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Provide a full summary of the comic book.

[Assistant]
Until our Hearts Stop, part 2
Inside the Harvard laboratory of Dr Hank McCoy a.k.a. Beast, where the mutant Sean Cassidy a.k.a. Banshee unleashes a powerful sonic scream that tears apart several Reavers. Alex Summers a.k.a. Havok looks on shock and thinks that he learned long ago that sometimes the things that terrify people can be the things you care about most in the world.
'Is that  really Banshee?' Havok asks the Beast as they both look out from behind the workstation where they were taking cover from the Reavers. 'Yes' the Beast confirms. 'You've had him this whole...?' Havok asks. 'Yes' the Beast replies. 'He's really...' Havok begins, to which the Beast declares 'Glorious!' But Havok knows that doesn't mean things aren't terrifying. Banshee lands near Havok, who releases a surge of energy at another Reaver, and tells Banshee that of all the times to come back from the dead, he picked a great one. 'It's awesome to have you -' Havok smiles, but Banshee just hangs his head and doesn't say anything, before flying forward and unleashing his sonic scream once more. Havok destroys another Reaver with a powerful blast of energy and asks 'Umm, Hank? Is he okay?' to which Hank shrugs 'Maybe?'
In another part of the lab, Skullbuster begins to make a run for it, as another Reaver mutters 'I knew I shouldn't have worn my new legs!' and Skullbuster tells the remaining Reavers that they are outnumbered and to make a run for it. Havok blasts one of them back, 'Not so fast, Astro Boy! We've got some questions we need answered... and you are our lucky volunteer' Havok jokes as the Reaver slams into a wall. 'Screw you, gene joke!' the Reaver retorts, before a mysterious charge of energy seemingly destroys the Reaver. 'Dammit. Didn't see that coming' Havok frowns, before Hank calls out to him and tells him that they have a slight problem. 'We're gonna walk right out of that door with the bear-man...' a Reaver who has a gun pointed at the back of the Beast's head declares. “Bear-man?” Beast asks, as the Reaver tells Havok that he isn't going to do anything about it – when, suddenly, James Proudstar a.k.a. Warpath bursts through a window, grabs the Reaver and cuts his head off with a knife. 'Wait! Warpath, don't -' someone calls out, but it's too late, and Warpath throws the Reaver's head to the floor.
'-kill him. Or do. Ya know, whatever' Havok mumbles. 'It was either him or McCoy. I chose McCoy' Warpath replies. 'So you did have a team, after all. Good job, Summers' the Beast remarks. 'He's not with me. I don't know what this is' Havok replies, before asking Warpath what he is doing.
'Isn't that guy dead?' Warpath asks, looking at Banshee. 'No. obviously not' Havok points out. 'He's not dead, right?' Havok asks the Beast quietly, while Beast turns to Warpath and tells him to forgive his rude compatriot, and that he is the furthest thing from ungrateful. 'but what does bring you to our lovely campus today?' the Beast asks. 'Pryde sent me to keep an eye on Summers' Warpath reveals. 'So what is this? Kitty doesn't trust me?' Havok asks. 'I don't think anyone trusts you. Should they?' Warpath replies, looking down at Havok.
'Yes, yes. We are all very macho. It's quite impressive' the Beast mutters as he picks up the Reaver's head, and tells Havok and Warpath that if they are quite finished, he thinks he has found a common cause  here – the Reavers, they're different. 'I've had the pleasure of performing an autopsy on one once...' the Beast begins. 'Lovely' Havok remarks, as the Beast explains that these Reavers seem upgraded. He wonders if they have some sort of processors or network he could access. 'And while you do that I'll do anything else' Havok declares, to which the Beast tells him that he thinks it is time that he finished assembling their team. 'And I know just the person who would love to join us' the Beast adds.
Soon, Havok and Warpath have civilian jackets over their costumes as they stand in a corridor, and Havok knocks on a door as he asks Warpath 'So you're just going to follow me everywhere?' Warpath replies 'Yes'. 'Kitty and I are going to have some words' Havok mutters, while a voice from inside the apartment shouts 'Go away!' but Havok doesn't listen, instead he opens the door, to find a messy apartment with pizza boxes stacked up on the floor and clothes strewn everywhere. 'Heyy, big man! It's your old friend Alex...a nd Warpath' Havok smiles. 'What the $#%& happened here?' Warpath asks as he looks around. 'He's been going through some stuff' Alex whispers, as Piotr Rasputin a.k.a. Colossus looks up from the sofa where he sits  in shorts and a dirty sleeveless t-shirt, holding up a large bottle of alcohol. Several other bottles are on a small table in front of him. 'Alex! James! Welcome to my humble abode!' the unshaven Piotr exclaims. It's good to see you, Pete! Been a bit. You look...' Alex's voice trails off, as James declares 'You look like $#&%, Colossus'.
Piotr stands up and goes over to Alex, telling him that it is good to see him. 'Whoa, breath. Okay... you been drinking, Petey?' Alex asks. Piotr replies 'A little' and remarks that if he had known they were coming over he would have cleaned. 'It is dirty' he points out. 'Is it? We didn't notice' Alex lies, as Piotr states that things have been hard for him. He rubs his nose and asks Alex if he knew that his wedding announcement was in the newspaper. 'If it is in the paper, it should happen, no? After Katya and I... called it off, everyone must have been disappointed. Quitting the X-Men was the right thing to do' Piotr explains, adding that he thinks the others have forgotten him, and that they only ever cared when he was the Colossus for them – not about Piotr.
'We care about you' Alex smiles. Warpath makes an obvious coughing noise, and Alex frowns at him, before telling Piotr that he has a fun idea he thinks he would love, announcing that he is putting a team together, Hank, Banshee and himself. 'Oh, I miss Theresa' Piotr remarks. 'Other Banshee' Alex explains. 'Sean is back? Is he okay?' Piotr asks. 'Yup. He's totally back' Alex claims.
Piotr concentrates and remarks that he doesn't know, adding that it would be an honor to join the four of them. 'Three. Warpath's not on the team' Alex clarifies, as Piotr states that he cannot be around Katya now – his heart cannot bear it. 'That’s the thing! We maybe aren't technically “X-Men”!' Alex reveals. 'Not X-Men?' Piotr enquires. Alex tells him that it is a gray area, but the good news is, no Kitty Pryde. 'And I can hit things?' Piotr asks. 'That's pretty much all we want you to do, yeah' Alex smiles. Piotr knocks back some more of his alcoholic drink and announces that he is in.
'Hank McCoy's phone. This is Hank' the Beast remarks when he answers his phone. 'Who answers a phone like that? It's Alex. How's it going?' Alex remarks, to which the Beast tells Alex that, not surprisingly, he was fired from the university, so not great – but he did manage to access the processor inside the Reaver's head, so that is something. 'How's your day been?' the Beast asks. Alex is standing outside a burger diner, where he smiles and tells Hank that it went okay, that they got their muscle. Beast asks 'How is Colossus' to which Alex replies 'Umm... he's fine? Fine-ish'.
Colossus and Warpath are sitting at a table, devouring burgers, fries and shakes stacked up before them. Alex then asks the Beast if he got anything good from the Reaver's brain. Beast reports that most of the data was corrupted, but he did find a file with a list of names – he can't say for certain, but he thinks it is their targets. 'I'm number one on the list' the Beast adds. 'What number am I?' Alex enquires. 'Thirty-six' the Beast remarks. 'Thirty-six? How are there that many X-Men ahead of me? I can't even name that many. Who's 35?' Alex exclaims. The Beast tells him that it is Hellion. An unimpressed Alex frowns 'Who the hell is that? I should -' but before he can continue, the Beast tells Alex that it is the second name he finds interesting. 'Want to take a road trip?' Beast asks.
One road trip later, inside a fairly empty nightclub, Piotr sits in a booth and smiles. A drink in each hand, he tells Banshee, who stands nearby, that it is good to see him again. 'Seeing you is the first time I have smiled in weeks' Piotr remarks, before asking Banshee how he is feeling – but gets no response. 'I have not been doing so well myself. Let me buy you a drink and we can -' Piotr begins, to which Alex asks him if he hasn't had enough. 'No' Piotr replies. 'Well, this is...depressing' Alex frowns as Hank and James stand behind him. 'Why do you  say that?' Hank asks. 'There's nobody here, Hank' Alex points out, adding that the people who are here kinda creep him out.
Suddenly, a DJ calls out 'Ladies and gentlemen! It's time for the Sounds of Light and Fury. It's time for... DAZZLER!' With that, in a blaze of light, Alison Blaire a.k.a. Dazzler appears on stage, with long blonde hair, and wearing her old silver costume. 'She's still got it' Alex remarks as he and the others watch the show along with a very small audience. 'She does' Hank agrees, before Alex asks if there is a robotic Mojo on stage. 'It is' Hank confirms. Alex suggests that it pretty distasteful, and Hank agrees, before telling Alex that he is right – this is depressing.
Backstage after the show: 'Can I help you?' a security guard asks, blocking the door to Dazzler's dressing room. 'Umm... we're Alison's friends' Alex tells him. The door opens and a short-haired brunette Dazzler tells the guard that it is cool, she knows them. Alison smiles and thanks the guys for coming. 'Of course, Ali' one of them tells her. Alison asks them what they thought of the show. Hank tells her it was great. 'Great' Alex agrees. 'Yes' Piotr remarks. 'I didn't like it' James mutters, while Banshee, standing away from the rest of the group, remains silent. 'You look so...' Alex begins. 'Oh, the hair? Yeah, this is, like, an anniversary tour for the Sounds of Light and Fury album, so I have to do a whole “classic-look” thing. Wigs and bell-bottoms' Alison explains, adding that folks love their nostalgia. 'I guess' Alex tells her, before Alison tells them all that it is awesome to see them, and she is sorry they came tonight, as it was a bit of an off show. She remarks that the tour has been amazing, that things are going amazing, she is so happy. 'It seems it' one of them agrees, as Alison tells them that she wouldn't trade it for the world.
