COSMO AND TAILS MEET THE INCREDIBLE HULK!

Chapter Four

"Leader Versus Eggman!"

"You'll never get away with this, Leader!" Bruce Banner insisted as the two villains forced him, Tails, and Cosmo to step into a strange round vehicle.

"Oh, but Doctor Banner, I already have gotten away with this!" the Leader said, pressing a button. The vehicle shot straight down into the ground, where it soon reached a tunnel system. He worked the controls on the instrument panel, and they were quickly on their way. Eggman's robot followed, while the Leader's robot began to walk out of the cave back to its master's lair with Captain Tanaka's drilling machine. Captain Tanaka, knocked out, lay inside on the floor with his glasses broken. He didn't move.

"Nice car!" Doctor Eggman said, making mental notes on how to steal the design. A doohickey like that could really come in handle some day.

"You two kids okay?" Bruce Banner asked Tails and Cosmo.

"I don't know," Cosmo said. "Doctor Eggman captures us all the time, but we've never met your enemy before. What sort of villain is he?"

"Why, my dear little alien," the Leader said, "I am the most brilliant mind in the world!"

"No, I am!" Eggman declared.

"Yeah!" Bokkun cried. "Go Eggman!"

"Don't embarrass me in front of the other evil genius, stupid!" Eggman hissed.

"So, Doctor Eggman," Tails said a few minutes later. "How does it feel to be working for somebody else?"

Eggman sputtered. "What?!? How dare you! I work only for number one, ME!"

"That's what you said when you were helping out the Metarex," Cosmo said, realizing Tails was trying to annoy Eggman into turning against the Leader. "But it was obvious that my father gave the orders! When you stopped obeying him, he had you locked away!"

Tails hated for Cosmo to refer to that maniac, Dark Oak as her father, but could see Eggman was about to lose it. "Maybe Eggy's scared," he suggested. "The Leader's robot is so much cooler looking than his is!"

"That's a lie!" Eggman yelled. "Mine is far superior to…"

"Stop letting those children manipulate you!" the Leader said. "Honestly, you act like you're not even as old as those two. How old are you two, anyway?"

"That's for us to know and you to find out!" Tails said.

"Your little friend's a plant, right?" the Leader asked. "I suppose I could always cut her open and count the rings!"

Tails let out a snarl and threw himself at the Leader. He seemed to hit a wall that no one could see. "Oof!" He fell on the floor.

"My mental powers are insurmountable!" the Leader cried. "None may touch my person!"

"There's one person that can get through your psychic ability, you maniac!" Bruce said. A vein was starting to stand out on his forehead.

"So you'd like to turn into the Hulk right here, wouldn't you, Doctor?" the Leader demanded. He pressed a button. A dart shot out of the instrument panel, striking Bruce in the chest. "Elephant tranquillizer, my friend. Good night!"

"You…lunatic!" Bruce moaned, falling over.

"What do you want, you monster?" Tails demanded.

"Why, what any self-respecting evil genius wants," the Leader said. "I want to be king of the world!"

"Ask a stupid question," Tails moaned.

Meanwhile, General Ross was having one of his usual fits. "Talbot! Where's that Tanaka? What's happening with the Hulk!"

"Captain Tanaka is no longer answering his radio, General!" Glenn Talbot said. "I suspect he's met with foul play, Sir!"
"Blast it!" Thunderbolt Ross yelled, pounding his fist on a table. "Then send out the troops! We can't allow mutants to get away and start breeding with normal creatures!"

"And Captain Tanaka, Sir?" Major Talbot asked, picking up a phone.

"Tell them not to shoot at that crazy drill machine of his, obviously!" the general yelled. "Do I have to think of everything myself, Major?!?"

"No, Sir, General, Sir!" Major Talbot said. "All right, men! Get those planes in the air! Move out!"

Tails, Cosmo, and Bruce Banner were tied up at the Leader's lair. The leader's robot brought in Captain Tanaka. The Leader snorted.

"That one is beneath my notice," he said. "Just tie him up and throw him back into his drilling machine."

"You're going to be in big trouble, Mister!" Captain Tanaka said. "Just have your goon put me down for one minute, and I'll teach you a lesson in karate!" He squinted. "If I can find you!" he muttered.

"You look familiar," Eggman said. "Hmm. Somebody I met on that other Earth? Oh well, I'm sure it's not important!" He turned back to the Leader. "So, what's our next move?"

"The military will attack the Hulk and destroy him eventually," the Leader said. "But I intend to influence them to try harder." He gestured to his robot. "Transform into the likeness of the Hulk as you were programmed to do!"

The robot's head disappeared into its chest, its arms and legs following. The robot seemed to turn itself inside out. A new head and four limbs emerged. The robot was now nearly a perfect double of the Hulk. The face was expressionless, however.

"Oh, wow, Cool!" Bokkun said. "Hey, boss! How come your robots never do that? Ahh!" Eggman had just knocked the little robot into the wall.

"I told you before," the fat man hissed, "don't embarrass me in front of the other evil genius!" He turned to the Leader. "I think I can contribute quite nicely to this little scheme of yours!" he said. He gestured to his robot. "Robot, transform!"

