Secret Wars II

A metero crashed near Denver and Molecule Man seemed to think that something was amiss.  Volcana called him back in to their apartment to watch television, but the reception soon broke up.  They looked outside to find boulders of earth flying through the air.  Volcana over-reacted, destroying one might boulder, but setting their apartment on fire in the process.  Molecule Man put the fire out and ventured outside to find the cause of the strange phenomenon.  

In Muir Isle, Professor Xavier cried out in pain.  He could sense the presence of the Beyonder and was determined to organise an attack.  While his son, David Haller, played with building blocks on the floor (see New Mutants #29) the Professor planned for Magneto to lead his X-Men into battle.  The Professor also sent out a telepathic call to Captain America.  Cap was on a passenger jet, flying coach when he received the message.  Immediately he asked the pilot to divert their course.  The pilot agreed since Cap had saved his platoon during the war, but asked that Cap take the heat by announcing the change in course to the passengers.

Back in Molecule Man & Volcana's apartment, the Beyonder had taken on an amalgamated appearance.  He use the forms of many heroes and villains he had encountered during the Secret War.  He sought only to understand more, and Molecule Man demonstrated how he could turn an ornament into an edible apple.  They sent the Beyonder to Los Angeles where he would have many experiences, and advise him to change his appearance to something less conspicuous.

In Westchester, Nightcrawler & Colossus argued with Magneto.  Suddenly the remaining X-Men came crashing in through the window, but Nightcrawler & Colossus fought to protect Magneto.  They listened to what he had to say and tentatively agreed to join him against the Beyonder.  They all climbed into the limousine and Magneto used his powers to make the vehicle fly.

In Hollywood, the Beyonder appeared in the office of Stewart Cadwall, a script writer.  The Beyonder had taken on the appearance of Molecule Man, and immediately copied the trick he'd seen back in Denver; he transformed Cadwall's desk & scripts into a massive pile of apples.  Meanwhile across Los Angeles, Magneto lifted the roof of a gladiatorial arena.  He summoned the New Mutants to come to his aid.  Cannonball, Magik, Dazzler and Cannonball's rockstar girlfriend Lila Cheney followed, but Magma & Sunspot remained behind (see New Mutants #29 or details).  Magneto then commanded Rachel Summers to use her telepathy and locate the Beyonder.  Although uncomfortable at using her powers to hunt down powered being again, she soon located a man of great power in Hollywood.

The Beyonder had been convinced to grant Cadwall immense power.  He transformed his Shazam trophy into a a sword shaped like a lightning bolt, and the rest of him became a super hero like something from one of the Saturday morning cartoons that he used to write.  As Thundersword Cadwall leapt upon his pegasus Borromir and started to attack all the studios who had rejected his scripts.  There he encountered the X-Men's flying limousine.  They attacked him believing him to be the Beyonder.  Magneto had Rachel telepathically connect him to all the X-Men so he could give them orders instantly.  However the X-Men begrudgingly listened to his commands, even though they were already doing what he had instructed them to before he had told them.  Thundersword's attention was drawn to a local McDonald's, but his attack against junk food accidentally caused the neighbouring apartment building to catch on fire.  Rachel telepathically commanded the tenants to flee.

Captain America pleaded with is taxi driver to go faster, while Iron Man suited up ready for combat.  Just as burning debris was about to fall on a mother & son, Captain America dived to protect them with his Vibranium-alloy shield.  Thundersword appeared to fight Captain America and the junk culture he represented.  Cap lead the attack.  His shield drew Thundersword's attention.  Dazzler followed up the attack with a blinding flurry of lights.  Magneto finished it off by dumping dozens and dozens of cars on Thundersword, but he still survived the attack.

Rachel Summers began to sense another being.  Feeling around in thin-air, she suddenly found herself face-to-face with the Beyonder.  In the confusion, the X-Men & New Mutants didn't attack.  Instead, the Beyonder approached Magik and plunged his hand into her chest.  He then drew out the physical manifestation of her demonised soul, the Darkchilde.  Magik panicked and created a teleportation disc that whirled herself away from the Beyonder's grasp, taking Cannonball, Shadowcat, Rachel and Dazzler with her (see New Mutants #30 for the rest of their story).

Wolverine's bezerker rage grew and he lunged at the Beyonder.  The other X-Men pulled him back, but not in time to stop him from slashing his Adamantium claws over the Beyonders face.  They all feared his reaction, but the Beyonder merely stood there.  Lila Cheney panicked and teleported the remaining X-Men across the galaxy.  

Captain America was distracted by the X-Men's disappearance, and so Thundersword struck him from behind.  As he was about to deliver a killing blow, Iron Man arrived and saved Captain America.  His armour's readings detected that Thundersword's power was derived from his thunderbolt shaped sword.  After that, it was easy for Captain America to aim his shield, forcing Cadwell to drop his sword & return to normal.  Cadwall broke down in tears despondent at how he had destroyed his employer's studios.  Captain America and Iron Man agreed that he should be given psychiatric help.  

