Avengers Academy (2010 series) #30

Giant-Man, Hawkeye and Quicksilver have gone off to the Avengers Vs X-Men war leaving Tigra the only Avengers Academy staff member but with Hercules as a temporary substitute. But they did drop off the mutant X-students from Utopia Island, with Kavita Rao and Madison Jeffries to help look after them. But also the amnesiac villain Sebastian Shaw who's now escaped from confinement.

Now in the Student Lounge we see that Wiz Kid (Taki Matsuya) has convened a little meeting with Academy students Ricochet (Johnny Gallo) and X-23 (Laura Kinney) because all 3 are mutants and he's uncomfortable being told to act as 'prison guards' to keep the X-students from leaving. Hazmat (Jenny Takeda) points out that she's not a mutant but Taki counters that she's Japanese like him, and he thinks that this is like when US Japanese were put in internment camps in WWII. Jenny says her great-grandfather was there and conditions here are *nothing* like that. Johnny is in 2 minds about it so Taki asks Laura what *she* thinks because she knows both sides well. Johnny points out that X-23 is Wolverine Jr and Logan *brought* the X-kids here, so they know what side *she*'s on. Laura snaps that he's more sure than *she* is and stalks out.

Tigra, Jeffries and Rao are explaining to Hercules that Shaw broke out of his holding cell into the storm drains, but the security system confirms that he hasn't left the premises. Madison says that he's 1 of the X-Men's deadliest and most ruthless enemies, whose mutant ability is to turn energy into physical power. Emma Frost recently wiped his memory but he's since learned what he used to be like. Kavita suggests he's out for revenge against Emma, and may take it out on her students knowing how badly it would affect her. Madison and Jeffries think they should evacuate the students or at least warn then, but Tigra doesn't want to risk exacerbating the tension between the 2 student bodies. She tells Rao to coordinate from here while the other 3 spread out and search. Mutant technomorph Jeffries assembles an armour around himself and Herc has his helmet, shield and sword, with the front of the shield deliberately obscured by tape.

Hazmat catches up with X-23 and tells her that the other 2 can't decide anything and are more concerned that she'll grass on them. Jenny asks her if she really has conflicting feelings but Laura replies that she was raised (by an offshoot of the Weapon Plus group that turned Wolverine into Weapon X) to suppress all feelings and just obey orders. Since then she's learned how to make her own decisions in matters of life and death but is still at a loss in more grey situations. Jenny claims to have similar problems but that's why she likes her boyfriend Ken Mack (Mettle) because he's sure and open about his feelings. She points to him continuing (from last issue) to 'surf' on ground waves created by the X-kid and fellow Hawaiian Loa. She confirms that she's happy for him, so Laura asks why she was so jealous when Ken talked to *her*. Jenny comes up with several excuses but then admits that it's not Laura it's herself. Her toxic mutant power kicked in when she and her previous boyfriend were about to have sex for the 1st time and it almost killed him (which is why she's now stuck in a Hazmat suit). She knows she can't *really* hurt Ken's metal body but whenever they get intimate she just freaks out, and she thinks Ken thinks it's about his skull-face so she feels she ought to force herself to be with him. But X-23 tells her she should always be true to herself. If it means she loses Ken then she will be sad but strong. Jenny now opines that Laura *does* know what she feels about important things, but not the small stuff. However life is mostly the small stuff.

Armoured Jeffries is using other tech he's included to trace Shaw who, he tells Kavita, seems to be in the storm drains heading towards the main generators, probably to disable the security system. At that point Shaw attacks him and confirms it, but says he needs to take him out of the picture to stop him repairing it. Jeffries sends electric cables to ensnare the villain and says he's going to avoid hitting him which would power him up. But Shaw tells him that his favourite 'food' might be kinetic energy but any energy works including electricity, which he now gets by snapping the cables. And he smashes his foe's armour and beats him senseless.

Humberto Lopez (Reptil) is trying to understand why Jeanne Foucault (Finesse) is giving him the cold shoulder. They had something between them but then became aware of the future where they were married with a kid. He thought that meant they were meant for each other but she points out that it was only *a* future, and he's weakening their 'bond' by suggesting that she has no choice. Then she breaks away to talk to X-23 who's asked for more info on the Avengers/X-Men dispute. They retire to the Research Library to look stuff up. The Phoenix Force can and has destroyed whole galaxies and now it's returning to Earth where it used Jean Grey as a host. She was loved by both Cyclops and Wolverine but couldn't control the Phoenix Force. Now it's coming for Hope Summers. Some like Cyclops believe she will be the saviour of mutantkind. Others like the time-traveller Bishop believe she'll kill millions. Unfortunately there's no data to support either side's speculation. However history recounts that previous hosts have been corrupted. But Jeanne suggests that what's really bugging Laura is the question of whether to side with her Academy classmates or with her earlier X-friends. Laura says this is not a prison camp but the X-ers have lost their choices. However she wonders if the constrained upbringing she broke free of is colouring her view. Jeanne suggests maybe it *should* do. Laura thanks her but she still can't decide. Which is unfortunate because a student war seems about to break out.

Meanwhile Shaw has reached subbasement 2 when a disembodied voice tells him to surrender. He goads the other into saying more and then homes in on the voice and knocks Hercules' helmet off - the Helmet Of Hades which made him invisible. Herc is glad for an honest fight, even though his godly strength has been recently lessened to not much more than a normal man's. But he has other magic weapons and he pulls the masking tape off the Shield Of Perseus which can turn a man to stone. But he's said that out loud which allows Shaw to avoid looking at it while he knocks it out of the demigod's grip. So he now draws the Sword Of Peleus which can magically cut through anything. But it doesn't harm his foe and also allows him to draw magic energy from it. Then it's Herc's turn to be sent to sleep.

Outside Reptil, She-Hulk (Lyra), Striker (Brandon Sharpe) and White Tiger (Ava Ayala) are trying to prevent Primal (Teon Macik), Surge (Nori Ashida) and others from leaving the grounds. Ken Mack tries to calm things down but Loa joins the X-rebels followed by Ricochet, Wiz-Kid and Hollow, another mutant in the AA ranks. Atlantean Crosta makes a break for the ocean but he's caught by Juston Seyfert's Sentinel, which does no good for mutant trust in the Avengers.

In Laboratory #4 Sebastian Shaw tangles with the last teacher Tigra. Greer Nelson agilely dodges his fists and somersaults to land on his back with his throat in a double-arm lock. She's preventing blood flow to his brain until he slams backwards and takes both of them through a wall to the outside. He recovers but Tigra also falls unconscious.

Juston was supposed to keep the Sentinel hidden (underwater it seems) but keep monitoring the mutants. Mutants including Dust attack it and it responds with "Destroy all mutants". Juston desperately tries to convince them it's a good Sentinel and only says that when it gets excited. Transonic (Laurie Tromette) wishes everyone would make up their mind which side they're on and X-23 *does*. Laura leaps on the Sentinel and smashes open its control cabin to get to Juston and persuade them both to leave. They wade back into the water. Hazmat asks why she's turned against the Academy and she replies that while the Avengers had good reasons for putting the X-students here it doesn't excuse taking away their freedom ...

... and behind her Sebastian Shaw says he agrees.