[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><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 Mirror Liars (Shattershot Part 4) – 1st story, The Crush – 2nd story, Know Your Enemy – 3rd story
1st story:Mojoworld…An army of bloated Spineless Ones pushes forth against its enemies. Their Biped opponents fire back, refusing to succumb so easily. To them, it is not a game, but a matter of life and death.
From the ruling box, Lord Shatterstar of the Wildways observes, and finds the proceedings quite disturbing. I remember when it was the same for me and my kind, he thinks. Now, I watch. They watch. We all watch. The fighting. The winning. The killing. After lifetimes of performing, it is our turn to watch now.
On the battlefield, the Biped commander positions his forces. He knows what the Spineless Ones have planned, as he saw the same maneuver on TV last week. The Biped commander shouts for his squad, the Fang Troops, to open fire and ensure the sins of the past are never repeated. The Fang Troops are merciless with their attackers, and emerge victorious – and heavily stained with the blood of their victims.
The blood spills. The fires dim. The smoke clears. The noises of battle slowly abate. As for the outcome of the battle, the Freemen Armed Network Garrison wins again – as if there were ever a shadow of a doubt. They lift their arms in victory and soak up the adulation of their audience.
As the crowd roars, Lord Shatterstar anticipates their impending chant, a chant he deems “the sound of hypocritical victory.” They begin shouting “Cancellation!” in unison. Their cries for murder reverberate down to the arena floor, where the Freemen warriors stand over their fallen victims, holding them at blade-point. The leader acknowledges the will of the masses, but realizes, ultimately, the decision belongs to the Master Programmer, who sits high above the crowd. He asks the master what fate he desires for the losers: renewal, or cancellation?
The crowd turns anxiously toward the ruling box, where Shatterstar the Master Programmer sits, and awaits his decision. He stands. The wind catches his long red hair as he approaches the end of the balcony to issue his verdict. His name is Shatterstar. He has been the Master Programmer of the Wildways – the very place that used to be called Mojoworld – for over ten years. He has long since grown weary of this mantle, but resists letting down his people. They have directed his will for the duration of his life. He wonders if that makes it right, though.
Shatterstar lowers his sword. Satyrstar, the Freeman leader, lowers his as well. The heads of the Spineless Ones roll, and the crowd goes nuts. Sadly, this is the way of the arena games, Shatterstar thinks. It has been this way for a long time simply to entertain the masses and preserve the ancient customs. Only now, they are our ways, not those of the Spineless Ones, he thinks. Their past is our present. Their sins are our salvation. Their crimes are our laws. My laws. My people. My land. Shatterstar wonders if this is how things were meant to be. He wonders if this is all it was meant to be. Most importantly, he wonders if this is all he was meant to be.
Westchester, New York…It’s snowing at the mansion formerly known as the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters. Although the building has not gone by that name for many years, its purpose more or less remains the same, only instead of housing students, it now houses an army. A more appropriate name for it would be a fortress.
In the field right outside this fortress, a transdimensional portal opens, and three figures emerge. Arize, the upright, bearded inventor of the Mojoverse’s Biped slave race, leads his two spineless escorts Milton and Shecky out of the portal, both of whom ride in battle-ready tanks. Arize, sporting an intimidating assault rifle, tells his escorts to hang tight. It has been over a hundred years since he last set foot in this area, and needs a moment to get re-familiarized.
As they march toward the institute formerly known as Xavier’s, Arize ponders how much time has passed. He can hardly believe it has been a hundred years since he last walked on planet Earth. Slightly easier to believe, but still confounding, is that it’s been ten years since X-Force came to his world to overthrow Mojo V. If he had known back then what he knows now, things would have ended differently, he wonders. Would his genetically engineered Bipeds have overthrown the tyrannical rule of Mojo I, and Mojo II, and Mojo III, IV and V, for that matter, he asks? He thinks about the absurdity of his present situation. “Now I seek help in overthrowing the very rule I helped to install,” Arize says. “Is my life to be an endless cycle of mistakes?”
Suddenly, Shecky picks up a figure on his scanner. He tells his fellow Spineless One Milton to hang back and protect Lord Arize while he investigates the signal. As he descends over the crest of the hill, he notices the signals approaching at a fantastic speed. Are they hostile, Milton wonders? The answer to that question comes in the form of Cannonball, who collides with the armored Spineless One at full force, tipping over his heavy vehicle. Shecky radios his team and asks for identification of the hostile units… as well as some horizontal assistance.
Frankie, the next member of Cannonball’s strike team, appears over the hillside. Cannonball relays to her the identity of the intruders. She thanks him, but makes the mistake of addressing him as Mr. Guthrie. He asks her to call him Sam; in return, she asks him to call her Powerpax when in battle. After apologizing, Cannonball orders her to eliminate the target. By reducing her mass and increasing her strength, the airborne Powerpax essentially becomes a human bullet and punches through Shecky’s machinery, obliterating it. She hands the battle over to her teammate Illyana.
Meanwhile, Arize and Milton scramble to figure out what happened to their accomplice. It suddenly hits Arize: the X-Men only ever knew the Spineless Ones as threats. Of course they are attacking! He orders his remaining escort to begin evacuation. However, before they can retreat, another menace appears seemingly out of nowhere. “Nice try, boys,” the blonde, sword-bearing woman says as she steps out of a teleportation disc. “Unfortunately, running away is hard to do, when you’re running away from someone who can move between here and there as easily as walking down the street!” Illyana strikes at Milton’s armored chair and short-circuits its electrical components. She turns to her team leader and reports her success. “Second one’s down, Uncle Sam! Soulsword didn’t bleed the metal, so that part of them is inorganic.”
“Good work, Darkchild. And don’t call me ‘uncle’,” Sam says. He turns his attention next to Siryn, whom he orders to fully deconstruct the remains of the enemy’s machinery. Riding on the waves of her sonic scream, Siryn tears through the battlefield, dismantling the armored chairs as she passes. Milton suddenly finds himself resting helplessly in the snow. He looks up at Siryn and supposes she must have been the X-Man known as Banshee.
However, another member of the strike team corrects his error. “Negative. Designate: Banshee. Deceased. 8/27/98,” the new arrival says didactically. This Techno-Organic humanoid, dressed in the classic X-Men outfit of black and yellow, stands over the helpless Milton and informs him that Siryn is actually a descendant of Banshee’s, with similar mutant abilities. Milton asks the humanoid to introduce himself. “Doublet lifeform designate: Cyberlock. Composition of unit: organic material: designate: Douglas Ramsey; Biomechanical material: designate: Warlock,” Cyberlock says. Milton stares at him in disbelief. This one never made it to his home-world’s broadcast, he says. This does not surprise Cyberlock, whose powers scramble all recording signals.
Suddenly, Arize fires his plasma cannon on Milton and Cyberlock, the latter of whom finds the action confusing. Such ferocity contradicts Cyberlock’s existing intelligence on the foreigner. Arize shouts that he has not come seeking a fight, but help. Sunspot knocks him to the ground and grabs the gun out of his hand. If he came for help, he certainly has a funny way of asking, Sunspot says. He crushes the gun in his hand and prepares to deliver Arize a devastating punch.
Moments before he can unleash his brutal strength, Cannonball, finally recognizing Arize, intervenes and asks his teammate to stop. Arize used to be their friend, he says. The helpless Arize looks Sunspot in the eyes and prays that, after all these years, they might still consider him an ally. Sunspot lowers his fist. The rest of the team arrives and gathers around their feeble visitor. Theresa finally recognizes his face; she couldn’t do so before because of the thick flurry of snow. Sam, speaking with consternation, greets Arize and recalls they have not seen each other for ten years. Why is he here now – and in the company of two Spineless Ones, no less?
Arize believes all these questions have the same answer. It all comes down to one man – a man whom Sam knew rather well. Sam and this man fought together, lived together, cried together, and even died together. He even helped usher this man into power on the Mojoworld over a decade earlier. He is a man for whom Arize considers himself responsible. Now, he needs help putting an end to the tyrannical end of this man – the one they know as Shatterstar. At the mention of this name, Cannonball, Siryn, and Cyberlock say nothing. However, their facial expressions speak volumes.
The Freeman Armed Network Main Corporate Building…Lord Shatterstar’s Scheduler updates his master on the latest developments in the Wildways. The spineless slaves continue to grow more rebellious. Worse, the renegade traitor Arize is still missing. Surely Shatterstar must recognize this as a bad sign, the servant says. Shatterstar doesn’t think so. Arize is only seeking what he has always sought – balance and equality, two qualities admittedly foreign to Shatterstar and his people.
“Is this what I fought for? Is this what I wanted?” Shatterstar asks. “A mere reversal of roles? Bipeds now free to abuse and ostracize the Spineless Ones?” His Scheduler, clearly missing Shatterstar’s larger moral crisis, implores his master to remain in control so as to prevent the possibility of the Spineless Ones returning to power. Shatterstar asks if the present state of things is at all different from when Mojo ruled. “Indeed it is,” the oblivious Scheduler says, “for we are the ones in charge now…”
The frustrated Shatterstar away, seeking the comfort of shadows and solitude.
Xavier’s Mansion. Earth…After looking around the mansion’s interior, Arize notes that much has changed since his last visit. Cannonball chalks up the impressive hardware to the combination of having the Shi’ar technology Xavier incorporated and the stuff Cable left behind after he died. In fact, Cyberlock reports that Earth’s current technology will not reach the level of Xavier’s for another 260 years. While addressing Arize, Cyberlock reaches out and gently penetrates Arize’s face with an array of miniature Techno-Organic probes. The confused Arize kindly asks what he is doing. Cannonball tells him he can relax; Cyberlock is merely preparing to patch Arize into the control room’s holo-relays, which can project its subject’s thoughts in 3-D.
With the interface in place, Arize begins telling his story, which plays out in the center of the room in the form of picture-perfect holographic images. He recounts the tale of Longshot and the Mojoworld, beginning with Longshot’s trip to – and return from – Earth. His various rebellions against Mojo failed, however, and he returned to Earth with his mind nothing but a blank slate. It was then he joined up with the X-Men, during one of their more tumultuous periods.
Shortly after this – and after another of the Fallen Messiah’s attempts at rebellion – Arize embarked on his own mission to free the Mojoverse. He tried to fix the problem at the root by sending inspirational broadcasts from Earth back to his people, the Spineless Ones, in hopes of teaching them the ways of freedom and true joy. Instead, the broadcast became jumbled and twisted while traveling across the space-time void and ended up far in the past, where they drove the Spineless Ones insane. Arize then returned to the Mojoworld with his tenuous ally Spiral and sought to join forces with the X-Men to overthrow Mojo I and his sequel, Mojo II, once and for all.
