Bruce Banner
Hulk
|
Issue #2 (Volume 3)
"The Angry Sea" Written by Travis Hiltz The Hulk was falling through infinity.
It was only the pain of his numerous wounds that kept him focused, kept him from being overwhelmed, from having his sanity devastated. The burnt and bleeding behemoth plummeted through the layers of realty, tearing through space and time like a bullet through newspaper. The Hulk raged and flailed, grasping desperately for any hint of something solid to grab, to halt his mindboggling descent through the maelstrom. His massive, grasping hands touched nothing but swirls of color and energy... The ocean wave hit, waking the Incredible Hulk from his dream. Sitting up abruptly, the behemoth was angry at his interrupted slumber. He was soaked to the hair, the waves washing up over the Hulk’s broad chest. “Stupid ocean,” Hulk grumbled, getting to his feet. “Hulk hate being wet!” He wiped his face, and shook his head, turning away to stomp up the beach. As he did, one last waved reared up, hitting him in the back. The Hulk turned, snarling, fists clenched, glaring accusingly at the ocean, as though it had splashed him deliberately. When no further waves dared to go higher than his ankles, the Hulk stomped away, towards the tree line. Come morning, Bruce Banner woke up on top a sandy dune. “Uh...another day in paradise,” He muttered, sitting up, blinking in the bright sunshine. Scratching the sand out of his hair, he trudged along the beach. It had become part of his morning routine to try and figure out where he was. He’d been residing on Monster Island long enough to get the lay of the land, and was soon entering the clearing, where his spherical hut was located. As he approached, one of the Mole man’s subterranean minions, scrawny and clad only in a ragged, brown loincloth and crude, wooden visor, came promptly out of the hut, carrying a mug of hot coffee. “Thank you, Glenn,” Bruce said, accepting the coffee and sitting at a nearby stone table. The moloid had attached itself to Bruce, after he removed an alien splinter from its yellow skin.* (* last issue- Trav) Since the creature didn’t speak, Bruce, in a moment of petty humor, he’d named it after an old rival, and accepted the moloid’s presence as his ‘houseboy’. He had his suspicions, that Glenn had been sent by the Mole man to keep an eye on him, but the small being’s puppy-like devotion had slowly won him over. Plus, Glenn made a really good cup of coffee. Bruce took an appreciative sip and then glanced over his shoulder, at his new companion. “What’s on the schedule today, Glenn?” He asked. The Moliod shrugged and made a mewling-muttering sound. “No appointments?” Bruce mused. It had been a quiet few days. Things had cooled between himself and his host, the Mole man, following the battle between the Hulk and an alien tree creature.* (* also, last issue-Trav) Bruce still suspected the Mole man of using the Hulk to eliminate a potential, threat to the diminutive villain’s’ kingdom, rather than attempting to communicate with a unique alien intelligence. The Mole man had bristled and retreated to his underground palace, leaving Bruce to explore and contemplate on his own. While he was still experiencing strange and disturbing dreams, Banner still wasn’t sure what had happened to land him on Monster Island. Which, most likely meant, it had happened to the Hulk, rather than him. Whatever had occurred had been bad, almost fatal and it had changed the connection between himself and his green alter ego. The transformation seemed smoother and when the Hulk emerged, he was not quite the unpredictable force of nature that he had been. Both man and monster seemed aware that whatever ordeal they’d been through, the mere fact that they’d survived it left them both wanting nothing more than rest. To be at peace. Bruce Banner had no hope that it would last, but was trying to enjoy it while it lasted, and spending lazy days pondering what came next... Bruce took his coffee cup and strolled down to the beach. “Waves are looking rough,” He muttered between sips. “Must be a storm coming in...except...?” He glanced skywards, shading his eyes with his free hand. “Not a cloud in the sky,” Banner said, glancing over at Glenn. “That look right to you?” The yellow-skinned humanoid, shoulders hunched, tentatively following behind, muttered his concern. “Great. One more thing to worry about.” He finished his coffee and handed the cup back to Glenn. “Thanks. I’m going for a walk. Not sure what’s going on with the ocean, but we may need to get the house ready for some rough weather. I’ll be back in a little while.” The moloid scampered off. Banner felt an odd twinge. It was nice to have someone to talk to and an extra set of hands, but the scrawny creature felt like some unsettling cross between a pet and a slave. With one more thing weighing on his mind, Bruce Banner walked along the beach. The waves seemed to be getting rougher, so he kept well back, past the tide mark. “If it’s a mundane tropical storm, I’d be almost relieved,” He muttered, trying to reconcile the clear, serene sky with the fierce, chaotic ocean. He had to retreat, back to the tree line