The Long Night

Deep beneath New York City within a secret lab controlled by the Roxxon Corporation, Dr. Jonas Harrow and his associates are attempting to take control of the Dragon Man so they can learn its secrets. Not far away from this underground lab, in one of New York's many subway stations, the Thing waits for his train to return to Manhattan from Brooklyn. He grumbles to himself about how he's stuck taking the train because the Fantasti-Car needs repairs. Out of the corner of his eye, Ben sees two Brent Scarsdale and Beth Duncan, two local news anchors and hopes they don't recognise him and demand an interview. Ben isn't the only one who has noticed the pair. As Beth fends off the unwanted advances from her married co-worker they are targeted by a group of thugs who are looking to mug someone. First they begin picking on the Thing, not noticing who he is when Beth steps in and tells them to leave the man alone. When they turn their attention to her, that's when Ben decides to do something about the situation. Ben makes short work of the thugs and soon he is aboard his train with Beth Duncan who asks if he would be interested in doing an interview.

Meanwhile in Manhattan, the She-Hulk is calling out for a subway train to wait as she rushes to it with a huge stack of paperwork in her arms. Although she gets onto the train, it's awkward carrying all that paper and she ends up dropping it all over the subway car. This leads to some sneers from some perverted construction workers. She-Hulk is assisted by a young girl named Danika. The construction workers begin jeering at She-Hulk and she tells them to watch their language, pointing out that Danika is only 12 years old. She-Hulk then humiliates the men by stripping them down to their underwear and tying them to a pole on the subway. As she gives up their seat to an elderly lady, She-Hulk impresses upon Danika that violence isn't always the answer, but sometimes it gets the point across.

Deep below She-Hulk's passing subway car, in an ancient cavern, a vampire by the name of Bohan has gathered his loyal followers and promises that this night they will break free to the surface world and have an entire world to feast upon. As the Thing and She-Hulk tell their audiences what it's like being super-heroes, they are unaware of the two secret operations that are going on in close proximity to the two of them. The vampires set off explosives to free themselves, the resulting explosion causes the subway tunnel to partially collapse as well as destabilize Roxxon's secret lab, freeing the Dragon Man. Meanwhile, the Thing and She-Hulk free themselves and the passengers from their respective trains and soon bump into each other while trying to get people to safety.

Working together She-Hulk and the Thing are leading the evacuation when they run into the Dragon Man who has gone into a frenzy since being freed from captivity. Back at the Roxxon lab, Professor Harrow orders the soldiers put on detail for the project to recover Dragon Man no matter the cost. Meanwhile, the Thing has pointed out that Dragon Man has a thing for women and so She-Hulk uses her feminine wiles to get Dragon Man to stop. this plan is foiled when the Roxxon troops arrive to try and contain the beast again, putting it back into a frenzy. Meanwhile, the fleeing passengers run into Bohan and his followers and are attacked. With the Dragon Man making short work of the Roxxon goons, the Thing and She-Hulk try to subdue him. With word that there are Vampires in the tunnel, She-Hulk leaves Ben behind to quell Dragon Man while she goes looking for the other passengers to make sure they are alright.

Along the way she is attacked by Bohan who reveals he can assume the form of a praying mantis. She-Hulk fights him and drags herself back to where the Thing and Dragon Man are fighting. Showing Dragon Man that She-Hulk is in trouble, the Thing convinces the creature to focus on the vampires so they can get the passengers and Roxxon soldiers out safely. With the help of She-Hulk, the thing manages to punch a hole to the street above and they use a subway car as a ramp for people to climb out of. By this point, Dragon Man has been swarmed by Bohan and his vampires. Ben and Jennifer go to the surface to try and warn people to stay away but get swarmed by a phalanx of reporters. Just then, Bohan and his minions latch onto the Dragon Man in the hopes the creature will carry them to the outside world. The android does as anticipated, but Bohan and his cohorts do not expect it to be daylight and are soon incinerated by the sun. With the danger over, the Thing and She-Hulk decide to let Dragon Man continue to roam free since he's earned it and leave to get a cup of coffee.

Recurring Characters

Thing, She-Hulk, Dragon Man, Roxxon

Continuity Notes

• Ben mentions how Dragon Man has developed a soft spot for women, especially the Invisible Woman. The Fantastic Four first discovered this in Fantastic Four #36. She-Hulk seems to forgotten this fact even though she previously seduced Dragon Man back in Fantastic Four #321.