Isaac Christians took a deep breath and let it out slowly. It was one thing to plan on coming back to the West Coast, back to a place that he didn't really care for all that much. It was completely a different story to actually be there. Things always went wrong for him in California... they always got, well, strange.

And it usually had something to do with

"Oliver Cutlass" a woman said in the distance.

Isaac looked up suddenly, not used to having people complete his innermost thoughts out loud, at least not without Moondragon in the room. He recognized the woman's voice... recognized it all too well.

He looked over to where the wife of Cutlass, the exotic beauty known as Typhoon, was talking to Daimon Hellstorm.

He cringed inwardly, not knowing which of the two he should be more afraid to be with. Once upon a time Daimon had been a teammate, even a friend... but the time he had spent as the slave of the man who had slain his father to claim the title and role of Satan, Lord of Hell * left him angry, and more than a bit afraid of the man.

(* As detailed in the pages of Marvel's classic Hellstorm series - GD)

The fact that Daimon had sacrificed his own power to prevent the return of his father * wasn't quite enough. Nor was the fact that he was here to attempt to find a way to free his former wife, Patsy Walker from her confines within the body of the current Hellcat, Jennifer March.**

(*Defenders #200; ** As detailed last issue - GD)

There was still an... uneasiness around him within the soul of Isaac Christians. Not even his return to a human appearance, and the end of the torment that he had undergone following his betrayal of the Six-Fingered Hand *, could change that. He was a new man now... literally. He had not only become human again, but much younger. He had... possibilities... ahead of him. He glanced over to where the beautiful Celicia Reyes was standing with her arms crossed in from of her, listening in on the conversation between Daimon and Typhoon and managing to show every bit of her annoyance.

(* Way back in Defenders #94! - GD)

"Just another reason to love her," Isaac muttered with a smile, casting his eyes back on Typhoon. As much as Daimon enraged him, and frightened him in a little tight knot still very much in his soul, Typhoon annoyed him. She and her husband were reminders of why he hated the West Coast - with their constant sheer lunacy that found a way to drag him down one path after another.

Yet, she always remained perfectly calm about it all, as if it were no big deal.

He wasn't quite sure if that was an admirable quality or a damnable one.

Jennifer March, the woman who had claimed the role of Hellcat, felt the call of the West Coast. There was something in the air, something familiar... something that tugged at her.

"They're here," she muttered with amazement, "I can feel them!" she screamed, leaping from her seat in the kitchen stool, where she'd been half-heartenedly watching the people she was starting to think of as her teammates speaking to their host, the woman called Typhoon.

She felt a hand reach out and grab her firmly by the shoulder. She batted it away as she turned and faced its owner.

The Valkyrie called Mist stood before her with a look of determination etched on her face.

"Stand aside," Jennifer demanded, "I can feel them... they're, close." Mist shook her head from side to side, "I'm afraid that I can't let you just run off by yourself. If you let me know what's going on, then perhaps we can work something out, otherwise..."

"This is my CHILDREN we're talking about!" Jennifer exclaimed, "I can feel them, here in San Francisco! They're calling out to me! I can hear their voices in my mind!"

"That is, concerning..." Mist said, hesitantly, "How long have you been hearing their voices?"

"Not long - and I can't say how much longer it will last either. Which is why I have to find them while it does. Isn't that part of the reason we're out here in the first place, to help me get my life back together?"

Mist inclined her head, "Among other reasons. Including freeing the one tangled in your silver cord."

Jennifer nodded furiously, "Which means the more of my life that we can get together, the closer we are to at least one part of this escapade. Let the others do what they want with..."

Mist tried to listen to the rest of what Jennifer was saying, but found it hard to do so. There was a pounding in her skull, as if a great weight was pressing down on her psyche from afar.

"The plague," she muttered to herself, wishing that the bounds of duty did not hold her to Midgard, wishing that she could return home to the Golden Realm of Asgard, to assist her brethen against the thing that was bearing down on her, even across the dimensions.

The words had been whispered to her from across the divide, through her soul tie to Valhalla. Whatever the true nature of the plague, it had laid low what was supposed to be the fighting force for the final days. It had also caused quite a bit of chaos within the realm. But another thing had been whispered as well... that she was under no circumstances to allow March out of her sight. Considering that she had visited Valhalla shortly before the plague had struck, there was a very real chance that she in fact had something to do with it.

If the Council discovered as much - the woman of Le Fay was to be detained, questioned, and then terminated. If there was any way that she could be made to undo the effects of the plague... they couldn't risk the chance that she might escape from their grasp.

"... so we need to get going, if you're coming." Jennifer finished, taking a step forward.

