"Soon, the sun will set again! And here I sit, helplessly, fearing that I may again become... THE HULK!"

- Dr. Robert "Bruce" Banner

Bruce Banner didn't know what he was doing in the Douglas County Library. He wasn't sure why he did a lot of things these days, walking along the highway roads hitching for rides or taking the bus with no clear destination.

Where did a man who was supposed to be dead have to go?

Bruce's left hand glided against the spinal covers of the books, not really sure what he was looking for. "Wish you would give me some hints." He told the Big Guy. "It would make things a lot easier."

When he received no reply like a head-splitting headache he looked to the glass windows of the library. It was faint but he could see the image of the Hulk on it.

He was staring back at him, not pounding on the glass. His eyes glowed green from within the show of his brow. Watching him, judging him...

The Hulk did a lot of judging these days.

Bruce felt something twitch at the back of his mind when his hand brushed against a single spine that seemed out of place. Frowning, he took it out and looked at the cover.

"The Records of The Four Cardinal Weapons?" He looked over the book suspiciously. It didn't have a marker for the Dewey Decimal System and there was no author listed anywhere. The red binding was stained and Bruce couldn't feel any gamma radiation coming from it. For all intents and purposes, it appeared to be just some book brought in from outside and shoved into the shelf.

He should just put the book back and walk away... but the Hulk had lead him to here and a part of him was curious.

"It better not try and eat me, though." He dealt with many monsters over the years, but he could do without any demons aside from the personal variety.

He opened the book and thumbed through its aged pages, taking in what could charitably be called a story. It was more like a proof of concept than anything else. Four magical heroes are summoned to another world and given four magical weapons in the form of a sword, spear, bow, and shield. What followed was them wandering about the lands, gaining strength and followers while killing monsters. There was the vague goal of stopping the waves of monsters from entering the world, but for the most part is seemed that these four were content to bask in their change of fortunes and save the occasional village or kingdom.

Fairly standard fantasy tale not unlike the Chronicles of Narnia, but somehow more meandering and without the benefit of a decent prose.

"Children would probably like it. Maybe the occasional teenager for the wish fulfillment aspect."

He skimmed the rest of the pages, already bored with the story that had an ending he could see coming a mile away. The heroes would defeat the dark king or whatever and free the land, given the choice to stay in their fantasy or return to the real world.

Most didn't realize that when saddled with the title of "hero", they didn't have a choice. There was no end to that job besides death.

"And I can't even have that."

Bruce paused when he reached near the end. There was an entire section dedicated to describing the heroes, which was odd since summaries like that were supposed to be in the beginning after the index of chapters. Much like the story the descriptions were fairly bare-bones. The sword, bow, and spear heroes had the characteristics of what most wanted from their heroes. Strong, loyal, and seekers of justice.

He had been called a hero at various points in his life, the Hulk managing to save the world from gods and monsters through his strength.

But most of the time he, and the Hulk, were just a monster in the eyes of the public. Their reasons were ones that Bruce could understand. The Hulk was terrifying, a rage-filled child granted strength that could tear apart tanks like paper. One whose rampages have destroyed entire towns and lives because nobody would leave him alone...

Bruce had to live with that ever since he saved Rick Jones from the gamma bomb. A selfless act that resulted in unleashing and personifying his various demons. The military wanted to use him as a weapon of war while people like Samuel Sterns wanted to subjugate the power for their own selfish ends.

He spent years running, trying and failing to find some cure for his condition only to come up empty. Any peace he found was fleeting, any time he and the Hulk came to an agreement was temporary, whatever friends he managed to acquire looked at him with a mix of awe and fear, his scientific achievements being pushed aside to focus on the Hulk's power...

...his relationship with Betty...

Everything fell apart, smashed by the existence of the Hulk.

Was it really any surprise he wanted to die?

Bruce found himself staring at the picture of the spear hero lost in thought. It was an open secret that he had tried to kill himself several times, the most famous story being that he put a gun into his mouth and the Hulk spit out the bullet. What people seemed to take for granted were the times he should've died.

Like after his first transformation, where the doctor that Rick had dragged his body to stated that he was, in fact, dead. Then there was the time his head got cut off by a future Captain America's shield. After that Glenn Talbot standing over his body declaring that the traitor was dead after a soldier shot him mid-transformation, Leonard Samson pulling a sheet over his body after an attempted cure went wrong, the Hulk persona Joe Fixit succumbing to poison, being smothered in an irradiated cocoon, and just straight-up being shot in the head.

Every time he should've died and yet he still lived.

Every time, for a brief instant, he saw a green door crack open.

