The Arctic is located at the opposite end of the Earth from the Antarctic.
It is one of the coldest regions in the world, with temperatures perpetually below freezing. The lowest recorded temperature can reach -59°C, although even lower temperatures have been recorded, such as -70°C in Verkhoyansk, Siberia, and -62°C in Prospect Creek, Alaska.
Except for researchers, very few people venture into this inhospitable zone.
Yet today, someone has entered.
His name is Bruce Banner. At this moment, Bruce Banner is wearing a somewhat shabby down jacket, his face is full of fatigue, and he holds a gun in his hand. He kneels at the edge of a massive iceberg, surrounded by an endless expanse of white. Below the cliff, one can see unfrozen rivers.
Bruce Banner looks at the revolver in his hand.
His face is full of bitterness.
An experiment gone wrong caused his body to mutate, seemingly giving birth to another terrifying personality. When he loses control of his emotions and becomes angry, this personality takes over, turning him into a horrifying green monster with the strength to easily flip a truck.
He can run faster than the fastest car in the world.
Undoubtedly powerful, but unstable. He is like a newly born rage-fueled beast, wantonly destroying everything around him, whether human or structure.
Every time he appears, it's a disaster.
But what he considers a disaster, General Ross, his girlfriend's father, sees as a successfully created product, a super weapon for the battlefield.
He fled the lab, and General Ross immediately assembled a team, equipped with weapons, specifically to capture him. Banner didn't want to fight; he just wanted to escape. For over a year, he fled the borders, into the Canadian wilderness, and then to the South American rainforests.
But he was soon discovered again. He continued to flee, hiding in Canada and Brazil, even traveling to East Asia and East Africa. During his migrations, he was often spotted transforming.
Finally, with nowhere else to go, Banner arrived at the Arctic.
Banner regretted personally conducting the experiment, which had led him to this dire situation. He had completely lost hope of living, knowing that as long as he was alive, his life of exile would never end.
So he decisively picked up the revolver, aimed it at his mouth, placed his finger on the trigger, and slowly closed his eyes, about to pull the trigger.
However, just as he was about to fire, a low, hoarse voice sounded in his ear.
"You have no respect for life, coward."
Startled, Banner opened his eyes and looked toward the source of the voice, instinctively pointing the revolver in that direction. Not far to his left stood several figures.
They wore crude, indistinct clothing, and what frightened him most was their eye sockets, which appeared to be scorched black.
Their gaze towards him was cold and grim.
Despite the extreme cold of the Arctic, they wore only thin clothes, seemingly unaffected by the cold.
For some reason, seeing these strangers made Banner uneasy. More troubling was the fact that he could feel the other entity within him stirring, ready to transform at any moment.
Banner tried to control his emotions, suppressing the other personality.
Taking a deep breath, he said to them, "You need to leave. Trust me, otherwise, you might be in danger."
As he spoke, he lowered the hand holding the gun.
Banner understood his situation. Although these people seemed strange, he couldn't bring himself to harm them.
To Banner's surprise, his words had no effect. The leading figure slightly tilted his head, giving a predatory look that made Banner very uncomfortable.
"You..."
Banner wanted to say more, but the figure simply waved his hand. Suddenly, Banner felt the ice beneath him shift, as if it were alive, forming sharp ice spikes that fixed his body in place.
The sudden change caught Banner off guard.
The attack triggered his emotions to the breaking point. As a mutated human, he was more prone to emotional swings than ordinary people, and any action could cause his heart rate to spike.
Once it reached the limit, the monster would take over.
Banner's chest heaved as he took deep breaths, trying to suppress his emotions. He looked at the group and said, with a hoarse voice and lips cracked from the cold, "No matter who you are, this is your last chance to leave."
"You have the body of a strong man but the heart of a coward. You were meant to be a hunter, but now you are the prey. Why? You should be the one chasing the prey. When did you become the prey?"
The leader stepped forward, standing in front of Banner, who was kneeling, fixed by the ice spikes. He spoke in a low voice.
