Bruce followed the man for 40 minutes as they went down to the meeting spot. Bruce knew there were much faster ways to get down there, but his guide seemed to take a much longer and busier route.
When he had asked why they took this route, he was told that this route was much worse for an ambush, so he would not feel as nervous on these big open streets as he might do walking through dark, narrow alleyways with a stranger.
Bruce considered it a good sign that they would think so far ahead to ensure he was not too stressed out. After all, he knew best what would happen if he failed to stay calm.
As they traveled in silence, Bruce had plenty of time to let his mind wander to all the possible ways this meeting could go. Would it be a trap set by Ross? Or some shady organization that wanted him for evil reasons? Or was it truly a way out of this cursed life he now lived?
Reaching the open place where the meeting should take place, Bruce couldn't see anyone around except the man who led him there. Something that made him feel like it might have been a trap after all.
"Alright, Dr. Banner, the boss, should be here soon; he is an important person, so we couldn't risk having him out in the open for long, you see."
Bruce was somewhat relieved by that, though it also raised the question that if this person was so important, was it then fine for them to meet him? Bruce might not like his green part, but he knew that he was for sure the most dangerous thing around here.
Bruce didn't have to wait long before he heard something coming from the sky; looking up, he became sure that these people weren't from the military. No way the military had tech like this!
Slowly, the sleek back jet landed with the precision of a helicopter. Bruce knew a thing or two about tech and couldn't help but be impressed merely by the design of this thing. His scientist self already wanted to study this advanced piece of tech.
Soon, the back of the jet opened, and a ramp appeared. Bruce took a step backwards in shock as it seemed the fucking black stormtroopers stepped out.
The only reason he was still not legging it was because those heavily armed soldiers were positioned around a young man in a pitch-black suit.
"You called that an armed guard? That is a fucking special elite unit!" Bruce accused his guide, who gave a light chuckle.
"You will soon find that the Military you know is little more than an annoyance or even a tool for the big guys out there." He said mysteriously before he started to walk forward. To meet the group coming towards them.
Bruce stood there alone for a moment before he decided to bite the bullet and follow along a step behind, his inner researcher wanting answers.
He took the chance to watch the man up ahead. He looked far too young to be someone so important for this kind of getup. Clearly European as well.
"Give us some space." The young man suddenly said as he waved his guards away. The men looked at each other for a moment before nodding and waiting where they stood while the man continued closer to Bruce on his own.
"Hello, Dr. Banner. It's a pleasure to meet you." The man said, stopping a few meters from Bruce.
"Hello… I'm afraid I don't know your name, sir." Bruce said and looked toward his guide, only to notice that he seemed to have left while he was distracted.
"Oh, how terrible my manners have become. Allow me to introduce myself then." The man said with a light, confident smile on his face.
"I am Alexander Ricci, head of the Ricci family, but more importantly, I speak on behalf of O5-1 of the O5 council."
Bruce was smart enough to know he was talking with another smart person. He did not say much, but he gave just enough information to make the listener curious and want to know more.
Bruce knew this, but he still couldn't do anything as he really did have more questions than ever and wanted answers.
A few years ago, before the accident, Bruce might not have known what the Ricci family was, but having spent time in South America, he knew about the biggest name in the drug business, the Ricci family. Now, the question is, why was one of the most powerful criminals working for someone else?
"I have heard about the Ricci family. Though I have no idea who this O5-1 is or what the O5 council is." Bruce finally decided to ask the questions he had been so clearly handed.
"I would have been surprised if you knew that, Dr., very surprised, in fact. Look at my men back there. Do you see the symbol they wear on their bodies?" Alexander asked with the same confident smile on his lips.
Bruce looked over the guards again and focused on the little white symbol on their shoulders. A strange white circle with another circle inside with three arrows pointing towards the middle. He had never seen it before today, or at least he didn't remember seeing it.
"Can't say I have no." he shook his head and waited for Alexander to continue.
"I am a member of the Foundation, well that is just what I call it for day-to-day use. Its full name is The Special Containment Procedures Foundation. Or the SCP Foundation for short, or even just The Foundation." The man said, sounding mighty proud of this Foundation that Bruce had never heard of before.
"I'm afraid I can't say I have ever heard about this SCP Foundation of yours." As Bruce said that, Alexander burst into a peal of light laughter.
"Oh, I am very happy you say that; if not, then it would mean we had failed in our job. We are a secret organization, after all; even the current president of the US doesn't know about us, and we have more power than you would believe possible." Alexander said lightly with the same smile on his face.
"And why does this Foundation want me? I don't come without trouble, you know."
Bruce said and pointed towards the modified heart rate monitor on his wrist. Internally, Bruce wasn't sure how much of what he was hearing could be believed; it sounded like the man had been brainwashed by a cult more than anything.
