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Earth’s Mightiest, part 1: The Smartest Man in the Room
The remains of Avengers Mansion, New York. Once the home to Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, it lives on as a meeting place for a new generation of champions - the Young Avengers. The new Vision and Cassie “Stature” Lang descend near the statue of the founding Avengers, as the Vision tells Cassie that it is important. The Vision adds that Wiccan has summoned all of them because he has detected a major mystical threat - on a global level. Cassie replies that she doesn’t know about this, as Billy is new to all that magic-stuff. ‘True’ the new Vision agrees, before pointing out that Wiccan is still one of the Earth’s most powerful mages, so they should not take this lightly. ‘Besides, I have a bad feeling about this. As far as android feelings go’.
The new Vision turns to Cassie and informs her that his communication systems are acting up and that his WiFi is down. Cassie smiles and jokes that she never thought she would be dating somebody with built in WiFi. ‘Do you have an MP3 player in there too?’ she asks. ‘Yes’ the Vision replies. ‘Really? What’ve you downloaded?’ Stature asks, surprised. The Vision tells her that he has downloaded Taylor Swift, Daughtry and Kenny Chesney. ‘They’re my favorites!’ Stature exclaims. ‘Of course. That’s why they’re in there’ the Vision tells her.
The duo walk past statues of numerous deceased Avengers as the new Vision tells Stature that they should not keep the others waiting. Stature motions to a new statue in the garden, to which the Vision explains that, according to his files, the Maria Stark Foundation commissioned the statue from Alicia Masters upon the event of Janet Van Dyne’s death. ‘The Wasp’ Stature whispers as she takes a closer look at the statue, and tells the new Vision that, after her father, the Wasp was the Avenger whom she most looked up to. ‘Since she’s a girl, and a size-changer, I guess I’m sorta following in her footsteps, too…’. Cassie realizes that the Vision has gone quiet and calls out to him by his other name, Jonas, asking him why he is so silent.
‘It’s our friends, Cassie. The Young Avengers’ Jonas replies as he looks at statues of their remaining teammates - Wiccan, Hulkling, Speed, Hawkeye and Patriot. ‘Why would someone put up -?’ Cassie asks, to which Jonas informs her that they are not statues, but their friends have been turned to stone. ‘What? How’s that possible?’ Cassie asks, to which the Vision replies that he doesn’t know, but motions to Speed’s feet, and points out that whatever did this, the effect is spreading. Cassie watches as the strange gray matter sweeps towards them, and she tells Jonas not to just stand there. Jonas replies that with his ability to alter his molecular density, he should be quite safe. ‘Great. Good for you!’ Cassie mutters as she walks away from the gray matter.
The Vision apologizes and tells Cassie that was hardly gallant of him, as he flies towards her. ‘We’ll work on your boyfriend subroutines later!’ Stature replies. ‘Understood’ Jonas replies as he picks Cassie up and they take flight. ‘Did it touch me? I think it got my foot! Is it going all stony?’ Cassie asks. The new Vision tells Cassie to calm down, and states that, according to his sensors, she is not petrified. ‘Not petrified?! I’m totally petrified! Oh, you know what I mean!’ Cassie exclaims, asking Jonas how he can stay so calm. The Vision begins to reply ‘I’m an android. It takes a lot to make me -’ when, suddenly, he goes wide-eyed and gasps ‘No! It’ can’t be. Not her…the SCARLET WITCH has returned!’…
Indeed, the mutant of traumatic power - Wanda Maximoff - hovers above the Young Avengers. There is silence - none of them can or will speak. All the Vision can hear is the echo of old programming, faint screams, made up of zeroes and ones, telling him to run. For Stature, all she hears is the pounding of her heart. Stature is flush with fear - and anger - after all, this is the woman who killed her father. The pounding fills her ears, overwhelms her - and Cassie realizes others can hear it too - a dull roar, growing louder until it’s right on top of them. Powerful beams of energy surround the Scarlet Witch, who gazes into the distance. The Vision and Stature follow her gaze and Jonas gasps ’That’s not possible!’. ’It - it’s over the whole city! Why is she doing this?’ Cassie asks, before, suddenly, all three vanish, leaving behind a horrific image - the city of New York drowning in blood….
Meanwhile, renowned reporter Trish Tilby, long-time ally of the X-Men, braves the horrific events as she reports on the current goings-ons. ‘Blood! We can now confirm that it’s blood!’ Trish announces that rivers of blood are flooding New York in one of the worst natural - or unnatural disasters to hit this city, or any city since the days of the Old Testament. As Trish gazes upon people stranded on rooftops, holding up signs like Bring Water and Help Us!, Trish declares that for those who can hear her, who are still listening, there is something they need to know: ‘The Mighty Avengers are here!’
Hovering above on the red-tinged sky, Iron Patriot, the phoney Spider-Man, the replacement Ms Marvel and Sentry appear. ‘All of you, fan out! Whatever needs to be done - you do it!’ Iron Patriot a.k.a. Norman Osborn orders. Iron Patriot drops down beside Trish and remarks ‘You’re Trish Tilby, from Action Three News, correct?’. ‘Yes, but, you’re the Iron Patriot, shouldn’t you be…’ Trish begins, to which Iron Patriot replies that there is always time to inform the public, to keep them in the loop and to let them know that he has everything under control.
‘But how?’ Trish asks as she informs Iron Patriot that horrifying reports are coming in from all over the world. ‘All of San Francisco is encased in solid amber…the seas over Atlantis are boiling…in Wakanda, pillars of fire are falling from the skies!’. Trish asks Commander Osborne if these are not the signs of the end times, then what are they. Iron Patriot’s faceplate slides backwards as he declares: ‘Listen to me. Trust me. This is Norman Osborn…and I’m telling you, all the people of the world: We’re going to be all right!’. Trish announces that new reports are coming in of a rain of frogs in Alexandria and an outbreak of plague in Milan. ‘And still, Norman Osborn, Director of HAMMER and leader of the Avengers assures us -’.
At the southern border of Kansas, Edwin Jarvis, longtime housekeeper to the classic Avengers, switches off the radio version of Trish’s report as he drives along. ‘Enough. Norman Osborne leading the Avengers? If that’s not a sign that the world’s gone mad…then I don’t know - what? Texas?’ Jarvis exclaims as he crosses over from Kansas into Texas. He brings his old-fashioned car to a screeching half and remarks ‘That can’t be right’ as he checks his GPS. Jarvis sees that it is correct, Oklahoma - where he is supposed to be - is gone. ‘It’s literally been wiped off the map!’. Jarvis realizes that Thor and the land of Asgard have disappeared too. ‘So much for divine intervention’ he mumbles, when suddenly, a godly voice exclaims ‘Edwin Jarvis! What ho?!’
Jarvis looks up and sees a small shuttle-craft: ‘Oh my! Who’s there?’ he calls out, to which a voice responds ‘A friend. In fact, one of the truest friends you’ll ever have!’ Jarvis realizes that it is Hercules. ‘Thank the Gods!’ he exclaims. ‘I’ll be sure to pass that along’ Hercules jokes, before introducing his side-kick, Amadeus Cho to Jarvis: ‘Devoted steward and procurer of fine ales’ Hercules calls Jarvis, and introduces Amadeus Cho as his trusted ally and the seventh smartest mind on Earth. ‘’’sup’ Amadeus replies casually.
Hercules lands his craft near Jarvis’s car as Jarvis tells Amadeus that it is nice to meet him, even given the circumstances. ‘Ah! You mean the chaos cascade’ the handsome Hercules replies. ‘What?’ Jarvis asks. Amadeus explains that it is what he is calling the growing pattern of freak events. Hercules explains to Jarvis that is what they are doing here, as Amadeus has done the math, and if they are going to beat this, they need the Avengers. ‘Not Osborn’s flunkies, the real Avengers!’
Jarvis tells Hercules that he has come too late, and explains that he came looking for Thor as well. ‘Dude, we’re not here for Thor. We’re here because I hacked into your GPS!’ Amadeus announces. ‘My GPS -? You’re here for me?’ Jarvis asks, surprised. Hercules helps Jarvis into the shuttlecraft as Amadeus remarks that he did the math, studied the Avengers, and realized that Jarvis is the constant. ‘But I’m just a humble servant -’ Jarvis begins to reply, to which Hercules laughs, and as the shuttlecraft takes off with the three men inside, Hercules tells Jarvis that without him, there are no Avengers. ‘Far be it from me to argue with a demigod and math. Let’s go!’ Jarvis replies. Amadeus asks where they are going next, to which Jarvis replies ‘North’, remarking that there is only one man he can think of to lead a team of new Avengers!
Meanwhile, in Philadelphia, the new Captain America - Bucky Barnes - along with Wolverine, the real Ms Marvel, Spider-Man and Ronin - formerly Hawkeye - are battling through a city rapidly overgrowing with weeds. Ms Marvel reports that she and Spider-Man have gotten as many civilians as they can to higher ground, to which Captain America congratulates her on some good work, before telling Wolverine and Ronin to clear as much of this as they can before it blankets the whole town. ‘Whaddya think we’re doing, Barnes?’ Wolverine snaps, as he claws his way through the vines. ‘Years of studying swordplay. And today? I’m a glorified weed-whacker!’ Ronin complains.
