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Provide a full summary of the comic book.

[Assistant]
Old Sins Cast Long Shadows
As one of the members of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s senior staff, Officer Kenneth Avery has seen enough action to impress even the most seasoned veteran. Three decades of soldiering has given him a hard edge and a knack for troubleshooting. Today, it is a doubtlessly a day of trouble for Avery’s base, as the computer’s voice shrieks throughout the facility, alerting all soldiers to the urgency of the situation:  “Intruders alert on levels three, six, eight, eleven and twelve! This is not a drill! Repeat! This is not a drill! All available personnel proceed to battle stations!” Amidst the commotion, with soldiers heading towards the battle stations, Avery spots one of his inferiors and asks for a report, after the search they conducted in order to detect the intruders. The agent informs him that the other cargo bays are all clear.
Avery is surprised to hear this. He has the sense that something’s definitely not right here. He immediately uses his radio to contact Agent Fisher and asks him what the blazes is going on. He recalls that Fisher said that there’d been a hull breach in the main parking port. Sitting behind a monitor, Fisher insists that he can only go by the data coming in over the sensor array. If Avery is telling him there’s no hull breach, then that means their computer sensors are on the fritz. He asks Avery if there’s any sign of the intruders. Not a peep, Avery replies. His guts are telling him that they’re being suckered by smokes and mirrors.
On level seven, a soldier is on-standby. Suddenly, he hears a screeching sound in the corridor next to him. Puzzled, the agent deduces that it’s probably nothing but with the other levels in such a hubbub, he’d better make sure just to be safe. The man turns around the bend… and the attack he faces is swift and brutal, executed with unnecessary savagery.
The agent’s body plunges lifeless to the ground, having just been slashed by Victor Creed, the homicidal maniac whose genetic make-up and pattern behavior of unrelenting hostility have earned him the name Sabretooth. Next to him, watching his ‘handiwork’ in disgust is the mutant shapeshifter known as Mystique, who warns Sabretooth that the man better not be dead! Sabretooth urges her to calm herself: the man is still breathing. “Just barely!” Mystique notices in disapprobation. She accuses Sabretooth that he really is a sick pup – and a stupid one! The last thing they need is Bridge and his S.H.I.E.L.D. goons on their tail for killing one of their own!
Creed urges her to relax. The poor jerk never saw what him; nobody will even know they were ever here. “Don’t be so sure,” a thoroughly unconvinced Mystique retorts. As she kneels above the senseless man and inspects the key ring he wears around his neck, Raven argues that rigging an enemy’s sensor to emit false readings as a decoy is an old trick… that ruse won’t keep S.H.I.E.L.D. off their backs for long.
As Raven’s hand comes in direct touch with the unconscious agent’s hand, palm to palm, she immediately copies his fingerprints and shapeshifts into the man. Together with Sabretooth, Mystique halts in front some sealed doors, curious to see who they’ve got here. Placing her palm on a bright bar, a small photo of the agent appears on a tiny screen, next to his personal data: Ensign Cameron Bisset, I.D. verification code #267-975-653-689.
Tense moments later, the ensign’s voice verification is confirmed and the sealed doors open. Sabretooth and Mystique enter the morgue of the helicarrier. Sabretooth asks her what stuff they’re looking for. James Hedrickson, Mystique replies. She laments that Interpol identified him as a suspected Advanced Idea Mechanics (A.I.M.) conspirator. Their job would have been a lot easier if his body hadn’t been handed over to S.H.I.E.L.D.
Finally detecting the drawer that contains the body, Mystique opens the drawer and drags the body out. Sabretooth remarks that the body smells pretty ripe. As Mystique unzips the sack in which the body is contained and the twosome encounters a hideously deformed corpse, Sabretooth exclaims that that’s nasty even by his standards! Whoever killed this man, wasn’t messing around. He asks Raven how she can be so sure that Hedrickson is still carrying what she’s after.
Having difficulty to breathe due to the cadaverous smell, Raven explains why: because her old friend Destiny told her it would be here. “Now cut the chatter and let’s this over with!” she urges him – he knows what to do! “Getting squeamish in your old age, Mystique?” Creed scoffs at her. Mystique urges him to just hurry up and check the man’s belly. As Creed happily proceeds to disembowel the corpse, he asks Mystique what he’s looking for. Mystique assures him he’ll know when he sees it!
Suddenly, they are both shaken by a tremor coming from above. “What was that?” Sabretooth wonders. Mystique explains that it came from the level above them and admonishes Creed to ignore it and keep searching. Sabretooth retorts that there’s no need… he already found what they need! Saying this, he presents Mystique with a tiny capsule, coming right from the dead man’s bowels.
Suddenly, a number of soldiers crash inside from the level above, all of them armed with energy weapons and equipped with gliders that enable them to fly. One of them orders Sabretooth to hand it over: that capsule he’s holding is the property of A.I.M.! He targets Sabretooth with his gun, almost at point-blank range and warns him that any resistance will result in his immediate execution! “Buzz off, jerk!” Sabretooth coarsely replies and responds to the threat by damaging the man’s special mechanical costume with his fangs.
Mystique informs her assaulters that it looks like her partner’s got the right idea. “What d’you say, boys? Ready to play?” she mocks them and then transmogrifies into a sizable monstrous being, complete with horns, claws and wings. Persevering, the agent whose armor was badly damaged by Sabretooth declares that no one makes a fool out of Karl Steiner and fires at Creed! However, due to the damage sustained during Sabretooth’s attack, the weapon misfires, spraying both opponents in a torrent of shrapnel. The capsule falls off Sabretooth and lands on the feet of one of the agents. Mystique approaches him and warns him not to even think it. Still, the agent makes a move towards the capsule, forcing Mystique to grapple him from behind, roaring, “I warned you!” She then takes the capsule for herself.
Nearby, agent Steiner coughs, trying to put himself together while warning Sabretooth to stay away from him. Creed derisively remarks that Steiner is not such a tough guy when the chips are down. He can’t wait to… Mystique interjects and tells Sabretooth to forget him; they’ve got what they came for! Sabretooth grumpily grunts!
With more gunmen appearing, Sabretooth and Mystique decide it’s about time they take leave. “Some party!” Sabretooth quips, narrowly avoiding his assaulters’ fusillade. “I hate to break it to you but we weren’t invited!” Raven shoots back and then flutters upwards and grabs Sabretooth with her. One of the A.I.M. agents orders them to halt and drop their weapons!
Undeterred, Mystique flies higher while urging Sabretooth, whom she carries, to stop struggling; he’s heavy enough as it is! She explains that although it may look she wouldn’t have any trouble carrying him her strength doesn’t change like her appearance does. “I gotta hand it to ya, darlin’… that was pretty smooth!” Creed praises her. He has one thing to ask, though: just who in the heck is she morphed into? Raven explains she’s taken the shape of some Gargoyle fellow who used to hang out with the Defenders. Sabretooth admits he’s heard of him… but he doesn’t remember the old geezer looking like that! Mystique admits that she took certain… liberties. As she flies them through the hole on the roof and out of the S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier, thousands of feet on the air, one of the glider pilots orders his men to follow them.
Suddenly, Raven announces she can’t carry Creed much further: he’s too heavy! With a careful and calculated move, she lets go of him and Creed lands atop of poor flying agent Steiner! “Fun’s over!” Creed exclaims and detaches the glider from Steiner, letting him freefall while wearing the glider himself! “Oh… and thanks for the wings!” he banters, watching Steiner’s fall with unconcealed schadenfreude.
Pursued by two airborne agents, Mystique notices that wind currents around here are pretty erratic. She realizes that those gliders won’t be able to maneuver if she gets close enough to the Alps. As she flies straight towards the mountains, with the agents in hot pursuit, she abruptly changes course at the very last moment, resulting in the A.I.M. soldiers crashing on the mountain slopes, before having time to divert.
Raven has no time to triumph, though, as one of her wings is suddenly shot by yet another high-flying agent of A.I.M. Mystique plunges to a mountain. Two agents land down, next to the seemingly unconscious Raven who reverts to her default form. One of the men exclaims that the target’s down. His colleague hopes she still has the…
He never finishes his phrase: Mystique shapeshifts into a Wendigo creature and makes short work of both of them. Idiots, she scornfully contemplates – they left themselves wide open for that!
Sabretooth also lands at the same spot and congratulates Raven on her repertoire; this shindig’s turning into quite the party! Unfortunately, much as she’d like to believe he’s enjoying himself, he didn’t tag along just to provide target practice for a two-bit terrorist outfit like A.I.M.! Mystique tells him to forget about them: A.I.M. was merely an unanticipated distraction. Creed crossly wonders what the blazes is that supposed to mean. A distraction from what? He reminds her she’s got a lot of explaining to do. Whatever mess she’s dragged him into, he wants some answers… and he wants them now! Mystique promises he will get his answers soon. It’ll be worth the wait! “It better be!” Creed bellows.
