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Remy LeBeau aka Gambit reminisces to a day long ago atop a rooftop in Los Angeles, when he watched the superhero team the Champions fighting the villain Rampage below and how someone much older than him once said, “the world still needs champions.” Remy realizes how, in this case, they were talking about the mutant Iceman, the demi-god Hercules, a former Russian spy called the Black Widow, everyone’s favorite winged millionaire the Angel and something called a Ghost Rider.
Remy jokes how maybe they aren’t Earth’s mightiest heroes but, for a west coast team, they got by. Iceman tells Hercules to give Rampage what for, as Hercules verily assures the iced youth he shall. However, Rampage blocks off Hercules’ war cry of have at thee, saying how all their vaunted power is nothing to him. Black Widow argues her widow’s bite argues otherwise, while Ghost Rider reckons they should just let him fry his soul and be done with him.
Despite their valiant efforts, Remy just mocks them as a bunch of lunatics in costumes beating on each other for the heck of it, joking how he couldn’t be paid to dress like them even though everyone knows the Big Easy’s favorite son would do near about anything if the price was right.
Gambit recalls how, back in those days, he just went by Remy, as it was long before he started calling himself Gambit and it would be a while before he hooked up with Storm and eventually joined the X-Men for as long as they would have him. Remy recalls how back then he wasn’t just a thief, he was raised by the thieves guild in the black heart of New Orleans and there were Interpol agents from around the globe who would attest to the fact that Remy LeBeau was the best he was at what he did. He had skill, class, nerves of steel and he was just young and stupid enough to believe there wasn’t a job that he couldn’t handle.
Remy jumps down from the rooftop to the ground below with ease, ready to go on his motorcycle before realizing, if he had a fault, it was that he could never say “no” to a beautiful woman. Suddenly, just that type of woman emerges from the shadows, asking Remy what he’s doing there. Remy remarks how he’s just doing his job, angry that she didn’t tell him he might be bumping up against an actual team of real-life superheroes. The woman, Spat, mocks Remy, asking if he’s afraid of the Champions. Remy tells her how he didn’t say nothing about being afraid, he just doesn’t like the fact that it slipped her mind when she hired him. She shoots back with asking him if he thinks she’s paying him his ridiculously inflated rate just because of his alleged charm and his past-your-prime boyish good looks, to which Remy lights up a cigarette, joking “ouch.”
Spat angrily tells Remy she’ll spell it out for him: the only reason she hired him at all is because he’s a mutant. Remy angrily grabs her and tells her to be clear and that she needs to smile when she says that. Spat realizes Remy is a closet case and, even if she did realize that, he’s still supposed to meet her at the charity auction in an hour. Spat orders Remy to get back to his hotel and make himself look presentable - or he can drive straight into the Pacific Ocean. Remy mockingly adds that there’s not a chance that he’d miss out on their post-heist celebratory kiss.
Gambit remembers, how at the time, being Homo superior wasn’t nearly as accepted as it is today - today where accepted is supposed to mean all living together on an island off the coast of San Francisco. Basically, it would have been bad for business if people thought they were hiring a mutant, as it wasn’t like he could knock down a mountain with his eyes or control the weather. Or at least that’s what he told himself at the time, even if it didn’t make it the truth. Remy thinks how maybe he just wanted to think being a thief was the only thing that kept him from being one of the beautiful latte sipping and suntanned in-crowd sitting on the streets of L.A. that day.
Remy rides past a truck on his motorcycle and unknown to him from within are none other than MODOK and two AIM agents, to which one AIM agent tells MODOK they might have a problem as their sensors have indicated a bio anomaly. MODOK tells him that that is unacceptable, as he has used his massive intellect to plan their operation tonight with perfect precision. For while, he was designated MODOK – Mechanized Organism Designed Only For Killing - it is still a matter of ease to out-think humans on even the most rudimentary level. The other AIM agent’s thought betray him as he thinks that MODOK has too big of an ego and wonders if he ever shuts his pie hole.
Unfortunately for the agent - Dr. Reyes - when he joined AIM, apparently no one told him of MODOK’s ability to read minds and MODOK tells Dr. Reyes he very rarely shuts up. The AIM agent at the controls asks Dr. Reyes what he was thinking as Reyes tries to apologize to Mr. MODOK, er, sir. MODOK mind blasts Dr. Reyes and tells him now he is sorry, while the other agent purposefully thinks thoughts of how MODOK sure told him, and MODOK is the best leader of AIM they’ve ever had. Dr. Reyes comes to, unsure of who he is, as MODOK tells him he is just another fool who spent a moment in the shadow of his greatness and he will remember nothing ever again! The other agent again purposefully thinks good thoughts about MODOK, thinking how Reyes was an idiot and didn’t deserve to serve MODOK. To this, MODOK tells him enough groveling and to get back to work, as all his plans must be executed perfectly tonight.
Later, at the charity auction, people arrive in limos and fancy clothing to attend as MODOK narrates: “The idiot who now runs the Worthington Foundation is throwing a celebration. Dignitaries from across the globe are invited. After his parents died and his assets were inventoried, he discovered his father had long ago come into possession of the Scroll of Vishnota. He could not possibly understand the sheer power the scroll possesses or he would never have deigned to return it to the Middle Eastern country of its origin. A transaction I have decided will not happen.”
Above the attendees below in a security room, Warren Worthington III thinks how a part of him can’t help but think his dad would be proud of what he’s doing, but another just can’t believe that he would have kept the scroll all these years if he had known it was stolen from those people. Either way, just as Warren thinks he should call one more time to make sure the security details are set, he is interrupted by Spat. She excuses herself for the intrusion, saying she was looking for the ladies room. Warren flirts back that, by the way she fills out that dress, he’s say that was obvious.
Spat laughs back and asks him if he’s Warren Worthington to which he replies that he’s guilty as charged, before asking her for her name as well. She tells him her name is Spat and he offers to show her to her original destination and perhaps, when she’s done, she’d care to join him for a drink? Spat says she’d love to, but quickly knocks him unconscious, saying they’ll talk about it after he wakes up… and then only after he’s tracked her halfway across the world to get the scroll back. Her part done, she hopes Remy won’t let her down.
Below, Remy stares at the Scroll of Vishnota, pondering how it’s hard to believe a few words on an old piece of paper can have so much power but then again, he’s been a mutant long enough to know firsthand that looks can be deceiving. Suddenly, Natasha Romanov appears and asks Remy for assurance that the scroll is striking. Remy recognizes her from her Time Magazine cover the year prior, to which she realizes they haven’t met. Remy introduces himself in a James Bond manner, as Natasha tells him good evening asks if perhaps she may borrow his arm for a while as it seems her nominal “date” for the evening is easily distracted. Remy sees women surrounding Hercules and tells “Chere Natasha” certainly, as there are worse ways to spend an evening. In his head, however, he can’t help but think how it is certainly going to make lifting the Scroll of Vishnota more difficult.
Hercules and Johnny Blaze are nearby, as Hercules tells the women around him how he has not seen beauty such as this since his home on Mt. Olympus, to which Johnny laughs telling him he’s one smooth hombre. Natasha stares at Remy and tells him he has a unique name, and she’s surprised she didn’t notice it when she was going over the guest list. Remy wonders if she may suspect something, as she was an international spy after all. Remy responds telling her he’s from old family money and they have the money to pay for their privacy as he jokes they’re very shy.
Natasha tells Remy she can understand that, before asking what kind of business his family is in. Remy removes his cigarette and kisses her hand, “jokingly” saying they’re thieves, every last one. Natasha laughs this off, apologizing for being too intrusive as she does have a suspicious nature. Natasha then excuses herself, telling Remy she has a conversation with a demi-god that she’s been putting off. Remy smiles and tells her another time, but he can’t help but wonder how he can’t believe he shaved for this. Just as he continues to think how it’s time to get this scroll and then the first plane back to the Big Easy before anyone else shows up, a wall crumbles and suddenly MODOK appears…
MODOK exclaims to all the startled guests to behold his power and, although he is designed only for killing, he will allow those who vacate the hall to live… at least as long as it takes him to tap into the destructive force of the Vishnota! The AIM agent next to MODOK is the same surviving one from earlier and again purposefully thinks how MODOK is a genius and how lucky he is to be working for him. The startled guests are all upset about the crashing of the charity event: how one thinks it wasn’t weird enough that a Greek god was there, how another is upset he didn’t even get his parking validated and another outright exclaims how, ever since the Champions set up shop in L.A., things have gone completely downhill.
However, all guests do manage to leave as the Champions jump into action, ready to fight AIM. Black Widow demands to know who invited AIM, as Hercules tells Johnny Blaze it appears they are needed to fight the big-headed one. Blaze assures Herc he’s one step ahead of him as he lights up his motorcycle - but it won’t be Johnny Blaze the big headed one will be fighting. Black Widow warns her teammates to beware that, although MODOK may look almost comical, few foes are deadlier. Hercules declares, as the Prince of Power, he will vanquish the enemy before he is overcome with laughter. Blaze - now full Ghost Rider - rides into action saying how he may not be one to talk but that MODOK sure is one ugly fella. Remy smiles from the sidelines, as he can’t help but think how all this ruined his only good tux.
Unfortunately, MODOK has overheard their conversation and tells his accompanying AIM agents he’s grown weary of being mocked for his appearance and has a change of plans: they will get the scroll while he deals with the Champion “morons.” Immediately, he jumps into action by sending a brain blast their way, declaring that he will see how hard they laugh when they feel firsthand the power that is MODOK!
Black Widow tells a trying Remy to get down as Hercules jumps in front of them all to absorb the blast, claiming for them to fear not, as his Scion of Olympus shall protect them all. Ghost Rider and Black Widow thank their teammate for working together as a team, but Remy isn’t so sure, asking the big fella if he’s ok. Hercules slams down his fists near his teammates, the two and Remy barely jumping out of the way in time.
Black Widow realizes MODOK’s beam did something to Hercules, although Ghost Rider already noticed. Remy charges a couple playing cards and thinks how everyone being distracted can all work in his favor. Remy takes out the “beekeepers” between him and the scroll, but MODOK is too fast for him. MODOK sends a brain blast Remy’s way, not realizing that he was a so-called “super hero” as well. Remy is shocked assuring him that he’s just an honest man living in a dishonest world.
Remy jumps out of the way and over MODOK’s head, jokingly asking MODOK to forgive him, as he’s just trying to “get a-head.” Remy grabs the Scroll of Vishnota and exclaims how now all he has to do is deliver it to Spat and he can put this night and these people behind him. However, just as he’s about to hop out the window to safety, Black Widow yells at him to wait. Natasha tells Remy her Widow’s Bite is useless against a controlled Hercules and they need his help to bring down MODOK and break the control over their friend. Even though Hercules has cornered the two of them, the Ghost Rider tells the Black Widow that she’s wasting her time with Remy, as he’s clearly only out for himself.
Gambit reminisces on that night; how he paused and looked up, feeling Spat’s eyes on him from the security office above. How he joked that her eyes only filled with dollar signs representing all the money they’d lose if he messed up the job. However, all he could do was shrug that he had to do the right thing, and being that he was out of playing cards he took the next best thing - the scroll - and sent it charged up towards MODOK. Gambit remembers how it managed to stop MODOK and how that was the night he ended up helping a bunch of strangers while missing out on a small fortune in the process. He recalls how it’d be years more before anyone ever mistakenly called him a hero again - not claiming he ever became one - and he had to admit that it felt good to do the right thing.
The Champions later bicker about who should be the one to tell Warren how his charity event was ruined. Ghost Rider tells Natasha how she has to, since Bobby’s at home doing homework and she is in fact team leader, to which Hercules quips rank doth have its privileges. Gambit recalls how he got more than an earful from Spat, telling him how much he owed her and exactly what he was going to do to pay her back. Gambit remembers how he watched the Champions from the office above, part of him wondering what it would be like to be part of a team… someday.


