The Fading Dead

Having fled from the Dystopia of the future, Betty-6, Char, Cybersilk, Librito, Po, Sleek, Molly, Polly, and Mok the Dog of War find themselves almost a century in the past in the middle of a clash between the NYPD and the homeless of the East Village. Startled by the sudden appearance of these time travelers, the officers begin to open fire. Mok, Po and Sleek then use their superior abilities and technology to disarm the police officers and turn their weapons over to the homeless people, turning the tables on the situation. However, during the exchange of fire, Char is shot and collapses into the arms of Betty-6. The captain of the police force then orders everyone to stand down before things escalate any further.

Meanwhile, in the distant future they all escaped, Janis Jones finds herself a prisoner of the Abomination, who has taken over Dystopia following the defeat of the Maestro. Having learned that Betty-6 is apparently carrying Maestro's heir, the Abomination demands that Jones reveal their location. However, Jones refuses to talk and as such, the Abomination orders Kaspin to probe her mind and take the information by force. The Abomination then goes up to the royal bedroom where Shulk is waking up. She orders him not to touch her. He complies for now, but he gives the former She-Hulk an ultimatum: be his queen or die. Back in the dungeon, Kespin finds that Jones is too strong-willed to let her mind be probed and feels at odds about probing much further as he might kill her. Despite his loyalties to the Abomination, Kespin cannot bring himself to become a murderer and frees Jones instead. While in the present, hostilities between the police and the homeless escalate as projectiles are being thrown. Po gets stuck in the back of the head and his massive frame falls on Char. Suddenly, the ground explodes upwards, revealing this era's Abomination. This comes to a shock from the refugees from the future, but when the homeless people are happy to see him and toss the tear gas grenades, the refugees follow the Abomination's charges into the sewers.

Back in the future, the Abomination is furious to learn that Kaspin let Jones go and orders him to find her and kill her. They are interrupted by the arrival of a bounty hunter named Quarry who offers to hunt down and kill her instead, for a price. The Abomination gives Quarry three hours to find Janis Jones and eliminate her in order to have his life spared. The Abomination then decides to focus his energies on tracking down Betty-6 and killing her and her unborn child. With the Abomination preoccupied, Shulk strikes him from behind, knocking him out. Shulk takes Kaspin and decides to find Betty-6 herself. The boy leads her to the memorial of Rick Jones. She suddenly is wracked with pain then demands that Kaspin take her where the others are. With no other choice, Kaspin brings her to the Time Platform which they take into the past. The pair materialize in the East Village where they are surrounded by police who order them to stand down. Shulk rejoices to be back in the past, but when the officers threatened her she turns with them with a sinister grin.

Down in the sewers, the Abomination of the present scolds his people from going to the surface where it is not safe. While not far away from the refugees from the future worry about their fate, having left one Abomination only to end up in the hands of another. One of the homeless people looks over Char but fears that the woman will die. To make matters worse, Betty-6 feels as though her baby may come at any moment. When Po wakes up from being knocked out, he immediately attacks the Abomination, realizing that if they destroy him in this time, it will prevent him from making their lives in the future a living hell.

Recurring Characters

Abominations (Betty-6, Char, Cybersilk, Librito, Mok the War Dog, Po, Sleek, Moly and Polly), Janis Jones, Abomination-9200, Kaspin, Shulk, Quarry, Abomination

Continuity Notes

• If Betty-6 is pregnant with the Maestro's son is left ambiguous. The father is either the Maestro or his past incarnation, the Hulk, whom Betty raped in Incredible Hulk: Future Imperfect #2.