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Vertigo
The exact words of the X-Nation kids: “You have got to be kidding me!” Startled, they look…at the cool car of the Sisters of the Howling Commandments! The Sisters are ready to go. Uproar jokingly asks them to bring back a souvenir. Sister Nicholas tries to make Uproar understand that this isn’t a game they are playing. Enemies took Willow away, and they have to get her back, no matter what. The Sisters want to leave, but a man comes running after them and orders them to wait.
He is Lucius Drayn and, while using his powers to prevent the car from moving, the lawyer says that he has the authority (given to him by Halo City’s Ministry of Bureaugracy and Deligation) and won’t allow the Sisters to leave to avoid unwanted destructions. Nicholas calls Lucius names and commands to let them through, but he won’t allow it. Lucius tells the Sisters to be nice to him. He reminds them that their service to X-Nation is allowed, but they don’t want to push their luck. December defends that the Sisters came looking for them and not otherwise. Lucius simply replies that maybe it’s time for the kids to look for someplace else to hide them, and no longer in Halo City.
Some time later, the kids have returned to their shelter. December cries over Willow’s loss and destroys the soda machine. Uproar jokes about it. Clarion tells the idiot to stop it since it’s obvious to see that December’s feelings are hurt. He reminds everyone that they are all in this mess together and, as long as the Sisters are keeping tabs on them, Clarion feels like they should take the initiative and help Willow out themselves. He asks Twilight if she’s in. She doesn’t want to, but changes her mind when Clarion reminds Twilight who helped her out during Avian’s attack: it was Willow.
Twilight uses her powers and begins the transport. As it will take a while, the gang asks December how Willow got into all this mess. December recalls how it all began at the Million Palms Center in Florida, a few years back. She led tours to familiarize the guests with the park’s facilities. It was a pretty cushy gig at the time. December earned a lot of money and had great amenities. For once, you could actually see people enjoying themselves.
She thought of the place to be so much like a storybook. Million Palms even had its own king and queen. Avian, the Falconer, was the king and his beautiful Peregine was the queen. Still, even royalty gets thrown a curve every now and again. And they were not an exception: Peregine “disappeared” one day. People searched and searched but came up empty handed until they dredged the Tunnel of Love, where they found her body. And that’s the day when Avian’s heart broke.
And from that day on, things changed in Palms Center. Everyone who visited the place had to undergo a genetic scan for anomalies, and it was only a matter of time before they came looking for December. For the next two weeks, she was perused, poked, prodded and probed. To this day, December doesn’t think that those scientists didn’t even ask her one single question during the examination.
Meanwhile, on the surface, December later on heard that business was as usual. Every day was still a “caring day” but underground there was a growing corner of hell. Having completed their “tests,” people were fitted with power inhibitors and left to rot in the park’s subterranean labyrinth when discovered. And that’s where December met Willow. She immediately saw that the scientists must have done a number on Willow, because a couple of days after her arrival Willow got a real shock. December did everything she could to help Willow, but knew that she was going to die.
Then, for some reason December didn’t know at the time, Avian had Willow taken away again. She was the only friend December ever had, and she wasn’t going to let anyone – not Avian, not even Doom himself – add further insult to her friends’ already fatal injuries. December remembers how she tried to escape from an inescapable prison, but she tried anyway. She climbed over some walls, but was busted maybe ten minutes later.
December was even surprised it took that long before Avian’s goons found her and brought her back. But it was only to put her under public execution! It was the ultimate humiliation. December was to be put to death in front of everyone, from the lowest of Million Palms’ low to its king and queen themselves. And that’s when it all hit December: she was convinced that she had gone insane and that images from her life were flashing before her very eyes - but when the queen turned to look at her way and December saw the crazy new markings on her face, she knew that she wasn’t crazy: the new queen was Willow! <{P>
All of a sudden, Willow used her powers to change into Avian, surprising the shock out of him at the same time, and began fighting him. And in mere moments, they literally flow their way to freedom. The end.
Wulff isn’t impressed by the tale. He feels that Avian can have Wilow back, if that’s what it takes to make him not lonely and stop bugging them. Clarion reminds Wulff how he felt when he was a slave, and he agrees to rescue Willow. Clarion makes everyone agree to join the trip, except for Twilight. She won’t bring them all to Avian and stops the transport, making everyone land back at the shelter.
Meanwhile, the Atlantean warrior, Attuma, prepares his guard for war. He gives them a speech, and the troops are ready to go into the battlefield!
Cerebra tries to use Cerebro to find Willow. Morphine enters and informs Shakti that the Sisters want to have a word with her, because they believe the search is a lost cause. Shakti won’t give Willow up. Morphine asks if it might be possible that Willow can also change her psi-patterns, since she can also change forms. Shakti tells Morphine not to be stupid, since even seasoned telepaths can’t do that. She leaves to see the Sisters and telepathically calls Morphine a jerk. When Shakti’s gone, Nostromo asks Morphine if she has seen Shakti. He confirms, and thinks in himself if only Nostromo knew why…
At Nicholas’ bedroom, she tells Shakti that Willow isn’t the Messiah and wants Shakti to stop try to make her one. Shakti appreciates Nicholas’ concern about the children, but… Nicholas cuts in and holds her gun, and tells Shakti she has no conception of the matter and that the kids aren’t prepared for what lies ahead. Shakti cuts in and says that if the mutant Messiah actually exists, and she suspects that Doom’s calculations are probably correct; these kids may never be ready. But Shakti wonders in herself what the kids must be ready for.
Twilight overhears them talking and thinks that they mean an experiment, and she won’t be part of it and quickly runs away, crying. Nicholas asks Shakti to stop trying, but she doesn’t want to. What if the Messiah actually lies somewhere within these children? At the shelter, Nostromo quickly tries to hotwire the Sister’s car. The others want to go, but don’t want to think what’s going to happen if Nicholas catches them sneaking out a second time. Twilight rejoins and tells the others that she simply had a change of mind about the shelter. She opens a gateway and the journey can begin!
Elsewhere in Halo City, a reunion of a sort is taking place. Shakti meets up with her former teammate from the X-Men: Xi’an Chi Xan. She tells him that the kids remind her about how they and the other X-Men were at the beginning: raw, inexperienced, but full of life and youthful optimism. Unlike now. Xi’an is mocking and cuts to the chase, asking Shakti what she wants.
Shakti hesitatingly asks Xi’an to help her with X-Nation. The way he did with the X-Men: giving them a purpose. Xi’an emotionlessly says that he isn’t an X-Man anymore. He wants Shakti to leave. Shakti can’t believe this. She tells Xi’an that she used to idolize him. She gets angry and stars to cry, and says that they’ve all got responsibilities to each other. Not because they are mutants, but because they are human beings! At least, she means, some of them used to be.
Shakti runs away and along the way wonders how she will be able to bring the kids through. She knows that she can’t do it alone. As she jumps over some rooftops, a telepathic voice calls her. Shakti senses that it’s a powerful one and tries to reach out, but it’s too painful. The voice explains that’s because he is too powerful. Shakti asks who this mystery person is.
The man steps forward, and introduces himself as… EXODUS!
Exodus touches Shakti’s shoulder, and in a heavy voice says that he’s the future of all mutant kind. That he is the resurrection of life and he has come to reclaim what is rightfully is! Shakti looks at fear at the powerful mutant, whose eyes glow with raw energy…
Deep in the heart of the Million Palm Family Fun Center, Avian is busy enduring his experiments upon another new arrival. He takes no pleasure in this, but the sooner the mutant Messiah is delivered to Herod, he will... One of his scientists reports to Avian that they are under attack. Avian commands to attack them, so it is done and missiles are launched on X-Nation’s stolen car, which is destroyed.
The kids all fall on the ground, but survive the fall. They get up but, before they get the chance to recover, goons with hover packs build onto their suits attack and throw power inhibitors on their heads.
Nostromo overrides the inhibitor on his head and fires away. But the guards are well prepared and shoot Nostromo! He falls on the ground, unconscious, and with a big hole into his stomach! Is he dead?


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[Assistant]
First Blood
The Xavier Shelter For Indigent Children:
Sister Nicholas is praying for the children’s welfare. She is accompanied by Sister Debbie, who was scouting the area. They kneel before a painting of the Lord, and pray together. Afterwards, Nicholas tries to explain to the newest Sister what belief is all about.
Suddenly, a noise is heard. They are under attack! Sister Einstein gets thrown through the church’s window. She is dead. Nicholas warns Debra to remember the battle strategies and not to panic. Just then, their attackers move in. Nicholas recognizes them: they are from Atlantis! Debra is ordered to run away, and she does. But she’s too slow, as Debra gets killed.
Elsewhere, X-Nation gets taken away by their captures. Nostromo is in pain, and Clarion fears that he might be dying. They are brought to Avian, who’s furious that Willow is not among them. He taunts December, who doesn’t want to cooperate. That’s fine by Avian, who orders his men to bring the kids to the processing room. In the processing room, Twilight stares at a fellow captive, namely the young mutant Metalsmith. They are both attracted to each other, but don’t say it out loud. Twilight tries to fight back, but with no success.
X-Nation is put into test tubes, and the painful experiments under Avian’s watchful eye begin. As Avian points his attention on the kids in the hope to find the Messiah, he doesn’t notice that one of their guards is replaced by an intruder, who has a familiar looking tattoo on the eye. The “guard” won’t let Avian turn X-Nation into mindless kids. Not now, not ever!
At the same time, Shakti is confronted by Exodus. He wants X-Nation. Shakti of course won’t allow that, so they fight. But Exodus’ psionic backlash is so intense that she loses balance and falls off the roof they were standing on. Exodus rescues her, only to inform her that he wants to rescue the kids from this ghetto they call home, and save them from mankind’s hatred forever.
