Kolkata, India.
The hot and humid air was filled with the smell of spices, dust, and Ganges water.
It was like a vast net, enveloping this crowded and chaotic city.
In the narrow alleys, auto-rickshaws constantly blared their horns, while herds of cows leisurely roamed the streets, along with various 'hand-grabbed pancakes'.
Faded billboards and ubiquitous shrines.
All of it spoke of the city's ancient and modern interplay.
Leon Odinson appeared silently on the rooftop of a residential building.
He didn't use a portal; a mere thought had transported him halfway across the Earth.
Space was like his own front door to him, allowing him to enter and exit at will.
This was the result of his divine power reaching a certain level and his mastery of spatial magic.
Even Thor, as powerful as he was, couldn't do it, simply because he never properly studied magic, his mind filled only with thoughts of killing.
He wore a black short-sleeved shirt on his upper body and black cargo pants on his lower body, a habit from his previous life, making work convenient.
Of course, the main reason was that it looked cool.
His attire was out of place with the surrounding environment, yet it didn't attract anyone's attention.
He stood there quietly, looking down at the surging crowds below, his eyes devoid of pity or disgust, only a calm indifference.
The arrogance of the Sun god lies in its equal illumination of palaces and slums, showing no favoritism to either.
In Leon Odinson's eyes, the chaos of Kolkata was no different in essence from the luxury of Manhattan; both were merely different landscapes in his garden.
His perception quickly spread out, instantly filtering out the noisy heartbeats and thoughts of millions of life forms.
Finally, it locked onto a small clinic hidden deep within the slum.
The violent gamma energy was like a bonfire in the dark night; although the other party tried its best to suppress it, in Leon Odinson's perception, it was as clear as a lighthouse.
It did not belong to this World; it was an unbalanced power.
Of course, it was also a flaw.
Leon Odinson smiled.
He liked flaws, because flaws meant they could be sculpted.
He stepped off the rooftop, his body phasing through layers of buildings like a phantom, landing in the clinic's back alley.
Inside the small clinic, Bruce Banner was injecting medicine into a feverish little girl, his forehead covered in sweat.
His movements were gentle, but his eyes constantly showed fatigue.
He was like a man walking a tightrope, constantly battling the Beast within him.
He dared not get angry, dared not get excited, and dared not have too many emotional fluctuations.
He exiled himself to the corners of the World, seeking self-redemption by helping others.
Or rather, self-imprisonment.
He hadn't had a good night's sleep in a long time.
"It's alright, child, you'll be fine soon," Banner comforted the little girl in halting local dialect, forcing a gentle smile.
The moment he withdrew the syringe, his back suddenly stiffened.
He froze.
He hadn't heard any sound, hadn't felt any movement.
But he knew there was another person in the room.
This was his heightened awareness after gaining the Hulk.
It was like a rabbit suddenly realizing a lion had silently appeared behind him.
Banner's body tensed instantly, his heart began to race, he could feel it.
The other guy was awakening within him, letting out an dissatisfied (displeased) growl.
"Don't come out… please…" Banner muttered to himself, cold sweat trickling down his temples.
He slowly turned around.
Then, he saw Leon Odinson.
The other person was a man, standing in the doorway, leaning against the doorframe, with a gentle smile on his face, as if he were just a tourist passing by.
But the other person's eyes were constantly scrutinizing him.
"Bruce Banner, right?" Leon Odinson chuckled softly.
"It's a pleasure to meet you."
Banner understood; he had been found!
General Ross? S.H.I.E.L.D.? Or some organization he didn't know about?
His first reaction was to flee.
He abruptly pushed away the table in front of him and turned to jump out the back window.
However, as he took a step, a hand gently rested on his shoulder.
The hand wasn't heavy, but for some reason, he found himself unable to move.
"Don't be nervous, Dr.," Leon Odinson's voice remained gentle.
"I am not your enemy."
"Who are you?!" Banner took a deep breath, trying to steady his emotions.
He could feel his body changing, a faint green beginning to show beneath his skin.
"Who am I? I am The Collector who is very interested in your other side," Leon Odinson's smile became playful.
"Roar!"
Banner could no longer suppress the Hulk; his body began to swell, muscles bulging, clothes tearing apart piece by piece.
A violent aura instantly filled the small clinic.
The little girl who had been treated behind them shrieked in terror, and her parents also collapsed to the ground, frightened.
The Hulk, had awakened.
The green giant quickly turned around, his ferocious face filled only with rage, and his massive fist, carrying destructive power, smashed fiercely towards Leon Odinson's face.
The surrounding air was compressed, emitting an uncomfortable roar.
However, Leon Odinson remained standing, his smile unchanged.
Indeed, he did nothing but calmly watch the rapidly approaching fist.
"Quiet," he said.
Just two short words.
There was no Earth-shattering energy burst, no World-destroying outpouring of divine power.
The Hulk's fist stopped abruptly less than a centimeter from Leon Odinson's nose.
The violent power instantly vanished into thin air.
The anger on the Hulk's face froze.
His eyes became clear, and a little confused.
He couldn't understand what had happened, only felt that he wasn't so angry anymore.
The Hulk looked down at his fist, suspended in mid-air, still unable to comprehend.
"That's better."
Leon Odinson extended his index finger and gently touched the Hulk's forehead.
Buzz!
The Hulk's massive body seemed to be soothed.
Then, to everyone's astonished gaze, his body began to shrink rapidly, the green skin faded, and the bulging muscles dissipated.
In just a few short seconds, the Hulk transformed back into the slender Bruce Banner.
Banner collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath, drenched in cold sweat.
He looked at Leon Odinson with confusion.
He had spent years, trying every method, yet couldn't control the Hulk.
But in front of him, it was so simple? This was a good thing!
"What did you do?" Banner thought for a moment, then asked.
"Simple, I just calmed him down," Leon Odinson shrugged.
He crouched down, looking at Banner, who was sitting on the ground, at eye level.
"Now, Dr., can we have a good talk?" Leon Odinson's smile was still gentle, but in Banner's eyes, it was like seeing a savior… Half an hour later, peace returned to the clinic.
The couple had long since left with their child, expressing their gratitude profusely, and even kowtowed to Leon Odinson several times before leaving, as if worshipping a god.
Banner, having changed into a clean shirt, sat on a simple wooden chair, holding a cup of hot tea that Leon Odinson had conjured up effortlessly.
He still hadn't recovered from the shock.
"So," Banner finally mustered the courage to ask.
"Who exactly are you? And what do you want?"
"Leon Odinson," Leon Odinson said calmly.
Banner paused, then tentatively asked.
"Leon Odinson? Isn't that the Sun god's name? You know, the one from Norse mythology…"
Leon Odinson smiled without speaking.
Silence was an admission.
Banner was skeptical but still pressed, "Then what do you want?"
"I want your power, Dr. No, to be precise, the Hulk's power."
Banner's face instantly turned pale: "You want to turn him into a weapon?"
"No," Leon Odinson said, shaking his head with a smile.
"A weapon? That's too low-level. I just think it's a waste to have the Hulk hidden in a slum like this."
He stood up and slowly walked in front of Banner, looking down at him.
"You fear him, you suppress him, you try to eliminate him. But you've never thought of understanding him, of controlling him."
"The Hulk's power comes from anger, from emotion; this is a very powerful force. But you only treat it as a curse."
Banner's lips moved, but he couldn't find words to refute.
Because, what Leon Odinson said was all true.
"I can help you, Banner," Leon Odinson's voice became seductive.
"I can teach you how to coexist with him, how to guide his power, or rather, how to make him a part of you, to be controlled by you at will, and to be his strongest form."
.....
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