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Provide a full summary of the comic book.

[Assistant]
Destination Unknown
Somewhere in Ohio, five young people are gathered on the side of the road, mingling around their car, which has broken down. Collectively, they are known as X-Force. Individually, they are better known as Theresa “Siryn” Cassidy, Danielle Moonstar, James “Warpath” Proudstar, Bobby “Sunspot” DaCosta, and Tabitha “Meltdown” Smith. They are mutants, each born with a unique genetic anomaly that has simultaneously given them extraordinary abilities and made them outcasts. Together, they have battled demons, superhuman terrorists, malevolent immortals and cybernetic killing machines. Today, these young men and women face a new challenge - one that appeared far easier some twenty-four hours ago…
‘Tell me again how we got into this mess?’ Warpath asks as he gazes off to the left. ‘We told Cable to stick it’ Sunspot reminds his friend as he leans back in the car, relazing. Siryn leans against Warpath’s towering frame, and gazes to the right, before reminding James - calling him “Jimmy” as she affectionately does - that Cable wanted them to adopt new identities and go underground. Boom-Boom is busy under the hood of the car, trying to fix something, and exclaims ‘What little Miss O’Perfect is trying to say is we decided it was time we broke off on our own - live our lives the way we want to’. Tabby adds that perhaps it wasn’t the greatest idea in the world.
‘I thought ye were fixing the car!’ Siryn exclaims, to which Boom-Boom tells her not to expect miracles. Ignoring the banter of her teammates, Moonstar sits against a signpost that reads $500 Fine for Littering as she reads a book: “On The Road”. Meltdown announces that her dad used to work in a garage back in Jonestown, and that he taught her a few things about cars. ‘But I’m no Maggie the Mechanic’ she remarks, before asking Bobby to try the car again. ‘You got it, Tab!’ Sunspot replies, as he revs the car, only for black smoke to billow around Meltdown. ‘I give up!’ Meltdown exclaims furiously, suggesting they shoot the car and put it out of its misery.
Sunspot announces that he will fly to the next town and get a tow truck out here, boasting that as sunny as it is today, he is at the height of his solar power. Theresa tells Bobby to slow down, reminding him that they shouldn’t use their powers unless it is absolutely necessary. ‘Zero Tolerance seems to be over, but there is no sense calling attention to ourselves’ Siryn points out. Meltdown declares that she is sick of keeping a low profile. ‘Why do we have to hide who we are? If people can’t handle the fact that we’re mutants, that’s their problem!’ she exclaims. Sunspot begins to drop back down to the ground, and remarks that Tabitha might be right. ‘After all, we got into this situation by telling Cable we’re not going to pretend to be something we’re not. We have to show people that we won’t be intimidated by Zero Tolerance of anyone else. We have to make a stand!’ he exclaims.
Dani looks up from her book and tells her fellow former New Mutants Sunspot and Meltdown that she agrees with them in theory, but that this is the real world. ‘Anti-mutant hysteria’s at an all time high. People are afraid of us - sometimes with good reason. If you’re going to make a stand, make sure it’s one that counts’ Danielle adds. Sunspot defers to Dani’s comments, telling her that she is right, that it is better to be cautious for now. Siryn stands by Warpath and frowns at Moonstar, declaring ‘This is infuriating! Bobby’s perfectly willing to ignore me…but when ye say exactly the same thing, he listens to ye!’. Moonstar tells Siryn that Bobby has always been hard-headed, and that sometimes you have to say things twice for it to sink in.
Warpath tells everyone that he is a little less conspicuous than Bobby and suggests that he could race to the next town and use the trees as cover. Meltdown smiles and tells Warpath that he won’t have to play marathon man, as the approaching van is slowing down for them. ‘Get a load of that paint job’ Moonstar remarks as the purple van with green flowers all over it comes to a halt. ‘Hey! Thanks for stopping!’ Meltdown calls out, telling the two people inside that they are kinda stuck. ‘Bummer. We’ll be glad to give you a lift!’ a woman wearing a green turtleneck, with short brown hair and square-framed glasses exclaims. She introduces herself as Louise, ‘This is my old man, Scooter!’ she adds as her lanky boyfriend leans forward. ‘Hop in, brothers and sisters. Say, d’you got anything to eat?’ Scooter asks.
X-Force suddenly all look at each out of the corner of their eyes and begin speaking in hushed voices: ‘Think we can trust these guys?’ Bobby asks. ‘The seem harmless’ Tabby replies. ‘Just as long as they don’t make us listen to the Dead’ Dani declares, while Jimmy tells his teammates that he can make it to the next town faster than the van. Terry asks her teammates where their manners are, and opens the sliding door to the van, motioning for her teammates to get inside. ‘These kind folks didn’t have to stop for us. Let’s not refuse their hospitality’ Siryn exclaims, pointing out that if they turn out to be deranged psychopaths, they are not exactly helpless. ‘Do get in the bloody van, all right?’
As the van putts down the road, Louise asks ‘Hey, so you folks in school somewhere?’. Sunspot replies that you could say they finished the program they were in, and referring to Warpath, exclaims that they picked up “the big guy” in Detroit and figured they would head across country. ‘I can totally relate’ Louise replies, revealing that she and Scooter dropped out of school to follow the Giant Robots on tour. Scooter adds that they met at a Robot show during the instrumental break of “Monster Truck Love God”. ‘It was, like, beautiful!’. Suddenly, a news report comes over the radio: ‘…in national news, despite their recent shutdown by Washington, a Zero Tolerance spokesman defended that group’s paramilitary actions, saying - “humanity cannot rest until the mutant threat is contained once and for all”!’
X-Force looks shocked, while Scooter exclaims ‘That is so bogus!’. Louise turns back to X-Force, who are sitting behind her, and remarks that the way she sees it, everybody is a little freaky in their own way. It’s kinda like we’re all mutants, y’know?’ X-Force look at each other, relieved: ‘Heh - ow!’ Bobby exclaims as Tabby shoves her elbow into him. ‘You said it, Louise’ Tabby remarks. ‘Right on, sister. Right on’ Dani adds as she runs a finger through her long hair.
Later, in Minerva, Ohio, X-Force’s car has been towed to EXXEL GAS, and Meltdown asks a mechanic ‘What’s the damage?’ The mechanic stands under X-Force’s car, which is held above him, and tells Meltdown that her carburetor is shot, and that he will not be able to get a new one until tomorrow. ‘Hope you folks weren’t in a hurry’ he tells her. ‘Not anymore’ Tabby replies. Nearby, Moonstar leans against a gas pump, while a young gas attendant checks her out, and asks if she and her friends are in a band or something. ‘I mean, you could be on MTV with your looks!’ The gas attendant introduces himself as Marty, and tells Moonstar that if she is not doing anything later, he and his friends always end up at the Spigot down on Oak Street. Dani turns to look at Marty, and smiles at him. Peering at him from over her sunglasses, she thanks him, but explains that she is just passing through.
Meltdown returns to the others and tells them that it looks like that are stuck here until the morning. ‘Great. Twenty-four hours of nothing to do’ Warpath complains. But Sunspot points out that they haven’t had this much downtime in who knows how long. ‘Let’s enjoy it while it lasts’ he suggests. Making their way down a street lined with shops, Moonstar suggests that they should rent a couple of rooms at a local motel. ‘Later. I doubt they’re gonna be full’ Siryn replies, striding ahead of Moonstar, while the other three lag behind. Theresa announces that she wants to get to the local thrift stores before they close, reminding everyone that Sebastian Shaw spoiled her last shopping trip. ‘Gee, Theresa, aren’t you gonna remind us to stay out of trouble?’ Meltdown asks.
‘Nah, ye’re all adults. Ye don’t need me to be yuir mother!’ Siryn replies. Warpath tells everyone that he was hoping they would cover another hundred miles today. ‘The sooner I reach Nebraska and find Michael Whitecloud, the better!’ he exclaims. Sunspot asks James if he really thinks Michael Whitecloud knows who is responsible for the massacre of his tribe, to which Warpath replies that he hopes so, and that Whitecloud is the only lead he has left. ‘If you need us, we’ll be there for you’ Sunspot tells Warpath, while Meltdown asks Moonstar what she thinks of the mechanic back at the station. ‘The fat one? He was kind of gross’ Dani replies. ‘No, the other one, the cute one that was talking to you!’ Tabby exclaims. ‘Not my type’ Dani replies casually, before Meltdown elbows her, ‘Hey, girlfriend, you’re allowed to flirt!’ Tabby exclaims. Dani replies that she was undercover for so long, that she stopped thinking about things like that. ‘Those days are over, Dani Moonstar. Time to have some fun in your life!’ Tabby replies.
Meanwhile, in a room at the Weller Clinic in Langley, Virginia, administrative records list the patient in this room as Hope Eldrige. It’s not her real name of course. These days, she goes by Domino more often than not. Domino is a mutant mercenary who has wreaked havoc around the globe - and as she examines the various certificates on the wall, she is not a woman accustomed to waiting. ‘Ahah!’ Domino exclaims as she opens a cabinet and finds numerous items, including some scalpels. Domino lies upside down on the examination bed and throws the scalpels against a diagram of the human body which is on a door that suddenly opens. ‘Not bad’ Domino remarks.