After the last attempt to kill him produced no real results, Bruce had quietly began working on a sure-fire way to kill himself the next time the Hulk got out of control. A gamma-enriched vibranium arrowhead that would utterly destroy all his motor functions. He had given the Hulk-killing arrow his colleague Clint Barton and convinced him to shoot it whenever he felt his friends and the world could be threatened.

For a time he didn't see anything.

Then, Jericho Drumm made him awaken in a white plane to put his spirit to rest after the Hand began using the Hulk's corpse to their ends.

The next minute he was waking up, revived by HYDRA to carry out their sick designs.

For a brief instance, Bruce had contemplated that the reason he came back to life was because nobody would let him stay dead.

But that wasn't it.

He realized the truth when that cosmic being, The Challenger, brought him back with this new Hulk persona at the wheel.

Bruce Banner just couldn't die.

No matter how much he wanted it, the Hulk would not let him die!

And now here he was, wandering the world like a ghost. This new Hulk not coming out whenever he got mad or his heartbeat reaching a certain BPM, but at night when the sun had fully set. Bruce would hear him in his head and see him in the reflection, pounding on the walls and wanting to get out!

Bruce could die. He did so several times already. But when night fell... the Hulk would come out, and Bruce would find himself standing in an unfamiliar place in rags and fully healed.

"I guess all those people were right." He turned the page as his thoughts curdled. "The Hulk is... I am... a monster."

He frowned when he observed where the shield hero's profile should've been. It was completely blank, missing everything besides the title. "That's not right." He turned several more pages and found them completely blank. "Did the author just shove his notes into the library or..."

Something strange began to happen. The pages began flipping on their own. At first it was slow but soon the pace began to pick up while the tome began to glow alarmingly.

"No..." Bruce dropped the book and turned. "NO!" He could feel the distant memories of the gamma bomb. The fear of what was to come, the mental ticking of a seconds hand in a watch as doom pulsed in unfeeling and cold bomb miles away with salvation so close yet so far.

Like then, he could feel something pounding in his head, shaking the chains he didn't know were there in the first place.

Everything went white.

He saw the green door crack open as a voice that was many voices yet one spoke one word.

INTERESTING.

And then...

"Oh great heroes, please save our world!"

Bruce landed on a stone floor of some sorts, gasping in fear as he looked around wildly. "W-Where am I!?" He screamed while trying to take stock in his surroundings. He was in a chamber of some sorts, markings and candles along with robed figures indicating a religious or mystic ceremony of some sort. He was on top of some glowing circle and...

He noticed that there was some sort of small shield on his right forearm.

"What is this...!?" He pulled on the shield, the panic rising within him when it couldn't come off. He looked at the robbed figures, who shuffled uncomfortably in response to his actions. "What did you people do to me!?"

"Sir Shield, please calm yourself!"

Bruce was about ask more before he felt a hand on his shoulder. Whirling around he saw a young pony-tailed blonde man holding a spear looking at him with genuine concern in his eyes.

"Dude, are you okay?"

For the first time he noticed that he wasn't the only one in the circle. There were two others besides the pony-tailed man, a teenager with dark-blonde hair with feminine features that also seemed worried about his state and a serious-looking black-haired teenager who was pointedly keeping his attention on the priest. The two held a bow and a sword respectively.

"Just like the story..."

"Mister, please just relax." The bow-wielding kid motioned to the robed men. "They aren't attacking us, so they probably didn't bring us here just to kill us or something."

"I am, however, interested in hearing the reason." The sword-wielding boy pointed his blade at the priests. "And it better be a good one."

"I-It is! It is but the fate of our very world that is at stake!" One of the priests said, seemingly glad that things were going back to the script.

"Come on, man. Being on the ground like that isn't a good look for you." The pony-tailed man offered his hand. "Let me help you up."

Numbly, Bruce took it. "Thanks..."

"No problem. Name's Motoyasu Kitamaru."

Bruce didn't want to offer his name. If he said "Bruce" or "Doctor Banner", then anyone would put two and two together and figure out he's a man who should be dead and begin fearing for their lives. But it would be impolite to not offer the kid something.

"...Robert. My name is Robert Banner."

The priest began saying something about summoning four great heroes through their ritual, but Bruce heard nothing. The words were coming to him as if they were being said through cotton in his ears.

These people... they did something. They were doing something and making him involved in their conflict. Just like the Beyonder, Challenger, and their ilk.

These people wanted a warrior.

They wanted a Hulk.

"Oh god... why... why can't they just leave me alone?"

"Champions?"

"Nope."

"New Warriors?"

"Never heard of 'em."

Bruce wracked his brain for another superhero team that was made up of young people. Vague memories of a news report regarding Clint's recent activities made him ask, "...West-Coast Avengers?"

Motoyasu glanced at him with an upturned eyebrow. "That's gotta be the lamest band name I've ever heard."

