"Hulk, transform back," Clark said after seeing the green giant had calmed down.
"Aaargh—!" Hulk let out a disgruntled roar after hearing Clark's request, then struggled to stand up in defiance.
In response, Clark just waved a hand and resumed his love-based education session. Only after Hulk voluntarily transformed back into Banner did Clark finally stop.
Ares, standing nearby, watched as the Hulk—who had been beating him moments ago—lay battered and bruised. Strangely, he didn't feel any joy. Instead, he felt a faint sadness.
After all, even Hulk, who was stronger than him, had been thoroughly beaten by Clark. So Ares couldn't help but feel disheartened—because he knew he wasn't even on Hulk's level.
Clark, meanwhile, didn't notice Ares's emotional state—or perhaps noticed but didn't care. Because at that moment, Hulk had already reverted to Bruce Banner under the influence of Clark's love-and-discipline approach.
"Whoa..." When Banner woke up, he found himself lying in a giant humanoid crater. He rubbed his slightly swollen head and looked around before turning to Clark.
"Sorry, Clark. Also... was this my doing?"
"Not entirely," Clark said, pointing toward Ares. "Him too. You broke those trees while tossing him around."
"…" Ares thought to himself—was it really appropriate to expose someone like that?
"…" Banner looked at Ares, who—aside from some graying hair—seemed completely uninjured. He couldn't help but admire the endurance of this god. Then he looked down at himself: no shirt, pants in tatters.
"How are you feeling? Any luck communicating with Hulk?" Clark casually handed Banner the clothes he'd prepared earlier.
"Not great. I tried, but it's like he doesn't want to talk to me." Banner was clearly frustrated. He had wanted to communicate with Hulk, but instead of cooperating, Hulk had taken over and gone on a rampage.
"Once I give in to anger," Banner muttered, "I get swallowed by endless rage... and then I lose control." Thinking back on what had just happened, he grew even more dejected. This experiment had confirmed that controlling Hulk might never be possible.
"Banner, you can do this," Clark encouraged him. He didn't want this one setback to scare Banner off from trying again. After thinking for a moment, Clark added, "Why not try again? Maybe this time you'll get through to him."
"Try again, huh?" Banner thought about it. He figured, even if he transformed, Clark would just suppress him again. So why not?
He handed his clothes back to Clark. After all, there was no point in dressing if he was going to transform again—the clothes would be shredded anyway.
Clark took the clothes and stepped back a few meters. He knew that these kinds of breakthroughs rarely happened in one or two tries. If Banner managed to make contact with Hulk this time, it would be a huge success.
Once Clark had backed away, Banner sat cross-legged. Before making contact with Hulk again, he had to calm himself down—only then could he hold out longer against the rage.
Once ready, Banner opened his eyes and nodded to Clark to signal he was starting. Then he closed his eyes again and began to recall the things that made him angry. Soon enough, he could sense Hulk's presence within the anger.
As Banner made contact, his exposed skin began to turn green, and his body started to grow.
But the next moment, it was as if the transformation had deflated like a balloon. Banner's body quickly shrank back to normal, and an awkward expression appeared on his face.
"Uhh…" he muttered as he opened his eyes and glanced at Clark. He hadn't expected that, just as he connected with Hulk, Hulk would send him a rare message—he didn't want to come out.
And the reason? Simple: it was because of Clark. Hulk felt that every time he came out, he barely got to fight before Clark beat him back down. So now, he just didn't want to come out.
"What happened, Banner?" Clark asked curiously after seeing Banner half-transform, then revert.
"He doesn't want to come out," Banner replied, frustrated. He hadn't expected this. Since when did Hulk not want to come out?
"He doesn't want to come out? Why?" Clark was surprised. He remembered the only time Hulk refused to appear was during Avengers: Infinity War.
Back then, Hulk had grown mentally over two years and was nearly fully conscious. After being mind-controlled by Scarlet Witch and causing mass destruction on Earth, he was wracked with guilt and feared that people hated him. So, while on Earth, he refused to come out.
But Clark knew that timeline. That was after Avengers: Age of Ultron and two years of living on Sakaar. Hulk and Banner hadn't been through any of that yet—so why was Hulk refusing now?
As for Clark's own beatings? He figured they weren't that harsh. Hulk wasn't actually injured, so it shouldn't have had such a big psychological impact.
"Looks like it's because you beat him up earlier. Now Hulk doesn't want to come out," Banner said awkwardly. After all, Hulk was technically a part of him, and this behavior was basically a giant tantrum—like a sulking child. That embarrassed Banner a little, especially since he used to think of Hulk as a monster.
"…" Clark was momentarily speechless. Beside them, Diana overheard and covered her mouth to stifle a laugh.
Looking at Banner sitting on the ground, Clark thought for a moment and said, "How about we call it a day? Let's head back and see if Hulk calms down by tomorrow."
"Guess we have no choice," Banner nodded. He really didn't have a way to deal with Hulk. But he did find the situation kind of funny: before, he was terrified of Hulk coming out, and Hulk was desperate to emerge. Now that he wanted Hulk to come out—Hulk refused. Ironic.
As they walked back, Ares suddenly turned to Clark and asked:
"Clark, what do you think about me rebuilding Mount Olympus on Earth?"
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