Disclaimer: I don't own Marvel
Chapter 2: Monster Hunt
Lucas grabbed a microscope slide and placed it on top of a beaker. He then took a small needle and would prick his thumb to draw blood. He pressed his thumb to the slide and moved to grab a glass medicine dropper. He stood hunched over the desk, eyes focused as he released a few drops of the purple serum out of the dropper and onto the slide with careful precision. Despite the potential breakthrough, his hands were completely steady and unmoving.
Lucas grabbed the slide, placed it under the microscope, and would take a second to breathe. He leaned forward to look through the ocular lenses, which allowed him to see his gamma radiated blood cells. The cells were green and larger than normal blood cells but soon they began to return to normal size while changing color from the gamma radiated green to a standard red. Lucas leaned back for just a moment, eyes wide as he attempted to process the results. Upon leaning back in to look at the cells once more, what he found was discouraging. The cells began to transform before his eyes, returning to their green color and larger size.
Lucas' shoulders dropped, as did his entire demeanor. He leaned away from the microscope, lowered his head, and let out a defeated sigh. The sounds of the door to his lab opening brought Lucas out of his defeated thoughts, causing him to turn his head towards the noise.
"Lucas, you have a…you have a visitor," his mother told him from the doorway.
Betty took notice of Lucas' demeanor and would tilt her head to the side, face full of concern.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
Lucas shook his head. His eyes were full of dejection, which told the whole story.
"Just another failure. I shouldn't be surprised, honestly," he said, not an ounce of energy behind his voice. "Who came to visit?"
Betty gave a nervous smile in return.
"I…think it'd be best if you found out yourself."
Lucas walked out of his lab, with his mother in tow, into the living room. Standing with his back to them, gazing at two framed PhDs on the wall was Nick Fury Jr. dressed in his normal SHIELD director attire.
"Your father only had one Ph.D., having two must mean you're even smarter than him," Fury said while turning around to face Lucas.
Lucas furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, having no clue as to who Fury was by appearance alone.
"Not really…I just decided to pursue one in biology, not just nuclear physics," he said with a cautious, defensive tone.
Fury smiled at Lucas' clear apprehension and would hold his hand out to him for a handshake.
"I can tell you're a very cautious man Dr. Banner, so allow me to introduce myself first. My name is Nick Fury Jr., Director of SHIELD."
Lucas raised an eyebrow but shook Fury's hand nonetheless.
"SHIELD? I guess I don't need to question how you found where I live."
Fury chuckled and withdrew his hand.
"No, Dr. Banner you don't. I was lucky though, that your mother was the one to answer the door," he said with a slight nod towards Betty.
Betty crossed her arms and leaned against the wall, allowing some space between herself and the two, almost forcing herself out of the picture.
"I know you just well enough to know that if you come knocking, it must be something serious," she said.
"You'd be right about that, Betty. The situation is quite serious, some might use the word dire," Fury said.
Lucas raised an eyebrow and tilted his head to the side.
"What does this 'dire' situation have to do with me?" he asked.
"Well…72 hours ago reports began filing in about a large monster. First sightings were in Upstate New York, and then gradually they began to travel upwards to Quebec, Canada."
At the mention of Quebec, Lucas' expression changed. He looked off to the side, staring at nothing in particular. It was at that moment that he thought back to where he had woken up just that morning.
"The monster left destruction in its wake, which of course led to our involvement. In our investigation of the monster, we found traces of gamma radiation in its path…" Fury said, trailing off as he focused his attention on Lucas and his reaction.
In Lucas' mind, he saw flashes of his nightmares. The Hulk was enraged, leaving a path of destruction wherever he went. He turned to look at Fury directly with an almost blank stare.
"And you think it was me. You think it was the Hulk?" he asked. He was afraid of the answer, but it made too much sense.
"Not unless the Hulk has grown his hair so long he could be mistaken for Bigfoot," Fury said with a touch of sarcasm. "Eyewitness depictions describe him as a large, hairy beast similar to that of Bigfoot himself. Whatever it is, it emits gamma radiation. You're the best person to talk to in terms of how we take care of it."
Though Lucas was initially relieved that the Hulk wasn't the culprit, his concern level raised right back up once Fury finished.
