X-Men 192: Star Death

Pages 1-2 (Phoenix)

Our splash page is Scott and Madeline Summers somewhere on the mansion grounds, staring gobsmacked at their first encounter with Rachel.

Picture a view out the main doors of the Charles Xavier mansion. From behind, we can see a slender, red-headed woman with short hair holding open the door. In front of her are Scott and Madeline Summers, Madeline with a look of utter surprise on her face (Scott, as usual, is unreadable).

It is possible that Rachel could have planned this better--making sure to get the door when she knew it would likely be her father (and his wife). But in her new life where there is far less risk of sudden death than she's used to--and far more risk of 'mere' discomfort, Rachel has taken to two tactics when dealing with the uncomfortable truths. Avoiding them and recklessly taking them head-on. In this case, having decided she's done with the former, perhaps she had no choice but to choose the latter.

Written by Myles "Nightcrawler" Corcoran
Penciled by Written by Samantha "Rogue" Mullaney
Inked by Lisa "Colossus" Padol
Colored by Kris "Ariel"" Keegan
Lettered by Joshua "Phoenix" Kronengold
Edited by Brian Rogers
Rachel Rogers, Editor in Chief

"Um, Hello..." Madeline says after a moment.

"Won't you come in," Rachel says, "We haven't been introduced. I'm Rachel."

Scott and Madeline look at one another, and then back at Rachel, and then step inside. Madeline is dumbfounded, Scott is clearly trying to think something through. "Rachel," The recollection snaps into place. "Kurt mentioned you, in passing. You're from the future. He didn't say...."

"Whose daughter I was? Can I take your jackets?” Rachel holds out a hand "No, he wouldn't have; it's mine to tell. In my timeline, Jean came back."

Madeline drops her coat in shock before it makes it to Rachel's hands; she goes pale, like a woman seeing a nightmare. Scott puts his arm around his wife to steady her.

"But she didn't make the time jump," Scott states flatly. "Just you."

Again, the inability to see Scott's eyes make reading him difficult, but Rachel knows her father, knows how the set of his jaw changes when he's processing something, and when he works it through. "Kate didn't make it back either."

Rachel shakes her head. "No. Mom wouldn't have had the power to make the jump, even if you both hadn't died years before; when she came back, there were limits added to her powers, to prevent her from becoming Dark Phoenix again.

"Kate...I don't know what happened with her. And then Mememto -- a Morlock, ate my entire future. I don't think anything else is coming back from that."

Madeline is still looking a little shocked, and Scott steers her, and by extension the conversation, into the house and towards the informal sitting room. "OK, Maddy, let me start from scratch. Shortly after Jean died, while I was away from the mansion, the X-Men had an incident where Kitty got possessed by the spirit of her older self from the future."

She stares at him.

"Yes, I know it sounds crazy. You married into this. Ororo told me that the older Kitty - Kate - said that there was a telepath in the future named Rachel who had sent her back to prevent their future from happening. Kate never said who Rachel was, just the name. This is her, I'm guessing, and she left that future before it was undone and came back here."

"So in a future that didn't happen you and your no longer dead fiancée got married and had a daughter who came back in time?" She looks at Rachel with some bitterness. "Do I have that right?"

"Yeah," Rachel says.

"I didn't marry *this*, Scott. *This* was supposed to slow down. I knew it was never going to go away entirely, but *We* were supposed to have some time. *I* was not supposed to be used as an *illusion* of Jean, or a *clone* of Jean, or a *demon spirit* of Jean," Madeline catches how she's on the edge of losing it, and some dark self-awareness creeps into her voice, "or the *witchy evil stepmother* of Jean's long lost daughter.

"How long, Scott? How long is the shadow of Jean Grey? How long before I get to be defined as something than *not her*?"

"Maybe you should start," Rachel says. "I'm me. Not a shadow of my mother, not a replacement for her, not an evil time duplicate. Yes, it's awkward and mess and complicated, because life is like that and our lives are sometimes worse, but the only person who has made this about your relationship to my mother is you!"

Madeline stares at her, "You think I don't know I'm the one being irrational here? Of course I am - I'm the evil stepmom! I'm the one who had to worry every single day if the dead goddess I'm competing with for my husband's affections decided to come back to life. And the nightmares that she did show up and he's gone, like we never were. And the marriage counseling and the crying and when we finally, finally lay that ghost *bam!* here's the dead goddesses lovely daughter! And she looks just like you, just like the daughter you and your husband would have if he was willing to have kids at all, which he won't because he doesn't want to curse his child with his own mutation. Sucks to be you, Maddy! You don't get to bear Scott's kids but the dead goddess did! Here she is! Everything you ever wanted, looks just like you, but hey, not yours! Don't touch!"

Scott moves in to hold her, say something and he warns him off, looks at Rachel again "I know it's me, not you. I know it's not your fault. You just got here. But you just got here. You don't know." She drops her head, "You don't know."

Rachel picks up Madeline's coat and hangs it up. "No, I don't know," she says. "But I don't need to be another thing making it harder for you. For both of you."

Scott gets Madeline to sit, then motions Rachel to do the same. "Maddy, I'm not going _anywhere._ At least not without you."

"I know, I know!" Madeline wipes the tears off of her face, "I just wasn't expecting...this. It's crazy. I thought it'd be safe, coming back here. Amanda hadn't said anything, Kurt made it clear he wasn't going to recruit you. It'd be nice to see everyone again. And then..." she waves at Rachel.

"It's not your fault," she tells the dead goddess's beautiful daughter." You want to know your dad. He's a great guy. That's why I married him. And I don't want to be the wicked stepmother."

"You just stepped into something, Rachel," Scott tells Rachel, clearly uncomfortable with his marriage’s problems being so publically aired. Then she sees another piece fall into place. "A Morlock _ate_ your future? You got here what, mid-late October?"

"Yeah. Why?"

Scott and Maddy look at one another as if this date has some significance.

Rachel puts her hands on her beautiful step-daughter hips. "Ok, you've had your fun. Why?"

"The dreams," Scott tells her. "The dreams stopped in mid-October."

Madeline takes up the thread, "We'd been having nightmares, me mostly, him sometimes, that your mother came back to life again. And that Scott abandoned us. I'd be dreaming about an empty bed and a screaming baby and... and..." she takes her head, "it wasn't good. We were seeing a therapist. A lot of widower's wives have this sort of thing, that the first wife isn't ever gone. But this was extreme, for both of us."

Scott starts talking again, "and then in Mid-October the dreams just...stopped. I'd, we'd just decided we shouldn't have...that I couldn't risk passing my curse along. We figured we'd make a breakthrough. But if you, if some Morlock made a future not happen...."

"Maybe," Rachel says, "that future wasn't going to happen--there were already too many differences. And I don't know what being the Phoenix really means; it's possible that me being here--being what I am--prevented the possibility of mom coming back. But dad...you're not cursed. Your powers have their downsides, but...if you changed your mind, I'd love to have a brother."

Madeline smiles a very little at that, but Scott still looks serious. "Rachel, no offense but , um, you don't get a vote. Certainly not yet, anyway. Speaking of which, to be blunt, what are you expecting here? From me. Us."

Rachel smiles. "I know. And that's a good question, but I don't have many answers. You're not the father I grew up with, but you're far too close for me to be comfortable ignoring it. So I'd like a chance for us to get to know one another."

Scott and Madeline look at one another for a second. "I think we can handle that," Scott says. "I'm not promising it will be seamless...."

Rachel smiles. "No, I'm sure it won't be, but so what? We'll patch what we can."

Page 3-4 (Storm)

Ororo is inside Magneto’s Sudan base, apparently unsupervised. She’s looking at a series of view screens that show, among other things, Captain Chike’s boat (that one is directly in front of her) docking safely in Cairo (so clearly a few days have passed), an African village that is incongruously next to a high tech production site, a very blurry image of a stone castle in mountainous terrain, and a city of spires and whorls whose blue-skinned inhabitants are all flying, or perhaps swimming. Ororo’s look is highly contemplative. **What are you doing here, Magneto?** she thinks.

Magneto appears in the doorway behind her. “As promised, Ororo, they have made it home safely. I’ll recall that monitoring probe now.” And with that the screen with Captain Chike goes blank. “I do wonder why you were so concerned for them given that they were ready to shoot you….”

Ororo smiles back, “Many people have been ready to kill me at one point or another, including you. They were under stressful circumstances and not at their best.”

“Humans are always under stressful circumstances, Ororo. Take a look here.” Several other monitors turn on at his electromagnetic command. “The people of southern Soudan have been fighting those of northern Sudan for more than a decade, and will likely do so for decades more before it is settled. People in neighboring Ethiopia are starving because politicians are using world food supplies as leverage.

“I could have spared them this fate years ago if you X-Men had not interfered with my goal of enforcing world peace.*”

Ororo looks serious. “Perhaps, or perhaps many more would have died trying to resist your control. No one man can rule the world, Magneto, and those with any amount power now would find ways to fight you, even if it meant destroying all that they have.”

Magneto nods, “You may well be right, and without the X-Men’s assistance Cyclops is right – nothing I build here will outlive me**.

[ED See *X-Men 150 and ** Marvel Graphic Novel #5 for what Magneto’s talking about]

“So what are you doing here?” she asks him, point blank as they leave the room and start walking through the base, giving us a chance to see more of its high tech interior.

“A man must be somewhere, Storm. In our war Charles and I both built our bolt holes and bases – Charles in Westchester, Muir Island and Seoul, me in the Antarctic, Asteroid M, the Bermuda Triangle and a few other places, shielded from human eyes. You quite thoroughly destroyed my base in the Antarctic, and from what people told me of demonic presences on Beyonder’s world I took the precautionary step of re-sinking the Bermuda base. Asteroid M’s orbit is highly elliptic and uncomfortably distant at the moment. So here I am.”

“Doing nothing but relaxing and contemplating you future?” she responds with a dubious look. The room they’re in now contains advanced weaponry, at the very least on par with SHIELD technology. Ororo isn’t obviously looking at it, but she can’t help but see the hovercraft, the plasma cannons and so on.

“Of course not. I plan, Storm. I contemplate my past mistakes, I learn from the suggestions of my natural allies, and calculate my next logical move.”

“Towards?” Having left the armory there is a room of advanced medical gear, stacks of emergency supplies and what the trained eye would recognize as a more developed version of the FEMA drop kit that lets people on the ground respond immediately to emergencies.

“The protection of mutantkind, Storm, as always.” He shrugs. “Conquest of the Earth was always a means to that end, but I have decided that the X-Men are correct. It is a flawed strategy.”

“And what is your new strategy?”

“Isn’t that obvious from what you were looking at on the screens?”

“Blurry as it was, I recognize Doom’s castle. You are allying with Doom?!”

He laughs. “Not hardly. These small bases are not enough, Ororo, and the Earth is too fractious and too contested to rule.”

She holds her hand to her mouth as one of the other images registers, “Wakanda. You’re invading Wakanda.”

