X-Force (1st series) #92

Issue Date: 
July 1999
Story Title: 
Strange Interlude
Staff: 

John Francis Moore (writer), Mike Miller (guest penciler), Holdredge, Mei, Candelario, Collazo, Palmiotti (guest inkers), Marie Javins (colorist), Richard Starkings & Comicraft’s Oscar (letterers), Lysa Kraiger (assistant editor), Jason Liebig (editor), Bob Harras (editor-in-chief)

Brief Description: 

Domino finds herself in a strange realm that shows holographic versions of an outside world, while a strange voice guides her through her journey. She comes across something called the Chaos Engine, and learns it is a transdimensional reality interface, before she meets Halloween Jack, the master of this realm with a very disturbed persona. Most of all, Jack is obsessed with Domino and tells her that he has rescued her from the real world to save her from death and destruction that her life has. He reveals how he survived death in his own future, and warns Domino that in the near future, X-Force will fail to stop a pantheon of destructive beings. Jack brings up several names from Domino’s past, including Victor Lomezo, which strikes a nerve with Domino, who makes her way back to the Chaos Engine and after a battle with Halloween Jack, convinces him to send her back to her reality - destroying his in the process, but bringing him to Domino’s world also. Domino leaves the unconscious Jack and decides to call SHIELD on him, after she calls Victor Lomenzo, but gets no answer, so leaves a message. Meanwhile, the INS reveals to Sunspot that they have images of him consorting with Reignfire, a known terrorist, and that he can face trial in the States or return to his own country voluntarily. Knowing he cannot explain the situation with revealing his friends in X-Force, he is faced with a predicament. Finally, Proudstar, Cannonball, Moonstar, Meltdown and Bedlam are taking some time out, discussing their missing teammates, unaware of the trouble Domino and Sunspot are in, when a strange voice announces that they are in need of Moonstar’s power and that the whole world depends on her.

Full Summary: 

Domino, member of X-Force, stands in a seemingly endless white nothingness. Someone is watching her. His scratchy voice exclaims that at last his guest from San Francisco has arrived. ‘Like Alice after tumbling down the rabbit hole, she has been transported to a strange and disturbing new world’ he exclaims. He knows that Domino is a little disorientated, dismayed and perhaps even a tad nauseous, as the sub-atomic shock of teleportation can make even the heartiest traveler queasy. He is sure that Domino is asking herself the most obvious questions: ‘Where am I? What’s going on? Do I look fat in this outfit?’. The mysterious observer remarks that these and many other questions will be answered when they finally stand face to face, for there is no hurry, as Domino will not be leaving any time soon.

Domino sees a gray door up ahead, and walks towards it, while the unknown being watching her comments that he considered constructing some sort of convoluted death trap for her - spikes, poison gas, razor wheels, the whole nine yards - but physical challenges bore him. Psychological intrigue is so much more satisfying. ‘Don’t be afraid of the dark, my dear. Your destination lies ahead of you’ the strange voice calls out as Domino opens the door and steps into the pitch-black area. ‘Who are you? what do you want from me?’ a slightly perplexed Domino asks, looking around.

‘Think of my as your guardian angel’ the voice calls out. ‘Funny. I never imagined my guardian would sound like Tom Waits’ Domino replies, while thinking to herself that it is too bad the acoustics in here are so distorted, for there is no way she can locate the source of the strange voice. ‘Should’ve expected something like this to happen. I gave up my chance for a normal life long ago’ Domino tells herself, while recalling that an hour ago she was in North Beach, reading the riot act to an overzealous East Coast detective named Sanders, who had tracked her down after she foiled a bank robbery last time she was in Washington DC. ‘I was handing the Detective his walking papers when someone teleported me to this well-lit locale’ Domino recalls.

‘And when I meet that someone, I’m going to make him regret it’ Domino thinks to herself, approaching a set of French doors, while the strange voices tells her to enter freely and of her own will. ‘Uh huh…free will doesn’t seem to be an option today’ Domino replies. The unknown being thinks to himself that Domino is understandably suspicious, but that she will soon realize that resistance will only bring herself misery. ‘She needs to accept that she’s no longer in control - and that this is her new home’ he tells himself as Domino passes through the doors, and finds herself in a nicely decorated living room.

