Prologue.- The Order of the Defenders.

Our story begins in a secret location, where we find a redhaired human female, a male white dog and a bunch of five year old kids of several races, while the first two were trying to make the kids fall asleep.
- Tell us the story again, Dudley! Please! - A young skeleton asked with big puppy eye sockets.
- Aww, come on, you're cheating, Jack. - The dog chuckled.
- Please, just once more! - Asked a human brown-haired girl.
- But you already know the story like the back of your hands. - The red-haired woman smiled and ruffled the girl's hair.
- Please! - A young raccoon pouted.
- What do you say, Pepper? Should we? - The dog asked the woman.
- I dunno, it's too late already and they need to sleep. - Pepper replied.
- Please! We promise to be good tomorrow! - The kids said in unison.
- Ok, ok, you win, but just once more and you'll go to sleep, deal? - Dudley asked and picked up the raccoon.
- It's a deal, dad! - A young blue-eyed kitten said.
Dudley nodded, then he sat the young raccoon in his lap and cleared his throat a bit.
- Once upon a time, sixteen of the greatest heroes of the universe gathered to fight the greatest threat that anyone had ever had faced, a threat that had defeated every one of the beings who had tried to face it... From that day on, those heroes were known as the Order of the Defenders. - Dudley said.
"The Cyborg... The world's greatest detective.
The Agent... A sports star that left the fame to become a hero.
The Shapeshifter... A teen with an interesting wristwatch.
The Ghost... A teen who always stood up to save his loved ones.
The Spy... An exceptionally skilled woman, but way too serious and somewhat boring.
The Knight... A very intelligent and narcissistic man with an impressive suit of armor.
The Thief... A man who came from a long line of elite thieves.
The Robot... Wise when calmed, and fierce during battle.
The Ninja... Not very intelligent, but he was bold and smart whenever he needed to.
The Swordsman... A wise and powerful man.
The Alien... The world's most beloved hero.
The Warrior... The greatest fighter that the universe had ever seen.
The Cop... A fierce and dutiful woman.
The Soldier... The best soldier anyone saw.
The Arbiter... An alien that was forced to take onto a mantle to recover his honor.
The Wizard... An orphan who was destined for greatness.
And the King... The smartest and bravest of them, always leading the team to victory."
Dudley stopped for a bit and looked at the kids.
- Individually, each of these heroes could take on an army and win; together, not many could even attempt to challenge them. - Dudley said. - And though they had rivalries and all sorts of troubles between themselves, they always set their differences aside when it came to save innocents.
- They fought all kinds of threats, all over the Old Republic. Conquerors, Dark Lords, Parasites Destroyers, Devastators, and even themselves on one time. - Pepper said. - And when they had finally brought peace to the galaxy, they started living their lives in calm, settling their duties aside and, eventually, all of them fell in love.
- The Cyborg met his perfect match in one of the scientists that created him, the Agent found himself captivated by a rival of his, the Ghost found love in one of his life-long friends, the Spy found someone who complemented her, the Knight realized how important his assistant was to him, the Thief somehow managed to steal away the Cop's heart, the Robot... Well, the Robot didn't find someone...
- The Ninja fell for a very shy fellow of his, the Swordsman turned a rival to the Light Side and eventually fell in love with her, the Alien found someone in which he could trust, the Warrior was unknowingly convinced to get married, the Soldier fulfilled a promise he had made when he was a kid, the Arbiter met his mate, the Wizard was captivated by a headstrong redhead, and the King found his Queen. - Pepper said.
- And after some time, the children of the Defenders were born. All of the Defenders knew that each of their children would become their sucessors and keep the peace all over the Republic.
- Unfortunately, like everything in the universe, everything has to come to an end, even peace. - Pepper sighed and picked the little kitten, up.
- That's when he appeared... This being was literally a god... He called himself, the Messiah. - Dudley said. - He said that he brought peace with him, but what he actually brought was enslavement.
- Several heroes tried to face him, from the Mighty Thor to the Amazing Spider-Man. But unfortunately, they couldn't beat him.
- Then the villains tried their luck, from the Mad Titan, Thanos, to the mad man known as the Joker, but no one could even make him break a sweat.
- When all seemed hopeless, it came the turn of the gods... But even beings like the Beyonder and Whis were not able to defeat him.
- In the end, almost all the defenders were killed, but those who were still alive were still fighting, so they formed a resistance with all the survivors to extermination of the Messiah and his lieutenants.
- The surviving heroes, villains and gods faced the conqueror. - Dudley explained. - They all fought bravely and fiercely... But inevitably, the Resistance failed...
- However, there was still a spark of hope for the galaxy, and probably for the entire multiverse. - Pepper smiled. - During their final battle, the Resistance members left their children in charge of the few heroes who for various reasons could no longer stay in the fight, and they hid them while the rest stopped the Messiah and his lieutenants for as long they could, as they knew that only those children would be able to finish what they didn't.
As the story ended, Dudley and Pepper looked at the yawning kids and smiled, then they laid the girls they had in their arms on a bed and made sure all the children were tucked up. The couple kissed each kid in the forehead and silently left the bedroom.
- Sleep tight, little Defenders... - Dudley whispered as he closed the door.

"Hope always dies last."
~Popular saying.

THEEVILDOER Industries present.-
NEW DEFENDERS: THE NEXT GREATEST HEROES.