"Honestly, they sound like sports teams to me." The youngest of the three that Bruce was summoned with, Itsuki Kawasumi, stated while he inspected his bow. "If that's the case it's no wonder we haven't heard about them, Banner-san. I really only paid attention to games and stuff like that."

"What? No way! I'm a gamer too!" Motoyasu grinned at Itsuki and clapped him on the back. "What're the odds?"

"...These kids... they aren't superheroes?" Well, he should've expected that when they initially refused to save this world after their summoners told them how they needed the four heroes to save their world. Most of the kids he had met, Amadeus' friends and colleagues, would've jumped at the chance or at least asked for more details. Motoyasu, Itsuki, and the dark-haired Ren Amaki had refused both because of the fairly rational indignation of being dragged into another world against their will and not being assured they would be compensated for their services. "But they must have at least have some prior experience with a situation like this. They are taking things almost in stride."

Being conditioned or resigned to accepting the utter unpredictability of life was something he could relate to.

Now they were ascending a stone spiral staircase to this country's king who ordered their summoning. The robed men had assured them that they would receive a full explanation there.

"...I have an idea of what this is, but I need to hear whatever this king says to confirm it." Ren turned his head to look out the window and muttered, "This climate... it's almost Mediterranean."

Bruce followed his gaze and saw a mountain range in the distance. The buildings surrounding the structure they were climbing seemed to be like something from a period piece show, recreations made of pale bricks and red-tiled roofs which were more suited for this humid climate than simple wood.

He stretched his collar and tried his best to ignore how hot and sweaty he was. "At least I'm not in a crowd like those times I went to South America... god, what an idiotic idea that was. Crowded cities where everything stressed me out..."

"Yeah, guess we really are in another world, huh?" Motoyasu gave a sharp laugh. "Man, this is freakin' cool!"

"...You seem confident." Bruce noted. "Did you do this before?"

That seemed to catch the talkative twenty-something off guard. "Huh? Uh, no. Why would I...?"

"You may not know this since you're American, Banner-san, but there's this subgenre that's popular in Japan called Isekai. Usually it has teenagers or young adults being transported to or reincarnated into another world where they get to become heroes!" Itsuki eyes almost seemed to sparkle with anticipation. "Defeating monsters, bringing the downfall of villains and bullies, and helping the innocent!"

"And getting a harem of babes! Don't forget that!" Motoyasu waggled his eyebrows. "With great power comes great responsibility and even greater perks!"

"Oh god, not one of those..." If there was one thing Bruce didn't get in his adulthood, it was how some teenagers and twenty-year-olds were obsessed with sex. Sure, he enjoyed it with Betty before the arrival of the Hulk but he didn't let that get in the way of his work.

Itsuki huffed. "Sure, if you just want one of those poorly-written stories but the real appeal lies in..."

"What matters is that we are here and these people summoned us for a reason." Ren interrupted the two's literary conversation with a tone as sharp as steel. "While this situation bears some resemblance to those stories, I'm not convinced about becoming this world's hero or whatever until after the king gives us an explanation and a reason why we should do it."

"Sheesh. Kids these days are way too serious." Motoyasu leaned back and whispered, "Guess it's up to us adults to show 'em how to loosen up, huh?"

"...Aren't you eighteen?"

"Dude, I'm twenty-one! Sorry if I'm not forty or whatever..."

For the first time since he got here, Bruce chuckled slightly. "I'm thirty-four."

"...Damn, man. No offense, but you look like crap."

God, did he know it. It wasn't exactly easy to keep a neat appearance or shave when nights without the Hulk coming out were fleeting and he usually didn't have the money for a hotel room or cosmetics.

"I could really use a shave, too."

As they were lead past the mostly empty courtyard, Bruce felt a slight throbbing in his head and his heart began to race. Years of experience told him that somebody or something was watching him. "Calm down." Bruce thought to himself as they were lead into a massive space. "It's not like they can kill you."

But he couldn't say the same for Motoyasu, Itsuki, and Ren. If he died and they were captured or killed...

He took a moment to admire the surrounding architecture. It had an entire wall covered in windows flooding the room with light along with half a dozen chandeliers with lit candles. There were high arches spanning across the room, all white and gilded with gold. He could see guards lined up the entire stretch of the room as well as several people who looked to be nobles, and at the end of the hall sat a man adorned with a crown and various jewels and furs. He was old with silver hair and a beard to match, a somewhat portly body, and wore high quality purple robes on along with various pieces of jewelry besides his crown.

"So that's their king..."

As they were lead ten feet in front of the king, the man observed each of them with disinterest. For someone who was in dire need of otherworldly assistance, he seemed bored with them already.

