A+X # 9

(1st story)
Wolverine and Captain America step through the smoky ruins of a village. Wolverine questions why anyone would want to visit such a place and Captain America tells him that Doctor Strange was trying to rescue his shaman friend before the militia overtook the town. The pair notices that, while the villagers are all dead from gunshot wounds, the dead militia seem to have been killed by something else…

Suddenly, a giant snake dives to attack the two heroes from behind. They fight back but Wolverine complains about Captain America’s shield getting in the way of his close-range attacks. They finally take the beast down with Captain America cracking into the back of its neck with his shield, while Wolverine stabs its jaw.

Before they’re able to process the mystery of where Strange is and why there’s a giant snake loose, a horde of giant ants come racing towards them. As they fight through the giant ants, they hear Doctor Strange in their heads telling them to come to the caves to free him.

The two heroes spot a waterfall and assume the cave is behind it. As they make their way over, Captain America expresses regret about killing so many innocent ants and tells Wolverine that every life, no matter how small, deserves respect. Wolverine tells him that when he sees giant ants, he kills them. Before they’re able to continue the debate, they come across a chimp, normal-sized and holding a staff.

“Begone!” the chimp says as he slams the staff into the ground, sending Wolverine and Captain America back in an eruption of rock and water. Doctor Strange makes contact again, telling them to retrieve the staff and not to harm the chimp. The chimp swings wildly with the magic staff until Captain America separates it from him with his shield. Wolverine picks it up and tosses it while Captain America restrains the chimp. The chimp continues to shout “Begone!” as tears well up in his eyes.

Realizing that without the shaman’s staff, the chimp is a just a chimp, Captain America lets him go. Doctor Strange arrives and explains that after the shaman, who was a close friend to the forest, was killed, the chimp found his staff and used its power to fight off the militia. Wolverine wonders if they should have let the chimp keep the power, seeing as how bad things are around there. Doctor Strange remarks sadly how this incident reminds him that the world is simply too big for even the Avengers and X-Men to stop every evil.

(2nd story)
Pixie teleports herself, Quentin Quire, and Eye-Boy to 177A Bleecker Street, the address of Doctor Strange’s Sanctum Sanctorum. After a night of losing bets to Pixie at poker, basketball and Danger Room scenarios, Quentin Quire is donning a pilgrim-like bonnet. He smugly decides to go ‘double or nothing’ to prevent himself from having to wear the headpiece to all his classes the next day but, if he loses, he’ll have to wear a diaper all week as well. Eye-Boy, retching from teleporting, asks why he was brought along. Quentin says he’s the impartial observer to keep them from cheating.

Pixie teleports them inside Strange’s home and agrees to bet further, promising to wear a bikini and hold Quentin’s hand in front of the school but he’ll now have to wear the diaper for a month if he loses. Quentin links them telepathically and they agree to meet back in the main hallway in ten minutes to see who snagged the best artifact. Pixie tells Eye-Boy, again retching from her teleporting, to keep close eyes on Quentin.

Eye-Boy follows Quentin into Doctor Strange’s library and Quentin begins to pull multiple books down from the shelves telekinetically. He asks Eye-Boy to help him find a hidden passageway since Eye-Boy’s mutant powers enable him to see magic. Eye-Boy refuses since that would be cheating but, after Quentin threatens to force him telepathically and erase his mind after, Eye-Boy quickly tells him to pull a big golden book up top that, to his eyes, is glowing. Once Quentin pulls it, a chute opens beneath him and he falls through it screaming. Eye-Boy calls down to him but receives no answer and can longer hear Quentin in his head.

While wandering through the house shouting for Pixie, Eye-Boy stumbles upon a double door with bright pink tendrils seeping out of it. He sticks his hand in and eyes Doctor Strange, surrounded by photos and alcohol. D’Spayre the demon is behind him chanting a spell and strange pink tentacles squirm and twist before them.

Meanwhile, Pixie uses her souldagger to open a small chest in another room. In it, she finds a bright red orb and thinks it’ll be enough to win the bet. Suddenly, she hears Eye-Boy screaming for help and flies back to the main hallway. Quentin joins them, claiming to have found the most awesome thing in the basement. Pixie and Quentin immediately begin to brag over who has the better find but Eye-Boy shuts them up by screaming, “Doc Strange is up in his room with this really freekin’ scary demon man sucking his soul!”

“Lay off the Doctor or face the wrath of the X-Men!” Pixie cries as she flies into the room, soul dagger in hand. Quentin is close behind her, already arming his psychic rifle. D’Spayre calls them fools and begins to use his fear powers, causing Eye-Boy to think he’s blinded. Quentin blocks D’Spayre’s powers and shoots him with a psychic bullet. D’Spayre falls back and Pixie stabs him with her souldagger. D’Spayre yells in pain but manages to knock her away and regain himself. As he threatens the students, the pink tentacles form up behind him, and engulf him. Doctor Strange rises and the demon vanishes in a burst of pink energy.

Doctor Strange thanks them for distracting D’Spayre long enough for him to finish completing the spell, which would have taken him days otherwise. He blames himself for looking at old photos and wallowing in self pity. “Sure. No problem,” Pixie says, backing away. Eye-Boy stares at Doctor Strange in disbelief. “Well I guess we’d best be going. School day tomorrow…” Quentin says nervously.

“Clearly you have much to learn,” Doctor Strange says as the Eye of Agamatto glows brightly and Pixie and Quentin vanish. Doctor Strange assures Eye-Boy that he didn’t kill them but merely wishes to speak to Trevor alone so he can reward him for his heroism and good intentions.

Back outside, Pixie and Quentin are slumped on the curb as Eye-Boy tells them that Doctor Strange also warned him about the company he keeps. He then shows them the reward he got, a small telescope that enhances natural sight. Combined with his mutant gifts, Eye-Boy can use the device to see even more energy and magic spectrums and, if he tries hard enough, he can even see through things.

Pixie and Quentin are bitter because Strange zapped them outside without the artifacts they stole. Eye-Boy claims to have won despite not being part of the bet, saying he doesn’t need a bet as he focuses one eye through the telescope at Pixie. Realizing what Eye-Boy’s doing, Quentin begins to laugh hysterically as Pixie chases Eye-Boy down the street.