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

[Assistant]
untitled (1st story)
Control (2nd story)
First Story:
A helicopter lands in a snow-covered gully, and leaves just as it came, after dropping off Logan, the X-Man also known as Wolverine. Logan makes his way through the snow, and recalls the urgent message he received. The message was from a Doctor James MacKenzie, who told Logan that he requires his assistance urgently, that the Savage Land is in grave danger, and that it is crucial Logan joins him as soon as he can. The Doctor reveals that there is a plague, and if it cannot be stopped, all of his scientific work and perhaps the Savage Land itself may be lost. Logan comes to a clearing, where the snow becomes jungle, and surveys the beauty that is the Savage Land, a prehistoric world today, before him.
Later, at the camp of Doctor MacKenzie, the doctor is petting his dog, Bingo, while explaining to Wolverine that he doesn’t know what is killing the Savage Land. MacKenzie tells Logan that at first he thought the disease to be a variant of the Dutch Elm disease, but none of his antidotes have proven effective. As the Doctor goes to his makeshift laboratory, Wolverine tells him that he is not a botanist, but MacKenzie cuts Logan off, and explains that the animals are dying as quickly as the plants, and that last week he found a footprint. MacKenzie picks something off the table and holds it up to Logan - it’s a cast he made of the footprint.
Wolverine asks if it is a raptor print, and MacKenzie tells him that it is none like he has seen before, though it is plausible that it is a new species, carrying this new disease which is unknown to them. The Doctor tells Logan that eco-systems are a delicate balance, that when larger species decline, the smaller ones run rampant, causing defoliation, which means that a weakened plant system is open to other diseases too. Looking at the raptor print, Logan asks Doctor MacKenzie if he wants him to track the creature and kill it? The Doctor frowns slightly, and tells Logan that he can kill the raptor if he must, but they need a sample of its blood to test, as the answer could be right under their noses. The Doctor casually tells Logan that he will need a trained ecologist to go with him, and to try the tent next door. He suggests Logan introduce himself, as he has to keep an eye on a Petrie dish.
Wolverine complies and pulls apart the opening to one of the nearby tents, asking if anyone is in. Suddenly, a large white wolf leaps out of the tent, startling Logan. Wolverine unsheathes his claws and turns to face the wolf. Talking to no one in particular, he asks if they have a thing for German Shepards here. Wolverine is kicked in the head by someone who tells the animal, calling it Sheba, to heel, before telling Logan that she is a Dire Wolf. Logan sits on the ground and looks at the minimalist dressed animal skin wearing woman standing before him. Hands on hips, the elegant jungle woman tells Logan that Sheba has saved her life on repeated occasions. Wolverine says he doesn’t blame the wolf, then starts to introduce himself. With a slight sting in her voice, Shanna tells Logan she knows who he is.
With Bingo at his side, Doctor MacKenzie tells Shanna to meet her hunting partner – “Mr. Logan”. Walking towards the Doctor, Shanna complains that Logan smells like the city, and adds that ‘he doesn’t look all that bright’. MacKenzie proclaims that Logan is the best tracker alive ‘…next to you of course’ he adds as to not upset Shanna further, and tells the duo he thinks they will get along ‘just famously!’ Jokingly, Logan asks the Doctor if he has had his eyes checked lately, and mocking Logan, Shanna says ‘C’mon, Badger or Muskrat or whatever it is you’re called, time is wasting’.
Leaving the campsite, with Sheba, Wolverine says to Shanna ‘So where’s the famous Mister Shanna today?’ Shanna tells Wolverine assuming he is referring to her husband, Ka-Zar, he is away in New York at the moment. Wolverine asks her if they had a marital spat, and mocking her, says ‘He smell like the city too at present?’ Before the woman sometimes known as the She-Devil can reply, a medium sized dinosaur leaps out from above them, screeching as it goes.
Logan unsheathes his claws, and pops a set through the dinosaurs’ mouth. Shanna grabs Logan by the shoulder and tells him that he didn’t have to kill it. Wolverine reminds her that the dinosaur was going to eat her, and asks what she wanted him to do – ‘yell at it?’ Shanna announces that the dinosaur is actually a female, and that it is starving, like the rest of the wildlife, before reminding Logan that they are trying to save the fauna, not add to the deficit. Shanna supposes that the dinosaur’s mate will be around somewhere, and as the dinosaur in question approaches Shanna, Logan asks her how she would have handled the situation.
Knowing the dinosaur is approaching, Shanna grabs a vine an leaps onto the back of the approaching dinosaur. Logan tells her that where he comes from, what she just did is known as ‘catching the tiger by the tail’. Shanna tells him that the dinosaur is only interested in being with its mate. With the dinosaur in her control, Logan tells Shanna that it is only interested in eating its mate. ‘So speaketh the trained zoologist, Logan’ Shanna mocks. Wolverine puts his face close up to the jaws of the dinosaur and makes a bet with Shanna, for fifty cents, that the dinosaur eats is mate. Logan taunts her to let go, unless she is afraid…Shanna lets the vine go, and the dinosaur rushes over to its mate and devours her. Shanna strides off ahead of Logan and says ‘Sorry. I don’t carry loose change!’ Wolverine tells her that he noticed, but would be glad to help search!
An insect feeds off some fruit. A small dinosaur extends its long tongue, latching onto the fly-like insect. A claw goes through the fruit, and through the neck of the dinosaur. The fly’s wings are pulled off by the dinosaur who pulls back his tongue. Logan extends the dinosaur and fruit on his claw to Shanna, and she just asks him what he thinks he is doing. Wolverine tells her it is lunch, reminding her they haven’t eaten all day, and jokingly asks her if she wants fries with hers.
Logan and Shanna sit across from each other on large tree roots, with a small campfire in between them. Logan holds up his lizard lunch and calling Shanna ‘Babe’ tells her not to worry, as they will find the creature soon. In a sardonic tone, Shanna asks Logan how he deduces that, and with a mouthful of food, Logan tells Shanna that he can smell him. Shanna does not seem to impressed and asks Logan how he can differentiate a species which no one else has even seen yet. Her response from Logan is that he doesn’t smell like the others. Exasperated, Shanna looks up and sarcastically says ‘Thank God you’ve got a nose’. She tells Logan they should get moving, as this is not a place to be when the sun goes down.
Logan asks Shanna what she means by that, and Shanna tells him, as if he were a school child, that the Earth rotates every – Wolverine cuts her off and tells her he is talking about the joke about his nose. He asks her if she means, “Thank God you got a nose, ‘cause you sure ain’t got much brains”? Shanna walks off ahead of Logan and tells him that he said it, not her. Wolverine calls Shanna “Miss Playmate of the Jungle” and starts to say something, but Shanna puts a finger up to his face and tells Logan that he should listen, and tells him to put his nose where his mouth it.
Logan sniffs a couple of times and announces that he has discovered the dinosaur they are looking for on the other side of this bush. Shanna sees it and calls it magnificent, Wolverine sarcastically says it is adorable. Sheba starts to growl and leaps over the thicket running towards the raptor. Shanna calls after her pet, to no avail, and the red and green dinosaur rushes towards what it hopes will be its next meal. Logan unsheathes his claws and leaps ahead of Sheba, running straight towards the raptor, when he reaches it, Logan spears his claws through the dinosaur. Shanna calls out to him, telling him not to kill it, but it is too late. Shanna runs over to Logan and highly mad she tells him that he just killed an uncatalogued variety, perhaps even the first of its kind. Wolverine adds that it would be the first to destroy all the other species, along with the jungle.
Shanna starts waving a finger at Wolverine and tells him that they don’t know that, and reminds him they came to test a theory, not kill it. She starts blurting out things and asking Logan if he has any idea of the enormity of his stupidity, while she is still blabbering Logan, never one to let a strong red-headed female get away from him, pulls Shanna towards him and kisses her mouth. Shanna is surprised to say the least, and after pulling away from the X-Man she wipes her mouth and tells him that if he tries it again she will kill him. Logan tells her that a simple slap would have done. Shanna asks him what he thinks he is doing and, shredding his already torn shirt, Logan tells her he is testing a theory, and reminds Shanna that it is late, suggesting she get back to her patient.
(twenty minutes later)
Logan and Sheba the wolf sit watching the fiery sky become night, while Shanna sits with her eyes to a microscope. She proclaims that the sample of the raptor blood Wolverine extracted from the dinosaur is clean. She asks Logan if he is listening to her, and looking up at the sky, Logan just tells her that it eliminates Doctor MacKenzie’s theory. He wonders what is killing the jungle, and Shanna says ‘Besides yourself you mean?’ Shanna the She-Devil walks over to Logan and Sheba and tells Logan that she is going to report the incident to Doctor MacKenzie in detail, which will mean Logan will be on the first plane back to New York.