Suddenly, the weeds overwhelm Wolverine and Ms Marvel, who cry out as the vines wrap around them. ‘Carol! It’s got Ms Marvel! Logan too!’ Ronin shouts, asking Captain America and Spider-Man what the plan is. ‘Plan? Clint, if I had any kind of plan, I’d be at home instead of fighting this chia-pet from -’ Spider-Man replies, before two vines shove their way through his stomach. Ensnared by the vines himself, Clint asks Cap to tell him he has a plan, when, suddenly, in a blinding flash of light, the Scarlet Witch appears! ‘Captain America is dead!’ the Scarlet Witch booms.
For Clint Barton, there are few sights on Earth that could fill him with more anger, confusion, or heartbreak. Bucky is overwhelmed by the vines, while the Scarlet Witch looks at the situation and remarks that she is too late. ‘Wanda?’ Clint - one of the Scarlet Witch’s oldest and dearest friends - calls out. But the Scarlet Witch vanishes as quickly as she arrived. ‘WANDA!’ Clint screams.
Elsewhere - Toronto, Canada, where swarms of flesh-eating insects are tearing into the populace. Omega Flight - Canada’s official super hero team - are doing what they can to protect the civilians. Sasquatch and the new Guardian bat the insects away, while the handsome Johnny Walker a.k.a. USAgent and Julia “Arachne” Carpenter - both longtime teammates of the Scarlet Witch - gaze upwards as Wanda appears. ‘John Walker. USAgent…you’ll have to do!’ the Scarlet Witch exclaims. ‘Maximoff? What’s going on? Wait! Don’t do this!’ Johnny exclaims as Wanda surrounds him in her magicks. ‘I can’t leave men behind, I can’t…’ Johnny exclaims, before he vanishes.
At that moment, at Stark Aerospace Labs, located just south of Cape Canaveral, and surrounded by a newly-formed ring of active volcanoes. A scientist calls out to Tony “Iron Man” Stark, in the sky above, firing repulsor rays at the volcanoes. ‘Those trenches aren’t seep enough! The lava’s coming over!’ the scientist exclaims. Iron Man begins to reply that he knows what he is doing, before telling the scientist that she is right. ‘Everyone to the test bunker! It’s built to tolerate wash from the rockets. It’ll hold!’ Tony assures them. ‘Wonderful. I lost my extremis tech thanks to the Skrulls. I lost SHIELD to Osborn…I can barely get my own Iron Man suit to function…and now I might lose one of the few plants Zeke Stane didn’t blow up…to volcanoes!’.
Monitoring the other catastrophic events through his communications system, Tony remarks that he would think he was paranoid if stuff like this wasn’t happening everywhere else on Earth too. Stark radios to the bunker and asks if everyone is inside. ‘Yes, we’re all accounted for’ someone replies. ‘Good. Begin ignition on the Star macro boosters’ Iron Man announces. ‘But, sir…there’s no shuttle or vehicle hooked up at the moment!’ someone replies. Iron Man orders them to check again. ‘Mr Stark! You can’t be -’ someone responds, to which Tony tells them to forgo the countdown, as he needs a cold start full burn. ‘NOW’ Iron Man booms as he connects himself to the bunker, seconds before it takes off into the air, leaving behind the erupting volcanoes.
‘That crazy son of a - he’s clear! We have a successful launch!’ one of the scientists exclaims in shock. One of the scientists asks who did a head count, to which another replies ‘I did. Why do you ask?’. ‘Because someone’s still out there!’ the other scientist gasps, motioning to the monitor - which depicts an image of the Scarlet Witch. ‘Impossible! She should be -’ someone begins, only for the Scarlet Witch to mysteriously vanish. ‘She’s gone!’ someone gasps.
Meanwhile, in Canyon de Chelly. One moment it was an arid patch of Arizona desert - the next, the site of the worst snowstorm in the history of man. ‘Stupid snow! Leave Hulk alone!’ grumbles Dr. Robert Banner in his guise of the green-skinned Hulk as he slowly makes his way through the pounding snowstorm. For the savage Hulk, the situation is maddening, for there is no for to lash out, nothing to vent his unending range on. There is simply nothing to do, except be buried under a thousand tons of ice - which is quickly what happens. Moments after the Hulk is buried, the Scarlet Witch appears in the air above. ‘A pity. He would have been useful’ she mumbles.
Suddenly, there is a hollow rumbling, before the mighty Hulk bursts from his ice-prison. ‘HA! You think you can hold Hulk? NOTHING CAN! HULK IS -’ he begins to shout, when he notices the Scarlet Witch, hovering beside him. ‘The strongest one there is’ Wanda finishes his sentence. ‘Hmm. Red lady thinks she’s funny. Go away, red lady!’ the Hulk exclaims. ‘Hulk wants to be left…’ he doesn’t get to finish his sentence, as the Scarlet Witch vanishes, with the Hulk in tow.
Meanwhile, Hercules, Jarvis and Amadeus have arrived in Chicago. Making their way through a mall, Amadeus asks Jarvis if he is sure about this. ‘I hacked into a number of Hank Pym’s files…but none of them said anything about a mall’. Jarvis assures his companions that Doctor Pym’s secret lab is this way, and remarks that this is not a mall, but a Van Dyne Fashion Outlet. ‘Here we are. Right between the big and tall, and the children’s clothing’ Jarvis announces. ‘But of course. Where else would a man who was both Goliath and Ant-Man shop?’ Hercules jokes, referencing two of Hank’s former identities.
‘A utility closet?’ Amadeus asks as Jarvis leads them down a small corridor. ‘You’d be surprised what the Doctor can do with the smallest of spaces’ Jarvis replies. ‘Allow me’ Hercules declares as he knocks on the door and exclaims ‘Pym? Greetings, friend. The Lion of Olympus would have words with you!’. A robotic voice replies that Dr Pym does not wish to be disturbed, and bids Hercules a good day. ‘Of all the impertinent…’ Hercules mutters, before telling Amadeus and Jarvis to stand back, as he prepares to barge the door down. Before he can do so, Jarvis asks if he might try. Hercules steps aside as Jarvis calls out ‘Doctor Pym? This is Edwin Jarvis…we really must talk with you, about some pressing matters!’
The door opens, and the robot - Jocasta - appears, telling Jarvis that it is wonderful to see him again. ‘Come in. I’m sure Dr Pym can spare some time for you’ she tells Jarvis. ‘Jocasta, you ill-mannered robotic wench! You would turn the son of Zeus from your door, but not - not -’ Hercules begins, until he stops himself as he looks around the lab. Seeing a small enclosure containing miniature animals, Hercules exclaims ‘Look at the size of this place’ and asks ‘What transpires here? Did Pym shrink us upon entering?’. Jocasta replies ‘No’ and explains that Dr Pym has been experimenting with shrinking portions of time and space. ‘This entire lab exists in what he calls a Pym Pocket’ Jocasta reveals. ‘Cool. Like the Tardis. Very “Doctor Who”!’ Amadeus exclaims.
‘Jocasta, what did I say about visitors while I’m working?’ Hank Pym asks from his workstation. ‘But it’s Jarvis. How could I turn him away?’ Jocasta asks, smiling as she puts her hands on Jarvis’ shoulders. ‘That’s it. Tomorrow I’m wiping your sentimentality’ Hank remarks, before asking Jarvis what he wants. Jarvis tells his long-time ally that there has come a day, unlike any other, where Earth’s mightiest heroes must unite against a common threat - ‘Stop!’ Hank exclaims, telling Jarvis that the Avengers’ Oath will not work on him. ‘Who do you think wrote it into the Charter?’ Hank asks.
Dressed in a new costume, Hank makes his way down from his mezzanine work station to the laboratory floor, where Hercules, Jocasta, Jarvis and Amadeus are waiting. ‘Now if you don’t mind, I’m in the middle of some extremely important work!’ Hank exclaims, remarking that it could change the very nature of a universe. ‘Not our universe, mind you, but that’s still very impressive’. ‘Doctor Pym, please, I -’ Jarvis begins, before realizing Hank is wearing a new uniform and asks, for the sake of addressing him, which codename he is using to accompany it. ‘A new one. I’m calling myself The Wasp!’ Hank announces.
‘You - you don’t think he’s cross-dressing, do you?’ Hercules asks quietly. ‘Why? There’s nothing inherently female about wasps. There are male wasps’ Jocasta replies. ‘And do they name themselves after dead ex-wives?’ Amadeus asks. Hank motions to Amadeus and asks Hercules who his “Rick Jones” is, referring to the former side-kick of the Hulk. ‘The name’s Amadeus Cho! Seventh smartest person on the planet!’ Amadeus boasts. ‘Really? Well, I’ve been off-planet for a while. You should probably knock yourself down to eighth’ Hank replies. ‘Put it back in your pants. We don’t have time for this!’ Amadeus exclaims, remarking that there is a chaos cascade engulfing Earth.
Hank explains that they are safe here inside his Pym Pocket, to which Amadeus asks ‘How?’, pointing out that the cascade is probably magic, and this is science. ‘Magic trumps science. That’s what magic does!’. ‘No. Magic is just science I haven’t explained yet’ Hank replies. ‘All right. Prove it. Come with us and shut it down’ Amadeus tells Hank, explaining that he has plotted out the cascade’s point of origin, and declares that he is willing to bet that whoever has set it in motion is working inside a safe zone at ground zero. Amadeus declares that getting to ground zero is going to be a real “survival of the fittest” deal, but that some guys are gonna pull it off, which will make them Earth’s Mightiest Heroes - and they are going to need someone to lead them.
