“Yes, but in difficult times the greatest ideas prevail!” the other man in the room replied to Fury’s exclamation - “Don’t worry Agent Fury, I’m already aware of the new gamma boys” the chair turned around, revealing a massive figure standing up – 6’6” of a great physique, dressed in long leather boots, tight black spandex pants, a brilliant stretchy red top and the usual custom made oversized lab coat – The last detail couldn’t be left out – his long silky brilliant green hair danced as he casually moved his head to adjust his back muscles.

The man approached the SHIELD # 1 agent, towering him by almost a foot in height, offering a huge strong hand which Nick shook while his expression regained the usual seriousness. Leonard Samson spoke – “Nick, like I told you before – I’ve had my eye on that kid ever since he broke into my old files when I worked for the Government, he managed to recreate the Infinity Weapon successfully, he was able to make himself incredibly stronger than Hulk had ever been not to mention that he re-designed Abomination from scratch, making him a new version of super powered gamma lad. But he isn’t aware I’ve been watching his progress all this time – the files which he broke into had a special spy-ware bug which cannot be detected and allowed me to have access to all the progress he had done in the Gamma radiation field…”

“Doctor Samson, I am aware of your expertise in gamma radiation, but that kid was able to recreate a machine which combined to power of the hulk without the side effects we know so well. You’ve been working on the same thing ever since you heard of Banner’s incident and so far you only managed to get your dyed!” Fury said at once.

“Touché.” Samson admitted – “Scott really is a young genius, he will be a tremendous acquisition for the SHIELD, but you have to admit that all these years, I haven’t been able to succeed, because I originally wanted to REVERT the Hulk Transformation, and trying to recreate a controlled version of the event I acquired my abilities, I could be not strong as Hulk was but I kept my personality and the control over my actions – which proves that Banner and myself have the same genetic condition which allowed the Hulk transformation.”

“I understand…”

“I’ve been trying to revert Hulk permanently into Bruce Banner, as a favor to an old Colleague, but instead of thanking me, the paranoiac bastard assumed I was in love for his deceased wife that I was jealous of him and his powers…”

“But you were weren’t you?” Fury asked with an evil grin – Samson smiled back and poked the agent on his chest – “Having this power is an old dream of mine, Bruce Banner may have done it first, but I was the one who originally worked on the gamma radiation projects, his accident, however, caused the world to refuse the benefits of gamma rays – Even after the experiment which was meant to create a better, stronger more efficient scientist, resistant to the powerful gamma rays, my noble intent was miss interpreted as a vain attempt to become the hulk myself – which was never my intent!”

“Cut to the chase, Samson” Fury ordered and the big man nodded – “Truth is that this kid showed me a new revolutionary way, which I couldn’t see before, but once I mastered the data my spy bug sent me, I realized the infinite possibilities which unfolded at the horizon!”

“So, you stole the kid’s idea to build your own equipment huh?”

“I’m not embarrassed to say that I learned a lot from you guys of the SHIELD – but give me some credit, because I have a series of advantages over my gamma affected colleague – Scott was a primary studier of the Gamma subject; I’ve felt on my own skin its effects, while he only had junkyard from his mediocre University facilities I had the enormous SHIELD budget to pay for my studies and finally, I was able to take his revolutionary findings into a whole new level.”

“So, you think you can handle, Banner, Brandon, Emil and that inventor lad all by yourself?” Fury asked crossing his arms behind his back. He looked at Samson who stood proudly in front of him.

“If SHIELD provides what I have asked, of course!” Samson crossed his 24 inches biceps over his 57” chest and waited for Fury’s reply. The agent considered it for one moment – “We’re talking about 1 BILLION Coulombs per kilogram of fuel reaction! How can we know this experiment will be safe?”

“I already gave your people all the security information they needed, you have the necessary approval over your desk, and all I am waiting is the permission of the #1 Agent to start the experiment.”

“But you intend to expose yourself to the gamma radiation for 24 hours? Leo this is insane! No can last that long!”

“You saw those kids, they make Hulk look like a piece of spinach spaghetti, if we don’t do something about it, they can cause a real turmoil! My own physiology had been altered by gamma rays, which makes me not just resistant, but tolerant to the gamma radiation – All these years I’ve been fighting the temptation to savor the power Banner had truly experimented, but Betty and even my friendship to Bruce helped me from fulfilling my old dream, but now the timing is perfect!” Samson grinned.

