9762/Hulk vs. Thor sparring match

From United Heroes MUSH
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Hulk vs. Thor sparring match
Date of Scene: 25 October 2019
Location: Gym, Avengers Mansion
Synopsis: Thor and Hulk have a sparring match, and practice avoiding collateral damage.
Cast of Characters: Thor, Hulk




Thor has posed:
There's a heck of a lot of technology that goes into this level of sparring match. There's nanites in all the stupidly reinforced walls, which also have forcefields around them, and several other precautions. In a match like this, it isn't likely either warrior is going to appreciably damage th other, so the match goes to 'ring out.' That is, whoever knocks the other back hard enough to register a 'hit' on the forcefields is declared the winner.

The match is set up this way to remind both warriors to minimize collateral damage when possible. The #1 cause of things like Sokovia accords isn't the attacks of the Avengers, it's when they get knocked backwards through several buildings and fly right into and through humans that can't possibly hope to survive flying Thors and Hulks.

Hulk has posed:
Normally, Bruce would be drifting by now, working on figuring out ways to deal with The Other Guy... but the Sentinel fight had Bruce studying the wreckage himself. Then, with Thor back, Bruce had decided to take a rare moment to let The Other Guy out to talk to Thor about the robots... which led into a potential sparring match.

Truthfully, Hulk has never been one to worry /too/ much about collateral damage; he'll defend humans to a point, but generally speaking, he's more interested in finishing the fight quickly. His reputation as a 'loose cannon' is partially deserved, though he's certainly a lot better about it since the original gamma bomb accident.... so when Thor makes the match rules, Hulk just gives a confused glance, then an indifferent shrug as he enters the Gym proper. "Hulk finishes fights quick, so puny humans aren't hit as much... but Hulk can fight in these conditions." Hulk states with a low rumble, before he turns his head to Thor, "Fights are chaotic, humans need to learn that."

Thor has posed:
"I know. I know all too well. But humans are also very fragile, and the idea is to keep the fight away from them as best we can. When we are fighting an adversary that can take it, and humans are about...the greatest danger to them can be ourselves. So we must be ever vigilant about collateral damage...even when smashing those who thoroughly deserve it." Thor pauses, and puts it another way. "The life of a child is too high a price to pay for smashing a bad guy. Understand?"

Thor's decked out for battle, of course...in such a match, he knows he needs all the armor he can get, Mjolnir, all the rest.

Hulk has posed:
"Hulk keeps fights away from humans, but Hulk can't control where enemies attack. Hulk can only control where he smashes." Hulk continues, before he moves into a feral fighting stance. Hulk has always been instinctual and feral in combat, and it shows again here.

"Hulk attack first?" He asks Thor.

Thor has posed:
Thor nods. "By all means!" After all, Hulk's a friend from work! And this...is work. So much better than Sakaar. At any rate...Thor's taken a defensive stance with Mjolnir, and is weighing his option as the strongest avenger (which is not point break, damn you Stark), starts to come in to attack.

Hulk has posed:
The age old question; who is stronger, Hulk or Thor... will probably not be answered today.

What will be answered is how Thor responds to Hulk full on bull charging into him, his arms out in front as he looks to be bringing up his right fist for a full on uppercut.

Thor has posed:
Thor is mighty. He is not stupid. With the Jade Giant incoming, Thor moves almost like a bullfighter...with the rules of engagement being he who touches the forcefields first loses, he actually slides away from the uppercut, and counters with a backhand from Mjolnir. Thor is strategic enough that if he can catch Hulk off balance, he can hit with enough force to push his opponent towards the nearest barrier. He knows what he's aiming for, and damaging his opponent isn't it.

Hulk has posed:
It doesn't send Hulk flying, but it definitely sends him tumbling once, before he regains his footing.

Then, he lashes out with a backwards kick, trying to connect to Thor's torso.

Thor has posed:
This is a game of angles, against the strongest avenger. You can't take that kind of force head on. But it can still be deflected by a roughly equivalent being, and while Thor gets hit, he, key in this fight...doesn't actually go flying backwards much. Instead, he's knocked a little to the side, and isn't going anywhere near as far as Hulk went when he hit him.

From this angle, Thor stays on target, and swings Mjolnir again...once more with intent to push Hulk back towards the forcefield. It may not hurt as much as it might've if he'd swung at another angle, but he had a goal to achieve here.

Hulk has posed:
Hulk is by no means a product of strategy, and it shows. His feral instinct is what drives his style, backed by raw power... so when the swing connects, it once again sends Hulk across the floor.

This time, though... he catches himself, before he once again charges at Thor.

