In the body of the 2099 Hulk, Proteus accesses the reality of the Maestro* intending to possess that stronger version of the Hulk. Thinking he was speaking with a Hulk from another timeline, Rick Jones (in this time, a young adult) helps Proteus by disclosing important info and delivering a Hulk-killing gun (created by Forge) to kill the Maestro. If such should happen, it was to “put Bruce Banner and the rest of us out of our misery”.
But the Exiles warned the Maestro about Proteus’ visit. Tricked, Proteus fires the gun and hits Morph instead, who had taken the shape of the Maestro. Unfortunately, the plan goes bad when the Power Princess accidentally stabs the real Maestro instead of the 2099 Hulk/Proteus with a blade of metal. The Maestro does not like it!
Also in this issue: Longshot, Blink, Sabretooth, 2099 Spider-Man.
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