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At the remains of Muir Island…The X-Men are startled at Xavier’s revelation. Stunned himself, Beast states that they’ve got to get the Professor back to the Institute and do some tests. He thinks it can’t be as simple as this. Emma, having telepathically checked it out, confirms that Xavier is telling the truth. The Professor really is a Homo sapien now.
Vulcan releases Xavier from his holding grip, and grins that this is just perfect. Gabriel claims that he’s more powerful than all of the X-Men put together, and the Professor himself is now just a human. He also thinks it’s no wonder the X-Men could never found him: they never knew what they were looking for. Xavier guesses that’s right.
However, this situation doesn’t work for Gabriel. He wants Xavier’s pupils to see what happened, and feel the way he and his friends felt on that day. When Xavier defends that he can’t make himself into something he isn’t, Gabriel shouts at Marvel Girl that he wants her to fix this. Rachel refuses. Gabriel angrily states that Rachel will do as told, or else he’ll blow Xavier’s brains all over this island. Rachel reluctantly agrees, and asks Gabriel what he wants. He wants Rachel to link with Xavier, make him show what happened. Hearing this, Xavier replies that he doesn’t know what happened – he only knows what Scott saw. Gabriel wants Rachel to link him as well, so that everyone will know what happened. Rachel asks the Professor what to do, but he just tells her to do what Gabriel asks.
Years ago…Gabriel reveals that he and his team were doomed before they landed on the island Krakoa, but they just didn’t know it yet. Upon arrival, Gabriel ordered his team to keep moving. They were soon attacked by Krakoa’s avatars.
Petra starts to panic a bit, and reveals to the others that she can’t hear the Professor’s thoughts anymore. Gabriel can’t hear the Professor anymore either. The Professor was still guiding him through the landing, but a moment later he was just gone. Gabriel uses his powers to protect an unaware Darwin from an attacking avatar. Darwin states that there is something about this place. That thing probably shut the Professor out. Darwin can feel the disturbance, and it feels like all of his senses are reacting at once.
Gabriel reminds his team that they have to keep moving. As they move further onto the island, Gabriel orders Sway to use her time replay powers to see if she can find a trace from the others. Sway tries it out, and projects an image of Cyclops trying to protect Jean, who is being dragged away by one of Krakoa’s avatars. Gabriel thinks that now they know in which direction to go. Petra believes that they should go back instead. He saw the same thing she did, namely that Cyclops’ optic blasts had no effect on the avatars. And they might also not be able to hurt them. For all they know, the avatars could be studying them right now. Gabriel reminds Petra that they came here for a reason. Petra remembers that, but she panics a bit now that the link with the Professor is gone. Gabriel’s eyes start to glow, and he angrily reminds Petra that they are X-Men now. She can never forget that.
Present time…Vulcan states that he and his friends were running head-on towards destruction. After all, that’s what being an X-Man is all about. And they didn’t hesitate. Not once they saw Cyclops held prisoner by the avatars.
Years ago…As Gabriel attacks the avatars, he orders Sway to use her powers to slow them down. He notices that their enemies are made out of rock, so Petra now knows what to do. Petra tries using her powers, but it’s just like before: she can’t feel the creatures. Gabriel tells her to try out something else instead, and to hit them with whatever she can feel. Gabriel angrily lashes out at the creatures, using his fire powers to pull them back.
He then orders Darwin to help him free Cyclops. Darwin does as told, but feels that the vines that are holding Scott are alive, and strong as well. Gabriel reminds Darwin to remember what the Professor taught him: to make his skin sharp. Sway uses her powers and sees that another avatar is dragging the unconscious Angel and Havok away. Petra sees that the avatars they destroyed are already crawling back together! Once Darwin has released Scott, Gabriel tells the rest of the team to take off. Petra uses her powers to create a rock wall between them and the avatars, so they have a chance to escape.
Present time…Gabriel remembers how he and his friends ran, dragging Cyclops along with them for what seemed like hours. They all felt that the island began to affect them in the way it affected the captured X-Men. The island was starting to weaken them all.
The Professor and Rachel telepathically move outside of Gabriel’s range. Rachel admits that she thought she could try to find something in Gabriel’s mind that could help them take him down. Xavier smiles that that’s exactly what he would have done. And, he’s got another idea. Xavier states that, since he can’t do this by himself anymore, he wants Rachel to take him with her and show him what she sees. When Rachel asks if the Professor can help her steer, Xavier claims that he can, but they’ll have to move quickly because Gabriel is too strong. Charles is afraid that, in this state, Gabriel could kill them all without much effort.
Years ago…Cyclops wakes up, and wonders to himself why his powers aren’t working anymore. He takes a look at his rescuers, and remembers that they are all the kids from Moira’s lab he met earlier. He wonders what they are doing there. As Gabriel got Cyclops to the safety of the strato-jet, he told them about his team, while Sway used her powers to give him the necessary time. Gabriel explains to Scott that they aren’t just kids. They are full-fledge X-Men now, and they have been training for months now just to rescue him. Scott finds that hard to believe, as he realizes he can’t have been more on this island than just a few days.
Gabriel also tells Scott what the Professor revealed to him before they left on this mission. The Professor told him that he is a Summers brother, too! Scott is startled, but Gabriel explains that the Professor knew about this from the moment he met him, though he had to see the two of them together. Scott realizes that this is the real reason why the Professor had him train with Gabriel and the others. He is still shocked to discover he has another brother. Gabriel asks if Scott believes him, and Scott admits he does, because Gabriel’s powers seem similar to his.
Present time…Havok shouts at Vulcan to wait a minute. Alex admits that he can buy some of this, but he thinks it’s impossible that Gabriel is his brother, because he is just a year younger than he is! Besides, he and Scott wouldn’t forget about having another brother all of their lives. Gabriel states that he knows someone who can make Alex forget anything he wants. Understanding, Alex wants the Professor to tell him right now what he did. The Professor asks Alex to stop, as it isn’t what he thinks. Xavier reveals that Gabriel… wasn’t born on Earth!
Even Gabriel is shocked to hear about this. Xavier reveals that he learned about this after he first believed Gabriel had died. He got the information from Gabriel’s father, Corsair, and Xavier begged him to never reveal this news to Scott and Alex.
Years ago…Xavier has Rachel telepathically show the others what happened. Katherine Summers was two months pregnant when the Shi’ar kidnapped her and Corsair. The pregnancy was the reason why Corsair fought so fiercely to escape the slave pens, because he at first believed that Scott and Alex had both died during the abduction. Corsair just had to save his wife and child-to-be from Emperor D’Ken. However, when Corsair tried to strike at the emperor, he failed, and in return, D’Ken killed Katherine right in front of Corsair’s eyes. And he also killed the child she was two days away from delivering.
Gabriel was really believed to be dead. However, instead, his near-lifeless body was placed in an incubation-accelerator. This was a common practice for the slave-breeding among the Shi’ar at the time. Within weeks, Gabriel was old enough to be of use to his masters, and the emperor’s man on Earth, Davan Shakari, required many slaves. So, with the use of a spaceship, Gabriel made it back to the planet that should have been his home in the first place, only to eventually be found by doctor Moira MacTaggert.
Present time…Vulcan is stunned. He always knew that aliens were involved in his past, but this is just… wow. Xavier asks Gabriel if he sees it now. There has already been so much tragedy in his life, and nothing more has to be added to it. Gabriel angrily slaps Xavier into his face, telling him to stop trying to persuade him. All Xavier has done now is giving him someone else to hate.
Xavier tries to tell Gabriel that he doesn’t know the path he’s going down. Gabriel angrily tells Xavier to just shut up, and show the X-Men what else happened. Xavier agrees, and shamefully admits that it will be a sight he thought he’d never shared with anyone. He asks Rachel to find Scott’s true memories about Krakoa, though they aren’t in Scott’s mind. They are in Xavier’s instead. Scott can’t believe the Professor just said that. Xavier knows, but he hopes that at least Scott will understand.
Years ago…Cyclops is back at the school. The others wasted no time and immediately went back trying to rescue the other X-Men. Scott meets up with the Professor and explains that he tried the kids not to go. They probably didn’t realize the island was already affecting them so much. Xavier tries to calm Scott down and wants to see what happened.
Cyclops reveals that he took the strato-jet up, trying to reconnect with Xavier’s mind along the way. Scott was trying to fly above the island’s influence, and he could see Gabriel and the others below him. They were about to enter the jungle, but didn’t get that far because Krakoa’s avatars had already met up with them again. Scott could feel what happened. The island was so angry at Gabriel and his friends, but in another way than before. It was like Gabriel had hurt Krakoa because he had rescued Scott.
Krakoa revealed itself. The girl, Sway, was torn into pieces. Krakoa was rampaging like a walking volcano. Nothing Gabriel and his team tried could even touch Krakoa, and Krakoa’s flames enveloped them all! Scott saw how the creature killed them. Scott watched the whole thing happening, and then he ran. He doesn’t know what he could have done. His powers are gone, and Gabriel and the others didn’t even hurt Krakoa.
The Professor tells Scott that he did the right thing. Scott panics, realizing that he let his own brother die. He fears about what might be happening to Jean and Alex now. The Professor claims that there is still hope, and asks Scott to listen to him.
Present time…The Professor reveals that Scott wouldn’t listen. He was hysterical, and had a good reason to be that way. So, the Professor claims that he did what needed to be done. He let Scott sleep, while he used Cerebro to see what he could find. Cerebro informed Charles that Jean and the others were still alive, though their energies were very weak. However, there were no signs of Vulcan and his team. The images that Scott showed in his mind were true, and Gabriel and his friends were all cut down. Xavier felt ashamed that he had gotten his young students all killed. Moira, of course, was beside herself.
Years ago…Moira shouted lots of angry words at Xavier. She warned him that the kids weren’t ready! Xavier says he knows, leading Moira to ask what Xavier is going to do now. Xavier explains that the other X-Men are still on Krakoa, so he needs to find a way to save them. Moira believes that Xavier can’t be trusted around these children. Xavier knows that Moira is angry, but he can’t just leave his team to die out there. They’ve already lost too much. Moira worries about Scott, and how he’s going to live with this, knowing his own brother died to save him. Xavier admits that he decided that’s something Scott doesn’t need to know. Moira can’t believe her ears.
