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As a result of M-Day, in which the Scarlet Witch's magicks depowered most of the mutant population, only 27 of the 182 students enrolled at the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning still retained their powers. The student reactions to this event varied from horror to glee. ^[1]

In response to the increasingly desperate situation that mutants now faced, Emma Frost disbanded all the former training squads. Next to select an elite team of New X-Men trainees, she organized a battle royale in the Danger Room between the remaining students. However, Gentle, Blindfold, Ernst and Wallflower were excluded from the battle, but X-23 (who had just taken up residency at the X-Mansion) was included. The Three-In-One opted out, and Wither and Icarus were missing at the time of the rumble.^[2]

When the dust settle after the battle, Emma Frost decide the New X-Men team would consist of Dust, Elixir, Hellion, Mercury, Prodigy, Rockslide, X-23 and be led by Surge.^[3]

During this time, Rev. William Stryker approached a conflicted Icarus. Claiming the M-Day was a miracle from God, Stryker was able to convince Jay to have his wings amputated. Stryker was trying to find trances off Apocalypse's Technorganic strain, and knowing it was in a winged mutant he targeted Icarus (however, the the mutant Stryker was actually looking for was Angel). After the surgery Icarus was left bleeding on the steps of the X-Mansion.^[4]

Days passed by until it was decided that all the human students and staff would be expelled. Before this official expulsion, 111 students voluntarily left the school (including Wind Dancer, Wither and Aero). For their safety, the former mutant students was secreted out of the X-Mansion under the cover of darkness and through the abandoned Morlock Tunnels to an awaiting bus on the grounds of the Institute. Unfortunately, Stryker discovered the X-Men's plan and launched a missile to blow up the bus, killing 42 students on board (including Tag, DJ, Rubbermaid, Dryad, Spector and Network).^[5]

Crusades

Soon after the attack, the X-Men held a memorial service and funerals (specially for fifteen students whose families refused to accept them even in death). Prodigy, who also lost his powers, wasn't killed in the attack and fearing another attack, he was allowed to stay at the Mansion.^[6] After a poorly executed training session with Colossus, Wallflower confronted Elixir about his anger issues and was shot in the back off the head by Matthew Risman, the Purifier sniper. Meanwhile, Jay bide Sooraya farewell and left to confront Stryker, only to be confronted by Stryker's true plan and Nimrod.^[7] Dust attempted to follow Icarus, but X-23, who suspected a trapped. X-23 dressed is Dust's in abaya and, after being shot and healing, ambushed the Purifiers. Believing that Dust, his final obstacle, to be dead, Stryker launched his assault on the Xaviers Institute.^[8] The Purifiers were able to subdue The 198, cripple the Sentinel Squad O*N*E, enter the X-Mansion, injure Emma Frost, Beast, Bishop, Cannonball, most of the New X-Men and murder Quill. The battle ended with Dust recovering in time to attack, X-23 returning from Stryker's church and Elixir killing Stryker using a more volatile and dangerous side to his powers. Elixir was left with metallic black skin and in a catatonic state due to the strain of his powers.^[9]

Nimrod

Soon after the attack, the X-Men received a visit from Ms. Marvel who informed them that Icarus was found dead with the letters "NIMRC" written in his own blood next to him.^[10] David deduced that it was Nimrod and was proven right when they received a distress call from Forge. Because Forge was unsatisfied with the protection offered by the Sentinel Squad O*N*E, Forge had worked on a new "Sentinel X" to protect mutantkind.^[11] Nimrod, being badly damaged, blacked-mailed Forge for repairs with threats of killing Storm. With the X-Men away on a mission, the New X-Men were the only ones available to hear and respond to Forge's distress signal.^[12] Narrowly sneaking passed the Sentinel Squad, they "borrowed" a Blackbird and headed off to Eagle Plaza in Dallas, Texas. After being shot down by Nimrod, the New X-Men engaged him in battle.^[13] They were unable to defeat Nimrod until David and Forge figured out away to stop him by overflowing his power core. Surge, Mercury and X-23 (briefly designated "Talon") accomplished this and managed to send Nimrod back in time. However, in the ensuing fight The lower level of Eagle Plaza was blown up, Rockslide's body was destroyed and X-23 was almost killed. Hellion was able to reform Rockslide's body, but because his original body was destroyed his new body was reformed out of larger more rugged appearance. Because X-23 was severely injured, Hellion used his telekinesis to fly them back to Elixir in the X-Mansion. To get her there in time to save her, Hellion telepathically asked Emma Frost to push his powers to their fullest. This caused him to increase his flight speed to above Mach-5 and even allowed him to destroy a Sentinel by flying through it. Hellion then forced Elixir to snap out of his catatonia to heal X-23 and then collapsed to the floor.^[14]

