WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Hellions #10 by Zeb Wells, Stephen Segovia, David Curiel, & VC's Ariana Maher, on sale now.
Mister Sinister has once again let his personal trickery put his team of Hellions in danger. Thinking he was making a back-alley deal with Mastermind, Mister Sinister was lured off of Krakoa right into a trap set by Arcade. Back on the island, the mutants only knew that Sinister was missing and sent a team out to find him. The Hellions were sent to recover their not so beloved leader, falling right into Mastermind's hands.
Mastermind, whose real name is Jason Wyngarde, is a mutant with dangerous power. He can create illusions that alter the perception of reality for his victims. Using this against the Hellions, he has put the team into states where they are living their dreams -- seeing and feeling exactly what their hearts desire -- but it doesn't last for long. Psylocke, Greycrow, Empath, Wild Child, Nanny, Orphan-Maker, and Havok all went from living in their own personal heavens to their own versions of hell in the blink of an eye.
The room where Psylocke was had the name "compassion." As a woman who was raised to be one of the world's best assassins, Psylocke displays a limited emotional spectrum. Yet the reveal of her secret daughter in 2019's Fallen Angels miniseries showed an entirely new side of Psylocke. Her daughter's untimely death, and possible resurrection, gave an insight into the parts that Psylocke keeps hidden. Her dream was a simple, peaceful life with her daughter in a serene home surrounded by bucolic splendor. Since Psylocke does possess telepathic abilities, she was the first to see through the illusions. A monstrous version of herself in her X-Men costume came to fight and torture her, meaning that Psylocke believes she is her own worst enemy and a rejection of what she truly wants.
"Absolution" was what John Greycrow sought out in his dream. The scene he pictured was from his time in World War II where he ambushed and killed a group of soldiers. In his dream, he was not punished by a firing squad but instead was told what a hero he was. Many times Greycrow has walked the path of the villain, killing vulnerable people. He craves the title of hero and wants to be praised for his actions. When he finally achieves this, the smoke cleared and it turned into a nightmare where he relived seeing the dead bodies of the Morlocks he had massacred who then seek their own retribution.
Even when he is trying to be good, Empath can come off creepy. His dream room, called "satisfaction," showed a younger version of himself gorging food at a large table where many others go hungry. The other people at the table, which extends into darkness, are all people that Empath has hurt through his life. Yet he doesn't see this as a punishment, it is a way for him to reveal his past crimes with gleeful delight. Though when the nightmare sunk in, it turned out that he did not have his powers and that all of his victims could now hurt him.
Wild Child is a primal creature, especially after his most recent resurrection. His dream was a simple one, to show his aggression to the point of dominance over two of the most feared mutants -- Wolverine and Sabertooth. They run scared from Wild Child because he is the big dog. His dream and delights were simple to achieve and just as simple to flip. The two mutants turn on Wild Child and beat him into submission. Similarly, Nanny and Orphan-Maker have a pretty easy dream to save all of the mutant children from their "evil" parents. The babies are saved and there are multiple versions of Nanny to tend to Orphan-Maker. Then they are separated, pulled apart from each other and the babies.
Havok sought passion, he sought his lost love, Madelyn Pryor. Havok's personal life has not been the happiest. Raised in an orphanage with his brother Cyclops, the two have had their share of heartaches. Not to mention that Havok often felt like he was trying to get out of his seemingly perfect brother's shadow. When he met Madelyn Pryor they both had been hurt by Cyclops and felt a kinship. Havok fell in love with her and even followed her down a mad, evil path in league with demonic forces. His dream was a scene that could have come from their life together but it shifted into the dark, humiliating times they shared as Goblin Queen and Goblin Prince.
Now the Hellions are at their most vulnerable, going from places of happiness to their deepest fears. Arcade planned to use that to his advantage, manipulating them to join his employ. Hopefully, the mutants who have worked so hard to leave their questionable pasts behind them, can make it out and continue their paths to a good life.
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