Present time…Scott doesn’t believe that this is how it happened. He believes that it was Krakoa himself who let him go. Xavier is afraid that isn’t true. Scott remembers that Krakoa spoke to them. Xavier admits that isn’t true. He enhanced Cerebro’s powers, and was finally able to maintain contact with Scott when he went back there. And Xavier made everyone think Krakoa was sentient, when it was really just a collection of impulses. He lets the X-Men hear how Krakoa really screamed.
Gabriel angrily states that Xavier is more devious than he gave him credit for. Xavier shamefully admits that he was desperate and was only trying to save his team. Gabriel doesn’t want to hear about it. He guesses that the only question left to answer is why he isn’t dead. Rachel can tell Gabriel that. Gabriel isn’t dead… because of his friends.
Years ago…When Sway was killed, her body released the last of its mutant abilities, slowing time around everyone. Next, Petra’s natural reflex as she was being incinerated was to make the ground swallow the team. Before Gabriel or anyone else realized it, they were down far below the surface, in a small cavern Petra’s dying efforts created. Both Gabriel and Darwin were both almost drained of their powers. They were surrounded by the remains of their friends. And that’s where Gabriel and his friends were when Krakoa was rocketed into space by Jean, at death’s door, trapped in a chunk of rock.
Present time…Gabriel is amazed that he remembers all that. He remembers dying. Rachel tries to calm Gabriel down, explaining that he didn’t die because something about Krakoa affected both him and Darwin. She explains that Darwin’s mutant power was to adapt and survive and, instinctively, he converted himself to pure energy, and bonded to Gabriel. Darwin kept Gabriel alive out there for all those years. That’s why Gabriel was using both Sway’s and Petra’s powers without realizing it. Darwin had absorbed remnants of them through Krakoa, and has been holding it all together inside Gabriel. Since Gabriel is confused at this, Rachel touches Gabriel’s head, stating that it’s time for Darwin to wake up.
Rachel uses her telepathic powers, and suddenly Darwin floats out of Gabriel’s mouth, causing him to scream in pain immensely! The Professor asks Rachel what she just did, and Rachel explains that felt another consciousness inside Gabriel, so she separated them. This is what the Professor wanted her to do: she found Vulcan’s weakness.
Wolverine states that Rachel just said the magic word, and snikts out his claws, ready to kill Gabriel. The Professor asks Logan to wait with that because Gabriel is still too dangerous. Demonstrating this, Vulcan uses his flames against Logan, though he manages dodges them. Logan exclaims that they’ve got to take Vulcan out now that they can, because they may not get another shot.
Emma asks Scott what to do, and Cyclops feels that whatever Vulcan did to him is wearing off because his powers are coming back. He also believes that Logan is right and that they’ve got to take Vulcan out, no matter who he is. As Scott fires an optic beam upon Gabriel, the other X-Men start attacking as well. Logan quickly slices through Vulcan’s uniform and he tells Colossus to punch him, which Peter does.
Havok also uses his powers on his brother, but the Professor tells the X-Men to stop because they’ll kill him. Wolverine defends that they may have to do just that, because Vulcan isn’t the same kid he trained anymore. Logan performs a Fastball special with Kitty and throws her at Vulcan. She phases through Gabriel’s body, causing his powers to go out of control. Vulcan screams and collapses.
Peter tends to Kitty, as she looks hurt. However, Kitty claims that she’s alright, just a little hurt but she’ll recover. Scott tells Gabriel to give it up, and not make them take it any further. Almost breathless, Gabriel can’t believe that this is who the X-Men are today. He can’t believe he wanted to be a part of them. Vulcan quickly stands up and angrily lashes his full powers on the X-Men. He shouts at Scott and Alex that they aren’t his brothers, and flies away.
The Professor tries to stop Gabriel, but he can’t hear Charles anymore. Rachel can’t catch Gabriel either. Not at the speed he is flying. Emma tells Rachel not to bother, because Gabriel’s mind has left the stratosphere anyway. When Scott wants to know what that means, Emma explains that Gabriel is heading into space, to where he came from.
The Professor asks Scott if he’s alright, reaching out to him, but Scott angrily shouts at the Professor not to touch him. Xavier ashamed begs Scott to let him explain. However, Beast interrupts and tells the Professor to look down. It looks like Darwin’s skeleton is alive. Xavier is speechless…
One week later…Beast and the Professor are studying Darwin’s body at the lab. Beast admits that he has never seen anything like this. He means this shouldn’t even be possible. Xavier admits that he has given up trying to define the word “possible.” In this world, at least. Beast agrees with that, but still, this is unprecedented. Darwin is growing a body from pure energy! And he’s already got brain function.
Beast believes that Darwin knows what’s going on, at least on some degree. Xavier remembers that reactive evolution was Darwin’s mutant power, so nobody can say what the boy can survive and what he cannot. Also, Darwin was exposed to the same burst of mutant energy that pushed Gabriel past the omega level. Xavier believes that could be responsible for this rebirth. As the two walk out of the lab, Beast wants to know if the Professor will make it today. The Professor thinks he will, and thanks Beast for asking. They leave to get changed.
Not much later, all of the X-Men and some guests mourn for their loss. Siryn cries for the loss of her father. The Professor walks up to Scott, and admits that he was hoping they could talk today. Scott promises they will talk, because he has something to say. Scott realizes that he has known the Professor all of his life, and trusted him for most of it. Scott also always knew that the Professor wasn’t perfect, because he had his secrets and such.
The Professor realizes that he betrayed both Scott and Alex, but wants to explain. Scott knows why the Professor did what he did, and some part of him can understand it. But it doesn’t change what happened. Nothing can. So, Scott asks the Professor to leave. He isn’t welcome at the Institute anymore. Xavier defends that this is his home, and he won’t just leave like that. Scott tells the Professor that he will. He runs the Institute now and, besides, the Professor isn’t a mutant anymore. He doesn’t belong here. The Professor is shocked to hear this.
Meanwhile, deep in space…As Vulcan angrily soars through space, he can only think about two things: his father Corsair, and the man responsible for his problems: D’Ken Neramani…


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Provide a full summary of the comic book.

[Assistant]
The Sword is Drawn
After their spectacular victory over Albion and his Shadow Captains, the superhero team Excalibur is throwing a party at their headquarters at the Empress Mathilda Docks.
Brian Braddock, known by many as Captain Britain, asks his teammate Dazzler if she is enjoying herself, to which she admits that he throws a pretty good party. Brian walks over to his youngest teammate, Nocturne, who is still recovering from her recent stroke. He praises her loveliness and she jokes that she’s working on it.
However, someone who’s not enjoying himself is Brian’s teammate Pete Wisdom, who’s also their MI-13 liaison. Brian tells him he’s actually allowed to relax. Downing a glass of champagne, Pete asks him what makes him think he isn’t.
Nearby, their estranged teammate, Sage, notes that Wisdom isn’t taking his eyes off her. No surprise. The authorities want her handed over for interrogation. Brian tries to remind that this night is for enjoying themselves. If she were them, Sage replies with a humorless smile she’d lock her up and throw away the key or simply put a bullet through her head. That’s not funny, he chides. No, but it makes sense, she retorts and asks him to stop staring. Someone’s knocking at the door…
Brian suggests they talk about it tomorrow. She doubts that will make much difference.
As he walks to the door he admits to himself that she’s right. They’ve seen how dangerous she is. What they don’t know is whether they can still trust her. He opens the door and exclaims what!
The surprise is a pleasant one for a change. Before him stands his lost twin sister, Betsy. Dressed in an elegant gown, she smiles and asks how her little brother is. Brian envelopes her in a bear hug, shouting she is alive. Teasing, she reminds him that resurrection is what the Braddocks do best. What happened to her is a long story.
Brian notices the gigantic stranger behind her and she introduces him as one of the players in her story. His name is John Proudstar, also known as Thunderbird. When Brian recalls that he is supposed to be dead, Betsy quickly explains that he isn’t from their dimension. She’s been drafted by the Exiles. Brian takes the two of them inside.
In another corner of the room, Nocturne is tired from the evening and ready to retire. She notices that everyone’s attention is riveted on the newcomers and finally sees who it is that has arrived. She jumps at her former lover, Thunderbird, and kisses him, barely able to believe that he is alive.
Another time, another place, somewhere outside Roma’s crystal palace. To help bring about a measure of order to the ongoing chaos of the ever changing omniverse, the Captain Britain Corps was established, initially under the aegis of Merlyn and later of his daughter, Roma. Not so long ago the Omniverse was swept by a temporal reality wave of unimaginable power that literally tore the continuum to bits and rearranged it. Then, after a time, it apparently reversed itself and put everything back the way it was.
Well, almost everything.
James Jaspers, a somewhat deranged looking British gentleman ( whose outfit keeps on changing from moment to moment) sits amidst nothingness and tries to remember.
Flashback:
The first things he recalls from back then is standing over the figure of Roma. They’d never met but instinct told him she had to die. Calmly, she recognized him as Jaspers. James Jaspers. Prime minister of England and overlord of the Omniverse, he corrected her. Not while he lives, came the voice of Captain Britain as he hit Jaspers as hard as he could, slamming him out of the citadel.
Present:
He spent the time since his rebirth trying to figure out what to do next. She defied him, he hit him, Jaspers recalls childishly. That was not fun. Right on top of his agenda those two have to die. But after that, what comes next?
Within him, his fractured mind where everything reflects him, there’s a part of him now that reflects the creature that killed him. It was called the Fury – the most efficient killing machine ever created.
Jaspers’ musings are interrupted by a tall thin white-haired man who asks if he can have a moment or two of Jaspers time. “No,” comes the reply and Jaspers blasts him apart by transforming his arm into an energy cannon reminiscent of the Fury’s. That wasn’t very nice, the man, standing behind him now and quite unharmed, remarks. Killing him isn’t that easy. Of course they can fight, but he’d rather be friends. Why? comes Jaspers’ intrigued question. Mutual benefit, the white-haired man hints. Helping him provides Jaspers with the opportunity over both Roma and Brian Braddock. Isn’t he tempted?