‘Impressive’ Hank replies, to which Amadeus asks him if he will do it. ‘No, it’s impressive that you plotted out all that bizarre data’ Hank replies. ‘Consider me piqued’ he adds, before asking Amadeus where his ground zero is. ‘This place in Eastern Europe -’ Amadeus begins, only for Hank to interrupt: ‘Eastern Europe? Let me guess…Transia. Or, more precisely…’
‘…Mount Wundagore!’ Iron Man remarks as he hovers in low Earth orbit, his laboratory stationed nearby, while Tony links up to a soon-to-be-decommissioned Starktech Satellite. Tony gazes down through his monitors and realizes that from this high up away from the interference, it is hard not to see it. ‘Map all of these improbable disasters like one big, apocalyptic weather system…and there she is. Right in the eye of the storm’. Tony decides that since no Avengers are answering his calls, it can mean one of two things - that either he is the only one left standing, or that he really has become the pariah people say he is. Tony decides that, either way, he is going to have to fix this on his own. ‘Wundagore. That’s going to mean magic. Man, I hate magic!’ he exclaims as he makes his way back to Earth.
At that moment, on Mount Wundagore, overlooking Transia, deep inside a cavern, the evolved cow, Bova, chained, she holds a book while crying, as the magician known as Modred hovers in front of her, chanting to the Elder God in the language of the Darkhold. ‘Modred, darling boy, you have to stop. For old Bova. For the sake of us all. End this!’ Bova pleads. ‘Quit your crying, cow-thing. I must have silence!’ Modred snaps back. ‘It is not enough to read your words, my lord. I take them in as part of my flesh - as part of my soul!’ Modred tells the Elder God as he continues to chant the Darkhold.
Bova tells Modred to think of the matron who coddled him, who nursed him back to health. ‘I love you. Think of me and go no further. Please!’ Bova pleads. Modred’s voice changes and he exclaims ‘I am no longer the sage! I am the scripture! No longer the mage, I am the spell! I am Modred no more! Now and forever, I am the Darkhold! The Darkhold is the scripture of the returning lord!’. Standing amongst fallen Knights of Wundagore, Modred hears someone moan. ‘I said silence! In time, you will serve your purpose. Until then, you will mind me!’ Modred casts some energy upon his prisoner, while Bova tells him not to do it again, as the poor dear cannot take anymore. Modred ignores her, ‘Yes, the poor child of Magda. How I envy you…and what’s to come!’ Modred exclaims as he continues to pour the energy upon his victim - who screams!
Back in the Pym Pocket, Hank admits that it all sounds very intriguing, and remarks that he is flattered to be asked, but that he is in the middle of something right now. ‘And really? Me? There has to be someone else out there. Some other super hero!’ he exclaims. Jarvis addresses Hank as “Master Wasp” and informs him that Thor has disappeared, along with Asgard and the state of Oklahoma. Hercules points out that his good friend the Angel and his fellow X-Men are trapped in San Francisco, while Reed Richards and his Fantastic Four are nowhere to be found.
‘Actually, they’re on TV’ Jocasta announces as she switches the television on. ‘Hey, Stretcho! I think I see sumthin’!’ exclaims the Thing. Hercules asks where the Fantastic Four are broadcasting, to which Jocasta explains that they are not broadcasting, they have been reduced to television signals and are on channel four. ‘They’re on every channel four!’ Mister Fantastic taps on the screen: ‘Hello? Can anyone hear me?’ he calls out. ‘That’s enough, Hank! Enough cowering here in your precious Pym Pocket!’ Hercules tells his former teammate, before shoving him against a wall and tells him that it is time to man up. ‘This day calls for leadership!’
Hercules reminds Pym that he is a founding Avenger, and tells him to start acting like one. ‘You feel that way? I’ve read the myths, the stories about you. You’ve led men into battle, Herc! Why don’t you do it?’ Hank asks. ‘Aha! That’s it, isn’t it?’ Hercules exclaims. ‘You’re not afraid of the chaos at all! You’re afraid to lead the Avengers! Say it!’ Hercules declares. ’Yes. It…it was a secret!’ Hank reveals. ’A secret going back to my first days as an Avenger…’.
(shown with flashback images, narrated by Hank Pym)‘From the moment we all banded together to fight Loki…I wondered, “what am I doing here?” I mean, Iron Man? The Hulk? Thor? How could I literally measure up to them?’ Hank tells his allies, before remarking that at the end of the day, he was the one who stopped the God of Mischief. ‘I came up with the plan. I executed it. And I was the guy who saved the day!’. Hank remarks that is the moment when he realized what he brought to the table. For all of the strength and raw power of the Hulk, Thor and Iron Man, he was Henry Pym, the smartest man in the room - and whether the other men realized it or not, he was their leader.
Hank tells Hercules, Jocasta, Jarvis and Amadeus that, it was in the original Avengers’ first outing as a team that his genius - his Giant-Man serum, that gave them the edge to defeat Doctor Doom, and even Iron Man - Tony Stark’s bodyguard - thought it was clever. ‘I was on a roll’. Hank remarks that it didn’t take long for things to go downhill, as he was not used to his new powers, and therefore he was clumsy and awkward - he would screw up, and Iron Man and Thor would have to pick up his slack.
‘I just wasn’t one of the big guns. I had to accept that, move on…and remind myself of the real reason I was there’ Hank remarks, informing his allies that the very moment he came to terms with that, is when something else happened. ‘I was in the study at Avengers Mansion, collecting my thoughts, and someone entered the room. I don’t know why I shrunk down…I guess I wasn’t in the mood for company. Whatever my reason, Iron Man had no idea I was there’ Hank reveals. ‘No way of knowing how much his next act would crush me. He unmasked. That’s when I learned - years before anyone else - that under that armor, he was Tony Stark…the billionaire genius. The modern renaissance man. Next to him…I was less than nothing. And far from the smartest man in the room…’
(Present)‘Oh boo-fricken-hoo. What a load!’ Amadeus exclaims. ‘Hey!’ Hank snaps back, to which Amadeus tells him that it isn’t like he is going to cry himself to sleep because there are six smarter guys ahead of him. ‘Seven’ Hank corrects him. ‘Whatever. And Stark? You really wanna put that jackass on a pedestal?’ Amadeus asks, before asking Hank if, while he was off planet, he knows what Stark did to his friend the Hulk. ‘Shot him into space’ Hank replies. ‘Know what happened next?’ Amadeus asks. ‘He came back madder, stronger’ Hank replies, to which Amadeus mutters that Hank took all of two seconds to figure that out.
Hercules asks Hank if he heard about the Civil War that took place during his absence, to which Hank replies that Stark led one side, and because of his actions, his friends Bill Foster and Steve Rogers died. Jarvis reminds Hank that they were together on the Skrull ship and how they heard stories of how Tony and his friends launched a secret, pre-emptive strikes against the Skrull Empire and lost. ‘It was their captive that gave the Skrulls the tools to invade us’ Jarvis adds, telling Hank that he was locked away, and in that time, the world fell into chaos. ‘Smartest or not, sir, we need you in that room!’ Jarvis exclaims. Hank pauses as he looks at his long-time ally, before exclaiming ‘You win. Let’s go!’
‘Toolbot’ Hank exclaims, and a small device appears on his hand. ‘That just grew out of your hand. What is it?’ Amadeus asks. Hank explains that it is the top nine hundred tools that he uses, shrunk down into the same handle. ‘And thanks to a smart-chip, it always gives me the tool I need’ Hank explains as a key emerges from the handle. Hank puts the key into a door marked “exit” as Hercules exclaims that they have to hurry. ‘The longer we’ve been here, the further the cascade has spread!’. Amadeus announces that he has studied the cascade’s patterns, and that he can chart them a safe course to Transia, but that it is going to be tight. ‘You needn’t worry’ Jocasta assures the young Amadeus, to which Amadeus asks her if she has seen what it outside. ‘One wrong step and we could spontaneously combust, run into evil twins, or who knows what!’
As they step through the exit, Hank explains that what Jocasta means is that the Pym Pockets can link to different points in Space-Time. ‘Transia! We’re in Transia!’ Hercules exclaims. ‘Pym, you built a magic door!’. Amadeus is also impressed as he gazes around and declares ‘All right…eighth. I can live with eighth. Eighth is good!’. Jarvis alerts everyone to their left and remarks that would appear they have been expected. Indeed, the Scarlet Witch, hovering overhead, exclaims ‘Greetings, Avengers!’. The Scarlet Witch remarks that it is good to see them again, to which Hank asks Wanda if this is her doing, if she is the cause of this madness.
‘No’ Wanda replies, telling her former companions that she knows they have questions, but they will have to wait, just as she has waited to see which one of them would come. ‘I’m glad it’s you, Hank. Dark times are coming. And if you let me, I’ll help you be the light that fights through the darkness’ Wanda exclaims, before revealing that she has gathered an army for him - an army of heroes. ‘But I cannot release them. That’s not how it works. You have to summon them!’ Wanda exclaims. ‘What? A spell? Some kind of incantation?’ Hank asks, to which Jarvis suggests that he is thinking too hard. ‘You know the worlds. Go on, say them. Say them at the top of your lungs!’ Jarvis exclaims.
