New Avengers (2010 series) #28

4 X-Men (Colossus, Cyclops, Emma Frost and Magik) have gained the power of Phoenix. (It was 5 but Sub-Mariner lost his portion in Avengers Vs X-Men #8 and it was shared out between the other 4.) They have declared the Avengers criminals and have been hunting them. Some have been captured ...

... and they are held in the X-Brig within the original Utopia Island base hovering above the much bigger new 1. 1 such is Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew). Phoebe of the Stepford Cuckoos slides a meal into her cell. SW refuses to eat it because she suspects it's drugged to stop her using her powers, but Phoebe claims that *she*'s mentally doing that. Warpath brings food to Luke Cage who angrily lashes out at him. Then he realises that the only effect has been his food falling on the floor, and asks for some more. James Proudstar refuses, as he does to a request for a phone to get baseball scores or tell his daughter he loves her. The 3rd prisoner is Hawkeye (Clint Barton) whose food is delivered by Magma. He has to use his fingers because he's not allowed cutlery because he could use it as a weapon. But he claims to have sliced a finger open because there's broken glass in his mashed potatoes. He asks for a band-aid or a mutant healer. She doesn't believe him but bends down to peer through the meal slot ... and gets the thrown serving tray in her throat. Her shock enable him to reach out and pull her arm through and threaten to break it if she doesn't let him out. Phoebe and James hear her shouts and come running. Warpath drags her arm free and the reaches in to punch the Avenger. Phoebe takes Magma to the infirmary.

Phoebe then takes water and towels to Jessica so she can give herself a sponge bath. She also tells her that the X-Men have just captured Thor, which as expected makes the prisoner think it must be all over bar the mopping up. The Cuckoo tries to convince her that Cyclops has a vision of a better world for everyone including the Avengers when the fighting is all over. SW begs to disagree because Emma Frost told her she'd be executed. So she asks for a pen and some paper so she can write to her mom to tell her she loves her, and write her will. Phoebe returns with the stuff and hands them through the prison bars. But SW responds by yanking her up against the bars and starts to throttle her, demanding she unlocks the door. The girl does but when she's free the Avenger knocks her out to stop her blocking her powers.

Crackling with bio-electricity she finds Warpath and zaps him. The strong-guy doesn't go down easily but more zaps and a high-kick to the face do the job. Then she opens Hawkeye's door but Clint suspects she's a mutant shapeshifter or illusionist so attacks her. But his lover mentions some intimate details and he's convinced. She asks for appreciation for the rescue but he claims he was just about to escape and rescue *her*. Then they go to free Luke. Barton tries to pick his cell's lock but Drew just zaps it open.

Jess says they've got Thor here so the trio head off to 'recruit' him. Cage takes out Sunspot along the way but then they run into Phoenix-Colossus flanked by Havok, Polaris, Gambit and Psylocke. Luke takes on them all while Hawk and SW continue their search for Thor. But then *they* run into Cyclops and Emma Frost. Luke has beaten(!) the others and joins them. The 3 smash past the Phoenix 2 and into a power boat and escape ...

... and here the simulation ends. Clint, Jessica and Luke are really in containment tubes being watched over by Danger. They are hooked up to a virtual reality system, and their punishment is to keep experiencing a fake escape scenario.