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Provide a full summary of the comic book.

[Assistant]
City of Lost Children
The rain beats down in the dead of night. In a farm shed, two children are hiding. ‘Are you gonna let me see it, Johnny?’ a girl asks. ‘Uh - yeah, Mary…um…’ Johnny replies nervously. ‘Come on, you show me your and I’ll show you mine…’ Mary urges him. ‘Ok…here goes’ Johnny replies, before snapping his fingers. Mary asks him what he is doing, to which Johnny replies that he is snapping his fingers. When Mary asks him why, he tells her that is how it works. Mary sighs while Johnny continues to snap his fingers. Suddenly, ‘There! Did you see that?’ Johnny asks. ‘See what?’ Mary replies. ‘That! I did it!’ Johnny exclaims. ‘Did what, Johnny?’ Mary asks. Johnny snaps his fingers again: ‘That’ he declares, wide-eyed as he and a wide-eyed Mary look at the flame surrounding Johnny’s hand.
Imagine a place where certain things happen a lot more often than other things. Imagine what it would be like if you started…changing…you’d feel it bubbling up, from the inside out…power. Maybe you could fly…or walk through walls…or race the speed of light! Imagine…who wouldn’t want to fly?.
The town of “Almost Reno”, New Mexico, one week later. A POLICE DO NOT CROSS barricade surrounds an area of desert, while Police officers and Medics stand over a body, covered by a sheet. One of them remarks that they are thinking the body has been here a day, maybe two. ‘Good thing the buzzards like it rare’ one of them jokes. ‘That ain’t funny’ another tells him. One of them suggests to the Sheriff that this one might be different. ‘It’s been almost, what? Two - three months since the last time?’ The Sheriff replies ‘You know it ain’t like that’, while another officer declares ‘Godless freaks. Like this town ain’t -’, before he is interrupted by two men in black suits.
‘We thank you and your men for your assistance, Sheriff Hollister’ the smaller man remarks. ‘SHIELD can handle this from here’ the larger man declares as they approach the body covered by the sheet - all except for one hand engulfed, still engulfed by flame.
Imagine a place where all this “changing” happens a lot more than other places. Imagine the feeling, if the power just started coursing through you. Now imagine if it didn’t stop.
In a nearby diner, ‘This place blows. I mean…of all the places she could’a made a wrong turn into…’ Tabitha “Meltdown” Smith complains, before she gets told that she is making a scene, by Danielle Moonstar, who is reading a newspaper, which includes an article about the newly discovered body of Johnny. An older man carrying a cane grumbles as he walks past the table where Tabitha, Danielle, James “Warpath” Proudstar and Bobby “Sunspot” DaCosta are sitting, while others in the diner give them strange looks. Warpath tells Tabby that Theresa is doing the best she can. ‘Maybe if you weren’t being so difficult, she wouldn’t be having such a hard time’ he adds, sticking up for his best friend.
Sunspot asks Dani what she is reading, to which Danielle replies that it is a story in the paper: “Police aren’t commenting on the unexplained nature of the boy’s death, but the victim, recently identified as Jonathan McFee, was said to have run away from home three days ago…”. Meltdown declares that there is a lot of sickos in this town. ‘And trust me, nobody’s staring cause I’m talking loud’ she adds. Moonstar goes wide eyed as she announces that the boy burned. ‘Don’t you mean he was burned?’ James asks. While some men at the diner counter turn their heads to listen to the teenagers, Danielle exclaims that it isn’t clear, and she can’t tell.
DanI continues to tell her X-Force teammates about the newspaper article, revealing that “Almost Reno” Police are calling McFee’s death an isolated incident, despite being the fifth mysterious child death in three years. ‘That sounds like a cue to me!’ Tabitha declares. ‘Somebody ask why way’s Vegas so we can get out of here, okay?’. A local cop watches the teenagers intently, while an elderly woman approaches them, remarking that it is such a shame what happened to the poor boy. ‘So young…it just ain’t right’ she remarks, before the Police officer addresses her as Millie and interrupts her as he approaches the teens, telling them that this is a quiet town with good, hardworking folk, who like it that way.
He tells the teens that there are plenty of fine roads that run through here leading to all sorts of other places, most of which young people like they will find much more interesting. ‘Am I making myself clear?’ he asks. ’Uh…sure…’ Moonstar replies, before the cop remarks ’Good’ and bids them all a nice day. Sunspot tells his friends that he will meet them outside, and makes his way to the men’s room, remarking ’I’m gonna check out the “little wranglers” room. God help me…’ as he pushes the door open, seemingly unaware that the two gruff men at the diner counter are watching him as he enters the men’s room.
Around back, a fearless leader - Theresa “Siryn” Rourke Cassidy - contemplates her next move, sitting in the front of X-Force’s red car, with a map spread out across the front seats. ‘What have you done now?’ Theresa asks herself. ‘Back on the road, the team all together…waiting so patiently for a little leadership. And what do I give them? A bloody wrong turn!’ she thinks to herself, deciding that the army surplus map they brought is not any help. ‘Is this upside down?’ she wonders.
‘So, how’s it going out here?’ James asks his best friend as he gets into the front seat beside her. ‘Uh - great! Yeah…’ Theresa replies, claiming that she was just figuring out their next move, before asking him if he brought her anything to eat. James replies that Tabitha has it, and as Tabby gets into the front seat on the other side of Siryn, she repeats what the cop was saying: “This here’s a quiet town with hardworking folk who like it that way” she mutters. ‘Less talk, more driving…what do you say?’ she asks. Siryn reaches out from under the large map, ‘I say just give me a sec, ok? I’m starving’ Theresa exclaims, while James tells Meltdown to relax. ‘This is interesting…’ Dani remarks from the backseat, still reading the newspaper, while Tabitha tells Siryn not to stop looking at the map.
Inside the unclean men‘s room, Sunspot is ready to wash his hands, but finds the towel holder empty. ‘Figures. Why would these people need towels? They probably don’t even wash their hands!’ he exclaims, before telling himself that he is special, and ready for any situation. ‘If only my shoes could do the same for this puddle on the floor. Just think water…of course it’s water…’ he tells himself while he uses his powers to heat his hands up, drying them. Suddenly, the two gruff men enter the men’s room. ‘Excuse us, son…but we was just wondering how long you was gonna be in here? You see, Rodney here needs to use the facilities a bit. Ain’t that right, Rodney?’ the smaller man declares. ‘This is my bathroom’ the larger man, Rodney, remarks. ‘Madre de dios!’ Sunspot exclaims.
Back outside, John motions to something on the map and remarks that it looks like some sort of military restricted area. Siryn replies that it must have been some sort of cold war nuclear testing site or something, and adds that the map has to be fifty years old. ‘Did you just say “restricted area”?’ Dani asks, looking up from the newspaper. ‘Get me outta here!’ Sunspot exclaims as he makes his way towards the car. ‘I’m just in the bathroom, right? And these - these guys…they just barge in and start threatening me!’. While Dani asks how far off the restricted area is, James asks what the guys said, to which Bobby replies ‘The usual stuff. You know - this is their place. They don’t like my kind. I mean, which kind are they talking about? My Latino kind? Man, they don’t even know the half of -’.
Bobby gets interrupted by Moonstar, who puts a finger over Bobby’s mouth, and tells everyone to listen to her. ‘There’s something going on here. That kid was found out near those old test sites. I think we should check it out’ she declares. ‘Rev up the Mystery Machine’ Meltdown jokes, referencing the Scooby-Doo cartoons, while Theresa pulls a face and shakes a fist at Meltdown. ‘I can hear you, Tabitha’ she mutters as James drives his friends away. There comes a point after a while out on the road when the grind starts to get to you. For the young group of mutants known as X-Force, that point is getting closer and closer.
Elsewhere, in a doctor’s office, Mary sits in a room, hunched against a wall, she listens to her mother and the doctor conversing in the room next door. ‘She gets these - these headaches, sometimes…doctor, are you sure? There isn’t’ anything -’ Mary’s mother begins, but the doctor interrupts her, and addressing her as Kay, tells her that he doesn’t know the answers. ‘I told you, it’s like I’ve seen it before…in the others’ he adds. ‘NO! My little girl isn’t like the others!’ Kay gasps.
