The Mirror Dimension settled back into a fragile, crystalline stillness, the silence punctuated only by the ragged breathing of Hulk, who stood over the wreckage, and the dull thud of Abomination's unconscious, behemoth form.
Everyone present had borne terrified witness to the Abomination's debut power display. In the span of minutes, he had turned several blocks of Manhattan into a war zone, demonstrating the chaotic destructive capability of a gamma-irradiated, tactical lunatic—a true monster version of a rampaging, oversized animal.
The fight with the Hulk had been a brutal exchange, with the Abomination holding the advantage due to his superior training. Even Iron Man's standard repulsor rays had proven useless against the creature's hide; Spider-Man's high-tensile webbing and Ghost-Spider's symbiote restraints had been snapped like old string.
Yet, upon entering this enclosed pocket of reality, Su Yi had finished the seemingly invincible monster in less than sixty seconds. He hadn't just defeated Blonsky; he had humiliated him, beating the life out of him with casual, effortless strikes.
A hint of genuine, profound fear—something rarely seen in the eyes of the Green Goliath—flickered in the Hulk's emerald gaze as he stared at the calm, powerful figure of Su Yi. This man was simply too powerful. Unprovokable. Unstoppable. The Hulk recognized the difference between power he could trade blows with, and absolute, terrifying supremacy.
As the chaotic energy subsided, Tony Stark, piloting his heavily damaged armor, limped back toward the center of the scene, his metallic boots crunching on the folded asphalt.
"Well," Tony said, his voice laced with forced bravado through the comms. "That was… quick. Did you even break a sweat, or are you just perpetually emitting ice?"
Su Yi shrugged, effortlessly floating down to stand beside the incapacitated Blonsky, who, without the fueling rage, was beginning to shrink, his grotesque gamma scales receding slightly.
"What did you expect?" Su Yi replied, a faint, dry smile on his face. "I told you, clean up crew."
Tony hovered closer, scanning the semi-conscious Abomination with a red laser sight, his internal diagnostics running wild. "This guy is a nightmare, a textbook biological weapon. But you," Tony said, gesturing with an armored finger toward Su Yi, "you are a monster's monster! I can design a suit to counter Blonsky—a Hulkbuster, enhanced defense, kinetic dampeners. But facing you?" Tony sighed, the sound broadcasting across the open channel. "You defy all modeling. There is no equation, no blueprint, no structural analysis that can predict that level of raw, concentrated force. It's infuriating, but... impressive."
Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy swung down, landing lightly on a jutting concrete slab. They were still wide-eyed with shock.
"That was literally crazy, Su!" Peter exclaimed, his voice high-pitched and excited. "The speed of your impacts—my spider-sense couldn't even register the attack pattern! And the sheer force! He looked like he was fighting the ground itself, not you!"
"This world is constantly proving how little sense it makes," Gwen muttered, shaking her head. "First a psychic who can fly, then a scientist who turns into a giant rage machine, then an even uglier rage machine, and now a normal guy who turns the ugly rage machine into chunky salsa in less than a minute. Who's next? A squirrel with a cosmic cube?"
Su Yi's attention, however, was already focused on the primary problem: the still-furious Hulk, who was eyeing the retreating figures with deep suspicion.
"Hulk," Su Yi said gently, stepping away from the prone Abomination. "Relax. Look around. We're safe here. We are not here to capture you, or use you, or put you on a leash."
The Hulk grunted, his enormous muscles tensing. "Hulk leave! Hulk angry!"
"We understand that, but we need to talk to the man inside," Su Yi continued, stepping slowly toward the green giant. "Can you let Dr. Banner out? Just for a little chat. We want to help him."
The Hulk merely pounded his massive fist into his chest, a gesture of firm rejection. "Hulk NO! Banner weak! Banner hide! Hulk stay!"
Seeing that the gentle approach was futile against the Hulk's deeply ingrained protective instincts, Su Yi turned to the ethereal, cloaked figure floating patiently nearby.
"Ancient One, I need your expertise now. Can you help me bring Dr. Banner to the surface? If not physically, perhaps in his spirit form is enough for our conversation."
The Ancient One nodded, recognizing the delicate nature of the request. She approached the giant, her small frame dwarfed by his sheer bulk, yet radiating a power that the Hulk instinctively respected.
She raised her hand, not in aggression, but in concentrated mystical energy, delivering a precise, soft palm strike to the Hulk's forehead—a metaphysical intervention targeting the mind, not the body. The strike was non-violent, but its effect was immediate and profound.
A translucent, shimmering figure—the exact spectral replica of Bruce Banner in his tattered civilian clothes—peeled away from the Hulk's body, pulled free by the Ancient One's power. Simultaneously, the now-vacant Hulk body slumped, falling into a deep, instantaneous slumber on the broken ground. As the rage drained, the colossal muscles deflated rapidly, the green skin receding until the scientist's frail form lay in its place.
Dr. Banner's astral form floated, disoriented, beside his sleeping body. He looked down at himself, then at the massive green figure that had been him, and back at his spectral hands, pure terror clouding his face.
"Oh, man! What—what did you do?!" Bruce cried out, his voice thin and panicked. Bruce was a scientist, acutely aware of the limits of physical reality, and this kind of spiritual separation was utterly shattering to his worldview.
