Avengers, The (1963 series) #372

The petrified bodies of Police Detective Joe MacNamara and Coroner Tomas Delgado are recovered from the river, supervised by Detective Marta DuBois and Detective Clancy. The police were notified by a mysterious man who claims some slight psychic abilities; he also vaguely points them toward “a woman of vast power who lives in a mansion of heroes” before he departs. DuBois calls in Code: Blue and it is revealed she had an emotional connection to MacNamara. The mystery man [Spoiler: it’s Proctor] passes by Avengers Mansion, gloating over his secret victory. A Quinjet takes off and a couple of passers-by are thrilled to see the Avengers….

Aboard the Quinjet, Vision explains to his companions Magdalene, Swordsman, and Deathcry, that as they are currently guests of the Avengers, Black Widow decided they should be shown some of their operation, in this case, investigating the breakdown of a tracking station in the Hebrides. Deathcry mocks the young lovers and tries to embarrass Vision by flirting with him….

Black Widow, Captain America, and Black Knight see the Quinjet off. Then Crystal and Quicksilver with their baby Luna enter. Cap is glad to see Pietro after a long absence but there are awkward looks between Crystal, Dane, and Pietro. Natasha “reminds” Dane he has an exam with Hank Pym. Crystal reminds Pietro he has a medical appointment as well. Cap feels he missed something, which Natasha confirms without explanation….

In the park, Pietro asks Crystal if she still loves him. She does. He asks her if she also loves Dane Whitman and she again says yes. Sersi was following them and heard this exchange. Sersi is also being followed by mysterious villains (revealed a few pages hence)….

Dane has reported to Hank Pym even though they really didn’t have an appointment. Hank takes the opportunity to run scans on Dane to try to understand the Gann Josin, his mental link to Sersi. But Dane suddenly feels a call from her and dashes out…

…finding Sersi by the river where she was merely thinking of him but he felt it as a call. And now he wants to deal with the matter….

Hercules is moving a huge piece of machinery for Hank Pym but Hank is engrossed in his research so Herc is irritated at being ignored and he drops the machine on the floor. Black Widow arrives to investigate the loud crash and Hank apologizes to Herc and shows them what he has just discovered. Because of the Gann Josin, Dane’s brain patterns are slowly changing so that they are identical to Sersi’s; Hank warns that Dane may soon cease to exist. Then Jarvis enters to inform them that the police are there investigating the deaths of two policemen….

At the docks, Dane tells Sersi he wants his life back; she insists that they are made for each other and his feelings for Crystal are just a passing infatuation. They kiss…and are interrupted by a trio of enemies, Sliver, Korg, and Tarkas of the Gatherers. The baddies confuse the heroes with talk of the “core reality” and “other selves” but their intent to kill Sersi is clear. Dane recognizes them as Gatherers. The two Avengers defeat their foes, leaving Sersi in a dangerously angry mood. From a nearby rooftop, another Gatherer, Rik, is watching and he fires an energy weapon, blowing up the dock where the heroes are standing. When they surface, their foes are gone and Sersi demands to know what is going on that the Avengers have not told her….

The Gatherers are at a hideout in Greenwich Village, teleported there by Proctor who rebukes them for attempting to kill Sersi; Proctor wants her to suffer before the end. He introduces himself and threatens them with penalties for disobedience….

Sersi and Black Knight return to Avengers Mansion to report this new aggression by the Gatherers. But Detective Marta Dubois and Detective Clancy are there too and they place Sersi under arrest for suspicion of murder….