She Hulk vs Titania II

Jennifer Walter/She-Hulk

May 20, 2014

I stopped my story for a bit to rub my forehead. Mahmoud, Thor, and Nat seemed willing to wait.

"Sorry, just… this last part is hard, ya know?" I looked at Mahmoud. He looked back at me, cocking his head to the side. I decided to tease him. "What, you don't like it when people leave cliffhangers?"

He shifted uncomfortably. Yeah, he wasn't about to be a hypocrite about me leaving people in the lurch wanting to know the next part of a story.

I blame my boyfriend.

"So anyways," I looked outside. "Where was I?"

"Glorious battle," Thor said with a smirk.

"Right. But first, Frank had to deal with something at the same time."

Frank Castle/The Punisher

"Move!" Frank shouted as Jen leaped into the bank. "We go around back! Sally, get the getaway driver, Simmons, you're with me!"

The three soldiers ran around the bank by entering an alleyway running alongside it, checking all their blindspots as they moved with guns pointed at the ground. Frank switched to his thermal vision, and immediately stopped, raising a fist up. Sally and Simmons stopped as well.

"Twenty feet ahead," Frank growled. He raised his gun high. His allies did the same.

"Don't shoot!" someone shouted, coming out from the shadows. Her glock was in her hand, but she had it pointed to the side. She was also wearing a tight orange top and a black skirt.

"You," Frank snarled.

Ananastasia chuckled nervously. "H-Hi."

"What are you doing here?" Frank said. He didn't lower his rifle entirely.

"I found out about where they were going to hit next," she was looking across the three soldiers, from Frank, to Sally, to Simmons. "I have to impress my superiors, Frank," she lowered her gun and posed artfully, her chest thrust out, her eyes fluttering as she looked up at him. She bit her lip. Simmons coughed, swallowing nervously. "Please. Let me come and help. If I don't-"

"Whatever," Frank looked at Sally. "Keep an eye on her. If she tries to interfere, hit her with an ICER."

Ananastasia stared at him, shocked. "What? We're on the same side!"

"Yeah. And my side wasn't told anyone from the FBI was helping us," Frank said simply. "You want to be here? Then shut up, follow orders, and shoot at what I tell you to shoot."

He tried to keep how annoyed he was with this to himself but ending up sounding more like a drill instructor. Whatever.

"You really don't know how to talk to women, do you?" Ananastasia scoffed as Frank walked past her.

"We're hunting down a superhuman, who gives a fuck about that?"

Frank felt her eyes on his back as she sputtered.

"Move," Sally said to her, shoving Ana forward.

"Sorry about this," Simmons said nervously. Frank rolled his eyes at that.

The four of them headed towards the back. Behind the bank was a large van, the kind any company would use for business. As soon as he saw the car, Frank pointed his gun at it, his sights on a dark figure sitting inside the car.

"Get out!" Frank shouted immediately.

The figure stared at them. He was an Indian man. Rajesh, that was his name, one of the people they'd figured for the thieves. "Get out of the van, now!"

The man inside the van reached for the wheel. Frank pointed the barrel of his gun at the engine and pulled his trigger. A hail of bullets sliced through the metal, ripping into the engine in a loud series of explosions.

"Oh fuck!" Rajesh shouted in fear, pulling open his door and rolling out. He had a pistol in his hand.

Frank twisted the dial on the side of his rifle, switching from bullets to ICER's, and shot Rajesh in the face. The indian man had enough time to gasp before the dendrotoxin in the round knocked him out as he fell on his back.

"Simmons, secure him!" Frank shouted, circling the van and switching his vision to thermal again. "Van is clear! Sally, go over to-"

A loud booming noise echoed. Sally shouted in pain. Frank spun around. Sally was stumbling forward. Another boom noise, then another. Sally fell to the ground. Behind her stood Ananastasia. Who was holding a shotgun.

Sally stumbled forward on her knees, dazed from a shotgun blast sending her head bouncing around in her helmet. To her credit, she managed to rip her pistol off her waist and blind fire it behind her. Ananastasia screamed in pain as a bullet sliced through her thigh, but pressed the barrel of her gun to Sally's head.

