Part Eight: “A struggle which will not end for a hundred years -- and not even then!”
Clearly, Spiral had some emotional interest in Shatterstar and Benjamin Russell. Despite the connections never having been clearly stated, however, it is possible to draw speculations from the established facts. In addition to the overview of her relationships with Longshot, Shatterstar and Benjamin, one also needs to consider Spiral’s complete mastery of time-travel, genetics and body modifications. With these added skills in mind, it is possible the connections Spiral felt toward Shatterstar and Benjamin Russell were maternal.
It has never been established that Spiral is related to Shatterstar. However, they have some sort of relationship and the clues point toward him being her son. Consider the logistical issues that might, at first glance, preclude Spiral from being Shatterstar’s mother. Although Dazzler and Longshot conceived the 
child they considered naming Shatterstar, the fetus mysteriously vanished without explanation. As sickening as the possibility sounds, Spiral - known for her obsessive, jealous and malicious personality, particularly when pertaining to Longshot - could have kidnapped the child from Dazzler’s womb and raised it on her own. She could have “grown” it at any rate she wanted, as she did with the Manh twins. [New Mutants Annual #2, Beast #1-3] Further, Spiral’s complete mastery of genetics would have allowed her to clone the child had she wished, thus creating a twin for Shatterstar in Benjamin Russell. Although Shatterstar supposedly originated from the Mojoverse 100 years in the future, time posed no barrier to Spiral, who could travel through it on a whim. Her time-dancing could have easily brought Shatterstar to the future while leaving Russell in Earth’s present. The logistical barriers that at first seem to oppose a connection between Spiral and Shatterstar actually serve to support the theory upon further investigation.
If this theory is true, it might explain some of the odd emotional connections between Spiral, Shatterstar and Benjamin Russell. In Benjamin Russell, Shatterstar would have had a chance to live a relatively normal existence on Earth, while as Shatterstar he could live as a fearsome warrior in position to fulfill his destiny of freeing the Mojoverse. In a sense, this dual nature of Shatterstar in a way mirrored Spiral’s: the woman she could have been as Rita, and the killing machine she actually became. However, the alleged Shatterstar clone may have had a more utilitarian purpose.
At the very least, Spiral valued Shatterstar because of his prophesized defeat of Mojo in the future. Perhaps this is why she seemingly restrained him in front of Mojo: she needed him in position to slay her corpulent master. Since Spiral foresaw that Shatterstar was destined to one day overthrow Mojo, it is possible she saw the possibility that he might also fail. If this were the case, then perhaps that is what Benjamin Russell was to her all along - merely a backup in case something dreadful befell Shatterstar. Aside from being a tool she could use to eliminate Mojo or possibly being her son, there existed a third, less gracious reason Spiral needed Shatterstar to survive.
Sometime after the incident with X-Force, Spiral, her demeanor drastically shifted, plotted to destroy Earth-616 by harnessing the power of a dangerous creature called Skornn. Apparently, every few dozen centuries, the Skornn was released upon the Earth, but every time previous, some “meddling warrior” bearing a mystical weapon called the Five Fingers of Annihilation drove it back. Spiral hoped the power the Skornn would obtain from devouring mutants would propel it to success. Nevertheless, she intended to make sure the Five Fingers of Annihilation were not an obstacle before she released the beast. To get the blade, she tricked Shatterstar, the most proficient warrior she knew, into stealing it for her from her former lover, Dominicus Pierce. Her plans changed when Shatterstar caught on to the trick and confronted her. Spiral snatched the blade and escaped through a dimensional void to an alternate Earth, which she proceeded to dominate by harnessing the power of the Five Fingers of Annihilation.
Her slaughter of this world’s inhabitants earned her the nickname Apocalypse by its few remaining denizens. After years of conquest, the only heroes who remained to oppose her total rule were that dimension’s version of Cable and X-Force. Before Spiral could snuff out the last remaining rebels, however, Shatterstar arrived by way of the same dimensional portal Spiral had used - albeit three years later - and aided X-Force in storming her castle. Spiral fought back, taunted them and boasted of her supposed omnipotence. However, when the time came to duel Shatterstar, Spiral neglected to use any of her vaunted abilities. She could have done many things to defeat him, but instead allowed herself to be captured. Whether or not this was intentional was unclear; 
maybe the 616-Shatterstar had some nebulous influence over her. Nevertheless, she was taken into X-Force’s custody while Shatterstar returned to Earth-616 bearing the Five Fingers of Annihilation. Spiral remained in X-Force’s captivity. [X-Force: Shatterstar #1-4]
Despite her brief forays into goodness, it seemed that Spiral still sought the destruction of the world. Was her faith in Shatterstar nothing all along but faith that he could remove the one obstacle in the path of Earth’s destruction? Perhaps this is all she meant when she said he meant more to her than the entire world: she hated the entire world, and needed Shatterstar to steal the Five Fingers of Annihilation so she could destroy it.
Part Nine – “Sisterhood, Strike!”
Spiral once seized the chance to resurrect one of her loved ones. After somehow escaping from her prison on the alternate Earth she conquered, she returned to the 
Mojoverse and served Mojo for a while. One day, while repairing her protégé Lady Deathstrike in the Body Shoppe, she was approached by Madelyne Pryor, at that point calling herself the Red Queen. Madelyne threatened to destroy Spiral if she didn’t join her new Sisterhood and help her defeat the X-Men. It turned out Spiral didn’t need the threat of death to join; she and Lady Deathstrike enthusiastically signed up right away. [Uncanny X-Men #504]
Still, the Red Queen promised to resurrect someone for each member of her Sisterhood in exchange for their help in getting what she wanted from the X-Men. Judging by how she reacted when the Red Queen appeared to renege on the offer, Spiral had someone in mind she fiercely wanted to resurrect. [Uncanny X-Men #509] Madelyne’s plans ultimately failed and she was destroyed before ever living up to her end of the bargain. Spiral had to retreat with Chimera, Lady Deathstrike and the Mastermind sisters. [Uncanny X-Men #511]
The question of whom Spiral wanted to resurrect remains a mystery. However, throughout her long and convoluted history, Spiral has only ever expressed affection for three people: Longshot, Shatterstar and Benjamin Russell. Of those three, Longshot is still alive and Shatterstar lives on through Benjamin Russell - the man who meant the world to her yet never had a chance to fully live his life. Perhaps she wants to resurrect Benjamin, maybe by way Shatterstar’s old body. Of course, there might be others known only to Spiral she wanted to resurrect, or maybe she had someone in mind she wanted to 
resurrect in the figurative sense. Ricochet Rita, her former persona, comes to mind. Still, without more insight into what exactly Spiral was thinking, it is hard to draw any concrete conclusions - even as to whether she wanted this person returned for good or evil reasons, e.g. Shatterstar and the Five Fingers of Annihilation.
Speaking of Shatterstar, beyond her attempt to use him to destroy the world, her connection to him has yet to be explored since that fateful day at the Weismann Institute. However, with both Longshot and Shatterstar resurfacing to join Jamie Madrox’s X-Factor in Detroit and Spiral active as a member of the Red Queen’s now-defunct Sisterhood in San Francisco, perhaps a meeting - and some further clarification - is possible. In the meantime, Spiral will undoubtedly continue doing what she does best: offering her services to the highest bidder, kidnapping people and augmenting their bodies - and dancing her dance.