X-amining Uncanny X-Men #256

"The Key That Breaks the Locke"
Late December 1989

In a Nutshell 
Psylocke is transformed into an Asian ninja assassin by the Hand. 

Writer: Chris Claremont
Penciler: Jim Lee
Inker: Scott Williams
Letterer: Tom Orzechowski
Colorist: Glynis Oliver
Editor: Bob Harras
Taipan: Tom DeFalco

Plot
Having killed his guards, Matsuo Tsurayaba confronts the Mandarin in Hong Kong, offering him the services of the Hand. Elsewhere, Psylocke experiences a bizarre, shifting reality in which she's stalked by Mojo and Spiral as she relives moments from her past, growing older in the process: playing with her brother Brian, joy riding with her brother Jamie, and reconnecting with Dough Ramsey. Along the way, she picks up a series of rings. Eventually, she enters a salon called the Body Shoppe and is reunited with Storm before Mojo and Spiral transform her into an Asian woman. In reality, she is being held by the Hand. Her mind fractured by the Siege Perilous, one of the Hands' psychics works to reshape her mind as it heals, making her a loyal assassin, whom Matsuo offers to the Mandarin.

X-amining Uncanny X-Men #255

"Crash & Burn"
Mid December 1989

In a Nutshell 
Destiny is killed as Freedom Force helps repel the Reavers' attack on Muir Island. 

Writer: Chris Claremont
Artists: Marc Silvestri & Dan Green
Letterer: Michael Heisler
Colorist: Glynis Oliver
Editor: Bob Harras
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

Plot
On Muir Isle, Banshee joins the battle against the Reavers, destroying Bonebreaker's chassis then rescuring Lorna from Pretty Boy. However, as the pair try to free, they're knocked unconscious by an invisible wall and taken captive by the Reavers. In Cairo, Illinois, Jacob Reisz arrives to claim the young mutant girl, but he and Dr. Shen find her missing. On Muir Isle, Freedom Force arrives, dropping Blob and Avalanche into the fray, but Lady Deathstrike attacks and crashes their plane. On an island in the South China Sea, Matsuo Tsurayaba arrives at a Hand base where an amnesiac Psylocke is being held. Back on Muir Island, Forge pulls Mystique free of the plane wreckage as Pyro contains the flames. Mystique orders Forge to guard Destiny, while the rest of the team engages the Reavers. But Lady Deathstrike guts Avalanche while Reese traps Blob in quicksand, and Destiny insists that Forge is needed elsewhere to protect Mystique, ordering him away just as Legion arrives.