Bruce expected the strange emails and messages from people with all sorts of opinions about him, but this was different. There were maybe only a handful of people able to hack into the tower and remain undetected for as long as this person had done. This person, apparently the brother of the Dr. Sterns he'd met years ago wanted to meet with him. If it weren't for the implication that Dr. Sterns now possessed something he would be greatly interested in, he would have most likely ignored the message knowing nothing good could come from someone willing to go so far to get his attention. It was only because this man could have previously unreleased information on the Hulk that he went along with arranging a time and place with this person.
He was up in the mountains today, away from densely populated areas. There was an expectation of him being alone, but Tony was flying in a large circle out of sight, Clint was perched further uphill, Natasha was patrolling the area towards the West, and Steve was maybe a hundred yards in the opposite direction. "You sure do know how to make an impression." Bruce's voice was void of humor as the blonde approached.
"It's good to meet you, Dr. Banner." He stopped at a comfortable distance, offering a smile, "I've wanted to meet you for some time now."
"Stay sharp guys, he's got friends lurking around too. I'm picking up two heat signatures not too far back and another eight fanning out." Tony warned the group over their earpieces.
"What do you want?" Bruce wasn't in the mood for pleasantries, "If you're after the Hulk, it won't end well." The Other Guy stirred in anticipation, distrustful of the newcomer.
At that Dr. Sterns laughed, "Oh no, Dr. Banner, you've got it all wrong." He shook his head. "I'd like your assistance in a project I'm working on. I'm sorry about the way I went about getting the message through, but I figured with your secret being recently exposed you'd have too many messages to go through."
He didn't try to hide the deepening frown making its way across his face, "I'm not interested in taking up a new project."
"Don't be so quick to dismiss this, I promise you'll be interested once you let me explain." He began his story, "You see, you and I went to graduate school together. Of course, I don't expect you to remember, you were much higher up in the class than I was at the time, but I admired your work. I had similar ideas about gamma radiation and the super soldier serum."
Bruce remained rigid, the topic doing nothing at all to put him at ease. It reminded him so much of his accident and the sinking feeling only intensified as he stood rooted to the spot, listening.
"For a while, it was like you just disappeared from the scientific community. You sort of dropped off the face of the earth. I thought maybe you'd be working under some secret government contract, but I later found out from my brother what really happened. When you sent a sample of your blood and we looked at it, it was incredible. We thought if we could just replicate what was there, it'd bring a completely new twist to the super soldier experiments." He paused, smiling fondly at the memory, "I knew then what it was I wanted to become. What happened to you was just the beginning."
"What did you do?" It was just above a whisper, just barely making it through clenched teeth. Bruce could feel his heart rate pick up, thudding in his ears as he waited.
"Well I only had one sample to work with. I had so many ideas and then all of the samples my brother reproduced were destroyed, so I had to think more carefully about what I wanted. And when I saw you as the Hulk soon after, I knew I wanted that too. So I began testing on myself."
"You what?" He growled, pausing for a double take when he saw a telltale flash of brown across Dr. Stern's eyes.
"You're not the only one who has been altered by gamma radiation anymore. My work was a success." The blonde grinned, feeling quite accomplished.
"You have no idea what you've done. I've been trying for years to undo that mistake. Do you know what it's like to live in constant fear of hurting anyone you care about? Innocent people? Children?" His voice was strengthened with the need to get his point across. This wasn't a game.
"Dr. Banner, it wasn't a mistake. You and I both know that you and the Hulk are one. I saw your research. It's simple; one can't exist without the other. That's why all of your work has failed. You were meant to become this and if I dare say, you were meant to use your gift to further humanity. I need your help with this project."
"Stop-"
Dr. Sterns continued without pause, determined to be heard, "I've already been testing my own version of the super soldier serum. It's not quite as powerful as the original, but with a little gamma radiation and two great minds the possibilities are endless. We need you."
"Who is 'we'?" He knew the answer before he arrived that morning, but he needed to be sure.
"Hydra, doctor. This is a golden opportunity to help change the world."
"Right." Bruce scoffed, "Wasn't I on the Project Insight hit list a few weeks ago?"
"I'm sorry, that was years in the making. I didn't have the authority to call it off. I'm the one who suggested we talk now, though."
"How very kind." He pinched the bridge of his nose as he tried to think of something other than how angry he was. It was beginning to cloud his mind, consuming other more coherent thoughts. He'd thought he'd be okay coming here, but there was just something horribly wrong hanging in the air.
