The Failure of Hydropolis

Bruce Banner has agreed to accompany psychologist Shiela Marks on a vacation to Bermuda where they once again will try to cure Bruce Banner of being the Hulk. The pair recount how Shiela's previous attempt resulted in the Hulk rampaging through New York City in Bruce Banner's human form before she could switch them back. They decide to try again after having dinner. Inside the restaurant, they learn about a series of disappearances happening out on the Bermuda Triangle. One elderly patron thinks it might be the work of the government, other dimensional beings or even aliens. Banner dismisses all these ideas as outlandish.

Meanwhile, out at sea some drug smugglers take their illicit cargo across the Bermuda Triangle during a heavy fog. The fog also masks the appearance of what appears to be massive sea creature which comes out of the water and swallows their ship whole before submerging back into the water again.

Back on the island, Bruce returns to the beach house that Shiela has rented for them. As a storm begins to loom she injects Banner with a serum that will transform him into the Hulk so she can attempt to use psychology on the brute in the hopes that techniques used to treat mentally challenged children will work on the gamma-spawned monster. When Bruce transforms into the Hulk, Marks tries to get the Hulk to finally understand that he and Bruce Banner are one in the same. The Hulk is not very quick to trust Shiela and becomes panicked and rushes out into the storm. Following the Hulk outside, Shiela manages to calm the brute by using a technique where the patient "projects" their anger into an inanimate object. This exercise succeeds in calming the Hulk down sufficiently enough to cause a reversion back into Bruce Banner. Shiela takes Banner back into their beach house satisfied that they are making some kind of progress. Banner, exhausted by the experience goes to bed telling her that she is easily satisfied.

Deep below the Bermuda Triangle stands the city of Hydropolis, Rypel is pleased to learn that their latest acquisitions are drug dealers and will not be missed. However, he is growing impatient about how long it has taken to populate his undersea city and wants to accelerate the process. When one of his men protests this plan, Rypel shoots him in the head for opposing his will. They then test out one of their new torpedos by launching it at a nearby beach, and the blast tosses all those nearby into the water. Among those are Shiela and Bruce. The sudden shock causes Banner to transform into the Hulk just as Rypel's massive submarine, the Leviathan, rises out of the water to collect these people to be brought to Hydropolis. The Hulk smashes at the submarine but they eventually incapacitate him with a powerful electronic jolt. The crew then swallow up all their targets, including the Hulk and return to Hyrdopolis. Learning that they have the Hulk as a prisoner as well, Rypel is delighted as he has uses for the brute in his undersea domain.

However, when the captives arrive, the Hulk has already reverted back to Bruce Banner. Not sure of the Hulk's true identity, Rypel orders his men to watch the captives to learn which one might be the Hulk. Rypel then explains to his fresh victims that they have been brought to his undersea kingdom to start a new life below the waves when the human race finally wipes themselves off the surface world. Needing to learn more about this operation, Bruce and Shiela have one of the other captives fake a transformation into the Hulk, creating a diversion for the pair to flee to another part of the city. After acquiring some uniforms as disguises the two split up to learn what they can about this mysterious place. While Bruce meets with Rypel's brother, who has been mutated into an amphibious creature, Shiela follows some soldiers and learn how Rypel is plotting an attack on San Andreas Fault in order to spark a new world war. Reuniting and comparing notes, the pair agree to sabotage this plot. Forcing their way into the torpedo room where Banner uses his knowledge of missile systems to alter their tragectory course.

They then break into the armory to get weapons and free the other prisoners. With the torpedo launch happening momentarily, Shiela leads the other prisoners to an escape ship while banner goes back for Ryple's brother. When the torpedos are launched and begin redirecting back to Hydropolis, Ryple rushes to tell his brother. Rypel convinces his conufsed brother to attack Bruce, triggering a transformation into the Hulk. The Hulk battles Rypel's brother for a time until he convinces him that Rypel is the villain. Agreeing with the Hulk, Rypel's brother slays his sibling. The Hulk then convinces Rypel's brother to flee into the ocean. He then returns to Shiela and the others where he discovers that the submarine is too complicated for them to operate. The Hulk agrees to help them by tossing the sub away from Hydropolis, just moments before the torpedos strike and destroy this undersea kingdom entirely.

When they get to the surface, the crew of the sub spot Bruce Banner floating in the water and recover him. Shiela Marks has decided that she has failed Bruce Banner once again.

Recurring Characters

Hulk, Dr. Sheila Marks

Continuity Notes

• All Cold War references in this story, particularly references to Russia being the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics should be considered topical references per the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616.

Ghoul of My Dreams

New York, 1937

Dominic Fortune is making a killing in an illegal gambling parlor and decides to quit while he is ahead. When the police raid the gambling den, Dominic and his pal Acey Dugan try to make a run for it but find themselves arrested.

In the city jail, Fortune learns that the commissioner wants to speak with him in his office. There he learns that his lover Sabbath Raven has paid for his bail and the commissioner will only agree to let Fortune go if he agrees to take on a job for him. He explains how a girl he knows, Zelda Pinkley has been dating Louie Kelt, an underworld type with incredibly shady practices. Fortune agrees to take the job, especially considering that Zelda is an old schoolmate of Sabbath.

They meet up with Zelda Pinkley at a west side nightclub where they try to learn what they can about Louie Kelt. When this doesn't yield much, Dominic is visited by his informant Acey Dugan. Dugan doesn't know much about Kelt, except for the fact he operates out of a funeral parlor. He gives Fortune the address of a man named Dink who knows more about Louie Kelt. Dominic leaves the two women on their own to follow this lead. When he meets with Dink he hears a story about how Louie Kelt's minions are zombies. Dominic finds this information outlandish and refuses to believe it. However, he soon gets a phone call from Sabbath who tells Dominic that she is being forced to be the maid of honor in Zelda's wedding to Louie Kelt, and that she is a prisoner of his zombie minions.

Dominic crashes the ceremony before they can sacrifice Sabbath and thinking that zombies have the same weaknesses as vampires, he tries to use garlic, a crucifix and holy water on the creatures, but to no avail. Resorting to doing things the old fashioned way, Dominic easily trounces the zombies who come apart at the simplest of blows. When Louie Kelt comes at Dominic, Fortune kicks him into a shelf full of chemicals. When the jars break and their contents spill of Kelt, it burns off the makeup from his body revealing him to be a zombie as well. The chemicals do their work though, dissolving Kelt into a bloody slurry on the floor.

With the battle over, Dominic frees both Sabbath and Zelda and they are shocked to find that other than being unhappy about missing out on her honeymoon, Zelda is unphased by the entire ordeal.

Recurring Characters

Dominic Fortune, Sabbath Raven