Spider-Bat: New Way Home
Chapter 21: Devil Inside
Having driven for over thirty hours, Alfred and Peter made it to New Mexico, only stopping for a couple of hours to rest along the way. They were eager to have a conversation with Doctor Banner. Peter desperately needed to talk to him, hoping to get more information about Norman Osborn's symbiote experiments, especially the ones which might have involved his actual parents. Finally, upon reaching the military base, they were met with disappointing news, learning of a tragic accident involving Doctor Banner, who was now missing in action.
Intrigued by their arrival, Tony Stark was eager to discover what had brought them to Doctor Banner, hoping to gather some information himself. Alfred was cautious about revealing too much, concerned the information might be compromised. He was tremendously worried about Peter's safety. He simply asked Tony where Doctor Banner was living before his disappearance. Tony then took it upon himself to take them to Banner's apartment near the base.
Arriving at the apartment minutes later, they discovered Banner's door had been forced open. Before attempting to call the proper authorities, they decided to go in and investigate for themselves.
Inside, things were overturned and his couch had been ripped to shreds. Someone had sought after an important item. Peter felt it might've been referring to the same reason he was there.
They were engrossed in their search when, out of the blue, another person, a man, entered the apartment, startling them.
"Who are you?" Tony demanded to know. "What are you doing at Doctor Banner's apartment?"
The individual put up his hands in surrender. "I mean you know harm. My name is Rick. Rick Jones. I'm only here to gather a few things for Bruce," he informed them.
"What? Bruce is alive?" Tony exclaimed, shocked by this new revelation. "Where is he?"
"He's resting at my place." Rick replied. "He's had quite a traumatic couple of days."
"Why hasn't he told anyone he is okay?" Tony continued asking, desperately wanting answers.
"I… I think he will have to explain that to you himself," Rick replied nervously, not sure of how to explain what he had witnessed after the explosion, after Bruce's transformation, that is.
"Why is this apartment torn up like this?" Tony continued interrogating.
"I have no clue. This is my first time being here," Rick responded.
"Fine. Gather what you came here for, and then bring us to him," Tony demanded.
Rick quickly made his way to Banner's closet and gathered some loose clothing, mostly some larger sweaters, and a purple pair of elastic jogging pants. Tony thought that was a strange selection to choose because Banner would usually wear more formal attire. While the clothes Rick picked were a concern, Tony was more interested in seeing Bruce than anything else.
Shortly after, Tony, Alfred, and Peter followed behind Rick's jeep back to his place.
Bruce was sleeping on the couch as the four guys walked in.
"When should we wake him?" Peter asked, hoping to talk to Bruce sooner than later.
"I'd probably wait a little longer," Rick replied, setting the spare clothes on the armrest of the couch, a slight hint of worry in his voice. "He's been a bit touchy lately."
Peter wasn't as patient as Rick wanted him to be. Rushing over to Bruce, he started nudging him. "Doctor Banner? Doctor Banner?" He pushed gently.
Rick moved backward. His anxiety was mounting.
Just as Peter tried poking at him again, Bruce suddenly woke up, grabbing hold of Peter's wrist, not allowing Peter to prod at him any further. Bruce then looked around, a confused gaze in his eyes. "Where am I?" he asked. "What day is it?"
Rick stepped in closer. "My name is Rick. Rick Jones. I'm the one you shielded at the test site. You are at my place. You've been asleep for the last couple days–since the explosion, that is," he informed him. He then picked up Bruce's spare clothes. "I went and got these for you."
Bruce wasn't sure of what to say. "Ugh…All I can remember is trying to get you to the safety trench… and… and the Chameleon," he muttered, rubbing his head, trying to remember everything that happened just before the blast. He then looked at the spare clothes Rick was holding. "How did you know where I lived?"
"I took the liberty of checking your i.d. It was in your wallet. But don't worry, I didn't take anything else," he assured him.
Peter stepped in, interrupting the conversation. "Doctor Banner, my name is Peter Wayne. You probably don't know me, but I have a few questions I need to ask you about my parents."
"Wayne?" Bruce repeated. "I'm not sure I've heard of that name. Well, other than some labels I've seen on our military weapons, anyway."
