Chapter 10 - Gamma World Part II

Gamma World Part II

In the sprawling city of Las Vegas, people spend their days and nights visiting the various entertainment resorts and casinos in the common goal to have a good time. However unlike most days, the Entertainment Capital of the World was about to become Ground Zero for a genius villain's master plan.

The usual cheerful atmosphere of the people was distracted when the top of the Stratosphere Tower suddenly started to glow green. The civilians stood in collective awe as a green beam of light shot into the sky, then expanded outwards into a dome at such speeds that those who were closest didn't even know what was happening, until it was too late. Once the energy wave passed over the people, they instantly started writhing in pain as the Gamma energy infected their bodies.

The streets filled with the screams as people, throughout the city mutated. Their bodies rapidly changed, sprouting feathers, fur, scales and some even got a mixture of them. But the results were the same, every living being that was within the Gamma Dome, was turned into mindless monsters. But the terror did not

stop there, in a matter of seconds the entire city was blanketed in the toxic energy and now spread beyond like a wave of sickness.

Several miles away, at the now liberated Cube. The Avengers and SHIELD were in the process of loading up all the Gamma Villains that had been incapacitated after the destruction of the Gamma Generator.

However for those who were actually inside the Dome, they had to be subjected to hours upon hours of treatments and examinations by SHIELD medical staff. Something that a certain teenage superhero was getting pretty sick of.

"This is sooooo, boring." Ben groaned as an agent waved another scanner over his right arm, before moving to the chest. "How long is it gonna take you guys to realise that I'm fine?"

On the bench next to him, undergoing the same treatment, Agent Carol Danvers shook her head at the young Avengers belly aching.

"It just standard procedure, Alien X."she said as she held up her other arm for the scanner. "After doing this another three or five times, you get used to them."

Ben looked at Carol like she was insane. "Three or five… Is walking into a radiation dome a regular thing for you guys? And also you really shouldn't call me Alien X?"

"They're just making sure they don't miss anything. And why?"

"Because that name is technically taken." By the most powerful alien you've ever seen. Ben added in his head.

Carol raised an eyebrow at his comment, but decided not to say anything about it. Instead the teenage agent of SHIELD reached up and tucked a strand of her blond hair behind her ear as she looked over to Ben.

"So, Ben… I never really thanked you for saving me back there." She said to him, a small tint of red forming on her cheeks.

Ben turned to her in confusion. Carol had thanked him for helping her before, heck last time they got smoothies, but she never sounded to sincere when saying it.

"Oh, Well. That what heroes do, we help people and watch out for each other." Ben said, his cheek also becoming a little red. Something Ben took notice of.

Why the heck amI blushing. He thought to himself as he and Carol shared another glance before looking away. Sure he felt comfortable around Carol: she was the same age as him, she liked all the same foods and she can even handle herself in a fight. But even so Ben felt a connection to her, unlike any of the connections he has with the Avengers. She was different.

Bens eyes suddenly widened at the next thought that entered his head. Could Janet be right? Did he have feelings for Carol? No, no, no, no, no way, why he would fall for her, she's so bossy and by the book, not to mention that she's constantly getting on his nerves.

And yet, he could help but think about her and want to hang out with her. Did that mean that he liked her as a friend, or something more? This was something Ben had always had trouble with, he could never figure out if a girl was interested in him or not. The first girl he thought liked him, turned out to only be interested in his aliens, one particular alien but that's another story.

Ben shook that thought off. Even if he knew if a girl was into him he wouldn't do anything about it, not after what happened with…

Ben closed his eyes, that memory was still so painful. Bens' sessions in the training room and his time with the Avengers have helped him get over the pain of loosing his family, and he's been improving every day. But one memory seemed to have lodged itself right in the center of his heart, and seemed to sink deeper whenever Ben stirred those memories. Why did she have to die? Why of all people did he have to see her die?

That said, he didn't want to loose Carol as a friend. Plus she is a SHIELD agent and he's fought beside her a few times, seeing first hand how she can handle herself in a fight. Could he risk it? Could he open his heart once again?

Realising that he was getting lost in the memory, Ben pulled himself back to the present. The SHEILD medical team had finally finished their examination on Ben and Carol and moved onto Wasp and Captain America, leaving Ben and Carol alone together. Both seemed a little hesitant about what they were going to say next.

Ben decided to take the first step. "Hey Carol?"

"Yeah Ben." She responded, turning to him.

Ben nervously scratched the back of his head, why was this suddenly so difficult. "I was wondering… I mean if you're not to busy… that maybe you…"

Ben stopped when he looked at her and saw that she was no longer looking at him. But rather stared behind him, her eyes wide in terror. Ben followed her gaze and his eyes equally widened in horror. Approaching the Cube at astonishing speed, was a second Gamma Dome.

In a few seconds the entire site was enveloped by the green wave. In that moment Bens instincts kicked into over drive, no coherent thoughts or moment of hesitation as Ben reflexively activated the Ultimatrix and slammed the dial down, without looking to see what alien he would get.

In a flash of green light, Ben transformed into a humanoid alien that was approximately twelve feet tall, had well developed muscles, two pairs of four-fingered arms, and red skin. A black stripe goes from its chin to its lower lip with a black ponytail, and it had four green eyes: a main pair, and a smaller pair below them. It wore gold wrist and ankle bands, and black underwear that had a gold waistband, as well as two golden sashes that go across its chest. It wore the Ultimatrix symbol on his chest.

"FOUR ARMS!" the alien yelled as he stood up.

Once the transformation was complete, Four Arms's eyes widened at the chaos that surrounded him. Every person was screaming in agony as their bodies, instantly began to mutate. A scream beside him brought Four Arms attention to the spot next to him, the transformed teens heart leaped into his throat by what he saw. Carol Danvers screamed in pain as her body twisted and grew. Her hair grew long and wild, while her teeth sharpened into daggers. Her muscles expanded until her clothes tore, leaving a few pieces in place. Her eyes glowed green as she grew to about the same size as Four Arms.

The Mutated version of Carol let out a thunderous roar as she tried to strike the alien hero. Four Arms easily caught the punch and, using her own weight against her, flipped her over his body and tossed her away. She hit the ground with a loud crash, making Four Arms winch.

"Sorry!" he called to her. But Gamma Carol simply stood back up like nothing happened and roared at him.

She was then joined by other mutants, some SHIELD agents, others villains that just got set free. All closed in on the alien hero, who started backing up as the odds were starting to stacked against him. Suddenly he felt a bump on his back, he looked over his shoulder and, too his surprise, saw Thor and Doc Samson stand behind him. Backs facing in as the horde of Gamma Mutants surrounded him. Ben looked out to the monster horded, it didn't take long to see the mutated forms of the Avengers, mixed in with the crowd. He saw Gamma Wasp first, along side her was Gamma Captain America, Iron Man and Black Panther. All horridly disfigured by the effects of the Gamma Dome.

"How is this possible?" Thor said in shock as he prepared to defend himself from the surrounding monsters. "The Leader's machine was destroyed."

If Doc Samson was going to say anything helpful, he never got the chance as Gamma Panther, launched himself at the Gamma scientist and tackled him away, dragging him into the crowd of monsters, disappearing from sight.

"Samson!" Four Arms yelled as he tried to rescue the scientist, but stopped when Thor grabbed his lower right arms wrist.

"Nay, Ben. There are too many." The Asguardian solemnly stated.

As much as Four Arms hated to admit it, Thor was right. There were too many monsters to fight, some of them were his friends. But he hated what Thor said next even more.

"Ben, you must flee."

"WHAT!" Four Arms yelled, turning his head so fast you could hear the joints crack.

Thor's expression did not change. "You must flee and seek aid, Friend Ben."

Four Arms narrowed his eyes, how could Thor ask him to abandon him. "Thor, I'm not gonna just leave you here." He stated fiercely.

Thor then met his young friends glare with his own. "This battle is already lost, you must go and seek other allies. There is a time to fight and a time to think. You are the only one capable of this. I shall stay and keep these beasts attention. I trust that you will return for me. But for now, go my friend."

Thor then turned away from Four Arms and raised Mjolnir to the sky, the clouds began to circle as the air started to smell of Ozone. "FLEE!" Thor yelled as a bolt of lightning descended from the sky as Thor smashed his hammer into the ground. A huge shock wave exploded outwards, scattering all the mutants in all directions.

In the midst of the confusion Four Arms slapped the Ultimatrix dial, his body was enveloped in a green light as he was replaces by a blue Velociraptor like alien.

"XLR8!" the alien screamed before disappearing in a blue blur, leaving a dust trail behind him.

Once XLR8 was clear, the Gamma mutants recovered from Thor's attack, and resumed their formation around the Prince of Thunder. Thor glared at the Gamma Avengers as he hefted his hammer.

"Avengers, remember who you are." The Thunderer said in vain, as the only response was a wild roar from the Gamma Mutants as they all charged as one. Thor swung Mjolnir, knocking away a few monsters before several more restrained him from behind; soon the Gamma horde took part in a massive dog pile on top of the Asguardian Prince. Thor grunted as his vision became blurry, his final thoughts. I place my faith in you, Warrior Ben. The all went dark.

XLR8 zoomed over the desert plane, quickly leaving the Gamma Dome behind, no clear destination or any idea were he's going. His body was on auto pilot and its only command. Run, run until there's nowhere left to go. In his mind the teenage hero was in turmoil, his team, his friends, were all mutated or captured. How could something like this happen? How could he fail again?

The Alien Hero immediately pulled himself out of that trap, it was not over, they were still alive, he can still save them, and he knew exactly who could help him do it.

However his train of thought was interrupted by a rising cloud of dust that appeared over a ridge a few miles ahead of him. Since that kind of situation usually means a crash of some kind, XLR8 ran towards the site to make sure that no one was hurt.

