Robert Bruce Banner. A brilliant scientist forever driven by both an introverted nature and a quest for knowledge. A man who hid his every anger and rage his entire life behind horn rim glasses, and the latest scientific journal. But that rage was alive, and seething. Forever Seeking an escape. And finally that rage and anger was given form and substance by a freak accident, caused by Banners own deadly experiment. Now in times of peril, the meek and mild mannered scientist is transformed into seven feet, one thousand pounds of raging fury! The strongest, most powerful creature to ever walk the Earth !

The Incredible Hulk!

Hulk# 467

Fifteenth round...

By Ralph L. Angelo Jr

The Hulks mind races, as before his great green eyes, the monster known as the Abomination holds General "Thunderbolt' Ross by the neck, one finger resting under Ross' chin, ready to pop his head off like a bottle cork.

"What's it gonna be, Banner? The man or the monster? Become Banner, let me kill you, and I promise I'll let Ross live."

"Great." Thinks the Hulk "I have to either let him kill Ross or kill me. I have to do the unexpected, that's the only way to see this through."

"Okay Emil, you want me, you got me." Suddenly Banner convulses, and moans in agony. Practically howling like a wounded wolf, as the change, slowly, and painfully pulls its way across The Hulks features, as he reverts to Bruce Banner. He gasps painfully, gulping in air, as he lays in the dusty street. "H-happy now Emil? Y-you w-want me? H-here I am." He drops to the ground, seemingly wiped out by his transformation.

The Abomination drops Ross like a sack of potatoes. "You surprise me Banner, I didn't think you would do it.." He stalks towards Banner slowly as Banner continues to gulp air loudly. "I'll make This quick Banner. I'm sure in retrospect, you'll thank me for ending your suffering. Maybe someone will do me the same favor someday."

The Abomination reaches down to grab Banner by the neck from behind, when suddenly , and amazingly swiftly, Banner snaps upwards with a grin on his face and speaks one word; "Gotcha."

Instantly, he changes back into The Hulk, blindingly fast !

Ba-BOOM!

He smashes the Abomination away from him in a powerful roundhouse right!

"Whaaaat???" The Abomination roars in total surprise.

"C'mon Emil, get a grip. Did you really think I would let you kill me? Or even Ross for that matter?"

He leaps at the Abomination, tackling him, carrying them both through a tank Ross had in his small convoy of military vehicles.

Ta-KROOM !

"Get away from me, Hulk! I'll kill you both now! And your wife too!"

The Abomination kicks the Hulk away from him with incredible strength!

Ba-KOW!

"Unngh... Not so fast Abomination. You had your chance to get away, now you're going into custody, no matter what I have to do to you, to get you there!"

The Hulk slams his foot into the pavement, with the force that shakes the ground like an earthquake!

The Abomination tumbles into the air, as the Hulk leaps at him, both fists forward !

Ta-Bam!

"Aaaarrgghh!" shouts the Abomination as he tumbles through the sky, to land with a loud splat!

"Lets end this quickly Emil. I have things to do, and dragging this out any longer then necessary is not one of them."

"NNOOOOO! You won't take me again, Hulk! I'll kill everyone I come across until you stop following me!"

With that, he leaps away!

"Oh man, here we go again."

The Hulk leaps after the Abomination, as nearby, Ross awakens just in time to see the Hulk following the Abomination across the sky. Instantly he drags himself to a crushed jeep, and pulls out a radio, shouting loudly into it.

New York City, the programming offices of the Super Channel Network, The show is called "Living Legends". The hostess is Marlo Jones, and for the next few weeks, her husband Rick Jones is her special co-host. Fifteen minutes ago, they both revealed to the world the biggest secret of Bruce Banners life, that he and the Incredible Hulk are one and the same !

Marlo Leans over towards Rick, who is seated on a couch facing her at an angle "So Rick, what did you and the Hulk do then?"