‘I swear, Domino, you are worse than my four-year-old. I can’t leave either one of you alone without you getting into trouble!’ Dr Rebecca Schuyler exclaims as she enters the room. ‘Well, it took you long enough’ Domino replies. A few years ago, Dr Rebecca Schuyler was kidnapped - Domino rescued her. There are very few people Domino trusts as much as this brilliant neurologist - personally and professionally. Domino sits up and asks Rebecca to give it to her straight: ‘What did that Prime Sentinel witch Gryaznova do to me?’ Domino asks, explaining that ever since Gryaznova operated on her she has felt like she has been walking around in a fog.
‘Why don’t I show you? Take a look’ Rebecca replies as she places an x-ray on a light-board, revealing a scan of Domino’s body. Rebecca informs Domino that her Zero Tolerance “friends” implanted a device unlike any she has seen at the base of her skull, and that the device has wrapped itself around the cervical vertebrae of her neck. ‘It appears to be emitting random electrical bursts…which create a short synaptical static’ Rebecca explains, telling Domino that, consequentially, her nervous system isn’t sending and receiving signals as effectively as it should, which is why her reflex and reaction times have become increasingly erratic. Domino smirks and asks when she can get it out of her head. Rebecca apologizes to Domino and explains that the device has insinuated microfiliments into her spine. ‘To remove it would leave you paralyzed!’
Back in Ohio, X-Force sit in a booth at Flo’s Diner, eating and drinking, while Sunspot tells his friends that when he first came to the US from Brazil, he couldn’t get enough of real American food - burgers, fries, the works. ‘Now I hardly have an appetite at all!’ he declares, explaining that sometimes he doesn’t think his body needs anything for sustenance beside solar energy. ‘Weird. Does that make you - what would you call it - photosynthetic?’ Meltdown asks. ‘I wish I were’ Moonstar exclaims. ‘It’d make things a lot easier. Try to be vegetarian in the middle of cattle country!’ Dani points out. ‘Are you folks finished?’ the waitress asks as she walks by. ‘Can you put it on my card, please? Thanks’ Sunspot replies as without looking at the waitress, he just hands his credit card over.
Meltdown remarks that she is glad someone around here has a decent credit rating. ‘I, for one, am flat broke’ she announces, to which Warpath tells his friends that brings up another important issue: ‘Except for Bobby, none of us is too flush. We got used to Cable or Professor X footing the bills’. The waitress returns to the table: ‘Mr DaCosta? Your credit card’s been refused and the company instructed us to cut it up’ the waitress announces, handing Bobby his now cut-up credit card to him. ‘You’re kidding, right? My credit’s good!’ Bobby exclaims. ‘Mmhhmm’ the waitress replies, unimpressed. Moonstar opens her wallet and tells Roberto not to sweat it, as it is probably a computer error. Dani offers to cover the bill and explains that she has a little cash left over from the Mutant Liberation Front. ‘Terrorist organizations can’t very well use credit cards’ Dani adds.
Later, ‘Angry? I’m not angry! I’m furious!’ Sunspot shouts down the pay phone, talking to someone. ‘How could you let this happen? That’s my money, do you understand? Mine!’ he shouts, before dropping the phone and storming over to his friends. ‘Uh…Mr DaCosta? Hello…Hello?’ the person Bobby was talking to calls out. Meltdown asks Bobby what the story is, to which Bobby replies that his lawyer said someone filed a suit against his father’s estate and he cannot get at any of the money in his trust fund until the suit is resolved. ‘Man, this stinks!’ Bobby exclaims, revealing that he was going to use that money to set them up in style, finance a new headquarters, the works. ‘X-Force would have been totally independent, it was gonna be great. Now, I’ve got nothing…’ Bobby exclaims, dropping to the ground, hand over his face.
His friends gather around him, as Danielle tells him that it is okay, while James assures Bobby that the lawyers will work everything out. Tabby assures Bobby that they still like him, even if he doesn’t have any money. A worried Siryn announces that this does bring up an interesting dilemma, and asks ‘What’re we gonna do when our meager funds run out? It’s not like we can go crawling home to the X-Men!’
Meanwhile, in Salem Center, New York, the home of the Uncanny X-Men, and until recently, X-Force. There is an unnatural calm over the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning tonight, while the enigmatic Deadpool, one of the world’s most skilled and dangerous mercenaries, not to mention one of the more mentally unbalanced, scales the mansion, where he proceeds to knock on the window of the room recently occupied by Siryn. ‘Pssst…Theresa…it’s me…Wade…sorry I haven’t called lately…you know how it is…if it’s not one psychotic episode, it’s another!’ Deadpool whispers.
Suddenly, the windows seemingly burst open, and a bizarre Siryn appears, arms outstretched, dressed in a green robe, she exclaims ‘Oh, Wade, me love! Ye’ve returned to me at last! C’mere and give yuir Irish rose a kiss, ye’ big hunk o’ man, ye!’. Deadpool shrugs off the hallucination, and tells himself that he must stop eating the whole box of pop tarts. ‘I was okay when there was only six in the box…but eight definitely plays tricks on my mind!’. Entering Siryn’s old room, Deadpool tells himself that since no one is answering perhaps he should just leave a message inside. ‘YIKES! What in Ed McMahon’s name happened to this place?’ Deadpool wonders.
Back in Ohio, at the Evangeline Motel, Siryn and Warpath walk toward the reception, while Terry remarks that she wishes they didn’t have to do this. ‘Try and act casual. We don’t want to make them suspicious’ Warpath replies. Moments later, they are filling out some forms at the reception, where a rather unamused desk clerk remarks ‘And all I need is your signature, Mrs Proudstar, and you’re set. Siryn quickly replies ‘Oh, no, James isn’t my…that is…we’re not y’know…married’. The desk clerk replies that it doesn’t make any difference to him. ‘This here’s a no-tell motel. As long as you don’t steal the towels, we respect your privacy’ he assures them, handing them a key and giving them directions to room six.
Moments later, as Siryn opens the door to their motel room, Warpath remarks that Siryn certainly made a point of telling the desk clerk that they weren’t married. ‘Maybe I should be offended’ James adds, to which Siryn asks him not to give her a hard time. Siryn explains that she didn’t want the desk clerk to think they were shackin’ up. Siryn adds that she has never been a very good liar, before remarking that she hopes the place is clean. Entering, Siryn remarks that it will do, before Warpath calls out to the others and tells them that the coast is clear.
From where they are hiding in some bushes, Sunspot mutters that this is his fault. ‘If it weren’t for my financial mix-up, we wouldn’t have to sneak into some cheap motel room to save money!’. Danielle tells Bobby to give himself a break, and adds that nobody expected him to pick up their tab. ‘If you two want to spend all night debating the issue, fine. Me, I intend to sleep in a nice, warm bed tonight -’ and rushes to the motel room, shoving aside Siryn and Warpath - ‘and let no man stand in my way!’ Tabby exclaims as she lands on one of the two beds. ‘Ahhh, so soft! So comfortable!’ she exclaims.
Sunspot and Dani enter the room, while Siryn stands with her arms folded and declares that, considering there are two beds and five of them, they should probably draw straws. Warpath shrugs his shoulders and tells everyone to fight it out among themselves, as both the beds are too small for him. ‘How ‘bout we do paper, scissors, rock?’ Tabby suggests. Dani begins to get undressed as she heads towards the bathroom, announcing that she doesn’t care. ‘My first priority is a long, hot bath. I’ll be out in a couple of days’.
Later, Meltdown is spread out in her bed, while Dani is curled up in the fetal position in hers. Warpath sits against the wall next to Dani’s bed, while Siryn is on the floor at the foot of Dani’s bed, and Bobby on the floor at the foot of Meltdown’s. ‘Am I the only one who wishes this place had cable? I haven’t seen “Talk Soup” in weeks!’ Meltdown exclaims. Moonstar tells Tabby that she could try a book. ‘I’ve got a couple in my backpack you’re welcome to borrow’ she adds, before asking James what it is he is reading. James replies that he is reading “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas”, and remarks ‘Man, this guy is insane!’. Siryn suggests that it sounds like Tabitha needs a bedtime story, while Bobby remarks that James should give them the low-down on his time in Detroit. ‘He’s been awfully quiet about it since we picked him up two days ago’.
Meltdown asks James what it was like in the Twilight Zone, to which Bobby exclaims ‘C’mon, James, tell us. American want’s to know!’ James replies that he hasn’t said much about his experience because he is still trying to make sense of it all himself. ‘It’s not everyday I cross inter-dimensional boundaries…’ he begins, before telling his friends that they all know that everyone on the reservation he grew up on was brutally and senselessly murdered, and that since then he thought he was alone - the last surviving member of his family, but that he recently learned one other Apache escaped the massacre, a man named Michael Whitecloud. Warpath tells the others that Whitecloud’s present whereabouts were offered to him by the strange Detroit troll named Sledge, provided he retrieve the teleporter named the Vanisher from the parallel dimension in which he was trapped.
Shown with flashback illustrations, narrated by Warpath, with comments by the rest of X-Force
‘The Vanisher? Ugh! I hate that creep!’ Meltdown exclaims, telling her friends that before she hooked up with the X-crowd, the lowlife Vanisher had trained her as his little thief. ‘What was he doing?’ she asks James. Warpath replies that it is hard to describe, and remarks that it was like something out of a fever dream. ‘The Vanisher was surrounded by thousands of these bizarre little creatures…according to the Vanisher, he was their captive…and they forced him to tell them story after story!’
