issue summaries

X-Treme X-Men 41 Prisoner of Fire Part 2 Writer: Chris Claremont Penciler: Igor Kordey Inker: Greg Adams Colorist: Liquid! Letterer: Cory Petit Assistant Editor: Stephanie Moore & Cory Sedlmeier Editor: Mike Marts Editor-in-Chief: Joe Quesada Date: April 2004

A short time following the previous issue, Manacle (one of mutant predator Elias Bogan's henchmen) has chained Lucas Bishop upside down in what looks like a dungeon.

Bogan's shadowy telepath (who is later revealed to be Rachel Summers) appears. The red glow of her eyes signifies that Bogan is in complete control of the telepath's body and powers. Bogan promises (through the telepath) to make Bishop his pet.

Bogan pumps Bishop full of the a mutant performance enhancing drug Rave. Under the effects of Rave, Bishop breaks free and fights Bogan’s mercenaries. But the drug leaves Bishop’s mind vulnerable to psionic attack. The telepath is able to access the deepest recesses of his mind.

Following the party on the beach from the previous issue, Rogue and Remy go out looking for Bishop and notice the signs of a struggle. It seems like Bishop left them clues as to what happened to him. Rogue thinks he wanted to be captured.

Back at Rogue’s house, Sage talks to Storm (who’s still in Japan) about the situation. Sage ponders about all of the telepaths in the world. They recap the previous encounters with Bogan and his pet telepath (see X-Treme X-Men 22, X-Treme X-Men 23 and X-Treme X-Men 35). Bogan was able to gain full access to Cerebra, which would require a telepath with a comprehensive knowledge of its systems and who Cerebra recognized. And the intruder had to manipulate switches, without tripping any alarms.

Storm replies that the Cerebra system is brand new and that most of Sage’s suspects wouldn't have the current access codes. But Storm suspects that Sage already has figured out who the telepath is. Sage replies that she has her suspicions, but her communications with Storm are cut-off.

Rogue rips off Sage’s glasses (which they use to communicate) and demands to know what she had planned with Bishop. A fight breaks out between the two. Sage pulls a gun. But Remy comes in and puts a stop to it before Rogue (who’s depowered) gets hurt.

Sam and Amara return to Rogue’s house and walk in on the argument between Rogue, Sage and Remy over what happened with Bishop.

Sam thinks that the plan made sense. They don't know much about Bogan, but what they do know is that he has been in Valle Soleada a long time and he is a voyeur who works through a telepath. He controls people by getting them addicted to Rave and they suspect he has some connection to X-Corp.

Sam suspects that Bishop knew what he was doing when he allowed himself to be captured. He’s probably immune to Rave and has some way of dealing with the telepath. He thinks they should split the team up - one group goes after Bishop while the others go for the telepath. If the telepath is taken out, Bogan looses his biggest asset.

Sage puts her glasses back on and projects Storm’s image so everyone can see and hear her.

She recounts her past with Bogan and the Hellfire Club. In the club, Bogan held no rank, but was a patron of the club. Years ago when Sage was Sebastian Shaw’s personal assistant, there was a wager between Shaw and Bogan on a card game. If Bogan won, Shaw gave Bogan Emma Frost (Bogan was after telepaths even then) and if Shaw won, he received a fortune from Bogan. Since Bogan had never lost, he agreed to the terms. But Sage helped Shaw beat Bogan’s man. Even though Bogan knew Sage helped Shaw cheat, he honored the bet, but held a grudge against Sage and swore revenge. He captured Sage and held her for ransom, but the price was too high for Shaw to pay. Storm was the one who rescued Sage from Bogan.

A short time later, Sage shows them the information she had gathered about where she suspects Bogan is hiding - the catacombs underneath X-Corps Headquarters. Amara says if Bogan is underground, she can find him.

The plan is set, but Storm stays on to make sure Sage is okay. Ororo asks if Sage has ever wonder what might have happened if she had prevented Jean Grey from becoming the Black Queen (during the Dark Phoenix Saga). Sage replies that she is haunted by what she did in the past, but she has found the best way to make amends is to fight to save the living.

Meanwhile, Bogan claims he has turned Bishop into the perfect killing machine.