Bury Me Not

In the middle of the night, Betty Ross wakes up in Doc Samson's cabin to find him examining her DNA in the hopes of finding a cure for her ovarian cancer. While at the diner, Nadia wakes up to the sound of someone screaming. With Bruce nowhere to be seen and the fuses is blown, Nadia goes looking in the dark. In the hallway, something drips on her shoulder she looks up and sees a horrific insectoid creature hovering above her. Back at Samson's, Leonard explains that the rate of her cancer has been slowed by the Abomination's blood in her system. Adding a sample of his own slows it even more, and says that if they get another sample from the Hulk they can stop it entirely. He tells her to get packing so they can get to Bruce before he changes locations and makes sure that he and Nadia are safe. Betty isn't excited about all this and assumes the worst about Bruce going back to Nadia. However, Leonard deduces that something he saw during the final battle at Home Base made him question Nadia's safety and went to make sure she was. Betty gets up to leave, when Leonard tries to stop her she tells him that she's done, she has spent her entire life running and she is burnt out. While Betty is ready to move on, Samson is not. She still refuses to do anything to save herself and when Samson continues to argue her on the situation, she shoots him.

Back at the diner, Nadia is fleeing for her life by the strange insectoid creature that has invaded her home. She searches but cannot find the creature and is scared by her cat. She spots blood in her kitchen and goes outside to investigate. There she finds the grave containing the clone of Bruce Banner has been dug up from inside. She is suddenly surrounded by a pack of hungry coyotes. While back at Samson's, Betty's shot causes damage to the structural integrity of the building causing it to collapse on Leonard. She then tries to get away in the helicopter, but as she takes off, Leonard manages to break free and leap into the chopper, telling her that he is going with her. Meanwhile, Nadia is saved by the coyote’s thanks to the intervention of the insectoid creature which is becoming larger and more muscular in size.

Recurring Characters

Nadia Dornova, Betty Ross, Doc Samson

Continuity Notes

• Betty's reappearance here is a complicated one. Some facts:

  • Betty died of radiation poisoning in Incredible Hulk #466. As revealed in Incredible Hulk #473-474 this was due to Betty being injected with the Abomination's Blood.

  • The memories of a government organization resurrecting her are false. In reality, she was actually brought back to life by the Intelligencia as seen in Fall of the Hulks: Alpha #1.

  • Betty's memories are part of a scheme by Nightmare as a roundabout way of birthing a child named Daydream as revealed in Incredible Hulk Vol 2 #81 so some elements here, such as Betty's facelift and the fact that the Leader doesn't know that Betty is alive again are all part of this scheme. Her plastic surgery, cancer, and the organization known as The Team are a hoax.