chapter 191 part 1
Chapter 190: Hulk? Hulk!
2023-05-02 Author: Yue Shang Xintou
"..."
Watching Banner wreak havoc on the surveillance footage, Helmut's eyes narrowed slightly beneath his glasses. He then said to Doctor Zola on the screen.
"In that case, capture him for me…"
Looking down at the green monster in the surveillance feed, Helmut said with a cold expression.
"I believe Marshal John Schmidt will be very interested in this."
The Super Soldier Serum experiment had always been a key focus of Hydra's research. For this, Helmut had invested a significant amount of resources, even obtaining part of the Hyde Formula from the Thunderbolts. His goal was to crack the research achievements of the serum formula.
This experimental project, led by the US military during World War II, had been in a state of stagnation since Captain America's death.
It wasn't until modern times that the then Commander of German Forces in America, General John Schmidt, ordered the research project to be restarted.
Furthermore, under John Schmidt's pressure, all data left by Doctor Abraham Erskine, who had led the Super Soldier Serum experiment, was obtained from the US military. Most importantly, Captain America's corpse was also secretly transported to Hydra's research base.
With the defeat in World War II and the long-term, subtle influence of the German military's garrison.
The vast majority of American citizens had essentially accepted the fact of America's defeat. However, there was still a small portion of soldiers from World War II who were unwilling to admit America's failure.
At that time, MacArthur suppressed Hell's Kitchen, with the German Military in the US playing a role behind the scenes. The objective was to eliminate these "hardline" elements from World War II who refused to surrender.
The fact proved that the suppression operation was indeed very successful. After the severe deaths and injuries of World War II soldiers in Hell's Kitchen, apart from some scattered resistance fighters, there were essentially no organized resistance groups left in America.
The generation of Americans born after the war was even called the "Lost Generation."
It represented the loss of America's national status, an era filled with despair.
That being said, Captain America was still a highly representative figure of America during World War II, even being written into American textbooks as a superhero at the time.
Especially with his team, the Invaders, whom he led, they had once caused considerable trouble for the German military during World War II.
It symbolized the invincibility of the US military during that era.
Even now, on major American media outlets, discussions circulated about how the course of World War II might have changed if Captain America's Invaders had not failed.
Regarding this idea, in fact, as early as the 1960s, the American writer Philip K. Dick had published a work called "The Man in the High Castle." In the novel, Philip K. Dick envisioned a flipped "history," depicting the Axis Powers winning World War II, with Germany and Japan being divided and occupied by America. He explored the consequences for human society of justice versus injustice, cultural inferiority complex and identity, as well as capitalism and racial discrimination.
In the novel, Philip K. Dick fictionalized a superhero named "Captain Justice," who spearheaded America's victory.
Although "Captain Justice" in the novel was merely a symbolic figure, serving as a prelude to America's victory in World War II.
However, everyone who was clear about that period of American defeat naturally connected the "Captain Justice" appearing in the book to Captain America.
Especially in Philip K. Dick's descriptions, the growth history of "Captain Justice" was mentioned more than once.
"...Undoubtedly, Captain is a patriot. He likes to wear clothes with the American flag on them, which represents the country he carries on his back."
"That war was extremely brutal, and it was the most perilous situation Captain had ever faced. At one point, the entire team believed they would die on the battlefield. However, in the end, they triumphed. They changed the course of World War II and brought us unprecedented victory…"
It was precisely because of the potential influence Captain America had on American society.
Hydra began its research in secret, without alerting anyone.
Because Helmut knew that once the entire matter was exposed, it would cause immense upheaval in American society and create unnecessary trouble for the German military's garrison in America.
…
"Understood."
In the underground laboratory of the Hydra building.
Upon hearing Helmut's command, Doctor Zola on the screen nodded.
Then, as if thinking of something, Helmut added, "If possible, try to capture Bruce Banner alive. I need to understand the cause of his mutation and whether this power can be utilized by Hydra."
The immense destructive power Banner displayed after his mutation in the surveillance footage made Helmut think of Mister Hyde from the Thunderbolts.
Both were mutations that turned them into monsters, but Banner's transformation time after mutating was clearly much longer than Mister Hyde's transformation after injecting the hormone.
Furthermore, judging by his appearance in the footage, Banner had no intention of stopping.
He was like a tireless beast, destroying all the equipment he could see in the laboratory.
"Understood."
Hearing this, Doctor Zola on the screen nodded slightly.
Immediately, a cold mechanical voice echoed through the Hydra underground base.
"Target locked!"
"Ultron II activated…"
…
Roar—
Wielding his thick arms, smashing a hole through the wall blocking his path with ease, Banner threw his head back and let out a deafening roar, venting the endless anger and fear surging within him.
In his mutated state, Banner had almost no normal emotions. He couldn't think; he was like someone trapped in a nightmare from which he could never awaken.
The side effects of Hydra's brainwashing had fully erupted, turning him into a monster who could not regain consciousness, forever living in a nightmare.
In the ruins of the destroyed laboratory in Sector D.
"Ultron II, connect to the radar system and lock onto suspicious targets!"
Several robots with a metallic sheen appeared at the accident scene. Their mechanical eyes, flashing red, scanned everything in the laboratory before locking onto the green figure at the center of the destruction.
"Data comparison, target confirmed…"
A cold mechanical voice emanated from the Ultron II robots.
Ultron II was the next-generation Ultron robot researched by Hank Pym before he left Hydra.
Compared to the previous Type I robots, Type II had undergone upgrades in weaponry and artificial intelligence response. Especially at Helmut's request, Hank had installed special optical sensors and ion cannons in the robots' bodies and hands, enabling Ultron II to fight in more situations.
It was worth mentioning that the inspiration for the ion cannon on Ultron II's hands actually came from Howard of the Dark Avengers.