In the original Infinity War storyline, when Thanos invaded, when he led his armada to conquer Earth, what did the world's governments do?
Nothing. They could do nothing at all.
They could only kneel and pray, begging the gods to show mercy, hoping Earth's superheroes would defeat the enemy.
Once the crisis passed, the government stirred like a snake waking from hibernation, asserting its presence again, demanding superheroes obey law and order.
As time went on, this farce played out over and over. By the later era of the Avengers' timeline, the heroes had finally woken up. They shed their roles as champions of the people, protectors of ordinary mortals, gradually losing their humanity and taking up the mantle of guardians of cosmic order. Millions of ordinary people could die before their eyes and it would no longer stir their sympathy. Whatever demands government officials made were ignored outright.
This was why Zodd Hess did what he did. It looked like thankless effort with no benefit to himself.
But people can't do everything solely for profit.
Ross accepted S.W.O.R.D.'s invitation, and true to his decisive nature, spending the last few years as Secretary of State had clearly not eroded his military mindset.
Blonsky was currently demonstrating his power as requested and had already beaten down quite a number of S.W.O.R.D. superheroes.
At that moment, a grizzled old man in military uniform appeared before him.
???
This guy's a S.W.O.R.D. hero too?
No, I don't remember him. Or is he here to negotiate on behalf of the military?
Blonsky was about to speak when Ross, without any hesitation, transformed.
Powerful muscles tore straight through the uniform, marking Ross's farewell to his past.
That uniform had been covered with medals he'd once earned. Now, those medals scattered on the ground, crushed underfoot as he stepped on them.
"Is that the Hulk?"
The crowd watching the live broadcast was stunned.
"No, this one's red. Should we call him Red Hulk?"
"Did the Hulk get so angry he turned red?"
"Probably another Hulk. The Hulk is crazy strong. With this red one around, we've got another S-Class hero!"
"There's actually a second Hulk..."
Nick Fury stared intently at the Red Hulk on the screen. He knew that man: the former Thunderbolt General Ross, now Secretary of State.
What he hadn't expected was that Ross had been hiding such a trump card, secretly becoming a Hulk!
Had he cracked the Hulk serum and successfully turned himself into a Hulk?
The moment Nick Fury thought about the Hulk serum succeeding, his heart surged with excitement. God knows the kind of psychological pressure he'd been under, facing so many freaks and even alien threats.
His hair follicles had withered and died from the stress.
Lately, he'd even noticed his eyebrows starting to fall out, which scared him into immediately investing in hair-regrowth technology.
Many shared Nick Fury's thoughts. They all hoped to get the method to become a Hulk from General Ross.
When Blonsky saw the other man transform into a red Hulk, he froze for a second, then it clicked.
He'd always heard that the boss had another Hulk under his command, though the identity was unclear. Now he understood. It had to be this guy.
"Come on then, freak."
Ross's blood was boiling. This was his first time turning into a Hulk in front of such a public audience. The violent emotions from the Hulk kept eroding his mind, but Ross was able to keep them under control.
"I'm not a freak."
Blonsky clarified that point, then attacked directly with a punch.
The bone spurs on his fist rivaled the best superalloy cold weapons. Not knowing this and confident in his Hulk-level durability, Ross didn't dodge. The result was three wounds so deep the bone was visible.
"Bastard!"
Ross was instantly enraged. He'd paid for his carelessness. He retaliated with a punch of his own, aimed squarely at Blonsky's face.
Blonsky slapped his left hand against the crook of Ross's punching arm, deflecting the blow, then followed with an uppercut that connected cleanly with Ross's jaw.
Ross grunted, and flames began to ignite across his entire body.
The Hulk grows stronger the angrier he gets. The Red Hulk, however, can absorb radiation energy, usually gamma radiation. He can also absorb other types of energy, like cosmic radiation and more. The more energy he absorbs, the stronger he becomes.
Beyond absorbing radiation, the Red Hulk can also continuously release the excess energy from gamma reactions in the form of heat. This too increases with his anger, so the angrier the Red Hulk gets, the higher the heat he radiates. In battle, he can use this to launch superheated attacks and even unleash flames.
Blonsky only felt his opponent become unbearably scorching, to the point of charring.
He got angry as well. The two exchanged punches and kicks. Blonsky's Abomination powers let him absorb kinetic energy to strengthen himself. The Red Hulk's fists weren't even enough to tickle him.
But the thermal damage was real. Blonsky's body, so powerful it could ignore cannon shells, was burned to carbonization by the Red Hulk's flames. If not for his equally formidable regeneration, Blonsky would already have been reduced to ashes.
The two titans' battle shook the very ground. Everywhere Ross passed, cars melted. Stepping on concrete turned it into scorching magma in an instant. That thermal energy was then reabsorbed by Ross, converted, and released as even more powerful heat. Blonsky gradually couldn't withstand Ross's thermal attacks, his entire body burned until his skeleton was visible.
But he was stubborn. Even as the fire burned into his marrow, he refused to admit defeat.
Ross also gradually realized that, compared to his indestructible fists, his flames seemed to deal far more damage to Blonsky.
So he poured all his effort into releasing even more heat, seizing both of Blonsky's arms to prevent him from fighting back.
"That's enough, Secretary Ross."
A voice spoke. Ross stopped and saw Zodd, clad in the Dark Knight armor.
He descended slowly. Blonsky rose to his feet, disgruntled.
Then he was subdued by Zodd. What awaited him would be S.W.O.R.D.'s judgment!
Of course, on that front, he'd probably be recruited in no time. Such immense combat strength couldn't possibly be wasted.
After that, Zodd made a show of inviting Ross to join S.W.O.R.D. Ross feigned reluctance before agreeing.
Naturally, their little act didn't fool the "uniquely perceptive" Nick Fury. He knew in his gut that either Ross had approached Zodd first, or Zodd had approached Ross. The two were in cahoots. The question was, why put on such a performance?
Couldn't Ross have passed S.W.O.R.D.'s test through normal procedures?
Just based on the fact that he could turn into a Hulk, there was no worry about failing to become an S-Class hero.
Blonsky hadn't even been locked up in S.W.O.R.D. for two full days before he was released.
/-\
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