Peter, having witnessed the entire spectral extraction, was practically vibrating with scientific excitement. "Whoa! What just flew out? Is that his consciousness? That's insane! She actually knocked the giant out with a tap and pulled out his soul! That Sorceress is even more powerful than Su!"
Tony sighed, his headache worsening. "Enough, kid! Seriously, your running commentary needs to go through a rigorous editorial process. Just… quiet."
Peter, instantly chastened, mumbled, "Okay, Mr. Stark. Sorry."
The attention of the entire group—Spiders, Armored Avenger, and Sorcerer Supreme—was fixed on Dr. Banner's ethereal form.
"Dr. Banner, please, calm down," Su Yi urged gently. "We've simply separated your consciousness from your physical form for a safe conversation. You are safe. When we're done, your soul will return, and you will wake up. You have already recognized us, so let's talk."
Bruce took a trembling breath, recognizing Su Yi from news reports and the other heroes who were now part of the global lexicon. "Right. Fine. If you have something to say, please be quick. I just want to… resolve this and go back to hiding."
"I want to invite you to become a hero," Su Yi stated directly.
Bruce's denial was immediate, bordering on desperate. "No. Absolutely not. I just want to be a normal person. I just want to live a quiet life, a human life, far away from all this chaos."
Su Yi's expression remained patient. "But your idol is Captain Steve Rogers. When the Abomination was destroying the city and no one else could stop him, you chose to transform. You gave up your cure for the city. That is the definition of a hero, Bruce."
Bruce had to concede the point; the moral imperative to act had overridden his deepest desire for peace. "But I can't control him! Once I transform, I am not myself! I am a danger to everyone I try to protect!"
Su Yi nodded, understanding the core dilemma. "That's the problem we want to solve. I believe I have a theory about your issue, but it requires addressing the root cause, which isn't just the gamma energy."
Bruce's astral brow furrowed. "The root cause? What are you talking about? My problem is gamma energy. It's chemistry."
Su Yi looked at the Ancient One, confirming her previous, non-verbal guidance. "Ancient One, I know this is complex, but Dr. Banner needs to hear this. Could you explain the difference between a soul and a personality? He only has one soul, correct?"
The Ancient One stepped forward, her voice resonating softly but profoundly. "Under normal circumstances, yes. Every sentient being possesses a singular soul. Dr. Banner has only one soul inhabiting his body."
"However," she continued, gazing directly at Bruce's spectral form, "the soul is the container, and personality is the manifestation—the face the soul shows the world. Normally, there is only one dominant, integrated personality. But when the soul suffers profound, repeated trauma, it can fragment. In such special, dark circumstances, another, separate personality can form, acting as a defense mechanism or a repository for pain and rage. It is a twisting of the soul's self-perception."
Bruce Banner was aghast. The scientific, rational core of his being revolted.
"Wait. You're saying… the Hulk is just one of my personalities? My mind is broken?" Bruce was utterly terrified. "But, I've never shown signs of a disorder! I'm highly functional! This is an external mutation caused by radiation! You must be mistaken. It has to be caused by gamma energy!"
Su Yi sighed, adopting the necessary role of the reluctant psychiatrist. "That's where the evidence disagrees with your denial, Bruce. Other people who acquire gamma power don't experience this complete takeover and memory loss. Think about it: Emil Blonsky transformed into the Abomination—a grotesque, ten-ton lizard-man—but he maintained his consciousness. He maintained his core, hateful personality and his military training. He wasn't a separate entity; he was just more Blonsky."
Bruce stammered, his spectral hands clenching. "Other people? Other members of the Hulk family? Are there others who have gained this power and... maintained control?"
"That's irrelevant for now," Su Yi said firmly, steering the conversation back to the crucial point. "What's important, Dr. Banner, is that the gamma energy did not create a new soul; it empowered an existing, fractured defense mechanism. You have a psychological wound that manifested as a separate, raging entity. You have a deeply rooted mental illness, and you need treatment."
Su Yi turned back to the Ancient One, his request now crystallized. "Ancient One, can you use your methods to force communication between Dr. Banner and the Hulk personality? We need to bridge that gap. At the very least, they must be able to communicate so Dr. Banner can educate his other self. He needs to teach the Hulk not to harm the world, but to protect it."
The Ancient One closed her eyes, a deep, silent sigh echoing in the mystical void. She was the supreme Sorcerer, the protector of the Earth from Dormammu and interdimensional threats. Now, she was fielding requests for relationship counseling between a scientist and his inner demon, administering astral therapy, and coordinating the logistics of a nascent superhero team.
A nanny for superheroes? she mused, adjusting her posture. No, worse. A teacher for a highly volatile, highly dangerous problem student training class. And Strange hasn't even enrolled yet.
She opened her eyes, a resolute power returning to her gaze. "It is a complex spell, one that merges the astral self into the subconscious mind. It is possible, but it will be painful for Dr. Banner. He will confront every memory, every trauma, every ounce of rage that birthed the Hulk."
"He's already chosen the pain," Su Yi said simply, nodding toward the sleeping body on the ground. "He chose the city over his cure. He will choose integration over destruction. Begin the therapy, Ancient One. We need a hero, not a ticking time bomb."