Culver University.
Inside the quiet library, Bruce Banner and Betty Ross sat huddled together among stacks of old journals and scattered notes, searching desperately for any trace of information that could help them understand his mutation.
"Bruce, I think I found something."
Betty walked quickly toward him, clutching a thick folder of medical documents in her arms. Her voice carried a flicker of hope, as though this file might hold the key to everything.
Bruce glanced at the papers, his eyes darting across the first few pages. After only a moment, he shook his head slowly.
"No… that's not it."
Betty's shoulders slumped. For a heartbeat her face betrayed disappointment, but she forced herself to stay calm.
"It's okay," she whispered. "We still have time."
But before she could continue, a sudden commotion erupted outside the library. The muffled quiet of the university shattered under the weight of heavy footsteps and urgent voices.
Both Bruce and Betty froze.
"I'll check it out," Betty said quickly, rising to her feet.
Bruce's pulse quickened. He was well aware that he remained a hunted man, pursued relentlessly by her father, General Thaddeus Ross. They had believed their movements would go unnoticed, but what if they were wrong?
Betty hurried toward the nearest window. As soon as she looked outside, her face went pale.
"Bruce… I think they found us!"
Bruce's heart sank. That shouldn't have been possible. How could they have tracked him down? And then it struck him cold and bitter.
"Your father," Bruce muttered, his voice low and tight. "He must have followed you."
He had wanted to come alone. But Betty had refused to abandon him, choosing instead to flee her home and stand at his side. That loyalty, that love, had likely betrayed their location.
Betty's lips parted in disbelief. Her father? She wanted to deny it, but deep down she knew Bruce was right.
"Bruce, we have to go. Now!"
"Yeah."
Their eyes met, and in that silent exchange both knew what they had to do. Without another word, they slipped out the back door, hoping to escape the tightening net.
Down below, General Ross sat rigid inside a military Humvee, his expression like stone. He had indeed traced Betty's steps, using her as an unknowing compass to find Banner.
Her feelings meant little compared to the greater threat. He would not could not allow that monster to remain by his daughter's side. It wasn't only about his experiments, nor merely about the pursuit of military power. For Ross, it was personal. Protecting his daughter meant ripping Bruce Banner from her life.
Hundreds of soldiers now surrounded the campus, sealing off every exit. Alongside them, rows of SAR-1 combat robots fanned out, their scanners sweeping for Banner's presence.
Emil Blonsky, clad in tactical gear, stood at Ross's side, rifle in hand. His eyes were sharp, almost predatory, as he scanned the area.
Then the piercing tone of an alarm cut through the comms.
"General! We've located Banner second floor!"
Before Ross could issue an order, Blonsky's gaze snapped to the monitor. Without hesitation, he charged toward the building.
Upstairs, Bruce and Betty's path was cut short.
A combat robot blocked their way, its mechanical frame looming in the dim hallway. Its glowing optics locked onto them with merciless precision.
Bruce's stomach tightened. They were exposed.
The robot raised its weapon and fired without warning.
Muzzle flashes erupted, bullets tearing through the air.
Bruce's eyes widened. Instinct surged. He lunged, pulling Betty into his arms and crashing them both through the nearest doorway.
Inside the small room, Betty trembled, her pupils wide with shock.
Seeing her like this sparked a fire in Bruce's chest, a heat that threatened to consume him. He had spent years disciplining his mind, training in meditation and breathwork, mastering techniques to suppress the rage that lived inside him. He had done everything possible to prevent the Hulk from breaking free.
But this… this was different.
Betty was his anchor. The thought of losing her was unbearable.
He clenched his jaw, fighting the surge.
"Bruce, run!" Betty's voice broke through, raw and desperate. "They won't kill me. I'll hold them off just go!"
She rose to her feet and moved toward the door, her courage astonishing. She was betting her life on one truth: that no soldier, no machine, would dare harm the general's daughter.
Bruce hesitated, torn in two. His heart screamed to stay, but his instincts told him she was right. If he fled, she might be spared.
Reluctantly, he turned and ran, every step agony.
But as soon as Betty stepped into the hallway, two soldiers seized her arms.
"Let me go! Let me go!" she cried, struggling against their grip.
That was the final spark.
The fragile dam inside Bruce's mind shattered.
A guttural roar ripped through the air.
"Raaaghhh!"
The sound shook the building, rattling windows and driving fear into every soldier within earshot.
Blonsky's eyes lit up with savage delight.
Yes. At last.
The Hulk had emerged.
A thunderous crash followed as the massive green titan burst from the building, landing on the grass of the campus quad.
"Hulk!" Blonsky roared back, his excitement almost delirious. His body thrummed with adrenaline, his veins burning with the serum that had transformed him into something more than human.
This was it the battle he had been waiting for.
His first true test as a super-soldier.
With a triumphant snarl, Blonsky lunged forward and swung a brutal punch at the Hulk.
But the Hulk was faster. With a contemptuous swipe of his massive hand, he backhanded Blonsky, slamming him into the ground like a ragdoll.
Blonsky groaned but quickly scrambled back up, grinning.
"Yes… just like that!" he muttered, exhilarated. If the Hulk hadn't resisted, the fight would have been meaningless.
The green giant narrowed his eyes, then leapt high into the air, aiming to crush Blonsky beneath his bulk.
Blonsky rolled aside with astonishing agility, snatching a rifle from a nearby soldier. He spun, unloading bullets into the Hulk's broad chest.
The rounds sparked harmlessly against Hulk's skin.
Snarling, the titan lunged again. Within seconds, his colossal hand wrapped around Blonsky, lifting him effortlessly into the air.
For a fleeting moment, Blonsky's expression shifted from confidence to stunned realization.
The Hulk's lip curled into a sneer.
"Hulk… smash!"
With earth-shaking fury, the Hulk slammed Blonsky against the ground again and again, the campus quaking under each impact.
General Ross's blood ran cold.
"Open fire! Save him!" he bellowed.
Every soldier unleashed their weapons. The SAR-1 robots advanced, their guns spitting streams of fire.
Under the hail of bullets, Hulk roared and flung Blonsky aside, redirecting his rage toward the machines.
He tore through the robot line with terrifying ease, ripping them apart like toys. Not stopping, he hurled himself onto a nearby tank, pounding it into scrap with just a few blows.
Ross's hands tightened around the edge of his seat. For the first time, doubt cracked his stern façade.
Then salvation appeared.
A new wave of metallic figures stormed the battlefield, Gatling guns blazing. The T-800s.
Their concentrated firepower ripped into the Hulk's hide, forcing even the monster to flinch in pain.
Snarling, Hulk turned his burning gaze on the new arrivals.
With a deafening roar, he leapt toward them.
The battle had only just begun.
And for Ross, watching from afar, one thought cut clear above the chaos:
The LockTech machines… were worth every cent.
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