The
blind Angel and convalescing Cloud go for a trip through the skies as part of
their recovery program. As they return to the Aerie, Warren asks Cloud to
materialize in her male form so as not to make Candy Southern jealous. They
land, Candy puts a jumpsuit on the naked Cloud and they go into the house.
Candy suggests they add some power to the Defenders roster and suddenly Thor
arrives, honored to join the team and he is followed by Hulk, dressed in a
tattered suit and acting as Thor’s lawyer. Then the two Avengers vanish and
Beast turns out to have been manipulating the holograms of the security system
as a joke. Johnny Blaze and Roxanne Simpson also take their leave with Bobby
presenting Blaze with a tee-shirt that reads, “The New Defenders Weirdo’s
Auxiliary.” The others go in to breakfast….
A
few nights later, Andrea McPhee and her boyfriend Tony visit a popular
nightclub and she confesses she isn’t used to such things. Then a celebrity
arrives, a flashy party guy called Hotspur, who calls for dancing so Andrea and
Tony hit the floor with many others. After awhile, Andrea notices that many
dancers have slashes on their faces and hands and rips in their clothes…and
then she spots Hotspur’s hand, wearing a glove with razor-sharp talons,
striking at everyone who comes near him. And then he slashes Tony’s cheek and
she draws a knife and goes after Hotspur, who dodges agilely and welcomes the
fun. A space in the center of the dance floor opens for them and he continues
to dodge her attacks but tears her dress when she is distracted—but the claws are
broken off his glove. She drives him backwards out of the club and into the
street and in panic flames shoot from his eyes and mouth burning Andrea as
Hotspur mounts a waiting horse and rides away, calling farewell and expressing
his delight in the evening. She notes that she is unmarked by the flames and
Tony finds her. He has no memory of anything unusual happening so she suggests
they go home….
At
Defenders Mansion, Angel’s retinas are scanned and sent to a doctor at a
distant hospital. He studies them and informs the team there is nothing more he
can do for Warren, being unsure how to diagnose and treat a mutant. He suggests
they consult his colleague in New York. So the entire team gets ready to travel
east while General Argyle Fist expresses his desire that they remain in New
Mexico until the troubles are straightened out. Barring that, he sends
Specialist Nancy Turpin with them as liaison….
In
New York, they all crowd into a limousine and head to the Sanctum Sanctorum.
They are greeted by Wong who tells them that Doctor Strange is away but they
are welcome to stay. They meet Strange’s secretary Sara Wolfe. They are each
assigned rooms and some settle in quickly, others feel uneasy, and Beast is
fascinated by Strange’s arcane library. Cloud is unable to sleep, concerned
that if the Defenders disband, she would have nowhere to go. Nancy Turpin
startles her in the dark, removing her wig to reveal her true identity (Seraph,
but not revealed to the reader until next issue)….
Later,
Valkyrie knocks on the doors, gathering the Defenders, but Gargoyle cannot be
found; the danger is too great and imminent to waste time calling the Avengers
as she leads the team out to Central Park where they come upon a band of people
dancing naked around a huge bonfire as Hotspur rides up on a horse, flogging
the revelers with a whip. Val leads the Defenders to battle while Hotspur
invites them to join the fun. He spews fire on Val and she recognizes it as
Muspel-Flame. He pours the fire on one after another of the heroes, burning and
mocking each one. He draws a sword and hacks one of Val’s braids off before
skewering her. Beast leaps upon him but Hotspur hurls him away, leaving Beast
laughing. Iceman and Cloud are hesitant but a new combatant arrives: Andrea
McPhee, in armor and wielding a trident, introduces herself as Andromeda and
challenges the villain to fight….
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