New Avengers Annual (1st series) #1

Unknown Hydra Hospital:

They call it…the Adaptoid.

What, croaks Yelena Belova.

Agent Connelly leans over the bed of the Black Widow, who is horribly disfigured thanks to severe burns, and wrapped up in bandages. Connelly, an agent of a Hydra sect led by a mysterious shadow group, asks the two A.I.M. scientists behind him if Yelena can hear him. She can hear you, replies one scientist. Connelly turns his attention back to the crippled woman and reminds her of when she failed in her mission to protect their Savage Land resources. The Avengers destroyed her beautiful face and body. He asked her then – if Hydra could set her back up so she could regain her beauty and a chance to destroy the Avengers – would she do it? Yelena had said yes back then.

Connelly then turns on a monitor displaying a historic battle between the Avengers and the Adaptoid. This is what he offers: Behind him are the greatest minds of A.I.M. A.I.M. has been working with them to better their cause, though in truth they really just need money. What A.I.M. has been able to do is synthesize the Adaptoid’s unique biology. They know how it works. They can make Yelena as powerful and beautiful as she deserves to be. She can strike back at the Avengers using their own powers against them and it will be for the greater good. The more of a public beating she gives them, the better. However, Yelena should lay off Jessica Drew. Their group has much invested in her. However, he understands that… accidents… happen during battle. So what does the Black Widow say, Connelly asks.

Yelena begins to cry.

Avengers Tower:
Jessica Jones, the one-time hero formerly known as Jewel, enters the Avengers penthouse carrying her newborn baby, a carriage and a large box. Sweaty and irritable, she yells out to wherever her husband is in the Avengers penthouse and tells him to prepare to die. He did this to her and he must pay!

Jessica stumbles into the kitchen, to find her husband along with Jarvis, Wolverine, Spider-Man, Spider-Woman, Ms. Marvel, Mary Jane Parker, Aunt May and Lindy Reynolds, who all look at her and smile. Captain America, Tony Stark and Sentry are in the next room, having a conversation, but can still see and hear Jessica. Jessica Jones, ladies and gentleman, introduces Ms. Marvel.

Cage smiles and asks his girlfriend what’s going on. Angry, Jessica tells Luke that she is going to pass out. She has dragged his baby all over the city up three hundred floors of this skyscraper and it is a million degrees outside! You don’t have powers, asks Cage, reminding his wife that she isn’t that helpless. You giving me sass, asks Jessica.

Mary Jane takes the baby and looks at it. Here we go, says Spider-Man, worried. Ms. Marvel, Aunt May and Lindy crowd the baby, as Mary Jane marvels that it is the cutest baby on Earth. Jessica skulks away and tells MJ to make her an offer for it. Mommy didn’t mean it, says Mary Jane to the baby. I think she did, says Spider-Man.

Jessica takes a seat on the sofa as Jarvis offers her something to drink. Grateful, Jessica tells Jarvis that she loves him. Jarvis thanks her, but Jessica reiterates that she really does think she is falling for him. Jarvis reminds Jessica that her boyfriend can severely hurt him. That’s true, replies Jessica.

Back in the kitchen, Mary Jane continues to comment on how beautiful the baby is. You want a baby, asks a worried Spider-Man. No, says Mary Jane. She just wants to look at this one and then give it back before it pukes on her. One baby is enough. Are you talking about me, asks a confused Parker. Well, who in the relationship wears Spider-Man footie pajamas, asks Mary Jane. Mary Jane turns to Spider-Woman and asks if she wants to look at the baby. Jessica backs off and tells Mary Jane to get the baby away from her.

As Mary Jane passes off the baby to an unwelcoming Spider-Man, Cage approaches his wife in the next room and asks her if she is ok. Jessica doesn’t respond, causing Cage to get worried. Yes, says Jessica with a smile as she looks down into her glass. Yes, what? asks the confused Cage. You asked me to marry you, says Jessica. I’m saying yes. Cage’s eyes are filled with stars as he realizes what just happened.

