Five Women The ex-Ghost Rider, Johnny Blaze, and his girlfriend, Roxanne Simpson, ride towards the Defenders’ headquarters on his motorcycle. Finding the path blocked by the U.S. Army, they ride over the Army’s barricade and continue on their way. At headquarters, Angel and Cloud are taken to the infirmary, while Moondragon and Valkyrie are assumed dead after the Defenders’ battle with the Dragon of the Moon. General Argyle Fist warns Beast and Iceman that they will need stronger government connections to deal with major incidents such as this, or the Defenders will be blamed. In New York, the woman who emerged from a submarine on the waterfront is now calling herself “Andrea” and is living with the man who helped her on the dock, Tony. When Tony notices that her lips are turning blue, Andrea uses a breathing device to restore her color to “normal.” She also uses a strange device to make copies of Tony’s credit cards. Back in the Defenders’ infirmary, the Beast speaks to doctors on a satellite link. The doctors claim that Angel’s eyes should improve, but they cannot understand Cloud’s strange physiology. Johnny Blaze arrives with Roxanne to visit his old partners from the Champions, Angel and Iceman…and to hit up Angel for a loan. The Defenders are pleased to hear that Blaze has been freed of the demon that transformed him into the Ghost Rider. Valkyrie returns, having survived the battle with the Dragon of the Moon. However, she reveals that Moondragon has also survived and was hurled across the world; Moondragon has become twisted by darkness and hate, and wherever she is, there is little of her human self left. The dejected Defenders consider disbanding but, with Candy Southern’s encouragement, ultimately decide to remain a team. Later, Beast sees a female military officer observing Cloud in the infirmary. When confronted, she claims to be an old acquaintance of Beast’s that he met at a New Year’s Eve party. Beast accepts this story, but after he departs, the woman looms over Cloud and looks at an old newspaper clipping about a girl named “Carol Faber” who was killed in an auto accident…a girl who looks exactly like Cloud.
