American Comics: Trading Tom Cat

Chapter Fifty-Four: An Exciting Plan

A soul floated in mid-air, with Bruce Banner in front and the Hulk behind. At this moment, both of them had their eyes closed and were enveloped in dense chaotic power. As time passed, their souls were being split in two bit by bit.

Separating the soul is a rather troublesome process, and even Locke needs to be fully focused and cannot afford to be careless in the slightest.

Finally, after an unknown amount of time, a complete soul was completely split in two, becoming two relatively frail souls.

"Snap!" With a snap of the fingers, the two souls that had been forcibly put into a deep sleep were awakened at the same time.

Bruce Banner and the Hulk, two sworn enemies who had been entangled for years, finally met face to face for the first time, exchanging a glance.

Bruce Banner had a complex expression, while the Hulk simply looked at him with disdain, not even bothering to glance at Bruce Banner again.

The Hulk looked at Locke and patted his chest: "You didn't treat Hulk like a monster, and you even helped Hulk. Hulk will fight for you from now on!"

Locke smiled slightly: "Okay, you'll meet a lot of friends who will let you fight to your heart's content in the future."

The Hulk's big face immediately broke into a goofy yet excited smile: "Hulk likes you!"

Locke then looked at Bruce Banner: "Although you two have successfully separated, a complete soul is now divided in two, and you will fall into a special state of soul fatigue and weakness."

"In return for your love of creating the Hulk, I will help you fill in this missing piece of your soul."

A crystalline object appeared out of thin air in Locke's hand. Locke gently squeezed it, and the crystal shattered into dust. With a wave of his hand, the dust drifted into the two souls.

Instantly, Bruce Banner's previously weakened soul felt a full and comfortable sensation.

After doing all this, Locke took a drop of Bruce Banner's blood and a wisp of the Hulk's soul, and activated it with the power of chaos. Instantly, the drop of blood rapidly expanded and transformed into a complete green giant body in the blink of an eye.

"Alright, return to your physical bodies. From now on, you two will be two free individuals, each with your own 303 body."

With a wave of his hand, he slapped the two souls into their respective bodies. The Hulk was the first to take control of his own body, opened his eyes, and excitedly began to move around on the spot.

"Hulk is free! Hulk loves this feeling!"

An excited Hulk unleashed his power unintentionally, causing devastating damage to the surrounding tables, chairs, and ground.

Locke didn't care about that; he just watched the scene with a smile.

Finally, Bruce Banner opened his eyes, helped himself to his feet from the sofa, and felt the emptiness he hadn't felt in a long time. His expression became increasingly complicated.

The Hulk, standing to the side, glanced at Bruce Banner with a look of utter contempt, ignoring him completely.

Since learning that he wasn't 'sick', the pent-up resentment finally erupted, and the Hulk completely ignored Bruce Banner, not transforming even once in between.

But this is the most serious thing. The extreme of resentment is never about making a scene, but about being annoyed by even a glance.

"How will you treat Hulk in the future?" Perhaps out of guilt, or perhaps driven by some other complex emotion, Bruce Banner couldn't help but ask.

Locke merely glanced at him: "Don't worry, Hulk will be better off with me than you think. He will be my most powerful warrior and one of the future Hellfire Generals."

Bruce Banner frowned: "You're using the Hulk!"

Before Locke could say anything, the Hulk impatiently interrupted, "Shut up, you weakling! Hulk loves to fight!"

Bruce Banner's lips twitched. He could understand how much the Hulk loathed him now. His lips twitched, but in the end, he didn't say anything.

They value each other, one admires the other, and the other happens to enjoy fighting for the other. No matter how much he says, it seems to be of no use.

"Can I leave now?"

(baaj)

Locke waved his hand: "Anytime is fine~"

Bruce Banner nodded, glanced at the Hulk again, and turned to leave.

Just as he reached the door, Locke's voice suddenly came.

"The fact that the Hulk has left your body doesn't mean that a new Hulk won't be born."

Bruce Banner couldn't help but turn around: "What does this mean?"

"You should ask yourself that."

Bruce Banner fell into deep thought, then suddenly his expression changed drastically.

He remembered a problem: he had previously given a blood sample to Dr. Blue in order to solve the Hulk problem.

Now that the problem is solved, the appearance of the blood at Dr. Blue's place has become a problem. With Dr. Blue's wisdom, it is actually possible to create another Hulk.

Upon realizing this, Bruce Banner had no choice but to leave hastily.

Watching the other person's hurried departure, Locke's lips curled into a strange smile.

