The New Mutants (1983)

The New Mutants grieved over Cypher's lifeless body. Wolfsbane was distraught, while Magik was furious. A remaining Right Smile-Faced soldier opened fire on them, but they managed to evade the bullets. Warlock held Sunspot back from tearing the soldier apart, and Magik pulled the solider into Limbo before Cannonball could fly into him. There she assumed her Darkchilde form and cast the soldier down into the demon filled pits. She remained as Darkchilde when she returned to Earth, and couldn't understand what the difference was in sending the Right's soldiers to Limbo then compared to while they were in battle. Mirage comforted her, convinced her to return to her Magik form. Wolfsbane confessed that she was happy the Smile-Faced soldiers were sent to Limbo, and as Magik touched Doug's cheek a ray of light lit his face.

Bird-Brain wanted to stay with the Ani-Mates and help them adjust to life without the Ani-Mator. The New Mutants bade him farewell and teleported back to school. They called for Magneto, but he was nowhere to be found. Sunspot recalled how furious Magneto was to discover the New Mutants were missing, and that he'd left to find them.

Magneto flew across Manhattan and was astounded by the vast amount of destruction (see X-Factor # 25), upon arriving at the Hallfire Club Sebastian Shaw taunted Magneto saying how he would have been in the middle of such a great fight against the likes of Apocalypse and his Horsemen. Magneto confessed that he knew of X-Factor's true identities, but was more concerned about finding his missing students. He was then shown the footage of the X-Men fighting in Dallas (see Uncanny X-Men # 226).

Back at the school's infirmary, the New Mutants had laid Cypher's body on a bench and contemplated how many X-Men had trained at the school, and how many had died. They believed in Professor Xavier's dream. Magik longed for Magneto to return, but Sunspot nearly caused an argument by saying that he was consorting with villains at the Hellfire Club. Magik snapped back that he was there looking for them. Mirage ended the arhument by saying they should call the Hellfire Club to notify Magneto of what had happened. as they left the room, Magik stayed behind to cover Cypher with a sheet. Warlock couldn't understand why she was doing it, or why she continued to disober Magneto if she trusted him. She recalled how Magneto had helped her in Limbo (see New Mutants # 52) and that he made her feel like she could be a normal girl again.

Upstairs, Cannonball tried to console Wolfsbane. She transformed into a wolf and ran out onto the roof. She tripped and fell, but he caught her. Safely landing in the tower, they both began to cry. Cannonball admitted that he blamed himself just as much as Wolfsbane was blaming herself. They talked about family, and when Wolfsbane said that she'd never had a family, he offered to adopt her as a little sister.

Downstairs, Mirage recalled the events that led up to Cypher's death. She told him about the debacle in the burger bar, and the look on Magneto's face when he saw milkshake still in Cypher's hair. Sunspot grew serious and angry, since he had seen the expression on Magneto's face when he'd realised that they'd runaway. He blamed himself for Cypher's death; if he hadn't runaway, then Warlock wouldn't have followed him, and therefore Warlock would have been able to protect Cypher. In his anger he ripped the phone out of the wall-socket. Just as he sobbed about how Magneto didn't trust him, Mirage conjured up an illusion of Sunspot as a giant raging monster to snap him out of it. She cried that it was her fault. As team-leader she should have insisted that they woke Magneto when Bird-Brain ran away. They argued until they agreed to share the blame, and therefore share the pain of calling Magneto from the unbroken phone in the kitchen.

After the phone call was made, Sunspot & Mirage summoned all the New Mutants into the living room. Magneto had already left the Hellire Club, an the goon on the phone told them to see the footage of the X-Men on the television. They watched the explosion which killed the X-Men, and Magik cried out for her brother Colossus. At that instant, Magneto arrived. He was furious, not knowing if they were involved in the trouble in New York or Dallas. He then realised that Cypher was missing.

They led him to the infirmary where he broke down, clutching at Cypher through the sheet. Immediately his tone changed. The room flew apart as Magneto used his magnetism to hold the New Mutants in mid-air. He threatened to keep them like that for their own protection. Wolfsbane tried to explain how they only wanted to help Bird-Brain, but it only angered Magneto more. Cannonball burst free from his bonds to protect Wolfsbane, crying that Bird-Brain was their responsibility. Magneto retorted that they were his responsibility. He let them go crashing to the floor when Mirage pointed out that he couldn't keep them trapped like prisoners or dolls. Sunspot was angry too, he had found the books & maps and gone to find the other New Mutants. Magneto was too busy at the Hellfire Club to find the note that Sunspot had left for him. Magik begged them to stop arguing and for Magneto's help to save her brother. However, he refused to help the X-Men. He was going to call Cypher's parents, but Magik teleported away to try and save her brother.

The remaining New Mutants turned against Magneto. He forbade them from leaving the school or using their powers. Just then Darkchilde teleported into the room. A magical barrier was preventing her from teleporting to Dallas, and her scrying glass couldn't find Colossus. She was angry that she had cared for Magneto and attacked him with her Soulsword. Her attack missed, but the New Mutants leapt on her. They implored her to return the Soulsword to Limbo, which she did eventually. Darkchilde fled the room in tears, with the New Mutants chasing after her. Magneto was left alone in the infirmary. He looked on Cypher's lifeless face and blamed Charles Xavier for putting him in charge of children whom he had no rapport with.

Upstairs in the attic, the others found Darkchilde crying in the dark. Wolfsbane clung on to her until she changed back into Magik. As the sun rose, the New Mutants began to try on new outfits. They accepted that the X-Men were dead, and that it was their responsibility to take over. Therefore they would need new outfits to help save humanity, because if they didn't save the world then who else would...?

While en route to Magma’s birthplace Nova Roma, Magma and Empath crash land and have only each other for support. While adventuring together, Amara discovers that she does have feelings for Manuel…

The New Mutants huddled together on Warlock who posed as their sofa. They all mourned for Cypher, Magik also mourned for her brother, and Wolfsbane remained in her wolf form. Cannonball suddenly flew up with a scroll from Magma. Wolfsbane shifted into a girl again, and they all began to read the scroll. It said that she had been summoned to return to Nova Roma and had been accompanied by Empath.

In the Massachusetts Academy, the Hellions faced Magma in their training room. They still called her a New Mutie, but all six of them still struggled in a fight against her. The only one who seemed to have an impact on Magma was Empath, but she continued to fight against his powers (see New Mutants # 56). The others began to tease Empath, accusing him of going easy on Magma. Tarot claimed it was because he had a girlfriend, but he resorted to using his powers to make her love him. Seeing him torment Tarot angered Magma, who caused an earthquake out of frustration. As she went to run out of the room, the White Queen appeared. She handed Magma a letter from her father, demanding her to return home. The White Queen sent her to her room to begin packing, while she pulled Empath to one side. She enquired why he hadn't used his full influence over Magma. He claimed it was because she genuinely didn't like it, and therefore he wouldn't humiliate her like he did with Tarot. The White Queen then priased him for his subtlety and ordered him to accompany Magma to Nova Roma. She wanted Magma to return to the school and hoped that Empath would be able to subtly use his influence on Magma's father to allow her to return to Massachusetts. Empath then went to Magma's room and asked her to stay in Massachusetts. She accused him of trying to torment her, but he showed self-awareness that people were quick to hate him. He then confided in her the reasons why he would join her on her journey home.

Several days later, they were in a small private jet flying over South America through a thunderstorm. Magma was worried, so Empath scolded the pilot to fly around the storm. He was told that they had already gone far off course. Suddenly a bolt of lightning struck the right engine. Empath offered to help keep Magma calm, but ended up effected by her fear instead. The plane was sent crashing down into the jungle below. The pilot had died in the crash, but Empath carried Magma's unconscious body out of the burning wreckage. He then dove into the river just as it exploded. They pulled themselves out on the other side of the river, and began to make their way through the jungle before the crocodiles tried to eat them.

Magma seemed to thrive in the rainforest, while even the monkeys mocked Empath. She recalled how she used to live in the jungle, but he begged her to create a larger fire to act as a beacon to signal help. She claimed that she didn't want to start a forest fire, and threatened to burn him when he insinuated he could use his powers on her.

In the middle of the night, Magma was woken by Empath's groaning. She found a vampire bat feeding off his neck, and threw a burning ember at it to scare it away. Magma grabbed a leaf from a local plant, knowing that the juices in the leaf would counter the anti-coagulants in the bat's saliva. She tried to make light of the situation by comparing the bat to a mosquito, but Empath accused her of mocking him. She then explained how as a child, she had a bat tangled in her hair. It plagued her nightmares for years, but had to learn to laugh it off as the bats continued to be a part of local Nova Roma life.

In the morning, Empath woke to a pile of fruit. Magma had created a basic spear. She warned him to be careful of boa constrictors and jaguars when he went to relieve himself. On his way to find a quiet area to act as a toilet, Empath was distracted by a pretty orchid growing on a small cliff-ledge. He decided it would look pretty in Magma's hair, but when he climbed up & grabbed the flower he was suddenly confronted by a hissing jaguar. The big cat jumped at him, and scratched Empath's face as he fell back off the ledge. Magma ran up with her spear and scared it off, but was also scratched across the thigh. She tore at the mid-riff of her Hellion's uniform and used the material to bandage her thigh.

Magma was angry as she had warned Empath to be careful, and they didn't have anti-biotics if their injuries became infected. He taunted her of being the self-sufficient Amazon, and claimed that she didn't want to be rescued. She agreed; she didn't want to be rescued and she had a good reason for it. She confided in Empath that her father expected her to marry a local Nova Roma boy. Empath told her to reject the young suitor, but she accepted that Nova Roman traditions wouldn't allow that. Empath implored her that it wasn't worth risking their lives over, and that she should crate a large volcano to signal their presence.

Magma repeated her earlier excuse, she didn't want to risk a forest fire. Empath then grabbed her by both arms and while towering over her demanded that she should shake the ground to save them both. She retaliated, claiming that it was his fear she felt as she hit him with the back of her first. As Magma went to walk away, Empath picked himself back up. He could feel other's emotions as strongly as his own and told her he could feel both their fear. He lurched at her from behind, knocking her down to the ground. He toppled on top of her and began to command her to shake the ground again. The ground rumbled, and she argued that how she felt was her own business. The ground rumbled and split as Magma pulled Empath by the back of the nexk in for a passionate kiss.

Local wildlife began to flee as the ground cracked and fire rose up. Just as Magma had warned, the forst had caught fire. Empath confessed he wasn't sure which of them was feeling the attraction or fear. Together they hobbled to the riverside and dove in away from the fire.

It had begun to rain by the time they climbed out the other side of the river. Empath apologised and confessed how his powers work; that he feels a barrage of emotions from other people that he would latch on to one, and make that one work for him to block out all of the others. He admitted it made him a coward, and apologised to her again. Magma then apologised to Empath, saying that she hadn't realised what it was like for him.

Together they headed North to find the Amazon River. They had been trekking through the jungle for days, using Magma's spear as a walking stick. Magma's leg would had swollen up making it dificult for her to walk, and Empath had taken to calling her 'Mara (a name she clearly told Cannonball to use as it signified a deep familiarity). Suddenly they were aware of something moving behind them. Empath grabbed the spear, but was outnumbered by a Nova Roman troop of soldiers headed by Magma's father. Senator Aquilla explained that they had been to the source of the earthquake and begun to track them from their. He enquired to refer to Empath as a 'ruffian', but Magma introduced him to her a father as her team-mate and friend... and hoped that he would become her father's friend too.

Illyana has a dream that feels more like a prophetic vision, setting her on the course to gain answers from Forge about the X-Men’s demise.

Magik recalled the time Shadowcat found an alien spacesuit in her closet. Shadowcat was determined to hear the story of how she got it, even though Magik was trying to study. Shadowcat tickled Magik so much that they both fell through the bed and embarrassed Colossus who was naked after having a shower. The girls ran back upstairs laughing, and so Magik began to tell her story.

On the night the girls in the New Mutants had their slumber party, they were attacked by a mysterious alien creature. When the alien touched Magik's right-hand she became infected with a techno-organic virus. Cornered, she grabbed Lockheed and teleported to Limbo (see New Mutants #21).

In Limbo, a large tree-like demon tried to attack Magik. When it touched her infected hand, the demon became infected with the transmode virus. Eldritch armour began to cover the rest of Magik's body, and she summoned her Soulsword. She closed her eyes tightly afraid that it might hurt, and then sliced her own arm with the sword.

Magik had passed out, and when she woke she was lying on Shadowcat's bed wearing only a long green t-shirt. She recognised the room, but couldn't see any sign of her own possessions. Her hand showed no signs of the strange circuitry, and she thought it must have been a dream. She opened the drawer and changed into a t-shirt and shorts. Suddenly Shadowcat opened the door and demanded to know who Magik was and why she had so casually rummaged through her belongings. When the other X-Men surrounded Magik, she explained that she was Shadowcat's best friend and Colossus' little sister. However, Shadowcat continued to call Magik a stranger. When Magik asked where Lockheed was, she was told that the X-Men's private jet was still in the hangar. Magik began to cry. She thought she had lost control of her stepping discs and sent herself backwards in time.

It was a rainy night, and the X-Men locked Magik in a guest bedroom. She had change out of Shadowcat's clothes into a dressing gown, and put her right-arm in a sling. She sat in the lotus position, but failed to conjure any spells or stepping discs. Throwing herself on the bed, Magik began to cry. She was surprised when Lockheed licked her on the ear. She hugged the little dragon, but he tried to pull her away.

Colossus slammed the door open, and Lockheed blasted him with fiery breath. However, Colossus stood unaffected by the blast. He demanded that she accompany him to see Professor Xavier, but Lockheed pulled her out the window and lowered her to the ground. Cyclops then barked the Professor's orders; Magik was evil and should be destroyed. She ran through the woods from Cyclops' optic blasts and Storm's lightning bolts. The ground soon covered with snow as Storm tried to lure her out. Wolverine found Magik first and tried to stab her with a knife. Although she sstill had one arm in a sling, Magik managed to swerve Wolverine's attack and clobber him back-handed with a piece of log.

Magik continued to run through the woods until Lockheed roared, uncovering a giant spiked wall. Magik stepped inside a hole that Lockheed had created with is fiery breath. Inside, she stepped on a yellow path that suddenly moved. The automatic walkway carried her around for hours until she spotted Lockheed above her. She jumped off and climbed a long ladder. Once at the top she found herself inside the control deck of an alien spacecraft. Lockheed & Magik were in space.

The alien crew had died many years earlier, and so Magik took the gun from a female alien corpse. However, she was suddenly attacked by a Brood. The alien promised to Magik a host before it spat a paralysing fluid over both Magik & Lockheed. Magik managed to teleport to Limbo. There, she was able to conjure a spell to revitalise herself before she began to practise using the alien gun. When she teleported back, both the Brood and Lockheed had gone. Magik took the spacesuit off the alien corpse she had procured the ray gun from earlier.

Once she had changed into her new spacesuit, the X-Men appeared. The suit protected her from Storm's lightning bolt, and she fell backwards into an elevator. Once out of the lift she found herself in a hangar where the Brood was threatening to inject Lockheed. Magik threatened to shoot the Brood, and it revealed it's plans; it had escaped the X-Men's original attack (see Uncanny X-Men #166) with some of the Brood Queen's eggs and sampled of the X-Men's DNA. Therefore it cloned the X-Men, and made them believe that it was Professor Xavier. It infected the cloned X-Men who would change into super-powered Brood.

The X-Men clones appeared, bu they had heard the Brood's plans. They attacked the Brood, and freed Lockheed. Once the dragon was free he roared another fiery blast, reducing the Brood to ashes.

The clones X-Men then begged Magik to kill them. They didn't want to grow into Brood, and therefore preferred death over corruption. However, Magik couldn't bring herself to kill the X-Men again (see the Illyana & Storm: Magik mini series), and therefore gave them another option. She teleported the X-Men clones to Limbo where she could see the black light burning from the Brood eggs. When she slashed through the dark spots with her Soulword, the X-Men were freed from the Brood. The X-Men acknowledged that they were only clones, but they hoped to grow into worthy heroes travelling through space in the long abandoned alien spaceship.

After she finished her story, Shadowcat phased herself into the spacesuit, although she was too skinny to fill out the suit's curves. That night Magik read in bed with Lockheed perched on her shoulder. She thought about how Lockheed had killed the monster, while she had saved the X-Men.

Note: This follows events from New Mutants #21.

The New Mutants attend Cypher’s funeral, leading to emotional revelations for every surviving member, including Warlock.

Wolfsbane was fighting a smile-faced Right soldier. Cypher called to warn her that "he's got a gun!'. The Ani-Mator took aim, Cypher leapt to push Wolfsbane out of the way, but this time she kicked him away. Cypher landed on the floor, while Wolfsbane used the Right soldier's weapons to shoot the Ani-Mator before she destroyed the smile-faced armour. Having defeated both enemies she transformed back into a girl and leapt down to hug Cypher. Tears of joy streamed down her face, but as he promised never to do it again, Cypher faded away and Wolfsbane was left alone in the Danger Room.