"So these four men are the cardinal heroes of ancient legend?" The king sighed before saying in a dull tone as if he were reading from some prepared script, "I am the king of Melromarc, Aultclay Melromarc XXXII. Heroes, name yourselves."

Ren decided to take the initiative. "Ren Amaki. Sixteen years old. Highschooler."

Motoyasu nudged Bruce and whispered, "Watch this." He stepped forward, spun his spear with his fingers before resting it over his shoulder, and with a cocky look on his face said, "Name's Motoyasu Kitamaru. Twenty one and a college student."

"...Tony probably would've loved this kid."

"I suppose I'm next." Itsuki stepped forward and bowed slightly. "Itsuki Kawasumi, seventeen years old and a highschooler."

Bruce opened his mouth to introduce himself only to be interrupted by the king.

"I see. Ren, Motoyasu, and Itsuki I take it?"

He looked at the king who was making full eye-contact with him. Bruce had seen looks like that plenty of times whenever he met with S.H.I.E.L.D agents or members of the press whenever there was a period when the Hulk wasn't considered a monster. That look of hate mixed with wonder, daring him to go off and expose himself for the monster he really was.

"I see. So he really does know who I am."

Well, what else was new? People wanted the Hulk, but at the same time they still hated him. He was a monster but a useful one and nothing more.

And so, he remained quiet and looked away. He could hear the small huff of disappointment from the king but the man decided not to push it.

The story he proceeded to tell was nearly identical to the plot of the book. Apocalyptic waves were threatening to destroy the world, each wave stronger than the last. Each county had something called a "dragon hourglass" that would keep track of the time between waves and predict when they would arrive next. Apparently the first wave already happened before they were summoned. Various local adventurers and knights were able to fight it but just barely. The devastation from the first wave led them to the conclusion that they needed the four heroes of legend, or they'd never survive a second wave. So that led them to perform a ritual to summon said four heroes, which led to their arrival.

"-This is why we have no time to lose! The next wave is in a month's time and we need you."

"No, all you needed was the Hulk. These kids were just brought along to help control him." Bruce knew that he should be angry, but he was almost resigned to the idea. After all, it wasn't that long ago when the people he once thought of as friends had shot him into space just to get rid of the Hulk. Having an otherworldly king summon him then give three random teenagers power to put him down if he got unruly wasn't as infuriating.

Ren stabbed his sword into the ground, bringing Bruce's attention back to the here and now. "We get the gist of it now. Anyway, surely you didn't summon us expecting us to save you for free."

A expensively dressed old man who looked to be some sort of shady adviser answered him instead of the king. "Of course, once you repel all the waves we shall reward you handsomely."

The three kids looked at each other and nodded. Motoyasu nudged Bruce and asked, "What do you think?"

"That I don't have much of a choice." He sighed and glared at the king. "I just... I want to leave when all is said and done."

The king gave an almost sadistic smirk at that but said nothing.

"Probably already making plans to have me killed when the waves aren't a problem." Well, he could try. If it didn't work the Hulk will most likely kill him.

The three teens then gave their affirmations at once.

"Well, as long as we have your word."

"We'll work with you provided you don't turn on us. But don't think for a moment that you can tame us."

"Exactly. We can't have you looking down on us."

Satisfied with the answers given, the king gave a small nod. "Very well. I trust we have an agreement then..."

"Will there be someone to teach them how to fight?"

Bruce's question caused the king to blink in surprise. "Ah, yes. The Shield Hero..."

The unanswered question was apparent. "Doctor Robert Banner." Feeling a bit awkward he added, "Age thirty-four."

For some reason, the various nobles began muttering.

"The Shield Hero practices medicine?"

"Well, that's certainly unexpected."

"Come now, would you look at those clothes!"

"Indeed! He is most likely one of those commoner doctors that hacks off a limb and gives them a cup of swill to make them better!"

"A doctor you say?" For the first time in a while the king seemed interested in him. "That's rather intriguing. Perhaps..."

"I'm not that kind of doctor." Bruce decided that now was the time to nip that misconception in the bud. "I'm a nuclear physicist." No need to tell the kids about how he was a specialist in gamma radiation.

Once upon a time he could provide input when it came to putting people back together or healing their wounds. He had spent years studying various fields while focusing on gamma and had spent time with the greatest minds in the world. But after coming back to life he lost that knowledge. He could no longer make wearable force-fields and the like, only his knowledge about radiation remained.

It was frustrating, especially when he had the sneaking suspicion that the Hulk was smarter than him now.

"Oh, well that's disappointing." King Aultclay's bored expression returned and he leaned back into his chair. Bruce could hear the mutterings of the nobles asking one-another what the hell a nuclear physicist was and whether or not he made it up. "To answer your question, Shield Hero, the legend states that the Heroes will learn their skills and powers on the field of battle."