Cannonball takes this opportunity to address a point of confusion caused by the distortions between dimensions. He reminds his team Shatterstar came to the X-Men from a hundred years in Longshot’s future, at which point a fifth Mojo was in charge. Powerpax asks if that was the timeline X-Force visited when they traveled to the Mojoverse ten years earlier. “Correct, Francinepower,” Cyberlock tells her. “X-Force unit consisting of Cable, Samuelguthrie, Theresacassidy, Jamesproudstar, Shatterstar and selfunit liberated Mojoworld from dictatorial control of designate: Mojo V.”
Is that when Shatterstar came into power, Sunspot asks? Indeed, Siryn says, adding that this mission occurred about a year before Roberto joined their team. The team didn’t like the mission one bit, but Cable pushed for it, and back then, Cable always got what he wanted. Continuing her thought, Sam adds that now, they need to make amends for Cable’s mistake, and admittedly, their mistake as well. Leaving one person in charge of everything, be they spineless or Biped, will always be wrong, Cannonball says.
Arize asks Cannonball what he proposes to do to solve this problem. In response, Sam asks why they should even bother to help Arize. What guarantee does he offer that the cycle of oppression in the Wildways will end? Surprisingly, it is one of the Spineless Ones who speaks up. He tells Cannonball that with their help, they can ensure equality by establishing a democracy and abolishing network rule. Intrigued, Cannonball asks him to elaborate.
Mojoworld…The Scheduler thanks the Board of Directors for taking time out of their hectic schedules to give him audience. Moving on, he reports to them their latest ratings statements. Across the board, ratings have increased in share and ad revenue. Add in the ongoing retreat of the Spineless Ones, and the state of the Board’s corporate holdings appears quite sound. The Board thanks the Scheduler for his spin on current events, but asks for his take on the rumors of discontent arising throughout the chairman’s office. Is it true Lord Shatterstar has doubts about the achievements of the Freeman Armed Network, they asks? The Scheduler asks them not to worry; Shatterstar always delivers as needed. With a mischievous grin on his face, he ensures them Shatterstar will give the people what they want.
Sometime later, X-Force arrives in the stands of a packed Mojoworld battle arena. Over the deafening thunder of the audience – and the blaring sounds of the stadium announcer – they share their thoughts on the state of things. Cannonball notes how out of hand the situation has grown. Illyana presumes the Roman gladiator arenas must have looked the same way. Francine Power just stares at the funny-looking aliens in the audience. Cyberlock, meanwhile, performs a scan on the arena for Shatterstar, while Cannonball urges him to do it as discretely as possible. “Ah don’t like the thought of being the Christians thrown out to these lions,” Sam says.
Cyberlock gets a reading and directs his team’s attention upward, to the ruling box, where they see Shatterstar, lifting his sword and seemingly soaking in the applause. While most of the team stares in disbelief, Powerpax stares in romantic infatuation. Cannonball reminds his team to stay focused. It took them three weeks to get Arize, Milton and Shecky a slot in today’s arena battle; they cannot risk blowing this opportunity.
Arize, hiding his distinguishing features beneath a helmet, takes to the arena floor with his two spineless companions. While this trio puts up a valiant fight – much to the delight of the announcer – Cannonball and his team take their cue and head to the ruling box. They encounter a pair of guards in the corridor, whom they quickly dispatch.
Things heat up on the battlefield. Arize makes quick work of the opposition, causing the announcer to second-guess their decision to arm him and his companions so well.
X-Force, meanwhile, arrives at the ruling box’s locked door. Since they failed to obtain the entry codes from the guards they fought, they decide to forgo teleporting inside and instead wait for Arize to make his move.
In the arena, Milton and Shecky discretely position their battle-chairs under the ruling box, also in anticipation of Arize’s signal. Arize slays his last two opponents, turns to his companions and gives them the signal to activate the field. Suddenly, Milton and Shecky unleash a neuralytic field of energy from their chairs. It paralyzes both the remaining arena opponents as well as the soldiers guarding the ruling box. The announcer watches in shock. “But no one has seen a Biped paralyzer used since the Great Overthrow!” he says to the crowd. “All of the Spineless technology specifically attuned to disrupt Biped neural functioning was destroyed! Who could have recreated such deadly technology?”
Arize bares his blades and stands over the limp bodies of his enemies in the arena. The Scheduler, watching the apparent onset of a rebellion from the safety of the ruling box, orders the telecast to end. Lord Shatterstar dismisses this order; he wants the games to conclude. The Scheduler cannot believe it.
The crowd begins chanting their usual cry of cancellation. Arize lifts his sword and declares that, for the first time in Freeman Armed Network history, the rebels have emerged victorious. Arize listens to the cheers of the audience and directs his attention upward, to the ruling box. “They do so love to see an underdog triumph, don’t they, Lord Shatterstar?” the masked victor asks.
“They do, rebel,” Shatterstar answers. “Who are you, to remind me so much of my youth?” Arize removes his helmet, revealing his familiar face to the crowd. He tells Shatterstar it is he, the one who was there for the day of his birth. Shatterstar gasp; he never expected to see Arize again. The Scheduler, meanwhile, orders the rebel arrested.
At this point, Sunspot rips open the heavy, metal doors to the ruling box, and commands the guards to stop. They should listen to what Arize – the creator of their very race – has to say, Sunspot tells them. After all, as their parent, he has the right to steer his creations away from their current path of insanity.
The confused guards look around and ask what to do. The Scheduler’s stomach drops at the combination of X-Force’s sudden entrance and Arize’s unmasking on the battlefield. If the masses see these two legends threatening to overthrow the current ruling party, all will surely be lost. He jumps on the speaker system and begins addressing the crowd. The people they see before them are imposters, he says, chalking it all up to the trickery of the Spineless Ones. Shatterstar refuses to let him continue with his lies. He proceeds to the balcony and announces that the architects of the Great Overthrow have returned to tell them they have lost their way. While raising his sword as a symbol of unity, Shatterstar asks the Scheduler to hand him his staff. Instead, the Scheduler smashes his Lord in the back and sends him plummeting over the edge. Shatterstar falls to the arena’s dirt floor.
X-Force, still fighting their way through the guards at the door, watches in shock as Shatterstar falls and resolves to fight harder. Using her gravity-manipulation powers, Powerpax eases the G-force surrounding a pair of guards, essentially turning them into human feathers. Cyberlock sends them both away with a pair of well-placed punches. Suddenly, reinforcements arrive and, somehow, in the midst of the fighting, the ruling box crumbles and gives way, sending everyone falling to the arena floor to be buried in rubble. Thanks to Cannonball’s blast field, the members of X-Force emerge unscathed. They meet up with Shatterstar, who also survived his tumble, and exchange long overdue greetings. “It would appear I have not done so good a job ruling my world?” Lord Shatterstar jokingly asks Cannonball.
“You had Cable as an example, what can you expect?” Sam replies. Siryn draws their attention to the oncoming wave of guards. Shatterstar greets their approach with delight; it has been far too long since he engaged in a decent fray. He leaps into the air with his double-bladed sword outstretched and declares to make it a fight that two worlds will remember.
Shatterstar, X-Force, Arize and even some newly arriving Spineless Ones join forces to overthrow the tyrannical Biped regime, all while on display for the people of the dimension formerly known as the Mojoverse. It pains Arize to battle his own creations. However, for the good of the planet, it must be done. The arena announcer continues to give the play-by-play to the audience, even as the Freeman Armed Network approaches what will certainly be its end.
The treacherous Scheduler refuses to give up easily. He sneaks up behind Arize, whom he perceives to be the figurehead of the rebellion, and strikes him in the back with his pointed staff. “Arize is downed!” he shouts. “As he brought us to life, let him leave this one – in the mud and mire!” Shatterstar rushes to his leader’s aid. He scolds the Scheduler for betraying him like this, especially since Arize fights for freedom, as the Bipeds did for countless seasons. The Scheduler asks Shatterstar what he could possibly know of their fight. “You were nothing more than a figurehead – a celebrity to spoonfeed the masses! When we sent you to the other world, we thought you were going to die! We made you a legend solely for the sake of giving the people something to believe in,” he confesses. “But your time on Earth has softened you to the hardships of this world, my Lord—”
Unexpectedly, Shatterstar strikes at his Scheduler and calls him a liar. He declares that his time on Earth did not make him soft, but taught him how to care, and how to love, and how to be human. He only forgot those things upon returning to the Mojoverse. While hacking away at the Scheduler, Shatterstar vows to never again forget the lessons he learned on Earth. Cable turned him not into a soulless machine, but a soldier for peace. “What will it be then, Scheduler,” he says while standing over the Scheduler’s bloody, battered body, “—my way or your way?” As usual, the crowd demands cancellation. Shatterstar lifts his blade and holds the point over the Scheduler’s head. “The people have spoken,” he says as he brings the blade down. “But I do not listen!” He slams the blade into the ground adjacent to the Scheduler’s face, shattering its tip. The Scheduler has been spared.
Shatterstar turns to the bloodthirsty people of his kingdom and announces the new world order. No longer will the people be told what they want, he shouts! No longer will the people tell their rulers what to do! It is time for a new way, in which outstretched arms of love replace the swords of war.
Meanwhile, the survivors of the battle help Arize off the ground. They ask if he is alright; he tells them he would never dream of dying at a time like this, when all the people of the world are uniting as one. He reveals that all the Spineless Ones who participated in the rebellion received implants which block the transmissions that cause their species’ insanity. He will find the others and heal them. However, the insanity that befell the Bipeds was not driven by biology, but by sociology. It must end, Arize says. He asks everyone present if they can overcome this hatred, prejudice, and violence. If they can, then term “Freeman” will have an entirely new meaning.
The people of the arena pump their fists in triumph. “Free men! Free men! Free men!” they shout in jubilation at their new world order. A mysterious, cloaked figure watches from the shadow of a peripheral corridor, and smiles. “Free men, indeed,” he says. “After so very long, free men in word and deed, in body and soul.” He pulls down his hood, revealing a flowing, blond mullet, and a left eye that glows radiantly. “Gotcha!” he says.
Nearby, Sam Guthrie senses something unusual. Theresa notices the shift in his countenance and asks what is wrong. Nothing, he tells her. He simply caught a glimpse of a familiar feeling: hope. Not just hope for the people of the Mojoverse, he says, but for all of them; hope that no matter how many times they fight the same fight over and over again, freedom is always worth fighting for.
