Marauders#5(2020)

An ice floe cracks as the Mercury surfaces in the Arctic. The submarine’s tower hatch opens to reveal Bobby Drake and Christian Frost, dressed in leisurewear. They’ve come so that Bobby can put out a climate change-assisted wildfire raging in the area. Bobby gathers his power and releases a flash of cold that blankets the landscape in ice and snow, quelling the fire. Bobby and Christian descend into the sub and Christian tells the vessel’s computer to submerge and return to Krakoa. They enter the ship’s luxurious bridge. As Bobby makes a smoothie, Christian takes a seat at the piano and asks if Bobby has thought about his offer to join the Mercury. Bobby says he can’t leave the Marauders. Christian ponders whether Bobby and Storm are sticking with Kitty Pryde because they’re afraid she’ll die and the resurrection protocols won’t bring her back, much like the Krakoan gates won’t allow her through. Bobby coldly tells Christian to call her Kate. Upon his return to Krakoa, Christian joins the Hellfire Trading Company leadership at a meeting in progress on an island in the middle of Hellfire Bay. Sebastian Shaw shares that deliveries of medicine are nearly caught up after a backlog. He also requests that the upcoming trip to Madripoor be given to the Marauder instead of to Shinobi Shaw’s Upstart, as the Upstart has also been given a mission in the opposite direction around the Horn of Africa. Kate and Emma Frost vote Shaw’s request down, leaving both missions on Shinobi Shaw’s shoulders. Sebastian storms off in a huff. Kate and Emma then have drinks at the Red Keep. Emma telepathically downloads the Krakoan language for Kate, then notices something else is bothering her. Kate says she is worried the resurrection protocols won’t work for her if she dies, same as the Krakoan gates. Emma says she’s afraid of death, too, and the two embrace. Kate wonders aloud what her life would have been like if she’d chosen to attend the Massachusetts Academy instead of the Xavier School. Emma finishes her drink, kisses Kate on the cheek, and says she would have eaten Kate alive. They head downstairs to meet the newest refugees saved by the Marauders. Sometime later, Pyro runs into the room and tells Kate that the Upstart is in trouble in Madripoor Bay. Bishop and Storm run through the gate to Madripoor while Kate, Iceman, Pyro, and Lockheed set out on the Marauder. Sebastian Shaw watches from Blackstone as the yacht departs, then calmly walks through his own Krakoan gate to Madripoor. A memo from the X-Desk includes a wealth of intelligence related to the Krakoan drugs. After noting that the drugs cured the authoring agent’s mother of her dementia, the report posits that a shipment of the medicine may be in danger of being sabotaged. The agent has learned that Manuel Enduque, formerly of the Hellfire Club, recently purchased a large supply of the drugs. He separately purchased cyanide via Kade Kilgore and a shell company called Homines Verendi. The report’s recommendation is to warn the Krakoans of the likely subterfuge that is underway. Bishop leaps across rooftops in Madripoor as an armed mob marches through the streets. He drops to the ground and asks a young boy carrying a rifle what’s going on. The boy tells him that Verendi has offered a hefty sum of money to anyone who kills a mutant. Bishop gives the boy a wad of cash and tells him to go home as Storm summons a thunderstorm over the city. Bishop and Storm take cover across the street from the docks. They spot the Upstart, smoke and fire billowing up from the deck, and wonder if they are walking into a trap. With a gust of wind, Storm carries herself and Bishop to the deck of the ship. Bishop opens a hatch and finds Shinobi Shaw and several mutant children hiding inside. Shinobi asks how they got past the soldiers with power dampeners, and they both turn to see a half-dozen Russian soldiers in neutralizer armor coming towards them. Storm and Bishop dodge a blast from the lead soldier. Storm then charges the man, unsheathes a Vibranium dagger, and stabs him in the eye. Bishop lays down cover fire and shouts at Shinobi to get the Upstart out of Madripoor. The Black King, White King, and White Queen of Homines Verendi watch the fracas from a tower nearby as the Marauder speeds into the bay. From the deck of the Marauder, Pyro shouts that all he sees is smoke. Kate looks to her left as she steers the yacht and sees a large ship bearing down on them. She curses, tells her crew to hang on, and grips the wheel hard. It takes huge effort, but Kate is able to phase the Marauder and everyone aboard, causing the enemy vessel to pass harmlessly through them. Iceman congratulates Kate on the save, but Bobby’s joy is short-lived. They are promptly boarded by two villains from the past: X-Cutioner and Hate-Monger. X-Cutioner pummels Iceman in the chest with a shout of “Homines Verendi!” as Hate-Monger looks on, pistol and flaming sword in hand.