Summary
Rahne stalks her prey through the Amazon jungle: namely, Dani! Despite the fact they're playing "hide and seek," Dani is angry at Rahne for startling her, fearful she'd inadvertently activate her powers. (They probably shouldn't play hide-and-seek anymore then.) However, she cuts off her tirade after Rahne almost faints from the heat. Dani attempts to strip off Rahne's uniform, but she declares "'tis ni' proper" given the boys' proximity. Speaking of the boys, Sam is concerned Rahne hasn't found them yet, but Bobby assures him they'll be fine. They're surprised when they find her, as she's rolling in a snowstorm Dani created to cool her off a bit. Realizing their game is over, Sam uses the Amazon to practice his powers and, namely, his ability to maneuver. Sam is ecstatic to use his powers with abandon, but he loses focus and knocks over a tree. Bobby uses his powers to destroy it before it hits him and the girls. Angry at a sheepish-looking Sam for damaging the forest so, Bobby sets up the satellite-communication system with the Professor. Bobby asks about Xi'an, and the Professor tells them they need to accept she's gone. Bobby asks if they should return home, but Xavier says he's got his hands full with the new X-Men arrivals and training Team America. (Them again?)
Returning to where their boat is located, the New Mutants discuss their frustration with the Professor's lack of concern over Xi'an. Dani is convinced he's not telling them something, whereas Bobby just thinks he doesn't care. Dani admits she would've agreed with him once, but now she wonders if he's trying to protect them. Sam asks what he could be hiding from them, noting, not unreasonably, he should trust them if he cares about them as much as Dani implies. Bobby laments the Professor and the other X-Men not taking them seriously, as they dismiss them as "X-babies." They arrive at the shore and see their boat in the river. Bobby posits it'll take the boat a half-hour to collect them, but Dani jumps into the water to swim to it. A mustachioed man on the boat watches Dani jump into the water and recalls a comment Bobby made to the team earlier, about following his mother's guidelines for staying safe in the Amazon. The man throws in some chum, attracting piranhas. Dani sees the churn and realizes she's made a deadly mistake. She uses her powers to distract them and calls for Sam to help. Bobby is concerned he'll reveal his powers to the crew, but Sam wisely realizes Dani's in too much trouble to worry about that.
Sam grabs Dani hand as he rockets over her and pulls her to safety, but he struggles to find a place to land, crashing them into a river bank in front of some indigenous women carrying shields and spears. One of them women kicks Sam in the face and he shouts a warning to Dani, who manages to hurl one of the women into the two remaining women. Dani realizes they don't seem to be spoiling for a fight. The three women Dani faced flee, but Sam is grappling with the fourth one. Dani observes the tribe was watching the boat, and they take the woman with them in the hope Bobby's mom can understand what she's saying. On the boat, the crew is upset over the revelation Sam and possibly his friends are "freaks," but the mustachioed man vouches for them. The captain thanks the man, named Castro, for his support and orders the crew to get the boat moving before the indigenous people return.
That night, the kid are with Bobby's mom and the indigenous woman. Nina has tried all the dialects she knows, but the woman isn't talking. The woman was carrying two different types of arrows, one indigenous to the Madería and one from Perú. But, she's neither indigenous to this area nor Peruvian. She's also carrying a steel dagger of modern design, which Nina hasn't seen among any Amazonian tribes. Meanwhile, on the banks, the indigenous women have returned with reinforcements, with one of them warning the others to avoid the men's rifles. However, another woman tells the other women to put down their arrows, because they can't risk "Lady Amara's" life. For now, they're watching until Amara sends the signal to attack. Meanwhile, in Rio, Emanuel da Costa once again complains one of Shaw's agents (this time, Castro) is incompetent and observes it isn't an inducement to join the Hellfire Club. Once again, Shaw notes how complicated the task is given da Costa's insistence they don't hurt Nina or Bobby. Da Costa is agitated because he wants access to the "mineralogical treasure trove of incalculable dimensions" that is the Madería, telling Shaw the "wealth of empire" is within his grasp. Da Costa pledges not to let anything stand in his way, and Shaw expresses surprise, saying he thought da Costa still loved Nina. Da Costa responds feelings have nothing to do with business, observing Nina wouldn't be in trouble if she stayed home and behaved as a proper wife. He then brings in some scantily clad women for "entertainment." (A real gem, Emanuel.)
