Synopsis / Summary / Plot
Quirk (John Eisenhart's former girlfriend) is showing off the new improved "human tribe" (a small group of warriors) to the resistance leader Kwame just then a wounded Zamora comes stumbling up and can barely talk. He is Quirk's old partner from Lotusland Studios (a research company being used by President Doom). He tells her that John has just joined Doom and that he barely managed to escape after John shot him with a stun gun.
At first Quirk doesn't believe it but then she starts to understand. She leaves the others and heads straight for Lotusland Studios. At Lotusland, President Doom is pressing Dr. Apollo to finish work on the "Mind Shaper", a gamma-ray device that was adapted from the knights of the Banner and that has the power to shape people's perceptions and feelings on a mass scale. Doom is counting on this device to solidify his political power in the U.S.A.
Meanwhile, the madman named Draco has craked Lotusland's security codes and found out that John is inside the studio. He then releases the "Anti-Hulk", which looks almost exactly like the 2099 Hulk and is programmed to destroy the Hulk and John, whichever he sees first. While this is happening, The "Locusts", another rebel group, is having a meeting at the Grauman's Chinese Theatre. Their leader, a man-like green creature named Adonai, has taken Marian (John's sister) prisoner and is informing his followers that he has placed the "Monkey Wrench Bomb" deep within the very heart of the seismic Fault in California (by the way, California is already an Island!).
Marian frees herself of her restraints and tries to get away. She is shot and wounded but manages to flee the building. The scene changes back to Quirk, who shows up at Lotusland Studios and convinces the guards to let her in by mentioning the name John Eisenhart. She gains entrance to the facility and finds John within with another woman named Keisha. The three begin a conversation and Quirk begins to make John mad by calling him names like "traitor" and "sleazy". She at last puts a gun to her own head and threatens to kill herself. John is noticeably irritated by now and is fighting an urge to change into the Hulk. Just then Keisha puts her hand on the gun as well and offers to shoot Quirk for her. John changes into the Hulk and stops Keisha from shooting Quirk. He commends Quirk for her crafty way of getting him to change since while he was John he was acting like a traitor (because of the effects of Doom's device).
The Hulk grabs Quirk, busts through the building into Apollo's lab and grabs the heart of the "Mind Shaper" device. Then leaps out of the building and into the surrounding city. All the while, Draco's "Anti-Hulk" is tracking the real Hulk. The Hulk and Quirk run through the back allies knowing that Doom's troops will look to the sky for the Hulk. As they run they stumble upon Marian passed out in an alley. As she comes to, she tells the Hulk that he needs to stop Adonai's Earthquake bomb or millions of innocent will die. Quirk tells him to forget it and get away with the "Mind Shaper" device instead. He says that John would do just that, but he cannot let all those people die. He takes them both and leaps away.
Busting into the Chinese Theatre, the Hulk tries to talk Adonai down by telling him he'll destroy Doom himself if Adonai stops the bomb. Just then the "Anti-Hulk" bursts in and attacks the real Hulk. As they fight, President Doom and his troops arrive in search of the "Mind Shaper" device. At that moment, the ground begins to shake; the bomb was triggered in the chaos. No one can keep their balance. The real Hulk grabs the "Mind Shaper" device. He fumbles. The building begins to collapse and the ground breaks open. The device is dropped and a huge pile of rocks and ruble fall on top of it. As the entire city crumbles, the device explodes from the impact, blanketing the city with Gamma radiation. The book ends with a view of the city completely ruined and smoldering green. The Hulk rises from the ruble, his face has transformed and he now has many huge tusks rising up from his mouth spanning his entire jaw. Even more beast-like than before!