#smarthulk

There was a roar from far below them followed by the creaking rip and crunch of metal and panicked screams mixed with smaller arms’ fire. “Fast enough for you, Barton?” a deep male voice she didn’t recognize snapped back over the comms. “He was already worried about Romanoff, so get ready.”

Something hit the same rockface just above them, but this time it made a wet thud and the mangled body of an Outrider slid down and landed in a lifeless heap of broken limbs. A S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent on Clint’s right retched and threw up. Nat wondered whom they were fighting and what the objective could be. It had to be Thanos’ army, but why were they ascending the slope to this tower?

Something large bellowed on the path below. It was closer to them than the sound of weapons’ blasts. A dark shape sprang clear from the tendrils of fog and sped toward them on all fours . . . no, sixes? Natasha instantly had her Glocks in hand and sighted them in time to get off a few rounds as the creature closed the gap. Just as she prepared to roll, a blur of purple, gray, and green cut the massive beast off and rocked it backwards on thrashing limbs. She barely had time to recognize Hulk and stop firing before he was on the thing again. He’d landed a double-fisted blow to its lower back and then jerked its head to the side to break the thing’s neck in seconds. Another creature came out of the fog and Hulk slammed the dead body of its fellow creature into the second before leaping high in the air through the fog and smashing back down atop the shoulders of a third right behind the second beast. Hulk bashed both their heads with a boulder while they jerked brokenly on the ground.

As Hulk dropped the ichor-covered rock in disgust, Nat realized this was indeed Hulk and not Bruce, but something was different from when they’d last worked together in Sokovia. He focused on her and smiled, straightening up a bit from his normal crouch and squaring his shoulders as he approached. He was wearing a full suit of purple, black, and gray material that covered his torso, legs, and shoulders down to his biceps and ankles.

“Took you long enough,” Clint complained.

“Had company,” Hulk returned, but his gaze had never left Nat. “We need to get ‘Tasha to the top while the rest fight Thanos’ dogs,” he explained. “Lift?” he asked her, sounding less gruff.

They had often teamed up in the past, so Natasha didn’t hesitate. “Sure, Big Guy.”

He bent down on his right knee and offered her a boost up with his right hand. Natasha stepped lightly onto his palm and left knee before swinging onto his shoulder and neck. She noted there were straps for hand or footholds on the back and shoulders of his uniform which practically had her name on them. She would have killed for these before Sokovia. She wondered whose idea they were.

“Not fair,” Clint protested. “Since you and Banner got engaged, I’ve totally lost my ride.”