Issue+97+-+'War'


 * Issue 97 - 'War' **




 * Plot **

Apocalypse has risen! Academy X student Evan Sabahnur, a clone of the X-Men foe Apocalypse, embraced his dark destiny during an attack on the school by Hellfire Club: Tokyo. In trying to prevent Apocalypse’s rise, the secretive group may have caused it. In the aftermath of the attack, the leaders of Hellfire Club: Tokyo were revealed to be future versions of eXalts Billy “Blur” Pang and Ruth “Blindfold” Aldine. As the “Golden Claw”, Billy is Emperor of the group and Ruth is Lady Lotus, the Guji, or priestess, of the group. In retaliation for Hellfire Club’s attack on Academy X, Evan reduced hundreds of the group’s powerful mutants to ash and left its headquarters in New Genosha a crater. He then departed for parts unknown – perhaps to join Clan Akkaba, the mortal descendants of Apocalypse. Clan Akkaba has been searching for “seeds,” or mutants that can host Egyptian gods. Then, in a test of a new biological weapon, Clan Akkaba released a gas in New Genosha that only targeted the humans in the town. Half of the humans died from the gas, while the other half had X-genes uncontrollably activated. The eXalts hurried to the scene to help. Mac’s ex-girlfriend and mother of his son, Aiden, nearly died from the attack. Aiden’s X-gene activated. Fortunately, the boy’s mutant power was the same as his father’s and he was barely able to save Crystal’s life. But chaos reigned in the town. What if Evan released the gas globally?

Phantasma, as eXalts team leader, has the eXalts restore order following the attack. She’s concerned that a member of the eXalts, Dane “Panzer” Lightfoot, didn’t respond to New Genosha. Her mental search reveals the eXalt is missing! The rest of the team jumps into action. Glimmer uses powers borrowed from Mystic to drain newly activated mutants to unconsciousness before their uncontrolled powers cause any further damage. Already one fire blaster has started a fire and a mutant girl with lightning powers is shooting electricity everywhere. Mustang creates light constructs to snare other uncontrolled mutants. Ultragirl, who joined the eXalts on the mission, physically restrains another out of control mutant. Blur zips around the perimeter, identifying threats in the area. He notices Primal has channeled the spirit of Sobek, the Egyptian crocodile god who recently possessed him. This time, instead of adopting some of Sobek’s physical attributes like an elongated snout and scaly skin, Primal transforms into a fully crocodile/human hybrid form! But most disturbingly, Primal runs to the ocean and swims away! But there’s no time to deal with that problem. The rest of the eXalts help put out the fire, subdue uncontrolled mutants, and clean up the aftermath of the attack. K9 and Bastet help collect the dead. Mystic makes sure Crystal and Aiden are okay. Crystal is barely conscious. Aiden, panicked, hugs his “Uncle Mac” (as he doesn’t know Mac is really his dad), but as he still doesn’t have control of his powers he nearly drains Mystic to unconsciousness! Aiden sobs that his mother almost died. Crystal, barely conscious, tells Aiden his father will help them. Aiden is confused as he realizes Mac is his father. Mystic assures Aiden that Crystal will be okay.

Once the immediate danger passes, Bastienne realizes a bead on her Wakandan tech bracelet is flashing red. She opens the app on her phone to see there’s a warning about an environmental hazard. It lists chemical compounds but Bastienne doesn’t recognize the chemical symbols. Mac, with his background in science, is able to identify them. One of the elements in the gas Evan released is a metallic compound that contains gaseous Vibranium! The incredibly rare metal is found in only a few locations on Earth – including Wakanda. How did Evan get access to Vibranium and why did he use the powerful metal? Meanwhile, Bailey uses his super senses to track the attack’s origin to a spot upwind of the town. He detects the same antiseptic smell that indicates one of Apocalypse’s soldiers was at the scene. Sam finally reaches Major Henderson at S.H.I.E.L.D. to inform him of the attack. If the gas was released in a more populated area (like a major city), millions could die. Major Henderson appreciates the update and asks her to send a sample of the gas to S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Los Angeles headquarters. Sam agrees.

