Uncanny X-Men (2012 series) #12

The Phoenix Force is coming to make Hope Summers its next host. The Avengers think this is dangerous. The X-Men faction led by Cyclops on Utopia Island think it's hope for the future of mutantkind. They fought in Avengers Vs X-Men #2 and the X-Men lost but escaped in AvX#3. And Hope ran away from both sides.

Now they've gathered together for the next stage. Cyclops says that the children from Utopia have been taken by the Avengers to their Academy (see Av Academy #29-31). Emma Frost adds that a source (Rachel Grey at Wolverine's Westchester School in AvX#3) has alerted them that Hope is at 1 of 5 locations. Magik will send teams to all of them where they'll probably have to fight Avengers. Magneto, Psylocke and Boom-Boom will go to Wundagore. Sub-Mariner, Sunspot and Hepzibah will search Tabula Rasa. We don't get to hear who goes to Latveria or elsewhere because we concentrate on the Tabula Rasa team.

Namor tells Hepzibah (a member of the Starjammers) that this isn't necessarily her fight but she's all for it. As she is for getting together with him for R&R later, and Subby concurs. Roberto Da Costa, well-known for his own sexual conquests, suggests they get a room. Namor says their plan should be to get help from the X-Men's allies there.

In Tabula Rasa the Apex scientist Savage was treating a wounded member of a lesser species. He detected the arrival of outsiders and leaving it to recuperate he rushed to investigate. It was a crashed quinjet containing Luke Cage, Thing and She-Hulk (clearly recovered from Rogue stealing her powers in X-Men: Legacy #266-267). Inquisitive Savage is intrigued to see they are totally different from the X-Men he met (in #5-8). Jennifer Walters spots some strange creatures who run away. The signal the team are following emanates from a cave so they go in. Savage knows they're heading for danger and wonders how their species ever survived to evolve to sentience.

Hepzibah and Sunspot are by a river waiting for Namor to come out. He surfaces with a very non-humanoid who he describes as Queen of the river people. It appears that he's had sex with her (when he and Hope had diplomatic relations with her in #8). She's agreed to help them find Hope.

Meanwhile inside the cave Thing is fighting a giant 'centipede' and they come bursting out of the cave. He and Luke manage to defeat it but lots of smaller ones appear. We hear that Savage set these war larvae on them as an experiment, and he's gratified that some of the team are bleeding because he might be able to salvage samples of it.

The X-team and the Queen are being carried on a litter by river creatures when they see the Avengers stomping on larvae. Subby and Sunspot fly towards them leaving Hepzibah to grill the Queen on Namor's 'performance'. Sub-Mariner dives on Cage to resume the fight they started in Utopia (in AvX#2 but Subby's fight there and in other issues was mainly with Thing). He throws him into the river and follows him. Hepzibah attacks She-Hulk and Thing with 2 guns blazing. Ben Grimm pretends to be distracted but turns to punch flying Sunspot trying to sneak up on him from behind while Shulkie fights the Shi'ar 'cat'. Cage continues to fight Namor even though he's running out of air. Jen eventually defeats Hep. Sunspot tries to attack her but Thing downs him with a large tree trunk. Subby hits Shulkie with unconscious Luke. Then it's just him vs Thing again.

Their clash scatters the other bodies. They both enjoy pounding each other. And Savage reaches a conclusion as to what this is all about. He moves closer to the bout but urges them to continue. He tells them he sees this as a mating ritual and wants to witness his 1st example of human sex. The 2 males are dumbfounded. But Magik pops through a portal to take Namor away because they've found Hope.

She takes him to meet Cyclops, Emma Frost and Colossus in an abandoned Hellfire Club safe house. It turns out all 5 locations were deliberate red herrings set by Hope. She's actually gone to the Moon. To Scott Summers and Piotr Rasputin this brings back painful memories (the death of 'Jean Grey', the 1st human Phoenix, on the Moon in X-Men #137). But Magik teleports them all there (to the Blue Area with a breathable atmosphere) hoping for a happier ending this time.