"I have to admit, I'm a little worried. What if he can't hold back and ends up fighting General Ross but loses?" Robert's eyes flashed with concern as he watched Martian Manhunter vanish, deliberately muttering to himself.
"..." Steve and Tony Stark were speechless. They wanted to point out that Martian Manhunter wasn't Robert and wouldn't do something reckless. But before they could say anything, Robert also disappeared.
"Think he'll be okay?" Steve's mouth twitched slightly as he looked at Tony Stark.
"Who do you think could cause him trouble? Anyway, I hope he remembers what you said earlier. Even though I would love to punch General Ross myself, his position is quite complicated. Especially after our recent conflict with him..." Tony Stark sighed.
"If we didn't know that General Ross is strong enough, I'd worry that someone like Nick Fury or another schemer would try to kill him and frame us, using public opinion to turn people against us!"
"Your concern isn't unfounded, especially since many people witnessed our clash with Ross, and there were plenty of recordings. If something like that happens, it could be a real problem. Let's just hope that nothing goes wrong with Martian Manhunter or Robert," Steve said, looking out toward the Avengers' base.
"That guy really has no worries. He just got knocked flying, and now he's back to eating..." Tony Stark glanced at the Hulk, remarking with a sigh.
To be honest, Tony Stark wished that Bruce Banner had inherited the Hulk's immense strength and rage, leaving the Hulk as a sort of mascot. But seeing how unreliable the Hulk's behavior was, Tony wasn't exactly reassured. Robert had promised to train the Hulk, but nothing had come of it yet, leaving Tony uneasy. Especially after seeing the look in the Hulk's eyes when Tony blasted him—it was a look that clearly said he wanted to crush Tony. If Robert hadn't been there, the Hulk probably would have attacked without mercy.
"I need to design some giant-sized suits of armor," Tony Stark thought, a flash of determination in his eyes. Giant suits might not match his current armor's agility, but they could offer tremendous power and be equipped with more formidable weaponry! Tony hadn't pursued this line of research before, considering such armor too cumbersome and difficult to store. But after his experiences with the Hulk and General Ross's transformation into the Red Hulk, Tony decided he should have some on standby. What if he was ever forced to fight such massive creatures?
Meanwhile, at General Ross's base, Ross carried Bruce Banner back with great speed. But when he returned and saw the destruction of his base, Ross couldn't help but feel a pang of pain.
Money! All that money! It had taken him a lot of work to secure those funds, and now it was all wasted. How could Ross not feel heartbroken?
"At least I still have this guy!" Ross quickly refocused, looking at the unconscious Bruce Banner in his hand. He knew he didn't have much time— the Avengers would undoubtedly send someone to rescue Banner. While Ross was confident in his own strength, he didn't think he could keep Banner indefinitely, especially if Robert showed up. If that happened, Ross wouldn't hesitate to throw Banner back.
"Take him down, draw blood samples, extract various tissues, and keep him sedated. Send the samples to the underground lab immediately! Leave no one down there! Keep some samples with him as a decoy..." Ross ordered his men, handing them the unconscious Banner and preparing for the next steps.
Ross was cautious. From the state of his base, he could tell the Avengers hadn't intended to destroy the entire facility—they were only after the Gamma Warriors. So even though Ross planned to extract samples from Banner's body, he was making contingency plans. He didn't want to be left empty-handed if Banner was rescued, rendering this whole confrontation and the exposure of his trump card meaningless.
Martian Manhunter arrived at the base much faster than Ross had expected. If Tony Stark hadn't wasted time talking, Martian Manhunter would have arrived even sooner. With his intangibility and shapeshifting abilities, Martian Manhunter was a master infiltrator. It didn't take much effort for him to find Bruce Banner, still unconscious and being drained of various tissues.
"You must be used to this by now," Martian Manhunter muttered, thinking of the experiments back at the Avengers' base. He was ready to take Banner and leave.
If he could, Martian Manhunter would have liked to turn Banner intangible and sneak out with him. But since he couldn't, he prepared to leave with him more traditionally.
"Smack! Smack!" In the blink of an eye, Martian Manhunter knocked out the lab technicians, releasing Banner from his restraints. Banner woke up and sighed in relief when he saw Martian Manhunter.
"Let's get out of here before things get messy!" Banner urged, still shaken by his earlier encounter with General Ross. He was eager to avoid another confrontation.
"Alert! Alert! The subject has escaped! The subject has escaped!" The alarm blared just as Banner was about to leave the lab, his voice echoing through the base. Not far away, General Ross's face darkened as he transformed into the Red Hulk and charged toward the lab.
