But now I have this horrible feeling... something terrible is going to happen! 

—Jean Grey

Appearing in "Boom Boom Boom!"

Featured Characters:

• X-Factor / X-Terminators
  • Angel (Warren Worthington III)
  • Cyclops (Scott Summers)
  • Marvel Girl (Jean Grey)
  • Beast (Hank McCoy)
  • Iceman (Bobby Drake)
  • Trainees
    • Skids
    • Rusty Collins
    • Artie Maddicks
    • Boom-Boom (Tabitha) (Joins)

Supporting Characters:

• Morlocks
  • Erg
  • Beautiful Dreamer
  • Masque
  • Caliban
  • Ape
  • Tar Baby
  • Leech
• Cameron Hodge

Antagonists:

• Vanisher
• Apocalypse

Other Characters:

• Saint Vincent's Hospital's personnel
  • Unnamed staff members
• Marauders (Mentioned)
• Vera Cantor (Mentioned)
• Sara Grey (Appears on screen)
• Phoenix (Mentioned)
• Madelyne Pryor (Mentioned)
• Elaine Grey (Mentioned)
• John Grey (Mentioned)
• Scott Summers' and Madelyne Pryor's son (Mentioned)
• Karma (Xi'an Coy Manh) (Mentioned)
• Several unidentified civilians
• Autumn Rolfson (First appearance)
• Autumn Rolfson's parents
• Beyonder (Mentioned)
• Avengers (Mentioned)

Races and Species:

• Mutants
• Humans

Locations:

• Earth
  • North America
    • United States of America
      • New York State
        • New York City
          • Manhattan
            • Greenwich Village
              • Saint Vincent's Hospital
            • Lower West Side
              • X-Factor Complex
            • Broadway and 44th Street
              • Fun-O-Rama (First appearance)
        • Sara Grey's house (Destroyed)
        • Westchester County (Mentioned)
          • Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, Salem Center, North Salem (Mentioned)
      • Ohio
        • Cleveland
      • California (Mentioned)
      • Alaska (Mentioned)

Items:

• Ruby-Quartz Sunglasses
• X-Uniforms
• Celestial Armor

Synopsis for "Boom Boom Boom!"

Continued from last issue...

Warren Worthington III is told his doctor at St. Vincent that as a result of his injuries sustained during the Mutant Massacre of the Morlocks,^[1] his wings are going to have to be amputated. Warren is of course devastated and when Scott and Jean ask if it's necessary the doctor explains that none of their doctors were specialized to treat his unique mutant physiology and even the effort of calling in a bird specialist proved no help. He explains that the wings have to be amputated because the broken bones in Angel's wings were hollow and that splinter fragments are scattered and causing infection that the antibiotics cannot fight off. Simply put, if they don't amputate Warren's wings, he will die. However, when the doctor tries to hand over the consent papers, Warren refuses to sign them, telling the doctor that he'd rather die than lose his wings.

At the X-Factor Compound, Hank and Bobby prepare breakfast for the recovered Rusty, Artie and the surviving Morlocks Caliban, Ape, Erg, Tarbaby, Leech and Skids. While eating, they learn that Skids cannot turn off her force field and that it deflects even objects that pose no threat, with some effort she is able to push food through the force field. Things get disastrous when Leech gets to close to Ape and Tarbaby while they are trying to put dishes away, nullifying their powers and causing the dishes to crash to the floor. In the racket, Hank hears the phone ring and answers it. On the other end of the line is young Boom Boom. As she had threatened, she is calling X-Factor in the hopes of sending them after her employer, the thief known as Vanisher. After she tells them to come to the Fun-O-Rama arcade, she hangs up and uses his powers to blast open the pay phone to get access to the quarters inside so that she can play arcade games while she is waiting for her trap to spring, however Vanisher arrives earlier than she planned. Although Bobby thinks it's a crank call he goes out with Hank anyway. On their way out the door, Caliban offers his mutant tracking abilities to their cause. While Hank appreciates the offer, he tells Caliban that he can't pass for human and it would compromise X-Factor's cover, and recommends that he stays and rest. Caliban responds by telling them he will never rest until he gets revenge against those who murdered his fellow Morlocks.

