[User]
<image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image>
Provide a full summary of the comic book.

[Assistant]
Ceremonies
First story:Since he is from India, everyone assumed that Neal Shaara would be at a disadvantage when sides were chosen for the snowball fight. They were wrong. Neal is from a tea planter’s family in the province of Assam, which is in the shadow of the Himalayas. Snow has been a part of his life as much as the mountains. Better yet, he was raised hearing the stories of how his homeland’s heroes defended their lands from invaders from hilltop strongholds. Neal plans on doing the same.
Neal chucks a snowball down from Lookout Knob, a hill that gives a splendid view of Breakstone Lake and the Connecticut border. While walking through town, he and his fellow X-Men noticed a group of middle school children defending themselves from some high school students and no one could hold back. They quickly divided themselves up into equal teams. Up top with Neal and the middle school kids are Bobby Drake and Kurt Wagner, also known as Iceman and Nightcrawler. Down below with the high school students are Peter Rasputin, Warren Worthington III and Elizabeth Braddock, also known as Colossus, Archangel and Psylocke. Both Warren and Kurt use image inducers to hide their true, blue forms.
Psylocke uses her telekinesis to throw her snowballs with better accuracy then everyone else present. However, Iceman proves to her that, in a snowball fight, volume counts, as he creates some snowballs. However, both use their powers surreptitiously, as to detract any attention from them. Colossus, who is so comfortable in snow that he wears a sleeveless shirt, knocks down part of the snow fort up top and tells him comrades that victory is at hand for them. Colossus looks up just in time for Iceman drop a massive snowball on him. Iceman then sends some middle school kids to pile on the man and wrestle him down.
Nightcrawler uses his acrobatic skills to send snowballs at Psylocke, who gracefully dodges them. However, Archangel is not as graceful and bears the brunt of the barrage. Neal takes advantage of the situation and leaps towards Warren to tackle him, but Psylocke intercepts the man. The two land on the snow and roll down the hill to the bottom, with Betsy on top and a smile of amusement on her face. Neal tells her that she cheated by using her telekinesis, to which Betsy asks him if Bobby made the snowballs the old fashioned way. Betsy smiles and tells Neal to lose graciously. The fight is over and he lost.
Neal quickly rolls them over so he is on top, which catches Betsy off guard. He reminds her that her British ancestors had the same opinion until his Indian ancestors taught them their lesson. Betsy tells Neal that fun is fun and then asks him to let her up. Flirtatiously, Neal asks her if he cares to make him. Continuing the flirtation, Betsy tells him to be careful what he wishes for, because she is a trained martial artist. At the top of the hill, Bobby, Warren and Kurt watch the two below and Bobby wonders what is going on between them. Bitterly, Warren tells him that it is a free country. He has no claim on Betsy, so she can do what she wants. Worried, Kurt tells Warren that it is just play. “Yeah,” remarks Warren, unconvinced.
Down below, someone behind Neal and Betsy asks them if they need a hand up. Neal turns around to see Rogue and Gambit, who is carrying many presents.  Neal is surprised to see them and is more surprised by the question, to which he asks her why she asks. Rogue tells him that she knows he is smarter than that and asks him if he has forgotten that Betsy is spoken for. Neal looks up the hill to see Warren. “Oh,” replies Neal. Neal helps Betsy up, who supposes that this is her cue to blush, but too bad she has nothing to be ashamed about. She smiles and runs back up the hill to Warren, who is waiting for her.
Neal watches Betsy go and calls her remarkable. Rogue smiles and tells Neal that she is trouble. Neal tries to defend his actions earlier, but Rogue tells him that she has not seen a look like the one on Betsy’s face between her and anyone. She is not telling him to back off, since he and Betsy are adults, but he should remember that actions have repercussions. Rogue winces from pain and rubs her head. Neal asks her if she is all right. Rogue tells him that she has been having a series of killer headaches.
The three walk through town and Neal asks Rogue if the headaches have anything to do with her power changes. She had no headaches before and now she does, says Rogue. There is a connection. Gambit tells Rogue that she should stop making jokes and start taking the situation serious. Rogue tells Gambit that her DNA has mutated. Before, she just absorbed people and the memories and powers faded away. Now, she is manifesting powers and is out of control. She has no control whatsoever, except for one power. Rogue pops out her bone claws and tells the men that this change is permanent. Neal is worried and tells Rogue to put the claws away before someone sees.
Rogue pulls her claws back and Gambit tells her that she could have blown their cover. Rogue tells him that she does not care. She feels as if her body and soul are not hers anymore. Neal tells Rogue that Professor Xavier founded the X-Men. He can help her. Rogue tells him that she has tried that route before. She is the one exception, the mutant even Xavier cannot help. Psylocke catches up with the group in time to hear the comment and tells Rogue that she does not believe it and neither does Rogue. Rogue asks Betsy if she is alone, to which Betsy replies that Warren had business in the city, so they will meet later. In the meantime, wonders Psylocke, is anyone up for some cocoa?
At a local restaurant, Neal, Betsy and Rogue sit down and drink some cocoa. Neal tells Rogue that she is brave to let Gambit go out on the ice by himself. Rogue tells him that either she trusts the man or she does not. There is no more time for middle ground. Besides, Gambit is as much as home in the winter as in the bayou. She, however, hates the winter. Right now, thought, there is a thought in her head running around telling her that she loves the winter. Right now, the pain is gone, but Rogue wonders if the headaches are occurring due to too many psyches in one head. Every morning, she now wakes up wondering if she is the real her or not.
Betsy reminds Rogue that they had the same conversation after Sharon Kelly was killed by the Master Mold. Now Kelly is dead. They are still outcasts. The more things change, the more they stay the same. Neal argues that they don’t. He explains the idea of karma and how the deeds of the present determine the future. The ultimate goal is to reach a state of grace in order to remove oneself from the wheel of destiny. Neal tells the women that he knows he is new to the team but what he believes in as a Hindu is also in Xavier’s dream. They can never just give up the fight. They just have to figure out the best way to win. What is funny, comments Rogue, is that is what Gambit went out to talk to Storm about.
Out on the frozen lake, Trish Tilby screams at her boyfriend, Hank McCoy, also known as the Beast, that, if she breaks something out on the ice, her network will have his hide. Hank, disguised with an image inducer, smiles and asks Trish if that is any way for an “award-winning” broadcast journalist to talk. Trish exclaims that the ice is slippery. Hank reminds her that ice is supposed to be. Trish swears that she will get even with him. Gambit skates past Hank and Trish to Storm and remarks on the romance between the two and how it seems that Trish isn’t skating so smoothly. Passively, Storm tells Gambit that, if she falls, Hank will catch her and she will forgive him. Gambit asks Storm why he doesn’t think that it is a coincidence that they meet out in a crowded public area.
Storm tells Gambit that telepaths do not like crowds. Background noise makes it almost impossible to eavesdrop. Hank comes up next to Storm and tells her that the Professor would not spy on them. She tells him that she would rather be safe than sorry and then asks him if he has learned any information. Hank tells Storm that he can confirm everything Mystique told her and Gambit. Destiny wrote thirteen volumes of her precognitions of the future of humanity. They have one volume, Xavier has all the diaries that Mystique gave him and the rest are missing. Gambit is worried and tells the two that reading the diaries is what made Mystique into the woman she is. Suppose the same happens to Xavier?
Annoyed, Hank reminds Gambit that they are talking about Xavier. Gambit rebuts and tells Hank that Xavier doesn’t always play straight with people. Nice talk, says Hank, as he gets up in Gambit’s face, coming from a thief. They have all made mistakes. He chooses to trust the Professor, no matter what. Gambit gets in Hank’s face and asks him if the name Onslaught rings a bell to him. Annoyed, Trish comes up between the men and pushes them apart. She tells them that too much testosterone is unattractive and tells them to work out whatever they were talking about. They need to act like X-Men, not babies.
Storm tells the two to listen to Trish. Their objective is to make sure that the books do not fall into the wrong hands. Hank asks her if she puts the Professor into that category. Storm tells Hank that Xavier is the most powerful telepath and much of who they are is because of him. However, the diaries represent unlimited knowledge and give the reader the power to shape the course of countless generations. With that power, there is always a limit to what she or Hank could do. With Xavier, that is not true. With absolute power, absolute corruption is created. It may be that Xavier will not be corrupted, but Storm refuses to take that chance. Xavier has fought will all his heart and soul to save them. Now they must return the favor.
For Kurt Wagner, a part of his heart and soul will always remain in the circus. That is why, this afternoon, he has found himself working to put on a show at the circus. It is one of the few places where he can set aside his image inducer. As Kurt swings from the hanging bars, he laughs at the irony of a priest who looks like a demon. Kurt swings into the air, where is meets Cerise. The two embrace midair and Kurt teleports them to the ground where they bow for the cheering audience, who think this is all part of the show. On the ground, Cerise asks Kurt if giving up everything, including her, is worth his faith. Kurt tells Cerise that he loves her and the X-Men, but the “I” comes from God. He cannot be true to the rest without being true to God.
Nearby, Peter wonders how he was dragged into this, as he and several clowns dressed up Mystique, Magneto and Toad engage in a food fight. However, villains always cheat. Peter looks up just in time to see a 16 ton block with a maniacal smiley face and the word “Blob” written on it land on him. The crowd is shocked and thinks that Peter was really crushed, but the man breaks the weight and reveals his true armored form. The audience cheers, but Colossus’ attention turns to a girl in the audience, who looks like his deceased sister, Illyana. Peter smiles and tells his dead sister that this performance, joy and laughter are for her, from her loving big brother.
That night, Betsy and Warren meet at Warren’s wrecked penthouse in Manhattan. Everything is broken all over the place and the ceiling is gone, revealing the New York skyline. Warren surveys the wreckage and calls it a mess. Betsy comes up from behind and tells him that he can rebuild. Warren shows Betsy some papers and tells her that he has been evicted from his own building. Apparently, since he is a suspected mutant, the other tenants consider him a danger and the housing courts agree with them. Betsy tells him that he can appeal or, better yet, she adds with a seductive smile, he can move in with her.
