The Triskelion…
A disappointed Thor gently touches his cell’s window with his finger. He asks his father why he has forsaken him. He knows he was sent to save the world, but he wants to know where his father is now that they need him so much. Thor admits he’s starting to fear they don’t want to be saved. He wonders if war is the natural state of man, and if this is why Loki so easily seduced them. He begs his father to talk to him, or to give him a sign that he can hear his voice. Thor starts to cry and, on that exact moment, a bright light appears above him!
Elsewhere at the destroyed base…
Captain America has opened the battle against the Schizoid Man, who in the meantime has created lots of duplicates of himself. However, Cap manages to knock them all out. One of the troops warns Cap to get away from him and his friend, explaining that the Schizoid Man wasn’t the only one here with super-powers. They have taken the Wasp hostage and warn him not to take another step or they’ll tear her apart.
Janet angrily asks the terrorists if they know about that thing she does. That sting when she’s five hundred times smaller? She wonders if they know how much it hurts when she’s full size. She attacks the villains with her stings, shattering all of their teeth and knocking them out. She runs to Cap and hugs him, apologizing for not believing in him. Cap says it’s okay as it doesn’t matter. Janet mentions that their adversaries have destroyed the Triskelion and took over the country, plus everyone has been captured. Cap promises it’s okay as he figured as much. But they need to hit supplies before they do anything else. He needs his shield, some guns and every bullet Janet can carry. Janet asks about Thor. They run to his cell, only to find it… completely empty?! But the cell has remained untouched and not even the window is broken. Cap tells Janet she just asked a very good question.
Air Force One, five miles up in the sky…
Sitting in Air Force One behind his desk, President Bush is in a meeting. Bush asks his partner Danny if hiding is absolutely necessary, as he doesn’t want to be seen like he’s cutting and running. Danny says he appreciates that, but this SHIELD station they’re heading to in Nebraska is still under their control and is the perfect place to strategize their fight back. He also explains that the Presidential Suite has been prepared already and that the shadow cabinet is being assembled.
On that exact moment, the plane gets attacked by Perun! Perun hangs onto the craft and glides his body toward the plane’s window, revealing himself to the startled pilots. He is surprised to see that this is where Bush has been holed up. He destroys the plane and everyone falls out of it! Bush panics and calls out to his wife, Laura. The Crimson Dynamo, also present, promises Bush he doesn’t have to worry about her: he’s not going to die for hours yet!
The Dome, Brussels…
Captain Britain’s father explains to his son that the Liberators have them over a barrel. He adds that the Union even look like they’re going in, and the Liberators said they’ll launch America’s atomic arsenal. They’re in a stalemate now, and anything they do can only make things worse. Brian thinks that there’s actually one option they haven’t considered yet.
Washington DC…
While the Ultron robots round lots of citizens up in front of the White House, the Liberators proudly step in. The colonel is informed of Captain America’s escape. Further, one of the troops leading the arrest of the X-Men, Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four admits that they presume Rogers has escaped. He wasn’t in his cell and the Schizoid Man’s bodies were scattered all over the Triskelion. He asks what they should do with the others they’ve captured, wondering if this turn of events changes anything.
The colonel denies that. He tells everyone to convene in Washington, precisely as planned. Loki wants the executions to go ahead at midnight. Hank interrupts the colonel thinking that he’s underestimating Rogers. He seriously thinks they need to focus their attention on finding him or they’ll put the entire mission in danger. Loki asks Dr. Pym to be serious. He knows that Pym’s terrified of the man, but he thinks Cap shouldn’t be too hard to find. They’ve already crippled the man’s country, captured his president and plan to behead his friends very shortly. He’s honestly certain this will smoke the Captain out.
Meanwhile, Janet and Cap walk outside the White House, carrying some Army bags. Janet asks Cap if he saw what the Liberators have done to Air Force One. They enter the White House and Janet says this is a nightmare… she can’t believe this is even happening. Steve asks Janet to calm down as they’ve got to keep it together. They’re the only ones left to fix this situation and if they don’t free the others here, they’re all going to die.
They open their bags, and Cap explains that he’s counted twenty-eight guards in the room next to them. He knows this isn’t going to be easy, but he believes if they keep their heads and think fast it shouldn’t be a problem. What he needs to know for sure is that Janet’s up for this because if she hesitates for a second they’re both going to get killed. “Of course I’m up for it,” Janet proudly declares while taking out a gun. Cap asks if she’s sure about that. “Totally”, Janet replies. Cap holds a gun ready as well, and mentions they’ll go inside the room on the count of three.
