ISSUE #109

" You're real Impressive beatin on kids, Bub. But it's grown up time!" Logan snarled.

" Finally! This is the fight I was expecting. BRING IT ON!" The Hulk roared out in anger as Cyclops, Shadowcat, Colossus, Emma Frost, and Wolverine approached ready to fight.

But before anything else happened Professor Xavier finally appeared to confront the Hulk, after having made sure the rest of the students were evacuated.

" I believe you said you were looking for me. Now that I've seen my students to safety, you've got your wish." Xavier told the monster.

" Xavier, you're walking again. I can fix that." The Hulk stated.

" Yes, I know. You're the strongest one there is physically. But my power lies in another area." Xavier spoke. He touched his fingers to his head and in an instant everyone still conscious could see inside the Hulk's head. ' Impossible... The Hulk's mind has always been unique.... Difficult to control.. But I've never encountered anything like this.' Xavier spoke telepathically. ' The rage. Like an elemental force. I can't overcome it. And the feedback is engulfing everyone.'

Xavier explained exactly what was happening.

Then Images of the Hulk's life began to play out for everyone to see.

' Good lord, what he endured on that planet. Weakened, enslaved. The trials he faced... Unimaginable.' Xavier thought. They all watched as Hulk had to fight and claw back from the brink of death many times on this strange planet. Then the images changed again. But this time, things were happy. Hulk was happy. ' And yet, he found happiness. Friends. A kingdom. A wife. A child on the way.' They saw all of it. Every single happy memory the Hulk had on Sakaar. ' So why is he-' Xavier began to ask. But then it happened. The images changed once more to a land full of fire, a ravaged wasteland, a burned kingdom. The Hulk's dead wife and child. ' Oh. Oh God.'

Then just as soon as they came into the Hulk's mind, they were ejected. Each of them, left feeling the effects of the mental overload.

" Hulk.... I'm so sorry." Ian told the man. He felt Hulk's pain, at least a little. But truly, he couldn't imagine what the Hulk must have been feeling. How could he?

" Hulk, I.... I had no idea." Hank spoke as well.

" You all saw that, huh? Xavier's pals did that to me." The Hulk explained.

" Hulk, Bruce... Reed and the others sent you into space, yes. But the bomb that destroyed your city... I can't imagine them ever doing such a thing." Xavier told the man. " But I don't know. I wasn't with them when they made their plans." Xavier explained.

" I know. But according to what I beat out of Black Bolt, you were supposed to be. You were one of the guys that decided they were smart enough to play God. To decide what to do with me-- With me! Like I'm a rabid dog!" The Hulk Exclaimed. " So, I'm asking you, Xavier. If you'd been there, when they decided to ruin my life, how would you have voted?" The Hulk asked. " Answer me, Xavier. When Iron Man, Doctor Strange, Mr. Fantastic, and Black Bolt decided to shoot me into spacelike garbage... To destroy my life.... You were supposed to be there... How would you have voted?" The Hulk asked a reluctant Xavier once more. When Xavier didn't answer, the Hulk started getting aggressive. " Two seconds, then I start smashing."

" Forgive me, Bruce. I'm not avoiding the question. It's just that this seems to be a theme lately. Decisions I've made in the past coming back to haunt me. Decisions I thought served the greater good. Of humanity, of Mutant kind.... Of those I loved. But now I realize were wrong, whether they turned out well or badly.... Because I made them unilaterally. Arrogantly I presumed I knew best." Xavier explained to the man. The X-men and Ian all listened as Xavier spoke his mind. Even Scott, who had recently begun to distrust and distance himself from the Professor, had listened carefully to his words.

" The Honest answer is this. I wouldn't have agreed to exile you forever. But I would have voted to send you away while we searched for a cure." Xavier told the man, finally giving Hulk the answer, he was looking for. " You're right; I have been guilty of playing God. And there's nothing I can do to make up for it but perhaps I can atone. I'll surrender willingly." Xavier told the man.

