From Shadowed Places

Upon hearing that his operatives have failed to capture Bruce Banner or the double agent known as Mr. Blue, the leader of Home Base is not happy with his agents S-4 and S-5. In response, he has organic acid put in the drinking water of S-4, causing him to dissolve into an organic slurry in his seat. Telling S-4 that Mr. Blue is at Nadia Dornova's diner and Banner is in New York City, he warns him against failing, telling him to unleash the Krills. Agent S-5 warns that the Krill project is still in its early testing stages. However, the mastermind behind Home Base thinks that the creatures aversion to light will only be an asset if they are unleashed during the dead of night.

Meanwhile, at a gentlemen's club in New York City, Bruce Banner is in a sauna with an agent of an organization opposing Home Base. The man says that they are trying to keep Bruce hidden until they can fly him out of New York and back to New Mexico where he finally meets Mr. Blue face-to-face. At that very moment, Mr. Blue is taking a shower in Nadia Doronova's bathroom. Outside, Nadia waits with Mr. Blue's coveralls she wore while operating as Agent S-3 for Home Base. She finds a small projection device that starts playing a video showing Mr. Blue's plastic surgery that allowed her to change her face and infiltrate Home Base. At that moment, Mr. Blue is finished in the shower and asks for a towel. Mr. Blue reiterates that Home Base will be after both of them, Mr. Blue for being a double-agent, and Nadia for betraying them. However, they have until nightfall, and Mr. Blue decides to talk about the man they both have in common: Bruce Banner. While back in New York, it is time for Banner to go, the agent sends him out of the sauna and tells him to head directly to the cab waiting outside and talk to nobody. Once Banner is gone, the agent contacts his superiors and tells them that everything is going according to plan. Suddenly, the door slams closed and the sauna's temperature begins to rapidly increase, boiling the agent alive.

Meanwhile, at his secret lab, Doc Samson uses Sandra Verdugo's DNA to help them trace their son Ricky Myers. With his equipment, Leonard is able to locate the boy somewhere near the town of Carlsbad. As his lab is compromised, Samson and Verdugo leave, setting the place to explode. As the pair leave in a car and decide their next move, they notice that Bruce Banner's laptop is beginning to flash. Opening it up, they find a brief message telling them to head to Nadia's urgently. They consider their options and if this is a trap or a legitimate message from Banner or not, and decide to head to Nadia's instead of Carlsbad. Meanwhile, Bruce Banner arrives in New Mexico and discovers operatives who have arranged for him to get his rental car without any problems and he is soon on his way. While back at Nadia's, the two women prepare for the eventual arrival of Home Base. Mr. Blue explains that she is a government operative who was planted as a mole within Home Base in order to keep Bruce Banner safe. However, when Nadia asks for the real identity of Mr. Blue she skirts the subject, instead choosing to be highly critical of Nadia's relations with Bruce Banner. While not far away, Doc Samson and Sandra Verdugo continue their race to Nadia's, questioning their plan, but Leonard is certain that they need Bruce Banner, and the Hulk, to help save Ricky. Suddenly, their car is attacked by an approaching helicopter which riddles the vehicle with bullets until it crashes on the side of the road and explodes.

Back at Nadia's, Mr. Blue goes out into her shed to get a shotgun. While she is getting it, Nadia projects an image of Mr. Blue's plastic surgery on the wall. Keeping Mr. Blue at gunpoint, Nadia demands to know who Mr. Blue. The mystery woman refuses but insists that Bruce Banner doesn't know who she is. Suddenly, Mr. Blue feels something slip past her foot. The two women suddenly hear something in the tall grass. Running back to the house, Mr. Blue notices that the lights are suddenly off. From inside the window, they see a number of red eyes peering out at them from the darkness of the house.

Recurring Characters

Bruce Banner, Doc Samson, Sandra Verdugo, Nadia Dornova, Mister Blue, Home Base (The Leader, Agents S-4 and S-5)

Continuity Notes

• Mr. Blue is actually Betty Ross operating undercover. Betty had died of radiation poisoning in Incredible Hulk #466. 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.