Jennifer Walter/She-Hulk

May 20, 2014

I stopped my story for a bit to rub my forehead. Mahmoud, Thor, and Nat seemed willing to wait.

“Sorry, just… this last part is hard, ya know?” I looked at Mahmoud. He looked back at me, cocking his head to the side. I decided to tease him. “What, you don’t like it when people leave cliffhangers?”

He shifted uncomfortably. Yeah, he wasn’t about to be a hypocrite about me leaving people in the lurch wanting to know the next part of a story.

I blame my boyfriend.

“So anyways,” I looked outside. “Where was I?”

“Glorious battle,” Thor said with a smirk.

“Right. But first, Frank had to deal with something at the same time.”

------

Frank Castle/The Punisher

“Move!” Frank shouted as Jen leaped into the bank. “We go around back! Sally, get the getaway driver, Simmons, you’re with me!”

The three soldiers ran around the bank by entering an alleyway running alongside it, checking all their blindspots as they moved with guns pointed at the ground. Frank switched to his thermal vision, and immediately stopped, raising a fist up. Sally and Simmons stopped as well.

“Twenty feet ahead,” Frank growled. He raised his gun high. His allies did the same.

“Don’t shoot!” someone shouted, coming out from the shadows. Her glock was in her hand, but she had it pointed to the side. She was also wearing a tight orange top and a black skirt.

“You,” Frank snarled.

Ananastasia chuckled nervously. “H-Hi.”

“What are you doing here?” Frank said. He didn’t lower his rifle entirely.

“I found out about where they were going to hit next,” she was looking across the three soldiers, from Frank, to Sally, to Simmons. “I have to impress my superiors, Frank,” she lowered her gun and posed artfully, her chest thrust out, her eyes fluttering as she looked up at him. She bit her lip. Simmons coughed, swallowing nervously. “Please. Let me come and help. If I don’t-”

“Whatever,” Frank looked at Sally. “Keep an eye on her. If she tries to interfere, hit her with an ICER.”

Ananastasia stared at him, shocked. “What? We’re on the same side!”

“Yeah. And my side wasn’t told anyone from the FBI was helping us,” Frank said simply. “You want to be here? Then shut up, follow orders, and shoot at what I tell you to shoot.”

He tried to keep how annoyed he was with this to himself but ending up sounding more like a drill instructor. Whatever.

“You really don’t know how to talk to women, do you?” Ananastasia scoffed as Frank walked past her.

“We’re hunting down a superhuman, who gives a fuck about that?”

Frank felt her eyes on his back as she sputtered.

“Move,” Sally said to her, shoving Ana forward.

“Sorry about this,” Simmons said nervously. Frank rolled his eyes at that.

The four of them headed towards the back. Behind the bank was a large van, the kind any company would use for business. As soon as he saw the car, Frank pointed his gun at it, his sights on a dark figure sitting inside the car.

“Get out!” Frank shouted immediately.

The figure stared at them. He was an Indian man. Rajesh, that was his name, one of the people they’d figured for the thieves. “Get out of the van, now!”

The man inside the van reached for the wheel. Frank pointed the barrel of his gun at the engine and pulled his trigger. A hail of bullets sliced through the metal, ripping into the engine in a loud series of explosions.

“Oh fuck!” Rajesh shouted in fear, pulling open his door and rolling out. He had a pistol in his hand.

Frank twisted the dial on the side of his rifle, switching from bullets to ICER’s, and shot Rajesh in the face. The indian man had enough time to gasp before the dendrotoxin in the round knocked him out as he fell on his back.

“Simmons, secure him!” Frank shouted, circling the van and switching his vision to thermal again. “Van is clear! Sally, go over to-”

A loud booming noise echoed. Sally shouted in pain. Frank spun around. Sally was stumbling forward. Another boom noise, then another. Sally fell to the ground. Behind her stood Ananastasia. Who was holding a shotgun.

Sally stumbled forward on her knees, dazed from a shotgun blast sending her head bouncing around in her helmet. To her credit, she managed to rip her pistol off her waist and blind fire it behind her. Ananastasia screamed in pain as a bullet sliced through her thigh, but pressed the barrel of her gun to Sally’s head.

Frank raised his gun as Ananastasia shot again. The barrel of her gun was mere inches from Sally’s head. As it went off, the advanced polymers of her helmet, which had withstood three blasts from a shotgun pressed to it, shattered apart.

Sally forward. Frank let out a wordless roar while Simmons shot at Ananastasia, who dived behind the van.

“Simmons, take care of Sally!” Frank shouted.

She might make it. Headshots, while generally fatal, weren’t always. If there was the slightest chance that she’d survived, that her helmet had protected her just enough, then Simmons needed to take care of her.

Frank, meanwhile, ran after Ananastasia, who rushed into a building behind the bank.

“I’m gonna kill you!” Frank roared, his voice splitting the air. He shot at her without hesitation, winging her in the shoulder.

“Really misjudged that guy,” Ananastasia mumbled to herself as she ran.

