Set years in the past.
17 days without an incident.
In Colorado; on a bus to the small town of Turango sitting down there was a man in baggy clothes, a baseball cap and a five o clock shadow. Spending the time reading a newspaper talking about the latest sighting of a rumored green skinned hulking brute larger and stronger than any man; that aimed to destroy anything in it's path. The investigative reporter who wrote the article; nicknamed the creature 'a Hulk' and it seemed to be catching on to this modern day Bigfoot.
"The other guy has a name now..." the man named Bruce Banner thought as the bus arrived and he left with his backpack. Bruce walked through the town until he had gotten to his destination; an abandoned run down science facility called Clive Labs. He looked into his backpack filled with some stolen classified documents and he found some photo copied newspaper articles that he had gotten from a library that were from the town's local paper that were decades old.
Talking of a tall muscular green man who had assaulted people around the town at night and had even killed people. Was said to be the work of a scientist who worked there studying gamma radiation Dr Jeffrey Clive and he was found dead in his own facility in the morning; probably from an angry mob.
He sighed sadly as he looked around and managed to break some planks away and used some lockpicks to unlock the door and get in; the inside looked to be like from a science fiction horror movie as he whispered to himself "Dr Clive... This was your tomb and you may not have cured yourself but hopefully what I could find of your research can help find a cure for myself. I can succeed where you failed..."
Going down the stairs he saw a large lab along with a special chaior with machinery including solar panels; he heard a shotgun being clocked and he put his arms up as he turned and saw an aged grey haired man pointing the shotgun at him. "Put the gun down; I promise you that I am only worried about your safety. Trust me; if you shoot... It won't be pretty..." Bruce sighed shaking his head.
"I will be the judge of that; what are you doing here and who are you stranger?" the man retorted sharply as Bruce sighed.
"I heard about the night creature from along go and I came here hoping to get info about how Dr Clive turned himself into it for my studies..." Bruce told the man and the man seemed to scoff at his words. "Trust me; this work could be important... Could save lives..." Bruce continued on hoping that the man would listen to him.
The man looked to Bruce's eyes and caught a glint of green and some realisation came to him as he put the shotgun down; "I see it in your eyes... You're that Hulk that the newspapers talked about... The large green man..." the man said and Bruce shook his head hoping that this didn't become worse. "Never thought I would get to meet another one like me after I was cured... I heard of the stories on the news but while others were putting it down as hogwash... I wondered if it could be true..." the man grinned as Bruce looked confused.
"Wait... You were... I thought Dr Clive... You were cured?" Bruce questioned as the man nodded.
"I will take you to my place; Del Frye at your service." the man told Bruce as Bruce took this in that this man was that creature from 40 years ago and perhaps if he was cured; then somehow he could use the research to cure him even his own transformation was stronger and more violent.
Bruce had introduced his name to Del and he was taken to Del's mansion estate and Bruce was offered tea and was able to have a decent meal in the first time in a long time. "I must say that I was surprised by what I found; said that towns and facilities were destroyed by this 'Hulk' that they are calling you now. Much stronger and bigger than I was; I was more of a Mr Hyde transforming at night when I got angry or emotional." Del told him and Bruce snickered.
"Not exactly a Mr Hyde; most people don't realise that Mr Hyde in the original Robert Louis Stevenson book for the most part wasn't exactly a 2nd personality. Mostly just a transformed state and Dr Jekyll for most of the story was using him as an excuse to indulge in his worst fantasies and give Mr Hyde a scapegoat to blame it all on. But for me especially not the case; most of my life I have a lot of darkness and anger issues that I have my old man to thank for. His beatings and shouting that I was a monster made me internalise that; so now the Hulk gets out when I get too emotional." Bruce responded as Del looked at him taking the story in. "So how did Dr Clive transform you Mr Frye?" Bruce asked as Del shrugged.
"My father was his benefactor; the Fryes are the wealthiest family in Turango and we owned all sort of businesses including the facility that Dr Clive worked on. He was working on Gamma radiation research and was certain that it was the key to curing diseases. At the time I was a star athlete in the college's footbal team and ready to go pro; however it turned out that I had a blood disease that was affecting my play and cure turn out to be fatal. My father told him to cure me or else he will pull all his money away and kick Clive out of the facility; he believed that his research could cure me and built that machine using solar panels to help but something went wrong... I felt better but one night I was out at a bar and this one big guy caught me flirting with his wife and... My own Hulk came out and I won that bar fight. I still remember being powerful and big... Dr Clive went to work on trying to reverse it and managed to use the machine to reverse it but the morning I saw that the mob had gotten to him. My dad had died recently and I inherited the family's fortune and the lab, had no clue how anything worked." Del explained and Bruce took this in with a smile.
"Sorry that you had to go through that burden but I could get his research to work; if it worked on you then it could work on me. What happened to me made me even worse than what it did but with my research I could combine it with his and make it work." Bruce said with hope in his eyes and Del grinned.
"Consider the lab and anything that you need yours' Dr Banner." Dell told him giving his hand for Bruce to shake.
Soon Bruce was working in the lab and fixing the old machine and updating it due to how long it stayed there unused; taking samples of his blood to analyse and get it to work with Dr Clive's research. "So how did you get transformed Dr Banner?" Del decided to ask with curiosity as Bruce sighed.
"I was employed by the US military under the supervision of a warhawk known as General Ross; the project I thought was supposed to be using Gamma radiation to cure conditions and diseases like Dr Clive was. I was foolish; should have known that the military would not be overlooking something that like. Ross wanted me to create gamma radiated super soldiers. A year and a half ago, I was so sure that I was onto something that I foolishly tested on myself... There was an explosion and I transformed; destroyed the military base and took so many lives. Been on the run ever since; my old employer leading the hunt tracking me down. I bet he hopes to use my blood to create an army of Hulks to point at America's enemies. Just one Hulk in the world is too many." Bruce explained as he didn't notice a look that Del was giving him.
