Issue+87+-+'Deadeye'


 * Issue 87 - 'Deadeye' **




 * Plot **

The Phoenix Force – a cosmic force of destruction – is returning to Earth. The Avengers and X-Men want to find its intended host, but for different reasons. The Avengers are hoping to stop the Phoenix Force by preventing it from merging with a powerful mentalist at any cost, even if that means killing the host. The X-Men want to use the host’s Phoenix powers to change the world into a mutant paradise. Both groups recently learned the intended host is Academy X professor Dagan “Glimmer” Lightfoot, putting the eXalts in the middle of a conflict between the world’s two most powerful superhero teams: the Avengers vs. the X-Men! The Avengers already attacked Utopia in an attempt to kidnap Dagan, but were foiled due to the assistance of Plex (the alien artificial intelligence residing below Utopia) and the sudden return of former eXalt Dane “Panzer” Lightfoot. The attack lead the eXalts to form an uneasy alliance with the X-Men due to the interference of eXalt “Carom”. With no other choice, several eXalts traveled to X-Man Magik’s plane of Limbo to train Dagan. They hoped to prepare her to control the Phoenix Force. During their absence, there was a meeting of the Academy X Board of Trustees (including Hellfire Club: Tokyo members Honoka “Nightwind” Ogawa and Shiro “Sunfire” Yoshida, X-Corporation: Los Angeles CEO Heather “Lifeguard” Cameron, former eXalt Agape “Icegirl” Chionia, and Matthew Stone, former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and eXalt team leader Samantha “Phantasma” Stone’s spouse). The board voted to move the school’s students to Avengers Academy outside L.A. in case the Avengers struck again. When Sam returned from Limbo she was shocked to find the students gone. When she learned the vote was called by Agape, she became furious. Agape is known to be connected to the vampires in San Francisco, making her motives suspect. Sam argued with her husband, Matt, over the decision. She attempted to use her telepathy to uncover Agape’s motives. In doing so, she accidentally drew upon the Phoenix Force’s power once again, causing a fiery eruption. The powerful explosion not only collapsed part of Academy X, but killed her own husband! And that wasn’t all. Prior to the explosion, the X-Men teleported away with Dagan. While Dagan went willingly, the eXalts felt betrayed. This feeling was only reinforced when Warpath (one of the few X-Men left at the east coast school) was less than helpful when eXalts David “Mustang” Goldberg and Mac “Mystic” Strange visited looking for answers. During the return trip, Mac’s teleportation power stopped working – not the first time his powers failed him recently! On top of that, the Mutant Revolutionary Force (a mutant terrorist group David recently joined) bombed another target, eXalt Bastienne “Bastet” Noel is worshipped by the Santa Muerte cult in San Francisco following her merger with an Egyptian goddess, new eXalt and half-Kree Bailey “K-9” Fletcher only recently escaped kidnapping by a group of Kree that injected him with drugs to evolve him into their messiah, eXalt team leader Sam is catatonic following the death of her husband, and fellow eXalt Liam “Primal” Stonecrow has left the team to travel to New Mexico to consult with the Apache elders about the Phoenix Force. Before he stopped communicating with the group, he relates news that the Phoenix Force has already destroyed several planets on its way to Earth… Agape uses her mutant ice powers to put out the flames after the explosion. The group flees the building. Parts of the school have collapsed and the structure is unsafe. Bailey uses the medical training he gained as a former police officer to help Sam, but she won’t speak. Carom says the Phoenix can bring Matt back to life when it arrives, but Sam remains unresponsive. Evan, the clone of X-Men foe Apocalypse and the only student remaining at the school, visits Sam. He asked the Stones to adopt him and he’s worried about his surrogate mom. Sam still won’t respond. There’s little else to do that night. The school’s eerily quiet the next morning. Instead of overseeing the chaos of dozens of teenagers getting ready in the morning and facilitating the school’s combat club, most Academy X staff sleep in. David, acting eXalts team leader while Sam is catatonic, calls a meeting at “two-ish.” In the meantime, Carom contacts Hellfire Club: Tokyo since he works for them. Daimyo Shiro Yoshida assures Carom they’ll help Academy X. After all, Hellfire Club: Tokyo has two seats on the board of trustees and rents space in Utopia’s town of New Genosha for their bank.   