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Provide a full summary of the comic book.

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In Deep (first story)<br>Siryn Song (second story)
First Story:The Atlantic Ocean…a small island, not quite deserted - home to the terrorist faction known as the Mutant Liberation Front, currently involved in a training session. Danielle “Dani” Moonstar leaps out of the path of an energy beam and thinks to herself that night air burns with the smell of hot ozone as he lets loose with his powers. Dani tells herself that she thought this was getting easier, that every day, a little bet less of the guilt would bleed through. But she was wrong. ‘But then I’ve been wrong about a lot of things lately, I guess’. she admits, although knows that the one thing she cannot afford to have been wrong about - that is her decision to risk everything she believes in an infiltrate this terrorist faction. Danielle drops into a small ditch, recalling how she has tried to cling on to some pieces of her past, like developing an improvised Danger Rom practice session, so they MLF can develop team coordination. Dani saw no other way to hone her abilities with arousing suspicion, as her powers went through some transitions - again - after returning to Earth. Dani recalls her powers over the years - the ability to pull fear-images from someone, then to seeing a “Death-shroud” around people destined to die, after becoming a Valkyrie of Asgard, the chooser of the slain, now, finally, something simple and easily defined has developed - the power to create psionic “energy arrows”, which nicely scrambles a target’s neural-synaptic control, which she does to Richard Gil a.k.a. Wildside, her somewhat psychotic teammate. Michael “Forearm” McCain and Maria “Feral” Callasantos run past Wildside who starts babbling like someone wired on drugs, Dani’s power has that effect. Danielle continues moving before Forearm and Feral can catch up to and wonders what she is becoming. She points out that the island has some pretty rough terrain, but after the MLF’s last base in the Caribbean was destroyed, they came here, to the Ani-Mator’s abandoned facility, because it provided a great ready-made headquarters. Hiding under a ledge, Danielle remarks that the rocky cliffs are second nature to her as she grew up in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, but Feral and Forearm are both city kids, born and bred. Danielle knows that so long as she stays downwind from Feral, Maria will not pick up her scent. Dani knows this because she was trained by her father, a chief of the Cheyenne. She can hear Feral sniffing up on the ledge, and decides that Feral is nastier than ever since she defected from X-Force to join the Mutant Liberation Front. ‘But I should be okay…unless of course the wind changes direction’ Dani thinks to herself, which, unfortunately for her, the wind does change direction, and Feral detects her, instantly leaping down off the ledge, and lunging at Moonstar. Feral has no self-control and her claws rake across Dani’s arm, Dani feels the blood - it’s hot, but the sting is cold. It shocks her into action, and when one has been trained in self-defense techniques by the likes of Wolverine and Nightcrawler like she has been fortunate enough to have been, you have been trained by the best. Dani rolls, and tosses Feral, backwards over her, knowing that the ice-cold water will either calm her down because she hates it so much, or drive her over the edge even further! Feral emerges from the water, coughing, she furiously warns Moonstar ‘You gonna die for that one!’. Forearm makes it down to the ground now, while Dani tells herself that she was right, the water calmed Feral down, for if she was really mad, she wouldn’t have threatened her, she would have just don’t it. Moonstar glances at Forearm, who has just picked up a large boulder, and decides that since Michael keeps getting stronger and stronger, putting some distance between the two of them is the key to survival, and she makes her way up the ledge. Forearm calls out to Dani, telling her that she is setting him up real well, while Dani thinks to herself that Forearm is not a bad guy, and despite everything she actually likes him, although that is possibly because she and Michael have a mutual hatred of Feral and Wildside. Dani is confused about one thing though, that is Forearm’s reason for being a part of this team. Moonstar slides back down the ledge, and Forearm drops the boulder, but grabs Dani in his four arms, not with strong enough grip to break her ribs, but firm enough to tell her that she isn’t going anywhere. Dani improvises, and shoves a psionic arrow into Forearm’s face, apologizing, but telling him that if he had concentrated more on pinning her hands down, then he wouldn’t have left himself open to her attack. With her three teammates down, Dani tells them that it was a pretty pathetic display, and remarking that having lost Reaper in battle, Tempo to cowardice and Locus to the teleportation incident which sent her and Sunspot to the unknown, they would think the rest of them would start getting the message they are all walking targets with tombstones just waiting to have their names carved in them. Moonstar takes her mask off when the other three gather around her and she tells them that if they want to survive what is coming then they are going to have to perform better in battle than they have been. ‘So you keep saying!’ the drenched Feral snaps, before exclaiming ‘I’m asking the same thing I asked Cable when I was with X-Force - WHY? Why should we be busting our humps jumping through hoops for you?’ Annoyed, Danielle clenches a fist and remarks that they all have their reasons. ‘You’re doing it because you were offered the chance to cut loose - to be free of X-Force’s rules. And my reasons, furball, are my own, understood?’. ‘Understood’ remarks Forearm, pointing out that none of them owe each other any explanations, but declares that there problem is with the guy who brought them together to begin with. Forearm asks why their leader is never here, and where he is now, to which Dani replies that he is not very far away - preparing for their future - doing whatever is necessary. Meanwhile, in China, specifically four hundred miles southwest of Shanghai, in the small town of T’ung-Ling, where three young people, rebels in the struggle for freedom in this teeming land, gather in the hopes that on this day, they have found the answers for which they have long been searching. They have called themselves 3-Peace, a plan on words, as well as a symbol of the freedom they seek. Tonight, as they sit around a table, they hope, might be the first night of the revolution. Dei Guan a.k.a. the Jade Dragon asks how his companions how they can help but not be excited about this, to which Han Tao-Yu a.k.a. the Collective Man replies that he is a little older, and has therefore been in this struggle longer. ‘Ph, a bitter cynic at your age?’ asks their female companion, Nuwa, asking what hope the new China will have if the three of them think and speak like the enfeebled dinosaurs they are trying to force out. Suddenly, a figure dressed in a trench coat steps into the small restaurant, ‘The same hope it had, girl, before the traitor opened his mouth - NONE!’ he exclaims. Nuwa asks her companions if they should reveal themselves, to which Tao-Yu replies that it would seem the newcomer knows who they are already. ‘And way all of you would prefer to play this game is fine by me!’ the trench coat-wearing man exclaims. ‘As you wish then, military man!’ Dei Guan exclaims, transforming into his dragon form. The Collective Man shows how he gets his name as he produces replicas of himself, each of them announcing part of the sentence: ‘This is not our preferred approach!’. ‘But it is mine!’ exclaims their opponent, who reveals himself as Snake of China Force, stretching out of his trench coat and sliding upwards, he announces that he has dreamed of the opportunity to bring to justice the notorious Jade Dragon and Collective Man. Nuwa steps forward, telling Snake that he neglected to include her in his little witch hunt, which is lucky for him. Nuwa is about to announce what she can do, when, suddenly, something - or someone zooms past Snake in a whirlwind motion, getting Snake so disorientated, then smashing him through the wall. The Collective Man asks Nuwa if that was her, to which Nuwa replies that it wasn’t, explaining that her mutant power to turn a target against himself would only have served to give their government “friend” a peaceful slumber. ‘Then who?’ asks the Collective Man. ‘HIM!’ exclaims the Jade Dragon, motioning to the new arrival, hovering above them, ‘Yes, me. The man you came here to meet in the first place! The man who has a proposition to offer you…you may call me Reignfire!’ The feared leader of the Mutant Liberation Front exclaims that he is capable not only of helping 3-Peace define their goals, but of helping them to achieve them also. Grinning wickedly, he exclaims that all he asks of them is that once they have accomplished their objective, they remember, payback and share their vast resources…with the Mutant Liberation Front! Back on the Ani-Mator’s Island, Dani remarks to herself that it is so spooky at night, like a bad sci-fi B-movie from the Fifties that her former New Mutants teammates Cannonball and Sunspot used to watch when they all should have been sleeping. ‘We were so young. But it’s only been a few years. Why do I feel so old now?’ Dani wonders as she reigns in her horse. ‘Easy, girl - don’t keep fighting me!’ she exclaims to her winged horse. Moonstar knows the answer to why her horse keeps fighting her - because everything has changed. She is no longer a New Mutant anymore. Instead, day has become night. Leading her horse along the terrain, Dani recalls how beautiful her horse, then known as Brightwind, was, all white, a flying horse of Valhalla. Now though, she is called Darkwind, and characterizes much of the burden Dani herself carries around these days. Suddenly, Dani hears some noises close by, and knows who it is. ‘Bird-Brain? I can hear you out there!’ she exclaims. Teary-eyed, Dani tells Bird-Brain, a one-time associate of the New Mutants that she knows he is watching her. ‘I’m not going to bite, you know!’ she exclaims. But Bird-Brain squawks back that Dani is different than before. Leaving Darkwind outside a cave, Dani recalls how she came to this island many years ago with the New Mutants, and the innocent bird-like creature they found and named Bird-Brain. ‘By the Great Bear, we were so naive…’. Dani looks at the various equipment and machines in the cave, and notes that while Bird-Brain’s creator, the Ani-Mator, is gone, his experiments all remain, and even though the MLF have taken over the Island, they are all still afraid. ‘I guess I can’t say that I blame them’ Dani admits, recalling that Feral has already hunted two of them down. ‘As much as I don’t agree with her methods, I guess I cant blame her for being who she is’ Dani decides, before declaring that, sometimes, life doesn’t offer them an easy set of circumstances. Dani wonders why she feels so guilty about this cover-up, and decides that the answer is pretty obvious. Standing by a large computer, she exclaims ‘Computer: voice-activated command: personal diary file: Danielle Moonstar’. The computer asks for an access code, which Danielle enters as she recalls how the others have suspected she has been keeping a running diary, using it to flesh out the conflicting thoughts in her head and to help her keep her sanity in this double life. Two images of Dani appears on the screen, one of how she appeared in her original New Mutants costume, and head-shot of how she now appears. Looking at herself, Dani thinks that her MLF teammates might know she is doing this, and be suspicious of her, but they will never figure out her password - never. ‘I am still a Cheyenne. I am still a mutant. I am still passionate about the things I believe in - and the people I care for. But I’m also different. I’m stronger’. Dani decides that she is willing to risk her own life if necessary, to undermine this deadly terrorist organization. ‘Back then, Sam would’ve popped Star Trek II into the VCR, and - I would’ve been too busy laughing at Shatner and Montalban to hear the message, “The good of the many outweighs the needs of the few…or the one”. Dani knows though, that she was younger back then, and her own problems mattered more to her than the bigger picture. Looking at a headshot of her former leader, Professor X, Dani decides that he knew though, he knew the potential she had, even if she herself didn’t. ‘He knew I had the capability to be team leader - that he could trust my judgment’. ‘Was it worth the effort, Sir? Am I betraying your trust right now?’ Dani asks, clenching a fist, before asking if she is making a terrible mistake. Suddenly, a voice behind Dani exclaims ‘If you didn’t have the courage and steel - to make the choices we will be forced to make, old friend - I would never have asked for your help to begin with!’. It’s Reignfire, so Dani orders the computer to close her file, while Reignfire tells her to gather the others, as their plans are near fruition. ‘Freedom for our people draws near - and a safe haven will soon be had for us all…and all it will take is our participation in the destruction of a people!’. Meanwhile, in Beijing, inside a government services building called “The People’s Protection Agency”, known to a very few as China’s version of Project: Wideawake, created to seek out, remove, contain and control the growing mutant population within the country’s borders, Snake is meeting with several officials, explaining that he would have apprehended the dissidents then and there, if not for the interference by the unknown mutant. ‘That is not welcome news at all’ one of the officials tells Snake, before declaring that the dissidents who foolishly call themselves 3-Peace must not be allowed to increase their number. ‘It could be very dangerous’. The official asks Snake, pending their ability to looking further into this situation, if he and his team are prepared to meet and quell the opposition. Flanked by three others, all dressed in the same blue and white uniform, but with their own animal symbols on their chest, Snake replies ‘Indeed we are, Sir. Just give the order…and China Force will see that those dissidents are terminated once and for all!’. Four days later, the Mutant Liberation Front find themselves at a military satellite tracking station, fifty-seven miles outside of Shanghai. In order to accomplish their mission and help 3-Peace, they first have to gather more information on where this country’s mutants are being kept. Reignfire’s plan is to break in cleanly, so Feral and Nuwa are sent in together. Moonstar wonders if Nuwa knows what she is getting herself into, if she realizes the price she may pay for the sake of her cause. Feral lunges at two guards and slashes them to bits, shocking Nuwa, who grabs Feral and asks her what is wrong with her. ‘What?’ Maria snaps back. ‘You killed those guards! There was no reason for that!’ Nuwa exclaims. Feral continues on, remarking that they are two less people who can pick up a rifle and shoot a mutant in the back. Feral tells Nuwa to wake up, ‘You’re fighting a war here, right? So start fighting it!’. Moonstar tells herself that the neophyte 3-Peace have to understand how quickly their dreams of peace can turn into a nightmare. Danielle recalls how, during the preparations for this mission, that this facility they are breaking into was being used to search for mutants within the borders of China, using a newly developed satellite relay network which works in a way similar to that of Charles Xavier’s Cerebro mutant detection system. Fortunately, Moonstar’s side has Nuwa on it, who, ironically, is the person who is responsible for devising this system to begin with. Moonstar decides that it is not hard to see that this mission is pushing Nuwa to the edge. Fortunately, Nuwa rigged up devices which have blocked the MLF and 3-Peace’s mutagenic signatures from the tracking scanners. Near the control room now, Feral and Nuwa stand ready, and Nuwa tells Feral that, this time, her way will work better. ‘So, allow me, please to handle this part’ she tells the feline mutant. ‘Yeah, I’ll believe it when I see it’ Maria mumbles, before Nuwa’s eyes glow green, a humming noise can be heard and everyone in the room collapses. ‘Better to - what is your American expression - “Kill them with kindness”?’ Nuwa asks, following Feral into the control room. Feral checks one of the men and exclaims that they are not dead, just sleeping. Nuwa explains that her mutant abilities, for lack of a better description, can create a tranquility wave. ‘I was attempting to be ironic’ she mumbles. Feral just grunts, ‘How sweet’. Nuwa and Feral stand at one of the consoles as Nuwa gets to work, ‘I take that then, as a sign of begrudging approval?’ she asks, before telling Feral that violence should never be the only option, that there is always a better solution to the problems that face them. ‘Says you’ Feral mutters, before suddenly picking up the scent of some unexpected arrivals, announcing to Nuwa that they have some serious company here - indeed, it’s China Force! Snake tells his teammates that “the cat-girl” knows they are here and orders them to attack. Feral tells Nuwa that they should see if her method can keep working now. Moonstar and the others continue to wait outside, and can hear what is going on inside, while recalling the information they gathered on China Force, whose membership is currently at four - Snake, Ox, Rabbit and Rat - and are government agents who were given artificially enhanced powers. Rat lunges at Feral, claws outstretched, while Rabbit tells Snake and Ox that they must be quick and take Nuwa down, physically. Nuwa exclaims that in order to do that they must first make contact, and leaps out of the way, causing Ox to crash into some equipment. Snake slides towards Nuwa, asking her if she is always so calm and confident, and suggests he could squeeze some of that confidence out of her, when suddenly, several others grab him - ‘Or perhaps not!’ they all exclaim - it’s the Collective Man, split into many selves. The Collective Man begins to stretch Snake in many different direction, each asking ‘What is the American colloquialism? Should I make a wish?’. Ox calls out to Rabbit, exclaiming that the reinforcements have arrived, and asking what he should do. ‘You should go to sleep!’ the Jade Dragon exclaims in his native Chinese. ‘What he said - whatever that was!’ Forearm agrees as the two powerful mutants smash Ox across the control room. Wildside takes care of Rat with a distortion wave, but that’s not the end of that battle, as Feral never likes to lose, so she pounces on Rat, ‘You die, mouse!’ she snarls, until Moonstar fires a psionic arrow at Feral, causing her to leap off Rat and turn to Danielle, asking her what she thinks she is doing. Wildside stands at Moonstar’s side as Dani remarks that Feral’s accent gets worse when she is annoyed, to which Feral snaps that her claws get even sharper too. ‘Wanna see?’ she asks. Dani tells Feral to take a chill-pill, assuring her that they can get what they came for without killing anyone. Even though Moonstar is able to diffuse the situation right here, she knows that it is always just a matter of time before this powder keg of a team is going to explode again. Rabbit darts across the room, until she stops suddenly, ‘Who?’ she exclaims, ‘Trapped in my headlights!’ declares Reignfire, shinning his powers at her. Rabbit urgently replies that she doesn’t understand English, but Reignfire doesn’t care, instead he blasts her with his powers, sending her careening across the room. ‘No. But I’m certain you understood that, didn’t you, child?’ he asks, standing over her body. Reignfire turns to Moonstar and assures her that he respects her views and admires her…restraint, but warns her not to confuse the fact that although they may not need to kill, that does not preclude the fact that a little lesson in fear must be taught now and again. ‘You certainly don’t have a problem with that…do you?’ he asks. Despite her face hidden by her mask, Moonstar is clearly angry, but flanked by the others, she replies quietly ‘No…no problem at all’. Nuwa takes the information and materials they need from the tracking station, and four hours later, all of them drained both emotionally and physically, they finish setting up camp, twenty miles outside their true destination. Danielle stands apart from the others, but still listens to everything they say - it’s her job, she has to, it’s the only way she has a chance to stop all of this. ‘In deep, and treading to keep my head above water’ Moonstar remarks to herself. Dani adds that Reignfire killed Rabbit just to prove a point - a life destroyed just so that Dani will not cross the line. ‘But I already have crossed it’ she thinks, before declaring that Reignfire has to be stopped. ‘And may the Gods help me - even if it means brining him down’. Nearby, Reignfire talks to 3-Peace, while Forearm and Wildside chat nearby, and Feral crawls along the ground. Reignfire tells 3-Peace that all their actions to date would have the Chinese government believe that they are planning a violent overthrow of their rule. Nuwa tells Reignfire that she regrets the fact that he felt it necessary to murder someone in order to continue the ruse, to which Reignfire claims he does also, but that they cannot be fooled into thinking they will accomplish their goals without shedding any blood. Dei Guan assures Reignfire that 3-Peace are not the naive idealists he seems to think they are, to which Reignfire turns from them and reminds them that they asked for his help to free all mutants whom their government has secretly imprisoned. ‘With them freed, you hope to band together with the humans who also strive for change. You seek a dream of co-existence which will show the people of your country how change is for their own good. Why ever would I think you’re naïve idealists?’ Reignfire asks. Moonstar just narrows her eyes at his comment. Looking at 3-Peace, Dani decides that they are good people, hopeful of making a difference in a hard, cold world. ‘Nothing Reignfire says can take that from them’ Dani knows, but wonders if 3-Peace realize, ultimately, how futile their dreams are. ‘Do they know that by coming to the MLF, they’ve asked the foxes to guard the hen house? Do they have a clue what they’re about to do to them? What kind of people they’re really dealing with?’. Dani wonders what she herself is going to do if she is put into the position of shattering 3-Peace’s dreams. ‘I don’t really know anymore. And even worse, I’m afraid to find out. Afraid if push comes to shove…I may have to save Reignfire from himself’. Danielle has a restless sleep, not because of the hard ground or the sleeping bag. When morning arrives, the MLF and 3-Peace reach the ironically named Citizen’s Rehabilitation Center, ten miles out of Shanghai. What it really is, however, is a prison for mutants. The sky explodes, suddenly, and without warning. ‘What is happening?’ a soldier cries out. ‘That storm, came out of no where’ someone else exclaims. Reignfire makes his move, striking everyone down, swiftly. Rendering every single person walking outside the grounds of the prison unconscious. ‘I could have predicted this’ Danielle thinks to herself. Watching Reignfire, Danielle knows what she must do. She notes that Reignfire’s powers have grown so tremendously, but even that cannot stop her from executing her plan. His powers spreading, Reignfire begins giving out orders: ‘Attack! Crush any who would oppose us - as they would seek to crush you!’. Reignfire shouts that when all is said and done, these humans must be sure to know the price that is paid for confronting the Mutant Liberation Front. ‘We do. And they will’ Danielle thinks to herself as she leaps into action, alongside her MLF “teammates” and the heroic 3-Peace. But, as she fires a psionic arrow at a soldier, in the back of Moonstar’s mind, there is the growing awareness, that time is running out. She observes the Mutant Liberation Front shove the soldiers aside with seeming effortlessness. Doing what is expected of them. ‘The Mutant Liberation Front. But Liberation for whom?’ Dani wonders. She recalls how, when Reignfire found her after she fell from Asgard, he said to her that they all need to be free. ‘His exacts words were: “Liberated from what is expected of us, so we can so what is necessary. Liberated from oppression now, so that we may never become the oppressor tomorrow. Liberated from shackles of the Dream, so that our lives do not become a nightmare”.’ Dani decides that the worst part about it is that she believed every word her said. Dani understands that Reignfire believes that every action he takes, no matter how harsh, is justified, in order to “prevent the destruction which is coming”. Reignfire hovers over Moonstar, the MLF and 3-Peace, with soldiers laying all over the ground, he remarks ‘That was well done’, to which Nuwa, standing with the Collective Man and the Jade Dragon, tells Reignfire that his words, actions and those of his people are so contradictory to the reasons of their alliance, that it becomes far too easy for 3-Peace, as fighters, to see how easily they could purpose of their cause. Reignfire tells Nuwa that there will be times which demand actions they may personally abhor, but still must be taken in order to ensure the survival of their species. ‘Some situations cry for restraint, some for passion. Those who stand in the way…are destined to die!’. Reignfire exclaims. Reignfire remarks that each must decide for themselves, and declares that he plans to be one of those who survive, before turning Moonstar and Feral and ordering them to remain here on guard. ‘The rest of us have a jail break to attend to’ he remarks as he leads Wildside, Forearm and 3-Peace onwards. Dani watches them go and thinks to herself that Reignfire is recklessly indifferent to what stands in his way, but that she is starting to see a way she can help him - and those around him. Moonstar decides that the others march inside too calmly, too much in control. Dani hopes that 3-Peace is thinking “This has to be too easy”, unless of course they are so overwhelmed by the ferocious precision with which Reignfire and his MLF do their jobs, that they completely trust him. ’If that’s the case…then they’re lost…and may the Gods help me…then so am I…’. Inside the complex, Reignfire and the others stand before a large gate, Reignfire exclaims that it is the main detention holding wing. ’Walking through this door then begins out march to freedom!’ he announces, before turning to Forearm and asking him to help these people take the first step. ‘Sure’ Michael replies, using his incredible strength to smash through the door. Danielle thinks to herself ‘They’ve broken in. How surprised are they going to be…by what they find inside’. Indeed, a look of horror spread across 3-Peace, ‘No…by all that is right…why?’ Nuwa asks as they look upon China Force, who are flanked by dozens of soldiers. Reignfire just grins and replies ‘Because, Nuwa, I’m sorry to say, for the sake of my needs and those of our people, your little band of “freedom fighters” are completely expendable!’. Snake announces ‘You are under arrest, rebels, for unlawful acts of sedition against the People’s Republic of China!’. 3-Peace swiftly turn to Reignfire, ‘You have betrayed us! Why?’ the Collective Man demands to know. Nuwa suggests that the leaders of her country are in a far better position to give Reignfire what he wants. ‘Correct, Nuwa’ Reignfire replies, asking how he could refuse to strike up a bargain with 3-Peace’s government when they were offering him things 3-Peace couldn’t? The Collective Man remarks that they saw Reignfire kill Rabbit, ‘How could they -’ he begins to ask, but Nuwa replies that they must have been double-crossed after that, and exclaims that Reignfire, the butcher, used them to show the government forces just how powerful he is, then bartered their freedom away for his own needs. Nuwa asks Reignfire what it was that her government offered him: ‘Sanctuary? Immunity? Military hardware?’, before declaring that 3-Peace will not abandon their dreams and hopes without a fight. With that Nuwa uses her powers to render everyone else except her teammates immobile, and as they make a quick exit, Nuwa calls back ‘Ironically enough, Reignfire, that is a harsh lesson we have learned from you’. Nuwa tells her friends to keep running. ‘Let the cowards sleep in a bed of their own guilt!’ she exclaims as the trio burst through a window. Jade Dragon tells Nuwa not to become over-confident, to which the Collective Man agrees, and exclaims that he had forgotten, but that Reignfire must have planned for their possible escape. Indeed, Danielle stands before them, psionic arrow ready, she is the rear-guard, the last resort, and wonders why Reignfire would keep her back here. ‘To keep my away from the horrible thing you were doing in there?’ she wonders, when, suddenly, Feral lunges at the Jade Dragon, only to be taken out of action by Nuwa who renders her immobile. ‘Or did you think I could help somehow?’ Dani wonders, before warning 3-Peace to stay where they are. Moonstar wonders if Reignfire was expecting 3-Peace to escape, and if so, was she put out here in order to be tested? Danielle tells 3-Peace that she really didn’t want it to come down to this. ‘But it looks like we don’t have much choice, do we?’ she points out, before telling them that she cannot let them escape. ‘This is not your way, Moonstar!’ the Collective Man exclaims, remarking that they do not need to know Moonstar in order to see what is truly inside of her. ‘How can you do this to us?’ the Jade Dragon asks. ‘Do you not believe in the same things we do? Freedom for out kind? Peace for our world?’. Moonstar replies that she does, but that it is not that simple. ‘There is so much you don’t understand!’ she tells them. Nuwa angrily asks Danielle that in her mind then the ends will justify the means. ‘When all is said and done, Danielle Moonstar, and you stand triumphant, will you look around you - you will see that in truth, you won nothing! There is nothing of value and meaning left in your life!’. Moonstar decides that Reignfire must have put her out here to be tested, and thinks that Reignfire knows what is in her heart - how could he not? ‘We’ve known each other a very long time’ she reminds herself. Dani wonders if Reignfire will be secretly satisfied, or furious, with the only real choice she has available to her. Two days later, one hour after Reignfire returns to the Ani-Mator’s island, where he finds Moonstar in the lab, but stands in silence, not saying anything to her. Dani breaks the silence, asking if the Chinese army was able to find 3-Peace. Reignfire replies that they did not, and adds that the military does not blame Moonstar for 3-Peace’s escape. ‘Nuwa’s powers, as you said after you woke up, are rather powerful - in an amusingly contradictory way’. Reignfire adds. Reignfire announces that his bargain with the Chinese government is rescinded but that they do not think Moonstar or Feral acted covertly to assist the escape of 3-Peace. ‘And what do you think?’ Danielle asks. ‘I think…you…test me, old friend’ Reignfire replies, telling Dani that he thinks she is still trying far too hard to play both sides of the fence. ‘Hardened soldier and conscientious objector, all at once’. He remarks that he has no proof Moonstar has done anything to hinder his cause, it is merely an assumption based on his knowledge of her. Reignfire warns Dani that if he ever were to obtain evidence that she had betrayed him, that would be unfortunate for the friendship they always shared, as well as for her own well-being. ‘That is, were I to ever find such proof, of course…’. Reignfire leaves the lab, and Dani spins around, worried, she leans over the computer. ‘Oh, Lord…he knows I let them go!’ she thinks to herself, confused by the fact that he walks out and lets her live. ‘Is it a sign the friend I knew is coming back?’ she wonders. ‘Or is he playing with me…again?’