“Leonard, what we have here is a serious security breach with unforeseen consequences; I can’t let you spend billions of dollars in that experiment if you don’t check each and every detail with me first! Now, you said before that neither Hulk nor Abomination could become stronger than Scott because they already were affected permanently by gamma radiation – Why you think in your case it would work, since your transformation is the weakest among the three?” Fury demanded one explanation.

“Because while their transformations were sudden and abrupt, mine was controlled and supervised – I could actually manage the whole process, this allowed my organism to absorb a very unique benefit of the gamma radiation and thanks to Superman my DNA had been altered in a different way Banner’s or Emil’s – Just consider me as a gamma radiation sponge, all the power I can absorb from the experiment will be nothing compared to my further intentions…”

“Yeah, that’s what I wanted to ask you next – why you made me send Superman to the place after making me believe he was the key to defeat the gamma gang?” Fury punched the table.

“Because he is – don’t worry about Kal-El, he will simply rejuvenate his powers once he’s exposed to the yellow sun rays – I know you spent a good money building a red sun simulator to allow his work out otherwise I would never been able to study his kryptonian metabolism, especially the effects of the alien mineral called kryptonite…”

“You said me to collect over 1000 kilograms of that material, why you need so much of that mineral anyway?”

“This is the most interesting part of my experiment – I found out once Kryptonite is processed it is the most efficient gamma radiation emission source we could count on, not to mention that it doesn’t produce any kind of toxic waste – the material you gathered is more than enough to run my experiment at full capacity without consequences to Earth’s nuclear reserves. Besides, analyzing Kal-El’s physiology I could retrieve a very special sample which I used to merge his alien DNA with mine gamma altered material. Combining his material with my own genes I am able to undergo the Infinity Process and obtain maximized benefits neither Scott nor Brandon will ever be able to get…”

“So, you say you’ll get the best from Superman and Hulk in one man?”

“As a matter of speaking, because since Scott is now the strongest Gamma creature in world, I am basing my comparisons on his stats but you could say that.” Samson smiled with his big white teeth.

“And what about that Brandon guy, he just drained Superman – don’t you think he’ll drain you too when you two meet?”

“I’ve anticipated that, I’ve done the necessary calculations to make me an energy battery myself – I’ll be able to drain more power when and if I need to.” Samson nodded.

“This is even worse than I thought!” Fury said as he wandered around the room. Then, Samson walked closed to him, holding his two hands – “Nick, you know me better than anyone. You know everything about my old passion towards Bruce Banner, how madly I wanted him, more than his powers, I couldn’t accept the fact he couldn’t love me the same way I loved him, I tried to forget him, to meet other people, but it was useless until I met you…”

Nick Fury looked with his good eye into Samson’s green eyes – “Leo, I am afraid you may lose control like Bruce did, I would be devastated if I had to chase you like I chased Banner all those years…”

“I know, but you more than anyone should understand this need I have – those guys are part of the same world I belong, the Gamma Gang have to stick together – Once I manage to match them in power, we can bring them to our side, it’s better than killing four people who could actually help us to defend the world!”

Nicholas Fury pressed the button on his armband – “SHIELD Agents, prepare yourselves – Operation Infinity is about to begin”

SHIELD HQ is actually a multi-national spatial Operations Base – floating around Earth’s orbit like a second moon. Only in zero gravity Samson would be able to realize his bold experiment. The generator was equipped with 1053 kilos of enriched kryptonite, which should produce 1 billion coulombs per kilogram of fuel, the energy produced could keep Las Vegas lit by a long time, but once Agent Fury ordered, the process started.

Samson entered the special chamber developed to support the extreme conditions of the experiment. Samson tied his hair a pony tail, looked once more to Fury who stood next to him – he knew they couldn’t kiss in front of Fury’s troopers, but the looks they’ve exchanged were more than enough – Their relationship was impossible as long as Fury kept his job, but Samson knew he couldn’t ask the Agent to quit, it was his life – Now Fury was fulfilling Samson’s own dreams.

Process starting in 10 seconds – Exposition time estimated 24 hours.

The doors closed. Leonard smiled in excitement, he heard the humming of the generator increasing and he opened his massive muscular arms to embrace the Ultimate Power he had unleashed. The beam was tremendous – a brilliant flash engulfed the chamber – when the titanium walls covered the glass walls just in time to protect the eyes of the S.H.I.E.L.D. staff. Nick Fury stood there, watching everything with his usual attitude.

