AVENGERS #376 & #377

"THE INHUMAN CONDITION" | "OUT OF HOUSE AND HOME"
Writer: Joey Cavalieri | Artist: Grant Meihm
Letterers: Susan Crespi (#376) & Bill Oakley (#377) | Colorist: Ovi Hondru
Editor: Ralph Macchio | Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

The Plot: (Issue 376) On a rainy night, Crystal reflects on the departure of the Black Knight, then recalls an adventure she had wherein an Inhuman named Sporr was captured by an armored fighter called the Janissary. But Sporr used his power to separate into multiple beings, and sent another version of himself to Avengers Mansion for Crystal's help. He led Crystal to his other self in the Andes, where the Janissary turned his captive Sporr over to a woman who sapped Sporr's power for herself. Meanwhile, Crystal entered the woman's facility and defeated the Janissary, then found the woman had transformed herself into a super-powered being called Terrigene. Crystal and Terrigene fought and Crystal won, then Terrigene revealed that she had studied Inhumans her entire life and wanted to create her own Inhuman family, after being disowned by her human parents. Crystal left with Sporr, and the two Sporrs reunited into one. In the present, Crystal wonders if she should return to the Inhumans' Great Refuge as Sporr did.

(Issue 377) Walking through Central Park, Quicksilver finds a teen boy under attack by several gang members. Quicksilver saves the boy and takes out his assailants, then catches a taxi to Manhattan's Transian District. There, Quicksilver finds the same young man attacked by another gang. But this time, the boy saves himself with an electrical power, then leaves. Quicksilver goes searching for him and finds himself accosted by several angry men in a nearby pub. Quicksilver takes these men out and continues searching for the boy. Eventually he finds him, along with his brother and sister, nearby. The teens take Quicksilver to their home, a building resembling the Transian opera house. There, the siblings' father, Pavane, introduces himself to Quicksilver, telling him they grew up in Transia together, where the man was smitten with Quicksilver's sister, Wanda. But Quicksilver wouldn't let her near him, so now Pavane wants revenge. He and his children use their mutant powers to gang up on Quicksilver, but when one of the boys is injured in the fight, Quicksilver rushes him to the hospital. There, Pavane and Quicksilver make peace.

AVENGERS #375

"THE LAST GATHERING"
Writer: Bob Harras | Penciler: Steve Epting | Inker: Tom Palmer
Colorist: John Kalisz | Letterer: Bill Oakley
Editor: Ralph Macchio | Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

The Plot: The Avengers head out into Manhattan to face Proctor and the Gatherers, who have appeared in the city with the imprisoned Sersi and Ute, the near-dead Watchter. The Avengers attack, working to protect civilians and take out the Gatherers, while Proctor severs the barriers between dimensions, causing various buildings in the city to be replaced with alternate versions of themselves. While his teammates battle the Gatherers, Black Knight engages Proctor one-on-one. Proctor reveals that he carries the Ebony Blade of his dimenson, and the duel continues.

Thena and Sprite arrive to help the Avengers, while Proctor gains the upper hand on the Black Knight and then begins to "gather" him, which would merge them together. But Quicksilver intervenes, , knocking the pair apart. Thunderstrike and Crystal take Proctor down with a lightning bolt, which also knocks out the Gatherers. Sersi and Ute break free of their imprisonment, and Sersi picks up the Ebony Blade, which she uses to kill Proctor. Then, as Ute dies, he expends the last of his power restoring New York to normal. He also opens a portal to a pocket dimension, where Sersi can go to be free of the madness consuming her. As she prepares to go, the Black Knight declares that he will join her. As the Avengers watch, the pair vanishes together into the portal.

AVENGERS #374

"INTERSECTING PARALLELS"
A Harras/Epting/Palmer Production
with Colorist: John Kalisz | Letterer: Bill Oakley
Editor: Ralph Macchio | Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

The Plot: The Avengers are rescued from the roiling East River by the Eternals Thena and Sprite. Moments later, Thunderstrike, having responded to a distress signal at Avengers Mansion, arrives with Jarvis and Quicksilver. Jarvis fills everyone in on Sersi's troubled dreams, and the Black Knight deduces that the man haunting her must be Proctor. Meanwhile, Proctor reveals his past to a captive Sersi -- he led the Avengers in another reality, where he fell in love with Sersi and became her gann josin -- until she grew bored of him and flew away, leaving him heartbroken. Proctor then dedicated his life to ridding the multiverse of all iterations of Sersi.

