Issue+74+-+'Don't+Fear+the+Reaper'


 * Issue 74 - 'Don't Fear the Reaper' **




 * Plot**

After classes on Friday, Liam and Jasmine take a boat to San Francisco to catch a flight to Santa Fe, New Mexico. He wants to visit his wife’s grave, and also intends to visit the Apache elders to see if they know anything that might be able to help with the fragment of Alex Nova’s mind inside Jasmine. That evening, Bastienne takes another boat to San Francisco in order to visit the Santa Muerte shrine in Oakland. Curious about her Friday night activities, Carom teleports at a distance to follow. After observing the mass, Carom watches Bastienne speaking to the cult leader, “Mama.” He recognizes her – she looks just like his mother did when she disappeared years ago when Carom was a child. She was on the run from something. Carom wonders if it was vampires, and now she’s become one of them. He sneaks around the back and teleports inside the back room of the building. Inside the apartment is a shrine to Santa Muerte and a naked man in a black mask whipping himself. The notices him and becomes invisible. Carom teleports back to Utopia. Meanwhile on Utopia, Evan approaches Sam. He says he sensed the mysterious mental presence in the middle of the night last night, but it was gone before he could contact her. She thanks him and tells him to let her know if he senses it again. Later that night, Mac sends an e-mail to the Academy X staff except David. He’s gained information from Doctor Strange he wants to share, but he wants to keep David out of the loop for now. Sam then contacts everyone on the comms: she’s been contacted by a S.W.O.R.D. telepath, Sydren. The giant green head in the basement that resembles the Kree Supreme Intelligence is clearly not the Kree leader, but it could be an advanced Kree artificial intelligence used in the most important ships. This AI is called the We-Plex Supreme Intelligence System. That fits, because when Sam mentally contacted the AI she learned its name is Plex. The S.W.O.R.D. telepath warned that Plex is extremely powerful. It’s a programmable piezoplasm that houses the entire knowledge base and wisdom of the Kree species. It’s accessed through a multiple personality complex interface ranging from counselors to strategists. Plex has many of the same abilities as the Supreme Intelligence itself: it can control the ship, use telepathy, and send an “Omni-Wave” that can control the minds of dozens, if not hundreds, of people. Sydren urges Sam to deal with it as soon as possible. Sam says, “We need to do something!” David replies, “Who’s we?” He wants to find others to handle the problem, but the others say they have to handle it themselves. Sam wonders if they can borrow psi-blockers from S.H.I.E.L.D., but Matt points out the blockers aren’t capable of stopping a powerful telepath. David mentions they have Magneto’s helmet, and it should work. Mac jokes they should break the Juggernaut out of the Raft, as his helmet (or his magical gem?) can block telepathy. David then wonders if Plex can sense them even now. Samantha doubts that, as it had to use androids to read Robin’s mind. Clearly there are limits to its telepathy. But then Sam wonders if Plex was the mental presence Evan has been sensing in the middle of the night. There’s no way to know. David and Mac brainstorm ways to kill Plex. Perhaps they could find a way to cut the power or take the system offline. The problem is they haven’t found the station’s power supply, and they don’t even know what’s powering Plex (nuclear? alien tech?). If Academy X graduate Gunther could be persuaded, he might be able to use his ghost form to scout through the station. If they could disconnect Plex from the system, it wouldn’t have the ship’s automated defenses (like the androids or the helicopter-like devices) to fight back. Then Plex would be easier to kill. They table the discussion for now. Back in Oakland, Bastienne finishes talking to “Mama” (Cynthia). As she walks to her car, she notices a number of alley cats following behind her. She sees the glowing eyes of several cats in the darkness, watching her. She wonders what’s going on, but drives away to visit a friend overnight. At the same time, Carom has returned to Utopia. He begins making calls to his former vampire hunter teammates. He knows one was killed during a mission and another is missing, but he’s heard two others are still around. He leaves a message on the missing member’s voicemail just in case. Another teammate, Michiyo, doesn’t use a cell phone, but he leaves a message in a mail drop for her. Lastly, he contacts Vince, the melee specialist. He tells Vince his mother is a vampire and he has to kill her. Vince expresses sympathy but says he’s in the middle of a job. He’ll get back to him soon. Once Carom’s off the phone, Alice says she recorded some comm traffic. The comm frequency was easy to break, but she’s had less success hacking the school’s computers. She plays the conversation the group had about Plex. Carom thanks her, then looks for the mask he wore while vampire hunting. On Saturday, the kids clean the cafeteria and kitchen. That afternoon there is a soccer game between the Hellions (Sam’s team) and the Excelsiors (Liam’s team). David and Ruth referee. Mac chooses this time for his secret meeting about David. Ruth joins the conversation psychically. Lady Fingers wanders into the War Room