Earth-717: Hulk Vol 2
Chapter 2: Gamma Corps
Ryker was led into the room by a young woman in a SHIELD uniform. Her hair was short and black, and she was wearing lipstick that matched its hue. The room they entered was the central command centre for the SHIELD helicarrier. Standing on the central hub was Nick Fury, the organization's director.
Ryker looked at Fury, who stepped down from the hub and approached him. Fury was flanked by several other SHIELD agents, including a tall woman with glasses and red highlights in her hair, an older man with white hair, and two young scientists, a man and a woman. The woman with black hair and lipstick took her place amongst the group.
Raising an eyebrow, Ryker looked at each member of the group in turn, before turning his attention back to Fury.
"What is this, Fury? Putting together your own company baseball team?"
"Better than that, General," replied Fury. "Now that some of the other metahuman situations have been dealt with, I've pulled together a special task force specifically for tracking down the Hulk. I thought you'd approve."
Ryker groaned under his breath as he looked at the three young agents at the end of the line.
"Half of them look like they're fresh out of high school."
The female scientist scoffed and put her hands on her hips.
"I'll have you know . . . ."
"Agents Fitz and Simmons are SHIELD's dedicated Science Team," interrupted Fury. "Two of the most brilliant scientific minds on the planet."
Fury then gestured towards the woman with the black hair and lipstick.
"And Agent Thirty-Five, Katherine Waynesboro, just so happens to be amongst the most talented data analysts I've ever seen."
Kate nodded in appreciation at Fury's comment, before standing up as tall as she could. Ryker folded his arms as Fury narrowed his eye.
"Just because they're young, doesn't mean they're not worthy. They're on my team, and they're agents of SHIELD for a reason."
"We shouldn't have to justify ourselves to you," said the woman with the glasses and red highlights.
"You were the woman on the phone," said Ryker.
"I was. I'm Agent Three, Victoria Hand. One of the highest ranking and longest serving senior officers of SHIELD. And you should remember that you're not one of us."
"Where's Maria Hill?" asked Ryker, looking back at Fury again. "I thought she was your right hand."
"She is," replied Fury. "Miss Hill is busy elsewhere, on another mission for me with a handful of other operatives. Right now, this is our team."
Ryker then looked at the older man.
"And you are?"
"Agent Six," answered the man. "Felix Blake. I actually have a bit of history with this case. I was at ground zero."
"Ground zero?"
"I was present the day that Bruce Banner underwent his experiment. The one that turned him into the Hulk for the first time. It was, uh . . . . quite the experience."
Ryker took a few minutes to ponder the lineup in front of him before nodding and putting his hands in his pockets.
"I would probably say . . . . nice job, Fury. But I've got a team of my own."
Ryker then turned around, looking at the door he had entered through.
"Talbot!"
Victoria and Blake looked at each other in confusion.
"Talbot?" they said in unison.
Victoria then turned back to Ryker.
"Major Talbot?" she asked.
"No," said a female voice.
A group of five commandos strolled into the room. They were wearing black and grey armoured tactical combat suits, and had pulse rifles strapped to their backs. All but one had helmets on that covered their faces. Fury noted to himself that the entire group was female. The only one without her helmet on was the one standing at the front of the group.
She had long brown hair and striking green eyes. She also had a beauty mark just above the left side of her upper lip. She was wearing her best contemptuous smirk, and was holding her helmet against her left hip. Her right fist was placed on her right hip. She slanted her weight to the right and whipped her hair around before looking directly at Fury.
"Captain Talbot," she said. "Captain Carla Talbot."
The entire SHIELD group all regarded Carla with a certain level of scepticism.
"Talbot," said Fury. "That's a name I thought I'd heard the last of."
"You thought wrong," said Carla.
"I too have a special task group," said Ryker. "They're called the Gamma Corps. All special forces operatives, with advanced training and equipment to deal with threats enhanced by gamma radiation. Namely, the Hulk."
