Issue+58+-+'Jinxed'


 * Issue 58 - 'Jinxed' **




 * Plot**

The eXalts are refugees. Their clones are in control of Academy X and they’re hunted by their allies. They are lured from their hideout (an abandoned Benetech lab on Mt. Whitney) when the Purifiers launch a dual strike against the headquarters of the Peaceful Coexistence Party in San Francisco and Los Angeles. While their clones handle the attack in San Francisco, the true eXalts head to Los Angeles. They’re able to stop the attack, but their mysterious enemy X appears wearing the Cerebra helmet. She uses the powerful device to deactivate their X-genes, depowering them! The eXalts manage to grab the Cerebra helmet and escape, but what can they do now without their powers? A few things are going the eXalts’ way: Mustang and Cordelia (Sam’s aunt) have rejoined the group, though they are also depowered. They have the Cerebra helmet, rending the machine useless until X can have a new helmet created. And Mac’s powers are revealed to be magical in origin (not due to his X-gene) when he’s able to use his powers to heal his allies! Still, things look grim. They eXalts aren’t even sure who X is and what they’re up against. Bastienne has a theory. On her last trip to Lone Pine, the town closest to their Mt. Whitney base, she read the Wikipedia page for Jacob Robitaille. Robitaille was the former leader of the Purifiers until he was killed by his son, Daniel. The eXalts know that he is somehow the leader of the Purifiers once again, as his mind was found to be in the body of the man leading the paramilitary group. Bastienne recalls that Jacob had a younger sister, Danielle. Through her research she discovered that Danielle was committed to a mental asylum. Perhaps she is a telepath and is secretly X? The group thinks the theory has merit, but there’s not much they can do about it now.  The group discusses what to do next. David thinks they should ignore the west coast mutant school and instead focus on Xavier’s on the east coast. The X-Men are gone for the moment dealing with some superhero crisis. The school will be less defended and perhaps they can use Cerebro to undo what X did with Cerebra and regain their powers. Regardless of the plan, they’ll need equipment to make up for their loss of powers. Cordelia suggests conventional weaponry like firearms. Sam, Mac and others don’t like the idea of using lethal force. Dane suggests knockout gas in the air system. Getting close enough to launch any attack is risky, however. And besides, they want to wait until Michael visits Utopia to see if he's able to help. The group is trusting their sometimes ally, sometimes foe to get intelligence on the current situation at Utopia. Dane then suggests raiding a park service command post. Since they have to deal with dangerous animals from time to time, they should have tranquilizer equipment. The command post will be easier to raid than other facilities that might have weapons, as well. Dane also needs equipment to build telepathy blockers (using the one Michael “gave” Sam as a template) so Alex won’t have to block Cerebro scans indefinitely.  The plan is put into place. On Monday, several eXalts head into Lone Pine. David composes an e-mail to the Nothing Can Stop the Blog! website and has Agape go to the library to send it. Meanwhile, David and Cordelia go to the records office to get plans on the park service command post. They’re able to identify where the weapons are held. Billy and Bastienne are sent to the hardware store for supplies. They are initially hesitant to go together due to their awkward past in the Age of X, but David won’t listen. They’re able to find equipment at the hardware store using Dane’s cash. They buy the supplies Dane needs to build his telepathy blockers. They also pick up some compound bows and arrows. They also stop at a consignment shop and a pharmacy so Bastienne can fashion disguises for the group. Meanwhile, Sam, Honoka, Alex Nova, Dane, Dagan, and Mac remain behind. Mac uses energy taken from the others to allow Alex to stay awake and block the Cerebro scans on the two groups. She can only block two locations at a time. And while the energy Mac provides means she won’t need to sleep, her mind will need to rest after about a week or she will begin to hallucinate and go mad. As no one wants Cassandra Nova’s “daughter” to go insane, it’s imperative Dane finishes the telepathy blockers as soon as possible. Over the course of the week Dagan helps Dane build the telepathy blockers. Dane is able to reverse engineer Michael’s device and build enough for everyone. While he’s working on that project with his daughter, Bastienne makes disguises for everyone. Sam calls B. Byron Biggs (the cover identity used by her father, Mystique) and uses a code to tell her what’s going on. She receives no reply, however. On Thursday David returns to Lone Pine to do some research online. He sees that the head of the Nothing Can Stop the Blog! website has posted his e-mail in its entirety, but noted that it was from an anonymous e-mail and could be phony. There are many comments on the post. Many think it’s fake, though others believe it could be legitimate because it explains why there were two teams of eXalts in action at once. David sends more information to the webmaster. He also learns from the website that many are discussing the Agape clone’s decision to give her mutant power back to Bobby Drake. In addition, the United Nations has scheduling a hearing to consider Utopia’s claim to be a sovereign state. Unsurprisingly, the United States is crying foul as the new island resides within its territorial waters. That night Sam calls Michael to see how his plan to visit Utopia is going. Michael texts back that he will put his plan into motion soon and to wait.  