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Rumble
Night Thrasher and Silhouette return home after barely surviving an encounter with the Punisher and Bengal. As they enter the Taylor penthouse, Silhouette asks if Dwayne shouldn’t go to the hospital. Anything a doctor could do, Tai could do better, Dwayne says. Silhouette finds it hard to believe Tai is both a housekeeper and a medic. Dwayne tells her she would be surprised.
No sooner than he speaks these words, he and Silhouette stumble into a surprise attack by the young charges of the Massachusetts Academy. “Hellions attack!” their apparent leader Beef says, leading to battle Roulette, Bevatron, Jetstream, Catseye, and Tarot. Silhouette wastes no time in countering. With one of her crutches, she knocks the bad-luck disc out of Roulette’s hand. It falls to the floor and unfortunately creates a hole beneath Beef and Catseye, both of whom fall through to the lower lever. Bevatron neutralizes Silhouette with an electric blast.
Beef, midway through the hardwood floor, congratulates Bevatron on his excellent shot, but warns him not to get cocky; Night Thrasher alone will give them more than enough trouble. Sure enough, while Bevatron reminds his teammate to refrain from making such sexist statements, Night Thrasher hurls his helmet at the French Hellion and knocks him out of the fight. “I don’t know who you are,” Night Thrasher says, “—but you’ve invaded my house and I don’t like that!” Jetstream charges at him in retaliation. The Hellions don’t like him invading the sanctity of their academy either, he says as he barrels through the air. Night Thrasher times his approach and successfully punches Jetstream in the jaw, sending him flying in the other direction.
Roulette hurls a bad luck disc at Night Thrasher, but he leaps out of the way in time. It instead lands on the pool table and immediately starts a fire. Night Thrasher, meanwhile, lunges at the penthouse’s emergency alarm. Clearly these Hellions come from the Massachusetts Academy, he realizes. He must alert his teammates. As soon as he trips the alarm, however, he feels a beefy hand grab his shoulder. He is thrown across the room by a burly, bearded man dressed in a loincloth, who then destroys the alarm system. Tarot takes credit for this move; her powers allow her to conjure up the life-forms depicted on her Tarot cards. Jetstream, claiming the “honor” of the battle’s victory for himself, intercepts Night Thrasher mid-trajectory and punches him back into the wall.
Dwayne scoffs at the mention of honor; six of them just teamed up on one man. He whips out a machinegun, intent on evening the odds, but Emma Frost tells him to drop it. If he doesn’t, then her Hellion Beef will pop the heads of his Tai and Silhouette like unwanted acne. He must decide which he values more: the lives of his loved ones, of winning this fight. After thinking about it for a moment, Dwayne drops his gun.
He asks the White Queen who she is, and what she wants. Emma introduces herself and her Hellions. She decides to take what she wants without asking. Using her formidable telepathy, she reaches into Dwayne’s mind, but finds it surprisingly well-defended. It takes her a moment to recover from the attack. Beef tells his headmaster not to worry; they have plenty of other methods of finding what they need to know. Indeed, the White Queen says. She turns to Night Thrasher and asks two things: where is Firestar, and why did the New Warriors hack into the Massachusetts Academy’s computer files?
Meanwhile, the rest of the New Warriors are on their way back home from the Amazon Jungle aboard their jet. Firestar mends Marvel Boy’s mask, Kid Nova kicks back in his seat, Namorita gazes out the window, and Speedball has a heart-to-heart confessional with his mom about how he acquired his super-power. Andrew Chord walks back into the cabin and interrupts. Trouble at the penthouse, he says. He picked up a one-way distress signal that was immediately halted. It could mean the penthouse is under attack, or has already been attacked. Either way, the New Warriors must head there immediately. He has already redirected the plane’s autopilot to bypass LaGuardia airport and fly in low over Manhattan.
Marvel Boy suggests they forgo gathering intelligence, and should instead hit the penthouse hard and fast, thereby catching any intruders off-guard. The pugilistic Kid Nova concurs with this plan enthusiastically. Mrs. Baldwin interrupts the strategy session and asks why they don’t call the police. Ignoring her son’s pleas for her to sit down, Mrs. Baldwin continues, reminding the New Warriors they are not soldiers. She refuses to allow her son Robbie to accompany them on such a dangerous mission. Andrew Chord steps in and informs Mrs. Baldwin that her son performs quite well in battle, actually. But what if he gets hurt, she asks? Robbie reminds his mother that nothing – not even bullets, knives, fire, or steel – can penetrate his kinetic field! She remains unconvinced.
The rest of the team, meanwhile, proceeds planning their attack. Chord agrees to Marvel Boy’s suggestion; a decisive strike suits this kind of operation best. Mrs. Baldwin anxiously asks her son if he is sure he wants to accompany them. Robbie, transforming amidst an aura of light and color into the superhero Speedball, assures his mom nothing can hurt him in this form. He’ll be all right; he has a way of always bouncing back. They can talk through her apprehensions afterward, Speedball tells his mother.
Finally, the jet arrives in mid-town Manhattan and swoops in low over the city. Chord opens the hangar doors, and the New Warriors disengage, freefalling toward Dwayne Taylor’s high-rise penthouse. Namorita leads the team’s attack. Marvel Boy, telekinetically linked to Firestar’s microwave-generated air currents, orders Nova to hurl his luggage, Speedball, at the windows. He does, and Speedball crashes through the glass and bursts into the penthouse, where he smashes into Beef before ricocheting off and colliding with Jetstream. The White Queen orders her Hellions to stand guard; they are under attack! Sure enough, the rest of the New Warriors arrive, ready for battle.
Robbie Baldwin, still bouncing around the room like a rubber ball, smashes into the White Queen and removes her from the fight. Namorita decides to focus on Beef. Catseye recognizes and attacks her old ally Firestar. She refuses to let “Firehair” harm her new friends. Firestar asks her to step down so they can talk it through, ignoring the clear danger posed to her by Catseye’s outstretched claws. Night Thrasher intervenes just in time and knocks Catseye out of the way. “Knowing these people doesn’t mean you can’t fight back, Firestar!!” Thrasher shouts at her. Angelica insists her old teammates are not evil, though; they simply haven’t broken free of the White Queen’s powerful hold!
Jetstream, currently attempting to outmaneuver the airborne Nova, interrupts and tells Firestar that no one is holding the Hellions against their will. The way he sees it, Angelica actually ran away from burden of her superpowers. Nova snidely asks if that isn’t exactly what Jetstream is doing right now. “I’m not running away, my arrogant opponent,” he says to Nova, “—merely drawing you in for this!” He unexpectedly shifts sideways. Unable to copy his move, Nova crashes headfirst into the ceiling. Putting a hole in the plaster doesn’t stop Nova. He turns right back around, crashes through the floor, and reenters the fight.
So distracted is he by the fight between Jetstream and Nova, Speedball fails to notice Roulette readying herself with a bad-luck disc. She throws it at Speedball, and it short-circuits his kinetic bubbles, causing him to flop to the ground. Smiling deviously, Roulette hits him with a good-luck disc next, causing his powers to spiral out of control. He screams as his own chaotic abilities propel him toward the ceiling.
Namorita continues her rumble with Beef, finding him a more difficult adversary than anticipated. He backslaps her across the penthouse’s kitchen and into the dishwasher. Namorita laughs at his misfortune; only a fool would knock an Atlantean into a supply of water! She dives at him and hits him in the face. Unperturbed, he strikes back with an uppercut.
Marvel Boy notices his teammate Namorita having trouble. However, he cannot break away from his own fight against Tarot’s manifestations to help. Tarot laughs as Marvel Boy fends off a flying demon, a winged warrior, and a knight of wands; clearly he cannot use his telekinesis to stave off three opponents at once. The demon strikes Marvel Boy in the back, and he screams. Enraged, he decides to stop holding back, and use the full force of his powers instead. After blasting the demon to the ground and into the knight of wands, he turns to Tarot and asks if she can do any better than that. Tarot grins and holds up one of her as-of-yet unplayed cards; perhaps Marvel Boy would like a taste of Death!
On the building’s roof, Firestar practices some evasive maneuvers while battling the Hellion Bevatron. She tells him she doesn’t know who he is, and assures him this battle concerns her and Ms. Frost only. Bevatron appreciates her attempt to make peace, but refuses to miss his first opportunity to truly let loose against an opponent. He fires another bioelectric blast. Firestar dodges it effortlessly. Bevatron may have raw power, but lacks accuracy. When a stray blast comes a bit too close to her, however, Firestar decides to end the fight as quickly as possible. She fires a microwave bolt beneath Bevatron’s feet. Unfortunately, to avoid it, he stumbles backward and trips over the edge of the building. No, Firestar shouts! She flies toward him as fast as she can, but fears she won’t reach him in time.
Inside, Jetstream gloats as he barrels around the tight penthouse corridors. His opponent seems to lack his own deft maneuverability, he laughs! Suddenly, Nova breaks through a wall, grabs Jetstream by the ankle, and cracks him over the head. The backlash from Jetstream’s propulsive blast hits Nova square in the chest, however, and both men fall to the ground, unconscious.
