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Kingbreaker – part 2
Prison planet Kr’kn:
Emperor Vulcan has the telepathic member of the Imperial Guard, Oracle, show him the most dangerous criminals they have here, as he intends to create a special version of the Imperial Guard.
The first candidate is a strange kind of symbiote the Shi’ar have never encountered before. D’ken wanted it studied but, after he died, it just remained locked away. It’s a monstrosity the warden adds disgustedly. It feeds on people; consumes their brains. Then, if it wants a fresh meal, it will do as he tells it, Vulcan decides. What else?
The next candidate is a survivor from the recent Uncreated invasion. Somehow it survived the mass suicide and was captured. When it awoke, the creature went mad, killing everyone it saw, wanting to know if they worshipped a god, so the Uncreated could find it and kill it. He thinks he can find a god for it to kill, Vulcan decides.
Next is the Pn’zo… They do not know if that is its race or name. They simply do not understand its abilities. What did it want? Vulcan asks. It… was robbing a bank.
Next up is the Hodinn? Oracle points out a Hodinn served with the guard previously before Cassandra Nova. But this one… it is mad. It just wants to burn. She’s saying that like it’s a bad thing, he remarks.
Oracle asks him please not to do this. These animals are imprisoned for a reason! They are the most dangerous creatures the Shi’ar have ever encountered… and kept alive. Is she scared of them.…? Vulcan asks. Yes, she admits. Then they’ll do, Vulcan decides and gives orders to open their cells.
That wasn’t so bad now, was it? he remarks a little later. Oracle reminds him that the Uncreated killed five of his soldiers. He didn’t take it personally, comes the reply. Everyone wants something, even this one, referring to the last candidate. Oracle tells him he cannot give her Kallark. Let him worry about Gladiator, comes the reply. Hello, Strontian, he remarks as he enters her cell. He is Vulcan. He is her emperor. The bald pointy-eared woman orders him to leave before she kills him. Cute, Vulcan muses. He knows who she is. He knows what she wants. And if she does as he says, he’ll give it to her. She starts looking at him with interest.
The Xalnar system:
Shi’ar space
Asteroid Haven
In his quarters, the hero Kallark, better know as Gladiator, praetor of the Imperial Guard, sleeps. Is she sure about this? a telepathic voice asks someone. No, comes the reply. But he is their last hope. A gentle hand touches Kallark’s face and a voice calls him. Automatically, he snaps awake and holds the hand away from his face, to find the intruder is Lilanda.
She must speak with him, she tells him urgently. Why has she come here? he asks. She cannot surrender… Vulcan will kill her! She is not here to surrender, Lilandra replies.
She should not have come here, Kallark insists. She knows what he now must do. She knows it is not what he wants to do, Lilandra insists. She knows he is loyal to the throne and she knows why. But she begs him… Vulcan is not the throne. He is not Shi’ar! And he will lead the empire to disaster. If he truly cares about the empire…
Gladiators gets up, admitting he cannot think. If he ever cared about her… She presses closer to him and touches his face. About to kiss him she asks him to help. Help her find Havok and defeat Vulcan.
He turns away. If she knows why he serves the empire, then she knows why he cannot help her. Lilandra is silent for a moment, then asks if she has it. Confused, he whirls around. Rachel Grey, who telepathically kept herself hidden, appears. I got it, she announces. They are on Kr’kn.
Lilandra apologizes. But like him she does what she must for the empire’s survival. She puts on her spacesuit’s helmet. Rachel flies them out of the ship to the Starjammer. Gladiator tries to follow but, by the time he reaches the ship, it goes into warp.
Empress… he mutters.
Prison planet K’rkn:
They should just kill them, a Shi’ar guard announces to his fellow. The emperor says otherwise, another guard reminds him. Perhaps he intends for the Earthers to die of old age. How long do they live anyway? the first one wonders. It doesn’t matter, the second replies. Fourteen systems have fallen to the Shi’ar since Vulcan ascended as emperor. If he wants them alive, they’ll keep them alive.
A third guard comes, carrying the tray with Havok’s food. He shoves it through the slit on the ground, enabling some light to enter the cell. The next moment, a cosmic blast from within the cell levels the door and one guard. The door unguarded, Havok steps outside. Run! he orders the two Shi’ar left standing. Instead, the guards grab their weapons, figuring he has no power left. Finally, an excuse to kill him. Good choice, Havok replies and grins.
He evades their fire and pushes the one guard into the others, then quickly takes out the second. The only one left standing, he looks up at the camera.
On Chandilar, Deathbird welcomes back her husband Vulcan. Impatiently, he asks her why he is back. He has empires to crush. She reminds him that envoys from the remnants of the Galactic Council have come to see him. He needs to see them. This is important. Unexpectedly, he gives her a passionate kiss. If it’s important to her, he tells her with a smile, then he’ll meet with them.
The unaffiliated Clench worlds where the Starjammer has landed. The dockmaster warns the crew they have half the empire hunting them. Probably more now. And why does he aid them? Korvus asks. He’s not his emperor, comes the reply, she is, pointing at Lilandra.
Aboard the Starjammer, Rachel pets Cr’reee and asks if Lilandra knew about this Kr’kn place. There is nothing to know, Lilandra replies. It is an ocean world, only ever used for mining. Vulcan must have converted it into a prison.
There is a booming noise as Vulcan’s new and improved “Guard” teleports in, led by the female Strontian. She orders the others to spread out. Find the women! Kill them all.
Korvus apologizes in advance to the dockmaster and suggests he run. He draws the Phoenixblade as the Strontian flies towards him.
What the hell was that? Rachel asks, Phoenix energy crackling. She flies off even as Lilandra states they have to plan. A moment later, the Symbiote is aboard the Starjammer with her.
Outside, Korvus tries to deflect the Strontian’s heatvision, realizing she is like him. Say his name! she orders. Rachel smashes into her, ordering her to get away from Korvus.
Lilandra screams as she sees that inside the Symbiote is a Shi’ar who it feeds on. He begs her to kill him.
Sikorsky bioscans the Symbiote and finds that it appears to be sensitive to electricity.
As the symbiote reaches for Lilandra, she grabs an electric cable to drive it off, killing its host.
The P’nzo has Korvus down, figuring he can sell his sword after Korvus dies. He’ll have to kill him first! Korvus snarls as he frees himself.
The Uncreated attacks him next, screaming at him to recant. Where is his God? Where is his Phoenix? Get out of his head! Korvus moans.
Rachel wants to help him but is busy using her telekinesis to fend of the Strontian’s blows.
The Hodinn watches, then decides to burn it out. Burn it all. It begins to glow…
In Vulcan’s throne room, the ambassadors address him, telling him the remnants of the Galactic Council respect his position and acknowledge him as emperor of the Shi’ar. Uh-huh. Vulcan replies unimpressed. Now, what do they want?
The Rigelian explains that the known galaxies have suffered several crises of late, from the Annihiliation Wave to the conquest of the Kree… The Shi’ar’s lack of support during these events has the Council concerned. The Shi’ar Empire’s recent… expansion… goes against Lilandra Neramani’s agreements with the previous Council. They have come to give Vulcan an opportunity to explain himself.
And they feel he needs to explain himself to them? Vulcan asks mildly. The Kree announces Vulcan has overstepped his place. He conquered worlds known to be Kree allies.
Vulcan turns to Deathbird, who stands next to him, asking what’s with the robot that is standing in the background. It’s a recorder unit, she replies. Perfect, he decides.
Vulcan gets up. Perhaps he should have made his intentions clear to the Galactic Council from the start. This is how he views the Shi’ar role in universal affairs: With an energy blast he kills them all.
Gabriel, Deathbird stammers shocked. Vulcan turns to the robot recorder, which correctly states it is in jeopardy. Oh, he’s not going to destroy it, Vulcan assures it. He needs it to deliver a message. Go back and tell the Council that it is officially dissolved. Any interference or resistance to Shi’ar action will be met with similar… clarity.
The Clench worlds:
The Hodinn laughs as it detonates. Rachel drags Korvus away from the detonation and toward the Starjammer.
Inside, Sikorsky is fascinated by the Symbiote and its host but, on Lilandra’s order, he throws them out.
The Starjammer makes its getaway as the planet burns. This isn’t happening! Please tell her this isn’t happening again! Rachel shouts. How many millions of people just died because they were there? How many? She tries to get Korvus to awake, She needs him! She’s so sorry…
The other Guardians, however, are still alive. That was extreme, the P’nzo admits. The Hodinn is insane. Should they go get it? Leave it, the Strontian decides. The Hodinn is too dangerous. She asks the Godkiller where they went. The Uncreated explains that they saw into the mind of the Phoenix worshipper. Kr’kn.
On Kr’kn, Polaris awakes again and is ready to attack Vulcan the next moment. However, her rescuers are Havok, Raza and Ch’od. Relieved, she sinks into Alex’s arms.
Ch’od remarks that, while he supposes he’s is next for a passionate thank you, he suggests they get the &%$/ out of here. They are not leaving, Havok announces to their disbelief. Gabriel is going to come to them now. And this is where they are going to kill him.


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Kingbreaker – part 3
The Ovoid ship “Mindlight” is approaching the Hala defense shield when it is told to shut down its engines and identify itself or they will be destroyed as they are in direct violation of Kree space. In reply, the Ovoids above announce that their Galactic Council seeks an audience with Ronan the Accuser, current leader of the Kree. There is something he needs to see...
Elsewhere, the private vessel “Starjammer” is approaching the Shi’ar prison planet Kr’kn, which opens fire with missiles on their approach. Outside, kept alive by her telekinesis and part of the Phoenix force, Rachel Grey is ready to attack. That’s a lot of missiles, she states, energy crackling around her eyes. Lilandra begins to order her to target the first wave but Rachel cuts her off. She knows what to do.
She uses the first wave to take out the others, then sends that they are good to go. Rachel wants to clean up first, but Lilandra order her to follow the plan. Vulcan will be there in minutes. They need the Phoenix’s power here right now. Reluctantly, Rachel obeys.
Meanwhile, the station’s Captain gives the command to issue a warning to the undersea station that the Starjammers have broken through the blockade. The communication officer tells him that Chandilar has been alerted but the Hole isn’t responding.