Frustrated, Warren tells her that it is over. The apartment is finished and so are they. Shocked, Betsy asks him if their relationship is going to end like that, without any warning or explanation. Warren tells her that he has seen the way she looks at Thunderbird and that tells him everything he needs to know. Warren takes off into the sky and Betsy uses her telekinesis to follow him. She tells him that she can look at whomever she pleases, but her commitment was always to him. The millionaire playboy tells her that he sees things differently.
Betsy catches up with Warren and tells him that this isn’t fair, to which he replies that life is not fair. Betsy argues that he isn’t even giving them a chance to work this out. Warren tells her not to kid and asks if she really means commitment, as in the ones recited in wedding vows. They have had great times, but is she happy with what they have. Betsy asks him if he would rather be alone. Warren argues that the fear of being alone shouldn’t be why they are together. He once thought they were just a bunch of action junkies, who lived in the present because they could not rely on the future. It is true for her but what he wants is what Scott and Jean had. However, Scott is gone and he is worried that he might lose that or fail. In the end, that is what he wants, though. It is not what they have. The two land on a girder to a building under construction. Betsy tells him that she hopes he finds what he is looking for. Warren flies off and tells her to be happy. “I’m alive, Warren,” says Betsy, alone and cold in the night, “That’s a start.”
Outside the 11th Street Firehouse of Engine and Ladder Company 220 in Brooklyn, Bishop drops off a massive sack of gifts to the men for the Toys for Tots program. A fireman shakes Bishops hand and thanks him for the gifts. Suddenly, a car zooms down the street from the nearby bank and the robbers shoot bullets at people in the streets as they race by. Bishop’s reaction is like any other cops. He takes out his gun and shoots the car, causing the vehicle to flip in the air and then land. He uses his ability to absorb the energy from the explosion and crabs the cars front grill. He then slams the car to the ground and to a dead halt. One of the firemen compliments Bishop and presumes he is a mutant. “Vitamins,” says Bishop, “and clean living.” The firefighter tells Bishop he is okay by them, as invites him to join them inside for some “Christmas Cheer,” to which Bishop agrees.
Wolverine visits the home of the Clan Yashida in Agarashima Prefecture in Japan. Logan kneels before the snow-covered grave of Mariko, with a white rose in his hand. He tells his deceased love that he has not been back in a while and much has happened. He then picks up a scent and asks Viper what she is doing here. He pops out his claws, but Viper smiles and tells him that she is also here to pay her respects. She knees by the grave and puts down a white rose and tells Wolverine that it is ironic that Mariko was his true love, yet he married her in the end, a pirate ruler of a pirate nation. Wolverine tells her that it was nothing more than a payment of an old debt.
Viper gives Wolverine a Christmas present in a box and tells him that she is also here to repay an old debt. Wolverine opens the box and finds one of his old bone claws and realizes that it is from Kitty Pryde, who is telling him that she is alive and for the X-Men to stop worrying about her. Wolverine thanks Viper, who takes the pleasure in kissing Logan on the lips and tells him that maybe their relationship will grow to be more than just a debt. Wolverine frowns and tells her that it is all in her dreams, but Viper smiles and tells him that, with the X-Men, even the most far-fetched dreams can come true.
In Salem Center, Rogue and Gambit walk back to the mansion and stop to see some kids fix a nativity scene they created, which was vandalized and had “Die Muties!” spray-painted on it. Instead of the original characters that are supposed to be in the scene, however, everyone is replaced with X-Men, such as Colossus, Wolverine and Storm. Gambit asks the youths fixing the scene about what happened. One of the kids tells the two that they built the scene to show the different ways to celebrate the season. They used mutants in this one to respect Senator Kelly. The same people that trashed the mutant nativity scene also trashed their menorah, but the kids won’t be deterred.
Gambit tells Rogue that the one thing he loves about the holidays is how it sometimes deals a surprise hand. He now feels that maybe all the pain and sacrifice is making a difference. Rouge simply says, “whatever,” and Gambit asks her if she is okay. Rogue complains that she is tired. Gambit tells Rogue that, when she is hurt like she is now, she shouldn’t cut people who care out of her life. Rogue snaps at him and tells him that she does not want the people close to her to get hurt.
Gambit tells her that it is his own risk, but Rogue collapses the ground and covers her eyes. Gambit drops the gifts he was holding and tries to help Rogue, but realizes that her eyes are glowing with Cyclops’ energy signature. She unleashes the optic blast into the night sky and then flies up with her eyes covered. She tells Gambit that she needs some ruby quartz glasses and goes off somewhere isolated to cut loose. Gambit thinks to himself that he wants to help this woman, but doesn’t know how. Gambit picks up the bundles and realizes that the children are still there. The kids are terrified and realize that Gambit and Rogue are both mutants and runaways. Gambit tells the kids that they have great ideals, but it is dealing with reality that takes the most work.
That night, the X-Men all return to the mansion to celebrate Christmas. Though all come from different places and, in some cases, different time periods, all are bound together by one dream. Celebrating that night are Bishop, Storm, Gambit, Rogue, Colossus, Beast, Trish Tilby, Nightcrawler, Cerise, Professor Xavier, Thunderbird, Archangel, Psylocke and Wolverine. All have one thing in common and that is that they refuse to accept the world as it is and strive to make it better. The odds are against them, but their commitment is something they honor, even if that means journeying into the unknown for some.
While the celebrations go underway, Storm selects a small group of X-Men to meet her in her attic bedroom. Wolverine lies down in Storm’s hammock, while Gambit sits in the sit in front of him. Bishop stands behind Wolverine with his arms folding in front of his chest. Psylocke, Beast, Thunderbird and Rogue, who wears ruby quartz sunglasses to contain her optic blasts, stand with Storm in the middle of the room. Storm begins her meeting by telling the X-Men what she already knows. To read the diaries of Destiny is to be tempted to change the future. However, the diaries that they have show a distorted picture. The observations have proven to be accurate but, in most cases, the conclusions that have been drawn were wrong. Worse, they do not have all the diaries and, while they can predict what will happen in a thousand years, the next thousand days are in shadows.
Storm proposes that they seek out Destiny’s missing journals. They will leave the X-Men and go their own way. For the protection of the team, they shall stay out of contact, which will lessen the risk of being compromised. Beast interrupts and tells Storm that, in the end, she does not trust Xavier. Ororo tells her friend that the stakes are too high. Beast then asks how they can convince a world not to fear them when they cannot trust each other. Bluntly, Storm tells him that she does not know, but her instincts are telling her to be wary. She will go alone if she must, though.
Storm then asks Rogue if she will come with her. Rogue agrees. Beast is asked next, who also agrees to go, in all honesty. Thunderbird and Psylocke also agree to go. Bishop decides to join Storm, but tells her that he hopes that she is wrong about Xavier. When Storm asks Gambit, however, Rogue interjects and tells Storm to leave Gambit out of this. Gambit gets up and tells Rogue not to speak for him, so Rogue begs Remy not to come. She knows that they belong together but, right now, they cannot be. Her powers are out of control and she does not want to hurt him. In disbelief, Gambit tells Rogue that it is crazy to put her friends in danger and not him. Rogue tells him that her heart would be broken if they got hurt. However, if Gambit was hurt by her, she will die.
Wolverine watches “the course of true love” and asks Storm why she didn’t call his name. Storm explains that she needs him to stay, because his mind is impossible to scan, which makes him best suited to be a modicum of contact between the team and the mansion. Wolverine tells her that it shouldn’t be a problem and then, suddenly, leaps up, as he smells something. Surprised, Wolverine tells Storm that she cannot be serious about taking her.
A woman enters the room and Storm introduces her as Sage, though, as Wolverine points out, most people know her as Tessa. Storm explains that Sage is their living, breathing Cerebro. Wolverine points out that, not too long ago, she worked for Sebastian Shaw. Not wanting to argue, Storm tells Wolverine that, without Sage, the diaries will be lost. Wolverine comments that maybe the diaries should be lost and then tells Storm that he hopes her decision doesn’t cost her.
Later on, after making an extreme decision to leave, Storm’s team rejoins the others for the part. Carols are sung and stockings are hung. Gifts are exchanged and, for the first time in awhile, there is laughter in the mansion. By the pool, Beast sits alone with Trish and tells her that moments like this should last forever. Trish asks where the fun is in that. She is a woman in love and she is also greedy. She wants moments like these as often as possible, each one better than the last.
Inside, Gambit holds Rogue, who cries after opening the present Gambit gave her. Rogue tells Remy that after all she said he shouldn’t have given her something so beautiful. Gambit tells her that, no matter how far she goes, he will always be with her. Elsewhere, Thunderbird opens his present from Betsy and is shocked to see what is in the box. Cerise, Kurt and Peter laugh and ask him if they can see what is inside. “Absolutely not!” says the blushing Neal. Bishop opens his present from Xavier and finds a copy of “A Tale of Two Cities” by Charles Dickens. Xavier explains that the book has meant much to him and Bishop promises to treasure it.
Outside, Storm kneels in the snow with a box, the tag on it says, “To my windrider, Gotcha!” Storm opens in and finds a beautiful new uniform inside from Xavier. Xavier comes to her and asks her that when she came from Kenya that if she ever thought things would turn out like this. If he means, replies Storm, that she regrets pick-pocketing him, the answer is no. She has no regrets. Charles tells her that he envies her, for he sees nothing but regrets this night. Storm takes his hand and the two look into a window to see the X-Men putting the star on the tree. Storm shows him his legacy. Generations of X-Men, together and living the dream. They have a birthright worth fighting for and cherishing. It is one to be proud of, just as how the X-Men will always remain proud of him.
Second Story:
This story is a reprint of X-Men (1st series) #98, where the X-Men battle the Sentinels on Christmas.
Third Story:
This story is a reprint of Uncanny X-Men #143, where Shadowcat is alone against an N’garai.
Fourth Story:
This story is a reprint of Uncanny X-Men #341, in which Cannonball battles Gladiator.


