Prologue: on a snowy battlefield in the Ardennes in 1945, the Valkyrior have been summons to collect the heroic dead. They are aghast to learn they are in Midgard not Asgard. Brunnhilde (the famous Valkyrie) senses that occult magic has brought them here and learns from a dying soldier that it was the world of the occult Thule Society. Suddenly a huge Snow Wyrm bursts from the ground and attacks the heroine; she is determined to slay it before searching for those who summoned the both of them….
In the devastated Washington DC in the wake of the events of FEAR ITSELF, the Avengers are engaged in clean-up and rescue operations. Valkyrie informs Captain America that it is her duty to recover the eight hammers used by the Serpent’s servants, the Worthy, and return them to Asgard for safekeeping. Cap is understandably skeptical of Asgard’s ability to hold on to them and wants Val to join in the world-wide hunt for Sin….
Aboard a yacht where a costume party/shady auction for the elite is under way, a disguised Crossbones meets his contact Belmont. For a price, Belmont turns over the list containing the locations of all of the Serpent’s magic hammers seen in the recent war. As the crooked dealer points out that the villain did not pay enough for exclusive rights to the info, Crossbones takes care of matters in his own way: by blowing up the ship. He turns the list over to Sin, who covets the weapons….
Aboard the Secret Avengers’ Quincarrier, Valkyrie looks at the hammer welded by Skadi (Sin) in its protective case. War Machine comes up behind her to deliver a subtle warning against taking the hammer. She draws her sword and viciously attacks her former ally, knocking him unconscious. When Rhodey awakens, the case is shattered and Skadi’s hammer is gone….