Pinned beneath a mountain of Marco's sand, the Earth Elemental was immobilized. It could only twist its massive torso in place, its stone arms flailing uselessly as it tried to swat the green pest from its body. But the Hulk clung to its arm like a leech, his furious, unending assault completely commanding the behemoth's attention.
Deep within the creature's body, Scott Lang navigated the chaotic, shifting landscape. After what felt like an eternity of gliding along microscopic fissures, he arrived in a vast, empty cavern. Suspended in the center, pulsing with a faint, geothermal light, was the source of the elemental's power.
"Oh, my god," Scott breathed, his face lit by the glow. "I found it. The core."
He pulled a shrunken explosive from his belt. After carefully resizing both the device and himself just enough to handle it, he planted the bomb firmly on the crystalline surface of the core. The first part of his mission was complete.
"Okay," he said to himself, looking around the dark, trembling cavern. "Now, how do I get out of here?" He had no idea where he was.
Just then, a deep, resonating vibration shook the entire chamber. It was the Hulk, who had worked his way to the elemental's belly and was now smashing it with savage abandon. The muffled booms were Scott's lifeline. He immediately scrambled toward the direction of the impacts and found a narrow, fresh crack in the rock wall. He shrank his body again and squeezed through, crawling laboriously toward the distant light.
On the outside, the elemental, driven mad by the Hulk's attack, slammed its own fists into its abdomen, trying to crush the creature on its belly. Hulk was knocked loose, sent flying from its body. But for Scott, the self-inflicted blow was a godsend. The crack he was in widened, offering a clear path to escape. His joy was short-lived, however, as he saw the rock begin to knit itself back together behind him.
He got to his feet and ran, pouring all his energy into a desperate sprint. He leaped just as the fissure sealed shut behind him, launching himself into the open air.
"Oh, no!" he yelped, tumbling through the sky. "I'm not gonna fall to my death, am I?"
Fortunately, his shrunken form was light enough that he floated more than fell. As he drifted, he saw the second Spider-Man swinging on a web below. With a flick of his wrist, Scott grew, startling the web-slinger who was suddenly face-to-face with a full-sized man appearing from nowhere.
Recognizing him, Peter immediately fired a web, catching him. "Okay! I got you! I got you!"
"Man, get us away from it!" Scott yelled, fumbling for the detonator. "I'm about to blow it!"
"You heard him, guys! Clear out!" Peter shouted into his comms. He swung away, carrying Scott to safety.
The first Spider-Man immediately leaped from the elemental's back, tackling the Hulk just as he was about to jump back into the fight. The others scattered, putting as much distance as they could between themselves and the stone giant.
Scott pressed the switch.
A deep, muffled THUMP echoed from within the elemental's body. It was not a loud explosion, but its internal effect was devastating. A gaping hole blew open in the creature's abdomen, and thick, dark smoke poured out. The core inside, though not shattered, was now covered in deep cracks.
"Now's our chance!" the two Harrys yelled, swooping in close. They each fired a pumpkin grenade directly into the wound, and a series of secondary explosions rocked the elemental's frame.
In the distance, the commander of the local military forces saw the opening. They had ceased fire to avoid hitting the heroes, but now they had a clear target. The heavy machine guns on the tanks and armored vehicles roared to life, and a dense storm of bullets and shells poured into the breach, widening the gap.
The Earth Elemental began to panic. It clawed at the sand covering its legs, desperate to stand and eliminate the threats swarming around it. But Marco wouldn't let it succeed. He relentlessly applied pressure, drawing more and more sand to bury it deeper, cutting off its connection to the earth and slowing its regeneration.
The second Spider-Man swung over to the first, depositing Scott on the ground. "Hulk!" Scott yelled. "It's all you! Get in there!"
The first Spider-Man nodded at the Hulk, giving him the go-ahead.
A feral grin split the Hulk's face. With one tremendous leap, he landed on the elemental's ten-meter-high leg. With another, he launched himself directly into the smoking hole in its torso.
The elemental sensed the invader nearing its core and let out a silent, furious roar. It slammed both hands on the ground. Suddenly, the very land began to shake. An earthquake erupted without warning, a huge crack splitting the savanna and racing towards the horizon.
"Whoa, whoa! What's happening?!" the heroes yelled, struggling to stay on their feet as the ground rippled beneath them like waves on an ocean. Marco felt the seismic waves disrupt the sand he controlled, the feedback jarring him intensely.
The earthquake spread, reaching Nairobi in the blink of an eye. Tall buildings, even those designed with seismic resistance, began to sway violently. Soon, structures across the city began to collapse, and the sounds of wailing citizens filled the air.
But even this cataclysmic display couldn't stop the Hulk. The elemental turned its focus inward, trying to close the cracks and trap him inside its body. It was useless. Rock and dirt were meaningless obstacles. Hulk didn't navigate; he bulldozed, carving a straight path toward the core.
As he reached it, he saw the core frantically drawing in soil and rock, the cracks on its surface slowly beginning to heal. With a furious roar, the Hulk rushed forward and began to do what he did best: smash.
The core pulsed erratically as the first blow landed. It tried to retreat, moving downwards to escape into the earth below. But while the Hulk's intelligence was limited, he wasn't stupid. He grabbed the core, halted its descent, and continued his relentless, brutal assault. The crystalline heart, though incredibly hard, could not withstand his fury. The freshly repaired cracks reappeared, wider and deeper than before.
With one final, mighty punch, there was a sharp, explosive sound, like a diamond shattering under a hydraulic press. The core broke into a million pieces, its light extinguished. It was now nothing but a pile of rubble.
Outside, the fifty-meter-high body of the Earth Elemental began to disintegrate. Its form crumbled, and a mountain of soil and stone collapsed inward, kicking up a blinding cloud of dust that enveloped the entire battlefield.
From the Quinjet, Barton stared into the impenetrable haze. "Hulk?" he called out, his specialized eyes unable to pierce the gloom. There was no answer.