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Some Of Us Looking To The Stars
Jubilee runs through the streets of New York City. Hot on her tail is a group of Infinites. Jubilee has stolen some medical supplies meant for the Chosen of Apocalypse and they want them back. Jubilee falls down and the Infinites are upon her. Luckily, Guido and Sunspot show up to help her out. Roberto knocks down two of them with a plasma burst while Jubilee takes out two more with her pyrotechnics. She gets up to run again and behind her, the remaining Infinites are engulfed in a miniature black hole created by Sunspot. As Jubilee stands there, she wonders what her life might have been like if she didn’t oppose Apocalypse. Guido assures her that being free, like she is, is the best course of action she could have taken.
The trio makes their way back to a covert safehouse for humans. There they meet with Lila Cheney who happens to be the humans’ liaison with the X-Ternals. They dish out the medical supplies and head underground to meet with Gambit. Sunspot opens the secret hatchway to the sewers where their base of operations is located. Jubilee uses her power to shed some light up ahead and they see that they’re not alone. A red-cloaked figure stands before them. It turns out to be Magneto. The team is about to attack him, thinking he’s down something to Gambit. The shadowed Gambit strikes a match and tells them that he brought Magneto to their hideout.
Elsewhere, the Infinites return back to their station in lower Manhattan. Commandant Rictor is in charge and he’s not happy with the day’s events. He can’t believe they let the X-Ternals get away. The Horsemen of Apocalypse are meeting in Manhattan and this would have gotten him noticed. He could have moved up the Chosen Order. He becomes very angry and realizes that finding the X-Ternals is top priority.
Back in the Morlock Tunnels, Magneto is leading the group to one of Apocalypse’s secret lairs beneath the city. Magneto overhears Lila call Gambit her lover. He’s surprised to hear that Gambit has a girlfriend. They exchange a few sentences and we learn Magneto is not a big fan of the Cajun. They find the access door to Apocalypse’s Science chamber. They mess with the lock wondering if they’re walking into a trap. Magneto assures them that the man who gave him the information on the room, who happens to be Apocalypse’s librarian, would not lie to him. Lila is still doubtful. She tells Magneto that he shouldn’t be so trusting just because he saved the guy’s life. He reminds her of when he rescued her from an asylum when she was a kid. She tells him that it was a long time ago and the only reason she’s doing this is because she trusts Gambit, not him. She picks the lock.
The door opens before them and they are amazed at what they see inside. Holo-screens are found all along the walls, which are charting planets, star systems, and galaxies all across the universe. Now Gambit is getting nervous. There should have been some sort of resistance. Lila starts to agree when she’s suddenly grabbed from behind. The Madri have arrived, dupes of Jamie Madrox. She bites down on the one’s sleeve that has her and Gambit throws some charged blades at him. Guido throws Jubilee at a bunch of them (the ol’ fastball special). She sets their cloaks on fire with her powers as she whizzes over their heads.
The Madri are down, but there’s still one person left, Peter Corbeau, and Sunspot has captured him. Corbeau walks over to Magneto and there’s a sense of animosity between them. He had scanned for the Shi’ar galaxy like Magneto asked him to. That’s when Lila realizes that the crystal Magneto wants them to steal is in outer space. She says she won’t be going, but Magneto tells her that, in fact, she’s the one who will be taking them there. She’s very confused now. Dr. Corbeau walks over and gives her a helmet to place on her head. She sits in a chair and Magneto tells her the story.
She is a mutant. She wasn’t able to handle her powers so they stayed dormant her whole life. Her mutant powers are the reason she was captured when she was a child. Lila still doesn’t believe them. Dr. Corbeau assures her that the visor, which is linked to the chamber’s navigational charts, will trigger her mutant power when she sees the stars around her. She sits there and things start to change. Lila feels as though she’s in outer space. Gambit starts to worry and tells the good doctor to shut down the machine. Unfortunately, that’s when Rictor and his Infinites show up to the party.
Rictor tells them to surrender in the name of the High Lord En Sabah Nur. Of course they don’t and everyone scatters. Magneto tells Gambit to protect Lila and for the rest of the X-Ternals to get near her as well. He’ll take out the Infinites. Guido, Sunspot and Jubilee don’t back down. They’re all ready to take on the Infinites but Gambit yells out to them, telling them that Magneto’s right. They need to stay by Lila when she creates the interstellar doorway. The portal opens and everyone nearby is sucked through. Rictor rides a wave he creates with the floor and makes it through before it closes. Magneto can’t get a fix on him through all the debris and fails to stop him. He’s left to wonder if what he’d done was right. The X-Ternals are Earth’s last hope, but will they live through the experience.
Corbeau tells him to leave and before Magneto can say he’s sorry, Peter stops him. He knows he will be killed by Apocalypse for the intrusion, but he won’t go down without a fight. He sets the system to crash in one minute and they leave.


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Where No External Has Gone Before !
Continued directly from last issue, Lila has transported the X-Ternals to a new planet. Immediately they are pitted against the Imperial Guard. Gladiator orders them to surrender, but before Gambit can make a decision, Lila passes out from exhaustion. Guido dives to catch her causing Jubilee, who was riding his back, to fall over onto the ground. Roberto’s a little worried. He asks Gambit what they should do, especially now since he realized Rictor followed them through Lila’s portal. Their fearless leader’s strategy… Run! The X-Ternals charge off and the Imperials’ follow. Rictor doesn’t run, but instead lift his hands and surrenders to the Shi’Ar.
Starbolt flies by and knocks Jubilee over with a concussive blast. Then he fires away at Sunspot. Unfortunately for Starbolt, Sunspot is able to absorb his attack and throw it right back at him knocking him out of the fight. Bobby grabs Jubilee and flies her to safety. Next in comes Gladiator with a huge slab of rock. Guido tells Remy to get behind him and protect Lila. He then takes the full brunt of the attack. Gladiator walks over to check everything out. He’s greeted by Guido’s fist and is sent sky high. Now that they’ve bought themselves some time the X-Ternals decide to head into the forest to try to lose the Imperial Guard.
They make their way through the jungle. Gambit wonders what their next move should be. Suddenly, vines and plants reach out for them and snatch them up. When the Guard arrives at the same spot a few minutes later, they no longer find a trace of the mutants. They report back to Gladiator who isn’t happy to say the least. Gladiator wants to send a message to the Grand Vizier Araki and alert him to the X-Ternals presence and receive some reinforcements to help track them down. However Oracle suggests that they will use Rictor to find them, hoping that it will spare them from whatever painful repercussions would await the Guard if they should fail to deal with the intruders.
In a cavern beneath the jungle, the X-Ternals are still hung up in the vegetation. A group of people approach them. Their leader tells them that the plants are alive and sentient and they were strung up because they were hacking away at them. He also tells them the planet is dying. Lila hears this and realizes that it was the planet that made her teleport them there, as it called out to her.
At the planet’s main agricultural processing facility, Rictor lets the Imperial Guard know about his little secret. There’s a tracking device implanted on one of the X-Ternals and that’s how he can follow them. Oracle scans him to see if he’s telling the truth. She sees that he is and wonders more if their presence has anything to do with the dangers foreseen by D’Ken’s telepathic spies. Telepathically reading Rictor’s mind, she finds that he knows nothing about it, he considers the X-Ternals nothing more than a mere band of outlaws. Suddenly reality is interrupted by a BLINK and Oracle falls over. Gladiator rushes to her side and she tells him that D’Ken’s spies were right. This planet is the next one to fall under the nexus expansion. Oracle wishes that D’Ken had never tampered with the crystal in the first place.
Rictor wants to know what they’re going to do about the X-Ternals and how he will be rewarded. Gladiator is fuming and choke slams him into the wall, stating that he will be allowed to live. Rictor tells him about his mutant powers and how he will destroy the tracking device if he won’t let go. Gladiator backs down and asks what Rictor wants. Julio tells him that once they capture the X-Ternals he wants them to be given to him to take back to his planet for past crimes committed.
Having been released from the sentient plants, the X-Ternals are gathered around Jonath, the man who rescued them, who is a hybrid of Shi’Ar and Mephistoid. He tells them the “Blinks” are brief glimpses of the eradication of all reality. Then he tells them the recent history of the Shi’ar emporium. He was part of the Jath’che, an assassin cadre devoted to protecting the Shi’ar throne. The emperor was assassinated by his children and so the Jath’che were banished to the planet they are on now and became farmers. Emperor D’Ken found the M’Kraan crystal and used it to take the throne from his older sister Deathbird. Then he killed his younger sister Lilandra who was admiral of the grand fleet and took over the armada and the Imperial Guard. Now the universe is falling apart because of his tampering with the M’Kraan.
They now realize that this planet will soon be hit by the crystal wave. Jubilee is pretty upset. She doesn’t want to die on this alien planet. They were only supposed to steal a little rock, but now they are in way over their heads. Jonath tells her it was meant for them to be here as witnesses. The crystal has told the planet this and the planet in-turn has told them. The team is unsure of what to do, but Jonath assures them they are warriors and they were meant to fight this fight.
Out of nowhere the Imperial Guard along with Rictor bust into the cave. Things are getting hectic and Gambit wants Lila to transport them out. Guido objects out of fear of Lila hurting herself by pushing herself too far. A large “Blink” occurs and the crystal wave is upon them. Another “Blink” and half of them are crystallized. Guido retracts his earlier comment and asks if Lila can ‘port. She is unable to and the X-Ternals face the end with dignity. A weird sound rings through the air and the X-Ternals begin to fade. Rictor screams out to Gladiator that the X-Ternals are vanishing. Then they disappear.
The X-Ternals find themselves on a ship and are met by the Starjammers who are led by Deathbird. They know the X-Ternals are the ones who are supposed to save the universe. Deathbird sets the ship to leave the area and they’re off. They all watch out the ship’s monitor as the planet below turns to glass. In the background, the ship’s computer alerts them to two lifeforms who are exiting the planet. Deathbird tells them the crystal wanted them to see the destruction of the planet. It wanted them to know there is much more to their mission than stealing a piece of the crystal. Gambit punches the ship and rips some of the wires out and after charging them holds them up. He declares that if the X-Ternals are supposed to save the universe, then that is what they’re going to do.