Siryn asks why anyone - or anything - would want to listen to the Vanisher, to which Warpath replies that he doesn’t know, but suggests they may have been feeding on his ego, or perhaps they were creations of the Vanisher’s subconscious. ‘In this dimension, anything was possible’ Warpath explains, adding that, after all, he had been led to the Vanisher by a shale changer who had taken the form of his childhood pet, Coyote. ‘This is so unreal. When did you finally reach the Emerald City and meet the Wizard?’ Bobby asks sarcastically.
Warpath explains that firstly he had to get out from under the sea of fur and claws, and that once he started his own story, the creatures who had attached him became docile and attentive. James tells his friend that he started telling the creatures one of his tales about Coyote that his mother used to tell him when he was little. ‘Okay. You told them about Coyote, your old cat?’ Meltdown asks, unimpressed. Warpath explains that in Apache legend, Coyote is the trickster spirit who is always causing trouble for man and the gods. ‘I told them how Coyote made the fireflies dance and then stole their fire to give to the Apache’.
Moonstar exclaims that she loves that story, but the way she heard it, Coyote gave the fire to the Cheyenne. Warpath remarks that, either way, it worked like a charm, but unfortunately, he was trapped in the same bind as the Vanisher. ‘These creatures would never let me go!’ he exclaims, adding that he would spend the rest of his life trapped like the Vanisher - retelling the same stories, wallowing in the past, only to realize that he has been doing that ever since his brother, John died. Siryn tells James that he is being too hard on himself, to which James exclaims that it is true. ‘I’ve been weighted down by the tragedy in my life…that I haven’t been able to get on with my life!’.
Warpath tells his teammates that it was then that he grabbed the Vanisher and activated the propulsion unit in his backpack. ‘That’s what I need - a jet pack!’ Tabby exclaims. Warpath remarks that perhaps he has been stuck in an emotional limbo, but he was determined not to be trapped in a real one, and flew towards the dimensional portal - swearing he would never end up like the Vanisher. James explains that he delivered the Vanisher to Sledge, who made good on his end of the bargain. ‘And now I know where Michael Whitecloud is…I hope I’ll finally find the truth about my tribe’s murder…and then I’ll be free to move on with my life’.
Present:
‘And that’s it?’ Sunspot asks. ‘What about that talking cat?’ Siryn adds. ‘Why did Sledge to so much trouble to rescue the Vanisher?’ Moonstar enquires. James replies that he didn’t have time to find out, as Sledged handed him Whitecloud’s address in Nebraska, and then X-Force showed up telling him Cable had walked away from X-Force. ‘Talk about dropping a bombshell’ James tells his friends, to which Dani tells him that it was time they made their own future, instead of following Cable or Professor X’s lead. ‘I think it’s time we made some money’ Sunspot exclaims.
Siryn replies that they just need to be there for each other. ‘We can’t let anyone come between us the way Risque -’ she begins, to which Warpath remarks ‘Thanks for reminding me how easily I was used, Terry. Now can we not mention that name again?’, before dropping his head away from the others. ‘Sorry, Jimmy’ Theresa whispers, when suddenly, the team hears some loud noises in the room next door. ‘I don’t like the sound of that…’ Danielle remarks, while Meltdown exclaims that it is true what they say about motel walls. ‘Keep it down in there!’ she shouts. James tells Meltdown that she has it all wrong. ‘Someone’s in trouble next door’ he declares.
Outside, two thugs are loading a man with a gag around his mouth into the trunk of a car. ‘In ya go, Richie, just like a nice little boy’ one of the thugs tells his captive. ‘Don’t worry, pal, ya got plenty of air back there. Wouldn’t want you to expire on us before we got you home’ the other thug remarks, while Richie struggles to say anything. Suddenly, ‘Excuse me…what’s going on?’ Warpath asks as he, Sunspot and Siryn, wearing their night gear, stride towards the thugs. ‘Definitely wise guys’ Sunspot remarks quietly, while Siryn warns the thugs to let the “little fella” go.
‘Go back to yer slumber party, Red. This doesn’t concern you or your friends’ one of the thugs remarks, cigarette hanging out of his mouth. ‘Oh God…help me…please…they’re gonna kill me…’ Richie pleads when he manages to pull his gag down. One of the thugs tells Richie that all they asked is for him to come quietly and not to disturb anyone. ‘Now I’m gonna have to slap you around’. Siryn tells the “gentlemen” that they may not have heard her before: ‘Let him go’ she states again. Holding a briefcase, one of the thugs calls his associate Oliver, and remarks that Red is a nice girl, but that it is too bad she doesn’t know her place. Oliver addresses the other thug as Stan and suggests they show them their credentials as they pull out their guns.
‘Do ye think a couple of guns are gonna scare us?’ Siryn asks as she unleashes her sonic scream. ‘Hah! We eat punks like you for breakfast!’ Meltdown exclaims as she readies a time-bomb, while Sunspot exclaims that he loves it when Tabitha gets all hard-boiled and tough, while using his powers to disintegrate one of the guns. ‘I’ll take that!’ Warpath exclaims as he takes the gun from the other thug. ‘Hey, my gun! How can you move that fast?’ Stan asks. ‘Don’t ya get it, they’re mutants!’ Oliver exclaims, just as a pleased Tabitha watches her explosive plasma time bombs detonate around the thugs, who are not so impressed as they are struck by the plasma and run away, dropping the briefcase.
‘What on Earth is making all this noise?’ asks the desk clerk as he approaches X-Force, carrying a broom. ‘Why I oughta call the police -’ he begins, while Moonstar helps untie Richie, and Theresa remarks ‘So much for keeping a low profile’. Moonstar asks Richie if he is okay, and Richie smiles, exclaiming ‘After the way you guys made those two turn tail, I’m ecstatic’. He tells X-Force that they are amazing, and remarks that he heard people could do stuff like that, but to see it in person. ‘Wow - what a thrill!’ he exclaims, putting his hands on Warpath’s chest.
James looks a bit perplexed, and remarks that they are going to have to get out of here before the cops arrive. ‘Don’t worry about that, big guy. I can take care of things!’ Richie exclaims, pulling a wad of money from his pocket, he hands it to the desk clerk: ‘Listen up, Orville, you didn’t see anything, right?’ Richie asks casually. ‘Nope, not a thing!’ the desk clerk replies, taking the money and covering his eyes with a hand.
Sunspot points out that not a lot of people are willing to cover for a band of mutants, while Dani asks Richie if he hasn’t heard: ‘We’re a threat to the whole human race’. Richie picks up his briefcase and declares that he has no beef with mutants. ‘You got me out of a jam, so I owe you one’ he adds, introducing himself as Richie Alegria, and asks X-Force how they would like to come work for him. ‘I think it would prove mutually beneficial’ he tells them. James asks Richie what makes him think they need a job, while Tabby asks ‘What makes you think you could afford us?’. Opening the briefcase - which happens to be full of money, Richie tells them that they haven’t heard his offer yet….


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

[Assistant]
Lies and Deception
The Edgewood Hotel in downtown Chicago. Two bodyguards follow a rather short man in a trench coat through the hotel foyer. ‘All I’m saying is that I lost interest when Caruso left’, one of the bodyguards remarks to the others. ‘What are you, nuts? Bobby Simone’s way more interesting than John Kelly!’ the other bodyguard exclaims. ‘You are so wrong, Leonard. Face it, Caruso’s a better actor than Smits’ the first bodyguard declares. ‘Oh, please. I saw “Jade”!’ the second exclaims. ‘And I suppose you think Kim Delaney’s hotter than Amy Brenneman?’ Leonard asks the first bodyguard.
But before the first bodyguard can answer, the short man tells them to shut up. ‘Why is it that ever since that stupid Tarintino movie, every wise guy thinks he’s gotta have an opinion?’ ‘Sorry, Mister Blackshear’ Leonard replies, while whispering ‘Caruso’ to his colleague. ‘We’ll tone it down, Sir’ the first bodyguard replies, while whispering ‘Smits’. Blackshear tells his bodyguards to be cool. ‘No rough stuff unless I give the word’. He declares that he doesn’t want this going down like the Rosetti incident in Philadelphia.  ‘The kid’s no good to me dead!’ Blackshear exclaims, before his guards knock on the door to a room. ‘It’s me, kid. Open up!’ Blackshear exclaims.
The door opens, and a young man named Richie Alegria smiles, ‘Hey, Mister Blackshear! Glad you could make it!’, before inviting him, and exclaiming he would like him to meet some friends. The door opens wide, revealing three young adults dressed in suits. ‘Jonas Blackshear, say hello to Danielle, Roberto and Tabitha. They’re here to insure that no one gets - well - bent out of shape during our meeting’ Richie explains, smiling. ‘Hello’ Danielle “Dani” Moonstar replies, slyly. ‘Hiya, boys!’ Tabitha Smith a.k.a. Meltdown’ grins. ‘Evening, gentlemen’ Bobby “Sunspot” DaCosta remarks, rubbing his hands together.
Until a few nights ago, Richie Algeria was a man on the run from the mob. If, at the present moment, he appears overly confident for someone in his predicament, it is only because he knows that his newfound companions are mutants - human beings born with unique genetic traits that give them superhuman abilities.