Imagine if you just started hearing things people didn’t mean for you to hear…if your mind was suddenly opened…and suddenly you knew everything they were thinking…about you. Mary looks sideways, while the doctor tells Kay that he didn’t say that, and assures her that they will keep an eye on her and everything will be just fine. ‘Oh my God…she’s just like the others! My little girl is going to die!’ Kay thinks to herself - which is picked up by the telepathic Mary, who goes wide eyed. Moments later, the doctor opens the door to the other room: ‘Now, let’s just see - er -’ he begins, but finds the room empty, and a window open, with instruments on the bench below the window knocked over, as if someone knocked them over while climbing out. ‘Mary?’ Kay calls out, but gets no answer.
Later, X-Force arrive at the cordoned off area of the desert, and Moonstar rips the DO NOT CROSS tape down so she can pass. ‘This is it, obviously’ Warpath remarks, while Siryn asks Dani what she is thinking. Dani replies that she isn’t sure yet, but that she has a feeling there is more to “Almost Reno” than quiet, hardworking folk. Siryn looks at Warpath, before the trio move onto the restricted area and begin to search the desert ground for clues.
‘Did they come for you? Were you scared? I can hear voices, now. In my mind…and it hurts a little, sometimes’ Mary thinks to herself as she watches the young heroes from behind some rocks. ‘Look at this!’ Danielle calls out as she finds something. ‘I can hear what they’re thinking. It’s so loud, sometimes’ Mary tells herself, while Dani announces that the earth is scorched. She points out that the newspaper made it sound like the kid was dumped here, but this is where he burned. ‘Something happened to this kid. The Police know it. They have to. But no one’s saying a word…’ Dani adds. Suddenly, James moans, and Dani asks him what it is. James replies that he doesn’t know, but it is like a tingling, ‘Don’t you feel it? It’s in my…’ he begins, before screaming and clutching his head. ‘I’m not going to let them take me, Johnny. I’m not…’ Mary thinks.
Meanwhile, in the Almost Reno public library, ‘This really blows’ Meltdown complains as she sits on a seat in the library, books strewn at her feet, she asks Sunspot how they are supposed to do this, as there are no computers and no microfilms. ‘With these’ Sunspot replies as he drops some more books in front of Meltdown. ‘Oh, man…’ Tabby complains, while Sunspot looks out at the library: ‘Newspapers, reports, public records…this town used to be some sort of big government installation’ he reveals, adding that all sorts of testing went on out in the desert, and it looks like they stopped in the sixties. ‘But then - oh, my God…’ Bobby mutters as he looks at the children in the library. ‘What is it?’ Tabby asks. ‘Mutants, Tab…the kids here…I think they’re all mutants!’ Sunspot exclaims. Sunspot puts his hand to Meltdown’s, who frowns and declares that this is no place to grow up a mutant. ‘Believe me…I know’ she declares, brushing Sunspot’s hand back.
Back at the restricted area, James, Theresa and Dani try to shake off the effects of the psychic attack. Warpath puts his hand on Theresa’s back to check on her, while Mary telepathically speaks to them, ‘Go away. Leave me alone. Please…’ she pleads. ‘Who said that?’ Theresa calls out. ‘Where are you? Why did you attack us? Nobody’s going to hurt you’ Moonstar announces. ‘I don’t believe you’ Mary calls back from behind the rocks. Siryn sits up and James asks her what she is doing. ‘I’ve got an idea’ Theresa replies.
Moments later, Mary lets out an ‘EEEK!’, while Moonstar calls out to Siryn, who is hovering in the air, carrying Mary by the scruff of her neck. ‘Look at what I found! Such a big noise from such a wee lass’ Theresa remarks, ‘Let me go, please!’ Mary exclaims. ‘Oh, sweetheart…ye attacked us!’ Siryn reminds her. Mary asks to be put down, and exclaims that they are going to take her away. ‘Who?’ Danielle asks after Siryn places Mary on the ground. ‘Who’s going to take you away?’ Dani asks. ‘THEM!’ Mary exclaims urgently as she points behind the young heroes.
Several men in dark suits, armed with machine guns stand not too far behind X-Force, and one of them exclaims ‘Danielle Moonstar, step away - we are here for the girl’s own good’. Danielle ducks down behind some rocks, with Mary crouched beside her. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about - but I will shoot you if you don’t back off!’ Dani warns the SHIELD agents as she readies a psionic arrow. ‘Oh, gee…’ Mary exclaims, wide-eyed. ‘You will move away - cease and desist from int -’ one of the SHIELD agents begins, before Dani gets to her feet ‘S said BACK OFF!’ she shouts, her psionic arrow ready. ‘Dani?’ Siryn asks as she hovers behind her, and James stands nearby. ‘ - from interfering in government business. As I recall, your SHIELD affiliation is still active, Miss Moonstar’ the SHIELD officer remarks. ‘Who are you?’ Dani demands, while Mary telepathically exclaims ‘Leave…’.
‘Why…don’t you know a sHIELD agent when you see one?’ the small agent asks. ‘What does a SHIELD agent want with a little g -’ Dani begins to reply, when suddenly, Mary telepathically finishes her sentence: ‘…me…ALONE’ - in a powerful burst that knocks Moonstar, Warpath, Siryn and the SHIELD agents backwards. Moments later, X-Force and the SHIELD agents wake. ‘Ohhh…is she gone?’ Siryn asks, while one of the SHIELD agents suggests that they should talk. ‘O…K…’ Dani agrees.
Soon, at the local Police station, the small SHIELD agent introduces himself as Special Operative Briggs in charge of the “Almost Reno” project. ‘I believe you’ve met Sheriff Hollister’ he adds, before asking the Sheriff to excuse them, and motioning to the door. ‘Son of a -’ the Sheriff mutters as he storms out of his own office. ‘So, she’s a mutant?’ Danielle remarks, shrugging her shoulders. Briggs sits down on the Sheriff’s chair and declares that the “Almost Reno Children” are the result of the town’s accidental atomic exposure a generation ago. He declares that it is a grievous situation, but one that is SHIELD’s to deal with. ’We’re here to look after children like Mary’.  Danielle narrows her eyes as she exclaims ‘Agent Briggs…don’t you mean to “register” them?’
Outside the Police station, Meltdown sits on a bench, while Sunspot leans against the door. ‘The government makes a mess, exposing these people to nuclear testing - the kids grow up freaks because of it - most of them die - and SHIELD keeps it a secret?’ Meltdown exclaims, unimpressed. ‘So what do you want to do about it?’ Bobby asks her. ‘What do you mean?’ Tabby replies. Bobby tells her that she always does whatever she wants to - that an idea gets in her head and no one can change her mind. ‘So…what do you want to do about it…?’ he asks her again. Tabitha replies that when she was a little girl she used to pray for school to let our early. ‘The other kids, Bobby…they were -’ she stops herself, before remarking that she would go home and her father would be waiting for her. ‘And I’d pray for school to start again’. Meltdown hugs herself, before she starts to walk away, telling Bobby that she is sorry she is such a handful. ‘Tab…?’ Sunspot calls out. ‘You coming?’ Meltdown asks him.
At a nearby school playground, children go about playing on the equipment, while Mary sits on a swing, thinking to herself that she hates recess. ‘All the other kids like recess, but I hate it’. She tells herself that it used to be ok, when Johnny was still alive. Mary realizes that the other kids think she cannot hear them - making jokes - ‘Well, some of them do, but I don’t think they care very much that I can’. Mary hangs her head as she tells herself that there is something about the air here - and the dirt, and the water - that makes them - ‘Johnny and me - special. That’s what my mom says’.
Meltdown approaches Mary, who is still on the swing. Tabitha knows what it is like to grow up like Mary. A mutant, she remembers the loneliness and the teasing. She goes over what she plans to say a hundred times as she approaches the young girl. She only hopes - ‘I can hear you. In my head. I can hear a lot of things now’ Mary exclaims, without turning around. So much for Tabitha’s plan. Instead, Tabitha kneels on the swing next to Mary and remarks ‘Oh…yeah? So, uh… what am I thinking now?’ she asks. ‘Wha - what is that?’ Mary asks, confused.
