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Girl Talk
St. Louis, Missouri, a media frenzy has gathered outside the Wakeman Oncological Research Center, not to mention the super force known as Operation Zero Tolerance. One reporter in particular announces that the tension is still high, where the Center employees trapped inside are caught between the members of the Mutant Liberation Front, and Zero Tolerance - a strike force called by State officials to deal with the mutant terrorists. ‘Operation Zero Tolerance, of course, is the organization that is dedicated to containing the threat of genetically gifted humans…’.
Inside, Theresa “Siryn” Rourke Cassidy, Bobby “Sunspot” DaCosta and the enigmatic Domino, three members of the young mutant hero team X-Force, came  to St. Louis, concerned for the safety of the founding New Mutant, their friend Danielle Moonstar, they intended to extricate her from the Wakeman Center before Zero Tolerance closed the trap set for Dani’s teammates in the Mutant Liberation Front - Heather “Tempo” Tucker, Tamara “Dragoness” Kurtz, Richard “Wildside” Gill and Michael “Forearm” McCain. Now though, both teams of young mutants are fighting for their lives….
‘Moonstar, you’re going to pay for betraying the Mutant Liberation Front!’ snaps Dragoness, to which Dani, who has just been discovered as working undercover for SHIELD, tells Tamara to save it for later, ‘None of us are getting out of here if we don’t work together!’ Dani points out, while she fires one of her arrows at the Prime Sentinels hovering over them. ‘X-Force and the Mutant Liberation Front side by side. There’s something I never thought I’d see’ Domino remarks.
While Wildside had already been struck unconscious, the Prime Sentinels take down their biggest threat - the time-warping Tempo. Domino and Moonstar stand guard of the human captives, while Sunspot and Siryn hover in the air, Theresa blasting one of the Prime Sentinels with her sonic abilities. Sunspot remarks that they knew Zero Tolerance had set the MLF up, but that no one told them three of the hostages were Sentinels. Terry adds that these are like no Sentinels she has ever seen. Terry jokes that at least when Sentinels were giant robots you knew when they were coming at you - but these ones appear to be flesh and blood.
The female Prime Sentinel boasts that they are equal of their mechanical predecessors in every way. One of the male Prime Sentinels adds that their purpose remains the same - to neutralize the mutant population of the world - by any means necessary. He then warns Siryn that he can counter her ultrasonic attack, and in an instant, Siryn is knocked backwards through the air, her own powers used against her.
Down below, the third Prime Sentinel has landed and is confronted by Dragoness, ‘See how you like my bio-electric sting, monster!’ the sassy young woman exclaims as she blasts her foe, who easily defends himself from Tamara’s attack, and smashes his fists into her, knocking her to the ground while declaring ‘You and yours are the true monsters, Dragoness. You’re the plague on the face of humanity!’.
Forearm, who, from birth, his size and extra arms was branded a mutant - he believed he was a freak until the MLF showed him that he was special. No matter what the cost, Michael swore to himself that he would not let anyone or anything intimidate him again. He picks up a large desk and holds it over his head, ‘You claim we mutants threaten the so-called purity of the human race- but look at yourselves, you’re no longer human, either!’ he points out. ‘You’re machines!’ he shouts as he tosses the desk at the female Prime Sentinel. She just smirks, and replies ‘Whatever part of our humanity was sacrificed to our maker…was done in order to insure the genetic integrity of the human race’ before asking Forearm if that is the best he can do as she destroys the desk with ease.
Dani, concerned for Forearm, the one member of the Front that she actually likes, calls out to him, telling him to be careful, for as hideous as it is to imagine, if these are real people, they can not simply destroy them like they would any regular android. Readying a psionic arrow, Danielle - formerly “Mirage” - hopes that the Sentinels are still human enough that her arrows can disrupt their nervous systems - her arrows cannot damage mechanics. But before Dani can strike, one of the male Sentinels blasts her from behind, right in front of Forearm, who calls out, concerned for Dani, whom he cares about.
Moments later, the mutants all regroup, rubbing their wounds, Moonstar remarks that it would seem the Sentinels are toying with them. ‘Guess their upgrade includes an option for sadistic pleasure’ she jokes. Sunspot informs everyone that he cannot turn his solar heat up all the way because of the hostages, and points out that they are not prepared to take on Sentinel technology. ‘Any suggestions’ he asks Domino. Slightly nervous, Domino replies ‘Yes…we make do. One way or another, this ends here!’ she exclaims.
‘It will end here, mutants!’ one of the Prime Sentinels replies as the three of them hover above the mutants and the hostages, all three begin to generate an energy field that expands as it its charge increases. ‘Aw, don’t tell me, they’re more powerful together!’ Sunspot mutters as everyone shields their eyes from the blinding light above them, Moonstar pointing out that it is like they are building to critical mass. Forearm reminds everyone that there are more Zero Tolerance troops outside waiting for them, so they’re trapped, to which Siryn declares that if the “three stooges” want to blow them to Kingdom Come, she reckons they should do it to them first.
Domino suggests that they might be able to break the Sentinel’s connection first. ‘Maybe they are partly human, but we can’t sit here waiting for them to exterminate us!’ she points out, while pulling some plastique from the heel of her shoe where she hid it before they entered the Center. Sunspot knows what Domino is going to do and after Domino points out that since Meltdown is not here, someone has to blow something up, Bobby tells her that she cannot get close enough to detonate the plastique, but he can.
Domino tells Bobby that she needs him to clear an exit through the roof for Siryn to follow him through, to which Sunspot points out that Domino will be caught in the blast. ‘Not a problem, I’m the luckiest girl in the world’ Domino replies, getting closer to the Sentinels, shielding her eyes, she adds ‘That’s my gift - I walk away from everything’ and tells Sunspot to be ready to clear a path, as it is their only shot. ‘Okay, boys and girls, here’s a little something to remember me by!’ she shouts as she tosses the plastique, under the Sentinels it is as if she has entered the heart of the storm. ‘Hope you like it!’ she adds, seconds before the massive explosion, which engulfs the area, including the Prime Sentinels.
For Siryn though, when she became X-Force’s deputy leader, she knew that she would have to make some difficult choices, decisions in the heart of battle that would surely torment her later. Leaving Domino at the mercy of Zero Tolerance is one of them. ‘All right, Bobby, Domino bought us our moment - let’s go!’ she orders her teammate, who instantly sends a solar fireball through the top level of the Wakeman Center. Using the smoke and flames as cover, Siryn and Sunspot make their escape - with passengers in tow - Siryn pulls along Moonstar with her, while Sunspot’s enhanced strength enables him to lift Forearm to safety, telling Mike that he is lucky Dani didn’t want him to be left behind. ‘I never asked for your help, Sunspot!’ Mike shouts back.
Siryn exclaims that she doesn’t like leaving Domino to the wolves, while Moonstar asks how they knew where to find her. As they fly down towards ground, past the Zero Tolerance troops who begin opening fire on them, Sunspot replies that G.W. Bridge got word to Domino that Zero Tolerance had set up an ambush, and while Bridge’s hands were tied, he didn’t want to see Dani go down with the rest of the Mutant Liberation Front. Setting down at the news van they arrived in, disguised as reporters, Siryn explains that they lost contact with the others once they went inside.
Sunspot asks where Meltdown, Rictor and Shatterstar are as he enters the van and discovers it to be empty. ‘This is bad’ he declares, pointing out that if Zero Tolerance got their teammates, then they have probably been waiting for their return. Siryn orders everyone into the van, but it’s too late, as some Prime Sentinels discover them, ‘There they are! Get them!’ they shout, another exclaiming that the mutant designates must be contained.
Siryn takes the wheel, although she has a little difficulty starting the van, they soon take off, and Terry orders Sunspot to take out the missiles that Zero Tolerance just fired before any innocent bystanders are injured. Bobby does as requested, firing a solar flare at Zero Tolerance from the back of the van, as the van speeds away, a trail of fire behind it.
Inside the Wakeman Center, shortly, Commander Ekatarina Gryaznova leads a dozen of her soldiers through the rubble, ‘Who do we have?’ she asks. One of the soldiers replies that they have Tempo, Dragoness and Wildside, and explains that they believe Locus teleported out before the three members of X-Force entered the facility. ‘Pathetic! We should have been able to capture every mutant here. What about our people?’ the Commander asks.
