Issue 52: Infernal Concoction

Infernal Concoction is the fifty-second issue of the Winx Club Comic Series.

Synopsis
With the school year becoming more and more brutal at Cloud Tower, Icy turns an ancient potion into an energizing candy and sells it to her fellow classmates in order to test it. Her candies become the newest craze at the school and she and her sisters do everything they can to make a profit off of it. Soon enough, it is revealed that Icy's new candies are highly addictive and harmful, so the Winx take it upon themselves to get the candies banned for the good of the Cloud Tower witches.

Plot
The story begins at Cloud Tower, where many of the witches have just managed to get through one of Zarathustra's classes. Lucrezia and her friend are upset at how many seemingly useless spells they are forced to learn, and Zarathustra announces to the class that they will be having an exam tomorrow and an extra exam the very next day.

As the Trix leave class, Stormy and Darcy cannot believe that they are being given a surprise test and have to study all over again if they want any chance of passing. Icy then goes her own way, telling her two sisters that she will meet up with them at their dorm, as she has something else to take care of. Stormy asks Darcy if she knows where Icy is headed, but Darcy also has no idea as Icy tends to keep whatever plans she comes up with to herself. Icy finds herself in Cloud Tower's library, where she seems to be looking for a certain book. She finds a large brown book that looks promising to her, but when she opens it, the contents are all written in an ancient language. Oddly enough, instead of growing frustrated, Icy continues to try and decipher the ancient language.

Some time later, Icy returns to her dorm, where Stormy asks her where she was all this time. Icy claims that she and Darcy should mind their own business and decides to head to bed. Stormy asks Icy why she is not going to do her homework and quickly suspects that she may know all of the answers already. However, Icy just is not going to do her homework and tells her sisters to try keeping quiet as they study so that she can get some sleep. Later into the night, Icy cannot seem to fall asleep as her sisters are still studying with the lights on. Icy decides to go for a walk through the school and she later comes across the storeroom. Since it is so late in the night, she can sneak into the storeroom without being seen, and she uses a spell to break the lock. She sneaks inside and steals a very rare ingredient needed for a plan she has in mind. Icy then sneaks out of the storeroom and into one of the many potions labs, where she starts concocting something. It turns out that Icy is making something known as the Mistura Infernalis, and she made them in the shape of candies. She takes all of the candy-shaped Infernalis out of the press and into a small, green capped bowl before sneaking out of the potions lab and back into her dorm.

The next morning, many of the witches are exhausted due to studying all night. Lucrezia is already exhausted and she has only gotten through first period. She then bumps into Zarathustra, who advises her to remember the material as she will be asking her questions in class. Lucrezia quickly becomes upset because she cannot remember any of the things she tried to study last night. Icy overhears Lucrezia's lamenting and approaches her, claiming to be in possession of a magic potion that could boost her energy exponentially. Icy pulls out a small, green capped bowl and begins bragging about how beneficial they will be to Lucrezia. Now interested, Lucrezia asks Icy what the potion is called. As Icy hands her one of the Mistura Infernalis candies, she tries to think of a name for them. She asks Lucrezia what she would call them and gets the idea to call the candies "Sublimax" after Lucrezia described the candies' flavor as "sublime." Lucrezia suddenly finds herself bursting with energy as she can remember everything she studied last night. In class, Lucrezia answers Zarathustra's question with ease as the other witches try to make sense of how she is able to do so. Zarathustra is impressed with Lucrezia's thorough answer and advises her to do just as great of a job for their assignment tomorrow as she did today. Lucrezia makes her way to her desk, where the witches around her praise her on how well she did and asks how she was able to answer the question without struggling. Icy watches on as Stormy suspects that Lucrezia just got lucky.