They eXalts don’t have to wait long to find out Michael's plan. On Friday they hear on the radio that James Sangrey (Peaceful Coexistence Party governor-elect of California) will be taking a delegation to Utopia. This is obviously Michael’s cover to get onto the island and into Academy X. Also on Friday, Dane and Dagan complete the telepathy blockers. Alex can finally rest, as can those who were providing energy to the powerful telepath. The group makes plans to leave the lab on Saturday just in case. Cordelia knows of a seasonal Church of Humanity facility outside San Diego. The team agrees to discuss it more in the morning. They never get the chance. At midnight, David hears the sounds of figures moving through the ducts beside his room. He alerts Cordelia. He then grabs his bedside lamp and runs into the hallway. He shouts “Red alert!” to wake everyone. The eXalts stir. Bursting from the ducts in each of their rooms are two S.H.I.E.L.D. commandos in infiltration gear and wearing night vision goggles. Blur attacks one, but without his time manipulation he misses. Medic is able to drain the first commando that enters his room, knocking her unconscious. Nightwind leaps into action. She uses the empty hilt of her darkforce sword to stun both of the agents in her room. Bast turns on the lamp next to her bed, blinding the two commandos. She runs out into the hallway. Phantasma shields Alex Nova with her body and surrenders. Panzer attacks, slightly injuring one S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. Cordelia and Icegirl run down the hallway to escape into the lab. Mustang attempts to defend Glimmer with the lamp, but the commando’s body armor protects him from the makeshift weapon. Glimmer uses her martial arts training to injure one of the agents.  The S.H.I.E.L.D. squad adjusts to their loss of surprise. The S.H.I.E.L.D. commandos in Phantasma’s room are revealed to be the west coast commander of S.H.I.E.L.D, Daisy “Quake” Johnson, and her bodyguard. Quake sends a seismic wave at Alex Nova that knocks her out. Her bodyguard pins an unresisting Phantasma. Meanwhile, the two agents in Blur’s room try to subdue him using their hand-to-hand training in the close quarters of the bedroom. Even without slowing down time, Blur is able to evade their attacks. Mustang and Glimmer are quickly surrounded by four agents, however, and are taken down. Panzer is likewise dropped by the commandos in his room. Nightwind nimbly dodges her attackers. Medic narrowly evades the S.H.I.E.L.D. commando in his room. Bast rushes into Phantasma’s room only to be tasered by Quake’s bodyguard. Phantasma is also knocked unconscious. Just when the battle appears lost, Icegirl and Cordelia return with their compound bows. The S.H.I.E.L.D. commandos’ body armor is useless against arrows. Icegirl’s ranged expertise is put to the test and she drops several agents in quick succession. Even Cordelia lands a few lucky shots and drops two commandos. Meanwhile, Nightwind subdues her two foes and Medic drains the other agent in his room to unconsciousness. He’s able to heal himself and join the battle in the hallway. The battle goes back and forth. Blur goes down. Icegirl and Cordelia are knocked out by nonlethal ordinance. For a moment it appears the eXalts won’t make it. Then Medic teleports behind Quake and drops her with one touch. He revives the bow wielders. The last few agents are knocked down. The battle is won!  Mac revives his downed allies. He notices Cordelia’s nose won’t stop bleeding. Then Dagan hears Daisy Johnson’s radio crackle. There’s another S.H.I.E.L.D. team outside, and they want a situation report! Dane knows the other team will be the backup. They won’t be in infiltration gear – they will be Capekillers. There’s no way the mostly depowered eXalts can win against the armored elite soldiers of S.H.I.E.L.D. Fortunately, Sam recalls the S.H.I.E.L.D. phrase for “situation under control, hold for now” she learned from Matt. She’s bought them a few minutes. The eXalts grab gear off the fallen S.H.I.E.L.D. commandos and the Cerebra helmet and escape into the drainage pipes below the Benetech complex. It’s the same escape route used by the vampire that Honoka released.  The eXalts soon realize they won’t be able to escape the other S.H.I.E.L.D. team. The stealth helicopter and Capekiller armor are both equipped with thermal imaging. It’s only a matter of time before they’re caught in the woods. The team decides to circle back to the lab complex and commandeer the downed team’s helicopter. Mac uses his teleportation power to transport the group 100 feet at a time, evading the helicopter’s scans for now. Then he opens a portal inside the grounded helicopter. The team quickly subdues the two agents that remained behind in the vehicle. Sam’s helicopter lessons pay off and she’s able to take off. Dane takes over as her copilot. But the other helicopter gives chase! The pursuing helicopter nears weapons range. David tells them to shoot, but Sam refuses. Soon they may not have any choice. Sam asks if Alex can do anything. She reaches out with her telepathic abilities, but the Capekillers are all wearing telepathy blockers. Fortunately, the pilot is not. Suddenly Alex looks confused. She asks what’s going on. David realizes Alex has “jumped” into the pursuing helicopter’s pilot. When she left Hana’s body, Hana’s mind took over once more. David attempts to knock Hana out, but he’s too weak. Honoka quickly subdues the confused student. Meanwhile, an EMP blast is set off from the pursuing S.H.I.E.L.D. helicopter. Was it Alex’s doing? There’s no time to find out. The blast took out the pursuing vehicle and the Capekillers, but the blast also knocks out the eXalts’ helicopter! Sam and Dane desperately attempt to restart the controls before the vehicle crashes. Sam is able to do a quick reboot just in time. She pulls out of the dive and the eXalts escape! Alex does not rejoin them, however…  After getting enough distance away, Sam lands the helicopter so Dane can find the tracking device hidden in the vehicle. He’s successful. He destroys the tracking mechanism. Now S.H.I.E.L.D. won’t be able to find them. Meanwhile, Mac looks over the maps and charts inside the cockpit. Where do they want to go now? Billy turns on the radio to hear if the attack made the news. There’s no report (yet), but the top story is that David’s clone has died while in S.H.I.E.L.D. custody….

**Next:** __Issue 59 - 'Exposed'__ **Previous:** Issue 57 - 'Extremist'