"Don't trust him. He's insidious and cunning, full of lies. When he goes back, he'll directly order his troops to attack us."
Banner quickly warned Hawking after seeing General Ross escape.
General Ross had previously tricked him into helping with research, and now he finally saw General Ross's true colors. He knew General Ross absolutely wasn't going back to get any evidence, nor did he have any.
He just wanted to hide and command the army to take them down.
However, Hawking waved his hand and smiled:
"It's fine. He needs to try it to be convinced."
With Legilimency, how could he not know General Ross's inner thoughts?
He just wanted General Ross to attack first, so it would be easier to deal with afterwards.
Moreover, he also planned to properly chastise these military personnel, letting them know that even if it wasn't for Magneto, their modern weapons would have no effect on him.
Many high-ranking government officials, though insidious and cunning, were very protective of their lives. Without a precedent and without certainty of being able to kill Hawking, or without sufficient incentive to benefit them, they wouldn't take risks.
But the generals in the military were different. Most of them, like General Ross, were quite arrogant, primarily hawks, who believed they held significant military power and various powerful weapons, making them far bolder than those who sat in offices.
Just like Colonel Stryker before, he was the same.
So, this time, he didn't directly take Banner away, not only considering the agreement but also wanting to once again make an example to warn the military personnel that their proud modern weapons were useless against him.
Even using a nuclear bomb wouldn't harm him in the slightest.
"Electromagnetic Girl, has it all been broadcast?"
Watching General Ross's figure enter the command vehicle, Hawking asked without turning his head.
The golden-haired girl standing among the Superheroes nodded:
"Boss, it's all out."
"Good, then continue."
Hawking smiled and nodded.
Electromagnetic Girl was a non-combat Mutant, but she was almost always brought along for any major missions.
Because she could use her ability to live-stream everything she saw with her eyes onto all televisions covering a city-sized area, which was perfect for propaganda.
From the moment Banner awoke, he had already had Electromagnetic Girl start the live broadcast.
Next, as long as General Ross actively launched an attack, it would confirm Banner's statement. Everyone would know General Ross intended to silence them, and then his counterattack to apprehend General Ross would naturally be justified.
Sure enough, the next second, the elite snipers who had already taken positions on the surrounding buildings, originally intended to deal with Hulk, simultaneously launched an attack on Hawking.
Thirty Barrett sniper rifles, capable of accurately penetrating fifteen-millimeter thick steel plates from five hundred meters away, simultaneously aimed at various vital points on Hawking's body and fired. Thirty bullets appeared simultaneously in front of Hawking.
"I don't believe you can block this!"
Inside the command vehicle, General Ross stared at Hawking on the screen through the front monitor.
Without Magneto's natural counter-ability, he didn't believe Hawking could block thirty Barretts attacking simultaneously.
The Barrett, known as the human cannon, even made armored vehicles temporarily avoid its Edge. Could Hawking's flesh and blood compare to an armored vehicle?
Moreover, this was a sneak attack, not like fighting Apocalypse where there was prior preparation. He estimated Hawking wouldn't even have time to activate his abilities.
Based on his understanding of these ability users, many, no matter how powerful, still needed to activate their abilities; if attacked before activation, they would still die.
For example, the famous Professor X, if a long-range missile was accurately targeted, he could still be killed.
As long as Hawking's body was hit before he activated his ability to transform into the terrifying Giant Ape, then General Ross believed Hawking wouldn't be able to withstand it either.
Unfortunately, Hawking was not a Mutant, nor was he an ability user. The tactics summarized for dealing with other Superheroes were completely inapplicable to him.
Furthermore, his current strength was far greater than when he fought Apocalypse. Even without transforming into a Giant Ape, he would not lose to Apocalypse.
His apparent base combat power was only 1200, but the enhancements from magic and Ninjutsu were too numerous.
In fact, with all aspects working together, it was normal for him to display a combat power level of three to four thousand.
"Mere parlor tricks!"
Hawking's body instantly transformed into streaks of afterimages, then all merged back into one. In the eyes of others, he seemed to have moved, yet also seemed not to have moved.
The only difference was that he now held a large handful of flattened bullets in his hand.
"Everyone, be careful!"
It was then that everyone realized Hawking had been attacked and quickly activated their respective defensive abilities.
Colossus once again transformed into his steel form, the female knight held a large shield in front of Hawking, and Spider-Man, along with the others, formed a defensive circle around Dr. Banner.
"I knew he wasn't a man of his word. I'll let Hulk out to help!"
Surrounded by everyone, Banner suddenly understood that in dangerous situations like today, he still had to rely on Hulk.
"No need. You haven't fully communicated with him yet. Letting him out might even backfire."
Hawking released his grip and threw the bullets to the ground:
"Piotr, Peter, and Jessica, you all stay here and don't move. I'll handle what comes next."
"Full attack, no survivors!"
Seeing Hawking actually catch the Barrett's attack bare-handed, General Ross in the command vehicle was shocked and immediately issued an order for a full attack, leaving no one alive.
Even if they were all killed, it was fine; as long as there were bodies and blood, experiments and research could still be conducted.
In truth, it wasn't General Ross's fault for not anticipating this outcome. After all, the information he had on Hawking only covered some of Hawking's early activities in New York City while fighting criminals.
The battle in Cairo, because Magneto was involved, their intelligence was obtained from television, just like everyone else.
They didn't truly understand Hawking that well. The ones who genuinely understood Hawking's strength were S.H.I.E.L.D., HYDRA, and Magneto.
Magneto was imprisoned at the Mutant School, personally guarded by Professor X.
S.H.I.E.L.D. would never share its intelligence with the military, and HYDRA would certainly not.
If Nick Fury knew that General Ross intended to kill Hawking with a sniper rifle today, he would probably just curse him as "foolish" and say nothing else.
"Boom, boom, boom!"
Rifles, sniper rifles, machine guns, Rocket launchers, missiles, tanks, and other firepower were unleashed, launching a full-scale, saturation attack on Hawking and Colossus and the others behind him.
This was more than ten times stronger than the firepower used against Hulk earlier.
"Super Protego!"
Hawking pointed his hand, and a magical defensive shield instantly enveloped everyone, isolating all attacks outside.
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