CHAMBER: Page 4 of 4

BIOGRAPHY - Page 4

Not long thereafter, though, Chamber discovered a hidden level in the Weapon X compound containing dozens of kidnapped telepaths who were responsible for projecting the "psychic chaff" that was keeping the program off the psychic radar. The unwillingly-manipulated telepaths pointed him towards Neverland, and a transport ship leaving for it. Jono called Wolverine, telling him that he was hitching a ride to Neverland's exact location. He called in again later to send the coordinates to Logan and report what he had found... and then the line went dead. When Wolverine arrived at the Neverland facility not much later, it had been completely abandoned, with Chamber and the inmates nowhere to be found. [Weapon X (2nd series) #19-21]

Jono next showed up weeks later, having been brainwashed by Weapon X agent Mesmero into serving the program completely loyally; he had even forgotten that he had ever been an X-Man. Chamber was caught up in the three-way war of the various factions within the program, when suddenly the M-Day arrived and the Decimation wave wiped out the powers of about 90% of Earth’s mutant population, including Chamber‘s. This prevented the bionic energy regulator in his chest from functioning properly, and it exploded within him, leaving his lower jaw and a large portion of his chest region completely missing. Miraculously, the X-Men somehow managed to locate him before he died, and placed him in a special Shi'ar medi-system to regulate his body functions and keep him alive, if nothing else. [New Excalibur #9, Generation M #1]

Eventually, he was transferred to a hospital in London for observation, where he was found by Frederick Slade, an old acquaintance of his great-grandfather, still active in the Clan Akkaba. Slade kidnapped Jono from the hospital and took him away to the clan's secret meeting place, where Chamber was infused to large amounts of Apocalypse's metamorphic blood. Despite the loss of his x-gene, Chamber was still "blood of Apocalypse's blood" and so the transfusion triggered a massive reconstruction of his body, regenerating all his injuries while leaving him with skin and facial markings based on Apocalypse's own, as well as a massive Clan Akkaba tattoo marking on his chest. And, apparently, that was it - the clan wanted nothing more from him at the time, but were merely taking care of their own. After the treatment, Jono was free to go, and he departed for parts unknown, desiring nothing else but to be left alone. [New Excalibur #9]

In the wake of M-Day, and as the United States underwent a Civil War of its super humans, Donyell Taylor, the second Night Thrasher, put together a new group of New Warriors. This incarnation consisted mostly of de-powered mutants, including Jubilee, Beak and Jono, all of whom were offered forms of technology to replace their powers. Jono chose throat technology that gave him sonic powers. His reasoning behind this was that his previous mutant powers and the transformation at the hands of Clan Akkaba were not his choice, so he wanted to be in control for a change. To reflect his newfound powers, Jono took the code-name Decibel. He served as a loyal member of the team and proved useful in various battles in which the team took part, including fighting former members of the original New Warriors team. Eventually, the team disbanded and the members went their separate ways, with Jono and Jubilee making their way to Utopia. [New Warriors (4th series) #3-9, 11-20]

Jono kept a low profile on Utopia, never actively participating in any missions with any of his former teammates. However, when the reality warp known as the “Age of X” swept across the island nation, even he wasn’t immune to its effects. In the altered reality, Jono had regained the use of his mutant powers, reverted to his pre-Clan Akkaba appearance, and was once again using the codename Chamber. He believed that the remaining mutants banded together out of desperation, nothing more. He actively took part in the daily battles to keep Fortress X and the mutants that lived there safe. During the Age of X, Chamber spent some of his time with Jubilee. However, when the secrets behind the fake world were revealed and reality was restored, Jono was surprised to find himself restored to reality just as he was during the Age of X - original powers, and pre-Clan Akkaba appearance. Jono was examined by Dr. Kavita Rao, who confirmed that he had been restored to his original appearance and that all of Clan Akkaba’s work had been erased. Apparently, he did not take the transformation well. [Age of X crossover, X-Men Legacy (1st series) #247]

Following the X-Men’s “schism,” in which the mutant community split into two factions, Chamber took the opportunity to join Wolverine’s side and accompanied many others back to Westchester. He began teaching at the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning. One of the classes he taught was “Coping with Physical Changes” and his students included many with obvious physical mutations. [X-Men Legacy (1st series) #264]

So far, Chamber has been relatively quiet about the return to his original appearance. Similarly, he has not expressed any emotion to the fact that his long-time ex-girlfriend, Husk, is also teaching at the Jean Grey School. How long before both these issues are dealt with remains to be seen.