The Ultimates #12
A Deadly Shade of Green, Part One:
Prison Break
The Ultimates . . .
After facing down 9/11 most Americans thought they could persevere through it all but then disaster struck again in the form of a vicious super human known as Graviton and it was by sheer luck and overwhelming numbers that the black ops team known as "The Howling Commandos" had brought the immensely powerful man down. Almost immediately thereafter General Nick Fury had been tasked with forming a more public team to take care of threats like Graviton. With Uncle Sam's blessing Nick Fury trimmed down some of the excess programs and set about forming a super human team he had dubbed "The Ultimate Humans" or the more PR friendly "Ultimates".
The Story So Far . . .
Nick Fury revealed his Ultimates to the world with a bang during a rescue of the very guests who were there to see them. Their introduction was a success but it seems nothing good can last for long. Jan teased the rash Bruce Banner into working feverishly on the super soldier serum overnight, missing his date with his new girlfriend Betty Ross. When Betty breaks up with him Bruce, self-injected with his new serum, turns into a massive Hulk that escaped the Triskelion and wreaked havoc downtown. After causing hundreds of millions of dollars worth of damages the Ultimates were finally able to bring him down, Fury hiding Hulk's alter personality from the public.
A Page from Karl Lykos' Journal
Most people would consider a botanist that goes to the heart of Antarctica foolish at best but I have great faith in my eye witness who reported a fern growing in Antarctica. After all Kevin Plunder had been there at least five times himself nut the last time he never came back. I'd like to say this was a search and rescue mission, but there was no way I could get funding for something like that. I do know a lot of rich eccentric botanists, thanks dad, I just had to convince them a fern could grow in Antarctica. Sad to say that was the easy part.
The expedition has been riddled with disasters, three of my twelve men have frozen to death. One was killed by a fall down an ice wall and another went mad and ran into a blizzard naked. The rest are morose and it is slowly turning to bitterness which could turn into mutiny if left unchecked. Even some of the dogs have frozen to death, I pray we find Kevin's marker soon.
One strange thing is that while everyone else has been getting more and more worn down I feel better than I ever have in all my life. Yesterday when we were done with our ten mile trek everyone else fell into the tents, exhausted. I, on the other hand, could have hiked another ten miles. I have so much energy I can barely sleep. It seems the weaker my company gets the stronger I feel.
Ryker's Island, off the coast of New York City
Doctor Leonard Samson had never thought he'd be analyzing the world's most dangerous criminals for SHIELD. Across from him was a prime example, Karl Lykos, one of Shield's most wanted, evidently one of the most powerful superhumans in existence and batshit crazy. Thankfully Karl was sedated enough that even having this conversation was a great effort.
"How do you feel knowing you may go to trial for the deaths of five soldiers and acts of terrorism?"
"How do you feel being constantly surrounded by murderers and terrorists?" Lykos grinned at him crookedly.
"I am full of hope I can help them," Dr. Samson peered over his small-lensed glasses at Karl. "This session is not about me, it's about you. Now, please, stop avoiding the question and help me understand."
"Understand what?" Karl's tone was undeniably hostile. His eyes flashed green but then faded right back to their normal brown.
"You cannot transform," the doc told him flatly. "Just get it over with and tell me what motivated you to do what you did."
"What motivated me?" Lykos laughed with much more energy than he should have. It was a wild maniacal laugh. "What motivates a tiger to hunt a deer? Does a bear need a motivation to eat a salmon?"
"What are you saying?"
"Don't you see? It's instinct. I just knew its what I was supposed to do. I am the predator and you all are the prey!" Karl, still wrapped in a straight jacket, lunged at the good doctor.
Dr. Samson stood up and tried to back away but stumbled over his coffee table in his surprise. As he tumbled backward Lykos was upon him trying to bite him like some sort of rabid animal.
"Help!" Samson finally choked out, desperately trying to hold Lykos' bloody mouth at bay from his genitalia. The man must have bit his own tongue in his cannibalistic lust after Samson's flesh.