Meanwhile, Emma Frost takes advantage of the distraction provided by the New Warriors and probes Tai’s mind. Why did she break into their computer system, she asks? The resistant Tai insists they only did it once, to find out about Firestar. Who did it the second time, the White Queen asks? Tai tells her she neither knows nor cares. Emma senses truth in her voice. However, that leaves certain pressing matters unresolved: what will they do about their warring students, and more importantly, which side gets to keep the much-disputed Firestar? “Why do we not let their individual conflicts determine their fate?” Tai asks. “If Dwayne’s hand-chosen team is worthy, they will win. If they do not, then we do not need Firestar for our purpose anyway.” Emma’s eyes widen at Tai’s use of the sinister word “purpose”. Nevertheless, she agrees to the challenge. It will allow her to gauge the battle-readiness of her students.
Turning their attention back to the melee, Tai and the White Queen observe Night Thrasher grappling with Catseye. Thrash holds the feline mutant in a chokehold. She cuts a deep gash across his shoulder. He attempts to ride her like a bull, but she manages to hurl him off her back and into the wall. He hits with a deadening force and passes out.
Nearby, Kid Nova and Jetstream finally pick themselves up after their latest collision. Nova asks his opponent if he has recovered yet. Yes, imbecile, Jetstream wheezes. Good enough for Nova; he punches him in the face and sends him crashing through a wall.
The White Queen, monitoring the battles via telepathy, relays the updated results to Tai. They each have one victory apiece so far. Tai seems surprised. They monitor the battle between Speedball and Roulette next, but find that Roulette already has a decisive advantage. As Speedball careens around the room, at the mercy of his uncontrollable kinetic powers, he begs for the ride to stop before he vomits. Roulette decides to do as he says. She hits him with a bad-luck disc and ends his ride. He reverts to his civilian form in mid-air and falls to the ground, defeated. “Oooh – the twerp’s down for the count,” Roulette says. “Whaddashame – he’s kinda cute.”
With the score now at two-to-one, in favor of the Hellions, Emma and Tai turn their attention to the duel between Marvel Boy and Tarot. He battles her manifestation of Death, managing to repel its touch with a telekinetic force field. Tarot asks if the touch of her dark card frightens him. Not as much as what a full-fledged psychokinetic burst is going to do to both of them, Marvel Boy warns. He lashes out with a telekinetic bolt and cracks Tarot across the jaw, knocking her unconscious. The strain knocks him out as well. The White Queen and Tai agree this bout is a draw.
Suddenly, Beef comes crashes through the ceiling, followed closely behind by the triumphant Namorita. Beef hits the ground and stews in his smoking pile of wreckage. It would appear the two teams have once more reached a stalemate, Tai remarks. So it seems, the White Queen responds, honestly not surprised to see her most boorish Hellion bested by such a formidable foe.
Tai notes the irony of the one remaining battle. It seems the final outcome of the challenge, as well as the fate of Firestar, rests squarely on Firestar’s shoulders. Emma scowls; she senses the battle has already ended, and that her side lost. Sure enough, Firestar flies into the room with the injured Bevatron in her arms. She scolds both Emma and Tai for turning the fighting into some sick game, while their students accrue severe injuries! Emma explains; she and her Hellions came seeking retribution over Firestar’s departure. After they found both sides evenly matches, however, she and Tai agreed to let a friendly contest determine Firestar’s fate. Because the New Warriors won, Emma officially rescinds any prior claim she may have held over her former pupil. Angelica Jones remains free to choose her own fate.
“I know that! I always knew that!” Firestar shouts. Winning or losing some stupid game would not have changed, or resolved, anything! She never felt any regret for leaving the Massachusetts Academy anyway. The White Queen asks her fiery protégé if the New Warriors and the Hellions are really so different. Yes, Firestar says. The New Warriors are her friends; she trusts them. Ms. Frost never allowed her to befriend the Hellions, instead manipulating her for her own devious ends. She doesn’t even see a choice for herself; she would always go where her friends are.
“If you insist, little Angel,” Ms. Frost says. “And when you learn that all your idealistic views are untrue – I will be waiting for your apology… and just maybe I’ll accept it.” She gathers her Hellions and prepares to leaves. The two teams are neither friends nor foes, but the White Queen implores them to not cross her path again.
The least they could do is stay and help them clean up the mess they made, Nova says as the Hellions leave.
Epilogue…
A lone pyramid in the Egyptian desert, now acting as a focal point for the absorption of ambient energy all over the world, crackles and flares, illuminating the otherwise darkened night sky. Inside, a figure levitates as the energies of the Ka Stone flow through her body. Realizing she now contains the Stone’s power, she looks through the span of time, and sees Egypt, both as it once was, and as it could be again. She decides it is time to return home.


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Forever Yesterday Part Three: A World for the Winning
"This is it, everyone!" Nova shouts as he leads the Mutant Liberation Force into battle against the Sphinx. They fight not only to free their planet from the control of a goddess gone made, but also to recreate the very fabric of reality that the Sphinx tore asunder! Only one of them—the young man called Nova, the Human Rocket—knows their world is not as it should be. Mere moments earlier, Nova served on the government superhero team, the Avengers. Now, to stand for truth, he has betrayed both his teammates and everything in which he once believed.
As they approach the domineering deity, the Sphinx fires a scorching optic beam that incinerates an entire swath of the MLF. They push forth. Magneto laments the loss of his troops; how has the Sphinx already caused such casualties in their ranks? Emma Frost encourages him to press onward; every time the Sphinx uses such levels of energy, she weakens herself! Nova too senses a limit to the power of the Sphinx. That may be, Firestar says, but how many of them must die before she reaches it? Marvel Man tells her as many of them must die as it takes to free the world from the Sphinx's blind control.
He whips up a telekinetic ground wave to help topple her, both literally and figuratively. The Sphinx calls the MLF "useless, swarming gnats" and fires back at them with two searing beams. One of them incinerates yet another cluster of mutant rebels. Marvel Man fires a thick stream of rocks right into her face. These gnats fight back, he says triumphantly. Unfortunately, much to the grief of Firestar, he gets caught in the ensuing cascade of stones and boulders. Hulk tells her not to worry about Vance right now; they must keep attacking the Sphinx while she's unprotected! This cowardly attitude held by the MLF comes as no surprise to the Sphinx. She picks herself up and catches Hulk with a right hook as he soars toward her. The impact sends him flailing high into the stratosphere.
Cyclops, Emma Frost and Magneto behold the power of the Sphinx in awe. However, they knew of her power going into the fight, and cannot give up now. They must continue both for themselves and for the memories of their fallen friends. Magneto agrees, lamenting his friend Wolverine, who died obtaining information vital to lowering the defenses of the Sphinx's fortress. They have come too far to stop. If a war to the finish it will be, then the Mutant Liberation Force will go down fighting!
Nearby, Nova has doubts as fight continues growing out of hand. He asks Firestar for an update on Marvel Man's condition. He's alive, she tells him. Vance, still half-buried under the rubble, says his telekinetic field protected him. Nova tells him his survival won't matter for too long if things progress they way they have been. Perhaps joining up with the MLF wasn't his brightest idea, Nova says. If that's how he feels, Firestar asks, why is he helping them? "Because he knows the truth, Angelica Jones," says a mysterious voice.
Firestar and Marvel Man look around and see a shrouded, cloaked figure, whom Nova identifies as Sayge, the spiritual embodiment of the truth. While Nova admits he too had his doubts about Sayge, he reveals to his new allies what he learned from the phantom. This entire world isn't right, Nova tells them; the Sphinx augmented its true form. In the real world, Nova, Angelica and Vance are teammates who fight for the cause of right. Things suddenly click for Firestar; this how Nova knew their real names, and why he didn't reveal the entrance to their underground bunker! Vance asks how any of this will help them defeat the Sphinx. Sayge tells them the only way to make the Sphinx relinquish her hold on the world is to show her the truth of the lie she created. Only the truth shall set them free.
Meanwhile, in Midtown Maqaman, at the Chrysler Building, home of the Sphinx, the young Dwayne Taylor approaches a reception desk. The receptionist, a stern-looking man in a traditional Egyptian headdress, tells Dwayne he has no record of his supposed appointment for computer work. Dwayne tells the man he works for the Taylor Foundation in the systems analysis department and was notified of this job only twenty minutes earlier. After all, when the Sphinx says she needs certain classified information transferred directly into her systems, they don't stand around waiting to do it! Continuing, Dwayne asks the receptionist if he would like to deal with the Sphinx when she asks why it took Dwayne so long to arrive. Guess not, the receptionist says. He gives Dwayne back his I.D. card and lets him on his way.
Dwayne nervously walks down the hall toward the elevator, barely believing he just bluffed his way into the Sphinx's headquarters. He urges himself to stay calm; his family was just murdered by the Sphinx and her elite Assyrian guards. If he wants revenge, he will have to maintain his cool. He arrives at the control panel for the elevator and inserts his override keycard. This should allow him to freeze the elevator on the top floor, thereby preventing anyone from following him. Thankfully, his father's companies helped the Sphinx build her security systems. This inside knowledge should give Dwayne the edge he needs to tear down the Sphinx's empire.
He opens his duffel bag in the elevator and changes clothes. When the elevator finally arrives at the top floor, Dwayne emerges in a suit of black body armor with a red-lined protective helmet and a nightstick. The two guards outside the elevator look at him in disbelief. Catching them off guard, Dwayne clubs the first guard beneath his jaw with his nightstick, while the second, he clocks across the side of the face. With them down, he collapses against the elevator doors and catches his breath. He cannot believe he made it this far! The equipment he got from the security stockroom at the foundation has made it surprisingly easy. He feels like nothing can penetrate his body armor. Okay, okay, Dwayne tells himself, don't get cocky...