‘Richie, you insult me’ Blackshear exclaims: ‘You dress a few of your college pals in off-the-rack Italian suits and think this will intimidate me?’ Blackshear asks, reminding Richie that he is already in a world of trouble. ‘Why make things harder for yourself?’. Richie addresses Blackshear as Jonas and tells him that all he wants is for their discussion here to remain civil. ‘I mean, you did send two of your boys to kidnap me’ Richie points out. ‘If not for my friends here, I’d still be stuffed in those goons’ trunk’. Blackshear asks if these are the kids that got the better of Oliver and Standell, and tells his bodyguards to frisk them.
‘The kid’s clean!’ Leonard exclaims as he frisks Sunspot. ‘Hah. Like I need a gun to deal with your type’ Bobby mutters, while the first bodyguard stands before Meltdown and declares that he is going to enjoy this, before asking her ‘What’s a cute little number like you doing with a loser like Richie?’ as he puts a hand to Meltdown’s chest. ‘Hey, watch the hands, pal!’ Tabby exclaims, kneeing the bodyguard in the stomach, she tells him to get it straight: ‘I’m not gonna be pawed by any Sonny Corleone wannabe!’. Suddenly, Leonard puts a gun to Meltdown’s head, telling her that was stupid. ‘Maybe your good friend Richie didn’t explain exactly who we are’.
Suddenly, Sunspot heats up Leonard’s gun: ‘Yeow! My gun! It’s on fire!’ he exclaims, while Bobby remarks ‘Maybe you don’t understand who we are’, while Meltdown smiles and tells Bobby that he didn’t have to do that, as she could have handled him. Bobby replies that he just wanted to make a point, and declares that it will be a lot easier for everyone if they do things like grown-ups. ‘But if you want to throw down with us, we can do it that way, too’ he tells Blackshear. It is difficult for Sunspot to remain cool under pressure, considering that his body is a solar furnace.
Leonard rubs his hand and exclaims that Standell wasn’t lying. ‘Richie really did hook up with some mutant muscle!’. The other bodyguard asks Leonard if he thinks the girls are mutants too, to which Leonard replies that he doesn’t want to know. ‘If ya ask me, they’re all a menace!’ Blackshear turns to Bobby and tells him that he is very impressed. ‘It must require a great deal of concentration to keep your clothes from igniting when you do that’. Blackshear remarks that he doesn’t think Richie informed Bobby and his companions as to why they have gone to such a great effort to find him. Blackshear reveals that he represents a businessman of great generosity and little forgiveness who invested in Richie, and yet Richie has given nothing in return.
‘Cut me some slack, Jonas. I ran into unforeseen expenses…’ Richie replies, to which Tabby asks ‘Wait a second, you borrowed money from the mob? Are you an idiot?’. Sunspot reminds Richie that he told them these guys were after him because they wanted to use him to get to his father, while Moonstar tells him that they would not have helped him if they thought this was about money. ‘If this is some kind of drug deal, I’m outta here!’ Meltdown exclaims. Blackshear remarks that it looks like Richie hasn’t been straight with his newfound friends wither. ‘But, I didn’t -’ Richie begins, to which Blackshear interrupts, reminding Richie that he came to his employer with a business proposal, and now he wants a return on his investment. ‘If he doesn’t see product in two weeks, you’re history!’.
Richie smiles and tells Blackshear that he can assure the big man that once he views the final product he will agree it was worth the wait. Blackshear tells his bodyguards to come along, while the first one remarks to Leonard that it is super powered freaks like these who are ruining their business. ‘Yeah. Too bad the feds shut down that Operation Zero Tolerance outfit’ Leonard adds, declaring that the only good mutant is a dead mutant, as they leave the room. ‘Neanderthals. I’ll show them!’ Meltdown exclaims as she creates a bio-electric sphere of plasma - a “time-bomb” as she calls them - and tosses it into the corridor behind Blackshear and his thugs. Never a shy girl, Tabitha is always willing to use her time-bombs for dramatic effect - in this case, aiming it towards the sprinkler system, which detects a fire, and releases water from the sprinklers, drenching Blackshear and his bodyguards.
Meanwhile, hundreds of miles from Chicago, James “Warpath” Proudstar is desperately trying to find his bearings. Under most circumstances, this young Apache could find his way out of a maze in pitch blackness, because he is a mutant gifted with phenomenal strength, speed and heightened senses. At this moment however, his abilities have failed him. He is lost. Where am I?’ Warpath calls out, walking through a thick mist. Suddenly, a voice exclaims ‘You’re home, James. Welcome back to Camp Verde. We missed you’. James turns to the direction of the voice and see the skeletal remains of a body tied to a cross.
‘You? It’ can’t be. You’re -’ he begins, ‘Dead? Oh, yes, little brother, I’m very dead…just like everyone else on this reservation!’ the remains of John Proudstar, the original Thunderbird, exclaims. ‘Your friends…your family…even your teammates!’ he adds. James looks around himself and sees countless bodies at his feet, causing him to shout ‘No, this isn’t happening -! Not again…’. Suddenly, a voice from the bodies calls out to him, and James sees that it is Siryn. ‘Theresa…what happened…who did this?’ he asks. ‘Were were ye, Jimmy? Ye should’ve been here…ye should’ve died with the rest of us…’ Siryn replies.
‘NO!’ Warpath shouts, as he sits upright in the passenger seat of a red convertible, waking from his nightmare. Theresa “Siryn” Rourke Cassidy tells Warpath to take it easy, and informs him that he has been sleeping since they left the Field of Dreams Camp in Iowa. ‘That must’ve been some nightmare ye were having’ Siryn remarks. Siryn is a mutant possessed of an ultrasonic vocal range sufficient to level buildings. Even though Siryn’s relationship with Warpath has been clouded by feelings of attraction and jealousy, she remains his closest friend.
James tells Theresa that he dreamed he had returned to Camp Verde, but it wasn’t just his family and tribe he found dead this time - everyone in X-Force had been murdered as well. Theresa tells James that it is no wonder he is dreaming about that, given their destination. Warpath looks at his reflection in the side-mirror, telling Theresa that the thing is, it seems like everybody he has ever been close to ends up dead. ‘First my brother. Then the Hellions. Then my family and everyone else on the reservation. Sometimes I think I’m cursed…’. Theresa continues to drive the red convertible as she tells James not to ever believe that. ‘When me mother died in an explosion, I blamed myself’ she remarks, adding that the guilt was part of the reason she started drinking. ‘But me mum’s death was no more my fault than your family’s death was yours. Ye can’t let guilt fer something ye had no control over consume your life’ Siryn adds.
Warpath reminds Siryn that two hundred and thirty-three people were killed in the massacre, and declares that he has to know who is responsible. Passing the exit sign to Salvation, Nebraska, Siryn points out that they have arrived, and tells James that she hopes he finds the answers he is looking for here.
Shortly, Theresa and James pull up outside the residential hotel where Sledge told Warpath that Michael Whitecloud has been living for the past year. Siryn looks around and remarks that it cannot be much of a life. ‘Look at this town. Half the stores are boarded up, gone out of business’ she points out, before suggesting that Sledge might have been lying about Whitecloud just to get Warpath to rescue the Vanisher out of that other dimension. But James replies that he thinks Sledge was on the level. ‘That’s his business. The art of the deal’.
Siryn and Warpath pass some seemingly homless people lying in the street as they walk towards the entrance to the run-down building, and Terry asks James even if Michael Whitecloud is alive, why he thinks he will know who is behind the massacre. James replies that Whitecloud was an uncompromising investigative reporter who grew up with his brother, John, and Whitecloud blew the whistle on a lot of corrupt politicians and land developers. ‘If it wasn’t for him, this creepy doctor would have continued subjecting a lot of Native Americans to unnecessary radiation treatment’. Siryn unties her hair and tells James that she doesn’t want him to get his hopes up too high.
James tells Terry that he appreciates her support, and asks if she could give him a couple of minutes lead. ‘I want some time to talk to Michael alone’ he tells her. ‘All right, Jimmy, but be careful’ Siryn replies, rubbing Warpath’s face. ‘You know I will’ James replies as he enters the building. Siryn watches him go and thinks to herself ‘Ah, James, don’t shut me out. Ye and I are so much alike. We’ve tried so hard to be independent, we don’t know how to accept help. Well, ye stood by me when I hit rock bottom…and I’m gonna be there for ye now…whether ye like it or not’.
Making his way through the rundown hotel, Warpath walks past someone at the front desk and asks ‘Michael Whitecloud?’. The person behind the desk replies that Whitecloud is upstairs in room 4B. ‘And tell that bum he’s two weeks behind on the rent!’ the man calls out. Making his way up some stairs, James tells himself that this place is a dive, and that Whitecloud was a great writer. ‘My brother always said he should be working for the New York Times or Washington Post. ‘How’d he end up living in a transient hotel in the middle of nowhere?’ James wonders, before knocking on the door to 4B and calling out ‘Michael…? It’s James Proudstar - John’s brother. You in there?’. James realizes that the door is open, so enters the room, which is an absolute mess with rubbish strewn everywhere. James can smell Whitecloud’s cigarette though and realises that he was just here.
‘The window…’ James exclaims, running over to the open window, he sees Siryn on the other side, asking James if he is looking for someone. ‘I caught your friend making a mad dash down the fire escape!’ Terry exclaims. ‘Let me down!’ Whitecloud exclaims, clutching a bottle of liquor, while Siryn holds him by his jacket. James thanks Theresa for running interference and suggests they get Whitecloud back inside and hope that no one caught her aerial manuever. Dropping Whitecloud onto the fire escape, Siryn tells Warpath that his friend may not be in any shape to talk, to which Warpath realizes that Whitecloud reeks of alcohol. ‘What happened to you, Michael?’ James asks.
