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[Assistant]
Primal Scream
Part 1: The Arrival
Mountains of Antarctica
The alarms begin blaring at Deep Ice Station Alpha, the station that guards the area known as the Savage Land. UN security forces scramble to their posts. Inside one of the bunkers the communications officer reports to his superior there is no response from an unidentified aircraft headed their way. The commander asks for the estimated time of arrival. The comm. officer estimates another 30 seconds. The commander orders the craft blasted out of the sky.
The turrets light up and fire in succession at the strange aircraft. The ship takes a solid hit and loses altitude. It crashes into the snowy banks of the arctic landscape, breaking in half and skidding across the ice and snow. Alex Summers crawls weakly out through the gashed hull. He collapses not twenty feet away.
Inside the plane wreckage, Worm and Whiteout argue with each other, Worm blaming Whiteout for their predicament as he said the ship could withstand the missile attack. He adds that if their quarry escaped they would be in big trouble. Whiteout tells him to relax. Alex has nowhere to run. Worm agrees and adds that his slime still coats Havok and so he is still under his control. Whiteout worries about delaying any further and suggests they get a move on as their master has little patience these days.
Sauron’s Aerie
Sauron grasps the head of Tuval and slowly and very painfully drains his life essence. Tuval had watched as the other members of his hunting party had endured the same suffering and he had wondered silently how much it hurt. He realizes it is more than he could have ever imagined and death does not come fast enough.
Once Tuval’s life is fully drained Sauron tosses him aside among the bodies of his other victims. Sauron wraps his arms around his head and whines that he needs more victims. He calls out to Barbarus, who is standing nearby, and asks for the others. Barbarus informs him all the captives have been used up.
Sauron doesn’t seem to be listening, instead focusing on a shadowed individual standing beyond the doorway. He yells out accusingly at the figure. Barbarus thinks he’s talking to him and holds out his arm as if to protect himself from the maniacal Pteronodon. Sauron tells the figure he doesn’t belong and charges, leaping over the ducking Barbarus. Sauron yells, “I will kill you!!” and reaches for him through the door opening with his razor sharp fingers. Barbarus grabs a hold of Sauron and tells his master no one is there. Sauron seems to collapse in his embrace, defeated, realizing it was only his imagination.
Gaza rushes down the stone steps after hearing the commotion. Sauron spies the Mutate and orders him to stop looking at him, that there’s nothing wrong with him. Gaza reminds his master that he’s blind. He reports the news of Worm and Whiteout’s crash. He tells Sauron it’s unknown if Alex Summers survived. Sauron yells at him to find out because he needs Alex Summers. He’s his only salvation.
Ten Kilometers Southeast of Deep Ice Station Alpha
Scott Summers, Jean Grey and Lorna Dane stand outside the Blackbird talking with a Lt. Makeba about the plane crash. Makeba’s people have found no survivors, so he suggests Alex may still be alive. Lorna tells Makeba they believe Savage Land Mutates are behind the kidnapping. Makeba suggests if they survived the crash they’d be in the Temperate Zone, but admits it will be tough to find him. Cyclops says they’ll find him, calling Jean an accomplished tracker. Cyclops thinks to himself they’re lucky Jean is there, masking them as government agents so it’s easier for them to gain access to the Savage Land.
The three mutants head off into the snowy landscape. Lorna thanks Scott and Jean for helping out, but worries whether they’ll find Alex in time. Scott suggests they head towards the jungle since the Mutates aren’t acclimated to the cold weather. Unbeknownst to them, Whiteout and Worm observe the rescue team as they fly through a nearby cavernous region. Whiteout recognizes Lorna as Zaladane’s false sister and starts to worry. Worm tells him to forget about it, they won’t be found. They continue toward the Pangean tunnels that lead to the Aerie. Whiteout suggests they hurry, as Sauron’s appetite has grown more insatiable.
Sauron’s Aerie
Sauron is suffering from a waking dream. In it, he sees himself as a young boy completely infatuated with his friend, Tanya Anderssen. He relives the time he desperately fought to save her from the savage pterodactyls in the caves of Tierra Del Fuego. During the battle Karl was wounded by their razor sharp talons and left with a fierce hunger. His dream shifts later into his adulthood when he was a psychiatrist and fed off of his mentally ill patients. The scene changes once again to when the X-Men had fought him to reclaim the captured Alex Summers whose cosmic energies transformed him into Sauron.
Sauron’s dream drifts back to the love of his life, Tanya Anderssen, fully-grown and beautiful. He remembers killing her, freeing himself from the last vestige of his humanity. These thoughts cause the green-skinned beast to yell out Tanya’s name in anguish.
Sauron cries defiantly that Tanya was Lykos’ weakness... and Lykos is dead. He screams out that Sauron needs no one. He cowers in the corner and as he looks up spies the same figure from earlier. Sauron tells him it can’t be, that he’s a phantom. He yells out at the top of his lungs, “Leave me alone!!”
Village of the Fall People
Scott, Jean and Lorna meet with Nereel, leader of the Savage Land’s united tribes. There they discover Sauron is the mastermind behind the kidnapping of Alex. Nereel also informs them of the raids brought upon her people by the Mutates and how they are taking prisoners to feed Sauron’s appetite. Jean wonders why he’s after Alex, though.
Torgah interrupts their conversation to state that Sauron must be killed. Nereel agrees with his assertion and explains they are amassing a raiding party to storm the station Sauron inhabits. Cyclops offers his assistance, but asks if they can have time to free Alex. Torgah gives them a day, and warns them to be wary for Sauron will not show them mercy.
Pangean Tunnels
Barbarus and Lupo work their way through the tunnels in the hopes of finding their missing comrades. Barbarus expresses his doubts as to Sauron’s sanity and thinks their leader will soon be dead. This causes Lupo to get angry and he leaps at the four-armed warrior. He clenches his fingers around Barbarus’ throat and readies his right fist to strike. The two are then coated with Worm’s slime and force apart. Whiteout informs the them they’ve arrived with Sauron’s mutant.
Sauron’s Aerie
Worm drags Alex into the control room where Brainchild is hard at work. Brainchild admonishes them for destroying the craft he restored. Worm tells him to quit whining and accuses him of being jealous that they were allowed to travel to the Outland. “Sauron needed me here to prepare this conduit system—which was been on line for hours awaiting your tardy entrance,” Brainchild retorts.
Sauron enters the room and spies his prize. He lunges for Alex, but Brainchild cuts him off explaining he wouldn’t survive a direct energy transfusion. Sauron brushes the Mutate aside, explaining he senses others approaching and will use Havok as bait.
Part II: The Ties That Bind
The Savage Land Jungles
Off in the distance Cyclops spots Sauron’s stronghold. The trio takes to the air thanks to Jean’s telekinesis, to which Cyclops makes a bad joke about airline peanuts. They reach the hangar entrance and drop inside. Cyclops whips out a mini-Cerebro to lock onto Havok.
He picks up some nearby readings and takes off in the direction. They find Alex unconscious, sprawled out on the rocky flooring. Lorna yells out his name in worry. Jean probes his mind and informs them he’s still alive. Jean also senses a nearby presence, but Lorna is already in flight headed towards her lover. Scott warns her it might be a trap, but she doesn’t care.
Sauron makes his grand entrance coming in from behind Jean and knocking her to the ground. Cyke fires an optic blast that Sauron deftly avoids, threatening him about hurting his brother. Sauron claims he would never hurt Alex as he is more valuable to him alive. Scott asks him what he means by that, but is then knocked over by a tumbling Jean.
Sauron turns his attention towards Lorna, who is crouched down beside Alex. She threatens him as well, but makes the mistake of looking into his hypnotic eyes. Lorna falls under his control. Sauron grabs her by the arms and takes her away. He calls back mockingly at Scott, saying he’s all alone again like when he was a boy.
Scott’s too concerned with Jean’s condition to worry about Sauron. She’s very groggy and in no condition to fight. He decides his best option is to wait things out and he tells Sauron he gives up. Sauron lands nearby with Alex in tow. He tells Scott he and his brother have similar energy patterns and that the both of them will supply him with all the energy sustenance he needs during his reign over the Savage Land.
Scott tells him it won’t work, that there are others coming. Sauron asks if he’s referring to Logan, the same X-Man who he hypnotized into letting him go not long before. Sauron doesn’t wait for an answer, calling Whiteout over to make Cyclops come quietly. Cyke pleads with her to see reason, that Sauron is insane. Her reply is that it’s not her place to question Sauron’s will. Whiteout opens the box she’s carrying, which contains a Black Lotus flower. The effect is almost instantaneous as Cyclops breathes in the aroma and is lost in the Lotus dream.
Later, the two Summers brothers are strapped inside Brainchild’s energy transference machine. The large-domed Mutate explains that with both Summers the machine can alternate between power sources thereby never depleting either one. Sauron laughs in glee at the news and wonders why he never though of it before.
Scott wakes up Alex who asks what he’s doing there. Scott explains the failed rescue attempt and how something with the machine is negating his optic blasts. Alex takes a look at his surroundings and jokes the two of them are double “A” batteries. Cyke gets serious and asks Havok how he’s holding up. Alex says he’s doing ok, but worries about Sauron’s state of mind. He’s shaking like a junkie on a binge.
Brainchild tells Sauron everything’s ready. He assures his master the machine will shut down in case the energy levels become unsafe. Sauron scoffs at the idea and tells Brainchild he will let him know when he’s had his fill. Brainchild tries to argue the point, but Sauron will have none of it. His voice trails off as he once again sees the shadowy figure standing atop the energy transference machine. Sauron is incredulous. He killed him once before and he’ll do it again. As Sauron stares at the figure, his face becomes clear: Dr. Karl Lykos.
Sauron takes to the air after the form of his human self. Barbarus watches as his master argues with thin air and rubs it in Lupo’s face that he was correct in regards to Sauron’s sanity.
The blind Gaza questions Brainchild as to whom Sauron is yelling at. No one, Brainchild tells him. Gaza presses the issue and Brainchild admits Sauron is seeing visions of his human self and fears the power he takes from the mutants will only heal his body, and not his mind.
Sauron reaches the terminal and places his hands upon the conduits. Energy courses into him and he lets out a long, excruciating scream.