. Danielle knows that, according to Reignfire, only the strong survive. ‘I have to remember that. I have to be strong’. Danielle accesses the computer and pulls his per personal diary. ‘I have to be strong enough to make sure that I finish what I’ve started - and I have to continue to be surrounded by people who would as soon put a knife in my back as consider me a comrade. I have to continue to miss my friends, my family - and everything I ever cared about’. Dani tells herself that she thought this was going to be easier, but knows she was wrong, and realizes that she may soon need to ask friends for help. ‘But I know that alone, in my confusion, there’s something I can cling to for sanity’ Dani tells herself, as the computer announces that it is awaiting voice access code. Teary-eyed, Dani states her code: “You have extraordinary gifts, but they can harm you as easily as others…”. Dani hugs herself, ‘Some of the first words that I remember Charles Xavier ever saying to me’ she recalls, wondering if Charles would think she is doing harm now - or trying desperately to help someone who cannot help himself? ‘To move one person from a nightmare beyond reckoning - to give him - back the dream. A dream which is all I have left, to get me through the night…until tomorrow comes…’. Second Story:Cassidy Keep, on the Coast of Ireland, where a storm currently rages - thunder roars and lightning flashes over the massive castle which was built hundreds of years ago by the Cassidy clan, which, to this day, still stands, seemingly untouched by the world’s outrage. A different sort of storm took this castle and all within in a long time ago - for it was here that two cousins entered a bitter rivalry for a woman they would both outlive. One of the cousins was Sean Cassidy who would go on to become the X-Man known as Banshee, currently serving as headmaster to Generation X. The other, Black Tom, who became a criminal. Their rivalry was passed to the next generation, to Sean’s only daughter, Teresa Rourke Cassidy, who was forced to choose between the love of her true father, and the man who raised her as his own. Theresa - known as Siryn deputy leader of the irrepressible X-Force, has returned to Ireland to make peace with her troubled past. Her friends and remaining family have tried desperately to reach out and help her - but she continues to withdraw into herself. ‘What?’ Theresa exclaims, sitting upright in bed. Theresa puts on her costume, trench coat and gloves, before opening the window and peering out into the night. It is not the storm that has waken her, something else - something that pulls and tugs at her insides. ‘It doesn’t make sense’ she thinks to herself, knowing the last thing she should be hearing out here is a lullaby! Theresa takes an oil lamp, and putting her jacket hood up, flies out her window into the storm, making her way down the cliffside, she reminds herself how her mother died long before she can remember, so feels the song striking at her heart as it dodges the rain and rides along the wind’s moaning pleadings - beckoning her into the night’s savage embrace. Down on the shoreline, Siryn follows the lullaby’s call and discovers a cleft in the rock - the mystery beginning to reveal itself, as there is a small opening, and through it, Theresa finds a wooden door, covered by stone. Were she not a mutant, this door, closed off by tons of rock, would be shut to her forever. But Theresa’s pain was not the only thing passed down to her by her father, as she also inherited his sonic scream - a scream that can do more harm than good - in this case almost brining part of the cliff down around her. ‘No!’ Theresa exclaims as the rocks tumble around her, but she is able to fly herself out of harm’s way. The wind chills Siryn’s bones, rattling them against the emptiness she feels inside, while the lullaby continues to exert it’s gentle pull. Siryn cannot help but be haunted by thoughts of a mother she never knew. Those same thoughts are compelling her to go inside this newly discovered area. Stepping over the fallen rocks, she pushes the rotting wooden door. It heaves and sighs as it opens. Her small frame fills the large doorway, and looking around at this cavern, Theresa whispers ‘Oh my…’. Immediately, the lullaby stops, almost in answer to Theresa’s question. This is part of an old keep, not unlike her home, but something else calls to her, offering both warmth and enlightenment. Siryn sees a light in a room up a staircase, so makes her way there, faintly hearing a murmur, the lullaby again, but this time meek and timid. The stairway is moss-covered, but the lullaby becomes less faint with each step. Entering the room, Theresa can hardly believe her eyes - an old woman is standing over a baby’s crib, singing the lullaby. ‘Hello?’ Theresa asks as she approaches the old woman, who seems to ignore her. Siryn sees that the crib is empty, and swallows hard - there is nothing here but an old woman and her song. Suddenly, the old woman turns to Theresa, ‘Oh, dear. I’m sorry. Hello’. Silence hangs in the air, Theresa thinks to herself that even the maddening lullaby would be better than this. Suddenly, the old woman speaks again, introducing herself as Glori Murphy, and asks Siryn to pardon her lack of hospitality, explaining that she hasn’t had any guests in quite a while. There is silence again, before the old woman remarks ‘I can guess what you’re thinking’ with her thick Irish accent. ‘Sometimes I think it was our clan’s sins that cursed us so. A long time ago, on a night like this, Murphy Keep was claimed by the powers of the world. And you’re the first visitor we’ve had in almost thirty years!’. The old woman turns to the crib, ‘Isn’t that right, Maggie?’ she remarks as if speaking to a baby. Glori turns to Siryn and tells her that they need to be quiet as the baby has gone to sleep. Siryn follows Glori downstairs, thanking her for the cup of tea she has just given her, Siryn explains that the lullaby called out to her, and reveals to Glori that she lost her mother when she was very young, so had never heard one sung like that. ‘I’m not exactly sure why Ronald doesn’t come on and talk with us. I swear that husband of mine can be exasperating’ Glori replies, ignoring Theresa’s comment. ‘You know men. I swear sometimes I think he’s in another world’ Glori remarks, while Siryn takes a look around, staring into the darkness of the cavern she sees no one. ‘You live like this?’ Theresa asks. ‘Exactly’ Glori replies, before exclaiming ‘Where are my manners?’ and offering Theresa some more tea. ‘We should have known the castle would fall one day, where it was built, I mean. We all simply lived too close to the edge for too long’. Siryn sits down at the table and begins to humor the old woman, ‘I’m sorry your husband isn’t joining us. He must be a good man. But you’re cut off from the world. How do you deal with it?’ she asks. ‘The problems just go and get worse if you don’t have anyone to share them with’ Glori replies, before remarking that if she didn’t have Ronald, and her little Maggie, that she would swear she would go mad. ‘I can see you feel alone, dearie - otherwise I don’t think you would’ve heard my singing’. Siryn tells Glori that she has a father, and friends, but that she sometimes misses her mother so much. ‘We’ve all lost people we’ve loved, but you need to find others to lean on’. Glori tells Theresa that it is time to move on, and to know that other people can fill the space that her mother left. ‘When I was a wee girl, my mother once told me: “A thousand drops of water can still hollow out the strongest stone…”.’ The next day, ‘My God, what happened?’ Siryn exclaims as she stands at the entrance to the Murphy Keep - which is no longer there. Theresa’s friend Kelvin Doneghann asks her if she is sure this is why she lured him down here. Theresa tells Kelvin not to joke, assuring him that Murphy keep was here. Kelvin tells Siryn that there is no such place, and reminds her that he is a reporter, so needs facts and truth. ‘I need reality - or did you speak to a ghost?’ he asks. ‘Are you trying to tell me - are you suggesting - that I made it all up?’ Siryn replies, adding that the storm may have washed it all away. Kelvin smiles and tells Theresa that she may have dreamed the whole thing. ‘It could have been some figment of your imagination’ he suggests. Siryn tells Kelvin that she has made reservations to go home, to America, back to X-Force and her father. ‘Whatever you want to believe happened here last night Kelvin Doneghann…it was real enough’….


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Provide a full summary of the comic book.

[Assistant]
Holding On
Manhattan, where late one night, New York Police Department Detective Jose Hidalgo has tracked a murder suspect into the underlying network of tunnels which exist deep beneath the city streets. Since this suspect is also a mutant born with superhuman abilities, Hidalgo asked some very special assistance to join him, Code: Blue, the NYPD’s superhuman task force. Their members including Stone, Rassitano and Ruiz, are considered either the best the city has to offer - or the craziest. For this assignment, Hidalgo suspects the latter to be true and prays the former will be as well.
‘I hate sewer jobs’ Rassitano complains as the quartet traipse through the muck. Hidalgo tells Rassitano to keep quiet and not to worry too much. ‘The young woman we’re searching for has probably been aware of our presence in the tunnels since we first came in’ Hidalgo reveals. ‘I hate spandex who have enhanced senses, too’ Rassitano mumbles, while Hidalgo announces that Lucia Callasantos disappeared four years ago - after all the bad things started going down. ‘She calls herself Thornn now’ Hidalgo reveals as he stares a photo of a glamorous Lucia.
Hidalgo goes on to inform Code: Blue that Thornn is an outlaw who used to be a member of a group of mutants who lived in these tunnels until recently, the Morlocks. ‘She was beautiful…had everything going for her. And it all turned out like this…in a dank, dark sewer’. Continuing on their hunt, Hidalgo and Code: Blue are unaware that someone - or something - is watching them from the pipes that run along the ceiling of the sewer. Hidalgo remarks that he knows it might be a real long-shot to expect to find her here, but after working on the case for so long he will grasp any straws he can.
Stone assures Hidalgo that they have brought with them the best mutant-scanning equipment available, so if Thornn is here, they will find her. ‘Truth to tell, I’m more worried about her finding us first!’ Hidalgo exclaims. ‘If wishes were fishes’ one of the Code: Blue operatives remarks as he announces that he has a mutagenic tracking lock, and proceeds to as Ruiz to get a perimeter sweep started, as he is picking up movement. ‘From which direction?’ Hidalgo asks, when, suddenly, ‘FROM RIGHT ABOVE YOU!’ screams Thornn as she leaps down into the grouping of officers.
