X-Factor (5th series) #6

The secret military base called Nevermor, where smoke from a recent attack still rises from the harsh, industrial-like building. Inside, an annoyed General Mills asks 'What the hell just happened?' 'You, want, like a recap?' Joanna Cargill a.k.a. Frenzy asks, before reminding General Mills that first, she let a prisoner plan his escape using a smart fridge, then her base was captured while she was working on her social media presence. 'And yet, somehow, through no fault of your own, you still managed to capture the entire leadership of X-Term' Frenzy adds, motioning to a cell where Laynia Petrovna a.k.a. Darkstar can be seen with two other members of the para-military team. 'Better to be lucky than good' Rodger Broderick suggests as X-Factor's liaison walks nearby. 'Or adequate' Frenzy suggests, while General Mills points a finger at Frenzy and tells her that she should have her shot for giving the base's location away to the Mutant Underground.

'Yeah, you could do that... if you could live with the irony of that being the only reason you're still alive' Frenzy suggests, shrugging her shoulders. 'Release me now and you shall have a quick death! Darkforce, I summon thy realm -' Darkstar begins, to which General Mills tells her to give it up, and warns her that the cell is lined with a quantum-entanglement field. Darkstar turns to the smart fridge in the cell. 'I command you -' she begins as she slams her hand against the high-tech fridge, before General Mills informs her that it has been disconnected. General Mills turns her attention to Frenzy and warns her that, for her betrayal, she will have her court-martialed on live television. Rodger tries to calm the General down by telling her that there is another consideration, and reveals that he sort of leaked some footage of the battle on Clikclok. He shows the General a news feed which depicts an image of the General in front of an American flag, with the headline “American hero decapitates X-Term in daring battle”.

Rodger looks very pleased with himself and informs the General that she is blowing up. 'So maybe we should just, you know...roll with the official story?' Rodger suggests. General Mills puts her hand against her head, 'Fine' she mumbles, before angrily turning to Frenzy and pointing a finger at her, telling her that she refuses to have someone she can't trust in her command, and that Frenzy is off the team. 'Whatever' Frenzy responds casually as she turns and starts walking away, claiming that she has at least three solid offers from dog breeders. Darkstar can be seen in the cell covering her face with her hands, while Rodger Broderick tells the General that at the risk of making an even bad day worse, he wants to ask what happened to McCloud.

At that moment, a yacht speeds across a body of water, when rain begins to pour down. 'Rain? We were supposed to have clear skies all -' the man at the wheel of the yacht begins, when suddenly, under the dark skies, he turns around as McCloud materializes behind him. 'What the -? Who the hell are you?' he asks, confused.

Back inside Nevermor, Rodger Broderick remarks that McCloud may be gone, but at at least they didn't lose the big prize. He and General Mills stand in front of a door with a “top secret” sign on it. General Mills tells Rodger not to put a happy face on this disaster, as they need all hands on deck. 'This is a manhunt!' she exclaims. 'Well, more of a cloudhunt, which I can't see driving clicks, if you ask me' Rodger responds, while eating a corndog. 'Nobody's asking you' General Mills snaps, angrily turning around and deciding that, while they are on the subject, she wants to know where the team leader is. 'Where's Havok?' she exclaims.

Outside, on the rocky cliffs of the island that Nevermor is situated, the powerful Polaris drops down beside the lion-like mutant Bruin, who tells her that military reinforcements are probably on their way, and that they should leave. But Alex Summers a.k.a. Havok rushes over to them and asks them to wait. 'Please...just let me talk to you' he calls out to Polaris.'What could you possibly have to say to me, Alex?' Polaris asks her boyfriend. 'Thank you' Alex tells her. Without looking at Alex, Polaris tells him not to thank her – he should thank Frenzy, as she was the one who notified the Mutant Underground when X-Factor came under attack. 'So...this whole time...Frenzy was spying for you?' Havok asks. 'I told you – we don't have spies. We have members. She needed help, so she called. That is all' Bruin explains to Havok. Polaris tells Bruin that he is right, that they should get going, to which Havok tells her that he doesn't understand: 'How did you survive?' he asks her. 'You mean, how did we survive your betrayal? Is that what you're asking, Alex?' Polaris responds, narrowing her eyes at Alex. 'Yes' Alex confirms, solemnly.

Polaris informs Alex that after he abandoned her and Bruin to their date, the militant wing of the Mutant Underground moved in – and then moved everything. Polaris reveals that, at the time, she imagined that that was the last thing she would ever see – the faces of those wo hated her, and she thought – that this might be what it feels like to be Alex.

(flashback – takes place after X-Factor 5^th series #2)

'LORNA!' Havok screams as Xyber and Frenzy hold him back in the X-Factor jet, while Polaris is held back by the militant members of the Mutant Underground. 'What did you expect, trusting a race traitor?' one of the soldiers asks, before shoving the end of his rifle against Polaris' face, knocking her out.

