Captain Marvel is being stalked by the Avengers Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch and the Vision, who try to convince Mar-Vell that they are coming to his aid. After a brief battle, Captain Marvel is stunned by a shot fired by Rick Jones. The heroes then rush Mar-Vell to a nearby Cape Kennedy hospital where a decontamination chair is set up just for him. As Mar-Vell is plugged into it and the switch is pulled, Rick hopes for the best otherwise he's doomed his longtime friend.

We flash back to earlier in the evening: Rick Jones was giving a musical performance, when he was contacted mentally by Captain Marvel. Leaving his gig, Rick is informed by Mar-Vell that he discovered a way to get out of the Negative Zone prison that he lives in when Rick is present on Earth. He explains about seeing Mr. Fantastic's most recent adventure in the Negative Zone (from Fantastic Four #109), and learned that the Fantastic Four have a means to travel in and out of the Zone, and it may be a way to free him and Rick from their shared existence. Traveling to the Baxter Building, Rick changes places with Marvel so that the Captain can break into the Fantastic Four's headquarters and use the Negative Zone portal there to free Rick.

Mar-Vell's trespass in the FF's headquarters alerts the only available heroes to answer the alarm: Vision, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver (The FF being off on a mission, and most of the other Avengers not back from their last mission.)
Arriving at the Baxter Building, the Avengers arrive just in time to see Captain Marvel succeed in freeing Rick, however he also inadvertently releases Annihilus from the Negative Zone as well. During the battle to force Annihilus back into the Negative Zone portal, the Avengers notice that Captain Marvel has ran away, stealing one of their Quinjets in the process. They soon realize from one of Reed Richard's radiation detection devices that all the time in the Negative Zone had exposed Mar-Vell to a strange form of radiation and that they have to track him down.

Flashing forward to the present, the doctor explains that the Nega-Radiation is too strong, until the Vision suggests the very solar power from his body could maybe fight of the radiation. Setting up a device to channel that energy into Mar-Vell, the Vision aids in saving Mar-Vell's life, but the two are rendered unconcious.

Meanwhile in the Kree galaxy, Ronan the Accuser has broken into the chamber of the Supreme Intelligence in a coup attempts where he reveals to the Intelligence that his hated foe Captain Marvel is in a weakened state. Using his power, Ronan manages to revive the Kree Sentry which is being stored at Cape Kennedy. The Sentry then fights it's way into the hospital room where Mar-Vell is being kept.

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