My Quest to Read All X-Men Related Comics in Order from Beginning to Present time

[SunflowaSeeds]

Weapon X #6-13 Continued...

The Director has a secret meeting with Marrow, telling her that Sabretooth has escaped. Reminding her of the Mutant Massacre, he offers her to the assignment to bring Creed back by whatever means necessary. Marrow eagerly accepts; she has been waiting to get revenge on Sabretooth for a long time. Brent Jackson informs the Director they have a fix on the location of Reaper and Wildside, and he is ready to leave, when they have a little heart to heart. The Director wants to make up with him, and Jackson pretends to go along. During their little chat, Jackson mentions that because of his relationship with Aurora the Director could be perceived as a “mutie lover.” When Jeanne-Marie later surprises him in his office, the Director keeps hearing Jackson’s words over and over again and angrily lashes out at her, beating her up with a paperweight until she doesn’t move. Meanwhile, the Underground realizes that Reaper and Wildside have mental blocks and Cable is forced to use his unstable telepathy to get the information they need. He is able to confirm that the pair was working for Weapon X and that their actions were meant to increase anti-mutant hysteria so that people wouldn’t mind mutants being taken to Neverland. However, that’s all they learn before Cable ends up frying their minds. Right then, an alarm sounds and several Weapon X agents break into the Underground’s base. It’s Jackson and his followers, Wild Child, Sauron and Wash-Out. Surprisingly, they tell Cable that they haven’t come to fight, but to join them.

The paradox of wanting to eliminate all mutants but being in love with Aurora has caused Malcolm to loose his temper and beat her up. Despite of her fear of him, the couple kind of make up. Later, he is informed by Brent Jackson that he's found their missing operatives, Reaper and Wildside, who have been brought to the lab. There, the Director meets with Dr. Windsor, who informs him that both their minds have been fried by a telepath. Colcord also asks about Windsor's increased activities in their mutant concentration camp, Neverland, and demands a full report. Next, he is approached by Agent Zero, who returns from another successful mission. After checking in on the brainwashed Madison Jeffries, assuring him that his technological supplies are used for the benefit of humanity, the Director proceeds to Mesmero’s quarters, letting him know that the loss of his powers is apparent or else Sabretooth wouldn’t have escaped. Mesmero is led by Garrison Kane away to a helicopter that will transport him to Neverland. Along the way, Mesmero reminds Kane that one day he might share his fate. Meanwhile, Washout tries to get revenge on the Director for giving him a power upgrade that slowly kills him. After using his powers to short-circuit all systems in the compound, Washout tries to kill the Director by controlling the water molecules in his body, but the strain is too much and he dies with the job unfinished.

Still, the power blackout allows Cable and the Underground to get into the base without any alarms going off. Their arrival is not entirely unnoticed, though, as hiding in a pipe several feet under the complex, Sabretooth smells the intruders. In his office, the Director hears one of his troops calling to him for reinforcements, but he doesn’t respond. Instead he stares at himself in a mirror and realizes that his relationship with Aurora made him soft and care for nothing else but his restored looks. He smashes the mirror and cuts up his face time and again until he collapses from the loss of blood. Making his way through the complex, searching for the Director, Cable is opposed by Garrison Kane. Cable belittles his old friend for what he has become and uses his psionic powers to screw up Kane’s cybernetic implants. Finding the Director, Cable extracts the information on Neverland from his mind, and is ready to shoot him for setting up a mutant concentration camp, when he is surprisingly attacked by Madison Jeffries, the Director’s most loyal agent. Creating himself an exoskeleton also capable of carrying the injured Director, Box enters the fight, creating an unlimited number of Boxbots for the heroes to fight. Completely outnumbered, they more than welcome Kane’s decision to side with them. Well aware that it would kill him, Kane downloads the ability to shape technology himself, and effectively destroys Jeffries’ creations at the cost of his own life. With Jeffries and the Director fleeing, it’s only the heroes and Jackson’s group left. Jackson uses this to his advantage, using the complex’s dampening field to betray his erstwhile allies and knock them all out. At the same time, Marrow tracks Sabretooth to the complex’s sewer systems and engages him in a battle. Though she seems outclassed, her inventiveness with her bone constructs give her a little edge, and eventually she manages to open a valve, creating a floodwave that washes Creed out of the pipe and down the several hundred feet high mountainside.

Despite him having abused her, Malcolm Colcord manages to convince Aurora to use her speed and help him and Madison Jeffries to escape from the Weapon X compound. At the same time, Maverick faces Agent Zero, who demands to know his real identity. Maverick though releases an energy blast from his fist, covering his getaway. The remaining Underground members are taken to a lab, where Brent Jackson asks Dr. Windsor to erase their memories of what they learned at the Weapon X complex and replace them with something else. Marrow returns with the news that she killed Sabretooth, but a few hours later, she betrays the program and frees Cable and his friends. Escaping with them on a small aircraft, she uses the fact that Cable’s mind is still fuzzy to her advantage. Not only does she let him believe the fake memory implants, but she also manipulates him into giving her a data disk containing information on all hidden Mutant Underground cells. Some time after, Jackson is called before the Weapon X project’s superiors, and he is interrogated on everything that happened. Though it takes him quite a while, he manages to blame everything that happened on either Cable or Colcord and is promoted to being the new Director, much to the delight of Sauron and Wild Child who have been loyal to him the whole time. Once he has sent Agent Zero after the escapees Marrow and Maverick, Jackson brings Dr. Windsor up to date on the developments, totally unaware who the scientist really is – Mr. Sinister. In the guise of Dr. Windsor he has apparently been liberating some of Neverland’s inmates, but in reality they are taken to another secret base of his to be experimented on.

 

[SunflowaSeeds]

X-Treme X-Men #25-30

God Loves, Man Kills II

The prisoner, William Stryke,r is being led to a plane by armed guards to head back to his asylum in the East. A surprise assailant kills all the officers on the plane and radios in a distress call blaming the X-Men. She reveals herself as Lady Deathstrike to Stryker. The two embrace, but their embrace is cut short when one of the officers awakens and shoots at them. The shot misses and Yuriko kills the officer and causes them to fly out the plane hatch, holding one another. The plan explodes and crashes in the Rockies, near Montana. Sage views a news report about the crash of the plane and the team moves out to check on the accident. In Chicago, at the same time, Kitty Pryde visits her psychiatrist, who talks to her about her hatred for people that believe in the ideals of people like Stryker. The team arrives in the Rockies where they find evidence of Lady Death Strike’s involvement. The team is ambushed and everyone, except for Bishop and Storm, are captured. While the X-Treme team face their demise, back in Chicago at the bar Kitty works at, she is attacked by Lady Deathstrike and given to Stryker for his own purposes.

Storm and Bishop fight for their teammates’ lives against a foe Storm thought she would never face again. They are the Purifiers and, after a long-fought battle, the X-Treme team become the victors. In Chicago Kitty Pryde is wondering how she is going to break free from the cell her captors have placed her in. Suddenly, Stryker uses a mind device on Kitty to make her see visions of memories long faded. In those memories, her deceased friends, Illyana and Colossus, come to her aid and are able to talk her out of joining Stryker’s cause. In another room Stryker prepares for another test-run. In the meantime, he sends Yuriko to Mount Haven via her ability to transport a holographic form through the Internet. There, Yuriko finds her team dead and a powerful mutant from Mount Haven possesses her. She removes her connection and begins to attack Stryker and her team of technicians. After decapitating a few of her employees, Stryker is able to flee, using Kitty’s powers through a collar device Yuriko created for them earlier. While Stryker runs for his life, in the Rockies, Sage interrogates the Purifiers and finds that Stryker is back in action.

Passing their body through the earth, Kitty and Stryker head to a destination unknown. Elsewhere, Storm is attacked by an anomaly affecting the Earth, causing her pain. The X-Treme team talks her out of her hysteria, but sadly Storm’s past injuries become apparent once more. They find that it was Kitty’s fault for the pain the Earth was caused and they decide that she must be in trouble. Kitty is found laying unconscious on a highway by a family named the Garzas. Thankfully, this family helps Kitty and decides to take her to their intended destination. Minutes later, the X-Treme team arrives, hot on the trail of their missing friend, but they only find tire marks headed towards a nearby town. In that town, a man named Paul helps Kitty regain consciousness and takes her on a tour of his town. The town is called Mt. Haven and, as Kitty finds out, it is full of surprises. Paul carries an unconscious Kitty to the basement of a church, where a mutant-woman named Cybill tries to help her. Kitty awakens and phases through Cybill to escape what she thinks to be a threat. Cybill collapses and dies in Kitty’s arms, apparently because of Kitty’s actions. Paul is scared and asks Kitty to stay away from him. Unknown to them, Stryker is nearby and he attacks Paul, knocking him to the ground. Stryker commands Kitty to restart the town’s system network, which she complies, but only under duress. Shockingly, after a long argument over God’s plan for mutants, Paul reveals that he was only faking being incapacitated and he repels Stryker from the room. On the outskirts of Mt. Haven, Sage and Storm become possessed by some outside force and attack Bishop. While in the forests surrounding the town, Lady Deathstrike and Logan face off, ending with the apparent death of Wolverine. Above all this, Cannonball watches in surveillance and is forced to make the decision of either running for help or helping his teammates. Lady Deathstrike stands above the body of her arch-nemesis, Wolverine, preparing to strike a final blow. Suddenly, Cannonball rushes through the woods, sending Deathstrike hurling.