Alison smiles as she goes over to Sean and tells him that she had no idea he was back. 'This is amazing. How are you?' she asks, but gets no answer. 'Umm... is he okay?' Alison asks Alex, who gives her the thumbs up sign. Hank then tells Alison that they had a specific reason for coming here tonight. 'Oh my God! You need me for your team? I'm in!' Alison exclaims before Hank finishes what he was saying. 'Let me just grab a couple of things. What uniform do you think I should wear?' Alison asks.
'I thought things were “going amazing” on your tour' Alex asks. Alison hangs her head and reminds him that he saw it, that it has been awful. 'But this is perfect. I can -' Alison begins, but Alex tells her that the thing is, they actually came for the show. 'The robots and stuff?' he asks. 'The stage show?' Alison asks, 'Well, the guy who manages the stage show. Hiya, Forge' Alex calls out to his former longtime teammate, who is backstage tinkering with some equipment.
Alison looks unhappy: 'Are you #%&$ing kidding me right now? You're in my dressing room on my tour to steal my set designer?' she asks. 'And you already have five guys on your team. Sausage party, much? It's the twenty-first century, Alex. That's not okay. You guys are the #%&$ing worst'.
Forge smiles at the others and tells them that it is good to see them, before asking what is going on. Beast announces that the Reavers are attacking certain X-Men and associates, that he managed to get a list, and Forge's name is second on it. 'Any idea why?' Beast asks. 'Nope' Forge replies. 'With your machine building... powers... thing? They'd love to get their hands on you, I'm sure. And we don't want that' Alex remarks, telling Forge that the easiest thing would be for him to join them. 'Nope' Forge replies. He tells Alex not to get him wrong, that he appreciates the concern, but that he can take care of himself. Forge adds that he is having a good time taking it easy fixing stuff for Alison on the road and living the simple life for a bit. 'You heard him. Get the #%&$ out of my dressing room' Alison snaps.
'Well, that went well...' Alex remarks as he and the others leave through a backdoor which leads them to an alleyway. 'I disagree' Hank tells him. 'It's sarcasm, Hank' Alex explains, adding that it wasn't a total loss, as they can still keep an eye on Forge and wait for the robot guys with guns to show up. 'You want to use him as bait? That's highly unethical... and probably not necessary' Hank replies, pointing out that it appears they have just shown up. Indeed, several armored soldiers rush down the alleyway. Alex starts to suggest that they figure out a plan, when Piotr switches to his organic steel form and races towards the soldiers, roaring. 'Oh hell' Alex mutters. 'All right then. #$%& it. X-Men assemble!' Havok shouts, to which Warpath frowns and tells him that is not their rallying cry, or anything.
'Stop! You know who we are?' a soldier asks Colossus while opening fire at him. Havok releases a blast of energy, then turns to Banshee and tells him that now would be a good time to do his thing. Banshee starts screaming as he flies past one of the soldiers, while another continues to fire his weapon and radios for backup. 'No need to invite your friends' Warpath mutters as he slams a fist into the soldier. Another soldier is trying to fire at Banshee. 'He's coming back around! I got him!' the soldier calls out, striking Banshee, who plummets to the ground. 'Banshee is down! Colossus, get over there and -' Beast calls out, too late though, as a large vehicle slams into Colossus, knocking him to the ground. 'Spread out!' shouts one of the soldiers who emerge from the large vehicle, opening fire, he knocks the Beast back.
Beast finds cover behind a dumpster bin, where Havok goes up to him and protects him. 'Stay with me, Hank! I could really use my lucky blue cat-man right now' Havok jokes, adding that he doesn't remember there being this many Reavers, or them being this well armed. Suddenly, there is a blinding light, 'Do you see that, too? Or am I dead?' Beast utters, to which Havok tells him that he sees it. 'It's our salvation' he exclaims as Dazzler, wearing her blue costume with the yellow star on it appears, blasting the soldiers with light. 'Congrats! You boys beat the b-squad. You just earned the chance to face a real X-Man!' Dazzler exclaims as the intensity of her light powers increases. 'X-Men! Rally on Dazzler!' Havok calls out, while one of the soldiers exclaims 'C'mon! Show me what you got, muties!' The large vehicle is suddenly lifted overhead, 'I got this' Colossus declares as he drops the vehicle down on the soldier.
Soon, the mutants regroup, and Dazzler asks if she is good enough to join this little boys club now. 'Yeah, Ali. Thanks for saving our butts' Alex tells her, before asking her what is with the old costume and hair. 'Gotta look good for my fans' Ali smiles, adding that she has to remind the people who forget her who the hell she is. 'Damn it feels good to be an X-Man again' Dazzler adds. 'Yeah... about that... we might not technically be X-Men' Havok admits. 'WHAT?' Dazzler asks. 'It's complicated' Havok tells her. 'We sure felt like X-Men when kicking those Reavers' behinds!' Dazzler declares, while, nearby, Warpath crouches at one of the unconscious soldiers' sides, and calls out 'Hey, quick question. Do the Reavers have badges? Because if not, I think we just attacked a bunch of federal agents' as he holds up an ID badge identifying the soldier as an operative of the Office of National Emergency!


[User]
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Provide a full summary of the comic book.

[Assistant]
Who We Are
Monday, the Grand Salon, New York City:The maître d’ is somewhat taken aback, when a man announces he is here to meet an old friend. He looks at him to see that he is barefoot, dressed in very informal wear and completely covered in blue fur, so he informs Henry Mc Coy aka the Beast that they have a dress code.
Hank interrupts that he is aware of their dress code and chose not to abide by it. He is sure he is aware that in weather like this it is inconsiderate to people of the furry persuasion. As a professor of both Harvard and Cambridge University, a MacArthur Fellowship recipient, a Nobel Prize winner, a nine-time recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, a board member of Stark Industries and the Rand Corporation and an Avenger in good standing, the number of institutions which have turned him down based on his appearance can be counted on one paw. But if there is a problem, he can ask the executive director of the Center for Constitutional Rights, who is a good friend, if he could recommend another restaurant that wouldn’t turn him down based on genetic…
Chastened, the maître d’ leads him into the private room, where Jean Grey is already waiting. They hug and Jean remarks the place has a dress code. Nobody told him, Hank deadpans.
Hank looks at her critically and asks if everything is okay. With a frozen smile, she asks why it wouldn’t be. He muses they haven’t seen each other much since her… he worries. She knows he is a worrier and she has been through so much.
That moment, Bobby Drake and Warren Worthington III enter. Bobby expresses his happiness at Warren’s presence. For a moment, he was worried he was going to have to pick up the check tonight.
They greet each other, the others surprised at Jean inviting all of the original X-Men. Are they waiting for one more? Bobby asks, answered by a tight-lipped ‘no.’
Soon they are reminiscing and gossiping. Bobby orders another bottle of wine and asks Warren to drink a glass. Warren refuses and asks Jean why she picked this place. She asks if he doesn’t remember. He doesn’t. Jean links them telepathically to share her memory. After their first mission, Charles took them here to celebrate. They hated it. Weaponizing nostalgia seems a tad gauche, Hank muses. So what does she want? Recreate the old times? Put the band back together?
Warren believes it’s the opposite and Jean agrees. Look at them in that memory and look at them now. Look at what they’ve lost. Hank asks what that means. She reminds him this wasn’t what he wanted for a life. He’s given so much for Charles Xavier’s dream, and it was never Hank’s dream anyway. Hank admits he does have regrets.
Jean continues that Warren used to be so carefree, but now there is something inside him that scares him. It scares her, too.
She admits that Bobby seems pretty okay. Munching his burger, Bobby thanks her with a full mouth.
Moving to herself, Jean announces she died saving the world and do they know what she felt when she died? Nothing. She felt nothing and she misses that. She wonders for what they suffered. What do they have? They barely have each other. They slowly slip away and all she can think is that she shouldn’t have come back.
Well, this is a fun conversation, comes the sardonic voice of a newcomer. The words come from a sharp-featured man with a blond or light brown buzzcut and dressed in a white suit. Bobby informs him this is a private party. Calling him Robert, the man responds with a smirk he is aware of that. He worries he was just drawn in by the astonishing amount of self-pity in the room.
In a threatening tone, Bobby asks if anybody knows who that guy is or does he have to show him… The stranger interrupts that Jean knows. Jean scans him and reveals he is Charles Xavier… somehow.
In the meantime, the stranger sits down at an empty place and pours himself a glass of wine. Yes, somehow, he agrees and admits he is a tiny bit hurt they didn’t invite him to this reunion. This was always his favorite restaurant.
The X-Men burst out with questions, like why he is here, why he isn’t dead and – in Bobby’s case – why he has hair. He replies the answers are complicated, but that’s not why he came tonight. His return has provided him with some perspective. Seeing the four of them, in how much pain they are from the choices they made and what they’ve been through, he can’t help but feel partially responsible. He is mostly responsible! Beast shoots back. Undeterred, the man who now calls himself X continues he came here to tell them that, after all these years, he was wrong. He was wrong for asking those sacrifices of them. He wants to make things right.
He asks them to extend the evening. He is staying not far from here. A humble place, but he has room for them all. They could catch up and maybe he could show them the world that hates and fear them isn’t quite what they think it is. He takes them to Lago in a limousine and to a villa.
The X-Men wonder how he can afford something like that when they live in his mansion and control his estate. Then again, they don’t really want to know. X offers them rooms and more comfortable clothes if they wish. Also, there is a tavern nearby where they can continue their discussion with a nightcap.
Twenty minutes later, they stand in front of a bar and Beast predicts this isn’t going to go well. X chides him for his unfounded assumptions as they enter. Beast whispers he has done years of fieldwork on this… however X seems to be right. They are met with the same kind of mild curiosity any stranger could expect. A waiter introduces himself as Heylel and gets them a table. He asks if they are passing through and Henry immediately takes this as a veiled insult. However, Heylel just wanted to turn their attention to the Hudson Valley Arts Festival this weekend.
Bobby gets their drinks and runs into and spills them on a huge biker guy. However, instead of the expected hostility, the man apologizes and offers to buy them another round.
