Elsewhere – (With the Hulk)
"RRAAAAAAAAAR!" Hulk raged as Thor's hammer struck him in the face again. He shook it off before retaliating with a punch of his own.
The Asgardian prince swiftly dodged by leaping back and throwing his hammer at the Hulk. The force behind the blow sent Hulk tumbling across the building, smashing through the concrete walls as if they were made of cardboard. Thor recalled his hammer, rushing forward and attacking the beast with a barrage of strikes from both weapon and fist.
Hulk could do little to defend himself against Thor's onslaught. The Asgardian had centuries of battle experience, and his innate strength and speed gave him the advantage. He fought without restraint, fueled by the Enchantress's influence over his mind, which stripped away the control and mercy he usually held.
Their fight destroyed one building and carried into the next, leaving Hulk with more bruises and wounds than Thor. If anything, the God of Thunder was winning.
The two combatants paid no mind to the fleeing humans, nor to the devastation they left in their wake.
But as Hulk's frustration and anger grew, so too did his strength — by leaps and bounds.
With a guttural growl, Hulk's eyes tracked Thor's movements more clearly. He caught Thor's fist mid-swing and roared, slamming his other fist forward. Thor responded with his hammer.
Hulk's punch met the enchanted weapon with a resounding shockwave, leaving static energy crackling in the air as both fighters were forced apart.
They circled each other, glaring intently.
"ROOOARR!" Hulk bellowed at Thor, readying himself for another clash. Though he could not understand why an ally of Banner would attack, he did not care. This puny god would fall like the rest. His rage intensified with each passing moment, his wounds and bruises already healing at an incredible pace.
"Come, beast of men," Thor challenged, his hammer raised and pointed at the Hulk. The Thunder God's eyes glimmered with power as green hues bled into his natural electric blues. "You will kneel before my beloved."
Hulk growled in seething anger. The concrete floor shattered as he launched himself recklessly at the Thunder God, his only thought to smash the blond prince into oblivion.
That reckless charge was his mistake — and Thor capitalized.
Thor dropped his hammer with a clang, redirecting Hulk's punch aside before grabbing his wrist and throwing the monster over his shoulder onto the ground. Before Hulk could rise, Thor recalled his hammer and dropped it onto Hulk's chest, its enchantments pinning the green giant down.
Thor moved behind Hulk, locking him in a sleeper hold, strangling the beast as it struggled furiously beneath the enchanted weapon.
"Enchantress! Now is the time!" Thor called.
The Enchantress appeared in a shimmer of green beside Hulk. The raging brute reached out for her, but Thor held his arm in place with all his might.
"Well done, my beloved. Now beast, calm yourself," the Enchantress said softly, her melodious voice cutting through the chaos. She caressed Hulk's cheek tenderly before bending low to place a gentle kiss on his forehead. Then she stepped back.
Pulsating green energy seeped into Hulk's skin from the Enchantress. Slowly, his struggles weakened, his growls fading into labored breaths.
His emerald eyes glowed brighter as haunting green bled into his irises. Veins around his eyes pulsed with unnatural energy.
Thor released Hulk and recalled his hammer, moving to Amora's side to protect her as the spell rooted itself within Hulk's being.
The green giant groggily got to his feet, shaking his head as though trying to wake himself. His efforts to resist the Enchantress's bindings proved futile. For a fleeting moment, he heard Banner's cries within his mind — but even that voice faded. The strange woman's soothing tone, paired with another familiar voice he could not place, lured his mind into a dreamlike haze.
"It is done."
—
Smoke still lingered in the street where Hulk had fallen. Now he stood again, but not as the Avengers once knew him. His shoulders heaved, his chest rose with heavy breaths, and his eyes glowed with a sickly, unnatural green.
Amora's voice, soft yet commanding, filled the silence.
"Rise, children of power. Rise, and serve your queen."
Thor knelt without hesitation, his hammer planted firmly into the ground like a knight's sword. His eyes shimmered with Amora's sorcery, blue overwhelmed by emerald fire.
"As you will it, my beloved," Thor intoned.
Hulk growled low, his massive fists clenching. Though no words formed, his posture told the tale—obedience born of shackled will.
