Chapter 65: Dr. Banner
Deep night in New York—afternoon on the other side of the world in Mumbai, India.
Mumbai's Dharavi, the world's second-largest slum, resembled a maze of cramped shanties squeezed together. The gaps between structures barely allowed an underfed adult to squeeze through.
The narrowest passages couldn't accommodate people at all—only mangy dogs with matted fur navigated those spaces.
"Dr. Banu, is my sister's injury serious?"
Inside a dark, damp structure built from sheet metal, canvas, and wooden poles, a small boy clutched two paper bills in his hand. He watched anxiously as the man he called "Dr. Banu" cleaned his sister's infected wound.
"Not serious. I'll leave some medicine. Remember to give it to your sister regularly. She should recover in a few days." Dr. Banu's voice remained steady as he spoke in the local language, comforting the small boy.
"Thank you, doctor." The boy opened his palm, offering the crumpled bills to Dr. Banu.
Dr. Banu gathered his medical supplies, staring at the offered money for several seconds before reaching out to ruffle the boy's hair. "Use that money for your sister. She needs nutrition."
He turned and pushed through the cloth curtain, leaving the shelter that barely qualified as a structure.
Dr. Banu looked left and right, then navigated through narrow passages, taking several turns until he reached a garbage dump.
The place reeked. Many people in tattered clothing buried their heads in trash heaps, searching for anything valuable or edible.
Clap! Clap! Clap!
Dr. Banu clapped his hands, attracting the attention of the impoverished people. He shouted something in the local language.
The people looked confused, but soon their faces filled with terror as they quickly fled, leaving the garbage dump completely empty.
"Come out. You've been following me long enough." Dr. Banu addressed the seemingly empty dump. "Are you Ross's people, or some other military organization?"
As his words fell, a red-haired woman in a tight black tactical suit slowly emerged from her hiding place. "Dr. Banner, nice choice of location. Millions of people crammed into Dharavi—it's a perfect place to hide things or people."
Dr. Banu—the Hulk, Dr. Banner in her words—stood his ground, studying her. "I'm glad you call me 'doctor' instead of monster."
"Who are you? Who do you work for?"
Banner glanced around. "How many divisions did you bring this time? I don't see any tanks or aircraft. A few soldiers won't be enough to stop me."
"Natasha." The red-haired woman was Black Widow Natasha Romanoff, dispatched by SHIELD's director alongside Hawkeye Barton to execute this mission. "I work for SHIELD. We need you, Dr. Banner."
"Need me, or need the other guy?" Banner's face twisted with sarcasm. "You want to lock me in a more secure cage until the next time you need something smashed, right?"
"Or strap me to a surgical table for some 'research for the good of the world'?"
"No, we want to help you," Natasha said.
Banner laughed twice. "You just said you need me. Now it's changed to wanting to help me. Which should I believe?"
Beep! Beep! Beep!
Electronic alerts sounded from Banner's wrist. He lifted his arm to check the watch he'd modified into a heart rate monitor, then stepped back slowly. "The other guy doesn't like being caged. And I don't like being used."
"I suggest you leave before he comes out."
"Dr. Banner..."
Natasha stepped forward, trying to approach Banner, but he raised his hand to stop her. "Don't come closer!"
Beep-beep-beep!
The alerts from Banner's wrist accelerated. A flash of green appeared in his eyes.
Breathe in! Breathe out! Breathe in! Breathe out!
Bruce Banner closed his eyes. After several deep breaths, his emotions settled. He stared at Natasha and slowly shook his head. "Tell me why you're really here."
Natasha remained where she stood, maintaining distance from Banner. She swallowed, struggling to stay calm. "It's a long story, but do you know about the Tesseract? SHIELD's latest research shows it emits gamma radiation. No one in the world understands gamma radiation better than you."
"I don't know anything about a Tesseract. I don't plan to learn about it, and I won't help you research it." Banner retreated again. "Leave. I'm saying this for the last time."
"We'll help you find a cure!" Natasha didn't dare move but her tone grew urgent. "We won't let you lose control again!"
"I can't trust you." Banner said. "I've maintained this status quo for three years. If you hadn't found me, maybe I could have lived like this indefinitely."
"Lose control?..."
Thwip!
Before Banner finished speaking, an arrow shot from behind, embedding itself deep into Banner's muscle.
Beep-beep-beep-beep!
The accelerated heart rate alarm blared frantically. Anger flashed across Banner's face. His eyes turned completely green.
But with a subtle clicking sound, the arrowhead injected its payload into Banner's system.
Thud!
Dr. Banner's body collapsed to the ground.
Whoosh—
Natasha finally released her breath. She dropped to one knee, cold sweat beading on her forehead. After a long moment, she spoke into her earpiece to Hawkeye Barton. "Can we get someone else to play bait next time?"
Hawkeye Barton didn't answer. He approached from the distance, pulled the arrow from Banner's body, and returned it to the quiver on his back. "Simple mission."
Natasha rolled her eyes, looking at the expressionless Hawkeye who acted as though capturing the Hulk—the target General Ross had pursued for years—was nothing noteworthy. "Barton, we've worked together for years. When will you break this habit?"
Hawkeye Barton gripped his bow and shook it forcefully. The longbow folded into a short baton that he tucked behind his back. His tone remained flat. "If he'd transformed into the Hulk, it might have been challenging. But without transforming, he's just an ordinary person."
Natasha shook her head. She had no idea what to say.
Evening had fallen in Mumbai, India. In New York, dawn approached.
Manhattan District, beneath the police-sealed Oscorp Tower.
"I don't know much about gamma radiation. These electromagnetic waves with extremely short wavelengths and high energy possess tremendous penetrating power—radiation released during atomic nuclear energy level transitions."
"Based on Oscorp's experiment logs, even if I destroy Norman Osborn's evil personality, he'll likely develop another evil personality under the gamma radiation-affected serum."
"I need to cure him completely, prevent him from massacring prisoners and escaping from jail."
"Given time, I could become an expert in gamma radiation. But time is critical. I need to find Dr. Banner, get him to help me research an antidote for Norman."
"Dr. Banner is also a nuclear physicist. He could partner with Dr. Octavius perfectly."
"His other identity as the Hulk also requires countermeasures. Close contact will give me sufficient understanding of him."
From the sixtieth floor down to the third basement level, Batman had spent the entire night searching for any formulas, data, or samples of the super-soldier serum. Dawn now approached.
After Kingpin's stock purchase was frozen and Norman Osborn was kicked off the board of directors, Oscorp now faced a power vacuum.
"If I were General Ross, I'd seize this opportunity to move military forces into Oscorp," Batman thought.
He needed to destroy everything related to the serum, prevent the situation where Harry Osborn hadn't even assumed control before General Ross took over Oscorp under various pretexts.
Destroying all the data would buy Batman response time, even if General Ross did take over the company.
Simultaneously, on Manhattan's streets, dark green camouflage military vehicles surrounded Oscorp from all directions.
Silent, disciplined soldiers wielding firearms swiftly sealed off Oscorp completely. A contingent stormed into the building, occupying Oscorp floor by floor.
A helicopter descended through the darkness with the roar of rotors, landing slowly on the rooftop helipad of Oscorp Tower.
General Ross opened the cabin door. The rotor wash whipped his hair into chaos, but his face wore a triumphant smile. He accepted a radio from someone nearby and began issuing orders.
"Complete lockdown of Oscorp. Tomorrow morning, announce to the media that the military will implement military supervision and technology lockdown of Oscorp."
"The reason? Preventing the spread of Oscorp's dangerous technology."
***
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