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Provide a full summary of the comic book.

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Promise
Samuel “Cannonball” Guthrie holds one hand against his chest and the other up in the air, telling Magneto that if he gives him permission to go into New York to Lila’s concert, he swears he will not use his powers during the concert, or any time he is with Lila, at all. Sam tells Magneto that he has his word, and a Guthrie always keeps his promise. Magneto asks Sam if he understands why he doesn’t want him exercising his powers outside of the school grounds, or even without his permission for that matter. ‘Yes sir’ Sam replies, before remarking that the Mutant Registration Act deadline is coming up, and since Magneto doesn’t want them to register, because he thinks the Government is just trying to locate people who are born with powers so they can limit mutants, or use them.
Sam adds that he knows Magneto would prefer that the New Mutants were not recognized. ‘Or killed, Sam, doing something dangerous and stupid, as your classmate Doug Ramsey was killed’ Magneto reminds Sam. Magneto smiles and tells Sam that he can go to Lila’s concert, ‘But I trust you to keep your word!’ ‘To the letter!’ Sam replies excitedly, unconsciously lifting himself into the air, before quickly stopping the use of his powers and sheepishly exclaims ‘I guess I didn’t have your permission to use my power then, right sir?’ ‘Exactly!’ Magneto replies, before remarking that it is cheering to see that his students actually seem to be capable of learning. The Master of Magnetism then tells Sam to enjoy the concert and enjoy seeing Lila, adding ‘In time you’ll come to understand that I am right and that I act in your best interests’.
Meanwhile, in the endless void of space, just outside of Earth, a space ship sits, and a viscous looking alien exclaims ‘I own Lila! I financed the beings who bought it from Earth!’ the alien sits on a chair, surrounded by servants, the alien looks at another alien, entirely white, and kept on a leash at his feet. The vicious alien exclaims that secretly and without Lila’s knowledge, he aided and abetted its escape. ‘Lila’s a she, Spyder’ the white alien announces as she addresses her master. ‘A…she? Fah! She-Hood will avail it naught!’ Spyder replies, addressing the white alien as Gosamyr.
Spyder exclaims to Gosamyr ‘As little as it avails you, despite the fact that you, among your kind, are a very potent kind of she. We have no shes here – we have only the buyers and the merchandise!’ Spyder shouts. Spyder declares that he forced Lila’s owner into bankruptcy and reminds Gosamyr that her own clan forfeited itself, meaning they are both merchandise, and a contract is a contract! Spyder tells Gosamyr that she must know what will become of them, what will become of her when he has that need again – since the bankrupt fools now list Lila as missing.
Spyder sniffs something from a test tube as he remarks that he has the right – the financial obligation – to recoup his loss, before remarking that what he is smelling is of a fine distillation, a finer feeling essence of determination – grim determination. Spyder remarks that it is a terrible loss to lose Lila, for he has use of her, and demands that he will have her back. He orders his accountants to detach the retrieval ship and take it to Earth, before shouting that they have her bio-harmonic profile and Lila advertises her presence as if she has no fear. A fearful Gosamyr listens as Spyder points out that the world below is small and primitive, so they should locate Lila in little time, then they can bring her back to him.
Backstage at the concert, Lila kisses Sam and tells him that she is so glad he could make it. Sam explains that it was a close one as he had to promise Magneto that he will not use his powers during the concert, and tells Lila that she better not do anything during the concert where he might be tempted to use his powers. Lila tells Sam that he shouldn’t worry and boasts that if there is trouble, she can handle it, ‘I like trouble!’ she adds before rushing to the stage and telling Sam that she has been handling trouble since she was a kid like he is. ‘Wish me luck!’ she adds as she takes the stage.
‘A…kid’ Sam thinks to himself before remarking that sometimes he forgets that Lila is so much older than he is, that she has been off in space and escaped back to Earth to become a major star. ‘Real major!’ Sam exclaims, listening to the crowd going wild. Sam wonders just how long Lila is going to put up with a “kid” who has to get permission to even visit her and who has to pay such a high price to do it!
Back at the Xavier Institute, home of the New Mutants, Cannonball’s teammates are relaxing in a lounge. ‘At least they broadcast the concert so we can listen in case there is trouble!’ one of the teen heroes remarks. Bobby DaCosta a.k.a. Sunspot remarks that Sam was a dope to make that promise to Magneto. Danielle “Mirage” Moonstar, co-leader of the New Mutants points out that if Sam didn’t make the promise then he couldn’t have gone to the concert at all.
Tossing a ball up above his head and spinning it on a finger, Bobby asks why Sam even needed permission, as Illyana could have teleported him there secretly, remarking that it’s not like Illyana hasn’t done it before, ‘Haven’t you, Illyana?’ ‘Hmmmm? What?’ Illyana “Magik” Rasputin replies nonchalantly as she lies on a bean bag playing with her long blonde hair.
Mirage tells Bobby that Illyana has only done it recently if someone’s life was a stake or if it was an emergency. The alien Warlock has turned himself into a mirror and chair, where Rahne Sinclair a.k.a. Wolfsbane sits and brushes her hair. Warlock remarks that perhaps Sam did not wish to disobey Magneto for personal gain. Rahne exclaims that she doesn’t blame Sam for promising, as Lila is so beautiful and famous, it’s not wonder Sam loves her – not to mention she can sing really well. Rahne remarks that it isn’t her favourite kind of singing, but that it is well done. Rahne admits that she croaks like a frog when she sings before lamenting that her hair does not grow like Lila’s, adding that she cannot even spike it as it is so short.
Dani is creating illusions with her mutant power as she sits nearby and suggests to her best friend that her hair might be longer in her wolf-form. Rahne transforms into a wolf-girl transitional stage, and Warlock points out that her hair is longer, and is spiked, his voice trails off. Rahne exclaims that she knows she looks ridiculous as she doesn’t look anything like Lila at all. Bobby tells Rahne not to worry, as they like her usual, normal, dowdy self best.
Dani tells Bobby that he better quit picking on Rahne, to which Bobby suggests to Dani that she quit fooling around with that spear she has psionically created in case Magneto sees. Dani replies that Magneto won’t see it and if he does, he won’t know that her powers recently got enhanced and she can now make her mirages solid, like making wishes – and fears – come true. ‘Magneto won’t care; he’ll see you using some power – any power – and shackle you in the basement or something!’
Dani tells Bobby to give her a break as she has got to practise choosing control in what she wishes for, since one illusion stays solid all the time it better be a safe one. Bobby jokes that perhaps Dani should have conjured up a nice solid Lila-image for Sam, as he sure wanted her the most. Dani tells Sam that she doesn’t see what the big deal is, as Lila is both powerful and experienced, so if there is ever trouble, which there won’t be, Lila can save Sam, so they shouldn’t worry about it. ‘Shocked, Sunspot lets the ball drop onto his head as he rudely exclaims ‘She can save I>Sam? Dani, where are your finer feelings? Women are the weaker sex! Men should save them!’
Meanwhile, back aboard Spyder’s ship, Gosamyr detects that Spyder is asleep, so she manages to pull off the collar he has restrained in, then she sneaks out of the chamber – but Spyder hears her, and grins wickedly when he sees that she is gone. ‘What is it up to? It seeks to steal itself!’ Spyder exclaims. Turning to a monitor, he traces Gosamyr’s movements around his ship, before sniffing some more from that test tube as he exclaims that Gosamyr will be shopped, whipped and punished. Drugged up, Spyder thinks that he is the personification of generosity, before deciding that Gosamyr is allowed to have “its” little outing which he will dutifully observe.
Gosamyr hides in the shadows as a guard walks past her, and she thinks to herself that Spyder’s accountants will be leaving for Lila’s planet any second now, so she must reach their ship in time – lucky for her, she leaps onto it as it begins its separation from the main ship. Safely inside, Gosamyr decides that all she has to do is hide until she can find Lila and warn her, then perhaps she will be able to make Lila help her in return.
Spyder declares that when Gosamyr, all fluff and feathers, tugs at the end of “its” tether, he shall reel “it” back and crush “it” in his poisoned fists!’
Soon, aboard the retrieval ship, one of Spyder’s accountants declares that the blind spot apparatus is fully functional, there is no indication that those below register their approach. Another of the accountants exclaims that this is excellent and asks the first if he has traced Lila’s bio-harmonic profile. The first replies that he is getting a reading now, and informs the others that Lila is in the shiny black building below. ‘Excellent! Land and prepare for disembarkation and retrieval!’ the second declares.
The ship lands on top of several buildings, crushing their rooftops and one of the aliens informs the commander that they are going to have to cut their way in. ‘Very well’ the commander replies, ordering double entry molecular dispersal units to be ready. Suddenly, the aliens burst into the auditorium where Lila is performing. ‘Lila, dig it! The ceiling just went away!’ Lila calls out to the audience ‘Here it is folks, a sound to raise the roof!’ and the audience goes wild in reply. ‘Monsters!’ one of the audience exclaims. ‘It’s special effects!’ another cries. ‘This happened at her last New York concert!’ someone else declares.
