Nimrod appears before the X-Men and the Hellfire Club
in Central Park, as each side weighs their options. Not far away, the reason
for this bout, a still injured Rachel Summers senses the arrival of Nimrod.
Feeling there’s little she can do to help in her state, and feeling as if she’s
better off alone now anyway, Rachel elects to run away as fast as she can.
Kitty laments how they’re going to stop Nimrod, especially since it took the
entire team last time, in addition to the Hellfire Club. Storm slyly claims the
odds will shift in no time at all. Putting Storm’s plan into action, Rogue
erupts out of the ground, causing a massive tremor and stunning Harry Leland.
This releases the hold he had on Colossus, allowing Kitty to phase down into
the earth to rescue him. Meanwhile, the Hellfire Club’s goons are about to
snipe Storm, when she’s saved by Callisto. More cavalry then arrive as
Nightcrawler teleports himself and Wolverine there and they’re able to scare
off the goons.
Kitty continues to phase down, hoping she’s in time to
rescue Colossus. Meanwhile, Rogue, with Colossus’ added strength, throws
Sebastian Shaw into Nimrod. Nimrod’s response to is reverse Shaw’s gravimetric
polarity, causing him to start flying rapidly up into space! Selene discovers
she has no power over Nimrod directly and her follow-up attacks prove
ineffective. Storm sends Callisto and Caliban to locate Rachel while Rogue
tries to hold off Nimrod. Storm then suggests to the Hellfire Club members remaining
that their only hope to stop Nimrod is to join forces. Friedrich Von Roehm
takes issue with this, lunging at Storm only to be knocked back by Wolverine,
before he’s disintegrated by a blast from Nimrod! Deep underground, Kitty
finally locates Colossus and notes how he’s metal once again, meaning his
borrowed powers must have run out for Rogue. This presents a problem, as Nimrod
is then able to surprise her with an energy field, sending Rogue plummeting to
the ground, deeply hurt.
Rachel spies this from where she’s run to but feels
going back would be certain suicide. Rachel is then enthralled by a sudden
melody she hears coming from the Delacorte. She enters and finds a strange
woman who welcomes her to the Body Shop, promising that she can make Rachel
into a whole new her! Back at the fight, the X-Men and Hellfire Club have
decided to work together. Leland increases Nimrod’s mass, lowering him to the
ground and disrupting his systems. When Nimrod is low enough, Nightcrawler attempts
his trick of teleporting just Nimrod’s arm off, hoping that will finish things.
However, Nimrod counters and Nightcrawler experiences a strange, painful
sensation and vanishes with a agonizing scream! Stunned and shocked, no one is
sure quite what just happened; whether Kurt teleported or was disintegrated!
Meanwhile, Rachel is led further into the Body Shop, a psychedelic maze of
twists and turns and spirals. With each step, Rachel seems to leave another
part of herself behind.
Leland manages to increase Nimrod’s mass enough to get
him to the ground, but the strain causes him to suffer a heart attack! While
Nimrod recalibrates, Colossus finally manages to dig himself and Kitty out of
the ground. Kitty phases through Nimrod, disrupting his systems and allowing
Colossus to lay quite the impressive smackdown on Nimrod! Selene binds the
stunned Nimrod, while Storm calls on the dying Leland’s powers one last time.
He increases Shaw’s mass, bringing him back to earth with the force of a
meteor, right on top of Nimrod! This leaves quite the impressive crater, the
strain killing Leland and leaving Shaw unconscious and Nimrod in shambles.
Before Wolverine can finish the job, Nimrod teleports away to recuperate, just
like he did last time they fought. Finally, Rachel continues into the Body
Shop, hesitating when she senses the X-Men. Realizing that’s not where she
belongs anymore, she’s ushered into a portal by her strange companion, who
reveals herself to be Spiral! She promises that Rachel’s life will never be the
same, now for her to decide! To be continued?
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