Someone finds the Prime Sentinels and alerts Gryaznova to the Sentinels who are under a pile of rubble, and remark that they appear to have sustained some damage, to which Ekatarina orders the Sentinels to be taken to the synth-tanks, points out that their self-repaid system will kick in soon enough. Suddenly, a young officer announces that they have found someone else. ‘Domino!’ Ekatarina exclaims as she sees the long-serving X-Force member. ‘She thought she could masquerade as a news producer and no one would recognize her…but I’d know her anywhere!’ Ekatarina exclaims cryptically as Domino lies in a pile of rubble, before the Commander tells her soldiers that she will deal with Domino personally.
Meanwhile, in Detroit, a rather odd-looking man has many TV stations all playing on various television sets. ‘As anti-mutant sentiment rises in the wake of Graydon Creed’s assassination…’. ‘Fireworks exploded over Colorado today…’. ‘In Kansas, the Wakeman hostage crisis came to a dramatic conclusion…’. ‘As both Houses of Congress are heatedly debating how to contain what the White house may now consider a crisis rapidly spinning out of control’. ‘The mutant outlaws known as the X-Men allegedly attacked an Operation: Zero Tolerance transport, but were instead captured themselves’. ‘After federal and local authorities stormed the Center, freeing the hostages, and taking at least three members of the MLF into custody’. ‘Unconfirmed rumors suggest the outlaw mutant group X-Force was also involved…’.
The odd man, Sledge, continues to flick the channels, before finally switching them all off, ‘Same old story, somebody’s gotta be the scapegoat’ he mutters, adding that it is too bad Xavier’s kids are going to end up as martyrs. ‘Better to keep a low profile and stay alive’. While not much is known about Sledge, except that his deformed appearance belies a superior intellect, a talent for constructing technological marvels out of the scraps of others, and a knack for hoarding information - he can get you anything you want - for a price that is.
Sledge decides that there is no point in letting Warpath know that his X-Force pals are in hot water. ‘Can’t have him giving in to his heroic impulses, not when I have a job for him to do!’. Suddenly, James “Warpath” Proudstar, dressed in what can be described as an orange space suit, announces that he is ready, though asks if the suit is really necessary. Sledge’s raspy voice assures Warpath that where he is going he is going to need it, explaining that it will regulate his temperature in extreme climates and give him forty-eight hours of oxygen in a vacuum, not to mention providing propulsion in zero-gravity.
Warpath replies that he is only going through with this because Sledge knows where Michael Whitecloud is, and James needs to know how Whitecloud survived the massacre that wiped out every Apache at Camp Verde - including his family. ‘Tough break’ Sledge replies as they approach a chamber, which Sledge unlocks while remarking that if he did charity, he might have given him Whitecloud for free - but that would set a bad precedent. ‘Wow - what is this place?’ a stunned Warpath asks, looking around the bizarre chamber.
‘Just something I mixed up in my spare time’ Sledge replies, before explaining that it is an interdimensional gateway. ‘You know, people get so wrapped up in the mundane routine of their day-to-day lives - they never consider there might be something more than the world outside their window’ Sledge remarks. ‘Realms that lie outside our universe…parallel to it…or somewhere in between’. Warpath asks Sledge how he got access to this kind of technology, to which Sledge explains that, several years ago, Reed Richards discovered the existence of alternate realities, a discovery he shared with a very select group of individuals within the government and scientific communities.
Sledge reveals that one of those individuals has had the need of his particular skills from time to time, ‘And that’s about as close to the truth as you need to get’ Sledge declares, remarking that it was a hassle getting the trans-dimensional interface online, but he did it, and motions to a portal. ‘This is the dimension in which my friend disappeared. And this is why you black-mailed Risque into betraying me?’ Warpath exclaims. Sledge points out that if he had called Warpath, asking him to risk his life in another reality, he would have hung the phone up on him. ‘I need leverage’ Sledge explains, remarking that Risque owed him a favor, so he asked her to persuade Warpath to do him one.
‘Nice to know my relationship with Risque was a lie from the very beginning’ Warpath mumbles, to which Sledge assures Warpath, for what it’s worth anyway, that Risque did fall for him. Sledge explains that is why he had to send the Blob and the Mimic, who had just been through the ringer in that Onslaught affair, to New York, as Risque was taking too long getting Warpath here - she was having second thoughts. ‘Why me?’ Warpath asks, remarking that from what he has been told, this suit can practically run itself.
Sledge replies that the last guy who tried went insane, explaining that not everyone can process the alien sensory input of another dimension. ‘What makes you think I can?’ James asks as Sledge hands him the helmet. Sledge replies that James’ heightened senses already perceive a slightly greater range of sights, sounds and smells than an average person, not to mention he is as strong as an ox, fast, and has super-human endurance. ‘Let’s just get this over with’ Warpath remarks as he puts the helmet on, warning Sledge that if Whitecloud’s address is not waiting for him when he gets back, then Sledge will be crossing into another dimension without a suit.
Back in St. Louis, Agent Ritter of the FBI puffs on a cigar as her introduces himself to Commander Gryaznova, remarking that he understands that none of the hostages were seriously injured, he congratulates the Commander, pointing out that it doesn’t always work out that way. The Commander practically ignores Agent Ritter, asking him to excuse her as she is very busy, but Ritter ignores that comment, telling her that now she has a number of mutant perps in custody, they may need to iron out some small jurisdictional conflicts. ‘There are no conflicts here. This is a Zero Tolerance Operation!’ the Commander snaps back, explaining that every mutant captured today will be transported to their classified detention facility.
‘By whose authority?’ demands Ritter, spit spraying out of his mouth, exclaiming that the prisoners may be mutants, but they are still entitled to some form of due process. ‘This is still the United States, Commander!’ he bellows. Ekatarina just tells Ritter that if he has a problem with the constitutionality of Zero Tolerance’s work, then to write to his Congressman, but to stay out of her way. Ritter just ’Hrrmphs!’ in reply, before storming off over to his car.
A soldier informs the Commander that Bastion is online, and shortly, Gryaznova enters a vehicle, where Bastion’s image appears on screen. Zero Tolerance would not exist if not for the mysterious man known only as Bastion - every hour of his life has been dedicated to one purpose - creating the means to completely and irrevocably eliminate mutants. Those who have tried to stop him have failed.
Bastion declares that he wants a status report, and informs the Commander that her personal feed has been off-line for an hour. Gryaznova replies that she will have that checked immediately, before explaining that X-Force’s arrival has proved more troublesome than anticipated. She informs Bastion that, in addition to Tempo, Dragoness and Wildside, they currently have Meltdown, Rictor and Shatterstar in stasis, however Siryn, Sunspot, Moonstar and Forearm remain at large, adding that Moonstar is also apparently an undercover operative for SHIELD.
Bastion replies that he will deal with the government if necessary, before asking about the one known as Domino, adding that Cable is playing hide-and-seek at Xavier’s Mansion, but he and Domino are known associates, so he could use her as bait. Nervously, the Commander replies that Domino escaped, hoping deep down that Bastion never learns she is lying to him, for if he were to find out, then none of her body’s cybernetic defenses could save her from his wrath.
Elsewhere, the reporter van that X-Force used has come to a stop in some woods, where Michael is angry, ‘You lied to me, Dani!’ he exclaims. Danielle replies that she didn’t mean to hurt him, to which Forearm just reminds Dani of the situation - that she was working for SHIELD and sent to destroy the MLF. ‘Yeah, and it turns out they didn’t need my help’ Danielle replies, pointing out that everyone’s petty jealousies and psychoses were tearing the group apart from the inside. ‘The MLF was a ticking bomb, waiting to self-destruct!’ she exclaims, but Mike declares that this isn’t about the MLF, ‘It’s about you and me’ he tells Moonstar. ‘I thought you were my friend. I thought you were special…’ his voice trails off, forlorn.
Sunspot and Siryn fly towards Moonstar and Forearm, and Bobby tells Mike not to feel so bad, as apparently, Dani lies to all her friends. Siryn tells Sunspot to save his feelings for later, as right now, they have more pressing matters to attend to. Good news though, Terry announces that their aircraft is still secure, but the bad news is that Zero Tolerance shot down the X-Men’s Blackbird, and they cannot raise Cable or anyone at the Mansion. Sunspot remarks that if they are going to rescue their teammates before they are bagged and tagged, then they will need help. ‘Dani?’ he asks. ‘You don’t need to ask, Bobby, I’m in’ Danielle replies, turning to Mike and asking if he is interested. ‘Forget it, Dani. I’m better off alone’ Michael replies, making his way deeper into the forest. Danielle calls out to him as he leaves, but Siryn tells Moonstar to let Forearm go, as he has to make his own choice.
