#499 - Banner: I can’t come.

When Bruce woke up again, he was lying in a hospital bed, covered in bandages and connected to various lines. These lines were linked to medical monitoring equipment nearby. Strangely, he wasn't in a typical hospital room but inside a tent.

As his consciousness returned, he thought he heard an argument outside. The voice was familiar; it sounded like his girlfriend, Betty.

The argument ceased abruptly, and the tent flap was yanked open. No warm sunlight streamed in, leading Bruce to believe it was late. He wondered how long he had been unconscious.

"Bruce!" Betty, who had been fuming just moments before, was overjoyed to see Bruce awake. She rushed to the bedside, wanting to touch him, but hesitated, intimidated by the equipment surrounding him. Ultimately, she didn't dare.

"What happened, Betty?" Bruce struggled to sit up, but the pain prevented him.

"Don't move, Bruce, don't move." Betty quickly stopped him and sat down on a chair, sighing before beginning her story.

Upon hearing about the giant rampage in the city, a look of surprise crossed Bruce's face. Before he could ask more, the tent flap was thrown open again.

Hearing the flap behind her, Betty's anger flared up again. She immediately stood and turned, ready to unleash her fury.

"I told you, Bruce needs quiet... Oh, Dad."

Her fiery demeanor vanished instantly upon seeing General Ross enter the tent. Behind Ross was his subordinate, a fully armed Glenn Talbot.

General Ross, unfazed by the outburst, simply patted Betty's shoulder and walked to the bedside.

"How are you feeling?" General Ross sat down like an old man visiting a relative. If not for the uniform and rank, no one would guess he was the leading figure in the military, a potential presidential candidate.

"Not bad, considering I'm not dead," Bruce said, attempting a smile, but the bandages around his head restricted his movement.

"And you're all in one piece." Ross examined Bruce. "I must say, you're very lucky, Bruce. Considering how close you were to that Subject Robert, you only sustained minor injuries."

"Perhaps," Bruce replied, unsure how to respond, offering a vague answer.

Ross exchanged a few more pleasantries with Bruce, and seeing that he was coherent, decided to get to the point.

"I'll be brief, Bruce." General Ross straightened up, assuming the posture of a military man.

"Do you have any solutions for the monsters wreaking havoc in New York City? After all, you created them."

"That's what I wanted to discuss with you, General Ross." Bruce remained calm, adjusting his glasses with the hand connected to an IV drip.

"I have no knowledge about these giants."

"Damn it!" Glenn, who had been silent until now, suddenly shouted. He glared at Bruce, as if wanting to devour him whole.

"Are you trying to evade responsibility? Do you know that those monsters have destroyed half of New York City? Countless civilians have been killed or injured, and our soldiers have suffered heavy casualties."

Glenn became increasingly agitated, even rushing to the bedside and pointing a finger at Bruce.

"Do you know that General Ross dispatched the most elite team to rescue you, just to deal with this situation? And now you wake up and choose to evade instead of trying to fix your mistakes! You coward!"

Despite his outburst, Glenn remained behind the seated General Ross, never crossing the line. General Ross didn't intervene, as if roles had reversed; he became silent while Glenn took center stage.

Betty quickly stepped in front of Bruce, defending him. "I believe Bruce. He isn't a liar. If he says he doesn't know, then he must not be involved."

Glenn, seeing his superior's daughter suddenly appear, showed a hint of panic, but it quickly vanished. General Ross, who had been calm, also looked helpless.

"Thank you for your trust, Betty." Bruce placed his hand on Betty's arm, touched by her unconditional faith in him. He felt even more compelled to explain the situation clearly.

"I'm not lying, General Ross and Mr. Glenn. When I asked Betty about the giants in the city, I was just as clueless."

With Betty's help, Bruce sat up. General Ross looked puzzled; Bruce's injuries didn't seem to allow such vigor.

"From what you've said, I understand what you think. You believe the giants in the city are related to the super-soldier serum I developed, correct?"

General Ross nodded. Although the public wasn't aware, his trusted confidants knew the truth, including himself.

"I can assure you, General Ross," Bruce said, his expression serious as he looked into Ross's eyes. "The ordinary version of the super-soldier serum I invented cannot turn a human into a five- or six-meter tall monster. Those injected with it would only become super-soldiers like Captain America."

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

"I don't know," Bruce replied. "Without seeing the actual subjects, I can't offer any suggestions. But I swear those serums underwent rigorous testing. Increasing the subject's size, whether it's a rat or any other living test subject, has never produced such symptoms."

"What about Robert?" A glint flashed in General Ross's eyes. Under his surveillance, he had long noticed Bruce's different attitude toward Subject 1. He initially thought it was because Robert had been personally screened by Bruce, but now it seemed much more complicated.

Bruce paused, and after a moment of silence, continued, "Yes, Robert's serum was different from the other volunteers. He was injected with an upgraded version I had modified. This serum hadn't undergone any rat experiments, so I don't know what it could cause."

"How could you use it on a human! Bruce!" Betty looked at the man on the hospital bed in disbelief, as if seeing him for the first time.

"I didn't inject him," Bruce sighed. "Robert happened to overhear me talking about creating the super serum. Cancer was eating away at his body, and he begged me to inject him with the serum to give him a chance at life. I refused, but he stole it and injected himself."

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

"What changes did he experience?" General Ross pressed.

"He seemed to develop mental issues," Bruce said, recalling the events.

"Robert kept saying something was communicating with him in his dreams. He became neurotic and stopped trusting anyone. Other than that, I didn't notice anything unusual, and his cancer didn't improve."