[User]
<image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image>
Provide a full summary of the comic book.

[Assistant]
E is for Extinction - part 1
Wolverine and Cyclops rescue a mutant in Sydney. He was hunted by a Sentinel but the two X-Men quickly destroy the robot.A mysterious woman called Ms. Nova is showing Bolivar Trask's nephew what happened thirty thousand years earlier. Thanks to a virtual simulation she shows him when homo sapiens ancestors brutally took the land from their predecessor's. He sees the horrors for himself and he is told that within four generations mutants will have done the same to humans unless they act now to extinguish the mutant germ.Meanwhile at the Xavier Institute Professor Xavier is about to test the new Cerebra machine that the Beast has built. Xavier is sat inside the giant elliptical device that will magnify his senses to the tenth power. Jean telekinetically lifts them something to drink, as she speaks to the Beast about his further mutated appearance that is believed to be related to this year's mutant baby boom. They turn their attention to the professor as Cerebra is switched on. Cerebra creates an image display of the world with lots of peaks where the mutant gene can be found. They comment on the large number of mutants appearing when suddenly they see a large spike in Ecuador, South America. Xavier cannot tell what it is so they decide to get Wolverine and Cyclops to check it out on the way back from Australia.In the X-Wing Wolverine and Cyclops are talking with their new passenger, Ugly John, whom they've just rescued from the Sentinels. Whilst they are talking, Wolverine's healing factor is repairing his damaged tissue after he was set on fire by the mutant hunting robots. Ugly john passes out and Xavier mentally contacts them.Meanwhile Mr. Trask is physically sick after seeing the simulation, after all he is only a mere dentists, unlike his late uncle the anthropologist Bolivar Trask. Ms. Nova leads him from their helicopter to a valley where a second, so far unknown Master Mold artificial intelligence factory unit had been built years ago. Ms. Nova´reveals that this unit was designed to adapt to its surroundings and rebuild with any technology it finds, but it was forgotten about as the area was in the middle of some rebel wars.In a telepathic conference call, the X-Men are sat on a couch talking with the professor. He tells them that the school is back open from Monday to help all the new mutants that are being born. They talk about the new uniforms and then Scott tells the professor that they'll stop off at Ecuador. Wolverine comments to Cyclops about wanting to get out of Xavier's head quickly, however Cyclops says he doesn't know what he is talking about, even though the tension between him and Jean was obvious.Back at the mansion Beast and Jean are getting familiar with the new upgrade to the Beast's lab that has a tele-immersive display. Hank comments on the atmosphere between Jean and Scott, but Jean tells him not to talk about it. They comment on the motivation of the professor and the amount of money he is spending when all of a sudden jean feels something strange. She heads back to Cerebra.Professor Xavier is about to get out of the device when all of a sudden he hears a voice in his head. The voice tells him that it is going to take over him and make him a murderer. Xavier is struggling to fight for control and his nose starts bleeding, nearby a drink explodes. He pulls out a gun, points it to his head and informs the voice that he'll shoot if they don't leave. Jean arrives and detaches Xavier from Cerebra. Xavier is barely conscious and babbles to Jean to warn everyone in Ecuador.Back in Ecuador, Ms. Nova wipes some blood from her nose and apologises for being "miles away". Mr. Trask is complaining about the journey and asks why she has taken him to this place. Ms. Nova guides them to a clearing where a group of dead soldiers are lined up. A noise is heard from behind them, and suddenly the troops are cut to pieces. Ms. Nova tells Mr. Trask to look at and talk to humanity's last hope. He panics and shouts for them to stop. The Wild Sentinels recognise the voice as Trask and stop in their tracks. Ms. Nova removes her hat to reveal a bald head, her face is very similar to Xavier's, and they head into the Master Mold factory followed by the Sentinels, who seem to be modelled after various jungle life forms.
Summary written by : Dean Clayton


[User]
<image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image>
Provide a full summary of the comic book.

[Assistant]
E is for Extinction - part 2
Ms. Nova and Mr. Trask are in the Master Mold artificial intelligence factory in Ecuador, hovering before a giant sentinel head, discussing the imminent slaughtering of fifteen million mutants. When Mr. Trask refers to the impending victims as people, Ms. Nova corrects him by saying that they’re not people, but “dirty, stinking mutants” instead.Approaching the factory, Cyclops, Wolverine, and Ugly John are flying in the X-Wing on a mission for Professor Xavier, planning to investigate and find out why a Master Mold facility is up and running in South America. They’re detected and attacked by a squadron of flying wild sentinels and one of the X-Wing’s engines is destroyed. The X-Wing crashes and Cyclops programs the plane to eject the passengers and self-destruct so the wild sentinels can’t salvage any parts. Cyclops, Wolverine, and Ugly John are ejected from the X-Wing wearing parachutes just before the plane explodes, destroying the sentinels that were trying to break it open. During the chaos, Wolverine still finds time to poke fun at Cyclops.Once they’re on the ground, Cyclops wonders how the X-Men will get Ugly John to safety. Then he and Wolverine discuss how these new sentinels differ from any they’ve encountered before, even though they hunt mutants like always. Soon more sentinels show up to subdue them. During the short battle, Cyclops’s ruby quartz visor is shattered and Ugly John mentions that he has no power besides his three faces, useless in a fight. Soon the sentinels manage to overpower and capture the X-Men and Ugly John.Meanwhile, in the Xavier Institute, Beast drafts up a letter for his sometimes girlfriend Trish Tilby, congratulating her on her award nomination for news coverage regarding the recent war in Genosha. Beast also struggles to find a way to tell her about his recent mutation toward a more feline appearance. He stops when he notices something strange and leaves his letter for later. In another room, Jean tries to comfort Professor Xavier at his bedside after his psychic attack from last issue. She asks him why he didn’t mention that he carries a gun and he replies that such a weapon would prove necessary should he ever have to make “the ultimate sacrifice” when an enemy tries to take over his mind. The Professor tells Jean that he’s anxious to return to Cerebra to discover the identity of his new foe when Beast enters the room saying he’s lost contact with Cyclops, Wolverine, and the X-Wing.Back in Ecuador, Ms. Nova helps Mr. Trask rationalize his role in the latest attempt on mutant genocide. He’s apprehensive about becoming the “world’s greatest mass murderer” and sending sentinels to densely populated area of mutants. Ms. Nova gives Mr. Trask a speech on good and evil and calls him by his full name for the first time, Donald Trask III, before she kills him by swiping her hand through his body and brain, mentioning that she’s just copied his DNA sequence after ten hours of work. A sentinel arrives carrying Cyclops, Wolverine, and Ugly John, all incapacitated. Since Ms. Nova now contains Trask DNA, the sentinel spares her and bows to her will. While a newscast about South African sentinel attacks plays in the background, Ms. Nova menaces Ugly John and mistakes him for an X-Man. After John tell hers that he’s not a member of the team, Ms. Nova injects herself with fluid she obtained from Mr. Trask and orders a sentinel to fry Ugly John. The smell of burning flesh awakens Wolverine and he breaks free of containment to attack Ms. Nova. He threatens to stab his claws through her skull. Cyclops frees himself and uses an optic blast to kill Ugly John quickly before the dying man can suffer more pain. Cyclops then tells Ms. Nova that he’ll use his optic blast on her if she causes more trouble, but she smiles, unfazed. Wolverine wonders what she has up her sleeve to make her so cheery despite the situation.In Genosha, Emma Frost nonchalantly lectures a class when a student mentions that she’s had nightmares about everyone dying. Then the classroom is suddenly blown away as sentinels raze the entire country. Magneto is seen in a wheelchair, right before his citadel is blasted away.Professor Xavier, Jean, and Beast see the full-scale carnage via Cerebra and balk as the Genoshan population drops from the millions to the hundreds.


[User]
<image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image>
Provide a full summary of the comic book.

[Assistant]
E is for Extinction - part 3
Along with search and rescue crews, Beast and Jean search for survivors in the decimated country of Genosha. Due to the extreme radiation levels, they wear oxygen masks to prevent contamination. No one finds anything but ruined buildings, skeletons, and corpses until Jean detects thoughts underground. She and Beast remove at least 50 tons of debris to find Emma Frost, coated with an exoskeleton of diamond and carrying the dead body of one of her students. The search and rescue crews take the body away and Jean tries to comfort Emma, who has a hard time dealing with the chaos. Everyone notices Emma’s hard skin, which she never had in the past.In the Xavier Institute, Professor Xavier, Cyclops, and Wolverine listen to news reports claiming that more than half the world’s known mutant population has been wiped out due to the ethnic cleansing in Genosha. The X-Men decide to stop the sentinels and mobilize more emergency squads, but they wonder what to do with Ms. Nova, whom Cyclops and Wolverine apprehended and brought back with them from Ecuador. Ms. Nova is imprisoned, afloat in some kind of a pear-shaped containment unit that radiates green light. Wolverine mentions that he severed her vocal chords to prevent her from voice activating more sentinels, but her own healing factor will fix the damage soon.Beast examines Emma in another room of the mansion, analyzing her new ability, which he calls “an exoskeleton of invulnerable organic jewelery.” He tells her that she has some type of secondary mutation and she replies that she’s never heard of such a thing, but Emma accepts her newfound power nonetheless. Emma wants Ms. Nova to die for her atrocities, but Jean says death is too extreme. Jean asks Emma for help on the X-Men’s behalf, but Emma rebuffs her, thinking the X-Men too passive. Emma telepathically calls a taxi so she can leave.The X-Men gather round Ms. Nova’s containment unit to decide what to do with her and what her motivations are. Beast reveals her full name, Cassandra Nova, and says that even though she looks human, she’s neither human nor mutant, something else entirely. According to Beast, Cassandra is “the first of a new unforeseen species” and wants to wipe out mutants because they’re a threat to her kind on the evolutionary food chain. He also says that the human race will become extinct within three or four generations due to the mysterious E-gene. The gene is “a genetic trigger for extinction buried deep within the human genome” that activates when an entire species is about to disappear. The E-gene marks humanity’s end, leaving only mutants or creatures like Cassandra to inherit the Earth. Wolverine wonders why she looks so much like Professor Xavier, but before Beast can address him, Cassandra breaks free of her containment unit and attacks the X-Men. Using tremendous telepathic and physical abilities, she ambushes them and makes her way to another part of the mansion.Outside, Emma rides away from the Xavier Institute in a taxi, minus her diamond hard skin and talking with the cab driver. After an epiphany, she decides to return to the mansion and tells the driver to stop the car.Meanwhile, Cassandra is successful in fending the X-Men off while she makes her way through the mansion. Professor Xavier deduces that she’s trying to reach Cerebra so she can augment her power. Cassandra reaches Cerebra and dons the machine’s helmet. She mentions that, though she can telepathically eradicate every mutant brain on the planet through Cerebra, she only wants to affect one in particular. Almost on cue, Emma arrives and takes Cassandra by surprise, snapping her neck. This time Emma has her hard exoskeleton, apparently able to control when it comes on or off. Despite the attack, Cassandra’s body begins to heal. She tries to talk “Auum ... Umma ... Ummmmm Charles ... Nuuuuu ...”, but Professor Xavier shoots her several times to make sure she dies, splattering the room with bright blue blood. Then he calls the X-Men to him and mentions that things should change.Later, Cyclops and Jean have a discussion while watching Professor Xavier on a television talk show. According to the news, surprisingly, many people have sympathy for mutants after the Genoshan attack. The entertainment industry plans on “changing stereotyped portrayals of mutants in movies and on T.V.” Cyclops and Jean talk about the distance in their marriage and Professor Xavier’s strange behavior. Cyclops has been feeling differently about some of his beliefs and values due to his recent battles with En Sabah Nur in his head. He has doubts about who he is and where that leaves his relationship with Jean, but Jean assures him those feelings will pass with time. She believes the bond between them is too strong to break. Then the two of them are stunned as they watch Professor Xavier come out on television, letting the entire world know that he’s a mutant.


