Siberia
The Forbidden Zone

“SERGEI!”

Tania Belinsky’s voice rocked with fear once she saw the message left by her consort—Sergei Krylov, the Presence. The message was composed of flames and it read I WILL MAKE YOU LOVE ME. She felt not fear for her own life—she knew Sergei would not harm her. But rather, the fear was born of loss. Of being separated from him.

And why, she wondered. This was the man who had forced her into a life of seclusion, to live in isolation from the rest of the world. To ignore her family and her only companion being a madman like the Presence. Yet still, she felt this attachment to him, this fear of losing him, that was too great. It was the same fear that caused her to look away whenever the Presence attacked those she would call allies. It made her stand idly by as he transformed the population of Russia into radioactive zombies. And it was that fear that drove her to action when she begged the God of Thunder to spare Krylov’s life.

“What happened to you, Tania?” she asked herself as she fell to her knees, burying her face in her hands. “You were one of the top neurosurgeons in the world, you fought against an oppressive government on behalf of your father, you were a Defender. And now, you’ve become the battered wife dependent on a man who has ruined your life.”

She could still feel him inside her, even though he was now miles away. She knew where he was going, she knew what he was planning. The Presence understood how the woman who called herself Starlight truly felt about him, that she remained with him only because she feared the grip of loneliness. The Presence, in his demented mind, reasoned there was only one way he could make Tania love him and him alone.

He would ensure there was no one else for her to long for.

“Dear God, Sergei…” she muttered, her eyes widening with the realization of what he was going to do. “Have you gone completely mad?”

Nuclear energy built up beneath the soles of her feet and burst, forcing her into the stratosphere at supersonic speeds. Even if she did not share this link with the Presence, she could “see” the remains of his energy trail still lingering. Invisible to the naked eye, but not to her radioactive senses.

And then she saw him, hovering above the Earth, his arms folded and his eyes cast downward at the blue orb beneath them. At her approach, the Presence would not acknowledge her with even a glance.

“Sergei…”

“Oh…” said the Presence, “…it’s you.”

“Please Sergei, I know what you’re thinking,” said Starlight. “Please don’t do this.”

“Do what?” asked the Presence. “Don’t you see, Tania? I love you. And it seems I will have to prove that love to you. Maybe then, you will understand. Maybe then, you will show me the same affection I have granted you every day since the day we first met.”

“No, you can’t, not this,” said Starlight. “Sergei, what you’re planning, you’ll destroy all life on Earth!”

“No, not all life,” said Sergei. “You and I will survive, and we will live on. Together, we can create a new world from the ashes of the old. This planet will be a new Eden and you will be my Eve. Together, we will repopulate it, create a better world.”

“But your children…your country…”

“I dedicated my life to the Soviet Union, not this decaying corpse that dares sully the name of Russia,” said the Presence. “And my children have proven they care nothing for their father, throwing in their lot with my enemies. My son serves this disgrace that has taken over our homeland and my daughter—worse yet—calls herself an Avenger.

“Don’t you see, Tania? You are all that matters to me now,” he continued. “But in order for you to see that, I must show you how far I’m willing to go for you…for us.”

The Presence rocketed off at high speeds, Starlights calls after him providing no help. And soon, he vanished completely from her senses. He had made himself invisible, somehow blocking the bond they shared.

She needed help.

STARLIGHT RUN

Part II

By Dino Pollard

The Sanctum Sanctorum

The Olympic-sized swimming pool encased in a glass room housed two of the most powerful individuals on the planet. One, who stood before a large hole in the wall (a hole he created), was the mysterious, red Hulk. The other, hovering above the water in the lotus position, his cape circling him as if it were alive, was Doctor Strange, the Sorcerer Supreme.

“Magic?” asked the Hulk. “What do you mean?”

Doctor Strange sighed. “It’s just as I told you. Your creation has come from a combination of science and magic, which is why I believe you are one of the Seven Soldiers I was told to gather.”

“Shove your cryptic bullshit and give me some straight talk before I skull-fuck you to death,” said the Hulk.