Despite his fear of Robert, Ross was determined to see who the Avengers had sent before deciding whether to retreat. Martian Manhunter's swift arrival worried Ross that the lab technicians might not have had time to collect enough samples.
"Uh..." Banner froze when he saw the massive red figure charging toward him. Instinctively, he took a step back. It wasn't that he was scared, but the previous fight had left a deep impression on him. Ross's combat prowess was beyond what he could handle, and Banner doubted even the Hulk could take on the Red Hulk.
In Banner's mind, only Robert might stand a chance against Ross in the entire Avengers team. But who would win? Banner couldn't say for sure...
"Indeed, he's strong!" Martian Manhunter muttered as Ross entered the lab.
"Yeah, he's even bigger than before, and his aura is stronger and more ferocious than the Hulk's. But honestly, he's not completely beyond an enraged Hulk's strength. You should be able to handle him, right? If not, I can take over," Robert's voice echoed in Martian Manhunter's mind, making him wince slightly.
"You said it was my mission, so I'll handle it." Martian Manhunter wasn't fond of combat, but since it was his task, he'd see it through. Besides, he didn't think Ross could defeat him. Even if things got tough, Martian Manhunter could always turn intangible. As long as Ross didn't unleash flames, Martian Manhunter would remain unbeatable!
"Alright," Robert's slightly disappointed voice responded. He watched Ross closely, hoping the general would offer some surprises.
"Not a Saiyan? What kind of green-skinned monster is this?" Ross wondered as he rushed into the lab and saw Martian Manhunter. He breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that Robert hadn't shown up. As long as it wasn't Robert, Ross felt confident he could fight.
"How dare you! Destroying my base was bad enough, and now you come back for more! Prepare to die!" Ross roared, his eyes gleaming as he charged at Martian Manhunter.
"Boom!" In the next moment, Ross's massive fist collided with Martian Manhunter's smaller one, forcing the latter back as he absorbed the impact.
"Impressive! You must be one of the Avengers!" Ross's eyes lit up when he saw that Martian Manhunter wasn't hurt. He charged again, completely ignoring Banner, who stood nearby.
"I'm at a bit of a disadvantage here," Martian Manhunter muttered, frowning as Ross charged again. For the first time, he felt the impact of the size difference in battle.
Martian Manhunter wasn't short, standing just over two meters tall, but he wasn't particularly bulky either. In comparison to Ross, he looked much smaller, and it showed in their physical exchange...
"Boom! Boom! Boom!" The battle quickly escalated, with Martian Manhunter being forced back repeatedly. The intense combat destroyed much of the lab's equipment, and Banner was forced to transform into the Hulk to avoid being caught in the crossfire. But even as the Hulk, Banner had no intention of joining the fight. Ross and Martian Manhunter's battle was too intense, and with almost no combat experience, Banner didn't know how to help. He even worried that if he did intervene, he might end up helping Ross instead.
"Boom!" Suddenly, the fight between Martian Manhunter and Ross reached a stalemate. This time, Martian Manhunter didn't retreat—he firmly caught Ross's punch. But there was something different about him: his height had increased to over three meters, and his body had become much more muscular, resembling another Hulk.
"Huh?! What's going on?" Ross hesitated, seeing Martian Manhunter's transformation. Was this creature another product of Gamma radiation? The Avengers hadn't had Bruce Banner for long; how could they have made such progress?
"Smack! Smack!" Just as Ross's thoughts began to wander, Martian Manhunter seized the opportunity, locking both of Ross's hands and engaging him in a test of strength.
"What? You want to test your strength against me? Do you think I'm afraid of you?!" Ross roared, his eyes burning red with excitement as he stared down Martian Manhunter.
But Martian Manhunter's eyes were even redder, causing Ross to feel a slight discomfort. Still, he forced himself to hold his gaze, determined not to be the first to look away.
"Fzzzt!" Ross had no idea that while his eyes were red from anger and excitement, Martian Manhunter's were glowing with heat vision. If
Ross hadn't reacted quickly, that beam would have scorched his eyes! Even though Ross managed to dodge, the heat vision still hit his face, sending him flying.
"Boom!"
Robert suddenly raised an eyebrow as the walls crumbled and dust filled the air. He could sense that Ross wasn't injured—in fact, his aura had spiked.
"Is it because of anger? Does he have the Hulk's ability too?" Robert thought, his interest piqued.
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