several times by the arrival of some of his monstrous neighbors. A purple, pterodactyl looking creature fluttered down, pecking amongst the rocks for its own breakfast. Then, a massive orange creature that propelled itself along, gorilla fashion, prowled the beach, agitated. Bruce couldn’t see anything else about. The creature seemed anxious or angry at the ocean itself. It pounded its over-sized fists against the beach, enraged but too cautious to venture into the water. Banner hunkered down, amongst the lush foliage, observing, until the brute grew tired and with a final growl, wandered back into the interior of the island. Bruce crawled out of the bushes, and peered thoughtfully at the water, while brushing leaves out of his hair and clothes. “Curious...?” He muttered, rubbing his chin. “Can’t decide if that means something or if it’s just one more weird thing about this island...?” “Yes, that is an interesting question,” A new voice agreed. Bruce spun, startled. Floating roughly ten feet above the ground was silver, metallic baseball-sized orb. A round panel irised open and a light shone down, forming the image of all too familiar, and anxiety-inducing figure... “The Leader!” Banner exclaimed, fists clenching, pulse racing and a slight green flush creeping into his skin. “No, no, none of that!” The image chided; hands raised in a placating gesture. “No need to bring the emerald chap into this.” “What?” “Well, firstly, this is a mere hologram.” The Leader’s image explained. “Your jade Hyde’s fists will prove to generate little impact. I only want to talk.” “You’ll forgive me, if I find that hard to believe,” Banner said, relaxing slightly, but not fully. “What do you want, Leader?” “Now, Bruce, I’d like to think that at this stage of our relationship we might be on a first name basis.” “If it’ll help you get to the point, Sam,” Banner said, between gritted teeth. “What’re you up to?” The drone bobbed in the air, as the hologram of the Leader, paused, his enormous, elongated forehead furrowed in thought. “How to explain this,” The Leader said, his hands clasped behind his back. “I have, of course, became aware of the rumors of your and the Hulk’s demise: Noble sacrifice, fate of the cosmos, all quite heartbreaking...but, I found myself at a loss. Here it was, the moment I, myself, had schemed, planned and worked towards! My deepest dream become real and I...I found myself...dissatisfied...” Banner stood quietly, feeling confused by this interaction. In the past couple weeks, his only conversations had been with super villains and monsters. If it wasn’t for his worry this was the prelude to some attack, he might have almost laughed at how increasingly surreal his life had become. “I soon realized what was bothering me,” The Leader continued. “One, I felt cheated. If anyone was going to kill the Hulk, it was going to be me and two: a world without the Hulk in it, lacked...challenge. It than occurred to me that I was jumping to conclusions: The Hulk’s death had been mourned multiple times. I had to be sure, before I did any soul searching. So, I launched a fleet of these drones to scour the world and...viola!” He gestured towards Bruce with a smile on his sinister face. Bruce blinked, stunned and gave a faint shake of his head. “I don’t even know where to begin...?” He muttered. “Yes, I know,” The Leader said, nodding thoughtfully. “At some point, I probably should abduct Leonard and deal with my issues...” The criminal mastermind merely shrugged his thin shoulders. “So, I...uh...there’s no evil plan or trap, you just...uh missed me?” “When you say it with that tone,” The Leader mused. “It sounds odd.” “Dear lord,” Banner muttered, starting to pace, struggling to keep his breathing and temper under control. “What do you want? What are you up to?!” “I know, it’s off-putting when there’s no evil plan,” The Leader explained. “But I promise you, Bruce, there’s nothing more going on than finding you, alive and well. Of course, now that I’ve accomplished that...well, now the fun starts.” And with that, Banner lost control and despite knowing it was pointless, he let go and let the Hulk emerge. “Stupid big head man talks to much!” The jade giant shouted, lunging across the beach, and grabbing the metal sphere. “Hulk will shut him up.” He squeezed and the metal began to crack and spark. “Well...zzzt...nu-now you’re just be-be-being petty...!” The Leader said, right before the drone shattered. The Hulk snorted and then tossed the broken metal device away. Angry and frustrated, the Hulk spent the remainder of the afternoon stomping around the island, getting in fights with various monsters. Several hours of pummeling dinosaurs and various creatures, left the Hulk bruised, exhausted and slightly more relaxed. He slumped down against a palm tree, that bent dangerously under his weight. While he sat there, listlessly watching the wild surf, Glenn came scampering up and tentatively offered an open can of beans to the green behemoth. The Hulk growled thankfully, his huge hand engulfing the can and he then gulped it down, like he was doing a shot. Hulk smacked his lips and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “Beans