"Ah…"
Wanda stared at the massive shape hurtling toward her.
That pure, crushing pressure of violence wiped her mind clean. The scarlet magic she had just gathered collapsed instantly.
Her face went deathly pale. Her legs felt like they'd been filled with molten lead—she couldn't move.
"WANDA!!"
A streak of silver flashed.
At the very last second, Pietro threw himself at her, wrapping his arms around his sister as the two of them rolled more than ten meters across the ground.
BOOM!!
Hulk slammed down where they had been standing, smashing a crater into the street. The ground rippled outward like waves on water.
"Are you hurt?!" Pietro hauled Wanda up, panic flooding his voice.
Wanda trembled violently, her face chalk-white.
"I'm sorry, Pietro… I messed everything up. I just wanted to help…"
"HRRRGH—!!"
Missing his target didn't slow Hulk down for even a heartbeat.
He charged again, dropping to all fours like a colossal ape. Each stride covered dozens of meters.
"Hey! Green guy! Over here!"
Tony Stark arrived.
The thrusters on the Hulkbuster's back erupted with blue flame. Using sheer momentum, Tony slammed Hulk to the ground and mounted him.
KRAK-KRAK-KRAK—
The hydraulic pistons in the armor's arms went berserk.
BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM—!!!
Hundreds of heavy punches in mere seconds.
Every single one smashed squarely into the side of Hulk's face.
"Go to sleep! Go to sleep! Go to sleep!"
Tony shouted with each strike.
Each punch boomed with the roar of venting hydraulics.
Hulk's head was beaten sideways, green skin rippling like water under the impacts.
"Pfft!"
Something white mixed with saliva flew out of Hulk's mouth, bounced twice on the pavement, and rolled to a stop.
A tooth.
"…Uh. Sorry?" Tony froze for half a second.
"If you don't have dental insurance, I can reimburse you—"
Hulk seized the opening.
He smashed the Hulkbuster backward with a single punch.
Then, slowly, he extended his tongue and licked the empty gap in his mouth.
A memory gate burst open.
The last time Hulk lost a tooth—
It was ripped out by that masked, dark-skinned monster.
An eternal humiliation burned into Hulk's soul.
And now…
This tin man dared knock out Hulk's tooth too?!
Humiliation.
Endless, seething humiliation.
"RAAAAGH—!!!"
"HULK… WILL… SMASH YOU!!!"
A deep roar rumbled out of Hulk's chest, like magma churning before an eruption.
His green skin darkened. His body swelled again. Muscles bulged like steel cables pulled tight to snapping.
"Sir," JARVIS warned calmly, "Gamma reaction in Banner's body exceeding safe threshold. I strongly recommend immediate ejection. I am not joking."
"HULK… STRONGEST!!!"
Hulk roared—and this time he moved so fast even the radar lagged behind.
He grabbed the Hulkbuster's left arm.
RIIIP—!!!
Several tons of titanium alloy tore loose like a dead branch being snapped off.
Sparks exploded. Hydraulic fluid sprayed everywhere.
"Warning! Left arm detached!"
Before Tony could react—
A knee strike.
THUD!
The Hulkbuster's chest caved in. Tony was jammed inside, unable to move.
Hulk wasn't satisfied.
He wanted this tin can pulverized.
He lifted the torn-off arm like a club and began hammering Tony with it.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
The Hulkbuster staggered backward under the blows.
Before Tony could reestablish his guard, Hulk delivered a brutal front kick straight into the arc reactor.
BOOM!
The Hulkbuster flew like a human-shaped cannonball, smashing through two three-story buildings before crashing at the edge of the plaza.
Seeing Tony completely overwhelmed—
Behind the rubble, Pietro reached into a hidden pocket and pulled out a green injector.
T-VEX.
He'd used one dose earlier. This was the last.
He raised the vial and aimed it at his thigh—
But fate loved cruel jokes.
"HULK… CLAP!!"
Mid-charge, Hulk slammed his massive palms together.
CLAP—!!!
A visible, high-pressure shockwave erupted outward.
It blasted the Hulkbuster just as it was getting back up—and the residual force surged toward Wanda behind it.
"LOOK OUT!"
Pietro moved on instinct, flashing forward to shove Wanda out of the way.
BAM!
He took the shockwave full-on to the chest.
His body slammed into the load-bearing pillar of a residential building behind him.
"Cough—!!"
Pietro spat a mouthful of blood.
Tons of concrete and twisted steel collapsed, burying him beneath the rubble—only his upper body left exposed.
The already-unstable building finally gave in, collapsing completely.
A massive prefabricated slab snapped loose.
A crushing concrete plate—dozens of tons—plummeted straight toward Pietro's head.
"NO!! PIETRO!!"
Wanda screamed, her voice tearing apart.
She rushed forward without hesitation, throwing both arms overhead.
"LIFT… UP!!"
Scarlet energy exploded from her body, forming a blazing red barrier that caught the falling slab.
"AAAHHH—!!!"
Wanda's arms shook violently. Blood began to seep from her nostrils.
The concrete slab stopped—hanging half a meter above Pietro.
"Wan… Wanda… run…"
Pietro lay beneath it. The T-VEX injector in his hand had shattered in the impact, green liquid soaking into the dirt.
He felt only despair.
"No!!" Wanda sobbed, teeth clenched as she held the slab aloft.
"I'm not going anywhere!"
But Hulk did not stop.
Seeing the red energy swirling around Wanda only fueled his rage.
Hulk leapt in front of her and raised his massive fist.
A shadow swallowed Wanda whole.
Her hands were locked in place—maintaining the spell.
If she let go, Pietro would die.
If she didn't, Hulk would crush her.
A perfect dead end.
"I'm sorry, Pietro…"
Wanda closed her eyes. Time seemed to slow to a crawl.
Yet the expected pain never came.
Instead, a voice drifted into her ears.
"Is that really how you treat a lady, big guy?"
Wanda's lashes trembled as she opened her eyes.
What she saw—
Wasn't Hulk's twisted green face.
It was a back.
Broad. Upright.
A star-spangled cape fluttered in the sunlight, gleaming brilliantly.
A tight blue suit outlined a flawless physique—especially below the waist—
Those perfect waist-to-hip lines.
Taut. Powerful.
Like Michelangelo's finest sculpture brought to life, radiating raw masculine energy that made her cheeks heat up.
For a heartbeat—
Wanda's heart skipped.
"Wh… who is that…?"
And in front of her—
That figure raised a single hand clad in a red glove.
Casually.
Effortlessly.
He caught Hulk's massive fist mid-swing.
Didn't move an inch.
"Seriously,"
Antony said, tilting his head slightly as he looked at the stunned Hulk.
"Your nails—don't you think it's time for a trim?"
"They look… really unhygienic."
--------------
T/N:
Access Advance Chapters on my
P@treon: [email protected]/PokePals