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Hundreds of kilometers outside of New York City…
A desolate, abandoned wasteland.
Massive rocks jutted up from the ground, forming a natural stone forest—chaotic but somehow orderly. A narrow canyon sliced straight through the middle like a sharp arrowhead.
The blazing sun scorched the earth, leaving the canyon dry and cracked. The stench of rot hung in the air, and bleached bones lay scattered on the canyon floor—no telling if they belonged to animals or some poor human who wandered too far.
On one of the cliffs overlooking the canyon, inside a man-made cave carved into the rock…
A rugged man with long, unkempt hair and a beard—who clearly hadn't showered in months—sat hunched over a laptop, chatting online.
There was no internet in a place like this, deep in the wilderness.
But somehow, he'd rigged a satellite phone to work with his laptop.
GreenDoc: Can you really help me?
The scruffy man typed frantically, glancing at the low battery warning flashing in the bottom corner of his screen.
LizardLover: I've studied your case closely. It's... unbelievable.
Surviving such high levels of gamma radiation is practically a miracle.
And what's more, your DNA has undergone massive changes because of it. Two completely different genetic structures have fused together perfectly. That's what's causing your transformations.
I've got a lot of experience with genetic modification and mutation research.
"Too bad I didn't get a sample of your genes right now. If I had it, I could've used it with a gene serum I developed earlier. Might've actually solved your current… issue."
Green Doc: Gene serum? What kind of serum?
The messy-looking guy's eyes lit up the moment he saw that message. There was a spark of excitement in his gaze, and his fingers flew across the keyboard.
"It's a cross-species gene fusion serum. It can give humans the ability to regenerate lost limbs."
Green Doc: What?! Cross-species gene fusion? Wait... did you crack the gene decay rate algorithm?!
"Uh… not yet. But if I could just get a sample of your current genetic material, I could integrate it into my formula and finally unlock the secrets of the human genome."
"After that, we could blend powerful traits from different animals into human DNA. Immortality, man! Imagine it! The Nobel Prize…"
"Anyway, we've been talking too long. You should get moving before those people tracking you down catch up."
"If you get the chance, come find me in New York. I'm at Oscorp Industries…"
Just as the last bit of battery died, the laptop screen flickered and went dark.
"Go find him…?"
The scruffy guy sat there for a moment, going over the conversation in his head, weighing the possibilities.
"Yeah… yeah! I should go find him!"
Suddenly, like he'd made up his mind, he grabbed his laptop and started gathering his stuff, ready to head out.
Fwoosh… thud!
But the moment he stepped near the mouth of the cave—
A spinning missile whistled through the sky and slammed into the ground not far in front of him.
BOOM!
All he saw before the explosion was one line of text printed on the missile: "Stark Industries."
He didn't even have time to dodge.
Flames burst out in front of him, and the shockwave from the blast instantly swallowed him up.
The entire cave shook and then collapsed, burying everything—him included—under a pile of rubble.
"Target hit, General. Awaiting further orders—should we return to base?"
"Hmph. That kind of firepower? That'll do nothing but piss him off."
A few miles away, inside an armored military helicopter, a stern-looking older man in uniform sat quietly. Three shining silver stars glinted on the insignia at his shoulder.
General Ross.
"Negative on the return. Stay and observe the situation."
ROOOAAARRR!!
A thunderous roar shattered the silence, echoing for miles.
And then—buried under what was once a mountain—a massive, green-skinned creature suddenly leapt out of the wreckage.
Muscles bulging, standing a solid three to four meters tall, it looked like something out of a nightmare.
"Understood, General—wait… wait! He's still alive! Crap, it's that thing—it's back! It's the monster!"
As panic and disbelief poured through the radio, General Ross narrowed his eyes.
His real target… had finally appeared.
"All units, listen up. Air and ground forces—get ready. This time, we will take that monster down for good."
"Repeat: all units, prepare for immediate attack!"
With the command given, the long-prepared strike teams sprang into action.
Tank units. Armored vehicles. Gunships circling overhead. Fighter jets locked in formation.
Everything shifted into battle mode.
"Tanks locked on target. Ready to fire at any time."
"Rocket launchers calibrated and ready."
"Air strike team is in range. Standing by for launch."
As the confirmation reports came in from every squad, General Ross stared out at the battlefield.
His voice was firm and ice-cold:
"Fire."
With Ross's command…
BOOM BOOM BOOM—
Tanks unleashed a barrage of artillery. Thick barrels spewed fire and smoke as hundreds of shells tore through the air.
WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH—
Rockets from armored trucks launched one after another, cutting arcs through the sky.
SHWEEE SHWEEE SHWEEE—
Missiles poured out from fighter jets like candy from a broken piñata, all headed straight toward the green beast.
In the blink of an eye…
An entire wave of destruction rained down.
BOOM BOOM BOOM!!
Explosion after explosion lit up the stone forest and nearby canyons.
Huge rocks shattered. Cliff walls on both sides of the valley collapsed like sandcastles.
In less than a minute, the entire uninhabited zone—stretching for several kilometers—was bombed to hell and back.
The once-dense stone pillars were gone. Obliterated.
The massive canyon had been filled in with debris and dust.
It looked like the Earth itself had been clawed at by some enormous beast.
The terrifying power of modern weaponry was on full display.
Forget humans—even the ants living in their tiny nests down there were probably wiped out to the last.
"Cease fire."
With just a word from General Ross, the endless blasts stopped.
An eerie silence fell.
Every soldier there probably thought the same thing—there's no way anything survived that.
But then—
ROOOOOOAAAARRRRR!!!
Even louder. Even angrier.
And suddenly—
The green monster leapt out of the flattened ruins and shot toward the sky.
After gliding through the air for a few hundred meters, it crashed back down, smashing a pit nearly ten meters deep into the ground. Then, with another powerful push from its legs, it launched itself again—soaring over a hundred meters.
"Shit! It's heading straight for the ground troops!"
The air unit's spotter, stunned for a moment by the thing's insane durability, quickly realized its next move.
But it was already too late.
In just a few jumps, the green beast was right in the middle of the tank formation.
Its arms—thicker than tank barrels—wrapped around one tank's cannon.
With a loud grunt, it lifted the entire tank into the air.
Spinning its body, it let go—and sent the tank flying like a shot put, straight toward the fighter jets above.
"No freakin' way! It missed?!"
Far away, more than a hundred kilometers from the action, a student at Midtown High School in New York suddenly made a noise during an otherwise quiet classroom session.
Instantly, all eyes—including the teacher's—turned to look at him.
"....."