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[Assistant]
Unreality Bites
We interrupt your regularly scheduled narrowcast to bring you the following program: A Ministry of Signal Presentation!
A blond haired woman, wearing the American flag, playfully around her body, tells America to wake up! She explains to the people that, while they were sleeping, the winds of change didn’t merely came sweeping down the plains; no, they came roaring across the wide expand of the great nation, from California to New York, from the Redwood Forests to the Gulf Stream Waters. The woman tells the people to look up the skies, as they will see a new monument on the Washington Skylight: the Liebera Cielo. That is the floating headquarters of America’s new administrator. The woman explains that the headquarters is determined to steer the USA into the twenty-second century at maximum speed.
But these aren’t the empty promises of career politicians, the female broadcaster promises. This is an administration of action! Already, she continues, those workers have begun launching environmental maintenance platforms in all fifty-one states, in an effort to undo the damage of almost two hundred years of atmospheric pollution. No tool of the corporate elite, this administration believes in social equality for all, and has therefore established the privileges of the wealthy black card carrying aristocracy. With that said, the woman announces the man responsible for this to the public: Doom! People go out on the streets and proudly cheer out Doom’s name. Halloween Jack isn’t happy with this and asks who this “Doom” thinks that he is! Meanstreak tells Jack that he knows who Doom is. Meanstreak explains that Jack was there when Doom shut down Alchemax’s Aesir con back when Jack was still masquerading as Loki. Jack says that he didn’t want an answer: it was a rhetorical question. Of course he remembers the Latverian!
Jack tells Meanstreak to mark his words: Jack believes that Doom is all words but no deeds. Meanstreak simply believes that Jack is jealous about Doom. One of the Casino security guards steps in, with an obvious angry woman followed by a small flying around camera, and the woman refused to come voluntarily. The woman introduces herself as Celestia Amberlyn, and she isn’t happy that she isn’t treated like the big star she used to be around here. Jack tells Celestia to calm down, and asks here what it was she was doing here. Celestia explains that her exclusive contract at the Synge Casino was life performance.  She tells Jack that the ministry of signal licensed her copyrighted holographic likeness. Celestia believes that the ministry couldn’t afford anything more. Okay, Halloween Jack tells Celestia, she can get off on a technicality. Jack notices the floating camera and asks Celestia if it’s on. Twenty-four hours a day, the blond-haired star explains, and the recording later on gets edited and replayed on the Celestia Channel. Celestia tells Jack that her life is her art.
Jack sadistically congratulates Celestia on her selflessness, for giving the “average Joe” a view on her world of celebrity and glamour. Jack looks at Meanstreak and jokingly tells him that they are lucky to stand between such an absolute angel. Henri sarcastically agrees. Jack takes out a gun and shoots the camera! Angry, Halloween Jack tells Celestia that she needs to understand that he is the star of the show now! Celestia calls Jack a jerk and reveals that she is a close friend of Indigo Eshun, Doom’s Minister of Signal. She shouts that she can have the new administration make life very difficult for Jack if she wants to. Jack tells Celestia to keep her temper and shows her why he believes that neither Doom or his cabinet threaten his plans: Jack takes her to the roof and shows her the virtual unreality projector!
He reveals that the projector is guaranteed to transport and transmogrify the world around him in ways unimaginable. Celestia is impressed to finally see what the Casino scientists have been so secretly working on in the past few weeks. Jack is proud of the design of the projector, which he made himself. Celestia remembers how an ex-boyfriend of her, who worked at Alchemax, told her that the Virtual Unreality once caused a total disaster. And now that Celestia remembers this, she also recalls that her ex told her that he blamed a man named Jackson Boone for the project’s failure. Silently correcting Celestia, Halloween Jack explains to her that the one responsible was not named Jackson Boone, but Jordan Boone and that the man was a genius, whose work went sorrowfully unappreciated by the Alchemax executive board. But that doesn’t matter, Halloween Jack believes, because in a few moments he will overturn the natural laws of physics throughout the entire city of Las Vegas and replace them with the wildly unpredictable reality of another dimension.
Celestia smiles at the thought of how twisted Jack’s plan is to use the entire city as an experiment. Jack returns to Meanstreak and asks his old friend, Hank, if he heard what Celestia named him: Jack thinks that the woman likes him. An upset Meanstreak asks Halloween Jack to make a deal: he won’t call Jack Jordan Boone anymore, so instead Meanstreak asks Jack to never call him Hank again. While quickly using his super-speed powers to check on the Virtual Unreality equipments, Meanstreak informs Halloween Jack that the hardware seems to be alright, but Meanstreak is still not comfortable with the margin of error they are working with. Halloween Jack tells Meanstreak not to worry about that and take a risk; after all, they are in Las Vegas! Jack turns on the machine and purple energies surround the entire city, and Virtual Unreality begins!
Reno…
Riding on a bike, Krystalin gets stopped by road workers when she tries to enter Las Vegas. The workers explain to her that she has the new president, Doom, to thank for that. The workers hate the changes Doom is bringing: first, he gives the old Environmental Protection Agency martial powers, and then Doom makes the road workers launch various EMP weapons all across the state. Not knowing what EMP’s are, Krystalin asks for an explanation. Supposedly, the workers explain, the EMP’s are going to flush out all the pollution out of the air and rebuild the ozone. People say that the EMP’s worked in Wakanda, but the workers don’t believe that. As the EMP’s get launched, they make a horrible noise as they do and Krystalin and the workers cover up their ears.
The high desert of Southern Nevada…
Lytton leaves his badly injured sister Desdemona behind. Desdemona begs him not to, but Lytton refuses to listen to her and simply walks away. Lytton tells her that he has never forgotten that unfortunate fact of birth, not when Desdemona stole the casino from him, and not when she turned him into the monster he is now. Desdemona begs Lytton to take her with him, offering to work together to make a plan so that Halloween Jack can pay for his deeds. Lytton doesn’t want her by his side, and why should he? Lytton finds him to be bigger and better than ever before. Although it seems that Lytton is peeling. He cuts off small pieces off from his body and walks towards Las Vegas alone, where Virtual Unreality goes on at full force.
The Las Vegas Strip…
After the launch Krystalin makes it in Las Vegas. Thinking in herself, she says that she assumed from the road that the weird purple light she saw was the result of one of Doom’s EMP’s malfunctioning, but now she can clearly see that the light comes from the Synge casino. Now Krystalin knows what Meanstreak meant when he called her in Oakland to come meet him here and told her that things were getting out of hand. Krystalin sees the Virtual Unreality in action, which causes all the buildings, cars and streets to writhe like a snake. The writhing causes Krystalin to fall off her bike and she wonders what’s going on. She notices a scared family running and that they don’t notice that a hand-shaped signage above them is breaking off and threatens to fall on their heads!
The family does see it though and get in shock when they think about their possible deaths, unable to move further. Krystalin uses her powers to create a crystalline sluice, so that the signage drops down in another direction. The family thanks her and informs that they feel sorry for losing the nice Synge casino. They say it turned into such a bad way since Halloween Jack took it over. The family believes that the casino will lose business because of this. “Not mine,” Krystalin answers, “I have reservations.”
Inside the casino, Halloween Jack dances of joy because his plan works. Celestia claps her hands, but notices that Meanstreak doesn’t seem to be happy with this at all and asks why. Meanstreak informs Celestia that he agreed to help Jack take over the casino and ban the Syndicate out of Las Vegas, but now Meanstreak is worried about the consequences of the Unreality projector: it’s ripping the city apart.
And that’s the point, Halloween Jack adds, to turn Las Vegas literally upside down! Meanstreak doesn’t like the thought that Jack is hurting innocent people in the cause. But Halloween Jack simply doesn’t care about that. Meanstreak has had enough and says that he needs a break from Jack’s insanity and runs away from him. Meanstreak runs through the casino, which is changing as well. The playing people happily grab all the coins that fall out of the machines they are playing from, which is caused by the Virtual Unreality effect. Meanstreak doesn’t know what he was thinking when he agreed to help Halloween Jack. He remembers how the X-Men were falling apart and, after that, immediately got involved into the plans of his old friend, whose sanity can now be questioned. Meanstreak doubts if he could have been more irresponsible. Now that he sees the side effects of Virtual Unreality, Meanstreak realizes his mistake.
Suddenly, Meanstreak notices that some Virtual Unreality creatures are running next to him, at the same speed he is running! Meanstreak recognizes the creatures as Benign and thinks that they have opened Pandora’s Box. Meanstreak passes some angry casino players, who want to go complain to Halloween Jack about this situation, but are stopped by the Suicide King, who informs them that Jack doesn’t want to see anyone at the moment. Krystalin is in the crowd as well, but the Suicide King refuses to believe that she is Meanstreak’s friend, like she claims she is. Meanstreak overhears the conversation and pulls Krystalin out of the crowd and happily hugs her.
Krystalin hugs him too and is glad to see that Meanstreak is all right. Meanstreak asks her what happened in Oakland, but Krystalin finds that to be a story for another time and asks what’s going on around there and who Halloween Jack is. Meansteak informs her that Jack is another alter-ego of Jordan Boone and that he is responsible for all of this, but Meanstreak adds that, unfortunately, he helped Jack accomplish it.
Outside the casino, Lytton Synge has made it to the entrance and can only think about making Halloween Jack pay for what he has done to him and climbs up the casino. Meanstreak and Krystalin go back to Halloween Jack, who happily greets Krystalin to his team. Jokingly, he asks her when she and Meanstreak are going to skip the faking and confess their love for each other.
