BIOGRAPHY - Page 2
After a few more attacks and uprisings at PEGASUS, it was decided Nuklo needed a more stable environment. He was transferred to a dedicated facility called the Nursery, focused entirely on his care, containment and development. Inside the Playpen, a transparent radiation-proof bubble, Nuklo was attended to by teachers and social workers who helped educate him. Meanwhile, the overseeing scientist I.S. Bishoff developed a plan to drain off Nuklo's radiation emissions, in the hopes of eventually rendering him normal and safe to be around.
However, the Whizzer's intermittent feelings of paternal responsibility resurfaced, and he decided to petition the courts for custody of his son. Robert Frank Sr. approached Wanda and Pietro, hoping to sway the dependency judge with the support of his famous children in the Avengers. 
Afterwards, it was hoped that Pietro's in-laws the Inhumans on the moon would be able to provide advanced genetic study and treatments towards Nuklo's care. Although Wanda and Pietro had since learned the Franks were not their biological parents after all, Wanda was still moved by the Whizzer's plight, and agreed to help him win his court order.
At the Nursery, Whizzer arrived with Vision and the Scarlet Witch to accept custody of Nuklo. When he met privately with Dr. Bishoff, the Whizzer was nearly swayed when he heard about the treatments Bishoff had pioneered to absorb Nuklo's radiation. I.S. Bishoff unmasked himself as the Whizzer's old arch-nemesis Isbisa, however, and he was actually draining Nuklo's radiation to give himself radioactive powers. In fact, Isbisa revealed himself to be responsible for the atomic accident that first irradiated Whizzer and Miss America (a concealed assassination attempt) and therefore inadvertently caused Nuklo's condition in the first place. The radiation-powered Isbisa surprised the Avengers with a sneak attack. The Whizzer had time to confess his love for his son 
to Nuklo before being struck down by radioactive fire. This prompted Nuklo to attack Isbisa directly, as the two vied for control of the radioactive energy being passed between them. The Scarlet Witch managed to hex Isbisa's radiation suit, causing the radiation to break free of the loop between the two men and disperse. Isbisa was left powerless and Nuklo's natural radioactivity was gone as well. However, Bob Frank, Jr. was left to mourn the father he had barely known. [Vision & the Scarlet Witch (1st series) #2]
No longer Nuklo, Bob Frank made an effort to build a life for himself. His body wasn't actively radioactive anymore, but he still possessed enhanced physical prowess. Bob continued with his 
studies as well, slowly reaching the level of education expected for his physical age. His slow speech and mannerisms still drew attention, though, and Bob had to defend himself in a one-sided bar fight once against a dozen men. Bob's strength wasn't enough to deal with the passing killer robot T.E.S.S.-One, who targeted Bob as a potential "super-soldier" for elimination. Bob's ruckus at the bar caught the attention of Wolverine, who got Bob to the hospital after T.E.S.S. cleared out. Wolverine and Captain America pursued the robot and defeated it on Bob's behalf. [Captain America Annual #8] Captain America would apparently keep track of Bob Frank and offered him a position on the Avengers support crew. At the time, Avengers Mansion had been relocated to the artificial island Hydrobase, and Bob was employed as a groundskeeper to maintain the landscaping. [Avengers (1st series) #300] After Hydrobase was sunk during the Acts of Vengeance affair, though, it seems Bob's employment didn't last past that. [Avengers (1st series) #311]
At some point, Bob’s radiation returned, making him super-powerful again, if not as inherently dangerous. Perhaps because of this, he was sought out by Roger Aubrey and the V-Battalion and offered a place in their ranks. Nuklo’s parents had been founding members of the Battalion back in the 50’s, and this covert operation dedicated to world peace had only grown in the decades since, relying upon legacy heroes and bloodlines to keep their work secret. Nuklo was very grateful towards Mr. Aubrey, and accepted a place of honor in the V-Battalion’s ruling body, the Penance Council, along with the elderly surviving heroes of World War II and other super-powered descendants of past members. The V-Battalion operated from a mobile warship called the Vanguard, which docked at Masada Castle in Symkaria.
The V-Battalion faced exposure when they uncovered evidence of Henry Peter Gyrich of the Commission on Superhuman Activities planning some extreme extralegal activities. Specifically, Gyrich intended to flood the world with nano-probes that would allow him to control or kill and superhuman who didn’t fit his definition of “controllable.” The Battalion ordered their main 
operative Citizen V to assassinate Gyrich but she refused, fleeing to her former associates the Thunderbolts for aid. The Penance Council brought out the Battalion to retrieve Citizen V, but she was kidnapped by the Crimson Cowl in front of the Vanguard and the Thunderbolts. The ‘Bolts pursued the Battalion back to Symkaria, and Nuklo and the Penance Council took up arms to fight back against the Thunderbolts’ intrusion. Nuklo proved to be a capable brawler, using his nuclear powers in the field for the first time since finishing his education. The Thunderbolts and the Penance Council eventually made peace and parted, not as enemies but not truly as allies either. [Thunderbolts (1st series) #38-42]
The Penance Council continued their investigations into Gyrich and finally shared intelligence with 
Valerie Cooper and the CSA. [Thunderbolts (1st series) #49] They determined Gyrich himself was under the influence of the nano-probes, as part of a larger scheme by Baron Strucker. Hydra intended to assume control of the world by programming the nano-probes with a voice modulation program, making anyone infected with the nanites subject to command by a particular voice. Nuklo and the powered members of the Penance Council went into action under Iron Cross’ leadership, dealing with a nano-probe outbreak in Atlantis, which Strucker was using as a testing site. Next, Citizen V fought to stop the launch of the VMP while Nuklo and the Council dealt with the satellite payload of nano-probes themselves. Nuklo was powerful enough to destroy the satellites, but only one at a time, and so Iron Cross sacrificed himself to exhaust his life support armor’s power and initiate a shutdown cascade through all the satellite chain, saving the world. [Citizen V and the V-Battalion #1-3] The V-Battalion continued the fight for world peace and opposed the exiled Babylonian God Marduk’s attempt to reclaim his immortality. [Citizen V and the V-Battalion: The Everlasting #1-4]
It is unknown if the V-Battalion is still operational, as several members of the Penance Council have passed away or retired from active duty. It has been some years since they have appeared as active. Nuklo seems to have fallen on hard times, as he was seen among the prisoners in Pleasant Hill who were reality-warped by Kobik at Maria Hill’s direction. Nuklo may have turned to crime without the V-Battalion as proper authority figures or, given Hill’s “ends justifying the means” mentality, she may have decided for herself Nuklo was too dangerous to roam free. His fate following the riot and breakout attempts in unknown. [Standoff: Assault on Pleasant Hill crossover]