First story:
Inside a comic shop, and after Skaar punches Wolverine out, Bruce Banner tells Wolverine that’s what he gets for bringing knives to a Hulk fight.
After Skaar lands on top of him with his feet and slams him deeper into the ground, Wolverine tells Banner that, dammit, he’s supposed to be the smart one. He’s gotta stop him. Once Skaar leaves, Banner tells Wolverine he’s sorry but the kid has a mind of his own. Pulling himself out of the hole in the floor, Wolverine says no, he’s getting suckered and walking into a trap. Smiling, Banner admits he knows. He set it.
In a bar on the other side of town, Skaar enters and the bartender asks him what he’ll have. After Skaar answers “milkshake,” one of the locals asks who the hell is coming into their bar and ordering… Upon seeing the monstrous Skaar standing there, they finish their thought… “Anything he wants.” Sitting at a nearby table, a man remarks “tribal tats, funny haircut, bad attitude.” Standing there, Daken states that he’s kind of stealing his shtick.
Back at the comic store where Wolverine fought Skaar for a moment, Wolverine asks Banner that he’s the one who tipped off Daken. Banner answers that Skaar needs sparring partners. Wolverine says yeah, McCoy told him he riled up the Juggernaut. Fine, he doesn’t care. But Daken’s his son. Claws, healing power… Banner tells him not to worry, he won’t let him get hurt. Wolverine states it’s not him he’s worried about.
After Banner tells him don’t, Wolverine says s’all right. His healing factor’s taking care of the worst of it. Pointing a gun at him, Banner repeats that he means don’t. Standing face to face with Banner, Wolverine tells him he’s gotta be kidding him. Shooting Wolverine at close range in the chest, Banner tells him not so much. After Wolverine lands outside the building and slams into a nearby car, Banner informs him that it’s an old power taser. Its effects are measured on the Richter scale. That blast was a 1.4. They can go up to 6.9 if he likes. It’d be kind of interesting to see what that’d do to his brains actually.
Picking himself up off of the car, Wolverine asks Banner what that hell he’s playing at. Banner informs him that he just doesn’t want him to ruin things. Skaar’s spent his whole life fighting. He’s pretty great at it. But if he’s going to succeed in his mission, he has to learn how to make friends and distinguish them from enemies. Wolverine says okay, two things he has just off the top of his head. First, didn’t he hear Skaar on teevee saying his mission was to kill him? And second, did he ever stop to think about what would happen if they actually did make friends? His kid’s a psychopath and his kid’s a freaking barbarian. Shooting Wolverine again, Banner says he’s sure they’ll have a lot to talk about.
Back at the bar, Skaar punches Daken through the front window. Landing on his feet, Daken asks hit first, talk later, huh? Skaar says yeah, but without the talking part. When Daken asks Skaar why so hostile, Skaar throws the vehicles out of his way and tells Daken that he doesn’t like his stink. Dodging Skaar’s attacks, Daken informs him they’re called pheromones. They’re part of his mutant power. Most people don’t notice until they’re already doing what he wants. Skaar exclaims that nobody makes him do anything. Daken proceeds to ask him how he knows he’s not making him say that right now.
Pulling up large pieces of the road and tossing them at Daken, Skaar asks so now he’s telling him to kill him? Deftly dodging the projectiles, Daken replies maybe. Or maybe he just wants to see if he’s everything they said he was before he offered him a spot in the Avengers. Ceasing his assault, Skaar follows Daken back into bar and tells him to talk.
Daken informs Skaar that he works for Norman Osborn. At least, that’s what he thinks. It could be helpful for him to have a kindred spirit on the team. After Skaar asks what the hell they have in common, Daken says pretty much everything, wouldn’t he say. He’s read his file in the Avengers’ database. Skaar was born in the explosion that killed his mother, he, Daken, was ripped from his mother’s womb. Skaar) was raised by monsters, he was trained as an assassin. Skaar stabbed his father in the chest the first time he met him, he stuck his in the back.