Hank pauses, before shouting ‘AVENGERS ASSEMBLE!’…Hank, Hercules, Jocasta, Amadeus, Jarvis and the Scarlet Witch are then joined by USAgent, the Hulk, Stature and the new Vision.
Back in the cavern, Modred declares that powerful magics marshal against them - an army, and a powerful astral form, something he has overlooked. ‘I can feel them. The stone and shale of Wundagore speaks to me. They warn me. The time is now!’. Strange symbols appear on the cavern walls and on Modred’s body as Modred announces that he is the complete tome - every chapter, every verse. ‘The ritual is complete. It has to be!’. ‘Of course, child. If you say so’ Bova replies, holding up the book. ‘I do. And as the living chronicle of my God, I say these words’ and with that, Modred exclaims ‘I summon thee!’
Suddenly, his prisoner moves. ‘Fill this vessel! Claim it as your own! Arise, Maximoff, and walk the Earth once more!’. Modred’s former prisoner races past him: ‘Walk? Ha ha ha! Why walk? When I can RUN!’. The figure resembles that of Quicksilver, only his skin is a pale white and he wears a red costume. ‘And for the record, my dear record…Pietro Maximoff, the one called Quicksilver, is gone! I am CHTHON! And this world, this reality, shall fall before me in the blink of an eye!’


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Provide a full summary of the comic book.

[Assistant]
Earth’s Mightiest, part 2: The Writing on the Wall
(Flashback, prior to Mighty Avengers #21, also narrated by Quicksilver in the present time through the Darkhold)My name, if you must know is Pietro Maximoff. But to most of the world, I am the mutant speedster…
‘Quicksilver! We’ve located the last page of the Darkhold, my lord!’ one of the Knights of Wundagore reports to Quicksilver, who replies ‘Well? Don’t waste any more time announcing it, knight. Tell me! Where is it?’ Pietro exclaims. The knight replies that it is in the Vatican library, ‘I’m on it!’ Quicksilver exclaims as he races across the world to the Vatican.
The last thing I remember? I was running an errand. Literally. An errand for the Knights of Wundagore. We were trying to stop Modred, the mad mystic…before he could reassemble the Book of the Darkhold!
But, arriving in the Vatican, Quicksilver finds he is too late: ‘Blast it!’ he exclaims, as Modred hovers before him, carrying the last page of the Darkhold.
We were far from successful.
‘Too late again, Maximoff. The sacred text is mine once more!’ Modred exclaims, as Quicksilver’s arm passes through his form, reaching for the page of the Darkhold. Modred boasts that he now has almost everything he needs to summon the Dark God, Chthon, back to this plane. ‘Almost everything? Then there’s still time!’ Pietro exclaims. ‘Mere moments’ Modred replies as his form fades from view completely. ‘Arrogant fool. Moments are all I need!’ Quicksilver boasts, before radioing to the Knights of Wundagore and asking them where he must go now. One of the knights informs Quicksilver that he must return to Wundagore, as Modred has just re-appeared here. ‘He’s heading for the Darque Hold!’
‘The Darque Hold?’ Pietro asks as he races back to Transia. One of the knights explains that the Darque Hold is a cavern, deep inside the mountain - the very chamber where wherein the God of Chaos wrote his book - suddenly, the knight’s communication cuts off as he screams. ‘Knight? Can you still hear me?’ Quicksilver asks as he approaches Mount Wundagore. ‘He’s too powerful, my lord! Help us! We can’t -’ one of the knights exclaims, before being cut off.
In the past few years, I’ve failed far too many people: my fellow mutants, the Inhumans, the Avengers, my sister…. When the knights reached out to me, I didn’t just welcome it. I saw it as a chance for redemption. Like myself, they were born at Wundagore. The were the last family I hadn’t let down…until that day.
‘Dead? They’re all dead?! How could they -’ Pietro exclaims, shocked as he enters the Darque Hold, where Modred stands amongst the bodies of the Knights of Wundagore, ‘Please’ he remarks. ‘They’ve been dead for hours!’. ‘“Help us, Quicksilver! He’s too powerful! Argh!”’ Modred mocks the deceased Knights of Wundagore. Chained in the corner of the cave, is Bova the cow-woman. ‘Pietro, my dear boy. Why did you come back?’ she asks. ‘Because that was the plan, Bova. I said I had almost everything I needed!’ Modred exclaims, before casting a spell, knocking Quicksilver into a contraption and trapping him there. ‘What? You can’t mean -’ Pietro exclaims. Understanding what Quicksilver is about to say, remarking that words alone cannot summon Chthon, that he needs a vessel.
‘A child of Magda. One who entered this cave of their own free will. Welcome to your final failure, Pietro Maximoff: the end of the world!’
That’s all I remember. So I have to know…what happened next? Where am I?’
Present:Transia, where the Incredible Hulk booms ‘What is Hulk doing here? Tell me! Or Hulk will smash!’. Dr Hank Pym a.k.a. the Wasp increases his mass as he calls out to the Hulk, telling him and everyone else to calm down. ‘Pym, what in God’s name is going on?’ Johnny Walker a.k.a. USAgent - formerly of the Avengers West Coast and Force Works - and up until moments ago, leader of Canada’s Omega Flight - asks. The robotic Jocasta reaches out to Hank, while the new Vision hovers in the air, behind the Hulk, holding his hands up to Cassie “Stature” Lang, also increased in form, telling her to wait, as Stature lunges towards the glowing Scarlet Witch. ‘Wait nothing! That’ the Scarlet Witch! She killed me dad!’ Cassie shouts. ‘Madame Stature!’ Jarvis calls out to the Young Avenger, while Amadeus Cho - sidekick to Hercules - calls out to the Hulk, asking if he remembers him, while Hercules grabs one of the Hulk’s fists.
‘She’s not here. That’s her astral form’ the Vision explains moments before Cassie’s fists passes through the astral form of Wanda Maximoff. ‘Oh…’ Cassie mumbles. USAgent declares that he has had enough of this, but, surprisingly, runs towards Hercules and Amadeus Cho, announcing that they are both fugitives from the United States Government, and therefore, he is bringing them in. As Johnny lunges at Hercules, pulling him from the Hulk, Jocasta grabs the Hulk’s other fist and calls out to USAgent, addressing him as Captain Walker, and telling him that this may not be the best time for that. ‘Brainless dolt! Are you mad?’ Hercules asks USAgent.
Hulk suddenly punches Jocasta, causing her to fall to the ground, something wrong with her functions. ‘Jocasta!’ Hank calls out as he rushes to her side, telling everyone else to stop right now. ‘Dr Pym? Is she gonna be…?’ Stature asks as she and the Vision approach Pym, who shouts ‘I SAID STOP!’. Hercules, who is punching Walker in the face, replies ‘Aye. Very well, Pym, but…what of the Hulk?’. Everyone turns to where the Hulk Is striding away. ‘Hulk wants nothing to do with you, Beard Man. With any of you!’, before he leaps into the air, and is simply gone. The astral projection of the Scarlet Witch tells Pym that she brought the Hulk here for a reason. ‘He’s the strongest one here and you’re letting him go?’ Wanda asks. ‘Leave him’.
On a nearby slope, Chthon - possessing Quicksilver - stands with Modred and Bova as he remarks ‘This is the army you were afraid of?’. ‘But, Chthon…my lord, the Scarlet Witch is among them!’ Modred replies. Chthon reveals that she Is simply an astral projection - the shadow of a being who is still very much beneath him. ‘These Avengers…last we met, they were organized. United in cause and purpose. But this motley band? They’re pure chaos!’ Chthon smiles. Chthon remarks that this is entertaining, but that there has been enough distractions. ‘There is work to be done. A world to unravel. And a reality to destroy!’
Using Quicksilver’s power, Chthon speeds away, leaving Modred to remark ‘So it begins. Come along, Bova’. Modred adds that while their Lord Chthon fears not the sudden arrival of these champions, he would rather be good and done with them. ‘Come, we must prepare’ Modred adds. ‘Yes. Shhh. I know’ Bova whispers to the book she clutches in her arms.
The astral projection of the Scarlet Witch notices Chthon race away. ‘Hmmm’ she rearks, before vanishing. Stature sees this and calls out to the Vision, who also saw it. The new Vision informs Dr Pym that the Scarlet Witch has vanished, to which Amadeus Cho shouts ‘Oh this is just great! We still have no idea what’s causing the Chaos Cascade, and we’re already down to three Avengers!’ he exclaims, referring to Dr Pym, Hercules and USAgent. Dr Pym holds the wounded Jocasta in his arms, as Cho tells him that they have to do something. ‘The world’s at stake here!’ Cho adds. Hank just tells Cho to worry about his own world, while he worries about his.
For one entire day, the book of the Darkhold was read aloud - and the Chaos Cascade spread across the Earth, But, this is different - this time, a mad God races around and around and around the world - scarring the ground in his wake. Rewriting reality in his name - and remaking everything in his own image. Chthon races past some women in a dessert - and the giant plant creature he has been creating moves towards them.