‘She came outta nowhere!’ one of them exclaims as he begins firing his gun wildly. ‘How can anyone move that fast?’ the female operative asks. Hidalgo begins firing stun darts at Thornn, several of them hit her in the shoulder as she begins to attack the female member of Code: Blue. ‘Lucia!’ exclaims Hidalgo. ‘You’re under arrest’. Drugged up from the tranquilizer darts, Thornn replies ‘Jose? That you? You tranked me!’. The female operative informs Thornn that she has been tranquilized with enough drugs to knock out an elephant. Thornn mumbles as best she can ‘Arrested for what?’
‘For the murders of Carolina, Matteo and Marcella Callasantos!’ Hidalgo reveals. Disturbed, Thornn very clearly, and obviously upset, screams ‘I didn’t kill my family! She did!’ But almost instantly after that, the anaesthetic seeps through Thornn’s blood and she falls unconscious. Hidalgo says nothing as Code: Blue carries her to the chopper and head towards the Bronx Precinct house where Thornn will be detained. But Hidalgo cannot stop thinking about the feelings he once had for this girl - and the look of betrayal in her eyes when she proclaimed her innocence. But who else could Lucia have meant but her? Perhaps the mysterious figure crouching in the shadows as she watches the chopper head to the Bronx….
Meanwhile, elsewhere, six teenage heroes - Samuel “Cannonball” Guthrie, Theresa “Siryn” Rourke Cassidy, James “Warpath” Proudstar, Tabitha “Boomer” Smith, Julio “Rictor” Richter and Shatterstar - collectively known as X-Force, a band of outlaw mutants determined to fight for a dream of co-existence between their kind and humans. Standing in what is their new base of operations, after taking a look around, their feelings about their new home are succinctly summed up by Boomer, who, as she exclaims ‘You gotta be kidding!’ her bubblegum pops around her mouth.
‘Nope, Boomer, we’re not’ remarks Domino as she welcomes X-Force to their new headquarters - which just happens to be…Murderworld! The former underground base of the assassin for hire known as Arcade. Cannonball, shocked, asks Domino if she and Cable want them to shack up in a place that was made so that people could be killed for fun and profit. Domino tells Sam to consider the irony of it all, and adds that since they cannot afford to build a new base, this was the best ready-made structure available to them. Tabby turns to Sam as she pulls the gum off her face, and remarks that after living in a space-ship, then a basement, then in a cave, then a desert bunker, this place could not be so bad.
Domino reminds Cannonball that this site is isolated, yet right above them is New York City, and they have access not only to all kinds of sophisticated equipment, but also to the real world - and a chance for lives outside of being X-Force. Siryn takes to the air in the sprawling chamber and remarks that it sounds wonderful, revealing that she saw a plant shop a few blocks away where she would love to work, before asking Domino how she managed to convince Arcade to sell them the property. ‘We do not need to barter with a coward!’ Shatterstar exclaims, holding up one of his serrated-edged weapons. ‘We have taken this facility from him and shall spit in his face should he try to take it back!’ Shatterstar declares defiantly.
‘Uhm…pretty much what he said’ Domino replies, and as the group walks under an archway with “Murderworld” written on it, Cannonball remarks that he supposes it makes sense ‘With the kinda logic this group employs at least’ he adds, to make use of this facility. Sam admits that it is an elaborate facility, with a communications center, living quarters, material they can adapt into training equipment, the whole works. ‘But the name has gotta go!’ he exclaims. Boomer turns and peers over her sunglasses, looking at the sign, she jokes ‘Plasma Bomb signage company, President Boomer speak. How may I help you?’ before tossing one of her infamous time bombs at the archway.
Running to catch up with her teammates, the brightly dressed Boomer exclaims that all they have to do now is come up with a new name. ‘I suggest “Boomerville”!’ she exclaims. ‘I think my ex-husband was born there’ Domino replies. ‘He came from a long line of inbred cousins’. Domino opens up the main control room and tells X-Force that they still have some work to do here, rerouting programs, wiring new conduits and the like. The young heroes explore the chamber, and motioning to the myriad of monitors with Arcade’s grinning mug all over them, Sam asks Domino if the restructuring of this room will stop Arcade from appearing on a screen each time they press a button.
‘God I hope so!’ Domino replies as she sits in the main chair, and tells everyone that she wanted to show them a schematic of the facility, but as she has not had a chance to reroute the holographic relays, they are going to have to get primitive and scroll the data on-screen. Domino sighs and points out that everything is a trade-off in life, ‘But at least this place has running water‘, she jokes, making reference to their previous desert base. At that moment, Warpath grabs hold of the large stone “A” headrest on the chair and rips it off.
Looking at the schematics, Rictor remarks that it is pretty cool how the place was built under an abandoned amusement park. Warpath adds that there is a landfill to the West. Domino remarks that, what’s above notwithstanding, what’s below is perfect for them - fusion generators under the link tunnel, a three-level module for very spacious living quarters, and a four-level module for training and equipment, several access tunnels to the surface, a pneumatic tram-line into Manhattan, and a vehicle exit into the East river. ‘And what a romantic view of Ryker’s Island Penitentiary we’ll get on take-off and landing!’ Cannonball jokes.
Domino jokes that the way this team is operating, they will end up living there eventually, so familiarizing themselves with the place wouldn’t hurt. Siryn points out that they are still underground, but at least now they are air-conditioned and out of the Arizona heat. ‘Was our previous home considered hot by Earth standards?’ Shatterstar grumbles, to which Rictor grins and tells Domino to keep talking before Shatterstar tells another story about how rough his life was living on his home world of Mojoworld.
‘Good point’ Domino replies, before telling X-Force that, forgetting the funky life-sized pinball machine they can play, she would rather talk about the real life they can all have now. She points out that there are colleges all around - Empire State, Columbia, St. Johns - not to mention jobs they can get, and they can watch the Mets lose at Shea, the Rangers host their next cup - Cannonball interrupts, telling Domino that she has convinced them, the good does outweigh the bad. Sam add though that part of him might always feel back knowing they are living in a place where their friends were almost killed. Domino assures Sam that if it doesn’t work out in the long run, then they can leave, assuring him that Cable has no problem with that.
‘Fair enough’ Sam replies, before asking where Cable is at the moment. Domino reveals that Cable had some business to deal with and wanted to meet in the main lounge to talk about it after their tour of Murderworld. ‘We don’t even get to unpack before going to kick someone’s butt?’ Boomer asks, annoyed. ‘Sheesh! Some things never change, huh?’ she remarks. ‘Nope, guess they don’t’ Warpath grins as he places the large “A”, now modeled into a large “X” back onto the chair, smiling.
Later, early evening in the Bronx, outside the Forty-Fourth Precinct, a gathering of media and protesters has assembled in the pouring rain: A reporter announces that word has spread that a mutant has been arrested for a horrible crime that had remained unsolved for several years - the apparently systematic murder of an entire family was lived in this area. The reporter points out that a growing crowd has gathered, led by members of the anti-mutant rights organization known as the Friends of Humanity. She adds that the Police have not issued a statement as of yet and that the mood of the people grows restless as they ask themselves what kind of monsters are living next to us.
Inside the Precinct, Jose Hidalgo tells Lucia that she has been tried and convicted already by the media. ‘I hope it’s not just because you’re a mutant’ he adds, remarking that he prays the people outside are angrier about what happened to Lucia’s mother, brother and sister than they are about the fur on her skin. ‘What you think the odds of that are, Jose?’ Lucia replies as she sits on a chair, her tail twitching, her hands cuffed with a large device covering her deadly nails.
‘All I know is that I knew you when, Lucia Callasantos!’ Jose replies. ‘Before you mutated - before you ran away! I knew you as your family died off one by one - and when I became a cop I swore I was going to dig-up the truth about their deaths’. Lucia looks to the ground, almost sadly she remarks ‘That’s what it’s about for you, Jose? A cop doing his job? Well, you got me. One more lousy human-killing mutie brought to justice, huh?’. Jose steps behind Lucia, reminding her of how when they were kids, how he felt about her, how much he cared for her. ‘When you ran away…you took my heart with you’.
Two of Code: Blue stand guard in the interrogation room as Hidalgo exclaims that he must know: ‘Is the girl I loved as cold-blooded killer?’ Thornn remains silent, not looking at Jose, before asking ‘I get one phone call, don’t I?’. Jose frowns, ‘Yeah, Lucia…you get one phone call’. Looking out the window at the Friends of Humanity protesters, carrying signs like Mutants are Children of Satan, Jose whispers ‘As if any lawyer in this city is going to be able to save you now…’.
The reporter remarks that the scene here grows progressively more confrontational, but they wait and wonder just how much more pressure the Friends of Humanity will bring on the situation, before the Police release the identity of the mutant murder suspect.
At that moment, Graydon Creed, founder of the Friends of Humanity, smiles as he watches the media report, knowing his organization is doing what he always intended for it to do - to push - to confront - to point out at every opportunity the danger this new species of man represents - to show everyone the threat mutants truly are.
Suddenly, the reporter announces that a photograph has just been released, which is shown in the studio, and that the suspect is named Lucia Callasantos, whose. At that moment elsewhere in New York, a mysterious female wearing a wide-brimmed hat and a large coat stops as she passes a television screen when that revelation is made. She then quickly hastens into the shadows.
As the reporter remarks that the mug shot released quite clearly shows the suspect is as mutant, the goings-ons are being watched at the Xavier Institute in Westchester by Professor X and the Beast. The Beast asks Xavier if they should consider a plan of action, but the Professor replies that the X-Men need not get involved yet, revealing that Cable has already called him and this involves his former team member Feral.
