Crack!
Arcs of lightning danced around Thor's body.
He stood there, surrounded by crackling thunder, savoring a level of power he had never experienced before. Drex could clearly sense the violent storm raging inside him. Thor's divine lightning had become a force of terrifying magnitude, a living catastrophe waiting to be unleashed.
Power was addictive.
Once someone experienced true strength, giving it up became almost impossible.
If forced to choose between Mjolnir and this newfound power, Thor wouldn't hesitate for a second.
The hammer suddenly seemed far less important.
Drex rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"I think I may have accidentally created a genuine monster."
Even he hadn't expected the combination of Hulk physiology and Asgardian divinity to produce something this powerful.
From his observations, Thor's divine power had increased by hundreds of times after the transformation. What had once seemed insignificant from Drex's perspective had exploded into something entirely different.
He suspected this version of Thor was already far stronger than the future Thor who would awaken his true power after Hela shattered Mjolnir.
At this point, Drex wasn't even sure whether Thor still counted as a Hulk.
Technically, he hadn't even been exposed to gamma radiation yet.
The good news was obvious.
If Thor transformed into his Hulk state and fought Hela, there was a decent chance he'd beat her into the ground.
Far away in Asgard, Odin's expression darkened.
Through Heimdall's vision, he had witnessed everything.
The future King of Asgard had transformed into a giant green monster.
How exactly was he supposed to explain that?
What would the Nine Realms think?
For a brief moment, Odin seriously considered traveling to Earth personally.
Unfortunately, Drex Valen remained an unknown variable. Odin still couldn't determine the true extent of the man's power.
As a result, all he could do was watch helplessly.
Watch as Thor stood there in giant green form, covered in golden fur and sporting a surprisingly majestic mane of flowing blond hair.
The sight was painful.
A thousand years of royal dignity seemed to be crumbling before Odin's eyes.
Fortunately, just as Odin was beginning to consider how severely he should punish Thor upon his return, the transformation ended.
Thor reverted to normal.
At that exact moment, Mjolnir streaked across the sky and flew into his hand.
Odin had completely abandoned the idea of testing his son.
He just wanted Thor back in Asgard as soon as possible.
Thor gripped the hammer.
Yet something had changed.
His attachment to Mjolnir wasn't what it once had been.
He had tasted another form of power.
One that belonged entirely to him.
"Heimdall!"
Thor called out immediately.
No matter how strong he had become, Asgard remained his first priority.
A rainbow column descended from the heavens.
The Bifrost engulfed him.
Then he vanished.
One of the Administration agents glanced toward Drex.
"Director, Thor's gone. What do we do now?"
Drex shrugged.
"What we've always done."
He wasn't worried in the slightest.
Thor would be back eventually.
For now, he probably had a few Nine Realms crises to deal with.
Which likely meant the Bifrost was heading toward another unfortunate encounter with destruction.
One month later.
The aftermath of the alien invasion and the Destroyer's battle against the Hulks had finally begun to fade from public attention.
Unfortunately, a new crisis had arrived.
Brooklyn Bridge.
Panic swept across the structure.
A gigantic humanoid lizard was rampaging through stalled traffic.
With frightening ease, it lifted entire vehicles and hurled them off the bridge.
Cars weighing over a ton looked like toys in its claws.
Peter Parker stood between the monster and the civilians.
Or at least, he tried to.
His hands trembled.
Every breath felt like inhaling iron filings.
His muscles shook uncontrollably.
The creature before him radiated overwhelming danger.
Peter was dangerously close to panic.
The monster's strength.
Its razor-sharp claws.
Its armored scales.
None of it was something he knew how to overcome.
His Spider-Sense screamed warnings so intense they bordered on pain.
Run.
Run now.
If he stayed, he would die.
But if he left...
Everyone on the bridge would die instead.
"ROOOOAR!"
Doctor Lizard lunged.
His powerful hind legs launched his massive body through the air.
The creature moved with terrifying speed.
Its claws sliced through the wind as it pounced.
One clean hit would tear through flesh, muscle, and bone before ripping a victim's organs free.
Peter twisted aside at the last possible moment.
The claws missed.
He countered immediately with a powerful kick to the side of Doctor Lizard's head.
The monster barely reacted.
"Pathetic."
Doctor Lizard sneered.
"That tickled, little insect."
Peter ducked beneath another attack.
Guided by his Spider-Sense, he narrowly avoided being grabbed.
The two raced across the traffic-choked bridge.
Peter's punches and kicks accomplished almost nothing.
Meanwhile, even a glancing strike from Doctor Lizard's claws left deep wounds.
Blood stained Peter's suit.
The battle was becoming increasingly one-sided.
Growing frustrated, Doctor Lizard ripped a section of steel guardrail free from the bridge.
He swung it like a giant club.
Peter's reflexes remained extraordinary thanks to his spider-enhanced biology.
Unfortunately, Doctor Lizard was almost as fast.
The pressure mounted with every passing second.
BOOM!
A massive tail whipped through the air.
Peter never saw it coming.
The impact launched him across the bridge.
He crashed into the trunk of a parked car hard enough to crush the metal inward.
The force shoved the vehicle into the one ahead of it.
Car alarms erupted instantly.
Pain exploded through his entire body.
Peter tried to stand.
A giant claw wrapped around his head.
Then slammed him back against the car.
Doctor Lizard leaned closer.
His reptilian eyes gleamed with madness.
"Look at you."
His voice dripped with contempt.
"The great hero."
"Everyone you tried to save is running away. Not one of them came back for you."
He laughed.
A deep, savage sound.
"They're hiding. Watching. Waiting for me to kill their precious savior while they cower in fear."
Peter struggled desperately.
The strength difference was simply too great.
Nothing he did mattered.
Doctor Lizard shook his head.
"Humans are so weak."
He raised the twisted steel guardrail.
The sharpened end pointed directly at Peter's chest.
Peter stared up at it.
So this was it.
He tried prying the claw off his head.
It felt like trying to bend solid steel.
Fear flooded through him.
His Spider-Sense screamed louder than ever.
Death was coming.
Then something changed.
A new warning flashed through his senses.
Something was approaching.
Fast.
Peter's eyes widened.
He looked toward the sky.
BOOM!
A dark figure crashed onto the bridge.
The impact crushed the roof of a nearby vehicle.
Peter immediately recognized him.
"Abomination!"
Blonsky.
Already transformed.
Blonsky looked Doctor Lizard up and down.
He had no idea where this oversized reptile had come from.
Frankly, he didn't care.
The last month had left him in a terrible mood.
Getting beaten around by the Destroyer Armor tended to do that.
Maybe smashing a giant lizard would help.
A voice crackled through his communicator.
"Abomination has arrived at the target location. Returning to base."
Above them, an Administration Killer Bee attack helicopter banked away and disappeared into the distance.
A recovery team would arrive later to transport both Abomination and the monster.
"ROAR!"
Doctor Lizard flinched for a moment.
Then his aggression shifted instantly.
He released Peter.
The massive steel guardrail swung toward Blonsky with enough force to flatten a truck.
The weapon howled through the air.
And missed.