Chapter 166: Danger is spreading

Chapter 166: Danger is spreading

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.

"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)