Time resumed its normal flow.

As the world snapped back into motion, only four people remained in the clearing.

"ROAR!"

Finding Natasha gone, Hulk panicked instantly. He looked around frantically, his massive head swinging from side to side in a desperate search.

They knew exactly where she was. Alex gave a wry smile. "He really has no patience, does he?"

As he spoke, Alex’s pupils bled into a terrifying crimson—Thermal Vision.

"Found them! You two handle this monster; I’m heading in." With a powerful surge of biomass, Alex kicked off the ground, sprinting toward the woods.

Hulk saw him move and let out a thunderous roar, preparing to give chase.

"Your fight is with us," David barked, stepping directly into Hulk’s path. He unhinged his jaw, chest expanding.

"AAAAHHH!!!"

A wall of ultrasonic sound hit like a tsunami, leveling trees and stripping the earth bare in its wake. As the primary target, Hulk was pushed back, sliding through the dirt while every organ in his body began to vibrate in a lethal resonance. He felt weak, his limbs turning to jelly, his head spinning with a nauseating urge to vomit. His internal organs bucked and throbbed as if they were about to burst.

Standing to the side, John made his move. Frost erupted from his hands, causing the local temperature to plummet instantly. Hulk’s massive frame was coated in a layer of rime ice that thickened by the second until he was physically locked in place.

It didn’t stop there. The extreme cold seeped through his skin, infiltrating his muscles, organs, veins, and fluids—freezing even his individual cells into ice. Both John and David were now Level 6; their powers were dozens of times stronger than during the last time they captured the Hulk.

Hulk was a slow-burn hero—the angrier he got, the stronger he became. But his opponents weren’t giving him the luxury of time to build that rage. By striking with full force from the start, they rendered him a powerless, frozen statue.

"Done! I think our teamwork is getting pretty flawless," David said, exhaling a puff of white mist and shivering as he rubbed his arms.

"I agree," John replied, maintaining the stream of cold to ensure Hulk didn’t get a chance to thaw. "Though aside from you, nobody else seems willing to team up with me."

"No kidding! Your freezing power is a double-edged sword. Except for me, no one wants to stand within ten feet of you." David rolled his eyes, blowing warm air onto his reddened hands. "I should’ve worn a winter coat today."

John gave a helpless, thin smile. The nature of his power was what it was.

"By the way," David said, glancing toward the woods with a peculiar look. "You think A-Train is actually going to... you know, the female agent?"

John’s expression shifted to one of cold disapproval. "Normally, I wouldn’t care. But we are at war. Negligence is unacceptable. If he actually tries it, I won’t let him off easily, regardless of whether the Boss cares or not."

David chuckled. "Is that so? Well, I’m looking forward to the show."

*

The woods.

A-Train found a secluded spot and skidded to a halt, setting Natasha down. She immediately backed against a large tree, drawing her pistols and aiming them with a look of pure terror.

"Heh! Don’t waste your energy. Those toys can’t touch me," A-Train laughed, standing directly in front of the muzzles, completely unconcerned about the bullets.

"What do you want?" Natasha demanded, her voice tight. This man was laughing and joking, showing none of the cold professionalism described in S.H.I.E.L.D.’s files. That look in his eyes... is he really going to...

No, surely not. We’re in the middle of a war!

Using seduction to complete a mission was second nature to Natasha. In the past, she would have accepted—even initiated—the encounter to kill the target at his most vulnerable moment. Against men, a honey trap never went out of style.

But she couldn’t do that now. She and Banner had developed genuine feelings; they had even discussed retiring together once the Joker organization was gone. Even under duress, she refused to let this happen. She looked at A-Train with a gaze filled with undisguised disgust and loathing.

"Hey, that expression... it’s really pissing me off," A-Train’s smile faded.

"Hmph!" Natasha tightened her grip on her gun to steady her nerves. "Isn’t that exactly what you’re thinking?"

"I won’t deny I’m interested in you, but don’t look down on me!" A-Train snapped, feeling insulted. "This is a war zone. I’m not some low-life whose brain is in his pants. And this place? If it were up to me, I’d wait until after the war and ask the Boss to hand you over to me as my personal prisoner."

Hearing this, Natasha breathed a secret sigh of relief. Regardless of the eventual outcome, she wouldn’t be humiliated by him right now.

"However..." A-Train tilted his head, a wicked grin returning. "I just changed my mind."

"What!"

Natasha’s heart hammered, and her finger pulled the trigger instinctively.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

The moment the bullets left the barrel, A-Train engaged his power. Time froze. Natasha emptied the magazine, but the bullets moved like tortoises. A-Train reached out, plucking the rounds from the air and letting them sit in his palm. "I told you, you can’t hit me. Why don’t you believe me?"

Natasha hurled the empty gun at him and raised her arm. Her wrist-guards were equipped with stingers that fired high-voltage electrodes. They were effective against normal criminals, but useless here.

"You said it yourself—it’s a war zone," Natasha said, trying to use her words as a weapon since her guns had failed. "I didn’t think a high ranking member of the Joker organization would go back on his word so fast."

"I did say that," A-Train said, closing the distance. "But the way you just looked at me... it really burned."

"Is my skin color that revolting to you? Is being white something that makes you so superior?" His chest heaved with rage as he roared the last sentence.

"No, you misunderstand, I wasn’t looking at your skin—" Natasha tried to explain, suddenly remembering a key detail from the files. A-Train was pathologically sensitive to racial issues. He could detect even a sliver of contempt in a person’s gaze like a high-precision sensor. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

"Misunderstand?" A-Train tore off his top. "I’m sick of that word! If you’ve read my file, you know it’s never a misunderstanding."

"No! I truly don’t care about your skin! My boss is black!" Natasha backed away, trying to use Nick as a shield.

A-Train was deaf to her pleas. "Maybe you didn’t mean it, maybe you didn’t even realize it... because that prejudice is buried deep in your white genes."

He threw his jacket to the ground, his teeth clenched in a vengeful snarl. "Since you’re so proud of your skin, today I’m going to make sure I’m the one who stains it!"

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You can read advance Chapters and view R-18 images of the characters on pat reon page.

pat reon.com/GreenBlue17

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