Logan turns to Shanna and says ‘Like Ka-Zar?’ Shanna asks him what he is talking about, and Logan tells Shanna that he is supposed to be on a tracking assignment, not a sabbatical for the female psyche. In her usual dry tone of voice Shanna asks Wolverine what he is getting it, and cutting her off, Logan tells Shanna that when a woman like she is grabbed roughly and kissed she usually kisses back, Logan adds, unless she feeling guilty about slapping someone else recently…. Shanna has got up from the ground and started to walk away angrily, and Wolverine asks her if she is letting her personal life color her scientific detachment, or better still, her judgment. Shanna shouts back to Logan that she doesn’t know what he is talking about, and tells him he is out of his depth. He tells her that he isn’t the one drowning.
Later at the campsite, Logan, Shanna and Sheba run in when they see Doctor MacKenzie sprawled out over the ground, with his makeshift laboratory strewn around him. Shanna and Wolverine get the Doctor into a bed, and after examining him, Shanna tells Logan that it isn’t the Doctor’s heart, but that the disease has finally spread to humans. Wolverine is playing with Sheba and Bingo, while Shanna, looking into a microscope again proclaims that it is the biggest catastrophe since the Black Plague, and that they have no solutions.
Suddenly, Shanna starts to stumble, and breathlessly says that there must be an answer somewhere, before falling of her chair and hitting the ground. Logan rushes over to her, and kneeling over her, Shanna tells him to tell Ka-Zar that she loves him. Logan tells her she can tell him herself, that she is going to be fine. Shanna narrows her eyes and either mockingly or with a hint of resentment in her voice, she says to Wolverine ‘Poor little mutant…all alone now…all alone…’
Bingo the dog is tied up and trying to reach Sheba. Wolverine is getting it the dog some food, and tells it that only they remain. Wolverine puts it down to him being a mutant, but wonders what the animals’ excuses are. Logan can see the way Bingo is trying to get to Sheba, and tells Bingo to ‘forget it, she’ll go right for your crotch. Exactly like most broads’. Suddenly, Logan thinks he may be onto something, remembering that Shanna said it was the biggest catastrophe since the Black Plague, and Doctor MacKenzie said the answer is probably right under their noses. Logan searches Bingo’s fur, and then looks into the microscope. He figures Bingo and Sheba have not been trying to kill each other, because Sheba is in season! Wolverine sees what he was looking for – a flea from Bingo!
(twenty-four hours later)
Wolverine and Shanna are walking side by side through the campsite. She tells Logan that that was very lateral thinking he did, and asks him how he managed. Logan says ‘You mean how did a “stupid mutant” manage?’ Shanna starts to apologize, and Wolverine interrupts, saying that Bingo and Sheba were the only animals not affected by the disease, and he couldn’t work out why.
Wolverine tells Shanna that she mentioned the Black Plague, and he remembers reading somewhere that it wasn’t caused by rats, but the fleas they carried. He tells her that Doctor MacKenzie’s dog supplied the flea from America, which then infected Sheba. When the two dogs bred, they produced a new species of wolf-dog puppies…Shanna understands what Wolverine is getting at, and carries on for him, saying that the puppies in turn produced a new species of mutated flea, that they blindly let lose on the Savage Land. She adds that since the dog and wolf were the parents, they had a natural immunity to the flea virus. Shanna guesses that Logan drew blood from Sheba, and Wolverine tells Shanna that he then injected her and the Doctor with the wolf’s immunity. Shanna tells Logan that it was a brilliant idea, a hell of a dangerous long shot at that too. Jokingly, Logan tells her that if she starts howling at the moon, they will know he screwed up. Doctor MacKenzie walks out of his tent and tells Logan that his helicopter is on the way.
Later, Wolverine and Shanna the She-Devil are traipsing through the arctic that borders on the Savage Land. Talking about the fight she had with her husband, Shanna tells Logan that it was trivial, like all marital fights, but regrets that she slapped him. As the helicopter nears, Shanna adds that she should not have let the guilt of her actions blind her during her professional work. She tells Logan she was careless and stupid, and apologizes.
Logan tells her she is forgiven and adds that Ka-Zar has probably already done the same, and suggests to Shanna that she call him when she gets back to the campsite. The chopper lands and Shanna thanks Logan for his help, and he tells her that it has been educational. Before Logan turns and walks away, Shanna tells him she has one more thing - and slaps him hard. Logan rubs his cheek and says ‘Now that’s the old Shanna I heard about!’ Shanna stands sometime, until Logan’s helicopter fades from view.
Second Story:
Nick Fury stares ahead of him, out of his one good eye, the other covered by a patch with the American eagle on it. He says ‘So you’re a mutant’. ‘That’s the rumor’ is the answer he gets from the beautiful blue skinned woman in question…Mystique. Fury states that Raven is a shapeshifter and can morph into anyone she likes, an exact copy. Mystique says it is like looking in a mirror. The two haven’t blinked at all during this interrogation, and Fury tells Mystique to show him. Mystique smiles and complies, saying that clothing is tough to do, so she will just do the eye patch, and once fully morphed into the burly S.H.I.E.L.D. leader, she mocks him, saying ‘Of course, mine is still an eye, which makes me a better version of you.’
Fury, along with several other S.H.I.E.L.D. officers just looks at the replica of himself through the high-tech security window of Mystique’s prison cell. He grits his teeth and tells Mystique that pushing buttons and manipulation is her thing, playing that she is the one in control – even when she is not. Mystique, still looking like Fury looks away. The real Fury asks Mystique if she wants control, freedom to manipulate people again. He tells the shapeshifter that he is prepared to give her that – for a price. Mystique shifts back into her most recognizable blue form, and hands still cuffed, tells Fury she is listening.
In a private room later on, Fury tells Mystique that there is a regime he wants toppled. Mystique asks if he wants her to take out the leader. Fury tells her that if it were that easy he wouldn’t need her help. Instead, he wants her to become the leader of said regime. Mystique says that it will not be a problem, and asks Fury how she will get close to him. The Commander tells her that that is the easy part, as all she needs to do is be attractive, and willing. Raven asks what the hard part is, and Fury tells her that her assignment will get progressively tougher. He says that he doesn’t care if she actually seduces the leader or not – Mystique cuts in, saying that she doesn’t mind that part. Fury replies he had heard that might be the case, and warns Mystique that if she does go that route to be careful as the man is the worst kind of sadist. Mystique says bluntly that she can deal with that.
(flash-forward)
Mystique is in the country of this leader Fury wants removed. As the leader parades down the street surrounded by his guards a woman in the crowd uncovers her face from behind her burka. She smiles, and catches the eye of the leader. The two end up in bed, and the woman, Mystique in disguise, holds a whip, a cat of nine tails, above the sleeping leader…
(present)
Back in the room, Fury tells Mystique he had heard about “that” about Mystique too. He tells Raven to keep in mind that many of the leaders’ mistresses end up in garbage heaps with no blood left in them. Mystique grins wickedly and asks Fury if he is trying to scare her. Fury looks out of his one eye sternly and tells Raven that he doesn’t kid himself into thinking she can be frightened, that’s why, he continues telling Mystique, that she wont be the least bit nervous when he tells her to take this. He holds up a capsule to Mystique. Still cuffed, Raven reaches for the pill and asks what it is. Fury tells her that it is his guarantee she will do the job.
Mystique’s pupil-less eyes look at the pill, as Fury tells her that it will imbed itself in her intestinal wall. He tells Mystique that if she does not come back within a week to have it properly irradiated it will dissolve and enter her bloodstream, which will lead to a rather slow and painful death. Fury smiles and tells Raven it is just a guarantee that she will actually do the job once he sets her free. Mystique asks Fury what the job is, and he says that they want her to replace the leader of the regime, becoming him completely. Mystique says ‘Handsome, for me…that’s the easy part!’ and Fury says ‘Fine. Let’s get to the hard part’. He says that the leader of the regime is going to make a speech at the gathering of UN delegates and weapons inspectors, imitating the leader, Fury suggests some of the things the leader will say.
(flash-forward)
Mystique is in bed, with the leader whipped to death, covered in blood and lacerations to his body. Mystiques’ form shifts, from a woman into the leader himself.  Disguised as the leader, Mystique goes to the UN meeting.
Back in America, Fury is watching the surveillance with his S.H.I.E.L.D. associates, and joking about how great it would be if “the leader” got up in front of all those people on television and said “ ‘Yeah, I’m building nuclear bombs in the garage…”’ and other things to that effect. Standing on the podium, Mystique as the leader welcomes the people of the UN, and asking them to take their seats so “he” can get right to this. Someone in the crowd whispers to the man next to him that they may only get two hours of “How great I am” instead of five before he gets to the point. Watching the scene from the video feed, Fury says to Mystique, whether she can hear him or not, to make it convincing and not rush into things. At his side, Dum-Dum Dugan asks Fury if they are even sure it is Mystique.
