House Arrest

• Writer - Peter Milligan
• Penciler - Salvador Larroca
• Inker - Danny Miki
• Inker - Allen Martinez
• Inker - Avalon Studios
• Lettering - Virtual Calligraphy
• Lettering - Cory Petit
• Colorist - Avalon Studios
• Ass't Editor - Sean Ryan
• Associated Editor - Nick Lowe
• Editor - Mike Marts
• Editor in Chief - Joe Quesada

Togetherness

Summary

  Note: this is a Decimation issue.

  Peepers and Outlaw approach the Institute and hear battle; they try to keep out of it, but the Leper Queen finds them and attacks the obviously mutant Peepers. She kicks down Outlaw, calls them names, and walks away. She's lost her mask in the process.

  Bobby yells in pain, as shards of ice sprout from all over his body. He's just getting his powers back, and he asks Scott if this is a good thing.

  Logan knocks Lorna out of the path of two Sapien League tanks; he asks why she didn't take them out, and she pretends they caught her by surprise. Scott and Bobby stop the tanks, and then they see a shadow gather in the sky above them: a Sentinel uncloaks itself and tells them to stand down while he takes care of the Sapien League. Scott continues to fight, however, until the Sentinel kicks him down.

  Akkaba: Foster is the archaeologist; he's scared but investigates the chamber, finding organic technology, certainly not Egyptian. He finds Apocalpyse in repose and gags.

  Val tells Scott this is a special day, the X-Men fighting alongside the Sentinels. He says one of them tried to kill him, but she says it was an accident. He points out there are X-Men and students in the med bay; she says he can't blame that on the Sentinels, but he still wants compensation for the one that crashed into the Institute's roof. Val asks what it takes to make him happy, since they just defeated the Sapien League together. He asks if she wants the Institute to be a reservation for mutants, and once you give up a little freedom in the name of security, where it ends.

  The Leper Queen is still free in the woods, and she retrieves her mask.

  Mystique and Augustus (iss. 174, a.k.a. Pulse), steal a painting from someone's house; she asks what he does with the stuff he steals; he says he invests in stocks he knows will crash, since he enjoys losing other people's money. She says it's time he was married and plans to introduce him to Rogue; she thinks he'd make her happy and thinks she can deal with Remy.

  Rogue visits Remy in the med bay; he sees Sentinels on the grounds, and Rogue says Scott wants them to get used to it. Outlaw wonders why the X-Men need help from giant robots.

  Bobby lies on an exam bed; Emma says she sensed he was depowering himself, not like the others. Knowing his brain intimately (UXM 313), she was able to remove the block before the Leper Queen shot him. Bobby insists he didn't want to lose his powers, but Emma says he was traumatized by M-Day.

  Lorna asks if Emma can help other mutants, but she says no. Bobby thaws himself, saying now he's ready to compete for Lorna's affections; Lorna finally comes clean and admits she lost her powers, but most of the X-Men had already guessed it. She goes to pack her bags and leave; Scott says she'll always have a home here, but Emma cruelly points out she's useless to them. Lorna says she saw something in space and plans to be there when it lands; Alex pushes Bobby out of the way to go with her, saying they don't need him since they have Scott (cf. UXM 94).