‘Interesting. Most of the prisons I’ve done time in weren’t furnished like a suite at the Ritz-Carlton’ Domino exclaims, when suddenly, a voice declares ‘Is everything to your liking, Madam?’ As Domino spins around and shoves a middle-aged man into the wall, the observer remarks that she is a joy to behold in motion. ‘All right, pal. I don’t know what’s going on, but if I don’t find out, somebody’s getting hurt!’ Domino exclaims. With Domino’s hand around his neck, the man tells her that there is no need for violence, before introducing himself as Quentin, and explaining that he is here to assist her in anyway he can. ‘I don’t need a butler, Jeeves. I need answers’ Domino exclaims. ‘Who’s behind this. Arcade? The Gamesmaster?’ she calls out.

Quentin adjusts his collar when Domino releases him and he replies that he is unacquainted with those gentleman. ‘The master of the house is no one you have met’ he reveals, adding that she can be assured that the master of the house will explain his motives when he meets her. ‘Let’s go. I’m dying to meet your…master’ Domino tells him. Quentin tells Domino that the master is present indisposed, but she is expected to dine with him in two hours. He motions to a wardrobe and suggests she may care to change. ‘We’ve tried to provide a suitable wardrobe for your stay’ he tells her.

Opening the wardrobe, Domino discovers that the only clothes in there are copies of all her old costumes. ‘Where did you -’ she begins, but turning around sees that Quentin has vanished. ‘You can’t get good help these days’ Domino mutters, while the strange being watching her decides that Quentin has served his purpose, and Domino’s curiosity is piqued. After donning one of her costumes, Domino thinks to herself that none of this makes sense. ‘Whoever brought me here has to realize four-star accommodations won’t make up for kidnapping me’ Domino thinks to herself, deciding that there is no way she is going to wait for her kidnapper to call her to dinner. ‘I need to find a way out of here’ she tells herself, before looking out a window to establish her location.

Judging by the view, Domino tells herself that she must be somewhere outside of Firenze, Italy, recalling how she can Cable crossed paths here a few years ago when they were both tracking an international arms dealer, but that dealer is now dead, so Domino does not believe this to be related. Deciding that it is time she got some fresh air, Domino struggles to open the windows, ’Looks like I’m not going to be dining al fresco tonight’ she tells herself, before the scenic view vanishes, and crawling through the window Domino finds herself in a service tunnel, with the view outside her window nothing more than a flat panel holographic display. ’That explains how Quentin made his mysterious exit’ Domino decides as she continues on through the tunnel, telling herself that this place goes on forever.

Domino’s mysterious observer continues to watch her as Domino makes her way down a flight of concrete stairs, and he remarks to himself that what the intrepid young lady does not realize is that the interior of his citadel is malleable and can be changed to suit his needs, and that he arranged the runnels and stairwells to lead her where he wants her to go. He watches as Domino reaches what he calls the Chaos Engine, his grandest creation, and the heart of his happy little home. He knows that Boone will be there, though Boone will have no interest in their guest, for all he cares about is system maintenance. He tells himself that Boone is a genius, but that he is so unbearably tedious that he cannot stand being around him anymore. He adds that Domino will know immediately that Boone is no threat to her.

‘You’re not supposed to be here’ Boone calls out from where he is working with the strange machine in the room. ‘Believe me, I didn’t ask to be here’ Domino replies, before asking what the machine is. Without turning around to look at her, Boone replies that it Is the Chaos Engine, a Tran dimensional reality interface. ‘You wouldn’t understand’ he tells Domino, who asks if that is how she was brought here. Boone lifts up his goggles and tells Domino not to be absurd. ‘You were grabbed using a conventional teleportation signal. I told him it would be a mistake bringing you here, but he never listens to me anymore.

‘Who? The butler was very vague about the man behind the curtain’ Domino remarks, to which Boone tells her not to worry, as she will meet Jack sooner than she would like. ‘You’re all he’s been talking about for weeks’ Boone reveals. Domino looks around and remarks that, if it is all the same, she would rather go home, or anywhere else for that matter. ’Can you help me get out of here?’ she asks. Boone returns to his tinkering as he tells Domino that she can’t leave, none of them can, they are all prisoners of Jack’s dementia. ‘You’d be surprised what I’m capable of’ Domino replies. ‘That’s what they all say’ Boone exclaims, before telling Domino that this is Jack’s world. His rules. His reality. ‘Now if you’ll excuse me, I have work to do’ he exclaims.

