The Devil Made Him Do It

[lil_hulk]

The eight foot tall Hulk wandered the streets, not really knowing where it was. Its heavy footfall sometimes making things shake just a little. Most people and things gave it a wide berth. Those that didn't got growled at; then they gave it an entire sidewalk to itself.

It wasn't sure where it was going. It had just destroyed the building that had captured it. Or destroyed the building over the mad doctor's lab who had captured it. Either way, there was rubble behind the Hulk, on its shoulders, and in its hair.

It walked down the street, looking around. It was trying to figure out where it could go to have some peace. To get away from the doctor it had left behind in the rubble.

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[comic_awareness]

Bruce was pretty sure the Avengers signal was not really a thing, but he was beginning to think maybe it should be. A red and blue figure flew across the sky, leaving a golden glowing trail behind him as he flew.

He landed in time to see Nicky and Jay, but having missed Jay's bellow.

"All right guys, what's going on?"

[asgardian_angel]

Nicky sighed and deftly unsheathed his axe. He swung it in front of him, cleaving the car in two. "Hulk not happy," Nicky replied. "Though that's all I've been able to glean from this so far."

[the4thblackknight]

Marcus also answered the summons, showing up on Aether's back not long after Bruce. He stayed out of the way of flying cars and car halves as best he could as he surveyed the situation. Once the projectiles ceased long enough, he pushed in a little closer to his green friend.

"Tell me all the car destruction is just a clever commentary on the greenhouse effect..."

[lil_hulk]

The Hulk looked momentarily confused by the car being cut in two. It still held half of the vehicle as it had been going to shove the car and Nicky through a wall. It got flung the half car away, right toward Bruce.

It jumped at a flapping horse being nearby. The Hulk looked at Aether and then at Marcus. Its brow furrowed. More mind games. This was still a mind game by the Doctor. Somewhere deep down, the Hulk knew not this many people would come to save it. Only two came last time.

The Hulk bellowed something inarticulate and turned. It started to run away. It aimed for the building across the street.

[girlspider]

"Are you two okay?" May asked quickly looked at the wreckage for half a second and gritted her teeth. It wasn't the quips and she was hardly one to tell someone to not make quips. But she could explain what she knew.

"Jay's not listening... or just can't understand what's going on. He seemed to recognize me for a second..." So he might not get the humor or take it the wrong way.

She then sprung forward Jay as he began to run away, they didn't have to worry about cars, right?

[comic_awareness]

Bruce fired a blast of photonic energy, blasting the piece of car into tiny pieces that were too small to harm anyway.

This... he didn't like this at all. He'd been worried that Jay was getting more and more inhibited in Hulk mode, but never would he have expected anything like Uncle Bruce's rampages...

"Okay, we need to contain him before he does any more damage. Preferably without hurting him."

[asgardian_angel]

"That's going to be easier said than done," Nicky said. "Can anyone create a forcefield as strong as Invisible Woman's to contain Jay?"

[the4thblackknight]

"Something tells me that containing him isn't going to do much to calm him down. Any ideas there?" Marcus asked into the comm as he directed Aether to fly after the fleeing Hulk. They were both, as they'd been recently reminded, a bit squishy compared to his teammates, but Jay was his friend. He had to do something.

[lil_hulk]

There were no cars to worry about since most traffic was staying away from the reports of a Hulk rampaging in the city. Also, most of the parked cars had been tossed up and down the block, so the young Hulk had a straight shot at the building across the street.

Rather than try a might leap over the building, the Hulk decided to run right through the building. Glass, metal, and cement would not even slow its stride.

[girlspider]

And May decided it was time to stop as she watched Jay run through the building with wide eyes. With a quick shake of her head, she turned on her heel to catch some of the conversation. "We might be a telepath. He's gone savage and until he runs out of... anger, he's not helping."

[comic_awareness]

Bruce took off into the air beside Marcus. "We might need to call in Doc Samson and Uncle Bruce too..."

Dammit. He really should have Hulk-ready plans. But he really didn't want to raise a hand against his friend.

The burdens of command.

[asgardian_angel]

"Do we even have a telepath on the Avengers?" Nicky asked. "I mean. That's always seemed more like an X-Men thing." He zipped ahead of them, then. There were civilians that needed saving.

