My Quest to Read All X-Men Related Comics in Order from Beginning to Present time

[Seedz]

Mystique #1-6
This is the start of a 24 issue series, in which the first two arcs are written by Brian K. Vaughn. I'm pumped to see what he does with Mystique, who I've always thought was an interesting charecter.

Prudence, one of Xavier’s secret agents, is killed by the pyrokinetic arms dealer, Steinbeck, when she is trying to steal a disk in Moscow. When Xavier learns of this, he pays a visit to the former X-man, Forge, in Baltimore, asking for his help in locating the one woman who could finish Prudence’s mission: Forge’s onetime lover, Mystique. In Washington D.C., an agent disguised as a hooker enters the apartment of one Dr. Conolly after a device of his. After she locates the safe, her prisoner, Connolly, turns out to be Mystique, who’s after the device herself. She quickly disarms the other woman and, learning the other agent is from her home country, Austria, she chooses to spare her. However, both women are surprised when it turns out that the invention – a device supposed to help locate shapeshifters – is no longer at Connolly’s apartment. At that moment, the apartment is crashed by a team of US Soldiers, intent on capturing or executing Mystique.

She uses all her wiles to confuse the men and make a break, however she miscalculated as the injuries she received cause her to faint and allow the soldiers to capture her. She awakes strapped into a chair in a Mobile Justice Unit flying high up in the air. She and the magistrate for Homo Superior crimes, Johnny Kitano, get into an argument about her terrorist past, with Mystique first trying to guilt-trip him and then claiming that she didn’t commit several of the crimes she’s being tried for. She’s presumably being framed. As Kitano, himself a mutant who despises people like Mystique, is about to execute her, Magneto interrupts, freeing Mystique and taking her with him into his aircraft. Taking off his helmet, he is revealed to be Charles Xavier, who had learnt of Mystique’s predicament thanks to Forge’s connections and used the disguise to make sure his name wasn’t drawn into the affair.

Xavier and Forge recruit Mystique against her will to Xavier’s cause. They explain that they will keep the government and her other enemies of her back as long as she works for Xavier. She is to finish the mission Prudence began: find the Russian Sentinel technology in Cuba, destroy it and make it look like an inside job. In Cuba, Mystique’s cover is quickly blown in the customs area, but she manages to escape with the help of her new field handler, Shortpack, a telepathic thumbling. Unfortunately, it turns out that his driver wants to kill Mystique as well, for the bounty on her head…

Mystique quickly disarms Marcos, the driver who has turned on her, and Shortpack leads her to his safehouse, where he informs her about her job and target. She is to find General Diosvil, who is responsible for the Cuban Sentinel project. In the guise of a beautiful young woman, Mystique finds the general breaking up a pro-mutant rally and endears herself to him. Finally, she extracts the necessary information from him and takes on his shape and drives to the secret installation where the Sentinels are kept. She gains entrance easily, only to learn that the robots are to be launched this night. Just as she is about to act, the complex is attacked by the pro-mutant protesters, who believe her to be the general and want to kill her.

Mystique takes out the soldiers in the army complex before reverting to her true form and showing the pro-mutant protesters that she is on their side. However, one of the officials is still conscious and launches the Sentinels, which proceed to fly toward Havana. Mystique and the protesters’ leader, Lazaro, go in search of the central processing unit in order to destroy it before the robots reach Havana. On their way, they find imprisoned mutant children and, to save them, mystique shortly shifts into a nearly impossible form with two faces and four arms. Forge’s device eventually leads her to the central processing unit, Lazaro’s sister, Evangelina, whose mutant power controls the Sentinels. However, the military made sure that she is no longer in control of her power. Evangelina tells Mystique that the only way to stop the Sentinels is to kill her.

Mystique is faced with a choice: kill young Evangelina Rivera, as the girl asks her to, or do nothing, while the Sentinels slaughter all mutants in Havana. The choice is taken out of her hands, luckily, as Evangelina’s brother, Lazaro, does the deed. He then intends to commit suicide, but Mystique knocks him out. She and Lazaro’s fellow rebels shoot their way out of the military complex and save the mutant children, seconds before the retuning Sentinels crash into the complex.

Later, after she’s debriefed her fieldhandler, Shortpack, a pensive Mystique tries to get drunk. A mysterious man named Shepard, who seems to know a lot about her, offers her the chance to brcome a double agent with the possibility of becoming free later. He leaves her a pendant she can use to contact him. Back in New York, Xavier personally congratulates Mystique and offers her the choice to either stay in his service or go to jail. Mystique decides to stay, while touching her new pendant. Elsewhere, Shepard tells his mysterious leader that he has contacted Mystique and that she has no clue what this is about.

 

[Seedz]

New Mutants #7-13
End of Series: It started out pretty slow, but this arc got better. The series was decent overall, but mainly I read it because I know a lot of these Young Mutants will be around for years to come, so it was nice to read their backstories.

Josh Foley and David Alleyne are now roommates and David happily ignores Josh. Laurie has some feelings for Josh, especially as he saved her life. Josh has fallen in with Julian Keller and his friends. Dani asks David to reach out to Josh and David finally talks to his roommate, mentioning the comatose Amara during their conversation. Josh and Julian decide to sneak into the medical center and heal the woman. Josh actually coaxes Amara from her coma but she is traumatized, uses her powers to destroy a part of the medical center and runs away. Julian wants to run away, but Josh insists they save the nurses life. Later, the two are officially commended, but secretly Xavier and their advisors chew them out for their lack of responsibility. Josh writes a letter to his parents, telling them about all of this. Two weeks later, the Foleys visit the school but not to get Josh, as he had hoped, but to make the school Josh’ legal guardian.

Julian meets a strange homeless girl who wants into the Institute, but he sends her away. Dani introduces Shan to Luna, which doesn’t go over too well with Shan. As Parents Week begins, the students greet their parents, though not a lot of parents show up. David shows his parents around and they discuss his future at the school and how it may prevent him from getting into Harvard. Derek and Mr. Barrett arrive to see Sofia, but she sends them away after realizing that her father may have only come to get his personal assistant back. Julian switches advisors from Jean-Paul Beaubier to Emma Frost, and soon learns that Josh was a Reaver, which ignites a fight involving Josh and David versus Julian and Santo. Sofia later comments that she may have been too hard on Derek and worries that she may never see him again, but to her surprise, runs into him right after she says it. David decides that he will stay at the school, giving up his dream of going to Harvard, and he and Josh make a connection after the fight. As Luna opens the store the next morning, she finds someone in the alleyway, and gets hit by an electricity blast.

As Avalanche wrecks downtown Manhattan, a mystery redhead on a motorbike makes quick work of him before the X-Men can arrive. The redhead who beat up Avalanche arrives at the mansion, and Shan and Dani greet their old friend, Rahne Sinclair, AKA Wolfsbane. Laurie becomes jealous as Josh begins to develop a crush on the newly returned New Mutant.

