Template:Featured Articles/2-2009

Operation: Take A Bow: Following the events of The Shadow King (plot) which left the walls between magical dimensions unusually thin, members of X-Force became aware of being stalked by an old foe - the Warwolves, vengeful demonic entities last seen in Tennesee. Setting a trap for their foes in St. Mark's Church-in-the-Bowery, the full team engaged the 'Wolves, but were counter-ambushed by more demons than they'd expected. The fight was short and bloody resulting in the church collapsing as Amanda managed to finally open a portal and send the Warwolves back to where they had come. As the team picked themselves out of the rubble, however, it became clear they were a team-member short: Mark's mind was lost to Emma, and later police investigations uncovered a crushed iPod and human remains. Despite being aware of the chance of losing a teammate, it was a different thing to actually experience it, especially for the younger members of the team. Each found their own way to mourn, with Pete posting his own tribute to the journals and letting the mansion as a whole know what had happened. On April 1, both the mundane and magical alarms at the brownstone were triggered, sending Wanda and Amanda rushing down to the foyer. Instead of a further Warwolf attack, however, it was Mark, frostbitten, injured and barely alive. He'd been dragged through to the Warwolves' dimension and had barely survived to use a second portal to bring himself back. The news of his return was marked with jubilation from his teammates, although there were some ugly scenes as some of the mansion residents attempted to make light of the situation. Mark spent several weeks recovering from his experience, retelling his story in a series of flashbacks.