Defenders

“How long’s this gonna take?” The voice of the red Hulk carried a definite undertone of annoyance as he stood beside the fireplace of the large, ornately-furnished living room. As of late, the Sanctum Sanctorum had been far more lively than the dead silence that currently hung in the air.

“Patience, Hulk.” The voice belonged to Wong, the keeper of the Sanctum, who fulfilled that role at the moment by resting a tray with three cups of tea on the center coffee table. He took the largest cup from the tray and offered it to the crimson behemoth, who just snorted in derision. Wong returned the cup to the platter.

“The mysterious being whom absconded with our fellows no doubt has some degree of powerful magicks at his command. Ferreting out the scoundrel will likely take some time.” The Valkyrie sat on the couch, looking a bit out of place with the Asgardian battle armor she was clad in. She offered a smile to the Chinese man as he handed her a cup of tea. “My thanks, kind Wong.”

Wong returned the smile and offered a light bow. He took the third cup and handed it to the final Defender in the room. Although he resembled an alien being with a strange, bald head, glowing red eyes, and pale, green skin, the mind in control of the body of the Sleepwalker belonged to a young man named Rick Sheridan.

“Thanks,” he said. “All of this is starting to get a little out of control, if you ask me.”

“Nobody asked you,” said the Hulk.

Sleepwalker frowned. “I’m just saying. Seems like we keep going from one crisis to the next. It’s a bit much for me. I can’t help feeling a little helpless here.”

“So go,” said the Hulk. “No one’s stoppin’ you. We ain’t got time for some piss-ant rookie who can’t hack it with the big boys.”

Sleepwalker set down his cup. “S’cuse me? Since when are you the big expert? Nobody’d even heard of you until a few months ago!”

“I’ve been around,” said the Hulk. “Just ‘cause you didn’t know me before I got Hulked-out don’t mean shit.”

Sleepwalker fixed his gaze on the Hulk. Even with his powers, he knew there was probably no way he’d be able to stand up to irradiated beast. Was it even worth it to stay around here anymore? When he agreed to join the Defenders, it was because Strange said he believed they had all been gathered for a higher purpose. But given the Sorcerer Supreme’s questionable actions as of late, Rick wasn’t sure he believed that any more.

“To hell with you,” he said. “To hell with all of you. I’ve got better things to do with my time.”

“Hold, my friend,” said the Valkyrie, but Sleepwalker had already made his way to the door.

The Hulk just huffed. “Let ‘im go, Val. Not like he was much use to begin with.”

Doctor Stephen Strange hovered with his legs in the lotus position. His arms were held to the side and bent at the elbows, outstretched fingers pointed towards the ceiling. The Sorcerer Supreme’s eyes were shut, but the amulet that served as the clasp for his red and gold cape crackled with mystic energy in the shape of a large eye over it.

After the mysterious appearance of the Scarlet Centurion, who just as quickly absconded off with their teammates, Strange was surprised to discover that he could not trace the Centurion’s location. Even now as he scanned the various dimensional barriers through the Eye of Agamotto, he could find no trace of his allies.

The situation raised many questions, the most obvious one being who exactly is this Scarlet Centurion? In the past, the identity had been used by both Nathaniel Richers and Marcus Kang. Beyond that, was it the Centurion who was capable of blocking Strange’s sight, or was there something more at work? The mysterious visions he received through tarot cards that preceded this new team of Defenders coming together, his relative indifference to the rampage of the green Hulk in Seattle, and his inability to discern the true nature of the mysterious being called the Sentry who was currently in a comatose state.

Strange was beginning to doubt his abilities, suspecting far more dangerous afoot. Because for whatever reason, he still could not locate his teammates.

A golden sphere hovered in the midst of a vast expanse of nothingness. Extending from the sphere were three arms, each of which held a platform. On one platform stood the Defenders captured by the Scarlet Centurion—Hellstorm, the Scarlet Spider, Starlight and Devil-Slayer.

“What’s the meaning of this?” demanded Hellstorm. “Where did the Centurion go? Does he think he can capture the Prince of Lies and survive the day?”

