SHIELD HQ New York, office of the director, Anthony Stark aka Iron Man:
A short time ago:
His guest is Professor Charles Xavier, who reports that Havok and Polaris have stayed with the Starjammers. They regularly send reports about the political situation of the Shi’ar.
“Hmm, the Shi’ar system,” Stark muses. That would be a possibility. He asks Charles to ask Havok to keep his eyes open whether he’ll hear something about the Hulk.
Xavier is surprised and Stark recalls Charles couldn’t yet know. After the Hulk ran amok again, Reed, Tony and the others in their secret group decided to send him away. Only Namor was against it. They lured the Hulk into a spaceship and sent him to an uninhabited planet. But he never arrived there. So far, they haven’t been able to find him and at the moment everybody here is very busy.
Just out of curiosity, Tony asks, how would he have voted? Unsure himself, Charles wonders.
The Xavier Institute for Higher Learning. Sometime later. Charles Xavier is using Cerebra… to find nothing. Frustrated, he remembers how new mutants showed up almost daily. But ever since M-day, their number hasn’t changed. If anything, it became smaller, considering all the deaths since then. Has the Scarlet Witch done more than just rob them of their powers? he wonders. Has she altered the human genome? Have mutants become an endangered species? He refuses to accept that. He has to try harder. Ignore everything else.
On the first floor in the hall, the young X-Men-in-training (Dust, Hellion, Mercury, Rockslide, Surge and X-23) are going through a training session under the eyes of the Beast. Mercury especially is into it, determined not to screw up on front of Dr. McCoy. She’d rather die than go through that again what the facility…
Beast commends her and gives Rockslide five demerits for smashing the lamp when he tried to hit X-23. Why don’t they practice in the Danger Room? he moans. Because the X-Men’s fights rarely take place in armored rooms, comes the reply, but usually in public. They have to learn to take care of civilians. In response, Rockslide accidentally kills the wardrobe.
The next moment, the ground rumbles. They look outside to see the Sentinels take off. She thought the Sentinels were meant to watch them! Cessily wonders. Yes, unless there’s a national emergency, Hank agrees. Is the TV is still intact? Maybe they’ll find out.
On the TV, they see the Hulk announcing that they have 24 hours to evacuate New York. When he comes back, he wants to see Mr. Fantastic, Iron Man and Dr Strange. And if they aren’t here, he’ll do this to their whole stinking world. “This” referring to the badly hurt Black Bolt.
Hellion announces they have to stop the Hulk. Surge asks him if he’s forgotten their training? How many innocents would die? Mercury agrees, but suggests they help with evacuation. Beast orders them to stay. He’ll alert the other teams. They’ll handle…
There is another booming noise, this one much closer, Hank jumps to the window to look out. Oh no!he moans a second later. Outside stands the Hulk in battle armor.
“Xavier,” he demands. “Come out!”
Elixir and Prodigy join Beast, asking if that is… Yes, the Hulk, Hank McCoy agrees. He already made an emergency call. He orders Prodigy to lead all students into the basement. Evacuate them via the Morlock tunnels. The students’ safety has priority. He also asks him to tell the Professor. They’ll try to buy time.
Cool! He’s going to fight the Hulk! Rockslide announces. Everyone who wants to move to the prime league had to fight the Hulk once. Hank tells him to listen. This is not a game. He’s fought the Hulk before, but he was never like that. This isn’t the childish Hulk or the thug they know. This Hulk is so angry that he could destroy everything in his path.
He now addresses all the young X-Men-in-training. A quarter of Earth’s mutants are at Xavier’s. This is not about proving who’s stronger or capturing him. This is about surviving.
Mercury is frightened, thinking about those of all her friends who died… Brian, Laurie, Jay… How many more must die? Hank explains that he’s going to talk with the Hulk first, but that never worked with him. He wouldn’t put then in such danger if the situation wasn’t desperate. If anyone wants out…
Cessily announces they’ll stand with him. They are going to be fantastic X-Men, he replies. Now this is the plan…
Elsewhere in the building, Xavier oversees the students’ evacuation.