Luke slams his foot down and screams out loud to everyone that Jessica just said “yes.” They are getting married! The women, Wolverine and Spider-Man come into the next room to congratulate Cage. Mary Jane tells Jessica that she will love being married. Mary Jane loves being married. Embarrassed, Jessica lowly asks Cage why he just shouted that out. Now you can’t be crazy and pretend you didn’t just commit, says Cage. I don’t do that, says Jessica. Ok, she did it once.

Tony looks at his watch and tells Captain America that they have to go. Cap asks if he should stay in costume, to which Tony replies yes. Show as much flag as possible. Me too, asks Sentry. Yes, says Tony. The Sentry needs to start making more friends. However, and no offense, says Stark, but with Sentry’s mental state if he feels wobbly or anything feel free to excuse himself. Who are you guys meeting, asks Wolverine.

Soon, on the street:
Tony Stark welcomes the mayor of New York City with open arms to Avengers Tower. He is very glad the mayor honored his request. Stark and the mayor shake hands. The mayor admits to Stark that it would have been better if he contacted the city about this new super hero clubhouse before the Avengers went public with it. This, along with the Baxter Building, is just too much for one city. It draws too much attention. The mayor then greets Captain America, and realizes that Tony is bringing out the big guns. Tony tells the mayor that Cap is the team leader, so he figured Cap’s perspective would be valuable. Also, Tony wants the mayor to meet the newest Avenger – the Sentry.

Sentry greets the mayor, and tells him that he thinks much of his concern has to deal with the Watchtower built directly on it. Is that what that is, asks the mayor. Yes, replies Sentry, and he thought perhaps a tour might help ease things.

As the photographers snap away with picture, a familiar blonde haired woman approaches the four men. She takes off her sunglasses, and greets the group.

Avengers Tower:
Jessica is on the phone with her mother, telling her about the proposal. She argues with her mother about why she didn’t tell her earlier. It just happened! Suddenly, there is a loud boom sound that rocks the entire building! The Avengers look at the window to see the Sentry falling back down to the ground, with rubble accompanying him! Spider-Man and the others rush to the window, and Parker asks how many stories high are they. Thirty-six, replies Spider-Woman. Not good, says Parker, as he wonders what could pummel the Sentry thirty-six stories up. Avengers assemble, yells Ms. Marvel.

The Street:
The entire section of the street outside Avengers Tower is reduced to rubble. Civilians lie scattered, motionless. Captain America lies atop the mayor, and the Sentry lands back on the ground. Amidst the chaos, Yelena Belova is in amazement at the level of power she just commanded, thanks to her absorbing the power of the Sentry. Even her body responded to the power absorption, as her skin has shifted into a similar scheme as the Sentry’s uniform. However, her face also changes, showing scars and deformation temporarily.

Yelena, however, smiles. Ms. Marvel swoops down and tells the woman that she picked the wrong address to attack. She then pummels Yelena. Nearby, Captain America gets the mayor up and apologizes to the confused man. Spider-Man, Luke Cage, Spider-Woman and Wolverine reach the street. Spider-Man tells his teammates that he is new to this super hero thing, but shouldn’t’ they have a policy about people just showing up at their door to get their butts kicked? Shouldn’t they require an appointment? Cage agrees.

Ms. Marvel is a bit tired after using all her force to hit Yelena, but is surprised to see that the woman is recovering, and is also shocked to see that the skin around Yelena’s eyes has changed color to match that of Carol’s mask! Blood runs from Yelena’s nose, and she is surprised that Ms. Marvel is there – but it is a pleasant surprise.

Ms. Marvel realizes what she is facing and turns to tell her teammates to leave, but it is too late. The four Avengers leap at Yelena and begin to beat on her. It only takes the slightest contact for Yelena to absorb the abilities of Cage, Spider-Man, Spider-Woman and Wolverine. She then slams them all away. Yelena’s hair grows longer, her armpits grow web-gliding structures, and she begins to look more feral. She doesn’t mean to offend the boys, but she really wants to lay a hand on Captain America. She has a thing for him.

