Division of Power

In Times Square, Silvermane threatened to attack the entire city unless Deathlok surrenders his body. However, Spider-Man refuses to let the cyborg surrender his body as this will only make the current gang war between rival factions of the Maggia even worse. This causes the two heroes to come to blows, as Deathlok resists the wall-crawler. This battle brings much amusement to Hydro-Man, Scorpia, and the Beetle who wait to collect Deathlok and turn him over to their master. However, Silvermane grows bored of the battle, and orders Deathlok to surrender immediately. To show that he is serious, he sets off a bomb that was previously planted in the Holland Tunnel, causing it to flood. This angers Deathlok, who grabs Spider-Man by the throat, as he blames the wall-crawler for allowing this to happen. As the two continue to fight, Spider-Man begins to wonder why Deathlok -- who is stronger than the web-slinger -- isn't putting all his strength into the battle. He soon realizes that Deathlok is trying to get a message across to him. When they get close to each other again, Deathlok manages to whisper something into Spider-Man's ears that convinces him to stop fighting. As Deathlok surrenders to Silvermane's minions, Spider-Man tags him with a spider-tracer. As Deathlok is taken away, the wall-crawler hopes that Deathlok's plan is going to work out.

Meanwhile, on the Brooklyn Bridge, the Punisher drives his van. His thoughts are on the war between the Maggia and the Hell's Kitchen Mobs. After hearing a radio report on an explosion in the Holland Tunnel. Deducing that Silvermane is responsible, is furious at the loss of innocent life and vows to kill Silvermane. His rage growing, the vigilante pulls a knife and begins carving a skull onto the dashboard of his van. At that moment, Daredevil arrives at the Holland Tunnel where rescue crews have already arrived on the scene. He also sees that the Avengers are also on the scene helping with the rescue effort. Hearing what went down in Times Square, the Man Without Fear wonders what Spider-Man and Deathlok were thinking. That's when his enhanced senses begin detecting Spider-Man approaching. Still pretending that he is a new Daredevil, the Man Without Fear asks Spider-Man what he wants.[1] Spider-Man explains how he tagged Deathlok with a spider-tracer and can track his location, however, he needs help going up against Silvermane. While at Silvermane's upstate mansion, Deathlok is brought into a lab where Silvermane's mind is to be transferred into his body. When the cyborg is mocked by Caesar Cicero, he tries to lash out but is incapacitated by Scorpia.

Put on the operating table, the process to transfer Silvermane's mind into Deathlok's cyborg body begins. Silvermane begins to fantasize about using Deathlok's body to kill every superhero who has crossed his path in the past. He then explains that he has recruited one of Deathlok's old foes in order to complete this process, the man known as Mainframe. As they prepare for the final transfer, Deathlok orders his internal computer to transmit his mind into cyberspace so he can evade their attempts to purge his mind. By this time, Spider-Man and Daredevil arrive on the scene, setting off the alarms. They are soon swarmed by a phalanx of armed guards. Inside, Caesar spots the two heroes on the security monitors and dispatched Scorpia to deal with them. With Spider-Man and Daredevil are busy fighting Scorpia, Deathlok tries to access the computer system that will facilitate the mind transfer. However, when he attempts to stop it, he attacked by antivirus software. Despite this, Deathlok's interference stop them from transferring Silvermane's mind into Deathlok's body. This leaves Mainframe with only one other option, transferring a copy of Silvermane's mind into the Deathlok cyborg. He warns Cicero that this will leave Silvermane's physical form in a coma-like state -- possibly for months -- and that they should hide it as they don't know how the copy of Silvermane's mind will react to knowing that two of them exist. Ceaser tells Mainframe to do it, and Deathlok's personality is seemingly wiped from the cyborg body. This entire process is being watched by the Punisher who can no longer sit back and observe and comes crashing in through the window with guns blazing.

Now in control of Deathlok's body, Silvermane looks forward to eliminating the Punisher once and for all. However, not only is Deathlok's mind still alive inside the cybernetic body, but his commands the computer system in his cybernetic body -- particularly Deathlok's no kill order -- remain intact. Realizing this, Silvermane decides to take advantage of the situation. Fleeing into the hall, Silvermane incapacitates Scorpia. He then convinces the two heroes that Deathlok is still in control and that they have much to do. Although the pair agree, both Daredevil's enhanced senses and Spider-Man's spider-sense warn them that something about this situation is not right.

Recurring Characters

Spider-Man, Deathlok, Daredevil, Punisher, Maggia (Silvermane, Caesar Cicero), Beetle, Hydro-Man, Scorpia, Mainframe, Avengers (Crystal, Hercules, Vision, Black Widow, Thunderstrike)

Continuity Notes

1. At the time of this story, Matt Murdock faked his death in Daredevil #325 and has since been operating under a new identity.