Posing as the leader, Mystique tells those listening that “he” spoke with God this morning about the destiny of their great nation. The man in the crowd complains, and “the leader” tells the crowd that God surprised him with his answer, by saying that he will return our nation to greatness, not by leading, but by exposing those who would bring their holy land to ruin. The man in the crowd rolls his eyes and says “America the great Satan” mocking the leader. The “leader” extends his arm pointing to his second in command, and exposes him for murder. The second in command is as shocked as the man in the crowd, while Fury smiles, and tells Raven to get to the juicy stuff.
Mystique as the leader still, tells the crowd that there are videos of his second in command presiding over the massacres at Mundawi, which are currently being delivered to all the major new networks. The second in command looks shocked and tells the leader that he cant, reminding him that he is in some of those tapes. “The leader” says that it is all by the will of God, for the betterment of their holy nation. “He” adds that in his hand he has a detailed list of nuclear and biological weapons facilities they have refused the UN access to.
The second in command points his gun at “the leader” angrily saying he will not allow it. Mystique adds that there are also items of interest concerning “his” son and other members of the cabinet, and as the second in command unleashes gunfire, Mystique, still in the form of the leader, dodges out of the way, and pulls out a weapon of her own, firing back, killing several guards nearby. Winking at the camera “the leader” says ‘By the holy god and the power he invested in me, I hereby end this conference. Thank you so much for attending’.
With that, “the leader” leaps over the crowd, and the second in command, incapacitated on the stage still, unleashes fire, ordering everyone able to kill him. Mystique safely dodges the bullets before ending up in the crowd, and gives the man from the crowd earlier a package, before sprinting out, and being shot at from all directions. On the way out, Mystique grabs two men and with them, leaps out of a window, all three plummet to the ground. A crowd gathers below, and from above, someone yells out to them to stop the person in the cloak. A security person taps a cloaked figure on the shoulder and pulls her around. The woman shows her shock, before being let go, and disappearing amongst the crowd.
Afterwards, it turns out that the man in the crowd that Mystique gave a package to was her contact, and she jumped out of the window with him so he could escape too and get back to Fury. Fury asks the man if Raven managed to get out, and he tells Fury that he is sure of it, that the soldiers were looking for a man, and she had already transformed. Fury asks why then she didn’t make it back to the EVAC, and the other man suggests she decided to take her chances in the “big bad world”.
Fury says she wouldn’t have with that pill inside her, as it isn’t the kind of chance Mystique likes to take. The other man suggests Mystique thought Fury was bluffing, and Fury says she may have figured on it, but never counted on it. The other man says there is no doctor within a hundred miles who would – Fury cuts him off and says it doesn’t matter because Mystique likes better odds, she has more control, and that some way, she will find a way to beat him on this one.
Elsewhere, Mystique rubs her stomach with a desinfective, and pulls out a scalpel. Nervous, she puts it to her stomach, and cries from the pain as she opens her own stomach up. It doesn’t matter though, she finds the capsule, and blood covered, she smiles and pulls it out.


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

[Assistant]
untitled
(New Mexico)
Workmen scurry around a cave as a vehicle powers a lighting rig. The early evening sun is fading with each passing minute. A pert-looking blonde news reporter for Action 11, Clara Trinidad speaks to the camera, pointing behind her as a plane prepares to land. She says that she has breaking news in the continuing saga of Sally White, trapped for more than eleven hours now in the deadly cave-in at Hasperos Canyon’s Mustang Cave complex. Action 11 has just learned that an unnamed team of superhuman agents has arrived to aid the ongoing operation. It is unknown whether the new arrivals are super heroes or mutants.
(Westchester)
On America’s east coast, it is already dark in Westchester County as a group of students at the Xavier mansion watch events on television. Seated on a sofa, one asks if she thinks that those are mutually exclusive terms. The guy seated next to her replies, “Why assume she can think at all. She’s just another dumb news twinkie.” A redheaded girl shushes them as she’s trying to listen as a fourth kid says that Kurt and Scott will get the job done. Nobody’s powers are better suited to getting a kid out of a cave-in than Cyclops and Nightcrawler’s.
(New Mexico)
Scott and Kurt exit the plane and meet with the rescue coordinator. He tells the two X-Men that there are thousands of tons of loose shale between them and the first open chamber. It’ll take them all night to dig through it but he doubts that Sally’s got much time left. Cyclops tells him that he could easily punch through in a few seconds but, if the rock’s as unstable as he says, he can’t guarantee he won’t bring the rest of the cave down on her. Another engineer says they should forget it then; they are there to rescue a live girl, not a dead body. Kurt smiles at Scott and says that it looks like it’s up to him then. “A blind teleport? That’s too dangerous Nightcrawler,” replies Scott. Kurt says that it isn’t if these men can provide him with an exact distance and direction to the center of the main chamber, well clear of the caved-in area. The coordinator tells him that isn’t a problem; the Mustang Caves are some of the most thoroughly charted systems in New Mexico. His colleague says that the caves have some pretty steep descents and starts to gather some climbing ropes and other gear for him.
Kurt says he won’t need them. The man offers a water bottle and medical supplies instead but Kurt, checking out a map of the caves, replies that they’d only slow him down. Once he reaches her, he intends to have her out the next second, into the care of much more qualified medics than he. Exasperated, the man asks if he can at least take a light but Kurt, wandering off, asks him why, when even the deepest darkness is like high noon to him. With that, Kurt teleports away, leaving the man stood in a swell of foul-smelling smoke. The coordinator tells Scott that he doesn’t care much for his partner’s attitude and asks if that was all bluff and bravado or whether he can really get the job done. “Both actually,” replies Scott.
Once inside, Kurt manages to arrive safely in the main chamber and immediately calls Sally’s name, telling her, in case she’s listening, that she shouldn’t be alarmed. He knows she can’t see very well but he can see just fine and he’s headed her way. He jumps again, heading down a tunnel leading further underground and calls her again, receiving no reply. He tells her that, if she’s injured, he realizes how much it might hurt to yell out right now, but it would really help him if she could. Again, no reply is forthcoming, so he continues his entry into the caves. Tiptoeing across some stepping stones, he keeps talking in order to help keep Sally calm. He says that he knows she told her brother not to mention to anyone where they went to play, but she needn’t worry. He got out fine and neither of them will get into any trouble.
Across the small stream, he spots a pink ‘My Mystery Pony’ lunchbox and empties it, telling her that he admires her taste in cartoons and it’s a perfect place for a refined young lady to carry her crayons and other essentials. He turns the box over and discovers something stuck in it; removing it only to discover what appears to be some sort of blowgun dart, drugged or poisoned if he’s not mistaken. He leaves the dart behind and, using his agility, bounces down the cave in search of the missing girl.
He slides further underground, wondering whether the cave-in wasn’t so much an accident as a way of covering up a kidnapping. He finds adult-sized footprints, and more than one set of them. As he drops into a clearing below, he remarks to himself that Billy White mentioned the strange figures they’d often see when they snuck in there to play but everyone assumed he was describing imaginary playmates. “Shame on us,” he comments to himself.
As he lands, he sees a couple of men in the distance, dressed in what appears be medieval or oriental clothing and each carrying a spear and dagger. Kurt now knows that those people are not so imaginary after all. The two men are in mid-conversation, recalling an earlier event. One says that he didn’t realize it was women’s hour yet, so he had wandered into the Grotto of Pools just in time to see the High Tharen’s daughter bathing. “Nude?” his friend asks, to which he replies, “Oh yes.” He asks him if she saw him but he replies by asking, rhetorically, "Would I still be alive to tell you if she had?"
Kurt looks at them and determines that they must be another offshoot of the subterranean races. He has no time to be subtle and teleports himself between them, elbowing one in the face while punching the other and drop-kicking him into unconsciousness after he calls him a demon. “Words hurt fella; try to show a little compassion,” he says to now deaf ears. He continues his investigation and quickly picks up the trail, finding footprints leading into another chamber. He tells his unconscious foes that he’ll try and remember to send one of their friends back to free them after he’s had a sharp word or two with them. Soon, Nightcrawler finds himself in a huge chamber with the ruins of a great city lying derelict, spreading into the distance. Voices echo from within.
The dread Tharen tells his assistant, Stennis, that they will make camp there, among the bones of this great city of their past. Torches are lit all around them, lighting the Tharen who sits cross-legged on three cushions. He reminds Stennis to post extra guards as the surface dwellers, despite having never ventured this far below ground, can’t be counted on to remain silent now they have taken one of their own. As he sits, almost meditative in manner, he asks about their prize and Stennis replies that she is quiet… finally. The High Tharen reminds him to treat her well, on pain of his own life. He must give her every luxury and grant her every wish, save freedom.
