X-Men Annual (4th series) #1

'So, being an X-Man is going great' Angelica Jones a.k.a. Firestar thinks sarcastically to herself as she is knocked backwards across the Green Lagoon bar on Krakoa thanks to a disc which was thrown into her. 'It was bad luck to run into us today... Avenger' Jennifer Stavros a.k.a. Roulette exclaims to her former Hellions teammate. Angelica, wearing her new costume, wipes her mouth and thinks that Roulette says the word “Avenger” like it is a slur, as if Wolverine, Beast and literal current X-Man Havok weren't all Avengers at one time or another.

Angelica quickly decides that the Beast may not be the best company to be in these days.

As the Blob watches from behind his bar, Haroun ibn Sallah al-Rashid a.k.a. Jetstream tells Roulette to ease up, as this isn't worth getting thrown in the Pit for. 'No, it's not right. Firestar shouldn't get to slide into this life so easily!' Roulette replies, while Sharon Smith a.k.a. Catseye, Marie-Ange Colbert a.k.a. Tarot, Buford Wilson a.k.a. Beef and Fabian Marechal-Julbin a.k.a. Bevatron stand nearby.

'C'mon, you Hellions are wrecking my bar!' the Blob calls out. Roulette moves away from her teammates. Another luck disc in her hand, ready to throw, she exclaims that when mutants were being hunted down, little Angelica Jones was off playing New Warrior or Young Ally or anything else without an “X” in the title! 'But now that the whole world wants what Krakoa has, she’s the face of the nation?'

Energy glows around Bevatron's hand and he agrees: 'We got killed for sport while she was auditioning for Captain $#%&*!$% American!'

Firestar tells herself that Bevatron's timeline is off, but decides he isn't wrong. She remembers being manipulated into kissing another of the original Hellions, Empath, and recalls her time as a Hellion as being brief, while noting that she also turned down an offer to join the Hellions' rivals, the New Mutants. Angelica remembers being an X-Man before, working with Wolverine and Storm and her pal Iceman, but acknowledges that it never sticks, and something always pulls her away.

Suddenly: 'Angie! Are you okay?' Bobby Drake a.k.a. Iceman asks as he ice-sleds down into the Green Lagoon and stops at his friend's side. Standing up, Angelica assures Bobby that she is fine. 'Are we brawling with the Hellions?' Iceman asks as he creates large ice-fists and admits that this is the kind of X-Men 101 thing he has been missing in their brave new world.

Angelica grabs Bobby and suggests they just get to the briefing. 'Fine. But I'm freezing all their drinks rock-solid. Petty vengeance, Iceman style!' Bobby replies, while shaking his fist at the Hellions.

'Pretty-face lady looked sad' Catseye notes and remarks to Jetstream. 'Firestar's got... a lot to figure out, Catseye' Jetstream replies.

Meanwhile, at the Treehouse in Manhattan, home and headquarters of Krakoa's heroic X-Men:

'Fire and Ice are dragging their feet this morning' Alex Summers a.k.a. Havok remarks to Forge as they examine a monitor station. 'Maybe Spider-Man called' Forge jokes. Suddenly, Bobby and Angelica walk through a Krakoan portal into the Treehouse's meeting room, where Jean Grey, Scott Summers a.k.a. Cyclops, Illyana Rasputin a.k.a. Magik and Everett Thomas a.k.a. Synch are gathered around a meeting room table. 'Sorry we're late. If you can believe it, old students of Emma's were being rude. Inconceivable, I know' Bobby jokes. Cyclops frowns as he turns to Forge and asks 'What's on the X-Men's to-do list today?' Forge remarks that Cyclops is always the straight-shooter, before several holograms appear above the X-Men's meeting room table.

Forge begins by referring to a woman with large blonde hair and calls her Harrower, and explains that she is giving Manila a hard time. 'I thought we pruned her' Magik remarks, before Forge continues, reporting that Bi-Beast is wrecking Vancouver. 'Bi-Beast?' Iceman asks. 'Bobby' Jean smiles, before Forge adds that there has been a distress call from Mojo – strangely. 'Is that me as a toddler?' Havok asks, confused as he sees a child version of himself leaping towards Mojo. Forge then concludes with a cancer ward in Florida that is reporting their Krakoan drugs haven't shown up. Synch suggests they move that one to Hellfire Trading, but Firestar exclaims 'Wait!' and everyone turns to her. Cyclops asks her if there is a problem, to which, somewhat nervously, Firestar rubs the back of her neck and suggests to her teammates that if the purpose of this team is to do good and represent Krakoa to the world, then helping the hospital should be a slam dunk.