"And they're all girls," blurted out Fitz.
Simmons nudged Fitz with her elbow.
"Fitz . . . ."
Glaring at Fitz, Carla trudged up to him. Using her height to look down at him, Carla watched as Fitz shied away from her, taking great care not to make eye contact.
"Women make better soldiers," said Carla, before pulling out a combat knife from a holster on her leg. "Would you like me to show you how?"
Ryker snapped his fingers.
"That's enough, Captain."
Carla scoffed as Fitz trembled. She then flipped her knife through her fingers a few times before stuffing the blade back in its holster. She stepped back in line as Simmons calmed Fitz down.
"And what made you sign up for this assignment, Captain Talbot?" asked Fury.
"The Hulk is a monster and a murderer," replied Carla. "He's a dangerous and vile enemy who needs to be caught and crushed. He's existed for far too long, and honestly, he needs to be put out of his misery. But the real problem I have with him is that he killed the only man who I've ever truly respected . . . . my older brother."
"Major Glenn Talbot went on a rampage, Captain," said Victoria. "He stole a suit of powered armour and massacred over two dozen . . . ."
Carla again pulled out her knife, this time pointing it at Victoria's throat.
"You shut your whore mouth."
"I said that's enough, Captain!"
Carla looked over her shoulder with derision at Ryker, but again relented and stepped back in line.
"Yes, sir," she said, mockingly.
Everyone took a moment to breathe before continuing.
"General," said Fury. "We called you in because we have some new intel."
"I'm listening," replied Ryker.
"Waynesboro," said Fury.
Kate stepped forward.
"Right. I have come across some information that may finally give us a chance to track down Doctor Bruce Banner. According to my findings, he is in the forests of northern Ontario. I've marked the specific area on the SHIELD data map."
The map screen appeared as a holographic display over the front window of the helicarrier. The map zoomed in automatically over Ontario, before a small area at the north end was highlighted in yellow.
"We're on our way there now," continued Kate. "We'll scour the area, and then . . . ."
Victoria was looking at her phone when she interrupted Kate.
"Director," said Victoria. "I have something you need to see."
Victoria tapped a button on her phone, and a video screen appeared over the holographic display. It showed footage of a street from an aerial view. The footage was from a news report, and the street had numerous civilians fleeing in terror as green pulses of energy destroyed multiple vehicles. The sound then filtered in a second later.
". . . . identity unknown at this time, but what we do know is that this man has somehow been able to hold off over a dozen officers of the Toronto Police Service. Blocks all around Bloor Street East have been cordoned off, with the area being evacuated as we speak."
"The Hulk?" asked Ryker.
"No," said Fury. "This is something else."
". . . . can confirm that . . . . oh my god!"
A large transport truck exploded, causing several chunks of debris to be blasted into the air. As the fireball dissipated, the footage showed a clear view of a man in a red hazmat suit.
"Chen Lu," said Victoria. "The Radioactive Man."
"The hell is he doing there?" asked Blake.
"I thought you lost him," said Ryker, turning to Fury.
"We did. About a month ago. His convoy was hit before he could be transferred to Ravencroft."
"Sir," said Simmons. "Chen Lu is incredibly powerful. He may not be the Hulk, but we need to deal with this now! The police will be slaughtered!"
Fury turned to look at Simmons.
"You're right, but . . . . it doesn't make any sense. What does he have to gain from this? There's something else going . . . ."
"I'll tell you what's going on."
Everyone turned to look at Carla, who had pulled out her pulse rifle.
"What's going on is that Gamma Corps just got their first assignment," she said. "Call him Radioactive Man? Sounds exactly like our sort of guy."
"I said stay back!"
Chen fired off another radiation blast from his palms, which struck at the closest police squad car. The two officers who were taking cover behind it were blown off their feet, rolling backwards along the pavement. Chen then looked around, scanning both sides of the street. Looking up, he watched as a news helicopter flew overhead, trying to get a good angle on him to secure more footage.
