In an arctic wasteland, Helen "Jolt" Takahama struggles to keep Erik "Atlas" Josten, a member of the Thunderbolts, alive despite the frigid temperature. Desperate, she uses a blast of electricity to restart Josten's heart, which gives him the strength to stand. He says they have to get back to base to protect the Thunderbolts. Takahama warns him that he can barely stand and certainly can't fight, but Josten says he'll try nonetheless.
As they walk, Josten confirms that Takahama's electricity isn't really hurting him and then asks how Takahama returned to Earth. She says that managed to point her signal to Earth eventually, though it took a while, and then asks why Josten is in the arctic. Josten says that the Thunderbolts had a hiding spot in New Mexico but were found, so the sentient cosmic cube Kobik (who is temporarily part of the team) teleported their base up to the arctic. Before Josten can fully explain Kobik, however, Takahama sees something and screams. Josten looks in the same direction and is stunned to see Kobik, screaming, hovering over the remains of the Thunderbolts' base and blasting the entire area with lightning and flying rocks.
In the base, Thunderbolts member Abner "Mach-X" Jenkins yells that Kobik has gone berserk, and Master of Evil (and original Thunderbolts leader) Helmut Zemo says that children are annoying and he needs to find Bucky "Winter Soldier" Barnes, another Thunderbolt. At that moment, Kobik summons Barnes and he falls to the ground, causing Zemo to eagerly attack him. He warns Barnes that he won't be able to run away anymore but Barnes says he's decided to stay and fight so as to clean up Zemo's mess. Meanwhile, two other Thunderbolts members (Bert "Fixer" Ebersol and Karla "Moonstone" Sofen) debate whose side to take.
Jenkins and another Thunderbolt, Melissa "Songbird" Gold, square off with the Wrecking Crew (Brian "Piledriver" Calusky, Dirk "Wrecker" Garthwaite, Henry "Bulldozer" Camp, and Eliot "Thunderball" Franklin. Jenkins knocks back Calusky and Camp, and though Garthwaite lands a hit on him, Jenkins manages to blast him back as well. Jenkins yells that Zemo will never share the power of the cosmic cube; he's simply using the Wrecking Crew until he gets what he wants. Franklin says that the Thunderbolts betrayed Zemo and Calusky adds that he'd rather serve Zemo than Barnes, who he thinks of as just Steve "Captain America" Rogers' dumb sidekick. Franklin then smashes Gold with one of his wrecking balls and she groans that her ribs are broken, leading Garthwaite to smirkingly note that there's only one Thunderbolt still fighting them.
Meanwhile, Josten and Takahama try to confront Kobik but she just keeps screaming and raking the area with lightning. Zemo's own team, the Masters of Evil, are caught up in the storm. Anton "Whiplash" Vanko manages to lash himself to some rubble before being drawn up into its vortex and Kathrina "Man-Killer" Van Horn grabs his leg to save herself, but he kicks her loose so she doesn't pull him away too, and she's drawn up into Kobik's vortex where she's blasted into pieces by lightning.
Josten grows in size and tries to calm Kobik while Takahama blasts another member of the Masters of Evil, Todd "Tiger Shark" Arliss, who nears them. Josten manages to catch Kobik in a magic ball, but she screams that she hates everyone and wants them all to leave even as Josten keeps trying to calm her. Ebersol notes that Kobik's fit could literally unravel reality while Sofen tries to blast any rubble that's flung in their direction by the storm. Ebersol muses that he might be able to build a gun which can stop Kobik and Sofen screams for him to hurry up already.
Franklin, Camp, and Calusky beat down Jenkins and shred his armor. Garthwaite approaches the wounded Gold and prepares to beat her to death with a crowbar, but he's attacked by a superpowered individual named Ghost and struck down. Ghost muses that he just wants to hack Ebersol's computers and steal all his data, which means he needs to stop the Masters of Evil from destroying everything.
Barnes and Zemo battle and argue, with Zemo screaming that Barnes took his team, his cube, and his friendship with Rogers, but now Barnes at last is inferior to him. Barnes says that everything Zemo just said is a lie, and he blasts Zemo with fire. Sofen approaches and asks if she can finish the fight. Barnes begs her not to actually kill Zemo, but she clarifies that she was talking to Zemo and stuns Barnes with a powerful blast in the back. Zemo laughs as Sofen says that Kobik is too powerful to be allowed to run rampant; if they can't control her they must destroy her. Ebersol, carrying his new anti-Kobik gun, is stunned but Sofen says that he knows she is right. Barnes murmurs that Kobik isn't evil and they can fix things, but Takahama shouts that Kobik is surrounded by too much energy and is completely out of control. Zemo orders Ebersol to take the shot. Barnes begs him not to but Ebersol shoots anyways, blasting Kobik. A huge explosion rocks the area and Kobik moans that she just wanted everyone to be happy. She then says she loves them and shatters.
Zemo takes advantage of Barnes' distraction to knock him out with a blow to the head. Meanwhile, Sofen says they should be dead but Ebersol says that Kobik used the last of her energy to shield them. Zemo tells them to just show him the cube already, and Ebersol says that he made a slight miscalculation: instead of reverting Kobik back into a cube, his gun shattered her and scattered the pieces all over the arctic. Zemo orders him to find the pieces and says that Sofen should join his team as well; she agrees. Zemo then turns to the wrecking crew and asks everybody else's status. Garthwaite says that Jenkins, Gold, and Ghost died when the building collapsed under Kobik's final explosion. When Josten digs himself out of the rubble Zemo thanks him for using his cell phone as that led him, Zemo, to the Thunderbolts' base. He then says that Josten is still on his side after all and orders him to carry Barnes away with them. He pauses for a moment, then does so. Zemo, the Thunderbolts he's recruited, the Wrecking Crew, Barnes, and the surviving Masters of Evil teleport out.
Later, Gold drags herself out of the snow but can't find Jenkins. She sobs for a few moments before forcing herself to leave. A few moments after that, Ghost phases out of the snow and finds Takahama, who is tiny now that she's burned out most of her energy. He takes her and walks away.
Tropes:
- An Arm and a Leg: Van Horn loses an arm when she's blasted by lightning and killed.
- Enfant Terrible: Kobik is a sweet and adorable child, but her tantrum threatens to literally unmake reality.
