In Bagalia, Whiplash and Vengeance report to Max Fury that
the Secret Avengers are in the country and will be after Taskmaster to get the
Crown of Wolves….
In the Hole, Bagalia’s most dangerous bar, Venom (Flash
Thompson) is fighting Taskmaster and losing. It seems that Venom is easy to
beat for a guy who can mimic Spider-Man’s fighting style. And Hawkeye,
Valkyrie, and Ant-Man (i.e. Black Ant) can’t go to his aid, lest the entire
country rise up against them. But Ant-Man shrinks down and enters Taskmaster’s
ear causing extreme pain. He must leave but he offers a million dollars to
anyone who kills Venom and the place turns into a massive brawl….
Taskmaster heads over to meet with Fury and negotiate a price
for the crown. Hawkeye and Val pursue on a motorcycle which can be shrunk down
to fit in a pocket but enlarged for action, courtesy of Hank Pym. After a
chase, the good guys run into Vengeance, who gives them a hard time until
Hawkeye unleashes a bunker-buster arrow that gets her off their tail….
Taskmaster hands the Crown of Wolves over to Max Fury, who
shoots him for payment. Fury assembles the Serpent Crown, the Crown of Thorns,
and the Crown of Wolves into a single diadem. The Avengers arrive just as Fury
dons the Crown and…nothing happens, because Fury keeps forgetting he’s an LMD
which Hawkeye points out. Then while everyone is distracted by Fury, Taskmaster
dons the Crown, unleashing the Abyss which controls the minds of everyone
nearby with the radius sweeping outward. The only ones unaffected are Venom and
Ant-Man who escape while everyone else is engulfed by the Abyss….