The Hulk v Alex

[Corwin]

I'm starting to post my stories in a new way using Google Docs. This new story is here.

Alex is a character that originated as a woman overpowering superman, became a kid overpowering superman (retconned by AT2000). I've taken that second story and based this new telling on it.

Hope you enjoy. Let me know if there are any typos, and I will fix them.
Scott

[muscl4life]

WHOA!

That was really hot Corwin! I loved how intensely Alex grew, that was so hot, I really enjoy your writing. The hulk personality was powerful and dominant inside Banner's mind, that was really an incredible touch.

[Mad Dog]

Yeah, great story!

[Adam]

Absolutely BRILLIANT! It is very, very rare that I print out a story to save, but this one I couldn't get quickly enough! While I enjoyed Alan Thacker's work, I actually consider this tale to be vastly superior.

First, I though the pace of the strenghtening was perfect; it moved along at exactly the speed I would have wanted. It also began and ended at the right places, and the overall length of the story was a positive delight; you can never have too much of a good thing. I liked that Alex retained his grace and coordiantion in spite of his titanic build and the manhood comparison between him and the Hulk was most amusing.

But perhaps the best element was Alex himself. You walked a very fine line here and did it flawlessly, creating what I felt was an extremely sympathetic character, yet also one who was far from a goody two-shoes and was willing to use his newfound power for his own benefit. You have to feel for Alex at the beginning: a scrawny teen abandoned by his parents and so bad off he has to restort to prostitution just to survive. His attempt to live with whatever pride and dignity he can muster is moving. It was easy for me to rejoice with him at his burgeoning strength. Given his life, who can blame him for using it to intimidate others and take what he desires? Yet he remains a far cry from so many psychotic superboys and men. He gets the parts Banner needs as a sign of his gratitude, defends the Doc when the latter is in danger and is even being polite to Bobby the last time we see the latter. It would have been understandable if he had killed Bruce Banner when he learned the latter was lying to him and intended to "cure" him, but he didn't. He even apologized for having to teach the Doc a lesson. He was always scrupulously fair when he fought and I thought his explanation of how he wanted to be the strongest so no one could hurt him was quite poignant.

So my hat is off to you, sir. Now, for the big question: is there any possibility whatsoever of a sequel? Please? I can think of several ways such a sequel could go. First, retelling the story from Mark and/or Bobby's viewpoint would be fascinating parallel story. It looks like he left them alone at the end and it wouldn't be surprising if by that point at least one of the two completely worshipped Alex and would have done anything to please his muscle-god.

Second, while it would seem that with the Hulk accounted for there is nowhere else to go, there actually is. I don't know if he truly is stronger in the Marvel Universe, but for this story one could certainly say that Thor, God of Thunder, is stronger than the Hulk. I would love to see Thor confront Alex, with or without the Avengers (the idea of Earth's mightiest heroes learning how powerless they are against Alex is a sweet one, as is the image of an adamantium shield crumpling like tinfoil in the boy's hands). Thor could learn that he is not the only one strong enough to life Mjolnir, that Alex's fists are considerably harder than his hammer (which deforms when it hits Alex's body) and that even though he is a god he is nowhere near a physical match for Alex. Perhaps then Alex could force Thor to take him to Asgard? Sif, Thor's girlfriend, could fall head over heels in love with him at first sight, abandong the Thunder God without a second glance. Alex could forcefully dethrone Odin as King of the Gods and with him as their new ruler the pantheon would no longer need to fear Ragnarok. Of course Alex would probably return to Earth once his authority was established.

Another idea would be delve back into Bruce Banner. Now that he has had titme to think, how does he really feel about having created someone astronomically stronger than the Hulk? With his Hulk-fear of Alex is he going to do as the boy wants and create a device to syphon power into the Hulk? Or will he persist in his misguideded and doomed attempts to "cure" Alex (Given what his life has been like, trying to kill him would actually be much kinder)?

Lastly, it would be cathartic and intriguing for Alex to confront the parents who abandoned him and show them what their son has become.

What do you say? Any chance?

[Corwin]

Originally Posted by Adam

Absolutely BRILLIANT! It is very, very rare that I print out a story to save, but this one I couldn't get quickly enough!

I hate to tell you this, but I just made a small enhancement to the end of the story where Alex is embedded in the rock. I wanted to make it clear that he had another growth spurt there.

While I enjoyed Alan Thacker's work, I actually consider this tale to be vastly superior.

Thanks for the kind words. I enjoy Alan's writing too. I let Alan preview the story and I think he approved.

All writers have different styles, and I try to enjoy everyone for what they offer.

As for your question, this was a one off. I am encouraging Mr. Thacker to finish his goddamn Alex story with the massive muscle boy himself finally exploding a planet and besting the Man of Steel (but that's just my desire, and I know Alan has been working on other stories and has his own plans for Alex v Superman)

[fillups44]

Great stuff as always Corwin. You handle all the elements well to make a really satisfying story. You do such a great job with the main character that we want to see him take on new challenges and be in new adventures. Thanks!!!!

[Lucas13253]

The Google Docs requests me to log on to read it, and it says access is restricted when I did log on.

[Incognito-tie]

I'm also having this problem.

[makurra]

Same here

[CelticMuscle]

Google Drive. We're sorry. This document is not published.

That's what I get when I click on the main link

[coolman69]

Originally Posted by CelticMuscle

That's what I get when I click on the main link

same here.

[Corwin]

Originally Posted by Lucas13253

The Google Docs requests me to log on to read it, and it says access is restricted when I did log on.

this link? https://docs.google.com/document/d/1...thkey=CO7SmbID

[xboy]

Originally Posted by Corwin

this link? https://docs.google.com/document/d/1...thkey=CO7SmbID

Thanks!! Now I can read it too!!!!

[Corwin]

Google docs is unreliable at keeping things shared, and since people asked about Hulk stories, here's the one from this thread.

The Hulk v Alex
by Corwin

Bruce Banner exited Radio Shack. The electronics had cost more than he had hoped, and he worried about paying the rent on the slum that he was living in. But that didn't matter. Finally, he hoped, he had a way to rid himself of the demon that had come to dominate his life.

He decided to walk home along the beach. The sun and the surf had a calming effect on him. He slowed when he came to the outdoor recreation area. A tingle of both envy and fear ran through his body. His alter ego, the Hulk, had more power in his little finger than these body builders had in their hyper-masculine forms, yet he envied their drive and their control.

"Look at the wimp! Hey scrawny, give me that!"

Bruce's attention turned toward a corner of the pit. There, he saw three boys. Two were shirtless, and looked like high school football players. The third wore a baggy shirt and shorts. The loose fitting clothes hung over a skeletal frame. The small boy was only about five foot four and had blond hair.

One of the larger boys grabbed a couple dumbbells the smaller boy had been lifting. "10 pounds! And you were struggling. What a freak'n runt! Shit! This weighs nothing to me!." The larger boy said, demonstrating by curling them up then lifting them over his head. He dropped the weights to the ground. "You're never gonna have a gun like this!" The boy flexed his bicep in the smaller boys face. "Just broke 16 and growing. Not like your twigs."

"Leave me alone," the smaller boy whined and knelt down to pick up the fallen weights.

"Leave me alone!" the bigger boy mocked, and pushed the small boy over.

"Stop that!" cried Bruce, who started running to the scene of the altercation.

"Need your Daddy to save you?" said the other boy to the boy on the ground, who looked like he was trying not to cry. "Let's get out of here!" The two punks turned and started to run.

Bruce didn't pursue. Instead, he leaned over the boy and extended his hand.

The boy ignored it. "I didn't need your help," he said as he got up. He winced as he straightened his arm, and a trickle of blood ran down his hand.

"Let me see that," said Bruce, taking the boys hand and looking at the skinned palm. "Not too bad, but we should put some antiseptic on it."

"What are you, some kinda doctor or something," said the boy, pulling his arm back and grabbing the weights. He started to struggle to raise the 10lb dumbbells.

"Ya, I'm a doctor. But you can call me Bruce. What's your name?"

"Alex..." the boy said, failing on the third rep. He dropped the weights. "And I'll call you leaving. Don't need no help from anyone." He started looking around the area for something.

"Not even your parents?" Bruce asked.

"Those hicks? Fuck no." Alex walked over to a couple of small 5lb dumbbells. "They left, I mean I left them weeks ago. I'm on my own."

"But," Bruce was going to ask more, but decided not to. "You're a loner, huh? Me too. How'd you get by?"

"I manage," said Alex, starting a set of bicep curls with the smaller weight. "I find things here and there," he said, curling the small dumbbells. "And some guys pay me for stuff."

'He's so young!' Bruce thought, angered by what this boy must be going through. "Uhm, you gotta place to go after your workout."

Alex cocked his head as he completed 8 reps. "I'll find a place. Sleep on the beach sometime. It ain't so bad."

"I gotta couch, if you need it," offered Bruce. "And I'm not a bad cook."

Alex looked Bruce up and down. "You a fag?" Bruce started to say no, but Alex said, "I don't mind. I can pay you back." Alex moved his small hand to his groin and arranged an organ that snaked down one side of his loose shorts.

"No, I'm not interested in that. Just thought you might want a place to crash, but..."

"Whatever," said Alex. "I'm ready. Where d'you live?"

"A few blocks."

Alex walked toward the exit, and picked up a duffel bag that looked as if it had seen better days. He turned, and looked at Bruce. "You coming?"

Alex didn't say anything as they walked. When they got to the apartment, Alex commented, "What a dump, but I guess it will do."

"I should clean your hand now," Bruce said, walking toward the bathroom. He came out with some rubber gloves, tweezers, cotton and alcohol. He motioned for Alex to sit down. The boy did, and Bruce took his hand. "Just a few rocks in here," he said, putting gloves on and taking the tweezers. "This may hurt a bit." He removed the small stones, and dabbed the wound with the cotton. "Now this will burn." He poured some alcohol on the cotton and then over the wound. Alex tried to pull his arm back, but Bruce held it firm. "Sorry, I don't have any Bactine." He wiped the wound again until the bleeding had stopped. "OK, good to go." Bruce picked up the bloody cotton and wrapped it in the gloves, then took it to the garbage.

Alex got up, and started to look around. The dive had four rooms. The biggest was a living room with a couch and television, a table and some chairs, and a small kitchen. There was a bathroom, and a room with a single twin bed. The final room had microscopes, electronics and scientific equipment. Bruce saw Alex looking in the room. "That's my lab. Don't go in their. I'm working on a very important experiment."

Alex shrugged. "Mind if I take a shower. Working out makes me sweat." Alex lifted off his baggy shirt. He looked emaciated. His chest was flat, and his ribs were visible under his skin. His shoulders were knobby, and his upper arms couldn't have been bigger than 10 inches.

