Elf with a Gun, or one of them anyway, introduces this tale by showing us the
original Defenders, Doctor Strange, Hulk, Sub-Mariner, and Silver Surfer, lost
in the time steam and battered about. The Elf returns to the Tribunal, boasting
of his cleverness in trapping the heroes. Time-Buoy Number 6-C a/k/a Luann
Bloom accuses the Tribunal of being the real villains so an Elf flicks her
“off” switch. Elf is rebuked for his humor by the Tribunal…
Beast,
Iceman, and Gargoyle are flying in a Quinjet, Bobby nervous about being
co-pilot. Beast reads his mail and find someone is offering him $3000 to
lecture at a college. But he takes his hands off the controls, leaving Bobby at
the helm and they go into a steep dive before landing on a lawn in Leonia, New
Jersey. A group of kids rush over and are thrilled to see Beast and Gargoyle;
Bobby turns on his Iceman guise but the kids still haven’t heard of him. As he
shows off for them, Wanda “Scarlet Witch” Maximoff, mistaking it for an enemy
attack, dashes out and hexes him. After explanations, Wanda and Vision invite
them inside, leaving the kids alone to ponder what they have seen….
In
a nearby house gather three weird members of the Secret Empire: Cloud who is a
sentient cloud in human form, the albino Seraph who can read minds and induce
pleasurable feelings in others, and Harridan, an old witch who can drain
people’s energy with her hands. They have been assigned by the Empire’s Number
One to capture Vision. Harridan looks forward to killing Gargoyle and Beast but
Seraph tells her not to go beyond orders. The angry Harridan tries to drain
Seraph’s life force but Seraph manipulates the crone’s pleasure centers,
causing her to collapse in bliss. Then they go to work….
In
limbo, the Defenders spy a bit of solid ground with an Elf waving them over. An
enraged Namor tries to kill him but the others calm him down as the Elf is
their only way out of there. Silver Surfer deduces they are somehow in Time
itself, as they walk through the ghosts of a million days. Elf leads them down
a Time-Slide to their next stop….
Interlude:
Valkyrie arrives in Asgard where Odin tells her he is pleased with what he has
seen of her in Midgard. He has a task that only she can handle and to that end,
he introduces Val to Moondragon….
Dinner
at the Wanda-Vision home goes well, Hank asking Vision if he misses his
superhero days as they wash the dishes. Vision says he does not, enjoying the
quiet domestic life. But then Cloud invades the house, striking Vision with
lightning; Wanda zaps her, knocking her out. Harridan blasts Gargoyle with her
Deathstaff and Seraph demands Vision surrender. Iceman encases the two women in
an ice block but Seraph can easily shatter it. Cloud revives and chokes Wanda
into unconsciousness. Beast and Iceman attack Harridan who seizes one neck in
each hand and drains their lifeforce, causing them to age. Seraph subdues
Vision by making him happy and then she forces Harridan to release Hank and Bobby
before they are dead, which allows them to recover. Gargoyle, who is too
powerful to be harmed by the Deathstaff, then blasts Cloud and Seraph and when
Harridan tries to drain his energy, he reveals he is immortal and the feedback
knocks her out. Isaac revives his friends and Hank contacts SHIELD to come and
get the villainous trio….
Elf
brings the original Defenders down to a desolate Earth, informing them that
this is the mid-24th century—and that they caused the disaster….