"Sir!" Startled guards poured into his office.
"Get him off me!"
Shield agents piled onto the madman, hefting him bodily from the prone psychiatrist. He screeched and foamed at the mouth struggling against the guards.
"You can't stop me! I am the messiah! My Brothers, the mutants, will rise and we will reclaim the Earth from the scourge of humanity!"
"Get that nutcase out of here," Samson thrust one quivering finger in the direction of his door.
"Humanities reign is nearly over!" Lykos screamed as the guards drug him squirming down the hallway.
"What a psycho," Samson breathed, knowing full well he had used the term incorrectly. "I need a raise."
An Hour Later . . .
Each new inmate came with their own special challenge. Doc Samson was astounded by the similarities between Karl Lykos and the man that was about to be delivered to Rykers', Bruce Banner. Both were scientists on the brink of a great discovery transformed into monstrous versions of themselves. Banner had to be constantly sedated to avoid triggering his transformation.
"The prisoner has arrived and has begun processing," a guard came to his door to inform him.
"Thank you, agent Ross," Samson nodded, locking his computer so that no one could access the patient files. These prisoners were of the highest security and many of them kept top secret from the public. Leonard was one of the few people in the world who knew Bruce Banner was actually the creature now being called the Hulk.
Were Lykos' and Banner's conditions related? Fury's official files indicated that they had nothing to do with one another and in fact had never met. Doctor Samson didn't trust Fury any further than he could throw him, and considering he had the typical psychiatrist's physique, that wasn't very far.
Samson fit a Shield earpiece in his right ear and tapped the side, "I am on my way to administer the psychiatric exam on the inmate."
After an elevator ride down six floors and a long walk Samson found Banner in his straight jacket, drooling, tied up in a metal chair. Two guards were posted at his side and two more had been at the door not that any of them would do any good if Banner went all Hulk on them.
"Look at his glossy eyes and his gaping mouth, you've got the man so doped up he's a vegetable. How am I supposed to conduct my exam if he can't even form a coherent thought?"
"He is to remain heavily sedated at all times via injection," General Fury stepped out of the shadows, his one good eye glaring down at Samson.
"How am I supposed to do my job when you keep interfering, General?" Doctor Samson clenched his teeth in frustration.
"Your job is to obey my orders," Fury barked. "Now how could I possibly interfere with that?"
"This isn't the last word on this, General."
"I believe it is, Doctor," Fury dismissed him with a wave of his gloved hand. "Take the prisoner to his cell. We're done here."
Banner wasn't even aware as they wheeled him to the elevator and rode it down ten flights underground. He didn't really notice as he passed various super-powered individuals, including Graviton. He didn't see as they stopped in front of his empty cell and the prisoner across the hall, one Karl Lykos, looked up sharply. No one saw as the crazed mutant smiled viciously while they unloaded the sedated Banner onto his thin cot and left him there.
"A feast fit for a king," Lykos muttered under his breath, literally drooling with anticipation.
Banner lay still, completely unaware of his surroundings.
Ellen Degeneres Show
"With us today is the fabulous Janet Van Dyne and her adorable husband Hank Pym, otherwise known as the Wasp and Giant Man respectively. So, tell us, what's it like being America's superhero power couple?"
"It'll be better when I get this knee brace off."
"Oh, I don't know it seems pretty stylish to me. Jan, I hear you're quite a style aficionado, what do you think?"
"Look at that face, he's adorable, I could I say anything negative about my big hunk Hank?"
"Now that you've saved New York what are you going to do next?"
"Well Ellen, between press interviews and helping with the rebuilding effort we don't have time for much else."
"I hear you have been invited to make cameos in Marvel Studios' latest space epic, Guardians of the Galaxy Volume Two."
Oh my gosh yes, I can't wait to meet Chris Pratt. He's so funny."
"Can you tell us anything about who you'll be playing or maybe a hint as to where they'll be going with this one?"
"I believe we have a clip, don't we Hank?"