------

Jennifer Walters/She-Hulk

I punched Mary in the face, and she just would not go down.

We wrapped our arms around each other. For a moment, we pushed against each other. I felt the concrete under me crack, forcing me to give up some ground, sliding back. Apparently, Fakeania thought that meant she was winning.

“Heh,” Mary grinned at me. “I knew you were weak.”

Well, I’ll tell ya folks. I just about lost my shit at that.

“RAAGH!” I shot my head forward. She saw it coming in time to avoid getting her nose broken. Instead, my head slammed into her right breast, sending her back a step. I let go of her left arm to swing, smashed her in the stomach, then grabbed her by the hair and tossed her up to the ceiling.

“Biiiiitch!” Mary shouted. She hit a chandelier on the way up, glass falling around me, then pierced through the ceiling. I kneeled down and leaped up after, landing on the roof.

She’d already gotten to her feet and spear-tackled me in the middle of my landing, wrapping her arms around me and sending us flying to the next rooftop. I landed on my back and rolled to my feet in time to catch a punch on my forearm, blocking it.

I had a second to be really thankful that you pushed me to spar with other superhumans, Mahmoud. Because if it wasn’t for that, ending up fighting someone who not only could match my strength, but also has some martial arts under her belt, would have really surprised me.

She came in with an uppercut, which I blocked only for her to grab my face with her other hand. She pushed me back and slammed her fist into my face. I felt some teeth loosen at the blow, then shift back into place and heal. I grabbed her arm, pulled it in, and smashed my forearm into the back of her elbow. Her arm cracked, bones snapping out of her bicep. She screamed as blood splashed outward. She managed to bring her fist forward. Her knuckles smashed into my nose. I’d never felt my nose break before.

Not an experience I want to repeat.

I stumbled back, blood getting into my eyes as I made some room. I finally cleared my eyes enough to see her. She grabbed her broken arm and pulled it back together with a loud scream. I grabbed my nose and cracked back in place.

Her arm healed. So did my nose.

We glared at each other.

“So you can actually throw a punch, huh?” I snapped at her.

“Better than you can, Shulkie,” Mary growled.

“Then come on!” I raised my hands behind me. “Let’s see what else you can take! Thunderclap!”

My palms slapped together, condensing the air between my hands before exploding outwards. Mary had enough time to blink before a wave of wind hit her. She flew back like a leaf in a hurricane, screaming. I leaped after her, smashing into her in the air. I wrapped my legs around her waist and raised my fists high.

“Come on!” I shouted again, punching her in the face. Then I kept punching as we tumbled through the air. “COME ON!”

The air and pound. It’s a move you taught me, Natasha. Well, not so much a move as it is a strategy. Just wrap your legs around someone, then start unleashing hell.

“Get off!” Mary shouted, punching me in my left boob. I grabbed the hand that punched me and pulled it aside to punch her in the eye. She headbutt me. I felt another tooth loosen and heal. She bit down on my hand. I pulled it out of her mouth viciously, accidently loosening my legs grip around her waist. She grabbed my ankle from behind her and twisted.

“Dragon Throw!” she shouted as she spun in the air. Around and around, with my ankle in her grasp.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhh!!!!” I screamed as the lights of the city and stars in the sky spun around and around me. Then she let go. “YAAAAAA!”

I slammed into a big building I’d noticed as we were fighting in the air. Someplace that was shaped like a circle, with some big TV’s on the side, and large LED lights glowing blue and orange about its surface . It took me a second to realize the roof I crashed into belonged to Madison Square Garden.

Then Titania’s boots slammed into my stomach, and we both slammed through the roof and into the stadium below.

------

Frank Castle/The Punisher

Frank snarled as he followed Ananastasia through the hallways of the building he’d followed her into. She spun around to fire her shotgun at him. The bullets bounced off his shoulder as he ducked around the shot, sending him stumbling but causing no real damage.

“What the hell is that stuff made of!?” Ananastasia shouted.

Frank didn’t tell her. He just got up and kept moving. She spun the gun around and shot the handle off an apartment door, smashing into it with her shoulder. Frank came up to the door and stopped just short of entering, instead focusing on his HUD. With a thought, his vision became awash in pale blue. He turned to look at the wall to the apartment Ananastasia had run into.

The Backscatter X-Ray was reverse-engineered from technology Coulson’s team had stolen from HYDRA, allowing users to see through walls. It was hard to get used to. But Frank was going to take advantage of everything he could.

One of his people might be dead. She was responsible. And he was going to make her fucking pay.

Through the wall, he could see a woman rushing through an apartment as two people sitting on a couch stared in fear. For a moment, he could see her pointing her shotgun at another room. He raised his gun and fired a bullet through the wall. The bullet got her in her hip. A loud series of screams came from the room. Frank ran through the door to see two men hugging each other as Ananastasia bled from her hip. Seeing him, she raised her gun at the men.

Frank dived in front of them, getting shot in his chest to protect the pair. Landing on his knees, he shot at her again, missing as she dived into the next room.

“You’re going to die tired!” Frank shouted.

