It was a dark and dreary day in London. Of course ever seen the Barrier went up, it had always been like that to some people. Europe had become a D&D gamer’s fantasy and nightmare at the same time.

 

This didn’t bother Doctor Strange though. No it was what was within himself that bothered him more than just some rain and clouds. For inside “him” were the wizards that Blackheart had suck into some sort of limbo, and were later killed.  So many people now were within him, so many lives, so many lives and tragedies all happened to him.  He could remember turning his brother to a vampire or the horror he felt at the Vision being taken apart like a cheap watch among the many feelings and lives of so many that now were within him.

 

It would drive anyone else mad. He just had to deal with it. Of course he felt other things he had to deal with coming.  There were whispers of a group known as “The Order” spreading themselves in the underworld.  Normally street level heroes wouldn’t be something he’d be interested in. However, the leader claimed to be the Master of the Mystical Arts. Something about that didn’t feel right to him.

 

There was also a new gang running around. Many heroes could combat them, but this group used a combination of high technology and magic.  The magic felt very close to his own, but that was nearly impossible. The magic of Vishintai and other powers were unknown within the barrier, and he could account for all that he knew of that had could use it.

 

Of course Doctor Strange could be wrong. He felt that he would need something to deal with the Order if it was necessary and the threats unseen he felt coming. Only one group fit the bill.

 

That group would be…. The Defenders!         

 

---

 

 

To the outside observer, Adam Warlock was in a state of quiet meditation and reflection. They would be wrong.  Adam Warlock was thinking about the likely situations that he would encounter when he managed to get back to his dimension.  None of them seemed good.

 

He also had this feeling that something was going to happen. Whenever he gained time peace and quiet, it always ended in him needing to take part in something. A something that always involved people in colorful costumes and the fate of something hanging in the balance and someone needed to get their butt kicked as Pip would put it.

 

 Suddenly an astral projection appeared before Adam Warlock. 

 

“You are either Iron Man having become Sorcerer Supreme or Doctor Strange using battle armor of some kind” Adam Warlock stated.

 

“The latter Adam Warlock” Strange replied.

 

“I take you have come to me because you desire my aid in matter of grave importance” Adam Warlock said, not sounding like a question at all.

 

“Correct Adam Warlock” Doctor Strange replied.

 

“Then where do you wish for me to go?” Adam Warlock said.

 

Doctor Strange told him.

 

<P>-----

In a dive of a bar, a man was drowning his sorrows. This was a common enough scene, however not often was a former media sensation super hero doing it.

 

Tike used to be on the top of the world. Sure being a member of the X-Statixs was dangerous, he was the earliest member of the group back they were called X-Force that was still alive after all.  He had fame, he was someone everyone talked about at the water cooler and everyone wanted him to promote their stuff.  Of course he wasn’t the only X-Statixs member to get that but he felt like he was the one making the most of it.

 

Anarchist and Dead Girl were in London to promote the X-Statixs movie, and the Barrier went up.  Of course everything goes nuts and the super natural come out to play. That included the undead. He lost Dead Girl to some rotting loser called Ghost or Ghoul or something.

 

He could take that. It hurt like hell, but he could move on with his life. What tore him up inside beyond what he could take was Venus teleporting in to the Barrier. He’d heard rumors of the Martian Invasion. He had a gut feeling the X-Statixs were not going to do well in that. They had enough trouble with bullets let alone heat rays and such.  

 

Venus De Milo confirmed it. She told him how X-Force (seems the old group they beat up and the X-Statixs had a merger) was lead into an ambush and from what she saw they were slaughtered.  Energy was leaking out of her along with blood. She died shortly after telling what happened.

 

That tore up Tike. What would he do now? He had nothing to go back to if the Barrier went down, and he had nothing inside it either. He didn’t feel like sort of super hero, and he doubted the Pendragons or Crusaders or any other group would want a washed up super powered celebrity.  They probably thought he was some loser making fun of what a super hero really was.  He felt that was exactly what he was doing when he was with X-Statixs.

 

“Give me another round!” Tike yelled.

 

“Those spirits will not help you deal with the spirits of the dead” someone said behind Tike.