Back at the hospital, Jean and Scott are watching the news when they hear a story about a firebombing of a home belonging to relatives of mutants.^[2] When Jean's sister Sara appears on television and Jean learns that her sister is a mutant rights activist even after the Dark Phoenix incident.^[3] Worried that her sister might become a target, Jean realizes that she hasn't called her family since her "resurrection".^[4] When Scott tries to convince her to do so, Jean also tells him that he has to call his wife Madelyne. Scott explains that he's attempted to contact her for some time but without luck.^[5] Jean tells him that he should still try, and although she thinks that her family must have moved on like everyone else she still can't help but call but finds that nobody is home at Sara's or her parents home. Scott convinces her to go check on her sister, telling her that he'll come along as thanks for saving him in the Morlock tunnels.^[6]

At the Fun-o-Rama arcade, Vanisher is trying to convince Boom Boom to come back and steal for him, and she stalls for time until X-Factor arrives. When she spots Hank and Bobby coming she points it out to Vanisher and admits this was one of her jokes that she played on him. She tells Vanisher to hide while she deals with X-Factor, and when she points them in the wrong direction she drops one of her time bombs down the back of Bobby's uniform, causing a small explosion that does nothing more but wreck his outfit. As Boom Boom flees through the crowd, Hank and Bobby chase after her, Hank is mildly amused by Boom Boom's little joke, but Bobby is furious. Boom Boom leads them back to Vanisher, who teleports away when they recognize him, but they manage to nab Boom Boom. The people in the arcade however are less than impressed, thinking that they are mutant hunters picking on a teenage girl and in the mob struggle, Boom Boom manages to get away.

Hank and Bobby realize that if they're going to try and take Boom Boom in, they'd be better off using their powers. So in secrecy they change into their X-Terminator uniforms and go out hunting for her. They find Boom Boom once more using her powers to crib change from pay phones and give her chase again. While Hank laments over the fact that the girl has full control over her powers, Bobby points out that while she can control her powers, she has no self control.

Interlude: In Cleveland, Ohio, young and emaciated Autumn Rolfson sits down to dinner with her family, however she refuses to eat. When they demand that the girl eat her mutant powers flare up, turning all their food to dust. Her father sends her up to her room where she finds the mutant Apocalypse waiting for her there. Apocalypse tells Autumn that he has grand designs for her and she agrees to accompany him as he teleports away.

Hours later at the home of Sara Grey, Jean and Scott arrive and knock on the door and find no answer. Fearing for her sisters safety, Jean uses her telekinetic powers to unlock the door and look inside. The house is empty they find, and then the phone rings. On the other end of the line is an anti-mutant bigot who warns "Sara" that mutie lovers like her should be hunted by X-Factor also. Before Jean can get anymore information out of the caller the house explodes. Jean and Scott manage to save themselves thanks to a telekinetic shield and they are thrown clear from the property.

St. Vincents Hospital: Cameron Hodge visits with Warren telling him that stock in Worthington Enterprises is plummeting and that there is word that the government might be investigating his dealing with X-Factor. Warren tells Cameron to change his will, leaving X-Factor as the sole beneficiary of his remaining fortune, hoping that after he dies they can continue their operation.

Boom Boom continues to run away from Iceman and Beast, taking them on a merry chase through a fancy restaurant until they corner her at a chain link fence overlooking a construction yard. Boom Boom creates a giant time-bomb and threatens to blow them all up, but Beast kicks it away and Iceman creates an ice barrier to protect them from the blast. When the time bomb doesn't go off, they realize it was a dud and now that they have her, they get the girl to talk. She's figured out that the X-Terminators and X-Factor are really the same group, and she realizes that they don't intend to kill her. She explains how she ran away from home and hooked up with the Beyonder while trying to find a school for mutants up in Westchester County but was scared away when they ran off to fight the Beyonder,^[7] and ultimately became a thief working for Vanisher. Hank and Bobby explain to Boom Boom what X-Factor's true agenda is and convinces her to come back with them to the compound to live.

After some consideration, she agrees, and Hank begins to regret it when the troublesome Boom Boom jokingly blasts part of Iceman's ice slide that he is riding on while on their way back to the compound.

Back at St. Vincents hospital, Scott and Jean have returned to find Warren sleeping. Scott tells her that in light of the events of the day he has decided to go back up to Alaska to find Madelyne and try to make their marriage work. While this wounds Jean, she keeps it to herself and she encourage Scott to go.

This story is continued next issue...

Notes

See Also

• 2 image(s) from X-Factor Vol 1 12
• 3 reprint(s) of X-Factor Vol 1 12

Links and References

References