Standing at the playground fence, Moonstar asks Siryn, Warpath and Sunspot if they see any goons coming. ‘I think we’re on borrowed time here’ she adds. ‘Nothing but Tabitha…’ Sunspot exclaims. Sitting on the swing now, Tabitha explains that she is thinking about things that make her happy. ‘My friends…shopping…boy stuff’ she remarks. ‘Ewwww…that’s gross’ Mary exclaims. ‘Um…forget I thought about that’ Meltdown tells her, which causes Sunspot to frown.
Tabitha tells Mary to believe it or not, but that mutant stuff gets pretty cool when you’re older. With that, she creates several plasma time-bombs and throws them into the air. ‘How - how do you do that?’ Mary exclaims. ‘How can you read my mind?’ Meltdown replies. ‘I miss my friend, Johnny’ Mary whispers. ‘I know you do…’ Tabby tells her. Siryn watches Meltdown deal to Mary, and tells Bobby that she is a pretty special girl.
Suddenly, ‘Oh, no…’ Moonstar exclaims as she motions to the dozen SHIELD agents who have entered the playground, now abandoned by the other children. ‘I really can’t take another headache’ Warpath mutters, while Meltdown suggests that she should get going. But Mary tells her not to worry, as she can handle this. Mary concentrates hard, and suddenly all of the SHIELD agents drop to the ground, moaning and groaning as they clutch their heads and blood streams from their nose. ‘Bloody noses…? Gross…’ Tabitha remarks, as she walks past them.
‘MARY!’ a woman exclaims as she rushes across the playground. ‘Mommy? My head hurts…’ Mary exclaims as she runs towards her mother. ‘I know, sweetie…I know it does…’ Kay replies as she embraces her daughter. Meltdown opens her mind to Mary, telling her that they are going to get out of here. ‘You cool now?’ she asks. Hugging her mother still, Mary winks at Meltdown. ‘My kinda girl’ Meltdown remarks as she joins her teammates, suggesting that someone should tell SHIELD they will skip the escort out of town.
Shortly, in their car, X-Force are on the road again, and Siryn asks Meltdown, who is examining the map, if Mary is all right now. Meltdown replies that she is getting a handle on it. ‘The telepathy, I mean - not the mutant thing’. ‘One never does, Tabitha. One never does…’.


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Provide a full summary of the comic book.

[Assistant]
Burning Desires
Sao Paulo, Brazil, the home of DaCosta International CEO Getuilo Villa-Lobos. ‘I’m not safe here, Commander Salles’ Villa-Lobos remarks in Portuguese to one of the bodyguards in his large office. Commander Salles assures Villa-Lobos that his men are the best at what they do. ‘No one can set foot anywhere on your estate without being detected’ the Commander adds. ‘Tell that to the other Board members. Hauptman was killed in his bath and Mendoza remains in intensive care!’ Villa-Lobos exclaims, declaring that someone has targeted the DaCosta International Board of Directors. Commander Salles asks Villa-Lobos once more to trust his many years of experience, before suddenly calling out to one of his colleagues: ‘Ruiz, behind you!’ he yells as Ruiz is engulfed by energy.
Salles tells everyone to be on alert, exclaiming that they are under attack - but the other bodyguards also vanish in energy. ‘Madon -’ Villa-Lobos gasps before ducking under his desk. ‘Hail Mary full of grace…’ he begins, before a female speaking Portuguese exclaims that they have made their point, and tells Villa-Lobos that there is no place he can hide from them. The woman materializes in the room, introducing herself as Locus, and explains that the interdimensional portals are her all-access pass to the world. ’And this is my boss’ she adds as a male figure appears beside her. Also speaking Portuguese, Locus’ companion tells Villa-Lobos that they don’t wish to kill, and explains that the other Board members resisted.
Locus, now sporting dark hair, adds that they just tucked Villa-Lobos’ two little girls into bed. ‘They’re both darlings…’ Locus remarks, to which Villa-Lobos exclaims ‘Please…for the love of God…leave my family out of this…I’ll give you anything you want!’. Locus leans on his desk and declares ‘That’s what I like to hear’, while Villa-Lobos crawls out from under his desk, while Locus’ companion announces that he wants control of DaCosta International. ‘From now on you follow my orders’ he tells Villa-Lobos. Villa-Lobos asks them why they are doing this. ‘You know you inherit controlling stock when you’re twenty-five!’ he exclaims. ‘And the last time we spoke you told me you didn’t want to run the company!’ Villa-Lobos adds.
The mysterious man tells Villa-Lobos that he is making the same mistake that so many others have made. ‘I’m not Roberto DaCosta - but soon everything that belonged to him will be mine!’ Reignfire exclaims, grinning as he uses his powers on Villa-Lobos.
(In Meltdown’s dream)
The Gary Singer Show is in about to start, and Gary Singer welcomes everyone, announcing that today’s guest is Tabitha, who is here to telkl her old boyfriend Sam that he is history. ‘Sam, you know how much you mean to me, but we hardly see each other since you went back to school…and…well…I’ve sorta…kinda…started seeing someone else’. Tabitha reveals on stage to Sam, who, dressed in overalls and a farmers hat, replies that he cannot believe she is doing this to him on nation TV. Gary Singer stands between them both and tells Sam that he knows he must be hurting, but what he has to say is only going to make it worse: ‘You know Tabitha’s new flame’.
‘Ah do?’ Sam gasps, before Gary exclaims ‘Let’s bring out Roberto!’. Bobby enters the studio set, carrying a bunch of flowers, and dressed quite snazzily. ‘Bobby? Muh best girl and muh best friend?’ Sam exclaims. Bobby tells Sam to take a walk, as Tabitha is with him now. ‘She needs a real man!’ Bobby exclaims, which causes Sam to blast towards Bobby, knocking him over the crowd. Bobby powers-up and the fight over the crowd, while Gary Singer declares that there is no way he is getting in between that, before asking Tabitha if there is anything she would like to say to Bobby and Sam now that she has destroyed their friendship? Huddled on the stage, Tabitha exclaims ‘Stop it…please…I never meant for this to happen…this is all a bad…’
(Reality)
‘Dream’ Tabitha “Meltdown” Smith realizes as she wakes up in a sleeping bag, on the floor, lying next to Bobby “Sunspot” DaCosta. ‘Whew…that was way too vivid for me’ Tabitha tells herself, deciding that there is to be no more watching late night reruns of daytime TV before she goes to bed. Late last night, Bobby and Tabitha, along with the rest of their X-Force teammates arrived at the house of an old friend, in Boulder, Colorado.
X-Force Fun Fact: While many super hero groups are funded by the Government or wealthy patrons, the members of X-Force refuse to sell out. Consequently, they’re broke.

Meltdown turns to Bobby, ‘Look at Bobby, lost in sleep, not a care in the world…guess the fact that Sam Guthrie hates us isn’t keeping him up at night’ Tabitha tells herself as she calls Bobby a jerk and elbows him in the back, but Bobby doesn’t wake up. Tabitha tells herself that she should have known better than to get involved with another one of her teammates - a lesson she should have learned after Rictor and Cannonball. ‘Then again, Bobby is awfully cute…’ Tabby tells herself, before touching Bobby and deciding that she will never get back to sleep now, so she tells the sleeping Bobby that she is going to get in the shower. Bobby just grumbles something indecipherable back.
‘As soon as I can get my morning jolt’ Tabitha adds as she enters the kitchen, asking James “Warpath” Proudstar, who sits at the kitchen table eating breakfast, if he has any idea where the coffee is kept. James replies that he doesn’t have a clue, before telling Tabitha that she should really try to cut down on the caffeine. ‘We can’t all be as health conscious as you’ Tabitha replies.
X-Force Fun Fact: James Proudstar’s breakfast consists of whole grain cereal, fruit and non-fat milk.
Suddenly, Sally “Skids” Blevins enters! ‘Coffee’s on the top shelf’ Sally tells her long-time friend, adding ‘Same old Tabitha’. ‘You’re up early, Skids. College life suits you, huh?’ Meltdown replies as she reaches for the coffee, to which Sally, wearing jeans, a green sweeter and a baseball cap which covers her now rather long blonde hair, replies that she had an eight o’clock chemistry midterm, before telling Tabitha that she doesn’t go by “Skids” anymore. ‘It’s just Sally’ she declares.