Magneto smiles.

Page 5 (Colossus)

First panel is Callisto’s room, which has clearly seen some sort of violent activity – not quite at the level of knocking down the bookshelves that serve as the wall between her personal and office space, but it was obviously a close thing “Well,” Callisto says from somewhere in the rubble, “I needed _that_.”

The next image is a shot of Callisto from the back as she reattaches her bra. “Shake a leg, Colossus. You have to get home before curfew or people are gonna come looking for you.”

"The Morlocks have a curfew?" says Colossus. The panel shows his arm reaching for his shirt.

"Ha. No, I don't want Nightcrawler and company crawling down here because you didn't get home before sunup." She's standing up into something - probably a leather mini - but the panel is framed to block off the part of her that needs the clothing. "Which means you got about, oh hell, 100 minutes to get back to Westchester."

We have a three panel shot - Peter on the subway, Peter taking the Harlem train line up to Croton Falls, Peter in a car driving back to the mansion. His position is center to the panel in each, and doesn't change much. In the first he's thinking "Did we just...?', the second panel is "We did." And in the third Peter’s facial expression looks like someone thinking "Gotta get home before folks worry -- I just had sex with Callisto -- focus, gotta focus."

He pulls into the driveway of the mansion shortly after dawn. Surprisingly, his little sister is sitting cross-legged in the lawn. By the time Peter gets out of the car in the garage she is standing up and looking at him.

"Happy new year, big brother," she says in Russian. "I suggest you be quiet going in - the New Mutants all had a late night."

"Oh? Celebrating, I hope?"

"Douglas got us access to a party at the high school. We didn't limp back here until well past one," She stops contemplating something, "I have to ask you something but before I do want to thank you, really honestly thank you for what you did in the Savage Land. I cannot explain how much of a weight that is off of me."

Peter gathers her in a hug and says, "No one gets away with hurting my sister."

"But I have to ask - you really don't love Kitty any more, do you?"

"Ilyana," says Peter, very serious. "Do you think I would have said what I did to her if I had any doubt about that?"

Ilyana shrugs, "I kept hoping you were just confused, upset. I got so used to thinking she was going to be my sister. I just wanted to tell you that she spent last night dancing with Douglas. So if you _wanted_ to get back with her you should do something, and if you really _didn't_ then I thought you should know that she's going to be OK."

"Douglas is a good man," says Colossus, making sure to keep any hint of regret out of his voice (though perhaps not managing to keep it all out of his expression). "I am very glad that she will be okay. And, if you want to think of her as a sister, I doubt anyone will mind."

"And what were the Morlocks doing for New Years? Did they have a big party?'

"Ah, they..." Peter looks gobsmacked, much like he did on the drive.

Ilyana stares at him, trying to read his expression.

"They try to ignore New Year's. I do not know what a Morlock party is like." Then, a very different expression crosses his face. "Except perhaps when Callisto tried to get married. I don't... think... that all their parties are like that."

Putting on a more neutral expression, he says, "But, you have to remember that when we first met the Morlocks, we were their enemies. They do not give their trust easily, and they do not want to relax in front of outsiders." He sighs. "I need to find a better textbook for Callisto. And some live chickens."

“Um, OK.” After a pause she says “Kitty’s going to be OK – are you?”

"I think so," says Peter. "And I do not think anyone will mind if you still think of Kitty as your sister."

Page 6-7 (Storm)

Magneto’s smile becomes a full throated laugh, “Heaven’s no! And have the Avengers pounding on my door? No, I seek not to conquer T’Challa but become him. And Doom. And Namor for that matter.”

Ororo looks a little more relaxed as they reach a dining room. Metal chairs slide out from the table as a robot reminiscent of Nanny drops off food for them. “I’m not sure I understand. Why do you need territory?”

“Not territory. Sovereignty,” Magneto tells her. “The only reason Doom was ever a true rival to me is because of his undisputed control of a country and its resources. I need that if I’m going to move forward in providing a haven for mutantkind. Second, Scott was completely right that anything I build will not outlive me… unless it is supported by the apparatus of a state. There must be rules, civil servants, police forces, a legal system – it cannot all be me. Oh, my ego would love to think it so, but my mind will no longer allow it. If a mutant haven is going to outlive me, it must have a foundation greater than me, and it must have legitimacy in the eyes of the world. A sovereign state will have that.”

Ororo stirs her food with her fork and says “You seek to build a mutant Israel.”

“For now…that’s as a good a metaphor as any. I spent time in Israel during its early years – that’s where I met Charles – and if I knew then what I know now I might have thrown my powers behind them and forced concessions for my own people. I am no longer a Jew any more than I am a human. I am a Mutant, first, last and always, but as I said, I can learn.” Magneto takes a bite of food and continues after he swallows. “And so I study T’Challa, and Doom, and Namor, to see how they arrange the apparatus of state and the necessities of politics given their own natures as obvious super-humans.”

“And where will this state be?” she asks. “It seems everywhere is claimed.”

“Had I been this wise earlier I would have placed us in the Savage Land, when only I and a handful of others knew of its existence. Alas now it is bound by UN charters and oversight and disputes and so it is no more useful to me than anywhere else.” Magneto shrugs, having apparently taken the time to become accustomed to this acknowledgement of his past errors. “Which means that I lack Doom’s advantage of claiming control of a territory before anyone knows of my nature; these days no one would accept a new Latveria in Europe, even one that, like Latveria, the US tacitly supports because it is a bulwark against Soviet influence. And certainly not one controlled by the Evil Mutant Master of Magnetism.

“I have two options: to craft a new state out of a failed one or to take over an existing state. I have two targets: the lands surrounding us here, where my power could easily tip the balance to the South Sudanese, end the war and in so doing mitigate the humanitarian crisis over the border. Or come to an accord with the royal family of Halwan*, a petro state that has dwindling supplies and problems with foreign super-humans and will likely accept mutant support until such time as we can arrange an orderly transition of power.”

[* Ed: well known to readers of Iron Fist comics!]

Ororo looks dubious, “I don’t imagine the world’s governments would accept either of those.”

“Of course not. Even a few years ago I would have openly claimed these lands as being under no control and therefore mine by right of power, raised the mutant flag for followers and called down any number of adversaries. The X-Men would have moved to stop me, I’m sure, and the Avengers, possibly even the Soviet Super-Soldiers. Like a wolf that much chase fleeing prey my presence would compel them to attack. My victory would be pyrrhic at best. The state would not hold.” He takes a sip of wine, continues, “Even if I were to ally myself publically with these Rebels or with the House of Halwan, and gain legitimacy by feigning allegiance with their cause I carry too much ill blood with the world. While not as dramatic the results would be the same and my would-be allies would distance themselves from me to avoid the stigma I carry.”

Ororo nods, seeing this, “So your conquest must be secret, with a secret betrayal planned?”

Magneto scowls, “I have no pre-planned betrayal for the South Sudanese, should I decide to support them. There are not enough mutants in the world to fill the entire state, but if the rebels accept mutants as full members of society, with full rights, no repression and no persecution then we could possibly find common cause. In their landlocked country imagine getting power from turbines driven by my mutant abilities, with rain that you provide for their crops, with no need for a huge army. If mutants ended up controlling the levers of power it would be natural, but not inevitable.”

Ororo looks pained at this, but says nothing as Magneto continues. “As for the Halwan, they are corrupt and abusive of their own people. Also arrogant and stupid enough to ally themselves with people like Ahmet Abdol – they would relish my help, accept my terms of Mutant protection thinking they could seize and advantage. When one is dealing with a scorpion it is best to sting first.”

“You speak calmly of working with Humans, Magneto. Are you sure you can do so? Can you extend such trust?”

Magneto nods slowly, “I will have to, to attain my ultimate goals. And I hope that I’ve found a path that will keep the X-Men from moving to stop me.”

She contemplates, and then gives a single curt nod. “I have seen enough of this war and the devastation it has done to these lands to not want it to continue. If you could end it, decisively, in a way that minimizes human misery, you would have my support.”

“And can I rely upon your powers as well?” He asks.

There is a stony silence.

Page 8-9 (Harry Leland)

Harry Leland is in his offices in London, staring dumbfounded at a Times article that lays out, in no uncertain terms, how his holdings on both sides of the Atlantic are under investigation for a variety of illicit, illegal and in some cases scandalous financial and business moves. The look on his face is not that of a man who is taking this turn of events with a stiff upper lip. Much more like someone who is taking it with a stiff brandy. Several stiff brandies.

“It’s not possible! It’s just Not! Possible! How could they know? What do I do?”

“Havin’ a rough day, Guv’nor?” says a voice from off panel in an adopted broad cockney. Leland spins to see - inside the room, just in front of the window - a man of modest stature, round glasses, orange jacket, bow tie and a blond bowl cut that, to be honest, makes him look like a bit of a prat. With him is a pale skinned boy with dark green hair and sinuous arms, one of which is wrapped around the man’s arm.

The invader attempts an ingratiating grin “I’m Mr. Michael, of the URK!”

The prat’s prepared speech ends abruptly as Leland’s power catches him, pinning both him and the boy to the floor as if the hand of a precocious god had slapped them down. Leland looks much more comfortable now that he has someone to intimidate. “Don’t bother trying to get up, Mr. Michael, and don’t hope that the floor will give way. I made certain that these would support considerable applications of my power, lest any assailant escape me.”

Leland picks up his drink and sits down even as Mr. Michael manages to lift his head enough to reposition it to see him. The boy is apparently unconscious, his form unnaturally spread across the floor.

“You’re… a… mutant…”

“Very perceptive, Mr. Michael. A mutant much more capable of acting amongst humans than that Warpie* child beside you.”

[*ED: as a result of the reality warp created by James Jaspers in the UK a large number of children were born with very visible physical mutations; these are colloquially referred to as ‘Warpies’ See various issues of Captain Britain for more.]

Leland takes a sip and then continues. “So, Mr. Michael, I didn’t catch who you were working for.”

“R… C… X…”

Leland looks ever so slightly more concerned, but then covers it up. “Queen’s secret man, eh? That complicates things a bit, but not as much as you think. I gather your Warpie was our key in, but now you’ve no way out. Since when did the R.C.X concern itself with financial investigations, Mr. Michael? A bit outside your purview.”

Michael smiles a little, his face straining with the effort. “Not… Finance…Jaspers”

Harry’s eyes squint. “Jaspers is dead, Mr. Michael.”

“Allies… Hellfire… Club…”

“What?!?” Leland nearly spits out his drink, “I’m going to crush you to a pulp, Mr. Michaels, and arrange for your body to disappear so deep into the earth that worms won’t find it.”

“Won’t…help…you…Leland….” Michaels smiles again. “You’re…compromised…. Broke… What… happens… to… inner… circle… failures…? R… C… X… can… protect… you…. Faked… death…. ESPer… squad… coverage….”

