Synopsis / Summary / Plot
Avengers Tower was destroyed in World War Hulk. Now Dr Von Blitzschlag takes Senator Woodman there to emphasise the importance of his Scientific Advisory for Gamma Emergencies (SAGE). They are with a bunch of gamma scientists and some top secret documents, protected by SHIELD Capekillers, en route to a secure bunker for a meeting.
Woodman pretends to be worried about the risks to the scientists and documents out here in the open, but Blitzschlag says he's arranged extra security. This causes the Senator to signal 'abort' to 3 circling fliers. But the Vulturions are already committed to the attack.
1 of them grabs Blitzschlag's briefcase. The Capekillers fail to shoot the villains down. Blitzschlag tries to fire an electric blast from his hand, but it fizzles out. His extra security is the 3 cloaked Scarlet Spiders. But they are more concerned with the well-being of their 'father', until he sends them after the thieves. Woodman objects that the Spiders aren't supposed to be seen in public, but Blitzschlag ignores him.
Back in Initiative HQ and training base Camp Hammond, Justice, with Cloud 9 in tow, has demanded a meeting with War Machine and Yellowjacket. He wants to know if MVP is really dead, and if so why is there a Michael Van Patrick at home in Kentucky (as they discovered in #4)? This is news to James Rhodes, but Henry Pym hides behind 'national security'. WM may be director of the base but he works for the international SHIELD agency, while the Initiative is a US military program.
The 'discussion' is interrupted by an emergency that needs Henry and Jim in the War Room. Justice is unhappy, and tells Cloud 9 they should take matters into their own hands.
Henry Gyrich's emergency is the public appearance of his stealth agents the Scarlet Spiders - part of his special forces team. This is something else Rhodes wasn't aware of.
Meanwhile Peter Parker is (literally) hanging around outside May Morgan's hospital room - his Aunt May registered under a false name because she's in danger from Spider-Man's enemies since Tony Stark convinced him to reveal his identity during Civil War. In fact that's why she was shot and is now dying. And Peter can't visit her because he's a fugitive.
Just then he sees the Vulturions flying past - and realises they can't be quite the ones he's fought before because 1 of these is a female. And when the Scarlet Spiders swing past in pursuit, wearing the Iron Spider costumes Stark designed for Peter, Parker finally has someone he can take his anger out on.
We now cut to the HQ of the Kentucky Initiative Team Action Pack (Frog-Man, Prima Donna and Vox). Every Initiative site, including the training camp, has a portal to the Negative Zone prison. Justice and Cloud 9 make an unauthorised entry through the portal and out through a new hole in the wall. Action Pack report this to the Stamford HQ, but they're too busy with the Scarlet Spider problem.
But when Justice and Cloud 9 get to the Van Patrick farm they find it deserted. Vance Astrovik sends Cloud 9 back to base, but he's not coming with her. He persuaded Michael to join the Initiative (in #1), and now he sees it as his responsibility to uncover the truth about what happened to him.
The Spiders are firing at the fleeing Vulturions when PP in civvies lands on top of 1 of them. 1 of the other Spiders turns back to help his teammate. But that leaves the 3rd Spider to get ganged up on by the Vulturions. The battle is televised and watched by Tony Stark, and by J Jonah Jameson with Betty Brant.
The 2 Scarlets persuade Parker to help them fight the villains. Next thing we know a guy in a standard Spidey costume attacks the Vulturions while they're beating up the 3rd Scarlet. The V's scatter, and the female 1 runs into someone in a black Spidey suit. The 1 named Honcho with the briefcase gets web-zapped by Peter Parker.
It turns out that the Spidey 'costumes' are an illusion generated by the Scarlet Spider suits. The 3 Spider-people reconvene with their captives around the injured Scarlet. Peter hands over the briefcase and the 3 Scarlets do him a favour.
They use their suits' mimetic properties to all adopt Parker's civilian outfit, in front of the TV camera. They say that he is 1 of their government-sponsored team with special suits that can imitate Spider-Man and his powers - but due to his recent actions he's now going to be dropped from the roster. This sows doubt in the public's mind as to whether Peter was really Spider-Man when he unmasked in Civil War. (And Betty Brant reminds Jonah that Peter once pretended to be Spidey, way back in Amazing SM #11.)
The Capekillers take the Vulturions into custody. The Scarlet Spiders return to Blitzschlag's lab where he has the body of MVP on ice. When they unmask we learn that they are clones of MVP, who Blitzschlag has named Michael, Van and Patrick.