Before Jaspers can reply, with a booming noise three members of the Captain Britain corps appear. One of them, Striker Llewellyn, immediately recognizes the stranger as the apostate – Lady Roma’s father Merlyn.
Annoyed, Jaspers asks if they have any manners whatsoever. This is a private conversation- Exceedingly bad form to interrupt. Does he think they care? Striker shouts as he hits Jaspers with his mace,  causing his head to hang at an unnatural angle, clearly due to a broken neck. Undeterred. Jaspers grabs the Captain by his fist, holding him in stasis. While the other two Captains do their best to attack Jaspers he is completely entranced in what to do with their friend.
He swallows his life energy, grows another face on the back of his head and tells them he’s trying to work here. Not quite the response he was going for, he observes as both of them hit him with their star sceptres. He kicks them away with an impossible move, then returns to his first victim, changing his genetic foundation.
As he does so, he recalls that he didn’t used to think like this. He has sharper perceptions and a stronger use of the words themselves. He wonders if this resurrection business is good for the brain.
The Captain, kneeling before him, has been turned into the Fury. Jaspers marvels that this is the spitting image of the creature that killed him last time. Now why would he want to bring him back? The new Fury blasts the second Captain who is trying to attack again. Jaspers admits to being impressed. As the last Captain is trying to flee, Jaspers touches her as well and turns her into a second Fury.
Merlyn shows up again to admit he’s impressed. Where has he been? Jaspers asks sharply. It’s not as if he needed any help, Merlyn points out. Thought counts, y’know, Jaspers replies. Merlyn offers his hand in friendship, for he believes this marks the beginning of a mutually beneficial alliance.
The Starlight Citadel, home to Roma who serves as protector of the omniverse. It also functions as defacto headquarters of the Captain Britain Corps. In the absence of Brian Braddock, operational command of the corps has been the responsibility of Opal Luna Saturnyne.
Saturnyne looks up astonished to see her superior shed a silent tear. She can’t remember the last time she cried, Roma observes calmly as she wipes it away. The heavens were less crowded then. She orders Saturnyne to summon the corps and prepare them for battle. She steps onto the balcony. The time has come to face the reality that all things – perhaps even all people – are ultimately finite and must someday come to their end. Mirrored in the smooth surface Merlyn smirks back at her.
Back in London at the party, Alison hesitates to walk up to Wisdom, wondering if he will laugh at her. She finally decides to do it and drags him away from her doctor friend Marissa. She tells him she has a favor to ask. She means this? he asks and points at a motor bike. How could he have known? she marvels. It wasn’t that difficult, he replies. Gift of her Majesty’s government, for service et cetera et cetera.  If she wants an objective pair of eyes to help her choose the proper set of travel leathers… Overwhelmed she kisses him. Can he take that as a “yes?”
Walking a bit away from the others are TJ and John. She confides that a while back she had a stroke. It could have been worse. She has some holes in her memory. Can’t read as easily as she used to. Right arm’s a bit weak. Right leg’s worse. She has a full course of… She can’t think of the word, before she finally cries out therapy.
John tells her to take it easy. Easy for him to say. All he was was functionally dead. Good one, he laughs as he hugs her. TJ confides she’s scared. Suppose this is as good as it gets? Welcome to the club, he tells her. As Exiles, they have access to the whole width of creation. Who knows what’s out there? What they might find to set things right? But in the end, what really matter is that they are alive. They are together and have a future.
Those two look very good together Betsy observes to her brother. Does she mean TJ and her beau or Alison and Wisdom? Brian asks. Where did they go? she asks agitated and he wonders what’s wrong. Does he know about her and Longshot? Betsy asks. Of course, Brian admits, but he hasn’t pried. After losing Meggan, he knows how Ali must feel.
But Longshot is alive and part of the Exiles, Betsy explains. “Bloody hell,” Brian exclaims. Why didn’t she bring him? He’s lost his memory, Betsy cuts him off. He remembers nothing of his past. Not Betsy, not his time with the X-Men. Not Alison. They have to tell her, Brian insists.
Betsy muses that Mojo’s a prisoner of the United States and he’s responsible for Longshot’s condition. Perhaps they can prevail upon him to set things right. Brian smiles. When she gets that look, it actually makes his blood turn a little cold. Of course that impulse won’t work if she isn’t here, he hints. She asks him not to start. She made a commitment. To protect crosstime? Brian asks sourly. She and the Exiles – all six of them.
More than that, thank you, she retorts tartly. He’s serious. Brian replies. He thought protecting the omniverse was his role with Roma and the Captain Corps. Doesn’t she trust them?  She hesitates before telling him she trusts him with her life, with her soul. But not Roma? he ventures. No, she replies. She never has. Not the way he does.
Again, the doorbell rings and Brian heads to open the door, wondering who it could be this time. The prime minister has gone home, so with their luck it’ll probably be the Queen. Oh, he exclaims as he opens the door.
Suddenly at the party, Betsy turns pale, getting the queasy feeling he does when something is wrong with Brian. As if on cue, Brian stumbles inside, blood oozing from his chest. He falls, his body held by a masked woman (in fetish gear) surrounded by armed masked men. Captain Britain has fallen, she announces. Following his precious corps and the creature who brought them together into oblivion. She is Rouge-Mort. She is there to put them all into their graves.


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Provide a full summary of the comic book.

[Assistant]
The Sword is Drawn
Moments before the strange armoured woman calling herself Rouge Mort injured Captain Britain, possibly mortally, and swore they’d all die. Instantly, Betsy Braddock reacts by kicking the woman in the face and hitting her. She vows that attacking her brother is the biggest mistake the woman has ever made and the last. Rouge Mort grabs her hand and swats her aside. The next moment her men are on Betsy who bravely tries to survive. Fortunately, she isn’t in the fight alone, as Sage joins the fray and takes care of some of her attackers.
In the meantime, Thunderbird orders Nocturne to get the civilians outside. What about him? she asks. He does what he’s made to, Thunderbird replies. Just so he doesn’t forget it’s not what he does best, she replies and kisses him before asking him to be careful. She almost lost him once. She won’t let that happen again. With the help of Excalibur’s doctor friend Marissa she begins shepherding the guests out while Thunderbird tries off to engage the attackers.
In the meantime, Sage has drawn a gun to fire at Rouge Mort. The other woman disarms her and calls her a fool. Who is this bloody woman? Betsy wonders annoyed as she tries to stem the bleeding of Brian’s wound. Impossible to tell, the ever analytical Sage replies. She doesn’t recognize her combat style and her armor not only hides her appearance, it alters her voice. Rouge Mort advises them not to waste their time on her; they have so little of it left. She fires the gun she took from Sag at Thunderbird, much to TJ’s horror.
Alerted by the noise, Wisdom and Dazzler rush in, both in a state of undress.
Nocturne tries to possess Rouge Mort, only to be repelled and luckily be caught by Wisdom. Thunderbird chides her that she knows he has survived harder hits than this. He asks her to back off.
As Dazzler manifests a lightsword, she observes that, for all the damage her friends have done to Rouge Mort’s men, she doesn’t appear terribly bothered.
Betsy, holding her brother, asks Wisdom whether there is anything they can do. Seeing Brian’s injuries, Pete bluntly tells her he doubts anyone can help with a wound like this. This world can be so bloody useless! Betsy cries and decides they have to get Brian to the Crystal Palace. She orders Alison to provide them with cover. Just like that, Alison Blaire steals every sound in the room and transforms them into light almost too brilliant to be endured. The effect doesn’t last long. In a matter of moments, the stellar light is gone… but so are the heroes.
Good move, Rouge Mort admits, but the battle has barely begun! They have merely won themselves a reprieve.
At the Starlight Citadel, the Celestial Majestera Roma sheds another tear. Standing at her chessboard, she has dropped the figure representing Captain Britain.
Having heard the alarm, Saturnyne rushes to her side, asking if she is all right. Roma admits that she’s lost Brian Braddock. She no longer has any psychic contact or spiritual awareness of him. Not the slightest sense of being. One moment, he was there in her thought, an awareness of him strong in her soul. The next he was gone. Saturnyne asks if he is dead. She doesn’t know, Roma admits.
She’s never heard her talk like this, Saturnyne observes. She’s never faced a day like this, Roma replies. Walking onto her balcony, she admits that everything’s question now and all’s become finite. For such as Saturnyne, that’s the nature of existence to have a beginning and end. For her, that’s something new. Neither imagined no faced.
With a smile, Saturnyne asks if this could mean the end for her. Roma asks why she’s smiling. Because it makes Roma a bit more like her, the other woman declares, and that gives her a decent chance to win.
Roma doesn’t understand. Saturnyne’s fight isn’t with her. That’s where she’s always been wrong, Saturnyne replies challengingly. She serves because she believed she had no choice. She is mortal, Roma’s a god. But if Roma isn’t, if the scales are even just a little bit equal, then who knows what’ll happen next, or who will ultimately prevail? Perhaps it’s time for the omniverse to change? Roma has no reply.
Somewhere between the realms of what is and what might be, between reality and dreams, that’s where one can find the Crystal Palace, HQ of the Exiles. Psylocke has teleported her brother and Excalibur there. Barely arrived, she orders Sabretooth to get Heather, they need help – now! Sabretooth complies, asking all the Exiles to come to the transit bay right now. There’s an emergency. He calls up Icon (aka “Heather”) to help and goes to carry Brian to the medical bay, worrying that he can barely get a pulse. They pass Morph who is happy to see his old teammate Nocturne and hugs her.
They are joined by Blink and new members Rogue and Mystiq. Blink introduces herself to the other members of Excalibur and Sage reciprocates, explaining the situation. Blink then also notices the return of their friend TJ.
Dazzler notices another arrival: Longshot. It’s her, Ali, doesn’t he remember? she asks. Longshot blankly stares at the woman who once was his wife, asking if the have met. Heartbroken, Dazzler glows blindingly and runs away. When Blink impatiently asks what’s going on TJ plays the diplomat and asks Clarice to cut Ali some slack. She’s just has a really primal shock.
Suddenly, they are contacted by another new Exiles member, Cat Pyde, who asks if they are having trouble, as something just fried all the scanners in the transport bay. Wisdom recognizes the double of his ex lover and wonders if this group is some sort of X-Men subset.