"That's rather irresponsible."

"Bite your tongue, Shield Hero!" The adviser barked while glaring at him. "Are you saying that our king does not care for the well-being of the Cardinal Heroes!?"

"Relax, Banner-san." Itsuki's voice was so confident as if what he were saying was just the facts of life. "That's how it goes with these kind of games and stories. Sure, things are difficult at first but with all the power these legendary weapons give us we'll be picking things up in no time!"

"...I hope you're right." If not, well what happened with the New Warriors was the worst-case scenario.

King Aultclay raised his hand to silence the room. "Now, if there aren't any more questions I recommend that you heroes check your statuses."

He frowned. "Status?" He looked at Motoyasu and Itsuki who gave helpless shrugs.

Ren let out a long-suffering sigh. "What's wrong with you guys? It should've been the first thing you noticed in this world. Don't you see an icon in the corner of your field vision?"

No he hadn't noticed some sort of 'icon' when he first arrived. He was more focused on trying to understand what the hell had happened for him. His field of vision was completely clear until all of a sudden a black dot appeared in the lower right half of his vision. There was no such icon there a second ago until Ren mentioned it.

Itsuki let out a light gasp and then said, "Alright, I think I see it. So what do we do with it now?"

"Try focusing on it."

Bruce didn't really know what that entailed so he settled on staring at it until something happened because what else could he do.

Something quickly flashed across his vision leaving behind a strange floating image in front of him. It was semi transparent with various abbreviations with numbers next to them which he had no idea how they correlated.

It was certainly more complicated than the Minecraft screens.

A notification of some sort flashed in front of the "screen" with a simple message.

PARAMETERS FOR CURSE SERIES: WRATH MET!

BRUCE BANNER CAN NOW USE WRATH SHIELD!

Well, that was certainly odd.

"Level one? That's worrying."

"Yeah, no telling if we can fight like this."

Closing the mysterious window Bruce took the time to observe his level.

"Level one I can get. I think that's where everyone starts in games. But this..."

Level: 1/34/34/25

Max HP: ?

Max MP:30/281/0/200

Max SP: 45/?/?/?

"I can't even see my health? And those extra numbers..." He could guess it had something to do with the Hulk, but how could he manipulate things to this degree?

More importantly... "What's MP and SP?"

"Magic points and skill points." Ren explained as his eyes scanned the space in front of him. "They are used to cast magic spells and use for various skills, respectively."

"So we need these things to attack?" Bruce scratched the back of his head. Yup, definitely not Minecraft.

"Haven't you played games like this?" Motoyasu asked. "Y'know, like Emerald Online?"

"Never heard of it."

"Wha-?"

"One more thing, heroes." Motoyasu was of course cut off by the adviser who seemed unreasonably pleased with himself. "It is important to know that each of you will need to recruit and adventure separately. Partying up with each other is unfortunately not recommended."

That made all of them pause. "And why is that?" Itsuki asked, suspicion interwoven with every word.

"It is said that the legendary weapons repel each other by nature. If you work together, it apparently hinders their development." As he spoke a warning popped up in Bruce's vision under the bold letters of 'HELP'. "When two more wielders of the legendary weapons operate together, it causes an adverse reaction in the weapons. Working separately is advised."

"But that's ridiculous!" Bruce's shout surprised even himself. Everyone was staring at him with astonishment. "If these monsters are as dangerous as you say and I...!"

"Do you wish to protect yourself through others, Shield Hero?" The king barked, his eyes narrowing hatefully at him. "Are you that much of a coward!? Fighting by yourself not only strengthens your power through hardship, but protects your fellow heroes! Do you seek to deprive them of that to save our own skin!?"

"No, that's not the point and you know it! If the Hu-!"

Bruce was surprised when Motoyasu clapped him on the back, interrupting him. "Stop freaking out, Bob! I know it sucks that you got the loser class, but it doesn't mean you can't handle the weaker grunts! Let us handle the big fish and you'll be fine!"

"Loser class?" Bruce didn't understand. What was wrong with the shield!? Why wasn't the king warning them about the Hulk!? Was he trying to lead them to a meat grinder? This whole system was illogical! If the three didn't work together then the Hulk would tear them apart!

Why were his emotions all over the place?

He noticed the sunlight was now orange and realization dawned on him. "No..." He looked out the many windows and saw that the sun was setting in the distance. "Damn it! Not here!"

With the spear-wielding man's declaration the king seemed to calm himself. Coughing he then said, "The sun is about to set. Rest up tonight, and set forth tomorrow. In the meantime we'll gather the best of the best to form your parties."

