Steve Rogers/Captain America

Steve watched as Rath and Miriam went crashing down from the ceiling, the pair roaring as they clawed and punched at each other. Miriam had large bruises and torn clothing, while Rath's fur was singed, his mouth bleeding. They were also smiling.

“I miss fighting in normal battlefields,” Bucky noted next to him.

Steve snorted. “When did we ever get the luxury of a normal fight, Buck?” The pair started running again, moving through the stone castle at a high pace. “Dial and the Grapplers are doing their part. We've got the other job.”

Bucky didn't respond verbally, instead following his friend.

The two traveled towards the 'back' of the castle, moving speedily side by side.

“Cap,” One of the BRIDGE soldiers sent to them. “We're below you, got movement. Something big rushing toward us.”

“Be careful,” Steve said. “We have no idea what Strucker is unleashing to cover his escape.”

“Yes, sir- GAMMA LEVELS RISING!”

“Enemy contact, Code Green!”

Steve held back a curse. Ideally, this scenario would have happened while Dial wasn't otherwise engaged. But then, plans always broke down in the field when you came down to specifics. He reached for his belt, activating his X-Ray vision on his HUD. Below, he could see a massive misshapen form running through the hallways towards a group of soldiers standing in front of it. With the incredible precision gifted to him, Steve tossed a disc at the floor directly over the figure's path. The disc attached and beeped rapidly three times before exploding downwards. Steve leaped in as the explosion happened. He caught a flash of a green chin and smashed his shield into it as he fell. The being he hit squealed in pain, staggering back. Steve rolled on the ground to disperse his landing and eyed the creature in front of him.

He was about seven feet tall, with a giant right arm, a cancerous growth on his stomach like a series of large tumors, and green skin. Portions of his skeletal structure were showing. Steve stared at the being before narrowing his eyes. The being glared at him and screamed, a horrific sound like an enraged child being tortured.

“Go!” Steve yelled to the squad of five BRIDGE soldiers behind him. “Stop Strucker from escaping in case Dial can't finish the plan!”

“Understood!” the squad leader said before barking to his men. “Move it!”

The gamma-enhanced watched the group of soldiers turn into a side hallway and ran to intercept them. When Steve stepped into the creature's way, it punched outward with its large misshapen right arm. Steve raised his shield, blocking the blow with a grunt, setting his feet and pushing the monster back.

“Urrgh?” confused the creature lashed out at Steve, who flipped over his attack before kicking the freak in the chest. As it reeled back, a repulsor blast hit the beast in the chest. Steve glanced up at the hole he'd dropped through.

Bucky was standing on the floor above. He looked down at his BCW, set to the repulsor setting. “I can see why Tony likes those,” Bucky mused.

Then the gamma-enhanced monster screamed and grabbed a wall behind him, fingers crumbling the gray bricks. The stone wall crumpled under his grasp, then it twisted and tossed the entire thing at Bucky. The soldier dived down into the floor below as the portion of wall destroyed the section of the floor he'd been standing on. As Bucky landed, he was forced to roll under an attack from the monster, rising to fire another repulsor blast at his face. The gamma-enhanced took the attack to the eyes and screeched in pain.

“Jarvis, we got a profile!?” Steve yelled, wincing when the creature kicked Bucky in the chest. “Buck!”

The former Winter Soldier was sent through a brick wall like he'd been shot out of a cannon. Steve wanted to run after him, but the monster leaped forward and brought his fists down on Steve, forcing the superhuman to block it with his shield.

“One moment, sir,” Jarvis sent.

“Raaagh!” Steve yelled, his knees shaking under the blow. The behemoth pushed down on him, Steve carefully taking the immense strength of the creature. When the horror pulled up slightly, Steve ducked and rolled in between its legs, leaving the monster to smash the ground behind him.

“His name is Jean Anton, a HYDRA soldier since childhood. He volunteered for the gamma experiment, and has killed many innocent people for HYDRA.”

Steve ran through the halls, thinking with the incredible speed afforded to his enhanced mind. This man, Jean, was a killer, a soldier. Ideally, they would capture him. But with Dial otherwise occupied, Steve felt a grim decision fill his mind.

He took a corner and spun to raise his shield. When the gamma-enhanced ran around the corner in a spray of destroyed stone and dust, Steve was standing at the ready. The gamma-enhanced beast smashed into Steve's shield head on, sending him flying. Steve held in a scream at the feel of his shoulder nearly dislocating, but managed to twist in the air to land on a wall. The gamma-enhanced rushed him. Steve jumped forward off the wall, his jets blasting out as he raised his shield high. With a thunderous blow, Captain America's mighty shield hit a wall of misshapen muscle, some of the tumors on the creature's stomach exploding at the impact, pouring green blood across the castle's floor.