The reporter then announces that the suspect’s sister, another mutant, Feral, was sighted with her rebel faction, X-Force, at the World Trade Center incident, months ago, but whether a link exists between the murders and X-Force remains unknown. X-Force watch the media report from their new home intently, when Cable a.k.a. Nathan Summers, leader of the young heroes, exclaims ‘Of course. Link us all together because we’re mutants. Typical media stereotype!’.
Standing with a computer image of Feral behind him, Cable points out that the question is, what are they going to do about it, reminding his team that, for better or worse, Feral was one of their own for a time. ‘We have a responsibility’ he states. ‘Not to Feral, sir’ Cannonball replies as he sits next to his girlfriend Boomer. Sam remarks that they have more responsibility to the memories of the people Feral or her sister may have murdered. ‘Let Thornn stand trial - if she’s guilty, she’ll go to jail’ Sam adds. Warpath tells Sam that what he has to say has some merit, but that with the way people feel about mutants these days, it beggars the question - can Thornn even get a fair trial at this point?
Sam grits his teeth as he replies that he has felt Feral’s claws rip through him, so he knows what she is capable of doing. ‘What’s to say her sister’s any different?’ Sam asks, to which Cable puts a hand on his protégé’s shoulder, ‘What about the notion of innocent until proven guilty, Sam - or are we just tossing that out the window because you don’t like Feral or Thornn?’ Cable asks, announcing that something about this feels wrong, and he wants to find out - now.
The next morning, in the South Bronx, at the 44th Precinct, the Friends of Humanity stayed outside the whole night, the local residents brining them coffee and donuts as the sun came up. This part of the city has always been on the other side of the canyon between haves and have-nots. “Us versus them” has a new twist now. It has become the tallying cry of humans versus mutants - echoing across the genetic gap between the past and the future.
‘You sure you know what we’re doing here?’ Sam asks Cable, both dressed in fancy clothes and wearing long jackets as the pass through the crowd of angry Friends of Humanity members. ‘If one of these “Friends” recognizes us…’ Sam’s voice trails off as Cable replies that Thornn made her phone call, and it was to him. ‘I’m her lawyer now’. ‘But you ain’t a lawyer!’ Sam replies. ‘Harvard. Class of Eighty-Eight’ Nathan replies, smirking, as he holds up a card with his photo and name on it, stating he has a New York State Bar License. Nathan reveals to Sam that he passed the New York bar exam a year later, which was pretty easy. ‘See, Sam? I’m still full of surprises!’ Cable jokes.
One of Code: Blue leads Cable and Cannonball to their “client”, and remain at the door on guard. ‘Lucia, how are you?’ Cable asks. Standing up off the char, Thornn replies ‘What do you think?’, to which Nathan replies that he doesn’t know, and reminds Lucia that she called, so he came. ‘Now give me one good reason why we should help you’ Cable exclaims. ‘Simply. I didn’t kill my family!’ Thornn exclaims defiantly. Cannonball tells Thornn that simply saying it doesn’t mean much, considering her track record, to which Lucia quickly tells Cannonball that if he has a problem with her sister then to take it up with Feral.
Cable tells Thornn that they may soon get the chance, as he has it on good authority that Feral is back in Manhattan. ‘Tell me. Did she come back looking to kill you?’ Cable asks. ‘Is she happy you were arrested - or is she terrified you’ll talk?’. Cable asks Thornn if she were to talk, what is it she would have to say. Thornn looks to the floor, and after a moment, leaps onto a filing cabinet, solemnly, she asks Cable if he really wants to know. ‘You’re worried, aren’t you big man? You’re afraid that Feral’s far worse than anything you ever dreamed’.  Thornn remarks that it looks like Cable didn’t know his troops as well as he thought, and now that one of them has gone bad, it hurts him. Nathan replies that he has made mistakes before, and he will make them again - but that a man rights his wrongs. ‘Now tell me…everything’ he asks.
Later, in Jose Hidalgo’s office, Cable enters. ‘I’ve been expecting you’ Jose, smoking a cigarette, remarks as Cable approaches his desk. ‘So I hear’ Cable replies, before asking him if he knows that Lucia is innocent. ‘Maybe I do, maybe I don’t. Let a jury decide’ Hidalgo replies. Cable frowns and replies ‘You don’t want a verdict, Detective. You want the truth’. Cable assures Jose that he can get that truth for him. ‘You know so much, Mr. Summers…tell me…are you a mind-reader?’ Hidalgo asks. ‘Maybe I am. Maybe I’m not’ Cable replies, his left eye glowing, Cable tells Hidalgo that, off the record, he can give him Maria Callasantos - Feral - and that the truth will then come out. Jose frowns and asks Cable how he might be able to supply him with that information. ‘Off the record, of course, Cable…’. Hidalgo replies.
In view of the situation at the 44th, a decision is made to relocate Thornn to the more secure facilities at Ryker’s Island. To avoid the anti-mutant hysteria, Hidalgo had arranged the transport and kept Code: Blue on the assignment - but other sources outside the Department also cut some deals - documents were revealed and photos were shown. Blackmail is a speciality of the Friends of Humanity, therefore, two specific men serve as drivers. ‘Where’s the rendezvous set up for?’ a large man asks his colleague as they drive the transport vehicle. ‘Off the Bruckner in Soundview Park’ the bald driver replies. ‘We claim a psycho mutant tried escaping - and was killed in the attempt’, the driver adds that this is one less mutie scum ruining the lives of decent humans - another step forward for the Friends of Humanity.
Nearby though, Rictor and Shatterstar are hidden down an alleyway, ready on their motorcycles, Julio announces that the transport is making the detour, that Cable was right - Thornn was never going to make it to Ryker’s. ‘Ready?’ he asks his good friend. ‘On my world, such vehicles perform airborne maneuvers’ Shatterstar replies. ‘Yeah? Well, here you just gotta improvise!’ Rictor replies as both men force their cycles through the air, following the transport. Shatterstar holds a deadly sword-like weapon out, the Friends of Humanity suddenly notice they are being pursued. ‘Muties!’ the driver shouts angrily.
Shatterstar points out that the transport is picking up speed, and getting away. ‘Did you get a look at those jokers…if those guys are cops, I’m Cable’s mother!’ Rictor exclaims. His comment is heard by the rest of X-Force, in pursuit in a large car. Cannonball exclaims that they have to get Thornn out of there before the van reaches the rendezvous, otherwise she and Hidalgo are as good as dead. Cable replies that he knows and speeds the car up behind Rictor and Shatterstar, remarking that they will have to deal with the Friends of Humanity as gently as they were going to deal with Thornn. ‘He says while he’s driving a car with enough firepower to level Manhattan!’ Boomer exclaims.
Cable radios to Rictor, telling him that he is next up and knows what to do. ‘Yeah, Cable, I gotcha. Gentle’ Julio replies, just like he did in Memphis a few weeks back, a low-level vibe-quake. With Rictor’s power in action, the wheels suddenly fall off the van, causing it to come to a quick stop. ‘We been hit! They’re on to us! I gotta pull over!’ the driver shouts. ‘No, I’ll just take them out! You just keep your eyes on the -’ “road” is what the other man is about to say as he fires his weapon backwards, but the van suddenly comes to a stop. ‘Very stoppable object, meet very immovable force!’ exclaims Warpath as he stands before the rather damaged van.
‘Pleased to meet you’ Warpath remarks sarcastically, before informing Cable that both of the Friends of Humanity plants are down. Cable fires a gun at the van’s rear door, where Thornn and Hidalgo are gathering themselves after a rocky rise. Jose asks Cable if this was his idea of a pre-planned non-violent extraction. Inside Cable’s transport, he replies that it was an unavoidable problem, revealing that two of New York’s Finest were substituted with members of the Friends of Humanity, but that they must still get to the meeting site before any of the Friends of Humanity can track them.
Shatterstar suddenly cuts Thornn’s shackles off, surprising Lucia, who asks what is going on and why she is being freed. Cable tells Lucia that they want to find the truth out once and for all, and they are now going to the one place - to see the one person - who will help them get to the bottom of this mess. Scared, Thornn goes wide-eyed. ‘Oh no - por el amor de dios - don’t do this to me!’ she pleads.
But, very soon, the young mutants and Hidalgo arrive in the building where Lucia and Hidalgo grew up. ‘It’s been years, look at this place - it’s all gone!’ Lucia exclaims. ‘There’s no one here!’ With X-Force scattered around the surrounding area, Cable informs Thornn that actually, if things went according to plan, and their outside contact did her job right, there should be one person here. ‘YOU!?’ screams Lucia. ‘Me, sister!’ snarls Feral, leaning above them on a ledge. ‘Feral is here!’ Maria exclaims, remarking that she was tricked into coming here. ‘Stinking meat! I hate you all!’ the deranged mutant shrieks, before asking ‘But you want the truth about what happened? You’re gonna have to tear it outta me! Who want’s to go first…?!’


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

[Assistant]
The FUN House - a tale of deception and death!
The South Bronx, X-Force are currently searching an old abounded building. There are ghosts at play in the shadows around them, for this old tenement building holds the answers to a long-ago tragic mystery that they seek to unravel. But for the young heroes, along with the former Morlock Thornn a.k.a. Lucia Callasantos, and their newfound ally, New York Police Detective Jose Hidalgo, who shares a past with Lucia, ghosts also haunt their memories. Grouped together - Thornn, Hidalgo, Sam “Cannonball” Guthrie and Shatterstar - they conduct a systematic interior search of the apartment building, and each of them see the crumbled ruins around them - bits and pieces of someone they once called a friend.
