Deep within a dense Mexican forest, far from human settlements, amidst towering trees and rugged terrain, a man lay hidden. This place seemed ideal for those seeking to escape the world. In the heart of the forest, several massive trees had been felled, and a man with curly hair sat on one of them.
The man clutched his head as if he had just woken up and hadn't fully regained his senses. Judging by his appearance, he had been sleeping in only his shorts. It was Bruce Banner, transformed back into his human form. In the city, faced with an attack by unknown mutants, his life had been in danger, and, unable to control his emotions, he had transformed into the Hulk.
After smashing his attackers, the Hulk's instincts compelled him to grab the two mutated dogs and flee far from the city, seeking refuge in this forest. Subconsciously, the Hulk felt these creatures were important.
"Damn... When will this awful feeling stop?" Banner muttered, still feeling dizzy from the transformation back to human. He hated the Hulk's power and sincerely wished this feeling would never return. But reality proved cruel. Leaning on a fallen tree, he slowly rose and looked at the two unknown creatures lying nearby, oozing green blood.
Approaching closer, he realized with horror that they were two dogs, transformed into grotesque mutants after some kind of experiment. Looking at the green blood, he felt a sense of foreboding.
Overcoming the unpleasant smell emanating from the corpses, he crouched down and lifted the eyelid of one of the dogs, revealing a green eye. Bruce's expression changed when he recognized this trait.
"Hulk? How is this possible?!" Banner mumbled in bewilderment, his eyes wide with shock.
He had always strived to get rid of the monster within him. He knew how dangerous this power was, and that's why he was hiding from General Ross, who wanted to exploit the Hulk for his own purposes. If this power fell into the wrong hands, it would be a catastrophe for the entire world.
But now, faced with this situation, Banner realized his worst fears had been confirmed. Someone had already begun experimenting with the Hulk's power.
"Who could it be? Ross? Or maybe it's not the Hulk's power, but the result of other experiments with gamma energy? But why were these creatures hunting me then?" he pondered. The mutants' purpose was obvious – they had come for him, for his power, and the only thing that could interest them was the Hulk.
Slowly rising, Banner frowned. He knew he now needed a new plan of action. Yesterday's incident clearly showed that the enemy could somehow track his location, so simply hiding, as he had done before, wouldn't work anymore.
"Maybe I should go on the offensive?" he thought, clenching his fists and looking at his hands. But that would mean using the Hulk's power, and he loathed the idea. It was because of the Hulk that he was forced to lead a nomadic life, and actively using his power seemed unacceptable.
Besides, he didn't even know who was behind all this, which made an offensive practically impossible. In his memory, only a few people knew his secret: General Ross, his beloved Betty, "Mr. Blue" – Dr. Samuel Sterns, who had helped him in the past, and the superhero he had met once – the Storm Swordsman.
He didn't know about S.H.I.E.L.D.'s existence, and therefore believed that only these people could know his secret. Perhaps one of them was involved. In his mind, Ross remained the prime suspect. He immediately ruled out Betty, and Samuel Sterns, although he could have secretly copied his blood when he sent him samples, was still a friend who helped him search for a way to get rid of the Hulk's power.
And finally, the Storm Swordsman. Frankly, he knew little about him. He only remembered his girlfriend mentioning that this man, like Iron Man, was a superhero. He particularly remembered his high-tech armor, which was clearly ahead of its time. Banner wasn't sure if such a person would even be interested in the Hulk's power.
"By the way, I remember he gave me his business card last time," he suddenly recalled the incident when he and Betty met him in the alley. He had indeed received a business card from him, and the words the Storm Swordsman spoke stuck with him. He had made it clear that he was interested in Banner's mind, not the Hulk's power.
However, looking at himself, at the fact that he was only wearing shorts, Banner couldn't help but sigh. All his belongings were left in the city, in his temporary shelter. When the mutated dogs attacked him, he immediately transformed into the Hulk, without having time to gather his things. Now it was unclear if they had survived.
Fortunately, Banner was a genius. He had already memorized the short phone number from the business card. Now he needed to return to the city to find a phone and contact this superhero. He hoped the Storm Swordsman wasn't the mastermind behind all these events and that he could truly help him. He was currently in grave danger, and the enemy could send new monsters to capture him at any moment.
"It's still light out; I need to leave this forest as quickly as possible," he decided, taking one last look at the two corpses on the ground. He gathered some leaves and covered the bodies, then, using his knowledge, determined the right direction and set off out of the forest.
By evening, he finally emerged from the forest and found himself in a populated area. Since he was only wearing shorts, people looked at him with surprise, but Banner was used to it. This had happened to him more than once. He found a house where clothes were drying outside and deftly "borrowed" some items.
Dressed, Banner headed towards his former hideout. It took him a long time to get there, but upon arrival, he found only ruins, which were already cordoned off. He didn't dare approach and quickly left. He was already starting to feel anxious at the sight of government organizations.
Having retreated to a safe distance, Banner approached a phone booth. But here he encountered a new problem – he didn't have a penny to use the phone. But he had a plan for this as well: ask a passerby to borrow their phone.
He started approaching people, explaining that he had lost his phone, and eventually, a kind person agreed to lend him their mobile. Receiving the phone, he dialed the number he had memorized. With bated breath, he listened to the ringing, and finally, the call was answered.
"Dr. Banner, hello."
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