Chapter Summaries

Clown-Sup annoyed his fellow passengers on the X-Jet with mangled opera and strange antics, while Magneto silenced him with a metal mask. After they landed in Queens, armed U.S. soldiers blocked the exit and threatened to arrest Square Magneto if he stepped onto American soil.

• Clown-Sup sang a garbled Romeo and Juliet duet, and Selene recognized it before Magneto ordered her to stop talking.
• Clown-Sup continued singing until Square Magneto covered his mouth with a sheet of metal, then removed it briefly to drink water and put it back.
• Hank piloted the X-Jet to a park in Queens, where the passengers hurried off while Clown-Sup took his time.
• American soldiers surrounded the X-Jet, and their officer warned Square Magneto that they would arrest him if he left the plane.

Magneto and his allies tried to reach Qin as falling meteors sparked a clash with the American military. Professor X confronted Magneto and insisted he would not hand Qin over, but Magneto questioned what he would do if the soldiers tried to seize her.

• Clown-Sup distracted everyone by pointing out the meteors falling toward New York, and the American commander ordered the soldiers to fire on the presumed mutant attackers.
• Magneto stopped the bullets, Selene used mind control on the soldiers, and Red Lotus hurled them away without killing them.
• Magneto followed Selene’s sense of Qin’s life energy and set off with Beast and Clown-Sup to find her.
• Nightcrawler teleported Professor X, Cyclops, and Storm in front of Magneto’s group, and Clown-Sup joked about Professor X’s bald head.
• Professor X told Magneto to leave and denied he would hand Qin over, while Magneto warned that he did not trust the approaching soldiers to respect that promise.

The U.S. military attacked the Brotherhood of Mutants and the X-Men, triggering a street battle in which Magneto used the city’s metal infrastructure to overwhelm the soldiers. As the X-Men tried to limit the damage, Magneto reached Qin’s apartment building and entered alone.

• The U.S. military opened fire on the Brotherhood of Mutants and the X-Men, and Magneto, Red Lotus, and Selene fought back without trying to kill the soldiers.
• Cyclops, Storm, and Nightcrawler moved to restrain Magneto’s group, while Selene used her psychic influence to disrupt Nightcrawler’s teleportation.
• Beast sided with Square Magneto and knocked Cyclops and Storm aside, while Magneto tore up underground pipes and disarmed or trapped the soldiers.
• Cyclops blasted through the pipes around himself, but Beast interrupted his attempt to shoot down Square Magneto and was blasted away again.
• Square Magneto pulled a subway train from underground to block Qin’s apartment entrance, then passed through it and entered the building.
• Clown-Sup watched the battle while eating and cheering, and Beast landed beside him and wondered what Raven’s chosen outside help was doing there.

Clown-Sup joined the battle between the Brotherhood of Mutants and American soldiers, turning rifles into clubs and knocking soldiers unconscious. After an assault squad hit him with electroshock rounds and fitted him with a Mutant-control collar, he continued pretending to be incapacitated, waiting to see what happened next.

• Clown-Sup explained to Beast why he had stayed behind to eat pizza, and Beast hurled him at the American soldiers.
• Clown-Sup took a soldier’s rifle, named it Destroy, and used it to knock soldiers down before the weapon broke.
• Clown-Sup grabbed another rifle, named it Destroy II, and fought through the soldiers while avoiding their gunfire.
• A Mutant-trained assault squad surrounded Clown-Sup and struck him with electroshock rounds, which he pretended had paralyzed him.
• The soldiers put a Mutant-control collar around Clown-Sup’s neck while he played dead, and he waited to see what they would do next.

Clown-Sup and the other mutants were transported by military train to a mutant prison, where Professor X warned that aliens were targeting Earth. When an attack struck the train, the soldiers refused to release the prisoners, and the chapter ended as gunfire erupted nearby.

