done."
"Gladly, you bastard." Coulson's voice was cold—and then he fired.
"Boom!" The weapon discharged with a violent blast, slamming into Loki and launching him across the room.
Coulson's face lit up. "Oh, that felt real good," he muttered, admiring the weapon in his hands before turning to Thor.
"Hang in there, big guy. I'll get you out."
He walked briskly toward the control panel.
But Thor's expression suddenly changed. "Coulson, wait! Loki doesn't go down that easily! You have to—"
Before Thor could finish, a flash of silver-blue energy streaked across the room.
It pierced through Coulson's chest.
Thor let out a furious roar. "Loki! What have you done?!"
Loki stood near the console, his eyes glinting with mischief and malice.
For a moment, he paused at Thor's anger, then smiled. "Goodbye, my stupid brother."
He slammed his hand onto the release button, then turned and limped away without looking back.
Coulson collapsed to the floor, the hole in his chest glowing faintly from the blast.
Blood pooled beneath him, and he could feel life slipping through his fingers.
"Screwed it up... I'm such a lousy agent," he muttered with a weak, bitter laugh.
"You really are," came a voice from nearby.
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Word count: 1553
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