Sunspot appeared in the dark room and asked her how long she'd been fighting these illusions. Angry at first, both of them flared up their powers before Wolfsbane broke down into tears. She confessed she had found seventeen ways to save Cypher, but was still distraught that she failed to save the real Cypher when it counted most.

Meanwhile upstairs in the rec room, Magik sat watching as many reruns of the X-Men dying in Dallas. Tearful and struggling to understand why her brother had to die, Magik transformed into Darkchilde and leapt at the television with her Soulsword. Cannonball happened to be passing by when he heard her and flew into the room to hold her back. He begged her to transform back into Magik & leave the Soulsword in Limbo. However, she was angry that she had teleported her brother to Dallas and been powerless to help him when he needed it most. In a fit of frustration she teleported herself and the video tapes to Limbo.

Downstairs in the kitchen Mirage & Warlock were watching Zombie movies. Mirage tried her best to explain that Cypher couldn't come back to life like the zombies. However, her power manifested Warlock's greatest hope; Cypher resurrected as a green-skinned zombie. When Warlock went to hug the illusion Cypher transformed into a giant Magus scaring him into a quivering puddle. Mirage hugged Warlock and apologised for what her powers did. She did her best to explain that dead people don't come back to life except in movies, but she gave Warlock an idea.

The next day the New Mutants gathered outside ready for the viewing of Cypher's body. Warlock assumed a human form, and Magik teleported back to the estate just in time to join the others. She confided in Cannonball that she had discovered who was responsible for her brother's death. Magneto was still angry with the New Mutants. He explained that he had told Cypher's parents that he was shot in a hunting accident. He added that there would be an enquiry into the shooting, meaning that each of them would be questioned by police. Magneto assured them that their telepathic contacts from the Hellfire Club to add strength and credence to what the New Mutants claimed, in case any police officers were suspicious.

When they arrived to view the body, Magneto greeted Mr & Mrs Ramsey. Cypher's mother broke down into tears while Magneto considered what a waste of life humanity had in store for mutant kind. The New Mutants gathered around the casket. Warlock didn't recognise Cypher, and tried to touch the body. Sunspot pulled him back, but Wolfsbane fled the building in fits of tears. The others ran after her, causing Cypher's relatives to disapprove of their behaviour. They found Wolfsbane crying against an old gnarled tree. She wailed about how it was her fault, and that she didn't even notice when Cypher had died. Warlock was shocked when Wolfsbane cried about how Cypher would be buried. At his lack of understanding of human burial practices, he shrivelled up on the front lawn leaving Magik and Cannonball to try and pull him back together again.

That night, Warlock sneaked out of the mansion through the front door's key-hole. He flew himself back to he funeral home. Inside, he tried to wake Cypher. When Cypher was unresponsive, he pulled him up out of the casket to show him that he could move. However, Cypher's body was still rigid like a statue. Warlock had the idea to share some of his own lifeglow with Cypher, just as Cypher had previously done for him (see New Mutants Special #1). Warlock then decided the best thing to do was show Cypher many of the people & things he loved the most, to try and bring his friend back to life.

Warlock flew Cypher's lifeless body to the local motel where Mr & Mrs Ramsey were staying. Inside Mrs Ramsey was in floods of tears. She looked up to see the ghostly image of her son's lifeless body watching her from the window with a huge grinning smile above him. Since she didn't know her son was a mutant, or that Warlock was really an alien, she screamed causing Warlock to flee. Mr Ramsey ran into the room to comfort his wife & reasuure her that Cypher wasn't a ghost.

Warlock then took Cypher back to the mansion. Hovering outside Wolfsbane's room, he tapped on the window. She didn't see Warlock, but instantly rushed to the window to hug Cypher. When he didn't return her hugs, she realised that something was wrong. She screamed in horror. Warlock covered her mouth and begged her not to react like Cypher's mother had. The other New Mutants rushed into the room and were appalled at what they saw. Warlock told them he was trying to return Cypher's lifeglow. Sunspot told Wolfsbane that, in his own unique way, Warlock was trying to do what she had been doing in the Danger Room earlier. With tears still pouring down her face, Wolfsbane explained to Warlock how humans couldn't come back from the dead. She begged him to let go of Cypher. Warlock cradled Wolfsbane on the floor as they mourned Cypher together.

Soon, Cannonball reminded them that they had to return Cypher's body. He had been left lying on the floor where Warlock had left him. Wolfsbane dried her tears, and Warlock was ready to let go. They all teleported to the funeral home, but the police appeared at the door. The New Mutants fell behind the casket to hide, but there wasn't time to replace Cypher's body. The manager of the funeral home switched the lights on, and was astounded to see Cypher's body in the coffin. He apologised to the police saying that it must have been the stress of a child's death that caused him to see an empty casket earlier. When they left, Mirage's illusion of Cypher's body vanished from the coffin. The New Mutants crawled out from under the casket, and they placed Cypher's body back in the coffin. Wolfsbane gave him one tearful kiss goodbye, and they teleported home.

The next day, the team went to visit Cypher's grave. Warlock & Wolfsbane huddled together for strength as they bade him a final farewell.

In the evening, Magik gathered them all around the television in the rec room. There she replayed the tapes of the X-Men in Dallas. There she paused the image on Forge, and claimed that it was his fault that her brother died. Her eyes turned red as she vowed vengeance upon Forge.

Magik gains the support of her fellow New Mutants in her mission against Forge. But before Illyana takes on the technomancer, she and the team must contend with Freedom Force!

Magik passionately declared that Forge must be killed. Directing her fury at Magneto, she ranted about how Forge's magiks prevented her from entering Dallas to help the X-Men. However, Magneto remarked that from the video evidence the X-Men had offered themselves willingly, and that he was unwilling to help. The others dived to catch her, but Magik teleported away leaving them to crash into Magneto. Angrily, Magneto grounded the New Mutnats and forebade any of them to use their powers.

Half a world away, Shadowcat and Lockheed sat watching the events from Dallas on the television. When she say Magik teleport into the room she jumped at her old room-mate for a hug, but fell through her. Shadowcat summoned up all of her strength enough to hug Magik. However, the mood soon changed when Magik explained her plan. Shadowcat tried to reason with Magik, but instead Magik accused her of being just like Magneto. She teleported away leaving Shadowcat to curl up crying on the floor.

Back in the attic of the mansion, the remaining New Mutants changed into their new uniforms. Their plan was to be prepared for Magik's eventual return and defy Magneto's rules. Suddenly Magik appeared in a stepping disc and they all pounced on her. The New Mutants fell into the stepping disc, and landed in Limbo. The environment in Limbo had grown more ghastly and grotesque since their last visit. The ground & walls were made of bizarre demonic skeletons, the mirrors reflected skeletal images, and the demons were all infected with Magus' transmode virus. Magik reminded them that Limbo was a reflection of herself, and Wolfsbane begged the rest of the team to help her since they couldn't lose another team-mate so soon after Cypher had died. Mirage felt guilty that her ability to see the death glow didn't help her to save Cypher and agreed to help. Magik conjured a scrying glass to find Forge, and when she'd located him she drew the Soulsword out of the ground. Immediately her eldritch armour appeared, covering her whole body. The others begged her to leave the Soulsword behind to protect Limbo, but she refused to listen claiming that she needed it to defeat Forge's magiks. Sym appeared as soon as they left Limbo. He was accompanied by Raek (see New Mutants # 55), a smile-faced Right soldier and the Ani-Mator (see New Mutants # 61), all of whom had been infected with his transmode virus. Sym was biding his time, plotting to fool Magik into opening a portal from Limbo to Earth.

The New Mutants arrived on Earth, and were confronted by Destiny's predictions that 'catastrophe hangs around the Darkchilde'. The old women was panic stricken with the impending disaster that Magik would bring to Earth, and stated that the outcome of that day's events would impact on the possible salvation of the planet. However, Magik didn't hear anything as she leapt through the air to attack Forge. Blob stepped forward and swatted her out of the air. Avalanche sent the New Mutants flying, and so the New Mutants began to battle Freedom Force.

Wolfsbane ran to Magik's unconscious body while Pyro surrounded them with a wall of flame. Warlock transformed into a helicopter and Mirage rode inside. They attacked Stonewall, but were pushed back by his intense stability.Warlock dived at Stonewall's feet pushing him backwards, but was crushed under his weight when Spiral's knives stopped Warlock in his tracks. Cannonball blasted through the fire to stop Pyro, while Sunspot rushed at Spiral. She jumped out of the way, leaving Sunspot to crash into a red-brick wall. The impact caused the wall to topple on top of Blob, Avalanche & Spiral. Destiny admitted that she could have warned them, but knew that Blob & Avalanche would be safe, and she revelled in Spiral's humiliation.

Sunspot rushed to Warlock's entangled wiry remains, while Mirage battled the Crimson Commando in hand-to-hand combat. However, he was a seasoned veteran and easily caught her by one wrist & one ankle, and through her down. Commando was then free to punch Sunspot from behind. As Cannonball continued to fight with Pyro, Magik regained consciousness. The Blob began to approach, so Wolfsbane changed into her transition form to protect Magik. However, Magik began to teleport the Blob in one of her stepping discs. He was saved by Super Sabre who was subsequently crushed uner the Blob's weight as he fell on him.. Cannonball finally triumphed over Pyro when he removed he fuel-tank from his back and sent him crashing into Crimson Commando.

Magik teleported herself closer to Forge & Destiny. Horns appeared on her head as she changed into Darkchilde. Destiny pleaded with her saying not to hurl 'her into Limbo or it would lead to disaster. Cannonball caught Darkchilde around the waist, dragging her away from 'Forge'. However, when Forge hit the ground he transformed into Mystique's blue-skinned form. Darkchilde was shocked that she nearly killed the wrong person. During the distraction, Super Sabre ran up behind Cannonball & Darkchilde, rendering them both semi-conscious from a miniature sonic boom behind their heads.

The New Mutants had been defeated in battle. Spial recognised the Darkchilde's danger and was eager to kill her in order to neutralise her. However, everyone stopped in their tracks when Mirage's power pulled out the image of Destiny's greatest nightmare: Manhattan over-run with vicious transmode infected demons. Destiny warned Darkchilde that events had already begun to cause her nightmarish prediction. She instructed Spiral to put her swords down, as Darkchilde's death would only hasten events. Destiny then collapsed on the floor claiming that the Darkchilde must leave Earth and learn if the Earth was to survive.

As the New Mutants pulled themselves together, Wolfsbane approached Darkchilde. However, the Darkchilde was still certain that they were trying to protect Forge. He then appeared and was ready to face Darkchilde himself. She teleported the New Mutants and closer to Forge. Destiny lay in Mystique's arms as she prayed that her warning would help to save the Darkchilde.

Magik is pushed to the murderous brink in her Limbo battle against Forge! This could be a Sorcerer's Duel… to the death!

Immediately following on from New Mutants #65, Darkchilde leapt to attack Forge with her Soulsword. The earth was burning, and Forge dodged her sword. She slashed at the ground instead. Wolfsbane wanted to help, but Sunspot pulled her back. Wolfsbane wanted to help Darkchilde since the Soulsword only effected magical spells and therefore wouldn't help her in a fight. However, Warlock observed that the rocks which the Soulsword had hit were not only cut but had sneering demonic faces. The others were confused and didn't understand what it meant. Mirage explained Destiny's predictions to Cannonball since he had been unconscious.

Darkchilde continued to attack Forge. His magiks were enough to keep her at bay, and even repel her at times. She was still angry and ranted about his involvement in the deaths of the X-Men. Forge's magik managed to knock Darkchilde back, and he explained that when he was younger he had made a mistake during the Vietnam war that came back to haunt him. The others were worried for their team-mate and used their powers together to try to save Darkchile; Mirage distracted her with an illusion of Forge dying while Cannonball flew by and snatched her.

However, Darkchilde had recognised Mirage's illusion for what it was, and while Cannonball carried her through the air she conjured up a stepping disc to teleport them all to Limbo. There she ensnared the other New Mutants in demonic vines that held even Warlock in place. Free to fight Forge, Darkchilde explained her connection to Limbo. As Forge explained that there was other magic which was just as powerful, he created psychic armour, a mask, shield & spear. Darkchilde pounced through the air, but her attacks could not pierce Forge's shield. She struck again & again, oblivious to how her vines had grown out of control and were about to swallow the New Mutants. As they fought, Darkchilde demanded to know why he didn't put up such a fight against the Adversary, to which Forge replied that as a teleporter and a sorceress she should have known that she was taking Colossus to his death or been able to save the X-Men. Enraged, Darkchilde lunged at Forge. She knew she couldn't get back to Dallas, and he reasoned that it was the Adversary's magic that barred her return. Darkchilde's spell deflected off of Forge's shield and destroyed her scrying glass. The effect on her was painful, and her eldritch armour grew fiercesome spikes. Darkchilde accused Forge of being accident prone, and losing the people he loves the most, including Storm.

Forge stopped fighting. He accepted that she was still just a child, just like he was when he fought in Vietnam. So he lowered his armour and stood defenceless. Darkchilde seized the moment and lunched the Soulsword into Forge. He screamed in agony and the New Mutants could only look on in horror. The demons in Limbo encouraged Darkchilde to deliver a fatal blow to Forge. Just as she raised the Soulsword to kill him, she was met face-to-face with an image of herself as the Darkchilde. Even more corrupted, completely covered in fur & scales, and with a hissing forked tongue.

Angry at Mirage's illusion Darkchilde turned to accuse her. However, she couldn't see the New Mutants as they were being swallowed up by the demonic vines. Wolfsbane begged her not to kill Forge. However, Forge begged her to kill him. The demons around them begged her to kill him. In a passionate fit of anger, she rejected them all and flung the Soulsword into the heart of the vines that had held her team-mates captive. The vines retreated and the New Mutants were freed. Reclaiming the Soulsword, Darkchilde restored Forge's strength and teleported them all back to Earth.

Yet she remained as the Darkchilde even after they returned to the attic in the mansion. Wolfsbane begged her to return to normal, and reminded her that it was her own choice not to kill Forge. Magik reverted back to a normal girl. They all quietly tip-toed back downstairs where they noticed Magneto was wearing his old villain's armour. They discussed how caught up in the Hellfire Club's affairs he had been lately, and they suspected that it would only be bad news.

Meanwhile in an alien space craft orbitting the Earth, a creature pawed at a poster of Lila Cheney. It then pawed at a white alien girl called Gosamyr. It referred to all other lives as 'it' instead of 'he' or 'she', and claimed to have some sort of contractual hold over Lila.

Note: The events of this story are followed by The New Mutants Super-Sized Annual #4. The main story in the New Mutants part of The Evolutionary War direct effects the character of Mirage.

Cannonball struggles not to use his mutant powers at a Lila Cheney concert…especially when Spyder abducts his headlining ladylove!

Cannonball took a solemn oath that if he was allowed to go to the Lila Cheney concert then he wouldn't use his mutant powers at all. Magneto agreed, and in his excitement Cannonball kicked up a little dust with his blast field.

In orbit around the Earth, Spyder plotted how he was acquire Lila Cheney. Unknown to Lila, he had forced the company that Lila was contracted to into bankruptcy so he could buy Lila as an asset. Spyder taunted Gosamyr, as he had forced her in to slavery in a similar fashion. He then ordered his accountants to go to Earth to collect Lila.

Backstage at the Glitter Pool, Cannonball and Lila kissed. He confided in her the promise that he'd made to Magneto, and she re-assured him that she had been taking care of trouble since she was a kid. Cannonball watched her race on to stage as he considered their age difference and how long a girl like Lila would want to date a kid like him.

Back at the school, the other New Mutants lounged around. Warlock acted as a mirror for Wolfsbane as she tried to make her hair spikey like Lika Cheney's. Mirage spun her spirit lance around, making it grow & shrink in size . Sunspot was concerned that Magneto would discover that her mutant powers had changed (see New Mutants Annual # 4), but she continued to proactise. They then began to argue about whether it was right or wrong for Cannonball to make the promise to Magneto. Sunspot declared that as the fairer sex Lila should be the damsel in distress, not the one to rescue Cannonball.

Back on Spyder's space ship, Gosamyr slipped off her collar. She thought she was running away from Spyder, but he monitored her every movement while inhaling emotional essences. He let her stow away on the accountants' Earth bound shuttle.

The shuttle landed on the toof of the Glitter Pool. Instantly the alien accountants descended from the roof and went to attack Lila. The Crowd thought it was all a part of the show and cheered louder. While performing, Lila was able to dance around, duck and hit back at the invading aliens with relative ease. However, Cannonball was bound by his promise to Magneto not to use his powers to help.