2nd story:A not-so long time ago – in a galaxy not-so far away…Leech swings blindly at the Lego-constructed TIE-fighters swirling around his head, but fails to hit any of them using his makeshift light saber. The miniature spaceships retaliate by pelting him with Lego bricks. Taki laughs at his misfortune. “What’s the matter Leech? Too tricky for you?” the wheelchair-bound mutant genius asks. Leech reminds his friend he has not seen the Star Wars movies nearly as many times as Taki has. Taki writes off these excuses and continues ordering his ships to attack Leech.
Suddenly, Artie Maddicks, the mutant standing guard at the door, projects a warning image to his friends. Their teacher Mrs. Huntington is coming down the hallway! The current occupants of the playroom at St. Simons Boarding Academy in Exeter, New Hampshire quickly hide the evidence of their mischief. With a press of a button on his high-tech wheelchair, Taki disassembles the Lego TIE-fighters into their component pieces. Mrs. Huntington, however, is not fooled. She enters in time to see the pieces falling to the floor and reminds Taki that there are specific allotted times during which the mutant students can practice their powers. Now is not one of them.
Taki, looking uncharacteristically shamefaced, apologizes. Mrs. Huntington asks him not to look so wounded. She asks the boys to clean up the play room and wash up for dinner. However, she suspends their Lego privileges for a few days, and asks Taki to bring the toys to her office once they collect them all. Taki swoons. “I think I’m in love,” he says after she leaves.
Not long after, Taki brings the bucket of Legos to Mrs. Huntington’s office. She asks him to place them on the shelf while she finishes with some filing work. She tells Taki that because he is the oldest student at St. Simons, she expects more from him. Taki notices her powdering her nose and asks if she is going somewhere. She mentions she has a date, and continues her lecture. Taki must be a positive role model for the other kids, especially Artie and Leech, she says. Taki’s mind is obviously on other things. He asks if her date is with Patrick again. “Mr. Conrad to you,” she answers, “—you’re not listening, Taki! All I’m asking you to be is a little more responsible in the use of your mutant abilities – O.K.?”
Patrick Conrad knocks on the door and enters. He apologizes for interrupting, and then asks Mrs. Huntington, whom he calls “pumpkin”, if she is ready. She tells Mr. Conrad, whom she calls “lambchop,” that yes, her discussion with Taki has ended. She gets up out of her seat and gives Patrick a peck on the lips. Taki winces. Artie and Leech arrive and tell their disgusted schoolmate to come get dinner with them. As they wheel him out of the room, Taki shoots a final, suspicious glance in Patrick Conrad and Lynne Huntington’s direction. He’s not sure he likes Patrick.
Later that night, Takashi patrols the darkened hallways of the St. Simons in his technoformed wheelchair. He notes the time; it’s almost midnight, and Mrs. Huntington still hasn’t returned. He can only wonder what happened. He supposes that creep Conrad took her out dancing, and then after a few of his lame jokes, they probably shared dinner at some fancy restaurant. After that, he imagines Conrad took her to his place, where they snuggled, and probably even kissed. I wish it was me, Taki thinks. He picks up the picture of Conrad on Mrs. Huntington’s desk. “What does she see in him?” he asks.
He hears noises in the hallway and realizes Lynne and Patrick have returned. With no time to flee the room, Taki crouches down behind Mrs. Huntington’s desk. Patrick enters, supposedly to use the office phone to dial the auto club. However, Taki spies him opening the student record filing cabinet, and thumbing through the confidential material. Patrick pulls out two files – those of Artie Maddicks and Leech, whom he dubs “filthy mutant scum” – and makes a phone call to his boss. “That’s right, phase one is complete,” Mr. Conrad says. “It was simple to deceive that bubble-headed teacher. I’ll be giving her the brush-off in a few days.” Incensed, Taki watches, but remains silent. He refuses to let Mr. Conrad get away with his deception.
Conrad’s car gets repaired shortly thereafter, and he departs, leaving the enamored Lynne Huntington to watch as his car pulls away. Taki observes from a distance. When I expose that racist pig, she’ll be crushed, he thinks. Nevertheless, he knows what he must do. Using his mutant technoforming ability, an ability he sharpened while battling demons during the recent demonic invasion of New York City, Takashi Matsuya transforms his chair into a pair of enhanced prosthetic legs and marches up the stairs to find Artie and Leech. He wakes them up and relays to them all that transpired. Leech suggests they just tell Mrs. Huntington, but Taki insists they obtain evidence first. Otherwise, Mrs. Huntington would never believe them.
Reluctantly, Artie and Leech accompany their hot-headed schoolmate Wiz Kid in yet another of his technoformed creations. Unfortunately, Mrs. Huntington notices their departure in Taki’s makeshift helicopter. She shouts – to no avail – for them to wait. Refusing to let them go out on their own, Lynne hops into the school’s van and follows them into town. She vows to stop Taki from getting into trouble. Unlike his friends Artie and Leech, Takashi has never quite adjusted to life at St. Simons, and remains as distant and angry as ever. Lynne refuses to let him jeopardize his chances at the school.
Artie, Leech and Wiz Kid follow Conrad to an exclusive building downtown and land on the roof. They discretely peer in through the skylight window at the secret processions below, but Taki can barely make out what Conrad and his associates are saying. However, he picks up enough to hear Conrad’s boss explain how they can use these stolen mutant files to not only track down mutant family members of the subjects, but possibly even apply the data toward ridding the country of mutantkind. Taki growls; he refuses to sit idly while these men plan some mutant mass-extermination!
After technoforming his chair into a flying, fisted bobsled, Taki and his friends crash through the glass skylight and bring the fight to the mutant-haters. One of Conrad’s associates draws his gun and levels it toward the three mutant children. Before the assailant can fire the shot, Artie telepathically mind-locks him but, because of the rampant hatred he feels within the man’s mind, he struggles to maintain control. The constrained man slowly overpowers Artie’s influence and lifts his gun. He fires his shot.
To deflect the bullet, Taki tips their aircraft sideways. However, Leech loses his balance and falls out and hits the mantle of the lounge’s fireplace. Before he can recover, another one of the mutant-haters hurls a chair at him, but Leech dives out of the way. The chair hits the fireplace and splinters into burning fragments. Leech leaps back into the aircraft just as Taki summons the police and fire departments on his technoformed radio. Once the firemen extinguish the fire, surely the police will uncover what went down in the building, Taki says as he flies his friends to safety.
Shortly thereafter, the police and fire departments arrive – as does Lynne Huntington. She pulls up to the building right as the cops lead away her lover, Patrick Conrad. Where are they taking him, she asks? Patrick sneers at her. “You could never figure out what was obvious to everyone else,” he says. “Go back to your pathetic students, you mutant loving fool.” Lynne stands in shock. She honestly thought Patrick loved her.
The next day at St. Simons, while the students work on their lesson plans, Mrs. Huntington stares longingly out the window. Taki notices her inattentiveness and asks if everything is alright. She tells him will be fine, and asks him to please finish his reading. Taki playfully tugs at her shoulder. “I know I may not be the greatest catch,” he says, “but if you’re willing to wait a few years, I know a really cute guy who could make a great date.” To Taki’s surprise, his joke manages to sneak a smile out of his heartbroken teacher.
3rd story:The Adirondack Mountains, once home of the mutant-hunting Sentinels…Times change. This base once belonged to those who fought to eliminate mutants forever, but now, it is home to a team that fights for the very survival of the mutant species. They are called X-Force, and their leader, Cable, still has a lot to learn about his soldiers. He calls for them to fall-in, and X-Force arrives without question. Today, he intends to test the limits of their allegiance.
Cable orders the control room’s computer to begin displaying X-Force’s ten prime threats. After the program conjures up an image of Masque, Cable orders Feral to identify the target and state the best course of attack. “That’s Masque, my old captor and leader of the Morlocks,” Feral says. “I’d claw and rip into his ugly face.” Cable finds this answer unsuitable. Masque, after all, manipulates flesh with his touch. A close-range attack would be unacceptable.
Moving on, he asks Cannonball to identify the next image, this one of a grey-skinned martial artist in a red vest. “His name’s Kane. He’s the current Weapon X,” Sam says. Since Kane’s hands detach in combat, Sam supposes the best method of attack would be first letting him fire off both of his hands, then moving in and attacking his body.
“That’s one way of disarming him!” Boom Boom quips. Next, Black Tom Cassidy and Juggernaut appear on the screen. Shatterstar easily identifies the former and makes sure to note his staff has long-range attack capabilities. Warpath finishes the analysis by identifying the virtually invulnerable Juggernaut, whose only weakness is losing his helmet. Warpath considers this foe among the most powerful of their enemies.
Next, Cable asks Boom Boom to state what she knows about G.W. Bridge, the next enemy in line. “Ur uh… he’s that S.H.I.E.L.D.-guy, right?” Tabitha asks. “Umm… his head’s exposed?” Cable asks her to see him after class.
Domino’s turn comes next. “That’s Deadpool. Best killing machine money can buy,” she says upon seeing the image of the merc with the mouth. “Best defense would be offering him a better price.”
The computer then displays a picture of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. Cable asks James Proudstar to identify all three of them. Warpath correctly lists them off as Sauron, Blob, Pyro, Phantazia and Toad.
Cable then has the computer summon an image of Gideon and his young accomplice, Roberto DaCosta, the former New Mutant Sunspot. Surprisingly, Cable asks Sam to state the best course of attack. “Hold it right there, sir!” Cannonball shouts. “Bobby’s my best friend in the whole world, he was one o’ us, you can’t ask me to—”
Warpath restrains his irate teammate and asks him to ease up. Moving on, Cable assigns the next image to Shatterstar. “Za’s vid!” Shatterstar says upon seeing the picture of a green, glowing, energy-based life-form. “That’s Proteus. A mutant with the ability to alter reality itself. He has but one weakness – metal.”
Stryfe and the Mutant Liberation Front appear on the screen next. As per Cable’s request, Domino identifies them, and then declares an all-out assault as the best means of attack.
Cable, satisfied with his team’s performance, decides to identify and analyze their final enemies by himself. He calls these enemies the most powerful mutant strike force in operation, and states that because of their differing ideologies, a clash with them is inevitable. They are the X-Men.
Enraged, Cannonball and Boom Boom head toward the door. “Figures! Every time ah get close t’trustin’ the man, he pulls something like this!” Sam says. Tabitha, meanwhile, advises Cable not to force them to choose between his team and the X-Men; he might not like the results.
Domino finally snaps and orders everyone out of the room, except for Cable. After the rest of the grumbling troops shuffle toward the exit, Cable turns to Domino and tells her not to undermine his authority. She tells him not to worry; he is doing a good enough job of that on his own. “What kind of lame stunt was that supposed to be?” she asks. Cable tells her he must ensure the members of X-Force are firmly on his side and that they’re in it for the long haul. “Can’t they follow your lead and Xavier’s dream at the same time?” she asks.
