suddenly the Hulk was breathing again The goo had fallen away from his face and air rushed into his oxygen-deprived lungs Who asked the Hulk as the woman continued to blast the strange creature With every blast the ooze fell away from the Hulk until at last he was free Something about the shotgun blasts was causing the creature pain and at the same time was also shrinking it Hulk wasn’t sure of much but he was sure that was no ordinary shotgun Get on your feet and help me contain it the woman shouted Normally the Hulk wouldn’t react kindly to someone yelling at him but considering that this person had arguably saved his life he ignored it The Hulk hefted his massive form getting to his feet The goop tried to slide away from the woman but the Hulk smashed the ground with his left fist blocking its path The vibrations sent the goo scattering She fired yet another blast at the goo And suddenly it stopped moving
Was it dead I’m Elsa Bloodstone said the woman nodding in the Hulk’s direction And you have to help me get that thing into this thing She nudged her shotgun toward a metal container it looked like a giant thermos The Hulk scooped the inert goo off the desert floor and put it inside the metal container When he was done he handed it to Elsa who promptly clamped a lid on top screwing it shut What was that thing the Hulk asked Elsa stood quietly for a moment as she placed the metal container into a pack she had slung along her back I’m not exactly sure she said I’m still in the process of determining its origins But it’s dangerous I think I figured that out already Hulk said Elsa laughed Elsa Bloodstone said her good-byes to the Hulk as the giant coiled his massive legs like springs Releasing his muscles the Hulk jumped into the air disappearing into the sky with a mighty leap
Save the world meet the Hulk Elsa said My bucket list is looking pretty good At that moment a wall of shimmering energy appeared out of nowhere behind Elsa She must have expected it because she walked right into it without a moment’s hesitation She disappeared into the light and a second later the energy wall disappeared as well Once again the desert was still Except Except something was moving No Something was oozing Drip Drop That’s how it starts With something little Something so small that our eyes barely notice Drips and drops a little here and a little there Before long what was small becomes large And it happens right in front of us A process so gradual that no one really thinks to say anything until it is far too late
Which is exactly how IT wanted things to be Because you see IT could remember IT remembered what had happened before when IT was born inside a remote castle IT remembered when IT lived when IT oozed creeped and shuffled among the humans When IT terrified them The humans How IT hated them For all it took was one of their number to put an end to IT Or so they thought
