The Comprehensive Evolution of American Comics.

Chapter 499 Banner: I’m not there

When Bruce woke up again, he was lying on a hospital bed, covered in bandages and wires, which were connected to the medical monitoring equipment nearby. What surprised him was that he was not in the ward at this time, but in a tent.

His consciousness gradually became clear, and suddenly he seemed to hear a quarrel coming from outside. Bruce was very familiar with the voice, it seemed to be his girlfriend Betty.

The quarrel finally stopped, and the tent curtain was opened with a swish. No warm sunlight came in. Bruce estimated that it must be late outside, and he didn't know how long he had been unconscious.

"Bruce!" Betty, who was furious a second ago, immediately became overjoyed after seeing Bruce wake up. She quickly walked to the bedside and wanted to reach out and touch him, but she was frightened by the various equipment on Bruce's body and finally did not dare to do it.

"What happened, Betty?" Bruce tried his best to get up, but the pain in his body made him give up.

"Don't move, Bruce, don't move." Betty hurriedly stopped her boyfriend's actions, then sat on a chair beside her, sighed and began to tell the story.

After hearing that a giant riot had occurred in the city, Bruce showed a surprised expression on his face. Before he could continue asking questions, the curtain of the tent was lifted again.

Hearing the sound of the curtain being lifted behind her, Betty's face showed anger again. She immediately stood up, turned around and started to rage.

"Didn't I tell you Bruce needs some quiet time now... Oh, Dad."

The first half of the sentence was very powerful, but when Betty saw General Ross walking into the tent, her power disappeared without a trace. Behind General Ross followed his subordinate, the fully armed Glenn Talbot.

General Ross was not angry after being yelled at. He acted as if nothing had happened. He just patted Betty on the shoulder and walked to the bedside.

"How do you feel?" General Ross sat in the chair like an old man visiting a relative. If it weren't for his military uniform and rank, no one would have known that he was the first person in the military who could run for president.

"Not bad, at least I'm not dead." Bruce wanted to smile, but found that the gauze wrapped around his head stopped him.

"And both his hands and feet are intact." Ross looked at Bruce. "I have to say you're really lucky, Bruce. You were closest to that experiment named Robert, but you only suffered such a minor injury."

"Maybe." Bruce didn't know how to answer, so he could only reply ambiguously.

Ross then exchanged a few more pleasantries with Bruce, and seeing that the other party responded fluently, he decided to get to the point.

"I'll make it short, Bruce." General Ross straightened his back and regained the demeanor of a soldier.

"Do you have any solution for those monsters that are wreaking havoc in New York City right now? After all, you created them."

"That's what I wanted to tell you, General Ross." Bruce wasn't panicking at all. He pushed his glasses up with the hand holding the IV. "I don't know anything about those giants."

"Bastard!" Glenn, who had been silent as if he didn't exist, suddenly shouted. He glared at Bruce angrily as if he wanted to eat him alive.

"Are you trying to shirk your responsibility? You have to understand that those monsters have destroyed half of New York City, causing countless civilian casualties and heavy casualties among the soldiers."

Glenn grew increasingly agitated, even rushing to Bruce's bedside and pointing his finger at him. "You have to understand that General Ross even dispatched his most elite team to rescue you so we could deal with this situation. And when you woke up, you didn't even bother to make amends, but instead chose to flee! You coward!"

Although Glenn cursed, he always stood behind the seated General Ross and did not step out of line. General Ross did not stop him. At this moment, he seemed to have switched with Glenn. He became silent, while Glenn stood in front of the stage.

Betty quickly walked over and stopped Bruce behind her, saying, "I believe Bruce. He's not a liar. If he says he didn't know, then it definitely wasn't him."

When Glenn saw his boss's daughter suddenly appear, a trace of panic appeared in his eyes, but it quickly disappeared. General Ross, who had been calm and composed, also felt helpless.

"Thank you for your trust, Betty." Bruce put his hand on Betty's arm. He was very touched by his girlfriend's unconditional trust, so it was even more necessary for him to explain the matter clearly.

"I didn't lie, General Ross and Mr. Glenn. When I asked Betty just now, she mentioned the giants in the city. I was also confused."

Bruce sat up with Betty's help. General Ross was a little confused when he saw this. It seemed that Bruce's injury did not allow him to be so energetic?
"From what you said, I now understand what happened. You think the giants that appeared in the city are related to the super soldier serum I developed, right?"

General Ross nodded. Although the general public was not aware of this, those close to him who knew the inside story all thought so, including himself.

"I can assure you, General Ross," Bruce said, his expression serious, looking into Ross's eyes. "The standard version of the Super Soldier Serum I invented can't transform a Homo sapiens into a monster five or six meters tall. Anyone injected with it will simply become a super soldier like Captain America."

"What about the giants in the city? That's irrefutable evidence," Glenn retorted.

"I don't know," Bruce replied. "I can't offer any advice until I see the real thing, but I swear the serum has been rigorously tested. It increases the size of those injected, and no related symptoms have ever been seen in mice or any living subjects."

"What about Robert?" A gleam of light flashed in General Ross's eyes. Under his surveillance, he had long discovered that Bruce's attitude towards Target No. 1 was different. He originally thought that this was only because Robert was personally examined by Bruce, but now it seems that it may be far from that simple.

Bruce's voice paused, and after a long silence, he continued, "Yes, the serum Robert was injected with was different from that of ordinary volunteers. He was injected with an upgraded version that I had modified. This serum has never been tested on mice before, so I don't know what it will bring."

"Then how can you use it on humans! Bruce!" Betty looked at the man on the hospital bed in disbelief, as if she was getting to know him all over again.

"I didn't inject him." Bruce sighed. "Robert happened to hear about me making the super serum. Cancer was ravaging his body, and he begged me to inject him with it as a chance of survival. I refused, but he stole it and injected himself."

"By the time I found out, it was too late. I had no choice but to accept the reality and record Robert's changes every day."

"Has he changed?" General Ross continued to ask.

"He seemed to have mental problems," Bruce said as he recalled.

"Robert always said that something was communicating with him in his dreams. He became neurotic and no longer trusted anyone. Other than that, I didn't find anything unusual. Even his cancer didn't get better."

(End of this chapter)