"There's just one more thing. I brought along two examples of my work. If you could just see what they can do, I think you might change your mind about the project." With a small gesture, he was joined by two others.
It was like Bruce had forgotten how to breathe for a moment. The hair was different, her stance was guarded, there was a faint scar across her cheek, but it was her. Rachel was standing there only a few feet away.
"Dr. Banner." Eric inclined his head in a sign of acknowledgement.
"Dr. Sterns has told us nothing but good things about you." I nodded towards my mentor, offering a small smile.
"Rachel?" There was an air of disbelief in his tone.
He continued to stare directly at me as if he could see something everyone else couldn't. His attention shifted at the mention of the blonde and he eyed him more closely with his expression twisting as if conflicted. There was an odd mix of pain and anger painted across his features and had it been anyone else I might think they'd be close to some sort of emotional breakdown, but based on past research I knew this could be dangerous for everyone because of the rage constantly simmering under the surface.
"Please, doctor. I don't think you're really angry with us. Think of all the things people have put you through. We're trying to make the world better. We don't want you to be seen as an outcast or a weapon. If you work with Hydra, people will see the genius you are, not just the Hulk. The people you worked with, SHIELD and the others are only going to use you. With us, you would be one of the higher ranking members. You'd be treated with the respect you deserve." I was attempting to reason with him, treading carefully. From what I understood, anger seemed to be the kneejerk reaction to other unpleasant emotions that had yet to be processed. If I could just get him to see that maybe his anger wasn't with Dr. Sterns' work, but with his past treatment, he might listen before things had to get bad. My mission was to help take him down if he refused because he'd be a threat otherwise. He'd been through enough already; I just didn't want to see him get hurt.
Dr. Sterns took a step forward, "Just watch and see-"
"Two years…" Dr. Banner murmured like he was thinking out loud. He shot an accusatory glance between Eric and Dr. Sterns, "She doesn't know me anymore. What have you done?" He demanded. You could almost feel the anger rolling off of him as his entire frame shook.
"We saved her, made her stronger. I even added a little something special just for you." He shrugged nonchalantly, "It took a lot of work, you know. At first I questioned if it was worth it, but just wait until you see how well it worked out."
I remained still, but eyed my mentor quizzically. He was talking about me, but also answering Dr. Banner. Should I have known him beyond the file? Did Dr. Banner know something about me before I joined Hydra? I knew better than to openly question someone ranked so highly, so I held my tongue as the questions piled up.
"Sorry to interrupt this little get together-" Tony Stark made his presence known, headed our way.
Without so much as a glance, Dr, Sterns retrieved a small detonator from his pocket and with a flick of a switch Iron Man came crashing down not too far away and there was silence over my earpiece as it was fried. "You're not." He finished for the grounded billionaire, "Focused EMP, I knew sooner or later your friend would show up. Now as I was saying, this is a good thing. I didn't see the appeal at first. She was just so human, but she does grow on you. So I thought, 'make her stronger, a fighter, someone that goes beyond the limits of a normal human'."
A low growl escaped the man across from us and he fell to his knees under the weight of a much larger and angrier presence, green eyes locking with mine, "Leave!" He urged with another growl as his skin gained a greenish hue and he began to grow exponentially.
"You know what to do." Eric nodded towards Dr. Banner who appeared to be fighting against the transformation that had already begun before running off to the side and greeting Captain America's shield with a strong kick that sent the soldier back a few paces.
I'd only looked away for a split second, but when I turned my attention back to the two doctors, Dr. Sterns began to shake in the same way. My mentor grew quickly until he was a giant, skin a deep, solid red and brown eyes dancing with the expectation of a fight from his emerging rival. "You made the wrong choice, Banner." His voice thundered through his new form that was now big enough to take on the Hulk.
My head spun. Dr. Sterns only revealed his new form to us on the way to New York; otherwise it was considered top secret information in Hydra so far. The file containing the details had his name neatly printed on the label with the name Madman in parentheses just as the Hulk had been for Dr. Banner. Still, actually seeing the man turn into the red beast was another story. It really was that quick. In a split second, all hell broke loose.
AN: Again, I only own the original characters. Dr. Sterns/Madman is a Marvel character too. I hope you've enjoyed the story so far. Thank you for reading!