Later, Domino opens her eyes - this is not the first time though that she has been knocked unconscious in one place, and returned to consciousness in another. Sitting up on the table where she has been placed, Domino tries to survey her surroundings for a clue as to her new location, but her eyes refused to focus properly. Then, Domino notices how dry her mouth is and how much her tongue feels like a cotton ball. ‘I’ve been drugged!’ Domino exclaims, rubbing her head.
Suddenly, a figure enters the room, ‘A precaution’ the newcomer exclaims, before revealing that Domino was hardly injured in the explosion, just a few bruises and scrapes, and a bump on the head that you couldn’t even call a minor concussion. ‘You are indeed a very lucky woman’. ‘That’s what they say’ Domino replies. ‘Who in blazes are you?’. Ekatarina steps into the light, revealing herself as she declares that Domino is her prisoner. ‘Would you like to attempt an escape?’ she asks.
‘I’ll pass - it’s not fun if you ask’ Domino replies, before remarking that she has a feeling the Commander is one of those new Sentinel’s. ‘So do I get a final request?’. ‘You think I’m going to kill you?’ Ekatarina asks. ‘You’ll try, eventually’ Domino remarks. ‘That is the ultimate goal of you and your friends in Zero Tolerance - the complete annihilation of anyone like me’. However,, surprisingly, Gryaznova exclaims that she doesn’t want Domino dead, and remarks that she thought they might talk about the past. ‘There’s not much to talk about’ Domino mutters in response.
But Gryaznova exclaims that she disagrees, and declares that Domino has led a fascinating life. The Commander reveals that she has made a point of finding out background information about Domino, which was not an easy task. ‘You appear as one person, vanish mysteriously, and reappear as another’. The Commander declares that Domino’s life is a jigsaw puzzle where pieces rarely fit together, and where more often than not, she is not even sure if the pieces belong to Domino at all.
(Shown with flashback illustrations)
Gryaznova declares that they believe Domino may have been a thirteen year-old runaway when she was picked up in Seattle for shoplifting - a girl who told the police her name was Jessica Marie Costello, before escaping the juvenile authorities.
Two years later, a young woman appeared in the combat arenas of Madripoor - where she fought under a stage name. ‘We do know you were recruited by the National Security Agency where you adopted the name Domino…and used what government scientists classified “probability-altering” powers in the service of the United States.
During that time, Domino married analyst Milo Thurman, but after that marriage ended, Domino left the NSA and disappeared, but, sometime later, a Luisa Mendoza took five casinos for approximately one point two million dollars.
In Hong Kong shortly thereafter, they observed a business woman calling herself Samantha Wu - who worked as an executive for the Fujikawa Corporation for six months.
While, in Prague, a familiar-looking Elena Vladescu was seen with the Russian Ambassador - mere hours before his unexplained death at an embassy party.
‘You must have tired of these subtle intrigues, because you surfaced again as Domino - the only woman in a mercenary team known in government circles as the Six Pack’. Gryaznova remarks that somehow that group membership let to Domino’s current association with the terrorist team X-Force.
The Commander adds one more thing - two weeks ago, Domino attended the funeral of wise guy Cesare Caetano, identifying herself as Tamara Winter.
(Present)
‘I’m flattered you think all those women are me - too bad you’re at least eighty percent wrong’ Domino replies, pointing out that even the Domino Gryaznova observed might now have even been her, as a shape shifter did steal her identity for a year or so. But the Commander tells Domino not to play games with her, exclaiming that she knows her better than she can imagine. ‘This isn’t the first time we’ve met!’ the Commander reveals. ‘Oh?’ Domino replies, not impressed. ‘Forgive me if I don’t remember you, Commander’.
An image appears on a screen behind the Commander, who explains that it is El Salvador, three years ago, and reminds Domino that she infiltrated a top secret research compound run by a rogue CIA faction….
(Flashback shown on monitor)
…in order to rescue DR. Rebecca Schuyler, a neuro-cybernetic specialist, who had been kidnapped from Stanford, California, and forced to design a cybernetic link that would connect soldiers with battlefield drones. The Commander explains that Domino encountered one of the prototype drones, codenamed Jericho, who was designed to be the ultimate fighting machine, which was controlled from a distance by a human soldier in a secure location. The Commander explains that, unfortunately, Domino used a device that created an electromagnetic pulse to fry every electronic circuit in the compound - including the motherboards and cyber link in Jericho. ‘By the time an alternate generator was operation, you and the Dr. were gone - and the thirty million dollar prototype was slag’.
(Present)
‘A touching story, but where are you in it?’ Domino asks, still sitting on the table. ‘I controlled the Jericho prototype’ Ekatarina replies. ‘Small world’ Domino mumbles, while Ekatarina thinks back to that time, recalling herself lying in a hospital bed, she explains that the neural feedback from the electromagnetic pulse put her in a coma for about ten months. ‘Had certain parties not taken an interest in my recovery…I’d still be in that hospital bed, oblivious to the world’.
Ekatarina reveals that when she awoke, she had no idea what had been done to her, all she knew was that her body felt strong and whole once more. Power surges around her as she explains that the truth could not be concealed, she had been intended to be a sleeper agent - a Prime Sentinel, with advanced mutant-hunting technology implanted within her. ‘Most in my position would have been driven mad with horror and revulsion - and for a time, I thought I would’, the Commander remarks, before declaring that, eventually, she embraced the transformation in the hopes that Bastion’s crusade would eventually lead her to Domino, and with that, blasts Domino before she can react.
Another unidentifiable period of time later - Domino is now strapped down to a table with metal bars, and weak, she tells Ekatarina that this is getting old, before noticing that she is tied down, she remarks that the party must just be starting. Domino sees some Doctors around the table, one of whom brings a mask down on Domino’s face to put her unconscious with gas, while Ekatarina smirks and exclaims ‘You ruined my life. Now I’m going to return the favor. Your luck has finally run out!’.


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Provide a full summary of the comic book.

[Assistant]
Roadside Attractions
Oklahoma, where moments ago, a woman clad in blue spandex, her hair all shaved off, woke to find herself laying in the middle of the interstate - she cannot remember how she got here. All she knows, is that on this narrow stretch of highway, the oncoming truck has no room to swerve around her. She tells herself to run, but her body betrays her, responding sluggishly. ‘I’m going to die…’ she whispers, clutching herself.
The truck driver, Spencer Beaumont, honks his loud horn over and over again. In the past week his life has fallen apart. His wife Louise left him. His dog Earl died, and a sour-faced man from the IRS audited his tax returns. The last thing he needs is a charge of vehicular manslaughter to add to his troubles, or his conscience. ‘Get outta the road!’ he bellows.
But the confused and fragile woman is frozen in the headlights - her name - is Domino. Until yesterday, she considered herself one of the luckiest - and most dangerous - women in the world. She thought she was untouchable. She was wrong. Spencer slams on his brakes, talking to his truck, pleading with it to stop - the truck screeches to a halt about an inch from Domino. In these pre-dawn hours, it is not Domino’s onetime unbeatable combination of outrageous fortune and phenomenal combat skill that saves her life - it is sheer providence.
Spencer leaps out of his truck, ‘You stupid broad, what do you think you’re doing pulling a stunt like that?’ he demands, waving a crow bar in the air, ‘You wanna commit suicide? Fine, stick your head in an oven, hang yourself, I don’t care - just do it alone. I don’t need your death on my conscience!’ he bellows. Still clutching herself, Domino apologizes for the inconvenience and explains that she wasn’t trying to kill herself, but she thinks someone else was. ‘Looks like that somebody did a real number on you!’ Spencer remarks, ‘No offense, miss, but you look like you’ve been through the wringer’.
Domino suddenly exclaims that it is all coming back to her now - Gryaznova, the interrogation, the operating room…’They did something to my head!’ she exclaims. Spencer suggests that he should call an ambulance or the police, but Domino exclaims that she doesn’t want the authorities, that she will be fine. ‘All I need is a chance to collapse…’ she mumbles as she falls in to Spencer.
Meanwhile, hundreds of miles away, a convoy of armed Operation Zero Tolerance transport vehicles move through the back roads of New Mexico, carrying prisoners of a war they have declared against the world’s mutant population. In Missouri, a Zero Tolerance action against the Mutant Liberation Front resulted in the capture of half a dozen wanted mutants - Meltdown, Rictor, Shatterstar, Dragoness, Tempo and Wildside. ‘Pop quiz, Gibson!’ an officer exclaims to his colleague. ‘Not again, Meyer!’ Gibson complains as the two of them stand watch over the three members of freedom fighters - X-Force.