Sam races back to check on his teammate and finds that Deathstrike has punctured his heart, causing him to scream Logan’s name so loud that even Storm can hear him. Storm decides to leave the others and bring Sam in to join their cause. Little do Storm and Sage know, but Bishop is fine and watching them from atop a nearby Inn. Bishop hears a noise and finds that the Garza family held up in the basement with their young mutant son fallen sick with fever. Diagnosing the problem of the young mutant, Bishop heads off to follow up on his conclusion by finding other mutants to examine. In level 2 of the underground bunker of Mt. Haven, Kitty questions Paul about her recent findings of his past. Making their way to Level 5, Kitty finds that Aaron Pankow used to be the director of this underground bunker and realizes that Paul may not be as nice as she thought. Stryker comes out of a nearby stairwell and requests that Kitty follow him below.

Outside of Mt. Haven, Storm has finally caught up with Sam. Using his skills, he is able to capture Storm but, he is caught of guard by the same thing that possessed the others and he joins the ranks of Mt. Haven. Below in the bunkers once more, Kitty comes across the revelation that the entire populace of humans that once lived there are dead. She also finds out that it was Paul that killed them. Stryker uses her confusion to his advantage, sending her into the arms of Paul, which causes a horrific feedback and the two of them collapse to the ground.

After the shock to Paul’s system, the entire populace of Mt. Haven is struck by severe convulsions, sending most of them to their deaths. Luckily for the most recent arrivals, their neural net had not been completely destroyed, so they survive. Down in the catacombs, Stryker says his farewell to Kitty’s stricken body. Turning around to leave, he is shocked to feel Kitty’s fist across his neck. Stryker falls to the ground. Both Kitty and Stryker begin to argue about right and wrongs of Paul’s actions. Suddenly, the lights of the catacombs come back on and Paul comes back online. Still fuzzy because of the system he is in crashing, Paul tells Kitty about the real Paul and how he once was a prisoner in Mt. Haven. He tells her about how Aaron Pankow used his computer consciousness to hurt Paul, but he fought back and, after what he thought was his death, he awakened to find that him and Paul had merged. Kitty warns Stryker about Paul’s nannites trying to take over the world’s computers and Stryker decides to use his own body to contain the nannites. Paul sends himself into Stryker and sacrifices himself by capturing himself in a containment pod, which will allow him to survive but never leave the catacombs of Mt. Haven. Above them, as the dilemma continues, Logan searches for Katherine, while Bishop tries to put a stop to Deathstrike’s rampage. After the battle, the team meets up at the Belles of Hell bar, in Chicago. There they discuss Stryker’s last sacrifice and Kitty talks about her future plans away from the X-Men.

 

[BelovedAfeni]

http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/category/50-greatest-x-men-stories/

Thank me later

 

[SunflowaSeeds]

X-Treme X-Men #31-35

A family drives down a highway in Los Angeles when they are distracted by a group of rebel mutants passing by them. Taking his eyes off the road, the father is too late to save his family as they crash off the side of the cliff, leaving only the daughter alive. Hours later, Marie, the daughter, is rushed to the hospital, where she overhears the disturbing news that the gang of mutants will most likely go unpunished. Elsewhere, a group of Guerrilla fighters, in Africa, gun down two relief workers, only to be killed themselves by a mutant claiming to be a survivor from Genosha. While these events transpire, in Texas, dignitaries from across the globe meet to discuss the ever-growing threat of the mutant population. It just so happens that Storm and Gambit are at this same meeting, in disguise, and they are troubled by what they hear coming from people they considered allies and confidants. Back in Los Angeles, Bishop intercedes in a police fight, where a young mutant boy dies because of an overdose of the drug called Rave. Behind the scene and unknown to Bishop, the only reason the local police did not arrest him was due to the interceding of Roberto Dacosta and his power over the X-Corp Branch in Los Angeles. Bishop and Sage, who joins him towards the end of the battle, leave the crime scene and happen upon Rogue, who is now calling herself Anna and working in a local garage. The three of them later go to a concert, where they meet Sam Guthrie, who is there to hear Lila Cheney’s concert. During the concert, Rogue and Sage notice a suspicious looking individual and the two of them find that Marie D’Ancanto is carrying a bomb, intent on murdering mutants. After a brief fight in the air, the Sam, Rogue, and Marie land on the ground and the team faces a tough decision: either give Marie to the authorities or question her themselves. They decide on questioning her themselves and Anna takes Marie to her beach house. Elsewhere, in Texas, a tremendous tornado is headed straight for the Presidential Ranch but, thanks to Storm’s intervention, the dignitaries are saved. Storm lands near the river she and Gambit are camped near and Remy helps her recover from the strain of her fight. Interrupting the two friends’ intimate moment, a group of officials approach them. Valerie Cooper and Colonel Vazhin question their two mutant allies about the questionable dispersion of the tornado. Back in Valle Soleada, Anna finishes her interrogation with Marie, with only more questions than answers.

A group of protesters converge on the Valle Soleada courthouse. Inside the beach house of Rogue’s, she is having a nightmare where she kills all her teammates after transforming into Mystique. After awaking, she sees that Sam and Lila have ported back to her house. Later in the morning, a man named Jarod Malloy visits her house. Sam and Anna pose as husband and wife and they listen as Jarod tries to talk Anna into selling her house. After Jarod leaves, Sage follows after him and Bishop ports away with Lila to find an ally in New York that owes the X-Treme team a favor. Rogue and Sam head off to visit the gang of mutants that forced the D’Ancanto family’s car off the cliff. After arriving on the beach, Rogue and Sam show off their strength. During their display, Sam calls Sage to get an update on her surveillance and she informs Sam that the lawyer has arrived at the X-Corp branch in Los Angeles. Unknown to Sage, a set of eyes follow her and those eyes belong to Elias Bogan. Sam awaits the arrival of a close friend of his, Amara Aquilla, at the Los Angeles International Airport.

After meeting up, Sam blasts the two of them, via his mutant powers, to the X-Corp Headquarters in Los Angeles. Once there, the two friends meet up with Roberto DaCosta, an old ally of theirs. After a friendly argument, Roberto requests the presence of Sam at a gala he is throwing later on that night. Elsewhere, Rogue and Bishop watch as the D.A. loses a case against a handful of delinquent mutants involving the D’Ancanto “accident.” They meet up with Evangeline Whedon, who agrees to help them with the trial. At Rogue’s house that night, the team is attacked by Revenant but Rogue saves them. After their confrontation, Rogue follows Revenant back to her home base, the X-Corp’s Headquarters. Roberto’s gala is going full force, but a flying motorcycle and its driver, a woman named Rogue, interrupt it.

Roberto doesn’t come unguarded, though, and two mutants by the name of Stringfellow and Skitz easily take care of Cannonball and Rogue. After the fight, Sunspot sends his two allies into the atmosphere and they land near a beach, unconscious and un-composed. Sage is able to pick up the fight on her tech-glasses and she takes Evangeline Whedon to safety, as Bishop prepares to save his two friends. Elsewhere in Crawford, Texas, Gambit teaches Storm a lesson in humiliation, as he defeats her in hand-to-hand combat. After their practice, Colonel Vazhin meets them and congratulates her for her team getting an official authoritative status. He tells her that, in order for him to feel better about her leading this new official team, named the X-S-E, she must infiltrate a battle arena and put a stop to it. Back in California, the delinquent mutants sit around their house silently reveling in their victory, in court. A shadowy figure approaches them and offers them the drug “kick” to defeat the X-Treme team and they accept. The mutants go after the fallen Cannonball and Rogue but, luckily for them, Bishop is there to save them. Back at the X-Corp headquarters, Bobby and Amara find the secrets behind Jarod Malloy. However, the two mutants are being influenced by the powers of Elias Bogan.

After their finding, Bobby announces to the public his findings and apologies. This event helps Marie to be found not guilty. Anna and Marie go to the D’Ancanto grave and she apologizes to her parents for her dishonor.

 

[SunflowaSeeds]

X-Treme X-Men #36-39

Storm arrives in California with Gambit in tow. She returns him to Rogue, who in so many ways is ecstatic to see his return. After a brief discussion on their new role as world police enforcers and their title of X-Treme Sanctions Executives, Bishop is hit hard with the similarities of the future where he came from. With that said, Ororo flies off into the sky in search of Tullamore Voge in Tokyo. After her arrival, she meets up with Yukio and the two head towards a club called the Arena, where Vogue is believed to be involved. After their arrival, they meet up with a mysterious woman by the name of Masato and she guides them to a special area of the club. Shockingly enough, this place is a true arena, where mutants fight one another for survival. Watching the battle, Storm takes pity on one of the combatants and enters herself in the fray. In the midst of the battle, Ororo is able to gain the upper hand and, after it is all said and done, is declared the victor and new champion. Beginning to wonder, Storm realizes that the feeling of victory is glorious.

Koga, her new acquaintance, walks to the center stage and announces Storm as their new Champion. Storm, feeling awestruck, does not know how to react, so she flies off into the sky with Yukio in tow. Once back at Yukio’s apartment, Storm faces a tough decision on what to do next with her life. Yukio and Storm talk back and forth until the two allies fall asleep from the day’s exhaustion. Using this opportunity, a shadowy assailant enters the room, intent on hurting Ororo. This assailant does not have the ability to follow through with his plan, however, as Storm shows him why she is known as the weather witch. As lightning courses around the assailant, Ororo is shocked to see her ally, Guido, was the enemy. After a long talk at Guido’s new house, Storm still decides to take the role as Champion of the Arena, even after repeated urging not to by both Yuriko and Guido. At the crowning ceremony, Storm is given the shock of her life, as her old colleague, Callisto, enters the Arena, challenging Storm for the title as the champion of the Tokyo, Arena.

The match seems to be one-sided and Callisto easily takes care of Storm. Surprisingly, instead of Callisto gloating, another character from Storm’s past enters the Arena. Her name is Masque and, although he was a male before, it still seems she/he can still cause the same damage.