“Report!” He ordered, and the scientists started talking.

Gamma radiation field is operative – Energy Input 1 billion coulombs – Output 50% - “Subject is beginning to absorb the energy, sir!” the agent concluded.

Fury could hear the loud moans of Samson, he wasn’t sure if he was okay, but he knew once the process had started it couldn’t be stopped, it could cause a disaster. He kept listening to the reports with his apparent calm, but his heart was consumed in fear for his lover trapped inside that power chamber.

Samson remembered the first experience which gave him his powers, and how sad it was when he lost them, it was the worst time of his life. But now, not even the glorious feeling of getting back his powers could be compared to that moment.

It was pure ecstasy. Pure glory.

Leonard Samson felt his body expanding into massive proportions, his muscles growing beyond Hulk or any other Gamma creature had ever been.

Leo had always loved Bruce, ever since they worked together for the first time. When the incident happened and Banner turned into Hulk, Samson dedicated his life to save his friend and object of passion, he even undergone an experiment for obtaining a better comprehension of the gamma alteration effects on human beings – but even this explicit proof of love wasn’t enough for Bruce – the HULK could be the inner beast, but Banner could be just as brutal – with his attitude, his homophobic attitude when Samson finally came out for him, after Betty’s death – not even at that moment Bruce could respect Leo’s feelings…

“Sir, output energy reached 0 – Subject is absorbing 1 billion coulombs of energy – time lapsed – 0 hour 0 minutes 30 seconds – time remaining 23 hours 59 minutes 30 seconds…”

Fury closed his eyes – “God bless you Leo!” he thought as he watched the readings.

Inside of the chamber, Leo felt his body changing, his features adjusting, his muscles growing, his whole being reaching the absolute power he had unleashed.

He knew Scott better than Scott could ever imagine – he had felt the same way about Banner, he wanted the power for himself, but Bruce always denied this pleasure to him. But Leonard understood that those kids were not meant to be enemies – they were meant to be together, their powers are the proof, each one fights to prove the other he should have trusted and loved when he had the opportunity.

It was never like this with Banner – Samson knew it was the difference – he finally found those who shared the passion for power and for themselves. Not Fury, not even Bruce knew how it felt to have denied your unconditional love, to have someone mocking of your feelings, but Samson knew better than anyone – The power he reached was the key to bring those two together – he didn’t care for himself anymore – he just wanted to make it come true, his power and the dream for more – with the help of Scott, Brandon and Emil – not to mention the HULK himself, Leonard Samson would finally be able to fully taste the power he had so far sipped.

The transformation took exactly 24 hours – no reading or data could be retrieved from the chamber due to the insane amount of energy liberated inside – If Samson couldn’t make to the end, they would not be able to find not even one molecule of his body – it would turn into pure energy. The only sign of his success was the output reading – after 30 seconds of initial 50% reading – it kept on the 0% during the whole process.

Nonetheless, Fury never left the room, he observed with extreme attention his staff running the experiment with all the necessary care.

Now it had been done.

The generator counter stopped – 24 hour of exposition precisely 36400 seconds under the insane energy amount released by the revolutionary fuel Samson had discovered. The door to the chamber kept the secret of the result from the rest of the staff - A 2 feet thick titanium reinforced door, covering and even deeper chamber of isolation material to keep the whole energy within the chamber.

“Open the door!” Fury ordered.

“We can’t sir!” the staff replied worried – it is stuck”

“What you mean by that? OPEN THE FUCKING DOOR!” he yelled at once, the staff tried to open but it was somehow stuck.

They heard it before they even felt it.

The whole spatial station shook – like it had been hit by a powerful weapon – but it was not a weapon.

It was the weight.

Something REALLY heavy moved inside the S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ, causing the whole structure to lose its balance. Fury grabbed onto the walls – “What the hell is going on?!”

The answer came in the form of massive thick fingers coming through the titanium door like it was made out of butter – those insane thick fingers were free now, pulling themselves out of their confinement – the size of those hands were simply unbelievable – the SHIELD agents fought to stay on their feet as the space station shook like a roller coaster.

“Holly CRAP!” one of the agents said, taking the words right of Fury’s mouth. The fingers cleared space to the hands who simply pressed slightly and then the whole door finally was opened – revealing a TREMENDOUS surprise.

“Sorry for that! The door had melt down because of the energy!” It was Samson’s voice- although much deeper and powerful talking, but the being who spoke was no longer human.