Leland stares at him, glancing at the newspaper headlines screaming about the investigations, then back at the annoying smiling prat on the floor. He seems like he’s made a decision, stands and points at the prone figures to enhance his power. Then Mr. Michael plays his last card.

“What… happened… to… Pierce…? How… did… they… deal… with… him…?”

Leland shudders, then sits heavily on his chair. His power obviously lapsed since Mr. Michael stands up, taking a moment to adjust his jacket and brush lint off of it before helping his companion back to his rubbery feet.

“You better be playing square, Mr. Michael,” Leland tells him, “Or I will shatter every bone in your body.”

“The R.C.X always plays square, Leland,” Michael replies, and smiles his grating smile. “We’ve gone all the way through twisted and out the other side.”

He gestures for the boy to take Leland’s hand – something neither looks keen to do – and once that’s accomplished the trio turn translucent and then vanish as a beam of light out the window. You can see the clock on the wall reads 9:45. In the next panel it reads 12:54, and there’s a knocking on the door.

“This is Chief Inspector Thomas of Scotland Yard. Open up in there, Mr. Leland, or we will kick the door in!”

“Right. Captain?”

There is a loud crunch and Captain Britain casually pushes the reinforced door off of its hinges. “Honestly Inspector, I don’t know why I’m needed here… Good Lord!”

The Captain’s face is shocked and horrified as he steps into the room. We don’t actually _see_ what has him so concerned but we can see a body that looks suspiciously like Leland’s on the floor, although its head and shoulders are obscured behind a desk. In the body’s hand is a large antique dueling pistol.

“Sweet heaven,” Chief Inspector Dai Thomas agrees, “What in these financial shenanigans could make a man so desperate as to do that?”

That last panel is seen from outside, through the window. In the street below a luxurious limousine parked in an inconspicuous spot and in London while it might be noted, one would never expect it to be remembered. Inside that is Emma Frost, sitting in the back seat in her signature white clothing – severe jacket and blouse, white skirt. She signs heavily and picks up a phone. “We’re going to need a new Black Bishop. I can confirm this through the thoughts of a pair of impeccable eyewitnesses, and I can’t feel any trace of the Black Bishop on the island.”

She waits, listening to the other half of the conversation, then says. “Agreed. It’s cleaner this way.”

The limo pulls away. That departure is noted by a closed circuit television camera, and watched on a screen some distance away by an auburn haired gentleman standing next to an albino woman. The woman picks up a phone and dials.

“Charles, its Alison Double. It went much as you predicted. Betsy is shielding him now, and the American woman is just leaving.”

Page 10 (Storm)

Storm is standing on an outside balcony of Magneto’s compound, shielding her eyes as she looks up at the sun, which has a visible black spot on its surface. She then glances down to one of the other building and through its tinted windows she can see someone moving. She is wearing different clothes from the last scene, so we can assume some time has passed. Magneto walks onto the balcony behind her and also looks up. “Something is happening to the sun. I can feel it, even from here. The American news media is clearly covering something up given the tone of their coverage.”

“Storm, have you given my offer any more thought?” he asks her. “Your cultural advice has been invaluable but I need to know….” He lets this trail off.

“Who else is here?” Ororo asks him by way of changing the subject. “Those don’t look like robots.”

Magneto accepts the evasion. “Other allies. After returning from Beyonder’s world I visited some of my old bases. I salvaged a considerable amount of equipment from the island before I sank it. Then I visit what remained of my Antarctic base. Having such hubris that I set my base inside an active volcano is another characteristic I hope I’ve outgrown. There was nothing to salvage there, but I did visit the Savage Land briefly. I located Lorelei and Equlibrus, two of the Mutates. Neither was doing terribly well, and there was no sign of their fellows, so I took them in. I did create them, after all, uplifting them from the Neanderthal like swamp people.”

Storm nods “I can tell you what happened to the rest of them – Brainchild had reconstructed your machinery and they were using it to devolve their enemies in a bid for dominion over the Savage Land, allying with Sauron to do so. Angel was briefly turned into a barely sentient hawk creature. He got the X-Men involved. When we defeated the Mutates we decided that they, and your technology, were too dangerous, so we returned them to their original Neanderthal states so Brainchild could not rebuild it and destroyed the equipment.“*

“You did WHAT?!?!” Magneto turns on her, his face a mask of fury. “Did you time under Nanny’s care teach you nothing? I have been ‘devolved’ Storm, reverted to a childlike state with the deep awareness of what I had lost, and there is no worse hell I can imagine**. That you would condemn some of those under my aegis, however distant, to such a fate… Did you not THINK, woman?”

[* ED: see Marvel Fanfare 1-4; Storm does not know that Belasco re-uplifted the Mutates before X-Men 189]

[** ED: He was devolved in Defenders 15-16; Eric the Red restored him from that state in X-Men 104, he captured the X-men and imprisoned them with neurological blocks that produced a similar condition and left them under the care of a robot Nanny issues 112-113.]

Ororo looks aghast then stammers, ‘No, I suppose we did not. It was expedient, and we felt better than killing them, but the cruelty of it did not…”

She lowers her head. “Another wrong I will have to address.”

Magneto looks mollified by her immediate realization. “I shall find them, and restore them, as soon as time permits.”

There is a brief pause and then Ororo asks, “Is one of them the pianist, or is that your playing I’m hearing at night?”

“Neither. The final person in the compound is a young mutant I found near here, a child of this stupid war. She has adopted the name Forte. The girl possesses potent telekinetic arms, and she plays duets with herself to improve her dexterity.”

“Is she to be the core of your new Bortherhood?”

“No,” Magneto tells her, “she is the first daughter of our new nation. And I need to know, Storm, do I have the pledge of your powers or not? Your mutant gifts would be invaluable here, save many lives and earn mutants a generation of unquestioned support and equality from the humans.”

Ororo turns away, gripping the balcony. “Your goal is worthy, Magneto, but I cannot pledge you my power because I have no power to pledge.“

There is a distant shot of the two on the balcony where Storm is clearly sharing the story of her being crippled. When it is finished Magneto is looking at her with a mixture of sympathy and rage. “And I speak of the hell of loss. I am sorry Storm, for what mankind has done to you. And I will make them pay, and see that no one will suffer this again.”

Ororo shakes her head, “No, Magneto, you will not. If there is vengeance to be had I will extract it. I have that right. The Professor is taking steps to eliminate the weapon’s threat, and the weapon’s creator will be making no more of them. Let the X-Men handle this one, and keep your focus on what needs be done here.”

Magneto nods. “As you wish. I expect I would make the same claim to avenge myself. I could… if you wish… reconstruct my uplifting technology, see if I can restore your powers.”

There is a moment of naked hope on Ororo’s face, and then she controls it with a wry smile. “I’d like some certainty that it would not also evolve me into some new shape altogether. Forge is working on a separate path for restoring me. It is nice to know I have other options.”

Magneto smiles, “Regardless of your powers, Storm, I would like your support. Will you stand with us when we begin?”

If she answers, we do not hear it.

Page 11 (the Hellions)

An exterior shot of the Massachusetts Academy, home of the Hellfire Club’s mutant training facility. There are two word balloons coming from the facility which we will later learn as belonging to James ‘Thunderbird’ Proudstar and Marie-Ange ‘Tarot’ Colbert.

“This is ridiculous.”

“I won’t let you go without knowing this, James. I can’t. I will call Miss Frost if you don’t go into this with your eyes open.”

“Very well, lay out the damned cards.”

The pair are inside the Hellions living space, a place swankier than even the upscale prep school student lounges resting above it – if you are priming people to be the natural leaders of the world you have to make sure they realize the perks. The pair are sitting at a small cherry wood table. Tarot is in her normal clothes, and lying at Tarot’s side is Catseye in her feline form. Thunderbird and Jetstream are both in Hellions uniforms. Empath and Roulette are in the room but not in the conversation.

“The first card is the significator, representing who is asking the question: The Knaves of Cups. An honest and sincere person. You believe in this James.

“The second tells us what surrounds the question that you haven’t considered: Ten of swords.” Tarot makes a face, “Indicating cruelty from another person or someone else taking control of your life.”

Thunderbird, stony face, nods. “I am well aware of Xavier’s cruelty.”

Tarot looks at him. The girl, who normally looks like she’d fold under a harsh word, is all steel. “Take this seriously, James. No preconceptions.”

She flips the next card “The third is your hopes: Ace of Swords. The swift, just and righteous conclusion of the matter.”

Thunderbird looks like he’s buying into it a little bit more, given that.

“The fourth is what you’ve already experienced. Four of Cups; Abstinence. You’ve sacrificed, abandoned much to reach this point, giving up all pleasures for what you see as moral reasons.”

Thunderbird again nods slightly, and this gets an equally approving look from Jetstream.

“The sixth is what’s in the past. Five of Pentacles; a failed undertaking, an unachieved goal. I think this represents your brother…”

“He did not fail, he was abandoned.” Thundebird grunts.

“But his goal was never achieved. What was his goal?”

Thunderbird stares at her. “Just get on with it.”

“The sixth is what’s in the future. The High Priestess reversed. Ignorance. Prejudice.” Tarot looks a little alarmed. “Hysteria.”

At this point there’s a cross on the table, with the Knave of Cups overlapped with the Ten of Swords. She starts the final row of cards beside it.

“The seventh represents the attitude of the question. The Two of Swords. Hate. Irredeemable conflict.” Tarot’s face drops, her features obscured by her hair. She’s upset, but she continued.

“The eighth represents the effect friend and family will have on the question. The Five of Swords. Betrayal. False friendship. Conspiracy.” Jetstream looks pissed by this, not that Tarot is looking at him any longer. Jetstream moves to stand up but Thunderbird lays a hand on his shoulder. It’s clear from the look on his face that he’s not concerned.

“The penultimate card shows your hopes and fears in relation to the question. The Eight of Swords. An atonement of guilt. A just penalty.”

“And the last card?” Thunderbird asks. “What is the outcome of my quest? Is it Death?”

Tarot flips over the last card, but she doesn’t even need to look at it. “The Tower, inverted. Destruction. Ruin. Chaos.” She looks up at Thunderbird, her eyes imploring. “Please do not do this. This will end poorly. Even if you get what you want the cost will be catastrophic. Please James. Please.”

Jetstream looks at her, “And is the end nigh, too? Marie-Ange, he has to do this. He must. Honor demands it. Family demands it. Blood demands it. And as I help him there will be no false friendship.”

Thunderbird has already stood up to walk away, and Tarot chases after him grabs his arm. “James, please. Don’t. You’re putting all of us at risk…”

Empath and Roulette have come over as well, and the blonde boy adds “I agree, Thunderbird. You’re childish vengeance quest will get all of us in trouble.”

Tarot is almost in tears, “Listen to him, please…”

Jetstream interposes himself with Tarot while Thunderbird looks at Empath, “De la Rocha, I can’t imagine you ever putting my safety before the safety of your own scrawny hide. You will never understand a man’s need to seek vengeance as I do, Empath. Now stand aside or I swear I will break you in half.”