'She's got a point' Iceman smiles, before suggesting that he and Angelica pop down to Florida while the rest of them get started on plant lady and those other messes. However, Cyclops announces that he will go with Firestar, and Iceman scowls as Cyclops tells him that he'll be more use to Jean and the others. 'Fine, but the rest of the team better be ready for a lot of killer Bi-Beast jokes' Iceman mutters as he strides away. Jean telepathically tells Scott that it doesn't take telepathy to see the gears turning behind his visor. Scott's thoughts tell Jean that Firestar has been an asset to the team, especially with Sunfire away on Arakko, and reminds Jean that Firestar didn't want her spot on the X-Men, Emma made that decision for her. Jean smiles as she tells Scott that Emma would never choose what is best fort someone else without their input. Scott puts his arms around Jean's waist and points out that this is the first time Firestar's shown initiative on the team and hasn't taken orders like he is holding a red-white-and-blue shield. 'I want to see where it goes' he explains.

Cyclops tells the other X-Men that he and Firestar will catch up with them once they've confirmed the hospital is okay. He then turns to Magik, who opens a stepping disk, which enables Cyclops and Firestar to step through it, and arrive in rain-soaked Kissimmee, Florida. 'Guess Forge forgot to mention the tropical storm' She then complains about being drenched while beating up Mojo as the rain falls into her stepping disk. 'We'll call you when we're -' Cyclops begins, before the portal closes. 'She's gone' Cyclops remarks. 'A woman of few words' Firestar points out while attempting to shield herself from the pouring rain. 'She makes them count' Cyclops remarks, before suggesting they get out of the downpour. They rush past a van, where a shadowy figure sitting in the driver's seat sees them and remarks to himself 'Damn it. Not going to wait around and get hunted down by all of $#%&*!%^ Krakoa. Time to salt the Earth'.

Cyclops and Firestar enter the hospital where several patients and a nurse turns to them and asks  'Is something happening? Are those space people back?' in reference to the Celestials. 'No!' Firestar assures her, before stating that they got the message about the medicine shipments, however she stops herself mid-sentence as a she hears a man say to someone 'Just rubbing it in our faces showing up here. They don't need health care anymore'. Another nurse arrives on scene:  'Cyclops, right? And you brought an Avenger, too?' she asks, looking at Firestar. 'She's one of us now, actually' Cyclops replies. 'Good for her' the nurse says as she leads Cyclops and Firestar down a corridor, thanking them for coming so quickly. 'Of course' Cyclops tells her, before suggesting that it's possible the medicines haven't arrived because of the storm outside. 'Delayed?' the nurse asks. 'Who said anything about delayed?' she queries, while Firestar notices a door with a sign that reads Chemotherapy Suite.

The nurse puts a code into a security panel next to a door, and then turns a key in the door as she states that the shipment of Krakoan medicine arrived on time, just like it always does. She explains that they only give a few employees access to the storage room, and they found one of them beaten half to death behind the pediatrics unit this morning. She reports that the employee will be fine, but whoever did it to him got his access vodes and knew how to mess with the hospital security cameras. 'We got footage, but it doesn't make any sense. Just looked like a blur' she explains as she struggles to open the door, before shoving it open, and leading Firestar and Cyclops into the medicine storage room, which is a mess, with boxes, pills and containers strewn everywhere. The nurse reports that whoever did this didn't touch any of the prescription stuff, although they ruined plenty of it – but they only wanted the Krakoan drugs. 'But why? Krakoa offers them free to everyone, and X-Corp's been increasing production to meet demand' Firestar remarks.

'They're free here' the nurse frowns, before explaining that resellers can charge whatever they want in the countries that don't recognize the nation of Krakoa. She points out that there is a lot of money to be made selling these drugs to desperate folks in Russia, the UK, or God knows where else. 'I don't know if you... look for clues or whatever... but I trust I can leave you here while I get the security footage?' the nurse asks. 'Of course, ma'am' Cyclops assures her. Firestar looks upset as she holds up a small container of drugs. Cyclops looks at Firestar and pauses, before telling her that his wife is the mind-reader, not him. Firestar turns to Cyclops and apologizes, explaining that she recognizes some of the drug names. 'You beat cancer before we had Krakoan medicine' Cyclops states, but Firestar tells him that she never liked the word “beat” - as it implies people who didn't make it could have fought harder. She informs Cyclops that her own powers gave her cancer in the first place, having never developed a natural immunity to them. She remembers spending time with three friends – Hellcat, Spectrum and Black Cat – and tells Cyclops that she was young and had a stupidly, irresponsibly great support network, and received world-class medical care. 'I was also very, very lucky' she adds.

