Incredible Hulk (Vol. 2) #53
Enemy Mine
Agents S-2 and S-3 of Home Base return to the secret military facility where the Abomination has been held prisoner for months. They tell him that it will soon be time for him to carry out his mission. They explain that his ex-wife, Nadia Dornova, will be in the town of Entropy at noon that day with Bruce Banner and that he is to meet them there. They tell him that they want the Hulk, not Banner and that he is to kill the Hulk if he is to have the detonator removed from his neck. At that same moment, Nadia is using Bruce Banner's laptop to contact the leader of Home Base. He is telling her to be in the town of Entropy and gives her instructions to kill her ex-husband, Emil Blonsky, something she traveled to the United States to accomplish. The only caveat to these orders is that she is to bring Bruce Banner with her. Back at the military base, Agent S-3 decides to put her own agent in motion by killing Agent S-2. When she tries to shoot him, S-2 jumps her and as the two struggle, they accidentally release the Abomination. The gamma-spawned monster slams his fists down on the ground, knocking the two out. Finally free, the Abomination wanders off into the desert.
Meanwhile, Nadia sits in bed contemplating her mission orders when Bruce suddenly wakes up. When he asks what was in the drink he gave her, she said it was just tea and gets up to cook them breakfast. Downstairs, Bruce begins trying to tell Nadia that it is time for him to leave when she finally reveals that the scars on her face were from her ex-husband. She explains that it happened in Russia where there were no laws to protect her from spousal abuse. She then reveals that she works for the people who have been chasing him. At that moment, the Abomination continues on his course, running past a farmhouse, scaring the owner and his daughter, before utterly destroying them. Back at the diner, Nadia explains that she is the ex-wife of Emil Blonsky, the Abomination and details her mission to deliver Banner to Home Base in exchange for a chance to finally get revenge against her husband. However, she didn't anticipate developing feelings for Banner. Nadia continues to detail her deceptions, at first she regarded Bruce with the same fear that she held for her husband. That was until she had an encounter with the Hulk. She realized that Bruce was not like her husband when she slapped the Hulk across the face and he did not strike back.
Bruce suggests that they get in her car and get far away, however, Nadia has other ideas: She's going to Entropy alone and Bruce is staying here. When he protests this plan, he is too late to realize that she has drugged him again, and he passes out. Nadia then leaves to go and face her destiny. As the Abomination lays waste to the town of Entropy, Bruce struggles to stay away using his mind techniques to picture the metronome ticking and the image of his late wife Betty. With the image of her in his mind, Bruce manages to crawl out to a truck parked outside, hotwire it, and follow after Nadia. Meanwhile, the Abomination screams out for his wife until Nadia comes out to confront him. He tells her that she has been very bad and is willing to forgive her after she has been dutifully punished. She explains to him her part of the deal with Home Base and how after they get the Hulk and his blood they will allow her to do with him what they wish. To punctuate this, Nadia pulls out a remote control that can detonate the explosive he has planted in his neck. While outside of town, the truck Bruce is driving runs out of gas. He gets out, strips off his clothes and puts on a pair of oversized pants before continuing the rest of his trek on foot.
Back in town, Nadia chastises her ex-husband for all the years of abuse and then tries to detonate the explosive, only to find the detonator is a dud. The Abomination starts to laugh at how Home Base deceived her when he has confronted the Hulk who tells him to pick on someone his own size.
Recurring Characters
Hulk, Nadia Dornova, Abomination, Home Base (The Leader, Agents S-2 and 3)
Continuity Notes
Agent S-3 is actually Betty Ross operating undercover. Betty 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.