She quickly transforms Storm into a devilish creature but even still Storm is able to allow the others enough time to escape and hide at Lila Cheney’s safe house. Afterwards, Masque uses her newly acquired entourage to break Storm’s spirit in preparation of using her in the Arena. It seems to work, as, days later, Storm stands in the midst of the Tokyo Arena, preparing to battle an armored clad ninja. During the battle, the ninja’s helmet falls from off of her shoulders, revealing the fact that Yukio was the combatant all along. Storm strangely does not stop and silently begins to close in for the kill. Placing two Katana’s to Yukio’s neck, Storm changes her mind at the last second and allows Yukio to live. Masque’s entourage quickly removes Yukio from the Arena and Purge pays Storm back for her disobedience.

Callisto and Storm fight battle after battle, from Arena to Arena. Each one they win adds a new victory tattoo to their bodies. After one such battle in London, Masque talks to Tullamore Voge, who offers a large sum of money for the purchase of Storm. At first, Masque does not agree but, eventually, she caves in and agrees to his offer.

After informing Ororo of her decision, she leaves to let Paradise administer some lessons. Little does Masque suspect, but Koga and the others are watching every move of hers from the safety of Lila’s extra-terrestrial hideout. The Tokyo competitors decide to save their friend, even at the cost of their lives. Callisto has the same idea and she finds that both she and Storm have faked their loyalty to Masque’s cause. They fight a few more battles and, thanks to a distraction caused by the Tokyo crew, the two mutants fight their way through Masque’s entourage and take the villainess out. After shipping her to Tullamore Voge via the box meant for Storm, the combatants gather in Tokyo to discuss future plans. In a hot tub, Callisto, Yukio and Storm discuss the possibility of using the Arena as a secret staging area to train future X-Men.

 

[SunflowaSeeds]

Uncanny X-Men #435-436

The Trial of Juggernaut

The She-Hulk and Jack White meet with Xavier and several of the X-Men in Vancouver to discuss the Juggernaut and his sentencing. Jack berates Xavier for all of the nonsense with Cain, before stating that he will try to get Cain extradited. In his holding cell, Juggernaut is freed when another inmate of the holding facility, the Rhino, escapes. Cain and the disorientated Rhino battle, until Cain defeats him. He has an opportunity to leave through an opening in the building that the Rhino made, but surrenders. Jack White decides that this could strengthen Cain’s case, and informs a Canadian official. She-Hulk and Cain get to know each other better before sleeping together, though they are about to be interrupted by a person approaching them – wearing Juggernaut’s armor.

Juggernaut and She-Hulk are interrupted by someone wearing Juggernaut armor, who engages Cain in battle. Cain and She-Hulk both realize they are no match for the new Juggernaut, as Cain’s powers have gone, but Cain does not walk away from a fight, so continues to fight the new Juggernaut, which takes the battle to a residential area, and the two men injure and destroy much of the area. She-Hulk tries to reason with Cain, she now believes he can not change that he will always be a violent man. Cain and Jennifer come up with a plan, and the new Juggernaut’s helmet is removed, and his powers seem to leave him, for he returns to the size of his real body – a boy. Cain remembers him as a boy who had an awful father and lived next door to Xavier. Xavier and his lawyer Jack White meet with Miss Ishikawa, who informs the men that this trial is seen as very prestigious for Canada and that she will not bend easily to their requests, especially the extradition to the States, for she doesn’t not believe that the Juggernaut will ever change. As the discussion is about to come to an end, Squidboy and his mother arrive, and Mrs. Pare gives a touching speech about how nothing was done for she and her son by the law enforcement, but by a super villain. Miss Ishikawa is faced with a crisis of faith in her legal system and agrees to the Juggernaut being extradited to the States.

 

[Splackavelli]

I remember that issue. God, she hulk is a super slut *faps*

 

[SunflowaSeeds]

Uncanny X-Men #437-441

Husk and Archangel officially break up after Paige confronts Warren about why he has been keeping his distance as of late. Then she gets a phone call informing her that her younger brother Jeb had been shot. He got into a fight with a rival family, the Cabots, in town and Jeb unleashed his mutant powers on Abe Cabot and destroyed a house, until he was shot in the shoulder by Sheriff Pete.

Sheriff Pete declares that he has to ban all the Guthries from the town and make a formal report. Meanwhile, Josh Guthrie has started a career singing in a band, which is playing at a restaurant where his girlfriend, Rosalinda, works. Rosalinda thinks that Josh is singing to her, but in fact he seems to be watching Rosalinda’s fellow waitress Julia Cabot, who is watching him back.

Chester Cabot and some of his clan arrive and confront Lucinda Guthrie, who won't back down. Sheriff Pete tries to mediate, until he asks Lucinda out to dinner, and Cabot punches him. With Archangel and Husk present, the Guthries come out on top, and the Cabots are taken back to their mansion after Lucinda scolds Pete for having the nerve to ask her out. At the Cabot mansion, the Cabots gang up on Pete for ruining their plans to burn the Guthries. Pete tells Cabot that he wouldn't have been able to with two X-Men there and Cabot reveals that he was responsible for poisoning “Zeke” Guthrie, but that the poison never seemed to work on the Guthrie children. Meanwhile, Julia Cabot is reunited with Josh Guthrie and they reveal to Josh’s friend Manuelo that they spent a summer together swimming at a pond and hanging out, however they didn’t know that the other was a Cabot / Guthrie, which they learn when Julia’s grandmother comes to collect her from work, and takes her away.

Chester Cabot shows Sheriff Pete the super suits his family found and reveals that his plan is to use the suit’s power to kill Lucinda Guthrie and her children once and for all. Julia informs her Grandmother of how they both met and how much they love each other, despite the Grandmother reminding Julia that her father would never allow it. Josh then appears at Julia’s window and after listening to the two lovers talk to each other, the Grandmother becomes convinced, however Julia fears for Josh’s safety and asks him leave, telling him she will meet him tomorrow. When Josh leaves, the Grandmother tells Julia to go after him now, so she does, and finds him at the pond where they first met eight years ago. They begin to make love when Chester Cabot and his boys arrive in the super suits, as they were planning to go through the pond to get to the Guthrie farm. At the Guthrie farm, Archangel apologizes to Wolverine for being so rude to him all these years and Lucinda talks to Husk and realizes that she still loves Archangel, before she later finds Archangel and tells him she wants to talk to him about Husk.

Archangel reveals to Lucinda Guthrie that he does still love Husk, with all his heart, but was too afraid of losing her, which is why he pushed her away. Husk overhears this and berates Archangel for telling all of this to her mother instead of her, until they make up when Warren admits his feelings to Paige, and the two fly into the air to make love. Wolverine hears what sounded like a weapon discharge and follows Polaris as she flies to the woods, where Chester Cabot had just possibly killed Josh Guthrie when he stumbled across the young mutant with his daughter, Julia Cabot. Polaris arrives on the scene, only to be blasted by Cabot, and blood sprays everywhere. On the Guthrie ranch, Nightcrawler helps Lucinda and her lover Ray gather the children and prepare to leave in case of any danger, when Sheriff Pete arrives, horrified to learn Lucinda is with Ray, a black man. He argues with Lucinda while holding his pistol to her, until he is taken down by Kurt, which is when Elisabeth sees the armored Cabots descending into the Guthries' property.

Archangel and Husk’s lovemaking in the air is interrupted by Julia Cabot’s scream and they split up to deal with the approaching armored Cabots. Husk turns to stone and dropping to the ground she breaks the arm of one of the Cabots until she is blasted back to her home by another. Lucinda Guthrie tries to reason with Chester Cabot and she orders Ray to leave and protect the children, however it is too late, as Cabot tricks Lucinda who has offered to die for the children, and he fires a missile at the car which is loaded with Ray, Ray junior and the Guthrie children and it explodes. Wolverine finds Polaris in the forest and when she comes around after her beating at the hands of the Cabots they talk before they are met by Cabot’s two children who have retreated and are already plotting their revenge, until Wolverine puts an end to that. Julia carries Josh’s body into the water and pushing both their bodies down she drowns while they are embraced. Sheriff Pete comes to Lucinda’s rescue as Cabot is about to kill her, but as Pete kills Cabot with a gunshot to the head, Pete also receives a blast injury and dies. Nightcrawler however managed to rescue everyone in the car – except Raymond. Josh Guthrie wakes in the water when his wound suddenly heals and he grabs Julia and swims to the bank, where realizing she is dead he tries to stab himself, but the wound keeps healing. Archangel finds Josh and brings him back to the Guthrie home, with Julia’s body. Much later, Josh Guthrie has returned to singing, and sings about Julia, who knows he is singing about her.

 

[matches malone]

your dedication to this is very admirable

 

[SunflowaSeeds]

New Mutants v2 #1-6

Sofia Mantega is a happy fifteen year old girl, with rare mutant wind talents, whose mother is killed during a riot. She is sent away to live with her wealthy American father who never knew she existed. He is a very cold man, and admits in the beginning he has no time for a daughter. He has certain rules for her, she must learn English in three weeks before she starts school. She must get good grades, never disturb or embarrass him, and she must never use her mutant powers. Her only friend is Derek, her father’s assistant. In an attempt to gain her father's attention, she uses her wind manipulation and wrecks havoc in his super market, but careful not to hurt anyone.

The news broadcasts the information of Walter Barrett’s dangerous mutant daughter, which Danielle Moonstar happens to see. She goes to the jail holding the young mutant, and discovers Sofia’s father is planning to send her back to Venezuela. Dani invites her to join Xavier’s, and after threatening the father with bad publicity, it is agreed.

Professor Xavier gives Dani Moonstar and Sofia Montega a tour through the institute and approaches Dani about a teaching job. Sofia meets a telekinetic boy named Julian Keller and becomes the roommate of Laurie Collins, a girl with pheromone-based powers, who usually keeps to herself as she is afraid of her powers manipulating people. Fortunately Sofia's wind powers can keep her immune to those pheromones.