The reason for that is the other half of the Starjammer team, whom Havok has freed. Ch’od immediately takes out communications. A little privacy is the good news, he begins. However… Polaris asks for the bad news. A self destruct thing? He hasn’t checked for that yet, Ch’od replies. He was referring to the fact they are now stuck here. There is no emergency exit or any other exit for that matter. They are several kilometers under water at the bottom of an ocean. No way to the surface.
Havok admits that’s a problem. It took every bit of energy he’d absorbed over two months to get out of his cell. He can take Vulcan but only if he’s powered up beyond his limit. That’s not going to happen down here.
Raza joins them, loaded up with weapons, suggesting killing Vulcan the old-fashioned way. Lorna remarks that she wants Vulcan to burn for what he’s done too, but maybe they should have a plan C here as opposed to “under water suicide deathmatch.” Rachel and Korvus are still out there, as far as they know. Maybe that’s them now, she suggests as an alarm klaxon rings.
Or maybe not, Ch’od replies. It is an internal alarm for the main prison. It would appear the damage they’ve done in getting her has shorted out all the prison systems. The cells are all opining.
And suddenly, the Shi’ar guards find themselves very busy. The prison population outnumbers the guards posted here ten-to-one.
Ch’od suggests the humans get a bigger alphabet if they insist on labelling their back-up plans. The Shi’ar guards are going to be slaughtered, Lorna fears and then… them.
With a smirk, Raza announces it is no less that the guards deserve. She may remember they are the scum who tortured them. Polaris turns to Havok. Vulcan is one thing… but is this what they are now? Are they just going to let the guards die? Alex gives no reply…
Back on Chandilar, the Shi’ar throne world, Admiral Ka’ardum and Deathbird address Vulcan. They have concerns, they tell him. His execution of the Galactic Council envoys could cause problems. Expansion is one thing, Deathbird adds, waging war against the entire universe another.
He disagrees, Vulcan replies. They think he doesn’t listen at all those briefings, but he does. After the Annihilation Wave and the Phalanx attack on the Kree… the Shi’ar are the only power left in the universe. And now word comes from their spies on Hala, he adds with a smirk. Ronan has surrendered. The Kree have a new king.
The Inhumans? Deathbird asks him surprised. They are but genetic science experiments. Well, whatever they are, they are in charge now, her husband points out. One of them is even marrying Ronan to solidify power. Think they will be invited to the wedding?
He turns to the Imperial Guard and orders the telepath Oracle to report. As he requested, the Imperial Guard is assembled and ready. But there is news from the Clench. The Clench worlds have been destroyed! All of them. By the Hodinn.
He wants confirmation that the Starjammers are dead, Vulcan insists. He wants bodies to display. Praetor Gladiator speaks up. It is not possible a Hodinn is responsible for this. G-Type is dead. There are no other Hodinn in this galaxy. They were hunted down. Oracle intends to clarify this, but Vulcan interrupts her. He wants bodies, he repeats forcefully. If the Starjammers escaped, he wants to know where they are. Make contact with… her.
Deathbird interrupts. There is news from Kr’kn.
At the Clench worlds – what’s left of them – frightened Shi’ar are ordered to retrieve the Hodinn. Laughing, the Hodinn announces: more.
In the Hole, a few prisoners are about to kill Shi’ar guards, only to be stopped by the magnetic powers of Polaris, who orders them to back off. Havok, having taken up a gun, orders her, Raza and Ch’od to do their best to keep everyone alive, starting with themselves. Stay together and don’t let anything separate them. Save who they can. Here it comes, referring to the prisoner mob. And so the four of them fight, trying to save lives on both sides.
In the meantime, the commlink, unmanned, announces an incoming teleportation detected… two signals. Multiple teleportation signals detected within the facility.
Meanwhile, in orbit, Rachel informs Lilandra she can’t get a TP reading on the prison. Something is blocking her… she’s coming down.
On the Starjammer which is floating over the ocean, Lilandra orders her to stay outside. She and Korvus will handle it. Rachel is to hold the perimeter.
Lilandra and Korvus teleport into the prison. Will Rachel listen? she asks Korvus. Most definitely not, he decides. He asks her to stay close to him. They’ll find them… Never mind, he decides a moment later.
By the gods! Lilandra exclaims as she sees her friends standing victorious over the pile of their enemies. They are her to rescue them, she announces somewhat awkwardly. Lorna happily greets them but is worried about Rachel’s absence. Lilandra calms her that Rachel is guarding their exit in orbit.
Korvus interjects they need to leave right now and Ch’od immediately agrees, pointing out though that Havok does not.
This is their best shot at Vulcan, Alex explains. He’s been visiting Alex… trying to break him. He’ll come for him again, and this time they’ll be waiting. He’ll recharge on the Starjammer, but this is where they make their stand.
Korvus warns him that Vulcan will not be alone when he comes for Alex. He understands Alex’s need for vengeance, but if they stay, they will all die here. Rachel’s power is the only thing that’s kept them alive this long. If Vulcan brings down the full might of the empire…
Suddenly, the sound of an explosive comes from the wall and, moments later, the new Guard breaks through, led by the Strontian Xenith, who immediately utters a kill order. She flies ahead. Polaris tries to repel her with a magnetic shield, but the Strontian manages to break through. Alex shouts her name in fear.
The other Starjammers get ready. New faces, how delightful, Ch’od purrs.
In space, Rachel is in trouble of her own when the Hodinn attacks and simply knocks her aside.
Down below, the Uncreated mentally attacks Korvus, ordering him to carve out his heart with his sword.
Lilandra warns Ch’od of the Pn’zo, who states they all need to die so he can get paid. Where is the fire girl? Havok fires at him.
It wants… it wants your brain! the current unfortunate host of the symbiote announces as it lunges for Alex. Raza severs its tentacles with a sword, trying to help Alex.
Polaris still tries her best to magnetically keep away the Strontian who slowly and inexorably makes headway. What… is she? Lorna moans. The last thing she’ll ever see, the Strontian replies and Polaris realizes she is like Kallark. They thought he was the only one. They thought wrong! Xenith screams, attacking her with heat vision though Lorna manages to dodge.
Raza directly attacks the symbiote’s host with his weapons. Dying, the host thanks him but, bereft of its host, the symbiote lunges at Raza instead. The other Starjammers watch horrified, but, before they can act, there is a noise and blinding light. Vulcan, Deathbird and several members of the Imperial Guard have arrived.
No more games, Alex, Vulcan announces. No more time outs. Now you’ll die!


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[Assistant]
Kingbreaker – part 4
Playback:
The Rigelian Recorder replays how Vulcan killed the ambassadors of the Galactic Council and announced that the Council was dissolved. My name is Vulcan, but soon you will all call me King!
present:
The transmission ends. The one watching with interest was Ronan the Accuser, until recently leader of the Kree. Play it again, he demands.
Over the Shi’ar prison planet Kr’kn, Rachel Grey is using all the Phoenix power she has to fight the living star, the Hodinn. But he fires and explodes.
The Emperor Ship Hammer II targets Rachel and fires at the two of them and they fall planetward with the Hodinn laughing madly.
Further down, under the planet’s surface in the prison dubbed the Hole:
Vulcan orders the Imperial Guard to bring him his brother’s head. Kallark, no! Lilandra shouts as the Guard’s praetor, Gladiator, flies towards Havok. He slams him against a wall, assuring him he takes no pleasure in this. He doesn’t have to do this, Havok groans, Vulcan is not his emperor!
“Do it!” a female voice cheers Kallark on. Kill him and then she can kill him, the female Strontian adds, calling him “cousin.” Xenith, he mutters. Horrified, he looks at Vulcan, demanding what he has done. He tosses Havok aside and charges at Xenith with an incoherent cry of rage.
Vulcan, in the meantime, orders the rest of the Imperial Guard to kill the Starjammers, and they attack.
Raza is still caught by the symbiote. He can hear it inside him, he shouts at Ch’od, It’s so hungry!
Wildly, Vulcan fires blasts at Havok. Why do they keep fighting? He’s won over and over – he wins and they keep fighting him! They could have ruled together, but they keep fighting him!
He orders the Guard to execute Lilandra. Korvus runs to her side and Polaris catches the Guard with the moving ground. Alex tells Gabriel none of them will stop.
She is awake now, Polaris warns Vulcan. She made him scream before and can do it again. So bring it, you snot-nosed punk! With a cry of rage he flies at her.
That moment, Rachel and the Hodinn come crashing in through the ceiling. Polaris immediately lifts up the ceiling. The Hodinn still laughs madly. Let’s try that again, bub, Rachel, somewhat beaten, announces.
The Guard is horrified to see a Hodinn. But Havok begins to smile. It’s a star, he can feel it! He begins to absorb its power. With it weakened, the Guard immediately attacks it while Havok releases his power at Vulcan, who actually falls down. Still aglow with the Hodinn’s energy, Havok stands over Vulcan and orders him to get up. They are not done!
Lilandra takes the opportunity to order the Starjammers to move and they fight the Imperial Guard with renewed vigor.
In another corner, Gladiator and Xenith are battling it out. “Die!” she shouts as she burns him with her eyebeams. She has waited long enough, rotting away in the Avians’ prison. He deserves this!
Shortly gaining the upper hand, Kallark reminds his cousin that she fought against the empire. What was he to do? She is sick… mad! She needs help!
He chose them over her! she shouts. He betrayed her and for that he will pay! She will take away everything from him! If the Emperor knew, he retorts, he would never…
That moment, Deathbird shouts at him, telling him that Vulcan freed her and pardoned her. She serves the empire once again, just as he does.  If he claims to serve the throne, then serve Vulcan and let her go! Xenith smiles triumphantly. The emperor favors her, “mad” or not. And once his enemies are crushed… then the two of them will finish this.
Elsewhere, Havok again fires at Vulcan, telling him he deserves this. No! Vulcan shouts. They deserved it. Cosair! D’ken! If Havok knew what it was like! Beating him, Havok shouts he killed their father!
Polaris, in the meantime, is weakening. She can’t hold the whole ceiling. She asks Rachel for help. Rachel however is busy fending off several Guard members along with Korvus. Korvus tells her to go help Lorna, he will cover them. Rachel suddenly moans. Oh God, no!. The next moment, she screams as the Phoenix energy leaves both her and Korvus’ Phoenix blade and flies elsewhere.