He had been holding the police forces at bay for some time now, having started his assault from inside one of the buildings. Looking up again, he then saw a SHIELD Quinjet soar over the road before hovering a few metres above him.
"Finally," he said.
He charged his right fist with radioactive energy as five commandos leaped out of the back of the Quinjet. They all landed on the cracked pavement, brandishing their pulse rifles. Carla had since put on her helmet, and began calmly walking towards Chen.
"So this is the force SHIELD sends to capture me," said Chen. "They'll have to do better."
"We'll do just fine," retorted Carla.
Chen fired his charged radiation blast directly at Carla, who held up her left forearm as if to block the attack. As the blast struck her body, a white, hexagonal-patterned shield materialized over her combat suit, absorbing the blast. She was not even knocked back at all by the attack. Chen's glowing green eyes widened with surprise.
Carla then smirked as she aimed her pulse rifle forward with one hand, firing off a quick shot. A translucent shockwave pulse jettisoned from the rifle and struck Chen in the chest, launching him backwards and into the air. He landed on the windshield of a car, cracking the vehicle in half.
A police officer ran up to the group of commandos standing behind Carla, who was still casually strolling over to to Chen.
"What's going on here?!" he yelled. "Who are you?"
"Get them out of here," said Carla, not bothering to look behind her.
The commando nearest to the officer pulled out her pulse rifle and fired a blast at the officer's feet, knocking him to his back.
"Stay back," said the commando. "For your own safety."
Chen pushed himself off of the vehicle's wreckage. He then started fuming at Carla.
"Want to try again?" she asked.
Roaring with anger, Chen punched his fist against the ground, creating a large shockwave that tore up the pavement around him for several metres. Carla was blasted off her feet, and the other members of the Gamma Corps jumped to avoid the shockwave. As Carla rolled back to her feet, she shook her head.
"Gamma Corps! Engage!"
The commandos unleashed several rapid-fire pulse blasts from their rifles, which Chen deflected with his radiation shield. He then turned and ran back into the nearby building, with Carla and her commandos giving chase. Breaking through the lobby of the building, Chen smacked a man out of the way, burning a hole through the man's chest with his irradiated palm.
Carla kept sprinting after him, with the other commandos not far behind. Chen fired more radiation blasts as he ran, creating piles of rubble that she was forced to break through. As she continued her pursuit, Fury's voice came in through her intercom.
"Captain Talbot! There are civilians and law enforcement in play! What the hell are you doing?!"
"Stopping the bad guy! Now shut up and lemme do my job!"
Chen broke his way through a concrete wall, slipping along the floor as he did so. More office workers who were in the room started screaming and attempting to flee.
"Nichole!" shouted Carla. "Cut him off at the entry point!"
Carla slid into the room, firing a pulse blast at the ceiling. Pieces of debris broke off and caved in, landing on Chen and startling him. One of the workers was also hit by debris, breaking her leg. She shrieked as she collapsed to the floor. Chen tried to make his way to the door, but was blocked by the commando named Nichole, who bashed him in the face with the back of her rifle.
Chen swatted at Nichole with an open palm, knocking her gun out of her hands. He then fired a radiation blast at her, sending her crashing against the back wall of the nearby hallway. Before he could move, Carla pounced on him from behind, digging her combat knife into one of the valves on his back. She then threw him behind her.
He rolled on the floor before charging his fist again, trying to punch her with a powered right hook. She quickly kicked his arm away before spinning around and landing another kick to his chest, knocking him out of the window. Chen yelled as he fell away and smashed into the road on his back. He groaned in agony as his limbs went limp.
Carla scowled at him from the open window before jumping down. Landing in a three point pose, she then strolled up to him, seeing that he was having trouble staying conscious. She pulled out her modified energy magnum and aimed it at his face as the SHIELD Quinjet pulled around overhead. Before she could fire, she heard Ryker's voice on her intercom.
"Stand down, Captain!"
"Why?"