" Smart move. Don't worry. You'll have Stark and the others to keep you company soon." Hulk told Xavier. He made to grab the man only to have Colossus grab his hand and stop him.

Colossus and Ian then both stood in front of Xavier, protecting the man from the Hulk.

" One moment, Tovarisch. The professor may have agreed to his surrender. But we have not." Colossus told the man.

" You're right to be angry, Hulk. But Xavier has nothing to do with what happened to you. If you still want to take him, then you'll have to go through us first." Ian told the man.

" This is insanity! Stop blocking my powers, Emma." Xavier exclaimed.

" Then stop trying to make us back off." Emma replied.

The Hulk looked down on all of the X-men and scowled.

" This really how you all want it? All of you?" The Hulk asked.

Scott, as leader of the X-men, looked to Xavier and then to his X-men. All of whom nodded in agreement.

" All of us!" Scott exclaimed. Scott quickly opened fire on the Hulk, hitting him in the face with his optic blast. Emma grabbed Xavier and ducked out of the way while Colossus, Wolverine, and Ian lunged at the man.

Ian and Colossus both punched the Hulk in his face.

" Everyone back! I'm going max power!" Scott yelled.

Colossus backed off, but Ian stayed on the beast.

" Scott, just hit us both!" Ian yelled to the man.

Scott nodded and proceeded to blast both Ian and Hulk with the maximum output of his Optic blasts.

Though it hurt at first, Ian began to slowly channel the energy around him, even boosting the strength the Scott's attack with his own powers.

" Keep on him, Ian!" Scott yelled.

Ian was trying to. He continued punching at the Hulk, while also trying to keep Scott's attack going, but the Hulk was beginning to recover.

" Remember, you all asked for this." The Hulk exclaimed. He brought his fist up into Ian's jaw and sent the boy crashing into the Institute. Ian hit the brick wall and bounced off of it, landing hard in the field.

Hulk then turned towards Scott and walked his way through the man's optic blasts, before finally reaching and grabbing Scott by his head. Hulk went to punch Scott, but Kitty grabbed the man and phased him out of the Hulk's grip.

" Damn it, girl. You're just making this worse." The Hulk told Kitty.

" Wrong, Bub. That's my job!" Logan snarled. He slashed Hulk across his arm pit, getting the drop on him. But the Hulk recovered and back handed Lohan through two trees and into the nearby forest.

" Damn it." Ian cursed. He grabbed his face and cringed. " I've never been hit so hard in my life." Ian stated. He got back up to his feet and flew over to Hank and Colossus to help them battle the Hulk.

" Stupid Mutant! You can't stop me! You can't even hurt me!" The Hulk exclaimed.

" We don't want to, Bruce. Please, Just stop fighting us before we have to." Hank told the man.

Ian punched the Hulk in his chin as hard as he could, and even though he knocked the Hulk back, the Hulk didn't seem phased. In fact, Ian was the one who was hurting. Each blow he landed on the Hulk, felt like he was punching steel.

" There's no talking this out anymore! Hank! Emma! Peter! Get back!" Ian told the others. He raised his hands and the others quickly retreated from the Hulk.

" What are you gonna do from over there?" The Hulk asked the man.

" LET ME SHOW YA SELF RIGHTEOUS HYPOCRITE." Ian released a blast, much bigger than any other, engulfing the Hulk with it and destroying a very large portion of the forest behind him.

" Did that do it?" Hank asked.

" Not even close, if you guys got a plan, I suggest you do it now." Ian told the man.

And sure enough, Hulk came stomping out of the smoke and flames, even angrier than before.

" Back to what we were doing before then?" Colossus asked.

He and Emma both, charged the Hulk, trying to beat on him together.

But the Hulk had, had enough. He grabbed Emma by her shoulders and used the diamond woman to back hand Colossus away from her.

" Alright, then. Plan B it is. I'm afraid you leave us no choice." Hank told the Hulk.