Rachel sinks down weakened, the Hound tattoo marks on her face manifesting again. What just happened? Havok asks. He could feel the Phoenix energy, Gabriel mumbles. Please not now… Mom… Rachel mutters. And Korvus finds he can no longer lift the Phoenix Blade, it has grown too heavy.
Pn’zo pierces Rachel’s shoulder with his tentacles. Birdie’s not a birdie. Easier to kill. Get his money. Furious, Korvus manages to life his blade after all and cut Pn’zo. He doesn’t need the Phoenix to kill any of them, he shouts. Now who’s next?!
Lilandra runs to the side of Rachel, who moans that the Phoenix is gone. Lilandra shouts to Havok they need to go. She is not going anywhere! Deathbird shouts and slices her claws across her younger sister’s back. Lilandra tries to appeal to her, reminding her Vulcan doesn’t care about the Shi’ar. He only wants revenge! He is full of hate! And that hate will make the empire strong, Deathbird replies. Look at Lilandra… her rule almost destroyed them!
Don’t do this! Lilandra pleads. Deathbird pronounces her weak and pathetic. No exile… no more running. This ends now and, sister, she’s had this coming a long time! She runs at her, but just in time Lilandra grabs a lance and impales her.
Deathbird garbles. For a moment, even Vulcan is shocked, shouting his wife’s name. Havok uses this chance to strike again. At the end of her power, Polaris appeals to Havok, shouting they are all going to die. It wasn’t his fault, Vulcan pleads again… they deserved…
He’s sorry, Alex replies. He’s sorry for everything that happened to Gabriel. But he went too far. From some actions there is no coming back. He’s sorry it had to be that way. Kill… you… all! Vulcan moans. No matter how hard Alex tries… all his power… he is still alive and he is going to kill them all!
There’s no time, Lilandra shouts, the Hole is collapsing. She initiates emergency teleport over Havok’s protest.
Moments later, Vulcan teleports back aboard the Hammer and orders are given to fire on the Starjammer.
The team is in for another shock. The Starjammer’s system didn’t recognize Raza, now bonded with the Symbiote, and left him behind. Lilandra apologizes to Ch’od. But they must live. For the sake of the empire, they must run. The Starjammer initiates a jumpgate and flees.
Later on Chandilar, Vulcan is informed that Deathbird is still comatose, despite the Healers’ best attempts. The damage to her spinal cord was too severe. Even if she wakes, she wil... Stop, Vulcan orders. Ka’ardum reminds him that he needs to give orders. Their forces are still tracking the Starjammer but they have several campaigns in progress. The people… his forces need leadership. Emperor… Oracle begins. Xenith interrupts, stating his enemies need killing!
Vulcan addresses them. This is how it will be. This is how the empress would want it. The Strontian will replace Gladiator on the front. She and Ka’ardum will oversee the great expansion. Gladiator and the Imperial Guard are with him. They wait. Havok and he have more in common than they thought. He won’t give up, and neither will Vulcan. He will hunt him and Lilandra to the ends of the universe, to make them pay for what they have done her. Now bring him something to kill!
Outside Shi’ar space, the Starjammer rematerializes. They have thirteen minutes until they can track the jump, Ch’od states. Six cycles now the Shi’ar have chased them. He suggests they come up with a plan before any more of them are lost. The group is in low spirits. Lorna promises they will get Raza back. Of course, Ch’od agrees sarcastically, because they were so easily rescued. Wait… no. They were tortured for months and now the Phoenix is gone.
Havok addresses Rachel. Nothing, she states dejected. She can’t feel it. She can’t hear it. It’s like it was never there. She has her telepathy and telekinesis but the power behind it is gone.
She should have left him, Alex snarls at Lilandra. He could have killed Vulcan and this would be over. Is revenge worth his life? Lilandra shoots back. He sees what it’s done to Vulcan. She’d have her empire back, Alex reminds her. She will have her empire back, Lilandra insists. But she’ll do it another way. And she needs them alive!
In Kree space, Ronan the Accuses receives a report. A Shi’ar scouting party of warbirds closed in on the Kree protective field. They were destroyed upon approach. Ronan walks into the throne chamber to give the news to his new rulers, the Royal Family of Attilan.


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Dragon Quest
Mail call at the Xavier Institute. Kitty Pryde is surprised as Scott Summers hands her a letter from Japan. Old flame? he suggests with a smile. Opening the letter, the first thing Kitty and her pet dragon Lockheed see is a snapshot and both their eyes widen in surprise, as it depicts a green dragon behind bars. It is an old flame, Kitty replies, but not hers…
Kitty shows Scott the picture and he recalls the dragon the X-Men met years ago at the end of their stay on the Beyonder’s world. She reads the letter written in Japanese letters to Scott: Come alone. Bring your dragon.
Some time later, Kitty has arrived at Narita International Airport outside Tokyo, where a middle-aged woman dressed in black is addressing her. She introduces herself as Ryoko Oshiba from the J.D.S.S., a division of Japanese Intelligence Services. Kitty tries to blow her off, telling her she is just here to catch up with some old friends. Old friends indeed, Ryoko repeats with a smirk and whispers something into Kitty’s ear. Kitty is startled and Ryoko tells her she will explain everything in the car.
A little later, Kitty admires the car they are riding in. Ryoko explains that it is a new concept based on the same principles as the bullet train.
Stroking what appears to be her cat, Kitty steers the conversation towards the dragon. Where is it? Right there in Kitty’s lap, she assumes, Ryoko replies drolly. The green dragon, Kitty insists. Ryoko demands to “see” Lockheed first. Kitty touches her “cat’s” necklace and switches off the image inducer, now showing the true Lockheed who growls. Fascinating creature, Ryoko states admiringly and asks Kitty to wait until they have arrived. Why is she not surprised, Kitty sighs.
They enter a downtown office building, Section 83, home of the J.D.S.S. (The Japanese Department of Supernatural Science). Ryoko explains that they are a lesser-known branch of the government, specializing in the investigation of paranormal phenomena. Like a Japanese version of the X-Files, Kitty remarks. Ryoko shows her around a bit, adding that they deal with alien abductions and haunting, but also with magical and mystery mayhem. They keep busy with biotech research and psychic operations. The X-Men’s Professor Xavier is quite an inspiration to them. Also all of their agents are trained experts in firearms and martial arts. Mulder and Scully wouldn’t stand a chance.
Kitty has had enough of the nickel tour and wants to see the dragon. Ryoko has to admit that it was stolen from them, despite their trained experts and security measures. Stolen by Ninja. That’s just perfect, Kitty sighs. The J.D.S.S. sent the picture to lure her here. Actually, they didn’t send the picture, Ryoko explains. They merely intercepted her at the airport. The thieves sent it.
Later in her office, Ryokko explains that one of their scouting teams ran into the little green guy – green girl, Kitty corrects her – in Hokkaido. They captured it and brought it here to be examined by their dragonologist… Kitty interrupts fascinated with the idea of there being an expert on dragons. Could she and Lockheed meet him?
Ryoko explains that she is in China at the moment. But before she left, she reviewed footage of the attack on Tokyo years ago. She was able to determine that the dragon that disappeared from that attack is in the same region as this one was found. Apart from the decrease in size, the dragons totally match. Kitty explains that Puff used to be Lockheed’s size when the X-Men first met her. “Puff?” Ryoko inquires. Like “the magic dragon,” Kitty adds helpfully. Ryoko apparently doesn’t  know much of American hippy songs and draws a blank.
Kitty changes subjects, asking about the ninja. Were they members of the Hand? Possibly, Ryoko replies. They may be a rogue sect of the Hand. Their Intel is quite limited. Then why didn’t they just let them pick Kitty up at the airport and follow them? Kitty asks. Ryoko explains that they could not risk Kitty falling into their hands.
She is a big girl, Kitty replies. So does this sect have a name? Like the Fingers? Very funny, Ryoko replies sourly. They are known as the Path of Destiny. So would Kitty like to see where they kept the dragon? Kitty realizes the other woman is changing the subject, but plays along.
Kitty and Lockheed are shown a state of the art recreation of the volcanic environment they found the green dragon in. They figured it was a close match to its natural habitat. Lockheed happily splashes around in the lava, while Kitty tries to figure out how the ninja gained entrance. From above, she figures and enters a maintenance shaft. Tight but not impossible.
Later, back at the office, Kitty demands all information they have on the Path and the ninja. Ryoko shows her the one bit of surveillance they have on the intruder.
Kitty looks at the scene, the disappearing ninja with the red hood and mask and realizes that he let himself be seen. The eyes are familiar; they remind Kitty of Ogun…
(flashback)
Involuntarily, Kitty remembers the ninja master Ogun, who kidnapped and brainwashed her, reshaped her in his own image. How she fought and stabbed, almost killing, Wolverine for her master. How Wolverine’s tough love helped her to shake off Ogun’s brainwashing, how she confronted Ogun in her new Shadowcat identity and how she almost died at his hand…
(present)
Ryoko snaps her out of her reverie and Kitty apologizes. Seeing that the younger woman is exhausted, Ryoko calls a car to get Kitty to her hotel.
As she enters her room, Kitty is certain that Ryoko is hiding something. Why go to all the trouble of bringing her in, only to give her half the story? She unpacks her bag to find that Lokheed is fast asleep. Unlike her, he isn’t jetlagged.
Later, she sits at her laptop, writing an email to Wolverine. She tells him that memories are hard to keep down here in Tokyo. She’ll try to head to Kyoto to see Wolverine’s ward Amiko. Given Wolverine’s history with the Hand, she was wondering if he has heard anything about the Path of Destiny. In any case, she intends to give Yukio a call too. Maybe she knows something.
Unfortunately, she only gets the self-styled ronin’s answering machine. Impatient and restless, Kitty decides to just hit town. Hours go by, as Kitty walks through Shinjuku, but she cannot shake off her pensive mood.
Finally, she is accosted by a gang of young men. Kitty tells them in fluent Japanese that she isn’t looking for trouble, but the men are unimpressed. She tries to warn them off in vain as one of the guys hugs her. Very soon, she uses her martial arts skills to fight them off, however one of her hits her in the back from behind. Kitty crashes between the dumpster but takes it in stride as she takes care of two more guys. Calling out “Sayonara,” she walks off.