• Clown-Sup woke in a prisoner seat and pretended that his suppression collar had made him lose control of his bodily functions.
• Hank McCoy asked whether the collar affected Clown-Sup, while Magneto and Professor X argued over responsibility for the conflict and Qin's power.
• Professor X warned the soldiers that aliens planned to destroy Earth and would attack the train to seize Qin's remaining power, but the sergeant dismissed him.
• Thuds sounded on the train roof, and Cyclops offered to help fight, but the sergeant refused to release the mutants.
• Gunfire erupted in a nearby carriage, and a soldier's broken radio report cut off before he could explain what was attacking them.

Diberian aliens attacked the prisoner train, forcing the soldiers to release the X-Men and Brotherhood of Mutants. Magneto organized a counterattack, but more aliens kept boarding as the Mutants moved to protect the roof and reach Jean Grey.

• The Diberians broke through the connecting door and overwhelmed the soldiers with their strength and regenerating armor.
• A soldier freed the X-Men and Brotherhood by deactivating their X-Gene Suppression Collars, and Cyclops immediately struck down an attacking alien.
• The freed Mutants fought back, but more Diberians entered through the rear cars, roof hatches, and side doors.
• Magneto assigned Cyclops, Storm, and Red Lotus to defend the roof, sent Nightcrawler to take the professor toward Jean Grey, and led Selene and Beast in pushing back the aliens.
• Magneto used guns and iron to attack the Diberians, while Cyclops, Storm, and Red Lotus moved onto the train roof.

The mutants and soldiers fought off aliens attacking the special train while Beast used Clown-Sup as a makeshift weapon. Clown-Sup joined the battle after an alien destroyed his comb, then took a plasma-cannon blast while Beast held him back from jumping off the train.

• Nightcrawler teleported Professor X to the front carriage, where he explained the alien attack to the soldiers.
• Selene fought the close-combat aliens hand to hand while Beast dragged Clown-Sup from his restraint chair and used his Heat Vision against invaders.
• An alien kicked Clown-Sup's comb, Cleopatra I, to pieces, prompting Clown-Sup to blast the alien and those behind him with his roar.
• Clown-Sup fired a rifle at the aliens, but Magneto and Selene mocked his poor aim and Magneto told him to leave the train.
• Beast pulled Clown-Sup back as he tried to jump off the train, and Clown-Sup took a plasma-cannon hit meant for Beast.

Diberian assault craft bombarded the train, forcing Magneto’s group to advance toward Jean Grey’s carriage while Magneto deflected plasma fire with a magnetic field. As the group prepared to defend Jean and wake Qin, Magneto kept Clown-Sup behind with him.

• Clown-Sup explained that Magneto could deflect the plasma blasts, so Magneto replaced his metal shield with a magnetic field.
• Beast realized the Diberians were trying to destroy the rear carriages or cut the group off from Qin, and Magneto ordered everyone to move forward.
• Cyclops blasted open the carriage doors as the group advanced, while the Diberian aircraft destroyed the carriages they left behind.
• The group reached a weapons carriage, armed themselves, and entered Jean Grey’s carriage to help defend her and urge Professor X to wake Qin.
• Magneto stopped Clown-Sup from joining the others and told him to stay behind.

Magneto and Clown-Sup tried to stop Vuko from reaching the final carriage, but the Phoenix-powered Diberian leader easily defeated them. Vuko then overpowered the humans guarding the girl and demanded that she be handed over.

• Magneto sealed off the passage between carriages while Clown-Sup tried to use a heavy machine gun.
• Vuko entered their carriage and walked through Magneto’s gunfire and metal attacks without being hurt.
• Clown-Sup threw an ammunition box and the machine gun at Vuko, then charged with an empty rifle and was punched out of the train.
• Vuko stopped Magneto’s metal spikes and knocked him unconscious, clearing the way to the final carriage.
• Vuko demanded that the humans hand over the girl, and the soldiers and mutants attacked him.
• Vuko sent the charging mutants flying one by one until none remained standing.

Jean Grey rejected Vuko’s plan to destroy Earth and used the Phoenix Force to fight him, but a Diberian warship attacked the battlefield and left the defenders struggling to survive. As Vuko pressed his advantage, Clown-Sup arrived with a radio playing “We Will Rock You,” ready to join the fight.

