His name was Lemar Hoskins... better known as Battlestar... he corrected himself, he really wasn't well known enough as either to use the "better known" attached to his name. Outside of government, and maybe mercenary, circles he wasn't known at all.

He had been the replacement Bucky... and then just another piece of the enigma that was Silver Sable's "Wild Pack" - he still wasn't all too clear what that had been about, other than a steady paycheck.

Then had come the job at the Vault. It had been exciting... one mishap after another it seemed. He even made a few friends. But all things end.

He'd learned that working with John... Super Patriot, as a "Bucky"... and then at the same man's side as the official government approved Bucky. He'd been fairly close to John Walker - until he died in the line of duty. By the time he resurfaced as "Jack Daniels - USAgent" though, that bound had apparently been severed.

Friendship doesn't end at death he'd been told at a friend's funeral, it is eternal. The pastor had lied. Friendship doesn't extend passed that threshold. At least it didn't in his case.

He'd lost one of the few friends he'd had left, and had grabbed onto whatever else he could find in the meantime while making ends meet.

Joey* had been a good guy back at the Vault - one of the few that he really truly missed... on the other hand, he had been the first to tell him where he should be. His place wasn't as part of a security team in a super-powered jail, no matter how well it paid.

(* The Blue Shield - GD)

His place was in an environment he could grow to love... a place that would nourish the unwanted... Joey had told him of such a place, of such a group...

"Are you paying attention?" a woman asked.

Lemar's eyes snapped opened, "Sorry, "he said with a smile, "I just still can't get over the fact that I'm actually here..."

Janet Van Dyne, the wonderful Wasp, former chairperson of the Mighty Avengers and current leader of the his new team walked the line between stern and cheerful. Lemar listen to the way she walked that line, taking notes, "It takes some getting used to I..." she said with a smile, "But we really do need everyone paying giving this their full attention." she turned back to the man in the outlandish costume. Lemar looked down at own midnight blue outfit and then back at the man in question. Maybe he wasn't too outlandish after all he chuckled to himself. "Craig, please continue..."

Craig Hollis, Mr. Immortal smiled widely. Lemar could tell that he was feeling the same thing, he imagined himself in a lot of situations, dreamed of being in a lot of different groups, but nothing could have really prepared him for his feet taking him to the doorstep of

	September- Year 4
	#197

"As I was saying" Craig continued, "We found evidence of a supernatural conspiracy against the Defenders..."

"And where did you find this information?" Rina Patel, Timeslip asked, obviously trying not to laugh at what she was sure his answer was going to be.

"We found it in a cereal reading..."

"A CEREAL reading?" Janet asked.

Craig nodded, "It's a perfectly valid form of divination." he looked over to Clea to confirm his statement, but the Sorcerer Supreme stayed quiet for the moment in his defense. "It said that there was an army of darkness amassing against us..."

"I can confirm that."

All eyes in the room turned to Satana, who was lying stretched out on the loveseat, with her feet dangling free over the edge.

Clea was the first to speak, "Would you mind sharing?"

"Yes, please, "Janet added, "Miss Mistress of Limbo... please share with the rest of the class what you know about an army of darkness being gathered against the Defenders."

Lemar looked back and forth at the two women. He would not have wanted to mess with either of them, under any circumstances. One of them was a pure demon when you got on her bad side... and the other ruled the realm of Limbo.

Satana cast an eye over to her constant companion and roommate, Rina... who shook her head noticeably in the negative.

The Mistress of Limbo turned back to the group, "Forget I said anything."

Janet turned to Rina, her face turning a bit pink, "Ok - out with it! I'm sick and tired of being in the dark here. First of why you showed up in the first place... and then that whole business with Hannibal..."

"Not that I'm not grateful that you stopped them from staking me" The vampire Hannibal King added from his spot in the corner.

Lemar followed the voice back to it's source with a smile and a shudder. Joey had told him stories about the vampire... good stories... bad stories... stories that kept the man who bore the name Blue Shield up at night. Stories that might make it impossible to look the other man in the face again.

But he had told Lemar his secret. He had shared the pain... the doubts... with the only person he thought might understand... Lemar wondered if he was planning even back then to have Battlestar take his place with the Defenders, to somehow make things right for all the bad things he had done while in their company...

"You're welcome" Rina said in the vampire's general direction. "You too" she said with a smile to Satana, who returned the compliment with a two-fingered salute.

Rina turned back to the Wasp, "I thought we'd been over that. There are certain things I can't reveal. Things that might affect the balance of the future... this is one of them."

