At the Sanctum
Sanctorum, Doctor Strange and Clea watch their houseguest Hulk play with toys
like a child. Nighthawk arrives and Strange can tell he is upset. Kyle
confesses to an incident the previous night which served to remind him he is a
shallow spoiled rich boy and a failure as a superhero. As they talk, suddenly
all of reality vanishes (shown by a completely white panel). Then it happens
again but this time it leaves Dr. Strange in a coma, the universe shining
through his eyes…
…while Dr. Strange’s
astral form has been pulled out of his body and is floating through the realm
of Eternity. Eternity meets Strange and explains his predicament. Big E was
lonely so it created several mortal bodies, each imbued with a bit of its
consciousness, scattered all over the universe to experience every sort of
activity and emotion. It then recalled them all and they merged with their
source—but three did not return. Eternity wants Strange to locate and return
them and he has eight hours to do it in or all of reality comes to an end….
Dr. Strange returns and
quickly explains the matter to the others. He then contacts several former Defenders
asking for help: Valkyrie, Hellcat, Silver Surfer, Sub-Mariner, and the
Son of Satan; only the Surfer begs off as he is too depressed after a recent adventure
with Hulk. The Cauldron of the Cosmos reveals the last known locations of the
missing persons so Strange divides the Defenders in teams of two to track down
the vanished children, while he and Clea try to keep Eternity alive….
Hellcat and Daimon
Hellstrom are sent to a Hindu temple in India where they are attacked by the
worshippers. They vanquish their foes and discover they were mistaken for the
minions of the monkey-god Hanuman who carried off their guru, Sai Avand. The
two heroes go off and defeat Hanuman in battle and are directed to an ornate
building in the distance…
Hulk and Nighthawk arrive
at a Russian village near the Arctic Circle under attack by snow monsters. The
heroes vanquish them and are told of a little boy who was carried off and his
parents want him back. Kyle decides to table the matter of informing them their
little boy is an emanation of Eternity and not coming back. They head north and
fight freezing cold when they spy an ice palace and head there…
Namor and Valkyrie show
up at a small Greek island where they fight security guards until the fracas is
halted by the wife of shipping magnate Socrates Carvopolis, explaining that her
husband was carried off by a harpy and she wants him back. Namor tells her that
he is already dead, to spare her hopes being dashed when he doesn’t return. The
heroes head north, fighting the sea monster Glaucus and a harpy, until they
reach a cave; entering they see it has elaborate carvings inside. They open a
huge door…
…and all three teams of
heroes find they are in the same empty space, where the three missing persons
stand together in the center and explain how they chose not to return because
they prefer to die when the universe ends than go back to the sterile existence
of Eternity. The Defenders try to force them back but their foes are too
powerful: Daimon’s attacks are thrown back on him, Hulk is tricked into
knocking out Valkyrie before he dozes off and reverts to Bruce Banner,
Nighthawk is likewise put to sleep, Namor is vanquished by extreme heat, and
Hellcat is made to see her own mother attacking her. Dr. Strange’s astral form
revives Kyle who delivers an impassioned speech that true humanity involves
self-sacrifice. This convinces the three “children” to return to their source
and the universe is saved….
Strange uses this
incident to convince Kyle that he is not a failure as a superhero but Kyle
admits he was only thinking of the Russian couple whose son is not coming
back….