Bruce's eyes widened with concern.

"I may not be huge yet, but I will be!" asserted Alex. "Way bigger than those jerks today. Then I'll show them. 'Sides, I know they'd be jealous of this." Alex pulled down his shorts.

Bruce had seen many men in the state of undress, but he had to admit Alex was endowed better than anyone he'd seen before. Bruce wondered exactly what the men had paid the young boy to do. Bruce averted his eyes.

Alex snickered and walked into the shower.

The evening was uneventful. Alex was obviously very hungry, and ate everything Bruce put out for him. He settled down and watched television while Bruce went into his lab. He took the electronics he purchased, and muttered something about nullifying gamma rays, but Alex wasn't interested. Soon Alex had dozed off.

Alex was awoken by a loud, high-pitched noise. He looked at a clock, and was that it was almost 1:30. The door to the room with the scientific equipment was closed, and a bright light was coming from it. Alex got up and walked to the door.

"Doc, what's all the racket," he said, opening the door.

"ALEX!" a voice that oscillated between Bruce's and something deeper screamed, "Stay out!"

Alex saw Bruce Banner standing in just his underwear. Torn clothes were thrown like rags around the room. Banner stood in front of the light, and seemed to be bathed in a green glow. Alex suddenly felt warm before things went fuzzy and he fell to the floor.

Alex woke up on the couch. The sun was up. Bruce Banner was in the kitchen.

Alex got up. "Hey Doc."

"Alex! Good, you're awake."

Alex was a bit groggy. "Last night?"

"You shouldn't have disturbed me."

"Oh, it wasn't a dream."

"No, but luckily you didn't get hurt."

"That light?"

"I was between you and the device, but if I hadn't have been, you could have been seriously hurt."

"What was it?"

"You wouldn't understand. Let's just say that my body absorbed the rays it was putting out. I checked you out and you weren't exposed."

"Ok," said Alex, losing interest. "Whatever. What's for breakfast?"

Alex ate, and grabbed a black speedo, some football shorts that were a size or two too big for him and a t-shirt from the bag. Bruce said he could crash here again before Alex left for the beach and a day that would change his life forever.

---

Alex walked to the exercise area. It was deserted, which suited him just fine. No jerks to interfere with his workout today. At times, he felt ashamed that he was so small and weak. He hated it. In his heart, he knew he had to grow huge. He had to be the biggest. He walked over to a bench. Someone had left some weights on it. Alex recognized it as 225lbs -- four plates. Someday, he'd bench that. Hell, he'd bench double that. But today, he struggled to remove all the big plates. When he got one off the bar, he had to drop it quickly to the ground, jumping quickly so it didn't land on his food. He then wheeled it to the side before taking another plate off. He hated being weak.

With all the plates removed, he laid under the bar. "45 pounds," he sighed with both hope and disgust. He lifted the bar, and brought it slowly to his chest. He hated how heavy it felt, but he lifted it. Again and again he did the bar. After six reps, his chest felt like it would explode. He struggled to put the bar back on the bench. It teetered and tottered back and forth, and nearly pinned him down before he got it back up.

Alex heard laughing behind him.

"Look who's back Bobby?" said one of the boys from yesterday. "Guess you didn't teach him as big a lesson as you thought?"

Alex sat up, but didn't turn around.

"Bet he'd love to have a chest like this," said Bobby.

Alex heard the other boy laugh. Then he felt a hand on his shoulder as Bobby spun him around.

"Look at me when I'm talking to you wimpy." Bobby towered above Alex. He was shirtless. His pecs formed shelves over six-pack abs. Bobby was bouncing the thick slab of pecs over Alex. Alex's throat went dry wishing he had a chest like that.

Alex also felt something else. His mind was afraid, but his body wanted to lash out.

"Wimpy, bet you'd love to have pecs like these. Mark, I thought we left this bench set up when we left yesterday."

"We did Bobby."

Bobby grabbed Alex by collar and pulled him up. Alex watched with surprise as Bobby struggled to lift him, and found himself standing up rather than being dragged up.

"Mark and I will be training here, after you put the weights back." Bobby shoved Alex, but Alex barely moved.

Alex looked at one of the 45lb plate he had dropped on the ground. He walked toward it. He tilted it on its side, preparing to roll it, but it felt surprising light to him. He grabbed it by the center and lifted it with ease. Alex smiled and walked toward Bobby.

"Do it yourself," he said, dropping the weight. Bobby had to jump so the weight didn't crush his toes.

"You fucker!" screamed Bobby. He balled his fist and swung hard into Alex's stomach.

Alex tensed and was prepared to cry in pain, but instead Bobby's fist bounced off. It felt strange to Alex, like a wall was erected to stop the powerful arm. He moved his hand to his stomach, and felt an unfamiliar line of ridges. He looked at Bobby, who was shaking out his hand.

Mark looked surprised, but grabbed Alex's arms and tried to force them around Alex's back. They didn't move, and Mark began to strain.

Alex was confused. He looked at Mark pulling on his arm. His arm was different. It was fatter. No, it was bigger, but it wasn't fat. It was muscle. He compared his arm's to Mark's, then to Bobby's. Alex's arms looked just as big. He let Mark move his arm around to his back and pin it there.

"Got him Bobby!" Mark said, panting slightly. "Don't know what he's playing at but,"

"Neither do I," said Bobby, making a fist again. Bobby's sixteen inch bicep flexed, and veins popped out of his forearm. "Let's see him do that again." Bobby slammed on fist into Alex's stomach, then followed up with a second into his chest. Nothing happened, but Bobby's hands ached.

Bobby had a surprised look on his face. "Something wrong?" asked Alex a bit cavalierly. Alex began to pull his arms forward. Bobby watched as Alex's chest flexed and started to fill his shirt. Alex's chest flexed?!? This wimp didn't have muscles like that!

Alex smiled and heard Mark grunting behind him. Alex's pulled on his arms and they moved forward. Mark resisted, but Alex made steady progress. Mark release Alex's left arm, and concentrated both hands on stopping Alex's right. It didn't help. Alex continued at the same, slow, deliberate pace to bring his arm to his front.

Mark let go. "You can't be that strong! Yesterday,"

"Was yesterday, apparently. Today," Alex put his arms to his shirt. He was anxious, eager to see his body underneath. He was afraid he was the same skinny weak Alex, that this was all a dream or some sick joke. On the other hand, he felt strong. He slowly raised his shirt.

Bobby's eyes went wide with fear. The definition of Alex's stomach was better than either his or Mark's. With each breath, abs like bricks flexed in and out. Alex's intercostals were shredded with thick muscle power. As he lifted his shirt, thick pillows of muscle came into view divided by a deep valley in the center of his chest. From the back, Mark saw a perfect V-shape of corded lats. Alex raised an arm and pulled it through the sleeve, then the other. He lifted the shirt over his head.

Mark couldn't believe what he was seeing. Alex's shoulder's were cannon balls, clearly bigger than Bobby's. Alex's arms looked thick, maybe even 17 inches.

Bobby didn't say anything as he compared Alex to Mark. Bobby knew he Mark's body was slightly smaller than his own. Bobby had broken 16 inches on his arms, while Mark was at 15 3/4. What he was realizing was that Mark looked puny compared to the boy they called "wimp."

Alex saw the confused look, then the surprise, then the awe pass across Bobby's face. Alex looked down, seeing the first time his bulging pecs. He flexed them, watching them rise and tense. He moved his hand and felt their rock hardness. He looked at Bobby.

"Hey!" he said "Didn't you ask if I wanted a chest like yours?" Alex stepped toward Bobby threateningly. "Why would I want something that scrawny when I can be bigger. Did my big muscle hurt that little hand of yours?" Alex tried to bounce his chest, but he wasn't yet use to the motion. Still, the thick muscle made the point.

"Uhm... Hey," Bobby started, "we didn't mean anything."

"Ya," said Mark, starting to back away.

Alex turned to Mark. "Don't move!" he commanded. "I'll get to you, but first," he turned to Bobby. "You hit me! Don't you think it's fair that I now get to hit you back?"

Alex made a fist and pounded it into his other hand with a loud smack. Bobby got a determined look on his face and flexed his six pack hard. Alex pulled his arm back and drove his arm forward with his new muscle power. Alex's fist met Bobby's flexed abs and broke them. Bobby bent over, as Alex's unstoppable fist drove deep into his stomach. Bobby grabbed his side and fell to the ground, then threw up.

"What's wrong? Did my wimpy muscle hurt you?"

Mark started to back away, but Alex saw. Mark started to run, but like a sprinter, Alex caught him. He grabbed Mark's arm and swung him around. Mark fell to the ground as Alex yanked the arm behind Mark's back. Mark felt a pop as his shoulder dislocated from the force of the grasp. "SHIT! My arm."

"Oooo, did I hurt you? I told you to stay put. Guess I don't know my own strength," Alex said, raising an arm and flexing his bicep. His eyes twinkled with pride as he saw the size of his new, powerful bicep.

Bobby started to get up.

"Good. I thought I might have hurt you too bad." Alex got off Mark and walked back to Bobby, making fists with both his hands. "You still owe me a couple of punches."

"No!" cried Bobby. "Please."

"Afraid of me?" asked Alex with contempt in his voice. "Afraid of a wimp?"

"Look, I'm sorry. I'll do anything..."

"Yes, you will," said Alex. He stopped and thought. "Here's how it is. I won't hit you yet," there was an air of intimidation in the way Alex said 'yet', "and you two will be my slaves. You do everything I say or," and Alex smacked his fist into his hand even louder than before. Bobby watched as Alex's whole body tensed with power. "Now, I was working chest before you two interrupted me."

Mark stood up, his arm dangling by his side. "I need to go to the hospital."

Alex walked over to him. He grabbed Mark's shoulder and with a pop, put the bone back in the socket. Mark screamed.

"You can go later. You still have one good hand. Both of you," Alex order, "put four plates on."

With some fear, Alex got below. He put his hands on the bar and was surprised how light it felt. He did 15 reps with ease.

He sat up. "Better get two more plates," he said, flexing his chest with a new confidence. "I need more weight. I'm gonna be huge."

----

Bruce Banner was looking over the machine he had worked so hard on. He pulled a crystal out. It had a large black crack in it. He shook his head. "It didn't focus properly."

The night before, he had sent a beam into his body. It should have neutralized the gamma radiation that changed him. Instead, he felt the power oscillating around him. He was both Banner and the Hulk at the same time. When Alex interrupted him, he managed to gain enough control to shut down the machine. He had been between the boy and ray, and that is all that protected him.

He was so lost in thought, Bruce failed to hear the door open.

"Whatcha lookin at Doc?" said a young man's voice.

Bruce didn't even turn around. "Just this white corundum. It had a flaw I didn't know about."

