Synopsis / Summary / Plot
This issue backs up 2 minutes from the end of the last 1 to fill in some details of how the situation developed.
It's Home Run, Nick Fury's secret base #20 below the Yankee Stadium in New York, and Secret Warriors Eden Fesi, Hellfire (J T James) and Phobos (Alex Aaron) are escaping from Norman Osborn and H.A.M.M.E.R.. They are heading up to the roof because Fesi needs to know which direction he's facing before he can open a portal to where they want to go. But when they get there they find Osborn waiting for them as Iron Patriot with Ares and Hawkeye (Bullseye) of the Dark Avengers as well as many HAMMER troopers.
However Eden calmly opens a portal and the 3 walk through. He's in no hurry to close it because the enemy can't use his portal unless he wills it. But Alex's father the Greek god Ares strikes the opening with his battleaxe and forces his way through. The guys quickly run out into base #22 called Inside Straight.
Last issue we saw the other SW'ers Druid (Sebastian Druid), Quake (Daisy Johnson) and Stonewall (Jerry Sledge) clustered round the hospital bed of their teammate Slingshot (Yo-Yo Rodriguez). She lost her forearms in battle in #3 and has now got prosthetic replacements. Yo-Yo was eager to return to duty when the alarm went off as Ares arrived at the base and brought the rest of the enemy with him. And the base AI went into 5 minute auto-destruct mode. Now we continue from there.
Daisy tells them that only Nick Fury could cancel the self-destruct sequence, and he's off on a secret mission of his own. So they're all going to have to link up with Eden and the others so Fesi can port them all out in time. Speedster Rodriguez has zipped out of bed to don her fighting togs and returned before they notice she's gone. Quake tells them where the battle is, and Slingshot zooms off to be 1st in the fray.
With 4 minutes to go she's told the other 3 that help is on the way and she's smashing foes with her new metal fists left, right and centre - including the God of War. Osborn tells Bullseye to take her out, but she grabs his arrows out of the air as the rest of the team turn up.
With 3 minutes left Daisy sends a signal which releases a horde of Nick Fury Life Model Decoys to join the battle. The tide is turned but the battle goes on. As Hellfire wields his fiery chain, Ares is about to strike him with his axe. But Stonewall steps in the way and takes it in the chest. The power he inherited from his father Absorbing Man automatically takes on the properties of the axe, and his now-metal fists pummel the god.
At the 2 minute mark Iron Patriot is enjoying blasting multiple Nick Fury's with his repulsor rays. But Quake fights her way to him and delivers a hands-on mini-quake which shatters his iron helmet. However that doesn't stop him from blasting *her* into the air. Stonewall catches her in the air but Hawkeye shoots him in the back with a blast arrow. Yo-Yo takes revenge by punching him in the face.
There's only 1 minute left and Bullseye dares her to hit him again. She loses it and pulverises him. But the twisted villain enjoys it. She's about to hit him again when Jerry stops her because it's time to go. Eden has another portal open with the clock at 30 seconds. Hellfire carries Druid and Quake through. Slingshot and Stonewall follow, Jerry with Ares' axe still embedded in his chest.
IP has picked up unconscious Bullseye and prepares to escape. Ares elects to stay to go after his son. With 10 seconds to spare NO flies off leaving the HAMMER troops to die. Alex and Eden leap through the portal, and presumably without his axe Ares can't follow them this time. And the base explodes.
So where's Fury? Well in Washington his pal John Garrett, under the alias Jacob Coolidge from the Energy Department, is having his meeting with Seth Waters of the Treasury. They pretend to discuss stuff for a few seconds and then Waters bluntly asks how his visitor got through the metal detectors with his cyborg parts. He reveals he knows who Garrett really is, and that John's working for Nick Fury. John replies that he's polycarbonate these days, not metal.
Waters also shows that he knows that Garrett was part of something called Pieta, as Aquarius of Zodiac. He wants John to pass a warning to Colonel Fury to stop what he's doing. The men Waters works for are powerful, omniscient and omnipresent.
Garrett leaves to meet up with Fury. He says "It's done." and Nick smiles.
The Warriors have gone to base #17, the Coccoon, the base of Caterpillar operations. They are patching each other up. Jerry has had the axe removed and his chest bandaged. Eden tells Alex he's sorry his dad died in the exploding building. Alex says it'll take a lot more than that to kill a god. And we see Ares rising from the rubble.