The X-men of X-Corporation constantly strive to protect a world that hates and fears them. However, very rarely do they get the opportunity to enjoy being themselves. As they enjoy their night off, however, Warren "Angel" Worthington III is faced with a piece of his past that he's been wanting to run away from.

Seven years ago, Warren had been a refugee with a group of underground mutants known to the world as the Morlocks. The Morlocks consist of the most deformed, and the most abnormal of all mutants who cannot fit in with the society of the surface world. Warren had lived with them for a few months until he'd learned of their intent to attack his family's home. As a result, he'd ran away, but now he is faced with the mutants he's betrayed by leaving.

Now captured by his former friends, Warren reaches out to Professor Xavier, hoping for his teammates to come to his rescue.

Issue 29: Captive Angel Part 3

X-Corporation Tower – Cerebro Chamber

Professor Xavier was in the Cerebro chamber in the basement, updating the computer with Forge's assistance when he felt a powerful surge coming over his mind, powerful enough to make him lean over in pain.

'Professor . . .' a single voice said throughout his mind, and suddenly, before his eyes, he saw Warren chained down somewhere, appearing to be a sewer. From what the professor could tell, he was trapped with the Morlocks just from the looks of everything that was going on. Professor Xavier was very aware of Warren's experience being part of the Morlocks for two months.

Warren had told him specifically that part of the reason why he had left was because a couple weeks before he left, the Morlocks had attacked Worthington Manor, endangering Warren's father and mother. That to Warren had been the point where the line had been crossed. So, one night, he got up in the middle of the night and he went back to the surfaces of New York, and he never looked back, living with friends who had left the Morlocks like he did. It wasn't until Warren had gotten beat up and sent to a hospital that the professor and Tony had found him.

'Warren, where are you?' the professor asked him. He was interrupted by the intense feeling of agony again coming from Warren. He could sense the thoughts of several Morlocks in that location. He knew that the ideals of the Morlocks were not the definition of peaceful. However, he couldn't break through Caliban and Callisto's shields which were tighter than Fort Knox. He knew if Warren was with Callisto and Caliban, then he was in the sewers located between 42nd Street and West 44th.

'Professor . . . help.'

'Hang on Warren . . . we're coming,' the professor assured his first prodigy. Taking the helmet off of his head, he proceeded to call everyone down there. 'X-men and Cecilia, meet me in the Cerebro room in full uniform. Warren's in trouble.'

"What was that about, Charles?" asked Forge.

"The Morlocks have kidnapped Warren," Xavier said in a grim tone.

"What do you need me to do?" Forge asked.

"You're going with them," Xavier said.

"Uh, Professor, I'm not that useful in a fight are you sure about this?" Forge asked.

"Just go with them and fly the jet," Xavier insisted.

Forge nodded, turning off his image inducer to reveal his blue and yellow X-man uniform which allowed his mechanical leg to be exposed, showing his mutant power of being able to adapt to any kind of technology. Not even five minutes later, Scott, Jean, Ororo, Cecilia, Bobby and Hank arrived.

"Professor, what's going on with Warren?" asked Bobby. "Because I had to take the train to get back home. I never take the subway anywhere, ever!" Jean elbowed him in the ribs at his insensitivity.

"Warren's been kidnapped," the professor explained as he sat there.

"By who?" Ororo asked.

"A group of mutants who live underground in the sewers. They call themselves the Morlocks because their mutations cause them to look so deformed that they cannot fit in with society. Warren . . . he's got a bit of a history with them. Let's just put it that way," said Forge.

Cecilia seemed to pale at the mentioning of the Morlocks.

"Why would Warren Worthington III, the king of going out, be affiliated with a group like that?" asked Jean.

"Because Warren . . . he'd ended up on the streets at one point," Hank explained. "After he'd ran out of money to stay in a hotel that his parents had sent him to after kicking him out of the house, he was walking along 42nd Street when he noticed a couple of mutants being beaten by muggers.

"He'd helped them, but, little did he know they were Morlocks. He and a few other mutants lived with them as refugees for two months. Warren very well could have become a member, but, when the Morlocks' leader, Callisto, told him that they were going to stage an attack on Worthington Manor, Warren fled. He knew that he couldn't stick around after that, especially when he heard the details of what happened to his mother and father's home. He must have left on bad terms, because if that's the case, then if the Morlocks have him, he's in trouble," Hank continued.

"Well, what are their abilities?" asked Scott as they got ready to board the X-jet.