“NO!” Cable shouts. Through clenched teeth, he tells Domino there is a world of difference between dreaming a dream – and winning a war.


[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]
Friendly Reminders
The issue opens with Cable, Feral, Cannonball, Boom-Boom and Warpath trudging through the sewers. Warpath is carrying both Sauron and Thornn over his shoulders. They are on their way to find the Morlocks. Cable wants to leave them a very important message. When they finally find them, Cable yells out that their leader, Masque, is dead. He shows them all Masque’s cape and tells them that although he does not blame them for what happened, they better never mess with X-Force again.
He shows them Sauron’s lifeless body and Thornn all chained up. He tells them about Cannonball and his return to life. Finally he gives them an ultimatum, they can work with him or die against him. He then throws Sauron’s body over to them. Before Feral lets Thornn go, she warns her sister that it isn’t over between them. Thornn is more than willing to fight her again. Cable has to yell for Feral to let her go. Now that their business is concluded, the X-Force team leaves.
At X-Force’s headquarters, Shatterstar is in the Danger Room battling a bunch of robots. Up in the control room we find Deadpool. He’s thinking to himself how much he would like to fight Shatterstar even though it isn’t part of his mission. Siryn is lying unconscious at his feet, beaten up by Deadpool off panel. He decides to go for it and jumps through the glass of the control room. He delivers a swift kick to ‘Star’s face. Shatterstar reminds him of the last time they fought and how they took Deadpool out. This makes him mad and he tells Shatterstar that he’s going to kill him. Deadpool easily evades his punches and lands one of his own in ‘Star’s gut. This takes Shatterstar out of the fight, but Deadpool doesn’t kill him. Instead, he runs off in search of Domino.
We see Domino in the computer room looking up files on the X-Force members. At the moment Deadpool walks in she’s looking up Siryn. He grabs her from behind and slams her head into the key panel. She asks who it is and ‘Pool tells her that it’s her old boyfriend. It turns out that Domino was really Vanessa a.k.a. Copycat, the whole time X-Force was a team. She gets in a good kick and tries to run away. Deadpool snags her with a whip-like cord. He wants to know why she hasn’t reported in to Tolliver. She answers him with a kick to the jaw. She tries to run away again, but Deadpool is able to grab her ankle. He swings her hard into a wall. Now he wants to know if she’s falling for Cable, but she won’t answer.
They fight some more and eventually Deadpool lays her out. He reminds her that upsetting Tolliver is a very bad thing. He throws a blade at the ground to symbolize what would happen if she doesn’t do her job. He tells her that if he has to come back to tell her again, he won’t go as easy on her.
Inside the SHIELD Helicarrier, Bridge is receiving a transmission call from Kane. He tells Bridge all about his recent encounter with the MLF and how he thinks that Cable is their leader. He doesn’t want to ignore the past anymore. He doesn’t want to ignore what Cable did to Six Pack (or Wild Pack as they were called before) in the past. Bridge doesn’t know what to make of it. Why would he be running both groups? Kane tells him that in order to get the answers, they need to bring Cable in. Bridge wants to know if SHIELD should be brought in, but Kane tells him that Department K has it all under control. They’re sending in Weapon PRIME, which now consists of Kane, Yeti, Tigerstryke and Rictor.
Inside a castle in Austria, Tolliver and his servant Pico are walking down a spiral set of stairs. Tolliver wants to check on a houseguest of his. As he’s talking to the mysteriously shadowed prisoner, it is revealed that she has been captive there for over a year. He tells her that pretty soon nobody will remember anything of the Six Pack, X-Force, Cable or Domino. He starts laughing and that is when it is revealed that Domino is the captive.


[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]
Traitors To The Cause
Prologue: X-Ternals- part 2
We see Gideon walking towards a seedy-looking bar on the island city of Madripoor. Crule is inside and he’s tearing things apart. He was playing cards and one of the guys was cheating. After he’s done trashing the place, he takes a bottle of ale and chugs it. Then Gideon enters the bar, much to Crule’s surprise.
Crule leaps at him and knocks him down. He punches him a couple of times and then kicks him in the face. He puts him in a bear hug, but Gideon manages to break free. He thinks to himself that maybe it wasn’t wise to involve Crule. Crule is considered to be the bad seed of the Externals.
Gideon uses his mutant power to duplicate the genetic-energy template of Crule and starts pounding on him. He finishes him off with a knee to the skull. Gideon tells him that the Externals need him. Crule understands what they must want or else they would have never contacted him. He wants to know whom Gideon wants killed. Gideon tells him that the name of the man is Cable.
Main Story:
Copycat is surrounded by the whole X-Force team. They’re all pretty upset and they also want answers. Finally Cable speaks up and asks her why she would betray them. She says that she didn’t have a choice. That Tolliver wanted revenge on him for screwing up one of his operations. She also tells him that she didn’t owe him anything after how he left Kane and Hammer like he did. Cable wants to know how much she was being paid. She says that she was paid enough to cover Hammer’s operations. She hints that it was Cable’s fault for what happened to Hammer. He tells her “No!” in disbelief.
Boom-Boom speaks her mind and agrees with Cable. She says that there is no reason to trust her over Cable since they know even less about her. Feral wants to slice her up, but Copycat asks them to listen to her. She was sent to spy on them, but when she got there, she started liking everyone. Cable asks everyone what they think they should do with her. Shatterstar suggests executing her like they would have on his home world. Cable disagrees. He’s got a plan of his own and needs her alive for it.
Over the Australian outback flies a SHIELD personnel assault carrier. On board are the members of Weapon PRIME. Commander Bridge introduces the team to their newest member, Grizzly. Rictor wants to know if Grizzly’s heart is in it. Grizzly assures him that he is more than willing to bring Cable in. He personally wants to tear Cable apart. Now Rictor wants to know when they can engage Cable. Kane tells him that they have information on X-Force’s whereabouts. They’re supposedly located at an old Sentinel base in the Adirondack Mountains. Bridge tells everyone to be ready in 14 hours. That’s when they’re going after him and whether they arrest him or kill him is up to Cable.
Back at the X-Force HQ, Copycat is relaying a message to Tolliver. She is going to plant explosives around the X-Force base and set them off during a workout session. Tolliver is pleased and signs off. This conference call was part of Cable’s plan. Now, when the building explodes, Tolliver will think X-Force to be dead and then X-Force can go after him. Copycat wants to know what will happen to her after that. Cable tells her that he doesn’t know.
Back on the SHIELD IPAC unit, Kane runs into Rictor and asks him if he’s ready for the mission. Rictor tells him of the first time he met Cable. Back when he was a boy, Cable killed his father in cold blood. He assures Kane that he’s ready. Kane becomes angry thinking of everything Cable had done in the past. He guarantees to himself that he will get Cable.
In Denver, Gideon’s helijet lands on top of his penthouse apartment. He alerts Roberto to his new guest, Crule. Roberto is shocked at the sight of Crule. He asks Gideon what kind of business he has with him. This angers Gideon and he sucker punches ‘Berto. He kneels over him and pounds him with his fists. Next we see him unconscious on the steps. Crule wants to know what will happen with Roberto. Gideon tells him that he will soon find out.
(07:30)
Near the X-Force base, Bridge is preparing the Weapon PRIME for the assault. They are all psyched up.
(07:45)
At X-Force’s base, Boom-Boom is complaining that they have to move. Cable explains to her that too many people know where they are and he doesn’t want anyone to have access to their hardware or computer files. He knows they’re all upset, but the only way to make it better is to take out Tolliver.


[User]
<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]
Everything Hits The Fan
Nighttime, outside X-Force’s headquarters, we find Weapon PRIME scaling the mountainside. They near the entrance and Bridge attempts to override the security system. Inside the complex, X-Force is loading up their jet with supplies. Bridge sets the timer on the entrance and blows up the doorway. Now that they have a way in, PRIME gets moving. Cable yells for his group to get ready for an attack.
Cable tells Sam to take over leading the group. He tells him he has things to do. He runs away much to Bridge’s dismay. The individual battles are as follows: Weapon X is matched up with Shatterstar. Siryn is against Tigerstryke. Warpath is pitted against Grizzly. Feral wants Yeti and Boom-Boom takes on Rictor. Boom-Boom wants to know why Rictor would join up with Weapon PRIME. He tells her he wants Cable brought to justice. When she tells him that she’s not going to give him up, he knocks her over with a seismic wave. Cannonball comes flying in and knocks him down. Rictor tries to get them to see his side of things and manages to get both Boom-Boom and Cannonball to question what they’re doing.
Elsewhere in the base, Cable is telling his computer, Professor, to hardware slide all of the technology out of the base. He also wants the explosive charges they set around the base earlier, to be voice-activated. He then runs off to join the fight.
Back at the fight, Weapon PRIME isn’t doing so well. Bridge tells X-Force that they should never have trusted Cable now that he has abandoned the team. Suddenly, a volley of gunfire takes Bridge out. Cable has come back to finish the battle.
Meanwhile, at an Ophrah industries research facility in New Mexico, Gideon is walking down a hall with some armed guards and a scientist he refers to as Mr. Joshua. Gideon wants to know how the experiment is going. Mr. Joshua tells him that he’s unsure what will happen. If the experiment fails, then Roberto could die. That’s when we see Sunspot hooked up to a machine that is shooting off some kind of electricity through him. He’s screaming in agony.
Back in the Adirondack mountain region, the fight continues. Cable fires another shot at Bridge and this time, hits him in the shoulder. Cable tells Bridge that it’s over. Nearby, ‘Star and Kane are still fighting. Shatterstar slices off his robotic arm with one of his swords. Kane uses his stump to electrocute him. At the same time, Warpath takes Grizzly out. Also, Feral claws up Yeti to end her fight.
Bridge is slumped down in a corner. He feels sorry for X-Force because they have become like Cable. Cable tells him to stop the insults, the battle is over and they won. Cable walks over to Copycat and tells her that they have to get out of there. He wants to go after Tolliver. Copycat is concerned for the injured Bridge and Kane. Cable tells her that he called SHIELD medivac and they should be there soon. The final battle, between Siryn and Tigerstryke, is finished when she short-circuits his suit with her sonic scream.
Cable is very impressed with how they handled themselves. Copycat suggests that they evacuate as soon as possible. No sooner said than the place starts collapsing. Some of the charges went off early. They have 30 seconds until the main detonation occurs. Cable grabs Copycat and starts running. He wonders how the charges could have activated without his voice command. Cannonball starts yelling for everyone to get near him, including Weapon PRIME. He’s going to expand his blast field to protect everyone when the place explodes… and it does.