"Sure."
"This is actually from the opening scene . . ."
CNN News
"Today they've finally cleared the streets of the damage done by the mysterious creature known as the Hulk. Captain America himself was there helping to clear the last bits of rubble with his super strength. Director of SHIELD Nick Fury as there as well fielding questions from the press."
"Here's some of what he had to say . . ."
"Shield has dedicated itself to finding where these creatures are coming from and putting a permanent stop to it."
"General Fury, what do you have to say about the rumors that these creatures have been coming directly from the Triskelion itself?"
"That's exactly what they are, rumors, nothing more founded on nothing more than speculation and a desire to want to find someone to blame."
"What about the video circulating online of the Hulk jumping from the Triskelion to Manhattan?"
"Anyone can easily tell upon a closer inspection that it is fake, the video quality alone throws its veracity into question."
"With the Hulk now contained how can you justify a bloated budget that the Ultimates requires?"
"If the Hulk incident has done anything it has proven that the Ultimates are needed now more than ever. Strange occurrences are on the rise and those that threaten the world can guarantee that the Ultimates will be there to contain them."
"For the full interview go to to . In other news North Korea continues to make threats of violence . . ."
Ryker's Island
Bruce Banner was probably the most lucid he had been since the incident. Samson had countermanded orders and stopped his injections in favor of pills and had even lowered the dosage a little.
Bruce wished he hadn't.
With awareness came memories. His consciousness was wracked with memories of fully trained men screaming in pain and fear, with the crunch of bones crumpling under his fists like paper. He remembered children screaming and being pleased by the sound. He couldn't wait until the next pill came.
"Can you understand me?"
Bruce groggily looked up, realizing for the first time he wasn't alone in his confinement, across from him sat a man in tattered prison garb with long stringy brown hair and intense green eyes. He was almost as skinny as Banner though he carried himself much more confidently.
"Are you still doped up to your eyeballs?"
"Where am I?"
"Oh good, you can understand me," the man's crooked grin made Bruce shudder with a strange creeping dread.
"Where am I?"
"Ryker's, though I don't see the point of telling you. You're just going to take those pills they give you and forget everything we talk about again."
Had they spoken before? Bruce could swear he had never seen the man before in his life, but then again he didn't even remember how he'd got to Ryker's. He didn't know what to believe.
"What do you mean?"
"I really don't want to bother repeating myself all over again."
Repeating himself again? Exactly how many times had they talked and how long had he been imprisoned? The questions began burning some clarity into his drug-addled mind. He was a scientist after all and scientists needed answers.
"Please, how long have I been here?"
"Tell you what, Bruce, you don't take your next pill and I'll tell you everything I know one last time."
Bruce wasn't so sure. The memories of what he had done as the Hulk burned in his mind like acid, but then again the questions burned almost as much and the distraction brought him some measure of peace.
"Fine," Bruce nodded. "I'll not take my pills."
"Good," his neighbor smiled. Again Bruce shuddered. "They should be here soon, let me tell you how to trick them into thinking you took your pills."
Los Angeles
Several bums decorated the street like grotesque caricatures of what the Ultimates had come to the City of Angels to combat. Giant Man, Black Widow and Black Knight all had to stay behind due to their injuries. Cap, Jan, Hawkeye and Fury surrounded a graffiti-covered warehouse while Iron Man circled high above, surveying the situation for them. This was a problem that definitely affected Americans.
"Eighteen heat signatures inside, though two of them may be victims as it looks like they are tied up," Iron Man informed them through their earpieces. The victims are upstairs together two guards with them, everyone else is downstairs."
Cap and Fury were positioned outside the front entrance, crouched and ready for action, Wasp and Hawkeye were posted at the side entrance. Fury nodded at Cap. The Super Soldier turned and slammed his heel into the wooden door. It flew back violently into the warehouse, crashing into a Mexican cartel member, it broke his arm and three ribs and knocked him out before anyone had a chance to react.