Shakti senses Exodus’ thoughts, who are nothing but cruel and murderous. Shakti will never join his Acolytes, and won’t let him take the kids. She gives Exodus a neural paralysis with her powers and, while he’s out, she escapes. When Exodus is back to his senses, he notices that Shakti’s gone. Now, he wants her to join him as well. And if Shakti and X-Nation won’t listen to him, they will die.
The battle between the Sisters and the Atlanteans escalates. And the Sisters are losing. They prepare for the worse, but most of them get killed. Nicholas is left. Attuma rises, and shows Nicholas the body of Debra. In a furious move, she attacks Attuma, who grabs her by the throat. He informs his reason of attack: according to their prophecy, the protectors of the false prophet must die.
The experiments have stopped. X-Nation doesn’t want to stay any longer and plan an escape. Two guards show and want to bring them back to Avian. The guard that was taken away attacks his companion, and reveals herself to be Willow! After a short reunion, Willow impersonates Avian in the hope to be able to leave. Despite the tattoo on her eye, the guards think Avian is the real deal and let “him” through. The kids leave in a helicopter.
The real Avian reports to the guards, wanting a plane prepared for his departure. The guards realize their mistake, and Avian orders to get the kids back. X-Nation is already too far away, heading towards home. They invite Metalsmith to stay with them. They are attacked by an Atlantean warship, but don’t recognize it of course. They manage just to dodge the attack but, when they arrive back at the shelter, they are just in time to see it explode!


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[Assistant]
Gimme Shelter
The X-Nation children all desperately try to breach through their destroyed shelter. There’s still a fire in the place, and it’s hard to get through. But thanks to some teamwork, they eventually make it. They find Sister Nicholas, who’s still barely alive. Clarion orders Twilight to use her Sphere of Influence, hoping that she can warp reality and thereby heal Nicholas. But Twilight refuses, because she’s scared since she never used her powers like that before. Nicholas is on Twilight’s side and thinks it’s too dangerous. She knows it’s her time to go. Hearing these words, Twilight decides to go for it, no matter what.
But the Sphere is too powerful, and rips Nicholas apart. Nicholas asks Twilight to just let go. She does. With her final breath, Nicholas begs the kids to make something out of their lives, and then she dies. While they mourn about the loss, X-Nation doesn’t realize that they are being watched by the Wild Boys. They plan on striking the kids again, but want to do it when they’re the most vulnerable and out of the house.
Later, the kids remember what Nicholas has been all about, and how she influenced their lives. Twilight still feels bad for not being able to rescue Nicholas. Metalsmith notices that, and talks with Clarion about if he should walk over to her. Clarion doesn’t like Metalsmith much, seeing he too likes Twilight, but despite that he tells Metalsmith to just walk over to her. Metalsmith thanks Clarion, and does so, walking away with Twilight, putting his arm around her and trying to cheer her up.
Elsewhere, Whisper gives her fellow Sisters the funeral they deserve, and burns their bodies. Whisper swears revenge, and returns back to Atlantis and plans to confront Attuma in order to do so.
Sometime later, X-Nation decides to go back to the Negative Zone Milk Bar, where they try to relax and figure out what to do next. Two minions of Warbird recognize the kids and run out of the bar. In an alley, they contact their master, who teleports his thugs out of there and prepares his next move. He swears that X-Nation shall be his!
Nostromo’s powers suddenly go out of control, as his metal arm goes wild! Freaked out, the boy runs out of the bar and shuts the door behind him, so that his friends can’t follow him. Once outside, the Wild Boys strike him down. X-Nation breaks through the door, and the battle begins. The Wild Boys are a lot stronger than they used to be, and manage to defeat everyone besides Metalsmith, who’s left standing. While the Wild Boys point their attention to him, Nostromo wakes up after being knocked out and sees his chance to escape.
On a rooftop, Shakti desperately tries to use her powers to locate the kids. She finds their energy signatures, but can’t pinpoint them. She notices Nostromo below her, running, and calls for him. Nostromo recognizes her and lengthens his arm to the roof and grabs her! Shakti calms the boy down, but he can’t since he doesn’t know what’s happening to his powers. Shakti doesn’t know either, but promises to find a solution.
Suddenly, she screams. X-Nation’s energy signatures have vanished. And Cerebra fears that can only mean one thing: they are dead!
Exodus has arrived on the battlefield and has taken down both X-Nation and the Wild Boys. With energy flowing around his body, Exodus stands triumphantly over the kids, and smiles.


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Exodus
Exodus is at the full potential of his powers, and triumphantly stands over the defeated bodies of both X-Nation and the Wild Boys. Warbird gets up, and tells Exodus that he can have X-Nation for all he cares, but Warbird first wants to finish the business he has with Wulff. Exodus won’t allow that, and angrily demonstrates his powers again to the Wild Boys, who get the point that they are in a very bad situation. The Wild Boys regroup and decide to attack Exodus. However, he’s much more powerful than they are and easily defeats them.
X-Nation wakes up, and wants to know what’s going on, since they don’t know who Exodus is. Exodus tells them that he’s here to protect them, and puts them in a transportation bubble. Exodus tells the kids that he knows who they all are; he even knows December’s last name. He offers them a chance to get away from all the hatred of the humans, and a place where they can be safe. The only thing the kids need to give Exodus is their word that they agree with him. Word it is, and both Exodus and X-Nation teleport away from Halo City!
Just after the transport, Dr. Strange and his apprentice, Mademoiselle Strange, materialize in the city. The doctor gives Strange a quick overview of the city’s history, that it was built by Doom himself and that Strange is there to right a wrong done to an innocent soul. Before Mademoiselle Strange can ask more, the Doctor wishes her good luck and teleports away. Suddenly, she gets a headache and sees images. She recognizes the girl, thanks to her tattoo, but it can’t be, she thinks: it’s Chimera! Strange sees how Exodus attacked Chimera with her guard down, and how she decided to fight back.
Meanwhile, in the ruins of the shelter, Shakti has taken Nostromo to Xi’an for a checkup. Though Xi’an is hesitant about using his powers on Nostromo’s metal arm, he goes for it. Xi’an concludes that there appears to be something else inside Nostromo’s metal arm, besides the techno-organic virus. Xi’an asks Shakti to enter Nostromo’s arm but, before she can, Nostromo’s attitude changes rapidly, and his voice changes too and has an evil tone. Nostromo attacks Xi’an and throws him away. Nostromo confronts Shakti, and metallic wires come out of his head, which grab Shakti’s head and suck her conciousness out of her, making her faint. Nostromo seems to be gone, and taken over by something pure evil.
Elsewhere above the city, Mr. Fantastic has reached the town and manages to rescue some kids before they’re drowned. While scouting the area, Reed hopes that everything is still okay with his family. Exodus lands, but both he and the kids feel bad. Exodus apologizes, since his powers haven’t been the same since his defeat at the hands of Nate Grey. The kids have all different thoughts about Exodus and argue about it. December believes in Exodus and walks over to him, asking the man if he’s all right. Exodus smiles and tells December that he is, thanks to her. He doesn’t tell the girl but, unnoticed by her, he drains her life force for him to feel better.
Exodus tells the kids that they’ll have to leave again, this time to the Last Refuge. As they move, Twilight telepathically tells Metalsmith that she doesn’t trust Exodus one bit. Metalsmith wants to know that since when Twilight has telepathic powers, but she doesn’t want to talk about it. Though Exodus senses a psychic conversation going on, he can’t hear what they are saying, but finds it clever.
In the shelter, a strange creature merges and tells Shakti that it’s useless to try to bring Nostromo back to normal, as they believe that the boy belongs to them. Nostromo is able to fight back, but then changes into a weird cocoon. Shakti can’t comprehend what’s going on. Nostromo somehow manages to escape out of the cocoon, and is back to his former self. He asks Shakti what’s happening to him, but she honestly doesn’t know. But, she can promise Nostromo one thing: he won’t be in this alone.
Exodus and X-Nation float above Halo City, and watched it being flooded over. Exodus laughs, but the kids don’t find it funny. They ask Exodus to help the humans, since he’s got all those powers. Exodus refuses, since they’re talking about “mere humans.” The kids try to fight back, but Exodus demonstrates his awesome powers, so that X-Nation learns the hard way not to mess with him.
Suddenly, Exodus himself is attacked. He gets up, and finds out that his adversary is none other than Mademoiselle Strange! But Strange’s powers can’t stand against Exodus’s skills, so he easily defeats the woman. The X-Nation kids strike back, but Exodus manages to stop them all. Clarion tries next and ends up being thrown in the water. Metalsmith goes after him and rescues his live. Clarion thanks him for that, but panics when they both see Twilight confronting Exodus.
Exodus talks Twilight into joining his side. Laughing, he opens an attack, but Twilight turns on him. She traps Exodus in her Sphere of Influence, and Exodus can’t escape from that unless she wants him to. Exodus concentrates his powers, and hereby manages to free himself. Twilight lands, and it looks like she’s dying. Strange creates a protective field around her, Twilight and Metalsmith, and restores her life force using her magic. Exodus manages to break through the field, and prepares to kill his enemies.
Clarion won’t let that happen. He concentrates all the noise in the air, and uses it to attack Exodus. He won’t let the attack happen, and teleports both him and Clarion away. He tells Clarion to say goodbye to his friends, as he’ll never see them again. Everyone mourns the loss, but Strange tells them that they’d better leave now, as the city’s almost filled completely with water. The kids realize that and, as Strange teleports them away, they are all ready for the future!


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Necrosha: chapter one (1st story), Binary (2nd story), The foretelling (3rd story)
1st story:Selene’s narration:After the ocean swallowed Atlantis and before the rise of the sons of the Aryas is where her journey began. Her mother was a mere child when she gave birth to her… when she presented her to her tribe. But she would be dead before her child uttered her first word.
