Crisis In The Sky Three

Please note their where changes made to the previous chapter, for clarity please refer to the previous chapter.

Hulk vs. Rath – The Ultimate Showdown

The Helicarrier trembled like a sinking ship, its steel beams groaning under the weight of destruction. The CRACK of Hulk's fists echoed through the hangar as he glared at his latest challenger.

Opposite him, Rath rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck, flexing his enormous arms. The tiger-striped alien bounced on his feet, throwing a few warm-up punches like a wrestler gearing up for the main event.

"Oh, you wanna rumble, big guy?! You think you're the strongest there is?! Lemme tell ya somethin'—RATH is the toughest, roughest, most suplex-slingin', butt-kickin' champion this side of the galaxy! And you? YOU'RE JUST A WARM-UP MATCH!"

Hulk grunted, unimpressed. With a low growl, he slammed both fists into the ground—BOOM! The impact sent a shockwave ripping through the deck, flipping jets and rattling steel beams. The sheer force nearly knocked Rath off his feet.

Rath grinned. "Oh-ho! So we're playin' THAT game?! Alright, lemme show ya how a REAL powerhouse does it!"

With a thunderous roar, Rath launched himself forward, twisting mid-air—his claws flexed as he grabbed Hulk's arm and yanked him into a devastating Irish whip, sending the green behemoth hurtling across the hangar.

Hulk crashed into a fighter jet, crumpling metal under his sheer weight.

From behind cover, the few SHIELD agents still brave enough to watch gasped.

Rath threw his arms wide. "Oh yeah, baby! THAT'S WHAT RATH CALLS AN INCURSEAN AMBASSADOR!" He flexed for an audience that definitely wasn't there.

A low growl rumbled from the wreckage. Hulk burst free, more pissed than injured. With a thunderous leap, he closed the distance and swung a wild haymaker.

Rath ducked at the last second, pivoting like a pro-wrestler dodging a clothesline. He popped up behind Hulk, arms snapping around his waist—and with a mighty roar—

"SHEER! COSMIC! DROP!"

—Rath heaved Hulk off the ground, flipping him into a picture-perfect German suplex.

The Helicarrier shook as Hulk's head and shoulders slammed into the steel deck, leaving a deep crater.

SHIELD agents stared in stunned disbelief.

Hulk groaned, rolling from the wreckage—dazed for only a moment before pushing himself back up.

Rath stalked forward, rolling his shoulders. "Oh, you still want more?! Then bring it, big guy! Give Rath your best shot!"

Hulk roared in frustration and fury. This time, instead of a punch, he grabbed Rath by the legs, yanked him off his feet, and spun him like a tornado, building momentum before launching him across the hangar.

"WHOOOOAAAA—!"

Rath sailed through the air before slamming back-first into a reinforced steel wall. The impact left a tiger-shaped dent.

Hulk pounded his chest triumphantly.

"HULK—"

"YEAH, YEAH, I GET IT! YOU SMASH!" Rath groaned, peeling himself free. He shook off the impact, dusting himself off like it was nothing.

"Alright, pal, you wanna play dirty?! Rath's got a move for that!"

With a sudden burst of speed, Rath charged, weaving left, then right, before leaping high with claws extended—

"CAPELLAN VOMIT COMET!"

He landed on Hulk's shoulders, locked his legs around his neck, and flipped backward, hurling the green behemoth with a hurricanrana.

Hulk smashed into a jet engine, sparks and flames bursting outward.

Even Rath looked momentarily impressed. Then, he placed his hands on his hips and grinned.

"WHO'S THE ALPHA NOW?!"

Silence.

The wreckage stirred.

Hulk rose. Slowly. Deliberately. His massive hands flexed, cracking his neck, his green eyes burning with pure, unfiltered rage.

Then, he took a step forward.

Another.

Rath's grin faltered. "Oh, boy."

Hulk snarled.

"HULK… SMASH."

And then—

He charged.

A freight train of green destruction, fists cocked back with the force of a missile strike.

Rath had a split second to react.

"Oh, CRUD—"

Then—BOOM!

Hulk's fist collided, sending Rath hurtling across the entire hangar, through three reinforced walls, before finally slamming onto the open deck of the Helicarrier.

Silence.

A moment passed. Then another.

Then—a hand twitched in the wreckage.

Slowly, Rath peeled himself out of the debris, staggering upright like a wrestler who refused to stay down.

From across the hangar, Hulk watched.