"Well, from what Warren has described, the Morlocks' powers range differently. Their member Caliban can track any mutant from any distance. Callisto has superhuman senses, speed and an accelerated healing factor. Another one of them is named Spyke and his powers include having armadillo-type armor surrounding his body. And the youngest member, Adam Leech, can halter mutants from using their abilities. They also have a psychic who can create projections by simply breathing on people; she can erase memories she can create memories; they use her mainly for interrogation purposes," Hank explained.

"I've treated a few of them when I was still an employee at Claremont Regional Hospital. These are people who are down on their luck in terms of getting medical treatment because of their abnormal deformities. It's awful," Cecilia said sadly, adjusting her X-man uniform on her body.

Never in a million years did she ever think she'd be putting on spandex and doing the superhero gig. In fact, at first, she didn't even have an interest in such a thing. But, she knew when she joined X-Corporation to act as Hank's lab assistant and a mentor figure for Jean that she'd have to slap on a uniform at some point in time.

"So, we're about to walk through human excrement and disgusting sewage water?" asked Bobby seriously.

"Looks like it, and Bobby, don't bitch, because this is Warren we're talking about here," Jean said sternly, worried immensely for her friend.

"I'm not bitching," Bobby insisted.

"Yes, okay, we'll believe that," said Ororo, standing there in her white X-man uniform with a cape attached to it as they entered the jet. Forge took his seat in the pilot's chair while Scott and Hank sat up in the cockpit. Jean took her seat between Ororo and Cecilia, breathing deeply.

'Don't worry, War. We're coming for you,' Jean thought as she sat there, closing her eyes before pulling her mask and cowl up over her face.

Morlocks Lair

Warren was chained down to the wall on his shackles in the Morlock lair in the sewers for over twenty minutes, groaning in pain every time Ray Crisp shocked him or Spyke hit him with one of his spikes. But, what confused the crap out of him was the fact that Healer was going out of his way to heal his wounds and Leech was going out of his way to get him water so he didn't dehydrate. Warren could tell that Leech and Healer still had a little bit of loyalty towards him, but, their betrayal still hurt.

As Warren continued to hang there, he coughed hard. His ribs felt as though they were either bruised or cracked due to Spyke constantly kicking and punching him in the stomach and chest. The more he coughed, the more his ribs seared in pain.

That was the moment Shatter came into the room, a slight look of sympathy in his eye.

"Shatter," Warren coughed out to his former friend. "Please . . ."

"Warren, I'm sorry I can't," Shatter said softly.

"No . . . no please . . . just let me go!"

"Warren, I'm afraid that I can't. It's Callisto's orders." Shatter sounded regretful.

"Come on, man, don't you have a mind of your own?" Warren asked.

"I do, but, this is out of my hands. Callisto made it clear if one of us frees you, we're out," Shatter said.

"Why the hell are you staying?!" Warren gasped out.

"This is my only home, Warren. I can't." Shatter shook his head.

Warren let his head hang against his bare chest, which was now bleeding profusely due to Spyke, Ray, Feral and Caliban beating the crap out of him. He was wondering when Healer would come in. He was in so much physical pain that he couldn't think straight. Callisto's ultimatum was no better. He didn't want to have to become her husband, of all things in the world. It made him miss Candy so much, his security, his safety net, his beacon.

Warren continued to cough as Shatter left the room. His ribs hurt so badly he felt as though he could hardly take in a breath. Sweat beaded on his forehead from the amount of pain that he was in. That was when Callisto came back into the room.

"So, have you changed your mind?" she asked him.

"Go . . . to . . . hell," he wheezed at her. He felt Callisto punch him hard in the ribs, causing him to cough harder. He felt as though he was about to hack up a lung or vomit.

"You've always been a stubborn one, Angel," Callisto sneered, grabbing his face to look him in the eye. He had a bruise on his face thanks to Caliban and Scaleface.

"Well, I'm not changing," groaned Warren. "So, give it up . . . because I made it very clear the day I left! I'm done!"

He felt Callisto punch him again in the stomach, causing him more pain. But he held his tears back out of his eyes. He'd take losing Candy over and over compared to this.

Sewers

"Okay . . . I literally feel as though I am walking through toxic waste. And by the way, Beast, this place makes your fur stink even more," Iceman was saying.

"Shut up, Bobby!" Marvel Girl and Cyclops told him at the same time, anger evident in their voices. They were down there looking for Warren who had been kidnapped by a group of mutants that lived down there, and Bobby was choosing this moment to be a little bitch.

"Iceman, let's just focus on the task at hand which is getting Warren out of here to safety so we can all go home," suggested Cecilia as she trudged along through the murky, disgusting sewer waters. They could hear the high pitches of several rats looking for food. Water dripped down from the pipes. Their footsteps echoed throughout. This was no place for anybody to live.