Elsewhere, Captain America is speeding down the streets in the wreckage of the mayor’s limo, with the terrified mayor asking Cap what he is doing. Seat belt, responds Cap. The mayor is still confused, but Cap requests that the man put his seat belt back on. Cap looks at his mirror to see that Yelena is actually running on all fours alongside the sides of glass skyscrapers in order to catch up to them. Cap hopes that he can drive better than she can fly, and then makes a sharp turn. Yelena jumps off the building to fly after them, but she is not accustomed to flying yet and is unable to make the turn as sharply, causing her to slam into a skyscraper, and then into the busy street below, unfortunately into traffic.

However, the bestial Yelena is unhurt and thanks Luke Cage for her unbreakable skin. Suddenly, a voice interrupts. Yelena looks up to see the Sentry. He doesn’t know what she did back there, but it really ticked him off. Sentry then flies at top speed to slam into Yelena. Ms. Marvel, however, sees this from a distance and is worried. Spider-Man asks her what is wrong. Carol tells him that she knows what that woman is. Sentry cannot win. He is going to die.

In the air, Sentry and Yelena grapple, and Sentry asks the woman if she will tell him why she is attacking. Yelena curses him out and tells him to just die. She then kisses Sentry, and takes more of his powers.

Mary Jane, Jessica Jones, Lindy Reynolds and Aunt May watch the fight from the penthouse. Mary Jane wonders if there is someone they can call as she consoles Lindy. I should go down there, says Jessica. No, says Jarvis. The women should all get away from the window and head for the panic room like practiced. Jessica begins to interject, but suddenly, the entire skyline lights up as a ball of pure energy explodes!

On the street, Wolverine tells the team that they have to take positions. Ok, says Spider-Man. I don’t like her.

Cage ignores Parker and asks Wolverine what he means. Wolverine tells him that they have to think smart. The fight is coming back down. Here is what they should do.

In the air, the god-like Yelena, who no longer looks human at all, holds Sentry by the throat and then punches him away. Ms. Marvel, however, catches Sentry, and then tosses him down to the unsuspecting Spider-Woman. Spider-Woman falls from the sky as she cannot hold Sentry, but Cage leaps off a building and catches her. As the three heroes fall, they land in a web created by Spider-Man. Annoyed, Spider-Woman asks why Ms. Marvel threw Sentry at her for. She’s got her hands full, replies Cage, as he gives Spider-Man thumbs up.

Above, Ms. Marvel and her mysterious attacker grapple in the air. Carol tells the woman that she can absorb power too. So not only is she going to have her powers, but she is going to have double her powers as she takes back her energy copied by the Adaptoid. You’re still fat, says Yelena. Ms. Marvel stops grappling with Yelena and punches her in the face.

Iron Man arrives on the scene below and Spider-Man tells him that Ms. Marvel called the creature a Super-Adaptoid. How many of you did it touch, asks Iron Man. Just all of us, replies Spider-Man. You never touch an Adaptoid, says Iron Man as he flies away. Ok, like we knew, replies Spider-Man, as he swings after Iron Man.

In the air, Yelena gains the upper hand and throws Mr. Marvel away. She then notices Iron Man heading for her.

Spider-Man calls out to Iron Man and asks if he fought the Adaptoid before. The original, replies Iron Man. Intrigued, Parker asks Stark if the original was a biological neural-network memory load creature. Once one neural network memory set is loaded, what if there were five of him? Would she only load just one of him, or all five of him at the same time? What does it matter, asks Iron Man. How many Sentry power sets does she need to beat the hell out of the city? No, calls out Spider-Man, as he lands on a building; flip it!

