Uncanny X-Men, The (1981 series) #229

In Singapore, a large bank is suddenly disturbed by the arrival of the Reavers, psychotic band of cyborg degenerates. The Reavers shoot up the place and threaten the owners to open the vault or else. When told the vault can’t be opened, they kill the main owner and blast their way into the vault anyway, before capturing the owner’s niece, Jessan Hoan, and escaping via a portal. The Reavers exit the portal at their base in a small, deserted town in Australia before it's closed once more courtesy of a mysterious mutant called Gateway. They threaten Gateway to continue to cooperate with them or else his people will never know peace. Later, the Reavers celebrate their victory at a broken down saloon while downstairs one of the Reaver leaders, Pretty Boy, shows Jessan their accumulated riches. He then grabs Jessan and attempts to convert her into a Reaver like them via cyber-optic filaments emanating from his eyes, reprogramming her very mind!

One of the other leaders, Bonebreaker, is called outside to take a look at an enormous sandstorm heading right for them! The Reavers scramble to take action as the sandstorm completely envelopes the whole town! The sandstorm turns out to be the work of Storm, high in the sky in the heart of the whirlwind! She then has Psylocke telepathically locate all of the Reavers as well as their hostage and relay that information to the rest of the team. Havok then blasts a hole in the saloon right to where Pretty Boy and Jessan are, allowing Longshot and Dazzler to slip in and help. Longshot severs the connection between Pretty Boy and Jessan, before scooping her up to safety. Dazzler, meanwhile, has a more difficult time, tripping over the huge pile of stolen loot coming in, allowing her to get grabbed by Pretty Boy. He attempts to convert Dazzler the same way he tried to Jessan, but she blasts his bionic arm off and starts to glow brighter than she ever has before!

Meanwhile, upstairs, Rogue and Colossus casually stroll into the saloon and a second later, a number of the Reavers come flying out! The two of them get swarmed by the rest of the Reavers, until Rogue gets grabbed by Bonebreaker. The skin contact knocks him out and severely stresses her as she gets flooded with his rather unpleasant memories. The final leader, Skullbuster, tries to capitalize by sneaking up on Rogue but he’s blasted from behind by Havok! Skullbuster grabs Bonebreaker and decides to haul out of there as quick as possible. Outside, a number of the other Reavers try to run for it, but Wolverine pounces on them from a roof and does what he does best. They never had a chance. The three main leaders manage to make it to Gateway, however, and tell him to portal them out and he’ll be released from any future debts. They manage to escape and Storm prevents Wolverine from killing Gateway, sensing that he was being coerced into helping them.

Back in the saloon, the X-Men tie up the captured Reavers and try to decide what to do with them, now that they’ve seen them alive and well. Lady Roma then appears, having been the one to send the X-Men there in the first place, to offer an alternative solution. She presents the Siege Perilous, a mystical doorway that judges anyone who steps through it, and sends them to be reborn in a new life on earth. Storm then gives the Reavers a choice: the Siege Perilous, or Wolverine! They all choose the Siege and step through it to be judged and sent to parts unknown. Jessan then freaks out, asking not to be forced to endure the same punishment as the Reavers. The X-Men concede that she was just a victim in all this and admit they’ll just have to trust her with the information that they're really alive. Roma sends Jessan back to the very moment she was taken, and reveals the Siege Perilous is an option for the X-Men as well. They determine that their work is not yet done, and Roma gifts the Siege to them before departing, leaving the future in their hands!