As Shatterstar strides ahead, Cannonball tells him to slow it down and stop going ahead of the rest of them. Dragging his sword along the wall, carving a thin line, Shatterstar asks ‘Why?’ and declares that they would be well served to find the traitor - Feral - gut her, and be done with this. Cannonball grabs Shatterstar by the arm and remarks that he knows how he feels about her, that Feral fooled a lot of them, ‘But she did even more to me, remember? She nearly killed me!’ Sam exclaims, before telling Shatterstar that they are not here to kill Feral, that just want to find out the truth about what really happened to her and Thornn’s family. ‘And guilty or innocent, try and find a way to help them both!’ Sam exclaims.
Feral and Jose listen to Cannonball’s speech, and Jose turns to the young woman he once loved, ‘You don’t think that’s going to happen do you?’ he asks her. ‘No, Jose, I don’t’ Lucia replies. ‘The girl I used to know - the girl you were - had a lot of hope inside her heart’. Jose remarks. ‘Is there any left inside the mutant named Thornn?’ he asks. Thornn replies that hope left her a long time ago. ‘Stamped out so hard that I can barely remember what it felt like’. Motioning to the stairs nearby, a teary-eyed Lucia reminds Jose that this is where her sister died, this is where is all began. ‘Carolina…’ she whispers as she remembers the blood splattered everywhere.
Lucia explains that she told Maria to watch Carolina for five minutes, as she had seen Jose and his friends outside, so she wanted to play with them - but then they heard the scream. Lucia reminds Jose that they all ran inside, but she never really found out - ‘Did Carolina fall down the stairs - or was she pushed?’. Up above the quartet, Maria “Feral” Callasantos, Thornn’s wicked sister, creeps ever so quietly, observing and listening to the goings-ons below. But so enthralled in the conversation, her own skills suddenly slip, and some plaster falls down onto Jose, who quickly tells X-Force to watch out, as he has movement.
Jose starts firing above him, but Thornn quickly informs him that Feral is coming at him from behind. Too late though, as Feral lunges at Hidalgo, ‘Long time, hermana mia!’ Feral exclaims while Thornn tells her not to do this. ‘Let go of him little sister! Don’t - do this - please!’ Lucia pleads, her mind flashing back to an earlier attack from Feral. But Feral uses her enhanced strength to leap upwards, carrying Hidalgo with her through a hole in the floorboards above them. ‘All I’m doing, Lucia, is what I always done - finding a way to survive!’ Feral shouts back. ‘Maria…’ Lucia whispers.
Just outside the apartment block, inside X-Force’s concealed transport device, Cannonball radios to Nathan “Cable” Summers, informing X-Force’s leader that Feral got the jump on them and took Hidalgo hostage. ‘JUST GREAT!’ shouts Cable angrily. ‘You were sent in there to flush her out - and instead, Feral’s going to pick you off one at a time!’ Nathan exclaims. Domino tells Nathan that it sounds like he trained Feral too well, to which Julio “Rictor” Richter remarks that the cop was so gung-ho in there. ‘What could we have done?’ he asks. Tabby “Boomer” Smith blows some bubble gum and replies ‘Maybe say “No”, Rictor’, pointing out that they need Hidalgo alive after this is all done.
Boomer explains that Hidalgo was their alibi for busting Thornn out of Police custody, to which Cable declares that Hidalgo had to go into the complex, as he was doing his job, just as they are doing theirs. Cable radios back to Sam and asks him if he needs any help in there, to which Sam replies that they can handle it, but suggests Siryn should go airborne in case Feral tries getting away over the rooftops. Instantly, Theresa “Siryn” Rourke Cassidy takes to the air, her familiar sonic scream accompanying her, while the rest of X-Force, including James “Warpath” Proudstar spread out to cover the entire perimeter. Nathan tells Sam to stay and in touch, and points out that if necessary, they can take down the whole building in five seconds.
‘And we can blast it down in two - but that ain’t gonna solve our problems’ Cannonball remarks as he blasts through a wall inside the complex, with Shatterstar and Thornn following him. Shatterstar declares that where someone like Feral is concerned, there is only one solution. But Sam assures Shatterstar that there is always more than that, and even though she may be a bad seed, Feral was still family, in a way. ‘And the way I was raised, you always try to do right by your family’. Sam adds that he hopes Hidalgo is okay.
At that moment, Hidalgo is being shoved to the floor by Feral, ‘Is that your answer?’ Jose asks. ‘Try to hurt the people who want to help you?’. ‘HELP ME, JOSE? SURE!’ shrieks Feral as she leans into Jose, telling him that he just wants to make his mutie collar and get his face on the front page of the paper, Feral then smacks Hidalgo across his face. Jose tells Maria that she hasn’t changed a bit. ‘Evil inside and out!’ he declares. Picking up an old soft doll toy from the floor, Feral replies ‘Naaah, not evil, Jose…just sometimes…sometimes it all gets too much, you know?’. Feral turns from Jose and stares through some broken windows.
Jose reminds Feral that her sister Carolina died from falling down the stairs, and her brother Matteo fell off the roof - two accidental deaths. ‘Statistically possible, but it did raise eyebrows, didn’t it?’ Jose remarks. ‘Then your mother died when you were fifteen, and no one thought that was accident’. Jose gets too his feet, remarking that very soon after that, Maria and Lucia disappeared. ‘But someone was missing, huh? Guess whose body was found stuffed between the walls of a building one block away?’ Jose asks.
‘Tell me - how did your mother’s old boyfriend happen to get his face ripped off?’ Jose asks as he sneaks up behind Feral and grabs her long hair. ‘Or did you guess already? Did you see the news reports we leaked out to try and draw you and your sister back here? Tell me why it required dental records to identify Harry Bellinger?!’ Jose asks a furious Feral, whose mind flashes back to when she was younger, and the way Harry treated her, what he did to her. ‘SHUT UP!’ screams Feral as she twists her body around, kicking Jose to the ground, she tells him that he doesn’t know “nothing about nothing”, that he doesn’t know what Bellinger did to her.
Feral asks Hidalgo if he ever stops to look past the bade he wears, the messed up laws that he gets paid to uphold, and think to himself that some people deserve to get killed. ‘Maybe some people do, Maria’ Jose replies, clutching the wounds Feral inflicted upon him. ‘But wanting someone to die is a big step from actually committing murder. My job isn’t to police your thoughts - but your actions’ Hidalgo points out. Feral begins to drag Hidalgo along behind her as she leaves this part of the complex, blood trailing behind him, and declares that “After the fact” is all the cops were ever good for. ‘After we got our TV stolen, the came. After Daddy hit Mommy, they showed up. After Daddy was found dead in an alley with a needle in his arm, then they told us’. Maria asks Jose to tell him where he and his stinking shiny badge was when she and Lucia really needed him.
Nearby, Cable radios to Sam, informing him that he has Feral’s mutagenic signature, and that she is two floors above his position. Sam replies that they are going there now, and asks Cable to let him know if he loses the signal coming from Hidalgo. Shatterstar asks Cannonball that if Feral kills Hidalgo he will accept the fact that she needs to be terminated, to which Thornn announces that her sister is not going to kill Jose - not yet anyway, as she is using him to draw the rest of them up, to show them something.
Sneaking around a corner, Cannonball asks what that would be. ‘What haven’t you told us yet, woman? We need to know the whole truth!’ Sam exclaims. Shatterstar rushes past Cannonball and forces a door open, telling Sam never to expect a den of thieves to safeguard your valuables, similarly a family of liars to provide you with the truth. Shatterstar holds a sword high and remarks that it is becoming increasingly obvious that the words they need he hear regarding Feral’s past will have to be ripped from her hissing tongue.
Outside, the rain beats down, and Cable and Domino stand on rooftops not far from each other, Cable asks Domino if she has any movement over there. ‘Zip’ Domino replies, but Cable warns her to be ready, as the others are getting closer, so the only escape Feral has left is through the rooftops. Domino remarks that it is funny how Feral let herself get pinned like this, to which Cable agrees, adding that it is almost as if she wanted to, that she had a reason to. Cable adds that Feral is going to come out in the open, he’s not sure why, but his gut tells him. Domino tells Nathan to say the word when Feral does, as she has the shot lined up already.
‘Just like I had…when Stryfe took my son, Tyler…and I took the shot to protect the other members of my family…I shot my own son…’ Cable whispers, recalling the horrific event. ‘Nathan?’ Domino asks. Cable replies that the word will not be given, that the situation will not end with Feral’s death. ‘Even if that means giving her the chance to kill us?’ asks Domino.
Back inside, ‘STAY BACK!?’ screams Feral as she holds her claws to Jose’s throat, and Cannonball, Thornn and Shatterstar surround her. Sam tells Feral to stop it, that she is not getting away from them, that she cannot kill any of them. ‘Just give yourself up, okay?’ he asks. ‘What for, Sammy? So that I can go to jail? So I can get locked up in a cage?’ Feral snarls, her eyes red with hate, ‘You think I’m gonna let that happen to me?’ Thornn tells her sister that she is not going to get out of this one like she did before, that she will not protect her and wont let her run away again. ‘LET ME RUN AWAY?’ Feral shrieks, what choice did you ever give me, Lucia?’ Feral asks, recalling their past.