Frank raised his gun as Ananastasia shot again. The barrel of her gun was mere inches from Sally's head. As it went off, the advanced polymers of her helmet, which had withstood three blasts from a shotgun pressed to it, shattered apart.

Sally forward. Frank let out a wordless roar while Simmons shot at Ananastasia, who dived behind the van.

"Simmons, take care of Sally!" Frank shouted.

She might make it. Headshots, while generally fatal, weren't always. If there was the slightest chance that she'd survived, that her helmet had protected her just enough, then Simmons needed to take care of her.

Frank, meanwhile, ran after Ananastasia, who rushed into a building behind the bank.

"I'm gonna kill you!" Frank roared, his voice splitting the air. He shot at her without hesitation, winging her in the shoulder.

"Really misjudged that guy," Ananastasia mumbled to herself as she ran.

Jennifer Walters/She-Hulk

I punched Mary in the face, and she just wouldnotgo down.

We wrapped our arms around each other. For a moment, we pushed against each other. I felt the concrete under me crack, forcing me to give up some ground, sliding back. Apparently, Fakeania thought that meant she was winning.

"Heh," Mary grinned at me. "I knew you were weak."

Well, I'll tell ya folks. I just about lost my shit at that.

"RAAGH!" I shot my head forward. She saw it coming in time to avoid getting her nose broken. Instead, my head slammed into her right breast, sending her back a step. I let go of her left arm to swing, smashed her in the stomach, then grabbed her by the hair and tossed her up to the ceiling.

"Biiiiitch!" Mary shouted. She hit a chandelier on the way up, glass falling around me, then pierced through the ceiling. I kneeled down and leaped up after, landing on the roof.

She'd already gotten to her feet and spear-tackled me in the middle of my landing, wrapping her arms around me and sending us flying to the next rooftop. I landed on my back and rolled to my feet in time to catch a punch on my forearm, blocking it.

I had a second to be really thankful that you pushed me to spar with other superhumans, Mahmoud. Because if it wasn't for that, ending up fighting someone who not only could match my strength, but also has some martial arts under her belt, would have really surprised me.

She came in with an uppercut, which I blocked only for her to grab my face with her other hand. She pushed me back and slammed her fist into my face. I felt some teeth loosen at the blow, then shift back into place and heal. I grabbed her arm, pulled it in, and smashed my forearm into the back of her elbow. Her arm cracked, bones snapping out of her bicep. She screamed as blood splashed outward. She managed to bring her fist forward. Her knuckles smashed into my nose. I'd never felt my nose break before.

Not an experience I want to repeat.

I stumbled back, blood getting into my eyes as I made some room. I finally cleared my eyes enough to see her. She grabbed her broken arm and pulled it back together with a loud scream. I grabbed my nose and cracked back in place.

Her arm healed. So did my nose.

We glared at each other.

"So you can actually throw a punch, huh?" I snapped at her.

"Better than you can, Shulkie," Mary growled.

"Then come on!" I raised my hands behind me. "Let's see what else you can take!Thunderclap!"

My palms slapped together, condensing the air between my hands before exploding outwards. Mary had enough time to blink before a wave of wind hit her. She flew back like a leaf in a hurricane, screaming. I leaped after her, smashing into her in the air. I wrapped my legs around her waist and raised my fists high.

"Come on!" I shouted again, punching her in the face. Then I kept punching as we tumbled through the air. "COME ON!"

The air and pound. It's a move you taught me, Natasha. Well, not so much a move as it is a strategy. Just wrap your legs around someone, then start unleashing hell.

"Get off!" Mary shouted, punching me in my left boob. I grabbed the hand that punched me and pulled it aside to punch her in the eye. She headbutt me. I felt another tooth loosen and heal. She bit down on my hand. I pulled it out of her mouth viciously, accidently loosening my legs grip around her waist. She grabbed my ankle from behind her and twisted.