A figure approaches the eXalts through the dispersing gas. It’s Honoka “Nightwind” Ogawa, the former leader of Hellfire Club: Tokyo until her involvement in the attack on Academy X forced her to resign. She was also once a staff member at Academy X and member of the eXalts. Bailey asks if they should arrest her, but Sam says there’s no point. Honoka says she’s come to offer her help. Since she’s no longer part of Hellfire Club: Tokyo, she’s willing to rejoin the eXalts and act as liaison to Hellfire Club: Tokyo. Despite the group’s recent attack on Academy X, Hellfire Club shares the eXalts’ goal in stopping Apocalypse from unleashing further death and destruction on the world. Honoka admits she still doesn’t have any powers (as Sam telekinetically threw her into the gas Hellfire Club: Tokyo used in the Academy X attack that depowers mutants), but she’s a skilled martial artist. And, after all, the group is down a few members (Panzer and Primal are still missing). Sam asks the rest of the eXalts if they have any objections, but the rest of the team is either accepting of Honoka or doesn’t voice their concerns. Sam then puts David in charge of the eXalts so she can fly to Los Angeles to bring a gas sample to S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters. Honoka offers a Hellfire Club: Tokyo jet. Sam thanks her, but says she can fly there just as quickly. Bailey, as Mayor of New Genosha, goes door to door to make sure everyone is okay. David makes sure the uncontrolled mutants who were drained are taken to beds at the town’s urgent care clinic. Dagan and Bastienne help the overwhelmed medical staff. After the situation is finally taken care of, Bastienne sends e-mails to Director Owens and T’Challa (King of Wakanda) about the red gas attack that used Vibranium.

Late that night David calls an emergency eXalts meeting. Considering the attack on New Genosha, they need to start planning how to respond to Apocalypse. First of all, what are the current threats or problems on the table? The group lists Evan, Sekhmet (who recently had her lion cultists attack Bastet’s churches, leading to the deaths of dozens of Bastet worshippers as well as former Academy X student Rafé Lopez), Plex (the alien artificial intelligence that, until recently, was under Evan’s control), and the seeds. What is Clan Akkaba planning to do with the seeds they’ve abducted? They already have the seeds for Isis (Christian), Horus (Robyn), Anubis (Dmitri), Seth (Ian), and Ptah (DJ Niji). It’s likely Sekhmet is holding Bastienne’s sister Georgie captive, as well. Georgie was Sekhmet’s seed and once merged with the lion goddess, though she was freed using a powerful artifact. Georgie has gone missing however, and the group suspects Sekhmet abducted her. They’re not sure what Sekhmet has planned for Georgie – perhaps she’s using her as insurance that Bastienne won’t strike back? And then there’s Osiris, or Christine “Tattoo” Cord. Christine is a former Academy X student who dropped out to join the Mutant Revolutionary Front, a terrorist group. The eXalts had Christine in custody until Hellfire Club: Tokyo’s attack allowed her to escape. Now no one knows where she is. Clan Akkaba could have her already.

Mac suggests they find another seed and use it as bait. There are likely many other seeds out there, but Georgie might be their best option. Unlike the others, they have a good idea where Georgie is held: among the lion cult in Wakanda. David asks if they even want to save Georgie. After all, she could be a threat. Bastienne glares at David for suggesting they shouldn’t save her sister. Even if they find Georgie or another seed and use it as bait to draw out Evan, how can they stop the powerful mutant? He turned hundreds of Hellfire Club mutants into ash with a wave of his hand. David says the green gas used by Hellfire Club: Tokyo on their attack on Academy X might be the only way to stop him. While Evan was able to overcome its depowering effects, it did stop him for a time. The gas might at least weaken him. Mac already analyzed the gas and thinks he can make more from a plant sample they gathered, but it will take time. David says Billy could slow time to speed up the process. Another option might be traveling to another dimension where time moves more slowly. They already know of a likely dimension from research done during the Avengers vs. X-Men conflict last semester. Mac says the amulet he created to travel to the dimension was a one-time use item and it would take time to create another. Billy asks Mac if his mother, Clea, taught him to how create dimensional portals. Mac is confused – while Clea raised him, she never revealed her true identity and therefore never taught him any magic. Bastienne gently says, “Billy – Roman.” She’s referring to a child Bastienne and Billy had in his timeline, but not in this timeline. Billy is likely from another timeline and his memories don’t always match this reality. Honoka offers Hellfire Club: Tokyo’s help. With their equipment, Mac could create the weapon more quickly. The group settles on a plan. With Billy’s ability to slow time and Honoka’s equipment, Mac should be able to create one dose of the weapon in a week. They only have enough of the plant for one. He’ll make a bullet to fire at Evan. It’ll have to be enough.

