Marvel: The Ultimate Superman-Chapter 149. The Birth of Red Hulk

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"Huh... The Leader, of all people?" Nolan muttered as he scanned the live feed. "Didn't expect him to resurface. Still... he might actually be useful."

He stared at the monitor, watching the large-headed, green-skinned figure pacing the lab beside General Ross.

It was obvious who this was: Dr. Samuel Sterns, also known as The Leader. One of the Hulk's most iconic enemies.

A brilliant mind mutated by gamma radiation, born from an accident that fused Bruce Banner's blood with an open head wound, after being shoved to the floor by Abomination during an earlier Hulk experiment.

Sterns had always been obsessed with Hulk's biology, dedicating years to studying gamma radiation's effects on the human body. Arguably, there was no one more qualified to oversee the Red Hulk initiative.

And thanks to the cranial mutation, Sterns had gained more than intelligence; he also possessed a form of low-level telepathy. Not strong, but... enough.

"With him leading this, there's no doubt the experiment will succeed," Nolan remarked.

As data streamed from the military's internal servers into his Oscorp database, Nolan tapped his fingers rhythmically. Every biometric scan, procedure log, and enhancement cycle from Ross's experiment was being recorded.

Now, with Hulk, Abomination, and Red Hulk's blueprints in hand, he had what he needed to build a complete absorption module.

Still, the Hulk's rage-based power was... problematic. It wasn't just raw emotion, it was practically divine. A force tied to the same kind of dimensional madness that Wanda's Chaos Magic drew from. Like Spider-Man's powers, it felt... assigned.

Almost as if every superhuman with a recognizable name was secretly backed by some multiversal entity playing a long game with Earth as their chessboard.

Nolan didn't care for rage-based powers.

He wasn't angry. Never had been. Rage wasn't reliable; it wasn't scientific.

He preferred control.

...

Back at the base, things were unfolding exactly as he expected.

Ross's vitals dipped frequently his heart rate flatlined more than once. But each time, something pulled him back.

His screams echoed through the chamber, but the procedure continued.

Finally, Sterns ordered the gamma exposure halted. Any more and Ross wouldn't survive; he'd liquefy under the strain.

The pod hissed open, steam pouring out.

Ross stepped out slowly.

At first glance, he looked... unchanged.

Jason moved to offer him a towel. Ross waved him off.

"General?" Sterns asked. "Do you feel... different?"

Ross didn't answer right away. Then, he smiled.

Muscles swelled. Veins bulged. His body surged with mass as if being inflated from within.

Skin turned crimson. Eyes burned like embers.

Within seconds, he towered over them as a monstrous, three-meter-tall Red Hulk.

Massive. Hulking. Radiating raw heat like a forge.

Jason instinctively stepped back, overwhelmed by the sheer pressure of being in the same room as something so capable of ending him in a blink.

That wasn't fear. That was biology.

The Leader's eyes sparkled in awe as he stepped forward, gently brushing his palm against Ross's stone-carved muscles. "Magnificent... a living weapon. Just like the Hulk."

Ross flexed, testing his newfound strength.

"Is this the power Hulk and Abomination had? No wonder Blonsky got cocky."

He stepped toward the power tester, cocked a fist, and slammed it forward.

CRACK!

The device, rated for 100 tons, shattered into metal shards, scattering across the lab floor.

Gasps filled the room. Jason stood frozen.

Just days ago, Ross's maximum force post Steel Body experiment had been 30 tons.

Now? Easily over 100.

Ross narrowed his eyes. "Next time, Hulk... I will bring you down."

He thought of Betty.

Of how Bruce Banner had abandoned her for power. For control. And even worse... how he'd shackled up with Black Widow.

That bastard.

His anger flared, and with it, his body responded.

Ross's red skin pulsed as lava-like veins illuminated beneath the surface, glowing like molten fissures. Heat radiated from his body. The room sweltered.

Several scientists backed away, unable to bear the rising temperature.

Even Jason retreated, sweat forming instantly as the air warped with heat. His hair curled from the intensity.

Sterns raised a hand. "General, calm yourself. It seems your abilities come with a thermal side effect. The more emotional you get... the hotter you become. I'm not sure I can withstand it much longer."

Ross took a deep breath.

The heat subsided. The chamber's climate stabilizers hissed as the temperature returned to normal.

He turned. "Let's continue the tests."

...

Hours passed.

After countless endurance, strength, and radiation resilience tests, Sterns sat in front of a monitor, comparing data.

"Your results are... fascinating," he said.

Ross, back in human form, wiped the sweat from his brow. "What do you mean?"

"Your abilities differ from both Hulk and Abomination. All three of you were born from gamma exposure, but genetic variances changed the outcomes."

Ross raised a brow. "So I'm weaker?"

"Quite the opposite." Sterns smiled. "Abomination's strength is static. Hulk's strength increases with rage. But you... Your base strength equals theirs, but yours is still growing."

"...Growing?" Ross asked, surprised.

"Correct," Sterns replied, pulling up charts. "Your energy output fluctuates in bursts. That suggests potential adaptive amplification. Unlike Abomination, you haven't hit your ceiling yet."

Ross stared at the screen.

If Hulk was anger incarnate...

Then maybe he was evolution personified.

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