The Space Station was about 12 feet tall at that floor– but the enormous muscle monster was kneeling down inside the chamber – “I had to lie down on the ground other wise my muscles would press through the smallness of this station and you could get hurt – fortunately I’ve designed that station big enough…”

“Samson!” Fury exclaimed as he looked to the behemoth he had in front of him – Words couldn’t even begin to describe that muscular monstrosity. Each body part was ripped and blown with hulking, gargantuan super ripped muscles. His body glistened with power and strength.

Leonard Samson had grown into titanic proportions, he knew that better than anyone, but he liked to play shocked just to make his achievement even greater. The SHIELD agents gathered in the door, sneaking their heads inside the chamber, but they couldn’t see much further, because Samson’s impossibly huge chest blocked the whole view – “Guys, guys, could you please give me some space, I wanna get out of here to stretch a little!” he grinned. The small guys obeyed still in shock for such tremendous size in one creature.

“Thank you!” he said and pushed the door with his huge hands, he slowly maneuvered inside the spaceship, causing the whole structure to swing back and forward as he finally managed to get out of the “tiny” chamber, standing up – or almost since he still had his back flat pressed against the ceilings of the space station. Samson’s muscles filled everywhere though, the agents were trapped among his arms, which reached the ground, thicker than sequoia threes, his monumental legs and the incredibly thick and wide chest.

“Sorry about that, guys!” Samson said grinning.

“LEO! Can you please control yourself?!” Fury exclaimed as he felt himself trapped against the wall, along with all SHIELD agents.

“I am sorry Nick! I guess such power takes sometime to get sued to, I tried not to withhold myself during exposition time, so I kinda lost the touch – Samson focused a little – and his body shrank a little bit, enough to allow him to stand tall inside the HQ without crushing the rest of the crew.

There, standing at 12’6” tall with an estimated weight of 5287 pounds - Leonard Samson looked down at his collaborator/lover Nick Fury.

“So, are you done?” Fury asked regaining his posture.

“Stage 1 went completely successful sir!” Samson greeted Fury with a shiny grin – the massive muscle monster was so wide and thick, his veins kept popping and his muscles bulging like they were always growing, always developing themselves into even bigger muscles.

“So, now what are you waiting for? Go get those Gamma Freaks!” Fury said at once.

“As you wish, Nick, my man!” Samson got out of the room – “We have one big spaceship to get you back to Earth!” Nick tried to get his attention.

“Thanks for that, but I got my own ride!” Samson grinned – “One last detail I forgot to mention was that mixing my DNA with superman’s also gave me his abilities, but thanks to my gamma altered genetic material I am immune to the effects of kryptonite – well not immune, it actually makes me even stronger!!” Samson grinned as he opened the button to the launch area – he went all the way down and allowed himself to grow even bigger to about 15’tall with a mega muscled gargantuan body – Amazingly his uniform had been ripped off his body, with the exception of a black spandex thong and his boots – “I’ve been wanting to try this new look for some time, now I think it is the best time!”

“WAIT! What the hell are you doing?” Nick asked – “You’ll die in the space!”

“Not anymore, I’m Superman for that matter – he inhaled expanding his massive chest even further – he pressed the button to the launch bay and waved good bye to the stupefied agents – He flew away entering the Earth’s orbit.

The crew rushed to the windows to see the freaking display of muscularity – Samson opened his gargantuan arms and went in free fall down the atmosphere! His immense body became a huge ball of fire, burning down its way to the Earth.

“He’ll be consumed on the re-entering!” one of the agents exclaimed in horror, but Fury knew it was not possible, Superman had done the same thing many times, and if Samson now had his powers…”

“Activate surveillance satellite!” the order was quickly followed by the image of Samson still falling down, but rather than being consumed by the flames, his massive body seemed to adapt such situation and the titanic scientist now smiled, he put his arms aside his body and amazingly he started flying faster towards the blue ocean. The SHIELD staff looked at their boss, but Nick Fury for the first time in all those years of Agency, was surprised – “The motherfucker played me really well, he had me where he wanted all the time!” He thought as the toothpick followed from the corner of his mouth.

That night, the observatories detected the entrance of an unexpected large meteor – which surprisingly was didn’t burn down in the re-entrance, but somehow got lost from their vision – Would it be an U.F.O? Well those who know, are sure that was the first meteor made out of MUSCLE in the universe! •