NeoNazo356: Only one Review from Chapter 15 really stood out, at least as far as answer-able fanmail is concerned. From Snipern0sniping they ask, and I'm directly quoting them on this- "in crysiss 2 the suit was in the background constantly trying to cure the seff, ceef... alien based disease. Wouldn't the suit in your story try to find a cure for the Mercer virus? There was a point in the chapter when it was analyzing a corpse so why wouldn't it be trying to cure the worst disease in Manhattan?"

Spaceman: Spaceman: The Nanosuit was made to combat the Ceph using Ceph technology as a base. Since the Ceph is an extraterrestrial race it's unknown how the suit would react to an Earth-borne bio-weapon. It's possible it may not even register the bio-weapon or it could do something else. There are many unknowns that can be explored in this story.

NeoNazo356: According to the wiki- "The Blacklight virus, dubbed now as the Mercer Virus by the general public, is an evolutionary chimeric mutation-causing infectious agent that can reproduce only inside the living cells of other biological organisms. It was extracted and synthesized by Gentek, using a sample of Elizabeth Greene's blood, which had been infected with the Redlight virus years previously." Nowhere in there does it say it can effect NON-terrestrial lifeforms; it could kill the Irish, the Mexicans, the Jews, but nothing specified aliens. For all we know, the Ceph would brush it off like a cold.

Spaceman: It was designed to infect humans by Doctor Mercer, so it's doubtful it would be able to infect extraterrestrial life forms, at least in its current strains. Given how fast Mercer evolved, I would have given him a century before devouring the planet and then moving onto other worlds, but without the guiding minds of Greene, Mercer, or PARIAH, the Virus is limited by it's own capacities and environmental vectors.

NeoNazo356: Also, engineered viruses like Blacklight or Foxdie have always been notoriously difficult to treat, if not impossible. For what the Ceph were spreading around, it wasn't an artificial pathogen, simply a clashing of physiologies between Humans and Aliens. Like Bird Flu, only with space-squids.

P.S.
I made some small alterations to the previous chapter. Nothing big, just the inclusion of the burn scars that Snake got during the course of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots.

*FIRST MISSION PREP*

After his conversation with Snake had ended, Virgil felt a very strong urge to put his nose to the grindstone and start training. Just knowing that he could be a part of something greater than himself, and make a real, lasting impact on the world compelled him so.

With a nod, Snake guided Virgil out of the lab and onto the freight elevator in the middle of the central hub. Once the two had stepped onto the metallic panel, a set of railing colored black-and-yellow like hazard tape rose up around them to waist height, and pressing a button on the small console that came along for the ride, the platform began descending to the next level.

Based on the fact that the elevator shaft's material differed from that of the floor above, the Bunkers' third level appeared to be completely new in construction. Which begged the question; where did all of the material from down below go?

Coming to a stop at what appeared to be the bottom floor of The Bunker, Virgil found himself within another hub-like area. The walls had gunmetal gray-colored metal lining, a few shades away from chrome, but looked very futuristic. Only a single door was opened, the others barred off by construction-site barricades, and this was the one Snake took him through.

The bulkhead whooshing open, Virgil was at a loss for words as he entered an indoor firing range that, at a glance, looked to be about as long as a football field.

The old man snapped his fingers in front of Virgil's face, snapping him out of his stupor, guiding him over to the weapon rack where they would begin training. Coming to the side of the weapon rack reserved for small arms, the old soldier directed Virgil's attention to two separate firearms.

The first, was the Ruger MK. 2 pistol, a rimfire single-action semi-automatic pistol. Snake went on to explain that derivatives of this same gun had been produced since 1949, the MK. 2 first manufactured in 1982. The series became notorious as assassination weapons because of their use by Mossad agents and the controversial book Hitman, the weapon itself eventually discontinued in 2005. The one right in front of Virgil had been equipped with a built-in suppressor as well as a laser sight, and Snake went on to say that this gun was completely silent as the bolt locked in place when firing.

In short, a valuable tool for covert infiltration and no-kill missions, if the dart-based ammunition underneath was anything to go by.

