After
the destruction of their New York brownstone, the Defenders have decamped to
Angel’s Aerie in the Rocky Mountains in New Mexico to get over the experience.
Moondragon meditates, Angel broods, Beast grumbles, Gargoyle works, Iceman
contemplates suicide while Dolly Donahue tries to care for them all. Beast
loses his temper and throws his ruined VCR and STAR TREK tapes across the room,
toppling the boxes Isaac is carrying and they threaten to crush Dolly. Bobby
and Warren switch to hero mode and save her. Isaac looks on the bright side
that they only lost one little fight but Hank goes into agonizing detail about
the disaster. Moondragon emerges from her meditation to call the human race
pathetic which prompts Beast to point out that she has been exiled to Earth for
some pathetic deeds of her own, while also being human. They begin a quarrel
and Gargoyle seeks to distract them by asking Moondragon about Cloud’s history,
which she reveals with ill grace….
Meanwhile,
at Secret Empire’s HQ, Professor Power tries to win Cloud’s cooperation with a
combination of friendliness and threats. We then learn her history: She lived
with her parents on an isolated farm until Secret Empire agents arrived and
killed her parents while Seraph carried her off. Power explains that he did not
intend for her parents to die and apologizes; Cloud does not accept that
apology in light of all the bad things he subsequently did to her and
transforms into a storm cloud. Power signals a henchman who turns on a
null-field which enders her powerless and he changes his plans for her….
Moondragon
finishes her account of Cloud’s history, rebuking the team for doing nothing to
help her. Beast asks why the robots that captured her did not then kill the
Defenders and MD insults him but his response is overshadowed by the arrival of
Valkyrie on Aragorn. The guys are impressed by her person and she tells them
they need to meet their enemies head on. But they don’t know where to find
them…but Moondragon does know where the Secret Empire stronghold lies, gleaned
from Cloud’s memories, and she can lead them there. Hank dislikes her use of
the word “lead” and rebukes her; she responds with a mental blast that makes
him act like a stupid little monkey. And then Odin’s headband punishes her for
misusing her powers and Hank is released from the spell. Warren and Bobby
express their sympathy but Moondragon rejects it, insisting they get to work….
The
Defenders head east in a borrowed Quinjet, contacting Nick Fury who promises
backup from SHIELD…and then communication is cut off and they crash into an
invisible force field around the mountain stronghold. The heroes escape but the
Quinjet is ruined. The heroes each employ their special powers against a single
spot on the field and Moondragon dismisses their efforts and breaks through the
barrier with her own mental blast. They enter and are confronted by a horde of
Secret Empire soldiers pouring out of a cave. There’s a melee battle then the
enemy retreats, the Defenders follow—to confront a wall of spears which
Moondragon easily smashes through. Then they are fired upon with lasers and
Iceman protects them with an ice shield overhead. Then they are attacked by
Mad-Dog, Seraph, Harridan, and the Mutant Force and the battle is a little more
evenly matched. The heroes notice that they are growing tired and dizzy, even
Gargoyle who never gets tired. They pursue the baddies into the cave and
confront Leviathan who clobbers them all immediately….
When
the heroes awaken, they find Professor Power lecturing them on how he had
prepared a trap for them, equipping his soldiers with a device that steadily
sapped their strength and now they are under his control, wearing nullifier
jackets to dampen their powers. His big goal has been to destroy Charles Xavier,
whom Power accuses of having destroyed Power’s son Matthew’s mind. He had
intended to kill all of the X-Men as retribution but now he has modified his
scheme. Now the New Defenders will kill Xavier’s New Mutants and then he can
initiate Project: Sublimation, to rule the world….
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