Dani starts her venture to recruit new mutants to Xavier’s School. Her trip takes her to Atlanta, Georgia, where she is in search of a young mutant by the of Kevin Ford. After no answer at his house, she tries his school, only to find he’s been missing for two days. She learns form his art teacher he sometimes searches for spare pieces for his industrial art projects in junkyards. Kevin is hiding in the junkyard, afraid of his out-of control powers. But he ends up coming in contact with a dog, who decays after he tries to bite Kevin. He is found by the attendants who see what he has done to the dog. Their fear of him and mutants cause them to beat him. Danielle appears in time to scare them off. She comforts the frightened boy, and takes him back to his house. She learns that his power of decay grew out of control, and in an accident, he killed his father. She offers to take him to Xavier’s.

Back at the school Sofia Mantega sticks up for her new friend and roommate Laurie Collins, who is called a freak amongst freaks by Julian Keller. Danielle returns to the school with Kevin, and learns that Allison whom she knew as Amara, was crucified on the front lawn with other young mutants in a recent attack and is now in coma.

In Chicago Illinois, David Alleyne informs his family he is taking another class this summer. The family, David specifically, are being watched from outside their kitchen window. Unknown to David he is a mutant, and has become another target for the hate group known as Purity. Xavier assigns Danielle on her newest recruiting assignment. Cerebra picks up he has had frequent meetings with another mutant who is very familiar to Cerebra, the former New Mutant known as Karma. Dani meets with Shan and after a bit of catching up, Danielle informs her of her reason for. Danielle eavesdrop over one of David’s classes, hearing him know the answers to the teachers question without truly knowing it. Danielle tries to recruit David, but is too late. Purity has left a death threat at his home, outing him being mutant to his family. He runs off, after some heated words with his father. Danielle and Shan reach him, and he believes at first they are the ones behind the threat. Shan guesses it was Purity, and her guess is proven right, as a group of six built guys from Purity approach to take care of David’s mutant problem. Danielle casts an illusion of the X-Men which scares away a few. Shan possess one to take out another. David’s power is skill mimicry, a form of telepathy where he temporally learns the skills of others. He uses this ability on a member of Purity who is a black belt. Soon, they take David back home, and offer him a place at Xavier Institute. If Purity has targeted him already, then he will be safest there, learning in a school where the staff knows how to deal with mutants.

In an abandoned New York building, Donald Pierce gathers his new recruits for a new generation of Reavers. Speaking up, newcomer Josh Foley protests against the enhancements. Pierce slices his hand. Pierce continues his speech of ridding the world of Homo Sapiens. Staring down at his hand that was previously bleeding, Josh notices that the cut didn‘t even leave a scratch. Pierce informs them that they must lure these mutants out, and even a mutant has a family. He holds a picture of Walter Barrett up.

At Xavier‘s Institute, Xavier offers Shan a place in his faculty. She agrees and meets up with David who is watching her younger siblings. Xavier tells him if he‘s interested in self defense, the class is starting in a few minutes with an interesting teacher. He enters the class and sits next to Kevin, who is being taunted by Julian Keller. After a brief sparring match , David takes down the legendary Wolverine, by use of his skill mimicry.

Later in the cafeteria, Sofia manages to convince Danielle to let Kevin, Laurie, David, and herself accompany her to New York, where Danielle is locating a new potential student. Her father‘s butler, Derek is planning to meet her at this hotel. After a long wait, Sofia knows something is wrong. Meanwhile Danielle and Shan track the trace of the mutant and discover that he‘s already joined forces with a new wave of Reavers. Back at the hotel Sofia receives a mysterious note that tells her to meet Derek and her father in the parking garage. They know something is up, but they look anyway and discover two Reavers with guns pointed. A quick display of wind bursts and skill mimicry and David and Sofia have taken out these two would-be-assailants. Entering the garage, they are separated from Kevin and Laurie, who face two Reavers of their own. Laurie attempts to use her pheromone manipulation to make them like her, but it backfires and makes them run in fear. Unfortunately it works on Kevin, and as she tries to control her power, she is stabbed in the back by Pierce.

Under attack, these new mutants fight a gang of Donald Pierce’s Reavers. They hold their own in the battle, but are relieved when Shan aids them with possessing the minds of their attackers. Kevin Ford cries out after Pierce has viciously stabbed Laurie from behind. Rage consumes him and he takes off his gloves, attacking Pierce with his decaying ability.

Fearing that he is going to far, Danielle shows him his worst fear, causing him to end his attack. Meanwhile Josh tries his newly discovered healing abilities on Laurie’s motionless body, with positive results. After some tension flies regarding Josh’s place with the Reavers, Sofia gets a chance to bond with her old friend Derek, whom the Reavers held captive.

At his home, Josh is jumped by his Reaver friends, as his parents look on and do nothing. This leaves him with only one option, the school where he believes freaks reside. At the school, the students are welcomed home, and Kevin quickly disappears. Danielle finds him in his room, packing. Stressed out with recent events, Danielle decides she should leave as well, feeling she isn’t cut out for being a teacher. As she is packed and ready to go, Xavier gathers Josh, David, Laurie, and Sofia, and they choose Danielle as their advisor, someone to help them through rough spots. Danielle smiles, and realizes she has done good at the school, and decides to stay.

 

[SunflowaSeeds]

Mystique #1-6

This is the start of a 24 issue series, in which the first two arcs are written by Brian K. Vaughn. I'm pumped to see what he does with Mystique, who I've always thought was an interesting charecter.

Prudence, one of Xavier’s secret agents, is killed by the pyrokinetic arms dealer, Steinbeck, when she is trying to steal a disk in Moscow. When Xavier learns of this, he pays a visit to the former X-man, Forge, in Baltimore, asking for his help in locating the one woman who could finish Prudence’s mission: Forge’s onetime lover, Mystique. In Washington D.C., an agent disguised as a hooker enters the apartment of one Dr. Conolly after a device of his. After she locates the safe, her prisoner, Connolly, turns out to be Mystique, who’s after the device herself. She quickly disarms the other woman and, learning the other agent is from her home country, Austria, she chooses to spare her. However, both women are surprised when it turns out that the invention – a device supposed to help locate shapeshifters – is no longer at Connolly’s apartment. At that moment, the apartment is crashed by a team of US Soldiers, intent on capturing or executing Mystique.

She uses all her wiles to confuse the men and make a break, however she miscalculated as the injuries she received cause her to faint and allow the soldiers to capture her. She awakes strapped into a chair in a Mobile Justice Unit flying high up in the air. She and the magistrate for Homo Superior crimes, Johnny Kitano, get into an argument about her terrorist past, with Mystique first trying to guilt-trip him and then claiming that she didn’t commit several of the crimes she’s being tried for. She’s presumably being framed. As Kitano, himself a mutant who despises people like Mystique, is about to execute her, Magneto interrupts, freeing Mystique and taking her with him into his aircraft. Taking off his helmet, he is revealed to be Charles Xavier, who had learnt of Mystique’s predicament thanks to Forge’s connections and used the disguise to make sure his name wasn’t drawn into the affair.

Xavier and Forge recruit Mystique against her will to Xavier’s cause. They explain that they will keep the government and her other enemies of her back as long as she works for Xavier. She is to finish the mission Prudence began: find the Russian Sentinel technology in Cuba, destroy it and make it look like an inside job. In Cuba, Mystique’s cover is quickly blown in the customs area, but she manages to escape with the help of her new field handler, Shortpack, a telepathic thumbling. Unfortunately, it turns out that his driver wants to kill Mystique as well, for the bounty on her head…

Mystique quickly disarms Marcos, the driver who has turned on her, and Shortpack leads her to his safehouse, where he informs her about her job and target. She is to find General Diosvil, who is responsible for the Cuban Sentinel project. In the guise of a beautiful young woman, Mystique finds the general breaking up a pro-mutant rally and endears herself to him. Finally, she extracts the necessary information from him and takes on his shape and drives to the secret installation where the Sentinels are kept. She gains entrance easily, only to learn that the robots are to be launched this night. Just as she is about to act, the complex is attacked by the pro-mutant protesters, who believe her to be the general and want to kill her.

Mystique takes out the soldiers in the army complex before reverting to her true form and showing the pro-mutant protesters that she is on their side. However, one of the officials is still conscious and launches the Sentinels, which proceed to fly toward Havana. Mystique and the protesters’ leader, Lazaro, go in search of the central processing unit in order to destroy it before the robots reach Havana. On their way, they find imprisoned mutant children and, to save them, mystique shortly shifts into a nearly impossible form with two faces and four arms. Forge’s device eventually leads her to the central processing unit, Lazaro’s sister, Evangelina, whose mutant power controls the Sentinels. However, the military made sure that she is no longer in control of her power. Evangelina tells Mystique that the only way to stop the Sentinels is to kill her.

Mystique is faced with a choice: kill young Evangelina Rivera, as the girl asks her to, or do nothing, while the Sentinels slaughter all mutants in Havana. The choice is taken out of her hands, luckily, as Evangelina’s brother, Lazaro, does the deed. He then intends to commit suicide, but Mystique knocks him out. She and Lazaro’s fellow rebels shoot their way out of the military complex and save the mutant children, seconds before the retuning Sentinels crash into the complex.

Later, after she’s debriefed her fieldhandler, Shortpack, a pensive Mystique tries to get drunk. A mysterious man named Shepard, who seems to know a lot about her, offers her the chance to brcome a double agent with the possibility of becoming free later. He leaves her a pendant she can use to contact him. Back in New York, Xavier personally congratulates Mystique and offers her the choice to either stay in his service or go to jail. Mystique decides to stay, while touching her new pendant. Elsewhere, Shepard tells his mysterious leader that he has contacted Mystique and that she has no clue what this is about.