Empath bristles under this but moves out of the way. Thunderbird and Jetstream leave the room, stepping around one of the Hellfire Club guards passing by the hallway, while Catseye curls around the despondent Tarot.

Empath and Roulette head back to their chairs, where Roulette finally breaks into a grin. “I told you to play it my way. Now Big Man Jimmy will go on the record how you tried to talk him out of this, not knowing that you had been upping his and Jetstream’s sense of honor and making Tarot lose it.”

Empath nods, “Still, it bristles to let him speak to me that way. But this is a diverting game that will damage Xavier’s brats for defying me, and set us up better with Miss Frost once the X-Men are discredited. And if Thunderbird and Jetstream are lost, well, what does that matter.”

Across the room.

Changing back to her human form Catseye puts her arm around Tarot. “Cardgirl sad? Is she sure nothing can save us?”

Tarot steps back to the table, pulls the cards back together, shuffles them and deals one card. She nods, as if this were fore-ordained. “The Hanged Man. Only he can save us now.”

The image on the card looks different than a normal deck, where the inverted, dangling figure is a deep blue in color, and the rope around his foot is actually a tail, clinging to the branch.

Page 12-13 (everyone)

All of the X-Men are in the mission planning room at the Professor’s request. On the view screen is a picture of Peter Corbeau in his control center at Starcore. The space behind him is obviously high tech, and two other individuals are working on other screens. “Peter, we’re all here. Now then, what can the X-Men do to help,” Xavier tells him. There’s an obvious warmth in his voice indicative of the close friendship between these two men driven by, and succeeding in, apparently impossible dreams.

“Something strange is happening inside the sun, Charles. I’m picking up an inexplicable gravity flux inside it, and sunspot activity is as bad as it was five years ago, save that we should be in a quiescent period.” Peter looks very concerned. “I’ve tried to raise Dr. Richards but he’s not available*

[* ED See FF 276-277 as to why]

“Interesting, but I don’t see…”

“I’ve got a record of something similar in our files, when Dark Phoenix created a transwarp in the solar system after her appearance. I think this is a wormhole Charles. I think someone is building a wormhole *inside the sun*.”

The professors words haven't made it to Corbeau - even with Reed Richard's FTL communication technology linking Starcore to Earth there is still roughly 45 seconds worth of time lag between the orbit of Mercury and the X-Mansion.

"I've got a record of something similar in our files, when Dark Phoenix created a transwarp in the solar system after her appearance. I think this is a wormhole Charles. I think someone is building a wormhole *inside the sun*."

Nightcrawler looks visibly shaken at the mention of the Dark Phoenix transwarp. **Ach nein, could the Phoenix have returned?** he thinks.

A wormhole? Phoenix think, I couldn't do that...I don't think I could, at least, and my mother's gone. I'd feel her!

Colossus says nothing, but his eyes move to Phoenix as he silently wonders how she's taking this news.

"When did this start, Dr. Corbeau?" Ariel asks intently.

Again a short pause

"About 36 hours ago. It's been building in intensity, and without knowing what the 'end state' is I don't know how long it will be before it completes, how how large the wormhole might be. Dark Phoenix created one large enough for her in an instant. This...? This could be really big."

"Have you heard anything from your alien friends, Charles? Is this Shi'ar?"

Pause.

"They have been here, but I've heard nothing about..." the Processor look suddenly panic stricken, "Peter! Peter look out!"

Of course there's nothing on the screen to indicate that Corbeau has heard this- he's just waiting patiently through the delay. Xavier has stopped talking and his face is lined with fierce concentration, leaving the X-Men to wonder what's going on as one of the Starcore personnel behind Corbeau starts walking calmly up behind him, then adopts a malevolent expression as it shifts shape into a red, bloated bipedal figure. Corbeau still hasn't noticed, so the X-men can only watch as the creature reaches for their friend, it's long, barbed tongue coiling up in its mouth to strike the back of Corbeau's skull. Corbeau starts to turn, the tongue lashes out, the screen goes blank and the Professor collapses.

Kitty gasps, her effort at professionalism disintegrating in shocked horror.

"What is that?" Rachel says in horror.

"A Dire Wraith," says Peter, moving to the professor's side.

Rogue is doing her best not to sound totally freaked out, and she used to think life with Mystique was dramatic '"A Dire Wraith?!" You mean y'all have seen these things before?'

"Zum teufel," Nightcrawler mutters under his breath. He joins Peter by the Professor's side and helps him back into his chair. He busies himself with the routines of the EMT's checklist while trying not to think of what he's just seen.

Kurt and Peter lift the professor back into his chair. He's drenched in sweat, but still conscious. "Peter's alive. I was started a low level scan of his area during the pause and detected the Dire Wraith. I was able to warn Peter and stun the Wraith at the last second, even as the Wraiths attack destroyed their communications array. Peter has the station on lockdown but I am at the limits of my endurance and there's no telling how many of Starcore's staff have been replaced. "

"You need to get there, you need to help them."

Page 14 (everyone)

The first image in a standard triptych of the hangar bay, a long shot of the blackbird from the front left, so we see the whole length of the plane. Kitty is in each of the images somewhere, being seen making modifications to the plane. The Professor is in one panel, assisting in the construction (!) and looks like he's planning to go along. Rogue is probably trying on some sort of simple breathing apparatus (It makes too much sense for her to have one in case independent spaceflight becomes necessary. Kurt is probably inside the cockpit doing work in there. Rachel is lifting some heavy underbelly shielding into place with her TK. Nightcrawler joins Kitty in the Blackbird hangar and begins powering up systems and gives the pressure suits a safety check. Over the comms he addresses Colossus. "Peter? Call Forge at his Dallas number. We may need his anti-wraith technology and expertise."

Peter nods and says to the professor, "We will take care of this. You should rest."

Charles does not reply other than a polite nod.

"Professor," Rachel says, dressed in a more enclosed version of her costume (possibly one that might provide -some- protection if the pressure suit has a breach, unlike the sexy gladiator costume), "is there anything I should work on? I've never met a Dire Wraith before, and alien minds are hard to deal with."

[BR: Man, every time we see that costume it becomes less revealing....]

"Avoid contact. The difficulty in detecting an alien mind will give them away, especially since it doesn't 'feel' like human shields. Once you have found one you're strong enough to penetrate into their mind with effort - I recommend you do not. Their minds are foul, and as a species they are also competent sorcerers, so there may well be internal defenses. Any gain from telepathically linking with them is not worth the risk." Xavier has finished checking things off on a clipboard, "Kitty's implementation here has been phenomenal. The Blackbird should be able to reach .5 light speed outside of the atmosphere. She's finally beginning to grasp her potential."

"You're right," Rachel says, "that's amazing. But...if touching Wraith minds is as dangerous and non-productive as you say, wouldn't we be better with your coordinating our efforts from the ground?"

"I can endure it," he tells her. "I have endured worse."

Kurt has been listening in over the comms and halts his suit check to 'port down to where the professor is.

"Herr Professor, we can handle this. We *will* handle this. You can do more good here coordinating our efforts."

He lowers his voice. "God forbid it should come to it, Charles, but if we fail you will be the last line of defence. You will have to rally others."

Xavier looks like he's ready to fight, and then backs down. "I made you field leader of the team for a reason, I suppose. I will coordinate from here. Rachel, I'll maintain contact with you and you can serve as a switchboard to the rest of the team - while the distance isn't an issue the disturbance from both Magneto's tampering with the Earth's electromagnetic field and the solar flare activity would otherwise prove exhausting to me."

Nightcrawler nods with relief and extends a reassuring hand to touch Xavier's arm. "Thank you Professor. I'll bring them all home." Dear God, do not make me a liar.

Meanwhile, Colossus has finished dialing the number Storm provided for Forge, having routed it through the external scrambler set up to keep the call from being traced back to the mansion.

There are several clicks on the line for that rerouting before it rings. Forge answers, his voice a little worried and clearly on edge. "Storm! Is everything OK?"

"Ah, no, it's Colossus," says Peter. "And... no." He quickly fills Forge in. "We may need your help."

"That's.. That's really not good," Forge says, then rattles off a communications frequency. "I'll pass word up to WHKCs* and Rom, but you can contact them on that frequency. Things are ramping up on Earth as well. This war might be coming to a head."

[* The Wraith Hunter/Killer Commandos - Forgetful Editor!]

Page 15 (everyone)

“Atomic engines to power,” Xavier intones from the control room, “Turbines to speed. You’re clear to launch. Be careful.”

"Understood. We are go for launch," replies Kurt who is unable to keep a slight tremor out of his voice.

The Blackbird rockets out of the hangar bay then executes an increasingly steep upward climb. After a few moments of hideous acceleration the vessel hits a height where the conventional engines are useless. Kitty flips a couple of switches and the Shi’ar gravetic propulsion system kicks in, creaming against the air pressure that is almost too great for the system to engage. After a couple of tense seconds the Blackbird, and its occupants, have slipped free of Earth’s atmosphere and can begin accelerating on a gravity wavefront.

.7c

.8c

.9c

And somewhere Einstein either shakes his head or woots with Austrian joy as you slip out of conventional speeds past the light barrier till you hit 2c. They’ll reach Starcore in about 4 minutes.

Rogue has her eyes tight shut during the initial acceleration but they snap open, with a distinctly Carol Danvers'ish focus, as we move past the light barrier. She was, after all, an air force girl originally. "Living the dream boys!" she says under her breath.

Throughout the acceleration Kitty is intently watching the monitors. At transition, she grins with total and triumphant satisfaction.

Nightcrawler is tense and plays out scenario after scenario in his head, trying to see a way to end this well. His grim expression shows how difficult that is.

Rachel, how is your link to the Professor? Are able to maintain telepathic contact with the Mansion... um, I mean Ground Control?

Kurt hears Xavier's mind in his The link is secure. Rachel, I apologize for the psychic pressure you'll be feeling during the mission, but it should give me the maximum flexibility.

"Doing just fine, Kurt," Rachel says.

The vessel, seen only through photographs before, starts to loom above them as Kitty decelerates the wavefront and you return to conventional reality. Beyond it the sun occupies most of the viewscreen; the solar flare activity is intense, with large black sinuous sunspots intermingled with flares that could swallow the Earth without noticing it.

The X-Men can see Starcore’s docking mechanism – which the blackbird can lock with – but they do have other possible means of entry…

Rogue asks "Ehmm ... do you guys want me to go outside now? ... No rush."

"Not yet, Rogue. We don't know what and where we're facing. No point starting the clock on radiation exposure for any of us early."

"Rachel, do you detect human lifesigns on board? We need to prioritize freeing Corbeau and the others. They may be our only hope if we need top flight solar physics to close the warp. No offense, Kitty."

"Kitty, what do you get on sensors? Any power sources, unusual signatures, or big signs saying Hit Me to Disable Dire Wraiths?"

