Synopsis and Review by Kid Alpha: Thanks!
Synopsis: Princess Elisabeth Braddock of England and her companion Rachel Grey are still in a derelict building, Rachel holding the mysterious Nocturne under her telepathic thrall. This one possible combatant however only makes way for two more to enter. Busting into the building come Marauders T-Rex and Caliban. The later notices that Rachel is trying to conceal TJ by inhibiting his power with her own. This ruse doesn’t fully work however and Rachel has to think fast. She elects to allow TJ to possess her body as she tried to possess Betsy last issue. Betsy meanwhile orders the two Maraders to stand down; there is no one in the building except for her and Rachel. Neither of the Marauders believe Betsy and T-Rex makes a lunge toward Rachel. Betsy defends her friend and is ensnared in the vegetative tentacles of the newly arrived Black Tom Cassidy. This new addition to the fray offers a chance for Betsy to show off her fancy telekinesis against him but Pete Wisdom’s sudden arrival puts a stop to that. His hot knives prove enough a distraction for Betsy to use her TK to short circuit the man’s brain. Betsy turns her attention towards Rachel and sees her suddenly leap into the air and fly away at top speed.

While Betsy pursues her brother Brian makes a deal with Marauder leader Callisto; she lets him deal with Nocturne and she’ll still get the fee Magneto offers. Callisto decides to go along with this but seems prepared for the King to double cross her. The Queen then interrupts this conversation with a strange display of her shape shifting power; morphing into Roma, Saturyne, and Jamie Braddock and warning Brian again of his deadline to save 616. She collapses into a disturbed Brian’s arms.

Nearby Rachel zooms at full speed through the sky and nearby city streets while Betsy follows close behind. Betsy forces a hard landing by throwing her katana at her. On the ground it becomes apparent that it’s not Rachel that went zooming off but rather TJ in her body. Still willing to fight rather than be taken, TJ has a heated sword battle with Betsy using Rachel’s experience to help her. Betsy is too strong however and finishes the fight by bring a building crumbling on top of Rachel. From the rubble, Rachel surrenders, apparently back in control of her own body again. She tells Rachel TJ’s name and that even the girl knows nothing about her situation beyond that. Rachel decides that it’s probably for the best that TJ stay safe in her head for the time being.

That done, the two woman take a look at their new surroundings. It’s the ruins of St. William’s tower, Betsy’s playground as a little girl; A place as old as the Roman Empire. Rachel sees something more though. Using the psychic resonance in the surroundings stones, she recreates a physic image of a Chinese fortress that once stood on the spot. Despite the fact that it shouldn’t exist at all, the place seems suddenly so real to Betsy; a place her and her now insane and reality altering Brother Jaime used to play together. They pair move next to an imposing lighthouse. Betsy sees only little Brian’s favorite reading spot but once again Rachel seems more sensitive than Betsy. She sees a gaping x-shaped hole surrounding the tower. As Betsy moves towards it, ignoring Rachel’s concerns about the feeling it’s giving off, she suddenly drops. As she falls, her orient inspired costume gets replaced with a standard x-men training uniform.

Back at Braddock Manor, it’s after nightfall and Brain sits in his bedroom with a glass of wine, trying to piece together the odd puzzle his dream and his wife’s actions put before him. He’s suddenly hit with a moment of inspiration when he’s able to remember everything that happened following HOM’s start. He also remembers what he must do and the time limit. He confides in his wife that he’s afraid for his sanity. No time to save the world however; a sentinel is suddenly alarmingly close to their window and peers in on the two. Outside, several more surround the manor accompanied by Omega Sentinel Karima Shapandar. She’s there to arrest Brain on charges of treason against Lord Magneto.

At the lighthouse again, Rachel pulls a now changed Betsy from the hole; something Betsy identifies as a Quantum Tear. They’re unable to act on this theory however as Banshee leads the front of a Marauder attack. TJ tries to escape from an incapacitated Rachel’s head but is captured herself by Mammomax and T-Rex. Betsy pleads with Callisto to stop but Callisto doesn’t care and strikes Betsy. This blow seems to coincide with a sudden burst of telepathy from Betsy. She sees the events happening at the Manor just as Brian now seems able to see her sister’s situation with the Marauders. Brian can’t be concerned with Betsy at the moment unfortunately. He turns to the Omega Sentinel as she tells him that he’ll be incarcerated in a tower during the Magneto Gala. Brian doesn’t respond well to this and knocks her through three of her accompanying sentinels. Karima seems hardly fazed and fuses much of the Sentinel’s body to her own, producing a large arm cannon. Brain Braddock and his family are hereby sentenced to death.

Review: First let me welcome Chris Bachalo to Uncanny X-Men. I know his work divides people but I actually enjoy it quite a bit. I can certainly see valid points for those who say that his female characters lack body definition but that would be my only criticism. I adore his faces and love his keen attention to details. You might not like his women’s bodies butt their faces are gorgeous and expressive. In this issue we are treated to sweeping pages of shoreline and city streets as well as dilapidated buildings and manor interiors. I loved every bit of it. His art is definitely the best thing about this issue and I defy anyone to tell be that his last page of Karima didn’t send the badass meter up to a million. I’ll certainly miss Alan Davis’ work, and Bachalo’s isn’t anything like it but that’s hardly a bad thing. Bachalo’s work is stylized, animated and kinetic.

Now on to the story. Like last issue, I have very few complaints. None really. I actually rather enjoyed this issue. I suppose if I were to say anything it would be that this issue does very little to progress the story before the last few pages with Karima setting up a nice conflict for the next issue. We’re still waiting for Brian to do something about fixing reality and we still have no idea about what Jaime’s agenda in all this is, and we still know absolutely nothing about TJ’s significance. Still, there are a few more issues yet, so I hope for some real plot progression next issue. I was, I suppose a little disappointed that TJ and Juggernaut had little to do this issue. Cain wasn’t present at all and TJ only ran around scared again. Still, if next issue’s cover is any indication, I’ll get all my wishes granted next issue. Here’s hoping.

All in all, an enjoyable read and, as unexpected as this is, one of my favorite HOM tie ins. I look forward to more next issue.