"I just cannot believe that people live down here," whispered Storm.

"Believe me, Storm. When your mutation causes you to look so deformed that you are outcast from society, the Morlocks are where it's at for those people," Beast said sadly. "These people were outcast completely; their own mothers threw them away. They're a family unit, but they want to be completely separated from humanity. They aren't anything like Magneto. They do not believe per say that mutants should reign Supreme, but they do believe that mutants and humans will never be able to live together peacefully because they've seen the worst of it all."

"Well, Beast, to be fair, we've seen some pretty bad things in our lives, but we've never considered this," said Cyclops.

"True, Scott, but not everybody is like you," Forge told him as they continued to trudge along.

"Just keep your eyes and ears open everyone. The Morlocks are unpredictable. Do not underestimate them," Beast said.

"Wow, that brings me a ton of comfort!" Iceman said sarcastically.

"Bobby, quit bitching!" Marvel Girl snapped. "Okay? Get your head in the game! We're down here for a rescue mission! Warren's our friend!"

"Jean's right," Cyclops reasoned, leaning a hand onto her shoulder. He understood Marvel Girl was very passionate and protective over her friendships and relationships. "Easy, Marvel Girl. We'll find Warren we'll get him back."

"Well, I hope you're right, because I sure cannot take another second down here," Forge said. "I am literally walking through shit."

"Well, isn't it good luck to step in shit?" asked Storm.

Everyone let out a sigh. They knew better than to attempt splitting up in pairs. If the Morlocks were looking to attack, they could do it at any second. They had to keep their guard up.

As they walked further down the sewer that was the moment a spike looking as though it were made of marrow soared out at them, nearly hitting Cecilia. Luckily, she put a force field up just in time to protect herself.

'Dammit . . . X-men are here,' Marvel Girl heard the thoughts of someone.

"Guys, a mutant; male, do not engage," Marvel Girl breathed out to them just as the mutant showed himself. He was nothing more than Spyke, his armor around him just like an armadillo, his dark skin looking darker underneath the murky tunnels of the sewer. However, he seemed to catch Storm's attention.

"Wait . . . Ororo?" the young man asked . . . he looked to be about maybe sixteen years old.

Storm had a shocked expression residing on her faced as she took in the sight.

"Storm, do you know him?" asked Cyclops.

"Evan Daniels . . . he's my cousin," Storm explained softly.

"Down here, I only go by the name of Spyke," Spyke said coldly.

"Evan, what happened to you?" Storm asked her younger cousin softly.

"My mutation happened. One day, I awoke and I was able to fire spikes out of my body that seem to be made of bones . . . Mom and Dad . . . well, let's say that they didn't take the idea of their son being a mutant too kindly. I was soon enough found by the Morlocks and they took me in," Spyke explained bitterly. "I'd rather roll with these guys than go back to the inner city."

"I'm sorry you suffered," said Marvel Girl, feeling a pang of sympathy for the younger teen.

"I don't want your pity. None of us want the X-men's pity," spat Spyke.

"We're not here to pity you . . . we're just here because you took a friend of ours," said Beast in a very calm tone. "I am a pacifist by nature; we're not here for a fight."

"As far as I'm concerned, the moment you step down here, you're on our property, which means you are looking for a fight," Spyke said, taking a fighting stance.

"Come on, Evan, please, listen to reason," Storm said, trying to rationalize with her cousin. "You're my blood . . . my family!"

"Sorry, Ororo, the life of the X-men may be for you, but I know my place, and it sure as hell isn't with you!" Spyke spat at her. That was the moment he launched a full range of spikes at the X-men, the bone-like spikes firing in all different directions. Marvel Girl and Cecilia shielded themselves by putting up force fields around their bodies as Spyke ran off.

"Okay, clearly, they're up for playing dirty!" said Iceman.

"You think?!" shouted Marvel Girl. Turning to Storm, she said, "Storm, I think in terms of who has the most fucked up family life, you and your cousin might just take the cake." She and Storm and Cyclops took off down the tunnels together.

"I always knew that my aunt Valerie and my uncle Edward had a poor relationship with their son . . . but this," whispered Storm. "Goddess . . . if only I had known . . ."

"You couldn't have known, Storm," Cyclops said, resting a comforting hand onto her shoulder as a friendly gesture. "Don't worry. Let's just focus on getting Warren out of here and onto the jet."

"I just hope that he's okay," said Marvel Girl in a worried tone.

"Warren's strong, Jean, I'm sure he'll be alright," Cyclops said, taking her by the hand to comfort her.

