Truth be told, Julian Vance didn’t dislike the Hulk at all.
Bruce Banner, on the other hand, was a far more complicated story.
It was like a pair of parents who had a child, decided the kid was too much of a burden, and didn’t want to raise him—yet couldn’t abandon him without committing a crime.
So instead, they beat into the child’s head every single day that his very birth was a mistake, constantly asking why he didn’t just go ahead and die.
A child raised like that was hardly bound to turn out well-adjusted.
Banner was no different.
Ever since the Hulk was born, he had never once viewed the monster’s existence as a blessing.
Instead, he did everything in his power to suppress and despise the persona, at times even seeking to kill him outright.
And whenever the Hulk lashed back, Banner treated it as proof that he was losing control, making his efforts even more drastic.
Compared to their eventual merge down the line, Julian actually preferred the Hulk as an independent entity.
Pure, simple, and immensely powerful, a standalone Hulk held far more potential than any merged persona ever could.
Upon returning to New York, Julian went straight to Tony Stark.
Tony was still fine-tuning the Mark IV.
Seeing Julian, he gestured for him to make himself at home without pausing his work.
Leaning against the desk, Julian poured himself a glass of liquor.
“Tony, how’s your relationship with the military these days?” “The military?” Tony paused, held out a hand for the bottle, poured himself a glass, and clinked it against Julian’s.
“They’re my biggest client.” “Right.
And if someone offended you so badly that you decided to cut ties with the military, what would happen to that person?” “Hard to say.
Probably get locked up just for stepping out the door with their left foot first.” “Got it.
That’s all I needed to know.
Get back to work.” With that settled, Julian headed off to find his targets.
Tony shrugged, tossed back the rest of his drink, and paid the matter no further mind.
He had no interest in why Julian was suddenly asking about the military—he just wanted to finish the Mark IV.
Julian went straight to Grayburn Institute, arriving around five in the afternoon.
Opening a portal, Julian looked around, located the entry point to Stearns’s lab, and opened another portal directly inside the underground laboratory.
Someone was inside.
It had to be Samuel Stearns, the scientist destined to become a villain in the future.
But Julian had no intention of giving him that chance.
Releasing just a fraction of his aura, Julian crushed Stearns beneath the pressure.
The scientist collapsed, cracking his head against the edge of a desk.
The test tube of Hulk blood he had been inspecting slipped from his hand, about to shatter on the floor, only for a hand to catch it steadily in midair.
Julian plugged the tube with a stopper, scanned the desk, and separated all the Hulk blood samples before sweeping them away.
Walking into the back of the lab, he opened the cold storage unit, located all the replicated blood samples, and stored them inside his Pot Realm.
After sweeping the entire laboratory to ensure nothing was missed, Julian mixed a potent dose of knockout drug to grant Stearns a long, peaceful sleep.
Then he left the lab.
He had things to prepare—and, along the way, a meeting with General Ross.
Four or five hours later.
Julian called Phil Coulson directly.
“Tell Ross I need to see him.
If he refuses, I’ll have Tony terminate every single contract Stark Industries has with the military.” He hung up without waiting for a reply.
Two minutes later, a text and a GPS location from Phil Coulson flashed onto his phone.
[General Ross has agreed to meet.] Julian opened a portal nearby and strolled over toward the military camp up ahead.
Approaching the entrance, he saw an old man with a dark, grim expression standing by the gate.
Raising a hand, Julian offered a casual greeting.
“Hello there, General Ross.” Ross’s face darkened further.
He had no patience for flippant young men like Julian.
“You’re the one who demanded to see me?” Julian nodded and led the way into a temporary briefing room set up nearby—which was really just a simple military tent.
Once they both sat down, Julian broke the silence.
“General Ross, allow me to introduce myself.
My name is Julian Vance, shareholder at Stark Industries.
Personally, I feel Stark Industries and the military have gotten a bit too comfortable together.
Your equipment advantages have made you reckless, causing significant disruption to civilian lives.
Depending on your attitude today, I’ll be deciding whether to reduce or outright sever Stark Industries’ technical support and military upgrades.” General Ross’s expression turned thunderous.
“Are you here to help that monster Banner?
SHIELD sent a kid like you to push my buttons?” “No, no, no.
This has very little to do with SHIELD.
The point is that I’m a major shareholder in Stark Industries.
Understand?
I’m just here to watch the show—and to see how a bitter old man abuses his authority.
That’s the baseline for my evaluation of our partnership.
You go ahead and hunt Banner; I’ll just sit back and enjoy the spectacle.” Julian stood up, his eyes locked onto Ross.
“As far as I know, Congress shut down the Super Soldier program ages ago.
Who authorized this?
Nick Fury?
Some big shot in Congress?
It couldn’t possibly be the President, could it?” “So guess why I’m standing right here.
Why I’m *able* to stand here.
Do you think Nick Fury or that congressman will still back the legality of this operation to capture Banner once this blows up?” “And how much do you think the military will have to pay to placate a ‘frightened civilian shareholder’ like me after your rogue operation?
All just to keep Stark Industries from pulling the plug?