Meyer points out that it will help pass the time while they babysit their cargo, and explains the dilemma: ‘Suppose you connect with this extremely hot babe…and then, after a couple of months of bliss, you find out she’s one of them - a mutie. What do you do?’ Gibson replies that he would never date a mutant, as it is grounds for dismissal. ‘Plus you might catch that disease, you know, the Legacy Virus!’. ‘But you didn’t know she was a mutant’ Meyer points out, grinning at the unmoving Meltdown, exclaiming that she looks perfectly human on the outside. ‘What a waste’ he mumbles.
‘Okay, my turn’ Gibson exclaims, asking Meyer if he thinks the Commander has a boyfriend and if she does, does he know what she is. ‘The ice queen? If he knew, she’d have to kill him!’ Meyer replies, when, suddenly, a cold voice exclaims ‘My transformation has improved my hearing dramatically!’ Gibson and Meyer both go tense. ‘Oh no…’ ‘We’re toast!’ they exclaim as Commander Ekatarina Gryaznova stands behind them, her powers ready, she declares that she wants to make one thing clear - she does not want her men gossiping like old women. ‘If you’re curious about my personal life, be man enough to ask me directly. So…any questions?’
Gryaznova is one of the highest ranking officers in the paramilitary organization that has gained support across the globe. She is also one of the Nimrod class Sentinel hybrids, a fusion of man and machine. ‘No, ma’am!’ Gibson and Meyer reply in unison. ‘Good. Then lets go back to work’ the Commander orders, before asking what the status of their mutant cargo is. One of the officers replies that each of the prisoners’ vital signs are holding steady in their suspended state. ‘Too bad all mutants aren’t this easy to handle, eh, Commander?’ the other remarks.
Motioning to the three members of X-Force, Gryaznova informs her officers that two of them were part of a commando raid on the SHIELD heli-carrier several months ago. ‘Do not underestimate the danger they pose…even in stasis’ she remarks. ‘Yes, Commander!’ the officers reply, before the Commander informs them that they will be making an unscheduled stop at 0500 hours. ‘Be prepared’ she warns them.
Meanwhile, somewhere in Missouri, an abounded granary factory houses three fugitives - three young people who, if not born with superhuman abilities, would probably spending this Saturday night as most others their age do - partying, going to the movies, enjoying life. Instead, they’re running for lives. They are Bobby “Sunspot” DaCosta, Therese “Siryn” Rourke Cassidy, both of X-Force, and the original New Mutant Danielle Moonstar. ‘This is worse than we imagined!’ Sunspot exclaims as he paces around the factory, while Terry and Dani sit on some crates.
Sunspot reminds his friends that Zero Tolerance captured Domino, Meltdown, Rictor and Shatterstar at the Wakeman Center, and now they cannot reach Cable or Caliban at the Xavier Institute. He adds that since the fascists shot down the X-Men’s plane over Colorado, they have to assume every aspect of their life has been compromised. ‘How could we let this happen!?’ he shouts, slamming his super strong fists into a crate, splintering it.
Danielle tells her fellow founding New Mutant to take it easy, remarking that although Zero Tolerance may have made the first move, the fight is not over yet. Siryn agrees, but points out that it is unnerving to meet a foe who knows more about you than you do about them. Dani agrees, remarking that Zero Tolerance has done a good job of keeping a low profile until recently, ‘All we know is that their leader is a man named Bastion…who’s intent on eliminating every mutant on the planet’. She adds that based on those human-sentinel hybrid they encountered, Zero Tolerance would appear to have the technology to make that goal a reality.
Siryn declares that their first priority is to rescue their teammates, ‘Heaven only knows what Zero Tolerance intends for them’ she remarks, adding that, unfortunately, they have no way of knowing where they have been taken. Sunspot mutters that it is too bad they cannot access the Mansion’s computers, to which Danielle replies that they don’t need to. Siryn asks Dani what she means, to which the former co-leader of the New Mutants reminds the deputy leader of X-Force that she is an acting agent of SHIELD, at least until she resigns, and SHIELD has resources which they need.
Sunspot asks if law enforcement agencies aren’t cooperating with Zero Tolerance. Dani - formerly codenamed Mirage - replies that some are, unofficially, but that SHIELD resents being sidelined by an unknown agency. She explains that is why GW Bridge needed X-Force to get her out of her undercover assignment in the MLF, as officially, he couldn’t interfere in a Zero Tolerance operation. Sitting at a computer, Dani contacts GW Bridge, while Siryn calls Zero Tolerance Nazis and declares that it seems no one is willing to take a stand against them.
Bridge appears on the monitor, dressed in pajamas, he rubs his head and exclaims that this better be important, before seeing Dani. ‘Is that you?!’ he gasps. ‘Alive and kicking!’ Dani smirks, before telling Bridge that she needs him to put his surveillance satellites to work, and fast. ‘Forget about protocol. You owe me!’ she exclaims.
At the same time in upstate New York, the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning, secretly home to the outlaw mutants known as the X-Men, and recently, to X-Force as well, is now under siege. Zero Tolerance troops swarm over the grounds, hunting for tow mutants who have resisted the occupation - Caliban, the monstrous mutant tracker with a child’s soul, and Cable, the enigmatic rebel from the future. At the moment, the duo are safe in the tunnels beneath the estate, where Caliban tells Cable that he will stay and help him. But Cable points out that Caliban is too weak from his seizures, and that one of them needs to stay alive to find X-Force. ‘But what if Caliban doesn’t see you again?’ the Morlock asks, clutching a stuffed toy.
‘That won’t happen’ Cable assures Caliban, before telling him that he better go, as he still has to set the explosions that will seal off this tunnel. Caliban waves goodbye to Cable, asking him if he will remember him. ‘Always’ Cable assures Caliban, who hangs his head while Cable continues down the tunnel. Caliban tells himself that he shouldn’t be afraid, but he is, as he fears he will not see his friends again. ‘But he has to be brave…just like his friend Kitty Pryde would want’ Caliban remarks as he pulls out a photograph of Shadowcat and looks at it.
Meanwhile, just outside of Detroit, there is an unusual junkyard that an equally unusual man named Sledge calls home. Inside the warehouse that serves as his workshop and garage, Sledge watches static broadcast from another dimension which lies through the closed portal in front him. At the same time, he monitors the vital signs of the young man he sent into that dimension, hoping that he will return. Suddenly a voice exclaims ‘Hey, Sledge, what’s going on?’. But Sledge cannot hear as he has large headphones on. ‘I said, what’s going on?’ the voice exclaims again, pulling the headphones off Sledge.
Sledge looks around, and sees Risque, he smiles at her, while Risque asks how James is and whether he asked after her. ‘Your ex has other things on his mind right now’ Sledge replies, before telling Risque that she should never have fallen for him, when, suddenly, there is a series of urgent beeps, and Sledge announces that the interdimensional signal has flatlined. Sledge begins shouting, ‘Proudstar! Can you hear me? James! I’ve lost him!’ Sledge gasps.
At that moment, across the dimensional divide, in a reality that parallels our own, James “Warpath” Proudstar floats through an unearthly ether, remarking that he isn’t sure if the transmitter is working, but that he is going to keep talking anyway. James remarks that Sledge was right, that this place is disorientating and overwhelming. ‘I feel like I’m trapped in a lava lamp!’ he exclaims, remarking that the atmosphere is so thick that he is not sure whether he’s lost in space or drowning in an ocean.
James continues, remarking that he is unsure as to how much distance he has covered as everything here is constantly shifting, but that so far there has been no sign of Sledge’s missing friend. ‘I mean, I assume he’s your friend since you’ve gone to all this trouble to find him!’ James remarks, adding that even with his superior senses, locating another person in this cast landscape is like looking for a needle in a haystack. ‘If I don’t find your lost pal, I still expect you to keep your end of the bargain’ James tells Sledge.
Warpath exclaims that he needs to find Michael Whitecloud, as he is hoping Whitecloud can explain why his tribe was massacred, when, suddenly, James exclaims that some kind of glove appears to be riding up to meet him, when he gets caught in its gravitational pull. ‘Can’t break free!’ James exclaims as he is sucked downwards, landing in a pile of pink goo. ‘I’m glad no one’s around to see me like this’ he mutters, when, suddenly, a strange voice exclaims ‘Hello, James…’.