"Dragon Throw!" she shouted as she spun in the air. Around and around, with my ankle in her grasp.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhh!" I screamed as the lights of the city and stars in the sky spun around and around me. Then she let go. "YAAAAAA!"

I slammed into a big building I'd noticed as we were fighting in the air. Someplace that was shaped like a circle, with some big TV's on the side, and large LED lights glowing blue and orange about its surface . It took me a second to realize the roof I crashed into belonged to Madison Square Garden.

Then Titania's boots slammed into my stomach, and we both slammed through the roof and into the stadium below.

Frank Castle/The Punisher

Frank snarled as he followed Ananastasia through the hallways of the building he'd followed her into. She spun around to fire her shotgun at him. The bullets bounced off his shoulder as he ducked around the shot, sending him stumbling but causing no real damage.

"What the hell is that stuff made of!?" Ananastasia shouted.

Frank didn't tell her. He just got up and kept moving. She spun the gun around and shot the handle off an apartment door, smashing into it with her shoulder. Frank came up to the door and stopped just short of entering, instead focusing on his HUD. With a thought, his vision became awash in pale blue. He turned to look at the wall to the apartment Ananastasia had run into.

The Backscatter X-Ray was reverse-engineered from technology Coulson's team had stolen from HYDRA, allowing users to see through walls. It was hard to get used to. But Frank was going to take advantage of everything he could.

One of his people might be dead. She was responsible. And he was going to make her fucking pay.

Through the wall, he could see a woman rushing through an apartment as two people sitting on a couch stared in fear. For a moment, he could see her pointing her shotgun at another room. He raised his gun and fired a bullet through the wall. The bullet got her in her hip. A loud series of screams came from the room. Frank ran through the door to see two men hugging each other as Ananastasia bled from her hip. Seeing him, she raised her gun at the men.

Frank dived in front of them, getting shot in his chest to protect the pair. Landing on his knees, he shot at her again, missing as she dived into the next room.

"You're going to die tired!" Frank shouted.

"Fuck you!" Ananastasia cried back.

Frank looked back at the men, who were clutching at each other in fear, one of them crying. "Are you okay!?"

"Y-Yes!" One of them shouted.

"Stay here, call the police!" Frank yelled, rising to his feet and chasing after Ananastasia. He ran out of the living room, through the hallways, to a bedroom at the end of the hall. The window was open. He saw Ananastasia waiting beside the window on the other side. Apparently, she'd been hoping to surprise him as he climbed out, to shoot him at close range.

He stopped and raised his gun. With a trigger pull, a bullet pierced through the wall, into Ananastasia's arms. She screamed again, almost dropping her gun. Frank stepped forward, raising a fist high. His catom armor's strength enhancers made smashing his fist through the brick wall only barely difficult. He grabbed his opponent by the arm, only for her to come spinning through the window on her own. She tackled him with a scream, grabbing his head while pressing her shotgun to his head. Face to helmet with him, she brought Frank to the ground while pulling the trigger.

The shotgun blast sent his head bouncing around his helmet. Pain filled him. She grinned savagely even as the recoil threw off her aim.

She'd killed Sally.

Frank grabbed her by the left arm and twisted. Bones snapped like twigs. She screamed. Frank let go of her arm to punch her in the face, sending her flying. She landed on the bed nearby, dropping her shotgun. Frank rose to see Ananastasia grab a lamp off the dresser and smash it into his head. When that did nothing, she tried to stab it at him weakly, her broken arm dangling at her side. He smacked it aside and shot her in the leg.

"Aaaaaauugh!" she screamed as blood poured from her wounds.

"You killed one of us," Frank snarled. He stared at her. She stared at his helmet. Frank knew that all she saw was the skull decal painted onto his faceplate. "..."

She grinned. "She died like a bitch."

Then she reached behind her back and pulled out a knife, stabbing it in between Frank's armor plates. Even though the blade only bounced off the polymers, it was enough. He fired again. This time, he got her in the gut.

"Guh," she fell back, staring at him. Then at the wound on her stomach. She gasped in pain, as her back landed on the wall behind her. Ananastasia stared up at him.