Mystiq, a middle-aged, slim redheaded man in a three-piece suit suggests to Blink he go find the missing Dazzler. When Clarice points out that he’s a new arrival himself he asks what better way for him to learn the local geography.
Icon alerts them that they need help and that she’s told to gather someone named Sage. It’s a medical emergency. Sage goes to the medbay, while Pete asks Blink if there’s any hope of getting some proper clothes while they try and find out what’s going on.
Dazzler stands at the edge of an impossibly tall building’s roof. Heartbroken she muses that Longshot doesn’t remember her. She recalls loving him and decides that Mojo must have done something to him, treated him just like some kind of toy. She bets Mojo is also responsible for her strange condition o being unable to die. Bleakly, she thinks that, no matter what they do, Mojo always seems to win.
Mystiq politely asks if she can fly. Because if she can’t, it might be wise not to stand at the edge. It looks like a very long way down. Doesn’t matter, Ali replies. Whatever way she manages to get herself killed she always seems to get better. Bravo for her, he replies charmingly, but how does she plan to get herself back up? With a slight smile Ali admits that she hadn’t thought of that and allows Raphael to help her down.
Does she know that young man? he asks, referring to Longshot. He doesn’t remember her anymore, she admits. That any reason to run away? he asks. Ali doesn’t know. Every time she tries to rebuild her life there’s some kind of earthquake. Perhaps so, Mystiq points out, but it appears to him that each time she gets buried she finds herself a way to dig herself free and star again. Not a bad thing to have such an indomitable will. If only she knew what to do with it, Ali wonders.
In the infirmary, Sage decides that Brian is stable at the moment and Icon can watch over him. Standing at her brother’s side Betsy asks if there’s nothing more that they can do. Sage wouldn’t mind a change in clothes and gently reminds Betsy that they’ve done what they can. Getting confrontational, Betsy asks if she is saying Brian is going to die. Not if they can help it, Sage replies and points out that in the worst case they can place him in the Exiles’ stasis chamber.
The devil they will, Brian mumbles weakly. The devil they won’t, Betsy shoots back. Whatever it takes to save him, she’ll be there. Weakly he tells her he’s been thinking. Something Rouge said before Betsy charged her… This is part of a coordinated assault on the Captain Corps… and Roma. He was simply the first target… the first casualty. Roma can call on an army of Captains, Betsy reminds him. She will be fine. And so will he.
Ordering him to get some sleep, she leaves with Sage. Stepping on a balcony she runs into Wisdom, who admires the view. Just the beginning she tells him. The place is bigger than it looks. Well, it looks bloody huge, he tells her. Are she and Brian truly twins? he asks her. It’s a long story, she replies. He can’t wait to hear it, but first do they have anything around here resembling decent coffee?
A cup of coffee and a view of an endless ocean later, Betsy asks Pete to tell her about Albion. He tells her to imagine her brother growing up in a world at war. Albion wasn’t evil. He’s a soldier who does what’s needed to win. It’s a shame, he muses. You talk with Albion, you get a sense of what he might have been. Unfortunately they have to deal with who he is. His turn: Why does she ask?
They talk for quite a while and then Betsy returns to her brother’s side, praying that his bio-readings will improve, refusing to accept the fact that they won’t.
Blink startles her alert. Clarice informs her that she’s needed and teleports her away. They are barely gone when the mysterious god the Exiles have run into recently appears as Brian’s side. He touches Brian’s forehead, remarking that Betsy needs to trust her instincts as Brian does his, and all will turn out all right in the end.
Blink and Betsy reappear in a ready room where the rest of Excalibur and the Exiles are already waiting. Blink explains she had Cat check out Roma and the Captain Corps Betsy’s brother was so worried about. Brilliant idea, lousy outcome, Sabretooth guesses. Cat shows them a hologram image of Roma’s headquarters, the Starlight Citadel. An army of Captains gets ready for war as on the opposite side stand a very confident Mad Jim Jaspers and his two new Furies.
Whatever Mr. Braddock was worried about, Cat fears, it looks like the reality could be a whole lot worse…


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When Falls a Dream
Roma, guardian of the Omniverse, stares down from the balcony of her Starlight Citadel toward the foes attacking them. One of them wears the face, form and memories of Sir James Jaspers. His companions wear the form and weild the powers of the entity that destroyed him, the Fury. Neither of them is precisely what they seem. Standing some distance away from them, watching triumphantly, is Roma’s father and predecessor, Merlyn, who wants vengeance against his rebellious offspring.
Saturnyne joins Roma, swearing that they – referring to Jaspers and the Fury – should both be dead. Evil that primal does not die, Roma points out. That’s why they need heroes.
Saturnyne silently worries that the Captain-Corps is nothing but heroes, yet Roma sounds almost lost. She’s been that way ever since they lost their link with Braddock. What makes him so important? she wonders with a frown. The Corps existed for generations before he came along. She has to admit, though, she’d feel better as well if he were by their side. As she walks inside she curses herself. Now Roma has infected her with her mood. She does no need him, she decides most emphathically. She is Opal Luna Saturnyne. Whatever comes her way, whatever obstacles or threats she faces, she always finds a way to win.
Inside, Linda MacQuillan aka Captain UK informs her that the Corps is assembled. Is she afraid? Saturnyne asks her. She’s not that big a fool or good a liar to tell her different, Linda replies. It took a miracle to beat the Fury last time. But are not miracles what they do best? another Captain, the no-nonsense Justicer Bull, reminds Captain UK. She hopes so, Saturnyne replies and addresses the Corps: once more the omniverse stands in need of salvation. Thy have faced this particular threat before, and though bloodied they have prevailed. This day will prove no different. Let justice and honor prevail, for they fight today to safeguard the future.
And so the battle commences, as the Corps members attack an unfazed Jaspers who’s sipping his tea. He lets his Furies do the work. Captain UK eggs the others on, reminding them that the Fury’s hallmark is raw power. No creative intelligence, less grace. That’s their key to advantage. They have to use their speed and agility to keep hammering them until the drop.
Listening in and watching the battle are Roma and Saturnyne. Saturnyne agrees with Linda McQuillan’s tactics and Roma too admits that Captain UK is a super leader. She hopes the fates are smiling on them all. Sadly though, for all their strength and courage, it is the Captains like Brother Brit-Man who fall. Yet, led by Justicer Bull, they refuse to yield, if necessary sacrificing their own life to help a comrade.
It is no more than a momentary salvation, but that moment is enough for Justicer Bull to reach the Fury and slam it down until its brain is destroyed. Looking up, she sees that Captain UK has torn off the other Fury’s head. Justicer Bull begins to hope; a mistake…
With a gesture, Jaspers creates an explosion, engulfing and taking out lots of Captains. Did they really think it was going to be that easy? He leans down to Captain UK, turning into a tuxedo-wearing gentleman as he holds her in the mockery of a tango pose. She’s very good, he commends her. In fact, he recalls that she’s the one who destroyed him lo those many months ago. No, that’s not quite right, he corrects himself, lost in thought. The Fury destroyed him. And Captain UK destroyed the Fury. And now the three of them are together again. The Fury is a part of him and with this kiss she will be too.
That kiss doesn’t happen as that moment a huge Captain – Lord Goldstar – slugs Jaspers, followed by the optic blasts of another Captain, which allows Linda to break free. Jaspers, seriously annoyed, grabs the two heroes and turns them too into Furies.
Roma turns away from the window. Enough, she decides. What is she doing? Saturnyne asks. What she should have done from the start, comes the reply. She’s done following her father’s lead, letting others fight in her place. Saturnyne holds her back. She s not doing this. Does she really think she can stop her, Roma asks coldly. What she wants is for Roma to think, Saturnyne shoots back, not about Jaspers, but why he’s there. Who ultimately benefits from this conflict? Roma mustn’t mistake this for the real battle. Jaspers is but a prelude. She may not be on Roma’s level when it comes to running the cosmos. But she knows tactics. The Captains and she will do what they can to keep Jaspers at bay, she promises. Roma needs to prepare herself for the main event.
Meanwhile, back at the Crystal Palace, Icon informs Mystiq and Rogue that Captain Britain may be stable, but only for the moment. They should consider placing him in stasis. He’s almost out of time.
Via the computer, Cat Pryde watches all this worrying while she in turn is watched by the two mysterious gods. The woman asks her husband why he doesn’t help if he cares so much for these people. Did anyone help them? He asks. Might be better to learn from past mistakes, she rejoins. Who says they didn’t? he retorts. Each successor to this place, to the role they play in the scheme of things has to learn to recognize their instincts and trust them.
Cat has decided to look for something and finally found what she needed: Earth 2532. On that world there are no X-Men, people with different looks perhaps but no superpowers and Cat has found three preeminent surgeons: that world’s versions of Storm, Nightcrawler and Colossus. Cat contacts them via hologram and asks for their help.
The male god is satisfied. Just give the child half a chance. She’ll figure things out. Part of him would love to stay and help just as there’s part of him that’s scared as can be to go. But their time is over. They have to let the next generation prove their worth. And they watch as the surgeons appear in the Exiles’ infirmary.
Sage, Wisdom and Psylocke have been informed about Cat’s decision but they face one of their own. Wisdom opposes the idea. Psylocke points out that radical solutions are necessary in desperate times. Jaspers is winning and they’ve yet to see who set these events in motion. She’s basically following Brian’s lead. Does she really want this? Pete asks. Does she really trust Albion?
She doesn’t want this, Betsy stresses. But she just doesn’t see any other way. That’s the paradox: she hates the man, but finds she trusts him. As she trusts Brian. Sage remarks that Albion isn’t evil. Wisdom himself said so. Neither is she, he reminds her, supposedly. And see what she did. Wrong analogy. Betsy points out. Don’t think of Sage. Consider Lionheart. Her instincts are almost as good as Brian’s. If Albion was evil, she’d never have followed him.