The aliens drop down on Lila and her band mates, ‘And now the one you’ve been waiting for – monster smash!’ Lila exclaims as she dodges one of the aliens. From his position backstage, Sam rushes out onto the stage thinking that he cannot believe it, as Lila and her band do not miss a beat, despite the barrage of aliens. ‘They’re actually working these monsters into the act!’ Sam thinks that he promised not to use his powers, and he should know better. He blasts towards Lila and rips one of the aliens away from her, thinking that if he didn’t promise then he wouldn’t be here at all, before realizing that it doesn’t seem like Lila even needs his help as she is doing just fine.
Lila tosses one of the aliens up against a cymbal while whispering to Sam that he shouldn’t look so miserable, as she and her and can handle these creatures…whatever they are. Lila assures Sam that if things get too bad then she will just teleport everyone away, but not yet, as it would spoil all of the fun! Sam supposes that it is fun for Lila but wishes that she wouldn’t take so many chances, before wondering what these creatures are and where they came from, not to mention what it is that they want. ‘What they want is Lila, any fool can see that!’ Sam tells himself.
Sam thinks that he is doing the best he can with his two fists, but these creatures can fly and he has grounded himself. He regrets that he made a flat out promise – no powers at the concert and no powers while he is with Lila – but stands by his statement that no matter what, a Guthrie always keeps his promise. The audience all watch the battle with glee. ‘Dig it!’ one of them exclaims. ‘Are they bad or what?’ ‘I paid scalpers prices…and I still got my money’s worth! The lady puts on a show!’
Back at the New Mutant’s school, the young heroes listen as a radio announcer reveals that there is apparent chaos at the Lila Cheney concert, that you can hardly hear the music over the roar of the crowd as creatures right out of “Star Wars” appear to swarm toward the stage. The announcer adds that Lila’s concerts are known for their striking special effects, but that this is a humdinger! Bobby exclaims that Lila may be noted for them, that’s true, but the “special effects” reputation mostly marks real events, things people do not believe is happening, even when they see it with their own two eyes!
Sunspot adds that Sam isn’t doing anything, to which Rahne points out that he can’t as he promised. Angry, Sunspot declares that Magneto made Sam promise and now he blew it, big time. Sunspot adds that lack of physical powers is partly what got Cypher killed. Bobby adds that the monsters or aliens, whatever they are, could hurt people – including Sam – and the New Mutants can stop them – except that Magneto doesn’t want them even trying. Bobby declares that he is sick of Magneto’s attitude towards them and their powers, and is going to tell him straight up, that it is their duty as mutants and human beings to stop these monsters.
Dani races after Bobby, and Warlock extends his body so that he grabs Sunspot before he gets to Magneto. Bobby is held down on the ground outside of Magneto’s office, and Rahne tells Bobby that he can’t go in, when suddenly she asks the others if they can hear what she does – Magneto is talking to the White Queen of the Hellfire Club! Dani decides that they should bug Magneto’s office as it is the only way they will find out what is going on.
Inside his office, Magneto tells Emma “the White Queen” Frost that dark days are coming, that the rumblings have already begun. Emma must ask Magneto a question, for he replies that of course he would, as White King of the Hellfire Club, authorise the use of power neutralizers.
‘Power neutralizers!?’ exclaims Dani. Warlock suggests that Magneto might know the New Mutants rescued Magma, and that they know the Hellfire Club has plans for her. ‘No doubt Magneto has plans to use the neutralizers on us!’ Sunspot declares. Rahne asks what they are going to do, to which Magik exclaims that Magneto may have ordered them not to use their powers, but they never promised, and opens up a Stepping Disc to teleport them away. ‘Don’t forget our costumes!’ Bobby remarks, but Illyana has that under control as she creates another portal which collects their costumes.
Arriving in Limbo, Illyana tells her friends to hurry up and get changed, then she will teleport them to the concert. Wolfsbane exclaims that it is terrible here, that Limbo gets worse and worse. Magik replies ‘That’s because I get worse and worse!’ before remarking that she thought by letting Forge go…among other things…it would help, but she was wrong. ‘I can’t escape it!’ Illyana remarks, adding that Limbo’s power is only tied to her through the Stepping Discs that she controls that teleport them from place to place.
Bobby, Dani and Illyana all begin to get changed, while Warlock turns himself into a changing room for the modest Wolfsbane to get changed in. Magik exclaims that Limbo reflects what she is, adding that what Limbo has become is something terrible. ‘Love it or leave it, sweetness!’ the demon known as S’ym exclaims from where he is sitting, watching the New Mutants. ‘Leave it to you, S’ym?’ Illyana asks in disgust, before opening another teleportation disc and remarking that his offer is actually rather tempting, as he deserves the slime pit that this place has become.
Illyana adds that Destiny prophesised she would have to leave the Earth or else her wilfulness would destroy it. Illyana admits that she is afraid if she doesn’t leave then Earth will become like Limbo – a place of misfits and monsters. The New Mutants then arrive at the concert and Sam is relieved to see his friends, asking them what took them so long. Rahne asks Sam if he is all right, to which he replies that he is, before Dani asks where Lila is. Sam replies that he doesn’t know, explaining that everything was going okay, and that Lila thought this was a blast, and the fans thought it was all part of the show – until one of the creatures fired a smoke bomb into the audience and suddenly people began running around screaming – which is when he lost sight of Lila.
Suddenly, one of the aliens shouts ‘Got it!’ as he slams a device down over Lila’s head, capturing her and ordering his fellows to get back to the ship, that this operation is now in the black. Sam sees Lila being taken away and calls out to her. Bobby tries to comfort his best friend by pointing out that Lila got cocky, playing games when she could have escaped, then telling Sam that he was dumb enough to make that promise, but pointing out that now the concert is over big time, and he is no longer with Lila, ‘You kept your promise to the letter – so now go and get her!’
Sam tells Sunspot that he is right and begins blasting through the aliens, while his friends all go about fighting the aliens in their own unique ways. One of the aliens tries to order them to stop, informing them that they are interfering with the requisition of misappropriated property. ‘Misappropriated? What are you guys? Lawyers?’ Bobby asks before smashing the alien. ‘Accountants! The IRB – the Intergalactic Red-Tape Brigade!’ another alien explains, revealing their identity.
Dani remarks that trying to fight them will be a waste of time then, so perhaps they can scare them off, so she creates an illusion of what that alien is most afraid of – an even bigger alien. The alien screams and Dani remarks that she supposes he has a good reason. Sam calls out to his co-leader and asks Dani what that thing is. Mirage replies that she doesn’t know, but that she thought it might take out the aliens while they go after Lila. As the alien tries to smash Dani, Sam tells her it was a good thought, but that it seems more interested in thrashing them. ‘Yeah…tell me about it!’ mutters Dani. Sam tells her to get rid of it, as it is only delaying them, and Dani mutters that she sure wished she had her spear again!
‘My little spear’ she points out, when suddenly the heroes look around and see that all the aliens are gone. Sam wonders where they could be, and Illyana motions up to a hole in the roof, before collecting her teammates in a teleportation disc, and they arrive nearly instantly later on the rooftop – just in time to see the alien’s vessel fly off. Someone asks Magik if she can teleport them to it, but Illyana explains that it is screened from sight and somehow moving incredibly fast, so she would need her scrying glass, otherwise she couldn’t match its trajectory for certain, and they could land in space instead, ‘I’d probably kill us!’ she exclaims, regretting that she fought Forge. ‘It’s arrogance! Destiny was right. Why is everything I do always wrong?’ Magik laments, while Sam regrets making that idiotic promise.
Spyder has been watching the proceedings from monitors as exclaims ‘So…Lila is mine! Excellent!’ while remarking that the human children – the New Mutants – practically broadcast their horror, anger and despair. Spyder remarks that they are too young to have learned to temper their feelings, and decides that he could distill from them an excellent brew, adding that they appear “useful” in other ways too. However, Spyder refuses to allow them to board his ship, as the present a 97.32055 percent possibility of structural damage, until of course, proper restraints can be designed.
‘I want them. I need them!’ Spyder exclaims, before wondering how he can arrange it so they come along peacefully, voluntarily and at their own expense. Watching Gosamyr appear on the monitor, Spyder is pleased, as he believes this is his answer, proof that finer feelings only expand the profit potential the universe offers.
‘Oh, please…you’ve got to help me!’ exclaims Gosamyr as she approaches the New Mutants. Everyone turns and looks at her – ‘Who?!’ asks an intrigued Sunspot. ‘Wow!’ exclaims Sam. Wearily, Gosamyr introduces herself and asks the New Mutants for help, exclaiming that she knows where Lila is, as her master, Spyder as taken her. ‘”Master”? What do you mean!?’ Bobby asks. Gosamyr collapses in Sunspot’s arms as she explains that Spyder runs an intergalactic network called The Webb.