 

“Yeah what do you know Morpheus?” Tike said over his shoulder.

 

An armored hand was put on his shoulder, and Tike suddenly felt sober. Tike wondered what kind of magic that was. It was working far better than the pills the X-Statixs used to become sober instantly.

 

“I am Doctor Strange, and I know far more about suffering and tragedy than you do” Doctor Strange said.

 

“Yeah I got a feeling you do know more than I do on that…but would you need a washed up dude that used the super hero thing to become a celebrity?” Tike asked.

 

“You are far more than you believe yourself to be” Doctor Strange said.

 

“Whatever, I mean I don’t really have much to lose at this point” Tike said “And don’t say anything about my life. I’ve seen the whole team I started with buried and the second version of it is gone as well. I mean bullets were enough to kill my teammates, and I’m sure that will be the least of my worries.”

 

<P>-------

 

The place was filled with swirling colors and a road that seemed to go on forever. It looked like an acid trip. Standing at a corner in it was a massive man. His skin was slate grey. He wore a suit that looked like a super sized version of one an old movie gangster would wear.

 

This man…this monster was smoking a cigar the size of a man’s hand. He was bored out of his mind. He never was able to get out and “play” anymore. He was starting to wonder why he let that savage idiot have all the fun.  Plus the new guy…he had no idea what that guy would do.

 

“I can change that” a voice echoed in the strange mindscape.  A voice that Joe Fixit knew it was.

 

“I heard you were dead Strange” Joe Fixit said.

 

“I was, however I am not now” Doctor Strange replied.

 

“Yeah…who stays dead anymore?” Joe Fixit said with a laugh. He then got serious and asked “I know you aren’t talking with me because you like me, so let’s get down to business. What do you need me for and what is in it for me?”

 

“I am getting the Defenders together to deal with a threat” Strange said.

 

“Figured as much, but like I said…what is in it for me?” Fixit asked.

 

“My aid in case you need it for handling the new Hulk persona” Doctor Strange said.

 

“Why do I get the feeling there is something you’re not telling me?” Joe asked.

 

“Because I am…it’s all vaguely written prophecy” Strange admitted.

 

“Lovely…fine I’m in for this but I’ll want more stuff if this becomes a regular thing” Joe said.

 

<P>--------

There were days Patsy Walker wondered about reality. She had seen things that she would never had believed before she donned The Cat costume.  She knew more about demons and devils than anyone should know firsthand.

 

Now she was stuck inside the Barrier. It wasn’t so bad but she felt so bored. Even fighting street crime as Hellcat wasn’t enough. It was as if something was missing.    With what was missing being something very important in her life.

 

She figured what it was when Doctor Strange appeared in her apartment.

 

“I need your help Pasty…the Defenders are needed” Dr. Strange said.

 

“I’m in” Patsy said with a smile.

 

<P>-------

Out watching the London was a dead man. Not in the literal sense, but a man that to those that last saw him saw him explode.

 

His name was Dr. Steven Strange. Yet he was not the Dr. Strange of this Earth. Rather he was the Dr. Strange of a world created on the other side of the sun by High Evolutionary.  He called himself Necromancer and found it amusing that things had changed. Now he was the one alive and his counterpart was the dead one now.

 

He had stayed out of the petty affairs of all the other mystics and criminals that had come up inside the Barrier.  Of course he also managed to gain some allies.  The most powerful of his allies entered the room.  

 

He was Reed Richards. Yet he wasn’t the Mr. Fantastic of this world. He called himself the Dark Raider. His world he was the one to get the Ultimate Nullifer. However he was too late and he was the only thing to survive the coming of Galactus.  It drove him mad, and made him want to kill every counterpart in every reality.

 

Though he did realize all he was doing was creating divergent realities. He just didn’t really care or rather he knew all he was doing was making divergent realities so it didn’t matter.  He was trapped in the Negative Zone until Necromancer found him.

 

“With the Pendragons disbanded and everyone else overworked by the power vacuum, now is the time to strike” Dark Raider said.

 

“I agree, yet it is the enemy you don’t know about that is the most dangerous” Necromancer said.

 

“So does that mean we won’t go ahead with our plans?” Dark Raider asked.  