Present (seven thousand years later), somewhere in central Europe:Dessed in the skimpy black leather outfit of the Black Queen and adorned with a black elegant choker, Selene tells her story to her minions: Kevin Ford aka Wither gifted with a death touch, Clarice Ferguson aka Blink (who can kill via teleportation), Suvik Senyaka aka Senyaka (master of lifedraining psionic whips), Lois London aka Mortis (kills via disruptive energy field) and Eliphas aka Eli Bard (kills via vampiric powers, possess T-O virus).
Selene’s narration:Her mother was the first to sacrifice her life to her, Selene continues, to ensure her survival. But she would not be the last. The tribal elders recognized her for what she was and instructed her mother’s people to offer their lives to her until there were none left to give. She is all that remains of those people. But sustenance was not all they provided. They also gave her a name, the name of a goddess.
And they honor their sacrifices today by coming here, for it was in these very lands she was born of flesh and blood. Soon she willl transcend this physical body and become the deity that she is destined to be, she informs her followes with a triumphant smile. And all those who impeded her ascension to godhood will suffer.
Utopia, the X-Men’s new island home, off the coast of San Francisco, now, night time:Blink teleports in, followed by a shady army. An intruder alert rings, detecting the power surge.
In the X-Brig, Danger the sentient android warden of Utopia’s virtual reality prison breaks off, as she identifies an error in her program and she sinks down. With that, her prisoners awake from their VR slumber. First is Sebastian Shaw, Black King of the Hellfire Club. Realizing his situation, he curses Emma Frost.
The next is the former Hellion Empath who asks what happened.He was with Amara-- It was an illusion, Shaw tells him brutally, calling him “idiot.” They are still prisoners of the X-Men. They can’t just keep them here! Empath whines. Shaw orders him to have some dignity. His time at the Massachusetts Academy taught him better than that.
See how Pierce here isn’t complaining and he is merely human. He refers to fellow prisoner and onetime colleague and enemy Donald Pierce, former White Bishop of the Hellfre Club and cybog mutant hater. Pierce warns him that his day is coming. The end approaches for all mu...
He breaks off, haring noises. Something is wrong. Someone is here. He means he doesn’t believe the X-Men are responsible for dismantling their own prison? Shaw mocks. How very astute.
Nyet, Nyet, a Russian prisoner mumbles. Shaw warns Empath to be ready. Dear God no, he moans the next moment as before him stands Shinobi Shaw, his dead son. Isn’t he happy to see him? Shinobi asks with a mocking smile. That sn’t possible, Shaw protests. He killed Shinobi! He killed him! He remembers, his son remarks, and before that he killed Shaw. But this time he’s goin to do far worse. Isn’t that right, Harold?
“Harold” turns out to refer to Harry Leland, the dead former Black Bishop of the Hellfire Club. Indeed it is, Lelands agrees. He remembers when he died as well, saving Shaw, Saving the Hellfire Club and the X-Men. Ironic, he supposes.
How did--? Pierce asks confused. What is he? What is he? Leland replies. Death, death to all those who failed their queen, which sadly includes Pierce and Sebastian.
From somewhere else on their screens, Bastion, future Sentinel, and Cameron Hodge, anti-mutant zealot, watch the proceedings. Who’s the fat man? Hodge asks, the name sounds familiar. Bastion informs him that Leland is a mutant with the ability to manipulate mass and used to belong to the Inner Circle of the Hellfire Club before his death. They witnessed his death, Bastion adds. Nimrod was present when Harold Leland suffered a fatal heart attack. But more disconcerting Pierce’s sensors detect the techno-organic virus within Leland. And something else… an unknown energy. Their technology has been compromised. They must accelerate their timetable.
In Rome, Selene continues her story to her acolytes. After the second rise of men, she found herself drawn to this place. To this city of decadence and sin. How she loved Rome. It was so rich with life. She could feel her destiny upon her. But on the eve of her transformation the souls of Rome were lost to her. Squandered by the single mortal she entrusted with her life. Eli Bard looks down in shame at her words.
Hundreds of years later, she tried to recreate Rome, Selenes muses. But that too was taken from her. So she searched for those who would not fail her. For those endowed with unique gifts not unlike her own. But once more she was betrayed. Betrayed by Hellfire!
The med-bay in Utopia, where X-23 is currently being a difficult patient. Also present are Wolverine, Cyclops and Dr. Nemesis. So, does she have anything she’d like to tell them? Wolverine asks strictly, arms crossed. Like for instance where her arm went? Dr Nemesis adds bluntly, referring to the fact her left arm was cut off. Laura has it covered with a blanket. No, she replies as curtly but it is nearly done regrowing now. She offers two claws with her other hand. She needs them to extract her bone claws and put these back inside her. He likes this girl, Nemesis states.
Logan urges Laura to talk to him. Who did this to her? It doesn’t matter, X-23 insists. Whoever cut these out of her was an amateur, Nemesis informs her. There’s still bits of tendon on... She removed them herself, Laura informs him.
Wolverine and Cyclops talk a bit away from them. Wolverine reminds him, he’d told him if anything happened to her it would be on Cyclops. Someone did this to her and Cyclops is going to help him find out why. Cyclops refuses. The interrogation can wait. They just need to make sure she’s okay. Since when has he ever given a &%$& if she’s okay? Wolverine retorts bitterly. He just wants his personal assassin up and running again.
Nemesis interrupts, asking Cyclops what he wants him to do about the claws. Put them back in, comes the curt reply.
Laura, in the meantime, looks at Elixir lying unconscious on another bed in the med bay. She sniffs irritated. Something is here. Something dead, metal. She just described her claws, Nemesis observes. No, he got it too, Wolverine announces and unsheathes his claws. Something is going down…
Elsewhere in Utopia is Emma Frost, former White Queen of the Hellfire Club, currently stuck in her diamond form. She hears voices whispering her name. Hello? she asks irriated. Why didn’t she save them? the voices demand. If someone is playing a game, she warns them, do please come out so she can hurt them. But she already hurt them, the voices continue, she’s hurt them so much…
This isn’t happening, Emma decides, walking on. This is in her head. This is the Void. She was their teacher, the voices continue relentlessly. She was supposed to save them.
She turns a corner, asking for Scott. No, she breathes the next moment as she faces her dead students, the Hellions. Why did she let them die? Tarot asks. Weren’t they good students? Jetstream adds.
The Hellfire Club, New York City:Sitting on a throne, Selene continues her tale to her inner circle, who in the meantime, take out and kill Hellfire Club guards on her behalf.
Nova Roma was ruined by a group of children… mutants. She could sense their powers and follwed them here… to New York. To a city that rivaled Rome. But with none of the elegance, none of the grace. Sebastian Shaw and Emma Frost were gathering mutant children of powers. And their souls would belong to Selene. But Shaw was weak. He and Frost in their arrogance betrayed her. Now they will pay for their actions, she announces with a satisfied smile.
Fifteen miles outside Utopia, an X-jet is closing in on the mutants’ new home. Piloted by James Proudstar, Archangel is also aboard as are an injured Wolfsbane and her worried love, the Asgardian wolfprince Hrimhari.
Warren asks Hrimhari to tell them exactly what happened. They were in a battle with the Frost Giants, he summarizes that had pursued him when she fell. They hit her or hurt her somehow? Warren asks. No, Rahne was not harmed by the giants, Hrimhari explains. Something else ails her. Something so grave he fears she is dying. Look, James tries in vain to pronounce his name, then simply calls him “Wolf guy.” He’d better hope she is okay because Elixir...
Lightning flashes and strikes, noise rumbles and the plane goes down in the water. James carries Rahne while Warren takes Hrimhari. Is he crazy or did they just get hit by lighnting? James asks. That wasn’t lightning, Warren, now in his Archangel form, remarks. Power’s out on the island.
Hrimhari reminds them about Elixir, whom Rahne told him to find. Is he here? James again tries to tell him about the problem with Elixir. There’s death here, Archangel states coolly. They look around, trying to get their bearings. Hrimhari smells it too. Dark magic. Yeah thanks for the heads up, furball, James remarks sarcastically as shapes close in around them.
How’s it goin’, X-Men? someone asks. Survived the crash, did ya? Warren and James swear as they see their foes. Resurrected Brotherhood member Pyro and Marauder Berzerker. As Pyro forms a giant fireclaw, he announces they are all dead!
Elsewhere, Emma is attacked by one of her Hellions, the feral Catseye who blames Emma for letting them die. This is not happening, this is not happening, Emma insists. Oh, but it is, Tarot calmly replies. She holds up the black outfit Emma wore for the time when she led Osborn’s X-Men team. Emma betrays their queen, wears her clothes… and she thinks there won’t be a price to pay?
Selene, Emma realizes. There is only one Black Queen, Tarot states coolly. She sent them here to remind Emma, Jetstream adds, and to make her suffer.
Catseye attacks again, only to be hit by an optic blast. Cyclops, who has arrived with Wolverine and Domino, turns his optic blast on Beef next and orders Emma to move.
Wolverine slashes at Jetstream, informing him he is going back to the dirt. With a smirk, Jestream asks whether he thinks death scares them anymore. Then he blasts off, taking Wolveirne with him.
Please don’t hurt them, they are her children! Emma begs. Keeping them off with his optic blasts, Cyclops orders her to pull together. These aren’t the Hellions. Firing her guns at the zombies, Domino decides Emma’s lost it. Cyclops should get her out. Scott refuses, there are too many. If he leaves Domino behind, she’s dead. That moment Death – the grim reaper – manifests from Tarot’s cards.
Somewhere on the Indian Ocean, Blink informs Selene that it is done. Her queen is happy to hear it. Her inner circle brings the deceased X-Man John Proudstar aka Thunderbird and the mutantracking Morlock Caliban. Selene explains she’s crossed the oceans of time in search for a place where she would fulfill her destiny. She turns to Caliban. He can smell them, he announces. Mutants, many of them. And this is where her journey ends, Selene decides, looking around her, the wasteland of Genosha. This is where she becomes a god. Welcome to Necrosha!
