growth Lex Smash

[Lexfan]

This is a story I had posted on the old site. I thought some of you here might enjoy it. It is not part of "Lex's Fulfillment."

As Bruce Banner approached the front door of the large white building, he stopped to think if he really wanted to enter. He had flown hundreds of miles and rented a car to get him to this empty parking lot in front of an isolated building on the far outskirts of Metropolis.

What brought him here was a single email: "Dr. Banner, let's meet. I think I have found the solution to your monster problem." Over the years, he had received hundreds of similar messages, and he had learned to ignore them. They were invariably from crackpots or publicity hounds, who could not understand the havoc that the uncontrolled behemoth dormant inside him could cause. This email he could not dismiss because of the name on the signature line: Lex Luthor.

Luthor's reputation as power hungry egomaniac was well known, but what Banner also knew was that Luthor was an astounding scientist whose accomplishments often leap-frogged over existing work. Banner also had heard that in recent months Luthor had been using his enormous resources to acquire equipment and raw materials needed to generate gamma radiation. Perhaps Luthor had uncovered something that could rid Banner once and for all of the green Goliath inside him. He at least had to find out what Luther was up to.

No one seemed to be present, but Banner found a note on the door directing him to come in and meet Mr. Luther in the center laboratory. The space Banner entered seemed to him nothing like a laboratory. Indeed, it was just a huge cavernous window less space, several stories high and close to a football field in space, without a single piece of equipment.

As he walked several feet into the room, he heard a man entering behind him.

"Dr. Banner, so good of you to come."

He turned and got his first sight of Lex Luthor. At 6'2," he loomed over Banner's slight 5'7" frame. Luthor was also a large man, with a barrel chest that heightened the imposing effect of his famous bald head. After having only seen pictures of Luthor in sharply-tailored Italian suits, Banner was most surprised the informal clothes Luthor was now wearing - a black t-shirt and some type of sweat pants, and even more oddly, he was bare foot.

As the door closed behind Luthor, a loud clanking sound echoed in the room.

"This is a specially designed reinforced facility, and I have bolted us in as a safety precaution, I hope you understand."

"I understand the concern, Mr. Luthor, but as long as I stay calm, we should be safe. No offense, but I doubt even you have been able to develop a structure that could contain the Hulk."

"Don't worry, Dr. Banner, I am thoroughly aware of the power of your alter ego. That is why I brought you here."

"Exactly what have you learned that makes you think you can rid me of the Hulk?"

"Let's say I now have a deep understanding of your transformations. The manner in which the radiation when sparked unleashes its power through your psyche."

"Have you found a means of nullifying the radiation?"

"I have no interest in squelching the radiation's power, just in channeling it. I believe your monster can be controlled by a change in the psyche that releases it."

"Mr. Luthor, I have been through every form of psychological therapy known, and while it has helped me delay his appearances, it has not been effective in making him disappear."

Luthor moved within a few feet of Banner, clearly studying him intensely.

"The difference is that treatment has concentrated on your psyche. The answer lies in breaking the monster's will to personify your repressed rage."

"That's an interesting theory, but I don't see how you could test it without actually having to deal with the Hulk directly."

"Then it's time Dr.Banner, that we summoned him."

Suddenly, Luther smack Banner with his left hand fist, knocking the bewildered scientist to the ground.

"What are you doing? You don't realize the danger you're causing!"

"Trust me, Dr., I do, but there is no other way."

Luthor kicked Banner in the ribs.

"AAAH, you're insane! Get out of here quick!"

"That would defeat the purpose. Are you getting angry yet, Dr. Banner?"

"Yes, and you won't like me when I'm angry."

"Let's find out."

Luthor kicked Banner again in the ribs, and again.

That was enough for the effect Luthor was seeking. Banner's body began to shake rapidly and then expand. He ripped and then burst out of his shirt, as his muscles exponentially expanded and his skin turned a deep green. He rose up, his seven foot gigantic frame looming over Luthor, his arms of at least 40 inches in diameter raised in the air with fists clenched.

Luthor didn't move, he just stared at the mountain of green muscle in front of him.

"Who is funny bald man, and what he want from Hulk?"

"You can call me, Lex, Hulk. I want to get to know you."

"Out of way, bald man, Hulk leave."

"I'm sorry, Hulk, I can't let you do that."

"No one stop, Hulk!"

The green behemoth shoved Luthor, sending him flying across the room, crashing into a wall. Hulk turned away and lumbered toward where he entered, when he heard an altered deep voice emerge from where Luthor had landed.

"Yes! Yes!"

Luther was now the one whose body was shaking and then expanding. Although his skin stayed the same pale shade and his head remained bald, Luthor's frame started a transformation remarkably like the one Banner had undergone only moments before. His expanding chest quickly burst through his shirt, and his legs transformed into thick trunks that caused the once loose material of his pants to stretch to near their blocking point. His biceps began to resemble over inflated basketballs. His back expanded past the point he could pass through most garage doors.

The Hulk had watched Luthor's alteration to a titan in stunned silence. The Hulk now looked up into Luther's eyes, as Luthor's height now exceeded the Hulk's to the same extent Luthor had loomed over Banner before their transformations.

"Bald man may be big now, but he not stop Hulk from leaving."

"Green one push Lex into wall when Lex small. Green one afraid of Lex now."

"Hulk not afraid of bald one. Hulk strongest there is."

"Lex bigger. Lex stronger."

"Hulk smash!"

"Lex crush!"