Saradegna, Italy:
Back at Tolliver’s place, he’s watching a news broadcast of the explosion. The news people have no idea what caused the explosion. Nobody has been found dead at the scene as of yet. Pico and Domino are with him as well. However, she’s bound up in restraints. Pico and Tolliver toast to the death of Cable. It turns out that Copycat had placed some override triggers on all the explosives. It was actually Tolliver who blew the place up.


[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]
Payback
An arm sticks out from a waterfall and grabs onto a tree limb. That arm belongs to Cable. He clings onto a Cliffside while holding onto Copycat with his other arm. He yells out Tolliver’s name in anger. He believes that he’s behind the early explosion of X-Force’s base that occurred last issue. He thinks his whole team is dead. He’s also mad at him for making “Domino” betray them. He wants Tolliver dead.
Close by, it turns out that Cannonball’s projected blast field did protect everyone from the explosion. He wants a status report. It turns out that everyone’s all right except for Shatterstar, Boom-Boom and Rictor. They’re knocked out. Grizzly, Yeti and Tigerstryke are missing.
Kane pulls out a gun, points it at Cannonball and tells X-Force to surrender. Sam tells him they won’t. Kane tells them they’re accomplices to Cable and need to be brought in. Siryn tells him that they’re not going with anyone. Boom-Boom awakes and tells him that they’re also taking Rictor with them. Kane won’t back down, especially with his newly arrived backup. A SHIELD Helicarrier shows up to arrest X-Force, with five helijets in the air. SHIELD can’t pick up any readings on Cable or Domino.
Nearby, Krule watches the action. He is happy to hear that Cable might be dead. It will make his job to capture the newest External, Cannonball, all the more easier.
Downstream, Copycat regains consciousness. Cable grabs her and body slides them both to Graymalkin. He asks Professor if the rest of the team is alive. Professor tells him they are and Cable wants them teleported to the ship. Unfortunately, the electromagnetic activity in their area won’t allow it. Cable decides to go after Tolliver instead of going after the kids. Copycat apologizes for betraying them, but Cable doesn’t want to hear it. They fly off for Tolliver in one of his jets.
Back in the Adirondacks, X-Force battles SHIELD. They take out four of the helijets and then Cannonball and Feral board the Helicarrier. Feral starts attacking the SHIELD agents on board. On the ground, Kane tells Boom-Boom and Shatterstar to freeze. Rictor hits him with a shockwave and tells him not to attack his friends. He was only in this for Cable. Back in the ship, Cannonball and the newly arrived Siryn head toward the control center of the ship. They seize control of the Helicarrier and Cannonball calls a cease-fire on all sides.
Now that the fight is over, they get Bridge on a medical cart. He’s stable. Boom-Boom tells Rictor how happy she is to see him again. Rictor tells her that he missed them too. Kane wants to know how they plan on escaping. Cannonball tells him they’ll use the Helicarrier. Rictor leaves to join them and Kane tries to stop him. Rictor tells him that as long as Cable isn’t around, he’ll join up with X-Force. After they’re all on board, they fly away.
Elsewhere at the Ophrah Industries research facility in New Mexico, the tests on Roberto are continued. Dr. Leah tells Mr. Joshua that he doesn’t think ‘Berto can take the solar absorptions much longer. Mr. Joshua knows that they shouldn’t proceed to phase 2 of the experiment, but fears Gideon’s wrath. He starts the next phase and Roberto lets out another agonizing scream.
30 minutes later, X-Force is still flying around in the Helicarrier. They don’t know where to set up their new base. Cannonball suggests they go to either Xavier’s or Moira’s Muir Island complex. Rictor disagrees. He doesn’t want to them included in their problems. Warpath suggests his old reservation for their base, the place where his whole tribe was killed. Cannonball agrees with Warpath.
All of a sudden Krule comes flying through the deck. He knocks down Cannonball and Warpath. Krule picks up Cannonball and tells him that he’s going to kill him.
Sardegna, Italy:
Cable and Copycat are traveling through the sewer systems, looking for the pipe that leads to Tolliver’s castle. They come to a grate and Copycat says that that’s the one that leads to his basement. Cable blows the grating off the wall. He wants Tolliver to know that he’s coming. When he’s inside, he finds Pico waiting for him with some kind of electrical whip in hand. Cable shoots him down. Then he looks at the wall and sees the real Domino in restraints. Now Cable is all confused. He doesn’t understand what’s going on. Copycat tries to explain to him that she thought the real Domino was dead. She’s cut short (literally) by Deadpool. Deadpool tells Cable that he’s going to kill him. Tolliver’s shadowy figure is right next to him.


[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]
To The Pain
Continued directly from last issue, Crule has infiltrated the SHIELD IPAC unit that X-Force commandeered. The X-Force team is surprised by the attack. Cannonball tells Shatterstar to engage Crule. Feral also jumps in, grabbing him from behind. The cabin pressure is all screwy due to Crule smashing through the window and the ship starts to sway. Cannonball heads to the controls to stabilize it.
Crule eventually defeats ‘Star and Feral and heads for Sam. Rictor gets in his way. Before they fight, Cannonball asks Crule why he is after him. Crule tells him that Gideon told him about his Awakening. He wants to kill him before he threatens the existence of the other Externals. Sam wants to know about Roberto. Crule tells him that he’s probably dead. This angers Cannonball and he tells Rictor to get him. Rictor hits him with a shockwave so powerful that Crule goes flying through the wall of the ship and onto the ground below.
Boom-Boom worries if Crule is dead. Cannonball assures her that he’s probably still alive, being an External and all. He asks everyone if they’ll help him rescue Bobby. The team agrees. They set a course for Denver to go after Gideon.
Saradegna, Italy:
Deadpool is about to attack Cable. Cable asks him what the deal is with the two Dominos. ‘Pool explains that the real Domino has been a prisoner of Tolliver and that his girlfriend Vanessa (Copycat) was the one with X-Force. This angers Cable. The nearby Tolliver, orders Deadpool to kill Cable.
Cable fires at ‘Pool, but he dodges the gunfire. He uses his sword to slice through Cable’s gun and then kicks him in the face. Cable pulls out a knife and dives at him. He slices him across the abdomen. He then starts pummeling Deadpool in the face. In the background we see Tolliver sneaking away.
After Cable is finished, he helps the real Domino out of her restraints. Deadpool, having recovered quickly, attacks him from behind and sends him smashing into a wall. He has Cable on the ground with his sword at his throat. Before he can plunge the blade in, the newly freed Domino shoots him in the back. Now that Deadpool is defeated, the duo decides to go after Tolliver.
Back at the ship, X-Force mulls over a plan to go after Gideon. All of a sudden, he pops up on a screen with a message. Gideon tells Sam that he’ll let him know where Roberto is only if he agrees never to interfere with the Externals. Sam agrees and the team heads to New Mexico.
In New Mexico, the research team is still working on Bobby. They have exceeded his solar energy absorption capacities by over 3000%. His body is all black and he’s still screaming in pain. A little later X-Force arrives to bust him out. Warpath, Siryn and Cannonball team up and end up finding ‘Berto. Cannonball frees him and flies him up in the air. ‘Berto explodes with all of the excess energy they fed into him.
The X-Force team is worried if they survived. Luckily, Sam’s blast field protected him again. They’re both fine, but Sunspot needs some medical attention. Shatterstar wants to know what they are going to do next. Should they go after Gideon, should they look for Cable and Domino? Sam tells him he doesn’t know.
Back in Italy, Tolliver is running towards his helicopter for a quick escape. Cable and Domino close in fast and manage to grab onto the legs of the chopper. Cable tells her to jump before they get too high. He’s going to blow up the helicopter. She reluctantly agrees. Cable also tells her to find X-Force and help them and to let them know that he’ll be back.
One of Tolliver’s goons fires a few rounds at Cable’s head and misses. Cable returns the favor and starts a chain reaction in the chopper, resulting in its explosion. He body slides out right before he hits the water. Next, we are shown a panned view of the ocean. Tolliver’s clothing is floating in the water along with a facial mask he must have been wearing the whole time.
Near some rocky cliffs, Domino climbs ashore. She doesn’t know what Cable was talking about, but says she’ll look for X-Force.
Inside the villa, Deadpool regains consciousness. He gets up and can’t find anyone, including Vanessa’s body. He sees a blood trail which proves that she must have escaped. He teleports out of there.
On Graymalkin, Cable gets some repairs done to his body. Cable seems upset and Professor wants to know why. Cable tells Professor that he doesn’t feel like he’s made a difference yet. However, he’s going to change that when he gets back in touch with X-Force.
Camp Verde, Apache reservation, Arizona:
Hours later, X-Force lands at their new home. It’s pretty rundown, but the team manages to remain upbeat. Roberto asks to be part of the team and he is accepted. Warpath wants to know what they’re going to do tomorrow. Cannonball tells him they’ll do whatever it takes to survive.


[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]
X-Cutioner’s Song part 12: Ghosts in the Machine
Professor Xavier has survived his assassination attempt. The X-Squadron has routed the forces which had taken control of Apocalypse’s former moonbase. And on the lunar landscape - Cable confronts the one man behind this ballad of madness - ‘STRYFE! Time’s up!’ Cable booms, dozens of weapons strapped to his muscular body, and carrying a very large gun.
Within the force-field, Stryfe stands on a very large platform, while Scott “Cyclops” Summers and Jean Grey float in stasis overhead, and images from theirs and Cable’s past flash on a time-device in the background - the X-Men’s inaugural battle against Magneto; the Inferno; the X-Tinction Agenda; Cyclops giving baby Nathan to Askani.
‘Is it really, Nathan Dayspring Askani’son? I have killed the architect of the futile dream! I have humbled the parents of the tomorrow pain! Only you remain, my brother!’ Stryfe declares, his red cape flowing behind him. ‘As you can see - time is up - and down - and inside out and mine to control! Which all means, that if anyone’s borrowed time is up - it is yours!’ Stryfe booms. Standing on the moon surface, Cable replies that he has learned that time has never been something they can control. ‘Not Apocalypse…not me…not you!’ Cable declares, adding that if his time has come today, then fine. ‘But I’m taking you with me, Stryfe!’
