Synopsis / Summary / Plot
In previous issues Wiccan (Billy Kaplan), probably with 'help' from Kid Loki, accidentally brought an interdimensional goo-parasite to Earth in the shape of Hulkling (Teddy Altman)'s dead mother with a plan to capture Billy and Teddy to feed off their powers. She took over Billy's parents and gooified them. America Chavez had been keeping an eye on Loki and joined in to help but the enemy created goo-versions of Loki's dead dad Frost Giant Laufey and America's 2 dead supermoms. Then Hawkeye (Kate Bishop) and Marvel Boy (Noh-Varr) joined in, but that roped in MB's dead warrior Kree parents. But not Kate's dead mom, and Laufey has gone AWOL too. However the foe has also now goo-possessed loads of just random parents to join her army
Loki told the gang there were only 2 options:- Kill Wiccan or loan his powers to Loki who'd know how to use it. He persuaded Billy to give him the power by saying that otherwise his love Teddy would have to be the 1 to kill him. Then Loki teleported away with the power leaving the others to be buried in goo-parents.
Now there's a whole lot of fighting going on but Wiccan can't help because he's powerless. Since Loki tricked him into giving away his powers the only option is Plan B. He enters MB's downed spacecraft, takes an alien gun from the armoury and prepares to blow his brains out.
But we get to see what Loki's doing. An astral version of him gives us a quick history lesson. The traditional evil Loki died (during Siege at the end of Dark Reign). Later he was 'resurrected' as innocent Kid Loki who strived hard to prove he was good but no-one would believe him. However a phantom copy of evil Loki haunted him as the magpie Ikol, and eventually took over the Kid's body (which no-one but us comics readers knows). So Kid Loki has been evil old Loki in this series all along. Except ...
... this Kid Loki, floating in a pentagram in the sky, is also haunted but now by the good Kid as his conscience. Loki claims that gods are creatures of story not of reality. When he took over Kid Loki's body he took over the Kid's story too. Now he wants to be evil but he just can't do it ...
... so he uses his runic teleport spell to pop down and stop Billy from killing himself. Outside the beleaguered heroes (including Wiccan) find themselves imbued with magic power and set about reducing their foes to splattered goo. (They know that they will soon reform, and if the team win then all the real humans will be restored.)
Then Loki plans to go on the offensive. He'll stay in his pentagram of light holding on to Wiccan's power as long as he can. Meanwhile America, Hawkeye (with Noh-Varr's Kree composite soul bow), Hulkling, Marvel Boy and Wiccan should go after the most powerful foes:- America and Marvel Boy's 'parents' plus the original parasite 'Mrs Altman'. This they do spectacularly. Then Kid Loki lets the Wiccan power pulse outwards knocking down all the weaker goo-humans. And then he collapses.
America picks him up and they all retreat into MB's spaceship. Noh-Varr says he can't restart the Kirby engines which run on belief. Teddy takes Billy's hand and inspires hope in him and the ship takes off. Kate assumes it's all a metaphor but Noh warns her thought like that will make them crash.
Back on the ground Mrs Altman and Mr & Mrs Kaplan have reconstituted. The Kaplan's continue to think everything is normal. As do all the ordinary humans who wander off. But the parasite can wait.
Kid Loki wakes up to find he and the others are out in the woods somewhere. He explains that the parasite can only bring *dead* parents to life near where they died, which explains why Laufey couldn't leave Asgardia and Kate's mom is dead in Colorado. America and Noh-Varr's parents were spread across the cosmos so they can appear *anywhere*. Also the parasite has infected everyone else they know, like the Avengers, so that they can find nothing wrong. Until they work out a proper solution to the problem the teens have to stay away from their homes.
Marvel Boy elects to stay with Hawkeye. America Chavez will stay to continue keeping an eye on Loki. Billy rings his parents to tell them he won't be home for a while, but Jeff Kaplan just tells him how much he's making his mother Rebecca cry. Kate confesses that despite their promise to give up superheroing (end of Avengers: Children's Crusade) she's partnered up with Hawkeye (Clint Barton), as well as 'accidentally' fighting Skrulls with Marvel Boy (#1). Billy says they'll just have to accept they're all superheroes, and he magics himself a new costume.