Beside it was the 1911 Operator, part of the customized M1911A1s built by Springfield Armory, one of several companies that had been contracted to build government-issue M1911s and M1911A1s during and after both World Wars. This one differed from the standard version in that it didn't have the diagonal cut forward cocking serrations. It was equipped with a threaded barrel for suppressors, and a rail system for a tactical light.

With its seven-round .45 ACP mags, this weapon was decisively more lethal.

When Snake asked which of the two Virgil wanted to use, the brunette at first reached for the 1911 Operator, but stayed his hand just short of touching it. A pensive look overcoming his features, the brunette drummed his fingers on his forearm for a minute before turning to Snake.

"I can kill without hesitating. I've made peace with that. But just because I can kill whenever I want, doesn't mean I want it to be my go-to option for every problem that gets in my way."

"So you're going for the Ruger, then?"

"Yes and no…" Virgil said as he continued to drum his fingers on his arm. "While I would rather not wade through oceans of blood, I'm not very comfortable with letting every bad guy who falls under my crosshairs get away so they can keep on hurting and killing more people." Guys like The Joker and Killer Croc came to mind as he made this statement. "If there's someone that needs killing, I'll kill them. Just because killing won't be my go-to option, doesn't mean I want it completely off the table."

Snake had called Virgil's way of thinking "pragmatic", which was probably soldier-talk for "realistic". Virgil was willing to adjust on the fly as the situation dictated, while superheroes in general used the same outdated morals system they'd started with at the beginning of their superhero careers, and refused to get with the times if it meant going against their own moral code.

It wasn't like the old days where the bad guys all wore capes, masks, monologue, and devised over-complicated traps that they'd use while lording their so-called superiority over their "beaten" foes. Sometimes all you needed was a computer screen, a keyboard, and a lunch break where no-one else was around to see you digging through files you shouldn't.

Moving over to one of the booths as a paper target was placed on the overhead railing system, Snake would go on to instruct Virgil in different firing positions, both from a standing and crouched position, correcting the brunette on any flaws that presented themselves.

By the time Virgil got back topside, it was a little past eight. About five hours since he'd last left.

*FIRST MISSION PREP*

Bludhaven
September 21, 20:35 EST

'Ow… Ow… Ow…' Virgil groaned to himself as he made his way to the Red Light's back door. Both of his index fingers throbbed like crazy from the hours of trigger-pulling he'd subjected his hands to, since Snake wanted him to be able to shoot a gun with both hands instead of just his right. Some would even go as far as to say Virgil had gone overboard with how swollen his digits had become.

However, missing head shots back in the Red Zone by six inches when he was sure he had it, really hurt his pride, so he soldiered through it.

'This is going to be a real pain…' Virgil groaned as he put his key in the lock and turned it, a lance of pain shooting through his arm as he turned the knob. 'Rgh… At least it can only get easier from here,' he thought to himself as he made his way up the stairs.

"Virgil! Where on Earth have you been?!" Shaula shouted in his face the moment he walked upstairs. "We've been trying to reach you for hours!"

"You have?" Virgil said before looking down at his phone, where there were over a dozen texts and messages waiting for him. 'Shit, guess I don't get any reception in The Bunker,' the brunette thought to himself as he nervously scratched the back of his head. "Sorry about that. I went for a walk and I guess I just lost track of time is all."

"For five hours!?"

"Y… Yeah…" Virgil replied nervously.

" . . . You know what, I won't even ask what you were doing," Shaula sighed as she rubbed the bridge of her nose. "At least warn us when you're going to disappear on us again, alright? Athena's been worried sick. For a moment I thought she was going to hack into government spy satellites just to get a bead on you."

"That was one time and you know it!" came the resident genius' voice from behind her closed door.

"I am… really sorry about flaking on you like that," Virgil stated. "I'll try to be better about it in the future."

" . . . As long as you know what you did wrong, that's fine," Shaula sighed as she ran her fingers through her hair.

*FIRST MISSION PREP*

A few days had passed since Virgil's trip to The Bunker. With Boris still turning him away due to injuries from what was now referred to as the "Squidzilla Incident", he chose to arrange for transport to The Bunker via Codec, which he could send outgoing calls with via his smartphone. For a few hours each day he would train with Snake down on Level 3, the firing range, when not in use, the perfect choice for running drills. After things like physical conditioning, firearm practice, weapon maintenance, and some light CQC practice, he would head back topside before making his way back to the Red Light.