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To the Limits of Infinity
The Starjammers’ ship slows down and the X-Ternals find themselves face to face with the planet they’re supposed to go to. There’s a newly completed fusion energy absorption system surrounding the planet. Emperor D’Ken had it constructed in hopes of containing the powers of the M’Kraan crystal.
Deathbird has come up with a plan and relates it to the others. The Starjammers are going to distract D’Ken’s aerial armada while she and the X-Ternals teleport down to the planet’s surface. Once there, she, Gambit and Lila will go after the M’Kraan and D’Ken while the rest contend with any interference. They beam down to the planet and are met by hundreds of foot soldiers. Gambit assures his team they won’t pose much of a challenge and runs off with Lila and Deathbird.
Sunspot, Guido and Jubilee start blasting away. Needless to say, Guido’s is annoyed that Gambit leaves with Lila while they have to fight. Jubilee is not happy with the lack of progress they’re making. The soldiers just keep on coming, so how can the three of them hope to take out an entire army. Bobby explains that as long as they keep them at bay until Gambit and company are done, then they’ve completed their mission. Jubilee doesn’t like being set up as a sacrifice like this, but Bobby assures her it’s for the greater good.
Meanwhile, Deathbird has led Remy and Lila to the crystal. However, it’s three stories tall and impossible to take with them. Deathbird explains that one piece is as good as the whole thing… “How could one define the space needed to contain infinity ?!” After taking out the last of the guards, they survey the area. D’Ken is nowhere to be found, and Deathbird thinks that her brother must have abandoned his soldiers when the nexus-cessations began increasing scope. Lila says that this seems to be easier than she had thought, but she wonders how to get a piece off the crystal structure. Suddenly an arm pops out from the crystal and grabs Lila by the wrist, pulling her inside. Gambit lunges forward after her, but Deathbird holds him back. She’s afraid of what’s inside the crystal. Gambit tells her he doesn’t care and dives right in. Deathbird reluctantly follows. Inside they meet a creature by the name of Jahf. He tells them he’s been waiting for them. The universe is about to be destroyed after all.
Back outside, the battle rages on. Guido is worried about all the kinetic energy he’s storing u. Notices the crystal’s shimmer, Sunspot points out that it might no longer matter since another “Blink“ is about to occur. Bobby is right, yet the three X-Ternals remain unharmed by the energy‘s outburst. Yet looking down at his hand, Bobby sees it has turned bright white, apparently he absorbed some of the crystal‘s energy. Sunspot has no time to further think about the phenomena, as he sees Gladiator and Rictor coming in fast. He alerts the others, as Gladiator releases Rictor. During his descent, he sends out a vibratory shockwave that rock the planet. Tired and weakened, the trio aren’t sure if they have enough left to take on their newest foes.
Inside the M’Kraan, Jahf leads his two new friends onward. In the distance Gambit spots Lila and someone else next to her. They move closer and see that it is D’Ken who is next to Lila and both of them are frozen, staring at an illuminated pink sphere. Provided with the chance to settle the feud between the siblings once and for all, Deathbird attempts to spear her brother, but becomes transfixed as well. Gambit wants to know what’s going on. Jahf, thankful someone finally asked, answers him.
He goes on to tell him that anyone who ever came inside the crystal always wanted something in return. Except for the X-Men, that is. The inside of the M’Kraan, the neutron sun, is a nexus point between all matter and anti-matter crossing over to every different reality in existence. It’s very important the M’Kraan stays closed, not only in this but all realities. If that doorway would be left open in just one reality, the draft would eventually reach other worlds, and finally consume all realities and everything within them.
Gambit wants to know why nobody noticed this before, but Jahf tells him that somebody did - Bishop. He was present when this reality changed. Xavier died, which meant Jean Grey was never trained in her powers, never became the Phoenix and never repaired the M’Kraan crystal in this reality. Now, other realities are being affected one by one which will result in the end of everything. Jahf insists Gambit must do something.
Gambit is not sure he can do it, he never thought himself to be important. Jahf pleads with him, everybody, everywhere, everywhen is counting on Gambit. All he needs to do is steal a shard of the crystal, help send Bishop back in time and prevent Xavier’s death. Gambit wants to know if it is that easy, then why doesn’t Jahf do it himself, but he explains that as the crystal’s guardian he can’t effect it in any way. Despite he did not say it was easy – one can’t just take from the crystal. He explains to Gambit that he must leave something with the crystal in exchange for a piece. Gambit’s never given anything to anyone before and is unsure if he can do it now.
Back outside, Sunspot and Gladiator are duking it out. ‘Berto zaps Gladiator in the midsection, knocking him back. Gladiator charges, choking Sunspot with his left hand. Sunspot starts glowing white hot and another “Blink” occurs. Almost everyone is turned to rainbow colored glass including Gladiator. Now his entire body glowing with white energy, Sunspot urges Guido and Jubilee into the crystal. He doesn’t know how much more of the crystal energy he can absorb. Guido grabs Jubilee and they dive in. Sunspot swoops down, grabs Rictor and brings him into the crystal too.
Gambit and Jahf are still standing together talking. Jahf tells him he’s a good person inside and that Magneto sent him because he knew he would never fail Rogue. That decides it for him. Gambit raises his staff, and with a word for Rogue, strikes the crystal. The M’Kraan accepts what gambit offers it, and breaks free of the Shi’ar device which sought to contain it’s energies. Gambit is left with a shard of the crystal. Now the team’s only problem is getting back to Earth. Sunspot who looks more like a star than a human being tells them to go on without him. He’s absorbed too much energy and might endanger the mission. Lila starts to cry, but she knows what she must do. For the sake of everyone and everything she teleports them away.


