Issue+35+-+'Play+With+Fire'


 * Issue 35 - 'Play With Fire' **


 * Plot**

A few days before the attack on the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier, the staff of Academy X grappled with the knowledge that their true foe was their former student, Maya. After examining Cameron’s mind, Samantha realized that Maya was trying to “upload” Cameron’s mind into Cerebra. That would have left his body a mindless husk. Another attempt was made to save Dagan. Samantha was able to psychically save the young girl from the damage of Maya’s attack. She worried that next time might be the last for Dagan, however. David called an impromptu staff meeting. The group discussed what to do about Maya. They wondered if one of their students, Hana, could make Maya forget about Cameron. One staff member thought Cordelia’s emotion control could help and Sam agreed to ask her aunt. The staff remembered that Sam had forced Cassandra Nova into Limbo once before, so they hoped she could force Maya into some kind of prison. Ideas for making a prison for Maya were batted around. One idea was using EMP shielding material. Dane and David wanted Sam to go into Cameron’s mind to see if she could discover where Cerebra was being held by tracing the attacks, but Cameron refused. Jessica mentioned that even if the eXalts found Hellfire Club: Tokyo, they would only teleport away. David said he’d work on a teleportation-nullifying device. Lucius came in late and it seemed like he hadn’t slept in days. He enthusiastically agreed to help Dane with the teleportation nullifier.

After the meeting David noticed news coverage of the upcoming trial of the brainwashed X-Corporation members. He then proceeded to Gerard’s room and told him to call his friend at Xavier’s school (Aurelie). He told Gerard to ask Aurelie if she was the one the sophomores had been reporting to. When she admitted that it was her, David hung up on the call. He told Gerard that he knew of their spying and that they were in trouble. Meanwhile, Sam returned to her room to find the twins and Matt asleep. She revealed to Matt that Maya was to blame for many of the recent events. Matt worried about the former student.

The next day was Thanksgiving. Bastienne, Jessica, and Gabriel got up early to visit the Lisowskis. Dagan had planned to go, but considering that Maya’s attacks were only stopped by the psychics at the school, Dane told her to stay. The staff of Academy X cooked several dishes for the Thanksgiving dinner. A few students contributed dishes from their home countries. At dinner everyone shared what they were thankful for. Dane said he was thankful for family and sat next to Ginny and Dagan. Mac said he was thankful for friends. He squeezed Jubilee’s hand and she squeezed his knee. Sam said she was thankful for friends as well. Jess looked uncomfortable. Following dinner, she asked David to help her bring out the pies for dessert. Once they were in the kitchen alone, she asked him how he really felt about Magneto. David said he wasn’t right – but he wasn’t wrong either. David felt that Magneto was neither a good guy nor a bad guy. Jess admitted she was worried that David might join the Brotherhood of Mutants, since David had supported the Magneto fan club and once said that Magneto was a terrorist, but he is “our terrorist.” She then admitted that she’d lied about the DNA test results – David’s father is not actually his biological father. Jess apologized, and David told her that she never had to lie to him. Jess asked if he wanted her to test Magneto’s DNA to see if he is David’s father, but David said no. During dessert, Sam asked how Cordelia was doing. Cordelia said the large number of people and so many emotions was a bit overwhelming. Sam told her a bit about Maya and was about to ask for Cordelia’s help, but Cordelia refused to use her powers on a girl who had been a victim.

On Black Friday several of the staff and students went holiday shopping at the local mall. Some staff, including David, remained behind. David noticed that Chelsea and Hayley had remained behind and caught them kissing. He then asked Chelsea to tag a phone. He taped it to a chair and asked her to summon the phone. Only the phone teleported to her hand. Later on Friday Dane received a phone call from the school’s private investigator, Lindsay McCabe. Lindsay managed to get Simon Trask’s (leader of the Church of Humanity) medical file. The file showed that Simon had a larger than normal metal content in his blood. A note in the file also said that he’d set off the hospital’s metal detectors, even though he had no implants.

Saturday was the day of the Helicarrier attack. Prior to the attack, Matt and Sam visited the Morlocks for the twins’ baptism. They were asked to choose “Morlock names” for the kids, but Sam had to think about it. While Matt and Sam were gone, the school project for the day was switching rooms. Bastienne and Jessica left their master suite for Matt and Sam’s room. Matt and Sam gained the larger space. In addition, the huge walk-in closet was turned into a nursery. When the couple returned they were overwhelmed at the generosity of their fellow staff and students. The happy moment was ruined when the sky lit up with an explosion: the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier was under attack and dropping towards San Francisco!