Elsewhere, Jean awakens and finds herself shackled to a wall with Lorna at her side. She tries waking Lorna up, but she’s out like a light. She gives Lorna a mental push and it does the trick. The electromagnetic mutant wakes up and uses her powers to break the shackles loose. She frees Jean next and then tears apart the door blocking their way out.
Meanwhile, Sauron’s screams continue. He finally tells Brainchild to stop, but the fail-safes on the machine burned out and there’s nothing Brainchild can do. Gaza stares in the direction of Sauron’s horrible screams. Brainchild notices Sauron’s body is changing to accommodate the increasing energy.
Nearby, Jean and Lorna hear the screams of Sauron and head in that direction. Jean can sense his painful psychic vibrations. Lorna comments he deserves every ounce of pain he gets. They enter the room and see the machine in front of them. They surmise Sauron’s draining the powers of Scott and Alex.
The Mutates spot them coming and get ready for action. Lorna takes out the machine with a magnetic attack. The machine explodes in a shower of sparks and smoke. The visibility in the room drops to zero so Jean uses her telepathic bond with Scott to find their teammates. The two women break the Summers boys out of their encasings. Both Alex and Scott feel drained and weak. They check to see if Sauron is still around, but they find no trace of him. Instead, Barbarus and Gaza approach them with weapons drawn.
Barbarus accuses the Outlanders of once again bringing disaster to the Savage Land. The X-Men are unsure what to do next, but Jean senses Barbarus’ disloyal thoughts to Sauron and uses that to influence his mind. She gives Barbarus a telepathic nudge to let them go reminding him Sauron was an Outlander too.
The Mutates lead the X-Men back to the hangar bay. Barbarus tells them to follow the river to get back to the Lake Village. Worm doesn’t want to let them go, but Barbarus tells him he’s in charge now. The foursome takes off on a piece of the hangar wall, which Lorna keeps afloat magnetically. Unfortunately, they soon discover the skies belong to Sauron, a much larger and stronger Sauron that is. He grabs the hangar wall section and rips it out from under them. The X-Men begin their hazardous plummet to the ground.
Part III: Wings Of Despair
Lorna and Jean do their best to slow everyone’s descent. They crash through the foliage with Sauron hot on their tails. They land with a splash in a murky swamp.
They crawl to shore where Havok comments about his mouthful of swamp water. Cyclops wonders what happened to Sauron. Jean guesses he underwent a secondary mutation caused by both their mutant energies. Luckily, his enlarged wingspan will prevent him from following them through the dense vegetation.
They decide to stay in the swampy areas and try to lose Sauron. Havok doesn’t think he’ll ever give up, though. Lorna tells Alex not to worry, that she’ll protect him until his powers return. This leads the group to discuss Alex and Lorna’s future as man and wife. Just as the conversation is about to turn ugly they spot an ancient ruin not far off in the distance.
They argue over whether they should seek shelter inside, but Cyclops wins out saying they need to find Nereel and warn her people of Sauron’s transformation. They stumble upon a black, reflective lens sticking out from the ground. Lorna and Scott check their reflections on the orb’s surface and see Sauron coming in for an attack from behind. Cyke and Polaris duck and Scott reminds her not to look into his eyes again. It’s too late, though, as all three of his teammates are ensnared.
Sauron forces them to see their worst nightmares. Polaris becomes Malice, Jean becomes the Goblin Queen and they face off against each other. Meanwhile, Havok is forced to confront his jealousy issues concerning Scott. Alex tells Scott he’s tired of living under his shadow. Scott tries reminding him of how Lykos was once his doctor and how he’s dredging up his insecurities. He tells Alex to snap out it.
The ground beneath them begins to shake and opens up. Both brothers fall into the murky cavern below. Scott searches for Alex with haste, knowing they need to stop Jean and Lorna as soon as possible. He finds Alex getting up from the water, his mind finally clear of Sauron’s influence. Havok hands Cyclops his visor, which came off during the fall. Alex can feel his power coming back, and looking into Scott’s radiating eyes it seems his is as well.
While above, Sauron gloats over the fierce battle he’s caused between two friends. Lorna has Jean in a chokehold and is ready to unleash some electromagnetic fury. Sauron stops them before any deaths can occur because he is hungry and needs some nourishment. He calls the two women to him, looking very happy. That is until an optic blast shoots right past his left ear.
Both Cyclops and Havok have arrived, ready to rock with their powers restored. Sauron turns around, confident that his newfound strength can’t be stopped. The brothers come up with a quick plan. Scott blasts him full force while Havok blasts the giant idol behind him. The idol comes apart and topples on top of Sauron. They discuss what to do with their enemy’s unconscious form. Jean suggests trying to find Lyko’s personality somewhere within his mind and help the good doctor reassert control. Scott tells her to be careful.
Jean finds herself in a cold, bland landscape. She sees Karl tied to a post, nearly naked and starved looking. He tells Jean she shouldn’t have come. That Sauron is going to kill her. Jean frees him from the ropes and tells him to be strong, like he was for Tanya. Karl, now free, stumbles forward exclaiming how weak he is.
Sauron arrives and tells Jean Lykos is too weak, too scared to fight and he will not let him take over again. Sauron dives at her, batting Jean aside. She notices how close she is to the dark void of Lykos’ soul. Sauron threatens he will send her into that abyss.
Lykos gets to his feet, looking stronger than he was moments before. With clenched fists he orders Sauron to stop, that he won’t let him hurt anyone else like he did Tanya. Sauron calls him a hypocrite, saying he did everything Lykos was afraid to do. Lykos says he was confused and should have never let it happen. He charges Sauron and starts wailing on him.
Jean notices how close they are to the precipice of the dark abyss and warns Lykos if they go over both their personalities will be destroyed. Lykos yells back it doesn’t matter it has to end. Jean pleads with him that there’s another way. Lykos says he’s beyond help. Then he pushes himself and Sauron over the edge and into the darkness below. Jean cries out and she finds herself back in her body, tears streaming down her face. Scott holds her close to him.
Jean begins telekinetically removing the rocks on top of Sauron’s body. Havok can’t believe what she’s doing. Sauron could still be dangerous. Jean explains it can’t be so, Lykos committed psychic suicide and both personalities are lost. Sauron stirs with a growl, causing the X-Men to take defensive positions. He lets out a “Nronk?” and takes to the skies. Jean tells them to let him go, he’s just scared. He has nothing left but his animal brain.
Havok wonders if it’s a mistake to let him go. Cyclops reminds him it’s still a possibility that Nereel’s hunting party will find him. Lorna points out the rules in the Savage Land are different. It’s kill or be killed. Alex agrees those aren’t the rules he likes to live by. He hopes, that in the end, Lykos found some sort of peace. Jean looks up into the sky and thinks all he’s found is primal oblivion.
The flock of pterodactyls Sauron tries to join fight him off due to his mammalian scent. It seems the creature that was once Karl Lykos will find no peace on the ground or in the air. He will have to fight to survive in the Savage Land.


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[Assistant]
Memories
Cairo, Egypt:
Storm steps off an airplane and takes a look at the city of her youth. She has returned to Cairo to say goodbye to her ailing, former mentor, Achmed El-Gibar. Unfortunately, she hasn’t prepared herself for the oncoming deluge of bittersweet memories. She apologizes to her traveling companions, Jean Grey and Gambit, for her moodiness. They assure her that it’s fine, and that they came along for support, not entertainment. Storm regrets the fact that she is powerless to save Achmed, but Jean tells her that her presence is all Achmed could ask for.
Gambit tries to perk Storm up by changing the subject. While lighting up a cigarette, he asks Storm about her childhood, specifically how she wound up living the as a thief in Cairo.
flashback
After noting that he’s already heard the story many times, she retells her tale. She tells of how bombs dropped over Egypt, killing her parents and burying her in rubble. Only six years old at the time, she emerged from the rubble and wandered the streets by herself. The young Ororo Munroe was certain that she would die until she met a group of kids she calls the Street Urchins. These kids took her to meet Achmed El-Gibar, who allowed Storm to become part of his clan. Achmed trained her in the art of thievery, an art at which the young Ororo excelled. She survived her childhood because of Achmed, whom she viewed as something of a father figure.
Storm cuts her story off here, and reminds her teammates that they need to go meet with Achmed.
Meanwhile, forty miles outside of Cairo, a private jet lands on a small airstrip amidst a violent sandstorm. A large, dark man named Bond rests on the bumper of the limousine, waiting for the airplane. The sand in the air flies at dangerously high velocities. Bond does not notice or care, somehow being impervious to pain.
As the plane ceases moving, the stairs open up and a stern-looking, blonde-haired woman steps out. Her name is Candra, of the group the Externals. She doesn’t waste any time making small talk with Bond. She asks right away if the old man still lives. Bond informs her that he is indeed still alive. Candra then asks about a boy, and whether or not this boy has been prepared for her arrival. Bond tells her the boy has been contacted, but remains loyal to the old man. “If I were to eliminate Achmed El-Gibar, the boy would be ours,” Bond adds.
Candra’s eyes suddenly glow red, and she telekinetically lifts Bond into the air. “Do not presume to think for me, Bond,” she says. “Cunning and guile are not your strong suits. I have given you your powers with no more than a passing thought. I can take them, and your life, away!” She releases Bond and he crashes to the ground. She reminds him that if they were to kill Achmed directly, the boy would view him as a martyr. Candra wants the boy to be loyal to her alone, for only she has the means to exploit his latent power.
She steps into the limousine, and once again orders Bond to bring her the boy. The limo speeds away.
Back in Cairo, Storm, Jean Grey and Gambit move through the crowded market streets. Just as Storm reminds her teammates to proceed carefully in this dangerous area, a small girl sneaks up and snatches Jean’s purse. By the time Jean can scream “thief”, the girl has dispersed herself amongst the crowd. As she runs, she repeats to herself her dogma of theft: run, don’t look back, look no one in the eye, say a prayer to the Saint of All Thieves, calm breathing, leave the crowds, find an empty alley to disappear into…
The girl is almost free when a large bolt of lightning appears in her path. “Halt!” a voice booms. The frightened girl stops in her tracks and falls to the ground, covering her head. As a storm of rain and wind whirr around her head, she prays to the saints to protect her. Just as quickly as the storm started, it stops. The confused girl looks up, believing the saints have heard her prayers. Instead, she sees Storm, Gambit and Jean Grey staring down at her, their arms folded and stern expressions written across their faces.