Suddenly, Nightcrawler makes his presence felt and says that is what he is here to talk to them about. The High Tharen rises and holds a dagger before him as Stennis grasps his sword. They are surprised at the stealthy approach Nightcrawler has made and Stennis asks him what sort of thing he is and how he managed to appear amongst them. Hands on hips, Kurt replies that his appearance wasn’t so sudden. He has been listening to them and among his many gifts is the ability to fade to near-invisibility in shadows, and they sure have plenty of those down there.
They ask what it is he wants, calling him an evil creature. Kurt balks at the name-calling and asks what it is with these people. He informs them that he has been sent there by those surface dwellers they spoke of to bring back Sally White. As he speaks, soldiers faithful to the High Tharen approach him from behind, each carrying a sword. Spotting them, he says that he doesn’t suppose they will be willing to simply hand her over. He has hopes that they can talk things through like civilized men, avoiding violence. Stennis begins to remove something from his belt, telling the High Tharen that he openly admits cowardice. He replies that it’s obvious he is no warrior; what sort of man goes unarmed in public? Nightcrawler leaps, performing a backward flip, telling them that he can always get weapons when he needs them. The types of people he deals with tend to have them in abundance. As he lands, he takes out two soldiers, removing their swords with effortless grace and stands before the High Tharen in a much better bargaining position than a few seconds earlier. He asks if they are ready to show him some respect.
The High Tharen orders his soldiers to “Kill this beast,” but Kurt says, “I guess not,” as he hurls a sword towards them in order to confuse them, telling them they will not find him so easy to kill. More soldiers appear to defend their master but Kurt uses not only his athleticism, his circus agility and his guile, but also his prehensile tail to take each opponent out of the fight. During the action, he takes issue with the High Tharen calling him the beast, though it is an understandable mistake which many make; after all, they’re both covered in blue fur which drives the frauleins wild. However, he is considerably slimmer, less shaggy and at the risk of blowing his own horn. He is at least thirty-seven percent more dashing in that all-important Errol Flynn sort of way. As he speaks, soldiers trip over each other, punch each other. As he teleports, they miss with embarrassing ease and Kurt uses his skills to outwit them. Stennis tries to use a blow dart to take him out but the High Tharen removes it from his lips, opting to deliver the poison himself. He fires a dart into Kurt’s neck, which instantly knocks him unconscious.
Even as he falls, the soldiers begin to praise his efforts, saying that he was incredible, fighting with the fury of the unleashed tunnelstorm. One asks the High Tharen what they should do with him to which he replies, “Kill the thing. Chop its head off and mount it on a pike for all to see.”
(nearly seven hours later)
Back on the surface, Clara Trinidad, wearing the shortest of mini-skirts, can see her career trajectory taking off. She tells her viewers that it’s now been nearly seven hours since the lone rescuer was lowered into the Mustang Caves in search of Sally White. Just how the individual was able to enter the caves is unknown, she says, but Action 11 News has just received exclusive information from a high-placed rescue official who spoke to them on the condition of anonymity. They confirmed that the alleged lone rescuer is a mutant associated with the shadowy extra-governmental organization known as the X-Men. Though some have described the X-Men as a super hero team, there is some evidence that the group might actually be a terrorist organization. Rumours have already begun, she continues, that the cave-in might have been caused by mutants as part of some larger conspiracy.
(Westchester)
The students at Xavier’s are watching the report with resignation as Clara concludes by saying that it is unknown at this time whether Sally White is just an innocent victim, or if she might actually be a mutant herself. One boy remarks that she should admit that she’s run out of facts and so has begun to make things up.
(New Mexico)
Some time later, Kurt slowly regains consciousness, his visuals kicking back into gear as he says something in German. A woman’s figure slowly appears and the vague shape transforms into a young woman with red hair and a green dress. With Stennis looking on, she says that she can’t understand what he said and he apologizes, telling her that he said his head hurts. He rubs his forehead as she says that the darts do that. Kurt asks how long he has been out and, as she provides him with a saucer of water, she informs him he’s been gone a few hours. He nearly didn’t wake at all she adds, as Tharkaris, her father, ordered him killed. However, others objected, claiming it would be dishonorable to kill a warrior of his skill and courage. Kneeling before him, she says that now there is a crisis over what to do with him. If he were of their race, by custom, they would offer him a place in their clan or at least, allow him to fight a duel to try and win his freedom.
Kurt passes the saucer back, replying that it is not his freedom he is concerned with. He came there looking for Sally White, the girl her folks took from the surface world. She asks why he would want to do that. Kurt, with some frustration tells her that it is because kidnapping is wrong, because her parents want her back, because they don’t allow people to steal their children and get away with it. “Pick one!” he adds, “I’m amazed you’d even ask such a question.” The young woman is equally surprised by his response, telling Kurt that she will be raised as a princess among their people; given every honor and luxury until she is old enough to marry into the noble class - a prince, a Tharen or perhaps even the High Tharen himself. She says that it is their tradition which dates back thousands of years. Once every generation, they take a surface woman to keep their bloodlines strong. Stennis interjects, spitting his words out, adding that they do it to keep from degenerating into small, trollish things like so many of the other subterranean races.
Kurt tells them that it’s too bad they won’t get to keep this girl. Stennis replies that it is their highest honor; these are their ways and he should respect them. Kurt is feeling well enough to teleport and jumps between them, saying that what they say is nonsense; no civilized society allows for the kidnapping of children, for any purpose. Cultural diversity be damned. He teleports again, leaving his shackles hanging in mid-air as he reappears a few yards away. He tells them to calm down as he’s not going anywhere; he was just getting cramped tied up like that and wants to talk to them as reasonable people. He asks what they have planned for him; have they decided anything yet? The young lady bows her head and replies that he is still doomed to die. Her father’s position as Tharen of their clan has been threatened by this incident. He has decided to solve the crisis by killing him in public, in a formal duel.
This is fine with Nightcrawler and he shrugs his shoulders, asking what happens if he wins. She tells him it is not possible. No matter his skill, her father’s is greater and he will win. “Unless you attempt to use your magic to escape,” adds Stennis. Kurt fixes them with a stare, saying that he would never do that. They have their own warrior traditions up above. He will fight her dad without teleporting but it is important that Sally be there to see it. She asks why and Kurt blatantly lies, saying that it is vital that she see that he dies in her service, still fighting for her, otherwise he’ll be denied his rightful warrior’s place in the next life. “That seems honorable,” she replies.
Soon, Kurt is led to a large circular chamber, which is populated by members of the subterranean race, eager to see some action. Tharkaris calms himself as an assistant prepares to place a shackle on his wrist. Nightcrawler looks around as Stennis points out to the audience that the rules of this duel have been announced and agreed by both warriors. Once begun, it can only end when one of them lies dead. Kurt turns to Tharkaris’s daughter and asks if there is any chance he can say goodbye to Sally before they begin. She agrees, providing he doesn’t try any of his tricks. “I wouldn’t think of it,” he replies.
She leads him to a small cage covered by a green sheet, which is now raised, revealing Sally White crouching inside it, a tear running down her cheek. Kurt kneels before her and introduces himself, telling her that he was sent down there to bring her home. He tells her that he knows she is scared right now, but to try and be a brave girl for just a little longer. He assures her that everything will be fine as soon as he takes care of the mean looking fellow behind him. Her parents are looking forward to seeing her again real soon. As he stands, the young redhead chastises him, telling him that it was cruel to make such promises; she is confident that he can’t win against her father. Confidently, Kurt asks her not to be so sure of that.
The referee asks if Kurt is ready and he holds out his arm, asking him to hook him up. A shackle is placed on his wrist which links him to Tharkaris. Before entering the center stage, he kisses the young woman, who, instead of pulling back, hooks her arm around his neck and reciprocates the gesture. He holds her and tells her that she is some kind of cutie and be sure to look him up if she’s ever upstairs. Tharkaris yells at him in anger, asking how he dare take such liberties against his daughter. He’s going to kill him for that. Sarcastically, Nightcrawler replies, “As opposed to the reasons you were going to kill me a few seconds ago? Are you ready, scarface? Let’s do this.” Facing each other, tethered by a chain about three meters long, they each hold a dagger as Tharkaris agrees that they should begin.
