Issue+39+-+'Taste+of+Blood'


 * Issue 39 - 'Taste of Blood' **




 * Plot**

In a flashback to just after the eXalts defeated The Guardians, the team searches the out of business convenience store for clues. The Guardians had seemed to store the stolen precious metals from the San Francisco Mint in the building. A thorough investigation of the building only reveals empty soda bottles and foam coffee cups, however. While the team searches, in the jet Joni and Dagan hear a news story about the Church of Humanity. A reporter says that a group of dozens, if not hundreds, of Church of Humanity followers apparently committed suicide at a prayer meeting held by Cardinal Alvarez the previous night. The group is not saddened by the news of the deaths of many anti-mutant zealots. With nothing else they can do at the store, the group returns to Academy X.

Back at the school, the team is met by Matt, Jessica, and Lucius. Matt is glad to see Sam is safe. Lucius is going to investigate to see if real estate records for the convenience store lead anywhere. Jess has been making sure the kids are going about their normal routines. At this point David returns from his secretive mission with Cordelia. Following a nap, he convenes an eXalts team meeting and fills them in. He says that Cordelia sensed that one of her former students, a girl named Michelle, was in trouble. Michelle had been an 8th grader at Xavier’s school when most of the staff of Academy X were seniors. Michelle was a quiet girl, however, and no one really remembered her. David says that Michelle was killed by members of the Church of Humanity. Michelle went to a church where the mutant-hating fanatics attended. David and Cordelia investigated the Church of Humanity and discovered that they are behind many mutant murders which are hidden as suicides or accidents. The group agrees that they need to do something to help lone mutants. David suggests building a safe house, but others worry that it might be more dangerous to group them all in one place. Then, in the middle of the meeting, Dane receives a phone call from Meghan.

Meghan is in a panic. She says that she and Jubilee were ambushed by a group of shadowy assailants. When she blasted them, she noticed they had fangs. Another blast turned one into dust! She managed to get away, but they kidnapped Jubilee! The eXalts hurry to the scene in the Blackbird. Vortex and Phantasma fly ahead. Phantasma looks for Meghan in the busy shopping district of Pier 39. Vortex spots her from above – but something’s wrong. When they reach her, she’s gripping her stomach and in pain. Panzer breaks the sound barrier to get there sooner, causing a sonic boom. It soon becomes evident she’s in labor! Mustang orders Medic to help due to his healing ability. Medic says no – he wants to search for his girlfriend, Jubilee! Blur agrees, as he has also lost a loved one. Finally, Dagan says she’ll take Medic’s healing abilities to help. Mustang also orders Panzer to help with the search for Jubilee, but Panzer refuses as he wants to go with Meghan. Mustang says that Panzer is using his "one" out. Panzer says Mustang shouldn't talk about abandoning the team, referencing when Mustang left the team to help Christine while the rest of the group took on Hellfire Club: Tokyo aboard the Helicarrier. The two groups then split up. Phantasma knows that the Morlock tunnels are nearby. The Morlocks were the ones who helped deliver her children and should be able to help Meghan. Phantasma, Panzer, Dagan, and Meghan hurry to the Morlock tunnels while Mustang, Medic, Blur, Vortex, Chi, and Bast search for Jubilee.

There is no sign of Jubilee in the alley between two stores where she was kidnapped. Bast is able to follow her scent, however. Strangely, only Jubilee’s scent is detectable leaving the alley. She traces it to a drainage pipe that leads under the city. Mustang uses his ability to light the way and the search is on. The group follows Jubilee’s scent down branching pipes until they reach a large junction area where several pipes meet and a ladder ascends to the surface. They find a small pool of blood – and Jubilee’s scent is gone! There is no sign of her above in a small park where two homeless men are bedding down for the night. Vortex flies off for some flashlights. The group resumes the search. They split off into separate pipes, but after an hour they’ve found nothing. Even Blur, who’s able to cover considerably more ground, has no luck.

Meanwhile, Phantasma leads her group to a little-used subway station that is near an entrance to the Morlock’s home. She bangs a message into the pipes. Minutes later, a Morlock who appears human except for an insect head, arrives. Phantasma agrees to vouch for her team members and the Morlocks leads them through the secret entrance. They are met by the Morlock Elder and a midwife called Petunia. Petunia ushers Meghan into a tent and cares for her. An hour later, Meghan’s contractions end. She was merely in false labor. Phantasma thanks the Morlocks for the help. The elder says he’s happy to help, but that her children still need Morlock names. Phantasma agrees to return over the weekend for the naming ceremony, as she and Matt have chosen names.