“Fuck you!” Ananastasia cried back.

Frank looked back at the men, who were clutching at each other in fear, one of them crying. “Are you okay!?”

“Y-Yes!” One of them shouted.

“Stay here, call the police!” Frank yelled, rising to his feet and chasing after Ananastasia. He ran out of the living room, through the hallways, to a bedroom at the end of the hall. The window was open. He saw Ananastasia waiting beside the window on the other side. Apparently, she’d been hoping to surprise him as he climbed out, to shoot him at close range.

He stopped and raised his gun. With a trigger pull, a bullet pierced through the wall, into Ananastasia’s arms. She screamed again, almost dropping her gun. Frank stepped forward, raising a fist high. His catom armor’s strength enhancers made smashing his fist through the brick wall only barely difficult. He grabbed his opponent by the arm, only for her to come spinning through the window on her own. She tackled him with a scream, grabbing his head while pressing her shotgun to his head. Face to helmet with him, she brought Frank to the ground while pulling the trigger.

The shotgun blast sent his head bouncing around his helmet. Pain filled him. She grinned savagely even as the recoil threw off her aim.

She’d killed Sally.

Frank grabbed her by the left arm and twisted. Bones snapped like twigs. She screamed. Frank let go of her arm to punch her in the face, sending her flying. She landed on the bed nearby, dropping her shotgun. Frank rose to see Ananastasia grab a lamp off the dresser and smash it into his head. When that did nothing, she tried to stab it at him weakly, her broken arm dangling at her side. He smacked it aside and shot her in the leg.

“Aaaaaauugh!” she screamed as blood poured from her wounds.

“You killed one of us,” Frank snarled. He stared at her. She stared at his helmet. Frank knew that all she saw was the skull decal painted onto his faceplate. “...”

She grinned. “She died like a bitch.”

Then she reached behind her back and pulled out a knife, stabbing it in between Frank’s armor plates. Even though the blade only bounced off the polymers, it was enough. He fired again. This time, he got her in the gut.

“Guh,” she fell back, staring at him. Then at the wound on her stomach. She gasped in pain, as her back landed on the wall behind her. Ananastasia stared up at him.

“...Guess I should be saving you,” Frank mumbled. BRIDGE would have wanted to talk to her. “...Shouldn’t have killed one of mine.”

She coughed. Then, slowly, raised her hand up. And flipped him the bird, smiling.

Frank smirked. “When you get to hell, tell them I’m here waiting for them to show up again.”

For a moment, she looked quizzical. Well, she’d find out when she got there. She died in pain, defiantly smiling at Frank, pain filling her entire being. And as she passed, Frank Castle turned and walked away.

“Simmons, the target is down,” Frank said over the radio.

“I’ve got another guy over here, that Sam dude. He was trying to escape,” Simmons said. “Sally… Sally didn’t make it.”

Frank clenched his fist tightly as he walked out of the living room. “Understood. Where’s She-Hulk?”

“...Madison Square Garden?”

“What?”

------

Jennifer Walters/She-Hulk

We fell for dozens of feet, Mary standing on top of me. I grabbed her legs and tried to twist her off of me. We hit the floor as I threw her. Something soft caught my back, only to shatter under me. She went flying to land back first onto a pole, then landed on her feet.

I rolled as well, staring at her. People were screaming around us, but I focused my eyes on Mary, not looking away for an instant as I shouted.

“Get out of here, now!”

More screams. I started to realize what was happening by looking from my peripheral vision.

An MMA ring. The fighters, a pair of men in boxer shorts, were staring at us, while the referee hurriedly opened the door to the cage, shouting at them to leave. People in the stands were yelling and screaming in shock.

I ignored them, standing up out of the hole I’d made in the ring. I raised my fists slowly, keeping my eyes on Mary. She was looking around, but stopped the second she saw me.

Yeah. Eyes on me Mary. Not the squishy innocent people. Look at me.

I was surprised at how desperate the thought was. But the instant there were other people around, my anger was replaced with worry. Mary looked at the referee. I could see the thought in her mind. Hostage. She looked at everyone else with the same look.

I stepped into her vision. No. Not today. Not ever.

She stared at me, then began to step forward. I moved in with a series of fast steps, closing the distance. She saw me coming in and swung her fist at me. I ducked under the blow and hit her in the ribs with an uppercut. She shouted, stepping back as my blow created a brief shockwave that sent the non-superhumans back a step as well.

Mary stared at me, clutching her ribs. I grinned, raising my fists.

“Come on, Bloody Mary. Let’s add a few more shades of red to ya!”

She snarled, reaching behind her for the cage. “You want red? I’ll make your green ass look like Christmas morning!”

With a single pull, she ripped out the cages wall and tossed it my way. I leaped over it and came down towards her with a superman punch, which she blocked on my forearm. As I landed, she kicked me in the chest, sending me flying back into a pole along the ring. She ran towards me as I recovered. Before she could follow up, I reached over my head to grab the top of the cage, pulling myself into a backflip to land on the pole, then jumped in the air for the jumbotron at the top of the stadium. As I flew past one of the TV screens, I realized that it was displaying… me? Was someone filming us fighting!?