" Well," He begins, "Dr banner and I became best friends through this period. He was my buddy, my mentor, and we shared tons of adventures, all over the world."

Just then, a monitor facing Marlo flashes, and she reads the message on it . "Hold on Rick, It looks like we have some super action taking place in Arizona as we speak."

Ricks demeanor changes slightly as he loses his professional air about him. "Wha? What are you - Is it the Hulk?"

"Yes Rick, Marlo answers, it's him. And he's fighting the Abomination."

Immediately the live feed switches from the studio to a copter following the fight between the Hulk and The Abomination.

"This is Honey East, live from the SCN Super-Copter , following a battle of legendary proportions. It seems that The Incredible Hulk and the horrifying Abomination are battling it out across the great south west!

Back in the Studio, Jupiter Brightson bursts into the studio where Rick and Marlo are both watching a monitor with the battle being played across it.

"Marlo, Rick! Look at these numbers! They're off the scale! Your revelation about the Hulk has more people tuning in by the minute! "

"Great." Mumbles Rick, not at all convincingly. All the while his mind races, over and over again the thoughts go through his head, "Did I make a mistake?"

Far beneath the Earths surface, a madman plans his revenge on the Hulk.

"So, my machinations are about to bear fruit! My Sub Terraneans bring me word that they are near the object. Word that all my dreams and desires will soon become reality. And when they do become real, then the first victim of my power , will be the Hulk! " Tyrannus laughs then, long and loud, as he sips from a goblet of wine.

Nearby, the little , yellow skinned subterraneans work tirelessly in the mines, working until they drop, then another replaces those that fall, continuing the work, while above, the immortal Tyrannus laughs and drinks deeply, thinking of his soon to be revenge !

Kra-BOOM!

The Abomination careens haphazardly through a four story building, in Reno, NV. With the Hulk hot on his tracks !

"Give it up, Abomination. You're not going anywhere. This ends here." The Hulk roars.

Suddenly the Abomination rises upwards from the rubble of the small building, as people scatter and run everywhere !

"I'll kill you , Hulk! "

He hurls a section of wall at the Hulk, who is in mid leap to land atop him, but the wall flattens the Hulk, smashing him backwards !

Frag-KOW

Nearby, cops run in every direction, clearing people out of casino's and businesses. From the south east, tanks rumble towards the small city. In the midst of it all, two inhuman powerhouses pound each other with earth crushing force!

"Emil, it's over." The Hulk delivers a raging left uppercut, smashing the Abomination from his feet, hurling him a hundred feet! Through a store front, and out the other side!

Ba-KROOM!

The Abomination rights himself, and leaps over the building coming down on the other side, seeking to land atop the Hulk, but instead, he lands right into a powerful haymaker from the Hulks right fist!

BA-TROOM!

"Uh, uh, uh Abomination, that's not the way it's going to play out."

He kicks the Abomination away from him again, a crushing blow that sends the Abomination tumbling into a casino, devastating the entrance as he tumbles through it like it was paper !

Ka-KRUNCH!

"Wha? Where?" The Abomination mumbles as he sweeps aside slot machines like straw.

Suddenly the Hulk is there leaping into the Abomination , and carrying him back out the other side of the building, destroying its insides, as both behemoths crash out the buildings rear. At the other end of town, the Army Tanks line up. Miles away, General "Thunderbolt" Ross races towards the war zone , aboard a military helicopter.

"No Sargent, don't move the tanks any further in. Leave them at the towns edge. To go further could cost innocent lives." He barks into a walkie talkie. "Wait for them to clear out of the town to a less populated area. If I know Banner, he'll be looking to go to an area without any innocents."

Back in beautiful Sedona, Betty Banner stares at her TV set, her heart racing again, as the live feed shows her husband in a life or death battle with the Abomination !

"Get him, Bruce. End this madness." She breathes fearfully.

Suddenly the Abomination leaps across the town, to another casino where people are running into for shelter. He immediately tears the front of the building down, and lifts a truck above his head. "Catch this, Banner!" He grunts as he heaves the truck into the casino!