"No, no no," Lucas said, shaking his head in a disapproving manner. "If you want some sort of monster fight, find someone else. Find my cousin, I don't care who. I've been Hulk free for three months, and I plan on making it four."
Fury chuckled at Lucas' reaction and shook his head.
"Don't worry Dr. Banner, we don't want the Hulk. We want you and that brain of yours. All we need from you is your assistance in helping us design the best equipment that could take down a gamma mutate. The last thing anyone wants is two monsters fighting each other and causing twice the amount of damage," he explained.
Lucas looked back to his mother for a second before returning his attention to Fury.
"Give me…a minute to talk to my mom first," he requested.
Fury looked between the two before nodding and turning to head out the door without any objection.
"I'll be on the roof," he said on his way out.
Lucas turned around to face Betty, with what appeared to be apprehension on his face and in his demeanor.
"Should I do it?" he asked, genuinely valuing her opinion.
Betty uncrossed her arms and sighed.
"You should. It sounds like something that could easily get out of hand if you don't," she pointed out.
"I know, but…I don't think that environment would be the best for me. For some reason the Hulk traveled to Quebec, I think the last thing I should do is go there willingly, especially with another gamma mutate there."
"What if it's just…misunderstood? Like the Hulk?" she asked.
Lucas scoffed at the notion and shook his head.
"The Hulk is not misunderstood. He's a monster who gets stronger with rage. I don't think there's much to misunderstand there."
"But what if whoever this is, is misunderstood? Someone who transformed against their will and can't control themselves?" Betty asked, attempting to appeal to Lucas' softer side.
"Not every monster is misunderstood, and not every gamma mutate is out of control. Some are perfectly in control. Look at Maeve. Look at Sebastian. This one…this one could be in control and knows exactly what it's doing," Lucas countered.
Betty's eyes softened, and her voice would lower.
"Wouldn't you want someone to help you? If the Hulk was out of control? Because I know I did…all those years ago, dealing with my own monster…I wanted help. I needed help, and I would help anyone else like me," she said.
Lucas looked down at the floor and sighed, thinking about the choice that stood before him. For some, it may have been simple, but with him, nothing ever was.
Nick Fury stood on the rooftop of the apartment, gazing out at the buildings in the distance. Behind him was a SHIELD helicopter, with a pilot on the inside awaiting further orders. Nick pushed the sleeve of his coat up to look at his watch and would sigh in slight annoyance.
From out of the roof access walked Lucas Banner, now wearing a brown sports coat instead of his lab coat, as well as carrying a grey bag over his shoulder. He walked towards Fury while eying the helicopter.
"Do you just…go around, parking helicopters on rooftops?" he asked, coming to a stop a few feet away from Fury.
Fury turned around to face Lucas, raising an eyebrow.
"I do when the situation calls for it," he responded.
Lucas fixed the position of the bag around his shoulder
"I uh…assumed you have everything I'll need to get to work?" he asked.
"Of course doctor, we have all the toys in the world."
Lucas chuckled a bit and gestured to his back before walking towards the helicopter.
"I hope you don't mind I brought some of my own."
Fury cracked a smile and shook his head. He followed Lucas to the helicopter and would gesture to the pilot to start it up. Once the two had climbed inside, the rotors began their rotation. The helicopter ascended from the rooftop and flew off into the distance. Below in the apartment, Betty watched from the living room window with a concerned, yet also hopeful expression.
Quebec, 1:30 PM
The SHIELD helicopter flew over the forests of Quebec, where below was a base of operations set up around the cabin where the monster was last spotted. Lucas looked out of the window as the helicopter descended, lost in his thoughts of why the Hulk had traveled to the Canadian province.
"You ever been to Canada, Banner?"
Fury's voice broke Lucas out of his thoughts, causing him to look around in slight confusion before centering on the SHIELD director. He paused for a moment to weigh the options of an appropriate response.
"...Yes, but I don't exactly remember much about the trip," he responded. There was no way he was going to tell Fury about his sleep-Hulking situation.
"I prefer not to be here if I can, but unfortunately there's a gamma radiated Sasquatch loose," Fury replied.