He waved his hand and a well dressed woman came to approach their group. "We've prepared rooms for you. Please come this way." She bowed to them before motioning for them to follow her.

"Not now... please not now..." Bruce grit his teeth as he felt the Hulk begin to pound in his head, demanding to be let out here and now. To smash these puny humans and make them pay for the blatant disrespect they showed him.

"Just for tonight... Please..."

The Hulk didn't come out during dinner, but Bruce felt that his alter-ego sorely wanted to.

The meal spread out for them before they were brought to their rooms was certainly of better quality than Bruce had gotten used to since his revival. Usually he only got a couple of dollars from the clothes he stole from clotheslines or windowsills, and even then that was rare. It was usually enough for a simple sandwich and a bus-ride, or if he wanted to forgo the bus he got one night at a seedy hotel. The spread of meats, vegetables, and starches were exquisite and Bruce at them greedily.

The servants were disgusted with him and the others seemed to be morbidly curious about where he got such an appetite but said nothing.

They probably thought he hadn't eaten in days.

"Seriously? All you've played is Minecraft!?" Motoyasu scratched his head while leaning back in his chair. "And on Peaceful of all things!?"

"I enjoy it for the building and exploration." Bruce shrugged helplessly. "I didn't have much time for other games."

Partly because his lifestyle left very little room for hobbies.

"Ah, I get it." Itsuki snapped his fingers. "Because of your studies, right? I'd imagine that being a doctor means you didn't have enough time for real games."

"It certainly puts you in a disadvantage here." Ren remarked with a nod. "If you had played Brave Star Online..."

"Okay, I dunno what kinda game you are playing but this is totally Emerald Online." Motoyasu scoffed. "Brave Star Online... sounds like a cheap copycat!"

"You two are the ones playing crappy games." Itsuki seemed pleased with himself. "Now Dimension Wave... that's a game!"

Bruce was now totally lost. Were these popular video games? If they were then why hadn't Amadeus mentioned them?

After dinner the four of them went to Motoyasu's bedroom to talk about things. It was rather spacious but was sparse in terms of furniture or decoration and looked rather nondescript. It had a queen sized bed with no pillows just a quilt and a small table at its foot with some chairs spread around it. The room was illuminated by several candles hanging from a small chandler and the occasional candelabra. It had a large window mirrored by a balcony on the other side.

Bruce glanced at the mirror and saw the Hulk beating on the glass with its massive fists, cracking it and screaming to be let out...

"Bob? Yo, Earth to Bob!"

Bruce was already regretting telling Motoyasu that his name was Robert. The reason why he went by Bruce was because Bob sounded so annoying. "Yes?'

"We're trying to figure up what's going on. Y'know, why we're all talking about games the other hasn't heard of before." Motoyasu motioned to Ren. "He thought it up."

"We've already figured out we're all from different versions of Japan." Ren looked him directly in the eyes. "Except for you. Do you mind answering just a few questions?"

"Sure..."

"What countries won World War Two?"

"The Allies. Primarily the United States, Britain, and the Soviet Union."

"Who's your current president?"

Bruce winced at that. "Donald Trump."

"Wait, that business tycoon?" Motoyasu groaned. "No way, you're pulling my leg!"

"So he actually won...?" Itsuki looked at Bruce sympathetically. "Sorry, Banner-san."

"I didn't vote for him."

"What websites are you streaming on?"

"I don't stream movies over the internet." Not many opportunities to watch movies without getting excited and "Hulking Out" in the theater.

"Okay then... what's the current year?"

"2018."

Ren's face remained stoic but Motoyasu and Itsuki''s drained of color.

"I guess that settles it." Motoyasu nodded solemnly. "We're all from different worlds."

"Seems like it. But if the king wanted people to control the Hulk why didn't they just get Hyperion or some alternate Hulk?" Likely so that they would have manageable pawns. People that would become powerful but not too powerful to handle.

Bruce was tapping his foot, trying to get a handle of his emotions. He can't loose control. Now here and now... Not when the Hulk was already vying to get out!

The night was his time, and it took all of Bruce's willpower to not let him out.

Deciding to take his mind off of that, he asked Motoyasu, "Why did you say that the Shield was the loser class?"

"Huh? You don't...? Oh right, only played Minecraft." Motoyasu cleared his throat. "Well the thing is...shielders tend to have a bad rep because they're super useless. They barely get any abilities outside of being a damage sponge and at higher levels they can't even keep up anymore. Enemies do more damage then they can take and at least in my game the developers never patched it. Plus no one wants to play as support when you could be the one doing the damage."

"...That doesn't make much sense." He looked towards Ren and Itsuki. "If that's the case and the people playing shielders can't attack much... then why put them in the game at all?"