He finds the communications room, from which the Sphinx monitors television signals from around the world through a satellite network newsfeed. Dwayne scans the screens for a quick update on world events. What he sees surprises him. All across the planet, it seems, various resistance movements have undertaken simultaneous military action against the government forces of Cairo. In Northern Africa, the mutant-led Angloslavic Confederation has launched a brutal ground way, while the Pacific Asian Union has struck against the Egyptian Naval fleet. Meanwhile, it seems the Atlanteans have finally emerged from the depths of the ocean and are attacking the oil trade in the Persian Gulf. Dwayne also sees that on Maqaman Island, the MLF is taking the fight directly to the Sphinx in a bloody confrontation.
Dwayne cannot believe any of it; it seems the real world is falling apart the same way his personal world has. Deeming this the perfect time to strike, he searches for a way to truly hurt the Sphinx—if such a thing is possible. What could possibly matter to her the same way his parents mattered to him? He walks by a gray cat in the Sphinx’s penthouse. The realization hits him; this is the cat he has read about in his history books, the same cat the first Sphinx gifted with immortality so his successor could always have a part of his love. This cat is the last piece of happiness the Sphinx has left! Dwayne realizes. He can use it to get to her.
As Dwayne lunges for the cat, the Sphinx detects the intruder in her home. The MLF takes advantage of her momentary distraction and assaults her with everything they have. “I can no longer continue with this foolishness!” the Sphinx says. She teleports home, right as the Abomination dives at her face. He passes through her harmlessly. On the ground, the Juggernaut celebrates their seeming victory; they kicked the Sphinx’s butt! He doesn’t see Horus sneak up behind him with his talisman fully charged. He clubs Juggernaut over the back of the head and declares the battle has not ended yet. Captain Assyria calls for the Avengers to assemble and issues his team their orders. Today, the Avengers fight for honor unto death.
After complimenting his teammate Horus on his sneak attack, Iron Man fires at Vision. His energy beams pass through the synthetic rebel harmlessly, instead hitting Magneto, who was using his magnetic powers to keep the MLF afloat. With him down, it falls on Polaris to keep the team levitated.
From afar, Vance Astrovik watches this carnage, which has surpassed his expectations. The bloodshed must stop! He asks Sayge what he meant when he said the truth could end the battle. Sayge defers the question to Nova. He asks them to think about why the world has developed at it has; therein lies the answers they seek. Annoyed, Vance asks Sayge why he speaks in riddles, but before he can finish his thought, Angelica directs everyone’s attention toward the skyline downtown. They behold a massive cyclone of energy around the Chrysler building—the home of the Sphinx. Is that where she could have gone? Nova thinks so; no one else can emit that level of energy. Firestar and Marvel Man wonder why she fled the way she did. After all, the MLF had planned no attacks on her home. Sayge says the Sphinx senses the end has come; she returned home to deter the inevitable.
Vance asks if that is where they must go to defeat her by showing her the truth. Sayge nods in consent. Firestar asks how they can just leave their teammates. What if they need their help? “They are not part of this solution,” Sayge says. “They are part of the problem! It is you young heroes—you New Warriors—who must summon the courage to save the world!”
Meanwhile, in Springdale, Aknatonikutt, Robbie Baldwin tosses a football with his friend Dave. “Good throw, Baldwin—for a change!” Dave jokes as Robbie lobs the pigskin across the street.
As Robbie begins to take issue with this derisive comment, something resembling a meteor breaks through the cloud cover and crashes toward the street, ricocheting over the asphalt as it goes. “Way cool!” Robbie shouts. The excited teenage boys rush over to the wreckage and behold the battered body of the Incredible Hulk. Robbie wishes he could bounce like that! Suddenly, Mr. Baldwin opens his front door and orders Robbie to get inside right away. Moaning, Robbie complies, telling Dave they can hang out later—after the cleanup crews cart away this mess. Maybe later, he and Dave can pretend they’re fighting with all the muties against the Sphinx! That would be so cool, he says.
Back on Maqaman Island, the battle rages on, focusing now on the Sphinx’s home in the Chrysler Building. An astral projection of her head appears inside her penthouse and scolds the young Dwayne Taylor for intruding in her home. How dare he threaten her most cherished possession! Dwayne, holding the cat by the scruff of its neck, just barely dodges an energy blast from the Ka Stone embedded in her forehead. Boy, is he in big trouble, he says!
The Sphinx fires another shot at him. This time, she blows out the floor beneath his feet. He loses his hold on the cat and falls to the ground. Before the Sphinx delivers the final blow, she asks why he was foolish enough to commit the effrontery. Dwayne explains her guards killed his parents; he wanted to hurt her like she did him! “Then you die unfulfilled!” the Sphinx shouts, firing yet another energy beam at Dwayne. Out of nowhere, however, Nova appears and hoists the kid out of harm’s way. Dwayne can barely believe his luck. The Sphinx seems less surprised; she half-expected to see the traitor again. She grins at the prospect of facing him alone.
Fortunately for Nova, he is not alone. His new teammates Marvel Man and Firestar emerge and hit the projection of the Sphinx with their telekinetic and microwave blasts. Vance encourages Firestar to keep the Sphinx off-balance, as she cannot seem to withstand multipronged attacks. Enraged, the Sphinx declares she will have their heads for this. She demands they give the child over to her. She fires a beam at Vance, but he blocks it with a telekinetic shield.
Meanwhile, Nova asks Dwayne what he did to make the Sphinx so angry. He just took her cat, Dwayne admits. Of course, Nova realizes as he looks at the cat. It all makes sense! The cat symbolizes the love she shared with the original Sphinx; it proves the world she created is a lie! They can use it to make her face the truth. Nova propels himself over to the cat and scoops it off the ground. Taking the fierce, hissing creature over to the Sphinx, he holds it to her face. The Sphinx screams. Nova demands she get out of her energy form and face them in person—or else.
With no choice left, the Sphinx complies. She appears in front of the New Warriors in her physical form. She commands Nova to now release the cat—or suffer as no one has suffered in mankind’s history. Nova tells her that if she doesn’t accept defeat, return the world back to its true form and face the lie she has created, he will break the cat’s neck. It’s just an innocent cat, Firestar shouts! Ignoring her, Nova looks the Sphinx in the eyes and tells her he kids not.
Suddenly, Sayge appears above and tells the Sphinx that Nova knows there is more than personal honor at stake here. Nova knows the very fate of the world hinges on the Sphinx accepting the truth. He will go to whatever lengths necessary to make her do just that. The Sphinx is confused; she asks who Sayge is and what he is talking about. “Could it be that you have lived the lie so long it has become a part of your very being? See what these children fight for,” Sayge says, his face emitting a radiant, white glow, “…see the burning light of truth!”
The Sphinx screams. In her fury, she unleashes a devastating explosion that levels the top of the Chrysler Building. All that remains of its spire is a smoking heap of rubble. The Sphinx rejoices in her seeming victory; she no longer must endure the games Sayge played with her mind! Meanwhile, from within Marvel Man’s telekinetic bubble, Nova, reminds the Sphinx he still has the cat. Dwayne begs Nova to force the Sphinx to submit.
Once again, Sayge appears, this time to tell Dwayne that such force will not be necessary. The Sphinx cannot believe it; she killed him! Nova reminds her she cannot destroy the truth. “Indeed,” Sayge says. “You can only ignore it again and again—until you no choice but to confront it.” He bombards her with the white light of truth once more. This time, the Sphinx accepts it. She kneels before him, begging forgiveness. She did not realize what she had done. She only wanted his love; she only wanted to be happy.
Nova approaches, still holding the cat, and demands the Sphinx turn the world back to its true form. She asks to hold her cat. If she can hold it, she will do as he says—but only if he allows her to keep that small piece of her dream, that small piece of love she will never otherwise have. Nova agrees. He carries the cat to the defeated woman and gently places it in her arms. The Sphinx holds her cat close to her chest, asking herself what she has done.
A radiant, pink light begins spilling out from the stone on her forehead. The New Warriors watch in confusion as the light spreads out like a dome, eventually encompassing the entire planet. They understand that the Sphinx is merely altering reality once again, only this time, she’s changing it back to the way it should be.
“It is undone,” the Sphinx says with sadness in her voice. “Everything is as it was before I changed it.” The New Warriors, now wearing their traditional costumes and standing on an intact platform, look around in a haze. To them, it feels like they just woke from a bad dream. Their memories immediately begin drifting away. It must be this way, the Sphinx tells them. “Like a fugue state, the memories of the false lives you led will cloud your minds for all time.”
Marvel Boy asks Firestar if she feels okay. She does, but directs his attention back to the Sphinx. They watch as the Sphinx’s cat crumbles to dust in her hands. Horrified, the Sphinx asks why the winds of fate must be so harsh and cruel! Sayge tells her the cat was a lie, a symbol that could not belong in this reality. As its corporeal form finally withers away, the Sphinx says goodbye to her last love. Enraged, she lifts off the ground—a balcony of the Chrysler Building—and declares she may have lost her love and her dreams, but she has not lost her hope! Although she now understands that changing the past is not the way to achieve her dreams, she can still change the world to come by altering its course! This, she considers a challenge worth contemplating.