" Except to do what? Get squashed like bugs?" Hulk asked the man.

" No..." Kitty yelled. " To do this." She grabbed onto the Hulk and then phased him into the ground, making the Hulk yell out in great pain.

With the Hulk momentarily out of commission, the remaining X-men quickly gathered.

" You did it, Kitty. I wasn't sure it would work on the Hulk's physiology." Hank stated.

" Hank.... I did what I had to. But I just crippled a man. Can we skip the post-game-analysis?" Kitty told the man. " Besides, he's still dangerous."

" Katya's right. We must figure out how to contain him." Peter stated.

" Uh, guys?" Ian muttered.

" There's that negative zone prison. We could call Stark or Richards." Emma spoke up.

" Or Doctor Strange." Hank stated.

" GUYS!" Ian yelled.

Everyone turned back to Ian and watched as the Hulk ripped himself out of the ground.

" Or you could all go to Hell!" Hulk raised his hands and thunder clapped everyone but Ian away from him. And in the process Hulk ended up knocking Shadowcat out cold.

Ian flew up to the man and hit him with two uppercuts to his chin, before Hulk backhanded him onto the ground.

Ian hit the ground, hard, skidding through the dirt. Hulk ran up to Ian and tried to step on his head, only for Colossus and Emma to jump on the man together.

Ian quickly rolled over and jumped up to his feet and joined Colossus and Emma.

Meanwhile, Pixie floated over the school and looked down at the fight.

" Oh my god." Megan exclaimed. She floated back down to where the others were and told them what was happening. " Miss Pryde's unconscious."

" We should be there." Indra spoke up. " We should-"

" Do exactly as the professor told us and keep running. This is bigger than us." David told the boy. " And besides, we're of no use here."

" Not against the Hulk." The three stepford sisters stated. " But there are other ways. Some have received the alarm. Some haven't. But now they'll all know. All of them within reach will see Exactly what's happening." The three stepford sisters used their powers to broadcast a message across the United States and beyond all the way to the UK. Their message was for all remaining mutant allies.

X-Factor Investigations....

" Oh."

" My."

" Lord."

Jamie, Monet, and Rahne all saw exactly what was happening at the Institue and along with the rest of their teammates, they all quickly left to help battle the Hulk.

But they weren't the only ones.

" We be there in minutes." Hepzibah stated.

" They need us now!" Kurt yelled. he throttled the X-jet's controls all the way. Hoping to reach the mansion before it was too late.

And last but certainly not least, Captain Britain, Psylocke's brother, Dazzler, and Cain Marko, the Juggernaut. Excalibur headquarters.

" Bloody hell! We have to do something." Brian Britain exclaimed.

" How? There's an ocean between us!" Dazzler told the man. " We wouldn't get there in time." The woman spoke. But Juggernaut wasn't having it.

Cain marched up the stairs to his room in the lighthouse and opened a secret compartment in his dresser.

" All right, Cyttorak, you ugly demon bastard. I know you can hear me through the gem. You been weakening my powers cause I ain't doing what you want. What I used to do. Rampaging. Destroying. Killing. Well, I'll make you a deal. You use your magic to send me where the Hulk is... And you'll get exactly what you want." Cain told the demon god.

And as if on cue, a portal opened up in front of Juggernaut, giving him a roadway straight to Xaviers Institute. Cain stepped forward into the portal and began his trip to confront the Hulk.

Things were beginning to shape up, the X-men had the Help of the Mighty juggernaut coming their way... But they still had to survive now Which for them was becoming harder and harder every moment.

" You brought this on yourselves." Hulk told the X-men. He grabbed Hank by his head and punched him in the chest, sending him flying away from the fight. " I woulda been fine with Xavier, but now you're all gonna pay!"

" You talk too much!" Ian told the man.

The Hulk brought his hands downover Ian's head. Ian caught them both and started a pushing match with the Hulk.