It's becoming a familiar sight, that uppercut attempt.

Thor has posed:
The repetitive attacks are making it easy for Thor, who was expecting more variety even from the strongest Avenger.

He's got this pretty much handled, and once more slides out of the way, aiming a backhanded Mjolnir strike, swung up just a little with the idea of creating maximum movement in his opponent.

Hulk has posed:
He's very much a feral combatant, but a feint is a basic concept in combat, and Thor has been conditioned to expect a bullcharge from Hulk.

He doesn't bullcharge.

Instead, as the backhanded swing comes, Hulk dodges to one side, using his momentum to make a grab for Thor's leg.

Is Hulk trying to go for the Loki treatment?

Thor has posed:
Got him. Thor is grabbed. He, however, heard all about what was done to his brother, and realizes staying in Hulk's grasp is a terrible situation for an Asgardian to be in. So he throws Mjolnir at Hulk...and holds on. That'll twist his body in midair, changing momentum...until his hammer connects with its target. Or tries to.

There's going to be a heck of a tug of war between Mjolnir and Hulk if Hulk doesn't let go.

Hulk has posed:
Of course Hulk doesn't let go. Hulk is the Strongest There Is, and he's never backed down from any challenge!

Even when Mjolnir goes flying with him attached. Hulk is, after all, not able to lift the hammer, no matter how angry he gets. He's taken innocent lives and is a feral rage monster.

Nonetheless, the sounds of feral roars as the situation frustrates Hulk can be heard throughout the Gym... and probably outside in the mansion itself.

Thor has posed:
And now there's a stalemate. Hulk can't bash Thor into the ground because Mjolnir is trying to fly at his face, and Thor can't regain his footing because Hulk won't let go. So they're more or less paused like statues, except with a heck of a lot more noise between them as Thor clings to Mjolnir, valiantly trying to pull him forward.

Hulk has posed:
Hulk is stubborn, but he's not an idiot. When it becomes clear he's not getting the hammer (AGAIN) he roars, "HULK HATE HAMMER!" and let's go. Instead, he tries to grab for Thor's arm.

If Thor is so attached to the hammer, he can have it, and Hulk can have the arm instead!

Thor has posed:
Well, can't have that! Just as Hulk grabs for the Hammer, Thor pushes his will through it, and lightning goes shooting out in all directions from it. No matter which angle Hulk tries to grab it from, there's going to be a shocking discovery waiting for him. Sure, he can probably push through the shock, but it's slow going, because there's a HECK of a lot of lightning being flung everywhere.

Hulk has posed:
There's a feral roar as the lightning starts to fly all over the place, coursing over Hulks body. Two feet SLAM into the ground as he braces, trying to bear it.

Right now, it's a matter of Hulk gritting his teeth as he takes the full force of the God of Thunder right in the face. Thor can tell he's hurting, bad, because he grows to eleven feet right in front of his eyes as he stubbornly tries to hold on.

Thor has posed:
The Giant's getting bigger...but that also means the lightning's doing some damage. "Let...GO!" And he redoubles his electrical assault, pushing more and more lightning through the Hammer. The Lightning storm grows in size and ferocity. It's just a matter of seeing what gives first, the rage or the lightning. Both of those things could go on for a while...unless one or the other 'breaks the rules' of the battle and breaks the force field. So far, neither one has yet...

Hulk has posed:
If Hulk had more time to develop his invulnerability, the fight might be going his way, but when Thor intensifies that lightning storm, Hulk roars and suddenly let's go of the hammer, his body swaying slightly as his innate regeneration brings him back from the brink of exhaustion. The gamma radiation sensors in the gym flare as Hulk's physiology works on compensating for the huge expense of it.

A few seconds later, he's shaking his head, but the 'stun' effect is more than enough for Thor to try to get in some hits.

Thor has posed:
And Thor certainly takes the opportunity! As before, though, his objective isn't to damage the goliath, which is now bigger and heavier than he started, but his mighty arms are still quite capable of a blow powerful enough to take even something Hulk's size and send it flying...

Which he attempts to do, using an upswing to try to get his opponent airborne...and flying in the direction of the forcefield he'd set up to represent 'collateral damage.'

Hulk has posed:
Thor gets in the hit, easily, but Hulks tonnage increased quite a bit in his last growth spurt, and he lands about halfway to the forcefield, shaking his head from the massive hit as he tries to stand up.

Hulk has never been about style or technique. He's a feral animal in combat. Thor would readily notice that anyone with even a bit of training would probably have kipped up from that landing... but Hulk simply stands up onto his hands and feet, giving all the impression of a monkey with his stance.

