On a mission for S.W.O.R.D., the organization that protects Earth from extraterrestrials, Spider-Woman heads off to Wakanda to investigate a potential alien incursion. She is discovered by the Intelligencia alliance of criminal geniuses – Klaw, Wizard, Mad Thinker, Red Ghost and MODOK – and taken prisoner. Having lost contact with her, Abigail Brand, SWORD's director, brings it to the attention of Steve Rogers, asking for him to help her find Jessica. Steve is astonished and annoyed to learn there's another covert organization that he didn't know about, but Beast vouches for Brand and SWORD, being an agent himself. Steve assigns a squad of Avengers to rescue Jessica, selecting them on the basis of raw power, hunting skills and alien technology knowledge, a squad consisting of Iron Man, Thor, Protector, Ms. Marvel, Wolverine, Moon Knight, Beast and Brand. The squad tracks Jessica to the location of her last known transmission, a dark cave. Inside, Wolverine senses that she was taken by surprise, and Iron Man figures out that the cave at one time held an otherworldly technology. But they also find blood, which makes them more determined than ever to find her. Jessica awakens from her unconsciousness and finds herself handcuffed and naked in a cell. The Wizard and the Mad Thinker demand to know what she knows about "the Spaceknight." Jessica tells them she has no idea what they're talking about. Meanwhile, the Red Ghost and MODOK are tinkering with the armored Spaceknight they retrieved from the cave. Its form is inert, but the Red Ghost finds something inside that seemingly turns it back on. Just then, Iron Man and the Protector have traced the energy source back to the Intelligencia's lair. They take the Thinker and Wizard by surprise, and then the rest of the Avengers squad storms in to help bring the villains down and rescue Jessica. But the Spaceknight armor starts to crackle with electrical energy and transforms itself into Ultron. Thor instinctively smashes Ultron with his hammer, and Ultron announces it is unprepared for battle at this time and retreats. Iron Man can't detect Ultron's energy trail and worries that now that Ultron has returned from his outer space travels, he will bring about a human apocalypse on Earth.