"A strong body? He is a monster, a disaster," Banner retorted.
But the turmoil inside him made him realize something. His eyes widened, turning green, and he looked up at the man before him, "You are speaking to him."
"You don't know the monster you are about to unleash."
Banner's skin turned green, and his body began to expand. His voice grew deeper, filled with fear and helplessness.
He never expected anyone to want him to release the monster within. What were these people planning?
There was no time to think. The monstrous personality had completely taken over.
Roar!
A terrifying monster emerged, standing over two meters tall, with green skin and muscles like granite, roaring angrily.
The monster flexed its arms, shattering the ice spikes holding it in place.
Shards of ice flew everywhere.
The immense power cracked the ice beneath its feet. Despite facing such a violent monster, the group's expressions remained indifferent. Only the leader showed a sinister smile.
"A truly perfect body."
"Hulk."
The enraged giant roared a name and swung a massive punch at the small insect before him. The immense force created a sonic boom, but the punch hit nothing but air, passing through the figure and smashing into the ice below.
Boom!!
A terrifying explosion erupted, sending ice and snow flying everywhere, causing the entire massive iceberg to fracture and collapse.
Huge ice chunks continuously fell downward, causing a tremendous upheaval.
Amidst the icefall and snow, a roar rang out, and a green figure shot out violently, breaking through the icefall and snow, eventually crashing to the ground like a meteor in front of an ice river.
The immense force created a large crater in the ground.
The green monster, with a towering and imposing body, stood in the deep pit. His surging blood made him seem like a furnace, with steam constantly rising from his body. He slowly turned his head to look at the figures above the pit.
His pupils, green and black intertwined, were ultimately covered by black, his expression completely changed, showing no anger, only gloom.
"It is time to complete our revenge."
"Yes."
…
Meanwhile, in Central Park, New York, under the blue sky, the park was bustling and lively. At a seat in front of a food truck, a beautifully delicate girl in a red leather jacket with white lining, wearing sunglasses, was enjoying her meal when her hand suddenly paused.
She abruptly turned her head to look at the sky.
A flash of red flickered in her eyes, her delicate face full of seriousness, murmuring, "What is that?"
From her perspective, she saw a scene invisible to ordinary people. What should have been a bright blue sky was gradually filled with surging blackness, spreading from the distant horizon toward her.
"Danger is coming."
Several handsome young men nearby were about to approach and chat with her, but she suddenly stood up. To their shock and confusion, she turned into a streak of red light and disappeared.
At the same time, at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters.
Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the century-old tree's leaves, casting broken shadows on the ground. Under the tree, Jean Grey was leaning against it, a laptop on her lap, preparing her lesson for the next day.
In the distance, the laughter and chatter of students could be heard.
Everything seemed so peaceful.
At that moment, two figures walked shoulder to shoulder in the distance, seemingly saying something unpleasant judging by their expressions.
Jean noticed their approach, a trace of helplessness on her lips.
However, an inexplicable sense of immense panic surged in her heart, coupled with a strong sense of déjà vu, making her stand up, the laptop on her legs flying off without a second thought.
She hurriedly took a few steps, moving out from under the tree's branches into the sunlight, looking up at the sky.
Her eyes gradually became grave.
Logan and Cyclops, Scott Summers, who had been mocking each other, noticed Jean's change. They immediately stopped their banter, ran over, and quickly asked her.
"Jean, what's wrong?"
"Jean, what happened?"
Seeing Jean not responding immediately, they followed her gaze to the sky, seeing nothing but blue.
Scott felt nothing, but Logan's heart inexplicably started pounding. His beastly instincts sensed an unspeakable danger spreading.
"Something's wrong," Logan's expression turned serious. If not for his control, his claws would have unsheathed instinctively.
This feeling was rare, last felt only in the presence of that butcher, John Shaw.
"What on earth is going on?" Scott, sensing nothing, asked in confusion.