Sayge urges her to renounce the path of conquest. Accepting the truth, Sayge adds, will set her free. As abruptly as he appeared, Sayge vanishes.
Before she departs, the Sphinx informs the New Warriors she will never forget what they have done to her—and neither shall they! They have made a most bitter enemy this day. She tells them to think on this fact, knowing that their new enemy has all of time to contemplate her revenge. Revenge shall be hers, she says. The Sphinx vanishes into the ether.
The New Warriors, meanwhile, stand triumphant. Marvel Boy asks at what cost came their victory, but Nova reminds him they did what they had to do, and what they always do: the right thing. Night Thrasher believes they would have ended up losing no matter what choice they made. He merely hopes what they gained is worth what they lost—an answer only time will tell.


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Kings of Pain - part 2: Errant Knights (1st story)
First story:Genetech Headquarters:Both of the superhero teams line up against each other, preparing for a fierce battle. Cable radios to Domino before anything happens, telling her that they have run into a group of super-humans called the New Warriors, and heneeds as much information as possible immediately. Domino asks Cable why he doesn’t just shoot first and ask questions later. Cable says that he is shooting – but he would hate it if he killed any of the punks and it turned out they were supposed to be on the same side. Besides he recognizes one of the members of the New Warriors – actually their mentor Chord - from his stint in Africa. He’s just trying to be polite.
The fighting breaks out, with everyone choosing a partner to face. Nova and Cannonball charge at each other, looking to see whose blast field is stronger. As they collide, both mens’ skulls rattle and they are sent flying in opposite directions. Sam hits the wall without his blast field, and knocks himself out. Firestar calls out to him, asking if he can remember her, and why are they fighting? Before Cannonball notices, Feral pounces on Angelica, hissing in fury: why not? Warpath tells the feline mutant to tear into Firestar, while he goes after the blonde Namorita. Feral straddles Firestar’s back, trying to snap it as she flies around the room. Namorita whales on Warpath, but the burly Native American fights back hard, catching the Atlantean off guard.
Marvel Boy tells Boom Boom that he knows of her. Tabitha asks if Vance knows of her bombs too, and he certainly does – he uses his telekinesis to halt the bombs and hurl them back at her at just the right moment, sending her flying.
Silhouette and Night Thrasher attempt to take down the sward-wielding Shatterstar, and succeed in putting up a considerable fight – but Shatterstar soon yields to the desire to use his hidden power, channeling his will through his sword and sending Dwayne to the floor. Shatterstar tells the New Warriors’ leader that he will be granted a clean death, but Nova saves him at the last second, hitting Shatterstar with a flying punch. Silhouette tells Nova not to get cocky and look behind him, but Rich can’t hear. As it is, Cannonball has gotten up again, and blasts right into Nova’s back.
Several members of both teams are down, and Cable decides to put an end to it – he starts shooting at Speedball. Robbie tells Cable to stop shooting at him, he’s only wasting ammo as Speedball’s bouncing kinetic field is impenetrable. Cable agrees, and stops shooting as he calls for his X-Force to return to him. Cable says that there is nothing to be gained by fighting, and throws down some smoke bombs. However, Chord fires an exploding shell at the mutant group, and Sam extends his blast field quickly, protecting them from the explosion. The blast is deflected back at the New Warriors, but Marvel Boy throws up a powerful telekinetic shield to protect his team. Chord asks Cable how long the old man can keep it up. Cable asks Chord if he remembers North Africa in 1973 – as long as it takes.
Speedball jumps out in front of Cable, asking for an end to the fighting, as they’re all going to kill each other – except for Speedball, as none of it can actually hurt him. Cable says that he will drop his weapon when Chord drops his. Domino calls Cable and tells him that the New Warriors are good guys, some of which are even mutants.
Mr. Furmintz and Mr. Rosen of Genetech arrive, insisting that they stop fighting. The New Warriors explain that Mr. Furmintz hired them to protect Genetech from unwanted guests, as they feared the people who hired them may have been double crossing them. Rosen says that they were hired to cultivate a DNA matrix for a self-replicating growth culture. Cable states that the Alliance of Evil told them that they had been working for Genetech. Rosen exclaims that isn’t true – if it were, why would they have hired the New Warriors instead of using their own super-humans, Psionex? Rosen says that they have done some research, and they have found that the Alliance was collecting energy that is of an identical signature to the DNA matrix they are developing. Marvel Boy says that someone may be playing them all for fools. Cable decides that they need to go back to the source of their information to be sure, and the Alliance are going to be very sorry they lied.
IDIC Corporation, Manhattan:The board members of the IDIC Corporation meet to discuss plans now that the Alliance of Evil has been apprehended. They are nothing but a front for A.I.M. The chairperson says that Harness and Piecemeal remain at large, and as long as they continue collecting the energy, the plan will move forward.
Vail, Colorado:The two mysterious men continue to play chess. The short one gloats that the other’s daring maneuver seems to have failed… The tall one agrees that, admittedly, wiping all the pawns off the board in one fell swoop was a gamble. And he’s a gambling man, the shorter one smirks. The tall one says that there are yet many moves to be decided in this game.
Anchorage, Alaska:Harness and Piecemeal teleport to Anchorage. Piecemeal has gotten quite fat since his stop in Niagara Falls, and is complaining that he is in pain. Harness rips the teleporter from his arm, complaining that the idiots can’t supply a good teleporter. He tells Piecemeal to start walking, and as he cannot, Harness uses his mutant harness ability to snare the boy and drag him along. Harness says that they are a team – he deals with the pain, and Harness makes all the money. Harness draws a blade from his glove, and shoves it into Piecemeal’s face, and the boy says that he promises to be good and take the energy. Piecemeal begins to eat, and says there is a lot of energy nearby. He cries that it is too much, and a brilliant flash appears, and Piecemeal appears much larger than he was. Piecemeal struggles to catch his breath, and Harness goes to find a plane to get out of Alaska.
Quebec Provincial Prison:This prison is the Canadian penitentiary for super-human villains. Inside is Frenzy, captured by the New Mutants. The angry woman pounds the door, screaming to get out. As she does so, Silhouette appears behind her, telling her to get down. Frenzy spins and tries to punch Silhouette, but she uses her mutant powers to melt into the shadow, just as an explosion sends Frenzy flying across the room.
Frenzy tries to pull her head together, but Cable and a team of his X-Force, along with members of the New Warriors, are outside in a helicopter, ordering her to get in. Cable gives her three seconds to comply, and before Frenzy can fathom Cable’s reasoning, she has to jump – but Chord has already piloted the helicopter away from the cellblock, and Cable catches Frenzy by the arm.
Cable tells Frenzy to tell him who hired the Alliance. Frenzy tells Cable that she already told him. Cable says that she lied the first time, and as he continues to interrogate her, Night Thrasher tells Chord to start flying higher. Cable tells Frenzy to start talking, and Frenzy says she will as long as Cable promises to pull her up. Frenzy says that A.I.M. is behind everything. Night Thrasher says that the New Warriors have data on the terrorist group, but they had yet to follow up on it. Domino says that this is his chance. Cable asks Frenzy why they were hired. Frenzy responds that they were hired to bodyguard two mutants named Harness and Piecemeal, and that Piecemeal was absorbin energy at every stop – though she doesn’t know what for. Domino asks where A.I.M. is operating from. Frenzy says that A.I.M. has dummy corporations everywhere, and the only one she can think of is in Brooklyn on pier 17. She tells Cable to pull her in. Cable drops Frenzy back toward the prison, with Frenzy screaming that he promised to pull her in. Cable says that he lied. Silhouette asks Domino if the woman will survive the fall. Domino says that she will, unfortunately. Cable tells Domino to order the second unit to get to Brooklyn.
Brooklyn, New York:The second of the hero teams, including Warpath, Shatterstar, Marvel Boy, Firestar, and Speedball, arrives at the designated warehouse. Marvel Boy sees a skylight, and decides that they can sneak in this way. Shatterstar grouches about sneaking in, and uses his sword-channeling ability to blow a hole in the roof for everyone to jump into. Firestar chides that the mutant team isn’t much for subtlety. Speedball says that they are a Reagan-era group – and ironically they find that each of their fathers voted for Reagan.
Warpath dives in and grabs an employee by the throat, while Shatterstar holds his blade at another’s throat. The New Warriors beg for some common sense from X-Force, but Shatterstar says that there is always a need to frighten their enemies. The man facing Shatterstar says that he is the foreman, and to let the other men go and take it up with him. Marvel Boy looks around at the technology – injection molded casings, humanoid molds, and so forth – and tells the foreman that they know he is fronting for A.I.M., but doesn’t know why. Firestar promises not to hurt them, but Shatterstar tells her to speak for herself.
The foreman says that they were paid to make transparent malleable shell casings for a humanoid. Speedball asks why, but Vance replies that A.I.M. pays well wnough for people to not ask too many questions. Vance says that S.H.I.E.L.D. and A.I.M. always competed to make artificial humanoids called life model decoys, basically a glorified automated worker. Firestar asks why they would be hollow. Marvel Boy says to picture Star Thief – a villain who was composed of energy within a containment suit – and imagine that A.I.M. is trying to put some sort of being in a different suit. Warpath asks why they would do this, and for what gain. Vance says that hopefully, the third and final team will find out.