At the Grind Stone the kids learn that the waitress Luna has had an accident, and Josh runs into the homeless girl that Julian turned away from the institute. The kids tell Dani, Shan and Rahne all about it and the fact that the homeless girl is probably responsible, and Dani decides that she will take care of it later, while Josh complains that he should get to help. Later, Rahne rounds up the kids to go find the girl before Dani can, and they head off, learning that the girl is Japanese, and nicknamed Surge. They eventually find her buying pills, which they believe caused her accident, so Sofia blows the pills away, only to realize that the girl had been using them to keep her powers under control, and without them, she explodes with electricity. They learn that her name is Noriko Ashida, and they take her back to the Institute where Hank McCoy helps her to. Dani arrives and gives them all detention, and she and Rahne get into a fight. The kids and Shan visit Luna DePaula in the hospital, while Rahne learns that she isn’t allowed to become a teacher and decides that she is going to leave. Dani confronts her to try to help, and learns exactly why Rahne has changed the way she has. Rahne takes off to a bar, where Josh eventually joins her and after a good conversation, he helps her understand her thoughts about her mutation. Hank gives Nori some gauntlets to help her control her powers, and tells her that she may eventually not need gauntlets or pills to control it. Nori and David run into Julian in the grounds of the Institute and they confront him for sending her away. Nori quickly turns on David for being so judgmental, and then storms off. Later, when Josh and Rahne arrive back at the Institute, Rahne admits that she wants her powers back, and in a wild kiss, he heals her, bringing back her wolf powers. Unfortunately, the sudden return of the wolf makes Rahne lose control and she slashes him with her claws, leaving her in a wild half wolf, half girl state, and him lying on the ground bleeding.

As Josh lies injured on the front lawn of the Institute with the wild wolf-Rahne standing over him, Laurie attempts to help him sneak in before realizing what has happened. Laurie’s and Rahne’s lives are compared, from their parents’ first meetings, to their first manifestations of their powers, to the many heartbreaks and troubles both girls have faced, all leading up to the moment when both finally use their powers, one accidentally hurting Josh, the one who truly understands her, and one saving Josh’s life, the one she truly loves. Though he seems to be saved, he is in very bad condition, and it is unsure whether or not he will survive.

As Josh lies on the verge of death in the Infirmary, it looks like there is no way to save him, because traditional medicine can’t work fast enough to heal his wounds and Warren, the only known healer is unavailable. Dani goes after Rahne and manages to calm her down enough to change back to human form, and they work through some of Rahne’s recent troubles. Back at Xavier’s, Nori and David realize that Josh can heal himself if they can only wake him up. After some convincing, Dr. McCoy agrees, and Nori uses a small surge of electricity to wake him up. As he is disoriented, Laurie and the others manage to help him use his powers and he heals himself… with an unexpected side-affect. He is now literally the golden boy.

Later, Dani reveals that when Josh’s parents gave up custody, she became his guardian to make sure he had family when he came to the school. Days later, Nori apologizes to Luna for the attack and theft and they come to an agreement that Nori could work at the Grind Stone to pay Luna back. The kids all arrive and order drinks and it becomes obvious that they are very close to one another, a family.

Justin Pierce, an F.B.I. agent, and the nephew of Donald Pierce, leader of the Reavers, arrives at The Cage to, reluctantly, make a deal with his uncle on behalf of his superiors. They need information on Kevin Ford. Back at the recently destroyed Institute, Shan, Dani, and Rahne are reunited with their former New Mutants teammates, Sam, Amara, and Roberto. They reminisce and learn things about each other that have happened recently. Soon, Pierce, while being transported, escapes from custody, and Justin quickly warns Dani and the others of the danger. Pierce gets Duncan and the rest of his Reavers together so they can get revenge on Josh Foley, the traitor. Dani comes up with a plan to beat Pierce using Josh as bait, and the resources of the F.B.I. The plan works and the former New Mutants manage to defeat Pierce and the Reavers, though Duncan escapes. They realize they still make a great team, and Sam asks Dani to quit teaching and join the X-Men with him, and she tells him she needs time to think it over.

 

[Seedz]

New X-Men #139-141
Murder at the Mansion

Inside the telepathically created mental bedroom, Jean confronts Emma Frost, who is in the middle of seducing Jean’s husband, Scott Summers. Wishing to be alone, Jean telepathically banishes Scott from their presence and moves the confrontation to Emma’s quarters. Using the extensive powers of the Phoenix, Jean traipses through Emma’s memories, from an early interaction with her family to becoming a member of the Hellfire Club. Wishing to solve the mystery of what happened between Emma and Scott during their trip to Hong Kong, Jean presses through Emma’s defenses. Having worked for some time to gain entrance into Emma’s quarters and confront Jean, Scott succeeds and orders Jean to take the memory of the event from his mind instead. Jean does so and learns that her husband was faithful. Still, angered by the accusation, Scott storms out and leaves the Institute, using Logan’s special bike. Physically and emotionally raw from the experience, Emma admits to Logan that she is in love with Scott Summers. Some time later, the Beast goes to Emma’s room to cheer her up. Instead, however, he is shocked to find Emma apparently dead, her diamond form shattered into thousands of pieces.

Bishop and Sage arrive at the Xavier Institute, having been invited as impartial investigators of the apparent murder of Emma Frost. The two quickly determine that Emma was killed by a diamond bullet, which hit a flaw in Emma’s diamond body. Bishop and Sage question student and instructor alike, including the Beast, Professor Xavier, Xorn, Angel Salvadore, the Stepford Cuckoos and Jean Grey. Jean is the only one Bishop rules out as a suspect, after Jean convinces him through a telepathic rapport that he cannot even explain. Wishing to investigate a possible lead involving the recent drug, Hypercortisone D, Bishop visits Omega Gang member, Redneck, in prison, who tells Bishop that he obtained the inhalers from Quentin Quire, who purchased them in the woods behind the school. Back in the Institute, Beak confesses tearfully to the Beast that is was he who was selling the Kick drug and it was he that killed Miss Frost. Meanwhile, following Bishop’s lead, Sage discovers a set of inhalers in the woods as well as an old cabin. Entering the cabin, Sage discovers dozens of coc00ns hanging from the ceiling. She also discovers the murder weapon, which is unfortunately in the hands of someone who is pointing it at Sage.

In the woods behind the Xavier Institute, Bishop finds Sage collapsed, her computer brain effectively shut down. After a quick reboot, the two investigate the shack she discovered and find dozens of eggs hanging from the rafters. Also in the shack, they find a pistol. Back in the Institute, the Beak confesses to shooting Emma Frost but Xavier and the Beast are disbelieving. As proof of motive, the Beak reveals that Angel was pregnant and that Miss Frost knew. The return of Bishop and Sage and the news of their discovery cause Xavier and Xorn to wish to investigate themselves. As they do so, the Beast returns to his task of reassembling Emma’s body. He is joined by Jean, who, with the use of the Beast’s telepathically lent medical knowledge and the Phoenix Force, is able to fully reassemble and reanimate Emma Frost. Once again, Emma Frost is among the living. Back at the cabin, Xavier and his group discover Angel there among the children from the hatched eggs. The children are hers and the Beak’s and are already toddler age, flying around and adorable.

