At that moment, Hulk and Abomination also walked over.
Hulk's massive body slowly shrank down, turning back into the awkward figure of Bruce Banner.
He looked at the puddle of unrecognizable mush on the ground, then at Henry, and gave a dry laugh before speaking slowly.
"So… it's dead?" Banner sounded genuinely unsure of what had just happened.
Moments ago, he'd been ambushed by the creature, and when he woke up, Hulk had already taken over.
Even though he could now communicate with Hulk to some degree, his memories of the battle were still hazy.
He only remembered teaming up with Blonsky to fight that ugly monster for what felt like forever—and neither side seemed to have gained the upper hand.
On the other hand, the rough, scaly skin on Blonsky's body gradually receded, restoring his human form.
He was in better shape than Hulk, at least still conscious.
His gaze landed on Henry, filled with a sense of awe.
Yes—awe.
As a soldier, he respected strength above all else.
And this man standing before him… was undoubtedly the strongest person he had ever seen.
"So this… is the difference between him and us," Blonsky thought, feeling a pang of helplessness.
He'd always believed that even if he and Hulk couldn't defeat Henry, they could at least exchange a few solid blows.
But now it was clear—the gap between them was enormous.
Just a month ago, when Henry first appeared, Blonsky had even managed to ambush him once.
But now, after such a short time, Henry had already surpassed them to an unreachable level.
He glanced at Banner and sighed inwardly.
At least Hulk could grow stronger with anger. His own limits, however, were already set in stone.
"Dead? No." Henry shook his finger.
"I merely helped it achieve… a little physical salvation. Look at it now—isn't it much more peaceful?"
Banner and Blonsky glanced at the shapeless pile of meat on the floor, the corners of their mouths twitching uncontrollably.
Peaceful? You call that peaceful?!
Well… he wasn't wrong—it was definitely peaceful now.
"All right, don't sweat the small details." Henry clapped his hands lightly, as if nothing had happened.
"Let me analyze this thing's genetic sequence. I'm really curious how those HYDRA idiots managed to stitch so many random parts together into something like this."
As soon as he said that, his eyes glimmered faintly. In his vision, the creature's body structure appeared in perfect clarity—like a detailed JARVIS scan.
The more he saw, the deeper his frown became.
He clicked his tongue and began explaining to the others.
"From a quick analysis, this organism's genetic base seems to come from some unidentified extraterrestrial life form. On top of that, it's mixed with reptilian, amphibian, and insect DNA…"
"Damn. This really is a patchwork abomination."
"I knew it." Tony curled his lip in disgust.
"Their creativity always goes into the most disgusting things."
"Tony," Banner suddenly said, looking uneasy.
"HYDRA already destroyed all the files before we got there. We couldn't recover any data."
Tony frowned for a moment—but then shrugged casually.
"No big deal." He glanced at the pool of mush on the floor.
"I'd say we just brought back the biggest piece of data ourselves."
He smiled confidently, completely unconcerned.
Sure, it was a pity about the destroyed files—but getting this creature's genetic sample was still a huge win.
If Banner and Henry analyzed it properly, they might come up with something interesting out of it.
Like… a diet pill that made you lose your appetite forever?
"All right, everyone." Henry cleared his throat, slipping right back into his leadership tone.
"Our first team-building mission is officially complete. A few hiccups along the way—like our technical director getting knocked out cold on his first day…"
Banner coughed awkwardly, his face turning red.
"But overall, it was a success," Henry continued, ignoring Banner's expression.
"Now, clean up the field and get ready to head home. JARVIS, bring the jet down. I don't want to smell this god-awful stench another second."
Half an hour later, inside the jet—
The atmosphere had turned… subtly awkward again.
Banner and Blonsky sat quietly in a corner, still faintly smelling of disinfectant.
No surprise—Tony had insisted they be thoroughly sterilized first, claiming they reeked of that monster.
Meanwhile, Tony and Henry lounged back with their legs crossed, sipping cola and chatting about the recent "mission."
"I gotta say, that kick of yours was brutal," Tony said in amazement.
"Clean, direct, and honestly kind of therapeutic—though a little disgusting. I'll probably have to scrub my armor twice with sanitizer when we get back."
"That was art," Henry said seriously, looking almost philosophical.
"A real battle should end before the enemy even has time to react. Your style—flying around and biubiubiu for half an hour without even scratching the guy—that's just wasting time."
"That's called tactical suppression! It's meant to drain the enemy's stamina and morale!" Tony shot back defensively.
While the two of them bickered, a quiet voice suddenly spoke up.
"Um… Mr. Stark."
Wanda looked at Tony uncertainly.
"Just call me Tony," he said with a brief look of surprise, quickly switching to a friendly smile.
"What's up, young lady? Don't tell me you were so amazed by my performance that you want an autograph?"
Wanda rolled her eyes and shook her head softly.
"I just wanted to ask… has HYDRA always been doing these kinds of experiments?"
From inside the jet, she'd seen the creature through JARVIS's live feed, as well as the brutality of the fight. The monster looked like something created solely for destruction, and it made her feel sick.
Tony's smile slowly faded.
He went silent for a few seconds before finally speaking, his tone heavy.
"There are things far worse than what you saw today."
His voice dropped lower.
"They've kidnapped innocent civilians for human experimentation. They've incited wars and sold weapons for profit. They infiltrate governments, corrupt officials, manipulate the media… They're like snakes living in the shadows—everywhere, doing whatever it takes to achieve their twisted goals."
"What we destroyed today was only one of their countless nests."
Wanda listened quietly, her hands clenching tightly in her lap.
She thought of Strucker's face, and of the years of hatred she and Pietro had been fed.
So… they had been living inside a lie all along.
They were turned into weapons of revenge—never even knowing who their real enemies were.
The cruelest part? Their true enemy had been right in front of them all this time, and they hadn't known.
They'd even believed his words… and done terrible things because of it.
"Then… what can we do?" she finally asked.
That one question made the entire cabin fall silent.
Banner and Blonsky both turned toward the fragile yet determined girl.
Pietro looked up from his new toy, walked over, and gently patted his sister's shoulder.
Tony stared at them, momentarily unsure what to say.
He wanted to tell them they could fight alongside them—but seeing the look in Wanda's eyes, he realized she didn't seem ready for that kind of burden.
Just then, Henry's calm voice broke the silence.
"What can we do?" He pulled the lollipop from his mouth, pointing the stick first at Wanda, then at everyone in the cabin.
"It's simple."
"Drag them out, one by one."
"And then send them to hell—using the methods they know best."
***
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