Hit and Myth

At the Mount, Paris seeks out his Pantheon teammate Delphi about her thoughts on the Hulk. She tells him to keep his hands to himself but confirms that her visions show that the Hulk will join them. Paris is not happy about this but Delphi says nobody is. He then asks if they will survive this development, especially their teammate Ulysses. Delphi confirms that they will, much to his chagrin about Ulysses.

Meanwhile, in a Reno bar, the brand new incredible Hulk comes in with his friend Doc Samson as well as his old foe the Ringmaster and orders drinks for the house. As they enter the bar they are unaware that they are being watched by two members of the Pantheon. Inside, the Hulk and his allies have a seat and order drinks. Samson expresses his concerns that perhaps Bruce needs to go back to the hospital. However, the Hulk thinks that he is doing fine, pointing out that Samson should celebrate the fact that he finally succeeded in curing the Hulk of his multiple personality disorder. Suddenly, their evening is interrupted when some local tough guys come in and take issue with the Hulk and his friends sitting in their favorite seat. When the Ringmaster offers to use hypnosis to convince them to leave him alone, the Hulk tells him that they should talk it over. When the Hulk refuses to sit elsewhere and threatens to get rough if they press the matter. When the leader of the gang refuses to back down, the Hulk stands up and picks the man up with one arm, frightening him sufficiently to give up on the issue.

Watching from the bar are Ulysses, Atalanta and Hector of the Pantheon. Hector asks if they should make their move, but Ulysses tells him to wait and see how this situation plays out. The Hulk meanwhile turns to Samson and tells him that he handle the situation calmly. While back at Rick Jones' apartment, Betty reads the chapter in Rick's book about her relationship with Bruce. She thinks that Rick's entry is full of it, but Rick tells her it's all hindsight. When he asks why they aren't at the bar celebrating with Bruce and the others, she explains that she needs time to process everything that happened. She thinks about when she first saw Bruce after Samson cured him. She was shocked because she didn't expect his new massive form or his attitude. She told Bruce that she needed time and wanted to take things slow. Marlo doesn't understand what the issue is. Betty explains that the Bruce Banner she fell in love with was a quiet intellectual and this version of the Hulk is nothing like that. In the middle of their conversation, Rick spots the two members of the Pantheon lurking in the alleyway and suspects there is trouble. He tells Betty and Marlo to wait there while he goes and checks it out.

At that moment, Prometheus arrives in his Argo and reports into the Mount. It's then that Ulysses and his allies approach the Hulk, and introduces himself and his associates. They begin talking about the ineffectiveness of various super-hero groups. When Samson goes to the washroom, they continue trying to convince the Hulk that there is a group that exists that can make the world a better place. However, in the middle of the Pantheon's sales pitch, Rick Jones comes rushing to the bar shouting at the Hulk to be careful. Seeing Rick, Prometheus activates a trip line from the Argo. Seeing Rick take a dive, the Hulk gets up to help him, but Ulysses warns him not to go outside. The Hulk knocks Ulysses aside, and when Atalanta tries to latch onto him, he pushes her aside as well. Seeing this from across the street, the dimwitted powerhouse known as Ajax gets angry after seeing Atalanta getting hurt and charges at the Hulk vowing to kill him. Achilles tries to get Ajax to hold back, but it doesn't work.

As the Hulk and Ajax duke it out, Ulysses tells the others that they need to contain the situation. Activating his energy sword and shield, Ulysses then enters the fray. Meanwhile, the Hulk has managed to knock Ajax into the sky. As he prepares to fight back, Atalanta strikes him with energy arrows. This slows down the Hulk, but he is still able to pick up Ajax and throw him at the rest of the Pantheon. They manage to dodge out of the way, sending Ajax flying into Doc Samson, who just got out of the washroom. While Ajax starts beating up on Doc Samson, Betty and Marlo watch from the balcony of Rick's apartment. When Marla asks what they should do, Betty tells her they should stay out of it. The Hulk meanwhile fights off Hector and Ulysses. When Prometheus tries to shoot at the Hulk, one of the bullets bounced off the Hulk's hide and strike Rick in the shoulder. That's when Achilles comes into attack the Hulk, boasting about how he is invulnerable. However, when the Hulk strikes him in the fact, Achilles is shocked to discover that his nose has started to bleed. The rest of the Pantheon attack the Hulk all out at once, and eventually the Hulk is knocked out thanks to electrified coils fired from Prometheus' Argo vehicle. The last thing the Hulk sees before he passes out is that Rick was injured and Betty and Marlo carrying him away.

The trio watch as the Hulk is carried onto a plane that takes off. They ask Doc Samson to do something, but it is too late. As the Pantheon recovers from their fight they are unaware that the Hulk is only pretending to be knocked unconscious as he wants to know who they are and what they want from him.

Recurring Characters

Hulk, Betty Ross, Rick Jones, Marlo Chandler, Doc Samson, Ringmaster, Pantheon (Achilles, Ajax, Atalanta, Delphi, Hector, Paris, Prometheus, Ulysses)