Gosamyr informs the New Mutants that Spyder says it is a textile manufacturing company, but really, it is a tangle of deceit, with Spyder gloating in the center…spinning lies that are the warp and woof of his business practice. Gosamyr reveals that her family has an interest in textiles, a special ability in their manufacture, and that her brother dealt with Spyder, who now owns her entire family, and has imprisoned the others, but keeps her with him. She reveals that when Spyder ordered his accountants to Earth, she snuck aboard the ship, hoping to escape and free her family before it is too late.
Sunspot assures Gosamyr that they would love to help but that they don’t know where Spyder has gone or how to reach him. Gosamyr reveals that she does, and motioning across to another building points to the small space yacht which she detached from the other craft. Gosamyr looks into Sunspot’s eyes and assures him that she will help them rescue their friend if they help her save her family. Smiling back, Sunspot asks Gosamyr why Spyder took Lila.
Gosamyr replies that Spyder mentioned Earth sold her. Mirage remarks that Lila has told them that story, to which Magik points out that Lila never said who sold her, bought her, and why. Gosamyr remarks that she doesn’t know that part, but she does know Spyder made a business loan to the beings who bought Lila, then arranged their bankruptcy and appropriated their assets. Gosamyr explains that when Spyder discovered that Lila, the prize collection was missing, he traced her here to Earth, and impounded her.
Gosamyr remarks that Lila has very strong feelings about things, before informing the New Mutants that Spyder has a taste for feelings, before exclaiming that they have to save them. Mirage and Magik look at each other with suspicion, and Dani remarks that it seems awfully convenient, to which Illyana agrees.
Sunspot grins as he looks at Gosamyr and reminds the New Mutants that Destiny prophesied that Magik had to leave the Earth or cause its destruction, meaning she knew about their future, that they are supposed to go. Bobby tells Gosamyr of course they will go with her and help her. ‘Really…?’ Gossamyr asks. ‘I promise!’ Sunspot exclaims.


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Provide a full summary of the comic book.

[Assistant]
Mind Games (1st story)
If Wishes Were Horses (2nd story)
Blood Drawn, Blood Spilt (3rd story)
A New Jersey chemical dump…
Bulk and Glow Worm take a final stand against the menace of the Purifiers. Bulk hurls barrels of toxic waste at their attackers, while Glow Worm takes cover behind his massive friend and hurls his signature “glo-bal cocktails” at the Purifiers. He comments that he is more sickened by the actions of the Purifiers than he is by the radioactive dump in which he and Bulk reside.
After taking several casualties, Major Purge radios into his squad leader, Stack, and asks for assistance. “I warned you, Purge, that their capture would be difficult,” Stack tells him. He instructs Purge to distract Bulk so they can neutralize the primary threat, Glow Worm. Stack’s works as he imagined, and the Purifiers manage to capture both of the unruly mutants. However, he tells his team to be cautious around them, as their armor may not have been designed to resist the high levels of radioactivity that Bulk and Glow Worm both emit.
Major Purge reports to his master, the High Evolutionary, who monitors the events on Earth from his orbiting space station. Purge request to be immediately teleported to the Purifiers’ hideout, stressing that prolonged exposure to the captured mutants brings risk of radiation poisoning. The High Evolutionary concurs, adding that he fully intends to protect his servants. After teleporting his team to their base via remote, the High Evolutionary takes a moment to ponder his actions. He believes the mutant powers of Bulk and Glow Worm will endanger the development of humanity. He intends to strip them of their powers so his plans can proceed unchecked.  “I only hope that removal of their powers will not end those wretched creatures’ lives,” he adds as an afterthought.
Meanwhile, at the Professor Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters, Cannonball partakes in a rigorous session in the Danger Room. His intent is to practice his turns while blasting around the room, dodging the obstacles produces by his shape-shifting alien teammate, Warlock. However, Warlock takes his role a bit too far, and scares Cannonball nearly to death by taking the form of a giant jack-in-the-box.
Danielle Moonstar unexpectedly enters the room and announces that it is time for her practice session. Almost instinctively, she conjures up an image out of Cannonball’s mind and projects it in front of him, hoping to get his attention. However, the image she conjures is a solid brick wall, and Cannonball nearly injures himself trying to avoid it. He stops abruptly in his flight and lands on his butt.
Dani runs forward and profusely apologizes to her fellow New Mutant. Cannonball stands up and explains that the only reason he stopped is that he feared the wall might have been Warlock in disguise, and he did not want to hurt his teammate. Warlock assures him that he would not have been injured. “We didn’t think Doug was gonna get hurt, either,” Cannonball laments while dusting off his legs.
Magneto suddenly appears and addresses his students, interrupting this awkward moment. He reprimands Danielle for entering the Danger Room during a live training session. She defends herself, claiming that it was time for her practice session.
Once again, an awkward moment is interrupted, this time by one of Magik’s teleportation discs. She transports herself, Rahne and Sunspot right into the middle of the Danger Room. Rahne excitedly holds a letter in her hands and tells her teammates that it is a letter from Amara. Sunspot adds that the letter came all the way from Nova Roma. Rahne teases her teammates and tells them that they seem much too busy to read the letter, so she transforms into her werewolf form and runs away with the letter between her jaws. Cannonball and Dani playfully chase after her, but Magneto quickly tires of their fun. “Enough!” he shouts from the control room.
The students quickly quiet down, and stare nervously at their teacher. He tells them that they are never to enter the Danger Room during someone else’s training session, stating that someone might get hurt. Then, he takes his orders a step further, telling the New Mutants that they are not even allowed to use their powers without his permission.
Sunspot defiantly activates his solar powers and shouts back at his headmaster. “And why should we listen to you? You didn’t give us these powers. We were born with them!” he yells. “I will use my power…when and how I choose!”
Magneto responds by reminding them that he is the headmaster of the school, and their parents have entrusted them to his care. He blames their recklessness for the death of their teammate Doug Ramsey, only adding to the guilt they already feel. Satisfied that they understand his message, Magneto dismisses them. As they leave, he addresses Danielle. He tells her that her ability to create mirages is the least useful mutant ability amongst the New Mutants, should she find herself alone and in danger. He adds that she needs to hone her ability to perfection, and practice her physical combat skills so they are better than those of her peers.
Warlock pokes his head back in the door as he leaves and empathetically says goodbye to Dani, who seems to have resigned herself to her situation.
Back in the institute’s lounge, the students vent their frustrations about their headmaster. Illyana tells Roberto that his defiance of Magneto in the Danger Room was dumb, but he responds that he does not care. “The sunspot power is mine. And we go off on secret mission all the time without his knowing, and --”
“All the time?” Illyana interjects. “Like, exactly once. Twice, if you count returning Doug’s body.”
“You of all people have no right to preach, Illyana! You must have freaked out about fifty times! You even tried to kill Magneto…I halfway wish you had!” Rahne, Sam, and Warlock pay no attention to this argument and instead discuss Amara’s letter. Rahne reminds the team that they should really wait until Dani finishes her training session before they read it, but Sam rejects this idea and impatiently opens the letter.
The letter gets interesting right away. As he reads, Sam tells the team that Amara’s father has betrothed her to some prince she has never even met who lives in the mountains. Rahne comments that Amara is only sixteen years old, while a less-sympathetic Illyana says that Amara deserves it for ditching the New Mutants in order to attend the Massachusetts Academy.
“She’d have had to obey her father and return to Nova Roma no matter what school she went to,” Rahne says, defending her friend. “She must really hate being engaged to that other boy, though. I think she’s really in love with Empath, and that’s why she changed schools.”
“If she does love Empath, it’s because he’s controlling her,” Illyana says while casually threading her fingers through her long, blonde hair.
Back at the Purifiers base…
The Purifiers have succeeded in capturing and securing Bulk and Glow Worm. The helpless mutants lie strapped to a large device. Stack tells his fellow scientists that the mutants are ready for readjustment. This statement draws the attention of Glow Worm, who asks Stack why they are being so cruel to them. Stack tells them that his master, the High Evolutionary, has big plans for humanity, and he cannot have a couple of dangerous mutants like them getting in the way. He explains that Glow Worm’s power to absorb, contain and emit high levels of radiation poses too large a threat to be left in place. Stack then throws a switch, and the machine begins channeling vast amounts of energy through the captive mutants. They scream out in pure agony, but the Purifiers do not care.
After the process is complete, Major Purge examines the energy readings on the computer screen and announces that both mutants have been successfully stripped of their powers: Bulk is no longer invulnerable to radiation, and Glow Worm can no longer convert and rechannel energy. He asks why the High Evolutionary did not just have these mutants killed, as they will surely die anyway from radiation poisoning. Stack reminds him that their master does not kill without cause, adding that his actions are not for them to question.
Immediately after this adjustment ends, another Purifier announces that they have detected a powerful new mutant. This mutant is much more dangerous than either Bulk or Glow Worm, he says while bringing up a live image on the screen. “Now that’s what I call a mutant!” Major Purge says, observing a live image of Amara Aquilla, also known as Magma, on the monitor. “It’ll be a different kind of pleasure to remove that babe’s powers!” Stack orders his minions to zoom out of the subject a bit so he can get a better look at her surroundings.