"...Guess I should be saving you," Frank mumbled. BRIDGE would have wanted to talk to her. "...Shouldn't have killed one of mine."

She coughed. Then, slowly, raised her hand up. And flipped him the bird, smiling.

Frank smirked. "When you get to hell, tell them I'm here waiting for them to show up again."

For a moment, she looked quizzical. Well, she'd find out when she got there. She died in pain, defiantly smiling at Frank, pain filling her entire being. And as she passed, Frank Castle turned and walked away.

"Simmons, the target is down," Frank said over the radio.

"I've got another guy over here, that Sam dude. He was trying to escape," Simmons said. "Sally… Sally didn't make it."

Frank clenched his fist tightly as he walked out of the living room. "Understood. Where's She-Hulk?"

"...Madison Square Garden?"

"What?"

Jennifer Walters/She-Hulk

We fell for dozens of feet, Mary standing on top of me. I grabbed her legs and tried to twist her off of me. We hit the floor as I threw her. Something soft caught my back, only to shatter under me. She went flying to land back first onto a pole, then landed on her feet.

I rolled as well, staring at her. People were screaming around us, but I focused my eyes on Mary, not looking away for an instant as I shouted.

"Get out of here, now!"

More screams. I started to realize what was happening by looking from my peripheral vision.

An MMA ring. The fighters, a pair of men in boxer shorts, were staring at us, while the referee hurriedly opened the door to the cage, shouting at them to leave. People in the stands were yelling and screaming in shock.

I ignored them, standing up out of the hole I'd made in the ring. I raised my fists slowly, keeping my eyes on Mary. She was looking around, but stopped the second she saw me.

Yeah. Eyes on me Mary. Not the squishy innocent people. Look at me.

I was surprised at how desperate the thought was. But the instant there were other people around, my anger was replaced with worry. Mary looked at the referee. I could see the thought in her mind. Hostage. She looked at everyone else with the same look.

I stepped into her vision. No. Not today. Not ever.

She stared at me, then began to step forward. I moved in with a series of fast steps, closing the distance. She saw me coming in and swung her fist at me. I ducked under the blow and hit her in the ribs with an uppercut. She shouted, stepping back as my blow created a brief shockwave that sent the non-superhumans back a step as well.

Mary stared at me, clutching her ribs. I grinned, raising my fists.

"Come on, Bloody Mary. Let's add a few more shades of red to ya!"

She snarled, reaching behind her for the cage. "You want red? I'll make your green ass look like Christmas morning!"

With a single pull, she ripped out the cages wall and tossed it my way. I leaped over it and came down towards her with a superman punch, which she blocked on my forearm. As I landed, she kicked me in the chest, sending me flying back into a pole along the ring. She ran towards me as I recovered. Before she could follow up, I reached over my head to grab the top of the cage, pulling myself into a backflip to land on the pole, then jumped in the air for the jumbotron at the top of the stadium. As I flew past one of the TV screens, I realized that it was displaying… me? Was someone filming us fighting!?

Spoilers, guys. They absolutely were.

"Get back here!" Mary jumped.

We both landed on the jumbotron, each standing along the edge across from each other. I didn't know the things were hollow on the inside. When I looked down, I could see the screens from the other side, with some walkways running around it for workers.

Mary grabbed a section of the TV she was standing on and ripped it apart, tossing it at me. I punched it out of the air in a spray of sparks, then jumped down into the jumbotron, landing on a walkway. She joined me, the whole thing shaking around us. We met on a walkway and started trading blows. I punched her in the face again, only for her to grab me by the neck and push me into the metal struts holding up a tv. I choked under her grip, punching her in the face over and over. She grabbed one of the struts that had broken, ripping it out. I had a moment to appreciate it's cracked end, sharpened like a spearhead.

Then she pressed the end into my skin.

"GRAAGH!" I screamed, still strangled by her hand. The spear didn't pierce my skin, but it wasgrindinginto me, like a dull piece of plastic pressing against me. Mary's fingers squeezed more. I snarled at her.

