Chapter: The Hammers of the Worthy
In the atmosphere, seven warhammers of different shapes descended from space. Despite the intense flames generated by their violent collision with the atmosphere, they remained undamaged. Wrapped in fiery trails, they fell like shooting stars all over the world.
Brazil
Somewhere in a remote mountain area, Bruce Banner and Black Widow Natasha were on vacation, enjoying their free time. However, they had one crucial task to accomplish—merging Bruce and Hulk's personalities.
Over time, Bruce and the Avengers had gradually adapted to the Hulk and were no longer obsessed with destroying him. However, Natasha's resurrection had made this need urgent again, even more than before. While the former Black Widow was an elite agent with extraordinary strength, she hadn't surpassed human limits. Now, with some of Sylvanas's power, she could even catch bullets with her face, her defense nearly equal to Hulk's.
A strong body, however, had its drawbacks. One significant downside was that external stimuli that once triggered strong reactions in her body had now become trivial. For Natasha, Bruce could only meet part of her needs in love; the other part required the Hulk.
This was far from perfect. Natasha wanted her lover to have both Bruce's intellect and Hulk's strength. Fortunately, she now had the means to make this happen. The mind control ability from Sylvanas allowed Natasha to influence others' personalities. Under her continuous influence, Bruce gradually became "Dr. Green"—a combination of Bruce's intelligence and Hulk's power.
However, this state was still unstable. Sometimes he became just Bruce Banner, and other times, just the Hulk. Occasionally, it was Bruce's wisdom with Hulk's power, or Hulk's wisdom with Bruce's power.
At this moment, Natasha was adjusting Bruce's state. Her blood-red pupils, shrouded in shadows, emitted a faint light as she stared at Bruce. Under her influence, Bruce grew and shrank, his skin turning green and white until he reached a relative equilibrium.
"How do you feel now?" Natasha asked after a while.
Dr. Green opened his eyes but didn't answer. Instead, he smiled evilly. Seeing this expression, Natasha knew what was coming next.
"Boom!" Suddenly, there was an earth-shattering noise outside, and flames flashed through the window.
"What is that?" Dr. Green and Natasha hurriedly left the room and rushed toward the commotion. They soon saw a small crater in the nearby wilderness, with the heat wave from the impact still lingering. Scorched flesh indicated that some unfortunate beasts had died in the impact. In the center of the crater stood a long-handled warhammer.
The warhammer was rough, with a sharp end and a square end, lacking much decoration and not particularly attractive. But it was clear this warhammer had just fallen from the sky, much to Bruce and Natasha's surprise.
Bruce stepped forward, hesitated for a moment, then reached out to pick up the warhammer.
"Wait a minute," Natasha called, noticing something. But it was too late. Before she finished speaking, Dr. Green had already gripped the hammer's handle.
"Boom!" A massive amount of energy poured from the warhammer into Bruce's body. In the dazzling light, Bruce roared in pain as mysterious lines emitting light spread across his body, and a pair of silver arm armor appeared out of thin air.
After the transformation, Bruce's eyes turned fierce as he looked at Natasha viciously. "Bruce," Natasha's voice trembled slightly.
But the transformed Dr. Green had also changed his mind. "I am the subordinate of the Heavenly Father, Venerable Nur of the Hammers of worthy!" he declared coldly, raising the warhammer high as if to kill Natasha on the spot.
"What's wrong with you, Bruce? Wake up!" Natasha activated her mind control ability, trying to awaken Bruce, who was clearly possessed by an unknown soul. Her mind control projected, and Nur's movements froze momentarily. But Dr. Green, now Nur, was too powerful for her mind control to hold for long.
Nur's body trembled as he gradually broke free. Seeing this, Natasha had to flee while contacting S.H.I.E.L.D. Before she could ask for help, Nick Fury's voice came through first: "Natasha, Bruce, you need to come back now! Cain Marko, the Red Juggernaut, has become incredibly powerful after picking up a warhammer of unknown origin and is wreaking havoc."
"What?" Natasha couldn't believe her ears.
"Ben Grimm, the Thing, is experiencing the same and is also causing chaos," Nick Fury added.
"But... Bruce is the same! He's chasing me now!" Natasha reported.
Nick Fury was stunned for a few seconds before exclaiming, "How many warhammers are there!"
Washington, D.C.
In Washington, D.C., the center of power in the United States, the White House—once white and dignified—was now a pile of ruins, the life and death of the president unknown. The cause of this destruction stood before Steve Rogers: a man in a green robe with long hair, like a wizard from an ancient mural, with a hammer-wielding woman beside him.
No one knew how he did it, but the heavily guarded White House had collapsed, seemingly by his hand.
"No matter who you are, you'll pay for this!" Steve Rogers declared angrily.
As a staunch patriot and symbol of the American spirit, Steve Rogers was inseparable from the Stars and Stripes. The collapse of the White House was an intolerable failure and shame.
Despite knowing he couldn't possibly be this man's opponent, Steve raised his shield, ready to fight to the death. But as soon as he did, the man appeared before him in an instant and flicked his finger at Steve's shield.