May 1, 2013; 11:57 AM
Los Diablos High School, New Mexico
A boy was whispering to his friend, albeit somewhat loudly.
"Hey, did you hear? Apparently the military base over by the mountain is going to test an atomic bomb, or something, at around 3 o'clock," he said.
His friend shook his head. "That isn't true. The government or the military would never test that kind of thing near a civilian town."
"It's not that close." Suddenly, a smirk crept across his face. "Hey, if you're so sure they wouldn't test that bomb, I dare you to drive up to the base to check it out.
"W-what?" The friend stuttered. "There's no way I'd go up there."
"Well if there isn't gonna be a test, there's nothing to be afraid of, right?" He scoffed.
All of this was happening within earshot range of 16-year-old Rick Jones. The brunet turned around with a grin.
"Did you say you had a dare?" Rick asked.
The two other boys looked at each other before turning back at Rick with smiles.
"Yeah," the first boy said. "If you go there at 3:00, drive at least 10 minutes into where they're supposed to be testing, and stay for 10 minutes, I'll pay you $20. If you don't, you'll have to pay us $40. Each."
The other boy stuck out his hand. "Deal?"
Rick's grin widened. "Deal." He took ahold of the boy's hand and shook it. "Wanna meet at the fence after school? Maybe 2:45?"
They nodded.
May 1, 2013; 12:01 PM
Los Diablos U.S. Military Base "Gamma Base"
"I-I'm ready that the bomb is sure," one of the scientists present had said. He blinked once before correcting himself. "I meant that I'm sure that the bomb is ready. I'm sorry."
One of his fellow scientists, a woman, put her hand on the man's shoulder. "Bruce, did you get enough sleep?"
He glanced at the woman before looking away. "How could I? Betty, today is one of the biggest days of my life! There's no way I could have slept when I knew something as big as this was happening."
"But you needed it," Betty said. "You didn't sleep last night or the night before. Your lack of sleep might seriously affect the experiment."
Bruce looked at her before looking down. "I guess you're right."
"Bruce? You should go home."
The man seemed appalled at the statement. "I... No! I can't! We still haven't finished the preparations..."
"The rest of the team and I can handle it from here. You've already done enough."
"What do I say to your dad? He's already been keeping an eye on me ever since we started dating. And how about—"
"Calm down, Bruce. I'll take care of everything. Go ahead and rest."
The scientist sighed. "Thank you, Betty."
Betty smiled as her boyfriend kissed her on the cheek and then left.
May 1, 2013; 1:37 PM
Gamma Base
An approaching voice resounded from the hallway. "Dr. Banner. Dr. Banner? Dr. Banner!"
An old general walked through the door and came into the field of view of Betty.
"Betty, where's Bruce?" he asked sternly.
Betty looked at the man condescendingly. "Well, General Ross, he went home."
The general looked irritated and slightly hurt. "Why? And is it so bad for you to call me 'dad'?"
"Bruce wasn't feeling well. He didn't have sleep for the past two nights. I couldn't let him work under that kind of stress. And yes, it is," she replied.
General Ross looked at her before leaving. "We will start testing at 1500 hours!" He exclaimed as he exited the room.
May 1, 2013; 2:53 PM
Perimeter Fence of the Gamma Base
Rick checking his phone for the time before switching over to YouTube. Just as he did so, the sound of an engine approaching reach his ears. He looked up to see a car pull up, and inside were the two boys.
He slipped his phone into his pocket. As the boys stepped out, Rick told them they're late.
"Hey," one of them started to say. "We didn't think you'd actually get here on time. And we only started to drive here a few minutes ago. So you're serious about this?" His friend cocked one of his eyebrows up.
"Well I'm here, right?" Rick said. "Give me the money first, and then I'll go." He laid his hand out.
The boy with the money grunted before slapping a $20 bill onto Rick's hand.
Rick smiled and stuck it in his pocket. "I'll be off then." He got back into his car and started driving into the testing field.
The other boys took out their phones and started taking videos of Rick driving out into the distance.
May 1, 2013; 2:58:52 PM
Gamma Base
"Are we ready?"
All of the scientists were getting ready, preparing for the detonation. Betty nodded with a look of determination.
"Nothing is on the field and everything should be clear from here on out."
One of the interns were at the control panel and started a timer.
"T-minus 1 minute."
Betty pushed a button and what seemed just barely resemble a missile emerged from the ground not too far from the viewing site. On the side of the object read 'GAMMA BOMB PROTO1' in bold print.
She drew in a deep breath. Everything was going perfect... But she couldn't help but think that something... Something will go wrong.
May 1, 2013; 2:59:28 PM
Gamma Base Testing Field
Little did they know, a teen was driving into the testing range.
As Rick continued to drive, he saw something come into view... Was it moving out of the ground?
After a few more seconds, he stopped the car and got out before walking toward whatever the hell that thing was. Rick pulled out his phone and quickly sent a text to one of the boys telling them he thinks he's at the base.
He started to walk toward the base and from the distance he's at, he could make out the word 'gamma' in all caps.
Vaguely remembering the topic of radiation from his science classes back at school, he ran toward what he thought might be a rocket to get a closer look. Suddenly a voice resounded, and Rick's eyes widened when he saw the word 'bomb'.
"Initiating countdown. T-minus 10 seconds..."
May 1, 2013; 2:59:51 PM
Gamma Base
"9..."
Betty once again took in a deep breath.
"8..."
She grabbed one of the protective glasses from the set.
"7..."
She joined the rest of the spectators, including her dad and one Major Talbot.
"6..."
She slipped the glasses on and her eyes adjusted to the change of color.
"5..."
What? Betty squinted her eyes when she swore she saw something...
"4..."
A gasp left her lips and her eyes widened when she realized something—there was a person there! And if her vision isn't failing her, it's a teenager!
"3..."
Betty managed to start to say something. "Oh my god. Dad, there's..."
May 1, 2013; 2:59:58 PM
Gamma Base Testing Field
A teenager standing just a few yards from a bomb. That's what Rick was.
"2..."
Rick suddenly turned around and started running, although he knew his attempt to escape was futile.
"1..."
This was it. He looked back at the bomb. His eyes widened in horror as he braced himself for the full blast of radiation.
A sudden tremor shook the ground as the bomb exploded, unleashing a huge blast of pure gamma radiation. The brilliance of green and yellow blinded Rick's eyes as he was exposed to the full impact of radiation. He could almost feel the energy rippling through him and something inside himself changing... His brown eyes flickered green for a few seconds before he blacked-out, just as the force of the gamma bomb started to diminish.
Only a few minutes after the bomb was finished, a truck the held General Ross and Betty drove out onto the field to find the teenager unconscious but alive, miraculously survived with only a few minor burns on his body.
May 1, 2013; 7:33 PM
Gamma Base In-base Clinic
When Rick Jones would wake again, he would be on a hospital bed and the static of a Geiger counter would be softly ringing in his ears.