 

[SunflowaSeeds]

New Mutants #7-13

End of Series: It started out pretty slow, but this arc got better. The series was decent overall, but mainly I read it because I know a lot of these Young Mutants will be around for years to come, so it was nice to read their backstories.

Josh Foley and David Alleyne are now roommates and David happily ignores Josh. Laurie has some feelings for Josh, especially as he saved her life. Josh has fallen in with Julian Keller and his friends. Dani asks David to reach out to Josh and David finally talks to his roommate, mentioning the comatose Amara during their conversation. Josh and Julian decide to sneak into the medical center and heal the woman. Josh actually coaxes Amara from her coma but she is traumatized, uses her powers to destroy a part of the medical center and runs away. Julian wants to run away, but Josh insists they save the nurses life. Later, the two are officially commended, but secretly Xavier and their advisors chew them out for their lack of responsibility. Josh writes a letter to his parents, telling them about all of this. Two weeks later, the Foleys visit the school but not to get Josh, as he had hoped, but to make the school Josh’ legal guardian.

Julian meets a strange homeless girl who wants into the Institute, but he sends her away. Dani introduces Shan to Luna, which doesn’t go over too well with Shan. As Parents Week begins, the students greet their parents, though not a lot of parents show up. David shows his parents around and they discuss his future at the school and how it may prevent him from getting into Harvard. Derek and Mr. Barrett arrive to see Sofia, but she sends them away after realizing that her father may have only come to get his personal assistant back. Julian switches advisors from Jean-Paul Beaubier to Emma Frost, and soon learns that Josh was a Reaver, which ignites a fight involving Josh and David versus Julian and Santo. Sofia later comments that she may have been too hard on Derek and worries that she may never see him again, but to her surprise, runs into him right after she says it. David decides that he will stay at the school, giving up his dream of going to Harvard, and he and Josh make a connection after the fight. As Luna opens the store the next morning, she finds someone in the alleyway, and gets hit by an electricity blast.

As Avalanche wrecks downtown Manhattan, a mystery redhead on a motorbike makes quick work of him before the X-Men can arrive. The redhead who beat up Avalanche arrives at the mansion, and Shan and Dani greet their old friend, Rahne Sinclair, AKA Wolfsbane. Laurie becomes jealous as Josh begins to develop a crush on the newly returned New Mutant.

At the Grind Stone the kids learn that the waitress Luna has had an accident, and Josh runs into the homeless girl that Julian turned away from the institute. The kids tell Dani, Shan and Rahne all about it and the fact that the homeless girl is probably responsible, and Dani decides that she will take care of it later, while Josh complains that he should get to help. Later, Rahne rounds up the kids to go find the girl before Dani can, and they head off, learning that the girl is Japanese, and nicknamed Surge. They eventually find her buying pills, which they believe caused her accident, so Sofia blows the pills away, only to realize that the girl had been using them to keep her powers under control, and without them, she explodes with electricity. They learn that her name is Noriko Ashida, and they take her back to the Institute where Hank McCoy helps her to. Dani arrives and gives them all detention, and she and Rahne get into a fight. The kids and Shan visit Luna DePaula in the hospital, while Rahne learns that she isn’t allowed to become a teacher and decides that she is going to leave. Dani confronts her to try to help, and learns exactly why Rahne has changed the way she has. Rahne takes off to a bar, where Josh eventually joins her and after a good conversation, he helps her understand her thoughts about her mutation. Hank gives Nori some gauntlets to help her control her powers, and tells her that she may eventually not need gauntlets or pills to control it. Nori and David run into Julian in the grounds of the Institute and they confront him for sending her away. Nori quickly turns on David for being so judgmental, and then storms off. Later, when Josh and Rahne arrive back at the Institute, Rahne admits that she wants her powers back, and in a wild kiss, he heals her, bringing back her wolf powers. Unfortunately, the sudden return of the wolf makes Rahne lose control and she slashes him with her claws, leaving her in a wild half wolf, half girl state, and him lying on the ground bleeding.

As Josh lies injured on the front lawn of the Institute with the wild wolf-Rahne standing over him, Laurie attempts to help him sneak in before realizing what has happened. Laurie’s and Rahne’s lives are compared, from their parents’ first meetings, to their first manifestations of their powers, to the many heartbreaks and troubles both girls have faced, all leading up to the moment when both finally use their powers, one accidentally hurting Josh, the one who truly understands her, and one saving Josh’s life, the one she truly loves. Though he seems to be saved, he is in very bad condition, and it is unsure whether or not he will survive.

As Josh lies on the verge of death in the Infirmary, it looks like there is no way to save him, because traditional medicine can’t work fast enough to heal his wounds and Warren, the only known healer is unavailable. Dani goes after Rahne and manages to calm her down enough to change back to human form, and they work through some of Rahne’s recent troubles. Back at Xavier’s, Nori and David realize that Josh can heal himself if they can only wake him up. After some convincing, Dr. McCoy agrees, and Nori uses a small surge of electricity to wake him up. As he is disoriented, Laurie and the others manage to help him use his powers and he heals himself… with an unexpected side-affect. He is now literally the golden boy.

Later, Dani reveals that when Josh’s parents gave up custody, she became his guardian to make sure he had family when he came to the school. Days later, Nori apologizes to Luna for the attack and theft and they come to an agreement that Nori could work at the Grind Stone to pay Luna back. The kids all arrive and order drinks and it becomes obvious that they are very close to one another, a family.

Justin Pierce, an F.B.I. agent, and the nephew of Donald Pierce, leader of the Reavers, arrives at The Cage to, reluctantly, make a deal with his uncle on behalf of his superiors. They need information on Kevin Ford. Back at the recently destroyed Institute, Shan, Dani, and Rahne are reunited with their former New Mutants teammates, Sam, Amara, and Roberto. They reminisce and learn things about each other that have happened recently. Soon, Pierce, while being transported, escapes from custody, and Justin quickly warns Dani and the others of the danger. Pierce gets Duncan and the rest of his Reavers together so they can get revenge on Josh Foley, the traitor. Dani comes up with a plan to beat Pierce using Josh as bait, and the resources of the F.B.I. The plan works and the former New Mutants manage to defeat Pierce and the Reavers, though Duncan escapes. They realize they still make a great team, and Sam asks Dani to quit teaching and join the X-Men with him, and she tells him she needs time to think it over.

 

[SunflowaSeeds]

New X-Men #139-141

Murder at the Mansion

Inside the telepathically created mental bedroom, Jean confronts Emma Frost, who is in the middle of seducing Jean’s husband, Scott Summers. Wishing to be alone, Jean telepathically banishes Scott from their presence and moves the confrontation to Emma’s quarters. Using the extensive powers of the Phoenix, Jean traipses through Emma’s memories, from an early interaction with her family to becoming a member of the Hellfire Club. Wishing to solve the mystery of what happened between Emma and Scott during their trip to Hong Kong, Jean presses through Emma’s defenses. Having worked for some time to gain entrance into Emma’s quarters and confront Jean, Scott succeeds and orders Jean to take the memory of the event from his mind instead. Jean does so and learns that her husband was faithful. Still, angered by the accusation, Scott storms out and leaves the Institute, using Logan’s special bike. Physically and emotionally raw from the experience, Emma admits to Logan that she is in love with Scott Summers. Some time later, the Beast goes to Emma’s room to cheer her up. Instead, however, he is shocked to find Emma apparently dead, her diamond form shattered into thousands of pieces.

Bishop and Sage arrive at the Xavier Institute, having been invited as impartial investigators of the apparent murder of Emma Frost. The two quickly determine that Emma was killed by a diamond bullet, which hit a flaw in Emma’s diamond body. Bishop and Sage question student and instructor alike, including the Beast, Professor Xavier, Xorn, Angel Salvadore, the Stepford Cuckoos and Jean Grey. Jean is the only one Bishop rules out as a suspect, after Jean convinces him through a telepathic rapport that he cannot even explain. Wishing to investigate a possible lead involving the recent drug, Hypercortisone D, Bishop visits Omega Gang member, Redneck, in prison, who tells Bishop that he obtained the inhalers from Quentin Quire, who purchased them in the woods behind the school. Back in the Institute, Beak confesses tearfully to the Beast that is was he who was selling the Kick drug and it was he that killed Miss Frost. Meanwhile, following Bishop’s lead, Sage discovers a set of inhalers in the woods as well as an old cabin. Entering the cabin, Sage discovers dozens of cocoons hanging from the ceiling. She also discovers the murder weapon, which is unfortunately in the hands of someone who is pointing it at Sage.

In the woods behind the Xavier Institute, Bishop finds Sage collapsed, her computer brain effectively shut down. After a quick reboot, the two investigate the shack she discovered and find dozens of eggs hanging from the rafters. Also in the shack, they find a pistol. Back in the Institute, the Beak confesses to shooting Emma Frost but Xavier and the Beast are disbelieving. As proof of motive, the Beak reveals that Angel was pregnant and that Miss Frost knew. The return of Bishop and Sage and the news of their discovery cause Xavier and Xorn to wish to investigate themselves. As they do so, the Beast returns to his task of reassembling Emma’s body. He is joined by Jean, who, with the use of the Beast’s telepathically lent medical knowledge and the Phoenix Force, is able to fully reassemble and reanimate Emma Frost. Once again, Emma Frost is among the living. Back at the cabin, Xavier and his group discover Angel there among the children from the hatched eggs. The children are hers and the Beak’s and are already toddler age, flying around and adorable.