The other New Mutants heard about the attack on the radio as they listened to a live broadcast of the concert. Sunspot grew angry and wanted to give Magneto a piece of his mind. The others stopped him just outside of Magneto's office. While squabbling on the floor, they overheard their headmaster authorise power neutralisers that were intended for them. Magik then teleported them to Limbo to change into their New Mutants' outfits and then on to the concert hall. However, the instant they arrived an alien managed to place a power neutralising helmet on Lila and flew away through a hole in the roof. Cannonball was then convinced to use his powers again, and the New Mutants fought the remaining alien accountants.

However, they were unable to stop the accountants from flying off in their shuttle. As they stood on the roof of the Glitter Pool, Gosamyr floated down behind them asking for help. She collapsed into Sunspot's arms explained that Spyder controls people through business acquisitions, which was how he came to control her entire family through dealings with her brother. Gosamyr then explained how she had stowed away on the accountant's shuttle looking for help to free her family. She then offered the New Mutants use of her tiny space yacht if they would help her too.

The New Mutants quizzed Gosamyr about Spyder. She explained that their world had sold Lila. Spyder had gone to Earth to collect Lila when he discovered that his latest asset was missing. The girls in the New Mutants suspected Gosamyr's intentions, but Sunspot was smitten with their new alien comrade. He promised to help her without asking the rest of the team.

Lovely alien Gosamyr plays the New Mutants against each other, distracting everyone from their primary mission – tracking down Lila Cheney who is still in Spyder's web!

The New Mutants stood back while Magik tried to re-assemble her scrying glass. She was able to see Spyder's space ship long enough to determine it's location, but was interupted with a demonic image of herself. The demons in Limbo rejoiced at the image of Darkchilde, but Magik panicked and the scrying glass shattered. Mirage, Warlock and Cannonball protected the others from the flying shards of glass. Magik then sadly admitted that by the time they teleport to the co-ordinates she'd found Spyder's spaceship would be long gone. Gosamyr began to cry for her family, making Mirage angry. Mirage then created a plan to teleport the space yacht to the location Magik discovered. Magik, still distressed by her reflection in the scrying glass, recalled Destiny's prediction that she should leave Earth (see New Mutants #65) and decided that she should search for Lila alone. They decided to stick together, while Gosamyr was interested to learn of Cannonball's relationship with Lila. They then teleported onto Gosamyr's space yacht and teleported the yacht into space.

Once on board, Gosamyr left the boys to man the controls while she used a machine to create clothes for herslef & the girls. She pulled on a web-patterned bodice, while Wolfsbane wore a pink ball-gown. Mirage was less than impressed with the green poncho & fluffy orange hat she'd been given, and Gosamyr teased her awkward appearance. She then played to Wolfsbane's desire to look striking like Lila, and gave her a back-combed black wig. Gosmayr accused Mirage of being a jealous tomboy and convinced Wolfsbane that she looked just like Lila. Meanwhile, Spyder forced Lila to watch the New Mutants as they began to fall apart. Even though Lila boasted that the New Mutants would catch Spyder, he taunted her saying that Gosamyr's nature is to destroy those around her by warping their emotions. He had remained unaffected by her since he didn't have any emotions of his own.

Back on the space yacht, Mirage accompanied the boys as they tried to search for Spyder's ship, while Warlock consoled Magik. Wolfsbane entered wearing her fancy dress and Lila Cheney wig, but Cannonball treated her like a little kid. Instead of being impressed with her new appearance, Cannonball was distracted & enchanted by Gosamyr's new outfit. Both Cannonball and Sunspot lavished all their attention on her, while Warlock tried to warn them to stay away from Gosamyr.

Later, Sunspot and Gosamyr spent time alone on the bridge. He grew angry as he considered himself to be a failed hero, but she boosted his confidence with a kiss. Wolfsbane entered the room and found them kissing, but saw Gosamyr look up and wink at her. Startled & alamred, Wolfsbane ran away.

They soon tracked Spyder's ship as it approached an alien planet. Warlock fed Gosamyr grapes while Cannonball began to forget about Lila. Wolfsbane tried to remind him, but he was too infatuated with Gosamyr. However Gosamyr was more interested in learning more about Mirage's new power to make dreams and nightmares become reality. However, when Cannonball made a slight innuendo about Gosamyr's desires, Wolfsbane became upset and ran to the observation desk. Mirage ran after her, and Gosamyr revealed that Wolfsbane had romantic feelings for Cannonball. He dismissed the claim, stating that Wolfsbane was just a little kid and he was nothing more than a big brother to her. Gosamyr then left the boys to inform Mirage and Wolfsbane that Spyder's ship had dropped into orbit.

Wolfsbane was lying down crying about how terrible it as that Cannonball had forgotten about Lila. Mirage was about to enter the observation deck to console her when Gosamyr found her. Gosamyr hit Mirage with a hypnotic suggestion that caused her to create Wolfsbane's greatest desire. Unaware of what she'd done, Mirage was angry at Gosamyr's reasons to follow them both to the observation deck. Gosamyr then sent Mirage to the bridge by suggesting that the boys could cope without her help. Mirage ran off, unaware that she had left an illusion of Cannonball in the observation deck. Gosamyr had a wicked expression on her face when she watched the false Cannonball approach Wolfsbane. He was dressed as a prince from a fairy tale and presented her with a red rose. However, Wolfsbane grew frightened at his strong romantic advances and ran away.

Back on the bridge, an alien patrol officer had contacted the space yacht asking for their landing documents. He gave them twenty seconds to provide the paperwork. Just then Wolfsbane ran into the room pursued by her idealised image of Cannonball. She was surprised to see Cannonball in their already, and he was surprised to see himself in the prince charming outfit. At that instant Mirage had the idea to conjure up the alien's greatest desire. When the paperwork appeared in the alien's hands, the false Cannonball disappeared. Wolfsbane grew tearful and angry. She transformed into her transitional form and leapt at Mirage.

Sunspot pulled Wolfsbane away, while Gosamyr cried out for Mirage to stop hurting Wolfsbane. Mirage grew angry at Gosamyr and hit her, accusing the alien girl of somehow causing all their problems before she ran away. However, at that moment Admiral Dupen'th appeared and discovered that the alien patrol officer had been holding a bribe. Mirage had created his greatest desire, but it wasn't landing documents, it had been a bribe. When Admiral Dupen'th discovered it he gave the command to destroy the space yacht.

Note: The issue ended with an advert for the then up-coming X-Terminators mini series, which was connected to the Inferno cross-over.

Magik transforms into her full demonic form as the Darkchilde! Meanwhile, the rescue mission for Lila Cheney hits a major snag…

The New Mutants were falling apart. Cannonball & Sunspot tended to Gosamyr who lay helpless on the floor. Wolfsbane was in tears. Magik hadn't said a word all day, depressed at her destiny to turn into the Darkchilde. Warlock & Mirage panicked at Admiral Dupen'th's order to destroy the space yacht they were travelling in. Gosamyr jumped up and blamed Mirage, causing them all to argue. Warlock begged his friends not to argue while the countdown to detonation continued. However, unknown to the New Mutants, Spyder ordered that the space yacht should be lowered to the planet. On board the yacht, they realised that it was far too convenient and again Gosamyr accused Mirage. Mirage claimed that Gosamyr was only jealous, but Mirage was already crying.

Spyder reclined while his slaves carried him alone. They tried Lila up, and she cried out that both she & Gosamyr were girls, not items to be traded. However, as Spyder watched the space yacht descend to the planet's surface he calculated the risks of physical violence to himself in a frontal attack. Therefore he left Gosamyr among the New Mutants to further disrupt their team-work.

As soon as the yacht landed, Mirage ran on to the planet's surface. In the alien back alleys she was assaulted by alien brutes.

The other New Mutants were unaware that Mirage had left the yacht. Wolfsbane desperately tried to remind Cannonball that he was there to save Lila, but Gosamyr used the opportunity to remind Wolfsbane of how they'd all seen her crush for him realised (see New Mutants #68). Sunspot grew protective of Gosamyr and shoved Cannonball away from her, while Warlock begged them not to fight. Warlock approached Magik to help, but she was too depressed and convinced that she would only make matters worse.

Mirage used her formidable training to defend herself against the aliens. She then used her power to create their heart's desire; the Bauble of Babel (see New Mutants #55). She was then able to flee while the aliens fight each other to possession the fake item.

Back inside the yacht Magik teleported down from her shelf to comfort Wolfsbane. Wolfsbane rejected her and began to crawl away when Warlock came screaming into the room; he couldn't find Mirage on board the yacht. Wolfsbane used her telepathic connection with Mirage to discover that she was outside and chased by aliens. The New Mutants teleported to Limbo where they quickly came under attack from the demons. Magik drew the Soulsword and became the Darkchilde, covered in Eldritch Armour. Wolfsbane implored her to leave the Soulsword behind, but the aliens had already caught Mirage.

Back on Earth, Magneto had discovered that his students were missing. The White Queen contacted him through her video communicator and informed him that the Hellions had heard everything from the live broadcast of Lila Cheney's concert. She then requested his presence at the Hellfire Club to help with current bizarre events. Magneto then donned his old helmet for the first time as he pledged to find the New Mutants where ever they were hiding on Earth.

Meanwhile in space, the New Mutants teleported in time to save Mirage from the aliens. Gosamyr stood back, frightened by the violence. Darkchilde sliced a robot in half with her Soulsword, but the two halves became demonic and swallowed an alien. The other aliens saw what had happened and ran for safety. One of them grabbed Gosamyr, causing Sunspot & Cannonball to race after her. They both crashed into the alien and began fighting over Gosamyr. Gosamyr picked herself up and boasted to Mirage that it proved her worth. Since the men were willing to fight over it, she demanded that it meant she was more important and that they should obey her. Warlock was wary of Gosamyr, and Darkchilde grew angry as she sensed some sort of magic coming from the little alien girl. So Darkshilde slashed her Soulsword through Gosamyr causing a strange transformation. Gosamyr uncontrollably grew into a giant fanged fire-monster with tentacles, and collapsed when she reverted to normal.

Although Cannonball had snapped out of Gosamyr's spell, Sunspot accused Darkchilde of trying to kill her. Darkchilde went to attack her again, but the others restrained her. Wolfsbane implored her to revert back to Magik, but she was unable to. Stuck as the Darkchilde she cried that she was the real monster, not Gosamyr. However Mirage & Cannonball both declared that it was Gosamyr who had turned them all against each other, which wasn't a 'pretty' thing to do. Gosamyr regained consciousness and declared that it was normal for people to behave like that around her. Warlock stated that he knew of Gosamyr's kind; they were extremely rare, precious and dangerous. He implored the New Mutants to leave her behind. Sunspot comforted Gosamyr saying he felt like he had a monster like that inside of him at times, and wanted to help teach her to control her subconscious abilities.

Darkchilde still wanted to kill Gosamyr blaming her for being stuck in her current demonic incarnation. She also stated that she wouldn't take the New Mutants back to Limbo as she felt it wouldn't let them leave again. So Warlock flew them all to Spyder's citadel. They broke in and used Wolfsbane's sense to track Lila. They soon found her gagged and bound in an energy field. However, Gosamyr fell back at a rumbling sound, avoiding a mecahnical cage that dropped over the New Mutants. Spyder then descended and placed his collar back on Gosamyr's neck as he held them all captive.

Prelude to Inferno! The New Mutants meet Gosamyr's family, following their escape from Spyder’s lair. The Darkchilde ushers the New Mutants to Limbo.

Sunspot fought against the energy bands of their cage, but they continued to snap back into place holding the New Mutants captive despite his super strength. Spyder dragged Gosamyr around while he dangled Lila over high ledges and inhaled emotions. The New Mutants took it in turns to try to escape, but they all failed. Gosamyr sulked, accepting that she couldn't help tearing the New Mutants apart.

Magneto flew into Manhattan. When he landed in a side-alley the trash cans and fire-escapes came to life an attacked him. Using his magnetism, he quickly defeated them and transformed his clothes into a pure white suit. Upon entering the Hellfire Club, Sebastian Shaw accused him of going soft, while the White Queen consoled him at the loss of his students, and Selene observed the fight for power among the Inner Circle.

Back on Spyder's planet, Gosamyr slumped in her bindings. Sunspot tried to console her giving her courage to try something different. Wrapping her wings around her, Gosamyr turned into a bouncing ball of blue light. She knocked one of the guards over, which Sunspot then kicked into the power generator. He then found the shivering pile of light and helped Gosamyr to unwrap her wings and become substantial again. Back in her original state, she blamed herself and asked the New Mutants to leave her behind. However, Mirage decided that as she'd help to rescue them that they would honour Sunspot's promise to help free her family. They then fought their way out of the prison and soon found Spyder & Lila.

Spyder stood above several cocoons of silmey silk. He was waiting for them to hatch. Lila was terrified claiming that the creatures could destroy worlds. The New Mutants were puzzled, but Gosamyr fainted as she considered the current state of her family, which alerted Spyder to their presence. The New Mutants fought with Spyder's guards andCannonball failed in his attempt to snatch Lila from his grasp. However, the creatures hatched from the giant cocoons and Spyder ordered their immediate termination. They rapidly grew, toppling Spyder's floating platform. Darkchilde and Mirage reasoned that Gosamyr must be a larval stage that would grown and evolve into the giant monsters. The others fought for survival, but they were bound by their promise to Gosamyr to try and save her family.

When the monsters lunged at Lila, and Wolfsbane dived to save her. They fell out of the way and Cannonball caught them both as Wolfsbane removed the power inhibitor-helmet from Lila. The New Mutants regrouped to try and plan what to do. Lila offered to teleport the monsters into the local sun, but Cannonball refused to let her as her powers meant that she would have to teleport with them. Gosamyr cried for her family; if they had been left to evolve naturally for a millennia then they would have emerged peaceful, but the forced hatching turned them into monsters. Darkchilde saw herself reflected in Gosamyr's family; turned into a monster because of the evil schemes of others.

The monsters began to attack the New Mutants again. Lila bade them farewell and asked Wolfsbane to look after Cannonball as she disappeared. Instantly all the monsters had gone and when they looked up there was an explosion on the surface of the sun. Cannonball screamed out for his lost love. Wolfsbane rushed to his side.

Gosamyr confirmed that her family would not have been able to survive the explosion on the sun and wept for them. Sunspot consoled her. Spyder appeared and ordered his soldiers to attack the New Mutants. However Cannonball attacked them in his rage, and had to be pulled back by Warlock. With Lila gone Darkchilde realised that she was the only means the team had of returning to Earth. The New Mutants disappeared in a stepping disc and re-appeared in Limbo.

Sym greeted them in Limbo. He had finally become master of the realm and commanded the other demons to attack the New Mutants.

Note: This issue comes with a page-sized advert for the Inferno cross-over which was due to start in the next issue.

Synopsis

Magik tries to teleport the New Mutants but they get stuck in Limbo. S'ym is there with an army and he immediately attacks the youth. He and Magik fight and she seems to get the upper-hand, but S'ym is able to subdue Magik and takes her sword. The demons surround the New Mutants but Magik is able to divine them away with a stepping disc. At their departure, N'Astirh messages S'ym and the two quibble about who will have more power. N'Astirh informs S'ym of the location for the New Mutants.

The New Mutants arrive at the throne of Belasco. Magik admits the shame she has felt, believing that she is responsible for the deaths of the X-Men. The New Mutants are shocked, but also skeptical. S'ym arrives and the New Mutants go through another stepping disc. This time, the team arrives to see a vision of the past. Magik narrates the beatings she had from S'ym and the lessons she had to endure to master her mutant powers and become the ruler of Limbo. Her friends mourn with her, but not for long, as S'ym's army finds them. The New Mutants escape through another stepping disc.

On Earth, the Hellfire Club gathers to survey what is becoming of New York City. Magnus sees binoculars attack a man. When Magnus retaliates, the whole building revolts and dozens of humans die. N'Astirh is shown lording over the chaos.

The New Mutants arrive in front of N'Astirh from the past. He explains that he has summoned her to the past to help her because he loves her. Magik learns that she must take back the Soulsword - the darkest part of her soul - and defeat S'ym. In that way will she be able to transport her friends back to Earth. She reluctantly agrees and young N'Astirh transports the New Mutants to S'ym. Magik fights him and beats him, taking back her sword. She accepts the power it contains and becomes a being of darkness. She harnesses all her power and opens a stepping disc to Earth. She pushes through a magical boundary and the New Mutants land in the heart of New York City. The disc, however, remains opened and demons rain down on the city. N'Astirh thanks Magik for her services - she was the only one who could open the portal while he was the only one who could keep it open...

The New Mutants team up with the X-Terminators to defeat N'astirh's demon horde and to save the babies serving as the portal to Limbo. Meanwhile, Illyana tries to break free of N'astirh's influence but ends up falling further into his trap.

