"You bet!" Brandon said without hesitation. "I love having the power. I love being stronger than anyone else, being totally unstoppable. The way everyone treated me when I saved the campus,"

"You didn't really save the campus," Banner corrected.

"Ya, well, I was a hero. I loved that. Superman, Captain America, shit, they have it made. I want that. Come on, make me the strongest again. Let's put some muscle on this muscle," Brandon said, flexing his arm.

Banner seemed to be having second thoughts, but realized he didn't have much choice. Blonsky wanted him dead, and Scott's power over him was equivalent to his power over a normal man. He needed an ally with power, and right now, his best hope was Brandon. Maybe after he studied Scott's modifications, he could find away to enhance his own powers, but he didn't have time for that now. Banner started the sequence. The numbers began to tick down from 10 to 1.

As the first rays of gamma radiation hit Brandon, his body began to emit a blinding light. Banner shielded his eyes and screamed, "Are you OK?"

"It's working!" Brandon cried back. In a slightly deeper voice, he said "I feel great. Stronger!" As his voice deepened, he cried, "MORE!"

Brandon's body was like a balloon attached to a tank of helium. Muscles exploded with strength and expanded across his body. His pecs bulged and he could not longer see over them. His shoulders widened and he felt his thighs press into each other, forcing his balls and dick forward. His arms were forced wide from his side by his thickening lats. Brandon rubbed his hands over his body, feeling the weight and power of his pecs. He flexed his arms and gaped at the towering muscular mound. His clothes were ripped from his body, forming a heap at his feet. Only his jock strap remained on, pulled tight by his glutes and overstuffed with his manhood.

Beyond the feeling of size, Brandon felt a power growing inside him. He knew nothing could harm him. He could do anything. He was the strongest being ever to walk the planet. It was a power he always craved. He realized he had always been jealous of the Hulk, and wanted that might for himself. Now, the Hulk was a gnat compared to his strength and size. He wanted more. He wanted his strength to increase forever.

Brandon felt his head touch the ceiling, and he felt cramped. He wanted more. He dropped to his knees.

David Banner was blinded by the ever increasing light around Brandon. The longer he was exposed, the brighter the light. The atomic reaction seemed to be as luminous as the explosion of a hydrogen bomb, with all the power concentrated in one man. Banner heard a loud 'THUD'. "Brandon, are you OK?"

Before he could answer, there was a loud crash behind him. A piece of debris slammed into Banner's back. He turned, and saw Scott and Blonsky.

Scott was at full power. His ten foot, two thousand pounds of muscle was slouched over, too large for the basement. Even though he was too big, he still flew toward the machine. "Turn that off now!" he screamed.

Blonsky grabbed Banner, who had turned into the Hulk. "We have unfinished business," Blonsky said.

Scott started the shutdown sequence. As the generator powered down, the blinding light began to fade, but concealed the subject of Banner's experiment.

Scott turned to Blonsky. "Wait! Who is that? What did you do?"

Blonsky's face showed a look of surprised horror. Scott felt a tap on his shoulder. As he turned, a fist hit his face. It felt like he had been hit by a freight train. His powerful body flew, crashing through a wall then through the foundation of the building. He finally stopped, embedded in eight feet of dirt. Scott worked himself free, and hurried back to the lab.

In the lab, Scott saw a muscular giant holding Emil by his neck, Emil's feet were not touching the ground. Even though the giant was kneeling, the massive man's head scraped the ceiling. Scott's powerful mind estimated that the creature was at least thirteen feet tall, and weighed over two and half tons, all of it pure muscle. He recognized the behemoth. It was Brandon.

"Put him down!" Scott ordered.

"Or what, Scotty-boy? This bad man was picking on my little friend the Hulk. I don't like it when people pick on my friends," Brandon said with a smile on his face.

"I said put him down!" Every muscle in Scott's body began to tense and flex, ripples of power evident on his body.

"Oooo, Scotty is trying to look all tough now," mocked Brandon. "Well, I don't want to get you mad. Well, not yet. Take him," Brandon tossed Emil right at Scott. Emil hit Scott with such force, it knocked him backwards, both men rolling on the floor. "But come back. I think we have some unfinished business!" Brandon laughed.

Scott was stunned, but shook it off. He saw Emil lying on the ground and ran over to him. "Emil! Are you OK?"

Blonsky groaned. "I'll..." he coughed, then spit out some blood, "be fine. He packs a helluva punch."

"Scotty! I'm waiting!" Brandon's voice came from the lab.