Magma, however, is completely unaware that she is under observation as she vents her frustrations on a Nova Roma mountainside. She blasts rock after rock into smithereens while ranting about the old-fashioned customs of Nova Roma and her father’s decision to betroth her.
Empath comes over the hillside and sees Magma screaming out in anguished rage. “I could feel your fury all the way in the valley,” he tells her. She replies that she made sure everyone in the valley could feel her pain. Noticing that she normally is not so malicious, Empath asks her if something is wrong. Amara seems shocked that he even has to ask. She reminds him that she has been traded like a playing card in her father’s quest for power.
“I insisted that father tell him about my dangerous power,” she says, referring to her betrothed. “…but father says that only made me seem more valuable!” Empath calms her down, and lovingly places his arm around her shoulders. “What kind of man would find a wife who could destroy his land…valuable?” she asks.
Empath tells Amara that maybe he will talk to her father and perhaps influence him to see otherwise. From their observation station, the Purifiers note this choice of words, and Stack asks one of them if he knows exactly what Empath means. The Purifier explains that he is detecting a psychic energy signal off the boy. He concludes that he must have the ability to influence the emotions of others. “Did he use his power to calm the girl?” Stack asks. The Purifier responds that he is not quite sure; perhaps the boy has an influence on Amara without activating his powers. Anyway, Stack concludes that the girl’s power is too dangerous to be left in place, as she could possibly destroy the entire Earth. He immediately contacts the High Evolutionary and asks to be transported to her location right away.
The Purifiers arrive shortly thereafter and ambush Magma and Empath, who sit peacefully on a grassy hillside. They zap Amara and knock her unconscious. Empath spins around, faces his attackers, and begins using his emotional manipulation powers. “Whoever you are, you love us,” he begins. “You don’t want to hurt us…the idea of pointing those weapons at us horrifies you!” He slowly inches toward Stack and gestures for him to give him the gun. Stack begins to hand it to him, but then comes to his senses and whacks the young mutant across the face with his staff. He then orders his men to teleport back to Jackson Hole with Magma, but regrets that they cannot also take Empath with them as well. “Removing that power would give me great pleasure,” he tells the injured mutant as he leaves.
Empath returns to Nova Roma and radios his mentor, Emma Frost. He tells her exactly what happened, and that the attackers took Amara to some place called Jackson Hole. Amara’s father, the Senator Aquila, snatches the voice receiver out of Empath’s hand and begins shouting at Emma. He says that nothing like this ever happened before she went off to the Massachusetts Academy. He even goes as far as blaming the kidnapping on an “other-worldly squabble” of Emma’s devising.
Emma shuts him up right there. She tells him that had Amara remained at the academy, she would have received protection from this sort of thing. She reminds Senator Aquila that he demanded Amara’s return, and therefore the whole ordeal is his responsibility. Before things get even more out of hand, Emma pledges that she will indeed recover Amara before she comes to any harm. Shutting the radio off, she turns to her guards, and tells them to contact the members of the Hellfire Club. “Including Magneto,” she adds. “Especially Magneto. I want to talk to him first of all.”
Back at the Xavier Institute, Magneto chastises Sunspot for his insubordinance. He reiterates that his role is to protect the New Mutants from the forces that wish to harm them, and if that means he has to strip them of all their freedoms and chain them up, he would do it. As he finishes reprimanding the young mutant, Magneto receives Emma Frost’s incoming transmission. He dismisses Roberto so he can take the call in private.
Outraged, Sunspot storms out into the hall and begins venting to his fellow New Mutants. “The nerve of the man!” he shouts, slamming the door behind him. “He preaches about politics and danger and how it is his holy duty to keep us safe, then the second the White Queen of the Hellfire Club whispers his name, he dismisses me. He’s never here. He ignores us, bullies us. He even threatens us, and he won’t even let us hear what’s happened to Amara--”
“Amara? What has she got to do with it?” Dani asks. Their interests sufficiently piqued, the teenagers crowd around the door and try to listen in. Rahne realizes she can probably hear the best while in her wolf form, and transforms. She has Dani relay what she hears to the others via their unique psi-link. The team learns about Amara’s present situation, and Rahne even overhears exactly where she is being held.
Suddenly, she hears Magneto approaching the door, and tells everyone to back away. They scramble down the hallway, but do not get very far before Magneto throws open the door and demands that they come to attention. Luckily, he does not suspect that they overheard his conversation. While his students stand at attention, he informs them that he has been called away. He is intentionally vague about the details. As he walks out the door, he reminds them that they are not allowed to use their powers during his absence.
As their headmaster flies off into the distance, Illyana laments that they could go help their former teammate if only they knew her location. To their surprise, Rahne says that not only did she find out her location, but she even overheard the exact coordinates. Because Amara’s life may be in danger, they almost completely bypass the discussion of whether or not they should disobey Magneto. Magik teleports the team to the attic so they can get changed into their uniforms, and then immediately teleports them all right into the Purifiers’ secret base in Jackson Hole.
They arrive right in the middle of the Purifiers’ laboratory, drawing everyone’s attention. Bulk and Glow Worm both hang limp from some shackles, while Amara lies in restraints under the large, power-removal machine. The New Mutants begin their uncoordinated attack immediately. The team begins moving towards Amara, dispatching the Purifiers that get in their way. Sunspot hurls a trio of Purifiers into one of Magik’s teleportation discs, trapping them in the demonic realm of Limbo. Mirage, meanwhile, scares two other Purifiers with a projection of a demon, then knocks them both out with a roundhouse kick. Rahne, in her wolf form, leaps up to Amara’s position on the rack and removes her restraints.
Hoping to take advantage of the fact that two mutants lie under the machine, Major Purge throws its activation switch. Warlock tries to stop him, but is a moment too late. The machine begins charging energy. Luckily, Cannonball swoops in right as the machine discharges its stored energy and rescues the unconscious Amara, while Rahne dives out of the way. Amara wakes up, and as soon as she assesses the situation, asks to be set down on the ground. Her skin flares up, and fiery molten lava overtakes her body. She begins projecting heat blasts at the Purifiers. Ever the protective type, Cannonball reminds her to steer clear of the depowering machine, as the contraption remains active.
As Dani fights off hordes of Purifiers, something hovering above Bulk and Glow Worm catches her eye. She turns and sees the Valkyrie Death Glow floating above their heads. She explains to Sunspot that the Valkyries bestowed upon her the ability to foresee the deaths of others. This Death Glow means that both Bulk and Glow Worm are not long for this world.
Enraged, Sunspot breaks them out of their restraints. Bulk and Glow Worm beg him to keep away, as they do not want to poison anyone else with the radiation leeching out of their bodies. The stumble to the ground and tell Sunspot that they themselves are almost dead, as they have been robbed of their radiation immunity.
Disturbingly, Dani observes the Death Glow growing over the entire room. “The possibility…probability of death hangs over us all,” she cries. “We’ve got to end this fast.” As she turns back around, she comes face-to-face with Stack. He asks her how exactly she plans to end this battle. Dani instinctively conjures up the image of a pile of corpses, but Stack is not at all bothered by her mirage. He comments that this image is what he most desires; the deaths of all those unfit to participate in the High Evolutionary’s grand schemes for humanity. Dani then summons the image that Stack supposedly most fears: a horrible, twisted humanoid with no eyes, an elongated head, and rows of sharp teeth.
“Nor can that image frighten me. I have faced it before,” Stack calmly says. “It haunts my dreams…that monstrous vision of what humanity could become…without his direction!” Dani realizes that both of her strategies have failed, and resorts to physical combat. She lunges at Stack. He catches her in mid-air, and using her momentum, throws her directly into the depowering machine. “The power to confuse through illusion is yours no longer!” Stack shouts.
None of Dani’s teammates see her fall into the machine, and none watch as she is stripped of her mutant abilities. Bulk and Glow Worm, however, both witness this atrocity, and sympathize with the girl. Glow Worm mourns the loss of her powers, noting that they were what made her special. Bulk, however, sees things differently. “She’s special anyway. She saw us in trouble, She wanted ta help…even considerin’ how busy she was.”
The withered, depowered mutants realize that it is up to them to do something for Dani. Luckily, Glow Worm remembers that he observed the machine’s control panel and saw how it was operated. He tells Bulk that the machine has a lever which controls the amount of energy it emits. “When the lever is down, it indicates the removal of powers. The central position is neutral. But raise it--” he poses, implying that they may be able to restore Dani’s power. Glow Worm then collapses on the floor, completely wiped of his energy, and dies.
With his last iota of energy, Bulk crawls over to the machine and throws its switch in the opposite direction. It begins pumping energy back into Danielle’s body. As Bulk drifts into unconsciousness, he comments that this was not such a bad way to die after all.
Rahne finally notices that Dani has been thrown into the depowering machine, and runs over to help. She is about to reach into the path of the energy beam and pull Dani out, but Sunspot appears just in time and restrains her. He then demolishes the machine’s mainframe, halting the energy flow. Rahne and Sunspot carry their drained teammate over their shoulders and lead her to safety.