[User]
<image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image>
Provide a full summary of the comic book.

[Assistant]
The Man From Room X
A man sits masked and chained in a cell. “Xorn, you have a new master now,” he is informed by Ao Jun, a Chinese military officer.
Turning to his guest, John Sublime, who is only present via screen, he tells him he is fortunate he cannot smell the human dung and rotten metal in this room. Xorn has been here in Feng Tu for over half a century. Lead eyeshades. Behind the visor he no longer has a face. Is he done with the specimens?
Sublime informs Ao Jun that his people only wanted the little critter’s hands. Laser eyeballs in her palms, can he believe that? He doesn’t know about the other youngster. Maybe he got mixed up in this by mistake. Use them both for the test if he wants.
Beginning to unlock Xorn’s facemask, Ao Jun complains that the bureaucrats in Beijing never understood Xorn’s potential. Fastened deep in the bedrock, this monster could have powered ten thousand communist super cities. He was kept alive only because they imagined he might be turned loose as a doomsday soldier in some future conflict with enemies of the republic.
Xorn’s face is turned towards the two children they talked about earlier, one of whom has had her hands amputated. Ao Jun and the guards look away. This is what a three second exposure to the face of Xorn does to a living being. Energy flares. Ao Jun replaces the mask and tells Sublime that he hopes he is satisfied. Of the children, little more than ashes and some bones remain.
Sublime announces they have a deal. As for Xorn, they will only need the head, but they will take him off his hands too. To Hong Kong then….
On a ship in Hong Kong harbor, Emma Frost asks Scott Summers what’s all this she has heard about his vow of celibacy. His poor wife’s loss is shared by the world’s eligible women. Looking away, Scott sternly tells her he’d be flattered by the attention but he can’t help remembering all the times in the past when she tried to kill them. What is she doing here with the X-Men?
She deserves sympathy for her sordid past, not scorn, she informs him. Those were difficult days. She was probably very confused and out of her mind on drink and drugs. It’s no always about “good” and “evil.” The X-Men are currently the only credible alternative to a world where mutants are simply ghettoized, persecuted and exterminated.
Hey lighten up! Wolverine tells them as he joins them along with Beast. They are going to a funeral!
Later at X-Corporation Hong Kong, over Chinese food Domino informs them about the situation. Since the 50ies when the first of the atomic generation mutants began to appear, the mainland Chinese government has unofficially enforced what you might call a “hardline stance” on Homo superior. Translation: X-gene carriers tend to get murdered at birth. Meanwhile… Professor Xavier outs himself as the mutant Ghandi, opens X-Corporation offices in Hong Kong, Amsterdam, Mumbai and Melbourne.
Beast interrupts: when did Gloria die? Domino continues that X-Corporation Hong Kong is her, Gloria Dolores Mu-oz aka Risqué, a Cerebra connection and a mandate to monitor mutant rights violations in, she quotes, “Asia.” Two weeks into the big adventure, Gloria uncovers evidence of an illegal trade in mutant organs from the mainland. Evidence in this case being the testimony of a skunk with fins which was usually good enough for her. Gloria could implode things with her mind. The police judged she must have used her power in self defense.
Domino hands them a ball. This is one of the people who killed Gloria in the carpark of Sublime Pharm Solutions.
Cyclops explains they came to pay their respects. If there is anything else they can do… Domino continues the deeper she looks the wilder it gets. They are talking links to a high-ranking Red Chinese army officer and a radical self-esteem cult masterminded by a pharmaceutical CEO. She is in over her head. So… what kind of lunatic would attempt to graft mutant organs into human tissue? Emma wonders.
Said lunatic, John Sublime, is addressing his adoring public. Haven’t any of them ever felt special? he asks. Haven’t any of them wished others could see the super-potential they know they have inside? Then maybe they are one of the Third Species, like him. Maybe they are a mutant soul born in a frail, powerless human body, afraid to express their nature. His bestselling book gives a voice to the people who have decided to transcend their species orientation. At the white hot moment where today becomes tomorrow stand the U-Men. Beings like him or them, but better.
Several armored people behind him step to the fore. Jan, Biro and Harriet call themselves “Homo perfectus,” Sublime explains, the self-mutated. They explain that they live in a world where new developments in spare-parts cloning and cosmetic gene surgery are making it possible for people like them to cross the gap between man and mutant. They demand the right to use these techniques to better themselves. And, until the day their demands are recognized, they refuse to touch the soil or breathe the air of this fallen world.
They want to be mutants too, Sublime agrees and live in a better world than this one. Society has come to accept tattoos, piercings and other body modifications. Why not accept this?
Watching this on a TV screen while shopping, Emma remarks this makes a delightful mockery of Charles Xavier’s mutant rights charter. Their beloved headmaster has opened the floodgates to every lunatic with an outrageous demand and a publishing deal.
Face it, friends, Sublime smiles, the third species is here to stay!
Nigh time on a skyscraper roof. Domino and Wolverine are watching what’s going on on a roof below. Domino opines that Scott Summers has a king-size bug all the way up to his duodenum. Logan tells her she is way off base. He just got back from being taken over by one of the forces of evil they come face to face with now and again. There’s nothing funny about being taken over, and right now he’s clinging to his sanity with his teeth gritted so hard the beats are shooting out of his ass. He’s clenched so tight, when he farts only dogs can hear it. But you can trust that king-size bug with your life.
Watching several men leave a limo, he asks who the old guy is and how many of him are there. Ao Jun, their Chinese army connection, Domino explains. Get this for official worst mutant gift ever: Hair, skin flakes, dandruff, anything he sheds grows into a short-lived briefly conscious totally naked Ao Jun golem. Some people get all the breaks, Logan announces as he claws his way inside the building. So… she need some company after this gig? Can’t hide from the man with the hyper senses, huh? Domino asks as she attaches a line to the elevator shaft. No strings, animal passion she decides, and he is paying for drinks. He warns her to take care as she jumps down. There is a smell of death down there.
Domino witnesses Ao Jun receiving the money from Sublime and observing he has become a capitalist. His fantasy is to have two white girls wrestle in crude oil until they suffocate, he informs Sublime, who tells him his is worse. Authorities in Beijing are only too happy to accept Sublime’s discreet solutions to their mutant surplus. They are coming to terms with possibilities the Communist Party under Mao never understood or foresaw. He loves a party, Sublime cheerfully informs Ao Jun and suggests they join the throng.
Domino informs Logan Sublime is buying the keys to some frozen real estate in Ningxia Hui province. A moment later, she is surrounded by flaky Ao Jun doubles, which she shoots with a laser from her eye. Fourteenth floor, she tells Logan, then disables the entry alarms for thirty seconds.
Sublime stores the keys in a safe. He explains the combination can’t be broken. The computer reads the bioelectric patterns, turns them into code and creates a unique combination. They can duplicate mutant gifts when they try, he announces as they enter the party room. Does he really believe he can turn humans into mutants? Ao Jun asks. The U-Men live in constant agony. He has heard stories in the media of grafts being rejected… Sublime corrects him that he mistakes agony for ecstasy. He’ll be back shortly. They have one last donor to see to downstairs.
Ao Jun notices a stranger at the party, namely Wolverine dazzling several young women with his war exploits. Ao Jun informs him this is a private function and he doesn’t remember him from the guest list. He speaks Cantonese very well for an American.
He’s Canadian, Wolverine retorts and he won’t find him on the guest list because his friend is here to steal his valuables. He is just the distraction. He tears apart the two Ao Jun clones surrounding him.
Domino finishes with the safe when a monstrous clone of Ao Jun commands her back. Unimpressed, she warns him that the Wolverine is coming to get him.
Wolverine is busy fighting dozens of Ao Jun clones.
In the garage below are the other three X-Men. Did any of them ever meet Risque? Cyclops ask. Emma shushes him, then informs them that below the concrete are little mind whimpers of suffering… pharm solutions. Beast sniffs, announcing he can smell her blood. Risque died right here. He points to a concealed entrance. Scott orders him back, then shatters the wall with his optic blast.
They step downwards into what seems to be a kind of processing station… as Beast puts it, a little corner of hell Dante forgot to write about. They find a mutant caterpillar girl who shouts they took her wings away.
Upstairs, trying to draw the gunfire, Wolverine orders Domino to get the keys out of the safe. He will cover her. It’s done, she replies. The safe combination was exactly the same as her ex-boyfriend’s phone number. She guesses she’s just lucky…
This good luck power? Logan asks. If they just threw themselves out of the window up ahead, everything would work fine for her, wouldn’t it? She replies her power didn’t come with a rulebook. She might hit concrete ten floors below. But she’s been looking for a crazy man to kill the boredom. After him. They jump and luckily land in a pool.
Downstairs, Beast tries to help the Chinese mutant girl. He tells Scott she is losing blood and needs an operating table. The next moment, he is shot with knives by two U-Men. One of them announces he is reloading with poison tips and tells is colleague to finish him, then harvest what they need for the organ stores.
Cyclops fires at him. The suit shatters and the U-Man is horrified to be breathing the air of the fallen world.
Emma has turned into her diamond form, wondering if she can do something about that. She touches the U-Man’s face. Organic diamond drill, frail human skull she announces. Talk or she’ll let the air all the way into his spinal cord…
After both groups have exchanged information, Domino summarizes that they are vivisecting organs in Hong Kong. John Sublime’s pharmaceutical company is a front for an illegal operation to turn humans into mutants.
The world gets lovelier every day. Emma adds that they can’t prove Sublime is involved. But they can kill him. Scott suggests they examine some other options first. They know this guy paid for a thousand acres of Ningxia Hui province in China. And these keys to something kept in the Cold War internment camp… It’s not about proof. It’s not about human laws. The most important thing was to get hold of something they could telepathically scan for real information. He hands the keys to Emma, who sighs that it could take hour upon tedious hour to establish a connection with…
Instead, it is instantaneous. She sees images of a field in which sits a Chinese boy whose head becomes a star.
Shaken Emma tells his story. His name is Xorn. Two days after he reached puberty, his brain was incinerated by a microscopic sun. He survived. He should have been a genius… a healer… a Buddha. But he was born in the wrong place at the wrong time. So they built an iron prison around him. She drops her cup… without sunlight… without human contact… chained in a metal hell…
Somebody died in the room next door, she moans and decides it’s enough. She turns to her diamond form in which she has neither telepathy nor any empathy. No compassion, just a cruel sense of humor and a cold, hard heart.
Logan helps her up. What’s Feng Tui? It’s from mythology, she explains. The capital city of hell, and she can get up on her own, so please take his hand off her left buttock.
Beast enters, grimly announcing that the girl died on the table. She lost too much blood. Can they stop this?
At night, in his room Scott is in telepathic contact with his wife, Jean Grey. She senses his churning thoughts. Did someone die? Who’s Xorn? He tells her to download the whole thing from his memory when he’s sleeping. They’ve uncovered some pretty nasty mutant right abuses
Is Emma behaving herself? Jean asks. She’s on his mind. He’s keeping his one good eye on all of them. They are heading into China tomorrow, so be ready for him to yell for back up. He tells her goodnight.
Suddenly, he hears someone at the door and grabs his glasses. In the doorway stands Emma, dressed in a slinky, black dress, holding a bottle of champagne. She couldn’t sleep after the theatrics of the day… tell her more about the world of chastity, she suggests.
In the meantime, Sublime’s troops have reached Feng Tu and Sublime already imagines how they’ll have the place running as an organ farm. Get some color in to cheer up the place.
Ao Jun warns them. Xorn escaped once in 1969. It took them two whole weeks to subdue him. As a punishment, they rebuilt Feng Tu around him where he fell. To punish Ao Jun after his herbal gene suppressant wore off in the midst of it all… he was made Xorn’s jailer. Why do they want to be mutants? Mutant lives are short and fearful, or worse long and fearful.
Mutants will inherit the Earth, Sublime replies, displaying his wings. Lord knows, he’s prepared to adapt but his body has trouble accepting the tissue grafts. His throat implants are fine but the rest… well, his back is in constant pain. But one day he will fly!
They get a look at Xorn, who is glowing in a strange light. Ao Jun announces that he fears the star in his skull has grown old and sick along with Xorn. One of the U-Men speaks up that he used to be a keen amateur astronomer. If Xorn is swallowing light like that, there could be a micro black hole in his skull. Wouldn’t that be a completely insane turn of events? Sublime asks amused.
When they open the box, instead of finding the key, they instead find a note: “We are the X-Men… Booh!”
The Blackbird dodges several Chinese missiles and lands at Feng Tu. They are allowed to do stuff like this now? Wolverine asks. Cyclops remarks they just did. Let’s see who complains.
The U-Men hesitate. Beast growls and Domino asks which of them is ready to own up to killing Dolores Mu-Oz. Err, one of them stutters.
Sublime snarls that Ao Jun betrayed him after everything. Of course, he betrayed him, Ao Jun agrees. Here is his revenge on the world that locked him underground with this incoherent monster. Last night, he fulfilled all his fantasies. Today he dies happy. Beijing dies with him and all the world dies with him.
A U-Man snaps his neck. What a freak! Sublime sighs and orders to feed him to Xorn. Let’s keep this going as long as they can and hope the mutants fix it up.
The X-Men follow the U-Men inside and see the energy effect around Xorn. The U-man explains they think it’s an event horizon. The point at which nothing can escape the gravity of his brain. Emma senses nothing where Xorn’s thoughts should be… ideas… identity… sucked into the emptiness. Cyclops tells her to get out of his mind. He is not a machine or a black hole. He is a living being and he’s preparing to commit suicide. They have to talk him out of it.
Exasperated, Emma announces there are moments in Scott’s company when she feels touched by the presence of sheer insanity. The only one among them who can speak Chinese is Logan. She tries to order Xorn to stop sniveling, then announces it’s no use. She can feel the gravitational pull of his head in her womb. His event horizon is expanding.
Scott tells her to find the nearest Chinese speaker and rewire his language center through his so that he can talk to Xorn. She bows to the master of diplomacy, Emma sighs and complies.
Cyclops asks Xorn to come back to them. He has a proposition for him. His old life is over. There’s a whole new world out there and he thinks Xorn can help them make it better and safer. Think of this in basic physics terms: He just has to shed some of that gravity to come back to them.
Domino points out to the others that in sixty seconds the human black hole in that room will consume mainland China. After that, they have about two minutes to evacuate planet Earth! Beast tells her not to worry. Scott is very good with the depressed.
Scott continues that it’s not so hard to lighten up. Think about all these theories which suggest that when a black hole collapses into itself it becomes a white hole somewhere else in spacetime. Imagine what he could do! Imagination is the only thing which can survive a gravitational collapse.
The event horizon shrinks and a human shape emerges. He could have built heaven on Earth, if only they’d let him, Xorn complains. He could have laid the foundation stones of paradise here on Earth! There’s still time if he wants to, Cyclops point out and hands him the keys to his prison.
Stepping outside his prison for the first time, Xorn marvels that the world seems so much smaller than he remembers.
Seven little words, Domino remarks. One awful concept. “Unknown, insanely powerful mutant on the loose.” He’s not loose, Cyclops replies, he just accepted his offer of a job with the X-Men!


