Archangel and Iceman (the latter
in an airship) arrive in Houston, Texas, and encounter a swarm of insects that
overwhelm them. Warren with his metal wings is able to force them away but they
infiltrate the ship, burning out the engine so Warren must rescue Bobby as the
ship goes to its destruction. Bobby assumes his Iceman form and they continue…
…to the supercollider where
Giant-Man and Iron Fist are also fighting insects as Hank uses his cybernetic
helmet to try to force the bugs away, as R.G. Mathieson is secretly planning to
have the area nuked if no better solution can be found. Then Hank is informed
that the supercollider is already online and realizes he must contact the
intelligence behind the insect attack….
Underground, Shadowoman discovers
Dr. Druid and Cadaver are prisoners of Swarm, who has detected Pym’s attempts
to attack him. SW turns invisible to the bad guy and contacts Druid who advises
her to create a trans-temporal null-space which frees Cadaver who then starts
to work trying to free Druid….
Back in the supercollider, Hank
sets his cybernetic helmet to overload, causing a sub-harmonic pulse to injure
the insects and their leader…
..and SW takes advantage of
Swarm’s confusion to increase it with a zone of null-perception, as Druid is
finally freed….
As the insects regroup for another
attack, Iceman and Archangel arrive to lend aid to Pym and Iron Fist. The
latter collapses from having fought off the bugs with his chi last issue.
Iceman freezes the bugs and the heroes make their plans….
Interlude: On a highway near
Omaha, Nebraska, a hitchhiker stand, waiting for a ride. Two men in a sports
car zoom by, the hitcher gestures and the hot rod breaks down. As the two young
men investigate the problem, the mystery man offers to help and asks for a ride
to Boston….
As Swarm challenges the Defenders,
Dr. Druid uses his mystic powers to divine the location of Cadaver’s missing
Sword of Bone and then he employs telekinesis to bring the weapon and put it in
Cadaver’s hand and he begins chopping the hive apart….
Giant-Man, Archangel, and Iceman
face the supercollider but they are attacked by more bugs. Iceman tells the
other two to don environment suits as he intends to freeze the bugs out of the
machine. Outside, Iron Fist, Mathieson and the others await the outcome…and
then Hank and the two X-Men break through the wall to announce the
supercollider has been neutralized, ending the danger of the destruction of all
human technology. But it does not end the threat of the insects….
Cadaver’s digging leads Druid and
Shadowoman to the surface, thinking the bugs could not have survived…but Swarm
reforms before them, proving his superiority to Mankind. So Dr. Druid asks
reasonably, if the insect victory is inevitable, why is he wasting resources
attack the humans when he can just wait for the human race to destroy itself.
Swarm finds this makes sense, so he goes home to think about it….
Hank, Danny and the two X-Men
discover the crater to the hive and wonder what went on. Professor X contacts
Archangel and Iceman, demanding to know what they are doing in Texas, they
claim he sent them, he denies it and orders them back home. Iron Fist suspects
Earth has some secret defenders….
The Defenders head home, Mathieson
informing them that the supercollider will be transformed into a park, while
the others wonder whether Swarm will be back….
Excelsioring your collection