Note: This issue runs concurrently with X-Terminator's #4.

Synopsis

As demons pour from a portal from Limbo, Illyana and the New Mutants cower before N'astirh. Illyana can't understand how N'astirh could back out on his promise of freeing her. N'astirh claims that he has and she only needs to take one more step to achieve her true potential and become worthy to be his bride. S'ym shows up and the two demons begin fighting. Forgotten, the New Mutants get away and take to the skies to save the babies. Illyana teleports away.

In the air, the New Mutants meet up with the X-Terminators and both attempt to free the babies. The X-Terminators see one of their own taking on N'astirh and head down to help. The New Mutants fight off what demons they can and are finally able to free the babies from N'astirh's magic. The portal closes. The team isn't without casualty, however, as Gosamyr and Dani take some pretty nasty hits from the demons.

An explosion below prompts the New Mutants to return to the earth and regroup with the X-Terminators. It seems as if N'astrih absorbed S'ym's techno-organic make-up and then blew himself up. The two teams try to catch their breath, but they realize that they still need to find Illyana. They split up, some staying to help the wounded and the other heading out to find the missing teammate.

Illyana tries to teleport herself to the battle to help her friends. She is restricted, however, to teleporting to odd locations in the city. She first stops at a diner where she is catered to by absurd characters, including tableware and minced angels. They tell her to use her sword. She teleports away to a pet shop and is bombarded by perverted animals that also tell her to use her sword. She refuses. She is caged but manages to teleport away again.

Illyana lands in a barber shop and is forced into a chair and done up by another assortment of sordid demonized utensils. She breaks free and uses her sword to cut up the barber's chair. It bleeds and the utensils turn into demons and applaud her for spilling blood with her sword. N'astirh, not dead but in his new techno-organic form, appears and congratulates Illyana on taking another step towards becoming worthy of being his bride. She embraces her powers and dons her demonic armor and slashes at the demon. He disappears and leaves the exhausted Illyana to S'ym.

Synopsis

S'ym stands on Darkchilde's body as he reaches for her Soulsword. She forces him out of the window behind them and sends him crashing down onto the street. She leaps upon S'ym and cuts his head off. However, he is able to pull himself back together thanks to the transmode virus. He continues to push his attack on her, but her spells send him backwards into the wall. The fight rages on.

Near Times Square, Mirage, Rusty, and Skids watch their team-mates fly off. However, the buildings and the road became animated and attack them. Far from powerless, the X-Terminators and New Mutants use their own mutant abilities to destroy anything that attacks them.

Meanwhile, below, Colossus marches through the streets. He interrogates minor demons to discover the location of his sister, but discovers that S'ym has overthrown Limbo. Caught unawares, the demons then pile onto Colossus.

On the rooftop of the Hellfire Club, the Inner Circle battles demons. Magneto is confronted by N'astirh, who offers a pact to rule the Earth between them. N'astirh then informs Magneto of the battle for power that over-threw Darkchilde's rule. The New Mutants fly by overheard and see Magneto discussing matters with N'astirh. They believe the two are most likely making a deal. They fly on, determined to have nothing to do with their headmaster any more.

S'ym's battle with the Darkchilde is interrupted when Colossus's armored body is thrown into the battle. S'ym threatens to kill Colossus for a second time and, even though she is not sure if he really is her brother, Darkchilde fights to protect him. The flashes from the fight are seen by the combined New Mutants and X-Terminators overhead. They fly closer and are surprised to see Darkchilde completely wrapped in her Eldritch Armor. They crash into a local, albeit possessed, pawn shop. Suddenly S'ym falls backwards through the window with Colossus pushing and crushing him. Colossus demands to know where his sister is and S'ym relishes in the moment as he reveals that Darkchilde is Illyana. Darkchilde cringes, embarrassed that her beloved brother sees her as such. In shame, she teleports away. The New Mutants and X-Terminators quickly leap into stepping disc behind her. They land back in Belasco's throne room. The New Mutants explain the basic rules of Limbo to Boom-Boom and Rictor while Darkchilde cringes in shame.

Back on Earth, Colossus continues to fight the demons and punches S'ym back through the pawn shop window and across the street. As their fight rages on, Wolfsbane implores Darkchilde in Limbo to return to Earth. Darkchilde refuses, claiming that such an action was what caused the power vacuum in the first place. The demons pick her up off the floor and carry her over to Belasco's throne where she sits as the ruler of Limbo.

On Earth, Colossus is slowly being overcome by the demons. And outside the church the remaining X-Terminators and New Mutants fight off he demon hordes. As a valkyrie, Mirage begins to see the dealthy image above Rusty, Skids, and herself. She collapses, unable to fend it off, and is caught by Artie and Leech.

In Limbo, Darkchilde's increased power allows her to create a newer and greater scrying glass. Through it she watches the fight between Colossus and S'ym, Manhattan's demon invasion, and Mirage's collapse all at the same time. Determined to do something to stop the Inferno, Darkchilde begins to glow pure, radiant, white light. The other New Mutants chase after Wolfsbane. Wolfsbane refuses to give up on Darkchilde's innocence and runs until she finds a chamber filled with floating stepping discs. Warlock and Cannonball grab her before she is able to throw herself into one. She breaks down in tears as she reveals her plan: Wolfsbane hopes to find the little child of Illyana they had seen previously. She hopes that future, past, and present are all connected in Limbo and wants to save both Darkchilde and Limbo by saving Illyana as a little girl. She leaps into the first stepping disc and the others follow her.

They fall into a barren field in Limbo. Sunspot grabs Wolfsbane by the arm, imploring her not to get them even more lost. Wolfsbane acknowledges how scared of Limbo she was and hates how terrified little Illyana must have been. She then finds another stepping disc and dives in. Again, the others follow her. They land in the middle of a group of transmode infected demons. Leaping through another stepping disc, Wolfsbane finds little Illyana and grabs her before falling through yet another light disc. As the New Mutants land, they are confronted by Darkchilde.

Glowing so brightly that they could barely see her, Darkchilde is horrified to see her younger self and swats Illyana away. Darkchilde's light grows even more intense as her power grows stronger. Her Eldritch Armor falls away from her and she stands towering as a fiery demon girl made of pure power. Darkchilde steps towards young Illyana and raises the Soulsword to execute her younger self in order to prevent it all from happening. Wolfsbane throws her arms around little Illyana and implores Darkchilde not to murder her own innocence. Wolfsbane reminds Darkchilde that she has a choice, which plays on her mind. Darkchilde recalls how N'astirh mocked concepts of good and evil among demons. She had learned to distrust what demons had told her, while she knew she could believe Wolfsbane.

Darkchilde decides to take herself out of the equation and remove the choice. The floor begins to glow and Darkchilde radiates even brighter as she teleports them all back to Times Square. The stepping disc grows over the city and sucks all the demons back to Limbo. In the heart of the falling demons, Darkchilde throws her Soulsword straight up into the air. It pierces the dark night sky, while Darkchilde herself is lost in the blinding light. Wolfsbane panics, as she had lost her hold of little Illyana.

Nearby by, Colossus's battle ends when S'ym is magically dragged back through the stepping disc. The remaining X-Terminators and New Mutants watch as the demons fly passed the church. Gosamyr appears from inside and offers to stay behind to watch the babies while Mirage, Rusty, and Skids run to Times Square.

In Times Square, the blinding light finally subsides and, in the dust, Wolfsbane finds the crushed Edlritch Armor. Colossus runs up and begins to despair for his little sister. Cannonball's tears stream down his cheeks. Mirage arrives and wraps her arms around Wolfsbane to console her. Colossus crouches down and picked up the crushed Eldritch Armor. A small voice from inside called his name. Little Illyana calls for help and Colossus rips the armor open. Underneath the metallic shell, Illyana lays curled up. Upon seeing her big brother, Illyana leaps out and hugs him around the neck. Wolfsbane looks up and is delighted to see Illyana alive and well. The little girl runs to Wolfsbane and they hug with tears of joy.

Cannonball thinks about how Darkchilde believed she was empty inside, but he knows that the little innocent girl was inside her all along. Rictor is confused, asking if it means that the teenaged Darkchilde had never existed. Cannonball knows that couldn't be right, because they could clearly remember her and that her sacrifice wasn't in vain. Wolfsbane clings to little Illyana and promises her a long life filled with joy.

They are all unaware that N'astirh sits on a ledge above them. He had survived Darkshilde's final spell that forced all the demons back to Limbo. He turns his attention to the top of the Empire State Building to the souls of baby Nathan Christopher Summers and his mother Madelyn Pryor, the Goblyn Queen.

Aftermath to Inferno! What will be left of the X-mansion by the end of this issue?

Cannonball through the streets with Rusty in his arms and Skids on his back. A possessed trash can attacked them, but it reverted to normal the instant Rusty set it alight. Back at the church Wolfsbane struggled to care for the toddling mutant babies they'd rescued while Illyana tightly held her around the neck. Boom-Boom was complaining about baby-sitting duties when she found a demonic boom-box chasing one of the babies. Rictor deflected her time-bombs and used his vibratory powers to shake the possession out of it. She handed him the babies so she could tune in to a local radio station for some music.Warlock returned carrying other New Mutants, and they commented on how ill Mirage looked. Cannonball returned with the others, and both Rictor and Rusty were instantly enchanted by Gosamyr. Boom-Boom's ne boom-box came up with a new report that called the Inferno 'Goblyn Night'. The next report was on Lila Cheney's disappearance after her concert at the Glitter Pool (see New Mutants # 67) which depressed Cannonball.

Mirage asked Boom-Boom to switch it off, and begun to explain what had happened while Artie projected her memories of their adventures in space. Wolfsbane tried to re-assure Cannonball that Lila was most likely alive in space, but he continued to despair from not knowing. Rusty & Rictor continued to act smitten over Gosamyr, and Sunspot stepped in between them. Gosamyr was wracked with guilt, since it was her family who had caused Lila's apparent death. She believed was a potential monster, just as Magik had been.

Across town at the Hellfire Club Sebastian Shaw blamed the whole of the Inferno on Magneto, since Magik had been his responsibility. Magneto was angry that Shaw wasn't bothered about mutantkind and they began to fight. Before any serious damage could be inflicted, Selene and the White Queen entered demanding to know what all the ruckus was. Shaw stormed out of the room claiming that it had been over philosophy.

Meanwhile, Rusty made a telephone call to Ship. He asked for a large plane to come and retrieve them. They flew across the ocean and soon the X-Terminators were reunited with Ship. He created a wheelchair for Wiz Kid and welcomed the New Mutants aboard. Ship's programming only allowed mutants on board, which wasn't a problem with the New Mutants or the babies they'd rescued. However, Ship was wary of Illyana claiing that she had strange readings even though his sensors did not indicate that she wasn't a mutant. Ship was also cautious of Warlock as the violence of his alien race was known to Ship, yet Ship also recognised Warlock's friendly nature.

Unfortunately Ship over-reacted to Gosamyr's presence. She was immediately scooped up in a glass container, which Rusty & Sunspot immediately ripped down. Warlock shielded her while the male members of the X-Terminators & New Mutants fought Ship to protect Gosamyr. Rictor's vibrations shattered the glass and he helped Gosamyr to her feet. Sunspot immediately grew jealous and threatened Rictor, but Gosamyr held him back saying that it was her fault he was acting that way. Ship then showed images of Gosamyr's race and the dangerous effects they'd had on other alien races before.

At that moment, Mirage fell down in pain. She saw the deathly warning around her everywhere, which Gosamyr interpreted as a reaction to her potential threat. Sunspot tried to change her mind by saying she'd changed, but Gosamyr couldn't deny the subconscious trouble that she would continue to bring to her friends. Ship knew of a place where her kind could be taught to control their subconscious powers and offered to create a spaceship for her. So Gosamyr agreed to leave. Rusty, Rictor, Cannonball and Sunspot all thought that they should be the only ones to accompany her. Gosamyr pulled Sunspot away from Cannonball before another fight broke out.

Ship instantly provided a spaceship with enough room to seat one passenger. Gosamyr bade Sunspot farewell with a longing kiss. Boom-Boom & Skids held Rictor & Rusty back while Gosamyr gave Cannonball a kiss goodbye. Mirage apologised for her visions. Gosamyr climbed into her private shuttle and flew off into space.

Back at the Hellfire Club, Magneto let himself believe that Shaw was right to blame him. The White Queen gently re-assured him that Magik had been the student of a demon sorcerer long before Magneto became headmaster. They began to openly exchange thoughts about over-throwing Sebastian Shaw within the Inner Circle when Selene entered the room. She had news that something strange was happening at he site of Xavier's school.

Back over that ocean the New Mutants decided that they would no longer accept Magneto as their headmaster. They bade farewell to the X-Terminators & Ship, and Warlock flew them back home. On the journey they decided to talk to Magneto like responsible adults, hoping the recruit the respectful relationship between X-Factor & the X-Terminators. However, they were shocked by what they found back at the school.

Note: To discover what happened at the school, read X-Factor # 39 & Uncanny X-Men # 243.

Magneto -- Grey King of the Hellfire Club! But Sebastian Shaw smacks this usurper down!

The New Mutants stood in the ruins of their school (it was destroyed in X-Factor #39 & Uncanny X-Men #243). They had no idea what had happened and suspected Magneto. Wolfsbane struggled to understand Illyana as she only spoke Russian. Mirage's valkyrie ability to see the death glow indicated that there was someone trapped underneath the rubble. Sunspot lifted up a huge segment of wall, but was suddenly attacked by Sabretooth who had been trapped underneath. Cannonball's quick thinking and blasting power pushed Sabretooth away. He fell weak agains tthe floor and introduced himself. Sabretooth's voice faded away and Warlock pronounced that he had died, but Mirage wasn't so sure since she didn't see Death come to collect him. However, the others reminded her that her valkyrie powers had been acting up and she admitted that she still had an intense headache.

Suddenly the Inner Circle of the Hellfire Club arrived. Although they were hovering several feet above the New Mutants, Sunspot picked up a large metallic pillar from the remains and hurled it at Magneto while pronouncing that they would no longer listen to him. Magneto easily swept the debris aside in mid air, and Sebastian Shaw descended to the ground to tackle Sunspot one-on-one. He knocked Sunspot backwards. Cannonball flew at Shaw, but flew into a metal wall that Magneto constructed. Selene stood over Cannonball's collapsed body, but instead of draining his life-force her own body became withered and grey. It was a physical manifestation of her greatest fear courtesy of Mirage's mutant power, but the White Queen telepathically attacked her. Being a creature of living circuitry, Warlock was immune to the White Queen's powers and shocked her with a fierce alien shape.

The fight between the New Mutants and the Inner Circle came to an end when Magneto wrapped them up in a giant metallic ball constructed from the remains of the school. He demanded to know who the little girl was, and where Magik had got to. When Illyana spoke in Russian he immediately realised who she was and was outraged. The New Mutants did their best to explain how the Darkchilde had sacrificed herself (see New Mutants #73) and that they intended to leave Magneto's school. They confronted him with the knowledge that he had been talking with N'astirh during the Infero and had over-heard other things (such as the power inhibitors he authorised in New Mutants #67).

Shaw seized upon the opportunity. He declared that without any students, Magneto had nothing and should therefore be cast out of the Hellfire Club.He struck Magneto and started another fight (see the previous issue). Mangeto fell backwards, but sent a hail of metallic debris flying at Shaw. Shaw lifted the ground from under Magneto's feet, but the Master of Magnetism flew out of harms way. He then made the floor curl into a long club and rammed Shaw with it. All the while Magneto ranted about how he recognised that he could not teach the New Mutants in the same methods that Charles Xavier had established. From trapped inside their metallic bubble the New Mutants suddenly understood that why Magneto's attitude towards them had changed so drastically; the he was grooming them to be his personal army. He did not require their love, he just wished to keep them from any foolish heroics that would possibly kill them, as had happened with the X-Men in Dallas. The New Mutants were convinced not to trust Magneto any more.

The fight between Shaw and Magneto raged on. Shaw continued to absorb the kinetic energy and would break free from any metallic prison that Magneto would wrap around him. Shaw considered all mutant teams such as Alpha Flight, Marauders, X-Men and even the Gonshan mutates as major investments to make. Magneto raged that the mutates of genosha would rise up and overthrown their human masters. He wanted mutants to fight other mutants to winnow out the foolish heroics. He was more concerned with battling the legends of martyrs like the X-Men, and taunted Shaw that he wasn't a legend.

However, Shaw had secretly placed a device in his suit to reverse the magnetic polarity in the area, sending Magneto flying backwards through the air. He landed near the New Mutants' metallic prison, and Warlock considered breaking out to help his former headmaster. Cannonball reminded him that after everything they'd heard, Magneto was as dangerous and villainous as the rest of the Hellfire Club. As Shaw stood over Magneto, Magneto declared that it was time to recruit a new army. With that, he buried them both in a barrage of metal. At first Selene thought he'd killed himself and Shaw, but moments later the debris cleared away and Magneto emerged carrying Shaw's unconscious body. He had over-loaded Sebastian Shaw's ability to absorb energy.