Nightcrawler now decides to play his hand. He asks Tharkaris if has ever heard the saying, “All’s fair in love and war and rescuing little girls from butt-ugly subterranean whack-jobs? Translation: pardon the deception but I won’t be duelling today. Auf wiedersehen.” With that, he teleports away and appears in Sally’s cage, asks if she’s ready to go home and then teleports away instantly, appearing above ground and near Sally’s mother. “My baby!” she cries as she dashes to hold her. Once she has her daughter cradled in her arms, she thanks Kurt profusely and he says it was his pleasure. An onlooker congratulates him as Clara Trinidad strides towards him, carrying her ever-present microphone. She gets the interview she desires and soon, Nightcrawler is on television and in front of the nation (or at least Action 11’s viewers).
Clara: Are you a super hero?
Kurt: Sure.
Clara: But you’re a mutant.
Kurt: That too.
Clara: You’re not ashamed of that?
Kurt: Why should I be? Are you ashamed of being born blond and blue-eyed? Okay, you might not have been born blond, but you know what I’m getting at.
Clara: Well, you look like some kind of devil. Are you the devil?
Kurt: Only to pretty girls on our third date.
Clara: I’m trying to be serious here sir.
Kurt: But Miss Trinidad, we only just met. It’s too soon to get serious yet.
Clara then tries to continue the interview despite Kurt’s levity and obstinacy.
(Westchester, sometime later)
Kurt is sat with another of the school’s young students watching the interview being played. He asks Kurt how he can be that way. The newswoman was being so mean to him and saying all those bad things about them, about mutants, but he kept laughing it off. He asks how he can be so cool in public. He couldn’t do that, not when so many of them hate them.
Nightcrawler tells him that the world at large won’t come to accept them until they get used to them, and they can’t do that if they hide away. And believe me, he continues, he knows all about hiding; it’s almost as if he were designed to do it. He is made for lurking in the shadows, even disappearing into them, and, if that doesn’t work, then with his teleportation he has the ultimate getaway power. It was a big step when he decided to live his life out of the shadows. The young boy looks up to him and asks, “And you’re not scared?” Kurt replies that he is scared all the time, but he’s not about to let his fears choose the course of his life. Maybe, someday, that will help show the world how not to let their fears rule them.
The boy says that he did run away. He didn’t fight that underground guy like he promised. Of course, he replies, it was the only honorable thing to do. Long ago, his first fencing instructor warned him never to let scoundrels dictate the terms of honor to you; they’ll always use it to manipulate a good man into doing stupid things. He asks the boy if he understands and he replies that he isn’t sure. Kurt continues, telling him that his one duty down there was to rescue Sally White, and risking his life to fight a duel would have been a betrayal of that duty. He is free to risk his life when that is all there is at stake, but he wasn’t free to risk hers. Now she is safe he may indeed return someday and give the fellow his fencing lesson; personally teach him not to kidnap surface girls. No hurry though, he adds, let him stew a bit. The boy says, “Cool. Want to watch your interview again?” Kurt says sure, asking him to rewind the tape while he rounds up more popcorn.


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

[Assistant]
The Swordsmith
It’s night time in Tokyo, Japan and Wolverine wanders through the neon lit city streets of what is pretty much his second home. He hasn’t been to this part of town before but the second he arrived he sensed something funny. There is a thirst for blood in the air, which is something he knows a little about. As he rounds a corner, he sees a stand-off in progress. Three men dressed as samurai surround a beautiful young woman wearing green pants and top covered by a red overcoat. He notices that she is calm and senses that, despite having smooth skin, soft as fallen snow, this damsel ain’t in much distress.
He opts to sit this one out, just to see what she does. As two of the warriors close in on her, the third hangs back, as she quickly turns and reaches under her coat, producing a sword of her own which he wields with assured professionalism. She removes the helmet (and possible the head) of the first one and thrusts behind her to shove her sword through the second warrior’s gut. With both men down, she glances to her left and says, “Azuma!” The third man is elderly with long silver hair and he also brandishes a gleaming sword. He tells he woman, Renge, that her skills have improved, but then he would expect nothing less from the daughter of a legendary swordsmith. She will however not find him as easy to defeat as his minions.
Their swords clash, steel colliding with steel, but Renge immediately realizes that her skills may not be enough against her more experienced foe. She falls backwards after another clash and hits the ground. Having dropped her sword, she is easy prey. Azuma raises his sword and prepares to bring it down on her but Wolverine decides now is the time to act. He pops his claws and places them between the sword and Renge, stopping it in its tracks. He swings at Azuma with his other hand but doesn’t connect with him. He tells Azuma that he’s not so tough when he’s picking on someone his own size.
Surprisingly, Azuma swings the sword back straight away, almost catching Wolverine out with the speed of his response. He says that he doesn’t know who Wolverine is, but he’ll now find out just how deep his blade can cut. A slice to the stomach rips into Wolverine’s flesh but he only grins at Azuma, telling him that wasn’t bad for an old man. Before any further action can ensue, the flashing red light of a police patrol car forces Azuma to slink back into the shadows as Renge grabs Wolverine and dashes down an alleyway with her arm around his shoulder. She tells him that he fights well for a foreigner. He replies that she does too, for a girl.
Renge leads him to her house where she tends to his wounds. Wolverine has his shirt off and lies on the bed as Renge washes the wound. She has heard the tales of the man with claws on his hands and asks if they call him Wolverine. He confirms that they do, but his friends call him Logan. She replies that she has no friends, and her name is Renge. Smooth as always, he asks her how a looker like her ended up all alone in the world but she says it’s a long story. Logan has time on his hands.
(flashback)
Renge tells him that her father was one of the most renowned swordsmiths in all Japan. One day, he showed her a sword called ‘Mikage,’ which had been passed down in her family from generation to generation. It was the finest sword ever crafted and was rumored to possess mystical powers. According to legend, Mikage had killed gods and devils alike. She continues to say that having heard of the sword’s legendary power, Azuma, her father’s apprentice, decided to try and steal the sacred blade. He struck down her father in cold blood but her father, who had suspected Azuma of evil intentions, entrusted her with the sword and told her to protect it should anything happen to him. She fled the house and Azuma has been relentlessly chasing her, and Mikage ever since.
(present)
She adds that he will pursue the sword until it is his and she is dead. If he ever comes to possess it, then he will use its power to turn the world into a living hell. However, before that, he will have to pry the sword out of her cold, lifeless hands. She holds Mikage in front of her, admiring its beauty.
Later that night, while Renge sleeps, Wolverine decides to see what all the fuss is about. He takes Mikage and heads out into the night before stopping and removing it from its sheath. He holds it vertically and waits to see what all the fuss is about. He admires the craftsmanship on the sword’s blade but hears a faint noise nearby. Before long, he is surrounded by a group of men, at least one of whom is dressed in a ninja outfit and who all wield swords of their own. They attack Wolverine but he is quick and skilled, managing to take down nearly each and every one of them. When two men fall, he finds out what the fuss is all about. Spirits begin to emerge from the metal, skeletons of many dead people who, though they appear unable to touch him, begin to haunt his imagination. He concentrates with all his willpower and continues to swing the sword, killing the remainder of his assailants. The spirits vanish.
As the last man falls, he realizes that the power of Mikage comes from its victims; the blood of the people it’s killed; their very souls that still inhabit the sword. They’re looking for a host, a body to possess through which they wish to exact their revenge. He strokes the metal and knows that someone more easily tempted than he could easily cause a lot of trouble with it. He reaches for the sheath.
Back at Renge’s apartment, Wolverine returns to find the place has been turned upside down and there are signs of a struggle. He finds a note which reads, ‘We have the girl. Bring Mikage to me and I will spare her life.’ He scrunches the note and heads out into the night once again.
On the shore, the waves lap at the beach as Wolverine shouts for Azuma to show himself. Azuma is standing right behind him and his men hold a dagger to Renge’s throat. Azuma asks him to give him the sword and they will allow the girl to live. Regardless of the threat to her safety, she shouts for him not to do it but Wolverine tosses the sword towards Azuma and it sticks in the sand in front of him. Azuma grins as he takes Mikage in his hand and charges Wolverine, who runs to meet him, claws at the ready.
The two warriors meet in the middle and Wolverine crosses his claws to stop Azuma’s first attack. He takes a kick at the old man but Azuma is more agile than he appears and avoids him, retaliating with a crunching smack in the face with Mikage’s handle. Wolverine again strikes but is fended off and Azuma swings at him, narrowly avoiding his ribcage. Instantly leaping back towards Azuma, Wolverine thrusts his claws at him, but Azuma rolls to the side and the two men face each other in the shallow water; Mikage dripping as Azuma grips its handle with both hands. “That all you got bub?” Logan asks. “Hardly you lowly dog. I’ve merely been toying with you. Let’s finish this.”