Mystique teases him that if he’s still carrying a grudge for what Hydra did to him years ago… he won’t be disappointed! “Hydra?!” a flabbergasted Creed can barely mutter at hearing this. “Piqued your interest? Good” Raven quips. She urges him to come along then. She’s got a safehouse nearby where they can talk.
She immediately transforms into the blue-skinned, feather-winged X-Man known as Angel and rises in the air. Sabretooth is perplexed: he thought that nanotechnic inhibitor that was implanted in her neck prevented her from assuming any of the X-Men’s identities for longer than ten seconds. It does, Mystique assures him. However, when Warren Worthington was altered by Apocalypse and transformed into Archangel, the original Angel ceased to exist. Lucky for her, the implant is only encoded with his present genetic make-up. Creed commends her: she doesn’t miss a trick, does she? Mystique admits she tries not to: it’s a matter of survival.
Cardigan Bay, off the coast of Wales, several hours later
In a submarine of A.I.M., a soldier named Ritter reports to his superior, the cybernetically enhanced Commander Cypher, that he was just informed of Steiner’s failure. Ritter admits he’s at loss. It should have been a simple retrieval operation – what went wrong? Pointing at the monitors all around, Cypher suggests he sees for himself: the camera concealed in Steiner’s armor provided them with a front-row seat. She asks Ritter if he knows who the man shown on the monitor is, to which he replies negatively.
Cypher decides to enlighten him: she informs Ritter that he’s an ex-CIA operative called Sabretooth with a dossier thicker than War and Peace. The United States deemed him unfit to roam free in society, so they placed him in the care of X-Factor, their home-grown militia team. She comments that the man is considered uncontrollable… and extremely dangerous. A restraining collar is used to inhibit any hostile actions he may have toward anyone. She goes on to inform Ritter that his real name is Victor Creed and his abilities include hyper-keen senses and incredibly fast-acting healing factor. Aside from being an excellent tracker, the man is a psychopath and a serial killer!
Sounds like fun, Ritter quips and asks about the other one. Cypher informs him that Sabretooth’s companion is a woman called Mystique. She’s a metamorph. Not much is known about her past, except for scattered reports of her brief affiliations with the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants and the now defunct Freedom Force. She remarks that Mystique has got so many aliases that it’s rumored she herself doesn’t even remember what her real name is anymore. Like Creed, she’s the property of X-Factor these days. Ritter admits he doesn’t understand: why is X-Factor is suddenly taking an interest in their affairs? “They’re not,” Cypher retorts. She explains that Mystique and Sabretooth are acting on their own. Apparently, they went AWOL.
Pointing him at an image at the monitor, Cypher explains that these satellite surveillance photos of a crash site just outside the X-Factor’s compound in Fall’s Edge, Virginia, were taken early this morning. Unofficial intelligence reports confirm that Mystique and Sabretooth were aboard the shuttle when it went down in a botched escape attempt. Though still searching for the bodies, the government believes them dead. “Brilliantly executed, wouldn’t you agree?” she remarks.
Is she suggesting they faked their deaths so that they could sneak aboard the S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier and steal the capsule, Ritter asks her. “But why?” he wonders. They have no allegiance to Hydra that he’s aware of. How could they possibly have known what Hedrickson was carrying? Cypher retorts that’s irrelevant; the damage has already been done. What matters now is that they get the capsule back… before A.I.M.’s greatest coup turns into an abysmal failure. “Do I make myself clear, Ritter?” she hisses. “O-of course, Commander. How do you propose we do that?” he stammers.
She assures him she’s already working on it. By piggy-backing on the signal being transmitted from X-Factor to the restraining collar on Sabretooth’s neck, she should be able to track his whereabouts within the hour. If Mystique stays with him, they’ve got her too. But the transmission signals from her implant aren’t nearly as strong. They could easily lose her. She instructs Ritter that, when she gives the word, he is to release the Technosassins. She wants the capsule in her hands by the end of the day… and that interfering mutant trash dead!
(the past)
Somewhere on the outskirts of Jerusalem. Under the cover of darkness, CIA operative Victor Creed and Mossad agent, Amichai Benvenisti make their way inside an abandoned mosque, unaware that what was supposed to be a routine rendezvous and reconnaissance job is about to go sour. Victor warns his partner that this reeks of a set-up. What makes Amichai think that precog can be trusted? Amichai assures him he’s worked with her before. She’ll be here…
“Destiny’s here, all right,” Creed suddenly notes with irony, as both he and Amichai spot Irene Adler hanging from the ceiling, gagged and bound. As Amichai approaches Destiny and casts light on her with his glass, Creed warns him not to touch her. She may’ve been… He never finishes his phrase, as he is proven painfully right: it was a trap and they’re both stunned.
Shortly afterwards, Creed finds himself chained up, while being scrutinized by the Hydra agent known as Catalyst. Sporting a sadistic smile, Catalyst admits that Creed is one of the finest specimen he’s seen to date! He dares say Creed may even last the week before he breaks! “Get your jollies while you can, Catalyst!” Victor scornfully replies. He’s going to rip out his heart with his bare hands when he gets free! Catalyst sincerely doubts it: Hydra doesn’t take kindly to trespassers. Catalyst then touches Creed’s solar plexus, causing him to scream.
(the present)
Writing sensations are still fresh in Sabretooth’s mind, vivid in their excruciating intensity. The ordeal left him with mental and physical scars that he will carry to his grave. Even here, in the relative safety of Mystique’s luxurious Swiss chalet, the mere mention of his torturer’s name sends involuntary chills down his spine. It was Mystique who brought up Catalyst’s name. However, even though Creed hates to disappoint her, he reminds her that Catalyst is old news; Catalyst is dead! He reminds her that her old friend, Destiny, killed him… Creed saw it with his own eyes!
“As did I,” Raven startlingly reveals, while thoroughly examining the capsule by use of a microscope and special glasses. “Or haven’t you realized yet that I was there as well?” she scoffs at him. “You sneaky little witch… so that Mossad agent was you!” Sabretooth realizes in retrospect. Assuming Amichai Benvenisti’s guise to further taunt him, Mystique explains that Benvenisti is one of her seldom-used alter egos. She’s not surprised he never figured it out. Creed rages that he doesn’t want to be made a fool of: that’s twice she’s flaunted one of her false identities right under his nose! Raven advises him not to take it so personally. She can’t help it if she’s good at what she does…
Getting back to the point, Raven – brashly snatching Creed’s bottle of whiskey and having a sip – agrees that Catalyst may be dead but she hasn’t forgotten the horrors they were subjected to while under his ‘care’. She exclaims that the man was a butcher. He should have been made to suffer for what he did to Irene. What he put her through was barbaric. Why does Creed think she brought him along on this caper? He hates Catalyst almost as much as she does! She knows Creed will agree with her that they were cheated out of their vengeance!
“So life ain’t fair. What’s yer point?” Creed asks her as he puffs smoke from his cigar. Mystique explains that the point is that after all these years it’s finally payback time! “What d’you mean?” Sabretooth asks for clarification. Raven explains that, aside from his dabblings in human suffering, Catalyst was one of Hydra’s chief scientific big-wigs. Sequestered away in a hidden bunker, he’d been working on a hush-hush computer program before he was assigned to the mission in Israel where they had their run-in with him and the scumbag met an unexpected death. Codenamed Access, a complete version of the program is capable of unscrambling satellite transmissions by tapping into any global networks existing in cyberspace.
Raven quips that it doesn’t take a genius to see how potentially dangerous such a toy would be in the wrong hands. Unfortunately, when Catalyst was killed, the notes for the program were lost along with the location of his hidden fortress, so the secrets of Access vanished with him. Soon after, they got away from Catalyst’s clutches, Destiny confirmed in her that that her precognitive powers had foreseen that the key to locating Catalyst’s long-long fortress would be found in James Hedrickson’s belly. Looking back, Raven now realizes that Irene must have foreseen her own death, so she made Mystique promise that when the time came, she would seek out Hedrickson’s body, find Catalyst’s Access notes and destroy them.
As Mystique presses on the capsule and a slide presentation with Catalyst’s data appears on the wall, she admits that it’s no compensation but, since the pig’s already dead, they’ll have to settle for ensuring that his life’s work is destroyed. She remarks that, at the very least, she can do that to honor Destiny’s memory.
