The Defenders (Doctor Strange, Hellcat, Valkyrie,
Son of Satan, Gargoyle) return to
the Sanctum
Sanctorum to find the door unlocked. A mystery with no aura of evil leads them
to enter slowly and a mysterious figure swoops down to scatter them. Valkyrie
captures the culprit and they discover it is their teammate Nighthawk, who was
paralyzed. Strange uses the Eye of Agamotto to learn that the serum which
doubles his power at night has worked with the mystic bond that powers his life
force, to restore his abilities but as the sun rises, he becomes
paralyzed again. He panics but decides to deal with the matter rationally. Wong
then takes a phone call for Patsy from the hospital. They tell her that Dolly
Donahue is dying and she flies into a rage, attacking Gargoyle and he can only
apologize….
Daimon
Hellstrom accompanies Patsy to her mother’s grave where he picks up psychic
emanations, revealing that when Patsy’s harsh and unloving mother was on her
deathbed, she promised the demon Avarrish her daughter’s life in exchange for
being healed of her terminal cancer. Patsy cries, Daimon comforts her as best
he can….
Meanwhile,
Valkyrie is contacted by her fellow Valkyries from Asgard, asking her to return
in this time of impending war but Val declines, insisting that her life is now
centered on Earth….
Dr.
Strange gathers the Defenders to talk about their mission when he detects a
visitor incoming. A bat flies through Strange’s magic defenses and reveals
itself to be Dracula, who assaults the team members. Strange and Hellstrom
detect something amiss about the Lord of Vampires and the latter uses his
powers to cast out the demon possessing him. In his right mind again, Dracula
demands an explanation and they tell him of the Six-Fingered Hand which has
just used him to fight their battle against the Defenders. They decide to work
together, Dracula and Hellstrom forming an uneasy truce based on their words of
honor….
Dracula and the
Defenders (minus Dr. Strange who is working with Clea to locate the home
dimension of the Six-Fingered Hand) teleport to Dracula’s castle in
Transylvania where the legions of the undead, led by Alexander Gordski, servant
of the demon Puishannt, pour forth to battle. In the skirmish, Gargoyle saves
Hellcat’s life, making amends in the only way he can. Dracula finds he cannot
defeat Gordski who has the powers of Puishannt itself. The Defenders lead the
vampires up to the roof and Daimon Hellstrom advises Dracula to depart quickly.
Once Drac is gone, Hellstrom manipulates time to create a sunrise that destroys
all of the vampires—but also causes Nighthawk to lose the use of his body
again. Hellcat wants to know why Hellstrom didn’t kill Dracula along with the
rest of them; he responds that Dracula needed to know there is honor in Hell
after all.