"Tell me this then" Janet said, "Is this the Dragons threat you were telling us about?"

Rina shook her head, "No. This is something completely different."

The Wasp nodded, "That's what I thought..." she said, "So we have two different groups of supernatural beings coming after us... can you confirm or deny THAT?"

Rina looked over to Satana, who shrugged. She turned back to the group with a smile full of mischief, "Well, I certainly can't deny that it's at least partly true. Although the phrase 'two groups' isn't really accurate?"

"What would be?" Clea interrupted, before Janet could ask the same question.

Rina looked down on her fingers, ticking off one thing after another.

Lemar stared at her fingers in horror, as one more flipped up every time he thought he was going to have a heart attack at the numbers against them...

Finally Rina stopped and looked up, "We're talking 'groups' and not individual beings right?"

Clea nodded in the affirmative.

Rina Patel, the woman from the future, looked down at her fingers and added a couple more digits, "You really don't want to know..."

He was a Swordsman. He had been for quite some time.

And yet, some still whispered, some still called him the Bladesman... as if he were still a whelp.

Riaod the Swordsman stood in his rented hotel room in the Midgard city of New York and stared into the mirror.

"I am a Swordsman" he reminded himself, "I am my father's son."

He stared at the damage that had been done to his face during his encounter with the English superheroes known as the Crusaders *. He had acted like an amateur there... he had deserved to find himself encased in ice...

(* Crusaders Swap Month Issue - GD)

He had deserved it... but his face had not. His eyebrows had not deserved the severe frost damage... the telltale spots of gray flesh did not deserve to mar his beauty.

"Midgard will pay" he muttered to his reflection.

"And pay they shall" the reflection said, shifting to the image of the man who had rescued him from the ice.

Riaod took a step back before realizing he was doing so. He boldly took that step back, unwilling to show weakness, even to the one who had seen him in his humiliation. "I thank you for the opportunity to make things right."

The robed man in the mirror said nothing.

"I shall bring them low." Riaod proclaimed.

"Just remember what I have asked of you" his benefactor stated.

Riaod nodded solemnly, "It is the least I can do to repay your act of kindness..." he said with a smirk.

The man in the mirror laughed, "Never confuse kindness with self-interest. I am not in the business of kindness. Unless it furthers my ends."

"Of course Halcyon." Riaod agreed, "I fully appreciate that."

The lord of time seemed to look the son of Loki over, "I wonder if you truly do." he said, lost for a moment in a private musing, before his eyes refocused, "It doesn't matter though - as long as you can accomplish this task I have set for you."

Riaod the Swordsman watched as his reflection returned. He met it with a smile, "Of course Halcyon" he said with a smirk, "How can I do any less?"

By the time that Craig finally got through with his story, it was dark outside. But that seemed to suit Hannibal just fine. He ventured out into the darkness, followed by Satana. "We need to go look into some things" was all that they said.

Lemar watched their retreating figures and sighed. Splitting up was never a good idea...especially when it seemed like there was a great many things...man and otherwise... that were out to get them.

He watched the face of the Wasp as she mapped out a strategy. She was calm again. Calm and in control. He wished he could be.

He'd lived with the supernatural most of his life. You couldn't live in Chicago for very long without noticing the city's ghosts... but this was bigger... maybe MUCH bigger. It made his skin crawl.

But the Wasp... Jan, he reminded himself, she had said to call her Jan. (That was going to be hard though, he knew - she was an AVENGER after all! She had worked with the REAL Cap, instead of just getting her face pounded by him... which was what Lemar's main experience had been.) seemed so above it all.

Another half dozen threats... another day at the office, seemed to be her attitude. He shook his head, unsure if he ever REALLY wanted to get to that point.

Things were too exciting when the outcome was unsure, when every moment might just be his last. That was a big part of why he had joined up with the Buckies... that and the chance for glory, and the prospect of a paying gig that got him out of the old neighborhood certainly hadn't hurt... That excitement, that uncertainly was HERE now though... not in the Vault.. he watched as the professionals tried to think of how best to handle something they really knew very little about. He watched as they placed a few calls to people who's names he had never heard.

And he knew that this was where he was supposed to be. His place was at their side... in their ranks... that he was indeed a Defender in his heart.

"Nickel for your thoughts?"

Lemar turned with a smile, "I thought it was supposed to be a penny..."