Polaris is surprised when she wakes up, and learns that the plan was for the Mutant Underground to put her on trial for exposing the Mutant Underground to an infiltrator. A bag is pulled from Polaris' head, and a mutant with purple skin and a flame glowing on his head informs her that she has been moved to a safe house. 'Well, safe for us. Not so much for you' he grins, introducing himself as Flint, before aksing Polaris how she is feeling. 'Fine' Polaris responds. 'That's great! Good to hear!' Flint tells her as he puts a hand on her shoulder, and as he leaves the room, announces that her trial begins in one hour. A concerned Polaris then looks over to where Bruin is sitting near her.

An hour later, Polaris and Bruin have been brought to trial. Polaris knows that the truth about the Mutant Underground is that they are all amateurs, all new at this – this isn't Krakoa, and they don't know how to run a country – don't even know how to run a trial. Polaris and Bruin sit at a table across from where three “judges” are seated. 'You are accused of being traitors to the mutant cause' a woman with blue skin and a green costume called Gallerie, whose face looks like a piece of artwork, remarks. 'Your defense will now be heard by the Triumvirate. We are a Triumvirate, right?' a man called Limbo, whose head floats above his body, asks. 'I think the term you're looking for is Tribunal' a masked member of the Tribunal called Pandora responds. Polaris realizes that the Mutant Underground is mostly just copying stuff they saw on TV – they don't have a background in this sort of thing – but what they do have, is a story. 'Oh, right! Your defense will now be heard by the Tribunal!' Handcuffed, Bruin stands up and announces that there is something he wants to say. 'By all means. What do you have to say for yourself?' Pandora asks. 'That I was there' Bruin responds.

(flashback – takes place during Fall of Krakoa)

Bruin was stationed in the Cave of Names, the official records center of Krakoa. But when Krakoa fell, Orchis troops descended on its corpse. The humans came like ants, hoping to carry away Krakoa's most valuable secret...the identities of every mutant. But even then, at the moment of Krakoa's destruction, there was one mutant who said no – and his name was Jovius.

'Step aside! That cave and everything in it belongs to us now!' an Orchis agent orders. 'How did they even find out about this place?' Bruin, wearing white and purple robes, asks as he stands at the entrance to the cave, with Jovius, a blue-skinned mutant with an eye-patch covering his right eye which has a large scar running across it. 'Go' Jovius says as he turns to Bruin. 'But -' Bruin begins. 'Go. While you can' Jovius snaps.

Jovius is Krakoa's record keeper, and he stands his ground as the Orchis agents raise their weapons. 'Last warning. Step asidde. Dead or alive, we're going in!' one of the agents warns Jovius, who declares that he cannot do that. And, for the crime of refusing to betray his fellow mutants, Jovius pays with his life – as the Orchis agents gun him down. What the invaders don't know is that, as record keeper, Jovius was fitted with a dead man's switch. He knew that there was only one way to keep mutant kind's secrets from falling into human hands. 'What's that noise?' an Orchis agent asks as there is a loud rumbling, and the Cave of Names begins to collapse on them all, crushing the Orchis agents. Watching from the other side of a nearby river, Bruin isn't sure if he would have made the same sacrifice Jovius made to protect his fellow mutants. But what he does know, is that for the first time in his life, he felt worthy of protection.

(flashback – takes place after X-Factor 5^th series #2, continued)

'But now before this Triumvirate -' Bruin begins, as Limbo corrects him: 'Tribunal!' 'Before this Tribunal, I can honestly say that my co-defendant and I took a chance on Havok for the same reason that we are willing to take a chance on you. Because we are willing to die to save our fellow mutants' Bruin announces. 'Big talk. Why should we believe any of it?' Pandora asks. 'Well, if for no other reason than because we let you try us at all' Bruin suggests. 'How do you imagine that you had any choice?' Gallerie asks. 'Because Polaris has the power of magnetism' Bruin notes. Energy begins to glow around Polaris as she tells the Tribunal that she could have killed them all with the change in their pockets the moment they entered this room – but she didn't.

'Because if there's one thing I've learned from Jovius... it's that there are things more important than life!' Polaris announces as she uses her powers to tear apart the large metal X that sits on the wall behind the Tribunal – and then shoves the metal shards towards the Tribunal members' necks. 'I  take your point!' Limbo responds.

(now)

'We could have killed everyone in that room and walked out. But we didn't. We agreed to abide by their judgment, whatever that may be' Bruin informs Havok, who notes that the Tribunal obviously didn't execute him. 'No. They put us in charge. Everyone, even a resistance group, needs someone to remind them of what they stand for' Bruin reveals, before Polaris, standing down on the shore by a jetboat, suggests that they should go. Havok walks over to Polaris and tells her that he never stopped loving her. 'I love you too, Alex. But the two of us...we're traveling in different directions' Polaris responds, hanging her head. Havok tells her that he knows, but he doesn't know how to repay her for everything she has done for him – for saving his life. But Havok actually feels like he has died. Died the moment he turned his back on Polaris – which stands to reason. 'Thank me by living' Polaris smiles before she and Bruin depart in the jetboat. Havok watches Polaris leave and thinks to himself 'It's the past that usually kills us. The future is just where we're buried'.

