Essential X-Men Vol 2 24

Cameron Hodge is about to kill Karma for attempting to take control of him, when Cannonball slams into him. He tells the rest of his teammates that they have to finish this off and get Karma out.

Meanwhile, back at Utopia, Emma Frost determines that Rogue has neither a psychic nor empathic link between her and Hope Summers, which Rogue considers to be very strange. Cyclops judges it to be perfect timing, as she has to join up with Wolverine's team. As Ariel takes her, Cyclops confides in Emma that there must be a bond between Rogue and Hope.

Back at Hodge's facility, the cyborg notes how persistent his foe is. He then throws Karma's body in his way, causing him to stop in mid-air. Hodge, gloating, throws Cannonball down a hole. With the current state of the battle, Cypher urges Warlock to help out -- by sucking the lifeglow out of The Right. Warlock objects, as such a thing violates his non-violent ways. Cypher reasons that they are at war and if he doesn't, then they lose.

Rogue has rendezvoused with Wolverine's team. Wolverine orders her and Nightcrawler to teleport, while the others go by car.

Back in Utopia, Emma feels a powerful psionic feedback, causing her pain. The Stepford Cuckoos arrive to report that Cerebra has shut down. The cause is in fact Donald Pierce, used by Bastion to render the X-Men blind.

Warlock infects all the Smileys with his strain of the transmode virus, disabling his foes. He apologizes to the Smileys, saying that he will mourn them. But in case of Hodge, he won't mourn him!

Meanwhile, Bastion sends a fighter jet to attack the truck Wolverine, X-23 and Ariel are in. Archangel is unable to stop the missile before it impacts, killing Ariel, while the others survived. Back at Utopia, Pixie asks Cyclops to let her go, but he refuses, fearing that she may die.

Back at the Right facility, Warlock rips off Hodge's head. The latter recognizes him as an alien and tries pleading that this is not his fight. Warlock insists it is and drains the life from Hodge, leaving him a lifeless skull.

Cable and Hope are in hiding at a trailer park in Nebraska, where the Sapien League has tracked the two. However, the X-Men arrive to stop them. Because Bastion can track the T-O virus in Cable, he agrees to let Nightcrawler and Rogue (augmented with various mutant powers) escort her back to Utopia, against Hope's objections. The others then decide to play decoy to draw off their foes.

Appearing in "Second Coming (Chapter Five)"

Reprint of the 1st story from
X-Force (Vol. 3) #26

Featured Characters:

X-Force
- Domino (Neena Thurman) (Appears on screen)
- Vanisher (Telford Porter) (Appears on screen)
- Archangel (Warren Worthington III)
- Wolverine (James Howlett)

Supporting Characters:

Hope Summers
X-Men
- Cyclops (Scott Summers)
- Sub-Mariner (Namor McKenzie) (Appears on screen)
- White Queen (Emma Frost)
- Magneto (Erik Lensherr) (Appears on screen)
- Iceman (Robert Drake) (Appears on screen)
- Pixie (Megan Gwynn) (Appears on screen)
- Colossus (Piotr Rasputin)
- Psylocke (Elizabeth Braddock)
- X-23 (Laura Kinney)
- Rogue ("Anna Marie")
- Nightcrawler (Kurt Wagner) (Death)
- Prodigy (David Alleyne)
- Surge (Noriko Ashida)
- New Mutants
- Dr. Nemesis (James Bradley)
Cable (Nathan Summers)

Antagonists:

Other Characters:

Multiple Man (James Madrox) (Appears on screen)
Butterfly (Layla Miller) (Appears on screen)

Locations:

Utopia (X-Men Base)
Omaha (Appears on screen)
New York City (Appears on screen)
San Francisco (Appears on screen)
Indianapolis
Kansas City (Appears on screen)
Washington, D.C.
Las Vegas

Items:

Cyclops' Visor

Vehicles:

X-Men Blackbird

Synopsis for "Second Coming (Chapter Five)"

Reprint of the 1st story from
X-Force (Vol. 3) #26

Bastion is keeping an eye on every mutant on Earth. As Stephen Lang is updating him on Cable's movements, he doesn't get a response from the android, but it says that transportation is required.

