7 - Incredible Hulk Library
7 - Incredible Hulk Library
7 - Incredible Hulk Library
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“INCREDIBLE”<br />
Chapter 7<br />
Author:<br />
Derrick Ferguson<br />
Author’s Email: derrickferguson1@aol.com<br />
Publishing Date: March 28, 2007<br />
Brought to you by: The <strong>Hulk</strong> <strong>Library</strong> (www.hulklibrary.com)<br />
Remember that science claims a man's whole life. Had he two lives they would not suffice.<br />
Science demands an undivided allegiance from its followers. In your work and in your<br />
research there must always be passion.<br />
Ivan Petrovich Pavlov<br />
1849-1936<br />
Woodgod could scarcely believe his eyes as he watched the frail human he had<br />
so rudely manhandled just a few seconds ago acquire roughly a thousand<br />
pounds of massive muscle right before his startled eyes. His surprise was even<br />
more of a personal impact because he recognized the emerald giant that now<br />
stood before him, glowering green eyes volcanic with murderous hate. Broad<br />
nostrils flaring and the air expelling from them felt as hot as if they were coming<br />
straight from a heart born in Hell. Yes, it had been years ago when they had met.<br />
It had been not long after Woodgod's unnatural birth. He had not been as<br />
articulate or intelligent as he was now. Back then his artificially created brain had<br />
still been rapidly developing, learning, maturing. But now he could reason and<br />
speak and it was in his power to maybe prevent yet another tragedy occurring in<br />
these doom haunted woods. Woodgod raised his wide hands in the universal<br />
gesture of peace and shouted; "WAIT! We must speak before-"<br />
However, trying to speak to an enraged <strong>Hulk</strong> is far worse than an exercise in<br />
futility. It borders on sheer stupidity. The <strong>Hulk</strong> roared and charged Woodgod.<br />
There was a furnace of frustrated rage blazing white-hot inside the cavernous<br />
chest of The <strong>Hulk</strong>. The humiliation of his recent injuries at the hands of The<br />
Human Torch and the betrayal of The Leader were still painfully fresh in the jade<br />
giant's brain and The <strong>Hulk</strong> tended to take out his frustrations on whoever or<br />
whatever was closest and right now that was Woodgod.<br />
Woodgod quickly saw that The <strong>Hulk</strong> was in absolutely no mood to hear<br />
anything and so he prepared himself, sidestepping quickly, his hooves striking<br />
sparks from flinty rocks under hoof as he nimbly dodged The <strong>Hulk</strong>'s charge with<br />
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an agility that was freakishly graceful for one with such a monstrous aspect. The<br />
<strong>Hulk</strong> swung a mighty arm that was as thick as Woodgod's body and caught<br />
Woodgod a solid blow. Woodgod was thrown a good hundred feet through the<br />
air, tumbling over and over. He smashed into the trunk of two hundred year old<br />
tree, splintering the forest elder. With a grinding, snapping sound it crashed to<br />
the ground in a storm of dirt and leaves.<br />
Woodgod growled as he got to his hooves. Peaceful as he was, he also didn't like<br />
being manhandled by a brute. He came over the mossy ground at the amazed<br />
<strong>Hulk</strong>, his legs a blur, sparks left in his trail. The <strong>Hulk</strong> gawped, taken totally by<br />
surprise. He'd expected to kill this animal with that one blow but here it was,<br />
coming back for more, running flat out and drawing back a muscular brown arm<br />
to-<br />
BOOM!<br />
Woodgod’s punch sent The <strong>Hulk</strong> flying backwards, digging a wide trench into<br />
the ground. The <strong>Hulk</strong> was totally shocked. Not only had this animal taken his<br />
best shot but had come back with as good as he got. The <strong>Hulk</strong> roared, coming up<br />
swinging and the forest reverberated with the sounds of might fists pounded on<br />
flesh hard as stone, sounding like boulders being smashed together. Their grunts<br />
were loud enough to frighten animals for a mile away and birds, deer, foxes and<br />
bears among other forest denizens scattered. The sounds of the terrible conflict<br />
echoed and re-echoed.<br />
The <strong>Hulk</strong> landed a blow to the side of Woodgod’s head that staggered him,<br />
driving him to the right, setting him up for a left to the ribs caused Woodgod to<br />
