Synopsis
Last issue Loki played the latest move in his plot to destabilise Norman Osborn. He arranged for Absorbing Man to find the fragments of a Cosmic Cube in Project Pegasus, and for Iron Patriot's Dark Avengers and Wasp's Mighty Avengers to both try to contain the situation as Crusher Creel absorbed the power of the Cube. Now he watches from afar as events unfold.
Osborn tells his team to attack Creel to keep him too confused to use his unfamiliar power (but only Hawkeye (Bullseye) seems to respond, with arrows). Henry Pym continues to bicker with the other team leader, saying he hasn't realised that Absorbing Man won't have full Cosmic Cube powers because he's not cube-shaped (?!). But then Hank ignores his own point and just suggests IP sends his big gun Sentry to deal with Creel.
As Sentry attacks Iron Patriot calls HAMMER for info on what Pegasus was doing with Creel and the Cosmic Cube, to check out Pym's claim. So Wasp calls Amadeus Cho back in the Infinite Mansion to copy that data. What both sides learn is that the scientists wanted to study Absorbing Man's power based on Asgardian magic, particularly how his ball and chain absorbed the properties of materials whenever Creel did. They were intending to expose him to the Cube while sedated so they could observe the power transfer.
Meanwhile Sentry isn't faring too well. His blows have no effect on Cosmic Creel and his foe grabs him and splits him into his 2 versions:- the villainous Void and Sentry in his original costume. The 2 begin hitting each other. Norman orders Dark Ms Marvel (Karla Sofen) to use her psychiatric skills to calm them down. But Crusher's giant fist crushes her before she can act, and transforms *her* back into her Moonstone costume.
More meanwhile Osborn and Pym have both decided to go find Absorbing Man's ball and chain which should also now be made of Cosmic Cube material. As they race off Wasp calls Cho again and tells him to scan Pegasus' security footage for the artefact. As Amadeus starts to direct Hank, the robot Jocasta detects something wrong with 1 of her copies spread throughout the Mansion. We see that an electronic insect has attached itself to that copy and takes over the brain. And the copy intones "Ultron lives!"
U.S. Agent and Vision (Jonas) are attacking Absorbing Man alongside Dark Spider-Man (really Mac Gargan with the Venom symbiote). Creel grabs 'Spidey' and does his trick again - splits him into Gargan in his old Scorpion costume and the symbiote which runs away. Crusher is astonished to see that his old Masters of Evil teammates are in Osborn's 'Avengers' and he wasn't invited. And news cameras are recording the revelation.
The Venom symbiote attacks Quicksilver. Pietro Maximoff contacts base for help. Cho and Edwin Jarvis haven't noticed that the Jocasta with them has been muttering binary gibberish for a while. But she recovers (and presumably pretends not to have been taken over by Ultron) and tells Pietro that the symbiote is vulnerable to fire and sound. So the speedster creates a sonic boom to shake the symbiote off.
Vision turns diamond hard and Hercules throws him at the giant enemy (as in the Wolverine/Colossus Fastball Special). Vision shatters Absorbing Man's arm. But the cosmic radiation causes Vizh to fall from the sky and Creel's arm reforms. And Crusher's reality-reshaping splits Jonas into his 2 'components':- the original Vision and Stature's old boyfriend Iron Lad.
Wasp can't overtake Iron Patriot as he blasts his way through obstructions on the way to Crusher Creel's weapon. But Cho guides him through an air vent which makes a short cut to the room containing a glowing yellow chain and cube. Henry Pym reaches out to touch it when Osborn blasts through the last door, knocking him aside.
Norman gloats that once he touches the Cosmic Cube he will have the power to remake the world as he wants it. Hank claims that Osborn has *already* touched it. This world where he's got enormous political power, super-heroes are outlaws and his super-villain troops are the law-enforcers - this world is what he's created using the Cube's power. NO's moment of surprised doubt is enough for Wasp to become giant-sized and headbutt him out of the way. And he seizes the Cosmic Chain.
Cassie Lang has also become a giant to fight Absorbing Man. Iron Lad helps her even though success would mean he'll probably vanish and be separated from her again. Hercules greets his old comrade Vision. And Dark Hawkeye (Bullseye) and Dark Wolverine (Daken) are disgusted with these developments. Then Giant-Wasp arrives with the Cosmic Cube and Chain and uses it to whack Cosmic Absorbing Man.
Inside Project Pegasus Norman Osborn is bemoaning the fact that everything's gone wrong, while his inner Green Goblin berates him as a weakling and coward. Then Loki pops up to save the day by giving him a magic Asgardian sword which can negate other Asgardian magic. Outside Creel has taken the Chain & Cube away from Wasp. The newsfolk fear they are recording a disaster, when Loki joins *them* and wipes their memories and tapes of the failures. Instead they will only bear witness to Iron Patriot sticking the sword into the jolly yellow giant, with an appropriately valiant cry.
The sword disintegrates, but Crusher Creel is now powerless with an ordinary ball and chain. Sentry's 2 halves have amalgamated, and all the other affected characters are back to normal too. Norman Osborn makes a speech saying his official Avengers would have dealt with the problem quicker if Wasp's outlaw team hadn't interfered. But he believes they had good intentions so he'll let them go this time. Except US Agent who is a member of the US military and is now being stripped of his role.
The rest of the team want to know how Pym is going to get their teammate back (even if most of them don't much like him). But Hank just tells Cho to record an image off his goggles, and then leads them all back into the Infinite Mansion. He doesn't care about John Walker, just getting confirmation that he spotted Loki in the crowd at the end.