PAN
?Welcome once again to the Tournament of Champions!? The buoyant tone articulated to the crowds that sat before it, roaring in a rampant blood frenzy. Nothing else but absolute joy emanated from the announcer?s face, but a cheap buck was all that was on his mind; the carnage of two super powered heroes clashing together meant little to him, compared to the crowd, who had spent their hard earned money to attend this festival of bruises and agony. Residue stained the stadium?s walls from previous battles; a black, winged boomerang object hung from the ceiling, encrusted with what seemed to be sharp claws. The remainder of what seemed to be a red fabric remained in the midst of the arena, though no one had the strength to lift it ? the stuff of a Kryptonian.
?Now, remember, this is the championship match. The victor of this free for all match will be here on out claimed as the best of the best, and will be revered throughout the universe as a god. Yes, and this time folks, it?s not a joke.? The announcer spoke fluently, never stopping to breathe during his monologue, ?Your two favorite heroes are just getting ready for their final match. Grab your popcorn and cola, this?ll be a long one!? The man bowed toward the crowd, rolling his wrists elegantly before raising to meet the eyes of over a thousand spectators; the only ones who could afford such an arduous journey to the history-breaking event.
?Now tell me, people, who do you want to see?? Roaring into the palm-held microphone, the announcer barked, invoking the rising spirits of a thousand drunks, five thousand groupies, and a million fans. The crowd roared, appeasing if for only a moment their immediate desire for adrenaline. Fists rose into the air, rocking back in forth as though it were a hardcore musical performance; awaiting the flames of battle once again. Harder again the crowd screamed, beckoning the final participants to the ragged stage to claim their titles as champions of this universe and the next. Tension drenched the spectators as their eyes went bloodshot, separated from the sequence of action they had only hours ago experienced through the fights between heroes they thought deserved victory.
They?re calling me?
Me. No?They want him?Hulk?
The collection of races boomed in an unparalleled level of sound as the congruently sided apertures in the stadium walls went aflame with the glowing figures of men, familiar through the stress of so many battles and defeats. These men had exceeded expectation and proceeded into the next generation of battle; these men had defeated gods, universal heroes and villains, and still remained lively enough to achieve absolute greatness. Their doubters and critics whom had once relished at the two?s mistakes receded this day, shriveling their pride to succumb to the immense excitement that had finally emerged from within every being ever created.
?Put your hands together for Dr. Banner, or the one you know and love?The Hulk!?
A man serrated in nothing more than rags stumbled into sight, instantaneously receiving the ?admiration? of women... and men. His head was misshapen from the massive incursions he had received from previous opponents, but he?d disregarded them for nothing more than scars of his victory. Raising two blood-pruned hands to the crowd, the young scientist cheered back to his followers with words of thanks and appreciation, comprehending what response he would assume from them if he were to lose this most defining battle. Finally the genius accelerated his pace, taking a first large step onto the pavement he had grown so fond of as of late. This man, Banner, was the Hulk; the green beast of hatred and no sense of control ? and he, not the scientist, would be the one fighting this battle.
?All right, you useless son of a bitch, come on.? Bruce placed a wide hand to his cheek painfully, leaving a glaring tattoo of crimson about his bruised white flesh, ?Come on! You?re a waste of my conscience! Come on, damn it!? A nerve twitched from deep inside Banner, activating an intensifying sense of rage and malice within him. Anger boiled in his eyes, singing from his lips a tone not unlike a rabid beast. The lanky genius trembled now, his muscle mass escalating at a stupendously fast rate. Lost blood cells were caught in the massive growths, pressed up the interior of Banner?s brutalized flesh. Pigments of green followed the secret inner destruction of cells, soon enhancing the now enormous man?s hair and flesh with a completely alien appearance. The Hulk had arrived, spurring the crowd?s darkest excitements at last.
?Oh ho ho, I have no doubt you?d all be satisfied with that. But who needs to be satisfied when you can be driven to the edge? Welcome, everyone, your favorite neighborhood spidey?Spiderman!? A web sprung out from the darkness of the second cave as the words exploded into the atmospheric dome, lifting the only remaining shadow from the lobby of the gargantuan structure and instantly toward the arena. Black-stringed, red-suited man landed softly on the surface, kneeling to regain a gradual amount of balance. The white-glass eyes that adorned his uniform glared directly into the orcish monster defiantly, though the ones that sat in snug sockets behind it quivered fearfully.