Who pays that price, General?
It certainly won’t be coming out of my pocket.” Ross stood up, glaring at Julian, trying to convince himself.
“Bruce Banner is a monster.
He needs to be locked away.” “I don’t see any monster.
All I see is you, General Ross—mobilizing massive troop deployments and heavy weaponry for a single civilian fugitive.
You’re squandering taxpayer money and committing severe procedural violations.” Julian didn’t get a rebuttal, because to the public, no one knew Banner was the Hulk.
Just as Julian implied, if Ross yielded and downgraded to a small elite strike team without heavy equipment, Banner would inevitably escape—or worse, the Hulk would emerge and cause catastrophic destruction.
According to reports, Banner was headed to Grayburn Institute.
Summer break hadn’t started yet; the campus was packed with students and faculty.
If massive casualties occurred, the brass would cut ties with Ross instantly, leaving him to take the fall.
But if he deployed heavy forces and advanced weapons, Julian—acting as a “concerned citizen” representing Stark Industries—would have legitimate grounds to freeze all Stark military partnerships.
The end result?
Ross would still be the scapegoat.
He had no choice.
He had to abandon the capture operation.
He glared at Julian, his eyes burning with unwilling defeat.
“I know who you are—head of the Vance group, riding high lately.
I hope you know what you’re doing.” …
Unaware that General Ross had abandoned his plans, Banner and Betty fled all the way to Grayburn Institute.
When they couldn’t find Professor Stearns and their calls went unanswered, they found themselves locked outside the laboratory.
Unable to reach the professor, the pair turned to leave, only to spot Julian waiting for them on the stairs.
Julian waved, signaling for them to follow.
“Professor Stearns is tied up at the moment.” Banner and Betty exchanged a look, assuming Julian had been sent by Stearns to meet them, and quickly followed him.
Reaching a storage warehouse, Julian opened the door to reveal a faint yellow glow within.
He stepped inside, and Banner and Betty followed closely behind.
Overhead lights flickered on, revealing an immense open space.
Only then did the two sense something was wrong.
How could a simple campus warehouse be this vast?
Banner spun around to open the door, but there was no door behind them at all.
The trick wasn’t complex: under cover of darkness, Julian had simply aligned a portal behind the warehouse door, expanded wide enough that they stepped right through without noticing.
They were now in the ground-floor factory of Julian’s bio-laboratory.
It wasn’t massive, but it wasn’t small either.
Since Julian hadn’t scanned his keycard yet, the underground passage remained sealed.
“Who are you?” “Julian Vance.” Banner had no idea what Julian wanted.
However, Julian wasn’t showing open hostility, no one else was around, and the open layout revealed no hidden threats, easing Banner’s anxiety somewhat.
Ignoring Banner for a moment, Julian turned to Betty with a polite greeting.
“Hello, Betty Ross.
I know who you are—brave, gentle, loving, and smart.” The praise brought a slight flush to Betty’s cheeks.
But then Julian let out a sigh.
“Miss Ross, tell me…
does your father love you?” Betty blinked in surprise.
Did General Ross love his daughter?
Without a doubt.
Outside of national duty, Betty was everything to him.
She knew her father loved her deeply; though he loved his country more, his devotion to her was absolute unless their allegiances clashed.
Julian didn’t give her time to dwell on it.
“See?
You already know the answer.
And I’m sure you’d love any child you and Banner might have in the future, wouldn’t you?” Blushing, Betty nodded reflexively.
“Then why are you trying to kill your firstborn?” Julian finally posed the core question.
“Hulk’s creation was an accident caused by you and Banner.
He’s only a few years old.
He knows nothing about the world.
Years have passed, and he can’t even speak properly—yet he’s spent his entire life trapped in the shadow of parents who constantly want to murder him.” Julian shook his head.
“He shouldn’t have to suffer like that.” Betty and Banner froze.
Banner blurted out an immediate defense.
“No!
Hulk is a monster.
He’s not my child, he’s—” Julian snapped his gaze toward Banner, his voice turning cold.
“Dr.
Banner, I’m sure your upbringing taught you that interrupting a conversation is terrible manners.” Then he looked back at Betty and said softly: “See?
You’ve never even tried to understand Hulk.
You’ve never taught him anything.
Though he’s been around for years, he’s never felt a single drop of parental love.
All he’s ever known from you is blame and plots to destroy him.
And when he fights back just to survive, you brand him a monster.” Julian walked forward, handed a video camera to Betty, and pointed toward a corner of the factory floor.
“Turn it on, Betty.
Or if you don’t know how, just stand aside and watch how proper parents ought to raise a child.
Record this so our foolish Dr.
Banner can see what a good Hulk looks like.” Dazed, Betty took the camera and stepped off to the side.
Julian summoned the Void-Severing Sword and fixed a frigid glare on Banner.
“Dr.
Banner.
Let the Hulk out, or die.” As Julian unleashed his overwhelming aura, Banner’s heart violently constricted.
Sensing a fatal threat, his entire body rapidly enlarged and turned green.
“HULK…” The Hulk emerged and slammed a fist straight toward Julian.