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Gerry Duggan (writer), Phil Noto (artist), VC’s Cory Petit (letterer), Tom Muller (Design), Russell Dautermann & Matthew Wilson (cover artists), Betsy Cola (alternate cover), Nick Russell (production), Jonathan Hickman (Head of X), Annalisa Bissa (assistant editor), Jordan D. White (editor), C.B. Cebulski (editor-in-chief), Joe Quesada (chief creative officer), Dan Buckley (publisher), Alan Fine (executive producer)X-Men created by Stan Lee & Jack Kirby
Eden Rixlo has left the Marauders to die in space but Iceman catches the team in an iceglobe, and Kate uses electrolysis to create oxygen. Shaw and Bishop work together building up kinetic energy, which allows Bishop to use his energy blasts like a thruster, aiming them toward the Mercury. Kate jumps outside and phases into the ship. She beats Rixlo up and takes off his telepathy jammer, allowing Emma to take over his mind. After the others are saved, they actually agree to let Rixlo go with the mysterium but keep the Mercury.
Eden Rixlo has just tricked the Marauders and ejected them into space, leaving them to die. Within seconds, Iceman catches his teammates in a cocoon of ice, trapping as much breathable air as possible and spinning them to get them some gravity. Kate slaps Emma to wake her up and orders her to call for help, but she cannot reach anybody. Iceman warns he couldn’t catch much breathable air. Emma turns to diamond, so she doesn’t need to breathe. Pyro would give them some heat but that would use up the oxygen faster. Some choice, suffocate or freeze to death! Shaw mutters grimly.
Kate has an idea: She grabs her blaster. Misreading her, Pyro agrees, better to go fast than fade away. She needs water, she replies. Pyro and Lockheed melt some ice. Kate fires electricity at the water which creates oxygen. As long as they have more air, they can turn the heat on, she explains. Unfortunately, they are still dead in the water.
Maybe not, Bishop figures and hits Shaw, who returns the blow, each one of them creating and gathering more kinetic energy.
Emma senses the Mercury still nearby. Kate tells her to pinpoint the location of the ship. She only needs to get her close.
Bishop and Shaw create more kinetic energy by hitting each other, while Iceman creates a wall, staying on the side of the two men. Emma telepathically helps Bishop plot a course for the Mercury.
When Bishop has gathered enough energy and Emma has shown him where to aim, he releases the energy in an energy blast. Iceman grabs Shaw and Bishop, gets them to the other side and closes the wall.
The iceball is close to crumbling. Maybe she should stop going to space, Kate whispers. Iceman strengthens the hull. Emma announces they are getting closer to the Mercury, then that they are overtaking it. Kate asks her to say when and, on Emma’s mark, she jumps through the wall and toward the Mercury. She phases into the ship.
In the Mercury, Rixlo is celebrating with music and a bottle of Krakoan whiskey. He won’t miss the mutants, but he will miss their booze!
Kate phases through the ceiling and, given her momentum, drops through the floor. Rixlo doesn’t notice. She lands hard on the ground on a floor below. Emma sends “a landing you can walk away from…” Kate is not amused. Emma warns her not to pass out. She won’t - she is too angry, Kate replies. She’s gonna kill that guy!
A floor above, Rixlo is busy plotting a new course. Kate phases up behind him, hits him in the back and grabs the bottle. How in hell?! he exclaims. Cheerfully, she announces that, if his space kidneys are like human ones, he’s gonna be pissing blood for a while. She was trained to fight with a ninja. That won’t mean anything to him, but she tells men this to get them to reconsider wanting to fight her.
She pours down some whiskey as he tries to hit her without success. The momentum sends him to the ground. All right, they’ll do this the hard way, Kate sighs and smashes the bottle on his head.
He grins and orders for the ship to open another airlock. Before he can finish the order, she takes him into a headlock. As they wrestle, Emma sends if Kate removes his psi-blocker, she can bring this to an end. She warns Kate not to underestimate him and adds she has dulled Kate’s pain receptors.
Kate thanks her and tells Rixlo this is his last chance. He remains stubborn and she kicks his ass. He gets it, Rixlo groans, ninjas can fight! He draws a knife, which of course isn’t much use against Kate’s phasing power. Kate grabs and removes the psi-blocker on his head, allowing Emma to take over Rixlo and the ship, which he steers toward the rest of the group.
Since Emma has to concentrate on Rixlo, though, she no longer numbs Kate’s pain, including the headache she got from headbutting Rixlo.
Soon the others are aboard. Let’s not do this again, Iceman suggests. Bishop announces that he is starting a war college. They are gonna teach this one at it. Nice job, Marauders!
To Kate’s displeasure, Rixlo’s only punishment is being stranded on Arakko, with all the mysterium. Emma stresses he gets the money, they keep the ship and, if he comes at them again, she will not stop Katherine from killing him.
He knows when he is beaten but insists she couldn’t win in a fair fight. Emma laughs: there are no fair fights when you face the Marauders!
Bishop, Emma Frost, Iceman, Pyro (all Marauders)
Sebastian Shaw
Eden Rixlo
A note from Bishop to the other war captains with the suggestion of creating war games to get the rest of the Krakoans in shape.