Realizing she has been caught, the thief child immediately starts spouting a story about why she has Jean’s purse. She tells Jean that she saw her drop her purse, and tried to return it to her, but got lost in the busy crowd. “But now, you are here!” the girl says, returning the purse. “No reward is necessary, beautiful lady!”
Jean remains silent. The girl keeps on rambling. She nonchalantly drops that she is a starving orphan, and then showers Jean with compliments as she takes a bow. The girl turns to leave, but Storm taps her on the shoulder. “The money, urchin,” Storm demands.
The girl feigns ignorance at first, but then whips out a wad of bills from her pocket. “Forgive the hunger that has taken control of my mind!” the girl says. “I had taken the money from the purse for safe-keeping.” She returns the money and then once again tries to leave, this time mentioning that she needs to find some milk for her hungry younger brother.
Storm smirks, and summons a gust of wind which suspends the child in the air. She approaches the thief and demands that she notify Achmed of her presence. “Take word to the master thief of Cairo that Ororo, now known as Storm, has returned as his command,” Storm tells her. The child recognizes the name Ororo and agrees without hesitation. Then, Storm asks if the child has forgotten about something. The child begrudgingly pulls out a wallet and hands it back to Storm, who in turn hands it to Gambit.
“You would be well advised to remember that you, too, are a stranger in this city,” she tells her surprised teammate. “Thieves have different ways around the world.” Gambit looks at the wallet with a stunned expression on his face. Jean laughs, and jokingly asks Gambit if he would like for her to hang on to his wallet.
As the thief runs away, a smile appears on Storm’s face as she remembers her own childhood. Jean comments that it is nice to see her smiling again. Storm responds that she has lacked the ability ever since hearing of Achmed’s condition, but the overwhelming nostalgia of returning to Cairo has lifter her spirits a little bit.
Elsewhere in Cairo, a teenage boy named Jamil runs across the rooftops. While Jamil is also a pupil of Achmed El-Gibar, he has recently sought out other teachings and methods. He’s been studying the dark arts in response to the ever-growing dangers of the city, and wishes to take control of the Street Urchins. This is the boy who has drawn the attention of Candra and Bond.
The X-Men finally reach the door which leads to the Street Urchins’ hideout. The entrance is a small door in the back of a dark alley. Gambit comments that he feels uneasy standing in such a vulnerable position. Just then, Jamil leaps down from the roofs, bearing a large knife in each hand. He tells them to leave, but Storm refuses. She tells him she has come seeking Achmed El-Gibar. Jamil doesn’t care and summons his peers, who emerge from the shadows. Gambit prepares for a fight, but Storm orders him not to interfere.
Suddenly, the door opens, and the young girl from earlier yells for Jamil to stop. “That is Ororo! The one now called Storm!” she says. This name draws the attention of all the Street Urchins, who now recognize Storm as one of their own. Jamil refuses to acknowledge her status, and tells her she can meet with Achmed in the afterlife. With that, he lunges at Storm with his knife. She swiftly steps aside, and then Jean hammers Jamil with a telekinetic blast, pinning him against the alley wall.
Gambit makes a condescending comment to Jean, saying he didn’t know she could handle herself on the streets. Jean, fed up with his elitist street attitude, snaps back. “Don’t speak down to me, Gambit. I was an X-Man while you were still robbing houses for a living.” Gambit jokingly asks for a truce. Storm interrupts their bickering and asks them to follow her inside.
As the X-Men enter the hideout, the young girl consoles Jamil, adding that his temper always leads him into messy situations. She asks him to come inside and see Achmed. Jamil refuses and runs away, shouting that he’ll let Achmed be alone with his “precious Ororo”
. He runs through the alleys and almost immediately encounters the imposing Bond. Jamil pulls out his knife, intending to kill him, but Candra steps forth out of the shadows. She tells Jamil that they are friends, and such gestures are unnecessary. She offers him some new clothes as assign of goodwill. Stunned, Jamil accepts the gift from his new friends. Candra wraps her arm around Jamil’s shoulders and leads him out of the alley. She tells Jamil that his true powers are being wasted with the Street Urchins, which reinforces his belief that he is meant for something grander. After tempting him with allusions to the power he wields, she asks to meet with Achmed. “There are things I wish to discuss with him,” she says. “Plans I have for the future of the Urchins, and for you.”
Back at the Street Urchins’ hideout, Storm stands by the death bed of Achmed. Tears roll down her cheeks as she gets a good look at her former mentor. She barely recognizes his frail body. What she does recognize is that Achmed is lingering on the brink of death, and clings to life only out of obligation to tie up his life’s loose ends.
Achmed wakes up and sees Ororo standing over him. He perks up and begins speaking with her. While his body is decrepit and worn-out, his mind is still sharp. Achmed comments that the mind is a thief’s greatest tool and the “lifeblood” of a thief. He asks Ororo to talk to him about their times together in Cairo, and then tell him some stories of her time as an X-Man. She seems surprised that he knows about her involvement with the X-Men, but Achmed assures her that he has paid attention to her life ever since she left Cairo. “My heart has ached every day since you left us, my urchin,” he says to Ororo while brushing her cheek.
Achmed is about to make a final request of Ororo when Bond crashes through the wall. Candra and Jamil follow in his wake. Gambit recognizes Candra immediately and shouts her name. She tells him to back off, as her business is not with him this time, but Achmed. Achmed orders her away, saying that he has no business with a witch like her. Jamil interjects and tells Achmed that Candra comes with an offer of help. “Someone will need to lead the Urchins after you are gone,” Candra says.
Achmed again demands that she leave. Gambit steps in and tells Candra to leave. She takes Gambits order as a threat, which cues Bond to take in. He slaps Gambit away from Candra, but Gambit executes a roll in the air to absorb the impact. As he lands against the wall, he throws a handful of charged cards back at Bond. The cards explode on Bond’s chest, an attack which Gambit follows up with a flying kick.
With Bond occupying Gambit’s attention, Candra proceeds to talk to Achmed. This time Storm steps in, once again ordering Candra to leave. Candra’s refusal leads to a temporary stand-off. Candra backs down first, however, saying that she will leave, but will take Jamil with her. She boasts that Jamil is her follower now, and she intends to prepare him for leadership of the Street Urchins.
After Candra, Bond and Jamil leave, Achmed asks to speak with Ororo alone. Everybody else leaves the room so Achmed can deliver his final request to Storm. He begins by telling her that Jamil is one of the most special children he has ever encountered. He possesses some unique, indefinable quality, which makes his corruption by Candra all the more heartbreaking. “Ororo, save him from her. Save the children. They must have a leader in my place,” Achmed says as tears pour out of his near-lifeless eyes. “Do this thing before I die.
“I swear, teacher, it will be done,” Storm tells him.
Later that night…
Storm stands alone and watches the stars over Cairo. Gambit catches up with her and senses that she plans on going after Jamil by herself. He invites himself along, but Storm refuses, saying that time is of the essence. Gambit insists, adding that he knows how Candra operates. He adds that they should leave before Jean finds out and wants to come along too.
“Still you underestimate Jean’s abilities, Remy? You have much to learn about her,” Storm tells him. “I go alone, Gambit. Do not follow. And do not tell Jean of this.”
Storm begins to fly away, but quickly finds she is unable to move at all. Jean holds her in a telekinetic grip, and tells Storm that she shouldn’t underestimate her either. The three of them finally accept that they have to go together. They head into the streets of Cairo to gather information on Candra’s whereabouts. Storm and Gambit use some very shady methods of extracting information from people they meet, much to Jean’s disappointment. After only a short time, the three X-Men stumble into an alleyway that is under heavy scrutiny. They look up and see an entire army of street thugs watching them. Jamil approaches the X-Men from behind with his own group of thugs. He tells Storm she shouldn’t have come, and then moves in to kill her.
Storm preemptively attacks Jamil and his gang with a surge of lightning. She requests that her teammates be gentle with their attackers, but Gambit declines. He doesn’t want to show mercy to common street assassins who would kill him without hesitation. Jean reminds him that their assailants have no powers, and orders him to stand down if he can’t behave. The matter is quickly resolved, however, when Storm sweeps all the thugs away with a powerful gust of wind. She turns and once again asks Jamil to return with her to Achmed. Jamil refuses once again.
“Please, Jamil. Come with us,” a voice says from behind Jamil. He turns and sees the young thief girl from the Street Urchins laying a hand on his shoulder.
“Karima…” Jamil says as he turns around. “Stay out of this!” he shouts as he slaps her across the face.
Gambit flips out after seeing Jamil act this way. He lurches forward and grabs Jamil by the hair. Gambit begins to tell him that Candra is a bad influence and a traitor, but he is struck down by a telekinetic attack. Candra comes forth and mocks the fallen Gambit. Meanwhile, Bond sneaks up behind Jean and punches her in the back of the head before she can counterattack. Storm moves in to aid her injured teammates. Candra, sensing an opportunity to rid herself of all three X-Men at once, telekinetically destroys one of the alley’s walls. A giant stack of bricks begins to crash down on Gambit, Jean and Storm. While she would normally have time to flee, Storm finds herself frozen as she looks at the walls collapsing around her. She has a flashback to the time she was buried by rubble in Cairo, and watches motionless as it happens all over again. When the dust settles, Candra stands over the tomb of the three X-Men.
“A crude, but effective conclusion,” Candra quips. “But I never got to say goodbye to my beloved Remy. Oh well.” Karima then springs forward and attacks Candra. However, Candra has nothing to fear from the child, and orders Bond to capture her without doing her any harm.
Meanwhile, under the rubble, Jean manages to protect herself and her teammates by forming a telekinetic shield around them. The combination of the blow to her head and the strain of holding up all the debris quickly wears on her. She comments to Gambit that she won’t be able to sustain the shield for long. It’s up to Storm to get them out.
Unfortunately, Storm is in no condition to even respond to Jean’s psychic pleas. Her harrowing flashback continues, and she once again relives the moment of a plane crashing into her home in Cairo, burying her family in rubble. The child within Ororo’s mind screams in terror while Jean tries to pull her out of her traumatized state. She cradles Storm’s head in her arms and gently speaks to her, coaxing her out of her panic. Jean tells her that they may be under some rubble, but the open, starry sky lies directly overhead, and she is the only one who can reach it. She reminds Storm of her promise to Achmed, and the dangerous path Jamil walks.