One of the men, however, intends for things to go ugly as he breaks off a bottleneck. That moment, Lockheed shows up, firing a warning burst of flame in front of the men. “My dragon, my hero,” Kitty jokes as she walks off with her pet.
The gang members go to lick their wounds. One of them accosts another, Jun, that he had told them they were just to rough up some helpless foreign chick. He wouldn’t call that helpless. Easy money, he said. They enter a bar. Jun admits that his employer lied to him. Was it that rat Tsutomu? another man asks. No, he did, a masked man who appears out of nowhere states.
The men are annoyed and amused at the stranger’s ridiculous attire. Is he from the local anime club? Jun tells them that he is the one who hired them. Angrily, he tells the man that they got their butts kicked. He demands being paid double. Suddenly, the stranger breaks Jun’s neck. The others get frightened, claiming they have no problem with him. As long as he lets them leave.
The stranger replies that they have served their purpose. The Path does not leave loose ends. With that, he kills the men with a few well-placed shuriken. After that the bar is burned down. The ninja receives a phone call. The one at the other end asks if the cat still has her claws. Has he seen enough? Then he is to hunt her down!


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[Assistant]
Daughter of the Dragon
At the Department for Supernatural Sciences, Ryoko Oshiba’s superior, Myashiro, is rather cross with her for her lack of progress. Ryoko apologizes, citing faulty data. Katherine Pryde is no longer the innocent girl they’d been led to believe. Bringing her in will help, but they need to proceed cautiously. She fears Kitty already has suspicions about them. Miyashiro orders her to push Kitty as far as possible but to tell her only very little about the Dragon or the Path of Destiny. Has Ryoko informed her that the Path seeks Kitty’s death? That would only complicate matters, the agent replies.
(Kitty’s nightmare)
Kitty is running through Japanese streets, panicked about someone following her. She ends up in a dead end and finds she cannot phase, that indeed she is suddenly boxed in. All around her ninjas phase in, attacking her. Suddenly, she is swallowed by a mouth, falling, falling, while a man dressed only in a loincloth keeps on hitting a gong made of a human eye. Kitty still tumbles down, finally being swallowed by Ogun’s devil mask, while shouting that he cannot have her soul.
(reality)
Frightened, she awakes to the phone ringing. The person on the other end introduces himself as Oshiba’s assistant and wants to arrange a meeting between Kitty and his boss at Tokyo Tower in two hours, at the special observatory.
Still fazed by her dream, Kitty enters the bathroom and splashes some cold water on her face. She looks at her reflection in the mirror and finds herself staring at the possessed child that Ogun had made her believe to be when he brainwashed her. Frightened, she stumbles backward and tells her dragon she needs to get her head examined.
Some time later, Kitty finds herself in a crowded elevator on Tokyo Tower. She asks a woman for directions to the Special Observatory and is told that it is closed today. Kitty phases through the elevator door of the shaft to the Special Observatory and walks up. With nobody around, she lets Lockheed out of the bag, once again switching off the image inducer that disguises him as her cat.
Kitty takes in the view but quickly realizes they are not alone. Pretending that she isn’t noticing the ninjas closing in on her, she takes Lockheed’s leash - a chain - and suddenly attacks the men. Using the chain as an offensive weapon, she gives as good as she gets and slowly begins to take them out.
When they seem to have cornered her, she simply phases outside the platform’s glass windows into the air. Learned to fly yet? she mocks, only to find that several ninjas are jumping after her, only to fall through her. Luckily for them, they have parachutes though. Turning tail and running? What kind of ninjas are they? she shouts after them in annoyance.
Hearing cries of pain, she remembers Lockheed and shouts that they need one alive. One ninja flees into the elevator shaft and gets away. One more is left, though. Kitty threatens him with a sword and calls him a Hand bozo. The ninja retorts that they have nothing to do with those mercenaries. They only live to follow the Path. To frighten him, Kitty slashes off his mask. The man commends her skill. She truly is every bit the master they have been led to believe. Biting into a poison capsule, he announces that he enters the next reality, knowing he had the honor of dying before the Daughter of Demon. With that, he dies.
Later, after a shower, Kitty changes into her X-Man uniform and tells Lockheed to remain behind and guard the room. Breaking and entering is not something he is particularly suited for.
Later, at Section 83, Ryoko Oshiba is pushing files. Kitty suddenly phases in, startling the woman, as she demands to see the file on the Path of Destiny. Ryoko lashes out at Kitty, informing her she has no right to sneak in and spy on her that. What about her right to know what she has been dragged into? Kitty retorts. She accuses Ryoko of playing dumb and then explains that the Path of Destiny is not a sect of the Hand. She fought them today. They are less skilled than Hand assassins and there is nothing mystic about them. Hand ninjas go “poof” when they die. These Path didn’t. The Hand don’t speak whereas one of those Path guys got really chatty and called her “daughter of demon.”
Ryoko muses that then their theory about he Path of Destiny must be correct. They believe it to be a cult consisting of followers of Ogun, the ninja demon Kitty once called master. However, Kitty betrayed and killed Ogun. They believe that the Path now wants to kill Kitty in revenge. Startled, Kitty thinks to herself that she didn’t kill Ogun.
(flashback)
She recalls fighting Ogun on that rooftop that night and losing, being at his mercy. But they weren’t the only ones on the roof that night. Wolverine attacked Ogun in a berserker rage, destroying his sword. Wolverine put Ogun at Kitty’s feet and a sword into her hands, giving her the option to kill Ogun and get her revenge, but Kitty couldn’t. That’s when she won her soul back and when Ogun knew he had truly lost. In rage and shame, he tried to strike one final blow at her. Logan reached through Kitty who phased and plunged his claws into Ogun.
(present)
Ryoko snaps her fingers in front of the zoned-out Kitty. Kitty doesn’t inform her about hat small detail, just remarks that she doubts the Path of Destiny wants her dead. They were too cautious in their attacks, almost as if they didn’t want to hurt her. When she had them on the ropes, they did their best to escape. Clearly “fight to the death” was not part of the plan. They want to test her. But she doesn’t know for what yet. She intends to find out though.
Within Kitty’s hotel room, Lockheed hears a strange clicking noise. Alert, he searches the room and finally drags out an odd device with a timer attached to it from beneath the bed.
Leading Kitty outside the building, Ryoko remarks that Kitty has become entwined in this triangle of desires. Kitty wants the dragon. The J.D.S.S. wants the Path of Destiny. The Path wants Kitty. She has no choice but to see this through. Great, but she is the only one who might end up dead, Kitty points out sarcastically. As she gets in her car, she tells Ryoko to call her personally, not through her assistant. She doesn’t have an assistant, Ryoko replies. She kinda figured, Kitty remarks. Nevertheless, she is sure the other woman is still hiding something.
Later, Ryoko informs her superior, Miyashiro, that she only told Kitty as much as she needed to know. They wonder what the Path is after. The third man offers that the Path might know of a certain connection between… Miyashiro interrupts him with a snorted “impossible.” Ryoko points out that Ogun was believed to be an immortal. He could have known about the power he had in his possession. Then it is all the more imperative that they locate and retrieve Kurokaze, Miyashiro decides. If Pryde is the key that is going to help them unlock the door to their prize, then they have to use her before the Path does.
Back at the hotel, in front of her room, a woman asks Kitty if she smells gas? Kitty doesn’t think but is in for a nasty surprise as she opens her door. Inside lies Lockheed, draped around the device and unconscious. Desperately she tries to shake him awake, when a voice tells her that her pet is still alive. Which is more than she can hope for.
She turns to the windowsill, where a ninja with Ogun’s smiling demonface mask is sitting.


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[Assistant]
Cat and Mouse
Cradling her unconscious dragon, Kitty looks with horror at the visitor who is sitting on her window sill. Ogun, she mouthes. The Ninja with the demon mask laughs and asks her if she has a hug for her long-dead master.
Anxiously, Kitty bites her lip before pulling herself together. Nice try, she announces, but if her visitor were the real Ogun, she’d already be dead. She demands to know who the ninja is and what has been done to Lockheed. The ninja suggests Kitty should rather worry about her own life.
Lockheed has been poisoned but is still alive. Kitty gently lays the dragon on her bed and asks what the Ninja wants. The reply comes that Kitty is to follow the Ninja and fight. If she wins she will get the antidote. If she loses, both she and Lockheed will die.
The ninja jumps out of the window and uses a line attached outside to get to another widow. Instead of following directly, Kitty propels herself from the bed, phases through the ceiling into the room above hers (much to the shock of the couple lying in bed there). She phases up again.
On the roof, the ninja wonders why Kitty isn’t giving chase and looks down to the street. Took the stairs, Kitty announces, as she appears behind the ninja and kicks him. With her arm, she fends off the ninja’s first kick, though the second one gets her in the face. Kitty gives as good as she gets, though.
The ninja suggests raising the stakes and reaches for his swords, only to find that Kitty has them. Examining both swords, Kitty remarks that it was very thoughtful to bring one for her too. Contemptuously, she tosses one of the weapons back to the ninja. Weapons drawn, they race towards each other and begin their swordfight. She fights well, for a gaijin, the ninja remarks contemptuously. She does too, Kitty retorts… for a girl! She has noticed from the ninja’s stance and strikes, it’s like fighting herself. The ninja tells her not to flatter herself, as she kicks Kitty behind a clothesline and then cuts it.
By the point Kitty has gotten rid of the clothes atop her, the ninja is gone and down on the street. Kitty gives chase, as the ninja runs down the subway tunnels. As Kitty phases into the wall for a shortcut, she grabs and phases loose a part of the railing. She cuts the ninja’s way off at the bottom of the stairs. When the other woman attacks with the sword, Kitty uses the railing piece in defense and afterwards uses it as an offensive weapon to prevent the ninja’s escape.
Kitty’s blow sends the woman onto the tracks and runs into the tunnel. Kitty jumps after her and tackles the her.