gasp out loud. The world was growing dark as his hyper-efficient lungs<br />
struggled to draw in a decent breath of air. It had been a long time since<br />
Woodgod had fought anyone or anything this powerful and he was going to<br />
have to-<br />
WHAM!<br />
A solid straight right to the jaw sent Woodgod flying up and down in an arc that<br />
ended with him smashing back down to earth, causing the ground to vibrate like<br />
a plucked guitar string. The <strong>Hulk</strong> grinned maliciously. There wasn’t any way<br />
that the animal could have survived a punch like that. The <strong>Hulk</strong> had put The<br />
Rhino out for half a day with a punch like that once. The <strong>Hulk</strong> stomped over to<br />
where Woodgod lay. He didn’t appear to be breathing and the right side of his<br />
head was grotesquely swollen. The <strong>Hulk</strong> leaned over and poked Woodgod in the<br />
stomach with a thick finger-<br />
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And Woodgod’s fur covered left leg whipped up and straight out, the large black<br />
hoof impacting squarely into The <strong>Hulk</strong>’s genitalia.<br />
A party of eight fishermen in a boat on Lake Cumberland nine miles away heard<br />
something that sounded like a beast howling in agony. They stopped their<br />
conversation, puzzled at what the sound could be, where it could have come<br />
from. Unable to locate or identify the source of the sound they went back to the<br />
beer and the fishing.<br />
The <strong>Hulk</strong> staggered away from his foe, hugging his outraged delicates with one<br />
hand while his other hand tightened into the most powerful mortal fist on the<br />
planet and brought it down. Woodgod nimbly rolled out of the way as the fist<br />
came down and hit the ground with enough force to cause the earth the split,<br />
zigzagging fissures radiating out in all directions, dirt bursting upwards into the<br />
air from the deep fractures. Woodgod couldn’t stay on his hooves as the earth<br />
was bouncing up and down like a trampoline and that momentary loss of<br />
balance was all The <strong>Hulk</strong> needed. Again he exhibited that uncanny, frightening<br />
speed as he sprang upon Woodgod and used his weight to slam him into the still<br />
quivering ground.<br />
"Wait!" Woodgod gasped. "WAIT!"<br />
The <strong>Hulk</strong> brought his large, squarish head down close and hissed in Woodgod’s<br />
pointed ear, "wait for what? I’m gonna kill you, you goddamn animal. You think<br />
you can kick The <strong>Hulk</strong> in the nuts and I’m gonna leave you alive to walk around<br />
braggin’ ‘bout it? BULLSHIT on that." The <strong>Hulk</strong>’s hands tightened on<br />
Woodgod’s neck and torso. Woodgod’s vision began to darken with a terrifying<br />
rapidity and all he could feel was the hot fetid breath and the guttural obscenities<br />
muttered by the jade monster that was choking the life out of him…<br />
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br />
There was a good joke in the name of The Kwaidan Corporation but you had to<br />
be a real hardcore movie buff to pick up on it. "Kwaidan" was the name of<br />
Chinese movie composed of five separate ghost stories. The Kwaidan<br />
Corporation was composed of five separate divisions that were no more than<br />
elaborate fronts or ‘ghosts’ to hide the true purpose of The Kwaidan Corporation.<br />
The American headquarters were located just a few miles outside of Seattle. A<br />
graceful, curving building, three times as wide at the base as was at the top. The<br />
Kwaidan Building was a wonderful piece of modern architecture, as much art as<br />
a functional place to work. It also was a completely state of the art ‘smart<br />
building’ that the designers hoped would evolve into sentience any day now.<br />
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Now behind The Kwaidan Building was another structure, a smaller gray dome<br />
with no windows. The entire smooth surface of the dome was in actually one<br />
huge network of sensors and telemetry grids. This building was what The<br />
Kwaidan Corporation was a front for. Here was where the billion and billions of<br />
dollars The Kwaidan Corporation made were poured into. And while the name<br />
of the building had a soothing sound it’s actually purpose and reason for<br />
existence was one of technological horror.<br />
For you see, this was Serenity Base.<br />
One of the largest of the many conference halls inside the base was filling up<br />