X-Force Fun Fact: Sally “Skids” Blevins is currently majoring in bio-science. Her GPA is a respectable 3.8.
Tabitha tells Sally that she can respect that, ‘You know I changed my codename to Meltdown. No one takes anyone named Boomer seriously’ she jokes. Sally frowns and replies ‘you don’t understand. I don’t have a codename anymore. I don’t want one. That part of my life is over. I’m a student. Period. I don’t even use my mutant powers anymore!’ A gape-jawed Tabitha exclaims ‘That’s crazy, right ,James?’, but Warpath tells her to leave him out of this. Meltdown creates a small plasma time bomb as she tells Sally that the coolest thing about being a mutant is doing things that practically nobody else in the world can do. ‘Like fly to work or move furniture telekinetically, or make your own fireworks on the Fourth of July!’. Tabitha tells Sally to admit that she loved using her powers when she was part of the New Mutants. ‘Those were great times, remember?’
X-Force Fun Fact: The New Mutants at one time consisted of Sunspot, Rictor, Skids, Rusty, Cannonball, Boom-Boom and Cypher.
Covering her face with her hands, ‘Not the way I remember it, Tabitha. We risked our lives everyday because Xavier or Magneto or Cable told us what we were supposed to do. We were just kids. We should’ve been worrying about the prom, not mutant terrorists and government agents. If we’d grown up like everyone else, we would never have been on Magneto’s Asteroid - and Rusty would never have been killed by that maniac, Holocaust!’ Sally recalls her boyfriends’ death, and hangs her head in pain, as she exclaims that she misses Rusty so much.
Meanwhile, Sunspot has woken and yawns as he makes his way to the bathroom, muttering that he must be the last one up.
X-Force Fun Fact: When he was fifteen Roberto DaCosta made the cover of the Brazilian equivalent of Tiger Beat. The accompanying article revealed that the qualities Bobby most wanted in a girlfriend were “spontaneity” and “a sense of humor”.
Entering the bathroom, Bobby calls out ‘Morning Tabitha’ before standing beside the shower and asking her if she wants some company. Pushing the shower curtain aside, he begins ‘I can loofah your…oops!’. Bobby goes wide-eyed as he realizes that it is not Tabitha in the shower. Suddenly, there is a piercing scream, and Bobby is knocked across the bathroom and through the bathroom door.
X-Force Fun Fact: Statistics prove that most home accidents occur in the bathroom.
‘I am so dead’ Bobby mutters, before Theresa “Siryn” Rourke, towel wrapped around her, tells Bobby that he is right, before asking him what he was thinking walking in on her like that. ‘Have ye no decency?’ X-Force’s leader asks him. ‘Theresa, I - I - I -’ Bobby begins. ‘Spit it out, boyo’ Siryn snaps. ‘I thought you were Tabitha. Sorry’ Bobby replies.
X-Force Fun Fact: Theresa Rourke sings Top 40 hits from the 1970’s in the shower. Her current favorite: “Rock the Boat” by the Hues Corporation.
‘That’s not gonna help’ Warpath remarks as he, Meltdown and Skids stand in the doorway. ‘And you thought it would be alright to walk in on me?’ Tabitha asks, angrily. ‘Um…Hi, Tabitha…this is all a big misunderstand. Really’ Sunspot declares, when suddenly, a voice calls out ‘Hey - what’s with all the noise? I thought I heard someone screaming. Whoa - what happened to the bathroom door?’. Sally turns to her roommate, Des, and tells him that it was just an accident and he can go back to bed while they take care of it. Des replies that he has a portfolio due at eleven, before telling Sally that he is glad to finally meet some of her friends. ‘Lucy and I were beginning to think you never brought anyone home because you were embarrassed of your house-mates’ he remarks, before asking Sally if she is going to introduce him.
Leaning against a wall, Sally exclaims ‘Desmond Hatori, meet James, Bobby, Tabitha and Theresa’. Desmond takes Theresa by the hand and says ‘Hi…’, to which Siryn tells him that she didn’t mean to break his door. ‘No problem’ Des replies, before telling Siryn that she has a great voice and asking her if she is Irish. ‘Aye that I am. Desmond, is it?’ Siryn replies, smiling. Tabitha leans over and quietly whispers to Siryn ‘FYI, girlfriend, before you through yourself at Skids’ roommate…remember you’re wearing nothing but a towel’. Theresa goes wide-eyed, before quickly disappearing into a room and slamming the door behind her. ‘I like your friends, Sal. How come they call you Skids?’ Des asks Sally, curiously. ‘Don’t go there, Des’ Sally replies bashfully.
A hundred miles away, outside of Denver, Danielle Moonstar has returned to her family’s ranch for a long overdue visit. William Lonestar, Dani’s father, tells her that it is good to have her back home, and reassuring to see her on a horse that doesn’t have wings.
X-Force Fun Fact: SHIELD Commander GW Bridge refused to process Dani’s resignation from that agency. Her status is currently listed as Inactive.
Riding alongside her father, Danielle tells him that she misses Brightwind, but that after living undercover with the Mutant Liberation Front, she let her return home. ‘She deserved to fun free in the wild fields of Asgard’. William tells Dani that her mother and he were wondering what her plans are for the future, to which Dani smiles and tells her father that she wishes she had an answer for him, but that right now it is just nice travelling with her friends.
William tells Dani that he knows being a mutant is no easy thing in this day and age, and tells his daughter that if it gets too much for her, she can always come home. ‘I know, Dad. Thanks’ Dani replies, when suddenly, William’s horse stays braying. ‘What is it, girl? What’s spooking you?’ Williams asks, when suddenly, Dani tells her father to get out of her before he gets hurt - as Reignfire appears hovering above them! Reignfire tells Moonstar that he doesn’t want her father, just her. ‘You’re the traitorous jezebel who lied her way into my Mutant Liberation Front. Now you’re going to pay for your deception!’ he exclaims.
William declares ‘Mister, this is private property. You’d better leave now’, but Dani reminds her father that she told him to get out of here. ‘I meant it. Just go!’ she shouts, before calling Reignfire Bobby and telling him that she doesn’t know what has caused him to relapse like this, ‘But I promise I’ll do everything I can to cure you of this twisted personality!’ she exclaims, readying a psionic arrow. ‘I’m touched’ Reignfire replies as he blasts Dani off of her horse. He declares that he knows that Dani and Roberto have been friends since that first day at Xavier’s School, before exclaiming ‘How often must I explain that I am not your old friend?’
X-Force Fun Fact: No on in X-Force has been enrolled in college. However, in her freshman year of high school, a guidance counselor advised Tabitha to consider cosmetology school. Tabitha was suspended for her colorful response to the counselor.
Walking across the college campus, Meltdown remarks that Skids seems so different. ‘I mean, I know Rusty’s death hit her hard, but it’s like she’s shut herself off. I thought she’d be glad to see us again. Instead, I think she can’t wait for us to leave’ Tabitha exclaims, to which Sunspot asks if they can stop talking about Skids for a while. ‘Uhmm…yeah…I guess’ Tabitha replies, to which Bobby tells her that she has been giving her the cold shoulder since New Mexico, and asks ‘What’s up? I thought you wanted to be with me’. ‘Yeah…me, too’ Tabitha replies, remarking that everything would’ve been fine if Sam hadn’t shown up in Texas.
Sunspot asks Meltdown if she is still hung up on Cannonball, but Tabby replies that she just needs a little space. Sunspot puts his arms around her, telling her that it is not a difficult question. ‘Either you want to be with me or you don’t’ he exclaims, but Meltdown pushes him away, telling him not to pressure her. ‘Fine. You want space? I’ll give you all the space you need. I’ll see you later!’ Bobby exclaims as he leaves Tabitha standing under a tree and walks away.
X-Force Not-So-Fun Fact: Bobby is not having any fun.