• Jean Grey awakened, destroyed the device suppressing her X-gene, and refused to give Vuko her power after learning he intended to destroy Earth.
• Jean Grey warped the train and the surrounding battlefield, killing Diberian attackers while protecting the mutants and human soldiers.
• Vuko contacted the Diberian mothership, whose warship struck the battlefield with its cannon and sent soldiers and aircraft to attack the survivors.
• Jean Grey struggled to shield everyone while Vuko advanced, hoping the defenders’ injuries would weaken her resolve and let him seize her power.
• Clown-Sup arrived playing “We Will Rock You” on a radio and felt the music boosting his confidence for the fight.

Clown-Sup destroyed two Diberian fighters and then fought Vuko, whose Phoenix-enhanced powers made him difficult to defeat. As Vuko’s energy erupted into flames, Clown-Sup dropped him and prepared to put the fire out by urinating on him.

• Clown-Sup hurled his radio at one Diberian fighter, causing it to collide with another and explode.
• Vuko kicked Clown-Sup into the bushes, but Clown-Sup got up and challenged him.
• Vuko tried to use his cosmic energy to alter reality, but Clown-Sup vanished and landed a powerful punch on him.
• Clown-Sup repeatedly punched Vuko as the Phoenix Force healed him, weakening Vuko’s mind and making energy flare around his body.
• Clown-Sup dropped Vuko and pulled out his hose to piss on the flames.

Clown-Sup battled Vuko, whose Phoenix-powered reality warping disintegrated Clown-Sup’s arms until Jean Grey healed him. After Clown-Sup killed Vuko, Jean absorbed the released Phoenix Force, turned the tide against the Diberians, and joined Clown-Sup as he charged the warship.

• Vuko’s Phoenix power reversed Clown-Sup’s urine and began erasing his arms, but Jean Grey restored them.
• Clown-Sup used his speed and strength to batter Vuko while Jean helped the others fight the Diberians.
• Clown-Sup punched through Vuko’s face, killing him and releasing the Phoenix Force.
• Jean Grey absorbed the Phoenix Force, gained greater control of her power, and burned most of the Diberians and their aircraft.
• The Diberian warship charged its main cannon, and Clown-Sup hurled Jean Grey through its muzzle before flying into another gun muzzle with his heat vision.

Henry escaped Phoenix by fleeing through the ocean to the French coast, then destroyed the costume he blamed for his reckless behavior. He returned to Ms. Audrey Hepburn’s room and was greeted by her as she made breakfast.

• Henry climbed out of the sea on the French coast and stripped off the costume he had worn while escaping Phoenix aboard the Diberi Warship.
• Henry burned the costume and tap shoes, then worried about whether his red shorts would survive a high-speed trip home.
• Henry reflected on his uncertain origins and tested that he was not a Daxamian by confirming he was not allergic to pure lead.
• Henry used Super Speed and his ability to pass between molecules to return to his room and change into normal clothes.
• Ms. Audrey Hepburn greeted Henry and offered him breakfast as she fried eggs in the kitchen.

Nick Fury questioned Professor Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr in Paris about Jean Grey and the Joker. Charles refused to reveal Jean’s whereabouts without a presidential pardon for Qin, and he and Erik withheld what they knew about the Joker.

• Nick Fury approached Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr at a Paris café and asked where Jean Grey had gone.
• Charles said he would not help find Jean unless the president granted Qin a legally binding pardon, and he argued that the X-Men had received no U.S. military support during the battle.
• Nick Fury asked about the Joker and showed Charles and Erik a photograph of actor River Phoenix, whose face his analysts had reconstructed from surveillance footage.
• Charles denied knowing whether the Joker was River Phoenix and concealed the young man’s identity, while Erik called the Joker a dangerous lunatic.

Henry drove Audrey Hepburn to the town library and briefed her on UNICEF’s aid work and possible destinations for a future visit. Audrey became interested in Wakanda, but Henry explained that the country had never invited UNICEF or accepted outside aid, leaving a visit uncertain.

