Uncanny X-Men, The (1981 series) #273

With all of the current members of the X-Men, New Mutants, and X-Factor gathered at what’s left of Xavier’s School, Storm, Jean Grey, and Cyclops meet in the War Room to determine what to do about their various enemies. Cable suggests hitting them hard and fast and insinuates that he’s more fit to lead than any of them. Cable says that the deaths will only pile up otherwise, and Storm fires back that he has no idea of the dream that brought them all together in the first place. After they turn down Cable’s offer, he walks out saying that someone should at least do something. Cable runs into Boom-Boom banging on the bathroom door, desperate after Iceman has been using it for seemingly hours. Cable forces Iceman to come out and Boom-Boom runs inside only to find out that Bobby has covered the whole bathroom in ice, leaving him snickering outside! Back in the War Room, Cyclops points out that the complex can’t continue to sustain all of them and suggests relocating to X-Factor’s ship. Storm wonders if cutting themselves off in such a way would harm the idea of integration that Xavier had for mutants, and cause them to end up more like Magneto. Speaking of whom, Jean points out that Magneto seems to be reverting to his more villainous ways lately, as something else they may have to deal with. Storm then wonders if Cable is right, and it’s time to hand the reigns off to the next generation.

Elsewhere in the complex, Banshee calls Moira on a holographic commlink. Moira expresses elation that Banshee is alive and tells him to come back soon. Banshee continues to wrestle with the changes he’s seen in Moira, changes that Beast echoes when he comes in to tell Banshee he’s needed in the Danger Room. Banshee flies off, and Beast meets up with Forge as they puzzle out how to potentially turn Wolfsbane back to normal. Forge is positive he can do it; the issue is time. The longer that Wolfsbane stays as a mutate, the more the changes lock into place, meaning unless they work fast, she’ll be stuck like that! Meanwhile, Archangel and Cannonball engage in a session in the Danger Room. Due to his greater experience, Archangel is able to keep ahead of Cannonball and outmaneuver him into a crash field designed to incapacitate him. Archangel lectures Cannonball on what he did wrong as they gear up to go again. Outside, Storm reflects on Cable’s offer and wonders if it will actually help or just make the losses easier to bear. Gambit approaches her with a bag and suggests that they get out of there, feeling that her debt to the X-Men is paid. He feels that if she sticks around, she’ll wind up dead for real, and misses how carefree the child version of her was. Storm reiterates that the X-Men are her family and that she and they need each other. Gambit then reveals his true hand when he points out that for both their sakes, she better start acting like it!

Back in the complex, in the women’s section, Boom-Boom chases Iceman through the halls for the little prank he played on her. They run into Psylocke, who stops Iceman dead in his tracks. Jean arrives and tells Iceman to clean up all the ice, and Boom-Boom gets her revenge, stealthily planting one of her time bombs in Iceman’s pants. As Iceman receives his shock, Jean hops in the shower and asks Psylocke if she’s ever going to call her brother. Psylocke isn’t sure what she’d say, given her new appearance. Only Wolverine seems to be sure that she’s wholly free of the Hand’s influence as well, and she points out that no one’s quite sure of him at the moment either. Back in the Danger Room, it’s Wolverine and Gambit’s turn to spar, as Jubilee watches from the control room. Jubilee silently berates Wolverine for pushing himself so hard when it’s clear he’s not at his best. While Gambit keeps out of Wolverine’s reach, he reprograms the Danger Room in order to cause a simulation of Lady Deathstrike to appear and attack Wolverine. While Wolverine is distracted with the simulation, Gambit takes the opportunity to wail on Wolverine with his staff, officially securing him the victory, while Jubilee cries in the control room.

Meanwhile, Jean returns to the War Room in order to use Cerebro to locate the other X-Men who are still missing. She remembers when Professor X first told her about Cerebro and puts it on, immediately being flooded with the intense feeling of the astral plane, even without her telepathy. She’s then surprised by Shadow King, who attacks Jean in her weakened state. While Shadow King has Jean at his mercy, she’s saved by the arrival of Psylocke. Psylocke hits Jean with her psi-knife, breaking Jean free and waking her up. Jean’s memories afterwards are hazy, leaving her unsure who attacked her. Outside, Storm, Jean, and Cyclops meet once again to consider the threat and decide how to proceed from there. The X-Men all gather around Storm, outfitted in matching outfits, signifying their decision to continue as a team under her, while Scott and Jean decide that it’s not their place quite yet. As Scott and Jean walk off, they’re passed by a car skidding onto the premises. Lila Cheney and Strong Guy exit and tell the X-Men that Professor X is in big trouble and needs their help! Storm tells her to take them to him and as Scott and Jean fly up to see what’s going on, Lila teleports all of the X-Men away in a flash! To be continued!