Jean and Henry give X skeptical looks and he suggests perhaps the world doesn’t hate and fear them as much as they have all been led to believe…
Tuesday Morning:Jean and Warren walk the town. Jean keeps searching for something amiss in all of this. Warren suggests that maybe there is nothing there. Taking a look at his bright sports outfit, she replies she cannot have a serious conversation with him dressed like this. He reminds her X didn’t have clothes with wing-holes for him, and isn’t it weird he had a change of clothes for Jean? Jean summarizes the whole thing is weird. How is he back? Why does he have a house here? What is wrong with this town? Her instincts are screaming that something is horribly wrong but every mind she reads is completely fine. Maybe Hank and Bobby are having more luck on their end.
Meanwhile, Henry watches in disgusted fascination as Bobby wolves down a burger and stands up triumphantly. He explains the burger is for free if you eat it in under a minute. Hank doesn’t see the point, as it only costs four dollars. And now it’s free, Bobby points out. Hank suggests he shouldn’t make people notice them. Bobby sensibly retorts, any amount of burger won’t make him more noticeable than a large furry blue man.
Henry asks him if the town’s name Lago really doesn’t ring any bells for him? He asks about Katrina Fox. Bobby recalls a mutant girl killed by… He remembers. She was killed by a mob of townspeople in Lago. And when the ringleaders stood trial, it took the jurors eleven minutes to find them not guilty. In Lago. This town was off-limits to them when they were kids. Charles always said the hatred run deep here.
Bobby points out they’ve mellowed out. To show this he addresses a man walking past them and asks him where his friend could find a pet groomer. The man aggressively shouts at them to get out and calls him mutie. When Henry tells him that they have every right to be here, the man upends their table.
Two other men grab him and asks if he is okay. Even as he apologizes, they force the man, David, to accompany them outside. Beast gets up wanting to talk to David. Another man tries to calm him by making apologies that David has been unwell for some time. Henry insists that “unwell” seems an oversimplification. The man apologizes and hands them some vouchers for a free meal in David’s name. Bobby greedily grabs them.
With the man gone, Henry pointedly asks Bobby if he has anything to say to him. Unimpressed, Bobby tells him he was right. With his knowledge and scientific reasoning, Hank deduced that this town has a racist in it. Congratulations.
Henry insists the whole town is getting stranger and less pleasant. Would he like to go investigate with him? Bobby demurs pointing out if this town is so awful, why does he keep getting free meals?
Hours later, Warren and Jean arrive in X’s home, calling out for Charles, though unsure how to address him. A weakened and sick Bobby lying on the couch informs them he is not here. When they ask if he’s okay, he explains his state that he ate a two-pound-hamburger in under a minute. It was free, he adds, seeing Jean is puzzled. When they ask after Hank, he explains he went to find out what happened to some crazed guy after he screamed at them. Finding out that was at lunchtime, Jean points out it’s eight now
Jean orders them to look for Henry. They follow though Bobby protests he is going to barf. Did she feel like this when she ate a planet? Dude, Angel remarks. Too soon!
Sitting and drinking at a table, X asks how their day among the common folk was. Jean insists they talk. X invites them to sit. Jean snaps they’ll stand. She wants to know why he brought them here. Is this a trap? He assures them it isn’t a trap. At least not one of his doing. When he calls them “children,” Jean cuts him off. “Do you adults,” he corrects himself mockingly, “remember what happened to my legs?”
Bobby recounts that a man named Lucifer damaged his spine. The X-Men fought him years later and beat him. “A” for effort, X muses, but “F” for work. Lucifer isn’t a man at all; he’s a parasitic alien. He merges his essence with people, literally become them. He doesn’t know how long he has existed or how often he has come to Earth, but he suspects the Bible’s fallen angel and their annoying alien don’t share the same name for nothing.
Warren spells out that Lucifer is here and has taken over the town. Warren gets the prize, X agrees as he downs another shot. X asks if they remember why the town was familiar. He figures that people who are scared are more susceptible to his abilities. And X’s. And Jean’s, right, Jean? he asks. They have to stop him now, Jean announces. No need to rush, he replies. He wants to finish his bottle. Jean explains he has Hank. After another slug, X gets up.
X tells them Lucifer wants to propagate and become the dominant lifeform on the planet. They ask who the real Lucifer is if he can take over others’ bodies. He informs them it’s Heylel, their waiter from the day before.
Warren flies upward and finds a warehouse with too much activity at the north of town.
The others sneak closer. Bobby remarks he thought this town sucked before he saw what their parties looked like. The guy who yelled at Bobby at lunch addresses them in a friendly manner and asks if he can help. They brush him off.
Jean Bobby and X enter, only to be told by Hank this is a private function. Bobby tells him they gotta get out of here. Hank replies he is where he wants to be. He offers to have them meet some people who will help them understand. Bobby ices up and freezes him. The others surround them and Jean telepathically calls Angel.
Angel flies in low, distracting people. X tells Jean to keep the others off him, while he tries to sever the link Lucifer has with Hank.
Heylel (aka Lucifer) seethes that they dare to attack him. Iceman points out he brainwashed his friend and made him even more boring. Of course he dares! When he attacks with an iceblast, not only Lucifer reacts in pain but also all his victims. Iceman moves to the defensive and protects them with iceshield from Lucifer’s attack. He asks how X is doing. X explains he has to reroute Beast’s brain functions around the part Lucifer took. Luckily, he has just been turned, so it’s easy to see which parts are Hank and which are not.
Beat breaks loose and is about to attack his friends, then stops mid-attack as X has come through. Shocked, he asks Jean what they did to him. Jean begins to explain it was Lucifer. Angrily, he interrupts, Lucifer is peace. That is all he is. He takes all your pain and suffering away. You give yourself to him and he heals you. And they stopped it! Jean insists he is jut confused.
The others begin to feel Lucifer in their heads and X decides they need to stop this now. They have to sever them instantly. They kill him… Iceman points out that is not something they do. X calls their morality childish.
However, they see Angel flying to Lucifer and kneeling down before him. His face grimaces as he becomes the Archangel. Lucifer urges him to join with him and he can be at peace. Instead, Archangel cuts off his head with his razor-sharp wings. Like one man, all the possessed in the hall fall as well.
Jean hurries to Archangel’s side and helps the Warren persona to become dominant again. Warren asks if he killed him. Jean tells him yes and asks if he was trying to. He replies that Charles was right. Lucifer was too powerful. He could feel him in his skull telling him everything was fine, making him feel like nothing was wrong. The pull of something like that… the world wouldn’t stand a chance.
Iceman checks the townspeople to find they are all dead. Beast revives, though he feels like something was ripped out of his skull.
Angrily, Jean turns to X, accusing him of making Warren do this. X demurs. He didn’t make him do anything. Jean insists he knew what would happen. The blood is on his hands, not Warren’s! X replies he didn’t know though he suspected, which is why he worked so hard to sever Hank’s connection. Lucifer’s hold on these people was more than just psychic. He was part of them. And when they excised that part, it proved too traumatic for the human hosts.
Iceman states he’s been planning this for a while. And for what? He brought them here to be killers? To exact his revenge for him? X retorts that they asked for this, all of them. They wanted to see what a world without the X-Men would have looked like. Today it looked like an alien parasite infesting a town. Tomorrow who can say what it will be? Warren understood that you don’t get to pretend nothing is wrong forever. Eventually it catches up to you. So they can all have another of their pity parties and blame him for the way their lives turned out. But when they are crying about how sad everything is, remember, it doesn’t matter. Either save the world, or let it die. Those are the only choices they will ever have.
He turns away. Come tomorrow they will move on and he won’t even be a memory. So that’s it? Jean asks. He always knew they’d be miserable, but he didn’t care because the world needed them? X replies, he always held out some hope they’d find happiness in doing good… some day. He uses his powers on them to make them forget.
Wednesday:The Grand Salon, New York City:Beast enters. The maître d’ tells him it’s good to have him back so soon. Beast suggest he has him confused. Do they have a lot of blue furry patrons? Politely, the other man agrees and informs him his party is in the back room again.
Jean, Warren and Bobby (who calls him an Avatar-looking hunk of trouble) have already arrived. Hank is surprised Jean did a reunion. Did he forget something special? Jean hugs them all and replies she’s barely seen any of them since her return. She just wanted to say how proud she is of them, seeing all the good they have accomplished. She thought they deserved a nice night together, a little happiness. They’ve earned that.
Only Warren turns away, deep in thought.


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Until our Hearts Stop, part 3
'C'mon, dude!' someone calls out. 'Those are for everyone!' someone else complains inside a diner called Big Nicks. 'I have a fast metabolism. I need to eat more than all of you' Hank McCoy a.k.a. Beast remarks as he grabs another handful of french fries. 'If your metabolism is so fast, Hank, why are you fat?' Alison Blaire a.k.a. Dazzler asks. Hank explains that his winter coat is coming in, before asking if they can get back to the matter at hand. The Beast shoves more fries into his mouth as he tells his companions that, obviously, they are all reticent to admit it, but they just made a major boo-boo. 'Having seen the show, I have some guesses why the Office of National Emergency might show up at Dazzler's performance -' Hank says. 'Hey!' Dazzler snaps, to which Hank reminds the others that they still just assaulted a team of federal agents – unprovoked and in public. He suggests that they turn themselves in. 'And you think that will go well for us?' Alex Summers a.k.a. Havok asks, sitting at the other end of the table. Also with them are Piotr Rasputin a.k.a. Colossus and James Proudstar a.k.a. Warpath, while Sean Cassidy a.k.a. Banshee stands several feet away from the table.
'No, Alex. But it's the right -' Hank begins, when suddenly, there is a bright camera flash, and a voice shouts: 'Hey, Dazzler! Wanna answer some questions for TAM?' It’s a camera man.
Dazzler gets to her feet and poses, 'Always' she smiles, before the cameraman asks her why Lightbringer broke up, and how the tour is going. Dazzler replies that the group is on hiatus, and that the tour is going great, while  the cameraman snaps more photos and asks Dazzler why she is hanging out with known terrorists. 'What... no, these are... I'm with the X-Men. We're super -' Dazzler begins, as the cameraman interrupts her again, announcing that Kitty Pryde put out a statement fifteen minutes ago saying that these guys were definitely not X-Men. Moving on, the cameraman asks Dazzler what her relationship is with Longshot, but before Dazzler can respond, Colosuss grabs the camera and crushes it. 'Picture time is over. Time to go'.