Having finished their analysis of the murder weapon, Bishop and Sage pronounce Angel as the culprit but Xavier is unsure as to whether Angel actually pulled the trigger. At the front gate of the school, Bishop and Sage confront Esme, who has abandoned her sisters and is secretly trying to leave the school. To the young girl, Bishop and Sage reveal their conclusions: she wanted control of the Cuckoos and was the force that killed Sophie during the riot. Also, it was she who telepathically coerced Angel into shooting Miss Frost. When asked by Bishop who she is leaving to meet, Esme mocks his question, telepathically renders them both catatonic and makes her getaway in a driverless taxi. Xavier manages to restore Bishop and Sage’s sanity, which leads Sage to a revelation. Memories from the forest have been restored. The person who confronted her in the shack earlier was a male at least six foot two… meaning Esme had an accomplice. Taking this in, Bishop asks a question that only now occurred to him: where is Scott Summers?

 

[SunflowaSeeds]

New X-Men #142-145

Assault on Weapon Plus

In the new Hellfire Club, which is now an upscale “gentlemen’s club” that caters to mutants with money to spend, Cyclops tries to drown his sorrows in a bottle of sparkling wine. Cyclops attempts to drink in solitude but is interrupted by the arrival of Sabretooth. Creed is driven off by Sebastian Shaw, the club’s owner, but he too cannot resist making snide remarks at Cyclops’ mood and drink of choice. Finally, he decides to join Wolverine, who shows up with a “serious” drink: Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey. The two proceed to match shot for shot and talk about Cyclops’ relationship with Jean, Emma and even Wolverine himself. With the arrival of the enigmatic Fantomex and a mission involving the uncovering of the equally enigmatic Weapon Plus program, Wolverine offers to bring Cyclops along, but is rebuffed. As Cyclops tries to leave, however, the whiskey takes effect and Cyclops finds himself unconscious on the club’s floor. Draining his last shot, Wolverine tells Fantomex that it is like he said: there is nobody he’d rather have in his corner than Scott Summers.

Shortly after sneaking their way into the dome that houses artificial reality known as The World, Lou, an investigative reporter, and his mutant guide witness the arrival of a group of armed A.I.M. soldiers, bent on learning its secrets. When Fantomex, Cyclops and Wolverine arrive on the scene, motivated by similar goals, they find the A.I.M. soldiers dead, with the exception of one. The lone survivor speaks of the creature that massacred them and the reporter and his guide. Fantomex immediately knows what it is: Weapon Fifteen. The three mutants continue inside the dome and, through an immense door which leads to the heart of The World, they enter looking for answers and the creature called Weapon XV.

As a wide-eyed Cyclops follows him through the time-frozen landscape of The World, Fantomex explains that while mere months have passed since he escaped from the transport train, entire generations have passed inside the dome. Each generation, bio-engineered to be part-man and part-machine, is fed lies in the form of narcotic Nano-Sentinel pollen that there is nothing but endless, solid rock beyond The World’s walls. After leading the two X-Men to a place he formerly lived, time suddenly lurches forward, giving life to everything around them, including a homicidal car-cop. The threesome easily dispatches the cybernetic monstrosity but then are attacked and defeated by Weapon Fifteen.

Rather than finish the three off, however, Weapon Fifteen muses that there must be more than this and takes off, skyward. As he watches the light from Weapon Fifteen soar through the domed sky of The World and into outer space, Fantomex realizes why no one has ever found the nerve center to the Weapon Plus operation on Earth… it is a space station in orbit, to where Weapon Fifteen is now speeding.

After his quick ascent into orbit, Weapon Fifteen finds his way to the Weapon Plus space station and enters, followed soon thereafter by Cyclops, Wolverine and Fantomex in Fantomex’s living spacecraft, E.V.A. Once inside, the threesome fight their way to the control room and plant charges, intending to destroy the whole operation. After the countdown is set, Wolverine decides to lag behind, as he has found the Weapon Plus files and intends to learn everything about his past that has been denied him. Meanwhile, Cyclops and Fantomex move further inside the station after learning that E.V.A. has been captured. They arrive too late to save the spacecraft, however, and it is destroyed, as well as Fantomex’s nervous system, which was linked to it.

Having no other choice, Cyclops carries Fantomex toward the shuttle bay to escape. Back in the control room, Wolverine is confronted by the deadly but confused Weapon Fifteen. Although it seems to wish to have a life other than that for which it was created, Wolverine realized that this could never be. He activates the explosive charges, which destroys the whole space station.

 

[SunflowaSeeds]

New X-Men #146-150

Planet X: Well some major stuff went down here...

Just prior to the satellite’s destruction, Cyclops is able to pilot his shuttle away. However, the explosion causes their shuttle to lose control, crashing in the Pacific. Back at the mansion, Jean decides to use the new Mark 3 X-Plane to fly into orbit to rescue Wolverine, while Beast and Emma Frost fly to the Pacific for Cyclops and Fantomex. With most of the team gone, Xorn makes an offer to Dust, which causes her to seek out Xavier in panic. Seemingly, she loses control of her powers, wrecking Cerebra in the process. Xorn quickly manages to collect and contain Dust in a canister, much to Xavier’s dismay. In the Pacific Emma detects a stray thought from their teammate, warning them of a traitor in the Institute. They have no time to debate the issue, as a wing of their plane explodes from sabotage. Meanwhile, Jean arrives at the remains of the Weapon Plus station, the asteroid around which it was built, and finds Wolverine, standing over the remains of Weapon Fifteen, now dead. It is from Wolverine that Jean realizes the origin of the asteroid-heart of the space station: it is Asteroid M. Back at the Institute, Xorn finally moves against Xavier and uses his powers to re-cripple his old foe by removing the Nano-Sentinels he had used to fuse Xavier’s spine together. His old foe now helpless, Xorn reveals his true identity to Xavier: he is Magneto… and Xavier’s dream is over.

From his latest headquarters, the top floor of a building from which he can look over the city borough of Manhattan, Magneto begins the devastation that tears apart New York City, transforming it to New Genosha.

\\

Magneto confers with the latest incarnation of his Brotherhood, gathered by his lieutenant, Esme, promising them that he will turn the world upside down for them and the rest of their people. Before appearing before the masses below in person, Magneto secretly takes another hit of the mutant performance-enhancer drug, Kick, which is supplied by Esme. His power reestablished, Magneto hovers before his people, using his powers to destroy such landmarks as the Brooklyn Bridge and the Statue of Liberty.

Magneto learns from Toad that his followers in the streets below are directionless, leading to Chaos. While he begins the preparations for his old scheme of reversing the planet’s magnetic poles, he instructs Esme to coordinate the task of locate any surviving X-Men. To the horrified Beak, Magneto places him in charge of the mass execution of any remaining baseline humans on the island. Meanwhile, Wolverine and Jean are helpless to stop Asteroid M’s collision with the sun, or escape the station before that happens. After a bit of reflection of what villainous machinations have led them to this moment, as well as other recent revelations, they realize they are in their final moments. Rather than letting Jean die such a death, Wolverine ends her suffering with his claws, killing her instantly.

His grim task completed, Wolverine takes Jean’s body and opens the airlock, so that they may face the sun as it consumes them. Just before they and the Asteroid are consumed, however, Jean’s eyes reopen, burning with a fire of their own.

Reveling in their success, Magneto and his Brotherhood oversee the last batch of humans on Manhattan being corralled for extermination. The subsequent debate over the proceedings leads Magneto to banish Beak for disloyalty and, in a moment of rage at his juvenile jokes, kill Basilisk.

Beak, however, manages to escape the following mass execution and, after a beating from a local mutant gang, finds himself rescued by Fantomex’s sentient spaceship, E.V.A. The craft takes Beak to a hidden safehouse of anti-Magneto mutants, among which are the three remaining Stepford Cuckoos, Dust and both Cyclops and Fantomex. Despite the odds, Cyclops declares the group X-Men and his intention to lead them against Magneto. Back at his sanctum, Magneto finally puts an end to Esme’s ambitions and quells her hopes that she will ever rule at his side. After she has left, Magneto finds himself no longer alone, as a voice in his head claims to be the conscience that he has tried to silence. Magneto checks on the still-captive Xavier, thinking that it might be a telepathic trick. However, he finds hid old foe still helpless and his powers jammed. Inside his tank, however, Xavier is contacted by a voice and images that he finds familiar. To this person, the Professor mentally asks if it is Jean.

Having now officially claimed the powers of the Phoenix, Jean saves herself and Wolverine from the gravity well of the sun and returns to Earth, just in time to save the Beast and Emma, who have be stranded on the remains of an X-Plane in the Pacific for days. Back in Manhattan, Magneto continues his struggle to keep his new Brotherhood from fracturing until he is interrupted by the arrival of the Beak, Fantomex and Cyclops. Working in succession, the three are able to free Professor X and wound Magneto enough to keep him off balance. Realizing that his own lieutenants are disloyal in not defending him, Magneto kills the young Esme in revenge.

Magneto manages to shrug off his attackers and return to his followers but finds himself attacked by the rest of the team, Beast, Phoenix and Wolverine. The most mortal blow of the assault, however, comes from Magneto’s followers, when they all proclaim that they no longer wish to follow him. Seemingly in despair, Magneto collapses until Phoenix gets close enough for him to strike. Using the energy he has spent up for days, he gives her a lethal electromagnetic pulse, the equivalent of a planetary-scale stroke. As Jean begins to die, Magneto asks for it all to end, to which the enraged Wolverine complies, decapitating the former leader of mutants. Having been likewise fatally injured, Jean dies as well, passing into the light.

One hundred fifty years later, two explorers in an unorthodox craft make their way to the Blue Area of the Moon, where they discover to their horror the enigmatic Phoenix Egg.