Sabretooth discerns that this Destiny must have meant a lot to her. He’s never seen Mystique so riled up. He finds her scent is pretty alluring when she’s angry; it’s kind of turning him on! As he places his fingers on her hair, an enraged Mystique turns into a monstrous variation of herself and violently repels him, while warning him that, if he touches her again, she will gouge out his eyes! Sabretooth asks her to relax: he’s just teasing her! Mystique sternly insists they have no time for his perverse innuendos. Whoever ordered Hedrickson’s death must know by now that…
Without warning, the safehouse is suddenly rocked to its foundation as all the windows in the chalet are blown inwards by the concussive force of a powerful sonic blast. The Technosassins dash into the room, armed to the teeth. One of them warns them they’ve got ten seconds to hand over the capsule before they blow their brains out. He begins counting: Ten, nine…


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Provide a full summary of the comic book.

[Assistant]
Torture
Less than six hours ago, the shape-shifting Mystique and the homicidal Sabretooth broke into the S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier and stole a small capsule concealed in the belly of a dead man. Originally the property of a terrorist outfit called Advanced Idea Mechanics (A.I.M.), the capsule contains the schematics to an abandoned Hydra fortress, where the notes to a computer program capable of usurping the existing world order may be found. Now A.I.M. wants the capsule back and they’ve dispatched the Techno-Sassins with this particular mission.
Having just invaded Mystique’s safe house in Switzerland, the Techno-Sassins give the two mutants a terse ultimatum: hand the capsule over in the next ten seconds or risk getting their heads blown out by them! One of the Techno-Sassins is counting, while his colleagues are aiming at the two mutants with their guns: “Eight… seven… six… five…” “Auf mein zeichen, mach dich rauf so schnell du kannst!” Mystique tells Creed in German. She then produces the capsule, asking them: is this what all the fuss is about? If they want it so bad… they’re going to have to come and get it!
Before she even finishes her phrase, Sabretooth attacks the agents. The Techno-Sassins are momentarily taken off guard by the sheer savagery of Sabretooth’s attack but then begin to retaliate in force. Sabretooth quickly gets hit hard. Badly bleeding from the fresh lacerations, he makes a last ditch lunge to get away from his pursuers and jumps out the broken window. One of the Techno-Sassins proceeds to shoot him, exclaiming that the mutie freak’s still standing! His colleague orders him to follow him; that healing factor of his has got to have its limits.
Inside the safe house, Mystique takes cover behind an overturned table. The squad leader suggests she doesn’t make this any harder: she can’t hide from them! “Back off, you lackeys!” Mystique scorns them and clicks on a button “Fine! Have it your way!” the man responds and orders his Techno-Sassins to riddle her good – which they do, in no time. The leader of the Techno-Sassins then orders one of his men, Garvey, to fetch the capsule. “Sir…? Something’s movin’…” Garvey mutters, only to almost immediately scream: “She’s not dead! Look…”
Too late, however, as Mystique, now metamorphosed into the Thing of the Fantastic Four topples the table over and takes out Garvey. She contemplates that if she gets out of this alive, she’ll have to remember to pat herself on the back, for having the foresight to reinforce every piece of furniture in this place with a layer of nikel-titanium-alloy. She’d have been toast without its protection! She may be able to change appearance but it’s purely cosmetic. Much as she wishes it was otherwise, she doesn’t miraculously gain super-strength or invulnerability when she morphs. Maintaining a form of this size is always a strain, making her far weaker than she looks. She’s counting on these agents not knowing about the limitation of her powers. As long as they don’t call her bluff, she’s got an edge…
“No more stalling!” one of the Techno-Sassins growls and promises to Mystique that it’s the end of the line for her! Blast! So much for my advantage, Mystique ponders, realizing they’re not holding back. She’s got to fly, she thinks and shape-shifts to the X-Men’s Angel. She immediately rises in the air, while the Techno-Sassins’ leader curses his men, telling them to not stand there with their mouths hanging open but shoot her! Flying away with all her strength and speed, Raven desperately thinks she’s not going to make it… and she flutters outside the safe house, just as it blows up. Raven realizes she’s hit and reverts to her true form, as she collapses to the ground.
(The past. Somewhere near Jerusalem)
Mystique groans with pain, her face on the cold marble floor, saliva escaping her lips. Destiny urges her to snap out of it: she’s been drugged! They don’t have time to… “D-Destiny…?!” Raven mumbles, cutting her short. She immediately finds the strength to get back to her feet and embraces her friend. “Irene! It is you!” Raven excitedly remarks. “Thank Heavens you’re all right!” she exclaims and asks her what happened. What did that pig, Catalyst, do to her? When they found her hanging from the rafters of that mosque, she was afraid that…
Irene shushes her and asks her to listen to her. She didn’t know that rendezvous at the mosque was going to be a trap. This sadistic Catalyst character is far more dangerous than any of them ever suspected. He’s not just connected to the Israeli Mafia… he’s deeply entrenched in the affairs of the Hydra. Unbeknownst to Raven, Destiny has had a recent vision which has filled her with great apprehension – for she has caught a glimpse of a nightmarish future, which she fears may not have the strength the endure.
Mystique suffers from massive head spins. She realizes she must take it slow until her morphing ability cleanses her system of whatever garbage her captors shot her up with. She asks Irene where Creed is. Destiny reveals he was taken away for interrogation. Raven promises that at least they have a way out of here. She’s too weak to try shape-shifting just yet but she should be able to get that rusted grate loose once she regains her strength. Destiny touches her shoulder and hesitantly declares that she knows Raven will; she has foreseen what is to come. “What?!” Mystique exclaims in surprise. Destiny grabs her and explains that’s why it’s so important Mystique listens to her… Raven is their ace in the hole! Catalyst doesn’t know who she is… or what she’s capable of. She mustn’t let him find out about…
The cell door suddenly opens and Catalyst tosses the chained Sabretooth on the floor. He declares that his patience is wearing thin. Their friend has been less than cooperative. Studying Destiny, he tells her she looks about ready for another session. “What d’you say?” he scoffs at her. Did she miss his gentle caress?
“Leave her alone, you disgusting piece of filth!” Mystique screams as she startles him from behind, lunging at him. Catalyst mockingly suggests she shouldn’t be in such a rush to be his play-toy… she’ll get her turn soon enough! With his mutant power, controlling the rates of chemical reactions taking place around him with but a thought, Catalyst causes exquisite pain to Mystique. The shape-shifter finds herself on the floor, writhing in agony.
With sadistic pleasure, Catalyst assures her that none of them is getting out of here alive. Kicking her face, he admits that her presence here intrigues him. He was expecting Creed to be accompanied by some fellow from Mossad… Amichai something-or-other. “But don’t fret… you’ll do quite nicely,” he chortles. The only question remaining is how much she’s willing to take before she spills her guts! Figuratively speaking, of course: her death shall be far more imaginative than that. He guarantees she’ll be begging him to kill her before the week is out and that’ll be just the beginning!
Coughing, Mystique manages to spell out that he is a sick and deluded…She then stops, realizing she can’t breathe. Cutting her off with a smile, Catalyst assures her she doesn’t know the half of it! Tending to Raven, Destiny demands that Catalyst leave her alone; he’s making a mistake. Mystique doesn’t know anything… she’s the one he wants! How touching, Catalyst scoffs – the selfless martyr. Destiny bravely defies him: she’s not afraid of him.
“Stupid wench!” Catalyst grunts as he slaps her hard across the face. Just who does she think she’s talking to? As he proceeds to grab her arm, Destiny explains that she has the ability to “see” the future. She knows that her fate is inevitable – as is his. She suggests they get this over with. She can at least take comfort in knowing that hers shall be the last face he sees before his death. Still squirming in agony on the floor, Raven gasps, wondering what Irene is talking about.
Forcibly dragging her outside the cell, Catalyst sarcastically argues that Destiny has it the other way around. Irene retorts he presumes too much. She may be blind, but she’s far from helpless. Catalyst believes they’ll see about that and departs with her, leaving the cell door open. A panting Mystique realizes in surprise he’s letting her go. Realizing what horrible fate may expect Irene, though, she calls out her name, screaming “Nooo!”
A little later, feeling better, Mystique realizes she’d better hurry – Creed’s coming to. Shapeshifting into Angel of the X-Men, she quickly flies upwards and manages to break open a crated window on the ceiling. She then hops down again and carries Sabretooth’s body through the grate trapdoor, realizing in discomfort that he’s heavier than she expected. As she and Victor find themselves on an upper level of the facility, Raven realizes that this took more out of her than it should have. Creed will have to get out of those bonds himself. Her priority is getting them away from here. Destiny goaded Catalyst on purpose to save them and Raven doesn’t intend to waste the opportunity. She immediately changes into her Amichai Benvenisti guise.
(The present)
On top of a snowy mountain, the three Techno-Sassins are at loss. They don’t get it: their sensors say they should be right on top of… Suddenly, a ferocious Sabretooth springs out of the ground, ambushing them. One of the Techno-Sassins realizes that the creep was burrowed in the snow behind them all along! With unparalleled ease, Sabretooth pummels the three agents and then disposes of them by tossing them over the cliff. Exhilarated by this latest bit of “exercising”, he watches with grim satisfaction as the Techno-Sassins helplessly plummet down the hundred-foot drop.