• Henry and Robert joked about Robert’s weight as Robert took the five Jack Russell Terriers out for a jog.
• Henry gathered the books he had borrowed and drove Audrey Hepburn to the library.
• Audrey asked whether UNICEF had contacted them, and Henry explained that conflict and recent visits made it difficult to plan destinations.
• Henry gave Audrey documents and maps comparing countries’ stability, need for aid, and invitations to UNICEF.
• Audrey noticed Wakanda on the map and asked to visit, while Henry explained that they would need to request permission and should not expect approval.

Audrey Hepburn met with Wakanda's representative, Jabari, who declined her request to visit and insisted his country did not need aid. Henry advised her to respect Wakanda's wishes, and the chapter ended with Audrey suffering a brief abdominal cramp as they headed to UNICEF.

• Audrey Hepburn met Jabari, Wakanda's representative to the United Nations, and asked whether she could visit Wakanda.
• Jabari said Wakanda had no need for international aid and asked Audrey to direct her efforts toward children in greater need.
• Audrey asked Henry whether Jabari was telling the truth, and Henry said Wakanda's confidence suggested he might be.
• Henry advised Audrey not to force a visit to Wakanda, and they agreed to consult UNICEF about other destinations.
• Audrey suddenly felt an abdominal cramp, and Henry urged her to rest more.

During UNICEF’s return to Somalia, Henry watched Audrey Hepburn continue her work among children despite the danger and hardship. When she suddenly collapsed, Henry halted the visits and organized the team’s contingency plans while the doctor examined her.

• The UNICEF team returned to Somalia and learned that the child protection facility they had visited before had been abandoned.
• Audrey Hepburn continued visiting children and offering them comfort despite the exhausting itinerary.
• Audrey Hepburn collapsed in the car, and Henry called for the team’s doctor.
• The doctor ordered the team to cancel the remaining visits and return to the hotel for a thorough examination.
• Audrey Hepburn briefly regained consciousness and asked Henry to make sure the children’s visits continued.
• Henry activated contingency plan C, sending teams to deliver the scheduled aid while staff reported the emergency and reviewed upcoming distributions.

Audrey Hepburn woke feeling better, but Henry insisted she return to Switzerland for advanced medical tests rather than continue the aid trip. Before night fell, she confirmed the revised plan for distributing supplies with the United Nations team leader.

• Henry served Audrey Hepburn rice porridge and told her the doctor wanted her examined at a better-equipped hospital because her abdominal pain might have a deeper cause.
• Henry explained that they would fly back to Switzerland the next day and that backup plan C would ensure aid supplies reached the children despite Hepburn’s absence.
• Audrey Hepburn reluctantly ate two servings of porridge after Henry urged her to recover and stop trying to continue the trip.
• Henry brought the United Nations official in charge of the team to see Hepburn, and she asked him to confirm the arrangements for the rest of the aid operation.

After medical tests in Switzerland and New York failed to diagnose her illness, Audrey Hepburn took medical leave from UNICEF and considered returning to Switzerland. Henry suggested she record audiobooks for children, giving her a way to keep working without strenuous travel.

• Audrey Hepburn gave a UNICEF speech about famine in Somalia and informed staff she was suspending her activities for medical reasons.
• Henry drove Audrey Hepburn and Robert Wolders to a New York public hospital, where doctors still could not diagnose her condition.
• Henry told Robert that Audrey's earliest appointment at a leading medical center was at Cedars-Sinai in November.
• Audrey asked Henry what else she could do, and he suggested recording stories for children as audiobooks.
• Audrey became interested in the idea and checked her address book for publishing contacts.

Audrey Hepburn considered publishers for her audiobook project, but Henry proposed turning it into a fully produced radio drama rather than simply reading stories aloud. The next day, the agency representative brought two people to meet her, apparently prepared to discuss the idea.

• Audrey Hepburn reviewed publisher profiles but found it difficult to choose among them.
• Henry advised her to consider which stories she wanted to tell, the rights available, and whether publishers could address copyright issues.
• Henry pointed out that Audrey Hepburn’s acting experience could make a radio-drama-style production possible.
• Audrey Hepburn asked her agency representative to discuss the approach with publishers, and he agreed to find those willing to cooperate.
• The agency representative returned the following afternoon with two people and materials to meet Audrey Hepburn at her hotel café.