While he now had access to his own cabin in The Bunker, he didn't feel like he was ready to use it just yet. Depending on whether his job as a fashion model panned out or not, would influence whether he made his new domicile above-ground, or in the Underground. Still, in the time he was down there, he'd managed to meet some more of FoxCry's personnel, each one just as colorful as the last.

From C.E.L.L.'s Freelancer unit, was a man by the callsign Wyoming. The man had brushed-back brown hair and a large handlebar moustache, complete with British accent. He had a penchant for knock-knock jokes which got a little old after a while, and his largest motivation seemed to be his next paycheck, but aside from those two things he was alright.

From the Security Room he met one Dexter Grif, a man with blue eyes, unkempt brown hair, and five o'clock shadow dominating most of his face. The guy was a wisecracking, lazy, out-of-shape good-for-nothing that smelled of junk food and cigarette smoke, so sitting in a room and staring at TV screens all day seemed like the perfect job for him. Still, despite his obvious short-comings, like playing games on his tablet when he was supposed to be working, he and Virgil got along pretty well.

Working out of the Comm. Room was a man by the name of Richard "Dick" Simmons, with strong features, green eyes, and blond hair that was brushed back with the sides buzzed. The man was a stereotypical nerd, much like Otacon, and he enjoyed working, staying logical, and telling jokes that only he seemed to enjoy. On top of that, the guy was a total neat-freak, believing that a clean and orderly workplace was more efficient and peaceful. The guy also seemed like a bit of a kiss-up once rank came up, so Virgil was quick to hit the emergency escape button on that conversation and get on with his day.

Back in the storeroom there was a rather… interesting individual by the name of Michael J. Caboose. He had short blond hair, soft features, and baby blue eyes, making him seem very out of place in any form of military setting. If one were to try and summarize him in a few words, Virgil's would be- "He's… well… A complete idiot." That on top of his child-like demeanor made Virgil terrified of the thought that this guy was allowed to use the forklift, or any form of heavy machinery for that matter.

Still, despite all that, Caboose was really easy to get along with. It only took Virgil a mind-numbing half-hour to figure out how to navigate the vocabularic roadmap that was talking with this guy.

The largest shock came when he went down to the Motor Pool, which was connected to a much larger freight elevator that let out somewhere topside. The Chief, and strangely only mechanic there, was a stubborn old man who only made himself known as Lopez. The guy wore brown coveralls, brown boots, brown gloves, and a welding mask that completely obscured his face from view behind a brown helm of brown and an orange visor. He was largely pessimistic, highly sarcastic in most of his dialogue, and on top of all this, the guy spoke nothing but Spanish.

However, it wasn't the guy's eccentricity that shocked Virgil, but rather, that Virgil suddenly found himself fluently speaking, and interpreting en Española.

Now, like most high school kids his age, he'd had at least one year of remedial Spanish. Also like most, was that he barely passed the course, only grasping the bare minimum in order to pass. So the fact that he could understand Lopez so perfectly kinda freaked him out.

A quick call to R&D via Codec explained his sudden fluency.

While nowhere near its projected 1.5 BIPS (Billion Instructions Per-Second), SECOND was still one of the, if not the most powerful, DNA computer in the world, piggybacking off the most powerful supercomputer known to man: the human brain. More specifically, his brain. Because of this, while previous calibrations were being done, Dr. Yumeno took the opportunity to download knowledge of the Spanish language directly into his hippocampus, if only so the language barrier between himself and Lopez would not be an issue in the future.

Theoretically, every known language could be downloaded into his brain through SECOND like something out of The Matrix, even skills like how to pilot vehicles, or different forms of martial arts. However, more data would have to be acquired, and Virgil's brain would need to get acclimated to SECOND's integration into his nervous system more-thoroughly, before more "downloads" could be made.

The fact that they could just put something in his brain and he never noticed it, terrified him a great deal. However, it was a life he'd signed on for, so he sucked it up and soldiered on.