good,” he said, sleepily. “Want more...” With that announcement, the Hulk’s chin slumped down, touching his broad chest. Glenn jogged off to fulfill the Hulks request, while the jade giant drifted off to sleep. Slowly, he faded, turning back to Bruce Banner, who continued to snooze, shifting to find a comfortably spot against the bent tree. The waves washed up the beach, not as violent as earlier, rather persistently rolling up. Eventually, the grey water washed over Bruce’s toes. The next wave enveloped Banner’s foot, up to the ankle, and instead of rolling back, it seemed to latch on. The ocean kept its grip on Bruce’s ankle, and as it washed back down the beach, it slowly dragged him along. Banner was waist deep in the water, when he was startled awake. “What...uh...good lord...!” He sat up, yanked his leg free and scrambled back up the beach to rocky stretch, just before the tree line. “What the hell...?” He got to his feet and, tentatively, walked back towards the water. “Something going on here, but I can’t make sense of it,” He muttered, his curiosity overriding his anxiety. “The Leader...? Something the Mole man has cooked up? Who else could it be? What else could it be?” The waves rolled and crept up the beach, no longer having the appearance of soothing, rolling waves, but rather grasping, reaching fingers. Banner walked parallel to the water, looking for some hint to what had occurred. Some trace of a chemical in the water or a glint of metal. “It can’t be that entire ocean has suddenly come alive,” He muttered, thoughtfully. “There must be...something in the water...have to get a sample to test.” He exhaled, not relishing the idea of going back into the surf. He also found himself wishing his unnamed benefactor had given him a better equipped lab, as to MacGyver what he’d need to test the water, it was likely he’d have to sacrifice his coffeemaker and at least one of his reading lamps. Still pondering his next steps, Bruce Banner turned, to head back to his hut, when a wave reared up, shot across the beach and hit him, with the force of a fire hose, between the shoulder blades. Banner went flying, colliding with the nearest palm tree and collapsing to the gravel knocked half senseless. The wave rolled back, and then extended another tendril of water from the surf. It enveloped both of his feet, up to the calves and began to drag him towards the ocean. The scrape of gravel on his bare skin woke Banner. “Ow...uhh...what...?” He mumbled, blinking and wiping dirt off his face. “Oh, my god...!” He frantically dug his fingers into the dirt, but as it shifted to sand, there was nothing to grip. Amid his struggling, he glanced over his shoulder. The waves churned and crashed, like an angry creature. Out of the waves, a column rose and then the water flowed away, revealing a man. He was tall, and broad shouldered, with a wide, rough features. He was clad in a black t-shirt and jeans. His feet merged with the water, so it was unsure if he had feet, let alone shoes. “No point struggling, Pal,” he said, with a cruel, cocky grin. “You don’t stand a chance.” Morrie Bench, otherwise known as the super villain, Hydro-man, a thuggish sailor granted the ability to transform into water, as well as a form of psychic control over it. “Been floating around way too long, after I broke outta that prison ship.” He muttered, gruffly. “Too many freakin’ little islands out here!” Thinking his victim still unconscious, Hydro-man used the water tentacle to pull Banner closer and lift him up off the ground, until he was hanging upside down, a mere few feet from the villain. “So, you’re going to help me get my bearings,” He drawled. “And nobody needs to get hurt...hey, I know you, don’t I...?” “Grraaagh!” Banner said, through gritted teeth, his skin darkening, his muscles swelling. “Oh hell no...!” Hydro-man breathed. Caught off guard, he was unable to keep his grip and the Hulk landed on the wet sand with a hard thud! The Hulk got to his feet, snarling, fists clenched and glaring with rage at the Hydro-man. “You gotta be kidding me!” The aquatic villain exclaimed. “What the hell are you doing here!?” “Hulk smash water man!” The behemoth growled. “Hulk hate being wet!!!” He leapt at the Hydro-man, bursting through his watery body and plowing into the surf. The ensuing splash sent the Hydro man’s water flying upwards as a massive geyser and he reformed, just in time to tumble onto the beach. He lay on his back, blinking. There was still no sign of his feet. His ankles ended in trails of water that flowed back into the ocean. “Ooof...!” Hydro-man mumbled, sitting up. He changed into water, rushed back into the surf and then returned to human. “Just my luck, to get lost and run into the Hulk!” He muttered. “And I got the whole ocean at my command and nobody to see me beat him! Nobody’s gonna believe this story...!” With a roar of rage, the Hulk broke the surface and began stomping back towards the beach. His angry gaze focused on the man in the black t-shirt. “You ain’t so tough,” Hydro-man said, raising his arms. The ocean moved, mimicking his movements, as the water in front of the