Storm alerts Nightcrawler to the horrific murder of thirteen children in a locked room–with a fourteenth child unharmed.
Storm calls them “human” children. That seems odd. She’s never thought of a mutant as someone who was not also human. That’s like saying any genetically different group of people are not human. Hm.
Kurt goes and investigates. He interrogates the security guard, who goes up in flames, and decides something magical and evil is afoot. So he visits his old girlfriend Amanda Sefton, who offers some suggestions.
The conclusion here is that it IS the Devil. Some satanists used the kids as human sacrifices to a demon who serves Satan, Nightcrawler and Amanda Sefton save the day (with a little X-Men aid)…It’s a fine story, but it would have been a lot better if, for once, it wasn’t actually demons but instead was just some bad humans. Anyway, nothing revolutionary here–a pretty standard story–but well done.
The bodies of the 13 children, in the morgue, burn to ashes. Christine Palmer (formerly “Night Nurse”) is one of the caretakers of the orphanage, which is cool.