"Too much solar energy inferfering," Kitty replies. "I've got a plan of StarCore, though. We could loop around and try to spot the Dire Wraiths' ship if you want ..."

"There are eight people still alive," Rachel says, "five of them seem pretty secure--for now--but I think the other three are in a lot of trouble."

"Then we must help them," says Peter.

"Agreed," Nightcrawler says. He looks at the faces of his team and does some rapid calculations. "Kitty, how many of us can you phase through the hull of Starcore simultaneously?"

"One trip if Peter's not steeled up, two if he is," Kitty answers absently, still watching what monitors she's got for any activity around StarCore.

"Ok. I want Rogue and Colossus to go in first. You're the toughest we've got and stand the best chance against the wraiths in the first encounter. Rachel, pass Rogue and Peter the best information you can get about the layout and disposition of the invaders from the astronauts' minds.

"I'm going to manoeuvre the Blackbird in as close as we can get. Kitty, you're going to get me, Rachel and yourself inside once you phase Colossus and Rogue inside, if I can't get a good view for a 'port. I'm afraid it's a spacewalk for you. It'll be a piece of cake, right? You've rigged running repairs on the Starjammers' ship under high gees, remember."

He squeezes Kitty's arm to reassure himself as much as the teenager.

"It'll be fine," Kitty says. "Should I engage our security systems before we go?"

"Indeed. Good thinking," Kurt replies.

"Once we're inside, I want to secure the exits, and locate the three astronauts. Rachel, I know they're trained military, but in the circumstances you might have to keep them from freaking out. More important to keep us appraised of their locations and movement, but I don't want you risking a direct contact. Don't try to contact any of the wraiths."

"You probably should not touch them," says Peter to Rogue.

"Well Darn! Should've got myself laminated at the Copy Shop before we left." checks breathing apparatus *again* so the attempt at sardonic cool is rather undermined.

Kitty has been pressing buttons, and now she tosses Kurt a small electronic box. "Electronic key," she says. "Team, don't try to come back aboard with a key; I've got the other one."

"Kurt," Rachel says, "I can contact them from here. My aim isn't bad enough to accidentally touch one of the wraiths; I know roughly where they are and what they feel like. And I think it would do them some good to know someone's out there and coming for them."

"Yes, do so if you think you can without causing alarm or giving away our presence

"Right. Any questions? No? Let's get this show started."

Nightcrawler turns his attention back to the Blackbird's controls and gently moves the X-craft towards Starcore.

"Yessir," Ariel says, unbuckling herself from her seat. "Phoenix, can you match my memory of Starcore's layout to your impression of where the Wraiths and the humans are?"

Rachel reaches telepathically across space makes contact with one of the astronauts.

In a small compartment, three people in spacesuits are sitting, bored, but clearly tense, until...

This is Phoenix, of the X-Men. We're on our way.

Oh thank God! the man responds I'm Herb Goodwin, I've got Trimpe and Crocker with me. Nellis turned into some hideous creature and killed Lee and Ivanovitch. We're hiding out in storage room 17 but we can hear things moving around trying to find us. Where are you and what do you need us to do?

Sit tight, don't do anything too risky; we'll be able to reach you in a few minutes. Do you have weapons?

Kitty is able to call up a map of Starcore showing them where Storage Area 17B is. It is isolated, up against the wall of the station's lower rings spokes (Starcore is a central axel with three wheels (top, bottom, midpoint) connected to the axel via three four spokes a piece. The central wheel is locked in place and contains a lot of the sensor equipment, the other two rotate, as does the axel the artificial gravity rings are 30 feet tall, so there are three 'stories' to each, this room is on a middle story, so its only open to space on one side.

No, nothing to speak of. We improvised some clubs and Crocker has a cutting tool but that's it.

All right--think about how to handle the problem once we're there to give you backup, then.

Page 16 (Arial, Colossus and Rogue)

Taking Rogue by one hand - and with Rogue holding on to Colossus - Ariel leads them out through the side of the ship and activates her propulsion belt. Though it will take some time for Kitty to get used to flying under a mechanical rather than personal power this is a very easy first flight and the three are carried smoothly over to Starcore, through the wall and into the storage room. The room is cramped and nearly jam packed full, and Ariel has to struggle to find a space to drop Rogue and Colossus where they won't materialize in something - she has to remain intangible, half inside a storage box. The three astronauts are jammed into the room as well - obviously scared but unhurt. The door into the room but Ariel can see that the locking mechanism is outside. If a Wraith found these three there would be no way to stop their entry and nowhere to run.

Rogue whispers, "We can make more space pretty fast guys but not quietly. Kitty, can you keep these guys phased? Sure seems like their best defense right now. Yours too."

"Not and fight, too, I don't think," Kitty whispers back.

"So are we going hunting or trying to join up these two groups as fast as we can?"

"Surprise won't last long," Kitty says, standing half in a box and checking the function readout on her blaster. "Better get started ... unless you really three want to evacuate now?"

The three look at each other, and then Trimp says "Evac," clearly cutting off Goodwin who was about to say the reverse. Trimp pushes on. "We're not armed, there's a whole bunch of somethings out there and we have no idea what the opposition is capable of. From your ship we can provide a communication hub, we can contact Earth and I'm a qualified pilot. Assuming this ship handles at all like either a plane or a space shuttle?"

Goodwin a little deflated, bows to the logic.

Rogue: Hi there Rache! How's it goin'? Can we get a quick double check on the three survivors here? Kitty is going to evac them to the Bird and I can't say as I fancy setting up any quislings in our only transport.

Phoenix sends her telepathic assent.

Out loud Rogue adds "Ok y'all. How'bout Colossus and I make a big hole and big noise this direction and you four head on out that direction. We'll rear guard you and try to keep the focus on us. Anyone with teeny, tiny lungs can 'borrow!' my breather." She grins at Colossus and Kitty. Ripping into Space Aliens scares Rogue much less than hard vacuum. ... Not that she has actually met these aliens yet of course. Cocky, cocky, cocky.

Colossus nods. (Sure, it may not be the best plan, but he doesn't actually have a better one.)

Ariel reaches out and takes the hands of the astronauts, phasing them along with her and out the wall into space. Their intangibility gives them some protection from the cold and radiation - enough to make it safely to the Blackbird, where Ariel drops them off, gives a quick point at the key dials tutorial of the Blackbird's controls and then dives back into space.

Inside StarCore Rogue and Colossus have slightly more room to move in the storage area. Grabbing onto opposites sides of the door they flex their impossibly strong muddles and the wall gives way with a resistance that belies its reinforced, vacuum protected design.

RUNNNNCH!

The pair step out and it takes no time for them to encounter some opposition - there's a yellow flaming form approaching them from the right and a mass of smaller creatures, each about the size of a cat, save with more pointed faces and more intelligent, malevolent eyes, approaching from the left. Peter can feel a slight pull on his body coming from his right.

Rogue: *Hmm. Hope these gloves are flameproof.* Meanwhile she makes a grab for some of the leading cat/rats and starts throwing them at the flaming guy. Hopefully this gives both something to think about.

Rogue flies forward and snags two rats before executing a tight overhead turn and roll to get back beside Colossus, one cat/rat tail in each hand. She spins them over her head and throws. The first flies directly into the flaming creature where it blackens and collapses to dust before it penetrates even an inch into its corona. The second, unfortunately, has a chance to latch on to Rogue's hand. The creature's claws are at most semi tangible, passing through her gloves and into her normally invulnerable flesh, spreading a sensation of extreme, painful cold throughout her hand and arm.

Rogue: "Ow!" tries to dislodge rodent in the customary (ill advised) shaking violently manner "Watch out Petey! These things cheat!!"

The flaming guy is approaching slowly so Colossus brings the fight to it, taking several steps forward. The big difficulty is keeping it from being a full charge as the tug increases as it approaches the thing. His fist slams into the thing and he feels the impact through his whole body as a sort of magnetic shock. The flaming figure fares little better, shattering in the middle before reforming. It's outline wavering more than it was previously. Whatever this is, it's very, very hot, but this limited contact isn't enough to hurt Colossus.

The swarm of creatures clamber, climb and leap to cover the distance to Rogue, moving along walls, ceilings and each other to reach her. She dodges them as best she can, accelerating in the small space and trying to gain some altitude, but the wave is inexorable. Of the two score rodents twelve of them manage to land on her, grasping into her skin, into her hair and along her face. The cold semi-tangible claws spread their icy presence across her body. The pain is intense, and the panic of having them blocking her vision, aiming for her eyes and mouth nearly overwhelms her, but she feels a calming, more experienced presence in her mind keeping her wits together.

The flaming creature flows over Colossus, sending a painful pull across his body as the crisscrossing lines of magnetic force work their way through his metallic form. The heat, worse even than his exposure to lava flows, starts raising the surface temperature of his body and he knows from painful experience that it will work through him completely, perhaps even causing him to melt. Its limbs overlap his own, yanking them up and outward with the magnetic force, holding him suspended off the ground.

Ariel re-emerges [from whichever direction you wish, Kris] to find Rogue struggling to fight off a swarm of overlarge rodent creatures that can apparently hurt her and Colossus suspended in mid-air inside a flaming corona that has roughly human features around its head.

Ariel takes a shot with her blaster at the nearest cluster of rodents, while trying to think of a way to to disrupt a magnetic bottle with the materials she has on hand.

Flipping the switch to beam mode Ariel turns the blaster on one of the groups of rodents, spraying it back and forth over the mass as they scramble to get away. They are ultimately too slow and she crisps six of them.

Rogue flies for the flaming guy. Hopefully these things will get off when they realise she is going to burn them off her but if not this is a game of chicken they will lose.

She's just too fast for the creatures, diving in towards Colossus and the flaming figure. Her original plan of flying into the guy is altered when she feels the heat coming off of him even through her invulnerability, but she skirts alongside, just under Colossus' outrestched arm, spinning as she does, and the heat incinerates the creatures on the pass by.

"Colossus!" Ariel yells. "Try to hit that junction box on your left! And mind the explosion!"

Colossus strains to reach the junction box and falls short as the elementals powerful magnetic fields yank him back into a helpless position.

Must... reach... further

And perhaps a panel of Callisto explaining that he shouldn't think of himself as human.

He strains again, putting every iota of his willpower into fighting against the strange hybrid of magic and science that is holding him immobile, eventually managing despire all odds to lay his hand flat on the junction box. The second before he is pulled away he squeezes, his fingers shattering the electronics ceramic cover and imbedding themselves into the tangle of wires. The charge pours through his body - with no effect on him but a powerful one on the elemental. It struggles to maintain its form and then discorpreates.

The contained plasma explodes outward, and through the orange haze of the flames he sees the remaining rat like creatures explode upon contact with the flame. He also sees the fire itself pass through Ariel's intangible form but in its aftermath she falters, dropping to the floor and bracing herself on the wall as she struggles for a moment in the oxygen-free aftermath of the combustion before air rushes back in.