A train approaches as the two women fight. The ninja blinds Kitty with a cloud of flashpowder. Instinctively, Kitty phases, just in time as the train rolls through her. With the train past, the ninja is gone. Kitty’s wonder where she could have gone when she notices a maintenance shaft going down Kitty jumps down.
Using her belt’s X-symbol as a flashlight, she checks her surroundings. Only rocks, no trap; no way out either. Has she been led on a wild goose chase? Kitty begins to meditate and expands her senses. She senses that the ninja did indeed manage to somehow end up behind the wall of rocks. Kitty takes a risk and phases blindly through them. On the other side, there is another subway tunnel, one that apparently hasn’t been used in some time.
The ninja is already expecting her and commends her for living up to her reputation. She is indeed her master’s student. She takes off her mask and introduces herself as Nao. She controls the Path of Destiny. She believes Kitty has met some of her followers… More ninjas begin to surround them.
Nao explains that like Kitty she was a former student of Ogun’s, until Kitty took his life and ended her training. So now they want to kill her to avenge her master’s death, right? Kitty mocks. Why would they want to kill her? Nao asks, surprised. They’ve only been testing her to make sure she still possesses the skills Ogun taught her. Like one man, they all sink to their knees and offer Kitty their swords. They want her to lead them.


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[Assistant]
Shadow and Flame - conclusion
Kitty has had enough. Her past has come back to haunt her and, to save the life of her dragon, she has been forced to do unimaginable things. It is time to push back. Hard. Holding the famed sword of Clan Yashida in her hand she walks down the subway stairs leading to the Path of Destiny’s secret hideout.
In his cell, Lockheed awakes. When a small portion of the door opens, he hurls towards it, but stops when the small green Dragon, Puff, is let in. Outside, the Path’s leader, Nao, vows the pathetic purple creature will be put out of his misery soon enough.
Another Ninja awaits Nao and hands her her sword, adding that the others have gathered as she required. Soon, her sword Kurokaze will be reunited with Ginrei, Nao muses. With two of the Swords of Secret in their possession, the Path of Destiny will rise again in power and Ogun’s legacy will be fulfilled.
She informs her people that Kitty Pryde should be retuning any moment now. They are meeting her in the tunnels to prevent any surprises. This is the only way she knows to get in.
The Ninja next to her touches his bracelet – actually an image inducer - and reveals his true face – that of Kitty Pryde. She may have found another way in, she states sarcastically, as she holds the sword Ginrei to Nao’s throat. Coolly, Nao just admires the weapon. Not impressed, Kitty suggests Nao not make her show how cutting her wit is right now.
Nao orders the ninjas to bring the dragons. She remarks she didn’t think Kitty had it in her. To go so far as to take the life of the Silver Samurai…
She’s capable of more than Nao can imagine, Kitty remarks coolly. Then it’s a shame she will never see Kitty live up to her true potential, Nao retorts and asks for the sword. Dragons first, Kitty insists.
Suddenly, a guard cries out that the dragons are gone. Suspicious, Nao turns toward Kitty. Where are the beasts? What game is she playing? Kitty smirks. Dungeons & Dragons seemed appropriate, but this is all simply a hide-and-seek gamble. She hid there, “while I went seeking” another voice announces.
The Ninja turn around to see another Kitty with both dragons. The first Kitty throws Ginrei towards the newcomer and then deactivates the image inducer. It’s Ryuko Oshiba of the JDSS. They are all under arrest, she announces. Taking out her gun, she orders nobody to move and tells Kitty it is time for her move. She should have expected betrayal from a gajin, Nao snarls. What comes around goes around, Kitty retorts with a smirk. And shall come around again, Nao replies, as she whistles. Obediently, Puff, the green dragon, flies to her side. They are only three against an army, Nao exults. The Path of Destiny will get the sword and Kitty and her friends will die.
She might want to hold off the self-congratulation, Kitty smirks, as there is a rumbling sound and a giant drill emerges from the ground. From it comes the charging and very much alive Silver Samurai, as well as several other armed men. While the samurai’s troops and the ninjas keep each other busy, Nao battles Kitty into a corner. The green dragon distracts Kitty for a moment, allowing Nao to get the drop on her and to kick the girl in the face. The dragons seem to disagree, as they get into the fight between the two women and Lockheed starts chasing Puff. Kitty skillfully somersaults away and counters Nao’s sword attack.
Elsewhere, the Ninja are trying to bring down the Silver Samurai down through sheer numbers to no avail, as he grimly announces that those who fight without honor die without honor. More agents enter the fray.
Kitty and Nao keep on battling. Kitty suggests that Nao and her people cut their losses and come quietly. In her dreams, Nao retorts. She figured as much, Kitty replies. Just thought she’d ask. Their battle takes them into the tunnels while the Samurai suggests the Ninja surrender.
Puff ends up between Kitty and Nao again and the Ninja leader angrily strikes the dragon. Both Kitty and Nao become aware at the same time that this was a very stupid move. Puff’s eyes narrow and she begins to spit fire at the ground before Nao. The old wood immediately combusts.
Kitty phases through the flames and grabs her foe’s sword. She offers help, but Nao refuses. Destiny will decide her fate. She lets go of the sword. Unable to see anything, Kitty has to content herself with saving the two blades.
Elsewhere, the battle is over again with t J.D.S.S.’s forces and the Samurai victorious. Seeing the dejected Kitty with both blades and both dragons, Ryuko remarks it looks like it was someone’s birthday. Kitty confides that their “host” got away. She burned out while Kitty faded away. Good riddance Ryuko states simply. If she is gone, Kitty adds somewhat doubtful. Petting the dragons, the Samurai informs her that they all fought nobly and emerged from the conflict unscathed. There should be no regrets.
With a bow Kitty hands back the Sword of Clan Yashida and thanks him for helping her with the ruse and for fighting by her side. He returns the bow and compliments her on being as worthy an ally as she is a formidable foe. The Clan Yashida was honored to allow her to wield their sword. Ryuko interrupts, speaking of swords…
Somewhat later at Section 83, Kitty is talking with Ryuko and her superior, who admits that he is pleased that his doubts about Kitty were unfounded. Now she has the dragons. What do they get in return? Kitty hands them the sword but asks back for her image inducer. She pets Lockheed and tells him she is heading home. What he’s going to do is up to him and his ladylove to decide. He knows the way home. The dragons take off, as Kitty jokes he shouldn’t do anything she wouldn’t. Ryuko protests about simply letting the dragons go. She’ll just have to leave it up to destiny, Kitty suggests as she makes for the exit.
Later, up in the air, Lockheed tells the green dragon a tender good-bye and starts to follow Kitty’s plane. Kitty smiles. She is sorry for greenie, but glad he’s sticking with her.


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[Assistant]
Old Friends
(flashback)
Colossus recalls how once he and his friends were heroes. All new --- they were uncanny, the best that they could be. The best there was at what they did. Friends. Heroes. X-Men. Once upon a time…
Wolverine, Nightcrawler and Colossus are waiting anxiously on the Danger Room floor. In the observation booth above, Professor Xavier, Storm, Sprite and Angel are watching.
 Kitty expresses some concern over whether or not her teammates will be all right during the training session. Storm assures her that Professor Xavier would not push them beyond what he believed they were capable of. The Professor informs those below that they must neutralize all threats as he initiates the sequence.
 The Danger Room springs to life and drops energy bolts and metal rods from the ceiling above the three waiting X-Men. Nightcrawler teleports to safety and Wolverine suggests they end things quickly and get some brews. Colossus throws Wolverine towards their target in a “fastball special”. A loud screech is heard as an enormous metal pressure plate drops from the ceiling above Colossus. Kitty questions the Professor, clearly worried that it is more than her Russian teammate can handle. The Professor tells her to be patient and watch. Below, Colossus holds the metal plate up with ease.
(The Present)
A plane above the Atlantic:
Colossus notes muses he has only been back in America a few weeks but is already returning to his homeland in Russia. His parents have died and returning home is a journey he has to make. With him are his friends, the only family he has left.
Piotr Rasputin’s trip down memory lane is interrupted as the flight attendant asks if he would care for anything from the serving cart. She offers him coffee and tea before suggesting something a bit stronger. A voice from behind suggests root beer. It is Wolverine who takes a beer from the cart before climbing over Piotr to take the empty seat by the window.
In the back of the plane, a young girl heads towards the lavatory. She knocks and the door opens to reveal Nightcrawler in his natural, blue-furred state. He smiles and asks for a moment to make himself ‘dashing’ as he activates his image-inducer. Kurt suddenly appears to be a Caucasian man with dark hair and a goatee. The girl hurries into the bathroom and slams the door shut behind her. She returns to her seat and her mother tells her not to stare. She tells her disbelieving mother that the man was all blue and furry.
 Nightcrawler returns to his seat, tells Piotr he’s looking a bit green and asks if everything is all right. Wolverine suggests it must be the root beer.
Province 13 – A Siberian military installation:
A high-tech military installation is nestled among the snowdrifts of the Siberian Plains. The narration reveals that this camp is now mocked and ridiculed but was once an important operation serving Mother Russia. Guards are stationed at the fence, which is lined with barbed wire. Inside, a nurse makes her rounds while the Director, Sergei walks down the hallway to a room where half a dozen children are laughing and playing. The walls of the room are decorated in bright colors and the children play with simple toys. Sergei thinks to himself that these children were once his ambition but that he now hates them very much.
(Flashback)
A nuclear explosion can be seen in the distance by some Russian farmers. It was the time of the Cold War and the people should have been afraid but were oblivious to what occurred around them. Years passed and the peasants of the Brutal Plain had children, some of whom grew big and strong.
 Standing over the ruins of a smashed tractor, Piotr Rasputin’s gleaming steel form cradles his sister Illyana. Some children of the Brutal Plain, like Piotr, are something else entirely. A camp is built and a search for these “gifted youngsters” begins amidst ridicule and laughing.
(The Present) Province 13:
General Sergei makes his way down a corridor to an isolated part of the base where a secret is kept. The soldiers guarding this area are surprised to see him, though he comes there each and every night. He slides open the small window to look into a special cell. Inside, a shadowed form shuffles in the darkness. Sergei stares for a moment and then laughs before closing the window.