Back inside Nevermor, in the not-Fun Room, 'He's dead! Oh...Oskar!' Dr. Cecilia Reyes sobs as she sits on the floor, while St. John Allerdyce a.k.a. Pyro stands over her. He tells Cecilia that dealing with things like this aren't exactly part of power set, before sitting down on the bench and putting a hand on her shoulder, where he tells her that she will heal in time, will forget any of this even happened. 'In the meantime, you just gotta... I'm lying' ain't I?' Pyro remarks. He looks pained as he tells Cecilia that the truth is Oskar is gone forever, and with him, a piece of her – and there is no silver lining, no prize waiting at the end of the suffering. 'When you lose someone, you lose 'em. It's all rubbish. All except for one thing... the fact that part fo you died with him means that, wherever he is... he ain't alone' Pyro offers.

Cecilia hasn't looked up at Pyro, so Pyro slides down off the bench and onto the floor, next to Cecilia, where he tells her that if she needed fire, he would be right there for her. 'But something like this? I'm just as lost as -' he starts, before Cecilia leans into him, and puts her arms around him. 'There, there, love' Pyro frowns as he puts a hand on Cecilia's head. Havok suddenly enters the not-Fun Room and tells his teammates that they are leaving. 'For where?' Pyro asks as he stands up. 'Home' Havok announces. Wiping tears from her eyes, Cecilia asks 'Where's that?' to which Havok put his arms around her and tells her that he doesn't know, but that they will find out.

Outside in the corridor, General Mills strides towards the not-Fun Room: 'God help me if they're in there playing foosball...' she begins, while Rodger Broderick follows her. General Mills enters the room and sees Havok and Cecilia hugging: 'What are you doing just standing here? We've got a manhunt situation!' she snaps at them. 'Cloudhunt' Rodger notes, before General Mills instructs Havok to gather what is left of his team and get out there. 'We just lost someone' Havok frowns at General Mills, while he still hugs Cecilia. The aggressive General Mills storms over to Havokand pokes her finger into his chest as she warns him that he will lose everyone if he doesn't follow a direct order. 'NOW!' she shrieks.

'Oi! Izzat any way to talk to the talent?' Pyro asks, annoyed, while igniting some flame from his flamethrower. 'The talent? You think you have the skills the U.S. Army couldn't duplicate with half a trillion dollars in battle tech? You're not here because you're special. You're here because you're expendable!' she cruelly tells the mutants, adding that the whole point of X-Factor is to kill a few of them off while taking credit for helping them. 'Love, if you think we're gonna hunt down another mutant for you, then you're as mad as a cut snake!' Pyro exclaims. Several soldiers stand alongside General Mills, who orders Havok to get his team under control.

Havok tells himself that one of the many useless facts he learned from his time with Polaris is that the word “traitor” comes from the Latin “Tradere” - meaning, “one who hands over”. This comes from ancient Rome, from when they would demand that churches hand over their sacred texts – those who did were called traitors – and those who didn't were fed to the lions. 'We just lost a team member! We're done for the day!' Havok tells General Mills as he steps up alongside Pyro, and plasma energy glows around his fists. 'I can't trust a single one of you, can I?' General Mills scowls. 'Walk away from me, team leader, and you are fired!' General Mills snaps as she stares at Havok. Unbothered, Havok just tells the angry woman to do what she has to. 'And I'll do what I should have done all along' he remarks as he leaves the room.

Soon, X-Factor's jet rises up above Nevermor and Havok thinks to himself that the only reason they know the names of the martyrs is because of those who survived. 'So, is that what life is? A story told by traitors? I don't know. I just know that a life spent in fear is a life spent running – away from the things we love the most' he tells himself as the jet speeds past the boat down on the water below, where Polaris looks up as the jet moves above. 'Goodbye, Alex' she remarks.

Back inside the secret military base, Rodger pulls a corndog out of his jacket pocket and General Mills tells him to remind her to fire Havok tomorrow. 'Well, at the risk of repeating myself – at least we still got the big cigar' Rodger remarks. 'Where...do you keep getting those corndogs?' General Mills asks, before Rodger tells her that giiven all the chaos around here, maybe they should check to make sure they still have him in the humidor. 'Whatever their faults, X-Factor is the reason why we still have the most valuable mutant on the planet. The one who allows us to, at will, locate every other mutant' Rodger reminds General Mills. A soldier goes over to the door with the “top secret” sign on it and starts to open the doors, while General Mills remarks that it is not that X-Factor isn't capable, it is that she doesn't trust them. 'And there's nothing more dangerous to a cause...more dangerous in the world – than a traitor' General Mills declares as she and Rodger look into the top secret room, a plush living quarters, with a table covered in food – and sitting at the top of the table... Jovius!