Making her way a long a corridor, Domino thinks to herself that Mr Personality was no help, and that if she is getting out of here she is going to have to do it on her own. Domino tells herself that this place is a maze, but is thankful that her “guardian angel” has been silent, before coming to some sort of door. ‘This look’s promising’ Domino tells herself as she presses a button beside the door. There is a KLIK, before a voice exclaims ‘Warning. Citadel seal breached’. ‘Uh-oh’ Domino exclaims, while the mysterious Jack tells himself that his citadel is surrounded by a field of pure chaos which keeps its location hidden and deters all uninvited guests, and direct contact with that reality-bending energy is unpleasant to say the least.

Domino finds out first hand as her body begins to warm, her arms extend, her head grows, and the reality around her spins into red, orange and yellow shades. Domino, for all her strength and skill, has no defense against the subatomic fluctuations that bend and twist her mind and body. The mysterious Jack states that prolonged exposure will drive a person mad first, and then leave her body an ever-changing mass of once human protoplasm. But he has no intention of leaving such a magnificent woman to such a cruel fate. ‘I was simply making a point’ he tells himself, while Domino clutches her head in shock at the transformation. A green-skinned hand suddenly turns the switch by the door down, and the scratchy voice tells Domino that she cannot leave yet, as the fun hasn’t even started.

Domino drops to the ground, as the green-skinned man stands before her, his strange black costume flowing around him as he declares that it breaks his heart to think Domino would try to sneak out the back door after all the trouble he went through to get her here. ‘Do you know how difficult it was to track you down, let alone complete a teleportational transfer?’ he asks. ‘You must be Jack’ Domino remarks. ‘Halloween Jack, master of mayhem and mirth at your service!’ Jack pronounces, before exclaiming ‘May I say that you are even more beautiful in pers-’, but he doesn’t get to finish his sentence, as Domino smacks him the face. ‘I don’t take kindly to being kidnapped’ she tells him.

Halloween Jack grins wickedly as he exclaims ’Mmm…that hurt…excellent...I like a girl who’s not afraid to get physical…and I can tell from the look in your eyes that you find my very attractive, too’ he exclaims. Domino folds her arms and tells Jack that she doesn’t want any part of whatever game he is playing. ‘I want out. Now’ she declares. Jack begins walking away from her as he tells her that the only way out of here is through the chaos field that surrounds his humble abode. He tells her that prolonged exposure would only turn that devastating body of hers into nothing but a mass of quivering protoplasm. ‘What do you want from me?’ Domino asks him. ‘Your company at dinner. I promise you, I’ll explain everything then’ Halloween Jack exclaims.

‘Ah, sweet Domino, I hope you appreciate everything I’ve done to make you feel at home’ Halloween Jack remarks to himself as Domino returns to her room, wondering to herself when it was she became a magnet for psychopaths. Domino wishes that she knew more about Jack, as she doesn’t like dealing with an opponent who knows more about her than she does about him, before deciding that she is going to play along with the Tex Avery reject until she can figure out how to disable the chaos field.

Looking at the bookcase, Domino decides that this is very creepy, for not only has Jack duplicated her wardrobe, but he has got her favourite books and CD’s - everything from Ayub Ogada to Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens. ‘How can he possibly know so much about my tastes?’ she wonders, before noticing a book on a table, with DOMINO printed on the cover. Halloween Jack continues to observe, telling himself that vanity and curiosity are a hard combination to resist, and that the album’s content will prove that his interest in her is not superficial. A shocked Domino flicks through the book, which is filled with past photos of her. ‘I’m in more trouble than I thought. Halloween Jack’s obsessed with me’ Domino realizes. ‘What can I say, I’m an old-fashioned romantic’ Halloween Jack says to himself.