Strangely enough, through all of this the Moxxi family was perfectly alright with him disappearing every day after work and returning late into the night. They even left some dinner in a Tupperware for him to microwave at his convenience. They didn't know the exact nature of what it was he was doing, only that it was "government work" and that he may be asked to travel out-of-town on occasion. As such, it fell well within the confines of what he was allowed to say in accordance with his NDI, so no punishment was meted out.

Vigil also knew that eventually he'd have to quit his part-time job at Marcus Munitions, but for the time being, he'd try to squeeze every last paycheck he could out of the man.

*FIRST MISSION PREP*

Bludhaven
September 24, 22:34 EST

It was well into Thursday evening by the time Virgil had gotten back to the Red Light. Earlier that day, the compound bow he'd put an order on finally arrived at the Armory, and he'd spent pretty much the entire day getting back into form with his bow and nothing else.

Because he'd been wearing the Nanosuit at the time, the buildup of lactic acids was almost completely neutralized, so the brunette had been able to practice shooting arrows at targets for hours on end without cramping up. Best part was that since the target could be drawn back to him on the overhead railing, he didn't have to go all the way down the range on foot himself and retrieve his arrows from the target.

By the time Sunny came down and reminded him to go home and rest, he'd drawn back and shot hundreds of arrows, his accuracy getting closer and closer to his nine-out-of-ten average he'd had before. There really wasn't any substitute to watching a thin shaft of metal sail through the air and punch a hole clean through whatever it hit. When it came to bullets, the here-and-there was just too quick to get any form of enjoyment out of it.

For an eight-year-old child, Sunny could be very insistent, and was probably the only thing that had kept Virgil from shooting arrows into the night.

"Hey guys. How was your day?" Virgil asked as he stepped into the living room. Both Rina and Tina were already asleep, meaning it was just Shaula and Athena in the room watching TV.

"I could ask the same about you. It's ten o'clock already," Shaula said crossing her arms.

"Sorry, that was my bad. I got a little caught up is all," Virgil replied scratching the back of his head, Athena walking up to him and taking off his jacket. "Uhhhhhhh…" he uhhhhhhhed as she started feeling him up.

"The biceps, triceps, and foreceps of your right arm are notably more dense than they were this morning," the blond said running her fingers along his muscles. "What exactly were you doing?"

"Uh… Exercise."

"Forget it. Unless you sign a job application for wherever he's at, you won't get any more than that out of him," Shaula said turning her attention back to the TV.

" . . . They're not making you do anything dangerous… Are they?" she asked nervously.

"No, not at all. Just training and stuff."

"Training for what?"

*Br-r-r*Br-r-r* *Br-r-r*Br-r-r*

"Uhhh…" Virgil returned as he looked down at his phone, the Caller ID reading Otacon. "Sorry, I have to take this," he said running upstairs. Locking the bathroom door behind him, Virgil hit the green Accept button on his phone, placing two fingers to his ear with another. *Breen*

"Virgil, this is Otacon. Do you read?"

"I read. What's the situation?" Virgil mouthed, his words carried over through Codec.

"We've got a hit, which means you have a mission. We're getting your supervisors together for the mission briefing, which means you need to get to the Bunker, ASAP. Your ride will be waiting for you at the bus station like always."

"Alright. Just… let me tell the others I'll be out a while. I don't want to worry them," Virgil said making his way to his room.

*FIRST MISSION PREP*

*SIGH* 'That was an awkward conversation,' Virgil sighed as he sat in the back of the van. It was kinda hard to get Athena to let him go when he'd just gotten back, but thankfully Shaula was willing to have his back on that one. 'At the very least they know I have things to do at odd hours. I can't imagine what it'd be like to explain this to them otherwise,' he sighed, thankful that his housemates knew SOME of what was going on. 'I also can't imagine how hard this must've been for those superheroes and their secret identities,' he thought rolling his eyes.

Honestly, a little facial recognition, some detective work, and most of those facades would fall apart.

The vehicle coming to a stop, Virgil was given the directions he needed via Codec. Passing through the security checkpoint without a word, he made his way to the elevator, which took him down to Level 2. Passing by the Med Bay, he went straight across the hub into what Otacon told him was the War Room.