 

[SunflowaSeeds]

Agent X #1-6

An amnesiac man stumbles on Deadpool’s receptionist Sandi Brandenberg. She pulls him into her apartment, offers him something to eat and discovers that he has a healing factor. She decides to help him become the best mercenary in the world and asks her friend, the notorious mercenary Taskmaster, to train him. The Taskmaster dislikes the stranger, who unaware of his real name, adopts the alias Alex Hayden, but he follows Sandi’s request. Alex gets taught to shoot by the female mercenary Outlaw and he turns out to be a natural. Alex is equally good with both hands and has perfect aim. Both the Taskmaster and Sandi think that Alex is actually Deadpool, who might have somehow survived his encounter with the Black Swan. They try to activate his memory by showing him the gravestones of Wade Wilson, but Alex Hayden doesn’t even want to remember his past. After several days of intense training, Hayden tries to establish himself in the business. His first job is to capture several escaped animals. Despite some misfortune, he succeeds and returns home. The Taskmaster decides to give Hayden a job that Taskmaster himself didn’t want to do.

Across the city, a man called Higashi has a hard time proving himself as the heir of the late Eastern Wind, one of the four crimelords making up the Four Winds. The underbosses of the organization think him too weak, but he demonstrates that he is in control by killing the most obnoxious of them.

Agent X visits the remains of Alpine Park, a theme park he now owns, as it was the payment for his first job.

The Taskmaster pretends to help Agent X by giving him an “easy“ assignment, however he actually is actually worried about Sandi and hopes that Alex will get himself killed. The assignment is to steal the Punisher’s guns. Five members of a club have each recruited one mercenary, and they have 48 hours for the job. Agent X’s competitors are B-1, the Scalpel, Bloc and his friend and trainer Outlaw. Alex and her quickly defeat the other three mercs, but while they are busy battling each other, the opportunity to assassinate the Punisher passes. Outlaw is proud of how good Agent X handles himself and after getting drunk in a bar, the two of them spend the night together and end up in bed. The next morning they break in into the Punisher’s apartment, but he shows up and makes them tell of the assignment. The Punisher leaves, taking their clothes and Outlaw’s car with him, to collect the money himself and kill the men who hired them. Meanwhile Higashi investigates the damages Agent X did to his building. Still interested in buying Alpine Park, Higashi calculates how much it would cost him to have Alex killed.

Agent X takes revenge on Taskmaster, who set him up to get killed by the Punisher. Sandi and Outlaw watch in awe, as somehow Agent X easily defeats Taskmaster in hand-to-hand combat. Even Alex doesn’t know how he does it. Alex takes Sandi and Outlaw to his Theme park to feed the animals, where they are approached by Higashi who offers him to buy the park. Alex refuses and he and Outlaw are attacked by Higashi’s men, but Sandi comes to the rescue with the park’s elephant. Later Alex and Outlaw take on a new job, which is to protect a jeweller from a gang that has robbed the store already three times before. During the job they meet Mary Zero, a girl that is effectively invisible. Next to nobody sees or hears her, and those who do, immediately forget. Mary walked into the jeweller to get herself a birthday present, and she enters the robber’s getaway car to get back the piece of jewelry she wanted. Alex follows rising a hotdog chart and captures the criminals by making their car crash. The robbers are knocked out, and Alex asks Mary if she is OK. Mary immediately falls in love with him since he is the first person to have ever noticed her and care about her.

Alex tries to talk some sense into Mary, who keeps staring at him and checking out his butt. He receives a phone call from Higashi, who tells him that he is in Alex‘ theme park right now, along with an expert in all things incendiary. He takes over a bus, and drives straight to his park. At the same time however, Higashi and his servant Saguri actually make their way to Sandi‘s apartment. Sandi calls Alex for help, but Mary answers his phone. Thinking Sandi to be Alex’s girlfriend, Mary hangs up. Fortunately Higashi does Sandi no harm, quite on the contrary, he admits that he has been thinking of her a lot, and wants to date her. Taskmaster, who is spying on Sandi’s apartment is annoyed by this turn of events, just like Saguri, who thinks her master is losing his mind. Alex arrives at Alpine Park, and walks straight into a trap as he is fired upon by two snipers. He eventually takes out both attackers, but he received a bullet in the throat and starts choking on his own blood. Alex collapses and Mary tries to call 911, but the operator doesn’t hear her. She runs out on the streets, but as usual, people fail to notice her.

Alex is saved by Arcade who performs a tracheotomy on Alex. Meanwhile, Taskmaster sells Alex out to the Four Winds, telling them that he is in fact Wade Wilson, the murderer of their former leaders. This action has unexpected consequences though, as Sandi is targeted for murder. Taskmaster escapes and informs Alex of what he has done. Alex saves Sandi and, together with Taskmaster and Outlaw, they go to Alpine Park to face the Four Winds. The group does not wait long, as several cars with costumed criminals working for the Four Winds soon arrive. They win, but are badly beaten up. Meanwhile, Alex has sent out Mary Zero to take some pictures. Alex leaves Outlaw, Mary and Taskmaster behind in a diner and disturbs a meeting of the heads of the Four Winds. He shows them pictures from their families at home, in the park and even sleeping and warns them to leave him and his friends alone; otherwise he will hit them through their family. Saguri refuses to accept and attacks Alex, but Alex kills her. Higashi tells Alex that they accept his terms. Outside, it turns out that Higashi is the one who ordered the hit on Saguri and he was also the one that kept Sandi safe during the fights. He pays Alex, who leaves with Sandi.

 

[SunflowaSeeds]

Agent X #7-11

Alex is hired by Sir William, an omni-fetishist (meaning he gets aroused by everything) to retrieve several stolen pairs of rare panties. Elsewhere, Sandi and Taskmaster figure out why Alex Hayden has named himself as such, after finding CDs of composers Alexander Schumann and Franz Hayden. Starting his assignment, Alex is dropped on the train where the panty thief (Lynda Lodestone, an omni-fetishist herself) and her henchmen are waiting. A fistfight ensues on the train’s roof and, after a short while, Alex defeats the henchmen. Then, to stop Lynda from blowing up the train with the stolen panties, Alex convinces she and William that they are made for each other. The two recognize the truth but accidentally set off the detonator. Alex is unhurt, though, and after handing William a pair of stolen panties, he asks to be paid. At home, Alex tells the others that he wants to turn Agency X in a real business. Taskmaster refuses and Outlaw tells Alex that she has to return to Texas because her father is ill. Sandi and Mary, however, do go along with it and the three of them form Agency X.

Alex is hired by Christine Gallhager to kill someone. Before his briefing, though, he has to get past Dante, the chief of security. After a short fight, Alex chops off one of Dante’s hands and passes. Subsequently, he is hired to kill an invisible man. After spending some time trying to find the guy, he finally gets into a fight with him, but it turns out that the invisible man is armed with an electrical weapon. He also tells Alex that he is innocent. Alex loses the guy and returns to Christine for some more information. Amazingly, she reveals that the man is not innocent, but that he is her father. Alex demands double pay and chops off Dante’s other hand. Outside the building, he notices that the invisible man has followed him and he traps him in another building. He tries to take him out by throwing two grenades at him.

Despite the store being demolished by Agent X’s grenades, both the Agent and the invisible man survive. Wishing to get to the bottom of the caper, the Agent has his invisible quarry dress in a humiliating dress so that he can keep track of him. The invisible man leads the Alex to a family yacht, where he tells him of his background as a government chemist and the development of an invisibility formula. When the military came to obtain formula, the man escaped by turning himself invisible. After likewise making his daughter invisible, the hid away. After growing up, Christine, the daughter, used a derivative of the formula to create a cosmetic that make wrinkles & pimples invisible and became rich. Arriving suddenly at the end of the tale, Christine is accompanied by Dante. A fight ensues which causes the boat to sink. As Christine and her father continue their family squabble, both Alex and Dante decide to leave the boat and keep and split the Agent’s fee. The two finally decide on a 60/40 split after one of Alex’s grenades blows the yacht to pieces.

When Alex gets home after a hit on a death cult, instead of Sandi, he finds Taskmaster. Taskmaster tells Alex that Sandi has taken an assignment, since Alex wasn’t there, and the two fight as usual. Sandi calls a moment later and says she needs help but, by that time, Taskmaster has become incapacitated. Alex goes to the rescue but finds out that Sandi simply was incapable of pulling the trigger on her target, Frank Bigelow. It turns out that Sandi has been in love with Alex and tried to impress him by killing Frank. They decide to kill him together and, after shooting him, they have sex. The next morning, Alex discovers that Sandi has been kidnapped by their employer, Beverly Lacoco, because Frank isn’t dead yet. Unless Alex succeeds by midnight, Beverly will kill Sandi. Alex tries killing Frank, but it turns out that Frank is the ex-superhero, Fight-Man, and, for all intents and purposes, completely invulnerable. Franks tells Alex that he has nothing to live for and decides to help Alex in killing him, but every attempt to kill Frank fails. In the end, Alex has taken a liking to Frank and is incapable of killing him. While trying to make a new plan, Alex is attacked by three robots/monsters, probably former enemies of Frank.

Alex and Fight-Man team up against Fight-Man’s ex-wife, Beverly, and his entire rogue’s gallery of Fight Man, who have kidnapped Sandi and are keeping her at City Hall. Meanwhile, Beverly sets her plan into motion: DoctOrangutan transfers the powers of five villains to Beverly. Sandi manages to escape on her own, but Beverly, with her new powers, kills her boyfriend, the Hooded Eye, and DoctOrangutan and then tries to kill Fight-Man, Sandi and Alex. Through dumb luck, Beverly is defeated, but Fight-Man then tries to arrest Alex and Sandi. Sandi uses a bazooka to collapse a building on Fight-Man’s head and the two leave.

