Marvel – The primogenitor of the symbiotes

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When Bruce spoke, Prime narrowed his eyes, noticing the serious expression he had adopted. Though Bruce's revelation didn't give Prime a direct clue about the identity of the Red Hulk, it was a relief to know that Bruce had some information about him.

“How did you manage to figure out the guy in red's identity just from a video where you can't hear anything at all?” Prime asked, curious.

“No, it wasn't because of the video. It was what you told me about what he said during the fight. Besides, I already expected something like this to happen, but I didn't imagine he would become a test subject himself... Or maybe the tests have already ended, and now they can transform soldiers with not many side effects” Bruce replied, lost in his own thoughts.

In fact, from Prime's point of view, it seemed like this person still didn't have a clear idea of who he was when he wasn't transformed. Probably, the chaos on the bridge was just an attempt to get Prime's attention. After all, despite the crushed cars, no one was seriously injured to the point of deaths.

(At the end, I ended up revealing myself, so he must have a basic idea of the region where I am) Prime thought, while getting lost in his own thoughts.

“...you know, while you two completely ignored me, I kept thinking...”

While Prime and Bruce were absorbed in their thoughts, Sara's voice echoed, drawing both of their attention. When they turned to her, they saw her lying on the couch, munching on snacks. She was also looking intently at the TV, with a pensive look.

“Since we fought him on the bridge, I can't help but think we've seen him somewhere before” Sara said, putting her hand on her chin thoughtfully.

Seconds later, Sara's face lit up, as if a divine inspiration had struck her.

“When we fought with Bruce in college, wasn't there his girlfriend's father? What was his name?” Sara asked, sounding certain of what she was saying.

Upon hearing Sara's words, both Prime and Bruce narrowed their eyes. Then, they turned to each other and locked eyes, nodding. It was clear they were thinking of the same person.

“General Thaddeus Ross” Bruce and Prime said simultaneously.

“Yeah, that's the name. No matter how you look at it, it has to be him” Sara replied, convinced.

But even knowing the true identity of the Red Hulk, another question lingered in the air: why Prime? From Prime's point of view, Ross seemed more obsessed with Banner than with him. When exactly had that changed? It was a question that Prime couldn't shake from his mind at the moment.

Just like Prime, Bruce also had his doubts. Ross was an extremely patriotic figure, seeking to defend the country from both internal and external threats, and by coincidence, or perhaps destiny, Bruce and Prime fit exactly into the role of external threats.

In theory, they could be considered monsters. Though Bruce could see the reason why Ross was interested in Prime - after all, he was the one who transformed into an uncontrollable monster, not Prime - he couldn't understand Ross's reasoning in this case.

"Even if we know who's to blame, it's not like we can just go confront him whenever we want. He holds a high position in the government; if we try anything, we'll probably get caught. That's if we're lucky enough to reach him before they spot us" Bruce commented, sighing.

From Prime's perspective, Bruce was right. Even if Prime found a way to deal with Ross quietly, ultimately, because of his high position, his disappearance would be noticed. If the authorities investigated too much, they might end up finding the culprits. While Prime hadn't cared about that before, he didn't want to complicate Annie and Ema's lives.

"So, I guess we're at an impasse" Prime replied, letting out a brief sigh.

"That seems to be the case for now. We don't have enough information. Since you're here, can I assume you won? Is there something I should know about him?" Bruce asked, turning to Prime.

Prime didn't see the need for much additional information. In his view, the Red Hulk was basically an alternate version of the Green Hulk, differing only in color. However, there was an additional factor that came to Prime's mind.

"He was giving off a lot of heat during our fight. As the confrontation went on, it seemed like his body was releasing more and more heat. It got to a point where I could almost swear he would explode from the excess heat. But honestly, I have no idea how he's capable of that" Prime replied, shrugging.

Though Prime might have some ideas, he wasn't a gamma gene expert; Bruce was. So, instead of guessing, he opted to leave that to Bruce, who had knowledge on the subject.

"Radiating heat? That's new. If we consider that he transformed through the same method as I did, something must have happened, giving him that extra power. It's probably related to gamma radiation. In the video, you can't tell how much heat he's emitting, but since even you felt it, it was probably an exorbitant amount" Bruce commented as he reflected on the matter.

"In short, we're completely in the dark about the guy, while he seems to have information about us to some extent. But I think even he was surprised by the dragon we unleashed on him" Sara remarked casually, a smug smile gracing her lips.

Upon hearing Sara's words, Bruce raised an eyebrow and then turned his gaze to Prime.

"It's a long story" Prime commented, shrugging. "To sum up, we opened a portal, and some kind of symbiote dragon flew out. Thanks to it, we managed to prevent deaths on the bridge... though I'm seriously doubting if that guy really wanted to kill anyone" Prime concluded, the last part more to himself than to the others.

In the end, they all acknowledged they were at a standstill; they couldn't act as they wished. This led to an inevitable consensus: though not an attractive alternative, they would have to wait for the Red Hulk to manifest again, which would surely result in more destruction.

"By the way, how did he find out you were on the bridge? Does he know your human identity or something?" Bruce asked, recalling the question.

"Honestly, I'm in the dark about that too. When he showed up on the bridge, he seemed to be after something. As soon as I transformed, he came straight for me, as if he was expecting it. We fought, but all he kept saying was how dangerous I was" Prime said, letting out a brief sigh.

"That's something you can't deny" Bruce commented thoughtfully.

Upon hearing Bruce's words, Prime raised an eyebrow and then gave him an inquisitive look.

"What do you mean by that? I'm not that dangerous. I could even say I'm a full-time pacifist" Prime retorted.

"That's when you're not devouring heads" Sara commented with a laugh.

Listening to Sara's words, Bruce widened his eyes and turned to Prime.

"It was a joke" Prime said, rolling his eyes.

"No, that's not what surprised me. You really don't understand how dangerous you are?" Bruce asked, continuing as he noticed Prime shaking his head negatively. "With your powers to generate other symbiotes, you could turn all of Earth's humans into symbiotes in a matter of days" Bruce concluded.

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