The effects are no longer random - thanks to a grinning Chthon, they are uniform, and the entire world transforms into living breathing chaos: In England, Captain Britain, Spitfire and the Black Knight do what they can against the ever-growing chaos. Somewhere in Russia the new Red Guardian, new Darkstar and new Crimson Dynamo - all of the new Winter Guard - find themselves overwhelmed by the chaos. Elsewhere, She-Hulk and two of her fellow Lady Liberators - Thundra and Samantha “Valkyrie” Parrington do what they can to stop the chaos spreading. There is no safe haven. And when Chthon is done - no corner will remain untouched - save for one, of course…
‘Wundagore!’ Tony “Iron Man” Stark exclaims as he approaches the mystic location. Using his monitors, Stark notices some kind of recurring fractal pattern emerging. ‘If I didn’t know any better, I’d say it’s taking on the form of a schematic’ Stark tells himself, before programming in an update to be sent to him every five minutes. The Scarlet Witch’s astral form materializes, surprised that Stark has arrived, she remarks that she may have been too hasty in choosing Pym as her champion. ‘Fine. Two birds with one stone’. the Scarlet Witch remarks, before casting her powers and remarking ‘For Stark, a test. And for the Hulk…a shiny bauble to get his attention’.
Indeed, the Hulk, leaping nearby, glances upwards as he sees the shiny bauble in the sky, which forces his attention towards Iron Man’s facility which has landed alongside him. ‘A rocket, and the metal man…Stark’ the Hulk exclaims, which triggers memories in his clouded mind: Stark being one of those, along with Reed Richards, who was responsible for exiling the Hulk to the planet Sakaar - and for killing his bride, Caiera. The Hulk howls as he leaps towards Iron Man, causing the Scarlet Witch to frown as she remarks ‘Ah. That might’ve worked a little too well’, before vanishing.
Iron Man remarks that the first thing he has to do is figure out who is behind this, ‘With Wundagore involved, it could be anyone from the High Evolutionary to Chthon, Modred, Puppet Master, Django Maximoff, or…oh no!’ Tony exclaims as he sees the Hulk bound towards him - too late to react, as the Hulk’s fist slams into Tony’s faceplate, knocking him backwards. ‘Stark! Hulk is going to crush you, metal man! Crush you until you can never hurt Hulk again!’ the Hulk roars. ‘Again? I’d settle for right now!’ Iron Man mutters as he is slammed against the ground. ‘Of all the times not to have extremis tech! All systems brace for impact!’ Tony announces.
Meanwhile, a few miles to the East, at the Ram’s Head Inn, Walker, Hank, Hercules and the others have entered, and Walker is having words to the owner: ‘Yesterday, this was your place. Tomorrow, God willing, it’ll be yours again. But right now - this is our temporary Avengers HQ, got that?’. ‘Of - of course’ the barman replies. ‘Good. Now what say you rustle up some provisions for me and my men?’ USAgent orders. This causes Hercules to march towards Walker, ‘Is this how Avengers comfort themselves now? I should -’ he begins, until Amadeus stops him, suggesting he take it easy. ‘Or at the rate we’re going, pretty soon it’ll be down to the two of us!’ he exclaims.
Hank lays Jocasta on a table and tells her not to worry, as he brought as workstation with him, and once it is re-enlarged, he will have her fixed up in no time. Stature stands with Jarvis and the new Vision, while patrons go about their business. Cassie exclaims that all she is saying is that the Scarlet Witch shows up - someone who has been clinically insane - someone who can rewrite reality, and now it is as if they are all being led by the nose. ‘But no one’s asking why! Why should we do what she wants us to do?’ Cassie asks. The barman overhears this, and remarks that the girl is right, for those Maximoffs have been nothing but trouble. ‘My Frieda, she saw one of them heading into the Darque Hold earlier’ he adds, telling the Avengers to mark his words, and stay clear of them altogether.
‘The Darkhold?’ the new Vision remarks, announcing that his data banks say that is a book - the unholy grimoire of all chaos magic. ‘No, the Darque Hold. That’s what we call the caverns below Wundagore’ the barman replies. ‘Oh, come on! Led by the nose. Tell me somebody else sees this!’ Cassie exclaims, to which Jarvis remarks that he will inform Dr Pym. Approaching Pym’s makeshift workspace, which has grown to full-size in the middle of the inn, Jarvis announces that he thinks they may be on to something. ‘My word!’ Jarvis gasps as he sees Hank on top of Jocasta, operating on her. ‘Oh, Jarvis!’ Jocasta exclaims, surprised. ‘Excuse me, I -’ Jarvis begins, as Hank remarks ‘One moment’.
Soon, everyone gathers outside Hank’s workspace, as Hank tells them all that he is sorry for the delay, but that it is time to move on. Hank informs Jarvis that he would like him to remain here to keep an eye on the boy and Jocasta. ‘”The boy”?’ Amadeus retorts, exclaiming that he is sticking with Hercules. But Hank tells him that he can’t, as he needs someone to remain behind who can monitor Jocasta’s recovery. ‘That’s you’ he informs him, before declaring that the rest of them are enough to save the world. Hank calls back into his workspace, asking Jocasta if she will be all right in there. ‘Yes, Dr Pym. I will be…now’ Jocasta exclaims as she fixes her internal mechanics, before wishing everyone good luck.
Meanwhile, on the other side of Wundagore, Hulk stands his ground as Iron Man blasts him with a powerful repulser ray. ‘Hulk, listen to me! We don’t have time for this!’ Iron Man exclaims, telling him that there is a greater force at work. ‘Yes. There is a greater force here’ Hulk replies as he claps his hands together: ‘HULK’ he booms as the shockwaves of his hands send Iron Man careening backwards. ‘That’s not what I -’ Iron Man replies as he smacks against his facility.
Not too far away, entering the Darque Hold, USAgent remarks ‘And here I thought you were the guy with all the brains…so tell me, why are we just waltzing in through the front door? Where’s the strategy in that?’ he asks Hank, while Hercules, Stature and the Vision follow them. ‘John. It’s the end of the world. There’s no time for subtlety’ Hank replies. ‘All right. Looks like you’re finally showing some sack, Pym!’ Walker tells him. USAgent pulls out his weapon: ‘M9 semi-automatic. What have you got?’ he asks Hank, who holds up a small red weapon and replies ‘The stinger. It focuses my bio-energy into a powerful stun-beam’. ‘Stun-beam? No time for subtlety my ass’ Walker replies.
Suddenly, the cavern walls begin to change - glowing with a strange blue light in the form of various mystical symbols. ‘Interesting’ the new Vision remarks. ‘What is it, Vision?’ Cassie asks. The Vision replies that none of the carvings match any of the language in his files. Hercules remarks that it is a pity they left Cho behind, as he would have deciphered the markings by now. Suddenly, a voice exclaims ‘Yes, a pity. Then you would have read the warnings…of what happens to those who enter the Darque Hold of their own free will!’. It’s Modred, who stands before the heroes and begins to chant, while the chained Bova warns the Avengers to stay away from the walls.
Modred tells Bova not to make him regret sparing her, and as the fallen Knights of Wundagore - re-formed by the strange markings - begin to surround the make-shift Avengers, Modred exclaims that it is time to watch the new Knights of Wundagore - referring to the heroes - fall, just like the last. ‘Modred! Avengers, he’s your target. Quick rule of thumb…when you’re up against magic, take out the spell-caster, you take out the spell!’ Hank Pym exclaims. ‘Gotcha. Cut off the head and the body dies!’ Walker exclaims. ‘Right. Tell that to the Lernean Hydra!’ Hercules jokes.
Stature strikes one of the knights, but finds them hard. ‘Jonas? Can you get through?’ she asks the Vision, who replies that, for some reason, he cannot phase through the creatures. ‘Magic’ Hank exclaims as he blasts his stinger gun at the knights. ‘So, Dr. Stun-Beam, any more bright ideas?’ Walker asks as he shoots his M9 semi-automatic at the knights. ‘I’m working on it’ Hank replies.
Outside, the Hulk holds a huge rocket above Iron Man, exclaiming ‘Stark! You shot Hulk into space with rocket! You killed Caiera with rocket! Now Hulk will use rocket to kill you!’. Iron Man informs the Hulk that he is actually holding a rocket booster - a Stark Macro Booster, to be precise, and that it is leaking enough high-yield propellant to go to Mars and back. ‘Shields up!’ Iron Man exclaims as he fires a small repulsor-ray at the Hulk, causing a massive explosion.
Half a world away, Chthon suddenly gasps ‘Wundagore?’ before speeding back towards Transia, screaming ‘What are they doing to Wundagore?’
Back inside the Darque Hold, Cassie calls out ‘Uncle Hank?’, to which Hank replies that he felt it too. ‘Whatever it was, we’ll deal with it later’ he exclaims, before informing everyone to concentrate on the knights’ markings, explaining that is what is probably animating them - like symbols on a golem - or code for a primitive form of android. ‘Ha! Magic as science, eh, Pym?’ Hercules exclaims. Modred smiles and mutters, ‘Clever man. Shame he doesn’t speak the language’, unaware that Bova is whispering to the book in her arms: ‘Are you sure?’ she exclaims. Yes, Bova. Do it now! suddenly appears on one of the pages.