Spoilers, guys. They absolutely were.

“Get back here!” Mary jumped.

We both landed on the jumbotron, each standing along the edge across from each other. I didn’t know the things were hollow on the inside. When I looked down, I could see the screens from the other side, with some walkways running around it for workers.

Mary grabbed a section of the TV she was standing on and ripped it apart, tossing it at me. I punched it out of the air in a spray of sparks, then jumped down into the jumbotron, landing on a walkway. She joined me, the whole thing shaking around us. We met on a walkway and started trading blows. I punched her in the face again, only for her to grab me by the neck and push me into the metal struts holding up a tv. I choked under her grip, punching her in the face over and over. She grabbed one of the struts that had broken, ripping it out. I had a moment to appreciate it’s cracked end, sharpened like a spearhead.

Then she pressed the end into my skin.

“GRAAGH!” I screamed, still strangled by her hand. The spear didn’t pierce my skin, but it was grinding into me, like a dull piece of plastic pressing against me. Mary’s fingers squeezed more. I snarled at her.

“Yeeees,” Mary hissed, her face in mine. “Feel that, Shulkie? The feeling of blood pooling in your head? The pain as you try to get just one little breath in,” she smiled at me. “I’ve felt that. So many times. Daddy was a choker. You get dark green,” she pressed close. “Now me? He liked to see me get all red in the face, turn to shades of purple. It’s why I like doing it too. To remind me how much stronger I am now.”

Yeah. That look on your faces? That’s how I felt when I heard that. I realized then that I wasn’t fighting some monster, or some rival. It was worse than that. She was so broken. Like all the victims I’d ever tried to help.

I stared at her with pity. She stopped, looking at my eyes. “W-Why are you looking at me like that?”

Her grip loosened up enough for me to speak. “I was mad at you. Now I just feel sorry for you,” I whispered.

She stared at me. The look in her eyes, like… like something cracked. That look stays with me. Her hand clenched like a vise again, squeezing even harder. I grabbed at her hand, trying to breathe.

“Y-You feel sorry for me!? Y-YOU DON’T GET TO FEEL SORRY FOR ME!”

Mary pulled back the makeshift spear and stabbed it forward. The metal snapped on my skin. She screamed wordlessly, then punched me in the face. I tried to return it, but she was a lot more pissed off than I was. Her fist started splitting across her knuckles. I punched her back, finally loosening her grip on my neck enough to fight back. As soon as I had air, I tackled her around her waist, slamming her into the other side of the jumbotron. The whole thing swayed and shook, one of the TV’s falling off.

I kept hitting her, right, left, while she blocked. When she tried to return a blow, I cracked my elbow into her stomach, forcing her to bend over. Thinking fast, I wrapped my hands around her waist, then lifted her up so she was sitting on my shoulders. Before she could respond, I stepped out of the jumbotron. We fell for dozens of feet, Mary screaming the whole way while she tried to wriggle out of my grip. I pulled her down as we powerbombed into the floor, cratering it.

The stadium shook. Up above, the jumbotron cracked apart. Sparks and metal feel around us in a clatter, some falling on our shoulders. When Mary tried to get up, I kicked her in the head as hard as I could, my now bare foot cracking against her skull. She kept getting up.

“Just go down!” I was feeling frustrated by now. I kicked her in the head again, sending her to the floor. She struggled up again. “Please, just go to sleep dammit!” I kicked her again. Before I could pull back, she grabbed my foot and pulled, hard. I ended up over her shoulders with my back against hers, my ankle and neck in her hands. She rose up fast and jumped into the air.

“You first, bitch!”

My head hit the ground first as she pulled me across her back. I felt my neck crack.

She rolled over and got on top of me. Her fists cracked against my face. I tried to move, to struggle.

I couldn’t move. I couldn’t move. My arms and legs, everything under my neck. My head flopped uselessly back and forth as Mary hit me. My vision was blurring. I realized what happened through the feel of her punches.

Mary had snapped my neck.

The fear that filled me then. The feeling of being unable to fight back. Feeling useless. I-

------

May 20, 2014

I stopped my story. Mahmoud was staring at me. He looked so worried. So scared.

All I could do was give him my best smile. “Hey. I’m okay.”

“Are you?” he reached out and grabbed my hands. “She snapped your neck, Jen. Even if you healed, that…” he swallowed, his eyes flickering. I thought I saw a hint of green in them, then realized it was my reflection. “Jen. Are you okay?”

I pulled him forward and pressed my forehead to his with a smile. “Yeah. I’m a big girl… But thanks.”

Nat and Thor were looking a little uncomfortable. I let them look. I just closed my eyes and enjoyed the little moment. I was alive. He felt warm against me. I ran a few fingers to his chest and felt his heartbeat.

When we pulled back, he looked better. Reassured, though he still was giving me an odd look.

“Okay… I wanna know how you kicked her ass,” Mahmoud asked with a smile, even though he didn’t let go of my hand.

