Issue+40+-+'Take+Me+as+I+Am'


 * Issue 40 - 'Take Me as I Am' **




 * Plot**

Jubilee has been captured, but it was too late – she’s a vampire now. Following the stressful night, Cameron flies to San Francisco to see Agape. The rest of the team returns to Academy X, unsure of what to do about Jubilee. As they land in the hangar, they hear the distant sound of a helicopter. Suddenly two squads of Heavy Cape-Killer S.H.I.E.L.D. agents fly into the hangar accompanied by a squad of Light Cape-Killer agents, including Commander Daisy Johnson and Agent Owen, her second-in-command! They announce that the eXalts are under arrest for stealing from the San Francisco Mint. The eXalts surrender. Johnson orders her Cape-Killers to handcuff the eXalts and take their comms. Samantha sends off a quick mental message to Matt that they’ve been arrested by S.H.I.E.L.D., but then a Cape-Killer helmet is put over her head (it blocks mental powers). When Mac is handcuffed, he recognizes the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent – it’s his cousin, Agent McAllister! The formerly A.W.O.L. agent punches him in the kidney, nearly knocking him out. He claims Mac tried to resist. Johnson shows her arrest and search warrants to David (as eXalts team leader). Liam contacts David mentally. Liam is with Matt and they want to know what to do. Meanwhile, Johnson gives orders to have all the eXalts sent to the helicopters outside to be taken away. David thinks quickly – Joni and Dagan are on the Blackbird with a staked Jubilee! He tells Liam to have Melissa teleport onto the Blackbird and hide Jubilee, but leave an injured Amanda. He then tells Johnson that an injured student is on board, but she’s not under arrest. Johnson agrees to allow her to get medical help. The plan works – the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents arrest Joni and Dagan, but allow Amanda to be taken to the lab.

The S.H.I.E.L.D. agents then search Academy X for the missing precious metals, but they find nothing. They don’t find anything illegal, though they do find a vial of Hope in the lab. They leave it there. David is brought to the helicopters and everyone is transported to S.H.I.E.L.D.’s west coast command center – the Triskelion. It’s a metal island larger than an aircraft carrier. The eXalts are questioned one by one. Bastienne is asked about Lucius’ illusion powers. She says he’s infected with Hope and lost them. Mac is asked about David’s whereabouts from last week (when he was with Cordelia). They want to know if he hid the stolen goods. David is also asked about his movements. When he doesn’t cooperate, Johnson calls in S.H.I.E.L.D. telepaths. He’s then asked why he’s working with a woman who killed hundreds of Church of Humanity members. David won’t respond and says reading his mind is against his rights. Dane is asked about the source of his newfound wealth. When Dane won’t break his contract with Wakanda to reveal the source of his money, the telepaths reveal the truth. Lastly, the telepaths can’t read Sam’s mind due to the Cape-Killer helmet. They ask her about her connection to the Morlocks. The next morning, Commander Johnson brings the eXalts to a conference room and removes their handcuffs. Dane realizes they were power-dampeners. Johnson says she questioned the eye-witnesses that saw the eXalts with the stolen goods. Her telepaths detected implanted memories. The security camera footage was also faked – it was an illusion. She apologizes, but makes it clear that she is not going to be friends with the eXalts as her predecessor, Maria Hill, was. She does tell them that the Guardians are now the suspects, but they have gone into hiding. Mac complains about McAllister, but Johnson shrugs it off. Angry and defiant, the eXalts fly home on S.H.I.E.L.D. helicopters.

It’s mid-morning when the eXalts return home. The group receives word that Cameron is gone on “personal business” with Agape and might not be back for a while. Bastienne goes to Jess, upset by her arrest. She had flashbacks to her last arrest when she was in custody for killing a child soldier of the Purifiers. Sam and Matt hurry to the Morlock tunnels to make it to the naming ceremony for the twins. The Morlock Elder presents the twins with their new Morlock names: Serenity for Alex and Indigo for Kurt. The parents receive presents and invite the Morlocks to their wedding. Meanwhile, Meghan welcomes Dane home with a big hug. She’s also glad to see David is okay. Then Dane and some students search for S.H.I.E.L.D. bugs that could have been left behind when they searched the school, but they don’t find anything. Lucius checks the computer system but also finds nothing. Mac spends time with Jubilee, who is staked and restrained in the medical lab. He secretly feeds her some blood. It makes her less pale but has no other effect.

When Sam and Matt return, Mac calls for a meeting. The group discusses what to do about Jubilee. There doesn’t seem to be a cure for her, and they’re not sure what to do. Jess says they can’t leave her staked forever. For now, they agree she must remain staked. Dane contacts the X-Men, Reed Richards, and Dr. Strange for help. None of them get back to him immediately. He also sends information about their arrest to the Nothing Can Stop the Blog! website. While doing that he notices an e-mail from Dolphin sent to all staff: “I told you not to trust S.H.I.E.L.D.. I had to kill 3 more adult mutants this week. They are definitely violent. When will you look into this?” The group ignores the e-mail with so many other issues on their plate. Back on the issue of the Guardians, Lucius says that the closed convenience store they used to hide the stolen metal belongs to a local 7-11 franchise owner. Dane asks him to look deeper. After the meeting, Sam tries to get into Jubilee’s mind to see what she can find, but vampires are hard to read and she fails.