Reaching the crash site in no time, XLR8 was surprised by what he saw. First of the crashed vehicle looked like a purple Jet-ski with small wings and a jet engine. But what really caught the teenage heroes attention, were the two occupants of the vehicle. One was an attractive woman with scarlet red hair and emerald green eyes, she wore a skin tight black jump suit that left little to the imagination. She also wore a yellow belt complete with a round buckle with a red hourglass symbol on it. She wore yellow metal bracelets on each wrist that covered half of her forearms.

The beautiful woman had both bracelets aimed at one individual that the Alien Avenger new all to well. With his trademark bow and purple costume, there was no mistaking the criminal archer Hawkeye. Currently the two individuals were currently aiming their weapons at each other, however their attention was quickly caught by the arrival of the speedster alien.

The woman eyed the alien cautiously but once her eyes fell upon the Ultimatrix dial on its chest, she immediately recognized the hero.

"I'm Special Agent Black Widow of SHIELD!" She immediately called out to the hero. "Hawkeye is a fugitive of the Vault, take him down!"

However the moment she finished her sentence, an arrow immediately imbedded itself in her chest. A surge of electricity coursed through her body instantly knocking her unconscious. XLR8's eyes widened at the event and glared at the archer. The alien hero got into a fighting stance at prepared to charge, but then Hawkeye did something that XLR8 did not expect. He dropped his bow, unclipped his quiver and raised his hands.

XLR8 blinked a few times with his mouth wide open, was this really happening?

"Seriously?" the alien hero said after what seemed like an eternity. "I've been chasing you for weeks and now you just surrender. What the heck, dude?"

Hawkeye kept his neutral expression as he glanced over to the unconscious Black Widow. "Cause I finally did what I needed to do." He answered.

"Huh?" XLR8 responded raising his eyebrow and visor at the same time.

Hawkeye then looked the teen hero directly in the eye. "I'm not the traitor, she is. I found out the she was going to hand a vial of the Hulks blood to HYDRA to be weaponised. But when I confronted her about is, she called SHIELD and framed me for it. I spent months in the Vault for something I didn't do. So when the Break Out happened I took my chance to find Widow and clear my name."

XLR8 looked long and hared at the Archer. Even though he had been after him for a long time, Ben never got to look the man in the eyes. Everytime Hawkeye would always pull a last minute ditch before Ben ever got a good look at him. Now that he heard his story, the teen hero looked directly into his eyes, and what he saw what a sharp unwavering look that meant only one thing. That he believed every word he said. If there was one thing that Ben prided himself in, it was his ability to read people. He could see the good in others even if they themselves couldn't see it.

"Ok." The alien said as he lowered his stance.

Now it was Hawkeyes turn to look at him stunned. "Seriously? I just gave a speech like I'm from a cheesy action movie and you bought that. How can you be sure I'm not lying?"

"I'm pretty good at reading people." XLR8 casually replied, shrugging his shoulders. "Plus you were willing to risk getting arrested by bringing her to us in the middle of the desert. Then you can't be all bad."

Hawkeye gave the alien an incredulous look. "If the other Avengers are as trusting as you are. I fear for the future of the world."

XLR8 gave the guy a smirk as Hawkeye walked over to Black Widow and proceeded to tie her up. Once he was done he propped her up against a rock. Suddenly the communication device on Hawkeyes Skycycle began to beep, catching both heroes attention. Then the communicator produced a hologram of a familiar face.

"Attention, humanity." Came the calm, chilling voice of the Leader.

"That's, that's a restricted SHIELD frequency." Hawkeye said.

"But that's no SHIELD agent." XLR8 added as the duo watched the holographic message.

The Leader then continued his speech. "I come to you with a message.

And that message is "Do not be scared." The Gamma Dome that has formed in the American southwest is no threat. It is a promise. It is going to change the world for the better. You are weak. You suffer with your small minds and fragile bodies. And you have plunged the world into darkness with your faults. But I am here to save you. I will remake the world in my image. I will remake you in my image. You will be perfect, like me. And I will think your thoughts for you. The Gamma energy will grow to envelop the earth and you will be transformed. Your power will be my power. Accept your future, for I am your Leader. Welcome to Gamma World."

XLR8 and Hawkeye both stared at the hologram in silence, both having there own thoughts on how insane this villain was. Ruling the world is one thing, but taking away people free will is going way to far.

Hawkeye turned to Black Widow, who had regained consciousness a while ago and had heard enough of the transmission, anger burning in his eyes.

"You're part of this, aren't you?" He accused.

"Don't be stupid." Black Widow snapped back, returning the archers hard stare. "Hydra has as much to lose as anyone if that maniac takes over the world."

Black Widow then turned her attention to XLR8 and her expression softened slightly, since Hawkeye wasn't on the ground tied up when she awoke, it was clear to her that the Alien Avenger was on his side.

"The Avengers were inside that dome, weren't they?" She asked.

XLR8's dropped his head in shame. "Yes. We were all inside when the Gamma Dome came. I was the only one that got away."

Black Widow and Hawkeye both lowered their heads as well. Without the Avengers, there really was not hope.

XLR8 then lifted his head. "But not all the Avengers were inside the Dome."

This got the two super spy's attention as they looked at the alien curiously.

"We need to find the Hulk." The alien hero finished. The mood of the area instantly changed as the embers of hope were reignited.

Hawkeye immediately slapped his forehead. "Of course, Bruce Banner is the foremost expert on Gamma Energy. He and the Hulk have had run-ins with the Leader before. He'll know how to stop this." He said as he rushed over to his Skycycle.

However Black Widow looked at the Archer incredulously. "And how to you plan on finding the Hulk?" the SHIELD traitor questioned. "The Hulk has gone off the grid. Last time he did that, he disappeared for five years without anyone finding him."

Hawkeye paused for moment, she was right. Bruce and the Hulk have been able to travel across boarders and set up in numerous locations without anyone ever tracking him down. And without SHIELD resources, how was he supposed to find him?

"He's in Northern Canada." XLR8 spoke up, causing both spy's to look at him wide eyed.

"How the heck do you now that?" Hawkeye asked in a surprised tone.

Deciding to answer truthfully, as lying to a spy might not be the best course of action. XLR8 told them how he gave the Hulk a communicator he made, and that he and Hulk had been talking to each other every once and a while, while he was clearing his mind.

"Last time we talked, he said he just finished smashing some 'Claw People'." XLR8 finished.

"And you're sure he's still there?" Widow asked.

In response, XLR8 placed his claw on the Ultimatrix dial and taped the centre. The dial beeped and then projected a holograghic map of North America. On the map were two blinking, red dots. One was in Nervada, while the other was in Northern Canada.

"Pretty sure." The alien replied smugly.

Black Widow nodded her head as XLR8 deactivated the map. She then looked to Hawkeye. "We don't have much time, then. We can…

"What do you mean "we," traitor?" Hawkeye interrupted, as he hopped on his Skycycle and started the engine. "After everything you've done, there's no way I'm letting you come with us."

XLR8 moved over two the archer. "Are you sure, we should just leave her here?" he whispered. "We could at least drop her off at a police station or something?"

Hawkeye shook his head. "She is one of the most deadliest people of the planet. If we give her so much as a little wiggle room, she'll take us down before we could even blink."

XLR8 doubted that she was that good. But from the stone cold expression Hawkeye had, he felt incline to believe him.

XLR8 sighed in defeat. "Ok, but we don't have much time and I doubt your Jet-bike can get there fast enough."

Hawkeye raised an eyebrow. "What are you gonna do, speedy. Carry me?"

XLR8 shook his head. "Nope, more like I'll give your ride some improvements."

He then slapped the Ultimatrix dial and was engulfed in a blinding green light.

"UPGRADE!" the blob like alien shouted.

Hawkeye stared at the alien in awe as Upgrade placed his hands on the Skycycle and his body became liquid like as the alien flowed into the vehicle. Once he was bonded, the Skycycle adopted a more streamline shape, with longer wings and a larger, more powerful, engine.

Hawkeye whistled at the sight of his tricked out ride. "Now that's what I'm talking about." He admired as the engines hummed to life. But his musings were interrupted by one particular woman.

"Come back here!" Black Widow yelled from her restrained position. "You can't leave me like this!"

Hawkeye looked back to her and smirked. "Look on the bright side, Widow. Your new green skin will match your eyes."

"And you've already got the temper for it." Upgrade added, earning a chuckle from the archer.

"Ha Ha, good one. I like you, alien guy. I see this as the start of a wonderful partnership."

"Lets get through today first. Then we'll talk." Upgrade stated. Hawkeye nodded as he revved the engines as the enhanced Skycycle took off at unmatched speeds towards Canada, quickly leaving the Gamma Dome behind them.

Meanwhile, at the center of the Gamma Dome, on the highest level of the Stratosphere Tower, the Leader sat comfortably at his control panel. His master plan was running so smoothly that he felt as is celebrations were in order.

However there was one thing that was bothering him. He had received confirmation that the Avengers were caught in the Gamma Domes energy, which made him smile ear to ear. But that smile quickly faded when he received word that not only was Thor unaffected by the Gamma energy, but so was the Avengers shapeshifter. The Shapeshifter that escaped the Gamma Dome.

Leader didn't like that fact that an Avenger was still on the loose. Especially a hero who the Leader knew nothing about, the only information Leader had on this individual, was that he appeared on the same day as the Break Out. Other than that, there was no other data and Leader hated a lack of data.

"Bring them to me." Leader called out to the Gamma Mutants behind him. A few moments later, the mutated members of the Avengers, dragged in the unconscious forms of Thor and Doc Samson and tossed them at the base of Leaders pedestal.

"Leave me." The gamma villain ordered. Immediately the Gamma Avenger slinked off into the shadows, leaving their master with his captives. A few moments later Thor groaned as he regained consciousness, his eyes widened when he realized he was missing his most important tool.