“…no, I don’t think so.”

The Hulk cocked an eyebrow. “You wanna say that again?”

“Please, spare me the adolescent threats, they only serve to embarrass you,” said Doctor Strange. “You are powerful, Hulk. There’s no question about that. But your threats are a waste of your breath and an even bigger waste of my time for two reasons. First, if you kill me, you have no one to help you discover the truth behind your identity.”

“And the other?”

“The other is that while you are powerful, you are little more than a cockroach to me,” said Doctor Strange, his eyes beginning to hum with energy as mystical orbs of light surrounded his hands. The cape moved, accentuating each word as he spoke it. “You try to end my life and you will find yourself imprisoned in a form far more unsavory than your present one. And it will be done in less time than it takes you to blink.”

The Hulk gritted his teeth. His fists tightened and his muscles bulged beneath his crimson skin. He could feel his internal temperature rising along with his temper. He wanted nothing more than to use this arrogant prick’s rip cage for toothpicks. But for all his anger, he knew that Strange was right.

“So what do we do?” asked the Hulk.

“I will continue my work and I will summon you once I have more information,” said Doctor Strange. “Until then, you are welcome to remain in my home provided you remember your manners.”

Richmond Industries

Kyle Richmond stepped off the elevator in a dark blue suit with a crimson tie. He held a briefcase in his hand as he walked through, winking at the young women who worked on the top floor of his building. As he approached the large oak doors to his office, his secretary looked up from her work and offered him a smile.

“How was lunch, Mr. Richmond?”

“Expensive but worth every penny,” said Kyle. He stepped up to her desk and looked down at her. “What’s on the slate for this afternoon?”

“You’ve got a conference call at one with the west coast office and a shareholders meeting at three,” she said. “Also, you’ve received a few messages from the Taylor Foundation about a charity dinner.”

“Thanks, you’re the best,” said Kyle. He opened the door to his office and felt his jaw drop. “…Janice, do me a favor.”

“What is it, Mr. Richmond?”

“Call the Taylor Foundation and let them know I’ll need two tickets for that charity ball,” said Kyle. “And clear my schedule for the afternoon.”

“But Mr. Richmond, the shareholders and the west coa—”

“It’s important.” He entered his office, about to close the door behind him. “Also, I don’t want to be disturbed for the rest of the day.”

“Umm…sure thing Mr. Rich—”

The door was closed before Kyle could hear the rest of Janice’s sentence. He stepped into the office, looking at the glowing woman who stood at the windows, looking out over the city of New York.

“I must say, this is definitely a surprise,” said Kyle. “What brings you to New York, Tania? Last I heard, you and the Presence were still attached at the hip.”

Starlight looked down. “He’s gone mad, Kyle.”

“Who, Krylov? He’s always been nuts.”

“This is worse,” said Starlight, finally looking up. “Kyle…I can’t justify the things I’ve done over the past few years. But I have nowhere else to turn. Sergei is planning to destroy the planet.”

“Well that’s easier said than done,” said Kyle.

“He can do it, he can wipe out every person on the face of the Earth. I know because he’s been planning it for some time, ever since Thor defeated him in Russia. Only he was able to keep it from me until now. Until I gave him a reason.”

“Reason? What reason?” asked Kyle.

“He’s doing it because he wants me to have no one else but him, so that the two of us together can repopulate the world after he’s destroyed all traces of life.”

Kyle said nothing, just walked over to a corner of the room. He pushed a hidden button and a compartment on the wall flipped around, revealing a blue and yellow costume with large, red wings. He began stripping off his suit and replaced it with the costume.

“Kyle…?”

“You don’t have to say another word,” he said, pulling the mask over his face. He went to his desk and depressed a switch underneath it, the windows sliding open. “But if we’re going up against the Presence, we’ll need the Doc’s help.”

“Thank you, Kyle,” said Starlight with a smile.

“Hey now, I’ve got a reputation to protect,” he said. “In the suit, it’s Nighthawk!”