"Katya!" Colossus starts to move in her direction, stopping, relieved, when he sees that she is all right.

Ariel gives him a meant-to-be-reassuring wave even while she takes a moment to enjoy having air. Then she straightens up and glances up and down the corridor in a businesslike way. "We'd better catch up to Rogue."

Behind him Rogue accelerates away from the flame, diving into a side room and slamming the door shut just before the blisteringly hot plasma races past. The room's lights flicker on, revealing a small bio-lab that looks like it once contained experiments on rodents in low gravity environments (or something of the like). The cages have all been torn apart. There is another pair of larger cages, equally damaged, nearby. Above them is a small, official looking sign labeled 'Mustelidae Experiment'. On the cages proper are dangling signs that read 'Bob' and 'Doug'

Rogue: Ah damn! It'd better not be skunks. Rogue tries to send her thoughts to Colossus via Phoenix *Watch your back Petey. There's bigger 'n' meaner than rats out there.* but has no real notion if it is getting through. She listens for any noise within the small lab.

Rogue listens, looks and locates a three ring binder next to the two larger cages. The front page indicates that they are 'Galo', and when Carol's grade school Latin doesn't ring a bell with that the photos on the next pages do. It's a pair of Wolverines.

Amid the nervous contemplation of just what a Dire wraith spell could do to a wolverine, Rogue feels a sincere disgust at whoever thought bringing such wild, hunting, instinct driven creatures up to a place like this and has to firmly suppress a sudden impulse to take them back alive as pets for Logan.

At the appropriate moment Rogue peers put of the side lab door.

Rogue: "Hi y'all. Em ... How do y'all feel about magicked up, super wolverines? Their names used to be Bob and Doug if you want to try any puppy training style stuff."

"Anyhoo. There's a big old space up ahead, command centre. Might be next to check out."

The next panel is from the perspective of inside the room, where the Dire Wraith is standing next to a control platform in the center of the room.

The platform is surrounded by small glowing runes, and the whole situation of Wraith and Control Panel are surrounded by a translucent, and obviously magical, force field that also covers the floor and ceiling. Prowling around the room are two creatures each about as big as a brown bear, with elongated arms and vaguely human hands tipped with obviously sharp claws.

Their faces are mostly mouths filled with teeth surrounded by powerful jaws, with their eyes deep-set inside bone ridges.

There is an explosion of tearing metal as the room's primary door, deformed by the force of Colossus' blow, flies across the room and slams into one of the mutated mustelidae. The creature is bowled over by the impact, opening the path for the X-Men's attack.

Ariel phases through the wall at a point near the ceiling, at about two o'clock with respect to the now-empty doorway. She's leading with her blaster and chooses the monster that is still standing as her first target.

The blaster fire tags the monster, but it doesn't seem to faze it terribly much as it drops to all fours and lumbers with surprising speed towards the trio.

Rogue follows up on the blaster fire by flying right up to the mutated wolverine and delivering a devastating right hook. The creature flies across the room and slams into the wall. While it's still conscious (if only barely) it will take it several seconds to free itself from the wall.

Colossus runs forward and delivers what should be a devastating blow only to have the impact rock back up his arms in a painful vibration, leaving the force field untouched.

"Aaaahahahahahahahaha! Terrans, you never cease to amuse me..." the wraith chortles with her blubbery voice as she flips a few switches on the control panel. "And for that you shall be allowed to bear witness..."

The rooms display screens turn on, revealing...

Page 17 (Nightcrawler and Phoenix)

Kurt asks Phoenix, "Have you a good enough map of the station from the astronauts to guide a teleport, Rachel?"

"Yes, I should be able to," Rachel answers. How about here?

The pair vanish from the Blackbird and appear a few yards away from

Corbeau and his crew - the move is more gut wrenching than normal for Kurt since they 'ported through a magnetic force field, but he has time to recover

"Nightcrawler!" Corbeau yells when they appear, then he gives Rachel a quizzical look, one she's used to getting from friends of her mother's "And you are?"

No time for pleasantries, Peter, Transmits the floating Xavier head. the rest of the X-Men are assisting your trapped crewmembers Trimpe, Goodwin and Crocker. Nellis, Lee and Ivanovitch are dead. Please forgive me while I bring Nightcrawler and Phoenix up to speed.

There is a sudden ache behind the X-Men's eyes as Xavier integrates and transmits the memories of the Starcore crew to Kurt and Rachel, giving them a perfect awareness of the upper wheel's layout, the existence of at least two and possibly three wraiths on this level (one might have moved down to a lower wheel) that they are being aided by some sort of shadowy animalistic thing and that they are spellcasters. Corbeau and his crew (Corbeau + 4 men, one woman up here) are armed with plasma torches that have been modified to act as short lifespan energy swords, but the idea of having to repel an attack from Starcore never really came up. Since Peter set up his strongpoint in the hanger it means he also has access to a cybernetic leading harness which will give its wearer some protection and Remarkable strength, as well as a full on Ripley. Once the crew managed to repel the first assault and set up this strong point they have only been harried by the shadowy creature which Peter suspects, with a sick awareness, is probably Woola, the station dog.

The fact that they haven't faced greater opposition means that the Wraiths are probably up to something.

"Aaagh! Charles, a little warning next time," Corbeau says, then looks at the tangible X-Men "So that's where we are. I recommend we start a counter-offensive, but I don't know where they are exactly. I'm guessing the command room."

Kurt is torn. He wants to get Corbeau and his crew off the station, but realises that he's going to need them to face the wraiths.

"Peter, these invaders are Dire Wraiths. Other dimensional invaders using magic to open a warp in our sun! We must disrupt their rituals. The command centre is a natural nexus for their magic. How can we reach there with the least chance of encountering any wraith patrols?

Peter seems to accept the whole sorcery thing in stride, responding with " The command center is quarter spinward. They were setting up defenses as we retreated. If you want to not encounter them I say we have to travel the long way, widdershins, in order to come at them 'from behind'. Plus, I think if we drop inward two decks we can shorten the distance and likely evade their patrols."

Kurt accepts Peter Corbeau's suggestions and leads the astronauts the long way round.

Rachel, keep a light touch on the minds of the astronauts. I hate to be paranoid, but we know the wraiths can assume the shapes of their victims. I do *not* want be surprised.

I'll keep an eye out and in, Nightcrawler, but I think our best defense here is surprise. If they start preparing for us, there's no telling what magical defense they can muster

The team falls into two sections, with Kurt and Corbeau in front and Phoenix with the other astronauts a short distance behind.

Corbeau is *not* in the power armor, one of his other astronauts, Weaver, is suited up. Phoenix, no stranger to leading small groups of people through hostile territory, is keeping the astronauts alert and quiet, and also using her TK to reduce the effective weight of the loading suit, making it effectively silent as they move along.

Peter, the whole of this wheel is permeated with some foul energy. Whatever they're doing it's influencing the entire structure. Xavier informs them.

The team drops a level, then makes their way around the station. There are two points where Xavier's senses inform them of an eldritch trap or detection field that they have to navigate around, but both Kurt and Rachel feel confident that they are undetected. Still, that eats up precious time.

The sense of arcane energy has leveled off. I think whatever the spell is it's in a steady state right now...

Kurt signals to Rachel. Give me some sense of the room, Rachel. Scan the astronauts for the layout. I'll 'port in first, draw the wraiths' attention and God willing, give you the chance to enter unopposed.

Nightcrawler explains his plan briefly to the astronauts and nods grimly to Phoenix as she provides him with the image of the room beyond.

"Wish me luck." With a bamf, he's gone.

Kurt appears high in the room, quickly snagging the roof with his hands to keep from falling and orienting himself. There are indeed two Dire Wraiths in the room, as well as several arcane shapes burned into the floor by some sort of energy. The wraiths turn immediately towards him, with one raising her hands to cast some sort of spell at him. The flames lance through the air at his position but he's gone before it gets there, landing somewhere else in the room.

Outside Rachel feels a brief spike of pain trying to keep sharing Nightcrawler's senses when they keep shifting perspective, but the psychic connection, bolstered by the professor, holds and she is able to see everything in the room and can see that the door isn't currently guarded.

Seeing that it's unguarded and to a measure unwatched, Rachel telekinetically and quietly opens the hatch, and leads the astronauts and Corbin in so they can get themselves in place and ready to fire upon the wraiths, while she spreads her telikinetic shield out where she can block any incoming attacks on herself or her allies. At this point the cat is likely to be out of the bag -- so the shield is up to full power.

The doors slide open silently, and Corbeau and his men prepare themselves for the attack.

Nightcrawler 'ports to the wraith furthest from the door where the cavalry have arrived and tries for the multi-port and punch trick, laying as many blows on the wraith as he can manage. Wolverine's words and training are in the back of his mind as he puts all his strength and dirty tricks into the blows.

He materializes next to the reddish bulk and lands a punch square in its ear, disappears, reappears and punches it straight in the eye, then vanishes again some distance away, waits for it to turn its head, reappears and slams his foot into its throat. The creature stumbles under the assault, coughing and choking, and but manages to cast a spell constructing an energy field around itself. There are a half dozen platter sized circles orbiting it now, and Kurt has the nasty feeling that if he tries that again the things will block him, cut him up or both.

The astronauts charge as quietly as possible, with the armored Weaver as the point of the spear. She swings hard, landing a punishing blow to the Wraith just as it begins to turn based on some silent warning of the threat. The Wraith very nearly flies across the room from the blow but foolishly plants itself to counter attack. Before it can the other three astronauts fall on it with the plasma torches. Two succeed in cutting into the beasts rubbery bulk, eliciting a stream of alien curses from its mouth before it says, "Foolish Humans... Now see what happens when you face the power of the Dire Wraiths!"

The creatures barbed tongue curls up and lashes out towards the forehead of the armored woman, but before it can land Corbeau slashes it off with his plasma sword.

"Your surprise weapons aren't surprises, alien!" He spits. "No!" he lands a second cutting blow across the Wraiths' abdomen, "One!" then misses with a follow up, but tosses the sword aside, "Threatens!" Using his free hand and the lower than normal gravity of the station he grabs the Wraith by the throat and hefts it, sending blush ichor across his body, "My Station!" and with that he lifts the creature over his head and tosses it across the room, where it lands with a bone shattering crunch on one of the command chairs.

He stands, holding a plasma sword and covered in alien blood, while the rest of his crew stares at him in shock.

Phoenix, behind you! The Professor warns her

Guided by the Professor's senses she can feel the shadowy dog creature leaping at her from the shadows.

No way, Rachel thinks. She attempts to dodge out of the way and gives it a big telekinetic shove towards the remaining wraith.

The time for subtlety past Phoenix is wreathed in telekinetic fire, flying out of the doorway and into the room proper. In so doing she stops the shadowy dog's attack before it even begins, then telekinetically snares it and lobs it towards the magically protected dire wraith. In so doing she confirms Nightcrawler's suspicion as the spinning disks slice deeply into the creature even as they bat it aside, doing considerable, albeit not fatal damage.