Having finished their analysis of the murder weapon, Bishop and Sage pronounce Angel as the culprit but Xavier is unsure as to whether Angel actually pulled the trigger. At the front gate of the school, Bishop and Sage confront Esme, who has abandoned her sisters and is secretly trying to leave the school. To the young girl, Bishop and Sage reveal their conclusions: she wanted control of the Cuckoos and was the force that killed Sophie during the riot. Also, it was she who telepathically coerced Angel into shooting Miss Frost. When asked by Bishop who she is leaving to meet, Esme mocks his question, telepathically renders them both catatonic and makes her getaway in a driverless taxi. Xavier manages to restore Bishop and Sage’s sanity, which leads Sage to a revelation. Memories from the forest have been restored. The person who confronted her in the shack earlier was a male at least six foot two… meaning Esme had an accomplice. Taking this in, Bishop asks a question that only now occurred to him: where is Scott Summers?

 

[Seedz]

New X-Men #142-145
Assault on Weapon Plus

In the new Hellfire Club, which is now an upscale “gentlemen’s club” that caters to mutants with money to spend, Cyclops tries to drown his sorrows in a bottle of sparkling wine. Cyclops attempts to drink in solitude but is interrupted by the arrival of Sabretooth. Creed is driven off by Sebastian Shaw, the club’s owner, but he too cannot resist making snide remarks at Cyclops’ mood and drink of choice. Finally, he decides to join Wolverine, who shows up with a “serious” drink: Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey. The two proceed to match shot for shot and talk about Cyclops’ relationship with Jean, Emma and even Wolverine himself. With the arrival of the enigmatic Fantomex and a mission involving the uncovering of the equally enigmatic Weapon Plus program, Wolverine offers to bring Cyclops along, but is rebuffed. As Cyclops tries to leave, however, the whiskey takes effect and Cyclops finds himself unconscious on the club’s floor. Draining his last shot, Wolverine tells Fantomex that it is like he said: there is nobody he’d rather have in his corner than Scott Summers.

Shortly after sneaking their way into the dome that houses artificial reality known as The World, Lou, an investigative reporter, and his mutant guide witness the arrival of a group of armed A.I.M. soldiers, bent on learning its secrets. When Fantomex, Cyclops and Wolverine arrive on the scene, motivated by similar goals, they find the A.I.M. soldiers dead, with the exception of one. The lone survivor speaks of the creature that massacred them and the reporter and his guide. Fantomex immediately knows what it is: Weapon Fifteen. The three mutants continue inside the dome and, through an immense door which leads to the heart of The World, they enter looking for answers and the creature called Weapon XV.

As a wide-eyed Cyclops follows him through the time-frozen landscape of The World, Fantomex explains that while mere months have passed since he escaped from the transport train, entire generations have passed inside the dome. Each generation, bio-engineered to be part-man and part-machine, is fed lies in the form of narcotic Nano-Sentinel pollen that there is nothing but endless, solid rock beyond The World’s walls. After leading the two X-Men to a place he formerly lived, time suddenly lurches forward, giving life to everything around them, including a homicidal car-cop. The threesome easily dispatches the cybernetic monstrosity but then are attacked and defeated by Weapon Fifteen.

Rather than finish the three off, however, Weapon Fifteen muses that there must be more than this and takes off, skyward. As he watches the light from Weapon Fifteen soar through the domed sky of The World and into outer space, Fantomex realizes why no one has ever found the nerve center to the Weapon Plus operation on Earth… it is a space station in orbit, to where Weapon Fifteen is now speeding.

After his quick ascent into orbit, Weapon Fifteen finds his way to the Weapon Plus space station and enters, followed soon thereafter by Cyclops, Wolverine and Fantomex in Fantomex’s living spacecraft, E.V.A. Once inside, the threesome fight their way to the control room and plant charges, intending to destroy the whole operation. After the countdown is set, Wolverine decides to lag behind, as he has found the Weapon Plus files and intends to learn everything about his past that has been denied him. Meanwhile, Cyclops and Fantomex move further inside the station after learning that E.V.A. has been captured. They arrive too late to save the spacecraft, however, and it is destroyed, as well as Fantomex’s nervous system, which was linked to it.

Having no other choice, Cyclops carries Fantomex toward the shuttle bay to escape. Back in the control room, Wolverine is confronted by the deadly but confused Weapon Fifteen. Although it seems to wish to have a life other than that for which it was created, Wolverine realized that this could never be. He activates the explosive charges, which destroys the whole space station.

 

[Seedz]

New X-Men #146-150
Planet X: Well some major stuff went down here...

Just prior to the satellite’s destruction, Cyclops is able to pilot his shuttle away. However, the explosion causes their shuttle to lose control, crashing in the Pacific. Back at the mansion, Jean decides to use the new Mark 3 X-Plane to fly into orbit to rescue Wolverine, while Beast and Emma Frost fly to the Pacific for Cyclops and Fantomex. With most of the team gone, Xorn makes an offer to Dust, which causes her to seek out Xavier in panic. Seemingly, she loses control of her powers, wrecking Cerebra in the process. Xorn quickly manages to collect and contain Dust in a canister, much to Xavier’s dismay. In the Pacific Emma detects a stray thought from their teammate, warning them of a traitor in the Institute. They have no time to debate the issue, as a wing of their plane explodes from sabotage. Meanwhile, Jean arrives at the remains of the Weapon Plus station, the asteroid around which it was built, and finds Wolverine, standing over the remains of Weapon Fifteen, now dead. It is from Wolverine that Jean realizes the origin of the asteroid-heart of the space station: it is Asteroid M. Back at the Institute, Xorn finally moves against Xavier and uses his powers to re-cripple his old foe by removing the Nano-Sentinels he had used to fuse Xavier’s spine together. His old foe now helpless, Xorn reveals his true identity to Xavier: he is Magneto… and Xavier’s dream is over.

From his latest headquarters, the top floor of a building from which he can look over the city borough of Manhattan, Magneto begins the devastation that tears apart New York City, transforming it to New Genosha.

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Magneto confers with the latest incarnation of his Brotherhood, gathered by his lieutenant, Esme, promising them that he will turn the world upside down for them and the rest of their people. Before appearing before the masses below in person, Magneto secretly takes another hit of the mutant performance-enhancer drug, Kick, which is supplied by Esme. His power reestablished, Magneto hovers before his people, using his powers to destroy such landmarks as the Brooklyn Bridge and the Statue of Liberty.

Magneto learns from Toad that his followers in the streets below are directionless, leading to Chaos. While he begins the preparations for his old scheme of reversing the planet’s magnetic poles, he instructs Esme to coordinate the task of locate any surviving X-Men. To the horrified Beak, Magneto places him in charge of the mass execution of any remaining baseline humans on the island. Meanwhile, Wolverine and Jean are helpless to stop Asteroid M’s collision with the sun, or escape the station before that happens. After a bit of reflection of what villainous machinations have led them to this moment, as well as other recent revelations, they realize they are in their final moments. Rather than letting Jean die such a death, Wolverine ends her suffering with his claws, killing her instantly.

His grim task completed, Wolverine takes Jean’s body and opens the airlock, so that they may face the sun as it consumes them. Just before they and the Asteroid are consumed, however, Jean’s eyes reopen, burning with a fire of their own.

Reveling in their success, Magneto and his Brotherhood oversee the last batch of humans on Manhattan being corralled for extermination. The subsequent debate over the proceedings leads Magneto to banish Beak for disloyalty and, in a moment of rage at his juvenile jokes, kill Basilisk.