Thor has posed:
Thor knew the battle wasn't over yet...too much to hope for he'd have the air distance to get him all the way there. "Not enough...well then." That's the trick with Hulk...he is savage, but that savagery is his strength. Skill must match that strength, that grows endlessly as it must.

Wary of counters, Thor rushes in, but only, really, to make sure Hulk can't regain the center and stays close to the edge. Still, his next move is a Feint, designed to lure his opponent into overcommitting so he can get another shot in. He knows he must not get grabbed again, and is hoping he can lure his opponent into trying.

Hulk has posed:
"Hulk hate hammer." The Jade Giant grumps, before he slams his fists into the ground as Thor rushes him.

Hulk doesn't even try to dodge the attack. Instead of regaining his center, his hands move to grip at his torso as Thor charges.

Instead of being a brick wall, Hulk is going to try to use Thor's momentum against him and try to throw him behind himself.

Thor has posed:
Yep, there's the grab he was looking for. The feint was there to keep just that from happening, so he steps out of the way of the grab...and that's when Thor throws the hammer at Hulk, aiming to land another solid hit that'll knock him backwards. Throwing it at point blank range isn't a trick he uses terribly often, so perhaps it'll catch Hulk off guard enough to force him back again.

"Not this time. I remember well what happened to my brother, even if he thoroughly deserved it."

Hulk has posed:
It doesn't take much. Hulk is cunning... but he's no trained combatant, and has always relied upon sheer stubbornness in fights. From the initial days of being hunted across the globe, up to the truce he's maintaining with the nations of Earth lately, his sheer power is what's allowed him to survive.

Sheer power doesn't stop Hulk from falling for that feint easily, and get knocked back into the force fields, registering a ring out. The shockwave from the attack easily sounds through the gym, and the mansion itself likely had a minor Earthquake from the impact against the field... and from Hulks multi-ton body dropping like a gigantic bag of bricks down to the ground.

That hit knocked him around a bit, stunning him again.

Thor has posed:
With the ringout achieved, Thor puts the Hammer away. Perhaps it's not the best idea when facing a being who runs on anger, but Thor considers the fight 'over' since a ring out has been achieved, and moves over towards his ally, and friend. "This what I spoke of earlier. Had there been humans behind you, your weight would've crushed them. It's...an unfortunate thing, but you are at least as heavy as a Midgardian vehicle at your current size, and that's not your maximum. It's not even close."

He offers a hand to the Hulk, as one might do when helping an ally up, and also a handclasp of allies, friends, and so on.

Hulk has posed:
Once he gets back to himself -no matter what Hulk might say, that hammer is serious stuff- Hulk roars in rage for a moment. To Thor, it might even look like Hulk went full blown psychotic, but if he was about to attack, he'd be telegraphing.

Instead, Hulk gives all the impression of being /enraged/ at losing the fight, and is venting for a moment as one hand SLAMS down into the ground, causing a minor Earthquake locally that might leave a small pothole in the floor. He even grows another foot from the sudden surge of rage.

Then, his other hand reaches out and angrily pulls himself up with Thor's help. He growls out between his teeth, "Hulk doesn't like these rules." He grumps, before he brings up a hand to 'itch' at the back of his head. "Hulk prefers straight fights."

Thor has posed:
Thor knows the rage is still there, but he's not the one who can calm Hulk down. Instead, he merely watches. The floor being slammed...well, Tony has to fix that every time it happens anyway.

"I know. I prefer straight fights too. But this wasn't about fighting. This was about making sure humans don't get crushed when we must do battle in populated isas. Any truly worthy opponents are going to be able to hit us hard enough to send us flying. It's too easy for those of Midgard to get hurt, or even die. Training like this is what makes us, well, Avengers." Okay, protecting is more the idea here, but still, it's important to keep the trust of the masses, insofar as that's possible.

Hulk has posed:
"Humans never trust Hulk." Hulk replies, matter of factly, "but puny humans hunting Hulk for years was tiring. Humans damaging everything around Hulk, then blame Hulk for their actions. Hulk doesn't want to go back to that." Hulk begrudgingly states, before he starts to walk over to the entry to the Gym, the floor absorbing -barely- the impact of the multi-ton giant. "Hulk wants some food."

Thor has posed:
"Let us go forth, then, and have some food." Hmmm. "I do not think 'never' is the correct word. It might take a long time. It may even take longer than the lifespan of a single human. But I think you will live long enough to see the day when humans do trust you." Thor himself had experienced such distrust not too long ago, when his people were fleeing Asgard by ship. Fortunately, things seem back to normal.