Alex laughed. "Doc, if you want something to look at, check this out!"

Bruce turned around, and he dropped the stone in surprise. It was Alex, but he was different. Huge. He was wearing only his black speedos. He was facing sideways, his body twisted and his arm raised flexing a good sized bicep. He looked like a teenage bodybuilder.

Bruce walked to him, noting the shorts and shirt on the floor behind him. As he approached, Alex changed poses, placing his hand on his hips and spreading lats that looked like wings. He vacuumed his stomach, which created a distinct gap between his stomach and the speedos that were overstuffed with Alex's manhood. "Like what you see Doc?"

"Alex! What happened?"

"Don't know. Thought maybe you can tell me. Your like the scientific brain, right? You got all that stuff and that conundrum and stuff."

"Corundum," correct Bruce. "It's a rock, like a sapphire or ruby, but this one is white. But that's not important now. Tell me what happened."

Bruce heard a growl, and Alex put his hand to his stomach. "Doc, I'm really hungry now. Mind cooking while I talk? I brought food." Alex pointed to five bags of groceries by the door.

"Where did that come from?" Bruce said, looking at the bags.

"Some guys gave them to me," said Alex, walking toward Bruce's bedroom.

"Gave you?"

"Ya. I was on my way home, and they were walking down the street. We met, talked for a bit, then they gave me the stuff."

Bruce was skeptical, but Alex had gone into his bedroom and closed the door.

"Fuckin A! I'm big!" Alex screamed. In the room, he had closed the door and looked at himself in the mirror. Alex turned to the side and looked at his calf. He flexed, noting their diamond shape and hardness. He bent his knee and flexed his hamstrings, grinning at the thickness of his legs and roundness of his glutes. Alex squeezed his ass muscle tight, shredding them into sinewy hardness. Next, he turned forward, flexing his quads into rivers of flowing muscle. Alex thrust his hips forward, bringing his bulge fully into view. He grinned impishly. He continued to pose, flexing muscle groups one at a time, nodding approvingly at his new size. He stood there, practicing flexing his chest until he could bounce the massive slabs of muscle like a pro. He loved how wide his shoulders looked against his rock-hard waist, and the huge V he could make with his now-powerful back. When he flexed his arms, his biceps peaked and his triceps became a deep horseshoe. Even his forearms looked like bowling pins. "Doc?" he cried, "You got a tape measure around here?"

"Ya, I'll get it when I'm done cooking. Hope you like chicken."

"Anything. Don't remember being this hungry." Alex said. As he walked out of the bedroom, he seemed to stagger a bit.

"You OK?" said Bruce, who started to walk toward Alex, but the boy glared at him.

"Ya, just real hungry. Guess flexing so much took a bit out of me." Alex sat down.

"So are you going to tell me what happened?" Bruce asked, flipping a few pieces of chicken over. "These will be done in about 5 minutes."

"I don't know," said Alex, who was sounding tired. "I guess it started with those two guys from yesterday. I was lifting, well, I had a bar and was moving it, and they came over. They began to pick on me and manhandle me, but, well, then they couldn't. It was like I was as strong as them. No, I was stronger. Bobby, he punched me, but his hand just bounced off and it hurt him. Me, I punched him and even though he resisted, I creamed him with a single blow." There was some pride in Alex's voice, but he put his head down. "Doc, I really need food."

"In a minute," Bruce said as he walked to the bathroom. He came back a second later with a scale. "Alex, how much did you weigh this morning?"

Alex looked up. "120," he lied.

"Really?"

"No," he said, putting his head back down. "97. 97 pound weakling."

"Well, you look like you're about 160 right now, and from what you're telling me, you aren't weak."

"Still not big enough," Alex whispered.

"Get on the scale." said Bruce, putting his arm under Alex's to help him up. Alex stood on the scale. "Alex, you now weight close to 220lbs. Your weight has more than doubled today."

Alex grinned, but sat down and put his head back down.

"Your weight has more than doubled. What did you eat today?"

"Just breakfast here, and Bobby bought me a couple burgers," said Alex.

"No wonder you're hungry. Here..." said David, serving up the chicken. He gave Alex both pieces and started making two more.

Alex ate for the next hour, only stopping to wait for more chicken to be prepared. He ate almost 20 pieces.

Bruce observed the boy. Something had happened. Bruce worried that he created a new Hulk with his experiments, but noticed that Alex's hand had not healed. The boy was also strong, but wasn't nearly as powerful as the Hulk. No, Alex had been changed, but in a different way. He needed a genetic sample to analyze, and then he remembered the bloody cotton. He went to the bathroom and retrieved it while Alex ate. He then went in his lab and started the process of sequencing the DNA.

As Alex ate, his body seemed to change. His build solidified and even seemed to swell bigger. The changes were small, but Bruce was a trained observer. Unlike the Hulk, whose massive bulk was created from pure energy, Alex's body was starving for food to grow. Now that he had it, he was growing, and Bruce guessed, getting stronger.

"Feeling better?" Bruce asked, after Alex ate the last of the chicken.

"Ya, like I can take on the world!" Alex stood, stretched a bit, then let out a huge belch before placing a hand to his groin and scratching his nuts. "Hey, how about you get out that tape measure now?"

"Sure," said Bruce, looking for another metric to evaluate Alex's sudden change. Bruce knew that the Hulk's BMI changed by more than two orders of magnitude, and his base size was nearly 3 times as large as Bruce's. "But first, mind getting on the scale again?"

Alex shrugged and stepped on. He looked down. "Doc, didn't you say I was 220."

"That's right," said Bruce from the lab where he emerged with a tape measure.

"Says I'm 270 now," said Alex with a grin. "I'm getting bigger! Ya! Quick doc, check out this bi! I gotta know how big it is." Alex held up his arm, making a ball emerge. Bruce wrapped the tape around it, and pulled it tight. "That's some hard bicep you got there," he said, appealing to Alex's apparent vanity. "17.5. I'd guess your arm was about 10 inches yesterday, so that's..."

Before Bruce could finish, he noticed Alex's impish grin. The tape in his hand began to move. "Doc, you gotta let me FLEX." Alex's rock hard bicep grew even harder. Bruce couldn't help feel the warmth as if a volcano were spewing lava to make a mountain grow beneath the tape. He watched as the numbers climbed past 18 then to 19 and 20, stopping just short of 21 inches. Alex's expression changed as he tried to will more energy into his arm to break 21, but he failed. He frowned.

"Alex your arm has more than doubled in size."

"I wanted 21," he lied, knowing he wanted more than that. Alex's other measurements were equally impressive. His chest was 54, and his legs were 29 with 19 inch calves.

"You're quite the bodybuilder now," said Bruce. "And you said this happened when the boys from yesterday attacked you? Were you feeling angry by any chance."

"No, I was scared. They were big, but not this big," said Alex, flexing his bicep hard and willing it even bigger.

"How big were they?"

"Puny 16 inch arms," said Alex. "And they could only bench four plates. I did 6 with extra 25s on each side. Well, I did that when they were watching," admitted Alex. "Doc, I guess I should tell you, when they weren't watching, there was like 275 on the bar. Bobby said he was curling 105. Doc, I curled 275. It was hard, but these guns did it," said Alex, smiling and twisting his arm making the muscles bounce. "Doc, I think I'm a lot stronger than they are." As he said it, a twinkle came to Alex's eye,"

"Hmmm..." replied Bruce. Before he could say anything else, Alex got up and grabbed the clothes he had dropped on the floor. He put the shorts on, which now fit snugly around his thighs. He pulled the shirt over his head.

"I'll be back," said Alex.

"Where are you going?" asked Bruce.

"To the beach. I gotta know what these muscles can do. You stay here," he ordered, flexing his muscles almost involuntarily to make the point. "I wanna do this alone." Alex left.

Bruce was glad he had gone. He wanted to see what the DNA analysis was showing about the new muscle boy. He also wanted to try and fix the projector. Alex might need it now too, and it worried him that he may now need to cure a second person from one of his accidents. He hadn't wanted to harm the boy.

Bruce worked late into the night. He made a list of parts he'd need for the projector. Before he went to bed, he checked the DNA analysis, and was relieved to see that Alex didn't have the Hulk gene. There was a genetic abnormality, but it was unresponsive to gamma radiation.

As he crossed to his bedroom, he saw Alex asleep on the couch. The boy was naked except for his underwear. His chest was crusted with a dried white paste. Bruce stared at the boy's muscular physique. Bruce couldn't control the Hulk. Depending on what was happening to the boy, could Alex control it?

Bruce awoke the next day. Alex was already awake.

"Doc, I curled 315, benched 700 and squatted 1200! I'm at least 3 times stronger than they are."

"I did some tests," said Bruce. "I'm not sure, but I have a hypothesis. It might be that your body responded to the threat and became strong enough to beat your aggressor."

"Talk English doc. You mean those guys did something to me?"

"Not exactly. I think your body perceived a threat and became strong enough to defeat it."

"You mean because those guys were attacking me, my body decided to become strong enough to defeat them?"

"Something like that. Your system was stressed..."

"So, if I fight someone stronger than me, I'll get stronger than them and kick their puny butt! Doc! That's great."

"Alex, I'm not sure about this..."

Before he could finish, Alex grabbed his stomach. "Doc, I'm real hungry again. Think you could make breakfast?"

Bruce got a worried look on his face. "Did you eat after you exerted yourself last night?"

"After my workout," Alex said, sitting down, "No."

Bruce walked into the kitchen. While his back was turned, Alex smiled and got up. He saw a note on the table with a list of technical words. He grabbed it.

"Sorry Doc. I'm fine. Can't wait right now. I'll be back tonight." Alex slammed the door shut before Bruce could react.

Bruce tried to follow him, but Alex was gone. He went to the beach, but no one had seen Alex. He went back to his lab to work only to discover the list he made the night before was gone. He started to reconstruct it.

Alex returned after it was dark. The door sprang open and the boy's voice shouted, "Doc! You were right. Check it out!"

Bruce came from the lab and could barely believe his eyes. Alex was shirtless, flexing the most massive bicep he'd ever seen. His pecs were monstrous, and his legs had split the sides of his shorts. The only thing small about Alex was his waist, which was thick with rock-solid abs.

"Alex! What did you do!" cried Bruce, who instinctively grabbed the tape.

"Go for it Doc!" Alex flexed harder, making the mountainous arm peak higher. "Not that puny 21 anymore I bet!"

Bruce's hand was drown to the huge muscle like iron to a magnet. It was not only hard as steel, it was warm and the skin over it was soft. A thick vein fed flood to the muscle, and with each pulse, Bruce's fingers moved noticeably up and down. Slowly, he put the tape over the huge arm.

