General Ross stood stiffly beside his armored vehicle, arms folded, eyes narrowed.
The battle was over. Hulk had been subdued.
Bruce Banner, now unconscious and restrained, was being transported by soldiers under tight surveillance.
Ross should have been satisfied. Instead, he was unnerved.
He kept glancing toward the girl in silver-blue armor who had brought the entire battlefield to a standstill. She was watching silently from the edge of the crater where the confrontation had ended, her crimson cloak rippling in the wind.
Ross wasn't a man easily shaken. He'd seen death, led battles, signed off on classified horrors. But this woman—this knight—was something else.
She had done what tanks, soldiers, helicopters, and entire strike teams had failed to accomplish.
And she did it without breaking a sweat.
At first, he'd wanted to recruit her. But after watching her actions and demeanor—so unlike a soldier's, so full of principle—it was clear she would never work for the military. She wasn't motivated by orders or glory.
She was… idealistic.
That made her unpredictable. And in Ross's world, unpredictable was dangerous.
Still, he couldn't help but compare her to the other extraordinary figure that had been plaguing his operations: the Goddess of Judgment.
That woman—hidden behind her V-shaped mask, shrouded in black, moved like a ghost and struck like a guillotine. Ruthless. Elegant. A killer wrapped in style.
Ross had tried to locate her, even bypassed some of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s restrictions to pursue her trail. No luck.
But this knight… could they be the same?
The height was similar. The figure, even. But the presence was different. Where the Goddess of Judgment exuded cold, calculated menace, this knight projected honor. Chivalry. She spoke with righteous conviction—almost like something out of a medieval legend.
If they were the same person, Ross thought grimly, then this girl deserved an Oscar for the performance.
What Bella didn't know was how closely Ross had been studying her.
But then again, it wouldn't have mattered.
She knew exactly what she was doing.
Her temperament stat had reached A-rank, a subtle but powerful gift of the system. That meant she could shift her aura as easily as she changed clothes. As the Goddess of Judgment, she was sharp, aloof, shadowed in mystery. As Bella the student, she was cheerful and grounded. As the Knight, she was regal, powerful, and revered.
And right now, she was done here.
With Banner handed over and her point made, Bella crouched slightly—then launched herself into the sky with a thunderous BOOM.
A golden shockwave erupted behind her as she disappeared in a blur of motion, rocketing into the clouds with a sonic boom that shattered windows across the courtyard.
Ross's head snapped upward.
"What the hell—?"
His adjutant beside him was equally stunned.
"She just… flew?" Ross asked, disbelief painted across his face.
"Yes, General. That was definitely a sonic boom."
Ross's mouth opened, but no words came out. His brain struggled to process the implications.
She had executed supersonic flight… with her body alone?
That wasn't just powerful.
That was inhuman.
It meant her bones, muscles, and organs were strong enough to withstand g-forces and pressure that would liquefy a normal person.
Ross slowly turned back toward his troops, still staring into the sky.
"God help us," he muttered.
"Demons, vampires, werewolves… and now this. What's next? Angels? Superman? Is that where we're headed?"
The adjutant offered no reply.
Ross cursed under his breath.
If the military didn't finish the super-soldier serum soon, they'd be left behind in a world full of monsters—and gods.
"Get Banner secured," he barked. "We need him locked down and studied. Fast."
"Yes, sir."
Across the street, in front of the university's glass-panel fence, crowds had gathered—bystanders, media, and students who had fled the chaos.
People were talking over each other, watching smoke billow from the university grounds. Everyone had their phones out, capturing footage, whispering about the explosion, the knight, and the monster that tore through the quad.
Among the crowd stood Angie.
She was disheveled—her sports jacket scuffed, her ponytail undone, and her knees bruised from where she had fallen during the evacuation rush. Her phone had been lost in the madness, but all she cared about was one thing—
Bella.
Was she okay?
Angie bit her lip, scanning the crowd nervously, guilt pressing on her chest.
She had barely managed to warn Bella before the attack. And now…
"Angie?"
The voice snapped her out of her thoughts.
She turned.
Bella came jogging up from the corner of the street, panting as if she had just sprinted across several blocks.
"There you are!" Bella said, gasping. "I couldn't reach you. Are you okay?"
Angie's eyes widened.
For a second, she was speechless. And then—
She burst into tears.
"Bella!" she cried, rushing into her friend's arms and hugging her tightly. "I thought I was going to die back there!"
Bella's arms wrapped around her gently.
"It's okay. You're safe now," she whispered.
The embrace lasted long.
Angie's voice trembled. "There was this monster—he just came out of nowhere. And people were screaming and falling and I couldn't move and—and then someone saved us. She looked like a knight. Did you see her?"
Bella smiled softly, stroking her friend's back.
"Yeah. I heard."
"She was amazing… she kicked that thing halfway across campus! Like—boom! Just like that!"
"Wow," Bella said, raising an eyebrow. "Sounds like a real badass."
"She really was."
Angie hiccupped, slowly pulling back, wiping her eyes.
Bella scanned her quickly for injuries. "You okay? Any pain?"
"Just bruised. I lost my phone."
"Well, good thing I found you," Bella said.
Angie nodded, sniffling. "I don't want to stay here. The sports meet's definitely canceled, right?"
"Yup," Bella said, gently guiding her away from the crowd. "Let's go home."
As the two girls walked off together, one shaken and the other secretly triumphant, Bella kept her expression soft and neutral.
But inwardly?
She was already planning the next move.
Let Ross believe what he wanted. Let S.H.I.E.L.D. guess. Let the world speculate about the knight, the goddess, and the monsters in the shadows.
That's how she would move best—in duality.
By day, Bella was just another face in the crowd. An ordinary student.
But when needed?
She was the blade in the dark. The armored savior in the sky.
The Goddess of Judgment.
And now—
The Knight of Victory.
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