Craig Hollis shrugged, "Inflation. Besides - what can a penny buy these days?" he thought for a moment, "Not counting book and record clubs that is."

Lemar smiled back at his teammate, "What about those long distance deals?" he quipped.

Craig grabbed his chest in mock horror, "Don't even get me started on those..."

Lemar laughed as his teammate hopped over the back of the sofa and sat down beside him.

"So - how are you liking it so far?" Craig asked.

Lemar nodded, "Just fine."

"There's an awful lot of sitting around in the parlor and talking going on here." he noted, "Much more than ever happened with the Secret Defenders."

"The Secret Defenders?"

"Yeah," Craig said proudly, "That's the group I used to be with... the Defenders that no one talked about, doing things that you just can't do under the light of day..."

Lemar looked around, "I'm not sure that people talk much about the REAL Defenders... much less that anything they do CAN be done when the sun's out..." he thought about Hannibal.. and about Joey...and wondered if he should shudder or smile.

"Trust me" Craig said in a hushed voice, "There are some things that people don't want to talk about that go on... and that's what you need the Secret Defenders for..."

"Then why are you here now?" Lemar asked.

Craig shrugged again, "Slumming I guess... plus, someone had to come warn these guys that they were in trouble."

"Oh" Lemar exclaimed, putting two and two together, "You did that 'cereal reading' with the Secret Defenders!"

Craig motioned for him to keep his voice down, "Well yeah" he whispered, "But don't go around saying that too loud... we don't people knowing too much about what we do..."

"But you just..." Lemar protested.

Craig shook his head and rose to his feet. He turned back to Lemar, before walking away, "I did nothing of the sort." he retorted, "Let's just keep this under your hat, okay?"

Lemar stared after Mr. Immortal and shook his head, for some reason he found himself glad that he hadn't thought he include a hat as part of his new uniform design. The image of Craig trying to physically shove a secret under his literal hat was one that came into his brain and won't go away for the longest time.

After a while of sitting and pondering what seemed a silly idea - he realized that it was because it would have been all too likely to actually happen.

Rina Patel walked the streets of New York City holding her son in her arms. Somewhere, out there.. she could sense them. The other Rinas. The other pieces that made up herself. One was older. One was younger. One was...

She reached out to see that bit again... one of them was dead. Her body had vanished, but the impression of her death was still very strong to one who knew where to look.

"When do I die?" she mused to herself, looking at the smiling face of her son. She hadn't come back to die... she'd come to make sure her son had a chance at living.

She wondered how long she had left... when she was going to go back into the time and place to sacrifice herself for the greater good? Or, even more frightening... if she was never going to? Was it possible to create after images of oneself that diverged in the wake of time travel?

She thought about it for a moment... for a long moment. Could she avoid the fate she had already gone down without creating a brand new world in the process? It was something worth considering... it was something worth talking to the other Rinas about.

All she needed to do was to get them in one place... she looked at the night's sky and checked her watch. Her best chance was coming soon, if memory served.

All she had to do was to make sure she was in the right place at the right time.

It wasn't the sword of Twilight... but it had it's own charm. The Sword of Endless Night it was called... he had acquired it from Halcyon. Apparently it was enough to plunge Midgard, or sections thereof into nothingness. Riaod smiled as he gripped the hilt. It was certainly more subtle than he usually liked to work... but the idea of making the mettlesome Midgard no more was certainly an appealing notion.

He stood in front of 177A Bleecker Street... waiting for the sign that Halcyon had assured him would come. It was something he couldn't possiby miss, was how the Lord of Time had put it.

Riaod scoffed. One being's "can't miss it" was bound to be something that the next being could walk over fifty times without giving it a second look.

He leaned on the sword... waiting.

"That looks awfully dangerous," someone said from behind him, "Perhaps we should take that off your hands..."

Riaod the Swordsman turned quickly, with his sword at the ready.

There was a group of people... most of whom he did not recognize.

A tiny woman with wings... a woman in a cloak... another woman with pure white hair... a guy in an outlandish costume (the one closest to him, the one who had spoken, Riaod assumed), yet another woman wearing hardly anything... and a black guy in a midnight blue outfit.

He sensed... something behind him...

He whirled, his sword would have cleaved his assailant in two if his foe's own reaction times had been a couple seconds slower. As it was, he had forced the man in black back a few steps.

Riaod smiled. Even outnumbered, he knew he was more than a match for these mortals. "I don't suppose" he wondered aloud, "that you people happen to be the Defenders?"