Walking with his head hanging, Bobby tells himself that, first his trust fund gets tied up with some lawsuit, which leaves him sponging off his friends, ‘Then Tabitha and I hook up which seems like a good idea at the time - but that relationship cost me my best friend, and now it’s falling apart as well. When did my life end up in the toilet?’. Suddenly, a football is kicked over towards Bobby and lands at his feet. ‘Hmmm…haven’t played futbol in ages. I used to eat, drink and sleep the game. Life was a lot simpler then’ Bobby tells himself, before one of the college students on the nearby field calls out ‘A little help, dude’, wanting the ball back. Bobby kicks the ball up on to his head and head-butts it over to the students. ‘Coming at you!’ he exclaims, to which one of the students remarks that they need an extra player. ‘You wanna play?’ he asks Bobby, who replies that he does, very much.
X-Force Fun Fact: Of all the X-Men and X-Force members, only Theresa and Henry McCoy knew how to operate the Xavier Institute latte machine. The machine was later confiscated by Bastion when his Zero Tolerance troops occupied the estate.
Entering a coffee house on the college campus, Siryn suggests to James that she might apply to college. ‘Imagine how glorious it’d be t’spend five or six years doing nothing but studying’ she exclaims, adding that she could go to law school. ‘We could certainly use a mutant lobby in Washington’ she points out, before sitting down at a table and asking James if he was in school what his major would be. ‘Tough question!’ James replies as he makes his way over to the counter to get them something to drink, he tells her he will answer when he gets back. ‘Yeah, I could get used to the college life’ Siryn tells herself when suddenly, someone approaches her: ‘Theresa! Hi. Remember me?’
Siryn looks up and sees Desmond, Sally’s roommate, and tells him that she didn’t forget him. Des asks if he can sit down, to which Theresa tells him he can. James sees Siryn and Desmond together and tells himself that they really seem to be hitting it off. ‘Funny, considering the heavy duty torch I carried for Theresa, I should feel jealous, but I don’t…she’s my best friend. She deserves to find someone’. Suddenly, a crack of electricity sparks behind Theresa - it would be imperceptible to anyone without James Proudstar’s heightened senses - ‘Theresa, get down!’ James calls out across the coffee house.
But Warpath’s warning is lost in the noise of the coffee house, as a teleportation signature appears behind Siryn, and someeon reaches through a grabs her, pulling her through. Even though Siryn would sense the threat a fraction of a second after James, it is in that infinitesimal moment that her attacker presses her advantage. ‘That light!’ Desmond exclaims while the portal closes - but not fast enough as Warpath bounds across the room in a superhuman blur, diving into the diminishing breach, following his kidnapped friend to an unknown place and peril. Desmond spins around, ‘That was soooo weird. Did you see that, Theresa? It was like a flash of - Theresa?’ he calls out, realizing Theresa has vanished.
X-Force Fun Fact: The odds than an ordinary person will be abducted as repeatedly as the average mutant are astronomically low.
X-Force Fun Fact: Before he left Brazil to attend the Xavier Institute, Bobby was being groomed by his coaches for his Native County’s Olympic team.
‘SCORE!’ someone calls out as the football is kicked past the goal keeper. ‘Not again!’ the goalie mutters, while one of the students tells Bobby that he is the bomb. ‘You should go out for the school team. With you playing forward, we’d smoke the western division!’ he exclaims. Bobby smiles and remarks that it has been a long time since he has played. ‘I’d forgotten how much I love the game’ he remarks, adding that he is not a student here, to which his new friend tells him that once the coach sees him play, he will bend over backwards to get him admitted. Suddenly, Bobby’s new friend is burned to a crisp right before Bobby’s eyes. ‘Everyone that gets close to you is going to die, Bobby!’ a voice exclaims. ‘No…it’s can’t be!’ Bobby utters, looking upwards.
X-Force Fun Fact: Tabitha was kicked out of four different high schools before she dropped out completely. Consequently, she doesn’t like schools.
Sally finds Tabitha sitting on some steps, and asks her what she is doing here by herself. ‘I thought you and Bobby wanted some time alone’ Sally remarks. Frowning, Tabitha replies that Bobby is off pouting somewhere. ‘It’s not like we’re a couple now’ she adds. Sally asks Tabitha if she broke up with Bobby, to which Tabitha replies that it is not like they were even officially together. ‘I should know better than to get involved with a friend’ she adds. ‘You wanna talk about regrets? I’ve got a million of ‘em’ Sally declares, telling Meltdown that if she wants to be part of the mutant revolution, that is fine, but to count her out. ‘I don’t want to play those games anymore. The cost is too high’.
Suddenly, Meltdown sees a cloud of smoke in the distance. ‘FIRE!’ another student calls out, before Meltdown realizes that it is not any fire. ‘That’s Bobby!’ she exclaims as she and Sally begin running towards the field. ‘You couldn’t spend a couple of days here without getting into trouble’ Sally remarks, before they arrive at the field: ‘Oh no - not him -’ Meltdown gasps as she looks up and sees Reignfire.
X-Force Not-So-Fun Fact: Reignfire wants to hurt Bobby before he kills him.
‘I’ve been waiting for this moment, Bobby. There’s so much I have to show you’ Reignfire exclaims. ‘You see, I use the power we share in ways you never dreamed. And because I am more powerful than you, I can absorb all the ambient heat including your own!’ Reignfire declares. ‘This isn’t possible! You can’t be real! I was Reignfire!’ Bobby exclaims, lying on the field, while Reignfire absorbs his energy. ‘Reality check, Bobby. You thought you were me and so did Cable. And that was a big mistake!’ Reignfire exclaims, while Bobby whispers ‘I’m so cold’. Arriving on the field, Sally tells Tabitha that this looks bad, while other students gather around to watch also. ‘Mutants -’ someone exclaims. ‘I didn’t know we had mutants in Boulder’ another student remarks. ‘Somebody call the Police!’ another suggests. ‘Call the news!’ someone shouts. ‘You’ve never been to my boyfriend’s frat house’ another remarks, while Tabitha declares that she has to do something, as Reignfire is killing Bobby. ‘Tabitha, we’re in public!’ Sally exclaims.
‘Like I care’ Tabitha replies as she rushes forward, and shouts ‘Get away from him!’ as she readies a large time-bomb to throw at Reignfire, who sees Meltdown and greets her, before remarking that he can disable her with a blast of hot air. Indeed, Tabitha is knocked backwards, and the field around her gets scorched with the touch of Reignfire’s power. ‘If you think a little steam burn’s gonna stop me, you’re wrong!’ Meltdown exclaims as she rubs her head. ‘I was going to kill you eventually’ Reignfire replies as he prepares another attack. ‘It might as well be now!’ he exclaims as he prepares to blast Tabitha - except his attack is deflected by the bio-electric force field which Skids throws up around Tabitha and herself as she runs onto the battlefield to protect her friend.
‘You lied about using your power. You couldn’t do this when we were New Mutants’ Tabitha exclaims. ‘Okay, so I’ve practised once or twice. It doesn’t mean I like this’ Sally exclaims, while the other students look on. ‘I know that girl. She’s in my biology class’ someone whispers. Sally manages to drag Meltdown off the field. ‘Thanks Ski - Sally, I knew you’d come through’ Meltdown exclaims, before muttering ‘Ow ow ow…feels like I fell asleep on the beach!’. ‘This is exactly the kind of insanity I was trying to keep out of my life!’ Sally exclaims, before both girls are knocked to the ground as Locus materializes on the field. ‘You didn’t have to be part of this, honey. We only wanted members of X-Force. Too bad you’ve joined them!’ Locus exclaims to Skids, while she pulls Meltdown towards her portal. ‘Do you have them all?’ Reignfire asks as he, Locus, Sunspot, Meltdown and Skids begin to vanish. ‘Everyone but Proudstar’ Locus replies, while Sunspot asks ’Where are you taking me?’.
Later, in Las Vegas, in a hidden chamber, Moonstar, Siryn, Meltdown and Skids are strung up by their feet, hanging upside down, while Sunspot is strapped to a large box in the center of the chamber. Siryn has a gag over her mouth, while Moonstar has chains wrapped around her. ’Now what?’ Locus asks. ’My retribution begins. I did not ask for his body and his memories, Locus, but they’re a part of me now’ Reignfire declares, adding that he refuses to live as Sunspot’s shadow. ’His very existence is an affront to me!’ he exclaims, before telling Bobby to wake up. ’Who are you?’ Sunspot asks. ’Think of me as the brother you never had. I’ll be Cain to your Abel’ Reignfire replies.