"Scott," Emil said, "be careful."

"I will be," Scott said with determination. He stood up as far as he could in the confined space and walked into the lab.

The Hulk stood next to Brandon. The man whose size and strength both Scott and Brandon had always wished to have looked so small. Scott knew that they now both were the muscular gods, and the Hulk was as weak compared to them as a normal man was weak compared to the Hulk. Scott also knew what Brandon wanted. He wanted to know who was top dog now.

"'Bout time, little man," Brandon said. "Hey, you haven't told me whether you like the new look?" Brandon swept his thick arms from the top of his massive chest down to his waist and enormous thighs. "I guess it is a bit cramped in here for you to totally appreciate the new me!" Brandon looked up. Seeing two support beams, he grabbed them, and began to press up.

"Wait!" shouted Banner. "There may be people in the building."

"Who the fuck cares about them!' Brandon said.

Banner's eyes widened in horror.

"Oh, OK. Don't get those silly purple panties in a bundle." Brandon pressed up again. His massive shoulders burst into three distinct heads. There was a creek from the beams, and the crack as plaster, mortar and brick broke under incredible strain. Brandon's upper arms exploded with size and incredible definition as thick ropey veins and diamond-hard muscle stretched paper-thin skin. Brandon raised the building at an angle, leaning it toward the front. He then dropped it, raised it again, and dropped it. "Everybody that wants to live, get out! Ollie Ollie Oxen free!" Brandon lifted the building again, then slammed it down one last time. Looking Scott in the eye, he smiled. "You know what, Scotty. This big old building," he pressed it straight up, shattering any supports left, "is as light as a feather to me." To demonstrate the point, he lowered it and raised it, doing reps.

Outside, they could hear people running as the final people evacuated the hall. "Sounds like everyone's out." Brandon slid one leg forward. For the first time, Scott could see that Brandon's thigh was larger than the Hulk's body. In fact, Brandon's arms looked thicker than the Hulk's chest! Holding the building, Brandon stood up. The building's supports creaked, and part of the facade shattered and fell. "Ya know," Brandon said as he stood, "I could do this with one arm, no problem! But the poor old building couldn't handle that. Well, who the fuck cares."

Just then, Scott made his move. Able to stand up now, he flexed his legs and dived right into Brandon, hitting him in the abs with all the force he could muster. Brandon took a step back, nearly dropping the building. Scott, on the other hand, bounced off Brandon and landed on his ass, skidding backward on the lab's floor.

"Dude, that wasn't nice. I nearly dropped this!" Brandon pressed the building up and down again, then added, "but I guess you're right. It is getting in my way. I can't give you the thrashing you deserve while I'm holding it." With that, Brandon lowered the building then tossed it. The building flew up 100 feet in the air, then fell, crashing into the grassy field outside, totally destroyed.

Brandon began to stretch, twisting from side to side, stretching his lats and flexing his pecs. Huge muscle rippled over huge muscle. He bent at the waist and stretched hamstrings as large as a bear, flexing quads that looked like a topographic map of mountain range. "Man, that feels good." Brandon walked over to Scott, and looking down at him, said, "So little man. Didn't you say something about teaching me a lesson." Brandon bounced his massive pecs, creating a breeze that blew into Scott's face. "Come on then," he said, "bring it on."

Scott formed two fists, causing his medicine-ball sized biceps to flex and the veins in his forearms to press out of his skin. He swung his right fist, then his left, repeating over and over into Brandon's cinderblock-sized abs. There was no effect. Scott put more power into his punches.

Each punch could pulverize a small mountain, but Brandon stood there. He began to laugh. "Gee Scotty, is this suppose to be having an effect on me." Brandon put his palm on Scott's head and pushed, sending Scott flying backward.

Scott ran toward Brandon. Again, Brandon extended his arm. Scott slammed into it and was stopped. Scott's legs strained and pumped, but no matter how hard he pushed, how much energy his legs could generate, Scott could not defeat Brandon's arm.

Brandon started to walk forward, casually taking one step, then two, pushing Scott backward with little or no effort.

"Gee Scotty, are you even really trying? I thought you were strong. Guess not." Brandon made a fist and swung it hard into Scott's abs. The force of the impact caused Scott to buckle over.

Emil came flying in from the hall. Leaping at Brandon, he tried to use his body as a battering ram. He hit full force into Brandon's pecs. Brandon reacted, letting him hit that had no chance of hurting him then grabbing Emil in a bear hug. Brandon held him and began to flex his hard body, crushing Blonsky.