Shortly, the Zero Tolerance convoy comes to a halt when the driver of the first truck announces to the Commander that the road ahead is blocked by unknown persons and asks if he should assume defensive maneuvers. Indeed, two men and a woman in black suits stand in the middle of the road, but Gryaznova tells the driver to stop the vehicle. ‘This isn’t standard procedure, Commander’ the officer replies, to which Ekatarina tells him his diligence is admirable, but unnecessary. ‘Maybe I should notify the base’ the officer suggests, but Gryaznova tells him that would not be wise, and places a device on his forehead, which the Commander reveals is a neural leech, that it affects the electrical impulses in his brain to erase memory of this incident, and render him catatonic until she removes it. ‘Be thankful. If it weren’t for the leech…I’d have to kill you!’ she exclaims.
A door opens and the three in suits enter, the Commander addresses them as Doctors and informs them that they have thirty minutes Dr Ogada replies that is not much time, and Joshua agrees, remarking that he hates running tests in such a time-constrained fashion. But Gryaznova tells them that she cannot risk Bastion discovering their arrangement, adding that she was already taking a great risk by giving them Domino. Each of the Doctors goes over to one of the containers holding Meltdown, Rictor and Shatterstar, and Dr Ogada tells the Commander that her personal vendetta against Domino made her bold.
The Commander notices some equipment that the female Dr, Dr Chandra, is holding and asks what they are. ‘Field medlabs’ Dr Chandra replies, remarking that Zero Tolerance’s technology is medieval by their standards. Dr Joshua begins working on Tabitha “Meltdown” Smith and remarks that he is disappointed that Sunspot is not among these captured mutants, exclaiming that Sunspot escaped from Gideon’s laboratory before he could complete the tests he had begun. He adds that Meltdown’s plasma generating mutation offers less avenue for experimentation.
Dr Chandra tells her colleague to stop complaining and reminds him that his time in Gideon’s employ yielded other vital data for their research. As she begins working on Julio “Rictor” Richter, she declares that they seek to understand the fundamental nature of human mutation, not merely the physical manifestation. Analyzing Shatterstar, Dr Ogada announces that he is getting abnormal readings, and declares that his DNA is not entirely human. ‘None of us are “entirely human” these days, Doctor!’ Gryaznova exclaims , remarking that she is no longer certain if she is a woman who has become a machine, or a machine that pretends to be a woman. ‘You three saw to that!’ she reminds them.
Dr Ogada reminds Ekatarina that if they had not brought her out of her coma, she would still be hooked up to life support in a military hospital. Dr Joshua agrees, and exclaims that they positioned Gryaznova so that Bastion would select her for his Prime Sentinel project, giving her the means by which she could repay Domino for her humiliation in El Salvador. ‘Everything you are today you owe to us!’ Dr Chandra states. Frowning, the Commander thinks to herself that Dr Chandra says that as if what she has been given is a gift. ‘One day, Doctors, I’m going to discover your secrets…and then we’ll renegotiate the terms of our relationship’.
Meanwhile, a reality away, ‘It sure took you long enough, pal. I’ve been waiting forever. And as you can see, there’s not a whole lot going on in this neighborhood’. Warpath looks shocked as he stares at the talking cat, and still continuing to radio to Sledge, he exclaims that he thinks he has lost his mind, ‘I could swear I’m looking at Coyote, the cat I had when I was a kid. And the really insane thing is - the cat’s talking to me!’. James remarks that this must be a hallucination and attempts to pick the cat up, but the car leaps onto his shoulders, telling him to take it easy as he is not his pet.
‘I just borrowed a non-threatening image from your psyche so that I wouldn’t frighten you. My true self would be overwhelming for someone with your limited perceptions’ the cat exclaims, while James asks it what it wants with him. ‘You’re looking for another one of your kind, right? I’m here to lead you to the nutcase’ the cat exclaims as it starts walking away. It then grins and tells Warpath that he doesn’t need the oxygen mask, as there is plenty of air for all the carbon based life forms. James leaves the mask and begins to follow the cat, ‘You’re going to take me to the man I was sent to find?’ James asks. ‘You’re so close, and you don’t even know it’ the cat replies.
Nearby, the object of Warpath’s interdimensional journey has transfixed an audience indigenous to this strange place. His name is the Vanisher, an international mutant thief with the power of teleportation, able to travel great distances in the blink of an eye by sidestepping through dimensions such as this one. Recently, for reasons unknown, he has been unable to leave this in-between reality. He sits, hovering over his captivated audience of prairie dogs, reading to them from a large book: ‘…and then the bothersome Professor told his gullible little mutant students “We must stop the Vanisher from making an honest living with his God-given talent”, and so, he sent those five meddling brats to spoil a simple theft of classified Defense Department secrets…’.
‘Teleport in, steal the documents, teleport out. What could be more simple?’ the Vanisher remarks, before noticing Warpath standing nearby, he remarks ‘Oh, I see we have guests!’. Warpath, with the cat on his shoulder, apologizes for interrupting, then explains that a man named Sledge has sent him here to bring him back to Earth. ‘Back to Earth?’ the Vanisher shouts. ‘As tempting as that sounds, I’m afraid that’s not going to happen!’ The Vanisher motions to the prairie dogs and exclaims that his little friends will not let him go anywhere, while the prairie dogs suddenly show their teeth and claws, deranged in their appearance, they stare at Warpath.
Meanwhile, over the New Mexico highway, X-Force’s stealth aircraft arcs towards its target, the Zero Tolerance transport whose location was provided courtesy of GW Bridge. Siryn flies alongside the chopper, and Dani informs her that she is reading only three mutant signatures below them, that Domino is now with the others. Theresa replies that they have no choice but to look for her later. ‘Hope her luck holds out till we find her’ Siryn remarks, before pointing out that they have work to do. ‘You both know the drill’ she tells them, ‘Gimme five seconds, then follow my lead!’.
Like her father, Banshee, Siryn possess a devastating vocal range, and she now lets out a scream that cuts through the armored transport like a sonic knife. Inside, the Doctors keel over in pain, ‘I can’t stand it!’ Dr Ogada exclaims. The Commander announces that they are under attack and tells the Doctors that she will handle it. With but a thought, Ekatarina begins her transformation into something more than human - a thing born and bred for hate. She exclaims that, considering their cargo, it is likely that there attacker is Siryn. ‘She won’t get away from me this time!’ the Commander boasts, while also noting that the atmospheric temperature is rising rapidly.
‘FIRE!’ the Commander screams as she opens the door to the truck, only to discover Sunfire has surrounded it with flame. ‘Give me back my friends, lady!’ Sunspot demands. The Commander suggests to Sunspot that he can join them, telling him that he is outclassed, so his defeat is inevitable. ‘I’ve faced Sentinels before!’ Sunspot exclaims. ‘None like me, boy!’ the Commander replies as her powers begin to emit from her form, boasting that she is designed to compensate for every possible mutant attack. ‘You may be a solar dynamo, but you’re still vulnerable to laser light’ the Commander remarks, boasting that the new breed of Sentinel is faster, smarter and more deadly than any mutant alive. ‘Yeow! That was close!’ Sunspot exclaims as he narrowly dodges a blast from the Commander.
Sunspot decides that he should try and lure the Commander away from the transport, enabling Siryn and Moonstar time to free the others. At this time, the three Doctors step out of the transport, and Dr Chandra reminds Dr Joshua how he was just complaining of Sunspot’s absence earlier. ‘Here’s your chance to catch up with your former patient!’ she points out. ‘I don’t need your sarcasm’ Dr Joshua tells Dr Chandra, exclaiming that they all know they cannot risk being recognized here. ‘Then it’s time we left!’ Dr Chandra decides as the trio leap through the ring of fire and make their way back to their car.
Dr Joshua points out that they have the data they need, ‘Another day then’ Dr Ogada adds. As they stand by their car, Dr Joshua admits that Sunspot was one of his most inspired experiments. ‘I’m sure he has no concept of the things I did for him!’ Dr Joshua boasts, while Dr Chandra just tells him to shut up and get in the car. Speeding away, Dr Joshua remarks that he wished he had time to monitor the metabolic shifts that accompanied DaCosta’s supposed transformation into Reignfire.
Sunspot however, noticed the speeding car and as he flies down towards Gryaznova, he tells her that her friends have left, which leaves just the two of them. ‘You want to tell me what happened to Domino?’ he asks. Gryaznova replies that Domino is no longer a threat to anyone, boasting that she has made certain of that, and tosses some sort of goo at Sunspot, ‘If you hurt her, you’re going to…ugh, what is this stuff?’ Bobby wonders, remarking that it is like he is being attacked by living silly putty. Gryaznova explains that it is nanotech organics, unable to maintain form cohesion under extreme heat, breaking down into a simpler defensive mode. ‘Nano-plasm will prevent you from absorbing any more solar radiation’ the Commander remarks.
