Issue+59+-+'Exposed'


 * Issue 59 - 'Exposed' **




 * Plot**

The eXalts are on the run. While they were trapped in a mental prison by an enigmatic foe called simply X, the powerful telepath had them cloned and now their duplicates are in control of Academy X. X was also able to retrieve the school’s Cerebra unit and used it to depower the group. While the team was able to steal Cerebra’s control helmet, they barely escaped a S.H.I.E.L.D. raid on their secret hideout. Now they’re hunted by their former allies that believe they are the clones. The mutant team escaped in a S.H.I.E.L.D. stealth helicopter. While they have stolen S.H.I.E.L.D. tech, including body armor, night vision goggles, stun guns, and tasers, they have nowhere to hide. Samantha lands the helicopter in a remote wooded area and Dane destroys the tracking device on the vehicle. The group hears news on the radio that David’s clone has died in S.H.I.E.L.D. custody. The other clones’ bodies are also breaking down, but soon it won’t matter. Dane estimates X may only need a week or two to build a new Cerebra helmet and extend the range of the powerful machine. At that point she’ll be able to depower all mutants across the world. The entire mutant race will be wiped out! The team debates what to do next. Dane estimates that the helicopter can make it about 250 miles with the amount of fuel left, or maybe 500 miles if they ditch the weaponry aboard. Sam and David want to go to Xavier’s school on the east coast. Since the X-Men are gone on some superhero mission, it should be less defended. They may be able to get access to Cerebro and find a way to undo whatever X did with Cerebra, giving them their powers back. Mac is convinced and agrees with the plan. The helicopter doesn’t have enough range to reach the east coast, however. Mac suggests teleporting the group on a cargo train to ride east. Billy decides he’s on board with the plan. Dane, Dagan and Agape aren’t convinced. Agape wants to know what the plan is once they reach the school. Only Mac has his powers (since his abilities are actually magical in origin, not due to a mutant X-gene), and the school is full of superpowered teenagers. Besides, the last time they were there they tried to use Cerebro to depower all mutants under X’s influence. Whatever X-Men that remain at the school are unlikely to welcome them inside. Plus there isn’t a telepath at the east coast school to use Cerebro even if they get access to it. David says he can talk his way into the school because he’s very persuasive. Once they’re in they’ll find a telepath. Dane, Dagan, and Agape dislike the plan. They’d prefer to sneak into Utopia, perhaps by going underground through the asteroid that makes up the island. It was once a space station used by Magneto and it may have tunnels that lead to the school. Honoka and Bast don’t choose a side. In the end the group decides to wait to hear from their frenemy Michael. Michael will be visiting Utopia later in the day as part of governor-elect Sangrey’s delegation. He may be able to uncover information that will help the group. While David and Billy are impatient, they agree to wait. As it’s after 2 a.m. at this point, the group gets some sleep. When they awake in the late morning, everyone is hungry. Unfortunately they had to leave their food supplies behind when they fled the S.H.I.E.L.D. Capekillers. David says they have bows and should be able to hunt. No one knows how to hunt for food, however. David takes a bow and some arrows. As luck would have it, he happens upon a deer. He gets off a lucky shot and kills it! He returns with war paint on his face from the blood of the deer. Dane knows how to butcher an animal from growing up on the farm. The meat is cooked and everyone has a meal. Later that day Dane and Dagan build a shelter for the evening. Others rest or practice with the compound bows. At nightfall, Sam flies the helicopter to the closest cell tower. She has a message waiting from her for Michael. She returns the call. Michael says he had an agent infiltrate the school during his visit to Academy X. The agent entered the medical lab and obtained the clones’ medical records. The records prove their bodies are breaking down due to hemolytic anemia. Michael now believes their story and is willing to help them. Michael and Sam make a plan to meet in twenty four hours once Michael has found a safe place in San Francisco. From there they’ll launch a raid onto Utopia to access Cerebra. Then the eXalts can get their powers back, defeat X, depose the clones, and regain control of the mutant school. While Sam is on the phone, Dane has a call from “Jane”, the vampire he met in Los Angeles. Jane wants Dane to help her “knock over a joint.” Dane says he’s in Washington and can’t help right now. Jane tells him to call back when he’s in town. After all, he owes her a favor. The team heads back to their campsite and they bed down for the evening. On Sunday morning, a sudden pop and burst of smoke startles the group. Emerging from the smoke are two figures. One is an Asian girl the group has never seen before. The other is a pink-haired girl with fairy wings. It’s their former student, Melissa, AKA Pixie! Pixie explains that she was contacted by Hana, the Asian girl. Hana was a student at Academy X. She has the mutant ability to make others forget she exists. She was the host for Alex Nova, and when Alex jumped into another body, Hana had control of her own body once again. She used her ability to make the eXalts forget she existed and snuck away. She called her former team leader, Pixie, and explained what happened. Since Hana had all the memories from when Alex was in control, she knows the group is really the eXalts. She also feared no one would believe her, so she didn’t know who else to call. Melissa believed her story. She then used a magic spell to bring them to the team. Everyone is happy to see Melissa. They answer her questions and she agrees to help them. Not much else happens on Sunday. On the helicopter’s radio the team hears news of more Unity Campaign events run by Mac’s clone. Finally the sun sets. It’s time to meet Michael. Sam flies the helicopter to the nearby cell tower. Michael tells the team to meet him on top of an apartment building on the outskirts of San Jose. The building was never completed, as it was started just before the housing collapse of 2008. A helipad was installed, however, so the eXalts should