After obtaining the Tesseract, Axel looked down at himself.
He checked his sweatpants and quickly realized something annoying. With only one pocket, there was no way he could properly carry something as important as the Tesseract.
Axel nodded casually toward the Avengers in front of him.
"I'll send my collection back first. Then we can keep fighting."
The moment he finished speaking, Axel vanished in a burst of flame.
Far away, inside Wayne Manor's underground laboratory, Lex Luthor and Bruce Wayne were studying Tony Stark's Mark VII armor. Axel's sudden appearance startled them both again.
They turned toward him in shock.
Axel looked relaxed. Without ceremony, he tossed the glowing cube toward them.
"You guys read comics, right? Then you know what this thing is."
He grinned.
"Yep, this is the Tesseract from a certain Marvel universe. Also known as the Space Stone. Pretty neat collectible, huh?"
He waved his hand casually.
"Go ahead and store it for me. I still have to go back and mess with my friends over there."
Axel tossed the cube toward Lex Luthor.
But just before Luthor could catch it, Bruce Wayne suddenly stepped forward and grabbed the cube first.
At that same moment, Axel disappeared again in a flash of flame.
Lex Luthor immediately turned toward Bruce and shouted angrily.
"What exactly do you think you're doing?!"
Bruce chuckled softly.
"It's just a toy. The so called Infinity Stones lose their value once they leave their original universe. Compared to the materials in this armor, the cube is practically useless."
Luthor's expression darkened.
"Even so, Axel threw it to me. You snatching it like that, do you think you're the protagonist of this world, taking whatever you want?"
He stepped forward and stared coldly at Bruce.
"Remember something clearly. Axel is the protagonist here. You are not even a supporting character."
Luthor's voice turned colder.
"Personally, I might become the villain of this world someday. But the person qualified to stop me will definitely not be you, Wayne."
He suddenly snatched the Tesseract back from Bruce's hand.
Luthor examined the cube carefully for a moment.
After a few seconds, he clicked his tongue in disappointment and placed the cube into a nearby display case.
"It really is just a boring toy."
He adjusted his gloves calmly.
"I hope next time Axel brings something more useful."
His eyes gleamed with interest.
"For me, only materials that advance evolution have value. If Axel could bring back the base life forms of other civilizations, that would be ideal."
He began pacing slowly.
"Carbon based life, silicon based life, mechanical life forms like the Cybertronians. Hearts, brains, cores, biological structures."
Luthor's voice became excited.
"Only by studying countless evolutionary paths can humanity evolve without walking into extinction."
Meanwhile, back at Stark Tower.
Axel reappeared on the battlefield as if nothing had happened.
Tony Stark looked at him with a serious expression.
"No matter where you hide the Tesseract, we can track its energy signature. If we follow it long enough, we might even locate your base."
Stark pointed at him.
"So if I were you, I wouldn't hide it too far away."
Axel stared at him.
Then he smiled lazily.
"I think everything you just said is bullshit, Shi Da Tuo."
"It's Stark, damn it!"
Tony fired twin laser beams immediately.
The lasers sliced across Axel's body.
His flesh burned away rapidly, yet flames immediately regenerated everything just as fast.
At that moment Thor charged forward with Mjolnir.
He laughed and looked toward Stark.
"What did he call you? Shi Da Tuo? That's actually funny."
"F*ck you, Thor!"
Stark cursed and rushed forward.
His lasers stopped and he slammed his armored fist straight into Axel's face.
Axel caught the punch with one hand.
Then he ripped off an entire section of Stark's armored arm.
Metal screamed as it tore apart.
Thor immediately slammed his hammer forward and knocked Stark away.
"This is not your playground, Shi Da Tuo!"
Thor raised Mjolnir proudly.
"This is a battlefield where real men test their strength!"
"Shit! This is my damn home! My home!"
Stark shouted while rolling across the rooftop.
He struggled to stand again.
Without the protection of the arm armor, his right hand had already shattered. Pain shot through his entire arm and cold sweat poured down his face.
Natasha quickly ran to his side and supported him.
