The Avengers fly back to Earth with their new allies, the Guardians of the Galaxy, only to find Avengers Mansion ransacked by an intruder who has tied up their butler Jarvis. The intruder, National Security Council special agent Henry Peter Gyrich, was testing the team’s security and easily bypassed it by entering via the large hole recently smashed through the mansion’s wall by Count Nefaria. Gyrich explains he is the official in charge of overseeing the team’s federal A-1 Security Clearance status, and he is unimpressed by how easily an enemy might have penetrated their security or stolen vital national secrets. He also disapprovingly notes the Avengers’ tendency to bring in guests who don’t have proper security clearance, such as the Guardians and Wonder Man. As Gyrich departs, Captain America blames often-absent leader Iron Man for the team’s recent setbacks, even striking him in anger, but Scarlet Witch breaks up the fight and shames Cap into leaving by pointing out his ineffectiveness in recent battles. Meanwhile, Avengers reservists Hawkeye & Two-Gun Kid are entertaining fellow train passengers while heading back east to rejoin the Avengers; the two friends then discuss how homesick Two-Gun is for his native 1870s time period, when the Kid suddenly vanishes into thin air. Meanwhile, the Guardians’ Starhawk has gone off alone, shifted into his/her Aleta form and located Korvac in the suburban home Korvac shares with new wife Carina. Determined to conceal himself from other cosmic beings and super heroes, Korvac kills Starhawk and Aleta, then resurrects them exactly as they were, except for wiping their memories of this event and with a subtle alteration of their senses preventing them from detecting or perceiving Korvac again. Starhawk returns to the Avengers and Guardians, who are making plans for the Guardians to stay in the area as the Avengers guests while searching for Korvac and protecting young Vance Astrovik.