A week had passed since the incident at Yeshiva University, and Angie had finally stabilized emotionally. The authorities had compensated him generously—two hundred thousand marks in gold. The money soothed some of the trauma, though the real credit went to the swift suppression of the whole event.
Bella had defeated the Hulk, but the outcome hadn't brought her significant growth in terms of power. Her stats had increased slightly—strength, agility, and magic power were now at C+, while her mental power crept up from E+ to D. She still didn't understand why her mental stat progressed so slowly, but considering the gains, she couldn't complain.
Surprisingly, the Yeshiva incident hadn't spread through the media. There were no pictures, no live coverage—most people had fled the scene in a panic before any real footage could be captured. The military had done an excellent job of crowd control and evacuation. Their follow-up was even more decisive. With a flood of compensation money and an official narrative in place, the story was snuffed out before it could ferment.
Bella wasn't shocked by the military's ability to contain the situation. People, after all, were forgetful creatures. Even if millions had watched the live broadcast, the hype faded quickly. Manhattan's attention span was brief. Once the headlines shifted, the population moved on.
Still, General Ross wasn't so lucky. A week ago, the Hulk had been transported to a secure military base in Florida. That should've been the end of it—but nothing with Bruce Banner was ever simple. Somehow, Bruce had regained consciousness en route. The moment he realized he was restrained, his emotions spiraled into rage. Within seconds, he transformed into the Hulk and unleashed chaos.
The Florida base turned into a battlefield.
The green behemoth escaped, smashing through half the facility. Thousands of soldiers were either injured or killed, and three senior officers lost their lives. The financial toll alone exceeded hundreds of millions in gold. The incident devastated Ross's military career.
Bella had kept a close eye on Ross ever since. She even hacked into S.H.I.E.L.D. to dig deeper. To her surprise, Nick Fury had a meticulous dossier on Ross—complete with movement logs, evaluations, and mission reports. Fury really didn't miss a thing.
From the S.H.I.E.L.D. database, Bella learned the full story behind the Florida disaster. Ross's miscalculation, Bruce's resurgence, and the Hulk's rampage—it was all there.
"Tsk. Not dead yet?" Bella muttered, lounging on her sofa with her legs crossed as she bit into an apple. Her laptop balanced on her knees, displaying Ross's current whereabouts. She smirked. "You lucky bastard. That green lump didn't crush you. What's saving you—Betty?"
She couldn't help but muse on the possibility. Was there more to the story between the Hulk and Betty Ross? Some unspoken connection that spared her father? A tale the media hadn't caught?
She briefly considered flying down to Florida to finish the job herself—wipe Ross off the chessboard before he could ever become the Red Hulk. But the idea fizzled. Too far. Too troublesome. Besides, Angie had received his compensation and seemed to be recovering well. Bella didn't want to stir up more attention just yet.
Still, she added Ross to her mental hit list—a backup target to eliminate if he ever crossed her again. One mistake. That's all it would take.
With two years of dormancy and training finally behind her, Bella was ready to move on to the next phase: weapon acquisition.
She was strong now. Stronger than most of the so-called Avengers, even stronger than the current Thor. But that wasn't enough. Not in a world that teetered on the edge of chaos. Earth looked calm on the surface, but she could feel it—the coming storm. Superheroes were rising like mushrooms after rain, each one pulling the curtain back on an age of calamity.
When the time came, crisis would stack on crisis.
Bella knew her current power still wasn't enough. Forget street-level threats—how could she possibly face Thanos, the ultimate cosmic tyrant with a fondness for "balancing" the universe?
Thanos was no mere villain. He was a sub-god level monster. Even without the Infinity Stones, he commanded legions and could decimate worlds. Once he started collecting the Stones, resistance would be futile.
Bella needed more than raw strength. She needed a weapon—a conduit that could fully channel and harness her magic. One that wouldn't limit her or drain her reserves.
So she waited. Planned. Watched.
Curiously, New York had become unnaturally quiet. Maybe her alter ego—the mysterious "Trial Goddess"—had struck fear deep into the hearts of criminals. Whatever the reason, crime had plummeted. No superpowered villains. No bizarre anomalies.
For the moment, it was peaceful.
And boring.
Angie, meanwhile, had recovered enough to return to school. The damage done during the Hulk's appearance had mostly been limited to the playground and surrounding grounds. The main buildings were intact, and the military cleanup crew had already replaced the ground materials. With four sports fields at the school, losing one wasn't a big deal. Classes resumed quickly. At most, physical education was postponed.
With Angie gone during the day, Bella found herself alone and restless. She needed a new target. Something interesting.
That's when she remembered the S.H.I.E.L.D. database.
Tapping into its classified servers, she began sifting through the dark corners of the supernatural world. Ghost stories. Cults. Hidden threats. She wasn't looking for villains. She was hunting prey.
"Hmm... here's something—Old God worshippers? Requires live sacrifices. Creepy. Wait—Natasha Romanoff is involved in this mission?" Bella raised an eyebrow. "Interesting. The location is Piketon, Ohio. Rural backwoods. Real horror movie stuff."
She kept scrolling.
"London's dealing with vampire clans and werewolves. Sounds messy. Too far, though. And some of them might be under the protection of that so-called 'Beacon of Freedom.'"
More files surfaced.
"Demonic activity in Texas? Now that's worth looking into."
As she chewed her apple and clicked through reports, one file froze her screen. Her posture straightened. Eyes sharpened.
On the screen was an image of a small town cloaked in black mist. The landscape looked cursed—mist swirling around decaying buildings, skeletal remains barely visible among the shadows. The file's dark tone gave off a sense of dread.
A brief description sat beneath the visual.
"Twelve demon hunters dead. Five priests vanished. Three bodies never recovered. Seventeen S.H.I.E.L.D. agents entered the town—none returned. No remains found."
A red classification tag glared at her: SSS-level warning. Top-level security clearance required. Only a tenth-level agent or Director Nick Fury himself could access this file.
Bella leaned closer. "Now that's interesting."
This wasn't just a case. This was something huge. Something dangerous.
Her heart pounded with excitement.
The thrill of the hunt had returned.
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