 

[SunflowaSeeds]

Agent X #12-15

End of Series: I was pretty fun. I read it because I thought Deadpool would be more involved, and wanted to connect his previous run with Cable & Deadpool. I'm pretty sure this Alex Hayde character will be done with, probably wasted my time.

Alex hasn’t gotten an assignment in ages and starts to run low on cash. His theme park is suddenly bombed with him inside by a new mercenary named Mr. Murder. Murder dumps Alex without arms and legs into the East River, threatening Sandi in the process. The next morning, a severely wounded Alex makes his way to Chicky, an arms dealer/informant, who tells him that there is a million and a half dollar hit on a television executive who is in war with another executive. Both have put out hits on the other and have been outbidding each other. Alex disguises himself to talk to Warren, one of the executives, but their negotiation is interrupted by Murder who blows up the doors to the office and shoots Warren. Murder, in turn, is killed in the explosion when the explosives in Alex prosthetic leg go off. Alex tries to claim his money, but the other executive tries to get him killed. Alex throws him out the window of his office and goes back to Alpine Park. He decides to close down the park and leaves.

Alex wants to disband Agency X, but he hasn’t found the courage yet to tell Sandi, resulting in Taskmaster and Alex functioning as bodyguards for Higashi and Sandi on a date. They are attacked by two assassins and defeat them. At home, they find two persons in Sandi’s apartment: The Black Swan and Deadpool. Alex first reaction is to shoot Deadpool in the head.

Although Alex has shot Deadpool in the face, Deadpool is still alive. He’s mentally retarded, though. Black Swan explains to Alex who he is: a former mercenary called Nijo, killed by Black Swan, but revived by a combination of Black Swan’s telepathy and Deadpool’s healing factor. His personality is made up of bits and pieces of their personalities, which they lost, and Black Swan wants to restore each of them to their normal mind. During the process, Black Swan deceives them, though, and he loses the sense of honor that kept him in check, but regains his deadly abilities as well as several new abilities. He defeats Alex, but is then stabbed in the back by Deadpool.

The Black Swan has betrayed Alex and has now incredible powers. Alex, Deadpool, Sandi and Taskmaster all try to defeat him, in the end assisted by Outlaw. During the fight, Sandi and Taskmaster profess their love for each other. They finally succeed by working together in killing Black Swan and Alex mindlinks to Swan and shares his death with him. Swan dies and Alex’ scars are gone. Outlaw and Alex get back together and Sandi apologizes to Outlaw about sleeping with Alex. Taskmaster and Outlaw both join Agency X. Alex invites Deadpool, but he refuses. They politely say goodbye.... then decide that they hate each other and start fighting and insulting each other.

 

[SunflowaSeeds]

X-Treme X-Men #40-46

End of Series

Gambit and Rogue walk down the beach to meet Sam and Lila at a clambake. Bishop runs by them interrupting a kiss. Inside the beach house, Evangeline Whedon remarks about her concerns to Marie. Her worries are that both she and Sage will never find the puppet master that was controlling Jarod Malloy’s strings. Vange decides to fly off into the night sky to clear her head and Marie talks a while to Sage about her recent murder attempt. Amidst talking to Marie, Sage finds out a startling revelation about the demise of the Xavier Institute. Sage calls Storm over their high tech glasses to discuss their next move. Later that evening, Evangeline Whedon arrives at the clambake in her dragon form, carrying two passengers, Sunspot and Magma. Sam explains that he invited them, because he wanted the X-Men to continue as a family. Bishop has run into some trouble along his jog and that trouble consists of Revenant and her cronies. Bishop fights hard and eventually takes them all out. Reveling in his victory, he is unaware of Elias Bogan behind him and he/she easily defeats Bishop.

In a dungeon hidden from prying eyes, Bishop is hung upside down and fed a drug called Rave. The drug makes Bishop go mad and also makes him susceptible to the mind manipulations of Elias’ pet telepath. She is easily able to sedate Bishop and remove his psi-blocks that he has placed over his mind. Elsewhere, Anna and Remy discover the battle marks left on the sand by Bishop and Elias’ pets and they rush back to Anna’s home to inform the others. Once there, they are met by a hostile Sage, but the situation is quickly resolved, though the inside of the house is in total disarray. Just then, Sam and Amara arrive and are informed of the situation. Sam admits that Bishop’s plan to get himself captured was bad because it was kept a secret to everyone save Sage, but it was still a great plan. He goes on to inform the others that their new plan should be to split up the team into two groups, so that one could focus on stopping Bishop’s rampage and the other can take care of Elias’ pet telepath. Storm’s hologram interrupts them and she demands to know what is transpiring in California. After a brief rundown of the events, Sage tells the others about her past with Bogan and how Storm saved her from his cruel clutches. Later that evening, Storm and Sage have a moment alone to discuss their past and some of Sage’s worries about her time in the Hellfire Club, especially around the time of Mastermind’s creation of the Dark Phoenix.

The X-Treme team prepares for their upcoming battle, just as help arrives in the form of Sunspot, Skids and Magma. Cannonball goes over their plan and splits the teams up with Gambit, Sunspot, Skids and himself on one team, while Rogue, Magma and Sage are on the other. Sam’s team heads to take on Bishop and his newfound allies. The team of X-Men, once atop an old army fort, is attacked by Bludgeon, Cudgel and Rolling Thunder, who they easily take care of after a brief confrontation. Next comes what Bishop calls the main event, where he single-handedly takes out all of his old teammates, minus one. That one is Remy LeBeau, who, after a brief battle, removes Bishop from combat by using his own booby-trap against him. The fight is quickly ended, however, when Elias’ pet telepath sneaks up on Gambit and uses her powers to nock him out cold. Elsewhere, as their battle ends, the other team flies over the sands of California to a destination known only to Sage. Vange, who is flying the X-Men to L.A., lands on a deserted stretch of highway, where they meet up with an ally from their past, Shadowcat.

Nearing the time of their attack, Sage calls the team together and the quartet of women risk their lives in a desperate attempt to travel through the Earth’s mantle to reach Bogan’s lair. Finally arriving, the team is split from one another. Sage goes off in search of Bogan and Magma disappears, per Sage’s instructions, to an undisclosed place to be used as a last resort in stopping Bogan. Shadowcat and Rogue fight off Revenant and Manacle, only to be stopped in their tracks by the sudden appearance of a handful of their comrades under Bogan's control. Gambit was conning Bogan, and he uses his staff to trip most of the attackers up. Angered, the telepath vows vengeance upon them but, coming out of hiding himself, Bishop takes out the telepath. Elsewhere in the caverns, Sage nears her goal, only to be stopped by Magma, who is controlled by Bogan and intent on burning Sage to death.

Sage travels through her memories, remembering her first encounter with her mentor, Charles Xavier. Elsewhere, though, her teammates fight off the mysterious telepath, but to no avail, each one of them passing out with her psychic attack. Awaking, they find themselves along side Sage. They see her murdering guerilla insurgents and realize why she keeps so many secrets. Bogan is with Sage, trying every step she takes to make her his pet. Thanks to the words of her friends, Sage is able to break free and they all awake in the catacombs of Bogan’s lair. Mysteriously, though, the telepath is gone. After rescuing Sage, Shadowcat and Rogue travel through a jewel to take on Bogan face-to-face. While in his dimension, they find the telepath and are able to break her free from Bogan’s control. Traveling back to the catacombs, the team realizes that the telepath was Rachel Summers, their former teammate and friend.

Rogue’s Beach House is surprised by two new houseguests, Storm and Callisto. They arrive via Lila Cheney’s sentient house and startle both Vange and Marie. Shadowcat is there and greets the two women, debriefing them on the X-Men’s last couple of days with Bogan. Elsewhere, in the catacombs of Elias’ hideout, the other members of the X-Treme team search to no avail for Elias or his allies. Suddenly and without warning, Elias attacks. His attack is even felt in Valle Soleada, as Rachel Summers swiftly saves her friends at the Beach House by barricading them in Lila’s house. The others are not so lucky, as they are taken on a journey through their own thoughts, where each one has two face-off against one of their most evil desires. Each one, in their own way, defeats their inner demons. Amara, though, is the most unlucky, as she does not face off against Elias, but Selene, her archenemy, instead. Causing great mental stress, Selene is able to affect Amara’s physical world. Amara uses her powers, subconsciously, to send a lava flow through the catacombs, but, thanks to Cannonball and Bishop’s quick thinking, the team is saved. Above ground, Amara finally awakens to a shocking scene. A volcano now stands where the X-Corp building once did and now they have a lot of explaining to do.

 

[SunflowaSeeds]

X-Treme X-Men 40-46

A day spent in relaxation is cut short by nightfall. The X-Treme team gathers around Rogue’s television, as they are shocked to hear the reports of the wholesale slaughter that happened in New York at the hands of Magneto. Also shocking, they see the death of their friend, Jean Grey-Summers, at the hands of the butcher. Storm receives a phone call from Val Cooper, stating that their badges may be taken away from them. Ororo tells them that it is time they return to the Institute to help their friends. Before they leave, an entourage of Valle Soleada residents offers its assistance to the battered New York. Lila Cheney uses her powers to teleport them and their supplies there. After helping out, the team returns to the mansion. Ororo meets Archangel and the two of them make up, after their recent arguments over the death of Psylocke. Floating to the ground, Storm frightens her friend, Rahne Sinclair, who rushes into Harry’s Hideaway to get away from her. Shocked, Storm realizes that she may not be the same woman she once was, thanks to the time she spent in Tokyo. After a few brief get-together’s of their own, the entire team meets up in the kitchen of Xavier’s. Storm makes a speech about how they must fight through persecution to save humanity from warring against mutants but, thanks to Magneto’s recent actions, it will be much harder on them than times past. Holding up her X.S.E badge, she asks, who will join her?