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The Maze
(now)
Sixty feet beneath the island which used to be called Manhattan, Dazzler and Exodus are searching through the Morlock tunnels. They come upon a heap of metal, gears and circuits and are shocked when they realize it’s Nanny. Exodus kneels down to examine the wreck; something incredibly powerful destroyed Nanny. Dazzler brings up the more important part… where is Magneto’s son Charles ?
(later)
Rictor awakens to find himself in a darkened room. He wonders aloud where he is. An ominous voice answers him and Rictor becomes nervous. The lights come on and it’s time for Rictor to start answering some questions, for it is Apocalypse who is asking ! He is not happy with how Rictor handled himself earlier in the day. Apocalypse goes on to tell him that he almost destroyed “a hundred lifetimes worth of carefully crafted work”. In Apocalypse’s arms rests baby Charles.
(earlier)
Lila and Gambit are running through the Morlock tunnels, with Rictor hot on their tail. One of Rictor’s shockwaves causes Lila to stumble, but Gambit helps her up. She is sad that the team had to leave Sunspot behind, and Gambit says that he sacrificed himself so that the others could bring the crystal shard back to earth.  Well aware that Rictor would go after him, Gambit had ordered the team to split up, and while the couple is currently chased by Rictor, Jubilee and Guido are taking the crystal to Magneto. Remy charges up some blades and creates a new path through the tunnels. Lila is too tired to teleport them away so they must stay underground. They embrace in a kiss before moving on, knowing full well that their current run may end in their deaths.
Not too far behind them Rictor is all hyped up. He yells that he does not care that Lila saved him when that weird crystal exploded, and that he will bring the X-Ternals to justice. Also he cries that wherever Guido and Jubilee go, he will be able to track them down – none of them will get away. Once more he assures him that he will arrest him and hand him over to Apocalypse, that he, himself, will finally get what he deserves.
(later)
Apocalypse continues questioning Rictor, demanding to know why he didn’t go after Jubilee and the M’Kraan shard. Rictor tells him he thought the capture of the leader of the X-Ternals was more important to him. Apocalypse replies he was wrong and that Jubilee was the important one, as she had something with her that could alter the entire universe.
(earlier)
Jubilee is running through the tunnels as well. Only, the M’Kraan crystal isn’t the only thing she carries - nestled in her left arm is the infant Charles. She’s running away from someone and she’s pretty shook up. She doesn’t know which way to go and the baby’s crying doesn’t help. She wants to find her way to where the X-Men live, but she doesn’t know the way. Guido was supposed to lead the way, but he won’t gonna be much help now, she thinks. A shockwave hits nearby and she wonders if Rictor is close by. Then she realizes that it must be the person chasing her crashing down hard on the water pipes. She wonders why he would do that when a flood of water answers her question. She’s carried away with Charles and when she finds steady ground with the tyke, she’s face to face with her assailant… Guido !
Guido apologizes to Jubilee, but he can’t allow her to get to Magneto with that shard. He never wanted Jubilee to get hurt, only Gambit. He takes the shard away from her along with Charles. Jubilee tells him that betraying the team isn’t going to make Lila love him. However Guido explains that he  has no choice. Two months ago he was caught by the Infinites and they planted a bug inside of him. They weren’t going to do anything, only keeping tabs on them. Yet if he tried to tell the team or cut it out, it would explode. They promised nobody would get hurt and it was only Gambit they really wanted. Guido covers his face in shame as he concludes his explanation, by saying that they wanted to use Gambit to get to Rogue, which would get them to Magneto.
Jubilee realizes now why he smashed Nanny, as soon as they had run into her and baby Charles - Nanny would have led them back to the mansion, which he could not allow. Guido tells Jubilee he loves her and wishes her luck. He runs off to complete his personal mission, leaving Jubilee behind in tears.
(later)
Following Apocalypse’s accusation, Rictor claims ignorance towards Guido and Jubilee. He had no idea what they were doing… until later. Apocalypse wants to know what happened when they all ran into each other. Rictor tells him that he thought he got lucky, but he again was wrong.
(earlier)
Having heard Rictor’s threats, Gambit changes his mind, and he and Lila start doubling back. If Rictor really got a means to keep track of them, they can’t allow him to discover the location of the X-Men and possibly invade their base with a full army of Infinites. As the couple ends up in the main tunnel access-way, Gambit comes up with a plan and runs up a set of stone stairs. He stops short and is knocked backwards. It turns out he’s run into Guido.
Guido wants to know why Gambit and Lila aren’t leading Rictor in the opposite direction. Gambit has a few questions of his own, like what is he doing with Charles and where’s Jubilee ? Rictor answers for him. He lets Gambit in on a little secret, Guido’s been working for him. Lila can’t believe it. She asks Guido if it’s true. He bows his head and tells her he had no choice. Gambit is upset to say the least. He asks Guido if everything they’ve done has been in vain, including losing ‘Berto. Rictor answers him again and tells him no. The deal was that only Gambit was captured. The rest of the X-Ternals get to go on their merry way.
Rictor has more up his sleeve, though. He decides they can all die “accidentally”. Rictor shakes the area with his power and sends stuff crashing down around everywhere. Guido stops the main support beam before it breaks free, Charles still cradled in his arm. Lila has been knocked out by some falling debris, and Guido tells Gambit to get her out, as he can’t hold up the ceiling much longer. Gambit’s left with two choices: Get Lila or get the crystal and Charles. He chooses love and drags the unconscious Lila away. Guido tells him the best way to Magneto’s and lets the support beam fall. Absorbing the kinetic energy, Guido is able to make it out safely, though the cave-in separates him from the couple. Lila wakes up from the noise of the tunnel crashing in behind them, and she wonders why Gambit saved her instead of getting the crystal and the baby. He tells her that she was more important to him. The ceiling above them too starts to crumble and as debris swallows them both, Gambit realizes that his choice might have been futile, but he still thinks it was the right one.
(later)
Rictor now explains to Apocalypse that he got out in time through a small access tunnel that was nearby. He then came straight to Apocalypse’s stronghold, wanting to inform him personally of the X-Ternals death. Yet Apocalypse is well aware that Rictor his supervisors to look good for the main man and get a promotion. Apocalypse tells him he would normally admire his zeal, but not this time. He shows baby Charles to Rictor for the first time. Rictor is surprised and wonder how the child too could have gotten out of the cave-in and Apocalypse tells him that someone who knew how to please him brought the child. The deaths of the X-Ternals are nothing compared to the child of Magneto. Unfortunately for Rictor, he had no idea who the child was. And so it was Guido who handed over the baby and the crystal shard to Apocalypse. Now, for Apocalypse, the threat of the X-Men will be diminished.
Rictor starts pleading with En Sabah. His life, after all, has been spent in his service. Apocalypse silences him by smashing his fist into the back of his head, killing him. Apocalypse turns and addresses someone in the shadows. The life of himself and Lila are spared in return for the child and the M’Kraan shard. The only thing he lost was his soul. The shrouded figure, of course, is Guido.
(now)
Blackness, streaks of light, suddenly Gambit and Lila can see again. Someone has removed the rubble that lay on top of them. It’s Dazzler and Exodus coming to the rescue. Exodus wants to know if he found and brought back the crystal. Gambit tells him he did, but there were problems. Dazzler wants to take them both back to the mansion for questioning. However, the real question is whether Gambit’s choice to save his lover will result in the end of the universe.


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May Tomorrow Never Die !
Remy and Bishop are under fire, unable to contact help by radio. Cyclops blasts them and grapples with Bishop, saying even he can't absorb that much energy at once. Bishop's hand glows; Cyclops is reduced to a skeleton; Bishop has killed his boyhood idol! Remy shakes him from his shock; they need to escape from the mansion. They find an icy landscape and realize Iceman has been turned, too. Remy tries for the door, but he's frozen in mid-air. Then Iceman attacks Bishop.
Bishop wakes from this nightmare. Xavier is there, having sensed that Bishop's mind was time traveling. He takes Bishop to the lab for Beast to conduct tests. Turns out Bishop is infected with a subdermal symbiote.
Remy and Rogue have been on a date. She's not sure their relationship can be rebuilt, but she's willing to try. As they approach the mansion, it blows up. Rogue disappears, and Remy sees the windows are intact. He cautiously enters and finds the X-Men in the lab waiting for him. Something is not right.


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Enter ... The Witness !
Bishop and Remy fly commercial to the Big O; fighter and lover, they are an odd couple. Remy reads Tome magazine, which gives Kelly's death an anti-mutant spin. Remy has Hercule pick them up at the airport and drive them; his boss Mastif owes him a favor. Bishop still thinks they shouldn’t have abandoned the others to Stryfe, but Remy says to trust him.
They stop at a beautifully serene cemetery, where Remy played as a child, and enter a mausoleum. Bishop grows impatient and wants answers from Remy. Below ground sits an old friend, the Witness, amid collected super-hero souvenirs. He explains that his power is to remember all possible futures as well as the past. Remy came across him when he was six, but he's been out of touch since he joined the X-Men. Bishop has trouble accepting this is the same man from his own timeline, who he thought was an aged Remy.
The Witness says they don't always see what's there, and he points out that Stryfe is behind them on the floor, asking for their help.


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That's Stryfe - That's What People Say
Stryfe begs for help; Bishop smacks him, because his Legacy Virus killed so many. Remy has to pull him off. Stryfe zaps them both, saying he's still powerful, even if he needs their help. Remy says they should stop fighting and go out to a diner; Stryfe telepathically masks their appearances.
Stryfe: "You have no right to judge me, Bishop. You did not live my life." He tells them his story. In the future, Rachel Summers cloned him from Nathan as a precaution, since the baby had the T-O virus; he was captured by Apocalypse, who raised him to become his
vessel, till he found out he was a clone. His life had no purpose, and Stryfe battled Cable where- and whenever he could, as he only was his imitation.
Bishop has enough and blasts him through the wall. Stryfe continues that he was demented when he created the Legacy Virus and wishes he could repair the damage, as he now repairs the wall. He wants protection from Cable, who wants to kill him.


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My Brother, My Enemy
Bishop and Remy say Stryfe deserves to die; even he admits he brought it on himself; the Witness says he's never seen an X-Man, past or future, kill for retribution. But he's not allowed to tell them the whole future, and that wouldn't be any fun, anyway.
Over pie, Bishop asks Stryfe about his symbiote; it is the Bete Noir, power beyond imagination, especially coupled to Bishop. He admits he wanted to use it to destroy the world, and that’s why he possessed the X-Men. The fork in Bishop's hand becomes a techno-organic gauntlet; Remy throws a card, shattering it; Stryfe says it's Cable's work. Techno-organics engulf Stryfe and the Witness, and Bishop and Remy go under trying to rescue them.
Suddenly it disappears, and the waitress says Stryfe's twin took him away while they were roughhousing. Remy leaves a necklace to pay for the damages and says Cable will kill Stryfe at a nexus in time, to prevent his return (or else Stryfe could return from death once more). The nearest one is the Witness's mausoleum, and they find that the entire graveyard has been T-O'd.


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Are We Ourselves
Remy and Bishop enter the cemetery, hopping over the T-O and wondering how to stop Cable. They find him standing over Stryfe; he telepathically made him experience all the deaths he caused. He plans to kill him, justifying it as "an aberrant form of suicide," since he's only his clone. He has seen the future and will act to prevent it. Stryfe, in shock, whispers that since Kelly's death, all futures have been disrupted, and nothing is certain.
Remy and Bishop try to dissuade Cable, but he forces Stryfe to explain the Bete Noir. It is an ancient force, banished by the Phoenix Force to earth’s core and called by many names including Satan. When Bishop returned from the Chronomancer future, it bonded to him, the perfect host thanks to his mutant power, and it plans first to morally corrupt and eventually to destroy all life. The Witness gives Bishop a shirt similar to Havok's containment suit, to contain it.
Stryfe admits he wanted to use the Bete Noir to destroy the world, but says it's just his nature, like Remy
is a scoundrel-hero, Cable a reluctant messiah, and Bishop a law-enforcer. None of them can change. Cable is unconvinced and raises his gun, but just then the Bete Noir erupts from Bishop's chest.