Wisdom remarks that Albion’s a prisoner in Crossmore. If they break him out, there’ll be hell to play. They borrow him, Sage stresses. They save the omniverse, then put him back. Wisdom laughs bitterly. Do they really think Albion will agree to that?  He sees Betsy’s confident look. Sobered, he asks, “suppose he lies?” They’ll know, Betsy insists. The three of them are the born liars, not him and that’ll be the end of it. Fair enough.
Sage remarks that he’s smiling but doesn’t look happy. Just thinking, he muses, this is what happens when you start cutting deals with the devil. Before you know it the thing gets to be a bloody habit. Until one morning you look in the mirror and realize the devil is you.
(Back at the battle)
The more James Jaspers seems to be winning the less he seems to be having any fun. Enter Saturnyne with a really big gun which she instantly fires at him again and again.
That moment, Justicer Bull is thrown into Saturnyne by another Fury. She fires at it, stating that she hadn’t realizes he had created so many. Yet another reason the abomination must be stopped.
Suddenly, a green arm reaches for the gun. Jaspers reconstitutes himself, stating in a menacing voice that this wasn’t very nice. Was that her best shot? Give him a moment more to pull himself together, then they’ll see if she’ll do as well for him.
Suddenly a light flashes through his skull. Jaspers’ only reaction is muttering kind of detached that this doesn’t seem all right. Why isn’t the old brain working right? In fact, Blink teleported in behind him and is stabbing one of her energy daggers through his skull. Before Jaspers can do anything, Sabretooth slashes at him followed by Thunderbird and Morph’s blows.
Blink keeps on throwing energy daggers at Jaspers’s skull and the others too keep on fighting him, driven by their nightmare memories. Only Morph has no nightmares to drive him, none at least hat are his. But as he tears at Jaspers with a ferocity that’s totally unlike him he can’t help but wonder where it came from, what it means and why deep down inside it feels so good.
As the ferocity of the Exiles’ attack increases, Jaspers begins to falter and with him the rage, the very lifeforce of the creatures he created. Slowly, the tide is turning and the captains seem to be winning. Saturnyne however will believe it only when Jaspers is dust. She orders Captain UK and Justicer Bull to gather what’s left of the Corps. This is just the beginning.
From the balcony of the Starlight Citadel, Roma’s guard too believes that the day is theirs. Only Roma is still doubtful as long as Jaspers is still alive. Suddenly, Roma’s men are shot, courtesy of Rouge-Mort and her men. Rouge-Mort coldly tells Roma she is here to bring her to her father.
Dazzler teleports in. Holding a light sword in her hand, she tells Rouge-Mort that, if she wants the lady, she better be prepared to go through her.


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When Is Born the Nightmare
The Observation Room of the Crystal Palace: In her wildest dreams which can get pretty wild Cat Pryde never imagined a place like this. Technology like this. A view like this. She watches her fellow Exiles Sabretooth, Blink, Morph and Thunderbird fighting the mad god Jaspers.
In another part of the Crystal Palace, non-powered expert surgeons Storm, Colossus and Nightcrawler are fighting to save the life of Captain Britain 616.
While on Earth 616, the stealthier members of Excalibur and the Exiles Psylocke, Sage and Pete Wisdom have just entered a certain prison.
In one part of Roma’s Starlight Citadel, Roma and Longshot are on the run while in another part of that citadel Dazzler faces the mysterious Rouge Mort.
For Cat, the problem isn’t seeing things, but figuring out what to do next. As she ponders her options, she is watched by the two mysterious godlike beings that have been haunting the Exiles recently. The man remarks that Cat is a quick study. His wife reminds him that this isn’t a game.
Outside Roma’s Citadel:
Despite his face being caved in, Jaspers hits Sabretooth back and transforms his shape. Next, he punches Thunderbird away and then goes for Morph. They don’t get beat that easily, Morph replies and mimics Jaspers’s form as if to goad him. Blink intends to strike Jaspers from behind again with one of her blots, but as she has used that trick before Jaspers is prepared and creates a suit of armor to protect his back. Not his front, though, which gives Morph another opportunity to attack.
Blink teleports to Sabretooth’s side, complaining that his punch had no effect. Sabretooth points out that they have bigger problems and tells her to take a good look at Morph’s fighting style. Remind her of anyone… say Proteus? She doesn’t care, as long as they win, she decides. They rest they’ll save for later.
Her Majesty’s Ultimate Security Prison Crossmore, Earth 616, at the moment occupied by on single inmate, the would-be conqueror Albion. Wisdom roughly shakes him awake. Unsurprised, Albion asks if they are here to kill him. Is this what he expects? Wisdom asks. Is this what he’d do? Yes to both, Albion replies, although…
Although… Wisdom insists. He supposes he expected different from Braddock, Albion admits. Something… better. Because he’s weak? Betsy asks. Albion smirks. If Braddock is weak then so is he. They are built on different foundations that’s all. Braddock believes in the best from people. He’s not that generous. Betsy coldly reminds him that he tried to kill her brother. But he didn’t, Albion retorts and he learned that Braddock was not his enemy. Is that what they came to hear?
Actually, they came to ask for his help, Wisdom admits. To help them save Roma and the Captain Corps, Psylocke adds. He’d sooner see them rot, Albion replies automatically. With a smirk, Betsy admits she thought he’d say that. This was Brian’s idea. He’s the one with faith in Albion. So what were those words Albion just spoke – just words?
Why should he? Albion muses. How about because it’s the right thing to do, Wisdom suggests. Where’s Braddock, Albion wants to know. Fighting for his life after falling to an assassin’s ambush, Betsy informs him. All right, then, Albion decides. He’ll help.
Wisdom warns him that he’ll come back to Crossmore after this mission. He finishes his sentence, understood? He has his word, Albion replies grimly. They do this for Brian, Betsy adds. It’s her brother who’s trusting him. Taking her hand, Albion assures her he doesn’t give his word lightly and he never breaks it.
At the Starlight Citadel, a lone Dazzler confronts a confident Rouge Mort and her men. Surprisingly, Dazzler does a good job of holding her own both in hand to hand combat and with her powers. Moving and using the enemies’ numbers against them, she wonders how Longshot would feel about those tactics. Wisdom though would love them…
Suddenly, Rouge Mort kicks her in the back. Okay, he wouldn’t love that, Ali admits to herself as she fends of the woman’s blows, noticing that she packs a stronger wallop than even the Juggernaut. And her body armor doesn’t make things easier. Ali uses a judo throw to get rid of her. Unfortunately, she has lost track of Rouge’s men, who surprise her with a nasty blow.
Elsewhere in the citadel, Longshot is trying to lead Roma to safety while consumed by thoughts about Alison.  He can’t seem to stop thinking about her and has the feeling she is in trouble.  That moment, they are attacked by more of Rouge Mort’s Janissaries.  Longshot engages them in combat thinking Ali would say something witty to that and wondering the next moment why he seems to know her so well.
One Janissary has Longshot cornered and wonders why his foe smiles. The reason is Sag who luckily has turned up just in time to save Longshot. Together, they make short work of the Janissaries. Despite his own injuries, Longshot is more worried about Alison. Their commlinks don’t work here, Sage replies. Longshot asks her to look after Roma while he go find Alison.
He leaves and Sage finds that Roma has been grievously injured by a stray knife. Perhaps she should have ducked? Roma suggests wryly, though clearly in pain.
Meanwhile outside the citadel, Thunderbird and Sabretooth have already fallen and Jaspers has Blink and Morph on the ropes. Blink cries in horror as she sees Morph being transformed into another Fury. With him finished, Jaspers turns to her. The Fury behind him turns back to Morph, unfortunately Jaspers was aware of him playacting and grabs him again.
Rescue comes in the form of Albion, who smashes right into Jaspers. Furious, Jaspers turns his arms into Fury-style cannons and fires away. Nevertheless, Albion manages to lay down another blow, followed by slicing through Jaspers with his blade.
Jaspers is annoyed, but his two halves remerge. Both his arms now look completely Fury-like. He grabs Albion’s sword and tosses it aside.
Dazzler, in the meantime, is holding her own against Rouge-Mort. Longshot chances upon them. Calling her Ali, he chides himself for being silly, worrying for her. Dazzler is distracted as she notices that he recalls her name. Opportunity enough for someone to lethally hit her.
Longshot angrily kicks Rouge Mort and tosses his blades at what seems to be thin air. One blade ricochets from the wall and hits somebody invisible. The invisible being cries out in pain, then strikes Longshot, announcing that Rouge didn’t do anything. He decided to bring it all to an end. The battle and their silly pathetic lives.
With Longshot too fallen, Merlyn turns visible again. Quite a fascinating experience, he muses, to end another’s life like this. He should have tried it sooner. He wonders how it will feel to do such a thing to Roma? He creates a simulacrum of his daughter and sends it off to find the real thing. He follows, unaware that, due to his injured foot, he is leaving a trail off blood.
Outside the citadel, Sabretooth and Thunderbird have recovered and the four Exiles wonder if they should help Albion. The newbie isn’t doing much better, though he is sure giving it the old college try. Sabretooth notices something odd with Jaspers. Not only his arms have changed, but now it’s happening to his leg.
Jaspers becomes nervous; this isn’t right. His left leg has taken the odd shape of the Fury’s. Against his will, his arm fires at the Captains and his body changes against his will. He cries for help, for someone to save him, as the original Fury manifests itself for good, totally consuming Jaspers in the process.
Captain UK remarks that this is the real thing, right? Not one of Jaspers’s constructs. Saturnyne agrees. Linda killed it once…
Anybody got any bright ideas Sabretooth asks. Make friends? Morph suggests. That’s a nice thought, comes a new voice, but the Fury isn’t built like that.
The real Captain Britain is back. This corps was founded to fulfill a dream. However they’ve changed since then and on occasion faltered, that purpose remains. To protect the innocent and the helpless against all forms of oppression. That creature would bring all of existence to its end. And they are all that stand against it. He cannot speak for them but this is the battle he was born to fight and win!


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Dawn of a New Day?
Not so long ago in the celestial scheme of things, the Fury was created. Intended as the ultimate killing machine, it learned from every encounter. It could never be beaten the same way twice. Its creators believed they’d thought of everything. Including primal safeguards to guarantee it could never rebel against them. Sadly, they never imagined that their world, their entire dimension, would be erased from existence. But that’s what happened. Only the Fury survived. Until it was believed destroyed by Captain Britain and Captain UK.
