In Qatar,
War Machine, Valkyrie, and Black Widow of the Secret Avengers have been sent to
bring Red Hulk home. There is a battle but War Machine spots someone watching
from a rooftop and goes to investigate. Rhodey challenges the interloper who
swings a sword which cuts through Rhodey’s armor. It is Arabian Knight,
Mideastern protector with a magic sword who orders all of them to leave. There
is a brief battle, which ceases when the see several of the new enemy warheads
raining down on them—but nothing happens. Steve Rogers appears, revealing the
missiles have been disarmed. Steve tells Arabian Knight and the others that the
warheads may have a time limit on their effectiveness or can be disarmed
remotely. He explains that his concern is with who is supplying this unknown
technology to rebel forces in the region, which is also Arabian Knight’s
concern....
They
all repair to a neutral site, a Qataran warship in the Persian Gulf, where AK
reveals the man selling the weapons is Dagan Shah, who has established a place
called Sharzhad on the Egypt/Libyan border and forbidden anyone to cross his
territory. While the Americans are hampered by having no interests in this
conflict, Arabian Knight certainly can put a stop to it and he flies off to
face Dagan Shah. Red Hulk insists on learning what happened to his friend while
Steve reiterates the USA has no business in the region but they are interrupted
by Aaron Stack, Machine Man (a/k/a X-51), who has been researching the warheads
and has discovered that they may be alien in nature, possibly Rigellian, the
people who once tried to colonize Earth. This changes matters….
Red
Hulk and Machine Man (who does not count as an American soldier but as a drone)
are dropped into the desert not far from Sharzhad. As they trek toward the
city, the ground breaks open, disgorging a giant manticore which attacks them….