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What Goes 'Round Comes 'Round
As the Bete Noir erupts from Bishop’s chest, Remy tackles Cable out of the way, but he has a TK force field, as does Stryfe, who claims to be trying to contain the Bete Noir. Cable doesn’t trust Stryfe, but Bishop realizes the Bete Noir is the bigger threat. Once free, it will consume all life and then leave earth to search for the Phoenix force. Bishop asks Remy to kill him, since he is the Bete Noir's anchor in this world. Stryfe has another option: he absorbs it into himself. He apologizes to Cable for those he killed and for everything else, as the power overload shatters his body: character redemption through self-sacrifice.
Cable heads back to the mansion to make sure Stryfe didn't leave any surprises behind. Remy, angry at his insouciance, asks how they can be sure Cable isn't manipulating their minds; he says they can't and leaves.
The Witness has disappeared, evidently having seen enough. Bishop and Remy walk off together, the start of a beautiful friendship ?


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“The Future is a Four-Letter-Word” – part one
Tokyo, Japan, the apartment of Kenji Uedo, the fifth new mutant activation since M-Day. Kenji sits crouched in a dark room full of monstrous art objects, drawings wildly strewn about. I am becoming art, he mutters. Art is ideas. Ideas aren’t real, therefore… he keeps repeating this.
A middle-aged, overweight man carefully enters. He holds a handkerchief to his nose, clearly bothered by the stench. Politely he addresses Kenj and apologizes for having disturbed him. He is equally sorry-- Is he stepping into his latest masterwork? He walks closer to Kenji. “Black Noxious Goo” certainly is a new direction, he remarks. Everyone is going to be thrilled. What is it actually? Don’t tell him! He doesn’t need to know what taboo the enfant terrible of the Tokyo art scene is violating. But he does need to know when it’ll be ready. “The future is a four-letter word” has been booked for months. Kenj promised new work. Major work…
Almost done, Kenji mutters without turning to face the man. Almost finished. Everything finished… Becoming art. Art, ideas, ideas not real. Becoming art. Ideas aren’t real. Therefore are you real? Is anything real?
Is he all right? the man asks. He is becoming art! Kenji announces and faces him with a wild grin. Want… a preview? Flesh tentacles emit from his body and impale the man.
In the meantime, the X-Men’s Blackbird is approaching Tokyo to rendezvous with Cyclops’ team and find the Fifth Light. Aboard are the pilot Rogue, Hope Summers, the mutant messiah, and the four “Lights” Hope and the X-Men have rescued so far.
One of them, Idie, is awed and confused. She’s never been away more than twenty miles from her village. She’s never seen a city outside of a picture or a screen and now she is going to Tokyo. She is ashamed both of her ignorance and what she considers her monstrosity. She creates fire with her one hand and cold with the other.
Hope addresses her, warning Idie she’ll set off the alarms. Idie extinguishes her powers, addressing Hope as “Ma’am.” Hope asks her not to do that, but Idie is too much in awe of her, who brought a monster hope. Hope that perhaps she is not a monster. She brought all of them hope. Before she touched them they were crazed, frenzied, dangerous. Afterwards: peace.
She looks at the others. Gabriel: two days ago he was just a couple of years older than she. Now he looks older than her savior. She fears for him in every way.
Teon crouches at Hope’s feet like an animal Laurie, covered by blue crystal, reads and looks uncomfortable in her blue new skin. Idie feels jealous. She wishes she could look like her. Look like she feels. Make her sin obvious!
Excited, Hope tells Idie to look outside. All of them look to see the Tokyo skyline by night. And for the first time since Hope touched her Idie sees a future.
The moment is interrupted when Laurie shouts that Teon just urinated on her feet and swears. Rogue is talking to Cyclops and shouts back to calm down. Or they’ll end up in detention with Emma Frost, and none of them wants that! Quiet, everyone! Hope laughs, and instantly all of the kids obey.
Rogue gets back to talking with Scott, asking about the probe. Unsure she is told. He orders her to keep the Lights safe. But get there, they may need support. They have a possible situation, he ends, which they are investigating now.
With Cyclops in the streets of Tokyo is Wolverine. They look up at the building where Kenji lives. There’s blood up there, Logan warns him. Blood and a whole lot of something else. Doesn’t smell like anything he recognizes. This is looking all kinds of bad, Slim.
As they walk over to the building, Kenji peeks out from behind bare windows. The next moment, a mass of flesh – mixed with metal and cable – tentacles emits from the building and goes for the two X-Men. Wolverine slices one tentacle while Cyclops shoots another Udate on that, he tells Rogue. Definite situation!
Aboard the plane, Laurie muses on her state as a light. People always said she was bright. But she was never sure if she was bright because she was bright or because she burned so hard. She wrote a sociology paper on this. Extra credit on her extra credit. “The effect of post human conflict on the teenager’s world view”.
The jet nears the battle and Rogue orders everyone back to their seat (of course nobody obeys).
The idea of Laurie’s paper was that constant exposure to the marvelous left the kids desensitized from all wonder.
Rogue tells them she is going to put the bird away from the zone. Their new best friend is… riled. They’ll have to be careful. And they say they aren’t monsters, Idie mutters.
Laurie’s skin is shifting crystal. She was saved from committing suicide by a girl from the future. Now she’s hanging with the X-Men and three other equally freaky mutant kids. So, theoretically, she should be inured to what’s happening down there. She got an A+ on that paper. But it’s safe to say its premise is flawed.
Kenji looks up and one of the tentacles reaches out to attack the X-jet. Things turn hazy and, the next moment, Laurie finds they are all standing on the roof of the jet which is drawn down into the tentacled mass. He is oh-so-very-quick, their savior Gabriel announces satisfied. Rogue admits she is impressed and tells them to help each other. She touches Laurie’s skin and absorbs her powers.
Does that make her an X-Man? Laurie wonders. Her parents will be disappointed. If she was going to be a superhero they’d want her to be an Avenger. Second choice would be Alpha Flight (At least she could commute from home). Do they have superhero exams? She doesn’t know, but she needs to pass.
Ignoring Hope’s order, Teon jumps down to attack the tentacle mass. For him life fits into simple categories: Fight, flight or mate. He sees a captured Japanese schoolgirl and is tempted but fighting takes precedence, so he tears and claws at the tentacled mass, managing to free the girl who runs away.
In the meantime, the others have gotten to the ground. Rogue suggests Hope whistle for Teon which seems to work as he shortly rejoins them. Rogue tells the kids to keep it low and get out of here. What does she mean? Hope asks disgusted. Retreat? They have things to do! Yeah, Gabriel agrees. No way he’s going. He’s in Tokyo! Let’s go shopping! Not the time! Hope snarls at his attempt to keep things light.
Rogue insists this is a war zone and too risky. This is kindergarten compared to where she grew up, Hope scoffs. And she trained every day with the best soldier on Earth. He trained her for everything and she knows exactly what to do. The mission: stabilize the mutant. She’ll touch him and he’ll be normal!
Rogue tries to hold her back. She can do that after Cyclops has put a lid on this. She can handle herself, sure, but they can’t. This is a risk she doesn’t need to take.
Hope orders Teon to stop Rogue. The feral mutant immediately obeys. Hope steps toward Kenji’s building and orders Gabriel to cover her until she touches tumor boy.
Gabriel thinks to himself that while he is sixteen and looked it two days ago now he looks eighteen, he is burning so bright. There was a saying about that, wasn’t there? Something about flames, brightness and relative length of… burnitude? Yeah, he knows, he thinks sarcastically. He is in denial, he highly recommends it. He’s an X-Man now; he doesn’t have to worry about anything like, say, how the people in that building have been torn apart. Because if he starts thinking about things like that now, it doesn’t stay light. Because they could be torn apart too. She could be.
He and Hope have reached the outer limit of the body mass. Hope reaches out but the flesh withdraws back into the building. Avoids her, Hope realizes.
Cyclops strictly orders Hope to get out of the zone of hostilities. Shopping? Gabriel suggests hopefully to her, to be ignored, just like Cyclops. She needs time to reach Kenji, she tells Gabriel. Slow them down. Wolverine suggests Gabriel get out of the zone of hostilities, instead he runs into the building, possibly to run interference.
Weapon drawn, Hope gingerly walks up the steps until she reaches the apartment where a cloaked figure cowers on a chair.
He is a light, Kenji thinks. Illumination. Truth, revealed to him. What does the light reveal? Himself, light spilled across him. He warps like a mind changing. Ideas, he is da Vinci in his workshop, his workshop is flesh. Meat is too slow. The flesh is too weak. Can they be nothing else? How can anything sustain what is eternal? He is not a master of the medium. The medium is his master. He is made of light, he is made if ideas!
Hope assures him it is going to be ok. They are here to help him. She introduces herself as Hope. Kenji scoffs. His throat slid out of his head and danced like an eel before him. He gulped like a fish left on dry land until he swallowed it back in. That was how it started, and now she tells him it’s going to be okay? It’s not going to be okay. He takes of his hood and faces her.
A mass of flesh and metal tentacles shoots out from his arm toward Hope. Let him show her. Hope fires at them. She thinks there’s light? he asks. She thinks there’s hope? There is only one light. One light which make all else darkness. The final light. Let him show her. He is the final light. Tentacles attach themselves to her face.
And the shockwave of a detonation levels a huge part of Tokyo.


