Issue+91+-+'Judgment+Day'


 * Issue 91 - 'Judgment Day' **


 * Plot **

In the aftermath of Avengers vs. X-Men, the Academy X staff faces a changed world. Cyclops, as Dark Phoenix, caused a larger number of latent mutants to manifest powers. Over the summer, ten times as many adolescents as normal became mutants across the globe. Cyclops believes this will force humanity to stop oppressing mutants. He is in S.H.I.E.L.D. custody in a ruby cell on the east coast. The various Avengers and mutant teams (including the eXalts) assist in cleanup efforts worldwide of the damage done by the Dark Phoenix. Bastienne doesn’t return to Utopia. She accompanies T’Challa to Wakanda to help with humanitarian efforts in the capital following Storm’s attack. While Bastienne spends the summer in Wakanda, the rest of the group returns to Utopia. As July begins, the staff completes end of term tasks, like sending reports to the Board of Trustees. One third of the students are in residence during break. Due to Schism, Academy X hosts its own students that cannot or will not return home. They work on various projects. Utopia is self-sufficient in terms of food, water, and energy, but there are other chores, like tending livestock (chickens, pigs, and sheep), cleaning projects at Academy X, and farming. And there are changes to Utopia itself. The island is hundreds of times larger than before…  As a reserve Avenger, Mac gets superhero news. Emma now runs Xavier’s school alone after a staff shakeup. Storm left to lead her own team of X-Men at Logan’s school. The Avengers tripled in size to deal with massive threats like the Phoenix Force. The New Avengers disbanded, though Doctor Strange is Sorcerer Supreme again. The New Mutants also split, and there’s no word if the Secret or Dark Avengers still exist. No one has heard from Mystique’s Brotherhood of Mutants. X-Factor is still operating out of New York City. There’s a new Young Avengers team. Hank and Tigra closed Avengers Academy. One surprise is a new team of X-Men appeared: young versions of Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Iceman, Beast, and Angel! The big news is the creation of the Avengers Unity Squad (dubbed “Uncanny Avengers” by the press). Captain America invited Havok to be team leader. Other members include Thor, Iron Fist, Wolverine, Scarlet Witch, and Rogue as well as eXalts Mystic and Panzer. Heather “Lifeguard” Cameron declined joining. Shortly before the start of the school year, they go on their first mission: stopping the Red Skull from using Xavier’s brain to force people to kill mutants. The Academy X staff is busy as summer flies by. Alice looks for Carom and presses the eXalts to search. She works with Matt on security issues. Matt works overtime to put up surveillance gear to keep an eye on Utopia’s borders. He splits his time between his job, the Morlocks under Utopia, and his family. Alex and Kurt are nearly three and Jessie is over six now. Matt keeps in touch with his S.H.I.E.L.D. contacts. The group is rebuilding after Dane’s destruction of the Triskelion. News breaks that Prop X is ruled unconstitutional. While mutant registration rolls are preserved pending appeals, Governor Sangrey and the Peaceful Coexistence Party hail the ruling as justice. Others vow to appeal. There’s no response from the MRF or Purifiers, as Sam used her Phoenix powers to put those group’s leaders in custody. After the ruling there’s a rise in anti-mutant violence in the Bay Area. “Adult” mutants were targets. Their identities are public knowledge since Mindworm’s attack in Union Square. Mayor Sinclair condemns the attacks, but they continue. There is a great deal of public outcry after a S.H.I.E.L.D. telepath outs David as the MRF member in the “Erik the Red” costume. Even though David was working to prevent deaths, after his possession by Runak he was already viewed as a villain by most humans. Once he’s seen as a participant in the bombing that killed dozens of anti-mutant protesters, there are calls for punishment from all corners. As a result, David lays low over the summer. He spends time on Utopia by himself or disappears for days to visit family. Meanwhile, Dane also keeps a low profile. He spends time with Davan and Dagan. He visits Ginny in New Genosha once she moves in following her graduation from the Jean Grey School. His estate is still being settled after being presumed dead legally. At the moment Matt still holds Dane’s seat on the Board of Trustees, though he’s willing to return it to Dane. Dane plans to work as the school’s technology officer. He works on the school’s farms, improving their yield, and looks forward to Jasmine’s return for her assistance. The group hears little from Bastienne. She attends Utopia meetings online but is quiet about her stay in Wakanda. According to the news, rebuilding is going well in the capital city. T’Challa makes news early in the