Issue+69+-+'Panic'


 * Issue 69 - 'Panic' **




 * Plot**

An ancient evil god known as the Serpent has awoken. His nine avatars, wielders of Asgardians hammers known as the Worthy, are sowing panic and terror across the world. eXalts team leader David “Mustang” Goldberg became one of the Worthy called Runak, Breaker of Skies, when he was seduced by a hammer in San Francisco. Samantha “Phantasma” Stone, acting eXalts team leader, led the eXalts to victory against Runak in Sacramento, but Runak was recalled by the Serpent. As the worldwide crisis continued, the eXalts defeated the risen dead at Academy X and helped defend against an attack on Washington D.C. known as Blitzkrieg USA by defeating Nazi mechs at the nation’s capital. But the leader of the Worthy, the Red Skull’s daughter Sin (now known as Skadi), has impaled Captain America… The Black Widow and the Falcon hurry to Bucky’s side and confirm the worst: Captain America is dead. Skadi has moved away and is gone. The mechs continue their assault nearby, and they’ve broken the perimeter set up by the Avengers. They’re attacking houses and apartment complexes. Buildings have begun to collapse and fires are spreading out of control. The civilians have gone into a state of panic. Phantasma orders the eXalts back into action. Dane “Panzer” Lightfoot, Bastienne “Bast” Noel, Cameron “Vortex” LaPrue, Mac “Mystic” Strange, Lucius “Prism” Hayes, Ethan “Subsume” Connors and his sister Mercy “Sublime” Connors renew their attack on the mechs. Phantasma then sees a surprising sight: a man with a parachute lands next to Bucky’s fallen form. It’s S.H.I.E.L.D. commander Steven Rogers, the former Captain America. He kneels by Bucky’s side and simply says, “I’m sorry, Bucky.” He then turns to Black Widow and the Falcon and begins to organize the defense of D.C. He asks Phantasma if her students at Academy X are prepared to help evacuate civilians in the city. The Avengers Academy kids are already on the scene but they need more support. Back at Academy X, Matt has restored power following the undead attack. He’s restarted their communicators and boosted their signal so the eXalts can communicate with the school. David “Mustang” Goldberg, temporarily possessing the body of his fellow eXalt and daughter Dagan “Glimmer” Lightfoot, overhears Samantha planning to send volunteer students to Washington. He argues against the plan. Sam and Mac support the idea, however. The kids have trained and are ready, and they’ll only send volunteers from the junior and senior classes. Mac teleports to Milwaukee en route to Academy X. He sees that the rioting continues downtown and that a large number of people have flocked to a nearby church. When he arrives at the school he finds that the students are clustered in the Danger Room. Some have managed to get cell phone signals and have learned Captain America is dead. They ask Mac if it’s true. He confirms the news and tells the kids that he’s looking for volunteers to help evacuate D.C. Julian immediately volunteers. Other students follow, including Gunther, Ginny, Taz, Jordan, Kenji, Laurie, Aliyah, Carrie, Dondre, Erica, Gilberto, Liam, Phillip, Robin, Shiloh, Mercy, Shaun, and Patrick. David tells Gunther, Shaun, and Patrick that they’re needed to defend Academy X if necessary and they can’t go. Glob Herman, a graduate that’s staying at the school, also volunteers to go. David says Julian is in charge. Mac creates a portal to Washington, D.C. through Milwaukee. The students arrive in the capital. The eXalts lead an attack on the mechs in the residential area while their students go into the buildings to rescue people and evacuate civilians. Sublime joins the students. The battle rages on the streets. The eXalts destroy several of the mechs, but Prism is badly hurt and Panzer is hit by a missile. His liquid metal form explodes and it seems he’s dead. Then his metal pieces begin slowly moving towards one another and reforming. One of the mechs attacks the Academy X kids. Mercy and Taz are injured and Jordan is knocked down and dying. Laurie and Kenji attack the mech. Laurie destroys the mech, but not before Kenji is injured and loses control of his mutant ability. Soon bio-mechanical tendrils are attacking all over! Julian, Ginny and Gilberto try to subdue Kenji but are knocked out. Shiloh is injured, but draws Kenji’s attention. Robin is then able to get past the tentacles and uses his super strength to knock the mutant out. Meanwhile, the other students help rescue civilians. Carrie, Aliyah, Phillip and Latoya rescue people from buildings. Dondre tunnels under rubble to save a trapped family. Erica lifts rubble to save another trapped victim. Liam mentally urges people to stop panicking and evacuate the area. Phillip becomes trapped rescuing people from a fiery building when the roof collapses. His healing factor saves his life, but he can’t get out! Glob Herman runs inside and saves Philip and the other victims. On the streets the last of the mechs are destroyed and the battle in Washington D.C. is won. While the Academy X students