‘Perhaps you are right at that, Dayspring. Perhaps time is not ours to abuse’ Stryfe remarks as he removes his extravagant helmet. Stryfe motions above him and asks if that means Scott Summers and Jean Grey should be forgiven for their trespasses, and throws his helmet, which lands at Cable’s feet. Cable declares that he has no idea what Stryfe is talking about. ‘Oh no? Maybe you don’t at that. After all, you are nothing more than a scientific abomination!’ Stryfe declares. ‘A failed attempt to preserve a life which did not even need preserving!’ This angers Cable, who fires his powerful weapon up at Stryfe and shouts ‘STAB YOUR EYES - I’M A MAN! I’M MY OWN MAN!’
The blast strikes the platform Stryfe stands on and knocks the diabolical madman into the air - ‘Ah, have I touched a chord within you, Dayspring?’ he asks as he telekinetically lowers himself to the moon floor. ‘Perhaps you realize - deep inside - that I am the whole sum of our parts - and you - you are nothing!’ Stryfe declares. ‘You son of a %*$# -!’ Cable declares, lunging at Stryfe, knocking him to the ground. ‘Ah, truer words have never been spoken’ Stryfe remarks.
Up above, Jean asks Scott what chance Cable has alone against that madman, to which Scott replies that he doesn’t know, but that he is beginning to doubt if Stryfe really is as mad as he seems. ‘Maybe if we can find out what twisted him…we can end this madness?’
Miles away, within the drydock facility of the moonbase, a spacecraft soars away, as below, the X-Men Storm, Wolverine and Psylocke make a painfully obvious observation. ‘We are too late. The Dark Riders have effected their escape in that star shuttle!’ Storm a.k.a. Ororo Munro declares. ‘Two groups of X-Men after them and we couldn’t stop them?’ Wolverine a.k.a. Logan remarks, before exclaiming that they have been one step behind for too long. ‘Stryfe, Charlie, Shiva, Mariko - I’m sick of it!’ he shouts as he slices his adamantium claws through the computer equipment nearby.
Storm tells her friend that she understands, but that they must accept what I done, for now. Storm turns to Betsy “Psylocke” Braddock and reminds her that Apocalypse was in sole pursuit of the Dark Riders. ‘What happened to him?’ she asks. The telepathic Psylocke begins scanning for Apocalypse, and announces that she can barely detect his thoughts. ‘He did encounter the Dark Riders - and in his weakened condition - he was overwhelmed - no…Logan, Ororo -  Apocalypse is dying!’ Psylocke reveals.
Elsewhere in the expansive moonbase, Warren Worthington III a.k.a. Archangel, Bobby “Iceman” Drake and Bishop continue their search for the Dark Riders, as yet unaware the Dark Riders have made good on their escape. Bishop declares that somewhere in this infernal facility there must be a teleportation chamber, for if the others successfully positioned themselves in the drydock bay, they should have the Riders comfortably trapped. But Betsy telepathically contacts Bishop: ‘I would not count on that’ she tells him, explaining that her team is at the space-dock now, and have just watched the Dark Riders make their getaway.
‘And Apocalypse?’ Archangel asks. Betsy informs him that he is somewhere in the facility on the brink of death. ‘We’re prepping a skimmer craft to rescue Scott - and the others’ she adds, to which Iceman tells her they will be right there. Warren tells Bobby and Bishop to go. ‘What about you?’ Iceman asks his best friend. ‘I can smell Apocalypse’s blood. I have to find him - and make his dying moments as miserable as I possibly can!’ Archangel exclaims as he flies off down a corridor, despite Iceman calling out after him to come back. ‘Forget about Archangel’ Bishop tells Iceman, adding that they should see what they can do for the living. ‘What are you talking about, Bishop? Warren is the living!’ Iceman exclaims as Bishop drags him along behind him. ‘Is he now?’ Bishop asks.
Back on the lunar surface, just beyond the perimeters of Stryfe’s time-vortex field, Lorna “Polaris” Dane and Sam “Cannonball” Guthrie gather themselves. Lorna asks Sam if he is okay, to which he replies ‘Yeah, if getting kicked in the head by a mule is your idea of okay!’, before asking if Cable and Havok got through. Lorna replies that they did and that she can see Alex just inside the force screen, barely conscious. ‘And where’s Cable?’ Sam asks. Polaris tells him that Cable is off fighting Stryfe alone. ‘Oh. Then Ah guess…he’s as good as dead’ Cannonball declares.
Back inside the time-vortex: ‘Away from me, half-life!’ Stryfe booms, as he throws Cable away from him. ‘I have watched you throughout our lives with an almost fraternal amusement, Nathan. As you went to and fro, as you played the part of rebel savior in our time - and mysterious renegade mutant benefactor in this one - I always wondered what fired fueled you - what passions drove you to act as you did - in way so different than I?’ Cable lands on the moon surface and dust flies up around him. ‘And now, after all this time - through time - I finally have my answer. You have been stoked by desolation - by isolation - by failure!’ Stryfe booms.
‘No -’ Cable utters as he gets up, and spins around, to find Stryfe standing over him - so Cable strikes him with a jagged knife. ‘Words aren’t going to beat me!’ he exclaims, knocking Stryfe back. ‘Very well then - if force is the tongue you wish to hear - then listen to my tortured soul!’ Stryfe declares, as he blasts Cable with some sort of weapon, which flashes energy all around. Cable gets to his feet, most of his clothing is gone, revealing apparently cyborg parts to his body. ‘I - hear you - Stryfe - and it’s not enough  - to put me down -’ Cable tells him. ‘Look at you, Askani’son! A toy! A shell of a human! Look at yourself and tell us all - how can you pretend to be a man?’ Stryfe asks.
Meanwhile, on Earth, specifically Xavier’s Mansion in Westchester, New York. The rain pours down and lightning flashes. ‘Nnooooo!’ cries Professor Charles Xavier. ‘Geez! Scare the living beegeezus outta me why don’tcha?’ Jubilee remarks as she stands next to Dr Henry McCoy a.k.a. the Beast. ‘Professor - it’s Henry - your fever has broken. You’re going to be okay’ the Beast tells him as he helps Charles sit up. ‘You don’t understand, Hank - for a brief moment, in my fevered state - I was able to read all their minds - there on the moon - my X-Men and the others - and I saw all the mistakes we’ve made!’ he declares.
‘Mistakes born of our dreams and nightmares - of hope and despair - of fathers and sons - all these mistakes are weaving together up there - to form a tragic destiny - and there is nothing I can do to stop it!’ the frantic Professor X exclaims. The Beast lies the Professor back down, telling him to take it easy, that it will all work out. ‘Despite the odds, the X-Men always pull through’. ‘But there’s always a cost - ALWAYS - and what if this time - the cost is Scott and Jean’s life -? Because that is what it is going to come down to, Hank. Heaven help us all - that is the only thing which will end this insanity!’ the Professor declares.
Inside the moonbase, matters of life and death continue to be settled. Apocalypse drags himself along the floor, leaving a trail of blood behind him, while moaning, he utters ‘Well done. Well fought. So I die. As I have lived’. Suddenly, Archangel appears, and flaps his steel wings to the ground, stopping Apocalypse from crawling any further. ‘Does that leave me to follow your example?’ Warren asks. ‘My son -?’ Apocalypse exclaims, grinning. ‘As my “Father” made me, Apocalypse. Living to die. Dying to live. You don’t have much left’ Warren declares. ‘No - I - do not’ Apocalypse replies. ‘You are not strong, Apocalypse. You are not FIT!’ Archangel tells him.
‘In your world, you don’t deserve to survive…do you?’ Archangel remarks. ‘You are right…my angel of death…you are as I made you…strong - a killer - a survivor’ Apocalypse replies quietly. ‘Maybe. But long before I ever met you…I was - I am - a man’ Archangel replies. ‘Yes, you altered my wings - draped my skin forever in shadows - but you couldn’t change the most important part of me’ Archangel declares. ‘Warren Worthington III didn’t have to die just so the Archangel could live…any more than I need to kill you, Apocalypse…to find out what’s alive inside me’. With that, Warren turns and walks away from Apocalypse. ‘No - NO!’ Apocalypse shouts, declaring that he deserves a clean death, to die as he lived - a man of strength of courage and of power. ‘Not like this…not alone…enfeebled…slowing ebbing away…as others fight around e…this is not the way…to die…’ he whispers as blood pours out of his weakened body, he falls on his face.
Back inside the time-vortex, ‘No this, Nathan - THIS is the way to die!’ Stryfe exclaims as he kicks Cable to the ground. Up above, Cyclops tells Jean that they have to do something, as Cable cannot take much more. ‘I know!’ Jean exclaims, adding that there is a possibility that the more Stryfe concentrates on Cable the weaker the telekinetic bonds trapping them will become. ‘If Stryfe remains occupied - and that’s a big if - I should be able to break us free!’ Jean exclaims.
Suddenly, down below, Stryfe is attacked by a powerful burst of plasma energy. ‘Who -?’ he exclaims, before Alex “Havok” Summers steps forward. ‘You relish dealing in pain, don’t you, Stryfe? Well, stop crying foul and just cry HAVOK!’ Alex declares. Stryfe’s disfigured body lies on the ground, and whispers ‘Ah, my mistake. My genetic matrix shield was programmed for the Summers DNA - I had not considered it would allow the brother through’. Alex replies that it did, and although it kicked him pretty hard for not being Scott. ‘But I’ve always done a good job of that myself’.
Stryfe declares that it would appear that anyone who bears the name of Summers must pay for it, doesn’t it. ‘Some pay with their lives…you, Alex Summers, will pay with your death!’ Stryfe declares, ready to blast Havok with his power - only for Cyclops to shout ‘NO!’ and unleash an optic blast, knocking Stryfe backwards once more. ‘It’s over, Stryfe. Whoever - whatever you are - it’s over. It’s time to stop this cycle of pain!’ Scott declares. ‘We can work to heal your wounds, whatever they are - let’s work them out together!’ Jean tells him. ‘Together - all of us - together?’ Stryfe asks. With Scott, Jean, Alex and Cable slowly surrounding him, as he gets to his feet. ‘No. You’re lying. If I trust you - you’ll just betray me again!’ he exclaims.
Stryfe declares that he wants to believe then, he does, but how can he? ‘Why am I suffering this way?’ he asks. ‘I’m not the guilty one’ he declares. ‘You are! All of you are!’ he booms as he unleashes energy, there is a mighty rumble. ‘I leave you what you left me - a legacy of hatred! A legacy of decay! A loss of hope - a loss of life - a pox on all of mutantkind!’
Outside the time-vortex, Wolverine, Storm, Iceman, Psylocke and Bishop are approaching their teammates. ‘Did you feel the ground quake?’ Bishop asks. ‘Whatever’s going on in there - it’s building to a head!’ Wolverine declares, adding ‘And we’re stuck on the outside, looking in!’