In the following days, Hellion slept copiously recovering from his exertion. Mercury received a call from Wither, who had been living in Mutant Town, and she disclosed the truth about Laurie's death. Wither then fell into a depressive state which was exploited by Selene, who had been posing as an old woman and living with Wither. Selene seduced him and convinced him to use his power for it's true purpose: killing.^[15] Back at the X-Mansion, David decided to stay at the mansion after Cyclops praised him and Surge on the defeat of Nimrod. Later a memorial was held to honor all the X-Men and students who perished specifically those killed in the bombed bus, Wallflower, Icarus and Quill.^[16]

Mercury Falling

Hellion was unable to control his powers after they were "unlocked" and even the smallest use caused major force. Elixir told Beast about his desire to study up on the human body to gain greater control over his abilities. Mercury discovered that Emma had been harassing X-23, which caused her to become angry and took Laura off the grounds to talk with her. X-23 revealed that she knew about Mercury's obsolete need for food, and Mercury figured out Laura's interest in Hellion. They were stopped when an assassin named Kimura blew up the coffee house and attacked them. Mercury was taken hostage and experimented on and tortured by scientists who were trying to find a way to use the living mercury of which she is made as skin for Predator X. Mammomax was killed by the creature. X-23 returned to the mansion where Hellion decided to help her track Mercury down. They attacked several places trying to get information. Hellion disapproved of X's lethal tactics and ordered her not to kill again. Finally they went to the Owl who, after some persuasion, gave them the location. Surge and Prodigy attempted to recruit Bling onto the team, but she turned them down saying it was too dangerous and that she and Onyxx were leaving the mansion because it was unsafe. Surge and the rest of the New X-Men, along with Emma Frost, used Cerebra to locate them, but as soon as they came within range of the facility, Emma lost contact. The experiments on Mercury were successful and a skin was made for Predator X just as X-23 and Hellion arrived.

X-23 and Hellion were attacked by three beasts sporting Mercury's skin, and could not seem to beat them back. When all hope seemed lost, Emma, the New X-Men, and some members of the Astonishing X-Men appeared and helped to rescue the team. Mercury regained most of her lost essence, but revealed that she could "feel" one more creature still alive.

Meanwhile, Kimura attacked X-23, but Emma caught her in the act and mentally tortured her, removing her memories of her loving grandmother, before commanding her to take out the remaining members of the institute that tortured X-23. Kimura reluctantly agreed.

Quest for Magik

Shortly before the other students were teleported to Limbo, the Stepford Cuckoos helped Elixir learn advanced human anatomy, physiology and biology by telepathically copying information from Beast's mind into his own. This allowed him to use his power with exponentially greater precision, allowing him to regrow Prodigy's heart from nothing after it was torn out by Belasco. This proved a severe strain to Elixir however and he fell unconscious for a few moments. Later he regained consciousness and was able to use his "black abilities" to attack Belasco, however the demonic master of Limbo proved more resilient than humans and quickly recovered from the attack before being killed by Magik.

When Mercury asked Elixir about his age, he is sitting alone in the dark and told her instead about his cells and how he felt them aging and dying freaking her out. When Surge interviewed him about what happened to David in Limbo, he told her nothing happened. Still later when Kitty Pryde tried to have a student/teacher conference, he was still sitting alone in the dark. When she asked him what he is doing, he told her he was thinking about life and death and how he could give it and take it. “With everything my powers can do...Really Miss Pryde...What can’t I do?” This scared Kitty greatly who suggested to the other teachers that, without proper guidance, they may be raising the next Magneto in Josh.