Thor coughed. “As do I. How did you vanquish such a mighty foe, young Walters?”

I gave Thor a little smile. “Well… it got interesting.”

------

May 18, 2014

As I stared up at her, I could suddenly feel the bones in my neck shifting. I tried to move my fingers, but nothing worked. I could guess what was happening though. I was healing.

I stared up at Mary, trying to keep my cool as she hit me. She grabbed a metal pole and raised it high, stabbing it down on my chest. I couldn’t feel anything yet, but the bruise it left was obvious.

I was tired. This woman had beat the hell out of me. Even as I watched, she stabbed down at me again, and again, the metal pole bending against my skin as the bruise grew. It’s funny. When I could finally feel the pain of her stabbing my chest was when I felt relief.

But I kept that to myself, waiting for my moment. I knew I had to hold on.

She was crying, snot dribbling to mix with blood on her face, screaming something wordlessly as that metal pole finally shattered against my chest. My eyes closed to a sliver as she screamed.

“I’M STRONG!” Mary screamed, a childish and desperate sound. “I DON’T NEED PITY, I DON’T NEED HELP! Just di-e!”

Her voice cracked on the final word, her fists rising again. My eyes snapped open.

I punched her. I put everything I had into my right fist. Inside me, I felt a heat like a small explosion. I could swear that on impact, my fist damn near exploded against her chin, bones cracking in my hand. Her jaw clapped closed as she was thrown back. I struggled to my feet and ran to her as she landed on her feet, staggering. She faced me, confusion in her eyes. I snarled.

I had to stay angry. Hulk had told me, in that adorable way of his (Yes, he’s adorable, don’t look at me like that) ‘Hulk anger is good. Jen stay strong. But like fire. Hulk’s are raging fire. Burn friends and people. Have to be a laser fire, like the metal friend does.’

Laser fire. I focused my anger, stoking it, trying to guide the rage in my heart. I remembered all the pain and hurt in my life. Then I put the face of it all on Mary, and stepped in.

Mary jabbed at me, but I bobbed down at the same time I stepped forward. Her fist sliced the air over my head. As she staggered forward, I was crouched on her right side. She turned her head in time to catch my rising punch to her chin. Something cracked. She faltered back. I got over-excited, rushing in.

It was almost in slow-motion. Her hair parted in front of her right eye, the pupil shuddering as she glared at me. Still ready to fight. Her right heel slid back. She lashed out with a single backfist.

I stopped myself so hard I felt my muscles twist and snap in my legs and hip. Mary’s fist hit my forehead, but my sudden stop made a full blow a scraping punch instead. Her eyes widened. I jumped into her as her fist passed me. My arms wrapped around her waist as we fell together. I used my jumps momentum to pull her along as I front-flipped while pulling her off the floor. When my feet hit the ground, I tightened my legs and abs, tossing Mary up like a rocket.

Crouched on the ground, I put everything I had into jumping after her, a loud crack filling the stadium. Mary, still tumbling through the air, tried to do something, but I flew past her. I twisted to land feet first on the stadium ceiling. Mary continued to rise towards me, red hair waving in the wind. I extended my legs like pistons exploding outwards, bringing my arms in front of me in an ‘X’ pattern.

“GAMMA BOMB!”

I hit her in the chest with an explosion of noise and force, the roof above us cracking from the proximity of our impact. We came down like a meteor and cratered the ground. I felt my body protest at the sheer force of the attack, but Mary spat blood, the red mixing with the dust created by the concrete, metal, plastic, and wood we’d destroyed on our landing.

The impact sent me bouncing upwards. I landed on my back and coughed, trying to breath.

“Ah… I really hope someone filmed that,” I mumbled.

I raised my hand to my forehead, rubbing away at the sweat. Then I froze and stared at my hand.

My skin was becoming pale. As I watched in horror, the green shades of my body began to turn white.

“No, no, no, no, not now!” I snapped up to a kneeling position, only to gasp in pain. My body was still healing. But even as my bones and muscles knit themselves back together, I started to shrink, arms and legs sinking into themselves. I slowly stood up, feeling a bit dizzy at the sight of a world I’d gotten used to being too small for my ever-loving green self.

I snarled, shaking my head and closing my eyes.

Dread filled me. After all this time, it was happening. I was changing back into a human, for the first time in months. I got ready for how I would feel. Weaker, for one. That boundless energy I felt inside of me wasn’t gone, not exactly. But it was much more muted now. Like, a spark inside of me that was slowly getting larger. I felt deeper.

Ever since I woke, I’d changed. I’d become a lot more impulsive, for one, but life became so much more fun! I found everything I’d once held back on to be just as great as I wanted it to be. I’d never been much of a fighter, suddenly it was my favorite thing. Everything was better.

Except… I felt the same. No, not the same. I wasn’t as ready to just enter random bars for a fight anymore, and I felt a lot more shame when I realized how cut to pieces my clothes were. Not to mention, way too big for me. Then I realized I had abs.