After class, the Trix are talking amongst themselves in the hallway until a witch with pink hair runs up to Icy, asking for some of the magic candies that Lucrezia had. Icy agrees to give her some, but claims that she cannot give them away for free since the ingredients she uses are very expensive. The witch agrees, asking Icy how much she would want for it and Icy claims that she will sell her the Sublimax candies for 50 credits, plus she would have to do Icy's assignment for her tomorrow. The witch agrees to these terms if the magic in the Sublimax candies really work and Icy assures her that they will work better than she thinks. The witch asks Icy why she does not just use the candies on herself to do her homework, but Icy claims that she would rather "sacrifices" herself in order to help others. The witch then pays Icy 100 credits and gets two candies. Stormy asks Icy about what she had just sold, but Icy refuses to tell as she yells at Stormy to mind her own business. Stormy threatens to tell Headmistress Griffin, and Icy ends up telling her and Darcy about the magical candies she made. Stormy then asks Icy why she did not give some of the candies to her and Darcy, as it could have prevented them from losing sleep from studying all night, and Icy reveals to them that the candies are really the Mistura Infernalis. She claims to be letting other witches sample the Infernalis in order to see if they come with grave side-effects before using them on herself. She then tells her sisters that if they help her sell more of the Mistura Infernalis, then the witches will be so grateful to them that they will end up doing all of their assignments. Now that they are all in agreement, Darcy and Stormy promise to help Icy sell more of the candies. The next day, the day of the test, Icy asks Stormy about how many candies she was able to sell and Stormy claims that she was able to sell enough candies to their whole class. She points out how intensely the other witches are taking their test as she tells Icy that they all promised to pass their tests over to them once they have finished; giving them all the answers. Icy is obviously overjoyed now that she and her sisters can relax and breeze through school as everyone else does their work for them.

After the test, Zarathustra compliments her students on making very little errors on each of their tests. As the girls leave class, they celebrate and quickly swarm Icy, asking for candies. Icy claims that she does not have any left and advises the girls to get their money ready as she stocks back up on Sublimax candies.

Later that night, the Trix are concocting more Mistura Infernalis to sell to their classmates. Darcy runs back into the storeroom, letting Icy and Stormy know that Professor Ediltrude has just left. Icy comments on how they burned most of the potion but does not mind it because they have still made plenty to sell.

The next day, the Winx, Specialists and many other young people are hanging out at the White Horse. Many of the patrons have gathered on the dance floor, where Stella and Brandon are also dancing. Stella quickly becomes exhausted, so she sits back at her table with Brandon and Bloom. Brandon notices how lively the witches have been and Bloom points out that they have been this energetic since morning. She then asks if the two of them would like a soft drink as she hands one to Stella. Stella thanks Bloom for the drink and asks her if she knows whether or not the witches organized the party. However, Bloom claims that there is no party; that the witches just wanted to move about and the dance floor just happened. Stella comments on how good the witches seemingly boundless energy will be for business at the cafe until Bloom gets yelled at by two witches sitting at the other end.

As she is bringing drinks to two witches, Bloom notices two other witches sitting at a nearby table and one seems to have a headache. She overhears the two nearby witches talking about magic candies; more specifically, whenever the effect of the candies wears off, one of the witches' heads feels like exploding. Her friend urges her to take another one, claiming that it will help the side-effects pass more quickly. The witch takes the candy and notices that her headache is slowly vanishing. Just outside of the cafe, on the lakeshore, Lucrezia frantically runs up to the Trix, asking for more candies. Once Icy pulls out the capped bowl, Lucrezia requests that she get four of them but she does not have enough money to pay for them. She asks Icy for a discount as she is her friend and has bought so many candies already, but Icy insists that there are no discounts. Lucrezia then offers her golden bracelet with the money she has on hand for the candies. Icy accepts, only choosing to take her bracelet, and Lucrezia runs back into the cafe as soon as she gets the candies. Once she is gone, Stormy and Darcy talk about how freakish Lucrezia's face was, coupled with how desperate she was to get her hands on more of the Sublimax candies. Darcy suspects that Lucrezia's dependence on the candies could be a side-effect of the Mistura Infernalis and Icy mulls it over. She claims that such a side-effect would be better for them, due to the fact that they are the only ones who sell the candies, which would result in them becoming rich almost instantly. Back inside the cafe, Lucrezia is dancing with a young boy until she starts to get a headache. The boy asks if anything is wrong and Lucrezia suddenly collapses in his arms. Other witches rush to the center of the dance floor as the boy tells them to get help as Lucrezia is starting to feel sick. He puts her arm over his shoulder as he eases her to an open chair Bloom had put out. Once seated, Bloom gives her a glass of water as the boy tries to get her to wake up. Lucrezia manages to wake herself up and Bloom asks if she is feeling better. Bloom suggests that they call a doctor, but Lucrezia insists that she is fine and will be better once she returns to Cloud Tower.

