From Here to Infinity

At a bar in New Mexico, a man comes in for a drink for the second time in as many days. The bartender flirts with him, telling him that she gets off at five. He's interested, but he gets a call from his earpiece telling him that a video is ready. He goes to the local sex shop and gets a private booth. Putting on his specially polarized lenses he is able to see the video hidden beneath an adult film. It's the same woman in the previous video undergoing a sophisticated form of plastic surgery. The man copies the video to a disc and destroys the film before leaving.

Elsewhere, Bruce Banner and Sandra Verdugo are fleeing from Agent Pratt only to find themselves surrounded by Pratt and a group of former FBI agents who are now loyal to Home Base, the organization seeking to capture Banner to exploit the Hulk's blood for their own ends. Sandra tries to convince Bruce to speed away because they're afraid of him, but Bruce isn't sure. Agent Pratt then offers Bruce a deal: A one-on-one fight. Pratt promises his men won't shoot and if Bruce wins he will let them go. Sandra believes that Bruce can win this fight now that he has the strength of the Hulk in his normal body. However, Banner doesn't want to jump into something that will get them both killed. As they try and decide what to do next, Pratt surprises them by pulling Ricky Myers out of the back of his SUV. Sandra rushes to her son and when Bruce tries to stop her she punches him across the face. He then picks her up and tosses her back toward the car and charges up the hill to meet Agent Pratt face-to-face.

Pratt and Banner begin brawling, as Pratt hopes to coax the Hulk into coming out. Banner tells him this is a suicide, but Pratt reveals he now has enhanced strength thanks to the Hulk blood that was injected into his body. However, just like Sandra's blood in Banner's body, Pratt's own blood is slowly burning out the Hulk blood in his system. As he begins to gain mass, he threatens to harm Sandra, but quickly reveals that he is bluffing that he doesn't hit women. However, he has no such compunctions about hurting children and activates a shock collar that is around Ricky's neck. As he pounds on Banner, Pratt reveals that he went rogue from the FBI because a sample of the Hulk's blood would net him a huge amount of money. Banner tries to use this moment to get Pratt to tell him which organization is after his blood, but Pratt refuses to answer.

Pratt continues to increase in mass and pounds on Banner while also shocking Ricky more and more. When Pratt pulls a gun on Bruce, he gets in one good punch that the rogue FBI agent actually feels. While Pratt subdues Banner, Sandra manages to recover his gun and threatens to shoot him. However, Pratt tries to deal with her, telling her that if she spares him he can put the good word into Home Base. However, Pratt points out that while they are virtually unkillable, they will eventually burn out and that if she sides with him, Home Base will make her whole again and reunite her with her son. Sandra now has to make a choice: rescue her son or save Bruce Banner?

Recurring Characters

Hulk, Sandy Verdugo, Home Base (Agent Pratt), Betty Ross (unidentified)

Continuity Notes

• The woman in the video seen here is Betty Ross, who had died of radiation poisoning in Incredible Hulk #466. Her survival is revealed in Incredible Hulk Vol 2 #62. Betty was resurrected thanks to the machinations of the Intelligencia as seen in Fall of the Hulks: Alpha #1. However, her appearances here are all part of a reality warp created by Nightmare as revealed in Incredible Hulk Vol 2 #81.