rapidly with representatives from many nations, many countries. Most of these<br />
representatives were from other corporations, some from governments as official<br />
representatives, some not. Others represented private interests. Nearly sixty men<br />
and women from all over the globe had come at the summons of the brilliantly<br />
deranged woman who was in charge of Serenity Base and the work being done<br />
there.<br />
They took their seats in the stadium-like conference hall, the quiet murmuring of<br />
their conversation dying down as they made themselves comfortable and waited.<br />
The lights were dimmed slightly, except for the recessed lighting illuminating the<br />
circular stage. A door at the far end of the hall opened and a woman slowly<br />
walked into the conference hall, graciously acknowledging the quiet ripple of<br />
respectful applause that filled the hall.<br />
She was dressed in a formfitting metallic suit of intricate design that shimmered<br />
an iridescent pale cerulean. Circuitry inlaid on the surface of the suit in patterns<br />
like those of ancient hieroglyphics from some future time. A row of crystal bars<br />
perhaps two inches wide ran up the side of her left leg and her right arm. The<br />
bars pulsed and throbbed with their own inner life. They gradually darkened<br />
from maroon to sable, and then turned transparent and the cycle would start<br />
again. Her head was bald save for a thin black ponytail that reached from the<br />
back of her delicately shaped head almost to her knees. And as she stepped fully<br />
into the light, another striking thing about her was immediately apparent:<br />
Her skin was a rich, healthy, deep shape of green.<br />
The woman was very beautiful indeed with neon blue eyes that demanded<br />
attention and respect. Not a tall woman at all. Perhaps five feet three inches even<br />
in her high heels. But her striking appearance along with the bizarre yet<br />
wonderfully exotic metallic suit she wore gave her a stature that went beyond<br />
mere height.<br />
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Professor Janelle Ban cleared her throat and took her place at the podium. "Thank<br />
you all so much for coming to Serenity Base on such short notice," she said in a<br />
strong clear voice that had a wondrous singsong lilt that vaguely sounded<br />
Caribbean but there was another, stranger infliction that was most difficult to<br />
place. "I know how difficult it was for many of you to get away but I trust that<br />
you know for a certainty that I would not have called you here if the need were<br />
not most pressing." Professor Janelle Ban’s left hand reached inside of her<br />
stomach, passing through the metal of the suit as if it did not exist and withdrew<br />
a pair of glasses and an oval device that appeared to be some sort of electronic<br />
notebook. The screen of the device lighted up at her touch and she put her<br />
glasses on.<br />
"I’ll get right down to business: our plan of either duping or recruiting Doctor<br />
Bruce Banner aka The <strong>Hulk</strong> into working for or with us has been disastrously<br />
compromised. We’ve already lost Thaddeus Ross due to mismanagement of<br />
colossal proportions and I am beginning to have serious misgivings about further<br />
use of the Talbot clone. But in his defense let it be noted that without the clone<br />
we would not have acquired some important pieces of Banner’s technology<br />
which have been brought here to Serenity Base."<br />
Another ripple of pleased applause filled the room.<br />
A female Russian voice from the eleventh row spoke over the applause: "I was<br />
opposed to the Talbot clone being used in the first place. As well as Ross. When it<br />
comes to The <strong>Hulk</strong>, Ross was always unstable."<br />
Professor Ban sighed and nodded reluctantly. "In retrospect, the entire scenario<br />
of having the Talbot clone pretend to be Ross’s prisoner to lure Banner in proved<br />
to be overly complicated and compromised too many valuable resources.<br />
Apparently Ross snapped and instead of following the plan attempted to kill The<br />
<strong>Hulk</strong> on his own."<br />
From the sixth row, a deep male Australian voice said; "I always said we should<br />
have made Banner a straight up and down offer. Banner’s always looking for a<br />
home, a place to stop running. He’s tired of walking down that damn highway<br />
with his thumb out."<br />