The two behemoths lunged at each other, but the Hulk managed to connect first, landing an oversized fist into Luthor's jaw that sent the bald goliath stumbling backward several feet, but incredibly he remained on his feet. Unaccustomed to an opponent able to withstand such a blow, the Hulk was unprepared for the speed with which Luthor returned the blow, smashing an undercut into the Hulk's jaw that

sent the green giant hurtling backward, landing prone on the ground.

"Get up, Green One, Lex want to punish you!"

As the Hulk cleared his head and looked up, he saw His bald opponent standing over him. As the Hulk moved to get up, he felt a powerful right arm reach around his back. The Hulk attempted to resist but found himself lifted like a barrel up onto Lex's shoulder.

"Hulk heavy but not too heavy for Lex!"

Luthor strode around with the struggling Hulk held by Luthor's enormous right arm onto to his shoulder, as if showing off to an audience.

"Put Hulk down Bald One!"

"Lex will put you down, Hulk."

Luthor moved his left arm underneath the Hulk and pushed him up, moving Hulk up into the air, falling hard on his back. The Hulk quickly started to pull himself up, but Luthor jumped on top of him. Luthor grabbed both of Hulk's wrists in his hands. The two wrestled for a few moments, the Hulk unsuccessfully trying to push Lex off of him. Luthor finally sat on top of Hulk, holding Hulk's arms pinned to the ground by his head, like two oversized children on a schoolyard.

"Lex beat Hulk easily. Hulk might as well be puny Banner. Lex bored."

"Hulk not beaten. Angrier Hulk get, stronger Hulk get."

As he strained against Luthor's grip, the Hulk's body swelled and Luthor could feel the Hulk's strength rapidly increase. The enraged Hulk pushed Luthor off him, hurling Luthor back more than a hundred of yards.

Luthor picked himself with a grin on his face.

"If Hulk thinks he's strongest, come and prove it."

The two combatants strode toward each other with outstretched arms before them, and when they met locked hands. Their superhuman arms immediately swelled with strain as they pressed against each other for dominance. The now fully-enraged Hulk had the strength advantage, initially forcing Luthor to step back. The two combatant's glared at each other with determination.

"Hulk's anger makes him stronger!"

"Stronger Hulk get, Lex get even stronger."

The Hulk could now feel Luthor's power increase. The Hulk's arms began to shake as Luthor pushed back against him, harder and harder. As Luthor began to move Hulk backward, it became clear he was winning the contest. The Hulk struggled to regain momentum, but to no avail, as Luthor's might continued to increase.

"Hulk can't lose!"

"Hulk already lost!"

With a confident surge of power,the transformed Luther pushed the Hulk's arms backward, causing the Hulk to release his grip on Luther's hands. Luther let go of the Hulk's hands and wrapped his arms around the Hulk's back, lifting Hulk off the ground in a constricting bear hug.

"Feel Lex's power!"

"Aaaaaaaagh!"

The Hulk bellowed in pain as Luthor hardened his vise-like grip around the behemoth's midsection. The Hulk tussled and pushed against Luthor's enormous chest but was unable to break Luthor's painful hold. Luthor could see desperation and agony mounting in the Hulk's eyes, like a trapped, injured animal. As Luthor tightened the pressure, he could feel ribs crack. Luthor released his arms, and the Hulk collapsed on the ground.

"Get up, Lex not done with you."

The Hulk attempted to rise, only to be knocked back down by Luthor's fist in his face. For the next hour, Luthor methodically pummeled the Hulk, battering him from one end of the building to another, and repeatedly picking him up and slamming the Hulk forcefully down. The Hulk at first attempted to resist and shield himself, but eventually he appeared to surrender to being a punching bag for his larger and stronger opponent.

Finally, bruised and bleeding, the Hulk lay prone face down across the floor, almost unconscious. The Hulk felt Luthor rip the Hulk's pants apart, leaving him naked. The Hulk looked up and saw Luthor pulling down his stretched garment, revealing a hard member in oversized proportion to the rest of Luther's giant frame.

"Lex take his prize."

. . .

Bruce Banner awoke to find himself in a space that appeared to be a hospital room. He could tell he had on a brace and was connected to multiple intravenous lines. Although his system was clearly flooded with pain relievers, it was agony just to move his head.

"Aah, you are back. You had us scared there for awhile."

Across the room, Banner recognized Lex Luthor, returned to his normal form and dressed in his trademark Italian suit. Vaguely remembering the beating that Luthor in his altered state had given the Hulk, Banner attempted to move.

"Calm, Dr. Banner, you are not in condition to move. I'm afraid you won't be for several weeks. I regret it was necessary for you to undergo this trauma."

Banner struggled to speak.

"How . . ."

"I had been studying you and your alter ego for some time. I had thought your other half might be of value to me in getting rid of a problem I have had with a certain extra-terrestrial. However, in studying I determined I could replicate and refine the effects gamma radiation had on you. I used that process on myself."

"You don't realize what you have done . . . Harboring the monster inside has destroyed my life."

"The transformation is somewhat different for me, Dr. Banner. While your other self is driven by anger, mine is driven by a desire to dominate."

"Why did you still need me."

"I needed your alter ego to trigger the release of mine. My transformation is stimulated by the power of the threat faced. I needed to confirm my transformed self would be as powerful as I expected. And you did want to be rid of your monster."

"You were able to remove the radiation from my body."

"No, I don't think that is possible for either of us, but I don't think the Hulk will be back."

"I don't understand."

"The Hulk was driven by the expression of a single psychological state, anger. That state has now been irrevocably changed to something else."

"What?"

"Fear. Now please forgive me, Dr. Banner, I have an alien to attend to."