Incredible Hulk (Vol. 2) #51
Killing Season
Bruce Banner wakes up in the Nadia Dornova's room above her diner out in the middle of the desert. Shortly thereafter, Nadia comes in to serve him breakfast in bed. She insists that he helps himself to some vitamin pills while he eats before offering him to join her in the shower. Meanwhile, in a nearby town, an elderly woman walks into the sex shop that an agent of Home Base has been visiting. She acts disgusted by the display of pornography and begins to wreck the store, prompting the owner to call the police. When the authorities arrive, this seemingly harmless old woman guns the officers down with a gun hidden in her cane. Back at Nadia's, Bruce is joined in the shower by Nadia who feeds him some vitamins before they start fooling around in the water. Back at the sex shop, the old woman mows down the store owner and a man in one of the private booths.
At that moment at a secret military facility, Agent S-3 of Home Base continues to show the Abomination footage of his past battles with the Hulk. She explains that he only loses against the Huk by default and that he is the only one who can actually beat the Hulk. She reiterates that when he does so, they will remove the explosive dart implanted in his neck. She then once again shows Emil Blonsky footage of Bruce Banner with his ex-wife Nadia Dornova. Back at the woman's house, Banner has been knocked out for the pills that Nadia fed him. She drags him up to bed and begins to access his laptop. Back at the sex shop, with everyone dead, the "elderly woman" removes her disguise, revealing "herself" to be an agent who is opposing Home Base. He checks the hidden disc drive on the property and discovers that the disc containing the video of one of their operatives undergoing plastic surgery has been removed. He then goes to the local bar. There he tells the bartender that his cover story of being a lingerie salesman and she invites him up to her room to buy a new bra.
Back at Nadia's, the woman has contacted the leader of Home Base who commends her for subduing Banner, telling her that the moment where she will be reunited with her ex-husband is well in hand. When she asks why Banner is important to these plans, he refuses to divulge why. He tells her to continue "entertaining" Banner until further notice. She terminates the call as Banner begins to wake up. While at the military base, Agent S-3 gets the Abominations agreement to the terms and releases him from his bonds. As soon as he is free, the Abomination lunges forward and grabs her. While back at the bar, the bartender brings the man up to her room. There she tells him to sit tight while she goes to the bathroom. While she is in there, she removes a gun hidden in her toilet tank. While at the diner, Bruce wakes up and feels dizzy. Nadia explains that Bruce slipped on some soap in the shower and offers to get him some strong asperin from her general store down below. However, as she is looking for something for him, she finds herself conflicted over using Banner to reach her own ends.
Meanwhile, at the military base, Agent S-3 convinces Blonsky that he cannot fulfill his obligations to Home Base if he kills her. When he lets her go, she orders him to remain where he is until they are ready for him to follow through on his part of the plan. While back in the bartender's bedroom, she exits the bathroom showing off her new bra. Hoping her target is distracted, she reaches for the gun hidden in the waistband of her pants, but he has a gun hidden in the bed sheets and shoots her dead. He searches her room for the disc and finds it hidden in her bra. While back at the diner, Nadia thinks she might have aspirin in her storage shed. When she is in there she is almost knocked off her feet by large booms coming from outside. When she goes outside, she sees the snarling form of the Hulk waiting for her outside.
Recurring Characters
Hulk, Nadia Dornova, Abomination, Home Base (The Leader, Agents S-2, 3, and Baxter)
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.