Energy pours from one of Stryfe’s eyes - ‘Look at me with pleading eyes! Ask me for help! Ask me to be your salvation! ASK ME!’ he booms. Scott and Alex dodge falling debris as Cyclops exclaims that Stryfe has dismantled the entire tower. ‘But he never bothered to turn off the machinery!’ Havok, while Jean remarks that the amount of electromagnetic energy spinning around in here is phenomenal. She tells the Summers brothers to stay close to her and throws a telekinetic shield around the three of them. ‘What about Cable?’ Havok asks. ‘He’s too far away! I can’t reach out to him and still maintain our cover!’ Jean tells him.
Indeed, on the other side of the vortex, Cable pulls himself a long to the safety of a chunk of equipment standing upright nearby. ‘C’mon C’mon’ he tells himself as he attempts to fix his bionic arm. Suddenly, Cyclops announces that he can see Cable through the storm, and calls out to him, asking him what he is doing. ‘Get over here!’ Scott tells him, but Cable replies that he can’t. as he has to put an end to this. ‘If what we learned today is try - and I don’t know if it is - I have to put an end to this - put an end to Stryfe - put an end to me!’ he declares, before throwing something attached to a wire over to Cyclops, who reaches out through the telekinetic shield and grabs it. ‘Hit the engage button!’ Cable tells him.
Scott grabs the device and asks Cable what it is, what he has planned. ‘You’ll know, Summers. Believe me, you’ll know!’ Cable declares as he turns and runs from them. ‘Wait - Cable - WAIT!’ Cyclops calls out, but Nathan tells him that it is too late for waiting that it is too late for a lot of things. ‘Do what you can to survive’ he adds, before lunging at Stryfe: ‘I said it before - I’ll say it again - time’s up!’ Cable tells him, knocking him to the ground.
‘No! I will not be undone by a feeble copy of myself! Stryfe exclaims. ‘That’s where you’re wrong, Stryfe - I’ve always been my own man - made my own choices - and I choose to kill you now!’ Cable declares as both me wrap their hands around the others neck, with one of them pressing down on a small button: ‘Good lord! Did you see! He activated a self-destruct sequence!’ Cyclops exclaims. Concerned, Jean announces that she cannot get a reading on either of them. Havok tells her there must be too much electromagnetic activity for her telepathy, but Cyclops declares that it is because of the time-flux energies.
T-Minus 15 Seconds
Cable and Stryfe continue to fight, neither willing to give in. Cyclops wonders what the device that Cable gave him has to do with the time-flux or the self-destruct, ‘Unless Cable wants the three to work in unison?’ he suggests.
T-Minus 10 Seconds
‘Summers -’ Cable calls out. ‘But if I do what he wants and activate this - it’s going to kill him, isn’t it?’ Cyclops remarks.
T-Minus 5 Seconds
‘Cable - don’t ask me to do this!’ Cyclops calls out. ‘HIT IT!’ Cable shouts.
Self Destruct Engaged
‘SUMMERS! Activate the vortex!’ Cable orders, free of Stryfe’s grasp, he pushes Stryfe to the ground. ‘Scott -?’ Jean asks. ‘I can’t do this to him - to them -’ Cyclops replies. But Havok points out that if he doesn’t, then they may all just end up dying. ‘Summers, for all our sakes - do it - please!’ Cable declares. ‘God forgive me’ Cyclops whispers as he presses the button.
There is a strange noise and a blinding light as the time vortex explodes. ‘He wasn’t afraid’ Cyclops remarks as he, Jean and Havok watch in awe. ‘He knew this was right’ Havok exclaims. ‘So I let him go…again…’ Cyclops mumbles as the remainder of the complex is destroyed. ‘Cable…’ Cannonball whispers from outside the vortex where he, Logan, Betsy, Ororo and Bishop are watching.
The tremendous energies ripped into the time vortex are, perhaps, all the more impressive by the overwhelming silence. In the vacuum of space, locked in a death-grip whose bonds go far beyond the physical - Cable and Stryfe - disappear without a sound. But Scott Summers and Jean Grey can hear their dying screams. They hear the haunted death-knell as it rips through their very souls. And when the singing of the electromagnetic storm is done - nothing is left but deafening silence - and the desolate beating of two young people’s hearts. Drumbeats of despair, which slowly bring to a close - the Executioner’s Song…..
Wolverine, Polaris, Cannonball, Storm, Iceman, Psylocke and Bishop have gathered together as they look towards their dear friends. Jean puts her arms around Cyclops, telling him that Cable knew what he was doing. ‘The equipment he was carrying focused the energies of the time vortex through it’ she explains. Havok adds that Cable’s self-destruction opened the rift needed to bring Stryfe down. ‘Funny, the whole thing started with us thinking Cable was a murderer…but in the end, he turned out to be our only hope’. Cyclops agrees: ‘He was that. In order to save us all - we had to sacrifice him…a second time…’. Jean looks up at Scott: ‘Scott - no - you don’t think…’ she begins. ‘I don’t know if we’ll ever be sure. But I do know this. I’m going to spend the rest of my life thinking about today…thinking about him and wondering…God help me, I’ll never stop wondering…’ Cyclops declares.
As the old song dies….
Meanwhile, outside a rustic farmhouse in Nebraska, several cows graze in a field. Inside the small farmhouse, a small gangly man sits at a bench, steam comes out of a canister that he opens sonically. He turns to someone else in the room and announces that it is empty. ‘Curse Stryfe’s blood! I was promised the Summers family genetic material!’ a voice in the shadows booms - it is none other than Mr Sinister! Sinister’s assistant, Gordon, begins to cough repeatedly, while Sinister turns and declares ‘It was to be expected. We proceed, as ever, onwards, toward tomorrow. Oh, and Gordon - please do look after that cough…’
…a new chorus begins….


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

[Assistant]
The Open Hand - The Closed Fist
Inside Xavier’s school for gifted youngsters, Boomer is using a Shi’ar clothing synthesizer. She’s admiring her new pink and yellow costume in a mirror. She really likes the way her butt looks. She wonders out loud if her other teammates will let her change their outfits as well. In walks Lila Cheney to tell Boomer that Cannonball’s back. Boomer mutters a snide comment saying why would Sam want her when he could have Lila. Lila hears this and tells her they need to talk. Boomer attempts to avoid the discussion, but Lila is determined. If Boomer doesn’t want to talk (she has a broken jaw after all), then she’ll just have to listen. She tells Boomer that Sam’s too young for her and she’s too busy to be in a relationship. They’re just friends. They only had a short fling together. She tells Boomer that Sam’s all hers. Lila turns and walks away. Behind her Boomer does a little dance and cheer. But before Lila leaves the room she makes a snide comment of her own. She reminds Boomer that it might be hard to have a relationship with Sam if they’re both in jail. Lila leaves, satisfied.
Outside by the boathouse, Roberto sits by the cove’s edge; firing plasma bursts into the water. Stevie Hunter walks up from behind and sits next to him. She’s concerned as to how he’s dealing with his new solar absorption powers. She recalls back when the New Mutants were younger they used to come out to the cove to think. ‘Berto tells her they didn’t really come out there to think. They used to come out to this spot because they knew the Professor hated pushing his wheelchair through the grass. They really only wanted to get some privacy away from him. Stevie takes this news as a signal that ‘Berto wants to be left alone. She asks if she should leave and ‘Berto tells her he’s not even sure if he should leave. He feels like he needs someone to tell him what to do again. He’s disappointed in himself for what he’s done over the past year. Gideon really messed him up. He asks aloud what he should do. Stevie puts her arm around him and tells him she doesn’t know.
Inside the Danger Room, Shatterstar, Feral and Rictor are honing their skills. Mechanical spheres are coming at them from all directions. Rictor vibe-blasts some of them and tells Shatterstar to take the point. Shatterstar yells out to Feral and she tells him she’s all right. Some of the spheres rain down from above, but the trio is able to destroy them with ease. One of the spheres fires a few laser blasts that land near Shatterstar’s feet. He quickly swings right and throws his sword at it, nailing it to the wall. From the control room, Beast watches over them. Rictor ends the program and congratulates everyone on a fine job. Both Shatterstar and Rictor are happy to have such a great workout. Feral rains on their parade by reminding them that if “they” go to prison they won’t be able to do this again. Rictor picks her up by her neck and asks her what she means by “they”. Where does she think she’s going to be. She tells him flat out, she isn’t going to jail. Beast, still watching from above, marvels at their fighting skills. They’re way better than the X-Men were when they were their age. However, he’s unsure of their ethical standards and wonders if and what the X-Men should do about it.
Elsewhere in the mansion, Siryn and Warpath are scurrying amongst the shadows. Siryn seems nervous about what they’re doing. Warpath assures that what they’re doing is not wrong. They’re only copying some programs. She agrees with his point, but interjects that they’re stealing from the X-Men. She wants to know if it bothers him in the least. He tells her how when the X-Men came into his life, they took his brother and now they worsen their relationship by putting him under house arrest. So, no, he doesn’t feel bad. After all the data they’re copying will help them catch the bad guys, just like the X-Men do. Terry persists that they become bad guys by stealing. Warpath tells her walking the fine line is what being in X-Force is all about.
In Xavier’s office, Charles is telepathically listening to the conversation between Warpath and Siryn. He seems disappointed. He’s also very tired, emotionally and physically. Stryfe really messed with his spirit and convictions. Storm and Cannonball enter the room. Sam wants to talk to Charles about X-Force’s current situation. He and his team are tired of being holed up in the mansion and want to know the next step. Storm butts in and reminds Sam that if the Professor didn’t put them under house arrest, Val Cooper would have taken them to a detainment center. Sam tells her “So what”. They’re not even being charged with anything. They haven’t done anything a fellow X-Men hasn’t done before. He doesn’t understand why they have to be held there. Charles grows angry and tells Sam that it’s not about the law, but choosing the right way. Sam cuts him off, knowing where the conversation is leading. He knows about the open hand, closed fist, because Xavier taught them him when he was with the New Mutants. Then he lays a guilt trip on Charles, talking about the past when Xavier left Magneto in charge of them. Then when he abandoned them, Cable took them over. He showed them a new way. Sam tells Charles that even though Cable is dead, they can handle things on their own. He asks Charles if he will leave them alone.
In Norwell, Massachusetts, near Boston, a young woman named Tina knocks on Vanessa’s (Copycat’s) bedroom door. She wants to know if Vanessa is hungry, but she won’t answer. Tina gives up and walks away. She tells Vanessa to buzz her over the intercom if she needs anything. Inside the room, Vanessa is naked, curled up in a ball on her bed. She’s shaking all over with a mild expression of insanity on her face.