"You seem to have a special arrangement for him?" A voice suddenly rang out, and with that voice, Wanda's fiery figure appeared out of thin air next to Locke.

Locke glanced at Wanda, reached out with one hand, and pulled her directly into his arms.

Wanda immediately began to struggle, but the strength of her struggle was, how should I put it, weak and feeble, like a soft and cute kitten.

Locke seemed oblivious to Wanda's struggle, and instead glanced at the Hulk beside him: "Hulk, when you go out, someone will show you around your new home. Get used to the environment here first, and then I'll introduce you to some new friends."

The chubby green cat nodded obediently, yet with a hint of curiosity: "Okay."

The first person in his life to acknowledge him and treat him well, the Hulk who was always considered to be irritable and crazy, showed no signs of irritability at all and was very obedient.

After the green fat man left, Locke tightened his embrace around the slender waist.

“You’re right, I do have plans for Bruce Banner.”

"What arrangements?"

"The foundation for the reconstruction of Hellfire is all ready and can be completed at any time. However, how to rebuild is the problem. Should we just get a few people to throw a party? That's too low-class."

"Our new Hellfire should announce its arrival to the world in an absolutely awe-inspiring manner!"

"Bruce Banner is one of the key members I've chosen for this grand ceremony!"

Wanda's eyes sparkled with admiration; she liked the man's current demeanor—powerful, confident, and charming.

"Do we need to make any further preparations?"

"unnecessary!"

"All that's needed is for Bruce Banner to appear. General Ross, who has always loved Bruce Banner deeply, will be the first to discover his whereabouts. Once General Ross finds Bruce Banner, the blood sample that Bruce Banner sent out in advance will be the source of the disaster, which will give birth to a monster even stronger than the Hulk in his normal state!"

"Even stronger than the Hulk in his normal form!" Wanda exclaimed in surprise.

It's important to know that the Hulk in his normal state has a combat power of 200, which far exceeds that of Master Illusion, one of the four generals of Hellfire. Even Wanda, who wields the power of chaos, has a basic combat power that is not much different from this number.

Locke nodded. Abomination's combat power was much stronger than the Hulk in his normal state. This was not only because the opponent had used an incomplete super soldier enhancement drug beforehand, but also because the opponent was a veteran soldier king and possessed strong combat skills.

With all these factors combined, once a Hatred is born, its combat power is guaranteed to reach at least 250, and may even reach close to 300.

"You can imagine what the consequences would be if an out-of-control Surface Elite, which is not weak among Surface Elites, went berserk."

Just thinking about it made Wanda take a deep breath.

When the Hulk went berserk, he almost wiped out an army. If there was an existence stronger than the Hulk in his normal state, it would definitely be a terrible disaster!

"When that rampaging monster has done its job, and when everyone is shrouded in despair, when is there a better time for Hellfire to announce its arrival to the world!"

"At that time, all we need to do is send out one Hellfire General! With absolute power, we can crush and defeat that rampaging monster head-on. Any force or country will have the impression of Hellfire as powerful and fearful!"

Wanda remained silent for a long, long time. For some reason, she suddenly felt excited, unlike Bo Ran!

A force so powerful that it commands the awe of the entire world, its first act in the present world is to announce its birth with a grand gesture akin to saving the world.

Moreover, as a force, it doesn't need to be swayed by public opinion like superheroes; it only receives fear and awe. Isn't that more enjoyable than joining some superhero alliance?

As for whether this plan is just, does Wanda, known as the Scarlet Witch, really think she is a righteous and heroic character? Wanda has always been a neutral character. The reason she did good deeds in the original comics was only because she joined the Avengers under the influence of her family, leaned towards superheroes, and thus became a superhero.

Look, after Quicksilver and Vision died, Wanda, who had completely transformed into the Scarlet Witch, seemed more like the big boss than the main villain.

Suddenly, Wanda frowned: "There's a problem. How can we be sure that no one can defeat that monster?"

"I don't doubt that the military can do it, but there may be hidden strongmen in this world."

Locke smiled and nodded, then shook his head.

“There are indeed some strong individuals, even those above the top tier on Earth. There are a few on Earth, but some of them are sealed away, some are crippled, and the rest are still capable of movement. One of them would never oppose me, and the other one, that old geezer is avoiding me like the plague. He wouldn’t dare to show his face.”

This is naturally referring to Mephisto, or more accurately, Mephisto's clone. Mephisto's true form is in the Hell dimension, and he can only bring his clone or projection to Earth through special means. In this state, Mephisto wouldn't be very strong; he's too busy dealing with souls in the corners of the world. If he dares to disrupt Locke's plans, Locke would dare to take Tom to the Hell dimension to have a chat with his true form.