Professor Ban shook her head. "We discussed that exhaustively and it was<br />
decided that we couldn’t take the chance. Our sources inform us that recently it<br />
appears as if Banner and The <strong>Hulk</strong> have reached some sort of agreement that has<br />
resulted in a blending of certain aspects of their personas. The two personalities<br />
seem to be working together toward some common goal that cannot be<br />
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determined by our profilers. Both Banner and The <strong>Hulk</strong> are perhaps more<br />
dangerous now than they’ve ever been before. Our psychologists and profilers<br />
have advised that we throw out the book on everything we thought we knew<br />
about both Bruce Banner and The <strong>Hulk</strong>. There is now simply no way of<br />
predicting what either of them will do in any given situation."<br />
An American voice full of the richness of the south spoke from the second row:<br />
"Why don’t we just abandon our plans to use The <strong>Hulk</strong>? You’ve done some<br />
mighty extraordinary work on your own, Professor." Again a ripple of respectful<br />
applause filled the hall. Professor Ban held up a metal hand that flashed in the<br />
light as she smiled.<br />
"Thank you, thank you. And yes, my work has been remarkable. As of now we<br />
have twelve subjects who have survived the various procedures and surgeries<br />
that I have developed to safely induce gamma-irradiated mutation. But we could<br />
do so much more if we had Bruce Banner and The <strong>Hulk</strong>. No matter how much I<br />
have done I could labor another twenty years and still never have half of the<br />
knowledge that Bruce Banner has when it comes to gamma radiation. Even after<br />
all this time, being a man on the run with no access to proper equipment or time<br />
to research, Bruce Banner is still regarded as the world’s leading expert on<br />
gamma radiation. As for The <strong>Hulk</strong>…what more needs to be said that if there’s<br />
such a thing as a living gamma bomb, then The <strong>Hulk</strong> is it. The <strong>Hulk</strong> has beaten<br />
just about every superhuman being on the planet he’s ever fought and survived<br />
the attacks of entire armies. He’s been hit with every type of weaponry this<br />
planet has from a peashooter to a nuclear warhead and he’s still alive. Ladies and<br />
gentlemen, in my professional opinion I don’t even think that it IS possible to kill<br />
The <strong>Hulk</strong>." Professor Ban leaned on the podium and her eyes sparkled as she<br />
continued:<br />
"And that’s why we need them. Somewhere in the DNA of Bruce Banner there’s<br />
the answer we need. And there’s somebody here who has set his own plan in<br />
motion for locating The <strong>Hulk</strong> and getting what we need and he’s going to speak<br />
to you now." Professor Ban stepped back from the podium and added her<br />
applause to that of the others as The Vice-President Of The United States stood<br />
up and walked grandly to the stage.<br />
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br />
Slowly the world came back into focus as Woodgod’s great lungs deeply drew<br />
life-enriching oxygen into them. He looked up at his enemy, surprised to find<br />
himself still alive. The <strong>Hulk</strong> had removed his enormous hands from Woodgod<br />
and had raised his crushing weight up off from Woodgod’s chest. The <strong>Hulk</strong>’s<br />
head was cocked to one side as if he were listening intently to someone standing<br />
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at his shoulder but Woodgod could neither see or smell anyone there. Still, The<br />
<strong>Hulk</strong>’s body language was unmistakably that of listening very carefully to<br />
something important that was being said to him.<br />
Woodgod scrambled clear and stood up, massaging his sore neck. The <strong>Hulk</strong> kept<br />
a wary eye on him while he was apparently still listening to whatever unseen<br />
voice was talking to him. Finally, The <strong>Hulk</strong> grunted and that seemed to end<br />
whatever inner conversation he was having.<br />
"You know me, don’t’cha?"<br />
Woodgod nodded. "It was shortly after my birth. My parents were killed by<br />
ignorant townspeople and that resulted in my existence being discovered by the<br />
military. You and another showed up in the town of Liberty, which had been<br />
quarantined. The other was garbed in a strange costume of red and blue."<br />
