Avengers Arena (2013 series) #9

Last issue unveiled some secrets. We already knew that Apex (Katy Bashir) was controlling cyborg Death Locket (Becca Ryker) and using her to attack other players in Murder World, and we knew that Runaway Chase Stein now had the Darkhawk armour (after DH Chris Powell was possibly killed in #3). But last issue the others learned these things, and we discovered that Katy somehow had a male side named Tim.

Last issue ended with now-paralysed Justin Seyfert turning up in his semi-repaired Sentinel robot seeking revenge on Apex and DL for the mess he and his 'pal' are in. But Chris manifested the DH armour to stop him. Now fellow Runaway Nico Minoru tries to talk Chase down, and also wants to know what the DH thing is about. And X-23 (Laura Kinney) tries to talk angry Juston down too. Becca and Apex have gone a little way away where DL saw Katy transform into Tim. Now she asks 'him' to intervene and he reluctantly rises into the air and does something which switches off the Sentinel and the Darkhawk armour, but also Becca's cybernetics plus Chase's own glove weapons and Cammi's blaster.

Angry Juston still wants *somebody* to kill the 'British girl' (Apex) who shattered his spine and smashed up his robot pal, but Chase points out that the 'girl' he's pointing to is a boy. Becca protests that Katy is the killer, not her brother Tim. The Atlantean Nara insists that she's known Katy (in the Braddock Academy) for 2 years and she doesn't *have* a brother. More cogently Anachronism (Aiden Gillespie) asks how he's suddenly here in Arcade's Murder World. Bloodthirsty Nara opines that he's probably 1 of Arcade's tricks and they should cut him open to find out. Becca and Laura move to protect the youth who responds by begging them all not to fight over him. He thinks probably killing him *is* the best idea but suggests that they tie him up 1st while he explains the brother/sister situation.

He tells them that he and Katy are technopaths, able to mentally control machines. But they also share the same body, which is male or female depending on which of them is in control. Up until 2 years ago they agreed to take tuns, 1 day at a time. The other person was still there but not in control. Their rich parents caused this by paying for gene therapy to get a superhuman baby. When they discovered the 'schizophrenia' 2 years in they kept it secret by having them homeschooled by separate private tutors on alternating days. They were rarely allowed out and always had to lie about where their sibling was. He didn't mind this but Katy hated it. She wanted a normal life and violently blamed her parents because she couldn't have 1. But later she seemed to become calm and accepting. However she caused an accident which she claimed must have killed Tim, but really she was keeping him suppressed. Her relieved parents enrolled her in the Braddock superhero boarding school, and they gave Tim a 'funeral'.

Even Juston is moved by this story, and Becca hugs Tim. He carries on to describe what he 'watched' his twin do. Katy used her own power in an attempt to take over J's Sentinel but it resulted in destruction instead. She remotely used Becca's cybernetics including a big blaster to attack others (Darkhawk and Reptil). Tim couldn't stop her until the group turned on her (in #6).

Later that evening Tim and Becca have been sent a little apart from the camp they've set up, and all the 'machinery' has recovered from Tim's EMP blast, but the teens still can't agree what to do about Katy. Juston and Cullen Bloodstone agree that they can't just let him go because Katy will regain control eventually and come after them. Cammi and Chase try to bring themselves to say that they should kill him. But Nico cuts her fellow Runaway short by saying that Tim has done nothing wrong and also stopped 'Darkhawk' and Juston's Sentinel fighting each other, and Laura (no stranger to being made to do bad stuff herself) agrees. So Cullen puts it to a vote. Chase, Juston and Nara want death but they're outvoted by the other 5.

Chase can't accept this but Cammi says if they do it they're as bad as Katy. Chase points out that Arcade has them trapped in this 'game' which is designed to get them to kill each other. He's tried to avoid giving in to that but in this case it's a matter of survival. When no-one is swayed by this he turns into Darkhawk and says he'll do it himself. But Nico uses her magic Staff Of One to expel DH from the camp, and he reverts to Chase.

The rest decide to take turns watching over Tim and Becca, only those with non-mechanical powers need apply. X-23 volunteers to take tonight's watch but Nico insists on doing it. Meanwhile Tim is trying to teach Becca to control her own cybernetics. (She had only just woken up after the cybernetics were installed when Arcade took her, so she's had no practice.) He tells her to close her eyes and imagine that her blaster cannon *is* her left arm. And it arms itself, and fires when she wills it to. Nico has arrived and is watching the scene as grateful Becca hugs Tim and then starts to kiss him. Nico coughs to let them know she's here, but then turns away to give them a few minutes of privacy. However when Becca turns back to Tim she finds Katy instead who switches off her brain and makes her body untie her.

Katy then leads Becca into the camp and calmly breaks sleeping Juston's neck. We see that she's left Nico unconscious, and now the duo take off in the Sentinel.