In
the wake of the disaster in the subway tunnel, Police Lieutenant Kris Keating
is yelling at Hellcat as various Defenders for a Day skulk off and the cops
apprehend several villains. Hellcat appears contrite, Hercules has a headache,
and Keating says he will send a bill for damages to the Defenders, as their
address was at the end of the documentary. Patsy hops in her Hellcatmobile and
opens the letter delivered by Iron Man (issue #63), discovering it is from
Millie the Model. She heads over to see her old friend….
In
the Soviet Union, Red Guardian (Tanya Belinsky) is locked up, her body now of
sheer nuclear energy and thus a danger to her country. The leaders inform her
that the Presence/Sergei has entered the Forbidden Zone and reactivated the
giant amoeba; with her new situation, she is the only one who can approach him
safely. She agrees to the mission and is freed from her cell remotely and flies
off to the Zone. There she discovers that the Presence has been swallowed by
his creation, the amoeba. She fights the creature, achieving nothing until she
targets the nucleus and then it seizes her and pulls her inside….
Nighthawk
and Valkyrie return to HQ and she is still dizzy from her spell of madness last
issue. She snaps at NH so he excuses himself and paints a sign for the porch
telling prospective Defenders to go away. Val goes crazy again, attacking a
horse trough; he pushes her into the water which seems to bring her to her
senses before she faints. NH decides to get her professional help….
Hellcat
visits Glamor Models, Inc., the modelling agency run by her old friend
Millicent “Millie the Model” Collins. Millie doesn’t recognize her until she
unmasks. Millie shows off her flashy business and asks Patsy if she wants to
come back and model for her. Patsy’s life, however, has gone in too different a
direction and she is no longer the bright and carefree girl Millie knew so she
must decline….
Within
the amoeba, Sergei sees Tanya trapped and he makes his way slowly to her,
believing they are doomed. But then he remembers an earlier moment and clasps
her hand so that their combined power enables them to escape. He professes his
love for her and kisses her, which revives her. Together they fight the giant
amoeba and, merging into one, they are able to destroy the nucleus and with it
the entire amoeba, ending its threat. They decide to settle down in the
Forbidden Zone, so as not to endanger the rest of the world….
Dollar Bill and Ledge hang out at Professor Turk’s weird apartment. Ledge, just out of
the hospital, excuses himself to go study. Bill asks Turk if he knows how he
can get back into the Defenders’ good graces. Turk says he’ll try….
At
the HQ, Valkyrie stares into the fireplace and recalls fighting battles and
being confronted by a mysterious foe. Nighthawk meets Hellcat outside where
they catch up on the status of the new Defenders. Suddenly there is a flash
from inside the house. Patsy and Kyle rush in to find Val gone, with a note
saying they will never see her again….