Holy crap, I was covered in muscles now! I mean, non-green ones!

Someone started laughing behind me, interrupting my little introspective look at myself. I looked over to see Mary slowly standing up. Her nose was broken. Her right eye was black, and her tanned skin was covered in bruises. She wasn’t healing anymore. She got up to her full height, towering over me.

“Look at that,” she smiled a bloody smile. “I knew you were weak,” she struggled over to me, step by step. “This is the real you. Not some green goddess. A tiny, helpless, bitch, with no power at all,” she smiled, a dark look in her eyes. Her hand reached out for me, clenching as she stumbled, then kept walking towards me. “W-Win...I’ll win.”

I felt that same pity I had before. Even now, beaten all to hell, she was still obsessed with the idea of… I don’t know, being strong? No. Powerful enough to never get hurt again.

She reminded me of Bruce, in some ways. Or me. Gone way wrong and overboard. It was enough to make me sad.

I raised my fists. She laughed. “You want to fight me, little girl?”

“Not really,” god, was my voice really that high? Or was I just that scared? “If you give up, then BRIDGE will be able to speak on behalf of a judge for you. But only if you give up now.”

“Give up!?” Mary looked unhinged. “No! I’ll kill you here, and run away with Ana! I don’t need anyone else's help!”

She punched at me. It was slow, clumsy, and still capable of taking my head off.

This time, I have to thank Creel. He was one of the heroes I’d spared with before that. We didn’t do it often, but he showed me some boxing. One thing he’d taught me was a simple weak spot. One that could take even the biggest person down.

He’d hit me in that spot while he was in steel form. Even with my super-strong body, it was enough to paralyze me in my tracks.

I stepped to her right as she punched at me. I crouched down, gritting my teeth, and brought my left fist to my hip. I needed all the leverage I could get. With a scream, I stepped in, twisted my hips, and punched forward with everything I had, pushing against the ground as I landed my blow.

My fist sank into her ribs, shifting already broken bones. I knew, on the inside, what I was hitting. Her liver. The liver is such a huge vital organ that it just stands out as a giant weak spot. A big hit there causes massive amounts of pain because, well, it’s a vital organ.

I had hit her there at least three times earlier, but she just tanked it before. Now, with her on her last legs, I was basically going for a desperation move.

She screamed, reflexively lashing out at me as she fell. Her palm scraped my arm.

I screamed too, the feel of bone shattering sending me to my own knees.

“Walters!” someone shouted. I didn’t take my eyes off of Mary, but someone came up and took hold of my unbroken arm, helping me to my feet. “You okay?”

Frank.

“Yeah, I’m okay,” I looked at him briefly. He looked worried for me.

“You’re not… you know. Green.”

“Nah,” I grinned at him. “But it turns out, I look good in all sorts of colors. Might try red later.” I raised a hand, showing I was still covered in a bit of blood. “Oh wait.”

“You haven’t changed that much,” he growled, helping me to my feet.

We both looked at Mary. The giant redhead was staring at me, mouth opening and closing.

“The hell did you do to her?” Frank asked.

“Punched her with everything I had to the liver.”

“Ah,” Frank winced. “Yeah, that’ll hurt like a bitch.”

Mary’s fists closed and opened. Then finally, slowly, she turned to look at the ceiling before her eyes finally shut. She let out a shuddering breath, passing out at last.

A gunshot filled the air, and I saw the telltale blue light of an ICER shot come from Mary’s forehead. I looked at Frank, aghast. He shrugged.

“What? Had to be sure she was out.”

“Man, you and your guns…” I rolled my eyes.

Somewhere, I heard clapping. We both looked over at it.

Some guy was standing next to a terrified cameraman. He had slicked back white hair and a tacky bright blue business suit on. “That was incredible! Oh damn, you won’t believe the ratings we’re gonna get off of this!”

“We’re gonna need the recording,” Frank growled.

“Recording! Nah, we were live, baby!” the guy said in the voice of a man who had found more cash.

“...well, I’m in trouble,” I mumbled.

“You need a new job?” the guy asked excitedly.

Oy vey…

------

May 19, 2014

“You destroyed Madison Square Garden on live television,” Director Maria Hill of BRIDGE said as she stared at me. Then she looked at Frank. “And you left two confused and terrified citizens to explain how an armored maniac chasing a young woman killed her in their bedroom before rushing off into the night. Honestly, I don’t know which is worse in some ways.”

I was still in human form, though I’d changed into some BRIDGE sweats by then. Frank was still wearing his armor. Since fighting Mary, we’d been signing paperwork and speaking to officials while making sure the thieves were arrested safely. Mary was put into restraints Tony and Jury Rigg had created together, made just for super-strength users like us. Sam and Rajeet, the last two surviving of the normal thieves, were currently in police custody, and were cooperating very happily with the cops.

Ana’s corpse was being taken care of. Jarvis and BRIDGE had gone through her history and found evidence of her dodging a lot of shady shit. Funny enough, the FBI had already been about to toss her in jail. That explained her desperation. She knew they were onto her. So she’d tried to grab as much money as she could to escape. We’d just gotten there first.