Starlight hovered over the group, looking around the abyss. “It seems he simply transported us here. But for what purpose?”

“For that matter, where exactly is ‘here’?” asked the Devil-Slayer.

“Dunno, but I’m getting a sense of Hell deja vu.” The Scarlet Spider could feel Hellstorm’s eyes on him at that comment and he quickly issued an amendment. “I mean Hell-ish.”

“Look!” Starlight pointed to a platform which just moments ago was empty, but now housed four individuals. And those four apparently noticed the Defenders as well, because a mechanically-altered voice acknowledged their presence.

As if on cue, the platforms moved close enough so the two groups were not only within earshot, but also clear view and enabled for easier communication. The familiar red and gold armor of Iron Man was easily identified. Beside him was a man clad in the red, white, and blue uniform of Captain America, albeit slightly modified. He even held the classic shield, but his coffee-colored skin was the clearest indication that this was not Steve Rogers. An African woman was present as well, with ivory tresses and dressed in a black and gold outfit complete with a cape. Crouched at her side was a demonic-looking being with dark blue fur, yellow eyes, pointed tail, and dressed in red and black. Storm and Nightcrawler, long associated with the X-Men.

“Avengers.” Hellstorm said the team name with a detectable amount of disdain.

“And you are…?” asked Iron Man. He gave a paused and then sighed. “Let me guess. Defenders, right?”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” said Devil-Slayer.

“No offense…umm…whoever you are…but it’s not very easy to trust a team that has an open door membership,” said Iron Man.

“Perhaps we can postpone the bickering,” said Storm, turning to the Defenders. “I suspect you were also taken by the Scarlet Centurion?”

“Yes,” said Starlight. “Did he mention anything to you of his purpose?”

“Nein,” said Nightcrawler. “You?”

“He said we’d been chosen,” said the Scarlet Spider. “Then poof, here we are.”

“I’m not getting any readings off this place. Wherever we are, it’s not anywhere a signal can penetrate,” said Iron Man. “Although there’s something strangely familiar about all this…”

The image of a large figure appeared over all of them. A man with blue skin and white hair spoke in a booming voice and on the third platform, there were silhouettes of recognizable landmarks. “You have been selected to battle in the game.”

“What is this?” asked Captain America.

“The Grandmaster, one of the Elders of the Universe,” said Iron Man with some hesitation in his voice. “It is not even funny how screwed we are.”

“What do you mean?” asked Starlight.

“Now I know where we are. Long time ago, the Grandmaster transported Cap, Thor, Hawkeye—or Goliath back then—and me to this area. He split us up and had us fight four members of the Squadron Sinister,” said Iron Man.

The Grandmaster shrunk down to normal size and the Scarlet Centurion appeared by his side. Hellstorm grit his teeth and tightened his fingers around his trident, but Starlight held up a hand to keep him at bay.

“What game?” she asked.

“You are our champions in this game,” said the Scarlet Centurion. “The Defenders fight for the Grandmaster, while the Avengers fight for me.”

“And why should we fight?” asked Captain America. “If you want to battle, do it amongst yourselves.”

“The champions shall be rewarded,” said the Grandmaster. “Each team is embroiled in its own battles against invisible enemies. Should you win, their identities shall be revealed to you.”

“And if we refuse?” asked Captain America.

“Then the Earth shall suffer the consequences.”

“In other words, we don’t have a choice,” said Iron Man.

“Indeed.” The Grandmaster held out his hand, which emitted a bright, blinding light. “Let the games begin!”

GRANDSTANDING

Part I

By Curtis Fernlund and Dino Pollard

Starlight brought her arms up to shield herself from the Grandmaster’s power, and once the light faded, she found herself standing on the slopes of a snow-covered mountain. The wind was strong and potentially the air extremely cold, but Tania’s radioactive powers protected her from the temperature. Up the slope, she saw what appeared to be a castle. The geography, combined with the structure suggested to Starlight that she was in Wundagore.