Rath wiped the blood from his mouth.

Then, he grinned.

"Okay… okay… now that? That was a NICE HIT."

Control Room – Helicarrier

"Sir, we're getting reports of a giant bipedal tiger brawling the Hulk in the flight deck."

Nick Fury and Agent Hill looked over their monitors, watching the battle unfold in real-time.

Fury narrowed his eye. "Tennyson?"

Hill hesitated before answering. "Sir, Thor is currently engaging Loki on B-16 to prevent his escape."

Fury sighed, quickly assessing the situation. "Alright. Full evacuation on the lower hangar bay. Get it done."

Hill nodded and turned to leave—

CLANK.

A grenade rolled into the room.

"GRENADE!" Hill shouted as the explosion went off, sending her tumbling down the steps.

Fury didn't hesitate. He drew his pistol and fired toward the entrance, taking cover behind a console. A handful of Barton's men stormed in, their weapons raised.

Gunfire erupted.

A brutal exchange of bullets and hand-to-hand combat followed. Fury took down two of them, but as he turned—

BANG!

A SHIELD operative in disguise aimed—

THWIP!

A single, precise shot rang out. Fury turned to see Hill, bruised but still standing, lowering her smoking sidearm.

"We got a perimeter breach!" an agent reported through comms. "Hostiles disguised in SHIELD gear—lock down every junction!"

Elsewhere on the Helicarrier

Agent Coulson approached the armory door, scanning his face for clearance. The system beeped, and the door hissed open. Without hesitation, he stepped inside.

Meanwhile—

CRASH!

Hulk smashed through the floor, sending Rath tumbling into another room.

In a flash, Hulk seized Rath by the throat. His grip was like a vise, muscles bulging as he squeezed.

Rath snarled. Then, with a feral grin, he sliced his claws across Hulk's arm.

Dark green blood splattered onto the floor.

With a furious roar, the Hulk flung Rath aside.

"Hey! Rath doesn't like being strangled!" Rath gasped, clutching his neck as he caught his breath. His eyes darted to the Hulk's wound—where torn green skin seamlessly stitched itself back together, a testament to the monster's incredible healing factor.

"Sir, you only have three minutes of transformation time left," Olivia's voice crackled through the comms, laced with urgency. She knew all too well how drastically Ben's 's personality changed during transformation, and the longer this fight dragged on, the worse it could get.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Rath muttered, brushing off Olivia's warning. Right now, proving he was the strongest mattered more.

Meanwhile, on the Helicarrier bridge, chaos erupted. Gunfire echoed as S.H.I.E.L.D. agents exchanged fire with a squad of brutally efficient tactical soldiers. The sharp crack of bullets and the desperate shouts of operatives filled the air.

"Sir, the fight between Tennyson and the Hulk is escalating," Hill reported, dropping two hostiles before ducking behind cover. "Reports are coming in from shuttle levels two, five, and six. Those two are going to tear this place apart!"

"Tennyson! Do you copy?" Fury barked into his earpiece over the cacophony of gunfire.

"Yeah, what? I'm kinda in th—ah, middle of—something here!" Rath's voice crackled through the comms, laced with irritation. The sounds of combat—thunderous impacts and snarling roars—accompanied him.

"Get the Hulk off my ship! I don't care how—just do it. Now!" Fury ordered, firing his pistol between words.

On shuttle level four, Rath and the Hulk were locked in a brutal brawl, each blow reverberating through the hangar.

"Sir, Engine One just lost all power!" Olivia's voice held a sharp edge of urgency. "You have one minute until Omnitrix timeout!"

Before Rath could react, the Hulk's colossal fist slammed into his gut, sending him skidding across the floor.

"Attention! Agent Barton just took out our systems—he's headed for the detention level! Does anybody copy?!" Fury's voice cut through the Omnitrix communication on Rath's chest.

Rath squinted, feeling the Helicarrier losing altitude beneath him. He glanced at the massive, shattered window—his frustration bubbling. He didn't want to end this fight on an inconclusive note, but dragging it out any longer was a risk to both himself and the entire ship.

"Hey, this doesn't mean you won, alright?" Rath growled. The Hulk paused, confused by the talking tiger's words.

Seizing the moment, Rath let out a feral roar and surged forward with astonishing speed. He darted behind the Hulk, his sinewy arms coiling around the monster's head like a steel vice.

Every muscle in Rath's body tensed as he hoisted the Hulk into the air. The floor trembled beneath them.