Elsewhere Piotr, Kurt and Logan arrive at the Moscow airport. Piotr feels like a stranger coming home to a nation he no longer recognizes. He is glad to have his friends with him on this adventure. Logan has a bit of a problem at the metal detectors but successfully pretends that it was only his watch and not the adamantium that laces his bones.
Later that night, the trio of X-Men visits a nearby pub while they wait for their connecting train. Piotr is uneasy due to an unsavory element in this local haunt. The local villagers stare at the newcomers but Logan assures Piotr that he and this “element” have an understanding between them. Kurt senses that Piotr may no longer feel as if he wants his friends there with him. The villagers take an aggressive posture and Wolverine smiles as the tension comes to a head.
Back at Province 13, there is a changing of the guards outside the cell visited by General Sergei earlier. Valerie, the younger of the arriving guards, looks a bit skittish, as it is his first night assigned to this duty. The older soldier, Andrei assures him that the “monster” has already been fed. He continues to tease the boy a bit and wonders why he is so curious when he peers into the darkness that contains the misshapen mutant.
Meanwhile, at the pub Logan has made a bet with a local named Boris for a round of vodka. The wager: that he can’t beat Piotr in an arm wrestling match. Boris is overconfident, but Logan assures Piotr that he has faith in him. While most eyes are on the arm wrestling, a wily patron tries to steal from the X-Men’s bags. He is confronted by Nightcrawler who teleports above him in his true form. This distracts Piotr and Boris says that lack of attention will cost him. Then he calls him “farm boy”.
 Piotr transforms into organic steel, punching Boris and smashing the table between them as he accuses Boris of being a thief. Logan comments that Piotr’s actions were a bit over the top and Piotr admits that he enjoyed the wrestling match after all. Boris realizes they are mutants, which is confirmed by Nightcrawler teleporting all around him. Logan says that they are mutants and that they don’t like being scammed or scam artists. He pops two claws around Boris’ neck and tells him that he messed with the X-Men and lost… big time. He then reminds Boris that he owes him a drink.
Outside of the mutant’s cell, Valerie wakes Andrei from a pleasant dream after the tray of food from the “monster” comes back with all the food intact. Valerie is a bit panicked by this and Andrei strides over to the door and opens the window to look inside. He cannot see anything and grumbles that the Army does not pay enough for this. He takes out a special key much to Valerie’s dismay. Valerie suggests that they just report this to General Sergei but Andrei insists that nothing will go awry on his watch. He plans to teach the mutant a lesson for hiding from him.
 Andrei enters the mutant’s darkened cell. He proclaims that he is not afraid as something drips onto his shoulder. A malformed limb clamps around his mouth, muffling his cry. Outside, Valerie raises his gun in fear as Andrei’s withered hand reaches out. He runs away in fear as the monstrous mutant drags Andrei back into the cell.
In the now moderately wrecked pub, Logan tosses a roll of American dollars to the barkeep. He makes it clear that this is to cover the damages, but drinks are on Boris. The three mutants look around before departing. Piotr wonders why he chose to come there. Kurt suggests need or perhaps guilt. Logan suggests roots.
As the three X-Men leave, the guards Dimitri and Nikolas make their way to the pub through the snow. They have already been drinking some as they near the establishment. Suddenly, they hear something behind them in the snow. One of them stops to look at the footprints left by the X-Men, one of which has three toes.
 From behind them, the mutant lunges towards them. It is very large and misshapen with a large hunchback that melts into a lopsided face. Its skin is covered in fleshy mounds with excess skin hanging off of its limbs in tatters. Dimitri is thrown back by the mutant and when he looks up, his face and hands have withered away after being touched by the creature.
Later that night, General Sergei receives the report of the mutant’s escape. He angrily orders his soldiers to find him. He becomes enraged at the thought that his peers and superiors are somewhere laughing at him for his incompetence. He vows he will make them stop.
Colossus, Wolverine and Nightcrawler are boarding a train. Logan pauses momentarily when he catches the scent of something strange. He tells the others it’s nothing and they board. Nearby, the escaped mutant has seemingly sinister thoughts of heading home to his mother and father.


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[Assistant]
Home is Where the Heart Is
(Flashback – Xavier’s Mansion)
The second generation of X-Men (Storm, Colossus, Nightcrawler, Banshee, Sunfire, Wolverine and Thunderbird I) have been assembled by Professor Xavier and Cyclops after receiving their original costumes. The other X-Men are admiring and in some cases, sizing up the young Russian powerhouse called Colossus.
Wolverine snidely asks if Colossus’ metal will rust. Piotr feels a bit silly in his costume but replies that he will not rust. Xavier tells him he should be proud of his gifts as they make him special. Wolverine tests Colossus by climbing onto his shoulders and then popping his adamantium claws in his face. He asks the young Soviet if he thinks this is a game. Colossus assures Wolverine that he does by grabbing the scrappy mutant by his throat and hurling him to the floor.
Professor X orders them to stop but Wolverine explains that he was just making sure that Piotr had the nerve and courage to back him up if it became necessary. He tells Piotr that there’s a time and place when you have to be tough and that he’ll need to be ready when that time comes.
(Present – A graveyard in Russia)
Piotr stands over the grave of his parents in a crowded graveyard. He has come home at last to pay his respects.
(Present – Province 13)
Meanwhile at Province 13, General Sergei watches two of the children who are working with a nurse to test their potential for mutant abilities. The kids are trying to guess the figure on a flashcard. As they play, a blond girl named Nanya looks in the general’s direction and he gets the sense that she is inside his mind.
His thoughts are interrupted by a soldier who has come to deliver an urgent message that he has a call from Moscow. Before he leaves, he asks the nurse how Nanya has scored on her tests. The nurse assures him that Nanya shows no psionic potential at all. The nurse asks if she has done something and the general brushes her off.
(Present – a small chapel near the graveyard)
An elderly Russian peasant woman is kneeling to pray in the graveyard chapel. She has done so for many years and can no longer recall if she prays for prayer’s sake or for penance. Her prayers are interrupted when Piotr enters the chapel. He apologizes for the intrusion and the woman stares at him for a moment before asking his name. When he tells her, she becomes enraged and spits at his feet. She tells him that she knows him and wants nothing to do with him or his family. She tells him she knows what they are and is bitter that they were allowed to leave. She tells Piotr that he should not have returned. Piotr is stunned and leaves quickly.
Nearby, Wolverine and Nightcrawler are walking in the woods. Their conversation turns to Piotr’s suddenly distant demeanor and Wolverine reminds Kurt that they haven’t been around each other so much in recent months. Both feel uneasy about being there for different reasons, Logan is expecting a Soviet spy on his tail and feeling a bit exposed
. As they walk, they notice that the trees around them are dying. They then come across a deer that had been shot and left to die a slow death. They hear a gunshot in the distance and decide to investigate.
Back at the church the peasant woman’s prayers are disturbed again, this time by the lights and sounds of an arriving military helicopter. It is a sound she remembers from long ago. A squad of armed soldiers disembarks and storms the chapel. The woman asks what they want.
Outside, the soldiers in the helicopter get a reading on a large target, possibly a mutant. They wonder if it’s the creature they are seeking. Something runs past them unseen.
Inside, the other soldiers are taking the bewildered peasant woman. Colossus bursts through the wall, drawing their fire, which merely bounces of his metallic skin. He grabs one soldier and reminds him that this is a place of mourning before hurling him into his comrades.
The soldiers in the helicopter outside assume that the mutant signature is the creature they seek who has come back for his mother as expected. The helicopter shoots into the chapel and more soldiers enter to search it. They find a tunnel that has been dug into the ground that leads out of the church.
Nearby, two more soldiers, Gregor and Valerie are patrolling. Out of boredom, Gregor has begun shooting animals. Wolverine is tracking them and expresses his dislike of hunters, especially those who do so for kicks. Nightcrawler is a bit uneasy about getting involved but Wolverine continues. Nightcrawler teleports himself and Wolverine in front of the soldiers but is surprised to find that they are military personnel. Wolverine threatens to teach them some respect for the wild regardless.
 But as he approaches the soldiers the mutant “creature” arrives on the scene, lumbering forward to attack him. The mutant is mumbling words, repeating parts of what it heard Logan say as it attacks clumsily. Wolverine evades the blow and slices into the mutant with his claws.
The soldiers prepare to fire as the mutant flees into the woods. Wolverine looks to Nightcrawler and then collapses to the ground. He tells Kurt that his guts feel like they’re being squeezed. Nightcrawler says they should get out of there just as a military helicopter arrives. The soldiers grab Logan and drag him onto the helicopter. The others surround Nightcrawler who has no choice but to teleport away. He watches from the trees as the helicopter leaves with the seriously hurting Wolverine.
Back at Province 13, General Sergei speaks with a shadowed government official in Moscow. He has called to tell the general that Province 13 is under review and that he will be arriving shortly to evaluate the present station’s usefulness. The official seems sympathetic to General Sergei’s situation but will be arriving shortly nonetheless.
 Sergei then receives a call from the soldiers he sent to retrieve the mutant creature whose name is revealed to be Nikolas. General Sergei authorizes more extreme measures to bring him back and demands secrecy in carrying out these orders.
(The Savage Land )
A military copter hovers above the dense floor of the prehistoric jungle as it registers its target. As they await a clearer signal, metallic coils stretch out and latch onto the copter. They cannot break free and try to shoot at their target before being ordered to hold their fire. The commanding officer then relays their orders to the mutant below. The mutant steps forward and reveals himself as Arkady Rossovich AKA Omega Red. The commanding officer explains that they have orders to locate Omega Red and return him home where his services are required.


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A Game of Hide & Seek
( Flashback – The Grounds outside Xavier’s Mansion )
Colossus is peering from behind a large tree, the mansion in the distance behind him. Several yards back, Wolverine and Nightcrawler are conversing about the exercise: a game of hide and seek without the use of their mutant powers. Nightcrawler notes that Piotr has been “it” for a long time and that he and Logan have been breaking the rules by using their powers to evade him. Wolverine notes gruffly that in hiding from whoever’s seeking you there are no rules.  Having heard this, Nightcrawler teleports away just as Colossus uproots the entire tree behind Wolverine hoisting his teammate into its branches. Piotr declares that Logan is “it” and Logan accuses Kurt of setting him up. The other X-Men emerge to watch as Wolverine begins his turn as “it” with a grumble.