Once they have the gas as insurance against Evan, the plan is to tackle Sekhmet first. David asks Bastienne if she thinks she can draw the lion goddess out. Bastienne says she might be able to. Sehkmet has enjoyed taunting her. She tried contacting Sekhmet in her dreams, but was only taunted. Bastienne suggests that David might try contacting Sekhmet by praying to her. But even if they found a way to face Sekhmet, they wouldn’t be able to kill her. Sekhmet has been known to possess her followers. If she’s killed, the follower would die and she would return to Heliopolis, unharmed. David asks if they could contain Sekhmet somehow. Dagan brings up Academy X student Seth. He’s a human mage whose specialty is binding opponents in physical objects. He once contained Cassandra Nova. He might be able to contain Sekhmet. They could also boost his powers using Vibranium. The rare metal can enhance mystic energies, which is probably why it was present in the red gas used to attack New Genosha. But Seth is a human and therefore vulnerable to the gas. He could have an X-gene activate – or die. Mac plans to study the gas to see if there’s a way to shield Seth from its effects. And they’d still need a way to get Vibranium. David recalls that Academy X graduate Sofia could create any form of matter. It only lasted for a week or two, but that would be long enough to boost Seth’s powers. They agree to the plan.

The next week is busy. Matt uses his S.H.I.E.L.D. contacts to search for Dane. It seems the former Academy X headmaster left Utopia to search for his son, Davan, who disappeared during Hellfire Club’s attack on the school. The reigning theory is that Billy accidentally sent him back in time while trying to save him from the green gas. Dane followed a lead to Japan but has since disappeared. Bailey oversees several funerals in New Genosha. Before the first burial, Bastienne sneaks into the town’s cemetery and buries a chicken, some tobacco, a bottle of rum, and places a blank stone marker to honor Baron Samedi and Maman Brigitte (as she was raised to respect voodoo practices). David prays to Sekhmet, but she says, “You had your chance to join me” and mocks him. S.H.I.E.L.D. informs Sam their tests on the red gas used in New Genosha reveal it’s magical in nature. As eXalts team leader, Sam gets word from Rachel Grey at Wolverine’s school that precognitive mutants aren’t getting any visions after December 21st. What could that mean? Lastly, the school staff notices that students have been taking turns monitoring the school at night. Ever since Hellfire Club’s attack on Academy X, the kids have been pushing to have student teams patrol the school grounds. On Saturday, the soccer finals are held. After several close games, the Hellions pull off a somewhat dirty win in the final game. After the party that follows, Sam uses Cerebra to once again search for the seeds. This time she’s able to find one: Georgie is in the basement of a lion cult temple in Birnin Zana, Wakanda’s capital city. Bastienne and Matt, who often accompany Sam when she uses Cerebra (as it’s potentially dangerous), are concerned about the eXalts going to Wakanda. Following Storm’s attack on Birnin Zana during Avengers vs. X-Men, foreign mutants have been banned from Wakanda. When discussing the news later, Honoka makes an offer: one of Hellfire Club Tokyo’s businesses, the Pacific Trading Company, has an office in Birnin Zana. They could use one of the group’s jets to travel there. Sam could use her mental powers to make the eXalts look like employees of the Pacific Trading Company. Then they could search for Georgie. David says they should bring Seth to Wakanda. Sofia created Vibranium and the human mage could being Sekhmet. The group agrees. On Sunday the eXalts “Gold Team” (or the main eXalts team) boards the Pacific Trading Company corporate jet to Wakanda. Michael and Susanna remain behind to oversee the school, while the eXalts “Red Team” (made up of Academy X graduates and allies) is on alert for threats to Utopia. The flight takes nearly twenty four hours. As the plane nears Wakanda, Bastienne seems more and more “out of touch”. She eventually closes her eyes and mumbles softly in another language. It seems she is hearing the prayers of her followers in Africa. Due to the time zone difference, they arrive in the late afternoon in Birnin Zana on Monday. From the plane’s windows the group can see there’s a city-wide festival. The plane’s pilot says it’s a coronation celebration. Yesterday T’Challa voluntarily stepped down as King of Wakanda and his sister, Shuri, who was Princess Regent, is now Queen. Is the group arriving in the midst of political instability? The plane lands at the private airfield near the palace. Honoka, as the leader of the Pacific Trading Company’s delegation, leads the group. When they disembark, they are surprised to find an official diplomatic delegation is waiting for them. The lead diplomat is none other than former King