Siryn sees what is going on and is worried that Sunspot will suffocate, she knows that she needs to distract Gryaznova, so unleashes her scream upon the Commander, which in turn breaks the nanotech’s hold on Sunspot, quite painfully for the Commander who is bombarded with the sonic rays. ‘Thanks for the save!’ Bobby gasps, while the Commander begins reformatting, before turning to Sunspot and Siryn and, calling them children, asks if they cannot see that they have no hope of winning here. The Commander boasts that Sentinels are humanity’s trump card against the mutant threat, and that they will be the last generation of Homo Superior. ‘Everything you’ve ever feared, huddling in your pathetic little refuges…is coming to pass!’.
‘You’d like us to believe that, Cruella de Vil. But for all your bluster, you’re not invulnerable, we hurt you!’ Sunspot exclaims, referencing the legendary villainess. ‘We’ll see how you fare against the both of us!’ Siryn exclaims, as she and Bobby begin their combined attack of solar energy and ultrasonic energy, which pummels the Prime Sentinel - however, Ekatarina extends a force field to counter the heat and sonic barrage, boasting that she can maintain shield integrity indefinitely. ‘Then it’s up to me to break this stalemate!’ Danielle exclaims as she stands on the edge of X-Force’s craft and fires a psionically-charged arrow towards Gryaznova, which pierces the Commander’s energy field, disrupting her nervous system with such intensity, that the Commander passes out.
‘She’s down!’ Moonstar announces, but, standing over the Commander, Siryn points out that there will surely be other Sentinels to take her place, so they had better move fast and free their friends before anymore of them arrive, not to mention they still need to find out what happened to Domino.
At that moment, in Oklahoma, ‘We’re sorry, the number you’ve dialed is no longer in service…’ a recorded message states after Domino tries calling a certain number on a payphone. ‘No!’ she exclaims, hanging the phone up, she tells herself that all the phone lines at the Xavier Institute have been disconnected and she cannot get through to anyone. ‘Were are you, Nate?’ she wonders, before returning to the diner, where the waitress is telling Spencer, the truck driver, that he is a fool for picking up strange woman. ‘Will you look at that hair and at that weird tattoo? I bet she’s a junkie…or an escaped mental patient’ the waitress declares.
Spencer replies that she is obviously in trouble, but he doesn’t think it is drugs, ‘And I wasn’t trying to pick her up!’ he assures the waitress. ‘Whatever you say’ the waitress mutters before pouring another cup of coffee. Domino sits down next to Spencer, who asks her if she had any luck reaching her friends. ‘Luck is one thing I don’t seem to have anymore’ Domino replies, to which Spencer asks her if she is thinking about doing anything foolish - like killing herself or something. ‘No, it’s not suicide that’s on my mind, cowboy…it’s revenge!’.


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Provide a full summary of the comic book.

[Assistant]
Hitting the Road
New Mexico…there are those who say that each and every human being is born with at least one quality that makes him or her special, unique. A fiery personality, an ability to lead others…perhaps even a calm sense of self. Among the society of man, however, there is a small sub-species that has been gifted with something more - an x-factor gene that bestows upon them superhuman powers. Called mutants, they exist, for the most part in secret…because they are feared and despised by the rest of humanity. It is a fear that, in recent months, has risen to a fever pitch. Across the globe, Operation Zero Tolerance has declared all-out war on Homo Sapiens Superior…and unleashed a legion of human-android hybrids to wipe every last mutant from the face of the Earth.
Here in New Mexico, one such, Commander Ekatarina Gryaznova, tried to destroy three young mutants, but they bested her, and now she lies motionless before them. ‘Nice shooting, Dani!’ Roberto “Sunspot” DaCosta tells his fellow original New Mutant, Danielle Moonstar, who replies that she couldn’t have done it if he and Siryn hadn’t distracted Gryaznova. Theresa “Siryn” Rourke Cassidy, deputy leader of X-Force, stands nearby, as Sunspot asks what they can do with Gryaznova now.
Siryn points out that it was Moonstar’s psionic arrow which disrupted the Commander’s nervous system and asks her how long they can expect her to be out for. ‘Long enough for us to get the others out of the transport!’ Dani replies as she makes her way to the cargo van. Siryn declares that their first priority is getting their teammates to safety, and asks Bobby to watch over the Commander. ’If she starts to come to, don’t take any chances - blast her with everything you have!’ Siryn orders. ‘It’d be my pleasure, boss!’ Bobby replies.
Entering the cargo van, Danielle sees the three members of X-Force, two of whom are her fellow New Mutant teammates - Tabitha “Meltdown” Smith and Julio “Rictor” Richter, along with the enigmatic Shatterstar, in cylinders, each which has a potent tranquilizer pumped into it to keep the X-Force members sedated. ‘Look at them, vacuum packed and sealed for your protection!’ Moonstar exclaims, remarking that they were being shipped to the Zero Tolerance base two hundred miles west of here. ‘Three more “freaks” for those blood-thirsty bigots to interrogate and torture, before they bury them in a shallow desert grave!’.
Moonstar tells Siryn that sometimes, when she sees her friends treated like this - like animals, she thinks that the Mutant Liberation Front might not have been wrong - humans and mutants are never going to work things out. ‘I’d rather believe that someday people will rise above their hatred and fears…otherwise we might as well just go home and hide’ Siryn replies, telling Dani that she learned that a long time ago in places like Belfast after her own mother was killed in a terrorist bomb, before asking how they can get the tanks open without hurting their friends.
Danielle takes an ID card from a unconscious Zero Tolerance operative, ‘Someone was nice enough to knock them out before we even arrived!’ Dani jokes, wondering if this explains why that Sedan hightailed it out of here when they arrived. Danielle places the security card against a monitor, remarking that she has access to the system, she hopes that this will work. Pressing a button, Dani is relieved when the tanks holding the others open, and the captive members of X-Force emerge. ‘Ooh, my head’ mumbles Meltdown, while Rictor rubs his head and wonders where he is. ‘Have I been cancelled?’ Shatterstar asks, before exclaiming that he remembers now, and asks if he has been unconscious this whole time and missed the battle.
The five young heroes make their way out of the van and regroup with Sunspot, Siryn telling Shatterstar not to worry, as she is certain that this will not be the last time they face the new Sentinels, explaining that Zero Tolerance has been all over the news since they downed the X-Men’s plane over Colorado. ‘They’re like cockroaches, they’re everywhere!’ Theresa adds. Meltdown and Moonstar hug, and Tabby tells Dani that it is good to see her back with them, that it is about time, adding that she cannot believe she was working undercover for SHIELD. ‘It’s a long story’ Dani replies.
Shatterstar remarks that he has a vague recollection of being examined by some arcane device, to which Rictor exclaims that he does to, and wonders what happened to them while they were under. ‘Wish I could tell you’ Bobby tells his friends, remarking that all he knows is that this rig left the rest of the Zero Tolerance convoy to meet with an unidentified black Sedan. ‘Just what we need, one more unsolved mystery in our lives’ Bobby adds, while Meltdown asks him how they managed to find them. Dani explains that she called in a favor at SHIELD and had their satellites track the three of them here.
Meltdown motions to Gryaznova and asks if they are going to leave the monster here. Siryn points out that they are not equipped to hold prisoners, and adds that they need to be long gone before Zero Tolerance comes looking for their lost sheep. While the others make their way into X-Force’s chopper, Meltdown remains outside, and stands over the Commander’s motionless form. ‘Gee, Commander, I hate to walk away from you when you’re in this condition’ Tabby mutters sarcastically. ‘After all, you and your storm troopers have made it clear you’re never gonna leave us alone’.
‘And since there’s no point trying to reason with you…we’ll have to settle out accounts another way!’ Meltdown exclaims, readying two of her plasma time-bombs, but Siryn has returned from the chopper, ‘Tabitha! Stop! You have no right!’ Theresa exclaims, but Meltdown tells her to save the holier-than-thou leader act. ‘You’re not Cable!’ she snaps at Siryn, adding that, in the past twelve hours, she has been ambushed, battered and tranquilized all thanks to Gryaznova. ‘I have every right in the world to wanna rip her head off!’ Meltdown exclaims.
‘But I wont’ she declares, tossing her plasma towards the Zero Tolerance truck. Meltdown smirks when the explosion ensues, and remarks that Graydon Creed’s assassination already gave the anti-mutant camp a martyr. ‘Guess I just needed to blow something up. I feel better now’ Meltdown exclaims.