"Ya, thought you'd be impressed," Alex said. "I knew of this gym. Big guys go there. Real strong. Power lifters and stuff. So I went."

"Did they attack you?"

"You bet they did. Got them to go four on one at one point. Shit, I felt strong. They were no match for my power. Got huge there. Made one of the bigger guys cry before he submitted."

"You picked the fights." Bruce said, pulling the tape taught.

"Shit ya! Look at me. I'm huge. And I can get bigger. I can lift more than anyone. You ever see a gun like this?" Alex relaxed and flexed his bicep, making it bounce up and down and pulling the tape tighter. "How big is my cannon?"

Bruce's mouth went dry. "35."

"Wait," said Alex, who tensed his bicep harder, making it press into the tape.

Bruce gave the tape some slack and announced, "36".

"Biggest guns in the world. Gonna make em bigger too." Alex raised his massive arms into the air. "Now, do these pecs. Massive, right?"

"Alex, I'm sorry. I'll find a way..."

"Sorry for what Doc? Don't be shy! This muscle is great!" He put his arms down and went outside. "Look! I brought you stuff. A thank you!" He pulled in a bag filled with electronics. "It's the stuff from that list, well, most of it."

Bruce took the bag. "Where? How?"

"Some guys gave it to me," Alex said with an innocent smile.

"Alex," Bruce said closing the bag, "I can't take this. It's not right."

"Take it Doc," said Alex. "It's my way of saying thank you. Thanks for this," he raised a mighty bicep, "and this," he turned into the most massive side chest every seen, " and this," followed by the most massive hands-over-head lat spread, "and..."

"I get the idea," said Bruce.

"Ya, no one's bigger than me."

'Except me', thought something deep inside Bruce Banner's unconscious.

"Alex, I'd like to run some more test," said Bruce, bringing his mind back to the reality of the situation. He'd have to cure Alex whether the boy understood why or not. If Alex was as strong as he said, and Bruce suspected he was, he couldn't allow him to terrorize people.

"Sure Doc. Anything to help me get bigger!" Alex walked into the kitchen. "There's some food outside too. Ate like a pig today, but it only made me grow bigger and stronger, so that's OK. Whatcha need from me, Doc?"

"I'd like to take a small sample of blood. I think your DNA has changed, and I'd like to understand how."

Alex thought a second. "Not to cure me or anything?" he said angrily.

Bruce was taken aback. He was no match for the boy powerhouse, and if Alex tried anything, the Hulk might emerge and seriously harm to boy. Whatever happened to Alex, he lacked the gamma power that fuels the Hulk's strength. He'd be no match for Bruce's big green alter ego.

"Oh no," said Bruce. "I just want to see if I can make you stronger. You're only 3 times stronger than the men who attack you, right?"

"Five," said Alex. "Today I was five times stronger than the dudes." Alex shrugged his massive shoulders. "Don't know why and I don't care. Just so long as I get bigger." He extended his arm. "Go ahead."

Bruce walked into the bathroom and came back with the alcohol and syringe. He poured some alcohol on Alex's arm, and smacked it. Nothing happened. The hardness of the muscle just below the skin was amazing.

"Need a vein?" the muscle boy asked. Slowly, and with deliberate force, he contracted his huge bicep and tensed his enormous forearm. Ropey veins popped to the surface as striated muscle tore into view. "That enough, or do you really want to see me flex?" Alex offered.

A knot turned in Bruce's stomach as he realized the boy was bragging and not kidding. Bruce stuck the syringe into Alex's arm, and felt the needle stop where it hit muscle. It felt like impenetrable steel. He slowly turned the needle into the vein and got the blood sample. He took the sample into the lab and started the tests.

When he came out, Alex had changed into his black speedos and was sitting watching TV. The couch sagged under his substantial mass, and his powerful body made the couch look small. Bruce started dinner.

Alex ate 24 chicken breasts. "Guess I was hungrier than I thought," he said.

"Your body needs energy to grow," replied Bruce.

After dinner, Bruce went into the lab. Alex followed. He watched Bruce for a few minutes, then began to explore.

"So, this is the gizmo that changed me?" he said, pointing to anti-gamma projector.

"Possibly," said Bruce. I was between you and it, so I don't understand what happened yet.

"What's it suppose to do?"

"I have a problem. It's genetic. I think that device will help me," Bruce said while looking at a slide of Alex's blood.

"I think it turned you green," said Alex, picking up the crack corundum crystal. "And you need a rock like this, right?"

"That one is cracked," sighed Bruce. 'Even his blood appears energized in some way,' thought the scientist.

"Where'd you get this one?"

"Jewelers carry them. It's like a white ruby or white emerald. All the same stone, just different colors."

"But you need it clear like this?"

"That would be best to make the ray work."

Alex just nodded, then walked into Bruce's room. He slanted the door. Bruce looked up, and saw Alex hitting bodybuilder poses. Front biceps -- mind numbing in size and perfection. Front lats that were too wide for the door. Rear lat that looked like a topological map of some alien planet cut with rivers, hills and mountains.

'Kid's a wimp' said something in Bruce's mind. 'Let me out and I'll show you muscle.' Bruce got back to work. Higher than average oxygen transport. T-cell higher than normal. Supercharged blood. The work engulfed Bruce and he lost track of time.

"You ever want muscle like this?"

Bruce jumped. "I didn't hear you come in," he said, looking up from his microscope.

"Ya, I thought so. Been here for a few minutes. Find anything?"

"Well, it seems that you have a mutation orthogonal to the gamma gene that allows you..."

"ENGLISH DOC!" Alex bellowed with authority.

"Sorry. The gamma projector..."

"The gizmo," agreed Alex.

"It did effect you. The beam hit me, but you got caught in the, the, the, crossfire. It's like your body has a force field around it. Something breaks that field, your body responds by making you stronger than the assault."

"How much stronger?" asked Alex, rubbing his hands over his cobblestone abs.

"Not sure. Way stronger."

"So, you ever want muscle like this, Doc?" asked Alex, moving his hands over his massively thick pecs and up to his boulder-size shoulders.

"Maybe once," admitted Bruce. "But not now." 'Liar.'

"You don't want to be strong?"

"No." 'Liar'

"I want to be huge. Way bigger this this."

'Wimp'

"And stronger too."

'Not stronger than me. I'm the strongest ever.' "Why?"

"No one can hurt me then." Bruce thought he detected a tinge of sadness in Alex's voice.

Bruce just nodded.

Alex went to train the next day. He came home even bigger than when he left. His arms had broken 40, just as Alex had wanted. "Still not big enough," he said.

"Brought you something," Alex said.

"Groceries? Who'd you intimidate for them this time?"

Alex laughed. "They give them to me," he said. "It's their choice. Give me stuff or," and he flexed his 40+ inch bicep hard.

"That's not a..."

Before Bruce could complete the sentence, Alex tossed something at him.

"White ruby," said Alex. "Took me a while to find it."

Bruce said nothing. Calculations buzzed in his brain. 'I can cure us both,' he thought.

---

It took Bruce all night to make the modifications. The beam, directed at Alex, should neutralize his muscle-enhancing ability. The residual energy from Alex's body would then filter into Bruce, negating the gamma radiation. They'd both be normal. If it worked.

Bruce went to sleep with more hope than he had in a while.

---

When Bruce woke up, Alex was gone. Bruce made breakfast, then went looking for Alex. He found him at the gym beach.

Alex was working back. The bar sagged as he lifted what appeared to be 20 plates for back rows. One of the boys who had tormented Alex was counting. He wore a tourniquet. "That's 25 Alex!"

"Thanks Mark. I need more plates. This pansy weight is too light for these wings," said Alex matter-of-factly as he spread his lats and flexed hard. "I need to grow." Everyone in the recreation area froze at the pronouncement. One of the bigger guys actually turned and started walking away. "You!" Alex pointed at the man who froze. "Get me another 4 plates."

"Sure Alex. Whatever you need," said the big guy. He had to be 270 of solid muscle, but he cowed like a puppy to Alex's command.

"Doc!" Alex said, seeing Bruce. "You come to watch me work out. Everyone, this is the doc. He's my friend, so be nice to him."

"Hey Doc," said the big guy who moved 4 plates to Alex's bar. "I'm Rich," the guy extended his big hand. "Any friend of Alex's"

Bruce noticed several fist-sized black and blue marks on Rich's tanned body. On his upper arm, there was an impression of a very powerful hand that looked to have exerted some crushing force. Bruce could only guess what happened.

"Alex, the thing I was working on works now."

"Cool Doc. I'll check it out after my workout." He turned to Rich. "Thanks Little Guy," Alex slapped Rich hard, causing the big man to fall forward.

Bruce watched as Alex lifted massive amounts of weight. His small frame belied a massive amount of strength and power. Bruce's inner demon awoke. 'Nobody is stronger than Hulk!' "No" Bruce hissed, demanding to remain in control. "You won't hurt the boy."

Bruce continued to watch, the inner demon becoming more and more restless. He watched as Alex did squats so heavy, the cage actually lurched when he put the weights down. As Alex moved from station to station, the people using the equipment quickly got up and made room for him. It seemed like Alex owned the gym and everyone knew it. 'Let me out! I'll show him what muscle is.' Bruce felt the demon's rage. He turned and walked away from the gym.

Bruce wandered by some nearby food stands. As he passed the hamburger stand, the big guy behind the counter called to him. "You know that kid?"

"Hmmm," said Bruce, still concentrating on calming his unconscious mind. "Oh, Alex. Ya, he's been staying with me this week. Homeless kid. Probably a run away." Bruce started to walk away.

"Can I talk to you?" the man asked.

Bruce looked up. The guy was huge, wearing a white tshirt that split around massive arms. He looked about 6'7 and seemed to weight well over 300lbs. He had a pot belly, but with substantial muscle under the fat. Bruce suspected he was a power lifter of some sort. Although his appearance was intimidating, his request was couched in a friendly spirit. He nodded yes. The man signaled for Bruce to meet him around back.

As Bruce approached the man, he was taken aback by the man's size. His clothes looked a size too small for such bulk, but Bruce guessed they were already XXL.

"So, I've been watching the kid too," the man said. "Been hanging around for a couple weeks."

"He hasn't been causing any trouble?" Bruce asked.

"Not at first, but then he changed. A little less than a week ago. You know anything about that?" The man's friendly voice became a bit more intimidating.

"Nothing," Bruce lied.

Swiftly, the man grabbed Bruce by the throat and shoved him into the wall. "I don't believe you. Kid is huge. Fuck'n muscle freak in only 3 days. Said something about a doc. That's you. You know somethin' and you're gonna tell me. Shit, with his power, I'd..."

Bruce heart was racing, but before the man could finish his thought, someone grabbed his arm and twisted him around like he was a top.

"Anyone who messes with the Doc messes with me!" Alex said, twisting the big man's hand around his back.