Meanwhile, the Beyonder decided that he wanted more experiences.  When he watched Dazzler in action, he felt something move inside of him.  Then when Wolverine slashed his face, he had experienced something instead of just watching it.  He quickly realised that being in a fight was different to watching one on the television.  Therefore he vanished, but had really turned himself invisible and closely followed Captain America.

Omega Flight is defeated and Delphine Courtney is destroyed by Madison Jeffries. Meanwhile, the Beyonder visits Alpha Flight and is attracted to something about Talisman, whom he saved from Shaman's medicine pouch. The Beyonder leaves Alpha Flight in peace and Heather Hudson ponders her role as leader of the team. Meanwhile, Roger Bochs believes he found a perfect body for Walter Langowski to inhabit, but it turns out to be the Hulk, who attacks immediately.

The Beyonder journeys to the Microverse, and changes the Micronauts in a way that Scion directs him to; he turns them into Prime Beings.

While the X-Men were in San Francisco, the New Mutants had the mansion to themselves.  While an old Western movie played in the background, Magik pretend to fall down dead from Cannonball's imaginary gunshots.  Wolfsbane objected as she wanted to enjoy the movie, Karma confessed to having a crush on John Wayne when she was a little girl, and Magma used her fiery power to make popcorn.  Wolfsbne complained that the movies demonised Native Americans, and that they should have been more considerate of Mirage's feelings.  Mirage was on the phone to her mother when she began to see different ghostly images above each of the New Mutants.  Each of her friends had different images of death according to their own religious and personal beliefs.  It frightened her so much that she ran out of the room.

As she ran passed a mirror she realised that he reflection was of the Valkyrie head-dress she'd received in Asgard.  The reflection then transformed into Hela who announced that as a Valkyrie Mirage could detect when a person would soon die.  Hela also told Mirage that she had the power to fight death and save her friends.  However, Mirage ran screaming, too frightened to admit the truth.  She rode on Brightwind's back up through the clouds.  There her power began to interact with her own mind.  Reflected against the clouds she saw an image of her grandfather Black Eagle.  It was a memory of him teaching her how the Cheyenne spared their victims as a sign that they were better than them.  She was then shocked by Cannonball's sudden appearance, flying through the clouds.  He apologised on behalf of the team, thinking that the movie had upset her like Wolfsbane had warned.  Then they both began to fly back down to Earth.

Meanwhile in Midtown Manhattan, Sunspot's chauffeur driven car was stuck in traffic.  He deicded to get out and see what the problem was.  He came across a toppled Caterpillar digger.  The crowd watched, trying to see the girl trapped underneath.  Sunspot crossed the police line and offered his super strength to help lift the digger.  He quickly helped take the weight of the digger.  A policeman slid underneath and grabbed the little girl just as the jack stands buckled under the weight.  Sunspot began to struggle just as She-Hulk suddenly hoisted the whole machine off his shoulders.  Immediately she became the centre of attention offering interviews and photographs for the local press.  The sergeant who had been underneath the crane comforted Sunspot.  He said that Sunspot had held the crane long enough for him and the girl to survive in those crucial seconds between the jack stands collapsing, and She-Hulk arriving.  He was clear that Sunspot had helped to save their lives.  When he returned to the car, Sunspot asked to be taken home.  He wasn't sure whether he wanted to return to the school or go to his father.  He asked the chauffeur where his mother was, and upon learning that she was at their family home in Rio De Janeiro he immediately decided to go to the airport.

Back at the mansion, Mirage regretted not saying good-bye to her mother when she had the chance.  Brightwind landed and the other New Mutants ran outside to see the arrival of the Beyonder.  He was quietly angry that the New Mutants had rejected his path to glory (see New Mutants #36).  

Immediately Magik stepped forward claiming that she was responsible, and therefore asked to suffer his wrath alone.  Her body repidly disintegrated into dust as soon as she had finished speaking.  The others screamed in horror and Magma tried her best to burn the Beyonder.  Cannonball swiftly followed her lead, but was soon knocked backwards through the mansion.  The Beyonder attacked Mirage's mind, flooding her head with images of both the beauties & horrors of the world.  In an attempt to save her, Karma tried to posses the Beyonder's mind.  Instead, he reflected her mind back on he, instantly killing Karma.  Wolfsbane was reduced to tears and Mirage felt powerless to fight back.  

Magma poured another volcanic assault on the Beyonder.  Warlock followed the attack unleashing some of the natural capabilities of her tehnocratic race.  Magma resumed her attack and appeared to have defeated the Beyonder.  They stood victorious, but felt empty for the loss of their friends.  However, Mirage remembered how she was unable to defeat the Demon Bear with arrows alone, and just as she had warned the Beyonder rose to his feet.  