?Both contestants?Both champions have made their way to the field! The time has almost come, but please, everyone, return to the lobby. We have bleachers awaiting you there with the most comfortable equipment money can buy. I bet you folks were hoping for an eye-on-body performance, but let me tell you, this battle will be insanely large.? The crowd sighed in total unison, accompanying their immense dissatisfactions with curse words and horrid wishes.
This is it?He sure is big?
?Okay, Hulk?Be smart about this. Don?t let him tri?KILL!
?How?s it going, Banner?? Peter grinned through his tight mask, secretly brandishing a cheesy expression.
?Hrurg?? The Hulk snarled through his nose, the determination of a dying bull regurgitating out through him.
May the battle commence!
The green gargantuan propelled himself into the air, repulsive amounts of saliva sliding across his cheeks wildly as his arms spanned to a length much longer than Spiderman?s own height. Spidey drifted into stance, flipping back as Hulk landed. In swift thought the friendly hero vanished, snapping a pearly string up toward the ceiling, avoiding a sturdy haymaker from the emerald devil. Peter descended from the sky forcefully, his leg extended with an excellent potency driving it. The attack struck vigorously off the surface of The Hulk?s neck, leaving nothing more than a centimeter?s depth of impression upon it. With the speed of a jet Banner snatched the spliced warrior?s tensed leg in retribution, dragging the struggling hero across the stadium floor in a dynamic hurdle. The rock parted before Spiderman?s uncontrollable slide; his arms shot up, unleashing two proportionately thicker webs toward the Hulk?s outstretched limbs. Grabbing hold of his two exerted ropes, he thrust himself forward, impelling his cranium deep into the solid green wall of muscle.
?Silly Spider! Me crush!? Before the spider hybrid could recoil and land on his feet, the demon had mustered the force to bring his arms down upon the frail back of the inexperienced fighter. Cajoling for mercy from the pain, Peter snapped back, spinning away from the stomping ped of his adversary. Debris flew up from the inefficient action, leaving various cuts across Peter?s human skin.
?Damn it!? Spiderman lamented, drawing himself upward skillfully, ?How am I suppose to beat a guy I can?t even damage?!? A thought ignited the documents of his doubt into flame, leaving room for his ambition as his whimpering ended.
The emerald devil dashed forward, leaving little to say about any disadvantages. Spiderman donned the situation perfect, and swiftly dodged the charge, immediately spawning yet more webs. This time, however, he slung them about, along with himself, working off the momentum of the Hulk?s movements. Banner recognized this, but his body did not, and consequently he brought to his knees as the Star Wars-esque tactic caused the beast?s balance to go ajar. Peter quickly followed his strategy with a barrage of fully developed webs, starting by smothering the demon?s skull with the thick glue. Springing to his feet at last, Spiderman complimented Hulk?s more defined features by apprehending them first. Banner struggled, his voice leaking through the groping strings of web.
?Get out of that, Banner!? Peter gloated, wallowing in his genius, ?Who?s the smart guy now?? The Hulk?s muscles tensed, strangling himself ever tighter in doing so. Several strings broke free, giving Banner even more lease with each outburst of anger. ?Is that all you g??
?HULK?SMASH!? The Hulk leapt from his prison, arms aroused with maddened wrath, ?HULK KILL SPIDER!? The barbaric tongue fumed, thundering the stadium with quakes and falling rubble. A tempered foot engaged with the surface furiously, enforcing the sound-caused earthquake further. Peter lifted from the parting ground, utilizing his powers to escape the danger. Hulk growled, as if he had been expecting the move, and hastily vaulted himself upon the retreating hero. Bearing a mountainous fist into Spiderman?s chest cavity, the hybrid collapsed to the arena floor, attributing more debris to the piling sector of physical damage. Peter urged himself up, shirking from the descending warrior?s line of precision. Smoke billowed out from under the demon?s perched legs as he landed, jaws locked wide in a consistently boorish roar.