"Yeah, I know him. Annoying li'l bug calls himself Spider-Man. Okay, so far yer<br />
story checks."<br />
"Can I ask why you stopped choking me to death?"<br />
"Because a little voice told me I was making a mistake and you better thank<br />
whatever god a freak like you worships that it did ‘cause you were about four<br />
heartbeats away from goin’ up yonder. You shouldn’t have jumped Banner. He<br />
never did anything to you."<br />
"This Banner or you killed my friends!"<br />
The <strong>Hulk</strong> frowned in confusion and once again he cocked his head. This time, to<br />
the other side and once again it was as if he was listening to someone speaking<br />
urgently into his ear. "Y’mean them people back at the cabin? Banner didn’t kill<br />
‘em. When he found ‘em they were already dead. Looked like the man plugged<br />
both the woman and li'l boy in the backs of their heads when they wasn’t<br />
lookin’."<br />
Woodgod’s nostrils flared. His nose was packed with olfactory membranes and<br />
just by smelling the changes in a person’s body chemistry he could tell if<br />
someone were hostile, afraid or lying. Now admittedly, The <strong>Hulk</strong>’s body<br />
chemistry was radically different from anything Woodgod had ever smelled in<br />
his life but still, there was no significant change as he spoke and Woodgod<br />
decided to trust his instincts. He relaxed and said; "I believe you speak the truth."<br />
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"Well, whoop-de-doo. You believe me. Not that there ain’t much you coulda<br />
done to me if I was lyin’."<br />
"I owe you…or your…alter ego my thanks, then. For burying my friends."<br />
"What the hell were they doin’ all the way out here anyways? And for that<br />
matter, what the hell are you doin’ here? Liberty’s back in Arizona or Nevada,<br />
ain’t it?"<br />
Woodgod eyed The <strong>Hulk</strong> carefully. "Don’t you remember?"<br />
"Nah. The <strong>Hulk</strong> you met then was a lot dumber. I’d still like to know what you’re<br />
doin’ here, though."<br />
Woodgod motioned for The <strong>Hulk</strong> to follow. "Then come with me back to my<br />
home and I’ll be happy to satisfy your curiosity."<br />
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br />
Felton Hardbottle had been in some pretty funky dives in his day. He’d been to<br />
Cairo, Calcutta, Tijuana and half a dozen other cities where vice and sin was<br />
normal day-to-day business. Nothing surprised him anymore. Not when it came<br />
to the depths of spiritual excrements that human beings would willingly<br />
submerge themselves into. That’s why it didn’t surprise him to find Annabel St.<br />
Cyr working in the filthiest whorehouse he’d seen in many a year. And it didn’t<br />
surprise him that when he knocked on the door, Annabel threw it open and had<br />
a huge smile on her face. Next to using her power, if there was anything Annabel<br />
enjoyed more than wallowing in sexual depravity he didn’t know what it was.<br />
She stood there totally naked, her marvelous dusky skin radiating vitality. She<br />
was breathing heavily as if she’d just finished a good healthy run and a thin<br />
sheen of sweat slicked her splendidly shaped body. The unique mixture of her<br />
African/Vietnamese/French bloods gave her a wonderfully exotic appearance.<br />
"Felton! It’s been a long time. Want to come in and join us girls?"<br />
Hardbottle heard giggling coming from inside and shook his head in a negative.<br />
"This is official business, Annabel. I’m here to offer you a job."<br />
Annabel shook her head in an emphatic negative. "Not interested. I’m having too<br />
much fun right where I am and I know that if I get hooked up with you again I’ll-<br />
"<br />
"I know where your father is."<br />
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Annabel visibly jumped as if a low surge of electricity went through her. "Don’t<br />
screw around with me, Felton. I like you a lot. You know that. But you screw<br />
with me about this and I’ll kill you slow."<br />
Hardbottle held up a pinky-sized information chip. "His location and all<br />
pertinent information is on here. You come work for me and when the job’s over,<br />
it’s yours."<br />
"I could take it from you right now and not have to do your dirty work."<br />
"Bullet’s downstairs. I’d hate to have to take him off his leash."<br />
Annabel grinned. "You do that and this whole city block will be gone by the time<br />