As she leaves the cafe, Bloom notices that she is in worse shape than when she arrived. Stella claims that she already said that Lucrezia and her friends were moving around too much, but she is interrupted by Tecna, who claims to know why Lucrezia was feeling sick. Tecna tells the girls that a witch friend of hers told her about a magic potion that is going around in the shape of candies at Cloud Tower. The potion boosts their energy and makes them feel better than ever. Stella realizes that the witches must have been taking the candy-shaped potion, as it would explain their boundless energy from earlier. Bloom worries about the witches because taking such a strong potion could cause dangerous results and Aisha agrees, adding that everyone's bodies react differently to certain things and points out Lucrezia's collapse from earlier. Tecna also claims that someone else could have an even worse reaction to the candy-shaped potion and Bloom proposes that they tell Faragonda, as she will warn Griffin. Tecna wonders why Bloom is so concerned over the Cloud Tower Witches, claiming that they should take care of the problem themselves, but Bloom insists that they need to take action before something worse happens. Flora and Stella are in favor of Bloom's suggestion and the Winx go see Faragonda together.

Back at Alfea, the girls fill Faragonda in on what happened at the White Horse and Faragonda becomes worried herself. She asks if the girls are certain of their claims and Tecna confirms them, handing Faragonda one of the candies that she got at the cafe. Faragonda agrees to warn Griffin but worries over how harsh Griffin will be to her students.

At Cloud Tower, Griffin has received Faragonda's warning and she has one of her professors round the students up for a general meeting. She then orders the student she has called in to get the Trix into her office. In the Winx's dorm, Tecna returns, telling them that all hell has broken loose at Cloud Tower. She explains that Griffin had one of her students tell them the names of everyone who has been using the magic candies, and the witch confessed that it was the Trix who were behind the production of the candies from the beginning. Bloom is upset that they did not suspect the Trix sooner and Flora asks Tecna about what Griffin did in response to the news. Tecna explains that all of the tests the witches took for the past few weeks had to be retaken and that the Trix have to take a special exam that contains all of their subjects. If they do not pass their special exam, then the Trix will be confined in their dorm until the end of the course. Bloom claims that that is only the nicest punishment the Trix could have gotten for what they have caused and Stella agrees, but warns Bloom to be more careful when she works at the White Horse from now on. Bloom asks Stella what she means by this, to which Stella explains that the witches will work together to pay Bloom back for outing the candies.

A few days later, Bloom is working her usual shift at the White Horse as the rest of the Winx keep an eye on her. She approaches a table with two witches seated and asks them what they would like. The red-haired witch tells Bloom that she would take a glass of disgusting, as her friend claims that they would also take two slices of spy witch cream. Bloom tells them that she is not going to deal with jokes while she is working and the red-haired witch claims that they are not going to deal with jokes either. Her friend claims that they know it was Bloom's fault that Griffin has been putting them through the wringer recently and promises to make her pay as the red-haired witch calls Bloom an ugly fink. Bloom insists that it is not her fault just like how it would not be a police officer's fault if a thief were stealing, but the red-haired witch's friend warns Bloom that she will not get out of this easily.

In fact, at the end of the day, the witches have left the cafe completely trashed, but the Winx help Bloom clean up the mess they left behind. On their way out of the cafe, Stella spots something written on the side of it. When the girls get closer, they find that the witches left graffiti on the wall, showcasing their disdain for Bloom being a "Winx spy." At Cloud Tower, the Trix are brooding in their dorm, cursing the Winx for getting in the way of their plans once again. Stormy insists that it was Icy who let herself get caught but Icy claims that it was their classmates' fault for ratting them out. Darcy is whining at a desk about their upcoming special exam and Icy gets the idea to use the Mistura Infernalis on themselves so that they can pass it. Stormy claims that Griffin had already confiscated all of the Infernalis until Icy reveals that they did not take the ones that she kept hidden in her hair pin. However, before they all take an Infernalis, Darcy asks if they would end up getting hurt by them. Icy remembers that the candies had little side-effects occur with their classmates and claims that they will be fine as she believes that they are tougher than the other witches.