The beast pulls itself back to its remaining leg, supporting its front with the anthropomorphized hands at the end of its paws, and leaps forward again, taking to the air for a short burst, intent on damaging Phoenix. Not taken by surprise she is able to maneuver mostly out of the way of the charge, but the creature's forelimb/arm passes through her telekinetic shield and brushes across her arm. Which immediately goes numb from the painfully intense cold.

The creature lands, circles and looks like it's ready to continue attacking despite bleeding out from the lost leg.

Nightcrawler 'ports across the wraith-mutt's line of sight, trying to distract the creature from laying another hurt on Phoenix, or targeting one of the astronauts.

"Peter, burn out the symbols! Interrupt the verdammt ritual." Kurt points earnestly at the magical symbols inscribed in the floor.

The dog lunges at him when he is seemingly distracted and only to have Nightcrawler activate a palmed cutting blade into the things attack. The poor creature is put out of its misery immediately.

Corbeau nods, "Have at it men!" and the crew of StarCore fall on the magical symbols with a will, hacking away at them with their plasma swords in the hops of disrupting the magic.

"Too late, humans, By far too late!" the wraith yells, waving her arms as bolts of arcane energy lance around the room, driving the astronauts back and severely wounding two of them. "Behold the triumph of the Dire Wraiths!"

On the view screen behind the creature the X-Men can see the sun, where....

Page 18-19 (Everyone)

The layout for this page is a two page spread with smaller panels around the left, bottom and right. In the great big central panel we have a shot of the sun with a huge black gaping wound in it, surrounded by tendrils of inky blackness. From out of that wound an entire planet - the Wraith Homeworld - emerges. The station, indeed the whole solar system, shakes under the sudden impossible inclusion of a new Venus-sized mass in the system that, in its rush to get to earth, is already, impossibly, moving at a notable fraction of light speed.

The panels down the left hand page are head shots of the X-Men and Corbeau with various states of amazement, shock and horror, starting with Corbeau whispering "It's not possible”

"Oh no!" cries Phoenix.

Nightcrawler mutters the Lord's Prayer in German under his breath, his eyes wide with fear as he gazes at the monstrous sight.

"By the White Wolf!" says Peter (in Russian, which everyone speaks).

Ariel covers her mouth with one hand as she stares in shocked horror.

The sight of the rift and the appalling vista within leaves Rogue staring for a split second with a less than ladylike open mouth and a thought bubble that the CCA insists on being rendered as Ah &*%#! No!!

Stand fast, X-Men. We shall recover from this, but first we have to dispatch these wraiths Xavier reminds them, steadying their minds and focusing their attentions

Then we have the panels across the bottom in which the X-Men react in their own inimitable fashion!

Professor, Phoenix sends, I know you said not to try to affect them telepathically--but I think I have to, and fast, if we want to have any hope of reversing this!

I'll use my powers to augment your own, Phoenix. Please proceed, the Professor calmly informs her.

Feeling the iron bar of strength that is Xavier's mind augmenting her own abilities Phoenix lashes out telepathically. The mental contact is bad, but not as bad as it could have been without the professor's support, and the Dire Wraith is sent reeling from the mental assault. With that its magical shields drop, leaving it momentarily defenseless.

Colossus takes a step back, steels himself and with a grunt of determination slams both fists into the force field. It wavers for a second and then collapses

Ariel holsters her blaster, takes a deep breath, and swoops down at whichever mutated wolverine presents the most imminent threat of interference with her teammates. Seeing the one that had been hit by the door pulling itself up and leaping at Rogue, Ariel acts, flying straight past the thing and grabbing its bristly fur.

At her touch on its tail it becomes just as intangible as her, and without pause she hauls it out into space and lets it go. Poor thing, she thinks as its momentum carries it off into space. It didn't ask for this.**

Her path clear, Rogue rockets through the room to the Dire Wraith. Operating on instinct she dives low, skirting the floor, and then up right in front of the alien, even as the eldritch trap that was meant to protect it activates behind her, creating temporary tentacle, eyeball and teeth filled wormhole momentarily filling the space she would have crossed on a more direct charge. Rogue’s high heeled boot takes the thing in the head with a loud crack.

The wraith collapses to the ground.

Seeing the Dire Wraith’s defenses down Kurt lunges with his sword, only to see the creature – apparently operating on instinct – grab at his arm. Nightcrawler’s tail lashes around the blocking limb, pulling it out of the way and opening the beast up for a roundhouse punch that lays it out flat.

Corbeau, seeing there’s no other threats, runs over to the control panel, “The planet may be through but the wormhole is still open. Not only could that permanently destabilize the sun it looks like the Wraiths mean to bring their entire nebula through with them! That amount of occluding matter would leave the Earth in a permanent shadow.” He turns and looks at Kurt and Rachel, “All native life on earth would be destroyed….”

Based on the miasma of evil I’m sensing this whole station has become the focus for the Dire Wraith’s spell. The techno-magical energy is being projected from here** he points to a section of the exterior on the space station map, **There’s a chance we can reverse the spell, but it will require extreme measures. Phoenix, you will have to assist me in dominating the Wraith’s mind to reverse the magical effects, while someone makes the necessary adjustments to this main sensor array.

Corbeau responds “Charles, I don’t think we have time – it will take any member of the crew ten minutes to suit up. Where are we going to find someone who can get out there *and* has a familiarity with the main sensor array design?!?”

Nightcrawler turns from the fallen wraith. **Kitty! Is your suit intact? God forgive me, katchen, but you're the only one up to the task.**

How can I send the poor child out into the solar windstorm outside? Kurt thinks to himself. And yet, what choice to I have? The Earth itself is at stake!

Rogue adds Nightcrawler. I can help if they'll let me. Tell me where you need me to be.

Tell me what needs to be done, Mr. Corbeau, Ariel says, holding a hand out to Rogue in tacit acceptance of her offer.

Page 20 (Storm)

It’s obviously later, and nighttime. Ororo is again out on the balcony staring towards the sunset. There is a sudden lurch and Ororo is thrown from the balcony, beginning a several story descent. **That Ledge! Have to twist!** her hand finds purchase on a ledge a story lower, slamming her body into the wall with an Oomph. She pulls herself onto the ledge only to have the world shake again, shattering the window behind her and throwing her into the building. She rises with several small cuts and starts moving through the building. “Magneto,” She says when she finds him, “What’s happening? Earthquake?”

“Yes and no,” he tells her. “Gravity fluctuation coming from the sun. Whatever has been causing that dark spot, I expect. World communications are in an uproar, but the United States and Soviet Union are both claiming an alien invasion. I know enough to stabilize our location…now.”

The other residents of the compound likewise stagger into the room. Loreli is a slender, pale skinned woman with a beautiful face, pure white eyes and hair not dissimilar to Ororo’s dressed in light green. Equilibrus is a wiry Caucasian man with close cut black hair and shimmering eyes – he has blessedly undergone a costume revamp and no longer wears a pink outfit with huge hypnotic-circle display shoulder pads. Instead he is in a darker red, looser fitting with a v-neck collar, black gloves and boots. Finally Forte – the first we’ve ever seen of her – is a young African woman with close trimmed, tightly curled hair, broad features and a moderate, broad shouldered build. She’s in form fitting dark green body suit criss-crossed with black holsters and pouch heavy utility belts* in a way that breaks up her figure, making it an effective camouflage.

[*BR : Noooooo! OK, actually it makes sense for the character but it is a nod to the aesthetics of the future.]

Storm wrestles her way to a communication console even as the shaking stops; Magneto sees her but makes no move to stop her. The communication center of the X-Mansion appears on the screen, with Dani Moonstar, of all people, answering the line. Past her we can see Xavier with Tom Corsi and Sharon Freedlander* keeping watch on him.

[* ED Part of the New Mutants support structure – they were a perfectly ordinary Salem Center police officer and nurse transformed into physically perfect Cheyenne Indian warriors during the Demon bear incident. Unable to re-enter their old lives they are now medical and security support for the manor.]

“Hi Ororo, we’re in crisis mode here!” Dani tells her. “The X-Men are at Starcore trying to stop aliens from opening a wormhole in the sun to drag their planet through. The Prof’’s monitoring them and it’s taking all he’s got. Yikes! Magneto!”

“It’s OK, Mirage,” Ororo tells her. “Magneto, this is Mirage, co-leader of the New Mutants. How is the Professor?”

“Not so hot, but I think things are under control. The Prof has been talking to some guy named Forge, saying that the army, Wideawake and some guy named Rom are on top of this….”

Magneto speaks directly to Dani, a quiet respect in his voice, mutant to mutant “Mirage, tell Charles he’s failed, if he doesn’t know that already. The world is suffering seismic shocks from the gravity disruption that new planet is causing, and it will get worse. Tell him to see to his team, and I will protect who I have here. Magneto out.”

“What do you intend to do,” Ororo asks him as the screen goes blank.

Magneto looks at her, confused. “Protect you, and the others, and my base here. I have great faith in the Avengers and others to deal with this sort of crisis, and my plan will be easier to implement in the post-event chaos.”

“No,” Ororo tells him. “No, you can do more than that. The mechanisms you salvaged from the Bermuda base, you have them here?”*

[* ED: the ones Magneto used to cause volcanos and earthquakes as targeted threats; again, see X-Men 150]

“You can’t be serious.”

“I am. You used that machine to threaten to tear down the cities of the world. You could use it to protect them. Save them from the gravity damage.”

“At what cost, Storm? This is not one city at a time! To extend my power over the while world, which I doubt I could cover, would stretch my powers past their breaking point. I would be exhausted, as I was prior to my regeneration, all but helpless, and incapable to move forward on the plan. The plan you have signed on to, I may add.”

“The plan was not to call for this many deaths! How many unknown mutants will die in this chaos, Magneto?”

Magneto seems to waver at that. The others in the room are watching the exchange. At the suggestion that the immediate plan might be threatened Forte takes a step forward, “What? No! Magneto you said…”

Ororo turns on her, “You’re concerned about your country. I was you once, concerned with a land, a people who were dear to me, whose lives I protected with no thought to others. But this is the world, girl. The. Entire. World. Billions of people, uncounted marvels, things and places and cultures you have never seen. Wonders you can only dream of, and it is at risk, right now. And we can help save it, right now.”

Forte takes a step back in the face of Ororo’s passion, and she turns back to Magneto. “*I* will execute the plan Magneto. I will craft the allegiances, lead the forces. I will protect you until you can act on your own. I swear this to you. But you, you of all people, cannot watch cities collapse like this. You cannot leave a billion more orphans such as you and I.”

Page 21 (Ariel and Rogue, Phoenix and the Prof)

Rachel gives a long look through the screens at Earth -- not the one she was born on, but close enough--better than close enough. All right, Professor; let's do this.

