No Human Fears

Walking home from work at night, Fiona Webber is consumed with thoughts about how fed up she is with her job. Her thoughts are interrupted when she is confronted by Half-Life. Confusing Fiona for his dead wife, Half-Life embraces her, draining her energy until she is dead.

Meanwhile, the Leader is recording a message to his foe the Hulk, explaining his master plan, boasting over how, by the time the Hulk hears it, his master plan will have already happened and the Hulk will be too late to stop it. He explains that he sent Half-Life to carry out a bunch of murders that will seem random but all play into his scheme. He soon begins working on new weapons in which to use to distract the Hulk while he procures a gamma bomb. He then outfitted Half-Life with a suit of armor with a mounted camera so that the undead creature is more durable in battle. He explains that during the process which transferred Rick Jone's gamma radiation to himself, restoring his power, it created a constant mental link between him and Rick Jones. Although Jones is immune to the Leader's mental powers, the Leader knows everything the Hulk and his allies have been up to. Now the next part of his plan can begin to unfold...

In Kansas, the Hulk waits impatiently as Clay Quartermain's brother, Allan, hacks into SHIELD'S databases so they can learn the location of the gamma bombs that the government has constructed based on Bruce Banner's design. After some time hacking into the database, Allan discovers their location at a military base in Yuma, Arizona. At that moment, Half-Life attacks Allan's wife June and her screams bring out the Hulk. Although the Hulk is much stronger than Half-Life, the undead creature is more durable thanks to the titanium armor provided to him by the Leader. Half-Life then latches himself onto the Hulk and begins draining his energies. While in Washington, Agent Trump is still reeling after a disastrous press conference. He, Sam LaRoquette, and Craig Saunders are confronted by SHIELD director Nick Fury who demands to know what's going on. When Fury learns that LaRoquette and Saunders are identified as civilian consultants, Nick Fury fires them immediately, leaving the two to ponder their next move.

Back in Kansas, the Hulk's battle with Half-Life rages on. Already weakened by Half-Life, the Hulk is helped by Rick Jones, who knocks the undead gamma-creature off the Hulk. Allan Quartermain then convinces the Hulk to resume the attack by playing into his pride. As the fight continues the Leader then uses his resources to track down and kidnap Betty Banner, who is still crying over the state of her marriage. Back at the battle, it's not going well as Half-Life has absorbed most of the Hulk's energies, leaving him emaciated. Half-Life has been restored to something resembling a living human, although his skin is still green. Thinking that he can resume his normal life, the Hulk calls doubt into it pointing out that eventually, Half-Life will need to steal more energy and that will be his problem. Not liking this, Half-Life rejects this life and releases all the energy he absorbed. restoring the Hulk back to normal, and leaving Half-Life nothing more than a lifeless skeleton.

The following morning, Bruce Banner and his allies push on. After saying goodbye to Allan Quartermain and his family, they get back into their battle van, switch on its holographic disguise and take off. The Leader meanwhile is still boasting over his coming victory certain that his plans will go unimpeded and the Hulk will die. Finishing his recording he checks on his three test subjects: Sam LaRoquette, Craig Saunders and Betty Banner. When he does a lifeform scan, he is surprised when the computer detects four lifeforms. The Leader suddenly realises that Betty Banner is pregnant and is most amused by this most recent turn of events.

Recurring Characters

Hulk, Betty Ross, Clay Quartermain, Alan Quartermain, SHIELD (Nick Fury, Agent Trump, Samuel La Roquette, Craig Saunders), Half Life, Leader, June Quartermain, Henrietta Quartermain, Jinete Quartermain

Continuity Notes

• The Leader mentions how the Hulk cured Rick Jones of his Hulk-like transformations while restoring the Leader's powers. This happened in Incredible Hulk #332. (This story incorrectly attributes those events to Incredible Hulk #232.

• This issue reveals that Betty Banner is pregnant with Bruce's child. Unfortunately she ends up having a miscarriage as revealed in Incredible Hulk #360.