" Heh! You got guts kid; I'll give you that. Was a time you would have made a challenge. I'd even say there was a time you probably would have been able to beat me. But that was then. And this is now." The Hulk drove his foot into Ian's chest, slamming him into the ground and making him spit up blood.

" Ian!"

Both Emma and Colossus both called the young man's name out loud. The jumped at the Hulk, hoping to get him off the boy, only for Colossus to get back handed away with ease, and Emma stuck within the Hulk's clutches.

" You're like Xavier, right? You think you're so smart. Figure this out." Hulk told the woman. He then drove Emma into the ground horizontally, leaving the top of her head exposed. " You can't get leverage to break free. And you turn from diamond to human, then you'll be stuck and vulnerable. You don't want to know what happens then." Hulk told the woman

Colossus, returned and punched the man in his face, getting him away from Emma.

" Do not worry, Emma. I will free you shortly. Once I've beaten this monster." Colossus told the woman. He and the Hulk locked arms and started trying to overpower the other.

" Heh! The Kid's stronger than you are, but I'll say the same to you. You got guts colossus; was a time you would have made a decent opponent. But that was then. AND THIS IS NOW! AND NOW, YOU'RE JUST A PILE OF SCRAP!" Hulk exclaimed. Hulk quickly bent Colossus' arms backwards, snapping the metalic alloy that covered the man's body. Something that no man has ever been able to do before, until now. " Now, move before I do the same to your head."

" N-Nyet. I will not... Stop." Colossus told the man.

"Leave Petey alone, Hulk. It always comes down to you and me anyway." Logan told the man. He came running back at the Hulk, half his costume ripped, and jumped at the beast. Logan tried to cut the Hulk, but his claws simply drug across the man's skin.

" This ain't another one of our throw downs, Wolverine. Things're different." Hulk told the man.

" Yeah.... You're skins harder to cut now." Logan stated. " So, I'll go for something softer." He shouted. He then did exactly as Laura did and cut the Hulk's eyes out.

" RAAAAAH! HAHAHAHA!" The Hulk laughed He then grabbed Logan as the man continued swiping at him with his claws.

" Your little sidekick tried that earlier, I was hoping you would too. cause you had to get close enough to grab. My eyes'll heal." The Hulk explained.

" Sure. You got a healing factor.... A lot like mine. Means we can do this all day. I'm game for that." Logan told the beast.

" Not me." Hulk told Logan; he then punched him in the face hard. " I got things to do. I know I can't kill you... But there are other options. The Hulk told the man as he punched him again. " You ever see a boxer who took one to many shots to the head? They can't walk right. Can't do much of anything. The brains all scrambled." Hulk explained as he rained down blows on Logan's face. " So, let's see what happens when your brain bashes smashes against the inside of your metal skull... Again... and again.... And again!" The Hulk exclaimed. He continued bashing Logan in the face until the man finally went limp in his arms. " That's what I thought."

" Nice Job with the runt, Hulk. Now try someone your own size!" The Juggernaut, yelled and Rushed Hulk, colliding with the big man and shaking the ground around him.

Cain punched Hulk in the jaw and Hulk replied by kneeing Cain in his stomach.

" I know you, Juggernaut. You look punier than I remember. Fight like it too." The Hulk complained. He elbowed Juggernaut in the back of his neck and then slammed him into the ground with his two fists.

" This ain't right.... I'm the..." Cain was speaking.

Hulk then raised his arms up and slammed Cain into the ground hard, knocking him out cold.

Hulk looked around at the empty battlefield and huffed.

" Hrnh. That everybody?" Hulk asked.

" Not quite mein Herr." Kurt told the man.

Kurt, Darwin, Warpath, Multiple Man, Siryn, Monet, Strong Man, Wolfsbane, and Hepzibah all arrived at once, ready to assist in the fight with the Hulk.

The Hulk grunted and prepared to face the last of the X-men left to fight. Only needing to go through them until he can finally get to his objective. Xavier.

" Let's go." Hulk grumbled.