Continuing
the path they were set on by Yandroth’s curse, the Order is putting the finishing
touches on the defeat of the villain known as Locust. Gray Hulk plans to
entertain himself by thawing out some of Red Raven’s female subjects as sex
slaves. The others find this unacceptable so Doctor Strange and Silver Surfer
combine their powers to blast him into unconsciousness. Hulk wakes up in a
magic prison, swearing revenge against the others. Strange proposes seeking
another incarnation of the Hulk, one not so difficult to work with. Strange
uses his new amulet, the Star of Capistan, to dismiss Gray Hulk but what they
get is the familiar Green Hulk….
At
their new headquarters in the Manhattan mansion of the Parringtons, the
Defenders, Nighthawk, Hellcat, Valkyrie (Samantha Parrington, whose parents
have opened their home to the adventurers), supplemented with She-Hulk, Clea,
and Namorita, Papa Hagg snowboards in with a solution to the problem of finding
a female analogue to the Silver Surfer. He explains the plan, the others agree
to it but Mrs. Parrington questions why they would want to stop the Order when
they are doing so much good, leading their daughter to explain the nature of
tyranny. And so they teleport off….
At
the Order’s floating citadel on Sky Island, Green Hulk is giving his allies a
lot of trouble. When he grips Sub-Mariner by the neck, Strange and the Surfer
cast their spell again and this time they get the Professor Hulk, who is aware
of the situation and willingly joins them. They all repair to their individual
quarters for some rest…
…as
the Defenders watch from nearby, ready to put the plan into action. Clea casts
a spell to shield them from Dr. Strange’s mystic perceptions and they seize the
sleeping Surfer and Clea stabs him with a mystic dagger and, with a special
spell, the Surfer bleeds light which forms into a golden woman, his female
reflection. She introduces herself as Ardina and, once they explain that she
was created to help subdue four heroes who have gone mad, assents to the plan.
But the rest of the Order has arrived and a fight breaks out, each man battling
his female counterpart. Surfer blasts Ardina into Hellcat and Nighthawk,
seriously injuring them. Clea denounces her husband for his wickedness so
Strange responds by teleporting the Defenders across the dimensional gulf at
random. Meanwhile, a shadowy being materializes on the throne at the center of
their lair and Papa Magg waits to see if the Earth lives or dies….