Westchester, New York – former site of Xavier’s school:The final team of heroes arrives at Xavier’s academy to check the computers. Nova, Namorita, Feral, Boom Boom, and Cannonball search the ruins of the recently destroyed mansion for an entry point, and Sam finds a keypad sitting next to a door. Sam tries to open it, and Namorita grabs the trapdoor and rips it off its hinges. The team jumps in, but Sam warns that they may activate the security systems if they go too fast. Nova isn’t paying attention, and walks right into a laser beam, burning his foot. Cannonball volunteers to go through the lasers with his blast field, but Feral jumps forward and begins leaping and flipping through the lasers. She tells Sam that this is much more fun. Feral deactivates the security, and everyone rushes through.
At the end of the tunnel, in the Cerebro chamber, the grouping of heroes spends some time booting the Cerebro computer, while Feral flirts with Nova. Boom Boom patches in the energy signature that Harness and Piecemeal have been collecting, hoping to fins out if there’s a match in Cerebro’s circuits. Nova wishes that Marvel Boy was around to help, but Namorita says they can figure it out without Vance for once. They know that Genetech was hired to cultivate a cellular network with a living being, and the Alliance was independently seeking an energy wavelength which matched Genetech’s data. Tabitha searches the computer for information. A grid pops up on the screen, pointing out that the most recent match between Genetech’s data and the Alliance’s is located in Niagara Falls. Tracing the pattern, it continues in Alaska, then Tokyo. Sam says that they would be too late to chase them down there. Sam wants to know how Genetech got the info. He tells the computer to access the source of the file, and finds that it is on a shared datalink. He looks for the original source, finding it on Muir Island.
Tokyo, Japan:As horrified spectators look in downtown Tokyo, Harness forces Piecemeal to continue eating the energy in the area. Harness uses his armor to scan the boy, and decides that he has had enough “appetizers” and that they can go for the main course. Harness says that soon, they will have more power than anyone on the planet has ever seen.
Genetech Research Facility:Both the New Warriors and X-Force meet up at the facility to discuss the information they have found thus far. Marvel Boy says that they now know that two separate parties – Genetech and A.I.M. - were trying to achieve the same goal. Cable says that if A.I.M. is involved, it must have to do with the invention of superior weaponry. Night Thrasher says that they need to know who or what the energy is. Chord takes the computer disk from Cannonball and tries to punch it up. He tells Cable that he’s still the impatient type, calling Cable “Winters.” Cable says he isn’t surprised, but the name is Cable – this year.
Chord says that the energy is spread unevenly throughout the world, but the locus of activity is in Edinburgh, Scotland. Cable tells Chord to pull up the estimated time of energy dispersal. The computer says that it occurred on October 13, 1987. Cable then tells Chord to pull up the time of death for Kevin MacTaggert. The computer database from Muir Island shows that Kevin died on October 3, 1987, and his energy form dissipated at the same time, on October 13, 1987.
Cannonball explains to everyone else that Moira MacTaggert is a leading specialist in mutants because she learned that her son was one. Vance says that the X-Men fought someone in Edinburgh about the same time as Kevin’s death, and Cable replies that they need to get to Muir Island. Cable says that A.I.M is trying to reanimate the most powerful mutant the world has ever seen – they are trying to re-create Proteus.


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Sympathy for the Devil
“Look at this,” Gideon says, smiling as he looks into the gaping mouth of Marvel Boy. “I pulled the tooth right out!” He notes the tooth extraction got awfully messy because of the roots. Trying something else, he cuts through Marvel Boy’s lip with his newfound telekinetic powers. It’s as easy as using a knife! Next, he applies a little bit of telekinetic pressure to his victim’s nose, and watches it crumble like aluminum foil. This is the first time Gideon has ever duped a telekinetic—and he’s loving it. The possibilities are quite endless. Now that he’s had his fun, he wants to know why the New Warriors are in his residence.
Although he’s badly battered, Marvel Boy manages to tell Gideon to drop dead. Wrong answer, Gideon tells him. Haven’t they come to the realization yet that they’re utterly and undeniably defeated? It’s their own fault, too! They chose to invade his home and confront him. Now that they have lost, Gideon wants what is his due: he wants the truth, and he wants it now.
The rest of the New Warriors hang in restraints all around the room. Most of them are unconscious. Firestar remains awake. She tells Gideon to stop torturing Marvel Boy; he’ll never crack anyway! “But you might, lovely Firestar?” Gideon says, grinning deviously. “It would be a shame to use your own powers against you…”
Finally, Marvel Boy cracks and says he’ll tell Gideon whatever he wants to know—as long as he doesn’t touch Firestar. He says they came to get information, both from Gideon and about Gideon.
Flashback…:
While flying to Vail, Colorado in a Taylor Foundation jet, the team asks Dwayne Taylor if their destination isn’t a weird place for a supervillain to reside. Dwayne explains that Gideon isn’t a supervillain in the same vein as Terrax. He’s a businessman, and although he’s dangerous, he’s still a businessman. Silhouette reminds them this began when they discovered the Taylor Foundation had business ties with a company owned by Gideon. Worse, that same company—the Ophrah Foundation—was involved with their recent encounter with Proteus. Obviously, it isn’t a legitimate business corporation. If Gideon was indeed the primary backer behind Advanced Idea Mechanics, and if he still has ties to the Taylor Foundation…
“…then we just talk to him and get the scoop on the troubles with your little company, right, Taylor?” Richard Rider asks. Dwayne wishes it were that simple. Robbie asks if he’s talking about Andrew Chord, their former mentor. Dwayne confirms this. Chord was like a father to him his entire life. To find out his life was built on lies, and to see Chord shoot himself in the head like he did just because he was afraid to tell the truth, is all too much for Dwayne to bear. He needs answers.
Namorita reminds Dwayne that Chord still clings to life. There is still hope he may pull through the ordeal. Angelica agrees; they all hope Chord gets better. But why did he attempt suicide? Angelica just doesn’t understand. Even at her lowest, she never thought of doing something like that. They’ve all had their share of troubles, Vance tells her; everyone does. “But you work through them, Vance—not run away like Chord did,” Angelica says. Vance isn’t arguing with that. He asks what they should do now. Dwayne tells him the Taylor Foundation pilot—who believes his passengers to be student study group—will land them at the airport, after which Dwayne will use the info he hacked from the security firm that designed Gideon’s systems and break into his fortress to find what they need to know!
End flashback…
So they tried to confront him, Gideon says, by trespassing into his home? By illegally breaking and entering?! Marvel Boy tells him that sometimes, to make an omelette, one must break a few eggs. Gideon clobbers him over the head with a telekinetic bolt. What a self-serving attitude, he tells the young mutant. He tells Marvel Boy he has tired of both him and his telekinetic powers.
Nearby, Firestar screams. She begs with Gideon to not hurt Marvel Boy. “Such an inner spark!” Gideon says to her, craning his neck. “You really care for the man-boy, don’t you?” Duplicating Silhouette’s shadow-melting powers, he materializes closer to Firestar—so their conversation can be more intimate. As he nears her, his body resonates with Firestar’s energy template. She’s quite the powerful one, he says. He strokes her wavy, red hair. Her microwave manipulation powers impress him. Giving them a try, he clutches a handful of hair and incinerates it with his borrowed microwave powers. “I do love the smell of burnt hair,” he says.
Moving on, he asks Firestar what gave her the right to invade his home and question his business ethics. What makes the scars on his life ripe for her capricious judgment? He bores a hole under her eye with a precision beam of microwaves. She screams. Gideon tells her to answer him… or burn.
Oakland, California…
In a dark alley, two thuggish-looking men approach another man—this one relatively well-dressed—who leans against a wall. The well-dressed man asks if they’re carrying. They are; clean trade, they say. The well-dressed man pulls out a white bundle. “Smack for thwack,” he says as they lift their guns.
Right as they make the deal, however, they hear a growling coming from the above rooftop. They look up in time to see beastly creature with long, red claws and a chain around its neck leap down to the alley, its form silhouetted against a streetlight. It begins ripping the men to shreds. Moments later, they lie strewn about the alley, their bodies eviscerated. Their killer suddenly catches a whiff in the alley. It turns and beholds a man who comments on its ferocity and anger. “You are the tiger who smiles at the kill,” this tattooed man says to the feral creature. “Yet you know so little about yourself. Come with me, Smiling Tiger. Allow me to be your guiding hand of darkness…”
Mt. Sinai Hospital. Manhattan, New York…
The man who has, in many ways, been the New Warriors’ mentor and teacher lies closer to death than life. Miyami Chord enters the hospital room of her unconscious husband, Andrew Chord, and remarks how much she misses him. Look at him now, she laments; look at what that pact has done to him. She sighs at her foolish husband and her foolish life. Suddenly, Miyami recognizes a familiar smell in the room. Her expression of grief shifts into one of terror. She screams and bolts out of the room. Behind her, in the shadows, Tai grins an evil grin.