we’re done. And there’s a better than even chance one or both of us will be either<br />
dead or so busted up as to be of no use to you."<br />
Hardbottle shrugged. "Probably. But by then a lot of enemies you’ve made over<br />
the years will know you’re alive. And they’ll come for you. You really want to<br />
take a chance on them finding you if you’re too busted up to defend yourself?"<br />
Annabel sucked on a tooth. "Good point. C’mon in for a minute and let’s talk<br />
some more." There wasn’t much in the dark room. Just a table upon which rested<br />
bottles of liquor, overflowing ashtrays and an amazing variety of recreational<br />
pharmaceuticals. And there was a bed where two teenaged Asian girls lay, both<br />
of them looking pretty wasted. Annabel looked fresh as a spring Sunday<br />
morning. Her stamina was remarkable, as Hardbottle knew from personal<br />
experience. He felt sorry for the two girls. Annabel smacked one of the leg and<br />
snapped; "The both of you get dressed and get out. I need the room."<br />
Reluctantly the two girls hauled themselves off the bed and went around the<br />
room, picking up various items of clothing they had thrown all over the place in<br />
their careless lust. Hardbottle waited until they had gotten dressed and left<br />
before speaking again. "Friends of yours?"<br />
Annabel had donned a purple silk bathrobe and lit up a thin black cigar that<br />
gave off a pungently sweet aroma. "You didn’t look me up to discuss my sex life.<br />
What’s the deal?"<br />
"I’ve got a new job these days. Hunting down The <strong>Hulk</strong> for The Vice-President."<br />
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"The <strong>Hulk</strong>? Big green guy. Kicks the U.S. Army’s ass so often he holds the world<br />
record. Laughs off any kind of weaponry you throw at him. Mean as a rabid<br />
junkyard dog. You mean that <strong>Hulk</strong>?"<br />
"The very same. I’ve put together a team to hunt him down and I want you on<br />
it."<br />
"Hm. And then you tell me where my father is?"<br />
"That’s the deal. You in or out?"<br />
Annabel smoked in silence for perhaps a minute. "I want money."<br />
"I can guarantee five mil."<br />
"I’m in."<br />
Hardbottle nodded in satisfaction. "Glad to hear it. Having someone of your<br />
power along makes me feel a whole lot better."<br />
"You planning on killing The <strong>Hulk</strong>, Felton?"<br />
"No. The VP wants to give The <strong>Hulk</strong> a job if you can believe that. But the last<br />
time me and The <strong>Hulk</strong> squared off it didn’t end with us on friendly terms. So I<br />
need some backup to keep him from tearing me apart before I’ve had a chance to<br />
have my say. And there’s other factors involved, as well."<br />
"And if we run into these ‘other factors’?"<br />
"Kill ‘em all."<br />
Annabel blew out smoke and smiled contently. "I’m going to like working with<br />
you again, Felton."<br />
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br />
The <strong>Hulk</strong> landed with a thunderous TH-BOOM! next to Woodgod who stood at<br />
the entrance of a cave maybe two miles from the death cabin. The <strong>Hulk</strong> had<br />
leaped from clearing to clearing, keeping Woodgod in sight who simply ran<br />
through the forest with a speed that made fleet-footed deer look as if they were<br />
moving in slow motion. A large slab of gray rock covered the entrance to the<br />
cave and Woodgod, again demonstrating that surprising strength easily lifted the<br />
slab as if it were a vanilla wafer and placed to one side. The <strong>Hulk</strong> wondered just<br />
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how strong this genetically engineered creature was. There weren’t many who<br />
could go toe-to-toe with him and The <strong>Hulk</strong> had to confess a grudging admiration<br />
for this Woodgod. A memory from the Banner persona of his psyche slipped into<br />
The <strong>Hulk</strong>’s consciousness and made him laugh out loud suddenly.<br />
Woodgod turned to look at him in confusion. "Something you find humorous?"<br />
"Just a thought. It ain’t nothin’." The <strong>Hulk</strong> had no reason why Banner found that<br />
line so funny: "Who is that goat-legged fellow, Smithers? I like the cut of his jib."<br />
Or where it came from it obviously inspired a great deal of hilarity from the<br />
Banner persona. The <strong>Hulk</strong> wasn’t sure how much he liked that.<br />
The two walked into the wide opening of the cave that expanded into a larger,<br />
