Wolverine has found the heavily guarded SHIELD storage area in the Rocky Mountains, manned by what appears to be a very nervous skeleton crew. SHIELD are supposed to be the good guys but now they have mutant-hunting Sentinels, and this is where Wolverine believes they store them. As he takes out the guards, he tries to restrain himself – not quite successfully. He figures it’s a trap. However, as he takes out even more guards, he smells a familiar scent and realizes it is a trap, but not the kind he expected.
In the next chamber he finds Cyclops, who has taken out the rest of the guards. “Hello, Logan,” Cyclops greets him. Wolverine just snarls in response.
Cyclops figures Wolverine got a hot tip on where SHIELD were storing their Sentinels. Is it just him or is this whole set-up suddenly starting to make sense? He thinks they are meant to kill each other.
Wolverine orders him to turn around and walk out of here. There won’t be another warning. Cyclops observes the bullet-hole in Logan’s shoulder doesn’t seem to be healing so maybe he should walk out of here. While he still can. They stare at each other silently. Or they could talk about the fact they have common interests that brought them here, Cyclops ventures. Go to hell! he is told.
Hearing a thumping noise, Cyclops recalls one guard mentioned anti- mutant protocols. He thinks they found them. Wolverine warns him this isn’t over. Whatever he says, Cyclops shrugs, just try to keep up, professor! The next moment they turn against the attacking Sentinels.
Meanwhile, Storm is finishing her class at the Jean Grey School, informing the students that their test this week will be a four part exam. She describes it and urges them to spend all their time studying.
The kids are anxious, waiting for her to say it and Joe Bricklemoore wonders what they are on about. He is even more surprised when they cheer as Storm announces their homework.
He understands their attitude when he learns what homework consists of: namely self-propelled flight homework with jetpacks, diving as underwater agility homework, a snowball fight as arctic survival homework, relaxing as a power-nap practice and a fun ride through Krakoa as an engineering project.
Are they done already? Joey sulks afterwards. They should totally give them more homework, he tells Broo who agrees. He has lodged dozens of formal complaints but one must comfort oneself with the knowledge that there will always be more homework tomorrow. He is glad Joseph is fitting in so well. He wishes him a good night.
Inside his room, an angry Josephine grabs him, demanding where he’s been. He inadvertently calls her Squidface like the other kids do, then explains he was doing homework. He apologizes and points out they call him Tri-Joey.
She snaps that she hopes he was doing his true homework. Has he been gathering info on those disgusting mutants for the SHIELD report? Joey is evasive. She accuses him of liking it here and forgetting who he is. He replies he doesn’t like having to take Mutant Growth Hormone just to pretend he belongs here. She reminds him they wouldn’t want to disappoint SHIELD and end up back in the orphanage. She demands info on their targets and their weaknesses.
Reluctantly, Joey begins with Genesis. Pretty much the entire student body believes he is secretly the clone of Apocalypse. Evan doesn’t deny it but isn’t fond of the subject either. Regardless, the others seem to genuinely like him, though they fear what he might someday become. And no one feels that fear more than he himself.
Jia Jing aka Sprite only sleeps three hours a night because she is constantly studying. What troubles her is that she doesn’t seem to need the sleep anymore.
Kid Gladiator’s fear is that someday someone will notice that this school is his favorite thing in the whole galaxy. And Quentin Quire is afraid of growing up. Because whether he admits it or not, he never wants to leave this place. Can’t really blame him for that, he mutters.
Angrily, Josephine tells him what she has observed. Eye-Boy is a budding assassin. He trains at night with all those guns. Shark-Girl is spending less and less time in her human form. Idie is a murderer. She killed humans before and shows no remorse.
Joe doesn’t believe her. And what about the Brood? she taunts him. He doesn’t believe Broo has any dark secrets. He’s the sweetest most innocent kid he’s ever met. Then he’s never seen him eat, Josephine opines. Joey protests he is a vegetarian. Of course, he is she mocks.
Broo sits outside, ashamed to eat a slain deer.
Josephine continues the X-Men have just installed children as the board of directors of Worthington Industries. They are holding two former members of the Hellfire Club against their will. They are allowing multiple time-displaced mutants to roam at will.
She is wrong about those people! he insists stubbornly. They aren’t people, but mutants, she points out and tells him to grab his stuff. Let’s go, they are done here. It’s the middle of the night, Joe protests. His sister reminds him they came here to shut the mutants down.
Joe asks if they have gotten new orders form Agent Dazzler. They will, she replies, and they will be ready. He locked and loaded? Yeah, he replies while cradling his lunchbox and pencils.
Flashback:
Weeks earlier:
“Dazzler” explained that the lunchbox is a demolition kit, the erasers are grenades, the paperclip an escape ladder, the juice box is full of acid, the ballpoints are lasers, the gluesticks are flesh-eating and more.
The Present:
As they make their way through the school, Joe repeats their orders were to observe. She corrects him: they were told to infiltrate this place and assess the threat. She’d say the threat is ridiculously high. They’re not going to wait for them to blow up the world. They head for the teachers’ lounge. Tonight they’ll bring the school to its knees, she vows. He mumbles he has a test tomorrow.
Elsewhere, Wolverine and Cyclops fight Sentinels. Wolverine shouts at Cyclops to take out their right flanks. Scott fails and is injured. Surrounded, Logan tells him to go for a wide blast. Scott replies he can’t. His powers aren’t what they used to be.
They run and Scott realizes Wolverine’s healing factor isn’t working. Scott blows a hole in the wall and they disappear through it. Logan calls him a liability. Scott reminds him he just saved his life. What happened to his powers? Logan asks. What happened to his? Scott retorts and calls him the liability.
Cyclops muses that, if they get closer to the surface, he can call his team. No, he’ll call his team, Logan snaps. They don’t need Cyclops’ bunch of whackos to make things worse. Scott replies this is not the time. They could both die down here. When would be a convenient time for him? Logan mocks. Maybe when he is done scaring the hell out of everyone, which will be never? He believes SHIELD are stockpiling Sentinels because of Cyclops.
Does he think the world loves him because he is suddenly a teacher? Scott retorts. He is still a mutie to them. They hate him as much as they do Scott. Wolverine doesn’t care. He isn’t worried about his future.
A Sentinel breaks through the wall. He should tell that giant robot he is only a schoolteacher, Cyclops mocks. See if it holds its fire. He doesn’t need his school to save him, Logan retorts. It already did! He unsheathes his claws and runs at the Sentinel. Cyclops follows.
The Jean Grey School:
The Bricklemoore twins are trying to break into the teachers’ lounge. Joe is nervous about the Bamfs watching them. They enter. Josephine explains from the teachers’ lounge they can control the whole school, they can download all their student and teacher files and, if command gives them the signal, they can blow the whole thing to hell.
She tells him to get Agent Dazzler online. When he hesitates, she tells him to make a damn choice. Is he a man or mutant? He guesses he’s just a man, he mumbles as he opens a secure channel.
He’s truly sorry to hear this, Quentin Quire, flanked by his friends announces. They were hoping he wouldn’t make that call.
Josephine trains her gun at them, shouting: “kill all mutants!”