Back on the boat, Nina informs the kids they've reached the Madería and, in a day, they'll start hiking in its cloud-topped mountains. Dani is impressed, even given the mountains at home in Colorado. Foreshadowingly, the captain informs the kids that legend says "a city of gold ruled by gods from the other side of the world" exists in the valleys. But, all the expeditions to find it have disappeared without a trace. Rahne and Sam wryly note it's not exactly the vacation they were hoping to have, and the captain responds they're just stories. (Dani then notes all legends are based in fact.) At the upcoming fork, the captain ominously says they'll avoid one of the tributaries because of its strong rapids. Later, Rahne is bringing food to Amara (and hoping the mountains are cooler than the river) whereupon she discovers Castro beating her for information. Rahne tries to stop him, telling him Nina said Amara was not to be harmed. He belts Rahne across the face and tells her to "run along" before he starts on her. Rahne turns into wolf form and chases him from the room. Rahne frees Amara and says her name is Rahne, and Amara responds by simply saying, "Rain." Rahne then has a full-on breakdown, crying over Castro's horrified look as she transformed. It reminds her of the look on people's faces in Scotland when her powers manifested, when people she knew her whole life suddenly believed her to be a monster. She wonders sometimes if she isn't a monster and tells Amara sometimes she thinks she should remain a wolf forever. Rahne asks Amara if she understood a word she said, and Amara simply repeats her name. Satisfied, Rahne leaves to find Nina, but stumbles upon the captain dead of an arrow wound. She's shocked, but she then discovers Castro, who knocks her unconscious with the butt of his gun.
She later awakens in a room with the other New Mutants and Nina, as Bobby is also coming to consciousness. He wonders why Castro didn't kill them and smashes through the wall to escape. He then wonders if the crew is allied with Castro because they're mutants, but then realizes Castro's attack could be related to the attempt on his mother's life last issue. He makes his way to the bridge and realizes the boat is adrift and going down the tributary with the falls. Finding the captain dead, Bobby tries to gun the engines to power the boat to the banks, but he realizes the engines are dead. He calls to Rahne to wake up everyone as they plummet over the rapids!
The cold water wakes up Sam, who grabs Dani. (Dani hilariously comments it's becoming a habit.) Bobby makes his way to his mother, who's grabbing a rock in the river, but he's knocked for a loop by a piece of wreckage. He mumbles his mother's name as he falls beneath the waves and Sam plunges into the water to save him. He notes he doesn't see hide-nor-hair of Bobby's mother as Rahne uses her powers to skip over rocks to get to Amara. She fights the current to pull Amara to safety, but she's shocked when she sees Amara is a blond white girl. She tells Amara she can barely hold her and needs help and is shocked again when Amara responds in English. Rahne is enraged that Amara listened to her confession, as it's something she wouldn't have even told her best friend. But, despite the betrayal, she can't let her die, so Rahne shifts to her transitional form to pull Amara to the rock. Sam flies by Rahne, asking who Amara is and if she's seen Nina. Rahne confirms it's Amara (to Sam's surprise) and also that she hasn't seen Nina. Sam uses his powers to bring Amara and Rahne to the bank where Bobby and Danny are waiting. Bobby is beside himself when he learns they can't find Nina, and Sam tries to comfort him. But, they're surprised when a group of Roman Centurions tells them to stand where they are and inform them they're now "slaves of Imperial Rome."
The Review
This issue starts the Nova Roma arc as Claremont essentially resumes the story he had been telling before the weird Team America detour in issues #5-#6. The kids are again faced with challenges that force them to push their powers to the limit, all while Professor X remains nowhere to be seen.
- The snowstorm feels like part of the continuing evolution of Dani's powers. It's consistent with her powers as we've previously seen, where she's able to create lifelike holograms that other people -- not just the intended recipient -- can see. It also builds on her display last issue, where she pulled specific images from the Hellfire goon's minds.
- Charles continues to make a run at "worst teach of the year" here. He decides he's too busy with Team America to train the New Mutants, instead sending them into the Amazon under the care of Bobby's absentee mother. Given Bobby and Sam could both level buildings with their powers, it seems odd he'd instead focus on a group of adults who use their powers to form...a motorcycle rider. I'm also not sure exactly what training he's giving Team America. After all, all they can do is summon the Black Rider. They don't seem to need exhaustive training (as they seem to get here, as they sweat profusely) to do that. Thankfully, we don't seem ever to see them again. But, man, they were the worst.
- The boat is allegedly 30 minutes from the banks where the New Mutants are standing, but it looks much closer. Also, Dani decides to swim to it, something she presumably wouldn't have done if it really was 30 minutes from where they were standing.
- Emanuel needs to make up his damn mind: he either wants Bobby and Nina to be safe or not. He keeps telling Shaw that his failure to foil Nina's plans aren't an inducement for him to join the Hellfire Club, but I honestly have no idea what he wants Shaw to do. Keep them indefinitely in a dungeon? Given Emanuel doesn't seem to have any ideas either, I'm not sure why Shaw would want Emanuel in the Hellfire Club. Moreover, he claimed last issue that he loved Nina, but the high-end hookers he hires here don't really support that claim. Finally, I'm also not sure why Nina's expedition is so dangerous. Does Emanuel know something we don't? Otherwise, I'm not sure what Nina could find that would prevent him from exploiting the Madería's natural resources.
- I still don't get why Dani and Sam take Amara captive or, as Bobby himself says, why Castro didn't kill them outright? I mean, I get the answer is "plot device," but Claremont is usually better than that.
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