The man reacted quickly, swinging around and grabbing Alex around the neck. The big man's bicep and shoulder bulged as he tried to lift Alex, but couldn't muster the strength to lift the denser man. Quickly changing strategies, the man's forearms rippled to life as his fingers began to dig into Alex's throat.

Bruce noticed a smile on Alex's face. The big man's hand was shaking, and his fingers were turning white with effort. Then, like a puffer fish, Alex's neck began to get thicker as he flexed his powerful neck muscles. The man's hand began to spread wide, forced open by the slow flex of Alex's neck. The man grunted, but Alex raised his hand up to his mouth and feigned a yawn. He then took his hand and grabbed the man's little finger, raised it up and moved his hand between the finger and his still thickening neck. Finger by finger Alex overpowered the man's hand. When his smaller but more powerful hand was between his neck and the man's he easily pushed the hand away. Forcing his fingers between the man's, his own bowling-pin forearm swelled as he bent the man's wrist back.

The big man screamed in pain and fell to a knee.

"Dude, do you ever wash these hands?" Alex said. "You do deal with food, ya know."

Overcoming the pain, the man drove a fist toward Alex's abs. It hit with a loud smack that demonstrated the power.

Alex look down like a gnat had landed on him. "Was that suppose to do something to me?" Alex asked with contempt. He grinned, and said, "You think you're weak little arm can take on abs like these." Alex's breathing was regular, and the wall of impenetrable muscle pulsed with each breath. The big man snarled as he stared at Alex's rock gut, then realized that Alex hadn't even been flexing. Alex took the man's hand that he held, relaxed the wrist and pulled it toward his stomach where the man had hit. He held the man's palm to his stomach so that his index finger rested in the valley between two muscles. Alex began to flex.

Instinctively, the man tried to pull his hand away, but found it caught by Alex's flexing abs.

Alex grinned as he controlled with fine precision his flexing abs.

The big man's eyes began to tear, then he screamed as the pressure on his finger intensified. "Stop!" the man finally cried out.

"But I'm not fully flexed yet?" Alex said innocently. "Don't you want to see the abs you tried to hit in all their glory?" Alex flexed a bit tighter and the man's knuckle popped.

"Stop! I got money. I'll pay you!"

Alex grinned, then unflexed.

The big man pulled his hand away quickly.

Just as quickly, Alex reached down and grabbed the man by the belt. With a sweep of his massive arm, Alex lifted the man off the ground and held him dangling like a rag doll.

The big man reacted by kicking at Alex and pounding on his arm. It had no effect.

"I don't want money. I want you to do anything I say," Alex said. "Or next time I'll do this," Alex flexed his abs quickly, with deep ridges demonstrably thicker than when the man's finger had been trapped. Alex smacked his abs hard with a sound that resonated like thunder just to make the point. "Or maybe you'd like to experience the power in this?" He raised his free arm and flexed the Everest-sized peak he called a bicep. "I should..." Alex pulled back his powerful fist.

"Alex!" Bruce yelled. "Stop! Don't hurt him!"

"You're lucky the Doc is here. He and I got things to do now, but this is the way it will be. You leave the Doc alone. If I even hear you're looking at him funny, and you're gonna feel what this beauty can do!" Alex moved his bicep to his mouth and kissed it. "Next, you're now my new hamburger supplier. Anytime you hear I need a burger, you get it to me. Cheese, pickles, onions, ketchup, mustard -- the works. And just remember, you're giving me the burgers our of the goodness of your heart because you like me. And don't forget the fries, or..." and Alex flexed his arm harder, making the bicep bulge even larger. "Got it?" Before the man could answer, Alex tossed him like yesterday's garbage against the wall.

He fell to the wall, shaking with fear.

Alex turned to Bruce. "Come on Doc." He walked away.

"Alex, you can't treat people like that!" Bruce said as they walked.

"Who's gonna stop me?" Alex asked. "Can't wait til you give me even more muscle to play with!"

"You already look bigger than yesterday. How much do you want?"

"Doc," Alex said, "let me tell you. I felt it. That guy, he's the strongest guy I took on yet. As I was putting him in his place, I felt myself getting stronger. Man, I love that feeling. I can never have enough!" Alex smiled. "And you Doc. Man, you're the greatest. Making me bigger and stronger. I owe you. Whatever you want, I'll get it for you. Me, and this," he kissed his right bicep, " and this, "he kissed his left."

Bruce was now more determined than ever to set things right. He had to cure Alex and return him to normal at any cost.

They entered the apartment, and Bruce walked into the lab. "I need to warm up the projector for a few minutes. Alex, I need you to strip down to your underwear."

"Sure thing Doc." Alex pulled down his shorts. He was wearing the black speedos. "This good enough? I can take them off too."

"No, that's fine."

"So, you understand what your thingee did to me?"

"Yes, I think so. It effected your DNA. You might say it caused them to act like a battery."

"And this battery I got. It's what's making be so big and strong?"

"Ya, something like that."

"And now, you're gonna like supercharge the battery right?"

"Something like that," Bruce lied. He intended to drain the battery. Alex might retain some muscle, but no where near the freaky size he now had. And what muscle remained would only have normal strength. And, according to his theory, it will also cure him of the gamma radiation that unleashes the Hulk.

"OK, another minute and the projector will be ready. I need you to stand here in front of the beam," Bruce said as he removed his own shirt. He looked like a frumpy twig next to Alex's wall of hard muscle. He pulled down his pants.

"Gee Doc," said Alex. "I don't mind a little play time, but I thought this was to make me bigger."

"This should also cure me too," Bruce let slip.

Alex stood there as he thought about the words. "Cure? Doc this is gonna make me bigger right?"

"It's OK Alex. It will all be over in a few seconds. You'll be fine."

"Doc!" Alex turned threatening, his body tensing and flexing with power ready to be unleashed. "Tell me the truth NOW!"

Alex grabbed Bruce around the waist and lifted him up, placing him between the project and Alex.

"No!" cried Bruce. "It has to hit you first to reverse the effect. The polarity of the beam..."

"Reverse!" cried Alex. "No way! You lied to me Doc!"

Alex quickly pushed Bruce away, ran to the projector, and with both fists, plowed his powerful arms into it. Sparks flew as the noises the projector made stopped.

"NO!" cried Bruce, running to try and save his chance for a cure.

Alex intercepted him. He grabbed Banner's arms, pinned them to his side and began to squeeze. "Doc, I don't like liars!"

Bruce felt the pressure build around his chest. 'Let me out!'

"I'm sorry, I don't want to do this."

It was hard for Bruce to breath. "Stop! Alex, you're in danger!" 'LET ME OUT!'

"I like you. You've been nice to me, but I have to teach you a lesson."

Bruce's heart raced, and he felt a rib crack. 'I CAN STOP THIS!'

"I don't think I'm the one in danger."

Bruce's head swung back. 'I'M FREE!' He felt the change begin.

"This muscle. The strength. The respect. Doc, it's the greatest."

Banner's head shook, his emerald green eyes aflame with power.

Alex felt the doctor struggling and was surprised at the power of the effort. He actually felt Bruce's effort trying to move his arms. The Doc wasn't that strong!

"Doc, don't struggle. I don't want to hurt you but," Alex increased the pressure and to his surprise, his arms didn't move. That's when he noticed it. The doctor was changing.

"Whoa! Doc? What's happening..." Alex noticed the green tinge coming to Bruce Banner's skin. He felt hard muscle begin to press against his own. Banner's pecs were thickening and his shoulders broadening. Then Alex felt it. He began to change too. He felt stronger. "Doc? You're the Hulk?" Alex asked. The he realized it was true. "YOU'RE THE HULK!"

Alex saw Banner's arms swelling, getting larger and approaching his own massive size. Alex transformation started to accelerate and the feeling was overwhelming to him. First, he felt his arms strain to contain the growing power in his captive. Moments later, he felt his own muscle crushing into the weaker flesh he dominated. It was like he was a rubber band that stretched too far, then an iron clamp able to contain any force.

Alex felt his own back growing. His shoulders were getting wider, and he was able to continue his bear hug on the man/monster. The Doc's/Hulk's feet touched the ground, and Alex had to bend backward to maintain his control. His thickening back easily accommodated the pressure.

Alex felt his thighs start pressing together. The Hulk's legs were capable of propelling him for miles at a time, and Alex felt that power surging into his own wheels. He started to shift, to give his growing quads and hams more room, and felt his calves start to touch. "Oh fuck ya..." he sighed, thinking of the muscular bulk forming on his legs.

The transformation was nearly complete. Alex saw the monster's massive pecs, huge and thick. Then he saw his own, thicker and wider crushing into the beast's softer muscles..

"GRRARRRR!" roared the Hulk. "HULK FREE! No more little Banner to stop him! Now Hulk crush."

Alex felt as if a supernova was exploding in his body. He felt unimaginably strong. "Think so?" he asked casually. And to make his point, he squeezed.

The Hulk struggled to free his arms and found them locked tight by Alex's bear hug. Gamma powered muscles flexed, but found their power more than equalled by a superior muscle boy.

"Let Hulk GO! Hulk getting angry!" The Hulk's muscle's began to swell with more strength fueled by his primal anger.

"I'm scared," said Alex with contempt in his voice. To make his point, he flexed his pecs hard, forcing them forward and crushing into the Hulk, forcing the monster's own pecs to deform around his own.

The Hulk's head flew backward in pain, and his anger grew.

"Man that was easy! Look, Hulk," Alex said. "I'm sure you're real impressive and stuff, but this is where I'm crashing now. I can't have this little test of wills here." Alex started walking toward the lab door, and found he was too wide for the frame. "Figures," he said and forced his way through it. In the living room, Alex remembered the mirror in Bruce's bedroom. "One quick side trip," he said, and crashed through that frame.

What Alex saw in the mirror surprised and excited him. The Hulk's legs dangled next to his own, and looked skinny compared to the perfect curves and rippling muscles of his calves, quads and hams. Alex's waist appeared thinner than the Hulk's but far more massive. And Alex's arm! The bicep looked as large as Tony's chest had been, and the tricep was so thick and cut. Alex's shoulders looked like thick bowling balls. But unlike the Hulk, Alex's muscles flowed with a grace that belied their power. In short, Alex knew he was both a stud and super strong.

Alex turned and carried the Hulk into the center of the street.

"OK," said Alex, and released his vice-like hold on the monster. He placed his hands on his hips and waited.

The Hulk stepped back and looked at the boy. "NO ONE IS STRONGER THAN THE HULK!"

"Think so?" asked Alex. "Show me what you got."

"Boy mocks Hulk?" The Hulk drew back his fist and aimed it straight for Alex's stomach. A force capable of destroying a world slammed into Alex with a rumble that shook nearby buildings.