"My parents' names were Richard and Mary Parker. I was told they might have come to you when they were studying an alien compound. It would have been more than ten years ago."
"Parker? Richard Parker? You're his son?" Bruce asked, astonished Peter was standing before him.
"So, you did know him? Then you must know about the experiments that Norman Osborn was working on, correct?"
"Yes. I know about the experiments. I also know about the alien that crash-landed in Smallville along with the alien compound. That must be why Chameleon set off the gamma-bomb while I was in the blasting zone." Bruce said, still acting a bit dazed.
Before anything else could be said-
Click! From behind Rick, Alfred, and Peter, the cocking sound of a gun could be heard.
"Yes. That is exactly why I set off the explosion."
When everyone turned to look, they were shocked to discover Tony Stark was no longer standing there, and instead, it was the Chameleon. He had been pretending to be Tony the entire time.
"So, you're the one who tore apart Doctor Banner's apartment?" Alfred proclaimed, a mean scowl on his face.
"You're damn right it was me!" Chameleon admitted, waving his gun around towards everyone. "Banner has been progressing his Super-Soldier-Serum, and Osborn and I plan on getting our hands on it before anyone else."
"Osborn?" Alfred repeated, chuckling. "I take it you haven't heard about what happened at Oscorp the other night?"
Chameleon acted like he didn't have the slightest clue of what Alfred was referring to.
"Oscorp went up in flames!" Peter blurted, a smirk on his face, happy to have ruined Chameleon's plans.
"That makes it that much better," Chameleon retorted. "Now I don't have to share the discovery with anyone else." Then he pointed the gun directly at Bruce. "Now, tell me where the formula is, or else."
"There is no formula. I never wrote anything down after experimenting on myself. I am the formula."
Before Chameleon could get any more information out of Bruce, the front door to Rick's house bursted open, startling everyone.
Standing there were Lobo and Logan. They noticed the imposition. "What do we have here… A New Mexican standoff?" Logan quipped.
"Good one, mate!" Lobo laughed, playfully punching Logan in his shoulder, only to receive a slight growl in return.
"Who are you guys?" Chameleon demanded to know, pointing his gun directly at them.
"My name is Lobo, and this is my new pal, Wolverine. We need to ask Doctor Banner a few questions about a certain alien who crash-landed here a few years ago."
"Jesus Christ! How many people know about that?" Bruce bellowed.
"How did you find us?" Rick asked, surprised they found their way to his house.
Lobo pointed to Logan. "My friend here is quite the hound-dog," he replied. "One sniff of his clothing is all it took to lead us here."
"Well, you picked a bad time to show up!" Chameleon shouted, pointing his gun, and-
Bang!-Bang! He shot Lobo and Logan directly in their chests.
Lobo stood there as if he had just gotten bit by a mosquito. Then he looked down at his leather vest, discovering a hole in it. "You Fraggin' Bastich!" he exclaimed. "I just bought this damn thing!" He then looked over at Logan. "Take out your claws and go cut off this blank-faced asshole's hand."
However, Logan wasn't taking the gunshot as well as Lobo, still hunched over in pain. "Just give me a second," he grumbled. "Apparently, I don't heal as fast as you do."
Suddenly, from out of nowhere, Pow! While Chameleon was distracted, Alfred came in with an upper-cut to Chameleon's jaw, laying him flat on his back, knocking him out cold.
"Nice punch, mate!" Lobo congratulated. "You humans are a feisty bunch!"
Chameleon's gun laid on the ground near Alfred's feet, but Alfred knew better than to pick it up.
"Now… Where were we?" Lobo asked, stepping in closer. "Oh, that's right. We were about to ask Doctor Banner about the alien's whereabouts."
"And what do you plan on doing with us once you find out this information?" Alfred asked, stepping in front of Peter, always the protector.
"Actually… You guys don't need to be here for this line of questioning," Lobo stated. He then looked towards Logan. "Why don't you escort these three out of here? I'll stay here with the good ol' doctor. I'll deal with them afterwards," he added, a threatening smirk on his face.
Logan, finally feeling better, gathered Rick, Alfred, and Peter. "C'mon. Let's go. I don't think you want to piss him off."
Seconds later, as the four of them were escorted out into the front yard, "What is he going to do to Bruce?" Peter demanded to know.
