At the Shadow Base in Akron, Ohio, Agent Castillo of the U.S.
Hulk Operations visits Samuel “the Leader” Sterns, handing him the latest
reports on the new Immortal Hulk. Castillo appeals to Sterns as the leading
expert on Gamma radiation to help them kill Hulk. Sterns is appreciative…but he
wants to kill the Hulk, rolling up the report and stabbing Castillo through the
eye. The guard comes running and slips on the paper Sterns has tossed to the
floor, breaking his neck. Sterns removes the electronic key from the dead
guard’s belt and escapes….
At a diner in Erie, Pennsylvania, Clay “Weapon H” Cortez is
having dinner with his wife Sonia and their two children while watching Hulk
battle the Avengers on television. The kids know their Dad is the Hulkverine
and are proud of it but Dad reminds them to keep his secret. Returning home,
Clay starts sneezing, which should not be possible until a very bad sneeze
causes his claws to pop out. This activates the family’s Plan C and Sonia takes
the kids and drives off….
Bruce Banner arrives outside the Cortez home and is caught by
Clay; Bruce tells him that he is there to stop him. Clay again begins sneezing
and Bruce knows Clay’s powers are out of control. Clay chases him and pins him
down—but the moon rises and Bruce transforms into the Hulk; Clay takes on his
Hulkverine form and they battle. The Leader is watching from a nearby hilltop
when he is captured by a Hulk Operation team led by Agent Ng. He explains his
plan to her, stating that one can only kill Hulk while he is Hulk and he has
arranged this battle with Weapon H. Using one of his new powers, Hulk drains
the gamma from H and also catches his cold—a gamma-altering virus Leader had
infected Clay with. Hulk weakens and H knocks him out. The Leader steps forward
and tells him to finish Hulk off or Hulk will track down and kill Clay’s
family, revealing that Leader knows about Plan C. This only enrages Weapon H
who pursues Leader through the woods. Leader sets off an adamantium grenade,
the shrapnel blinding H so that he must change back to Clay. Hulk explains who
the Leader is and Clay resumes the pursuit of the man who threatened his
family. The Wolverine steps out to confront Clay, whom he accuses of stealing
his style….