While Blindfold was telling the story of Limbo, Belasco and Illyana Rasputin, the floor opened and they were transported into Limbo. Hellion and Surge were not taken because they were not inside with the others. Upon arrival Mercury, Dust, David, X-23, Elixir and other students were captured by Belasco and questioned on the whereabouts of Illyana Rasputin. Meanwhile another group of students including Rockslide, Loa, Anole, Match, Pixie, Blindfold, Gentle, Wolf Club and Trance were trying to figure out what had happened but they were attacked by a group of Belasco's monsters. One of them sliced off Anole's arm and Rockslide seemingly exploded when he tries to defend Blindfold. Meanwhile, Belasco questioned David who continuously said he didn't know where she was and when he said that she was dead, Belasco ripped his heart out and he fell to the floor, while Illyana revealed herself to the other group of students.

After Belasco killed David, X-23 broke free and attacked Belasco. Elixir also broke free and ran towards David's lifeless body and tried to heal him. Suddenly, David's heart began to grow back and he came back to life but, exhausted, Elixir collapsed. X-23 continued to attack Belasco but he defeated her and then apparently killed her. This encouraged Mercury and Dust to break free and attack Belasco. Meanwhile, Illyana explained to the students that she could defeat Belasco but she would need a Soulsword because she had lost hers. Back on Earth, Surge and Hellion were with the O*N*E who were trying to figure what was going on. An agent told them that Amanda Sefton had been admitted to a hospital in Germany and she was in a coma. Valerie Cooper explained that as far as the X-Men knew, she was the current ruler of Limbo. Hellion and Surge demanded that they be the ones to go get her and find information. Back in limbo, Illyana told her pet to get Pixie for her. The other students tried to defend her but failed, she then got to Pixie and asked her for her soul. Pixie told her no but then Illyana told her that Belasco was killing her friends and that she could feel them dying. Pixie accepted her deal then and Illyana began to take her soul.

Hellion and Surge revived Sefton and demanded she take them to Limbo. Back in Limbo, Pixie was still getting her soul sucked out until Anole suddenly stopped Illyana by regrowing a new gargantuan hand. A lava fueled Rockslide suddenly broke through the ground and, proving invulnerable to her magic, commenced a gigantic beatdown on the evil Magik. He was pulled out of his rage by Anole and remarked on how gross his new hand was. It also seemed that Rockslide was able to temporarily beat the evil out of Magik who decided to help them beat Belasco. At the throne of Belasco, Mercury and Dust kept up their attack until a recovered Elixir used his death touch on the demon. Belasco stayed down for only a moment before reviving. Meanwhile, Surge, Hellion, and Amanda Sefton prepared to break into Limbo. Hellion asked Surge if she was okay and still thinking David was dead she responded with, "ask me again once I've turned Belasco into a smoking black pile of ash." Illyana told the "New X-Men B-squad" that Pixie, who now had a "soul dagger" because only part of her soul was taken, was the key to reaching Belasco and that she would teach her a teleportation spell to reach him. Belasco decided to demonstrate his power by bringing X-23 back to life then immediately killing her again. He said the same fate awaited the rest unless they would tell him where Illyana was. Surge and her group, escorted by former mutant Lexington of the Sentinel Squad, finally broke into Limbo and were greeted by thousands of little demons. The team battled Belasco and learned that he wanted Illyana not for power, or revenge, but love. He had attempted to resurrect her from the House of M version he had sensed, but she had come back soulless and was banished. Upon Belasco's defeat, the real Illyana attempted to steal the rest of Pixie's soul, but memories of her past self came back when Colossus spoke to her. She sent all of the amassed X-Men and students home, and took the throne of Limbo as her own, with an agenda to get her soul back. Upon returning to the Institute, Anole and Pixie were made members of the New X-Men squad on recommendation of Rockslide.

World War Hulk

Surge, Hellion, Rockslide, Mercury, Dust, Elixir and X-23 were training with Beast when Hulk arrived at the X-Mansion. They fought him and are all defeated. In #2 The Stepford Cuckoos, Prodigy, Pixie and other students were seen looking down on the X-Mansion watching the fight. When the Astonishing team was defeated, the Stepford Cuckoos sent a telepathic call for help to the Uncanny team, X-Factor and Excalibur. Even after help arrived, though, the Hulk remained unbeaten. It ultimately took Mercury, who battled the Hulk into the graves of the mutants that died on M-Day and told him what happened to them. The Hulk saw the graves and remembered the people on Sakaar who died when his ship exploded and declared that Xavier has suffered enough and left in peace.

