issue summaries

Cable 86 Last Man Standing Writer: Robert Weinberg Penciler: Essad Ribic Inker: Lary Stucker Colorist: Hi Fi Design Letterer: RS & Comicraft's Saida Temofonte Assistant Editor: Pete Franco Editor: Mark Powers Editor-in-Chief: Joe Quesada Date: December 2000

In New York, Irene Merryweather and Blaquesmith wait for Cable to return. Irene is still bothered by the strange information she received the previous night and is uncertain if she can trust Blaquesmith.

At Gaunt's mansion hundreds of thousands of years into the future at the end of time, Cable meditates, recovering his strength after his long journey. The psi-dampeners which imprison Gaunt also weaken his ability to hold back the Techno-Organic virus. The virus begins to overwhelm him.

Rachel appears and saves him. On the astral plane, they sit down and talk. Rachel explains that he only thought he was being attacked by the T-O virus. Gaunt was playing mindgames with him, trying to weaken him for the upcoming battle.

Nathan asks how she is able to appear in his dreams, if Gaunt is suppressing her telepathy. Rachel explains that she isn't as helpless as she leads Gaunt to believe. He can't believe anyone could dampen the Phoenix Force. She replies that as she was traveling through the timestream, the Phoenix Force saw something and left her to investigate. She doesn't know if it will ever return (see note below). Now she is merely a telepath and telekinetic. Nathan replies that no one in the Summers clan is merely anything.

Although Nathan isn't usually the sentimental type, he tells Rachel that he missed her. Rachel feels the same about him, but doesn't understand why. But Nathan needs his rest, so they talk about it later.

The next morning, Rachel knocks on Cable’s door as he is getting dressed. She explains that Gaunt released the mental controls he had on her, so it’s really her. But she still has the psionic dampeners binding her hands and a collar around her neck. Gaunt wants her aware of what is happening during the fight so he can torment her for luring Cable to him.

Nathan replies that she shouldn't feel guilty. Gaunt didn't trick him into coming. He came because of Rachel and what she did for him. Rachel doesn't understand. Back on Muir Island, Nathan himself said they were almost strangers. She never has done anything special for him.

He tells her that he will explain it all later, but that all of humanity owes her. The Rachel Summers he knew had a heart as big as the world and she is the same person, only younger. He is repaying a small part of a debt that can never be completely repaid.

Timidly, Rachel asks if Nathan if he would mind if she hugged him. Taken aback, he tells her yes and she puts her bound hands around his neck. He replies that despite all the dimensional screw-ups, they are family. He reassures her that her brother is there to make everything right. She replies that he makes this sound so normal. She had been Gaunt’s prisoner for months now, and it feels nice to be able to lean on someone for a change. He promises her that he will be the last man standing.

As they go downstairs, Rachel fills Nathan in on Gaunt’s history. She believes he is part techno-organic, and that is why he is so interested in Cable.

Gaunt, sitting at a table, greets them and offers them breakfast. Cable just wants to get the fight over with, but Gaunt wants to talk. He has been trapped in his prison for a hundred thousand years with no one talk to and no one to fight. He explains that his judges thought it would be a suitable punishment for him.

Gaunt shows Nathan to a gym so he can prepare, but he wants to save his strength for the fight.

Gaunt tells him that they are both very much alike, which Rachel immediately protests that Nathan is not a murderer like him. But Gaunt replies that Cable instead has killed billions by changing the future to suit his wishes.

As Gaunt and Cable prepare for the fight, Gaunt tells him that there are no rules and no resting. The last man standing wins. As Gaunt's subhuman servants cheer him on, Cable promises Rachel again that he won't lose.

Based on Cable limited knowledge of Gaunt, he formulates a plan. But he isn't sure if he can last long enough against him for it to work. Gaunt kicks Cable with a roundhouse kick, then gets two good punches in on Cable’s face. Gaunt avoids Cable's punch then hammers him to the ground.

Cable wipes the blood dripping down his face with his hand, then manages to get a solid punch in on Gaunt, bloodying his lip. Furious, Gaunt starts viciously beating Cable, who falls to his knees. With one final strike, Gaunt declares himself the last man standing. Cable lays on the ground, a bloody mess. As Gaunt celebrates, Rachel reaches out telepathically and gives him all the strength she has and begs him to not stop fighting.

Nathan struggles to get up. Gaunt taunts him, telling him he has lost.

Rachel comes up behind Gaunt and hits him in the back of the head with the metal binders on her hands. She yells at him that there aren't any rules.

Gaunt topples over, and his body starts to go haywire. As Rachel helps Nathan up, he explains that he infected Gaunt with the T-O virus when he punched Gaunt in the mouth. It took Cable years to learn to control the virus, and that was with his mutant powers. It will probably take hundreds of years for Gaunt to be able to move again.

Rachel bandages Cable’s injuries and they prepare to go home. They mindlink together and go into the undertow of the timestream. They go five billion years into the future and use the force of the sun going nova to slingshot them home. Nathan latches onto Blaquesmith’s thoughts as a beacon to find their way. Rachel tells him the name Blaquesmith sounds familiar.

A voice speaks to Gaunt, thanking him for reuniting the Summers, since they didn't know how they would be able to find Mother Askani. Gaunt did that for them, and they owe him a favor. He says they promised him freedom. But the voice tells him that the ultimate freedom is death.

As Cable and Rachel return to his base of operations, Blaquesmith is amazed to see a young Rachel again. Nate asks how long they have been gone, and Irene replies five days.

Rachel says she never thought the word home would sound so good. She’s anxious to see Jean and Scott and find out how Excalibur is doing.

A short time later, Rachel, Nathan, Irene and Blaquesmith are all sitting around a table. Rachel is hanging her head, in shock. She says the news of Scott’s death, Excalibur disbanding, Apocalypse and the Neo is just too much to take. And she has lived this entire life as Mother Askani that never really happened to her.

Irene asks if she remember anything from her time with the Askani. Rachel does somehow remember bits and pieces, even though she technically shouldn't. Blaquesmith tells her that so many people in his world believed in her and she saved their world.

Cable replies that that was another life and another time. He asks Rachel what she wants now. She has sacrificed so much for others, now it is her opportunity for a second chance.

She says that she wants a normal life where she doesn't have to worry about saving the world. Irene thinks that Rachel deserves that, and suggests that she might go to college. Rachel likes the idea, and wants to go to a small town, somewhere away from the city.

Cable tells everyone to not tell anyone that Rachel is back, not even Jean, until Rachel has had a chance to get settled in.

Notes:

Rachel tells Cable that the Phoenix Force left her as she was traveling through the timestream. However, in Excalibur 61, Rachel was separated from the Phoenix Force and only had residual Phoenix energy. It seems odd that this residual energy left.