Iron Man is about to engage Yelena in battle when he suddenly realizes what Peter is talking about. He swiftly dodges Yelena and flies away, telling Spider-Man to stall her. Yelena calls out to Iron Man, addressing him as Stark, and calls him a coward. That’s judgmental, jokes Spider-Man. Yelena ignores Spider-Man and flies after Stark, but Spider-Man tells her that he isn’t done stalling her yet. He then attaches a bed to her back and flies off with her. Spider-Man crawls up to Yelena’s back and pulls her by her hair. Don’t worry, says Peter. He isn’t hitting on her. He is just hoping that her relative inexperience with flying makes it easier to do this.

Spider-Man then pulls back Yelena’s head to steer her right onto a roof of a building, slamming her down hard. With Yelena face down in rubble, Spider-Man webs the debris to her head, and tells her not to take the defeat too hard. He still can’t figure out how to use the joystick on an X-Box, and he went to college. Spider-Man then notices Yelena’s butt sticking out in the air, and gets an immature though. Here is something to tell the grandkids about, says Spider-Man as he kicks Yelena in the butt!

Whoops, got to go, says Spider-Man as he childishly leaps off the building. The kick in the butt causes Yelena to leap back to attention and scream in anger. She swears she will kill Spider-Man for that embarrassing kick. As she looks over the edge of the building, Captain America’s shield hits her in the head. She looks around to see Cap jumping across nearby rooftops. She chases after him but, when she jumps onto the building, he is on she doesn’t stick her landing and falls. Spider-Woman then leaps behind her and stings her head with her powers.

Yelena collapses, disoriented. Spider-Woman tells her that she should have done that to her in the Savage Land. Yes, says Jessica. She recognizes who Yelena is, despite the monstrous changes done to her body by absorbing all those powers. She is a double-crossing, backstabber. Yelena, however, is quick and grabs Spider-Woman by the throat.

With Yelena focused on Spider-Woman, Ms. Marvel throws Wolverine towards the two. “Fastball special,” says Ms. Marvel, “Avengers style.”

Yelena calls Spider-Woman a whore and tells her that she knows all her dirty secrets. She then throws Spider-Woman aside, but Wolverine tackles Yelena and slams her into a wall before rolling off the building himself. Spider-Woman falls off the building too, but Spider-Man catches her. She thanks him, as she couldn’t get her act together. You need bigger web pits, comments Spider-Man. He then creates a web to catch Wolverine in, but Yelena recoups and looks over the side, telling Wolverine that he is stuck now.

Suddenly, Yelena is hit in the back with a repulsor blast thanks to Iron Man. He tells Yelena that she is only getting once chance. She should lie down on her stomach and put her hands behind her back. Yelena tackles Iron Man, calling him arrogant. He just killed himself. She then absorbs his power and tells him that she has all their strength now. Not quite all, says a familiar voice.

Yelena looks up to see herself surrounded by an army of former Iron Man armor models! One armor tells Yelena that there is so much more to him than most people think. All the armor units then attack her with repulsor blasts. Ms. Marvel watches in awe, and Spider-Man tells her it was his idea.

As the armors attack Yelena, they tell her that her surrender is accepted.

On a nearby rooftop, Spider-Woman asks how Tony does that. Cap replies that the man has a lot of tricks up his sleeve. No seriously, asks Iron Man. How does Stark do that?

Avengers Tower:
On the roof, Iron Man sits in his body suit and gauntlets, with wires connecting him to various laptops monitored by Jarvis. From this remote location, he commands all the various Iron Man armors to attack Yelena. After having them punch and shoot her various times, he smiles and tells the armors to have a group hug.

The fight:
On the rooftop, the beaten Yelena falls the ground, as all the Iron Man armors slam into her in a suicide attack. The armors are all mostly destroyed, leaving Yelena trapped underneath. However, Yelena calls out that she cannot be beaten. She begins to lift herself up from under the armor, citing how she has Wolverine’s healing factor and unbreakable bones. She has Cage’s unbreakable skin. She cannot be eaten. “Wanna bet?” asks the Sentry.