Alex wasn't moved an inch. He looked at where the Hulk had punched, and shrugged. "Dude, you're gonna have to try harder than that." He saw the Hulk opening and closing his hand. "Hope I didn't hurt your hand too much."

The Hulk snarled. "Hulk show boy! The angrier Hulk gets, the stronger Hulk gets. And Hulk has never been this angry."

"OK," said Alex. "One more free shot. Hit me with your best, but I'm warning you..."

The Hulk didn't pay attention. Blinded by anger, he drew back his fist and launched it into Alex's abs. Something in the back of his brain processed what Alex had said, "this time I'm going to flex."

As the Hulk's fist flew, Alex tensed his abs forming bricks that thickened around his tiny waist. Alex's abs extended only millimeters to meet the Hulk's fist, but had such force that the Hulk's hand was stopped dead and the bone's in his hand shattered like glass. The repercussion of the might of Alex's abs travelled up the Hulk's arm and sent him flying backward in the air.

"Shit!" said Alex. "I may have overdone it." He looked at his legs, remembering that the Hulk traveled by leaping. He jumped in the direction the Hulk had flown. Like a rocket, he took off, a sonic boom the only indication Alex had been there. In midair, Alex caught the Hulk and flung him over his shoulder. The Hulk was barely conscious. Alex watched as the ground below flew past him, from city to suburb to forest and then back to suburb. Seconds turned to minutes as the two remained air born. Finally, in a wooded area, Alex began to come down. Alex bent his knees and allowed his sequoia-sized thighs absorb the impact. Alex landed on a granite rock which shattered to sand from the landing. Alex put the Hulk down.

The Hulk wobbled. His recuperative abilities had healed his hand, but he was unsteady on his feet.

"OK. So, we know what Hulk can, or maybe I should say can't, do to me, but fair is only fair. You had two punches. I should get two." Alex smacked his fist into his hand.

The Hulk stared at the boy, his anger returning. He nodded a confident yes.

"Where do you want it."

Hulk look at Alex's solid build. He looked at the arm and could not conceive of power it contained, but his determination fed his anger which fed his strength. The Hulk flexed his massive chest and slapped it with his own powerful hand. It was already swelling with new power.

"OK," said Alex, "this is one." He pulled back and launched a punch at the Hulk's flexed chest. The Hulk felt his muscle crushed by a force more powerful than his own muscle and it launched him once again straight into the air at a velocity not even his powerful legs could equal. The recuperative powers felt taxed repairing the damage to his body by the single punch. The air began to thin as the Hulk shot to the brink of low earth orbit before he began to tumble to the ground.

The delirious Hulk saw the ground approaching him as he fell. Three miles above the earth, he saw a dot shooting towards him. "Rocket can't hurt Hulk," he muttered weakly. As the dot approached, he made out the silhouette of a person. A boy. Alex. A mile and half above the planet, the Hulk slammed into Alex's pecs with the force of a nuclear bomb.

Alex had leaped perfectly to seemingly float where the Hulk would be, and his powerful body absorbed the entropy of the falling beast. "And this is two," said Alex grabbing the Hulk by the neck and holding him at arm's length. With his other arm, he planted an even stronger punch on the exact spot he had hit before.

Not even the Hulk's super human stamina could with stand the punch. Unconscious the Hulk flew into the distance. Alex had launched the Hulk at the precise trajectory for the Hulk to orbit the planet once. The Hulk tumbled unconscious for a half hour before waking above Russia. A half hour later, the beast, now healed, again tumbled toward the ground.

For that hour, Alex explored his knew body. His pecs were so round and firm, the blocked most of the view of below them. He used his hands to explore his abs. They felt like blocks of warm, carved rock. His waist was impossibly thin for lats that seemed to so wide to form a T. "Damn, I need a mirror," he muttered. He felt his thighs and could see his massive calves. He felt the power, and became impatient for the Hulk's return to test his muscle some more.

Alex waited. He saw the green projectile approaching, determined where he would land, and positioned himself. The Hulk flew feet first into Alex's flexed pecs. Leg muscles capable of launching the Hulk for miles failed to even dent the balance ball sized orbs the hung off Alex's chest.

The Hulk began to fall to the ground, and Alex caught him by the waistband of his briefs. He pulled the Hulk forward into his chest. Alex flexed, trapping the Hulk by pecs larger, thicker and stronger than the Hulk's own. The Hulk found it hard to breath.

"No one's stronger than the Hulk, huh?" Alex asked. "Care to rethink that?"

The Hulk said nothing, and Alex flexed harder.

"Arrrrr!" the Hulk cried out. "Hulk not stronger! Boy stronger."

Alex relaxed his flex, and the Hulk fell to the ground.

"Boy stronger. Hulk not strongest. Angry Hulk still too weak... Boy stronger."

"Wow," said Alex. "I really did a number on you." Alex knelt down lifted the defeated Hulk by a single hand and pressed him over head. "What do you weight, like a half ton right. Featherweight." With his other hand, he flexed his bicep. The round mound bulged as high as his hand and was thick as Mr. Olympia's chest. "Now that's a bicep," he said, "but I bet your alter ego can figure out how to make it even bigger."

"Muscle boy big. Huge muscles. Stronger than Hulk..." the Hulk continued to mutter staring with a feeling of powerlessness at Alex's huge arm.

"Ya, you said that already. I think we've established that I'm the strongest."

"Hulk weaker. Not strongest."

Alex put the Hulk down. The Hulk wobbled. "Always wondered about this," he said pulling the waist of the briefs the Hulk wore. The monster's organ sprung free. Alex nodded, then pulled down his black speedos. The Hulk looked down, then at Alex, then at himself again. "Hulk not..."

"Yep. Hulk weaker there too."

The Hulk passed out.

Alex shrugged, pulled up his speedos and picked the Hulk back up again. He bent his legs and launched himself toward home.

---

Bruce Banner awoke in his bed. His entire body ached, and he could barely move. 'What happened?' he thought, but no subconscious voice answered. He sat up. "Feels like I was run over by a truck." As his mind cleared, he realized that whatever happened, not even the Hulk's amazing recuperative abilities had been enough to fully heal him yet. He looked around the room. His door had been ripped from the hinges and leaned closed backward. The frame had been destroyed as if something wide had been forced through it. 'What did I do this time?' he wondered.


Bruce began to get up, and as he moved, found some of the stiffness going away. He heard rustling from behind the door.

"Doc? You awake?"

Bruce recognized Alex's voice. 'Thank god the Hulk hadn't hurt him,' Bruce thought. He found an uneasiness in the back of his mind.

"Yes Alex. Are you OK? What time is it?" he asked, approaching the door.

"Peachy." Alex replied. "It's Noon. Monday."

"Monday?" Bruce said, surprised. Had he been the Hulk for more than a day and a half?

"Doc, before you come out, what's the last thing you remember?"

"Why Alex? Is something wrong?" Bruce said, fearful of what happened in the time he was out. "I remember you destroying the projector and then..."

"So you don't remember becoming the Hulk?"

"You know?"

"Duh? I just asked didn't I?"

"No," admitted Bruce. "I rarely remember what happens after I change. Did I hurt you?" He heard Alex laugh.

"Not exactly, but..." He heard some shuffling. "OK, you can come out now. I think I have a surprise for you."

Bruce pushed the door open. The living room looked mostly intact. The couch was smashed, as if an elephant had used it as a bed. The kitchen had seen better days, with dirty dishes and pots and pans everywhere. Alex had been hungry. Very hungry.

"Ready Doc?"

"Alex, what's going..."

He didn't complete the sentence. From the lab emerged the most muscular being Bruce Banner had ever seen. He recognized the cherub-like face as Alex, but his body was immense. Alex was now easily as wide as he was tall, and Bruce couldn't comprehend how thick he was. For having so much pure muscle, Alex moved with grace. His muscles seemed to flow across his body as he moved, and although massive, he seemed amazingly proportional.

Alex registered the surprise on Bruce's face. "I am a lot to take in," Alex said with an evil grin. He turned to the side, L'ed his arm and flexed. His monster pec tightened extending outward, it's roundness stiffening and hardening as thick veins and deep striations appeared below paper thin skin. For the sheer magnitude of Alex's magnificent chest, his biceps were indescribable. The bulge of his bicep rose higher than his shoulder, and his tricep nearly hid his waist. As Alex flexed, the globe-like ball of the bicep and long, thick tricep burst into topological relief. Alex's arm was easily larger than Bruce Banner's chest. Alex's waist became nearly invisible compared to the sheer volume of his upper body. His glutes were round and firm and were barely contained in his favorite black speedos that were now stained so thin by the boy's muscle that they resembled a g-string more than swim wear. Alex smiled proudly as he bent his thigh and flexed his legs. Hams and quads burst high in volume proportionally as large as his torso. Alex's calves were so huge and thick they looked like two footballs attached to each leg.

Bruce felt an uneasiness in his subconscious he had never felt before. Was the Hulk actually afraid?

"Alex... Wha.. What.."

"Doc, this was your plan all along," Alex said, relaxing his imposing flex and turning toward Bruce. "You wanted me to get angry at you! You didn't really want to drain me of my muscle. You knew that I'd get mad and have to teach you a lesson, and that would turn you into the Hulk. You knew I was nearly as big as I'd get with just normal people, but going up against the muscle of the Hulk. Man, the power! Check it out." Alex faced Bruce and brought his arms up, flexing planet-sized biceps that seemed to exert a gravity of their own.

Bruce approached the boys arms. He was compelled to hold out his hand. Alex's bicep was so large and thick, Bruce's hand remained nearly flat as he put in on top of the peak. The most powerful arm in the universe felt like a velvet covered diamond, a thin softness covering an unfathomable hardness.

Something made Bruce shudder as he felt it.

"Sorry I was so hard on you Doc," Alex said as he flexed his bicep even harder, forcing Bruce to raise his hand even higher to feel its power.

"Hard?" Bruce whispered, awed by Alex's powerful muscles in a way he didn't understand. Something primal in him seemed to respond, even desire, the boy's power.

"Ya, I mean all the 'Hulk is the strongest', 'Hulk smash', stuff. I mean, we both know the Hulk is no match for these big boys."

Bruce put his hand down and took a step back, looking at Alex. "You mean you beat up the Hulk?"

"Come on Doc! Look at me!" Alex flexed each massive pec independently, bouncing them up and down so fast they created a breeze. "The Hulk is a puny wimp compared to me!"

"Wimp?" asked Bruce, a feeling of shame and terror invading his mind.

"Oh ya, I'm way stronger than you," Alex bragged. "You gave me your best shot and I barely felt it. You on the other hand, well, you slept for over a day."

"You hurt that Hulk that much?!" Bruce asked, astonished.

