Soon after the Skrull's body was put in place, a new experiment began. Despite having used most of the Skrull's remains already, Tony Stark and his team were determined to extract every possible benefit from it. However, creating a perfect Hulk body was still no easy task. The experiment dragged on for a long time, leading Robert to question whether the Skrull body was of any use at all.
But just when it seemed like another round of failures was inevitable, and the Skrull's body was completely exhausted, a new Hulk body was finally born. This Hulk looked identical to the Hulk that Bruce Banner transformed into.
As soon as this new body emerged, Robert quickly followed the previous procedure and transferred the Hulk's soul into it.
"Hulk!" The new Hulk roared as soon as his soul entered the body, leaping up to test his new form. If it weren't for the special material used in the lab, the floor would have likely caved in under his massive weight.
"How does it feel?" Tony Stark and the others looked at Hulk with anticipation, hoping this experiment would finally be successful. After all, they had no Skrull remains left, and if this attempt failed, they would have to go back to their previous, less promising experimental methods.
"Hulk feels… good, no weakness this time..." Hulk responded to Tony's question, speaking in his typical halting manner. But this time, his words carried a tone of satisfaction that hadn't been present before.
"Did we succeed?!" As Hulk slowly explained how he felt, everyone's eyes lit up, especially Bruce Banner. Even though he could transform into the Hulk, he was tired of being used as a lab subject. It wasn't so much the pain that bothered him but the psychological discomfort of constantly being poked and prodded.
"Is it really a success?" Robert studied Hulk closely, sensing his energy. Hulk's aura seemed no different from before, causing Robert's eyes to gleam with realization.
From Robert's perspective, the energy emanating from this new Hulk was similar to the energy he had seen from the uncontrolled Hulk in the past. It was wild and chaotic, much like the transformation of Broly and his Great Ape Rage form.
If Robert's assessment was correct, this new body was indeed perfect for the Hulk. However, he still wanted to conduct a few more tests to ensure that Hulk had fully adapted to his new form.
"Hulk feels so good! It's like this is my original body!" As Robert observed him, Hulk grew increasingly excited, clenching and unclenching his fists as if trying to get used to his new body.
"Is it really the same feeling? Why not try returning to Banner's body and see how that feels?" Martian Manhunter suggested, glancing at Bruce Banner.
"Huh?" Hulk paused, glancing between Banner and his own body, a flicker of interest flashing in his eyes.
To be honest, after spending so much time away from his original body, Hulk couldn't quite remember what it felt like. While his new form felt great, there was a part of him that wondered if returning to Banner's body might feel even better.
While Hulk's thoughts raced with excitement, Banner's expression grew troubled. After all his efforts to help Hulk obtain his own body, the last thing he wanted was for Hulk to return to his own. Even if Hulk eventually left again, it would still feel wrong to Banner, who had worked so hard to separate himself from the Hulk.
*Smack!* Suddenly, the sharp sound of a slap echoed through the lab, catching everyone's attention. They all turned in surprise to see Robert standing beside Hulk, his hand having just slapped Hulk across the face.
"Hulk!" Hulk was stunned, momentarily too shocked to realize he had been slapped. But as he processed what happened, his eyes turned red with anger, his body tensing as he turned to punch Robert.
*Smack!* However, Robert easily caught Hulk's punch, and seeing the familiar, intimidating face of his opponent, Hulk immediately calmed down.
"Looks like there's no need to switch bodies after all. This one's working just fine—it hasn't diminished his rage-enhanced power," Robert said with satisfaction, nodding as he spoke. "With this ability intact, he has a lot of potential. Apart from the fact that he can't fly, his strategic value might even surpass that of Martian Manhunter."
"Hmm? Does Banner still have this ability?" Tony Stark suddenly thought of something and looked over at Bruce Banner. "Honestly, Hulk's intelligence isn't very high, and he's quick to anger. But someone as smart as Banner should have a high threshold for getting angry and shouldn't lose his rationality easily, right?"
"Let's take it to the training ground and test it out. We've only scratched the surface; let's see how Hulk performs now. Don't you want to see two Hulks fight?" Robert suggested, looking around at everyone with a grin. "After all these experiments, it's time to relax and enjoy a good show..."
"Uh?" Banner froze at Robert's words, while Hulk grew more excited, seemingly having already forgotten that Robert had slapped him. Or maybe he just didn't want to dwell on it.
"Fight! Fight! Hulk wants to fight!" Hulk shouted at Banner. "Hulk wants to prove Hulk is the real one! Banner is just a fake!"
"???" Banner was immediately annoyed. This was the consciousness that had emerged from his body, and after all his hard work creating a body for Hulk, now Hulk wanted to fight him? And worse, was calling him a fake? How could Banner tolerate that?