Walking amidst the snowstorm back to where he left Mystique, he finds her sitting on the ground, visibly drained. With brutal honesty, he informs her she looks like death. Mystique strikes back, advising him to check out a mirror. Referring to the explosion, Creed presumes it was her handiwork. Mystique confirms that: courtesy of an explosive failsafe incorporated into the designs of the chalet for just such an occasion. No self-respecting safe house is complete without it!
Following her lead, Sabretooth advises her not to be glib. He believes she realizes that A.I.M. must be tracking them… Of course, Raven assures him. Sabretooth wonders if she knows how. Mystique can tell it’s not through the capsule – she shut off its tracking beacon as soon as they got their hands on it. Unfortunately, the only other possibility is that they’ve found a way to piggy-back onto the signal being transmitted from the X-Factor compound… to the restraining collar around Sabretooth’s neck. Since she reprogrammed the tracking implant in her neck, it must be him. Grinning diabolically, Sabretooth realizes that if she wants to get A.I.M. their backs, she’s going to have to set him free!
Shortly, at a secret hangar located less than a mile from Mystique’s demolished safe house, Sabretooth and Mystique have embarked on a jet. Raven realizes that although her shape-shifting talents have made it child’s play to bypass the collar’s voice-activated security locks, it still would have been impossible to deactivate if she hadn’t made it her business to acquire those command codes some months ago. Unfortunately, shutting off the collar also shuts off the scrambler she left back at Fall’s Edge that has been keeping their whereabouts hidden from X-Factor. She knows it’s a calculated risk, but she’s counting on them completing this mission before they even get a chance to come after them. It’s keeping Creed under control that may prove a problem, though!
Transformed into Forge, she finally manages to take Creed’s collar off. Sabretooth tells her he’s much obliged; that collar was starting to itch! “Believe me… don’t mention it,” Raven quips as she changes back into her genuine form. Seeing Mystique placing the collar in a case, Sabretooth asks her why she’s bringing it along. Raven suggests he thinks of it as an insurance policy in case he tries to cross her. And before he goes getting ideas, she informs him that the case is rigged to administer a lethal jolt of electricity if anyone but her tries to tamper with it.
Satisfied, Mystique sits on the pilot’s seat… and then Sabretooth grabs her arm. “You’re some piece of work!” he growls in exasperation. He hates to burst her bubble but he suggests they make a few things clear. He’s got personal reasons for seeing this through and none of them have to do with concern for her or what was done to that Destiny dame. When this caper’s over, he isn’t going back to the X-chumps! And if she tries to put that blasted leash on him again… he’ll kill her! In fact, he may decide to do that anyway… for the thrill of it! He suggests she watches her back. He doesn’t take kindly to being threatened. Raven ponders that neither does she. They’ll just have to see who comes out on top!
(Several hours later over the Atlantic Ocean)
Piloting the jet, Raven instructs Sabretooth to stop squirming in his seat… and stop scratching the paneling! She reveals this is the home stretch. They’ve just entered the Labrador Sea. Newfoundland’s about three hundred kilometers to their left. According to the coordinates from the schematics in the capsule, Catalyst’s abandoned bunker should be just about coming up.
“There it is!” she suddenly screams as she sees it, looming in the horizon. As they fly over the island, Creed tells her she’s wrong about the place being abandoned. He asks her if she sees all those small blips on the beach; it looks like a small assault force coming out of the water. Raven affirms she sees them. They’ll touch down on that cove right over the…
Suddenly, their jet is hit. Mystique gasps that’s not the worst of it. They just got zapped by an electromagnetic pulse – all the jet’s electrical systems are shorting out! Sabretooth advises her to strap it… they’re going down!
Shortly after the jet crash-lands in the island’s jungle, Sabretooth and Mystique emerge. After making sure that the case containing Creed’s collar is still intact, Mystique tucks it away in a secure place before her sociopathic companion notices what she’s up to and then proceeds to salvage whatever ordnance she can save from the burning wreckage. Sabretooth hisses that the way things are going on their little jaunt so far, he’s beginning to think they should’ve stayed home. Mystique promises that whoever’s gunning for them is sure going to wish they had.
An arduous trek later, Sabretooth and Mystique, close to the entrance of the citadel now, watch an armed conflict in development. Mystique can’t believe it; there’s at least a full garrison of Hydra personnel coming out of that citadel! Victor stresses that in case she hasn’t noticed, those are A.I.M. troops they’re fighting off. He doesn’t know how they did it but those creeps beat them here to the punch! “So much for our precautions,” Raven grouches and targets the combatants with her weapon. “You don’t hear me complainin’!” Sabretooth smirks.
Undetected by the citadel’s sensors, a lone submarine bides its time less than a mile from shore. The vessel belongs to Advanced Idea Mechanics (A.I.M.), a group formed during World War II as part of the scientific research division belonging to the terrorist organization known as Hydra. Three decades later, political differences led to A.I.M.’s secession. Dedicated to the acquisition of power and the overthrow of all opposing political bodies by way of technological means, A.I.M.’s continued existence is a testament to its perseverance and that of its commanding officers.
In the submarine, agent Ritter informs Commander Cypher that she was right about the occupants of the jet. Sabretooth and Mystique have been spotted approaching the citadel. Cypher grumps that it is an embarrassment to this organization that their best cadre of Techno-Sassins was unable to exterminate those two loose cannons. She has no tolerance for such incompetence, especially when their sloppiness could still cost them the Access program. Ritter retorts that at least the mission wasn’t a total failure. The Techno-Sassins were able to make a visual recording of the capsule’s holographic projection from their vantage point outside the chalet. If they hadn’t transmitted that info back to them before storming in, they’d never have been able to find this place after Mystique shut off that maniac’s collar.
Cypher advises him not to try and cover up his mistakes and blatant disregard for her orders. Mystique and Sabretooth shouldn’t be here at all… didn’t she tell him she wanted them dead? Ritter insists there were… complications. Quite frankly, they underestimated their opponents. A.I.M should be grateful that their quarrel appears to be with Hydra and not with them. “Grateful?!” Cypher spits out in rage.
Once saddled with feelings of inadequacy from an abusive upbringing, Cypher overcame her troubled past and allied herself with A.I.M., in hopes of giving some purpose to her life. Desperate to prove her worth among her superiors, she embraced their cause with an almost religious fervor, going so far as to request the surgical crafting of state-of-the-art cybernetic enhancements to her person. Expert tactical skills and a ruthless code of ethics has instilled fear in her crew and earned the fanatic Commander their grudging respect.
Now snapping out, Cypher tells Ritter that he’s a pathetic little man. It is he who should be grateful that she’s kind enough to provide him with an expedient death! At this, her horribly disfigured, cybernetic left arm lashes out and slays Ritter. Turning to the helmsman, she orders him to maintain present reading, while she’ll be monitoring their progress from her quarters. “Y-yes, commander,” the helmsman stutters.
Back on the island, Sabretooth and Mystique are using A.I.M.’s interference to cover their own approach to the citadel. Pummeling some agents, a thrilled Victor congratulates Mystique. She sure knows how to show a fella a good time… feels just like the old days. “You wish!” Mystique retorts, while shooting at the soldiers. She argues they’ll have a better chance of at least one of them making it inside if they split up. Victor assures that’s fine with him… she was cramping his style, anyway! Mystique retorts she was thinking the same thing and goes her separate way.
On her own now, she contemplates that she never broke any promises she made to Destiny and she’s not about to start now. With the bunker in full operation, it’s imperative now more than ever that she and Creed get what they came for. Catalyst may be dead but Hydra’s still got a lot to answer for in his stead.
Creed suddenly finds himself attacked far and wide by various Hydra agents, who crawl all over him. Struggling to get them off of him, he jumps off a cliff and into a moat below. Seeing a swarm of piranhas instantaneously rushing to them, Creed moans that he should’ve expected that the blasted moat would be infested with them.
Meanwhile, oblivious to her partner’s plight, Mystique assumes the guise of a Hydra agent and successfully infiltrates the citadel’s outer defenses and makes her way inside. So far, so good, she ponders as she moves cautiously throughout the base. When she memorized the layout of this place, she noticed the most sensitive areas, including the main data brinks, were confined to the upper levels. She bets that’s where she’ll find the notes to Catalyst’s access program.