 

“Of course we will” Necromancer said “However you can never tell with heroes, they always seem to rise out of the woodwork and form teams”  

 

“Well I’m sure anything that could form now can be beaten by Vargas and Sabertooth” Dark Raider replied confidently.

 

“Of course there is our other plan” Necromancer said.

 

“So there any other heroes we need for the plan” Dark Raider said.

 

“In fact I’m going to recruit another one now” Necromancer said as he vanished.

 -----

Amber Hunt wondered if reality would ever feel right. Ever since she ended up in this dimension it had been altered twice. Only good thing she found was that is was the reality Juggernaut, Reaper, and Sienna were from.

 

She couldn’t find Cain, or the others. So she tried to create a normal life for herself. Or as normal as one could make life on another Earth, and one where magical beings roamed again.

 

Suddenly someone appeared before her.

 

“Greetings I am Necromancer and I have an offer for you….”

 

Doctor Strange sighed. He should have known it’d be like this.

 

The “this” being a bar brawl with everyone fight.

 

“Hey aren’t you Richard Simmons and your friend Richard Simmons” a lanky man with a mullet said to the burliest bikers in the bar.

 

The two bikers didn’t take the joke very well and attacked the lanky man. He just smiled and ducked under the fist of the first biker. He then punched the first biker in the family jewels as hard as he could.

 

“I kicked Captain America’s ass doing that.” The lanky man said “Well I kicked him instead of punching him but I can’t get why he wasn’t wearing a cup?”

 

“Shut up!” the second biker said and lunged at the lanky man.   The lanky man did the Vulcan Nerve Pinch.

 

The second biker looked at the lanky man like he was nuts. He was quite correct. The lanky man was completely insane.

 

The lanky man said “Well I guess I got to go for the Rhiansu head banger”.

 

He grabbed a pool stick and repeatedly hit the biker over the head with it.  The biker fell to the ground like a sack of bricks.

 

“Are you done Deadpool?” Doctor Strange asked.

 

“Deadpool? No I’m David Patrick” ‘David Patrick’ said.

 

Suddenly the Lord of the Lake appeared before them.

 

“Deadpool I need you to… did I pick a bad time?” Dane said.

 

“Not with this bunch” The Merc With a Mouth said as he kicked one of the fallen bikers.

 

"I need you to be come a part of my elite force the Knights of Avalon" Dane said.

 

"So how much you going to pay me?" David Patrick said.

 

"Money is not an important issue for this." Dane said "This is to defend the world from threats no one else can withstand."

 

Deadpool turned around and said "I still got mental problems the last time someone asked me to do something like that!" David Patrick said.

 

Dane leaned forward "Is there anything that can change your mind?”

 

“Well there is something that might” Deadpool said.

 

“And that is?” Dane asked.

 

Out of the blue Deadpool turned around hit Dane in the face with a left cross.

 

“What was that for?” Dane asked.

 

“That was for Theresa” Deadpool said snidely.

 

 

"Man I should have picked a more exciting career than Accountant" Bobby Drake thought. He was trying to build a normal life away from the X-Men in Britain before the Barrier came up.

 

He looked at the small office he was in. It was little more than very large walk in closet with a desk, a computer and a chair for him to sit in. It didn’t have a window so it looked even more like a closest. Storm would have gone crazy being in it as many hours a day Bobby was.

 

He had a normal life now. He had a day job, a girlfriend, and a decent apartment that he shared with said girlfriend. He should have been completely happy with all that.  

 

Yet he always had this urge to do the heroic thing. To save lives, pick up chicks and such. Of course being a founding member of the X-Men plus a Champion and a Defender. Iceman wondered why he always stayed within the X-crowd after Jean returned from the dead…or whatever happened. Thinking about the Phoenix mess and the aftermath of it always made his head hurt.  

 

“Not that I ever had much luck with ‘the chicks’…though the current relationship seems to be working out” Bobby Drake thought.

 

 Then Bobby Drake saw an armored figure floating in mid air. Bobby sighed and smiled at the same time. It looked like he was going to lose his job and finally get back to saving the day.

 

“I am in need of your help Ice Man” Doctor Strange said.

