Incredible Hulk (Vol. 2) #49
Pratt Fall
At a Sex Shop in New Mexico, an agent of Home Base leaves the private booth as the film projector begins to melt, destroying a film copy of a hidden video he was assigned to retrieve. He returns to the bar where the bartender that has been flirting with him is just getting off work. When he asks for a shot of Johnny Walker, she invites him to come back up to her room where she keeps her high-end liquor.
Meanwhile, in Clarksville, Colorado, Agent Pratt -- his body growing to massive size thanks to an injection of Hulk blood -- holds Bruce Banner by his throat. The only thing stopping him is Sandra Verdugo, who has betrayed Home Base so she and Banner could find her son Ricky Myers. With Ricky apparently standing on the ridge overlooking their confrontation, Agent Pratt offers Sandra an ultimatum: join him in turning in Bruce Banner and get her son back, or lose it all. She gets him to promise to follow through on his offer. To show him he means it, Pratt calls S-2 and tells him that they have Banner and a sample of Hulk's blood and asks for amnesty for Sandra. He then tosses his phone over to Sandra, who gets reassurance from S-2 that they will honor the offer as long as Agent Pratt plays nice. With the call over, Pratt also asks for the Anti-Hulk gun. Sandra only agrees to turn it over if he gives her Ricky right away. Pratt agrees, and drops Banner and leads her up the hill to where Ricky is standing. Along the way, Pratt returns to human form and warns her against having second thoughts.
At the top of the ridge, Sandra turns over the gun but before Agent Pratt hands Ricky over, he demands that Verdugo strip naked. She initially refuses, but he assures her that the only people who will see will be him and her son, pointing out that his "loyal men" are actually all dead. With no other choice, Sandra removes her shirt, but stops there, not able to bring herself to strip naked in front of her son. In response to this defiance, Agent Pratt snaps Ricky's neck. Pratt then threatens to shoot Sandra point-blank in the head, explaining that his prime motivator is greed. However, before he can pull the trigger, Banner has managed to sneak up behind him and finally transform into the Hulk. When Pratt tries to shoot him with the Anti-Hulk gun he discovers that it is not loaded, Sandra's doing prior to turning it over to him. Turning back into his gamma-irradiated form, Agent Pratt knocks Sandra out and lunges at the Hulk.
The battle doesn't last long as the Hulk's strength is far superior to that of Agent Pratt's. Despite Sandra's protests, Agent Pratt is beaten to death by the Hulk. Later, after Sandra has buried the 70 separate pieces of Pratt's body, the Hulk has reverted back to Bruce Banner. It's then that Sandra reveals what Bruce just discovered: that "Ricky Myers" was actually a robot. She buries the robot in a grave, telling Bruce that she needs a little closure even if only temporary. With the robot buried, Sandra tells Bruce that they must part company so she can continue to search for her son.
Recurring Characters
Hulk, Sandy Verdugo, Home Base (Agents Pratt, S-2 and 3)
Continuity Notes
Agent S-3 is actually Betty Ross operating undercover. Betty had died of radiation poisoning in Incredible Hulk #466. Her survival is revealed in Incredible Hulk Vol 2 #62. Betty was resurrected thanks to the machinations of the Intelligencia as seen in Fall of the Hulks: Alpha #1. However, her appearances here are all part of a reality warp created by Nightmare as revealed in Incredible Hulk Vol 2 #81.
