In the first issue of the collection, Iron Man and the Human Torch are doing a drill with the government when Rogue interrupts. Suddenly, the three are zapped and they are transported to a space craft. On the ship, they find out that they have been summoned by Coteire, because they want to have a contest to see which superhero is the best of the best. Iron Man, however, is not buying the simplicity of the situation as being projected by a hologram in his room, because he can detect the nanites that are crawling all over his suit and registering as a biohazard. Then we discover that the ship has captured a number of superheroes and the nanites are infecting them to make them believe they are living their dreams. The hosts detect that Iron Man hasn't been infected with the nanites and make him fight in the arena first against Psylocke, who attacks as soon as she see's him. Things aren't looking good for Iron Man, but when he realizes that most of the battle is just an illusion, he defeats Psylocke. Soon, Iron Man has to battle the X-Force- Cannonball, Moonstar, Sunspot, Meltdown, Proudstar, and Siryn, and he deals with them with ease. However, then Jesse Bedlam (who can disrupt any kind of electrical or mechanical system) get a hold of him and Domino appears to knock him out. The Coteire say they are transporting Iron Man back to where he came from, but behind the scenes they say that they are disposing him. The X-Force move on to the next round.

In the second issue, Iron Man and Psylocke appear in an area that they think is another part of the ship. Iron Man ties Psylocke up because she still wants to battle because of the nanites. Iron Man uses his tech to modify the nanites so they help them fight against the bad nanites. Meanwhile, a number of battles go on in the arena- The Human Torch beats Spider Woman, the Hulk beats Mr. Fantastic, the Human Torch beats She Hulk, and Storm beats the Human Torch (because H.T. decides he doesn't want a contest to ruin his streak of not using his powers to do harm). During this time, the Coteire leaders approach Katherine "Kitty" Pryde and discover that the nanites are making hers sick because she is resisting them.

In the third issue, The Scarlet Witch beats Cable (or does he give up?). In his last words he tells her that the contest is a trick. In the other area where Iron Man is, Spider Woman is next to appear and she is immediately chased by the predators in the area. Rosetta Stone and Lockdown appear and kill the predator and pick up Spider Woman. Then they meet Iron Man and Psylocke and team up. They also discover that they are battling The Brood. In the arena, the next battle is between the New Warriors and the Slingers...but this time they don't fight, they play basketball and the New Warriors win. Meanwhile, Pryde and Shadowcat are being experimented on by The Brood. The Brood is trying to transfigure the supers and get them to join The Brood. In the arena, battling continues- Spider Man beats Beast, Domino beats Power Man, Hawkeye beats The Wasp, Iron Fist beats Colossus, Daredevil beats Firestar, Phoenix beats Justice, Gambit beats Quicksilver, Black Panther beats the New Warriors, Black Widow beats Wonder Woman, Deadpool beats Generation-X, the Invisible Woman beats Iron Fist, and Thor beats Storm.

In the fourth issue, Deadpool takes on Daredevil and wins. Meanwhile, others are being transported to the jungle and learning that not old did the Coterie lied to them, but their powers have also been zapped. The all team up and are told that The Brood are weeding them out so they can take the best of the best and put an embryo in them so when their creature is born, it will absorb the power from it's host. In the arena, the Black Widow beats the X-Force, but is then beaten by Thor. Next, Phoenix beats the Thing, Spiderman beats Domino, Captain America beats Black Panther, and Gambit beats Wolverine. The Brood thinks they have the heroes finally narrowed down, Hawkeye takes his aim from the rafters.

In the final issue, we pick up with Hawkeye taking aim at the Brood who has taken the shape of Rogue. While Hawkeye and Gambit are fighting, the "mother" of the Brood, who has taken the form of Rogue, has sucked up all the power from the remaining heroes to make herself extremely powerful. But then Hawkeye and a group of the "defeated" heroes come back to fight the mother while others go free who they can in other parts of the ship. The team is about to take down the queen but then they are teleported to safety. However, the queen breaks the transmission system which leaves her and Warbird to battle while the other two women try to figure out how to get themselves and Warbrid out of there safely. Right before the ship blows, the mother leaves Rogues body and the four of them transport to the military training area where the storyline began. Of course, though, the mother lives on.