Chapter 74:
New YorkSome luxury apartment
Warm water droplets slid down Betty Ross's golden hair as she stepped out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel, her skin still flushed from the hot shower.
In the living room, her boyfriend Blake sat stiffly on the sofa, the TV's glow reflecting on his rigid profile.
"Honey, what are you watching?" Betty asked while drying her hair, her voice carrying the lazy softness after bathing.
Blake didn't turn his head, fingers clenched tightly around the remote: "Watching live news. Hulk showed up again."
"Hulk?" Betty's movements suddenly froze.
That name was like a blunt knife, ruthlessly scraping across her heart.
Bruce…
Memories surged like a tide: the first meeting in the gamma lab, Banner's gentle smile, how even after turning into a monster he still carefully protected her palm.
And the last time, when she appeared in front of him with Blake, the shattered light in Banner's eyes.
"Betty! Quick, look!" Blake's suddenly raised voice pulled her back to reality.
On the TV screen, the green giant was rampaging through the military base, tank shells hitting him like tickles.
But when he turned and smashed toward a certain building, Betty suddenly saw the emblem on the wall clearly.
It was the Ross family crest.
"That's… Dad's base?!" Her voice suddenly became sharp.
"No, impossible!" Betty staggered backward, the towel falling to the ground.
Her knees slammed heavily into the floor, but she felt no pain—only the Hulk's roars on the television madly pounding against her eardrums.
Blake's expression froze. He stood up mechanically, yet felt the world spinning.
It's over. Everything is over.
His plan was supposed to be flawless.
Step one: discover Banner was the Hulk's secret, then approach the collapsing Betty during Hulk's repeated rampages.
Next: use gentle tactics to pry open the wall corner, ultimately replacing Banner.
And his ultimate goal: rise to the top through becoming General Ross's son-in-law!
He had even had dinner with General Ross. The old man had patted his shoulder and said: "Betty is entrusted to you."
God knows how thrilled he was hearing that sentence—he had even imagined his own meteoric rise!
But now…
On the TV screen, Hulk was tearing open the command center doors with his bare hands.
General Ross is dead. My career…
Blake's pupils trembled violently. He suddenly rushed toward the entrance and grabbed his coat.
"Where are you going?!" Betty looked up, tears streaming down her face.
"I—I'm going to see if I can help!" He haphazardly slipped on his shoes, his voice so fake it made even himself nauseous.
The door was slammed shut heavily. Neither of them noticed anything unusual.
In the empty apartment, Betty collapsed to the floor. In the TV's glow, Hulk's figure grew blurrier and blurrier.
Images of her father and Banner appeared in her mind.
She suddenly remembered the last time she saw Banner, his hoarse question:
"Did you ever really love him?"
At the time she hadn't answered.
Now, the answer shattered on the floor along with her tears.
Meanwhile, on the street
Blake frantically dialed his military contact, but only got busy signals.
He looked up in despair. The distant skyline was dyed blood-red by the firelight.
He knew—his dream was shattered, gone forever.
He had to get away from this woman as soon as possible!
Inside the Quinjet
Deadpool was chattering like a human barrage next to Banner's ear.
"Whoa! This Hulk demolition team gets full marks from me! Look how far that tank flew! Doesn't it look like when I threw that My Little Pony doll at Hydra last time?" He pressed his face against the porthole, the white eye-pieces on his mask stretched wide in exaggeration.
Captain America and Hawkeye ignored him, focused on the real-time battle footage on the tablet.
In the footage, Hulk was rolling the last armored vehicle like a bowling ball toward distant trembling soldiers.
The scene made both men's eyelids twitch—even though they could do it too.
"Time to wrap this up." Steve stood up, muscles subtly tightening under his tactical suit.
"Military reinforcements are on the way. We need to bring Banner back."
Deadpool immediately jumped up: "Finally it's Agent Deadpool's turn! Let me go! I can reform him with love!"
Natasha rolled her eyes, fingers flying across the control panel: "Sit tight. Preparing to land."
The four prepared themselves and moved toward the hatch.
On the ground, smoke filled the air.
Hulk stood in the center of the ruins, chest heaving violently, not a single wound on his green skin.
He threw his head back and roared, the sound wave shaking the remaining glass windows with a buzzing vibration.
BOOM!
The Quinjet slowly landed behind Hulk, the engine's downdraft kicking up dust and debris across the ground.
"Listen." Steve gripped the hatch handle tightly and looked at everyone.
"If Hulk loses control, ascend immediately. No hesitation."
Natasha gave a light laugh: "Captain, I've been on two Hulk-related missions with Coulson. I know his temper better than you."
Deadpool suddenly squeezed out from between them: "Need a Deadpool-brand human decoy? Comes with free taunt emotes!"
Hawkeye yanked him back: "Shut up, unless you want to experience Hulk-brand human punching bag."
Deadpool immediately mimed zipping his mouth.
"Hulk!" Steve leaned half his body out and shouted.
"Time to end this!"
The green giant whipped around violently. Bloodshot eyes locked onto the jet. His nostrils flared with two streams of white steam, as if in the next second he would pounce and tear them apart.
The cabin instantly became so quiet it felt suffocating.
We're done for. We're going to get beaten.
Hawkeye silently reached for the tranquilizer arrow at his waist.
The boss's serum should let me tank three punches… probably.
Deadpool—rarely silent—stayed quiet.
However—
"ROAR!!!"
Hulk suddenly charged with a powerful leap. The ground cracked beneath his feet. His massive body shot toward the jet like a cannonball!
Dong!!!
The entire fuselage tilted violently. Deadpool let out a yelp as he was flung against the bulkhead, plastered into a starfish shape.
Hulk's thick arms gripped the hatch edge. His ferocious face leaned in.
"Hulk! Friend!" Steve raised both hands to show he was harmless.
"We're friends!"
Hawkeye quickly tossed his weapon into the corner: "One of us! Hulk!"
Natasha even opened the hologram and looped the highlight reel of Hulk smashing Ross.
Hulk's gaze swept over everyone, finally locking onto the bruised and swollen Deadpool.
"Uh, hi?" Deadpool weakly waved.
Surprisingly, Hulk only snorted once and strode straight toward the back of the cabin.
With heavy footsteps, his massive body began to shrink, green skin gradually fading.
A few seconds later, Bruce Banner curled up in a seat, drenched in sweat, and slowly raised his head.
"Next time… can you prepare some pants?"
Steve's heart leaped with joy—mission accomplished! Hulk contained successfully!
He remembered the violent footage of Hulk on the tablet. Suddenly, he faintly felt something inside his body beginning to awaken.
This made him think of the movie he had watched a few days ago. He took a deep breath and made a certain decision
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