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“The Future is a Four-Letter-Word” – part two
Tokyo, a huge part of which has been levelled. In the center of the devastation stands the only partially human Kenji Uedo, who caused the devastation. This is the idea, he announces. Surely this is what all ideas lead to. Idea follows idea follows idea. Until we’ve thought of everything. He looks at Hope. And then all that’s left to think of is nothing. That’s all that’s left, he tells her, all that he leaves. Does she like it?
What has he done? she angrily demands. He is an artist and an artwork, he replies. His body is a butoh dancer. It speaks the unspeakable. He is taboo. She calls him an idiot and orders him to listen. Taboo is truth, he continues undeterred. And truth is pain. If he had lungs like aircraft hangars, he couldn’t scream loud enough to express the hurt. But now he has made his body a howl.
Hope slaps him and orders him to listen. Falling back on his flesh throne, Kenji rants that will make the world a set of lungs. A single black organ howling an obsidian note. A dark bowel venting streams off--
Hope calls him sick and self-obsessed, then realizes that that isn’t the case. There is no self. Her powers should have kicked in when she touched Kenji. And… she’s seen the end of the world… it doesn’t look like this. This is just his favorite fantasy. Her eyes begin to glow. She’s coming out of his sick head right now…
Reality:Darkness. Hope can’t see but she can move and feel. She thinks her face is covered with something sticky. She recalls t hat Kenji can grow stuff. If her mutant power actually works like Cyclops thinks she may be able to copy that. So she grows a giant eye which bursts out of whatever Kenji has her covered with.
She sees that her body is trapped by and covered with Kenji’s flesh and metal tentacles. The real Kenji tells her he has shown her the future - consider it a press preview. Preview of the No-future-future. He chuckles.
Outside, Cyclops asks about casualties. Plenty, Wolverine replies, crouching over the corpse of a bystander, just not them. They need to end this quick, he urges Cyclops. Kenji’s playing games. He lured in Hope, then sealed up again, Scott replies. And thanks to new boy stopping them they couldn’t stop her.
“Whoa, he stopped Cyclops and Wolverine,” Gabriel exclaims proudly. He annoyed Cyclops and Wolverine for a few seconds, Laurie corrects him. Wolverine could have killed him with his earlobe if he wanted. He could have been killed by Wolverine’s earlobe? Gabriel muses. Awesome!
The feral Teon snarls at Wolverine. Yeah, they will Wolverine replies. Just not when she’s in trouble. It can wait. Woof, Teon seems to agree.
Cyclops angrily turns to Rogue, asking her why she let Hope endanger herself. Does she get some sick satisfaction from endangering the future of the whole mutant race? She was meant to get them to safety! She was trying! Rogue points out. Hope is damn wilful. Hope could be dead! Cyclops shouts.
Gabriel, Laurie and Idie immediately decidedly deny this. Even Teon looks at Scott angrily. Scott is silent for a moment, then announces what they are going to do. Rogue is to absorb Wolverine’s claws and Laurie’s flight, then extract Hope when he has blasted clear a passage. Wolverine...
Make sure Kenji doesn’t push something back and stick it right through Cyclops’ back? Wolverine asks. He’d appreciate it, Scott replies and orders the Lights to stay absolutely clear. Retreat with Hope when Rogue retrieves her.
The three X-Men begin to run toward the building when suddenly the flesh mass atop the roof begins to move. Idie tells the X-Men they should have some faith. Hope can look after herself. Hope can look after them all!
It becomes clear that Hope, though still imprisoned by a tentacle, has copied Kenji’s powers. But it wears her out and she faints. Scott shouts at Rogue to get her but, before he can finish his sentence, Gabriel runs and catches her first. Saved her for the second time, he announces smugly. He’s not sure if he gets the credit unless she’s awake. Someone put in a good word for him!
More art! Kenj announces He forms rotor blades to fly away like a helicopter, announcing he needs a canvas. Looks like bad’s just graduated to worse, Wolverine warns the others.
Clean canvas, Kenji announces and claws a petrol van which explodes. He’s a monster! Idie shouts and sprays ice at the van to contain the conflagration while Cyclops tries to keep back Kenji with his optic blast. Having taken care of the fire, Idie announces monsters should fight monsters and begins to burn and attacks Kenji with the flames. Burning, he flies away.
Nearest water? Cyclops asks. Central Park, Logan replies. Let’s go! Scott praises Idie and orders the kids to guard Hope until she recovers. Do not dream of following them!
The three X-Men run toward Kenji, who has landed in a small pond in the park. How does he want to play this? Rogue asks Cyclops who replies it’s like wrestling an octopus. They need to tie him down. He thinks Hope had the right idea. He doesn’t want to risk Rogue taking Kenji’s powers when he’s in this state, but get a taste and use it to neutralize him.
Rogue flies at Kenji and touches one of his tentacles. Horrified, she screams as she wrestles with the tentacle. Wolverine jumps to her defence, slicing off one tentacle. Serve up some more Tako Butsu, he announces.
Cyclops kneels down next to Rogue. She’s used to minds leaving their muddy fingerprints all over hers but that was something… His mind is his body. It doesn’t know anymore where it starts or ends. He’s having a nightmare and they are all having it with him! She caught a glimpse and just recoiled from it but he’s trapped in there. It’s not his fault!
Scott swears, then tells her she is on the bench until she can get her head together. They can take it from here.
Kenji turns into a big kind of ball and a moment later reshapes into a giant Godzilla-like being. As he walks towards the building, Wolverine decides this is what happens if you let kids watch too much television.
This can’t go on, Cyclops decides. Wolverine reminds him Rogue said it wasn’t his fault. Yeah, but Kenji killing anyone else would be Scott’s, Cyclops insists. They need to put him down, whatever it takes.
Not far away, Laurie remarks does anyone else feel… “Bad!” Idie finishes, holding Hope’s hands. Very bad. Yes, like “oh no I’ve just made out with my sister without realizing” bad, Gabriel adds. It’s wrong, Idie states, whatever it is it’s wrong. They need Hope…


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[Assistant]
“The Future is a Four-Letter-Word” – part three
Whiteness everywhere, lit by the fire of the Phoenix. My child, wake up, my child is the voice Hope hears. Our children need you.
Tokyo:Hope startles the four Lights when she awakes, exclaiming Kenji’s name. As Teon helps her up, she demands to know what happened to Kenji. Cyclops, Wolverine and Rogue… Laurie begins. Their teammates, Gabriel interjects smugly. …went after him, Laurie continues. Kenji’s out of control! Idie adds. How out of control? Hope demands. Gabriel points behind him where “Godzilla” Kenji is devastating the city. “He’s going to eat Tokyo” out of control. Cyclops will sanction him, Hope fears. Laurie doesn’t understand. Action film for “whacking him,” Gabriel translates.
Laurie announces she doesn’t want to be heartless, but is that a bad idea? Kenji’s going to kill lots of innocent people. Probably including them. Hope explains that Cyclops only thinks about surviving… that’s the only future he can understand. That’s all he can see out there. But she grew up in the future. She’s seen dozens of futures. And you know what? They stink! People just end up dead! Miserable and hunted. Those futures? She wants to burn those futures! She can end this with a real touch. She has to try. Kenji could have been any of them. He was left too long. It’s their fault. They can’t let him die for their mistakes. Not when there’s a chance to save him, and they can save him. She thinks it’s what they do.
She asks Idie to please stop constantly crossing herself. Let’s do it! Gabriel enthuses. He’s going to start sniffing if she carries on with the Captain America impression. Captain who? Hope asks.
Arms akimbo, Laurie announces she’s not sure if it’s just Kenji who’s insane. She would have done this for all of them, Hope retorts. She jumped off a building to save her, she reminds Laurie. Hope saved her life, Laurie agrees, but that doesn’t mean Hope gets to spend it however she wants. She can’t do this, she wants to live! No, she wants to survive, Hope corrects her. She wants everyone to live. She walks away and Idie, Teon and Gabriel follow her, with Gabriel shrugging apologetically at Laurie.
Not far away, “Godzilla” Kenji tears apart buildings, trying to tear into a tower block. Cyclops fires at him and tells Wolverine to make it quick. As if he was going to drag it out and torture him a little, he snorts as he climbs up Kenji’s leg.
The kids have gathered nearby. This is how it’s going to work, Hope tells them, explaining the plan while Wolverine is getting closer to Kenji’s real body atop the mass. Times like this, he realizes specializing in “not very nice” wasn’t the smartest career move. “Sorry kid,” he tells Kenji. “Fight,” Teon shouts as he jumps at him and shoves him away. “Flight?” he mutters a moment later as both of them fall.
Idie takes heat from a lake and creates a fire between Kenji and the city block and around Kenji. No one in, no one out! she announces. Area’s secured, Hope announces and calls Idie a miracle. No she’s not, the young girl replies darkly.
Hope jumps into Gabriel’s arms ordering him to get her to Kenji. Gabriel races up Kenji’s artificial body but a pustule explodes before them. Hope can hang on but Gabriel falls to his death, or so he expects (and he didn’t even take the opportunity for his hands to wander a little). A moment later, he is rescued by the airborne Laurie, who is very much aware that this pretty much happens against her will. If his hands wander, she drops him, she warns.
Hope sees Gabriel is safe. She gets up. All right, the hard way, she announces and syncs Kenji’s powers. Her left arm bursts into tentacles fighting Kenji while with her right hand she creates a small flying helicopter.
Cyclops watches all this, anticipating that she’ll burn out, then pass out. At that moment, the fly Hope created, stings him in the neck.
Mental space:Cyclops finds himself on the half-demolished Golden Gate Bridge, where Hope confronted Bastion. There’s only he and Hope. She greets him and tells him she can’t hear him. She is a projection. Kenji did this to her, too. She can make a little bio mechanical thing stab into the other person and project stuff right into the brain.
This is too dangerous! Scott scolds her. She is the future of mutantkind and can’t risk—If she knows him even slightly, Hope tells him, she bets he is still arguing with her. She can’t hear him, she repeats. This is a message. Listen: He says she is their future. She’s here to save them or something. She’s starting to think… maybe she is. But she needs his help. Back her up. Let her be their messiah.
Reality:Logan touches Scott’s shoulder. Lost him for a second there. Back her up, heaven help them, Scott stammers. Just back her up! Sure thing, Logan replies. How does he suggest they go about that?
Two giant tentacle beings fight each other, but ultimately one of Kenji’s metal tentacles stabs Hope in the neck. She too finds herself in a mental space again.
Blackness where Kenji sits upon his flesh throne. She struggles against the inevitable, he tells her. All things end, all things are over. Always blackness. That is all there is. What can stand against it? Nothing stands. Submit! The future is over.
Hope is about to be overwhelmed but still fights.
Why does she persist? Kenji asks. This darkness is his. She cannot draw on his canvas. Or master his palette. This is his art. He is the master. She is the callow plagiarist. She cowers from the truth. Candles flicker and die. What else is there?
In real life, Hope’s artificial body has gotten its second wind.
There can be but one ending, Kenji is nevertheless sure. How is she doing this? Why is she doing this? She thinks she can save him?! he shouts. She thinks she can save him, he realizes but is sure it’s too late. Universe of scum and sin crushes all. Mankind a tumor on the face of a dead and rotting god. They must be lanced. The pus wiped away. How can she think otherwise? “Four letters” is Hope’s reply.
And Hope’s body finally wrestles Kenji’s down. Then Hope climbs off and walks towards Kenji. She touches him and he falls. There you go, she announces to the X-Men. Now it’s over. Told you so, she tells Cyclops, then faints.