Said room was rather dark, the floor, wall, and ceiling tiles covered in black panels. In the center of the room there was a large oval-shaped table with a hollowed-out center, a ring of lights above it, and flat screens dominating the far wall. All in all, the vibe it gave off was the same as every "War Room" in every movie that needed an isolated room to make decisions that affected national security.

"Virgil," Otacon greeted. "Put these on," he said handing the brunette what appeared to be-

"Sunglasses?" he asked, the lenses being offered to him looking like something out of Men in Black. After a couple moments, he took them in his hand, taking a seat in the nearest chair, and put them on. The moment he settled them onto the bridge of his nose, the seat across from him was suddenly occupied by a transparent blue specter, flickering momentarily as his eyes focused on him. 'Jesus!' Virgil cried to himself, nearly jumping out of his own skin as the blue hologram began to gain color.

The holographic man before Virgil was a Caucasian man who looked to be well into his seventies. His gray hair was neatly combed back, crow's feet around blue eyes. His attire consisted of a white dress shirt with a red tie, and a dark brown suit with light brown stripes.

"Augmented Reality. That combined with nanocommunications via Codec means the purpose of our meeting remains completely hidden," Otacon explained even before Virgil could ask what it was he was seeing.

"Who are you?" Virgil saw fit to ask the person who was virtually sitting across from him.

"I'm Roy Campbell, an old friend of your trainer, Snake," the man replied. "You can call me Colonel."

"Nice to meet you," Virgil replied, putting a hand to his chin. "Roy Campbell… That name sounds familiar, but I can't place it."

"He's currently working for an advisory body under the UN Security Council to monitor and regulate the activity of PMCs," Re-l's voice said to his immediate left, the brunette turning his head to see another semi-transparent specter that slowly gained color. As usual, Re-l had blue eyeliner around her eyes, vaguely resembling butterfly wings. Her attire was a different line of dress suit, predominantly black, but with a burgundy dress shirt underneath. "He's also a former U.S. Army Colonel, and our tie to FOXHOUND Special Forces."

"I see," Virgil replied, a little more wary of the old man-hologram in front of him than before. "So… Colonel. Otacon tells me you have a mission."

"That is correct," Colonel replied, the screens behind him lighting up. A number of profiles, pictures, and satellite photos spread out across the screen, before moving to the air in front of Virgil via Augmented Reality. "Tell me, are you acquainted with the work of Dr. Bruce Banner?"

"All I know about the guy is what I read from magazine covers of Scientific Monthly. I never felt the urge to dig any deeper than that," Virgil replied with a shrug. "World-expert on nuclear physics, right?"

"That is correct, but barely scratching the surface," Colonel replied. "Robert Bruce Banner was the son of Dr. Brian Banner, an atomic physicist whose career was dominated by work on producing clean nuclear power as an energy source. Childhood traumas, which are not prevalent to your current mission, prompted Bruce Banner to build and plant a bomb in the basement of his high school. The bomb was a dud and he was expelled, but the military took notice of his genius. After earning a doctorate in nuclear physics, he began work for the U.S. Army on the creation of a weapon known as the Gamma Bomb."

"Gamma? As in gamma radiation?"

"Correct. In opposition to conventional nuclear arms which destroyed everything in their blast radius and left ground zero completely uninhabitable, the Gamma Bomb operated through a burst of variable wavelength gamma particles, capable of destroying metal and plastic without harming living tissue, as well as not leaving behind any form of residual radiation."

"But wouldn't it be better to kill the people while not destroying the property?" Virgil asked thinking aloud.

"You would be referring to the Neutron Bomb," Re-l answered. "N-Bombs, which have existed since the 1960s, are an extremely controversial form of Enhanced Radiation Weapon, where a burst of neutrons generated by a fusion reaction is intentionally allowed to escape the casing of its originating low-yield thermonuclear weapon, as opposed to being absorbed by its other components."

"Because it was described as a "capitalist bomb", designed to destroy people while preserving property, no actual N-Bombs have ever been deployed on the battlefield. Hence, why so much time and money was placed into the G-Bomb," Colonel elaborated.