Suddenly, a powerful lightning bolt pierces the sky and finds its way down to Storm. She bursts out of the rubble, declaring that Candra’s time has come. Gambit commends Jean on her revival of Storm, clearly in admiration of how she got Storm so riled up. Jean responds that they need to catch up with her fast. “In her current frame of mind, I’d hate to think of what she may do to Candra,” Jean adds.
On the outskirts of Cairo, the sun rises behind Candra’s enormous palace. Inside, Candra sits in a throne in a large chamber. Bond and Jamil stand at her feet, while Karima kneels on the floor, bound by ropes. Candra asks a favor of Jamil as proof of his loyalty to her, and of his willingness to explore the extent of his powers. “You only have to ask,” Jamil answers.
“Kill the girl,” Candra coldly demands. Jamil whips out his knife without a moment’s hesitation. He grabs the frightened Karima by her hair and holds the knife to her throat as she pleads for her life.
The X-Men arrive just in time to prevent Karima’s murder. Storm orders Jamil to step away from Karima, while Gambit and Jean launch a dual attack at Bond. They hit their target, knocking him to the floor, unconscious.
Candra, seeing that he bodyguard is out of commission, steps down off her throne and challenges Storm to a duel. Gambit interrupts and insists that he be the one to battle Candra. Storm tells him to back off, adding that this is her battle, not his. After accepting Candra’s challenge, she sets the terms of the duel: if Storm wins, she gets to take Jamil with her, and Candra has to give up her control of the boy. Candra accepts the terms.
The women convene for their duel a little while later in the desert near the pyramids. Bond, Karima, Jamil, Gambit and Jean watch the duel, and are awe-inspired by the powers each woman wields. Storm attacks first, sending a gale of wind and sand at Candra. Candra defends herself behind a telekinetic shield. “I am impressed, Storm,” she tells her opponent. “With powers such as these, there is no wonder you were once worshipped as a Goddess.” Candra then begins her telekinetic counterattack, which Storm diverts with her electrical field.
“I am not a Goddess, Candra, nor do I pretend to be so any longer,” Storm replies while slowly advancing on her opponent. “I am simply a woman. A woman who intends to keep her word to an old friend, and in doing so, save the life of a child!”
Candra keeps pushing against the advancing Storm, but loses a lot of ground. “Admirable, though futile goals,” Candra responds. “Your teacher will die, the boy will be mine, and your powers will get you nowhere.”
“They have taken me far,” Storm moves to within only a few feet of Candra, who continues to push against her with all her might. “Far enough to finish this battle like so!” Storm then reaches out and punches Candra in the face. Candra falls to the ground, defeated.
Their boss defeated, Bond and Jamil begin attacking Gambit and Jean. Jamil hurls a knife toward Jean’s face, but she easily stops it in mid-air. She tells Jamil to stand down, hoping he’ll obey after witnessing her power. He doesn’t, and instead lunges forward in an attempt to stab her with his other knife. Jean simply punches him in the face, sending him to the ground.
Gambit sidesteps the approaching Bond and trips him. The two men exchange a few blows before Gambit hits Bond with some charged cards. Bond shrugs off the attack and taunts Gambit by asking whatever Candra saw in him in the first place. While beating him with his bo staff, Gambit explains to Bond that he had a good time with Candra until he realized she was entirely self-centered and completely lacked sympathy for other human beings. He finishes by telling Bond that he never once regretted betraying her.
Having already defeated Candra, Storm interrupts these peripheral skirmishes. “It is finished. The boy comes back with me…back to Achmed,” she announces. Candra, meanwhile, builds up a powerful psionic charge in her hand. She rises off the ground and moves to attack Storm, whose back is turned, with this concentrated charge.
A knife sails through the air and pierces Candra’s charged hand before she can hit Storm. Candra screams, and Karima steps forward, bearing another throwing knife. She tells Candra that if she makes another move, the next knife will land in her heart. “Hold your anger, Karima. She’s not worth it,” Jean tells the child.
With the battle over, Storm once again asks Jamil to come home with them. Surprisingly, he still refuses. He states that he has no desire to follow Achmed’s teachings, and instead craves the wealth and power Candra offers. Storm tells him that Candra will lead him down a dark path, and dispose of him whenever she desires. Yet Jamil still insists on the path he’s chosen.
“I will pay any price to get away from this life, Ororo. You left Achmed. What price did you pay? Was it worth it?” Jamil asks. “Perhaps we will meet again and then decide who chose the right path. Until then, I am free!” With that, Jamil walks off into the desert, supporting the injured Candra as he goes.
Later that night, Storm and Karima kneel by Achmed’s death bed. Even though she failed to bring Jamil home, he tells Storm that she hasn’t failed her mission. “When you were one of my pupils, I would send you out for some small treasure and you would return with a greater one,” he says, gesturing towards Karima. He tells Storm that the Street Urchins still need a teacher, a role which Karima is perfectly suited fill. Achmed El-Gibar finally passes away. Storm weeps while Karima buries her face in her hands.
Shortly after their master’s death, the two women convene outside. Storm tells Karima that she has much to learn if she is to lead the Street Urchins. Karima seems surprised at this news, not understanding that she is now their leader. Storm rests her arm on the girl’s shoulder and walks her through the streets of Cairo, sharing with her all the secrets of Achmed El-Gibar. Overhead, Storm conjures up a fierce sandstorm as her final tribute to her master.


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

[Assistant]
First Contact
“Sometimes being a teenager stinks,” high-school freshman Chris Bradley says to himself while looking in the bathroom mirror. He grips his throbbing head and grinds his teeth while tears involuntarily spill out of his eyes. What started as a normal day for Chris has progressed to the point where he feels like his head is going to explode. Chris’ kid sister Cathy pounds on the door and demands her turn in the bathroom. Chris, however, is in too much pain to leave. As he yells at her to cut it out, his body begins generating a visible electrical current.
The current quickly grows in power and overloads, short-circuiting every appliance in the Bradley residence. Chris’s parents, Bill and Marion, come running to the bathroom door, and find him sprawled out on the floor with tears running down his face and electricity jumping between his fingers. “Dad…help me,” he says. His parents refuse to let him go to school that day, so he reluctantly stays home.
The next morning, Chris once again examines himself in the mirror before leaving for school. Today he feels fine physically, but he still has anxiety, as he plans on asking a popular girl named Donna on a date. This thought occupies his mind as he walks to school, and he barely notices that he is being watched by a gorgeous red-haired adult woman.
 Chris brushes the event off, and then meets up with his friend Jeff. After a misunderstood attempt to explain the previous day’s strange event to Jeff, the two hurry off to school. A bright red sports car intersects their path at a crosswalk. Once again, Chris sees the red-haired woman, this time in the passenger seat. He doesn’t recognize the driver, however. The car speeds off, and Jeff asks Chris if he knew the passengers. “Yeah right,” he responds, brushing the comment aside. However, this second encounter disturbs Chris, and he wonders who those people really are.
At school, Jeff tries to nudge Chris into finally asking Donna out. Chris tells him to shut up, most likely because Donna stands within an earshot, talking to her friends. Chris is about to comment that he’ll ask her when he is ready, when the red sports car pulls up across the street. The red-headed woman and the tall man with red pupils draw his attention. Chris decides to run, believing there to be some connection between his electrical incident and these stalkers. However, he trips over a stray backpack and lands right at Donna’s feet. Her friends giggle at Chris’ misfortune. Donna, however, casts him a sympathetic glance and says hello.
“Er, hi, Donna,” Chris says, taking advantage of the opportunity Donna has provided. “Just getting in some practice worshipping the ground you walk on.”
Somehow, Donna isn’t repelled by this pick-up line, and the two begin chatting. Chris asks her if they can talk after class, and Donna replies that they should walk home together. Chris maintains his composure, but he can barely contain his internal excitement. As the two enter the school, he barely notices that his stalkers have departed. He builds up the confidence to ask Donna out on a date, and she accepts his offer. With that off his chest, Chris starts noticing once again that his head hurts.
Later on during class, his electrical powers start acting up again, and he has to flee to the restroom to hide his mutant ability. Things seem to calm down at first, but then Chris’ hair stands on end, his pupils turn white, and electricity starts pouring out of his body. He screams, setting off a full discharge that blows out the school’s windows.
Gambit and Jean Grey, who are discussing how they are going to tell Chris about his mutant manifestation, witness this event from the street. They rush into the high school, pushing their way through crowds of frightened teenagers.
 They trace the source to the men’s room toilet, but Chris’ power holds the door shut. Gambit charges a playing card and blows the door open. They see Chris inside, completely out of control of his power. He loses consciousness and collapses on the bathroom floor. Instead of waiting around to explain about Chris’ mutant manifestation to the authorities, who are currently heading towards the bathroom, Gambit decides that a better course of action would be to simply flee. He blows out a window, and Jean carries Chris, Gambit and herself to safety, courtesy of her telekinesis.
	Jean and Gambit take the barely conscious Chris to his home. Chris’ mother Marion phones her husband Bill, who comes home from work to see his son. Chris lies down on the couch, and drifts in and out of consciousness while his parents demand to know what is happening. Jean formally introduces herself and Gambit.
	“Mr. LeBeau and I are from the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning,” she says. “We work with Professor Charles Xavier.”
	“Charles Xavier? Who’s he?” Bill asks.
	“He’s an expert…on mutants,” Jean replies, not noticing that Chris is awake and listening to this exchange. Chris doesn’t take this news well, and his powers start acting up again.
	“Why are you saying these things about me?! It’s not true,” he shouts, capturing the attention of his parents and the X-Men. Chris feels very guilty for becoming a burden on his parents all of the sudden. When his mom reaches out to embrace him, Chris tells her to stay away. He then runs out the door and tells everyone to leave him alone.
	He ends up running over to his buddy Jeff’s house in need of a friend. Jeff meets the frantic Chris outside, who cowers behind a tree. Chris proceeds to explain that he has been augmented by the strangers they saw earlier that day. Jeff asks what he’s talking about.
	“They say I’m a…mutant,” Chris says, stepping out from the cover of the tree. His eyes no longer have discernible pupils, and a strong electrical charge emanates from his body. Jeff doesn’t take the news well. Instead of providing the support Chris needs, he freaks out, calls for his dad, and tells Chris to get away. Chris doesn’t need to be told twice. Already paranoid about hurting people he loves, he runs. He runs until he collapses from exhaustion. Jean and Gambit eventually find him, panting and crying in the street. They offer their help, and a desperate Chris finally accepts.