well-lit cavern. The <strong>Hulk</strong>’s eyes plainly registered surprise as he took in the rows<br />
and rows of gleaming machinery, computer consoles and long metal<br />
workbenches.<br />
The <strong>Hulk</strong> indicated the cave with a sweet of a great green arm. "What’s all this<br />
about? Who tricked out this cave like this?"<br />
"My friend David Columbo. He was also a good friend and colleague of my<br />
parents."<br />
"Yer parents…were they like you?"<br />
Woodgod shook his horned head. "My parents were geneticists who created me<br />
through artificial means combining human and animal genetic materials. David<br />
Columbo assisted them during the early days of their research and some years<br />
after my parents were killed he returned to Liberty and found me living there<br />
with The Changelings."<br />
"An’ who are they?"<br />
"I found my father’s records, books, notes and computers and educated myself.<br />
The hunger for knowledge became a raging burn that I fueled by stealing<br />
technical manuals and texts from libraries and research laboratories. In time, I<br />
learned enough of genetics to create a family of human/animal hybrids such as<br />
myself that are called Changelings. I established several colonies of Changelings.<br />
One is in Liberty. There is another in The Colorado Rockies. David was going to<br />
help me establish another colony here."<br />
The <strong>Hulk</strong> snorted. He didn’t believe a word of it. Woodgod hardly looked<br />
capable of figuring out how a toaster worked, much less comprehending<br />
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advanced genetics on the level he was talking about. But he held his tongue and<br />
listened. And his pounding heartbeat gradually slowed.<br />
Woodgod was walking back and forth, hands clasped behind his broad back. "I<br />
knew David had problems. But I thought he had found a measure of peace here.<br />
We would stay up late into the night talking about how we would educate The<br />
Changelings and make them into a better race than humanity. David was very<br />
disappointed with his own kind and the way that genetic research had been<br />
misused in the country. But I had no idea he was depressed to the extent that he<br />
would kill himself and his family."<br />
It occurred to Woodgod that his guest had suddenly become awfully quiet and<br />
he turned just in time to catch the naked emerald form of Bruce Banner.<br />
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br />
His mouth was extremely dry as he slowly regained consciousness. Bruce was<br />
lying on a low cot and he felt sore all over as if somebody had been beating on<br />
him with a giant meat tenderizer. He struggled to sit up and was helped by<br />
Woodgod who appeared as if by magic. Bruce marveled at how quickly and<br />
quietly he could move on those hooves when he wanted to.<br />
"How do you feel?" Woodgod’s concern was obviously genuine as he helped<br />
Bruce to a sitting position.<br />
"Sore. Tired. Terribly thirsty."<br />
"I’m not surprised. Here." Woodgod passed over a plastic gallon jug of water and<br />
Bruce lifted a hand to take it. And stopped. He stared at the hand and the arm<br />
attached to it as if he’d never seen either before.<br />
The arm and hand were no longer green. It was white. Bruce looked at his other<br />
arm, his torso. True, he was still hairless but his skin had returned to its normal<br />
color. Bruce looked up at Woodgod in wonderment. "What happened to me? Did<br />
YOU-"<br />
Woodgod smiled. "When you collapsed I examined you to make sure your vital<br />
signs were stable. While I conducted by examination I took the liberty of<br />
restoring your normal skin pigmentation."<br />
"How’d you know that green wasn’t my normal skin color?"<br />
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"Come now, Dr. Banner. I may have isolated myself from humanity but that does<br />
not mean I’m not aware of events in the world. Especially the many<br />
superhumans who inhabit the planet. And due to our first meeting I took a<br />
special interest in you and your alter ego. If I hadn’t been so consumed with rage<br />
at finding my friends dead I would have recognized you. I’ve certainly seen<br />
enough pictures of you to know who Dr. Robert Bruce Banner is."<br />
Bruce smiled through his acute embarrassment. "You’re right. And I truly<br />
apologize. I should be thanking you for your help. You’d think that I out of all<br />
