In Marvel With Unique Skill Great Sage (MCU) [112]

Lemu practically inhaled the rest of his lunch. He dropped his knife and fork with a clatter and was gone in a blur. "Alice, something urgent came up! I have to go out! Don't wait up for me tonight!"

If those two monsters, basically walking nuclear bombs, really started throwing down in the middle of New York City, who knew how much damage they'd cause! The entire area could be flattened!

He had to go check it out. Or, at the very least, get Alice's parents out of there before anything happened...

The Armor could fly to New York in less than two hours.

After arriving in New York, Lemu went straight to Queens.

He landed silently on a tall rooftop. The Armor's thermal imaging systems projected outlines of the people inside a nearby apartment building. Alice's parents were both there. Everything seemed calm and normal.

The big showdown between the Abomination and the Hulk hadn't started yet. If Lemu remembered correctly from his... sources... things wouldn't kick off until around dusk. The Great Sage also confirmed no active combat zones anywhere in the city.

Inside the armor, Lemu let out a quiet sigh of relief.

….

Bruce Banner.

He used to be a brilliant physicist with a loving girlfriend and a bright future ahead of him.

He'd been working for the military, specifically for General Ross, trying to recreate the Super Soldier serum from World War II.

But during one crucial experiment, Banner was accidentally exposed to a massive dose of dangerous gamma radiation. This freak accident mutated him, transforming him into a giant, green-skinned monster.

Ever since then, whenever he got angry or stressed, this green giant the Hulk would burst out from within him, going on a destructive rampage, smashing everything in sight. The Hulk's destructive power was immense; he could easily tear apart several tanks or demolish a large building in just a few minutes.

Fortunately, Bruce had found a helpful person online, someone known only as "Mr. Blue," who had been helping him research a cure.

At that very moment, at Grayburn College in New York:

Mr. Blue's real name was Dr. Samuel Sterns. He was a brilliant biologist, a true genius in his field.

He hadn't just found a potential drug to suppress the Hulk transformation; he'd also figured out the scientific principles behind how Banner turned into the Hulk in the first place.

"The gamma pulse originates from the amygdala in your brain," Dr. Sterns explained, his voice full of academic excitement. "The nucleic acid chains in your cells absorb that energy, causing the transformation. When the energy levels drop, you revert to your normal state..."

In the lab, with Dr. Sterns assisting and Bruce's girlfriend, Betty Ross, anxiously by his side, Bruce Banner lay strapped to an operating table.

Bruce Banner himself looked very gentle and mild-mannered. If you didn't know his secret, you'd never believe that such a calm person could hide a raging, incredibly powerful monster inside him.

Dr. Sterns was carefully tightening the thick straps, securing Banner to the table.

Bruce knew the straps were pretty much useless if he actually transformed, but he didn't say anything. He just lay there quietly, wanting to reassure Betty and Sterns.

"You're about to be reborn, Dr. Banner," the small, energetic Dr. Sterns said, looking at him with a confident smile. He then turned to operate the complex machinery.

Tube after tube of blood was drawn from Banner's arm.

"The blood separator will mix the antidote into your blood, and then we'll inject it back into you..." Dr. Sterns explained the procedure. "...But for the antidote to fully work, you'll need to undergo a complete transformation first."

.…

The military was originally Bruce Banner's partner in his research.

But after the accident, they became intensely interested in the Hulk himself. General Ross wanted to control him, to study him and unlock the secret of his incredible strength. Or, even better, turn him into a controllable weapon.

This forced Banner to go on the run. For several years, he'd been a fugitive, living a life of constant fear and hiding. He was essentially a walking, ticking time bomb, traveling alone from country to country, an international nomad with no place to call home.

Downtown New York City.

A convoy of military vehicles roared through the streets, sirens blaring, tires screeching. They were packed full of heavily armed U.S. soldiers.

General Ross, having received intelligence about the Hulk's location, had quickly mobilized his forces and surrounded Grayburn College.

Snipers took up positions on nearby rooftops. Police officers and soldiers began evacuating civilians from the area, setting up barricades and a secure perimeter. Confused onlookers, just trying to see what was going on, were roughly pushed back and told to leave.

Meanwhile, Emil Blonsky, a highly skilled special-ops soldier, led a small, elite team to quietly infiltrate the college building itself.

Blonsky had previously been injected with a flawed, experimental version of the Super Soldier serum. This had made him significantly stronger and more resilient than a normal human. For years, he had been the one primarily responsible for hunting down the Hulk. Despite numerous encounters, he had failed every single time. He was now itching for another chance to face that monster, to finally defeat him.

He was the best soldier, a warrior who didn't fear death itself. But the one thing he truly feared was being seen as a failure.

When Blonsky and his team finally stormed into the lab, Banner, already injected with the supposed antidote, had just been taken down by a sniper's tranquilizer dart.

This can't be happening!

Blonsky stared, first in disbelief, then an uncontrollable rage surged through him.

That monster... just gone? Vanished without a fight?

Then how am I supposed to wash away the shame of my past failures?! How do I prove myself?!

"Where is it?!" he roared, his face contorted with fury. He grabbed the now groggy and disoriented Banner by the shirt, shaking him violently.

"Let it out! Bring out the Hulk!"

Driven by bitter frustration, Blonsky punched Banner hard in the face, desperately trying to trigger the transformation, to force the Hulk to appear. But it was no use. Banner remained himself.

Even after other soldiers carefully took Bruce Banner from his grasp, Blonsky didn't see the green monster he was so desperate to confront.

So... this is it? It's over just like that? he thought, a cold dread washing over him. Am I going to live with the disgrace of being a failure for the rest of my life?

A wave of dejection and despair hit him, quickly twisting into a frantic, almost hysterical anger.