Asgardian Twilight

Return to Form

The streets of Sakaar were barely within Thor's focus as he landed gracefully, never losing his stride. He pumped his arms for speed, intent on reaching the distant junkyard. The quinjet beckoned. It was etched in his mind's eye- the escape from this psychotic planet.

"Thor stay!" Hulk shouted as he landed in the street and bounded after him.

Applause erupted around them, but Thor didn't care. There was only the quinjet. He could feel the earth beneath his feet trembling and knew that Hulk was pursuing him. Soon, he found himself staring at the nose of the quinjet, parked among the trash. The ramp was open and he stormed up and into the craft, making way for the controls. He placed his hand on the pad for biometric scanning.

"Voice verification required," a computerized female voice prompted him.

"Thor," he spoke impatiently.

"Access denied."

Thor scowled. "Thor, son of Odin," he attempted again.

"Denied."

He could feel anger rising up. "God of Thunder," he grunted.

"Strongest Avenger!?"

"Access denied."

Thor shoved away from the pad and huffed. "Damn you, Stark," he grumbled under his breath. He knew exactly where this was going. "Point Break."

The quinjet's systems powered up, giving Thor a real sense of hope. Then the sound of metal being peeled away tore at his senses. He spun around, watching in horror as Hulk entered the quinjet, his massive frame tearing up the hull.

"Friend, stay!" Hulk bellowed.

Thor rolled his eyes and ran toward Hulk. He put his hands against the behemoth. "No, no, no!" he urged. "Stop breaking everything!"

"Don't go! Stay!"

Thor bumped against the console as he attempted to push Hulk back and a video message was displayed before them Hulk froze in place, his eyes fixed upon what he was seeing. It was Natasha.

"Nice work, big guy. We don't know where Ultron's headed, but you're going very high, very fast," Natasha said.

Hulk's demeanor became somber and Thor gazed sympathetically at him.

"So, I need you to turn this bird around, okay? We can't track you in stealth mode," Natasha went on. The pleading in her voice was painful. Thor shook his head. How the former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent had loved Bruce.

Hulk moved so that he was right up against the screen, his eyes glassy with tears yet to fall.

"So I need you to help me out. Okay? I need you to-"

The message was cut off. Hulk looked down at his hands and began to tremble. He fell to his knees, his body convulsing. He roared and touch his face as he shook his head. Thor sensed that he was trying to control what was happening. But there was no turning back. Exposure to Natasha in any capacity had been the key to undoing the Hulk persona. He thrashed about, bringing further wreckage to the quinjet interior before he finally fell silent and still.

"Banner," Thor spoke with care as he approached and laid a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, hey, hey. You're all right! Sun's going down. Sun's going down. That's it, breathe. I won't hurt you. Sun's going down.

Banner recovered from the intense transformation and stared up at him, his expression shifting gradually from distress to surprise. "Thor?"

Thor smiled. "Yes. It's me, Banner."