One night Bruce was woken up and looked out the window as he saw Del walking outside to the direction of the facility; he got dressed and made his way there. He got there and saw that Frye was putting the machine on and had put Bruce's blood into a syringe. "Mr Frye! What are you doing!" Bruce snapped as Del grinned at him.
"I owe you my thanks Dr Banner; I have been hoping beyond hope that I could somehow get this stuff to work or someone else to do it for me for 40 years! The strength, the power... I missed it... I thought that I was was unstoppable before on the playing field... It was nothing compared to this feeling..." Del told him as Bruce was open mouthed.
"You wanted to become that creature again?" Bruce asked in horror knowing that he was being used.
"My old man made me behave; shouted at me not to do anything to soil the family name or risk my chances of going pro. But I was transformed and without all the issues that you had; I was in control and free to do what I wanted! I went after a teacher who called me a brainless brute, some mouthy idiots in my class and others... My father found out what I had become and I tried to get him let me have this but he refused; didn't want me to stay 'a freak like those Muties' as he said. I transformed and did him in. Clive found out and and saw that I would never consent to being 'cured' so when I was asleep; he dragged me to his lab and strapped me in. I awoke in the morning to find him dead and me unable to transform again. I was heartbroken but I swore to his stupid corpse that I would get his stuff to work on me again." Del responded as he got the machine on and strapped himself in.
Bruce went to work trying to shut it down but it was not respond; "Mr Frye... Please... This is a curse that ruined my life and it will ruin your's too..." Bruce pleaded but Del scoffed.
"You didn't appreciate the power that you have; with your blood I will become stronger than I was before.." Del said as the machine exploded onto Del filling him with gamma radiation. Del screamed as he felt himself being transformed; his skin turning pale green and his hair falling out. He started growing larger and bulkier as the combination of Bruce's blood along with the remaining particles of Del's original transformation and the new radiation made a deadly combination.
Del grew bigger and bigger with his ribcage showing through his skin as well as spines on his back with his skin starting to glow and show the skeleton underneath as he had outgrown all of his clothes. "I feel stronger and better than before..." roared out Del with glee as he threw back Bruce and clobbered him. "Change now... I want a proper fight..." Del demanded as he picked him up and tossed him into machinery causing a fire.
Bruce emerged growing larger and bulkier; looking transformed as his skin turned to dark green and his clothes ripped off with only his trousers remaining and having become shorts. Del grinned as he brawled with the Hulk as it led to them getting outside.
There were people running away screaming and some were using their video cameras; Del in his new transformed state was bigger than Hulk was and picked him up and threw him back causing him to land on cars. There were police officers arriving with the sheriff shooting at Del as he was not even phased as he picked up cars to throw at them; he then lunged at Hulk.
"I was the original and for a while you may have been the improved model but now I am the strongest there is!" Del told Hulk as he pummeled into him causing Hulk to grow angrier and pushed him back. Hulk then took a car and ripped it in half to use as boxing glvoes against Del pushing him back as Del then threw him right at a house.
The fighting continued as Hulk grew angrier and stronger; "How are you getting stronger but I am not..." Dell demanded as Hulk took more car turned boxing gloves to punch at Del in the head and got a wrecking ball from a demolition site to throw the ball against Del and then used the chain to strangle him. Soon Del was knocked out and on the ground.
"Hulk is the strongest there is..." Hulk quietly told Del's body but looked to the people of the town looking at him with hatred and fear, he turned away as he took a step back and managed to take a massive leap leaving him far away from the town.
Much later in a top secret US military base; General Thaddeus 'Thunderbolt' Ross an elder grey haired military official with a moustache and green uniform was talking to his subordinates in the off the books military unit that was charged with hunting down and capturing Bruce Banner. He was with his right hand man Major General Reginald Fortean as they were looking at the special containment prison that had Del Frye strapped down and contained and in a glass prison with a special glass material to keep him trapped if he did get out of his restraints.
"A small town in ruins; Banner gets into a fight with another one now but he still escaped. Have we identified this one?" Ross asked Fortean and Fortean shook his head.
"Still unable to get a blood sample but the facility that gave birth to the creature that the town dealt with decades ago was in ruins and this might be it. Banner found him and made him stronger; the facility was owned by a Del Frye but he is missing. The locals nicknamed this one 'the Abomination'." Fortean replied as Ross took this in.
"Did we get anything from the labs?" Ross asked but Fortean shook his head.
"Trashed and in ruins; nothing survived." Fortean responded as Ross was now furious.
"Would have been useful; still Banner can only elude us for so long. We are going to have him locked up in here one day and then his blood and work will be ours for the taking." Ross said as he then left.
Bruce after having transformed back had to scavenge and loot for some replacement clothes but all of his research that he had stolen back from the military was gone along with his best hope for a cure; this was his best bet so far but it was taken away from him. Hopefully whatever happens to Frye; he would never be able to harm anyone again. He betrayed Bruce in order to take back the curse that Bruce would never wish onto anyone.
Right now he was at a road and all he could do now was do what he had been doing all this time; continue walking alone, hoping not to endanger anyone and hope to find his salvation in curing himself of the beast.
He must now continue what he has been for over a year:
The lonely man...
Del Frye comes from the two parter episode of the original live action Incredible Hulk called The First and was actually the ONLY other superhuman that the Hulk fought in that entire show unless you counted Thor in that made for TV movie. Here I not only combined him with the Abomination but also combined bits of his story from the episodes with his HEAVILY reimagined comics counterpart as shown in the Immortal Hulk comic.