"Men of Deadly Pride!"
Following the departure of several longtime Avengers (in the last issue), Jarvis finds himself waiting on only one resident at the mansion, the vivacious new member Tigra whom he finds to be a bit of a challenge for him. Aside from being allergic to cat-hair, Jarvis finds the flirtatious Tigra to be a jarring change from the usually more dignified former Avengers. Tigra gives the Avengers’ manservant a quick recap of her origin as the superheroine the Cat and her transformation into a feline being.
In New Jersey, the Pyms are getting ready for the first new meeting since the roster shake-up. Hank is in a particularly surly mood and is curt and belligerent towards Jan, who does her best to placate him.
As the new team assembles at the mansion, Yellowjacket’s angry attitude extends into the meeting. When Cap calls for an election to decide on a new leader, Iron-Man and Thor say they’d like him to be officially named group leader. Hank raises a fuss that he wasn’t consulted on the manner. Wasp is embarrassed and dismayed by her husband’s actions but says nothing.
Meanwhile, in a secluded vale that is shielded from outsiders by a magical spell, two beings have dwelled in isolation for ten thousand years: Linnea, the enchanted Elfqueen, and her consort, the brutish warrior Gorn. Although Linnea prefers their simple secluded life, Gorn is weary and restless for new adventures. He demands that they leave the vale and explore the world outside them.
As it turns out, the pair live in Virginia on the outskirts of Washington D.C. Gorn is perplexed by the outside world but refuses Linnea’s pleas that they return to their vale. When Gorn strikes Linnea in anger, she abruptly abandons him. Gorn is repentant but left alone. Unable to comprehend modern life on his own, he gets into a scuffle with a street gang and is then shot and killed by a police officer. When Gorn dies, Linnea returns to wreak havoc on the city.
The Avengers are alerted to the situation and are about to depart in a quinjet. Yellowjacket has an issue with his stingers, for which the Wasp offers her assistance. Hank tears into Jan right in front of the rest of the team, accusing her of throwing her money around and condescending to him. Jan runs off in tears. Yellowjacket tells the team to forget her and stomps into the quinjet. His team-mates hesitantly follow him.
In D.C., Linnea proves to be powerful enough to take on the entire team by herself. Yellowjacket is still being plagued with technical issues and can’t fire his stingers. At a critical junction, Captain America manages to overcome their language barrier and calm the Elfqueen down in order to talk to her. Yellowjacket has managed to fix his stingers and shoots a bolt into Linnea’s back. She resumes attacking the Avengers, throwing a car at him. His stingers fritz out again and he is helpless to stop the attack, but the Wasp (who has flown to D.C. on her own volition) manages to destroy it with a sting just in the nick of time to save him.
Cap realizes the Elfqueen is not truly evil and gets the team to back off. Linnea ceases her attacks, gathering up Gorn’s dead body and departing peacefully. As the story ends, the Avengers are left discussing their encounter while Yellowjacket stands off on his own, sulking bitterly.