Meanwhile, in San Francisco, ‘You’re treating me like a criminal!’ Bobby “Sunspot” DaCosta of X-Force exclaims, slamming his hand down on a table, he shouts ‘You have no right to do this to me!’. One of the INS Agents tells Bobby that he came to this country on a student Visa, and that he is no longer in school, nor does he have a job or a Green Card. ‘Here at the INS, that makes you an illegal alien’. ‘This is harassment! You’re going to regret this!’ Sunspot shouts, but a man in a gray suit tells him to calm down, before introducing himself to the INS Agents as Hiram Fogelstrom, explaining that he represents Mr DaCosta. Hiram declares that he is not denying his client overstayed his Visa, adding that lots of kids his age do, but that there is no need to press charges.

Hiram announces that beginning tomorrow, his client will begin work at the San Francisco office of DaCosta International, and that he has spoken to Judge Woo about expediting his Green Card. But one of the INS Agents holds up a photograph and tells Mr Fogelstrom that he is sorry, but this is one rich kid neither he nor the Judge can get out of jail free. ‘Take a look at this photo taken on the Colorado University campus a few months ago. Your client is in the company of Reignfire, a mutant terrorist wanted in connection with the destruction of a Las Vegas casino’ the Agent declares.

‘You’ve got it all wrong! Reignfire was -’ Sunspot begins, before stopping mid-sentence, wondering why he is saying that, as he cannot explain it without revealing that he is Sunspot, which would expose everyone in X-Force. One of the Agents tells Bobby that he has two choices - one, he can stay and face criminal conspiracy charges, or two, he can leave the country voluntarily.

Back in the other dimension, Halloween Jack tells himself that he knows a woman like Domino is not easily won, but that he will not be deterred. ‘I will break her defenses down’ he boasts, before Domino enters the space where he is playing on a piano. ‘Ain’t misbehaving - saving my love for you -’ he sings, before smiling at Domino as she approaches him. Halloween Jack tells Domino that it is a song by the great Fats Waller. ‘Thank you, I’ll be here all week’ he jokes, before announcing that the next song is a special number going out to a very special lady, but Domino tells him to lose the lounge act. ‘It doesn’t - whoa -’ Domino exclaims as she suddenly finds herself floating.

Jack is also floating, and remarks to Domino that he forgot to warn her that he designed this room with specific gravity fields. ‘A great space saving device’ he remarks, while Domino narrows her eyes, ‘You said you’d explain why I’m here’ she reminds him. Halloween Jack tells Domino that he brought her here so that she might enjoy the finer things in life - good food, luxurious surroundings, fascinating company. ‘A woman like you deserves only the best!’ Halloween Jack declares, before motioning to the table, covered with food, and asking Domino if she wants a canapé. ‘I’m not going to be part of
your twisted fantasy!’ Domino shouts, kicking the table over.

Domino orders Halloween Jack to send her back to San Francisco, otherwise she will tear him and this place apart. Halloween Jack frowns and tells Domino that he cannot do that, and that he does not want her death on his conscience. ‘You’re safe here’ he tells her. ‘Safe from what?’ Domino retorts. ‘Why your death wish, of course’ Jack explains. Images of Domino and her teammates facing a variety of foes flash past as Halloween Jack tells Domino that she is on a deadly path that will only end in self-destruction. ‘Your life has been filled with nothing but bone-breaking battle and life-threatening danger. Since childhood you’ve sought out others who life in dangerous circumstances. First street gangs, then mercenary outfits, and now the mutants in X-Force’ Jack exclaims. He continues, telling Domino that she keeps pushing herself closer to the edge, waiting to see how long her luck will last. ‘Don’t you want something more from life than unending struggle? Don’t you think it’s time you had a little fun?’.

‘And you’re going to provide me the life I’ve denied myself. That’s pretty damn generous of you’ Domino remarks, standing before Halloween Jack. ‘Aww…I’m a generous guy’ Jack exclaims. ‘That was sarcasm, Jack. I don’t need your two-bit psyche evaluation. You don’t know anything about me!’ Domino exclaims. But Jack tells her that on the contrary, he knows more about her than Domino knows about herself. ‘I am privy to the most intimate details of your tumultuous life-’ he declares, before Domino asks who he knows all this. Handing over a diary, Halloween Jack replies ‘Research, my dear. I don’t let my devil-may-care demeanor fool you, I am nothing if not thorough’.

