Scott was surprised, but only for a moment. He raised is arms up in a double fist and slammed then in Brandon's back. The force travelled down Brandon's back, nearly shattering it into a zillion small fragments. Brandon felt his legs buckle, as he tumbled forward, dropping Scott to the floor. Brandon cried in pain and he was stopped inches from the exit.

Scott just shook his head and laughed.

There was a pounding on the door. "What's going on in there? Do you guys need help? What was that crash?" They heard sounds as if people where throwing their bodies against the door, which had been expertly wedged shut by Brandon.

"Good thing you locked that for us, huh?" chided Scott. "Ya know, it's a bit too crowded around here. We need some space, like out in the country."

"There's a wooded area about ten miles north. How about that? Four or five good leaps oughta get us there," Abomination boasted.

"Sounds like a plan, but I got a faster way." Scott lifted Brandon and walked toward Blonsky. He held Brandon under one arm, and lifted the green-skinned creature under the other. He carried them to hole Blonsky and made in the wall. He oriented himself in the direction he needed to go. He flexed his thighs and calves, summoning all his strength. He leapt.

Blonsky was use to hulk-jumps. He was use to the speed and power of his own legs. He had never experienced anything like this. Air rushed past them at super-sonic speed as Scott's muscle power propelled them higher, faster and farther than anything he had ever done. In less than a minute, and in only one jump, they landed in a field surrounded by trees. In a single leap, and propelling over two tons, Scott's massively powerful legs and gotten them to their destination. When Scott put him down, Blonsky looked in awe at the rippling thighs and calves that made him feel as weak as a baby. He longed for more power, like he had once had.

Scott stretched his legs, shaking the thigh and making the super-thick, dense muscle undulate. He then flexed it into thick chords of striated relief. "Man, that was a piece of cake. I need to try for twenty miles next time." Scott rubbed his hand over his tree-like legs, obviously enjoying the feeling of strength and muscle that he commanded. He looked at Brandon. "Now you've seen some of what I can do, why don't you try and impress me with what you can do."

This was what Blonsky wanted to hear. He grabbed Brandon in a bear hug and squeezed, trapping Brandon's arms at his side.

Brandon flexed, forcing his body into iron hardness. He flared his lats and pumped his chest, trying to break Blonsky's hold. He worked to free his arms. Blonsky was incredibly strong, but so was Brandon. He felts his arms begin to move.

"You might have been able to beat Banner, boy, but I was created stronger than him! I've got muscles on muscles." Blonsky squeezed tighter, crushing Brandon's muscles in on themselves.

Brandon doubled his effots. It was a see-saw of flexing and strength. Every time Brandon made a gain, Blonsky countered it. When Abomination gained an inch, Brandon's strength forced him out. Each man's force was countered and rebuffed by the other man's strength. Both men began to shake as he strained harder than he ever had.

Brandon screamed and put all his force into freeing his arms. Blonsky's grip failed and his hands flew apart, freeing Brandon. Brandon siezed the initiative and hit Abomination with his strongest punch, sending the creature flying backward into the trees.

"Take that you freak!" cried Brandon, stretching his muscles to get the blood circulating in them again. "I took down the Hulk and I'll take you down. And once I get out of here, I'll figure out a way to get stronger than you too Scott. I don't know how you did it, but anything you can do, I can do better."

While Brandon was screaming, Blonsky had recovered. He wrapped his arms around a hundred foot tall oak tree and pulled. It's roots snapped as the beasts strength overwhelmed the wood. He lifted it out of the ground. Using it as a bat, he swung the tree at Brandon with the force of a bullet train. Brandon flew through the air into a clump of trees.

Stunned, Brandon tried to regain his composure, but Blonsky didn't wait for that. He leapt with all his strength, landing with the force of a missile on Brandon's already sore back. Brandon's body plunged into the earth like a spike. He was buried up to his arm pits in dirt by the force of Abomination's legs.

Blonsky jumped up again, landing squarely and powerfully on Brandon's shoulders. There was a crack, and Brandon found his arms dislocated and useless. He was trapped and defeated.

Blonsky turned to Scott. "No problem," he said. "The boy is strong, but I am still stronger. You want me to finish him off?" Abomination kicked his leg, whizzing past Brandon's ear. "I can drop kick him into town, if you want? Or do you want to do it? Maybe send him into orbit?"

"The orbit of Mars," Scott bragged. Scott looked at Brandon, who was twisting and struggling to get out of his pit. "We use to be friends, and because of that I won't kill you today," Scott said. "That friendship ended, and I'm not sure why."

Brandon spit at him. "Because I don't want to be a faggot like you, dumbass. I'm strong. A jock. People like me. They respect me. How could they do it if I were a weak cocksucker like you?"

"Whatever," replied Scott. "Next time, if you're stupid enough to challenge me again, it's all out. No prisoners." Scott signalled to Blonsky, and the two leapt away, landing in a field two miles closer to town.

"We had a deal," Blonsky reminded Scott.

"We have a deal," Scott agreed.

"When will you give me what you promised?"

"I looked over what I know about your transformation, and how they weakened you. I think I understand what went wrong," Scott said.

"Can you fix it?"

Scott thought. His mind raced. Formulas railroaded through his consciousness. "Yes," he said, "but you have to trust me."

"And you'll make me as strong as you? Stronger?" There was hope in Blonsky's voice.

"That wasn't part of the deal," said Scott. He thought, then added, "and it would kill you. Your initial transformation, the one that made you, it also nearly killed you. I can reverse the negative effects, but your body has already been damaged. Your body would reject the gamma radiation necessary to give you strength like mine. All I can do is restore the strength you were created with. Maybe a bit more."

Blonsky looked at Scott. He felt an honesty in Scott, someone who really wanted to help him. Scott understood his longing for his original strength. It may have been an accident that created him, but once created, it was his. Banner should never have stolen it from him. "I trust you," Blonsky finally said.

"I need to prepare. Tomorrow night, come to the physics building at the university. I will meet you there, and we'll do it."

Blonsky agreed. He extended his hand. Scott took it, and pulled the creature close to him. They embraced. Scott flexed into Blonsky, letting him feel his superior strength. Blonsky hugged Scott back.

Scott turned, and then lept away.

It took Brandon four hours to free himself. The chemicals that had given him his power also allowed his body to heal quickly. He needed help, and he knew who he needed to talk to. They had taken Banner to an Army base on the other side of the state. Brandon had never used the power of his legs before as Hulk and Abomination had. He was not use to jumping miles at a time. But he was as strong as they were, so he decided to try. He jumped, leaping three miles toward the man he hoped would help him. •