Shaw was tossed on the floor, from where he declared that Magneto should be expelled from the Hellfire Club. Naturally Magneto claimed that it should be Shaw who should be removed. When asked for her vote, the White Queen recalled the Nimrod that had killed Leland & Von Roehm and that such a machine had obviously been connected with the Sentinel programme that Shaw had invested in. Therefore she sided with Magneto. The deciding vote was passed to Selene, and the White Queen reminded her that without Shaw's interference she would be able to rule over the Amazon region. Therefore Selene voted against Sebastian Shaw, while continuing to plot against the White Queen. Sebastian Shaw stormed away from the site of Xavier's School for the Gifted. Magneto then dictated that there would not be another Black King to replace Shaw. Instead he would merge the positions of White & Black King to become the first Grey King of the Hellfire Club.

Magneto then turned his attention back to the New Mutants. Still trapped inside the metal sphere they rejected his leadership. Magneto lifted his hand and used his power on the metal cage. To their surprise, he let them go free. He gave them a final speech on how he hoped they would join him in time. Sunspot cried that they would never join him, but Magneto taunted him saying that Sunspot would be the first to change his mind.

Warlock transformed into a helicopter and flew the New Mutants away from their destroyed school. The White Queen telepathically spoke with Magneto saying that the New Mutants knew a little of their involvement in South America. He was pleased to have his suspicions confirmed, but was confident that the New Mutants didn't know exactly what they were planning. They also telepathically schemed to remove Selene from her position of Black Queen, even though she was stood next to them.

The mansion-less New Mutants go nautical with the X-Terminators!

The New Mutants flew away from the destroyed site of their old school. Brightwind had survived the destruction and found Mirage. They weren't sure where to go, and when Wolfsbane suggested that they all call their respective parents to go home Warlock reminded her that he had no parents to return to. They were all exhausted, it had been at least two of three days since they last slept. So they landed in town to make a phone call, but a local woman called them demons and demanded that Wolfsbne hand over Illyana (a seemingly normal child) to her. Sunspot grew enraged at the accusation and powered up his crackling black fire effect to scare the local bigots away. Just as Mirage used her power to conjure up a quarter for the pay-phone, the police turned up chasing the New Mutants back into the air. Warlock then suggested that they return to X-Factor's Ship where their friends the X-Terminators lived.

The X-Terminators were swimming to the bottom of the ocean. Jean Grey had insisted that the X-Terminators have a lesson, and they had convinced Ship that an underwater excursion would be educational. So Ship created bubble-helmets, air tanks and flippers and they were enjoying their swim. Rictor disturbed an octopus, which shot ink at them. It also drew the attention of sharks, which Skids kept at bay with her deflector shield. Boom-Boom tried to use her time-bombs, but the water resistance meant that they floated too slowly. Rusty had to heat the water up to flush the bomb away from them and into the coral below. Rictor used his vibrations to stir up the water and confuse the sharks into leaving.

Free to swim in safety again, the X-Terminators made a discovery; a bizarrely shaped shell. Rusty picked up the shell and they swam back to Ship to investigate further. Boom-Boom was grossed out by the years worth of slime and coral that had grown over it, bit Rictor guessed that it was in fact an ancient Atlantean artefact. While the X-Terminators enjoyed eating burgers, Ship analysed the artefact and revealed that it was an ancient horn. Rictor, pleased that his theory was correct, used gentle vibrations to shake the ancient sea sludge off the horn. Each of them took turns to try to play the horn; Rictor, Skids and Rusty couldn't make a noise. However, when Boom-Boom tried her lungs blasted a huge note from the horn (and unclogged the shell that was jamming up the trumpet of the horn).

Immediately Ship began to tremble as mighty tentacles reached up from the ocean floor and wrapped themselves around Ship. The sea creature was dragging Ship underwater. The X-Terminators managed to pull on their scuba gear moments before they fell into the water. Their powers weren't enough to stop the monster, but at that moment the New Mutants arrived. Rusty climbed onto Brightwind behind Mirage, while the other X-Terminators were pulled out of the water by Warlock. Rusty aimed his fire down at the tentacles of the giant sea monster. However, Boom-Boom rationed that since the Atlantean horn had summoned the creature that another blast of it might drive it away.

Before she could put the horn to her lips, a man's hand wrenched it away from her. Namor appeared in the air before them and he was angry. he accused Boom-Boom of being mad for stealing the ancient relic and using it to summon monsters. Cannonball jumped to her defence and accused Namor of leaving dangerous artefacts lying around, since the X-Terminators had found it on the ocean floor. Rusty demanded that everyone calm down, since they needed to save Ship before they fight each other. Namor was impressed with Rusty's diplomatic manner and admitted that he had lost the horn during a fight many years ago (see Fantastic Four #4). Namor agreed to work with both young mutants teams to drive the monster away to make amends for losing the horn & therefore inadvertently causing their troubles.

As Namor wondered how the New Mutants would be able to breath underwater, Mirage used her power to summon up more scuba gear with an Atlantean twist. Warlock transformed into a submarine and they all dived into the water. Down in the waters they found a giant squid. Namor recalled how the Fantastic Four had defeated a similar monster with a bomb, so Boom-Boom created a time-bomb with a longer countdown. Rictor, Rusty and Namor kept fighting the monster while boom-Bomo counted down, but the monster rolled over at the last moment so the explosion made a minimal impact. Rictor recalled how his dad had worked with dynamite in South America, and explained that the bomb needed to be nearer the monster's brain. Mirage offered to conjure up some TNT, but that meant their scuba outfits would disappear. So everyone climbed in Warlock-the-submarine to plan their next move.

Mirage created the TNT and Boom-Boom crated time-bombs to act as a diversion, which Sunspot through with all his strength out of Warlock's torpedo shoots. However, the impact only made the monster angrier and it wrapped its tentacles around Warlock. Warlock began to leak water and the monster opened it's beak to eat them all. Cannonball then flew Rusty & Skids into the monster's mouth to lay the dynamite. Rusty managed to ignite the fuze underwater, while Skids' force field protected them from the blast.

Moments later they reached the surface, soon followed by Ship bobbing along. X-Factor arrived in a hovering shuttle and demanded to know why Ship was in the water, where the flying horse had come from and what was going on. Ship & Namor explained what had happened and Namor soon flew off with the monster-summoning horn. The X-Terminators then begged X-Factor to let the New Mutants stay with them on board Ship. X-Factor agreed, and Iceman explained that they knew what thad happened to the school as it used to be their home too.

X-Factor welcomed the New Mutants to live onboard Ship with them. Everyone was happy, but Wolfsbane wondered what they should do with little Illyana who was still powerless.

Brightwind flies once more! And that means Dani Moonstar, Mirage, must rise as a Valkyrie against Hel!

Rusty marvelled at how the New Mutants had been to Limbo and were travelling to Russia. Cannonball reminded him that the X-Terminators were part of the New Mutants too, since they'd accepted their offer to merge teams. The others were brimming with excitement at the prospect of reuniting Illyana with her parents. They didn't speak Russian and therefore were unable to call them in advance. The only one who was not excited was Mirage, who was sweating profusely and still endured her terrible migraine. However, she tried to hide her pain so not to ruin the excitement of the day. Unfortunately just as Illyana ran into her mother's arms, Mirage screamed and collapsed. Brightwind also collapsed, and Warlock had to carry him as a heavy cargo underneath a helicopter.

Warlock flew them all back to New York. Ship analysed Mirage, but soon detected that her affliction was mystical in nature. Ship suggested that they go to see Doctor Strange for more help.

Warlock quietly set them down in Greenwich Village. Rictor teased Boom-Boom that she wasn't respectable enough to approach Doctor Strange while Cannonball, Rusty & Skids went to knock on the door. Wong answered, but broke the bas news that Doctor Strange was dead. Boom-Boom grew angry since she saw through Wong's lie and tossed a time-bomb into the house. Rictor began to quarrel with her, and teased her that he time-bomb didn't even work. However, what none of them realised was that Doctor Strange was observing them from indoors and had used his magic to nullify the time-bomb. Wolfsbane tried to calm Rictor and Boom-Boom down by reminding them why they were there. Inside, Doctor Strange could sense that something evil & mystical was effecting them all, and that Boom-Boom & Rictor were particularly sensitive to what was happening.

The scene was interrupted when Mirage gained consciousness and began screaming. Immediately she and Brightwind were consumed in flame and began to attack the others with their new fiery powers. Doctor Strange then entered the Astral Plane to investigate. He soon deducated that Mirage was a Cheyenne girl who was also a Valkyrie, but he also detected a third malicious presence. As Mirage and Brightwind soared into the air he separated Mirage's soul from her body to talk to her on the Astral Plane.

Meanwhile, the New Mutants began to fight their possessed friend. Cannonball tackled Mirage in the sky, while the others tried to save passers by from their fiery attacks. Rusty softened the metal of nearby railings to turn it into a wire lasso. With Warlock's help they lassoed Brightwind, but it lifted Rusty off the ground. Sunspot held him down, despite the fact that the hot wire burned through his hands. Mirage covered Cannonball's eyes and he crashed into the ground, landing next to a fire hydrant. Boom-Boom destroyed the hydrant, but the water couldn't extinguish Mirage's fire. Instead it created a dangerous steam that scolded Cannonball until Skids could save him. Rictor managed to use his powers to knock Mirage off her feet, and the others begged Mirage to listen to reason. However, as Boom-Boom stated, it was no longer Mirage in control of her body.

On the Astral Plane, Mirage reacted to Doctor Strange believing that he was the cause for her pain. He quickly restrained and reassured her. He admitted that he was mistaken to remove her soul from her body as she had been able to fight the evil possession. Yet, she refused to re-enter her body and face the burning pain again. However, she looked down at her body and saw more terrible things. Brightwind broke free of the lasso and attacked Rusty & Sunspot. Mirage's body climbed back onto Brightwind and went to attack an innocent little girl. Wolfsbane dived in the way of the attack and was seriously burned. Seeing her soul-mate so terribly injured Mirage decided that she had to return to her body.

Doctor Strange sent Mirage's soul back into her body. Instantly she used her power to create a giant ice-making machine. It encased herself and Brightwind in a mighty block of ice. Doctor Strange then took the chance to magically restore and repair all the damage and heal the New Mutants' wounds. He then assumed the disguise of Doctor Stephen Sanders and offered to help the New Mutants. Boom-Boom continued to suspect that he was really Doctor Strange, but Wolfsbane dismissed her as being daft. They realised that Mirage had conjured up the machine and decided to return to Ship.

The were all unaware that Hela had been observing their conflict the entire time. Hela boasted that she would use the valkyrior as part of her revenge.

As if the battle with Freedom Force from last issue wasn’t enough, now the New Mutants must confront the wrath of Hela! Doctor Strange guest-stars!

Doctor Strange continued to monitor the New Mutants progress. Mirage & Brightwind were encased in a block of ice, but they were becoming physically gaunt and withered from the mystical attack. Wolfsbane attempted to telepathically communicate with Mirage through her lupine form, but was shocked back into her human form by the terror and pain. Rusty recalled the terror of when his own mutant powers of fire manifested, but understood that he was fortunate not to be harmed by his own powers while Mirage was being consumed by the mystical fire that afflicted her. Boom-Boom was obviously worried for Mirage, but tried to put on a brave face even though she was scared. They decided to return to Ship. Sunspot and Skids worked together to lift the ice-machine enough for Warlock to carry it while Cannonball propelled them trough the air. Doctor Strange continued to follow them through the Astral Plane.

Meanwhile, Hela continued to watch them from Asgard. The Rainbow Bridge had been shattered and Asgard floated through the Negative Zone. She was glad that her spell which afflicted the Valkyrior was also effecting Mirage. She believed that the Fates were conspiring against Odin to allow her to take over Asgard.

Back on Earth, Freedom Force flew through the city in a helicopter. They believed that Rusty had caused the fires in Greenwich Village (see previous issue), and Destiny predicted that Rusty needed to be arrested to ensure the survival of Freedom Force and other mutants.

Cannonball struggled to keep his balance, and was clipping buildings as he pushed the others through the air. Freedom Force's helicopter appeared and they demanded that Rusty hand himself over. The New Mutants resisted and Skids asked Freedom Force if they would help them. However, Crimson Commando opened fire. Rictor went to use his powes, but Destiny warned Freedom Force of his planned attack and so Commando fired a shot to catch Rictor across the temple. Rictor fell and Boom-Boom panicked for him. Rusty grew angry and used his fire, but Pyro was then able to use it against the ice block. As the ice melted, Wolfsbane could feel Mirage regaining consciousness. Skids was unable to extend her shield to protect Mirage too, and Sunspot wanted to land to fight Freedom Force face-to-face. Cannonball lowered the New Mutants on Ellis Island to try to talk to Freedom Force.

Once on the ground Blob went to grab Rusty, but Sunspot stepped between them. Pyro surrounded them in fire and Skids protected them all with her force-field. Cannonball flew at Pyro and knocked him into the water, thereby freeing Rusty to use his fire without fear of Pyro using it against them.A lot of ice had melted from Mirage's self-imposed prison and the Blob stepped forward to grab her. Boom-Boom freaked out at having lost Illyana and was still scared from nearly losing Rictor, so she used a time-bomb to destroy the concrete below Blob, dropping him into the water below. However, the ice machine also began to topple into the water and all the New Mutants went to grab it. Suddenly, Cyclops appeared and began to chastise Rusty for his behaviour. Wolfsbane pounced on Cyclops and revealed that she knew he had really been Mystique because of her lupine senses.

However, Silver Sabre ran by Rusty and knocked him over with his super speed. Rusty collapsed to the ground where Skids protected him. As Blob pulled himself back out of the water, Rusty offered to go with Freedom Force. Blob laughed and admitted that there would have been a staged trial where Rusty would have been offered a civil service position and the public would approve of training mutant babies. Skids realised that they meant the mutant babies who had been kidnapped during the Inferno; they had passed the babies to Freedom Force to return them to their parents (see X-Factor # 40), but they had held on to the children to manipulate them. Rusty then commanded the rest of the New Mutants to rescue Mirage while he and Skids resisted arrest under her force shield.

Cannonball blasted the ice machine back into the air and Freedom Force's helicopter followed them. Warlock took over the flying duties from Cannonball, freeing him to carry Rictor for a long distance aerial assault on the helicopter. Bullets from the helicopter couldn't harm them through Cannonball's blast field, but did throw off Rictor's attack. Instead he clipped the motor and the helicopter crashed in the water. All the passengers bailed with parachutes, and Wolfsbane was relieved that they all survived.

However, Avalanche then used his powers to create a giant tidal wave to swamp the New Mutants. Just as they were about to reach Ship, the tidal wave hit them and melted the last of the ice. Mirage and Brightwind flew free, with Hela's malicious grin appearing in the shadowy sky behind them.

Ship then mysteriously rose further and further above them. The New Mutants thought they'd arrived home, but Ship called out that he was being forced into space. Ship had disappeared, but octor Strange had continued to monitor the whole altercation. He recognised Hela's influence, and decided that the Fates had involved the New Mutants. He then cast a spell to teleport the New Mutants away. Freedom Force were astounded to see the New Mutants disappear in flash of light.

The New Mutants arrived in Asgard. Boom-Boom hoped that it wasn't Oz, and Sunspot explained how they had been to Asgard before. However, they realised that the sky looked unnaturally strange and Mirage flew into the air on Brightwind as the two of them continued to burn with a supernatural fire.

The kids get resourceful when trying to escape Asgard’s most hellish realms. Mirage becomes Hela’s puppet of death.

Boom-Boom complained about how much she hated it, as Moonstar and Brightwind attacked the New Mutants with their mystical fire. Wolfsbane begged her soul-mate to fight the possession, but Mirage was gaunt and tainted in body & soul. When Wolfsbane transformed into a wolf to communicate telepathically with her, Moonstar punished her with a prolonged blast of fire.

Hela panicked. Temporarily she was unable to track Moonstar and was surprised to discover that she had appeared on Asgard. Initially Hela was dismayed since Moonstar could not bring her souls from Midgard, but ultimately she was pleased at the prospect of owning the New Mutants' souls.

