Bruce Banner's father had actually used himself as a human guinea pig—injecting an experimental serum into his own body—and then passed the mutated DNA on to his son.
To Bruce Banner.
Seeing this, Tony Stark shook his head outside the screen. "Shit… your old man really is a lunatic. You know who he reminds me of? Peter Parker's first enemy—the Green Goblin."
Norman Osborn, known as the Green Goblin, was another ruthless man who experimented on himself, injecting bizarre serums and turning himself into a mentally unstable psychopath.
Comparing that to David Banner's on-screen confession, Tony Stark—who had already held a very low opinion of the man—became even more convinced that Bruce Banner's biological father was seriously unhinged.
Natasha Romanoff frowned. "That's insane. Even if he didn't care about his own life, why would he knowingly have a child after contaminating his own DNA?"
"You already said it—he's a madman," Erik Lehnsherr sneered. "Do you really think a madman would consider such things? For all we know, David did it on purpose. Since he didn't value his own life, why not treat his son as another test subject?"
Bruce Banner's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. His fists clenched tightly, as though he were on the verge of transforming into the Hulk himself.
In the video, Bruce Banner was equally furious, yet still barely able to restrain himself. His first reaction was to demand that David help restore him to normal.
David naturally refused.
"I know you and Betty both want to destroy the energy inside your body," David said. "But can you destroy yourself? As for Betty… I've already sent my lovely, loyal hound to pay her a visit."
"I cultivated your DNA, and the results are astonishing. It's unstable, yes—but the power it possesses is tremendous."
The situation was painfully clear.
David Banner was a mad scientist obsessed with the pursuit of power. In his eyes, his own son was nothing more than a precious experimental specimen.
He never intended to cure Bruce—only to control and exploit the energy within him. And anyone who tried to stop him would be eliminated, including Bruce Banner's former girlfriend, Betty.
No wonder David had secretly taken Betty's scarf during her visit earlier. The scarf carried her scent, allowing his dogs to track her down.
Outside the screen, Erik shook his head repeatedly. "Do you see now? This is exactly what I meant. In his pursuit of power, he's abandoned everything. Son or self—it makes no difference. Both are sacrifices waiting to be offered."
Bruce Banner's eyes were bloodshot as a low growl rumbled from his throat. "He has no right to decide my fate!"
Tony Stark let out a sigh. "Buddy, no matter what, none of this has happened yet. Try to calm down—don't let it get to you."
In the video, after father and son ended their call, Bruce Banner worried about Betty's safety and decided to go out and rescue her.
At that moment, Glenn broke in. He had come looking for trouble.
The two men were already romantic rivals, and Bruce had also ruined Glenn's acquisition plan. Unable to challenge General Ross—who wielded significant military influence—Glenn vented his frustration on Bruce Banner instead, throwing punches the moment they met.
Bruce Banner was knocked to the ground. He tried to explain that he needed to go save Betty, but Glenn ignored him completely and seized the chance to beat him again.
Already seething with rage, Bruce had been suppressing himself—until now. His anger finally ignited, and he roared:
"You've made me angry!"
The transformation began.
In the blink of an eye, he became a massive green behemoth.
Moments earlier, Glenn had been arrogant and aggressive. Now, upon seeing the Hulk, he trembled like a frightened chick and was casually tossed aside.
Outside, soldiers stationed by General Ross opened fire the moment they saw the Hulk leap out.
Gunfire erupted in a cacophony, bullets pelting the Hulk's body like raindrops—doing no more than tickling him.
Outside the screen, Natasha Romanoff clicked her tongue.
"Now this is bad. The angrier the Hulk gets, the stronger he becomes."
Tony Stark shrugged. "Honestly, every time I watch the big green guy fight, it feels incredibly crude. There's absolutely no elegance to it."
Natasha rolled her eyes. "Tony, clearly you don't appreciate the beauty of raw, overwhelming power."
Tony spread his hands. "In my opinion, the beauty of ultimate power lies in the armored suits I build."
Homelander sneered. "Like Ultron?"
Back in the video, the Hulk easily broke through the military blockade and headed straight toward Betty's cabin. Rather than running, he seemed to prefer bounding and leaping from place to place.
That said, the Hulk's jumping speed was undeniably fast. Before long, he reached the wooden cabin where Betty was hiding.
Hearing the commotion, Betty ran outside and came face to face with the Hulk—who stood nearly as tall as the cabin itself. She seemed to vaguely recognize Bruce Banner.
At that moment, three modified attack dogs sent by David arrived.
Injected with Bruce's DNA, they had undergone grotesque mutations, their bodies greatly enlarged. They lunged at Betty, snarling and howling.
The Hulk showed them no mercy.
Charging forward, he smashed all three mutant dogs to death in moments.
The video ended there.
In the Eternal Space, Tony Stark sighed. "Bruce… it looks like you've had it even worse than the Banner I know."
Natasha nodded. "The Bruce I know never talked to me about his parents either."
Bruce Banner clutched his head with both hands, lost in confusion and pain. "All I want to know now is… what really happened in that part of my childhood that I can't remember?"
At that moment, the light screen presented a new message:
[A future video will now play. Please watch carefully. After the video ends, a corresponding question will be presented for the players to answer]
The screen then began playing the next segment.
In the future video, Bruce Banner successfully rescued Betty. She also witnessed him return to his normal human form. After a brief conversation, Bruce fell asleep inside the cabin.
The video paused, and a new question appeared:
[Which of the following notified the military, leading to Bruce Banner's capture?]
[A: Betty Ross
B: Glenn Talbot
C: David Banner
D: General Ross]
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