Nighthawk finds himself trapped in the past despite trouble in the present. What disastrous relationship is haunting Kyle Richmond? Doctor Strange and "Nighthawk" do battle on the astral plane. Hulk finds a friend in a baby deer.

The beginning of one of the strangest arcs in the Defenders, or any Marvel comic.

Nighthawk goes through a nightmare of mysterious origins, dredging up his worst fears. He feels rejected by the Defenders, feels that Trish Starr blames him for the arm she lost. He is overwhelmed by a giant wave...then wakes up, while flying, and hits a tree. He wonders if it was a normal nightmare, or a psychic attack. He is then shot with a stun ray by Nagan of the Headmen.

Valkyrie is out on an exploratory date with Jack Norriss, who was married to the body that Valkyrie's spirit inhabits. They try out a shooting range at a carnival, but when Jack wins her a prize, Val is confused: "What need has a warrior woman for a cloth representation of a rabbit?" They have similar problems when they try a strength tester. Jack hits the object up to the bell with the mallet, but Val destroys the machine with her hit. Ultimately Val feels that Jack still can't accept that she is not his wife, but he feels that he does, and she is not giving him a chance on her own.

Hulk stumbles on the scene of two deer peacefully eating, which happily reminds him of Bambi. However, some hunters shoot the mother, so Hulk beats the hunters up and brings the surviving baby deer, which he continues to call Bambi, to Dr. Strange for help.

Kyle wakes up surrounded by the Headmen. Presumably Chondu is the one who psychically attacked him earlier. They explain that they are going to surgically take out his brain, and put Chondu's brian in his body. Then he will infiltrate the Defenders.

An interlude: a married couple leaves a Las Vegas casino and gets in a cab. The driver turns out to be a manikin, which opens up to reveal an elf, who proceeds to shoot the couple.

Chondu, whose brain is now in Nighthawk's body, intercepts Hulk on his way to Dr. Strange's, and joins him. Val and Jack also walk in. The Headmen didn't realize who else was on the Defenders team, and is chocked to learn one of them is Strange, who is much more powerful than anyone they expected.

Chondu uses a spell to freeze the Defenders in place and leaves to tell the other Headmen what he has learned. However, he did not actually freeze Strange, who releases the others, and they chase after him. Strange transports himself and Chondu to another dimension so they can safely fight. Chondu realizes that Strange is significantly more powerful than him, and uses a drug to amplify his own powers. However, they are still not at Strange's level, and Strange defeats him. He brings him back to the Defenders' reality.

They unmask him, expecting to find someone else wearing Nighthawk's costume, and are shocked to find Kyle's face under the mask!