and listens. Mac shares that he was contacted by Doctor Strange’s apprentice, Sorceress (Academy X graduate Amanda). Sorceress learned from Doctor Strange that some of the hammers wielded by the Worthy during Fear Itself are still present on Earth. Was Runak’s hammer left behind and does it have something to do with Runak’s presence inside David? And, more importantly, should they share this information with David or might it lead him down a dangerous path ending with him finding the hammer and becoming Runak once more? Mac doesn’t like keeping secrets because he’s seen what trouble that can cause, but he wants everyone else’s opinions. The group brainstorms what to do. If they banished the hammer would it break the bond between Runak and David? Could they contact the Asgardians that were banished to Earth by Odin? In the end, they decide to tell David. After all, as Matt says, if he goes bad it’s better to know now. Ruth tells David that Sam wants to talk to him in the War Room. He’s surprised to find the entire staff there, like it’s an intervention. He cracks a joke, but becomes serious when he’s told the news about the hammers. He’s actually relieved; if the hammer has something to do with Runak’s mental presence in his mind, maybe getting rid of the hammer could cure him. He says Doctor Strange and the Avengers should deal with the problem, however – he doesn’t want to be in the same room as the hammer. Sam changes the topic by sharing news that Evan sensed a mental presence at the school. again recently. She wonders if it could be her daughter, Alex Nova. After all, she left a piece of herself behind in each of the activated mutants in San Francisco. Could one of those pieces be reaching out? Or maybe the X-Killer has killed enough mutants to have gathered several pieces of Alex and now she’s strong enough to contact the school. Perhaps the X-Killer’s real motive is to release Alex? Bastienne disagrees, believing his real motive is to kill mutants to steal their genetic material in order to make X-gene implants. She believes he’s “collecting” mutant powers. The X-Killer’s apparent invisibility does make him a suspect, though. Could it be Phantom? Phantom was the only member of the former superhero team known as the Guardians to remain free. He has the power of invisibility and could be the X-Killer. He bears hatred for the eXalts and his presence could explain the mind Evan sensed. David jokes it’s Mystique and there’s nothing more to discuss. On a serious note, he asks about the exact dates Evan sensed the mental presence. He’s relieved the dates don’t match the nights of his nightmares and it doesn’t have to do with Runak. Carom suddenly has an idea. He wonders if the mental presence is Plex. David says they need to kill that troublesome AI. It could be planning a Kree invasion. Dagan wonders if thy really have to kill Plex – couldn’t they try talking to it again? If David didn’t go down, it might be willing to talk. Mac agrees that diplomacy is best, but they have to be ready to employ violence if nothing else works. Carom asks if Sam could use Cerebra to limit its abilities or kill it somehow? Sam reminds him that Plex seems shielded somehow – by its telepathic powers or the station itself. And Carom can’t teleport it away – it’s too big. David asks if he could teleport behind its force field, but the protective screen leaves little room to get behind it. David says he could teleport into the liquid around Plex, but Carom says that’s too dangerous – they don’t know what the liquid is. Once again they table the Plex discussion. Bastienne brings up a new topic. She relates the story of running into Jane, their former vampire contact, at the Santa Muerte church. The group wonders how many vampires are truly at the church. Is it just a front for the bloodsuckers? Carom listens, but doesn’t share what he learned at the church. That night, David has another nightmare. Bastienne gives him a Saint Jude medal (the patron saint of lost causes) that once belonged to Jessica’s father. David jokes about the irony of giving a saint pendant to a Jew, but he takes the pendant. Following cleaning on Snuday, the kids enjoy free time. While they socialize or work on assignments, the eXalts have a team meeting. They go through team exercises in the Danger Room. After dinner the team advisors sit in on team meetings. Ruth shares that one of her Ardents, Madison, is still out of sorts following a conflict with her father. On top of that, new student Tani expressed some MRF sympathy. The Corsairs are still working on inter-team competitions. David talks to new Corsair Hikaru about her intention to take an internship or job with Hellfire Club: Tokyo once she graduates. David says not to trust the group. She says that David and the others are working with Hellfire Club: Tokyo. He says that doesn’t mean she should trust them. She says she doesn’t have to trust them to work for them. Meanwhile, the Excelsiors continue planning a Halloween party (dress as your favorite hero, not necessarily superhero). The Exemplars hide their MRF sympathies from Dagan, but she knows they’re still talking about it in secret. In the Hellions, P’Ythri complains about the lack of combat opportunities. He’s a demon from a militaristic society and he wants to fight. Upon hearing this, Bastienne volunteers to train with him. The Paragons continue to discuss Hellfire