The Vail, Colorado home of Gideon…
Gideon demands Firestar answer his question. He wants to know of her heroic superiority! He wants to know how she came to his home to smite him, diminish him, and belittle him! He demands to know why she thinks she is so much better than him. Firestar, sobbing, fesses up and tells him her team had a plan…
Flashback…
“You sure about this, Thrash?” Nova asks as he carries Night Thrasher and Robbie Baldwin over the snowy slopes of the Rocky Mountains. Robbie, clutching a snowboard to his chest, sarcastically asks Nova when one of Night Thrasher’s brilliant offensive strategies have ever failed. Thrash tells him to zip it. His plan will work; while their teammates set off the mountain base alarm systems, he and Robbie will sneak in from the top.
He gives their aerial teammate the signal, and he releases them. Dwayne and Robbie clip on their snowboards as they fall toward the slopes. As they speed down the mountain, Thrash asks why Robbie had to be the only one of his teammates who knows how to snowboard. “Ah, you love me and you know it!” Robbie says.
After seeing that the two snowboarders are clear, Nova flies back to his other teammates, intending to trigger some of Gideon’s motion sensors as he goes. He needs to draw attention away from Night Thrasher and Robbie—especially since Robbie can’t use his superpowers while snowboarding.
Inside Gideon’s headquarters, one of his security advisors, Adam, informs his master of the unwanted company. When Gideon asks who it is, Adam says he doesn’t know—but the rate at which the intruder moves suggests superhuman abilities. Gideon tells him to see to it on his own without disturbing him any further.
Outside, Nova zips through the trees outside of Gideon’s home, hoping to trigger some alarms. To his dismay, nothing seems to happen. Suddenly, he flies right into a net fashioned from titanium alloy and finds himself hopelessly entangled. While he struggles to escape from it, his teammate Firestar arrives and cuts him free with her microwave powers. “Thanks, Red. Almost singed my butt, though,” Nova tells her. If that’s the case, Namorita hopes she didn’t damage any brain cells.
After mock-laughing at his teammate’s joke, Nova asks for a sit-rep. Marvel Boy tells him they activated full security measures—though he doubts any of Gideon’s sentry guns could do them any serious damage. He casually destroys a few with his telekinetic powers. That may be, Nova says, but he acknowledges that the guns are slowing them down a bit—and they need to be on time to help their teammates. Namorita suggests they hustle.
Elsewhere, Night Thrasher and Robbie Baldwin approach Gideon’s mansion. Robbie comments on the digs, and asks what place like that must cost. Night Thrasher tells him to be quiet. On the back patio, Gideon relaxes in his Jacuzzi tub while Adam relays news of the intruders. He tells his master they have slowed the frontal attack, but they’re picking up downward activity in the rear section. Lifting his shades, Gideon glances up at the slopes and plainly sees Night Thrasher and Robbie approaching on their snowboards. “Never mind, Adam,” he tells his security advisor.
Wasting no time, Night Thrasher leaps off his snowboard and allows his momentum to carry him directly toward Gideon. He and the New Warriors want some answers, he shouts! Gideon sighs. “Yeah, you better be petrified, dude!” Robbie adds. Gideon asks if they wish to join him in his Jacuzzi. While Robbie activates his kinetic field, transforming into Speedball, Night Thrasher crashes into the water and puts a hand to Gideon’s throat and demands to know about Gideon’s dealings with the Taylor Foundation. “Pound it out of him like a civilized person would,” Speedball cheers.
“Indeed,” Gideon says, considering this suggestion. He blasts Night Thrasher in the face with a kinetic attack, a skill he borrows from Speedball using his mutant power to emulate superhuman genetic templates. Next, he uses this power against Speedball himself by launching himself into the air and socking Robbie in the face. As Speedball falls unconscious, he asks if Gideon mentioned something about having a mutant power. Gideon confirms this. He carries Speedball’s limp body safely to the ground, complimenting the New Warrior on his remarkable power imprint.
End flashback…
Gideon, holding the unconscious Robbie Baldwin by the collar in front of his imprisoned teammates, relays how fascinating the boy’s transformation was after he knocked him out. Loss of mass, completely different body proportions… does Robbie even know how interesting his powers are? Night Thrasher snaps back at Gideon; they didn’t come there to answer his questions, he says. Gideon slaps him across the face, shattering his facemask. “Oh, do please shut up!” he says. He understands where Thrash may have gotten this bad impression about him. After all, Forbes Magazine called him the Prince of Thieves, while TIME called him the Ziggy Stardust of Boardroom Backstabbers. He supposes for all intents and purposes he is a villain—but what does that make the New Warriors?
“We’re the ones who throw garbage like you out and close the lid!” Night Thrasher says. Gideon busts him across the face, further damaging his helmet. He turns his attention to Namorita, who hangs in suspension above the others in the room, her arms encased all the way up to her shoulders. The super-strength he obtained from her is quite impressive, he says. He didn’t expect to so easily shatter Night Thrasher’s armor. However, he notes her powers make him very thirsty.
“Back to the matter at hand,” Gideon says, “…if I’m the villain, why are you the ones breaking the law to accomplish your goals?” Because the truth is more important than the law, Nova answers. Gideon sneers at him. Is that so? And who, he asks, is the arbiter of truth? Them? Nova? Who judges them to be justified when they are so busy doing the right thing? What makes the New Warriors think they are better than Gideon? He grabs Nova by the jaw. “If your kind is so right and mine so wrong,” he asks, “then why did you lose to me?”
Flashback…
Gideon, having just emerged from his Jacuzzi tub, stands dressed in a red robe, ready to defend himself against Night Thrasher. He has Speedball’s kinetic-bubble powers as a defense. He tells Night Thrasher not to make another move, gesturing to his teammate he clutches in his left hand. Speedball, gasping for breath, manages to ask Gideon how he makes his bubbles behave that way. Thrash informs Gideon that Speedball cannot be hurt. That may be true, Gideon says, but he can certainly drain the boy’s kinetic field in its entirety. He guarantees he wouldn’t survive that—let alone exist as a physical being any longer. Calmly, he asks Night Thrasher why they invaded his home. They want answers regarding his corporate corruption, Thrash says.
“…but we’ll get them the hard way!” a voice says from behind. Gideon turns to see the rest of the New Warriors—Marvel Boy, Firestar, Nova, Namorita and Silhouette—descending on his back patio. Gideon scoffs at them. Marvel Boy insists they did not come for a fight; he advises Gideon not to start something he cannot finish. As Gideon cracks Speedball across the skull, he tells Marvel Boy he’ll be sure to heed his advice.
Vance cannot believe what just happened; Gideon knocked out Speedball! No one has ever done that! He infers Gideon must have some kind of superhuman ability. It would have helped to know that before they came, Namorita says. Vance agrees. He plans to take Gideon out right away with a telekinetic shove. As he fires his bolt at Gideon, however, it passes through his suddenly shadowed body and refracts to the left, instead colliding with Night Thrasher. Gideon laughs; Silhouette’s ability to interact with the Darkforce is serving him well!
Nova strikes next, barreling at Gideon with his fist outstretched. Gideon casually blocks the attack with the palm of his hand. Nova notices the sudden appearance of Robbie’s bubbles, which Gideon is using to absorb the kinetic thrust of the punch. He follows this up by using his new Darkforce powers to shadow-melt his fist through Nova’s torso. He hurls his limp body at Firestar.
Marvel Boy watches his team getting ripped apart. He and Namorita team up for a flank attack. After Vance nails him in the back with a telekinetic bolt, Namorita decks him from the side. They don’t plan on giving up, she says! Gideon didn’t think they would; why can’t their kind just accept reality? He turns to his latest two assailants and, using Marvel Boy’s powers, knocks out Vance while telekinetically binding Namorita in place. She struggles, but Gideon advises her not to even try—and asks if she’s surprised he’s able to so effectively use Marvel Boy’s powers. Even Marvel Boy might be surprised, Gideon laughs. They were wrong to approach him so arrogantly and overconfidently, Gideon tells her; it reminds him of his younger self. Namorita swears the New Warriors would never turn out like him! “Because I chose to use my superiority to create a base of financial power for myself,” Gideon asks, “—instead of doing ‘good deeds’ for the cattle of the world?” He advises her not to answer, as a microwave assault has nicely dehydrated her and rendered her unconscious.
“It’s not over yet, Gideon!” a lone voice says. Gideon turns to see the last remaining New Warrior, Silhouette, standing with her crutches in defiance. She may not be able to match his powers, but she can hide in the Darkforce dimension and strike out at him when he least expects it! “And I don’t give in—I never give in,” she adds. Admittedly, Gideon admires her spirit, but unfortunately, as they speak, he uses his telekinesis to seal her access to the Darkforce dimension—essentially rendering her powerless. Silhouette gasps. In one swift motion, Gideon blasts her to the ground.
With all his assailants unconscious, Gideon takes a breather, at least acknowledging the tussle made for a refreshing evening workout. He orders Adam to place their guests in sub-basement four and to activate the dampener fields—but allow him to access their genetic template wavelengths. Adam asks Gideon if he would also like him to scrub his buttocks clean. “Just do it, Adam,” Gideon says.
End flashback…
“And it was that easy, wasn’t it?” Gideon asks the New Warriors. It’s such a shame that good doesn’t always triumph over evil, he adds. He imparts on the New Warriors some wisdom that he learned a short while ago—likely the same lesson they’ve learned from their failure today. Today’s world, he says, is not about right and wrong, good and evil, or truth and lies. It is about success, whatever the cost. He asks the New Warriors if they are prepared to face that fact. In order to succeed, are they prepared to cheat, lie, steal and kill? That is what they will have to do to travel the road they have chosen, after all. Gideon knows this firsthand, because he has had to do all those things—and more.
