The Hulkbuster Team

The setting sun turned the sky fiery red. With engines roaring, a huge military transport plane soared into the sky and headed for the thick clouds. Lightning flashed across the sky. A storm was coming.

It had taken off from Florida in the United States, bound for Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Everyone aboard was a member of the Hulkbuster Team. Just as the name suggested, their job was to capture the Hulk.

Ever since Bruce had been contaminated by Gamma Radiation and turned into a terrifying monster, General Ross had been hunting him. To capture the green giant, he had assembled the Hulkbuster Team.

The team consisted of elite soldiers from all over the world: Delta Force, the Navy SEALs, the SAS, and others. It included outstanding personnel from countries besides the United States, too.

To capture Bruce, General Ross had used his influence in the military to assemble a large team. Yet few of them had ever made it out alive after facing the Hulk's iron fists.

Of course, this time would be no different.

"Emil Blonsky, born in Russia, raised in the United Kingdom. Served in the Royal Marines before transferring to the special forces."

Inside the military transport, Ross held a file containing the roster for this Hulkbuster Team. There were seven names on the list, with Blonsky's name and details at the top.

Blonsky was a top-tier soldier, an ace of the special forces. He had served for years, taken part in hundreds of battles, and earned an outstanding record.

His achievements were more than enough to make him a colonel, but he loved combat. He was a born soldier. Ross had personally invited him to lead the Hulkbuster Team on this mission.

There was hardly any need to introduce the other soldiers.

They were all young, brawny men. Blonsky was the only one already middle-aged, and he looked somewhat out of place.

His expression was grim, and no one knew what he was thinking. Just then, a soldier struck up a conversation with him. "Captain Blonsky, I've heard so much about you. It's an honor to meet you!"

Blonsky's brow furrowed. The young man before him had blond hair and blue eyes, and looked less like a soldier than anyone else on the Hulkbuster Team. Blonsky didn't know him and couldn't be bothered to engage. Who the hell are you?

"I'm William Lister. Nice to meet you!" the young man said with a smile.

"Emil Blonsky," Blonsky replied in a low voice.

That's right. This overly friendly young man was William. As for why he was on the Hulkbuster Team, it all began with Ross's attempts to work with S.H.I.E.L.D.

Ross had been seeking S.H.I.E.L.D.'s cooperation, but Nick Fury had been hesitant. Then he met William, who told him about the Hulk.

William suggested a bold idea: let the Hulk join the Avengers. It sounded simple enough, but putting it into practice was another matter entirely.

Never mind how they'd get Ross to stop hunting Bruce. If they wanted the Hulk to join the Avengers, would they defeat him and force him to join, or reason with him?

Defeat him? Dream on. Reason with him? Did they think they'd lived long enough?

William had come up with a plan that required S.H.I.E.L.D.'s help. Ross was recruiting for the Hulkbuster Team, wasn't he? William asked Nick Fury to find a way to get him in. Only after witnessing the Hulk's true power could he judge whether he stood a chance of defeating him.

But in truth, he was there to complete the Hulk's main quest. And if they really wanted the Hulk to join the Avengers someday, they needed to start preparing now.

With help from the all-powerful S.H.I.E.L.D., William got a new identity: a newly enlisted member of the Navy SEALs.

There were so many Navy SEALs that Ross couldn't possibly know every one of them. William's file checked out, so Ross never suspected that he was a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent.

"This is your target, along with his current location," the female officer said, handing the files to the members of the Hulkbuster Team. "This mission is to capture the target alive. Use tranquilizer guns. Only use live ammunition if absolutely necessary!"

"The local police will assist you. Remember, don't alert the target before you've caught him. We don't want him to escape."

William looked at the file in his hands. It contained a photo of Bruce Banner, who looked young and harmless.

It was hard to imagine what he'd gone through to end up looking like the washed-up middle-aged man in The Avengers.

Tsk, time really was a butcher's knife.

"He doesn't look like a bad guy. Will he fight back?" Blonsky asked.

General Ross replied at once, "Your target is a fugitive from the United States government. He stole military secrets and is suspected of murdering two scientists, a military officer, a police officer, and two Canadian hunters."

Hearing Ross say that, William couldn't help rolling his eyes. The military sure knew how to shift the blame. Their failed experiment had created the monster, yet they pinned it all on Bruce.

Stole military secrets? People died? Why not mention how many tanks the Hulk had smashed with his bare hands?

Of course, Ross wouldn't dare say that. Otherwise, the Hulkbuster Team would have bolted already.

Ross didn't notice William's eye roll and continued, "So don't give him a chance to fight back. Sedate him and bring him in!"

Rio de Janeiro lay quiet in the early morning. Led by General Ross, the Hulkbuster Team had reached its destination: a slum that sprawled like a maze.

The command vehicle carrying General Ross crept along the streets, ghosting through the darkness.

The entire Hulkbuster Team was in position, each soldier stationed at a different spot. Blonsky and another soldier had quietly made their way to the entrance of Bruce's hideout.

Unlike the soldiers, who were on high alert, William stood in a corner with his gun, yawning from exhaustion.

How could he not be tired? They'd left the United States at dusk and flown for a few hours. By the time they reached Brazil, it was already dawn. The damn time difference had made his eyelids droop. He was about to fall asleep on his feet.

"Everyone, get ready to storm the building," Blonsky's voice came through the radio, jolting William awake.

He slapped his cheeks, then hurried toward the entrance with the other soldiers. The C4 exploded with a roar, blowing the door to pieces. The members of the Hulkbuster Team rushed inside!

A big black dog inside barked furiously, as if warning its owner that the bad guys had come.

Blonsky charged at the front and ran into Bruce's bedroom, firing a burst at the bed. Several Sleep Darts whistled through the air.

He yanked the blanket aside, only to find Bruce nowhere in sight. The bed held nothing but a dummy made from a pillow and a wig. Bruce had probably escaped long ago.

"Shit," Blonsky cursed. The big black dog was still barking, and the noise was driving him mad. He shot it in the head, putting it to sleep.

William looked at the big black dog lying on the floor. Blonsky was definitely a twisted bastard. He couldn't catch the man, so he took it out on the dog. Back in William's old world, dog lovers would have roasted a guy like him until he questioned his whole life.

"The target has escaped," Blonsky reported to General Ross.

The Hulkbuster Team searched the house for clues. William went into the kitchen and spotted a thick rope tied to the faucet of the sink. The window was ajar, and the rope stretched from inside the house to the outdoors.

William gently pushed the window open and saw a figure in a red hood climbing down the rope.

"Guys, I found Little Red Riding Hood!"

Why didn't Little Red Riding Hood get mad?