2nd story:He is off. Doug Ramsey lies in his coffin. Dead. Decomposed. Energy recharges him and crackles. His eyes open and glow red. Then he is on.
He begins to move, restored as his existence becoems binary. Dead and alive. On and off. Ones and zeros.
He digs himself out of his grave. What--? he asks as he looks down at his restored body. What language is he? No language, Eli Bard, who waits at his gravesite with Kevin Ford, informs him. Just a slave. Rise, he orders Doug who complies. He has work to do.
Utopia, home of the X-Men, two weeks later:Cypher knows about his sitation now. He is with the Black Queen who wants to punish her white counterpart. He is told to help. He is there. Then he is here. In Utopia. Teleported there by Blink, as well as the Hellions and some other mutants like Pyro.
She couldn’t have teleported them inside? Jetstream complains. Blink explains that while their unique physiology prevents them from showing up on Cerebra, there is still security. It is Cypher’s job to neutralizes it.
Is everything a language? Cypher wonders. Is she? He was off. Now he is on. What does that mean?
Beef shouts at him to listen. He’s up. His programming reinforces the urge to obey. Blink teleports away and Cypher assures Beef he is listening.
He looks at the building critically, his gift translating. A fortress. Arches, buttresses, cantilevers. The ABC’s of architecture. The engineers arranged them, making meaning. The structure is his language. Cypher translates it.
They go below, he informs the Hellions and walks towards the ocean and steps inside. The others follow hesitatingly. How are they going to breathe? Beef demands. They are dead, Tarot points out. No need to breathe. They swim downwards and enter via a sewer pipe.
As Cypher walks ahead, Beef asks Jetstream in a whisper who that guy is anyway. He was one of Xavier’s New Mutants, he is informed. It was before Beef’s time. He can understand any language. Well, why wouldn’t you join a paramilitary mutant strikeforce… with those powers, Bevatron who also joined after Doug’s time suggests nastily. She knows, Tarot agrees. Hard to believe he was killed in action.
Their tone and cadence shifts the polarity of their words, Doug notes. Sarcasm. Purified irony.
They stand before a large closed automatic door. Is this it? Jetstream demands. No, Cypher replies, he thought they might stop for a bit and ponder the metaphorical significance of the codename Beef. He speaks sarcasm, too, he thinks satisfied. Angrily, Beef swears and makes a rude gesture, asking him if he reads sign language. Jetstream holds him back,
Cyper switches on the computer and notes there is quantum cryptography. Information traveling in entangled proton pairs. Language made illegible by the very act of reading it. This is the language of quarks – the language of space and time. The language of the universe…
Can he crack it? Jestream asks. Cypher admits he doesn’t know, but then focuses. Everything is language. He was off. Then on. He is language. He is everything. And so he breaks the code, entering thr X-Men’s computer system. The door opens.
Let’s do this! Beef announces. Is he coming? Jetstream asks Cypher who is still looking at the computer terminal. He has work to do, Cypher replies, looking at the file of Magma. Their Queen left someone on. And he has to turn her off.
3rd story:New Orleans, a week ago.Mortis announces this is fitting. The throne sets Selene off as black does a diamond. Selene thanks her graciously, admitting there are compromises, of course… for now. All things will come, in time. Speaking of time… bring her
“Her,” dragged inside by Senyaka and Kevin Ford is the deceased and now revived mutant seer Destiny. She is pushed to her knees in front of Selene’s throne. Selene informs her that she knew of her and her Caliban found her. Now tell Selene what she sees. Tell Selene her destiny.
Addressing her as “dread Queen,” Destiny explains that the future is a single road with a million turns. It opens before you like the arms of a lover, but with every step you take it recedes. And then in an instant – she recalls the moment Legion murdered her – it is gone!
Selene gets up. Can Destiny give her what she asked her for or not? It’s a simple question. Once it would have been simple, the blind precog replies. But she was in the ground a long time. “So?” Selen asks. When her eyes and mind were opened again, Irene continues, she saw only fragments. They are coming together gradually into a coherent vision. But the process is slow and painful.
Selene grabs her by the throat and tears off her mask. So is the second death that awaits her if she disappoints her! she warns. She demands an answer, then orders Senyaka to act. Her servant strangles the crone’s neck with his whip.
What Selene has set out to do, Irene answers, she will achieve. She will consume, she will become, she will ascend.
Honestly? Selene presses. She knows these things will come to pass? Yes, she decides. The truth is written on her face.
So she assumes, she is now free to go? Irene asks. Is that what happens next? Selene asks with a smile. Is that what she sees? No, the old woman admits. Of course not. Selene turns her back on her. She sees her keeping her close at hand. Taking good care of her as one must take care of valuable tools. She sees her telling her there is no rest for the wicked. Put her back.
Senyaka and Kevin lead Destiny back to her cell. There are things she needs to do, she pleads. They’ll have to wait, Wither replies unimpressed. If they wait, they’ll end badly, she warns them. Please. Please let her go! He thinks she heard Selene’s feelings on the subject, Senyaka points out. Get back inside. Don’t make him hurt her.
She enters the cell and is left alone in the dark. So now they know, Senyaka remarks. They are on the winning team. Did he ever doubt it? Kevin asks. If he did, he suggests he doesn’t let the queen know…
Now, Destiny sits in her cell meditating. Yes, she finally states. I see you. Across all this distance, all this time. All the dead ground I still see you. Wake! she orders. Wake now and speak to me, my daughter. And in her bed in Utopia, Ruth Alleye aka Blindfold awakes with a scream.
Yes with your leave, I think, she states to the vision of Destiny in her unique diction. I think you’ve come to the wrong room. Has she? Destiny asks. Her mother is dead, Ruth points out. So is she, Destiny states. But she admits, she is not where she thought she was. And Ruth is not who she expected to find here. Yes, thank you, Blindfold replies. She is dead. She feels her hollowness. Is this a dream? Most of her dreams seem more real than she does…
She was real once, Destiny stresses. Now she’s just an echo. The echo of an echo. She steps forward. Blindfold tries to fend her off. As Destiny’s hand passes through her, the old woman tells her not to worry. She can’t. Why is she afraid of her? Because – the silence. The hollowness. The future shrinking to a point. She is affecting Blindfold’s power just by being here, Destiny realizes. But she has to stay a little longer, until Ruth has delivered the message. What message? Ruth asks, getting up. Destiny tells her to cross the room to her wardrobe now. Get dressed. Please, yes. What message?
Destiny says something unintelligible. She can’t hear her, Blindfold states as she gets up. It’s not to be spoken aloud, comes the reply, Destiny states and asks her to come closer. Closer still. They’ve already established she won’t bite. Yes. That will do.
The next moment, Warpath comes crashing in through the wall, battling zombies. “Kid get out of here,” he orders Blindfold. “Now!” He returns to the battle.
Ruth realizes Destiny saved her. If she hadn’t come, Ruth would have foreseen the danger herself, comes the reply. And he couldn’t see Destiny. She isn’t really here, she explains. She’s somewhere far less salubrious. This is the message, she asks the girl to remember it and whispers it into her ear.
In Selene’s compound in her cell, Destiny awakes. No, wait! she moans, no! What has she done? What has she done?!


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Provide a full summary of the comic book.

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Untitled
The Hellfire Club – New York City. Several months ago…:As she sits in booth at a strip club watching women dance, Selene ponders the purpose of the world. She believes all of its people exist only to serve and sustain her; their sole reason for being is to give their very lives to her. However, time and time again, these sheep—these pathetic cattle—fail her. She rolls her eyes at the memory of those who let her down. Sebastian Shaw and his Hellfire Club once promised her power and worshippers. He, Emma Frost and the rest of the Inner Circle swore they would provide her what she needed.
A scantily clad cocktail waitress interrupts Selene’s train of thought. Is she going to order something or not? Annoyed by the intrusion, Selene slides her fingers under the waitress’s chin and, with a mere gesture, begins draining her life force. The flesh sloughs off the waitress’s face as her eyes roll back in her head. Selene doubts she’ll be ordering anything.
Her mind returns to her disappointment in the Hellfire Club, whose members betrayed her. Like so many before them, they failed to deliver to Selene what they promised. Shaw further disappointed her by turning the club into something cheap and tawdry. Frost, however, was worse. She had children willing to kill for her—to die for her—but she lost her nerve to use them. Pathetic, Selene sneers.
As Selene continues deliberating on Emma Frost’s mistakes, she marches out of the Hellfire Club, now with a black cloak draped over her dark corset and boots. Despite her being a weak and pathetic coward, Selene did find wisdom in Frost’s initial actions; after all, her child army provided her with worshippers. Fortunately for Selene, she found one who had fallen from Frost’s brood—a boy just barely of age who was ripe with power. This boy was special, Selene thinks as she remembers their first encounter.
She recalls seeing him on a bench in the park, sitting by himself and clearly forlorn. Selene sensed something special within him; she perceived dark energy emanating from his body. There was death within him. Deciding to approach the boy, she disguised herself as a frail, old woman and asked if she could have a seat, claiming she was very tired.
Kevin Ford obliged. Dubbed “Wither” by the X-Men, Kevin had a unique gift, which his name evoked. However, the same people who gave him that name also implored him to suppress that gift. Still, Kevin longed to find someone who could understand the hunger deep inside of him—someone who would embrace his overwhelming need to kill.
As the disguised Selene walked with Wither, she listened to his story. Kevin explained how his father became his first victim, and that the sensation of withering him scared him—but he couldn’t stop. The X-Men—specifically Emma Frost—had found Wither shortly thereafter, and had taught him his unique gift was wrong. Regardless, Wither tried to be one of them, a wolf among the sheep. He had even fallen in love with one of his fellow students. The hunger, however, had remained. Worse, the girl Wither loved fell victim to it. Wither’s friends had driven him out of the school—and to Selene.
