Incredible Hulk (Vol. 2) #35

Silent Running

Bruce Banner gets out of a big rig outside of Wanda's Diner. He enters and instantly notices a young girl being read to by her mother. On the television is another report about the death of Ricky Myers. Bruce's view of the television is blocked by Wanda, the owner restaurant who wants to take his order. After placing his order, Bruce waves at the little girl who stares at him blankly. He then notices that her mother has books on Autism. Seeing how the mother struggles with her daughter makes Bruce feel sad. He then pulls out his laptop and logs onto the internet. He contacts the mysterious Mr. Blue and asks for a weather report. As a nondescript black call pulls up in front of the diner, Mr. Blue responds warning him that there is a "possible storm" headed his way. Out of the car comes three men dressed in black and wearing earpieces.

As the newcomers sit down and order coffees, Bruce makes his way to the restroom just as the news reports show a picture of Banner. Realizing that the man sitting at the booth is the person they are looking for, the men spot Bruce heading to the washroom. When they discover that the door is locked, one of the men kicks it in while his two colleagues go around to the back of the building. They discover that Banner is nowhere to be seen and the bathroom window is broken. Thinking Bruce had escaped the diner, the men begin looking around. However, Banner was hiding in a storage closet and slips out the front door. He then crosses the street into a nearby field. Thinking he got away, Bruce is shocked when he is struck with a tranquilizer dart and passes out. He briefly regains consciousness in the back seat of the car of the men who captured him. He then passes out again and dreams. In his dream, he sees the autistic girl and a scruffy dog that was hanging around the diner. When they see Bruce they run away, and Bruce follows after them. At the clearing, he finds himself at a beach. The only person there is his late wife, Betty Ross, in a bikini. Betty holds up a metronome and smiles and then suddenly turns back into the little girl. When a strange worm-like creature washes ashore, the pair push it back out in the water.

Bruce suddenly wakes up and transforms into the Hulk, who tries to smash his way out of the car causing it to crash. With his captors knocked out, the Hulk reverts back to Bruce Banner who takes one of their outfits. He returns to the diner just as the autistic girl and her mother are leaving. As they leave, they drop one of their books on autism. Bruce bends down to pick it up and hands it back to the girl's mother. As they walk out of the store, the little girl turns around smiles at Bruce and he smiles back. Later, one his way out, Bruce gives a bag of french fries to the dog sitting outside and goes back out to the road to thumb for another ride.

Recurring Characters

Hulk, Ricky Myers