Beak, however, manages to escape the following mass execution and, after a beating from a local mutant gang, finds himself rescued by Fantomex’s sentient spaceship, E.V.A. The craft takes Beak to a hidden safehouse of anti-Magneto mutants, among which are the three remaining Stepford Cuckoos, Dust and both Cyclops and Fantomex. Despite the odds, Cyclops declares the group X-Men and his intention to lead them against Magneto. Back at his sanctum, Magneto finally puts an end to Esme’s ambitions and quells her hopes that she will ever rule at his side. After she has left, Magneto finds himself no longer alone, as a voice in his head claims to be the conscience that he has tried to silence. Magneto checks on the still-captive Xavier, thinking that it might be a telepathic trick. However, he finds hid old foe still helpless and his powers jammed. Inside his tank, however, Xavier is contacted by a voice and images that he finds familiar. To this person, the Professor mentally asks if it is Jean.

Having now officially claimed the powers of the Phoenix, Jean saves herself and Wolverine from the gravity well of the sun and returns to Earth, just in time to save the Beast and Emma, who have be stranded on the remains of an X-Plane in the Pacific for days. Back in Manhattan, Magneto continues his struggle to keep his new Brotherhood from fracturing until he is interrupted by the arrival of the Beak, Fantomex and Cyclops. Working in succession, the three are able to free Professor X and wound Magneto enough to keep him off balance. Realizing that his own lieutenants are disloyal in not defending him, Magneto kills the young Esme in revenge.

Magneto manages to shrug off his attackers and return to his followers but finds himself attacked by the rest of the team, Beast, Phoenix and Wolverine. The most mortal blow of the assault, however, comes from Magneto’s followers, when they all proclaim that they no longer wish to follow him. Seemingly in despair, Magneto collapses until Phoenix gets close enough for him to strike. Using the energy he has spent up for days, he gives her a lethal electromagnetic pulse, the equivalent of a planetary-scale stroke. As Jean begins to die, Magneto asks for it all to end, to which the enraged Wolverine complies, decapitating the former leader of mutants. Having been likewise fatally injured, Jean dies as well, passing into the light.

One hundred fifty years later, two explorers in an unorthodox craft make their way to the Blue Area of the Moon, where they discover to their horror the enigmatic Phoenix Egg.

 

[2 Up 2 Down]

you are still at it.

 

[Seedz]

Agent X #1-6

An amnesiac man stumbles on Deadpool’s receptionist Sandi Brandenberg. She pulls him into her apartment, offers him something to eat and discovers that he has a healing factor. She decides to help him become the best mercenary in the world and asks her friend, the notorious mercenary Taskmaster, to train him. The Taskmaster dislikes the stranger, who unaware of his real name, adopts the alias Alex Hayden, but he follows Sandi’s request. Alex gets taught to shoot by the female mercenary Outlaw and he turns out to be a natural. Alex is equally good with both hands and has perfect aim. Both the Taskmaster and Sandi think that Alex is actually Deadpool, who might have somehow survived his encounter with the Black Swan. They try to activate his memory by showing him the gravestones of Wade Wilson, but Alex Hayden doesn’t even want to remember his past. After several days of intense training, Hayden tries to establish himself in the business. His first job is to capture several escaped animals. Despite some misfortune, he succeeds and returns home. The Taskmaster decides to give Hayden a job that Taskmaster himself didn’t want to do.

Across the city, a man called Higashi has a hard time proving himself as the heir of the late Eastern Wind, one of the four crimelords making up the Four Winds. The underbosses of the organization think him too weak, but he demonstrates that he is in control by killing the most obnoxious of them.

Agent X visits the remains of Alpine Park, a theme park he now owns, as it was the payment for his first job.

The Taskmaster pretends to help Agent X by giving him an “easy“ assignment, however he actually is actually worried about Sandi and hopes that Alex will get himself killed. The assignment is to steal the Punisher’s guns. Five members of a club have each recruited one mercenary, and they have 48 hours for the job. Agent X’s competitors are B-1, the Scalpel, Bloc and his friend and trainer Outlaw. Alex and her quickly defeat the other three mercs, but while they are busy battling each other, the opportunity to assassinate the Punisher passes. Outlaw is proud of how good Agent X handles himself and after getting drunk in a bar, the two of them spend the night together and end up in bed. The next morning they break in into the Punisher’s apartment, but he shows up and makes them tell of the assignment. The Punisher leaves, taking their clothes and Outlaw’s car with him, to collect the money himself and kill the men who hired them. Meanwhile Higashi investigates the damages Agent X did to his building. Still interested in buying Alpine Park, Higashi calculates how much it would cost him to have Alex killed.

Agent X takes revenge on Taskmaster, who set him up to get killed by the Punisher. Sandi and Outlaw watch in awe, as somehow Agent X easily defeats Taskmaster in hand-to-hand combat. Even Alex doesn’t know how he does it. Alex takes Sandi and Outlaw to his Theme park to feed the animals, where they are approached by Higashi who offers him to buy the park. Alex refuses and he and Outlaw are attacked by Higashi’s men, but Sandi comes to the rescue with the park’s elephant. Later Alex and Outlaw take on a new job, which is to protect a jeweller from a gang that has robbed the store already three times before. During the job they meet Mary Zero, a girl that is effectively invisible. Next to nobody sees or hears her, and those who do, immediately forget. Mary walked into the jeweller to get herself a birthday present, and she enters the robber’s getaway car to get back the piece of jewelry she wanted. Alex follows rising a hotdog chart and captures the criminals by making their car crash. The robbers are knocked out, and Alex asks Mary if she is OK. Mary immediately falls in love with him since he is the first person to have ever noticed her and care about her.

Alex tries to talk some sense into Mary, who keeps staring at him and checking out his butt. He receives a phone call from Higashi, who tells him that he is in Alex‘ theme park right now, along with an expert in all things incendiary. He takes over a bus, and drives straight to his park. At the same time however, Higashi and his servant Saguri actually make their way to Sandi‘s apartment. Sandi calls Alex for help, but Mary answers his phone. Thinking Sandi to be Alex’s girlfriend, Mary hangs up. Fortunately Higashi does Sandi no harm, quite on the contrary, he admits that he has been thinking of her a lot, and wants to date her. Taskmaster, who is spying on Sandi’s apartment is annoyed by this turn of events, just like Saguri, who thinks her master is losing his mind. Alex arrives at Alpine Park, and walks straight into a trap as he is fired upon by two snipers. He eventually takes out both attackers, but he received a bullet in the throat and starts choking on his own blood. Alex collapses and Mary tries to call 911, but the operator doesn’t hear her. She runs out on the streets, but as usual, people fail to notice her.

Alex is saved by Arcade who performs a tracheotomy on Alex. Meanwhile, Taskmaster sells Alex out to the Four Winds, telling them that he is in fact Wade Wilson, the murderer of their former leaders. This action has unexpected consequences though, as Sandi is targeted for murder. Taskmaster escapes and informs Alex of what he has done. Alex saves Sandi and, together with Taskmaster and Outlaw, they go to Alpine Park to face the Four Winds. The group does not wait long, as several cars with costumed criminals working for the Four Winds soon arrive. They win, but are badly beaten up. Meanwhile, Alex has sent out Mary Zero to take some pictures. Alex leaves Outlaw, Mary and Taskmaster behind in a diner and disturbs a meeting of the heads of the Four Winds. He shows them pictures from their families at home, in the park and even sleeping and warns them to leave him and his friends alone; otherwise he will hit them through their family. Saguri refuses to accept and attacks Alex, but Alex kills her. Higashi tells Alex that they accept his terms. Outside, it turns out that Higashi is the one who ordered the hit on Saguri and he was also the one that kept Sandi safe during the fights. He pays Alex, who leaves with Sandi.

