Night Thrasher and Silhouette return home after barely surviving an encounter with the Punisher and Bengal. As they enter the Taylor penthouse, Silhouette asks if Dwayne shouldn’t go to the hospital. Anything a doctor could do, Tai could do better, Dwayne says. Silhouette finds it hard to believe Tai is both a housekeeper and a medic. Dwayne tells her she would be surprised.
No sooner than he speaks these words, he and Silhouette stumble into a surprise attack by the young charges of the Massachusetts Academy. “Hellions attack!” their apparent leader Beef says, leading to battle Roulette, Bevatron, Jetstream, Catseye, and Tarot. Silhouette wastes no time in countering. With one of her crutches, she knocks the bad-luck disc out of Roulette’s hand. It falls to the floor and unfortunately creates a hole beneath Beef and Catseye, both of whom fall through to the lower lever. Bevatron neutralizes Silhouette with an electric blast.
Beef, midway through the hardwood floor, congratulates Bevatron on his excellent shot, but warns him not to get cocky; Night Thrasher alone will give them more than enough trouble. Sure enough, while Bevatron reminds his teammate to refrain from making such sexist statements, Night Thrasher hurls his helmet at the French Hellion and knocks him out of the fight. “I don’t know who you are,” Night Thrasher says, “—but you’ve invaded my house and I don’t like that!” Jetstream charges at him in retaliation. The Hellions don’t like him invading the sanctity of their academy either, he says as he barrels through the air. Night Thrasher times his approach and successfully punches Jetstream in the jaw, sending him flying in the other direction.
Roulette hurls a bad luck disc at Night Thrasher, but he leaps out of the way in time. It instead lands on the pool table and immediately starts a fire. Night Thrasher, meanwhile, lunges at the penthouse’s emergency alarm. Clearly these Hellions come from the Massachusetts Academy, he realizes. He must alert his teammates. As soon as he trips the alarm, however, he feels a beefy hand grab his shoulder. He is thrown across the room by a burly, bearded man dressed in a loincloth, who then destroys the alarm system. Tarot takes credit for this move; her powers allow her to conjure up the life-forms depicted on her Tarot cards. Jetstream, claiming the “honor” of the battle’s victory for himself, intercepts Night Thrasher mid-trajectory and punches him back into the wall.
Dwayne scoffs at the mention of honor; six of them just teamed up on one man. He whips out a machinegun, intent on evening the odds, but Emma Frost tells him to drop it. If he doesn’t, then her Hellion Beef will pop the heads of his Tai and Silhouette like unwanted acne. He must decide which he values more: the lives of his loved ones, of winning this fight. After thinking about it for a moment, Dwayne drops his gun.
He asks the White Queen who she is, and what she wants. Emma introduces herself and her Hellions. She decides to take what she wants without asking. Using her formidable telepathy, she reaches into Dwayne’s mind, but finds it surprisingly well-defended. It takes her a moment to recover from the attack. Beef tells his headmaster not to worry; they have plenty of other methods of finding what they need to know. Indeed, the White Queen says. She turns to Night Thrasher and asks two things: where is Firestar, and why did the New Warriors hack into the Massachusetts Academy’s computer files?
Meanwhile, the rest of the New Warriors are on their way back home from the Amazon Jungle aboard their jet. Firestar mends Marvel Boy’s mask, Kid Nova kicks back in his seat, Namorita gazes out the window, and Speedball has a heart-to-heart confessional with his mom about how he acquired his super-power. Andrew Chord walks back into the cabin and interrupts. Trouble at the penthouse, he says. He picked up a one-way distress signal that was immediately halted. It could mean the penthouse is under attack, or has already been attacked. Either way, the New Warriors must head there immediately. He has already redirected the plane’s autopilot to bypass LaGuardia airport and fly in low over Manhattan.
Marvel Boy suggests they forgo gathering intelligence, and should instead hit the penthouse hard and fast, thereby catching any intruders off-guard. The pugilistic Kid Nova concurs with this plan enthusiastically. Mrs. Baldwin interrupts the strategy session and asks why they don’t call the police. Ignoring her son’s pleas for her to sit down, Mrs. Baldwin continues, reminding the New Warriors they are not soldiers. She refuses to allow her son Robbie to accompany them on such a dangerous mission. Andrew Chord steps in and informs Mrs. Baldwin that her son performs quite well in battle, actually. But what if he gets hurt, she asks? Robbie reminds his mother that nothing – not even bullets, knives, fire, or steel – can penetrate his kinetic field! She remains unconvinced.