'Point taken' Cyclops responds, before asking Firestar 'Why the light show' as she begins to glow. Firestar explains that she is checking if the thief left behind any radioactivity or other invisible tracks – but she stops using her power and the room goes dark as she reports that there are too many overlapping signals in the hospital, and explains that she is still figuring out how to pinpoint her powers for precision uses. 'You'll get there' Cyclops assures her. He touches his optic visor and tells the younger mutant that he would never compare their experiences, but that he knows a little about gifts with price tags attached. Firestar turns to Cyclops and nervously asks him if he has ever considered fixing his powers during resurrection. 'Not once' Cyclops is quick to respond, adding that he has had more opportunities than he would care to admit.

Suddenly, there is a loud thundering noise, and Cyclops and Firestar turn and look out of the storage room as Cyclops remarks 'That doesn't sound like a regular storm'. He starts to say that he will getthe patients and staff to safe rooms, while Firestar announces that she will find out what is causing the ruckus. 'There was no hurricane warning today! How is this happening!?' someone in the corridor shouts as patients and others look around confused. Firestar knows that the weather changes fast in Florida – but not this fast. She realizes that something – or someone – is causing these winds. She flies out into the raging storm, and notes that if whoever is doing this keeps it up, they will level the entire hospital. And in the midst of the fierce winds and torrential rain, a figure can be seen hovering, a cyclone effect blowing underneath them.

Meantime, in Manila, the Phillippines, Iceman blasts Harrower's feet with ice, trapping her in place, while the others battle strange flying plant-creatures. 'Any word from my brother yet?' Havok asks. 'He's missing a lot of plant-on-plant violence' Forge jokes, firing a weapon at one of the creatures as he adds 'At least I think these things are plants'. Jean telepathically reports that there is nothing from Cyclops and Firestar yet, while Synch, who is copying Jean's telepathy, adds that at the rate they are going, they might make it through the whole threat list before Cyclops and Firestar are done with their hospital rounds!

Soon, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, the X-Men leap through one of Magik's stepping disks and confront the android Bi-Beast. Synch copies Havok's plasma power and they both release a powerful surge of energy at the Bi-Beast. Iceman sleds past the android, while Magik blocks the Bi-Beast's punch, suggesting that Cyclops and Firestar can meet them at the Green Lagoon – so long as they can deactivate this android before Iceman starts in on his stand-up routine. 'I resent that!' Iceman calls out a he fires a large blast of ice at the Bi-Beast. 'I would never mock Bi-Beast for living his truth!' Iceman jokes. As Bi-Beast slams into the side of a building, rubble begins to fall from the building, which Jean blocks from crushing civilians nearby by throwing a telekinetic force field over them. Jean agrees with Magik that they need to finish this before Bobby gets problematic, and then reveals that her telepathy has picked up something about dinosaurs in Brooklyn.

Back in Florida, the rain pushes Firestar backwards, then she is shoved aside by a powerful surge of wind, which slams her into the side of a car. 'Who...?' Firestar asks as she peers through the rain, as someone appears before her and calls out 'Almost didn't recognize you in the spiffy new duds...but payback has been a long time coming for you little girl'. It's Whirlwind, the mutant enemy of the Avengers. 'Wish your boyfriend was here to get his, too' Whirlwind adds as he spins around Firestar, who looks up at her foe and thinks 'Whirlwind... definition of a career $#%&-bag'. She remembers the time Whirlwind refers to – when she and Justice took him out. They were still members of the New Warriors, and admits that they went a bit overboard, but the defeat of Whirlwind did get them into the Avengers – initially as reserve members. Energy glows around Firestar as she grits her teeth and takes flight, soaring towards Whirlwind, she calls out 'I kicked your ass when I was a teenager, Whirlwind. You sure you wanna try me now?'