“Grugh!” The creature gurgled, falling onto his back. He swiped weakly at Steve, but the Avenger quickly rolled away, raising his shield.

“Yaagh!” Steve stabbed down with the shield's edge, bashing it into his opponent's forehead with every bit of muscle in him. The brute's head was slammed down into concrete.

“GRRAAAGH!” the monster leaped to his feet and punched Steve in the chest, the supersoldier gasping at the devastating impact as his HUD sent warnings. The creature lifted him up by the neck, only to get the edge of Cap's shield in his teeth. The creature stepped back. Then a repulsor blast made him let go of Steve.

Bucky stood on the other end of the hallway. His chest plate was cracked, but catoms were flowing to repair those sections of armor. Bucky and Steve shared a glance while Cap was still dropping to the floor. Steve landed lightly, circled to the reeling creature's back, and hit the back of its right kneecap with his shield, forcing it to take a knee. Then he wrapped his arms around its neck, pulling hard to force it into position.

Bucky unleashed hell, a constant powerful blast of repulsor energy hitting the creature's head. For a moment, only the monster, Steve, and Bucky's screams could be heard just under the sound of loud repulsor fire. Then the blast finally pierced through its head, hitting the wall behind it. Steve ducked around the dead man's body, panting in exhaustion. For a moment, the two super soldiers stared down at the headless body.

Then the reports began to pour in.

“Gamma-enhan-”

“Requesting ai-”

“Taking out their own men!”

“Blonsky!”

Steve and Bucky spun and ran.

------

HULK!/Hulk

Hulk ran towards the castle, tearing through a large sequoia tree at high speed.

“It's time,” Bruce said gently. “Blonksy is fighting a squad dead ahead. We need to help them.”

Hulk huffed loudly in agreement, breaking through the treeline to run across the grassy field surrounding the castle. Hulk's legs propelled him upwards as though he'd been shot out of a cannon, sending his bulk towards the castle.

“At least we don't care about this building,” Bruce noted with some grim humor. Moments later, they crashed into the castle, entering a large greenhouse where a squad of BRIDGE soldiers were running as they retreated from HYDRA Chitauri armored personnel and soldiers in more normal assault gear. The greenhouse smelled earthy and was filled with flowers, fruit trees, and vegetables, all neatly arrayed beneath a large glass ceiling, a pond at the center. The fighting had destroyed much of the area, dirt spilled all over the floor, a small lemon tree turned to mulch with its fruit torn apart by the boots of those inside. Hulk looked around, his enraged eyes panning the room. BRIDGE soldiers dressed in normal black gear hadn't stopped fighting but did give Hulk room. The HYDRA soldiers immediately fired on Hulk. Hulk ignored them. Instead, he roared.

"▅▄▅▂▅▄▄▅▃▄▄▅▅▅▂▂▃!!!!”

For a moment, the world was still. Then two loud crashes were followed by two beings landing in the greenhouse. HYDRA and BRIDGE soldiers seemed to share a glance. Soon, calls to retreat spread throughout the ranks.

Hulk eyed the two before him. “Blonsky... Girl Blonsky.”

The woman next to Abomination scowled, her horrific features twisting. “It's Rana, you fucking moron. Or Aberration.”

Hulk took in the insult, Bruce speaking within his mind.

“He's more talkative than the last time we met,” Blonsky said with a sickening smile. “Nice outfit,” was his comment on Hulk's purple armor. “Miss me?”

“Where Jenny?”

“Awww,” Blonsky stepped forward, crushing the concrete beneath his clawed feet. “How cute. Hulk misses his cousin. Well, don't worry. After I kill you, I'll use her as a punching bag, keep her around.”

“...Kill him,” Bruce said softly.

A fist slammed into Blonsky's face with incredible speed. Abomination had enough time to be surprised before his jaw shattered.

“RAAAGH!” Blonsky stepped back, spitting out teeth. Hulk stepped forward, punching him once more. Blonsky pushed him back, allowing Rana to step in between them with a leaping uppercut that sent Hulk back. “Huurgh!” Abomination spat out more teeth, scowling as he healed. “He's stronger then I remember.”

“Then give me the staff already,” Rana responded.

“Nah,” Blonsky reached behind his back and grabbed a long object enveloped in a canvas bag. “Let's share.”

He snapped the object within in half, then took off the wrap, revealing the two metal sticks within. The section where he'd snapped it was red hot and Nordic runes were written across it. Abomination passed Aberration one half, the two grasping the pieces.

Their eyes widened. The world seemed to still. Then they screamed together.