"I see. So getting back to the subject at hand," Virgil said moving his attention away from N-Bombs. "The fact that this hasn't made world news, I'm guessing things didn't quite go as planned."

"No. No they did not," Re-l stated. "During testing, there was a complication at the test site, and as a result, Dr. Banner was exposed to an incredibly high dosage of gamma radiation. Because the Gamma Bomb was incomplete, that much radiation should've killed him. However, something… else, happened instead."

At that moment, a video screen appeared before Virgil's line of sight via AR. The video was time-stamped at July 4th, 2007. The video took place in a medical ward of sorts, three figures in the room, one woman, an old man in an army uniform, and Bruce Banner himself, who was strapped down to a table with military-grade metal cords.

"The gamma pulse… It didn't affect Bruce the same as the inorganic materials. I don't know… it cause some sort of… cellular mutation," the figure identified through AR as Betty Ross stated.

"Does it matter?" the man identified as Thaddeus Ross stated. "Unless of course, you see how turning insurgents into muscle-bound monsters is useful for the U.S. Army?"

"I don't know what triggered Bruce's transformation, dad, but whatever happened, Bruce and I will figure this out together," Betty argued, Bruce coming to moments later.

"Be… Betty…? What… What happened?" he said as his eyes adjusted to the light.

"There… There was an accident at Test Site Gamma," Betty answered trying to calm him down. "You were exposed to Gamma radiation while trying to save a trespasser and-"

"I told you I wasn't ready to test it on-" Bruce said as he attempted to rise, only to be held down. "Why am I restrained?" he cried, beginning to freak out.

"Your weapon is useless, Banner!" Ross suddenly screamed out, clearly never having heard the saying- "Say it, don't spray it." "You've wasted the army's time and money, resources that could be saving soldier's lives if they hadn't been invested in Bruce Banner. Face it, Banner. You're a failure!"

"Dad! That was completely uncalled for!" Betty cried throwing her father's arm down.

"That's it…" Banner growled as he began gnashing his teeth, the heart monitor just behind him showing an elevated heartrate. "I'm done rolling over for you, Ross! You want to cut my project? Fine! But you… need to respect… my…!" he growled, his body convulsing as the monitor's began emitting a rapid *BEEP*BEEP*BEEP*BEEP*BEEP*BEEP*BEEP*

Releasing a deep bellow that Banner's scrawny frame didn't look like it could possibly make on its own, the veins across Banner's body began to bulge to ridiculous proportions. His arteries turning dark green, his flesh and skin soon followed, sickening cracking noises sounding as his bones began to stretch and reshape themselves, pressing against his skin. The man began to gain height and muscle where there was none before, the metal slab he was once strapped to buckling under the sudden increase in weight as he gained several hundred pounds worth of muscle, the cables holding him down snapping like rubber bands.

"RRRAAAARRRRRR!" the transformed Banner roared as he rose to full height, head almost scraping the ceiling as he tore his way free.

"B-B-Bruce…?" Betty stammered in shock.

"Get away from her, you damn monster!" Ross bellowed as he pushed Betty back.

"But dad, it's Bruce! He-"

"That thing isn't Banner! It's some kind of freak!"

"Not Banner… HULK!" the now-named being roared as he backhanded Ross across the room, the man's back leaving a crater in the concrete wall with a sickening *KRAK* before he fell flat on his face. Breathing heavily, the Hulk let out another bellow before turning around, punching through the concrete wall in front of him like it were made of Styrofoam, the clip ending shortly after.

"What… the flying fuck… was that?" Virgil blinked as he replayed the final moments of the clip, paying particular attention to Bruce's transformation from a ninety-pound nerd to nine-foot tall mountain of gamma-irradiated muscle.

"That would be 'the Hulk', a modern-day Dr. Jekyll crossed with fourteen million dollars worth of taxpayer money," Colonel answered.

"If you think I'm going to fight this thing, then you're out of your damn mind!" Virgil shouted, jabbing a finger at the Hulk as he sent Ross flying against the wall like a ragdoll. "Come to think of it, if this happened two years ago, why hasn't the Justice League gotten involved?"