Modred tells Dr Pym that he may as well surrender. ‘Even if you make it past my rune army…what chance would you have against me?’ he asks, boasting that he is the living embodiment of the Darkhold. ‘Every chapter and every verse. I fear no power on Earth!’ he exclaims, turning to Bova and adding ‘Especially not a cow with a large empty book!’. He grabs Bova by the wrist as she raises the book overhead. ‘Really, Bova. Did you really intend to strike me from behind? Me? One of the most powerful sorcerers on -’ Modred is interrupted as he suddenly screams when a blast of energy strikes him in the face.
‘Good shot, Pym!’ Hercules exclaims, to which Hank quickly replies that it was not him. ‘Then what just -?’ Stature asks, to which Hank announces that it was a repulser ray. Suddenly, Iron Man drops the unmoving body of Dr Bruce Banner - the Hulk’s human form - on top of the motionless Modred. ‘I believe you lost someone’ Iron exclaims, before turning to the heroes and remarking ‘Gentlemen, Stature. If nobody minds, I think I can take over from here’. No one says anything, and everyone’s attention is turned from Bova, who looks at the book and whispers ‘No, it worked, child. Well, mostly. As it turned out…we provided a much-needed distraction. You should be very proud of yourself…Pietro!’
And the words of Pietro appear on the book: It doesn’t matter, Bova. Just take me over to the others. One of them has to know a way to get me out of here!


[User]
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Provide a full summary of the comic book.

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Earth’s Mightiest, part 3: Three Words
Broxton, Oklahoma, home to the Gods of Asgard and the Mighty Thor. ‘How can this be? I see naught beyond but the darkness of an unending and unchanging void’ the Mighty Thor remarks gazing into the distance. Thor decides that there is nothing more to gleaned from this point and that he must seek counsel. Thor flies up to Asgard, which, along with the entire state of Oklahoma, recently vanished from Earth. Some civilians watch Thor fly away: ‘There he goes. Think Mr Thor’ll sort this out, Sam?’ one of them asks. ‘Yup. Gotta say we sure are lucky to have them Asgard fellas around’ comes the reply. ‘Bet if they weren’t here, we might a’ blinked out with everything else!’.
Thor soars towards faithful Heimdall, whose ears can hear Thor’s words long before he approaches. Thor drops down beside his ally, remarking that Heimdall can see into every corner of the Nine Worlds. ‘Tell me, what transpires here? Where is the remainder of Migard?’ Thor asks, referring of course to Earth. Heimdall asks Thor to forgive him, explaining that when he looks out into that abyss, he is just as vexed as Thor. ‘There is nothing new to report, other than your brother - I mean sister, seeks and audience with you’ Heimdall adds. ‘Very well’ Thor replies, as he leaves Heimdall.
‘Loki’ Thor exclaims as he finds his brother-turned-sister. ‘Thor. It pains me to say this, but my magicks have confirmed it. It is not the rest of the world that has vanished. It is Asgard which has vanished from the rest of the world!’ Loki announces. Thor remarks that the rest of the world still exists then, and asks Loki if there is any way to reach them. ‘Do you take me for a fool? What do you think I’ve been -’ Loki retorts, before excusing herself for her outburst, and adds that she has faced similar fates before. ‘Trapped inside trees. Stranded upon the Isle of Silence. The thought of being exiled so again frustrates me to no end!’ Loki exclaims. ‘Understood’ Thor replies, telling Loki not to dwell on her failures, for even if they could contact the other side, it may not do any good. ‘Any being powerful enough to banish Asgard…what chance would even the combined forces of Migard fare against such a threat?’ Thor asks.
Meanwhile, in the caves of Mount Wundagore in Transia, former Avengers Dr. Hank Pym a.k.a. the Wasp, Johnny “USAgent” Walker and Hercules, as well as Cassie “Stature” Lang and the new Vision stand before Tony “Iron Man” Stark, who has just taken control of an out-of-control situation. ‘You can take over from here? You? Tony Stark? Mister fought-against-Cap-in-the-Civil-War. Shot-Hulk-into-space-and-caused-World-War-Hulk. Gave-the-Skrulls-everything-they-needed-to-invade-Earth! You’re taking over? Come on, give me one good reason why -’ Hank exclaims, before Iron Man interrupts him: ‘Three words: You’re. Hank. Pym’.
‘Zounds!’ Hercules exclaims. ‘Um. Excuse me…’ a confused Dr Bruce Banner - not in his Hulk form - begins. ‘First order of business. Maintaining the ground we’ve gained’ Iron Man declares, standing over the unmoving Modred. ‘That’s not a reason!’ Hank protests. Tony ignores him: ‘That means keeping Banner calm so he doesn’t Hulk out, and then restraining Modred’ he states. ‘That’s just a cheap shot at my -’ Hank begins, while Iron Man declares that they need a gag so that Modred cannot invoke any spells, before binding him with iron, as most magical entities share a weakness for it.
The new Vision turns to the cow-woman, Boca, and remarks that the chains Modred bound her in are mostly metal. ‘May I?’ he asks. ‘Please be careful’ Bova replies as the Vision uses energy to blast the chains shakling her. Stature assures Bova that the Vision will not hurt her, as she takes the chains. ‘Oh, I don’t mean me, dear. I’m worried about my Modred’ As the Vision binds Modred, Bova remarks that he wasn’t always such a bad boy. ‘If only he hadn’t gotten mixed up in all of this Darkhold nonsense’ Bova remarks.
Bruce Banner announces that he doesn’t mean to be a bother, but that it is a little chilly. ‘Anyone got a shirt I can borrow?’ Hercules loosens his tunic, ‘Very well. I can do without’ he boasts. ‘Um…’ Banner mutters. ‘Unbelievable!’ Walker exclaims.
‘I’m sorry, Yellowjacket, but we don’t have time to deal with all of your baggage -’ Iron Man begins to say, until Hank interrupts, exclaiming that he isn’t Yellowjacket anymore. ‘I’m the Wasp!’ he informs Tony. ‘Wow. Thanks for making my point’ Tony replies, unimpressed. ‘Gentlemen!’ Bova exclaims. ‘We’re still in grave danger. My Modred is not the real threat here!’ she points out, holding the Darkhold. Bova remarks that Modred did not just absorb the text of the Darkhold, but he used it to summon the God of Chaos back to Earth.
‘Chthon!’ Iron Man explains, remarking that he has had some experience with Chthon, before asking Bova who he is using as his vessel this time. ‘My ward, Pietro. The son of Magda’ Bova announces. ‘Quicksilver?’ Hank asks. Bova opens the Darkhold, Hello? Avengers? Whoever’s out there…everything Bova is telling you is true! is scrawled across the pages. ‘Sadly, yes. And while the Dark Lord is borrowing Pietro’s body, Pietro’s soul is trapped within the pages of the Dakhold itself!’ Bova announces. ‘Okay, that’s strange. But why now?’ someone asks.
‘The world’s gone though so much recently, the Civil War, the Hulk’s return, the Skrull Invasion…why not strike when we are weakened or diverted?’ someone else asks. Hercules steps forward, announcing that he has the answer, and explains that it was the death of Atum the Demogorge - for he was the one Elder God who kept Chthon in check. ‘And he died at my side when the deities of Earth made war with the Skrull Gods’ Hercules reveals. ‘So now we have to fight a God? The God of Chaos?’ Stature asks. Iron Man tells Cassie that Chthon is really just a “reality re-writer”, to which Cassie exclaims ‘”Just”? How can you say that and put “just” in front of it?’. ‘Korvac. Grandmaster. The Shaper of Worlds. You take ‘em out, everything snaps back to normal. It’s super hero boilerplate’ Iron Man replies.
Moments later, Pym receives a transmission from Amadeus Cho - Hercules’ side kick. ‘I didn’t give you a communicator’ Hank snaps back over his headpiece, to which Cho replies that there was enough stuff lying around Hank’s mini-lab for him to make a spare Ant-Man helmet. ‘No, there wasn’t’ Hank retorts. ‘Y’know, I thought it’d smell funny. Because ants communicate by smell. But you’re good! I like how you bypassed that by -’ Amadeus replies, ignoring Hank’s comment, to which Hank interrupts him, asking him why he is calling.
Standing with Edwin Jarvis and the robotic Jocasta, Cho replies that they are on the outskirts of town, and that they thought everyone else should know that there is a giant tidal wave of tentacles on its way. ‘It’ll reach us in thirty, twenty-nine, twenty-eight…’ Cho remarks casually. ‘What? Did you say “a giant wave of tentacles”?’ Hank exclaims. Cho snorts as he replies ‘Yeah. Sorry’ and mutters that he knows it is the end of the world, but he just thought of something funny. But before Amadeus can tell Hank what it is, Hank cuts the transmission.
‘A tidal wave of…? What are you talking about, Pym?’ Tony asks, before ordering his armor to display the satellite feed at low orbit and progressive zoom. ‘My God, I saw this earlier!’ Tony exclaims as he sees the horrid tentacles on screen with countless people trapped in their wake. Tony exclaims that it was following a fractal pattern - a “seahorse valley” in the mandelbrot set, but that this is insane, for it is a replicating organism. ‘Pure, chaotic life!’ he declares. Tony exclaims that this is horrific, like something out of an H.P. Lovecraft story. ‘But it’s real. And it’s engulfing the Earth!’