Elsewhere, the Office of National Emergency Headquarters:
'This is #$%&$#& embarrassing!' Agent Callahan declares as he walks into a room where Donald Pierce and several Reavers are playing cards. 'It is. You're a grown man. Stop crying, Callahan' Pierce mutters. Callahan stands before Pierce and asks him if he thinks this is a joke. 'My men got their butts handed to them in the armor you helped design!' he exclaims. Pierce looks at his cards and replies 'There you go again. I didn't help you do anything. You imprison the Reavers, steal out tech and expect us to build you brand-new weapons? And then you're mad at me when a handful of reject X-Men kick your cop butts?' Pierce looks over at one of the men sitting at the table and tells him that military types never get it – it never comes down to the weapon, it's always about the man who wields it. 'You can armor up all the men you want. They'll never be us' Pierce tells Callahan.
Callahan decides that Pierce is right, and adds that someone like Miss Sinister doesn't understand how to be useful, so they got what they needed from her, and cut her loose. 'But you? You make quite the compelling argument for keeping you around forever, Pierce'. Callaghan remarks that he agrees with Pierce on one thing – his men may not have the experience with this tech like the Reavers, they make up for it with resources, as he turns from Pierce and looks out over the balcony, to a large room where other soldiers are being prepped for wearing the Reaver-like armor.
'This is fantastically embarrassing. You continue to take us to new depths, Alex' Hank remarks as he, Alex and Alison sit at a bus shelter. Piotr and James stand on either side of them, and Sean continues to stand a few feet away from the group. 'What's wrong with public transportation?' Alex replies. 'For a super hero team? A lot. At this point I hope we can all admit we shouldn't be calling ourselves the X-Men' the Beast frowns. 'You can't call yourselves that' Warpath reminds them. 'Why? Because we aren't taking a private jet that that always crashes? C'mon' Alex mutters, before frowning and telling the others that he is not stupid. Hank snorts at this comment. 'Compared to normal people, Hank' Alex adds, before telling the others that getting attacked by the Reavers, beaten up by a few government agents, Pete smashing that guy's camera and Alison's depressing as $#%& show, they have had a rough start – but he knows why this is happening. 'Sort of' he adds as a bus pulls up at the stop.
'Nice outfits. Still gotta pay' the bus driver tells the non-X-Men as they step onto the bus. 'Oh... yeah, right... ummm...' Alex remarks, while Alison announces that she doesn't handle money on tour. 'I've got it' the Beast remarks as he hands the driver some cash, before telling the others that they should all start carrying money with them, as this is embarrassing.
'You were saying, Alex?' Hank then asks in an attempt to get the conversation back on track. 'Right, so... I think there's something inside of me that they all want' Alex reports as he stands in the aisle, while the others take seats. 'Your organs' Colossus suggests. 'What? No! When I was... evil... which sounds so weird to say out loud... I spent time with future Sentinel and all-around creep Bastion. He implanted something in me. I just don't know what' Alex explains. 'He put something in your and you're only just mentioning this now?' Dazzler asks.
Havok tells his companions that he doesn't fully remember it, that he just keeps having these dreams – that is why the Reavers are looking for him. 'Based on the list you found, they're looking for a lot of people' Warpath reminds him. 'No. They're looking for me, they just don't know it yet' Havok replies. The Beast asks Havok if that is why he put this team together – just to protect himself. 'Hank! What kind of question is -' Dazzler begins, before Havok hangs his head and admits 'Yes' and explains that he didn't have anywhere else to go. 'Are you kidding?' Dazzler gasps. Colossus tells Havok that he should never feel bad about needing the help of his friends. Havok begins to thank Colossus, but Colossus tells him that lying to them and making them risk their lives for a deception can be forgiven – but never forgotten. 'You're right as always, Piotr' Havok tells Colossus, before turning to the bus driver and informing him that this is his stop.
Havok gets off the bus and pulls his sweater hood over his head, as he shuffles down the sidewalk, hands in pockets. 'Alex! Wait!' Alison calls out as she walks after him. 'If you're here to tell me it's all okay, I don't need to hear it, Ali' Alex responds, but Dazzler tells him that he screwed up real bad, and that is far from okay. 'But you're Havok. That's what you do' she reminds him. 'This is not the pep talk I was expecting' Havok tells Dazzler. 'But we're the X-Men, right?' Dazzler tells him. 'Well...' Havok replies. 'Things get screwed up and we fix them. Together' Dazzler declares, but Havok tells her that they won't this time, that Colossus was right, he put everyone at risk by being near them. He continues on down the street, and Dazzler asks him where he is going. 'Far away from the people I care about' Alex replies, hanging his head.
Inside an abandoned Radio Shack, the current base of the Reavers. 'OWWW!' Bonebreaker shouts as Pretty Boy makes some repairs to his body. 'That didn't hurt, ya big baby' Pretty Boy mutters, while Bonebreaker adds that he sore he would never go back to the treads, referring to the bionic tank that his torso is connected to, enabling him to move. 'And I swore i'd marry Tom Cruise. But the world don't give a -' Pretty Boy mutters, interrupted by the arrival of Cole, Macon and Reese. 'They're dead! They're all $#%&% dead!' Cole exclaims. Skullbuster is in the room, too, and turns to the new arrivals as Bonebreaker tells Cole to slow down and tell them what happened.
Cole explains that they followed that tracker of Stomper's that went live, and went to a parking garage – they were all there, Stomper, Boss, Wachtel – and now they're dead. 'Pierce?' Bonebreaker asks. 'They killed them all!' Cole exclaims. 'Cole! Was a Pierce there?' Bonebreaker asks, but Cole tells him 'No' and asks Bonebreaker what they should do. Bonebreaker throws his hands to his head and declares  that they don't have the numbers to rescue Pierce from the Feds, and that they couldn't capture that dumb X-Man they needed to trade with them. He fears that the O*N*E is going to come for them sooner or later, so they might as well face facts – their time is up.
Meanwhile, Havok sits at the bar in the establishment known as the Bar with No Name. A red-haired woman sits at the bar, a few seats down from him. 'You might as well sit with me. You stick out like a sore thumb in here. Which is a compliment in a bar full of supervillains' Havok remarks. 'How did you know I was here?' Warpath asks, standing behind Havok. Havok knocks back another drink and tells Warpath that he knew he was following him twelve blocks back. 'You're not as good as you think you are, James' Havok points out. 'Yes, I am' Warpath replies. 'Then maybe I'm not as bad as you think I am' Havok suggests. 'Interesting choice of words' Warpath points out as he sits next to Alex, who asks the bartender for two more drinks. 'I'm not drinking' Warpath tells Havok. 'Nobody asked' Havok tells him.
Warpath asks Alex if he is back among the villains again, to which Alex tells him to keep his voice down unless he wants to fight the whole bar. 'Was thinking about it' Warpath remarks. Havok explains to Warpath that he is not back to his old ways, that he just needed somewhere to go he could lie low and think – and drink. 'Not a villain, but a liar' Warpath remarks. 'Yeah, yeah, I lied. I should have told everyone that the real reason I was forming the team was to protect myself -' Havok replies, to which Warpath tells him that he is doing it again. 'Excuse me?' Havok asks. 'You didn't form the team to protect yourself. I knew as soon as you said it. You're a terrible liar, by the way' Warpath declares. '... thanks?' Havok replies, before Warpath asks him why he lies about everything. Havok claims that he didn't – not everything, at least, the Bastion stuff is all true, but that when he realized the Reavers and O*N*E were probably both hunting him, he can't put everyone at risk for his past mistakes. Warpath points out that they would stand by him – that's what the X-Men do for each other. 'I haven't been an X-Man in a long time' Havok replies as he knocks back another drink.
At Colossus' bachelor pad:
'Good lord, Piotr. Did a bomb go off in here? Some kind of garbage tornado?' Dazzler asks as she holds up a fast food carton – one of many that are littered across the floor. Colossus sits in a chair nearby, while the Beast is crouched on the floor, and Banshee sits blankly on a sofa. 'Since Katya... I have not been well' Colossus replies. Dazzler tells him that she knows, but that is why he has to reach out to his friends, talk to them – that's what they are here for. 'Because this? This is my actual nightmare' Dazzler remarks. Colossus tells her that he doesn't think talking will help what is wrong with him. 'Well, you don't know until you try, right, Sean?' Dazzler asks, sitting next to Banshee and putting a hand on his knee. Banshee's head moves slightly, to look at her, when suddenly, a bomb is thrown through the window. 'Get -' the Beast calls out, before the apartment explodes.
Soldiers move into the apartment, with one of them telling the other soldiers to be careful, as the Sinister lady said they only need Summers alive – the rest can go either way. 'What is that?' one of them asks as they fire several weapons towards Colossus, who towers over them in his armored form. Banshee stands up among the ruins of the apartment, while Dazzler stands over the Beast. 'They are not down! Repeat! Not down!' one of the soldiers calls out, before Colossus lunges forward and slams his fist into one of the soldiers, while another fires their weapon at him. Dazzler fires some light energy at one of the soldiers, knocking him back, and informs Colossus that Beast has been hurt bad, they have to get him out of here. 'It's not... bad. Oh. Yes, it is...' Beast mutters. As a blast is fires at his head, Colossus slams his fist into a soldier, a bright light suddenly shines down from a chopper above, 'This is the Office of National Emergency. Stand down immediately!' a voice calls out from the chopper.