[User]
<image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image>
Provide a full summary of the comic book.

[Assistant]
Danger Rooms
In the Xavier Institute’s Danger Room, Beast helps Barnell Bohusk, a young mutant, learn to fly. Barnell resembles something of a human birdman, complete with feathered wings. He lacks confidence in his flying skills even though Beast tells him he’s improving. After the lesson Beast escorts Barnell into the hallway with dozens of other students and announces Barnell’s new codename, the Beak, and many of the students laugh.Outside, the Xavier Institute abounds with new enrollees as protesters swarm outside of the school’s gates, picketing and rallying against the school with anti-mutant propaganda.In an office inside, Beast and Professor Xavier discuss the Beak’s situation. The Beak feels isolated and Beast wants to make him feel better. Beast mentions that the Beak plans on entrusting him with a prized titanium baseball bat. Professor Xavier agrees that the Beak needs help and notices Beast’s pleasant disposition. Beast says he has a date later that night and Professor Xavier mentions that he has one too.Later, in his lab, Beast talks to Trish Tilby on the phone while he prepares for their evening together. Trish tells Beast that their evening is cancelled because dating him, with his animal-like appearance, might ruin her career as a news broadcaster. She apologizes for hurting him, but his heart is broken.In the woods near the Xavier Institute, Jean seeks Wolverine while he meditates. Wolverine tells her he needs to meditate after the damage he suffered from battling with Cassandra Nova, despite his healing factor. Wolverine spots a spaceship near the mansion, which Jean says belongs to Empress Lilandra. She says Professor Xavier plans on taking a vacation with Lilandra through the Shi’Ar Galaxy. Jean also tells Wolverine that she’s happy her telekinetic abilities have returned, but she feels lonely with the distance Cyclops puts in their marriage. She kisses Wolverine in the heat of passion, but he pushes her away, saying a relationship between them would never work.Outside the mansion, Cyclops and Emma gaze at Lilandra’s spaceship in the sky, although they may have noticed the interesting activity in the woods.Inside, Beast expresses his concern over Professor Xavier’s recent decisions. The Xavier Institute houses many established X-Men and over one hundred young mutant students, and Professor Xavier told the world. Those details used to be secret and Beast thinks exposing them could prove unwise. Professor Xavier tells him that mutants are done hiding from the world and that public outcry will wane with time. When Professor Xavier inquires about Beast’s date, Beast mentions that he decided to study Cassandra Nova instead. Her body resides in deep freeze, but Beast made a virtual computer model to examine and probe. Beast wonders why Cassandra and Professor Xavier have the same DNA. Beast is attacked telepathically when Cassandra Nova assaults his brain, having possessed Professor Xavier’s body. As Cassandra menaces Beast, she tells him that she and Professor Xavier are genetic twins who share a “unique psychic frequency.” She also admits that she took over Professor Xavier’s mind. Cassandra subsequently tortures and abuses Beast mercilessly. When the Beak enters the lab with his titanium baseball bat to present to the Beast, Cassandra takes control of his mind. She forces the Beak to beat Beast with the bat repeatedly.Inhabiting Professor Xavier’s body, Cassandra leaves the lab to come outside with the X-Men. She leaves Beast bleeding on the lab floor as the Beak kneels beside him in agony over what he’s just been forced to do, holding his torn feathers in his hands. Without knowing of Cassandra’s deception or Beast and Beak’s fate, the X-Men and several students marvel at the spaceship hovering near the mansion. While everyone thinks she’s Professor Xavier, Cassandra entrusts Jean with the school, leaving Jean as the headmistress while she vacations in space with Lilandra and the Shi’Ar. Cassandra waits outside the mansion, ready to journey through the stars while pondering on the limitless destruction that she can cause with her own spaceship.


[User]
<image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image>
Provide a full summary of the comic book.