‘That’s it! Enough screwing around! I’m putting an end to this!’ Iron Man boasts, before ordering Hank to secure Banner and Modred, and to get Bova and the kids to safety. Turning to Hercules and Walker, Iron Man informs them that they are coming with him. ‘Aye’ Hercules agrees. ‘What? You’re going with him? Just like that?’ Hank asks Hercules. ‘You said I was the one man to lead you!’ Hank reminds Hercules. But Hercules and Johnny begin walking away with Iron Man. ‘It’s the fate of the world, Pym. And so far your leadership has been somewhat…lacking’ Hercules tells him. ‘That’s one word for it’ Walker agrees, before asking Iron Man if they are good. ‘One Super-Soldier. One God. That’s all the Avengers I need!’ Iron Man replies before the three leave.
Hank leads Stature, Banner, Bova and the new Vision - who carries Modred - down the side of a hill, while Cassie exclaims ‘Uncle Hank? I’m sure he didn’t mean it like -’, but Hank interrupts: ‘Not now, Cassie’ he mumbles. ‘But -’ Cassie protests. ‘Drop it’ Hank orders her. ‘Trust me, kid. I’m an expert in this area. Don’t make him angry’ Banner whispers to Cassie as she helps him down the slope.
Nearby, ‘Transia. I have returned!’ Chthon exclaims through the body of Pietro “Quicksilver” Maximoff. ‘Now to see what these “Avengers” have done to my beloved Wundagore -’ Chthon mutters, before suddenly crying out in pain as Iron Man blasts away at the side of a cliff, causing rocks to fall onto the tentacle chaos. ‘The plan’s simple, gentlemen. Basic engineering!’ Iron Man tells his allies. Tony adds that Wundagore has always been the source of Chthon’s power, so if they destroy it, it will be like ripping the engine out of Chthon’s car. ‘Yeah? Not every day you get to do that while the engine’s running…and you’re standing on the hood’ Walker replies as he goes about setting a bomb. ‘Ha! Levelling a mountain with my bare hands! Finally, a task worthy of the Prince of Power!’ Hercules boasts as he smashes his fists into the side of the mountain.
Chthon stands on top of his tentacle-chaos and chants something in Darkhold, before shouting ‘Infidels! You would tear down my towering soul and crush my heart of stone? You will pay for this! You and all the sons and daughters of Earth!’. He chants something else, before calling out to his tentacles: ‘Open your eyes, children of order! Look upon the face of chaos!’. He shouts that it is time to pay tribute to their new God, time to make offerings of their spirit, their will and their sanity.
Nearby, Cassie asks if they are just going to sit here while Chthon does whatever it is he is doing. ‘Those are our “orders”. If we don’t engage, he’ll probably go after Tony…and try to stop him before he can destroy Wundagore’ Hank replies. ‘Wait, that’s Iron Man’s brilliant plan? I’ve read about Wundagore. It’s full of Uranium!’ Amadeus exclaims, pointing out that would be like dropping a bomb on this place. ‘I’m sure it’s just a ruse. Stark wouldn’t do something like that’ Hank replies, before Banner remarks that Hank has been away for too long. ‘Cho, tell him about Manhattan’ he suggests. ‘What about it?’ Hank asks. Cho explains that when the Hulk took Manhattan over, in order to take him out, Iron Man built a device to hurl Manhattan into the Negative Zone. ‘No. Really?’ Hank asks. ‘Yes. Really’ Jocasta replies.
Terrified civilians are swept away in the chaos of tentacles, ‘Do you remember Chthon, mortals? How you used to worship me in the long-ago?’ And for my part, I would lap up your fears and dine on your screams…but then you and your mages got oh-so-clever. They made a pact to end my feast. Not with a spell or a charm, but with a lie. They said, “there is no God of Chaos. There is no chaos magic”, and you believed them!’ Chthon booms, before asking ‘So tell me, do you believe them now? DO YOU?’
‘So…fate of the world. And me and the also-rans have to defeat the God of Chaos…before Iron Man and “The Avengers” blow us all up. That about cover it?’ Hank asks as he adjusts his mask. ‘Affirmative’ the new Vision remarks. ‘Okay then. On me…AVENGERS ASSEM -’ Hank doesn’t get to finish the sentence as Chthon unleashes a blast of energy which snares Hank, Cassie and the Vision. Chthon utters something in the Darkhold, before calling the heroes pathetic creatures and asking if these are the best champions this world has to offer. ‘I am Chthon! An Elder God! And you? There is not one amongst you deserving of my wrath!’ he shouts.
Edwin Jarvis and Amadeus Cho watch as their allies are attacked, and Jarvis remarks that surely there has to be something they could do. ‘I got zip, Jarvis. This thing lets me talk to ants, but that’s about it’ Cho replies from under the Ant-Man helmet. Cho adds that it actually transmits signals from the language center of an ant’s brain to the language center of a human - ‘Sorry. When I lose it I start to babble’ Cho mutters when he realizes no one seems to be paying attention.
Suddenly, a voice calls out to Bruce: ‘Doctor Banner…are you afraid? Your world could die. Are you angry? You could die! How does that make you feel?’ It’s the Scarlet Witch - or at least a projection of her, as she contacts Banner, and sets the Hulk free. ‘THAT MAKES HULK MAD!’ the Hulk booms as he leaps into the air. Jarvis remarks that he thought they were supposed to keep Master Bruce calm, to which Cho replies ‘Hey, at this stage? Who’s it gonna hurt? Actually…I know exactly who it could hurt!’
Indeed, Cho’s assumptions were correct, as moments later, the Hulk lands on Chthon, smashing him into the tentacles at full force. ‘Red man try to kill Hulk’s world! Leave Hulk’s world alone!’ the Hulk shouts. Hank sees this and exclaims ‘Incredible! Strong enough to strike down a God. There was a reason Wanda chose you’, before adding that, speaking of gods, Chthon used this area like a global transmitter - sending his message out to all of Earth, drawing strength from their belief. ‘Maybe I can use this against him?’ he wonders, before calling out to all the civilians, telling them not to worry, before introducing himself. ‘Hank Pym?’ one of them asks. ‘The Skrull guy?’ another exclaims.
‘My team of Avengers are here. We’re on top of this!’ Hank assures the trapped civilians, only for Chthon to reappear, dropping the Hulk with a surge of energy. ‘What have you done? My power! It’s - it’s - INCREASING!’ he announces, before laughing and exclaiming ‘Well done! It appears the only thing greater than how much the people of this world believe in me…is how little they believe in you!’ Chthon tells Hank. ‘Really? All of you? Everyone on Earth things - well, you know what? Screw all of you!’ Hank replies, declaring that he doesn’t believe if any of them believe in him. ‘I’m Hank Pym! And I believe in myself!’ he shouts.
Hank boasts that he will fix this, find a plan, that he will figure out the magic words - suddenly, he stops in his tracks and his face lights up. ‘”Magic words”! That’s it!’ he exclaims, before radioing to Amadeus, while Chthon screeches that he has more power - more than enough to deal with the last Knights of Wundagore. There is a mighty sound, heard by Iron Man, Hercules and USAgent nearby, while a flash of power covers them.
‘And so it ends!’ Chthon exclaims, standing in the tentacles, with the Hulk, Jocasta, Stature and the new Vision trapped nearby. ‘I have remade this world in my own image, and now it shall have the honor of becoming my staging ground…as I spread chaos throughout the spheres, and impose my will upon the rest of reality!’ Chthon boasts. Nearby, Amadeus Cho declares ‘That’s not going to happen! Not if I have anything to say about it!’. Chthon turns and sees Cho, Jarvis and Bova. ‘You again?’ he snarls, while Amadeus finishes his sentence: ‘…or rather, if you have nothing to say about it’ he exclaims, remarking ‘That should do the trick’. ‘He’s adjusting something on his helmet. Yes, Pietro, the one shaped like an ant’s head’ Bova whispers into the Darkhold book that she still carries.
‘Dancing fish wood, mother!’ Chthon exclaims, casting his hand back as if to emit some power. ‘Elbow soup?’ he exclaims, clearly confused. Cho reveals that he made a quick alteration to this device he wears, and is now scrambling the language center of Chthon’s host’s brain. ‘You may be a God of Chaos, Chthon, but since you cast spells, you still have to follow the rules of magic!’ Cho tells him. Cho adds that he may not understand those rules, but he is pretty sure they involve saying the right words. ‘Petulant table!’ Chthon booms, just as the Hulk stands up behind him. ‘You try to run away, red man? Ha!’ the Hulk laughs, boasting that he can’t run away if the ground is being stomped, which is what the Hulk begins to do, causing Chthon to lose balance. ‘Grassy moon barber!’ Chthon exclaims.
‘Now that’s one smart Hulk!’ Cassie remarks as she smacks Chthon in the face. ‘Noodle!’ Chthon utters. ‘Get him!’ someone exclaims, while Iron Man warns the Hulk and Stature to be careful as they smash Chthon, for he still has super speed. Modred has since regained conscious, and mumbles through his gag, before managing to loosen it and shout at the Avengers: ‘Cease this at once! Stop mocking him! That is the Lord, my God, Chthon!’ Modred exclaims, asking ‘How dare you lay your horrid mortal hands on him!’. Jarvis tries to alert the Avengers to Modred’s state, but Modred smacks him in the face with his elbow.