T’Challa! When several eXalts shoot Bastienne a look, she whispers that she didn’t tell him they were coming. It’s likely, however, that T’Challa could track Bastienne’s tech bracelet and knew of her arrival. There’s another surprise: standing next to T’Challa is Robyn, the seed for Horus! T’Challa formally greets the delegation and invites them to the palace for a late lunch. The group enters a private suite to find plates of Wakandan delicacies and diplomats waiting to greet the Pacific Trading Company. But when the doors close, T’Challa touches a bead on his tech bracelet. Some kind of psychic blocker is activated and the mental illusions projected by Sam suddenly end. The Wakandans can now see the eXalts for who they are! T’Challa officially greets the eXalts. David asks if they’re under arrest as foreign mutants in Wakanda. T’Challa says the law is still in place, but as members of Bastet’s entourage they are allowed in the country. Bastet, the panther goddess, is the patron god of the nation, after all. Sam has other concerns. She wants to know if Robyn is a spy for Clan Akkaba. Robyn says no and tells her story. Clan Akkaba soldiers burst into the cabin she’d rented outside Vancouver and knocked her out. She awoke in an underground cell that somehow prevented her from using her powers. A man made entirely of stone (even his clothing) visited her daily. He had a glowing red stone in his turban. He used the stone to empower her, somehow. She felt stronger, more alert, and more resilient. One day she figured out how to overcome the cell’s power dampening and exhibited a new power: turning into air. She left the cell and found a hallway lined with similar cells. Inside were the other seeds: her brother Dmitri (Anubis), two African-Americans (Christine/Osiris and Christian/Isis), and two Caucasians (Ian/Set and DJ Niji/Ptah). She was afraid she wouldn’t be able to return to her air form if she solidified, however, so she found an air vent and escaped. The opening was part of a maze of air ducts, however, and by the time she made it to the surface she couldn’t remember how to get back. The duct finally exited in the middle of a big city – Birnin Zana. Fortunately T’Challa soon found her. His super senses allowed him to detect a seed was nearby and he took her in. The eXalts fill T’Challa in on their plan to find Georgie. He agrees to help them. Sam mentally scans for Georgie, but it’s difficult to sense her without Cerebra. She’s able to narrow down her location to somewhere at the western edge of Birnin Zana. It’s the same area where Robyn escaped from her cell. T’Challa said there aren’t that many buildings big enough to house large underground complexes. He theorizes that one of the new buildings on the western edge of the city could be above the Clan Akkaba cells or lion cult temple: the Wakandan School for Alternative Studies. The school was recently constructed as a place to train Wakandans mutated by the Vibranium mound or other super-powered citizens. It was built using the most up to date technology and likely has some power dampening technology. T’Challa’s sister, Shuri, is the headmistress however, and he doesn’t know its secrets. Bastienne asks if they’d be allowed inside. T’Challa says the goddess won’t be denied access anywhere in Wakanda. She could visit the Vibranium mound itself if she so desired. The group agrees to visit the school after eating. During the late lunch Billy asks Robyn why she didn’t get a new uniform after he ruined her last one. She says she was trying to be incognito in Vancouver. T’Challa quietly asks Bastienne how the baby is doing. She says “she” is doing well. Bailey inadvertently eavesdrops on the conversation using his super senses and is surprised to overhear that Bastienne is pregnant. Bastienne also tells T’Challa that Wakandan student Numa is doing well at Academy X. Dagan then asks T’Challa some questions about the school. He explains that they used lessons from what worked at Xavier’s school and Academy X, such as breaking the student body into smaller teams. The meal ends and the group gets into a motorcade to head to the Wakandan School for Alternative Studies. As the motorcade nears the school, David is preoccupied sending text messages. He looks at Sam and taps his forehead. The two have a quick mental chat. Moments later David flies off with Dagan, Bastienne and Seth to search for another location nearby. He needs Bastienne’s help to find something that looks like an “armory” or “arena” as she knows the city best. Bastienne quickly identifies Fort Hahn, a military outpost next to the mutant school, as the most likely “armory.” Getting inside would normally be difficult, but Bastienne announces to the guards that Bastet has arrived. They fall over each other welcoming her to the fort. One says she’s come at a difficult time for the country, what with Shuri taking over for T’Challa. Bastienne tersely says that Shuri doesn’t have her blessing, which creates a stir. The