Autolycus steals the Cronus stone, which whisks himself and Hercules five years into the past. While Autolycus and his past self plan to steal the stone over again, Hercules is reunited with Serena, still alive in this time-line.

Celestra -- also known as ""Death"" -- came for Jaris, Hercules old friend. The goddess' appearance prompted Hercules to remember the time when, as a cocky youth, he met Celestra for the first time. It happened when young Hercules accidentally killed Jaris' brother, Bartoc. Hercules had kept the truth from Jaris and his family for a while, but finally revealed his secret when a teenage gang attacked. But that was all in the past; now Hercules had to stop his friend from a rampage against the evildoers of his town. Celestra finally took Jaris, leaving Hercules with his memories.

A lightning bolt from the dying Zeus opened a vortex to a parallel universe, where Iolaus was a jester and Hercules was the malevolent Sovereign. This alternate Hercules and the alternate Xena were lovers, and they were attempting to kill Zeus with Hind blood. Ares, meanwhile, was the god of love, not war, and Aphrodite was a modest, sensitive goddess. When the vortex reappeared, Hercules, Iolaus, the Sovereign and the alternate Iolaus all wound up inside and fought a furious battle. Each managed to return to his proper universe except the Sovereign, who was trapped inside the vortex.

Hercules reluctantly agreed to pose nude for King Armand's new museum centerpiece in exchange for the King's donation to the war orphans' fund. Meanwhile, the blacksmith, Atalanta, feeling lonely and frustrated, turned a pile of scrap metal into the towering , magnificent man of her dreams. But she didn't expect Hephaestus to bring the sculpture to life as a newborn Hercules. The evil goddess Discord prompted the impressionable ""Herc"" to commit murder, thus framing Hercules. In a final confrontation, Herc turned over a new leaf, helping Hercules save Atalanta's life. Herc was crushed in the process, his body reverting to scrap.

Hope, the treacherous daughter of Dahak and Gabrielle, went to the Ixion Caverns and freed Callisto. Hope gave the warrior-goddess a mission: rid the world of Hercules. Callisto joined forces with Ares, and the two reopened the vortex to the alternate universe. When the Sovereign appeared, Ares snatched his pendant of Hind's blood -- the only substance that can kill a god. But Callisto ripped the pendant from Ares' neck and used the blood to kill Strife. Hope then sent Callisto back in time to kill Hercules' mother, so Iolaus convinced Ares to send him back as well.

Hercules' brother, King Iphicles of Corinth, was not with his wife when she died -- he was out controlling rioting soldiers. For this he blamed the vetern warriors led by Ajax and demanded they leave Corinth without dedicating a statue. Hercules and Iolaus, friends of Ajax, tried to intervene. But deadly battles broke out when Iphicles killed Phidias, the statue's designer. Ajax tried to kill Iphicles as retribution, but he ended up devoured by giant sand worms. Tired of the madness, Iphicles relented by officiating at the dedication of Phidias' statue and extending land to the veterns.

Salmoneus and Autolycus obtained a Sultan's lamp and released Jinni the genie, who gave them three wishes to share. Autolycus asked to be invisible. Instead Jinni made him intangible, so he couldn't grab anything. Salmoneus, meanwhile couldn't decide whether to ask for more sensitivity or more ruthless energy, so Jinni gave him both in the form of two clones -- Cry Baby Sal and Hyper Sal. Forfeiting their third wish, they were returned to normal and imprisoned inside Jinni's lamp. But they escaped, and Autolycus used the third wish to give the lonely genie a roomful of clones.

When a volcano threatened to destroy the people of Mount Pelion, Hercules decided to blow a hole in the far side of the volcano, allowing the lava to flow into the sea. The Amazon Ephiny joined him, and for a third, Hercules enlisted Kurth, a young man condemned to die for murdering the Centaur Nagus' son. Hercules convinced Nagus to help pull the wagon of explosive crystals. Most of the crystals were lost in a mishap, so the remainder had to be deposited directly in the crater mouth. Kurth took care of this suicide mission, redeeming himself in the process.

Hercules and Jason arrived at Cheiron's academy to find things greatly changed. The youths were out of control, and the headmaster left the school in Hercules' hands. Zylus, an upperclassman, had a secret plan to take over the school. When Hercules discovered Zylus and his friends were the masked attackers he had fought off earlier, he expelled the group. Zylus tried to burn down the school, but was no match for Hercules. After the fight, Hercules named Jason the academy's new headmaster, and Lilith -- Jason's first love -- promised to visit often.

Sin came looking for Hercules in the guise of Serena. She said she needed Hercules' help to recapture Xerxos, a murderer who had escaped from her world of evil souls. In truth ""Serena"" was in league with Xerxos. She poisoned Hercules in hopes he would take a life in anger, which would condemn his soul to her domain. But Iolaus was able to keep Hercules from killing Xerxos. The murderer found his sister, the criminal Arciana, and encouraged her to reform before it was too late. Then he and ""Serena"" returned to their realm.