Reignfire boasts that he has been slowly destroying Sunspot’s life in little pieces, revealing that he arranged for the lawsuit that froze Bobby’s trust fund, and has followed him across the country, leaving a trail of death and destruction in their wake. ’Today I stole your power, and tonight I’m going to kill your friends. Leaving your death for my big finale!’. Standing around a corner, Warpath listens, while thinking to himself that it is lucky Locus teleported out of here after depositing Siryn, as she was too busy to notice he had followed her back here. ’If Reignfire really has added Bobby’s power to his own, we’re all in deep trouble!’ Warpath realizes.
X-Force Fun Fact Q&A: Next issue, can Bobby survive learning the truth behind Reignfire?


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

[Assistant]
Set My Soul on Fire
Outside Portland, Oregon, likes the headquarters of the Damocles Foundation. Publicly, the Foundation consists of a coalition of scientists, businessmen and environmentalists dedicated to preventing environmental disaster in the next century. However, the truth is that the Foundation is a front for another organization with a very different agenda. Deep within the headquarters, a bald man in a lab coat approaches a door marked “Armory”, and speaking to the scanner, gives his password as ‘Eggman’. The computer scans the scientist, and states ‘Joshua, Segismund A. Retinal scan: confirmed. Hand print: confirmed. Egg san: confirmed. Vocal pattern: confirmed. Access granted’.
Entering the armory, Doctor Joshua picks up a large weapon and remarks ‘This should do the trick’, when a female approaches him and exclaims ‘Where on Earth do you think you’re going with that molecular disruptor?’. Dr Joshua narrows his eyes and replies ‘Las Vegas, Dr Chandra. Please inform the Director that I’m taking some personal time’.
Meanwhile, in Las Vegas, the owners of the Babylon Casino and Hotel, the most recent addiction to the Las Vegas Strip, intend to open their casino to the public two years ago. They hadn’t anticipated a labour dispute that would bring construction to a screeching halt. While its owners are tied up in court battles, the ziggurat shaped complex remains unfinished and empty - making it an ideal place to keep five mutants prisoner: Theresa “Siryn” Rourke, Danielle Moonstar, Sally “Skids” Blevins, Tabitha “Meltdown” Smith all hang from a chamber ceiling by their feet, while Roberto “Sunspot” DaCosta is trapped on some sort of box.
Ordinarily, Sunspot could burn the metal restraints that hold him into the slag, because since his adolescence his body has been a solar powered battery, capable of generating incredible heat. Unfortunately, his power has been stolen by his captor and enigmatic doppelganger - the man called Reignfire! ‘This isn’t’ happening! You can’t be Reignfire! I was Reignfire!’ Sunspot exclaims. ‘So I let the you and the world believe. Our lives have been intertwined for far too long, Bobby - but tonight I’m going to sever our connection permanently!’ Reignfire cryptically exclaims.
Leaning against a wall, Reignfire’s companion Locus exclaims ‘He means you’re going to die, DaCosta. You and all your little friends in X-Force!’. It was Locus’ space-warping teleportation that facilitated the capture of X-Force and Skids in Boulder. But Reignfire declares that not all the members of X-Force are here. ‘We’re still missing the Apache, Proudstar’ he reminds her. Looking rather nervous, Locus replies that Proudstar disappeared after she grabbed the Irish chick. ‘Then look again!’ Reignfire orders.
Locus immediately opens a portal in which space and geography have no meaning, and through which she can travel hundreds, even thousands of miles, in the blink of an eye. ‘Back to the university’ Locus exclaims, returning moments later, announcing that she had no luck. ‘I searched the entire campus. That Indian’s long gone!’ she declares. ‘That could be a problem’ Reignfire remarks. But Locus tells him that even with Warpath’s heightened senses there is no way he can possibly track them here from Colorado. ‘These guys have been travelling around the country in an old Cadillac. They no longer have access to Cerebro or any other mutant tracking technology. In fact, Bastion had all of Xavier’s hardware cleaned out of the Mansion, so even the X-Men couldn’t find us!’ Locus exclaims.
But Reignfire tells Locus not to underestimate Proudstar. And with good reason, as James “Warpath” Proudstar crouches on the beams above Reignfire and Locus, thinking to himself ‘Incredible. One minute I’m in a coffee house in Colorado, and the next I’m in Las Vegas!’. James tells himself that he is lucky Locus didn’t see him follow her through the portal after she grabbed Theresa, and knows that he has to be careful here, he cannot take Reignfire on directly. ‘I’m strong, but not invulnerable - and certainly not to fire!’. Looking down at his chained friends, James realizes that Reignfire doesn’t seem too concerned for them. ‘And that worries me. What has he done to them?’
At that moment, the young women begin to rouse from their drugged sleep. ‘Ach, me head’ Siryn exclaims, before seeing Moonstar hanging beside her and asking her what she is doing here, as she was supposed to be at her father’s. ‘What’s going on here?’ Siryn exclaims. Danielle reveals that Reignfire ambushed her while she was horse-back riding. ‘He used Locus to grab you and the others from the university’ Dani explains. ‘This is exactly why I didn’t want to be a part of you people anymore!’ Skids exclaims. ‘You don’t lead normal lives. You live in a world of constant danger and insanity. What was I thinking letting you stay with me? I was asking for disaster!’ she adds, annoyed.
Down below, Sunspot tells Reignfire to let the others go. ‘Your grudge is against me!’ Bobby declares, but Reignfire exclaims that no one leaves. Meltdown realizes that the chain binding her hands is weak and starting to give, so she tries to apply a little more pressure so she can get her hands free. Reignfire leans over Sunspot and creates a small energy flare, telling him that he is going to watch his friends die. ‘This is Vegas, after all. I feel compelled to make your end spectacular!’ Reignfire declares, when suddenly, the shackles around Tabitha’s wrists snap, and she pulls herself up by the chains around her ankles and exclaims: ‘Sorry to disappoint you, Reignfire, but we didn’t sign up for this audition! Not prepare to get your butt kicked by Meltdown!’
It rarely takes great effort for Meltdown to create her volatile bioplasmic time bombs - therefore she is unprepared when nothing happens at all. ‘Uh-oh. What’s going on? Why isn’t my power working?’ Tabitha gasps, looking at her hands. Suddenly, Locus materializes beside her courtesy of a teleportation portal, and punches Tabitha in the side, exclaiming ‘Maybe we just turned off the juice!’. Moonstar announces that she cannot generate any kind of psionic arrow, while Siryn declares that her sonic scream is out of commission also. ‘They’ve cancelled out our mutant powers - but how?’ Dani gasps.
Suddenly, Locus leads a rather large man into the chamber. ‘My name is Henry’ he exclaims, simply. Locus introduces him as Henry Wallinger, and claims that they rescued him from the Weissman Institute. Locus remarks that he is a little slow, but that he happens to be able to shut down any other mutant’s power. ‘That’s why we call him Short Circuit’. Hugging Short Circuit, Locus exclaims that h will do anything for his new best friends. Henry looks at Locus oddly, before stating that he doesn’t want to go back to the bad place, as they don’t let him watch Bullwinkle.
Reignfire clenches a fist and declares that soon they will make the world pay for every indignity mutant kind has suffered. ‘Henry is a pariah by human standards. A freak to be hidden and institutionalized. When I am through with humanity, he will be treated as royalty!’. ‘Yeah right. You’re the new mutant messiah. And we’re either with you or against you. Yadda yadda yadda’ Meltdown mocks, muttering ‘How many times I have heard that tired old line’, while Sunspot asks Reignfire who he is and why he is doing all this. ‘You still believe that you were Reignfire? HAH!’ Reignfire laughs.
Sunspot declares that he knows he was suffering from some kind of dual personality disorder, but he doesn’t remember much of what he did. ‘I even attacked X-Force as Reignfire’ Bobby adds. Reignfire exclaims that he remembers that moment. ‘You ripped off your mask oh so dramatically and declares -
(Shown with illustrative flashback image from X-Force (1st series) #43)
‘Reignfire is and always has been Roberto DaCosta!’ exclaimed Reignfire as he ripped off his mask in front of X-Force and the Mutant Liberation Front.