"Yeeees," Mary hissed, her face in mine. "Feel that, Shulkie? The feeling of blood pooling in your head? The pain as you try to get just one little breath in," she smiled at me. "I've felt that. So many times. Daddy was a choker. You get dark green," she pressed close. "Now me? He liked to see me get all red in the face, turn to shades of purple. It's why I like doing it too. To remind me how much stronger I am now."

Yeah. That look on your faces? That's how I felt when I heard that. I realized then that I wasn't fighting some monster, or some rival. It was worse than that. She was so broken. Like all the victims I'd ever tried to help.

I stared at her with pity. She stopped, looking at my eyes. "W-Why are you looking at me like that?"

Her grip loosened up enough for me to speak. "I was mad at you. Now I just feel sorry for you," I whispered.

She stared at me. The look in her eyes, like… like something cracked. That look stays with me. Her hand clenched like a vise again, squeezing even harder. I grabbed at her hand, trying to breathe.

"Y-You feel sorry for me!? Y-YOU DON'T GET TO FEEL SORRY FOR ME!"

Mary pulled back the makeshift spear and stabbed it forward. The metal snapped on my skin. She screamed wordlessly, then punched me in the face. I tried to return it, but she was a lot more pissed off than I was. Her fist started splitting across her knuckles. I punched her back, finally loosening her grip on my neck enough to fight back. As soon as I had air, I tackled her around her waist, slamming her into the other side of the jumbotron. The whole thing swayed and shook, one of the TV's falling off.

I kept hitting her, right, left, while she blocked. When she tried to return a blow, I cracked my elbow into her stomach, forcing her to bend over. Thinking fast, I wrapped my hands around her waist, then lifted her up so she was sitting on my shoulders. Before she could respond, I stepped out of the jumbotron. We fell for dozens of feet, Mary screaming the whole way while she tried to wriggle out of my grip. I pulled her down as we powerbombed into the floor, cratering it.

The stadium shook. Up above, the jumbotron cracked apart. Sparks and metal feel around us in a clatter, some falling on our shoulders. When Mary tried to get up, I kicked her in the head as hard as I could, my now bare foot cracking against her skull. She kept getting up.

"Just go down!" I was feeling frustrated by now. I kicked her in the head again, sending her to the floor. She struggled up again. "Please, just go to sleep dammit!" I kicked her again. Before I could pull back, she grabbed my foot and pulled, hard. I ended up over her shoulders with my back against hers, my ankle and neck in her hands. She rose up fast and jumped into the air.

"You first, bitch!"

My head hit the ground first as she pulled me across her back. I felt my neck crack.

She rolled over and got on top of me. Her fists cracked against my face. I tried to move, to struggle.

I couldn't move. I couldn't move. My arms and legs, everything under my neck. My head flopped uselessly back and forth as Mary hit me. My vision was blurring. I realized what happened through the feel of her punches.

Mary had snapped my neck.

The fear that filled me then. The feeling of being unable to fight back. Feeling useless. I-

May 20, 2014

I stopped my story. Mahmoud was staring at me. He looked so worried. So scared.

All I could do was give him my best smile. "Hey. I'm okay."

"Are you?" he reached out and grabbed my hands. "She snapped your neck, Jen. Even if you healed, that…" he swallowed, his eyes flickering. I thought I saw a hint of green in them, then realized it was my reflection. "Jen. Are you okay?"

I pulled him forward and pressed my forehead to his with a smile. "Yeah. I'm a big girl… But thanks."

Nat and Thor were looking a little uncomfortable. I let them look. I just closed my eyes and enjoyed the little moment. I was alive. He felt warm against me. I ran a few fingers to his chest and felt his heartbeat.

When we pulled back, he looked better. Reassured, though he still was giving me an odd look.

"Okay… I wanna know how you kicked her ass," Mahmoud asked with a smile, even though he didn't let go of my hand.

Thor coughed. "As do I. How did you vanquish such a mighty foe, young Walters?"

I gave Thor a little smile. "Well… it got interesting."

