At A.I.M.’s Adaptoid Center, Agent Kowalski is having fun
controlling the Shang-Chi android and using it to beat up the captive Hawkeye. He
invites Mentallo to give it a try but he doesn’t enjoy it as much as Kowalski.
Elsewhere, Taskmaster menaces a nervous guard, enjoying watching the guy
squirm—then the guard asks to become TM’s apprentice and the idea appeals to
Taskmaster….
Aboard the SHIELD Helicarrier Iliad, Director Maria Hill
is meeting with MODOK who claims to be defecting to their side, offering a
cache of valuable intel in exchange for amnesty. She sees through the attempts
to manipulate her psychologically and gets him to admit the real reason for his
defection is a hostility towards the current Scientist Supreme, Andrew Forson,
though his connections to the Entropy Cult….
Back on the Island, Taskmaster has TESS-One smashing its way
through the guards and Taskmaster himself taking down several who attack him.
TM notes that his apprentice failed to notify the guards not to attack TM and
for this transgression, TM will refer to him as “Todd….”
At a secret A.I.M. base known as the Chariot in St.
Petersburg, Russia, Iron Patriot and Bruce Banner are evaluating the data they
have found. Before they can begin teleporting the material back to Phil Coulson
on the Iliad, the entire place is destroyed by a massive explosion. It
turns out Rhodey was saved by his armor and Banner by transforming into Hulk,
leaving Rhodey shaken….
The Scientist Supreme is gloating over his success, having
killed two SHIELD Agents in Russia, unmasked a traitor, and Yelena Belova is
bringing in three more captives. Hawkeye, Nick Fury Jr., and Black Widow are in
transit, guarded by the Shang-Chi Adaptoid….
On the beach, Taskmaster unearths a small boat, planning to
escape the island with Mockingbird. Then TESS-One clobbers him, controlled by
“Todd” who is really Anton Trask and was playing TM the entire time….
Aboard the Iliad, Maria Hill is threatening MODOK,
accusing him of luring her agents into a trap. MODOK denies this, claiming the
fault was hers for being too eager to take down Forson. She asks him to turn
over some secret intel to prove he’s not lying. MODOK reveals that A.I.M.
likely has a high-ranking double agent within SHIELD. And he has access to a
powerful mind-wiping drug, that could erase memories by use of a trigger word….
On Barbuda, Forson is interrogating Taskmaster. TM insists
that he and Mockingbird can easily tear through the place. Forson responds,
“Mockingbird is dead…and so are you.” Then Taskmaster is shot in the head…by
Mockingbird….