The sonic cannon's high-frequency assault drove the Hulk to his knees. He dropped one of the metal shields and clutched his head, roaring at the sky in pure, unadulterated agony.
General Ross allowed himself a small, thin smile. Finally, something that worked. The creature was actually showing pain instead of just shrugging off artillery fire like mosquito bites.
Betty saw Bruce's twisted expression and ran to her father, grabbing the fabric of his uniform. "Please stop! You're killing him!"
Ross didn't even look at her. "Get her out of here."
Two soldiers grabbed Betty by the arms and dragged her backward. She fought against their grip, kicking. "You'll kill him! Let me go!"
Through his pain-hazed vision, the Hulk saw Betty struggling. Saw her crying. His anger, already volcanic, erupted into something beyond simple rage.
He grabbed both shields from the ground. One he held up in front of himself, angling it to block the sonic weapon's worst effects. The air shimmered in front of the metal. The military's stunned expressions would have been funny under different circumstances.
With his free hand, the Hulk hurled the second shield like a discus.
The improvised projectile punched clean through the sonic cannon's housing and detonated the power core in a flash of white. The explosion threw the two external operators clear, saving their lives. The crew inside the vehicle weren't as lucky.
The second sonic cannon continued firing. The Hulk crouched, then launched himself through the air in a leap that covered fifty feet. He came down on top of the second vehicle, shield-first, and crushed the weapon completely under his weight.
Ross keyed his radio immediately. "Where are the attack helicopters?"
His voice was cold. "Hit him with missiles! All ground forces, fall back now!"
Soldiers retreated in organized chaos, pulling the still-protesting Betty with them. Even Blonsky withdrew to a safe distance, recognizing when discretion was the better choice.
The Hulk stood among the wreckage, shield still in hand, watching the soldiers flee. He didn't chase. He just paced in a tight circle, breathing like a freight train.
The distinctive whump-whump-whump of rotor blades announced the helicopter's arrival. The pilot achieved a weapons lock and squeezed the trigger without hesitation.
Two AGM-179 air-to-ground missiles streaked toward their target.
Betty watched in horror as the missiles impacted directly on the Hulk's position. Twin fireballs erupted, the shockwave knocking fleeing soldiers off their feet.
She hit the ground hard, the dirt cold beneath her cheek, screaming Bruce's name.
A roar emerged from the flames.
The Hulk burst through the fire and launched himself upward in an impossible vertical leap. He reached the same altitude as the helicopter and drove his fist through the cockpit's reinforced glass.
The aircraft spun wildly, the pilot fighting for control. The Hulk planted his feet on the landing skids and punched the fuselage repeatedly, each impact crumpling metal like paper, the sound like a hammer on an anvil.
The helicopter spiraled into the ground and exploded on impact.
The Hulk stood at the center of the blast, silhouetted against the flames. The missiles had hurt him. Made him angrier. Made him less human and more monster. His eyes fixed on the surrounding soldiers with raw murder in them.
A new sound cut through the chaos. The high-pitched, clean whine of repulsor engines.
Tony Stark descended from the sky in his armor, his internal displays scanning the battlefield in milliseconds. The Hulk was about to massacre a dozen soldiers. Time to redirect that attention.
"Big guy, over here!"
Panels opened across Tony's shoulder assemblies. A dozen micro-missile tubes deployed and fired simultaneously.
The missiles carpeted the area around the Hulk in overlapping explosions, churning earth and grass into a smoking crater.
The Hulk roared, his fury now focused entirely on this new, flying threat.
Ross watched Iron Man's arrival, his jaw tight. "Why is that guy here?"
He'd wanted to handle Banner without outside interference. He'd even hesitated before approaching Smith Doyle about the situation. But at least Tony Stark wasn't S.H.I.E.L.D. Those bureaucratic parasites would never let him hear the end of it.
"As long as it's not those S.H.I.E.L.D bastards," Ross muttered.
Blonsky jogged up, slightly winded. "Sir, what are your orders?"
Ross watched Tony engaging the Hulk. "Let's see if Iron Man can stop him first."
He raised his radio. "Bring up the tanks. Deploy additional attack helicopters. Have fighter jets on standby for immediate deployment."
Nearby, Betty's current boyfriend pushed through the crowd. The psychologist looked pale. He was the one who'd tipped off Ross about Bruce's location, and the guilt was written all over his face.
In the air, Tony fired everything he had. Palm repulsors at maximum output. Every remaining missile in his arsenal. The entire weapons complement he'd designed specifically for overwhelming force.
"I originally built these for Smith," Tony muttered to himself inside his helmet.
He wasn't wearing his usual portable armor. This was the Anti-Smith-Doyle Mark 0.5. Designed specifically to handle someone with Smith's demonstrated capabilities.
Why version 0.5? The composite materials weren't quite where Tony wanted them yet. But the firepower had been upgraded significantly.
The Hulk ignored every tactical consideration and simply tanked the entire barrage. The ground beneath him cratered and burned, grass vaporized, soil turned to glass.
The damage only made him angrier. Made him stronger. He launched himself at Tony with murderous intent.
Tony held his position, planting his feet in the air. "JARVIS, charge the chest cannon to one hundred percent."
He spread his arms wide, creating a clear firing line. The arc reactor at his chest flared brilliant, blinding white.
A concentrated beam of pure energy erupted from the unibeam emitter and caught the Hulk mid-leap. The monster slammed backward, pinned in place by the sustained blast. Tony held it for three full seconds before cutting power.
"Sir, energy consumption at thirty percent."
"Worth it," Tony gasped. The unibeam was a power hog, but he'd refined it. Made it last longer, hit harder.
The attack could melt through steel plating. Against the Hulk, it left smoking, black burn marks across his chest. Actual damage, minor as it was.
Ross watched the display with cold, calculating eyes. Tony had refused to sell or even license the armor technology. Chose to keep it as his personal toy instead.
But seeing it in action against Banner, Ross could estimate its combat effectiveness. The armor was approaching that critical 1.3 times advantage threshold, maybe even exceeding it.
S.H.I.E.L.D didn't have formal combat ratings for the Iron Man suit, but Ross had his own conversion metrics. Tony at full power was significantly stronger than Blonsky's fifty-two points. Significantly.
Which meant the armor was worth stealing, if the opportunity ever arose.