Climbing through a hatch to the levels above, she is suddenly stopped cold in her tracks. A massive, disfigured, stuttering being with disproportionately larger arms and shoulders introduces himself as Dismember. He introduces an equally misshapen man of petite frame and similar skin tone as his gene brother, Corrosion. He alerts her she has noticed a restricted area; infantry men are forbidden here. He warns her to explain her presence or they shall be forced to take action. Here goes nothing, Mystique ponders and tries to come up with a story. She was searching for reinforcements. Their forces are losing ground to the A.I.M. invaders. They’re needed outside to…
Dismember interjects and whacks her: that’s an improper response! As Mystique struggles to get to her feet, Corrosion reaches out with his acid-oozing hands and touches her face. Screaming and collapsing in agony, Mystique involuntarily morphs back to her true form before drifting into unconsciousness. Dismember remarks that’s most interesting. Corrosion notes that the master will want to check out this new specimen personally.


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

[Assistant]
Willing Victims
When Sabretooth agreed to accompany Mystique on her quest to infiltrate a supposedly abandoned Hydra fortress tucked away on a secret island on the Labrador Sea, he wasn’t expecting to have to contend with a full garrison of armed Hydra personnel. Nor was he prepared for the school of Caribe lurking in the murky waters of the moat surrounding the bunker.
Now, as the blood in the water incites the voracious piranhas into a feeding frenzy, it would appear that Creed is facing certain death. All around him, Hydra agents thrash about uncontrollably as they are ferociously devoured by the unrelenting predators. Even with his incredible recuperative abilities, it is impossible for Sabretooth to be impervious to the excruciating pain of the piranhas’ persistent nibbling, as they tear viciously at his flesh. Creed realizes that the nasty little critters are everywhere. As the churning waters around him thicken with the blood of his former opponents, Creed’s honed instincts refuse to succumb to the deadly onslaught. He pushes himself to stay calm and find a way to keep the piranhas away from him.
Spotting some Hydra agents frantically swimming to the surface, Sabretooth snatches them both and keeps their heads under the water, distracting the piranhas. Creed mockingly apologizes to them… but they would have never made it out of here alive, anyway! He may as well put them to good use! Here, fishy, fishy, he gleefully ponders, hoping that will buy him some breathing room.
While the agents are eviscerated by the piranhas, Sabretooth tries to lend himself some strength: if he doesn’t panic, there’s a chance of getting out of this alive. Trying not to take notice of the increasing agony, he propels himself toward shore, perpetually kicking and slashing at the ravenous attackers. Sabretooth realizes the blasted fishes are still coming after him. He can feel them gnawing on his legs. If they get to his innards before he reaches shore, he’ll be fish fodder!
Sabretooth finally makes it to the shore. Just barely – but he’s alive! He feels his whole body tingling. His mutant healing powers must be kicking in big time. He’s got to focus on something other than the pain. He can hear the gunfire dying down; the battle must be over. He bets the A.I.M. guys got their butts whopped. Despite his sniffing, he can find no trace of Mystique’s scent anywhere outside the bunker. She must’ve gotten inside already, so there’s no sense in putting off the inevitable. He doesn’t want her hogging all the fun!
Ignoring the waves of pain throbbing throughout his body, Sabretooth begins scaling the citadel’s wall, bloodlust and sheer force of will driving him upwards. He decides he’ll have a better chance of sneaking in through one of the upper levels. And then, when he finds whoever’s running this place, he’s going to make sure they die a gruesome death for what he just went through.
(The past)
Within the dank ventilation system of a Hydra stronghold near Jerusalem, C.I.A. operative Victor Creed finally regains consciousness after the ordeal at the hands of the sadistic Catalyst. Masqueraded as an Israeli man, Amichai Benvenisti, Mystique tells him it’s about time he came to… she was getting tired of dragging his sorry-looking butt! “Good to see you, too, Amichai!” Creed grunts. He asks ‘him’ what the heck happened; where are they; where’s Destiny? Raven informs him they’re in an air vent, not far from their cell.
Sabretooth tears his binds and follows Mystique’s leads. From the look of things, Mystique deduces they’re underground, maybe even right under the mosque where they were bushwhacked. As for Destiny… she stayed behind so that they could escape. She wonders whether Creed can track her. Sabretooth replies it’s hard not to; scent’s strong. Catalyst is with her… Mystique growls that before he goes getting ideas, they’re not leaving this place without Irene!
Creed retorts there’s no need for ‘him’ to get all uppity; he didn’t say they were. Still, he wonders: why the overwhelming concern? These two got a fling going on or what?! “Of course not!” Raven exclaims. Destiny’s precognitive abilities are of great value to ‘his’ associates. If Creed must know… ‘he’ was assigned by his superiors specifically to ensure her safety. Creed quips that Amichai botched things up real good. But that doesn’t matter to him, as long as Amichai stays out of his way and leaves taking care of Catalyst to him! Catalyst is his kill! We’ll see… Raven thinks.
The two mutants continue the tedious process of crawling through the labyrinthine network of interconnecting events. Mystique explains to Creed that Catalyst’s mutant powers make him practically untouchable. He can control chemical reactions occurring in his proximity at will. Sabretooth invites ‘Amichai’ to tell him something he doesn’t know. ‘Amichai’ is not the only one who got a dose of his powers firsthand. He suggests ‘he’ quits ‘his’ yapping and keeps it down – they’re getting close. Catalyst and Destiny are somewhere below them. Raven asks him if they’re alone. Sniffing the air, Sabretooth replies that it depends on what ‘he’ means by that… Mystique catches a stench and wonders what it is. Then, as she peers through the air duct below she can’t help but ponder Oh my God…!
Below, in a claustrophobic torture room, Destiny is shackled on the wall by use of chains, decaying corpses everywhere around, a giant cauldron in the center of the room, an album on the record player. Catalyst hopes she appreciates the ambience he’s provided for their… tryst. The adagietto from Mahler’s fifth symphony was always a favorite of his. A beautiful piece, though drenched in such sadness. Sweeping his glasses with a smile, he explains that the corpses are leftover from experiments of his that… didn’t quite work out the way he wanted. He admits that he transferred them here solely to her benefit. After all, he olfactory senses must be pretty heightened due to her blindness. It’s a common enough phenomenon. And the smell of death is such a fascinating fragrance… doesn’t she agree?
“Time to pay the piper, bub!” Sabretooth growls as he hops down from the air duct. “Who the…?!” Catalyst exclaims in surprise. Seizing the opportunity provided by Catalyst’s momentary distraction, Irene strikes in the direction of her torturer’s voice, pushing him into the acid-containing cauldron. In the split-second before all his synapses are fried and his consciousness surrenders to oblivion, Catalyst stares into the face of Destiny, as the words she spoke to him less than six hours ago foretelling his death flash into his mind with mocking resonance.
Angered, Sabretooth snarls that Catalyst deserved to have suffered more; he should’ve been his! He hands over the key to Raven to free Irene so they can get out of here. Raven unbinds her and asks her if she’s all right. Destiny mumbles that he… he never asked her any questions… Mystique assures her it’s over now. Clinging on her, Destiny retorts that although she’s alive, it’s not over… What…? Mystique wonders what she means. Destiny mutters it was worse than she foresaw – much worse.
(The present. Inside the Hydra citadel)
A Hydra agent informs his commander that the last of the A.I.M. invaders have been rounded up. Standing in the shadows and inspecting his prisoner, Mystique, kept in a containment field, his superior asks him to leave them alone, then – and also deactivate the containment field on his way out. He wants the prisoner taken out of stasis. “But…” the agent protests. His commanders orders him to do as he is told and be quick about it. His two goons – Dismember and Corrosion will stay here with him. “O-of course, as you command, Master, all hail Hydra!” the agent complies.
With the containment field deactivated, Mystique drops to the floor. As the cliché goes, Catalyst welcomes her back to the land of the living. Finally looking at the face of her captor, Mystique gasps: “No!” It can’t be… Catalyst! The now horribly disfigured mutant assures her it most certainly is! “In the flesh… so to speak,” he quips. “But how…?” Mystique is at a loss.
Catalyst suggests she blames it on his innate survival instinct. He underestimated the power of his own mutant physiology. His inherent abilities instinctively regenerated the dead cells in his body when he was “killed,” effectively bringing him back to life. Of course, as the cruel fates are always oh-so-quick to point out, everything in life comes with a price. And the price for his apparent immortality is this hideous unearthly countenance he now has, a body ravaged by the scars of his unique methods of self-preservation.
Though Catalyst believes they have more important matters to discuss, such as his unwavering desire to play a pivotal role in the shaping of the new world order. Mocking him for wanting to be humanity’s savior, Mystique scoffs it’s so altruistic of him. She doubts that even Hydra’s current regime will take kindly to whatever it is he’s scheming on the side! Most assuredly not, Catalyst confirms – in fact, he’s counting on getting their ire. Once the Access computer program is completed…
“You mean you haven’t even completed the program?” Raven interrupts him. In retaliation, Catalyst makes her feel horribly dizzy, warning her to watch her tone… or he’ll do more than simply disrupt her equilibrium. He clarifies that Access is on the verge of completion. Once it is fully operational, those short-sighted morons won’t have any more say in Hydra’s affairs. They’ll be quietly eliminated, made to forcibly relinquish their claims to power. And then Catalyst shall take his rightful place as Baron Wolfgang von Strucker’s rightful heir to the position of Supreme Hydra!
