"Stop! I surrender!" Seeing Hulk's massive fist about to smash into his own equally large face, Banner let out a shout of alarm. He knew that if Hulk's punch landed, it wouldn't just be a single hit.
Banner was already running out of strength to resist Hulk's attacks. He couldn't understand it—at the beginning of the fight, he wasn't at a disadvantage, so why did it feel like he was about to lose as the battle dragged on?
Even if Hulk could continuously grow stronger with rage, why was Banner feeling fatigued while Hulk remained full of energy? Could anger be the reason?
They were both cloned with the same abilities, so why was there such a big difference between them?
"Coward Banner!" Hulk stopped his fist when he heard Banner surrender, but he didn't get off Banner. He frowned as he looked at Banner, feeling somewhat confused.
To be honest, ever since Hulk became conscious, he had never stopped wanting to beat up Banner. But the problem was, Hulk and Banner were one and the same—they were inseparable, more so than Venom and Peter Parker.
As a result, Hulk not only couldn't beat up Banner but also had to protect Banner's life. More importantly, Hulk and Banner couldn't appear at the same time, leaving Hulk without the opportunity or ability to take action...
But now, Hulk had his own body and had defeated Banner in battle, leaving Banner lying on the ground, admitting defeat. Yet Hulk wasn't happy, because now Banner looked exactly like him. It felt as if Hulk himself was the one surrendering.
"No! You have to change back to your cowardly Banner form to surrender. You can't surrender looking like Hulk!" Hulk angrily shouted, glaring at Banner.
"No way! If I change back, you could kill me with one punch! I'm not falling for that!" Banner refused without hesitation. If he really turned back into his normal form, Hulk wouldn't even need to punch him; just sitting on him would be enough to crush him.
"You're in Hulk's form! How can you use Hulk's form to surrender to Hulk?!" Hulk clenched his fist again, glaring at Banner.
"What do you mean, Hulk's form? This is clearly my form. If I can transform like this, it's my image. Besides, when you were cloned, you had to look like me to adapt!" Banner, while no match for Hulk in a fight, was much better with words. He began to argue logically.
"Think about it. Didn't Banner come first, and then Hulk? Since Banner was born first, this body belongs to Banner. You imitated Banner. After all, you can't say the father looks like the son, right?"
"What do you mean the father looks like the son?" Hulk was completely baffled by Banner's words. He stared blankly at Banner for a moment before suddenly getting angry again. "Hulk is not Banner's son! Hulk is... the great Hulk! The invincible Hulk!"
Well, it seemed Hulk wasn't very bright after all. He could only suppress Banner with his loud voice, but winning against Banner in logic and reasoning was impossible...
"If you're invincible, then why are you afraid of the Saiyan?" Banner raised an eyebrow and quickly shifted the focus to Robert, hoping Hulk would get distracted and get off him.
"Hulk is not..." Hulk wanted to declare loudly that he wasn't afraid of Robert, but he couldn't even convince himself of that. The usually loud Hulk's voice grew smaller and smaller until even he couldn't hear himself.
This made Hulk feel embarrassed, and he lowered his head in shame. At that moment, Banner seized the opportunity to flip Hulk off him, then jumped up and bolted toward the training room door, escaping through it.
"..." Hulk stood there, stunned for a moment. Then he angrily shouted in the direction Banner had run off, "Coward Banner! If you have the guts, don't run! No, don't run using Hulk's form!"
"Cowardly!"
"Yeah, that's like bullying a child!"
"Shameless! If you surrender, just surrender!"
"Is this our new teammate? One is brainless and unhappy, and the other is shameless, even tricking kids!"
The last comment came from Johnny Storm, who had already recovered and rushed back to the Avengers base for some fun after hearing about the fight.
Of course, it wasn't just Johnny who came back. All the Avengers, except for Kara who was sunbathing, were there. After all, internal conflicts were much easier to watch than external ones, where everyone had to fight enemies with full force and couldn't spare any attention to observe their teammates.
After all, internal conflicts wouldn't lead to real casualties, unlike external battles where everyone had to give their all. Well, except for Robert and Martian Manhunter, who were on a different level and could instantly deal with enemies.
"It was a bit shameless, but it seems his main focus isn't combat; he's more of a scientist, right?" Barry Allen nodded and sighed helplessly. "Sigh, even the scientists have such strong combat abilities now. It feels like our combat strength is falling behind the times..."
"Barry, weren't you working on some special treadmill? Any progress? Maybe you could ask Tony and the others for help. They've just finished a project, so maybe they can squeeze you in..." Pietro raised an eyebrow and whispered to Barry.
"Not yet. I decided to try some unconventional methods, but I'm still in the research phase. I'll handle it myself; no need to waste Tony's time..." Barry shook his head, smiling as Tony Stark's face darkened slightly.
"Where did that shameless Dr. Banner run off to? And why isn't Hulk chasing him? Is it because he can't open doors?" Johnny Storm glanced at Hulk still in the training room and couldn't help but ask.
