139 Chapter 137
Bruce opened his eyes suspiciously, looking around with complete alertness.
"Calm down, you're okay," Betty said, taking Bruce's face and making him look at her while constantly comforting him and assuring him that everything was fine.
"It's over, Bruce, we did it," Betty said happily. They now had some way to contain the transformation.
Betty helped Bruce to his feet before leading him to a chair for him to recline.
Bruce felt somewhat confused by the transformation but overall he was fine.
"That was the most extraordinary thing I've seen in my entire life," Sterns said with excitement.
"Let's talk about it," Betty said, looking at Sterns, wanting to know if it was something permanent or not.
"Of course," Sterns said, standing up and pacing back and forth.
"The reaction came from the amygdala, from somewhere in his body it starts generating large amounts of gamma energy that are absorbed by his cells. Fortunately, his body doesn't release the gamma energy, or we would have been in trouble," Sterns said, chuckling at the end.
"Now maybe we neutralize those cells or suppress them so that the energy returns to its place of origin. I lean towards the latter, though I'm not sure because no other subject has survived," Sterns said.
"So, it wasn't something permanent?" Ross asked thoughtfully.
"Wait, other subjects?" Bruce asked, looking at Sterns with a bad feeling.
"Oh, you must see this," Sterns said excitedly before leading them to another room.
Bruce walked in horror through the room, seeing the large amount of blood samples that seemed to be his.
Bruce leaned against a table as he held his head with both hands as if he was about to have an anxiety attack.
"I started with mice, although none of them were strong enough, so they died."
"I still don't know what's more toxic, gamma radiation or his blood," Sterns said, chuckling slightly as if he found it amusing.
"Experimenting, the possibilities are endless," Sterns said with an almost fanatical voice.
"This technology has hundreds of applications, hundreds of cures will be found. We can make a human being immune to diseases."
"You must destroy everything, now," Bruce said, shouting at Sterns.
"What? This will win us the Nobel Prize, I've spent years on this," Sterns said, looking at Bruce as if he was crazy.
"You don't know the dangers in this, didn't you see me?" Bruce asked.
"Fine, I have the antidote," Sterns said, unconcerned.
"They don't want the antidote, they want the weapon, the monster to do their dirty work," Bruce said, hitting the table with both hands.
"Listen, I hate the government as much as anyone, but that's a bit paranoid and conspiratorial," Sterns said, laughing as if it were a joke.
Bruce, who seemed to want to keep insisting, suddenly received a tranquilizing shot from behind, causing him to stagger.
Sterns let out a scream before crouching behind the table and looking around in fear, afraid that he might be next.
Betty quickly approached Bruce and embraced him before crouching behind the wall with him resting in her lap.
Natasha saw everything that happened from her ship; she was actually positioned above the sniper and if she hadn't made sure the shot was tranquilizing, she would have taken him out.
Several soldiers quickly began to ascend towards Sterns' laboratory.
Natasha walked to the back of her ship before pulling out a sniper rifle and aiming it at the window.
She had seen Blonsky climb the stairs in a rather chaotic state of mind; she was quite surprised to see him standing so quickly after what they had done to him.
Through her scope, she saw Blonsky slap Bruce, trying to trigger his transformation. Natasha had her finger on the trigger; if he attempted anything too drastic, she would put a big hole in his chest.
Finally, Blonsky just knocked out Bruce with the butt of the gun before looking disgusted as they took him away.
His breathing was erratic, sweat dripped down his face, and he looked like an addict in withdrawal.
When they took Bruce and Betty away, his gaze fell on the scientist who was being interrogated.
"So, can you make more like him?" a soldier asked Sterns.
"Of course not," Sterns said as if it were obvious.
"He was an accident, a wonderful accident, perhaps impossible to replicate," Sterns said.
"Then—" the soldier began before falling unconscious to the ground.
"He won't bother you anymore," Blonsky said with a rather macabre smile.
Sterns looked fearfully at Blonsky; he would have preferred someone with more mental stability to interrogate him.
"I want what Banner has," Blonsky said, looking darkly at Sterns.
"I think you already injected yourself with some of it, didn't you?" Sterns said, looking at Blonsky.
"And I want more," Blonsky said, breathing rapidly.
"Did you see what he turns into?" Blonsky asked.
"I saw it, it's a marvel, a god," Sterns said in awe.
"I want that, I need it," Blonsky said, looking haggard.
"I don't know what you have inside you, the combination could create an... abomination," Sterns said cautiously, looking at Blonsky.
Blonsky seemed to dislike the response, as he grabbed Sterns by the neck and lifted him off the ground.