After her attack on Wolfsbane, Moonstar flew off to join her Valkyrior sisters. Cannonball picked Wolfsbane up. She wasn't burnt, but he realised how it must hurt her to see her best friend possessed and warped. Boom-Boom continued to complain about being stuck on Asgard, but Sunspot recalled how much fun he had in Asgard the last time (see the New Mutants Special Edition # 1 & Uncanny X-Men Giant-Sized Annual # 9). He demonstrated how much more powerful he was under the Asgard sun by triwling around a huge boulder and casually throwing it over his shoulder. However the boulder crashed through the grass and someone screamed. When the New Mutants went to investigate they were grabbed by a mob of marauding dwarves who pulled them underground. The New Mutants fought to protect themselves, except for Boom-Boom who curled up and freaked out. Sunspot, Warlock and Rictor physically defended themselves, but the grotesque appearance of the dwarves scared her to the point that she created a giant time-bomb that demolished more of the tunnel's roof. The dwarves were angry that her bomb would signal their presence to the Valkyrior. Cannonball realised that the dwarves knew his old friend Eitri. Therefore commanded the New Mutants to surrender themselves and demanded that the dwarves alert Eitri to their presence.

In Hel, Hela could still sense Moonstar fighting the possession. She then ordered the Valkyrior to capture the New Mutants and kidnap Eitri and his master forgers.

Underground, the dwarves had chained up the New Mutants and carried them to their cell. As soon as the door slammed shut Sunspot broke free from his chains, while Warlock shape-shifted his fingers into keys to free the others. Sunspot's strength was unable to break open the cell door and he blamed Cannonball for their current situation, claiming that Moonstar would have come up with a better plan. Cannonball was full of self-doubts. Warlock failed to pick the lock to the door since it was sealed with Magik. Boom-Boom continued to complain about being stuck there. Wolfsbane tried to pick Warlock's shocked remains off the floor.

Rictor tried to lighten Boom-Boom's mood with a tale of when he & his father were in prison, but she snapped back that she'd had her own nasty experiences of being in jail. She was angry that ever since they'd me the New Mutants they'd been in trouble, that X-Factor had abandoned them, and they were meant to treat their captors as allies. Upset, Boom-Boom pushed Rictor away. Cannonball re-assured Rictor to give her some space, but Rictor recalled how Boom-Boom had saved his life and turned his life around. He desperately wanted to take care of her. Warlock poured his heart out to Wolfsbane, saying that he didn't want any more of his friends to die like Cypher had. Wolfsbane hugged him and confessed how much faith she had in Cannonball's plan. Cannonball re-assessed how they often mistook Wolfsbane for a weak link in the team, but her compassion had convinced Darkchilde to save them all during the Inferno.

In an attempt to cheer Warlock and Wolfsbane, Sunspot began to juggle broken chain links and dance. Unfortunately he lost his balance and fall over. Warlock boasted he could do better as it was a past-time among his race. Rictor and Cannonball threw in extra pieces for him to juggle, and Boom-Boomo added a time-bomb to the mix. The others panicked and Cannonball grabbed her around the arm. Warlock shielded the others but the bomb fizzled away. Boom-Boom fell into a deeper depression as she'd created a dud bomb for them to play with. She was hurt that Cannonball hadn't understood that she just wanted to join in the fun & games.

The moment was suddenly interrupted when the cell door flung open and Eitri the dwarf kind greeted Cannonball. Cannonball introduced the newer members of the New Mutants and soon they were all enjoying a roasted meal around an open fire. Boom-Boom as still uncomfortable around the dwarves, while Wolfsbane enquired about the fate of Hrimhari her wolf prince. Eitri admitted that the dwarves didn't have time to notice the whereabouts of the wolves, and Boom-Boom was shocked at the idea of a wolf-prince.

Eitri consoled Cannonball over the loss of Moonstar, but admitted he was glad to see the New Mutants again. They talked about the fighting that was due to come, which depressed Boom-Boom even more. However, the revelry ended when the fiery possessed Valkyrior appeared. They had come to collect their souls for Hela. Boom-Boom began to freak out even more.

This is it! The New Mutants fateful throw down with Hela for the fate of Asgard! Will Mirage and the Valkyrior be free of Hel’s seductive grasp?

The burning Valkyrior towered above the dwarves & New Mutants. The New Mutants led the attack, but Boom-Boom was still ti freaked out and couldn't fight until Rictor goaded her into it. The dwarves then followed her example and fought back. As she watched from the safety of Hel, Hela was pleased to see that the dwarves were willing to fight. She commanded Moonstar to kill her former team-mates. However, the possessed spirit informed her mistress that Moonstar was still fighting her control & therefore would not let her do that. Not to be defeated, Hela gave Moonstar a pouch full of powder that would help ensure the safe capture of the New Mutants and the dwarf forgers.

Back on Earth, Blob continued to pound against Skids' force-field. Rusty & Skids stood defiant of Freedom Force and threatened to reveal their plans to the world media when they arrived. Not willing to take that risk, Mystique commanded Freedom Force to step back. Crimson Commando then used a helicopter to destroy the ground form beneath Skid's shield and Bolb then carried them away.

Back in the underground tunnels of Asgard, Moonstar arrived at the fight and defeated the New Mutants by sprinkling them with Hela's mystical dust. They were thrown into another prison cell, but this time they were frozen like statues. Boom-Boom continued to complain, and Sunspot wished that her mouth had been frozen too. Boom-Boom then blamed Cannonball for working with the dwarves, but Wolfsbane rebuked her defending Cannonball's actions & reasons. She taunted Boom-Boom by saying she didn't have to join the New Mutants and was free to leave the team at any time. In her anger, Boom-Boom accidentally created a time-bomb. However, as she couldn't throw it, the bomb landed underneath her and blew a hole in the floor. Boom-Boom fell down into the room below and landed on some old boxes and barrels. She soon discovered that she could move again as she rubbed her aching head.

Guards ran into the cell and realised that one of the New Mutants was missing. Boom-Boom was tempted to run for it and leave the others behind, especially Wolfsbane whom she thought was a goody two-shoes. However, she climbed back up to the hole she'd fallen through and through up a large bomb to destroy the guards as they peered down. Boom-Boom then destroyed the rest of the ceiling with a series of smaller bombs, causing the other New Mutants to come crashing down on top of her. They were free to move once more, and yet again more guards came to investigate the noise. As they charged into battle, the others mimicked Boom-Boom as she complained of how much she hated it. After the fight, they used the surplus cloaks, capes & hate to disguise themselves. Boom-Boom bragged about how she'd saved them and therefore she should be the team leader, but the others made smelly gestures to say her idea stank.

Out in the corridor they immediately saw troll throwing a wolf into a prison cell. Wolfsbane recognised Hrimhari and begged Sunspot to break him free. Sunspot demolished the door and Wolfsbane rushed to her wolf-prince's side. He explained that the wolves had been targeted to become Hela's tracking hounds. Hrimhari and Wolfsbane embraced before the others dragged them back out to escape. They found themselves outside, but on a balcony several hundred feet above the forests of Asgard.

Meanwhile, Hela was pleased that she had Eitri to forge armour & weapons for her army, but she had observed the New Mutants escape. She was concerned that the New Mutants shouldn't leave and reveal her plans. Therefore Hela ordered the Valkyrior to quietly contain the New Mutants while she began to cast a spell to separate Valhalla from the rest of Asgard.

From their balcony above, the New Mutants could see enslaved dwarf captives being herded into the courtyard when a hole appeared in the air. Hrimhari recognised the portal spell that led into Hel. He was shocked by Hela's audacity and the strength of her power. Sunspot wanted to fight to free the dwarves, but Boom-Boom wanted to follow prince Hrimhari in alerting Odin. Cannonball was concerned that this team didn't yet work as well as the old team of New Mutants, and therefore decided to err on the side of caution. When Hela's portal began to envelop the whole of the fortress Warlock grabbed the team and flew for an opening in the air. However, he wasn't quick enough and the spell closed in around him.

The New Mutants were separated into two teams; Cannonball caught Rictor, Sunspot & Wolfsbane as they fell back towards the fortress, while Warlock was trapped holding Prince Hrimhari and Boom-Boom on the other side. Hela laughed as Cannonball's team of New Mutants realised that they were in Hel. They were caught off guard by the appearance of Mist; the Valkyrie who had previously welcomed Mirage into the Valkyrior (see New Mutants Special # 1). Like Moonstar, Mist was possessed, gaunt, and crackling with a perpetual mystic fire. Mist had her sword drawn and pointed at the New Mutants.

Note: The following issue is a fill-in story featuring Magma. The Asgard story continues in New Mutants # 82.

Magma gets swept up in adventure with the Prince of Power himself -- Hercules, son of Zeus!

There was a wedding inside a catholic church in South America. Magma stood overlooking the town from the mountainside. She thought about how her own religion was considered barbarian yet it also had roots in Rome. Transforming into Magma, she began to reshape the ground around her when Empath arrived. He wore a suit and had arrived fresh from the marriage ceremony where he had been a guest. As they walked back towards Nova Roma Empath called the Nova Romans pagan. To retaliate Magma asked him to prove the power of his God. When Empath was unable to provide evidence of God, she began to recall a story of when she had met one of her Gods.

At a time before Karma had left the New Mutants, Magma still attended Xavier's School for the Gifted and Cypher was alive, the whole team had gone to the cinema. They laughed at the terrible acting from the Hercules film, and Warlock took an interest in the tacked-on romantic sub-plot. As they left the cinema the other continued to joke and play around. However, Magma began to feel quiet & lonely. That night she retired to her bedroom, lit the incense and began to pray to the Gods of Olympus for guidance. A might breeze poured through the open window and a clap of thunder heralded the arrival of Hercules. He stood in the open window, towering in the shadows. At first he greeted Magma in Latin and she was over-joyed to be in his presence. However, when she switched the light on she was shocked and angered to see that it was the same man who had been in the terrible movie she'd seen earlier that afternoon.

Magma woke the other New Mutants, angrily pounding on their bedroom doors demanding an apology. Magma believed that they were playing a practical joke on her, but the others were just as astounded to see Hercules there as she was. They continued to poke fun at Hercules, so he tried to prove his identity with feats of superhuman strength. However, when he lifted a car he was shown that Sunspot could do the same thing. Hercules wanted to destroy a mighty boulder by hurling his mace at it, but Cannonball flew faster and collided into the rock first. When he tried to leap higher than any mortal, Warlock showed how high he could fly and stay airborne. Magma then used her powers to construct a statue from molten lava. It was of Hercules with his trademark club and the hide of the Nemean Lion. He admitted that he used to look like that in ancient days. Magma then accused Hercules of being another mutant. In an attempt to convince Magma that he really was a God Hercules called to Zeus to summon them to Olympus. However, the Olympian God merely laughed at Hercules' foolish behaviour. Zeus refused to help his son, hoping to teach him a lesson in humility. And on Earth the New Mutants also laughed at Hercules.

The other New Mutants returned to bed. Magma stayed outside feeling sorry for Hercules. He was determined to prove himself to Magma by taking her to visit the Avengers' Mansion. So Magma accompanied him on a train journey into the city. She was still angry with him, and the way that he moved among regular people while wearing such a ridiculous outfit irritated her further. When they arrived in the city they couldn't hail a taxi and there were no buses. They suddenly stumbled across a robbery. Magma caused minor volcanic eruptions that forced the getaway car to drive into Hercules. He stood still, while the car crumpled around him. Hercules then wrapped the thieves in strips of the car so they couldn't do anything else until the police arrived to take them away.

To celebrate successfully foiling the robbery, Hercules went to a local bar. There the crowds of people hung on his every word and local girls clung to him. Hercules wanted Magma to cheer up, but she confessed that she had been convinced that he was the hedonistic person she had originally suspected him to be. The local girls led Hercules away to dance while Magma left the club.

Outside, Magma was blown off her feet as she walked past an apartment block that suddenly exploded. Her over-coat was immediately shredded, but she still wore her New Mutants uniform underneath. Looking up at the remains of the building she saw residents who were trapped. She fired up into her Magma form and entered the building. She found an old black lady cradling her grandchildren and reassured them before wrapping them up in a sphere of rock. She lowered the rock capsule to the ground level where Hercules caught it and gently opened it and released the family inside.

However, there was still a young black man holding on to a baby inside the building. She offered her help, but he was too scared of her fiery appearance. The floor collapsed beneath them and they topped down a couple of floors. The floor knocked Magma unconscious and she reverted back to her human form. The young man realised that she was just a girl an cried for help, telling everyone that they were in the basement. Hercules heard the cries for help and leapt to the roof of a nearby building. There he wrenched the water-tower from it's moorings and poured the water over the burning building. The men from the fire department were impressed.

Later at Bellevue Hospital, Magma was dismayed that there was nothing they could do to help. Jaime Suarez, the young man who had called for help from inside the building, was slowly dying. By calling for help, he had breathed in flames that destroyed his bronchial membranes. He was slowly & quietly dying as the oxygen was unable to reach his bloodstream. To honour the young man's last few hours, Hercules sat next to his bed and recounted tales of Jason and the Argonauts.

Jaime Suarez died just before dawn. Hercules carried his body and cried for the short lives of brave mortals. Magma was touched by his humility and dropped to his feet. Holding on to his hand she begged for his forgiveness and acknowledged him as the real Hercules. He picked her up and held her by the shoulders as he admitted that he did not always prove himself worthy of such high praise. Hercules then lifted her into his arms and Magma smiled as she asked if they could remain friends. They left the hospital together to make themselves more presentable before they met Jaime Suarez' parents later that morning. Meanwhile, Zeus looked over the body of Jaime Suarez and promised his soul a place on the Elysium Fields.

Back in the present day Magma finished recalling her tale. She was proud to admit that she had met one of her Gods and questioned Empath's faith. He rebuked her by saying that since he had no bodily proof of his religion it meant that his faith was stronger. Magma didn't answer and suspected him of manipulating her judgement. She also envied him for never doubting his faith, but was content that he had his faith and she had her own.

Note: This is a 'filler' issue with a one-off flashback story. The continuation of the Asgard story featuring the New Mutants is one-issue later in New Mutants # 82.

Garm may look a bit look Fenris Wolf, but it’s infinitely more terrifying. And now the remaining New Mutants must stare Garm down at the misty gates of Hel!

Warlock was stuck in Hela's warp spell. Although stuck in mid-air, he still held on to Boom-Boom & Prince Hrimhari. Boom-Boom went to kick them free, but as soon as she came in to contact with the power-warp it electrocuted the three of them. Hrimhari grew angry with her ignorance, so she resorted to using a time-bomb.

On the other side of the energy-warp, Mist apeared to challenge the other New Mutants. Cannonball flew to attack her, but she whispered to him that she still retained her own mind before throwing him back at the others. Cannonball then told the others not to resist Mist and they begrudgingly acted as hostages when Hela arrived and Mist handed them over. However, Boom-Boom's time-bomb was heard exploding above them, and Hela sent a hoard of dragons after them.

Back at the energy-warp, Hrimhari blamed Boom-Boom for drawing the unwanted attention of Hela's minions. She continued to use her bombs to destroy the monsters, and eventually blasted Warlock free. Hrimhari guided them towards the heart of Asgard.

Back in the depths of Hel, Sunspot was complaining that they were having to trust a Valkyrie. When they were welcomed into Hel by the giant wolf Garm, Wolfsbane became terrified. Garm taunted them by welcoming them in and threatening to never let them leave. Rictor prevented the guards from shoving her around and comforted her. He told her to look away and think of something else, but she admitted that Garm's face was the devilish reflection she saw of her own lupine appearance. They then began to discuss Rictor's feelings for Boom-Boom, since he as glad she wasn't there to see Garm too. Wolfsbane was surprised since she though Boom-Boom was selfish and self-assured, but Rictor had seen through her act as sheer bravado. As they walked on Mist forced the New Mutants into a secret crevice to hide from Hela's guards, but immediately collapsed from the pain. She explained that she had fairy-blood on her mother's side, which enabled her to resist Hela's spell for a longer period in a similar way to Mirage. She regained her compsure and led them to a warp that was a short-cut to Hela's chamber.

Meanwhile, Warlock flew through the window crashing in Odin's bed chamber. Hrimhari advised that they should approach him carefully, but he couldn't wake Odin. Suddenly one of Odin's guards lifted them off his feet and informed them that Odin was in the Odinsleep. He doubted their story and Hrimhari's identity so he imprisoned them to be dealt with when Balder the Brave returned. What they didn't know was that their entrance had attracted the attention of Hildy, Kev & Signe; the children of Volstagg from the Warriors Three. The children ra nto the prison window where they listened to the three prisoners inside. Hrimhari had to explain the Odinsleep to Boom-Boom. He insisted that the best thing to do was await Balder's return, but he didn't know how long that would take. Boom-Boom then questionned Hrimhari about his relationship with Wolfsbane, but he admitted that they had responsibilities that kept them apart. Boom-Boom complained again about Asgard and likened herself to Dorothy Gale in Oz. When she mentioned the ruby slippers Hildy chimed in saying she didn't have those but offered to help. They exchanged greetings and places. Boom-Boom created a hole large enough to escape through and the children climbed down into the cell to act as goodwill hostages in their place. Hildy informed them that the Warriors three were on a mission while Balder was visiting the Norn Queen Karnilla. Hildy then gave them a rope & told them to seek a great sorcerer who could bring ice-statues to life. Hrimhari and the children continued to exchange pleasantries until Warlock urged them to hurry up and escape.

