Issue+41+-+'The+Curse'


 * Issue 41 - 'The Curse' **




 * Plot**

Following Mystique’s intrusion, the student staff handles the aftermath of calming people and cleanup while the eXalts and senior staff meet. Sam and Matt take care of the twins, but the rest are there. They decide there’s not much they can do about Mystique entering the school, but the wisdom of keeping a staked vampire in the basement is questioned. Ultimately it’s decided there’s no other good place to keep her. Jess feels Jubilee should be un-staked in a secure area to work through her vampirism. The others disagree and she is kept staked for now. Dane has discovered that Mystique put the Danger Room robots on “overdrive” – they were more dangerous, but prone to burning themselves out. Other discussion goes nowhere and the group agrees to rest and talk more the next day.

On Monday Matt and Sam leave on their honeymoon. They’re driving across the country on their motorcycles. Thomas, an Academy X graduate and former Prefect, will take over for Matt. Meanwhile, staff members will take turns taking care of the twins. Instead of Julian running Combat Club, David asks the kids to help clean up following the chaos over the weekend. He allows them to fight at the same time, so not much cleaning gets done. As classes end on Monday, Cameron returns. He immediately calls an eXalts and staff meeting.

In the meeting Cameron explains how he was contacted by an unknown figure a week ago while the rest of the eXalts were in S.H.I.E.L.D. custody. The figure had abducted his siblings and their families and demanded he and Agape help him with a mysterious mission. Cameron was forced to assist. The figure was revealed to be the Director of Weapon X – a scarred figure David identifies as Malcolm Colcord. Due to Cameron’s status as Weapon XI, he was coerced into assisting. Colcord also abducted the families of other “Weapons”. Their mission was to retrieve thousands of dead mutants stolen from Weapon X. After a week in isolation, it was finally time to strike. Cameron, Agape, and the other Weapons struck an abandoned medical facility where they defeated several super-powered Asians. They discovered the mutant bodies, but they’d been cut up and stripped of their X-genes. Cameron’s team retrieved a crate of the X-genes and burned the building to the ground. Weapon X was happy with the return of the X-genes and returned their families.

Cameron believes that, due to the presence of so many super-powered Asians, Hellfire Club: Tokyo must be involved. The group discusses what to do about the information. Many believe that the presence of so many new “adult mutants” may be linked to the X-gene extraction Cameron discovered. There is some debate on whether this is something that merits the eXalts’ involvement, however. Many staff are more concerned about the vampire activity in the area – both because the eXalts owe Hellfire Club: Tokyo the debt of killing the vampire leader and also because they hope killing the vampire leader may cure Jubilee of her vampirism.

A plan is created: the eXalts will investigate a blood drive taking place the next day. One team will wait in the tunnels beneath to see if vampires are involved. Another team will watch from the ground, while a last team will watch from above. This plan is given additional impetus when Lucius hacks into the blood bank’s records and matches them to the hospital records Dane had previously obtained. There is a discrepancy between the shipments from the blood bank to the hospital – somehow many units of blood are disappearing! The group suspects vampire involvement and hopes to track them via the blood drive the next day. Meanwhile, Jessica conducts research on Jubilee’s blood. It clearly doesn’t act like other blood. It keeps the body in stasis. The cells don’t die – or grow or change.

On Tuesday, the team assembles after classes. Bast, Blur, Panzer, and Glimmer (with Sorceress’ powers) wait in the tunnels beneath the blood drive at a local Best Buy. Medic and Mustang watch from the school van. Cameron hides on top of the store while Joni and Pixie keep the Blackbird cloaked nearby. Just as the blood drive starts, Mustang notices an odd shimmer in the air near the van. Then, suddenly, electricity shoots through the vehicle. Cameron sees the attacker appear from invisibility – it’s Dr. Ohm, one of the Guardians! A vicious battle breaks out. It soon becomes clear that the Guardians are there not to knock the eXalts out; they are there to kill them. The one exception seems to be the two female members of the team: Outcry and Liberty. Dr. Ohm, Watchman, The Badge, Beacon, Bullethead, Blitz, and Phantom ate not holding back. They even seem a bit crazed as they attack. They shout obscenities and blame the eXalts for “ruining their lives.”

Members of both super-teams are soon in jeopardy. Watchman attacks Mustang’s pressure points, slowing him. Beacon mind controls Medic, but Medic is then knocked out by Outcry’s sonic shout. Bast is then mentally stunned by Beacon and collapses. The eXalts respond by knocking out Beacon, but then he disappears! The group realizes that Phantom has hidden him. Bullethead, Outcry and Dr. Ohm fall next, but Chi is badly hurt after reviving Medic. Vortex is able to blow a bag of flour over the battlefield, revealing that Phantom is hiding his fallen comrades in an invisible van. Panzer destroys the van, cutting off their escape. Phantom, still invisible, flees.

While everyone is distracted, Blitz takes the opportunity to get revenge on the eXalts and kills the helpless Chi. The group is shocked! Melissa teleports Blitz into Limbo and leaves him there under Mustang’s orders. The team leader then goes berserk. Once Watchman is dropped by Blur, Mustang delivers a killing blow. He then uses a light platform to throw the unconscious Beacon and Dr. Ohm into the air, hoping the fall will kill them. Panzer, having just dropped Liberty who was trying to escape with an unconscious Outcry, tackles Mustang. Blur finishes Mustang off, knocking him unconscious. Vortex, who had been using lethal attacks versus Bullethead, flies off before S.H.I.E.L.D. arrives.

Dagan attempts to wake up Bastienne, but Bastienne takes a swipe at her. She’s still recovering from whatever mental prison she was trapped in. Dagan is eventually able to rouse her “mother.” Medic revives his downed teammates and even saves two dying Guardians (Bullethead from Vortex’s blast and Beacon from Mustang’s attack). By this time S.H.I.E.L.D. has arrive. Daisy Johnson is furious. With several squads of Heavy and Light Cape-Killers, she arrests the eXalts. Mac points out that the eXalts did nothing wrong – due to the Noel Act, they were engaging in self-defense to contain dangerous superheroes. Daisy admits he’s right, but only if their story checks out. She views the footage from the eXalts’ uniform cameras. She releases all but David and Melissa. David can be seen on one camera killing the unconscious Watchman. Melissa can be seen teleporting Blitz away.

The eXalts return to Academy X without David, Joni, or Melissa. Bastienne calls Joni’s distraught mother to give her the bad news. The teachers spend time with their teams to help them grieve (Bastienne takes the Hellions; as a former Corsair, Cameron takes that team). Mac gives a speech to the students about fighting the enemy without becoming like the enemy. He notices Dagan knows some of it from memory. Mac also finds Wicked speaking to a “ghost” of Joni. Joni tells Mac to tell the students not to be sad. She had the dream of becoming a superhero and she was an eXalt. How many people achieve their dream before they graduate from high school? After a memorial service at the school, the staff attempts to get things back to normal the following week.

On Wednesday of the following week, a surprise visitor appears at the school. It’s Michiyo Watanabe, Ebon Samurai in service of Hellfire Club: Tokyo. She’s a vampire hunter. She’ll be staying to make sure the eXalts keep their end of the bargain and kill the vampire lord as they agreed. Mac agrees to give up his room and move into an empty room so she has somewhere to stay. Then, on Saturday, while the kids are enjoying a “field day” to blow off steam, Jess goes to get medical supplies with Santo. Bastienne receives a phone call. It’s one of the vampires. They have Jess and Santo, and they’ll trade them for Jubilee – or Jess and Santo are dead!

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 * Next:** __Issue 42 - 'Fresh Blood'__