Now we were in the Avengers Tower, finishing our debrief with our scary boss.

“My apologies, ma’am,” Frank said softly. “I actually didn’t mean to kill her. She went for a stab and my instincts kicked in.”

“Fair point,” Maria said. “But why didn’t you stick with ICERs?”

“Forgot.”

Maria shared a look with me, which I returned with a shrug. She’d killed Sally, a BRIDGE soldier under his command. I guessed he had known, on some level, what he was doing. But he didn’t care.

“You forgot… well, I suppose you’ll have to go back into training,” Maria leaned back in her seat. “You do two months of training on the maintenance and use of all equipment, as well as some time working with our Avengers and BRIDGE soldiers who want to practice their skills. Obstacle course, sparring, stuff like that. I understand Tony and Fitz have been looking for test subjects.”

Frank winced. God, that all sounded so boring. Except the last, which sounded terrifying. Still, he straightened and nodded. “Very well ma’am.”

“As for you,” Maria looked over at me. “I understand that the stadium wasn’t your fault. Mary’s power level is not something we could have expected. If we had, I would have placed another Avenger on the mission with you, at least,” her eyes softened. “This shouldn’t have happened… And you almost died.”

I nodded slowly.

“Frank, you are dismissed, for now,” Maria eyed me. “I need to say something to Jennifer. Go home to your family and rest.”

Frank nodded again, but I could see he was happy to be leaving. After a very crisp salute, he spun on his heel and walked out of the room.

Maria waited till the door was closed. Then she looked at me. “You’re in human form… Are you able to change back?”

I hesitated before nodding. I could feel it. Inside of me, over the last few hours, that spark inside of me was growing. I had to guess that was my power.

“I can… I think.”

“Have your cousin test you,” Maria said. “He’s in the tower now. I don’t want you in the field until we can confirm you’re able to control this,” she smiled, just a bit. “He’s worried too. Oh, and don’t worry about Madison Square Garden. Tony offered to rebuild it, free of charge.”

“Seriously!?” I asked, shocked. “How much is that gonna cost him?”

“Pennies, to him,” Maria chuckled. “Starktech has been exploding lately. Not just the StarkRigg phones, the Avengers merchandise, and their contracts with us, but a whole lot more. Especially since they made that Saturday morning cartoon based on you guys.”

“Oh yeah, that’s a thing,” I mumbled. Apparently I was being voiced by Eliza Dushku? Kinda cool.

“Now,” she leaned forward. “Go talk to your cousin. Before I have a Hulk bouncing off the wall of his lab.”

I grinned and nodded, heading out. Then I turned, remembering. “Oh, hey. What happened to that guy, the one who was supposed to help us investigate this whole mess?”

“HYDRA,” Maria said. “We’re preparing our assault, and I have all hands on deck for it. We’re also gearing up our soldiers for it.”

“Ah… What about Dial?”

“He’s fine,” she said calmly. “Should be home soon.”

Mahmoud, I don’t know how she could look me in the eyes, knowing that you were still missing in that jungle, and still smile at me like that. Maria Hill owes me for that.

When I stepped out, Frank was waiting for me.

“Oh, hey,” I said, surprised. “I thought you were headed out.”

“I am, Walters,” he was taller than me now, which was weird to realize. “Just checking on ya. Never saw you, ya know,” he waved at me. “Not normal.”

“You think the green me is normal?”

He shrugged. “It’s how I met ya. You good, Walters?”

“...You know. I really am,” I looked down at myself and smiled. “I guess I thought that when I became human again, I’d be disappointed in myself. Or scared of my green self. That I’d lose something important, feel pathetic. But it’s not like that.”

I grinned up at Frank. “I’m still me. Not as strong, or, you know, willing to walk around half naked and flirt,” I shuddered. Seriously, human me just does not like flaunting her stuff. I need to hang out with you Nat, get her used to it.

“I’m still me. And that feels pretty good.”

“...Well, I have no idea what you’re talking about, but that’s nice for you,” Frank pulled out a piece of paper and passed it to me. “Here. My wife said we might want to invite you over for dinner sometime, so this is my number.”

“Oh?” I grinned, nodding. “I’m in… and thanks, Frank. This whole thing was crazy. But I’m glad you had my back.”

“Same here, Shulki-”

“Uh,” I raised a hand to stop him. “Maybe uh, stick with Walters. I’m not as much of a fan of that one anymore. Mary used it a lot.”

He shrugged. “All right. See ya around, Walters.”

With that, he walked away with a positive spring in his step. I grinned at his back and went to meet Bruce.

------

May 20, 2014

“And that’s the story,” I said at last, leaning back in my seat.

“Wait, that’s it?” Mahmoud blinked. “I mean, how did you turn back green? Can you control it?”

“Of course I can!” I said with a grin. “Well, kind of… I turned back when I found out you were missing.”

“Oh,” my boyfriend blinked, looking at me oddly.