Below, Josh Hammond stood awaiting the helicopter's arrival. The android took a step back as it landed and adjusted the collar to his uniform. Fury exited the helicopter first, with Lucas in tow. Lucas took the time to adjust to the new surroundings and scan the camp. He inspected every agent in his field of vision and what they were currently doing, as was his partly paranoid nature.
"Director Fury, I set up a new base just as you instructed. The other half of the agents are back at the previous camp location." Josh said with a gesture to the camp around them.
Fury approached Josh and came to a stop a few feet away. He placed his hands into his coat pockets and nodded.
"Well your ability to follow orders was never in doubt," he said. Fury turned and nodded to Lucas. "I'd like you to meet Dr. Lucas Banner. Banner this is agent Josh Hammond."
Lucas refocused on the two and extended his hand to Josh for a shake, which the android accepted.
"Nice to meet you officially, Dr. Banner," Josh greeted.
Lucas offered a small smile, which soon faded away into an inquisitive expression. There was something about the name Hammond that rang a bell to him, and he didn't know why.
"Hammond…why does that name sound familiar?" he asked.
"You're probably thinking about Jim Hammond, the original Human Torch. Josh here was built by Phineas Horton's granddaughter using Jim's remaining parts, which effectively makes him Jim's offspring in a way," Fury clarified.
The scientist in Lucas caused his eyes to lit up in intrigue at the information.
"Of course! Professor Phineas Horton's greatest creation. I read all about him in college, a true pioneer in artificial intelligence and robotics. I mean without him creating the first android, who knows if the Starks would've started creating armored suits. Don't get me started on the Horton Cells. The idea of creating synthetic cells that could perfectly replicate a human's cells still blows my mind. Of course, there was the conflict when it came into contact with Oxygen but-"
Lucas paused once he took notice of the look he received from Fury, along with the continuous blank stare on Josh's face.
"I'm…rambling, sorry," he said with a bashful lowering of his head.
Fury sighed and turned back to Josh.
"Any updates for me, Hammond?" he asked.
"This plot of land belonged to an Adam Irvine, as we found due to his truck registration. His blood was at the scene, so we believe the monster abducted him. The only question is why," Josh stated.
Lucas walked around the two and approached the trail of large footprints that came to an abrupt stop. The footprints themselves were bigger than any he left as the Hulk.
"How have you been tracking this…Sasquatch?" he asked as he stared down at the footprints.
"Hammond has a built-in scanner for several types of radiation, including gamma," Fury responded.
Lucas paused briefly to look over at Josh with a look of surprise and interest, before returning his attention to the footprints.
"Most gamma mutates are capable of leaping great distances, so that's likely the case here. That would explain why its footprints just…end. It took this Adam guy and jumped, but there's no way of knowing in which direction. Especially if your only way of tracking gamma radiation is through one android," he explained.
Fury brought his hands out of his coat pockets and gestured in a questioning manner.
"Well, what do you suggest, Dr. Banner?" he asked.
Lucas looked up and squinted in a show of contemplation.
"Do you have anywhere for me to work? Anywhere with a flat surface like a table would be great."
Fury gestured to a large military tent that had been set up near the cabin itself. He led Lucas inside, with Josh following along. The inside of the tent had been arranged to store equipment, as evidenced by the various weapons and SHIELD technology that was present on tables. Fury led Lucas to an empty table towards the back of the tent and would step aside to allow Lucas space.
Lucas placed his bag on the table and unzipped it to take out a small advanced camera. He laid the camera gently onto the table and looked to Fury and Josh with an excited smile. The two, however, did not share his enthusiasm.
"What am I looking at?" Fury asked.
Josh peered over Fury's shoulder.
"That is a camera, Director Fury," he responded.
Fury rolled his one eye and sighed in disappointment.
"I know it's a camera, Hammond, I meant what's so special about a camera?"
Lucas cleared his throat and adjusted the position of his glasses.
"This camera is called a Flyspy Cam, capable of flight, and is equipped with built-in scanners for 360° vision. When activated, it performs advanced diagnostics on every living being within 50 miles. I can also use it to carry out specific bio-scans as well as scan for gamma radiation," Lucas explained with a proud smile.
Fury stared at Lucas with an expression that was hard to read or discern.
"...'Flyspy?'" he asked.
