Upon seeing Dr. Kurt Connors suddenly transform into a lizard-like monster, Peter Parker was so terrified that he collapsed to the ground.
"Peter, save me! Please, save me!"
This turn of events was certainly not what Kurt had wanted. Horrified by his own grotesque reflection, he turned to Peter for help.
But Peter was too frightened to move closer. He kept scrambling backward, unwilling to let the creature near him.
Just then, a patrolling security guard shoved open the laboratory door.
"Who's in there?"
"Ah!! Monster!!"
The moment the guard laid eyes on Kurt Connors, he screamed in terror. Without thinking, he stumbled backward and bolted down the hall, slamming the alarm button as he fled.
Kurt, enraged by the guard's reaction, leaped over ten meters in a single bound—landing directly in front of the fleeing man before he could escape.
Instinctively, Kurt swung his razor-sharp claws.
In an instant, they slashed across the guard's neck, killing him instantly.
Realizing what he'd done, Kurt cast Peter a look filled with anguish and regret. Without a word, he turned and fled the lab, vanishing into the night.
Peter stared at Kurt's retreating figure, then at the guard's lifeless body on the floor. The gravity of the situation hit him like a freight train.
If I don't leave now, they'll think I did this.
Heart pounding, he didn't dare hesitate. Without another word, he sprinted out of the laboratory.
---
Inside Morgan Manor, the battle between A2 and the Hulk raged on.
A single, effortless slash across the Hulk's back did nothing to slow him—in fact, it only fueled his fury.
"HULK SMASH!!"
Roaring, the Hulk spun around and charged at A2 again, the gash on his back already knitting itself closed at a rate visible to the naked eye. Though not quite on par with Wolverine's regeneration, the healing was still terrifyingly fast.
Yet A2 showed no fear. If anything, she grew more intrigued.
"Immense strength… incredible regeneration… No wonder the boss values you so highly," she said. "But don't think I'm weak!"
As the Hulk's massive fist hurtled toward her, A2 didn't activate her intangibility this time. Instead, she clenched her own fist and met his blow head-on.
Their fists collided like meteorites—yet, to everyone's astonishment, no shockwave erupted.
That was because A2's body acted like a kinetic sponge. No matter how much force the Hulk unleashed, it was absorbed the moment it struck her.
His punch vanished without a trace—like a clay ox sinking into the sea.
The sight left not only the Hulk utterly bewildered, but also 2B and Tifa, who watched from the sidelines.
"Boss," Tifa said, frowning, "A2 didn't seem to exert any real force—how did she absorb that hit so easily?"
Both women turned to Loren, their eyes full of confusion.
"It's simple," Loren replied calmly, arms crossed. "Aside from her hand bones—which are forged from original adamantium—the rest of A2's skeletal structure is composed of vibranium."
He gestured toward the battlefield. "Vibranium absorbs kinetic energy, much like a sponge soaks up water. A2's entire frame is engineered to neutralize impacts by dissipating force at the molecular level."
Loren wasn't surprised—he'd spent over a month meticulously designing A2, a next-generation nano-scale general-purpose combat robot, by fusing vibranium with original adamantium. No one understood her capabilities better than he did. In terms of nanotech application, she rivaled even the T-3000 from Terminator.
But her nanoparticles are made of vibranium and primal adamantium, so they are virtually indestructible.
At least on Earth right now, no one can replicate that.
Initially, he had planned to use 2B's skeletal structure as a blueprint—
that is, to forge the skeleton from raw adamantium and sheathe it in vibranium.
This would fully harness the devastating destructive power of the original adamantium alloy, greatly enhancing A2's offensive capabilities.
However, the supply of original adamantium was extremely limited—there was only enough for Captain America's shield.
The original adamantium alloy had been created by accident, and its exact formula remained unknown, even to him—the time traveler.
Although he used his own advanced technology to reverse-engineer and reshape the original adamantium,
he was unable to synthesize more of it. After weighing the pros and cons,
he changed his approach: using vibranium as the primary structural framework,
and reinforcing only the hand bones and weapons with the original adamantium.
This design—essentially the inverse of 2B's—gave A2 superior defense but lower base attack power.
That's also why A2 could so easily withstand the Hulk's crushing blow just now.
After hearing Loren's explanation, 2B and Tifa finally understood.
Just then, 2B seemed to realize something. She turned to Loren with a slightly shocked expression.
"Boss, you said Sister A2 is like a sponge—able to absorb kinetic energy and lock it in. So… where does that stored energy eventually go?"
"There are several possibilities," Loren replied. "It can be converted directly into usable energy for A2, or released as a shockwave."
"Shockwave???"
"Yes!" A playful smile spread across Loren's face.
At that moment, after enduring several more heavy blows from the Hulk, A2 clenched her fist and launched a punch—from a distance.
Her fist never touched the Hulk.
But the instant she threw the punch, a tremendous shockwave erupted from her knuckles.
Colorless and formless, it tore through the air with such force that it created a visible sonic boom cloud.
The shockwave struck the Hulk head-on, distorting his expression in shock and pain.
The impact sent him flying backward, crashing into the steel prison wall and leaving a deep, crumpled dent.
The Hulk—who had been roaring and thrashing moments earlier—now lay motionless on the ground, seemingly deflated, unable to rise.
Seeing this, A2 lost interest in continuing. She turned calmly toward 2B outside the cage.
"Release the neurotoxin and put him into a coma. The combat capability test is over."
With that, A2 leaped through the protective glass and returned to Loren's side.
"Boss, I've brought you the Hulk blood you requested."
As she spoke, she handed the collected sample to Loren.
Loren took the vial of Hulk's blood, smiled, and nodded. "Hmm, well done! Extra treat tonight!!!"
Just as he finished speaking, the lab's AI, Alice, suddenly announced:
"Boss,
an unidentified flying object has been detected rapidly descending over New York!"
"Unidentified flying object???"
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