"The Justice League operates under UN Charter, so if asked by countries that fall under its jurisdiction, the JL is obligated to follow any authorized requests that might be given by higher authorities," Re-l explained. "General Ross, as the primary backer for the Gamma Base R&D Facility where the incident took place, has taken command of all operations relating to the capture and detainment of Bruce Banner, aka The Hulk."

"No-one expects you to fight the Hulk. Hell, Ross has burned through millions in taxpayer dollars trying to capture the Hulk, and all he has to show for it are thousands of metric tons of scrap metal," Colonel stated. "No. What you will be doing is much more subtle. Hopefully, there won't be any combat involved at all."

"Ross is attempting to appeal to Congress for additional funding toward all Hulkbuster operations for the next fiscal year. However, with the recent deployment of Blackwatch and the expenditure of resources and manpower to keep Mercer and the Blacklight Virus contained to the Manhattan area, his funding has begun to dry up," Re-l explained. "The reason Ross has been able to consistently get funding and resources for this long is because of the destruction left in the Hulk's wake with each appearance, and the fear he inspires in the hearts of the common citizen. As things stand, Ross will receive new funding regardless of the present national debt."

"Ross' entire stance is dependent on the belief that Banner intends to use gamma weaponry for personal gain, as well as that if left unchecked, the Hulk could very well destroy our American way of life," Colonel explained. "FOXHOUND has, independent of the U.S. Army, been working to keep track of Banner's movements for the last year. For this reason, we've been able to track Banner to a cabin on the Canadian border before Ross' own sources. We estimate another day at most before Ross' own intelligence catches on, which gives us a unique opportunity."

"Your mission is reconnaissance only," Re-l stated. "We know that Banner is performing research within his current domicile, but we have not been able to safely ascertain what it is he is researching without potentially instigating another Hulk attack. Your job, will be to infiltrate Banner's current place of residence, and collect whatever data you can about whatever is motivating his current actions."

"This is evidence that we'll need in order to at the least, buy the American economy a little more time to recover after the sudden expenditure of resources in the wake of the Second Outbreak. Computer data, documents, notes in shorthand. I don't care what it is, but at the very least, we need something that'll justify putting Hulkbuster operations on hold, even if it's only for a few months until Ross brings up the issue again," Colonel explained.

"For this reason, we've applied a fresh batch of Nano Catalyst to the Nanosuit in order to facilitate the use of the OctoCamo Stealth Module, courtesy of FOXHOUND and our own R&D," Otacon explained from the side. "Nanosuit functionality will change based on whatever Modules are equipped, similar to Perks in the Call of Duty series. As time goes on, you'll be able to unlock more Modules to alter Nanosuit functionality, and change your ability loadout as the situation dictates."

"Up until now, the Nanosuit has only used optical camouflage as a means of becoming nearly-transparent. However, this still leaves a lensing effect that those with acute-enough senses will be able to detect. We're hoping that with OctoCamo's ability to replicate the pattern and texture of whatever surface the Nanosuit comes into contact with, that we'll be able to bolster its stealth capabilities for this sort of mission," Re-l went on to explain.

"If you aren't confident-enough in your own abilities, FOXHOUND is willing to send its own agents in to get this mission done, and you can chose to undergo missions at a later date after you've had more training," Colonel stated.

"Hmmm…" Virgil hummed as he crossed his arms, adjusting the AR glasses on his face as he thought his options through. "To tell you the truth, back in NYZ, I was up to my eyeballs in life-or-death stealth ops every single day. All I have to do is not get seen, and I should be good," he said before leaning forward, resting his elbows on the table and interlacing his fingers in front of himself. "I'm in. When do we start."

"Right now. Ms. Meyer will arrange transport to the mission area, while FOXHOUND will stall Ross for as long as we can so you can complete your mission. Good luck, soldier," the man said giving Virgil a salute before his hologram disappeared, followed by Re-l's.

"*Sigh* Alright…" Virgil said drumming his fingers on the table before rising to his seat. "Otacon, grab some talcum powder so I can squeeze into my suit. It's mission time."

"You know, Snake said the exact same thing when it came time to squeeze into his suit."

