It was late 1977. David Banner's wife was dead. His dearest friend was also dead. To make matters worse, a reporter named Jack McGee mistakenly believed that David Banner himself had been murdered by a large green creature. The truth was that exposure to gamma rays had given David the uncontrollable ability to become large and green and super strong and invulnerable, whenever his stress or fear levels were sufficiently raised.
Having been a long term fan of an old television show called "The Fugitive", David believed that the only thing he could do was go on the run, allowing the myth of his death to continue, until he could purge himself of the gamma radiation poisoning. He would have many adventures in the years to follow. The first of these would be at the university, in New York.
He took the name David Bruce and managed to fill the vacancy for a laboratory assistant at the university. All he needed to do was learn the chemicals, and be sure to deliver the correct ones to the classrooms on time for lessons and tutorials. For a secret scientist, he could do this in his sleep …. which was helpful, because he would begin a practice of sneaking into the classroom laboratories late at night, attempting to cure his condition. Sleep would not be something that his life allowed time to enjoy to excess.
Peter Parker had had several adventures over the last few months, since becoming Spider-Man. He had brought a number of criminals to justice, and kept his duel identity from being known even by his fellow students, his employer Jonah Jameson, his Aunt May, and a beautiful rival reporter named Julie Masters.
It was five o'clock on a Friday afternoon. Peter finished his last class and was about to leave for home. He walked out of the building and began to cross the lawn, when he got a strange sensation. His spider sense, a curious awareness of danger which he had acquired along with his agility, strength and wall sticking powers, told him that the science faculty building was in danger of burglary. He had an image in his head of four of the largest students on campus crouching in the bushes outside the building.
Peter Parker knew that he could not use his spider sense as evidence in court of a robbery that four students were ABOUT to commit. He would have to catch them in the act, after they'd started. Peter ducked around to the side of the building, ascended an external staircase which was out of sight of the four students, and walked onto the roof. There he was unseen, as he unbuttoned his shirt, and pulled a mask over his head. Pulling off his trousers, he checked the positioning of his silvery grey belt and his web shooters, and removed his socks and shoes. His red and blue costume bore the black emblem of a spider on his chest. He was ready for action.
Peeking over the edge of the building, he watched the campus empty of all students except four. Those he saw emerge from the bushes wearing balaclavas and begin to climb a drainpipe. The external staircase that Peter had used would not allow access to the supply room. The drainpipe was the only way to break in. When the first of them reached the window, he took a tool from his holster strap and began to jemmy the window. It soon gave way, as windows were known to do in 1977, and the four young men made their way in. They stole quietly through the first room and were about to enter the supply room, when they saw a man, presumably the janitor, look up from a desk with a computer. He wasn't one of the science teachers, but had been seen by one of them, when some beakers were brought to the classroom.
"We can't do anything but run for it now," said one of them quietly.
"Are you kidding? We'll never get another chance at that stuff once he gives the word. It's worth a fortune."
"And how do we stop him telling on us?"
"We all agreed we'd do anything to be rich. We have to keep enrolling in one university after another every semester, while we're still young enough to pass for students. We clean the labs out, sell the gear and make it while we're young. I say we shut him up, permanently."
David Banner's own clandestine behaviour didn't trouble him nearly as much as the sight of four masked figures creeping through the science building after hours. He had seen them, and he knew that they had seen him. The best thing to do was hide. He backed into the supply room, as they entered the office he was using, and locked the door from the inside.
"You open it up, or we come in and snuff you," said one of the robbers.
One of them charged the door side on, jarring it with his shoulder, but failing to open it.
"We'll have to kick it in," said another.
Inside, fearful for his life, David Banner heard them pounding the door with their feet.
"This can't happen!" he thought in panic, "I need my anonymity here! I need access to this building's computer and chemicals! I need to live!"
Then he saw the thick wood begin to splinter inwards in his direction. A few more kicks and they'd be through …. and he would be through, through as a laboratory assistant.
