As the saying goes, don't hit someone in the face, and don't insult what truly hurts them.
Tony Stark deliberately kept pressing on Homelander's sore spot.
Homelander's expression darkened even further, but he didn't continue trading barbs—because the light screen had begun playing the next segment of footage.
The Hulk was restrained within a special device, flanked by two high-output generators. Any sign of movement would immediately be met with electroshock treatment.
David Banner, his hands cuffed, was also seated between the generators. Clearly, the military had no idea that he, too, possessed superpowers. They paid little attention to the frail-looking old man.
At last, father and son came face to face.
Bruce Banner was deeply despondent. He even felt that he should never have been born in the first place.
Perhaps it would have been better if this so-called father had killed him back then—at least his mother wouldn't have died because of it…
He neither acknowledged the man before him as his father, nor did he wish to see him again.
David Banner, however, seized the opportunity to provoke him, attempting to awaken the Hulk within.
He made no effort to hide his intentions. "I need your power. With it, I can wipe out all those hateful bastards outside! When that happens, the whole world will be under my—our—control!"
"Not a chance!"
Bruce Banner rejected him without hesitation, doing everything he could to suppress the rage in his heart and deny David what he wanted.
But David still found his opening.
He deliberately bit into the generator's power cables. Seeing this, General Ross immediately ordered the current switched on.
Crackling explosions rang out as high-voltage electricity surged into David Banner's body. Amid agonized screams, he transformed first—becoming a towering being of living electricity.
The external stimulation also pushed Bruce Banner past his limit. The rage inside him could no longer be contained, and the Hulk began to awaken.
Outside the screen, Tony Stark frowned. "This guy can absorb any kind of energy? An electricity form… reminds me of one of Spider-Man's enemies."
Natasha Romanoff said quietly, "At this point, Bruce, your father never should've been released. He's brought you nothing but pain."
Bruce Banner's face was expressionless, but his eyes were already bloodshot and blazing red.
Back in the footage, David Banner, now an electric being, dragged the Hulk to a rocky shoreline by the sea. He then absorbed the power of the rocks themselves, transforming into a stone giant.
As the father and son clashed violently, General Ross was making preparations of his own—planning to deploy a gamma missile to deal with the pair.
At this moment, the video paused, and a new question appeared:
[Who killed David Banner?]
[A: The military
B: Bruce Banner
C: The military and the Hulk together
D: David Banner himself]
Upon seeing the question, all the players—including Homelander—instinctively turned to look at Bruce Banner.
Bruce remained calm and shrugged. "Looks like I won the final battle."
"Uh… Bruce," Tony Stark said, giving him a strange look, "I admire how calm and optimistic you're being, but don't you think this future is… a little too cruel to you?"
Tony had once thought another Bruce's past was tragic enough—watching his parents die as a child. Compared to this Bruce, however, that tragedy seemed mild.
Bruce Banner replied evenly, "What you said earlier was right. If this is fate, I can't escape it. No matter what… I can't acknowledge him as my father."
Natasha Romanoff sighed. "Thinking that way might make it easier for you, Bruce. Don't be too pessimistic. In my world, everyone I knew is already gone."
Erik scoffed. "Comparing who had it worse—does that really make you feel better? Enough of that. Face reality and focus on the question. Bruce, how would you answer?"
Bruce Banner was silent for a moment before saying, "If it were me, I'd choose between A and C."
Even though he didn't recognize David Banner as his father and wouldn't grieve for his death, if given the choice, he didn't want to be the one who killed him.
That was only human. Not everyone could bring themselves to kill their own flesh and blood.
Tony Stark pondered this. "That makes sense. I think C is the most likely answer."
As he spoke, he subtly winked at Natasha.
Clearly, Iron Man was trying to mislead. His true inclination wasn't C at all—but D.
This question was very similar to the one about Glenn's death earlier. Glenn had effectively died by his own actions—so wouldn't David Banner meet the same end?
Tony thought the odds were quite high.
From the earlier footage, it was clear that while the Hulk was violent and destructive, he showed restraint. Aside from Glenn and a few military personnel, he hadn't killed innocents.
Even Glenn, strictly speaking, hadn't been killed by the Hulk—he'd been killed by his own stupidity.
By that logic, the Hulk was unlikely to kill his own biological father. As for the military—they wanted to, but wanting to didn't mean they could succeed.
As the players debated internally, the countdown began.
Though the question was far from easy, everyone hit the buzzer immediately.
This time, the right to answer went to Bruce Banner. After brief hesitation, he chose A.
Erik Lehnsherr glanced at him and chose B.
Homelander hesitated, then noticed that Tony Stark and Natasha Romanoff both selected D. After a quick calculation, he followed suit.
Tony frowned. "Homelander, can't you show a little backbone? Do you have to copy us every time?"
"Copy you?" Homelander snapped back. "I figured it out myself! Tony Stark, if anyone's shameless, it's you. You said you'd choose C—so why did you pick D?"
Tony rolled his eyes.
'This guy really is hard to fool.'
The countdown ended, and the correct answer was announced:
[Player Bruce Banner answered incorrectly and loses 4 points.]
[Player Erik Lehnsherr answered incorrectly and loses 1 point.]
[Congratulations to player Tony Stark, player Natasha Romanoff, and player Homelander for answering correctly! Each gains 1 point.]
....
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