"Your bio-signatures are fascinating. Such unstable energy inside such a fragile shell."
Megatron's eyes glowed ominously. One quick scan, and Bruce Banner was laid bare—no secrets, no defense.
That was the terrifying reality of the Transformers. Any one of them, be it a mobile phone or a wristwatch in disguise, was more than just a deadly weapon.
In a modern, data-driven world, they were apex predators.
Maxed-out hacking. Maxed-out infiltration. Maxed-out information acquisition.
And Megatron? He operated on an entirely different tier.
Banner stared, dumbfounded. "You… you can talk?"
Martin sighed and covered his face. "Bruce, mind if I call you that? Every Transformer I've created isn't just some rigid automaton. They're living, thinking mechanical beings."
"What?! You turned machines into life? That's not just rewriting the genetic code, that's a trans-species leap…"
Banner flushed red, voice trembling with excitement as he launched into a torrent of biochemical theory. It wasn't surprising, he'd been a leading military researcher in molecular biology before the accident.
Megatron took one step forward.
The entire building quaked. The subtle threat in that gesture was enough to shut Banner up instantly.
"Bruce, tell me why you came here. You're the first to ever seek me out," Martin said, pouring two cups of coffee and sliding one across the table.
"I… I need your help. Only you can control the monster inside me. You killed the Abomination, you must have the power to control me. Maybe even… even end me."
Desperation and self-loathing drenched Banner's expression.
Martin took a quiet sip of coffee, offering no immediate response.
The Hulk, after all, was still relatively "new" at this point. Emotionally, he was a child, prone to tantrums, lacking moral judgment, acting entirely on impulse.
Fixing that? It wasn't impossible.
You could wait him out…
Or beat it out of him.
"You're afraid of him, Bruce. I don't expect you to conquer him… but fear? That's weakness."
Martin tapped his forehead. "You know how this works. That 'monster' you fear, he feeds off your fear. You panic, he takes over. You dread him… and that's exactly how he's born again and again."
"No, you don't understand what it's like! Every night, he's screaming at me!"
Banner clutched his head, trembling. His heartbeat surged with remembered trauma. He hadn't just fought the Abomination in the streets of New York, he'd indirectly caused the deaths of innocent people. The Abomination existed because of him.
That guilt, that despair, it crushed him.
And with it, his heartbeat thundered faster. A green shimmer crept across his skin.
The Hulk was awakening.
Martin took a casual step back, coffee still in hand. Calm as ever, he gave a quiet command:
"Megatron, he's yours. Beat him within an inch of his life. Just don't let him die… This one's a bit special."
Megatron's face twisted into a cruel grin. Eager. Anticipating.
He stepped in front of Bruce with a cold chuckle.
ROAR!
A deep, guttural howl split the air. Banner's shirt tore apart as his body exploded in size. Within seconds, a five-meter-tall green titan stood where a man had been, eyes wild with fury.
The Hulk had logged in.
"RAAAHH!!"
The Hulk saw Megatron. The size difference didn't faze him.
He didn't know fear. His entire world was rage. With a bellow, he lunged.
"Interesting…"
Megatron's optics spun, processing Hulk's every motion. In the same instant, his superior cyberbrain calculated countless counterattacks.
His massive arm moved. A fist flew forward.
BOOM.
The sound shattered the air. Hulk was launched like a missile, crashing into the ground with thunderous force.
"Impressive strength. But beyond that, you're garbage."
Megatron sneered, unbothered.
Martin let out a soft sigh, retreating another step.
Based on his memories from his past life, Hulk's base strength hovered around 100 tons. That was already leagues above Spider-Man's 20 tons, but on a cosmic scale? That was nothing. Thankfully, Hulk's power grew with his anger. Given time, he could punch apart planets.
Megatron, though? He was sitting comfortably at around 5 to 8 million tons of force. Stronger than even a non-hacked version of Superman from the next universe over.
As a Tier-4 lifeform, Megatron couldn't punch stars into dust instantly… but leveling a few mega-cities? Child's play.
The Hulk clawed his way out of the crater, dazed. Then he roared louder, angrier—his power spiked, strength soaring to 1,000 tons.
He felt it. He believed in it.
He charged. Massive fists swinging.
Megatron didn't even flinch. He casually caught the blow. His giant frame remained unmoved.
Bent slightly forward, he looked down on Hulk like an adult scolding a child, his face devoid of mercy.
BAM! BAM! CRACK! BOOM!
Megatron struck Hulk square in the chest. A simple, precision punch.
But the impact caved Hulk's ribcage in, shattering bones tougher than secondary adamantium.
"AARRRGHH!"
Hulk screamed, eyes wide in pain and shock. He stumbled back and fell to one knee, gasping. Rage twisted into something new… fear.
Megatron advanced, posture relaxed.
Hulk forced himself upright again. His roar echoed across several city blocks. Bloodshot eyes blazed, muscle mass swelling further.
He charged.
"Fool. You don't even give yourself time to grow stronger."
Megatron's cold laugh cut through the chaos. His sensors had already dissected Hulk's every tactic.
Another barrage.
Each punch could have leveled a kilometer-high skyscraper. Each strike tore through Hulk's defenses.
And Megatron still hadn't transformed. He didn't summon weapons or deploy cannons. Just his fists, like a cybernetic war-god practicing martial arts.
Within moments, Hulk was battered, bruised, broken.
Megatron took one step forward.
One hand shot out, wrapped around Hulk's neck, and lifted.
Then he slammed the green titan into the ground like a rag doll.
CRACK.
Blood coated Hulk's shredded body. His chest had caved in. His massive frame lay limp in a crater, unconscious and defeated.