On Monday morning classes resume. Julian runs the Combat Club practice. He’s arrogant but fair, and David is impressed. After classes Sam has a helicopter lesson. David visits Meghan to chat. He explains his relationship with Cordelia. Surprisingly, it works, and he’s happy. Meghan is unsure why David would like Cordelia (a former villain!) but she’s happy for him. She’s surprised that her baby isn’t going to be Dagan (since it’s a boy), and somewhat relieved that her future isn’t written. She says she held onto David’s mutant abilities (with her ability to borrow powers) in hopes her daughter would have those powers, but now it doesn’t matter. She’s trying to choose a boy’s name. On Monday night, Billy and Amanda look for vampires again, but don’t find any. Samantha fails to enter Jubilee’s mind again on Tuesday. On Wednesday, news breaks on the trial of the X-Corporation: Los Angeles members who were allegedly guilty of trying to kill the governor while under mind control. Surprisingly, they are found not guilty! That night, Dane hacks into San Francisco General Hospital’s computer network from a San Jose café and downloads blood bank files. Sam finally gets into Jubilee’s mind. She’s surprised to find that her presence triggers the removal of Jubilee’s memories from the time she was a vampire! She sees that Jubilee is angry, but mostly hungry for blood. They feed her blood and she feels better, but is still a danger. She is left staked again.

Dane goes through the hospital blood records on Thursday but finds nothing. Tatiana’s cat watches. On Friday the sophomore spies’ punishment ends. Matt hears from the Morlocks: they don’t know anything about vampires, but they’re still hearing word about secret places in the city where humans can go to get powers for a while: MGH? They’re also concerned about the recent robberies, gang violence, and arsons. A shadow war is going on. Lastly, they’ve heard that the Mutant Revolutionary Force may be active again and recruiting. David looks for news on the Church of Humanity. The deaths of 212 members last week has been ruled a mass suicide. There is no news of Cordelia. That night, Amanda and Billy look for a vampire – and find one! When Sam reads her mind, she realizes it’s not a vampire, but a spell casting wiccan. Amanda’s magic sense doesn’t always sense vampires! Saturday brings a lot of wedding preparation. A tent is put up in the backyard and supplies are gathered. Unfortunately, Cameron and Agape are still gone! Finally Valentine’s Day arrives. Guests begin showing up at the school early in the day. Lucia Callasantos (“Thornn”), a co-leader of X-Corporation: Los Angeles and a Morlock, arrives as a representative from her group. Some graduated Academy X students arrive: Tanya (“Jade”), Thomas (“Duplicate”), and Jay (“Icarus”). Laura (“X-23”) from X-Factor arrives on behalf of Wolverine. She’s also brought a present from the west coast school: a week-long honeymoon for the couple! Some Morlocks attend, such as the insect-headed guy and Valerie, the human runner and past girlfriend of Matt. Sarah’s hand is happy to be there and has painted nails. Lastly, Rafé’s date arrives: Georgie, Bastienne’s sister! At brunch Rafé proposes and Georgie says yes!

Dane officiates the wedding and Sam looks radiant. Matt is in his uniform and looks handsome. They hold the twins during the ceremony. Everyone is happy for the couple (except maybe Valerie). The twins are put down in the couple’s room. Thomas agrees to watch them. Everyone dances, chats, or otherwise has a good time at the reception. Then Joni, in the security room, breaks in with bad news: the Danger Room robots are loose and knocked out Lucius in the lab! The eXalts hurry downstairs with X-23 in tow. X-23 follows a scent to the Danger Room with Medic while the rest fight the robots. Panzer quickly destroys one robot, but Bast, Blur, and Glimmer are quickly taken down by the robots. They’ve clearly been upgraded! Several more foes are dismantled, but Mustang is knocked unconscious and things look dire. Pixie teleports in with Thornn. With assistance, the eXalts finish the robots. Meanwhile, Medic was cut off from X-23 when the Danger Room door closed. He finally overrides the lock and enters – only to be jumped by a freed Jubilee! And X-23 is unconscious! Jubilee bites Mac in the neck, but he puts her into a pin. She stabs him with a silver sword, but then seems to recognizes him and goes limp. Panzer arrives and stakes her – but not before X-23 wakes as a vampire! She turns into an ice storm and disappears.

At the same time, Phantasma is notified by Santo that Matt was checking on the twins but is now missing! She rushes to her room. She’s shocked to find Mystique holding Alex! Mystique reveals she programmed the Robots and freed Jubilee so she’d have a distraction to visit her grandchildren. She says the rumors are true – Alex is a special child. She congratulates Sam on her marriage and wishes her luck with Alex. As Dane approaches, she leaps through the window and escapes. The eXalts are left to deal with the mess left behind…


 * Next:** __Issue 41 - 'The Curse'__
 * Previous:** Issue 39 - 'Taste of Blood'