Sterns desperately clung to Blonsky's arm as he tried to speak.
"I didn't say I wouldn't do it, I just want your consent," Sterns said with difficulty.
...
Natasha hesitated as she looked at Bruce, who was sedated on a stretcher, and the scientist Sterns, who was being interrogated. She finally decided to follow Bruce while reporting on Sterns to Fury so that SHIELD agents could be sent to secure him.
She assumed he should be safe with the soldiers.
Natasha's ship followed the helicopter carrying Bruce. She couldn't help but smile slightly at their flirtation even in that situation.
She truly believed they were a good couple and personally, she would try to make sure they stayed together.
At that moment, Natasha received a message saying she could stop monitoring Bruce and that they would take care of the rest.
Seeing that there was nothing more to do, Natasha thought about returning home. She would discuss the Bruce situation with Damian to see what he had to say.
Just as she was about to turn her ship around to head home, her microphones planted on Bruce and Betty picked up a rather interesting conversation.
"You did this, this is what I was trying to prevent, Congratulations," Bruce said angrily as he looked at the destruction caused by the creature formed from his blood. He wasn't a violent person, but he really wanted to hit Ross, if it weren't for the fact that he was handcuffed.
Ross didn't know what expression to put on; this time he had really messed up and was in serious trouble seeing the destruction that this thing had already caused.
"Gather the team in Harlem," Ross said with a sigh.
Bruce closed his eyes upon hearing Ross; he knew it was a futile attempt. If that thing had the same abilities as him, it would be completely invulnerable to weapons and would turn the place into a battlefield.
"Call Iron Man and let me go back," Bruce said, looking at Ross.
"What are you saying? Do you think you can control it?" Betty asked, looking at Bruce.
"Not control it, perhaps guide it," Bruce said, not entirely sure.
"And what if you can't?" Ross asked, looking at Bruce. There would be two monsters running through New York.
"We did all of this, now we must fix it. Call Iron Man and hopefully, he'll contact Madripoor. In the worst case, hopefully, they'll handle it, after all, the king lives in New York," Bruce said, sighing without options.
Ross ran his hand over his face as he looked around anxiously.
"Land nearby," Ross said, closing his eyes.
"No, from the air," Bruce said determinedly.
"Open the door, communicate with Stark, quickly!" Ross raised his voice.
Bruce began walking towards the back door of the helicopter while Betty tried to stop him.
In the background, Ross's voice could be heard talking to Stark, asking him to come and support them. Even so, Stark was a plan B; after all, Los Angeles was far from New York, and it would take him a while to get there.
"Wait, you don't know if you'll transform after the injection," Betty said, worried, hugging Bruce.
"If there's a chance, we must try. It will destroy the whole city if we don't stop it. It's my responsibility, I have to do it," Bruce said seriously.
Natasha, who was in her ship, watched the scene intently. It was a really exciting moment.
At the same time, she couldn't help but think that Bruce was only partially guilty and that his low self-esteem made him blame himself for everything. The main culprit was Ross, who chased him all over the world, causing him to transform.
It was also foolish on Bruce's part to send his blood to a scientist, but he supposed that in his desperation, he didn't see any other way out.
Bruce finally jumped out of the helicopter, and Natasha was waiting to see how he transformed. She couldn't help but stand up when she saw him getting closer to the ground and nothing happened.
Natasha performed a maneuver and positioned her feet under her ship before propelling herself with all her strength towards Bruce, trying to reach him.
Despite her effort, it was in vain; Bruce fell heavily to the ground, creating a small crater.
Seeing this, Natasha couldn't help but sigh before cushioning her fall with her suit.
At that moment, a large green hand emerged from the crater, breaking the surroundings and emerging.
"Betty, it appeared," Ross said, looking at his daughter. He had already informed Stark that he was on his way; he just hoped this would end before he arrived.
Betty looked at Bruce with concern; she didn't know how the injection would affect him when facing someone like him.
Natasha was surprised before giving a smile and retreating to the top of a nearby building.
Bruce emerged somewhat dazed from the crater, discarding what was left of his shirt while exhaling heavily.
It wasn't clear if it was due to the injection, but Bruce felt somewhat sluggish. However, looking at Blonsky in the distance, he couldn't help but roar. Although he looked different, he clearly knew that it was that annoying little person.
"Bruce," Blonsky said with a raspy, deep voice before starting to trot towards him.
Bruce growled before starting to run toward Blonsky, who matched his speed.
Both collided in the air, creating a strong shockwave.
Blonsky easily overwhelmed Bruce and sent him flying into several vehicles.
