Synopsis / Summary / Plot
This issue jumps into the middle of the story, with New York already ruined and built over. And maybe the rest of the world in no better state.
Hawkeye is staking out a surviving brownstone. He sees 2 men come out to invite a girl in. He takes them out with arrows and pushes through the open door. Inside he finds 2 more men offering Mutant Growth Hormone to another girl, here seeking safety. Hawkeye kills these 2 too, with a crossbow, and tells the girl to leave. But she turns on him with a dropped gun, so he wounds her and repeats his suggestion.
On a monitor screen Hawkeye sees a man being tortured.
Further in the house Hammerhead and the Owl have been alerted by gunfire. They come downstairs with their men. They fear an Avenger has found them. (But not Thor, who they believe has gone.) They also hope it's an Avenger, because they can get a big reward for one.
Hawkeye disposes of the troops with an incendiary grenade. Then he kills the 3 men with the prisoner, who we now see is Spider-Man.
Owl and Hammerhead are still alive, and have the heroes pinned down. But suddenly a piercing sound has all 4 clutching their ears. A group of Ultrons have the house surrounded.
Owl complains to the Ultrons that Hammerhead has paid them off. The Ultrons take no notice. Perhaps not coincidentally Hammerhead makes his escape with 2 suitcases full of money.
Hawkeye and Spider-Man crawl out of the building. The archer has taped several bombs to each of his arrows. With these he destroys the Ultrons.
The heroes stagger away until they reach the ruins of a crashed SHIELD helicarrier. Creeping into a secret entrance they are grabbed by Luke Cage and She-Hulk. Hawkeye shouts that he told them he was going to rescue Spidey. But Cage just says they'd warned Clint that if he left them he wouldn't be allowed back.
Tony Stark arrives with portable equipment to detect if the returnees have been infected by Ultron. They register clear. But Cage worries that Ultron may have found ways that Stark can't yet detect. And She-Hulk worries about them being followed.
Just then Emma Frost arrives to confirm that everything's OK. Beast and Wolverine are with her. Further inside, in a makeshift barracks, we see others including Invisible Woman and Thing.
Cage is still angry that Hawkeye risked their security to rescue Parker. Hawkeye basically says that Avengers risk everything for their own. And he'd rather die living up to that ideal, than live by betraying it.
Stark says they're lying low until they have a plan. Captain America is working on one. But the Cap we see just seems to have lost all hope.