Transfer of Power

Somewhere in the New Mexico desert, a man walks into a bar and orders a drink. As the bartender tries to flirt with him, he is told via an earpiece that the film is ready. The man downs his drink and heads over to a nearby sex shop. There he pays for time in a private booth. As an adult film plays before him, the man pulls out a pair of specially treated glasses. With the glasses on he sees a video clip that Home Base wants him to review. In it, a woman -- whose identity is concealed -- agrees to undergo what she is told is irreversible plastic surgery, to change her appearance, they warn her that they will not be responsible for anything that happens after the fact.

Meanwhile, in Clarksville City, Colorado, former Home Base operative Sandra Verdugo has come to rescue Bruce Banner from the city morgue after a shootout between Agent Pratt and the local police. Banner demands answers from Sandra, particularly since he has seen Agent Pratt get killed previously and has since survived multiple fatal gunshot wounds. He also points out how Sandra also survived a shot to the head and being blown up. Sandra explains that everything she has done so far was to clear a path for Bruce to find her son Ricky Myers. With no time to lose, Verdugo goes back into the coroner's office to see if Agent Pratt still has the Anti-Hulk gun in his possession. When they try to check his body, Agent Pratt comes back to life. Sandra shoots him in the head and tells Bruce that they need to get away before Pratt can reconstitute himself. They rush to Sandra's car which she "borrowed" from an old man in Kansas Sanda also tells Bruce that she drained some of his blood to replenish herself. Bruce demands clarification, but Sandra pauses to shoot Agent Pratt, who had healed enough to try and attack them again.

As they speed away, Sandra explains that she was able to track Bruce thanks to his laptop which she found in the burned-out cabin. She explains that thanks to experiments conducted on her by Home Base, she is virtually immortal and needs human blood in order to heal her injuries. She goes on to explain that while she took blood from people, including a child with cancer, the enzymes of her own blood cured him. Suddenly, there is a loud bang and Bruce passes out again. When he wakes up he finds himself in Laurie's apartment yet again. This time, it's not a dream, as both Laurie and Sandra Verdugo are there. Sandra explains that their tire got a flat and Laurie has agreed to let them use her car for the rest of their trip. Along the way, Bruce learns the mysteries behind his arrest for "murdering" Laurie. In reality, Laurie did leave fro Kansas City as she said. Sandra Verdugo was watching Bruce from afar and after Laurie left broke into the apartment. Seeing the Bruce needed serious medical attention after getting hit with a car, she gave him a blood transfusion so that her blood could heal him. However, the transfusion took a lot out of her, causing Sandra to decay into the ghoulish figure that Bruce dreamed about. After that she tried to hide in the closet when the police arrived, leading to their grisly discovery. Lastly, she reformed herself with blood from the coroner at the county morgue.

Hearing all this, Banner realizes that it was the reintegration formula in her blood that has been preventing him from transforming into the Hulk and believes that he has been cured. Unfortunately, he isn't, as Sandra explains that the formula will be purged from his system once his body naturally replenishes his blood supply. It's then that Sandra lets Banner know that they have been followed by a black SUV for the last twenty minutes and that it is probably Agent Pratt. No sooner has she spoken this does the SUV speeds up and tried to run them off the road. Looking into the backseat of the pursuing vehicle, Sandra sees her son Ricky in the back seat. As she tries to immobilize the other vehicle, their bumpers lock sending both cars flying off the road. Sandra gets out and frantically tries to get her son out of the car. Bruce gets out and surprises her by being able to lift the SUV with the strength of the Hulk, but without transforming. As he flings the car, two crash test dummies fall out -- yet another hoax.

However, Sandra is sure she saw her son inside the vehicle. She then questions Banner how he was able to toss the car without turning into the Hulk. However, Banner is more concerned with getting out of their present location. He tries to start up Laurie's car. Getting the engine running, he reminds her that as long as they are free, Ricky will probably be safe. Sandra tries to convince Banner that now that he has control of the Hulk's strength they can stop running and save Ricky. However, Banner isn't sure what to do because he doesn't know who is in control of the situation. As they turn the bend, they find themselves surrounded seven black SUV's, much like the kind driven by Agent Pratt.

Recurring Characters

Bruce Banner, Sandra Verdugo, Home Base (Agent Pratt), Betty Ross (unidentified)

Continuity Notes

• The woman in the video seen here is Betty Ross, who had died of radiation poisoning in Incredible Hulk #466. Her survival is revealed in Incredible Hulk Vol 2 #62. Betty was resurrected thanks to the machinations of the Intelligencia as seen in Fall of the Hulks: Alpha #1. However, her appearances here are all part of a reality warp created by Nightmare as revealed in Incredible Hulk Vol 2 #81.