They do not make it very far before Stack steps in their path. “You’ve saved a powerless husk!” he sneers. Dani tries to prove him wrong, and once again summons the mirage of the feral, disfigured humanoid creature. Sunspot exclaims that the machine did not work, and Dani still has her power. Stack does not seem bothered, and fearlessly faces the monster once again. “A worthless power, in any case…the ability to create illusions. And one I’ve seen before. As you can see, my fears are consistent,” he scoffs.
To the surprise of all, the mirage-monster comes to life and lunges at Stack, cutting him off mid-sentence. Stack screams as he is suddenly faced with the twisted manifestation of his worst fear. Dani stares at the scene she has just created, confused and horrified.
Before they have time to contemplate the implications of this development much further, Major Purge begins firing at the mutants with his pistol. Sunspot yells for Dani to create another mirage to deal with Purge. She does so right away, and Purge instantly finds himself surrounded by legions of demons. However, as soon as these demons appear, the monster that attacked Stack vanishes without a trace.
Purge screams in terror at the sight of the monsters he believes have come for his soul. Rahne looks on with sympathy. “His childhood must have been as strictly fundamentalist as my own,” she says. Once the demons take care of Major Purge, they turn and begin attacking the New Mutants. The demons quickly overpower both the teenagers and the Purifiers, and Dani does not know hot to stop them. As they ravenously rip into all the people in the room, everyone cries for Dani to do something.
While Dani insists that she cannot stop them, Rahne informs her that her last illusion vanished as soon as she created the demons. Dani initially refuses to simply create another illusion, as it could be even more dangerous than the demons. Rahne chimes in with another idea. “But…what you want most now is something safe and good…not evil or dangerous. Please! You’ve got to try,” Rahne pleads.
Dani, concentrating hard on what she most desires, looks upward and tries to conjure up something useful. As hordes of gnashing demons try to pull her to the ground, she manages to project the image of her Spirit Lance. “It’s saved lives,” she says, “…fought off death before! Let it save us now!”
The Spirit Lance solidifies from the illusion, and Dani latches on to it. As quickly as they were created, the demons disappear. The New Mutants then deal with the rest of the Purifiers. With the leaders gone and their friends safe, the teenagers make quick work of the remaining soldiers. Cannonball knocks them around while Magik hurls them into Limbo. The remaining Purifiers realize they have lost, and run for the exit. Thirsting for vengeance, the New Mutants give chase. However, they stop in their tracks once they see what is up ahead.
As the Purifiers reach the exit, they are confronted by another, more formidable foe: Magneto and the Hellfire Club. Magneto effortlessly sweeps the Purifiers out of his way, clearing a path for the White Queen, Sebastian Shaw, and Selene. The Hellfire Club beats on the Purifiers without breaking a sweat. However, they do not forget why they came. “Don’t bother with them now, Magneto,” the White Queen says. “First, we rescue Amara!”
Magneto agrees, but tells the Purifiers will surely answer for their crimes once they find the young mutant. “They have almost foiled our plan for her!”
From their hiding spot around the corner, the New Mutants overhear this last comment and ponder what it means. Magik tells her teammates that they should return to the institute as soon as possible before the Hellfire Club sees them. Dani agrees, but comments that the Purifiers will certainly describe them to Magneto and the Hellfire Club as soon as they are interrogated. Magik concurs, and decides that she will cast the remaining Purifiers into Limbo so they will be beyond questioning. The Purifiers vanish, and then Magik opens up an escape route for her teammates. They jump in right as the Hellfire Club comes around the corner.
Finally safe at home, the team collapses on the living room furniture. Danielle laments that now she has to carry around the obtrusive Spirit Lance, as it seems that at least one of her mirages has to remain solid at all times. “At least it’s a safe one. But it’s gonna be a pain taking it to parties,” she says.
“Assuming Magneto ever lets us go to parties again,” quips Roberto. They decide not to tell Magneto about what happened, seeing as how he has secret plans for their friend. Dani also decides that she does not want to tell Magneto about the latest development in her powers. Warlock interjects that Magneto will surely notice.
“Maybe not for a while,” Dani replies. “He’s mostly gone, anyway! And when he gets back, he’s more interested in lording it over us that training us. Maybe by the time he notices, we can think of a good explanation.”
Amara buries her head in her hands and tries to think of a solution to her own particular dilemma. The New Mutants invite her to stay at the institute, as it should be the safest way to stay out of the clutches of the Hellfire Club. She thinks about it for a moment, but then politely declines. She decides that she may have problems back in Nova Roma, but she does not want to hide from them; she wants to deal with them head on. She also tells her teammates that her father cannot possibly be involved with the Hellfire Club’s schemes. However, it is unclear exactly whom she tries to convince.
Amara says goodbye and the New Mutants enjoy a group hug, and then Magik teleports Amara back to Nova Roma. She emerges from the teleportation disk right in front of her father and Empath. She runs into her father’s arms and gives him a big hug. As he embraces her, he says that he needs to remember to get on the radio and thank Emma Frost for saving his daughter. A disturbed look forms on Amara’s face as he says this, and she stares off into the distance with a look of uneasy anticipation.
2nd story:
Danielle Moonstar soars over the Xavier Institute grounds atop her trusty flying stallion, Brightwind. With her Spirit Lance in one hand and the other on the reins, she tells her horse that she just needs to get away from the school for a while so she can think. “Being gifted with a mutant mirage power is one thing,” she says, “but this new expression of it is weird. It almost seems like I have the powers to make wishes come true.”
She tells Brightwind that previously, she would just summon up someone’s worst fear or deepest desire. She never knew what would come up, but that did not matter because they were merely illusions. Now, when she summons up a mirage, it manifests as a solid object. She has to be prepared to deal with anything.
Convinced her horse does not believe her, Dani tells him that she will demonstrate and decides to use him as a guinea pig. She reaches into his mind and pulls out his deepest desire. Dani expects to see something like a sugar cube appear, so when a lovely, winged mare appears, it takes her by surprise. Equally surprised is Brightwind; he instantly takes off after the beautiful horse, inadvertently dumping Mirage off of his back.
She tumbles through the air but luckily lands in a shallow pond. She curses the stallion as she swims to the shore. You share a rapport with a guy! You think you know him, she thinks to herself, and he takes off after the first flying filly he sees! As she emerges from the water, she twists her ankle and her head starts swimming, so sits up against a tree to rest. I’m miles from home, soaking wet…with a concussion, probably, and a sprained ankle! Magneto’ll be home any minute. I sure wish there was some way to get there…fast! A little red sports car sure would be…
As she completes this thought, a brand-new Porsche appears in front of her. …niiice, Dani finishes. She excitedly gets up off the ground and hobbles over to the car, apparently having forgotten about her new power. She looks into the interior and comments that the car also has its keys in the ignition as well as a full tank of gas! While she is still woozy from her possible concussion, she climbs into the driver’s seat anyway and heads back to the institute. She is careful to only drive on the back roads and stay under the speed limit.
Before she gets very far, she sees a police car tailing her in the rear-view mirror. It turns on its lights and indicates for her to pull over. The police! Oh, no! Was I speeding? No. Then why’s he chasing me?
The officer approaches the driver’s side of the car and asks Dani what she is doing on this road. She immediately begins pleading her case, starting with the assertion that she does not drink or do drugs. While she should stop here, she doesn’t, and continues to describe the circumstances that led to her driving this car: her horse ride, getting thrown into the lake, the sudden appearance of the car, etc. The officer does not seem to buy any of it. Instead, he notices the car’s peculiar license plate, whose letters spell out the word ‘Mirage’.
“Mirage, hummmmmm? Invalid car license. You steal it?” he asks. Dani vehemently denies this claim, but when the officer asks her to prove it with her registration, she realizes she may be in a bind. The officer then asks for her driver’s license. Dani reaches into her pocket, but then decides to just explain to her officer that she does not have it.
“I didn’t bring it. I…I didn’t expect to need--” she begins, but then magically pulls a driver’s license out of her pocket. The ID is completely valid; it bears Danielle’s full name, a photo, and all the proper identifying information, including her current address. However, in that very instant, the car vanishes. Dani plops onto the asphalt.
This stuns the police officer, who asks if he is on some sort of hidden-camera TV show. While he tries to figure out what is going on, Dani realizes that it may not have been such a good idea to create a driver’s license with all of her real information. I can’t let him know who I am after what he’s seen, she thinks to herself. Magneto’d kill me…and for once he’d be in the right!
So, she quickly summons up another driver’s license, this one false. The officer looks at the ID card again, and is surprised to see that it now shows the name Hontas, Poca. “Poca Hontas, eh?” he asks, obviously confused. He concludes that he may be in the presence of an alien. He grabs Dani by the wrist and hauls her into the back of his patrol car. As he drives off, Dani stares listlessly out the window. She cannot decide whether to laugh or cry at this series of events.
