Chapter 9: The Leader, Part 3
THE NEXT DAY:
"My aching head…"
McGee tottered off a well-worn cot and walked into a plexiglass wall. On the other side of it was a sneering man in a lab coat, his enlarged skull bearing a passing resemblance to a brain, albeit covered with jaundiced skin.
"The hell are you?"
"I am the Leader, scientist extraordinaire."
"Who can I thank- MIT or Berkley?"
"Gamma."
McGee paused.
"You remind me of someone. A big green guy with anger management issues. Except you're as smart as he is strong."
"You dare compare me to that sniveling idiot Banner?"
"How do you know him?"
"We were classmates. I, Samuel Sterns, was undoubtedly the brighter of us-"
McGee mentally blocked out the Leader's rant.
"-and that is how I reached my current position."
"So what do you need me for?"
"I need you to record my achievements. Starting today, you will chronicle the creation of supermen and women."
"And who are you starting with? Me?"
The Leader snorted.
"No. I have a better test subject in mind."
"The green gal?"
"No."
The mutated brainiac snapped his fingers, and a light shone on an operating table with a woman tied to it.
"Who's she? Someone you picked off the street?"
"Is that any way to address Elizabeth Ross?"
"Ross as in-"
"General T. Ross? Yes."
The Leader snapped again, and white-suited orderlies ran to the bedside.
"Prepare for the procedure."
As if on cue, IVs containing a red-tinged greenish liquid were run into Betty's arms.
"The hell?"
"Your green compatriot's blood. Albeit preserved by the addition of Extremis, hence the red."
McGee watched as the blood ran into the patient's veins before finally stopping.
"Operation was a success, Doctor Sterns."
"Excellent. Now then, take her and the reporter to the holding cell."