Children of X-Men

With the Xavier Institute returned back to Earth and the students freed from Limbo, the senior X-Men attempted to consult with their young charges over the events of the past several arcs, but were rebuffed by the cynical students, who felt that the X-Men could not protect them anymore. With Rockslide's permission, Beast, Colossus and Anole ran some tests on the stony mutant and determined that he is actually a psionic entity that draws from the earth in order to create and reform his golem-like body. At the end of this experiment, Rockslide returned to a form similar to that he generated after the battle with Nimrod. Meanwhile, the rest of the team continued to battle their own personal issues. Elixir became hauntingly introspective, overwhelmed by the potential of his Omega-level powers, while Hellion still faced major issues controlling his telekenesis. Through the efforts of Mercury, Indra was determined to be the youngest student at the Institute, leading him to fear that he would be a priority target for the Purifiers. Immediately after, Surge passionately kissed Hellion, much to Prodigy's horror and X-23's envy.

Messiah Complex

After the first mutant birth since M-Day, some of the New X-Men decided to launch a preemptive strike against the Purifiers. Elixir sat out the fight for fear that he may loose control and massacre the Purifiers in retaliation for Laurie's murder. He did however offer his help as a healer if the students needed him. When the Sentinels attacked the mansion, Elixir and some of the students left behind were knocked unconscious.

M-Day "survivors"

It has been stated that the mutant student body in the academy dropped from 182 to 27 (though that number has changed with the return of X-23, the departure of Wither, and the deaths of Icarus, Quill, and Wallflower. The following are the students that have been confirmed to have retained their powers:

Alpha Squadron (3)

Paladins Squad (2)

Paragons Squad (4)

Ben Hammil (Match)
Nick Gleason (Wolf Cub) (Post M-Day Death)
Megan Gwynn (Pixie)
Hope Abbott (Trance)

Storm's Squad (1)

Nezhno Abidemi (Gentle)

Other Students (3)

Paraphernalia

Equipment: Surge's Power Gauntlets mark
Transportation: X-Men Blackbird
Weapons: Each teammates' arsenal

Notes

Although Quentin Quire (Kid Omega) was no longer a student at the Xavier Institute (as he has evolved to a higher state of being), he retained his powers and was being held in a containment unit at the school.
Most of the students who retained their powers were confirmed in New X-Men #21 and in X-Men: The 198 Files.
- Indra and Quill were confirmed in House of M The Day After.
- Bling! was confirmed in X-Men Vol 2 #177
- Wallflower was killed by Reverend Stryker in New X-Men Vol 2 #26.
- Quill was killed by one of Stryker's henchmen in New X-Men Vol 2 #27.
- Icarus was shot by Stryker and died in New X-Men Vol 2 #27.
- Tito Bohusk, one of the children of former Xavier students Beak and Angel has also been stated to have retained his mutant powers.
- The Morlock and former Generation X member Leech also resided on the mansion property for a short time, and though a child, is not considered a student, but a member of the refugee 198 (who have since departed from the grounds).

Trivia

No trivia.

Links and References

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Footnotes

Start a Discussion Discussions about New X-Men (Earth-616)

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[0] New X-Men Vol 2 #20

[1] New X-Men Vol 2 #23

[2] New X-Men Vol 2 #23

[3] New X-Men Vol 2 #20 through New X-Men Vol 2 #23 & X-Force Vol 3 #4 through X-Force Vol 3 #6

[4] New X-Men Vol 2 #23 & New X-Men Vol 2 #24

[5] New X-Men Vol 2 #26

[6] New X-Men Vol 2 #25

[7] New X-Men Vol 2 #26

[8] New X-Men Vol 2 #27

[9] New X-Men Vol 2 #28

[10] New X-Men Vol 2 #26

[11] New X-Men Vol 2 #29

[12] New X-Men Vol 2 #30

[13] New X-Men Vol 2 #31

[14] New X-Men Vol 2 #32 & X-Necrosha: The Gathering #1

[15] New X-Men Vol 2 #32

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Wikia

New X-Men (Earth-616)

Contents

History

Childhood's End