“Strucker?!” Mystique exclaims in surprise. Catalyst asks her if she’s heard of him. Of course, Raven replies. He was a Prussian aristocrat who served as a Wing Commander for Nazi Germany’s infamous Death’s Head Squadron and later as leader of the Blitzkrieg Squad of Commandos. The fascist pig was also responsible for Hydra’s recreation. “Sticks and stone, my dear!” Catalyst sniffs in disapprobation. He won’t warn her again about that attitude of hers…!
He tells her that Strucker was a man of vision. His successors inevitably proved to be disappointingly lacking in character. After his death, the organization was split into factions. Sadly enough, these weak fragments were far inferior to the whole. As she has surmised, there’s no love lost between him and Viper, or any of the others who took charge in Strucker’s stead. Those incompetent, self-serving maggots were too full of themselves to get anything worthwhile accomplished. Their sophomoric endeavors have done nothing but run Hydra into the ground!
With an ironic smile, Mystique guesses that this where he comes in. “Naturally”, he replies – doesn’t she see? With Access, he’ll be able to restore Hydra to greatness! He invites her to think of the power at his disposal once he taps into every existing database in the world. Surely, she can grasp the magnitude of his aspirations. “You mean your delusions of grandeur?” Mystique derides him. She warns him he’s living in the past; plots of world domination are no longer in vogue. He and his motley crew are nothing more than those splinter groups he’s so quick to disparage. Catalyst nonchalantly tells her that if she’s trying to get another rise out of him, she’s wasting her pretty little efforts. He’s growing immune to her puerile attempts at antagonism.
Suddenly, he offers her his belated condolences – lest she thinks him rude. He was deeply saddened to hear of Irene Adler’s death. He had hoped to kill her himself once his ascendance into power was complete. How difficult it has been all these years to resist the temptation to seek her out… “Why wait?” Mystique asks him. Catalyst retorts that surely a woman with her cognitive skills understands the necessity of keeping his existence a secret. Working behind the scenes… staying out of the limelight… it was all crucial to his plans. He couldn’t risk revealing himself. Certainly not for petty revenge – Adler wasn’t worth it. Nor were Mystique and that homicidal maniac she persists in associating herself with.
Mystique asks him who Hedrickson was. Catalyst gripes: that conniving little spy forced him to play his hand prematurely. When he discovered Hedrickson was an A.I.M. sleeper agent carefully placed in Hydra’s ranks to infiltrate Catalyst’s hidden fortress, he had Dismember and Corrosion take care of him. But her presence here confirms Hedrickson found a way to inform outsiders of Catalyst’s whereabouts before his death. Raven tells him he’s wrong. Hedrickson told them from the grave. “Pardon…?” Catalyst exclaims. She explains that Hedrickson swallowed a tiny capsule containing a holographic schematic of Catalyst’s island hideaway before his goons got to him. Not searching the body or disposing it properly was pretty sloppy on their part. Catalyst asks her how she learned about this capsule. Raven states the obvious: Destiny foresaw the capsule’s location in one of her visions. She told Raven where to find it before she died.
Catalyst notes that she seems to be extremely well informed for a rogue operative. It’s a shame they didn’t get better acquainted when they were last here as his guest. After their first encounter, he did a lot of research on Mystique; she intrigues him. Her genetic potential alone raises some interesting possibilities about their compatibility. He dares her to think of what could be created by a union between them. Spitting the floor as a response, Raven tells him that she’s sorry to burst his bubble – but he disgusts her! She’d rather die than willingly participate in what he’s suggesting! Catalyst retorts he’s not the uncivilized pervert she makes him out to be. He can be reasonable when he wants. Nevertheless, if she will not cooperate on her own free will, there are other, far more… unpleasant ways of extracting what he desires. He is merely offering her options.
“A place in the ranks of this Hydra-sponsored butcher shop of yours? No thanks!” Mystique cringes. She snidely wonders if he offered those two – Corrosion and Dismember – any ‘options’ before he subjected them to his demented genetic experiments. Sighing, Catalyst sees that any further discussion is pointless. Maintaining an air of indifference, he casually uses his powers to trigger Mystique’s mutant abilities, causing her to go into agonizing spasms as her body starts morphing uncontrollably. Catalyst orders Dismember to bring over the portable stasis unit and put her in. She can struggle if she wishes so but she should know that any resistance shall be met with immediate retaliation. Smug sicko! Have to… bide my time… an aching Mystique thinks as Catalyst’s goons get her back on her feet.
In a submarine just off the island’s coast, the A.I.M. Commanders known as Cypher continues her vigil with customary cool and reserve, surprisingly unperturbed by her forces’ failure to seize control of Hydra’s bunker. Considering that they were meant to serve as nothing more than distractive cannon fodder, that first detachment of troops performed their duties well. She never anticipated that they would actually do as much damage as they did to the bunker’s outer defenses. Thanks to their sacrificial efforts, Hydra believes that this has been a great debacle for the A.I.M. organization, when in fact nothing could be further from the truth. With a sly smile, she commands her helmsman to maintain silent reading and initiate maneuver Delta Three. She wants their presence there kept secrets until she deems otherwise. “Yes, commander,” the helmsman obediently replies.
Cypher is confident that Hydra’s complacency after their brief ‘victory’ shall be their undoing. She intends to take full advantage of this opportunity… and catch them with their pants down! She directs her helmsman to order the second assault force to prepare to move in on her signal… they strike as soon as possible!
Back inside the citadel, Victor Creed’s forced entry has not gone unnoticed by Hydra’s minions. Reveling in his sociopathic tendencies, an unrestrained Sabretooth cuts loose and brutally lashes out at the hapless men barring his way.
Suddenly, Creed stiffens as his hyper-keen senses get a whiff of a familiar, yet unexpected smell. The traces of it are faint but discernible among the many other strange smells wafting through the compound. But even after all these years, the scent is unmistakable – and it’s enough to push the already frenzied Sabretooth over the edge of self-control. Brutally slashing the last agent he was holding by the throat, Creed finally admits to himself he’s here – somehow, Catalyst is alive! And he’s gonna be MINE! he ponders in pure hatred, following the smell.
Simultaneously, A.I.M.’s second wave of invaders makes its move, hitting hard and with a vengeance: the organization attacks with a full array of tanks and other technologically advanced armored vehicles of war, relentlessly blasting at the citadel’s entrance, with a very thin Hydra resistance straining to hold back the imminent invasion. Entering one of A.I.M.’s flying vehicles, Cypher tells her pilot to concentrate the fire on the prearranged target areas and let the ground forces take care of the basement areas; they’re more than capable of mopping up this mess on their own. Their priority is to locate, however, is to locate the data banks that contain Catalyst’s Access program. Once they raid the upper levels and personally commandeer Hydra’s computer system, the battle will be won.
In the bunker’s main command center, one of Catalyst’s agents debriefs him that they’ve lost contact with sub-levels two and three, and both auxiliary hangars have been destroyed. Catalyst orders them to seal off the upper levels from the rest of the bunker. The agent explains it’s too late: they’ve penetrated through Hydra’s defenses; levels seven and eight have already been breached. Judging from their points of attack, Catalyst realizes that A.I.M. must be after his Access program. They knew exactly where to hit them to get to it and what weakness to exploit.
He is about to wonder how they knew about it, when suddenly a noise outside the room interrupts his thoughts. “What the…?” Catalyst exclaims before his sees the lifeless body of one of his agents tossed inside the room, while a roaring voice promises outside “You’re next, Catalyst!” Sabretooth appears. “Remember me?” he scoffs at him. He tells Catalyst that he’s nothing but scum and Sabretooth himself is going to be the death of him once and for all!
As the hordes of Hydra pile on top of Sabretooth in an attempt to keep him from reaching their master, stray fire from their weapons hits the stasis unit keeping Mystique captive and frees her. “Thanks for the assist, ‘partner!’” she congratulates him as she grabs a weapon and opens fire against Hydra. She wonders what happened to him. Strangling a Hydra agent, Sabretooth advises her not to ask – they should just be sure to avoid the moat on their way out of here! The moat…?! Raven is startled.
Observing the battle, a panicked Catalyst realizes this is crazy; everything’s gone wrong! But he won’t let A.I.M. – or anyone else, for that matter – steal his life’s work! He orders his loyal goon, Dismember, to come with him and leave Corrosion and the others here to deal with Sabretooth and Mystique. They’ve got to reach the Access chamber before it’s too late!