The rest of the team, meanwhile, proceeds planning their attack. Chord agrees to Marvel Boy’s suggestion; a decisive strike suits this kind of operation best. Mrs. Baldwin anxiously asks her son if he is sure he wants to accompany them. Robbie, transforming amidst an aura of light and color into the superhero Speedball, assures his mom nothing can hurt him in this form. He’ll be all right; he has a way of always bouncing back. They can talk through her apprehensions afterward, Speedball tells his mother.
Finally, the jet arrives in mid-town Manhattan and swoops in low over the city. Chord opens the hangar doors, and the New Warriors disengage, freefalling toward Dwayne Taylor’s high-rise penthouse. Namorita leads the team’s attack. Marvel Boy, telekinetically linked to Firestar’s microwave-generated air currents, orders Nova to hurl his luggage, Speedball, at the windows. He does, and Speedball crashes through the glass and bursts into the penthouse, where he smashes into Beef before ricocheting off and colliding with Jetstream. The White Queen orders her Hellions to stand guard; they are under attack! Sure enough, the rest of the New Warriors arrive, ready for battle.
Robbie Baldwin, still bouncing around the room like a rubber ball, smashes into the White Queen and removes her from the fight. Namorita decides to focus on Beef. Catseye recognizes and attacks her old ally Firestar. She refuses to let “Firehair” harm her new friends. Firestar asks her to step down so they can talk it through, ignoring the clear danger posed to her by Catseye’s outstretched claws. Night Thrasher intervenes just in time and knocks Catseye out of the way. “Knowing these people doesn’t mean you can’t fight back, Firestar!!” Thrasher shouts at her. Angelica insists her old teammates are not evil, though; they simply haven’t broken free of the White Queen’s powerful hold!
Jetstream, currently attempting to outmaneuver the airborne Nova, interrupts and tells Firestar that no one is holding the Hellions against their will. The way he sees it, Angelica actually ran away from burden of her superpowers. Nova snidely asks if that isn’t exactly what Jetstream is doing right now. “I’m not running away, my arrogant opponent,” he says to Nova, “—merely drawing you in for this!” He unexpectedly shifts sideways. Unable to copy his move, Nova crashes headfirst into the ceiling. Putting a hole in the plaster doesn’t stop Nova. He turns right back around, crashes through the floor, and reenters the fight.
So distracted is he by the fight between Jetstream and Nova, Speedball fails to notice Roulette readying herself with a bad-luck disc. She throws it at Speedball, and it short-circuits his kinetic bubbles, causing him to flop to the ground. Smiling deviously, Roulette hits him with a good-luck disc next, causing his powers to spiral out of control. He screams as his own chaotic abilities propel him toward the ceiling.
Namorita continues her rumble with Beef, finding him a more difficult adversary than anticipated. He backslaps her across the penthouse’s kitchen and into the dishwasher. Namorita laughs at his misfortune; only a fool would knock an Atlantean into a supply of water! She dives at him and hits him in the face. Unperturbed, he strikes back with an uppercut.
Marvel Boy notices his teammate Namorita having trouble. However, he cannot break away from his own fight against Tarot’s manifestations to help. Tarot laughs as Marvel Boy fends off a flying demon, a winged warrior, and a knight of wands; clearly he cannot use his telekinesis to stave off three opponents at once. The demon strikes Marvel Boy in the back, and he screams. Enraged, he decides to stop holding back, and use the full force of his powers instead. After blasting the demon to the ground and into the knight of wands, he turns to Tarot and asks if she can do any better than that. Tarot grins and holds up one of her as-of-yet unplayed cards; perhaps Marvel Boy would like a taste of Death!
On the building’s roof, Firestar practices some evasive maneuvers while battling the Hellion Bevatron. She tells him she doesn’t know who he is, and assures him this battle concerns her and Ms. Frost only. Bevatron appreciates her attempt to make peace, but refuses to miss his first opportunity to truly let loose against an opponent. He fires another bioelectric blast. Firestar dodges it effortlessly. Bevatron may have raw power, but lacks accuracy. When a stray blast comes a bit too close to her, however, Firestar decides to end the fight as quickly as possible. She fires a microwave bolt beneath Bevatron’s feet. Unfortunately, to avoid it, he stumbles backward and trips over the edge of the building. No, Firestar shouts! She flies toward him as fast as she can, but fears she won’t reach him in time.
Inside, Jetstream gloats as he barrels around the tight penthouse corridors. His opponent seems to lack his own deft maneuverability, he laughs! Suddenly, Nova breaks through a wall, grabs Jetstream by the ankle, and cracks him over the head. The backlash from Jetstream’s propulsive blast hits Nova square in the chest, however, and both men fall to the ground, unconscious.