 

[Seedz]

Agent X #7-11

Alex is hired by Sir William, an omni-fetishist (meaning he gets aroused by everything) to retrieve several stolen pairs of rare panties. Elsewhere, Sandi and Taskmaster figure out why Alex Hayden has named himself as such, after finding CDs of composers Alexander Schumann and Franz Hayden. Starting his assignment, Alex is dropped on the train where the panty thief (Lynda Lodestone, an omni-fetishist herself) and her henchmen are waiting. A fistfight ensues on the train’s roof and, after a short while, Alex defeats the henchmen. Then, to stop Lynda from blowing up the train with the stolen panties, Alex convinces she and William that they are made for each other. The two recognize the truth but accidentally set off the detonator. Alex is unhurt, though, and after handing William a pair of stolen panties, he asks to be paid. At home, Alex tells the others that he wants to turn Agency X in a real business. Taskmaster refuses and Outlaw tells Alex that she has to return to Texas because her father is ill. Sandi and Mary, however, do go along with it and the three of them form Agency X.

Alex is hired by Christine Gallhager to kill someone. Before his briefing, though, he has to get past Dante, the chief of security. After a short fight, Alex chops off one of Dante’s hands and passes. Subsequently, he is hired to kill an invisible man. After spending some time trying to find the guy, he finally gets into a fight with him, but it turns out that the invisible man is armed with an electrical weapon. He also tells Alex that he is innocent. Alex loses the guy and returns to Christine for some more information. Amazingly, she reveals that the man is not innocent, but that he is her father. Alex demands double pay and chops off Dante’s other hand. Outside the building, he notices that the invisible man has followed him and he traps him in another building. He tries to take him out by throwing two grenades at him.

Despite the store being demolished by Agent X’s grenades, both the Agent and the invisible man survive. Wishing to get to the bottom of the caper, the Agent has his invisible quarry dress in a humiliating dress so that he can keep track of him. The invisible man leads the Alex to a family yacht, where he tells him of his background as a government chemist and the development of an invisibility formula. When the military came to obtain formula, the man escaped by turning himself invisible. After likewise making his daughter invisible, the hid away. After growing up, Christine, the daughter, used a derivative of the formula to create a cosmetic that make wrinkles & pimples invisible and became rich. Arriving suddenly at the end of the tale, Christine is accompanied by Dante. A fight ensues which causes the boat to sink. As Christine and her father continue their family squabble, both Alex and Dante decide to leave the boat and keep and split the Agent’s fee. The two finally decide on a 60/40 split after one of Alex’s grenades blows the yacht to pieces.

When Alex gets home after a hit on a death cult, instead of Sandi, he finds Taskmaster. Taskmaster tells Alex that Sandi has taken an assignment, since Alex wasn’t there, and the two fight as usual. Sandi calls a moment later and says she needs help but, by that time, Taskmaster has become incapacitated. Alex goes to the rescue but finds out that Sandi simply was incapable of pulling the trigger on her target, Frank Bigelow. It turns out that Sandi has been in love with Alex and tried to impress him by killing Frank. They decide to kill him together and, after shooting him, they have sex. The next morning, Alex discovers that Sandi has been kidnapped by their employer, Beverly Lacoco, because Frank isn’t dead yet. Unless Alex succeeds by midnight, Beverly will kill Sandi. Alex tries killing Frank, but it turns out that Frank is the ex-superhero, Fight-Man, and, for all intents and purposes, completely invulnerable. Franks tells Alex that he has nothing to live for and decides to help Alex in killing him, but every attempt to kill Frank fails. In the end, Alex has taken a liking to Frank and is incapable of killing him. While trying to make a new plan, Alex is attacked by three robots/monsters, probably former enemies of Frank.

Alex and Fight-Man team up against Fight-Man’s ex-wife, Beverly, and his entire rogue’s gallery of Fight Man, who have kidnapped Sandi and are keeping her at City Hall. Meanwhile, Beverly sets her plan into motion: DoctOrangutan transfers the powers of five villains to Beverly. Sandi manages to escape on her own, but Beverly, with her new powers, kills her boyfriend, the Hooded Eye, and DoctOrangutan and then tries to kill Fight-Man, Sandi and Alex. Through dumb luck, Beverly is defeated, but Fight-Man then tries to arrest Alex and Sandi. Sandi uses a bazooka to collapse a building on Fight-Man’s head and the two leave.

 

[Seedz]

Agent X #12-15
End of Series: I was pretty fun. I read it because I thought Deadpool would be more involved, and wanted to connect his previous run with Cable & Deadpool. I'm pretty sure this Alex Hayde character will be done with, probably wasted my time.

Alex hasn’t gotten an assignment in ages and starts to run low on cash. His theme park is suddenly bombed with him inside by a new mercenary named Mr. Murder. Murder dumps Alex without arms and legs into the East River, threatening Sandi in the process. The next morning, a severely wounded Alex makes his way to Chicky, an arms dealer/informant, who tells him that there is a million and a half dollar hit on a television executive who is in war with another executive. Both have put out hits on the other and have been outbidding each other. Alex disguises himself to talk to Warren, one of the executives, but their negotiation is interrupted by Murder who blows up the doors to the office and shoots Warren. Murder, in turn, is killed in the explosion when the explosives in Alex prosthetic leg go off. Alex tries to claim his money, but the other executive tries to get him killed. Alex throws him out the window of his office and goes back to Alpine Park. He decides to close down the park and leaves.

Alex wants to disband Agency X, but he hasn’t found the courage yet to tell Sandi, resulting in Taskmaster and Alex functioning as bodyguards for Higashi and Sandi on a date. They are attacked by two assassins and defeat them. At home, they find two persons in Sandi’s apartment: The Black Swan and Deadpool. Alex first reaction is to shoot Deadpool in the head.

Although Alex has shot Deadpool in the face, Deadpool is still alive. He’s mentally retarded, though. Black Swan explains to Alex who he is: a former mercenary called Nijo, killed by Black Swan, but revived by a combination of Black Swan’s telepathy and Deadpool’s healing factor. His personality is made up of bits and pieces of their personalities, which they lost, and Black Swan wants to restore each of them to their normal mind. During the process, Black Swan deceives them, though, and he loses the sense of honor that kept him in check, but regains his deadly abilities as well as several new abilities. He defeats Alex, but is then stabbed in the back by Deadpool.

The Black Swan has betrayed Alex and has now incredible powers. Alex, Deadpool, Sandi and Taskmaster all try to defeat him, in the end assisted by Outlaw. During the fight, Sandi and Taskmaster profess their love for each other. They finally succeed by working together in killing Black Swan and Alex mindlinks to Swan and shares his death with him. Swan dies and Alex’ scars are gone. Outlaw and Alex get back together and Sandi apologizes to Outlaw about sleeping with Alex. Taskmaster and Outlaw both join Agency X. Alex invites Deadpool, but he refuses. They politely say goodbye.... then decide that they hate each other and start fighting and insulting each other.