Wolverine charges him, still with all his claws showing but before he reaches his opponent, Azuma encounters the same phenomenon that Wolverine did earlier as the spirits of the dead emerge from the sword. He swings wildly as their ghostly faces mock him, their eyes burning with hellfire. Renge and her captors watch as the power of Mikage devours Azuma and he struggles as the spirits slash at him with their swords. He fights back but to no avail and Wolverine can only watch as a samurai stabs him through the chest. Azuma clutches his chest and says, “My heart…”
He falls to the ground. His death probably comes as much from having a heart attack as from anything physical but the result is the same. Wolverine wanders over and picks up Mikage and asks Renge is she is okay. Her captors flee as she says that she is and she thanks him as he cuts her binds. Logan takes one more glance at Azuma’s body before leaving the beach with Renge.
The next day, the couple are in Tokyo center again, Wolverine with his backpack and Renge with Mikage safely boxed up, now safe from the nefarious hands of her father’s murderer. She tells him that she is forever in his debt. He had involved himself in a battle that wasn’t his and is an honorable warrior. He replies that there is still one more thing that needs doing. She agrees. She has done what her father asked her to do, and kept Mikage from Azuma all these years but for the final leg of the swords journey, she now entrusts it to him. She hands the box over and kisses him on the cheek, hoping that heir paths will cross again one day.
Sometime later at a steelworks, Logan holds Mikage in front of him as the soothing orange glow of molten steel lights them both up. “Born of fire, bathed in blood, bred in vengeance. Sleep forever more with the spirits in the flame Mikage.” He lets the sword go and it drops into the vat of lava. The spirits of the dead can at last rest in peace.


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

[Assistant]
Memories (1st story), The most wonderful time of the year (2nd story)
First story: (New York City, 9:37 PM)Bishop is at a loose end and calls his teammate, Sage, using the cyber shades she wears, that allow her not only speak with him but which also have a range of uses. He is at a loose end and wonders if she fancies renting a Jackie Chan movie. She replies that she’s actually watching one. The advantage of total recall is that you never have to rent a film twice. Bishop asks what else she’s up to. After laser-cutting her way through a skyscraper window and entering the building, she replies that, currently, she’s playing chess against a high school club in Nebraska and a Grandmaster in St. Petersburg, watching a film and, of course, talking to him.
Bishop says it’s amazing how she can keep her sanity with so much multi tasking, but Sage says that’s the beauty of the wireless technology in her cyber shades. To Bishop, it’s a means of communication but, to her, it’s an unlimited Internet connection. Bishop points out that it helps that her mutant gene allows her brain to function like a super-computer. “The ability to figure complex statistics in seconds,” states Sage, “Total recall. Kinetic memory. So I have a computer mind. At least I’m not blue and furry.”
Bishop asks if she’s any other plans for tonight, as she moves around the room using a flashlight. She tells him she’s doing the usual; recategorizing her mnemonic triggers; writing a counterbalance to Mozart’s Requiem; performing grand theft after breaking and entering... “What?” Bishop replies, surprised. Sage asks him to hold on, as Jackie’s got to the bit with the stepladder. He asks her to assure him that she’s joking, but she replies that she’s losing bandwidth and, instead, cuts him off.
As she carefully searches the office, behind her on the wall is a painting showing Sebastian Shaw, Emma Frost and the man whose office she is currently in: Voldemir Zhivago. He is an arms dealer, land baron and one-time shareholder in the Hellfire Club. Its name still chills Sage. The Hellfire Club is an organization that dates from the 1770’s, where the Inner Circle of global leaders decides the fate of the world. As a young girl with special powers, she was placed there as the eyes and ears of Professor Xavier, risking her life daily to pass him information. She was trained as a spy, while the others were trained to be heroes. She never wanted the glory that he gave them, but the recognition as an equal would have been nice.
As she continues looking around the room, she recalls her time spent at the Hellfire Club and wonders if she should have played the games she did while she was Tessa. The problem with her total recall is of course that her past mistakes can always be played back in digital surround sound. She played Voldemir too well and, when he left, he took a very personal item of hers with him; something she wants back.
She captures the painting in her torch beam and digs her fingers into it, dragging the painting away from the wall to reveal a safe hidden underneath. A quick check reveals to her that it’s a Stark Microsystems H900 with binary encrypted passcode encoded into a base six algorithm. It’s supposedly unbreakable, to the average person. She breaks it in three minutes twenty seconds, opening the safe and removing an envelope from inside with the name Tessa printed on it. There’s enough material in the safe to blackmail half of Washington, but she only cares about the envelope.
Suddenly, the door opens and a muscular guy appears and says that he hopes she’s going to put that back. He introduces himself as Chung Yu, Zhivago’s personal bodyguard. Sage doesn’t appear unduly worried by his appearance and asks if he’s some kind of ninja master here to kick her butt. He replies that he is a master of Kung do karate, second only to its originator, Hwang Do Lan; so, yes, he is. Sage stands and fiddles with her cyber shades, asking Chung to give her a moment. He wonders what on Earth she’s doing, so she informs him that she’s downloading everything ever written or filmed about his sensei. She tells him that, to her, he seems like a clumsy amateur.
This infuriates Chung Yum who leaps towards her screaming, “You lie!” Sage counters his attack with ease, and says that this is a case in point; he ducked his shoulder and telegraphed his intended move. “Clumsy, and slow,” she adds. She teases him about going easy on her because she’s a girl, but does so as she lands a kick to his stomach. As Chung readies for his next attack, Sage says Knight takes Queen, which throws him a little. She apologizes for thinking aloud and informs him that she’s currently enjoying a stimulating game of chess. “If you want, I could pretend you have my full concentration,” she adds. This makes him even angrier and, therefore, more careless. He tries to kick Sage, but her athleticism allows her to flip backwards onto the desk behind her.
“Is it my go yet?” she asks. Chung Yu tells her that was her first mistake, but Sage decides she’s played with him enough and goes on the attack. She says that, firstly, if he’s going to be a master of a martial art, he should make sure it’s a good one and, secondly, if he’s a bodyguard, then he should ensure he’s up to the job. Finally, she points out, as she follows up a hand attack by slamming her left foot into his face, has he ever thought of a change of career? Perhaps something with flowers?
With Chung Yu laid out unconscious, Sage notices two more assailants heading her way, using the cyber shades’ infra-red function to spot their body heat through the wall. By the time they throw the door open and warn her to freeze, she is already defenestrating herself, leaping gracefully as the bullets narrowly miss her. She knows that, below that window, should be Voldemir’s personal pool. He doesn’t normally let outsiders use it but, today, he’ll have to live with the disappointment. Three years back, Sage was taught to dive by an Olympic medallist and the joys of a kinetic memory is that she never needs more than one lesson, ever. She lands perfectly and skips out of the pool, lucky not to be caught by more bullets fired from above. It’s been fun, she thinks, but time’s a calling.
Later that night, Sage steps out of the shower. Spending years undercover is the finest way possible of learning to lie with a straight face. Using the shades, she is in conversation with Storm and assures her she is fine; Bishop must have misunderstood her. “So you’re not breaking and entering then?” Ororo asks. “No! You caught me taking a shower,” Sage replies. Ororo signs off, thankful she’s okay, and Sage tears open the envelope she retrieved from Zhivago’s. It’s funny, she thinks, that although she can remember the picture in perfect detail, holding it in her hand is more important to her. The picture shows a young Sage dressed in military uniform and holding a large machine gun with her arm around the shoulders of Charles Xavier, also in military attire.
She moves to her window and looks over the New York skyline, lit by a full moon. She calls Bishop, using the shades, and asks him whether the offer of a film is still open. Sure, he replies, but won’t it be repetitive to her? To be honest, she tells him, she could do with the company, “Unless you’d like a game of chess?”
Her life has been three lives. There was her time as an X-Man, her time with the Hellfire Club and her time before Xavier. She wonders if Charles knew what changes he would be making to her life the day he telepathically called to her. The more she thinks about it, the more she believes he did; but wonders if he looked at the young soldier all those years back and thought of her as a possible spy, alone and unassisted; or did he see further, hoping that one day she would no longer be the lonely girl he met, but would instead have finally found family.
Second story: Xavier’s Institute for Higher Learning, Halloween)Andy likes it here. It’s nice to be able to hang out with friends and not hear the names ‘freak’ or ‘monster’ or rat boy.’ As great as things are, though, he misses being out in the real world but knows it wouldn’t be any different to how it was before. Professor Xavier talks about the day when everyone can live together, unafraid and out in the open. Andy hopes it comes sooner rather than later.
He receives a telepathic call from Xavier, asking if he wishes to join them this evening. His face lights up and he bounds to the lobby, where Cyclops, Beast and Emma Frost are gathering the other younger children. Andy is of stocky build, darkish green in color, covered in fur with fangs and carrying a mass of dreadlocked hair. His appearance is nothing out of the ordinary at Xavier’s. The senior X-Men help the children on with their costumes, for tonight’s trick-or-treating in the neighborhood. Their costumes include several heroes such as Thor, Spider-Man, the Punisher and Captain America, but also a few non-heroes like Mr. T from the A-Team, a clown and a pirate.
