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"Moving on doesn't mean you forget about things. It just means you have to accept what's happened and continue living."
- Erza Scarlet (Fairy Tail)
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<{Hidden Underground Government Research Lab, state of Arizona, USA}>
<(Omniscient POV)>
"Are we close, Dr Sterns, or are you still struggling to piece together the experiment that Dr Banner was able to complete years ago? When I brought you into this project, I thought I made it clear that you have to focus on the new Super-Hulk project every waking hour of your life, but instead, your colleagues tell me that you are more interested in researching how Hulk's blood interacts with your own brain than how it should behave with a soldier's body." Thaddeus Ross spat out in anger.
Ever since witnessing the battle between the Abomination and the Hulk and letting both of those monsters slip out of his fingers, Thaddeus Ross hasn't been in a great mood. Before that fateful day, he seemed to have an intense obsession with the Hulk and therefore the giant's alter ego, who was also his daughter's fiancé, Bruce Banner. The General wanted to control the green giant hidden in the scientist's body and use him as a weapon to defend his country and solidify his own achievements as the most capable general in American history. But ever since that day, his thought process has taken a complete U-turn.
At long last, he had finally realized the truth... that nobody was supposed to possess that amount of monstrous power, that godly strength without being kept under strict regulations. That day, Ross realized how weak humanity was and how fickle their civilization was. Just a battle between two man-made gamma-fueled monsters was able to more or less wipe out an entire city, and the military wasn't even able to buy time. So, what would happen if humans ever had to wage a war against the entire metahuman population or some otherworldly freaks of nature like that man Atem?
No, Ross knew that no one should possess that kind of unchecked power. Until that day, Ross had been obsessed with the Hulk and the Super Soldier project for the betterment of his country, but now, he was obsessed with the power that the Super Soldier Hulk initiative could give him, the strength that he could use to stop or hunt down all super-powered threats in America.
Thaddeus Thunderbolt Ross could no longer just watch his country go to hell; that day, he finally decided that he would have to do something to change things himself, even if his country itself didn't like it. And what better than completing and perfecting the Super Soldier Hulk project before taking that power for himself? If Ross couldn't have a Hulk, he would become one. In fact, he would be better than Hulk. He would be the upgrade, and once he had enough power, he would forever wipe out the threat that the metahumans, mutants, and all other superhumans possessed. He would do what needs to be done... to make America greater than it has ever been.
"General Ross, rest assured—I only dabble in examining the effects of gamma mutation on my own brain when I've exhausted all other work. Otherwise, my full attention remains devoted to the Super Soldier Hulk initiative, as per your orders. You'll be pleased to know I've made substantial progress in refining this project. By concentrating my research on how to incorporate various metahuman DNA into the serum, I believe I've improved upon the rather rudimentary work of my predecessors.
Now, we just need you to specify the metahuman DNAs you want added to the serum, and we can begin trials to evaluate their efficacy. However, I would strongly advise against using the Juggernaut's DNA again. Attempting to recapture him would be... troublesome, and given the uncertain origin of his powers, we risk destabilizing the entire experiment. We wouldn't want a repeat of the Abomination incident, would we?" A seemingly harmless smile made its way onto Dr. Stern's lips as he put down the MRI report he was holding in one hand and the coffee cup he was holding in his other.