Domino looks at the diary and exclaims ‘My journal?’, adding that she put this in a safe deposit box in Prague. ‘How did you get this?’ she asks, to which Halloween Jack reveals that he liberated it, but that is not important. ‘I want you to hear about my dream. You and I are lying on a beach in Cancun -’ he begins, before Domino interrupts, ‘Wait a minute, are you telling me you’re from the future?’ she exclaims. ‘Did I forget to mention that?’ Halloween Jack asks, adding that he is no an official card-carrying time traveler.

Jack tells Domino that life was great until the polar ice caps melted and the fun quotient dropped to zero. ‘I had to do something before my desert hacienda became an aquarium’ he reveals, adding that off world colonization held no appeal, so he created a limited chronal anomaly to take him and his desert digs to an earlier era. He explains that before he went forward in the past, he had to learn all he could about the opposition he might encounter, and while watching through the historical documentation on the age of heroes, he became distracted by the face of an angel. ‘From the first moment I saw your distinctive look, I knew that we were meant to be together’ Jack tells Domino, adding that it is not just because he knew that all her previous boyfriends would pale in comparison, but he knew that he could rescue her from the tragic fate that lies ahead if she continues her inexplicable alliance with X-Force.

‘You mean you traveled back in time to stalk me?’ Domino asks. ‘No, to save your life!’ Jack tells her. ‘Assuming I buy your story, what is this terrible fate I’ll avoid by being here?’ Domino asks. ‘I’ll show you’ Jack tells Domino, motioning to a ball glowing energy behind him, he explains that it is a liquid date archive containing historical information stored electronically in solution. ‘Access X-Force oblivion confrontation’ Jack orders, and images flash before Domino, of some unidentified beings hovering in the background, while her teammates Cannonball, Moonstar, Proudstar, Sunspot, Meltdown and Siryn fall before them. Halloween Jack tells Domino that in the near future, Domino and her mutant entourage will encounter a pantheon of destructive beings intent on reshaping the world to their whim. ’X-Force will attempt to stop them. They will fail miserably’ Jack announces, adding that most tragically, Domino will make a mistake and be the first to fall against this threat - and her sacrifice will be in vain.

‘I’ve escaped death before. I’ll do it again’ Domino declares. But Halloween Jack tells her not this time, and that it is not only her own life at stake here, but those of her friends. ‘Your overconfidence will lead not only to your death, but to those of your teammates as well’ he explains, telling Domino that is always true for her, as she is a lightning rod for disaster, and it is the people closest to her who get hurt the most. ‘Your sister. Your ex-husband Miles. Grizzly. Victor Lomenzo. It’s a wonder he’s still alive’ Halloween Jack exclaims. Domino looks nervous, to which Jack asks her if he ha touched a nerve.

‘This conversation is over, Jack!’ Domino exclaims, walking away, but Jack’s body stretches so that he moves in front of her, telling her not to turn his back on him. ‘Don’t you see I’m doing this all for you. For us’ he tells her as he puts his hands on her shoulders. Domino warns him to get his hands off her, but Jack tells her he won’t, and that she leaves when he says so. ‘This is my world. My rules. My reality’ he declares. Domino tells Jack that she has been restraining herself because she thinks he is mentally ill, but that she can only be so charitable. With that, Domino hits Jack, although it feels like a kiss to him, and she runs away, though she doesn’t expect Jack to be down too long, as he is stronger than he looks. ‘I hope I remember the layout of this place’ Domino thinks to herself as she runs down one of the corridors, before finally coming across what she was looking for: the Chaos Engine.

Domino sees that Boone is nowhere to be found, which she decides is not surprising, as she has a nagging suspicion that Jack’s retinue is a lot smaller than she first assumed. Domino looks at the Chaos Engine and remembers that Jack said the citadel was protected by a field of chaos energy. She tells herself that all she has to do is figure out how to shut the generator off and then get as far away from here as possible. ‘And no matter where this place is, being outside has got to beat being inside’ Domino decides, wishing that she had watched Boone closer as she looks at the console, seeing so many switches, with none of them labeled.

‘The question is: do I feel lucky?’ Domino wonders, before telling herself to go with her instincts. ‘That’s the one’ she tells herself as she presses a large orange button. Suddenly, ‘Don’t touch that!’ a voice shouts. Domino spins around and sees Cable standing in front of her. Cable warns Domino that the entire system is rigged to explode without the correct password. ‘Cable! How did you get here?’ Domino asks. Cable hugs Domino and explains to her that X-Force contacted him when she disappeared, and remarks that it was lucky he was able to trace the teleportation field’s energy signal here. ‘Thank the Bright Lady you’re all right!’