Bruce staggered to his feet, feeling quite dizzy.
Natasha, who watched from the rooftop of a building, suspected that it was because of the injection. Bruce didn't seem to have the same tenacity or the unstoppable fury he had a few days ago. Even his appearance was different; she wasn't sure if it was her impression, but he looked smaller compared to Blonsky.
Bruce roared before looking at Blonsky as anger grew within him. Before, Blonsky was just an annoying human; now, he had turned into something even more annoying that caused him pain.
However, Bruce instinctively knew he needed something more. Looking around, he spotted a car, and an image of something resembling gloves appeared in his mind.
Bruce raised both arms before breaking the car in half. He quickly took each side with one of his hands before looking at Blonsky with something like a grin.
Natasha watched this with interest. Despite appearing somewhat unhinged, Bruce clearly retained a certain level of rationality and even knew how to use tools.
Blonsky ran to confront Bruce, only for him to dodge his blow before striking him in the chest.
Bruce stepped aside before hitting Blonsky on the back, causing him to fall to his knees.
Bruce delivered another blow to his head, making Blonsky fall to the ground.
Even when Blonsky hit the ground, Bruce didn't stop hitting him, creating a crater in the street in which Blonsky became buried.
The car in his hands completely disintegrated as Bruce continued to strike.
"Is that all you've got?" Blonsky asked, spitting out a tooth.
Feeling mocked, Bruce growled before striking again.
Blonsky freed his leg before hitting Bruce's chest, sending him flying through several buildings as he was also repelled a bit.
Blonsky's laughter resonated throughout the street as he looked at the hole through which he sent Bruce.
He was stronger than Bruce; the terrifying monster from before was now weaker than him.
Blonsky began to run in Bruce's direction, climbing and jumping from one building to another, searching for him.
"Fire," Ross ordered the soldier with the Minigun as they got close to Blonsky.
The soldier pulled the trigger, and a hail of bullets rained down towards Blonsky.
Blonsky grunted in pain as he ran and zigzagged between the buildings.
Natasha also leaped between the buildings, searching for Bruce.
"Come on, big guy, where are you?" Natasha murmured, looking for Bruce.
"Were you looking for me?" Damian asked, suddenly appearing behind Natasha and embracing her.
"Pff, I wasn't referring to you," Natasha said, laughing after the surprise of hearing Damian.
"Have you seen anyone bigger than me?" Damian asked, surprised.
Natasha laughed before hugging Damian and kissing him once his helmet had been removed.
The sound of gunshots made Natasha let go of Damian and watch the helicopter dangerously close to Blonsky.
At that moment, Bruce emerged from an alley and saw Blonsky jumping towards the helicopter.
Bruce growled before running and jumping towards Blonsky, intercepting him while grabbing onto his spikes, causing him pain.
Nevertheless, Blonsky managed to grab onto the helicopter, causing it to tilt due to the weight.
"Sir, we must land," the helicopter pilot said, doing his best to keep them airborne.
The weight on one side made the helicopter susceptible to a loss of control at any moment.
Blonsky and Bruce continued fighting on the helicopter, causing it to wobble even more.
"Land on those abandoned buildings!" Ross yelled, pointing in the distance.
The pilot quickly maneuvered and headed in that direction.
Bruce climbed over Blonsky's body until he reached his neck and started choking him.
Blonsky, feeling suffocated, desperately tried to free himself, but with one hand on the helicopter and hanging in the air, there was little he could do.
While struggling, he managed to hit Bruce with the bone spikes on his elbow, causing a wound on his arm.
Bruce grunted in pain as he let go of Blonsky, seeming to fall, but at the last moment, he grabbed onto his leg.
That pull made the helicopter unable to endure any longer, and it tipped over. Fortunately, they had already reached the abandoned area.
The helicopter broke the concrete with its blades before they shattered, and the helicopter crashed to the ground, sliding a few meters.
Bruce and Blonsky were also sent flying by the impact.
Damian, who was watching everything, took Natasha's hand and teleported them to the nearest building.
Bruce was the first to get up, letting out a faint growl.
His calm expression at that moment, as he looked at the helicopter, made it hard for anyone to associate him with the rage-filled monster in Brazil.
At that moment, Blonsky jumped onto the helicopter, looking at it as he let out a deep laugh.
Bruce glanced at Blonsky before turning his gaze away, showing signs of fatigue and hesitation, as if he no longer wanted to continue.
However, when he looked at Betty, who was watching with fear, he found the motivation to keep fighting. So, he let out a powerful roar before heading towards Blonsky.
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