be able to fly in. Since Melissa has never been near the building, the team agrees to fly the S.H.I.E.L.D. helicopter to the building. The stealth helicopter is able to make it to San Jose, but its tank is running low. The stealth technology works, and the vehicle lands on top of the apartment building without being detected. The group exits the helicopter to find two cloaked figures waiting for them. The lead figure pulls back his hood and is revealed to be Michael. He greets the group. David asks who the other figure is. Michael says it’s okay to show himself. The man pulls back his hood – it’s Cougar, leader of the Mutant Revolutionary Front! Michael says he’ll never admit that he spends time with the man in charge of the terrorist group. The eXalts agree not to mention the connection. Michael says he’s trusting the group, but he has a backup just in case. Appearing out of thin air is former Academy X student, Christine Cord, AKA Tattoo! After she dropped out of the mutant school, she joined the MRF. The team thought she’d died on the Purifier attack at the convention center months ago. Sam realizes the mutants that died in the attack were mindless clones created by a mutant in Michael’s employ. Later X abducted that mutant, which is how she was able to create clones of the eXalts. Then X used her telepathy to copy the eXalts’ minds into the new bodies. Christine never died – her mindless clone did! And Christine has explosive strapped to her body. If the eXalts try anything, she’ll detonate the bomb. Mac is upset that his partner (he agreed to join Michael’s political party) would use such underhanded tactics. Staging the deaths of mutant teenagers just to win the gubernatorial election is reprehensible! Michael is more pragmatic – he did what he needed to do, and very few were hurt in the process. The rest of the group gangs up on Michael, but Dane tells them to stop. After all, Michael is helping them! The group fills Michael in on everything that’s happened. Michael agrees to deploy the MRF to help them. Dane says they need one MRF member in particular. He asks Cougar where they can find Link, a telepath. Link will hopefully be able to use Cerebra to repower the team. Cougar says Link is underground somewhere in San Francisco, just like other high-ranking members of the MRF. They purposefully don’t keep in touch so they’re harder to track down. Cougar thinks he can find him in a day or two, however. As they’re discussing a plan, a sudden explosion shocks everyone. The helicopter has exploded – they’re under attack! While the group’s attention is on the flaming helicopters, Purifier biosentinels fly onto the building from the opposite direction. They open fire, quickly dropping Panzer, Phantasma, Mustang, Blur, and Icegirl. They’re badly hurt and dying! The eXalts and their allies spring into action. Glimmer fires her S.H.I.E.L.D. stun gun, but misses. Nightwind leaps over a downed ally to attack a biosentinel and slightly damages it. Bast attacks another Purifier, but misses. Cougar leaps into action and single-handedly destroys an enemy. Pixie throws her soul dagger, injuring another. Tattoo phases her hand into another biosentinel’s head, stunning it. Medic tries to drain a biosentinel with his magical draining touch, but he’s surprised to find the Purifiers have adapted to his attack and are more difficult to affect! Hana hides behind some wreckage. Instead of fighting by their side, Discord teleports away to safety! And, at that moment, Cordelia uses her emotion control on Pixie, making her suicidal. Pixie tries to use her soul dagger to kill herself, but the weapon winks out instead! The group realizes Cordelia was a plant after all. Medic recalls she had a nose bleed that wouldn’t end – a symptom of hemolytic anemia. She’s a clone under X’s control! It was Cordelia that leaked their location to the Purifiers! The Purifiers strike back, and they have reinforcements. Flying onto the building are X and an upgraded biosentinel. X scans Dane’s unconscious mind and learns that the Cerebra helmet was inside the helicopter. She uses telekinesis to grab the machinery. Meanwhile, Glimmer is hit several times and goes down. Cougar takes heavy fire, but he’s able to dodge many attacks and his regeneration helps him withstand the blasts. Nightwind knocks out Cordelia from behind. The group focuses their fire on X, but they’re unable to penetrate her telekinetic force field. Medic finally breaks through and drains X, exhausting her. At the same time, Tattoo grabs the upgraded biosentinel. She makes him insubstantial and drags him into the solid floor of the roof, killing him. X shouts out, “Jacob, no!” The group realizes the upgraded biosentinel had the mind of Jacob Robitaille, their former foe – and that X must be Danielle Robitaille, his sister! Bast’s theory was correct! X then says, “Follow me and you’ll be dead as the real Cordelia!” She flies off with the helmet and escapes. The other Purifiers cover Danielle’s escape until they’re finally destroyed by Medic, Pixie, Tattoo, Cougar, and Bast. After the battle Bastienne stabilizes two of her teammates while Christine saves David. Mac heals everyone using energy from the unconscious Cordelia. Since she’s fully drained of energy, she won’t awaken. The team isn’t sure what to do about Cordelia. David says they may have to kill her. Bastienne reminds them that she’s the only Cordelia left now. David says they have to focus on X. They have to beat her back to Utopia before she uses the Cerebra helmet to depower all mutants. But too much time has passed since her escape, and there’s no way to beat her back to the island. Pixie has never been there and can’t teleport there. Cougar suggests they go to Sacramento, as Michael surely teleported there. The group agrees. Pixie has been there before. She teleports them to the state capital. Once there, Cougar leads them to the MRF safe house where Michael is waiting. They can clearly see that he is not happy. Michael says he just received a number of phone calls from MRF agents in San Francisco, including Link. They’ve all lost their mutant powers! Danielle must have used Cerebra to depower all mutants in San Francisco! Luckily the eXalts escaped just in time. But what can they do now? Cerebra’s range is clearly increasing. Danielle must be stopped. The group decides it’s time to invade Utopia…
 * Next:** __Issue 60 - 'Climax'__
 * Previous:** Issue 58 - 'Jinxed'