Corrosion gleefully secretes his acid on Sabretooth’s leg. Meant only as a diversionary tactic, Corrosion’s attack serves its purpose well. Though Sabretooth is able to toss the mutate away, he is too late to stop Catalyst and Dismember from making their escape through an elevator. An indignant Creed realizes they’re gone… and then suddenly, the lights are out. Creed wonders what happened. Raven tells him this is the least of their worries. Doors are locked… which means they’re trapped in here!
Cypher’s face is suddenly projected on every monitor of the room. Addressing the legions of Hydra, Cypher commands them to lay down their arms or face immediate termination. The fortress is now under the control of Advanced Idea Mechanics! Now addressing solely Sabretooth and Mystique, she bids them greetings. She can’t tell them how much she’s been looking forward to this meeting. She confesses they’ve put her through an awful lot of trouble – but that’s all about to end. Hearing a hissing sound, Sabretooth realizes it’s some sort of gas!
Without warning, a larger-than-life hologram of Cypher suddenly materializes in the center of the room. She introduces herself and announces she’s going to be their executioner for this afternoon. She advises them not to bother trying to find a way out. She’s sealed all the exits and tapped into the life support systems. The cyanogenic gas that’s being filtered through the ventilation ducts into this chamber is extremely lethal – even for the two of them. In fact, cardiac arrest is practically instantaneous upon inhalation. She advises them to cherish these last moments together, because they will soon be quite dead.


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Provide a full summary of the comic book.

[Assistant]
Dead Ends
A berserk Sabretooth presses the genetically engineered mutate called Corrosion against the doors of their makeshift prison. “Who’s laughing now, acid-face?” Creed snarls. Moments ago the psychopathic Sabretooth and his companion, the mutant metamorph known as Mystique, were locked inside the Hydra bunker’s command center after the calculating A.I.M. commander, Cypher, and her troops stormed the citadel and assumed control over the fortress’ extensive computer networks. To make matters worse, the ruthless Cypher subsequently tapped into the command center’s life support systems and converted the room into a bona fide death trap by releasing cyanogenic gas into it.
Sporting large gargoyle-like wings, hoping they will briefly keep the gas away from them, Mystique advises Sabretooth to not get too carried away. They need Catalyst’s nasty little henchman alive if he’s going to be their ticket out of here. All around them, gas is diffused in the room, almost instantaneously killing every Hydra agent it comes across. Sabretooth retorts she doesn’t have to remind him; he knows what he’s doing! Raven suggests he gets on with it already. They don’t have time to dawdle. Maybe he hasn’t noticed… but if they don’t hurry they’re all going to be deader than the proverbial doornail. That A.I.M. witch wasn’t kidding about the quick-acting nature of the lethal gas being filtered into the room!
“You hear that, pipsqueak?” Sabretooth tells Corrosion as he grabs him by the throat. If he’s got any notions of self-preservation, he’d better get that smelly secretions of his pumping away like mad! Mystique hopes that the acidic properties of that gunk oozing out of Corrosion’s pores are strong enough to dissolve through the doorway before the air in here gets so saturated that it becomes impossible for her to keep the poison gas from reaching them. Sabretooth urges her to put her mind at ease: it’s working! They’re going to make it!
Seconds later, the desperate gamble pays off: Corrosion’s acid corrodes the wall, granting a safe passage to an adjacent corridor. Sabretooth confesses he’s sick of wasting his energy on Catalyst’s two-bit minions. Time to move on to the main event!
The Access Chamber
Standing on top of a towering platform, with her cybernetically enhanced brain tapped into the system, Cypher orders her A.I.M. troops to hurry up and bring in those power generators. She wants the equipment hooked up and the room resealed ASAP so that she can finish processing all this data without further interruptions. “You heard the Commander, boys. Get to work… post haste!” one of the agents urges his colleagues.
Without warning, a secret panel along the wall noiselessly slides open. Catalyst appears and sneers at Cypher, quipping that A.I.M. is just full of surprises these days: his would-be usurper isn’t even fully human! “Catalyst?! You’re alive?!” an astounded Cypher exclaims. “Obviously so,” Catalyst nonchalantly replies. He presumes she must be Commander Cypher. He never realized her much vaunted cybernetics department had become so innovative in their use of the latest interactive hardware. He’s impressed… but even her technological enhancements won’t be enough to crank his databanks’ safeguards.
Cypher implores him to spare her the diatribe. He’s too far away for his powers to have an effect on her. And she’s already bypassed his pathetic security codes, as well as finished her own computations for completing the Access program. Either he’s not the big wig scientific genius he’s made himself out to be… or she’s much smarter than he gives her credit for. She invites him to take his pick. In the meantime, he and his lackeys can consider themselves her prisoners. “Seize them!” she commands her minions.
However, Catalyst’s goon, the misshapen, genetically engineered mutate known as Dismember stutters that no one must harm the master and strikes back at the attacking agents. Next to him, Catalyst holds his ground, using his ability to control the rates of chemical reactions to incapacitate the rushing A.I.M. troops.
Simultaneously, near the Access chamber’s main entranceway, Sabretooth and Mystique make their way rather violently through the masses of A.I.M. soldiers guarding the entrance. “No more games, folks,” Mystique scoffs as she opens fire at them – they’re all being put out of business permanently!
Inside the chamber, Cypher realizes that her troops are being slaughtered, and whatever reinforcements are already on the way won’t make get here in time to do her any good. She realizes she has to hurry and download the Access program into her memory banks!
Entering the chamber together with Mystique, Sabretooth tells Catalyst he’s coming for him and asks him if he knows what they say about “payback!” A terrified Catalyst realizes this changes everything: with those two bloodthirsty psychopaths still running loose, he runs the risk of losing a lot more than just the Access program. He’s overexerted his powers, as it is, fighting off Cypher’s operatives. He’s not sure how to fare against Sabretooth and Mystique while in this weakened condition; he’d rather not find out. Much as he hates abandoning his life’s work, it’s not worth losing his life over. He’s a survivor. As long as he makes it out of here alive, he can always rebuild.
Violently snapping the body of an A.I.M. agent, a berserk Dismember roars that puny men must die for daring to attack his master. Catalyst tells him to come on… they’re leaving! As they both flee through, Catalyst contemplates that a good strategist knows when to cut his losses and retreat. Cypher would be well advised to do the same, he theorizes, though personally he’d much like to see her reap the rewards of the fate she so richly deserves. He’s sure she and X-Factor’s resident killers will get along nicely.
“Blast!” Sabretooth curses as he realizes Catalyst and his lapdog are ducking out of here. “Leave them to me!” Mystique snarls and her gargoyle wings again germinate in her back. “No way, lady! Catalyst is mine!” Sabretooth retorts. “Sorry, Creed… but ‘no’ can do!” Raven rebuffs his assertion and flies off. Creed asks her to wait! Before she vanishes in the passage in pursuit of Catalyst, Raven reminds him that she’s counting on him to destroy the Access program. As she passes through the passage, the panel slides shut behind her.
Meanwhile, Cypher is still processing the data, when she suddenly realizes she’s been assimilating gibberish! She wonders how that can be. Unless… curse him! she ponders as she realizes that Catalyst must have rigged the program so it can’t be downloaded onto other systems! Lost in her reflections and failing to notice that Creed is climbing the platform, she contemplates that at least the original Access program itself wasn’t erased. She may not able to take it with her, but she can still activate it from here and hopefully buy herself enough time to…
Suddenly, Sabretooth lunges at her, uttering a ferocious growl. Tearing apart her cybernetic arm, Victor states that it looks like it’s just the two of them now – and he’s got a mad-on she wouldn’t believe! Addressing him as “freak,” Cypher vows he’ll pay for this. Creed retorts she’s got a lot of nerve to call him a freak, when she’s not even all flesh and blood herself! Of course, that makes no difference to him as long as she’s still got enough parts that do bleed. He hopes she’s ready to play, ‘cause he hasn’t had his quota of enemy blood for the day!
Mechanical tentacles suddenly emerge in lieu of Cypher’s cybernetic arm and constrict Sabretooth’s neck. Creed chokes before he punches at Cypher’s face, causing her tentacles to let go of him. He then presses his thumb in her mouth, hoping to smother her. However, Cypher breaks loose and tells him that he may’ve caught her off-guard, but that mistake will never happen again. Saying this, she pierces right through his stomach! A bleeding Creed falls back as Cypher realizes she has to re-establish her link with Catalyst’s data banks as quickly as possible. With that mutant healing factor of his, she knows Sabretooth won’t be out of commission for very long.
