Astonishing X-Men #8 Spoilers

Spoilers: When Proteus is set free, Rogue and Mystique are suspicious of X, but Psylocke asks them to stop arguing and deal with Proteus first. Elsewhere, Proteus is hungry and ready to feed on a family of civilians, but Bishop shoots at him and saves the family. X contacts Bishop and orders him to stop shooting because he’s just feeding Proteus and making him stronger instead. Proteus grabs Bishop’s gun and shoots at himself, becoming larger and stronger.

Back to the X-Men, Logan, Gambit and Archangel reunite with the rest. Rogue and Gambit hold each other, and Warren assures Betsy he’s in control even as Archangel. Logan is suspicious of X as well. X explains to the boys that he’s Xavier using Fantomex’s body. Logan knows Proteus is vulnerable to metal and wants to face him with Archangel. X wants to reason with him first and asks for Psylocke’s help to enter Proteus’ mind together.

Proteus feels his mind being forced into and allows X and Psylocke to enter his mental landscape. X and Betsy find themselves near a beautiful castle where they are welcomed by the young Kevin McTaggert. Kevin believes atonement and change are possible and remembers he was only ten years old at the time Colossus killed him back at Muir Island. He came back a few times after that, but the X-Men were always there to kill him just because he dared to see the world after ten years imprisoned by his own mother. When the Shadow King grabbed ahold of his psyche, he spent ten thousand years on the Astral Plane reflecting on what he had done to all the poor people he had possessed back then.

Kevin shows Betsy a image of her original body dressed in the pink uniform and asks her if she is still the same person she was when she started her journey. Psylocke says no. Kevin argues that just because he did something bad in the past, the X-Men want to kill him again. Proteus says if they leave him alone, he will leave them alone as well. X doesn’t want to risk, and attacks Kevin instead. In retaliation, Proteus merges the physical bodies of X and Psylocke and sends them back to London.