Above the Atlantic Ocean, a SHIELD Helicarrier hovers. Inside, Colonel G.W. Bridge is looking for Nick Fury. A soldier tells him that Nick isn’t on board. Bridge wants to know who called him in if it wasn’t Fury. He enters his meeting room and becomes irate. Inside are General Clarke and Henry Gyrich. In G.W.’s hand is a set of documents. Bridge is being censured over the Weapon Prime operation. He wants to know how that’s possible, because SHIELD had no part in it. Gyrich steps over and points his finger in the colonel’s face. He tells him it cost them 33 billion dollars for that operation, including the stolen IPAC unit. On top of that, Grizzly and Yeti are missing, Tygerstrike is in a walking cast and Rictor switched sides to X-Force. Bridge turns around and barges out of the office. He tells them he quits and throws the documents on the floor.
Back at the mansion, the rest of the X-Forcers are using the Shi’ar clothing synthesizer. Warpath is the latest member to get a new costume. He’s pretty pleased with it. Boomer tells Sam he’s next. Sam doesn’t really want to, but Boomer pushes him inside. Boomer hits a few buttons and Sam comes out in a new blue and yellow uniform. Feral asks Boomer if she can be next. Boomer obliges and takes her over to the machine. James takes Sam aside and asks him about Xavier’s decision. Sam tells him he’s still mulling it over. They go on to discuss what they’re going to do if he doesn’t let them leave. Sam says he’ll fight for their freedom if he has to. James tells him he’ll be right by his side.
Outside the mansion, Charles and Theresa are having a chat. Charles wants to know why Siryn left Muir Island. She goes on to tell him that after the Shadow King violated them, Muir Island seemed like a dead place to her. She had to leave and be with other people. Xavier asks her why she didn’t come to the X-Men. Theresa tells him she wanted to be with other people like her, people who had problems like her. Now she’s even happy. She thinks everyone on the team is starting to come alive and she’s excited about it. Xavier wonders what will become of X-Force and Theresa says that is the best part of it, she doesn’t know. It’s wild, it’s free, it’s exciting and unknown.
Back near the boathouse, ‘Berto is now sitting on the edge of the pier. Sam walks over to talk to him. He wants Sunspot to head inside. He wants the whole team there when he tells the Professor his decision. Bobby starts walking away and sees Sam still crouching on the ground. He asks him if he’s coming with him. Sam tells him to go on. He’s looking for something.
Back in Xavier’s den, the entire team stands together, face to face with Charles. Sam tells him they’re leaving. Charles is still hesitant as to whether they can go. Sam argues the point that they still haven’t been charged with anything. They shouldn’t have to be stuck there. The Professor still isn’t sure what to do. Sam starts riding him pretty hard, going on about Charles’ “dream”, Magneto’s “separation theories”, Cable’s “get ‘em before they get you” attitude and how they need to be let free and take the best course, given what they’ve learned. Charles asks him simply, will they achieve their goals through violence or peace. He goes on to mention the “open hand, closed fist” and Sam stops him. Sam shows his fist to Professor. He opens it up and inside is a field mouse. He tells Charles the “closed fist” can be used to warm and protect as well. Then he opens his other hand and brings it quickly to Xavier’s left cheek. He tells Charles the “open hand” can be used to hurt too. Xavier grabs his hand and tells him he’s made his point. Xavier tells him he doesn’t want to be their judge. He will let them go, free to make their own choices and mistakes.
At the main entrance, Lila waits outside. Most of the X-Force gang comes out the front doors, accompanied by the Professor. Feral is still in Xavier’s den. She sticks one of her claws into the field mouse and holds it up to her mouth, licking her lips. A few seconds later she joins her teammates outside. Now that they’re all there, Lila asks them if they’re ready to leave. She opens a teleportation rift that leads to Camp Verde. Before they walk through, Charles stops Sam. He wants to make sure Sam is all right with what they’re doing. He tells him he’s not, but that’s one thing about life. You’re never too sure about your choices. Sam wishes the Professor well and hopes that he doesn’t get into trouble with Val. Xavier tells him not to worry, but maybe Sam should be the one to worry. He tells him that two of his people stole some data off him today. Sam becomes angry and wants to know who it was. Charles won’t tell him, but instead tells him that this is the path he’s chosen. Sam walks away a little disconcerted, but filled with hope nonetheless. He walks through the portal and disappears. Xavier is left alone. He seems saddened by the events of the day.


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

[Assistant]
Assault on Graymalkin
Just above the Earth, in orbit around the planet, a space shuttle releases a new Stark communications satellite and prepares to activate it. However, no sooner is the satellite activated when it collides with a secretly cloaked object, causing a chain reaction.  In a flash of light Cable’s secret orbital base reveals itself, a huge structure, miles in length, which dwarves the Earth shuttle in comparison.
Washington D.C.:
Back on Earth, Gyrich is on the case, and he has brought Dr. Valerie Cooper into the matter as well, showing her pictures of the vast structure above their heads. Val is unsure if X-Factor is suited for the job, and asks why she has been called in. At which point, Gyrich tells her that they suspect that they have found the location of the outlaw Cable’s secret technology. Gyrich wants to get another stab at arresting Cable, and placing the technology firmly within the US government’s hands. Val, instead, refers the project to SHIELD.
 Word quickly spreads, and G.W. Bridge isn’t happy. He wants in on the project, but Fury informs Bridge that he has just quit. Bridge manages to talk Fury into reinstating him because of his long association with Cable.   At that point SHIELD hits another snag, Stark Enterprises which discovered the orbital base with their satellite, want access to the technology as well. However, Jim Rhodes is willing to allow SHIELD to get onto the craft, but only if they allow an agent of Stark Enterprises to accompany them.
Camp Verde, Arizona:
Elsewhere, the members of X-Force begin to make themselves at home in their new base, after their recent troubles with the X-Men. With part of the team away for supplies, Cannonball and the rest attempt to install a new communications array, that Lila has acquired thanks to her pan-galactic teleportation power. While a complaining Sunspot holds the giant array above them, Cannonball, Rictor, and Lila attempt to get the new equipment activated, but it seems to be giving them problems.
 Off to the side, Feral watches rather bemused both the mutants working on the array and Shatterstar, who is in the middle of his workout. Feral asks Sunspot if he would rather listen to Boomer’s complaining that she doesn’t have a TV to watch, at which point Sunspot agrees and tells the others to take their time. This provides little solace to Cannonball who still can’t figure out how to start up the array, commenting that they are dealing with sophisticated alien technology. Shatterstar, however, is familiar with advanced technology, so he strides up to Cannonball, takes the laser torch from his hand and easily makes the right connections, then while walking away he throws the torch back to Cannonball and states that they’ll be ready to download in fifteen seconds. Cannonball asks why Shatterstar never told them that he understood the machinery, but Shatterstar calmly points out that they never asked.
 Lila turns on the array, surprised that Shatterstar actually got it to work, but all that quickly fades away as she sees what the array is picking up. The first thing they find is a news story of the discovered orbital space station. The X-Forcers recognizes it for what it is, Cable’s secret base, and they want it for themselves. Cannonball orders the team out, and after suiting up, Lila Cheney teleports them up to Graymalkin.
  Once there, the team cautiously make their way through the base, but they soon discover that the station has an artificial intelligence running it, and furthermore it’s one that Cannonball recognizes … Ship, which they thought had long since been destroyed.
Boston:
Meanwhile, the long convalescing Vanessa Carlysle (Copycat) continues her seclusion in the apartment of her best friend, Tina. Tina, however, is getting tired of Vanessa’s self-imposed exile in her bedroom and demands that she come out. Vanessa is concerned, stating that she doesn’t want Tina to see her in her current condition. Tina argues that she has seen Vanessa in just about every possibly way, at which point Vanessa finally emerges … looking exactly like Tina.
Australia:
Meanwhile, somewhere in the outback, Domino arrives in a small town out in the middle of nowhere. She enters a bar and steps up to a booth in the far corner, which is occupied by Grizzly, a former member of Domino’s old team, the Six Pack. Domino’s states that she needs Grizzly’s help to track down X-Force, but Grizzly wants nothing more to do with Cable or X-Force. Domino is insistent, sternly telling him that staying away isn’t always a choice, and then downs one of Grizzly’s shot glasses. Grizzly asks where they go from there.
The Swiss Alps:
Elsewhere again, the mutant External Nicodemus is deathly sick, and not even the doctors he has gathered can figure out why he’s degenerating so quickly. However, before they can get any answers, Nicodemus suddenly coughs convulsively and then suddenly explodes, destroying a portion of Gideon’s Chalet in the process. When Gideon rushes in to investigate he finds Nicodemus, an immortal mutant, has … died.
Graymalkin:
Back in space, just outside of Graymalkin, a SHIELD shuttle containing Nick Fury, G.W. Bridge and two other agents, Network Nina and Alexander Pierce, prepare to make their way inside the huge space station. Donning space suits, the foursome space-walk their way to one of the stations access hatches, and using Network Nina’s hacking skills, they manage to break their way in.
 Elsewhere in the ship, Cannonball and Sunspot continue to grill the A.I., which they find out is named Professor, and find that it doesn’t recognize the name Ship, and that the Professor’s first core memory was its activation on the date of November 17, 3761 A.D.
To the side, Lila Cheney and rest of the members of X-Force are more concerned about what else the station contained, and find a holographic display of the entire base, which includes a wide variety of weapons as well as air and surface vehicles. However, just as the team receives more questions than answers, the Professor detects the SHIELD agents’ presence and proceeds to alert X-Force. It shows them a holographic image of the agents, and Cannonball recognizes the leader as Fury, but he is bound and determined to not let others get a hold of Cable’s technology.
 Elsewhere in the ship, Fury, Bridge and the others cautiously make their way through the station, noting that the walls and equipment are exactly like Cable’s known technology, they can’t be broken down or duplicated. Nina notes that whatever force decloaked the station is also interfering with her telepathy, so she can’t detect the presence of anyone on board. Nick warns them to keep on their toes, and to expect an ambush … which promptly comes as X-Force blasts them from above.
Cannonball leads the charge against Fury’s team which only proceeds to upset Bridge further, taking X-Force’s presence as a sign that Cable is still alive. Despite veiled attempts to explain that that isn’t the case from the members of X-Force, Bridge won’t listen, even as his team is summarily taken down one by one. Rictor manages to stop him by vibe-blasting him, leaving only Fury who Cannonball rockets into at full thrust, also knocking him out of the fight.
 Just when it appears that X-Force has won the battle, they are all given a rude surprise. Fury’s team wasn’t alone, the agent that Stark Industries sent to represent their interests is none other than War Machine, and he’s armed for battle.