"BOOM!"
Ant-Man's massive fist came down like a hammer, crushing a Leviathan into the ground with a thunderous impact. The battlefield was a maelstrom of chaos as the clash between the Avengers and Thanos' army reached a fever pitch.
Above the battlefield, silver streaks of light flashed across the sky as the Valkyrie troops soared into the fray on their winged steeds. Their arrival, combined with the devastating power of the black dragon princess, turned the tide of aerial combat, momentarily suppressing Thanos' air forces.
Thanos, watching from his vantage point, remained calm, his lips curling into a faint smirk. "Interesting," he muttered, though his tone betrayed indifference.
On the ground, Tony Stark fired a powerful laser blast, sending Corvus Glaive hurtling backward. He readied another shot, intending to finish the fight, when a sudden force slammed into him, sending him flying.
Tony groaned as he hit the ground hard, quickly scanning his attacker. His HUD registered ten massive figures standing nearby. "Another one?" he muttered, preparing his laser cannons.
But then his eyes fell on a single, hulking figure among them, and his heart sank.
"Hulk?" Tony's voice wavered in disbelief. "What the hell is going on?"
The figure before him looked like the Hulk but was entirely different. This Hulk's eyes were feral, devoid of reason, and a metallic collar encircled his neck, sparking ominously.
Before Tony could process the scene, Collared Hulk let out a guttural roar and charged, landing a devastating punch that sent Tony sprawling. The beast leapt on top of him, delivering a relentless barrage of blows to his armor.
"Damn it!" Tony growled, struggling to break free.
Suddenly, another green blur collided with the collared Hulk, knocking him away. Tony looked up to see the real Hulk, standing tall and glaring at his alternate self.
"I didn't think I'd ever see a version of myself like this," Bruce Banner's voice echoed from within Hulk's massive frame. "It's… pitiful."
Inside Hulk, his words stirred a response. "It… not Hulk," the big green hero replied in halting speech. "It… not Hulk."
The two titans clashed, shaking the ground with every blow.
Above the battlefield, Thanos' air forces fought valiantly, but they faced a formidable opposition. The Chitauri fighters were being systematically torn apart by the combined might of the Ravagers, Wakandan air units, and Tony's drone army. Meanwhile, the massive Leviathan ships, resembling fortresses in the sky, struggled under the relentless assault of the black dragon and the Valkyrie legion.
Though petite in stature, each Valkyrie wielded power that could bring down a Leviathan with precision strikes. Their graceful movements masked their destructive strength, and their sheer presence tilted the balance of power in the air.
Thanos observed the carnage, his patience wearing thin. While it was often tactically sound to let one's army soften the enemy before stepping in, he realized that his forces were faltering faster than anticipated. If he didn't act soon, the battle could spiral out of his control.
Particularly problematic was the black dragon. Though not the most powerful individual combatant, its fiery breath wreaked havoc on the battlefield, engulfing scores of Chitauri soldiers and vanguard units in flames.
Then there was the Fenrir giant wolf, thought long dead but now rampaging through the battlefield, leaving destruction in its wake.
Even Corvus Glaive, one of Thanos' most trusted generals, had been knocked to the ground. Tony Stark stood over him, preparing to finish the job.
The Overlord Sky Blade spun through the air like a comet, deflecting Tony's blast just in time. Thanos leapt down, landing with a resounding thud in front of Tony.
"Well, well," Thanos said, his deep voice calm yet menacing. "Tony Stark. I know you."
Tony braced himself, leveling his repulsors at the towering figure. "Yeah? Well, I know you too, big guy."
"In my world," Thanos continued, "there was an arrogant Iron Man much like you. He thought he could stand in my way. In the end, I tore his head off and added it to my collection."
Tony smirked, though his HUD was scanning for every possible escape route. "Funny," he retorted. "In my world, we had a Thanos too. I thought about keeping his head, but then I realized I don't like shriveled purple potatoes."
Thanos' eyes narrowed. "I hope your strength is as sharp as your wit."
Tony's answer was a blinding laser blast.
Elsewhere on the battlefield, the two Hulks were locked in a brutal struggle. The collared Hulk's mindless, beast-like fighting style caught Bruce off guard. Unlike the calculated strength of the real Hulk, this version relied on sheer animalistic ferocity, biting, clawing, and pummeling with reckless abandon.
To Bruce, the sight was more than just a physical challenge—it was a spiritual blow. This was another version of himself, one that had been tamed, broken, and turned into a mere tool for Thanos.
"This isn't right," Bruce murmured, his thoughts echoing within Hulk's mind. The emotional connection between the two only fueled Hulk's growing rage.
"ROAR!"
With a deafening cry, Hulk's strength surged, his fists colliding with his alternate self in a thunderous blow. The collared Hulk staggered, and with one final punch, Hulk sent him crashing to the ground.
"You…" Hulk growled, his voice trembling with fury. "You… are not worthy of being Hulk!"