"Beats me. That's just how it is." Itsuki shrugged. "Sorry Banner-san."

"Though I suppose it's the perfect class for me. I don't like to fight." His hands balled into fists. "It's the Hulk that likes to do that. He's the one that likes to destroy his enemies entirely."

Enough to break a world when pushed far enough...

"But like I said, you can handle the low-level grunts so there's no pressure." Motoyasu then glanced at all three of them and asked, "So... how did you guys get here?"

As it turned out, most of them had died to do so. Ren presumably succumbed to injuries inflicted by a serial killer after he tackled them to save his best friend. Motoyasu died after being caught two-timing by both of his girlfriends, who decided that it was more his fault than either of theirs and stabbed him to death. Itsuki's death wasn't nearly as dramatic. He died after being run over by a truck on his way home from cram school.

"God... they're... they're just kids! How could they... is this some kind of sick joke!?"

Bruce had died many times, each one was painful and frightening even if the experience was becoming rather numb. For these three kids to have died to get here with the promise of adventure and riches... no wonder they were disturbingly easy-going about this! This world must seem like paradise to them!

It almost made him ashamed to tell his story.

"I... didn't die to get here."

All three of them just stared at him with bewilderment and in Itsuki's case not unreasonable jealousy in his eyes.

Motoyasu was the first to voice his thoughts. "...S-say what..?"

Ren crossed his arms and furrowed his brow."Then how did you get here?"

"I... felt compelled to go to a library. In it I found this book about four legendary heroes summoned to fight evil or something along those lines. While I was skimming through the book the pages started glowing. I tried running from it but the next thing I knew I was in that summoning room."

Bruce saw the silent contempt in Itsuki and Ren's gazes. He didn't blame them, really. They both suffered horrible and sudden deaths, likely suffering in the few seconds or moments they had before darkness settled it. Now, sitting before them, was a man who didn't have to die in order to get into what they saw as paradise?

His temple pulsed, the headache settling in as the Hulk continued to rage inside.

Bruce heard the sound of glass cracking and stood up. "I-I need to go to sleep." He lied as smoothly as he could. He could already feel the beads of sweat run down his brow. "I'll see you tomorrow morning."

"Hey, Bob hold...!" But Bruce already exited the room before Motoyasu could say anymore.

He needed to be alone. He needed to talk this out with the Hulk.

He needed to convince his other half that they needed to just stay inside for one night...

Motoyasu would discover this later, but running across his window was a spiderweb of cracks. He would chock this up to a bird hitting it, but deep down the young man knew that no bird could've made that mark...

"I know you want to come out..."

Theleb was one of King Aultclay's best spies. She was someone who knew how to erase her presence, to remain hidden and hear every little word even if it was spoken in a whisper. Her skills with a dagger were a class of their own, the cuts so neat when she slipped them between ribs to cut a heart in half.

Today, she had been sent to spy on the Shield Hero. The devil, according to the King and the Church, who would bring the end to the kingdom.

Theleb never believed those words. To her, all were just sacks of meat that walked, talked, and paid her to kill other sacks of meat. They bled all the same, whether they were human or beastman. She never voiced these thoughts since it would be bad for her position, but they were her own.

So she didn't see the Shield Hero as some sort of devil. Rather he was just a man given a mystic tool.

"Please, now's not the time...!"

She watched from the crack of the door as the Shield Hero sat on his bed facing a mirror. The room itself was a shabby piece of work, smaller and much less luxurious as the rooms of the other Heroes. Another insult laid by the king against the devil who earned his ire merely by existing. The man, Robert Banner, was pale and sweating through his otherworldly clothes. He was shaking, both feet rapping on the floor while his hands were to the sides of his head.

The man was no devil... but he was obviously unwell.

"We still don't know much about this place... this situation..." Banner glared at his reflection. "The one you put me in!"

So he was blaming himself for being saddled with their plight? Such a strange way of seeing things.

He winced as if he were being shouted at. "Fine, fine you don't know either. But the fact of the matter is that we're stuck here. We need more information that the king can provide. T-Then we can go..."

"Go?" Theleb could not believe what she was hearing. The Shield Hero wanted to leave? While the king would certainly be happy, or not if the man wanted the Shield Hero to be dead, she was curious. The man looked like he hadn't eaten in days. While he could survive on his own with only the monetary rewards of quests, he needed money from the kingdom to do that! Why leave a steady paycheck?

"Oh, right. Because he's sick in the head." The man had bags under his eyes as if he hadn't slept in days. If she had to guess it was because he talked to himself all night...

Theleb then saw something.

The mirror, without any warning, cracked and within it she saw a monster.

A green, hulking thing with bulging muscles and eyes that shone like demonic stars under the shadow of its brow.