raging behemoth, rose up. Hydro-man swung his arms, bringing his hands together and the two waves smashed down on the Hulk! The jade monster tumbled backwards, roaring and flailing. The Hulk leapt up, spitting sea water and growling. He slammed his massive fists into the water with such force, he plowed through and struck the sandy bottom. An explosion of water again knocked the Hydro-man flying again and when his vision cleared, he looked up to see an enormous pair of bare, green feet coming his way. The Hulk landed on the Hydro-man bursting him like a man-shaped water balloon. “Water man think him stronger than Hulk,” The jade giant snarled. “Stupid. No one stronger than...gluug!” A massive wave reared up and crashed down upon the Hulk! While not powerful enough to make him do more than stumble a few steps, it was followed up by a barrage of fire hose like blasts that drove the Hulk backwards, into the ocean. The Hulk dug in his heels, and swung his arm, causing a counter wave that blocked the water blasts. The ocean surged around him, as the man-monster stood, waist deep, struggling to catch his breath and wipe his face. “Hulk hate water.” He grumbled. “Then your gonna hate this!” A gurgling voice shouted, behind him. The Hulk turned just in time to see a two-story wave come rushing at him. It struck the green behemoth with enough force to send him tumbling head over heels. He landed on the beach with a soggy thud, face down, his hands digging into the sand with feeble anger. The Hulk turned his head and spit out several gallons of sea water. Trembling with effort, water flowing off him, like a waterfall, he struggled to get to his feet. His enormous body swayed slightly, as he shook his head, shedding water. His breathing sounded like wind moving through a train tunnel, and his teeth ground together, sounding like gravel in a cement mixer. A wave washed up and the Hydro-man emerged, arms cross, a look of smug satisfaction on his thuggish face. “I wasn’t too thrilled, getting dumped in the ocean, but I gotta say, now that I got a handle on it, this may be my ticket to bigger things. I mean, I got control over the entire frickin’ ocean! Who’s stronger than that?” “Hulk...is...stronger...!” He snarled, each word becoming more pronounced, as he caught his breath and his anger built up. “Hulk...is strongest one...there is!!!” He brought both massive fists down, smashing through Hydro-man, the waves beneath him and leaving a Volkswagen-sized crater in the ground. Hydro-man struggled to keep his human form as he staggered around, moving with the disrupted waves. He barely regained his balance when an enormous green fist smashed through his body. Hulk continued to pound at every wave that came at him. The beach trembled with his pounding and the water in the cove churned and splashed wildly. Soon, the expanse of sand was littered with craters, like a WW1 battlefield. The Hulk raged, pounding the ground, rampaging through the surf and at one point, uprooting a palm tree and using it like a club. Time passed, an angry blur and soon two figures stood facing each other, exhausted and angry. “Jesus, would you just fall...!” The Hydro-man panted. “You can’t beat me, I’m the whole damned ocean!” “I am Hulk!” Was the reply, as though that was all the explanation needed. He then swung his massive fists, which struck together, like two granite boulders. The resulting shockwave hit the water like a bomb and parted the waves. Hydro-man stumbled onto the beach, landing on his hands and knees, his whole-body trembling, as his connection to the vast ocean finally severed. “I...just...uh...wanna...go home,” He mumbled for collapsing onto the wet sand. “Puny water man,” The Hulk muttered, nudging the super-villain’s senseless body with a toe. “Hulk hates getting wet.” Shoulders slumping, the weary monster turned and stomped away from the beach. “Hulk hungry. Want more beans.” The day passed, the waves, inevitably washed over the beach, beginning the long process of erasing the signs of the recent battle. As the sun touched the horizon, subterraneans crept out of the foliage and formed a loose, curious circle around the groggy Hydro-man. They were soon joined by their monarch. The Mole man leaned on his staff, studying the body at his feet. “Banner may become more trouble than he’s worth,” He muttered, straightening up and adjusting a control on his staff. He jabbed the Hydro-man, who gasped and spasmed as he was struck with a burst of energy. Once he was satisfied, the new arrival on his island would be no further trouble, he gestured for his subjects to carry the limp Hydro-man away. The Mole man then turned and spent several minutes drawing listless lines in the sand with his staff. Soon another figure emerged from the water and strode towards the diminutive monarch. “I presume you can explain the recent tremors and disruption of the tides?” Prince Namor asked, sternly, arms crossed. “Nothing you need concern yourself with,” The Mole man replied, with a slight sneer in his voice. “That matter has been dealt with.” The two locked gazes. “See that it stays that way,” Namor said, before turning and swimming away. |