( The Present – Inside Province 13)
A surgeon looks into the dilated pupil of Logan, marveling at the fact that he is still alive somehow. He notes that Wolverine’s physiology is battling the withering effects of the mutant, Nikolas who had been a prisoner in Province 13 since his youth. The doctor then begins his observation of the internal workings of Logan’s healing factor as he begins his surgical study of the mutant.
This is the purpose of Province 13, to study mutantkind in whatever manner they are able. However, the program is currently under great scrutiny and its support is waning. From behind a glass window, General Sergei watches with curiosity. The surgeons use outdated equipment but during their rudimentary examination discover the scoring left by the adamantium that was once part of Wolverine’s skeleton. They report their findings to General Sergei who orders them to share their discoveries with no one.
Colossus stands atop a cliff looking down at the Ust Ordynski Collective where he was raised. He thinks back to his youth and how he would venture into the mountains when he needed to be alone. He has now returned to the hills, where he is hiding with Ariana, the embittered woman he rescued from General Sergei’s operatives.  She is trying to build a fire in the cave that Piotr has dug out and is still clearly angry with the young X-Man. Piotr tells Ariana that he plans to go down to the village at night and find his friends and the truth about what is happening. The woman scornfully tells him that he won’t find his friends if they are mutants like him. She tells the bewildered X-Man that they missed him the first time around but they won’t fail this time. He demands to know whom she is talking about and she simply replies “Sergei”.
( Flashback – The Ust Ordynski Collective)
Ariana is giving birth in a small house in the Ust Ordynski Collective on the Brutal Plain of Russia. Her midwife notes that her birth is taking much longer than the birth of young Piotr the day before. As the infant emerges, the midwife goes white and exclaims, “Saints, preserve us!” As the child enters the world, a plant on the windowsill withers to dust.
 Shortly thereafter, a military convoy arrives to claim the child. Ariana, the only living thing that does not die at the child’s touch, begs them not to take the child but General Sergei merely thanks her for her contribution to Mother Russia.
(present)
Ariana explains to Piotr that she watched as he and his siblings, all mutants like her Nikolas, grew up healthy and normal looking. They had avoided detection by General Sergei. Colossus recalls rumors he had heard growing up and his own curiosity about why he and his siblings had all been mutants. He promises Ariana that he will return soon.
Later that night, soldiers nervously patrol the fences around Province 13, anxious that the escaped mutant Nikolas might return. They are taken completely unawares by Nightcrawler who deftly teleports past them and into Province 13. Nightcrawler is nearly discovered but clings to the ceiling as General Sergei escorts Alexei, a government official through the corridors to the playroom where the suspected mutant children are kept.
 Alexei notes the sudden dip in lighting, which General Sergei attributes to a lack of adequate funding. They briefly look in on the children before continuing to Sergei’s office.
 Once they have left, Nightcrawler teleports into the playroom. The children are surprised and delighted by his sudden arrival and Kurt is shocked at the sight of the children held captive in Province 13.
In Sergei’s office, Alexei shares with him the government’s decision to shut down Province 13. He tells Sergei that his record is exemplary and he will get what is coming to him. Sergei looks surprising pained by this news. On his desk, files on Omega Red and Colossus sit unnoticed by his superior.
Back at the playroom, Nightcrawler tries to communicate with the children, explaining his need to find his friend. They are bewildered by his appearance and guess at why he is there. Finally, Nanya makes telepathic contact with Kurt. They both seem surprised by the contact and their immediate ability to comprehend each other. Kurt is dismayed to find a “school” full of children in this military compound.
In the Siberian woods, Omega Red is carrying out his mission to find the escaped mutant, Nikolas. He comes across a small shack and is surprised to find two of its three inhabitants dead. Their lifeless bodies drained dry of their life forces. A small child is all that remains of the small family. He wonders who did this as he releases his own death spores upon the frightened girl.
Kurt continues his telepathic communication with Nanya, who explains that the doctors believe them all to be mutants but that she is not so sure. She recalls that she was an orphan when they found her and promised to teach her to use her powers for good. Kurt cannot help but see the somewhat twisted parallel to Xavier’s school for gifted youngsters. Kurt promises to return for the children before teleporting away. Immediately after, the nurse enters commenting on the odd smell of brimstone in the children’s room.
The next morning, Ariana waits alone in the cave above the Ust Ordynski Collective. She is discovered by Omega Red. Omega Red attacks her by wrapping her in his coils.
 Colossus arrives and pummels the villain away from Ariana. Omega Red’s coils spring from beneath the snow to ensnare Piotr and slam him to the ground. Colossus looks past Omega Red, his eyes widening with surprise. Behind Omega Red stands Nikolas, repeating parts of what he has just heard. Ariana recognizes her son and the two exchange looks of recognition.
 Omega Red uses this momentary distraction to his advantage, hurling a boulder at Nikolas. This causes a small rockslide and both Colossus and Nikolas plummet down the Cliffside towards the village.
Back at Province 13, the medical team takes final readings from Wolverine who is fading fast. The lead doctor orders the team to prepare for a full autopsy as Logan flat lines. In the observation room adjacent to the surgical suite, General Sergei orders the head surgeon to tie up loose ends. She tries to protest but he does not relent. He demands that they bury the remains of their test subject in the woods outside.
 As he leaves, Nightcrawler teleports inside and is shocked to see Logan’s corpse. He grabs Logan’s costume and leaves.
 Meanwhile at the Ust Ordynski collective, Piotr comes to just in time to see Nikolas escape into the woods.
That night, two guards complain about having to venture forth and bury the corpse of Wolverine. They are then surprised by Nightcrawler, who teleports past them and out of the compound. In the distant field, Logan’s clawed hand bursts through the frozen snow defiantly.


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Gifted Youngsters
At Province 13, Omega Red pays a visit to General Sergei. Omega Red demands to know why there are X-Men involved in the situation involving Nikolas, the mutant he was commissioned to retrieve or neutralize. He threatens the general who reminds him that his mission has been completed and that their business is done.
In the nearby Potter’s Field, Nightcrawler has spent several hours digging up unmarked graves in search of Wolverine’s remains. Despite his efforts, the furry blue X-Man has a gut feeling that Logan is alive. Kurt is startled by the arrival of Colossus who has come seeking his friends. At nearly the same moment, a naked and cold Logan emerges as well, asking Nightcrawler for his uniform to fight the Siberian chill.
Back at Province 13, the troops have mobilized in an effort to move the facility. They have also brought Ariana, Nikolas’ mother to the base in the hopes of luring her escaped son back. Amidst the chaos, the telepathic Nanya plans to lead the children of Province 13 to freedom.
As she takes one of her friends back to the playroom, Nightcrawler teleports into the room and tells the children not to be afraid. Elsewhere, Wolverine is stalking the corridors when he catches a familiar scent. Omega Red steps from the shadows telling Logan that he knew the General was wrong when he claimed that Wolverine was dead. In the playroom, Nightcrawler questions Nanya about the whereabouts of the others but is interrupted when Wolverine comes crashing through the observation window. Nanya and her friend run out into the hallway where Omega Red snatches them up.
Elsewhere in the complex, Ariana is being led to a spot where Nikolas will know that she is being held there. As the troops push her along, the walls begin to tremble. They brace themselves for an attack by Nikolas but are surprised when Colossus rips through the walls. He beckons to Ariana to come with him but she hesitates momentarily giving the troops enough time to shoot Piotr with a high-level energy weapon. He falls to the ground unconscious.
In his office, General Sergei begins to burn his files having resigned himself to the demise of Province 13. Outside, Nikolas arrives in search of his mother.
Wolverine tries to convince Omega Red to let the children go. Omega insists that this place is mad and that he will not be trapped here. He releases his “death spores” on the soldiers who are approaching his position. Nightcrawler attempts to teleport close enough to Omega Red to grab the children, but Omega Red is too quick and hurls Nanya into the playroom. Kurt manages to snatch the other child away but as he does, Nikolas comes crashing through a nearby wall.
General Sergei enters the playroom and grabs the frightened Nanya. He leads her away down a corridor but is spotted by Colossus who follows. Piotr thinks to himself that he never considered he or his siblings lucky to have been born mutants but seeing the treatment of others in Province 13 he now appreciates how lucky they were. Piotr chases after the general and Nanya.
Omega Red and Nikolas clash in battle, frightening away the remaining soldiers whose morale was already stretched thin by news of Province 13’s demise. Ariana is stumbling through the corridors trying to find a way out when the soldiers rush by her. She sees what they are running from as she comes upon the battle between Omega and her son. Her arrival disrupts the battle and Omega Red takes advantage of the distraction to flee from Nikolas whose death touch had affected Omega Red as they fought. Nikolas faces his mother and she trembles to see her son once more.
Colossus finds General Sergei and Nanya in a darkened room. Sergei asks him his name and Piotr tells him. He introduces Nanya and insists that she can talk with her mutant powers but will not talk to him. He tells Piotr that she is why he founded Province 13 and suffered it all these years. As he tells Colossus all this, he draws his gun with the clear intention of committing suicide. Piotr asks the general to give Nanya to him. The general readily agrees and Colossus tells the girl to be brave as he hurries her out of the room. General Sergei thinks to himself that he can still hear them laughing at him as he pulls the trigger.
Wolverine and Nightcrawler watch as Ariana and Nikolas come face to face. She reaches out to him, her monstrous son who has only known love and comfort from her. Nikolas does not see the jagged shard of metal that Ariana has grasped in her other hand. She uses it to end the life of her son, ending the threat he poses to others and the suffering that has defined his life.
Alexei, the government official who recently inspected Province 13 returns to the ruins to survey the damage caused by the recent battle and General Sergei’s attempt to cover up the truth about the operation there. Alexei orders the remaining children to be returned to their families or redistributed and to have the station closed. He orders the troops to wipe Province 13 out as if it never existed.
Ariana pays her respects to the Rasputin family at the graveyard near the Ust Ordynski collective. With her is Nanya who the elderly woman has taken in following the destruction of Province 13 and the death of her own son.
