Emmanuel DaCosta and Selene were introduced to the Hellfire Club as initiates into the Inner Cicle. They drank from an ornate chalice to seal a bond of material & spiritual fealty. While Emmanual DaCosta received his cheers with some happiness & humility, Selene taunted Sebastian Shaw. He suspected her motives and swore to keep an eye on her thirst for power.
In Salem Centre, Colossus played a mean game of chess against Harry (the owner of Harry's Hideout). Just as he won his first game against Harry, his assistant Molly asked if Colossus could take Sunspot home. Although the premises was a bar, he hadn't ordered anything alcoholic so there was no reason to evict him from the premises. However, Sunspot had been moody & silent, and had not even touched the burger he'd ordered. When Colossus patted Sunspot on the shoulder, Sunspot flared up his mutant strength and knocked Colossus across the room. Colossus made a telepathic cry to the Professor for help just as Sunspot's black flare effect grew out of control, bleeding shadows all around him.
The Professor's psychic call for help woke Mirage and Cannonball. Cannonball embarrassed himself by walking in on Mirage while she was still getting dressed. Then the two quickly flew to Salem centre to find out why their classmate was in town so late. Back in Harry's Hideaway Colossus struggled to land a punch on Sunspot. His cold shadows seemed intangible. Eventually Colossus struck Sunspot, sending him flying through the air. However, it was too late as both strong mutants fell unconscious.
Meanwhile roughly 1,500 miles away in the Bermuda Triangle, Magneto travelled with Aleytys Forrester. He was recovering from he wounds he incurred from Warlock's destructive collision with Asteroid M, and sought solace on his old base. They found the island, which was evidently alien in origin. Typically Magneto spurned any signs of help from Ms Forrester claiming that she was only human, but her feisty attitude shunned off his insults and she helped him ashore.
Back at Xavier's mansion, the Professor couldn't detect any reason why Colossus or Sunspot failed to regain consciousness. While he and Doctor MacTaggert discussed the matter, Cannonball and Mirage wondered if they should wake the other New Mutants. They were interrupted by a telephone call in the middle of the night. Mirage tried to run away, but failed since she still hadn't fully recovered from the injuries inflicted during the Demon Bear's attack. So Cannonball flew them both to a swanky hotel in New York. Using Mirage's power to cast an illusion of them as wealthy clientele, they made their way up to the penthouse suite. Mirage's minor telepathy meant that she read the concierge's memories of a beautiful red-haired woman entering the hotel. However, when they reached the penthouse they found Wolfsbane crying. They couldn't understand how she had been the beautiful woman the concierge had seen. They flew her back to the mansion. Back in her bedroom, Wolfsbane held on to the pendant from her fantasy story (in New Mutants #22), and gave it to Mirage claiming she didn't know where it came from.
Down in the kitchen Mirage and Cannonball grew anxious over the strange behaviour of their friends. Then Cannonball discovered a story in the newpaper which spoke of a couple who had been attacked and hospitalised. They recognised the couple and went to visit them in Roosevelt Hospital. There they found Tyrone Johnson & Tandy Brown; the former super-powered heroes known as Cloak & Dagger. They had been stripped of their powers and seemed to enjoy the lack of responsibility that came with it. Tandy recalled when Sunspot & Wolfsbane had been injected with the same drug that had caused their own powers, but Tyrone refused to help the New Mutants. They only wanted to be left alone in peace.
Back in Professor Xavier's medical lab, Sunspot gained consciousness and unwittingly absorbed Colossus into his monstrous black shadows. The Professor attempted to protect both himself & Doctor MacTaggert, but was easily knocked unconscious.
Additional: In the back of this issue was a pin-up fact file drawn by Bill Sienkiewicz. This featured the newest member of the New Mutants, Warlock.
*References The Uncanny X-Men #150 - I, Magneto.
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