General Thaddeus 'Thunderbolt' Ross, retreating from his unproductive confrontation with Tony Stark, felt the hot rush of humiliation mixed with a perverse, desperate clarity. Tony's taunts had solidified the only viable path forward: since Bruce Banner was uncontrollable, he would cultivate another giant, one who was not only powerful but, critically, controllable.
Emil Blonsky was the perfect candidate. His innate combat prowess, combined with the initial super-soldier serum, meant his baseline strength and resilience were already vastly superior to ordinary humans.
If Blonsky could successfully undergo a gamma transformation—even an incomplete one—he would definitely be more powerful and, most importantly, psychologically driven to obey orders, unlike the conscience-stricken Banner.
With Blonsky as a guaranteed, loyal giant, General Ross believed his superiors would have no choice but to support him. He would deliver the weapon they craved.
Thinking of this, General Ross eagerly launched his catastrophic operation. He used the drive back to his classified command center to make his frantic arrangements. The goal was no longer the capture of Banner himself, but the acquisition of a vital biological component: a fresh, usable sample of Bruce Banner's gamma-infused blood. Only with this pure, highly active gamma agent could a new giant be created.
Blonsky, despite the Hulk's near-lethal slap, had already benefited immensely from the super-soldier serum. Though a normal person would have died, Blonsky was merely severely injured. In just half a day, the accelerated healing factor had repaired a great deal of the internal damage. He could still not move normally, but his recovery was astonishingly rapid.
When Ross's orders came through—detailing the plan to use Banner's blood to create a new, superior giant—Blonsky was overjoyed. His feverish gaze, still somewhat unfocused from the concussion, sharpened with maniacal anticipation.
"Indeed! General Ross sees the truth!" Blonsky cackled from his makeshift medical bed, forcing himself upright despite the protesting pain in his ribs. "That bookworm, Bruce Banner, he doesn't know how to use this power at all. He fights like a scared animal. If I can gain this power, I will be invincible! I will be the world's ultimate soldier, the supreme organism!"
Blonsky was already looking forward to possessing such raw, untamed strength, envisioning his rematch. The sheer physical thrill of the power overwhelmed all sense of self-preservation or ethical concern.
General Ross's immediate, desperate counter-offensive began. His forces were mobilized, not for a direct assault, but to trace Banner's digital signature. There was still a faint, traceable signal linked to the USB drive Betty had given Banner. Ross ordered his men to closely monitor the drive's movements, waiting for the precise moment Banner accessed the data again—a moment Ross knew was inevitable, as Banner was desperate for a cure.
Meanwhile, Tony Stark's attempts at political intervention were finally having some effect. The reckless destruction at NYU had been too public and too brazen to ignore. General Ross, despite his best efforts to spin the event as a necessary counter-terrorism measure, incurred the intense displeasure of the powerful Senators who controlled his budget.
Ross was facing immense pressure, but his cunning saved him from immediate disgrace. He used his connections and leveraged the fear of the unknown 'green threat' to convince his superior to grant him a final opportunity.
He was given a harsh ultimatum: three days. Within three days, Ross had to present the concrete, tangible results he had promised—either the captured Hulk or a viable, superior replacement. If he failed, General Ross would face full sanction, military tribunal, and the end of his career.
Time was now a rapidly diminishing asset, and General Ross frantically drove his forces to track and corner Bruce Banner.
Bruce Banner, completely unaware of the political turmoil and the dangerous, final plot brewing against him, had spent the last two days hiding in a remote, rural area with Betty after the initial attack. The serum he had been injected with after the initial gamma burst was still circulating, forcing him to be constantly vigilant. He knew he couldn't endanger Betty or any other civilian again.
After ensuring Betty's safety, Banner contacted the only person he felt could help him complete the cure: his online colleague, known only as "Mr. Blue" or Dr. Samuel Sterns—the man Banner trusted as "White."
After making thorough preparations to avoid detection—old-school analog methods, circuitous routes—Banner quietly arrived at Sterns's heavily fortified, clandestine laboratory in a dingy neighborhood. He was ready to end the Hulk nightmare once and for all.
Sterns, a genius molecular biologist, had been working with the data Banner had been sending for years, but progress had been slow. Now, with the key, complete data set from the USB drive finally decrypted and loaded, the two quickly synthesized a high-concentration gamma suppression serum.
This serum, Sterns believed, would act as a chelating agent, bonding with the gamma-active molecules in Banner's blood and allowing him to control his transformations, or even purge the gamma energy completely.
Bruce Banner was incredibly excited; he had finally reached the precipice of freedom.
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Just as Bruce was about to inject the vial—the culmination of seven years of desperate searching—Sterns stopped him, his hand hovering over Banner's arm.
"Wait, Bruce. Are you absolutely sure you want to inject the serum?" Sterns's voice was cautious, burdened by the weight of the decision. "I have to be upfront. The chemical signature suggests it might not just suppress the transformations; it's very likely to make you lose your gamma energy entirely. You will turn back into a normal, frail human being."
