The wilderness was silent except for the heavy thud of a massive body hitting the ground.
With a thunderous roar, the Hulk landed hard, sending clumps of soil flying. His enormous chest heaved with every breath, his green muscles quivering under the strain.
The tranquilizers General Ross had pumped into him weren't entirely useless. The Hulk's monstrous strength had merely delayed their effects. Even a creature of his power couldn't completely flush the chemicals from his system.
As his rage slowly ebbed, the drowsiness began to creep in. The Hulk shook his head violently, trying to stay alert, but the effort was futile.
Betty Ross approached cautiously, her heart pounding. She placed a trembling hand on the giant's rough skin, her touch soft, careful, and full of emotion.
She knew this creature would never harm her. She didn't understand what had just happened to him, but she wanted to calm him, to ease his pain.
Yet her tenderness, paradoxically, was what finally broke the last of the Hulk's resistance.
With a dull crash, he fell onto the muddy ground, the earth trembling beneath him.
Moments later, the monstrous form began to shrink. Muscles receded, veins subsided, and the green skin faded into a human tone. The great beast was gone, leaving behind only a frail man in torn pants Dr. Bruce Banner.
Seeing him return to his human form, Betty's tension dissolved into relief. She knelt beside him, carefully checking for injuries. Only after confirming that he was unharmed did she finally exhale.
She looked around. The wilderness stretched endlessly in all directions.
Where were they supposed to go?
They couldn't stay here her father's troops would be searching for them soon. But without transportation, and with Bruce unconscious, there seemed to be no way out.
A deep sense of helplessness welled up inside her.
Then, out of nowhere, the rumble of an approaching engine broke the silence. A sleek black car sped toward them, its headlights slicing through the dim light of dusk.
Betty hesitated. Should she wave for help? What if it was one of her father's men?
Before she could decide, the car skidded to a halt right in front of them.
The driver's window rolled down, revealing a familiar face.
"Dr. Bruce Banner's condition looks quite serious," the man said calmly. "My home isn't far from here. Why don't you come with me?"
Betty froze, instantly alert. How did this stranger know Bruce's name?
The man smiled. "We've met before. I'm Nolan Locke. Banner's been to my house once, actually. And besides…" His eyes flicked toward the unconscious scientist. "You don't have much of a choice, do you?"
Betty glanced around the empty wilderness, realizing he was right. With a resigned sigh, she nodded.
"Alright," she said softly. "I'll trust you. For Bruce's sake."
"Good choice," Nolan replied, stepping out to help her lift Bruce into the car. "And don't worry I'm not the kind of man who takes advantage of desperate people."
When they arrived at Nolan's villa, Betty was momentarily stunned. The place was enormous modern architecture surrounded by lush greenery, gleaming under the moonlight like a fortress of steel and glass.
"Red Queen," Nolan said as they entered, "please prepare some tea for our guest. She looks like she could use something to calm her nerves."
A clear, feminine voice responded from the air itself. "Understood, sir."
Betty looked around, startled, until a holographic projection shimmered into view a digital woman in a crimson gown, polite and poised.
Moments later, a smart dispenser began to pour steaming tea into delicate cups.
"I… I've never had tea before," Betty admitted awkwardly.
Nolan smiled and took a sip of his own. "Tea has a way of settling the mind. Some people dislike the taste, but give it a try you might be surprised."
He preferred coffee himself, sweetened and strong. But tea had its own kind of peace.
"You can relax here," Nolan assured her. "No one will come searching for you. Not tonight."
Betty hesitated, then asked quietly, "Who exactly are you?"
"Nolan Locke," he said simply.
Her eyes widened. "You're the hero Nolan, the one they call the Iron Savior?"
She might not have known the name Locke Technologies, but everyone knew the name Nolan, the man who saved New York and reshaped the battlefield with machines.
Realizing whose home she was in, Betty's tension eased at last.
If Nolan had wanted them harmed, there'd have been no need for pretense.