‘Please, please, don’t kill me!’ Michael Whitecloud exclaims. Warpath holds Whitecloud up and asks him to look at him. ‘I’m not here to hurt you. I’m James Proudstar. Don’t you remember?’ he asks. ‘James? Johnny’s little brother? Oh…I’m so relieved…I thought you and the girl were hit men’ Whitecloud exclaims, before asking how they found him. ‘It doesn’t matter. What’s important is how you survived the Camp Verde massacre. Before I buried everyone, I pulled a body from your house. I thought it was you’ Warpath declares. ‘It…it should’ve been me’ Whitecloud mumbles. Siryn, hovering outside still, asks James if he is still going to make her wait outside, to which James replies ‘No. Get in here’ and declares that Michael is going to tell them everything he knows. ‘I don’t know where to begin’ Whitecloud replies.
Meanwhile, in Washington DC, inside the First Federated Savings and Loan Bank, the mutant mercenary named Domino opens a safe-deposit box that houses some of the many secrets of her mysterious life. The box contains five passports, each with a different name. Six drivers licenses (four issued in the US, one in Brazil and the other one in Canada). Two hundred thousand dollars in travellers checks. Twenty-five thousand in cash (unmarked and non-sequential). ‘Haven’t needed to be here in a while’ Domino thinks to herself. ‘Not since before I hooked up with X-Force, in fact. Still, it never hurts to keep one’s options open’ she tells herself, looking at the passports, she wonders ‘Who should I be this time?’, before coming across a passport and thinking ‘Here’s someone I haven’t been in a while!’
‘Always a pleasure to see you, Mrs Winters!’ a bank worker calls out as Domino walks away from his desk. ‘You’ve been very helpful, Mr Drysdale. Take care’ Domino replies, before noticing a trio of men walk towards the tellers and decides that there is something wrong about them. ‘On my count’ one of them whispers, while Domino tells herself that she has a bad feeling. ‘One. Two. Three’ the man exclaims, before the trio unleash gunfire into the air, and one of them shouts’ Guess what, folks? This is a robbery! Do what we say and nobody has to die!’
Domino stands with the rest of the bank customers, thinking to herself that a month ago she would have taken down these mooks without breaking a sweat, but ever since Commander Gryaznova attached the neural inhibitor to the base of her skull she cannot trust her reaction time anymore. ‘Maybe I should sit this one our, and hope these guys are pros - who know how to take the money and run without hurting anyone…nah’ Domino thinks to herself, before one of the criminals points a gun at her face and asks her what she is looking at. ‘Nothing. Nothing at all. Um…please, don’t hurt me’ Domino replies, hoping that sounded convincing.
Suddenly, an elderly man hits one of the criminals in the back with his cane. ‘You have no right taking these people’s hard earned money. If I wasn’t an old man -’ he begins, before getting smacked in the face and knocked to the ground by one of the criminals who asks ‘Are you senile, grampa? If you weren’t an old man, you’d be dead!’ he shouts as he puts his foot onto the old man’s back, preventing him from getting up. ‘Is that what you want, you feeb? C’mon, gramps, answer me!’ the crook asks. ‘Ach…my heart…no…please…’ the old man begins to plead. ‘Okay, that’s my cue…sometimes having a conscience can be a royal pain!’ Domino thinks to herself.
Back in Chicago, Richie opens a bottle of champagne, and tells his newfound friends that he hopes they like mini-bar champagne, because they are going to celebrate. Richie exclaims that running into them was the best thing that could’ve happened to him. ‘when Tabitha drenched Blackshear and his boys, I thought I was going to die laughing!’ he exclaims, adding that it was a Kodak moment. Sunspot grabs Richie by his throat and tells him that they need to talk. Holding Richie off the ground, Bobby reminds him that when they met him, he claimed Blackshear’s goons were after him to get to his wealthy father. ‘Now we find out you’re just another loser in debt to the mob. I really don’t appreciate being jerked around by some spoiled rich kid’, Bobby adds.
Moonstar tells Richie that she doesn’t know what his story is, and she doesn’t care, as they are done here. ‘You can let him down, Bobby. We’re leaving’ Dani adds. ‘Okay’ Bobby remarks, dropping Richie to the floor. As Dani, Bobby and Tabitha turn to leave, Richie tells them that he thought they had a mutually beneficial arrangement. ‘You said you needed the money. I needed protection!’ he exclaims. ‘You can keep the money and the suit’ Moonstar replies as she chucks wads of money back at Richie.
Outside the hotel, Sunspot tells Dani that he wishes she hadn’t given back the money. ‘We’re not exactly swimming in cash these days’ he reminds her. Meltdown tells Sunspot that he is still upset after being frozen out of his trust fund, and reminds her friends that she grew up poor, so pinching pennies is no big deal to her. Moonstar reminds her teammates that she still has a little of her SHIELD pay left. ‘We’re not so destitute that we have to become mercenaries’. Meltdown tells Moonstar that is her money, though, and she shouldn’t have to carry the rest of them. But Moonstar declares that she cannot believe she believed Richie’s story. ‘I should’ve known all that money he was carrying was dirty’.
Dani suggests that perhaps they should have done with James and Theresa instead of letting themselves get conned into this, but Sunspot reminds her that Warpath wanted to locate that reporter by himself, and Siryn practically forced him to let her go with him. ‘Anyway, it seemed like the right thing to do at the time’ Bobby points out. Suddenly, Richie runs out of the hotel, shouting after X-Force: ‘Hey, there you are! Wait up!’. Richie runs after X-Force, asking them to give him another chance. ‘I’m not the bad guy you think I am!’ he exclaims. Richie drops to his knees and wraps himself around Danielle’s legs, to which Sunspot tells him that he is pushing his luck. ‘Please…I’m sorry…Look…I’m down on my knees…’ Richie exclaims.
‘Richie, you lied to us. Why should we trust you?’ Dani asks, to which Richie exclaims that he is telling the truth now. ‘I’m no gangster. I’m a “film-maker”…and everything I’ve done, I did in order to finish my move’. Richie exclaims. ‘Your movie?’ Sunspot asks. ‘This I gotta hear!’ Meltdown exclaims, while Dani tells him to make it fast, as he has already wasted too much of their time. Richie gets off the ground as he explains that right after he dropped out of film school he went into production on his first independent feature, “Fever Dream”. Richie declares that it is the story of a performance artist with amnesia who may or may not be guilty of murder.
Richie explains that he ran out of money and needed new investors so he could finish the principal photography, which is when Blackshear approached him. ‘I thought you said your father was loaded. Why not hit him up for some spare change?’ Tabitha asks. Richie reveals that his father sort of disowned him, as he wanted him to go into the family business. ‘But I wanted to direct…’. Sunspot asks Richie about that briefcase full of cash that he showed them, and asks ‘Why not use that to pay back the mob instead of throwing it away on expensive hotels and clothes?’
Richie claims that he needs that money for a short-term investment. ‘A get-rich-quick scheme? Don’t you know any better?’ Moonstar asks. Richie boasts that he can triple that money if they help keep Blackshear and his goons off him for a week. ‘Then I can pay off my debts, finish my movie and book my tickets to Cannes!’ he exclaims. ‘This still sounds like a scam!’ Meltdown declares. ‘Everything’s totally legal. I promise! And if you leave me now, I’m toast!’ Richie exclaims, putting his arms around Moonstar, who, with an exasperated look, mutters ‘Why do I think I’m going to regret this…?’
Back in Nebraska, Whitecloud remarks ‘So you turned out to be a mutant just like your brother, huh, James? We always knew you two were special’, adding that, one time, he saw John bring down a buffalo with his bare hands. James tells Michael that he did not come here to talk about his brother. ‘Yeah. I know. You want the low-down on the massacre’ Michael replies, before asking Siryn if she wants a cigarette. ‘I’ll pass. Bad for me voice’ Siryn replies. Lighting one up for himself, Michael remarks ‘Hope you don’t mind. They help calm my nerves’, before launching into what he knows about the Camp Verde massacre….
(Flashback, narrated by Michael Whitecloud)
‘Almost two years ago, after I got fired from the Tacoma Register…I met Lucius DeWitt, a radiologist who helped me to something called Project: Stepladder…an experimental genetics program trying to introduce a mutagenic virus in its lab animals…and its human subjects: convicts, runaways, unsuspecting pregnant women’ Michael explains. Whitecloud tells Warpath and Siryn that DeWitt said he could give him solid evidence of the project’s illegal research, but that he would need a place to lie low because the project had a very powerful sponsor. ‘I thought he’d be safe at my place at Camp Verde’.
Whitecloud reveals that DeWitt brought one of the test subjects with him, a man named Gordon Thorpe, who, thanks to the project, had skin almost tough enough to stop bullets - an lungs that were riddled with cancer. Whitecloud examined photos and files taken from the project, which DeWitt and Thorpe brought with them, files which would be the backbone of his expose. Whitecloud reveals that he went to make copies of everything they had given him that night, only his car broke down, and he returned to the reservation on foot, taking a shortcut that probably saved his life, for when he returned, he found Camp Verde burning, the air choked with flame and toxic smoke - and all of the people he had grown up with were dead.