Seemingly however the same pan-dimensional force that resurrected James Jaspers not so long ago also did the same for the Fury, hidden within the heart of his physical being. Now with Jaspers’ existence in jeopardy, the Fury has awakened and is in the process of fully manifesting itself, subsuming Jaspers.
Captain Britain attacks at full strength, vowing he isn’t going to give the still off-balance creature a second chance. Then the Fury catches him by his hand and tosses him to the ground, hard.
Captain UK, one of the few Captains still standing alongside Justicer Bull, wants to help, but Saturnyne orders her to stand her ground. This is Brian’s moment for better or worse, they have to think about what happens next.
Angrily, Linda tells her that, if Brian fails, there won’t be any bloody next. Saturnyne shouts back that they wait but they’ll act when they have to. Anything less makes a mockery of those who’ve already died. Silently, she prays it won’t get that far and that Brian will justify Roma’s faith in him and Linda’s. and hers.
As Cap continues fighting, how recalls the first time he fought the Fury. It was like a force of nature. For all his strength and skill, all Brian seemed to be able to do was get himself beaten bloody and then killed. Merlyn brought him back to life then. And when next Brian faced the Fury, it was he, with the aid of Linda MacQuillan, who ultimately emerged victorious. But it was a close call even then. This battle looks closer.
The Exiles and Albion see the fight and get ready to help. Things get worse as the Starlight Citadel crashes and falls. In the rubble, Blink decides that they can’t interfere. Those two are way out of their league, which means they can’t just react. They have to think. When Sabretooth asks her what she suggests, she hints that this is something only she can do and asks them to trust her. She hugs Thunderbird and Sabretooth, pecks Morph on the cheek and asks them to keep their fingers crossed (and watch Albion) before she teleports away.
Inside the crashed Citadel, Sage asks the stabbed Roma how badly she is hurt. She suspects she’s been better, comes the weak and wry reply. Sage asks if there is an infirmary but Roma just asks what is happening outside. Angrily, Sage insists she is trying to help. Then do as she asks, Roma retorts.
Sage looks outside. She sees Captain Britain fighting, but not Jaspers… “No!” she shouts as she recognizes Captain Britain’s foe and recalls how some time ago she found herself possessed by the Fury, forced to attack her fellow X-Men, until she ultimately severed the chains that bound her.
While she hesitates, lost in thought, Roma sneaks up on her and grabs her head. Both their eyes begin to glow. Roma apologizes profusely, but there is no better way… and Sage begins to scream.
Elsewhere in the citadel, Merlyn hears the scream. While it doesn’t sound like Roma, he senses that she is involved. Merlyn curses her as his daughter altered the core structure of the citadel to inhibit the effectiveness of his psychic powers.
Finding her, he almost wonders who denied him his righteous prize. She isn’t quite dead, Roma states calmly. She saved the last moment for him. Whatever happens to her, his cause is lost. Merlyn calls her a fool and kills his daughter with an energy blast. Ultimate victory will be his, he vows. And once he claimed the knowledge that was in her brain, so too will be the future!
“What makes him think he even has a future?” suddenly comes the question as Psylocke appears and kicks him in the back. Merlyn is furious and fires an energy blast at her, however Betsy easily evades it and hits him again. Merlyn is aghast as the prospect of being injured. He fights back with his fists.
Amused, Betsy observes that she’s struck a nerve. He’s the kind who loves to set details in motion but can’t abide details. Let the peons shed the blood; he comes along after the facts and collects the spoils. Sorry, things don’t work like that. One has to prove oneself worthy and he isn’t even close. With that, she elegantly evades him again and kicks him in the face.
Merlyn fires another energy blast meant to kill, but Betsy uses her telekinesis to protect herself with a shield. First, she fends him off with a TK Katana, then she turns it into a baseball bat and slugs him far away.
Elsewhere, her brother isn’t holding himself as well as the Fury, which keeps on recovering. Luckily for Cap, help comes in the form of Albion. What kept him, Brian deadpans. The two Captains strike simultaneously as Cap gives Albion a quick rundown on the Fury as the ultimate killing machine.
Blink sees the Fury vulnerable at that moment and makes her entrance. She fires a full quiver of energy arrows at it and teleports herself and the two Captains away moments before the Fury explodes. Not too shabby, Sabretooth admits. She had a dynamite teacher, Blink retorts.
Captain UK wonders if the Fury can reform itself. That was a full quiver of energy lances, Blink replies. There shouldn’t be anything left. Make sure, Saturnyne orders. Morph points out they have a bigger problem, namely Merlyn. Cap tells him the battle is over. His allies are beaten. Or dead, Albion adds. He’s lost.
Psylocke comes after Merlyn, unlike him not even breaking a sweat. He won’t get away from her so easily. She’s quite something, his sister, Albion remarks to Captain Britain with a smile. Makes him wish he had a twin.
Wiping away the blood from his face, a grim Merlyn taunts them Do they truly think they’ve won? This is but a battle, the war has just begun. He will deal with all of them in good time and without any mercy. Before he disappears, unnoticed by all of them the last tiny shred of the Fury has attached itself to the injury on Merlyn’s foot.
With the villain gone, Cap suggests they go looking for their missing: Roma, Sage, Longshot and Dazzler.
The latter two at least have survived the cave-in, thanks to Longshot’s luck. He begs the unconscious Dazzler to open her eyes as he starts to recall her. He wants to make sure this isn’t dream. He remembers? she asks as she comes awake. Not everything. Not yet, just the things that are important. They kiss.
Albion carries Roma’s dead body out of the runs. He dreamed for years of this moment, he admits, when he finally achieved his revenge. Now it seems the joke’s on both of them. Roma’s dead, Brian muses. The Corps is near to annihilated, yet the omniverse still needs its champions. They’ll have to start again. Not with him, Saturnyne decides. She wants Albion to lead the Corps.
Both Braddocks stare at her with an identical look of confusion on their faces. She explains that times have changed. A harder day has dawned. They need a full-time lead who’s more suited to dealing with these kinds of threats. She feels Albion is better suited to this new reality and the battle to come. Also, Brian’s homeworld is just too dangerous. Better to have him stay there to keep a proper eye on things.
Albion declines, pointing out that he has a commitment to fulfill. He won’t betray his word. Saturnyne tells him to leave that to her. She’ll have him free in no time.
They go looking for the one missing person, Sage. Betsy is instinctively sure she isn’t dead. She wishes she could still read minds. Be thankful you can’t comes a weak voice as Sage stumbles over to her. Is she all right? Betsy asks. Looking at Betsy, Sage sees not only her, but alternate selves as well as the people who shaped her. She thinks she’s gone quite mad! Sage shouts.
She sinks down before Betsy and pleads with her not to send her back to Earth. “Why?” Betsy asks puzzled. Sage doesn’t give a reason, thinking to herself that she barely controls the knowledge Roma has passed on to her. If the wrong people get control of it, even she cannot tell the consequences. She needs to be somewhere safe. She begs Betsy to trust her.
Betsy takes her to the others just in time for the memorial. They are gathered around Roma’s glass coffin. Betsy tells Brian that she’s staying with the Exiles and so is Sage. Brian informs her that Nocturne is returning with her as well to be with Thunderbird. On the other hand, Longshot is returning with them to be with Alison. Poor Wisdom, Betsy remarks.
They hug as Brian complains that those farewell are getting to be too much of a habit. As long as they are alive, they are ahead of the game she replies. And if they are ahead they have a decent chance to win.
In the Crystal Palace’s tower, the two gods decide it’s time. The woman gives the sleeping Cat a peck on the cheek. In another place, they say good-bye to Betsy, who asks them to stay. As they disappear, the man promises they’ll always be in her memories and heart.
In reality, Betsy is in tears and Brian asks her what’s wrong. She tells him that she was just thinking about friends. About the history that was and the future that’s yet to be and all the fun they’ll hope to have getting there.


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

[Assistant]
“Danger Room” starring Cannonball & Husk (First Story)
“Home” starring Gentle (Second Story)
“Blend In” starring Anole (Third Story)
“Belong” starring Hellion (Fourth Story)
“Migas” starring Nightcrawler & Scalphunter (Fifth Story)
First Story:
Sam Guthrie arrives at the Blue Grass Airport in Lexington, Kentucky where he is greeted enthusiastically by his younger sister, Paige. She gives him a hug and he resists, looking a bit disgruntled by the attention. She tells him he looks good and that he’s lucky it’s just her picking him up. Sam is uncharacteristically quiet as Paige updates him on the latest mundane occurrences in their family. Their brother Lewis has joined the marching band, their younger sister Lizzie has scored very well on the SAT exam.
On the long drive home to Cumberland, Sam continues to be quiet and distant. As they pull into town, Paige points out what a mess downtown is and tells Sam that there are plans to tear down the Majestic and put in a fitness center and their mother is circulating a petition to stop it. As they pass Eddie’s Bar, Sam tells Paige to stop the car. “Ah feel like ah could use a drink, right now.” As he gets out of the truck Paige asks if he’s serious and he asks why he wouldn’t be. Paige begins to point out something particular about this bar but Sam cuts her off with a glaring look and tells her that he’s “just thirsty.”
As they enter the bar, Paige looks around with a hesitant look on her face. The bartender Carl seems surprised and a bit worried to see Sam there. Sam greets him cordially and orders a whiskey for him and a glass of water for Paige. One of the other patrons notices Sam and Paige and hurries out of the bar.
Carl tells Sam that his license is up for renewal and he can’t afford any trouble. Sam replies coolly that he didn’t bring any and the sooner they get served the sooner they can leave. As they sit down with their drinks, Paige tells Sam that the guy who snuck out was Matt Havers and she gives them another 30 seconds before there’s trouble. Before she can finish her sentence, the door swings open and a huge man walks in, followed by three others. He says “Either I just stepped in something ‘thout realizing it--- or else I can smell a Guthrie in here.”
 Sam rises from his barstool and says that he doesn’t recollect the man’s name. He cuts Sam off and simply says “Cabot”. Sam replies that he meant his given name. The man says that his name is Dwayne and his cousins are Micah, Duke and Paul. Sam offers to buy them a cold one and points out that they look a little worse for the heat.