As they spoke, a groan came from upstairs. Bruce Banner stirred awake.
He blinked in confusion, staring up at a high ceiling and the warm light spilling across the room. For a moment, he thought he was dreaming. The bed beneath him was soft, the air clean. Too peaceful.
He rose and followed the sound of voices downstairs.
"Dr. Banner," Nolan greeted him with a smile. "Good to see you up."
Bruce's eyes widened as he recognized him.
"Nolan Locke," he said in relief. "You again. Seems I owe you another one."
He chuckled weakly. "Honestly, I didn't expect you to be that powerful. You handled Abomination like he was nothing."
Nolan didn't answer directly, only smiled faintly.
"Do you remember my offer from before?" he asked.
Bruce hesitated, his expression clouding. "At this point… I don't think I have a place left in this country."
"That might not be true," Nolan replied. "If I'm not mistaken, your wanted status will be revoked soon."
Bruce frowned, confused.
Nolan explained lightly, "Director Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D. is putting together something called the Avengers Initiative. He'll want you on it. Once you join, the military's pursuit will vanish overnight."
Bruce thought for a long moment before nodding slowly. "If that happens, I'll join Locke Technologies. You have my word."
Nolan smiled, satisfied. "Then today is a good day."
Within hours, Bruce and Betty departed, arranged safe passage by Nolan's network. Their next meeting, Nolan suspected, would be far in the future.
Deep beneath the headquarters of Locke Technologies, in a sealed lab known as The Hive, Ivan Vanko waited nervously.
Today, his life would change forever.
If this worked, he would shed the identity of the disgraced scientist and emerge as something entirely new.
When Nolan entered, clad in a white coat, Ivan immediately straightened.
"Are you ready?" Nolan asked.
Ivan nodded solemnly. "Yes."
"Then let's begin."
He lay on the operating table as the machines around him hummed to life. The Red Queen's voice echoed softly:
"Systems online. All instruments calibrated."
"Confirm post-modification appearance," Nolan instructed. "Once we proceed, there's no turning back."
Within minutes, the procedure began. Ivan's consciousness slipped away under the anesthetic as microscopic swarms of nanites entered his bloodstream.
The lab filled with mechanical whirs and flickering lights. Data streamed across screens while the Red Queen monitored every change in his body.
Nolan's voice was calm but firm. "Experiment begin."
Ivan's body convulsed violently as the nanites fused with his cells. His heartbeat spiked; his body resisted the transformation. But Nolan had anticipated this. He adjusted the systems, steady and unshaken.
Two hours later, the readings stabilized.
"Status report," Nolan asked.
"Procedure complete," the Red Queen replied. "All data recorded and optimized."
"Good. Let's wake up our new recruit."
Moments later, Ivan's eyes fluttered open.
He lifted his hand and froze. His vision was sharper, his senses heightened, his strength… intoxicating.
"How do you feel?" Nolan asked.
Ivan clenched his fist, his gaze falling on a nearby steel plate. He pressed his palm against it and left a deep, perfect handprint.
A slow grin spread across his face. "Incredible."
Nolan's smile widened. "Welcome to your new life, Mr. Vanko."
For the first time in years, Ivan felt reborn.
And as Nolan watched the man revel in his newfound power, a single thought passed through his mind:
Why stop here?
But then he pushed the idea away. No if he surrendered his humanity to the machine, who would carry his dream of reaching the stars?
The hum of the lab faded as Nolan left The Hive. Upstairs, the air smelled fresh and alive.
Then, suddenly, the computer screens flickered.
"Red Queen," Nolan said sharply, "what happened?"
"External intrusion detected," the AI replied. "Countermeasures initiated."
Nolan frowned. "An intrusion? Only JARVIS could attempt that."
Across the city, in a small café, a teenage girl pulled a flash drive from her laptop, her lips curling into a mischievous smile.
She closed the laptop, slung her bag over her shoulder, and walked away disappearing into the crowd.
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