‘They’d been killed by a death squad courtesy of Project: Stepladder, who had killed the tribe to cover up the murders of DeWitt and Thorpe - and to make sure they hadn’t talked to anyone‘. Whitecloud declares that he owed his life to a lousy transmission, but he knew Project Stepladder would find out sooner or later that he wasn’t dead, so he escaped into the canyons and lived off the land for a couple of days. ‘When I finally surfaced, I learned that the official story said a truck hauling chemicals jack-knifed outside the res’. Whitecloud reveals that he tried to contact the few editors he trusted, but all of his calls were intercepted - a cold digitally masked voice told him that he was dead unless he turned over the documents in his possession.
(Present)
Whitecloud concludes his story by explaining that he has been on the run ever since, living on the street, working as a day labour, always looking over his shoulder. ‘After a while…I started drinking to numb the pain. I don’t know which stereotype I became, the alcoholic reporter or the drunk Indian’. Michael tells Warpapth that it is all his fault. ‘Everybody on the res died because of me!’ he exclaims with tears in his eyes. ‘You don’t know how hard it’s been carrying this around all this time!’ Michael exclaims. Siryn exclaims that she cannot believe no one listened to him when he said that he had proof. ‘Nobody takes a drunk seriously…and I didn’t dare go back for the documents. They were my life insurance!’ Michael adds.
Siryn tells Michael that he can get help for his problem with alcohol. ‘I did’ she reveals to him, but Whitecloud replies that it is too late for him, as he is washed up. ‘It’s up to James now’ he exclaims as he picks up some papers. Handing the papers to James, Whitecloud tells him that this is the number of a locker in a bus station in Topeka. ‘I threw the key away somewhere in Montana, for fear the wrong person would find it. With your powers, you shouldn’t have a problem opening it without a key’. Warpath remarks that Michael hasn’t told him who exactly was funding Project: Stepladder, and remarks that he knows it wasn’t the Hellfire Club, even though someone tried to make it look like they were responsible.
Whitecloud replies that it is so hard to think now. ‘Ringing…in my head getting louder…’ he mutters, while Warpath grabs him by the shoulders and tells him to focus. ‘I need to know!’ James exclaims, lifting Whitecloud off the ground. ‘I want to tell - I - I’ Whitecloud stutters, while James asks him what Is wrong. Theresa points out that she thinks Michael needs a doctor, while Michael clutches at his head and screams. ‘Pressure’s too much!’ he manages to shout while he begins to bleed from his nose. Warpath grabs Whitecloud, preventing him from falling over and tells Siryn that there is a phone at the end of the hallway. ‘Call 911. Hurry!’ he tells his friend.
‘Hang on, Whitecloud, we’re going to get you some help, I pro -’ Warpath begins, but Whitecloud shouts that it feels like his head is about to explode - and at that moment, it does, splattering gray-matter all over the room. ‘Michael!’ James shouts. ‘Oh me dear Lord -’ Siryn gasps, not even out of the room when it happens. ‘No…’ James whispers, kneeling at Whitecloud’s body. Siryn walks cautiously over to James and asks him what happened. James replies that he doesn’t know how they did it, but that those monsters at Project: Stepladder somehow got to him and planted some kind of device in his head that went off before he could tell them anything more.
Siryn crouches beside James and wraps her arms around him, telling him not to look at Whitecloud. James replies ‘There goes the last connection I had to my family, then. I finally found another one of my tribe and this happens. For so long, I thought I was all alone in the world, Terry. I am cursed’. Siryn tells Warpath that he isn’t cursed, simply caught up in the aftermath of a hideous cover-up. ‘To do something as horrific and specific as this requires the kind of resources few people have’ Siryn points out, telling James that they must assume the people responsible will know Whitecloud is dead, and if their names show up on a Police report, then they will come looking for them. Theresa tells James that they have to get out of here and to that locker before Project: Stepladder is on to them. ‘Someone’s gonna pay for this. I swear, someone’s gonna pay!’ Warpath booms.
Later, a Police officer tells his superior officer that he has never seen anything like this, while zipping up the body bag containing Whitecloud’s body. ‘There are brain matter and bone fragments splattered three hundred and sixty degrees around this room. This guy swallow a grenade or what?’ he asks. The other officer looks towards a man in a suit and suggests that he, their new friend from the Bureau, might be able to help them. ‘You said this Indian was a fugitive, Agent -?’ the officer begins. ‘Edwards. Martin Edwards’ the Agent replies, informing the officers that Michael Whitecloud was wanted in connection with a prior drug investigation. ‘You think this is a drug-related killing?’ one of the officers asks.
‘Most likely’ Agent Edwards replies, before reminding the officer that he said the manager saw two young people entering the building just before the body was discovered. ‘We took this off the tape from the lobby surveillance camera’ the officer replies, handing Edwards a photograph, depicting James and Theresa. ‘Well, if it isn’t little Jimmy Proudstar all grown up’ Edwards thinks to himself, adding that Proudstar might have lived a long life if he knew what was good for him. ‘What a shame you’re going to have to join the rest of your tribe in Oblivion!’
Meanwhile, in Minerva, Ohio, outside a diner, ‘You sure you don’t want a ride, Brittany?’ someone inside a truck calls to a waitress standing outside the diner. ‘Nah, Vera. Cody’ll be here any minute now. I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?’ Brittany replies. As Vera drives away, Brittany pulls out a cigarette and exclaims that she has been dying for one of these all day. ‘Enjoy the little pleasures while you can, Miss. Life is short’ a mysterious voice suddenly exclaims. Brittany turns, shocked, ‘Oh, I didn’t see you…you scared me!’ she gasps. ‘I have that effect on people’ the stranger replies, before asking ‘They’ve been here, haven’t they? DaCosta and the others’.
‘Mister, I don’t know what you want -’ Brittany begins, before the stranger interrupts her: ‘What do I want, Miss? Much. And then some. And if the members of X-Force try to stop me…so much the better!’. With that, Brittany the waitress falls to the sidewalk in the fetal position, an expression of horror across her face, while Reignfire walks away….


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

[Assistant]
Stop Motion
James “Warpath” Proudstar and Theresa “Siryn” Rourke Cassidy have been driving the back roads of Nebraska all night. They did not want to be stopped on the interstate. After all, they had left a dead man two hundred miles behind them in a town laughingly called Salvation. They had crossed a line, and sooner or later someone was going to come after them. Ten miles north of the Kansas state border, the law found them first. Staring down the barrel of a Police-issue automatic is never a good way to begin the day. ‘Keep your hands in the air. You even think about putting them down and I’ll blow your brains out!’ a  large blond Police officer exclaims. ‘That means you too, little lady!’ a smaller, dark-haired Police officer adds, pointing his gun at Siryn, who is backed up against X-Force’s red convertible, standing next to Warpath.
‘Something’s not right here, Jimmy’ Siryn whispers to Warpath, who replies that he agrees, and tells Theresa that the officers aren’t acting like they are on duty. James suggests that they play it cool until they figure out what the officers’ want. Siryn asks the larger officer what the problem is. ‘We weren’t speeding now, were we?’ she remarks. The officer tells Siryn that her innocent act doesn’t wash with him. ‘We’ve been on the lookout for a redhead and an Injun in an old El Dorado wanted in connection with a murder up north’. Warpath quickly replies ‘We “Injuns” prefer “Native American” these days’, to which the officer warns him not to get smart.
Siryn tells the Police officers that there is no need for the guns and assures them that they will go peaceably. ‘I’m sure we can clear things up at yuir station house’ she adds. The larger officer tells Siryn that they are not taking her to the station, ‘But a bright Irish lass like you probably figured that our already’ he remarks, before addressing the other officer as Stanton and suggests they get it over with. ‘I’m on it, Harl!’ the smaller officer exclaims, before producing a large rifle from the trunk of their Police car. ‘We were warned you two were dangerous. I mean, you two look like nice kids, but it pays to be cautious’ Stanton declares, adding that they usually only use these weapons for animal control. ‘Say good night, partner!’ he exclaims.
James Proudstar was the second mutant born in his family, and like his brother, John, he developed incredible strength during adolescence. In addition, his senses grew hyper-accurate and his reflexes accelerated to lightning speed. That is why, as Stanton fires the tranquilizer at him, James is able to catch the dart in mid-air, and return it whence it came. ‘Ungh…that isn’t possible…nobody can move like that…’ Stanton mutters as the dark lands in his chest, before falling backwards. ‘Judas Priest, they didn’t tell me you were some kind of freak!’ Harl exclaims, aiming his pistol at Siryn, he tells Warpath to stay right where he is. ‘I’m guessing your home girl here can’t dodge a bullet like you!’ he exclaims.
Siryn tells the officer that he is right. ‘I don’t have James’s strength or speed - but then he doesn’t have me sweet, lilting voice!’ Siryn exclaims as she unleashes her sonic scream. When she was a teenager in Ireland, Theresa learned that not only could she sing like an angel, but she could scream like an F-11 breaking the sound barrier. It was her powerful voice that earned her the sobriquet Siryn. Harl slams into the windscreen of his Police car, before Warpath picks him up and telling him that now they have established he is a dirty cop, it is time for the two of them to have a talk. ‘Who sent you after us?’ James demands.