At the two o’clock meeting Carom says Hellfire Club: Tokyo will rebuild the school at cost and deduct the expense from their scheduled lease payment in January. The others agree to the arrangement. The group then discusses other issues – the MRF bombing, the approach of the “Red Star” (a supposed comet that’s really the Phoenix Force), and what to do about Dagan. Despite the X-Men’s decision to run off with Dagan, Mac is still willing to work with them even though he doesn’t trust X-Men team leader Scott “Cyclops” Summers. Mac found a plane where time moves more slowly relative to Earth and he’d provide an amulet he created that allows passage to the plane if it would help Dagan. Carom says the group can go to Aleph (another plane where the eXalts spent some time last semester) if the Phoenix Force does destroy Earth. There could be time to save others (Carom only cares about his girlfriend, Alice, who lives with him on Utopia). The others don’t like the idea of living in Aleph, as the plane is controlled by Carom’s vampiric mother and David’s clone who is possessed by an evil Norse god. Bailey wants to know if the Avengers are going to attack again. David thinks it’s unlikely since Dagan is no longer on Utopia. Mac says Plex is blocking their telepathy and they might not know she’s gone, but Alice points out that the Avengers can use satellites and other means to monitor Utopia and probably know she’s no longer on the island. Carom is almost disappointed as he’d love a chance to get Wolverine back for ambushing him recently – maybe they could go to the east coast school and at least destroy his motorcycle. Alice asks what they plan to do with Matt’s body. Bastienne says they can keep him “on ice” in the medical lab for now until they decide what to do. Bailey says they can bury Matt in the school’s graveyard. David suggests they contact Matt’s family, the Morlocks (mutants with extreme physical mutations), instead.   The meeting is interrupted by the appearance of Agape. She’s been staying at the school and assumes they forgot to invite her, as she’s there to help. David asks if Agape’s vampire friends can help find where the X-Men took Dagan. Agape bristles at the idea that she’s friends with all the vampires, but says she does have some contacts she can call upon. David wants to find Dagan so they can support her. He doesn’t like the idea of only the X-Men having access to her. After all, he doesn’t want Scott’s influence to cause another “Dark Phoenix” situation. Bastienne reminds David that Dane went with the X-Men. Even if David and Dane have a rocky relationship, David should trust that Dane has Dagan’s best interests at heart since Dagan is Dane’s daughter (and David’s, as well!). Carom says they can use Cerebra to find Dagan. The rest of the group thinks that’s a terrible idea – mental powers have already been shown to be potentially destructive (like when Sam lost control and damaged the school and killed Matt). Besides, with Sam catatonic there’s no good candidate for using the mutant-detecting machine. Academy X staff member and precognitive mutant Ruth “Blindfold” Aldine could possibly use it, but she’s never tried before. Ruth, usually silent, speaks up. She says Cerebra won’t be useful in finding Dagan. She adds that the X-Men’s plan to prepare Dagan won’t work – the Phoenix will come for her and it won’t end well. When the group asks her for more information about what she’s foreseen, she’s unable to elaborate. She doesn’t trust her own precognition right now as one of the Avengers (Moondragon) has been sending her false visions. Bailey asks what they’ll do now, as they are teachers at a closed school. They said all they can do for now is wait and rebuild.   On Tuesday Carom uses his mutant ability to open a portal to San Francisco. Mac and Bastienne head for the Morlock tunnels, as they’ve been there before. They locate a group of pipes not far from a subway station that the Morlocks use to communicate. After banging on the pipes in a specific pattern to signal an emergency, two Morlocks arrive in short order. One of them has the head of a cockroach and another has translucent green skin. His internal organs are visible, which is somewhat disquieting. Bastienne recognizes him as the son of the colony’s elder. She explains to them that there was an accident at Academy X and Matt has passed away. The Morlocks are saddened. They ask to have Sam return with “Peanut” (Matt’s Morlock name) so they can bury him. When Mac says Sam is catatonic, the Morlocks say they need to bring her along with her children (twins Alex “Serenity” Stone and Kurt “Indigo” Stone as well as Jessie “Sapphire” Stone). The Academy X headmasters agree.   