Ross stood silently in the steel-walled command chamber, his massive frame illuminated by the cold glow of gamma energy reactors humming behind thick glass. The constant radiation was reshaping him, feeding strength into his body. His veins pulsed with unnatural light, and even the air seemed to vibrate whenever he flexed his fists.
The military officer beside him adjusted his glasses nervously, the reflection of gamma flames dancing across the lenses. "Yes, General," the man said with a slight tremor, though he tried to sound confident. "Now you only need to continue absorbing energy, taking in more gamma radiation every day. Your strength will keep rising. We have nearly unlimited resources here—enough to push you far beyond your current limits."
He leaned closer, lowering his voice as though confiding in Ross. "With these resources, you'll grow stronger than anyone has ever imagined. Stronger even than Richard."
At that name, Ross's lips curled into a predatory grin. His rival's shadow still haunted him.
The officer continued, shoving forward a data pad covered in calculations. "Look at these numbers. The Abomination's maximum power output registers at 190 tons of force. Richard, by my calculations, operates at roughly 240 to 260 tons. That's where he stands. But if you continue your gamma absorption process, if we keep feeding you more power, then once you reach 300 tons of raw physical strength, Richard will no longer be your equal. At that point, suppressing him will be effortless."
The officer adjusted the bridge of his nose again, almost obsessively, before pressing on. "General, the path is clear. A few more days of energy absorption, and you'll have the strength of a titan. With 300 tons at your command, Richard will be crushed."
Ross's massive hands curled into fists, knuckles cracking like cannon fire. For the first time in years, the prospect of victory didn't just seem possible—it seemed inevitable.
He bared his teeth in a wide, dangerous smile. "Very good," Ross muttered, his voice low and heavy with menace. "Very good indeed." He slammed a fist into his other palm, the shockwave rattling the steel plates in the floor. "This time… Richard will no longer be a thorn in my side. Three hundred tons? Richard, here I come."
From that moment forward, the general devoted himself entirely to the monstrous process of gamma absorption. Vast quantities of resources were shipped to the hidden base daily. Huge reactors generated relentless waves of gamma energy that poured into Ross's body, twisting his flesh further, reshaping muscle into dense cords of living armor. Every day, his strength multiplied. Every day, the Red Giant grew closer to completion.
---
Meanwhile, far away in a quiet research facility, Nathan worked tirelessly, unaware that his actions had indirectly given rise to this accelerated nightmare. By pushing the boundaries of gamma research, by daring to tamper with forces few understood, Nathan had unintentionally set in motion the birth of Ross's monstrous evolution.
But Nathan was consumed by his own experiments. His fingers danced across the keyboard, adjusting readings, cross-referencing charts, and testing samples under containment protocols. The laboratory hummed with quiet intensity.
Through countless trials, Nathan had made a discovery: when ordinary cells were carefully exposed to small doses of gamma energy, they could retain and utilize fragments of that power without mutating into the monstrous green "gamma cells" like Hulk's.
He paused, staring at the results with disbelief and exhilaration. "If my theory holds," Nathan muttered to himself, "then gamma energy doesn't have to transform the body completely. It can be harnessed in controlled amounts."
The risk was obvious—too much gamma energy and the cells would destabilize, leading to catastrophic backlash. Yet the potential reward was staggering.
For the first time, Nathan glimpsed a path where an ordinary human body could safely accommodate and wield gamma energy. If he perfected this process, he could gradually strengthen his cells, creating a stable system where each could store more gamma power without collapsing. Over time, his body might rival even Hulk's legendary adaptability.
"Step by step," Nathan whispered, tapping commands into the system. "First, identify the critical threshold. Find the exact point where gamma energy becomes unsafe. If I can lock down that limit, I can build from there."
His screen filled with cascading data. Nathan's eyes burned from fatigue, but he pressed on, chasing the breakthrough. If he succeeded, he would no longer just study power—he would wield it.
---
Elsewhere, deep beneath the surface of a luxury villa, another man worked with equal desperation but in a different field.
The basement was a storm of sparks and steel. Mechanical arms spun and whirred, welding components, carving alloys, and assembling microstructures at blinding speed. The air smelled of ozone and hot metal.
Tony Stark stood in the center, sweat matting his hair to his forehead, eyes bloodshot from sleepless nights. His mind was a storm of calculations and innovations, a frenzy of genius harnessed by sheer willpower.
"Nanotechnology," Tony muttered under his breath, his voice both exhausted and exhilarated. "A field spanning physics, chemistry, biology, electronics, mechanics… every branch of modern science at once. And I'm trying to fuse them into one suit."
He wiped sweat from his brow, only for more to drip down seconds later. His fingers flew across holographic screens, sketching blueprints, rewriting equations, cross-referencing schematics with molecular models.
Friday, his ever-faithful AI, spoke in her calm, supportive tone. "You're progressing faster than anyone alive, boss. Even with the complexity of nanosystems, you're mastering it. You've already mapped nanosystem physics, nanochemistry, nanobiology, nanomaterials, nanoelectronics, and nanoscale detection. The groundwork is done. The nano-armor is nearly complete."
Tony allowed himself a fleeting grin, the corners of his mouth twitching upward. "Flattery will get you nowhere, Friday. Be more rigorous. Call me smart, sure, but don't exaggerate." He tugged at his collar, heat from the machinery stifling him.
"Still…" Tony looked around at the dozens of suspended armor fragments, the shimmering lattice of nanites weaving in mid-air like liquid steel. "It's almost there. The bleeding-edge armor—the culmination of all my work. When it's ready, no threat on Earth or beyond will catch me unprepared."
---
Three men. Three paths.
Ross, feeding himself on endless gamma energy, pushing his body toward monstrous strength beyond measure.
Nathan, searching for balance, a way to master gamma energy without losing his humanity.
Tony, racing against time to forge technology so advanced it could rewrite the rules of battle itself.
And though none of them yet knew it, their paths were destined to collide.
Ross's laughter echoed in his base, booming like thunder. "Richard… Nathan… whoever stands in my way will be crushed!"
Nathan typed one final sequence, locking in his next trial dose. His hands trembled slightly—not from fear, but from anticipation. "This is it," he whispered. "The first step toward breaking my own limits."
And far beneath the luxury villa, Tony clenched his jaw and whispered to himself, "Almost done… just a little more, and I'll have a suit the world has never seen."
The storm was building. And soon, when these powers finally met, the earth itself would tremble.
---
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