Meanwhile, Karma is still reeling in pain from her encounter with Cameron Hodge. Meanwhile, Cannonball is informing Cyclops about Bastion's mysterious towers before their transmissions are cut.

Meanwhile, Wolverine's team is dealing with a squad of MRD, in an attempt to throw Bastion off Hope's scent. At the moment, Nightcrawler, Hope and Rogue have arrived in Las Vegas, when they are ambushed by Bastion, now bearing the appearance of an angel. He shoots Nightcrawler in the side to prevent him from extracting Hope, before Rogue hits him with every mutant power at her disposal. Once Rogue is knocked back, Bastion advances on Hope, declaring that she will die before she destroys the world. As he reaches for her, Nightcrawler teleports in between, as the arm punches through him. With all his strength and religious faith, he is able to teleport Hope to Utopia. With his last breath, he tells Hope that he believes in her before expiring. As soon as Wolverine's team returns, the X-Men are in mourning.

Back in Vegas, Bastion has repaired himself and as his minions find him, he states that Hope's escape is inconsequential, before ordering them to proceed with their secondary plan.

Appearing in "Second Coming (Chapter Six)"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Uncanny X-Men #524

Featured Characters:

X-Men

Supporting Characters:

Antagonists:

Human Council
- Donald Pierce
- Bastion (Sebastion Gilberti)

Other Characters:

Races and Species:

Locations:

Earth
- United States of America
  - California
    - San Francisco Bay
      - Utopia
        X-Brig
  - Washington, D.C.

Items:

Vehicles:

Synopsis for "Second Coming (Chapter Six)"

Reprint of the 1st story from
Uncanny X-Men #524

In Utopia's sick bay, while Madison Jeffries is attending to Karma's amputated leg, Magneto wakes up from his coma, having the strangest feeling that something has happened. Cutting to outside, the X-Men are in shock over the death of Nightcrawler. Breaking the silence, Dazzler demands that Hope brings him back. Cyclops intervenes, stating that it's not her fault for this. A confused Hope then runs off, thinking of herself as nobody.

Cable counsels her, telling her that she can't control what anyone else thinks of her, but she can control how she'll respond. He then introduces Hope to Cyclops. The latter then tries counseling her of how everyone has misconceptions about her. Hope sputters that its not fair that everyone thinks she's something else. Cyclops reminds her that her priority is to stay alive. He sends her and Cable off to sick bay, while he gives a proper funeral for Nightcrawler.

Meanwhile, in the X-Brig, Danger is altered to the possibility that something inside Utopia has disrupted Cerebra. Danger then does an accounting of all their prisoners. However, she fails to account for the presence of Donald Pierce, who has escaped and receives orders from Bastion to take out the Blackbirds, thus isolating the mutants on Utopia.

The X-Men then gather to discuss what to do. Cyclops orders Cannonball to go to Limo and find Magik. Cypher brings up the issue of Bastion's towers and advises that they simply blow them up. Cyclops shoots down that idea, at least until they figure out what they are. Therefore, he dispatches X-Club to investigate. Lastly, he reminds everyone that they should blame him, not Hope, for Nightcrawler's death.

In the sick bay, Hope sparks up conversation with Magneto. She asks him if he expects her to make everything right in the world like everyone else. In turn, Magneto asks her if all this stuff has happened immediately, to which she replied no.

As Nightcrawler's funeral begins, Beast walks up to Cyclops and reminds him that this is his fault. As the body is placed on the pyre, everyone then speaks about how good a friend he was. Wolverine, however, grows angry that Nightcralwer had to die for Hope. He points his claws at Hope, growling that she better be worth all this, as he and X-Force walk away.

Links and References

References

Essential X-Men Vol 2 24

Appearing in "Second Coming (Chapter Four)"

Synopsis for "Second Coming (Chapter Four)"