Behind the Ross residence, two figures met in secret.
The moment she spotted the man half-hidden in the trees, Betty Ross broke into a run. Without hesitation, Bruce Banner opened his arms, pulling her into him. Their lips met, and the world around them seemed to disappear.
Neither knew how long they stood there locked together, clinging as if time itself might try to steal them apart. At last, they broke away, reluctantly, breathless.
"Bruce… what are you doing back in New York?" Betty's voice trembled with equal parts relief and fear.
Banner's expression was fervent, his eyes burning with a desperate kind of hope. "Betty, I've found it. A real chance at a cure. Once I'm free of this… once my body is healed, nothing will be able to stand in the way of us being together again."
The words ignited something deep in her chest. For years, they had both lived in the shadow of despair, clinging to faint promises of a day when the monster would no longer haunt their love. Now, for the first time, hope flickered like a flame she dared not breathe too hard upon.
"Is your father home?" Bruce asked quietly. His gaze sharpened, knowing the danger that loomed over every choice.
Betty shook her head. "No. He's away."
Only then did Bruce exhale, the tension in his shoulders easing slightly. If General Ross was gone, they had more time, more space to breathe together.
But neither of them knew that in the hidden base of the Hulkbuster Unit, Ross had already received the news.
"General, Banner has been spotted near your residence!" an officer reported, excitement and urgency in his voice.
General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross's eyes glinted coldly. "Prepare to deploy."
What Betty and Bruce did not know was that the Ross estate had long been outfitted with discreet surveillance, every angle monitored, every movement recorded. Ross had waited years for this moment, the instant Banner returned.
And now the trap was springing shut.
The Hulkbuster Unit mobilized with brutal efficiency. At its head, as always, stood Emil Blonsky. But this time he looked different. Leaner, sharper, like steel drawn too thin.
He had undergone a second injection of the Super Soldier Serum.
No one before him had ever dared attempt a second dose. Many believed it would destroy the human body outright. But Blonsky had survived. And survival meant strength beyond imagining.
Ross studied him intently. "Blonsky… tell me. How confident are you?"
A vicious grin stretched across Blonsky's face, predatory and eager. "General, this time I'll put that monster down. I'll show him what real power looks like."
To him, the Hulk wasn't a man cursed by science. It was prey. A beast to be broken.
And Blonsky was no mere soldier anymore. He believed, with every fiber of his being, that he had surpassed even Captain America. While the military lacked the classified details of Steve Rogers' final records, the data they did have was enough. Blonsky's performance already eclipsed them.
He imagined himself as the new Captain America stronger, faster, more ruthless. The thought filled him with feverish pride.
Behind him, the army prepared. Rows of T-800 Terminators stood gleaming, their red optics glowing. Columns of tanks rolled into formation. Dozens of APU exo-combat mechs powered up, their hydraulic limbs humming. Even the ordinary infantry were encased in ExoSuit armored frames.
The sheer weight of firepower made Ross's lips twitch in grim satisfaction. With this much force, defeat was unthinkable.
"Good," Ross said at last. "Now move out."
…
Meanwhile, Bruce and Betty's stolen moment finally ended. Their bodies pressed close for one last time before Bruce pulled away, his eyes full of regret.
"I can't take you with me," he said firmly.
Betty frowned, heart sinking.
"The last time you followed me, you almost died. I can't… I won't let you walk into that danger again." His tone was resolute, but she could hear the pain behind it.
Under the lights of New York, the city glittered as bright as day. Bruce slipped through the backstreets, hugging the shadows. Every step carried caution.
The quieter the streets felt, the more his nerves burned. It was too calm, too still. He forced himself to steady his breath. Years of meditation and desperate practice at controlling the Hulk were the only things keeping his heart from erupting into panic.
At last, he reached the address the mysterious "Mr. Blue" had provided.
Inside, Samuel Sterns was waiting.
The man had transformed an ordinary apartment into a full-fledged laboratory. Glass tubes, beakers, and containment units lined the room. Inside them floated samples that made Bruce's blood run cold.
Hulk's cells. His curse, cloned and replicated.
His fists clenched, rage bubbling to the surface. He nearly lost control, the green giant clawing at the edges of his skin.
"Mr. Green," Sterns greeted him with unsettling calm. "Or should I say, Dr. Bruce Banner. I've heard much about you. Finally, we meet."
Banner forced himself to breathe, to wrestle the monster back down. "Dr. Sterns… what have you done here?"
Sterns waved a dismissive hand. "Merely science. These are clones, cultivated from the unique cells inside your body."
Banner's jaw tightened, fury flashing in his eyes. "You don't understand. These cells are dangerous beyond imagination. You're playing with fire that could consume the world."
"Details," Sterns replied lightly. "What matters is that I've found the answer. The cure. I was missing only one thing the final component. But now you're here."
The words struck Bruce like a thunderclap. For the first time in years, the possibility of freedom stood within reach.
"Fine," he said hoarsely. "But promise me this when it's done, you destroy every last sample."
"Of course," Sterns said easily, though his eyes glittered with secrets.
He led Bruce to the experiment table, his hands practically trembling with anticipation.
Bruce pricked his finger, letting a single drop of blood fall into a vial. Sterns added a clear reagent. Under the microscope, Bruce watched as the abnormal Hulk cells began to degrade, breaking down and returning to ordinary red blood cells.
It was working.
His heart surged with wild joy. "It's real… it's permanent?"
Sterns nodded. "Naturally. If you doubt, we can observe further."
Minutes passed, but Bruce's patience wore thin. His mind was filled only with the image of being free, of holding Betty without fear of crushing her in monstrous hands.
"Inject it," he demanded. "Now."
Sterns secured Bruce to the restraint bed, fastening the straps tight. He drew the serum into a syringe.
"Are you ready?" Sterns asked.
Bruce's face twisted, green seeping across his skin as the Hulk fought to surface. A guttural roar escaped his throat.
"Do it!" he bellowed, struggling to contain the transformation.
Sterns lunged forward, plunging the needle into Bruce's arm. The serum flowed into his veins.
A howl erupted, primal and furious. The Hulk's voice roared one last time, shaking the walls.
Outside, Emil Blonsky had just reached the door. The sound electrified his blood. He kicked it open with savage force, stepping into the room.
And there before him, the impossible was happening.
The Hulk his quarry, his rival was fading. The green colossus shrank, muscles retreating, fury dissolving.
Bruce Banner lay bound to the table, trembling, but no longer the beast.
Blonsky's face twisted with rage and bitter disappointment. He had wanted a battle, a true clash of monsters.
And now the fight he dreamed of had been stolen from him.
"Where is he?!" Blonsky snarled, fists clenching. "Where's the Hulk?!"
The air vibrated with the echo of the beast's last roar, now swallowed into silence.
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