He approaches Marvel Boy and asks him again: are they willing to do what Gideon has told them in order to achieve their goals? “If it means doing what’s right—helping others—finding the truth—yes,” Marvel Boy says as he hangs his head.
“And does that make you better than me?” Gideon asks.
“…no,” Marvel Boy admits.
“Very well then,” Gideon laughs, “…let me tell you of what I know of your oh, so-important Taylor Foundation.” What he tells them—the truth—shall either set them free, or crush their spirits beneath its inexorable grinding heel. Truth, they will discover, can play the game for fair and foul. With that out of the way, Gideon tells the New Warriors to listen and learn.


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Forces of Darkness, Forces of Light, act two: The Soul Canyons
Manhattan is no stranger to the dark side of life. This night, the figurative has become literal as the city is awash in cascading waves of tangible dark energy. It is when the light is drowned by the onslaught of darkness that the city’s protectors come out. Champions such as Peter Parker aka the Amazing Spider-Man, and Robbie Baldwin the New Warrior called Speedball.
 ‘Uhm…hey, Web-Head - how about we take a rain check on this one?’ Speedball enquires as he bounds along a bridge, while Spider-Man swings behind him on webbing, as the darkness splashes towards them. Spider-Man tells Speedball not to be such a coward. ‘Just because we have absolutely no clue what’s going on all over Manhattan is no reason to be worried’ he remarks. ‘Be a mensch and leap into the terrifying unknown with a swashbuckling reckless abandon!’ Spider-Man urges the younger hero. ‘And half-an-ounce of common sense?’ Speedball mutters, before telling Spider-Man that he is his hero, his role-model.
‘Usually I have one foot in my mouth - now I can have it knee-deep in gunk that looks like this side of the Arthur Kill!’ Speedball declares as he bounces about on his kinetic energy, trying to stay away from the darkness. Spider-Man tells Speedball to try and not let the darkness wash over him, as there is no telling what it is made of. ‘Sorta like the special sauce on a Big Mac, huh?’ Speedball jokes, before telling Spider-Man not to worry about him, as his kinetic field is as much a part of him as body odor is to the Hulk. ‘You do live dangerously, toothpick’ Spider-Man remarks as they drop down to the cars on the bridge, where the darkness is sweeping towards. Spider-Man tells Speedball to just do his best to avoid this garbage until they can figure out what it is.
Suddenly, a blonde woman in a red convertible car become stuck, as the darkness washes around her vehicle’s tyres. ‘Uhm - hmmm - Mr Spider-Man - help?’ she calls out, but Spider-Man doesn’t hear her, and swings on by. Suddenly, a beam of energy is fired at the darkness as it creeps up the young women’s car. The hero called Darkhawk drops down beside the car and pulls it away from the blackness. ‘I have you, Miss. My force blast cut you free’ the hero announces. ‘Ms’ the blonde woman corrects him. ‘Excuse me?’ Darkhawk asks. ‘Ms. Uhm…you called me Miss. It’s Ms. Uhm…Dunham’ Laura Dunham, the girlfriend of the New Warrior called Nova explains. ‘You sort of saved my life and I’m rambling right now, huh?’ Laura mutters, looking at Darkhawk, who replies ‘Uh-huh’. Laura replies that she is sorry, and explains that she is scared out of her mind. Darkhawk tells Ms Dunham that he knows how she feels, before excusing himself, as he thought he saw Spider-Man and Speedball as he was gliding in a second ago. ‘They may need a helping hand from Darkhawk!’ the hero exclaims as he releases a cable from his armor and glides upwards.
‘You were saying about that kinetic field?’ Spider-Man asks Speedball, the two of them trapped by the darkness. ‘No one likes a wisenheimer, Spidey’ Speedball mutters, as they fail to free themselves. ‘You guys okay?’ Darkhawk calls out as he glides towards them. ‘No, Darkhawk, we’re not’ Spider-Man replies, when suddenly, there is a FZEECHAK sound, and Speedball declares that he would know that sound anywhere. He looks up to see Angelica “Firestar” Jones, his teammate, hovering over them as she releases her microwave energy to free Speedball and Spider-Man from their bonds. ‘You guys okay?’ Firestar enquires. ‘Of course we are, Firestar’ Spider-Man replies, before telling Angelica that he likes her new costume.
Examining the dark matter that as surrounded them, Spider-Man declares that whatever it is, it couldn’t take a concentrated burst of Firestar’s microwave emissions. ‘Neither can I’ Speedball exclaims as he examines his butt, which is smouldering from Firestar’s energy beams. ‘Sterile for life, I just know it!’ Speedball declares. On top of a pillar on the bridge, Darkhawk drops down beside the others and asks them what is going on here. ‘What is this stuff?’ Firestar asks. Spider-Man tells the newcomers that they know as much as he and Speedball do at this point. ‘Was this gunk afraid of Firestar or something?’ Darkhawk enquires, adding that it looks like black jello but moves like a greased third grader.
Everyone turns to Spider-Man, who asks ‘Well, what are you all looking at me for - I don’t know what’s happening any more than you do!’ He then asks ‘What am I supposed to be, the Super Hero Encyclopedia or something?’ Speedball looks sideways and mutters ‘Well, you being the most experienced and all, we just assumed…our mistake, really, having faith in you…’, to which Spider-Man exclaims ‘Enough with the digs! All I know at this point is how I felt when that black goo was wrapping me up’ Spider-Man declares, asking Speedball if he felt it, too. ‘Angry, frustrated, tense - like it was feeding off all the darkness inside of us?’ Speedball suggests. ‘Or we were feeding off of it?’ Spider-Man suggests, adding that it must be affecting everyone else like it did to them.
Spider-Man announces that they need the bigwigs for this - the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, Doctor Strange - suddenly, he is interrupted, as a voice calls out ‘And maybe a helping hand from the new kid in town - TURBO!’ the young man proclaims as he hovers in the air above the others, kept afloat by the discs at his ankles and feet. Wearing a one-piece blue spandex costume, and an oversized visor, he drops down next to the others. ‘Wait a minute - I met Turbo - and he was a she!’ Firestar exclaims. ‘They got an operation for that kinda thing, Red’ Speedball remarks quietly. ‘She is Turbo, Firestar - but so am I!’ the male Turbo announces. ‘Whatever. Really. Listen kid - if you can help, fine - but don’t slow us down!’ Spider-Man exclaims. ‘Believe me, Spidey - if there’s one thing I’m not, it’s slow!’ Turbo boasts as he leaps off the bridge pillar.
‘I’m sure your girlfriend’s thrilled to hear that’ Speedball jokes as he leaps from the pillar also, bounding through the air on his kinetic energy. Firestar takes to the air as well, while Darkhawk glides along on his cable, and Spider-Man swings via his webbing. ‘”Spidey”. He called me. I get no respect’ Spider-Man mutters to himself, before calling out to the younger heroes: ‘Okay, Warriors - let’s go get ourselves killed!’, to which the new Turbo shouts ‘Awwwl-right!’, smiling as he flies along.
Just south of the Brooklyn Bridge where the champions of light have gathered, is the factory Crash-Pad of the New Warriors, where among the conflicted desires of youth and adulthood, darkness has gained a foothold. ‘Ouch!’ Nova a.k.a. Rich Rider mutters as he is punched through the roof of the Crash-Pad. ‘Man, she hits like a mother!’ Nova exclaims, before gathering himself and propelling himself back down to the Crash-Pad at super-speed. ‘Suck it up, Rich. You may not want to go what you gotta do, but you don’t have much choice!’ Nova tells himself, adding that if he is going to do it, he has to do it all the way - and zooming back through the hole in the roof, Nova crashes into his teammate, Namorita Prentiss, who has been overcome by the darkness.
Namorita spins around and the teammates prepare to face off, as Nova tells Namorita that he doesn’t know what this stuff as done to her, but that if the only way to find out is by taking her down, then she is going down. They slosh about in the dark matter that has engulfed the Crash-Pad, while their teammate, Elvin Haliday a.k.a. Rage, who was previously knocked out by Namorita, regains consciousness. ‘What’s going on?’ he calls out, recalling that he was swept by that bosco wave, before Namorita knocked him out. ‘Nova saved my butt. That answers that. Now maybe someone can tell me - why do I feel like the Marines in Aliens did?’ Rage asks, referring to the science fiction film. The darkness moves swiftly towards Rage - and engulfs him.
Her form as black as the matter that controls her, Namorita lashes out at Nova, punching him hard in the face. Nova reciprocates and punches Namorita. ‘That’s it! I’m not gonna stand here trading punches with you!’ Nova declares, adding that whether Namorita is in control of herself or not, this fight is over. He gives Namorita a real hard punch sending her careening backwards. At the same time, Rage tears the Darkforce away from him, ‘GET OFF OF ME!’ he booms, before going up to Nova and telling him that he could feel that stuff taking him over, that he got angrier, but part of him wanted to let it control him. ‘Maybe Nita couldn’t resist?’ Rage suggests as the two walk towards the fallen Namorita. Nova replies that with all the junk she has gone through lately, he wouldn’t be surprised, before adding that he really didn’t want to hit her.