"▅▄▅▂▅▄▄▅▃▄▄▅▅▅▂▂▃"▅▄▅▂▅▄▄▅▃▄▄▅▅▅▂▂▃”

The staff's glowed with unearthly power. Abomination and Aberration's eyes went a bright yellow. Then they eyed Hulk.

“We might be in trouble,” Bruce said with a wince.

“I call it sport,” Hulk responded with some effort.

“Wait, was that a refere-”

Hulk ignored his other half, cutting him off to jump into Abomination. The larger gamma-enhanced batted him away with the tiny metal stick in his hand, sending him flying out of the greenhouse. Hulk landed in the field with a giant bruise in his chest that was quickly healing. Rana jumped out of the greenhouse and hit Hulk feet first, cratering the grassy field.

“YAAAAGH!” Sounding more like her larger counterpart, Rana began to hit Hulk, pounding him into the ground with the stick in her hand and a large fist. Hulk snarled, struggling to rise, but she stomped a clawed foot into his face.

Hulk's vision went white.

“Come on!” Bruce roared.

Moving as one, Hulk and Bruce spun around, putting Rana in an armbar before slamming her into the ground.

Then Abomination tackled the Hulk, the pair rolling. Hulk rose up into a rough boxing stance under Bruce's guidance, and the two began to duke it out. Fists smashed into flesh, Abomination using the metal staff in his hands like a baton. The earth quaked beneath their blows, the field tearing apart. HYDRA and BRIDGE soldiers avoided the area as Rana joined in. Hulk found himself using as much jujitsu and strength as he had to fight off the two. Their strength had skyrocketed, becoming even more powerful than Four Arms had been as they beat Hulk up, Rana leaping to punch him in the chin before Abomination folded him with a knee to the stomach. Bruce tried to figure out what the hell was going on.

The staff was clearly the answer. Bruce didn't know what it was, beyond a half-remembered comment from Coulson about an Asgardian relic his team had found, but it had somehow multiplied Abomination and Aberration's strength.

“Feel that, Brucey?” Abomination crowed as he grabbed Hulk's arm and flipped him onto his back. “That's power. Real power,” he punched Hulk in the face, sending teeth flying. “I'll have to thank your friend Thor later. Maybe when I kill him.”

“Hulk!” Bruce shouted, feeling the pain Hulk was going through.

Rana landed next to Blonsky. The two monsters began to pound their fists into Hulk, cratering the ground beneath him.

“Raagh!” Hulk lifted his feet and kicked upwards, each foot sending the two super-humans beating him flying. Hulk stood slowly, his right eye closed shut and portions of his armor struggling to reform as he faced his opponents.

Bruce, within the Hulk, was struggling. He thought this could work, tempering the Hulk's anger with logic, guiding him. But here and now, he felt almost useless. His basic knowledge of martial arts couldn't match two soldiers trained to kill, and he most certainly he didn't want to risk grabbing the staffs that were making the pair almost seem to glow.

“...Holding back,” Hulk whispered.

Somehow, Bruce knew that was a message to him. Bruce, within the mind of the Hulk, tried to think of what... oh. He was doing it again. He was trying to guide the Hulk, but he was doing it by holding him back. Keeping his strength limited. Just like Dial had said.

Bruce suddenly knew what he had to do. He let go. He stopped repressing, stopped keeping the pain away. It wasn't easy. He wasn't even sure he'd done it right if there was a right way to do such a thing.

But he felt it at the same time Hulk did. The memories flooded. A man, so giant in his past, beating on his mother. Bruce, crying, tried to stop him, only to get a fist to the cheek for his problems. Hiding with Jenny as the man yelled and cursed. Seeing Ross dismiss him as weak, not fit for Betty. Being bullied through high school for his intelligence, beaten just for enjoying something he was good at. Getting chased across continents for something beyond his control.

And then, as they jumped together, Hulk and Bruce thought of their hatred for one another. Anger at how they'd ruined each other's lives, chained together. Never able to have a normal life, never to be anything more than a weapon. A life the Avengers had freed them from but one that had left scars.

They weren't fixed. But if acknowledging a problem is the first step...

Hulk began to grow in size in the air, gaining inches in height and pounds of muscle that his armor grew around. A green glow surrounded his skin. Abomination arrogantly punched at him.

Hulk caught his fist and clenched down, hard.

“AAAGH!” Abomination screamed in pain. Hulk shut him up with an uppercut that forced his mouth to close hard, breaking teeth.

Rana, faster than Abomination, managed to dodge a right hook, her eyes wide as Hulk stopped growing but his eyes glowed. Gamma radiation filled the area as the three monsters stood there. Rana, her anger stoked by the magic pouring into her, barely kept control of herself as she prepared to battle the Hulk once more. Abomination rose, spinning the staff in his hands and Hulk cracked his knuckles in preparation.

