events in Exiles #4 immediately precede this issue

A phenomena occurs across the world where people are trying to reach the highest point possible to reach the moon, regardless of a risk of death. A young woman with ultra abilities hovers over Los Angeles, radiating increasingly different waves of light and many believe she is the source of the people going mad. Doctor Deming, a survivor of the blast on Stronghold Island, is a patient in a hospital, bandaged from head to toe. A man named Doctor Rains, who is actually an agent of Aladdin, informs Doctor Deming that the woman above Los Angeles is Amber Hunt and demands answers, knowing she was involved with the Exiles. "Doctor Rains" gives the information that Doctor Deming gave him to Aladdin and they come to a plan that perhaps Spectral of the Strangers could shed some light on the situation with Amber Hunt, since his powers are also based on light. Aladdin also sends Wrath, an ultra, to handle this particular situation. The Pentagon decides to send Prime, who is armored with a special suit that could allow him to survive in space, to the moon to figure out what activity may be going on there. The Strangers arrive and quickly come to the conclusion that they should contact Amber directly. The Strangers are joined by Mantra and then are soon attacked by the combined might of Quattro and the Omega Team, who were sent by Rex Mundi. The Alternate sends the Solution, Hardcase and Choice to to help even the odds. Prototype is also sent to investigate the situation and joins the fight. Soon, Quattro and the Omega Team are defeated but are still able to escape in a spacecraft. The gathered heroes learn that the thing behind everything is on the moon, so they all decide to go to figure things out once and for all.