	A few days later, Chris’s parents drive him to the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning. Chris feels anxious about coming to the school, and wonders if he really belongs there. His parents assure him that he needs this sort of help, and if it doesn’t work out, he can come home.
	Jean greets the family at the door. She assures Chris that they are glad to have him at the institute. Chris still has his doubts, but momentarily sets his reservations aside so he can ogle the figure of Jean Grey.
	“A penny for your thoughts, Chris,” Jean asks, possibly sensing his prurient interests. Chris is visibly embarrassed, but Jean assures him that she would never invade his thoughts without permission.
 As Chris observes the exterior of the mansion, he catches glimpses of all sorts of unique people. He sees a winged man flying overhead, a woman flying in the center of a storm, and a blue-furred man in a second-story window. He tries to convince himself that these were all hallucinatory visions, and even goes a step further by trying to convince himself that maybe the past few days have been nothing but hallucinations as well! Jean interrupts this thought process and takes Chris to meet the professor.
The fact that Charles Xavier is crippled catches Chris off guard, and he begins to comment on this out loud. However, he catches himself mid-sentence, and instead notes that although Xavier is bound to a wheelchair, he still seems incredibly powerful. While looking into Xavier’s eyes, Chris feels transparent, as though Xavier can see right into his soul. Instead of feeling scared, however, Chris feels comforted, and for the first time since manifesting his mutant abilities, he also feels understood. Xavier proceeds to take Chris on a tour of the institute.
Their first stop is the Danger Room. From the viewing room, Chris and Xavier observe Jean Grey, Gambit, Archangel, Beast, Storm and Iceman partake in a training session. Charles explains that the Danger Room provides mutants with a controlled environment in which they can practice and hone their abilities. Chris watches this extraordinary display of power, precision, teamwork, and most importantly, control. The display is awe-inspiring, and Chris finally realizes that his own powers may not be a curse after all; they may actually be a blessing.
The next stop on the tour is the med-lab, where Chris undergoes a physical examination. Chris can barely sit still because of the exciting things he just saw in the Danger Room. Xavier assures him that being an X-Man is not all fun and games, and in what could almost be a deliberate attempt to demonstrate Xavier’s point, Hank McCoy whips out a gigantic needle and draws some blood for testing.
After his physical, Chris’ parents leave, and Chris settles into his room at the mansion. He is woken early the next morning by Bobby Drake, but refuses to get out of bed. After some gentle persuasion, he gets up and heads to the Danger Room for his very first training session. It doesn’t go as well as Chris hopes. His powers rage out of control, and he accidentally zaps his trainer, Iceman. He reassures his discouraged protégé that he will learn to control his powers eventually, and points out that he is already improving. Chris begins believing in himself, and states that he wants to work at improving.
Over the following days and weeks, Chris becomes very close with several of the X-Men. Various team members help him hone his powers. He undergoes therapeutic training sessions with Xavier, who helps him control nullify his throbbing headaches. He even goofs around with various X-Men on his free time. In short, he grows comfortable with his newfound family. His relationship with Iceman grows especially strong, as Bobby seems to really take Chris under his care and tutelage.
Eventually, Chris reaches such a level of control over his powers that he no longer poses a threat to anyone. Chris decides that he would now like to return home, and Xavier agrees with his decision. However, in order the celebrate Chris’ remarkable progress, as well as his graduation from the institute, the group decides to go out to Harry’s Hideaway in the Salem Center.
As the X-Men and Chris set out, Xavier receives an urgent mental message from Hank, who asks to meet him in the lab. Hank has finished analyzing Chris’ blood tests, and has some alarming results to share with Xavier. They decide to let Chris enjoy his time out at Harry’s Hideaway and not bother him with these results immediately. “The coming days will be hard enough on everyone,” Xavier says. Instead, they contact his parents and tell them to come to the institute right away.
Chris returns home from his night out with the X-Men, smiling with the satisfaction of the direction his life is headed. To his surprise, he finds his parents waiting for him in the mansion with Hank and Xavier. He begins to share everything he has learned with them, but his excitement is put on hold when he realizes that his parents are crying.
“Chris, we need to sit down and talk,” Xavier says to him.
“Why? What’s Doctor McCoy doing with my medical file?” Chris asks, sensing bad news. Xavier wants to disclose information to Chris in private, but the impatient Chris demands to know right away.
The team tells Chris that his blood tests show he has contracted the Legacy Virus. Chris immediately understands what this means, and loses control of his emotions. His outburst sends electrical charges through the room, and he runs out of the mansion in a panic.
“You all told me it was going to be alright! All I had to do was learn to control my powers and it would be alright! Well,” he screams into the night, “…you were WRONG!”
Bobby chases Chris as he heads into the woods. Chris shatters his ice slide with an electrical charge, and menacingly stands over his injured mentor while glowing from the power that surges through his body. Bobby talks him down, explaining that it was a million-to-one shot that Chris would have the Legacy Virus. “Lucky me,” Chris sarcastically replies. He seems to calm down though, and Iceman asks if they can just chill out for a while.
The two friends sit on a hillside and stare at the starry sky for a while. Chris finally interrupts the silence by stating that life is unfair. Bobby agrees. Chris then reveals that his primary motivation for controlling his powers was so he could go back to living his normal life. He tells Bobby about the horrible reaction he got from his buddy Jeff when he revealed he was a mutant. Chris also tells Bobby about his crush on Donna, and that he didn’t think she would date him if he were obviously a mutant. Learning that he has the Legacy Virus pretty much condemns him to life as an outcast, he explains.
“Chris, excuse me for saying this, but Jeff doesn’t sound like the kind of guy you’d want to keep around,” Bobby responds. “A real friend…a true friend…accepts you no matter who or what you are…or what’s happened to you.”
After another pause, Chris asks Bobby what happens after he dies. “I wish I could tell you buddy,” Bobby replies. “I really do.”
“Just thought I’d ask,” he says back.
Chris eventually leaves The Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters and returns to his home in Duchess County. Upon leaving, he remarks that he has found true friends in the X-Men, because they are the only people who will ever accept him for who he truly is. The fact that they support him and will continue to do so as he battles the Legacy Virus provides comfort for Chris. Upon leaving, he wishes wouldn’t feel so sad, a truly touching testament to Chris’s selflessness and empathy.
After being home for about a week, he tries to reconnect with Jeff. Perhaps a bit unsurprisingly, Jeff continues to shun Chris. However, not everything is so gloomy: Donna calls out Chris’s name as he walks down the street. Chris turns around with an expression of surprise written all over his face, and tries to deflect Donna by telling her that he is a mutant. Donna doesn’t care, though, and actually already knows.
“Jeff told everyone at school, but we’re not all Jeff. We’re not all afraid,” she says. Chris cannot believe what he’s hearing, and he and Donna gently lock hands while staring into each other’s eyes.
“So…I was wondering,” Donna continues, “you still want to go out or what?”
Chris then explains that he has the Legacy Virus, once again expecting Donna to shy away. However, she is completely sympathetic and doesn’t seem at all deterred. Even after Chris gives her an easy out, saying that this news will make him an outcast, Donna persists. As the sun sets behind them, the teenagers embrace, and Donna tells Chris that her feelings for him overpower whatever fears she has.
Later that night, an excited Chris makes a phone call to his friend and mentor Bobby Drake, hoping to share the events of his amazing day.


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

[Assistant]
Horse Latitudes
Prologue:
A hundred miles off the coast of Florida, a man drifts on a raft salvaged from a broken ship. He finally sees a large sailing ship he recognizes on the horizon, and tries to get its attention. The ship is the Arcadia, and Lee Forrester is her captain. The Arcadia’s crew sees the man and rescues him from the water. They recognize him as a former crewmate named Paolo.
 Lee Forrester approaches the dehydrated man and points out that Paolo shipped out on the Biloxi Belle over a month ago, and the ship has since gone missing. After Paolo takes a sip of water, he begins screaming that he has to hide and runs for cover. He runs into the hull of the ship and locks himself in the chain locker, the whole time screaming that he doesn’t want to end up like the others. Lee follows him down and asks what he is doing. “Who are you so afraid of?” she asks.
“He – he eats souls!” Paolo says. Lee asks about whom he’s talking, to which Paolo replies, “Bloodscream!”
One week later, also off the coast of Florida…:
Psylocke, clad in a two-piece bikini, stands on the deck of Lee Forrester’s boat and examines the shoreline with a pair of binoculars. She is eager for Wolverine to arrive so they can get going, but Beast tells her to chill out. Beast explains that Wolverine insisted on coming on this mission once he heard that his old nemesis Bloodscream may be involved. However, since losing the adamantium from his bones, his behavior has become increasingly antisocial, and he refused to come to Florida on an airplane packed full of people. Beast takes advantage of the downtime by sunbathing on the deck of the Arcadia and enjoying a good book while Psylocke impatiently scans the shore for Wolverine’s arrival.
Instead of Wolverine, she sees a wild boar near the shore. Lee comments that wild boar usually stay inland unless they are being chased by something, and when they get defensive, they get violent. Psylocke, meanwhile, performs a psi-scan of the surrounding land and picks up Wolverine’s unique energy signal. Beast perks up and takes a look at the shore. He does not need a pair of binoculars and instead relies on his keen sense of sight. When he looks at the mainland, he sees Wolverine running towards the shore, followed by a stampede of angry wild boars.
Lee tries her best to pick off Wolverine’s followers with her 30.06, but can only hit so many before they get too close to Wolverine for a clean shot. He takes them on his own at that point, unleashing his claws, as well as his animal fury. After a quick battle with the pigs, Wolverine stands victorious and dripping with their blood. He waves to his friends on the ship, and tells them to fire up the barbecue.
Later that evening, Lee fills the X-Men in on some recent events. She tells them of the trouble ships have had finding fish recently, which has forced them to venture further out into the ocean into a realm known as the Horse Latitudes. “Wasn’t that a song by the Doors?” Logan asks. Lee confirms that it was actually more of a poem, and then explains the reason for the name. “It’s an area of calm – no wind,” she explains. “In the days of the sail, Spanish conquistador ships would be becalmed so long that they would run out of feed for the horses, and they would have to pitch them overboard.” She then adds that ships often return from this realm with strange tales. Beast adds that the Bermuda Triangle is probably located somewhere in the Horse Latitudes.