Changing the subject, Meanstreak tells Jack that he is going to shut the Virtual Unreality machine down. Jack wants to stop Meanstreak of course, but Meanstreak quickly runs to the control panels and almost shuts it down, but Jack takes Krystalin hostage and threatens Meanstreak not to do it, or else he’ll kill her. Meanstreak angrily tells Jack to leave Krystalin out of this. The fight gets stopped by an arriving stealth ship, and the man who steps out of it is none other than… Doom!
Everyone is impressed seeing Doom in his new armor, but Krystalin recognizes him from their earlier meeting. Halloween Jack welcomes Doom in Las Vegas and jokes around, using his shape shifting abilities in the hope to impress Doom. Doom tells Jack, calling him Jordan Boone, not to waste his time. An angry Halloween Jack tells Doom not to call him by the name of Boone. Doom grabs Jack up and doesn’t care about his personality disorder.
Doom informs Jack that his sophomoric application of dimensional interference technology threatens the environmental balance he is trying to restore. Jack doesn’t understand Doom’s concern, saying that it is only Las Vegas they are talking about. As they talk, nobody notices that Lytton has made it to the rooftop as well. Doom explains to Jack that he has completely miscalculated the persistence of the anomaly wave. Doom believes that the effect will not diminish with distance. Jack disagrees with that, trying to convince Doom of Richard’s principal of tangential equilibrium, but Doom tells Jack not to talk to him about Reed Richards or any of his theories. Lytton attacks Jack, but Doom, not wanting to be disturbed, simply attacks Lytton with an energy wave, which throws him off the roof again.
Jack smiles and recognizes Lytton. Doom demands that Jack pays attention to him, and explains to him that his recklessness ignored the need for containment buffers. Doom reveals that, if left unchecked, the other-dimensional projection will create a chain reaction that will transform the planet in the same unnatural manner it is warping Las Vegas. Jack informs Doom that he doesn’t intend to keep Virtual Unreality running non-stop. Smiling, he asks Meanstreak to do them all a favor and shut the projector down! Meanstreak says that he has been trying to do that, but can’t close the one-dimensional lens and the vu wave has rendered the failsafe inoperative. Dancing around with joy, Jack is glad that there seems to be nothing left but to see the planet destroy itself.
So angry that red energies float from his eyes, Doom tells Jack that it’s a shame that he led himself grow so insane, because he could have make a fine member to his cabinet. Doom says that Jack leaves him no other choice but to take extreme actions to end this mess. A confused Jack asks Doom what he means by that. Doom reveals that, minutes ago, he gave a command to launch a phalanx of EMPs around the greater area of Las Vegas. Doom says that those EMPs have been specially programmed to create a containment field that will buffer the vu wave. From this moment, Doom concludes, he will close Las Vegas for good.
Jack gets upset and threatens Doom that he won’t stop him and will make him pay for this. An unimpressed Doom tells Jack that he is welcome to try it, but tells Jack that if he takes his mischief to any other place in his America, Doom will have Jack killed. He promises that. Doom walks back to his ship and flies away.
Halloween Jack hates Doom even more now, but is glad to see that at least Meanstreak is still with him, and now Krystalin as well. Meanstreak informs Jack that he isn’t his partner anymore and runs away together with Krystalin. Jack begs Meanstreak not to go, but Meanstreak doesn’t listen and takes off. An angry Halloween Jack says that he doesn’t need anyone and plans his next scheme. As Meanstreak and Krystalin run out of Las Vegas, a road worker plants a warning sign which reads “Danger: Las Vegas: anomalous zone ahead. Enter at your own risk.”


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[Assistant]
Gauntlet of Pain!
The Sangre de Cristo mountains, New Mexico…A helicopter flies over the deserted area. The helicopter lands and Morphine Somers steps out of it. Morphine believes that an explosion has taken place and asks a lieutenant if there are any survivors. The lieutenant reports back that there are no life forms to be found in a five-mile radius. Morphine isn’t happy to hear that.
Meanwhile, at an unknown dark and evil place…Xi’an Chi Xan steps forward, with a serious look on his face. Fire spreads itself across the room he stands in, and a giant hand comes through the red-hot flames. A voice tells Xi’an that he has led a shadow life and was caught between light and dark, between good and evil and even between heaven and hell. Now, the voice concludes, the time has come for Xi’an to discard the detritus of his past, and transcend the moral conflicts that divides him.
The voice demands Xi’an to step into the fire and to be reborn! The speaking man introduces himself as Brimstone Love, and he promises Xi’an this: once he is initiated into the exquisite mysteries and dark truths of the Theatre of Pain, he will emerge transformed! If he survives. Brimstone Love’s female servants tell Xi’an that the Inner Circle waits for him.
Brimstone Love reveals to Xi’an that thus far they have only shown him a small portion of the Theatre’s magnitude. Brimstone Love claims that they provide twisted entertainment for an audience of the world’s rich and jaded, and that by manipulating those viewers’ deepest and most decadent fantasies, the Theatre can control them. Xi’an proudly tells Brimstone Love that his flame tricks don’t impress him and that he can stop performing them.
Xi’an tells Brimstone Love that he was the one who brought him the Chosen and Master Zhao and Xi’an wants to know why, because Brimstone Love never told him. Brimstone Love promises Xi’an to explain that to him, but in due time. Brimstone Love says that trust and rank must be earned in the Theatre of Pain. Brimstone Love reveals that his partner Cheron did not attain the position of Controller Prime overnight, nor was his other partner Felicity given command of the Norns without proving herself first.
Before one can truly become part of the Theatre, one must surrender his pride. An uninterested Xi’an walks out on Brimstone Love, telling him that he is looking for opportunity and not cultism. Brimstone Love attacks Xi’an with fire, who then disappears. Brimstone Love tells Xi’an that he doesn’t understand it. The villain says that once the curtain is raised, no one ever leaves the Theatre of Pain!
Aspen…Xi’an wakes up and believes that the place he is in is one of Brimstone Love’s theatrical flourishes. Xi’an realizes that Brimstone Love didn’t put him on fire, but instead teleported him. Xi’an recognizes the place, since this is where he grew up. But the place is worse than Xi’an remembers it. Xi’an remembers how the Mutt-town plague cleared out most of the town in the ‘90’s, but… Xi’an stops thinking when he believes that he isn’t alone. Xi’an knows that he is being watched.
A noise comes out from inside a storefront. Xi’an calls out and asks if the person who watches him is Brimstone Love. A chain attacks him and Xi’an falls down on his knees. An evil voice tells Xi’an to pay attention. But, the man adds, Xi’an never did before and that was his biggest problem.
Xi’an can’t believe it, but he easily recognizes his adversary: it’s Chainlink! But that’s impossible to Xi’an, because he thought that Chainlink was dead. “You wish,” Chainlink says while continuing his attack, and tells Xi’an that he can’t play his ice-cold attitude on him. Chainlink tells Xi’an that he was there when he was nothing but an embarrassment to his parents. Chainlink asks Xi’an if he remembers that time. Xi’an remembers how he was, as a thirteen year old boy, taken away from his home by some genetic lab employees.
Chainlink attacks Xi’an again with his chains, but Xi’an can dodge the attack. Chainlink asks Xi’an what his parents told him: that he would be better off with the lab? Xi’an confirms, and remembers how he called out for his parents, but that his father instead told him that he was an embarrassment for a man of his position. His mother agreed, believing that Xi’an would be better off with people who knew how to take care of him.
Xi’an realizes what Chainlink tries to do to him. That Chainlink wants to distract him by bringing up bad memories so that he can defeat Xi’an. Xi’an remembers how the lab employers told him that he was going to the Grove, and that Xi’an would love it there because all the people there were freaks like him.
Xi’an cried that he wasn’t a freak, but nobody wanted to believe him. Chainlink laughs at the facts, but finds it a hard way for Xi’an to have found out that life isn’t fair on a way like that. Xi’an remembers how he promised to show who’s a freak around here, and to make everyone pay when he comes back. Xi’an can’t stop thinking about his past and gets almost hit by an attacking Chainlink.
Xi’an suddenly jumps out a car, but as he hits the ground another chain grabs his leg. Chainlink steps forward and tells Xi’an that he hasn’t changed, and is still the little baby Chainlink remembers him by. Xi’an remembers how he first met Chainlink. He landed before Chainlink and his followers, the Massive Cur’s ground, and they weren’t happy to see him.
Chainlink remembers the moment as well, and wishes that he had killed Xi’an when he had the chance, instead of giving him a second chance. Xi’an tries unnoticed to destroy Chainlink’s chains using his powers, but the chains aren’t affected by the mutant trick.As Chainlink tries to kill Xi’an with a final strike, Brimstone Love and Charon show up. Brimstone Love orders Charon that this scene is played and to move on. The woman does as told.
Nogales…Xi’an knows that he was teleported again. But this time, there’s a weird buzzing noise in his head which he can’t turn off for some reason. Xi’an focuses on the situation he is in now, but… oh, no, Xi’an thinks. He is attacked by the cyborg Gearbox! Gearbox informs Xi’an that there is a bounty on his head and that he intends to collect the money. Xi’an can’t believe that he is back in the Glass Eye cantina, like he was when he was five years ago when he was still a member of the Lawless. Xi’an remembers how Gearbox attacked him, Victor Ten Eagles and Haiku at the time.