"As a matter of fact," the tiny winged woman declared, "yes we are."

Riaod's grin expanded across his face, this was going to be easier than he had thought. There wasn't even a matter of waiting for any sort of signal... this encounter was enough of something he couldn't miss to serve.

"Good," he said through his smile, "I was hoping you were. Otherwise I would have had to kill you all for no reason at all."

The barely clad woman stepped forward, before any of the others could react and held out her hand, she closed her fingers into a fist. A fist that was suddenly gripping a flaming twin bladed sword.

Riaod took a look at her face and took a step back. Not only was she stunningly beautiful, but there was something deeper there, something older... something dangerous. It didn't take much to see what that someone was either. A thin halo of darkness appeared around her temple.

"Oh ballocks" Riaod muttered to himself, " That's just what I need - a Princess of Hell"

Satana shook her head, "Not A Princess of Hell." she clarified, "THE Princess of Hell. My brother has claimed no other sibilings as legitimate."

Riaod stared from her, back down to his own sword, and found the strength for bravo as he parried her opening thrust, "Then your brother is about to become an only child," he laughed, regretting it the moment it was off his lips. Lines like that were not the stuff of Gods. They simply were not worthy... but, he decided as he blocked another volley of blows from the Princess of Hell, and returned a flurry of his own, one had to make do with what one had. That went for lines as much as it did any other resource.

The others watched from a distance, he could tell they were debating if they should aid their comrade in arms or simply allow her the chance to finish him by herself. One by one, he saw their decision form on their faces... almost as one they started to move forward toward him.

He gave ground, slowly but deliberately. Perhaps if he could hold off until the signal came... he could still make something of the battle.

Otherwise, he thought as he parried another blow aimed for his head, the Princess was going to make short work of him. She was far from his match with a sword, but she used her dark powers to enhance the strength of her blows, and the speed. Even the most persistant adept could beat a master if they landed the right blow.

That was one of the first thing he had learned... it was one of many things he had used to his own advantage when he killed his teachers. They had possessed the skill, but he had the sheer ambition, the will. Now it was reversed, there was no way even a God of Asgardian and Giant blood could hope to counter the Princess of Hell, much less if she had help.

He twisted in time for the "sting" of the Wasp to bounce off his blade harmlessly. He wished he could just connect once... with someone... any of them would be good to show off his new sword. Just one decent hit would be enough to finish them... forever.

But it didn't look like they were going to give him the chance... he continued to retreat, keeping an eye out for his opening.

Clea watched the retreat of the Swordsman with satisfaction. He was unexpected. With everything else going on, the unexpected wasn't exactly the most welcome thing. The sooner they could get to the Magician's Circle, the easier things were going to be.

She watched the retreating Riaod... and felt something ...strange.

Her eyes went up to the large window that led to the Sanctum of her love, Stephen Strange. There was something off about the Sanctum... something... wrong...

"Oh my god!" she exclaimed, "Satana! Help me!" she started to run toward the building. "Oh my god! DON'T do it! Please! Don't..."

Her words were cut off by the brunt of the explosion.

The house and working residence 177A Bleecker Street exploded outward...rocking Soho and beyond...

Riaod ducked as the debris flew by his head... ducked, and ran forward, with his sword slashing in front of him.

The sign had come at last... and sure enough, it was one even he couldn't miss...

Lemar jumped to one side as firey debris continued to fall around him. He looked at the building in front of him... the one that was supposed to contain their best hope of surviving what was to come... what was left of the structure was continuing to be racked with mini explosions. Most of the houses in the neighborhood were now burning, the rest...simply weren't...

He looked down at the large piece of... something that almost hit him..."What was that?" he muttered aloud.

Mr. Immortal dodged another piece of something to get to him, he craned his neck over to see what it was.

Lemar was glad for his new shield. His own shield wouldn't have been enough to properly protect him... the improved energy one though... it seemed to be holding up.

Craig looked at the piece that had almost hit Lemar, and then back up his teammate, then he looked back at the debris and chuckled.

"What's so funny?" Lemar asked... starting to hear the sounds of battle again coming through the thick smoke that just about took away all visibility.

"You wanted to know what almost hit you, right?" Craig asked.

Lemar nodded, "Sure."

Craig kicked the piece over with his foot. Lemar looked closely and laughed himself.

"It's the kitchen sink" Craig said finally, with a sigh, "I was wondering when that was coming..."

NEXT: The Forces of Darkness REVEALED! Plus, the return of two Defenders favorites!

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