He then tells Lee he can relieve her of her sailing duties while she and Psylocke take Logan down to meet with Paolo. Paolo has refused to leave the chain locker since he first boarded the ship a week earlier, even to go to the hospital. Wolverine, Psylocke and Lee descend into the chain locker in order to talk with Paolo.
Terrified of his visitors, Paolo crouches in a dark corner of the room. He is not angry at their presence, but is terrified of leaving himself exposed, for even a single moment. He begs them to shut the door. Instead, Psylocke steps forward and probes the mind of the terrified man. She is immediately flooded with psychic turmoil, but manages to pick one image out of the clutter. It is the image of a pallid, screaming face with a mouth full of dagger-like teeth.
She describes the image to her Wolverine, who confirms that it is the image of Bloodscream. “I thought I had finished with him up in Canada,” he says. Lee then adds that many ships have gone missing in the area recently, and she needed the X-Men to do something about it, as the Coast Guard certainly would not be able to deal with a problem like Bloodscream.
A few days later, as the team sails out into the Horse Latitudes, they encounter an abrupt cloud of fog. Despite Paolo’s frantic objections, they sail right into it. They immediately encounter Bloodscream’s ship, which, according to Lee, resembles a Spanish Galleon. Bloodscream’s ship pulls right alongside Lee’s Arcadia, presenting an army of ghastly pirates. Bloodscream is delighted by the presence of Wolverine, to whom he refers as “Patch.” He comments that he wants Wolverine’s blood for his “heathen elixir”, and tells his pirates to leave Wolverine to him.
The pirates begin boarding Lee’s ship. A quick psi-scan by Psylocke reveals that all of Bloodscream’s minions have been brainwashed into submission, and are actually the missing crew members from all the vanished ships! “I’ll bear that in mind, Psylocke,” Beast responds, “…as I counter homicidal intent with judicious restraint!”
Wolverine orders his teammates to grant no such mercy to Bloodscream, however, adding that he’s “as bad as they come and not quite alive to begin with!”
Psylocke tries to attack Bloodscream with her psychic knives, but he laughs at her attack and knocks her away. He comments that he has been cursed by a heathen shaman, and can only be slain by “metal not made by human hands.” Wolverine follows up Psylocke’s failed attack with one of his own, but he too is bested by Bloodscream.
Bloodscream then says that he has been redeemed somehow, and that his redemption means he is even willing to give up on his dream of using Wolverine’s blood for a cure for his condition. As if to prove this point, he whips out a large hand-held cannon and fires a barrage of blades at Wolverine. Wolverine takes the hit right in the chest, and is blown off the side of the ship into the shark-infested waters below. The combination of Wolverine’s frantic thrashing and all the blood pouring out of his body quickly catches the attention of some nearby sharks. Psylocke notices these predators swimming towards her injured teammate, and dives over the side of the ship to save him. She manages to land on the back of one shark, and shuts down its brain with her psychic knife.
Back aboard the pirate ship, one of Bloodscream’s watchmen sights land. Bloodscream disengages his assault on Lee and the X-Men and turns his ship toward this land, telling his men that destiny waits. Bloodscream’s flotilla sails toward the island.
The X-Men gather themselves onboard Lee’s boat and watch Bloodscream sail away. Lee attempts to follow, but finds it difficult in the fog. Wolverine gets up in the bow and uses his heightened sense of smell to follow the ship. What he ends up smelling, however, is a whole lot of nothing. Before the team has a chance to figure out what he means by this, they sail off the edge of the water and begin floating through a void. At the center of this large, ethereal void is an island, seemingly acting as some sort of nucleus.
Beast, Psylocke, Wolverine and Lee try to understand this strange occurrence. Beast notes that the force field is strong enough to hold back an ocean’s worth of water, but somehow allows ships and life forms to enter. Psylocke informs her teammates that the field is not an energy field, but an occult manifestation. Wolverine, however, recognizes the island, having been there once before: it’s the home of Belasco, the resident demon of Limbo.
Paolo and Lee stay aboard the ship, while the X-Men depart in order to investigate the strange island. Beast infers that Bloodscream and Belasco must have some sort of alliance, which Psylocke finds odd. It makes perfect sense to Wolverine, however. “They’re both creeps who keep popping up after ya thought ya put ‘em down for the count!” he says. Psylocke ponders what Bloodscream meant about being redeemed.
After Wolverine comments that the entire island reeks of evil, Psylocke decides to run a psi-scan over the entire land mass. She immediately encounters a strong psychic backlash and is knocked to the ground. Picking herself back up, she begins the scan again, this time operating at a more moderate frequency. Using this lighter method, she reveals to her teammates and herself the presence of thousands of psychic mines scattered all around the temple. After identifying these booby traps, the team manages to reach the entrance to the large citadel at the center of the island.
As the team enters the palace, they encounter several things they consider odd. First of all, Wolverine swears the palace is larger than it was on his previous visit. The second thing he notices is a large hole in the center of the plaza that reaches all the way through the island and to the ocean below. This hole was also not there during his last visit. Beast spots some sort of large, stone slab at the bottom, but they cannot determine what it actually is. Finally, Beast comments on a series of bas relief sculptures on the wall that seem to depict the enslavement of an ancient race of mutants. Wolverine also confirms that these depictions are new.
The three X-Men finally come to a perplexing image on the wall of some empty prison carts. Psylocke asks what everyone else makes of these sculptures. “They were to be the repositories for the enemies of the elder gods,” a voice booms behind the X-Men. They turn around and see the sorcerer Belasco, wearing gladiator garb and bearing a large, smoking sword. “But now, they shall serve my purpose!”
Wolverine does not hesitate to attack. He lunges at Belasco, but the necromancer hits him with a beam of concussive magic. It knocks Wolverine all the way back to the wall. Belasco then ensnares Beast within some tentacles, and hurls him against the wall too. Suddenly, the bas relief cages spring forth and take on a three-dimensional shape around the two X-Men, imprisoning them. Wolverine tries to slash his way out, but finds that the bars of the cages are made of some sort of arcane energy, and therefore impervious to his attack.
Psylocke takes a turn attacking Belasco with her psychic knives. Belasco puts up an impenetrable magic shield before Psylocke connects with her attack. Then, he smacks her with the flat edge of his blade, knocking her out. He is about to slay her when he realizes she has potential to be a powerful sorceress, perhaps even more powerful than Illyana Rasputin. Instead of killing her, he encloses her inside a giant, emerald prism.
Meanwhile, back at Lee’s ship the Arcadia, Paolo spots Bloodscream approaching the isle with his vessel. Lee takes a look, and sees that Bloodscream now has three other phantom ships in tow. Realizing they are defenseless without the X-Men, Lee and Paolo seek cover before they can be discovered. They hide out in the fish freezer to mask their scent. Sure enough, it works: Bloodscream boards the vessel but finds no sign of anyone. He heads for the island instead.
Inside the palace, Belasco gloats to his captive foes. He then summons the large slab from the bottom of the mysterious hole. The slab rises to the top and emerges. Beast recognizes the slab instantly, for it resembles the cairn from the grounds of the Xavier Institute that serves as a portal to realm of the Demon N’Garai. Belasco comments that he discovered this particular cairn on a recent salvage operation, and it will be the key to his future conquests.
Wolverine begins to warn Belasco that nothing good will come of him manipulating the cairn, but is interrupted by the sudden emergence of an N’Garai Demon. It springs out of the cairn and lashes out at the unsuspecting Belasco. Then, it flies over to Wolverine’s cage and begins clawing at him through the bars. Wolverine calls for help once he realizes he is completely defenseless. Perhaps due to the urgency of the situation, Beast tries to break his way through Belasco’s supposedly unbreakable bars. He applies his knowledge of physics and his brute strength to a set of the bars and pulls with all his might. Surprisingly enough, the bars break and Beast comments on this “triumph of reason, intellect and superior musculature over superstitious drivel!” He hurls himself at the demon and forces its body up against the bars of Wolverine’s cage. Wolverine pierces the trapped demon through the chest.
Finally freed from their cages, Wolverine and Beast try to devise a way to get Psylocke out of her crystal prison. Wolverine clutches his bleeding torso and, while patiently waiting for his healing factor to kick in, ponders the purpose of Belasco’s plan. “Was that Belasco’s ploy? To bring the N’Garai through to this world and let ‘em run rampant?”
Belasco overhears the X-Men talking as he recovers from his bout of unconsciousness. He stands up, clutches the crystal that is the source of his power, and explains that his plan is not to just let the N’Garai wreak havoc. His actual plan is to travel through the gateway to the realm of the N’Garai and conquer it using his superior magic. His crystal, while extremely powerful in this realm, is at least a thousand times more powerful in the N’Garai realm and would allow him to rule as a demi-god of sorts. After years of subjugation and conditioning, Belasco plans on returning with his army of N’Garai demons and conquer Earth.
While Belasco reveals his plan, the crystal begins emitting a large amount of energy. The energy swirls around the crystal and eventually forms an emerald pillar the reaches all the way to the sky. Above the island, the air swirls and creates a hurricane of mystical energy. The force of the magical pillar becomes so strong that it tears the floating island into two.
Bloodscream witnesses this cataclysm from his ship. He is under the impression that Belasco intends to stop the invasion of the N’Garai using his great magic. Because he is completely unaware of Belasco’s true intentions, he isn’t alarmed. Lee and Paolo, however, are very alarmed by this turn of events. Lee orders Paolo to take the wheel of the ship while she tries to get a better look at the source of the hurricane. Using the scope on her rifle, she sees Beast and Wolverine clinging to floating pieces of the island while Belasco mocks them from near the cairn.
Belasco offers the desperate X-Men a place at his side in the realm of the N’Garai. Wolverine and Beast both refuse, telling him that they would not take his side even if he had already won. Bloodscream finally arrives and overhears the X-Men rejecting Belasco’s offer. He, too, offers them a chance at salvation. “Join with us,” he tells the X-Men. “I was lost in my own evil and now I am redeemed! By this quest I mint the coinage to buy back my humanity!”
“It’s counterfeit specie, Bloodscream!” Beast retorts. He then tells Bloodscream about Belasco’s true plan to conquer the world using the N’Garai army.
“Enough!” Belasco shouts, silencing them. “The portal yawns before us!”
