* Eternity appearance

At the Sanctum Sanctorum, Dr. Strange and Clea watch as the Hulk plays with dolls based on the various Defenders and remark on how child like and innocent such a powerful and savage creature can be when they are visited by Nighthawk. Nighthawk relates to them the attack on him by his ex-girlfriend Mindy Williams[1] and expresses his daoubts about being a hero. When Strange attempts to console Kyle over his doubts they are all suddenly startled when the Earth suddenly and briefly blinks out of existence twice. Before Strange can tell them what has happened he is suddenly forced into a trance and finds his astral form brought before Eternity. Eternity explains to Strange that the universe is in dire peril and that only he and the Defenders can save it. Eternity explains that it sends portions of itself out into the universe to live normal lives so that it may understand what it's like to be mortal. Once the required experiences were made, Eternity would call these beings back to be reabsorbed into his being. However, much to his surprise three of these beings had not returned when he called them back, and their prolonged absence threatens to destroy the universe.

Returning to his physical body, Strange explains to Clea, Richmond and the Hulk what happened and sends his mind out to recruit other members of the Defenders. While Valkyrie, Hellcat, and Sub-Mariner answers the call for help, the Silver Surfer declines due to another bout of melancholy brought on by his interactions with humanity[2]. Strange then calls out to one-time Defenders associate Daimon Hellstrom, aka the Son of Satan, who was expecting Strange's call and agrees to help out. With all the heroes gathered, Strange reveals the locations with the Cauldron of the Cosmos and sends out two Defenders to each location where help is needed.

Son of Satan and Hellcat appear in a temple dedicated to the Hindu god Rama in Srinagar India. There, Hellstrom stops Patsy because he detects a black aura around her. Confiding in Hellstrom that she is still dealing with her mothers death, the two decide to leave the matter alone for now in order to seek out the portion of Eternity that has manifested here. Entering the main room, they are attacked by a members of cult of Rama. Hellstrom easily defeats them with his hell fire and angrily demands answers before Hellcat stops him. They learn that the cult's leader Sai Anand received a vision from Hanuman warning of attackers seeking to kill him before he was taken away to safety by a sacred monkey. As they rush off to the location of this sacred monkey, Daimon apologizes for his behavior earlier, explaining to Hellcat how hard it can be at times to keep his Dark Soul under control. At another temple they are attacked by the sacred monkey, however the two heroes make short work of it and continue on to recover Sai Anand, the first of three mortal fragments belonging to Eternity.

Meanwhile, the Hulk and Nighthawk find themselves materializing in a northern Russian village that is under siege by an army of ice monsters. The two manage to fight them off and learn that the portion of Eternity they are looking for, a retarded boy named Ivan, was taken from his parents the ice monsters. Kyle vows to Ivan's parents that he will bring him back, feeling guilty lying about the truth of their mission to two grieving parents. The two bound off to find the location where the ice monsters took Ivan and find themselves suddenly frozen in huge chunks of ice. The Hulk manages to break them both free and they come before a giant ice temple, and rush inside.
Finally, on an island off the coast of Petras, Greece, the Sub-Mariner and Valkyrie appear and are attacked by an army of soldiers. They fight them off only to be stopped by Elizabeth Carvopolis, the wife of shipping magnate Socrates Carvopolis. She explains that her husband had been captured by a Harpy of Greek myth and asks the heroes to rescue h

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