‘I don’t know. Honest!’ Harl claims, sweat pouring down his face, he explains that some of the boys in the county make a few extra bucks taking freelance gigs, and that they got a call telling them somebody had put a bounty out for the two of them. ‘We figured it was our lucky day. It wasn’t personal’ Harl exclaims. ‘Then you won’t take it personally if I beat you to a pulp!’ Warpath exclaims, declaring that he watched a friend die last night, most likely courtesy of his employers. ‘I’m not in a good mood’ James adds, while Theresa calmly tells him to chill out as they need to stay focused. James replies that he keeps thinking about Michael Whitecloud, reminding Siryn that he finally found the one man who knew why his family and friends were slaughtered, only for when he tried to tell him, his head exploded because someone had implanted some device in his brain to keep him silent.
‘I know, James. But the fact that someone’s going to these lengths to stop us must mean we’re close to the truth’ Siryn replies as she takes Stanton’s keys, and tells Warpath to take the fat officer’s keys, suggesting that they cuff them to their patrol car and smash the radio. Moments later, Siryn and Warpath get back into their car, with Warpath remarking that this trip started out as away for all of them in X-Force to figure out together what they want to do with their lives - to learn if they could ever fit in with normal people. ‘Now we’re all separated and I’ve dragged you into my own personal wild goose chase!’. Siryn reminds Warpath that he didn’t have a choice, before they drive away, leaving the cops chained to their patrol car.  ‘I guess we’re fugitives again’. ‘So what else is new?’
Meanwhile, in Washington DC, Detective Napoleon Sanders and Lieutenant Oliver Bantock review surveillance tapes taken yesterday during an attempted robbery of a Georgetown bank. ‘Have you seen this yet, Lieutenant?’ the Detective asks. Bantock replies that he hasn’t as he has been dealing with the Russian attaché’s murder. ‘God I hate diplomatic immunity’ he mutters, before asking Sanders to bring him up to speed.
(Flashback - shown as surveillance footage, narrated by the Detective)
‘Watch this. Our perps make their entrance, fire a few shots, scare the crowd’. The Detective adds that this is the same crew that pulled that Maryland job two months ago. As the scene plays out before them, the Detective points out that everything goes according to plan, until the gang leader, Terry Benton, goes off on an old man. The Detective tells the Lieutenant to pay attention to the left of the screen - where an unidentified white female moves into play, picking up the old man’s cane and slamming it into Terry Benton. ‘Ordinarily, a stunt like this would get someone killed - but this lady takes out the leader with a single shot to the temple’.
The Detective explains that by the time the other two gunmen - Walter Jones and Ricky Burke - have had time to react, the mysterious woman has already disarmed them by smacking their weapons from their hands with the cane. However, Burke opens fire with another weapon, and it looks like the lady’s dynamite luck has run out. ‘But she acts like she’s used to being fired at, and grabs Hones to use as a shield!’. The Detective points out that before Burke finishes unloading his clip, the mysterious woman has moved close enough to knock him out with a stiff-arm that breaks his nose. The Detective adds that, with the robbers down, everyone had rushed the exits, and by the time they got there, the mysterious woman had gone.
(Present)
The Detective reveals that the bank manager ID’ed her as Tamara Winter, but the name and social security number match a dead woman from Atlanta. ‘No surprise. Washington’s full of intelligence operatives living under assumed names. She’s probably out of the country by now. My advice is don’t waste your time looking’ the Lieutenant replies. Bantock tells the Detective that they got the perps and the old man is recovering. ‘Let her go’ he suggests. But the Detective replies that he doesn’t think he can. ‘I don’t know if I’m going to thank her or arrest her for reckless endangerment. But I’m going to find her’.
Meanwhile, in Langley, Virginia, in a fifty-nine dollar a night hotel room, “Tamara Winter” attends to wounds sustained during the attempted bank robbery. Tamara is one of many aliases. These days, she prefers Domino. Sitting on the bed, Domino thinks to herself that she hates having to sew her own stitches, but she cannot go to a doctor with a gunshot wound, as there will be too many questions. ‘Of course playing “Captain America” in that bank was no way to keep a low profile. Not to mention, my reaction time was way to slow. The old me would have never let thank punk get off a shot’ Domino tells herself.
Reaching for the phone, Domino tells herself that she cannot move the way she used to thanks to the thing in her neck screwing with her nervous system. ‘Still, before I can find the woman who put it there and shove it down her throat - I’m gonna have to get back to speed. And the best training’s always been field work. Speaking into the phone, Domino exclaims ‘Hello. You know who this is. I’m available. The more dangerous the better’.
In Chicago, there is a bar called Hellhouse, which caters an exclusive clientel of mercenaries, professional assassins and one or two super-powered lunatics - like Wade “Deadpool” Wilson, who leans against the bar with a glass of beer, when the old man behind the counter exclaims ‘Hey Wade, you wouldn’t believe who just called looking for work!’. Deadpool turns to the old man and asks ‘Dick Clark? My Mom? The Mormon Tabernacle Choir? Elvis? Judge Crater? Stevie Wonder? Harry Houdini? Earl Sheib? The Artist Formerly Know…Sal Shallizzi?’
Back in Kansas, Agent Martin Edwards has come across Stanton and Harl, and explains to another officer over the phone that they stopped Proudstar and Rourke, but let them get away. ‘I thought you said your rent-a-cops were reliable‘. Agent Edwards exclaims, before remarking that Proudstar and Rourke are in Kansas by now. Agent Edwards tells the person he is speaking to that he wants his people to find them, but not to confront them. ‘I’ll handle that’ he declares, muttering that he always has to do things himself. He turns to Stanton and Harl, who exclaims ‘Hey, buddy, aren’t you going to uncuff us?’. Agent Edwards turns away from them, ‘Amateurs’ he mutters, while Harl asks him to at least call the station.
Meanwhile, at the Trailhound Bus Station in Topeka, Kansas, Warpath and Siryn walk through the busy bus station, while Siryn tells Warpath that she doesn’t mean to sound like a broken record, before asking him how he is holding up. James replies that he has a knot in his stomach the size of a fist. He adds that if Whitecloud’s notes on the Camp Verde massacre are in one of these lockers like he told them, then he will finally know the truth about his family’s killers. Warpath’s mind flashes back and tells Siryn that she cannot imagine the horror of finding everyone you ever knew dead - murdered. ‘To learn that everyone you cared for and relied on was taken away in an instant. And when I found that Hellfire Club mask I was certain they died because I quit the Hellions’.
Warpath remarks that even though he knows that is not true, he still blames himself. ‘If I’d been there, maybe things would be different. Maybe I would be alone’ he exclaims. Theresa takes James by the hand, and tells him that she knows he can never replace his family and friends, but that he is not alone. ‘No matter what happens, I’m right here with you’.
Moments later, Theresa and James stand in front of a row of lockers. ‘Whitecloud said locker three seventy-four’ James remarks, before locating it. ‘We’d be a lot less conspicuous if Whitecloud had held onto the key’ Siryn remarks, to which Warpath points out that Whitecloud did not want the key and his notes to fall into the wrong hands, before asking Siryn to cover him. Theresa looks around and tells him that no one is looking this way. ‘You’re clear’. At that moment, Warpath rips the metal locker door from its hinges with his incredible strength, and finds a satchel inside the locker. ‘This is it. Look at me. I’m shaking!’ James exclaims as he picks up the satchel.
Siryn tells Warpath that she hopes his answers are in there, as she would hate for him to be disappointed. ‘I never thought this day would come’ James remarks, when, suddenly, a voice exclaims ‘Disappointment’s the least of your worries now, Proudstar. I’m afraid I can’t let you leave with that envelope!’.  James and Theresa turn and see someone In a suit walking towards them, arms outstretched, he exclaims that they suspected Whitecloud had hidden a second copy of his notes somewhere, ‘But for a drunk, he managed to resist our efforts to get it out of him. That’s why we let him live. He was bound to tell someone, someday!’.
‘Edwin Martynec?’ Warpath exclaims, to which the Agent replies that it is “Martin Edwards” now, as Martynec official died in the Arroyo Labs fire. ‘I remember you, Doctor - you poisoned my mother with radiation treatments she didn’t need  -and you tried to kill my brother’ James exclaims, his mind flashing back. Martynec replies ‘That was ten years ago, Proudstar. You’ve changed a great deal since then - and so have I!’ as he transforms into a large wolf-like creature. ‘As you can see, I’ve continued my own program of self-improvement. Not everyone can rewrite their own genetic code - but the results are certainly worth the effort!’ Martynec exclaims.
Siryn takes to the air and tells Warpath to protect the notes while she deals to the dog-faced boy. But as Siryn flies towards Martynec, he lashes out at her with his claws. Siryn screams as he scratchers her, while Martynec remarks ‘Faster than you thought, eh, Ms Rourke? Oh, yes, I know about you and X-Force’. Siryn falls to the ground, unconscious. ’What did you do to her?’ Warpath demands as he slams Martynec up against the lockers. Martynec replies that his claws are laced with drugs. ‘I’m toxic, little Proudstar!’ Martynec exclaims, lashing out at Warpath and slashing him across the chest.
Warpath clutches his head while Martynec asks him if he is felling numb yet. ‘Feel dizzy…can’t give in…not going to let you…’ Warpath mumbles, ‘Too late. You’ve lost!’ Martynec exclaims as he smacks Warpath in the back, knocking him over. Martynec then picks Warpath and Siryn up by their necks, and exclaims ‘You and your girlfriend are in bad shape, Proudstar. But not to worry - I’m a doctor!’.
