‘…And Forsaking All Others…’
The Master has abducted Puck and Namor onto his submarine, keeping Namor in a tube that robs him of hydration and Puck in a tube that robs him of oxygen. He explains how he escaped the destruction of his original ship with this vessel that he had prepared 5000 years ago. He forces Puck and Namor to bear witness as he reveals a pair of adjoint water tanks containing the savage Marrina and the twisted inhuman form of her fellow hatchling. The Master opens the partition between the tanks, allowing Marrina and the other to engage in a violent struggle as part of their genetic programming. While his captor is distracted, Puck uses a mental technique to stop his own heartbeat and feign death, tricking the Master into opening his tube and giving him a chance to escape. Puck in turn releases Namor from his tube, but Namor desperately needs water. Puck rips the Master’s helmet off to throw at the glass of Marrina’s water tank, but the Master is more concerned that the helmet was fused to his head and was his means of controlling the ship. As the submarine crashes and a hull breach opens, Namor has to abandon Marrina to get Puck to the surface safely and before he can go back down, the ship explodes. Namor tries to search for Marrina afterwards but only finds the remains of the other creature. Puck reassures him that Marrina is tough and is likely still out there somewhere, and he accepts that there’s nothing left to do but return to his people. After Namor leaves, Puck calls out to Marrina, who was hiding nearby. She tells him that it wasn’t the Master that made her go berserk, it was the other, and she could tell it was made to be her mate. She now believes she doesn’t belong alongside Namor or humans. She sees herself as a monster and leaves to be on her own.