Three months ago, Bruce and Betty Banner were trying to escape the Requiem Plain and failing when they were rescued by Hulk’s son Skaar…
…and now they are living a quiet existence in Muncie, Indiana, as David and Heather Hamilton, getting up in the morning, having breakfast, and going to work at Healthy Garden. Today Bruce notices that Betty has a bandage on her wrist; she says it’s just a scratch. Driving to work, they come upon a traffic camera so they lower the sun visors to hide their faces. An old man with a “Repent” sign spies them and in his mind, Bruce turns into Hulk, smashing out of the car…but the light turns green and they drive on….
They get to work and their co-worker Nattie is showing off photos of her son Tommy who is in the Army, stationed at Fort Campbell. Then Betty sees a news report about the Hulk’s rampage and she is shocked, her wrist wound starts bleeding, and Bruce must make an excuse to escort her from the room. In the rest room, Betty explains that she was triggered by her first sight of Eldest on TV (as she imagines turning into Red Harpy) and Bruce reminds her that no one can ever find out who they really are….
That evening, as they go to bed, Betty’s choice to stay up a little later, has Bruce recalling how he would formerly Hulk out from rage. He receives a phone message, “You’re a hard man to find these days, ‘David Hamilton.’”
Several hours late, he finds Betty in a mess in the kitchen, clutching a knife, her inability to open the ice cream container triggering a helpless rage that once upon a time she could fly on her own wings and now she is just human. Bruce comforts her, assuring her they are going to be okay. He bandages her arm which she cut on a broken bottle just now, and after she is asleep, he receives a summons to go to the backyard. There, he finds Iron Man and Mr. Fantastic, who have finally found him. He pleads with his old friends not to give away their identities. Reed asks how he became normal and Bruce responds by explaining Eldest and referring them to Requiem Plain as a possible source of help. Tony is disgusted with Bruce, considering him a coward for hiding out in an ordinary dull life. Bruce responds that he has earned a little cowardice in his life and he doesn’t owe them a damn thing….
The next day, Bruce arrives at work to find everyone gathered around the television. A news report has said Hulk and his monsters have destroyed an Army base, the one where Nattie’s son Tommy is stationed. He recalls Tony’s words, “If your Hulk really is gone, we are truly doomed….”
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