Lucas sighed and reached into his bag to pull out a PDA, shaking his head in embarrassment.
"I didn't name it, okay? My father did. It's his creation and I simply added my own improvements."
"One of them wasn't the name," Fury deadpanned.
Lucas opened his mouth to retort but figured that it was best to just shut up and move along before he embarrassed himself even further. He pressed a few buttons on the PDA, which would cause the camera to power on. Two small, drone-like legs protruded from the camera with twin rotors that began to spin. The camera lifted off of the table and flew ahead to the tent entrance.
"Come on," Lucas said as he began following the Flyspy.
Fury and Hammond walked behind Lucas until the three of them were outside, and the Flyspy was heading deeper into the forest.
"Fascinating," Josh remarked.
"Let's hope this works and fast, Banner. It won't be long until Department H decides to stick their noses in," Fury said.
Lucas briefly looked up from his PDA with his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
"Department H?" Lucas asked, requiring clarification.
"They're the branch of the Canadian government that monitors superhuman activity in the country. I had to deal with them when we set up base and they promised not to intervene until they deemed it necessary. Who knows when the hell that is," Fury responded.
Lucas nodded in understanding before turning his attention back to the PDA. The screen displayed the footage from the camera, along with the gamma radiation highlighted in green. The Flyspy found itself in an area in the forest with several broken and downed trees, along with several clumps of large brown hair, all displayed as glowing with gamma radiation.
"Well…it sheds," he said blankly.
Fury pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Any information that's actually useful?" he asked.
Lucas was going to respond with no until something caught his eye. He pressed a button that caused the Flyspy to fly in reverse before stopping over what looked to be a torn black blazer. Next to it was a brown wallet that had been flipped over. Upon zooming in, the driver's license in the wallet read Flynn Langkowski. Right alongside it was a picture of Flynn, which caused Lucas' eyes to widen in surprise. He dropped the PDA into the snow and backed away.
"Dr. Banner? What's wrong?" Fury asked.
Lucas closed his eyes tight and attempted to calm himself. His heart was beating rapidly, but Lucas began using all of the breathing exercises he could muster to repress the monster inside of him.
"Dr. Banner?" Fury again asked, this time placing a hand to his holstered pistol.
Lucas let out a long, deep breath and opened his eyes. Though he was calmer, his eyes still showed visible stress.
"Flynn Langkowski. Whatever it is, it has him too. I…I need to go save him," Lucas said before dashing back into the military tent.
Fury moved his hand from his holster and followed closely behind Lucas.
"That is a very poor idea, Dr. Banner. If it's a rescue you want, I'll send in my men."
"You do that, they'll die," Lucas said as he grabbed his bag and placed it around his shoulder. He turned around and walked right past Fury, causing the director to turn and follow him once more.
"We all know what happens if you go. Whatever happened to four months without the Hulk?" Fury asked.
Once they were outside, Lucas came to a stop and looked back at Fury with a look of confidence that was a rarity.
"Oh, I'll make it to four months. I know what I am, I know what those like me are, and I know what hurts them. I'm well prepared, just keep your men where they are," Lucas said before taking off into the woods.
Josh watched as Lucas left, but didn't say anything. He looked down at the PDA that had been dropped in the snow and bent down to pick it up. He wiped some of the snow off of the screen and watched as the Flyspy continued on its path. He studied the piece of technology that was different than himself, but similar in other ways. His eyebrows soon furrowed at the sight of something, which caused him to pause the camera's flight.
"Director Fury, you may want to see this," he said.
Fury sighed and walked over to Josh, coming to a stop next to him. Josh held the PDA out for Fury to take hold off. On the screen were two sets of human-sized shoeprints in the snow leading further into the woods, but what stood out the most, were three claw marks that were in multiple trees.
"I don't believe a Sasquatch has claws, director Fury," Josh pointed out.
Fury slowly looked up in the direction that Lucas had gone. In his eye was a look of realization, and perhaps even the smallest amount of fear, not for himself but for Banner.
"Send a squad in, now. Hell…make it two."
Next Chapter: The Man From Up North
A/N: Next chapter features the introduction of a character who exists in comic canon, but it may not be one you think. Stay tuned.
