TRANCE

Publication Date: 20th Feb 2024
Written By: Blanchett.
Biography

BIOGRAPHY

Hope Abbott is from a suburb in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Her exact family dynamic prior to the onset of her mutant powers is unclear but, if it was good before, it certainly wasn't after. Hope's powers involve her being able to project an astral version of herself that can generate electromagnetic blasts. Her first manifestation resulted in her giving her father a heart-attack.

The circumstances surrounding her enrollment in the Xavier Institute are unknown but her father was at least still holding a grudge for the heart-attack and hoping the school would “cure” her. [Wolverine: Killing Made Easy #1] In many ways, the decision to place Hope on Wolfsbane's squad the Paragons was a very sound choice, given their shared paternal trauma: Wolfsbane's own father had resented her for her mutant powers. Hope also bonded very well with her team captain, Match. It was later remarked by Sentinel O.N.E program that Hope had such trust in him that she would follow him to war. [X-Men: 198 Files #1] This dynamic was demonstrated following a debrief by Wolfsbane to her squad after a danger room sequence in which the team had to neutralize a rampaging “Hulk.” Following their successful mission, it was clear that the team were very bonded and Wolfsbane was excelling in this position. Unfortunately, this period of innocence was very short lived. [New X-Men: Academy X #12]

When Wolfsbane left the Institute following an inappropriate relationship with a student (Elixir), the Paragons’s instructor quickly changed from Karma to Magma in a very short period of time. Tragedy also befell the Institute as a beloved teacher, Northstar, was murdered by a Hand-possessed Wolverine. Trance herself was one of the students who came across his corpse. [New X-Men: Academy X #13-15] While this alone would be traumatic enough for a young girl from the Midwest, M-Day then happened, changing the lives of every mutant on the planet. [House of M (1st series) #8] While most of the world’s mutants lost their powers, Trance was one of a few hundred left globally who retained theirs. The individual squads were disbanded and Emma Frost held a battle royale for placement on the one remaining combat training squad. [New X-Men (2nd series) #23] Though Trance didn't make the cut, she continued living in the Institute, along with most of the remaining global mutant population.

Even though she was not a member of an active team, it could hardly be said that Trance's time was boring. Her school was now more of a mutant reservation and was constantly under attack, resulting in many funerals. One of her worst experiences occurred when she was kidnapped and taken to Limbo by Belasco. [New X-Men (2nd series) #38-39] Belasco was searching for Illyana Rasputin, who had been inadvertently resurrected by the Scarlet Witch. He attacked the Institute, mistakenly assuming she was there, instead taking Trance and some of the other students to interrogate. X-23, now a classmate, convinced Hope to use her astral form to go for help through an opening between Limbo and Earth. Initially, she was too frightened but some words of encouragement and distraction by X-23 gave her the courage to try. Hope managed to reach Earth and told Hellion and Surge, who had not been taken, where they were so a rescue effort could be mounted. The forces of O.N.E, the X-Men and the sorceress Amanda Sefton managed to bring the battle to Belasco but it was actually Magik who was the turning point. She had been resurrected without her soul and, using a stolen part of Pixie’s soul, crafted a weapon which allowed her to overpower Belasco. With Belasco defeated and Magik queen of Limbo again, she attempted to take more of Pixie's soul, only to stop when she saw her brother Colossus. Horrified by herself, Magik teleported everyone, including Trance, back to Earth. Unfortunately, this would not Trance's last time in this particular hell dimension. [New X-Men (2nd series #40-41]

Following the events surrounding the so-called messiah baby and the death of Professor Xavier, Cyclops made the difficult decision to close the school, as it was now such a recognizable public target. [Messiah Complex crossover] As there was no longer a school, Trance was sent home. Unfortunately for Trance, her parents were far from happy to see her. Both of her parents were still very angry at her for her father's heart attack. During a family squabble at the dinner table, they were attacked by the Orphan Maker, a mutant who killed parents of mutant children so he could abduct them into the care of his benefactor, another mutant called Nanny. The explosion from Orphan Maker knocked both of Trance's parents out but, despite their earlier admonishments to her, she was committed to trying to save them. Unfortunately, her fear got the best of her and, despite Wolverine's appearance on the scene, both of them were kidnapped.

When he regained consciousness, an incapacitated Wolverine explained to Trance that Nanny's modus operandi was to de-age adults to children again. In his case, due to his adamantinum skeleton, this would be fatal. He did his best to encourage Trance to save him and use her powers but she was still too scared. Upon seeing Nanny and Orphan Maker discuss doing exactly what Wolverine predicted, Trance pushed past her fear and managed to free Wolverine. This enraged their enemies, who opened fire on her body, though Wolverine fortunately got her out of harm’s way. During the skirmish, Nanny and Orphan Maker activated a bomb on their vessel, though Trance managed to deactivate it. Following this victory, Trance was elated, finally feeling maybe she was cut out for super heroics. [Wolverine: Killing Made Simple #1]