 

“You guys never show up to throw parties.” Ice Man said “It’s always the world in peril and all that jazz.”

 

“Will you help me?” Doctor Strange asked.

 

“Of course I will...the Ice Stounding Ice Mazing Iceman is at your service” Bobby replied.

 

The island was once used as base for the Acolytes.  Afterwards it was used by the X-Men as safe house from the Phalanx. Afterwards the place was left empty for a long time. Then there was creation of the Barrier and the rebirth of Doctor Strange and the other mystics that died.

 

Doctor Strange converted the place into his Sanctum Sanctorum.  He brought the Defenders here and hoped they’d be a less destructive bunch than the last team was on his stuff.

 

Anarcist felt like a fish out of water among the Defenders. He was used to hobnobbing with celebrities and the like. He never hung out with the real heroes. Then again why would any real heroes want to talk to a fake like him?  Even that Deadpool guy who was talking with Iceman was more of a hero than he was….

 

“Oh my god” Tike muttered under his breath “A real friggin X-Man.” 

 

This made Tike even more nervous about being here. He doubted the X-Men liked the X-Statixs at all. They put blood, sweat and tears into their dream for humanity and mutantity to get along. Several of them died for their dream (even before the Martian Invasion). They were getting nowhere fast.

 

Then out of nowhere comes a new X-Force team that later dubbed themselves the X-Statixs. They get all the good PR and are beloved by all. And act like regular celebrities. They don’t stand for anything but greed and getting what they want.

 

“Hell I went and robbed a jewelry store and the owner thanked me for doing so” Tike thought “I bet the Avengers, X-Men and the like found that as funny as Power Man or Goliath  or Atlas or whatever he called himself taking a piss on their place”

 

While Tike was thinking he nearly hit Adam Warlock.

 

“In my dimension you’re dead” Adam stated.

 

“In your di…man this is getting weird” Tike said “I mean my group never got into the alternate dimensions, time travel and the other stuff the FF revel in.”

 

“While I have more experience with such things than anyone should” Adam Warlock said coolly.

 

“Something tells me I’m going to get a crash course on that with this team” Tike said.

 

 

 

“So what is with the black leather?” Deadpool asked Iceman.

 

“Well we needed a new team costume and Scott let us in a little too much on his bedroom activities with Jean. I mean I used to wear a Speedo and if it wasn’t for the fact that I’m immune to the effects of my powers….lets just say I wouldn’t be able to have children”

 

“That mean you’re not…you know” Deadpool said with a wink.

 

“I have no idea why that rumor started…I mean I just have really crappy luck with long term relationships” Bobby said.

 

 “You are speaking to the king of crappy relationship luck here” Deadpool said.

 

“Of course Logan had this bright idea of not wearing a shirt with the leather jacket….I mean even Northstar was complaining about that” Bobby said.

 

“Eeww….more hair visible than some people have on their whole bodies” Deadpool replied.

 

“Makes you wonder how he can get so many chicks” Bobby said.

 

“It’s that animal magnetism thing…hey you hear that his daughter is with that X-Men team?” Deadpool said.

 

“You sure that girl is his daughter?” Iceman asked.

 

“She looks a lot like him and has claws in her arms…so of course she’s his daughter” Deadpool said.

 

“She could always be a gender altered clone from an alternate future come to stop her future from happening” Iceman said.

 

“That sounds like something a crappy comic book writer would do” Deadpool said.

 

“Actually sounds like something Scott would have to deal with” Iceman asked.

 

“He ever have winged monkeys come out of his butt and try to shave Wolverine’s back?” Deadpool said “I think that happened to me once, either that or I was drunk and watching Animal Planet.”

 

“Ummm…Ok” Iceman said not having a good witty comment to that.  He then slowly backed away from Deadpool.

 

“I can’t believe the X-Men defeated you!” Necromancer yelled at Sabertooth and Vargas.

 

“The girl has to be the runt’s daughter” Sabertooth said.

 

“And of course one of the infamous Weapon X project graduates” Dark Raider said.

 

Necromancer sighed. It looked like he needed to step up his plans.

 

And for that his allies and anyone that would fight him would die…