"Fire Style: Phoenix Fire Technique!"
Carl took out a smoke bomb he had prepared in advance and tossed it on the ground. After the smoke enveloped him, he formed seals with his hands and performed a C-level ninjutsu—the Phoenix Fire Technique.
Fruit-sized fireballs spewed from his mouth one after another, piercing through the thick smoke and flying toward the two helicopters that were descending nearby.
The Phoenix Fire Technique isn't the most powerful attack, but it makes up for it in numbers and range.
"What's going on? Where did the fire come from?!"
The soldiers in the two helicopters thought the smoke meant their target was trying to conceal himself and make a getaway, so they lowered their altitude and came closer.
Little did they know what was waiting for them were a barrage of small fireballs.
The fireballs struck the helicopters, and in an instant, both were engulfed in flames. Alarms blared from the cockpits, and the pilots rushed to land and flee for their lives.
A moment later, two massive explosions shook the nearby block as the helicopters blew up in the middle of the street.
Meanwhile, Carl had already scooped up Banner and Betty, hopped across nearby rooftops, and vanished from view.
When General Ross and Bronsky arrived with their soldiers in the fifth block, all that remained were the charred wreckage of two helicopters and a handful of injured soldiers.
"Where are they? What's going on here? Did the other side have heavy weapons… or did Banner transform into that monster again? Why were you shot down?" Ross demanded, grabbing a nearby pilot by the collar.
"General, we didn't see him carry any heavy weapons. Otherwise, we wouldn't have gotten close." The injured pilot winced, clutching his leg as he explained what had happened.
Ross let him go and turned back toward Bronsky. "They can't have gotten far. Lead your men and keep up the chase. I'll order the rest to reinforce the roadblocks. Whatever it takes, we're not letting them fly away today!"
"David , drive to the airport!"
Back in the car, Carl removed his mask and addressed David, then turned to Banner and Betty in the back seat. He held out his hand in a friendly gesture.
"My name is Carl. I'm a friend of Dr. Stern, and as you have seen, I have some… special abilities."
"Bruce Banner. Thank you for helping us."
"Betty Ross!"
Banner and Betty shook his hand in turn.
They hadn't quite processed what had just happened. After all, they'd been rushed through the city on rooftop after rooftop by a masked man — something straight out of a comic book — and their heads were still spinning.
"What special ability were you referring to?" Betty asked, curiosity battling disbelief.
As a renowned scientist herself, someone influenced by materialism for decades, the ability to breathe water and produce flame seemed impossible.
It was a bit like when Doctor Strange first entered Kamar-Taj and was forced to reconsider everything he thought was true.
Carl paused for a moment and then said, "Have you heard of magic? What I just used isn't exactly magic… but it's something close."
He chose not to conceal his abilities from them — just like when he hadn't hidden them from Tony — because there was no need.
He avoided using his powers in the ordinary course of his life to avoid complications, but when the time comes, sometimes it was better to show his true ability.
"Magic?" Banner and Betty exchanged unsure glances.
Deep down, they were more inclined to think it might be some advanced technology. But they kept those doubts to themselves.
Carl remained silent; in time, the two would see enough to believe.
"Boss, there's a checkpoint up ahead."
About half an hour later, David stopped the car.
Not far in the distance, soldiers were flagging and checking all vehicles attempting to pass through to the airport.
Banner and Betty grew nervous again when they saw this.
Carl simply raised his hand and was about to form a seal to create a shadow clone. But just as the chakra flowed through him, he paused, looked back, and said to Banner and Betty:
"Please move aside and make some room in the back seat."
"Okay… no problem."
Although confused, Banner slid toward Betty, freeing up the seat directly behind Carl.
"Shadow Clone Technique!"
With a single hand seal, another Carl appeared in the back seat in an instant.
"Oh, God!"
"Oh, damn!"
"Two of you!"
When the clone appeared, not only Banner and Betty were stunned — even David, sitting in the driver's seat, widened his eyes in disbelief. It was his first time seeing this ability.
Banner tapped the clone's arm and whispered to Betty, "It's a real person… not a hologram."
At this moment, faced with hard facts, Banner and Betty had no choice but to believe that there were powers in this world that went far beyond their understanding of science.
"Go."
Carl nodded toward his clone, and the clone nodded back, opened the door, and hopped out.
Not long after, soldiers at the checkpoint seemed to have gotten a message over their radios. They quickly hopped into their vehicles and rushed away.
Carl and the rest were able to pass through smoothly and make their way toward the airport.
"What did you do?" Banner asked, curiosity battling disbelief.
Carl shrugged. "Because they already think you're a kilometer away. There's no need for them to check here."
It turned out that after the shadow clone hopped out, it transformed into Banner's appearance, walked around in view of a nearby surveillance camera, and drew all the soldiers away from the real Banner.
Banner nodded quietly, choosing not to pursue the details. Whatever it was, it kept him from turning into the Hulk — which was all that mattered.
Thanks to the clone's diversion, Carl and the rest made it safely through the airport and boarded their private flight back to New York.
Meanwhile, General Ross remained oblivious. His soldiers were busy scouring the city's outskirts, ignoring the growing complaints from civilians, all in a desperate attempt to find a man who was already gone.