guards soon escort the group into the fort for a tour. Minutes later, however, screams and gunfire are heard nearby. The group rushes to the disturbance to find a courtyard/arena in the middle of the fort. There they see the seeds – Christian, Christine, DJ Niji, Ian, Dmitri, and even Robyn! The soldiers surrounding the group as well as Robyn shapeshift into Clan Akkaba soldiers. The seeds are surrounded! A moment later, pink portals appear in a balcony overlooking the courtyard. Emerging are Evan, a burqa-clad Blink, and the stone-skinned man: Apocalypse’s right-hand man, the immortal called Ozymandias! “Excellent job,” Evan says to the group. “You brought all the seeds to me at once, except for one.” He gestures to Blink, who disappears and returns a moment later with the real Robyn. Evan continues, “Now come to my side, Runak!” The group looks in shock at David as he grins. He says to Bastienne, “Too bad. I was hoping to tell you myself.” And then he touches his Star of David which becomes a mystic hammer – and blasts her! Seth moves quickly to Bastienne’s side as she falls. Dagan heals Bastienne as David – or, really, Runak – flies to Evan’s side. Little does the group know that Runak doesn’t see Evan. He sees the original Norse All-Father: Cul, Odin’s older brother who was recently prevented in causing Ragnarok during Fear Itself. But is Runak being fooled or is Evan truly Cul? And there’s another surprise: stepping into the arena is Georgie, and it’s clear from her attire that she’s Sekhmet! “You should never have slept with him,” Sekhmet says, referring to Bastienne’s dalliance with Georgie’s ex-fiancé. “After that, she came to me willingly,” Sehkmet continues, explaining that Georgie willingly bonded with Sekhmet after that betrayal. Bastienne nearly hisses, “So did he,” referring to Rafé choosing to be with her. Sekhmet growls. Evan holds up a hand. “The time for battle has come. The seeds will fight to the death until only four remain, and those four will become my Horsemen. The rest must depart.” Taking the cue, Blink gestures and portals appear beneath Dagan and Seth, sending them away. Now only the eight seeds remain in the arena with Evan, Runak, Ozymandias, and Blink watching from above. The arena is ringed with Clan Akkaba soldiers, making sure none of them try to escape. The battle is joined! Sekhmet immediately launches herself at Bastet. She lashes out with twin khopeshes, injuring Bastet. Bastet regenerates the damage, then says, “Working together is the only way to survive this. I may have slept with him, but he called me by your name. You killed the man who loved you.” She then takes up a defensive stance instead of fighting back. Christian/Isis unleashes a bright flash of light to blind all but his sister, Christine/Osiris. Only DJ/Ptah and Ian/Set are affected. Osiris pushes the advantage and tackles Ptah, trying to disintegrate her by touch. Ptah’s force field holds, however. Ptah moves free. A rainbow tornado surrounds her, restoring her vision. Set creates an illusion to hide himself from everyone but Ptah, but only Osiris is fooled. Robyn/Horus joins the attack against Osiris and Ptah and fires a ray of disintegration at Osiris. Osiris is only slightly hurt. Dmitri/Anubis follows his sister’s lead and hits Osiris with an earth blast, but Osiris goes insubstantial and avoids the attack. Evan grins watching the battle unfold. Then an elderly man appears next to him out of a pink portal. The old man is holding a familiar object: the Ruby Scarab from within Mac! “Excellent job, Franklin,” Evan says. “Now we have everything we need.” The battle continues. Sekhmet considers Bastet’s offer and finally says, “I’ll leave you for last.” She attacks Isis and injures him. Isis responds with a non-lethal attack on Sekhmet. The soldiers disapprove and attack Isis, injuring him. The fight must be to the death! Bastet scales the arena wall and lands in front of Runak. “I’ve only tried to protect you. You need me.” Evan gestures to the melee. “Prove it.” Bastet surprises Evan by grabbing the Ruby Scarab from his hand and a scepter from the elderly man’s hand. She then leaps back into battle. Meanwhile, Horus has hit Isis with a disintegration ray. He’s badly hurt! Anubis follows the attack with an earthen hand that crushes Isis, killing him! The first seed is down. Osiris grabs Anubis in retaliation, partially disintegrating him. Sekhmet and Set follow the lead and land attacks on Anubis, clawing him and mentally blasting him. Ptah finishes him off with any icy ray. Two seeds are down! Bastet and Horus hit Set, badly injuring him – and then, suddenly, Set and Ptah disappear! They were illusions all along! Evan scowls and says, “They forfeit their chance. Only four seeds remain.” Georgie/Sekhmet, Bastienne/Bastet, Robyn/Horus, and Osiris/Christine stand tall. “Let my foes tremble!” Evan exclaims. “These are my Four Horsemen!”… **Next:** __Issue 98 - 'Famine'__
 * Previous: ** Issue 96 - 'Pestilence'