“That was a great story!” Thor wrapped an arm around me, laughing boisterously. “You and your enemy, breaking on one another in glorious combat, the entire world watching as you vanquish her in a single, valiant blow! Reminds me of the good old days!”

“Along with destroying one of New York’s landmarks,” Nat pointed out wryly.

“Indeed! In the old days, a battle was not a true one until you had destroyed at least one landmark in your wake,” Thor said in the voice of a man whose wisdom could not be matched.

“I guess that’s all of us, then,” Mahmoud chuckled. “I wonder how Frank is doing now?”

------

Frank Castle/The Punisher

Frank was sitting in his kitchen. A song was playing on the radio as he watched his wife cook. Maria was dancing slowly, swaying back and forth, humming along to the song. He couldn’t take his eyes off of her. Her hair moved with her, her dress fluttering, her arms graceful as they cooked and danced along with the rest of her. She was so beautiful.

She turned just a bit, noticing him. He felt himself blush like a little kid. Damn. She’d caught him staring again.

Maria beamed at her husband, and he couldn’t help the small smile he returned.

“Dad, dad!” Frank Jr. came running in, holding the mail. “Here!”

“Ah, thanks, Junior,” Frank ruffled his son’s hair, getting a big grin. Frank pulled him close and kissed his forehead, smiling down at the young man, who grumbled and wiggled out of his father's arms. Taking the mail in hand, Frank started shuffling through it. Advertisement, something about insurance, a magazine for Maria that he put aside… And a brown envelope labeled with his name. He took it in hand and felt it. Felt like there was a small rectangle inside. He ripped it open, shook it out, and found a small CD case inside. The CD within was golden, with a simple word written in black marker on the front.

‘Micro’.

“What’s that?” Maria asked curiously.

“Don’t know,” Frank looked in the envelope again. No, just the CD. “I’ll take it upstairs and check.”

“All right. Come back quick though,” she gave him a smoky glance. “Show like this doesn’t last forever.”

“Oh really,” he put the CD down and walked up to put his arms around her, smiling against her neck. “Maybe I should stick around then.”

As they chuckled and laughed, the CD continued to sit on the table. Frank would look at it later.

He would regret doing so.

------

Jennifer Walters/She-Hulk

“Hey, uh,” Mahmoud looked at Thor and Nat, then at me. “Can we talk? Alone?”

I blinked, looking at them. They got the hint.

“Well, I better get back to work,” Nat said with a shrug. “I need to find some way to match the chaos you three caused.”

“Wait, three?” I said, surprised. “What did Thor do-”

“Nothing!” Thor said desperately. “It was nothing! And the cave was that broken when we got there!”

“You really need to learn about specific denials, man,” Mahmoud said to Thor.

“Loki was better at this,” Thor mumbled. “Very well, I take my leave of you! And, Mahmoud, Jennifer,” he put a hand on each of our shoulders, smiling. “Your battles… I know they tested you. Not only physically, but your souls as well.”

He looked between us. “Lady Jennifer. You’ve learned more about yourself. Carry the lesson of it,” he stood tall and strong, meeting my eyes. “The warrior is not their power, weapons, or allies. It is the soul that guides them. The pure spirit that shows them where to guide that strength. In that way, I am proud to see that in either of your forms, your spirit carries you well. Not only did you defeat an opponent who was your match, you did it with none of your power. A commendable effort!”

Then he looked at Mahmoud. “You as well. You have learned to fight without that device,” he nodded at the Omnitrix. “Not just in practice, but in truth… I remember when I was unworthy of Mjolnir,” Thor looked over at the hammer. So did I. That thing just had so much presence. “I was forced to learn my own foibles. To prove myself, and show that I could be the hero that was so easy to proclaim I was at my full ability,” he looked back at Mahmoud. “It makes me proud, Mahmoud, that you have done the same.”

With that, he gave us a nod, then left with a proud smile.

“...He must have been taking lessons from Steve,” Mahmoud said, though he looked incredibly touched.

“Well, Nat- wait, where’d she go?” I blinked, staring at Natasha’s seat.

“She batman’d,” Mahmoud said, looking as surprised as me.

“...Wow, I don’t know if it’s cool she can do that, or lame that she didn’t want to say goodbye,” I said.

“The former,” Mahmoud chuckled. Then he looked at me. “Jen… I have to-”

“I know,” I smiled. “You want to see my human half, right?”

“What?”

“It’s cool,” I chuckled. “I mean, it’s hard to change back, for multiple reasons, but I can, let me-!”

“STOP!” he grabbed my hand, staring at me. I blinked.

“What’s wrong?”

He shook his head, looking around. Then he sighed. “Jen. I’ve been keeping something secret. For a long time. X knows. The Avengers know part of it. But… I can’t let you show me your human side, without being honest… I really like you,” he smiled sadly. “So I’m going to tell you the truth. About me. I don’t want to date you and lie to you. Even by omission…”

“...Mahmoud. What’s your big secret?” I whispered.

“Well. It’s gonna require some context.”

And with that, he started to explain.

Which is how I learned about you all.