Back in New York, Thunderstrike, Hercules, and Sprite accompany Detective Dubois to her precinct house, where Sprite examines the stone detectives and says that Sersi was not responsible for their transmutation -- and that they are not dead. Meanwhile, at the ruined Avengers Mansion, Black Knight programs the computer with everything the Avengers know about Proctor in hopes it will find his counterpart in the prime reality. Back at Proctor's base. Sersi breaks free and attempts escape, but stumbles into the room where Proctor keeps his near-dead parallel Watcher, as well as multipe copies of Sersi from across the multiverse. One of the Gatherers, Rik, blasts Sersi and Proctor takes her away.

Hercules, Thunderstrike, and the rest return to Avengers Mansion with the restored detectives, who reveal that it was Proctor who changed them to stone. Then Proctor's imprisoned Watcher sends a psionic projection to warn the Avengers that they must stop Proctor or he will destroy reality. Meanwhile, the computer reaches its conclusion, reporting to the Black Knight that Proctor is alternate universe version of himself.

AVENGERS #373

A tale of the Mighty Avengers
"ARMAGEDDON"
Words: Harras | Pencils: Epting | Inks: Palmer
Letters: Oakley | Colors: Kalisz | Edits: Macchio | Chief: DeFalco

The Plot: Walking home from a visit to Quicksilver's doctor, Crystal, Quicksilver, and Luna arrive at Avengers mansion to find the near-destroyed building surrounded by first responders. Crystal races into the wreckage and finds the Black Knight, who says that Sersi caused the damage -- then he runs off to find her. Seconds later, Captain America, Giant-Man, Black Widow, and Hercules emerge from the rubble with detective Marta Dubois and her partner. Black Widow explains to Crystal that when Dubois attempted to arrest Sersi, she exploded with rage and flew out of the mansion. Dubois departs to find Sersi, and the Avengers head for their hanger to do the same.

Black Knight finds Sersi atop the Brooklyn Bridge, where he tries to reason with her -- but their gann josin mindmeld becomes stronger instead. Meanwhile, Jarvis and Marilla return from the market to find Quicksilver standing outside the ruined mansion. Jarvis reveals Sersi's recent troubled visions to Quicksilver. Elsewhere, Proctor speaks with a Gathered version of Jocasta, then consults with his imprisoned Watcher. Back in New York, the Avengers find Sersi and the Black Knight, but discover that they are now fully melded. The pair fights back against their teammates, picking them all off until only Crystal remains. When Crystal tries to appeal to the Black Knight, Sersi flies into a rage and prepares to kill her. This snaps the Knight out of the gann josin bond and he redirects Sersi's blast away from Crystal.

Sersi releases all her power and knocks down part of the bridge. Then, in the aftermath of her tantrum, Proctor appears to comfort her.

AVENGERS #372

"THE FOLDS GATHER"
A Harras/Epting/Tom Palmer Production
with Bill Oakley - Letterer
Editor: Ralph Macchio | Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

The Plot: In the East River, acting on a tip from a mystery man, police divers find the stone bodies of missing detectives Delgado and MacNamara. The mystery man leaves the scene and watches as an Avengers Quinjet takes off. Aboard, Vision is taking Avengers guests Deathcry, Swordsman, and Magdalene to investigate a tracking station in Scotland which recently went offline. Meanwhile, Sersi flies over New York and is observed by a group of shadowy figures. At the mansion, Black Knight undergoes a brainwave analysis with Hank Pym. But he abruptly departs when he feels Sersi in his head. The Knight finds Sersi at the waterfront, where he confronts her over being her gann josin.

Back at Avengers Mansion, Pym realizes that Black Knight's and Sersi's brainwaves are becoming more and more alike to the point that they will soon be identical. And at the waterfront, the Knight and Sersi kiss -- but their moment is interrupted by the arrival of a new group of Gatherers: Korg, Tarkas, and Sliver, with their fourth teammate, Rik, observing from a nearby rooftop. When Black Knight and Sersi gain the upper hand on their attackers, Rik blasts the pier out from under them, allowing the Gatherers to escape.

The Gatherers materialize in a Greenwich Village townhouse, where the mystery man from earlier arrives and reveals himself as their leader -- Proctor. Meanwhile, Sersi and the Black Knight return to Avengers Mansion to inform their teammates of the attack, but find the heroes conversing with detective Marta DuBois of the NYPD, who promptly places Sersi under arrest for the murder of her colleagues.