Before anyone can act, Banshee suddenly begins screeching and flies straight towards the chopper. 'Banshee, wait!' Dazzler calls out, but gets no response as Banshee's sonic scream destroys the chopper, the fiery remains begin to plummet to the ground below. Banshee continues to fly away. 'Where's he going?' Dazzler asks. 'Sean's coming back, right?' she adds, 'If I had to guess? No' the Beast tells her. Colossus continues to punch his way through the O*N*E soldiers. 'Hey, Piotr? Buddy? I really wish you'd stop right now, because...we have a bit of a problem' Dazzler calls out as a soldier stands in front of her and the Beast, aiming a machine gun at them. Colossus stops fighting and reverts to his human form. 'Area secure, commander' a soldier reports in as Colossus is cuffed, and forced to the ground. Agent Callahan appears and asks if all his targets are accounted for. One of the soldiers reports that targets Summers and Proudstar are not present and that target Casidy destroyed the helicopter and fled the scene. 'Well, that's $%#&$#& great' Callahan mutters, before pointing out that he can still use these mutants, and orders the soldiers to load them up and move out.
Back in the Bar with No Name, Alex asks James why he is here, anyway 'Kitty doesn't want me calling our team the X-Men? Well, good news. You can report back and tell her there's no more team'. But Warpath reports that he is not here for Kitty anymore, and reminds Havok that his brother, John, served as an X-Man, and that he joined to honor his brother and to avenge him – but it became something else. 'Serving under your brother, Cyclops, I discovered new meanings for words I'd always known. Family. Honor. Loyalty... and redemption. I learned those things from Scott' Warpath reveals. Warpath smiles as he explains that he is an X-Man because he believes all people are created equal, that he believes a better world is possible, and that it is something worth dying for. 'I believe in Charles Xavier's dream. I believe in Kitty Pryde's leadership... and I believe in the Summers family'.
Alex tells James that that is a hell of a speech, and asks him who taught him how to do that. 'Cyclops' James replies. Alex remembers that Scott was always good at getting people to do things they didn't want to do. 'Okay. Let's go rejoin my X-Men' Havok suggests. 'You can't call yourselves that' Warpath reminds him, when suddenly, something on the television catches Alex's eye, and he asks the bartender to turn the television up. The announcer reports that they are going live to Ted Alexander, who has been following the mutant drama as it unfolds. Ted informs viewers that he is live on scene, where O*N*E agents have just apprehended members of a “mutant terrorist cell” that some are claiming are a radical fringe wing of the mutant activists known as the X-Men. 'Yeah! Wrecker, who is in the bar with several other villains, calls out. 'Lock 'em up!' Piledriver smiles.
The reporter continues, explaining that in addition to the shooting incident at Harvard earlier this week and the altercation with O*N*E agents outside a popular downtown nightclub tonight, which was luckily nearly empty, he has been told that the suspects in custody were also suspected in the newly discovered murder of a fozen members of the Reavers gang in North Carolina. 'But...we didn't kill those Reavers' Alex remarks, looking at Warpath, who wonders who did. Alex points out that if the Reavers are hunting them and O*N*E is hunting them wearing Reaver-ish gear, he had assumed they were working together, but perhaps they aren't. 'Maybe we're caught between them in their own war?' Alex suggests, but James tells him that he has no evidence of that. 'I'm much more of a gut guy than a brains guy. Besides, I thought you believed in us Summers' Alex replies.
James tells Alex that if he thinks that might be right, they should bring it to Kitty. 'We can get the X-Men -' James begins, but Alex interrupts him, remarking that he can't risk dragging Kitty into this, but that he has an idea. 'Good. What is it?' Warpath asks. 'You're not gonna like it' Alex smiles. He reminds James that he has saved the world more times than he can count, that he has given up everything to be a hero – and yeah, someone screwed around with his brain and made him do some bad stuff – and because of that one mistake he made, they want to label him and his friends a terrorist. 'Okay...let's be terrorists' Alex suggests to James, before he begins a short quest through the seedier parts of the city, bars, alleyways, people of the night... until he is finally pointed in the direction of an old Radio Shack. Havok and Warpath are wearing their costumes as Havok bangs on the Radio Shack door. 'What the hell is this?' Pretty Boy asks as he, Skullbuster and two others appear, weapons at the ready. Havok just smiles at them and tells them that they heard the Reavers could use some new members!


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Until our Hearts Stop, part 4
Location 22, secret weapons development facility of the Office of National Emergency, where right now, Piotr Rasputin a.k.a. Colossus screams in agony as he is strung up in some restraints and tortured as lasers try to cut away at his armored form. Alison Blaire a.k.a. Dazzler is held prisoner in a stasis tank, and is in shock at what is happening to Colossus. 'Girly is freaking out in there. She does not like watching this' a scientist remarks. 'Good. My kid made me go see her in concert last year' another mutters. Suddenly, Dazzler begins to clutch her throat, and one of the scientists wonders if there is something wrong with the airflow in there. 'Dammit! If she dies on our watch, Callahan will -' the other scientist begins as he starts to open the stasis tube. 'Dave, don't open -' the other scientist calls out, but too late, as Dazzler raises her hand and blasts the scientist with her light powers. 'You wanna lock me up?' she asks.
'Dazzler, stop!' Hank McCoy a.k.a. Beast calls out, but Dazzler tells him to fight back and asks him when he became such a coward 'They'll kill you' Beast warns Dazzler. 'They'll have to catch me -' Dazzler tells Beast, before Agent Callahan slams the end of his gun into her face, knocking her out. 'A pity. I was curious to cut you open and see how you worked, but my interest in your abilities runs out the moment you put one of my men in hospital. Make peace with your mutant god, Ms Blaire' Callahan tells Dazzler as he points his gun at her head – but the Beast calls out to him, asking him not to do this. 'Why not?' Callahan asks. The Beast points out that this is a weapons research facility, and asks him if having one of the pre-eminent brains in the world in his service be of more value than a dead one-hit wonder. 'Spare her and I'm yours' Beast offers. 'You'd work for us?' Callahan asks. 'If I must' Beast responds.
'Okay, no reason to freak out. I can see why you guys might  be weirded out by this' Alex Summers a.k.a. Havok smiles at the Reavers, as he stands in front of their makeshift hideout, an abandoned Radio Shack. 'What are you doing here, mutie?' Skullbuster asks, machine gun aimed at Alex's head. 'Woof. If does not sound cool when you call me that' Alex replies, before telling the Reavers that he knows they have always had their differences. 'You attacked us the other day. We kicked your asses. I get it. Your're pissed' Alex remarks. 'Are you trying to get us shot?' James Proudstar a.k.a. Warpath asks. Havok smiles at the Reavers and tells them that he thinks they X-Men and the Reavers can find some common ground here. 'And what's that?' Skullbuster asks. 'The Office of National Emergency' Alex declares.
Havok continues, informing Skullbuster that he heard some of his guys turned up dead in North Carolina, and asks him if it was the O*N*E. 'News said it was you' Skullbuster replies, but Havok tells him that is not how the X-Men really operate. 'And you know that' he adds, before pointing out that the O*N*E got some Reavers, and now they have some X-Men, too. Pretty Boy reveals that Callahan held Pierce and a whole bunch of Reavers prisoners, doing experiments and making them work for him. He adds that some escaped, and some were killed, but Pierce is still there. 'That's awful' Havok responds. Pretty Boy adds that they have been prisoners ever since the X-Men attacked them in Canada and handed them over to the cops for no reason. 'Okaaaay...I know I sad we are, but technically we aren't X-Men here. But I can say that I'm sorry that happened' Havok replies. 'They were trying to dig up Wolverine's dead body so they could sell it' Warpath informs Havok. 'Oh, never mind' Havok tells Pretty Boy.
Skullbuster explains that Pretty Boy and Bonebreaker escaped, but Callahan kept them moving around, that it's all secret satellite sites, so they have been trying to find where they have Pierce since then. 'But we know one of you X-Men knows where they are. That's why we attacked you at the cat-man's little school' Skullbuster explains. 'Not a Harvard man, I see' Havok mutters, before Skullbuster announces that Callahan says a nanovirus containing the last piece of a puzzle he needs is inside an X-Man's body, so they made a lit of X-Men that might have the info – if they find that that, they could find where they have Pierce. 'If you're looking for an X-Man with weird stuff in his head...today is your lucky day!' Havok smiles.
Twenty minutes later, Bonebreaker readies a scalpel and a syringe as Havok is strapped to some restraints, and asks how getting this crap out of his head is going to help them find their friends. 'Reverse engineering. Now shut up' Bonebreaker replies. Havok quietly tells Warpath that this might not have been his bet plan. 'Seems about average for you' Warpath replies. Havok remarks that he doesn't love people playing around with his brain, and tells Warpath that he needs him to do hi a favor if they lobotomize him or turn him into a Robocop or whatever. 'Kill you?' Warpath asks. 'What? No! I was gonna say make them turn me back' Havok clarifies. Havok then turns to Bonebreaker and asks him if this is going to hurt. 'Yeah. A lot' Bonebreaker replies. 'Oh... neat' Alex mutters, before screaming as Bonebreaker shoves the scalpel into Alex's nose.
'Well, isn't this fun?' Donald Pierce asks as he approaches the Beast, who is working in a lab. 'Why am I not surprised to find that you switched sides, McCoy?' Pierce asks, while the Beast removes something from a drawer. 'Donald Pierce is questioning my allegiances? Never it be said you can't reach new lows in life' the Beast replies. 'Don't get your fur up. I was just joking' Pierce smiles. 'Hilarious' the Beast mutters, before Pierce claims that he, too, is a political prisoner and cog in this giant machine, but that he is not as opposed to what they are working on as the Beast is. 'and what would that be?' Hank asks as Pierce holds up some sort of tool. 'Oh, you don't know? How is -' Pierce starts to say, when suddenly, he receives some sort of communication. 'Hello? Yes...' Pierce responds. 'Are you having a stroke?' the Beast asks. 'Excellent. I'll go get ready' Pierce responds, before turning to Beast and apologizing for being rude. 'If I had to gess I'd say the O*N*E doesn't know that you have some sort of communications device hidden in that robot body of yours' Beast frowns. 'And that's why you should be the one running this place' Pierce tells the Beast, before excusing himself, he walks away, announcing that he has to get ready for his departure.
'So they're in there?' Warpath asks as he, Havok and the reavers stand before a large facility with a O*N*E logo on the front of it. 'According to the information our cyborg enemies turned allies got from the nanobot infection that the evil future robot put in my skull...ys' Havok replies. Warpath frowns at him, so Havok smiles and replies 'I know, I just wanted to hear myself say it out loud...' before announcing that it is time to attack the government, and he fires a powerful surge of energy through the door, enabling them entry to the O*N*E facility.