Meanwhile, Emma Frost takes advantage of the distraction provided by the New Warriors and probes Tai’s mind. Why did she break into their computer system, she asks? The resistant Tai insists they only did it once, to find out about Firestar. Who did it the second time, the White Queen asks? Tai tells her she neither knows nor cares. Emma senses truth in her voice. However, that leaves certain pressing matters unresolved: what will they do about their warring students, and more importantly, which side gets to keep the much-disputed Firestar? “Why do we not let their individual conflicts determine their fate?” Tai asks. “If Dwayne’s hand-chosen team is worthy, they will win. If they do not, then we do not need Firestar for our purpose anyway.” Emma’s eyes widen at Tai’s use of the sinister word “purpose”. Nevertheless, she agrees to the challenge. It will allow her to gauge the battle-readiness of her students.
Turning their attention back to the melee, Tai and the White Queen observe Night Thrasher grappling with Catseye. Thrash holds the feline mutant in a chokehold. She cuts a deep gash across his shoulder. He attempts to ride her like a bull, but she manages to hurl him off her back and into the wall. He hits with a deadening force and passes out.
Nearby, Kid Nova and Jetstream finally pick themselves up after their latest collision. Nova asks his opponent if he has recovered yet. Yes, imbecile, Jetstream wheezes. Good enough for Nova; he punches him in the face and sends him crashing through a wall.
The White Queen, monitoring the battles via telepathy, relays the updated results to Tai. They each have one victory apiece so far. Tai seems surprised. They monitor the battle between Speedball and Roulette next, but find that Roulette already has a decisive advantage. As Speedball careens around the room, at the mercy of his uncontrollable kinetic powers, he begs for the ride to stop before he vomits. Roulette decides to do as he says. She hits him with a bad-luck disc and ends his ride. He reverts to his civilian form in mid-air and falls to the ground, defeated. “Oooh – the twerp’s down for the count,” Roulette says. “Whaddashame – he’s kinda cute.”
With the score now at two-to-one, in favor of the Hellions, Emma and Tai turn their attention to the duel between Marvel Boy and Tarot. He battles her manifestation of Death, managing to repel its touch with a telekinetic force field. Tarot asks if the touch of her dark card frightens him. Not as much as what a full-fledged psychokinetic burst is going to do to both of them, Marvel Boy warns. He lashes out with a telekinetic bolt and cracks Tarot across the jaw, knocking her unconscious. The strain knocks him out as well. The White Queen and Tai agree this bout is a draw.
Suddenly, Beef comes crashes through the ceiling, followed closely behind by the triumphant Namorita. Beef hits the ground and stews in his smoking pile of wreckage. It would appear the two teams have once more reached a stalemate, Tai remarks. So it seems, the White Queen responds, honestly not surprised to see her most boorish Hellion bested by such a formidable foe.
Tai notes the irony of the one remaining battle. It seems the final outcome of the challenge, as well as the fate of Firestar, rests squarely on Firestar’s shoulders. Emma scowls; she senses the battle has already ended, and that her side lost. Sure enough, Firestar flies into the room with the injured Bevatron in her arms. She scolds both Emma and Tai for turning the fighting into some sick game, while their students accrue severe injuries! Emma explains; she and her Hellions came seeking retribution over Firestar’s departure. After they found both sides evenly matches, however, she and Tai agreed to let a friendly contest determine Firestar’s fate. Because the New Warriors won, Emma officially rescinds any prior claim she may have held over her former pupil. Angelica Jones remains free to choose her own fate.
“I know that! I always knew that!” Firestar shouts. Winning or losing some stupid game would not have changed, or resolved, anything! She never felt any regret for leaving the Massachusetts Academy anyway. The White Queen asks her fiery protégé if the New Warriors and the Hellions are really so different. Yes, Firestar says. The New Warriors are her friends; she trusts them. Ms. Frost never allowed her to befriend the Hellions, instead manipulating her for her own devious ends. She doesn’t even see a choice for herself; she would always go where her friends are.
“If you insist, little Angel,” Ms. Frost says. “And when you learn that all your idealistic views are untrue – I will be waiting for your apology… and just maybe I’ll accept it.” She gathers her Hellions and prepares to leaves. The two teams are neither friends nor foes, but the White Queen implores them to not cross her path again.
The least they could do is stay and help them clean up the mess they made, Nova says as the Hellions leave.
Epilogue…
A lone pyramid in the Egyptian desert, now acting as a focal point for the absorption of ambient energy all over the world, crackles and flares, illuminating the otherwise darkened night sky. Inside, a figure levitates as the energies of the Ka Stone flow through her body. Realizing she now contains the Stone’s power, she looks through the span of time, and sees Egypt, both as it once was, and as it could be again. She decides it is time to return home.