Domino pulls away and asks Cable if he has a way to get through the chaos field. ‘Absolutely!’ Cable exclaims, to which Domino tells him it is a good thing he arrived when he did. ‘You know that I’d follow you to the ends of the Earth, my love’ Cable replies. ‘Forgive me if I doubt your sincerity -’ Domino exclaims as she kicks Cable hard in the chest, causing Halloween Jack to drop his disguise, reverting back to his true form. Domino tells Jack that he overplayed his hand. ‘Hard to maintain a different shape when you’re in pain, eh?’ she asks, while Jack asks Domino how she knew, explaining that he studied all the available records of Cable - his swagger, his hairline.

‘For one thing, you didn’t quite nail my relationship with Cable. And secondly, I pegged you for a shape-shifter after you repeated Boone’s line about your world, rules and reality’ Domino declares, adding that she supposes Jack was the butler as well, before telling him that it doesn’t matter what form he takes, as he is still disturbed. ‘You can’t reject me. You will fall in love with me and we will be happy!’ Jack shouts as he holds up a staff with some sort of electrical charge at one end, telling Domino that he has read her diary, that he knows her. ‘You need me. I can be the family you never had!’ he tells her.

Domino leaps onto Jack’s back, telling him that he just doesn’t get it. ‘I found my family in X-Force. And if any of what you told me is true, I’m not going to run out on them when there’s a storm on the horizon’ she exclaims. Halloween Jack grins and tells Domino that she doesn’t need them when she can have him. ‘I can be all of whoever you want me to be…the redhead - the Indian - the other Indian - the rich kid - the hothead - the hick - even the new one!’ Jack exclaims as he morphs into Siryn, Moonstar, Proudstar, Sunspot, Meltdown and Cannonball respectively, though he doesn’t take the form of Bedlam because Domino kicks Jack in the face, telling him that it doesn’t matter what he looks like. ‘Ever hear the phrase “Not in a million years”?’ she asks him, grabbing the staff.

Jack wipes his face, telling Domino that she is lucky she caught him mid transformation, as he is vulnerable then. ‘I can be vulnerable if that’s what you want’ he tells her. ‘Nah, the sensitive schtick doesn’t play with me. Oh, by the way, you dropped your…um…cattle prod’ Domino exclaims. ‘Let me give it back to you’ she offers as she shoves it into Halloween Jack, causing him to scream in agony as the electrical charge runs through him. Suddenly, the Chaos Engine turns gray, and makes strange sounds. Domino looks at it, concerned, and wonders if she didn’t hit the right button.

Jack reminds Domino that he told her not to touch anything. ‘Why didn’t you listen to me?’ he asks as he explains that the Chaos Engine is overloading. He exclaims that if he doesn’t make repairs immediately then it will reach critical mass and explode - at which point both of them will be consumed and his citadel destroyed. ‘Gee, that sounds bad, Jack’ Domino mocks, telling him that his survival must depend on whether she lets him get up or not. ‘Yes, damn you!’ Jack exclaims. Domino suggests to him that they make a deal, asking him how badly he wants to get out of here. ‘There’s a matter transporter on the fifth level. I’ll give you the codes and coordinates. Just let me repair the engine!’ Jack exclaims.

Domino grabs Jack by his shirt, ‘Not good enough’ she tells him, declaring that she doesn’t want him pulling the same stunt again. ‘You and I are both going to leave’ she tells him. But Jack exclaims that all his work and all his resources will be destroyed. ‘I’ll be left with nothing!’ he exclaims, but Domino tells him that he doesn’t have a choice. Jack programs the transporter while Domino holds the taser to his neck, and all Jack could think was how Domino was warming to his charm.

In the end, Jack did everything Domino asked. ‘Compromise is very important in a relationship’ he told himself, deciding that all he needed to win her over was a romantic locale, and moments later they materialize in Las Vegas. ‘Jack, this isn’t San Francisco’ Domino tells him. Jack replies that Vegas is much more his style, before asking whether he mentioned that he was lord and master of this town in another hundred years. Jack tells Domino that he thinks they will be very happy here. ‘With my brains and your luck, we’ll have this town in its knees in days’ he exclaims.