The belle rings and Zarathustra asks one of the witches to tell the Trix to come down to the main cafeteria for lunch. However, when the witch gets to the Trix's dorm, she finds all three of them collapsed on the floor and rushes to Griffin's office. At the hospital, the Winx come rushing in after Faragonda had called them. She tells the girls that the Trix have taken a magic candy each which caused them to pass out and are unable to be woken up. Faragonda claims that the Trix must have had an allergic reaction to one of the ingredients, causing the Mistura Infernalis to have the worst possible effect on them. Stella does not know what the Mistura Infernalis are and Faragonda explains that the spell's recipe has not been used in centuries. Griffin explains that the spell gives whoever uses it a sense of euphoria but, as they continue to take it, the user becomes more dependent on the spell and take more of the spell in larger, more dangerous amounts. The Mistura Infernalis spell can also be lethal at the first dose, which is what has happened to the Trix. Bloom asks if there is anything they can do to help and Faragonda claims that they may be the only ones who can help, but she did not want to ask them due to their history with the Trix. She also warns them that they may end up being attacked by the evil spirits caused by the Mistura Infernalis if they really want to journey inside the Trix's minds to free them from the effects. Bloom asks the other girls if they want to go and they agree to help out. Faragonda is relieved that they will be getting involved and Griffin is taken aback by the Winx's willingness to help the Trix, even telling them that the Trix would not do the same if the Winc were in their situation. Bloom claims that they only listen to their consciences and then asks Faragonda where they will be starting. Faragonda leads the girls into the Trix's room, telling them that Professor Palladium will explain everything in further detail. In the Trix's hospital room, Palladium explains to the Winx that the machine that the Trix are hooked up to will help create a mental connection between them. Bloom approaches Icy and notices how much pain she seems to be in. Palladium claims that it is because the three of them have become prisoners within their own nightmares and that the Winx will have to set them free by entering the nightmares. Once the girls are all hooked up to the machine and ready to be sent into the Trix's nightmares, Palladium starts up the machine. A large screen behind the two headmistresses boots up and Palladium tells them that it will allow them to view the Trix's nightmares through the eyes of the Winx.

Meanwhile, the Winx are falling into the abyss that is the Trix's minds. Bloom urges them to lock hands and transform so that they can land properly. Luckily, they are able to transform in time and make a softer, more stable landing once solid ground manifests. Bloom urges that they hurry as the ground is as unstable as the Trix's minds but Stella is able to find more stable ground farther ahead.

From the Trix's hospital room, Griffin and Faragonda watch with relief now that the girls have passed the first phase of the Trix's nightmares. However, Griffin cannot rest easy yet as she thinks that the worst is yet to come. The Winx continue to trek through the Trix's nightmares as Aisha tells the girls that the machine Palladium hooked them up to allows them to journey through the Trix's minds symbolically. Since the girls are traveling in one straight path surrounded by walls that block their view of anything else, Bloom suspects that the walled walkway symbolizes the Trix's one-track minds towards their one goal. Tecna points out that the walled walkway is leading up to a fearsome castle over the horizon and deduces that the castle symbolizes their aspiration for terrifying and fearsome power. The girls figure that the Trix may be trapped in the castle but, before they head inside, Stella notices that a little girl in a red hood has appeared behind them. Aisha approaches the girl and asks what she is doing in a place like this. The girl introduces herself as Eva and hands Aisha a small candy. Aisha takes the candy and Bloom notices this. She quickly slaps the candy out of Aisha's hands, warning her that this is another symbol as the Mistura Infernalis look sweet and innocent, only to reveal its monstrous face once it is too late. As she explains this, Eva turns into a raging monster carrying a basket of snakes and charges at the Winx. The Winx combine their powers and manage to make Eva explode but the pieces simply come back to life and scramble to reform. The girls rush for the castle doors in order to evade the monsters before they end up being trapped in the nightmares. Musa busts the doors open with a shockwave and the girls find the Trix lying on stone beds in the middle of the room. Bloom quickly approaches Icy and tries to shake her awake. This causes her to wake up in the hospital room, where she can barely make out where she is.