(Present)
Reignfire reveals that he scripted that shocking revelation, just as he was directing Bobby’s movements. He explains that he and Sunspot shared a telepathic bond and that in the months following Bobby’s disappearance with Locus, Bobby was his prisoner. ‘And during that time I learned to control you via that bond. To move and manipulate you like a puppet. That’s why you attacked X-Force as Reignfire!’ he explains. ‘Wait a second. I was there. Locus claimed she and Bobby had been living in the future during those months’ Moonstar declares. Reignfire fobs her off, remarking that the X-teams have encountered so many visitors from the near and far future that it was a convincing deception. Moonstar asks Reignfire how he explains Cable exorcising the Reignfire personality from Bobby telepathically, to which Reignfire reveals that Cable severed their telepathic link.
Reignfire explains that the psychic feedback from Cable’s telepathic intrusion left him dazed for months, and he wandered the streets for months, living as a vagrant, unaware of his identity and his mutant powers. Grabbing Bobby by the face, Reignfire exclaims that when his memory returned, he knew he needed to find Bobby and settle their business. ‘None of that explains why we’re connected!’ Sunspot points out. ‘Frustrating, isn’t it?’ Reignfire replies.
(Shown with flashback images of Sunspot throughout the years)
‘You know so little about me, while I know everything about you’ Reignfire exclaims, revealing that each moment of Bobby’s life is ingrained in his memory as if it were his own. ‘From your pampered childhood in Brazil to your first days as a student at Xavier’s School to your time with X-Force. I know your every triumph and every failure intimately!’
(Present)
Reignfire leans on Meltdown as he exclaims ‘All your desires are an open book to me - and unlike you I’m not afraid to make them a reality!’. Meltdown calls Reignfire a creep and tells him to get his hands off her. ‘You wouldn’t be so grabby if I was powered up!’ Tabitha declares, to which Reignfire asks her to admit that it is Bobby’s dark side that attracted her to him in the first place. ‘Leave her alone!’ Bobby shouts, leaning up from the box. ‘Simmer down, brother!’ Reignfire exclaims, knocking Bobby back with a blast of energy, causing Sunspot to cry out in agony.
‘Did that burn? I’m so sorry. I forgot I’d siphoned all the exothermal heat your mutant body produces’. Reignfire boasts that, for his next trick he is going to absorb the remainder of Bobby’s body heat. ‘Nether thought you’d be one to die of hypothermia, did you?’ he snarls. ’Wait!’ Meltdown calls out in attempt to distract Reignfire. ’You still haven’t explained who you are or how you developed that telepathic link with Bobby. Um, inquiring minds want to know!’. Reignfire ignores her, declaring that they have talked enough. ‘It’s time to say one last goodbye to your friends, Bobby’ he declares.
Meanwhile, on a busy Nevada interstate highway, a black sedan eaves through traffic at incredible speeds. Inside the sedan, its driver has relinquished control to the car’s computer system whose response time far exceeds that of any human. At this moment, Dr Segismund Joshua is far more concerned with the events of two years past, and his mind wanders backwards….
(Flashback, takes place prior to X-Force (1st series) #1)
Dr Joshua had been working for a man named Gideon, one of a handful of mutant immortals called Externals. Gideon had given Dr Joshua Roberto DaCosta as an experimental guinea pig, as Dr Joshua believed that if he could isolate the mutant gene that gave Sunspot his exothermal abilities, he could enhance them and perhaps reproduce them in another test subject. One such subject was Project Nineteen, a male who was placed in an oxygenated nutrient bath in order to slow an unusual physical deterioration. Dr Joshua had transfused some of Dacosta’s blood into Nineteen, and the subject appeared to be using it as a template to regenerate - something Dr Joshua ordered his staff never to tell Gideon about.
(Present)
Reignfire hovers over Sunspot, emitting energies as he exclaims that once he despised Sunspot as much as he despised the human cattle who shunted and isolated him. ‘Your very existence was a constant reminder of all that had been denied him - family, friends, and lovers. ‘Now, I no longer hate you. I understand that without you my rebirth would never have been possible. What a pity your heroic pretensions necessitate you death’. Bobby utters that he is so cold, while Locus exclaims that she wishes Reignfire would just kill DaCosta and move on. ‘Is it time for cartoons now?’ Henry asks, unaware that Warpath is on a ledge above them, slowing he begins pushing a large decorative and heavy wall panel from its position, telling himself that he cannot wait any longer, and that it is time to draw Reignfire’s attention away from Bobby.
‘And I can’t think of a better way to do it than by taking out his two flunkies!’ James decides as the large wall panel slams into Locus and Short Circuit, knocking them to the ground. ‘Proudstar! I told Locus you’d make trouble!’ Reignfire exclaims, turning his attention to James’ entrance, he blasts Warpath with energies, but James dodges them, exclaiming that if he had planned this Vegas vacation, he would be at Cirque du Soleil. ‘But I just wouldn’t be able to enjoy the show if I let you kill my friends!’ James adds. ‘I thought you were supposed to be the sullen, quiet one, Proudstar!’ Locus exclaims as she materializes in the air beside Warpath and kicks him in the face, knocking him over.
‘A cute guy like you should make sure his opponents are down for the count’ Locus tells James. James wipes his face and replies ‘A cute girl like you should get psychiatric help!’. Locus angrily declares that she isn’t crazy, and teleports in front of James, punching him in the face, before teleporting behind him, preparing to attack him from behind. ‘Ow - should’ve seen that one coming’ he remarks. ‘No one ever does’ Locus tells him, before he dodges her second attack. She teleports again, but Warpath moves out of her way, telling her that this pop-up trick may give her the jump on most people, but explains he can sense the subtle atmospheric charge that precedes her appearance. ‘You can only catch me by surprise once!’ James declares as he smacks Locus in the face.
Locus gathers herself and tells James that it is too bad he is pulling his punches cause she is a girl. ‘It’s sweet but stupid!’ she exclaims, revealing that she believes in “no quarter asked, no quarter given”, and creates a teleportation portal around James’ neck as she declares that he gave her enough chance to open a portal around his neck, and that once she closes it, his pretty head is going to wind up in another zip code. ‘ULP!’ James utters.
Meanwhile, Sally suddenly “skids” out of the chains around her ankles and hit’s the floor. When she was part of the New Mutants, she was called Skids because of her ability to generate a frictionless force field that let her slip out of anything. Sally realizes that her powers returned pretty quickly after James took out Short Circuit, and makes her way over to Locus, who asks James if he feels the noose tighten. ‘Now don’t you wish you’d been nicer to me when you had the chance?’ Locus asks. ‘Get away from him, you psycho!’ Skids exclaims as she grabs Locus’ hand.
‘What the -? Stupid girl, you’ve broken my concentration!’ Locus snaps as she loses control of the portal and it fades away from around Warpath’s neck. ‘Yeow. That was way too close for comfort!’ James exclaims, rubbing his neck. Skids falls to the floor, but she puts a hand to Locus’ foot, while the teleporter grins wickedly and touches Sally’s face, telling her that she should have stayed at school instead of getting involved in something that didn’t concern her. ‘Bet you wish you were back in class right now, don’t ya?’ Locus asks. ‘I wish you’d shut up. No wonder you and Reignfire are together. You’re each in love with the sound of your own voice!’ Sally snaps back.
‘Ooh, that hurts, girly - but not as much as you’re gonna hurt when I use you to demonstrate the guillotine I was about to perform on Proudstar’. Locus exclaims as her power flows around Skids. ‘I don’t think so’ Sally replies, calmly as the portal suddenly goes haywire. ‘What’s happened?’ Locus calls out. Skids explains that her force field disrupts any other energy field that it contacts. Locus declares that the disruption has caused her to lose control of the portal and cannot close it. ‘We’re going to be caught in a trans-spatial backlash!’ she screams, as the portal closes on her and Skids. Space bends around them in a vortex of sub-spatial particles -
- and deposits them, unconscious, thousands of miles away from Las Vegas, on top of a snow-covered terrain….
