Hercules,
now SHIELD Agent 125, attends the Special Ops school in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
He has some trouble getting the point, preferring to smash through the obstacle
course rather than run it as designed, enraging the trainer, John Farrat/Agent
72. The youthful Buddy Juniper, Agent 223, offers to accompany Herc through the
course; he turns out to be a very chatty individual who is totally committed to
the service. When Buddy realizes that his pal is the real Hercules, Herc tells
him about the voyage of the Argonauts: when they discovered the Golden Fleece
and its monstrous guardian, Jason ordered his men into battle and many were
killed before Hercules slew the Hydra; Jason, however, having gained the
fleece, gave no thought to the men who died. His lesson for Buddy is to be
careful about what he sacrifices his life for….
At
his stronghold in South America, Ares watches his Warhawks have bayonet
practice with live targets; a message from his agent in SHIELD warns him that
his (the traitor’s) presence is suspected. Ares initiates Phase Two….
The
rookie SHIELD Agents board an aircraft carrier. Herc is met by Agent 33/Kara
Palamas who shows him the security footage from the museum battle; it looks as
though Tharamus died trying to protect something from Ares. The film has been
tampered with but Kara has studied the museum catalog and identified the
missing object as the Heart of Athena. Hercules explains that it is a magic
device which magnifies the power of any weapon, making an army using it
unstoppable….
Agent
Alex DePaul is put in charge of Operation: Argonaut, to lead a team against
Ares’ base in the jungle. SHIELD dispatches a Helicarrier to the region and
Floaters ferry shock troops to the ground. When they reach the base, a giant
Minotaur attacks them, plowing through the team until it reaches Herc. The
Prince of Power battles the monster and gets the worse of it. Buddy rushes
forward to back Herc up and is mortally wounded by the Minotaur. Hercules
reacts by breaking the Minotaur’s back. He rushes to see to Buddy but the boy
dies in his arms; Hercules lets out a cry of anguish….
The
Floaters return to the Helicarrier but with a surprise: they are filled with
Warhawks and Ares leads the takeover of the SHIELD craft. On the ground, the
Agents discover one Floater left: for Hercules to face Ares alone. As Herc doesn’t
know how to fly the vehicle, DePaul joins him as pilot. Herc radios Ares that
he is coming. Ares responds by shooting down the Floater with a missile….