"My hammer where…?"

"Ah, yes." Leader interrupted from his seat as he looked down at the Asguardian. "It is quite curious. My Wrecking Crew could not lift your weapon, even with their strength enhanced by my gamma boosters.

And you of all the Avengers, along with your shapeshifting teammate, were not affected by my gamma energy. Now tell me, why is that?"

Thor rose to his feet as he glared at the Gamma Villain. "Only those worthy of the thunder may wield Mjolnir, villain." He said proudly. "And as for your "energy," mortal science holds no fear for an Asgardian."

Leader eyed the Asguardian as he placed his hands together infront of his face. "Yes, yes but what of your shapeshifting ally. He is your teammate and yet he abandoned you when you needed him." He looked down at the Prince of Thunder with a sinister stare. "Don't think this changes anything, Asguardian. Even with one Avenger standing, it is far to late to stop my plan."

Thor glared back at the genius villain. "Do not be so sure. He may not be as intelligent or as resourceful as you, but I place my faith in him. He shall return and you will fall, villain."

Leader scowled at Thor's statement, if this shapeshifter was powerful enough for a god to place his faith in, then he must take special precaution's for when he returns.

Leader turned his chair away from Thor. "I suppose if gamma energy has no effect on a thunder god, then you will simply have to serve as entertainment."

At his words the Gamma Mutants started growling from the shadows as one dragged Samson away from the area, leaving Thor alone at the center of the room. Instinctively Thor held out his hand.

"Come to me, Mjol…" The Thunderer started to say before something big came up behind him and punched him with enough force to send him to the ground hard. Thor flipped himself to his back, only to see his attacker lung at him; the giant villain slammed its massive fists into the Asguardians face repeatedly with enough force to actually hurt the Thunder god.

After the onslaught Thor's face was grabbed by a three-clawed hand as he finally saw who his attacker was. "Not scared?" the raspy voice of Abomination said as held Thor close to his own scaly face. "You will be." The Monster snarled, as he tossed the Asguardian to the ground.

In the peaceful forests of Northern Canada, many people travel there to enjoy the calm and tranquil atmosphere and natural beauty of the Canadian wilderness. However today that peace was utterly destroyed by the sounds of cannon fire, followed by a mighty roar. A roar belonging to none other than The Incredible Hulk.

Currently the Hulk was engaged with the Hulkbusters, a military unit founded by General 'Thunderbolt' Ross for the specific purpose to combat the Hulk. When Hulk joined the Avengers, the Hulkbusters were called off their pursuit of the Jade Giant, but since his resignation the hunt was back on.

Currently the military unit had cornered Hulk at a stream located at the foot of a nearby mountain. Which they then proceeded to fire a barrage of explosive shells and missiles at the Gamma Giant. One of which sent the Hulk flying into a large boulder and into the water below. Groggily, Hulk rose from the water, breathing heavily. He was already tired from a previous fight before the Hulkbusters found him and he didn't even have time to catch his breath before the shells started flying. Nether the less, he may be tired, but no way Hulk is gonna go down without a fight.

The Jade Giant glared at the approaching tanks and roared a battle cry at them. In response the tanks fired several more shells at him, Hulk dodged the first shell, then punched the other two, the explosions not even phasing him. However he was then met by the stinging sensation of thousands of bullets that riddled his body as the gunners opened for on him.

While Hulk was practically invulnerable to all forms of conventional weaponry, the Hulkbusters armaments were specifically designed to be able to hurt him, even the bullets were able to sting his normally indestructible skin.

Hulk was so focused on the Tanks that he didn't even notice the gunship helicopter that was hovering above him. The chopper fired several high explosive missiles at the Hulk, resulting in a giant fiery explosion that launched the Hulk several meters before landing hard at the center of the lake. Once the ripples subsided, the chopper pilot grinned as he saw the unconscious floating form of the Hulk, lying face down in the water.

"Let General Ross know the Hulk is down. The Hulk is down." The pilot said over his comes.

Suddenly from out of nowhere an arrow, flew through the air and impacted straight into on of the choppers missile pods. The resulting explosion caused the choppers dashboard to light up like a Christmas tree as the pilot fought fiercely to regain control of his vehicle. The pilot saw something out of the corner of his eye as he turned to see who was attacking him.

Hawkeye swooped out of the sky on his Skycycle, now back to its original purple appearance. And drew an arrow from his quiver, the arrow head resembling a drill head, and fired the projectile at the gunship. The trick arrow impaled in the side of the vehicle, then with a whirring sound, the arrow drilled into the fuel tank of the chopper, causing fuel to leak out. Hawkeye then proceeded to fire two more drill arrows at the gunship allowing more fuel to leak out of the heavily armed aircraft.

"Hulkbuster unit to Ross we're taking fire from an unidentified bogey!" the pilot relayed over his radio. "We are bingo fuel and have to set down!"

At that last transmission, the chopper then pulled away from the battlefield as it searched for a suitable landing sight.

During the commotion, Hulk regained consciousness and looked up to see the damaged chopper flying off with Hawkeye in pursuit. He was so confused by what he was seeing that he failed to notice a Hulkbuster tank that aimed its barrel right at him. The tanks gunner grinned as he pulled the trigger, but noting happened. The gunner looked at his controls in confusion as he pulled the trigger several more time, and yet the gun refused to fire.

"What the…" was all the confused soldier could say before he yelped as the trigger yanked itself from his hands. The tank then shook violently as the walls of the vehicle suddenly shifted into a black color scheme with green circuitry running along it. The crew of the tank looked around in shock as the view screen, suddenly projected a green circle.

"Hi, guys." A metallic voice spoke out over the tanks speakers. "Excuse me, but I need to borrow your tank. Please keep you hands and feet close to your chairs as you launch from the ride."

Before the crew could figure out what Upgrade meant by that, the roof of the tank opened up like a sunroof. The soldiers screamed as they were ejected from the possessed tank and sailed into the air, over the trees.

Upgrade then turned the tanks enhanced weapons on the remaining Hulkbuster units and fired a powerful green bolt of energy at one of the tanks. Striking it in a vulnerable area, disabling the vehicle without harming the soldiers inside.

The explosion caught Hulks attention as he turned to see the remaining tanks, just as one of them fire at him. Hulk merely turned to his side, letting the shell fly past him, destroying boulder instead. Hulk growled as he leaped into the air, landing in front of the tank, then proceeded to grab the tanks barrel and tear of the top half of the armored vehicle. He then used the tank half to bat the lower half of the destroyed vehicle away.

Hulk grunted as he was once again bombarded by a volley of bullets from the remaining tank. Suddenly Hawkeye swooped down and passed in front of the Hulk, for him the world slowed down as he drew back his bowstring with his explosive arrow lined up. He then released his grip and the arrow soared like a homing missile as it flew down the barrel of the tanks main cannon. Fire erupted from the barrel as the crew immediately climbed out of the top hatch of the armored vehicle, moments before it was consumed by flames.

The tanks occupants got to their feet only to then notice the ten foot tall green mountain of muscle known as the Hulk, glaring at them. The green giant then unleashed a powerful roar at the soldiers, sending them into a panic as they scrambled over each other to flee into the wood.

With the fight over Hawkeye dismounted his Skycycle and walked up to the Hulk. However the reception he received from the big green hero was lest than warm.

"Leave Hulk alone." He growled at the Archer before turning his back to him.

"Leave you alone? I just saved your green hide." Hawkeye stated gesturing to the remains of the Hulkbusters tanks. "And now you get to return the favor."

Hulk merely grunted as he prepared to leave, however an enhanced Hulkbuster Tanks, with a black and green color scheme pulled up in fornt of him. Hulk watched as a blob like substance oozed out of the tank, returning it to its original form, and shaped itself into the form of Upgrade.

The teen hero gave his monstrous friend a friendly wave. "Hey Big Guy, been a while since we last talked. What's been happening?" the techno organic alien said, holding his fist up to the Hulk.

Through the combination of his voice and the symbol on his chest, Hulk immediately deduced the identity of the alien before him. The Green Giant smiled as he gave his friend a fist bump. "Good to see you too. Sorry I didn't call the other day. Been a little busy smashing."

"Yeah you mentioned that." Upgrade replied. "What did you mean when you said, you were fighting 'Claw People'?"

"Hey!" Hawkeye shouted, drawing the attention of the alien shapeshifter and the Jade Giant. "I don't mean to interrupt your little tea party here. But we have more important things to deal with."

He then looked to the Hulk. "We need some help."

Hulk raised an eye brow at that and then looked at Upgrade, who narrowed his eye at the Archer. "Dude, thought we agreed that I would do the talking."

Hawkeye simply shrugged him off. "You're taking to long. Listen up Big Green, There's a big green energy dome, turning everyone into gamma monsters. The Avengers are down and the rest of the world is next."

Hulk narrowed his eyes at the little man, his attitude really starting to tick him off.

"You want someone to fight monsters?" Hulk growled, "You should've asked them." He said, gesturing to the remains of the Hulkbusters.

Upgrade started to get concerned, they were loosing him. If Hawkeye kept this up, Hulk might just flat out refuse to help them.

The Archer in question merely smirked. "I don't need them, smart guy, and I don't need you. I need Banner."

Hulk suddenly stiffened at the mention of his alter ego, then his face shifted into absolute rage as he towered over Hawkeye, both fist raised into fighting positions. Hawkeye however stood his ground as Hulks shadow passed over him.

"Banner's not home." He growled threateningly "Now leave me alone!"

Upgrade was about to move to get in between them when Hawkeye said something, neither he nor Hulk would expect.

"Listen, Bigfoot! If you don't give me Bruce Banner in the next three seconds, bottom line? I will take you down."