Selene believes she showed Wither the truth about himself. Recalling the night Wither drained the life from the police who attacked her, she believes she reminded Wither of what he always knew: that he was a natural born killer. He deserved to be loved for what he was, Selene thinks, fondly remembering their first kiss.
One month later…A nude Wither stands on the balcony and stares out over the darkened city skyline. Selene calls to him, asking what thoughts consume him so. Only her, Wither says to his goddess. Of course, she says. Back inside the flat, she turns over in bed to face him. Deducing that he’s thinking about Laurie Collins again, Selene admits she is vaguely insulted. Wither continues looking out over the city. Two bite marks adorn the right side of his neck. He recalls how he once hurt her. The memory of her arm shriveling at his touch sears his brain. Selene merely smiles. She tells him to come; she knows exactly what he needs.
The two lovers get dressed and head out into the city. As they search for the night’s prey, Selene muses that she could use sorcery to make Wither forget. She doesn’t want that, though. She wants him to embrace what he is. She wants him to understand that Frost and her X-Men are to blame for his suffering, for casting him out and for suppressing his greatness.
They choose a pair of jubilant lovers finishing up a romantic, outdoor dinner. Selene and Wither follow them into a dark alley. It is Selene who makes the first move. With a wave of her hands, she entangles them in mystical bindings. The attractive young couple screams; they beg to be let go. Ignoring their pleas, Selene presents this gift to Wither and urges him to satiate his hunger pains.
At first, Wither refuses, claiming he can’t do it. Selene glares at him; yes he can, she says. Sheepishly approaching the couple, Wither looks them in their frightened eyes. They beg for mercy, claiming they will give him whatever they want. In Wither’s mind, however, their faces and forms shift into those of Wallflower and Elixir, his former peers from Xavier’s Institute. “Why did you hurt me, Kevin?” Laurie asks. The guilt-ridden Wither nearly breaks down at the site of her. However, Elixir leans over and plants a passionate kiss on her lips. He tells Wither not to worry; he fixed what Kevin did to her. He is now able to make Laurie happy in ways Kevin never could.
Enraged, Wither reaches out, grabs ‘Elixir’ by the throat and begins destroying his flesh. Elixir manages to speak Kevin’s first name before his flesh and teeth decompose. “You had this coming, Foley. You’ve always had this coming!” Wither says as Josh Foley’s face disintegrates.
Suddenly, Elixir’s face morphs back into that of the innocent lover. Wither realizes what he has just done and backs away. The dead man’s girlfriend, meanwhile, screams as her boyfriend dies—and then, it happens. Wither’s face changes from one of disgust to stern acceptance. He now sees the truth. Although he killed the man because he saw someone he hated, he sees the girl for what she is. Wither has no special hate for her, no cross to bear—but he kills her anyway. He gently presses his fingers to her cheek and reduces her to ash. He now understands this is who he is, and who he was always meant to be. Selene, smiling approvingly, declares that this is why she put him at her side.
“Thank you, my queen,” Wither says as the woman’s ashes drift out of his hand. Selene accepts his thanks and offers him a welcome in response. She orders him to come with her; now they must see who else they can help. After all, Selene’s circle must grow.
Many moons ago…According to Selene, history is not written by those worthy of being remembered, as they are too busy making history to stop and share their tale with the inert masses of the world. In most cases—be it hero or villain—they don’t have the chance to tell their tale or hand off their reins of power to the next in line, as they have long since lost their lives in the endless pursuit of shaping the world.
Such is the case with Clarice Ferguson, a young mutant who lost her life long ago. Selene recalls what she knows of her tale. Tears streamed down the young mutant’s face as she realized what she had to do. Her friend Paige Guthrie urged her to reconsider, claiming that Clarice didn’t have the power to defeat their foe, the Phalanx entity Harvest. Clarice knew this wasn’t true, and claimed Paige knew it too. With that, she said goodbye.
Emma Frost had to restrain Paige as she tried to reach for her friend. Similarly, Banshee saw what Clarice intended to do and likewise begged her to reconsider, even as he grappled with Harvest. It was to no avail; Clarice reached out, touched her hand to Harvest’s face and activated her mutant powers. BLINK!Although she succeeded in fragmenting the creature and teleporting it away, she got caught in her own teleportation effect and began to disappear, piece by piece. Banshee desperately reached for her and begged her to hang on. His grip loosened, however, and Clarice vanished into the void. Her last words lingered in the ether. “I-I can’t feel anything,” she said as she disappeared from the realm of the living.
Nothing, however, is absolute.
Now…A large freighter drifts over the ocean beneath a blanket of fog. Its passenger, Selene, orders it to stop. When Wither asks why, Selene claims she can feel her; she’s here. Not all stories worth being told have the expected beginning, middle and end, Selene states. Some stories, like my own, will never end—while others have yet to begin. She reaches out and holds her hand over a dimensional ripple. As she gently inserts her hand into the disturbance, she ponders that sometimes, those lives once thought lost to the world can be found once again. Selene suddenly withdraws her hand with a jerk. With it comes the screaming form of Clarice Ferguson, tethered to Selene by an ephemeral band of energy.
Clarice, her face crisscrossed by deep cuts, falls to the deck of the freighter. Her screaming continues unabated. “Ohnonononoohgodithurtsithurts it hurts!” she cries as her fragmented body attempts to heal itself. Selene reaches out to her and asks her to quiet down; she’s here to make her pain go away. With a mere touch, Clarice’s body reintegrates. The bloody lines disappear, leaving no scars or evidence other than smatterings on the floor. Clarice stares at her hand. She doesn’t understand; what just happened?
Crouching down, Selene tells her everything is going to be all right, now that she’s found her. Wide-eyed, Clarice stares at her savior; she recalls a monster, but she thinks she killed it. If that’s the case, then she did well, Selene says. When Clarice admits she doesn’t understand what happened, Selene, with a soft smile on her face, assures her all that matters is her safety.
Clarice stands up and clutches the ship’s rail. She asks Selene who she is and how she knows her name. After introducing herself, Selene claims she’s been seeking Clarice for a very long time. When Clarice asks how, Selene tells her she could hear her screams. Her agony echoed out from the realm between life and death and called out to her—but she was not the only one who heard her cries. Clarice asks what she means. “Emma Frost,” Selene answers. “She and her X-Men, the ones that left you behind. The ones that took your friends.” Clarice does remember a woman who was holding back Paige. Selene informs her that Frost is not only a mind-witch, but that she heard Clarice’s screams too. However, Frost said Clarice was too dangerous to save, leaving Selene to take it upon herself to rescue her from her unending torment.
Clarice tears up at this. Selene continues, telling Clarice she knows her pain runs deeper than flesh; she can feel it. She knows that Clarice looks over her life and believes she’s only caused pain to those she knows and loves. However, it’s not her fault; she was the one who was hurt. She was the one left behind to suffer. Selene is here to tell her she need not suffer any longer; the time has come to end her cycle of pain and betrayal. When Clarice asks how, Selene claims she can help her. She can teach her, just like she taught Kevin—but only if Clarice lets her.
Although she listens to this with her arms folded and doubt written across her face, Clarice looks to Selene, reaches out and willingly takes her hand. “Thank you, Clarice,” Selene says, grinning.
New Orleans. Several weeks later…A man in a plaid shirt parks his truck outside his bayou mansion and walks up to the doorstep. He opens the door to the darkened mansion. To his surprise, a voice calls out to him from the darkness, telling him he has a beautiful home. Shocked, the man asks who is there. The same voice responds by telling him she desires this home.
A figure emerges from the shadows. Long, black hair drapes over the sides of her face, framing her cold, dead eyes. The frightened man tells her he doesn’t know who she is, but that she’d better get the hell out of his house before he hurts her. “I don’t think that will be necessary,” Selene says, “—do you, Clarice?” The pink-skinned Clarice emerges next to her master. Agreeing his threat was not necessary, she approaches the man and puts her hand to his neck. BLINK! Her power rips his body asunder, shattering it into geometric segments she shunts into the ether. Only smatterings of blood remain.
Hero. Villain. Both roles are given equal importance in human history, as they shape the mortal world that surrounds us, Selene thinks. But in the end, neither truly matter—as they are both simply pawns in a larger game. Selene congratulates her new protégé. No one will ever hurt her again, Selene tells her. Clarice takes comfort in this, smiling at what she just accomplished.
Sri Lanka…In the lush, green jungles of Sri Lanka, he waits. He hunts. He feeds. But mostly, Selene thinks, he waits. He waits to kill again.
The eyes of a butchered buck stare vacantly into the void while the life drains out of its neck. A blade continues ripping through its neck.
Elsewhere, a little girl in a simple white dress traverses the verdant landscape. Barefoot, she watches her steps carefully as she treads over the scattered bones of many slain animals.
This is what he knows, Selene tells herself. Even as a child, he knew his purpose. He saw the life within people, and wanted to take it away from them. To leave their bodies bloody, broken and drained.
The girl passes a tree that almost seems to sweat blood. As she passes, she runs her fingers through the thick, red stream oozing down its bark. Higher up in the tree, a dead man hangs, his stomach impaled by one of the tree’s thick branches. His tongue hangs out of his bloated face while his lifeless eyes look off into the distance.
The girl approaches a cabin buried deep within the woods. The sun hits her back as she nudges open the door and enters what appears to be a torture chamber. As she steps around the various hooks, traps and bones, the bloody floor stains her bare feet. So he waits, Selene muses. He waits to kill. And he knows. He knows he never has to wait long.  The girl navigates her way through hanging slabs of meet. In a foreign tongue, she calls out to see if anyone is there.