'We have a breach!' a soldier announces. 'Night, night, pig' Skullbuster snarls, opening fire. 'Don't’ Warpath tells Skullbuster, while knocking a soldier back with a chunk of machinery. 'You aren't my boss, chief' Skullbuster responds. 'He dies, you die' Warpath warns Skullbuster. 'Here they come!' Pretty Boy calls out, blasting down a corridor as more soldiers rush towards them. 'Remember when you were going around telling everyone it was time for the X-Men to return to doing the “big hero” thing again? How's that going?' Warpath asks Havok, who replies that it is going about as well as everyone expected, while blasting more energy at thje soldiers, as Reese and Cole fight soldiers nearby.
Havok goes over to the Reaver called Macon, who is at a series of computer monitors, and asks him if he hs had any luck finding them. Macon doesn't respond, so Havok asks him if  he is all right in there. Macon then points at an orange mark on some schematics of the facility and tells Havok that they are holding cells, and that is where their teammates must be. Macon then gets up and starts to walk down another corridor. 'Macon, I think it's the other way. Macon?' Havok calls out, but gets no response. Warpath goes over to Havok and asks him if he found them. 'I think so. But it's not that way' Havok replies, watching Macon. Warpath asks him where Macon is going, to which Havok tells him he doesn't care, as long as they draw all the fire.
Havok then runs down another corridor, and stops at a door, which he blasts open with a small surge of power. 'It's about time' Dazzler remarks, sitting on a bed, creating some light effects, while her blonde wig lays next to her. The next room, where Colossus is being held. 'My friends! Thank you' he calls out as Havok frees him. 'Hmm, you're not who I expected' Pierce remarks as he is freet. 'We're not rescuing you, tool' Dazzler tells him while adjusting her weave. 'The Reavers are sorta the reason you're getting out of here' Havok explains. 'Excuse me?' Colossus asks. 'We're Reavers now. Sorta. Long story' Havok replies. Pierce smiles and tells Havok that he was always his favorite Summers brother 'Says a lot about you' Havok replies, before pointing out that they need to find the Beast. 'You sure? He switched sides, you know' Pierce smirks. 'A lot of that going around... but we're not leaving him'.
In a lab, Hank is singing to himself: “They tell us that we lost our tails. Evolving up from little...” with headphones in his ears. He doesn't hear when Havok calls out to him, so Havok leans in closer: 'HANK!' he booms, causing the Beast to look frightened, 'Stars and -! Don't do that!' Hank exclaims as his headphones fall out of his ears. Alex asks Hank if he has finished working for the bad guys yet. 'It's time to bounce, cat-man' he adds. 'What the...why do people keep...I don't look like a friggin' cat anymore!' he complains, explaining that he wasn't working for the bad guys, he was keeping an eye on them. 'Great! What'd you learn?' Havok asks. Hank reports that the O*N*E has a new project, although he isn't sure exactly what it is yet, but they can't complete it without the information Bastion put in Havok's head – only he didn't find out what that is, either.
'So you got... absolutely nothing?' Havok asks. 'Yes, well... I didn't expect my rescue to come so soon' Hank replies. Hank tells everyone that, either way, General Callahan is grasping at straws. 'Whatever they're working on is nowhere near complete -' he begins, when suddenly, there is a loud THOOOOM. 'Or maybe it is' Hank mumbles as a large Sentinel which introduces itself as Sentinel 1138 blasts into the lab and reports that it has found the intruders. Dazzler throws some light powers towards the Sentinel while asking Alex if he has a way out of here. 'Yeah, but it's through them' Havok replies as energy surrounds him while more Sentinels move into the lab. Colossus tells Warpath that he thinks it is time for a Fastball Special. He picks Warpath up, 'Wait! Colossus, you don't have to -' Warpath begins, but Colossus doesn't stop, he hurls Warpath towards the Sentinel, while Warpath pulls two large knives out and mutters 'I already fly, you drunk Russian idiot' as he moves towards the Sentinel's head.
'Gotta say, you picked a bad company to work for here, Hank' Havok remarks as he starts to release the powerful energy towards the Sentinels. 'I wasn't working for them' Hank replies, holding up a small remote, he reports that he was working on this. Hank explains that it uses repeating pattern long-wave radio frequencies to trigger the bio-circuitry he put in Banshee in order to override his neural pathways with basic binary modality focused on finding the source. 'Pretend you're talking to a normal person' Havok asks as he continues to pour the energy onwards at the Sentinels. Hank reveals that he made this thing to make Banshee come rescue them. 'Didn't you think that I'd come rescue you?' Havok asks, before telling Hank not to answer that, and instructing him to hit it and use the Banshee thing.
Havok's plasma blast takes the head off one of the Sentinels, while he points out that the device didn't work. 'Where is he?' Havok asks. Beast hangs his head and tells Havok that it isn't a teleporter, that it might take him time to get here. As Warpath assaults a Sentinel, Dazzler blasts some more light at her opponent and tells the others that these new Sentinels feel a lot like the old ones. Beast leaps onto one of the Sentinels and explains that whatever Bastion designed has not been implemented. He adds that Callahan couldn't get access to the missing piece, which they will make sure stays locked away in Alex's head forever. 'Yup. Totally. For sure...' Havok replies as he fires another blast. 'Alex? What aren't you telling me?' Hank demands as he rips a Sentinel open. 'Nothing... except I might have let the Reavers take that stuff out of my head' Havok admits, shielding himself as a Sentinel blasts the area around him.
'Fall back!' Dazzler shouts as more blasts are fired at them. Havok tells the Beast that he had to, that it was the only way they could track down where they were all being held. 'What about the radio in Pierce's head?' Beast enquires as he and the others run from the blasts. 'I guess they forgot to mention that to me?' Alex mutters, before telling Beast that it isn't a problem, as the Reavers are their team now, that they are working together. 'And here they come' Havok adds, noticing Skullbuster drop down onto one of the Sentinels. 'They're going to get killed!' someone calls out – but, cables suddenly emerge from Skullbuster's body and connect with the Sentinel. 'What the hell is he doing?' one of the mutants asks. 'Anomaly detected in Sentinel 20-' one of the other Sentinels begins, before the Sentinel Skullbuster conncted to exclaims 'Come get some!' and blasts the other Sentinel at close range.
Other Reavers appear atop more Sentinels now, connecting with them. 'So, that's it? That's Bastion's big plan? A sustem that allows the user to take over AI?' Beast asks Pierce, who reveals that it doesn't just work on AI – it works on any technology, and they don't just take it over, they integrate it and it becomes a part of them. 'It would be terrifying had Callahan been allowed to implement it into his Sentinels' Pierce adds. 'Not much better in the hands of the Reavers now, is it?' Beast mutters. 'Heh' Pierce just laughs, before walking towards the Reaver-Sentinels and congratulating them on their work, he suggets that they see what their new bodies can do. Impressed, the Beast admits that this is pretty cool. 'They're taking the Sentinels? We can't just let the -' Havok starts to say, before calling out to Pierce, telling him that he can't take those, and reminding him that he made a promise. 'A promise? The only promise I remember making was... DEATH TO THE X-MEN!' Pierce shouts, before the Reaver-Sentinels open fire on the mutants!


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Until our Hearts Stop, part 5
'That was so much easier than I thought' a Reaver-Sentinel remarks as several of the behemoths look down at the fallen mutants on the ground – Havok, Beast, Dazzler, Colossus and Warpath. 'This new tech is gonna make us gods' another Reaver-Sentinel boasts, before they blast off away from the facility, 'Before you grant your fellow Reavers godhood, Skullbuster, maybe we can go do a little work?' one of them remarks. But when the Reaver-Sentinels vanish, the real Beast, Dazzler, Warpath, Havok and Colossus step out from the shadows, 'Well...that's an unpleasant sight' the Beast remarks as they look down at their dead selves. 'I have died before. I did not think I would ever have to watch it happen again, though' the shirtless Colossus tells the others. Dazzler stands over the bodies as they suddenly fade away, and Havok tells her that making light versions of them is a hell of a trick, and asks her why she doesn't do that more often. 'Because there suddenly being two of somebody isn't actually that useful, especially if one of them can't do anything. And it's really hard' Dazzler responds. Havok points out that it worked.
The Beast suggests that the Reavers are used to trusting their own eyes more than the Sentinel equipment they are now interfacing with, so even though it wouldn't work on fooling Sentinels, Dazzler was smart enough to realize that the Reavers would fall or it. 'You thought of all that?' Havok smiles. 'Yeah... sure' Dazzler replies, rubbing her head. Havok suggests that since they are all safe they should take this opportunity to run before more federal agents show up. 'Where to now?' Warpath asks. Havok starts to run off and tells the others that he has no idea where they are going, but he is going to get a drink, or 30. 'What do you mean? You're breaking up the team?' Dazzler calls back, before she and the others run after Havok, who tells Dazzler that in case she missed it, they weren't really a team – they were more of a slow-motion train wreck with a light show. He adds that he put them in serious trouble, and adds that he is no leader, but that he also rescued them – so they can call it even and go their separate ways.
'So that is it, Alexander? You are just throwing in the towel?' Colossus asks. 'What do you want, Pete? Maybe we can team up with another group of super villains? Or maybe you'd rather we attack another government facility on our own?' Havok asks. Colossus tells him that there is still work to be done, while the Beast looks at a monitor and reminds Havok that the Reavers took those Sentinels. 'That's the government's mess. They can clean it up' Havok replies.
'About that...' Beast begins, before Havok looks at the monitor and asks why he is looking at this. The Beast informs him that it is a map, tracking where the Reavers have gone. 'Again, why am I looking at this?' Havok repeats. The Beast motions to the red dots on the screen indicating the Sentinels and announces that this is where the X-Men are.