The entire area went silent, even the sound of the river died down as if nature itself was holding its breath. Hawkeye glared at the Hulk, his eyes dead serious, like he believed every word he said.

At that moment Hulk did the only rational thing anyone could do if a guy with a bow an arrow threatened the strongest being on earth. He laughed. Hulk hugged his sides as he laughed at the archers threat, he laughed so hard that tears began to fall from his eyes. Even Upgrade could stop himself from laughing at the Archers threat, he said it so seriously and he was only half Hulks size that you could help but laugh.

However, Upgrades laughter ceased when he saw the bellowing Hulk, suddenly shrink down into a Caucasian male, with brown hair and a weak build. The man was still laughing, but was calming down enough to get a few words in.

"Okay. You have to give me a minute." The Scientist gasped as he recovered from his laughing fit. "He hasn't let me out in weeks."

Once he recovered, he casually pulled up his purple pants, which where now to large form him, and tightened the strap around them. Then the man turned to the two heroes revealing his scruffy beard and brown eyes. The face of Hulks alter ego, Dr. Bruce Banner.

The Gamma Scientist faced Hawkeye will a calm expression. "Now Agent Barton, tell me everything you know."

For the next few minutes Hawkeye explained everything he knew about what was happening, with Upgrade chipping in whenever Hawkeye was unclear on a few details. Bruce kept his neutral expression throughout the entire story, but Upgrade could see the gears turning in the mans head. It was so wired, to think this man was once a giant green rage monster a few seconds ago, but now it was like he was a completely different person.

Once Hawkeye finished explaining everything to the Scientist, Bruce closed his eyes for a second as he absorbed all the information.

"It would appear that Leader used the first Gamma Dome as a beta test for the real one." He theories. "And from your explanation, this second dome is far more powerful than the former. If we are to stop his plans, we are going to need some better equipment."

"How exactly are we supposed to get better equipment in the middle of the woods?" Hawkeye asked skeptically.

"During my time on the run from the government, I set up several safe houses for me to conduct my research and lay low." Bruce explained as he walked passed the Archer. "We are not to far from one of them right now." He finished.

Bruce then stopped just in front of Upgrade. The Gamma Scientist looked up at the techno organic alien with a hint of curiosity. Upgrade on the other hand, did not know how to respond to the current situation. This was the first time he has met the alter ego of his green friend, he wasn't sure if he should reintroduce himself or just act like nothings wrong. Luckily for him, Banner made the first move.

"It's nice to finally meet you in person. I'm Dr. Bruce Banner." Bruce said, holding out his hand to the transformed teen. If he possessed lungs, Upgrade would have let out a sigh of relieve as the awkward tension dissipated.

"Also if you want to turn back to normal it's ok. You can trust Agent Barton." Banner assured the transformed teen.

Upgrade looked over to Hawkeye, who raised an eyebrow at the scientists statement. While he did give the archer the benefit of the doubt, Upgrade didn't want to take the chance that his instincts could be wrong. But he trusted Banner, and if he said that Hawkeye was ok, then it's good enough for him.

Upgrade reached up and tapped the Ultimatrix dial. In a flash of green light, he transformed back into his human form, his mask securely pulled up over his nose. He trusted Banners word to let his guard down, but his identity is another thing.

Hawkeye looked the teen up and down and smirked. "What, not gonna call out your name for this one?" he asked.

"It's called a Secret Identity, dude?" Ben sarcastically replied, folding his arms over his chest.

"So you're telling me that you've got names for all your alien forms, but you don't have anything to call your human form?" the Archer said in confusion.

"I'm working on one." Ben replied. That was a lie, Ben never even considered making up a name for his human form. He figured that people would only care about his aliens rather than him, so he never bothered coming up with a hero name for himself.

Hawkeye gave the hero a skeptical look. "Exactly how long have you been doing this, kid?"

"Eight years." Ben replied.

"How come I've never heard of you?"

"I'm from an alternate dimension."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously."

"Cool."

"Excuse me." Bruce called out to the conversing heroes, who turned to see the Scientist standing behind Hawkeyes Skycycle. "The Cabin is on the other side of that mountain. If things are as bad as you say, we can't waste any more time."

Hawkeye and Ben, both gave themselves mental slaps for being so distracted.

"Right, lets get moving." Ben said as he started walking in the direction Banner pointed, setting the Ultimatrix dial to Jet Ray.

"Hey, just cause I'm teaming up with you. Doesn't mean you get to give me orders, kid." Hawkeye stated.

Ben just rolled his eyes as he raised his hand. "Just get to the cabin, Legolas. We can talk about ranks after we save the world. Sound good?"

Hawkeye tapped his chin in thought, then shrugged. "Sure, but that's only if we survive this."

"Nice to see you being optimistic about this." Ben said as he slammed the Ultimatix dial.

Las Vegas

Thor grunted as he was tossed to the floor once again after suffering a savage beating from the Abomination. While the Thors godly strength and invulnerability made it hard for most to actually hurt him, the Abominations already impressive strength was augmented by the Gamma Booster that was on his chest. Making the Gamma Villain countless times stronger than he originally was.

Weakly Thor pushed himself into a standing position and glared at the Leader, whom had his back turned to him. Apparently the master mind was getting board of his 'Entertainment.' Thor needed to keep the Leaders attention on him; he needed to give Ben the opportunity to attack with Leaders guard down. He did recall the young hero mentioning that the best way to keep a villain attention is to get them to boast about their plan.

"You call yourself Leader, but what gives you the right to lead this world?" Thor questioned, trying to play to the Villains ego. "You defeat your enemies with trickery, with the strength of others. You have no honor."

At that moment Leader turned his head to the Prince of Thunder. "You wish me to talk? Fine. Why should I lead humanity? I am the most advanced mind the world has ever seen. I think on a level normal human beings cannot begin to comprehend. Look at this world, Asgardian. Mankind is on the brink of destruction. They need me."

Thor's eyes narrowed at the Villain boast as Thunder sounded in the distance, it made him sick to his stomach when one being, thought of himself as superior to others. That they were above all others and would smite anyone who gets in their path.

But what made it worst is that at one point in time, he himself thought that he was above everyone else. That as a god, he was above the mortals and that they were all beneath him. Had his father not stripped him of his powers and banished him to Midgard, he probably would have never understood the values of humanity. And that is something that he has vowed to protect from that day.

Thor felt Abominations hand grab his shoulder to turn him around. In one fluid moment, Thor spun to face the Gamma Monster and delivered a right hook to the beasts face with such a force that he was send flying to the other side of the room, denting the wall in the process. Abomination rubbed his head and glared at the Thunderer, who raised his fists in a battle stance. Round two, had begun.

Banner's Cabin

A few minutes later, the trio arrived at Bruce Banners safe house. It was a cozy little cabin that was pretty much out of the way from everything. On the outside it didn't look like much, but the inside was another story. The inside housed a makeshift laboratory, with the walls and shelf's lined with beakers filled with chemicals and other scientific instruments. The whole scene made Ben feel like he was in a bad Sci-Fi Movie.

Wasting no time, Bruce Banner walked up to on of the desks and powered up the Computer that was on in, after brushing off the layer of dust and proceeded to type a few commands into the old desktop.

Meanwhile Ben and Hawkeye couldn't help but admire the impressive set up that the scientist had for himself.

"You did all this while you were on the run?" Hawkeye asked, barely hiding his admiration.

"Yes, and don't touch anything." Bruce didn't even turn away from his computer when he answered. The Gamma Scientist then stood up and began to work with a few chemicals that he had on the desk, mixing and measuring concoctions like it was second nature to him.

Ben watched Bruce as he worked, he was still have trouble believing that this frail man before him was one of the strongest beings on the planet. His speech, behavior and personality were nothing like the Hulks. While Hulk was loud, grumpy and a little dim, Bruce was calm, quiet and intelligent. It was almost like how Ben is when he's Rath, but there is one thing that Ben could wrap his head around. How come Hulk never turned back into Bruce until now.

"Something on your mind?" Bruce asked, snapping Ben out of his thoughts. The teen hero scratched the back of his head in embarrassment, not sure how to bring up someone split personality without being insensitive.

"Well… I just… I was thinking… that is. I was wondering…"

"How I am so different from the Hulk?" Bruce finished.

"Yeah…" Ben replied, nervously. "Sorry, I guess it's a hard topic for you."

"It's ok." Bruce replied casually, causing the teen to blink in surprise. "A lot of people have questions about my transformation onto the Hulk. You're one of the few people in the world that doesn't view him as a monster."

"You make it sound like he's a completely different person." Ben pointed out.

"Because he is." Bruce stated. Ben raised an eyebrow at this, as Banner continued. "The Hulk and I share the same body. But we are not the same person. We share this body and whenever I got angry, I turned into the Hulk and I would only turn back when he calmed done. Think of us like a literal Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

At the start, the Hulk was nothing but rage. His only thought was to attack anything and everything near him. And during that time, I would blackout. Sometimes I would get images and memory flashes of what happened when Hulk was in control. But other than that, nothing."

"What was it like?" Ben asked leaning in, interested in what the scientist had to say. Even Hawkeye leaned in to hear.

"At first I agreed with everyone else, that the Hulk was a monster and needed to be contained. But unlike the Military, I wanted to cure the gamma in my system. Destroy the Hulk before he caused any more destruction. But then I learned that I did have a consciousness inside the Hulks mind. And after our first fight with Abomination in New York, Hulk and I left the city and I made my way to another safe house. There I practiced many forms of mediation and I found a way for myself to communicate with Hulk while he's in control."

"That's how you knew who I was?" Ben asked. Bruce nodded as he placed the vile of liquid he was working on into a mixer.

"After I learned how to communicate with him, I was able to talk to him and influence him in a way. That's when I realized that the Hulk could be more than the monster people believe him to be. That he could be a force for good. That's why I convinced him to help you and the others fight Graviton."