Brightwind returns and lands in the middle of the street right in front of the moving vehicle. The officer swerves to avoid hitting the winged horse, and ends up careening through a field before crashing into a pile of hay. The officer emerges from the vehicle, unscathed. He grumbles something about not believing what he just saw, but as he turns, he comes face to face with the massive stallion. Dani tells him that this is the horse she fell from, and if it is okay with him, she would like to ride it home. The officer is sufficiently intimidated by this point and gladly lets her go.
Dani briefly scolds Brightwind for dumping her earlier, but then climbs onto his back. Brightwind takes to the skies and flies his companion back home. As she heads off into the horizon, the officer scratches his head and doubts if he even believes what he just saw. Fortunately for him, he remembers he has her license, and realizes he may be able to extract a finger print from it.
At this same moment, Dani also remembers that she left her fake ID in the officer’s custody. “It’s not my real license, but still,” she says, “it sure would be wonderful to have that spear again.” With that thought, the license vanishes out of the officer’s hand, and the Spirit Lance appears in Dani’s. While she is excited to have it back, she remembers the pain it is going to be to have to haul a spear around wherever she goes. Suddenly Dani has an idea. Remembering the convenience of the small driver’s license, she switches the large Spirit Lance for a miniature version that she can wear as a necklace. “You know, this gift’s gonna take some getting used to, Brightwind,” she tells her horse. “And I’ll have to be really careful what I wish for. It just might come true.”
Dani returns to the school and is greeted by her excited teammates. They tell her that they were worried and ask her what happened. As they begin grilling her about a few things, like why she is all wet and how come her spear is missing, Magneto returns from his mission. They politely ask how is mission went, even though they already know everything that happened.
Magneto tells them it went well, but it was a little odd. He says that Amara was safely returned to her father “in a burst of teleportation light.” He continues to say that the Hellfire Club defeated the people who kidnapped Amara, but the villains were also teleported away, just as the Hellfire Club began their interrogation. The New Mutants give a knowing look at Magik, but she looks completely confused.
“Hey, don’t look at me,” she whispers. “I didn’t do it.”
Magneto finishes by telling his students that they should understand that they can trust him. He reasserts that while his methods may appear harsh, he has their best interests at heart. As he turns to go inside, Dani’s new necklace catches his eye. “Why, Dani, that’s a lovely spear necklace.”
“Thank you, sir,” she responds. “I like it too! It’s a gift…and it’s exactly what I wanted most.”
3rd story:
March, 1931, at the base of Wundagore Mountain in the Balkan Principality of Transia…
Herbert Edgar Wyndham supervises the construction of the scientific research facility that will one day be known as the Citadel of Silence. His work force is comprised mainly of the Subterranean species known as Moloids. As they labor away, Wyndham wonders if these creatures are the basis for the legends of gnome-men that he hears in the area. He doubts he will ever found out, as the mysterious man who indentured them to Wyndham has the habit of fleeing without sticking around for questions. Well, my dear mother taught me never to look a gift horse in the mouth, he thinks to himself, for fear of having my hand bitten off!
Jonathan Drew enters the construction site at this moment and interrupts Wyndham’s train of thought. Jonathan proceeds to make derisive comments about the Moloids, indicating that he does not trust such foreign creatures. Wyndham defends their presence. “Six months ago, when they first began here, I felt strange about working them so hard without them or feeding them. But then I realized that all they live for is to work—that someone must have bred them that way,” Wyndham says.
Jonathan still has his doubts. Wyndham assures him that he also finds it strange. He tells his associate that he wants to follow one of the Moloids after its 18-hour work shift in order to learn exactly where they go at night. Jonathan responds by commenting that if his wife knew all the weird things that happened on the construction site, she would surely take their daughter, Jessica, and leave.
Meanwhile, outside the fortress, little Jessica plays in the mud with her friend Phillip. Jessica collapses and falls face-first into the clay. Phillip does not understand what is happening to her, and asks her why she is eating clay. Jessica’s mother, Merriem, emerges from her house at this point and sees her daughter lying unconscious in the mud. “Phillip – what did you do to her, you odd little child?” she shouts. Phillip replies that Jessica collapsed on her own; he did not do anything.
Merriem runs to the lab and finds Jonathan. She informs him that their daughter has fallen ill, possibly from the radiation seeping out of the nearby uranium mine. They rush to the lab and find Wyndham already performing tests on the young girl. He notifies them of the severity of the situation; Jessica is deathly ill from radiation poisoning, and there is nothing he can do to stop her from dying. In order to preserve her life, he tells them, he has already placed her in a cryogenic unit to slow down the rate of cellular decay.
Jonathan interjects, saying that he has a way of helping her. He pulls out one of his current projects, a serum derived from radiation-resistant spiders. He explains that the serum should allow her body to adapt to the radiation, as do those of the spiders.
The serum produces no results at first. Wyndham asks Jonathan if it requires the standard month-long incubation period. “Blast it, Jessica doesn’t have a month!” Jonathan snaps. “My daughter’s dying and it’s my fault!”
“Not necessarily, John,” Wyndham responds. He tells him that with his genetic accelerator, he can possibly speed up the incubation period. Merriem objects to this experiment being performed on her daughter and flees in tears. As she leaves, she tells Jonathan that he was always more interested in science than he was in their daughter. She goes on a walk by herself so she can think.
When Merriem fails to return six hours later, a frantic Jonathan bursts into Wyndham’s office and asks for help. He begs for help in finding his missing wife. The two men head out into the night to find her, searching by the light of the full moon. They split up so Jonathan can ask questions in town, while Wyndham heads over the neighbor’s manor.
As he approaches the manor of his neighbor, the baron Gregor Russoff, he comments to himself that he has yet to see the reclusive man since moving in. Suddenly, he hears a wolf howling in the distance. He runs to investigate, and unfortunately finds the gnarled remains of Jonathan’s wife, Merriem. It is apparent she has been mauled by some wild animal. Wyndham lifts his head and looks to the moon, and catches a glimpse of the silhouette of a beastly man. The figure quickly vanishes, but Wyndham swears he heard it howling at the moon.
Wyndham takes the body and meets up with Jonathan. He breaks the bad news about Merriem, but conceals her wounds. Additionally, he neglects to tell Jonathan about the possibility of her murderer being a werewolf. He fears that Jonathan would associate the beastly murderer with the Moloids, and do something horrible to them. Wyndham decides to keep it a secret, but vows to seek out the true killer himself.


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

[Assistant]
Illusion!
Limbo…an eldritch dimension ruled by a wayward witch-child who now, hovers over an inverted pentagram trying with all her heart and soul to fit together the shattered pieces of her life. Her name is Illyana Rasputin, she calls herself “Magik” and she is a long-serving member of the mutant teen heroes known as the New Mutants. Small demons surround her, grinning as she goes about using her powers, when her friend and teammate Sam “Cannonball” Guthrie approaches her and asks her if she can get the scrying glass back together. ‘You have eyes, don’t you, Sam?’ Illyana replies, pointing out the obvious, before warning Sam to keep back as the energies she is wielding are dangerous, and she is so close to finishing.
There is a click as the shattered scrying glass is put back in place and Illyana announces that it is revealing what they are after – the ship that kidnapped Lila! Magik’s teammates gather round – Dani “Mirage” Moonstar, Bobby “Sunspot” DaCosta, Rahne “Wolfsbane” Sinclair and the alien Warlock. There is another alien present too, the enigmatic Gosamyr, who clutches onto Sunspot as she confirms that that is Spyder’s ship. Sam asks where Spyder is taking his girlfriend Lila and if Illyana can teleport them there.
Bobby points out that the image is changing, and a demonic looking version of Illyana appears, laughing wickedly. ‘No! She’s come for me!’ Magik exclaims. The demons all around Illyana begin screeching with pleasure. ‘It’s you, mistress!’, ‘Your destiny!’, ‘What you must become!’, ‘Stay with us here in Limbo!’, ‘Rule us forever!’, ‘We love you like this!’. Suddenly there is a burst of energies and Illyana is knocked back. One of the small demons exclaims that it was darkling energies that she could not hold back, and the scrying glass is once more shattered, sending shards flying everywhere.
The demons all scatter to protect themselves while Mirage uses her psychic powers to throw up a shield, protecting herself and her best friend Wolfsbane. Warlock copies Dani and transforms himself into a shield to protect Sunspot and Gosamyr. Bobby asks Warlock if he is okay when one of the shards hits him, but Warlock just tells Bobby to stay back, pointing out that although Sunspot is strong, he is not invulnerable and the splinters will cut him.
Unexpectedly, Dani bumps Rahne, who is knocked several feet away. Warlock sees Rahne and urges her to transform into her wolf form as some shards are hurtled towards her, when suddenly, Cannonball blasts down and picks Rahne up. ‘Oh, Sam…you saved me! Just like a knight in shining armor!’ Sam tells Rahne that it is kind of fanciful, before remarking that his blast power does sparkle a little bit, before telling Rahne that she could have been cut really bad so she needs to be more careful. Rahne informs him, as they descend, that Dani bumped into her, before muttering ‘What does it really matter’ and assuring Sam that she will be more careful as she doesn’t want to worry him.
