"Where do you think you're going?" Sparks flew from the damaged thrusters as Tony Stark struggled to maintain his balance in midair. Every so often, he turned and fired several Particle Beams, drawing Hulk's attention like a carrot dangling before a donkey's head. "Hey, cool guy, don't just stay silent!" He increased the thrusters' output again, barely catching up to the heavy motorcycle as it accelerated to 224 km/h. Normally, that speed would not have posed much of a problem for the Iron Armor, but after such a prolonged battle, the suit's energy reserves were far from sufficient.
As Hulk closed in, even beginning to make long jumps to shorten the distance between himself and the other two, Tony Stark grew increasingly anxious.
"Tell me your plan. Now!"
Black Knight turned and fired twice. The explosive rounds struck the hand Hulk had reached toward Tony Stark's feet. Flesh and blood splattered, and the pain drew a frustrated roar from Hulk. They were so close that the roar sounded like thunder exploding right beside them. "Do what you need to do," Black Knight said. "I'll deal with Hulk."
They kept circling for five minutes until the soldiers were ready. Fuel, ammunition, a new chain of command, and new assignments were distributed to every squad leader through mission cards.
The M249 Machine Guns mounted on the Humvees and the M240 General Purpose Machine Guns mounted on the M2A3 Infantry Fighting Vehicles continued spitting fire. Streams of high-speed bullets struck Hulk's skin, but firepower capable of shredding brick and stone could only add a few scratches to his body, forcing him to endure an endlessly irritating pain. Whenever Hulk tried to leave the highway to cause trouble for the infantry fighting vehicles and Humvees, Tony Stark and Black Knight ahead would turn back