Ben eyes widened at that statement. "Huh, Hulk never mentioned that."

"I'm not surprised." Bruce responded. "He doesn't really like me that much."

"I don't think he likes anyone, period." Hawkeye stated flatly.

Ben rolled his eyes, then turned his attention back to the scientist. "Ok this is all really interesting. But what I want to know is why haven't I seen you until now? I thought you said you turned back when Hulk calmed down?"

Bruce looked down, a solemn expression cast over his face. "In order to get the Hulk to help the Avengers, I made a deal with him. He agreed to help stop Graviton, but only if I gave him full control of the body. Stay the Hulk and never turn back to Banner."

Ben expression was beyond shocked; he couldn't believe that someone would give up control of their body. Granted it was for a noble cause but still, to be trapped inside your own body, unable to do anything but watch as life passed you by, a prisoner in you own body. Ben recalled the similar experiences he had when his own aliens took over and let's just say. Ben hated every moment of it. For someone to spend the rest of his life like that…

"That's not fair." Ben blurted out, causing the scientist to gaze up at him. "You're a living being too. You have just as much a right to experience life as everyone else. Hulk has no right to take that away from you."

"You don't understand…" Bruce started to say before Ben interrupted him.

"Oh I understand that it was for a good cause and we couldn't have won without Hulk. But that doesn't mean that you should be trapped inside while he lives free. There has to be a balance, a compromise."

Bruce looked at the teen and couldn't help but admire his spirit. He really was unlike any person he and Hulk had encountered in the past. It was no mystery why Hulk considered him a friend. Even Hawkeye was impressed by the kids speech, maybe there was some hope for the world after all.

A beeping from the mixer drew Banners attention away from the conversation. Bruce sighed as he walked over to the machine.

"We'll have to put this conversation on hold for now." Bruce said as he removed the vial from the machine. He then looked back at the teen. "Thanks for your consideration, maybe you can talk to Hulk about this later. But for now, we have to stop Leader."

Ben nodded, making a mental note to have a serious talk with his big green friend when all this was over. He then addressed Hawkeye. "Your skycycle collected quite a bit of data about the gamma energy the dome was putting off."

Hawkeye simply shrugged as he nonchalantly gazed out the window. "SHIELD likes to be thorough." He replied. Then suddenly Bruce pulled out an injector gun, loaded with the serum he was working on and injected the liquid into Hawkeyes arm.

The Archer yelped in pain. "Ow! Hey! What'd you do that for?"

"I just inoculated you." Bruce casually replied. "That will temporarily protect you from the Leader's gamma energy."

Ben couldn't help but be impressed. He was able to whip up that serum in only a few minutes. He doubted even Tony or Hank could do something like that.

Bruce then approached Ben. "I know that your aliens are immune to the effects of Gamma radiation. But on the off chance that your turn back…"

"Yeah I get it, dude" Ben said, understanding where Bruce was heading. The teen hero raised his arm and pulled back his sleeve. Bruce nodded and injected the serum into Bens arm, a pinch of pain and it was all over. Ben smiled under his mask as Bruce then walked over to a duffel bag on the table and started packing a few more items into it. Ben then frowned as he watched the Scientist with a sympathetic gaze. This man has been hunted for years, branded a fugitive and now he is finally working to save the world and he's trapped in his own body as his alter ego does it. Ben was going to have a long talk with Hulk after this.

"We're going to have to do some of this en route." Bruce said over his shoulder. "There's not much time. The longer people are exposed to the energy, the more likely the changes will become permanent."

He zipped up the bag and handed it to Hawkeye. "I've located the epicenter of the dome, that's where the Leader will be with the Gamma Energy Generator. That's what we have to destroy."

"Well, you've just got all the answers, don't you?" Hawkeye sarcastically stated, as he shouldered the duffel. "So how are we going to get to the Leader?"

"The direct route." Bruce answered with a smile as his eye suddenly glowed green.

In a few short seconds Hulk, roared as he fully transformed. He then proceeded to grab Hawkeye and place him on his back. The Archer rapped his arms around the green giants neck as he launched himself through the roof of the cabin, into the sky.

Ben Activated the Ultimatrix and turned the dial until he found the alien he needed.

"Its Hero Time." He said as he slammed the dial down.

"JET RAY!" the alien called out as he took to the sky. In hot pursuit of his teammates.

Las Vegas

The fight between Thor and Abomination was furious, the two bruisers were going at it full force. However, despite his godly strength and power, The Prince of Thunder was starting to feel fatigued. In hind sight letting himself become a punching bag of an enhanced supervillain, may have been a bad idea on his part.

Abomination unleashed another right hook to the Thunder Gods face, causing Thor to stagger back. He then unleashed another blow to Thor's face, making Thor grunt in pain as he dropped to his knee. Abomination stomped towards his opponent and raised his fist to deliver another blow. However this time Thor caught the gamma monsters giant fist in his hand. Abominations eyes widened as Thor raised his head, anger burning in his eyes. The Thunderer then countered with a punch of his own, sending Abomination flying into the base of Leaders control panel.

Leader barely batted an eye when Thor approached him. "You cannot win, you must know that." He casually stated.

"I disagree, villain." Thor countered as he held out his right hand. Thunder sounded outside the window as Thors hammer smashed through it and into Thor's awaiting hand.

"I played your game long enough to retrieve Mjolnir. And now your game is over!" Thor said in confidence. However the moment he took one step, he found his movements restricted, as it seemed the floor itself had come alive and was now enveloping his body.

"What manner of…" Thor said wide-eyed.

At that moment the Leader let an evil laugh escape from his mouth. "You feeble-minded fool! Of course I wanted you to retrieve your hammer.

I let you do it."

The moment he finished his statement the blobby mass surrounding Thor then flowed off him and then took the shape of a large muscular man in a white, sleeveless shirt and black pants.

"Nice hammer." The man said as his hand was still on the hammer. Suddenly the skin on he arm suddenly shifted into matching the same color of the hammer, the transformation continued until his entire body morphed into the same substance of Mjolnir.

"Now let me show you why they call me the Absorbing Man." Suddenly his eyes glowed red and his body began to crackle with the same lightning properties identical to Thor's hammer.

Thor face adopted the rare expression of fear as the Leader once again chuckled, catching the Asgardian's attention.

"You asked before what gives me the right to rule? Because no one can stop me." Leader said, in malevolent glee.

Things immediately went bad for Thor after that. Absorbing Man morphed his hands onto a pair of hammers resembling Mjolnir and proceeded to strike Thor with a double hammer strike. Thor attempted to block the attacks but the force behind them was enough to send the Asgardian flying into the awaiting arms of Abomination. The Gamma Mutant rapped his massive arms around the Prince of Thunder and proceeded to crush him with a bear hug.

Thor groaned as the air was squeezed out of him, the Abomination then released his grip and proceeded to swing Thor around by his cape and slam him into the floor with such a force that the steel tiles cracked. The Gamma Mutant then tossed the Prince of Thunder across the room where the Leader watched from his pedestal.

"In fourteen point seven hours, my Gamma Dome will have covered half the planet. In another eleven point four three hours, the entire world will be engulfed. Anyone within the Dome is mine to command."

Thor narrowed his eyes as he gritted his teeth at the Leaders words. However before her could react, he noticed Absorbing Man approaching him from the sides and rolled to avoid another hammer strike. He used the momentum to get back to his feet, but then Abomination came out of nowhere and sucker punched Thor. The Asguardian staggered to the side only for Absorbing Man to slam his hammer fists into Thor, sending him back where he came.

"You have lost, Asguardian." Leader boasted.

Thor growled at the Leaders comment and rose to his feet, gripping the handle of his hammer so hard that his knuckles turned white.

"NEVER!" Thor roared in defiance as he struck Abomination full force with his hammer, sending the Gamma Monster hurtling away. Absorbing Man watched his partner fly to the other side of the room. The mater-absorbing villain then charged the Asgardian, tackling he Thunderer through the window of the building, sending both Avenger and Gamma Villain plummeting to the streets below. The two impacted on the ground with the force of a small meteor.

Back with the Leader, the misogynistic villain was so used to hearing the sound of his own voice that he didn't care who was listening at this point.

"And without the Avengers, who is left to stand against me?"

No soon had he said that the roof behind him collapsed, scattering debris everywhere. Immediately after Hawkeye and Jet Ray descended into the room. Hawkeye landed on a piece of debris with and arrow drawn and aimed right at the Leader while Jet Ray floated in the air, close to the ceiling.

"You, with the head, freeze!" Hawkeye ordered pulling back his bowstring.

"Yeah, don't make us put your head back in its jar." Jet Ray

"Hey nice, you just come up with that?" Hawkeye asked tilting his head towards the flying alien, not taking his eyes off Leader.

"I had that joke loaded the moment I saw his mug shot. Been waiting for the right moment to us it." Jet Ray responded.

Just then Hulk jumped through the hole landing in front of the two heroes. Leader gave a slight grin at the sight of the Jade Giant.

"I knew you would come eventually, my old enemy." The Leader addressed the Hulk. "But you of all people must realize this is for the best. In Gamma World, no one will hunt you. No one will try and cure you. You'll be a king. Everyone who hated you, who attacked you, they will be you. Are you really going to try and stop me?"

Hawkeye and Jet Ray both looked at Hulk in suspicion. They knew that Hulk had been hunted his whole life being hunted by the government, constantly looking over his shoulder waiting for the next fight that he knew was coming. The promise of all that ending and living a quiet peaceful live would be extremely tempting for someone like him.

"No." Hulk responded, causing Hawkeye to look worried. Jet Ray however didn't look the least bit concerned; he had faith in his friends and Hulk was no exception.

"Not stop you… SMASH you!" Hulk finished, emphasizing his point by punching his fist into his palm. Hawkeye and Jet Ray both smirked at the Hulks statement.

