"Dr. Banner, I sincerely suggest you reconsider my proposal."
General Ross exhaled a thick puff of cigar smoke before speaking, his tone calm yet edged with authority. "Haven't you always dreamed of curing the Hulk? This time, I'm giving you a chance—the closest you've ever been. And now, you're just throwing it away. Think about Betty. If you cure the Hulk, you could face her as a normal man again."
The name "Betty" was like a live wire. Banner's body jolted, and in a heartbeat he was on his feet, both palms slamming against the glass wall with a resounding thud. His eyes locked on Ross with blazing fury.
"Don't you dare say those two words in front of me. You have no right to speak her name."
Betty—Ross's daughter, and the woman Banner had deeply loved before the Hulk ever existed.
"You have no right to talk about her," Banner continued, his voice like ice. "I've never met a father as cold-blooded as you—using your own daughter as a bargaining chip. And you think I'd trust you?"
The crimson glow of a nearby warning light danced over Ross's face. He took another slow drag from his cigar and replied with a voice devoid of emotion.
"In that case, Dr. Banner, I have no other options. As much as I'd like to keep you… what happens next is no longer in my hands."
Banner caught the subtle undercurrent in Ross's tone. His eyes narrowed.
"Wait. What do you mean by that?"
"Exactly what it sounds like." Ross's voice stayed cold. "Banner, this is the last time I'm coming down to see you. The Hulk has already been expelled from the Avengers. He's a walking catastrophe. After long deliberations, the final order came directly from the President himself—Hulk must be dealt with."
"Dealt with?" Banner froze for a moment. "You know as well as I do, Ross—the Hulk can't be killed."
"Yes, that's true," Ross admitted. "But he can be exiled. The final plan is to remove the Hulk from Earth altogether."
"What?"
"A rocket. We'll launch him out of Earth's atmosphere, past the solar system." Ross's eyes didn't waver. "When you're facing something that can't be killed, there's only one solution. You weren't expecting any other way… were you?"
Banner stood stunned.
He had imagined many endings for himself, but never this—being banished from Earth, sent to another world in another star system. Maybe to them it seemed like a good idea.
Still… hearing it out loud left a hollow ache in his chest. He was going to leave Earth. Leave the world he had once lived in and fought to protect.
"Although there's still much about the Hulk we don't understand," Ross said evenly, "everything worth knowing… we already know."
Then, with the faintest flicker of irony, Ross added, "Good luck, Banner."
He pressed a button. The glass wall slowly turned opaque, cutting off their view of each other. Without another word, Ross turned and walked away.
Banner stood motionless, his thoughts in turmoil, until a crisp, mechanical female voice shattered the silence:
"Gamma containment field disengaging. Gamma dampeners offline."
…What?
Banner's eyes narrowed in confusion. The gamma containment field was the only thing stopping him from transforming into the Hulk. Ross would never shut it off… unless—
"Gamma radiation charging: 90%. Countdown—ten… nine…"
They've lost their minds.
"Ross! Ross!" Banner pounded the glass, shouting, but there was no answer.
"Three… two… one. Gamma radiation surge: output at 150%."
From every corner of the room, green light erupted—thick beams of gamma energy slamming into Banner's body. Every cell drank in the radiation like a starving beast. His blood boiled. His teeth clenched.
Then he roared.
Muscles bulged, skin turning a deep emerald as the transformation ripped through him. Cloth tore away like tissue paper, and in seconds, a towering green giant filled the chamber, bellowing with unrestrained fury.
The Hulk was back.
Meanwhile, in Stark's lab, Tony sat at his workbench, staring at the vial of Extremis virus like it was both a treasure and a loaded gun. The hum of the servers was the only sound in the room.
He extended his right hand toward the vial—then pulled it back. Extended his left hand—then pulled that back too. He felt like his arms had turned into springs.
He didn't know if this was a genius idea or a death sentence. Could his body handle the Extremis virus's brutal transformation? Or would it burn him from the inside out? The uncertainty gnawed at him.
"Sir, I strongly advise against—"
"Shut up, JARVIS!" Tony snapped, cutting off the AI for what felt like the hundredth time. Every time he so much as moved a hand toward the vial, JARVIS would repeat that same warning like a soulless broken record.
Suddenly, a blaring alarm filled the lab. Tony froze, then exhaled in relief—finally, an interruption. With a flick of his wrist, the secure containment unit holding the Extremis vial vanished into a hidden storage location. No one would know where it went.
"What's going on, JARVIS?"
"Sir, according to incoming reports—Hulk appears to have escaped."
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