Now that they both had Hulk forms, and considering that Hulk had been copied from his own body, did Banner really have anything to fear? Before, he never had the chance to teach Hulk a lesson, but now that he did, he was determined to show him who the real deal was!
In an instant, the previously calm Bruce Banner was enraged. Martian Manhunter, observing from the side, nodded with a smile as he, along with the others, led Hulk and Banner to a specially designed training ground.
"Getting Banner angry might be hard, but it's possible with some encouragement. But it seems that even though he's angry, his size hasn't increased. Is that because the fight hasn't started yet?" Martian Manhunter mused as he watched the two Hulks in the training ground.
"I'm worried it's not just because the fight hasn't started; Banner might have lost the ability to get stronger through anger. His energy level seems almost constant—there's some fluctuation, but it's not increasing his combat power significantly..." Robert said, frowning as he observed the two Hulks.
"So, it seems Banner might only be a regular Hulk now. And maybe, due to his consciousness, he might not even be as strong as the usual Hulk. Martian Manhunter, when the fight starts, give Hulk a bit of an edge—let's see if Banner has really lost his rage-boosted power..." Robert instructed.
*Boom! Boom! Boom!*
In the training ground, Hulk and Banner clashed violently. Despite being born from the same origin, the two were now locked in a fierce battle, with neither holding back. Hulk, of course, had no concept of holding back, and Banner, using every bit of his strength, launched a ferocious assault on Hulk.
Thanks to the special design of the training ground, it held up against their blows, but the thunderous sound of their punches and kicks echoed constantly.
"Wait, who's who?" Initially, Tony Stark could still differentiate between the two by their clothing. But as the battle progressed, and both Hulks were left wearing nothing but their trademark pants, Tony couldn't tell them apart anymore.
"The one on the left is Hulk. He's giving off a stronger sense of threat!" Peter Parker said.
"The one on the left is Hulk. He's slightly bigger," Martian Manhunter added.
"Now he's on the right; his energy is stronger!" Morbius pointed out.
"Now he's back on the left; his aura is more intense. Can't you tell the difference?" Robert teased Tony Stark, glancing at him with a smirk.
"Looks like your tech could use an upgrade. And isn't this scenario a good rehearsal for the Skrull incident?" Robert continued.
"If that Super-Skrull you mentioned ever manages to copy our powers, the battle might look just like this, don't you think?"
"Dammit! If I can't even tell the two Hulks apart, how am I supposed to identify two Spider-Men or two Martian Manhunters?" Tony Stark muttered in frustration, realizing the challenge ahead.
"The real problem is that while only a Super-Skrull can replicate superhuman abilities, any regular Skrull can still disguise themselves as you. What would you do if one disguised itself as you when I wasn't around?" Robert warned, giving Tony a serious look.
"Shit! More work... I..." Tony cursed under his breath, glancing over at Peter Parker and Morbius.
*Hack, hack, hack!* Right then, Peter and Morbius started coughing violently, as if trying to cough up their lungs, making Tony roll his eyes.
"Fine, you guys take a break. I need one too. I'm not like you superhumans—these high-pressure experiments are exhausting!" Tony Stark grumbled, plopping down on a chair to watch the fight.
"Jarvis, get me two cheeseburgers. The kind from Burger King, extra cheese. I need to blow off some steam!"
"Right away, sir." Jarvis quickly responded, and shortly after, two cheeseburgers were brought to Tony Stark. But as he reached for one, he noticed Robert eyeing the food.
"Order more; apparently, we've got another starving soul here," Tony sighed, reluctantly handing one burger to Robert and giving new instructions to Jarvis.
While Robert dug into his meal, the fight below between Hulk and Banner was nearing its end. If the battle had started evenly matched, it had now shifted to Hulk dominating Banner.
At the start, Banner had thought Hulk wasn't much of a challenge. They fought similarly, without much technique. In fact, after watching some combat videos, the smarter Banner had felt confident that he could outmaneuver Hulk with superior skills.
But as the fight progressed, Banner noticed Hulk's strength was increasing. Each blow from Hulk became harder to withstand. Soon, Banner realized that Hulk's body had grown larger than his own, reminding him of what Robert had mentioned earlier.
With Martian Manhunter subtly stoking his anger, Banner tried to harness his fury to boost his power and defeat Hulk, proving he wasn't just a copy.
But whether it was because Banner had lost the ability to grow stronger through anger or because he was too distracted by other thoughts, his rage did little to change his size or strength.
*Boom!* With one final punch from Hulk, a tooth flew from Banner's mouth as he was knocked to the ground. Hulk then jumped onto Banner, pinning him down with his massive weight. Raising his fist triumphantly, Hulk looked down at Banner with a wild grin, ready to strike again if Banner didn't surrender...
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