 

[Seedz]

X-Treme X-Men #40-46
End of Series

Gambit and Rogue walk down the beach to meet Sam and Lila at a clambake. Bishop runs by them interrupting a kiss. Inside the beach house, Evangeline Whedon remarks about her concerns to Marie. Her worries are that both she and Sage will never find the puppet master that was controlling Jarod Malloy’s strings. Vange decides to fly off into the night sky to clear her head and Marie talks a while to Sage about her recent murder attempt. Amidst talking to Marie, Sage finds out a startling revelation about the demise of the Xavier Institute. Sage calls Storm over their high tech glasses to discuss their next move. Later that evening, Evangeline Whedon arrives at the clambake in her dragon form, carrying two passengers, Sunspot and Magma. Sam explains that he invited them, because he wanted the X-Men to continue as a family. Bishop has run into some trouble along his jog and that trouble consists of Revenant and her cronies. Bishop fights hard and eventually takes them all out. Reveling in his victory, he is unaware of Elias Bogan behind him and he/she easily defeats Bishop.

In a dungeon hidden from prying eyes, Bishop is hung upside down and fed a drug called Rave. The drug makes Bishop go mad and also makes him susceptible to the mind manipulations of Elias’ pet telepath. She is easily able to sedate Bishop and remove his psi-blocks that he has placed over his mind. Elsewhere, Anna and Remy discover the battle marks left on the sand by Bishop and Elias’ pets and they rush back to Anna’s home to inform the others. Once there, they are met by a hostile Sage, but the situation is quickly resolved, though the inside of the house is in total disarray. Just then, Sam and Amara arrive and are informed of the situation. Sam admits that Bishop’s plan to get himself captured was bad because it was kept a secret to everyone save Sage, but it was still a great plan. He goes on to inform the others that their new plan should be to split up the team into two groups, so that one could focus on stopping Bishop’s rampage and the other can take care of Elias’ pet telepath. Storm’s hologram interrupts them and she demands to know what is transpiring in California. After a brief rundown of the events, Sage tells the others about her past with Bogan and how Storm saved her from his cruel clutches. Later that evening, Storm and Sage have a moment alone to discuss their past and some of Sage’s worries about her time in the Hellfire Club, especially around the time of Mastermind’s creation of the Dark Phoenix.

The X-Treme team prepares for their upcoming battle, just as help arrives in the form of Sunspot, Skids and Magma. Cannonball goes over their plan and splits the teams up with Gambit, Sunspot, Skids and himself on one team, while Rogue, Magma and Sage are on the other. Sam’s team heads to take on Bishop and his newfound allies. The team of X-Men, once atop an old army fort, is attacked by Bludgeon, Cudgel and Rolling Thunder, who they easily take care of after a brief confrontation. Next comes what Bishop calls the main event, where he single-handedly takes out all of his old teammates, minus one. That one is Remy LeBeau, who, after a brief battle, removes Bishop from combat by using his own booby-trap against him. The fight is quickly ended, however, when Elias’ pet telepath sneaks up on Gambit and uses her powers to nock him out cold. Elsewhere, as their battle ends, the other team flies over the sands of California to a destination known only to Sage. Vange, who is flying the X-Men to L.A., lands on a deserted stretch of highway, where they meet up with an ally from their past, Shadowcat.

Nearing the time of their attack, Sage calls the team together and the quartet of women risk their lives in a desperate attempt to travel through the Earth’s mantle to reach Bogan’s lair. Finally arriving, the team is split from one another. Sage goes off in search of Bogan and Magma disappears, per Sage’s instructions, to an undisclosed place to be used as a last resort in stopping Bogan. Shadowcat and Rogue fight off Revenant and Manacle, only to be stopped in their tracks by the sudden appearance of a handful of their comrades under Bogan's control. Gambit was conning Bogan, and he uses his staff to trip most of the attackers up. Angered, the telepath vows vengeance upon them but, coming out of hiding himself, Bishop takes out the telepath. Elsewhere in the caverns, Sage nears her goal, only to be stopped by Magma, who is controlled by Bogan and intent on burning Sage to death.

Sage travels through her memories, remembering her first encounter with her mentor, Charles Xavier. Elsewhere, though, her teammates fight off the mysterious telepath, but to no avail, each one of them passing out with her psychic attack. Awaking, they find themselves along side Sage. They see her murdering guerilla insurgents and realize why she keeps so many secrets. Bogan is with Sage, trying every step she takes to make her his pet. Thanks to the words of her friends, Sage is able to break free and they all awake in the catacombs of Bogan’s lair. Mysteriously, though, the telepath is gone. After rescuing Sage, Shadowcat and Rogue travel through a jewel to take on Bogan face-to-face. While in his dimension, they find the telepath and are able to break her free from Bogan’s control. Traveling back to the catacombs, the team realizes that the telepath was Rachel Summers, their former teammate and friend.

Rogue’s Beach House is surprised by two new houseguests, Storm and Callisto. They arrive via Lila Cheney’s sentient house and startle both Vange and Marie. Shadowcat is there and greets the two women, debriefing them on the X-Men’s last couple of days with Bogan. Elsewhere, in the catacombs of Elias’ hideout, the other members of the X-Treme team search to no avail for Elias or his allies. Suddenly and without warning, Elias attacks. His attack is even felt in Valle Soleada, as Rachel Summers swiftly saves her friends at the Beach House by barricading them in Lila’s house. The others are not so lucky, as they are taken on a journey through their own thoughts, where each one has two face-off against one of their most evil desires. Each one, in their own way, defeats their inner demons. Amara, though, is the most unlucky, as she does not face off against Elias, but Selene, her archenemy, instead. Causing great mental stress, Selene is able to affect Amara’s physical world. Amara uses her powers, subconsciously, to send a lava flow through the catacombs, but, thanks to Cannonball and Bishop’s quick thinking, the team is saved. Above ground, Amara finally awakens to a shocking scene. A volcano now stands where the X-Corp building once did and now they have a lot of explaining to do.

A day spent in relaxation is cut short by nightfall. The X-Treme team gathers around Rogue’s television, as they are shocked to hear the reports of the wholesale slaughter that happened in New York at the hands of Magneto. Also shocking, they see the death of their friend, Jean Grey-Summers, at the hands of the butcher. Storm receives a phone call from Val Cooper, stating that their badges may be taken away from them. Ororo tells them that it is time they return to the Institute to help their friends. Before they leave, an entourage of Valle Soleada residents offers its assistance to the battered New York. Lila Cheney uses her powers to teleport them and their supplies there. After helping out, the team returns to the mansion. Ororo meets Archangel and the two of them make up, after their recent arguments over the death of Psylocke. Floating to the ground, Storm frightens her friend, Rahne Sinclair, who rushes into Harry’s Hideaway to get away from her. Shocked, Storm realizes that she may not be the same woman she once was, thanks to the time she spent in Tokyo. After a few brief get-together’s of their own, the entire team meets up in the kitchen of Xavier’s. Storm makes a speech about how they must fight through persecution to save humanity from warring against mutants but, thanks to Magneto’s recent actions, it will be much harder on them than times past. Holding up her X.S.E badge, she asks, who will join her?