Back on Earth, Rusty & Skids were still inside Skids' force-field. However, tired & hungry Skids collapsed from exhaustion and her shield dropped too. Rusty reacted with his fire powers, but Pyro turned it against him and threatened to burn Skids. Therefore Rusty was forced to give himself over to Freedom Force, but they arrested Skids for aiding and abetting him.

Back in Hel, the New Mutants & Misty ran undetected until they spied Eitri and his dwarves carrying a forge of molten Uru. Misty revealed that the icy depths of Hel shouldn't have such things. Hela then demanded that Eiriti forge a powerful sword capable of killing Odin. Eitri refused, but then Hela's guards brought in his daughter Kindra. The other New Mutants had to hold Cannonball back as he wanted to dive in and save Kindra.

Meanwhile, Warlock flew through ice caves chased by more of Hela's minions. Hrimhari commanded Boom-Boom to use her time-bombs, but she acted stubbornly to his attitude. When he reminded her that the others were counting on them she created a large bomb for him to through at the ice cave's ceiling, crushing their aerial pursuers. They congratulated each other, but as Warlock flew out of the cave he was entangled in a net that was strung over the entrance.

Eitri managed to break free of the guard behind him and rushed to protect his daughter. His action spurred the New Mutants who joined the fray. However, they were outnumbered and soon over-powered. Chained and on their knees, Sunspot taunted Cannonball about how he was meant to be the impetuous one. Wolfsbane remained defiant in the face of Hela, but the Goddess of Hel relished in showing them how their friends had been defeated at the hands of an ice giant. Hela then threatened to kill Kindra and the New Mutants one by one if Eitri refused to forge a sword for her. Eitri immediately began to work at the forge. Hela then commanded Moonstar that since she was mortal, she would be the one to wield the Uru sword and kill Odin.

Note: This is a continuation of the story from New Mutants #79.

Dani Moonstar -- the sole Valkyrie who can free herself from Hela’s possession! But what happens if she kills her fellow New Mutants first?

The Frost Giant dropped Hrimhari, Warlock and Boom-Boom when one of her time-bombs exploded in it's face. Boom-Boom was knocked unconscious so Warlock and Hrimhari had to stop the Frost Giant from stepping on her. However, it grabbed Warlock and threatened to crush his head until a giant taller than him froze him in ice.

Hela had watched the whole thing from the safety of Hel. Seeing the giant stranger defeat the Frost Giant enraged her. The captured New Mutants realised that it meant good news if she was so angry, but Hela pushed Eitri hard to finish forging the new death-sword. Wolfsbane was sad that Hela's plan rested on Mirage to slay Odin since she was the only mortal Valkyrie. Mist began to fear that she would betray the New Mutants if they didn't stop Hela soon, but Sunspot was unable to break the mystically bound chains. The New Mutants were frustrated, but realised that they could steal the sword.

Boom-Boom regained consciousness. She didn't see the living ice statues surrounding them, and mistook her gigantic saviour for another Frost Giant. However, he caught her time-bomb and transformed it into a living ice fairy. Amazed by the pretty transformation, Boom-Boom stopped freaking out and Hrimhari begged the forgiveness of Tiwaz; the sorcerer who they had been searching for.

However, Eitir had finished forging the Uru sword. Sunspot was unable to break their chains, but Rictor was able to shatter the iron by vibrating on a molecular level. Cannonball then divided the team; Mist, Wolfsbane and Sunspot were to find the Einherjar, while Cannonball & Rictor planned to steal the sword. Wolfsbane used her lupine senses to detect any guards, and Mist would then take the lead to trick them. However, the soldiers guarding the Einherjar realised that Mist didn't burn as intensely as the other Valkyrie and they were forced to fight. Wolfsbane managed to unlock the cell door, and the Einherjar joined the fight & easily defeated their guards.

Meanwhile, Hela began to cast deadly spells on the sword. Cannonball saw the recently released Einherjar approaching and waited for them to distract Hela before he & Rictor flew through the chamber and snatched the sword. Upon landing, they re-united with the other New Mutants. Moonstar pursued them, but Rictor caused a cave-in to slow her down. The New Mutants ran till they reached a three-way fork in the road. Mist struggled with the pain and couldn't remember which way to go. When she finally led them along a path, it turned out to be a dead end several thousand feet above a crevice filled with poisonous gases.

Rusty patiently waited in his maximum security prison cell. He had been reading the newspaper article about Nitro's up-coming hearing an the controversy about how Nitro had beenheld unconscious in a canister to prevent him from detonating. The prisoners in the neighbouring cells became animated as the Vulture was led to his cell. The Vulture was angry at the disrespect he received because of his age, and bragged that they would all regret it when he broke free and unleashed Nitro on New York.

Back on the ledge in Hel, the New Mutants were trapped as Moonstar and Hela's minions approached. Mist then made a gesture to suggest that she had turned, and pushed the New Mutants over the edge, with the Uru sword. However, Hela manifested in time to catch the sword and accused Mist of purposefully trying to destroy the weapon. She then handed the sword to Moonstar with the instruction to use it to slay any surviving New Mutants. Moonstar soon returned informing her mistress that she couldn't find any trace of the New Mutants. "Nightwind" was starting to suffer from the effect of the poisonous gases and therefore they must have perished.

Meanwhile, Hildy and the other children of Volstagg had been discovered in the prison cell. They tried to explain why they were there, but the Visior refused to believe them. He sent them home, but the children had other plans.

Hela continued to cast her deadly spells on the Uru sword. The strength of the spells began to shake the whole of Asgard. The children of Volstagg fell into the grassy field, while ice fell from the roof of Tiwaz's chamber. He informed the New Mutants that Hela intended to slay Odin during his Odinsleep, and that such a dangerous weapon would have the power to destroy even the tree of life.

Warlock and Boom-Boom get in way over their heads with Hrimhari, wolf demi-god!

Moonstar declared that the New Mutants must have died from the poisonous fumes and that a tiny portion of her former self was crying for them. Hela held the completed Uru sword aloft victoriously. However, the New Mutants were secretly hidden within the clouds of smoke and protected by Cannonball's blast field. As the gases had begun to pour through the blast field they flew back up to the ledge but found a small troll there. He began screaming for his mistress, so Rictor used his power on the ledge causing the monster to fall into the crevice.Tiwaz showed Boom-Boom, Hrimhari and Warlock images of Moonstar and the Uru sword. Boom-Boom asked why Tiwaz didn't cast a spell to stop Hela, but he admitted that he wasn't powerful enough. They began to plot. Hrimhari reasoned that the Warriors Three would provide help. Tiwaz' magic dome showed the Warriors Three at the mercy of Queen Ula and her swarm of trolls. Boom-Boom became unsettled again. Tiwaz provided Warlock with a map to Queen Ula's kingdom, and Boom-Boom took a moment to thank Tiwaz for saving them. She also admitted that while she made a lot of mistakes, she promised to save Asgard. They left Tiwaz to marvel at the strange combination of a mortal, wolf-prince and alien.

Meanwhile, Hildy, Kev and Signe approached Thor's magical chariot-goats as they feasted on grass in a field. Hildy explained the situaton and how none of the grown-up Asgardians believed them. The goats lowered their heads in an indication for the children to climb on. They then leapt through the skies, hitting clouds with thunderbolts. As they approached Karnilla's kingdom they observed the local population had been turned into stone (see the Balder limited series). The goats landed and the children interrupted a romantic moment between Balder and Karnilla. Again the children explained what had been going on, and Balder reached for his sword. Karnilla was sad that none of her spells had managed to cure her people, but then she had an idea.

Back in the maximum security prison, the Vulture received a mysterious package. It was a replica of his wings, but he recognised the workmanship of the Tinkerer. Rusty saw the Vulture with his wings and burned through the bars of his own cell to stop him. However, the Vulture also received a bomb and detonated the wall. Rusty managed to grab the Vulture around the ankles and was pulled into the air.

Warlock flew the little team to Queen Ula's kingdom. There they found the Warriors Three about to be executed, so Boom-Boom distracted them with a giant time-bomb on the other side of the sacrificial platform. Warlock transformed into a blimp and the Warriors Three climbed on-board. Volstagg was too heavy to lift, and Boom-Boom enjoyed a moment holding on to Fandral as they tried to heave their volumptuous friend on-board. From afar, Tiwaz cast a magic spell that reduced Volstagg to less than a foot tall. Warlock took to the air, but Queen Ula and her hive followed them. Queen Ula believed that Odin had commanded the Valkyrior to kidnap her soldiers, but the Warriors Three scoffed at the accusation. Boom-Boom tried to explain Hela's plans, but none of the Asgardians believed mortals. However, they believed Hrimhari since he was a wolf-prince. Therefor the Warriors Three, Queen Ula and her swarm all joined with the New Mutants and flew back towards Hel.

In Hel, Cannonball's team of New Mutants observed Hela's armies as they prepared to siege Asgard. They realised that Moonstar would easily slip away from the battle to murder Odin so they would have to tackle her directly.

Meanwhile, the children of Volstagg took the opportunity to watch some powerful magic being cast. However, Karnilla's spell failed again. Her people remained stone. However, Tiwaz continued to watch things from afar, and cast a spell of his own to boost hers. Slowly a statue began to move his hand and then bowed before his mistress. Later, Karnilla explained to her re-animated people that she was leaving them to go into battle. Her people dedicated themselves to follow her in battle and use their new-found stone-based strength to help.

Cannonball and the others had stolen hooded-capes and acquired winged-steeds to chase Moonstar undetected. Eitri noticed, and tried to show Kindra what the others were doing to give her hope. However, the guards beat him for talking. Angry, Eitri confided in his daughter that he had a secret to help the New Mutants defeat Hela.

Balder, Karnilla and her statue-people prepared for battle as they saw a cloud of soldiers approaching. A battle was quickly avoided as they recognised the Warriors Three. Queen Ula's swarm then joined forced with Queen Karnilla's stone people. Hildy proudly boasted to Boom-Boom how they had found an army to help, and Volstagg returned to his full size (crushing poor Warlock's hand). The joyous reunion was then interrupted by a flash in the sky as Hela led her tainted Valkrior into battle.

Her teammates must prevent a possessed-by-Hela Mirage from doing the unspeakable -- unleashing Ragnarok on Asgard!

Hela was astounded & frustrated to find a huge Asgardian army challening her, while Cannonball's team of New Mutants battled in the air. Seeing Warlock, they landed and were reunited with Boom-Boom & Hrimhari. Warlock immediately led his small team against Moonstar, but she blasted them out of the air. Cannonball's tea of New Mutants then pursued Moonstar on Hela's winged-steeds.

Meanwhile, Eitri had filed an old rusty key to fit the lock. He freed the Einherjar and himself. The Einherjar ran to join the fight while blaming Eitri for forging the Uru sword. Eitri told Kindra that he had a plan, but he made her promise to stay safely hidden while he corrected his mistake. On the battlefield, Karnilla healed Balder's wounds and even the children of Volstagg clubbed the ankles of their enemies. The Einherjar joined the battle with their automatic weapons. Eitri and Kindra slipped through the warp onto the battlefield. He forced Kindra to hide into a small cave. Eitri then mastered his hatred of horses and mounted one to ride to Odin's palace.

Moonstar arrived at Odin's palace. Cannonball flew between her and Odin, using his blast field to protect the all-father. Moonstar raised the Uru sword, but Rictor's vibrations broke Brightwind's wing. She blasted Rictor in retalliation, burning his hands. Wolfsbane stood in front of Rictor and begged Moonstar to stop fighting them. However, Moonstar aimed the sword at the New Mutants and blasted them with fire. Cannonball's blastfield protected them, but began to fill with toxic gases and casued him to collapse. Sunspot knocked Moonstar off her feet by smashing the floorboards, but she then hit him with enchanted fire at point blank range. Wolfsbane tore down the curtains and used them to smother out the fire on Sunspot's body. Amid the distraction of the fight, no-one noticed Eitri smash his way into the chamber. He leapt as Moonstar went to strike, and managed to damage the Uru blade with his hammer. However, he then fell in another fiery attack.

Back on Earth, Skids watched Rusty attack the Vulture from her prison cell. The Vulture flew Rusty into an electrified fence, causing him to fall to the ground. The prison guards began to shoot at Rusty.. He used his fire power to destroy Skids' cell and she slid down on a slide made from her force-field. Skids then turned her shield to protecting Rusty from the gunfire while he burned a hole in the fence for them to escape through.

Back in Odin's bed chamber, Cannonball regained consciousness. He found Eitri who revealed the secret to defeating the Uru sword. He had purposefully created it with a flaw, and his attack had made a notch in the blade to identify that flaw. However, Moonstar had also regained consciousness and raised the sword to slay Odin. Cannonball flew at the sword as Moonstar forced the blade down.

An almighty explosion filled Asgard with a blinding light. The fighting on the battlefield immediately stopped. Enslaved prisoners and the Valkyrior were returned to normal both physically and mentally. All the warring armies then turned on Hela. She swore her vengeance upon the New Mutants as she fled back to Hel.

Meanwhile, Moonstar's fire slowly fdied down. Her spine was still pronounced through her skin, but she was a girl again as she collapsed into Rictor's arms. Wolfsbane pulled a cloak over Moonstar's naked body. Rictor confirmed that they had saved Odin, but he wondered what the ramifications would be. Meanwhile, Odin continnued to sleep.

The Vulture landed at the Tinkerer's workshop and demanded information. Tinkrerer revealed that an anonymous benefactor had paid him a large amount of money to recreate the Vulture's wings and send them to him in prison. He added that the Vulture was to attack Speedball as part of the Acts of Vengeance. However, the Vulture refused to waste his time with Speedball and forced the Tinkerer to help him in his plans to free Nitro.

Outside the maximum security facility, Rusty & Skids were still under fire. They procured a truck what had been left running. hey removed the sole guard from the trust and aided by Skid's force-field they drove their way through the gates.

Vulture flew the Tinkerer to the rooftop of the courthouse. He smashed the skylight and flew down stealing the canister that contained Nitro. He was back on the roof before the Tinkerer had the chance to flee down the fire escape. A van screeched to a halt on the street below as Rusty & Skids arrived. Police officers burst onto the roof, but the Vulture knocked them out with the Tinkerer's concussive grenades.

Rusty climbed the fire escape with Skids behind him to protect them both from the gunfire below. Skids moved slower as she had to hold tightly on to the ladder for fear that her force-field would make her slip off. Rusty rushed to the roof and lurched at Vulture, pushing them both off the roof. With the police firing at the Vulture & Rusty, Skids could drop her force-field and finally reached the roof. However, the canister containing Nitro has been de-activated, and he burst free.

While in the air, Rusty incinerated the Vulture's wings and they both plummetted back to the rooftop. The Vulture landed on Rusty, knocking him unconscious. He kept punching Rusty and Skids ran to protect him. However, Nitro continued to power up ready to detonate. Skids leapt towards him, but was unable to stop Nitro from exploding. He flashed so brightly that Skids was pushed backwards and her skeleton became visible from the blast.

Skids collapsed, too weak to hold her force-field any longer. She had managed to reduce the impact of the blast, but was unable to do anything while Nitro powered up for his next blast. However, as he began to glow brightly, Nitro suddenly collapsed into a pile of smoking dust. Tinkerer reasoned that the first explosion had been in such a confined space that it shattered Nitro's molecular bonds. Skids then passed out in the belief that they had saved everyone.

Meanwhile on Asgard, Warlock carried Boom-Boom's unconscious body while Hildy & the others looked for more wounded New Mutants. Cannonball was already lay in bed after receiving first aid. Moonstar cried as she blamed herself for everything that had happened, but Wolfsbane continued to console her. Hogun the Grim stepped towards Cannonball with a flask containing the Elixir of Life. Its effects were immediate, and Cannonball asked for it to be shared among the others. The New Mutants celebrated and Boom-Boom admitted that she would be sorry to leave Asgard. However, Badler reminded them that since no-one knew how they arrived in Asgard, that they didn't know how they would return to Earth.

Back on Earth, Freedom Force arrived at the courthouse. The paramedics refused to hand Rusty & Skids into custody, but Blob took them by force. Skids was still unconscious, so Rusty begged them to send her to the hospital. Crimson Commando refused, so Rusty began to burn with fire which Pyro used against him. Blob punched Rusty giving him a black eye, while Crimson Commando fed the media lies about how Rusty & Skids had been working with the Vulture & Nitro.