It was not looking at Banner.

It was looking at her and smiling...!

Theleb put her hands over her mouth and ran.

She tried to convince herself that it was merely her imagination. Long nights and that new drug she took to calm her nerves had obviously done a number on her. She hadn't seen a monster. She hadn't seen the Shield Hero talking to it as if it were inside him! The rantings of the king, his court, and the Church were just filling her head!

Despite thinking that, Theleb would hand in her report and in the dead of night flee the city.

She had money squirreled away in the lands of the other kingdoms complete with papers of a new identity.

Whatever that thing was... be it a monster or an omen... it spelled doom for the Kingdom of Melromarc.

The Ninth Cosmos

Par observed the Observer's Berth from hir cabin, the intricate structure glittering as it tacked to the starlight. The pseudo-minds knew how to make their home beautiful as it danced through the orbit of planets, their bodies dancing and celebrating life away from hir sight.

They knew what was coming and refused to succumb to despair.

Their acceptance infuriated hir.

Par's membrane pulsed from her anger, the soft and rich aqua darkening before it softened. Her nucleus fluttered within the gel of hir underskeleton as the hard truth came to her. The pseudo-minds knew that it was far too late for them. To struggle and fight wouldn't even delay the inevitable, and all they could do was pass their information and everything about them to hir.

Because it was hir and hir lover's plan that would lead to the salvation of the universe.

Telepathically summoning hir manipulators, she glided them across the controls and directed hir ship to the dock. The darkness around hir ship was so complete, so cold. Only pieces of planets long dead floated about. A constant reminder to the denizens of Ocentlos of what is coming.

Hir nucleus shifted once more, sorrow at the memory of hir beautiful home world with its boiling chromatic seas and crystal superstructures of the moon.

Parcentl remembered the beach where they met. The same beach where they would consummate their communion again and again, celebrating life that they knew was fleeting.

Hir lover was the first to greet hir. Their nucleus was a soft color that was not dissimilar to the one their doom. Once they were discriminated for it, feared and hated, but time and time again they proved that they were perhaps their only hope.

That determination was why they fell in love.

Hir lover summoned their right manipulator and reached out with it, their left holding the structure that was dubbed a "shield". Moving hir own, their manipulators made contact and the bond was reestablished.

"Now we two are one."

"Yes." Parcentl shifted uncomfortably. "I have all that the Observer's Berth has given regarding the Breaker. It is approaching faster than predicted."

"Then that means..."

"Yes. Once they are gone Ocentlos will be the last planet in the universe."

A moment of solemn silence passed between them, the weight of all those broken worlds and the lives lost passing through them like waves. They were all alone in a lifeless universe, smashed and with only one star lighting the darkness.

"...I'll kill it, Par-chan. I will do it. I have faced monsters like it before... and I'm still here."

That strange nickname... brought from another time and place now dead by hir lover. Parcentl remembered how confused they were at first, adjusting to their new state of being and their place within Ocentlos. But now they were a hero of their world, a champion among champions.

"And if not, I will have our backup plan."

That horrible message in a bottle that would make the more philosophical and spiritually-inclined of their race retch in horror.

They observed each other, grim determination and love intermingling in the shadow of the Breaker of Worlds.

"I love you, Naofumi."

The consciousness of an otherworldly being inhabiting the body of one of hir race used one of hir manipulators to trace Parcentl's body.

"I know. We will get through this. That's a promise."

Chapter 1: Crossing Over

The Infamous Man Presents...

...Or Is He Both?

Note: Man, this is a kinda left-field thing isn't it?

I wouldn't say I'm a total fan of Rising of the Shield Hero, mostly because parts of it come off as just a darker type of wish-fulfillment to the point that if feels like the Malty segments were written because the writer was cheated on or something. But it does have some good points and cool action.

I mostly wrote this because of one term: Shield Devil.

This came the idea of a crossover with The Immortal Hulk.

This comic, made in 2018 by Al Ewing and Joe Bennett, took the Hulk and Bruce Banner and revisited his horror roots when he was more of a Universal Monster than a superhero. The premise is simple: Bruce Banner cannot die. If he does and the sun sets the Hulk will rise because the night is Hulk's time. In it we get an explorations of both how anger is used for positive and negative change and the horror genre. Things get pretty cosmic and the comic is so well-written that I highly recommend you all read it if you haven't already.

So I thought... if this is an Immortal Hulk crossover, why not basically shove the RotSH cast in the horror genre?

Only disappointing thing is that the nature of 's system doesn't allow for me to type the names of the Ninth Cosmos the way they should be. The "cent" in the names are supposed to be a percent sign but the system keeps deleting them.

Hope that you guys liked the characterization in this. Be sure to let me know what your thoughts are!