X-Vengers (2025 series) #2

It's the Age Of Revelation and an X-virus is sweeping across the US killing most non-mutants and mutating the survivors. Revelation (Doug Ramsey) rules the mutated Territories and communes with the Technarch Overgrowth - plant life connected to the X-virus which spreads over everything. The latest incarnation of the Avengers are all now mutants. Leader Moonstar and Cannonball were already mutants (from the original New Mutants).  But Black Widow is now transformed to living water as Water Widow, Hawkeye had grown 4 extra arms, and Shang-Chi is now uncontrollably strong. Plus Vision has been infected with the Technarch Overgrowth.

The X-Vengers were in Philadelphia in the Territories to help fight off a Kree invasion. Last issue ended when an eruption of a more virulent form of the Technarchy virus killed Variable Man (Scott Lang) along with 6 mutants. And Revelation himself was watching from on high.

Vision can't tell much about the new virus because it has dissipated, and he can't detect anything anomalous for 500 miles. He adds that there's no evidence that the Kree had anything to do with it. Sunspot claims they know of no previous instances. Widow is suspicious but angry Boom-Boom protests that they're not keeping any secrets. Roberto Da Costa points out that they lost 6 mutants today too, and Dani Moonstar is minded to accept the word of her fellow ex-New Mutant. Clint Barton wonders if the other ex-NM Doug Ramsey might have something to say. Sam Guthrie asks Roberto more politely, and Sunspot gets a message that Revelation invites Dani and Sam to a meeting. Roberto takes the other 2 with him and they leave the rest to tidy up the now-dead techno-bloom. Shang-Chi is glad to have something to smash.

Roberto comments on his anger issues as they approach Doug, who offers to help Shang if he swears allegiance as a Seraph. Roberto tries to lighten the mood by suggesting they celebrate this New Mutants reunion, but Revelation addresses the other 2 saying he's always admired their team's dedication to protecting both mutants and humans even when the latter don't appreciate it. It's unclear (to me) whether he's referring to the Avengers or the New Mutants, but Sam makes it clear that *both* teams believed in that. Dani points out that humans have a right to be scared because the X-virus is killing them and she pointedly asks Doug if he *really* doesn't know how to stop it. He replies by asking why she's pleading on behalf of the 'opposition' when mutants are threatened too. She says it's because they're all interconnected. She creates a mirage of Scott Lang and reminds Doug that he was a human hero transformed by the X-virus into a mutant hero and then killed by the techno-variant virus. Then she shows him an image of his younger self who saw beauty in all life and would figure out a way to fix the situation. Revelation says he'll forgive her theatrical impertinence, but only this once. But he says the Overgrowth tells him this was an isolated attack triggered remotely. And then something happens to him.

Down on the ground the X-Vengers see techno-blooms exploding on the building where Revelation is and they spring into action accompanied by Boom-Boom, Random, Rockslide and Warpath to save civilian mutants from the techno-virus. Cannonball and Sunspot fly Moonstar and Revelation to safety. They take Revelation to Vision hoping *he* can stop what's happening. Vizh has already used the Technarch within him to flush the techno-virus out of 1 newly-infected mutant. Doug Ramsey asks him to cure the whole city, and he lays hands on his head to enable him to do it. The others protect them from attack while they try to achieve their goal. The ploy succeeds but Vision is destroyed.

Revelation claims that this was an assassination attempt on *him* by AIM. Hawkeye doesn't believe him because they disbanded years ago. But the Rev says that many of their scientists were taken in by the Government, and President Sam Wilson must have authorised the attack. He tells his Seraphim to prepare for a retaliatry strike. Moonstar asks for 24 hours to find out what really happened. He gives her 3 hours, and Sunspot must go with her.