Elsewhere, a group of mutants broke into a major federal energy research facility near Dark Hole, Wyoming. Wildside set the explosives and Zero teleported them away before it detonated. The next morning, the authorities tried to understand what had happened when they received a message from the leader of the Mutant Liberation Front. They demanded the release of Rusty & Skids, or they would continue to destroy similar facilities in more acts of terrorism.

Note: Although the promotional panel for the next issue features Cable, this doesn't count as his first appearance. His official first full appearance takes place in the next issue, New Mutants # 87.

First Appearance of the mutant named Cable as an adult.

The Mutant Liberation Front is in Wyoming on a mission to bomb a government facility and on their tail is the mysterious Cable (though he is not mentioned by name). The MLF gets away but are soon back to causing mayhem when they break Rusty and Skids out of Freedom Force custody. Cable makes an attempt to stop the heist but gets his robotic arm slagged instead, leaving him an easy capture for a miffed Freedom Force.

The New Mutants prepare to leave Asgard by sundry ways since the Rainbow Bridge has been broken. Dani stays in Asgard to fulfill her role as one of the Valkyrie. The journey takes the New Mutants through bizarre dimensions but they do finally end up in New York. X-Factor returns.

Note: During the events in this story, the New Mutants have another adventure. They team up with Namorita and S.U.R.F. in New Mutants Annual # 5. That adventure seems to happen between their arrival and when they observe Ship falling into the city. Wolfsbane refers to that adventure at the start of the next issue.

Synopsis

A wall is burned through and the Mutant Liberation Front make their way into a secret energy research station. Wildside distorts reality and makes the team invisible to the guards. The guards have no choice but to trust their sensors. Firing blindly, Forearm gets hit and he asks Tempo to affect time in their favor. Unfortunately, the bomb the group brought has been damaged so Thumbalina shrinks and enters the bomb in order to fix it. The bomb fixed, the MLF teleports away, via their teammate Zero. Seconds before the bomb detonates, Cable charges through the hole in the wall and questions a fallen guard about the MLF. Not much is said before the bomb explodes.

In Asgard, the New Mutants are assembled with the Norse gods to celebrate a recent victory over the Death Goddess. Due to the Rainbow Bridge being broken, the gods are joyful at having such powerful allies remain in Asgard. The New Mutants, however, have their reservations. They have friends and responsibilities back home. An ice fairy interrupts the party and offers Karnilla a vial that enables her people who had been recently turned to stone to revive and walk again. And, for the New Mutants, the fairy offers a map of the interdemensional eddies that surround Asgard. The map could lead them home. The jubilation that comes from this announcement is dampened by Dani's determination to stay in Asgard and help the Valkyrie fix what Hela damaged.

Back on Earth, Rusty and Skids have been made the prisoners of Freedom Force. The two lie in the hospital wing after being beaten by Freedom force while attempting to stop Nitro and the Vulture from killing people. The news shows Skids that Freedom Force is framing her and Rusty for Nitro's release from jail. The two young mutants are labelled as evil. Then, the news reports on the MLF actions from Wyoming. It seems that Rusty and Skids are the next targets for the MLF. The MLF calls for the release of the two, or else they'll come and take them. Mystique asks Skids what she knows about the MLF, but Skids knows nothing. She only knows that what Freedom Force is doing is not fair.

As the New Mutants prepare to leave Asgard, Cannonball tries one last time to get Dani to come back to Earth with the team. She can't do it. She's honor-bound to stay on Asgard. With no other option, the New Mutants leave Asgard in a Warlock ship and head towards a whirlpool that leads them down their interdimensional voyage. At first, the trip is peaceful, as the team sees spectacular views. As they enter the realm of the Mindless Ones, though, they are attacked by odd creatures. They escape through a portal and Rictor wonders if going back home will mean their lives become less interesting.

Meanwhile, the MLF leader is unveiled: Stryfe. He orders his troops to bust Rusty and Skids out of the Freedom Force hold, but he holds Wildside and Thumbalina behind. The team assaults the compound while Cable watches and schemes in the shadows. Tempo twists time to put the odds in their favor. The MLF reaches a computer console and begin looking for the holding cell of Rusty and Skids. Cable pops out and shoots Tempo. Reaper hits Cable with his paralyzing scythe, but Cable is still able to get one last wallop in to take Reaper out. Strobe then melts Cable's mechanical arm. While he lies helpless, the MLF burns through the floor to get to Rusty and Skids. Seeing the mutant attack, the guards shoot a confused and drugged Rusty. Strobe talks Skids into fleeing with the MLF. Skids agrees, knowing she and Rusty will be killed if they stay.

Arriving home, the New Mutants don't see the X-Factor ship. They figure they are the last one's with Xavier's dream fresh in their minds. As they wait, however, the X-Factor ships appears and seems to be falling from the sky. The team rushes off to help.

Back at Freedom Force's holding cells, Cable is looked over by a doctor. His prosthesis are curious, though Cable acts as if they are run of the mill. As the doctors leave, Cable admits to himself that the MLF is too powerful and well-financed for just himself. He'll need some help if he wants to take Stryfe down.

The New Mutants finally make it back to New York and reunite with X-Factor. Freedom Force had captured Cable, but he was able to escape and injure Freedom Force when the team was distracted by the news of the return of the New Mutants. Cable is able to make it to a helicopter and make his escape. Meanwhile, while the New Mutants get settled back home, Moira MacTaggart delivers crushing news: she wants Wolfsbane back home.

Synopsis

Sitting chained a Washington prison cell, Cable reviews footage of Rusty and Skids escaping with members of the Mutant Liberation Front. Crimson Commando infuriates Cable by insinuating that Rusty and Skids were collaborating with the MLF. They brag about how they found Cable unconscious, with his cybernetic arm disabled; yet he remains confident that he'd have recovered on his own. They insinuate that he was working with the MLF to steal tritium in order to manufacturer hydrogen bombs, and therefore attempt to blackmail Cable into joining Freedom Force or remaining imprisoned as a member of the MLF. However, their interrogation is interrupted by Mystique reporting that X-Factor's ship had just landed in New York.

The New Mutants fly back across the New York, sunset skyline. They are excited to see their home again and are soon exchanging hugs with X-Factor. Wolfsbane holds baby Nathan, while Beast sweeps Boom-Boom off the ground and Sunspot explains Moonstar's whereabouts. Meanwhile, Cable fakes being ill in order to get his guards to move closer. He uses secret darts and acid hidden in his bionic arm to escape.

X-Factor and the New Mutants watch the brutal news footage of Rusty's arrest. Rictor and Wolfsbane start mouthing off about Freedom Force so Iceman cools them down with snowballs thrown at the back of the head, accompanied by a lecture on responsibility. X-Factor fails to contact Freedom Force so Cyclops leaves a passionate message demanding the return of Rusty and Skids. As Freedom Force brainstorms plans on what to do, they are interrupted with the news of Cable's escape. As they blindly run through the door, Cable is able to blindside Pyro and turn his flamethrowers against Blob. Cable then throws himself out of the window, turning only to fire a stolen gun to stop Blob from following him.

Back inside Ship's training room, Cannonball makes a phone call to his mother explaining his recent adventure in Asgard. Rictor is impressed with how relaxed Mrs. Guthrie seems to react, while Sunspot is determined not to contact his own father. They are all shocked by Boom-Boom's entrance. Wearing a daring new dress, she definitely catches the eyes of the boys. However, she soon grows upset because Rictor pays more attention to Wolfsbane, who is hugging a photograph of her adoptive mother. Wolfsbane loves Moira McTaggert, but laughs as she confesses that the New Mutants were her family now. Boom-Boom is irritated by the sweet sentiment and becomes jealous since Wolfsbane seems to be stealing Rictor away. Angry and hurt, she hurls a small time-bomb at the happy couple. The silent feud is diffused by Wolfsbane who admits that she could never be so daring as to wear such a revealing dress as Boom-Boom.

Back in Washington, Blob leaps down from the window and gives chase to the rogue Cable. He cries out to warn Silver Sabre in time to prevent him from running into a trip-wire at head height, although his neck gets severely cut. It buys Cable enough time to run for the helicopter pad.

Meanwhile, a leather-clad Moira MacTaggert answers a video conference call with Wolfsbane. The other New Mutants are surprised by Moira's vampish appearance, while Wolfsbane gushes with excitement about her adventures in Asgard with Prince Hrimhari. Moira grows angry and demands Wolfsbane immediately return to Scotland. Wolfsbane is left in tears with Rictor at her side to comfort her.

Cable reaches the helicopter pad and fires at Freedom Force as he flies away. Freedom Force commits to following and reapprehending Cable.

Cable's helicopter is shot down by Freedom Force and the he must take to the streets. There, Freedom Force finds him and attempts to arrest him. Fortunately, some of the New Mutants are out shopping for a present for Rahne when the stumble upon the brawl. After helping Cable, they return to Ship and Cable talks Moira into letting Rahne stay to aid him in his army against the evils of the world.

Synopsis

Freedom Force pursues Cable's helicopter as he approaches New York. He can't hail X-Factor on his radio and heads for Ship. Freedom Force can't risk him reaching X-Factor so they fire on his helicopter. Cable's chopper is hit, but he then he returns fire, causing them both to crash into the water of Manhattan's East River.

The New Mutants are unable to console Wolfsbane. She's transformed into her half-lupine form, and refuses to talk to them. Boom-Boom thinks it is childish, but Sunspot is sympathetic with Moira's decision. Wolfsbane eventually snaps back, but she is so distraught that it frustrates the rest of the team.

Cable manages to haul himself out of the river. He convinces bystanders to "help" Freedom Force, thereby creating another distraction to slow them down.

Cannonball flis across the rooftops with Boom-Boom and Sunspot in his arms. Cannonball hates the idea of leaving Wolfsbane alone, but Boom-Boom points out that Rictor is with her. They decide to find her a leaving present from Tiffany's. Boom-Boom is quickly smitten on some real diamond earrings, but quickly puts them down when she learns of the $2,000 price tag. She soon finds a crystal wolf; all agree it's perfect. Sunspot pays for it by credit card and they hurry out on to the street.

Nearby, Cable is ambushed by Blob and Pyro.

Wolfsbane finishes packing her belongings and Warlock enquires what souvenirs are. She explains that she's collected items that mean a lot to her, including a photograph of Moira, a chunk of marble from Nova Roma, and a feather from their first trip to Asgard; she was so distraught at leaving Moonstar behind that she hadn't picked anything up from their latest journey. Therefore Rictor gives her the lump of rock from Odin's destroyed tower he picked up. Just as Rictor and Wolfsbane are growing closer, they are interrupted by the sudden appearance of Moira MacTaggert. Cold and fierce, Moira sees that Wolfsbane was already packed and demands that they leave immediately.

Down a New York alleyway, Cable, Pyro, and Blob exchange blows. Blob holds Cable's arms while Pyro punches him in the face. Cable forces his head backwards, shattering Blob's teeth and kicks Pyro in the jaw. Suddenly, Boom-Boom, Cannonball, and Sunspot round the corner and are amazed to find Freedom Force and Cable. Boom-Boom recalls the promise they'd made to X-Factor: not to instigate a fight. Cannonball decides that Freedom Force has already attacked first and they charge into battle. Sunspot knocks Pyro down, but Blob forces him and Cannonball off their feet. Crimson Commando appears and announces that he was arresting them for interfering with the arrest of an internationally wanted criminal.

Back inside Ship, Wolfsbane begs Moira to let her stay long enough to bid goodbye to X-Factor and the other New Mutants. Moira refuses, causing Rictor to run off in a tantrum with Warlock soon behind him. Rictor was ready and waiting for them by the time Moira reaches the helicopter pad on the roof. He uses his powers to vibrate the helicopter to pieces. Moira is enraged.

Down in the alley way, Sunspot knocks Crimson Commando to the floor. From down there, he grabs Boom-Boom's ankle causing her trip. Wolfsbane's present goes flying through the air, but Cable manages to catch it safely with his mechanical hand. He then deflected a shot from Crimson Commando before knocking him out. Cable orders Cannonball to activate his blast field in time to deflect Silver Sable's attack. Cable then orders Sunspot to rip the concrete from beneath Blob's feet, causing Blob to fall backwards. Blob claims he knows nothing about Rusty and Skid's disappearance. The New Mutants and Cable flee when reporters arrive on the scene.

Cable reveals that the Blob was correct when he stated that Freedom Force no longer holds Rusty and Skids captive. When he inquires about Wolfsbane's present, he announces that he know Moira MacTaggert from many years ago. However, Boom-Boom warned him that he wouldn't recognize Moira anymore.

Back at Ship, Moira holds a video conference with Legion to announce her delay. Wolfsbane explains to Rictor who Legion is, but she was surprised to see that his multiple personality disorder was cured. Cable suddenly arrives and quickly enters into a battle of words with Moira. He reasons that Moira would never have backed away from danger in the past. She is intrigued when he talks about Wolfsbane using the gifts that nature has given her. He talks about training the children to become an army to fight terrorists. Legion advises Moira that he thinks Cable is right, and Moira agrees accordingly.

Back on the rooftop at the helicopter pad, Warlock reveals that the real helicopter was safe and sound; that he had posed as the helicopter earlier as part of Rictor's plan to delay Moira. She leaves Wolfsbane in Cable's care. Cannonball notes Cable's lecture of using powers responsibly mirrors what Sunspot had said earlier. Meanwhile, Warlock questions Rictor why he wasn't pleased with the presence of Cable. Rictor admits that he remembers Cable from years ago, and not in a good way.

The New Mutants take up residence in the underground remains of Xavier's Mansion. They unify with new uniforms and a training session. Rictor, however, isn't too keen on Cable's leadership and strikes into the Morlock Tunnels. The New Mutants charge in to find the boy before Sabretooth or Caliban have their way.

Synopsis

Samson know he's being stalked through the Morlock Tunnels, but he doesn't know by whom. Sabretooth leaps out of the shadows. Samson puts up a fight while, nearby, Caliban closes in, as he's been tracking Sabretooth.

The New Mutants inspect the razed remains of the Westchester school. X-Factor had suggested that the New Mutants use the intact subterranean levels as a base. Despite the devastation on the surface, the floors below the ground are still fully furnished and fully functional. Cable quickly issues orders for them all to design their own lessons timetable and matching uniforms that reflect their individuality. Sunspot adds that Jean Grey had warned them to stay away from the entrance to the Morlock Tunnels, as there are still killers down there. Rictor is unimpressed when they enter the Danger Room, but the others are ready to show off it's capabilities at a later training.

Caliban finds Samson's corpse floating face down in the sewers. His desire to kill Sabretooth is matched by Sabretooth's desire to kill whoever is stalking him.

Cannonball finishes designing his uniform, but Warlock queries why he would need goggles since his blast field protects his eyes during flight. Rictor objects to creating uniforms. Boom-Boom picks up on his hostility towards anything that Cable introduces and points out that Cable doesn't show any signs of recognizing Rictor. When she presses him to know more details about it, Rictor refuses to talk. Warlock announces that the time has come for their Danger Room training session, and Sunspot is exciting to show off what it can do. Wolfsbane pleads with Rictor to join them in their training session; he only agrees based on the thought that the New Mutants are the only family he has left.

All of them (except for Rictor) change into leotards for their training session. Boom-Boom is initially unimpressed until they came under attack from a fleet of tie-fighters and large masked aliens. The others explain the capabilities of the Shi'Ar technology. Impressed with how they weren't just holograms, Boom-Boom begins to let loose with her time-bombs. Rictor holds his own until he is surrounded. Suddenly he breaks down with the memory of what had happened to his father and is forced to beg Cable to switch the program off. With the session cancelled, the others run to Rictor to see if he is okay. However, he accuses Cable of purposefully setting him up and storms off, leaving Cable confused by his behavior.

Later that day, Boom-Boom shows off her new uniform when Wolfsbane bursts in with the news that Rictor had run away. She is afraid he's run into the Morlock Tunnels. They quickly find Cable using Cerebro, trying to locate the Mutant Liberation Front. When he learns what has happened, he drops everything and orders them to all meet at the entrance to the Tunnels.

Rictor isn't afraid of any bogeyman hidden in the tunnels until he came across Samson's corpse. Caliban appears and demands to know why Rictor is in the Morlock Tunnels. Rictor didn't recognize his old friend because of the vast changes in his physique, and he uses his powers to attack Caliban. The Morlock, however, pushes through the attack. Rictor ceases when Caliban speaks in the third person, causing him to recognize his friend. However, their reunion is cut-short as Sabretooth attacks. He slashes at Rictor and would have killed him if Caliban hadn't intervened. Caliban and Sabretooth battle while Rictor looks on in fear, afraid that whoever wins the fight would kill him next.

Cable assembles the New Mutants. Boom-Boom wonders why he wasn't telling them to stay away because of their young age and inexperience. However, Cable recognized that there was safety in numbers. He commanded Sunspot to power up and Wolfsbane assumes her lupine form. Cable then leads the New Mutants charging into the Morlock Tunnels.