In Manhattan’s sewers, Fool chastises his brother Thane Ector for aspiring to be like the Earthlings they seek to subjugate. Beast, Black Panther, Collector, Nakka and Quasar explore the many miniaturized ecosystems in the Elder’s vivarium that the Brethren have destroyed, searching for clues about the Brethren’s origins. Dr. Pym suspects they’re onto something when the Watcher appears, and as the heroes enter the Brethren’s home receptacle, Nakka suddenly dies. At Avengers HQ, Crystal requests to join the Avengers and Captain America grants her a provisional membership. Nick Fury reports that the corpses of the Brethren’s victims contain no bacteria or germs. In Ector’s citadel, Sybyl Dorn confronts Sersi, who goads her into fighting by insulting Dorn’s race. Dorn unexpectedly assumes a muck-like form and Ector dismisses her. Ector tells Sersi the secret of his race that only he and Fool know, that the Celestials created the Brethren as a parasitic, sentient offshoot of bacteria.