Dwayne snarls and says that he doesn’t “take kindnesses from a Guthrie.” Sam replies “No?” and Dwayne adds “’Less your sister wants to give me a big, sloppy---“. Sam cuts him off and says calmly “Stoppin’ you there” and sets down his glass. Dwayne asks if he’s good now, clearly preparing to punch Sam. Sam says he’s good and Dwayne asks if he’s ready to fight like a man. Sam replies that there won’t be any need for that since a “strong belch is all it takes to knock a Cabot down.” He taunts Dwayne further by adding “If he ever got up off his knees long enough to risk it.” This gets Dwayne riled up and he punches Sam square in the jaw.
Sam returns the favor, punching Dwayne so hard he knocks him off his feet. He says that Dwayne can’t punch “worth a sad, sweet damn either”. Seeing Dwayne go down, his three cousins charge at Sam. One of them declares that he’s going to start with Sam and then work his way through his entire family. Another tries to get Sam into a choke hold but Sam throws him across the room into his mouthier cousin.
As a bottle is thrown across the room, Paige hands her number to the bartender. She tells him that if he has any trouble with his license to give her a call and she and her mother will take care if it. He thanks her and she strides towards the door. She calls her mother and tells her that they’ll be home as soon as Sam has “stretched his legs”. Sam takes down the final Cabot cousin, throwing him so hard into the pool table that it cracks in half. He wipes his brow and meets Paige at the door and says “Let’s go.”
Paige crosses her arms and tells him they aren’t going anywhere until he explains what that was all about. He points out that she saw what happened and she says that doesn’t mean that she understood why it happened. Sam slumps against the truck and admits “Ah guess ah needed a Danger Room.” Paige asks what he means. He asks her how else they’re supposed to work through it. He reminds her that the X-Men are gone, the school is destroyed and how they should deal with that. Paige tries to be sympathetic. She knows they had a war but it’s over now. Sam asks her when she’s ever known it to be “over”. He’s convinced that it won’t be over until they’re dead.  Paige asks if this is because he was beaten by Sinister and all the bad stuff that followed. He tells her it isn’t about him but about the way the world works. Those who hate and fear them will never stop coming at them until they’re dead. But not they’re nowhere and everything he’s fought for his whole adult life is gone. He tells her that that’s not his way; he doesn’t just fold and throw in because he has a bad hand.
Sam ignites his mutant power and flies away, telling her that if he doesn’t fight to keep his edge he might as well lie down and die now. She tries to stop him but he’s gone, muttering to himself that it was “Stupid to come here.” Paige looks after him, worried that Sam’s “edge” might just be what kills him. High above, Sam slips his trademark flight goggles into place as he soars upward and away from it all.
Second Story:
Nezhno is aboard a jet with Storm heading towards his native land Wakanda. He is in a reflective mood which is not uncommon for the serious young Wakandan mutant. He remembers how chaotic he found the Xavier Institute to be and how his fellow students were unfocussed and distracted him from his attempts to find the inner peace that he requires. He realizes that being part of the X-Men’s world nearly destroyed him. He went to the school to learn to deal with his mutation and keep it and the deadly physiological dangers it presented to him in check. But the constant dangers faced by the students at the Xavier Institute forced him to use his powers on several occasions.
Sensing Nezhno’s distress, Ororo asks if everything is alright. Gentle dutifully replies “Yes, my queen.” Ororo tells him that they fought together as X-Men and he should call her Ororo. When they arrive in Wakanda, Nezhno acknowledges to himself that he may indeed die soon but feels a sense of relief that he will die among his own people. But as he leaves the jet and is greeted by his king T’Challa and a throng of Wakandans bearing banners, he feels a sense of hesitation.
 Nezhno graciously thanks his king for the transport home. The Black Panther greets him warmly and tells him that he is Wakandan and a ward of the court and therefore the nation is not whole with him gone. Despite T’Challa’s words, the other Wakandans look less than thrilled to see Nezhno. The Black Panther raises his staff and declares that they welcome home their queen and a son of Wakanda. Those gathered applaud politely. T’Challa sees this and tells Gentle that “old ways die hard” and that in the eyes of his king he is a true Wakandan. He then says that it is time that his doctor had a look at him.
Nezhno is examined by the doctor who reports that his condition has worsened in the time he was away. He asks Nezhno if he is still having spasms and Nezhno admits that he is. He then asks Nezhno if he still has no sense of touch and can feel nothing. Nezhno remembers a moment at the Institute when Mercury had touched his shoulder in greeting but replies that he has not felt anything since the condition began. The doctor asks what exactly the X-Men did do for him. Nezhno responds tersely that he learned mental techniques, meditation and control. The doctor is confused and asks how these lessons helped his condition or made him use his strength. Nezhno explains that there were incidents. The doctor declares “Your Russian father did you no favor passing to you this mutant gene. You will need more tattoos.
Nezhno returns to the Wakandan shamans for additional Vibranium tattoos. He reveals that the painting of liquid Vibranium tattoos is an ancient practice used to alleviate tremors and seizures and that it has neutralized some diseases completely. For most, the tattoos are only temporary, but his mutation has caused them to bond to his flesh and muscles. One shaman declared it a sign from the gods. As he walks home, he thinks to himself that they are the only thing keeping him alive and his strength in check. And now, they are failing.
Nezhno is left to himself. His fellow Wakandans avoid contact with him. A curious child approaches him at an outdoor café and asks why he’s painted and if he’s a prophet sent by the Panther God. The unknowing boy asks why no one will speak to him. Nezhno replies that the others fear him and asks the boy if he is afraid. The boy bravely says “no” and then changes his answer to “maybe”. At that moment, his mother calls out his name “N’Baku!” and demands angrily that he come to her now! The boy tells Nezhno he must go and darts blindly into the street.
 Nezhno sees a truck barreling down the street and calls for the boy to watch out. The boy turns and sees the danger he’s in and calls out for his mother. Gentle grabs the boy, shielding him from harm with his own body as the truck rams forcefully into him. Despite his heroism, the boy’s mother rushes out and shouts “Do not touch my son!” Nezhno tries to explain that he meant no harm and then he sees the woman’s face. Recognition washes over him as he realizes that it is his mother! She tells him bitterly that he should not have come back. Nezhno begins to ask if this boy is truly his brother. She cradles N’Baku in her arms and replies “He is nothing to you, outsider. And neither am I.”
Nezhno returns to his hut and stares at a tattered photo of his parents. They are clearly in Wakanda. His father is a smiling Russian man with fair skin and light-colored hair, his arm draped over Nezhno’s mother’s shoulder. The picture is ripped and his mother’s face is mostly missing but his father’s smiling face is clear. Nezhno thinks to himself that if he were fully Wakandan he would be accepted despite his mutation. It is because his father was an outsider that he is shunned. Nezhno realizes that he will never be accepted by his people or his mother. He thinks about his fellow students at the Institute and how they accepted him and wanted him to be one of them, yet he pushed them away. He finds that he misses them and longs for their inane chatter and the way they annoyed him. He misses their friendship but accepts that the X-Men are no more and he is now back “home”, though his is clearly uncertain if he can truly call Wakanda that.
Third Story:
Northstar is running at high speeds when he receives a call from Cyclops on his phone. Dust kicks up behind him as he answers and tells Cyclops that he’s already on his way.
Anole is in his clubhouse near his family’s home thinking about all the hopes he had regarding the Xavier Institute. He considers the words they used when showing his parents the school’s brochure “talented”, “special”, “extraordinary”. Victor realizes that most parents of mutants are confused and scared and that the beautiful grounds and hopeful words put them at ease. Not to mention the fact that the school is completely free. Once you’re there, they make you feel like you matter and that you’ll be an X-Man someday, helping to make the world a better place for mutants.
Victor now thinks they should have used words like “liability”, “dangerous” and “expendable” given all that’s happened. Half his fellow students killed and the rest hunted by predators and religious zealots. Then suddenly it’s all over and there are no more X-Men. Anole is clearly bitter that Cyclops was so self-involved he decided to throw in the towel, assuming that it would be easy for everyone to just go home.
As Northstar arrives at Anole’s home, he looks up at the tree house and says “Nice club house.” Victor is sitting in a tree nearby and flatly asks Northstar what he wants. He suggests that maybe Jean-Paul is there to “mentor” him so more like he did the last time they met, perhaps he wants to see how easy his ribs break this time. Northstar rises into the air and asks if he’s really still mad about that. He points out that he was “evil” then and had just come back from the dead. He teasingly adds “You try coming back from the dead and see if your head’s on straight.”
Victor blows this off with a casual “Whatever” and asks what he’s doing there, as there’s clearly nothing going on in Fairbury, Illinois worth the attentions of Canada’s finest. Northstar agrees with that sentiment and says that he’s come to check on Victor as no one has heard from him in three months. He adds that people were getting worried. Anole looks away and says “I bet they were.” Jean-Paul says that they are seriously worried and that Pixie mentioned something about Rockslide and what did he do to him. Jean-Paul snidely adds “I didn’t think you’d go for the rocky types.” Victor just glares at him.
He then grabs Northstar with his enhanced arm and pulls him close. He says bluntly “Tell Santo…tell everyone, to leave me alone.” He adds that they shouldn’t come looking for him there as he’ll be gone. Jean-Paul gets a good look at Victor’s new arm and says that while he had heard about it, he didn’t believe it. He says that it’s hideous and asks Victor how he’s ever going to get a date with an arm like that.
 It then registers with Northstar that Victor said he wouldn’t be at home any longer. He asks where else a sixteen-year-old would be. Anole replies that he doesn’t know, he just knows he can’t stay. Northstar breaks into counselor mode and tells Victor that he knows it’s tough being a mutant and that guys like them have other hurdles to deal with as well. Anole cuts him off and tells him to shut up. He tells Jean-Paul that it isn’t about not being accepted. His parents and his community do accept him, they practically threw him a parade. But the problem isn’t with them, it’s with him.