people would know enough not to judge by appearance." He held out a hand<br />
and Woodgod shook it.<br />
"I suppose you were heading to town when I attacked you?"<br />
"Yes I was. If you could provide me with some clothes I’d be most grateful. I<br />
have to get to Seattle as soon as possible."<br />
Woodgod nodded. "Why not stay the night? Rest and get your strength back. I’ll<br />
fetch fresh clothing for you from David’s cabin and in the morning I’ll show you<br />
where David’s jeep is. You can take it. I have no use for it."<br />
"I didn’t see a jeep."<br />
Woodgod grinned. "There was no reason for him to keep it near the cabin since<br />
there’s no roads there. If you don’t know where to look you’d never find the<br />
shed where he keeps it stored. I’ll show you where it is. There’s a decent goat<br />
path that will take you to the access road and you can link up to the interstate<br />
from there."<br />
"I don’t know how to thank you."<br />
"No need, Dr. Banner. No need at all." Woodgod did not think it prudent to<br />
inform Bruce that as far as Woodgod was concerned he had already been<br />
thanked by the DNA samples he had extracted from Bruce while he was<br />
unconscious. His overwhelming scientific curiosity wouldn’t allow Woodgod to<br />
let such an opportunity slip away and four vials of Bruce Banner’s DNA were<br />
safely locked away where Woodgod would examine them at his leisure.<br />
Woodgod’s smiled widened as he said: "Absolutely no need to thank me at all, I<br />
assure you."<br />
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The morning sun felt damned good on Bruce Banner’s face as he turned the jeep<br />
onto the access road. He lifted a hand in farewell to Woodgod, who stood on a<br />
large boulder, haloed in the light of the rising sun. Then he turned and simply<br />
disappeared into the forest. Bruce blinked in astonishment. The leaves of the<br />
dense foliage hadn’t so much as rippled. He’d had some pretty bizarre<br />
adventures in the time since that fateful day when he had been caught in that<br />
gamma blast but the last couple of days had been right up there in the top five.<br />
But now he had fresh clothes, a vehicle with a full tank of gas and his skin was<br />
normal, enabling him to be able to operate without restrictions. And now he<br />
would most certainly be able to find The Leader in no time at-<br />
Bruce slowed down, peering at the road ahead of him. There was a mist ahead<br />
and while early morning mist wasn’t anything to get excited about, the fact that<br />
this mist was a deep, sinister crimson certainly was. Bruce stopped the jeep and<br />
rubbed his eyes. His vision wasn’t anything to brag about without his glasses but<br />
there was no mistaking the fact that there was a crimson mist obscuring the road<br />
ahead of him. Bruce wondered if this was the result of one of Woodgod’s<br />
experiments…but no, surely Woodgod have mentioned it to Bruce if that were<br />
the case.<br />
As if it had been waiting patiently for him, the crimson mist hungrily extended<br />
tendrils of gossamer consistency that nonetheless wrapped around Bruce’s body<br />
like semi-transparent tentacles that seemed to possess the consistency of steel.<br />
Bruce thrashed and fought in the grip of the mist that was slowly engulfing him<br />
as if it were a living thing hungering to devour him alive. The world was<br />
vanishing in a crimson haze and Bruce’s panic did its usual job and flooded his<br />
gamma radiation saturated cells with adrenaline and the roar of The <strong>Hulk</strong> made<br />
the trees vibrate.<br />
And then there was silence.<br />
Only the jeep remained, its engine quietly idling and there it would stay until it<br />
ran out of gas and shut itself off. It would be found five days later by Woodgod<br />
who would then spend two whole days searching for some trace of Bruce Banner<br />
with no luck.<br />
The crimson mist was gone and whatever it was had taken The <strong>Hulk</strong> and Bruce<br />
Banner with it.<br />
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NEXT ISSUE: The <strong>Hulk</strong> AND Bruce Banner find themselves split in two and lost<br />
in a forest of hideously horrible mutations! How did this happen? Who did it to<br />
them? And more importantly, can The <strong>Hulk</strong> and Banner work together to stay<br />
alive and figure out what's going on?<br />
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