Quicksilver turns up at Avengers Mansion looking for his ex-teammates. Jarvis directs him to the harbour where they are saying goodbye to Wasp and Yellowjacket. Captain America is there too. Hank and Jan leave for Alaska with Bill Foster, on a scientific mission for the government.
Pietro is here to ask for help, but as usual trigger-happy Goliath starts a fight before finding that out. Quicksilver is only stopped because he has never met Vision before, and doesn't know of his powers.
Pietro explains how he, Scarlet Witch and Toad have tried to find a way to restore Wanda's hex power. Their search led them to a hidden book of magic. Wanda was drawn to intone a certain spell, which brought a barbarian warrior called Arkon into their world.
Arkon told them that he is ruler of a planet occupying Earth's place in an alternate universe, a planet that glorifies war. It got its light from an orbiting energy ring, but that ring went dark. However the planet gained a reprieve when Earth's atomic bombs rent the veil between universes and provided a new temporary light source.
Arkon's head scientist found a way to spy on Earth. He determined that a sufficiently large amount of atomic energy realeased on Earth, deadly to us, would give Arkon's planet enough light for ages to come.
Arkon learned that a certain mystic spell would open the barrier from the Avengers' side, but only if spoken by a mutant. The scientist managed to send the magic book here, and Arkon guided Scarlet Witch to find it. He chose Wanda because he had fallen in love with her while viewing us from afar.
The warrior used 'lightning bolts' from his quiver to send Toad and the Witch back to his homeworld, and another to transport himself away. Then Pietro came to the Avengers for help.
As Quicksilver finishes his tale, a news report announces that Arkon has appeared at a scientific conference, and used his lightning bolts to spirit some scientists away.