Seeing the Hulk suddenly collapse to the ground and begin to revert to his human form, everyone present was stunned and utterly bewildered.
They had no idea what had happened—they had only seen 2B slash the Hulk with blinding speed.
Even more shocking was the fact that her blade, the Miao sword, had actually cut through the Hulk's body, despite having struck him just once.
Given the Hulk's extraordinary durability—capable of withstanding direct artillery fire—it seemed utterly impossible for him to drop like he'd been electrocuted.
The sheer absurdity of the scene was comparable to the Chinese national football team suddenly winning the World Cup!
"It's fake! It has to be fake! They're faking it!!!"
This became the prevailing thought among the onlookers. They couldn't conceive of any other explanation.
A green-skinned behemoth who could tank explosions without flinching was now lying motionless on the ground, felled by a woman's longsword.
How could this be?
Unless the blade carried some hidden power—something beyond brute force.
That suspicion only deepened when they recalled 2B's cryptic countdown: "It's only five seconds. Nothing special."
At the time, it had sounded almost mocking—but now, in hindsight, it made a chilling kind of sense.
Still, none of them could have guessed the truth.
2B, for her part, was completely unaware—and utterly uninterested—in the wild theories swirling through the crowd.
The reason she had incapacitated the Hulk in just five seconds had nothing to do with her own strength or the sharpness of her sword.
While she might have been able to defeat—or even kill—the Hulk using an adamantium dagger, that would have been a long, grueling battle.
What she'd used instead was far more efficient: a super-potent neurotoxin provided by Loren.
Just one microgram of that toxin was enough to knock out an ordinary adult.
The Hulk's physiology was, of course, anything but ordinary—but even his immense resilience couldn't withstand a direct neural assault.
In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Grandmaster had once used a similar neurotoxin to subdue gladiators on Sakaar—including the Hulk himself. Even Thor, the God of Thunder, had fallen under its influence.
This class of toxin acted directly on the central nervous system, taking effect almost instantly.
Even someone as powerful as the Hulk couldn't remain conscious for more than a few seconds once exposed.
And in this case, 2B hadn't used a microgram—she'd injected an entire syringe's worth.
It was like using a cannon to swat a mosquito.
That single dose could have incapacitated thousands of people.
Yet she'd used it all on the Hulk alone—an act of staggering overkill.
Fortunately, his enhanced physiology prevented a fatal outcome. Instead of dying, he merely lost consciousness and reverted to Bruce Banner.
Had he been any less resilient, the dose might well have killed him.
Now that the Hulk was neutralized, 2B turned her attention to the Abomination.
The creature, once brimming with arrogance, now cowered under the weight of her presence. The sheer pressure radiating from 2B left it too intimidated to make a move.
Seeing 2B charging toward him again, he didn't even think twice before turning and fleeing as fast as a mouse spotting a cat.
The fact that the Abomination had fled without a fight shocked everyone present—especially General Ross, whose face was etched with disbelief.
No one knew Blonsky better than he did—how reckless, how belligerent he was!
He'd dared to challenge the Hulk even when he still retained his humanity. Later, in his obsession to become stronger and defeat the Hulk, he hadn't hesitated to transform himself into the grotesque creature he was now.
He now possessed strength capable of contending with the Hulk—this was his peak.
It was unbelievable that he'd been so terrified of a woman that he'd fled without throwing a single punch. Ross wouldn't have believed it if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes.
Amid his shock, however, he also felt a surge of intense curiosity about the mysterious 2B—an entity even more extraordinary than the Hulk, unlike anything he'd ever encountered.
If he'd known about her sooner—if he'd been able to control her—the Hulk would probably have been captured long ago.
And if that had happened, none of this might have occurred today.
The thought of his daughter sent a dull ache through his chest, followed by a wave of overwhelming hatred.
He no longer wanted to capture the Hulk.
He'd changed his mind—he wanted him dead.
With that resolve burning in his mind, he snatched a gun from a fallen soldier and strode toward Bruce Banner, who had reverted to human form.
But before he could reach Bruce, Nick Fury struck him unconscious from behind with a baton.
"Natasha, get Bruce back to base immediately and keep him under close watch. This guy's extremely dangerous."
"Coulson, take General Ross back to his headquarters right away. Don't let him do anything reckless—that man's far too hot-headed."
Now that the Hulk had been neutralized, Fury considered the mission a complete success. It was S.H.I.E.L.D.'s turn to take control.
"Yes, sir!"
At Fury's command, Natasha and Coulson sprang into action.
At the same moment, Fury relayed new orders through his communicator to Captain America and Tony Stark.
"Tony, Steve—you two see if you can stop that woman. That silver-haired monster has combat power on par with the Hulk."
"If we can recruit her, she'd be a tremendous asset to the Avengers."
"What? You want me to stop her?" Tony shot back. "Are you kidding? My current armor won't hold up—she'll cut me down before I can say 'repulsor.' I need to wait for my anti-silver-haired-woman armor to finish development first!"
"You should just let 'America's Ass' handle it! He can keep her busy all day!" Tony added, shaking his head at the very idea. The memory of being utterly dominated by 2B flooded back, and he had zero desire to get anywhere near her again.
Hearing Tony call him "America's Ass" and deliberately provoke him, Steve shot Tony a disapproving glare.
"It's 'spend the whole day,' not 'do something all day.' Your dark humor is really grating—and I don't want to hear it a third time," Steve said flatly. "Otherwise, I'll just rip that metal shell off you and turn you back into an ordinary guy."
Despite their banter, both men turned their attention to 2B upon receiving Fury's order.
Captain America acted first, grabbing a manhole cover from the street and hurling it fiercely toward her.
At that exact moment, 2B caught up to the Abomination and drove her katana through his legs, sending him crashing to the ground in agony.
She was about to finish him off—when the manhole cover Captain America had thrown came hurtling toward her at high speed.
Sensing the movement behind her, 2B spun around, raised her blade, and effortlessly cleaved the cover in two.
She frowned slightly and locked eyes with Captain America.
"You want to die too?!"
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