Upon their return to Utopia, Bastienne prepares the kids for the trip. She frequently takes care of them and is saddened to see them go. Evan has been watching them and is likewise sad. Bastienne finds him later in the day. He’s been working on his Apocalypse-style armor. He says he’s planning to leave Academy X. After all, the school is closed, his foster father Matt is dead, his foster mother Sam is catatonic, and she’s leaving with his foster siblings. He can’t go to live with the Morlocks as he isn’t part of Matt’s blood family (they’re only reluctantly taking Sam in since she married into the colony). Bastienne asks what he’s planning to do now. He says he doesn’t want to join the other Academy X students at Avengers Academy. He needs to find his own path. First he was almost manipulated into using his powers for evil in Aleph last semester. This semester he didn’t use his powers at all, but that didn’t stop bad things from happening. He needs to find another way. Bastienne is sad to see him go, as Evan is not only her student but someone she mentored and cares for. She gives him a burner phone she picked up in San Francisco recently and asks him to keep in touch. He promises he will do so. The next morning, Bastienne and Mac prepare to take Sam, the Stone kids, and Matt’s body to the Morlock tunnels. Mac finds a piece of unburnt hair and saves it. Bastienne checks on Evan and realizes that the young mutant has already left Utopia.   The week passes uneventfully at Academy X, though it’s strange to have the school so empty. Even during breaks some students live on campus, but now only staff remains. Hellfire Club: Tokyo quickly moves their construction equipment from New Genosha (where they’re building a fourth apartment complex) to Academy X with the aid of Carom’s portals. The school is soon filled with the sounds of reconstruction. Each staff member finds ways to keep busy. Bastienne spends time in San Francisco. Mac begins researching how to restore his lost powers. Carom continues work on rebuilding a house on the island northeast of Utopia. David practices with his powers, hoping to learn how to extend his force field to others. Despite the absence of Liam and Sam, he schedules several training sessions for the eXalts. Bailey is busy with his duties as police chief of New Genosha, but he finds time to attends the training sessions. Bailey is also visited by fellow half-Kree Tsu-zana, or Susanna “Ultragirl” Sherman. Susie oversaw his recovery following his kidnapping and is now checking in to see how he’s doing. Bailey says he hasn’t felt any aftereffects from the drug cocktail the Kree used to jump-start his evolution. She hangs out and suggests they get drunk. They head to New Genosha’s bar. On the way they run into Glob Herman, one of Utopia’s federal officers. He’s in the middle of a patrol. They ask how he’s doing and he says the patrol is going well, though some New Genosha residents are concerned about the Red Star. It’s visible at night to the naked eye now, and it’s public knowledge that the Phoenix Force is coming… On Friday night Bastienne gets a call from Mercy Connors, Academy X’s female senior prefect. Mercy is also a reserve eXalt and Bastienne’s assistant, as the girl hopes to be a teacher or even headmaster one day. Mercy speaks in code – she says her “father” is working on some odd project in the “basement” involving “gadgets.” Mercy therefore asks her “mom” to pick her up. Bastienne realizes Mercy is using someone’s cell phone during an Avengers Academy field trip and other students are listening in. She figures out the code – Mercy’s “father” is Avengers Academy Headmaster Hank “Antman” Pym. Hank’s working on a high tech project in his laboratory at the school. Bastienne says she’ll pick up Mercy soon, referring to how she’ll be chaperoning the Avengers Academy prom the next day (Saturday).   