"Tony!"
She tried to calm him down.
"You need another suit. Stop provoking Axel."
She glanced at the battlefield.
"Your armor is far weaker than their bodies. If you want to fight them properly, you need something stronger."
Natasha lowered her voice.
"You need vibranium."
She sighed.
"The last reserve of vibranium that S.H.I.E.L.D. had was used by your father to make Captain America's shield."
She paused.
"But if we search carefully, we might still find a small amount somewhere. You're S.H.I.E.L.D.'s consultant. Fury might approve it."
"F*ck that."
Tony gritted his teeth.
"I don't need Fury to give me anything. If I want something, I'll buy it myself."
He forced himself to move despite the pain and rushed toward the entrance to his lab inside Stark Tower.
He still had two spare Mark VI suits left.
He could change armor two more times.
But Tony knew Natasha was right.
Against Axel, his armor felt fragile.
He needed to push his technology further.
Back on the battlefield, Thor charged toward Axel again.
At the same time Hulk jumped forward.
But before Thor could reach Axel, Hulk suddenly grabbed Thor's ankle.
"Wait! We're teammates! Ah ah ah!"
Thor's words didn't matter.
Hulk spun and threw him across the city like a baseball.
Based on the distance, Thor was probably already outside New York.
Watching that, Natasha rolled her eyes.
Meanwhile Hulk turned and swung a massive fist toward Axel.
Axel licked his lips and smiled.
Then he punched back.
The moment their fists collided, Axel finally felt something he had not experienced in a while.
Bone fracture.
Hulk's strength was clearly greater than Thor's before fully awakening.
Thor still had Mjolnir protecting him. Without the hammer, the gap between the two was enormous.
While enjoying the pain of broken bones, Axel was pushed backward step by step.
Then he suddenly spoke.
"You know something, big guy?"
Flames suddenly swallowed Axel's body.
He disappeared.
Then instantly reappeared behind Hulk.
Axel grabbed Hulk's pants and ripped them completely off.
The underwear followed immediately.
The next second.
"F*ck!!!"
Natasha's eyes widened.
She instantly turned her back.
At the same time she spoke over her communicator to Nick Fury.
"Director, I think Axel is more dangerous than any superhuman we've encountered."
She swallowed nervously.
"I still can't find his bottom line."
She hesitated.
"The only positive thing is that he still seems interested in women. That might be exploitable."
Her voice became uncertain.
"But considering how insane he is, I wouldn't rely on that."
Meanwhile Axel tossed Hulk's underwear into the distance like trash.
He laughed loudly.
"That's right! I've wanted to do this for a long time!"
He pointed at Hulk.
"Why the hell do I have to lose my pants in fights while you get to keep your dignity?"
Axel spread his hands.
"You turn green and triple in size, but somehow your underwear survives?"
He grinned.
"What kind of bullshit is that, Buddy?"
"HULK ANGRY!!!"
Hulk inhaled deeply and slowly turned around.
The rage pouring off him was almost visible.
His body began expanding again.
Muscles grew larger and larger.
Axel suddenly noticed strange bulges appearing from Hulk's back.
They looked like additional arms trying to form.
Axel's scalp tingled.
"Whoa, hold up."
He stared carefully.
"Did I just unlock Four Arm Hulk by stealing your underwear?"
Axel kicked Hulk lightly on the thigh.
"Come on, Buddy. It's just underwear."
He shrugged.
"You saw me lose mine earlier. Now I saw yours. That's called fairness."
"HULK VERY ANGRY!!!"
Hulk lowered his head and suddenly swung his massive arm toward Axel.
Axel flickered sideways and easily dodged the attack.
In the distance, Natasha rolled her eyes again.
Hulk was practically mutating from rage now.
At this point Hulk might be even more dangerous than the Chitauri invasion.
And yet the entire situation still felt absurd.
It was like the world was ending while Axel was busy ruining Hulk's reputation in front of every camera in New York.
Natasha clenched her teeth.
"F*ck!"
Then she shouted toward the battlefield.
"Hulk! Control yourself! Calm down!"