Sewers – South Side

Meanwhile, Beast, Cecilia, Forge and Iceman were heading down another tunnel, having been split from the others. They were just hoping and praying that they didn't run into anymore Morlocks, because if their run-in with Storm's cousin Evan had any indication at all, then that meant they were in for real trouble.

"God . . . I didn't know Storm even had a cousin, let alone one who is a Morlock," Forge said, still trying to get over the shock of it all.

"Well to be fair, we've only had her with us for about a week or so," reasoned Beast as they trudged along, their feet sloshing around in the dirty waters.

"Well, if the other Morlocks are anything like Spyke, then we should be terrified, because he seems to be quite the pest," Iceman said. "Someone should tell that kid he needs discipline or a timeout."

"If you want to talk about problem children who need a timeout, then you should meet Professor Xavier's son David," said Cecilia as she kept a force field up around her as a form of protection.

Forge had his goggles up over his face as the form of a mask, looking around the sewers. He had fitted in night-vision into his goggles to make it easier to see in darkness like this. As they continued to walk along the tunnels, that was the moment they felt someone speeding past them, knocking them off their feet. Then they saw a mutant who looked like a giant reptile appearing.

"X-men!" the reptile-like mutant growled, baring her teeth at them.

"Alright, X-men, fall back," Beast said.

"What are you talking about right now?" Iceman exclaimed, his eyes bulging behind his mask as he put his organic ice form around himself.

"That's the spirit!" Scaleface hissed aggressively as she went into attack mode. She nodded for her lover, Berserker, to fire bolts of electricity at the unsuspecting X-men. Luckily for Cecilia, her force field she had around her protected her.

"Shit!" whispered Forge angrily.

"Language, Forge," Beast reprimanded, "there is no need for such vile words!"

"Spare me the lectures later, Hank!" Forge said. "C'mon let's go!" he added as Berserker made himself known to them, along with Caliban.

"Get out of our home, X-men!" growled Caliban angrily.

"Oh believe me; we will be out of here once we've got Warren back with us!" Iceman said.

"Good luck with that!" spat Scaleface, and she proceeded to go in for the kill, with Thornn close behind her. Thornn jumped on top of Forge.

"AHHH!" Forge cried. "Stop! I'm allergic to cats!"

"Quit being a pussy, Forge!" Iceman yelled; making cat puns as he fired a blast of ice at Thornn, throwing her off of the mutant inventor. Beast leaped out of the way of another one of Berserker's blasts of electricity, jumping up onto the pipes to use them like monkey bars. He took advantage of the opportunity to jump down on top of Scaleface.

"SCALEFACE!" yelled Berserker, rushing to aid his lover.

"Don't worry about me, Berserker! Worry about the rest of them!" yelled Scaleface.

Berserker fired a bolt of electricity at Cecilia, who blocked it easily with the use of her own powers. She could only hope and pray that Cyclops, Storm and Marvel Girl were having better luck on their end with finding Warren.

Sewers – East Side

Over on Marvel Girl, Cyclops and Storm's end, they were still on the hunt for Warren. Suddenly, the yells of pain coming from somebody caught their attention.

"Warren," Marvel Girl breathed out.

"We'll get to him," Cyclops assured her softly. However, that was the moment someone quickly sped past them, shoving them to the ground all at once. Cyclops, Marvel Girl and Storm fell flat on their backs into the mucky sewer water.

"Oh God, what the hell was that?" Marvel Girl groaned.

"Don't know, Jean" Cyclops said, helping her and Storm up to their feet. However, that was the moment Marvel Girl suddenly felt a weird, rush of a sensation come over her mind, and suddenly, she felt as though she wasn't in the sewers underneath New York . . . she felt as though she was back in the car with her parents and siblings . . .

"JOHN, LOOK OUT!"

The screeching of tires . . . the pelting of the rain, the car flipping over, flinging her and Madelyne and their brothers and sisters out of the van . . . blood splattering on the road . . . an overwhelming painful sensation filling her mind as the tears rolled down her face. . .

Marvel Girl's breathing was hitching hard as she curled herself into a ball against a wall, tears rolling down her cheeks. Cyclops turned his attention over to his best friend, noticing she was down for the count.

"Jean," he said, going over to her and lightly slapping her face.

Jean's breathing was growing erratic as her complexion grew chalky. She looked as though she was about to be sick or have a panic attack. Sweat was beading on her forehead and tears began to pour down her face.

"Is she alright?" Storm asked.

"No, no she's not. Go on without us, Ororo," Cyclops insisted to her. "Go, see if you can find the others and get Warren out. Jean's down."