summer by announcing mutants aren’t allowed in the nation. Shortly after, Bastienne is seen wearing bandages on Skype. With Bastienne in Wakanda and Jasmine with family, Liam works over the summer to brush up on recent law to better act as Attorney General. His wife’s spirit imparted her extensive knowledge and he is well prepared. He supervises Glob Herman and Wicked and works with Bailey to train new police recruits in New Genosha. He finds time to train and his spirit channeling powers seem to improve. Between his headmaster duties and his role as President of Utopia, Mac has a lot on his plate. He often checks in on his son, Aiden, in New Genosha. He’s grateful Aiden shows no sign of being a mutant as Mac hopes for a normal life for the boy. In his limited free time, Mac studies how to use his magical powers without relying on the Ruby Scarab artifact that’s bonded with him. Sam has a hard time dealing with the aftermath of being one of the Phoenix Five. She spends time with family and only does the minimum required for her various positions. She still feels guilty over accidentally killing Matt and is reminded whenever she looks into his phoenix-shaped irises, though his eyes slowly return to normal. She uses Cerebra to recruit students for the fall and keeps in touch with her teammates and Honoka, but is otherwise reclusive. As summer break ends she seems to feel better. She and Matt explore the island. They find the blue orchids Jasmine saw and visit the Morlock caves. Several dozen Morlocks live there that were granted asylum. Utopia has miles of caverns below the surface and the Morlocks are making themselves at home with the assistance of Matt. Valerie will be their representative on the surface. At one point on their hike, Sam sees something large moving in the forest at the horizon… Bailey settles into his new role as officially elected mayor of New Genosha. He greets the 100 new mutants when they arrive. The group includes familiar faces: recent graduates Ginny, Erica, Mercy, and Ethan have all moved to the town. Bailey also works with the three newly-elected town council members, Neal (from X-Corporation: Los Angeles), Finn (a dock worker), and Jamie Lynn (the Evan worshiper). He outlines an agenda involving setting up laws, zoning, and taxes to try to get the town more autonomous from X-Corporation: Los Angeles. He’d like to get businesses and housing into private hands as soon as possible. He works with Liam to make sure the town courts are running smoothly and is in discussions over where the town’s boundaries lie in terms of policing duties. He finds time to go on dates at least weekly with Tsu-Zana. When not in New Genosha or with Tsu-Zana, he is in Asteroid M setting up a living space. He hopes Plex will let him use the former space station as an emergency shelter in case of a Genosha-style attack. He works on his training his new adaptation abilities. Perhaps most changed is Dagan. After losing much of her memory, Dagan has found her powers limited after pushing herself to destroy the Phoenix Force. She can still copy others’ powers, but only one at a time. She’s also lost the ability to draw on any power she once copied. She is no longer the outgoing, happy-go-lucky girl she once was. She is quieter, more serious, and determined. She spends most of her time over the summer completing her RN degree. Ruth works on her various school and governmental duties, though she keeps to herself and no one is really sure what she’s up to. She attends all meetings where she’s expected. As for Utopian governmental meetings, Mac proposed several items: whether to create a larger representative legislature, whether to allow humans to move to Utopia, and whether David’s citizenship to Utopia should be revoked due to his involvement with the MRF. Ultimately, it’s a decision for Attorney General Liam Stonecrow – have David’s recent actions on U.S. soil violated his probation due to killing one of the Guardians? Liam will soon make a ruling. On Wednesday before students return, Bastienne reaches the San Francisco docks after over twenty four hours of travel from Africa. While waiting for a Hellfire Club: Tokyo boat to New Genosha, she is approached by Michael “Discord” Schwartz, who she is surprised to find is the school’s new teacher. He will be taking over Carom’s job. Michael hopes they can move past their previous conflicts, as he lost his memory while helping the Academy X staff regain their powers two years ago and is a new man. They flirt a bit and walk together to Academy X. The other staff are surprised to see Michael. Michael doesn’t remember them, but he was briefed on his co-workers when was offered the job. Matt was only just informed that three of the other board members (Honoka, Shiro, and Agape) hired him. Usually the Hellfire Club: Tokyo members won’t work with Agape due to her vampire connections. Have Hellfire Club: Tokyo and San Francisco’s vampire population ended their conflict? Mac gives Michael a tour of the school. Michael says he hopes they can work together despite past issues, and Mac agrees. The next morning is Liam’s hearing on David’s actions in the Mutant Revolutionary Front. The entire school staff except for Michael attends. As an eXalt, Bailey is also there. While waiting to start, Alice admires Bastienne’s high tech bracelet from Wakanda. Liam begins by going over pertinent facts: David was recruited to join the MRF by Christine, a former Academy X student. He approached Sam and Matt with a plan to go undercover: Sam would remove the memory of the plan and implant a trigger that he would report to Matt if the MRF planned activities that would result in civilian deaths or widespread damage. Matt would inform a S.H.I.E.L.D. contact, but it wouldn’t be officially sanctioned. They go forward with the plan without telling anyone, though David did tell Bastienne he would be meeting with Christine. The headmistress was okay with the meeting as long as it didn’t involve Academy X. After David joined the MRF, the terrorist group stopped killing civilians, though they did bomb a church that was recruiting Purifiers. The bombing lead to the death of Bishop Hinton, a friend of Bastienne’s. David gave S.H.I.E.L.D. false intelligence to get them off the cell’s trail. The cell then planned their big operation where David caused a distraction to draw S.H.I.E.L.D. away while the MRF (unknown to David) would bomb an anti-mutant protest. David couldn’t have reported in at that point anyway because the trigger was to go to Matt, and Sam had accidentally killed Matt by that point.  Liam shares that since a S.H.I.E.L.D. telepath revealed David was involved, several groups sent him legal opinions that David should be punished. None are aware of David’s undercover actions, however. Liam wants feedback from the group, as those who know David best and as members of Utopia’s government, as the legal decision will have an impact on the nation’s diplomatic interactions with the rest of the world. There is a lot of discussion back and forth. As a former police officer, Liam understands that undercover operatives sometimes have to make difficult decisions while playing a role. Matt speaks up for David, as he’s the only one who’s previously done undercover work. Dagan demands David take responsibility. He wasn’t sanctioned by any official Utopian or other agency. He can’t just do things and justify them afterwards. When he argues, she says, “This is why people die!” and storms out in tears. Mac is concerned there is a pattern with David and his actions that should not continue. Liam is sticking to the facts of the case, not weighing David’s past behaviors. Sam speaks in support of David. Dane doesn’t say much, though he seems to support punishment. Bailey and Alice are quiet, though Alice doesn’t understand why he didn’t turn the cell over to S.H.I.E.L.D. sooner. Bastienne admits David is not her favorite person (to which he mutters, “that’s hurtful”), but it’s clear he did not kill in this case and they should not look at his past actions when judging this case. Mac says he’s at least an accessory after the fact. Liam calls for a non-binding secret ballot to give him feedback: a vote on David’s guilt and what kind of punishment he deserves. He will consider the feedback and rule in a few weeks.  After the meeting, Bastienne follows Dagan’s scent to the Academy X memorial garden. Dagan is at Jessica’s grave. She’s been crying. Bastienne guesses she’s still feeling guilty about not preventing the Phoenix Force from causing deaths, so the case about responsibility struck a chord. Dagan doesn’t want to talk about the hearing. She says she met Michael and finds it odd he’s actually Davan, her brother. She says she misses Jessica. Bastienne agrees and says Jessica would be proud of her. Dagan begins crying and says she doesn’t even remember Jessica or Bastienne from her childhood anymore (Xandra Nova destroyed those memories). Bastienne gives her a hug. Dagan says she can’t talk about it and walks off. Bastienne goes to the headmasters’ office and opens mail from Wakanda. T’Challa sent a message of support. She talks to Deacon Graves, the man in charge of her church in the Bay Area, and plans to visit soon.  