The Ω Hulk: Chapter Four

Three Days Ago

Doc Green has come to the grave of Doctor Leonard Samson to verify that he is still dead. Digging up the grave, Doc Green is satisfied to find that Samson is still dead and buried. Tossing a rose into the grave, the Doc reburies him and returns to the Beehive. When he returns, he is chastised by his assistant Melinda Leucenstern, who questions him about adding two extra lines of code in the gamma cure, two more lines of code than what was needed and demands to know what this will do with those he injected with the nanites. He tells her that he isn't sure he should tell her about it. When she asks if he can't trust her, he finds it interesting and has a question for her: who hired her to shoot Bruce Banner twice in the back of the head. With the truth out, Leucenstern begs Doc Green not to harm her and explains that she was hired by the Brotherhood of the Shield. He demands that she tell him everything she knows about the Brotherhood. She tells him that she was hired by Betty Ross to carry out the task.

Meanwhile, at the home of Betty Ross, Betty tells Rick Jones about the Brotherhood of the Shield, and how they are vanguards of the planet to protect against the end of the world. She then asks Rick why he thinks the Hulk will be coming for her. He tells her that the Hulk told him. Betty isn't concerned because the two of them can overpower him as two Hulks can trump one. That's when Rick reveals that Doc Green stripped him of his ability to transform into A-Bomb. He then admits that he is now glad that the Hulk cured him as he was afraid that his temper would get the better of him and he would go on a rampage. Betty transforms into the Red She-Hulk and accuses Rick of being weak, unlike her as she has control over her rage. Rick believes otherwise and points out that being A-Bomb changed his life for the worse. Calming down, Betty reverts back to human form and asks if the Hulk knows the truth. Rick confirms that he does. Betty explains that she was trying to stop thinking about Bruce Banner and was relieved when she joined the Brotherhood as it gave her the opportunity to not think about him. That all changed when the Terranometer warned her that Banner would be responsible for an extinction-level event. Devoted to her duty, she came up with the most humane way to put an end to him: two shots to the back of the head. When she asks Rick how the Hulk could have found out the truth, Rick tells her that the Hulk is now the smartest one there is.

It's at that very moment that Doc Green lands just outside of her home. Betty then transforms into the Red She-Hulk again and crashes through the wall to face Doc Green. As she lashes into him, Green attempts to convince her to stop fighting as he doesn't want to harm the innocent people that are all around them. The Red She-Hulk is uninterested in anything he has to say and continues to lash into him. Suddenly, the Red She-Hulk reverts back to human form. He then reveals that Rick helped him by slipping the cure into her food. With Betty cured of being the Red She-Hulk, he confirms that the Brotherhood was responsible for the Abomination. She also tells him that the Terranometer no longer believes he will be responsible for the extinction of the human race. With that, Doc Green thanks Betty explaining that the shots to the headset him free. With that, he opens a portal back to the Beehive. Before he goes, she asks what happened to Bruce Banner, and Doc Green shocks her when he says Banner is gone for good. His final words are that Bruce always loved her and would have understood what was needed to be done. He then departs, telling her that they will never meet again.

With Doc Green gone, Betty begins to cry and then laugh hysterically. When Rick asks her what is so funny, Betty explains that she did the same thing Bruce did years ago: she created a monster. When Doc Green arrives back at the Beehive, both Daman Veteri and Randall Jessup asks him where Melinda went. The Doc becomes angry sending the two scientists fleeing for cover. Not wanting to trash any of his equipment, Doc Green settles for snapping a pencil in half and then reflects on the days events.

Recurring Characters

Doc Green, Rick Jones, Daman Veteri, Randall Jessup, Brotherhood of Shield (Red She-Hulk, Melinda Leucenstern), Doc Samson (corpse)

Continuity Notes

• Doc Samson died stopping the Intelligencia's attempts to take over the United States in Incredible Hulk #610. Although dead here, he will turn up alive again in Civil War II #0. His resurrection is detailed in Immortal Hulk #15.

• Betty joined the Brotherhood of the Shield in Red She-Hulk #67.