Betrayals

After seeing Jackie Shorr kidnap Rick Jones, Betty Banner, and Marlo Chandler follow her to her home. The two wonder if there is anything wrong or if they are overreacting or if they should call the police or the Hulk. As they approach the house, the woman who claims to be Rick Jones' biological mother goes about her business around the house, waiting for the two women to come to her door. Rick Jones is locked up in her basement with the bodies of her past victims.

Meanwhile, at the lowest levels of the Pantheon's Mount, the Hulk clashes with Ironclad, Vector, and the Leader's Riot Squad in order to prevent them from reaching the Pantheon's leader Agamemnon. Even though he is outnumbered, the Hulk fights off Ogress and Ironclad, while breaking free of Jailbait's energy force field. The Hulk then tosses Ironclad into Redeemer to stop him from getting shot. Vector begins to panic and tells the Leader to do something, however, the gamma-spawned genius uses his powers to teleport himself onto the other side of the massive door sealing off the Pantheon's leader away from the outside world. While back in Reno, Jackie Shorr prepares for Betty and Marlo by turning up the volume on her television to drown out Rick's cries for help. When she answers the door she acts shocked when Betty and Marlo say they have been following her and want to know where Rick is. Jackie claims that she hasn't seen Rick and ask if they check him at home. When the two women admit they didn't, Jackie invites them in to give them a call. Betty and Marlo enter the home completely unaware of any of the danger that they are in.

Back at the Mount, the Leader appears in Agamemnon's quarters where he is confronted by the Pantheon's leader. Much to his surprise, Agamemnon learns that the Leader has not come to fight but to ask for help. Outside, the Hulk's battle continues as he is gored by Rock during his fight with Ironclad. Rock explains that he is going to get the Hulk for what he has done to Redeemer, which confuses the Hulk because Redeemer appears fine to him. Ulysses leaps in and cuts the Hulk free from Rock's spines. However, Ulysses is quickly incapacitated by both Hotshot and Redeemer. Atalanta then leaps in and uses her energy arrows to take down Redeemer. The Hulk tells the other members of the Pantheon that he doesn't need help and leaps back into the fray. At that moment back in Reno, Betty makes a call to Rick's house and gets the answering machine. Meanwhile, Marlo takes a look at the photos of Jackie's fireplace mantle and is surprised to see numerous pictures of other young men and Jackie. When she trips over the power chord on the television it becomes unplugged and she can vaguely hear someone calling for help in the basement. When Betty goes back into the living room she is horrified to see that Jackie Shorr has stabbed Marlo to death with a kitchen knife. Considering both the women a threat to "her boy" Rick, Jackie then lunges toward Betty, prepared to murder her as well.

Meanwhile, at the Mount, the Hulk only has Vector left standing in his way. His foe unleashes the full power of his velocity powers on the Hulk, stripping away his clothes and flesh. Even though the Hulk's mass has been mostly stripped away in the onslaught, he still manages to pull himself close enough to Vector and land a knock-out blow. However, with Vector no longer stripping away his flesh, the Hulk's rapid healing restores him to normal in moments. Suddenly, Agamemnon appears before the Hulk and the others and tells them that the battle is over as he and the Leader have come to a deal. While in Reno, Betty is fighting for her life. She manages to knock the knife out of Jackie's hand, but the madwoman manages to wrap a lamp chord around Betty's neck and starts trying to choke her to death. Betty quickly reaches out and grabs a fire poker and uses it to knock the wind out of Jackie. Before the madwoman can resume her attack, Betty knocks her out with a blow over the head with the poker. In the aftermath of the death struggle, Betty can hear Rick screaming for help in the basement. However, her attention immediately turns to Marlo, who she has just realized is dead. Back at the Mount, the Hulk is furious to hear that the Agamemnon has formed an alliance with his greatest enemy. The Leader gloats, sarcastically asking the Hulk if he loves a happy ending.

Recurring Characters

Hulk, Betty Ross, Rick Jones, Marlo Chandler, Panteon (Agamenon, Atalanta, Ulysses), Jackie Shorr, Riot Squad (Leader, Jailbait, Hotshot, Ogress, Rock, Redeemer), Vector, Ironclad

Continuity Notes

• Rock is stating that he is trying to avenge Redeemer, which confuses the Hulk. However, as explained in Incredible Hulk #400, Craig Saunders the original Redeemer was killed and replaced with Thaddeus Ross. Saunders's death is unexplained, as he appeared fine in his last appearance in Incredible Hulk #366. Why Rock blames the Hulk for his death is unexplained.

• Although Marlo is murdered here, she is resurrected by the Leader in Incredible Hulk #400.