"TMI, dude. TMI."

*FIRST MISSION PREP*

After the mission briefing, Virgil made a quick stop to the R&D, squeezing into the Nanosuit so some quick calibrations could be run on the Nanosuit's new OctoCamo Module. After determining that everything was in working order, packing the suit into a specially-designed briefcase synchronized to his biometrics, he was then given a carry-on containing the disassembled Mark IV, which would be providing support on the upcoming mission.

Arriving at the Motor Pool, Virgil emptied his gear into the back of the familiar black van he had grown so accustomed to. There was even an indention in the shape of his own butt beginning to form.

Riding the Motor Pool's freight elevator topside, he learned that the above-ground entrance to FoxCry Underground was located within an abandoned industrial complex on the edge of Bludhaven right next to The Dust. However, none of the surrounding buildings looked even the slightest bit familiar, so he still had no idea where FoxCry Underground could be located. The fact that it had remained hidden since the Cold War meant it was just that well-hidden.

"Hey, driver!" Virgil said banging on the window between them. "Before we go to the airport, I need to make a quick detour. Gotta grab something from home real quick."

" . . . "

Just as Virgil thought he was going to have to pull rank, if he even had that, the vehicle's driver turned the vehicle around and began moving towards the city's interior. A few minutes later, and the black van pulled to the back of Moxxxi's Red Light.

"Thanks for this. I'll be back in a minute," Virgil said hopping out of the van and making his way through the back door. The bar had already closed for the night, and the place was completely silent, aside from the home's tenants sleeping upstairs.

Making his way into the kitchen, he grabbed a nearby post-it note and a pen, scrawling down a quick message. The creaking of a door hinge behind him reaching his ears, he was greeted to the sight of Athena walking up to him, clad in a set of white pajamas, her hair down and her glasses off.

"Hey Virgil… You're heading out, I see," she said rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"Yeah, but don't worry. I'll be back in a couple days," the brunette replied, the blond across from him nodding before running back into her room. Turning around and finishing his note, he turned around to leave only to suddenly find Athena waiting for him, a shoebox held out towards him.

"Here. I have something for you," she said holding it out for him.

"What is it?" Virgil asked peeking inside, seeing what appeared to be a dark blue poncho.

"The OctoCloak. I made it based on designs DARPA left on the internet," the blond answered. "It adapts the pattern and texture of whatever's around it, as well as the temperature, in tandem with your Nanosuit. I figured you might need it soon."

"Wait, how did you kno-" he said before the blond placed a finger on his lips.

"You should probably get going," she cut him off. "Just… come back safe. Okay?"

" . . . Sure," Virgil replied after an awkward moment. Walking away and wrapping his hand around the doorknob, a hand suddenly grabbed his shoulder before turning him around. Virgil's eyes widened slightly as Athena cupped his cheeks, bringing her face close to his, before hesitating.

"I mean it…" she said in a stern tone, before bringing her face up to his. Again however, she hesitated, staring into his eyes for several more seconds before placing a kiss on his cheek. "Come back safe."

"I will," Virgil returned with a bit less hesitance, tucking the OctoCloak under his arm before separating from her.

Having done what he set out to do, Virgil rode to the airport with no further distractions.

Arriving at the Bludhaven Airfield to the north of the city, he was ushered into a private jet bearing Hargreave & Rasch Biomedical's logo. As the jet taxied towards the runway, the pilot, a woman in a C.E.L.L. pilot uniform by the call sign Four Seven Niner, told him to buckle in, and that he should probably get a good night's sleep.

*FIRST MISSION PREP*

NeoNazo356: Originally the first mission was going to be INCLUDED in this chapter, but that would've made the chapter over 12,000 words in length, give or take, so I sub-divided it between the Mission Brief and the actual mission itself. That won't be the case for ALL mission-based chapters, but I needed to get more character elaboration out of the way to show HOW this sort of thing would be conducted.

Spaceman: The Hulk is a complicated character and a nigh unstoppable force of nature when stressed enough. This chapter also give a little more insight into the workings of this world. Next up is the actual mission and Nothing Should Go Wrong. If you believe that, I have a bridge in the NYZ to sell you.