Still clutching Hidalgo, Feral exclaims that she had to leave, and although Thornn helped her find the Morlocks, and convinced them to take her in, ‘But if you’d done what you shoulda done from the beginning - I never woulda been put in the position I was in! You covered up for me, Lucia, but don’t think you ever protected me!’ Feral exclaims, placing her deadly claws on Jose’s head. Domino is listening in on the situation and informs Cable that it is very tense in there, that Feral is shaking Jose like he is a rag doll, he’s hurting. Cable orders Domino to let it play through. ‘But Nate -!’ Domino begins to protect. ‘I said let it play through!’ Cable exclaims.
Lucia recalls when she found Feral wounding Harry Bellinger and admits that perhaps Maria is right, she could have done more. ‘I was the older sister, but I was scared! But you…you never were. Were you?’ Thornn remarks. ‘Scared of what, Lucia?’ Feral asks as she lunges at her sister. ‘Of Momma drunk every night? Of Harry trying to paw us after she passed out on the couch?’. Feral screams that she wasn’t scared about any of that, she was angry about it.
Feral pushes Hidalgo through a window onto the fire escape and follows him, remarking that unlike her big sister she was willing to do something about the problem. ‘Move it, Jose!’ she exclaims, while Cable radios to Domino, informing her that they are moving out onto the fire escape. Domino replies that she is tracking them, and remarks that Feral shot out of here like greased spit. Cable informs Cannonball that Feral is heading higher and that Siryn is circling above now. ‘I get the feeling that this is all coming to a head up on the roof!’ Cannonball replies.
‘Know where we are Hidaggy?’ Feral asks as she tosses Jose into a coop of birds. ‘Remember the pigeon coop I had?’ Feral asks, before reminding him how they all made fun of her for wanting to take care of the stupid, smelly, dirty pigeons. Suddenly, Siryn soars by, ‘Feral, stop this madness - now!’ she exclaims. But Feral tells Siryn to keep back. ‘I never had no problem with you…don’t make me hurt you now’ she warns. ‘The pigeons…?’ Jose whispers. He recalls a young Maria playing with the pigeons, and exclaims that he remembers them, before asking Feral if she remembers what happened to them.
An image of a young Maria and feathers flying around her, Feral replies that she does remember, and exclaims that they were all she ever really had - and all she ever needed. ‘Those birds was the only things that ever needed me!’ Feral screams at Jose, clutching his wounds as he lies in the coop. Thornn, Cannonball and Shatterstar have arrived now, and Sam tells Feral that she’s wrong, that X-Force needed her, reminding her how during battles she watched their backs and they watched a hers. ‘And you needed us too. For friendship - for a place to belong to’.
But Feral shouts ‘NO!’ and exclaims that none of them ever wanted her around, never. Lucia tells her sister to stop lying, not only to them, but to herself. ‘Me, lying? That’s a laugh and a half, huh?’ Feral snarls, before telling Lucia to tell them all the truth. ‘This is the best place to do it, huh?’ she suggests. Thornn replies that it is, and reveals that their father ran away after Carolina was born. ‘Four kids and no job was too much for him’ she explains, adding that it was hard on them. ‘Momma said it was all our fault. Especially Carolina. One kid too many, she said. Drove poppa away’.
Thornn remarks that she was old enough to know better, but that Maria was only six at the time, and when she heard what their mother said, she thought it was Carolina’s fault - maybe even Matteo’s - both their faults that their father had left. ‘Oh, Lord - did Feral kill your sister?’ Cannonball asks Thornn. Nervously, Lucia replies that she doesn’t know. Recalling the blood-covered steps, she exclaims that she should have been watching Carolina, that it was as much her fault that Carolina fell down the stairs. A furious Feral exclaims ‘That’s right! The little brat went over to the stairs and fell!’.
Feral shrieks that she was watching both Carolina and Matteo because Lucia wanted to go outside and see Hidalgo, to flirt with him. ‘It wasn’t my fault she died!’ Feral screams. ‘Maybe not, Maria. But remember when Carolina shouted, we all came running inside - we saw you standing at the top of the stairs - and maybe Carolina’s death was an accident - maybe it wasn’t your fault - but it was still a tragedy, Maria, right?’ Jose remarks, before asking Feral to answer him as to why he remembers her looking down and smiling?
Cannonball narrows his eyes and asks Feral about her brother, what happened to him? Recalling a time when Matteo was on the roof chasing her pigeons, Maria retells this to those around her. ‘Did you kill him for that, Feral? Because he messed with your pigeons?’ Sam asks. ‘No…’ Feral whispers, before revealing that Matteo tripped off the ledge. ‘He was hanging by his fingers. But Matteo was always weak. He couldn’t hang on for long’ Feral declares, standing defiantly, proudly, on the corner of the rooftop, she folds her arms across her front. Sam asks for how long Matteo hung on for, to which Feral replies that she doesn’t know, she didn’t count, that it’s not her fault Matteo couldn’t pull himself up. ‘Nothing’s ever your fault, is it?’ Sam remarks, before asking about their mother’s boyfriend. ‘Tell him about Harry, Lucia!’ Feral exclaims.
A solemn Lucia replies that Harry Bellinger was a pig. ‘A cokehead…a drunk…he got momma messed up on drugs’. She reveals that Bellinger was always trying to get at her, but her mutations started real slow, much later than Maria’s, and Harry said that he was into furry chicks. Lucia recalls how one night, their mother was passed out, she was seventeen and wanted to leave - but Harry followed her, dragged her into an alley. ‘I knew saying “No” wouldn’t work this time’ Lucia remarks, before explaining how they heard a growl, an animal spitting out hate - and they looked up…then Harry got his face sliced off.
‘That night, I lost my sister. And Feral had taken her place’ Lucia exclaims. Cannonball asks if they both hid Harry’s body in the abandoned building where it stayed until it was found a few weeks ago. ‘That’s why you came back, Feral? Cause when you saw the news reports about Harry, you knew the truth would get out?’. ‘Yeah, Sammy, you’re so smart for an in-bred mountain man, huh?’ Feral snaps back, revealing that she got the tip that the Friends of Humanity were gonna spring Lucia, bring her here and make her pay for “her” crimes. ‘But that was all just a set up so you could trap me!’ she snarls.
Cannonball tells Feral that Thornn cannot go to jail for crimes which she didn’t commit. ‘Crims?’ Feral asks. ‘Carolina was an accident? Who knows?’ Sam replies. ‘Matteo, too? Maybe?’ he then suggests that perhaps with Harry Bellinger she could made a case for self defense. ‘But what about your mother, Feral? What happened to her?’ Sam asks. ‘The pigeons’ Feral replies bluntly, recalling how her mother took a butcher’s knife to her pigeons. ‘After we got rid of Harry, she was mad…so to get back at me she killed the pigeons!’
‘I hated her. So you wanna know what I did, Sammy? I KILLED HER!’ Feral reveals, screaming as she lunges at Cannonball, ‘JUST LIKE I’M GONNA KILL ALL OF YOU!’ But Sam replies that there is more than enough dying done here. ‘Too much pain, too much blood. We came here tonight to end it! And now that we’ve found out the whole truth - end it we will!’ Sam responds to Feral’s attack by firing at her with a blast of energy.
Feral crashes down to the floor of the rooftop and Sam tells her that she can come up with all the excuses she wants to, but the bottom line is not that she killed people because she hated them or because they hated her, but that she did it because shed has always hated herself. ‘And there’s too much hate in this world to let someone like you keep spreading it around everywhere you go!’ Sam exclaims. Shatterstar moves in and holds his swords to Feral’s neck while Sam remarks that there is only one place left for Feral to go. The place she should have been put a long time ago. Hidalgo steps forward with Thorn at his side and remarks ‘Maria Callasantos, you’re under arrest for the murders of…’.
‘…Carolina, Matteo and Marcella Callasantos, as well as a man named Harry Bellinger’ the newsreader announces, adding that Maria is also a member of the Mutant Liberation Front, and used the MLF to kidnap her sister and NYPD Detective Jose Hidalgo from their transport to Ryker’s Island. While video footage shows Hidalgo leading Feral, looking angry, and Thornn, looking solemn, both wearing prison garb, through a crowd of reporters, the newsreader remarks that the heroic Hidalgo and Lucia Callasantos, the sister trapped by this tragedy, were able to fend off their MLF kidnappers, and apprehend Feral.
The newsreader informs everyone that it is expected Lucia will not be indicted for her role in covering up her sister’s actions, but that Feral will be indicted on at least one murder charge…. Watching the news on a television screen with some civilians, Sam turns to Nathan and remarks ‘No easy solutions, huh?’. Cable points out that it wasn’t an easy problem, to which Sam remarks that blaming the MLF for what happened was a neat trick. Cable replies that he cannot take all the credit for that, and explains that the idea came from the young woman who tipped him off when Feral first arrived in Manhattan.
Cable and Cannonball make their way along the street, and Nathan explains to Sam that their informant also happened to feed Feral the false information which brought her to the Bronx. Sam begins to ask who would benefit from helping out X-Force, making them MLF look bad and getting rid of Feral all at the same time, when, suddenly, that very person - a very dear friend to Sam - reveals their presence - Dani Moonstar! The sultry New Mutant, standing in an alleyway with her horse, Darkwind, greets Sam and Cable, and asks if things worked out fine.
Sam is shocked to see Danielle, and exclaims that she is with the MLF now, so why would she help them? Dani mounts her steed and as she takes to the skies replies ‘Maybe because, Sam, like you, I always have been - and still am - someone who cares about the truth…and about family’.