In the underground complex of Project Greenskin, the Hulk hides from the army. He barely recalls his battle against the Inheritor a few hours ago. He just wants out.
The soldiers believe that both monsters are dead. One of them addresses General Ross and suggests he and Major Talbot should stay on the surface, as it is dangerous. Ross snaps he didn’t get these stars by hiding when the spit hits the fan. He warns them they have bigger problems than him or the major, if the Hulk or another…
The Hulk breaks cover and demands to know what this talk of “another” is. There is no one but Hulk! He swats soldiers aside and the others fall back. They don gas masks and try to calm the Hulk with sleeping gas. Hulk finally realizes that their gas masks protect them and grabs one from a fallen soldier’s pouch and dons it.
Feeling better, he swats the rest of them aside until he finally faces General Ross. He grabs him by the collar. He recognizes him as the one who always leads the soldiers after him, but the Hulk has no time to take revenge as the gas is getting through. He struggles to quickly get outside. He jumps upward, massive muscles carrying him through the roof and a furious Ross vows they will find him.
Sometime later, the Hulk sits in the New Mexico desert alone, remembering the green-skinned young woman from a tiny world, Jarella, who loved him. He wants to find her and that world again unless it was only a dream.
With the dawn, that silence is broken by approaching helicopters. General Ross orders them to attack with gas but the wind carries it away. The angry Hulk demolishes one helicopter. The others fire rocket darts but the Hulk takes over.
Ross fears that the harder it gets to capture the Hulk, the less likely it is they will take him alive. He orders to fire the self-propelled cannons then try again with the tranquilizer darts. They are joined by tanks that also fire at the rock on which the Hulk sits.
However, even as the rock gives way, orders from Washington come in. All Hulkbusting activities are to be suspended pending Congressional hearing. General Ross is ordered to the Capitol immediately to testify. Ross sees no choice but to obey and, to the Hulk’s surprise, the military leaves.
In the Senate, Senator Clegstead defends his funding for Project Greeenskin meant to capture and possibly destroy the Hulk. Representative Dutton points out that the last time they captured the Hulk he escaped. Millions were wasted that could be used for housing or the environment.
Back in Arizona, one vehicle has remained behind. In it are Major Glenn Talbot and the woman he loves, Betty Ross, though to his frustration she still loves Bruce Banner. Using his binoculars, he sees something, namely the Hulk jumping off as though he’d seen something in the distance…
What he saw was a flash of green. The tresses of a girl in danger and he thought hopefully it is his lost love Jarella…
Some distance away, the green-haired mutant Lorna Dane is driving her car trying to get away from a group of bikers who have become interested in her because of her green hair. Hulk lands amidst several of the bikers and orders them to leave her alone while the car drives on.
After his next leap, he finds the car empty and the bikers that had closed up to it lying stunned on the ground. He grabs one of the bikers and demands answers. The man babbles that the girl stopped the car, pointed at them and it was like driving into a stonewall.
Some distance away, Lorna walks through the desert, exhausted from overextending her magnetic powers. She hopes the hut she sees in the distance is her destination. Suddenly, she hears a noise behind her and turns around to seen one more biker ready to drive over her. However, he is hit by an energy blast coming from nearby. He’d always hoped she’d visit, Alex Summer jokes, but he didn’t think she’d bring such off-beat friends.
They hug and he asks why she didn’t write. Lorna admits, she wasn’t sure if he’d want to see her. He realizes this isn’t just a personal visit. Lorna admits Professor X wanted her to come and persuade him to return to the X-Men.
Alex refuses. Lorna continues they’d hoped with all the months he’s had to himself his attitude would change. He’s had plenty of time to think, Alex replies sarcastically, but his thoughts always return to the day when, fighting over Lorna, he almost killed Bobby Drake…
Flashback:
Iceman was once again furious over Lorna preferring Alex’s company to his and insulted Alex. Iceman attacked him with an iceblast and instinctively Havok unleashed his power back at him. Horrified at having almost killed his teammate, Havok decided to stop using his power and left the X-Men.
Present:
Lorna points out that Bobby wasn’t hurt seriously as Alex first had thought. He just used his power to save her! It could also be used helping the world. Professor X is certain it can be controlled. With the right incentive and X-Man training like his brother Scott… He could really kill someone, Alex interjects. No sale. Bristling, Lorna shoots back she didn’t come to sell him something. She came because she cared. But he’s convinced her she is wasting her time!
She runs away. Alex wants to follow but, at that moment, the Hulk lands between them and orders him to leave the girl alone. Alex runs back into his home to get his Havok uniform that helps control his power, only to find when he gets out again that both the Hulk and Lorna are gone.
The Hulk has taken Lorna to the highest mesa and wonders why she struggles. Then he finally gets a good look at her and realizes she is not his beloved Jarella. He wonders if she deceived him on purpose and gets angry.
He is distracted by a military jeep nearby. Inside are Major Glen Talbot and Betty Ross, who urges that she wants to know what happened to the Hulk. Talbot considers telling Betty that the Hulk is in love with another woman – Jarella – but doesn’t want to win her that way.
Hulk threateningly grabs Lorna, who tries to tell the Hulk there has been a mistake when they are separated by blast coming from Havok, who is standing some distance below. Havok orders to Hulk to take his quarrel up with him or leave. The Hulk tums toward him and Havok blasts him.
Hulk gathers himself up and attacks again. Havok warns him that he gathers unlimited energy from the cosmic energy around. This will destroy them both. Why doesn’t the Hulk just leave?
Quit? the Hulk asks furiously. He grabs the rock splitting part of the mesa off, unfortunately the part on which the helpless Lorna still lies.
Havok berates himself for his destructive power. Blast the Hulk or the rock – either way Lorna dies. Unless the Hulk sets the mesa down gently. Professor X thinks his power can be mastered with proper incentive and training. Incentive is saving the woman he loves. As for training, it’s going to be on the job! he decides.
He channels the power into a tight beam and hits the Hulk where he is most vulnerable - his head. The nonstop blast hurts the Hulk and Havok urges him to stop the pain by setting down the rock. Slowly, the Hulk obeys and collapses.
Havok finds he can even use his power to create a forcebeam to counteract gravity and lower Lorna down. When Lorna is saved Alex figures that maybe he won’t always be able to get it together like he did today but he’s going back with her and he’s gonna try!
Unnoticed, the unconscious Hulk turns back into Bruce Banner, who is finally found by Glen Talbot and Betty Ross. As Betty cradles Bruce’s unconscious form, Bruce weakly calls out for Jarella. Shocked, Betty asks Glen what that means. Evasively, he replies that Bruce will have to tell her, once he wakes up.
