"What? This is impossible!" Banner could hardly believe his eyes.
The images Noah displayed showed a laboratory filled with bottles and bags of blood. But what shocked him most were the labels: "Bruce Banner, such-and-such date, such-and-such year." This could only be his blood.
Previously, while on the run, he had sent blood samples to an online friend known as "Mr. Blue," hoping he would help him find a cure for his transformations into the Hulk. However, he couldn't have imagined that his blood would become part of some experiment. But why was there so much of it? He had only sent small samples.
"Is all of this my blood?" he asked in a trembling voice, his eyes wide.
"Yes, Dr. Banner. After Samuel Sterns received your blood samples, he secretly conducted experiments with them and even created copies," Noah clicked on the screen, and new data appeared before them.
[Date: July 12, 2008]
[Subject: Research on the compatibility of ??? blood with human cells]
[Experimental Process: Attempt to fuse ??? blood with the cells of laboratory mice. The results were unexpected: the blood couldn't merge with normal cells; the subjects died.]
[The ??? blood cells contain excessively potent gamma radiation, preventing them from interacting with normal cells. These cells act as a poison.]
[Date...]
Banner frowned, carefully studying the documents Noah displayed. Noah had obtained these materials on the same day he first met Banner – the day Abomination appeared. While Banner was on his way to Sterns's university, Noah sat in a nearby cafe, waiting and playing on his phone. But in reality, he used that time to allow Lissandra to hack into Sterns's laboratory and retrieve all this data and images.
"Dr. Sterns, what have you done?" Banner began massaging his temples, feeling a headache coming on from the tension. He hadn't expected his blood could lead to such consequences.
"Sterns has been using your blood for experiments all this time. First on mice, then on larger mammals, but it seems he hasn't achieved success," Noah said thoughtfully, resting his chin on his hand.
He remembered that before meeting with Sterns, Banner had sent him the results of their previous experiments, which he had received from his girlfriend Betty. This data, combined with the mutation of Sterns's brain, could have been the key to his success.
"This data... I sent it to him myself..." Bruce looked through the materials and realized that the data he provided could have been the final element that led to the success of the experiments. This realization filled him with bitter regret.
"No, we have to stop him. This power is too dangerous," Banner declared, his voice resolute. His mistakes could lead to disaster, and he couldn't allow that. The situation required immediate intervention.
"Of course, but we don't know where he is now. It will take time to find him," Noah replied, clearly also interested in capturing this insidious scientist. He still had an unfinished mission.
Banner was lost in thought. He understood that time was working against them, and they needed to act quickly. He was haunted by the thought that his actions could have serious consequences.
"Perhaps we should start with this place. We might find some clues," Noah suggested, opening a portal to the source of the gamma radiation, which pointed to the burning building on the screen.
"Dr. Banner, are you coming?" Noah asked, opening another portal to send the hat home – its participation was no longer required.
Banner thought for a moment and nodded. He wanted to see what was happening with his own eyes.
Together they stepped into the portal. As soon as they emerged, hot air blasted Banner's face. He felt uncomfortable, as in his normal form, he was more susceptible to heat. But for Noah, this was nothing – the temperature of the fire caused by the magic hat was much higher.
Surrounded by flames, they heard explosions. Noah used his old trick: he summoned seawater through a portal to extinguish the flames. This was an ordinary fire, and he didn't use magic, knowing that ordinary water would do the job. At first, he considered using wind to blow out the flames, but he was afraid of destroying the remains of the buildings.
Banner watched in amazement. Previously, when Noah extinguished the fire, he was in Hulk form and didn't remember all the details. Now, seeing everything with his own eyes, his interest in magic only intensified.
They entered the charred building together. Noah moved forward, waving his hand to dispel the thick white smoke. The walls were so destroyed that it was impossible to understand what this place was originally intended for. The building had lost its former features.
After a short walk, they found themselves in what was probably a laboratory. Fragments of equipment, destroyed by explosions, lay scattered around, confirming their assumption that this was indeed a laboratory.
"There's nothing left here," Banner said in disappointment, kicking a metal fragment with his foot.
Noah took a few steps forward, catching a strange smell, and realized what it was. He patted the scientist on the shoulder and gestured for him to approach the railing ahead.
Banner thought he had found some important clue, and without hesitation, he approached the edge. Looking down into the deep pit, he froze in horror.
"Oh God... What is this?!" The smell emanating from the pit made him gag and almost vomit.
At the bottom of the pit lay the bodies of creatures, distorted beyond recognition. The fire that raged above had only slightly scorched the top layer, not reaching the other bodies. Despite their grotesque appearance, Banner could discern both human and animal remains among them.
"Damn it! He's already killed so many people?! He's moved on to experimenting on humans!" Rage built in his voice, and he barely managed to suppress a transformation before losing control.
Noah, on the other hand, didn't show much concern. Death wasn't uncommon for him. He had witnessed many deaths and had even caused them himself. His attention was focused on something else: examining every corner of the laboratory where the Leader of this horrific operation likely spent most of his time.
After obtaining Nico's power, he had learned to sense soul energy, as her shapeshifting ability was directly related to using the souls of other beings. Just like he had once managed to transform into Thor in Asgard. Furthermore, his training at Kamar-Taj had given him a lot of knowledge about soul magic. He had studied books on this topic many times.
Now he decided to find even the slightest trace of energy presence left by the Leader here. Even a faint residue of soul energy could be collected and used for searching. And the Kamar-Taj library surely contained a spell capable of tracking the owner of this energy.
"Hmm? This seems to be what I need," Noah approached the wreckage of a device near the railing. It seemed that this was where the Leader spent most of his time, and therefore some of his energy remained here. Other mages probably wouldn't have noticed this trace, but Nico's power, which granted the ability to sense souls, made him more receptive to such energy signals.
"I'll visit Kamar-Taj later," he muttered. He wasn't in a hurry, as the missions didn't have strict time limits. He had already completed today's B-rank mission, for which he received 800 essence. This was not bad, considering that the minimum reward for missions of this level was 500 units.
"Time to go back, Dr. Banner. We'll return and look for a solution."