Mighty Avengers (1st series) #23

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!