As the Winx are trying to get the Trix outside, the giant stone statue springs to life from behind them. Tecna urges the girls to prepare for another fight but Bloom insists that they need to focus on escaping, even claiming that she never wants anything to do with the Mistura Infernalis ever again. The Winx successfully escape the Trix's nightmares with the three of them in tow and all nine of them wake up back in the hospital.

Faragonda and Griffin are relieved that they all made it out safely and Griffin quickly reprimands the Trix. She vows to have them grounded as she tells them that the Winx just saved their lives. As Stormy and Darcy come to, the two of them lament over how they have to act grateful towards "those snots" while also having their weekend ruined.

At the White Horse, the Winx are met by Sky, Brandon and a few of the Cloud Tower witches. On behalf of her classmates, Lucrezia apologizes to Bloom, admitting that thanks to her telling Griffin the truth, she and the Winx ultimately saved all of their lives. Bloom clasps Lucrezia's hands as she tells her that there is no need to feel down as the most important thing was that they all recognized what was truly important. Bloom urges them to enjoy life like they should be doing and Stella hops onto the dance floor, inviting anyone who wants to to come dance with her.

Spells Used

 * "In the name of Satanic softness, let this lock open with a caress!" - Used by Icy to break the lock on the storeroom door.
 * Explosion of Light - Used by Stella to fight off the monster plaguing the Trix's psyche.
 * Flame of the Dragon - Used by Bloom to fight off the monster plaguing the Trix's psyche.
 * "Shockwave at maximum volume!" - Used by Musa to break down the castle door.

Mistakes

 * One page 15, as Darcy makes sure that everywhere is clear for her, Icy and Stormy to make more Mistura Infernalis she sees Ediltrude leaving, however, Ediltrude resembles Griselda in the panel she is seen in.
 * On page 16, Bloom is seen serving a drink to Brandon by the counter but, on the next page, he is in the middle of the dance floor with Stella.
 * From page 20 onwards, Darcy's top has an opening at the center, instead of it just being a purple spot.
 * On page 21, as Lucrezia is waking up from her momentary collapse, she has a large gold bracelet on her arm, despite not having it in previous pages due to giving it to Icy.
 * On page 24, the midriff in Flora's outfit is missing.
 * On page 28, when the Winx come across graffiti left on the side of the cafe by the witches, spy is misspelled as "spie."
 * On page 31, as the Winx arrive at the hospital, the bottom half of Griffin's dress is a greyish-blue color instead of being a dark scarlet color.
 * Also, from this page onwards, Griffin's gloves and sleeves are not separated.
 * On page 32, the big pink floral accessory on Flora's top has been moved farther upwards.
 * On pages 36 and 38, Flora's Enchantix gloves are missing.
 * Stella's Enchantix gloves are also missing in the longest panel on page 38.
 * On page 37, Bloom's dress in her Enchantix form is more pink and yellow as opposed to the rainbow look it has been using.
 * On page 39, while being in their Enchantix forms, the sole-less sandals that the girls wear appear to have soles on them in the bottom panel.
 * Whenever Tecna is seen in her Enchantix form, her wings have green borders instead of purple ones. Her hair has also grown past its usual shoulder-length and reaches down towards her bottom, much like it did in her Enchantix concept art.
 * Despite going into her Enchantix form, Musa's hair still maintains its usual dark blue color instead of becoming more of a purplish color.
 * The jewel in Aisha's tiara in her Enchantix form is green instead of a pinkish-purple.

Debuts

 * Lucrezia
 * Eva

Characters

 * Cloud Tower Students
 * The Trix
 * Icy
 * Darcy
 * Stormy
 * Lucrezia
 * Sabrina
 * Ivey
 * Rubis
 * Polly
 * Lynel
 * Cloud Tower Staff
 * Zarathustra
 * Griffin
 * Ediltrude
 * The Winx
 * Bloom
 * Stella
 * Tecna
 * Musa
 * Flora
 * Aisha
 * The Specialists
 * Brandon
 * Alfea Staff
 * Faragonda
 * Palladium
 * Nightmare Monsters
 * Eva

Trivia

 * The Mistura Infernalis share a name similar to the issue's Italian title, Mixtura Infernalis.