[Assistant]
Germ Free Generation - part 1
A gun-toting high school student gets in front of his school and proclaims his membership in the U-Man Army. He plans on having x-ray eyes implanted in his skull after killing the mutant they belonged to. According to him, once the U-Men implant the eyes in his skull, he’ll possess x-ray vision just like a real mutant, even though he himself is only human. His plans are cancelled when a police officer shoots and kills him.In the Xavier Institute, Jean peeks into the heads of newscasters through Cerebra, reading their thoughts and their news broadcasts. Worldwide, mutants are the talk of the town. She discovers a new mutant energy signature in Wyoming and telepathically asks Wolverine to check it out, who’s nearly five-dozen miles away from the signature. Through the mind link, Wolverine agrees to locate the mutant and asks Jean about the Beast. She shows Wolverine the Beast recuperating in the mansion sick bay. Jean leaves Cerebra and Wolverine and, while she eats a bag of chips, looks through a mansion window and sees the anti-mutant protestors at the gates.Outside, on the other side of the gates, Cyclops and Emma notice the protestors as well and wonder how Professor Xavier could leave right now. Jean comes to join them and Emma tells her that the two of them could telepathically punish the protestors. Jean decides to talk it out instead and opens the gates to meet the angry public. She and Cyclops defend the Xavier Institute to the protestors and the media, but Emma becomes irritated and uses her mental abilities to quell the crowd and push them into leaving, much to Jean’s chagrin.Cyclops and Jean return to the mansion and visit Beast while he heals in bed. Jean admits that she wanted to do the same thing Emma did, but held back because she believes using her telepathy to influence thoughts is wrong. Jean wonders why anyone would want to hurt Beast so severely, ignorant of Cassandra Nova’s involvement. Unnoticed, the comatose Beast scratches an X into his bedsheet. Cyclops sees on television that John Sublime, head of the U-Men and author of The Third Species, is back in the news. Also, Magneto has become some kind of marketing figure, “a best-selling t-shirt hero to America’s disenfranchised youth.” Cyclops tells Jean that he and Emma can investigate John Sublime if she wants. Jean, worried about her marriage, asks Cyclops if he slept with Emma while they were on a mission in Hong Kong. Cyclops gives her a vague and none too reassuring answer.Meanwhile, a young mutant girl suffers abuse in a dirty house. The father figure hates her and he may be a child molester. The fact that the girl stinks and has some weird bubbles or puss balls forming on her back doesn’t help matters either. During an argument she runs away into the nearby woods and goes to sleep on a big rock.The next morning the mutant girl awakens in the woods, emerging from some kind of cocoon with huge fly wings on her back. Her new powers at work no doubt. Unfortunately, she finds herself surrounded by a bunch of heavily armed U-Men. They try to capture her, mentioning stealing her wings, when she attacks with acidic spit and the deafening power of her tremendous flapping wings. She tries to escape, soaring into the air, but her flying is erratic and she collides with power lines. The shock sends her reeling and she falls to the ground, winded. In her vulnerable and weakened state, the U-Men advance, ready to take her.Cyclops and Emma question John Sublime in his office downtown. They accuse him and his U-Men of being responsible for illegally smuggling mutant organs. Sublime defends his organization and his crusade, preaching celebration of the different. He claims that people victimizing mutants and stealing their body parts have nothing to do with him. If they’re forming rogue U-Men divisions and taking matters into their own hands, they’re doing so without his support. Unbeknownst to the X-Men, Sublime has, hidden behind his desk, some kind of brain stuck with several syringes full of glowing pink fluid. A squadron of U-Men ambush Cyclops and Emma while Sublime uses his brain device to neutralize their powers. While the X-Men are subdued, he reveals that he plans on using the students of the Xavier Institute as an organ farm to service his program’s needs.Wolverine arrives at the location of the mutant signature Jean told him about. Jean contacts him via Cerebra mind link and informs him that the young mutant is very close, scared and anesthetized. Wolverine tells Jean to sever the mind link so he can do his job with a clear head. He discovers a van parked on the road opens the back doors. Inside, Wolverine sees the fly girl tied to a bed surrounded by U-Men armed with knives and surgical tools. He pops out his claws, ready for action.


[User]
<image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image>
Provide a full summary of the comic book.

[Assistant]
Germ Free Generation - part 2
In the New York office of Sublime Pharm Solutions, John Sublime uses the telepathic power of a disembodied mutant brain to immobilize Cyclops and Emma Frost. Neither of them can move, which puts them at the mercy of Sublime and his U-Men. Cyclops sits frozen and powerless with guns pointed at his head and Emma lies on the ground with a bloody nose after being punched in the face. Emma can only use one of her powers at a time, and now that she lies in her diamond form, she can’t access her own telepathic abilities to combat the psychic assault. Sublime promises to turn mutants into livestock and harvest their organs for his third species, the U-Men. He wastes no time menacing his two new captives, telling them about how he can dissect and torture them.Elsewhere, in the back of a truck on a cold Wyoming street, Wolverine does some menacing of his own. He defeats a small band of U-Men to save a mutant fly girl from having her wings cut off. Even after being shot several times by knife-shooting firearms, Wolverine has no trouble ripping through his adversaries. At first, the young girl thinks Wolverine is an enemy too and spits acidic saliva on him, but she eventually calms down when she realizes he just wants to help. After rescuing the girl, Wolverine blows up the truck and the two of them leave.Wolverine takes the young girl, who says her name is Angel, to a diner. He buys Angel some food and she eats while he picks the metal knives from his body. Because of Angel’s mutation, she spits acid on her food to dissolve it before she eats. Angel expresses fear and regret over being a mutant. The owner of the diner approaches their table carrying a shotgun, angry about having mutant customers. Before asking them to leave, he tells Wolverine and Angel how he killed his own baby son to spare him from having to grow up as a mutant. When Angel tells the owner to go to hell, Wolverine tries to calm her down, but the owner fires his shotgun. To avoid being shot, Angel flies through a window and soars into the night air, but her flying is erratic and she crashes into a pile of garbage on the ground. Wolverine comes outside and tries to help Angel deal with her problems, but she gives him attitude.Outside of the Xavier Institute, an army of U-Men waits in trucks, preparing to ambush the school and acquire hundreds of mutant organ donors. They contact their leader, John Sublime, and he tells them that the mission should be easy since Cyclops and Emma are already incapacitated. Except for Jean and a horde of untrained mutant kids, the Xavier Institute is defenseless.Inside, Jean sits at a comatose Beast’s bedside and tells him that strange things are happening around the institute. People are starting to get weird illnesses and Jean wonders if some mysterious, malevolent force is behind the trouble. Jean gets up and walks over to a tank holding Barnell Bohusk, the Beak. While he recuperates, Jean tries to telepathically rouse him and find out who victimized him and the Beast. She’s stunned when she sees that Beak thinks Professor Xavier caused the trouble. Suddenly, an intruder alert sounds off and interrupts Jean. She leaves to see what the fuss is about. After Jean leaves, Beast awakens and calls out to her, but she’s gone. Beast gets out of bed and walks to the morgue. He finds the box containing Cassandra Nova’s body and says Professor Xavier lies there.Jean phones the police and tells them that the Xavier Institute is under attack, but the police refuse to help a bunch of mutants. Jean hangs up the phone and several students approach her, offering to help her fight off the intruders. The U-Men storm the gates of the Xavier Institute and demand the school’s inhabitants to come outside. Then Jean comes outside to meet them, followed by the students, ready to bust open an industrial strength sized can of whoop ass.


[User]
<image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image>
Provide a full summary of the comic book.

[Assistant]
Germ Free Generation - part 3
In a roadside diner, Angel dumps a strawberry shake on Wolverine’s face. Fed up with Angel’s attitude, Wolverine gets on his motorbike and threatens to leave her behind. Angel has a change of heart and tries to change Wolverine’s mind. Wolverine tells her that he’s her only hope of surviving human hostility toward mutants.
Elsewhere, Cyclops and Emma lie on operating tables at the mercy of a band of U-Men. The U-Men use a disembodied psionic brain called Martha to telepathically immobilize the two X-Men, preventing them from using their powers. Since the U-Men plan to decapitate Cyclops, they focus their attention on him, allowing Emma to switch powers from diamond hard skin to telepathy. Emma uses her telepathic power to force Martha out of hers and Cyclops’s minds.
The freed X-Men quickly defeat the U-Men and Emma complains about her nose, which the U-Men broke two issues ago.
Far away, a small army of U-Men prepare to ambush the Xavier Institute and dismember the legions of mutant occupants inside. With several young students close behind her, Jean stands in front of the mansion doors, ready to defend the school. The U-Men warn Jean to surrender and she tells them that they’re surrounded by invisible mutant guards, which they’re not. A young student is using her power to project voices near the U-Men, making it feel as if they’re surrounded by something. Soon, the U-Men see through that ruse and prepare to fire their scalpel guns at Jean and the mutants. Then, a group of telepathic students attack the U-Men and make them hallucinate. However, that attack fails and the U-Men fire their scalpel guns. Before the scalpels strike, Jean telekinetically freezes them in mid-air and sends them to the ground.
Jean subsequently wreaks havoc on the U-Men’s internal organs and bodily functions, using her telekinesis to make them throw up and then swallow their own vomit. Then Jean tears their uniforms to shreds and her body glows with stunning flames. Jean causes a small explosion and sends the U-Men running in fear.
Angel and Wolverine arrive outside of the mansion just in time to see bursts of fire and half-naked U-Men retreating. Wolverine heads through the broken mansion gates to investigate and balks when he sees Jean standing unharmed with her body ablaze, reminiscent of the old days when she had been replaced by the celestial Phoenix Force.
In the Sublime Pharm Solutions office, Emma bursts through the doors of John Sublime’s high rise office and grabs him by the throat. Emma breaks a window and dangles Sublime out of it, threatening to drop him so he can fall to his doom several stories below. Sublime’s toupee falls from his head and Emma fumes at him since he’s responsible for her broken nose.
Cyclops enters the office and tries to calm Emma down. He tells her that killing Sublime would be wrong and bad for the mutant public image. Instead, Cyclops thinks the X-Men should expose Sublime as a fraud. Sublime starts talking about Martha and how she’s telling him that he should just let go. Sublime forces himself from Emma’s grip and plummets until he smashes onto the top of a bus below, right in front a television news broadcast. Emma suspects that Cyclops thinks she just let Sublime fall, so she tells Cyclops that Sublime “practically somersaulted” from her grip, which he did. Cyclops wonders why Sublime was talking about Martha and hopes that no one saw the man fall.
Back at the Xavier Institute, Jean becomes normal again and her flames fade. Wolverine questions her about her latest display of power. He remembers Dark Phoenix from years before. Jean says that she feels “amazing” and that she had bad feelings about Cyclops, but they left. Wolverine asks Jean to take Angel off his hands. Before the situation can return to normalcy, Beast emerges from inside the mansion carrying Cassandra Nova's body. He tells Jean that Professor Xavier is trapped inside Cassandra’s head.


[User]
<image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image>
Provide a full summary of the comic book.