Suddenly, a mysterious figure materializes behind Namorita. ‘Oh #$%! Me! What now? Who is this guy?’ Nova gasps as a large, dark, cape floats behind Namorita. ‘I guess you could say he’s the confirmation Nita and I were looking for about Silhouette’s disappearance’ Rage explains, adding that his name is Cloak, and that if he is a part of this, then they are definitely involved with the Darkforce Dimension.
Blocks away from the Warriors’ Crash-Pad, the mutant bird-of-prey called Archangel a.k.a. Warren Worthington III tries to make sense of the madness pervading Manhattan. This is rather ironic, considering the struggle he has endured, between the forces of dark and light within his own tortured soul. Soaring between the high-rise buildings, Warren sees Spider-Man up ahead by the bridge, and Firestar, too, so assumes the New Warriors must be there. ‘Well, with all the possibilities ranging from the Fantastic Four to Code: Blue - I guess I’ll take whatever help I can get!’ Warren tells himself. He decides that they can compare notes, when suddenly, the Darkforce moves upwards towards him, and engulfs him completely.
Warren tries to escape it, but cannot. The darkness seeps inside of him, and all the recent victories - all the inner turmoil he has triumphed over - simply do not amount to much at all. He fights against it - conscious of his very will being stripped from him piece by piece. But in the end, he doesn’t - or can’t - fight hard enough. In the end, he is taken over. And in the end, a part of him, deep down inside - likes it.
Somewhere else, a very place whose existence is based on an absence of light - the truth is revealed - and with the truth, illumination. And, with illumination - understanding. In the darkness, several figures stand motionless. The missing New Warrior, Silhouette Chord is amongst them, as are the enigmatic Shroud, the scantily clad criminal called Ecstasy, the refugee from another world known as Quagmire, and the Serpent Society’s Black Mamba. The all-seeing Eye of Agamotto flits between them, before Dr Stephen Strange materializes within the darkness that he allowed himself to be taken by. Strange notes that the beings here all manifest their paragenetic abilities from the energies of this dimension, but that it is an outside force which has co-opted them.
Dr Strange notes that this force is not present in this dimensional plane at all, and that the energy present here is non-sentient, but that it has found a dimensional plane whose existence is predicated on the presence of light. Strange realizes that through a process of natural physics, it seeks to flow through into that plane, and fill the vacuum it now perceives. Strange tells himself that it has found an access, an entry way, into that dimension - his dimensional plane. Strange decides that the assault on Manhattan does not lie here, or with these people - but that it lies on Earth. Dr Strange tells himself that he must take his leave without disturbing these poor people, so as not to alert that source to his presence. ‘But this I do promise - Dr Strange will return to help you all!’ Strange assures the prisoners. As he vanishes, Silhouette opens her eyes!
It is called the most dangerous and exciting city in the world. But if you take a bite out of the Big Apple, you have to be ready to eat a worm. Think how the Human Torch and Thing of the Fantastic Four, and Sersi, Crystal and the Black Knight of the Avengers must feel. After all, the Apples they’ve eaten are now biting back! ‘What a revolting development this is!’ the Thing shouts as he tries to shake off a civilian who has been overcome by the darkness, and is clinging to the Thing’s neck. ‘Consider them as unto ants, Thing’ the sultry Eternal called Sersi suggests as she releases her powerful energy blasts. ‘Dane Whitman a.k.a. the Black Knight agrees, and as he punches on of the civilians back, points out that is why they have to step lightly. Johnny Storm a.k.a. the Human Torch flies overhead, while the Inhuman Avenger called Crystal tells Dane that she isn’t sure that is what Sersi meant.
The sky is dark, and the Darkforce energy has risen to levels above the skyscraper buildings. The moon glows green, as dozens of civilians continue to attack the quintet of heroes. The Thing asks Crystal if Sersi meant for them to step on the civilians, to which Crystal replies that she hopes not, but that with Sersi, who can tell. ‘At least this energy manifestation is not affecting my elemental powers’ Crystal declares as she uses a wind gust to gently propel several of the possessed civilians backwards. As the Darkforce begins to creep up Sersi’s body, she urgently asks Crystal if there is anything she can do to stop the disgusting material itself. The Human Torch announces that if Crystal can’t help, he would love to, but points out that if anything, the darkness is even more attracted to him.
The Human Torch continues to maintain flight, while Sersi announces that her molecular restructuring abilities have no effect on it, either. ‘Which is a shame, since this material simply does not go with my outfit’ Sersi mutters. Suddenly, the Darkforce rises and begins to engulf the Human Torch, who asks ‘Can we can the quips and find a way to give me a hand?’, while the handsome Black Knight announces that he is surrounded, too, before revealing that his neuro-sword actually disrupts this “jello”, but that he can’t keep it at bay forever. Crystal tells the Thing that the others have been engulfed, and wonders why the two of them have not been taken, too. ‘Maybe it’s intimidated by our good looks, Crys?’ the Thing suggests to his former teammate. ‘But Dane - and Johnny - what do we do?’ Crystal asks.
The Thing replies that he really doesn’t know, and wishes that Mr Fantastic was in the city, as he would whip up a frammistatsit-doohickie and solve everything. ‘But he’s not here, so we gotta figure out something - but what?’ the Thing remarks. Suddenly, ‘Easy, Mr Grimm - just look for people in high places, is all!’ Firestar exclaims as she, Spider-Man, Speedball, Darkhawk and Turbo arrive on scene. Angelica releases her microwave bursts, which free the Black Knight from the Darkforce. ‘High places, not bad, Red’ Spider-Man remarks, quietly adding that, Speedball notwithstanding, there is hope for the next generation yet. ‘I HEARD that!’ Speedball shouts, while Crystal asks Firestar to free the others, before they are overwhelmed.
However, before Angelica can get to Sersi and the Torch, a figure appears behind them. ‘Who in the name of Aunt Petunia is that?’ the Thing enquires. ‘He’s touching Sersi and the Torch!’ Speedball exclaims, before suddenly, the new figure teleports away - with Sersi and the Human Torch. ‘He took them away!’ Dane shouts, free from the Darkforce, his neuro-sword ready. Spider-Man tells his companions that he is pretty sure that was the Vanisher, a mutant teleporter, and wonders what his part in this is. ‘The Darkforce!’ Speedball announces. ‘You mean the energy some folks like Cloak use?’ Spider-Man asks. ‘And like Silhouette! That’s why she’s been missing for weeks - all of this mess is being caused by the Darkforce!’ Speedball exclaims.
The male Turbo speaks up: ‘But the Human Torch and Ms Sersi - their powers aren’t derived from the Darkforce energies, are they?’, to which the Black Knight confirms that they aren’t. ‘Then why -’ Turbo begins, as the Black Knight explains that they were taken for the same reason the Darkforce got him - they are the ones it can grab on to, the ones with doubts and anger inside them, screaming to get out, and screaming to let it in. Crystal asks why this is happening at all, to which the Thing points out that there is only one way to find out. He announces that they were headed towards the biggest mass of the gunk when they ran into each other and got ambushed. ‘So let’s keep going that way’ he suggests, adding that they will come face to face with whoever or whatever is doing this and show them: ‘It’s clobbering time!’ he shouts as he leads the way, followed by Black Knight, Crystal, Speedball, Spider-Man, Firestar, Darkhawk and Turbo, who remarks ‘I am soooo psyched to hear your say that, sir’.
Back at the Warriors’ Crash-Pad, ‘Don’t giver up!’ Nova shouts as he and Rage try to crawl away from Cloak. Rage replies that he isn’t about to, but the Darkforce keeps pulling them in. ‘Can you feel it - churning inside of you - like you wanna throw up your guts?’ Nova asks his teammate. Rage replies that he knows, that he felt it before, and boasts that he won’t give in, as he knows what he has inside of him, but that he will not give in to it. He struggles hard, and smashes his fist on the ground, declaring that he is better than that, he has to be. ‘I know that, sluggo - and you know that - but try telling it to Cloak!’ Nova replies, when, suddenly, Cloak’s body fills with a brilliant light, and his attack ends. ‘No need to, Nova. He just found out for himself’ Dagger a.k.a. Tandy Bowen announces as she appears overhead.
Dagger introduces herself and reveals that she is Cloak’s partner. She tells Tyrone Johnson that she knows this isn’t his fault, that she knows he is just being controlled by the demon inside his cloak. Tandy tells her partner that she is tired of it - tired of the flight between his darkness and her light. ‘And I can’t let any more innocent people be hurt because of that fight’ she adds. Cloak is unable to speak as Dagger’s light seeps from his body, and Tandy adds that before she lets that happen, she will feed that demon enough light to fry it forever. ‘It all ends tonight - even if it kills the both of us!’
Meantime, at the Smythers Drug Rehabilitation Clinic on the Upper East Side, ‘Oh, God - help please - no - oh no - stop!’ clinic staff call out as the Darkforce has engulfed their place of work. Doctor Strange trudges through the black mess, when suddenly, ‘By the mercy of the Ancient One!’ he gasps, as a being seemingly composed entirely of Darkforce energy materializes before him. ‘Hello Mister. Welcome to my nightmare. Welcome to the darkness. Welcome to the void. And best of all - welcome to the end of everything this pathetic #@!&ing world has to offer!’….