Leader gave a mock sigh as he tilted his head. "Disappointing, but not unexpected. Abomination."

On his order, the Gamma Monster leaped over the Leaders control tower and took the Hulk to the ground.

"You ready, animal?" Abomination snarled as he stood over the Hulk. "With the Leader's tech, I'm stronger than you. I'm smarter than you. And I am going to beat you to…"

He didn't get to finish his threat as Hulk raised both his feet and proceeded to buck the Abomination through the roof. Hulk roared as he got to his feet and leaped after the Gamma Villain, leaving Hawkeye and Jet Ray alone against the Leader and the Gamma Avengers.

"You two are either very brave or very stupid. You're vastly outnumbered." Leader said gesturing to the mutants that surrounded the duo.

"That's okay." Hawkeye said as he drew a trick arrow with a different arrowhead to his usual arsenal. "I've got an arrow for each of you."

"You got these guys?" Jet Ray asked referring to his Gammaed teammates.

Hawkeye gave the manta-ray alien a confident smirk. "Yeah, I can take 'em. You just take out Cucumber Brain over there so we can end this nightmare".

Jet Ray nodded as he soared over to Leader, avoiding Gamma Wasp in the process. Leader looked up to the manta ray alien, a small grin present on his face.

"Ahh the Shapeshifter." He addressed the alien hero. "Quiet a collection of powers you have for yourself. A curious device that gauntlet you have on your wrist in your human form, and yet it appears as a symbol on each of your transformations. Quite curious. I will enjoy examining it once you are defeated and that device is torn from your body." The Gamma Villain stated venomously.

Jet Rays eyes narrowed. "You think you're so smart? Then let's see how you deal with someone with real brainpower."

He then slapped the Ultimatrix dial. In a flash of green light, Jet Ray turned into a large humanoid creature that seemed to resemble the classic Frankenstein's Monster. It had a muscular body and dark greyish yellow skin. A black mullet hairstyle with brown at the end, sideburns, and two tower-like conductor coils on its back. It wore black pants. It had stitch-like lines on his arms and wore brown gloves with its fingers showing. It had three black and green bolts on his chest and one black bolt on each side of his neck, with all bolts having a green line on them. It had white lines on his waist that connect to the Ultimtrix symbol was positioned on his pants like a belt buckle.

"FRANKENSTRIKE!" the alien yelled.

The new form looked at his hands and an annoyed expression spread across his face. "Oh come on you stupid watch. I wanted Grey Matter, not Frankenstrike."

The Leader chuckled from his platform as he watched the aliens misfortune. "You simple minded fool. Did you really think I wouldn't have a countermeasure install for you? Ever since I saw footage of your transformations immunity to my Gamma Dome, I knew that you would eventually come for me. So I brought a little insurance for when you finally arrived."

Suddenly electricity began to crackly around the walls and the floor of the room. Snaking its way until it gathered a few feet in front of Frankenstrike. The transformed teens eyes widened as the form or a familiar energy being rose before of him.

"I believe you are already acquainted with Zzzax?" The Leader asked rhetorically.

"We've met." Frankenstrike replied dryly. "Although, I remember him being a little bigger, last time I saw him. And atomized."

"Indeed. But this time, you wont have an Asguardian to face him for you." Leader stated.

Zzzax growled dangerously at the alien Avenger as it recalled it's loose to Thor back at the Cube. Frankenstrike returned its glare, tenfold. This monster hurt Wasp. He was gonna pay for what he did.

"Zzzax. Eliminate the alien." Leader ordered.

Zzzax roared as it raised it's right arm and blasted a beam of electrical energy. The beam hit Frankenstrike dead on, causing him to grit his teeth as the poured over him. Just then the two conductor coils on his back, extended slightly and the energy arcing over Frankenstrike's body, flowed into them, releasing the monster from the pain.

Zzzax looked at the alien, surprised that it's attack did little to faze him. Frankenstrike grinned as the coils on his back started to release green electricity from them. In response his hand started to crackle with the same energy.

"Let's see if you can take, what you can give." Frankenstrike growled as he fired his own blast of green electricity at Zzzax. The energy monster made no attempt to doge as the blast hit it. However instead of being pushed back or showing any sign of pain. The energy monster roared in delight as it absorbed Frankenstrike's energy, growing slightly larger in the process.

The alien heroes eyes widened, he did not see that coming. Once again the Leader chucked from his seat.

"For someone as powerful as yourself, you are remarkably simple minded. Zzzax is an energy being, capable of absorbing all forms of energy. The more he consumed, the larger and more powerful he becomes." The Leader explained as his smile grew. "The more you fight, the stronger Zzzax will become. It is hopeless, Avenger. You cannot win."

"You're not the first evil genius, with a giant ego, to tell me that." Frankenstrike retorted as his fist cracked with energy. "And you wont be the last. At some point in time I might get taken down, but not this time. Cause right now, ITS HERO TIME!"

Frankenstrike leaped into the air, both electrified fist raised, and brought both of them down on top of Zzzax's head with enough force to send both electrical beings, crashing through the floor to the level below.

While the Alien Hero and Energy Monster continued their fight on the lower levels, Leader turned his attention to the remaining pest within the room.

Hawkeye may not have any superpowers, but he more than made up for that disadvantage with his skill. He easily dodged each and every attack the Gamma Avenger threw at him. He first dodged a strike from Gamma Wasp, then proceeded to fire one of his new trick arrows at her. The arrow struck her in the center of her chest and stuck there like it was glued. The Archer then repeated this tactic until every Avenger had an arrow stuck to them.

All the while Leader watched his antics in confusion. "What do you think you are accomplishing?" the Gamma Villain questioned. "Your toys cannot hurt my creations."

Hawkeye merely smirked as he turned to face the Leader. "Yeah, I'm not a genius like you, so I found one. And he made me some new arrows." He said, holding up on of the mentioned arrows.

Suddenly the arrows attached to each of the Gamma Avengers began to glow as their bodies suddenly shifted back to their human forms. The arrow heads that Hawkeye fired at them contained an anti gamma serum that was able to cure anyone of any gamma poisoning. However as a side effect those affected by the cure will remain unconscious for a few hours.

"His name is Bruce Banner. Maybe you've heard of him?" Hawkeye mocked as the last of the Gamma Avengers was cured.

"Indeed I have." Leader snarled. The Gamma Villain then pushed a large black button on his console. Suddenly a large glass dome folded over him and the metal tower folded away to reveal a large mechanized battle suit. With two legs and a large cannon at the end of each arm.

The Mecha suit stomped forward as Hawkeyes confident smile faded.

"Great." The Archer sighed, this might be a problem.

On the floor below, things were not going so well for Frankenstrike. The alien hero was tossed against the wall by Zzzax, who then proceeded to blasts him with large volts of electricity. Frankenstrike grunted in pain, his natural resistance to electricity pushed well beyond its limits.

Eventually Zzzax stopped it's assault, allowing Frankenstrike to fall to the ground with a loud thud. The alien hero groaned as he got back to his feet, groggily.

"Ugh, this isn't working." Frankenstrike thought aloud. "He's taking everything I've got and sending it back double. Lets see if I can't lighten his load with Chromastone."

He then slapped the Ultimatrix dial. In a flash of green light Frankenstrike transformed, but not into Chromastone. Instead, he turned into an ape-like creature with yellow and black fur, along with grey fingers and toes with two bolts on the side of his wrist. It had green eyes with black pupils and yellow horns in the shape of a trident. He also has a green belt where the Ultimatrix symbol is located.

"SHOCKSQUASH!"

Once the transformation was complete, the Yeti-like alien realised that, once again, he wasn't the form he wanted. "Seriously, twice in a row. What's with this thing, it's like it's trying to kill me, Eh."

He looked up just in time to see Zzzax lung at him. Using his enhanced reflexed, Shocksquash easily leaped over the energy monster. Zzzax then turned and tried several times to strike the Yeti alien and each time Shocksquash was narrowly able to dodge it.

The whole time he was doing that he was trying to figure out the Ultimatrix's malfunction. It didn't usually give him the wrong transformation multiple times in a row, and even when it did, what were the odds that they would be aliens that put him at a complete disadvantage to his currents opponent. There had to be a reason this was happening, but he just couldn't see it.

"Ok, one more try." Shocksquash said as he reached up for the dial once more. "Let's hope I get something useful this time, eh."

He then tapped the symbol and the room was bathed in a green light once again. Once the light faded, Shocksquash was replaced by a large, orange, crab-like creature, with a large head, six legs and two pincers. It wore a grey brace around its waist, with the Ultimatrix symbol at the center.

"BRAINSTORM." The alien called out in a British accent. "Well, at least this form provides additional capabilities than electrokinesis."

The crab like alien then turned his gaze to the energy monster as it prepared to strike him again. Almost instantly, Brainstorm calculated why the Ultimatrix was acting so funny. "Of course, it's subsequently unpretentious. Energy parasites, like yourself, emit an electrical energy field. Increasing an electrical devices output in order to syphon off the excess energy. You are the cause of my mis-transformations."

Zzzax roared as he fired two beams of electrical energy at the alien hero. In response, the top of Brainstorms head split in half, revealing his large brain inside. Yellow electricity sparkled across the cranium before it fired out and surrounded the crab-alien in a dome of electrical energy. Zzzax's attack struck against Brainstorms shield, but despite the power behind it, the shield held strong.

Brainstorm grinned as his shield faded, while he new that Zzzax's power is extremely powerful, if there was one thing he new about energy absorbers. They always had limits.

"Ok you Electrical Parasite. Let us test the upper limits of your absorption capabilities." Brainstorm then fired a massive beam of electricity at Zzzax, striking the creature in the center of its chest.

