{Chapter: 271 Chaos Over Kolkata Banner's Hatred!!}
Two missiles shot through the turbulent sky like blazing comets, locked onto their respective targets—one for William, the other for the Hulk. The roar of the engines echoed across the heavens, accompanied by a mechanical whistle of incoming death. Civilians below, dazed and traumatized, glanced up with terrified eyes, unsure of whether hope or further horror approached.
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Back on the ground, Natasha swerved through rubble-filled roads as she passed through them. She could already see the skyline darkened by smoke and flame. Fires blazed on every side. Civilians ran in every direction. Sirens wailed. Entire neighborhoods were blacked out.
She slammed the brakes, jumped from the vehicle, and sprinted to the nearest open plaza to get a better view.
In the distance, two shapes moved — one glowing with magic and fury, the other a green titan of rage.
"Oh God," Natasha whispered. "They're tearing the city apart…"
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Far away high above, William hovered effortlessly in the air, a smirk stretching across his face as he watched the missiles come closer. He crossed his arms as if this was all a farce, a poorly staged attempt at containment.
"You dare to use such toys against me?" he scoffed with amused contempt, tilting his head. "Rubbish. Pathetic."
With a flash of gold energy and a twist of space, William clenched one hand forward—and in that instant, as if time bent to his will, the missile meant to destroy him was no longer soaring through the air, but locked in his grasp.
His figure blurred. He vanished in a streak of gold.
A fighter pilot, one of India's finest, barely had time to blink before William reappeared above his canopy like a god of death. The pilot's eyes widened beneath his helmet; his trembling hand reached for the ejection lever.
"Look at you. You're frozen with fear… allow me to help." William's voice was almost gentle as he pushed the missile through the shattered canopy, letting it fall into the cockpit like a gift of fire.
"Wait, no—!"
BOOM!
A thunderous explosion shattered the air, bursting into a brilliant bloom of red and orange. The fighter jet was consumed instantly, reduced to flaming metal that rained over the city below. The shockwave rattled nearby buildings, shattering glass and toppling signs, sending a fresh wave of panic into the fleeing crowd.
On the ground, the Hulk looked up just in time to see the explosion. His eyes burned with primal rage. With a feral roar, he bent his knees and leapt into the air—his massive frame launching like a ballistic missile—before landing with earth-shaking force onto another fighter jet. The pilot barely had time to scream.
BAM! BAM! BAM!
The Hulk's enormous fists came down again and again, smashing through reinforced alloy as if it were paper. With a final crushing blow, he ripped the cockpit apart, sending the remains of the aircraft spiraling down in flames.
One after another, the Indian Air Force's defense efforts were dismantled. Fighter jets exploded midair or crashed violently into the concrete jungle below. Fire bloomed across the city as flaming wreckage tumbled through traffic, crushing vehicles and igniting gas lines.
More than a dozen aircraft were lost within minutes. Sirens wailed, citizens screamed, and the city trembled beneath the wrath of two unstoppable forces.
From below, the Hulk picked up a small car like it was a pebble and hurled it skyward at William.
A golden shimmer flashed in William's eyes.
ZZZZT—BOOM!
The car disintegrated midair in a burst of molten steel and fire, reduced to sparks and twisted debris. William laughed as if all of this was merely sport.
"Hahaha! Hulk, keep playing your game. I'm done here." William's laughter echoed through the air like a mad god. "Let Banner wake up to the truth... Let him suffer. After all, a wound to the soul is always the most painful."
And with that, he vanished—a shimmer of light and nothing more.
The sky fell silent for a moment.
The Hulk skidded to a halt, confusion flickering in his wild eyes. He sniffed the air and scanned the horizon, but the scent was gone. The target had vanished.
"ROAAAAR!" he howled to the heavens, punching his chest with both fists. Dust rose from his body like a battle drum echoing across the devastated skyline.
Frustrated beyond control, the Hulk turned to the city below. With no foe in sight, his rage searched for a new outlet—and Kolkata was helplessly in his path.
His massive feet stomped through a market street, toppling what little remained standing. Vendors' carts were reduced to splinters, awnings torn like tissue. He roared again and lifted a broken light pole, swinging it like a club into a nearby building.
Cracks spread across the building's surface before the top two floors collapsed inward.
Then—a voice.
A voice that cut through the madness like a shard of glass.
"Is this what you want? How long are you going to destroy everything?!" cried a woman's voice from behind.
The Hulk turned, his chest heaving.
It was Natasha.
She stood tall amidst the rubble, dust coating her armor, a mixture of exhaustion and defiance in her expression. Her eyes met the Hulk's—firm, but not accusing. Her voice trembled with raw emotion.
"Look around you," she said. "This isn't the answer. Is this who you are?"
The Hulk's wild snarl trembled. His massive fists clenched and unclenched. A spark of clarity flickered in his emerald eyes.
"Roar..." he growled—softer this time.
Then came the change.
His muscles began to shrink. The green faded into pale flesh. Bones realigned, posture shrank, and before long, Dr. Bruce Banner knelt amidst the wreckage—naked except for shredded shorts, covered in blood, and ash.
He fell to his knees.
Around him, the city smoldered. Sirens blared in the distance. A child's cry rang out faintly in the smoky air.
Banner's gaze swept over the ruins—the broken homes, the crushed cars, the flames. The sheer magnitude of destruction hit him like a flood.
Tears filled his eyes.
"I… I didn't want this," he whispered. "I never wanted this. Why? Why does it always end like this?!" He screamed at the sky, pounding his fists into the broken pavement. "AHHHHHH!"
His voice cracked under the weight of his grief and regret.
Natasha approached slowly, her expression softened. She knelt beside him and gently placed a hand on his shoulder.
"It's not your fault."
Banner didn't look at her. "It is my fault. If I weren't the Hulk, none of this would have happened. I'm a monster. A walking bomb waiting to go off."
"No," Natasha said firmly. "William did this. He used your pain. He triggered your transformation. You didn't choose this."
At the mention of the name, something shifted in Banner. His fingers curled into fists.
"William…" he growled.
Natasha met his eyes. "If you want justice—if you want to stop him before more lives are ruined—you'll need help."
Banner looked up, eyes burning with a mix of anguish and vengeance. "I want to rip him apart."
"Then come with me," she said. "SHIELD is mobilizing. Only with our resources can you get close to him again. Help us stop him… and maybe, just maybe, you'll find peace in the process."
Banner nodded slowly. His jaw clenched.
"I'll do it," he said. "For them."
Together, they stood amid the smoke, the ruins of Kolkata stretching far and wide around them. Somewhere in the world, William was watching. Waiting. Laughing.
But the war was not over.
And Bruce Banner had just chosen to fight.
*****
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