Mist's fist lashed out before she could overthink the situation, landing against the Hellcat's jawline.

Jennifer fell to the side, catching herself in a crouch before she hit the ground. She tensed her leg muscles upon impact, thrusting herself out and up, slamming into the Valkyrie's midsection.

She landed hard, sending Mist tumbling. She twisted herself to end up astride Odin's Handmaiden's armored chest, with her opponent's discarded sword in her hand, the point against Mist's throat.

"I SAID," Jennifer said through gritted teeth, "That we needed to get going, if you were coming. All you needed to say is that YOU weren't up for another trip..."

"I'd consider your next move carefully lass," Fandral said, as Jennifer felt a blade point pressing into the small of her back. "I'd certainly hate for this to get unpleasant."

"So would I," Cecilia Reyes said from the side, watching with her arms folded in front of her in defiance, "Personally I think this whole little game has gone on long enough. Now, everyone drop their weapons, and I'll see about letting you people walk away."

"Just get this fop off my back CeeCee, and I'll handle the rest!" Jennifer exclaimed, "All I want to do is go find my kids, and this one," indicating the prone Mist, "is trying to stop me."

Celicia shook her head, "And all I want... well, I won't bore you with what *I* want, but suffice to say it doesn't involve riding herd over you bozos. Now, everyone drop their weapons OR ELSE." Dark flames shot out from behind her force shield, inching forward to the pile of those who defied her will.

"By the Eye!" Fandral exclaimed, his sword coming up from Jennifer's back, and in a defensive position in front of himself in a single fluid motion. He took two steps backward, away from her, keeping a wary eye on the dark bird of flame.

The blade nearly slipped from Jennifer's fingers, and into Mist's neck, but the Valkyrie's reflexes were faster than expected. Her hand sprang out, grabbing onto the blade itself before it connected with her flesh.

It cut into her hand, but she said nothing as she sprang to her feet, swinging the blade in a wide arc before returning it to guard position.

"Are we willing to play nice now?" Cecilia asked, with a twisted smile. "Or am I gonna have to play rough?"

"That's enough." a male voice said from behind her. Lifeforce turned to find herself face to face with a scowling Daimon Hellstorm, "This isn't why we're here. This isn't what

	February- Year 5
	#202

are supposed to be about."

"And I suppose Daimon," Isaac countered as he walked up to survey what was going on, "That YOU know what the Defenders are supposed to be about? That would be a quite interesting conversation I'd imagine..."

Daimon fixed his eyes on Isaac, "I've made my mistakes." he said solemnly, "I continue to pay for them every day. If you don't know that old friend... then you really don't know me at all."

"Perhaps." the old man responded, before shifting his eyes to the dissipating dark bird of flame around his lover. He tried to catch her eye, but she refused to meet him half-way.

"I hope you know that someone's going to pay to get those scorch marks off the ceiling," Typhoon interrupted, pointing to the places where the dark flames had rested against the white paint.

Isaac shot her a look that caused her jaw to snap shut. He glared at the Asgardians and their charge. "Sheath your weapons" he ordered.

Mist eyed Jennifer suspiciously, slowly moving her sword downward. Fandral simply flashed a trademark grin, returning his sword with a flourish.

After a few more false starts, they sat down in the living room, facing each other and trying to ignore the tension.

Daimon was the first one to speak. He turned to Jennifer with an easygoing smile that sent shivers down Isaac's spine, "You felt your children somewhere nearby?"

She glared at him, but finally nodded.

Daimon's eyes leveled at Isaac, "And I'm going to need to pay a visit on an old friend - perhaps we should combine those two tasks? I'm quite certain that, if they are truly on this coast, that my associate will have information for you as well."

Isaac listened to him in disbelief, not believing that he was hearing the same Daimon Hellstorm that he had known - or rather not known over the past few years. This Daimon sounded almost cooperative, he sounded like he honestly wanted to help.

"What's the catch?" Isaac found the words escaping his lips before he could shut them tight in his suspicious mind.

Jaine Cutter, standing behind where Daimon was sitting on the couch, made a subtle shift in her stance. Daimon raised his hand slightly to hold.

She nodded and returned to her original posture.

"Of course you do." Isaac replied, "Why don't you let the rest of us in on why Typhoon contacted us as soon as we hit the coast..."

Several people shifted uncomfortably in their seats. Daimon wasn't one of them. Neither was Typhoon.

"Why don't I tell you Mr. Christians?" she said without a trace of a smile.

"Yes, why don't you?"

The Breed Bar

He didn't bother with the password, one look at his face, and the door was thrown open for him. He looked twice, but the bouncers had all scattered from their posts. He didn't blame them... not with what was coming...