continue to assist civilians, the eXalts rendezvous with Steve Rogers and the Avengers. Steve tells the group that he’s learned that Odin continues to build weapons in Asgard for razing Earth. Loki has escaped his confinement but he freed Thor. While planning to get Thor back to Earth, Odin stopped the brothers and their allies. He tried to convince Thor to abandon Earth and stand with Asgard, but Thor refused. Disgusted, Odin sent Thor and Mjolnir back to Midgard, but warned him that he had to stop the Serpent before he reached the gate to the World Tree in Broxton, Oklahoma or he’d have no choice but to wipe out all life on Earth. There’s other bad news. Thing of the Future Foundation has been possessed by the other hammer that fell in New York City and has become Angrir, Breaker of Souls. He has defeated the Future Foundation and the Red Hulk. Spider-Man is fighting a villain known as Vermin. Juggernaut, or Kuurth, Breaker of Stone, has defeated volunteer Initiative heroes. The X-Men are now on the scene containing him. Iron Man has been defeated by the Grey Gargoyle, or Mokk, Breaker of Faith, in Paris. He has fled the scene. The main Avengers team is still fighting the Hulk (or Nul, Breaker of Worlds) in Brazil and Namor has engaged Attuma (or Nerkkod, Breaker of Oceans) in Atlantis. Plus massive earthquakes have erupted worldwide… One earthquake has struck along the San Andreas fault line. Academy X is severely shaken. David ordered the students upstairs to defend the school and many of the kids are knocked down by the massive quake. There are cracks through the basketball court and the school’s docks are destroyed. There’s damage in New Genosha and San Francisco. David deputizes students to act as team leaders (as the team leaders are all in Washington D.C.) to take charge. Meanwhile, in Washington, Amanda teleports next to Steve Rogers with Doctor Strange and former Academy X student Amanda. Nick Fury has also arrived and Thor descends from above. Thor says he can defeat the Serpent because it’s been prophesized, but he will die as a result. Steve says that’s unacceptable. Thor, Iron Man, and Steve Rogers then put together a plan. Tony will build weapons to help the Avengers defeat the Worthy. He will go to Asgard to use their resources. Steve will go to Sweden where intelligence suggests Sin, also known as Skadi, has gone. Nick Fury is put back in command of S.H.I.E.L.D. Thor will confront the Serpent to buy them time. Steve gives orders to the various Avengers teams, but the eXalts aren’t under his command and they’re free to decide what to do next. There’s no shortage of places that need help. The dead have risen worldwide and the Worthy continue their rampage. While the eXalts discuss what to do next, Mac has a conversation with his father, Doctor Strange. Steven sees that Mac’s uniform is bloody and asks how he’s doing. Mac says he’s healed himself and he’s fine now. Steven then says he’s sorry he hasn’t been available but they’ll talk soon. Samantha gives Amanda a hug and asks how she’s doing. She says she’s fine. She’s learned from Doctor Strange how to teleport allies anywhere on Earth. She’s been assisting the Avengers with moving heroes where they need to go, such as helping Iron Man get away from Paris. Since the only hero left to confront Mokk in Paris is Pepper Potts in one of Tony’s suits, the eXalts plan to go to Paris with Amanda’s help. Then Lucius gets a phone call from Old Lucius back at Academy X. He’s restored power to the lab after the earthquake. He says one of Dane’s machines has detected a portal that opened in Sweden nearly an hour ago, but it’s closed now. Lucius recalls that the machine was specifically designed to detect portals to Muspelheim in hopes of rescuing Billy. Have the fire giants come through to Earth once more, and are Billy or Meghan with them? The eXalts debate whether they should fight one of the Worthy or head to Sweden. Lucius argues that Ragnarök is approaching and they need to respond to the gate. Other heroes are fighting the Worthy, but no one is trying to stop Ragnarök. Ultimately the others agree. David, still in Dagan’s body, wants to assist in Sweden. The Academy X kids, including Mercy, remain in Washington to assist with the ongoing evacuation while Amanda retrieves David on Utopia. Amanda then teleports the entire group to the location of the gate in Sweden, though she doesn’t accompany them as she’s needed elsewhere. The group is first surprised by bright sunlight when they arrive. It’s late morning in Sweden. The eXalts have arrived in a clearing flanked by trees on one side and an empty parking lot on another. There are three rune-covered stones (the Ledberg Stone) nearby in the center of the clearing. Then Dane and Bastienne realize the rest of their allies are frozen in place. Stepping out from behind one stone is a familiar woman with red hair. It’s Meghan, or Sinmara, Queen of the Fire Giants! Meghan approaches Dane and greets him. She says she’s sorry she didn’t have more time to talk earlier, but maybe they can come to an