Bruce thought of his estranged girlfriend, his lost academic career, and the constant fear. "I just want to be a normal person, Samuel. I can't live like this anymore. The world doesn't need the Hulk."
Banner injected the serum into his arm without hesitation.
In that critical moment, before the serum could fully circulate, the first tell-tale sounds of a forced entry echoed from downstairs. Sterns, monitoring his clandestine surveillance feeds, discovered that a team of heavily armed operatives was breaching the building's defenses.
"Bruce, they're here. General Ross's men," Sterns said, his voice laced with panic. "The serum hasn't fully taken effect yet. You must control yourself. During this period, you must prevent any emotional spike that causes transformation. Once you transform, the violent surge of gamma energy will purify the serum from your system, rendering it useless."
Sterns pointed to a hidden air duct. "You hurry and go. I'll stay here and stall for time. I'm legally untouchable—they can't shoot me."
Bruce, trusting Sterns, slipped into the hidden exit, his heart hammering in his chest, knowing that his salvation was a race against the clock and his own unstable psyche.
Downstairs, Blonsky, now fully recovered and moving with frightening, almost predatory speed, led his subordinates in the immediate raid. He didn't see any sign of Banner.
Sterns, despite his fear, was the first to confront Blonsky. "Who are you? This is my private laboratory. You are in breach of my rights—"
Blonsky didn't hesitate. He grabbed Sterns by his lab coat, lifting the smaller man effortlessly off the ground. "Where is Bruce? What did he come here for? Tell me, or I'll assume you're an accessory!"
"I won't tell you," Sterns stammered, trying to maintain a facade of academic bravery.
A subordinate discovered a secret passage Banner had used. "Major, there's an exit here!"
"You, go chase him now!" Blonsky roared, pointing to the subordinate. He himself, however, did not leave the room, his focus entirely on Sterns. "Tell me, now! What did he come here for?"
Blonsky pulled out his pistol and aimed it directly at Sterns's head. He fired a deafening shot right next to the scientist's ear. "You only have three seconds. If you don't speak, then die!"
White was hysterical, tears streaming down his face. The pure, murderous intent in Blonsky's eyes convinced him that this man was beyond reason. "I'll tell you! I'll tell you! Bruce intends to purify the gamma energy in his body so he can become a normal person!"
Hearing the answer, Blonsky was thunderstruck, a primal bellow forming in his chest. Such powerful strength, and Bruce Banner actually wanted to give it up?
Blonsky's snarl twisted into a maniacal sneer. "Indeed, he's a bookworm. He doesn't understand what this power means."
But the satisfaction was brief, immediately replaced by a fresh wave of blinding fury. "If he turns into a normal person, then I won't be able to defeat the Hulk! No! I must become a giant like him; I want to defeat him!"
Blonsky looked at the terrified Sterns, his mind spiraling into pure obsession. "You have a way to help him become a normal person, so you must also have a way to turn me into one like him, right? A giant?"
He shoved the gun hard against Sterns's temple. "If you can't do it, then die!"
Sterns, trapped and utterly terrified, had no room to refuse. "I—I have been studying the blood samples General Ross's men previously collected from the fight in Brazil. I've replicated the gamma markers. If—if these blood samples are injected into an enhanced host like yourself, they could force a transformation! It's highly unstable, but—"
Blonsky didn't care about the molecular details. "So, you can do it, right? You can make me a giant?"
Sterns, looking at the pure madness in Blonsky's eyes, could only utter a single, trembling word. "Yes."
"Then, begin! Now!"
On the street, Banner was fleeing, heart pounding, when he was cornered by another squad of Ross's operatives. The serum was fighting a war against the gamma energy inside him, but the intense stress and fear were tipping the scales toward transformation.
Meanwhile, back in the laboratory, Blonsky was already lying on the operating table, his face a mask of desperate anticipation. Dr. Sterns, his hands shaking violently, had no choice but to follow the order. He quickly prepared the serum—the synthesized concoction containing Banner's gamma-active blood—and injected the massive dose directly into Blonsky's primary artery.
The effect was instantaneous and horrific. As the powerful, raw gamma energy entered Blonsky's enhanced but fundamentally human body, it began to infect and spread throughout his entire system. A violent, unimaginable sensation of pain surged through him, far surpassing the agony of the sonic cannon blast.
But Blonsky wasn't worried. He was ecstatic.
He felt the powerful force—a force of creation and pure destruction—tearing him apart and rebuilding him from the inside out. Bones snapped and re-fused; muscle fiber bulked and twisted; and his entire skeletal structure deformed, erupting in bizarre, bony spikes. The transformation was far more grotesque and unstable than Banner's.
Blonsky's eyes rolled back in his head as a primal, non-human roar erupted from his lungs, shaking the foundations of the laboratory. He was becoming a giant, a distorted parody of the Hulk.
The Abomination was born at this very moment!