Moondragon begins to experience pain, as the Dragon of the Moon continues to fight her. Valkyrie senses impending danger, but she believes that Moondragon must be allowed to face it herself. On the waterfront, a woman emerges from a submarine and runs down the dock. She stumbles as she approaches a man, who offers to help her by taking her to his place. Meanwhile, Moondragon turns her power inward and examines herself at the cellular level. She finds that she has become infected by the plant creature the Defenders battled recently, and the Dragon tells her that she will die unless she surrenders herself to him. Moondragon refuses to unleash the Dragon’s evil upon her friends, the Defenders, so the Dragon shows her visions of the ones she fights to protect. First, she sees Iceman and Cloud at Fontane College in Boston, where Cloud is distraught over having accidentally crippled Adrian Castorp. Cloud is also upset about her feelings for Moondragon and wishes she had never met the Defenders. Valkyrie awakens Candy Southern and warns her to take Dolly Donahue and Beast’s dog, Sassafrass, away from the Defenders headquarters. The Dragon then shows Moondragon a vision of her past, when she enjoyed the freedom of outer space with the Elder of the Universe known as the Runner. When they come upon a star that will go supernova in the near future, Moondragon asks why they do not warn the inhabitants of the nearby planets, but Runner explains that he gave up much power when he chose the path of freedom. As Moondragon’s pain increases, the Dragon tells her that people are not worth dying for, and Moondragon finally admits that she does not want to die and accepts the Dragon’s power. Now possessed by the Dragon, Moondragon is confronted by Valkyrie, Angel, and Gargoyle. Moondragon causes Gargoyle’s regenerated hand to grow out of control and attack him, blinds Angel, and causes Valkyrie to vanish in a flash of light.

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