House of M

Season of the Witch

Chaos Rules

• Writer - Chris Claremont
• Penciler - Chris Bachalo
• Colorist - Studio F
• Lettering - Virtual Calligraphy
• Lettering - Cory Petit
• Ass't Editor - Sean Ryan
• Associated Editor - Nick Lowe
• Editor - Mike Marts
• Editor in Chief - Joe Quesada
• Inker - Tim Townsend
• Inker - Norm Rapmund
• Inker - Al Vey
• Inker - Sandu Florea
• Inker - Jon Holdredge
• Inker - Jaime Mendoza

Summary

  Note: this is part of the House of M cross-over.

  Shapandar blasts; Brian throws a Sentinel on top of her. Meggan warns him the other Sentinels are opening fire, but he is hit; she teaches them not to underestimate an elemental megamorph, grows claws, and slashes a Sentinel's eye. She holds position between two of them and then goes insubstantial; they fire at each other and collapse onto the mansion.

  Wisdom tries to protect Ross and MacQuillan, but MacQuillan isn't scared, rips a Sentinel's finger off, and shoves it in its face. It flies away and crashes; she transforms to her real state: Capt. UK, and she wonders how they got sidetracked from Roma's mission. Justicer Bull is also herself again, confronting the Sentinels and ordering them to stand down. Shapandar blasts her; a Sentinel stomps her, but she just flies right through it, smashing it and throwing it onto Shapandar.

  Brian tells Shapandar this isn't treason against Magneto, but an attempt to save the world. He suddenly twin-synchs with Betsy and sees her battle against the Marauders: Rachel uses TK to cut off Blob's air supply, till he collapses. Nocturne possesses Banshee and uses his power against his own team.

  Shapandar doesn't know what he's talking about; she just blasts him, but Ross jumps in front of the blast to save him. Brian screams in anguish; Meggan sees him cradling his dead former girlfriend and is jealous, transforming to a hideous shape for a moment till she gets control of herself; she knows Brian is hers now. Wisdom takes down Shapandar and warms them they're surrounded by Sentinels. He, Captain UK, and Justicer Bull takes care of them, while Brian and Meggan fly off to Betsy; her team has defeated the Marauders, and brother and sister embrace.

  Now they have to seal the breach, but Shapandar has defeated the guards and attacks them again. She has all the Sentinels channel their power through her; Betsy has Rachel synch her TK with hers to form a shield; they redirect the blast into the breach, and the explosion disintegrates the Sentinels and nearly seals the breach. Only a fiery "X" hangs in the air; Juggernaut uses Blob to plug it temporarily.

  In Otherworld, Saturnyne prods Roma to nullify Earth 616, but she gives Brian every last minute, sending a message through Meggan for him to hurry.

  Brian and Meggan confer and kiss; she does what she must: Brian has Juggernaut move Blob out of the way, and Meggan channels energy from this world and the beyond. She rushes into the breach; Brian, Betsy, and Rachel use their strength to seal the seams of the breach behind her; she's more scared than she'll admit but turns the chaos wave back on itself, like a living levee. Brian takes one last, loving, frantic glance at his wife as the wave approaches, but she tells him this is what she was born to do. The breach is sealed; the cosmos starts healing itself; Meggan is gone. Brian stands alone for a while, looking the empty sky.

  Note: the story of these heroes continues in New Excalibur.