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[Assistant]
“The Future is a Four-Letter-Word” – part four
Tokyo, Japan, in the wake of Kenji’s attack. Cyclops silently broods. “No time to stare at the chessboard, Slim,” Wolverine tells him. “Move your piece!” Scott decides they need to find out what they got here. They need to leave. They gather the unconscious Hope and Kenji and leave.
In the plane, looking to the back at one of the two beds, Gabriel calls Kenji a freak. He’s aware that he is a mutant, too, Laurie asks dryly. Yeah, but not a freaky mutant, Gabriel corrects her. Is she a freaky mutant? Laurie asks, referring to her very visible mutation. He assures her she looks great. And it’s not about the mutation being freaky. But the freak with the mutation. That Kenji guy almost killed them all.
He thanks her for the save. Her pleasure. He saved Hope twice, she points out. Think she noticed? Gabriel asks hopefully. Is he interested? Laurie inquires, with Gabriel claiming that is not the question.
Rogue suggests they all get some sleep. First lesson of the X-Men lifestyle: Embrace the redeye.
Idie looks outside the window muttering “goodbye, Tokyo.” She’s sorry they had to come.
At Utopia, Emma Frost and Kitty Pryde are welcoming them alone. Where is everyone? Cyclops asks. Emma replies Kitty had the young students make banners and such, welcoming their new brethren. However, she latterly decided such festivities were inappropriate after what happened in Tokyo. She is sad to report Utopia is running short on poster paints. If they have to start a kindergarten class, they may be in trouble. Good first impressions, remember? Kitty reminds her. She turns to the Lights, apologizing for Emma. She woke up on the wrong side of her life. She asks them to ignore her “spacesuit.” Long story. Most importantly, they’ve got their rooms ready and hot baths… They need Kenji and Hope brought in, Cyclops announces. They are still unconscious and he needs the X-Club examining the Lights ASAP… Which will wait until they’ve all been peered at by Dr. Nemesis and friends, Kitty interrupts and shows them they way.
Home is Utopia, Gabriel muses, that’s funny. Doubly so, Laurie replies and explains that Utopia, derived from the Greek, has a double meaning. It means “good place.” It also means “no place.” Utopia doesn’t exist.
The Lights follow the others inside save for Teon, who stays back, growling at Wolverine. Yeah, he supposes this counts as later, Wolverine agrees. “Let’s get this out of the way.” “Fight!” Teon shouts and they do.
“I did this?” Kenji Uedo asks in disbelief as Emma Frost and Scott Summers show him holographic images of the destruction in Tokyo. Kenji’s default form now seems to be somewhat inhuman, the left half of his face scarred, some technology merged with him and his fingers ending in short tentacles.
The critics always said his underlying influences were obvious and somewhat juvenile, he muses. He guesses they were right. It almost looks like one of his installations. Except for the red, he mutters… wouldn’t use red. He asks them to please stop it. Eyes downcast, Kenji admits he has fantasies of killing people. He stands on a subway platform and stares at the back in front of him, imagining how one push could turn a man into a bad Pollock pastiche. He reads Mirbeau and nods along, De Sade and sees a mirror. He unmakes the world with his art… but it is art. It is fantasy. It is not reality. It is about reality. Yet Tokyo burns and bodies grow cold…. He did this, he admits to himself, staring at the new shape of his hand. He asks the X-Men leaders to help him. It can’t happen again.
Scott telepathically asks Emma for the diagnosis. Obviously he’s not normal, she admits. He leans a little towards the abnormal but he is not lying in any way that matters. He isn’t responsible for what happened. It was a dreadful accident. He is difficult to read but a little persistence cuts through. It isn’t a normal mind. Literally, Cyclops reminds her. What happened to his arms is just the tip of the glacier. The X-Club says most of his internals have been replaced by undifferentiated techno organic cellular mass. His whim became reality. More than any of them he needs them.
It wasn’t his fault, Cyclops addresses Kenji and promises to try and clear it with the Japanese authorities. And if they can’t, Utopia is a mutant sanctuary. If he’s innocent, there’s no way they’d hand him over. Emma admits that having an artist of international renown reside here is a splendid proposition. She couldn’t help but be complimented by his “Regicidal Vivisection.” Pardon? Scott asks. Meditations on super heroine sexuality, Kenji explains. Life size sculptures made of meat. Rotted over time. The reality which underlies the much desired flesh. The lie of human beauty. He did one of Ms Frost. Emma quickly assures Scott it was very good. She knows about this kind of thing.
It’s a tragedy he lost his hands, she tells Kenji. No, it’s not, he corrects her. Tokyo was a tragedy. His hands… it’s the only good thing. He painted, he sculpted, he filmed… all a waste of time. Dead art forms… He holds up his left arm and malleable flesh moves. His fingers turn into little screaming avatars of him. “Now I am a live one.”
Outside, the two combatants roll off the cliff and into the ocean… When they emerge, Teon offers Wolverine, whom he has recognized as Alpha, a fish. Wolverine tells him to keep the fish. He’ll need the strength for the next time they spar.
Later, Dr. Nemesis enters the X-lab, happily greeting the kids as his “tiny mutant chicklings.” In short: they were broken. Hope touched them, they were fixed, whatever “fixed” means. He will now reveal what “fixed” means for each and every one of them. Exciting!
Laurie: bad news: She is extraordinarily blue. Apart from that general physiological enhancements and flight. Her body has some fascinating reactive property. Even at transonic speeds, it’ll alter to give her, frankly, freakish maneuverability. Laurie kind of likes the word “transonic.”
And Teon … one may suspect he can no longer understand a word anyone’s saying except possibly “fetch”… But actually Teon can parse complex ideas. He simply no longer cares about them in favor of hyper-efficient processing of his primary survival instinct. He’s fast, strong and totally imprinted on a certain redheaded young lady, so be nice, he tells Hope.
And further testing on her has only strengthened his previous diagnosis: She scares everyone. The terror is such that he has been temporarily rendered precognizant. In Hope’s future, he predicts… more tests! Oh great, she shrugs.
Becoming kinder, Dr. Nemesis tells Idie she is a temperature manipulator. Subtract heat from here and move it over there and vice versa. Her power is working magnificently. There is nothing wrong with her. Idie says nothing to that pronouncement.
Nemesis turns to Gabriel, telling him he is very, very interesting. He wants to turn to scientific methods to confirm or deny his hypothesis. He asks them to step outside to the beach where he orders Gabriel to run over water as fast as he can. He is a speedster, he’ll skim the surface.
Gabriel runs and falls right into the water. He is not a speedster, Nemesis reveals, he is a localized time manipulator. Yes, he speeds up, but he isn’t running any faster. He knew that would happen! Gabriel seethes. He better believe it, Nemesis replies and turns his back on him. But show-not-tell is much more fun.
Anyway, Nemesis concludes, that’s everything for now. Headmaster dictator Cyclops would want a word. “Dry off first, Speedy Gonzales”. Gabriel hits him at superspeed (or with localized time manipulation). No one gets to say that! he announces angrily. Supplementary observation, Nemesis mutters. Lack of actual velocity no limitation in close combat engagements…
Later, Cyclops and Kitty lead Hope and the Lights to a corridor with several rooms. Scott explains they would like them to consider Utopia as a second home. They are mutants and will always have a place here. While things have changed, the core of Professor Xavier’s dream remains. This is a school for talented young people. They’d like to teach them but that’s entirely their call. Is it really? Laurie asks. It is, Scott begins to assure her. Laurie interrupts, asking Hope what she is doing. She’s staying the other girl replies surprised, but what does that—everyone else? Laurie asks three “staying” and one “woof” from Teon amounting to the same thing. So guess what she is doing? Laurie states with an odd smile.
Kitty shows them their rooms. Hope follows Gabriel into his to talk about what happened in Tokyo. Teon wants to follow Hope who orders him to stay outside. With the door closed, Hope thanks him for saving her and the back-up. He risked more than anyone. It’s okay, he begins when suddenly she kisses him. And that’s to answer her question from earlier she tells him and walks outside where Teon is waiting. And he thought he was the one who moved fast, Gabriel muses, touching his lips.
In front of his room, Laurie and Idie ask Kenji if he wants to join them. They are going to look around. He tells them he remembers them vaguely. Laurie saved people from him. And Idie… hurt him. With a smile, he thanks them both and bows. Flustered, Laurie repeats her offer. He thanks them and declines. He wants to be alone. He has a lot to think about.
Later, Kenji sits in the shower stall, the water falling on him. Suddenly he chuckles. The tentacled mass of his left arms spreads about to the walls of the shower stall, one of them entering the shower head. The water turns black. With his new black color, Kenji writes words on the wall:No HopeNo LightsNo Future
I am becoming art… Kenji whispers…