“I am here,” a voice answers back. The girl turns around and beholds a tall man in a crimson robe that covers the majority of his face, save for his eyes. In one hand, he holds a crackling whip, and in the other, a bloodied hunting knife. “Now… why are you here?” Suvik Senyaka asks her. The girl begins offering an excuse about having lost her father, but Senyaka, interrupting, tells her not to insult him. He can feel what she is; he smells it on her. The girl glares at him angrily.
Continuing, Senyaka tells her if she wishes for him to kill for her, he will. She need not trick or convince him; he will do it. He has done so for Magneto, Exodus and Sinister. But this girl, he says—she is different. He can smell the death on her, and he likes it.
Ending the charade, the girl drops the illusion and transforms into Selene. Senyaka lowers his head as he beholds her powerful presence. “My queen,” he asks, “who would you like me to kill?”
Selene gives him an icy glare and answers with a single word: everyone.
The Ivy. Beverly Hills, California. Circa the mutant migration to San Francisco…According to Selene, there are precious few who have glimpsed their true potential—experienced a moment that defines who they are meant to be. For some, she says, that knowledge creates great feat and the need to deny the truth. They try to act normal and blend in with the weak, hoping and believing that if they play the part of humans long enough, perhaps they can become humans once again. Destiny, however, will neither be ignored nor forgotten. The faces of those killed—those who must give their lives to ensure the chosen find their destined path—will pursue them until their journey is completed.
Like most great beings, Lois London was born through lesser creatures. It is the way of evolution, Selene believes. Sadly, those who play a role in the birth of greatness often fear and envy their offspring.
The waiter catches Lois London unawares—shocks her, even. She isn’t yet ready to order. To Lois’s horror, when the waiter asks if she needs more time, she sees instead the figure of the homeless man she accidentally killed all those years ago. She hears the vagrant asking why she killed him. Terrified, Lois’s eyes grow wide and she begins muttering an excuse for her crime.
Her father, Nick Brown, reaches over and asks if everything is okay. Is there something she needs? Money? Anything? Gathering her senses, Lois claims everything is fine. She furrows her brow, presses her fingers to her forehead and narrows her eyes, as if suffering from a headache. She insists she’s fine.
Selene ponders about how creatures who give birth to greatness often disguise their contempt of their superior offspring as compassion in a vain attempt to possess what was never meant to be theirs. The weak can control the extraordinary when love is used as a weapon, Selene states. Love is the one need shared by both mortal and immortal alike.
Back at the lunch table, Mr. Brown pleads with his daughter to just talk to him. What is she going through? Whatever it is, he believes he can help. After all, he is just so grateful she stayed with him after everything he forced her and her mother to endure. Reaching over to take her hand, he says he hopes one day she can forgive him.
In the end, Selene declares, truth will not be sacrificed to emotion—or evaded.
Lois gets up from the table and slings her bag over her shoulder. She isn’t very hungry, she says. She asks the waiter if he can validate her parking and leaves.
The Plaza Apartments. Los Angeles, California…Selene does not blame Mortis for her struggle. After all, she was born into a broken home consumed by petty, mortal strife. Selene, on the other hand, was worshipped from birth by an ancient people who made every sacrifice to ensure her survival. Whereas Selene has only ever known an existence of enormous purpose and meaning, Lois has been taught to despise her unique gifts and forced to remain in the shadow of her lesser sibling, Dazzler. A fair-haired child of light, Dazzler was accepted by all because she posed no threat to anyone. In time, Selene believes, all things change.
As the sun sets over Los Angeles, Lois changes into her night clothes and watches TV by herself in her apartment. As she flips through channels, she stumbles upon a breaking news story coming out of San Francisco: the mutant outlaws known as the X-Men have declared the city their new home. The news reporter—interviewing Cyclops, Emma Frost, Wolverine, Storm, Nightcrawler, Colossus and Dazzler—states that mutants from all over the world are flocking to the city by the bay, creating a mutant subculture in an already diverse town. The presence of one particular mutant on the screen catches Lois’s attention. “Alison,” she mutters as she glimpses her sister’s beaming face. “So beautiful… ‘like an angel’, daddy always said. God, I hate you.”
Sorenson and Brown, Attorneys at Law. Century City, Los Angeles…Lois takes the elevator to her father’s office. As the doors slide open, she nervously brushes her hair back behind her ear and peers inside the lobby. She came as fast as she could, she tells Claudia, the secretary. Claudia apologizes, but she had no idea who else to call or what else to do. It’s okay, Lois tells her. She opens the door to her father’s office. Claudia begs her to be careful.
When Lois enters, she finds her father sitting at his desk, clearly drunk. “You. The monster,” he says to Lois. “Where’s Alison?!” Lois tries to pacify her father, but he will not have it. How dare she call him father! Does she know what it’s like to be the father to a killer? She has no idea how it feels always having to cover for her—having to live with what she’s done—and what she is. She killed a man! She kills everything she touches!
Attempting to interject, Lois reminds him she can’t control her touch. Nick tells her to shut up and slaps her across the face. Lois screams as she falls to the floor. The beating reminds her of an earlier time in her life, when she would watch helplessly as her father beat her mother.
Continuing his verbal abuse, Nick calls Lois a wicked, wretched creature and blames her for destroying his family. Lois takes umbrage at this; how could she have possibly destroyed the family when he had already ripped it apart? He destroyed everything, she shouts—everything! As if by reflex, Lois reaches up, touches her hand to her father’s chest and stops his heart. Nick Brown screams and falls to the floor with a deadening thud.
The eerie glow in Lois’s eyes is overshadowed only by the radiant aura emanating from her hand. She quickly realizes what she has done, to her horror. With his final words, Nick Brown tells his daughter her loves her. A moment later, he is gone.
Falling to her knees, Lois screams and holds the lifeless body of Nick Brown. She cannot believe what she has done. In a panic, she places her hands to her own head and tries to end her own life. She finds her powers do not affect her.
Suddenly, Claudia—now wearing a familiar black choker—calls out to Lois and enters the room. What happened? Lois says he attacked her then admits what she did. She killed him—she killed them all! He told her she was a killer and monster, she exclaims. Claudia, taking the worried girl by the arm, tells her they need to leave immediately. Smiling, she assures Lois she can help her, but only if she agrees to come. Claudia takes on last satisfied look at the body of Nick Brown and leads Lois out of the room.
Stunned, Lois repeats to herself what just happened: she killed her father. It’s not her fault, Claudia assures her. Ignoring her, Lois calls herself a monster. “My touch…what I did…”
“…is what you were born to do,” Claudia interjects. Lois looks over at her; her father loved her and was trying to help her. Claudia, however, doesn’t believe Nick was even fit to touch his daughter. “For what he did, he deserved nothing less than death. But I do not believe it was him you were scared of. No. He hurt you. He hurt your mother. You know this,” the blonde-haired woman says while her bright clothes slowly darken.
Bowing her head, Lois admits she was not only scared, but that she wanted to kill her father for what he did. Of course she did, Claudia says—and why wouldn’t she? “That is what you are,” Selene says. “Death.”
Lois remembers how her sister once said she would help her to keep from killing again. She was so scared. Claudia, finally revealed as Selene, asks if she is scared now. “No.” Selene asks her how it then feels to do what comes naturally. “…good,” Mortis says with a wicked grin on her face.
Later, over another dinner at The Ivy, Selene tells her new protégé that humans exist to serve and entertain them—to please, live or die at their whim. This is the life she will have now, she informs Mortis. For one final time, she asks Mortis why she exists.
Mortis lifts her wine glass and looks around the fancy, outdoor restaurant. The other patrons lie dead and slumped over their tables, their lifeless eyes casting final gazes over spilt wine and unfinished meals. Mortis smiles and answers Selene’s question about why she exists. “To kill,” she says.
Outside Rome. During the fall of the Empire…Selene recalls how, in one moment of weakness, she was betrayed by a man once known as Eliphas. For that betrayal, she cursed him, making him into something less than human.
A grave digger in a Roman cemetery notices something strange as he places his spade into the ground. Before he has time to fully react, a decrepit hand shoots out of the grave and grabs his wrist. Moments later, the man is dead, his neck devoured by the monstrous Eli Bard.
I cursed him to walk the earth forever, Selene muses, but forever denying him the one thing he truly loved…
“SELENE!!” Eliphas screams once he satisfies his hunger. He looks toward the sky. His once-human eyes glow entirely yellow, while the bridge of what used to be his nose flattens out into his lipless mouth and blood-soaked fangs.
Eliphas was not always so pathetic, Selene recalls. Once a great warrior, his glories on the battlefield faded, threatening his position in society. Still, he had remained a nobleman in Rome, which granted him access to the entire city. He was beyond suspicion; his seduction was child’s play. But, for all is desire to see those he hated destroyed, one moment of conscience destroyed everything Selene had worked toward in Rome. Eliphas would soon learn what his conscience had cost him.
Making the trek back to his grave from his resting place, Eliphas walks up to the steps of the manor he once called home. He crashes through the heavy, wooden door, seemingly by way of inhuman strength. Inside, he finds an unfamiliar noble family. He asks who they are, and what they are doing in his house. Answering back to the intruder, the head of the family calls Eliphas mad, as their family has occupied this home for generations. Inconsolable, Eliphas demands to know where he can find his wife, Aurelia.
An elder woman in the house informs him that their Lady Aurelia lived over seven hundred years ago, much to Eli’s bewilderment. How could that be possible? He turns and examines a portrait on the mantle and instantly recognizes Aurelia’s smiling face. The infant in the portrait, he does not recognize. He asks for the child’s name. The elder woman informs Eliphas that Aurelia named the baby after his father, Mascius. They are their descendants, the woman explains.
Eliphas sneers. His face quickly transforms from one of a handsome man into the hideous, horrifying scowl of a blood-sucking demon. “You spawned from that whore?” he asks. The terrified family throws up their arms at the site of Eliphas’s face. As they begin begging for their gods to save them, Eliphas begins his slaughter, gleefully informing them they can join Aurelia in death.