"I don't know what it is, but I know danger is approaching."
"Danger? What kind of danger?"
"I told you, I don't know," Logan growled irritably, then looked at Jean. By now, she had lowered her head, her face heavy, turning to the two of them: "We need to find the Professor."
"Yes."
Without further words, they followed Jean to the Professor's office, ignoring the greetings of numerous students along the way.
Their hurried pace puzzled the students.
"What's going on? Professor Jean and the others seem very anxious."
"Are they going on a mission again?"
"Judging by their seriousness, it seems more critical than before. Could it be a mission to save the world?"
"Don't talk nonsense. How is that possible?"
"Who knows."
Among the students, a black-haired Caucasian girl also felt a bit puzzled. She was none other than Christine, whom Bi Xiao had save. However, she was currently very happy and calm. Despite this calmness, she wished more to follow the boy who had once saved her.
"I really hope I can see him again," Christine thought to herself. She then quickly turned around and left. She needed to work hard, to control her abilities and become stronger, so she could help him.
As for the teachers' hurried demeanor, she wasn't very curious.
Meanwhile, Jean, Logan, and Scott hurriedly arrived at the principal's office. Storm was talking to the professor when the three rushed in. Storm was somewhat surprised, but the professor remained calm.
"Professor."
"You sensed it too, Jean?" Professor X asked before Jean could finish her sentence. Jean instinctively nodded and then realized that the professor had also sensed it.
While they were speaking, Beast, Hank, walked in.
"Charles? What's happening?" Hank had also been informed by the professor. Once all the X-Men were present, Professor X looked at Jean. Jean nodded and immediately addressed everyone, "Just now, I suddenly sensed a crisis spreading."
"A crisis? What kind of crisis?" Everyone, especially Hank, was puzzled.
"No, it was more like I saw a very peculiar power expanding rapidly. It's now at a very alarming level," Jean said, shaking her head and then expressing her concern.
"What magnitude?"
"I can't estimate it, but if it erupts, I think it could easily flatten a city, maybe more." Jean's vague and general description indicated that she indeed couldn't predict it.
Everyone immediately understood the seriousness of the situation.
"That's right. I felt the same power at the same time and tried to trace its source. However, a special force blocked my perception, but I could sense that the power was not solely from Earth. There was also a very unfamiliar darkness, an evil," Professor X confirmed, solidifying the sense of crisis.
Logan was puzzled: "Is it like last time?"
Everyone immediately felt a chill at the mention of the last time, when a terrifying monster appeared at the Brotherhood's base, nearly causing a global crisis.
"Perhaps, but I'm not sure," Professor X sighed.
"Can you trace the source, Professor?" Scott asked.
"The power has suddenly vanished, but the initial occurrence should be at some coordinates in the Arctic Circle."
"There is residual power there," the professor answered.
"Do we need to take action?" Scott asked, frowning.
Professor X pondered. Generally, the X-Men and he seldom intervened in crises that did not involve mutants. However, he was unsure whether this crisis would affect mutants.
If it was like the terrifying monster at the Brotherhood's base, he couldn't ignore it. Whether for mutants or the innocent civilians on Earth, in a life-and-death situation that couldn't be avoided, they had to act.
After a brief thought, Professor X shook his head.
"Contact Nick Fury now. Their organization specializes in handling such events."
"But be ready to act at any time."
"Understood, Professor," Scott and the others immediately nodded.
...
In a seafront villa in Los Angeles, the sky roared as a red and gold figure streaked through the sky and rapidly descended. Following the winding path of the parking lot, it flew into the underground laboratory.
With a crisp sound, the sci-fi styled armor landed on the ground. Special machines on either side of the platform dismantled the armor, revealing the figure inside: a man in a simple shirt and sweatpants with a signature mustache.
A calm male voice sounded in his ear.
"The armor has completed the final test. Congratulations, sir. You have created a piece of equipment far beyond this era."
~~~
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— Completed (Chapter 277: Finale)