Domino tells Jack that he has to drop the whole “we” delusion. ‘But my citadel’s been destroyed. I have nowhere to go now’ he exclaims, telling Domino that she is stuck with him. ‘I don’t think so’ Domino declares before smacking Jack over the head with the staff. ‘But I lo-’ Jack exclaims, unable to complete his sentence as he falls to the ground. Domino walks away and tosses the staff down to Jack, thinking to herself that she should call SHIELD and have him locked up before he hurts anyone. ‘But I think I have a more important call to make. Jack brought up a part of my past I’m not proud of’ Domino tells herself, before finding a payphone, deciding that it is time to make amends. The number Domino calls goes to answer phone, so she leaves a message: ‘Victor, it’s Domino. I know it’s been a long time, but I think it’s time we talk…Victor?’.

Meanwhile, on the Marina Green in San Francisco, the remaining five members of X-Force - Danielle Moonstar, Sam “Cannonball” Guthrie, James Proudstar, Tabitha “Meltdown” Smith and Jesse “Bedlam” Aaronson - try their best to enjoy an unseasonably sunny day - but the notable absence of three of their companions casts a shadow over their attempt. Sitting on a slope, James tells Tabitha that he knew Siryn was having a tough time adjusting to the loss of her voice, but that he never thought she would leave. He remarks that he wished he could have convinced her to stay, that he wishes he could do something to help her.

Tabitha tells James that sometimes you have to give people their space, especially the people you love. ‘Geez will you listen to me. Like I know anything about relationships. Bobby must be really angry at me for breaking up with me. He didn’t come home last night’ Tabitha exclaims. Sam is playing Frisbee with Dani and Jesse and exclaims that he doesn’t think Bobby has been with anyone as long as Tabitha since his first girlfriend back in Brazil. Sam adds that Bobby is probably still reeling from the shock of getting dumped, but is sure he will be back soon. ‘Hey, Dani, this one’s coming your way!’ Sam shouts as he throws the Frisbee towards Dani, when suddenly, a bolt of energy shatters the Frisbee, and a voice exclaims ‘Dani Moonstar, we have need of your power. The world depends on you!’, and Dani turns around in horror….

Characters Involved: 

Bedlam II, Cannonball, Domino, Meltdown, Moonstar, Proudstar, Sunspot (all X-Force)

Halloween Jack 2099

Agent Sanchez & Agent Fulton

Hiram Fogelstrom

Electryon (unseen, voice only)

In Flashback Image:

Domino

Detective Napoleon Sanders

In Illustrative Image:

Cannonball, Domino, Meltdown, Proudstar, Siryn (all X-Force)

Magma

Forearm

Juggernaut

Prime Sentinels

Zona

In Future-Glimpse:

Cannonball, Domino, Meltdown, Moonstar, Proudstar, Siryn, Sunspot (all X-Force)

Unidentified pantheon of destructive beings

Story Notes: 

Domino was kidnapped in X-Force (1st series) #91.

The bank robbery that Domino foiled took place in X-Force (1st series) #72.

Halloween Jack 2099 is a character from the X-Men 2099 series. He was killed in 2099 World of Tomorrow #2, but this issue shows he was pulled from the timeline prior to his death and deposited here.

Sunspot was picked up by INS in X-Force (1st series) #91.

Sunspot arrived in the United States in Marvel Graphic Novel #4, to attend Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters as one of the original New Mutants.

Sunspot was at Colorado University because he was visiting former teammate Skids, which is where Reignfire attacked him. [X-Force (1st series) #78-80]

Siryn quit X-Force in X-Force (1st series) #91, after losing her powers as a result of having her throat slashed by Feral in X-Force (1st series) #90.

X-Force are unaware that Sunspot was picked up by the INS shortly after Meltdown broke up with him in X-Force (1st series) #91.

Sunspot’s girlfriend Juliana Sandoval was killed by the Hellfire Club in Marvel Graphic Novel #4.

Sunspot and Meltdown hooked up in X-Force (1st series) #75.

Halloween Jack 2099 has not appeared since this issue.

Issue Information: 
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