The feels the professor's assent, and for the third time* she works with him in engaging the defenses of an opposing mind so that he might have space to work. This one is unlike Rogue's chaotic fracture psyche, and unlike the magical defenses in Illyana's brain in that these defenses are a natural state. They are just a state of indescribable foulness. Aside from the unfamiliar instability of being inside a mind that is not only completely alien in its construction and senses there's the fact that its owner has debased herself to extra-dimensional beings in the pursuit of personal power.

She can feel the foulness seeping in to her.

Phoenix, again I'll ask you to keep the brain's defenses occupied while I work.

Phoenix lashes out to get the things mental attention but find herself engulfed, swalled by a stygian nightmare.

"Phoenix, are you all right?"

"Yes, I'm fine...I'm fine."

"What happened in there; you just collapsed?"

"It's not important, it...the Professor has it under control."

• * * * * * * * *

Outside Ariel and Rogue have left Starcore and are floating near the main Sensor array.

"Ok," Corbeau says through the radio, "I need you to find the Main Sensor Junction Box. You should be able to see a seven by eleven inch box with six cables, two red, two black, two blue, entering one wall of the box and three green cables existing the other opposite side. Let me know when you see it."

Ariel lets him talk while she fits herself into the array. "Got it," she says as soon as he finishes.

Once Ariel locates the box she can see that it's been tampered with - there are small runes carved into it, and she can see that the box has been opened and a sickly ochre glow is seeping out of the seams.

"It's definitely compromised by magic," Ariel reports to Corbeau. "Looking at bypass options ..."

"Look up to the right - you should be able to find a panel there..."

But at this point Kitty is already in the zone and Corbeau's words have little real effect - instead she makes impossible repairs by phasing her hands and tools into spaces through which a normal person could not. Unfortunately the first bypass site reveals that the wires have a faint orange glow and are unctuous to the touch, even though the suit.

Floating next to her Rogue is scanning the area, looking for potential threats. The body of either Bob or Doug floats by, held for the moment by the stations weak gravitational pull. Suddenly every nerve in her body starts screaming that there's something wrong.... Inside Rogue's mind Carol Danvers is screaming "Two or three! Xavier said there were two, _possibly three_ Wraiths on the top wheel!* Where's the third Wraith?"

Rogue sees a hand coming out of the harsh shadows cast by the sensor array, reaching towards an unsuspecting Ariel.

[*BR go back to page 17 if you don't believe me.]

[SM: Damnit! Careless reading costs hit points.]

Rogue: screams at Kitty, apologies for the inevitable feedback squeal and dives for the reaching arm as fast as she can, which is generally pretty fast. Her hope is to use her momentum to drag the Wraith off his/her/its hold and spin them both off into space away from Kitty.

Ariel's response, of course, is to flinch and become intangible, *then* see what's going on.

The monstrous hand had nearly grabbed her, and the ever analytical part of her mind sees the sparkling just a millimeter form the Dire Wraith's skin - likely some sort of force field to allow the Wraith to survive in space. Maybe phasing isn't as good a defense as she'd hope....

In any event Rogue successfully grabs the thing's arm before it can touch her, dragging the wraith away from the sensor array and into space under her own power, trying to spin the thing.

Kitty struggles to bring her awareness back to the bypass site, risking tangibility now that Rogue has the Wraith engaged. Pulling some adhesive wire from her kit she's able to spool it into place from a distant site - bless the triple redundancy of NASA engineers!

"Ariel, Charles needs to reverse the feed now, are you ready?"

In the reflection of her suit helmet she can see Rogue and the Wraith struggling.

The two are some distance away before the Wraith has a chance to respond to Rogue's attack. It fires an eldritch bolt from her hand directly into Rogue's face. While it doesn't do her any real harm it does put some serious cracks into her breathing apparatus, which is starting to hiss and create a fog of frozen oxygen crystals around her face.

A second round of magical bursts flies from the Wraiths hand even as Rogue grapples with it, forcing Kitty to waste more seconds phased as the blast passes through her.

"Ariel, it's happening now!"

She cuts the last connection even as whatever the professor is doing goes live, hurling her back into space away from the ship as a lightshow begins around the array. Stunned from the shock she can see Rogue brace herself against the Wraith's chest with one leg and yank hard on its arm, ripping it free. The ichor forms blackish globules floating in space as the Wraith thrashes and dies. Kitty drifts into Starcore's shadow just as a beam of energy files from the station into the sun. She's able to see the black tendrils fall into the star as the wormhole collapses.

She sees Rogue, her breathing apparatus clearly broken, spin around and look for her, lost in the blackness of Starcore's shadow. And then she passes out.

Kitty wakes up back on Starcore, surrounded by her friends. Kurt is wrapped in a blanket, his hands clenches around a steaming mug of something.

Well done Ariel, Xavier tells her; there is obvious strain in his mental projection. I can see you don't remember managing to signal your location to Rogue, but she was able to locate you and get you to a visible location before her air ran out. Nightcralwer was able to Teleport both of you in.

Rogue: to Kurt "Thanks Shugah! I could kiss you but I don't fancy feeling that cold. I'm not used to it anymore." Blows him a kiss.

"B..b..bitte sch..schon, Rogue," replies Nightcrawler before scalding himself greedily on the mug's contents.

Unfortunately this isn't over. Wolverine's tracking of Gyrich has placed him at Ground Zero of the final Dire Wraith assault, and they have Rom pinned down. Forge's plan to defeat the Wraiths depends on access to Rom's Neutralizer to get banish the Wraiths. If that can't be recovered in time Gyrich is pushing Forge to use Forge's Neutralizer - the one he turned on Storm. It would deal with the Wraiths, but it would also strip the mutation if not kill every Mutant on Earth - and he would be right to do so to save the planet. Wolverine needs us to join him in an assault to rescue Rom.

"Ach, if I ever get warm again it will be a miracle, but ja, we must join Wolverine," Nightcrawler states.

He looks at his battered team. "After this, my friends, I promise you a holiday. I for one could do with a little time off from saving the world."

"But first we must return to Earth."

[For what happens next see Rom #65!]

[Summarize. Short form – there’s a big fight. Longer form – all the dire wraiths on Earth had congregated for an ambush on Rom as he assisted in the post-earthquake repairs in North America, leaving him immobilized and unable to bring his neutralizer into space. Rick Jones, who was acting as Rom’s sidekick at this point, finds out about this and calls in everybody– Avengers, Defenders, X-Men, even the Soviet Super-Solders – for an assault on the Wraiths to free Rom. They succeed and Rom is able to grab his neutralizer and get into orbit, where he links it in with Forges machine and banishes the ENTIRE WRAITH HOMEWORLD into limbo, which solves the gravitational distortion issue. He then returns to Earth and banishes all the captured Wraiths as well.]

[BR: during the midst of this Gyrich went a little round the twist. The initial plan before the wraith homeworld turned up was to use Forges enhancer on Earth and banish all the terrestrial Wraiths in one go. With Rom out of the action Gyrich actually attacked Forge in space to try to get Forge’s neutralizer to fire at the Earth, not just to banish the Wraiths but also, explicitly, to depopulate the planet of mutants. Forge obviously stops him, and Gyrich will of course deny this later but in the heat of the moment Gyrch reveals himself to have a bigger streak of fear/bigotry than he had previously displayed. Forge was clearly a little shaken up by this experience, as we shall see next issue.]

Page 22 (Storm)

Magneto stares at her, and slowly nods. “So be it. Equlibrus, re-route the power plant to energize the Magno-tectonicer.” He then sweeps out of the room. “And the hologram communicator,” Ororo adds, following after Magneto. He gives her a look and she nods.

“I never said we should not claim credit for it. Think what saving the world will do clear away the ill will the world has for you. For us.”

“They will still hate us for it, Storm.”

“Some will yes, but how many more will have to rethink? Change one mind at a time, Magneto, and we can change the world.”

Magneto removes his cape and prepares to grasp the controls of the machine. “I can control this via my power, but I expect I will have no power to spare.” He looks at Ororo. “If I die in this, tell my children my last thoughts were of them. They are…they are my great regret.”

“I shall.” She leans in and gives him a quick kiss on the cheek. “For luck.”

Magneto nestles his hands inside the control gloves and we get a shot of Equilibrus turning on the enormous machine buried elsewhere in the complex. Magneto’s face tightens in concentration.

Leaving Forte and Loerli to watch him Storm goes back to the communication room, calling up video feeds from around the world, watching in awe as the quakes, which had been growing in intensity, start to subside. Buildings that had been about to collapse stabilize, the early stages of the devastation are halted across Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia, South America…. The image of Magneto working the machine shows him increasingly taught, surrounded by a nimbus of energy, his face a mask of pain.

“Storm!” Magneto yells through the image. “I cannot reach across the world! I cannot! North America will have to fend for itself!”

Storm bites her lip as she sees the quakes strike Manhattan, Chicago, Atlanta, Los Angeles, sees the North American super-heroes scramble to deal with the after effects. “Save who you can.” She says, a phase that she knows will haunt her for years.

She turns, makes some modification and activates the hologram generator. Just as it had nearly two years ago the communicator sends a holographic projection into the office of every world leader, from the USA and USSR to the loweliest dictator, translated into their native language. This time it also extends news agencies, every television network, every national radio, every major newspaper. Ororo swallows once, hard, and then steps into the communicator.

“This is Storm, of the X-Men. The earthquakes you are experiencing were, are, being caused by an alien invasion. It is an invasion where our enemies’ entire planet has entered our solar system. This new world’s gravity is disrupting Earth’s weather, mantle and tides. Forces are mobilizing on Earth and in space to drive off this threat, but for now the planet itself is being protected by Magneto. Just as Thunderbird laid down his life to prevent a nuclear holocaust, just as Banshee sacrificed of himself to save Japan from a man-made earthquake, today Magneto is risking death to keep cities intact, to keep countries intact, to keep the world itself from being torn apart.”

We get reaction shots from this around the globe, signs of shocked disbelief, of awe, of people seeing national monuments that moments ago were crumbling under the quake being stabilized so that they might stand, feeling the ground her them shop shifting like waves at an angry shore.

Storm goes on, “Do what you can to care for your wounded, to exit the quake zones, to get to safety. Magento will continue as long as he can. Hold fast to one another, people of Earth. We are doing what we can to protect you. Do what you can to protect one another. This is Storm, of the X-Men, signing off. God go with you all.”

She turns off the hologram generator and sees that Magneto is on the point of collapse. She sprints from the room back to where he is, but when she gets there he has nearly fallen. Forte is standing next to him, and if the reader is truly observant they will realize that he is standing because one of her invisible telekinetic arms his holding him up.

“I have stabilized the worlds…” Magneto tells her, “In their orbits. The Wraithworld has stopped moving. It is all still hideously wrong, but it will hold… for now.”

Storm helps hold him, and leads him over to a chair.

He looks up at her. “I saved your world. Now win me my country.” His eyes close and he slumps over.