Sitting on a hill across from the bar, Banner points out to Wolverine that their sons are just talking. Wolverine asks that’s supposed to make him feel good about this? He then asks Banner what he’s doing. Banner informs him that he’s rerouting the emergency calls. It’ll be twenty minutes before the police realize what’s going on there. Wolverine says all right. He’s about to go down there and get smashed and cut up some more. Talk him out of it. Banner mentions that he heard Daken stopped trying to kill him a while back. When Wolverine answers yeah, Banner states that maybe Skaar can learn something from him.
Looking at Banner for a moment, Wolverine lays back, says that’s good enough for him, and then asks him if he’s got any beer in that bag. After downing a few beers, Wolverine says to Banner they’re not bad and asks him “how the hell?” Banner tells him pocket teleporter. His hand goes in the bag and comes out in his lab. Wolverine says sweet and asks if he has any funions in there. After Banner hands him a bag, Wolverine asks him that he’s got it all worked out, huh? Banner answers that he tries. Wolverine tells him that even he knows his brain ain’t big enough, doesn’t he.
When Banner tells him he’d be surprised, Wolverine says he’s serious. People ain’t machines. You never really know what they’re gonna do, particularly when you’re talking about kids like theirs. Banner tells him that he better hope he’s wrong. Or the whole fricking world’s gonna be in big, big trouble. Passing the binoculars over to Banner, Wolverine asks him to tell him that’s part of his master plan.
Inside the bar, Daken sees Skaar as a small child. After Skaar whispers something to him, Daken pops his claws and gets ready to attack him. Outside the bar, Banner redirects energy from his protective shields to his temporary strength augmentation and picks Wolverine up and tosses him towards the bar. As he does, Wolverine asks him what the hell, he’s on his side. Crashing through the bar window, Wolverine slams into Daken and knocks him away from Skaar.
Enraged, Skaar slams his fist onto the table, grabs his sword and goes to take a swing at Daken. Upon seeing Wolverine, Daken says to him “hey pop” and asks him if he minds if he borrows that adamantium skull of his. With that, he uses Wolverine’s head to block Skaar’s sword strike. Chuckling, Daken heads off as Wolverine says to him “why you little…” After Skaar crushes Wolverine again, he turns his attention to Daken. Slashing Skaar across the face, Daken remarks set ‘em up, knock ‘em down.
As Daken continues his vicious assault on Skaar, Banner enters the bar and exclaims “my God…” Wolverine tells him that he told him before. Daken’s the one to watch out for. He’s got part of the Muramasa blade stuck to his claws. It knocks out superhuman healing factors long enough for him to go for the kill. Just then, Banner yells at no! Perched on top of Skaar, Daken tells him it’s what he wanted. When he turned puny, he begged him to kill him.
Pointing his gun at the back of Wolverine’s head, Banner sets it to 6.9 and tells Daken try it and he’ll kill his pop. After Daken says riiiight and Skaar scoffs at the notion, Wolverine tells Banner that he’s talking to a couple of real killers. He has to do better than that. Banner states that none of them know who he really is. His father killed his mother. Years later, at her gravesite, he tried to kill him. He finally kicked him back. He slipped and he cracked his head open on her gravestone. Daken asks that’s his big story, he killed his father by accident? Banner replies that he doesn’t have accidents. As the Hulk, he smashed whole cities without killing a soul. As a puny human, he should have been able to avoid… You know, it just now occurs to him that maybe the real reason that he became the Hulk was to protect the world from Banner.
Helping Skaar up, Banner asks him if he’s all right. Skaar tells him yeah. After hearing Banner chuckle, Skaar asks him what. Banner tells him at least they’re not as crazy as those guys. Simultaneously, Daken asks Wolverine if he’s all right. Wolverine asks him that now he cares. Daken scoffs at that and says he’s just making sure no one’s cheated him out of killing him himself. After Wolverine chuckles, Daken asks him what. Wolverine says at least they’re not as crazy as those guys.