[Assistant]
Silence: Psychic Rescue In Progress
Jean and Emma prepare to journey inside Cassandra Nova’s mind to find Professor Xavier’s consciousness. Before they go to work, Jean gives Cyclops a peck on the cheek as Emma watches with a look of displeasure. Wolverine also notices the exchange. When Cyclops tries to say something to Jean, she silences him. Jean and Emma make their way into Cassandra’s room and venture into Cassandra’s consciousness, though not before Emma knocks back a stiff drink.Jean and Emma find themselves on steps leading down from a dark corridor. Along the walls are several doors containing Cassandra faces. The steps lead down to a desolate beach facing a vast sea. Jean and Emma are surprised when the Cassandra doors sneer and give them dirty looks. Emma stays behind as Jean descends the stairs. After Jean leaves, the Cassandra doors attack Emma, but her astral self switches to siamond form and she is unharmed.Jean makes it to the beach. Out in the water is a tall tower, Jean’s destination. Jean uses her telekinesis to remove bricks and objects from her surroundings to create a bridge crossing the sea. While Emma fights with the Cassandra doors, Jean crosses her bridge, moving toward the tower. The top of the tower is lined with Cassandra gargoyles that fire blasts at Jean. The blasts destroy the bridge and Jean falls into the sea. As she falls, Jean looks at Emma, pleading for help, but Emma sticks her tongue out at her.Jean swims the rest of the way and reaches the tower. She hauls herself out of the water and forces the tower doors open. Jean enters the tower and sees Professor Xavier chained down to a pit of bubbling tar, holding the weight of his massively swollen head in his hands. Jean walks toward the Professor and finds a snow globe on the ground, which she picks up. Inside the snow globe are figurines of a husband and wife, Professor Xavier’s parents, surrounded by what seems to be snow. However, the snow is actually sperm swimming around inside the globe. Soon Jean finds herself floating inside the globe while the sperm swim along. She becomes a spectator in the creation of human life. One of the sperm penetrates an ovum, which initiates a chain of events that result in a pair of twin babies. While the babies rest in the womb, one of them awakens and tries to strangle the other with the umbilical cord. The dying baby retaliates by unleashing powerful psychic energy, forcing the other child away. Outside, their mother feels the psychic energy as well while she’s walking up the stairs. The impact makes her tumble down the stairs while her husband watches in horror.Jean, now back in the tower room, holds the snow globe in her hand. She discards the snow globe and telekinetically breaks the chains containing Professor Xavier. Jean liberates Professor Xavier from the tower and brings him to the beach. Emma still remains in the corridor, recovering after her battle with the Cassandra doors. Jean arrives and sarcastically thanks Emma for her help. She leads Emma down the stairs to the sand where Professor Xavier lies in a fetal position.Back in the Xavier Institute, Cyclops and Wolverine wait for their teammates to come back. Once Jean and Emma return, Jean tells everyone that Professor Xavier tried to kill his twin sister when the two were in the womb.


[User]
<image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image>
Provide a full summary of the comic book.

[Assistant]
Imperial
At the controls of the Shi'ar starship, a gigantic wheel, Steersman Immundra yells to his queen, Lilandra, that the wheel is broken and that the world is lost. As she flees from the control room, Lilandra, with her Imperial Guardsmen, orders the steersman to hold his course. All that stands between Earth and the Shi'ar super destroyer fleet... is they. Lilandra orders for Jorrsk to activate the ship's escape pods and begins to recall Medic Forunn having a idea about Xavier's condition.Lilandra's recollections are interrupted by Smasher who informs his queen that Forunn and Super-Guardian Mammoth, another Imperial Guardsman, are dead. Smasher also reports that an Immensity is alla round and within Xavier, controlling him. Smasher offers to vaporize Xavier’s body from afar, but Lilandra declines, pointing out that Xavier is not in control of his own body. Radioman Jorrsk cries out in pain, crying that "she" has come. Meanwhile, before the steersman, Cassandra Nova appears. She is clad in Xavier's naked body and surrounded by the psychic aura of dozens of people. With red laced eyes and a maniacal grin Cassandra orders the Steersman to destroy his craft. Sensing that Immundra has fallen, Lilandra orders Smasher to go and warn the Earth. Smasher briefly objects, not wanting to abandon his queen, but reluctantly agrees. Moments later the craft explodes and Smasher is propelled through the cosmos, toward Earth.Back on Earth, Emma Frost makes an announcement before the student body. She informs the students that as of the next Monday, the traditional timetable previously used by the school will be abandoned in favor of more "fluid" approaches to learning. While the goal of the school in teaching will remain the same, the administration is likewise interested in learning from the students about the future of mutantkind. She welcomes back Dr. McCoy, the Beast, and informs the students that he will be working on the flu that seems to have been afflicting the mansion's residents. She also points out that Mr. Logan, Wolverine, will be unreceptive to anyone looking to complain about injuries sustained in the previous day's field expedition. Finally, she points out, that as the world is now watching them, they must be nothing less than fabulous.Scott enters Xavier's study and finds Jean hard at work. Floating three feet above the floor, Jean telekinetically levitates herself, her laptop computer and half dozen papers. She tells Scott that she is trying to rearrange the school's curriculum according to the professor's notes. Scott changes the subject, and brings up his worries. According to Wolverine, Jean had manifested a phoenix raptor while defending the school against the U-Men. He points out what happened the last time she lost control of her thoughts and emotions. Jean dismisses Scott's fears, pointing out that these are different times. Before the event with Cassandra Nova, Xavier was imagining a whole new world and a new way of thinking and living.Later in the medical bay Cyclops, Jean, Beast, Wolverine and Emma converse about Xavier's condition. Beast points out the irony that his new more bestial skull was what saved his "prodigious brain" during his recent beating that resulted in a coma rather than death. Also, if he had not been in a coma, Xavier, trapped in the broken body of Cassandra Nova, would have been unable to take control of his body and inform the X-Men of his situation. Wolverine inquires about the green slime that is on Cassandra's body. Jean informs him that Xavier grew the slime-shell around himself and the life support equipment keeping him alive. She further explains that Xavier's mind is trapped in the right hemisphere of Cassandra's body. Cerebra, she says, is the only thing holding together the professor's thoughts. While he is very weak, both she and Emma are able to communicate with the professor telepathically.When Wolverine asks why they had never heard about Xavier's twin before, Jean points out that the professor himself had not known. Telepathically, Jean shows the group a replay of the thoughts she gleaned from Xavier's mind. After Xavier, as an unborn fetus, killed his twin sister in the womb, Cassandra was born without a body. Formless, immense and totally unique, Cassandra is composed of living emotional energy. The appearance of her body, Jean explains, is a mental copy of Xavier's cells that is merely mimicking human traits.Jean brings the group back to reality and tries to emphasize the danger of their newest foe. Apparently intelligent and educated, Cassandra has announced the X-Men's existence to the world at the mansion and effectively weakened them. Jean also theorizes that Cassandra has had something to do with the flu that has been afflicting them recently. Beast confirms the possibility, pointing out Cassandra's connection to the U-Men. He further theorizes that she has been trying to soften the X-Men up for her next attack. In claiming Xavier's body, she has fooled the Shi'ar, a level 5 space civilization, into accepting her. She very well could now control an interstellar empire. Further, the Beast explains that Cassandra has boobytrapped her own body. The Beast has identified motor neuron disease, a type of Alzheimer's, and a new form of Creutzfeld-Jacob disease. The Beast predicts that the professor has about a week to live, but within three days will be a dribbling vegetable.Jean, trying to turn their grim conversation into a positive one, tells them that she has "spoken" with the professor. Even though Cassandra has set them up, they are going to turn the problem on its head and make it work. The professor has asked Jean to invite the world's media to the school. There Jean will submit a mutant rights charter to the world that the professor had previously written. The professor wants it to be his final statement to mankind. His last testament. Jean points out that the X-Men need to get the humans on their side - before Cassandra arrives.Later, Cyclops is flying the X-Wing away from the school. Jean telepathically asks where he is going. He replies that he has had an idea. Perhaps Xorn and his healing abilities can help their situation. As he flies away, Cyclops does not notice a fiery object falling to the Earth.Back at the mansion, Jean and Wolverine speak about Cassandra's imminent return. Cassandra, Wolverine theorizes, will not allow Xavier to die without being there. After Wolverine leaves, Jean approaches Beast who sits at his worktable. She asks if something is bothering him, but is rebuked. After another attempt, Beast admits that during his confrontation with Cassandra she had called him an animal. She told him that he was devolving into a worm. Jean tries to comfort him, saying that his new form is an improvement. Beast does not find any humor in the situation, and compares himself to the fictional Gregor Samsa, and wonders if he will wake up and find himself mutated into a bug or a virus. In torment, Beast tells Jean that he fears Cassandra. Jean continues to console her friend and asks what he has been working on at his worktable. Beast answers that he has been trying to use the U-Men's technology to restart the professor's immune system. Sensing that immersion in work can console him better than she, Jean tells Beast to continue. Cassandra, she points out, has no concept of cooperation. That, she says, is how she will be beaten.Cyclops arrives at a Chinese monastery. He is escorted inside by Rinpoche, who compliments Cyclops on his excellent Chinese. The monk shows Cyclops to a room, where Xorn kneels on a mat. In his hands glows a small bird that flutters and flows with energy. Rinpoche states that the bird was once dead... but now... Xorn, still studying the bird, tells Cyclops that it is good to see him again. As the bird takes to the air and flies free out the door, Cyclops tells his ally that he is not there with good news. He thinks that he may need Xorn's help.Elsewhere a fiery object falls to Earth. Its impact is terrible and creates a ground tremor greate enough to fell a nearby water tower. From within the smoking crater emerges a crawling and battered Smasher. Through his no doubt clouded vision he sees a group of Earthlings. He tells them that he has made it, the only living being to ever survive travel 4-space unaided. He introduces himself to the Earthlings as the Imperial Guardsman Smasher and the emissary of Lilandra. He warns the Earthlings of the coming Shi'ar assault fleet and pleads with them to warn their leaders, prepare their weapons, build up their defenses. Closer he crawls to the Earthlings, telling them to bring a warning to the X-Men, to tell their people, protect the Earth... for she has come...Smasher collapses before the Earthlings, a herd of cattle, which gently "moo" at their savior.


[User]
<image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image><image>
Provide a full summary of the comic book.