Emil screamed! His head flew back as he tried to resist the planet-crushing force. His eyes rolled back in his head, and gurgles of spit rolled out of his mouth. His face began to turn purple as blood was squeezed from his torso like a tube of toothpaste.

"NO!" cried Scott. "Let him go." Scott was angry. His voice began to get deeper, and his muscles began to inflate with new strength.

"I don't want to let him go. These soft muscles of his crush so easily!" said Brandon.

Scott ran over and tried to pry Brandon's arms apart. "I...said...let...him...go." Scott's arms pulsed with power. Ever exertion was stronger than the one before. Scott was getting bigger too. He was still smaller than Brandon, but not by much.

At first, Brandon felt nothing. His arms easily countered anything Scott tried to do. As Scott got madder, Brandon began to feel pressure on his arms. He applied more strength. If Scott wanted a test of strength, muscle against muscle, Brandon was determined to win. Brandon squeezed harder, but felt his arms begin to move apart. Brandon began to show the strain, and slowly, Scott was able to pry his arms loose.

Brandon dropped Emil, who fell limp at his feet. He immediately pounded at Scott, causing him to fall backward. "Oh no, Scotty boy. You don't get to beat me."

"Fuck you asshole," replied Scott, slamming a double handed blow into Brandon's chest. The force cause the muscle giant to stagger backwards.

"I said no!" Brandon was getting angry now. However, unlike Scott and the Hulk, the anger did not fuel his strength.

"What's wrong, dude! Looks like the madder I get, the stronger I get. That not working for you? Too fucking bad!" Scott was now as large as Brandon. He swung, hitting Brandon with an upper cut. The blow lifted Brandon from the ground, sending him tumbling backward. Scott took advantage of the situation, kicking Brandon with the force of a magnitude nine earthquake.

Brandon tried to shake it off, to regain his composure, but Scott was on him again. Lifting Brandon from the ground, Scott drove his fist into Brandon's face, causing blood to spirt from his mouth. "Picking on me is one thing, scumbag, but you don't touch Emil." Scott hit him again and the already staggered giant passed out.

Emil was on all fours on the ground. Scott dropped Brandon and ran to him. "You OK?"

"I'm tough," said Blonsky. "I'll live."

"Good. Think you can carry Brandon over there, in front of the generator?"

"What are you going to do?" asked the Hulk, who was trying to revive Brandon.

Blonsky got up and shoved the Hulk out of the way. "None of your business. And if you don't get out of here now, maybe we'll do it to you too!"

The Hulk faced Blonsky who got up and strode over to him. "Move or die now, Banner. I don't think Scott is in any mood to save you now."

The Hulk at Scott, who was at the controls of the gamma ray generator. "Just get Brandon in front of the generator before he wakes up! Do what you have to."

Blonsky slammed a fist into his palm. The Hulk jumped, leaping away.

Emil picked up Brandon who began to groan. "I think he's waking up," said Emil as he dropped him where Scott had indicated.

"I'm ready," said Scott, turning on the generator.

Gamma rays pulsed from the machine, hitting Brandon. Unlike before, his skin turned black now.

"I reverse the polarity," said Scott, watching Brandon.

Brandon began to stir. He tried to move, but something was wrong. He began to feel weaker.

"What?" he said, realizing that his muscles were shrinking. "No!" he cried "Not my muscles! Not my power! Stop! You can't! STOP!" He was only ten feet tall now, and getting smaller. His massive arms began to thin, and his heaving pecs were shrinking. The power he felt in himself was waning. He tried to move, but was sluggish as his muscles felt sore. Slowly he stood. Now, barely eight feet tall, he needed to get away. He forced his thighs to flex, but they felt so weak compared to what they were just seconds ago. He pulled all his inner energy, bent and then forced every once of power out of them that he could muster. He leapt out of the bean and got away.

As he jumped, his skin returned to normal. Scott watched a seven foot six Brandon leap in the same direction as the Hulk.

"Did it work?" asked Emil.

"Ya," replied Scott. "You're looking at the number one muscle man again! Brandon's short-lived stint as king-of-the-hill is over. He's probably still stronger than you, but," Scott flexed an arm, "this cannon could easily pound his sorry ass into the ground."

People were beginning to gather around. Scott and Emil talked briefly, then Scott gathered up his papers. Emil picked up the controls and Scott grabbed the gamma ray generator. "Don't want any of this stuff falling into the wrong hands", Scott said. 'Like Brandon's' he thought. Taking the equipment, the two leapt away. •