Club: Tokyo recruitment. Also, there’s news Robin and Mercy have broken up. Monday passes uneventfully. At the Utopia meeting that night, the three members of the legislature (Bastienne: Secretary of State; Sam: Secretary of the Interior; Ruth: Secretary of the Treasury) vote on several issues. They agree to move forward with the work visa and asylum program developed by Bastienne and Sam. They approve the construction of high-rise housing buildings in New Genosha. They agree to move forward with installing solar panels along the south side of Utopia’s hill, which should power Academy X at least. They vote to move forward with Liam and Mac’s plan to have Liam train Glob Herman and Wicked to act as a domestic police force. They approve Ruth’s contract with a Chinese warehouse to make Academy X and eXalts merchandise. Mac, as President, approves the initiatives. Ruth says they have enough money, but it will mean spending the remainder of Utopia’s funds. They won’t gain further funding until Hellfire Club: Tokyo makes its payment in January for allowing its bank on the island. During the week Bastienne plans a memorial for Thomas. She wants to invite former students that knew Thomas. This coming Sunday will be too soon, so they plan for the Sunday in a week and a half. On Friday there is news of an MRF bombing in San Francisco. A federal courthouse where Proposition X had been discussed was damaged. Fortunately, they called ahead of time to warn about the bombing and the building had been cleared out. MRF took responsibility and claimed there would be more bombings if the government didn’t do more to protect mutants (referring to the X-Killer). On Friday night Bastienne attends services at the Santa Muerte cult. Carom goes separately and remains hidden at the back of the church. He observes the woman in black and white makeup. He’s sure now it’s his mother. The rest of the weekend goes by without incident, except for a return of Mac’s visions. Liam contacts the school on Sunday and says he’ll be gone for another week. The Apache elders have some ideas on how to treat Jasmine, and he wants to see if he can help his daughter before he returns. On Thursday, Alice attends the Academy X staff meeting on Thursday. She shares that she was able to break into the communicator frequency. She’s had less success stealthily infiltrating the school’s computers, though she could forcefully break in if needed (which Matt could detect). She says there are some obvious (to her, at least) holes in the system’s security. She then apologizes to Matt, not meaning to offend him, but says some of the code looks like a junior high student wrote it. Matt says some of the code came from Dane and Lucius. He says he’s willing to accept help making the system more secure. Alice offers her expertise to the school. On Friday night, Bastienne once again goes to the Santa Muerte church for services, and Carom follows. This time he decides to act. He knows vampire flesh is immune to his disintegration power, so he creates a portal under Cynthia’s foot to try to trip her. She nimbly evades the portal. Due to her keen eyesight, Bastienne notices the portal. She looks around the pews, but Carom has already teleported away. Carom teleports into the back room, but there’s no sign of the mysterious masked man. He returns to Utopia. Bastienne once again notices several cats following her, but shrugs off the incident. That Sunday is the memorial service for Thomas. Due to reaching out to Academy X graduates, many former students attend the ceremony. From last year’s class, Taz, Gunther, Julian, the Manh twins, Ruben, Sofia, Tierra, and Wicked attend. From the class of 2010, Christian, Darryl, Klaus, Lisa, Maria, Melissa, Santo, Vincent, and Glob Herman attend. From the class of 2009, Adhra, Agape, Frankie (and her boyfriend Tiberius), Hugo, Jay, Roxy, and Tanya attend. Even some students that transferred to the Jean Grey school fly in. Liam and Ginny attend to pay their respects to their former classmate. Following the service, the students and staff mingle. Bastienne gives Ginny a hug and asks how she’s doing. She says things are going well at the Jean Grey school, but there are oddities like the floating creature that acts as their receptionist (Doop). Bastienne tells her that someone used Dane’s login to access the system, but there’s been no other sign of her brother. Ginny figured that was the case. She said at least their mother has access to Dane’s money to keep the farm going. Bastienne then catches up with her friend Jay Guthrie, who is in college. Carom is surprised to find that Academy X graduate Vincent is his vampire hunter teammate Vince. They discuss killing his mother, but Vince says he won’t do the job unless there’s more back-up. Without knowing how powerful his mother is, two may not be enough. Carom says he’ll see if he can recruit some eXalts, though it will mean coming clean about several secrets. Sam catches up with the Manh twins, who are in community college. They say they can sense Plex in Asteroid M below them. He’s very powerful. Sam also visits Julian, who is spending time with his girlfriend, Dagan. Julian brags that college is too easy and he’s going to load up on extra courses next semester. Mac is approached by his former team member, Ruben. Ruben spoke about Thomas during the ceremony. Ruben is working for X-Corporation: Los Angeles now, and