(past)The trio couldn’t believe that they were attacked at the time either, because they believed that they had lost Gearbox in Phoenix. Xi’an dodges an attack of Gearbox and recalls that he is as fast as he remembers him to be. In the past, Gearbox told the Lawless trio that for crimes against the Elysium Biomedical Corporation and their subsidiaries, he has been authorized to bring them all in, dead or alive. Gearbox opened fire and shot Haiku.
(now)In the present, Gearbox tells Xi’an that he escaped from him once, but not this time. Gearbox grabs Xi’an in his claws and Xi’an can’t help but to think about the past. Xi’an remembers how he asked Ten Eagles to run, because he knew they weren’t a match for Gearbox. Victor didn’t want to leave Haiku behind, but Xi’an told him to leave her. In the present, Xi’an tries to use his powers to destroy Gearbox, but he threatens to rip Xi’an’s arm of if he does so.
Xi’an remembers how Ten Eagles begged him no to leave Haiku behind, but Xi’an instead told him to move or else they would be killed as well. Back to the present, Xi’an shouts out that he knows that Brimstone Love is watching and asks him why he is doing this to him. But Gearbox strikes his claw through Xi’an’s body, and blood flows out of it. A pleased Brimstone Love says that now that blood has been drawn, the sting of the past becomes the pain of the present. Still, he adds, it is too soon to conclude this nostalgic revue, and so he commands Charon to once more move over to the next scene.
Death Valley, California…Hundreds of mutants get lured into the Valley. The guards inform them that all incoming “subjects” had to proceed to the White Room for initial examination and evaluation. And that after that, if they had been classified as useful, the inmates were given color coded armbands meant for identification and sector transfer. The colors mean the following: reds has to go to Genetics, blues to Research, greens to Labor, yellow to Entertainment and black to Recycling. Quiver, one of the inmates, hates it. He has made up a nickname for the slave prison: the Slaughter House. Quiver doesn’t care anymore about the guards, or any of the food that has been promised to them: he simply wants to escape. Quiver begins to activate his seismic powers. His friend Sham notices it and tries to calm him down, warning him to remember what the guards will do to him if they find out about anything weird.
But Quiver can’t help it; he’s scared. His powers go out of control and blast everyone around him away! Quiver runs to the exit, with Sham trying to hold him back. The guards see it all happening and shoot Quiver down. The guards realize that Quiver must be a mutant and decide to call the lab for advice what to do with her. Sham notices Quiver shaking, and begs her not to use her powers again, no matter what happens.
El Paso…Tim, Shakti and La Lunática enter the big mall and argue about what happened to them. Luna can’t believe that Shakti still doesn’t believe that Xi’an has turned evil and believes that Xi’an doesn’t deserve their help. Tim remembers Luna that she once was part of the Theatre of Pain and escaped from it. He and Shakti want to give Xi’an the same chance. Shakti explains that, before they can determine whether Xi’an is beyond help, they’ll have to find him first.
They enter the mall bar and walk over to the bartender, Ulysses. Ulysses gets compliments from his customers about the fine drinks he made for them. Shakti approaches Ulysses and asks him to speak to the owner of this bar. Ulysses tells her to go away. Luna gets angry and wants to attack, but Shakti holds her down. Ulysses tells Shakti that there is no need to do that; he isn’t scared of Luna. Shakti understands Ulysses’ caution, but explains to them both that there is no need for action. Shakti again asks Ulysses to inform Haiku that she is here to talk about Xi’an. Haiku overhears them and invites Shakti in, but Tim and Luna have to wait outside.
As Ulysses brings her to Haiku, Shakti asks him if Haiku was monitoring their conversation. Ulysses reveals that, sometimes, Haiku patches into the security feed to watch the counter. Ulysses makes it clear that Haiku doesn’t talk to her customers, but most certainly knows who they are. They enter the lab where the Broken Haiku is in. Shakti notices how different Haiku is since they last saw each other in Seattle. Haiku asks Shakti if she is shocked about that. Shakti finds it curious that someone who has ridden with an outlaw gang like the Lawless would retreat from the material world in such an extreme manner. Haiku doesn’t call her current position a retreat, but rather a release from physical limitation.
Ulysses informs Shakti that Haiku suggest to discuss further matters on the Net. He asks Shakti if she wants cybersim shades, but Shakti denies. She explains that she had a neural jack implant during the time she spent in Hong Kong. She shows it to Ulysses and tells him to plug her in. Ulysses does so, and Shakti and Haiku meet each other on a beautiful virtual landscape on the net. Shakti is surprised to find herself in such a serene place. Haiku explains to Shakti that she conducts her business with the tourists here, the shallow divers who still need the recognizable iconography to help them navigate the net. Haiku knows that real gliders prefer the wild abstractions of true cyberspace.
Shakti knows that Broken Haiku glides in information. Shakti tells her that she also knows that people say that Haiku even knew about the White House takeover before Doom left Latveria. Haiku confirms that rumor.
So, Shakti asks Haiku, “help me find Xi’an.” Haiku doesn’t see the point to that, because she is sure that Xi’an will only betray Shakti like he did to her. Shakti tries to explain to Haiku that she didn’t know the Xi’an who came back from Saigon. Xi’an was a different man at that time – stronger and compassionate. Haiku doesn’t believe that, because at her last meeting with Xi’an he was as arrogant and amoral as she remembered him to be. Shakti hopes that state is a regression she hopes to overcome. But to be able to do that, Shakti explains that she needs all the information there is about Brimstone Love and the Theatre of Pain. Hearing Shakti call the Theatre’s name, Haiku says that group shouldn’t be named lightly, not even in cyberspace. Haiku promises that providing that information to Shakti will be dangerous and therefore costly. Broken, Haiku asks Shakti if she is prepared to pay that price.
Saigon…Xi’an has been teleported again further down his memory. Xi’an notices his side bleeding and he has a numb leg. Xi’an thinks that his mind is playing tricks with him. There is too much happening at the same time and Xi’an can’t think straight. All Xi’an knows for sure at the moment, is that wherever Brimstone Love had send him to so far, he had to face an enemy from his past. Xi’an believes that if he is in Saigon now, he will have to face… No, Xi’an rethinks. That can’t be… he killed him for sure! But suddenly Xi’an is attacked by a masked man from behind. The villain sadistically reveals to Xi’an that a little thing like a mortal wound couldn’t keep him in the grave. The villain introduces himself as Quickdeath, and says that he came back from the dead to meet Xi’an there. While knocking Xi’an down with a blast, Quickdeath tells Xian that it’s cold on the other side.
Xi’an remembers how he told his friend, Jimmy, that he couldn’t allow the Cartel to find him. At the time, Xi’an knew that the Cartel thought that he sold them out to Stark-Fujikawa Hardware. Jimmy told Xi’an that the American Cybernostra has no jurisdiction in Vietnam. But Xi’an didn’t need to worry, because the park has been closed for years now. Jimmy told Xi’an that he would be safe there and promised to arrange a new identity for Xi’an as well.
Quickdeath attacks Xi’an with an electric-like blast and says that he has been able to plan this moment in detail while he was dead. Quickdeath promises Xi’an that his death won’t be quick and painless. Quickdeath knows that the only thing that defines life is the pain. Xi’an remembers how Jimmy suddenly was stabbed in the back after he promised his safety by an unseen assailant, who told Xi’an that his time was up. Xi’an tries to move up from Quickdeath’s attack, but can’t and realizes that he is teleporting once more.
The Nuevo Sol Archeology…An exhausted Xi’an realizes where he is. A voice from behind pities the state Xi’an is in. Xi’an turns around to see the person who dares to mock at him and finds out that it is… Noah Synge! Xi’an jokes that the gates of Hades must be wide open. Noah tells Xi’an to stop his whining and to realize that he isn’t a star anymore. That nobody is cheering for him anymore because he is no longer telling his beautiful promises about a new world. Xi’an remembers all the mutants he gathered back when he was “good” and who all proudly cried out his name. Xi’an asks Noah why he is here. Noah tells Xi’an that it is because he deluded himself into thinking that he was the one time successor to Xavier and Magnus. Noah laughs at that fact. Noah tells Xi’an that Xavier and Magnus were real mutants: worthy of respect and fear. They counted for something. And Xi’an did count for nothing!
Xi’an tells the old man to go away from him. Noah doesn’t know why he should, because these days there isn’t a difference between him and Xi’an. They are both walking death now. Noah tells Xi’an to give up. With his final breath, the exhausted Xi’an notices Brimstone Love staring at him in the shadows. Xi’an tells Brimstone that he knows that this is one of his games, and doesn’t want any part of it anymore. With that said, Xi’an faints.
Charon teleports in front of the unconscious Xi’an and compliments him for holding the test out for so long. Charon is surprised that Xi’an even managed to survive a battle with a None, even though he was holographically disguised as a ganger, a bounty hunter and a mob assassin. Felicity and Brimstone Love too step out of the shadows and Brimstone compliments his two servants for a job well done. Brimstone knows that both physically and emotionally, they have changed Xi’an to the edge of despair.
Felicity says that Xi’an’s mind is fragmented and weakened by his own inner conflicts. She found it simple to use her psi-talents to extract those moments of physical danger and emotional vulnerability. And it was even easier to make Xi’an believe the sweet and demure felicity was each of his antagonist’s, who had returned from to past to abuse him further. Charon finds Xi’an to be a strong fighter. He congratulates him for not falling down until the very end. She asks Brimstone to give Xi’an to her and she promises that in return she will make him the most vicious of the Theatre’s Bloodfighters.
