Leon Ragnell glanced at the helicopters in front of him, then at the tanks encircling them and the array of sonic weapons closing in.
He had to admit: the U.S. in the Marvel world was a hundred times stronger than its counterpart in reality.
The industrial base was intact, and they could churn out all kinds of high-end weaponry.
Unlike the real world's America with its hollowed-out manufacturing.
But whichever world it was, the American Empire stayed just as overbearing as ever.
"Bruce Banner!" a U.S. officer barked through a loudhailer. "You're not getting away. Hands on your head, surrender now!"
He cut a glance at Leon, then added, "Civilians, leave immediately. Otherwise, don't blame us for what happens!"
"Who's actually in charge here? Step forward," Leon said lightly, giving the officer a cool look.
"Who are you?" the officer shot back, voice cold. "Leave now, or we won't be so polite!"
"Playing dumb? Fine—let me jog your memory." Leon's lips curved into a faint, cold smile. He spread his five fingers and clenched the air.
A whole tank suddenly lifted off the ground.
It looked like Magneto controlling metal—
except Leon wasn't controlling the steel. He simply wrapped the tank in ki and picked it up.
Then, under the officer's horrified stare, Leon's fingers tightened ever so slightly.
With a crunching shriek of metal—
—an entire tank crumpled into a solid iron lump.
"Open fire! Open fire!" the officer screamed, voice cracking.
In an instant, a torrential hail of bullets poured toward Leon—missiles, shells, and sonic beams all at once.
A storm of firepower slammed into Leon.
Bruce instinctively squeezed his eyes shut.
It's over!
This kind of barrage would push even the Hulk. He's dead!
Spoken like someone who had no idea how strong the Hulk really was.
This junk wouldn't even trouble old Piccolo at a combat power of two hundred and eighty.
No explosion came. Bruce's eyes snapped open—and he swallowed hard, stunned.
Every bullet and shell hung frozen in midair. As for the sonic emitters, they were already crushed into fist-sized metal nuggets.
"That's it? And you dare bring this out without feeling ashamed?"
Leon's smile sharpened. His five fingers closed.
In a breath, bullets, shells, tanks, helicopters—everything—jerked as if yanked by invisible strings and hurtled toward a single point.
Screams tore the air. Inside the armor and choppers, soldiers were pulped in an instant.
Thud!
A gigantic iron mass crashed to the ground.
Leon stood there without a hair out of place.
The U.S. officer was completely stupefied.
What he'd just witnessed shattered everything he thought he knew.
"Now," Leon asked, eyes on the officer, "are you willing to talk?"
The officer gulped hard, terror flooding his gaze. He stammered, "I—I don't have the authority!"
Just then, a voice crackled out of the officer's radio: "Leon, put down your weapons and surrender. Now!"
"So you are willing to talk." Leon's tone was casual. "Come out and talk face to face."
On the other end was, of course, General Thaddeus Ross. He didn't dare show himself—in fact, he was holed up in a bunker, terrified Leon might rip him in half. He'd watched Leon's battle with Abomination and the Hulk with his own eyes.
It was a total stomp. Absolute domination.
The "humanoid weapon" he'd dreamed of fielding looked like a toy before Leon.
A man like that, if he stood in front of you for real, would kill you without hesitation.
Ross's voice was icy. "First, Leon—disarm. We can still talk this out. We don't want much from you. We only ask that you cooperate with our experiments."
"Cooperate with your experiments? Do you even hear yourself?" Leon's laugh was pure scorn.
"Leon," Ross pressed on, "understand this: as an American cooperating with our research, you'd be performing a great service. Work with us, and you'll be an honored member of the United States."
Leon sneered. "You want to modify my body and dress it up like some noble cause?"
"We only hope you'll cooperate," Ross said. "And do not resist. We have a thousand ways to deal with you. Surrender immediately, or we'll deploy far greater military force against you."
"The Seventh Fleet," Leon drawled. "That should be your strongest formation right now, yes?"
Ross froze. "What?"
Leon slowly spread his fingers. "In five minutes, I'm attacking the Seventh Fleet. You have five minutes to prepare. After that, I'll annihilate it. Your so-called superior force is child's play to me."
Whoosh!
With that, Leon erupted with blinding speed and vanished from sight.
(End of Chapter)
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