Continued from DOMINATION FACTOR:
FANTASTIC FOUR #2.
A drunken Tony Stark awakens in a
SHIELD mind scanner with Nick Fury preparing to wipe his memories of
SHIELD secrets. Tony risks mentioning the Golden Apple slice; Fury
recognizes it, having seen it years ago (in STRANGE TALES #145) but
he starts the machine anyway, though leaving a bit pensively. He
recalls an incident from the War, when he and Reb Ralston were forced
to labor in an enemy scheme to tunnel under the English Channel;
Captain America and Bucky arrived and freed the prisoners. This point
is when Cap's astral form from the present occupies his past self in
search of the Golden Apple slice. Cap and Bucky head for the
detonator planted by the Nazis to destroy the tunnel should it be
discovered by the allies....
An amnesiac Scarlet Witch cannot recall
her mission from the future or the whereabouts of her brother
Quicksilver so she asks Magneto and learns that he has been injured
in a fight with the X-Men. She rushes to his aid leaving Magneto to
glory in his scheming....
At Praxis headquarters, Lester is also
gloating over his schemes, making Nora Queen suspicious but he
manages to calm her worries....
Many centuries ago in Asgard, Thor is
banished by Odin as the realm is at war with the Mountain Giants. The
traitor Arkin the Weak rides off to inform his beloved Queen Knorda
of the giants. At this moment, Thor's astral form from the future
enters the contemporary Thor and he is ambushed by a band of giants;
Thor rides into a narrow canyon and out through a smaller exit,
trapping the giants within. It is then revealed that this was a plot
by Thor and Odin to defeat their enemies and it worked. Thor rides
off in search of the Golden Apple slice and in the forest he is
entangled by a living tree, thanks to the wicked Loki....
Trapped in the SHIELD mind-wiping
device, Tony finds himself in trouble. Spying a ball-point pen left
by Nick Fury, he manages to unscrew the cap and use the spring to
pick the locks on his restraints and escape. On the way out, he
encounters an agent who reveals that this was a test on Fury's part
and his success has earned him the Golden Apple slice held by
SHIELD....
On Magneto's island fortress, the
mind-controlled X-Men (Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Beast, Iceman, Angel) are
battling the Avengers (Hawkeye, Black Panther, Wasp, Goliath) when
Angel destroys the evil device, freeing the two teams of heroes to
unite against Magneto. Rebelling against his nasty master, Toad sets
the island to explode; he leads Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver to a
getaway plane, kicking Magneto overboard when he tries to board as
well. Among Toad's treasures, Wanda finds the Golden Apple slice and
is drawn back toward her present....
Captain America and Bucky race through
the mine tunnels, fighting Germans, and freeing prisoners along the
way. Cap, brooding over Bucky's coming death, races toward the
detonator to destroy the Nazi operation and finds the (original)
Human Torch, blocking the detonator....
Continued in DOMINATION FACTOR:
FANTASTIC FOUR #3.