Sure enough, the portal finally opens. The N’Garai demon Kierrok emerges and demands to know who has unsealed the cairn. Belasco tells him that he is responsible, adding that Kierrok can now call him “master.”
Bloodscream finally understands what is happening, and asks Belasco if what Beast said is indeed true. Belasco confirms it, and justifies it by adding the world will be much more peaceful under the rule of a single, strong leader like him. Bloodscream lashes out and says he will have no part in it. Belasco barely flinches at this betrayal and zaps Bloodscream with a bolt of arcane energy. It incapacitates Bloodscream and sends him falling toward the magical vortex.
The situation looks pretty bleak for the X-Men at this point. Luckily, Lee has been following all the action from her boat thanks to the scope on her rifle. She realizes the crystal is the source of Belasco’s immense magical power and zeroes in on it with her sight. Taking aim, she fires and shatters it to bits.
Without the crystal Belasco loses most of his power. Psylocke bursts out of her crystal prison and immediately lunges at Belasco. However, he still retains enough of his magic to keep Psylocke at bay. Wolverine, in the midst of one of his animal rages, jumps in to assist his teammate. Beast tries to call him off, however. He explains that if they don’t rescue Psylocke and get out of the magic vortex immediately, they’ll all be pulled in to the N’Garai dimension and be at the mercy of the demons.
Belasco thwarts their escape using his magic and tells them that he will slay them all before he leaves. Surprisingly, Bloodscream leaps forward and attacks Belasco. “My redemption shall not be undone!” he shouts as he tackles Belasco, breaking his concentration. “I know full well that without that crystal we face certain defeat at the hands of the N’Garai, but I will gladly go into the long dark night to be the instrument of thy undoing!”
Belasco and Bloodscream then tumble into the vortex. As Bloodscream falls, he compels the X-Men to leave while they still have the chance. They take advantage of Bloodscream’s sacrifice and dive off of the floating bits of rock. As they plummet into the ocean below, the vortex finishes pulling in the island, and then collapses, leaving no trace behind.
Beast, Psylocke and Wolverine cling to a wayward palm tree in the water and watch the portal vanish. Beast remarks that he really needs to investigate the true nature of these cairns. Psylocke notes that Bloodscream truly redeemed himself, which is a shame, considering the cruel fate that awaits him in the N’Garai dimension. Then they realize that Lee and the Arcadia are nowhere to be seen. “She was on an old wooden hull,” Beast says. “The prognosis is not good.”
With nothing else to do but drift, the X-Men beginning paddling in the direction of the mainland. After a while, they paddle against the current for a while. Wolverine gets frustrated and complains about the futility of their situation.
“What do you suggest, Logan? Do you have an alternate plan?” Beast asks.
At this desperate moment, the X-Men catch a glimpse of the Arcadia on the horizon. They draw the ship’s attention, finally putting an end to their ordeal.


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

[Assistant]
Need to Know
Dunfee Illinois, the past
The Principal’s office at Dunfee Elementary.
Addressing Mr. and Mrs. McCoy, an exasperated headmaster assures them that they love their son, Hank, but – he sighs - the teachers are at the end of their… The worried parents ask what the matter is and the principal suggests the caretaker shed some light on the matter. He tries to call him on the phone but doesn’t get a connection.
Outside, a few minutes later, the principal goes into detail. Hank is unquestionably one of the brightest boys who attend school. He doesn’t know what’s in his genes, but clearly it has made him very special. He doesn’t know half of it, Norton McCoy mutters. Though Hank favors the sciences, he’s an exemplary student in all subjects. He devours the texts as if they were comic books. The problem they’ve encountered is in finding a limit to his … delightful … inquisitiveness. Exhausted, he rubs his eyes, while the McCoys take in the scene of Hank taking apart the engine block of the school bus, while caretaker Willy curses him out. Hank somersaults up and lands behind Willy, taking away his screwing iron and adding that he isn’t done yet before he jumps back to the bus.
Hank has always been a curious boy, Edna starts to explain. They know that, the principal replies. Oh, do they. Apparently, Hank needs desperately to know how everything works. Everything. Poor Willy managed to reassemble the photo-copier, but only after he asked never to hear the words “Hank” and “Boiler Room” in the same sentence again.
Willy storms off in a huff, as Hank connects two wires which make the engine run again. Yes! he shouts happily and somersaults across the bus, shouting because the spark moves the pistons… because the gas fuels the engine … because the fan moves the belts…
(The present)
 A nursing home:
Because, because, because, the bedridden principal repeats. That’s what he remembers most about him, since he asked. He had to put on a show for Hank’s parents … but no principal could stay mad at a boy who so loved to learn. He misses the students. Hank’s visit has been such a pleasant surprise. One more thing… could he fluff up his pillow before he leaves? The Dark Beast grabs the pillow and asphyxiates the old man. My pleasure, he states.
Well, he admits to himself, as he steps outside the room and surveys the carnage he caused outside. The old man had the name right. He is Hank McCoy, just not the Hank McCoy he knew and wouldn’t that boggle his walnut-sized Homo sapiens mind. Stepping over the corpse of a nurse, the Beast thinks to himself that he doubts that anyone from Dunfee Elementary is familiar with the concept of alternate realties or with the notion that a man such as him might step from one reality into another… rife with new opportunity. As a refugee from a world ruled by Apocalypse, he left nothing of importance behind, save a rancorous subservience to Mr. Sinister that, in this timeline, he managed to avoid so far. As far as he can ascertain, this Sinister knows nothing of his presence. He means to keep it that way.
Despite his self-exiles, he continues to be a radical bio-geneticist of incomparable skill. He’s always looking for interesting things toe experiment on – he lifts the corpse of a nurse… and drops it after studying the pair of scissors she wore in her pocket. But not today. Today, he’s in a contemplative mood. As a transplant to this world, he has long known that it must boast its own Hank McCoy. Until now, he has been too consumed with other matters to give his double much thought. However, now that their paths are finally in danger of crossing, he finds himself consumed with the thought of who is the doppelganger and which is the real McCoy.
The Xavier Institute:
Hank McCoy is surrounded by a supersized hologram of certain molecule patterns. He was certain he’d deduced a telling pattern, but it doesn’t work, as one molecular chain stands alone. He tries to change it. As a result, things spin out of control. He reminds himself that he created this little microverse to find out things about the Legacy Virus, not to prove the little bang theory.
But a voice breaks his chain of thoughts and Hank saves the arrangement before the Danger Room switches to normal. Yes, Professor, Hank asks. Xavier commends Hank on using the Danger Room as a makeshift blackboard. Anything to give them a sharper insight into the Legacy Virus. Still, he had hoped Hank would be further along in repairing the Danger Room. Is he listening? Because the helix chain can’t support the fusion, Hank mutters.
Sam and Scott enter the Danger Room and Sam says it’s great to see him out of his lab. Because… yes , Hank shouts and races out. For as long as it lasted, Scott dryly remarks.
In the observation booth, Xavier tells Iceman that he worries about Hank. When was the last time he saw Hank relax? He thinks Lincoln was still in office, Robert jokes. He’s been Hanks best pal since forever and he’s never seen him so wired. His nerves are frazzled… judgment shot. He’s been trying to help him in the lab, but science is Hank’s game, not Bobby’s. Xavier asks him to be a friend. Provide him a sane voice. Keep his demons at bay.
In his lab, Hank obsesses. Where is the justice in having withstood the most gargantuan menaces, only to have their ultimate foe be an infinitesimal bug? He thinks of the victims the virus has cost them so far. Revanche, Jamie Madrox, Illyana Rasputin… how many more mutants are likely to succumb to this menace? Answer: none. Not if he has to spend every night and day puzzling over this. He will find a cure for his friends. He must, for if he can’t, their blood is on his hands.
He is unaware that the Dark Beast has hacked into his computer, following his every calculation. He grins, finding that Hank seems to be closing in on something but he is not yet where the Dark Beast needs him to be.  McCoy injects himself with some substance, causing a few genetic alterations, intending to find out more about his mundane counterpart.
Later, at a diner where the Dark Beast meets Hank’s ex-girlfriend, Mindy. He’s changed the bubbly, Mindy tells him. The TV cameras made his fur seem bluer. As she touches his hand, her fingers slide over a ring. Ow, she suddenly exclaims. Apparently, the fur is rough as well. That was like a pinprick. She asks what he’s been doing and why he left the Avengers. He’d rather not bore her with the details of his sordid life, he evades her question. He’s more interested in talking about her now. He really has changed, she jokes. She’s flattered he even remembers her. She tried to make sure they had some memorable times, but he just… Does he remember the fair? As if it were yesterday, McCoy smoothly answers. But he’d love to hear it again…
(Flashback)
Mindy recalls how the two of them and a couple of fellow students had gone to the fair, sitting down in a boat getting ready for the Tunnel of Horrors. Hank states in his usual ten-letter word way that he doubted this conveyance would palpitate their senses in the way proclaimed by the boisterous barker outside. With a sigh, Mindy tells him that she would get his pulse pounding one way or the other.
As glowing skeletons are hanging from the ceiling, Mindy moves closer to Hank, telling him she feels so safe in his arms. A physiological response to sudden stimuli, no doubt, he explains. Stimulate me, Mindy demands with closed eyes, waiting for a kiss. As she opens her eyes, Hank is elsewhere, examining the way the monsters are constructed close-up. Haaaaank! She shouts, exasperated. Then he shows them how the other effects are caused by simple holography, causing one of his friends to shout that they don’t care. Next, he tries to take apart a skeleton, until two carnies dressed as Frankenstein’s monster and the Mummy throw him out.
What did he have to do that for, his friends ask angrily. Because it was positively illuminating he enthuses. Did they see? The Count lunged because they interrupted a photocell. The witch swooped from the ceiling because… Because, because, because, Mindy repeats exasperated.
(the present)
Because, because, Mindy repeats suddenly sweating. That’s all he ever cared about back then. So what has he been up to since? Biochemical research mostly, genetics, mutations, diseases, that sort of thing.  Mindy suddenly starts screaming, as boils break out on her skin. What’s happening, she asks, panicked. He wouldn’t worry, McCoy tells her, revealing that his ring has a fine needle. She won’t suffer long.
Mindy starts to vomit and becomes horribly bloated, as she touches a waitress. The woman tries to calm her down saying she has some nurse training. Suddenly, the boils break out on her skin, as well and in the rest of the panicked establishment. McCoy calmly takes his leave. How about that, he thinks. Dinner and a show. That’s entertainment.
