Red She-Hulk #66
Another Time and Place
A Point in Time
Doctor Bruce Banner is trying to pull young Rick Jones to safety before his Gamma Bomb can go off. As he is helping the boy into a protective trench, he is also shoved in by Betty Ross. No sooner than Banner and Jones are safely in the trench, the bomb goes off, catching Betty in the blast.
Here and Now
Searching for Eleanore Bennett, the young girl connected to the Terranometer, the Red She-Hulk and X-51 have come to the Florida Everglades in the hopes that they can find her through the Nexus of All Realities. They pull their boat up to shore near the Nexus and continue their trek on foot. Along the way, the Red She-Hulk spots the Man-Thing, and thinking the muck monster is an enemy, she attacks it. X-51 tells her to wait, but he is too late. However, before the Red She-Hulk can strike the Man-Thing she suddenly finds herself in the past, on the day of the Gamma Bomb test. Learning that Bruce Banner has just been seen on the bomb site, Betty believes that she has been sent back to this point in history in order to prevent Banner from being turned into the Hulk.
While back in the present aboard the U.S.S. Thunderbolt, the Mad Thinker has created a device that uses the She-Hulk's gamma signature to work as a means of locating the Red She-Hulk. As the test is underway, Jennifer thinks about how Bruce Banner sent her on this mission in the hopes of tracking down Betty and finding out what is going on. Once they pinpoint the Red She-Hulk's location, the She-Hulk then leaps out of the Thunderbolt, intent on getting to Betty before they do. While back in the Florida Everglades, MAachine Man runs a series of scans on the Man-Thing to try and learn what happened to Betty when she tried striking the muck monster. X-51 is surprised when the Man-Thing begins talking to him. The creature explains that as part of its mission to protect reality it sends people to realities where they belong, exactly what he has done to the Red She-Hulk. Machine Man tells him that the attack was a mistake and she is a defender of reality as well, convincing the Man-Thing to travel to this other reality to rescue Betty. Once on the other side, they witness the savage Red She-Hulk protecting Bruce Banner while being attacked by the military. Man-Thing is surprised to discover that he cannot affect things in this reality as if the events they are seeing is meant to be. He also senses that they aren't just looking at one Red She-Hulk, but two coexisting in the same body.
Soon the battle is over, and Betty dreams about Nikola Tesla, Eleanor Bennett, and Machine Man. She wakes up in the Hulk containment vault not sure what these dreams mean. Back in human form, she is released from the containment unit by Bruce Banner. Another dream, this time about the apocalyptic future caused by Project Echelon. In the waking world, the Red She-Hulk defeats the Leader and Abomination with the help of Bruce Banner. The end result of this battle helps Banner come up with a means of allowing Betty to control her transformations into the Hulk. Confused by the dreams of her native reality, Betty tells Bruce to leave her alone and she runs off. She is unaware of the fact that X-51 is the one responsible for the dreams, trying to remind her that she is trapped in an alternate reality, unfortunately, something is keeping him out of sync with time. As time flows along, Banner finds a way of keeping Betty in a median state that is more controllable. The Red She-Hulk then joins the Avengers, and begins a romance with Thor, breaking Bruce Banner's heart. This drives Banner away and he assists Able Stack in creating his X-Series robots, ultimately leading to a war between humanity and super-humans.
With an X-51 unit created in this reality, the X-51 of Earth-616 is able to take possession of its body. However, X-51 discovers that he cannot override the programming his counterpart has had downloaded into his mind. X-51 is then deployed by General Fortean with an army of X-Series Robots and Sentinels to slaughter superheroes. By this point, the Man-Thing can finally interface with this reality. When he tries to get Machine Man's help, he discovers that X-51 can override his programming. Spotting the Red She-Hulk in battle, the Man-Thing tries to tell her what's happening, but she attacks him, thinking it is a creature created by Bruce Banner. Her anger allows Man-Thing to burn her with his touch and he grabs the Red She-Hulk in the hope that the fire will jolt back her true memories. As the memories begin coming back to her, the Man-Thing then opens a portal back to her reality. They find She-Hulk near the portal and she reaches out to her red-skinned counterpart. When She-Hulk touches her hand, Betty suddenly remembers two different histories, one where Bruce Banner was turned into the Hulk by the Gamma Bomb, and one where she was.
Still unconvinced, the Red She-Hulk grabs Jennifer and yanks her through the portal. The two fight it out when they are ambushed by X-51 who cannot stop himself from attacking. The Red She-Hulk then rips the robot apart. Man-Thing once more tries to appeal to Betty, X-51 repairs himself and tries to convince her as well while his programming continues to attack her. This angers Betty enough that she turns into the savage Red She-Hulk. When she strikes Machine Man, it is with sufficient force to knock him and Jennifer back. To make matters worse, the General Reginald Fortean of their native reality has found the portal to this world and orders all Echelon soldiers to be deployed to his position.
Recurring Characters
Red She-Hulk, Machine Man, She-Hulk, Man-Thing, Bruce Banner-13159, Mad Thinker, Reginald Fortean of Earth-616 and 13159, Bruce Banner (flashback), Avengers-13159 (Iron Man, Thor, Spider-Man, Captain America, Wolverine)
Continuity Notes
The alternate reality in this tory diverges at the point of the Gamma Bomb test (originally seen in Incredible Hulk #1). However, there are other differences between this reality and Earth-616. For example, on Earth-13159 Glenn Talbot was present on the day of the Gamma Bomb test, while on Earth-616 he didn't come work for General Ross until much later (Tales to Astonish #61). Betty is also depicted as wearing a military uniform, suggesting that she is a soldier in this reality, unlike on Earth-616 where Betty is not part of the military.
