Reed Richards was furious.
Ever since he met Nolan Locke, he had been angry more often than not.
But as a genius, his ingrained disdain for ordinary people meant he rarely resorted to violence unless absolutely necessary.
This time, however
He held back.
Because now was not the time to argue with Nolan Locke.
Unlike Nolan, Reed understood priorities.
Right now, the real problem was dealing with that monster.
Before they could even move out, Johnny Storm, the Human Torch, had already caught up to the giant.
He streaked through the sky, howling with excitement.
Even after all these years with superpowers, Johnny still loved the feeling of tearing through the air at full speed.
Below him, the massive green brute sprinted across the ground, each step spanning more than ten meters.
Behind the monster, several military jeeps roared down the avenue in pursuit.
Johnny's eyes lit up at the sight.
No question about it.
This monster needed to be stopped.
With that thought, Johnny dove straight toward the hulking figure.
Blazing flames crashed down as a confident smile curled across his lips.
No one could withstand his fire.
And it seemed he was right.
Before Johnny even reached him, the green giant raised an arm instinctively, trying to shield himself from the heat.
Useless.
Johnny blasted past him and slammed a flaming punch into his side.
The scorching heat drew a painful roar from the giant.
"Haha!"
Johnny laughed loudly.
This was his power.
The coolest power. The strongest power.
"Big guy, if I were you, I'd surrender right now. And if you've never heard the name Human Torch, then today I'll teach you what the strongest superhero looks like!"
He shouted with boundless confidence.
What Johnny did not realize was that the "stupid big guy" in his eyes was already enraged.
The Hulk had every reason to be angry.
This was a different universe.
In another world, the Hulk had endured countless hardships. At this stage, with his mind still developing, Betty Ross had served as an emotional anchor, guiding him toward gradual change.
But this Hulk had never met Betty Ross.
And without restraint, he was far more savage.
Rage was not a flaw for the Hulk.
Rage was his strength.
At first, he only wanted to escape.
But Johnny had crossed the line.
The Hulk looked up at the Human Torch and leapt.
The ground shattered beneath his feet as he launched himself skyward, the explosive force propelling him forward. Before Johnny could even react, the Hulk slammed into him midair.
The sheer impact sent Johnny reeling, his vision spinning as his breath nearly left his body.
Fortunately, that was when the rest of the Fantastic Four arrived.
Reed Richards stretched his elastic body between buildings, advancing rapidly. Susan Storm flew beside him, her force field carrying her through the air, though her movements were still somewhat unstable.
Ben Grimm could not fly, but when his immense strength was fully unleashed, his speed was terrifying, like a charging armored vehicle.
Seeing Johnny knocked aside, Ben grimaced.
He did not like Johnny much, but this was not the time to hesitate.
With a growl, Ben leapt forward and slammed into the Hulk.
Boom!
The collision between the two titans sent a shockwave rippling outward.
The Hulk was knocked back through the air, with no footing to stabilize himself.
Johnny finally had a chance to recover.
At the same time, Reed Richards closed in.
Even Nolan had to admit that Reed's abilities shone in situations like this.
His elastic body was nearly immune to physical damage.
The Hulk grabbed Reed and smashed him hard into the ground.
Ben rushed in, but even he could not stop the enraged monster.
As the Hulk's anger intensified, his body grew larger, quickly surpassing five meters in height.
Even Nolan, arriving from behind, could not help but feel astonished.
Different universes truly produced different results.
In the prime universe, he had never seen a Hulk this feral.
The Hulk's power scaled inversely with intelligence.
Even at his most mindless, the prime Hulk still had Betty Ross anchoring his emotional limits.
This unrestrained Hulk was terrifying.
The military forces closed in.
At the front of the formation, General Ross watched coldly.
"General Ross, do we engage the Hulk?"
A colonel stepped forward to request orders, his face still pale with lingering fear.
The situation had far exceeded their expectations.
"Hold," General Ross said after a brief pause.
Capturing the Hulk would not be easy.
Besides, this was a good opportunity to assess the Fantastic Four.
As a hardliner within the military, Ross paid close attention to all superpowered individuals.
Still, in his eyes, the Hulk remained the most perfect weapon.
The battle between the Fantastic Four and the Hulk was brutal.
Ben Grimm's clashes with the Hulk alone embodied pure destruction.
In just a few minutes, half a city block was reduced to rubble.
Suddenly, the Hulk charged straight toward Nolan.
He was not targeting Nolan specifically. In fact, he had not even noticed him.
It was pure coincidence.
But Nolan stood there, motionless, as if he had not reacted in time.
Just as the Hulk was about to slam into him, an elongated arm wrapped around the Hulk, followed by a second one. The force staggered the monster, nearly sending him crashing to the ground.
Johnny swooped in again, blasting him with searing flames and forcing the Hulk back a step.
Only then did Reed's head snap back into place.
He looked at Nolan with open mockery.
"So? Still think your scrap metal is useful?"
When Nolan did not answer, Reed opened his mouth to continue sneering.
But the Hulk erupted.
"ROAR!"
With a thunderous howl, Reed was yanked away.
Susan flew over at last, speaking softly to Nolan.
"Don't take it to heart. Reed's mouth… it's always been like that."
Nolan smiled faintly.
"Of course. I know."
This fight was also a test for him.
He wanted to see the Fantastic Four's true combat potential.
Especially Reed Richards.
After all, Reed was the biggest obstacle standing in his way.
At that moment, a proud, unmistakably arrogant voice rang out from behind them.
"Hey! What do you think you're doing?"
Iron Man. Tony Stark.