"Ya. I carried you back here from somewhere where we landed. Alaska I think. You were all Hulked out, but totally napping. I put you into your bed, then went out to check out this new muscle. When I got back, you had turned into yourself again, but were still asleep, so I waited."

Bruce could only imagine the beating the Hulk took at Alex's hands. "Alaska is kinda far."

"One jump," said Alex casually.

"ONE!"

"Ya Doc. These wheels got the power of rockets." To make his point, Alex put his leg forward and shook it. Muscle flowed like slow moving lava. When Alex flexed, the lava turned into rhyolite, hardened molten rock that showed deep valleys and fissures. Alex's quads rippled with power eager to be released.

Bruce had no problem believing Alex's claim. The boy had the most muscular and powerful looking legs he'd ever seen. He'd seen pictures of the Hulk's massive thighs, but they couldn't compare to those in front of him now. As he stared, his scientific mind churned to life. "But Alex, that would mean you're over 100 times as powerful as the Hulk."

"So?"

"Alex, the Hulk's strength has been measured at level 100. That means your strength is level 10,000!"

"Ya, I went to a construction site, a quarry and then an old ship yard. Doc, nothing challenges these muscles any more." Alex sounded almost sad. "So, I've been thinking. You're a smart guy, turned yourself into the Hulk,..."

"That was an accident," Bruce said.

"Sure Doc, whatever. Look, there's no shame being into muscle. You made yourself strong, and you made me even stronger. You wanna say it's an accident, well, I don't think so. Anyway, I figure, maybe you can give some of my muscle to the Hulk. You know, make him stronger so he and I can work out together."

"But Alex, I..." the a light bulb went off. "Orthogonal to gamma... no, it can't be!"

"What Doc?"

"Dark energy? Could you... it would explain it. Your strength, greater than the Hulk, nearly unlimited." 'He's tapping into the primal energy of the universe. It's the only explanation.'

"So, you can transfer it? Using your gizzmo in there. I got replacement parts for it. And if you know what's making me strong, can you stop me from becoming super strong all the time. Sure I'll be like the strongest, like now, but not so much that I can't get a good workout in. You can do that, right Doc?" It wasn't really a question. Bruce could hear the hope in Alex's voice. Alex believed it would be true.

"Sure Alex. I'll find a way to help you."

Alex smiled. "Great Doc, in the mean time, anyway we can give the Hulk a boost of something."

"That'd be dangerous Alex."

Alex shook his head. "Doc, did you forget about this?" Alex brought his arms forward and struck the most awesome most muscular pose the world has ever seen. "Ain't nothin stronger than me now, and nothing ever will be. Thanks to you. So, what will make the Hulk stronger."

Bruce said nothing.

"Tell me!"

Alex's order was backed up by his power, and Bruce felt it. "Gamma rays. The Gamma base..."

"Cool."

Bruce walked into the kitchen and started to clean. Alex walked over to a couple of bags on the floor, and picked up some very large football shorts. Bruce started cooking as Alex put them on, struggling to get them over his impressive legs. When he got them on, he stood by the table. Bruce put a 12 egg white omelet on a plate and Alex ate it. Five more followed. Bruce had a single omelet.

Bruce began to do the dishes, but Alex stopped him. "Don't clean up Doc," Alex said, followed by a huge belch. "Come on, let's go to the beach. You need to get out more." He started to the door.

"But..."

"Now Doc."

Something deep inside of Bruce made him obey. It was almost like a part of him was afraid of Alex, or what Alex might do.

Alex was the center of attention. The men working out at the recreation area froze. Tony, the hamburger vendor, stared, mouth agape, then turned away. Women came over to rub their hands on his chest or feel his arms. They all stared at the huge package between his thighs. Alex took it all in. It was obvious he got off on being the center of attention.
When other muscle men moved away from Alex, afraid to look skinny by comparison, Alex stopped them.

"Dudes, come here," he called. "I think we should have our own little Mr Muscle Beach contest now," and turning to his spontaneous fan base, "don't you guys agree? We'll let these nice people be the judge as to who has the best body." Alex put the bodybuilders, most of whom could easily win state and regional competitions, through poses. Each one, Alex humiliated the big men with his size and power. 23 inch biceps fell to Alex's monsters. 57 inch chests were no match to Alex's continent-shattering pecs. Abs -- Alex's wall of impenetrable power made the others look emaciated. When Alex flexed his lats, it was like a screen came up that blocked every other man from being seen. And legs -- Alex's were easily larger than the other men's chests. Their humiliation was complete when Alex struck a hands-behind-the-head most-muscular pose that made at least two of the other men start to cry. Alex laughed, and saw Bobby standing nearby.

"Bobby! Do me a favor and go ask Tony for about a dozen hamburgers. Tell them they are for Alex."

"Sure," Bobby said, running quickly to the hamburger stand. Five minutes later, he returned with a bag.

"Thanks, Bobby." Bobby nodded, and ran quickly away.

Alex walked over to Bruce, who could only stare at the teen's perfect musculature. "Man, that was fun! A week ago, I'd have killed to look like those guys. Today, I turn them into blubbering babies with just a few poses." Alex laughed, then picked Bruce up with one mighty arm. "So, ready to go Doc."

"What are you...Alex put me down."

"Not until we get to this Gamma Base. I'd guess it's in the Nevada Desert, right? Where they do all that nuclear testing." Alex bent down, thighs rippling with power, and launched he and Bruce into the air toward Nevada.

Before Bruce realized what was happening, he was shooting in the air at supersonic speeds. He tried to breath, but the rush of air around him fought him. Powered by Alex's legs, they passed through clouds and headed higher and higher. Bruce began to panic. He looked down, only to see suburbs turn to exoburbs. He tried to scream, but couldn't. He felt his heart beating faster and faster, and he felt like he might black out. Then, once again, he began to change.

Some part of Bruce liked the transformation. His shirt, loose on his body, began to feel tight. His thin arms filled the shirt, then cracked it with bulging muscle. His lat thickened and widened, and his shoulders and traps transformed from small and flat to massive and round. He pecs became shelves then rounded into basketballs and then beyond. His rounded stomach hardened into a six pack, then eight, then into a wall of muscle that could deflect bullets. His pants tightened, and he bulged and rippled in a way a man should. Then, his legs, once the most powerful legs on the planet, destroyed pants that were not meant to contain such powerful muscle.

Alex watched it all. He felt Bruce change from man to muscle monster. He felt the creatures breathing easy as his powerful muscles sucked air from the thin atmosphere and cyclone Alex had created around them.

"PUT HULK DOWN!" the beast demanded.

"Sure Doc. I was hoping you'd do me the honor of a rematch soon! These muscles wanted more of a challenge -- not that the Hulk is a challenge, but it is as good as I can get."

They had begun their descent. In the distance, a sodom-like town wooed travelers with its lights and glitter. But Alex had aimed for a deserted area far from the city. He took his arm from the Hulk, and with a grace that belied his size and power, somersaulted himself away from monster.

The Hulk flexed his massive legs to land. Bent at the knees, he braced for landing with the confidence of strength and power in his massive thighs. He saw the ground approaching, as he had many times before, but even his mind understood the difference. He was travelling much faster and falling much harder than he had ever before. The impact was jarring, as if meteorite had hit. A cloud of dust and rock flew into the air. The Hulk's massive thighs buckled, and he tumbled forward, staggering, and then falling, his velocity slowed by the friction of his skin against the ground. He tumbled across a crater larger than three football fields as rock and dusk and sand thrown into the air by his impact showered upon him.

Alex saw the plume from the Hulk's impact. He landed a mile away, his own thighs easily acting as shock absorbers for his a pin-point landing. The ground, on the other hand, was made of less sturdy stuff. The kinetic energy from Alex's landing converted to heat and turned the ground below him molten and lava-like. Upon landing, Alex immediately jumped a smaller distance to where the Hulk lay on the ground. Behind him, a pool of lava began to solidify into a pool of glassy rock centered on his initial landing.

"Should have let me land us both,"Alex said, extending his hand to a bruised but unbeaten Hulk. The Hulk rose, and Alex placed his leg along side the monster's. "Check it out! This wheel is like twice as big as both of your put together. You think those sticks can act as landing gear when these missiles take off. Dude, that's one bad case of denial you got."

"Muscle boy strong. Hulk remember," he said, looking around. "Hulk knows this place. This is where Banner and Hulk hide."

"Where? Hulk show muscle boy," Alex said, tensing and hardening his body with pride at being known as muscle boy.

The Hulk, nearly heeled, placed an arm around Alex to lift him. The Hulk's mighty arms flexed, heaving and straining to lift the densely muscled teen. "Dude, I think I can make it on my own power," said Alex, easily pushing the Hulk's bulging arms away.

The Hulk watched his arms, rippling and staining with power, being twisted away by Alex's larger arms -- arms that had barely registered the effort.

"Uh," the Hulk grunted with resigned acceptance, and leaped into the air. Alex followed, passing the Hulk mid flight and landing before him. "Kinda chuggin along back there," Alex said when the Hulk finally arrived. Alex flexed his calf into a solid diamond. "Good thing I only used one these big boys for that leap. If I had really put some muscle behind it," Alex grinned. "So, where to now."

Hulk started walking toward a cave. Inside, Alex saw equipment. A large projector had been built, no rebuilt, (Alex saw a huge dent like something, or someone, had lifted the device and crashed it to the ground), and Hulk walked toward it.

"What happened to this?"

"Big ears broke it. That was when Big Ears was stronger than Hulk, but now Hulk the stronges..." He stopped. "Hulk stronger than big ears."

"Is this what made big ears strong?" asked Alex.

Hulk nodded. "Hulk too."

Alex put the bag of hamburgers by the entrance and ran at the Hulk full steam, slamming his hand into the Hulk's chest and pushing him against the wall.

"Why muscle boy attack Hulk," the green Goliath asked angrily.

"Needed to get your attention. Now dummy, you stay right here, understand," and Alex grabbed the Hulk's pec in a claw-like grip, "or I'll rip ever muscle off you body!" The Hulk flexed, but to make his point, Alex's fingers drove deep into the muscle until the Hulk screamed. "You know I can. Now STAY," Alex said, as if commanding a dog.

The Hulk froze, his anger noticeably fueling his muscles, but he did not move.

Alex walked to the gamma projector. "Safety? Nah, turn that off. Power, that goes on. Level, well maximum, duh!" He heard the hum of power building, and he smiled. He walked behind the machine, knelt down, and with a single hand lifted the multi-ton device. He turned the device toward the impatiently waiting behemoth. "Say 'cheese!'" and a beam of intense gamma radiation slammed into the Hulk.