Rick put his hand on Peter's shoulder, hoping to calm him down. "I don't think you have to worry about Bruce," he proclaimed. "From what I've seen, he can handle things for himself."
"What do you mean?" Peter asked, confused by his statement.
Just then-
CRASH! Having been punched really hard, Lobo came flying through the roof of the house, landing several yards away, his body rolling over and over again before finally coming to a stop.
"AAAGGGHHH!" A loud roar could be heard from inside the house.
"What the-" they all said in unison.
And then, from out of the same hole in the roof, a gigantic monster came flying out. Its skin was a grayish-green color. Its clothes were the same tattered ones that Bruce was wearing. Muscles were bulging from everywhere on the creature as it landed directly in front of Lobo.
"Puny albino, make me mad!" it bellowed like a caveman, smashing its fists into Lobo's face repeatedly.
It then turned its attention to Logan.
"Oh, shit!" Logan muttered. "Here we go again," he said, extending his claws.
Rick grabbed hold of Alfred and Peter. "I suggest we high-tail it out of here."
The three of them quickly hopped into Rick's jeep and sped off as fast as the tires would go, leaving Logan alone with the humanoid.
Logan stood ready. "All right, you incredible hulk, let's dance!"
Hulk sprinted towards Logan like an enraged rhino. Logan barely managed to jump out of the way in time.
Hulk, realizing how fast Logan was, lifted his hands high in the air and then smashed them down into the ground, causing it to crumble below Logan's feet, completely catching Logan off guard.
Within a split-second, Hulk was back in Logan's face. He then clapped his hands together, creating a sonic boom, one that made Logan fly several feet backwards.
"Ow! My ears!" Logan cried, a loud ringing taking over his senses.
Before he could even think, Hulk came crashing down on Logan's stomach, completely knocking the wind out of him, possibly cracking every rib in his body.
Just as Hulk was about to start pounding down at Logan with his fists, Lobo had suddenly rejoined the fight.
Wham! Lobo tackled Hulk, ramming his shoulder into Hulk's mid-section, bringing him to the ground. He then began wailing down on Hulk's face the same way Hulk had just done to him.
Hulk could only stand so much before finally backhanding Lobo off of him. And then, just as Hulk stood up-
Slash-Slash-Stab-Stab. Logan had leapt onto Hulk's back, attempting to cut through him. However, his claws were doing minimal damage, barely breaking the surface of Hulk's flesh.
Hulk reached up, grabbing Logan by his head, and flipped him over his shoulder. And in the same motion, he repeatedly began smashing Logan's body against the ground as if he was a rag-doll.
Meanwhile, a few miles away… "We have to go back!" Peter insisted. "I still have questions about my parents!"
"I don't think that such a good idea," Rick responded, his eyes steadily focused on the road. "Besides, I know what Chameleon was looking for."
"What do you mean?" Peter asked.
"I have Bruce's notes. They were on him when the explosion occurred. He didn't seem to remember having them after the incident."
"What exactly happened after the explosion?" Peter continued prying.
"Something extraordinary, to say the least," Rick replied, still baffled by Bruce's transformation. He then looked at Peter. "You know the monster we just witnessed back at my place?"
"Yeah," Peter answered.
"That was Doctor Banner."
At first, Peter didn't want to believe him. Then he started to remember the clothes the monster had on. Finally, he came to the realization that Rick wasn't lying.
Rick pulled out Banner's notebook. "I was reading some stuff while Doctor Banner was sleeping. You might want to take a look for yourself. I believe you will find some things in there about your father… Some unbelievable things. But after seeing what happened to Banner, I am starting to believe it might all be true."
Peter took the notebook and began flipping through it, hoping to finally get some answers as to why Norman was after him and his parents.
Meanwhile, back at Rick's house, the battle of supermen raged on. Both Lobo and Logan were trying to slay the beast. However, before any of them could gain momentum, several army helicopters began flying overhead, witnessing the fantastic battle. Soon after that, tanks began rolling in. Now the three of them had even more to battle. The man leading the charge was General "Thunderbolt" Ross.
"We need to end this now!" Ross demanded. "Before this makes it into the city!"
The military moved into a strategic position, pointing every weapon they had at the three brutes.
"Ready! Aim!... FIRE!"