Issue #2
"Can't Keep A Good Hulk Down"
Written by Spider Kid
October 19, 2099:
In the peaceful settlement of Isis, a cold wind rustles the leaves of the nearby forest, bringing life into the snow-covered height of the Rockies. It is close to night now, and the small town stretches out between the tall sentry towers, a certain warmth and charm seeming to seep into the air. On the town's border, however, all is not peaceful...
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Inside the compound that serves as a makeshift holding facility, chaos has broken loose. A large man, green-skinned and monstrously huge, has "escaped." Isis' Police Force intends to make that a temporary occurrence. Meanwhile, a guard knowns as Jayce Aster also goes on his own little search for the man known as the Hulk.
"Come on, pal, tell me where you are," Jayce mutters, under his breath, "with all these shockin' people, I can't see a..."
GRRRAAARRRRRRR!!!!!!! A bellowing roar, barely human, tears through the air as Jayce turns the corner to find the Hulk on the ground, surrounded by guards. A metal muzzle covers his mouth, while restraints are placed on his arms and legs. Jayce, of all people, knows this won't last. For you see, Jayce's mind isn't his own. The young guard is possessed by the being known as "Gamma" Ray.
A surge of anger courses through Hulk's body and mind as he leaps up, snapping his restraints. As he makes a sweeping movement with his hand, knocking the guards to the floor, he begins to emerge from the mind-fog that the drugs had kept him in. He runs down the corridor with surprising speed for such an unwieldy looking being such as himself. Jayce follows closely when suddenly he feels a hand grab his arm.
The Hulk slows down, still tired from the drugs. "Or is it the drugs?" he thinks to himself, "Could it still be the after-effect of Ray's possession of me? Where is the little freak, anyway?"
"Who ya lookin' for, beastie? Ain't no one that ken save yer green hide now!"
The Hulk spins around quickly, almost dizzying himself. He comes face-to-face with three men, the team of elite guards in Isis' holding facility.
"And you would be...?" Hulk quips, his head clearing.
"We're Shackle, pal, just the guys to bring you in. Padlock, if you would?" The man who said this has short red hair, his eyes glowing, and a small name tag reading "Manacle" on his chest. Padlock, an African American mutant, releases a band of pure magnetism spinning towards Hulk's feet.
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"Let go of me, you blasted fool!" Ray yells.
"How dare you, Jayce! You know you don't address a superior officer that way! What's happened?" Garth yells back, not about to be intimidated by some sentry.
"I don't shockin' care if you're my shockin' mother, you ratbiter! I said let go of ME!!" Before Garth can respond, Ray slams the butt of the rifle in his face. Ray soon takes off down the hall.
Garth picks up his small radio, calling Shackle. "Manacle? This is Captain Hannock. You have a new target, Jayce Goldstein. He's gone insane."
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Manacle receives the call just before fading into unconsciousness. Padlock lies next to him on the ground, their third member has followed the Hulk through the smashed window to the snow quilted ground two floors below.
"Come out, beastie! Here, puppy, come here! I'll give you a treat, come on!" Headcase yells into the wind after lifting himself from the ground. He takes two more steps forward before hearing a rustling in the forest to his right. His communicator gives off its distinctive BREEP! as he receives his orders from Garth. Headcase hears a grunt behind him and turns to see Ray.
"Hnnnh, hnnnh. Body's...deteriorating...faster than...I thought...it would." Ray manages to say. Just then, a blue magnetic ribbon twirls from the shattered window, wrapping itself around Ray's ankles. As he falls to the ground, Ray manages to turn around and fire his plasma rifle at Padlock, taking him out of the fight. Headcase, however, uses his mutant telepathic power to shut down Jayce's brain, trapping "Gamma" Ray inside of it. Headcase radios Garth, but the Captain has been out cold since just after he contacted him. Not knowing what to do with Ray's body, The long-haired man turns to follow Hulk.
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The Hulk races through the forest, snapping branches out of his way with no more thought than it takes to run a hand through his hair. He begins to slow down, thinking his problems are behind him. He angles his pace, heading east. He looks around, "Perhaps I can find someplace to sleep here. Not exactly the safest of places, but..."
"Nighty night!" Headcase's voice breaks the silence as Hulk begins to fall to the ground. Fighting Headcase's control, the Hulk staggers toward his opponent, then lets loose a vicious backhand. Headcase flies through the air, careening into a tree, then dropping to the ground unconscious.
With Headcase unconscious, his hold over both Hulk and "Gamma" Ray disintegrates. Ray springs up, Jayce's body already dying due to radiation sickness. He races off to find the Hulk, only to fall face down in the snow. "Blast!" Ray thinks, "I must not have knocked that ratbiter, Padlock, out!" He hopes the rest of the way towards the Hulk's position, thinking that if he could just get one clear shot in...
Once again, Ray falls on his face, this time kissing the rail of the town's MLT.* As the train hums toward him, Ray scrambles to get off the track. The train buzzes over him, the magnetic pulse saturating his body and negating his magnetic leg restraint. When the train completely passes, the pulse sent him flying into the woods, temporarily encasing him in a magnetic field!
* Magnetic Levitation Train
The Hulk turns around at the sound of snapping branches, thinking the guards had found him. Plasma fire sprayed from the air as Ray, his body now almost completely decrepitated, came sailing through the trees. Hulk grunted as he sent his fist smashing into Ray's mag-field.
"What's' a matter, pal, don'tcha recognize me? We're old friends, right? Buddies? Compadres? Till the end, right? Well, amigo, that's gonna be sooner than you'd like to think. Say good-bye, 'pal.'"
"Why, you going somewhere I'm not? Sure I can't help you get there?!?" The Hulk raced towards his foe, smashing him into a tree. The mag-field had faded now, and Ray's body was on the verge of dying. He could barely hold onto the rifle.
I've waited too long to be rid of you, 'Gamma' Ray! Far too long!" With that, he sent Ray sailing through the air, crashing through the underbrush. Hulk heard rustling on the hillside at the edge of the forest, and Headcase was starting to come to. He ducked into the bushes, his green skin acting as camouflage.
Padlock and Manacle step out into the forest, Headcase stands next to them. The form of Jayce cowers near the base of a tree, mumbling "Must.......es..cape.. ....while...I...still can....." Padlock lets loose a mag-ribbon, wrapping Ray's feet. Manacle's eyes flare and force fields to encase Ray's hands. Headcase shuts down Jayce's mind, trapping "Gamma" Ray inside, dying along with the hollow form of his human host. They pick him up and carry him off. Minutes later, the Hulk stands and lumbers off to the east, looking for a new life......
NEXT ISSUE - Will the Hulk find peace and quiet in Nueva York? Not likely! Find out what happens and who the "Abomination" is in thirty!
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