Chapter 5: Gamma Echoes and a Soldier's Grief
With Ghost officially on the team, solid and cured, Adam's operations expanded almost immediately, shifting from solo opportunism to a nascent, two-person unit. The team's first collective mission was not one of his own devising, but a reaction to a seismic event rocking the world: the sudden, terrifying appearance of the Hulk. The System's interface, a constant, glowing presence at the edge of his vision, began to highlight opportunities related to "Gamma Echoes" and "Experimental Technology." The MCU timeline document confirmed that at this time, Bruce Banner was on the run in Brazil, a desperate fugitive pursued relentlessly by General "Thunderbolt" Ross and a relentless team of U.S. special ops soldiers. The ensuing chaos, the raw power unleashed, the scientific anomalies—this was, to the System, a goldmine of morally grey potential.
Adam and Ghost found themselves operating in the periphery of events in Brazil, a shadowy presence observing the unfolding drama. Their goal was not to save anyone, not to intervene heroically, but to profit from the aftermath, to scavenge the opportunities that fear and destruction created. While Bruce Banner was fighting for his life, his transformations ripping through the landscape, the team was busy executing discreet, morally grey missions. Ghost, with her intimate knowledge of molecular physics and a new, stable body that felt like a miracle every second, was fascinated by the Hulk's gamma-induced mutation. She saw it not just as a terrifying force, but as a unique research opportunity, a living, breathing experiment of unprecedented scale. Her scientific curiosity, a flicker of the passion she once possessed, burned brightly. With her newly stable infiltration skills and Adam's pervasive Haki, they were able to discreetly acquire valuable biological samples from the Abomination's destructive path – traces of gamma-irradiated organic matter, fragments of broken military tech, schematics from abandoned research outposts. It was a grim but incredibly profitable endeavor, each successful acquisition adding a satisfying chime to Adam's coin count.
Concurrently, as they moved through the global shadows, Adam's Haki began to register a new, powerful, and deeply pained presence emanating from the urban landscape of New York. It was a raw, almost tangible aura of grief, simmering resentment, and a barely contained rage. The System identified him with alarming precision: Frank Castle, a decorated U.S. Marine veteran. While the canonical MCU timeline placed Frank Castle's tragic origin later, this story's reimagining placed the brutal murder of his family by criminals earlier, leaving him a man utterly consumed by grief and a nascent, brutal desire for vengeance. His pain was a palpable, dark storm of emotion that Adam could feel from miles away, a constant, throbbing ache that defined the man's existence. It was not "evil" in the System's terms, because it was born of profound suffering, but it was a far cry from "good." Frank Castle was, in the truest sense of the System's definition, a "morally grey" character, ripe for recruitment.
The team's operations to acquire gamma-related intel were consistently successful, generating a steady stream of coins, but Adam's primary focus was now on this new potential recruit. The missions were a means to an end, a way to fund his expanding team and prepare for the kind of "recruitment gift" the System offered for high-value targets. As the team worked to gather their spoils, a military unit in pursuit of the Hulk closed in on their position, their movements predictable, their intentions clear. Adam, ever the prankster, and always looking for an angle, decided to make things interesting. He used a System-bought device to hijack the pursuing unit's GPS, rerouting them not to their true target, but to a remote, empty warehouse he had scouted earlier. Once they were inside, confused and isolated, a pre-programmed timer activated, illuminating the massive inflatable "Hulk Smash!" sign he'd discreetly planted inside, along with a few hastily arranged, oversized green footprints. The prank was successful, causing a comical diversion that aided their escape while frustrating General Ross to no end. Adam could feel the General's apoplectic rage from a distance, a small, satisfying victory that added an extra layer of amusement to their departure.
As they left the region, the sounds of distant destruction fading behind them, Adam's gaze, both physical and through his Haki, was fixed on the presence of Frank Castle in the distance. He could feel the raw pain, the unyielding rage, and the profound, life-altering grief that fueled him. Adam knew he would make a perfect asset for the System, a blunt instrument of justice shaped by sorrow. And for Frank Castle, the System would offer the one thing he wanted more than anything else, the ultimate, impossible wish: the resurrection of his family. The thought, cold and calculating, yet imbued with a strange sense of certainty, settled in Adam's mind. The game was escalating.