Cannonball motions to the crater in the ground where the scrying glass used to be and Mirage remarks that is the chance you take when you mess with Darkling energies, before pointing out that Illyana did find Lila’s kidnappers so now she can teleport them onto the ship. But Magik replies that it is not that easy as the ship is travelling at warp speed, so by the time she teleports them to where she saw the ship, it will no doubt be gone, meaning they would land unprotected in a vacuum and be dead in a matter of seconds.
Resigned, Illyana exclaims that she has failed, that she cannot control Limbo or even restore the scrying glass. She reminds her friends that she was barely six years old when she fell into Limbo, that she hated it here, but nevertheless survived, learned its foul magicks and won her way out. Upset, Illyana declares that she tried so hard to make it bright and beautiful, but now look what it has become. ‘Limbo is as I am. And I…I’m becoming everything I hate!’ Illyana declares that the monster leering at her from the shattered glass, that is her future from Destiny’s vision.
Dani, Rahne and Warlock hover around Illyana to console her and Dani assures Illyana that it was just an illusion. ‘We love you, self-friend Illyana!’ Warlock exclaims, while Rahne exclaims that Illyana is not a monster and that they will keep her safe. Gosamyr turns and sobs into Bobby, asking what about her family, and their friend Lila, who will keep them safe? ‘Oh, Bobby…that witch-girl was my last hope!’ Gosamyr exclaims, resigning herself to the fact that they will never rescue her family.
Annoyed, Mirage tells Gosamyr to quit whimpering, ‘You stole Spyder’s space-yacht, didn’t you’ Dani points out, before suggesting that Illyana teleports them onto the yacht, then teleports the whole yacht into space, to where the scrying glass last showed Spyder, then maybe they can track Spyder from there. Illyana gets to her feet, assuring Warlock that she is all right, she declares that she can teleport the yacht into space.
Illyana points out that Destiny told her she had to leave Earth and learn, or else the world would be destroyed, and suggests that perhaps she should go after Lila alone. ‘Exclamation! No way self-friend!’ Warlock exclaims. Rahne agrees, telling Illyana that Warlock is right and they will not let her. Sam asks Illyana if she thinks he will just sit by and watch her go and rescue his girlfriend, to which Gosamyr asks ‘You’re Lila’s promised one?’ Bobby explains that Sam is, sort of, before adding that while Sam is spoken for, he is now. ‘I don’t have anybody at all!’ Bobby exclaims, before Illyana teleports everyone back to Gosamyr’s ship.
Sam suggests they get going straight away, but Rahne points out that perhaps they should tell Magneto, after all he is their headmaster and he might worry. ‘That’s an understatement!’ Dani remarks, reminding her team that they are supposed to be at the school, grounded. Magik adds that Magneto never let them go and save the X-Men, so he certainly wouldn’t permit them to go and rescue Lila. Bobby declares that they should just go, while Warlock points out that perhaps they should explain the situation to Magneto, but someone else replies that even if it worked, it would take time and every second counts. ‘Then we’re all agreed…outer space, here we come!’
With that, Illyana teleports the space yacht and everyone inside it to the last location the scrying glass saw Spyder’s ship at. ‘Hey, dig this set-up!’ Sam exclaims as he looks around the small ship. Gosamyr explains that they can track Spyder’s ship on the screen if they are close enough. She remarks that it is simple really, as the controls are set to automatically display in the operator’s natural language. Sam remarks that he is going to look rather silly rushing into battle in a sports jacket, to which Gosamyr tells him not to worry as the ship will provide him with the proper battle gear, for it is equipped to supply whatever the require, and all they have to do is ask.
Gosamyr ushers Dani, Illyana and Rahne over to a large contraption and after pushing some buttons, a whole lot of clothing comes out. Mirage remarks that there is more here than just Sam’s costume, to which Gosamyr replies ‘Of course. Why should he have all the fun?’ Gosamyr rummages through the clothing with Mirage and Wolfsbane as she explains that as she thought they would be in space for some time, they may as well be comfortable.
Gosamyr hands Rahne a pink dress, to which Rahne exclaims that it is beautiful. ‘Something simple and elegant, Dani?’ Gosamyr asks. ‘I don’t think…’ Dani begins to reply, before she feels the fabric of the clothing and remarks that it feels like air. Gosamyr turns to Illyana, but Illyana just storms away, declaring that she should not be here with them, adding that she should have gone away alone.
Gosamyr puts a bathing-suit style outfit on and remarks ‘Ill-tempered, isn’t she?’ before urging Dani and Rahne to try their outfits on, as she cant wait to see how they look. ‘Well…?’ Rahne asks as she stands before Gosamyr in her new puffy pink dress. Gosamyr replies that she is amazed, before turning to Dani, who is dressed in a very unflattering outfit and remarks that she looks like a tent pole. ‘It is kind of big…’ Dani mumbles, to which Gosamyr explains that is how they wear them on Andromeda 3, before remarking that perhaps Dani does not have the flair to carry off a dramatic fashion statement.
Gosamyr turns back to Rahne and tells her that she is looking quite fantastic. ‘I am?’ a surprised Rahne replies, before remarking that perhaps it is because her dress is kind of like Lila’s. Obviously up to something, Gosamyr suggests to Rahne that she might even look a bit like Lila in her dress. ‘Really? Oh I wonder if Sam…and the others will think so?’ Rahne wonders, before she points out her hair. Gosamyr grins as she presses a button on the contraption and remarks ‘What hair?’ With that, Rahne is now sporting wild black tresses, similar to Lila’s.
Dani declares that she doesn’t know why she put this junk on and begins pulling the outfit off. ‘This is a rescue mission, not a fashion show!’ she exclaims, before storming off and informing Rahne that she is going to help Sam and Bobby find Spyder’s ship. Rahne looks slightly forlorn as she watches Dani leave, but Gosamyr remarks that it is sad to see how uncomfortable a tomboy looks in a dress, before assuring Rahne that Dani is jealous. ‘Of what?’ Rahne asks. ‘Why it must be you. You do look so much like Lila in that dress!’ Gosamyr exclaims wickedly.
Aboard Spyder’s ship, the eight-legged alien is surrounded by other equally unappealing characters and Lila is chained up before him. They look at a monitor which depicts to them the travels of the New Mutants and Spyder tells the intergalactic super star to observe her would-be rescuers and tell him if what he has accomplished is not wonderful. ‘They think they stalk me in secret, while in fact they pursue me in the trap that I have provided!’
The hot-tempered Lila Cheney snaps back at Spyder telling him that the New Mutants will use his own trap to catch him, then destroy him. Spyder grins, telling Lila he doubts it, for Gosamyr is with them – and it is in Gosamyr’s nature to destroy! Spyder explains to Lila that the “shes” of Gosamyr’s race emit energy which intensifies the passions of those around them – passions which he will take, twist and use!
Lila asks Spyder who Gosamyr affects him, to which Spyder replies that she doesn’t, for his is an intellectual race, without the natural emotions that buffet others. ‘Except for Greed’ Lila remarks. ‘Ah…greed!’ Spyder mutters, before pointing out that Lila sought to escape his greed – and failed, just as the New Mutants will fail. He sniffs something from the test tube that he carries around and decides that he must give the New Mutants time to fail – and Gosamyr time to do what she does best!
At the console, Dani exclaims that they have been scanning for ages, so where can Spyder be? Sam replies that he has pushed the range as far as it goes, so he is afraid they might have missed him. Suddenly something comes up on the monitor and Dani exclaims that it might be Spyder’s ship. She tells Sam to give her the controls as they have got to go after it pronto. Sam tells his fellow co-leader of the New Mutants to chill out, as he can handle it. Bobby folds his arms and asks Dani what is with her. ‘You sound like the Wicked Witch of the West, when you scowl like that, you look like her too!’
Rahne enters the console room, announcing herself, she asks her teammates how they like her new look. Sam goes over to her and brushes a hand through Rahne’s shaggy hair as he asks her if she has been playing dress up – only for his jaw to drop to the floor when Gosamyr enters the room. Gosamyr exclaims that she showed Rahne how to operate the clothing machine, before handing him a facsimile of his own costume. Dani scowls some more while Bobby grins and tells Gosamyr that she looks incredible. ‘You sure do!’ Sam agrees as he watches Gosamyr. Rahne shakes Sam a bit and asks him if he noticed who she looks like. ‘Raggedy Ann?’ Sam asks.
Bobby motions to the monitor and informs Gosamyr that they have located Spyder’s ship, before asking her to come with him to the observation deck where he will tell her all about his plan to capture Spyder and rescue her family. Gosamyr hands Sam his uniform and thanks Bobby, telling him it would be wonderful. Warlock whispers in Sunspot’s air, telling him not to go as he does not trust Gosamyr, adding that no one is acting like themselves around her. Bobby tells Warlock that he doesn’t know what he is talking about. ‘Everybody’s acting just like themselves!’ he exclaims while grinning at Gosamyr.