The Sanctum Sanctorum

“Bob…?”

Robert Reynolds slowly looked up. He sat in the corner of a darkened room curled into a ball, his arms wrapped around his legs. When he looked up, Leonard Samson was surprised to see that Reynolds now possessed a full beard and long, straggly hair and his body was slim, almost emaciated. He looked completely different from the man called the Sentry.

“This is the same guy?” asked Sleepwalker, standing beside Samson. “Why’s he look like a bum?”

“I don’t know, I left him only fifteen minutes ago.” Samson slowly approached Reynolds and knelt down beside him. In response, Reynolds buried his face in his knees and tried to pull his legs in closer to his body. Samson put a hand on his shoulder and looked back at Sleepwalker in surprise. “He’s…shaking. He’s scared to death of something.”

“What?” asked Sleepwalker.

“Bob, what’s wrong?” asked Samson.

“Wh-who are you people? What is this place?” Bob slowly looked up and once he saw the alien entity called Sleepwalker, he yelped and buried his face once more.

“Bob, you know me, I’m Len, remember?” asked Samson. “We were talking, just a few minutes ago.”

“N-no we weren’t, you’re some…some kinda freak!” spat Bob. “You and that…that…thing over there!”

“I think I liked him better when he was doing the George Reeves thing,” said Sleepwalker. “At least then he didn’t whine like this.”

“Slee—Rick, could you leave us be for a few minutes?”

“Yeah, sure,” said Sleepwalker.

Once he was gone, Samson looked back at Bob. “You don’t remember me at all?”

“No…never heard of you.”

“What about the Sentry?” asked Samson. “Bob, what can you tell me about the Sentry?”

Bob’s eyes rose up again and met Samson’s. “The Sentry…what…how do you know about the Sentry?”

“Because I’ve met him, that’s how. You’re the Sentry.”

“No…no I’m not,” said Bob. “The Sentry…he was just some character I came up with.”

“What do you mean?”

“When I was a kid, I—I loved comics, I read ’em all,” said Bob. “See…I had allergies. And my mom, she was afraid to let me go outside because I could get sick. So I stayed home all the time, I had tutors. And to make up for no friends, Mom would bring me comics. Every week, she’d come home from work with a whole stack of them and I’d read them all the time. I used to draw the heroes, too. And I wanted to make one. So I started drawing this character, with a big S on his belt. He was strong, nothing could hurt him, nothing scared him, and everyone loved him. I called him the Sentry.”

Samson reached into his pocket and pulled out a digital recorder. He pushed the record button. “Bob, do me a favor. Could you tell me that story one more time?”

Sleepwalker sat in the living room in a meditative state. In the past, whenever Rick was awake, the Sleepwalker would be able to patrol the Mindscape. But that was before Rick’s body wound up in a coma and Rick found his consciousness occupying the Sleepwalker’s body. Now, he had no way of entering the Mindscape and he believed it was the one chance he had at returning to his own body.

He started up when he felt a chill run down his spine and smelled the distinct scent of brimstone. A flaming portal now stood in the center of the room and two beings, both bound to Hell, emerged from it. One sat in a wheelchair—John Blaze. Like Rick, he was forced to share his life with another being, a demon called Zarathos. And the other was the Prince of Lies—Daimon Hellstrom, once known as the Son of Satan, now the man called Hellstorm.

“What’d we miss?” asked Blaze as he lit a cigarette.

“The Sentry transformed into a bum,” said Sleepwalker. “I think that’s about it.”

Blaze removed the cigarette from his lips, exhaling strips of smoke. “Any word from Strange on how long this gathering bullshit is supposed to take?”

“Haven’t seen him at all,” said Sleepwalker. “There was some sort of loud crash earlier, so I’m guessing the Hulk started throwing a tantrum.”

“Hmph, the more things change…” muttered Hellstorm.

The sound of the doorbell came and no one moved. They allowed Wong to answer and a few moments later, he entered the sitting room with two people behind him—Nighthawk and Starlight.