"You are all under arrest under the authority of Shield," Fury shouted as he charged into the warehouse with his AR-15, Cap covering him with his shield.
At least eight cartel members immediately opened fire with their automatic weapons. Cap and Fury crouched behind the shield. An arrow suddenly thudded into the middle of the firing squad of drug dealers.
"What the hell?"
Then it exploded.
Six of the eight cartel members that had opened fire were sent flying while the remaining two dove for cover. They turned just in time to see Hawkeye ducking deftly behind cover, they opened fire.
"Forgot about me, boys?" Wasp suddenly appeared in front of the tatted gangsters. She thrust her hands forward before they turned their guns on her and blasted them with her now infamous sting blasts. They fell to the floor unconscious.
"I took down the Hulk, you drug-dealing cartel gangster are nothing," Jan sneered at the two prostrate gang members.
"Jan!" Cap called out just before tackling her to the floor.
The sound of gunfire ricocheting off Cap's shield stopped Jan from whatever she was about to say.
"Don't forget the remaining cartel members."
The six free cartel members had come to their gang's aide a little late. Now though they had the four heroes pinned down with a constant hail of gunfire. With a crash corrugated tin and wooden beams rained down on the six armed gangsters. Iron Man landed in front of them with his repulsors extended forward.
"I strongly suggest you stay down."
The gangsters must have agreed because none of them moved from their prone positions under the rubble that had been the warehouse roof.
"Let's get to the victims," Fury commanded. The Ultimates followed his charge to the only set of stairs.
"Don't come any closer!" A gangster kicked open the door a young woman crushed in his arms, a gun grinding against her temple. "You do and she dies!"
"Everything is going to be okay," Cap reassured her. "Everybody just calm down, I'm sure we can resolve this."
"Hey!" the cartel member suddenly pointed his gun at them. "Where's the fifth one of you?"
A flash of light and the gangster dropped his gun, his hands cupped his face as he screamed.
"Right here," Jan proclaimed proudly as she grew back to normal size.
"Dammit, Janet!" Fury called out to her. Good thing Cap had enhanced reflexes, his shield zoomed past her into a gangster who had been leveling his gun to Jan's head. Jan gasped in shock, unable to think or move. Cap leaped past her. He grabbed his shield as it bounced back to him and slammed the gangster a second time.
"Hijo de puta, no sabes con quien jodes," the gangster spat out of his grinning bloody mouth.
"Shut up!" Cap slapped the man across the face with the back of his red-gloved hand. The rest of the Ultimates went silent and watched on in shock. "You stain your own countrymen's name for your greed. You are willing to let children die in the streets so you can get rich! You have no right to speak!"
Cap began pummeling the gangster over and over again with his bloodied fist until Hawkeye and Fury grabbed him from behind. Cap whirled on them, his face a mask of rage.
"Stand down, Captain," Fury ordered in the sternest voice he could muster. "We got 'em, we've won." Cap's threatening pose relaxed and his face fell into confusion. Behind him the young woman looked on in horror.
Ryker's Island
Karl Lykos was ready to bring his plan to fruition, his only worry was the gamma-powered power dampeners. It was a brand new technology and never tested against the likes of Sauron and the Hulk at once. He could hear the guards coming to let them out for their daily hour of sunshine.
"Remember to act sedated," he called out to Banner. He had deceived the man, making him think he had lost weeks in a drug-induced haze when had truly been a matter of a few days.
"I know," Bruce responded, the fear and irritation clear in his voice.
Karl put on a bored expression, a struggle in and of itself for he could feel his nerves tingling in anticipation of freedom.
"Okay, Lykos, you know what time it is," a bored prison guard intoned. "Turn around and face the wall with your hands behind your back."
"Yes, sir."
Thinking the normally feisty Lykos was being sarcastic the guard sneered with annoyance. "Don't forget what happened last time you tried something." A stifled whimper came from Banner's cell.
This was going to be easy.