Suddenly, Yelena screams in pain, as raw power surges out of her mouth and eyes. Sentry tells her that she stole his powers. However, powers like his take exact control of mind and body. He learned that the hard way. Every day, he fights to keep the demon in check. One slip, and he is consumed by madness. If she has become the Sentry, then she also must be the Void. Everything done or said as the Sentry must be answered for. The Void does just that.

Overcome by the Void, Yelena collapses to the ground, defeated. An Iron Man armor restrains her with his arms, and another armor asks who did this to her and who turned her against the Avengers. Don’t, says Yelena. Sentry tells Yelena that if she tells them where the enemy is and he can send the Void away.

Yelena begins to cry, and tells the heroes that they will kill her. Where, screams the Void.

Unknown Location:
A disappointed Connely and two A.I.M. agents watch the live feed. They see Wolverine tells Yelena that they know Hydra is behind this. She should just tell them who and where. This is live, asks Connely. The A.I.M. scientists explain that they injected something in Yelena’s eyes so they see what she sees. It can’t continue, says Connely. Yelena is at the threshold. Pull the plug. The A.I.M. scientists push a button.

New York:
Yelena tells the heroes that she will never tell them, but then she screams in pain and falls silent. Suddenly, she tells the team to help her as her body begins to grow bulbously until it explodes!

The body then disintegrates into a pile of ooze, to the disgust of the Avengers. What did you do to her, asks Spider-Woman. I didn’t do that, replies the Sentry. On comm, Stark tells the team that someone elsewhere hit the kill button on Yelena. It was a molecular destruct button. Someone didn’t want Iron Man to do readings on her. His armor cannot even tell how they did what they did to her, or even tell what species she was. They who, asks Spider-Woman.

Accusingly, Iron Man asks Spider-Woman if she has ever had dealings with this Black Widow. In the Savage Land, like the rest of you, says Spider-Woman. Where else, asks the annoyed Iron Man. She better not lie to him. If this was Hydra, they then took the fight to their home. Tony doesn’t take that lightly. He didn’t before the Scarlet Witch, and he doesn’t now. Offended, Jessica asks Tony why he is yelling at her.

Iron Man tells Jessica that he knows they let her stay on the team and play both sides of the coin because it is partially their fault, but he does have a limit. He doesn’t like not knowing who he is fighting. Well it’s not me, says the angry Spider-Woman.

Spider-Woman walks away from the team, and moments later everyone else leaves the rooftop except Captain America. Tony didn’t mean it, says Cap. Yes he did, replies Spider-Woman, as she holds herself.

Sometime in the Future:
At Avengers Tower, it is the day of Luke Cage and Jessica Jones’ wedding. The honorable priest reads the vows under the glamorous tent in front of all the guests, including Misty Knight. Captain America and Ms. Marvel wear their army uniforms and watch alongside everyone else at the special occasion.

The priest asks Cage if he will take Jessica in the state of matrimony. Sure, says Cage as he smiles at his beautiful fiancé in her white gown. The priest then reads Jessica the same vows, and she also says she will. The priest then continues on, but suddenly Jessica tells him to wait, much to the worry of Cage and the guests.

Jessica looks at Cage and tells him that these words are just words. She is dedicating her life to him and she is only saying someone else’s words. That is crazy. She wants Luke to know that she truly believes that they are better together than apart – not in a creepy way, though. She is truly inspired by him. She doesn’t get lost in her head like she used to. This world is scary, especially with him being an Avenger. Everyday some idiot is trying to ruin their world. However, since she met Luke, she hasn’t cared. Since no goon attacked them at their wedding, she takes that as a good sign. If the worse does happen, she knows that they can deal with it.

She then motions to her child and tells Cage that they made her. She loves watching him be the father. She loves it so much she wore this big poofed-out dress. She just wants him to know this in her words. This is why she said yes to all this craziness. That is why.

Are you done, asks the smiling priest. Pretty much, says Jessica. Ok, says the priest, I pronounce you man and wife.

The newly married Luke Cage and Jessica Jones share their first kiss.