agreement now. Ragnarök is approaching and the Asgardians will be defeated in the final battle. Dane asks who she’ll stand with, and she says she’ll stand with her family. Dane says the eXalts are her family, as are Dagan and Davan. Meghan disagrees, saying her family are those that stood by her. She was abandoned by Dane and the others in Muspelheim and they did little to try to find her. Her loyalty is to her husband, Surtur, and her half-fire giant children. She offers Dane a choice: he can stand with her and she’ll guarantee his safety and the safety of Davan. While Dane considers the offer, Bastienne sneaks over to a rune stone and attempts to push it over, but fails. She then uses her claws to deface the stone. Meghan notices that Bastienne is conscious for the first time. Meghan borrows Cameron’s mutant power to blast Bastienne away from the stones, but Bastienne dodges the attack. Meghan then borrows Samantha’s telekinesis to throw Bastienne into a tree, stunning her. Meghan turns to Dane and says she needs an answer. Dane agrees to side with Meghan. Meghan then says there’s no point to continue the illusion. She drops the illusion she created with Lucius’ power to reveal a gateway open to Niflheim, a region of Hel. Through the gateway Dane can see a massive figure chained to the icy ground: it’s Fenrir, the gigantic wolf of Norse myth! Around Fenrir are a number of frost giants from Jötunheim. They are using their ice powers to weaken the metal chains. Fenrir has already freed two of its paws! As Meghan admires her handiwork, Dane surprises her by stabbing her through the torso. She drops, and suddenly the eXalts are free once more! Bast has recovered from Meghan’s attack. She leaps to her feet, then teleports through the gate into Fenrir’s shadow. She attacks one frost giant, injuring him, then teleports back into the shadow of one of the rune-covered stones. Half of the eighteen frost giants continue freeing Fenrir while the other nine come through the portal. Three each attack Panzer, Bast, and Mystic. Each are injured, and Mystic is momentarily stunned. Mustang, still in Glimmer’s body, rushes to Meghan. She’s unconscious and her pale skin has turned red. Her red hair has turned black, with only a single red streak remaining. She’s dying! He uses the healing power he borrowed from Mystic to heal her. When his first attempt doesn’t work, he pushes himself to heal her once more, fatiguing himself. Subsume is surprised when a younger version of his sister, Mercy, appears from another dimension. The weakened dimensional barriers have allowed her to come through! Subsume takes advantage of the situation and mimics his sister’s abilities. He tells Mercy to take cover. Subsume then runs into the middle of the frost giant and unleashes a powerful wave of heat. The same tactic worked when he used cold against the fire giants, and he’s hoping heat works against frost giants. It works! Several giants collapse from the onslaught while others are hurt. The battle’s momentum soon swings the other direction, however. One of the giants reveals itself to be Laufey, King of the Frost Giants, when he frees Fenrir’s last paw. Vortex fires at Laufey but misses. Prism misses Fenrir with a darkness blast. Mystic is stunned and can’t close the portal in time; Fenrir comes through! He tramples over Subsume, stunning him. Fenrir then tries to bite Mustang, but misses. Phantasma uses her telekinesis to grab Fenrir to toss him back through the gate, but Fenrir resists her attack. Phantasma then grabs one of the stones and impales Fenrir’s side. He’s only slightly injured, but the eXalts are heartened to see he can be hurt. Bast leaps onto Fenrir’s back. Fenrir shakes her off, but Bast is able to claw Fenrir in the side, injuring him again. Panzer picks up Meghan’s sword, Leviathan, and stabs Fenrir in the side. Perhaps the great wolf can be defeated? Laufey leads the rest of the frost giants through the gate. He attacks Vortex with an icy blast, but the airborne mutant’s cloud of debris protects him. The rest of the frost giants follow their king’s lead and attack Vortex. After dodging several attacks, he’s stunned. Mystic creates illusory duplicates of himself, then sends a gout of flame at Laufey. He hopes the frost giant is vulnerable to the fire, but the attack misses. Prism blasts Fenrir with another darkness blast, but misses again. Frustrated, he tires himself to attack again. This time the attack solidly connects! The darkness rips a nasty gash in the wolf’s flank, badly hurting him! Phantasma sends another stone at the wolf, but Fenrir remains standing. Panzer plunges Meghan’s sword into the Fenrir’s side… and the giant wolf collapses! Laufey launches another attack at Vortex, hoping to finish him off. Phantasma deflects the attack and redirects it back at Laufey, but the frost giant is immune to his own ice powers. Laufey then attacks Phantasma and badly hurts her with an icy attack. Meanwhile, Fenrir stirs. It appears it’s not so easy to kill the massive beast! When the wolf rises, Bast attacks with her claws