The strength of the wind increased and the snow was now coming down with more ferocity. Starlight’s eyes crackled with radioactive energy and she rose above the terrain. The clouds were dark and flashed with lightning. Against the flashes, she could see a caped figure hovering towards her.

“Storm, I presume,” said Starlight.

“I apolozie for this, sister. I wish we did not have to fight.”

“As do I, but it seems we don’t have much choice in the matter.”

A sweeping gesture brought one of Storm’s arms forward, fingers outstretched towards Starlight. A thunderclap accompanied a burst of lightning from the clouds, striking Starlight and sending the electricity through her body.

The shock caused Starlight to fall from the air. She hit the slope, the radiation from her body melting the snow around her. Starlight rose to her feet quickly, eyes burning with her power. “I could turn this mountain into a radioactive wasteland if I so desired, reduce you to ashes within seconds.”

Storm seemed unaffected by the threat, just maintained her position in the air, her opaque eyes staring at her foe. “You won’t. Just as I would not bring the full force of the elements down upon you. Neither of us are killers.”

“This is true.” Starlight clenched her fists. “But do not think that will prevent me from doing what needs to be done.”

A burst of energy erupted from beneath the Defender’s feet, and she rocketed towards Storm. The Avenger was taken by surprise and had no chance to defend herself when Starlight’s fist connected with her jaw. The velocity alone would have made for a strong blow, and Starlight’s superhuman strength only made it worse.

Storm used her winds to keep herself aloft, searching the skies for Starlight. A bright flash came from the clouds and Starlight shot down, coming for another pass. Storm brought the full force of the winds she could muster, combined with snow and hail flying at the heroine.

Starlight was held back by the wind and she generated a radioactive forcefield in front of her to protect herself from the hail. She pushed on, and the radiation field around her melted the hail and snow before it could impede her progress.

With Starlight getting closer, Storm summoned ball lightning, something she was loathe to do. The voltage coursed into Starlight’s body, giving her convulsion as she was suspended in mid-air. Once Storm let up on the assault, Starlight’s smoking body fell from the sky.

“No!” Storm generated winds beneath the Russian woman, using them to gently lower her to the ground. Storm landed by Starlight’s prone form. Her body was too hot to touch, so Storm held her hands over Starlight’s form, altering the temperature around it to cool the radiation.

Before she could check for a pulse, Starlight grabbed Storm’s arms and flipped her over, pinning her face-down on the ground. Starlight put Storm into a chokehold and held firmly, until the mutant passed out.

Once the light faded, it took a moment for Iron Man’s sensors to boot up. He stood alone in the middle of a jungle. “Maria, are you online?”

It took a few moments before his onboard artificial intelligence responded. [Tony? What happened?]

“Some next-level weirdness, apparently,” said Iron Man. “I need you to activate the GPS, tell me where we are.”

[Just a moment, Tony. My time offline disrupted my connection with the Stark satellites. It will take a few minutes to re-establish the link.]

Iron Man heard the roar of an animal from behind. He turned and spotted something in the distance over the trees. He zoomed in and saw what was out there was actually a Tyrannosaurus rex. With a sigh, he said, “Never mind, Maria. We’re in the Savage Land.”

[I was just about to say that.]

“Only place on Earth I know of where you can find a T-rex wandering about.” Iron Man’s boot jets raised him above the trees. “Okay, next step. Figure out which of the Defenders the Grandmaster and the Centurion hace decided to pit me against. Scan the area for any traces of radiation or…anomalous forms of energy.”

[Anomalous?]

Iron Man sighed. “Think the kind of energy associated with guys like Thor or Doctor Strange.”

[You mean ma—?]

“Don’t. Say. The M-word. I’ve had a rough enough day as it is.”

[There is something, not far from your present location.]

The HUD displayed a topographic map of the area and indicated both Tony’s position as well as the source of energy. Iron Man flew towards it and what he found was Daimon Hellstrom. The Defender had stripped his red leather trench coat, probably due to the extreme heat, and was shirtless. His trident was nowhere to be seen, and Daimon sat cross-legged in the middle of a clearing, his eyes closed.