He kicks the door open with his boot, only to find all of their enemies dead already thanks to… Hawkeye?! Hawkeye jokes that the two can relax, as the room’s already secure. Janet is thrilled to see him alive and hugs Clint. She admits they all thought he was dead. Disappointed, Clint admits he didn’t have that much luck. One of the surviving foes, even though he has two arrows in his armor, grins that problem Hawkeye mentions is easily fixed.
More enemy soldiers crash through a window, immediately attacking Captain America, the Wasp and Hawkeye.
New York City…
Iron Man flies above the destroyed city. His control team reports that all the signs are looking good from in there, and he asks Tony how it feels inside. Tony admits that the suits he’s wearing now is a kick compared to the recent Iron Man suits, but this old bird still flies like a dream. It even still smells exactly like the first time he crossed the Atlantic in it. Another of his controllers thinks it’s a shame they couldn’t get near the armors back at the Stark company. The latest model would have trashed all those Ultron robots in two seconds flat. He warns Tony that there’s something wrong with his navigator. He just seems to be going up and up from their scanners.
Tony admits he’s flying further up in the sky, surprised his team really thought he was going to fly to Washington in this old thing. He jokes he’d have a better chance of beating the Liberators in a Winnebago. He makes it into space, reporting to the space station’s central computer. He informs that docking takes place in an estimated T-minus sixteen minutes. It’s time to prepare and activate Iron Man Six.
Washington…
Swarm has received word that the Black Widow is now down as well. She isn’t answering anyone’s calls, so they can only assume the worst. Hank thinks it’s Captain America’s fault. He reminds the colonel he told him this would happen, and now Cap’s going to pick them all off one at the time. The colonel gets angry.
Inside the White House, Cap and Janet have regrouped with Wanda, Fury and Quicksilver. While he and Janet fight more soldiers, Cap wants to know what’s wrong with Pietro. Wanda, helping the two combatants out with her hex powers, explains that Betty’s still trying to resuscitate her brother. But Cap doesn’t need to worry, as Betty’s almost there. And she’s confident things will turn for the best when Pietro wakes up.
Swarm arrives and attacks the Wasp with her bees, sarcastically promising Wanda that Quicksilver isn’t going to wake up. And, she reminds everyone, the Liberators have a speedster of their own. Hurricane attacks and strikes Hawkeye several times, almost taking him out. Abomination jumps at Cap, ready to hit the Ultimates with his massive fists. He creates a path between the Ultimates and Cap, and punches the legendary hero towards the direction of the colonel.
The colonel triumphantly stands over Captain America, holding his two-sized laser staff in his hands. “On your feet, sir”, Abdul proclaims, “I’ve waited half my life to rip that star from your chest.”
Outside, Pym contacts his Ultron robots. He wants them to switch from peacekeeping to crowd control. He wants these people kept as far away from the violence as possible. Loki grins that Pym is a funny man. He’s so sentimental. He notices there’s still a little part in him that wants to be a hero. Hank explains that super-people break ordinary people’s bones. And, he reminds Loki, if he’s so into blood and guts, how come he has just been standing on the sidelines through all this? Fully relaxed, Loki smiles it’s because the moment he uses his powers overtly, big bad Odin knows exactly where to find him. Besides, he adds, there’s already enough mischief going on here.
While more destruction take place in Washington, all of its citizens desperately try to flee into safety.
Nearby, a lone man, wearing glasses and covered in shadows, apologizes to the attacking gentleman that he isn’t going anywhere. He didn’t travel five thousand miles just to get pushed around the second he got back to his own country. He doesn’t need to run away from anyone now that he’s in touch with his nasty inner sociopath. One of the Dynamo robots notices the man and approaches him. The man proudly declares that’s it. The robot just needs to keep coming if he wants to meet his partner. The robot steps on the man, scaring a woman who saw it. Another woman notices all of the robots suddenly moving… the man’s still alive!
Suddenly, all off the robots get pushed down and destroyed! The man gets up, and is revealed to be none other than… the incredible Hulk!?! The Hulk notices the crowd below him, smiles and asks them if they’re watching this. He destroys another robot with only one hand, and later rips the armor of another robot apart. With furious red eyes and his big, muscle fists ready for action, the Hulk proudly declares: “Now bring it on!”
