AVENGERS TOWER becomes the ultimate battleground as the New Avengers are targeted by one of their most fiercest new enemies yet. The all new ADAPTOID has come to take them down... and wait till you see who it is. Plus- An avenger gets married!!! All this and the reuniting of House of M mega-team of Brian Bendis and Olivier Copiel.
Agent Connelly of Hydra opens this issue briefing a badly burned Yelena Belova in her hospital bed on the original Super-Adaptoid. He reminds the Black Widow of her failure to protect HYDRA's assets in the Savage Land, and her willingness to seek retribution for the New Avengers' attack. He introduces to her two scientists from Advanced Idea Mechanics who have synthesized the Adaptoid's biology. The agent offers Yelena the means to become HYDRA's new Adaptoid to exact her revenge on the Avengers, adding that "the more public a beating you can give them, the better it is for all of us." Asking her what her answer will be, tears stream from her eyes.
At Avengers Tower in New York City, Jessica Jones has arrived with Danielle, tired and cranky, much to the amusement of
Luke Cage. Mary Jane and Ms. Marvel congregate around the baby with admiration, while Spider-Woman is less than enthused. Off away in private, Luke checks up on Jessica, who is sitting in silence, staring down at her glass of water. She tells him "Yes. You asked me to marry you. I'm saying yes." As if he has been hit by a freight train, Luke stares dumbfounded, and then shouts to everyone: "Yo! She said YES! WE'RE GETTIN' MARRIED!"
Tony Stark arrives to collect Captain America and the Sentry for a meeting with the mayor of New York City. Downstairs and on the street-side, the three meet the mayor. He is quick to the point and expresses his discontent for the attention that the superheroes of New York are drawing to themselves. The Sentry begins to explain to the mayor his watchtower, but he can offer the mayor a tour - a mysterious blond woman interrupts them, greeting the mayor while taking off her sunglasses to reveal - Yelena Belova!
Inside the Avengers Tower, Jessica is telling her mother over the phone about her engagement with Luke. There is a loud "boom" that causes Spider-man, Ms. Marvel, and Spider-Woman to look out the window and glimpse the Sentry falling headfirst to the ground from thirty-six floors up. Ms. Marvel calls for the Avengers to assemble as she, Spider-man, Luke Cage, Spider-Woman, and Wolverine leap down to ground level. When the Adaptoid absorbs Ms. Marvel's powers after a brief pummeling, Captain America makes off with the mayor in the limosuine he came in. This distracts the Adaptoid, who now has the combined powers of Spider-Woman and Ms. Marvel's flight, Luke Cage's unbreakable skin, Wolverine's regenerative powers, and Spider-man's wall-crawling abilities. Fortunately, Captain America can drive better than the Adaptoid can fly, and in the process of following him at high speeds, crashes hard into a skyscraper and craters into the street below. She is unharmed, and is met by a really ticked off Sentry who is instantly carried away to the skies above Manhattan. Bob asks her for an explanation for the attack, but the Adaptoid only wishes for him to die, kissing him forcefully to absorb his powers.
Inside the Avengers Tower, Jarvis instructs the watchful Jessica Jones, Mary Jane Parker, Aunt May, and Lindy Reynolds to head to the panic room. Ms. Marvel flies to recover the Sentry, throwing him down at Spider-Woman, who is caught by Luke Cage, who is caught by Spider-man's webbing. Carol then attacks the Adaptoid with the idea of absorbing her powers back at double the proportion. Iron Man flies to the scene and Spider-man identifies the assailant as a Super-Adaptoid. After Carol is flung away, Peter and Stark theorize that the Adaptoid's biological-neural-network-memory set can only load (absorb) one of each person. As Iron Man flies to attack position, Peter tells him to "flip it", and he responds with an order to stall her as he flies away, seemingly retreating. Spider-man webs the Adaptoid, causing her to crash once again into a building and pins her down momentarily with webbing. Outraged, and promising death, the Adaptoid is swiftly knocked off her feet by Captain America's shield. Despite her adaptive programming, the Adaptoid stumbles clumsily while attempting to chase Cap across rooftops. Spider-Woman fries the Adaptoid with her venom blast, insisting that she should have done that in the Savage Land when she had the chance - bringing to light that she knows her true identity. When the Adaptoid grabs Spider-Woman by the throat, Wolverine has Ms. Marvel throw him - "Avengers style!" He tackles the Adaptoid in mid-air, forcing her to release Spider-Woman as he rolls to a safe landing made by Spider-man, who catches the recovering Jessica Drew. Just as the Adaptoid is about to pounce on Logan, she is shot by Iron Man. He orders her to lie on her stomach with her hands behind her back, but the Adaptoid only sees this as arrogance. She assaults Iron Man, rejoicing that she has all of their powers now.
Not quite all, for the Adaptoid is met by 26 different Iron Man armors who all fire on her simultaneously. The New Avengers watch from a distance in wonderment.
On a roof top, far from the battle, Tony Stark sits cross-legged, remotely interfaced with each armor, giving verbal commands as they overwhelm the Adaptoid. She declares however, that she cannot be beaten, as she possesses Wolverine's mutant healing factor and unbreakable bones, in addition to Luke Cage's unbreakable skin. But the Sentry re-enters the fray, exclaiming that powers like his take exacting control of mind and body, that if you've become the Sentry, then you must also become the Void. Everything she does or says as the Sentry must be answered for, and the Void comes to do just that. The Adaptoid is overwhelmed by pain and terror, reverting (as much as she can) to Yelena Belova. Iron Man's armors begin to interrogate the former Black Widow, demanding to know who turned her into the Adaptoid and set her loose on the Avengers. The Sentry promises that he'll send the Void away if she cooperates, but Belova answers that "they" will kill her.
Agent Connelly watches a live feed from cameras implanted in Yelena Belova's eyes. Wolverine tells her he knows it is obviously HYDRA, but wants to know who in HYDRA arranged it. Connelly orders the A.I.M. scientists to "pull the plug". Belova's body then explodes grotesquely from the inside out. The New Avengers are left disgusted, and Tony explains that someone hit a molecular destruct button in order to stop him from performing any readings on the Adaptoid to determine her "creation". He turns his suspicions onto Spider-Woman, who denies any dealings with the Black Widow prior to the Savage Land. He tells her that his patience has limits and believes she is hiding something.
At the Avengers Tower, Luke Cage and Jessica Jones are getting married by Stan Lee. Rather than agree to vows that she believes are just trite words, Jessica interrupts.
"I'm dedicating my life to you and - and I'm saying someone else's words. That's nuts. I want you to know I truly believe that together we are so much better than we are apart. And not in that creepy way. Really, I'm inspired by you. I don't get lost in my own head like I used to. This world is a scary place. You being an Avenger - it's so... scary. Every day there's some idiot in our face trying to ruin it. And ever since we got together, I just haven't cared. And no goon attacked us at our wedding, so I'm going to take that as a good sign. And even IF the worst happens... it's a weird feeling - but I know for a fact we can deal with it. So much that I'd wear this big poofed-out dress. I just wanted to let you know in my own words. This is why I said yes to all this crazy. That's why."
Stan Lee pronounces them husband and wife, and the issue ends with the two kissing. All of the New Avengers are in attendence.
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