[lil_hulk]

The Hulk barreled through the building, smashing through walls like they were tissue paper. It paid no heed to any people in its way. Though people in its way were scrambling the hell out of the way of the eight foot mound of muscle running literally through the building.

It smashed out the other side and looked for its pursuers. It stayed in motion, moving toward the center of the street.

[comic_awareness]

"I think we need to make it a point to recruit one after this," Bruce said.

He accelerated and then dropped down in front of Jay, increasing his glow and throwing bright, disorienting blasts of light in his direction.

[the4thblackknight]

Marcus took the easier route around the building, avoiding the wreckage and debris. The last thing he needed was another damaged wing on Aether. The horse had only just recovered from the last one.

On the other side, he saw Jay lumbering away and nudged Aether to fly faster to catch up. He pulled back when Bruce dropped out of the sky and put on a light show. Somehow he didn't think that was going to do them any favors.

[girlspider]

And May darted through the holes, feeling suddenly impossibly unhelpful. She was light on her feet, aware of the world.

Attacking Jay wasn't best idea, but it was the only idea they had now. But this was certainly no time to argue. But.

She did have a cell phone stashed away. It might be time to make some phone calls.

[asgardian_angel]

Nicky took a route opposite to the one that Marcus took, flying around the other side of the building.

He swooped in behind Jay, sheathed his axe, and reached out.

Jay was about to get a Hulk sized wedgie before he was yanked into the air by the Asgardian.

If Nicky could get ahold of him, anyway.

[lil_hulk]

Bright, blinky lights made the young Hulk even unhappier. It raised one of its big hands in front of its face to block the lighting. It bared big, white teeth in an angry grimace.

"You're. Not. Taking. Me. Back." While Nicky was getting into position, the Hulk bent over, jammed its fingers into the street, and then flung a massive chunk at Bruce. Which did not prevent the Asgardian behind him from grabbing his unstable molecule shorts.

The young Hulk grunted in surprise as its feet were no longer touching the ground. Unlike with Vincent, this Asgardian attack meant the Hulk had something to grab onto. The Hulk reached behind to the back of the shorts and tried to grab one of the wrists.

If it got a hold on one or both of them, the Hulk was going to try to break the weakest part of the arms holding its clothes.

[comic_awareness]

Back? Back where? Bruce's thoughts raced, as the chunk of street slammed into him, knocking him from the sky. It didn't hurt, but it took him by surprise.

"Dammit..."

[asgardian_angel]

There was a resounding crack!, and the sound didn't just come from the fact that one of Nicky's arm bracers had been broken by Jay's Hulk-strength.

One of his wrists was broken, too. He could feel the bones being ground down into something far less substantial.

Nicky bit back a scream of pain, but man, did that not feel good.

[girlspider]

She skidded to a stop when she found the injured Nicky and the expression under her mask is stricken. But right now she and Marcus are the only ones on their feet and she's the stronger of the two.

But then, they're both important to Jay's life. "Marcus!" She attempts to catch up with the Black Knight. "Marcus, let me on, I won't be able to keep up with Jay."

[the4thblackknight]

Marcus barely got out of the way of the bit of street flung at Bruce. Yikes. That would have smeared him and Aether across the road. He glanced back when he heard May's voice and, even though he didn't want to risk slowing and losing Jay, he reined Aether back and stretched an arm out. "Jump!"

[lil_hulk]

Once Nicky let go of the back of the young Hulk's shorts, big green feet touched back down on cement. The eight-foot tall behemoth took a step or two forward before launching itself with a powerful leap out of there.

It was slightly blinded, but it judged where the flapping wings of the horse was and jumped in the opposite direction.

[comic_awareness]

Bruce shoved the car off of himself.

"Dammit, Jay..."

He took off, somewhat shakily, but turned on his comm unit to Sara's cell phone. He had an idea.

[summersspawn]

Sara had spent some time with her family - biological and extended mutant family both - at Xavier's in the aftermath of the disastrous school board inspection. It was a good visit, despite the circumstances, and she planned on spending more time there if she could, but for now, she was heading back to New Jersey. Which meant she was flying over the East River at a sufficient height so as not to appear as a glowing Mutant Menace on any news feeds. She was too far away and too caught in her own thoughts to have seen any blazing "A"s in the sky, or heard any rampaging, but she did hear her phone chirp with Bruce's ringtone.

She tapped the wireless earpiece. "Hi, babe."