Outside the mansion, Cyclops divvies the kids to different cars. Robert, Tommy, Melissa, Jenna and Eve will ride with Beast; Susan, Jane, Devon and Carter will go with Iceman and he and Emma will take the remaining four. Driving away from the mansion, Emma recalls going trick-or-treating when she was a girl, being unable to decide between the two, so just doing both. Scott says that sounds like her: never having a good time without breaking the rules. “Jealous?” she asks.
They arrive in the neighborhood and Scott informs them that they’ll collect them from the same spot in three hours. “Have fun, but remember…” The kids reply in unison, “We know. Look out for Sentinels.” Scott tells them that he was going to say unwrapped candy, but Sentinels, too. The kids head off and Andy almost immediately gets a few compliments on his ‘costume’ from some other local kids. One asks where he got it, and he tells them he made it himself. Another says it looks way cooler than his Matrix costume. The four children make a few house calls and receive some candy before coming across two girls. Normally, they would run from Andy, but tonight is different. The youngest, Sue, wearing a ballerina’s costume, is crying. He bends down and offers her some of his candy and asks what happened. She replies that some stupid Power Rangers knocked her bag away. Her sister, Amanda, says she’s sure it was just an accident. Andy tells her that he doesn’t like Power Rangers either.
Sue tells Andy that he has a neat costume and asks what he’s supposed to be. “Oh, just me,” he replies. She says it’s cool and Amanda agrees, smiling at Andy. Tonight, he thinks, he isn’t a mutant to them and his self-esteem builds by the second. With his friends disappearing into the distance, Amanda asks if he wishes to join them for a while. As he’s able to track his friends down, he agrees and they wander along the street, which is full of kids on a similar mission. Amanda asks him his name and where he goes to school. Andy replies that he attends a private school a few miles away. He likes it there, but it’s kinda remote and he doesn’t get much chance to meet very many new people. “That’s what nights like tonight are for,” says Amanda.
They continue through the town, chatting about all sorts of things like MTV and how it’s changed from its initial conception. As they’ve been talking, Sue has gotten a little ahead of them and Amanda calls for her to wait for them. Suddenly, behind Sue, a van door slides open and two men reach out and pull her inside the van, causing her to drop her sweets, as she’s dragged inside. Andy sees what’s going on and his faces changes into something much more bestial. He tells Amanda to wait there and hurls himself forward at speed towards the van, some passers-by wondering if it’s a wild dog they see. The van accelerates away but Andy cuts away and intercepts them, swinging from a tree and landing on the van’s roof. Inside the van, one of the kidnappers says it’s almost too easy on Halloween, but the driver hears the thud of Andy landing and asks them if they heard it.
The other kidnapper tells him to just drive and orders Sue to shut up when she says she wants to go home. Suddenly, the rear doors are ripped open and Andy peers into the van, upside down and growls at the men inside. A tear springs from Sue’s eye, as she recognizes her savior. He clambers into the van and assures Sue that everything will be all right but the men prepare to attack him. Without a thought, he grabs the first and kicks the other, using his powerful limbs to keep him at bay. The driver stops the van and turns, aiming a pistol at Andy, warning him that he has three seconds before he puts a bullet in his head. One, two…
“Three,” says Emma Frost. The driver is caught in her telepathic thrall, as she and Cyclops stare at him, helpless behind the wheel. Emma makes the men think that for the past two hours, they’ve been doing their laundry. Scott asks if they’re okay and he says sure, now. Andy takes Sue by the hand and takes her back to her sister, who is probably going nuts by now. Scott replies that they’ll finish up here. As they head off, Sue says she spilled all her candy but Andy says she can have his; he doesn’t eat sweets much.
Amanda sits on the curb, leaning on a large pumpkin and crying. Some people have gathered around, wondering when the police will turn up when Andy arrives with Sue. Amanda hugs her sister, but the other people look at Andy with disgust, saying he looks like something out of a nightmare. Even Amanda looks at him as if he’s some kid of freak. For Andy, just like that, it’s over. As he departs, Sue asks where he’s going and Amanda replies, “Back where he belongs.” That’s the problem with Halloween; it always ends too soon.


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

[Assistant]
District X (1st story), All the Rage (2nd story)
First story: Officially, this neighborhood is designated as New York’s 11th Precinct. Some people have other names for it. A cab driver drops Bishop off in a dark side street and takes the cash. He asks if it’s his first time in Mutant Town, to which Bishop replies that it is. As he exits the cab, the driver tells him to take care; “The freaks come out at night, if y’know what I mean.”
The moonlight make the place look almost clean. Bishop strolls across the road, watched by three men in the shadows. When he was a kid, he had this habit, whereby, whenever there was a full moon and a clear sky, he would head to the rooftops. The moon looked pretty much the same then, the best part of a hundred years in the future. He actually feels himself feeling a little nostalgic for that future, as he leaps from roof to roof. In that future, at the end of the twenty-first century, he grew up to be a cop. Now, he is trapped here in the past and they want him to be a cop again, to protect people whose fates played out long before he was even born.
Crime is soaring in District X. This whole section of New York is populated by mutants; some with volatile power, some that are just freaks. The regular police are losing control. He edges his way to a window, his back hugging the wall. He has been told that ninety percent of the crime here is down to two gang bosses; Daniel ‘Shaky’ Kaufman, and ‘Filthy’ Frankie Zapruder. Bishop leans towards the window to listen in on the conversation going on inside.
Zapruder is a stocky, middle-aged man and is guarded closely by two bodyguards. He is on the phone to his girlfriend, Zelda, asking her if she’s on her way. He’s kept his schedule open tonight so, tonight, it’s just them and the moonlight. He wasn’t too hard for Bishop to find, as a large neon sign lights up the roof with the name Frankie’s written large and an arrow pointing downwards. Bishop’s assignment is to assess the growth of gang-related crime and the potential threat to the social stability of the area, and deal with it. That’s if he takesthe assignment. Frankie is just a two-bit gangster. Lately, he’s gotten used to fighting bigger battles with the X-Men; saving the planet, that kind of thing. One city precinct hardly seems worth the effort.
A voice behind him says, “hi.” Bishop turns to see a guy in a short leather jacket facing him. He says he hasn’t seen Bishop before and Bishop replies that he just got here, asking if the guy works for Frankie. He says that he is doing some small jobs for him, but Frankie says that, if he does good, he’ll fast-track him to the big-time. He smiles and says Frankie is a good man. He offers his hand and asks what the strangers name is. Bishop tells him and shakes his hand, which is that of a mutant. He then opens his arms out wide, revealing flaps of skin joining his arms to his torso. He smiles and says that some people don’t like to shake his hand. Back home, he wears gloves and hides his skin with a big coat. Back home, they call him snake boy, lizard boy; sometimes freak. Here in the U.S.A., they call him by his name; Dzemal.
Bishop asks Dzemal where home is. He is from Mostar in Bosnia. He came here with his father, who is a professor of philosophy. He’s a big thinker, but what he thinks is not popular in Bosnia. He doesn’t speak English so good, so here he is driving a taxi. Bishop says he knows how tough it can be. Dzemal asks where he is from and Bishop replies that he was born in the U.S.A. Dzemal says he doesn’t think he knows what it is like to lose everything; friends, home, family. Bishop offers no response but, inside, he knows exactly how it feels. Dzemal continues to mention that Frankie has been good to him. They are his family now.
Their conversation is suddenly interrupted by Frankie Zapruder’s bodyguards, two more mutants, who find the men on their roof. One asks Dzemal who his friend is and he replies that it’s Bishop, but they don’t know him? He aims his pistol at Bishop and tells him to lift his hands. He pats Bishop down and discovers a weapon. His partner asks Bishop if he’s a cop, but the other guy says that it ain’t a cop’s shooter. Flanking Bishop, they ask him who he is and if he’s with Shaky’s mob. Bishop prevaricates and replies that they were right the first time; he is a cop. They know he ain’t no cop and one of the bodyguards orders Dzemal to go fetch Frankie.
Soon, Bishop smells Frankie before he hears him. “Now I know why they call you Filthy Frankie,” he says, wholly aware of the rise this will get from Frankie. Frankie explodes, asking Bishop if he’s tired of living. “Is that why you’re here on my roof? You thinking of jumping?” He stands directly behind Bishop, fists clenched, and says the name is Mister Zapruder. His friends call him Frankie. His girlfriend calls him honey. Nobody calls him that other thing! Bishop remains unshaken and replies that he smells just like he died and they forgot to bury him. Incensed, Frankie yells at him, saying that’s it; he’s just committed suicide! The smell gets worse and Bishop figures that this must be his mutation. Olfactory production triggered by emotions? Real useful.