That night is the staff meeting before the start of the new school year. Several decisions must be made. Michael will be taking over as Paragon team adviser from Carom. Ruth will continue as Ardents team adviser. Dane will serve as the school’s technology officer and live in Lucius’ former room. The group appoints Gabe as Head Boy and Melody as Head Girl. Senior Prefects will be Ashley and Jamie. Junior Prefects will be Imani and Hunter. Team advisers choose team leaders. Mariana will continue as Excelsior team leader, Jamie as Hellions team leader, and Ashley as Paragon team leader. Lee will become the Corsairs team leader, Hunter will become the Exemplars team leader, and JJ will serve as Ardents team leader. The incoming freshmen are sorted into teams. Joining the Ardents are Gary and Valentina. Gary can create a sword of light while Valentine’s powers are unknown. New Corsairs are Taki and Lina. Taki can manipulate technology while Lina has pyrokinesis. Bo and Maggie will be Excelsiors. Bo can turn sound into physical force and Maggie can disrupt electrical power sources. The Exemplars will welcome Lucy and Ratu. Lucy has four red insectoid-like eyes and can sense life, while Ratu has webbed fingers and toes and an extra set of eyelids to see underwater. Numa and Naomi are joining the Paragons. Numa is a mutate (not a mutant) from Wakanda with enhanced reflexes and speed. Naomi can magnify her voice. The new Hellions are Siobhan, who can scry through reflective surfaces, and Iago, who can boost social skills.  At the end of the meeting Alice pleads with the eXalts to continue to search for Carom. Several promise to keep looking, though they privately don’t seem enthusiastic. Alice says Carom told her that the leader of Hellfire Club: Tokyo, a man simply called “The Emperor”, is extremely powerful. Maybe he can help. Dane says he’ll talk to the group. Mac says he’ll inquire with Doctor Strange. After the meeting, the group finds that several kids staying at the school over the summer are waiting for them. A villain named Arcade uploaded videos to YouTube called “Avengers Arena.” It seems he kidnapped super-powered young people and forced them to fight to the death. Included were Academy X students or recent graduates Gabriel Lisowski, Hikaru Koyamada, Ashley Davis, Dondre Cook and Melody and Jay Guthrie, as well as students who left during Schism, Liam O’Rourke and Ginny Lightfoot (Dane’s sister). Melody, Jay and Dondre died, as did another twenty or so kids! It seems Arcade replaced the Avengers Arena “contestants” with life model decoys so no one would know they were missing. The group springs into action. Alice monitors the internet, Sam gets in touch with S.H.I.E.L.D., Mac calls Steve Rogers, Bastienne calls the Lisowski and Guthrie households and Mac issues an official condemnation. S.H.I.E.L.D. rescues the Avengers Arena survivors and sends teams to take the life model decoys into custody. Dane doesn’t want S.H.I.E.L.D. to send a team to Utopia to take the life model decoy of Hikaru, but the rest of the staff agrees. David hides in the basement while S.H.I.E.L.D. is on the scene. The news is everywhere on Friday. Captain America coordinates a video conference between Academy X, Xavier’s school, the Jean Grey school, the Braddock Academy, and Avengers Academy. They pledge to work together to find Arcade, who is still on the loose.  On Saturday the student staff returns, including Avengers Arena survivor Gabe. He agrees to continue as Head Boy, but Ashley doesn’t want to be part of the student staff anymore. She will take over as Combat Club Captain from Hikaru. Mariana becomes Head Girl and Madison becomes Senior Prefect. A memorial is planned for next Saturday. Academy X welcomes new seniors Diana Fox (Hellion) and Hollow (Corsair) now that they have room. On Sunday Bastienne, Michael and Bailey take the Poseidon ferry to pick up returning students in San Francisco. Police have already cleared the rowdy protesters from the area, and it seems one of them is holding a David doll hung in effigy. Bastienne sends a picture to David with the caption “San Francisco sends their love.” One student has not returned – Evan, the clone of Apocalypse. Back at Academy X, there is the traditional new year picnic, greetings, and team meetings. New senior, Diana Fox, is a telepath. She tells Sam she senses an odd mental presence that comes and goes. Sam says it’s just the alien artificial intelligence that lives in a former space station under the school. Diana blinks, but seems to accept the news. At team meetings that night, the Ardents ask David to direct the play they didn’t get to finish last semester. He agrees. The Corsairs miss Hikaru and want to continue team battles. The Excelsiors reveal Shadae had a hard summer and is now a cutter. The Exemplars remain MRF supporters despite the recent bombing. The Hellions miss Melody. The Paragons ask to use weekend free time to take internships with Hellfire Club: Tokyo in New Genosha. They are approved. The meetings are interrupted by sounds of Plex below, but this is not unusual. <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; text-align: justify;"> The Board of Trustees meeting takes place that evening. Matt reveals that Agape appeared out of nowhere, like last year. It seems like Honoka and Shiro are still working with her. Late that night Evan melds through the wall using powerful telekinesis and terrifies Sam. She can tell he’s stronger