Brimstone Love refuses to waste Xi’an in the deathsport of the Splatterheads. Brimstone notices that Xi’an has a wild and cruel side that goes beyond mere physical violence. Brimstone commands Charon and Felicity to teleport away now, and they do as asked. Alone, Brimstone Love grows an angry look on his face. He says that the initiate is broken. The time has come to rebuild Xi’an into the Theatre of Pain’s image!
Some time later, Xi’an wakes up in a coffin and finds out that the Theatre buried him alive! Brimstone Love, Charon and Felicity all sadistically look at him crying out for help. Suddenly, their image disappears into that of Xi’an’s former good self. The good self offers Xi’an to let him take over, so that he can help defeat Brimstone Love. Xi’an refuses that and rather dies. His vision turns black.
Later…Brimstone Love and all the many followers of the Theatre of Pain have gathered in one group, wearing red hoods over themselves. Brimstone Love begins to read the official ritual words: “This way for the sorrowful city. This way for entering eternal suffering. This way to join the lost people. Abandon all hope, who enter. You stand now in the Theatre of Pain - ONE OF US! “Yes,” a serious Xi’an says. He takes a final look at Brimstone Love, and puts a golden mask on.
Southern Arizona…An unseen man standing in the shadows of an airship asks where the other mutants are. “Scattered to the winds,” a joking Morphine Somers replies. So much for the unified strength of the so-called X-Men, he says. But Morphine is content that at least they were able to scrape one of them out of the garbage he was buried under. The mysterious man asks Morphine if he thinks that this mutant will be enough to serve their needs. Morphine is confident that after a little attitude adjustment, the mutant will suffice. But of course, they’ll have to put him back together first. Morphine opens a container tank and reveals Junkpile inside! President Doom steps out of the shadows, and allows Morphine by all means to reassemble the tin man…


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[Assistant]
Junkpile: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.!
Junkpile’s body is restored. As he wakes up, he isn’t that happy when he finds… a S.H.I.E.L.D. badge on his body! Morphine Somers introduces himself to Junkpile and confides to him that what he thinks is true: he is now an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.! Morphine explains that he, as the new administration’s Minister of Humanity, is in charge of mutant affairs.
Junkpile doesn’t see why he should be interested in that. Morphine reveals that he needs muscle for a red market cleanup in Death Valley, and Junkpile – while not being Morphine’s first choice – is eminently qualified for the job. Junkpile can’t believe that he is now a public agent.
Morphine asks Junkpile to pay attention. Morphine explains to Junkpile that he is giving him the chance to join S.H.I.E.L.D., which is the nation’s elite security force, and that Junkpile will operate autonomously and with full administration sanction, plus, Morphine jokes, Junkpile will profit from a good medical coverage.
An angry Junkpile isn’t interested and takes the S.H.I.E.L.D. badge off from his body and throws it away. The badge gets caught by a metal hand, which appears from the shadows. President Doom steps forward. Junkpile recognizes Doom, having heard how Doom and the Wakandans bombardment D.C. But Junkpile tells it to Doom very clear that he WON’T be nobody’s errand boy. Doom explains to Junkpile that if it weren’t for him and his ministry’s faith in Junpile’s abilities, the tin man would still be fused to the decimated ruins of a stealth bunker, unable to extricate himself from the ton of metal Junkpile’s techno-organic metabolism could not synthesise.
With angry eyes, Doom tells Junkpile that gratitude would be in order.
Drawing back, Junkpile quietly says that he sees Doom’s point. Junkpile takes his S.H.I.E.L.D. badge back and asks if he really gets full autonomy. Doom promises Junkpile that he will only have to answer to him and Somers. Junkpile agrees to join. From now on, he is the law.
Death Valley, the Floodgate Bio resource Processing Center…
Tim & La Lunática stowaway on Synge transport that rides new inmates to the Valley. Tim finds their plan to be insane. He knows that Floodgate is the Theatre of Pain’s slaughterhouse, where they process and package human beings for their sadistic clientele. And now, Tim says, they are hiding among sheep who are being led to the slaughter. Luna is afraid that the guards will see through their disguises. She knows that Death Valley is meticulous in their security and how carefully the Theatre guards its holdings, reminding everyone that she was once part of the evil group.
Shakti says that, right now, they are all just three anonymous fringers who sold their bodies on the red market. She is confident that the guards won’t pay any attention to them. Shakti says that they have to go through with this plan, because Broken Haiku swore to them that this would be the place where they can find Xi’an.
However, Shakti finds it to be a bitter irony that the man who once championed corporate society’s discarded and unwanted has now joined forces with an organization that exists only to exploit the disenfranchised. Luna wants Shakti to consider the possibility that the Theatre has smothered whatever good there was in Xi’an, and that her former friend is now beyond redemption.
Tim reminds Luna that she escaped the Theatre of Pain, so he knows that escape is possible and wants to give Xi’an the same chance. Luna asks what they are going to do if Xi’an doesn’t want to leave. Then, Shakti says, they are in trouble.
The transport stops and everyone has to step out of it. The guards welcome them and order everyone to exit the tram in an orderly fashion. The guards explain that they will direct the inmates to the evaluation center, where their processing will begin. The guards remind their captives that they have to stay within the appropriate boundaries and that disobedience will not be tolerated.
Luna shivers when hearing about the evaluation center, knowing that it is more like a butcher shop. She hates to see that all these people are treated like meat. Shakti is pleased to see that at least there exists an equal opportunity exploiter. She notices that they are among degens, nomads, headcases and, - judging by their tattoos - a couple of prison transfers.
Tim hesitates for a moment, but a guard notices that and orders Tim to move on. Tim, not liking to be pushed, almost activates his powers to fight the guard, but Shakti warns Tim to keep a low profile until they can separate themselves from the crowd. She doesn’t want to draw attention to themselves.
Meanwhile, overlooking the new inmates from her office, Director DeMille is content. She says that the dregs of society funnel through here every day, but at Floodgate, they recycle this “human refuse.” DeMille says that she and her employees find use for the inmates “useless lives.”
DeMille explains to Controller X that some inmates have body parts that can be salvaged for the wealthy. Others make fine subjects for medical experimentations, while still others are groomed for private pleasure dens. The finest of the lot, DeMille adds, are always reserved for the Theatre of Pain’s hierarchy. So Controller X can pick.
Controller X informs Director DeMille that he needs psych profiles of Floodgate’s most emotionally disturbed guests. In addition, Controller X will need technicians to help him with his project’s construction. DeMille says that she has heard rumors that Controller X intends to use the main stage. DeMille says that few would produce such a large scale piece for their introductory presentation. Controller X simply says that he lives in large scale.
However, Controller X adds, when watching the computer video screens, that DeMille should be more concerned with the minutiae of her own business. Controller X recognizes Tim, Shakti and Luna and tells DeMille that these three are not the lost souls they would have her think.
The Purification Chamber…
The scientists lead the inmates through the chamber. They explain to the captives that, since most of them have been living under unhygienic circumstances, they must pass through the Purifier before they can be processed any further. Inside, the scientists conclude, the inmates will be disinfected, deloused, depilated and inoculated against all major viral strains. A woman named Diamanda LaSalle steps out of the chamber, and she feels like she has been sandblasted.
She is surprised to even still have skin on her body, after that high-pressure shower she went through. One of the scientists reads her file, and asks Sham if she truly is eighteen years old. Sham confirms. The scientist reads from the file that Sham is unlicensed transient and in perfect health. Sham asks where her friend Quiver is. The scientist knows that Quiver is the one who shot the guard yesterday and reveals that Quiver is in Research now.
Sham is surprised to hear that Quiver is still alive after what happened. The scientist informs Sham that she has been classified as an organ donor. And, the scientist follows, they have an immediate call for a kidney, cornea and lung transplant. The scientist takes out a tranquilizer gun and asks Sham not to resist and promises Sham that she won’t even know that her organs are gone. Sham powers up and angrily tells the scientist to get away from her! She uses her tendril powers, but a surprised scientist doesn’t know where they came from.
A glad Sham explains that the machines failed to report that she was a mutant. Sham promises that she has even got more tricks up her sleeves. Sham moves quickly to the scientists and takes away his gun. Then, she points the gun at the scientists and hits him with it, making the scientist faint. Sham takes the scientists key card out of his pocket and decides to go find her friend.
Preliminary Evaluation Center, level one…
More scientists activate their computers, but something odd happens to them: the genetic imagers keep falling out. The head professor orders his followers to report the problem to the central power and ask if there is some kind of outage. The scientists do as told and, as they go, they don’t notice that Tim, Shakti and Luna sneak behind them. Tim whispers to his friends that he is siphoning power from the power lines in the floor. Hopefully, that will get allow them to pass any technical machine that might identify them as mutants.
The scientist quotes that, due to the mechanical problems they have, they will have to proceed with the evaluation manually. The rest of the inmates will remain to the right until the equipment is back on-line. But, the scientists laughs, not Tim and his friends!
The three mutants quickly become surrounded by arriving guards. Tim wonders how they could have possibly spotted them. The leader of the guard promises his soldiers to be careful, as their adversaries are all alpha classed mutants. Luna begins the fight and the others follow. Tim transforms into Skullfire and unleashes his remaining power that didn’t go through the gene scanners.
