"The crowd nearby has been cleared, the target's location has been roughly determined, and the encirclement is shrinking."
Emil Bronsky led hundreds of elite American soldiers forward, closing in step by step on the alley where Banner and Betty were hiding. It was expected they'd be discovered in about two minutes.
"No, I won't abandon you again this time!"
Seeing Banner's face filled with fear and resolve, Betty grabbed his hand firmly. It was because she let him go once that Bruce disappeared for so many years. This time she wasn't going to let it happen again.
"Ahem… I don't really want to interrupt you, but they're about to find this place, so we don't have much time."
Carl looked down from above, interrupting their dramatic moment.
"Who are you?"
The two were startled by the voice from above and jumped up from between the large trash cans.
When they turned around and saw Carl, they were stunned. A man wearing a strange golden mask stood straight on the wall, completely defying the laws of physics.
"You must be Mr. Green, right? I'm a friend of Mr. Blue. He should have sent you a message. I'm here to help."
Carl raised his hand in a calming gesture and explained.
Banner tried to calm himself. "Um… I've been on the run and haven't had a chance to check messages. But in this situation… how can you help us?"
Though the man seemed trustworthy, the soldiers were closing in from all directions. How could anyone help them now?
"There they are!"
Suddenly, two soldiers appeared from both sides of the alley, having gotten close enough to search this spot.
As the soldiers raised their guns, Banner's pupils glimmered green and the Hulk's rage pressed forward from within him.
Seeing this, Carl jumped down from the wall and kicked the two large trash cans forward with a powerful force. The cans flew through the air like cannonballs, slamming into the soldiers and knocking them unconscious.
"Don't get excited. There's no danger. Just leave it to me!"
Hearing this, Banner forced himself to stay calm and pushed back against the Hulk's will.
"What do we do now?"
"Hold on to me. And make sure you hang tight!"
As the soldiers' heavy footsteps drew closer, Carl smiled at Banner and Betty.
The two exchanged a nervous look and then grabbed his shoulders firmly.
They had no other option now — their only hope was this mysterious masked man.
"Water Style: Great Waterfall Technique!"
Once the two were safely holding on, Carl formed a few quick hand seals, pursed his lips, and sprayed a powerful stream of water downward.
Suddenly, a huge rush of water exploded from the alley in both directions. As the fully armed soldiers, led by Bronsky, rushed in, the massive waves swept them away in an instant.
Using the water's momentum, Carl hopped forward, carrying Banner and Betty under his arms — Banner on the left and Betty on the right — and darted quickly through the city, far from the soldiers' reach.
"What's going on? Did you get them?"
Inside the armored command vehicle, Ross listened to a soldier's report in disbelief.
"General… a huge rush of water suddenly appeared… Bronsky and everyone else were washed away!"
"Soldier, are you kidding me? We're in the city center, not a lake or a beach. Where the hell did a tsunami come from?"
Ross glared at the soldier.
At that moment, a communications soldier tugged at Ross's sleeve.
"General… look there!"
Ross turned toward the windshield and saw a massive wall of water surging through the city, tearing through tables, benches, and everything in its path.
"Oh… Fuck… it's really a tsunami. !"
The waves struck the armored vehicle with a huge boom. The vehicle remained anchored due to its weight, but everything else in the area was swept away.
About twenty seconds later, the water receded, leaving the eighth Street in ruins.
"Where's the target now?"
Ross grabbed the communicator once more.
The soldier in the helicopter responded: "They've gotten away from the encirclement and are now in the Fifth Block. There's a masked man carrying the two of them and moving at high speed. We're in pursuit."
"Everyone, move toward Fifth Block immediately and intercept them!"
Ross' face turned purple with rage as the armored vehicle rumbled forward toward the Fifth Block.
"Swoosh! Swoosh!"
In the Fifth Block, Carl darted across the rooftop with Banner and Betty in tow. His senses suddenly pricked. He hopped up just in time to avoid two anesthetic needles darting toward him from below.
"It looks like I need to deal with you first!"
Turning back, he saw two helicopters hovering in the air — soldiers were already training their tranquilizer guns on him.
"Wait a minute!"
The tranquilizer guns weren't much of a threat, but there were heavy machine guns mounted on the helicopters. If Ross disregarded his own daughter's safety and opened fire, it would be trouble.
Furthermore, with two helicopters following their every move, it would be hard for him to get away safely.
Originally, Carl only meant to extract Banner, but now Betty was here as well. Nevertheless, it made sense to bring her. First, Betty was a leading biologist and also a cytologist — her expertise could be extremely valuable for developing new drugs in the future. Second, much like Black Widow can calm the Hulk and bring him back to Banner, Betty, as Banner's lover, plays a key role in keeping him anchored. If the Hulk were to break free, Betty might be the best person to bring him back.
Besides, for Carl, carrying her made little difference; she weighed nearly nothing to him.
"All right."
Having gotten safely away from danger, Banner fell to his knees, panting and trying to control himself. After all the masked man has just excelled a huge amount of water... an amount that was enough to flood the eighth Street. His pulse was skyrocketing, and the fear and stress were threatening to let the Hulk break free.
Betty, while herself surprise and fearful, rushed forward banner and put her arms around him, trying to calm him down.