Meanwhile, at the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning, where, several days ago, Zero Tolerance troops began their occupation of the Estate. Now though, as quickly as the operatives arrived at the home of the Uncanny X-Men, they have retreated in silence. In the caverns beneath the Estate, the man responsible for Zero Tolerance’s withdrawal, Nathan “Cable” Summers, leader of X-Force, searches for a lost teammate with his telepathy, he calls out to Caliban. But Caliban calls out for Cable to go away. ‘You’re too late!’ he tells him. ‘No one can help Caliban now!’ the Morlock cries, cowering in a dark cavern corner.
Originally, Cable gave Caliban membership in X-Force to utilize the odd mutants tracking abilities, and to try and undo the emotional damage sustained during a painful physical transformation that Caliban sustained at the hands of Cable’s mortal enemy, the uber mutant Apocalypse. But at heart, Caliban is more child than man, and does not understand the chaos and violence around him. And at this particular moment, like a child, Caliban is frightened to the core of his being.
Cable kneels beside Caliban and tells him that it is over now, that Bastion and his troops are long gone, not to mention everything else for that matter, so they can go back now. But Caliban replies that he cannot go back. ‘He says Caliban can’t stay with his friends anymore’. Unaware that an ominous figure is approaching him from behind, Cable asks Caliban who he is talking about, remarking that there is no one here by the two of them. Suddenly though, the approaching figure makes his presence known to them.
Cable and Caliban turn to the figure as he exclaims that for over nearly five millennia of servitude to Apocalypse he has learned to walk this world as a ghost. Invisible even to one with telepathic awareness like Cable. ‘Who the -?’ begins Cable, while Caliban exclaims ‘Please don’t make Caliban leave -’ Cable assures him that he is not going to, until the new arrival - Ozymandias - touches Cable on the head, rendering him Nathan unconscious while remarking that his loyalty is touching. ‘You are to believe that you left Caliban safe in the care of a trusted friend. By the time this illusion fades, it will be too late. Such is the will of En Sabah Nur’. Cable falls to the floor while Ozymandias asks Caliban to give him his hand. ‘Your master calls you home’ he declares. ‘Caliban is scared…’ Caliban exclaims. ‘As you should be…’ Ozymandias replies.
Meanwhile, in another dimension, a reality that, incredibly, exists a sidestep from our own, James “Warpath” Proudstar has been overwhelmed by a stampede of bizarre prairie dog creatures who, only moments ago, appeared docile and non-threatening. ’Okay, maybe this wasn’t such a great idea…’ James thinks to himself as he fends off the sharp-toothed creatures. Hovering above the mêlée is the villain known as the Vanisher and the presence who has taken the form of Coyote, Warpath’s one-time cat.
As they sit on their floating rock, the Vanisher remarks that if he had known Warpath was here to rescue him then he would have warned him, as those freaky prairie dogs aren’t going to let him go anywhere. “Coyote” remarks that they aren’t prairie dogs, as prairie dogs only exist in his reality. ’Reality’s a subjective thing’ the Vanisher mumbles, while Warpath cries out for help. The Vanisher explains that he used to zip through this dimension when he teleported, until one day he thought “What’s the hurry? Why not check the place out?”.
The Vanisher points out that nobody wanted him around on Earth anyway, but then those critters found him and he became trapped. ‘Too bad about your pal. He seemed like a nice guy’ the Vanisher remarks, before pointing out that he could be wrong, as it is not like they have had any time to talk. ‘Look, pal, I don’t mean to be pushy, but he came here to rescue you. Why don’t you help him?’ “Coyote” asks. ‘Whoa, you’re a cat!’ the Vanisher exclaims, shocked. ‘Well, sort of’ Coyote replies, explaining that he took the form of Warpath’s childhood pet. ‘But can we save the explanations for later? We have to get those creatures off James before they suffocate or gnaw him to death!’ “Coyote” exclaims.
‘Oh, that’s easy. All the little furry guys want a story’ Vanisher complains. ‘You’re kidding!’ “Coyote” mutters. ‘Hey, this dimension is dullsville. They’re absolutely starved for entertainment!’ the Vanisher retorts, before explaining that is what he has been doing for so long, captivating them with the story of his life, and recounting old episodes of Taxi. ‘Man I loved that show!’ he adds, remarking that he would have liked to have had friends like that - somewhere where he really belonged. “Coyote” calls out to James, explaining to him that he must tell the prairie dogs a story.
‘A story? What is this place?’ James replies, muttering that it doesn’t make sense, but is worth a try. ‘Ummm…once upon a time…’ he begins, which causes the wild creatures to instantly sit down on the ground and look at him with big dippy eyes, giving him their absolute attention. ‘What do you know…it works!’ James gasps, while the Vanisher tells him not to stop now, as the prairie dogs are a tough crowd, and he is a hard act to follow!
Back on Earth, specifically Oklahoma, the mercenary mutant woman known only as Domino, after a career of impossible escapes and odds-defying missions, wonders if her luck has finally run out. For the first time in a long, long time, she feels vulnerable. ‘Hey, pretty lady, you ever get in touch with your friends?’ asks Domino’s truck driver friend. Domino, huddling into a large jacket, replies that she hasn’t, as every number she has tried has been disconnected. The truck driver, whose name is Spencer Beaumont, remarks that he doesn’t mean to pry, and points out the Domino is obviously in some sort of trouble. ‘And like my first wife, Angie, you’re too darned stubborn to ask for help’ Spencer remarks.
Domino replies that it is not that she doesn’t appreciate everything he has done for her, but that she thinks it is best he doesn’t get involved with her. ‘I’m nothing but bad luck these days’ she exclaims. Motioning to his truck, Spencer reminds Domino that he nearly ran her over this morning, ‘We’re already involved!’ he exclaims, before informing her that the nearest town is fifty miles away from here. ‘At least let me give you a lift’ he offers. Suddenly though, a mighty gust sweeps away Spencer’s cap, ‘What the -?’ he exclaims, while Domino looks upwards and remarks that she doesn’t think she will be needing that lift. ‘My ride just arrived!’ she exclaims.
Looking upwards, Spencer sees the odd air craft descend and nervously asks if that is some kind of stealth bomber. Domino replies that it is called the PACRAT, and explains that it stands for: Personnel Assault Carrier Reconnaissance Air Transport. Domino then kisses a wide-eyed Spencer on the lips as she tells him that is of course classified information. ‘Don’t tell anyone’ she whispers, before telling Spencer that he is a good guy and thanks him for not running her over.
As Domino climbs the ladder which just dropped down from the PACRAT for her, Spencer calls out to her, ‘Hey! I don’t even know your name!’. ‘Domino. Beatrice. Tamara. Pick one you like or make one up. I’m easy that way!’ Domino replies as the PACRAT takes off. Spencer collects his hat and watches Domino disappear into the distance, while the waitress from the diner exclaims ‘Spencer Beaumont, I told you that woman was up to no good!’ But Spencer just tells her to shut up.
Inside the PACRAT, Sunspot tells Domino that they are sorry they couldn’t find her sooner, but that were sort of occupied. ‘You know how it is when you run into Sentinels’ he jokes. ‘They never want to let you go!’. Bobby explains to Domino that they were able to find her when they got a lock on her bio-signature. ‘No problem’ Domino replies, remarking that she passed the time arguing the merits of Patsy Cline versus Loretta Lynn with some good old trucker boys. ‘That sounds scary’ Meltdown exclaims.
Siryn informs Domino that they were worried when she wasn’t with the others that Zero Tolerance had captured. ‘Not that worried though, you always come up smelling like roses’ Sunspot exclaims, but as she straps herself into a seat, Domino replies ‘Not this time. I got singled out for special treatment’. The rest of the team goes silent and look around at each other nervously, the silence only broken when Meltdown grins and exclaims ‘Well, if no one else is gonna ask, I will. What’s with the hair?’.
‘That’s what I like about you, Ms. Smith, you’re not afraid to get to the point’ Domino replies, before telling her teammates that Commander Gryaznova insisted on putting her through some non-elective surgery. ‘I didn’t know the big bad bleached blonde had been holding a grudge against me’. Domino explains, before remarking that it turns out she rained on Ekatarina’s parade a few years back, when she was head of security at a black-ops compound Domino sabotaged. ‘So the first round goes to her - but I’m looking forward to a rematch’ Domino adds.