Northstar tries to tell him that it can’t be that bad but again, Victor interrupts and tells him that the X-Men just don’t get it. He explains that when he got back to his old high school, he expected to be leaps and bounds ahead of the other students thanks to his time studying at the Institute. He was quickly humbled to find that he was way behind. He points out that the Institute spent more time being rebuilt than actually teaching him anything.
His time away always changed how he interacted with his parents. They quickly adjusted to having Victor home, but he didn’t. When his dad accidentally dropped a coffee mug, the crash set Victor off. He leaped at his father and pinned him to the wall. Both his parents were shocked. Victor explains that he’s changed. Before he was a mutant, but now he’s different. He tells him that this is what the X-Men just don’t get. They’re kids! They should be playing video games, learning and going on dates… not fighting for their lives against the devil! The X-Men robbed them of all that and should have known better! They all worshipped the X-Men and wanted to be just like them. The X-Men molded them into what they needed them to be but when they decided they were done with being X-Men, they just cast the younger mutants aside and told them to go home. Victor has realized that because of all he’s gone through, he doesn’t belong there anymore.
Northstar asks what the story with the tree house is. Victor explains that this is where his parents will look when they realize he’s gone. As a kid, he used to pretend to be an X-Man and this was his X-Mansion. He adds bitterly that it’s funny how things are never really the way you see them when you’re just a kid. Victor begins to walk away but stops and says “Oh, and Northstar?” Jean-Paul replies casually, “Yeah?” just before Anole elbows him in the face with his super-strong arm. Northstar’s nose appears to break and he slumps down on his knees. As Victor walks away, he tells Northstar to make sure everyone else knows to stay away from him, even Santo. “I’m done with you all” he says as he leaves. Sitting beneath his tree house is a stuffed animal… a spiky lizard. Pinned to it is a note that reads “Mom and Dad, I’m sorry and I love you. Victor”
Fourth Story:
Julian Keller sits across from a shadowed figure at a café in New York City explaining that the X-Men have disbanded. He tells the unseen man that after the birth of the first mutant baby since M-Day “everything went to hell”. He and his fellow students went after the Purifiers. They tried to say it was to save the child but they all knew they really wanted revenge for what the Purifiers had done to their friends following M-Day. The Purifiers new allies the Reavers and their leader Lady Deathstrike proved to be more than the kids could handle. They weren’t ready to handle the X-Men’s foes and Hellion paid the price for their overconfidence when Deathstrike skewered and nearly killed him.
A few weeks earlier, Julian awoke from his coma, screaming. Miss Frost entered the room and snidely told him to compose himself. She tells him they have some things to discuss and he missed some things while he was “napping”. Julian is angry and shocked to hear that the school has been closed and the X-Men are no more. He asks where his friends and teammates are. Emma assures him that they are all being taken care of just as he is. Julian gets more enraged and ignites his telekinetic power. He accuses Emma of taking away everything that he had again and demands to know where they are. Emma casually shuts off his conscious mind and tells him to sleep.
Julian woke an hour later to find Emma gone. He tried to connect with his parents only to discover they sold their home in California and moved away. He assumed this meant they’d rather give up everything they had than take him back. He found out that all his expenses were being paid for by Warren Worthington but wondered why the X-Men bothered after taking his entire life away. Frustrated, he soared into the sky and called out to Miss Frost, knowing that she must be listening. He begged her not to leave him there. He got no answer. He took this as a sign that the X-Men had abandoned him. “So to hell with them” he declares to the unseen man.
After leaving California, Hellion returned to New York to start looking for the man that he is now conversing with. He looked in Mutant Town and demanded information from the Morlocks. He tells the man that they all knew he was out there watching and that he’d resurface someday. So he decided to find him first. He tells the man that the X-Men made a big mistake and that he’s now one of the most powerful mutants on the planet. He tells the man “You need that power. You need me.”
The man sitting across from Julian is none other than Magneto! He simply replies “I think not, Mr. Keller.” Julian is shocked and slams his fists on the table. He demands to know why. Magneto rises and tells Julian that he reminds him of his son, Pietro… arrogant but desperate to please. He asks Julian if he truly believes that it was he who found Magneto and not the other way around. He tells Julian that he is not his father and he is certainly not a teacher anymore. He bids Hellion farewell.
Julian stands and ignites his power. His telekinetic flare smashes windows and lifts a nearby car off the ground. He yells at Magneto “Don’t you dare walk away from me!” He tells Magneto that he thinks he’s just a scared old man who has lost his power. Magneto coolly replies “Is that what you think?” and proceeds to tell him what he thinks of Julian. He says that Julian has lost everything that he thought he was and that he clung so tightly to being an X-Man because it was all he had left. His teachers abandoned him, his heart was broken, his friends died and the X-Men failed him. So how does he react to all this? He seeks out the X-Men’s greatest enemy so that he can get back at the X-Men for letting him down. Magneto tells Hellion that he won’t use him and he won’t kill him either. He tells Julian that he doesn’t realize that Cyclops has given him the gift of time and that he should enjoy it before the war against mutants comes again and he is swept into it and consumed once more. He leaves Julian there, amidst the wreckage he has created.
Fifth Story:
In a roadside diner in a nowhere town, the Marauder called Scalphunter AKA John Greycrow works as a short order cook. He thinks to himself that this town is what his father would have called a “cigarette town” because you could enter and leave it in the short time it would take to smoke a cigarette. He figures his father saw a lot of towns like this in his day since he died of lung cancer. His mother used to make “migas”, a dish made up of all the leftover ingredients from breakfast and dressed up with spices. His mother said that a cook would make migas from whatever remained of what he or she had cooked for their boss. The recipe is simple enough: fry eggs in leftover bacon fat, add onions, chilies, tomatoes and cheese, fresh pico, strips of tortillas (better if they’re stale) and some spices. Scramble it all up and you have migas, “the crap nobody else wants to eat.”
Scalphunter serves the plate of hot migas to a priest who proclaims that there is God in this food. Greycrow thinks to himself that it’s been three weeks and nine days since the X-Men ended and since he began a life on the run. He believes that people are hunting him down due to the fact that he’s a “stone-cold killer”. The thought of being hunted himself scares him. The priest smells the migas and tells Greycrow he has a gift and asks where the art is in this dish. Scalphunter thinks to himself that once upon a time he’d have killed this guy without a second thought.
The priest yammers on about the migas. He points out that it’s wonderful but exactly the same every day that he orders it. He wonders aloud how and why that is. He asks if the cook is aware of the writings of Walter Benjamin who wrote “Das Kunstwerk Im Zeitaltier Seiner Technischen Reproduzierbarkeit” – “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction”. The book deals with the effect on art of mass reproduction and how it might affect the natural “aura” or artistic impact of the original work. Is viewing a photo of the Mona Lisa the same experience as seeing it in the Louvre, for example. Does the act of copying reduce the value of art?
 He compares the migas to the artwork and Scalphunter finds his prattle annoying and thinks that he’s normally kill this “artsy-fartsy jerk”. But then the priest makes a specific comment that jars Greycrow. He asks if the migas would be any more or less a work of art if it was made in a five-star restaurant or by a single mother on an Indian reservation after the second world war. This causes Scalphunter to turn and face the priest menacingly. He snarls a bit and says “No hablo ingles” --- “I don’t speak English”. The priest smiles and replies “Of course not.”
Later that night in the tiny trailer that Scalphunter calls home, he decides to take extra precautions for security. The priest’s comment rattled him and his paranoia drives him to bar the door and keep his gun close. He knows that the X-Men are still out there and thinks they are all looking for him. His suspicions prove to be true. Outside, the silhouette of the X-Man Nightcrawler can be seen as he watches the trailer.
The next morning, the priest returns to the diner and continues to espouse Walter Benjamin’s philosophy on art duplication as he eats his migas. He tells Greycrow that he has figured out the answer to Benjamin’s question while sitting there eating migas. He looks for the God in things, he examines them for traces of divinity. Despite the uncanny sameness of the migas from day-to-day, the priest says that he can recognize the divinity within. He says that you can sense the art if you seek it “through the Lord”. Greycrow doesn’t look at the priest and repeats “No hablo ingles”. The priest replies “Mi espanol no es malo” --- “My Spanish is not bad”. Greycrow realizes that he has to get out of town that night.
After work, Greycrow packs his meager belongings. It doesn’t take long because he lives like a castaway, always ready to be packed and gone at a moment’s notice. As he hurriedly packs, Nightcrawler teleports into the trailer and kicks him through the window. He asks Scalphunter “Usted ahora habla ingles, monstruo? --- “You speak English now, monster?” Scalphunter scrambles for his gun and shoots at Nightcrawler who manages to teleport away from the blast. He jumps onto Greycrow’s head and then launches himself into a series of back flips.
 He tells the Marauder that he is not there to kill him, though that was his original plan. Since arriving, he has changed his mind. Scalphunter is confused and Nightcrawler asks him “Are you right with God?” Kurt explains that he doesn’t think that he is. He thinks that despite all violence and murders, the times he’s tried to hurt others, “There’s no you in there.” He tells Scalphunter that he is merely a copy of a copy of a copy. He suggests that there’s no “art” left in him as he’s simply a reproduction, a godless thing no more artful than a paper plate.
Nightcrawler grabs Scalphunter’s face and looks into his eyes. He asks what good killing him would do, when another Scalphunter would be made to take his place. Each new Scalphunter would be just as warped by the nothingness where his “art”, his soul and God should be.
Scalphunter tries to look away as Nightcrawler says “For all of your sins, I forgive you. I forgive you so that you might know grace.” As Kurt turns and walks away, he tells Scalphunter that the writer Walter Benjamin was a Jew who was hunted by the Nazis and killed himself while fleeing them in Spain. He tells Greycrow that one day mutants will no longer be hunted or despised and there will be millions of them. His guess is that there will also be millions of copies of Scalphunter there trying to kill them. He tells him that he will forgive each and every one of them for their sins as well.
Scalphunter returns to the diner the next day, now wearing a gold cross around his neck. He knows that the X-Man could have killed him had he wanted to and he’s not sure why he didn’t. He thinks about the diner in the middle of this desolate place and that not even a dog would come there to die or the devil to kill. “Just liked my cooking, I guess” he concludes. The diner now bears a large cross painted across one end with the words “Get right with God” written in red across it.