The Scott and Jean Archives
With Marvel Girl still captive, Magneto explains to her what has happened since his last encounter with the X-Men when they supposedly “killed” him. Previously, Magneto’s plan to capture the X-Men in the Savage Land had failed when his artificial mutate, Lorelei’s hypnotic powers had no effect on females, and thus Marvel Girl was able to free her male team mates. The destruction of Magneto’s lair plunged him into the river below and he was washed up upon this strange metropolis. Knowing the Nhu-Gar were hostile creatures, Magneto projected his astral form and with this disguise “bent them to [his] own purpose”.
Meanwhile Angel learns that the female winged creature, named Avia, was the one who rescued him in the mountains. While thanking Avia, Angel learns from the natives that she cannot speak. Angel feels sorry for Avia. Suddenly, one of the winged priests on their side alerts Angel to “other strangers in the city” entering through the hanger. Angel figured they would be Cyclops and Beast.
In the hanger, Cyclops and Beast are still speculating the purpose of the strange airship when the winged Nhu-Gari could clearly fly.
Magneto enlightens Marvel Girl of the source of the “magic” in the mountains, which is “actually radiation from deep within the earth” that makes its way to the surface through volcanic vents beneath the city. It “stimulates higher brain functions” such as self-healing “from even the most dire” wounds and the side effect was mild telepathy, the reason why everyone understood and spoke English. It also provided the answer to why Marvel Girl’s telepathic powers were scrambled. Unfortunately, the volcano was about to explode and destroy the whole city in the process.
Bobby comes up with his own plan to rescue his friends. He hires a private charter aircraft to fly him to Antarctica but the massive storm system leaves him and his pilot stranded in Argentina.
Even with the scrambling effect on her telepathic powers, Marvel Girl tries her best to contact Cyclops and Beast. Finding them with no time for explanation, she “dumps” all her knowledge into their minds. As she does, Magneto settles his astral self back into his body and prepares to evacuate the city before it explodes. Avia leads Angel back into the city just as the volcano starts to erupt. Angel urges Avia to speed up the search for his team mates.
Cyclops and Beast arrive just in time to stop Magneto from escaping. Beast knocks him unconscious after evading Magneto’s inbuilt “energy zapper” device which he had learned from Marvel Girl telepathically. Cyclops frees Marvel Girl. But they still had yet to come up with an escape plan.
Outside, Angel and Avia try desperately to save as many slaves as they can. A riot breaks out in the city and the slaves turn against the Nhu-Gari. In an effort to stop the “bloodshed”, Marvel Girl sends out a “telepathic call” urging the slaves to follow the X-Men’s lead. They come to a dead end and it was clearly impossible to scale the mountains.
With no other way out, Cyclops attempts to use his optic blasts “to punch through to the other side”. While Cyclops is at work, Beast signals to the slaves to get moving. Marvel Girl notices that Cyclops’ blasts are weakening. Cyclops assures her that he can hold up his end. Suddenly, Marvel Girl telepathically senses that Angel is in the city still looking for them.
Cyclops collapses from exhaustion after finishing the tunnel. While Marvel Girl and Beast tend to him, their escape path is cut off by the lava flow. Seeking another way out, Beast grabs the both unconscious Magneto and Cyclops and leaps off the sides of the still standing buildings to reach the Nhu-Gari’s airship. Marvel Girl makes the best effort of out her remaining telekinetic strength to follow Beast. Angel and Avia spot them and hurries over to assist.
The ship is almost empty except for two remaining Nhu-Gari. Beast is dumbfounded by the strange controls as the ship heads straight into the heavy turbulence and storm over the Savage Land. With the ship tearing up, Marvel Girl sees there isn’t another choice but to use her telekinesis again to hold the ship together.
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