Unfortunately, one of the guards fires elephant class tranquilizers! They hit Tim and Luna’s necks, and they faint. Shakti is left standing, but the guards push her against a wall. The guards proudly tell Shakti that she could stop one of them with her psychic powers, but promises that the rest of them will shoot her the minute Shakti does that. Shakti asks the guards how they spotted them. The leader explains that a Controller found out about them. Suddenly, the roof begins to crack. Everyone looks up, and… Junkpile and the Junkyard Dogs jump through, ready to arrest them all!
Personally, Junkpile says that nobody will surrender, because both he and the Junkyard robot Dogs Doom build could both use the exercise. The guards attack Junkpile, leaving only one guard with Shakti. She telepathically knocks him out, and tries to find Tim and Luna. They are nowhere to be seen. Shakti believes that someone must have dragged them away the moment Junkpile dropped in. Shakti wants to find them, but rethinks, believing that her top priority is finding Xi’an.
Research, Sub-level ten…
A scientist has installed Quiver on a machine, which will tell the scientist what Quiver’s mutant powers precisely are. Quiver can’t stand the pain. Sham creates an illusion of a giant orange rock monster and scares the scientist and knocks him out. Sham sets her friend free. Quiver can hardly stand on his legs, but Sham nonetheless wants to move out of the place.
Quiver asks Sham to leave him behind, because she will have a better chance to escape without him slowing her down. Sham doesn’t want to hear a word of it and they leave together. They bounce into Shakti. Sham thinks that Shakti is the enemy and attacks her, creating the same illusion.
Shakti easily sees through the attack and convinces them both that she is not the enemy. Sham and Quiver offer Shakti to escape with them, but Shakti says she can’t yet and has to find Xi’an first. Sham and Quiver call her a fool for doing that and run away while Shakti moves on.
Shakti is attacked by a security robot. She tries to destroy it, but Controller X steps forward and punches Shakti down. Controller X informs Shakti that the Theatre of Pain doesn’t tolerate with her actions and will punish her.
Shakti realizes that though his voice has changed as he speaks through the golden mask he wears, but she knows the truth: Controller X is in fact Xi’an! Controller X denies that, telling Shakti that Xi’an is dead. Shakti tells the Controller that if she would truly believe that, she wouldn’t be here. Shakti and the Controller fight.
The Controller notices how Shakti has changed since Xi’an left her. The Controller defeats her, but says that, while others should have been killed by now, the Theatre will spare her because they have need of her special talents.
Level three…
Junkpile and his Dogs destroy the last of the guards and think that they have won the battle. Unfortunately, that is not so. Brimstone Love appears! Brimstone Love tells Junkpile that, despite his S.H.I.E.L.D badge, he doesn’t have any jurisdiction here, because Death Valley belongs to the Theatre of Pain. Junkpile commands his Dogs to attack Brimstone Love, but he easily destroys the robots using his geo-thermal energy.
Junkpile tells Brimstone Love that he shouldn’t have done that, because that Dog belonged to the United States government. And, for that, Junkpile promises Brimstone that he will have him arrested. Unimpressed, Brimstone Love surrounds himself with pure hellfire, and promises Junkpile that his arrogance will have him killed. Brimstone Love will personally make sure of that. The two enemies step forward and prepare to fight each other…


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[Assistant]
Twitch and Writhe
In the heart of Southern California, a madman has detonated a gamma bomb, triggering, in addition to a radioactive urban Apocalypse, an earthquake of cataclysmic proportion. Now, three hundred miles to the east, a resulting shockwave sweeps across Death Valley, shaking the factory of human misery called the slaughterhouse at its foundation. And perhaps it would be better were the Earth to open up and devour this charnel house, for within, the sadistic secret society known as the Theatre of Pain dissects the bodies of the lost, desperate and discarded for cruel entertainment.
Inside, two former inmates with the names of Sham and Quiver also feel the shake while they try to escape through the isolation vent. Sham thinks that Quiver is behind it, using his powers, but Quiver denies. The shaking finally stops and the two mutants are glad that they have survived it. Quiver is still frightened that they will never make it out of Death Valley, but Sham is confident that they will, seeing that they have went through worse. Sham is certain that they haven’t got anything to worry about. But when Sham looks through an air opening, she has to rethink that thought! Because below her, she witnesses the battle between Junkpile and Brimstone Love!  Brimstone Love attacks Junkpile, using the full potential of his flame powers. Brimstone defeats Junkpile and laughs at the fallen tin man.
Brimstone Love recalls that every generation has their Junkpile, Juggernaut and Raging Behemoth. Brimstone laughs at how each street punks that thinks they can take him out and, as they oppose them, he always proves them otherwise. Brimstone mocks Doom too, that he thought an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. could destroy him. Brimstone Love takes Junkpile’s S.H.I.E.L.D. badge and burns it up. He commands Director DeMille and her servants to dispose Junkpile.
Meanwhile in sub-level ten, Tim and La Lunática recover from the tranquilizer gun they took. Tim uses his powers to escape, but they get stopped by three sisters who call themselves the Norns. Luna knows them and introduces Bliss, Euphoria and Felicity to Tim and claims that they are the Theatre’s Bloodsport Arenas.
Luna reveals that she was one of them too, for ten long years when she was still a slave of the Theatre until she escaped from it. Tim wants to power up and attack them, but Luna warns him that the Norns have been bred to be savage fighters. Tim doesn’t care and wants to power up, but can’t! Euphoria punches Tim, explaining that when the tranquilizer hit him, it installed a neural inhibitor in Tim’s body, which negates his mutant abilities. With Tim down, the two other sisters Bliss and Felicity want to take down Luna by themselves. Luna fights first and says that she will never be anyone’s slave. She knocks the two sisters down, but Euphoria then punches Luna down. She adds that Luna always was a wild one, and that’s why Brimstone Love put a restraining collar on her neck, so that they could control her.
Euphoria can’t understand why Luna would leave all the luxury and wealth the Theatre offers them. She doesn’t know why Luna prefers to hang around with mutants. Luna replies that she is a mutant herself and asks Euphoria that if she is going to kill her to do it quickly and leave her be. Euphoria offers Luna to rejoin, but she refuses.
Felicity knocks Luna out with her Lethal Cross attack. With Luna blacked-out, Bliss asks what to do with Tim if they are going to bring Luna back to Brimstone Love. Some time later, they decide to throw Tim down into the industrial waste tunnels. As he lands, Tim wakes up and tries to find a way out before the stench and acid kills him. Suddenly, an aftershock from the earthquake comes and the ground shakes. Tim maintains balance, but then something appears to merge from the ground! A gigantic body now stands in front of Tim, and he prepares to attack it.
Transportation bay…
Quiver panics even more now after he saw what happened to Junkpile and now knows for sure that they will never escape. Sham tries to calm her friend down, but are opposed by more security guards. Sham quickly creates an illusion and makes the guards think that they are attacked by thorns. Sham uses the key card she stole earlier from a scientist and opens the hangar bay. There, they steal an airship and fly away in it, but one problem remains: Sham doesn’t quite know how to control it! The alarm of the base goes off and the hangar doors close themselves. Sham activates the hovercraft and they fly, but the doors shut before they can leave.
Oklahoma…
Metalhead and Rosa sit on a high mountain and enjoy a beautiful sunset together. Eddie says that Dr. Wingfoot told him that President Doom and the Keewazi nation have begun diplomatic relations. Eddie says that this is the first time that the U.S. government has recognized Native American sovereignty since the wars of Reclamation. Rosa tells Eddie to shut up; she doesn’t want to discuss politics right now. Eddie apologizes, saying that he used to swallow political theories just as much as he did with the music. Eddie says that he isn’t the same person he used to be. Rosa tells Eddie that he isn’t the only one who has changed. She thanks Eddie that he will be there when her baby comes.
Suddenly, a bright light shows up. An explosion comes, and as Eddie and Rosa look up they see an E.M.P. explode. Eddie protects Rosa as the shards fall down. Eddie wonders how it could have exploded in the first place, because he knows that the Wakandans made it so that the E.M.P.’s would be invulnerable. Rosa thinks that it was sabotaged. But by whom?
By Glitterspike! Glitterspike shows up, angry and with only one arm. Eddie is surprised to see him again, because he thought that Glitterspike had died after they had left him in the cave. Glitterspike reveals that the alien only coasted him his arm. Glitterspike explains that were it not for him finding a shaft of light that restored his powers, he would be dead by now. But Glitterspike didn’t want Eddie to have that joy, and now he is back to finish him off! Metalhead tries to protect Rosa as Glitterspike attacks and tells her to go back to the town. Rosa can’t, because she is going into labor!
The Sierras…
Krystalin and Meanstreak ride and run on a bridge, and hurry for not being to late for their meeting. Another aftershock comes up and destroys the bridge. Meanstreak jumps over the destruction and makes it to the safe other side of it, but Krystalin’s bike can’t make it and she falls down into the canyon! Krystalin tries to find a way to rescue herself, but realizes that there is none. She prepares for the impact, but luckily she gets rescued by… Bloodhawk! Krystalin can kiss him, but Bloodhawk says that won’t be necessary. He is simply returning the favor for all those times she has helped him.
Bloodhawk brings her back to Meanstreak and he thanks Bloodhawk for the rescue.