In Prospect Park, Brooklyn, the X-Men arrive through one of Magik's stepping disks and discover several of the Savage Land Mutates – among them Brainchild, Gaza and Lorelei, riding dinosaurs and tormenting the locals in the park. 'All public parks are hereby annexed as sovereign outposts of the Savage Land!' Brainchild declares, boasting that he is the rightful ruler of the Mutates. 'Yeah, I don't think Borough Hall's going to approve that one, pal' Havok remarks as he blasts the ground in front of one of the dinosaurs, bringing the creature to a stop. Suddenly, 'Forge – look out!' Synch exclaims as he picks up on some danger and sees a dinosaur looming above Forge, who is trying to protect a civilian. Then, a moment later, the dinosaur is electrified. Forge looks on, confused: 'Not that I'm complaining, but who'd you borrow the electrical powers from?' he asks Synch.

'Those would be mine... and I call them venom blasts – patent impending, do not steal' jokes Miles Morales a.k.a. Spider-Man as he swings down into the park. Synch apologizes to Spider-Man for borrowing his powers without asking, before he kicks Brainchild off of the dinosaur. 'All is forgiven during dinosaur-related emergencies' Spider-Man responds as he fires some webbing towards another dinosaur, and asking the X-Men to let him visit that “sick clubhouse” they have in the city. 'Deal. You're much less annoying than the other one' Magik tells him. 'I get that a lot, actually' Spider-Man remarks as he crouches on the dinosaur now completely trapped in webbing. Jean Grey traps the Savage Land Mutates in a telekinetic hold while she contacts her husband telepathically, asking him if everything is going okay at the hospital. 'I have to admit... you're missing out on a lot of fun' Jean adds.

Cyclops is helping people inside the hospital still, and his thoughts tell Jean that “okay” isn't the first word that comes to mind, and that “fun” isn't anywhere on the list. He informs Jean that there was a pretty bad storm in Florida when he arrived, but that something – or someone – has accelerated it. Blastins some debris that is blown towards him, Cyclops reports that Firestar is checking out the source, while he gets everyone to safety in the hurricane shelter. Jean offers for the rest of the team to come to Florida, while Synch waves goodbye to Miles Morales, but Cyclops tells Jean to stick to the plan, but to spare a thought for him and Firestar, and assures her that he will shout if he changes his mind. He then looks out a window and sees Firestar through the storm.

'You've always been a lowlife, Whirlwind!' Firestar shouts through the wind and rain. 'But a hospital? Really?' she asks. 'A gig's a gig' Whirlwind replies casually as he continues to create the powerful winds ravaging the area. He then creates a direct blast of wind, aiming it at Firestar, he reveals that some trust-fund brat paid him a quarter million to visit her daddy in the cancer war and pull the air out of his lungs, and to make it look natural. 'Guess she got bored waiting for the inheritence to drop' Whirlwind supposes, before telling Firestar that when he saw how $#%& the hospital security was he figured he would fleece the “mutie pills” in Bagalia and double his take. 'This all could have gone a lot more quietly if -' Whirlwind starts to say, before an optic blast slams into him, and Cyclops stands at the now open window.

Meanwhile, in the Mojoverse: 'Fine, fine, I admit it – Zombie X-Babies was a horrible idea for a reboot!' Mojo cries out, grinning, while the zombie X-Baby Colossus climbs on him. 'Now help me obliterate these little $#%&*!%^ before they chew through my production crew!' Mojo tells the X-Men. 'It was creepy enough when they were just little versions of us' Havok remarks as he tries to keep the X-Baby version of himself away from himself. 'This is so wrong!' Iceman calls out as the zombie X-Baby Cyclops and Wolverine leap at him. 'This is so fun!' Magik smiles as she readies her Soulsword. Zombie X-Baby version of Shadowcat, Storm, Gambit and Nightcrawler cam be seen nearby, while Spiral and Adam-X are on hand, too. Jean captures the X-Baby Cyclops and telepathically contacts her husband, telling him that she isn't sure if he can hear her clearly from the Mojoverse, but that they are wrapping up and headed his way soon.