 

[Seedz]

Mystique #7-13

Mystique infiltrates the palace of North Korea’s Beloved Leader, Kim Yong Il, to steal a file and escapes with the help of her field handler, Shortpack. Later, Xavier and Forge inform her that the Koreans have been trying to get their hands on a mutant version of Smallpox that could kill everybody who has ever been inoculated against the original Smallpox. Mystique is to travel to Johannesburg and deal with the Bioweapon’s creator, one Dr Harrison Taylor.
At the airport, Mystique is once again accosted by Shepard, who asks her to procure a sample of the bioweapon for his employer. In Johannesburg, a strange young woman, who calls herself the Host, kills a young man who tries to burgle her in an odd and decidedly unnatural manner.

After a brief altercation with a taxi driver at the Johannesburg airport, Mystique rendezvous with Shortpack, who gives her more info on Taylor. Mystique infiltrates the household, taking on the shape of Taylor’s lover. As she tries to face the scientist, she finds him dead at the hands of a strange woman. The women fight and the other woman, who has some kind of control over viruses, infects Mystique, momentarily weakening her, and flees with the mutant pox Mystique was to get. In the meantime, Shepard and his employer riddle about Mystique’s motives and wonder if she will help them.

Shortpack is in a panic, wondering what has happened to Mystique. She drags herself to the hotel room, shortly thereafter suffering from a rare form of encephalitis as a result of being infected by the Host. Shortpack tracks the woman, who is on her way to the airport with the deadly smallpox virus. This time taking her virus shield watch, Mystique steals a motorbike, follows and catches up with her. The two women get into a knockout, drag-down battle, which is decided in Mystique’s favor when a Toyota crashes into the Host. Mystique takes the virus and leaves. As a cop tries to help the Host, she revives and steals their car, inadvertently learning where Mystique lives. She is at the hotel before Mystique, takes Shortpack hostage and demands Mystique hand over the virus. She obliges and the Host releases the virus, with Mystique seemingly succumbing to it almost immediately. However, when the Host is trying to reabsorb the virus into herself, she realizes that Mystique was faking it and two women begin a bloody battle, which Mystique wins with the help of some gadgets. She then explains to Shortpack that she had synthesized the vial from her body and that the true virus is safe. A little later, she meets Shepard, who wants the virus as promised. Mystique is tempted but refuses to give it up when Shepard won’t give her a straight answer as to what he plans to do with it. Shepard is satisfied with this reaction, as her healthy doubt shows that she isn’t really working for Xavier. He promises that he and his boss will help her, once she’s completed a real mission for them. Back at his master’s side, Shepard announces that they will be able to use her and then gets in contact with their other resource – Shortpack. Back in New York, Mystique is in for a surprise, as Forge, impressed with the way she handled the mission, asks her out for a date.

Forge and Mystique are out on an awkward sort of date when they hear about a mutant boy who was allegedly kidnapped by his stepfather. They decide to investigate and, on their way, discuss matters of heritage, racism and other things they don’t see eye to eye on. Eventually, they find father and son, only to learn that the boy has power to control men’s minds and forced his stepfather to abduct him, as his mother doesn’t let him do anything he wants. He then takes control of Forge and forces him to attack Mystique.

Mindcontrolled by young Spencer Bronson, Forge tries his best to kill Mystique. She, on the other hand, tries all her tricks, among them turning into Xavier and Storm to snap him out of it. She finally succeeds when she first tells him she loves him and that she appreciates him for his belief she can be something better. Mystique then tries to kill the boy but Forge, instead, takes him out with a device he whipped up. Later on, Mystique denies everything she said before and states that she is proud of her decisions. Forge shows her that she cannot stand the sight of her reflection and asks her to ponder if she is happy with who she is and why can’t she stand the sight of her face

Mystique is at the carnival in Rio, where she’s supposed to find the stolen hand of a mutant who was able to turn lead to gold. Shortpack informs her that the hand was stolen by a tall woman with a headdress and sequins. Of course, during Carnival, this describes dozens of women. Pretending to be the queen of the carnival, Mystique enlists the help of some men, who find the woman in question. Mystique hits her with a tranq dart, but strangely enough the woman is still able to fight her and to flee. Mystique follows and runs into Shepard, who wants to chat with her about her final mission. Instead, Mystique gives the necklace back. Shortpack finally gives her the right idea: the woman fled into the sewers. Disguised as a worker, Mystique surprises her and finally learns that “she” is actually a pre-operative transsexual, who stole the hand so he’d get money for the operation he needs to finally escape the prison he considers his sex. Taking pity on him, Mystique uses the hand to transform a lead pipe into gold, which should give him enough money for the operation. Shepard returns, telling her he knows why she did this: she can’t harm people when she recognizes a part of herself in them. He returns the necklace and tells her mission is to kill Charles Xavier. Shepard also secretly contacted Shortpack, stringing him along with the promise of getting Prudence’s murderer. The next morning, Shortpack and Mystique have a talk and Mystique seems to be much happier with herself, even while she points out that she won’t be working for Xavier forever.

 

[Seedz]

Mystique #14-19

Xavier has another mission for an unwilling Mystique. She is to find out whether the Swedish company, Dermafree, which has developed a miracle cure for Psoriasis, is using mutants as guinea pigs. Disguised as a German mutant-hating investor, Mystique meets up with Dermafree’s CEO, Helena Carlson, and quickly learns that those suspicions are true. As she needs proof, she takes out Carlson and intends to find the proof in Carlson’s office. After taking out a guard, who strangely enough sees through her disguise, she gets to Carlson’s computer and makes a discovery there that scares her. Before she can share that news with Shortpack, she is discovered.

After Mystique beats the Dermatech guards, she and Shortpack meet at their rendezvous point and escape. However, she’s visibly shaken and demands to speak to Xavier. When the Professor appears in his astral form, she accuses him of not having told her everything. He doesn’t understand what she means and she is unwilling to talk about it. Shortpack tells the Professor that the proof they had downloaded was destroyed in their battle, but they do know that the mutant guinea pigs are held in the Austrian lab. Xavier decides that their priority is to free the mutants, then, if they can, they are to gain hard evidence. Helena Carlson, in the meantime, has recovered and orders her people to alert the Salzburg lab: Mystique is coming. On the train to Salzburg, Mystique reveals what shocked her so. She learned that Dermatech’s miracle cures are based on using stem cells. Stem cells, which are harvested from cloned embryos of Mystique. Somehow, they got hands on her genetic material. In Salzburg, looking at a bakery she remembers from her childhood, she is joined by Shepard, who claims he is worried about her and asks her not to go. She has to, she explains, as there are mutant lives in danger. Mystique tries to infiltrate Dermatech as a guard and, predictably, is caught. However, inside, Shortpack, who was hidden inside her abdomen, attacks and takes out the guards. They split up. Shortpack finds the imprisoned mutants and urges her to join him, but Mystique is insistent on finishing that cloning business first. While they are still arguing, Shortpack is caught by a guard, but is saved by one of the mutant guinea pigs, a telepath who was awakened through contact with him. They wake the other mutants and Mystique joins them, with Shortpack mad at her for not having come earlier. They flee and hide the mutants in a safehouse after they’ve told Mystique and Shortpack of Viktor, who was responsible for their getting captured. In Stockholm Helena Carlsson decides to get proactive in her fight against Mystique and on their way to Prague Mystique and Shortpack are once again faced by Carlsson’s mutant twins. Mystique dispatches of them and leaves for Prague. There a mutant named Luc meets Viktor. Viktor though has mental powers and uses them to burrow into his mind.

