The male Champions
(Hercules, Angel, Iceman, Ghost Rider) are trapped in a metal vault by
Darkstar’s Darkfield, with Titanium Man and Crimson Dynamo for backup. The
heroes awaken and fight back and Darkstar becomes too tired to hold up the
field any longer so the three baddies teleport away. Herc tears open one of the
metal walls to reveal earth—they are underground. But Herc’s actions trigger an
earth tremor. The villains appear on a visual scan informing them that they
have been buried in the San Andreas Fault; any violent action on their part
could trigger an earthquake. Herc throws himself at the screen, causing another
tremor. They try to explain the danger to the entire state to Herc but he
doesn’t get it; Ghost Rider blasts him with Hellfire to stop him but Herc sees
this as GR revealing he is an enemy….
The baddies return
to their plane, piloted by Griffin, with Black Widow, Ivan Petrovich, and
Alexei Bruskin in chains. Yuri Petrivich confronts his father, reminding him of
his crimes in an extended flashback. Scientist Ivan was bribed to defect to the
West but he refused. Their car was ambushed, Ivan’s wife was killed, and his
son Yuri kidnapped. The boy was raised by the Americans as a secret agent while
they tried to brainwash him to hate his home country. Yuri was able to contact
the Soviets who rescued him and he learned his father had defected, making him
a traitor. But Alexei Bruskin tells Yuri the truth: his captors were Russian
agents posing as Americans to instill a hatred of the West and his father—and
Bruskin was in charge of the operation. Crimson Dynamo and Titanium Man were outside
the plane fighting Air Force jets and didn’t hear this last bit. Yuri won’t
listen and hits Natasha; Darkstar tries to force him to listen and he blasts
her. Darkstar then sends a bolt of dark energy to free the Champions imprisoned
in the fault. Natasha fights the Dynamo and then disables the plane’s controls;
Griffin brings them down offshore, near a waiting Soviet sub. The male
Champions arrive in a jet borrowed from an Air Force base and they battle the
baddies on the sub’s deck. To atone for his past crimes, Bruskin, shot by a
Russian sailor, drops a grenade in the conning tower and dies. Herc clobbers
Titanium Man, Darkstar turns against Yuri, Iceman and Ghost Rider pool their
attacks to take down Griffin. Darkstar asks Ivan what to do with Yuri but he no
longer cares about his son so she lets him go free. Darkstar takes them all
home, including the captive Griffin and T-Man. But Ivan won’t explain why he
let the Dynamo go free, leading Ghost Rider to wonder if they can make it as a
team, keeping secrets from one another….