( Flashback – The Danger Room)
Colossus is holding up the enormous pressure plate. Wolverine wonders what’s wrong as the plate begins to make popping and hissing sounds. Nightcrawler suggests shutting the sequence down. He teleports away as Sprite phases through the floor to help Wolverine. Seeing that his friends are safe, Colossus steps out from under the plate, which then slams, into the floor of the Danger Room. Wolverine tells him “Nice one, kid. Nice enough, anyways.”
(present)
Piotr returns to the X-Mansion and reflects on his trip home. He had gone to Russia to mourn his family accompanied by the only family he had left. His experiences there reminded him that the world is a harsh and cold place. But it also reminded him that he has found warmth in his friends and teammates. As the current team welcomes him home, he thinks to himself, “It is nice, it will have to be. Nice enough.”


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The Crossing Guard
It began in the realm of Nightmare, which is frightening enough as it is. Not “nightmare” as in the subconscious, but the realm of a man called Nightmare, a real place, a pocket dimension where those who prowl your sleep stir. It started weeks ago, but of course time, like matter and energy, have very different meanings in the Splinter Realms that lie outside of Earth, as we know it.
At the time of moonset, the stars stopped weeping blood and nocturnal demons were making their way into the mists. It was then that the scream came. It came from the depths of Nightmare’s castle, shaking the shivering stones. At the gatehouse, the guards recognized the scream and made warding signs as they knew the most unheard of things had happened – their lord, Nightmare, master of troubled sleeps and distressed minds, had himself just been woken from a nightmare. Nightmare dresses himself and with a degree of fear in his voice he tells himself that it was just a dream, and wonders how it could have startled him so. He drinks what appears to be wine and feeling calmer he reveals that it was simply a “thing” – a nameless darkness from behind the stars. Suddenly, a green mist appears in Nightmare's room, and dropping his glass, Nightmare screams.
At approximately the same time, in New York, reality is suddenly blemished for a moment, while in an isolated alleyway, the surface tension of creation ruptures apart and from it, crawls a grotesque demon. The demon prepares to scurry away into the Manhattan night, until a blinding flash of light stops it in its tracks. A beautiful young woman wearing a silver eldritch costume and carrying the powerful Soulsword appears.
She is known by many names, most people would know her as Amanda Sefton, a powerful sorceress, longtime all of the Uncanny X-Men and member of two splinter X-teams. To a select few she is known by her true name, Jimaine Szardos, though only her mother, the Sorceress Supreme now calls her by that. To the citizens of Europe, they know her as Daytripper, the woman who was an immense asset of Excalibur during many times of need. Now though, she is called Magik.
The glare of Amanda’s inter-dimensional stepping disk fades out as she launches into reality proper, ready to deliver the demon its ultimatum. Amanda calls out to the demon, telling it that it does not belong in this world, and that it should surrender or suffer the consequences. If the demon understood Magik, it makes no response and lumbers away. Amanda smiles slightly and almost mockingly, she calls out to the demon that its kind always runs away, thinking it knows best, when in fact it is always wrong.
Magik strikes the asphalt with her Soulsword and a wall of flame races from its tip to the demon, where it encircles it in a ring of fire. Amanda has its undivided attention now and she casts a spell, carving trails of glitter into the air, runes and sigils. Blowing on them as a lover would blow a kiss, the runes drift off Amanda’s hand like gossamer…and destroy the parked vehicles on the street like a magickal hammer, falling like an avalanche onto the demon.
Amanda tells it that if it is still alive it best submit, though if it is dead, then she wouldn't be surprised, or distressed for that matter. Beneath the rubble of Amanda’s strike, something stirs, for after realizing it could not turn and escape, the demon has chosen to fight. In order to fight, it had to transform into its true state, gaining wings, multiple arms and increasing heavily in size. Amanda suspected as much and decides she was right in making this demon her primary target this night.
The Soulsword cuts a new Stepping Disk around Amanda and she disappears, leaving behind a hesitant and confused demon. This was a trick she learned from someone very dear to her, a man called Kurt Wagner, who calls it “repositioning”, and Amanda appears instantly behind the demon, calling to it. The demon turns around to Amanda far quicker than something of its size and bulk should have been able too. It’s inner eyes throbbing with ghastly power, it unleashes a blast. Amanda manages only to dodge it thanks to her speed.
However the backlash of the blast has dazed Magik and as she gathers herself, the demon draws in closer, managing to pin her arms back, its foul breath sickening her. Worse than its breath is its tongue, which the demon uses to lick Amanda’s face. Amanda uses her intuition and shows the demon that the horns she wears as a headpiece are not just for decoration, and after being stabbed by the horns, the demon stumbles backwards.
Magik draws the Soulsword and delivers the final blow, striking the demon hard and fast. She wipes its blood from her face, annoyed that some of it went in her mouth, so she had to taste it, and it tastes as bad as it looks. Sirens of emergency services sound and attend to the fire-stricken area, tending to the destruction Amanda caused to stop the demon. While this goes on, Amanda slips out of the way, leaving behind no trace she was present.
Amanda Sefton has to make other visits this night, first stop, a decaying residential hotel called “Bradbury Americana”. Walking down one of its corridors, her footsteps echo throughout the endless hallways. Magik passes a room with an open door and inside the room is a man watching “Jerry Springer”, this episode is about a woman who realizes her baby-sitter was a cross-dressing serial killer… Amanda stares into the room and the man notices her, turning to her, he has some kind of growth on his face and angrily asks Amanda what she is looking at. ‘Nothing’ she replies before moving on. Amanda should know by now that it is just best to ignore the residents here, no matter what you see through open doors….
Past another room, where what appears to be a horse with its head inside a refrigerator, though moving back out of the fridge, one can see that the horse has an upper body and head of a man. The centaur apparently knows Amanda and greets her, asking her how she is doing, before informing her he is about make a snack he asks her if she would like some. Amanda thanks Phil before moving on. She knocks on another door, and when the short man inside the room asks her who it is, she calls him Nugent and asks him to let her in.
Inside the room, Amanda informs Nugent that she was just stopping by to see how his work was coming along. Nugent beckons Amanda to follow him into the bathroom where he will show her. Amanda stares at the device Nugent has been working on and he informs her that he started building it in the lounge but bought it in here as the bathtub could drain the secretions away. He tells her that it is codifying and cataloging data he punched in earlier this night. He tells Amanda that the work is painstaking, but another couple of weeks and they should have a solid database of arcane lore.
Amanda adds that they will also have a powerful weapon in her ongoing war. This research engine will be untainted by the background auras of magic that permeate in the splinter rounds because it will be kept here on Earth. Amanda turns and gets ready to leave, but Nugent asks her if she will stay, as he was about to transcribe the book of Eibon into the database. Amanda replies that she is tempted, but cannot, as she has one other visit to make this night.
A church now, where the X-Man known as Kurt Wagner or “Nightcrawler” is currently on duty. He sits in a darkened confession box and someone in the box next to him asks if anyone is in there. Kurt apologizes and proclaims that he was just gathering his thoughts. He asks if they need his help, and the answer is ‘You tell me, Fuzzy Elf’! Kurt’s eyes go wide as he recognizes the voice of Amanda, and stepping outside of the boxes, the two embrace. Amanda informs him that she was in town on business and thought she would come and see him.
Kurt asks Amanda how Limbo is doing under her guardianship, and Amanda replies that tending to its needs is not easy, as the denizens of Splinter Realms beyond Limbo are always clawing at the gates of Limbo trying to break free into Earth. Amanda adds that she spends most of her time acting as a crossing guard, chasing down the illegal immigrant demons that find their way to Earth. Kurt jokes by saying everyone can sleep easy knowing that Magik watches the borders of reality. Suddenly, Amanda keels over, clutching at her stomach, Amanda informs Kurt that she is being summoned back to Limbo, and she tells him to let go of her before – her voice is cut off, and through a whirlpool in reality, Amanda Sefton and Nightcrawler are taken from the church, into Limbo!
Back in Limbo, Nightcrawler finds himself in this wretched place he despises so much. Knowing how much her foster brother hates Limbo, Amanda apologizes and tells him that she will teleport him back at once. Kurt asks her to give him a moment to clear his senses before he has to go through that again. A large wolfen-like being appears behind the children of the Sorceress Supreme and Magik informs Kurt that it is one of her chief military aides, Vitchen. She asks Vitchen why he summoned her and as the commander points outward to Limbo he alerts Amanda to the Great Wall, which is under attack.
Nightcrawler and Amanda look to the Great Wall, and Kurt’s mind begins to reel. This wall is so massive that it makes the Great Wall of China seem like a picket fence, for this wall marks the boundary of Limbo. Beyond it lies the horrors of the Splinter Realms, lesser Hells and Demon dimensions. Kurt and Amanda watch as the legions of Limbo struggle to repel the massive onslaught from the outer regions.
Kurt proclaims that he has never seen such a thing as Amanda informs him Vitchen will send him home. Disappearing through a glistening Stepping Disk, the only light in this dark place, Amanda tells Kurt that it is not his fight. Turning to his sister Kurt asks her to wait, but she is already gone. Kurt asks Vitchen if he has a blade or two to spare, and as the commander hands Kurt two swords, the X-Man bamfs and catches up with Amanda, who is striding out to join the battle with her Soulsword.
Kurt asks Amanda if she didn’t think he would to stay and watch her back. Amanda replies that she didn’t presume, but is glad for the help. Nightcrawler thinks that the opposing army draws to the Great Wall with more of a terror than a rage, but he and Amanda stand together, outnumbered, as Amanda calls out battle orders to those on her side. Kurt engages in combat as fires begin to rage, and Amanda joins him.
No one knows how long the battle rages, but suddenly the tide turns and the enemy is routed and those from Limbo begin chanting Magik’s name in triumph. Amanda tells Kurt that her scouts told her the demons they just fought were from the realm of Nightmare and that their terrorized flight was triggered by a magickal aftershock of Nightmare himself suffering a nightmare.
Amanda informs Kurt that a great threat is gathering on the edges of the Splinter Realms and that she needs to get him back to Earth. Kurt states that he is not going to leave her alone, as Vitchen announces Amanda has a visitor who has crossed the realms and now demands an audience with her. Magik is surprised that someone would be so bold to demand an audience – she cuts her words short when she sees whom her visitor is…the Dread Dormammu!