Back in the tunnels, Billy spends all night searching while using his mutant power. By dawn he feels he’s been down every drainage pipe in the city – with no luck. Defeated and discouraged, the team returns to Academy X. After some rest, it’s time for a special ceremony at the school – Leong, Nga, and Julian will be choosing their code names. Leong and Nga successfully defended the school against Maya, while Julian is being honored for winning the Last Mutant Standing competition at the end of the previous semester. Leong and Nga choose the code name Template, while Julian chooses Hellion. Sarah’s hand happily attends the ceremony.

Following the ceremony, the group holds another staff meeting. They brainstorm ideas in hopes of figuring out a way to find Jubilee. Ideas are batted around, but since vampires have no body heat or scent, it’s difficult to find a way to locate them. Samantha contacts Professor X to see if he can use Cerebro to find Jubilee. After an hour, he gets back to her with bad news: she can't be found. Maybe it's due to her being infected with Hope, or maybe she's somewhere she can't be traced? The other alternative is that she's dead... Meanwhile, other staff members research vampirism. Basic information is found: vampires can be killed by fire, sunlight, silver, or beheading. A stake to the heart will immobilize them. Some vampires are harmed by garlic, holy water, holy symbols, and other means – but not all. Some vampires have other weaknesses, such as not having a reflection or a shadow, but not all vampires have these qualities. The group makes a plan to make silver weapons (by using Sofia’s mutant power) and do some research to see if they can find places the vampires are feeding.

Through online research, the group finds no evidence of exsanguinations or suspicious bite marks in news reports. They do find news of weakened club-goers rushed to the hospital. They also notice that there have been many recent blood drives. Also suspicious is the recent increase in unsolved robberies, street-level violence, and arsons. The group debates ways to find or capture a vampire. David has the idea of using Amanda’s ability to detect magic to locate vampires. She is brought to the junction where the group lost Jubilee’s scent, but she can’t find anything. Samantha then realizes that the vampires are increasing their influence over areas of San Francisco, such as hospitals and nightclubs. She has the idea of contacting Hellfire Club: Tokyo, since they are also involved in controlling aspects of the city from the shadows.

Dane contacts the leader of Hellfire Club: Tokyo on the west coast, Ebon Shogun Maki Matsumodo. She agrees to meet with the headmasters. Dane and Bastienne meet Maki at a private room at the rooftop restaurant of the Four Seasons in San Francisco. She agrees to trade information on the vampires (kuei-jin, as she calls them) for the favor of killing their leader. The headmasters agree. Maki says that vampires have many different sects, and each sect has different abilities. She also tells them that the vampires seem to be located under the western part of the city. The group decides to search the nightclubs in the western part of San Francisco for vampires. Billy, using his super-speed, is able to bring Amanda from club to club quickly. She eventually locates a vampire. At the club, David follows the vampire as he is about to feed on a drunk club-goer. David reveals his light powers and the vampire runs out the back – right into Dane. Dane grapples him while Sam reads his mind. She now knows the secret entrance into the vampire lair – and Jubilee is a captive there! The group rushes to the lair – a cavern.

Upon entering the lair, the eXalts are attacked by vampires and several human “familiars.” Medic impales a familiar with his silver sword, not aware at first that it was a human. The familiars swarm the eXalts. The vampires show superhuman speed when they rush up to attack. They strike several times, dropping Blur. Bast is surrounded quickly. Panzer charges ahead to the vampire leader, who uses mind control on Mustang. Chi uses her gravity control to knock out many familiars, while Vortex finishes them off. The vampire leader flees as the battle turns against him. He turns into an ice storm and disappears into a crack in the cavern. The other vampires flee. But Jubilee, seemingly a captive, leaps onto David’s back and bites him in the neck! Phantasma and Chi quickly knock her out, but now it is known – Jubilee is a vampire!

Cameron flies off to spend some time with Agape following a stressful couple of days. The eXalts bring a staked Jubilee back to the school. As soon as they return, S.H.I.E.L.D. Capekillers arrive – the eXalts are under arrest!


 * Next:** __Issue 40 - 'Take Me as I Am'__
 * Previous:** Issue 38 - 'Temptation Waits'