Red Hulk.
"Tsk, tsk." Hermione looked Thaddeus Ross up and down. "Looking like that, you can probably kiss the presidency goodbye."
Hermione's voice was light:
"Who among a bunch of ordinary people would want a red-skinned monster in the White House?"
She snapped her fingers.
The soldiers and politicians instantly regained the ability to move.
"Now you can experience your own hostility toward superpowered people firsthand."
Silence lasted about two seconds.
"A monster! That's a monster!"
"Open fire! Open fire now!"
Several senior officials who had sided with Thaddeus Ross fell out of their chairs in terror, scrambling away as they pointed at the red giant on the table and screamed.
The soldiers hesitated for only half a second before turning their guns, aiming them all at the red monster who kept growling.
Bullets poured out.
Specially made armor-piercing rounds struck Red Hulk's skin, throwing off showers of sparks without so much as scratching him.
"Sonic cannons!"
Two cannon barrels swung around, a humming sound rising as everything in their path burst apart.
But Red Hulk merely swayed and stumbled one step forward.
These weapons had originally been Thaddeus Ross's backup plan for dealing with the Avengers.
Now the entire sequence was being used on him, without skipping a single step.
"Tch, I thought these were supposed to handle Hulk," Hermione said, shaking her head. "More hot air."
"Or did everyone down the chain skim the funding, from development through production, and end up fooling you with something that only looked the part?"
Apparently irritated by the sonic waves, Thaddeus Ross growled and smashed both sonic cannons, one punch apiece.
"Look at these colleagues of yours." Hermione leaned against the wall. "A minute ago, they were calling you Mr. Secretary of State. Now they're calling you a monster."
"All those