Meanwhile in Memphis, Tennessee, inside a restaurant, Tabitha “Meltdown” Smith sits at a table, a photo of Sam “Cannonball” Guthrie lays before her as she begins a letter to him:
(Shown with flashback images to X-Force (1st series) #70-72, narrated by Meltdown)
Dear Sam…
It seems like a millions years since we’ve seen each other. We never really even had a chance to say “goodbye”. How are you?
As you probably heard, we parted ways with Cable. I’m sure that has everyone back at the school in an uproar.
We’re zigzagging across the US, trying to figure out what to do with ourselves now that we’re on our own.
Bobby’s going crazy ‘cause his trust fund’s been frozen in some lawsuit.
Dani Moonstar’s hooked back up with us - but she hasn’t said whether she wants to stay part of the team yet.
Theresa and James are somewhere in Nebraska following a lead on the Camp Verde affair.
In Ohio, we met this rich kid named Richie Alegria - a film school dropout who borrowed money from the mob to finance his first feature film.
Not a smart move.
So Dani, Bobby and me dressed up like wise-guys to help get the mob enforcers off Richie’s back - until he can raise the cash he owes.
I wish you could have been there - I looked good in that suit.
We’re supposed to join up with James and Theresa in New Orleans. After that I’m trying to convince everyone to go to the Colossal Man Gathering in Texas.
It’s supposed to be a real freak-show. Sounds like fun, huh? If you want, I mean, if you’re not too busy with the X-Men, you could meet us there, too.
I would love so much to see you, even for a few days. I miss you, and think about you a lot.
Love, Tab.
(Present)
‘You know, Richie, you don’t have to pick up the tab everywhere we go’ Danielle Moonstar tells Richie as they and Bobby “Sunspot” DaCosta approach Meltdown. ‘You guys are doing me a big favor. It’s the least I can do!’ Richie replies. ‘Ah, Tabitha, another love letter to Sam?’ Bobby asks as he sits down next to Tabitha. ‘Yeah, I haven’t written him in a long time’ Tabitha replies, to which Richie exclaims that nothing is worse than doing the long distance thing with your significant other. Meltdown replies that she doesn’t know, and adds that maybe being apart is a good thing. ‘I’m not sure exactly what the current status of our relationship is. I mean, Sam’s a really nice guy. He deserves better than me’.
Bobby goes wide-eyed, and with a mouthful of food, exclaims ‘Get outta here, Tab. Sam’s lucky to have you as his girlfriend. You’re honest and down to earth - and considering his last girlfriend was Lila Cheney, that’s saying a lot!’. Meltdown smiles and wraps her arms around Bobby’s shoulders, thank him. ‘For a shallow, self-absorbed hothead, you can be surprisingly sweet sometimes’ she remarks. ‘Backhanded as it was, I’ll take that as a compliment’ Bobby grins.
Meanwhile, in Chicago, a mysterious fire engulfs the upper floors of downtown’s four star Edgemont Hotel. Fire-fighters rush through the flames, one of them exclaims that it is a shame to see an old beauty like this go up in flames. ‘Arson?’ another asks. ‘Maybe. I’ve never seen a fire burn as quickly as this’ the first replies, pointing out that it is as if someone is controlling the flames. Suddenly, he sees someone up ahead. ‘Don’t panic, mister! We’re here to get you out of this -’ the fire-fighter begins, but the mysterious being in the flames asks ‘Why should I want to leave…when I’m the one who started this blaze?’.
‘Why are you doing th -’ the fire-fighter begins, before he Is overcome by flames, and screams. ‘Why? Because I’m petty and vindictive. Because DaCosta and his friends stayed here last night - and I’m leaving a trail of destruction in their wake. Soon they’ll realize they’re being hunted - but by then it will be far too late!’
Meanwhile, somewhere In Arkansas, Martynec has returned to his human form, ‘Good to see you both awake’ he tells Siryn and Warpath, who are clamped against a wall. ‘If you’re responsible for killing my people, Martynec, I’m going to kill you -’ Warpath exclaims, only to be interrupted by Martynec, who exclaims ‘You survived, Proudstar. You should be happy. You know, if you hadn’t been so curious, you wouldn’t be here’. Siryn cannot say anything for a change, as a meta clamp has been placed around her mouth. ‘Now, as it is you’re probably not going to live to see the New Year. However, you’ll be happy to know that you and the girl will donate your bodies to science’ Martynec exclaims.
‘Your instruments, sir’ a robotic voice exclaims as a peculiar being approaches Martynec, carrying a tray of instruments. ‘Wait a second - ! That’s one of the Zero series robots Stryfe always used! How did you get it?’ Warpath gasps as the seemingly damaged Zero stands before him. As he fills a syringe with some liquid from a vial, Martynec replies that it was a gift from the Chaos-Bringer. ‘I needed an assistant’ he adds, explaining that the Zero has served him well, and that he only wishes he could repair it. ‘I’ve never been good with machines’. ‘Are - are you saying that Stryfe is responsible for what happened at Camp Verde?’ James asks, shocked. ‘Yes’ Martynec replies.
(Shown with flashback illustrations, narrated by Martynec)
Martynec tells Warpath that, like his mentor Cable, Stryfe was not limited to training his own band of soldiers, and explains that Stryfe needed scientists who could genetically engineer his next generation of mutant disciples. Martynec reveals that he had been institutionalised by his previous employers who disapproved of his self-experimentation ‘Stryfe, aware of my research in mutagenic catalysts, offered me freedom’.
Martynec reveals that Stryfe had anonymously taken control of a project called Stepladder, whose goal it was to engineer the next step in man’s evolution. ‘Unfortunately, one of our researchers had a crisis of conscience and went to your friend, Whitecloud’ Martynec reveals, adding that they had engineered the escape of one of their test subjects and brought him to the Camp Verde Reservation. ‘To preserve the project’s secrecy, we wiped out the entire population’. Martynec adds that the media believed that the deaths were a result of an unfortunate chemical spill, before explaining that they found Michael Whitecloud some months later, and implanted the neuro-bomb in case he tried to go public.
(Present)
‘And the Hellfire Club mask planted at the scene?’ Warpath demands to know, struggling in the clamps. ‘To throw you, Cable of Xavier’s brood off the trail. It worked’ Martynec claims. ‘But Stryfe is dead!’ Warpath exclaims, while Martynec holds up the syringe and explains that there are those who continue Stryfe’s work and await his resurrection. ‘What is death to one such as Stryfe? There are whispers he was more than just a man - that he was an alien, or even a time-traveller’.
Martynec tells Warpath that he is sorry he will not be here for Stryfe’s return, while a wide-eyed Siryn thinks to herself that Martynec assumes she cannot use her sonic scream with the metal gag keeping her jaw shut. ‘But I can create some low-frequency harmonics by resonating sound in my throat’ Siryn tells herself, knowing that it will take more control and more concentration than she has ever exerted before, but James is counting on her. ‘And he’s never let me down’ Siryn reminds herself, as the metal gag begins to crack - ‘FREE!’ Siryn screams as the metal gag shatters, and she proceeds to free James by using her sonic scream on his metal restraints also.
‘Thanks, Terry!’ James calls out, before lunging at Martynec and telling him that he caused him a lot of pain. ‘Some how, some way -’ James begins, as Martynec drops the syringes to the ground, while Siryn turns to Zero, not knowing if he is armed or not, she decides that there is no point in taking a chance, and unleashes her sonic scream on Zero, shattering him. Martynec has transformed into the lupine creature, and Warpath punches him, telling him that changing his form will not help him this time. James smashes Martynec to the ground, telling him that the only way he is leaving here is in a body bag, while Martynec thinks to himself that he doesn’t have the advantage of surprise like in their previous encounter, and admits that Warpath is a better trained fighter than he.
‘I need something to even the odds’ Martynec tells himself, before seeing one of the syringes lying on the floor. ‘Yes’ he tells himself, before grabbing it and telling Proudstar that his time is up. ‘Titanium needle. Helps get under the epidermis of some of my thicker-skinned subjects’ he remarks as he shoves the needle into James. James moans, and clutching his chest, he gasps ‘My heart!’, while Martynec tells him that he has been hit with an amphetamine compound that is making his heart beat ten times faster than normal. ‘Pretty soon it’s going to give out from the stress’.
James falls back onto the floor, while Martynec stands over him. ‘Too bad. I didn’t want to kill you…yet’ he remarks, adding that a living subject provides so much more information than a dead one. Martynec turns to Siryn, telling her to forget about her friend, as he is dead. But Theresa does not respond to Martynec’s taunts. All she thinks about is her best friend’s life slipping away because of the beast in front of her. Anger rises up through her in the form of a scream - a scream of pain and anguish that rips apart anything in its path with the force of a hurricane.
The scream of such Immense force imbeds Martynec in the concrete wall of the laboratory - shattering his bones, leaving his eardrums bursting and bleeding. Her fury abated, Siryn’s throat is raw from the savage outburst, and she drops to her knees, turning to her fallen friend. ‘Jimmy…’ she whispers, before placing her head to his chest, listening for a heartbeat. ‘Breathe! Y’cannae do this to me!’ Siryn exclaims as she begins to give Warpath mouth-to-mouth, then chest compressions. ‘Oh, not. Please, no…Lord, don’t let this be happening! There - there’s not pulse…Jimmy…Jimmy’s dead!’ Siryn whispers, while Warpath’s eyes roll back into his head.