than she is now. Evan says he no longer wants to be adopted because it might be dangerous to her family as there are those who want to use him. He says he can protect her now. On Monday morning all the students attend the Combat Club meeting, including Evan. He uses his powers to help others train, saying only the strongest will survive. Monday night is the Utopia meeting. They continue to discuss whether to have a larger representative legislature, whether to allow humans to live on Utopia, and the large number of visa requests. Bailey attends and gives updates from New Genosha. Aquafarming has begun. At town council meetings they have discussed thefts which are likely linked to Morlocks, the large number of powerful mutants in Asiantown, and a desire to make New Genosha more independent. Bailey shares that recent graduates are employed. Erica is working construction, Ginny is farming, and Ethan and Mercy want to open an elementary school. Mac agrees, as Crystal has pushed to open a school for their son, Aiden. He also shares news that Georgie, Bastienne’s sister, has not reported to work in a few days. Bailey shares that Bailey doesn’t reveal that he was visited by the scientist personality of Plex who is asking him for a favor. Bailey leaves to go on a date with Tsu-Zana, his half-Kree girlfriend. Meanwhile, Bastienne checks in on Georgie. It’s clear she’s been gone for nearly a week – since she returned to Utopia. She sends a text message to Georgie’s ex-fiancé, Rafé, that he was supposed to keep an eye on her. Rafe responds with “f* you.” The first week of classes passes uneventfully. On Saturday the school holds a memorial for Hikaru, Dondre, Melody, and Jay. Ginny attends from New Genosha and Liam visits to pay his respects, as he was also in the arena. Names are put on a memorial stone and Hikaru is buried. The Avengers Arena survivors are clearly still not doing well, as well as Madison as her boyfriend Reptil died. On Sunday Glob Herman and Wicked report to Liam that they saw a huge green scaled creature with giant antlers on the island. It is identified as a bilgesnipe. Sam realizes some of the flora and fauna are from other planets – the bilgesnipe is from Asgard and the orchids Jasmine originally found are from Hala (the Kree home-world). Another week passes uneventfully, though Bastienne is more withdrawn. Then, on Friday, there is news that another adult mutant was attacked in the Bay Area. Most Academy X staff feel it’s not their place to get involved. That night, Ruth knocks on Bastienne’s door. She says, “It’s time. You knew this was coming. He needs me.” Bastienne assumes it has to do with Billy and says, “Tell him we miss him.” On Saturday Mac finds two resignation letters from Ruth: one for her position as business manager and one as Secretary of the Treasury. That afternoon, Liam makes an important decision: David is guilty. Outside, while students enjoy free time around the pool, there is a fiery explosion. There’s momentary panic as some worry about the Phoenix Force-like blast. But emerging from the fiery is none other than former eXalt Billy “Blur Pang”!... **Next:** __ Issue 92 - 'Run Boy Run' __ <span style="display: block; height: 1px; left: 0px; overflow: hidden; position: absolute; top: 1853.5px; width: 1px;"> The first week of classes passes uneventfully. On Saturday the school holds a memorial for Hikaru, Dondre, Melody, and Jay. Ginny attends from New Genosha and Liam visits to pay his respects, as he was also in the arena. Names are put on a memorial stone and Hikaru is buried. The Avengers Arena survivors are clearly still not doing well, as well as Madison as her boyfriend Reptil died. On Sunday Glob Herman and Wicked report to Liam that they saw a huge green scaled creature with giant antlers on the island. It is identified as a bilgesnipe. Sam realizes some of the flora and fauna are from other planets – the bilgesnipe is from Asgard and the orchids Jasmine originally found are from Hala (the Kree home-world). Another week passes uneventfully, though Bastienne is more withdrawn. Then, on Friday, there is news that another adult mutant was attacked in the Bay Area. Most Academy X staff feel it’s not their place to get involved. That night, Ruth knocks on Bastienne’s door. She says, “It’s time. You knew this was coming. He needs me.” Bastienne assumes it has to do with Billy and says, “Tell him we miss him.” On Saturday Mac finds two resignation letters from Ruth: one for her position as business manager and one as Secretary of the Treasury. That afternoon, Liam makes an important decision: David is guilty. Outside, while students enjoy free time around the pool, there is a fiery explosion. There’s momentary panic as some worry about the Phoenix Force-like blast. But emerging from the fiery is none other than former eXalt Billy “Blur Pang”!...
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