Bloodhawk has scouted the area and informs his friends that from the air, the damage appears to have further separated southern California from the continent. Meanstreak says that the Infonet believed that the earthquakes are the cause thanks to a launched off gamma bomb. But Meanstreak and Krystalin say that isn’t the reason why they asked Bloodhawk to meet them. They reveal that they haven’t heard from Shakti in twenty-four hours and are worried that her undercover in Death Valley has gone wrong. Bloodhawk remembers the time he was a prisoner of the Theatre of Pain and still has the marks on his body to show it. Bloodhawk angrily says that if Xi’an is now part of the Theatre, he promises that he will make Xi’an regret his decision!
Death Valley…
Shakti asks Controller X, calling him Xi’an, why he has brought her to this place of technology. Controller X explains to her that the Theatre of Pain is no mere entertainment office. The Controller reveals that the Theatre’s resources are greater than some nations. He asks Shakti to look at what they have done to Zhao’s Chosen X-Men. Shakti isn’t impressed. The Controller knows that Shakti is only jealous to see that the Theatre was able to do what she could not: heal their bodies in a week’s time.
Shakti tries to tell the Controller that he is risking the Chosen’s lives using the accelerator like he does. Shakti says that this inhumane reason is the exact reason why the X-Men were formed in the first place. The Controller call’s the X-Men’s dream to be foolish. Shakti knows that the golden mask makes Xi’an to believe otherwise, and promises to use her telepathic powers to convince him otherwise. As she uses her powers, Shakti gets a powerful electric shock! Controller X informs Shakti about the necklace she now has around her neck and promises that if Shakti uses her powers ever again, she will get the exact same shock again. Shakti says that’s what the Theatre is all about: to inflict pain.
The Controller tries to convince Shakti of the Theatre’s goals, but she doesn’t become convinced. Shakti asks the Controller why he needed to change that much, because the Xi’an she knew, knew when to get vicious, but was never cruel. Controller X says he only did it to have power. And the Theatre’s vast resources will give him that. The Controller knows that the Theatre even influences heads of state and industry.
Shakti doesn’t know why that is so important to him, because the Xi’an she knew would never be anyone else’s slave. Controller X claims that he isn’t a slave, and especially not the one of Brimstone Love, because he is a man of extraordinary vision and ability. Shakti finds Brimstone Love to be a monster and finds it sad to see that Brimstone has turned Xi’an into one, too. The Controller explains that he had enough of all the many rolls he played in life, and claims that the Theatre has finally given him means to shape the world as he sees fit. A bright light appears, which almost blinds Shakti. Controller X proudly presents Shakti… the Mindfire Machine!
The Controller explains that the machine is powered by the unconscious body and telepathic mind of Master Zhao. With Zhao as a power source, the Controller promises to create a theatrical event of unparalleled scale. Controller X promises to show the world a symphony of suffering that will devastate the minds of thousands!


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[Assistant]
Final Curtain
Above the seismically rearranged California coastline…
Flying in their airship, Minister of Humanity Morphine Somers and President Doom discuss matters concerning the X-Men. Morphine believes that they are better off without them. Morphine knows that Xi’an’s group fell apart almost as quickly as it was gathered, and doesn’t see the need why they would need them as peacekeepers. Morphine thinks that they can do better.
Doom tells Morphine that he isn’t an obvious choice for a Minister, but Doom didn’t want to see his talent wasted in Transverse City. But Doom notices the potential the X-Men have and wants Morphine to tell him that he was finally able to locate them. Morphine confirms, and says that he has found them at Death Valley, where Junkpile is as well. However, he wasn’t able to find Serpentina, who is dead now, or Metalhead, who Morphine has been told is a guest of the Keewazi.
Death Valley, the slaughterhouse Auditorium…
Brimstone Love and Controller X have installed in all the Death Valley inmates a neurotech receptor on their heads, which will have their every moment of anguish shown to them. And it couldn’t be done without the Mindfire Machine, which is powered by the psychic mind of Master Zhao, who lets the Theatre manipulate the emotions of the entire crowd. Shakti begs Controller X, who is in reality a transformed Xi’an, to see in what kind of pschychotic murderer Brimstone has changed him into.
Brimstone sadistically asks Shakti if she disagrees with their plan. Shakti can’t understand why the Theatre enjoys the pain of so many other innocent people. Brimstone Love calls Shakti naïve. He says that, from the beginning of society, the weak and helpless have provided sport for the rich and powerful.
Brimstone Love explains that he created the Theatre of Pain many, many years ago for the select and privileged few who hunger for performances where the emotions are genuine and the blood is real. But of course, that clientele has to pay. Controller X fills in that their elite audience has plugged into an exclusive sensory simulcast, which spreads itself across the entire world. Brimstone Love pads the Controller on his shoulder and congratulates him for succeeding in his plan. Controller X tells Brimstone Love that he has himself to thank for what he is today. Shakti again tries to change Xi’an’s mind, but Controller X refuses to listen to her reason and tells her to stop it as well, because soon, Shakti too will be a member of the Theatre.
If Shakti doesn’t join, the Controller threatens, she will suffer the same unpleasant treatment the thousands of others inmates of Death Valley are rendering now. Shakti once more tries to tell Xi’an that he is hurting people for no good reason, but the Controller simply calls that show business. And, with that said, Brimstone Love lets the show begin!
Sub-level fourteen…
The three Norn sisters have imprisoned La Lunática again and try to convince her to rejoin their family. Luna angrily tells them that she isn’t a sister of them and refuses to be a slave again. She tries to set herself free but, in return, gets a powerful electric shock. The Norns tell Luna that she better calms down, because Brimstone Love wants her alive. But, unfortunately, the sisters sadistically say that doesn’t go for the other two mutants Luna arrived with. Hearing that comment, Luna can only think about Tim…
Waste Disposal Center 7C…
Tim prepares to fight a gigantic monster-like creature that merges in front of him from the waste. The creature opens its eyes, and asks the “meat” if he knows him. Tim recognizes the voice… it’s Junkpile! Junkpile now recognizes Tim as well and believes that he must have been defeated by Brimstone Love and that he must have dumped him here. Tim has to restrain himself for not grabbing Junkpile by his throat, but Tim knows better that they have more urgent matters. Junkpile realizes that Tim must be talking about the solvent drain. He doesn’t worry about that, believing that they only need to shut it down and that will solve their problem. But, unfortunately, the two mutants can’t reach the pipe, so they can only wait until more acid waste comes through it, which will suffocate them.
The Keewazi Nation, Oklahoma…
Rosa has begun to go into labor and couldn’t have chosen a worse time: her ex-boyfriend Glitterspike is back and wants revenge on Metalhead for leaving him for dead. Eddie tries to convince Glitterspike to let them go to town first so that Rosa’s baby can be born, but Glitterspike believes that Eddie just wants the Freakshow to allow Rosa to hide from him once more. Glitterspike attacks Eddie at full force, but his mutant absorbing power doesn’t allow Eddie to get harmed. Glitterspike now realizes that, but also remembers that Metalhead’s body has weakened after their last battle. Glitterspike absorbs the power of the sun into his body, and strikes Eddie with a blade of light only molecules wide, which is strong enough to strike Eddie down.
Transportation bay…
Sham and her friend Quiver have failed to escape from Death Valley and are now surrounded by many security guards who want to bring them back to the Research Lab they came from. Sham creates an illusion of giant insects attacking the guards, but they realize the trick and aren’t scared by it. The guards prepare to shoot them but, suddenly, their guns are gone! Surprised, the guards look around to find their guns and notice that Meanstreak has them! Krystalin shows up too and together they defeat the guards. Sham and Quiver are amazed at Meanstreak’s and Krystalin’s powers and ask who they are. After the introductions, Sham and Quiver inform them about the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who has been defeated by Brimstone Love, believing that he is a friend of the two mutants. Meanstreak doesn’t think so, because they operate outside of the law.
Meanstreak opens the hangar bay’s doors, which allow Bloodhawk to enter! Quiver panics and makes the ground shake, refusing to stay here any longer because he fears that the Theatre could capture them again. Krystalin warns the two mutants to keep a low profile, because they are going to do some heavy damages around Death Valley. Bloodhawk agrees, because the Theatre of Pain has caused him a great deal of pain as well.
Sub-level fourteen…
Luna’s cell loses its electricity, which makes Luna able to set herself free from her chains. She tries to escape, but forgot the way out. She wanders around but, unfortunately, enters in Brimstone Love’s chamber! Brimstone Love is glad to see Luna again, but she is not and attacks the monster. Brimstone can easily dodge her attacks and defeats her. He tells Luna that the Theatre of Pain is in her blood and that she won’t be able to escape from it.
An exhausted Luna promises to make Brimstone Love punish when she gets her hands on him. Unimpressed by the threat, Brimstone puts a restraining collar on Luna’s neck again, which will make her his slave once more. Luna screams it out from the pain.
Meanwhile, Controller X still witnesses the many forms of pain he can witness through the Mindfire Machine. He is specifically interested in the worst pain Shakti ever had to endure.
He sees Shakti as a six year old girl, and she is surrounded by the dead. Her father has locked her in the icy stillness of his morgue. Corpses stare at her with empty sockets, their eyes removed. The smell of chemical preservative makes Shakti feel dizzy. She feels her heart slow, and her blood stop in her veins. Shakti thinks that she must be dead too. Soon, her father’s mechanical technicians will come with their laser scalpels and remove her insides to sell on the market. This is what happens when you are dead…
Waste Disposal Center 7C…
Tim stands on Junkpile’s shoulders in the hope to reach the solvent drain, but still isn’t high enough. Tim loses balance and falls down. As he gets up, he sees the destroyed Junkyard Dogs Doom had build for Junkpile when he joined S.H.I.E.L.D. Now, they are useless. Tim believes otherwise and asks Junkpile if he can take their internal batteries out of their bodies. Junkpile does so, but doesn’t realize what use they could possibly be. Tim confirms, explaining that, as long as the batteries core’s intact, the machines have giving him enough power to get them out of the Disposal Center, and not a moment to soon!