Screams and flames emanate from inside the home as Eliphas puts an end to his former wife’s bloodline. He marches away from the burning palace, his back lit by flames, and his eyes by pure hatred.
It amused Selene to watch Eliphas drown his conscience in blood—to see him feed off of others in death as much as he did in life. She would not learn until much later, however, that in taking Eliphas’s life from him, she had made him a desperate man—and desperation makes a man dangerous.
Selene’s curse was meant to be cruel. As his love for his fellow humans wanes, the love Eliphas feels for Selene grew. Although he knows to seek out Selene means death, he can not help but try to please his goddess—and he is one of the few who knew what she truly desires. She remembers when she first spoke to him her request for every soul in Rome. She had plainly stated that she required only godhood. She had told Eliphas that if he were to help her achieve this, she would love him forever. He helped. He took her spirit blade and, using the blood from his own hand, painted five arcane sigils throughout Rome’s coliseum in preparation for the ultimate sacrifice.
Eliphas, meanwhile, realizes what he needs to do to regain Selene’s favor: reap souls.
Eliphas besets upon Rome a plague. He brings supernatural death to the city, already in decline, all to mask his search for what he needs. Rome’s treasures are great in number, though, and finding one lone object among them all—after having been lost for 700 years, no less—seems impossible. Eliphas, however, is a desperate man. He eventually finds the blade in one of Rome’s many chambers.
To reap so many souls required a spell—one that demanded flesh and blood. According to Selene, it needs blood of the servant and flesh of the master. To fulfill this task, Selene had crafted a dagger from the bones of her mother. It is for this sacred item that Eliphas searches. He believes if he can provide Selene with a sacrifice of enough souls to make her a god, then she might love him again. Eliphas eventually finds the souls she requires among the Purifiers—souls as decadent and corrupt as those Selene encountered in Rome.
However, he also finds something else—something not of this world. Upon discovering Magus, the prized possession the Purifiers had dug up from the bottom of the ocean, Eliphas—at this point calling himself Eli Bard—plunges his arm into the creature and harnesses its power for himself. He then travels to the Apache cemetery in New Mexico and, while attempting to resurrect its dead, encounters their protective totems. Eliphas loses the spirit blade while battling their bear totem. In bringing Selene what she wants, he loses sight of that which she needs.
Since the moment Eli betrayed me, my love for him was replaced by immortal hate, Selene thinks. Eliphas approaches her one day at her home in New Orleans. After pitting her devoted Inner Circle at him, however, Eli asks her to stop for just a moment. She misunderstands, he says. His companions, Caliban and Thunderbird, are not his offerings. Eli explains that, in life, the dead mutant Caliban could track any mutant on the planet. In death, he could find all those lost to the world. “It is those mutants—their powers—and their souls that I offer to you,” Eliphas states while bowing his head.
This gave Selene pause. She smiles and reconsiders her feelings for him; perhaps their journey together has not yet reached its end. Which begs the question, she concludes—once love has lost its bloom, can it be born again? We shall see.


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

[Assistant]
Dead a Long Time
In the heart of the city, two urban youths investigate their latest find. Crouching down, one examines a tattered item, wondering what it is. It’s like… It’s like skin… Shiny, sticky skin. Taking the item, the second youth stretches it, declaring that it isn’t skin. It’s – whaddya call it – spa… Span-dex. Suddenly, the first youth calls out to the second, Marlon, pointing out a trail that leads from where they found the spandex into the alley. Blood! the boy yells. Lots and lots of blood!
Following the trail, the two find a trashcan, with a corpse inside, wrapped in purple bandages. Hearing his friend surmise that it’s a dead super hero, Marlon scoffs. Does that look like Thor? Or Captain America? Does that look like Daredevil? Huhm? Super heroes don’t get beat up. Not like that they don’t.  So, the first asks, if that ain’t a super hero… it must be a… Right on, Einstein, Marlon mocks. It’s a super-villain. Or what’s left of one.
Kicking the air in mock action, the first youth, Larry, asks if it wouldn’t be cool to be a super-villain. Go around doing evil an’ terrorizin’ society? Telling Larry that his stupidity is becoming embarrassing, Marlon asks him if he knows what a super-villain does. When Larry asks back, Marlon informs him that it’s to get beat up on by heroes. Over and over again. Now, what kinda job is that? He’d rather go fight in Vietnam, like his daddy. When Larry mocks that Marlon isn’t old enough to fight in no Vietnam, he replies that he will be soon. To this, Larry remarks that it’ll be over by then. Hearing this, Maron looks over to Larry and tells him his @$$ really is stupid.
Lost in their argument, the two youths do not notice a garbage truck pulling up, nor the two garbage men getting out and approach the trash can. Lost in their own tasks, the two men pick up the trash can containing the corpse and empty it into the truck without noticing the dead man. Still arguing, Larry asks Marlon is they shouldn’t, like, tell someone about what they saw? Irate, Marlon denies, pointing out that they’d only find a way to blame them. “Keep yo’ head down an’ yo’ mouth shut, brother.” As the two walk away, leaving the corpse in the back of the garbage truck, Larry asks Marlon what he thinks happens to super-villains when they die.
It is a cavernous world, filled with the ruins of buildings and wooden ships, along with the skeletal remains of both human and inhuman figures. Through this nightmare reality, the purple spandex-wrapped corpse crawls. How much further? he thinks. How much deeper? Reaching for a soda can, he thinks that they told him he would know… when he found it… He would know it by its smell… unlike the rotting reek of decay…
Realizing that the soda can is not what he seeks, the corpse throws the can back into the ground and continues on. Seeing something in the distance, the corpse makes his way toward mound of green substance. As he nears it, he can smell it. This smell, the thinks, as he grabs a handful and examines it. When he found it, it would be like… would be like…
(the Sanctum of Doctor Stephen Strange)
Green Tea and dry cookies, master? Wong asks. Lost in thought as he studies a luminous energy field, Strange does not hear his servant at first. However, when Wong follows up his question by asking if Strange would prefer he stir-fry some vegetables, Doctor Strange replies no. Dry cookie will suffice.
Pondering his turn of phrase, Strange wonders aloud to Wong since when did he start using words like “suffice.” Who the heck says “suffice” these days? Pouring a cup of tea, Wong cocks his eyebrows and notes that master seems irritable. His hemorrhoids are painful? Returning to his examination of the energy field, albeit now with dry cookies and tea, Strange remarks that Wong had better believe it.
Now referring to the energy, Strange notes that it is ironic, eh? Here he is, vanquisher of Dormammu… and he can’t shift a few blasted piles. Asked by the doctor what he sees in the energy, Wong apologies and replies that he sees nothing. Ah, Strange notes and apologies himself. Of course he doesn’t. Now activating the Eye of Agamotto, which produces a mist that transforms the world around them, Strange asks how about now. In stupefying marvel, Wong regards the swirling energy around them. Oh, it’s… it’s beautiful, he answers. Hmm, replies Strange, examining his snack. He thinks these cookies are a little stale.
Once again regarding their swirling environment, Strange asks Wong if he thinks he light show is pretty. When he replies that it’s beautiful, Strange informs him that it is Hell. To be more precise, he continues, as a mass of green substance begins to coalesce on his right hand, this middle section is a representation of Hell. A magical mappa mundi of the netherworld. Its where the lower life-forms congregate. Where those souls that are corrupted or spoiled descend. Not quite as beautiful when you know what it is, is it? Strange asks, closing his eyes in thought. Just like life when you think about it.
You may wonder why I’m so interested in the afterworld today, he asks Wong, reopening his eyes. “Master feeling especially morbid?” Wong guesses. No, Strange replies. He instructs Wong to look in the very center of what they term Hell… Something unusual happened. In the deepest recess of that great merciless bowel or sorrow… something has been disturbed. This could only mean that…
Yes, Master?, Wong asks. You were saying? Regaining his thoughts, Strange asks if he was saying something. Oh, it doesn’t matter, he then thinks aloud. Hell, heaven, Earth, life, death. Who cares? With this, the green substance disappears in a puff of green smoke and Strange leaves for the door. As his master departs, Wong produces a mobile phone and dials a number. Reaching his party, Wong introduces himself, stating that he’d like to bring forward their appointment. He’s getting worse.
There’s only one thing worse than being dead… and that is being forgotten, states the now-animated, purple spandex-wearing corpse. In one hand, he has a mortar of the green substance, ground into sticky paste. Dipping his finger and thumb of the other hand into it, he takes enough to begin to mark a symbol on the forehead of a brown-haired woman. The symbol is a simple circle, with a horizontal line running through it. Don’t get that stuff in my hair, honey, she instructs him. The woman is Miss America, the deceased super-heroine of the Invaders from WWII.
Along with the purple corpse and Miss America are several other people, all deceased as well. Mysterio, replete with his purple cape, green costume and fishbowl orb mask, as well as Kraven the Hunter and Tike Alicar, known in life as the Anarchist. There’s nothin’ happening’, the Anarchist protests. He doesn’t feel anything… except a little dumb for believing this would work. There’s still a slight time delay, the purple corpse defends.  Don’t worry.
Sniffing at the substance, which he took off the symbol on his own head, Kraven notes that it smells like… Snapping back, the purple corpse reminds him that he had told him not to touch it. If it smudges, it might not work. Sometimes, he sighs, you people are worse than a bunch of children.