Lykos did as he was instructed, also kneeling for further reassurance that he wasn't resisting. "Is the sun out today? I feel like I could really use some vitamin D. I'm cooperating I want to go outside."
"Shut up."
"Yes, sir."
The guard smacked him on the back of his head, Karl saw stars. He seethed inside, his blood boiling, but on the outside he remained calm. The guard cuffed him and hauled him to his feet, pushing him roughly outside his cell.
"Donaldson, get Banner and let's get this over with."
A big burly guard hoisted Bruce over his shoulder and tromped ahead while the remaining three guards surrounded Lykos and began to march him toward the elevator. The next few minutes were tense for Karl as his head still smarted from the guard's abuse and he could feel a headache coming on.
Good thing he knew he was going to feel much better soon. Better than he had felt in all his life.
They reached the outer enclosure without incident. It was actually a pretty nice area for a couple of Shield's most wanted criminals. The grass was thick and green and a few random bushes grew about the yard. Seagulls called as they wheeled about outside the massive electrified wiring that covered the enclosure. Soon Karl would join the birds in the sky, he could feel the wind beneath his wings already.
Banner lay limply, as always, right next to the enclosure's entrance right where agent Donaldson had dropped him. Karl smiled as they shoved him past the gateway and locked it behind him. Revenge truly was a dish best served cold, and these dolts had delivered the means by which he would take it.
"Hey Banner, did you know that they use your own research to keep you sedated? Twisted jerks."
"How am I supposed to stay calm and 'sedated' when you tell me stuff like that? Leave me alone."
"Sorry," Karl faked remorse. I just thought you had a right to know you're responsible for this entire facility."
"Leave me alone, Karl," Bruce growled, his face straining to feign relaxation.
"Well, what do you want before they kill you, puny Bruce?" Karl outright mocked him. "The truth? No, I think you want to live a drugged up lie. "You can't handle what you've done, you're too afraid. I think you've got to own that shit, Bruce, you're a monster plain and simple."
"Shut up!" Bruce outright shouted, sitting up, startling several guards.
"Lykos, step away from Banner or you will be shot, this is your only warning!"
Karl had to take a gamble, he very slowly backed away but continued his verbal assault. "You're a monster, Bruce! Embrace it, enjoy it! There's not a feeling more liberating. Be free while you still can because you will either rot in here or they will kill you!"
A warning shot was fired in the air. Both of the prisoners jumped. It was just what Lykos had needed. Banner's eyes flashed a radioactive green, his skin turned chalk pale before transitioning to a slate gray.
Karl Lykos wept for joy as he jumped onto the quickly growing Banner. "Yes! I've never felt such energy!"
Shots rang out as bullets embedded themselves into Sauron's back. He screeched, his skin turned green, he turned as his jaw bones popped and cracked as they transformed into the maw that was Sauron's.
"Too late!"
"Open fire!"
The air erupted in automatic gunfire. Bullets pounded into the dinosaur-like mutant, he screeched in pain but refused to let go of Banner, whose transformation had paused halfway through.
"So much power it burns!" Lykos had fully formed into Sauron and now began to glow with energy. Banner began to shrink back into his normal human form. Sauron tossed him aside like a piece of trash.
"It's too much!" Sauron suddenly cried out in surprise. "It's more than I can contain! how is this possible?" Indeed his glow brightened into a full on radiant shine like the sun. He began to scream.
Green energy burst forth from his mutated body, slamming into the guards that had been firing at him. The energy cascaded past them into Ryker's prison and caused the walls to tremble and crack. Glass shattered and the electrical dome above them was torn asunder, sparks rained down on the few remaining conscious below.
Sauron slumped to the ground, exhausted but still in his powerful form. Suddenly without warning a second explosion rocked the prison walls and ceilings crumbled underneath the gamma-enhanced explosion as the power dampeners overloaded. Sauron, still very impervious to harm, was flung away with no more harm than some singeing and scrapes and bruising.
No one else was nearly as lucky as Ryker's collapsed, crumbling to the earth and taking all its inhabitants with it.