Krakoa, Castle Blackstone:
The twins Maxime and Manon have given Sebastian Shaw some intel regarding the events in Pilger. He thanks them. When they offer to come with him, though, he scoffs and tells them to play, or whatever it is they do. He’ll clean their mess on his own. He steps though a Krakoan gate.
The Amazon rainforest, Brazil:
A turquoise-skinned young mutant runs away from some unseen threat. A red beast jumps, ready to kill him, but is shot by someone at the last moment. The rescuer tells the mutant he is safe now.
Sometime later, an X-jet lands in the hidden city of Nova Roma in the Brazilian rainforest. Out step the city’s daughter, Amara Aquila aka Magma, accompanied by two friends Boom Boom and Armor. Boom Boom complains why Magma dragged her here instead of leaving her at the killer party on Krakoa. Unimpressed, Amara tells her there is always a killer party going on Krakoa.
Amara is welcomed home by her father, Senator Aquila. As they hug, he states that she got his message. He explains his people are concerned about the trespass. They cannot allow incursions like this for fear that others will follow. Amara promised to help and tells her friends to follow her to see why they are here.
Aquila leads them to a cell which houses the mutant boy whom the New Romans found less than kilometer away from the city. They saved him from a creature that had chased him and tripped one of their alarms.
And so they welcomed him by putting him in a cell? Armor demands. Aquila retorts they treated his wounds, but they do not know what danger he brings.
In Portuguese, the boy tells them that the monsters wait for mutants to go near the gate that brings them to Krakoa; they smell them. They’ve been hiding ever since they got the message about Krakoa - him and a dozen others. Three of them tried to get to the gate. They were hunted like animals… the other two got eaten.
Aquila agrees his men tell him the same. There are beasts out there, the likes of which they have never seen. Their kind on Krakoa have kicked a hornets’ nest and innocents are paying the price.
Amara promises the boy they will find his friends and get them to safety, but first tell them which gate he found them.
Soon, Amara leads the other two young women trough the rainforest. They protest at having to hike. Amara explains that, if they take the transport, their enemies will know they are coming and hide. Besides, its easier to follow their trail on the ground; they should probably reach the gate by nightfall. Boom Boom mutters about getting Malaria. Armor points out they probably have a drug for that.
Six hours later, they have reached the gate. Boom Boom strikes ahead, announcing she will return to Krakoa and donate to whatever organization promises to cut down the rainforest. Amara tells her to wait. For the past week, she and Armor have been moping around Krakoa because—she thinks things in Nebraska didn’t go the way they wanted to. Boom Boom calls that an understatement. Amara tells her this is a chance to do some good for mutantkind. Boom Boom snaps back that, if Amara had simply told her the truth about this thing, she would have come. Would she? Amara asks. Boom Boom admits, no, she would have sent her to Wolverine. But she guesses she is here now. Next time just be honest. So she can bring the right shoes.
Armor finds herself agreeing with Amara. They need this after what happened with Beak’s parents. If these things are hurting mutants, then this is where they need to be. What they need to do.
That moment, a monster jumps out of the forest to attack Armor. She armors up her arm to fend it off. Magma shifts into her lava form and intends to help but has an attack of her own to take care of. Boom Boom runs from a third monster, throws a timebomb at it and finds it unhurt. She protests Amara’s dad killed those things with spears and her bombs don’t do anything to it - how is that fair?!
Armor tries something else and tears one of them apart. She suggests Boom Boom put the bomb inside the monster. Boom Boom tosses the bomb into the attacking monster’s mouth and it is torn apart by the detonation.
Armor finds remnants of one of the murdered mutants. Magma explains that Emma told them the Brazilian government was cooking up creatures to keep mutant form leaving. They should bring the remnants home. Maybe Beast will know the answers.
Bohem, Costa Perdita:
Sebastian Shaw meets the leader of the Bohem Cartel, who greets him amiably. It is a shame they both had to lose good people for this meeting to happen, no? Addressing him as Ezequiel, Shaw sits down and opines that only one side lost good people in Pilger. The men in the Bohem Cartel got what they deserved. Unfazed, Ezeqiuel points out that Tumulo was valuable to him, which counts as good. He suggests they put that behind them. He suspects none of them want any turmoil, right? He wants to talk business. His country doesn’t have Krakoan medicines but the people want them. Shaw can help with this, yes?
Shaw replies his role is to distribute Krakoan medicines through less conventional means. That means he finds sellers and sets the price. So make no mistake, he controls the market. Perfect, Ezequiel agrees. He is the man who makes things happen, the one he wanted to see.
He can make things happen, Sebastian stresses, but he is not the mutant he wanted to see. Ezequiel put a gun to the head of his people. Thought that he could force their hand. Instead, all he achieved was making an enemy.
The men train their guns on him while Ezequiel warns him, he is no on Krakoa anymore. He is in his house. Shaw smirks. This isn’t his house anymore. He has decided to bring Krakoan medicines to Costa Perdita. However, the Bohem Cartel will not get them. Instead, he has brokered a deal with the Carrasco Cartel, their biggest enemies. With the money this will bring, Carrasco will crush his cartel. Within a month, he will be penniless. Shaw didn’t have to put a gun to his head. A handshake and a contract was all it took to crush him. “Let this be a lesson you insignificant weasel… mutants are not to be /&% with.”
Brazil:
The mutant women take the rescued mutant to Krakoa and Boom Boom thanks Amara. She needed that.
In the meantime, a pale, blonde woman finds the killed creature. Calling it “poor baby,” she vows to find its killers and repay them in kind…