"Argggg!" cried the Hulk, obviously in pain. Alex watched as the Hulk started to change. The Hulk's hair grew longer, and he sprouted a beard. His shoulder's broadened, and he started to get taller. His pecs thickened, and his green skin darkened. His massive arms thickened noticeably and his thighs surged with new power. The monster's emerald skin darkened and took on an olive green tone. The Hulk's eyes changed from a dull innocence to a twinkle of genius. Then the beam cut out.

"Damn, out of power." Alex put the machine down, and started to move his hand along the cable when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Before he could react, the young maestro's fist slammed into him, sending him flying forward.

The Maestro jumped, putting the full force of his great strength into a flying kick that caught Alex in the chest and embedded him deep into rock, a silhouette of Alex's frame now in the rock face. "Small child," said the Maestro. "I thank you for awakening the me, but now it is time to learn what true power is." The Maestro raised an arm and flexed his bicep, sustaining the flex and forcing the muscle higher and higher.

The rock around Alex began to crack. Around the rock's outline of Alex's powerful body, fissures formed. The silhouette of Alex's massive shoulders ruptured, becoming wider. Rock fell to the ground from the top of the shadow image's traps, lats, thighs and calves. The mountain convulsed as the muscle boy contained swelled larger with new muscle and more power. More fissures appeared as Alex's pecs emerged from his sarcophagus-like hole, although Alex had not yet tried to exit. Moments passed as Alex took a deep breath, savoring the power, and then a new Alex stepped forward, muscles still growing from the encounter with a level 200 being. "SMALL!" Alex screamed. He jumped and grabbed the 7'6" powerhouse's wrist and dangled from it.

"Having trouble, little boy?"

"I'll show you little!" Alex's body continued to grow. His arm more than equalled the size of Maestro's. Like a gymnast on the parallel bars, he flexed his mighty abs to bring his legs against wall of the cave. The boundless power of his thighs launched the two to the far size of the cave. Alex flipped over in mid air, sending the Maestro off balance. Alex turned and rammed him into the wall.

Alex stood in front of the man-beast and flexed his arm. It swelled high. "That look small," Alex asked with contempt. "Little, maybe?"

The Maestro sneered. "You made a mistake creating me. I am no idiot like I was before. I have more than strength, but also a mind. I will destroy you. You may look strong, but I have the size, the muscle and the genius." He grabbed Alex's wrist and started to pull. "Watch and learn."

Alex didn't move.

The Maestro's arm thickened with anger-induced energy. Slowly, Alex's arm straightened. "Not so strong are you," the Maestro grunted through gritted teeth.

Alex smiled, and slowly reflexed his arm, forcing the Maestro to take a step forward.

The Maestro grabbed the boy's forearm with his other hand, and began to pull. He dug his feet into the ground for leverage, and used all the power in his body. Alex's arm slowly moved lower again before reversing direction.

"YA!" cried Alex. "This is gonna be a good pump. Knew if I made you stronger I could get a workout in. Beating back super hulk's muscles!"

Maestro's eyes went wild with anger at the realization of what Alex was doing. He let go, but at that very second, Alex reversed direction quickly shoving the Maestro back.

The Maestro reacted quickly, turning and using his massive pecs and arms, clapped his arms together in a thunderous bang that shook the mountain and blasted into Alex with full percussive fury.

"Cool!" said Alex as the echo subsided. "Let me try," and clapped his hands with a more explosive force that blew to Maestro into the wall and caused boulders to fall from the ceiling. Alex caught one of the rocks, threw it at the Maestro, then jumped to land on it so that he and the giant were now eye to eye. Alex leaned forward, and started to flex his chest. The Maestro did the same.

Massive pecs muscles met with explosive force. The Maestro's pecs throbbed and rippled outward from his torso as gamma-hardened orbs that refused to be stopped. Alex's moon-sized pecs did the same, forcing the teen's head upward as the muscle collided with his. Neither flex had an equal, but only one could be supreme. Alex's globes pounded into Maestro's and shattered them, forcing the muscle to flatten then deform around their superior hardness. The Maestro felt himself being pressed deeper into the mountain by a flex that not only could crush his own pecs, but defeat the solid rock of the mountain.

"Like what these small muscles can do?" asked Alex, who was raising his arms behind his head, "Let me really flex them for you," and with that, the Maestro felt himself blasted backwards by a wall of muscle the surged forward like a tidal wave. A blast of gamma radiation emerged from from the rock. Alex took a step forward, and pulled out a 7 foot 5 beast that looked slightly less muscular than before.

Alex made a fist and pounded it into the Maestro's abs, sending the beast flying out of the cave and into the desert. Alex ran toward the cave entrance, grabbed the bag he left there, then, flexing the mightiest legs on the planet, launched himself after the pummelled creature and in a few seconds, passed him. Alex landed in the Maestro's path and planted himself so the gamma-powered man crashed into his immovable body. A burst of gamma rays again emerged from the beast, and his skin noticeably lightened in tone.

"Did my little arm send you flying?" he asked, grabbing the 7 foot 4 inch monster by the neck and wrapping arms around the beast. Alex's biceps dwarfed the Maestro's pecs and lifted into the beasts armpits while his massive triceps grinding into the beasts hips. Alex flexed, squeezing the less muscular creature with an impossibly strong bear hug! He reached into the bag of hamburgers, grabbed one, then gently tossed the bag out of the way.

The Maestro tried to escape, flexing his body hard but found that Alex's body was impossibly harder and stronger. Maestro fought, smashing his arms down and kicking with his legs. Nothing worked. As he flexed, gamma energy leaked from his overtaxed muscles. He felt his mind clouding as his skin became a lighter green.

Alex started eating the hamburger, refueling his body with protein. Flexing harder ever few seconds to take up the room caused by the shrinking muscles of the Maestro. When he finished, he let out a belch that shook the Maestro-Hulk to the bone.

Alex laughed as the 7 foot two inch Maestro-Hulk continued to struggle. "You better get smaller," Alex chided, "because my small, little, tiny muscles are gonna crush you." Alex felt the beast weaken, the energy he had fed into the Hulk being used up in a feeble attempt at escape. Within a minute, the Maestro's features had faded and all that remained was the Hulk. Alex dropped the beast.

"Guess that will have to do," said Alex, walking over to the stop he had originally landed at. The molten puddle had solidified into a mirror-like rock. Alex flexed over it, admiring the new size on his arms.

The Hulk saw Alex's flex, and tried a flex of his own. He looked at his arms -- arms that could lift 100 tons -- and he started to cry. "Muscle boy big," the Hulk said.

"Maybe you aren't so dumb after all," Alex said, grabbing the rest of the hamburgers. "Tell the doc I'll be back when he figures out how to put some of this muscle on you." Alex grabbed a burger, took a bite, then jumped, looking for a new challenge and eager to flaunt the most powerful body in the world.

The End.

[Corwin]

sequel here

[MuscleHintz]

THANK YOU for posting this wonderful story Corwin!

[nnnrg]

I remember this story. And I had missed the sequel. Thanks!

[Kit Werecat]

Wow.

This one quite frankly, left me speechless for a while.

And it?s taken some time to gather my emotions on this story together, to finally comment about it. Took over a day, in fact. No lie. It hit me THAT HARD.

Let me first start by saying that in full confession, that I?m not a real enjoyer of Fanfics. Whenever someone approaches me about a totally new idea for a story that includes vampires or student wizards, I want to haul off and deck them.

That being full disclosure, I didn?t even bother to click on this story for days, based on its title alone. I mean I?ve met the REAL Hulk ? Lou Ferrigno. How can any Hulk fan story top that?

Finally, having read every other story that even remotely peaked my interest, I reluctantly clicked on this story, just to see what kind of response it was getting. My eyebrows went up in surprise, and I was a bit taken aback at all the favorable replies it was attracting. I finally shrugged to myself, and set myself down to reading it.

And as I read...

I suddenly sat up in my chair, and started hanging on every word. My mouth dropped open. I found myself getting so irrevocably WOUND UP in this story, I skipped dinner just to read and dwell on every written word. My eyes opened, and I started making little sounds to myself as I weaved through the incredible arc of this skinny little waif slowly and inevitably becoming the strongest creature on the planet.

I realized almost immediately, that this wasn?t about the Hulk at all. This was the story of Alex, and the creation of a modern-day Super Hero and young, sexy Muscle God.

In all my days, I had never seen anything quite like this. Banner was beautifully handled, and I saw Mark Ruffalo going about as the quiet, unassuming Doc. But just as Banner wrestles with an inner turmoil with the Hulk, this story saw the constant battle he fought mentally, and how desperately scheming he could become when he was enticed with the promise of curing himself. The result was a complex Jekyll / Hyde split-personality. It was Bruce that picked up the poor waif Alex, and provided food and shelter. It was the Hulk that started deceiving the boy out of unspeakable inner jealousy.

Envisioning Alex was disturbingly easy. I had invented a character exactly like him for VL Roleplaying years ago. He is exactly like Alex. Homeless, sinewy lean, dressed in tattered cutoffs, dirty long blonde haired, bitter and mad at the whole world, and hung enough to take advantage of that to get what he wanted by prostituting his body. Of course, my character never met Bruce, and got to have that wonderful accident.

I have to tell you, it was positively eerie.

Then watching this.. KID (how the hell old WAS he anyway? My character was 13.) gradually morph into this SUPERBEING with such complete descriptive narration on his every thought and every muscle twitch, I was completely drained emotionally after I finished the story. It was like this character was Roleplaying ME! Feeling quite flushed, I actually discovered that upon finishing, my temperature had gone up a full degree.

So much of me was torn, and in so many directions. It was odd that Alex had mentioned a ?conundrum?, because that was what this plot had become for me. I loved Alex, naturally. But beyond my perceived connection to him, he was cocky, vain, mean, bullying, and vengeful. But he was also loving, witty, funny, refreshingly joyous in his spirit, and often provided kindness to complete strangers, in the most unusual of circumstances. He was every bit as complex as Banner, if not far more so.

Watching his confidence grow with his body was absolutely fascinating and totally believable, and is a testament to how amazingly adaptable the human mind is, as the circumstances and paradigms continually alter and change around him. And for all his faults, he had an unwavering gratitude and protective love for the Doctor who had picked him out of the gutter, and made him a God on Earth. That became his Achilles? heel.

I read stories like this one, and say, ?Why can?t people make movies or at least Anime?s, like THIS??

God. If only this was a television series, like on Adult Swim, or something.

I am delighted to see you made a sequel. I must say that being unable to watch Alex in action is almost like withdrawing from drugs. I am currently reading that new story, and will comment about that one in its own thread.

If you are not a writer by profession Corwin, you should be.

Corwin, THANK YOU ever so much for posting this amazing, unforgettable story. This one is going to haunt my dreams and possess my soul for a very.. long.. time to come..


Very Sincerely,

- Kit ?