Energy suddenly pours from Chthon’s host into Modred, and the new Vision asks Pym if Modred is drawing Chthon out of Quicksilver, to which Hank replies that it looks that way, and begins to align the Ant-Man helmet to Modred’s brainwaves. But Cho exclaims that there is no time, and announces that he has an idea - or rather, a theory - and takes the Darkhold from Bova, before calling out to the Vision, while Modred begins chanting in the Darkhold. Cho explains to the Vision that he needs him to read the Darkhold out loud as fast as his CPU can process, and tosses him the book. ‘The Darkhold?’ the Vision replies. ‘No. Right now, it’s the book of Quicksilver’ Amadeus declares.
The new Vision does as he is requested, reading so fast, that eventually the words become sequences of 1’s and 0’s. Cassie addresses the new Vision as Jonas and asks him what he is doing, pointing out that the words are all disappearing. Chthon breaks the chains that bound him and declares ‘I am the servant and the master! The spell and the magic! The bible and God! I am both the Darkhold and Chthon! And I shall rewrite you all!’ he booms. ‘I don’t think so, Chthon. See, you already wrote the Darkhold’ Amadeus replies as the Vision holds up the book, while Amadeus declares that if he is right, every word of it belongs in a very special and binding place.
‘No! No! No!’ Chthon exclaims, before screaming ‘NOOOOOOOOOO’ as his form bursts into magical flame and he is sucked into the Darkhold. ‘And tha’s all she wrote!’ Amadeus jokes, while the Vision slams the Darkhold shut. ‘What? That’s it? He’s in the book? So…where’s Quicksilver?’ Cassie asks, confused. Jonas tells Cassie that it was a spell book, and by becoming part of its text, in effect, Quicksilver became a spell. ‘Apparently, by reciting it, I’ve released him. Or, rather, downloaded him onto my hard drive’ Jonas explains. ‘Yes. And I’d very much like to get out of this thing! Pym, do something!’ Quicksilver’s voice protests from within the new Vision.
Later, all signs of the tentacles have vanished, and the Vision holds Cassie as he apologizes to her for having to delete all of her music files to make room for Quicksilver’s persona. ‘Even Daughtry?’ Cassie asks. ‘Especially Daughtry’ Jonas replies. Bova stands near Quicksilver, returned to his own body and green costume. Pietro examines his body, pleased to be restored, and remarks that he was not aware Pym knew magic. ‘Science, Quicksilver. That’s the same hardware that imprinted Janet’s brain patters onto Jocasta’ Hank explains, remarking that it is standard equipment in his mini-lab - which basically consists of a console, and stands next to him, while Jocasta stands nearby.
USAgent points out that it looks like all of the goo went away with Chthon. ‘Thank God’ he adds, while Jarvis agrees, joking that it is nice when they clean up after themselves. Jarvis adds that he hopes the same can be said fro the rest of the Chaos Cascade. ‘Amen’ Walker agrees, while Hercules and the Hulk approach Amadeus, and Hercules remarks to his side-kick that Jarvis told him it is he who was the one who trapped the Elder God. Cho replies that he took a chance, figuring that since Quicksilver got sucked into the empty pages of the Darkhold, that maybe magic followed the law of conservation of energy - ‘Too much talking! Quiet!’ the Hulk shouts, interrupting Cho.
Walker remarks that it is probably best not to get on the Hulk’s bad side. ‘Bet that’s why Iron Man shot off in the opposite direction’ he adds, to which Hercules tells Hank that he and Walker owe him an apology. ‘About Stark…we backed the wrong man’. Hank tells his allies that they did what they thought was right. ‘I could ask no more for any Avenger. As for Iron Man…the Tony Stark I knew was better than this. Something’s up with him. He seemed…off his game’ Hank remarks, before asking which way he flew away in.
Shortly, a wasp-sized Hank calls out to Tony, asking him to wait up as they fly across the orange-colored sky. ‘What I said before…’ Hank begins, to which Iron Man interrupts: ‘So. You’re calling yourself the Wasp? And you’re going to lead a new team?’ he asks. ‘Yeah’ Hank admits. ‘Those are big shoes to fill, Hank’ Tony tells him, before offering three words of advice: ‘Don’t screw up’. With that, Tony flies away faster than Hank can keep up.
Soon, Hank returns to his companions. ‘Master Hank…might one inquire…what now?’ Jarvis asks. ‘I think you know the answer to that, Edwin’ Hank replies, remarking that he was hoping to do something like this, but not right away, although he knows the call of destiny when he hears it. ‘You are a fine group of heroes. And I’d be honored if you’d join me and help start a new chapter of the Mighty Avengers!’ Hank announces.
‘Does bug-man not hear Hulk? Hulk wants to be alone! Stupid bug-man!’ the Hulk exclaims, while Amadeus tells him that it is okay, that they will get him home. ‘I hope I’m not included in all of this!’ Quicksilver declares, pointing out that he has a reputation to repair, and the last thing he needs is to be seen with associating with people of their caliber. ‘Besides, I have this riddle of the Darkhold to solve. It is on the leading text on chaos magic…a power which I believe, is the root cause of my sister’s recent madness. Who knows? Perhaps it will even give me clues as to her current whereabouts -’ Pietro exclaims, when, suddenly, the Scarlet Witch materializes above everyone.
‘Enough!’ she exclaims. ‘They have made their decision, the die is cast, and this adventure is at an end!’. Pink magic darts around as the Scarlet Witch shouts ‘Avengers away!’, and everyone is teleported away alongside her - except for Quicksilver and Bova. ‘Sister? Wait!’ the shocked Pietro exclaims. ‘Bova, what is this?’ Quicksilver demands. Bova apologizes and admits that she should have told him, but didn’t want to upset him. ‘Wanda! She’s now with Pym - and those others? Why didn’t you tell me?’ Pietro gasps.
A new day dawns. In Arizona, ‘Good’ the Hulk exclaims as he finds himself alone. But while things may appear the same, in Toronto, Canada, change is coming, as Walker says good bye to Omega Flight. ‘It was an honor to serve with Omega Flight…but I’ve been called on to be an Avenger once. And once an Avenger…’ his voice trails off, while Sasquatch tells him that they understand.
In New York, change is coming that will affect friends and family, as Speed, Wiccan, Hulkling, Patriot and Hawkeye are freed from their stone prison. ‘Oh man, I can finally move again!’ Speed exclaims, while Patriot remarks that they have to get to the bottom of this, and figure out which of their enemies could - ‘Easy, Eli. Didn’t you feel it as it wore off? A feeling that it’s over. That everything’s going to be okay’ Hulkling tells his teammate. ‘And that doesn’t bother you?’ Patriot asks.
Hiding in the nearby bushes, the new Vision whispers to Stature - shrunken down to a smaller size - that they have to tell their teammates. ‘Now? Maybe we should wait…this is big news!’ Cassie replies, remarking that this could really mess up Wiccan and Speed. ‘They’re our friends. They should know that the Scarlet Witch - the woman who might be their mother, is back’ Jonas points out.
Change ripples out to every corner of the world, as news reports depict Captain Britain, the Black Knight and Spitfire, free from the chaos, as are the new Darkstar and her teammates in the Winter Guard, and She-Hulk, Thundra and Samantha “Valkyrie” Parrington. ‘More reports coming in -’, ‘- as if yesterday never happened’. ‘Back to normal in Great Britain -’, ‘around the globe. Messages of gratitude -’, ‘Thanks to Hank Pym’. ‘- owe it all to Hank Pym’. ‘Once seen as the “Face of the Skrull Invasion” -’, ‘Hank Pym, one of Earth’s greatest -’, ‘Hank Pym and his Avengers -’, ‘Hank Pym -’.
Watching the reports, Hercules tells Hank not to let it go to his head. ‘It takes more than a good day to become a myth and a legend’ he points out. ‘I’ll get there’ Hank smiles. Edwin Jarvis tells his allies to shush when a certain figure appears on the screen. ‘I think you’ll want to hear this’ Jarvis remarks. Trish Tilby stands before Iron Patriot a.k.a. Norman Osborne the Director of HAMMER, and congregates him for his team’s success. ‘Those so-called - those Avengers are not affiliated with my team!’ Osborne snaps. Jarvis smiles.
Meanwhile, in Broxton, Oklahoma, ‘We’re back! You did it, Thor!’ the civilians shout as they celebrate their return. Thor remarks that he joins them in their revelry, but he wants them to know that it was no power in Asgard which saved them today. ‘That honor belongs to Earth’s Mightiest Heroes! All hail the Mighty Avengers!’
Watching from her chambers is Loki: ‘You speak out of turn, dear brother. No power in Asgard?’ she remarks to herself, muttering ‘As if I would stand idly by and let another God of Chaos lay claim to the Nine Worlds?’. Loki tells herself that this day has been most profitable, with a few simple spells and illusions she has once again created a team of “Avengers”. ‘This time, however…I think I’ll keep them!’ With that, Loki looks in a full-length mirror and laughs, as her reflection reveals that it is she who has been impersonating…the Scarlet Witch!