"Because I ordered you to. The job's done. He's stopped."
"Not for good."
"Your unit is deployed to capture, not to kill. Bring him in alive, Carla."
Carla growled under her breath as she continued to hold her aim. After a few more seconds, she held her pistol up and spun it around her hand before placing it back in her holster. She then turned away as the rest of the Gamma Corps approached her.
"Fine," she said. "You can have this one. But the Hulk is mine."
"Having trouble keeping your hound in line, General?"
Ryker turned around and looked at Fury with disdain.
"Captain Talbot has a long history of success in the field," said Ryker. "She also has a long history of . . . . brash behaviour."
"Brash?!" asked Victoria. "She ordered her troops to fire on the police!"
"To keep them at bay and out of a fight they couldn't win," replied Ryker. "She gets the job done, and that's what matters."
"Gets the job done, alright," said Fury, folding his arms. "With seemingly zero regard for civilian casualties."
"Don't give me that crap, Fury. You know as well as I the consequences of what we do."
"I can agree with that, General. All I'm saying is . . . . if she lets it go too far, you might have a dangerous situation on your hands. Just make sure you can reign her in when you have to."
"I'll worry about my team. You worry about yours."
Fury reluctantly nodded. Victoria then sighed and put her hands in her pockets.
"Now, the next matter," she said. "What do we do with Chen Lu?"
Blake tilted his head to the side.
"Last time we caught him, he got out fairly easily," he said.
"I can take him," said Ryker. "I have operational control of a high security military facility. I can store him there. Wouldn't want him to slip out from under your fingers again, would you, Fury?"
Fury narrowed his eye before looking over at Victoria and Blake.
"He's right," said Victoria. "Probably better off if we let Ryker take him."
"I agree with Agent Hand's assessment," said Blake.
Fury stroked his chin, thinking for several seconds. He then looked back up at Ryker.
"Okay. He's all yours."
Ryker grinned. Fury then switched the holographic video screen back to Kate's map data.
"Now, back to our main objective," he said. "We have a general area, but little in the way of actually tracking the Hulk down. We have to narrow the search."
"Any ideas on how to do that?" asked Victoria.
"One," said Fury. "I know a guy. Expert tracker. Might be just who we need to end this once and for all."
As Chen was loaded into a containment unit and placed on a military helicopter, a lone humanoid figure watched him from a window in a building down the street. The figure seemed to be mostly metallic, with certain sections covered in leather clothing and modular armour. A black, grey and maroon colour scheme dictated most of the figure's appearance.
A torn piece of fabric, similar to a bandana, was wrapped diagonally over three quarters of the face, with only the left eye section visible. However, what was visible was metallic, with a silver skull plate and a red, ocular targeting lens over the eye. The targeting lens zoomed in on Chen, before scanning some of the other personnel on the street.
Deathlok stood still, so as to allow the people watching the event through his lens to get as clear a view as possible. He was transmitting the video feed to a secret location, from which two figures were watching. The first was a man with green skin and an elongated forehead, who was sitting in his chair. The second was a gaseous, green feminine form, with a head, hair, torso and arms all made out a type of radioactive vapour.
Ann was floating around Sterns' chair as they both watched Deathlok's video.
"Excellent work, Deathlok," said Sterns. "You have done well. Chen Lu's location transponder is activated, and, it appears that no one can detect it but myself. Exactly as I designed. Return to sentry mode and await further instructions."
Deathlok's video shut off. Ann then floated in front of Sterns.
"Doctor Chen Lu put up quite the performance," she said.
"Indeed," replied Sterns. "The pieces of the puzzle are falling into place."
"So, when do we strike?"
"Not yet, my dear. There's still one last man who has a part to play . . . ."
Sterns pressed a button on the arm of his chair, switching his display screen to a data file on Bruce Banner.
"Soon the Hulk will be ours . . . . and after that, the world."
Ann deviously smiled as she listened to him speak.
"So says . . . . the Leader."