" PHALANX THROW!" Rath bellowed, his voice booming through the hangar.

With raw, untamed power, he hurled the Hulk through the gaping window. The glass exploded outward in a glittering cascade as the green behemoth hurtled toward the earth below, his surprised bellow echoing through the air.

Rath stood at the shattered window's edge, panting, the thrill of battle still surging through him.

"This isn't over, big guy!" he shouted after the plummeting Hulk, his voice a mix of exhilaration and challenge.

"Sir, it seems Mr. Stark is currently being chewed up in the engine rotors," Olivia reported, her tone dry despite the dire situation.

Rath frowned. "And what does that have to do with me?"

A beat of silence. Then Olivia sighed, exasperated.

"Sir. Jetray."

"Oh. Right. Totally forgot about him."

Rath tapped the Omnitrix on his chest.

"Jetray!"

His form shifted in a flash of green light, but as soon as his transformation completed, the Omnitrix symbol on his chest flickered and beeped insistently. Time was running out.

Not wasting a second, Jetray shot forward, bursting through the shattered glass window in a streak of red and yellow.

With the world blurring past him, he spotted the engine, its massive rotors still spinning at deadly speed. Too fast to reach Stark at his normal speed. 

Jetray accelerated, the world around him slowing to a crawl. Twisting through the rotating blades with expert agility, he reached out with his tail, snatching Iron Man from the deadly vortex.

Just as he cleared the engine, his time ran out.

With a sudden green flash, Ben was back in human form.

Momentum carried him forward—straight into the ground. He crashed hard, rolling across the deck with a groan.

Above, Tony, now freed, stabilized himself mid-air. His armor, battered and smoking, whirred to life. Without missing a beat, he fired a repulsor blast at an approaching enemy soldier, dropping him instantly.

"Hey! What happened to pulling the lever when I gave the signal?!" Tony snapped, his irritation evident.

Ben, groaning as he pushed himself up, dusted off his jacket. "How about a thank you for saving your life?"

Before Tony could retort, Steve cut in, voice firm.

"This isn't the time for this. We need to stop them from escaping the carrier!"

His words snapped them both back to reality. The battle wasn't over yet.

Meanwhile, Thor and Loki stood face to face, their eyes locked in a tense stare. Once bound by blood, the brothers were now adversaries, caught in a battle of wills. Standing in a mess of debris sparks flying all over the room, with Hydra weapons laying all over the floor.

Thor had hoped to reason with his younger brother—to make him see the error of his ways and stop his people from opening up a portal to unleash an army. 

"Loki, you don't have to do this," Thor urged, his voice firm yet pleading. "You can still make amends for your crimes. This can all come to an end."

Loki smirked, stepping forward with an air of amusement. "Brother, ever so righteous. If you relinquish the throne of Asgard and swear allegiance to me as its rightful ruler… well, then, I might consider it."

Thor tightened his grip on Mjolnir, his resolve unwavering. "Your thirst for power has blinded you, Loki. I will not let you endanger innocent lives any longer."

With a flick of his wrist, Loki conjured multiple illusions of himself, momentarily disorienting Thor. Seizing the advantage, he unleashed a barrage of searing magical blasts, forcing Thor onto the defensive. Sparks flew as Mjolnir deflected the attacks, and with a thunderous roar, Thor summoned the storm. Lightning crackled through the air as he retaliated, each strike shaking the very foundations of the Helicarrier.

The battle raged on, their clashes sending shockwaves through the ship. Mjolnir met Loki's sorcery in a furious exchange, their past and present colliding with every strike. Outside, dark storm clouds gathered, mirroring the turmoil in the brothers' hearts.

Loki, seeing an opening, launched a devastating spell—but before it could land, Mjolnir intercepted it with a deafening crack. Seizing the moment, Thor channeled his power into a final, crushing blow, sending Loki crashing to the ground.

Breathing heavily, Thor stepped forward, extending a hand. "Loki, this madness must end. Come with me, and together we can restore peace to Asgard."

Loki, bruised but still defiant, looked up with a smirk. "One day, brother, our paths will cross again. Until then, may fate guide us… on separate journeys."

Thor barely had time to process Loki's words before the illusion faded. His eyes widened as the real Loki emerged from behind and green smoke eliminated all across the room revealing the true location of their battle. The cell door now locking Thor inside.

Loki grinned mischievously. "Are you ever not going to fall for that?"