“Hellstrom.” Iron Man landed in front of him and Hellstorm’s eyes opened. “Listen, we’re in the Savage Land. If we just think for a few minutes, I’m sure we can come up with some sort of plan. Maybe you can try contacting Strange while I see if I can reach the Aven—”

“No need, Stark.” Hellstorm rose to his feet. “I’ve already decided on a plan.”

“Feel like sharing?”

The inverted pentagram on Hellstorm’s chest glowed bright red and flames spiraled from his hand, extending in a controlled manner and taking the shape of his netheranium trident. Hellstorm pointed the trident at Iron Man and released soulfire from the tips.

The flames surrounded Iron Man, bathing his armor in their form. His sensors were going crazy and Maria chimed in. [I have no idea what these flames are, they don’t appear to be made of actual fire. His powers appear to be—]

“Maria, what did I say before?” asked Iron Man. “What are you doing, Hellstrom? We don’t have to play into their game!”

“I know,” said Hellstorm. “But the Grandmaster can provide me with information that is crucial to the survival of mankind.”

“And you think the information the Centurion has for me doesn’t carry the same stakes?” asked Iron Man. “That’s the point, to make us think that we have no choice!”

“Maybe so, but I’m not taking that chance. Plus, I’d love the opportunity to knock Tony Stark off his high horse.”

“Fine, to hell with you.” Iron Man channeled his armor’s energy into his chest unit, firing a unibeam of repulsor energy and slamming right into Hellstorm. “Pun intended.”

Iron Man’s boosters thrust him towards the flung Hellstorm. Once he hit the apex, he fell towards his target, bringing his fist down. Hellstorm held the trident over his head with both hands, blocking Iron Man’s punch. Sparks flew as the armor connected with the weapon. Hellstorm pulled back and rammed the trident at the armored Avenger.

A repulsor blast from Iron Man’s left gauntlet deflected the trident attack, while one from his right struck Hellstorm’s forehead. Hellstorm growled on his recovery, raising the trident above his head and driving it into the ground. Cracks and fissures expanded from the entry point, flames and heat emanating from them. The cracks edged closer towards Iron Man, growing larger as they did. Tentacles burst through the ground, ensnaring Stark in them.

Iron Man tried to fight them off with his strength and repulsors, but the tentacles continued to come through, until he was held immobilized. “What are these things?”

“One of the benefits of being a Lord of Hell, you have quite a few minions.” Hellstorm pulled the trident back and hurled it. The trident impaled Iron Man, or at least it seemed that way, despite no visible physical damage present. But it accomplished the goal in shutting down the armor and leaving Stark unconscious.

The terrain was composed of jagged hills made of rock and desert, but with no view of the sky whatsoever. Against this desolate landscape was a splash of color in the red, white, and blue form of Captain America running across the ground. Behind him was a flying, three-headed gray monster, screeching as it came towards him. Captain America dove into a rocky niche, narrowly avoiding the snapping jaws.

“Captain America, huh?”

When the star-spangled Avenger looked up, he saw the Devil-Slayer standing before him. The Defender had a red shield that matched the shape of the familiar vibranium/adamantium shield wielded by Captain America. His shadow cloak billowed around him despite the lack of wind, moving seemingly of its own accord.

“You look a lot different from the Cap I remember. But then again, I was in a mental hospital for some time.”

“They let you out?” asked Captain America.

“Not exactly.”

Without another word, Captain America hurled his shield. The Devil-Slayer could barely react in time, raising his own shield to deflect it. Cap’s shield ricocheted back and its wielder caught it in one hand as he charged towards Devil-Slayer. He swung his shield at Devil-Slayer’s head, but the Defender ducked, reaching into his cloak and drawing a sword. He slashed at Cap, who managed to evade, twisting around and slamming his elbow against Devil-Slayer’s back. Captain America followed it with a leg-sweep that left the Defender on his back.

Captain America raised his shield, prepared to deliver the final blow. Devil-Slayer rolled away moments before and the shield struck the ground. He got to his feet and the two former soldiers faced off against each other.