he often spent time with Thomas as they lived in the same city. He tells Mac stories about pranks Thomas pulled since he learned to split into several copies. Mac is impressed that Thomas learned to split into more than two, then wonders if there’s a chance he’s still alive: if even one duplicate survived, he could have lived. Meanwhile, David talks to former team member Christian. He asks if he’s had contact with his sister, Christine, since she joined the MRF. He mentions a text message from his birthday. David tells him to ask Christine to come to Utopia the next time she gets in touch. Christian says he’s enjoying working with Hellfire Club: Tokyo (as are Maria and Vincent). David laments training so many kids to work for villains. There’s news from other graduates: Hugo is working for X-Corporation: New York. They’re trying a treatment to help Nicholas, a former student that became violent due to an X-gene implant. Former student Zach is receiving counseling and is doing better (he’s only caused two body swaps in the past few months). Roxy (“Bling”) is writing and producing music through her parents’ music label. Melissa is enjoying her time as New Mutants member, and former teacher Adhra is doing well. As the guests are leaving, Bastienne spots Agape slipping away. She notices Agape is pale and gives her a hug. While pressed against her, she notices the faint scent of blood and sees a slight skin imperfection on her neck that could be fang marks. Bastienne runs to Sam and shares her suspicion. Sam recalls entering Agape’s mind months ago and seeing her obsession with a mysterious man – and the man biting her. Sam sends a message over the comms for a meeting, right at the same time Carom was about to do the same thing. Bastienne then runs into Carom. She accuses him of creating a portal at the Santa Muerte services. Carom convincingly lies that he wasn’t there, but Bastienne knows he’s lying – whose portals look like that? <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;">At the meeting that night, Sam shares her belief that Agape is a blood doll for a vampire. Mac recalls they are called familiars. After Carom hears the story, he expresses disbelief that Sam left her friend in the thrall of a vampire for months after suspecting a connection. He says they should kill the vampire. David suggests to Dagan that she and Julian have a double date with Agape and her “boyfriend.” She can then use her light powers to kill the vampire. He asks if Dagan is comfortable with the plan. Dagan says Agape is in an abusive relationship and she’d be willing to kill the vampire. Carom then tells the story of how his mother disappeared when she was a kid because she was on the run. Then he ran into Mama, and he’s convinced the leader of the Santa Muerte cult in Oakland is his mother. He also finally shares the news about the man in the black mask that turned invisible. Could he be the X-Killer? The others once again wonder if it’s Phantom. Carom says they need to go into the church and kill the vampires, including his mother. Mac says they can’t go in there half-cocked, like David blasting Plex in Asteroid M. David objects: “That wasn’t me – it was the hammer in my brain!” <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;">The group discusses what to do. Do they have enough eXalts to take on a vampire if she’s powerful? Is she even at the church? Carom teleports to the Santa Muerta cult to find out. Inside the church, he asks the deacon about Mama. She’s not there now, but she may come by later. Carom leaves his contact information, but she doesn’t return that night. Liam and Jasmine return, however. Then, on Monday, Carom abruptly gets up at dinner and leaves the room. Bastienne and David notice that Carom stopped eating mid-bite and was acting strangely. David informs the rest of the staff eating at the adult table. As they get up to investigate, Evan hurries over. He’s sensing a mental presence at the school – but then it’s gone! They follow Carom out of the room, but he’s gone. Gabriel in the security room saw him teleport away. He’s able to track the GPS signal in his comm – he’s in Oakland! <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;">Sam assembles the eXalts. The GPS signal is coming from a neighborhood near the Santa Muerte cult. Mac teleports them nearby. Meanwhile, Cynthia greets Carom. They are in one of her havens underground. It’s a lavishly appointed room. She is dressed in a beautiful gown and sits as she addresses her son. She says she’s missed him. Carom feels a wave of affection for his mother. He says he owes a group and has been killing vampires. She says she’s done the same and they can be together now. When Carom resists moving closer, she stands and approaches him, then sinks her fangs into him. <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: justify;">Outside, the eXalts approach the warehouse. When David sees it’s abandoned, the rest enter. Sam senses two minds below them. She rips out a chunk of the floor with her telekinesis to reveal a medical lab beneath the warehouse. Standing next to a dead body with pliers in his hand is a black masked figure. He hisses, “The eXalts!” Bastienne recognizes the voice: it’s Phantom! Then Phantom begins to split into multiple forms and turns invisible…
 * Next:** Issue 75 - 'The Living Dead'
 * Previous:** Issue 73 - 'Wake Me Up When September Ends'