May 18, 2014

As I stared up at her, I could suddenly feel the bones in my neck shifting. I tried to move my fingers, but nothing worked. I could guess what was happening though. I was healing.

I stared up at Mary, trying to keep my cool as she hit me. She grabbed a metal pole and raised it high, stabbing it down on my chest. I couldn't feel anything yet, but the bruise it left was obvious.

I was tired. This woman had beat the hell out of me. Even as I watched, she stabbed down at me again, and again, the metal pole bending against my skin as the bruise grew. It's funny. When I could finally feel the pain of her stabbing my chest was when I felt relief.

But I kept that to myself, waiting for my moment. I knew I had to hold on.

She was crying, snot dribbling to mix with blood on her face, screaming something wordlessly as that metal pole finally shattered against my chest. My eyes closed to a sliver as she screamed.

"I'M STRONG!" Mary screamed, a childish and desperate sound. "I DON'T NEED PITY, I DON'T NEED HELP! Just di-e!"

Her voice cracked on the final word, her fists rising again. My eyes snapped open.

I punched her. I put everything I had into my right fist. Inside me, I felt a heat like a small explosion. I could swear that on impact, my fist damn near exploded against her chin, bones cracking in my hand. Her jaw clapped closed as she was thrown back. I struggled to my feet and ran to her as she landed on her feet, staggering. She faced me, confusion in her eyes. I snarled.

I had to stay angry. Hulk had told me, in that adorable way of his (Yes, he's adorable, don't look at me like that) 'Hulk anger is good. Jen stay strong. But like fire. Hulk's are raging fire. Burn friends and people. Have to be a laser fire, like the metal friend does.'

Laser fire. I focused my anger, stoking it, trying to guide the rage in my heart. I remembered all the pain and hurt in my life. Then I put the face of it all on Mary, and stepped in.

Mary jabbed at me, but I bobbed down at the same time I stepped forward. Her fist sliced the air over my head. As she staggered forward, I was crouched on her right side. She turned her head in time to catch my rising punch to her chin. Something cracked. She faltered back. I got over-excited, rushing in.

It was almost in slow-motion. Her hair parted in front of her right eye, the pupil shuddering as she glared at me. Still ready to fight. Her right heel slid back. She lashed out with a single backfist.

I stopped myself so hard I felt my muscles twist and snap in my legs and hip. Mary's fist hit my forehead, but my sudden stop made a full blow a scraping punch instead. Her eyes widened. I jumped into her as her fist passed me. My arms wrapped around her waist as we fell together. I used my jumps momentum to pull her along as I front-flipped while pulling her off the floor. When my feet hit the ground, I tightened my legs and abs, tossing Mary up like a rocket.

Crouched on the ground, I put everything I had into jumping after her, a loud crack filling the stadium. Mary, still tumbling through the air, tried to do something, but I flew past her. I twisted to land feet first on the stadium ceiling. Mary continued to rise towards me, red hair waving in the wind. I extended my legs like pistons exploding outwards, bringing my arms in front of me in an 'X' pattern.

"GAMMA BOMB!"

I hit her in the chest with an explosion of noise and force, the roof above us cracking from the proximity of our impact. We came down like a meteor and cratered the ground. I felt my body protest at the sheer force of the attack, but Mary spat blood, the red mixing with the dust created by the concrete, metal, plastic, and wood we'd destroyed on our landing.

The impact sent me bouncing upwards. I landed on my back and coughed, trying to breath.

"Ah… I really hope someone filmed that," I mumbled.

I raised my hand to my forehead, rubbing away at the sweat. Then I froze and stared at my hand.

My skin was becoming pale. As I watched in horror, the green shades of my body began to turn white.

"No, no, no, no, not now!" I snapped up to a kneeling position, only to gasp in pain. My body was still healing. But even as my bones and muscles knit themselves back together, I started to shrink, arms and legs sinking into themselves. I slowly stood up, feeling a bit dizzy at the sight of a world I'd gotten used to being too small for my ever-loving green self.

I snarled, shaking my head and closing my eyes.

Dread filled me.