?Shit!? Sidestepping from an anvil fist, Peter took hold as Banner recoiled it back. Taking the alacrity of this movement to his own advantage, the hybrid situated his own fist in the air, and as the facial area of the Hulk became visible, coerced it rapidly into his smug countenance. The emerald demon faltered back, halting his howl for the sake of his throbbing visage. Peter smirked, picking himself up off of Banner?s wrist. Twisting around in a slight hop, the hybrid planted a bony heel into the Hulk?s massive cheek, sabotaging any chance of Banner returning to stature quickly. Spiderman tossed himself back, abruptly turning back to his foe and directing a copious blow to the beast?s abdomen. Banner gagged, spewing a palm-full of blood to the rubble coated arena.
Hulk returned blows in a single attack, throttling his head forth into the receding Peter?s. A crack pursued the conflicting skulls, sending only once fighter across the arena?s warrior-damaged vicinity. Subjecting himself to a countering array of Spiderman?s attacks, the Hulk bowled after his opponent, arms swaying insanely across the field as he proceeded. Peter licked the ground with his suit as he drew forward on an emitted band of thread, evading the approaching scientist?s charge with utmost proficiency. The green one?s foot clashed with a boulder he himself had caused from the previous earthquake, initiating a series of ridiculously elongated falls and trips ? only invoking more resentment in the riled up spawn of science.
?He?s getting way to angry. Fighting this guy one on one with fists? Yeah?hah?I don?t think so. They guy beat Superman?I mean, come on. What kind of luck is this?? Peter?s voice strummed a calmer cord, even in the midst of such adrenaline. ?No rules, though. What can I do with no rules?? Spidey took his eyes to his surroundings, discovering little to nothing that could be of use. And then, through the rising fumes of his adversary?s fumbling, Peter caught a glimpse of perhaps the one thing that could give him the advantage in the battle; a cracked aperture in the ceiling, caused previously from the Green Lantern?s outburst of energy. Peter demanded its use, and formulated another cunning strategy. Turning to his opponent, he noted how little time he had, and, with limitless eagerness, ejected two bands of thread to the nearest boulder. Unleashing its weight upon the Hulk?s regaining vision, it burst into the air, sporadically firing off pebbles into the demon and the arena.
Rolling aside to grant him a clearer vision, the spider hybrid discharged the greatest of his webs in the duration of the fight, and moments later he felt the strict tug of contact. Exercising his super human ability and strength, the young man applied his full energy to the extended rope. The Hulk arose, grumbling with a quaking hand stroking his head. His eyes narrowed as they centered deeply into the distracted Peter?s figure, and without considering the possible fault of his actions, threw himself into the fray of combat a final time. A shoulder put before him, Banner planned on engraving a lethal fracture to the hybrid?s skull. Peter noticed the feel of his opponent?s footsteps, holding still in his grueling efforts.
To no avail; the monstrous humanoid embraced the frail body of the young man, but with it the rope. Under the forceful will of both warriors, the ceiling enclaved, collapsing in the blink of an eye upon the uncontrolled beast known as Banner.
?W-Well folks?It looks like we have a new situation here?? The announcer?s rythmatic voice tuned in once more, as an image of him spawned up on a cracked screen within the stadium walls. ?Both participants have?died??
The rubble shifted; a bloody hand reached out from the stone, clawing for something to attain balance upon. A jagged gash had been wrought across the man?s chest, one of his eyes nearly plucked from the ridges, though it was kept in with only a mild pain attaching itself to it. Doctor Banner, in all of his glory and ingenious ? had fallen.
?Oh, never mind what I said. It appears Spiderman has risen to the challenge! He is the champion! Spiderman is the champion of champions!?
Peter fell to a knee, his body twanging fulsomely as he stressed himself to move onward. Medics approached swiftly, a rolling bed at their hands, giving Peter the sudden assurance of his victory.
The dust that had settled on the battlefield twirled up a last time, as the resting place of the Hulk?s unchanged cadaver shifted, his arms suddenly disappearing under the ceiling tiles. The massive boulder that had crushed the demon?s legs arose with ease, lifting through the air and down upon the innocent attendants, and the pained Spiderman.
?Hulk?Hulk?? His breaths heaved darkly as he attempted to manifest the words, ?Hulk..win?? The metamorphasized body began recontaminating itself with the pink flesh of any average human, and the size departed along with it. Doctor Banner grounded himself, exhausted after his unbelievable exertion of energy and emotion.
??Un..unbelievable!? The announcer cried, honestly gasping at the event. His voice was now nonchalant, in true disbelief of the attack, ?Hulk?Doctor Banner is the victor!?