The energy monster grinned as it absorbed the energy, growing larger and larger as it fed on the electrical energy. Brainstorm grunted at the mental load of his attack, but he continued pouring on the energy, putting all his concentration into the beam.

A few seconds later, Zzzax's confident expression quickly shifted into one of discomfort. His body beginning to swell and bulge in random places as his ability to absorb energy has far exceeded his limits and it was only a matter of seconds before he went critical.

Zzzax let out one more roar before he exploded into a massive display of light, causing Brainstorm to shield his eyes from the intensity. Once the light faded, the alien hero saw the unconscious form of Zzzax, who's body was glowing dimly from the lack of energy.

"Do refrain from wondering off until this debacle is over." Brainstorm told the unconscious energy monster. "Now I must attend to the primary purpose for my presence at this location."

Brainstorm gazed up at the hole in the ceiling, the sound of laser cannons and explosives echoing through. Seeing a large slab of debris from his fight with Zzzax, he crawled onto the largest piece and opened his skull plates. Yellow electricity arced out and spread across the slab, Brainstorm then focused as he used his electrokinesis to telepathically lift the slab off the ground, elevating him back into the fray.

Meanwhile, down on the streets below, Absorbing Man was wailing on Thor. The matter-absorbing villain landed blow after blow to the Asgardian, knocking him back with each strike. But for some unknown reason, Thor was not fighting back. The Prince of Thunder made no attempt to avoid or block Absorbing Mans strikes, he just let the villain hit him over and over, something the villain was getting annoyed by.

"Fight back!" Absorbing Man yelled, while he maybe a villain, at his core was his love for a good fight. Ever since his days in the boxing ring, and any fighter would hate it when their opponent would go down so easy.

But Thor still made no attempt to retaliate; he simply closed his eyes like he was focusing on something.

"I cannot, for I am concentrating." Thor said in a calm tone.

Absorbing Man grinned his teeth, the Asguardians attitude to the fight was really getting on his last nerves. The matter-absorbing villain raised his hammer fist once more and aimed it right at Thors face. However, much to his surprise, his fist stopped just short of the Thunderers face. Absorbing Man struggled but found that his movements had been completely restricted.

"I can't move! What's going on?" Absorbing Man grunted as his limbs failed to comply with his orders to move.

Thor looked at the villain, his expression completely focused on his task. "You were foolish to take on the essence of Mjolnir, mortal." Thor said as he raised his left hand. In response, Absorbing Man levitated off the ground, into the air.

"The hammer's power is not yours to control, it is mine."

With that Thor then willed the villain higher until Absorbing Man, shot into the sky like a missile.

Back in the tower, Hawkeye was having difficulty dealing with the Leader. The Gamma Villain aimed his Mecha suits cannons as they fired green bolts of energy at the Archer. It was thanks to Hawkeyes years of training and skills that he was able to avoid them.

After dodging another bolt, Hawkeye drew and explosive an arrow from his quiver and fired it straight at the Leader. The projectile exploded on the Mechas cockpit, but as that smock cleared, Hawkeye was disappointed to see that not only was the metal giant still standing, but the explosion didn't even leave a scratch on the armor. Hawkeye groaned as he dodged another volley of energy blasts.

"My genius cannot be defeated!" Leader gloated from inside the suit. "I've planned for every contingency!"

"Too bad you're such a lousy shot then, cucumber head." Hawkeye said as he charged forward, another arrow drawn. He then fired the arrow which collided with the Mecha suit. Electricity surged forth, causing the robotic battle suits movements to become sluggish for a brief moment. That moment was enough for Hawkeye to close the distance between him and Leader, in order for him to search for a weak point in the suits armor. However there didn't seem to be one, at least there wasn't one he could exploit. He maybe a skilled fighter and arguably the best sharpshooter in the world, but even he knows when no amount of trick arrows will help him in this situation. He needed muscle, and with most of the Avengers out cold and the rest in their own brawls, he needed to find a way to level the playing field.

His musings were interrupted when Leaders suit fired a beam in front of his feet, knocking him off balance and sent him tumbling to the floor. Hawkeye grunted as lifted his head in time to see the Leader standing over him with one of the cannons aimed right at him.

A slick, evil grin spread across Leaders face. "A valiant effort, Archer. But your luck has run out."

The cannon then charged up and fired. Hawkeye closed his eyes and waited for the impact. He felt the ground shack from the impact, but that was it. No heat, no pain, no stinging sensation. Nothing.

Confused Hawkeye peaked out of one eye, then both shot open in shock. the Archer was sitting inside a yellow dome of electrical energy, that shielded him from the laser.

Leader stared equally wide eyed as he noticed a current of electricity arcing out of the dome. Following the stream, Leader and Hawkeyes gaze fell upon the source of the energy, Brainstorm.

Leader snarled in annoyance at the sight of the alien hero. "How is this possible? Zzzax should have drained the energy from your device, leaving you helpless."

"Yes, an impressive tactic. If I do admit myself." Brainstorm stated. "However a presumptuous narcissistic simpleton like yourself can undoubtedly fail to observe the most discernable aspect."

The vain in Leader head throbbed in annoyance at the intellectual insults the alien hero was throwing his way.

"You dare insult my intellect. I possess the most advanced mind on this planet, I have made plans and calculations for every possible outcome." Leader boasted, turning his Mechas aim towards the crab-like alien. "You truly believe that you can outsmart me because your head is bigger?"

Brainstorm simple stood his ground, unflinching and smirked at the Gamma Villain. "Oh no, good sir. I'm implying that I can outsmart you because my brain is bigger!"

Brainstorm's, skull plates opened up and several streams of electrical energy shot out and stuck the Leaders Mecha. The voltage behind the attack, left the electrical symbols in complete disarray. Leader snarled as he was forced to manually reboot the battle suit.

That delay gave Brainstorm enough time to make his way over to Hawkeye, just as the Archer got warily to his feet. "Are you able to continue?"

"Yeah, I'm good." Hawkeye replied as he noticed Leaders suit was starting to power up again. He looked back to the transformed teen. "So what's the plan, Genius."

Brainstorm took a moment to explain his plan, having to dumb down his usual speech so the Archer could follow. Once he was done, Hawkeye nodded. At that moment Leader suit came back online and turned to face the heroes, a cannon aimed at each of them.

Hawkeye quickly pulled a grapple arrow from his quiver and fired a line through the hole in the roof Hulk had made. The line then retracted, pulling Hawkeye up through the hole, quickly followed by Brainstorm, who levitated another piece of debris to stand on.

Leader yelled in frustration as he piloted his battle suit until it was directly under the hole. The soles of the suits boots ignited in a ragging inferno as the suits jet propulsion systems launched itself in pursued of the two heroes.

Meanwhile, on the roof, the two Gamma Bruisers where going full force. Hulk and Abomination slammed into each other, locking their hands as they tried to overpower one and other. Abomination was able to break the stalemate with a swift kick to Hulks stomach. Hulk grunted as he was forced back, but recovered enough to raise his arms to block a right hook from Abomination. The force behind the punch was enough to send Hulk skidding back a few meters.

Hulk growled and then charged at his opponent and delivered a powerful haymaker to the Gamma Mutants face, stunning him. Hulk then delivered several more powerful punches before finishing his onslaught with a powerful uppercut sending Abomination flying across the roof.

Abomination grunted as he groggily pushed himself of the ground. Realizing that he was loosing this fight, Abomination decided it was time to pull out his trump card. Placing his right hand on the Gamma Booster on the left side of his chest, Abomination felt a rush of energy as the device drastically boosted the gamma in his system. This caused his muscles to grow and his already formidable strength to be greatly enhanced then it previously was. Not to mention it also added a few extra feet to his height, allowing the Gamma Mutant to finally look down at his enemy.

Hulk growled once more, completely unfazed by Abominations sudden growth and charged forward, cocking back his left fist. However, much to Hulks surprise, Abomination caught the fist without a problem. Hulks eyes widened as Abomination reeled back his head and delivered a massive head-butt to Hulks head, stunning the Gamma Hero, leaving him open for Abomination to deliver a haymaker to Hulks face. The force of the strike sent Hulk flying into the Gamma Generator, which he then proceeded to bounce off and fall to the floor, landing on his back.

Hulk ground as his vision came back into focus, only to see Abomination standing over him with his foot raised. Hulk reached out to catch the monsters foot. But due to Abominations enhanced strength, he easily pushed his foot down on Hulks chest pinning him to the ground. Hulk growled, his anger growing by the second.

"I'll always beat you, Hulk." Abomination said, triumphantly. "Do you hear me? I'm better than you in every way!"

Abomination expected Hulk to roar something back, or start fighting harder against him. Instead the Green Goliath smirked and glanced behind him.

"But I've got something you don't. Backup."

Abomination looked up to see Hawkeye aiming an anti gamma arrow at him. The Archer released his grip and the arrow flew straight into the Gamma Villains forehead.

Instantly Abomination could feel the extra power being drained out of him. He tried reaching for the gamma booster once more, only for a bolt of electricity to strike the device, destroying it.

Abomination looked around to see Brainstorm closing his skull plates and looking rather pleased with himself. The crab-like alien then pointed his pincer to Abominations left and the Gamma Monster turned to see a very enraged Hulk standing a few feet from him. Hulk roared as he charged Abomination once more and threw a powerful haymaker at the villain. The impact was so powerful that Abomination was sent flying of the top of the tower, over the Las Vegas skyline and far of into the distance, disappearing into the horizon.

Hawkeye and Brainstorm stood rooted to the spot in surprise. Neither of them had seen Hulk display that amount of strength in a fight, sure Brainstorm had seen Hulk fight against the power of Gravity be put on him. But he'd never seen Hulk hit something with enough force to send it over the horizon.

Just then their musings were interrupted by a rumbling sound, followed by the whole roof top shaking. Hawkeye looked back and then leap away from the hole in the roof, just as Leaders Mecha suit blasted through. The three heroes gathered together as Leader stood a few meters from them.