Removing Magma's powers, he hurled her underground.  Cannonball flew to save her, but their escape route was covered up and they were buried alive.  The Beyonder struck Warlock, and his lifeforce faded as he bounced along the floor.  As Cypher offered Warlock to share his lifeglow, the Beyonder made his body turn into dust.  Wolfsbane shivered & prayed as the Beyonder disintegrated the flesh from her bones.  In one last ditch effort Mirage mounted Brightwind, but as soon as they were in the sky the Beyonder turned her body in to dust.

As Mirage's ashes floated away in the wind, the entire population of the world forgot about the existence of the New Mutants.  They had been erased from the minds of everyone they loved and from history.

Note:  Secret Wars II #9 details the events between New Mutants issues 37 & 38.  

The Beyonder was determined to destroy all of existence.

Volcana called the Avangers hotline to warn them about the Beyonder's plans.  However, she ended up speaking to the Fantastic Four.  Suddenly all of Earth's heroes were ransported to an unknown location.  Phoenix appeared before them all to discuss the Beyonder's plans & how to save the Earth.  Volcana offered to help too, but the other heroes dismissed her as being inexperienced and sent her back home.  There she entered her apartment to find it had been thoroughly destroyed.  She cried out when she found the Molecule Man slumped in a chair.

The Beyonder returned to his underground lair.  He filmed himself as he recalled events of his time on Earth.  He grew increasingly frustrated and decided that the one thing he could never experience was a mortal death.  Therefore he decided he had to be born, but instead of relying on a human woman with a gestation period of 9 months he created a 'mama' machine.  To test the machine he collected the wisps of energy that used to be the New Mutants (see New Mutants #37) and threw them into the machine.  One by one the New Mutants were spat out by the machine, each one dressed and at the age they were before they were killed, but with no memories or minds.  The Beyonder then took his turn.  He poured his existence into the machine, and was transformed into a baby and then eventually a grown man.  Scared, he reached into the machine to regain his cosmic powers.

Back in Denver, Molecule Man woke up.  He had been distraught when Volcana left him (Secret Wars II #8), but in the time apart he grew to understand that he could survive without her.  They made up, confessing that they loved each other more.  However, Molecule Man was determined to stop the Beyonder once and for all.

Meanwhile, the Beyonder continued to be reborn & regain his powers through his 'mama' machine.  However, after he has been born as a mortal man he was attacked by Belasco.  The Beyonder was inflicted with hellish tortures and burst in to flames whenever he tried to reclaim his powers from the 'mama' machine.  Eventually the Beyonder managed to merge with his powers once more and Belasco fled.

On the surface above the Beyonder's home, the heroes all gathered.  Molecule Man and Volcana appeared to lead the way.  The Beyonder was aware of their presence, and therefore programmed the New Mutants to fight to the death in order to protect him.  He resurrected Warlock to complete the team and teleported them to the surface.  As the New Mutants had been erased from history, none of the heroes recognised them.  While the Avengers, Fantastic Four, X-Men & Alpha Flight were trying to pull their punches on the kids, they did not spare the heroes.  The New Mutants' attacks were ferocious and they successfully managed to slow the heroes down.  However, they were outnumbered and eventually defeated.  Phoenix used her telepathic powers to read their minds, and learnt of how the Beyonder had killed & resurrected them so callously.  

The heroes then ventured into the Beyonder's underground lair.  In the fight, only the Molecule Man held his own against the Beyonder.  However, he was inexperienced in battle, and therefore lost the the Beyonder.  With one blow, all the heroes were sent flying across the earth, scarring the ground for miles where they landed.  

The Beyonder threw his energies into the 'mama' machine once more.  While he was in the gestation cycle the heroes slowly got back to their feet.  The Molecule Man had created a shield large enough to protect them while moving any innocent citizens out of the way.  They immediately launched another attack on the Beyonder's lair.  There they found him as a tiny infant inside the 'mama' machine.

The heroes argued over the ethics of killing a baby when the machine's defence systems created a might explosion.  Mr Fantastic reasoned that the machine didn't just contain a human infant, but it held the Beyonder's cosmic powers as well.  Volcana implored the Molecule Man not to harm a baby, but ultimately he knew that it was the only way to save the Earth.  Molecule Man blasted the 'mama' machine.  The explosion flooded the world in a blinding white light.

The Silver Surfer carried the lifeless body of a baby out of the broken 'mama' machine.  Volcana comforted Molecule Man, and Captain America thanked him for saving them all.  They acknowledged that it was not an ideal solution, but admitted that it did save the Earth.

Elsewhere a portal opens.  The white nothingness is filled with the Beyonder's power.  That power then creates a new universe, complete with stars, planets, and evolving landscapes.  A fish leapt out of the water, grew legs, became a gorilla and slowly evolved into man.