Interrupting, Mysterio points out to the purple corpse that Manhattan was where Spider-Man kept beating him up – do they have to go there? Yes, the corpse replies, not even turning to face him. Stop quibbling… and remember they’ll only have twenty-four hours…
Before the corpse can finish, Mysterio disappears in a haze of light. Seeing this, the corpse remarks that there he goes. To this, the Anarchist remarks that he can’t wait to join him. This place is so depressing. Hearing this, Kraven notes that that’s because it’s full of ill-bred people him him. A thoroughly uncivilized…
Kraven’s tirade abruptly ends, along with his own presence, as he disappears like Mysterio did before. Ah!, the purple corpse rejoices. The resurrection of Kraven the Hunter, and not a moment too soon. Seeing this, the Anarchist calls for the purple corpse to throw him some more of that gloop. He always did have a high tolerance for…Without further ado, the affect takes over Tike Alicar, removing him from the land of the dead.
Turning to the purple corpse, Miss America looks up into his eyes with sorrowed ones of her own. When she asks if it’s kinda scary, the purple corpse agrees. Very scary. But not for them. With this, the corpse uses the green substance to trace the symbol on his own forehead.
Examining one of the diplomas on the wall of a doctor’s office, Doctor Strange tells Wong that he doesn’t know why he let him talk him into this. Sitting nearby in a chair, reading a magazine, Won replies that, deep down, master knows he’s right. Master sick. Needs doctor. He is a doctor, Strange replies. And he should talk proper English. They both know he can.
Opening the door to the waiting room, the doctor introduces himself as Doctor Young. Mister Wong told him that… Finally taking stock of who is in his waiting room, he stops himself. Stephen? Stephen Strange? Hello, Richard, Strange replies, his face stern and stoic. Announcing that this is incredible, Dr. Young smiles, saying that he hasn’t seen him since Medical School. He heard that had an accident, something about his hands… Examining his left hand, Strange replies meekly that he did. A long time ago… Leading Strange into his office, Dr. Young asks Strange to tell him what he’s been up to – and what’s all this about him being depressed?
Elsewhere in the world of the living, the purple corpse and his crew stand outside of the United Nations building in New York. Though he asks them if they are ready, the others are too intoxicated by their surroundings. Breathing deeply, the Anarchist remakes that the air smelling fresh; real live air! Real car fumes, Miss America replies sarcastically. delicious.
Ignoring her, Tike remarks that he’s hungry. He’s thinking ribs with chili sauce. And cold beer. Ice-cold beer. Him, Kraven chimes, he would like to chase down a man and watch him choke to death on his own vomit. To each their own, Miss America supposes. As the group approaches the front door of the UN building, they are intercepted by a security guard, who informs them that this is a restricted area and asks if they have passes. Effortlessly tossing the guard aside, the purple corpse asks the rest if it isn’t great o be alive.
In Dr. Young’s office, Strange – still in full costume - reclines on the psychiatrist’s Roman-style couch. To Wong’s bored demeanor, Strange continues his dialogue, stating that that’s what passes for his life. He left out the more harrowing details. Taking this in with a smile, Dr. Young replies that Strange has no reason to be depressed. He’s… he’s lucky!
Lucky? Strange repeats, he’s the loneliest man on the planet. He’s dead from the amulet down. But, Dr. Young rejoins, he has a fascinating, unusual life. He has nothing, Strange counters, rising from the couch. If he overlooks an uncanny knowledge of the mystic arts, he replies. And that isn’t quite as much fun as it sounds, he then adds. Particularly on a wet Saturday evening when there’s nothing on TV.
Now examining a photo of Dr. Young’s with a woman and two children, Strange says that he can’t even look at a woman like a normal man. When he sees a woman, all he’s interested in is her aura. Referring to the other in the photo, Strange states the doctor if they are his wife and children, he presumes. His loved ones. He has a real life, he points out to Richard. He has love. How he envies him.
Taking the photo and returning it to the shelf, Dr. Young replies that he’ll tell Strange about his life. It’s boring. He’s bored. He works hard, earns money. His wife and he hardly speak anymore. He’s raising two kids, who in a couple years will probably despise him. Is that the kind of life he’d like? Is it?
Turning to Strange, Dr. Young is surprised that he is standing so closely. Manipulating his hands with their thumbs straight up and the forefinger and pinky expended parallel, Strange looks into Dr. Young’s inner self. To the doctor’s surprise, Strange informs him that he has a blockage in his life-force, caused by a transient minor demon that entered him many lives ago. As Strange moves his hands further, gas begins to escape via Dr. Young’s nostrils and ears. This blockage, Strange explains, stops him from enjoying his life and will give him a coronary in eight years and six months. Now chanting, Strange recites an incantation. “In the name of the eternal Vishanti and the omnipotent Osthar, I cleanse you and allow you t enjoy your time in the world.”
A short time later, Wong walks Strange away from the Dr. Young’s office. Wong tells Strange that that was very magnanimous. However, he thought the idea of visiting a doctor was that the doctor cures the patient. Not necessarily, Strange replies. Pausing in thought, Strange remarks that he feels something. The balance of life and death… the very cosmic equilibrium itself… is out of kilter.
“This is an emergency!” an officer yells over his radio, while looking at flames and smoke coming from multiple areas of the building. The United Nations building is under attack! They keep shooting them… but they don’t die! Inside the building, the quintet of walking dead make their way deeper into the building and are met with a host of firearms, none of which slow them down in the least.
Watching this via the safety of a television, an adult Marlon asks Larry to turn it over to the sports channel. No way, Marlon replies, this looks big. Turn over, stupid, Larry presses rudely.
Marlon, Larry replies, the next time he calls him stupid, sittin’ in his house, with the food his wife cooked inside his belly, he’s gonna kick his skinny @$$ out. Understand?
Ah, yeah, Marlon replies, apologizing.
Continuing his report, the news anchor states that the hostage takers say they will kill all the Untied Nations delegates unless their demands are met. They refuse to negotiate with anyone except the one man they’ve asked for. This mysterious negotiator should be arriving any minute now… They should he’s the whole ball of wax…
By the moons of the Lilac planet…, Doctor Strange notes, arriving on the scene, I sense a malign hand at work. Thank God you’re there, a guard calls to him. They’re holed up inside. He’ll need a loud speaker, offering the device to him. No, Strange replies. No loud speaker. Instead, producing a luminescent sphere, Strange states that the enigmatic Orb of SNNNR will suffice. I mean, do, he then corrects, until finally adding “It’ll do.” Looking over his shoulder at the confused officer, Strange provides a defensive “whatever.”
Now returning his attention to the orb of light, which now begins swirling with energy, Strange orders the unseen forces to reveal itself. He commands them, in the name of the timeless dominions. It must show its face that they may converse. Suddenly, the energy erupts, forming a green vortex above the orb, from which the visage of the purple corpse emerges, the symbol of green substance appearing on his masked face. Doctor Strange, the corpse greets, thank you for coming. “Who are you?” Strange immediately asks, not waiting on pleasantries himself.
“I have given myself the name of the Pitiful One…” the corpse replies. Once, when he was living, he had another name. A name synonymous with defeat and pain and mockery. He was what was known as a super-villain. The Fantastic Four increased their win-to-lose ration with him on more than one occasion… Thor and Daredevil even teamed up to have a piece of him.
Enough bleating, Pitiful One, Strange spits angrily. “What does he want?” the Pitiful One spits back. “Simple, magician, he replies. I want LIFE.” Life? Strange repeats. Why bother? It’s really not as good as everyone makes it out to be. Take his advice. Stay where he is. I want life, the Pitiful One replies angrily, and don’t try telling him it’s impossible. It happens all the time. Look at Colossus. Elektra. Psylocke. You name it. Appearing from behind the Pitiful One’s shoulder is the Anarchist, who tells Strange that, when he’s done with him, he can shuffle him some of that resurrection too. He shouldn’t even be in that place.
Arriving on the scene of the conversation, a three star general yells is displeasure, even as he grabs the orb of SNNNR. What in the name of sweet Oliver North is goin’ on here?
Touch not the venerable orb, Strange replies to the general’s theft. He is trying to negotiate with these shades… This is now an army matter, the general interrupts, and I don’t negotiate with terrorists. Alive or dead. With this, he then adds that he’s sending his pretty boys in.
That might not be such a good idea, Strange prognosticates.
Some time later, the radio news reports that, after the slaughter, in which many hostages, servicemen and civilians perished, the terrorists vanished…
Yes, I am sure they vanished, Strange concurs in his library. Back to the underworld. Until the next time they gate-crash this plane, demanding right of abode… Searching through the stacks of books, literally stacked on top of each other in column rising toward the ceiling, Strange eventually finds his book of interest. Opening it up, he finds what he is looking for: a disc, embedded in a hollow within the large tome. Taking the disc, he places it in a CD player, from which thousands of symbols begin to float in the air, displaying visually what a regular CD player would project audibly.
Examining these thousands of multi-colored symbols, Strange states that it is as he suspected. The arcane scripts confirm that the green clay daubed on the shades’ foreheads comes from the lowest pit of Hell… and gives the shades approximately twenty-four hours of life… Returning the disc to the book, Strange tells Wong that the Pitiful One must be stopped. And it looks like the job has fallen to him. To this, Wong suggests that his master had maybe better have an extra-dry cookie for dinner tonight. No, Strange disagrees. Tonight, he thinks he’ll have a coffee. And… a glass of good red wine. Yes, master, Wong agrees with a wide smile.
I, who usually travel alone, Strange continues, will need help in this mission. Hearing this, Wong bows with a smile, telling his master that he is at his service. Thanks, Wong, Strange replie, placing his hand on his faithful servant’s shoulder. He will need someone who knows the land of the dead. Who can move freely through its many terrible passageways…
At that moment, in another section of the realm of the dead, three women relax. While Mockingbird reclines against some rubble, resting her bo staff against her shoulder, and the smiling Gwen Stacy sits on the steps leading to the ruins, Dead Girl raises her eyes from her folded arms, where her chin had been resting comfortably just moments before. Sensing something which has just occurred, or perhaps just been said, she calls to her two friends. Hey, sisters, she asks them, ever get the feeling someone’s walking over your grave?