and injures Fenrir again. But the other giants have continued their assault on the eXalts and Vortex and Phantasma are both knocked out! Mustang frustrates his allies when he flies off with Meghan. He attempts to use a power he borrowed from an Academy X student to charm her, but since she’s still unconscious he’s not sure if it worked. Subsume unleashes another blast of furnace-like heat. More giants collapse. This is the opportunity Mystic needed. He shakes off his stun to heal Vortex. Vortex rises, fully healed! Prism and Panzer keep up the attacks on Fenrir, and the wolf collapses again! Laufey reaches Panzer and grabs the magical sword from his grasp. Bast jumps on Laufey’s back, restraining him. The rest of the frost giants come to their king’s defense. Bast is hit by several frost blasts and drops, unconscious. Mustang realizes he’s needed and drains some energy from Meghan before flying back to the battle. Subsume sends out a third heat blast, dropping or injuring even more giants, before moving to Fenrir’s side. He plans to throw him through the portal. Vortex and Prism attack Laufey, but miss. Mystic drains a nearby giant in order to heal Phantasma. She’s dying, but stable for the moment. Panzer turns one arm into a spear and impales Laufey, but Laufey retaliates by badly hurting Panzer with Leviathan. The giants attack Mystic, hurting him and destroying three of his four duplicates. Mustang flies overhead and blasts Laufey with a fiery attack he borrowed from a student, but misses. Subsume surprises Laufey from behind and attacks him with a disintegrating touch he borrowed from his sister. Laufey’s skin is flayed away and the king falls to one knee, badly hurt! Vortex then uses a powerful blast of air to knock Fenrir and several giants through the portal, but Mystic is blasted through as well! Prism hits Laufey with a darkness blast, and the king collapses! Have the eXalts won? Then Fenrir rises once more and charges back through the portal. He bites Subsume… and swallows him whole! Panzer reclaims Leviathan from an unconscious Laufey and attacks Fenrir, but Panzer is soon knocked out by frost giant attacks. Laufey regenerates and rises once more. Mustang and Vortex attack Laufey and miss. Mystic heals Panzer to get him back into the fight, but the wounds Panzer took from Leviathan do not heal! Mystic is then attack by Fenrir – and is also swallowed whole! Panzer leaps into the air and attacks Fenrir’s stomach with Leviathan. He strikes true! A great gash opens Fenrir’s stomach, and Subsume and Mystic tumble free! Fenrir collapses once more! But then Laufey injures Panzer and the frost giants knock out Vortex. Mustang heals Subsume. Subsume plans to throw Fenrir through the gate, but he lost his super strength when he was knocked out. He calls out to his teammates to attack him. Prism responds, hitting him with a darkness blast. Subsume uses the energy to power his super strength. He grabs Fenrir and throws him through the portal! Still badly injured and with Fenrir gone, Laufey decides to flee. He creates a massive snowstorm, obscuring the area, then slips away with the surviving frost giants. Mustang moves adjacent to Mystic and heals him. He’s out of energy, so he draws on his own reserves to bring Mystic back. The strain is too much, however, and Mustang collapses from exhaustion. But Mystic is back up! Mystic moves to the gate in hopes of closing it… but he can’t find a way! He realizes the only way to close the portal is to kill the person who created the portal: Meghan! Mystic moves to Meghan’s unconscious form and drains her of further energy, hoping to kill her. He drains her, but she’s still alive. Panzer sees what Mystic is doing. He charges over and attacks Mystic, stunning him! Meanwhile, Fenrir has risen once more. He’ll come back through the portal! Subsume runs through the portal. He uses his sister’s temperature control powers to first melt the ice around Fenrir, then freeze it in place. The wolf rips one paw free. He’s trapped – but not for long! Panzer runs through the portal with Meghan. He shakes her, finally waking her. While holding Leviathan to her throat, he tells her to close the portal. Meghan, seemingly unfazed at the threat, simply asks if he still agrees to her deal. Dane says he’s with her. Meghan reads his mind and sees that it’s true. She begins closing the portal. Fenrir rips his other paws free and charges towards the portal. Subsume unleashes a disintegrating touch on Fenrir, flaying away much of his skin, but it’s not enough! Fenrir nears the portal as it closes, and Panzer and Subsume are still trapped on the wrong side! Mystic creates a portal behind Subsume and yells at him to come through. Subsume turns towards the portal, but he won’t make it in time. Prism creates illusory Asgardians that push Subsume through. Subsume appears next to Mystic – and just in time! The portal to Niflheim closes, trapping Fenrir and Meghan! But Panzer has been left behind… and can the eXalts trust him again?
 * Next:** Issue 70 - 'Terror'
 * Previous:** Issue 68 - 'Dread'