Eggman's robot seemed to also turn itself inside out. Instead of becoming anyone recognizable, however, it turned into a very large baseball bat. "There," he said. "Now your Hulk has a nice weapon!"

The Leader smacked his forehead. "You're an idiot, seriously," he told Eggman.

Tails, who had had practice being kidnapped repeatedly by Eggman, had been working on untying Cosmo. He gave him a look that was meant to tell her, if he got her free, she should make a run for it. Cosmo gave him a look back that said she wasn't leaving without him.

Doctor Banner moaned. Everyone looked over at him. If he came to, this would be a whole different ball game. But Bruce just rolled over and went back to sleep.

Inside of his drill machine, Tanaka had managed to get loose. "Good thing I used to study Harry Houdini," he muttered. He took the controls of his drilling machine. "Time to get back to Hulkbuster Base and warn General Ross! I'll make major yet!"

"Father Goose, this is Red Dog Leader," came over the loudspeaker at the base. "Do you read me, Father Goose?"

"Father Goose here," Major Talbot said. "Red Dog Leader, you are cleared to begin strafing the area. But watch for a huge, bullet-shaped vehicle. It is not to be damaged!"

"Roger, Father Goose! Red Dog Leader out!" The lead plane headed towards where the Hulk had last been spotted, followed by ten other planes. At the same time, a dozen tanks rolled towards the same area.

After a bit of arguing, Eggman had finally turned his robot into a huge tree trunk, to make it seem more likely the sort of weapon a bestial monster like the Hulk might actually use.

"That's terrible!" Cosmo said. "Placing the blame for your evil on trees!"

"This actually is a plant creature!" the Leader cried, fascinated. "I think I shall vivisect her!"

"What?" Cosmo asked, looking at Tails for a translation.

"I'll kill you if you try cutting her open!" Tails yelled, struggling furiously.

"Uh…I think I'll…monitor the progress of our robots," Eggman said, suddenly looking sort of green himself. Bokkun followed him.

"Boss," Bokkun whispered, "we're not really gonna let that big-head kill Cosmo, are we? She's about the only person that's ever been nice to me!"

"We need the Leader for now," Eggman hissed. "I'll tell you when it's time to turn against the fool!"

"Weakling!" the Leader cried. He mentally lifted Cosmo into the air and levitated her to a table. He lowered her onto it, then clicked the metal restraints closed.

"No!" Tails screamed. "Cosmo!" He had lost her before, seemingly forever. Only a true miracle had brought her back to him, and such miracles only happened once in a person's lifetime. But there was nothing Tails could do. Nothing. Except…"

Tails nudged Doctor Banner. If he could get him to wake up, get him to turn into the Hulk again… But Bruce Banner seemed to be really out of it.

"Red Dog Leader, this is Little Bo Peep," one plane announced. "Have spotted the Hulk. He's stomping along towards the base. Apparently he has an…an oak tree in his hand, sir. No idea how he found one of those out here in the desert, but…"

"The tree isn't important, Little Bo Peep," the head pilot told him. "All units, move in for strafing!"

"The robots are being shot at!" Eggman yelled. "Mine can take it, how about yours?"

"I find your incessant bragging to be quite annoying, Doctor," the Leader said. "Perhaps when I finish with this alien plant life form, I'll experiment on you next!" He picked up a surgical scalpel.

"Bokkun," Eggman hissed, "get ready to attack that egomaniac at my command!"

"I know precisely what you're saying, Doctor Eggman!" the Leader said. He pointed his hand at Eggman. The fat man, despite his massive girth, went slamming into the wall of the lab.

"Okay, big-head, you asked for it!" Bokkun cried, winding up for an attack. "Bokkun…kic-whoa whoa whoa!" The Leader had lifted the little robot into the air, and was spinning him around in circles. He then tossed Bokkun into Eggman.

"Actually, I think I'll examine your weird little robot before I deal with you," the Leader said. "But first…" He turned to Tails. "Maybe I'll let you live, little talking fox, until everyone else is dead!"

As the Leader turned back to Cosmo, Tails, in desperation, bit Doctor Banner.

"Wha--mphr?" Tails had covered Bruce Banner's mouth with one of his tails.

"The Leader's going to kill us all unless you do something…now!" Tails hissed desperately.

"But I can't…" Bruce whispered. "I can't control the Hulk!"

"You have to try, please!" Tails begged, tears rolling down his face. "He's going to kill Cosmo! I don't want to live without her!"

"Cosmo?" Bruce said. "Yes, the little green girl. She…she reminds me, reminds us of Jarella. Jarella! She loved me and him! The only one who ever did ! And she's dead now!" His eyes turned green. "Dead and buried! Because of maniacs like you, Leader!" He was shouting now.

"No!" the Leader cried, dropping his scalpel on the floor. "You shouldn't be awake already!" He turned to his instrument panel. But it was already too late.

Bruce Banner was gone. In his place stood…The Incredible HULK!

To be Hulktinued!