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“The Daddy Issue”
In the Cerebra chamber, Magneto and Xavier try to repair the device together. Isn’t it good to come together and try to build something positive? Xavier asks his estranged friend and archenemy. It would be a little better without him striking those kind of notes, comes the reply. They are both just good footsoldiers in this grand new regime. Let’s not sink to scoring points.
Xavier points out that mutants aren’t fighting mutants and new mutants are appearing… He thinks the points are already scored and all on Scott’s tally. He hopes that whatever this is meant to achieve will prove to be another notch. If this works, Magneto muses, they may be able to attune Cerebra to recognize the earliest stages of mutant emergence. Register the tremors that herald the great eruption. And if it remains as volatile as it was with the first five, any time they can buy to reach them would be precious, Xavier agrees. Assuming, of course, it does remain that violent.
Hope seems convinced it will, Magneto points out. After a moment’s silence, Charles observes that Magneto seems close to Hope. Is he fishing, Magneto asks with a raised eyebrow. Xavier replies, he is a little… worried. It seems that she considers Magneto one of her few true confidants. He suspects an ulterior motive? Magneto asks. There is none. He is merely trying his best to be a citizen… and a friend.
Imagine a switch, Xavier suggests. Flipping it brings back those sixteen million mutants who died on Genosha. But kills an equal number of humans. What would he do? Magneto doesn’t reply, but seems to be in deep thought. He sees why he may worry, Charles remarks.
His hypothetical fancies are confusing him, Magneto shoots back. This isn’t about some fantastical scenario. This is about Hope and him and what they share is… it would be easier for Charles to see, he decides. He hasn’t really met her, has he? How about an introduction? She’s down with her Lights on the volley ball field. How wonderful! Charles enthuses. There are few things he enjoys more than seeing young mutants at play!
What the youngsters are doing there is probably no quite what he has in mind. Hope is playing drill sergeant, teaching her five charges how to fire at targets (well, four of them, at least, Teon is too busy chewing the gun). Short controlled bursts! Hope shouts at Idie and then tells Laurie she isn’t even hitting the island let alone the target. Relax a little! She’s trying, Laurie replies. She’s Canadian, but not shooty Canadian.
Kenji tells her is even worse. Lack of a trigger finger doesn’t help. Can’t he just make a gun? Laurie asks. Doesn’t work like that, he explains about his powers. Moving parts, yes, chemicals, no. Besides: tentacles with guns? Very gauche. Don’t gild the lily!
They are making progress, Hope decides, but she wants to see some bulls before they break for lunch. Great, Gabriel complains, so they are going to starve because… Suddenly someone grabs a gun and scores three bullseyes in a row. It is Teon, who triumphantly shouts “eat!” and runs ahead towards the cafeteria. Teon does tricks, Gabriel announces. “Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the modern primitive!”
Knowing when she’s beaten, Hope decides they go eat. At that point, Erik and Charles join them. Magneto tells her he wants to introduce a dear old friend of his and Hope tells the others she’ll catch up. Only Laurie stays behind, determined to practice more and get it right while Hope walks off with Magneto and Charles.
Magneto begins introducing Charles as the headmaster for… the school in Salem, Hope interrupts. She’s been reading around. Mind if she asks a question? “School for gifted youngsters”. Something about that just rubs her the wrong way. Charles begins to explain that mutants were and often are viewed as monsters. He wanted to rephrase the debate. It is not a curse, but a blessing. And he trained people in secret to build towards a world where mutant and human would live side by side in harmony.
She gets that, Hope replies and she thinks he should talk to Idie. She’s all messed up about it but, when she was born, her entire town was wiped out. 300 humans dead by people trying to get at her. The problem isn’t humans. The problem is prejudice. That hurts everyone! She has known aliens, robots posthumans, walking talking insecty things… cyborgs. Thinking they are the “gifted ones”… they need to get past that. They’re all just people. And people who don’t see that… they are part of the problem. The “gifted” and the “ungifted,” it’s just “us” and “them.” That’s what’s wrong. It probably served its purpose in its time, she quickly amends, and Xavier has helped all these people, but that’s over. They’ve got to have a better future than that. And she’d better go before Teon eats all the food. Pleased to meet him, she tells Charles and leaves.
What does he think? Magneto asks smugly. He thinks Erik took him here for the pleasure of seeing him get lectured by a teenage girl, is the stern reply. Who really needs a few lessons in the finer points of mutant / human theory, he adds. It may help to know when she turned the conversation to his old ways, she was considerably harsher, Magneto points out. But knowing that he’s made his mistakes, she knows he will understand her making hers, and with everyone wishing the best for her, he suspects in that he is alone.
Later, in Emma Frost’s ethics class, Emma introduces herself in her usual charming way, telling the students they are here to learn two things: right from wrong and a mortal fear of yours truly.
Hope is extremely annoyed by Emma’s demeanor and her “droning.” She wonders why they are listening to her anyway. What does she have to teach them? Cable would have hated her. And nobody showing that much skin in front of a class of teenage boys should teach anyone about ethics. She’s lucky Teon isn’t trying to hump her leg.
“Enough!” Hope decides and gets up. When asked where she is going, she simply replies “Out.” Immediately, Teon Idie, Gabrie and Kenji follow, despite Emma’s protest. Laurie tries to hold on to her desk and stay but the compulsion to follow Hope becomes over-powering. She apologizes and promises to copy up the notes afterwards.
Emma is fuming. They’re worse than the Cuckoos with this tiresome last-gang-in-townism, she mutters and runs after the kids. This is ugly insurrection, she warns Hope, and she will not tolerate it. Hope will return her little posse to class this second or she will have her on her knees, polishing these Jimmy Choos with her rebellious tongue! Why is Emma so scared of her? Hope challenges her. She’s been breaking little girls beneath her will for longer than Hope’s been talking, Emma retorts coolly and warns her not think of crossing her. As she said, Hope repeats, scared. Don’t get in her way and stay out of her mind, she warns Emma. And if she doesn’t, Hope will leave her in cinders.
Emma is visibly shaken for a moment. Hope walks off and the Lights looking back and forth finally follow Hope. Go then! Emma shouts after them. “Hurry along after your mistress like good little slaves! Just don’t expect to come back from wherever she leads you! She’ll be the end of you all!” she predicts.
And she’ll be the end of all of us, she adds more silently. Good to see her getting on with the new kids, Kitty Pryde observes. There is nothing or nobody that girl reminds her of that she likes Emma announces. She is a teacher, not a trainer. The girl needs a whip! Not exactly out of her comfort zone, Kitty suggests smiling. Crossly, Emma tells her not to go against type. Emma is the mean one. Why doesn’t Kitty try and be helpful here? Maybe she will, Kitty muses.
A bit further ahead, Gabriel gushes that Hope was plain bad ass. She just slapped down the White Queen! She hates her, Hope announces grimly. Gabriel continues he’d have said something like “I only take lessons on morals from people who aren’t happy with the entire front row seeing their panties”, but Hope was ice-cold. “Morals and ethics are different things, you idiot!” Laurie shouts at him. Not that he’d turn down some personal tutoring, Gabriel muses. Mate! Teon agrees cheerfully. Hope groans in disgust. Joking, Gabriel tries to assure her, but what was “I’ll leave you as cinder” about? It’s just what came to mind, Hope shrugs and enters her room where she finds a letter on the ground.. She sits down and reads it.
I’m sorry to write to you without a proper introduction, but ins some things time is our master and here I must be its slave.I trust you’re well. I understand that Dr. Richards examined you upon your return, so I know you’ve been in the best of hands. This does not prevent me from worrying about your health in other matters.You find yourself in a utopia called “Utopia.” You should learn to distrust anything that’s so terribly on the nose. Things are always beneath such surfaces.I say this not to panic you. There are very many good people here, which makes what’s hidden worse. I’m sure many of these good people are already trying to craft you in their image. I’m afraid I must join their number. Thankfully, my message is a simple one, easily conveyed without need for charts, lectures, sweaty tiresome exercise or the other paraphernalia of the educational establishment. I hope that you pay it heed.Leave.Yours faithfully,Henry McCoy (PhD)
Hope looks pensive after reading the letter.
A little later, she finds Wolverine in what looks like an empty bar. He is avoiding her, she accuses him. It’s not much of a Utopia without a bar, he retorts. Or a place where a guy can dodge kids. He and his beer are busy. He’s sure there’s plenty of folk who wouldn’t be adverse to keeping her company.
That’s the problem, she announces forcefully. Everyone just closes in on her. She needs friends and space. When she was small in the future his team came to help them. That was the first X-people she met. Apart from Dad, X-Force were the first mutants she met. She comes here and he is like this and Dad’s gone and she just needs… Tell her why! she pleads She’ll even say ‘please.”
Logan takes a swig from his bottle. If he’s going to be like this, at least give her his two cents, she continues. He’s one of the handful of people here she… He interrupts her. Her daddy didn’t raise a fool. It’s her life. It’s her call. Make it! But he doesn’t want anything to do with it. Disappointed with fists clenched, she leaves. It’s for the best, Wolverine tells himself.
The morning after, in a somewhat improved version of her uniform, Hope storms into Cyclops’ office. This is how it’s going to be, she announces. The Lights are just the start. Mutants will be coming and they won’t be right, until she’s helped them. And the sooner she can help them, the righter they’ll be. It’s the only way she can make sense of the messiah thing. It’s not a big thing. It’s a job. Her powers are for saving people. She’s going to do that. They are a team. A rescue team. He’s probably heard that she’s requisitioned uniforms. But that’s just the start. She needs everything he can provide. Transports. A support system. A place to train. But while she’ here she needs an absolute minimum of intervention from him. She’s going to make mistakes, but they are her mistakes and her responsibility. If he has problems with that, she’s out. And she’s betting her leaving would be another problem. So let’s put it like that, she states and the Phoenix may be shining in her eyes, could he stop her?
As he was about to say, Scott begins, thanks for dropping in. He was hoping they could have a real chat. His turn. She asked him to back her up in Tokyo. He’s not retreating from that. She wants to save mutants? This may surprise her but that’s not something he has problems with. She is only seventeen but she’s got life experience and training on a par with any of the X-Men. He’s got no problem with her running a team. She can go wherever. They are not jailers.
The team she’s running: He thinks, for their needs they should be there. She doesn’t need training but they do. Hope interrupts that she’ll train… Then they agree, he continues. And with the greatest respect, he points out, there are things the X-Men can train them in that she can’t. They also need study. The bond they seem to share is… They are her friends, she protests. He’s sure they are. But doesn’t she think it’s more than that? Okay, she agrees. They need looking at. And Teon and Gabriel aren’t … right anyway. And Idie is fourteen, Scott points out. Even trained, putting her in a hostile environment when they don’t have to is a bad idea. Yeah, she admits Tokyo was wrong. Is this a working relationship then? It appears so, he agrees. She thanks him. Don’t mess up, he calls after her and she smiles.
Outside, Gabriel, in his new uniform like the others, asks if there were any problems. They are golden unless they mess up. No worries then, he announces, because let’s be honest: When they look this good, how can they fail?