At that moment, in Central Park, New York, specifically the Xavier Institute, where Kitty Pryde shouts over her communicator, trying to contact all available X-Men, she tells them that the Mansion is under attack from a group of Sentinels and they need assistance at the mansion now. Iceman lies unconscious nearby, while one Sentinel fires a blast at Kitty, who phases the blast through her body, and X-23 leaps towards another Sentinel. 'You rang?' a voice calls out to Kitty, who turns to see Havok, Colossus, Dazzler, Warpath and Beast. 'We thought we'd swing by and fix your little problem, Katherine' Havok grins. 'A problem we created' Warpath remarks. 'Warpath... c'mon, man' Havok mutters, adding that they didn't totally create this. 'They were making... ya know what? Doesn't matter. The important thing is, you called for X-Men and the X-Men have arrived' Havok points out. 'You can't call yourselves that!' Kitty screeches at Havok, who runs off into the battle. 'We'll see!' he shouts back as he releases a plasma blast that destroys one of the Sentinels' arm.
'Watch out! He's going to throw that truck!' someone calls out as the one-handed Sentinel reaches for a large truck – only to absorb the truck into his destroyed arm. 'Am I supposed to be scared of a guy with truck arms?' Havok asks. 'Yes! Run!' Dazzler shouts as the Sentinel turns the truck into some sort of weapon and opens fire at them. Havok and Dazzler duck behind some rubble and Havok asks Dazzler if she thinks the Reavers would fall for that fake them trick again. 'Probably not' Dazzler replies. 'Didn't we already kill these guys?' one of the Reaver-Sentinels asks, before a strange screeching sound can be heard. 'What the hell is that noise?' another Reaver-Sentinel enquires, before Banshee appears, using his sonic scream to tear a hole through one of the Reaver-Sentinels which falls to the ground, destroyed. 'Yeah, Banshee' Dazzler grins, making a strange sign with her fingers.
Havok fires another surge of plasma at the Reaver-Sentinels and tells the Beast that his dumb Banshee thingy worked. 'Glad to have you back, Banshee' Warpath calls out as Banshee drops down near him, but says nothing. 'Now if you could keep fighting, that'd be great' Warpath suggests to Banshee, while one of the Reavers suddenly emerges from a fallen Sentinel, 'Wanna destroy my new body? I'll destroy yours!' the Reaver shouts as it extends some cables around Banshee's ankles, causing Banshee to scream. 'Get off him!' Warpath declares as he rushes over and punches the Reaver in the face. Havok tells the Beast that Banshee is freaking out, and asks him what is wrong with him. The Beast speculates that the Reaver may have hijacked the nanotech he put in Banshee's body. 'So what does that mean?' Havok asks, but the Beast tells him that he has no idea, while Banshee clutches his head.
'Are you kidding?' Havok asks, releasing more plasma energy at the Reaver-Sentinels, to which the Beast tells him that if he knows of any research papers on the effects of adaptive AI takeover on nanotechnology used to siphon energy from evil viruses that are affecting the undead, then to let him know. 'But we're basically in uncharted waters, maybe -' the Beast begins, before he is knocked backwards by one of Banshee's sonic screams. Colossus rushes over and grabs Banshee, telling him that it is time to calm down. Colossus places his organic-steel hands over Banshee's mouth and informs the others that he isn't sure how much longer he can hold Banshee. 'I fear I will lose my hands or his head will explode soon' Colossus remarks, while Havok announces that he isn't sure how much longer they can keep these guys back either. 'This is bad' he adds, before Dazzler goes over to Colossus and tells him to let Banshee go. 'Alison, I do not think -' Banshee begins, but Dazzler tells him to just do it.
Dazzler stands barely a foot away from Banshee, who continues to release his sonic scream. Dazzler glows with light energy, while Havok watches, 'He's gonna kill her! Pete, stop him!' Havok calls out, but Dazzler grits her teeth and boasts that she can take it – and an instantr later, Banshee stops screaming. 'Sorry 'bout all that' he remarks, sweat pouring down his face. 'I feel so weird right now...' Dazzler tells the others, glowing with all the energy she absorbed from Banshee's sonic scream. 'They sent all the retired X-Men to stop us' one of the Reaver-Sentinels jokes. 'Twenty dollars to whover kills the bootleg Kesha' another Reaver-Sentinel remarks, looking at Dazzler. In spectacular display, Dazzler suddenly releases the energy in brilliant shades of purple, green, pink, yellow and blue lights, which tear through the Reaver-Sentinels, reducing them to scrap metal as they crash to the ground. 'Bootleg that...' Dazzler utters as she drops to her knees.
'The Sentinels are down, make sure the Reavers don't slip away' Havok calls out as he rushes over to Dazzler, remarking that it is at times like this he tries to imagine what Cyclops or Storm or the Professor would say. 'Holy %&*#&$% $#%&, Ali!' Havok shouts, while Dazzler declares that everyone is always underestimating her. 'You forget that I absorb sound for my powers?' she asks. 'No. I've just never seen you do that' Havok replies, asking Dazzler how it felt, while the Beast pushes away part of the Sentinel scraps and finds the Reaver called Pretty Boy. 'It hurts like a #&!^%' Dazzler responds.
Colossus has found another Reaver and announces that he thinks that is the last of them. 'Nice work' Kitty tells him, adding that she is glad he came back, and that he looks good. 'Katya, I...' Colossus begins, to which Kitty tells him that she has been meaning to talk to him, that she has so much she wants to say. 'I know now we were nothing but lovers. All that we ever had to say was said long ago' Colossus tells Kitty, before walking away from her.
The Beast looks over at Kitty and tells her that he is sorry. He then quotes “Scars have the strange power to remind us that our past is real”. Kitty looks at the Beast and tells him that she doesn't think when Cormac McCarthy wrote that he understood how many scars they would get in their line of work. 'I don't know. He's pretty smart' the Beast tells Kitty, who asks him if he is ready to get some new scars here.
'Alas, if this week taught me anything, it's that being an X-Man is a young man's game. And I am anything but' the Beast replies. Kitty tells Hank that there can be no part-timing here, for with Cable dead, Rogue and Gambit off in space and no idea where the New Mutants went, they are a bit beyond checking IDs at the door. The Beast informs Kitty that he did losehis job and he needs a lab to continue his work on Banshee. Banshee speaks coherently for the first time, as he tells the Beast that he is going to pass on that – he isn't going back on ice again. The Beast points out that Apocalypse's Death Seed is still inside him, to which Banshee acknowledges that and tells the Beast that he will have to learn how to live with that, or not, but that he has been doing neither. Sean tells Hank that he appreciates everything he did for him, but that it is time to let nature run her course, and he would like to see if the wind will still have him, he then streaks off into the sky, sonic scream resonating around him.
'Good luck, Sean' Alex remarks as he and Ali sit on a patch of grass nearby. Ali asks Alex if he has any regrets, to which Alex smiles and jokes that he wished he had said “I just flew in from the factory and boy are my arms tires” to that one Sentinel with the truck arm. Ali tells Alex that it is stuff like this that makes no one take him seriously. 'That and the whole “I'm a bad guy now” phase' Alex adds. He remarks that he may not be the leader anyone wants, but that sometimes he worries they will all just break if they don't make jokes about this stuff, so he thinks it is better to let everyone laugh at him. 'Than end up like Scott?' Ali asks. 'I don't think he ever smiled toward the end' Alex informs Ali, who puts her hand on Alex's and tells him that Scott would be proud of him.
'Probably not... but that's okay' Alex replies, before asking Ali what she is going to do now, as he thinks they can agree his little experiment has come to a catastrophic end. Ali points out that Kitty isn't exactly knocking down her door to come back to the X-Men, and her tour is definitely cancelled. 'Which is fine, because the new record sucks... so I have no idea what to do now' she adds. Alex asks Ali if she wants his advice, but Ali tells him that she was hoping for somebody less screwed up than she, but sure. Alex tells her to stop looking for validation from others. 'You're the damn Dazzler. Go save the world and look good doing it' he tells declares. Ali smiles at him and suggests he take his own advice. Kitty suddenly appears and apologizes for interrupting as she informs them that there are twenty ONE trucks pulling up, and she is pretty sure they aren't going to be happy to see the two of them. Alex tells Kitty that he knows she doesn't want to hear this – but he needs a favor.
'It was kind of Katya to lend us a Blackbird, but I do not like to run' the still shirtless Colossus remarks as he, Beast, Havok and Dazzler head towards a Blackbird jet. The Beast points out that they are wanted people, so if they are caught on school grounds it will prove disastrous for the Xavier Institute. Havok and Dazzler drop back from the others, 'Pssst, Ali' Havok whispers. Colossus and Beast take their seats in the front of the jet and Colossus asks if they are fugitives now, to which the Beast tells him that he prefers to think of them as extra-legal entities. 'But if fugitives is what you'd prefer...' his voice trails off. Colossus remarks that Callahan will never stop coming for them, and the Beast agrees. 'We gotta go. Now' Ali announces as she and Havok enter the jet.
Outside, General Callahan motions to the fallen Sentinel parts and announces that he wants it all back at the new facility within the hour, adding that they need to make sure that the amateur reporters and Johnny Youtubers don't have anything to post. 'Hey! This is private property!' Kitty Pryde calls out as she walks over to Callahan. 'And this is stolen government property' Callahan remarks, before introducing himself as General Robert Callahan, in charge of the Office of National Emergency. 'We're a governmental -' he begins, but Kitty interrupts him, informing him that she knows who he is, and that the X-Men had a relationship with Valerie Cooper when she ran the ONE – something he has not attempted since this administration quietly revived the department. 'And that still doesn't give you jurisdiction to just barge in here' Kitty adds. 'That's where you're mistaken. Can I call you Kitty?' Callahan replies. 'No' Kitty tells him.
With his ONE soldiers nearby, Callahan motions to the mansion and informs Kitty that they have reason to believe she is harboring half a dozen known terrorists in there, which is all the jurisdiction he needs. 'You're about to enter a whole world of trouble, Kitty. I -' Callahan begins, before the door is blasted open with a surge of plasma energy and Callahan is knocked off his feet. 'General Callahan. You looking for me?' Havok smiles.
