Marvel · ENGLISH

The Uncanny X-Men

498 · Vol. The Uncanny X-Men

Brief Description: Shortly after the M-Day, in which the overwhelming majority of the Earth’s mutant population was de-powered, three middle-ages hippies in San Francisco, nostalgic of the idealistic 1960s, come across an amnesiac Martinique Jason aka Mastermind, who has retained her powers post-M-Day. Martinique sees straight into the hippies’ hearts and re-imagines herself as a ‘flower child’ while generating a citywide illusion that transforms San Francisco into a late 1960s version of itself. In the present, Martinique finally recovers from her amnesia and sends Angel, Hepzibah, Iceman and Warpath, all four now fully under her control, to go find Cyclops and Emma Frost – the couple meandering through the streets of San Fran – and fight them. Meanwhile, in Russia, a government official has captured Colossus, Wolverine and Nightcrawler and tortures them, curious to know why the X-Men retained their powers post-M-Day whereas Russia lost all her mutant agents back then. After the three X-Men escape, however, the official decides to utilize his ultimate weapon, a captive that goes by the name… Omega Red. However, Omega Red slays the official after the latter frees him and prepares to fight his longtime hatred enemies, the X-Men. Full Synopsis: San Francisco How long ago it was that Ron, Eli and Delilah met the Goddess? They can’t even remember now. Just that it was right after they saw the news about all the mutants disappearing… (flashback) Three middle-aged hippies, Ron, Eli and Delilah meander aimlessly through the streets of San Francisco. Eli remarks that the recent decimation of mutants is a total bummer; it’s like the world just can’t allow anything different… “Or beautiful” Delilah adds. She wonders if her companions can remember what it was like when they thought the world was going to be beautiful. Smiling, Ron admits that he can’t remember ever being so naïve – but then, he has some memory issues! “Yeah, ‘cause of all that self-medicating,” Eli teases him. Ron pretends to be angry and wonders if Eli’s going to get judgmental of him. Eli explains he was kidding. “Oh, because I was gonna say, you’re in no position to be pointing fingers at…” Ron mumbles, continuing his ‘act’, when suddenly Delilah’s voice cuts him short: “Guys!” Delilah urges the two men to come and help her as she leans above a young woman who has seemingly passed out on the sidewalk. Delilah tries to help the young brunette get back on her feet, thinking the woman’s hurt. As the brunette slowly regains her consciousness, Eli asks her if she’s okay. “I don’t… I can’t… What happened…? I can’t feel them… I can’t hear them… Where did they all go…?” the woman rambles in a weak voice. Delilah asks her who she’s looking for. The woman admits she doesn’t know. Delilah wonders whether the woman hit her head. The young brunette, visibly disoriented, again repeats that she doesn’t know… she doesn’t know anything… Delilah deduces that the woman is hurt and they need to get her to a hospital. “ No! No hospitals! No normals! ” the woman cries, obviously repulsed by the idea. “Hey, I hear you… the suits running these places are like Nazis…” Eli agrees with her reaction. However, he wonders what they are supposed to… Right at that moment, the young woman – the Goddess – looks into the three hippies and speaks to their inner selves; she sees their potential and what she could do for them. In an instant, she spreads her touch of ‘magic’ – and the three, middle-aged hippies seemingly turn young and beautiful again, while their benefactress generates a green dress for herself, her head now wreathed with flowers: she has become a ‘flower child’ herself, just like the three of them. An enchanted Eli mutters that the woman could come with them – if that’s what she wants. The Goddess believes that would be best; she urges Eli to show her the way. Behind them, a perplexed Ron scratches his head, wondering whether he’s tripping or something. Delilah admits that she doesn’t know… now she’s the one confused. However, she admits this feels real. Ron realizes it’s the woman… she did something… she changed the world. Delilah retorts that she just changed them … but she thinks she gets it. She explains to Ron that the woman is like the key to the other planes of reality… As days pass, the changes the Goddess made in the three hippies don’t fade away. Instead, days become months and Ron, Eli and Delilah begin to notice other changes around them. They now know that the Goddess is “blessing” the whole city, more and more of the citizens becoming ‘flower children’. Ron, Eli and Delilah know that everything will finally become like it was, like it always should have been. They will live in the past like a dream… They will live forever and nothing will change and disappoint them again… like it all had. (present) “What did you say, Goddess?” Eli asks her. The woman utters a single word: Martinique. “Excuse me?” a puzzled Eli exclaims. The woman explains that’s her name, Martinique… she just remembered that. How funny, she thinks; she was thinking about those X-Men and she… she thinks she knows something about them , too. “Like what?” Eli wonders. “Like I know it wasn’t me they were looking for” Martinique explains. Smirking, she thinks it’s time they met some of their new arrivals… Meanwhile, in the Red Room, in Russia… Wolverine, all four of his limbs chained, his hands in manacles, clenches his teeth, trying – in vain – to keep himself from screaming with pain, as electricity surges through his restraints and throughout his entire body. The torture ceases for a few seconds… and then it resumes. The captor of Colossus, Wolverine and Nightcrawler, a middle-aged Russian government official, assures Colossus – the latter also in shackles – that he’s not going to run out of electricity. The official also observes that Colossus’ friend – Wolverine – is not going to die anytime soon, either. “I’m not telling you a thing,” Piotr defies him. “You’d like me to keep showing Wolverine my brand of pain, then?” the official snidely remarks. Piotr encourages him to go right ahead; he’s sure Wolverine can handle it. Hearing Piotr say this, Logan, barely managing to flash a smile, remarks that this isn’t cool… And then he winces in pain as he is electrocuted again. The official exclaims it’s such a waste; all of them, X-Men, are a waste of potential. He is disgusted to see they’re not patriots to the countries they were born in or to the one where they reside. In frustration, he wonders: is there nothing they believe in? Piotr defiantly replies – in English – that tyrants like him should be crushed; does that answer the man’s question? The official is disgusted that Colossus won’t even answer in his mother tongue. However, he recalls that they had true patriots in their mutant program here at the Red Room. His own protégé, even, was of their kind… he was like a son to him. And then one day, over a dozen highly-trained men and women were simply useless; enhanced strength, X-ray vision, mental telepathy and many other valuable mutations had just disappeared. They thought they’d been targeted, of course, until they began getting widespread reports it was happening elsewhere… all over the world. However, the official notices that the X-Men seem to have survived this purge. That seems strange to him. It makes him wonder: did the X-Men somehow engineer this M-Day? Piotr retorts that’s insanity. He insists they help mutants. The official admits that so it is said… Yet, his mutants are dead, while Piotr and his friends seem as powerful as ever. “Dead? All of them?” a puzzled Colossus exclaims upon hearing this. He admits that he’s only heard of a small number who died from losing their mutations. The official repeats that these were patriots… So, when they saw they had no more purpose… “Well, I think you still have enough of Mother Russia in you to understand how they must have felt” the man adds, alluding at their doomed fate. Piot