Oklahoma…
Hardly able to stand up, Rosa tells Glitterspike that she knows he doesn’t really want the baby. That he only wants to get back at her for leaving him. Glitterspike confirms, explaining to Rosa that, once the baby is born, he will sell it to the highest bidder. Suddenly, a force field surrounds Glitterspike and makes him also unable to move! Eddie asks Rosa if she is doing this, but she denies that. It’s her baby, she thinks, protecting her from inside her belly!
Death Valley’s Communication Exchange…
Director DeMille finds out that they are experiencing interference with their performance feeds. She commands her drones to re-channel the uplink through the Diamandala satlink. Meanstreak, Krystalin and Bloodhawk proudly enter and tell DeMille that they are there to stop her. DeMille isn’t impressed by their speech, and inform the two X-Men and their ally that the tenth Controller anticipated an event like this. DeMille presses a button, and a door opens.
Three characters step forward, and reveal themselves to be… Zhao’s Chosen X-Men! One-Eyed Jack, Psycho-K and Wingspan are fully recovered and have been modified a bit by the Theatre of Pain.
They attack their enemies and Wingspan’s improved techno-organic wings strike Bloodhawk down. One-Eyed Jack calls the X-Men liars, because they promised them they would help them, but he knows that they in truth didn’t do anything.
He attacks Krystalin, who protects herself with a self-made shield, and tries to explain to One-Eyed Jack that Shakti desperately tried to do everything she could to reverse their genetic deterioration, but had to stop when Xi’an blew up their former base. Meanstreak wants to go help Krystalin out, but has enough troubles himself as Psycho-K attacks him.
Waste Disposal Center 7C…
Tim has destroyed the solvent drain and Junkpile thanks him for that. Tim doesn’t accept the politeness and still wants to make Junkpile pay for killing Serpentina. Junkpile tries to explain that he didn’t want to kill her and that it was her own fault. They are attacked by La Lunática, who knocks out Junkpile. Tim grabs her and asks Luna what she thinks she is doing, until he notices the restraining collar around her neck.
Tim burns it up using his powers, and Luna is brought back to normal. Tim wants to act like a team again like they used to but knows that, in order to be able to do that, they first need to find Shakti.
The Exchange…
Wingspan pushes Bloodhawk against a wall, making it impossible for him to escape. Wingspan wants to kill Bloodhawk, but then Wingspan, frightened, looks up, as his wings are burning up! Bloodhawk notices that Sham is helping him out, creating only the illusion of the burning wings, and takes that knowledge to his attention and pushes Wingspan through a window.
As Wingspan falls down, he drops against Controller X, making his golden mask fall off. Brimstone Love can’t believe that more X-Men have arrived to attack them. The Controller is angry at Wingspan for disturbing his plan and kicks him. At the back, Quiver uses his powers to make One-Eyed Jack lose his balance, making him fire his optic blast in the open wild and accidentally defeats Psycho-K with it.
Meanstreak uses the confusion to his advantage as well and binds Director DeMille up and runs to the control panels. He finds the correct button to shut down the neurotech receptors. It works, and all the devices deactivate, including Shakti’s. Bloodhawk notices it and flies towards her, explaining to her that he came together with Meanstreak and Krystalin.
Bloodhawk sees Brimstone Love standing on a balcony and wants the villain for himself! Brimstone can’t believe that a group of mutants were able to destroy his organization. Bloodhawk attacks Brimstone, but Brimstone Love easily defeats Bloodhawk. Tim and Luna arrive, and team-up and attack Brimstone Love, trying to outbalance them. But that is easier said than done, because Brimstone Love’s body is getting hotter by the minute and his skin even begins to resist Bloodhawk’s claws.
Brimstone Love stands up again and punches the mutants away from them, revealing that he can’t be defeated through physical attacks. Brimstone Love says that he draws his awesome strength and fire from the Earth’s molten core. Suddenly, Brimstone Love gets an electrical shock and is hurt by it!
Surprised, he discovers that Controller X betrayed him. The Controller says that he wants the Theatre of Pain for himself, and was able to attack Brimstone Love because he has installed the Mindfire Machine against the villain. Brimstone Love angrily attacks the Controller with his flame powers, but only damages his clothes. The Controller takes them off and notices that Brimstone Love is getting weaker. The Controller fully powers up and attacks Brimstone Love himself.
A confused Tim asks Shakti if Xi’an has come back to them. She doesn’t think so, but hopes that she can dismantle the psionic regulator on the Mindfire Machine, and hopefully the psychic overload will take down both Xi’an and Brimstone Love! The Controller triumphs over Brimstone Love and is ready to kill him.
At the same time, the Mindfire Machine’s psionic regulator stops functioning, and the neural amplifiers siphon the comatose Master Zhao’s telepathic energies at an unchecked rate. Zhao’s body implodes as the hungry machine consumes his very essence, until, finally, nothing remains.
Brimstone Love’s heads begins to clear, but he is still too weak to fight. But Brimstone knows that, if he has learned anything from his long life, there always comes another day and teleports away. The Controller can’t believe Brimstone Love would do a cowardly thing like this. Shakti tries to calm her former friend down, but the Controller, now even angrier, turns around and asks Shakti why she didn’t do anything to prevent Brimstone from escaping. Shakti doesn’t know, but she tells Xi’an that she and the X-Men came here to help him.
Controller X laughs, calling the X-Men the most stupidest idea he ever had. Tim doesn’t believe that Xi’an truly believes that, because the dream is worth fighting for. The Controller slaps Tim in his face, telling him and the others that they are not worthy of the dream.
La Lunática grabs Xi’an’s head, telling him that Tim did a much better job in keeping the X-Men together than Xi’an ever did. And unlike Tim and the others, Luna has no obligations to the man. Luna knows that Xi’an joined the Theatre of Pain voluntarily and now wants him to pay the prize. Controller X refuses to let Luna enter his mind and grabs her arm, hurting it using his powers. But by doing that, The Controller makes his and Luna’s minds melt together.
Luna drills away at Xi’an’s emotional walls, breaking down fortifications that suppressed the pain of his past. Within the psychic bubble, Luna finds the abandoned child, the hunted street urchin, the scheming outlaw, the righteous leader and, eventually, also the grinning sadist Xi’an is today. Past the facades, Luna shows Xi’an the solitude that eats away at his soul, the void that cannot be filled, and the emptiness overwhelms Xi’an.
Luna goes out of his mind and Xi’an collapses, feeling terribly cold. La Lunática triumphs, explaining that it was Xi’an’s inner drama that let her withstand his grip. Luna says that, as Xi’an’s anguish increased, her strength grew. La Lunática feels fabulous! Shakti runs towards Xi’an, but Luna confesses to Shakti that she can’t guarantee that the Xi’an Shakti and the other X-Men knew will ever fully return. Luna wants to put Xi’an out of his misery, but Shakti doesn’t let her.
Shakti asks the confused Xi’an if he can hear her. Xi’an, almost without breath, seems to recognize Shakti and can’t believe what he has done. Tim calls Xi’an a basket case. La Lunática says that Xi’an’s inner demons left him with nothing inside. Luna even almost feels guilty for doing this to Xi’an. Almost. As Xi’an begs the others to forgive him, Shakti, Meanstreak and Krystalin wonder about the consequences of Luna’s touch. Suddenly, gunfire and loud sirens are heard.
S.H.I.E.L.D. agents enter and inform the X-Men that Death Valley has been closed by order of President Doom. But the agents also demand the X-Men not to move, as they are all under arrest. Shakti tries to explain to the agents that they don’t belong with the Theatre, but Tim tells her to stop it because he knows the agents won’t believe her, no matter what. Morphine Somers enters the room, commanding his officers to stand down, realizing that the X-Men are “the good guys.”
Tim appreciates the gesture but, not knowing who Morphine is, demands that he introduces himself. An astral projection of Doom materializes and Doom introduces his minister. Doom informs the X-Men that he and Morphine had hoped to employ them so that they could clean up the western red market.
Doom says that the Floodgate slaughterhouse was the most obscene example of the exploitation of the underclass. Doom confesses that he only recently had learned of its existence, so that’s why he didn’t earlier take actions to shut the facility down. Morphine says that they would have been here sooner, but reveals that the Norns were waiting them up so they had to deal with them first, but not without losing fifteen S.H.I.E.L.D. agents in the fight.
Morphine adds that the Ministry of Signal has a phalanx of netdivers tracking down the Theatre of Pain’s clientele, finding them to be equally guilty as the Theatre. Shakti asks what Doom is going to do about the victims of Death Valley. Doom promises that he has made arrangements for them, as he has done for the X-Men. Doom says that to the west, he will built a city that will welcome Death Valley’s inmates, regardless their class or species. Morphine asks the X-Men what they would say if he and Doom would offer them to be that city’s guardians.