"Ahem! Are these all the Avengers?" At that moment, Banner, who had just entered the observation room, heard Johnny's comment. He had reverted to his normal form and changed his clothes, but his face was a bit flushed, and he awkwardly cleared his throat as he looked at the Avengers, grinning sheepishly. He knew they were going to be colleagues in the future, but his current performance seemed to have left a poor impression.
"It's okay. From now on, just leave the fighting to Hulk. Even if you can transform, it doesn't seem like you're much of a fighter. Stick to research; your brain is so smart, you can easily outsmart Hulk..." Tony Stark laughed and then, as if something occurred to him, spoke up softly.
"Right, we have two more scientists joining us. Um... Jarvis, control two sets of armor and bring them over here. It'll save me a trip. We've already discussed some things, so the rest can be sorted out once they get to the Avengers HQ."
"Yes, sir," Jarvis responded. He knew the whereabouts of Reed Richards and Ben Grimm.
Since Tony Stark had been busy building Hulk's body, Reed Richards and Ben Grimm had been kept at the hotel by James, treated to good food and drinks every day. No matter what reasons they gave to leave, James wouldn't let them go, determined to seize this opportunity to meet Tony Stark. Unfortunately, James' plan was about to fail...
"Hulk, how was it? Did you enjoy the fight? Can you keep going?" Just as Jarvis finished speaking, Peter Parker, who had been watching and itching to fight, couldn't help but shout at Hulk in the training room.
"Hulk fears no challenge!" Hulk seemed to recognize Peter Parker's voice. Still seething with anger at Banner, he raised his head proudly and said, "Especially not from a defeated opponent!"
"Alright! Then let's see who's the loser this time!" Peter Parker and Venom snorted simultaneously, their voices blending as they disappeared from the observation room in a flash.
"Looks like we have a second round to watch!" Robert smiled and nodded. "Spider-Man and Venom are more in sync than before. In theory, they should be stronger now. Let's see who's grown stronger this time..."
Robert had missed the beginning of the last fight between Venom Peter Parker and Hulk, but from the way Hulk's energy felt afterward, Robert could guess what had happened. So he was looking forward to this fight.
Moreover, the battle between Peter Parker and Hulk also indicated that the ability to continually increase one's power in battle was no longer exclusive to Robert. Whether it was the raging Hulk or the gene-enhancing symbiosis of Venom...
"Why has Spider-Man become so combative lately?" Lorna scratched her head, puzzled as she watched Peter Parker rush into the training room. "Is it because of Venom's influence?"
"He wants to redeem himself!" Johnny Storm scoffed, clearly dissatisfied. "I want to see how much he's holding back compared to last time..."
"Boom!" Before Johnny could finish speaking, a terrifying crash echoed through the training room. This first punch was already more powerful than the peak of Banner and Hulk's earlier battle.
In fact, even if Banner's strength and injuries had recovered and he transformed again to fight Hulk, he might not have been able to withstand this punch. Hulk's rage hadn't subsided; he was still in his anger-boosted state!
In other words, Hulk hadn't exited combat mode yet, so his buffs didn't need to be re-applied but could continue stacking!
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
After the first collision, there were more and more powerful impacts. Even though the training room was built with special materials, it began to shake. Robert raised an eyebrow and released a telekinetic force that enveloped the training room, allowing Hulk and Peter Parker to fight without restraint.
Of course, neither Hulk nor Peter Parker, who were engrossed in their battle, noticed the change around them. Robert's actions were mainly to protect the Avengers base and save Tony Stark some
money and materials.
The meteorite that had fallen to Earth earlier had indeed provided a lot of material, but it couldn't withstand repeated destruction and consumption. Such non-renewable resources should be conserved.
"Is that all? Your strength seems much weaker than before. Didn't you eat enough?" Inside the training room, Peter Parker focused on fighting Hulk while Venom taunted Hulk.
Venom's goal in taunting Hulk wasn't to distract him but to further enrage him, pushing Hulk's combat power to new heights. After all, Venom and Peter Parker still had many tricks up their sleeves!
"Hulk smash you!" Sure enough, as Venom's taunts echoed, Hulk threw a punch at Venom's head, only for Peter Parker to easily dodge and use Hulk's momentum to slam him into the ground.
This move felt familiar to Hulk, as Robert had used it on him before. This made Hulk jump up instantly, glaring at Peter Parker as he launched another attack.
But this time, Peter Parker didn't opt for a head-on confrontation. Instead, he used his Spider-Sense to transform into a martial arts master, dodging all of Hulk's attacks and countering effectively.
In the previous battle, no matter how much Venom Peter Parker enhanced himself, their strength always lagged behind Hulk's, making the fight very difficult. But now, things were different. Venom Peter Parker's strength was now above Hulk's!
As a result, Peter Parker was better able to handle Hulk's attacks and could use more combat techniques to counterattack. If it weren't for the black, sticky substance covering his body, Peter Parker might even have looked like a martial arts master...
"Hulk! Hulk will crush you!" Hulk, growing more enraged as he was repeatedly slammed to the ground by Peter Parker, had his eyes turn blood-red. With another furious roar, his body began to swell, muscles bulging as he entered a berserk state...
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