------

Tony Stark/Iron Man

Flying over the forest around the castle, Tony blew out the back of a HYDRA Quinjet with a repulsor blast. As the door went spinning past him, Tony went into the Quinjet itself and came to a stop at the cockpit. “Hey fellas, I need to see your licenses!”

The pilot leaned over and fired at Tony with a pistol. The billionaire let the bullets bounce off the black finish of his armor.

“I think this counts as resisting arrest,” Tony noted. With that, he blasted the pilot and copilot, then flew out of the windows, leaving the Quinjet to fall fruitlessly to the ground below.

Outside, the dogfighting was fierce. Quinjets on both sides were supplemented by jets on BRIDGE's side and Chitauri armored fighters side on HYDRA's side. In the forest below the dogfighting, BRIDGE Elite and regular soldiers were fighting Centipede and HYDRA alike. As Tony flew he saw one Elite, wearing a unique armor colored all black with a white skull, push a Centipede against a tree before stabbing him in the head, then spinning to fire an efficient series of shots at another man, the skull wearing BRIDGE Elite, moving like death across the battlefield.

Sam was diving through the trees as well. As the most agile flier in both armies, he was flying back and forth between the sky, trees, and ground. Anywhere in need of aid would suddenly have Sam there, diving through the trees to appear with a well-placed repulsor shot or series of machine gun bullets, before he was suddenly moving through the trees to appear in the skies and do battle with the Chitauri armored soldiers.

One of those soldiers attacked Tony then, careening through the air and firing purple energy bolts. Tony narrowed his eyes at the man, then twisted aside to dodge a bolt before blasting the man in the chest.

“Damn knockoffs,” Tony scowled, going in for another one.

Rhodey was floating in the middle of BRIDGE's 'side' of the battle, shooting his many guns at high speed. Tony started thinking of several improvements he could make for the War Machine suit, but held back the ideas to focus on-

“Tony! It's Phil!”

Tony twisted around. “Agent? What-”

“Strucker had the Berserker Staff! He gave it to Blonsky and Phillips!” Phil said hurriedly.

Jarvis, without prompting, brought up the profile on the item.

Profile: Berserker Staff

An Asgardian Weapon that enhances strength and durability fueled by the wielder's inner rage and hatred.

“Ah, shit,” Tony said quietly. An Asgardian weapon, giving enhanced strength, fueled by rage and hatred, and into the hands of murderous gamma-enhanced, the poster children of anger management.

“Jarvis!” Tony shouted. “I need Veronica!”

“Already sent!” Jarvis returned.

------

High in space, a satellite hung, empty, as a four-pronged weapon flew down towards the Earth.

------

When his armor let out a loud beep, Tony looked down at himself. The Darkforce Armor was in bad shape, Donnie and Daniels having done some serious damage. But it would have to do. But just in case, he sent a text to Skye. “Rhodey, I'm going to help Bruce, clear a path!”

“On it!” In the distance, the black dot that was Rhodey unleashed a huge amount of missiles and bullets, sending HYDRA vehicles and men scattering or dying.

Tony dived into that hole in the line. As he did, a large object flew down from the heavens, flying along with him as it released an object to zoom ahead of him.

------

Hulk slammed Abomination into the ground with Hulk's right hand around the other monster's neck. Blonsky blocked Hulk's left hand by grabbing it around the wrist and raised the staff in his hand, stabbing it into Hulk's chest. Hulk roared but kept squeezing, Blonsky pulling out the staff to stab again.

Aberration flipped in the air to slam her feet into the Hulk's head, sending him stumbling away as the staff in his chest was ripped out by the impact. Hulk shook his head, eyes glowing slightly, stab wound already healing, and faced the monstrous duo. Before they could meet in combat once more, something dropped out of the sky, landing in front of Rana.

It was an oddly shaped metal object. For a moment, the three were confused. Then more dropped around her, unleashing electricity as they fell.

“EEEYAAAA!” Rana screamed as she was electrocuted, bucking back and forth. The spears dropped quickly, surrounding her. She tried to escape as lightning hit her, but the 'spears' enclosed with metallic clanks, leaving her trapped and screaming in a metallic tent, loud booming noises coming from within it as she punched at the walls around her.

A being dropped down next to the Hulk with a loud 'Kaboom!' When Abomination and Hulk looked over, Iron Man was sitting inside a massive mecha suit, enveloping Tony. A face-plate dropped over the Darkforce Armor, covering him with the shifting catoms until the full armor surrounded the Darkforce suit.

“Hey, Hulk,” Tony said within the Hulkbuster... 2.0. “Mind me helping out, buddy?”

Hulk grinned.