Hellions #5, Chapter 6
Spoilers: Empath is resurrected
at Krakoa and welcomed back by Xavier and Hope. Two days later, the Quiet Council
holds a meeting where Mr. Sinister proposes to send his Hellions to Otherworld
as none of them were among the chosen champions. He wants the Hellions to steal
the Arakki champions’ swords to force a forfeit. Shaw, Msytique, Exodus, Emma
Frost and Sinister himself vote in favor of his plan. Exodus proposes that Mr.
Sinister leads the Hellions, much against his wishes. The Hellions regroup, and
Havok warns that whoever dies in Otherworld cannot be resurrected. Meanwhile, Mr.
Sinister plans to send his own clone to Otherworld instead. The uncooperating clone
forces Sinister’s hand and both play rock paper scissors to decide who will go
to Otherworld; otherwise, the clone will expose Mr. Sinister’s illegal clone
farm to the Council. We never learn which Mr. Sinister went to Otherworld. Upon
crossing the gateway, Sinister asks for King Jamie Braddock’s permission to
travel through Avalon. Jamie accepts it and gives them a horse as a gift. Jamie
requests Sinister’s cape in exchange to seal their deal. The Hellions soon find
out that Jamie played them as the horse was stolen property of Saturnyne.
Sinister asks Empath to manipulate Saturnyne’s guards into cooperating with
them. Empath agrees only if they let him use his powers to turn Greycrow into
his pet. Sinister accepts Empath’s conditions and soon the Hellions embark on a
journey to the Kingdom of Dryador towards Arakko.
New Mutants #13, Chapter 7
Spoilers: It’s been an open secret for some time that Doug’s best friend, Warlock, was joined with him as his artificial arm. However, Saturnyne’s prophecy specifically called for both of them to take part in the tournament, with Warlock as Doug’s blade. With the exception of Warlock, no one believes that Doug is up to the task, not even Doug himself. Krakoa made two attempts to keep Doug on the island, in part because Krakoa will not have a voice in Doug’s absence. Exodus made a more violent attempt, and suggested that he would kill Doug to prevent his departure. Only the interference of Warlock and Krakoa forced Exodus to back off. For her part, Magik tried tough love with Doug by putting him through a crash course in swordplay. Magik remembers Doug’s death, when he was killed in part because his powers of language aren’t always useful in battle. Over the course of the issue, Doug was able to use that ability to read Magik’s body language. He even showed real improvement. That gave Doug a boost in confidence, and forced Magik to bring him down to Earth. The Arakkii are a warrior race who have fought every day of their lives in the darkest parts of Otherworld. Against an enemy like that, Doug can’t hope to win. The best he can do is try not to die and stay close to Magik when the fighting begins.
Cable #5, Chapter 8
Spoilers: When Saturnyne left a mental message that led Cable, Cyclops, and Jean Grey to the Peak, it turns out that may not have been meant to help the mutants. The former headquarters of S.W.O.R.D. was powered down and abandoned for a reason. And almost everyone on board was slaughtered by a brand-new threat. Jean encountered the lone survivor, and she soon learned about the Vescora, an alien race that acts like a virus given humanoid form. They want to "cleanse, dissect, and learn.” But if that’s not alarming enough, the survivor told Jean that the Vescora are “enemies that are not bound to our laws of physics." They invade, replicate, and move on. Under normal circumstances, the Vescora would be an extinction-level threat just by themselves. In the middle of a war with the Arakkii, their arrival is a recipe for disaster. Cable was able to remove the Light of Galador from the Peak’s engine, and once again depower the station. However, the portal to the Vescora’s realm remains, and it looks like it was created from the bodies of the Vescora themselves. At best, this is only a temporary solution for a problem that may soon get out of hand. Following their ordeal on the Peak, Jean and Cyclops seemed uncharacteristically calm and collected. Cyclops even assured his son that “we’re gonna be okay.” Somehow, that wasn’t very convincing. As for Cable, he took his place as the fifth champion of Krakoa.
“For so long, my life has been out of control. Chaos and serendipity, wrapped in insanity. I have suffered, I have lost. Not just my life, but my very soul, my self. But no more. Now I know who I am.” – Elizabeth ‘Betsy’ Braddock, daughter of Otherworld, mutant, telepath, telekinetic, defender of the realm and, above all, X-Man.