Watching from afar, the Leader tells Banner to laugh, cry, bond with that magnificent son of his and bring him straight to him.
second story
In the desert, Aberration tells her Gamma Corps Black teammate Axon that she needs to keep on moving. Stumbling to the ground, Axon informs Aberration that she needs biolectricszzz and proceeds to grab a nearby rodent. After draining it, Axon remarks that wasn’t enough, she needs more.
Helping her up, Aberration tells her that she wouldn’t mind some good old-fashioned water herself. Axon asks if sszzzhe isszzzz szzzztill behind them. Looking back, Aberration sees Lyra and tells Axon to take a wild guess. When they stop, she stops. When they make a move towards her, she “Hulk-jumps” back. She’s trying to wear them out so she can go in for the kill. Axon tells she knows and to stop talking. She’s right, they have to keep moving. Remember what the General szzzaid.
Some time ago, General Ryder told the members of Gamma Corps Black – Axon, Aberration, and Morass – that they have all been convicted by military courts of heinous crimes and sentenced to death. Thanks to H.A.M.M.E.R., their families and the world at large believe they were executed. Because the public believes everything Norman Osborn says. Though they work for the Origins Corporation now, in his mind, and therefore in theirs, they still serve America. For that’s all America is, really, one giant corporation. Their stockholders are the people. Their product is truth and freedom. They are America’s marketing department. They will go forth, with their superior training, and righteous cause, and sell their product by killing anybody who gets in their way. Do they understand? Simultaneously, the ladies exclaim “sir, yes sir!”
As Aberration holds a small computer in her hands, it says to her “superior training. Hahaha.” It then informs her that mistress Lyra is the most decorated officer in the history of the sisterhood. Their only hope is to abandon him and flee, overwomen. If mistress Lyra says she is going to kill them, they might as well start scheduling their funeral. Enraged, Aberration curses the small computer and begins to squeeze it into dust.
At that moment, Axon tells her not to and tackles her. She says to her that she knows what the General and Oszzzborn will do to them if they don’t bring that thing back szzzo they can learn what intel it gave to A.R.M.O.R. Once Axon grabs hold of Aberration, she begins to drain her of her power. Aberration tells her to stop but Axon says she can’t. She needs it, it feels so gooood… Looking behind her, Aberration tells Axon to look over there.
Entering the Badwater sheriff’s department, Axon informs the sheriff that she has to report a murder. Taking his hat off of the front of his face, the sheriff tells her to take it easy and asks whose murder. Draining him of his energy, Axon tells him to take a wild guesszzz.
Outside, Aberration approaches a nearby convenience store. There, three men on motorcycles call her honeychile and tell her she’s got some smokin’ ink there. Holding up a wad of cash, he adds that he’s got a website and he’ll pay her a pretty penny to share what she has underneath that tank top with the rest of the world. Just then, Aberration tosses a motorcycle and the man through the window, kills his buddies and proceeds to hydrate herself with the water inside.
Inside the sheriff’s office, Axon informs the General they have the A.I. in hand and “Lyra” szzzhall be in their graszzzp szzzhortly. But they need him to szzzend transzzzport. Their craft was deszzztroyed, they had to retreat to a nearby town and they were szzzpotted. After seeing what has occurred on his video screens, the General tells Axon no they weren’t. His orders are quite explicit – no witnesses.
Hovering over the town of Badwater, Axon orders all of its residents to get outszzzide and into the main szzztreet. Just then, Aberration tosses a large tanker in their direction. When it explodes and stops the residents from escaping, Aberration grabs a couple of the townspeople by the throats and tells them nobody’s goin’ anywhere. She then calls out to Lyra and tells her “I know you can hear me, girly-girl.” If she doesn’t come out and turn herself in, she starts poppin’ geeks’ heads off. She has five seconds. Four! Three! Two! One! She then yells out “Your choice coward.” Their blood is gonna be on her hands.
Just then, the manhole cover she is standing on top of flies up and knocks Aberration backwards towards Axon. Emerging from the sewer, Lyra tells Aberration and Axon she’s coming out but she’s not turning herself in. They might as well let these people go. “Because they won’t save you. Dead women.”