Straining to get on his feet, a staggering Sabretooth tells himself that he’s gone through too much to let a stupid hole in the gut keep him from doing what he’s got to do. Before Cypher has a chance to escape through the passage, Creeds catches up with her: “Guess who’s back, babe!” Cypher demands he stay away from her; he’s too late! “Too late for what?!” Creed wonders. Cypher insists there’s a lot more at stake than he realizes! She’s already activated the Access program and used it to tap into the Norad installation at Cheyenne mountain. From his C.I.A. background, she’s sure he’s familiar with the facility and its control over North America’s defense systems…
Victor asks her to stop pussyfooting around and just give it to him straight! As her artificial tentacles again wring his neck, Cypher explains that, in less than five minutes, the program will finish deciphering the installation’s encryption codes and transmit a signal originating directly from Norad’s computer network, ordering one of the United States’ submarines near the Baltic Sea to launch a thermonuclear strike against Russia. An international incident will ensue. The resulting war will plunge the world into massive economic and social upheaval from which the A.I.M. organization will reap ungodly profits and emerge stronger and more powerful than ever!
Of course, Cypher teases him, if lets her go and concentrate his energies on trying to destroy the chamber, he may yet sever the transmission and put a stop to the cataclysm before it occurs. Clasping her head despite choking from the tentacles coiled around his neck, Sabretooth retorts that what she means to say is that he puts the scare on her, so she’s ready to skip out on her pet project if it’ll save her skin!
Cypher clarifies that she prefers to think of it as a détente. She can’t take the Access program with her… but at least she can ensure that nobody else will get it either. She asks him to think of it as opportunity to prove to himself that there’s still a shred of humanity inside him. That he’s not just a homicidal maniac; a savage killing machine ruled by primal urges beyond his control. And that, for once, he’s willing to put the welfare of others above his own selfish desires. She’s giving him a choice. The countdown to Armageddon has already begun: he can either satisfy his animal bloodlust… or avert World War III and save the lives of millions of people.
For what seems an interminable moment, Sabretooth considers his options… and he finally makes his decision. Pushing Cypher away, he warns her it’s not over – not by a long shot. He vows they’ll meet again. With precious seconds ticking away, Sabretooth takes to the task with a vengeance, just as Cypher flees the room. Since Creed doesn’t even know which flaming piece of equipment is actually responsible for sending out that signal to Norad, he decides he’ll just have to destroy everything on sight! Smashing everything, he calculates that once the power generators catch fire, this whole place is going to kingdom come; his job’s almost done! Indeed, a massive explosion ensues.
In the air ducts, Mystique feels the tremors and realizes that was a monster of an explosion that just went off. From the look of things, she deduces this bunker’s structural stability has been rendered non-existent… which means this whole place is about ready to collapse! She wonders: could it somehow be Creed’s doing? If it is, she’s impressed. Score one for what passes as good guys around this joint, she humorously ponders. Crawling outside the air duct and climbing an external fixed ladder that leads on the roof, she thinks that now if only she could catch up to…
Bingo! she suddenly thinks as she encounters Catalyst and Dismember on the roof, about to pass through a gate. Raven immediately targets them with her gun. “Mas-ter… look out!” Dismember stammers. Without hesitation, Mystique shoots Catalyst, getting his right shoulder. An injured Catalyst groans that Mystique’s continued interference on his affairs can no longer be tolerated! He immediately orders Dismember to dispose of her! Dismember sheepishly verifies it will be his pleasure and lunges at her, just as Catalyst flees through the gate.
Avoiding Dismember’s strikes, Raven is aware she can’t let him get his paws on her. She asks him just how dense that brain of his. Transmogrifying into a hideous, monstrous version of herself, complete with fangs and claws, she invites Dismember to take a look around him: this so-called impregnable fortress of his is coming apart at the seams! Indeed, the bunker beneath and the surrounding mountainside are still shuddering from explosive aftershocks, causing large rocks and boulders to smash down from above onto the battlefield like deadly projectiles.
Mystique asks Dismember if he even cares his wonderful master just left him here to die along with her. Dismember argues that Catalyst gave him life. Without him he would have never been created. It shall be an honor to sacrifice his own life for Catalyst’s! Great. So much for talking my way past the brute, Raven contemplates. She’d better find a way to take him out fast, or Catalyst is going to get away. She decides to start by moving to more uneven ground to help balance the odds. She just has to keep at him and try to set him up so that he puts himself in a precarious position below some of the falling rubble.
Indeed, her plan works and Dismember soon ends up buried under rubble. Good riddance, Mystique thinks. As for Catalyst, the schematics from the capsule indicated that there’s a hidden hangar tucked away on that bluff between here and the satellite dish. Most likely, his escape route leads right up to it. With any luck, she can beat him there by taking a more direct route.
Moments later, at the cleverly camouflaged hangar overlooking the bunker
Even at this height, the face of the mountain is trembling from the increasing explosions that are rocking the burning fortress below. A panting Catalyst emerges from the mountainous passageway and makes to an escape vehicle. Suddenly, a voice behind him warns him that there’s nowhere left to run. His fate was sealed the day he embraced the path of evil. Turning around, Catalyst’s face turns into a mask of horror. “No! It’s not possible…! Destiny?!” he shrieks in terror. ‘Destiny’ scolds him: did she not warn him that hers would be the last face he sees before his death?
The scared Hydra scientist panics and stumbles back, horrified by the sight in front of him. Shaken off-balance by the explosions tearing at the mountainside, he slips and falls off the edge of the cliff. Flying shrapnel sprays Catalyst’s face on the way down, as his unconscious body drops helplessly into the piranha infested moat surrounding the compound. The carnivorous fish feast on his at once.
Observing Catalyst’s death from above, Mystique, still wearing the face of a young Irene Adler, addresses her deceased friend: “Irene? You can rest easy now, my friend”. Morphing into her true appearance, Raven realizes it’s over. This time it’s over for good – just like she promised.
Commandeering one of the escape vehicles from the hangar, Mystique makes her way to the other side of the island and returns to the spot where the wreckage from her mini-jet lies scattered throughout the brush. Looking for a particular item, she is surprised to realize it isn’t here.
Suddenly, Sabretooth waylays her as he jumps on her and brutally smacks her face. Indignant, Mystique asks him if that’s any way to thank her after she went into the trouble of confiscating a transport so they could get off this place. Creed clarifies he didn’t appreciate that stunt back there. “What stunt?” Mystique asks him. Sabretooth insists she knows good and well what he’s talking about. Running out on him so that she could take care of Catalyst on her own was not part of the plan. Raven justifies herself by explaining she saw an opportunity and seized it; he would have done the same. That sucker punch should call them even.
Not quite, Sabretooth disagrees and produces a case, asking her why she was looking for this. “Why do you think?” Mystique retorts. He’s going to put on the restraining collar that’s in that case and then she’s taking him back with her to Fall’s Edge! “Back to X-Factor?” Creed snarls. No way – he told her he’d kill her if she tried to put that leash back on him… and he meant it. Mystique believes he misunderstands. She’s not going to put that collar around his neck. He is going to do it himself.
Sabretooth snickers that she’s got a twisted sense of humor. Why would he ever want to do a thing like that? Mystique swiftly answers: because he’s not blind to what’s been going on. The Onslaught incident only exacerbated the growing anti-mutant hysteria. With each passing day, groups such as Humanity’s Last Stand are gaining momentum and popularity with the masses. Their kind are being hunted down in increasing numbers. As much as he may not like to admit it, he knows it’s in their best mutual interest to remain with X-Factor, at least for the moment.
“No thanks!” Sabretooth retorts and clarifies he’ll take his chances in the outside world. A lethal jolt of electricity – isn’t that what she warned him about if he tried tampering with the case? He’s afraid her insurance policy turned out to be a bust. The way he figures it, the same electromagnetic pulse that downed their plane must’ve also knocked out her trite little boobytrap. “And whadoyouknow… I was right!” he exclaims as he tears open the case and nothing happens.
Raven implores him to wait. Before he destroys that collar, he’s going to want to hear her out. Sabretooth tells her he’s listening but advises her to make it quick! She reveals that the high-voltage shock wasn’t her only failsafe. Knowing that even his healing factor has limits, she rigged the case to emit an odourless gas when tampered with. Sabretooth can’t believe it: she poisoned him?! Mystique confirms that’s right. And unless he returns with her to Fall’s Edge wearing that collar, she won’t tell him where to find the antidote… and he’ll be dead in a few hours. She urges him to hurry up and put it on so they can get it out of here.
Sabretooth retorts she’s bluffing. Raven wonders if he is willing to take that chance. The two mutants remain speechless, exchanging glances of animosity… and a furious Victor finally gives up. Wearing his collar again, he warns Mystique to better stay on her guard, because one of these days she won’t be holding all the aces… and he’s going to be there to make sure she gets her comeuppance! As their jet takes off, Mystique tells him to look on the bright side. Even though he just averted a World War, no one’s ever going to know about it. She advises him to cheer up – at least, his bad boy reputation is still intact!