As
the Defenders return from Ranngkasbitung to the monastery,
Daimon Hellstrom, Son of Satan, informs the abbot that the Miracle Man lost his
powers when the Darksoul fled his body and he is now the humble penitent
Brother Joshua. Hellcat tries to tell Daimon that she loves him but Daimon
stops her, saying that his place is now in the monastery but they run into one
another’s arms and he confesses his love for her….
Back at the Defenders HQ, Beast has bought a dog and named
it Sassafras; playing with the dog causes some damage to the living room but
Gargoyle and Over-Mind are able to prevent anything serious. The group is
wondering when Daimon and Patsy will come downstairs but it turns out they went
out early and now return to announce they are getting married at Patsy’s
father’s home. They plan to sell some land Daimon owns to get the money for
their new start in California. Patsy plans to write a book and Daimon will
resume his job as occult investigator. Everyone is delighted but Dolly Donahue
looks shocked and Valkyrie is very cold. Patsy shoos the men out of the room
and asks Dolly what is wrong; Dolly is afraid of Daimon but the real reason is
that Daimon is taking Patsy away. Patsy assures Dolly she is closer than a
mother to her and explains that Patsy is taking her with them. Patsy then turns
to Val—who has left quietly, flying off on Aragorn. Dolly suggests that as
Patsy is Val’s closest friend and now she’s leaving to get married so naturally
Val feels hurt. Patsy and Dolly rejoin the men….
At his Sanctum Sanctorum, Doctor Strange is interrupted by
Wong, informing him that Sub-Mariner and Hulk (with Bruce Banner’s brain) have
arrived in response to Strange’s summons—but Strange sent no summons. Then the
Silver Surfer arrives—ditto. Elf with a Gun enters, reveals he sent the
messages—and fires a single shot with his odd gun….
The next day, Patsy and Daimon say goodbye to their
friends and depart in a taxi. Patsy is upset that Val wasn’t there but then she
spots Val on a rooftop saying, “Fare thee well.” Hours later, Beast discovers his new dog has
made a mess on the carpet and at the same time the doorbell rings, revealing a
mail carrier with fifteen bags of fan mail for Beast forwarded from Avengers
Mansion. The doorbell rings a second time and Beast opens the door to be hit
with a spear of ice, courtesy of the old pal, Bobby “Iceman” Drake….
Valkyrie is in her room brooding over her romantic follies
with Namor who may have simply reminded her of Thor and Harokin. Then a bright
light shines in the room and she jumps up, drawing Dragonfang, only to see the
visage of Odin the All-Father, summoning her back to Asgard. As Gargoyle and
Dolly rush in they see Val streaking out of the window on her way home….
Later as Gargoyle takes a bubble bath, Hank and Bobby sit
in the room as Bobby explains how life has been a bit stressful lately so he
decided to look up his funniest pal, Hank, “Beast” McCoy. And while they are
pretending to be serious suddenly the two ex-X-Men race each other down the
stairs only to collide with Over-Mind. Introductions are made and Over-Mind mentions
that they are all going out for dinner and could he join them, surprising Bobby
by being very humble for a giant guy….
They gather at a restaurant and suddenly Hank’s girlfriend
Vera Cantor walks in with some friends and he remembers they were supposed to
go out on a date that evening. He stammers some excuses but they all come down
to him forgetting about her so she breaks up with him. Over-Mind asks Beast to
verbalize his feelings and it comes out that he left the X-Men to find his
purpose but ended up in the Avengers, another team. Bobby feels similarly,
enjoying his time with the X-Men and the Champions; Hank agrees but the
Defenders is a non-team, which annoys him. Dolly tells him that if he wants the
Defenders to be a real team, then make it one. He ponders that while Isaac and
Dolly dance, Isaac unfurling his wings to give the dance some flair. Isaac
proposes a toast to friendship and better days, while Beast is still pondering
a team….