"The three of you think you can defeat me?" The Leader said arrogantly. "I have already calculated a thousand ways to destroy you both."

Just then the sound of far off screaming, caught everyone's attention. They all looked up to see the descending form of Absorbing Man fall out of the sky, straight at the Leader. The Gamma Villains eyes widened as he couldn't react in time to prevent the matter-absorbing villain from colliding into him.

Absorbing Man crashed into Leaders Mecha suit like a speeding missile, effectively destroying the machine and knocking it to the ground.

He was soon followed by Thor, who descended from the sky, and joined his fellow heroes.

"Destroy? You do not know the meaning of the word, Leader." The Asguardian stated.

"I'm wagering that he did not factor that into his calculations." Brainstorm quipped. Earning a smirked from Hawkeye and a grunt from Hulk.

"You really want to hurt the Leader?" Hulk questioned as he walked away from the group. "This is how."

He then approached the Gamma Generator and grabbed it with both hands. The sound of groaning metal and tearing electrical wires was heard as Hulk tore the Generator of the building.

"No!" the Leader screamed. As he did the feedback energy caused the Leaders headband to malfunction, the resulting surge of energy caused the Leaders already unusually large head to grow and expand, making it resemble that of a head of cabbage rather than a cucumber.

Once the generator was completely wrenched free, Hulk gave a mighty roar as he tossed the Generator into the air at such speeds that Brainstorm calculated that it would have exited the Earths atmosphere.

Almost immediately the Gamma Dome disappeared. The green energy that threatened to engulf the world, dissipated. Leaving no trace of the toxic nightmare. All around the city and beyond, the people who were affected by the gamma energy were returning to normal, minus a few torn clothes here and there, just as the sun rose over the horizon.

Brainstorm tapped the Ultimatrix dial, returning back to human form.

"Do you think you can do that, without blinding everyone?" Hawkeye enquired, rubbing his eye.

Ben chuckled as he saw Hulk walk over to where Leader was crawling out of the wreackage of his damaged Mecha. The defeated villain crawled a few meters before rolling onto his back, gazing up at Hulk.

"It would have been glorious." Leader mused. "I was creating the perfect world all in my image."

Hulk merely raised an eyebrow. "That's the problem. You're ugly."

Several hour later, a SHIELD response team came into the city and set up treatment camps to deal with anyone who was injured in the chaos of Gamma World. This time however Ben straight up refused to go through the treatment again, once was enough. They also rounded up all the Villains including Leader, Absorbing Man and Zzzax. The only one unaccounted for was Abomination.

But something the teenage hero did have to deal with was preventing SHIELD from arresting Hawkeye. After saving the world with him, Ben momentarily forgot that Hawkeye was still considered as a criminal. It was only until Hulk threatened to smash them did they consider hearing the Archers side of the story.

Another hour latter, a now normal Phil Coulson was reviewing the evidence that Hawkeye provided for him.

"Footage from your skycycle confirms your story. The Widow is working for Hydra. I sent agents to her location, but she was long gone."

"She's good, I'll give her that." Hawkeye admitted, crossing his arms over his chest, slightly annoyed that she got away.

"You're cleared, Hawkeye." Agent Coulson said, as he held his hand out to the Archer. "Your SHIELD special agent status will be reinstated."

Hawkeye gave the Agent an incredulous look. "You mean the same SHIELD that locked me up? Yeah, no thanks. I'm going after the Widow on my own."

He stood up and prepared to walk away, when Iron Man walked up to him. "Here's another option join us. Join the Avengers."

Hawkeye looked over the beaten up team, their suits and uniforms all torn from the effects of the mutation.

"I don't think so." Hawkeye said coldly. "Look how easily the Leader took you guys out. I'm better off on my own."

Hawkeye then turned around and walked past Thor, who then turned his attention to the Hulk, who just stood to the side with his usual scowl.

"And what of you?" The Asgardian asked the Jade Giant. "Will you walk away as well? You are indeed a noble warrior, Hulk one who has saved the Avengers, and now helped save the world. I would trust you with my life. Will you trust us?"

Hulk merely grunted as he looked away from Thor for a moment. He was still unsure about coming back to the team. But as he thought, he remembered how different his life was when he was with them. He wasn't chased everyday by the Hulkbusters, he wasn't moving from one place to the next and sure some of the others like Thor and Iron Man got on his nerves, but he also had a friend in Ben. Someone who didn't see him as a monster and who actually made an effort to be his friend, even when he tried to push him away.

Hulk reached down to his pocket and felt the communicator Ben gave him. He could have thrown it away at any point, but he kept it. And he was glad he did.

Looking over to where Hawkeye was marching away, the Gamma Hero grunted. "I'll stay if Cupid stays."

Hearing what Hulk said, Hawkeye immediately froze and swiftly turned around, marching straight back the Hulk.

"You want to go, jade jaws? Right here and now? Let's do this!" The Archer threatened, basically his own way of saying that he's in.

Iron Man merely watched the scene, raised an eyebrow. "Okay.

This is going to be fun."

Ben, who was watching the event, smiled. He was glad that Hulk was back and that he managed to get Hawkeye to stay. The guy deserved a second chance, not to mention he was a pretty cool dude, when he's not be a jerk.

His musings were interrupted when he felt someone punch him in the arm. Jumping in surprise he turned to see the smiling face of Carol Danvers.

"Hey, Alien X. Nice job saving the world." The SHIELD agent complimented.

Ben could help but smile as he rubbed his sore arm, only now realizing how tired he was.

"All in a days work, Carol." The teen hero said confidently. Carol rolled her eyes, but then Ben's expression turned serious. "I'm really glad your ok"

"Thanks." Carol responded, tucking a loose strain of hair behind her ear and diverting her gaze to try and hide the blush that was forming on her checks. For some reason she was having difficulty looking Ben in the eyes, making the teen hero curious.

"Carol, are you sure you ok?"

"Yes, I'm fine, Ben." She insisted, the blush on her face, intensifying. She then took a deep breath and forced herself to look at him. "Hey Ben, I don't remember much about what happened when the Gamma Dome hit us. But I do remember that after all this started, you were going to ask me something. What was it?"

Bens eyes widened as the memories came rushing back to him. He recalled his attempt to ask her out just before the Dome hit them, turning everyone he cared about into monsters.

What the heck was he thinking? Since joining the Avengers, Ben thought that since everyone was a super powered hero, and that Carol was an Agent of a world peace keeping organisation, that he wouldn't need to worry about loosing anyone cause they could take care of themselves. Then again so could Gwen, Kevin, Grandpa and Julie, and look what happened to them. And with these recent events, it just showed Ben that everything could be taken from him just as easy.

No, he won't go through that again, he couldn't form that kind of connection with anyone ever again. Despite how he felt towards Carol, he couldn't put her in that kind of danger. And with the villains of this world still out there, he couldn't make her a target.

Ben took a deep breath and tuned away from Carol, a solemn look in his eyes. "I was nothing. Just forget about it."

Carol looked a little disappointed by what he said, like someone just said she'd won the lottery, only for it to have all been a prank.

"Oh…Ok then." She said sadly. The two just stood next to each other in awkward silence saying nothing as everyone moved around them.

Carol subtly glanced over at Ben, she couldn't understand why he was being like this. What happened to him to make him like this? These where answers she was desperate to find out. But she couldn't force him; he needed to talk in his own time.

An idea, suddenly formed in her head. "Hey, Ben."

The teen hero looked at her. "There's this place in Vegas I know of that makes some really good Chilly Fries. You wanna go get some?"

Bens head immediately perked up. "You like Chilly Fries?"

"Of course I do, the chillier the better. Why, do you like them?"

"They're only my second favourite food in the world." Ben exclaimed.

"Really?" Carol asked, her excitement growing. "Me too."

"Awesome, where is this place."

"It's only a few blocks down the road." Carol explained, gesturing in the direction. "I hope the place is still in one piece. And that it's open."

"Cool." Ben said as the two started walking in that direction.

"And I don't want any argument. I'm buying this time." Carol said firmly, with a playful tone.

"Oh really. Why's that?" Ben asked.

"Because you saved my life a few time when we were in the Cube together. I never got a chance to thank you properly, so this is how I'm doing it."

Ben couldn't help but smile. Sure he still wasn't ready to open up to anyone yet. But as long as he had a good friend like Carol, it made things that much more easier.

Deep in the middle of the scorching desert, the temperature was so high that even the native reptiles, scrambled to find shade or risk being overheated. However one scaly creature was having a little trouble finding a bit of shade.

The Abomination panted and he crawled on all fours across the dusty plain. He was beaten, exhausted and now dehydrated. Without the Leader, he wasn't sure how he would be able to make it on his own. He may be a monster, but before that he was a soldier. He needed a group to work with or he would just be picked off by the Avengers and put right back into prison along with the others.

He suddenly felt the winds shift as a shadow suddenly appeared in front of him. Looking up, Abomination came face to face with Baron Zemo. Accompanying the former HYDRA leader was Enchantress, Executioner, Taskmaster and two others Abomination didn't recognize.

One was a being clad in a large, dark red suit of high tech armor. It had a large glass dome over his head, with a helmet that contained a white V shaped visor. This was Crimson Dynamo, a supervillain that was imprisoned in the Vault.

Next to him was what looked like a man, only he's entire body was purple, with purple smoke flowing off his shoulders. He eyes were red, but other than that he looked like an average human. He was called Wonder Man.

Baron Zemo looked down at Abomination, standing tall and proud at the head of the group.

"Hello, Mister Blonsky."

Again, sorry about the wait. But I hope you all enjoyed this chapter.

As usual if you have any suggestions or ideas for any future chapters, please PM me.

Until next time, Captain Rex 75, Out.