Uncanny X-Men, The (1981 series) #211

Deep in the Morlock Tunnels, a group called the Marauders announces that they’re there to kill as many mutants as possible! Their leader, Scalphunter, blasts a bunch of Morlocks before Riptide unleashes a whirlwind of flying spikes that kills and wounds even more. One Morlock manages to slip away to try and alert Callisto but Arclight breaks down the wall and Harpoon kills the mutant with an energy spear. The Marauders continue their assault on the Morlocks, who try to fight back, blindsided as they are. Meanwhile, at Xavier’s School, the X-Men try and get caught up on some long overdue chores, with Wolverine particularly frustrated that his still-healing wounds prevent him from helping. Kitty and Magneto share a moment of levity while Wolverine and Nightcrawler joke about the both of them feeling useless due to their respective injuries. It’s then that everything hits the fan.

One of the Morlocks suddenly burrows up out of the ground to alert the X-Men of the savage attack on the Morlocks before dying in the infirmary. Newcomer Psylocke fills in the gaps, telepathically seeing the attack in his dying memory. Storm decides they must get involved and asks Magneto to stay at the mansion to look after the New Mutants. He reluctantly agrees and Magik teleports everyone to the Morlock tunnels. They quickly find Callisto injured but alive, while countless other Morlocks weren’t so lucky. Wolverine suddenly warns that they’re under attack as they’re all disoriented by Vertigo while Riptide flings more deadly projectiles. Colossus and Rogue protect the others while Nightcrawler teleports and stuns Riptide before grabbing Vertigo and rapidly teleporting, taking the fight out of her. However, the stunt leaves the still-recovering Nightcrawler susceptible to a violent counterattack by Riptide, leaving Kurt bloody and injured while Riptide flees with Vertigo. This enrages his teammates, and Storm sends Magik back to the mansion with Nightcrawler and the other injured.

Storm decides they should split up to cover more ground and Colossus and Kitty quickly find Scalphunter and Arclight after they’ve just killed more Morlocks. Arclight buries Colossus under a tunnel of debris and Kitty dives in to check on him. Meanwhile, the others try and lead the injured Morlocks to safety while narrowly avoiding a very familiar optic blast. This clues them in that the original X-Men are there (under the guise of X-Factor) but their route ends up getting cut off. The X-Men and Marauders converge once again, resulting in savage casualties on both sides. Scrambler attempts to disrupt Storm’s powers only to find out she doesn’t have any anymore when she and Callisto beat him down. Colossus continues to protect the others from Riptide and Harpoon’s attacks, when Scrambler grabs Rogue, causing their powers to cancel each other out.

With Rogue now temporarily vulnerable, Harpoon throws one of his spears at her which Kitty attempts to phase her through, but isn't so lucky! Kitty’s screams fuel Colossus, and he ends up grabbing Riptide and mercilessly snaps his neck! The other Marauders flee, while Rogue is stunned at the savage display Colossus just performed. Kitty then discovers that she can no longer unphase after Harpoon’s attack, counting yet another causality on the X-Men’s side. The X-Men then head to lead the injured Morlocks back to the mansion, when Storm asks Wolverine to stay behind in the tunnels. She requests that Wolverine procure one of the Marauders as a prisoner for interrogation. Just one prisoner is enough, the rest she leaves to him…To be continued!