At the prom Bastienne chats with Avengers Academy Headmistress Tigra. Hank is busy and won’t be there. Bastienne talks to the Academy X students. They’re generally adapting to the new school well. It’s the end of the term, so they don’t have a lot left to learn. Most students are neutral about the experience or are even enjoying meeting new peers. There have been new friendships and even a few romantic relationships developing. Some students haven’t enjoyed the transition and feel they’re like they’re captives at the school, but they’re dealing with it. Bastienne has a whispered conversation with Mercy away from the keen hearing of the Avengers Academy headmistress. Mercy says she’s seen Tony Stark. Tony owns a mansion in nearby Malibu, so his occasional visits aren’t odd, but he’s been there more often recently. Mercy guesses that Tony is collaborating with Hank on whatever the headmaster’s project is. Bastienne thanks her for the spying, but there’s not much they can do. During the prom Mac gets a phone call at Academy X. It’s from an area code he recognizes – Philadelphia, where he grew up. He answers and hears a familiar voice. It’s Crystal, his ex-girlfriend from high school. She says she’s been holding onto his letter from a few weeks ago and finally decided to call. Mac wrote Crystal to offer help after learning she’s been with a series of abusive boyfriends. He’s concerned about their son, Aiden. Crystal says her current boyfriend is passed out and they can talk. She’s considered his offer of help and wants to know if she can move to Utopia with Aiden. Mac says he’ll talk to X-Corporation: Los Angeles CEO Heather Cameron, as Heather has overseen the logistics of New Genosha’s visa program. On Sunday Mac meets with Heather in New Genosha. It’s a friendly meeting, though it’s a bit awkward as Heather was romantically interested in Mac for a while after Mac’s girlfriend, Jubilee, left. Heather is now dating New Genosha manager Neal Shaara, a former X-Man. Mac is honest about why they’re meeting. He admits he had a difficult time as a teenager and was on the wrong side of the law. During that time he had an on-again, off-again relationship with a girl that resulted in a child. He’d like Heather’s help in moving them to Utopia. Heather says she’s happy to add Crystal and Aiden to the list of potential Utopia immigrants even though they’re not mutants. After all, the Utopian government has final say over who’s allowed to move to the island, anyway. Mac thanks Heather for her help.   Meanwhile, David gets a call from New Genosha’s deputy, “Barry.” Barry is really Paul Thomas, David’s former classmate from Xavier’s school. Barry and his girlfriend “Catalina” (really Selena Moreno) used false identities to emigrate to New Genosha. They were worried the Academy X staff that were their former classmates wouldn’t allow them to move to the island. Barry says he has important information and asks David to come to New Genosha. On his way across the island, David runs into the island’s second federal officer (other than Glob Herman), Wicked. After a cordial greeting, Wicked stares at David. The normally monosyllabic girl says that David needs to stop. When David asks what she means, Wicked gestures and summons the ghosts of dozens of people. David recognizes their faces – they’re all the people he’s killed. Most of them were those killed while he was possessed by the evil Norse god, Runak, but others were those he chose to kill – child soldiers that joined the Purifiers (an anti-mutant terrorist group), members of the superhero team known as the Guardians (who went crazy and attacked the eXalts, killing David’s protégé), and others (like Purifier leader Matthew Risman and the victims of his recent bombing as a member of the MRF, including an innocent bishop of a local church). David doesn’t express any remorse – he says most of them he didn’t kill and the others had it coming. Wicked once again asks him to stop. David says if he stops, they certainly won’t, referring to the Purifiers and their ilk. They need to stop their anti-mutant activities first. Wicked just shakes her head as David walks away. