IDW - Rom #12

Main Story Title: Long Roads to Ruin, Part 2

Art by: David Messina

Inks: Michele Pasta

Tales of the Solstar Order Title: Battle Scars, Part 2

Pencils by: Guy Dorian Sr.

Inks by: Sal Buscema

Plot and Script by: Christos Gage and Chris Ryall

Colours by: Alessandra Alexakis 

Letters by: Shawn Lee

Editorial Assist by: David Mariotte

Edited by: Carlos Guzman

Publisher: Ted Adams

Plot

Rom and Livia are being strangled by the Dire Wraiths under water, but the two Knights are able to break free and utilize their armour and Neutralizers to chase off the Wraiths. The two Knights give chase deeper into the ocean, as Livia has located them inside an underwater cave system.

Meanwhile in Rhode Island, Darby has returned home from her mission with the now dead Ruan, and plans out a letter to her grandmother before she leaves, in order to keep her last family member safe. Darby laments over the severed Knight arm that she has been left with, and tries it on, when the armour seals onto her arm and activates. Darby's grandmother comes into the room to see what is happening, and Darby activates the armour's Analyzer by accident and it shows her that she is indeed a human and not a Wraith. This excited Draby, as she now has a way to identify the Wraiths and finally help Rom in his fight against them.

Back in the ocean, Livia locates a whirlpool, where Charybdis grabs her and holds her prisoner. Rom goes to save her, but another Wraith, identifying herself as Scylla approaches him and shoots out an ink-like substance that disables him for a short while.

Eventually Rom reactivates his armour and goes after Livia. He quickly locates her, still being strangled by Charybdis, and despite his efforts to free her, the Wraith drains her of her energy, and the light goes out of her eyes  as Rom embraces her seemingly dead body....

Battle Scars Part 2

Rom and Fy-Laa flow over the gelatinous planet of Verdulun-5, and the planet, itself a living organism, who absorbs hostile entities that land upon it, and takes on their positive traits, whilst removing all the bad. Some Dire Wraiths arrived there some time ago, and it absorbed them, which is why it now registers as one itself. 

Fy-Laa is convinced that due to it absorbing the Wraiths, and even purifying his own armour before, they should try to use the planet to peacefully resolve the war with the Wraiths. Rom would like to agree, but Rom cannot allow a planet that is teaming with Wraiths, like this one technically is to continue to exist, and risk spreading the infestation further. Fy-laa tries to make Rom understand that they are not a threat, and Rom catches that Fy-Laa included himself within that group...

Fy-Laa has been absorbed by the planet too, and is part of their hive mind too!

Characters

Solstar Order

Rom

Livia Seemingly Killed by Charybdis

Fy-Laa (Tales Only) Mind Absorbed into Verdulun-5 

Orphion (Mentioned)

Dire Wraith

Charybdis

Scylla

Verdulun-5 (Tales Only)

Random Wraiths (Tales Only, Flashback) Absorbed into Verdulun-5

Human

Darby Mason Severed Knight Arm attached to her's

Gandma Gay-Lyn Mason

Fisherman

Fisherman's Father

Notes

• The two sea-bound Dire Wraiths are named Scylla (the multi-headed crustacean one) and Charybdis (the squid one). The former gets named, and identified as a female here, but the latter is left unnamed.
• Both Rom and Livia show their armour's ability to adapt to different atmospheres and pressures here, by changing their armour to better suit swimming, this also explains their ability to fly in space with ease.
• Let me just take a wild guess here, Darby is going to slowly have armour grow around her from the severed arm she is now wielding, and she will eventually become Rom's new partner as a Cadet of the Solstar Order.
• We get full confirmation that Darby's grandmother is not a Dire Wraith
• So Livia sure seems to die here....and for once we haven't had any spoilers for future set stories to spoil her surviving it, so she very well could be! Wow!
• Considering how Verdulun-5 fully absorbed the Dire Wraiths in it's flashback, it's likely that Fy-Laa was  also absorbed, leaving just his suit behind here, and the planet itself is controlling it...either that or mind control or whatever. It's pretty much sure that he's dead by now anyway.