Epilogue…
Mama Hurricane tells an impatient Metalhead that he can enter the delivery room. Eddie asks if everything is all right with Rosa. Dr. Wingfoot gladly says that Rosa is fine, and that Rosa has had the most remarkably peaceful labor Louise has ever seen. And, as for the baby boy, Wingfoot says that it appears that he is just fine as well. Eddie asks Louise what she means by that. Louise brings Eddie to Rosa’s room and she proudly presents her baby to him, which she has named Joachim Eduardo Vasquez. But Shakti also says that Shakti was right when they first met: Rosa’s baby is definitely a mutant. Metalhead can’t believe it but, as he takes a look at the baby, it begins to magnificently glow!


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

[Assistant]
City of the Dead: Part One: Broken Halo
Morphine Somers wakes up after a Latverian vodka drinking night and gets an emergency call from Sharp Blue. She informs Morphine that the White House is in flames and that she, Morphine and Nkrumah are the only ones still alive and that Doom is missing in action. Morphine says that he already knows that. Sharp Blue can’t understand why Morphine is still in the U.S.A then and asks him why. Morphine says that he has invested in some desert property…
Meanwhile, a man named Tristan Gunnar steps out of a car and arrives in X-Nation. The cab driver warns Tristan to be careful around here, because they let anyone in. “Even me,” Tristan says. As Tristan enters the gate, he congratulates Doom in founding this city and finds it too bad that Doom was attacked before he was able to finish it. Tristan enters the reception, where X-Nation employees, Alison and Billy, check his file, despite the fact that they don’t know why they keep doing there jobs now that Washington is off-line. Billy asks Tristan if he wishes to sign for residence right away.
Tristan denies, explaining that he is just here covering the city for the Astronet. Billy takes Tristan’s bag and can’t believe his eyes when he opens it: the bag is filled with guns! Billy explains that guns are not permitted in Halo City and says that he will have to confiscate them, but promises Tristan that he can get them back when he leaves.
Suddenly, Billy gets shot! Everyone in X-Nation begins to panic and to scream and try to get into safety. An armed man wants to clear the city from the “genetic trash” and has a thermonuclear bomb on himself that will kill all the foreigners and freaks that hide in X-Nation. Tristan jumps behind the desk of the reception and takes a gun out of his bag, ready to shoot the enemy. But Tristan holds himself back when he notices a strong wind besides him.
Tristan is amazed as how fast the madman is defeated and his bomb stripped away from himself. Tristan is even more amazed when he gets to take a look on two of the famous X-Men: Krystalin and Meanstreak! Meanstreak laughs at the fact at how they turned from outlaws into authority figures. Krystalin remembers how nobody wanted a commercial security force, but everyone knew that the city couldn’t work without one, so they had to do it. Krystalin tells Meanstreak that he should have stayed in Las Vegas, with Halloween Jack. Meanstreak says that he isn’t that crazy.
Tristan continues his walk and notices a lot of people walking to the same point. Tristan recalls how most X-Nation’s habitants have spent their lives without proper medical care and wants to talk to the “doctor” who does the healing. Tristan sees a man driving a girl in a wheelchair around, and the girl just had a congenital heart defect. The man taking care of her explains that, if the girl had been born in a corporate crèche, her heart would have been corrected with surgery, but now her heart is growing weaker and weaker every day.
Tristan asks if the man expects X-Nation to perform a transplant. The man proudly says that the girl won’t need a transplant after they have seen the man. The man explains that his left arm had been paralyzed since the Pollution Wars. The doctors told him there was no hope for him, but the guy working here healed it completely. Tristan asks who this miracle worker is. It’s Xi’an Chi Xan!
Inside his workplace, Xi’an has worked non-stop and hasn’t slept for four days. Shakti tries to convince Xi’an that he needs some rest, but Xi’an refuses to do that while so many depend on him. Xi’an informs Shakti that he is now trying to heal a child that suffers burns when a fire broke out in the Floodgate holding pens. Xi’an places his hand on the girl and, when he uses his powers, he succeeds in easing her pain. But as Xi’an tries to get up, he crumbles from pain! Xi’an claims that he is going to be just fine in a moment…
Outside the room, Tristan tries to enter it but finds resistance. Sister Margaret refuses to let him in. Tristan shows his pass and tries to convince Margaret to let him in because he is with Astronet. Margaret tells Tristan that Xi’an won’t see anyone unless they are ill. Tristan tries to fake his illness, but Margaret of course sees through it and pushes him away.
Shakti desperately tries to convince Xi’an to give his body some time to recuperate after healing so many people. Xi’an tells Shakti that he doesn’t have a choice. He says that, after the trouble he caused as a member of the Theatre of Pain, he feels that he must atone for those sins. Xi’an also realizes that, if La Lunática’s psychic intrusion didn’t shock him back to his senses, Xi’an would have continued his destructive rampage.
Shakti gets angry hearing that and tells Xi’an not to fool her. She grabs Xi’an’s arms and tells him that Doom is out of the picture and they are going to need Xi’an to keep this city together and Xi’an will be of no use to them when he burns up. Xi’an sadly tells Shakti that he can no longer be a part of the X-Men: he simply doesn’t deserve it.
Southern Nevada…
A store named “Mom” burns up. Five evil looking characters overlook their work. One of them asks his teammates if they found the girl they were looking for. Another one, smoking a cigarette, confirms this, remembering that she was buried not so far away from this place. He adds that the Russian had to break her out of her crystal coffin and promises that the girl is in good shape. The team leader commands his troops to bring the girl to him, as he has work to do before they reach Halo City.
Halo City, Dead Center, the Tower…
Tristan enters the high skyscraper and security guards try to stop him. Morphine Somers tells his men to stand down, as Gunnar Heywood (Tristan’s real name) is an old friend of his and is allowed to go through. Gunnar and Morphine catch up and Morphine asks Gunnar to come with him, as he has some people he wants to introduce to Gunnar. They enter the room, where Gunnar meets Morphine’s X-Men!
Tim gets upset when Morphine calls the team to be his X-Men. Morphine tells Tim to calm down, as he meant it with affection. Tim doesn’t believe that. Morphine comforts Tim that nobody is challenging his leadership over the X-Men. And certainly not Xi’an, who refuses to do anything but heal people. Morphine is impressed that the X-Men are trying to get civilized after being outlaws for so long.
Morphine demonstrates his powers, explaining that his touch can age anything in thousand of years within mere seconds, and he is sure that none of the X-Men would want him to use his powers upon them. New member to the X-Men, Sham, is bored and wants to leave. Shakti separates Tim and Morphine from each other, saying that they’ve got enough problems already without them fighting amongst themselves. Shakti believes that Halo City may be the last chance humans and mutants have to coexist in this country. Shakti honestly knows that they can make this city work.
Morphine congratulates Shakti to be able to always be the voice of reason. Shakti thanks him, but finds it to be about time for Morphine to tell them what’s really going on in Washington. Krystalin agrees, because all they have heard for the past week were nothing but rumors.
Meanstreak asks Gunnar if he knows if they have found Doom’s body. Gunnar denies that, because he hasn’t heard any confirmation yet from his sources in S.H.I.E.L.D. Morphine claims that it no longer matters whether Doom is alive or not. He adds that their benefactor is out of the picture now. Morphine shows the X-Men a holographic image of Doom and explains that the MegaCorps’ have re-emerged and reasserted control. Morphine says that their newly appointed president is someone who claims to be the original Captain America.
Morphine concludes that all this is what’s left of Doom’s tenure as president of Halo City. Tim finds that they are doomed then, because half of the city hasn’t even finished yet. They wouldn’t be able to withstand an outside attack would that ever happen. Morphine agrees, but says that the new government doesn’t seem that concerned about them – yet. But there is at least one thing the X-Men go out from for sure: Halo City is on their own.
Xi’an fears that nothing has changed there. This would also mean that Doom’s presidency didn’t mean anything to the world. The status quo has returned. Shakti knows that it could be worse. She says that she has been unable to verify reports that mutants are being hunted down on the East Coast. Sham tells her new teammates to stop worrying, because at least they are safe.
Suddenly, there’s a huge explosion! Once the smoke has cleared, the X-Men all see that the clinic has been blown up with all the patients still inside it. The X-Men want to know who’s behind the attack, and find it out sooner than expected: their villains introduces themselves as… the Undead! With greets from their master.
Tim asks the Undead who their master is and what he wants, but one member of the Undead uses his claws on Tim, shredding his clothes, and tells Tim that he is the marked one. La Lunática fights against another Undead member with an organic steel skin. Luna punches her foe, but he doesn’t even feel it.
Tim punches his foe away and wants to know what he’s marked for. Sham creates an optic illusion of an attacking robot, but her Undead adversary easily sees through it. Meanwhile, Xi’an withdraws from the battlefield, because he is more worried about his patients and wants to look for survivors.
Shakti tries to use her telepathic powers on her foe, but he can resist it and throws a kinetically charged-up card towards her. Shakti falls back against a wall and asks her foe who he is. Shakti’s enemy tells her that this was all just a “friendly-saying-hello” and wants her to inform her father about this attack. Shakti asks what her father has to do with all this, but her adversary simply says “everything.”
Meanwhile, Tim chases his enemy, Catscratch, throughout a dark ally. She stops and Tim powers up, ready to strike her down. But his new foe says that she isn’t Catscratch. Tim can’t believe his eyes, its… But before Tim can say the name, the woman strikes him down using a Venomstinger blaster. The female villain stands victorious over the now unconscious Tim, and sadistically asks him if he has missed her…