Later, in the observation deck, Bobby informs Gosamyr that when his father learned he was a mutant he abandoned him to Xavier’s school, and his father has since joined the Hellfire Club, the biggest band of cut-throats around! Bobby claims that no one, not his parents, Professor X, Magneto or even his teammates really understands him, which he thinks is just as well, before telling Gosamyr that he has never told anyone else this, but he found an evaluation Professor X wrote back before he went away and left Magneto in charge. Bobby reveals that the evaluation said Professor X feared Bobby would turn to evil.
Bobby slams his fists down on a table, breaking it as he shouts that he wants so much to be a great hero, so why is there this dark part of him? Gosamyr puts a hand on Bobby’s shoulder telling him that she understands that he is strong and passionate and used to getting what he wants. Gosamyr tells Bobby that on her world, those are important assets in a male, and leaning into kiss him asks what else would any female want in a hero?
At that moment, Rahne, who has returned to her regular form, enters the observation deck and sees Bobby and Gosamyr kissing. Gosamyr looks up at Rahne but does not break away from the kiss as she winks at her. Rahne is shocked then rushes from the observation deck.
Soon, Warlock remarks that they are lucky Spyder’s ship has slowed and that the space-yacht has an automatic tracking mechanism, otherwise they might easily lose Spyder’s ship. Bobby remarks that he isn’t sure about that, as astrogation doesn’t look that difficult. ‘To you, maybe! I have enough trouble with trigonometry!’ Sam exclaims. ‘Do you, Sam? You look like a man who could handle anything!’ Gosamyr exclaims while Bobby feeds her some grapes. ‘I do?’ Sam asks surprised.
Gosamyr remarks that it appears Spyder’s ship is veering near to that planet, to which Wolfsbane remarks that it might be where he is taking Lila, before telling Sam that he must love Lila a lot to come all this way to rescue her. ‘Don’t you…Sam?’ But Sam doesn’t answer, he’s to busy watching Gosamyr. Bobby begins eating some of the grapes himself while Gosamyr asks Danielle why she keeps making her spear change sizes, ‘Why don’t you conjure up something…interesting?’ she asks.
Dani replies that “interesting” is easy, all she has to do is focus on someone’s greatest fear or desire, then there it is, in the flesh just as they see it. Dani adds that she cannot know what they want or fear though until it appears; explaining that the only way to get rid of it is to call up something else. She remarks that she has to have something safe to conjure up, something certain, so she is practising “wanting” this spear large or small, more than anything else in the world.
‘If that’s what turns you on. I have other interests!’ Gosamyr replies while Bobby fawns all over her. ‘I just bet you do!’ Sam exclaims, grinning, shocking Rahne who suddenly gets up and announces that she is going to the observation deck. Mirage calls out to her, asking her what is wrong, but when Rahne doesn’t answer, Dani follows her. Gosamyr tells Sam that she thinks Rahne has a crush on her, but Sam replies that Rahne is just a kid, before explaining that Rahne was friends with one of their teammates who died and implies that if they had been older there might have been something going on between them, therefore Rahne is mixed up about romance.
Sam informs Gosamyr that Rahne is an orphan and was raised strictly and religiously, while at the same time she read a lot of fantasy books and fairy tales, until a couple of years ago when she started turning into a werewolf! Sam thinks that Rahne is rather unfortunate, being so mixed up, and adds that she looks up to him as sort of a big brother. ‘If she had a crush on anyone, Gosamyr, it would be me!’ Bobby boasts.
Gosamyr changes the subject by turning everyone’s attention to the monitor where they watch Spyder’s ship drop into orbit around that planet. Gosamyr gets up and decides to go and tell Dani and Rahne, while Bobby blows kisses to her as she walks away, and Sam decides he should get changed, for if there are fireworks then he needs to be dressed for them!
In the observation deck, Rahne lies on a chair, wondering how Sam can look at Gosamyr that way, before thinking that he is good and noble, so how can he flirt with a creature like Gosamyr, especially as poor Lila could be…her voice trails off. Dani is about to enter the deck when Gosamyr grabs her, and casts some power on her as she exclaims ‘Poor little Rahne…wouldn’t it be wonderful…to give her her heart’s desire?!’ The pendant around Dani’s neck lights up and Gosamyr lets go of her arm.
Confused, Dani tells Gosamyr not to touch her before asking her why she came here, ‘Come to torture Rahne in private?’ Gosamyr declares that Mirage has a nasty, suspicious mind, before informing her that Spyder’s ship is dropping into orbit around the planet and she thought she ought to know, though she is sure the boys can manage fine without her. ‘What? Omigosh there’ll be all sorts of stuff to handle!’ Dani exclaims as she rushes back to the bridge, telling Gosamyr to come along with her.
Gosamyr doesn’t follow Dani’s order; instead she looks into the observation deck where Cannonball – wearing a very unusual costume appears before Rahne, holding out a flower. Sam tells Wolfsbane that he is sorry he hurt her feelings before, adding that he wanted her to know his love for Lila was a terrible mistake and that it s she who he really loves.
Back on the bridge, Dani, Bobby and – Sam? – sit at the controls, while Gosamyr and Warlock watch. Sam exclaims that he has the space yacht coaxed into orbit neat Spyder’s ship, when suddenly, a strange alien appears on the view screen, informing them that they are in unauthorized orbit. The alien orders them to transmit their registration and landing documents immediately or else be blown from the sky. ‘Landing documents?’ Bobby asks. ‘We don’t even know what they look like!’ Dani exclaims as Sam suggests that they make a quick getaway. ‘If they’ll let us!’ Dani mutters.
Back on the observation deck, Sam tells Wolfsbane that she is the only girl for him, in the whole universe and beyond. ‘What the…’ Rahne mumbles, before telling Sam not to say it. ‘You’re promised to Lila!’ she reminds him as he reaches out for her. ‘You’re her boyfriend!’ Sam responds by telling Rahne that he loves her, not Lila, ‘No! It’s wrong!’ Rahne exclaims, falling off the chair then rushing out of the room, thinking to herself that it is her own fault, for Sam is pure and true, and it was she with her wig and dress that drove him to this.
On the bridge, Cannonball announces that they are trapped in some kind of tractor beam, the yacht will not budge from orbit. The alien informs the New Mutants that they have twenty seconds to produce the papers or else they will be destroyed. Dani whispers to Sam and Bobby that if he wants to see their papers then perhaps she can give him some papers. She remarks that it is a new power, so she doesn’t know if it will work at such a distance, but perhaps if she concentrates hard enough….
At that moment, Rahne rushes into the room calling out for Bobby, when suddenly Cannonball tells her to be quiet as Dani is concentrating. ‘Sam?’ Rahne asks, surprised. ‘Rahne – who’s that?’ Sam exclaims as he comes face to face with himself. ‘What’s he doing here?’ the other Sam asks.
‘Bingo!’ whispers Mirage, before urging everyone to look at the screen and telling them her plan worked, as the alien holds some papers in his hand. The alien smiles and informs Mirage that he has seldom received more acceptable authorization papers, before informing her that she is free to land here and very welcome. ‘I did it! I made what he wanted appear!’ Dani exclaims, pleased with herself.
At that very moment, Rahne and the real Sam watch as the phoney Sam in the strange costume vanishes. Rahne begins to cry and transforms into a half-girl half-wolf state as she wonders why and how he disappeared, before turning to Dani. ‘I thought you were my friend!’ Rahne shouts, leaping at Dani and asking her how she could play such a horrible, cruel trick. Dani tries to get up from her seat and rush away as she replies that she didn’t and doesn’t know what Rahne is talking about, but it’s too late, as Wolfsbane slams her onto the console.
‘You do know! Sam saw! Everybody saw!’ Rahne screams, tears spilling from her eyes she screams ‘They saw what you did to me!’ Sunspot rushes over and pulls Rahne from Dani, while Gosamyr goes over and tells Dani to stop fighting Rahne. ‘Haven’t you hurt her enough already?’ she asks. Dani realizes what really happened and says to Gosamyr ‘You did it, didn’t you? When you touched me? You made me do it! I don’t know how, but you made me do it!’ Furious, Dani tells Gosamyr to get away from her, then smacks her in the face, causing Gosamyr to fall over.
While Sam and Bobby see to Gosamyr, Warlock tries to console Dani as she warns Gosamyr never to touch her again, then she rushes away. Warlock calls after her, asking her to come back and explain to everyone what is going on, but Dani shouts back that she wants them all to leave her alone.
Warlock and Sunspot stand confused, while Wolfsbane sobs on the floor. Magik has been watching the proceedings from where she is sitting on a ledge high above her teammates, and Cannonball asks Gosamyr if she is all right. ‘My head…’ Gosamyr remarks, while Sam points out that it is a good thing Dani sent the papers before she got mad.
Suddenly, the alien on screen has the papers taken from his hand by another alien, who asks what it is, then realizes that the authorization papers are a bribe – and emperors ransom! ‘No, how could we have been so dumb!’ Sam asks, realizing that the alien’s greatest wish wasn’t for their papers, but for money. The second alien introduces himself as Admiral Dupen’th and declares that the punishment for bribery is immediate execution. He orders his ship to lock onto the space yacht, then to blow them away!