A Sinking Feeling

Defeated by Piecemeal and Madman, the Hulk has a weight tied to him and has been dumped in Loch Ness. The two evil creatures the occupants of local inn as prisoners. Among their numbers is the inn's owner, a retired member of the Pantheon known as Perseus. Madman explains his connections to the New World Order and how Piecemeal and how a tracking device allowed Madman to find the beast. Getting fed up, Perseus orders the two intruders off his property. When Madman asks what the seemingly normal man is going to do about it, Perseus punches the gamma-spawned lunatic in the face. This hurts enough to anger Madman that he snaps the neck of one of the patrons in order to dissuade Perseus from attacking again. He then explains how the Hulk had once left him to die of poison with the cure out of reach and how he managed to cheat this death. Madman states that he have the Hulk a sporting chance to get out of his recent death trap.

Meanwhile, the Hulk manages to break from the chains, however, he is disorientated and doesn't know which way the surface is. After a brief encounter with the Loch Ness Monster, the Hulk manages to swim to the surface of the Loch before he can suffocate. Back inside the inn, Madman and Piecemeal are tormenting the patrons while the creature continues to learn how its powers work and become more intelligent. Madman then suggests that Piecemeal use his powers to drain Perseus dry. Before the creature can do so, the Hulk comes smashing in. Meanwhile, in Reno, Marlo Chandler and Betty Banner are preparing for a party to celebrate her return. Asking Marlo about her experiences, she discovers that Marlo doesn't know she died. All she remembers is seeing an ankh while she was gone. She then remembers waking up in their apartment with a sore back. When suggesting they do something with Marlo's hair, Betty briefly considers dying her roommate’s hair green as a prank and decides against it. Back in Scotland, the Hulk begins losing his fight against Piecemeal when the creature beings assuming the facial features of Hulk's past personas. This distraction shocks the Hulk sufficiently enough for Madman to grab hold of him. Seeing that the Hulk needs help, Perseus rushes into his room to get his old Pantheon weapon.

The Hulk manages to knock Piecemeal out of the building but still has to contend with Madman. When Perseus comes to help the Hulk, Madman grabs him by the head and smashes him into the floor. The Hulk then knocks Madman outside as well. Checking on Perseus, he finds that the man is dying. His last words are to finish the battle and to summon his daughter Cassiopeia and tell her to return home. When Perseus dies, energy dissipates from his body causing his body to crumble to ash. Taking Perseus' spear, the Hulk rushes outside and impales Piecemeal and throws the creature into the Loch. Before the Hulk can deal with Madman, his foe escapes. Meanwhile, in London, the extradimensional adventurers known as Motormouth and Killpower return home looking forward to taking a vacation without someone trying to kill them.

Recurring Characters

Hulk, Betty Ross, Rick Jones, Marlo Chandler, Perseus, Madman, Piecemeal, Motormouth, Killpower

Continuity Notes

• Madman mentions how the Hulk had left him to die of poison. That happened in Incredible Hulk #367.

• Marlo was killed by Jackie Shorr in Incredible Hulk #398, but Rick was able to resurrect her in Incredible Hulk #400.

• Mention is made about how Betty accidentally dyed her hair green when she first attempted to bleach her hair. That happened in Incredible Hulk #383.

First Contact

Detroit 1955

Walter Charles, a local hood, has been hunted down by the police and arrested for attempted murder. Watching this from nearby is Achilles, the man who Walter tried to kill. He reports back to his superiors at the Pantheon that he is trailing the young man. However, he is not sure if this young man is worthy enough to recruit. His superior tells Achilles that their leader, Agamemnon, said that they must recruit Walter Charles and to follow orders. Achilles doesn't like this idea, as it reminds him of the Nazis.

Later at the police station, Walter Charles finds himself locked in a single cell with a bunch of other crooks. They don't take kindly to the fact that Charles is a young greaser. When they start picking a fight with Walter, Achilles makes his way into the police station and forces his way into the cell. Walter is shocked to see the man he supposedly killed and how he has the strength to take on all the other men. With guards on their way, Achilles locks himself and Walter in the cell again. Suddenly, the wall bursts open and they are greeted by Ulysses who tells them that they need to go. When the officers arrive on the scene they see the damage done and a Pantheon ship streaking off into the night sky. The two officers decide that they should ignore everything that they saw.

Continuity Notes

• Because the members of the Pantheon in this story are nearly immortal this story does take place in 1955. The only effect that the Sliding Timescale has on this story is the length of time between it and the Modern Age.