The eXalts rushed to assist. Joni was allowed to come, but not Dagan (due to Maya attacking her psychically when she left the school). For similar reasons, Cameron was ordered to remain behind. The Blackbird zoomed above the Helicarrier as another explosion rocked the aerial aircraft carrier. Below the eXalts could see that the Mutant Revolutionary Force members had freed their captured compatriot, Brimstone. Dozens of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents responded, including Cape-Killers, but many were already unconscious. The eXalts disembarked to help. Blur attacked Vogue but the nimble mutant evaded his attack. Panzer shifted into his metal form and shrugged off an attack from Chapel. Medic teamed up with Blur and fatigued Vogue. Bast teleported behind Cougar and helped knock him out. Phantasma and Mustang focused fire on Brimstone. They hurt the powerful mutant, but couldn’t bring him down. Vortex appeared out of nowhere and aided in the attack. Chi tried to pin Bedrock in place, but failed. S.H.I.E.L.D. agents joined the eXalts in injuring several MRF members, but one Cape-Killer instead attacked Medic! Brimstone delivered a nasty attack against Mustang. Medic was knocked unconscious by the Cape-Killer. Then another explosion erupted and the helicarrier listed dangerously to one side. Several S.H.I.E.L.D. agents toppled overboard. Joining them was Blur! Phantasma grabbed Blur and several S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. The other eXalts pressed the attack. Shaft and Link were soon unconscious. The sudden arrival of a helicopter surprised everyone! A telekinetic MRF member pulled the unconscious mutants to safety. The other MRF members escaped onto the helicopter. The eXalts began to pursue, but another explosion caused the helicarrier to drop precipitously. The eXalts were forced to save overboard S.H.I.E.L.D. members, as well as Blur, Medic, and Mustang. The helicopter escaped.

The S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier had a rough landing in a San Francisco park. Maria Hill was told of the rogue Cape-Killer that attacked Mac, but Agent McAllister had gone AWOL. Then, all of a sudden, Cameron collapsed. Sam detected Maya’s psychic presence. David asked for a Cape-Killer helmet, as the helmet contains a psychic blocker. Agent Marquez handed over her helmet and it seemed to block Maya’s power. The eXalts then hurried back to their school with Agent Marquez. Marquez had been ordered to return the helmet. On route to Academy X, Samantha was the next to be attacked. She was knocked unconscious. Then Leong Coy Manh and Nga Coy Manh contacted the headmasters psychically and told them that they were holding Maya at bay. The group arrived at the school safely. Once Sam awoke, David told her to signal Chelsea mentally to tag the Cape-Killer helmet. Chelsea agreed. Later David, Joni, and Chelsea drove past the grounded S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier and Chelsea summoned the helmet.

Saturday night was also the memorial service for Kevin Ford (“Wither”). Several students and staff shared memories of Kevin. Jessica read some of Kevin’s poetry and played his favorite music. A memorial plaque was unveiled next to the Academy M memorial. Later that night, Dane and Lucius worked hard on creating plans for a teleportation nullifier. Lucius worked nonstop. It seemed that he hadn’t slept in days. His eyes were feverish and he was sweating profusely. Mac gave him some more energy, but the group told Lucius that he had to get some sleep.

Several days passed normally. Wednesday night was the roller derby championship. Bastienne’s Shevil Dead faced Janelle’s KillaBytes. It was a close match, but the Shevil Dead emerged victorious. Janelle congratulated Bastienne. Bastienne told her to be careful due to several former Purifiers that had been assassinated recently. When Dane returned to the workshop early the next morning, he saw that Lucius had been working all night. He told Lucius that he needed sleep, but Lucius complained that Dane had worked all night too. Dane knew that wasn’t true and wondered if Lucius had accidentally created an illusion of the headmaster. He checked security footage and saw that someone impersonating Dane had indeed been in the workshop! By checking other cameras, he saw that “Dane” had come from a first story bathroom – and only Hiro had gone in! Dane checked the computers and saw that Hiro had used his account to download project files and e-mail them to an account at Akane Fusion. Hiro was brought to the headmasters’ office to face Bastienne, Dane, David, and Samantha. He tried to impersonate Mac to get out of trouble, but Samantha went inside his head and saw it was really Hiro. Hiro was temporarily imprisoned in the Danger Room while the group decided what to do.

Dane returned to the workshop. He heard sounds of moaning and found Lucius on the floor. Lucius looked up, revealing that his arm and half of his face had been replaced by metal. His cybernetic eye focused on Dane. He sprung up and grabbed Dane by the throat. Before Dane could resist, Lucius said, “we’re coming” and teleported away…

**Next:** Issue 36 - 'Put Out The Fire' **Previous:** Issue 34 - 'Fire On The Mountain'