Storm nodded and ran off down the tunnels as Cyclops tried to calm Marvel Girl down. He pulled the redhead against his chest, pressing her ear close to him so she could hear his heartbeat after pulling her cowl off of her face.

"Shhh . . . Jean, Jean you're okay. It'll be alright," he tried soothing her. "Breathe . . ."

Jean continued to cry silently, her lower lip trembling as she sat there shaking in Scott's arms as he slowly rocked her in the effort to appease her. He proceeded to hum Linkin Park's "Iridescent" into her ear, hoping to calm her.

Sewers – South Side

Beast, Forge, Cecilia and Iceman ran down the tunnels of the sewer, searching for the other X-men members. Having just fought off Thornn, Berserker, Scaleface and Caliban, they knew that they had to regroup with everybody. Just as they thought they found what appeared to be the lair of the Morlocks, they ran smack right into Storm.

"Storm, where are Jean and Scott?" asked Hank.

"Jean's down for the count. She's not going to be on her feet for a while. She's in a panic attack," Storm explained.

"It's probably the handy work of the Morlock Warren once mentioned, the Beautiful Dreamer," whispered Beast in realization.

"C'mon let's get going so we can get the hell out of here, now," Iceman insisted.

"I'll second that," Forge said, and they took off towards the Morlock lair, where they ran right into Spyke again, but, he was not alone. He had Leech, Marrow, Feral, Beautiful Dreamer and Callisto with him. "Oh shit . . . did I mention I have a cat allergy?"

"No one cares, Forge!" Iceman rolled his eyes. "Where's Warren?" he added in the direction to the Morlocks.

"We won't say. Now get the fuck out of our home, X-men. You do not belong here," Callisto said coldly.

"We're not leaving without Warren. We don't abandon one of our own," Storm said strongly. That was when Beautiful Dreamer was about to approach Storm to control her, but, Storm knocked Sonya out with a bolt of lightning. "I've done the whole mind control thing. I'm not a fan," she said calmly.

"Alright, then have it your way," Callisto said. She ran over to Storm at super speed, intending on dueling her with Spyke's assistance. But, little did they realize, Storm could hold her own in a fight. Storm's electric blue eyes went white as the winds picked up around her. The Morlocks such as Leech and Marrow didn't even seem to be fighting back. Instead, they were rather looking over at Beast and Iceman, gesturing for them to come forward.

"We-We can show you where he is," Marrow insisted.

"Why?" Iceman asked, cynical.

"Because believe it or not, we still have loyalty to Warren," little Leech said with his high-pitched voice, his eyes sincere. Beast seemed to believe the boy, because he gestured for Iceman and Cecilia to follow him. They followed Marrow and Leech to where Warren was, chained to the wall and beaten, bleeding.

"Warren," Iceman breathed out, running over to the winged mutant. He and Beast released Warren from his shackles, their friend falling against the both of them in exhaustion and pain, coughing hard.

"Are you alright?" Cecilia asked him.

Warren shook his head. He was weak and completely spent.

"Let's get you out of here," Beast said softly as he and Iceman supported Warren out of the room. By the time they arrived back into the lair, they saw Storm had successfully disarmed Callisto and got her cousin to stand down.

"Storm?" asked Cecilia.

"We won . . . we're done here," Storm said quietly. She looked to her cousin. "Evan . . . I do not understand why you would take this side of the fight. But, I cannot choose for you."

Spyke nodded. "Same goes to you," he told her, extending his hand forward to shake Storm's.

"Okay . . . you win," Callisto groaned. "My defeat is uttered . . ." She reluctantly shook Storm's hand as a form of silent peace between the Morlocks and the X-men. "Go . . . go on home. You've humbled me."

"Thank you," Storm said quietly, and they proceeded to move out of the sewers, making their way up to the surface, but, not before bidding goodbye to Spyke, Leech and Marrow. When they made their way to the jet, they saw Scott already on there with Jean, his arms around her and her head on his chest, tears rolling down her face silently. Her complexion was still chalky and her eyes were distant, but, at least she wasn't trembling anymore. Scott seemed to be whispering soft, comforting words into her ear. Cecilia went over to Jean, leaning a hand in her hair.

"Is she okay?" she asked.

Scott shook his head as Hank and Bobby got Warren in the back of the plane. "No . . . she's . . ."

Cecilia brushed the tears off of Jean's face and sat beside her, leaning a hand onto her shoulder as Hank took the pilot's seat with Forge at his side in the cockpit. Finally, they were headed home after such a tumultuous night.

Up next: Make Me Feel Better