Storm: the Arena

Gladiator

Summary

  A woman emerges from shadow and enters a gladiatorial arena to the applause of the crowd. She is Ororo, and she exults in being the star.

  Ororo and Callisto are paired against the London gladiators; Callisto fends off Quill's quills, Ororo makes Dervish slip, and then brings lightning to stop Lariat and Lamprey. It's quickly over; the crowd cheers; Masque has made a fortune from her slaves. The after-party is decadent, and Voge convinces Masque to sell him Ororo. Masque has Paradise use her full powers on Ororo to make her want the deal.

  Koga watches via a spycam; Yukio and Guido catch him and accuse him of playing them for chumps. He admits Masque played him, Guido is ready to kill him, but he talks fast. Since Callisto wasn't really in charge, she's not really Champion. If they can defeat Masque, they're home free, and he has a plan.

  Chained in the dungeon, Callisto tries to use her tentacles to try to pick the locks, which is harder than Ororo makes it look. Ororo seems catatonic, but she surreptitiously uses wind to toss a pebble at Callisto and then at a nearby spycam: they are being watched. They smile at each other.

  Masque takes her team on a victory tour, to make as much money as possible before turning Ororo over to Vogue. In Hong Kong, Ororo uses her electrical field to block the microphones; she tells Callisto she's faked being broken by Masque. When Purge and Paradise torture her, she retreats in her mind to the wild, untamable storm at her core. They fight in Rio, Riyadh and Las Vegas, and plan to subvert the arenas as a private, secret army.

  Masque considers new faces and plans to deliver Ororo. Koga shows up with the rebel gladiators, offering to return and to give her Lila's apartment. Masque is intrigued and agrees not to kill them, yet; she has Ororo and Callisto brought to seal the deal in blood, ordering Ororo to kill Yukio. With slight hesitation, she slices her throat, and Yukio falls dead. Masque is delighted and has Paradise take Ororo away; she orders Purge to condition the others. When Posterboy tries to collect Yukio's body, she pops up and kicks him into Purge. Ororo had cut her throat enough to draw blood but not to kill. Outside, Ororo turns on Paradise and fells her; Masque calls all her warriors to attack, and they fear her more than Ororo and Callisto, whom they rush. Numbers aren't enough, however, and soon only Masque is left standing. Enraged, she rushes Ororo: one touch, and she can transform her flesh, so Ororo blasts a window with wind and uses the glass shards to pin Masque to the wall. Masque offers to make them rich if they release her, but they don't need her for that. She offers to restore Callisto's arms, but she's happy with the tentacles. Callisto picks up a glass shard and starts to work on Masque.

  In Tokyo, it's a celebration. Masque has been sent to Voge in the box intended for Ororo; Callisto would have preferred killing her, but Ororo rejects that on principle. She knows they think she said that because she's an X-Man, but really she worries that if she started killing, she wouldn't stop, like the heartless devastation of a storm. She loves the arena life but needs to help keep the world safe. She wants to make the arenas a haven for mutants; Callisto agrees to take charge, and to never let her people be killed again (X-Men I:211). They and Yukio get into a hot tub together, and the champagne flows.