[Assistant]
Testament
Jean and Emma walk through the Xavier Institute while the students enjoy the grounds. Jean remarks at how terrific this year's students seem to be, but Emma scoffs, declaring them to be a horde of ghastly illiterates. Emma next asks how Xavier is fairing. Jean replies that he can't remember her name most days. Some days he calls her Moira, an ex-lover, and some days he calls her Gus, a childhood dog. Jean states that she is unsure which is more disturbing. Jean directs the conversation to the pending press conference and asks how she should handle it. Switching to telepathy Emma jokingly tells her to point out that humanity is doomed within five generations. However, Jean replies that she would rather concentrate on the positive aspects of human-mutant relationships today.Elsewhere on the Institute grounds, Esme one of the Stepford Cuckoos quintet approaches a young asian boy, Kato, smiles, and kisses him. Their kiss is interrupted by Esme's four identical sisters. They are complaining to Emma Frost, who is picking some roses, that their sister is kissing a boy, making her practically a slut. While they theorize that he has taken over her mind, Emma tells the girls to treasure young love, as it all soon enough turns sour. The girls retort that combined, the five of them are a single brilliant mind but separate they are just four smart blondes. Still Emma scoffs, comparing Esme and Kato to Dante and Beatrice, Romeo and Juliet, Tristan and Isolde and even Tom and Jerry.Wolverine stops his bike at a tree where Angel sits atop a high branch. She tells Wolverine, her only friend, that she hates the rest of the kids. Wolverine asks Angel to come out of the tree. Angel retorts that if spending time around the rest is so great, then why is he gone so much. Wolverine, still atop his bike, simply explains that when a man's been around the block as much as he, the unfinished business piles up. But now, he says, he's planning to stay awhile. Emma approaches the two and succinctly insults the two with one statement. After a few quick retorts from Wolverine and Angel, Emma informs Wolverine of "ominous vibrations" reported from her psychic telepathic girls. Wolverine scoffs at the threat, pointing out that they all sense danger with Cassandra on the loose in space. Further he dismisses Emma's claim of her girls being "crème de la crème" and reclassifies them as "five teenage girls with hormones like the fourth of July". Angel laughs at the verbal beating that Emma is receiving from Wolverine. Emma grins at the young girl and tells her that if she is interesting in a battle of wills, then the challenge is accepted.At the front door of the mansion, Beast welcomes the visiting media, pointing out that the mansion has been vacuumed specifically for them. In the medical bay Jean speaks, one-sidedly, to Professor Xavier. She tells him that she has been so nervous about the conference that she has gone to the bathroom fifteen times so far today. However, even though she is nervous, Jean says, she will not let him down. Jean picks up a stray thought from the professor, and asks him to repeat it. Her telepathy picks up the thought, and, in tears, Jean agrees that Gus, the professor's childhood dog, was a good dog. As she walks away from the professor Jean still mumbles to herself that Gus was the best dog in the world.Back at the conference, Beast finishes the last of his amusing anecdotes and introduces the Xavier Institute's acting headmistress, Mrs. Jean Grey-Summers. As Jean takes the podium, Beast tells her to give them hell. Jean telekinetically levitates a glass of water next to the microphones, almost trying to remind the audience of why they are there. With eight microphones set to record her words, cameras and in the audience to record her image and almost two dozen reporters to transcribe her words, Jean speaks.Jean greets the audience, admitting that she didn't expect so many people. Next she apologizes for the professor's absence and says that while illness has kept him away, his spirit has informed the content of what she will say. Thirty years ago at the end of August, Jean tells them, Charles Xavier discovered that he was "X-Gene Positive" after he discovered that he was telepathic. At this time, he was only eleven years old. As Xavier grew up, Jean continues, he was able to see through the lies that we tell ourselves and realized that through all of the hate, deep down, we were all just scared of being betrayed by one another.To push the point of telepathy, and make it a reality, Jean unites all of the minds of the reporters into what Jean calls a "telepathic meeting room". All presently seated find their chairs or couches no longer setting on the floor of the conference room, but floating in a pink sky full of stars. Images float nearby; images of Xavier, a variation of Donatello's "Creation" from the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and a brain with cinema film instead of a spinal cord.A reporter named David musters up the courage to ask a question. He points out that mutant issues have been in the forefront lately with the Genosha tragedy and, rather than just mutant terror groups, mutant celebrities and corporate CEOs. With this in mind, he asks, are mutants the new Rock N' Roll? Jean answers straightly, No. She points out that while in recent times, everyone wants to portray themselves as an oppressed minority, the institute tries not to encourage that kind of defeatist worldview. Xavier's, she explains, is a school that exists to teach students to take care of themselves and other people. Another reporter asks Jean if there is a kind of private army attached to the institute. Again, Jean answers no. She tells the reporter that they have a group of highly trained volunteers, including herself, who have elected to monitor and resolve mutant emergency situations. Outside the mansion, Kato speaks into his watch in another language.Back in the telepathic meeting room a reporter doesn't so much ask a question, but makes a statement. She points out that casually violating the privacy of others may seem normal to her, but it's wrong. Further, she points out that trouble seems to follow mutants wherever they go. Enraged by this statement, Emma telepathically grows into a giant. Pointing at Beast, Emma states that while he is a world-renowned scientist she, the reporter, is "a witless bigot with brightly glowing masochistic tendencies". Quickly, Jean re-takes control of the situation, reducing Emma to normal size. She chastises Emma, telling her that she will now have to wipe the previous thirty seconds from the audience's memories. As Emma considers this, the previous reporter realizes out loud that she is indeed a witless bigot.A quick mind-wipe later, Emma reacts in shock to the reporter's statement about trouble following mutants. Beast, who agrees, begs her pardon as he realizes that his corporeal self, still in the laboratory, has discovered something weird. Now fully back in the lab, mentally as well as physically, Beast looks into a microscope. Softly, and to himself, he repeatedly mutters "Oh, my God".Jean continues. She states that while mutants have been persecuted and exterminated, mutants have yet to begin to comprehend, let alone recover, from the unprecedented murder of 16 million mutants in Genosha. Any of those lost, she states, could have discovered the cure for Cancer or AIDS. Any of them could have gone on to become a Shakespeare, Einstein, or Kurt Cobain. To press the point of mutant potential, Jean mentions a twelve-year old autistic boy who can talk to atoms in their own language.In the lab, Beast stares into his Microscope. Speaking aloud, he asks Emma to recall the flu that has stricken all of the mansion residents. Further, he asks her to recall the theory that they had discussed of Cassandra Nova being behind the virus. Gazing into the microscope he tells her it is ten thousand times worse. In the slide of blood he can see microscopic mechanical creatures attacking the white blood cells.At a bar, Wolverine drinks a beer and watches Jean's conference on television. He sees her tell the world that the Institute is not training mutant terrorists, but mutant artists and scientists. They are giving the world mutant musicians, politicians, doctors and athletes. She tells them that mutant telepaths can voyage into the depths of the human mind and free people from ancient, destructive behavior patterns. As humans and mutants are from the same evolutionary tree, she states, fighting each other is like one finger fighting another. Drawing to a close, Jean points out that as both humans and mutants have to live in the future, they should get together and make it a nice place to live.A little later, Jean leads the reporters back to the front gate. One reporter gushes to Jean. He admits that he knew nothing about mutant culture before and now sees the whole new world of possibilities of which Jean has spoken. He tells her that while he cannot speak for every other human, her plan of the future looks like some type of utopia. Jean responds that as long as there are a few willing to talk, it'll be a start.As the group walks back to the mansion entrance, Esme notices her new boyfriend, Kato, speaking into his watch. She approaches the teen and asks to whom he is talking and if there is anything that she should know. Kato looks up at her and replies that he might as well tell her, as she is going to soon die and it will not matter.Still walking with the reporters, Jean loses her balance and falls to the ground. Emma kneels next to Jean and smiles to the reporters, telling them that this is something that she always does for dramatic effect. Oblivious to Emma's attempt to explain away her behavior, Jean rises to her feet while ranting. She asks if Emma felt that they had just been scanned. Then, raising her voice, she tells Emma to switch to her diamond form and to go into telepathic shutdown. As Jean begins to panic about Scott in Tibet, Beast runs into the courtyard. Yelling at the top of his lungs he tells Jean about the "Nano-Sentinels".In the ruins of a Tibetan temple Cyclops and Xorn lie unconscious. Nearby, one of three alien forms contacts his ship in orbit above. The alien, named Arc, tells Gladiator that the primary injection was successful. There were no surprises and the enemy didn't expect them. Further, he informs his superior that his team is on their way back to the superdestroyer with two mutant samples. Soon enough, on the superdestroyer, Arc approaches Gladiator as he looks at the planet Earth below. Arc informs Gladiator that the two mutant specimens, Cyclops and Xorn, have tested positive for the thought-plague contamination, just as the Empress warned. As such, Arc continues, they are to proceed with total life-form sterilization.As a final thought, Arc reminds Gladiator that the X-Men were once friends of the empire. Gladiator in turn reminds Arc that the empress nearly died in 4-Space as a result of the mind infection. While he hates what they must do, he asks if they would spare a deadly virus that was ravaging the galaxy? In an attempt to steel Arc's nerves, Gladiator asks him to remember the Shi'ar ninth vow of destruction: "Be strong and be merciful. If they plead for their lives, do not falter." Concluding, Gladiator reminds Arc and the other two Imperial Guardsmen that they do as the Empress commands. With this decided, the four step off of the ship's observation platform and descend to the planet below.On the grounds of the Xavier Institute Esme's four sisters approach her. They tell Esme that something terrible is about to happen, and her so-called boyfriend is a part of it. Esme defends her new boyfriend, telling her sisters that they are jealous. To all of the girls' surprise Kato admits to not being human, declaring, as he transforms, that Kato was merely his human disguise. Swiftly, Kato transforms into a green alien form with a large one-eyed head. He announces that he is called Stuff, and is the advanced scout of the Shi'ar superguardian team assigned to the lifeform sterilization procedure. Stuff continues to transform, shaping his body into a gas-pocketed balloon. As he floats away, he tells the girls to prepare for sterilization.Flame engulfs the grounds. Through the inferno Gladiator calmly strolls. He introduces himself as Gladiator and states that it is his sworn duty to preserve the stellar harmony. As he stands over Emma Frost, who is sheltering the Stepford Cuckoos sisters, he asks the eternal heavens to forgive them for what they must now do: Destroy all mutants. Emma, still shielding the five girls, advises Esme not to let this experience put her off of boys.