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; text-align: justify;"> David meets with Barry and Catalina in their apartment. The deputy admits he used his mutant ability to borrow Sam’s mental powers during their last meeting. He’s been using Sam’s telepathy to scan Utopia once a day and has uncovered secret MRF meetings on the island. One of the MRF members (who David knows as Lotus) is a powerful mentalist who’s aware of his spying, so he hasn’t uncovered much more. David doesn’t admit that he’s a member of the MRF cell. He tells Barry not to use his borrowed powers anymore – several mentalists have lost control of their powers recently and have caused explosions. Barry says he heard about what happened with Sam. He says he’ll stop using the telepathy. He then goes on to admit that he and Selena didn’t come to Utopia just to escape anti-mutant prejudice in Slokovia where they’d worked for Mutantes Sans Frontieres. He had met another former classmate, Thomas “Duplicate” Booth. Thomas asked Barry to move to Utopia to keep an eye on possible MRF activity there. Thomas was a highly-placed aide in the administration of Peaceful Coexistence Party member and Governor of California, James Sangrey. He became aware that the MRF had ties to Sangrey’s administration. After Thomas escaped murder, he continued his investigation while presumed dead. Barry agreed to move to Utopia to watch for the MRF for Thomas, but now that he’s uncovered a cell on the island he isn’t sure what to do. David thanks Barry for the information and promises to look into it, again not admitting his own MRF connections. He tells Barry to keep in touch, then departs. He calls the leader of the MRF cell, former Academy X student Christine “Tattoo” Cord but gets her voicemail. He warns Christine that she’s being observed and asks her to call him. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; text-align: justify;"> That week the approaching “comet” is so bright it’s visible even in daytime. David continues the extra eXalts training, knowing the Phoenix Force will soon arrive. The Utopia government meets on Tuesday. They approve X-Corporation’s list of vetted applicants that applied to move to New Genosha. The list contains Mac’s ex-girlfriend, Crystal, and their son, Aiden. Bastienne learned about Crystal and Aiden previously and notices their presence on the list, but approves their application without saying anything. At a staff meeting later on Wednesday, the group discusses news that the comet will hit Earth on Friday. David asks Ruth where the Phoenix Force will land. Ruth says it will arrive wherever Dagan is, though the young mutant’s whereabouts are still unknown. On Friday the comet is as bright as another sun in the sky. It’s visible on the horizon even on the west coast. Its target is now clear: it’s headed towards the east coast. David calls the east coast school and speaks to former eXalt Lucius “Prism” Hayes. He says he knows Tony “Iron Man” Stark and Hank “Antman” Pym are building something that might threaten Dagan. It’s imperative that Lucius informs Scott about the danger before the Phoenix Force arrives. David says the eXalts are willing to help. Lucius doesn’t like being put in the middle again (as David had put Lucius into situations like this before), but agrees to tell Scott. Then David hears the sound of an explosion on the other end of the call and the line goes dead! <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; text-align: justify;"> Suddenly each eXalts feels a mental presence – it’s Dagan! She pleads for help. David quickly assembles the eXalts. Carom and Bailey want to know which allies they’ll bring. As the fate of the planet could hinge on the outcome of the battle, they should bring help, like Heather from X-Corporation or members of Hellfire Club: Tokyo. David says there’s no time. The eXalts prepare to go through Carom’s portal when another familiar mental presence contacts them – it’s Sam! She received Dagan’s plea. It snapped her out of her catatonia and she wants to help! Carom opens a portal to bring her back to Utopia, then opens another portal to the east coast school. They can hear sounds of battle. The Avengers know Dagan has returned and have attacked! The eXalts arrive at a distance from the school and survey the scene. The bright red glow of the approaching Phoenix Force is matched only by dozens of multi-colored blasts emerging from the battle. Flying heroes tangle in the skies above the melee. The combatants are the most well-known heroes in the world: Captain America uses his shield to deflect Cyclops’ eye beam. Magneto faces off against Iron Man. Wolverine fights his friend Iceman. Psylocke faces her brother, Captain Britain. Emma Frost, in diamond form, fights former friend Beast. Colossus (who is now also the Juggernaut) fights the Red Hulk. Magik fights Doctor Strange while fellow masters of lightning Thor and Storm battle nearby. The Black Panther is forced to fight Storm as well – his own spouse! Namor and The Thing fight in the nearby river while siblings Husk and Cannonball face Spiderman and Spiderwoman. The Falcon and Angel battle in the sky while speedsters Noh-Varr and Quicksilver’s fight is a blur below. High-tech heroes Danger and War Machine face off. Powerful mentalists Quentin Quire and Rachel Grey fight Moondragon and Mantis while Armor and Gambit face Mockingbird and Agent 13. Dane uses his magical sword Leviathan to fight another swordsman, Norse warrior Valkyrie. Warpath battles She-Hulk while the Vision fights Gambit. Ms. Marvel fights Rogue. Friends Iron Fist and Luke Cage fight Black Widow and Hawkeye. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; text-align: justify;"> Unlike last time when the eXalts were ambushed, this time they can choose their foes. Mustang joins Cyclops’ attack on Captain America, but his light blast misses. Cap rolls to the side and hits Mustang with his shield, knocking out the eXalts team leader. Phantasma grabs Cap’s shield telekinetically and hits the Avengers’ leader, dropping him! Meanwhile K-9 ambushes Black Widow, but the super-spy somehow senses his approach and dodges. Mystic appears in the middle of the battle between Magik and his father, Doctor Strange. He tells his father to stop the battle, then surprises everyone by attacking Magik! Whose side is Mystic on? The battle rages on. Carom attacks Iron Man by opening a portal in the middle of the armor to damage it. The armor’s nanobots heal the damage. Iron Man’s powerful blasts knock Carom out. Then X-Corp CEO Heather “Lifeguard” Cameron appears in a flash of light with her bodyguard, Rafé “Lobo” Lopez. One of Lifeguard’s mutant employees transported them! Lifeguard faces Falcon after the Avenger knocks out Angel. Lobo faces off against Black Panther while Bastet stands nearby. The two melee combatants dodge each other’s’ attacks while Bastet prepares to assist either side. Meanwhile, Agape “Icegirl” Chionia joins the attack against Hawkeye and Black Widow, but she’s hit! Angry now, she unleashes a wave of insanity that causes the Avengers in the area, including Luke Cage and Iron Fist, to fight among themselves. Agape then turns to the Red Hulk…. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">After dropping Captain America, Phantasma aids Panzer against Valkyrie. K-9 manages to stun Black Widow after a long battle and finishes her off. Bastet notices Carom go down and sees Mystic fighting Magik. She teleports over to Mystic and brings him to Carom. She uses her ability to take control of his powers to force him to heal Carom, but Mystic fights her off, then chooses to heal Carom anyway. Mystic then revives Mustang. The magic-user puts up his defensive illusory clones just as Agent 13 shoots one of them. Mystic tries to get Cyclops to stop the battle, but to no avail. Nearby, Mustang faces off against Noh-Varr. Carom finally has some success against Iron Man. He opens a portal in the middle of a key part of the armor and the armor falls apart – to reveal it’s empty inside! Where is Tony Stark?! In the battle between the Black Panther and Lobo, Lobo allows himself to get hit so he can power up. He hits the Wakandan king, leaving him staggered. Storm unleashes a blast of lightning that takes out her husband and Thor! Other heroes fall. The Red Hulk drops Colossus, Magneto takes down the Falcon and War Machine, Rogue defeats Ms. Marvel and Captain Britain knocks out his sister Psylocke while Rachel Grey drops Agent 13 but is then knocked out herself. Armor, Danger, and several other heroes lay unconscious. Carom gets his chance at Wolverine, but even with Phantasma’s help they can’t stop the feral mutant. Wolverine reaches Glimmer. The Phoenix Force has nearly reached the young mentalist. She realizes she can’t control the Phoenix and asks Wolverine to end her. Wolverine hesitates for a moment – then stabs her! Then Glimmer disappears – she was only an illusion created by Lucius “Prism” Hayes! Then Prism is knocked out and the real Glimmer is visible. But it’s too late – the Phoenix Force is above her, now! A sudden roar announces the arrival of Tony Stark in his Phoenix Buster armor. He fires a massive blast of energy at the Phoenix Force. For a moment it appears the cosmic entity is no more. Then the energy splits into five beams that slam into five mutants: Scott, Dane, Heather, Storm, and Samantha. There isn’t one Phoenix Force host now, there are five! The Phoenix Five levitate into the air, glowing with immeasurable power. Has the danger been averted, or have things gone from bad to worse?...
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