The New Mutants, who now have the X-Terminators among their membership, return the young Illyana Rasputin to Russia, when Mirage and Brightwind both collapse mysteriously. The New Mutants return to Manhattan, where Ship runs some diagnostics on Mirage, and determines that her illness is not of Earthly origin, and as X-Factor are in London, suggests they take Mirage to Doctor Strange. Arriving in Greenwich Village, with Dani and Brightwind, the New Mutants learn from Wong that Doctor Strange is dead, but Boom-Boom doesn’t believe him and tosses a time bomb into the house, which Strange, watching in the shadows, disposes of, while realizing that the New Mutants are in grave danger. Indeed, as Mirage and Brightwind are engulfed in flames and act almost as if they are possessed. They begin attacking the New Mutants, burning everything their flames touch. Doctor Strange’s astral form pulls Mirage’s spirit to the Astral Plane and begins to asses her, except in doing so, he took away her control over her physical form, which now acts even more savagely. Cannonball removes Mirage from Brightwind, and Rusty, Sunspot and Warlock try to lasso Brightwind. Boom-Boom blows up a hydrant which she thinks might douse Mirage’s flames, but only turns them into steam, so Skids rescues Cannonball, who is scalded in the process. Mirage sees what is happening to her friends, but the pain is unbearable for her, she is too afraid to return to her body. Strange finds it odd that Dani is both mutant and Valkyrie, and when Mirage watches her physical form injure Wolfsbane, her dearest friend, she returns to her body, then uses her powers to create a machine that makes ice, and traps both Mirage and Brightwind in a massive block of ice. Dr. Strange casts a spell undoing all the damage Mirage and Brightwind caused, before revealing himself to the New Mutants in his guise of Dr. Sanders, but they decline his help and decide to take Mirage back to Ship. Meanwhile in Asgard, Hela watches Mirage and the New Mutants disdain and boasts that her revenge is just beginning.
- Writer: Louise Simonson
- Artist: Rich Buckler