"As for the top-tier mutants on the surface, there aren't many on the surface right now. The most famous one is the bipolar mutant. Professor X, one of the bipolar mutants, who is relatively good at countering the Hulk, has already been warned by me. As for the other one, Magneto, it's fine if he doesn't make a move, but if he does, it will just be a good opportunity for that monster to build up his achievements."

"The only problem is that many people might die." Wanda is Wanda after all. Even as a neutral character, she still has a kind and sensitive side deep down.

Of course, she was just saying it casually, asking her to stop Locke's plan; she had no intention of doing so and would never do it.

"Death? No, not at all."

Wanda looked confused: "How could top-tier berserk behavior and combat on the surface not cause any casualties?"

Locke smiled faintly: "Because I will take action later."

"Unilateral coercion only breeds fear; only a combination of kindness and severity can inspire both awe and admiration."

Chapter 55 The New Hellfire General - The Hulk

"Boom! Boom! Boom..."

A fierce battle is currently raging in a massive battle arena beneath the Hydra base.

The two sides in the battle are the newly joined Hulk and two people: Red Devil and Death Woman. Facing the Hulk, who has already reached the first-class level on the surface, those who are not first-class will be instantly killed. Therefore, the two have no choice but to join forces to fight against the Hulk.

Moreover, in order to avoid being accidentally killed by the Hulk with a single punch, the two of them also took enhancement drugs created by Tom in his early days. Under these circumstances, they barely managed to maintain the momentum of the battle.

Even so, they were barely holding on, and it was only a matter of time before the two were defeated by the Hulk.

Finally, with a powerful punch, an unsuspecting Red Devil was sent flying. Without the Red Devil's support, Death Woman simply chose to concede defeat.

Red Devil coughed up blood: "That punch was really powerful! Even Magneto probably couldn't withstand more than a few punches."

"Hehe, that's not surprising. There aren't many people on Earth these days who can surpass the Hulk in terms of sheer strength."

Upon hearing that familiar voice, Red Devil immediately turned around, revealing a respectful and eager expression, and bowed, saying, "Boss!"

The woman of death appeared beside him at some point and bowed respectfully as well.

If the Red Devil represents heartfelt reverence, then the Death Woman embodies absolute fanaticism, like a mad zealot.

Locke waved his hand: "Get up."

"So, what do you think? Has our new Hellfire general earned your approval in terms of strength?"

Red Devil gave a wry smile: "Indeed very strong, ridiculously strong, worthy of the title of general!"

"I've lived for over a thousand years and seen hundreds, if not thousands, of mutants, but I've never seen anyone with this level of power. They're practically monsters!"

"Oh~ You've never seen anyone stronger than Locke?"

"Yes, boss."

"I remember there was a power mutant called Steel."

Red Devil nodded and then shook his head: "I know Steel Man, and I've fought him, but he's far inferior to our new general."

"In addition, I know that the boss is recruiting powerful warriors. I contacted some old friends a while ago, including Steelman, but he hasn't given a clear response yet."

Locke nodded. Hellfire doesn't yet have the reputation to match, so it's unlikely they can win over powerful figures just by relying on an organization's name. This can't be blamed on the Red Devils. It will be much easier after the Abomination incident.

"By the way, boss, thinking of a power-type strongman, there's a guy called Juggernaut. His strength might be comparable to that of a new Admiral. However, he's disappeared and we haven't heard from him for a long time. We don't know if he's dead."

Locke, the Red Tank, naturally knew that the other party was not dead. However, Locke only knew that the Red Tank was being held in a prison, and it was not easy to find him.

Locke said casually, "I heard you've become a mission maniac lately?"

Red Devil chuckled: "Boss, I want to get stronger too! Although I'm not young anymore, I believe my fighting spirit is no less than that of a young person!"

This ancient ghost, who has lived for a thousand years, has been limited by his abilities, and his strength has always been at a mediocre level. Now that he has a clear opportunity to become stronger, he is much more crazy and hardworking than young people, and he is particularly outstanding.

Locke glanced at the Red Devil from head to toe: "Not bad, you should start practicing the Knight Breathing Technique - Knight Chapter now."

"Yes, boss."

"I have a special mission for you."

Red Devil's eyes lit up: "Boss, please speak."

"Go and investigate the information of a few people: Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy. You need to find out all the information about these two people within three generations."

"I understand, boss."

Since he last saw that tempting little spider, Locke hasn't had time to learn more about it. Now that he finally has some free time, he can send Red Devil to investigate.