“You may wait here, I’ll go find the Doctor,” said Wong and then excused himself.

Nighthawk entered the room first, looking at the three faces and then his eyes widening at the sight of Hellstorm. “…Daimon? Is that you?”

“Richmond,” said Hellstorm. “What business do you have?”

“I came to see the Doc…well, we did,” said Nighthawk, motioning to Starlight. “We’ve got trouble.”

A few moments later, Doctor Strange entered the room with the Hulk towering behind him. Upon sight of the crimson behemoth, Nighthawk found himself startled once again. “You trying on a new look, Bruce?”

The Hulk glared down at Nighthawk. “Let’s get one thing straight, never-was—I ain’t Banner, got it?”

“…think I liked him better when he was short-bus Hulk,” said Nighthawk.

“Dr. Belinsky, this is unexpected,” said Doctor Strange.

“Stephen, I need your help,” said Starlight. “It’s Sergei—the Presence. He’s lost his mind, I’m afraid of what he might do. I came to Kyle because I need help in stopping him.”

“Figured you were the best guy to go to,” said Nighthawk. “…only I didn’t know you created a new team of Defenders.”

“We’re not the Defenders,” said Blaze.

“Good, ’cause I’d hate to think the Doc forgot about the old stalwarts in favor of some gimp,” said Nighthawk.

Blaze wheeled closer to the masked hero. “You wanna say that to my face, asshole?”

“Maybe if I can get down that low,” said Nighthawk. “Doc, what the hell’s going on? If you’re bringing the Defenders back together, why didn’t you call me? Or Val or Patsy?”

“This doesn’t concern you, Kyle,” said Doctor Strange. “These men are here for a very specific reason. And I’m sorry Tania, but that reason has nothing to do with the Presence.”

“What?” Starlight and Nighthawk cried out in unison. Then it was Tania who continued speaking. “Stephen, you don’t understand, Sergei—”

“The Presence plans to destroy all life on Earth, yes, I understood that,” said Doctor Strange. “But what you don’t understand is I am at a very crucial point in my own quest and I have duties I must focus on. If you require assistance, then I suggest visiting the Avengers or the Fantastic Four.”

“Wait a second, Doc,” said Sleepwalker. “So far, we’ve just been sitting around waiting for you to tell us something. Do you need us here while you’re gazing into your crystal ball?”

“I have no crystal ball,” said Doctor Strange. “But I suppose you’re right, your presence is more of a nuisance at the moment than anything else.” As he spoke those words, he cast a glance at the Hulk, who huffed in response.

“So there’s no problem if we help them out?” asked Sleepwalker.

“Please, I could use the peace,” said Doctor Strange.

“What do you guys say?” asked Sleepwalker, looking to Hellstorm and Blaze.

“It could prove…interesting,” said Hellstorm, casting a look at Nighthawk. Kyle Richmond felt uneasy beneath the gaze of the Prince of Lies. Something about the way Hellstorm looked at him, it was…odd to say the least.

“Well you can count me out,” said Blaze. “As you can see, I’m not changing, so I’m not going anywhere. I’m just going to sit here and smoke my ciga—ARGH!”

Blaze’s hands pulled at his collar as he felt the heat building inside his body. The cigarette fell from his lips and his body began to transform, flames causing his skin to melt away from the bone and his wheelchair transformed into the fusion of leg and machine that served as his Hellfire cycle complete with flaming wheels.

“The Ghost Rider stands with you,” he said.

“That’s three.” Sleepwalker looked at the Hulk. “How about you, big guy?”

“As long as I get to hit something, I’m there.”

“Good,” said Sleepwalker. “What about Samson and the Sentry?”

“We’ll pass.” The group turned to Doc Samson, who stood in the entranceway. “Bob seems to have reverted inside himself and I think it’s best I stay with him, try to uncover more about his condition.”

“Sure thing,” said Sleepwalker. “Guess he’s not much use to us in that state anyway.”

“In that case…” began Hellstorm as a flaming portal opened in the room. “Shall we?”