'Great minds, Jean' Cyclops responds as he runs towards the hospital exit, and upon arriving outside discovers Whirlwind has made a huge wind funnel above Firestar, forcing her to the ground. 'You're not going to make a fool out of my again, $#%&!' Whirlwind shouts, when suddenly, 'ENOUGH!' Firestar screams, as she extends a field of microwave energy that disrupts Whirlwind and knocks him out of the air, slamming him into the van he was sitting in earlier. 'You stashed the stolen drugs in an unmarked van? God, you're an idiot' Cyclops remarks as he stands over Whirlwind. Firestar drops down and joins Cyclops, as she asks Whirlwind if he is a mutant, and tells him that he could have taken the amnesty deal and started over. 'Lotta good that'd do me... when some bigot with a nuke decides your little island... is too big for its britches' Whirlwind grins as he looks up at Firestar. 'Or is that why you stay so buddy-buddy with all the human heroes, Red?' Whirlwind asks. Firestar doesn't respond, while Cyclops frowns. 'Heh... still got the last laugh though...' Whirlwind utters.

'What's he talking about?' Cyclops asks. 'No idea' Firestar replies, informing Cyclops that Whirlwind was here to fulfill a kill contract on someone in the cancer ward, but that he did that before they arrived. 'Yeah, and the guy's $%^& of a daughter paid me way under market rate...so I left her an explosive little surprise' Whirlwind grins, holding up a small detonator, which glows. Whirlwind reveals that he was going to detonate it at the funeral for a laugh, but he started the timer anbout thirty seconds ago. 'How much damage do you think it'll do in a hospital basement?' he asks. Firstar flies into the hospital, while Whirlwind tells Cyclops that he bets the hurricane shelter he took everyone to is pretty close to where the dead bodies are kept. 'Tick-tock' he jokes. Cyclops contacts Jean and tells her to have Magik collect chrono-manipulators, energy absorbers and speedsters and to get to Florida immediately.

But as Firestar flies down the hospital corridor, she knows that the others won't arrive in time. She detects various signals pinging, but knows that if Whirlwind is using a remote detonator, there should be enough of a trace for her to find it. And she does, in the morgue, where she quickly destroys the bomb with a blast of microwave energy.

A moment later, 'Angie! Did you -?' Iceman calls out to his friend as he arrives with the rest of the X-Men. Firestar reports that the receiver is fried, but that someone less squeamish than her needs to take the bomb out of the body bag. 'That's our cue. C'mon, Alex' Forge remarks. 'Do I have to?' Havok complains. 'I'm still processing the zombie babies'. Firestar looks at Iceman: 'Zombie -?' she begins, to which Iceman tells her it's not as bad as it sounds, before stating that once they get the Whirlwind popsicle he left outside locked up, they have one last item to do on the list – a family bonding activity.

Shortly, in Plainfield, Michigan, several overweight men run and scream as the X-Men battle two large Sentinels behind them. The men are dressed in camouflage and armed with machine guns, while wearing a badge that has an “M” with a cross through it on their chests. Iceman blasts one of the Sentinels with ice as he remarks that idiot militias are buying junkyard Sentinels. 'Nothing like getting back to the basics' he adds, while Havok readies a surge of plasma energy, Synch copies Firestar's powers and they both unleash microwave energy at the Sentinels, while Forge fires a weapon, Magik raises her Soulsword and Jean begins to pull apart one of the Sentinels telekinetically. Cyclops keeps watch over the anti-mutant militia.

Later, the X-Men return to Krakoa and arrive at the Green Lagoon. 'I just dont' get it. Why is Mojo so stuck on that old squad of X-Men. Like, get with the times, man' Havok remarks to anyone who will listen. Firestar looks over to a table and sees thwe Hellions gathered, drinking together. 'Look what the cat dragged in...' Roulette scowls. 'Mraow' Catseye smiles. The Blob gathers up several empty bottles and calls out 'Not again! Take it to the Crucible or something!' while Firestar tells her teammates that she needs to handle something, and that she will be right back.

'What excuses have you prepared, Avenger -?' Roulette begins, standing up, as Firestar interrupts her: 'Nothing you said was wrong, Roulette. I've had my own reasons for coming and going, but I get how it looks from the outside. I don't expect open arms' she states, before announcing that she wants the chance to show that she can put in the work. 'I'm not going anywhere. I'm not running away when things get hard' Firestar declares, assuring the Hellions that she is going to stand side by side with them and protect the island and their right to live in this world. 'Don't prove it to me. Prove it to yourself... X-Man' Roulette retorts as she sits down and picks up her drink. Catseye looks at Firestar and smiles, her tail moving back and forth.

Firestar goes back over to her teammates in the X-Men, and the embrace her, and charge their glasses in her honor.