"Hulk!"
The monster charged, his feet tearing deep trenches in the earth. Smith used his Flying technique to meet him head-on, a white comet against a green avalanche.
Their fists collided. A thunderclap echoed across the entire campus, a sound so loud it was physically painful. The shockwave flattened grass in a perfect circle around them, the pressure wave stinging their skin.
"Haha! This is a real fight!"
They traded blows in a blur of motion that defied the eye. Trees toppled with each missed strike, not pushed over, but shattered. The ground cratered beneath their feet. Grass in the immediate vicinity vaporized from the sheer kinetic energy.
Smith drove his forehead into the Hulk's face in a devastating headbutt. The crack of the impact was sickening. The monster flew backward, smashing clean through a dozen massive oaks before disappearing into a cloud of dust and splintered wood.
Ross and the others watched in stunned awe. They'd seen Smith's power before, but witnessing it fully unleashed was something else entirely.
"Bruce!" Betty screamed, her hands at her mouth.
Blonsky shook his head slowly, his voice a low monotone. "He's really like Superman."
The Hulk burst from the debris cloud, roaring, his face a mask of fury. He slammed his hands together in a thunderclap that generated a visible, shimmering shockwave. The wall of compressed air caught Smith full-force and sent him tumbling through the sky like a leaf in a hurricane.
Smith spun end over end for several seconds before stabilizing his flight. He hung in the air, grinning, a trickle of blood from his nose.
A white aura erupted around his body, humming with power. He shot forward, breaking the sound barrier. The resulting sonic boom shattered every window within a hundred yards, the sound of cascading glass lost in the roar.
Smith appeared in front of the Hulk in an instant and unleashed a combination straight from the Turtle School. His fists became blurs, each strike landing with sledgehammer force. Thump. Thump. Thump. The sounds were like pistons driving into granite. The Hulk staggered backward under the relentless assault, grunting, unable to block or counter the sheer speed.
The thunderous impacts rolled across the battlefield like artillery fire. The Hulk's limited combat experience left him defenseless against Smith's refined technique. Frustration turned to pure rage.
The Hulk roared, and Smith felt the power surge. The monster was getting stronger again.
Smith's eyes narrowed. If the Hulk kept escalating, suppressing him would become impossible. He'd have to use the Great Ape transformation, and that was supposed to be an emergency trump card. Wasting it on the Hulk felt wrong.
Time to end this decisively.
Smith drove both fists into the Hulk's chest, a single, powerful blow that launched him into the air like a baseball off a bat.
While the Hulk sailed upward, Smith cupped his hands at his waist. Energy gathered between his palms, a white light building to blinding intensity. The air crackled with ozone. Every ounce of his power focused into a single point.
"Kamehameha!"
A beam of pure white energy erupted from his hands and streaked toward the airborne Hulk. At full power, Smith's combat rating spiked to 490.6 points. The Kamehameha, when pushed to its absolute maximum, multiplied his base strength by 2.23 times.
The beam caught the Hulk mid-fall. Instead of vaporizing him instantly, it pushed him backward through the air. The Hulk raised his arms, roaring as he tried to block or deflect the attack, but with no ground beneath him and no ability to fly, he had no leverage. The beam drove him back, accelerating him toward the horizon.
Then the Kamehameha detonated.
A sphere of white light expanded rapidly, brighter than the sun. The explosion mushroomed upward, a miniature atomic blast that lit up the evening sky.
Everyone watching the battle was temporarily blinded. White consumed their vision. Then the mushroom cloud rose, towering over the campus.
Tony slammed his faceplate down. "Shockwave incoming! Get behind me! Brace!"
Ross grabbed Betty and pulled her close, turning his back to the explosion to shield her with his body.
Blonsky dropped prone, digging his enhanced fingers into the earth.
The shockwave hit like a freight train. Tony locked his servos and leaned into it, his armor's mass keeping him grounded. Wind screamed past him at hurricane force.
At the epicenter, the Hulk was blown hundreds of feet through the air. For the first time since his creation, his defense had failed. Sizzling, angry burns covered his body. Flesh had been seared away in patches, though even as he fell, the damaged tissue was already bubbling and regenerating.
He hit the ground hard, a ton of green meat striking the earth, and rolled. He lay still for a second, disoriented, burned, and actually hurt.
Smith expected the monster to charge back for round two. Instead, the Hulk got to his feet and ran. With the distance between them now measured in hundreds of yards, his survival instinct overrode his rage. He leaped away in massive bounds, disappearing into the forest.
Smith floated in place, breathing hard. That attack had drained him nearly dry. If someone scanned him now, they'd register his combat power at around one hundred twenty. He'd expended everything.
Watching the Hulk flee was actually a relief. At least he didn't have to reveal the Great Ape transformation. And he'd never worried about killing the creature. Every version of the Hulk could survive worse.
As the shockwave dissipated, Betty stared at the devastation. The massive, smoking crater. The burning trees. No sign of Bruce.
"Bruce!" Her scream tore through the settling dust. "BRUCE!"
Smith descended slowly, touching down. His legs threatened to shake, but he locked them, keeping his exhaustion hidden. He took a deep, steadying breath, maintaining the appearance of casual power.
Ross studied him with naked fascination. A being stronger than the Hulk, but rational. Controlled. The general's mind was already calculating possibilities.
"Is the Hulk dead?"
Smith shook his head. "No."
"He was seriously injured, but he escaped. Ran off while we were dealing with the shockwave."
Betty sobbed, her knees buckling with relief. "He's alive. Bruce is alive."
Ross frowned. Even that much force hadn't killed Banner. How was he supposed to capture something that durable? Nuclear weapons? Hydrogen bombs? But Bruce didn't hide in deserts. He stayed near cities, places where collateral damage made those options impossible. Even a general couldn't authorize that kind of strike.
Tony stared at the crater, his HUD doing calculations. "What kind of monster survives that?"
He turned to Betty. "You called him Bruce. What's his full name?"
Betty pressed her lips together, her eyes flashing, and looked away, refusing to answer.
Ross met Smith's eyes. Both men understood. This wasn't over. The Hulk would be back, and next time, everyone would need to be ready for him.