Siryn informs Domino that they had a run-in with the Commander in her full Sentinel mode, that Ekatarina kept her and bobby on the ropes until Danielle’s arrow scrambled her cybernetic system. ‘Had we known what she’d done to you, maybe I’d have encouraged Meltdown to do some more damage’ Siryn adds. Domino remarks that there is no need to apologise, and turns to Moonstar, congratulating her on some good work, before asking her how it feels to be out from undercover. ‘Better than being on of America’s Most Wanted’ Dani replies, adding that she hated that all her friends thought she had turned against them.
‘Then maybe you should have told your friends the truth!’ Sunspot snaps at his fellow founding New Mutant, before remarking that it is a good thing they got Dani out when they did, for the trap Zero Tolerance laid for the MLF at the Wakeman Center was only part of their anti-mutant blitzkrieg, as they have also shot down the X-Men’s blackbird and he thinks they raided the Mansion. Domino begins to ask if anyone has heard from Cable, but she is interrupted half-way through her sentence by Rictor who, piloting the PACRAT, announces that they have company.
Staring out the window at the other aircraft hovering nearby, Rictor exclaims that they are running the radar and infrared cloaks that Cable installed. ‘How could that thing find us?’ he wonders. Siryn orders Julio to take defensive maneuvers, ‘We’re not going to be picked out of the sky like the Blackbird!’ she adds, while Rictor exclaims that he is trying to lose the other ship but that it keeps staying with him. ‘It’s like he knows everything I’m going to do before I do it!’ Rictor exclaims, when, suddenly, over the comm. system a voice exclaims ‘I ought to know those moves, Rictor - I’m the one who taught them to you!’. ‘Cable!’ Rictor exclaims. ‘Affirmative, PACRAT’ Cable replies, before telling his team to prepare to change course and follow his lead. ‘For once, I’m actually glad to hear your voice, lead on!’ Rictor exclaims, smiling at his friends.
Two hours later, in a secluded part of North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains…both aircraft have landed, and Cable stands in front of X-Force. ‘Team’ he declares. Shatterstar quickly asks why they aren’t back at the Mansion, to which Cable replies that the Institute has been compromised by Bastion and his soldiers. He explains that the house behind them is one of the safe houses he maintains for emergencies, and suggests they all get cleaned up, then they can talk.
‘Great…another farm house in the middle of nowhere…I played this scene with the MLF in Montana’ Danielle mumbles as she and the other make their way to the house. Shatterstar asks the others if they think they should secure the area first, but Tabby grins and replies ‘Nah’ as she remarks that if Cable said the place is safe, then it will be. ‘I got dibs on the first shower!’ she announces, while Siryn warns her not to use all the hot water.
Cable turns around and asks Domino if she is coming, but Domino is just standing there, rubbing a hand across the back of her head, she replies ‘I don’t think so, Nathan’. Cable approaches her and asks her what is going on, ‘Nothing, I’m just having a bad hair day’ Domino jokes as she pushes Cable away when he puts his hands on her shoulders. ‘What did they do to you?’ Nathan asks, to which Domino angrily replies that she got captured and they played around with her head. She adds that the dumped her on the Interstate. ‘End of story’ she exclaims.
Cable asks Domino why she is so intent on pushing him away, to which Domino asks him if he ever wishes they could be two ordinary people with ordinary problems. ‘I know it’s silly because we’re not ordinary…and our lives are complicated by extraordinary circumstance’. Concerned, Cable asks Domino what she is saying. Holding herself, Domino exclaims ‘Look at me, I’m shaking’ and tells Cable that whatever Zero Tolerance did to her on that operating table has thrown her off-center. ‘Until I regain my sense of balance, I’m no good to anyone’ Domino declares. ‘Not in the field. Not in a relationship. ‘I hope you understand’ she adds.
Later, ‘Is everyone here? Good. Let’s begin’ Cable remarks, setting a briefcase down on a table inside his safe house, while X-Force and Moonstar spread out across the room. Cable announces that they have come to a critical point in the future of X-Force, to which Rictor asks Cable to hold up, pointing out that Warpath and Caliban should be here now too. Siryn announces that she called the number in Detroit that James gave them, and reveals that she doesn’t think he has been getting the messages she has been leaving for him. ‘I don’t trust that Sledge character he’s been helping out one bit’ Siryn tells her friends.
Rictor reminds Terry that James can take care of himself, and remarks that he is more concerned about Caliban. ‘Don’t tell me you left him alone after the seizures he’s had lately?’ Julio asks. Cable replies that Caliban is safe and in good hands, before Shatterstar, after hearing a noise and noticing Domino drive away outside, announces that Domino has left, and asks why she isn’t a part of this. ‘She…left. She needed some time alone’ Cable replies. Shocked, Siryn leaps to her feet, asking Nathan how he could let Domino go. ‘Can’t you see she’s in no shape to be by herself?’ Theresa asks, but Julio tells her to get real, ‘Not even Cable can keep Domino from doing what she wants’.
‘That’s for certain’ mumbles Cable as he opens the briefcase and remarking that it is time to get back to the matter at hand. He tells X-Force that they know Zero Tolerance gained access to many of the Xavier Institute’s computer files, most of which were encrypted in the Shi’ar language, but nevertheless, they cannot rule out the possibility that Bastion will crack them. Cable continues, remarking that this makes it a dangerous time to be operating as openly as X-Force has been, and therefore, he proposes they go underground. ‘You mean you want us to hide out like we’re in the Witness Protection Program?’ Sunspot asks.
Cable holds up several files as he remarks that he put this team together so that there would be a team of mutants prepared for the great conflict to come. ‘Right now, I can’t afford to have any of you taken’ he remarks, adding that what they all just went through emphasizes that. Nathan explains that when they resurface, they will have the element of surprise on their hands. ‘These are your new identities’ he announces as he passes around the files. ‘Get this, I’m supposed to be “Nancy Forrester”? Oh please!’ laughs Meltdown. “Antonio Delgado”? Sunspot exclaims.
Cable turns to Moonstar who is still seated and, holding a file, announces that he took the liberty of creating a new identity for her also. ‘That is, if you’re willing to join the team?’ he adds. ‘Under these circumstances? No thanks’ Dani replies assuredly. Dani continues, explaining that she has spent the past year living a lie, pretending to be someone she is not, and now that she finally has her own life back, she is not going to give it up.
Sunspot agrees and declares that Dani is right. He points out that already they have had to conceal the fact that they are mutants if they want to live any semblance of a normal life. ‘Now we can’t even use our real names? I can’t think of a scenario more…more demeaning!’ Bobby remarks, adding that this is exactly what Zero Tolerance and the Friends of Humanity want - to keep mutants on the outside of society. Meltdown taps her friend on the shoulder and exclaims that she agrees with Bobby. ‘X-Force is about taking the fight to them!’ she declares.
Tabby hands Cable her file, telling him that he can take “Nancy Forrester” back, that she doesn’t need her. Cable replies that he knows this is difficult, but that he can assure them it is a necessity. ‘That’s your problem, Cable. You think that just because your whole life is some Holy Way…and you can’t relate to other people - the rest of us are just going to be your faithful crusaders!’ exclaims, before reminding everyone that he just came back to see if Shatterstar was okay, and announces that it is time he returned to Mexico and end his family’s black market business.
Shatterstar then remarks that Rictor is his friend and would rather offer him his sword arm than have it atrophy from disuse. ‘That makes two more “no”s, Cable’ Rictor remarks as he rips up the folder with his new identity. Cable turns to Theresa, and remarks that as Deputy Leader, he can surely count on her. ‘I don’t know’ Terry replies, rubbing her hands through her thick wavy hair, she tells Cable that it seems to her that with all their training - the training Cable gave them - they can handle whatever comes their way.
‘You’re right, Theresa’ Cable replies. ‘Each drill and every filed mission I assigned you were designed to give you the skill and training - so that one day you could stand on your own, as individuals and as a team’. Cable remarks that it would appear that day has come sooner than he expected. Standing in the doorway now, Cable tells X-Force that they are free to go their own way. He remarks that he knows they possess the strength and character to weather any circumstances, but warns them that Zero Tolerance is merely the first sign of the coming storm. ‘Be careful’ he tells his former charges as he closes the door behind him.
‘Cable, wait - don’t take this personally!’ exclaims Meltdown, while Rictor remarks ‘That was dramatic’. Siryn tells Tabby that she doesn’t think Cable is coming back. ‘We made our choice and he made his’. The young heroes gather around each other and Tabby shrugs her shoulders as she exclaims ‘Okay, we just declares our independence - what do we do now?’