"That comes very close to the purpose of the Foundation itself. To Secure, Contain, and Protect! That is what we do, we Secure SCP objects, we contain them, and we protect mankind from the abnormal! We sacrifice so others don't have to; we are The Foundation!"
"All right now, you kinda sound like a cult." Bruce said with a nervous chuckle.
Something Alexander just smiled at. "Well, when you truly believe in something, you do have the voice of conviction. The Foundation is a group that is above all governments and powers. We stand above all interests but to protect mankind from SCP objects and other anomalous events."
"And what are these SCP objects you claim to protect mankind from?" Bruce said as he started to really think this was some cult with all the talk about protecting mankind and stuff.
"To explain that, well, you, Dr Banner, would be considered an SCP object. An object with some kind of anomalous properties or making. Now I know what you want to say." Alexander quickly stopped him from interrupting him.
"The experiment you were a part of should have failed; you should have died that day. Yet you didn't; instead, you became something so much more than what should have been possible even if the experiment succeeded."
"You should not have become what you did; no science can explain it. Therefore, the only explanation is that something anomalous happened." Alexander continued while holding up his hand to signal for Bruce to hold his questions.
"The Foundation's task is to find and contain the anomalous to keep mankind safe and unknowing; after all, if the people knew about the alien civilizations out there, all they did would feel meaningless." He continued and just dropped a bomb as he pretty much told Bruce that aliens were real.
"To do this, the Foundation requires many things, one of them is money, which my Ricci family can offer, at least to cover a small part of the Foundation's costs. Another thing we need is bright minds like yours to study and understand SCP objects."
"After all, a SCP object can be anything from a man that can turn into a huge, powerful green monster to a deadly virus that turns its victims into machines."
"Does that exist?" Bruce couldn't help but interrupt as the scientist in him grew interested in that last thing.
"Both of those examples are indeed real SCP objects. So yes, we need bright minds to help figure them out, help design ways to contain them, or, if possible, cure them." The man said in a tone that said he clearly knew of Bruce's desire for just that.
"If you choose to join us, we can offer you protection against Ross and his kind. We can offer you the chance to return to doing meaningful research and give you the resources to do many things. With us, you could do almost anything you wanted."
"From helping with black tech to biology, geology, the study of alien objects left behind from their visits to earth. Everything a brilliant scientist dreams of, we can offer. And in return, we want nothing but your loyalty."
Bruce couldn't help but think this sounded too good to be true. "You got to know that sounds too good to be true."
"Does it really? I already said what we do is kept a secret for everyone; keeping you hidden from Ross would be no extra work on our part. We have many ongoing projects that could use someone as smart as you, so we would benefit a lot there. And as a possible cure?"
"While some inside the Foundation might want a way where you gain full control over a full cure, we would still like a cure if possible. After all, if one can be made, then there is the possibility of another." Alexander calmly explained.
Bruce couldn't help but think about it again, and it made some sense; the only real downside for them would be if he lost control; other than that, it would cost them almost nothing to get him, and he would even be thankful for being given work to do.
"I guess that is true, but what about my… well, my SCP, I guess? Won't that be a problem?"
"I won't lie and say that there couldn't be some problems from that. We would start your work somewhere remote and with SCPs and equipment with as little danger to both yourself and others as possible."
"If we decide you are stable enough after some closer observation, we could move you to a SITE where a containment cell is ready to contain you should you feel the need for it."
"And yes, Dr. Banner, we have been watching you for a while already. Yet we had to keep our distance, both so you didn't notice but also your SHIELD handlers didn't notice anything either."
"It wasn't until orders from above that we finally decided to make contact with you." Alexander said and threw out some bait about shield, which indeed Banner took.
"SHIELD handlers?" Bruce asked as he didn't know who that was or that someone had watched him all this time, let alone more than one group.
"Yes, SHIELD, they are a group of spies and were not meant to handle what I would consider Foundation work. We can't always get SCP objects fast enough; some enter the governments, and few are hard to recover from there."
"We lost one some years back, and Peggy Carter and Howard Stark discovered it. They founded this agency to stop evil people from using SCPs, though after their deaths, SHIELD, which has some ridiculous long name I won't bother with, became little more than lapdogs for the US government. Taking care of their dirty work."
Bruce was fascinated as he listened to Alexander speak. He began to really hope all of this was true, to learn of a whole new side of the world to explore. "That is a lot to take in all at once."
"Yes, it might be; well, you can take on this… trial work we have for you. It would not allow you to learn of any deep secrets of ours, and we could still allow you to leave without more than a promise from you to never mention anything about us for the rest of your life."
"And we could then ask you if you wanted to join us for real, to dedicate yourself to all of mankind and work beyond any corrupt governments and militaries."
Bruce had to admit that the offer was far too good to possibly turn down. A chance to get the life he should have had if not for that cursed accident. As well as a whole new possible world of impossible science to explore.
"Alright… I can't really turn you down, I guess." Bruce finally admitted after a moment, earning an even wider smile.