This was New York. New York's problems rarely unfolded without him.
Even as he spoke, several missiles streaked toward the Hulk.
Boom! Boom!
The explosions drew a roar of pain from the Hulk.
And even greater fury.
The Hulk was furious.
More and more enemies kept showing up.
He only wanted to leave, yet they kept attacking him.
Tony Stark flew over toward Nolan, clearly intrigued by the armor Nolan was wearing.
"What kind of armor is that? You're Nolan Locke, right? If you wanted to talk armor, you could've asked me instead of building something so… awkward."
Even with Nolan's helmet on, identifying him was trivial for JARVIS.
Seeing Tony Stark, Nolan laughed.
He knew it.
In any universe, Iron Man might arrive late, but he never missed the show.
Looking at the Hulk towering over five meters tall, Nolan recalled another world's Tony Stark getting absolutely demolished by a much smaller Hulk.
Grinning, Nolan said, "Actually, I think my armor's pretty good. Yours is the awkward one."
Tony's expression darkened instantly.
"Hey, Nolan Locke, I suggest you think carefully before saying that. My Mark armor is unbeatable."
"Then why don't you test it?" Nolan said, nodding toward the Hulk.
Tony raised an eyebrow.
As it happened, the Hulk was already staring straight at him.
The missile strike had not hurt him, but it had definitely angered him.
Tony was surprised, but still confident.
The Fantastic Four?
Who were they compared to Iron Man?
He was the first superhero in this world, and the strongest.
With that thought, Tony charged straight at the Hulk.
Nolan watched him go, smiling brightly.
"Today's really lively."
Different faces, different lives, yet these people with the same names had nearly identical personalities.
Which meant one thing.
Nolan was really looking forward to watching Tony Stark get completely humiliated.
Eat, sleep, watch Tony Stark get smacked down.
One of life's great pleasures.
Since this universe's Tony Stark was still so innocent, Nolan decided to give him a lesson in how cruel reality could be.
At some point, the Red Queen had already begun recording everything.
Tony had barely flown in.
The Hulk, who had locked onto him, swung a massive hand.
Bang!
Tony flew back even faster than he had arrived.
Nolan strolled over.
Tony Stark looked utterly dazed, still trying to process what had just happened.
JARVIS's warnings blared nonstop.
"Armor integrity compromised. Damage exceeds 37 percent. Recommend immediate retreat…"
"Damn it!" Tony cursed.
Nolan cheerfully showed him the footage he had recorded and politely informed him that it would be archived for future exhibition.
Tony felt like he was going insane.
How could Nolan Locke be this infuriating?
Nolan, of course, felt no guilt at all.
Back when he could not afford to offend Tony Stark, Tony had been just as obnoxious.
Give and take. Fair was fair.
That said…
Nolan was genuinely unsettled.
Tony Stark had been taken out in a single exchange.
This Hulk was absurdly powerful.
And yet, the Fantastic Four had been fighting him this long without showing real fatigue.
That alone was impressive.
But the battle was about to turn.
Up until now, Ben Grimm had been holding the Hulk in check while the others supported him.
As time passed, however, the Hulk's rage continued to grow, and with it, his strength.
Ben was losing control.
Boom!
The Hulk flung Ben away.
Roaring, he charged after him.
Even Reed wrapping around him could not stop his advance.
The Hulk was furious.
And when the Hulk was furious, the consequences were catastrophic.
Today, he was going to smash this rock monster to pieces.
Massive fists crashed down again and again onto Ben's stone head.
In just a few blows, Ben's head was driven into the ground.
If not for his extraordinary durability, his skull would have been shattered.
Johnny rushed in to help.
The heat drew the Hulk's attention, and he charged Johnny, who narrowly dodged.
But it was clear now.
They could not hold the Hulk back.
General Ross issued the attack order.
It did nothing.
Their special weapons, which had once allowed them to chase the Hulk, were smashed apart almost instantly by the enraged monster.
This was bad.
Everyone realized it.
And at that moment, Nolan moved.
Wearing the Thor-class armor, he ran straight toward the battlefield.
"Hey, Nolan Locke, are you trying to get yourself killed?" Tony shouted, gritting his teeth as he struggled to stand.
Reed's face twisted.
They were already stretched to their limits, and now Nolan was charging in to make things worse.
"Get out of here!" Reed roared. "This isn't something you can interfere with!"
He was trying to protect the world.
What was Nolan Locke doing?
Damned troublemaker.
Nolan glanced at him indifferently.
Then they passed each other.
Nolan drew the combat blade from his back.
In that instant, he abandoned all emotion.
Even through the helmet, Reed felt a chill crawl up his spine.
Killing intent could become something tangible.
The next moment, the blade came crashing down on the Hulk.
Nolan had not been able to afford a plasma blade.
But this superalloy weapon was heavy, sharp, and brutal.
Even in his current state, Nolan had to rely on momentum to wield it properly.
It was not fast.
But it was lethal.
Especially against a clumsy opponent like the Hulk.
The Hulk roared, grabbing a military jeep and hurling it toward Johnny.
A vehicle built for warfare looked like a child's toy in his hands.
As the Hulk attacked, Nolan closed the distance.
He twisted his body, power flowing from his legs through his waist, centering his force through his hips. The blade accelerated sharply as he swung it in a full arc.
Nolan shouted, unleashing everything he had.
"Slash!"
Tony Stark stared in shock.
Reed Richards was filled with disdain.
They could not stop this monster.
How could Nolan Locke possibly succeed?
The next instant
The blade struck.
Boom!
A thunderous explosion echoed.
Everyone froze in disbelief.