Chapter 240: This Is Not Good

“Banner!”

Dr. Banner, transformed into the Hulk, leaped into the air and grabbed two patrolling Hydra robots. With a forceful smash, he slammed them together, instantly rendering them inoperable.

Thanks to Odin’s divine power, Banner and Hulk’s consciousnesses had fully merged, allowing seamless switching between Banner and Hulk.

Thus, the current Hulk had both Hulk’s physical strength and Banner’s intelligence. Moreover, his body was slightly larger than the version seen in the movies after their fusion, with almost no loss of power.

However, compared to Hulk alone, Banner struggled to get truly enraged. He couldn’t tap into his potential as easily as pure Hulk, whose strength grew with anger.

It wasn’t entirely impossible—if, for example, someone killed his beloved Betty, his rage would surely skyrocket, fully unleashing his potential. But under normal circumstances, this was hard to achieve.

As soon as the patrolling robots detected the Hulk, they surrounded him from both air and ground, mercilessly firing energy weapons at him.

The Hulk crossed his arms to shield his face, enduring the damage from the energy weapons with his bare body.

At that moment, a shield arced through the air from behind the Hulk. Like a spinning blade, it sliced through the energy weapons of the robots in front of him.

It was Captain America’s shield attack.

Wolverine, hiding behind the Hulk, wasn’t idle either. He darted toward the incoming Hydra robots on the ground, his claws slashing relentlessly, decapitating the robots without mercy.

The blaring alarm echoed throughout the Triskelion building. Remaining Hydra soldiers quickly responded, converging with their Hydra robots to block the trio’s advance using energy weapons and other Hydra high-tech arms.

“There can’t be just three of them. There must be more!”

In the director’s office of the Triskelion, Pierce squinted at the surveillance footage showing Captain America, the Hulk, and Wolverine.

After losing contact with Sitwell and Crossbones, Pierce had summoned all Hydra robots and even borrowed several superpowered individuals from Strucker to ensure his plan proceeded without a hitch.

He was prepared for Coulson and his allies from the Superpower Academy to launch a counterattack.

Now only three individuals from the Superpower Academy had arrived. The strongest ones—Professor X and Principal George—were absent, along with Coulson, Black Widow, and Hawkeye.

For Pierce, this was highly suspicious. He wasn’t about to entertain any wishful thinking at this point.

“Gordon, you said someone in your team has detection abilities. Ask them to locate these people for us.”

Pierce immediately displayed photos of everyone from the Superpower Academy, excluding the three on the screen, along with Coulson and his agents, on the large monitor.

The superpowered individuals under his command had already reported their abilities upon arrival, making it easier for him to coordinate them.

“Collins.”

Gordon glanced at a young man behind him. The youth nodded, closed his eyes, and began using his ability.

This youth’s superpower allowed him to perform a wide-range scan centered on himself, useful for locating people or objects—an invaluable skill for the team.

“They’re not all here, but I’ve found a few of them.”

After a moment, the youth opened his eyes and pointed out the current positions of Coulson and the SHIELD agents.

“As expected, something is off. But why didn’t George show up?”

Pierce wasn’t surprised, though he appeared puzzled.

He understood Professor X’s absence—they all had psychic protection devices, making mind-based abilities ineffective. But George, who could unleash large-scale lightning strikes, not showing up was inexplicable.

“Could it be that he hasn’t recovered from his last large-scale lightning attack…”

Muttering to himself, Pierce found this plausible but remained cautious. He turned to Gordon’s group and ordered:

“Go capture these people. Try to take them alive.”

To be safe, Pierce intended to take Coulson’s team hostage. Even if George arrived later, the hostages would deter him from acting decisively.

Once Coulson’s group was captured, the superpowered individuals would assist the robots in dealing with the attacking trio.

As long as the helicarriers launched, everything would be under control.

“Activate all lightning protection systems around the building.”

After Gordon’s group left, Pierce ordered his subordinates to activate lightning defenses to guard against any sudden attacks from George.

“And crank up the helicarrier’s lightning protection to maximum!”

In ten minutes, all preparations for the launch of the three helicarriers would be complete.

To save time, Pierce had skipped some unnecessary processes, focusing solely on getting the helicarriers airborne as quickly as possible.

“Coulson’s team has lost contact, and the Hydra robots and soldiers here haven’t been redeployed. Pierce must have some trump card we don’t know about.”

Five minutes later, Steve recalled his shield to block an energy cannon shot and said to Banner and Logan:

“We’re on our own now. Full speed ahead—we must locate the helicarriers!”

“I’ll lead the charge!”

Banner lifted an energy tank cannon, using the entire tank as a weapon. Swinging it wildly, he cleared a path through the robots and Hydra soldiers, who struggled to withstand his assault.

Steve and Logan seized the opportunity to sprint toward the Triskelion.

However, a blindfolded man suddenly appeared behind Banner, grabbed him, and teleported them both away.

Meanwhile, several young men and women, not dressed in Hydra uniforms, appeared in front of Steve and Logan.

The girl leading the group raised her hand and unleashed a powerful shockwave. Despite Steve and Logan bracing themselves, they were blown back.

“This is bad!”

Steve, regaining his footing, saw that their strongest ally, Banner, had been taken away. With robots, Hydra soldiers, and several superpowered individuals blocking their path, he realized completing the mission would be incredibly challenging.

The appearance of these superpowered individuals clearly explained the loss of contact with Coulson’s team.

In other words, Coulson’s side had likely been compromised. Now, it was up to Steve and Logan.

“Do we keep going?”

Logan tore off his tattered shirt and asked Steve.

Steve nodded firmly.

“Keep going. We don’t give up until the very end!”