No matter what Karl said, Hulk simply ignored him.
Even though he couldn't actually hit Karl, he kept throwing wild punches anyway.
What if one of them landed?
As a result, the scene became rather ridiculous:
Karl stood there talking nonstop, Hulk swung his fists like a maniac, and Wong watched from the side trying not to laugh.
Eventually, Karl's patience ran out.
"Enough!"
"Wanda, restrain him."
Wanda waved her hand.
Scarlet chains of soul energy materialized before her and shot forward, wrapping themselves around Hulk's body.
The harder Hulk struggled, the tighter the chains became.
When it came to dealing with souls, Wanda could confidently claim second place—and no one else would dare claim first.
Not even the Sorcerer Supreme.
After all, dark magic specialized in manipulating souls.
The Darkhold contained countless soul-related spells, and these chains were merely one example.
Hulk quickly realized something was wrong.
The more he struggled, the tighter the chains became.
He wasn't stupid.
So he finally stopped resisting.
"Alright, Hulk."
"I brought you out because we need your help fighting Thanos."
"Nobody is trying to hurt you."
Karl lowered his voice.
He knew Hulk had the mentality of a child, so patience was the only option.
"Hulk no want come out..."
"Hulk can't smash purple guy..."
Hulk's voice was deep and rough, but his tone sounded exactly like a frightened child.
The three immediately understood.
Hulk wasn't angry.
He was scared.
Thanos had traumatized him.
"Before, you couldn't beat him because you were alone."
"But now you have us."
"We're your friends."
"How about we help you smash that purple guy together?"
Karl pointed toward Wong and Wanda.
Hulk looked at them.
Then he looked around at the frozen Avengers nearby.
Finally, he shook his head.
"Banner not like Hulk..."
"Hulk hate Banner..."
So that was the real issue.
Hulk had always known Bruce disliked him.
After all, Bruce had spent years trying to get rid of him.
Every time Bruce attempted some creative new method of suicide, Hulk had been the one forced to save him.
"Things are different now."
"Bruce just didn't understand you before."
"Now he does."
"Now you can be friends."
Karl felt like he was babysitting.
With children, there were only two approaches:
Either scare them.
Or coax them.
Since the first option clearly wasn't working, he could only continue talking.
The core issue, however, was Bruce.
What Bruce thought of Hulk mattered more than anything else.
Because the two shared the same body.
Everything Bruce felt, Hulk knew.
Hulk shook his head again.
"Hulk hate Banner..."
Karl rolled his eyes.
Just what exactly had Bruce done over the years to make Hulk hold such a grudge?
"Listen, Hulk."
"Earth is facing a huge crisis right now."
"You and Bruce need to let go of the past."
"How about this?"
"I'll let Bruce talk to you personally."
"What do you think?"
Karl sighed.
As the saying went, the person who tied the knot had to be the one to untie it.
Only Bruce could solve this.
Hulk remained silent.
He neither agreed nor refused.
That was promising.
Karl immediately pressed the advantage.
"I know a little about what happened between you and Bruce."
"I'll have him apologize."
"Maybe the two of you can become friends."
"First, go back into your body."
"Then I'll send Bruce to talk to you."
Hulk still said nothing.
But his actions spoke for him.
He was already trying to climb back into Bruce's body.
The only thing stopping him was Wanda's chains.
"Let him go, Wanda."
"Let him and Bruce talk things out."
Wanda released the chains and guided Hulk's soul back into his body.
The frozen world instantly resumed moving.
Other than Karl, Wong, and Wanda, nobody realized anything had happened.
To everyone else, only a single second had passed.
After Hulk returned to Bruce's body, Karl explained everything.
Wanda then helped Bruce locate Hulk's consciousness deep within his soul, allowing the two to communicate directly.
As one of their strongest combatants, Hulk was indispensable in the coming battle against Thanos.
Everyone returned to their respective tasks.
T'Challa instructed Okoye to escort Bruce to a secluded cave where he could speak with Hulk without interruption.
---
Karl walked over to Wong.
"You found the coordinates?"
Using the six bronze artifacts, Wong and the other sorcerers had finally located Titan's node within the Mystic Web.
A portal could be opened at any moment.
Wong nodded.
"We can open it anytime."
"However, I can't accompany you to Titan."
"I need to stay here and maintain the formation."
There was no helping it.
The massive array beneath their feet required constant upkeep.
Wong feared that if it collapsed, Strange might lose the ability to open a return portal to Earth.
After all, Strange was still far from reaching the level of the Ancient One.
He couldn't casually open interstellar portals across such vast distances.
"That's fine."
Karl patted him on the shoulder.
"You stay here and keep everything stable."
"Whether we can get home afterward depends entirely on you."
After all, they weren't interested in buying one-way tickets.
Earth's technology still couldn't build a proper interstellar spacecraft.
And even if they commandeered Quill's ship, it wouldn't have enough room for everyone.
They could try contacting Yondu for pickup, but nobody knew how long that would take.
A short while later, Bruce returned under Okoye's escort.
He still looked like his usual skinny self.
But the troubled expression he'd worn for days was gone.
His face looked calm and relaxed.
"Well?"
Everyone immediately gathered around him.
Ignoring Karl's family and the absent Thor, Hulk was arguably the Avengers' strongest fighter.
Bruce nodded.
"No problem."
"Hulk and I talked."
"We've reached an understanding."
Everyone visibly relaxed.
Nobody asked for details.
If Bruce said it was settled, that was enough.
---
"Everyone."
"I'm opening the portal now!"
Wong stood in the center of the formation alongside the other sorcerers.
Around them, dozens of mages sat cross-legged, continuously channeling magical power into the six bronze cauldrons.
As Wong and the others cast together, sparks erupted into the air.
A massive portal slowly opened.
---
Titan
Tony and Quill's group were still discussing their battle plan when Strange suddenly sensed a disturbance in space.
"Wait."
"He's here."
"Stick to the plan."
Tony quickly turned toward Quill.
Quill nodded.
Everyone immediately scattered and hid according to their prearranged positions.
Sure enough—
Blue energy appeared.
A swirling vortex opened.
Thanos stepped out.
His towering figure emerged from the portal as he surveyed the landscape.
Titan was long dead.
No signs of life remained.
Everywhere lay ruined buildings and shattered cities.
A once-great civilization reduced to rubble.
Destroyed by Thanos's own hand.
Before he could dwell on the sight, Strange's voice echoed from behind him.
"Thanos."
"Your reputation suits you."
Thanos turned around.
Strange sat atop a pile of ruins on a nearby staircase.
There wasn't the slightest trace of fear on his face.
"It seems the people I sent to Earth are dead."
Thanos looked calmly at him.
He had dispatched two teams to retrieve the Infinity Stones.
The team searching for the Mind Stone had suffered one death and one serious injury.
The team pursuing the Time Stone had disappeared entirely.
And now the Earthling carrying the Time Stone stood before him.
There was only one possible conclusion.
The agents he had sent were dead.
Strange said nothing.
The answer was already obvious.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For 20 advanced chapters, visit my Patreon:
Patreon - Twilight_scribe1
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~