Frankie asks his men if he had any I.D. on him but the bodyguard replies no. He tells them to take Bishop to shed three, waste him and dump him in Kaufman’s turf. Dzemal says he can’t do that. Bishop’s done nothing bad. Frankie is insulted and orders them to kill Dzemal too. So much for family, thinks Bishop.
Frankie turns and calls Zelda on his mobile. He asks where she is and then tells her to make herself comfortable. He’s on his way down. His reception then begins to break up, as unseen, behind him, Bishop discreetly draws in electrical energy from the huge sign above him. One of the bodyguards tells him to move but Bishop suddenly begins to glow and electricity leaps all around his body. This distracts the guards. One thing that Bishop has in common with the people of District X is that he is a mutant too. He knows what it’s like to be alone in a strange land.
He reaches out one arm and envelops the nearest guard in a coil of energy. The other bodyguard wastes no time in shooting at Dzemal but fortunately the shot rings past his ears. Bishop takes him down with a burst of power but turns to see Dzemal disappearing over the edge of the roof. With his opponents down for the count, Bishop looks over the edge and sees no trace of a body. Suddenly, Dzemal appears above him, gliding towards Bishop, using the flaps under his arms to carry him. When he lands, he informs Bishop that, when the weather is right, he can glide on the warm air. Bishop apologizes for his new family but Dzemal replies that he thinks he has a place to hide. He doesn’t think Frankie will let him walk away from this. Bishop says coldly that he’ll deal with Frankie.
In Frankie’s apartment, Zelda awaits him, reclined on his king-size bed. He’s in the shower and she reminds him to use the deodorant. When he’s finished, he goes to her and says that, when he’s thinking about her, he smells as sweet as a garden full of roses. She places her arms around his neck, but a particularly unpleasant whiff turns her off. “Aaah, Frankie. Not again,” she says. She turns to see Bishop, half hidden in the shadows. The smell is ranker this time. Up on the roof, it was the pungent, animal smell of anger. This is the sharp, acrid reek of fear.
Bishop tells him that he has a message. Dzemal is making a career change. He will receive a generous severance package; a one-off cash deal from Frankie and then Dzemal will never hear from him again. Frankie, without his bodyguards to protect him, weakly says no way, but Bishop leans into his ear and tells him what will happen if he goes after the kid. It only takes two sentences and Bishop has a good imagination. So does Frankie and he quickly dives into his safe and offers Bishop piles of cash. The smell gets so bad that Bishop has to hold his breath and he tells Frankie to take another shower.
(later)Bishop meets up with Dzemal underneath the now spent neon sign and gives him the money, telling him it’s a farewell present from his boss. He needn’t worry, as he won’t be hearing from him again. Dzemal says it’s too much and asks why he’s doing this for him. Bishop’s head drops a little. “What you said about losing everything… just do the right thing, okay?” Dzemal opens his arms and leaps off the roof, gliding into the darkness of Mutant Town.
His name is Bishop. He is a cop, and this is his precinct.
Second story: Jubilee is hanging out in a shopping mall with three fellow mallrats. The place is fairly quiet; probably a weekday and the girls are hanging out next to a fountain feature. Wearing her mandatory pink shades on her head and a Pow! T-shirt, Jubilee is trying to impress them by harking on about her time with the X-Men and being Wolverine’s sidekick. They don’t believe her, just like they didn’t believe her when she told them that she fought Magneto and saw Carson Daily at the Gap. Joe says he was way too fat to be Carson but Jubilee replies that the camera never lies. They head off to find a corndog and, after lending Joe a dollar, Jubilee is called over to a table by Mick, who is seated opposite a friend of his, Jacob.
Carrying a corndog and a drink, Jubilee asks them what they’re up to. He tells her that they’re skating. Aside from the food court, the mall ain’t too packed and most of the railing here is perfect. She enquires about the skate park down the street but Mick points out that, if she actually left there occasionally, she’d know that it’s raining. Scratch that, it’s pouring. She tells him he is so gonna get busted for skating in the mall. Mick stands, having finished his food. He says, let ‘em come. He is the scourge of rent-a-cops worldwide. There ain’t enough flashlights in the world to keep him from doing as he pleases. Jubilee mentions that some of them carry guns. Mick jokingly replies, “They’ll never take us alive. Speaking of which, we better get to it. Later.” Jacob grabs his board and they head off for some mischief. Joe mentions that Jubilee’s crushing on him and, as she rests her head on her palms, she admits. “Oh, maybe a little.”
(a half hour later)Jubilee and Joe are standing next to each other in a clothes shop and, as they check out the fashions, Joe asks if he knows. What, replies Jubilee, that she never buys anything in here? She was just asking if they have any cool belts. “Not the clerk, stupid,” says Joe, “Mick. Does he know you’re packing the ‘M’ gene? That you can fire fireworks out of your hands?” Jubilee says that he doesn’t. Who cares anyway? Mutants are cool these days. As long as you don’t have an extra head growing out of your shoulder, it’s no big deal. Everyone wants to be a mutant now. She asks if they’re ready to ditch this place and they leave the store, followed by the two others.
Joe says that if it’s cool to be a mutant, then why doesn’t she want to tell him? Jubilee says that she’s not even sure he likes her. It’s not a big deal. Joe says she’s kidding, right? Mick would be crazy not to like her. Jubilee thanks her for the compliment and says, for that, she doesn’t have to pay back the dollar; but she’s still full of it. The girls move on to an amusement arcade and Laci points out that they’re out of money. Not a problem, replies Jubilee and walks over to the counter. She points to a machine and tells the clerk that the machine ate her quarter. Without even bothering to check, the witless clerk hands over the change. Now that’s what she calls living off the land.
As she pumps the money straight into a game, a loud voice behind her says,  “Stop!!”  The girls head out of the arcade and see Mick and Jacob speeding through the mall, pursued on foot by a security guard. Jubilee’s face lights up, as her hero and his friend turn tricks on the mall furniture. As Mick glides past her, he tells her that it looks like she was right. “Just call me the voice of reason,” she replies. Suddenly, a couple of real cops show up and join the pursuit. Mick and Jacob are outta there and Jubilee calls for her friends to follow them. She wouldn’t miss this for the world.
The guys soon come to a Seers store, which unfortunately is in a dead end. The guards and cops are soon on them and, although one of them is evaded by Mick, another manages to grab Jacob. Seeing his friend being caught distracts Mick and he is thrown off his own board, landing with a thud on the tiled floor. Jubilee rushes over to help him but the security guard appears and says him that he’s not so brash now, is he? Jubilee reacts instinctively to defend Mick and unleashes an outburst of plasma from her palms. The guard is temporarily blinded and doubles up, so Jubilee uses his shoulder to leap across to the other security guard holding Jacob. She does the same to him and he relaxes his hold on the boy. Jubilee then steps on his board and heads straight for the first cop, landing a kick into his torso. He goes down, winded. Mick and Jacob opt to make a dash for it and Jubilee follows, shouting for them to wait for her.
(the Xavier Institute for Higher learning, later)The rain is still pouring, as Jubilee receives a dressing down from Cyclops. Emma stands behind him, arms folded. He tells her that, if she’d been caught, she would be in jail right now for assaulting an officer. Things are bad enough without having to hear about random mutant attacks at the mall on the local news. Jubilee sits facing him, head bowed, knowing she’s done wrong. Scott continues to point out that she’s been a student at Xavier’s and a member of the X-Men for how long? Interfering with the local law is no way to make peace between mutants and humans. She could have undone what little progress they’ve made over the years. He asks what she was thinking.
Jubilee replies that she wasn’t thinking. She was just trying to protect her friend. She didn’t even realize what she was doing until after she’d done it. She promises Cyclops that it won’t happen again. Scott tells her to leave them; he and Emma have to discuss this. Jubilee departs, feeling she’s let him and herself down.
(two days later)Jubilee is back at the mall, though today the weather is much nicer. She has hooked up with Laci and Joe, who asks if it’s such a good idea her being here. What if she gets recognized? Jubilee doesn’t think that the security guard got a good look at her, and it’s no big deal. She tells them that she had to sneak out to come here. The headmasters at her school were mad. She notices Mick and Jacob wandering across the yard and goes over to see them. “Hey, long time no see, Mick. Close call the other day, huh?” Mick offers her a glance that in no uncertain terms, shows he disapproves of her being a mutant. He blanks her and the two guys continue on their way. Joe asks, “What was it you were you saying about mutants?” Jubilee frowns, and guesses some people haven’t heard what’s cool these days.