The Comprehensive Evolution of American Comics

“We found him!”

Who is speaking?

Bruce Banner vaguely seemed to hear someone shouting. As usual, he wanted to reach for his glasses on the bedside table, but found himself unable to move, and a wave of pain washed over him. Yet, he couldn't make any sound.

Then he passed out again. When he woke up, Bruce found himself seemingly moving. He struggled to open his eyes and saw a fully armed soldier standing above him. In the corner of his eye, he also saw the surrounding ruins.

‘What exactly happened?’

Bruce's memories began to surface intermittently.

…

“Are you sure you want to sign this contract, Mr. Reynolds?”

The man in front of him was somewhat unkempt, but the undisguised air of wisdom about him highlighted his extraordinary nature.

Bruce Banner. The man introduced himself the moment he saw him and shook his hand politely. This was something Robert Reynolds, from the bottom rung of society, had never experienced in his life.

“Yes… yes, sir.” Robert sat awkwardly on the chair, his hands hidden under the table, constantly rubbing the corners of his clothes, a stark contrast to Bruce's calm demeanor.

“Why, Mr. Reynolds?” Bruce leaned his upper body forward. “You know this is human experimentation, right? I mean, do you understand human experimentation?”

“I know, I know.” Robert was startled by Bruce's forward lean, shrinking even further, looking like a penguin chick hiding under its parents.

“Before coming, the staff had already explained everything to me, and I read all the relevant matters. That staff member was very kind. Knowing that I couldn't afford a lawyer, he even wanted to help me apply for one. After I refused, he even explained it to me item by item.”

“That's what he should do, Mr. Reynolds. You're just enjoying your due rights.” Bruce adjusted his glasses. “I saw your medical report. You have liver cancer, right?”

“Yes.” Hearing the word 'liver cancer,' Robert's face turned even paler, his breathing pausing for a few seconds before he weakly continued.

“I've always been drifting through life. You know those short videos circulating online of bullying mutants?”

“I know.” Bruce frowned, the disgust in his eyes impossible to hide, but because Robert was still speaking, he only answered the question and didn't make any unauthorized comments.

“I used to make a living by filming that.” Robert lowered his head in shame. Bruce's gaze was like two sharp swords piercing his heart. In the past, he wouldn't have cared about such gazes, as long as he could eat his fill, everything was fine. Now, perhaps because he was about to die, he felt how awful his past self was.

“We initially had about five or six people, one of whom was our boss. He led us in filming these videos. Because of the 616 incident, our team made a small fortune from them.”

“But unfortunately, none of that had anything to do with me.” Robert gave a dry smile, as if mocking himself. “My body is too thin and weak to bully anyone. I can't even carry heavy things, so I can only do odd jobs, and our team distributes according to work.”

Although the work was undignified, Robert had to admit that the boss who tried to make money for them was indeed very loyal. He not only didn't abandon the useless Robert but even paid him for small things like serving tea and water that anyone could do.

However, this money was just enough for Robert to live on. Fortunately, the boss provided meals during filming, otherwise, Robert would have been even more impoverished than he was now. Thanks to this, Robert had saved some money.

“Life was tight, although hated by everyone, I could still live.” When he said the word 'live,' a trace of longing appeared in Robert's eyes.

“Until one day, we kicked an iron plate.” Robert stopped here, timidly looking at Bruce in front of him. “Do you know about the murder case that happened in Hell's Kitchen before?”

“I've heard of it.” Bruce recalled. Although he was always in the lab, Betty would always tell him some news when she came. He knew about this superhuman case that required the Supreme Squad, his brother-in-law, to take action.

“Those dead people were our team.” Robert showed a smile that was uglier than crying. “I was lucky at the time and was sent out to buy pizza, so I escaped.”

Bruce didn't know how to respond. He couldn't say comforting words like 'rest in peace,' after all, they were a group of bullies who abused mutants. But looking at Robert's appearance, and the education he had received, he couldn't say things like 'Good riddance! Let's open the champagne!'.

“That scene scared me.” Robert seemed to recall the terrible scene, shaking like a drowned quail. “I almost threw up my internal organs.”

Robert grabbed the cup in front of him, not drinking, just holding it. The temperature of the iced coffee finally calmed him down.

“…After that incident, I never engaged in related work again. I realized the preciousness of life, so I asked a friend I knew and finally found a more decent job.”

“Perhaps to punish us for our previous atrocities, the boss and the others were killed by the mutants they had bullied, and God didn't forget the lucky me. I participated in the pre-employment medical examination, and the result, as you know, is liver cancer. Although there are no late-stage symptoms yet, it is estimated that it is not far away.”

Robert seemed to have been emptied of his soul, relying only on the bones in his body to support himself so that he wouldn't collapse to the ground.

“When I got the medical report, I felt like the sky was falling. I didn't even know how I got home. You know I can't afford the money needed to treat cancer, let alone the chances of treatment are so pitifully small.”

Robert withdrew his hand and placed it back on the corner of his clothes, his pupils filled with bloodshot.

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“But I want to live, I really want to live.”

“So you came to us, hoping for the super-soldier serum.” Bruce looked seriously at Robert in front of him.

‘Actually, your staff contacted me.’ Robert slandered in his heart, but before coming to see Bruce, someone had warned him. He knew that some things could not be said to the scientist in front of him, so he could only nod in agreement with Bruce's words.

“I must remind you, Mr. Robert, that all the effects of the super-soldier serum on humans are unknown, and it is even possible that it will lead to the aggravation of cancer after injection.”

Bruce wasn't really trying to scare Robert with this sentence. Experiments are like this, there are too many unknowns involved. Bruce couldn't be sure whether Robert would become a superhuman after injecting the serum, or get a super cancer that could be named after him.

“It can't be worse than it is now.” Robert shook his head, not frightened by Bruce's words. He was a cowardly person, facing the life he could see the end of, he craved treatment, but deep down he knew it was impossible.

Cancer is like a beast chasing him from behind. Although it hasn't caused him too much damage yet, the process of escaping has exhausted him.

But he didn't have the guts to commit suicide, so he accepted this human experiment with a very low chance of survival and a high probability of death without hesitation.

‘Life and death are both my demands, I won't lose either way.’

Robert comforted himself in his heart.