Hannibal King allowed the door to slam behind him as he walked into one of LA's biggest vampire dives. It took a special breed to be able to stomach the place. It took a special kind of man to walk out again.

One such man was already sitting at the bar, sitting facing the door with a scowl on his face.

"I didn't think you were going to show," Hannibal said with his best smile.

The man in dark leather and darker shades stared at him for a moment before a grin came to the edges of his lips, "I wouldn't have missed this for anything," Blade replied.

"Did you bring it?"

Blade nodded. "Got it someplace safe."

Hannibal nodded in return, "Good" he said, trying not to show his relief, "Maybe we once we finish this once and for all..."

Blade allowed the smile to take over his face for a moment, shaking his head "I wouldn't count on it."

"So," Isaac said, after allowing Typhoon to finish, "Oliver Cutlass is missing."

"Kidnapped,"Typhoon inserted.

"With the signs leading to the same people that Daimon wants to go beat information out of anyway..."

"Ask for it nicely," the depowered Lord of Hell replied, "Believe me - that's all I'm going to have to do..."

"Who may also have some information," he turned to the woman who was Hellcat, "about your kids. Seems to me that all the roads are converging on one spot."

"Helzapoppin'" Daimon said in a whisper.

"Pretty damn tidy," Celicia said with a scowl.

"Problem?" Isaac asked, wishing he could talk to his lover in private. There was something wrong, deeper than he had been able to get to. She was usually a tad... moody was a nice way to put it, but she had calmed down a great deal since they had been together. It couldn't just be being passed over as field leader for the mission, although he felt it to be a mistake on the Wasp's part. But then again, with the way she was acting, perhaps it had been the wisest course... there was something bothering her, maybe even something that could explain the dark flames that had surrounded her. He wished that she would just stop avoiding him... he wished that they could go back to being the happy, loving twosome, he wished... he wished she would stop glaring at him...

"You better believe I have a problem with this!" Celicia said, leaning forward, "This just too tidy. All the problems being resolved with one visit to some nightclub?!? Something’s not right here."

"Perhaps I've overstated it," Daimon offered, "We can get information there to resolve some of our problems... whereas we might be able to help Typhoon find her husband..."

"And Rufus Hackstabber..." Typhoon added.

Isaac's eyes went wide. "Not him!"

She nodded,"He's missing asted it," Daimon offered, "We can get information there to resolve some of our problems... whereas we might be able to help Typhoon find her husband..."

"And Rufus Hackstabber..." Typhoon added.

Isaac's eyes went wide. "Not him!"

She nodded,"He's missing as well. The one man who was supposed to know where my husband was..."

"As well as the man I suspect of having the Lesser Grey God," Daimon added, "At least, I know that it was in his possession at one time..."

"And all these threads lead to one place," Cecilia said in disbelief, "I don't care what you say we can find there - this has sucker trap all over it!"

Typhoon was barely in time to get herself between Jaine and the man's innards. "He's a friend!" she said quickly, "I brought him in to look into the situation before you showed up."

Isaac rolled his eyes, "Great, so now we're the second choice..."

"Well," the man said with a flourish that put Fandral to shame. "Don't take it too hard. I am an Avenger after all!"

Isaac stared at him in confusion, "Oh, are you really?"

The man hesitated for a moment before nodding. "Of course I am!"

"And you agree that we'll be walking into a trap?" Cecilia interrupted.

He nodded again, this time with vigor,"I KNOW that its a trap. I've been there and secretly checked out the lay of the land. They're just waiting for someone to show up."

Daimon shook his head in disbelief, "They're not waiting for US - more to the point, they're not lying in wait for ME. They'll give us everything we want - or pay the price for it."

The man shook his head firmly, "I'm afraid Mr. Hellstrum, that you couldn't be more wrong," he said, reaching out toward where Daimon was standing.

The depowered Lord of Hell screamed out in pain, and then vanished.

Jaine lashed out toward the man, but quickly found herself on the ground, holding her throat, and staring at the man who stood calmly, with his arms at his side.

"What are you doing?!?" Typhoon exclaimed, "I thought you were a friend!"

The man smirked, "You certainly wouldn't be the first one to be wrong about that." he replied, "Lets just say, I got a better offer."

The Defenders sprang forward, toward the man who was suddenly a foe.

"No!" Typhoon screamed, "I just redecorated in here!"

"Then you should have picked better friends," he said, indicating the attacking Defenders, whom he knocked back one after the other, "Or at least brought someone capable of defeating the supreme might of - Dr. Amazing!"

NEXT: The Defenders vs. the might of Dr. Amazing!

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