Four amnesiac mutants awake in a cell, prisoners of Viktor, wondering who they are and what they are doing here. Their captor makes a deal with a customer, who is looking for a slave. As Viktor intends to sell him one of the mutants, the customer turns into Mystique and stabs him in the back. Viktor fights Mystique but, with the help of the prisoners, she wins and drags him away. Shortpack, who believed Mystique to a prisoner of Viktor’s, intends to come rescue her. Instead, he finds that Mystique has killed Viktor against Xavier’s express orders. Elsewhere, Helen Carlson orders the escaped guinea pigs to be found and killed and, thanks to their carelessness, the youngsters are indeed caught by the police.

Mystique and Shortpack learn that the guinea pigs they freed have been recaptured and, in an attempt to save them, Mystique, along with Luc and Tanya as diversion, attack them. Mystique, however, has other plans, as she still wants to get her clones, and disobeys orders when she has a chance to face Carlson personally. Carlson tells her that the guinea pigs are dead and refuses to tell her from where she obtained Mystique’s genetic material. In response, Mystique horribly disfigures her, before saving Luc and Tanya. Back at the hotel, Mystique and Shortpack are left with no proof, until Sasha turns up and explains how they tricked their captors. The mutants alert the police and the media, and Interpol pays DermaFree a visit. Mystique slips into the cloning department, but decides against destroying the clones. Shortpack leaves for Genosha, asking Xavier to be reassigned. Helena Carlson contacts the real Helmut Stein, who promises to help her in the fight against mutants.

Shepard asks Mystique to help her on a mission and steal something from a local HYDRA director. They infiltrate the HYDRA building and fight their way through to Director Richter. Although, having claimed she wouldn’t risk her life for Shepard, Mystique does just that when she impersonates Shepard before Richter. Using the confusion of having two Shepards around, Mystique and Shepard manage to obtain the object and leave. Mystique isn’t aware that this was actually a deal between Shepard and Richter. At home, Shepard reveals that the object is a fountain pen used by Oscar Wilde and is meant as a gift to her. Mystique is angry at first, but then kisses Shepard and sleeps with him. Afterwards, she agrees to killing Xavier for him, if she can meet the Quiet Man. She is granted an audience with the Quiet Man and, upon seeing his face, she is surprised. In Genosha, Shortpack insists that Xavier either hand Mystique over to the authorities or assign her another field handler. He refuses to work with her any longer.

 

[Seedz]

Mystique #20-24
End of Series

Mystique agrees on killing Xavier for Shepard and the Quiet Man in exchange for a device that will allow her to not be found by Home Security. Shortpack makes a video intended for Xavier, in which he explains that he resigns and intends to kill Steinbeck. The tape never reaches Xavier and he eventually calls Mystique and Forge back from a mission asking them to look for the vanished Shortpack. Their trail leads them to a casino in Monte Carlo, where, after a short tussle with Shepard, Mystique finds Shortpack’s friend, Fantomex. Fantomex tells her and Forge that Shortpack left, intending to kill somebody named Steinbeck. Hearing that name, Mystique flees. Xavier orders Forge to cut Mystique loose and leave her to Homeland Security’s mercies. Shortpack, in the meantime, has been imprisoned and finds out that Shepard’s employer, the Quiet Man, is Steinbeck.

Aware of the fact that Forge is likely to have turned off the device that keeps the US government from finding her, Mystique contacts Shepard and demands they start up their scrambler. Surprisingly, she also asks him not to kill Shortpack, should the young mutant actually choose to attack him and the Quiet Man. Shepard promises to comply, although actually he and the Quiet Man are keeping Shortpack prisoner, are torturing him psychologically and have every intention of killing him. Mystique’s conversation with Shepard is witnessed by Fantomex, who blackmails her into stealing a certain object for him in return for his silence. Mystique is sent to the Virgin Islands with E.V.A. and steals one of Spider-Man’s original costumes by pretending to be a jealous husband who catches the unfaithful wife and her lover in the act. Returned to Fantomex, Mystique viciously stabs him and reveals that she ahs both sprinkled the Spidey suit and E.V.A with a techno-organic virus meant to kill Fantomex. She has barely kicked him into the ocean when Homeland Security catches up with her… In the meantime, Forge searches the mansion where Shortpack believed Steinbeck to reside. However, the building has been clearly abandoned for years. Also, Shortpack’s footsteps suddenly, impossibly stop.

While a deteriorating Quiet Man is playing mindgames with the imprisoned Shortpack and finally shows him his secret, Mystique is fighting for her life against several Homeland Security helicopters. She is finally rescued by Shepard, who blackmails her into killing Xavier this night – or they will kill Shortpack. Later that night, Mystique appears in Xavier’s bedroom, disguised as Prudence and holding a knife.

On Genosha, Forge is building a device to track Shortpack, when he is surprised by somebody. A little later Mystique, disguised as Prudence, faces a confused Xavier and is just about to stab him, when Forge stops her. Mystique flees, followed by the mutants Xavier has gathered around him on Genosha. Suddenly and impossibly, she seems to cross the ocean at subsonic speed. Some time later, she returns to her safehouse in Brooklyn to gather some mementos. However, she is already expected by Wolverine and Rogue. Rogue disowns her foster mother for what she has done and Wolverine has no intention of letting Mystique leave alive. Finally, Rogue absorbs Wolverine’s powers and savagely attacks Mystique. In the kitchen, Mystique causes the gas stove to explode, after shouting a warning to Rogue and jumping out of the window. Mystique makes her way to a hospital. Elsewhere, the Quiet Man and Shepard decide that Mystique has outlived her use and has to die.

While the Quiet Man aka Prudence, trapped in Steinbeck’s body, begins to threaten Shortpack, Mystique and her silent partner, Fantomex, trap Shepard in a hospital. Fantomex informs Mystique that Shepard is Prudence’s brother. When Shepard opens the teleportation portal, Mystique uses the portal to cut off his hand and enters it in his form. She tries to talk Steinbeck/Prudence into letting Shortpack go and giving her the interference transmitter. As the device is a fake, Prudence now understands this is Mystique. They fight and, when the Quiet man is fatally injured, he/she begins to emit energy. Mystique grabs Shortpack and they run. Prudence explodes and Mystique and Shortpack land in the rapids of the Niagara Falls. Shortpack awakes ashore, believing Mystique to be dead. Some days later, Forge catches Mystique trying to steal the interference transmitter. After some angry words, he smashes it and tells her he never wants to see her again. Nevertheless, they share a good-bye kiss. Only belatedly does Forge realize that Mystique already switched the transmitter for a fake.

 

[Mr. Negative]

Mystique's series was pretty good.

Marvel needs more straight up Villain series. Or even just the more morally gray "I tolerate good guys" series.

I also miss the Agent X series. good stuff.

 

[Seedz]

Mystique's series was pretty good.

Marvel needs more straight up Villain series. Or even just the more morally gray "I tolerate good guys" series.

I also miss the Agent X series. good stuff.

Yeah it was cool, they tried a lot of new things with her powers. Also gave her more of a voice.