Amora smiled. "Good. Now the real battle begins."
Her eyes lifted to the horizon. The city skyline burned, scarred by Chitauri fire. Explosions crackled, Leviathans screeched overhead, and human screams echoed through the canyons of glass and steel. But at the center of the storm, Captain America, Black Widow, Hawkeye, and Iron Man rallied desperate civilians, carving a path through alien swarms with practiced coordination.
And not far from them, the X-Men fought with equal ferocity. Cyclops led from the front, optic blasts tearing through alien hovercraft. Storm loomed in the sky, her lightning dueling with alien plasma fire. Jean's telekinetic shields saved dozens at a time, while Bobby's ice barricades and Kitty's phasing evacuations kept innocents alive.
Together, they held the line.
—
A green shimmer wrapped around Thor's frame as Amora gestured. "Strike them down, my love. Break the mortals' resistance. Show them the price of defiance."
Her hand then swept toward Hulk. "And you, beast. Smash until there is nothing left to smash."
Thor's expression was stoic, utterly devoid of hesitation. "As you command."
Mjolnir spun, winds whipping debris around him. Hulk roared, pavement cracking beneath his feet as he lunged.
The two titans launched themselves toward their former allies.
---
"Eyes up!" Tony's voice crackled across the comms. "Incoming—and you're not gonna like it."
Cap raised his shield just in time as Thor descended, hammer slamming against vibranium. The impact blasted a shockwave across the street, knocking cars onto their sides and scattering Chitauri soldiers like insects. Steve skidded back, boots tearing grooves in the concrete.
"Thor?!" Cap shouted, bracing himself. "What the hell are you doing?!"
But Thor's answer was only the shriek of wind as he swung again.
Natasha ducked under the hammer's arc, pistols barking. The bullets sparked harmlessly against Thor's enchanted armor. Clint loosed a trio of explosive arrows that detonated around Thor's shoulders, staggering him for only a moment before he advanced again, eyes glowing emerald.
"Not good," Clint muttered, already reaching for another quiver.
Then the ground shook.
"Uh, guys?" Natasha breathed, eyes widening. "We've got bigger problems."
Hulk tore through a building like tissue paper, emerging with a roar that rattled glass windows. His gaze locked on the Avengers—and the X-Men.
"Smash," he growled, voice distorted, thick with Amora's influence.
---
The X-Men reacted instantly.
"Everyone, defensive formation!" Cyclops barked. His visor blazed, unleashing a concussive beam that struck Hulk square in the chest. The giant staggered—but then straightened, grinning through glowing green eyes.
"That didn't even slow him down," Bobby muttered, throwing up an ice wall in front of Hulk. It shattered instantly as Hulk barreled through, the shards spraying like shrapnel.
Storm swooped down, lightning cascading from her fingertips. "Beast or god, you will fall!"
Thor met her in the air, Mjolnir absorbing the storm and flinging it back in a blinding arc. The two forces collided, lightning against lightning, the heavens themselves screaming under their clash.
Jean strained, telekinetically hurling a collapsed car at Thor to break his momentum. "Something's wrong! He's—he's mind controlled. His mind is smothered in green fire."
"Mind control?" Natasha snapped, rolling to avoid Hulk's fist. "Great. How do we break it?"
Jean's face tightened. "We'd need to reach their minds directly. But with power levels like theirs…" Her voice faltered as Hulk grabbed Bobby and hurled him through a building. "It might kill me."
Scott turned, visor flaring brighter. "Then we keep them busy until you find a way. X-Men! Avengers! Hold the line!"
---
The battlefield became chaos incarnate.
Thor hammered Cap into the pavement, only for Iron Man to intercept with a barrage of repulsors. Hulk traded blows with the combined might of Scott, Natasha, and Clint—swatting them away like insects, yet slowed just enough by teamwork. Storm and Thor's duel lit the skyline like a second war in the heavens, lightning rending clouds apart while Jean pushed her limits to shield civilians from the collateral destruction.
And through it all, Amora stood atop a building's edge, calm and serene, watching her puppets wreak havoc.
Her smile widened.
"Dance for me, champions," she whispered. "