As the Blackbird takes off, Havok fires another plasma surge at the ONE soldiers. 'What is happening down there? Alex, how are you both...' Colossus asks, when suddenly, the Havok sitting next to Dazzler fades away – her light construct ends. 'Alison! What did you do?' the Beast asks. Dazzler reminds Beast that he said it himself – if they were caught, it would be disastrous, and Alex knew that he wouldn't leave him if he did his big hero thing – he knew this was the only way that they walk away from this. 'Almost all of us. Dammit, Alison' the Beast mutters.
Down below, Havok looks up at the Blackbird as it vanishes from sight. He then raises his hands and suggests to Callahan that they make a deal. 'You admit it was just me with the Reavers that attacked your base and leave the X-Men alone. In exchange, I surrender peacefully...' Havok proposes, adding that he won't release all the tapes he made of Callahan's illegal experiments on mutants, kidnapping and killing the Reavers and the attack that Callahan led that destroyed an apartment block downtown. 'That's it? I get you right now?' Callahan asks, frowning.
'That's it. But if you ever go after my team or the X-Men again, I promise you your face will be on the front page of every newspaper in the country...' Havok warns Callahan, who replies 'Deal' and instructs his soldiers to cuff Havok. Kitty quietly tells Alex that if he really has those tapes they can use them to clear his name, and asks him where they are. 'Yeah… I might have been bluffing. Shhh' Havok grins.
Kitty tells Alex not to worry, that she will get him out, as the X-Men won't abandon their own. 'I knew you'd eventually admit we were X-Men!' Havok calls out to Kitty as he is led into a wagon where the remaining Reavers are being held.
Havok thinks to himself that every story needs its big heroes, and its scary monsters and decides that he is not scared of the things that scare other people, he assumed that was because he was the hero. The only thing that ever scared him was the nagging thought that maybe he wasn't. He also thought he was going to be an X-Man until his dying breath, until his heart stops – but he finally gets it. Eventually someone has to be the monster so the real heroes can do their thing – and he isn't scared to play his part anymore. 'Good luck, X-Men. Now go save the world' Alex thinks to himself.
Kitty folds her arms and declares that she knew something like this was going to happen – she adds that she tried to keep Havok away, but he is his own worst enemy. She remarks that if Havok gets out, they need to keep him as far from the X-Men as possible – for his own good, as Alex Summers is no leader. Nearby, Warpath watches and declares that if Havok gets out, he will follow him wherever he leads.


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1st story:
Agent X-13’s report on the emergency annexation of Earth-616:
A gray-haired man, with buzzcut hair and a cadaverous face sits in a chair, obviously being interrogated. He’s the man the X-men only knew as Subject X. He is not a soldier he begins; he does not have a military mindset. What was done, was done in haste, and done according to the intelligence directorate protectorate rather than military strategy.
Agent X-13’s narration accompanied by pictures:
The brief military indoctrination he received had instructed him, in case of intervention by 616’s surviving “X-Men,” that he enable their Logan first. But when he was attacked by Wolverine, he decided differently. Had he clung to that, he would most certainly be dead now, he decides. His instincts told him that heir Scott Summers was by far the most dangerous.
So Agent X attacked Wolverine with his pyrokinesis, for long enough for him to be able to flee and hide. He hid in the vessel waiting until the X-Men group led by Cyclops entered the ship. He used his pyrokinetic powers to instantly kill Cyclops who was in the lead.
And they fell apart when he removed Summers. This gave him time to engage the Ghost Box.
Protocol states that an inert Ghost Box and a dead agent are preferable to an alive Ghost Box and a threatened agent. An inert Ghost Box is just a puzzle. A live one is a homeworld security breach. In this situation, protocol obtains that the Ghost Box must be switched to a site safeguard cage. He did so and three Deathlok class security units were therefore deployed to the scene.
Sentinel-like beings emerged from the Ghost Box, one of them seemingly powered by a captured Magneto in it.
Seeing the still-burning Logan, Magneto uttered a guttural scream of rage and the unit smashed him through the wall into the next one, passing the three female X-Men. Next, the force of magnetism hurled the three women forcefully to the ground of Chaparanga, with only Armor surviving the impact.
present
Agent X relates that by this point, of course, he was already back home being processed through the security cage. So, while it can be said, in theory that he approved the securing of the site… he made no decision on the annexation. In fact, if the military directorate hadn’t insisted on Deathlok-class units which can make a decision on annexation autonomously… Well, to be honest, it did make their mission a lot easier in the end.
Agent X’s narration:
Armor tried to wake up Emma Frost, not realizing, she was already dead. The girl didn’t know what to do as Sentinels spread. Indonesia was secured within the hour. The Southern hemisphere before nightfall. The northern hemisphere was always going to be the more difficult problem. But, as Agent X’s team and he had already established: lots of enhanciles, lots of freaks, but very few full-powered mutants. There were the expected nuclear exchanges on the second day. In some way that too made the annexation easier.
present:
His intent? His intent was simply to complete the mission. In fact, he is on record as preferring Earth-889 as an annexation target, as they’re a pre-digital culture.
Anyway, he gets up, they know the rest. Earth-616 was annexed by the weekend and processing has begun. All of which is outside his purview as a field agent. He acted inside protocol at all times and everything worked out for the best.
Does he know the final death toll? Agent X-13 is asked. They kill him, do they know that? he retorts. There is no final death toll, not in an annexation. No when local breeding pairs can hide and resistance movements can hole up in bunkers. They’ll be killing people on that world without mutants for years to come. Not his problem. He is just a field agent. With that he leaves.
2nd story:
Being a Journal by Miss Emma Frost of New Portsmouth Bay in the State of New Albion.
A lushly decorated room. Emma Frost sits on a chaise lounge, reading a book. She is dressed in white, as usual, with long gloves and boots and bodice and a highly slit long white skirt.
On the face of a clock, a screen lights up and a voice announces there is an audiovisual call from the New Portsmouth Police department. Emma sighs. Another perfect day ruined. She accepts the call. The face of a man with a bowler hat appears on the screen. The redoubtable Inspector Slipper, Emma greets him. How can she be of service? The man regrets he must request their immediate presence at the junction of Cressing and Witham Street. They have a conundrum.
She has her own conundrum, Emma notes in her journal. Scott continues to speak of marriage. Her society acquaintances and other enemies believe her to be quite mad. Scott Summers, they never fail to remind Emma, is the most famous adventurer in the civilized world.
A steam-powered flying carrier rises from the beautiful mansion.
If she were to marry beneath herself, Emma writes, her ancestors would rise from their salted graves to pluck out her eyes. And other cosmetic enhancements.
Within the pilot, Scott addresses Emma. She cuts him off. She is greatly enjoying her bohemian years, and really has no burning wish to exchange them for whatever horrifyingly dull notion of matrimonial bliss squats in his simple mind. The carrier lands.
Emma notes that Scott comes from a poor family. And that is all that can be said. She abhors such tedious scandal. Why can he not simply allow her to enjoy her bohemian years, and by extension, those parts of him she continues to find amusing?
The X Society leave the carrier, Emma, dressed in her white ensemble with the addition of a white fur-trimmed cloak. Scott dressed in a practical flying suit, Beast, dressed in a three piece suit (but without shoes) and Logan, dressed in worker’s clothes: Jeans, shirt, a vest and flight goggles.
Inspector Slipper leads them inside a tent, explaining the murderer was disturbed by some Chinese workers, but not before he did… this. Surprised and disgusted they look at a floating, burning corpse. Slipper continues they don’t know how to put him out and they don’t know where the perpetrator is. The situation is an hour old, give or take.
Emma asks Dr McCoy about his impressions. Clearly the work of Homo mutandis, comes the instant reply. From the Latin, he explains to the inspector. Literally, “the changed man.”
Logan crouches in a corner. Emma, coolly remarks she believes they have spoken about his behavior in public. Can’t help it, he replies. There’s a wrong stink round these parts, ‘round… he leaves the tent and points to an abandoned bag. Emma asks Scott to take the bag. She sees a journal in there. And don’t let Logan touch it! His paws are always filthy.
Logan figures the killer wanted to take this guy’s gear, but had to dump it when he got himself spotted by the Chinee.
A fine assessment Emma agrees, as she browses the journal and finds something interesting. She would suggest that the dead man was following his own killer! He even has records of the killer’s somewhat extensive travel plans. He was routing through New Portsmouth. He leaves on the noon airship from Sir Francis Drake Aerodrome.
Scott smirks. It’s twenty to twelve now. Given an hour since, the killer might just make final boarding. Slipper admits his fastest police vehicle couldn’t make the journey to the aerodrome in less than forty minutes. It’s true, it couldn’t, Scott agrees. However, he called the X Society. They’ve got something better.
And soon the X Society’s ship flies towards the dirigible where Subject X is among those entering. Stuck in the queue, Subject X swears he should have listened to them, but no, he had to argue for Earth –889. Pre-digital culture, he said. Easy, he said. Nothing goes over sixty miles an hour, he said. Except that! He refers to the X Society’s vessel.
Inside, Emma commends Scott on his aviation, promising a delicious reward. Could Henry please assist Mister Logan with his trajectory calculations? Hanging outside the ship, Logan complains he doesn’t even know who to hit. Henry suggests he aim at the person who starts setting things on fire. With that, he drops Logan who thanks him.
Agent X takes away another passenger’s attaché, sets fire to it and tosses it at Logan. Logan deflects the burning object which touches the dirigible which he just scratched.
What follows next is a disaster as the airship goes up in flames, with Logan the only survivor.
As Emma notes in her journal, the X Society receives the blame for this disaster and this seems to be the point an entire panoply of cowards were waiting for. Suddenly, they are no longer adventurers and admired amateurs in their fields of expertise, but “freaks” and “sports of nature.” Almost overnight they become hated and feared. On Telegraphy Hill now, there stand mechanical men optimistically termed Sentinels, their great guns trained on Emma’s house. Their government’s response to the scandal: House arrest and a permanent clockward firing squad.
Emma muses that she tires of West Coast living and feels that she may decamp to Europe in the near future. Perhaps she’ll allow Scott to marry her after all. In Europe, a woman of talent and means can both be married and continue her Bohemian years without scandal. Scandal does take rather the joy from life.