The Comprehensive Evolution of American Comics

Chapter 759: The Origin of Fear - 天锤尊者 (Tianchui Zunzhe - Sky Hammer Venerable)

"Cough, cough!"

Bruce struggled to climb out from the debris. He had been conducting an experiment, but a sudden loud noise followed by a tremor had startled him.

Quite literally, Bruce was scared into jumping. He lost his grip on the beaker, which smashed on the lab table, and he fell backward, buried under a pile of documents.

Ignoring the pain, Bruce quickly looked up at his experimental results. Sure enough, the lab table had overturned, along with the precision instruments and chemicals on it.

Bruce's mental anguish surpassed his physical pain. The most precious material here wasn't the chemicals or instruments, but the green giant's blood he had secretly kept.

Whether it was a stroke of luck or lingering hope, he had secretly extracted a tube of blood when the military commissioned him and Howard to analyze the giant. Since then, he had been secretly researching this power in his spare time.

Bruce wanted to know why the Super Serum had exceeded his expectations and turned into such a terrifying form. But now, it seemed all his efforts were in vain, as the contaminated blood was no longer valuable for research.

"Cough, cough!" Bruce covered his mouth, realizing he was coughing more than usual. Perhaps his injuries were more serious than he thought. It seemed he needed to see a doctor tomorrow.

Bruce wanted to open the window for some fresh air, so he walked to the window and saw a smoking crater in the open space outside. It seemed this was the true cause of the earthquake.

"What's that?" Without much thought, Bruce hurried outside. Perhaps because he was too eager, Bruce didn't notice he was moving incredibly fast, not like an injured person at all.

Feeling strange, Bruce quickly ran outside, reaching the edge of the crater in a few steps. Because he was moving too fast, Bruce couldn't stop and tumbled into the crater.

"Ouch!" Bruce cried out, rubbing his head as he stood up. He felt like he had bumped into something extremely hard, even cracking the helmet of his protective suit.

Bruce's expression changed as he looked at what he had bumped into. It was completely different from what he had imagined – not a meteor or satellite fragment, but a strangely shaped hammer.

The metal hammer handle had a hollow ring at the end, and the handle, as long as a person, was inserted into a bizarre hammerhead. The hammerhead looked like a combination of a triangular prism and a trapezoid, looking strange no matter how you looked at it.

"What is this thing?" Bruce muttered to himself. Just as he was about to let his thoughts wander, he froze, because he heard a strange voice.

"Pick up the hammer, and I will grant you the power you deserve."

As if possessed, Bruce actually reached for the hammer handle. By the time he realized it, his right hand was already gripping the handle.

"What? Uh!"

A surge of power erupted from the hammer, quickly engulfing Bruce's entire body. This energy violently poured into his slender frame, causing him immense pain.

"Oh?" The voice sounded again, and the Serpent, miles away, revealed a hint of surprise.

"There's a strange power in your body, but it's just a seed, and it looks like you just acquired it. In that case, let me help you along."

"Ahhhhh!"

Bruce screamed as his body rapidly expanded, like a balloon being filled with water. At the same time, his body gradually turned green.

Such events were happening in six other places tonight.

...

Howard, who was working overtime in Stark Tower, warily watched the object that had fallen not far in front of him. It was a hammer that looked like it was made of stone, but Howard wasn't that naive.

Because the armor's AI told him that it couldn't analyze the material of the hammer, and he didn't think stone could break through Stark Tower's defenses.

After scanning for a long time without getting an answer, Howard, relying on the armor's ability to block radiation, flew to the hammer. He wanted to move the hammer to his lab, where he could find a way to analyze it.

So he reached for the hammer.

...

Magneto warily looked at the crater in front of him. A chain hammer was lying quietly in the center of the crater, but the chain hammer was a bit too large for humans, looking more like a custom-made work of art.

Just looking at it wasn't a solution, so he might as well take the chain hammer back to Hank for inspection.

Thinking this, Magneto raised his hand, aimed at the chain hammer, and grabbed it...

...

"What's going on?" MODOK questioned his subordinates. "What was that tremor just now?"

"Report, MODOK, according to the information received, the tremor came from Sector B1. Something fell from the sky and crashed there."

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MODOK widened his eyes and asked, "What thing? Is it an enemy attack?"

The subordinate reported, "The thing that fell is something like a hammer. It's not clear yet if it's an enemy attack."

"What thing?" MODOK suspected he had misheard. "A hammer? Broke through the base's defenses?"

Before the subordinate could answer, the communicator in his hand rang. With MODOK's permission, the subordinate answered the communicator, and screams and gunshots poured out.

"Requesting backup! Requesting backup! γ1 experimental subject containment failure! γ1 experimental subject is out of control!"

...

"Huff..."

The Serpent gently exhaled a breath of stale air. The Sky Hammers had been successively lifted by the chosen ones, and fear was beginning to spread. He believed it wouldn't be long before he could return to his peak.

"Father," Loki said, holding a Sky Hammer and standing behind the Serpent. "You look much better than before."

"Fear is beginning to spread, and my power is returning," the Serpent said, looking down at his current appearance in the reflection of the trees.

His hair had begun to turn from white to black, the wrinkles on his face had lessened, and the hand holding his cane had gained some strength. Although it couldn't compare to his peak, at least he wasn't in pain.

"The feeling of power slowly draining from your body is very painful, Skadi," the Serpent said with a gloomy look. "I hope to let my brother taste this feeling as well. After all, good things should be shared among brothers, shouldn't they?"

"Your will, Father," Loki said, kneeling on one knee to show his submission to the Serpent.