Back in Las Vegas though, Sunspot manages to snap the chains around his wrists as he realizes that Reignfire has stopped paying attention to him, distracted by Skids and Locus’ disappearance. Bobby tells himself that he has to move fast while he still has some energy in him, and takes to the air, recalling that when Reignfire was leeching his body heat in Boulder, he said he had learned to use his power in ways he never could. ‘Maybe that means I can turn the tables on him, and reabsorb the power he stole from me - if only I can get close enough’. But with that, Sunspot drops down on Reignfire, who exclaims ‘What a stupid move - you have one chance at escape and you waste it on bravado!’
‘Oops’ Bobby exclaims as Reignfire wraps his arms around him, and punches him backwards. ’How painful do you want me to make your death?’ Reignfire asks, before Siryn flies to Bobby’s rescue, catching her friend, while Bobby exclaims that he is sorry to get them all involved in this. Siryn tells Sunspot not to be sorry. ’Reignfire may be yuir warped mirror image, but he’s all of our concern. And we don’t take kindly to anyone trying to kill one of our own!’ Theresa exclaims. Meltdown throws time bombs at Reignfire while exclaiming that now they know for certain Reignfire isn’t Bobby, it makes it a whole lot easier to let loose on him. ‘You know it, Tabitha’ Moonstar agrees as she fires a psionic arrow at Reignfire, declaring that they have to keep him away from Bobby.
Unfazed, Reignfire exclaims ‘Nice try, ladies, but ultimately pointless’ and tells them that they might have had a chance before he added Sunspot’s power to his own, but that time is past. He boasts that when he is done here he will never need to worry about X-Force interfering with his plans ever again. ‘I’m going to burn this entire casino to the ground with you in it!’ Reignfire declares as he begins to spread flame throughout the chamber. Siryn and Sunspot drop to the floor and Siryn exclaims that Reignfire is raising the temperature to an unbelievable level. ‘Everything in this place’s starting to combust!’ she exclaims. Bobby asks Theresa if he has ever told her how glad he is that she has been working out. ‘I don’t know if I can survive it’ he adds.
Dani points out that the air is getting pretty thin as the fire is eating up all the oxygen in the room. Meltdown suggests that they get out of here before they go up with the scenery, to which Siryn asks how they are going to do that, as the fire has blocked all the exits. Meltdown declares that she isn’t exactly sure where they are, but she is betting there is something below them - another floor, a basement, a service tunnel - anything, and drops a massive time bomb on the floor, creating an escape route. ‘I was right!’ Meltdown calls out.
James begins pulling Short Circuit from the rubble, declaring that he cannot leave him to die. ‘His only crime was being easily manipulated by Locus and Reignfire. All he wanted to do was watch cartoons’ James declares, while Tabitha jumps down the hole in the floor. ‘Follow me. Wheeeee!’ she exclaims, to which Dani follows her, while remarking that she will never understand how Tabitha can take life and death matters so lightly. Tabitha replies that it is either that or let fear paralyze her - which would make her no fun at parties, she points out. Carrying Short Circuit over his shoulders, James tells the unconscious mutant that he hopes he remembers who dragged him out of a bad situation when he wakes up. ‘I’d hate for you to cancel my powers at an inopportune moment’ he remarks as he leaps down the hole.
‘Where can you possible run that would be safe - when I intend to burn this entire city to the ground?’ Reignfire exclaims as he throws more flame about. Hovering in the air nearby, Siryn has carried Sunspot into the air once more and tells him to hold tight, assuring him that she is going to get them both out of here. ‘I’ve never felt so useless’ Bobby mutters, to which Siryn tells him that he can return the favor next time she loses her voice in a crisis. Siryn begins to modulate her voice to an inhuman pitch, shatter the skylight glass above, before she and Sunspot pass through it.
Siryn drops Bobby on a nearby roof and tells him to try and find cover while she will see if she can draw Reignfire away from the city and into the desert where any damage they do will be minimal. But Reignfire flies towards Siryn, asking what makes her think he wants to take the fight elsewhere? He exclaims that Las Vegas is the new American mecca. ‘What’s more American than cheap thrills and the empty promise of easy money?’ he asks. ‘When I raze this town, the whole country will notice. The incineration of Vegas is my declaration of war on humanity!’
Reignfire boasts that he will give the world a reason to fear mutant kind, while down on the busy streets below, civilians begin running in panic as they see Reignfire above them. However, Dr Joshua arrives, thinking to himself that when Project Nineteen escaped Gideon’s laboratory and resurfaced as Reignfire, he knew he would have to correct the horrible mistake he made in that laboratory. Holding his weapon, Dr Joshua tells himself that when the Foundation’s satellites began registering Project Nineteen’s familiar energy signatures, he had not choice but to seek out the thing he created and destroy it.
Siryn uses her sonic scream to shatter a fire hydrant, hoping that her timing is right, water gushes skyward while Reignfire asks her if she really expects to extinguish his flame with water from a fire hydrant. ‘I’m working with what’s a hand. Can’t fault a lass for trying!’ Siryn exclaims, to which Reignfire tells her that he is going to more than that. I’m going to - YEARRGHH!’ he exclaims in pain as an energy beam fired from Dr Joshua’s weapon. ‘Doctor Joshua?’ Reignfire exclaims as he sees Dr Joshua, standing on the front of a car. ‘You should never have been allowed to live, Nineteen!’ Dr Joshua exclaims. ‘What are you doing to me?’ Reignfire calls out, while Sunspot notices Dr Joshua and exclaims that he is the sadistic doctor that experimented on him while he was Gideon’s prisoner. ‘What’s his connection to Reignfire?’ he asks.
Reignfire blasts Dr Joshua, exclaiming that he spent a decade as one of his lab rats, but now he is free and refuses to suffer any more of his abuse. Seeing Siryn fly towards him, Reignfire exclaims that he has not forgotten about her, and engulfs her in flame, while Siryn exclaims that she cannot get close enough to knock him out with the concussive sound of her voice. Sunspot walks over to Dr Joshua and asks ‘Remember me?’, but Dr Joshua, engulfed in flame, cries out for help. ‘Oh…God…the pain!’ he cries. ‘However much pain you’re feeling right now, I’m certain you deserve more!’ Sunspot exclaims, but Dr Joshua tells him that he doesn’t understand.
Bobby takes the weapon and tells Dr Joshua to relax, as right now the cannon is the only thing he wants. ‘It seemed to hurt Reignfire, which means I can use it!’ Bobby declares, while Dr Joshua explains to him that it is a molecular disruptor beam and tells him to be careful as it is only a prototype. ‘After I bring Reignfire down, I’ll treat this puppy like she was my own!’ Bobby exclaims, before warning Dr Joshua that when he is through with Reignfire, they are going to talk about what exactly he did to him in his lab. ‘REIGNFIRE!’ Bobby screams as he unleashes a massive energy beam from the weapon. As the energy wraps around Reignfire, the villain exclaims ‘Bobby, no! You don’t know what you’re doing! You’re tearing me apart!’ Reignfire calls out.
‘That’s the idea!’ Sunspot exclaims as Reignfire is pulled closer to Sunspot, Bobby exclaims that Reignfire is giving off an enormous amount of heat. ‘I’m burning up. Got to hold on…even though this gun has destroyed his human form, Reignfire is still alive!’ Bobby realizes. ‘You’ll pay for what you’ve done to me!’ Reignfire calls out, while Sunspot wonders if Reignfire is even human. At that moment, the disembodied Reignfire startles Bobby, causing his finger to drop from the trigger for an instant - and that split second is all the creature called Reignfire needs to take the offense, wrapping its form around Sunspot. ‘You can destroy the shape I have maintained for these past years, but you can’t destroy me! We are joined forever. Even Cable’s vaunted telepathic skills couldn’t’ completely destroy out bond!’
Reignfire adds that it is their link which allows him to do this, as he completely engulfs Sunspot. ‘NOOOOO!’ Sunspot screams. At that moment, Dani, James, Theresa and Tabitha arrive. ‘I think we arrived too late ‘Dani remarks, while James declares that he doesn’t know what to make of this. ‘Bobby, are you all right?’ Tabitha calls out. Sunspot stands before them, his body resembling that of Reignfire, he grins wickedly as he shouts ’There is no more Bobby. Now and forever there is only Reignfire!’….