Playing innocent, Hank opens the door, greeting the Hulk and asking what he wants. The Hulk demands Xavier. Not possible, comes the reply. The Hulk orders him to move aside. He’ll look for Xavier himself. Not possible either, comes the reply. The Hulk beats him aside. That moment Rockslide, Hellion, Dust, Mercury, Surge and X-23 attack.
Rockslide beats on him, Mercury and X-23 try to cut him. Hellion attempts to hold him tight with telekinetic ties. The Hulk orders McCoy to call the brats back or what happens to them is on him!
Elixir helps Hank, then Hank takes him piggy-back. What if it kills him? the boy asks hesitatingly. Not the Hulk, Hank replies. It’s an overdose of Elixir’s healing power. He hopes to overload the Hulk’s healing factor. He doesn’t see another chance. He runs toward the Hulk. And if he is wrong and the Hulk dies? Elixir insists. Well, then he’s going to get a medal, comes the reply.
The Hulk breaks Hellion’s telekinetic ties, causing a mental backlash. Beast runs past the Hulk and Elixir touches the Hulk using his power. Beast asks him to be reasonable. They have… made him angry, the Hulk states snarling.
Formation Sigma, Beast orders the young X-Men in training. The Hulk calls them idiots. He doesn’t need his healing factor to beat them. He grabs a wall and puts it down on Hank. Then he attacks Hellion with a thunderclap to burst his eardrums.
Dust tries to grind him apart. The Hulk remarks he is not surprised Xavier is hiding behind his students. But he wonders why they are hiding him. Beast jumps at him, reminding him they are kids. Hulk smashes him back and orders him not to try that track.
Rockslide now faces him. He can’t believe he wanted to be the Hulk when they played Avengers. He’s the guy who can remote control his limbs, right? the Hulk asks. Great. He tears off Santo’s arms and throws them in the air. If that’s true, then wave at him from Connecticut.
X-23 unsheathes her claws. Is she Wolverine’s partner? he asks as he grabs her by her arms. Not enough claws! Count them! Laura suggest as she extends her footclaw and slices him across the eyes with them. She lands again.
Beast orders them to press the advantage. He is blind! They all strike with what they have. And still he manages to old them back. He grabs Laura with both hands, ready to tear her apart. What their golden boy did is already fading, he announces, then he throws Laura through the wall. He turns his back on them. He only cared about Xavier, but nobody takes away his powers!
Mercury attacks him from behind. With one smooth gesture, he slams her down. He strides towards Beast who asks Elixir if he can pull this again. He can’t. Beast orders him to run for his life.
The Hulk gets ready to strike, then suddenly screams in pain. Great job of fighting children! Wolverine who has just slashed him in the back remarks, but now the adults are here (in this case Cyclops’ team of himself, Wolverine, Emma Frost, Colossus, Shadowcat (and Lockheed).
Finally a real fight, the Hulk snorts. No! another voice announces. Xavier steps in front of him. Didn’t he want him? Since his students are now safe, he’s here.
The Hulk is briefly surprised to see Xavier without a wheelchair. Well, not for long.… Yes, he is the strongest, Xavier agrees, physically. But in matters of the mind…
However, Xavier finds that while the Hulk’s mind was always hard to control, his rage is now primal, unstoppable.
Flashback:
Xavier sees the Hulk on that planet. It was hell for him, weakened and suffering. But he found happiness, friends, a kingdom, a wife! A child was on the way, but why…? Oh. He sees the horror, how the ship blew up, killing everyone.
present:
Xavier stumbles. The other X-Men shared the vision. Those were Xavier’s buddies! the Hulk snarls. Xavier replies that they exiled him into space but they never would have thrown a bomb onto his city. He wasn’t there when the plan was created…
He knows, the Hulk replies but according to Black Bolt he was supposed to be there. Because they figured Xavier was smart enough to play God. To judge the Hulk as if he was an animal! He has only one question. If Xavier had been there when they ruined his life, how would he have decided?