“So much for the banter stage of the fight,” said Devil-Slayer.

“Sorry, I’m a little new to this,” said Captain America.

A roar broke into their fight. The tri-headed creature Cap ran from earlier had discovered them and bore down upon them. As it passed, the three mouths each spat out a swath of fire. Captain America crouched behind his shield and screamed “Take cover!” to his opponent.

Once the danger passed, Captain America lowered his shield and watched as the beast moved on. But he found no trace of the Devil-Slayer. There was nothing to indicate that the beast had killed his foe—no ashes, no scent of burning flesh, no body, nothing. Which meant he was either extremely fast or a teleporter. And through training sessions with Nightcrawler, Captain America had learned to anticipate teleporters. He focused his senses on his surroundings, looking for anything out of the ordinary.

Cap spun, his shield deflecting Devil-Slayer’s sword strike. The Defender was surprised, but before he could compensate, Captain America delivered a high-kick that threw him back, a kick that was followed up with a shield strike directly to his solar plexus.

Right before the flash of light, the Scarlet Spider’s spider sense went off like an alarm. Now that the light had faded, he still felt the slight buzzing in his head and he surveyed the area. He was in a forested area, with mountains bordering the landscape. Off in the distance, he could see a castle and a walled-off city.

“Where am I?”

“Latveria.”

The Scarlet Spider spun, moving into the defense. Up in the trees there was a rustle and then Nightcrawler emerged from the shade and hung himself upside down from the branch by his prehensile tail. Fangs flashed as the demonic mutant spoke.

“I suppose the Grandmaster didn’t want to make things too easy on us, mein freund.”

The Scarlet Spider stood upright and folded his arms. “I don’t wanna fight you, Nightcrawler.”

Nightcrawler fell from his perch and flipped in the air, landing on his feet. “Nor I you. Sadly, I do not believe we are given much choice in the matter.”

Ben sighed beneath his mask. “Right, fate of the world and all that.”

Nightcrawler reached behind his back and drew the rapier sheathed there. He flipped it and jammed the blade into the ground. “I do not wish to cause you any unnecessary harm.”

“Thanks.”

“Shall we?”

The Scarlet Spider shrugged. “We have a choice?”

“Nein.” At that, Nightcrawler teleported in a flash of smoke, the scent of brimstone lingering in the air.

Scarlet Spider felt his head buzzing once again. He threw his elbow back and it struck Nightcrawler in the nose just as the mutant appeared behind him. The Scarlet Spider fired out a webline, zipping to one of the trees. Another burst of smoke and Nightcrawler appeared in front of him. The Avenger was faster than Ben’s spider sense and a strong kick threw Scarlet Spider from the tree.

The web-slinger flipped, landing on his feet in a crouch. Nightcrawler teleported around him furiously, delivering blow after blow. Ben’s spider sense gave him the opportunity to counteract as much as he could, but his opponent was fast. The Scarlet Spider made a quick change on his web-shooters and in the next spot Kurt materialized, Ben fired two round spheres.

Upon impact, the spheres exploded with webbing, completely enveloping Nightcrawler in a coccoon. He struggled in his prison and the Scarlet Spider stood over him. “The more you struggle, the worse it’ll be. Just stay calm and give me a moment, I’ll open up an airhole for you.”

But then came the scent of brimstone. Ben cursed himself for not realizing that. Nightcrawler’s feet struck him in the back of the head and the Scarlet Spider was thrown to the ground. The Scarlet Spider groaned as he tried to move to a standing position. He felt another buzz of his spider sense, this one far more extreme than anything during the fight.

“Move!” The Scarlet Spider sprung up and tackled Nightcrawler, scant seconds before an energy blast struck the spot where he’d been standing.

The two heroes looked up and found the last man they wanted to see out here. His armor clanked and whirred with each movement and was adorned with a dark green tunic and hooded cape that blew in the wind. His iron-clad fist crackled with energy as he gazed out at the two trespassers.

“Tell me—to what purpose have you invaded the land of Doom?”

NEXT: Continued in Avengers #43!

 

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