Choom!

"Abomination, noooo!!!" The Hulk howls as he begins to leap towards the casino.

"I'm outta here, Hulk. You're not stopping me. You want to save the innocents in there? Go ahead. But remember, I'll be back when you least expect it."

The Abomination leaps away, but the Hulk is not quite finished. "This isn't over yet, Abomination."

The Hulk quickly looks around him, as an Elvis impersonator quickly drives past in his pink Cadillac. The Hulk grabs the car by the fender, and lifts the rear into the air, stopping it.

"Out." He growls at the owner, who sheepishly tumbles out the door and scampers away .

"Don't hurt mah sweet Priscilla." He moans as the Hulk lifts the car above his head and spins it around, so the rear end is facing forwards. Then he cocks the car, and heaves it! Directly at the Abominations diminishing figure!

"Get a life." The Hulk rumbles at the shocked and now running impersonator

Ba-BOOM!

The car explodes on impact with the Abomination, knocking him from the sky haphazardly, as the cars shattered fragments rain down over the desert.

"Curt Schilling's got nothing on me." He smiles grimly

"Got to save these people." The Hulk thinks, as he crashes through the front of the casino, which is now on fire. He rips the burning car from its landing place, and hurls it back outside. "Get out of here, all of you! " He bellows, as he grabs arm loads of people and crashes through the flames, saving them.

Then he runs over to a fire hydrant, and kicks it out of the ground. Using his own hands to direct the water, he hoses down the inside of the casino, putting out the remaining flames.

"Now to get Emil." He leaps away instantly, following the plume of smoke from where the car knocked the Abomination out of the sky..

Aboard the SCN helicopter, reporter Honey East can't believe her eyes! "Did you all see that? The Hulk just saved all those people. He must really be a hero now, like those locals in that little town near Sedona said the other night when he saved them from the Abomination. Like he's done here as well. This is a true turning point in the life of the Incredible Hulk ."

The Hulk lands as the Abomination runs towards him, head down , like a charging bull ! "I'll kill you Banner, I'll crush you. Dead, you hear me, dead!"

The Hulk stands his ground, the immoveable object Vs. The Irresistible force.

Ka-Koom!

The ground rocks with their impact ! Clouds of dust and sand fill the air around them, obliterating sight, as the SCN copter tries to get a better picture over head. "Move in closer, Barry." Honey tells her pilot.

"You sure, Honey?" The pilot asks her nervously.

Just then, a loud crashing sound reverberates through the air, shaking the helicopter with its force!

Tra-da-da-BOOM!

The Abomination sails past the helicopter looking more like a rag doll then anything else. Below the Hulk howls his rage angrily, both fists at his sides!

"Raaarrrrrggggghhhhhh! Don't-ever-do-that-again-A-bo-min-a-tion! " Then he sinks to the sand, huffing quietly, as he fights to calm down. The Abomination hits the ground with a thunderous crash, unconscious. The Hulk holds his head as his breathing becomes more regular.

"H-he tried to get out, on his own. Without my trying to free him. My God, what can of worms did I open the other day?" The Hulk thinks.*

*See two issues ago.

Then, suddenly several figures appear in the sky above the Hulk. Shimmering into view, as they de-cloak. A Skrull, a man in a brown and white hawk-like suit, and a red, white and blue android, while a swift-looking vehicle sets down nearby. Racing in quickly, the figures surround the troubled green goliath.

"Who are you? What do you want? " He growls ominously as he stands up from the desert floor.

The Skrull speaks first, in a rumbling , low voice. "I am the Ambassador, and we are Strikeforce: Freedom. Surrender now, Hulk. This will be your only warning!"

The Hulk merely clenches his fists and snarls, as inside his mind, Bruce Banner fights against a dark and angry voice that is battling its way to the surface of Banners psyche !

To be HULKinued!

Radioactive Rumblings

C/O CptMarvell@aol.com