Back at the Xavier Institute, Hank’s lab.
Okay, Lucy explain something to me, Iceman asks, as he ices up some parts of a huge device. Glady, Beast replies. Today, he says this is some sort of high-faluting electron microscope. Correct. Today, he says it’ll let him find some precious clues in the heart of the virus RNA. Correct. Today he says Iceman’s job is to keep the circuitry superconductors frosted, so they won’t overheat when he goes for his subatomic peek. Correct. Last week he said this very machine was too crude and dicy to be used safely. Correct. Just checking, Bobby states.
Bobby ices the cables up, as Hank starts the machine. He’s getting some insights, while Bobby finds that something is not right. He starts hurting as the cables overheat. Bobby starts screaming in pain, while Hank insists that he’s almost there. He finally relents, grabbing Bobby and pushing him away.  He hopes he can still salvage the rest of the experiment, but it blows up in his face and he hurts his head crashing into the wall.  He awakes a short time later to Bobby cooling his head with a snowball and telling him to put that down in his report: “when obsessed, subject forgets to be agile.”
 As Hank moves back to his computer screen, Bobby tells him that they all know this is serious stuff, but nobody expects him to save the world over night. He does, Beast replies silently. Bobby didn’t quite understand him. Beast admits that Bobby is right, he has become quite wedded to the lab. Perhaps a change of venue is exactly what the doctor ordered. How about a game of scrabble? Bobby walks ahead outside the lab, as they discuss the rules, only to have Hank shut the lab door before his nose and return to his work.
St. Christopher’s church:
Does he have anything to confess, the priest asks. The other tells him no need to stand on ceremony. He knows who he is. It’s been a long time, Henry, the priest agrees. The Dark Beast explains he came searching for answers about his condition. The human condition is an enigma, the priest agrees. No, his condition, his bestial countenance. How did he succumb to this?
(flashback)
The priest explains what Hank told him years ago. He’d left school to find his place in the world and took a job with the Brand Corporation. He was dedicated in his research. He was searching hard for what he believed to be the chemical cause of mutation. One day, he found something and… And he drank it, the Dark Beast interrupts. He consumed it because he had to know exactly what he created. He was transformed. He paid a terrible price for that knowledge.
(the present)
Funny, he muses, the more he gets to know himself, the less there is to find out. What he needs is faith, the priest insists. Padre, the Beast replies, he grew up in a world that beat the faith right out of him. Then what does he believe in, the priest asks. What he can see, what he can taste, what he can touch… science. McCoy builds an explosive device and tells the priest that, if God does exist, he should tell him he said hello. The church explodes and the Dark Beast drives away, laughing.
Within his headquarters, under the sceptical eyes of Fatale, McCoy changes himself genetically, to look even more like the other Hank. He still has much more to learn about him, but he has one more test to undergo.
The country homestead of Edna and Norton McCoy, where they collect ridiculously huge vegetables. As they harvest them, Edna jokes whether they have the West Virginian soil to thank for the crop. Norton is abut to tell her she knows very well that it’s courtesy of Hank, when the Dark Beast shouts boo, coming out of the cornfield. Edna pretends to chastise him for scaring his father, but then hugs the man she believes to be her son.
He’s about to make an excuse as to why he came, when Norton tells him they expected he’d come by and see if his tinkering worked. This year’s the best harvest ever from his seeds.  They invite him for dinner. Nice kitchen, he remarks, as he sees the kitchen where the gadgets basically prepare dinner by themselves and Edna reminds him that he built it. Sadie got a toaster from her son on Mother’s Day. Poor dear. Sadie? McCoy asks. His grandmother, his mother reminds him. His father bought her a toaster, she continues. McCoy leaves to see his father outside where he is using machine to have the wood cut automatically – a Christmas gift.
They need to talk the Dark Beast states. Norton agrees, adding there’s something not right with him. He’s acting weird, like he’s hiding something. What’s on Hank’s mind. He asks his father to tell him about the radiation accident that caused Hank to be born a mutant. He’s working on an experiment and needs to hear it again in detail.
(flashback)
Norton relates how he was involved in trying to stop a meltdown at the power plant and was dosed with a lifetime worth of radiation as a result. The docs kept that from him and gave him a clean bill of health, sent him home and only told him the truth when Hank was born and had hands like hams and feet like gunboats. Nevertheless, he was the most beautiful baby his parents had ever seen. Hank was clumsy at first and always a bookworm. Norman believes that his smarts aren’t a mutation. He just came by them naturally. Probably from his mother’s side. In time, Hank grew into his agility and enjoyed romping around. On the football field and all over, he turned a curse into an advantage and had his father think a thousand times of how proud he was of him.
(present)
Even after he mutated further into this form? the Dark Beast asks. Norton wonders why he’s so curious. It never had seemed to bother Hank before. Didn’t keep him out of the Avengers or that other group. Anyway, blue fur didn’t stop Hank from making something of himself, Norton continues as he packs more wood into the machine. He’s just glad Hank never blamed him for the way he is. Still, he is busy with the wood. The Dark Beast grabs an axe, ready to swing it. Norton suddenly states that he wanted to tell him, no matter how he would have turned out. His parents will always love him.
With a snarl, McCoy brings down the axe, only to chop a piece of wood next to Norton, instead of killing his “father.” Norton asks him what’s wrong, as the Dark Beast silently walks away still holding the axe.
He couldn’t kill them, he berates himself, as he drives away. But that doesn’t mean someone won’t die. He sees a passer-by, walking his dog. He opens the car window and stretches out his arm with the axe. Someone always has to die.
At the Xavier Institute, Hank is still locked into his lab, hunching over his computer with next to no results. Day twelve. Still hungry. Lab Journal looking tasty. Not amused, he tells himself that the virus doesn’t need sleep. Why should he? He has the molecules of the virus on the screen before him. Suddenly, before his eyes, a chemical formula appears, as well as the sentence because nucleotides bind covalently, answering one of his questions. Where did that come from? he wonders.
An hour later, he arrives at the abandoned Brand Corporation building. His computer’s been bugged and he’s been taunted, he thinks angrily. Never figured he’d darken these doors again, he thinks, grimly swinging his flashlight about. He shouts out if anybody is there but gets no answer. He feels like a character from a slasher movie, entering a deserted building, armed only with a flash light… why do movie kids do that?
From elsewhere, the Dark Beast watches. Perfect control conditions, he gloats, just as he anticipated. His doppelganger is alone and tired. Hank enters a lab, where he sees huge hologram of the virus matrix – the puzzle pieces on his computer nearly assembled, but by whom? He reaches out to touch the hologram and is trapped, as a steel contraption springs up around him.
He knew it, a voice announces. He knew his curiosity would bring him right here. That is, after all, the nature of the Beast. The Dark Beast hangs gloating from the ceiling, face to face with the real Hank who demands to know who he is.
As of this moment… I am you. And you… are a major disappointment, is the reply of the Dark Beast. Hank angrily repeats his question and the Dark Beast replies that he is Hank McCoy and he is tired of avoiding a very powerful man. So tired that he’s decided to replace him in the X-Men and hide from the man in plains sight. He needn’t bother struggle, as he won’t get free. He is full well aware of what he –what they are capable of.
Who is that powerful man, Beast changes his tactic. The Dark Beast refuses to say but hints that Bishop knows and he really doesn’t want to be further than a gunshot away from him, should he remember. That much he feels comfortable confessing. It’s not as if Hank ever would have found out. He hoped they might have been allies but, sadly, Hank’s curiosity is stunted. He’s done an extensive study of his life and he’s shocked at the shallowness of Hank’s inquisitive nature. There are thresholds he won’t cross. He won’t make sacrifices for his research. For example, does he know what that smell is? It is the scent of votive candles and plastique. But he’d never wonders bout a thing like that. How about the prayer a priest screams as he starts to burn. Isn’t he curious about that? Of course not. Of the two of them, only one would wonder about the effects the staphellectis gamma bug would have on a thirty-year-old woman in the prime of her life…
You monster, Hank shouts as he strains. How could he be so - Evil? McCoy asks, as he holds up a syringe filled with something. Morality is subjective, he tells Hank. Science is absolute. That’s what makes it so appealing. Again, Hank disappoints. He will not be missed. Before he can use the syringe on Hank, the X-Man finally bursts free with a shout of denial. Oh, my stars and garters. McCoy observes mockingly. That is the phrase, isn’t it?
Don’t you mock me Hank shouts as he lunges at his doppelganger, who hits him straight in the face. McCoy attacks, announcing that he is his better half. Getting the upper hand again, Hank demands he stop speaking in riddles. Who is he? Someone sharp enough to lay a trap at the place where his curiosity got the better of him, McCoy replies and starts hitting Hank again. He has learned everything about him. Every little secret. As he continues, Hank stumbles upon his high school yearbook. It is open and the faces of his classmates are crossed out. Then he sees the program of St Christopher’s church. Church services have been cancelled, McCoy announces and his class reunion is going to be awfully thin this year.
The snap in Hank is almost audible. Hank McCoy is gone. Only the Beast remains. He wildly attacks his foe and the Dark Beast wonders whether her has pushed him too far or whether he still has a weapon. Hank has him pinned down and is about to snap his foe’s neck. McCoy urges him to do it, but if he does… he’ll never know where McCoy came from. He’ll never know Hank hesitates. McCoy grabs a pipe and slugs him in the face. He takes up the dropped syringe and injects Hank. Things go dark.
Later, he awakes shackled in a cell. McCoy is busy putting stone on stone, walling him in. He wanted Hank to see this, he announces. He has let him live grudgingly. He has places to go and people to fool. There’s always the chance he might need more data from Hank. Seeing him there, he wonders how far Hank’s imprisonment will set back the Legacy Virus research. Hank appeals to him: surely he must understand the danger of the virus to everyone on Earth – himself included. McCoy continues stating that this must seem medieval, but he always had a flair for the dramatic. He states that he knows all about Legacy. He’s made a few discoveries on his own. He bets Hank wishes it were higher on his agenda. Hank appeals to him one more. If they are two sides of the same coin, can’t they work together? Between them they might unlock the cure.
McCoy tells him not to waste his breath. He’ll need it in there. Only one more stone is missing. For the love of God, Hank demands, why is he doing this. Why? McCoy looks at Hank through the tiny last hole before walling it up.
Because.