A time platform suddenly lights up with green energy, as Magneto, Master of Magnetism arrives in this unknown time and unknown location. He holds a tablet which drops to the ground, as a hidden voice calls out to him 'Magneto... after all your messages... all your requests for our aid... it's about time you came knocking'. Magneto frowns and replies 'Time? My friends... you have no idea'.
Meanwhile, in the present day, at an unknown location, the X-Men are being held captive. Lorna Dane a.k.a. Polaris hangs her head, before Daken asks her what the plan is. 'Do you have any idea who we're getting out of here?' he enquires. 'Or do we just... wait... until your ex-boyfriend takes over the world?' Daken adds. Gazing Nightshade is sitting on the floor and tells Daken to leave Polaris alone, as Polaris stands with her arms folded and frowns. Daken clenches his fists and declares that he would love to cut his way out of here. He reminds the others that he is resistant to psychic intrusion, but with the White Queen and Miss Sinister working together to circumnavigate his defenses, they are making sure he can't so much as pop a claw. Daken points out that Xorn is the only one of them seemingly immune to their tinkering, but they have fitted him with inhibitors. Xorn is sitting cross-legged on the floor, a collar around his neck, and Daken decides that even if Xorn hadn't been neutered, it looks like he has given up. 'And the others? Who knows what's happening to them' Daken adds.
In another part of the facility, some sort of lab, Jimmy Hudson screams and Miss Sinister smiles as various wires and cables are attached to his body, and needles poke at him. 'Ooooh. Does it hurt so bad, Jimmy? I'm sorry. I really am' Miss Sinister strokes Jimmy's face and tells him that if he weren't so resistant to her charms, she might shut down nerve endings and make him a little more comfortable. She adds that if they asked Emma sweetly, she might be able to dig deep into his mind and give him a hand. Emma Frost is standing with Miss Sinister's personal soldiers, the alternate-world New Marauders – Mach-2, The Guardian and Armor – and frowns as she tells Sinister to stop playing games with Jimmy. 'You said you needed him for study. Get on with it or be done with him'.
Miss Sinister turns to Emma and asks her why she must be such a stick in the mud. 'Jimmy is the key to Mothervine. Isn't that something?' Miss Sinister asks, declaring that the mutants from Jimmy's world were manufactured, that their mere existence opens many interesting avenues of exploration. 'But they are not created equal' Miss Sinister adds, admitting that she let Jimmy slip away once before because he was hard to control, but always kept tabs on him. She remarks that it is a mistake she hates herself for making, and vows that it will not happen again. Looking up at the tubes connecting Jimmy to some vials, Miss Sinister explains that Jimmy's blood had some extra, a foreign compound, a spark – Mothervine. 'Its name is right. There in the genetics, like an artist's signature. It was created on his world to make mutants. To weaponize them'. 'That's what the humans of their world tried to do. We will not follow in their footsteps' Emma tells Miss Sinister, who looks back at Emma and tells her not to flip-flop on this, as they are at war, and this, her lab, is weapons development.
Miss Sinister goes over to a stasis tank where Bloodstorm is being held and remarks that she adores the bleeding-edge genetic weapons other realities afford. 'Take Bloodstorm, for example. She's from another universe... and a vampire to boot. We're going to have such fun learning about one another' Miss Sinister declares, putting a hand on the stasis tank. Miss Sinister tells Emma that if she will excuse her, unless she has come to apologize for being such a mule-headed harlot in the face of progress, she has important matters to attend to. Suddenly, Emma takes telepathic possession of the New Marauders, and forces them to confront Miss Sinister. 'What is this? Emma! What do you think you're doing?' Miss Sinister calls out as the three young mutants move towards Miss Sinister, who warns Emma that she has doomed them. 'Your mind control means nothing... when I have my fingers in the cookie jar of their DNA' Miss Sinister declares as she snaps her fingers, and Mach-2, the Guardian and Armor seemingly drop dead. 'Oh, Emma. It's time I showed you who the real queen is. The drubbing that's coming your way, you -' Miss Sinister begins, before she is startled as Jimmy breaks free of his shackles, and roars at her, claws at the ready as he lunges at Miss Sinister.
'I hope you don't mind. I took the liberty of using Mach-2's magnetism to free Jimmy. I wanted to teach you a lesson' Emma remarks, casually running a hand through her hair, while telling Miss Sinister that the difference between a mutant and a weapon might be miniscule to someone like her, but a weapon – a gun or a knife – doesn't understand how it is being used, while a mutant – a person – does. Miss Sinister fires a blast of energy at Jimmy, but he dodges her blast, and enraged, shoves his claws into Miss Sinister. 'And when they backfire, the damage might be catastrophic' Emma adds.
Back in the cell, 'My claws!' Daken exclaims as he pops his claws, declaring that the psychic leash has been severed. 'Mine, too' Polaris adds as magnetic energy glows around her hands. 'I feel it. We're free' Polaris announces as she uses her power to destroy the collar around Xorn's neck. Polaris then tells everyone to get ready, as she blasts the door with her powers, knocking it backwards. 'If anyone gets in our way, we knock them down – hard and fast' Polaris declares, then, to her surprise, standing in the corridor outside the cell is Emma Frost, with Bloodstorm and Jimmy Hudson at her side, and several Hellfire Guards lying motionless on the floor. 'If you had just been patient, I could have let you out. I have the door code, after all' Emma remarks.
Unimpressed, Lorna goes over to Emma and looks her in the eye as she declares: 'Let me guess. You decided this Mothervine business... which you helped perpetrate... is madness. You betrayed your allies. And you think that makes us square'. Staring back, Emma replies 'That sums it up quite nicely, yes'. Bloodstorm comes to Emma's defense and informs Polaris that Emma helped them escape. 'Without her -' Bloodstorm begins, but Xorn interrupts her, admitting that he has his own reasons to distrust the White Queen, but that he cannot deny she has offered them aid in their time of need, so they must put aside their differences. Quietly, he adds that he might finish this. Daken smiles at Jimmy and tells him that with his claws covered in blood, he now sees the family resemblance.
Meanwhile, in Mexico City, civilians run in panic as other civilians have been transformed by Mothervine. 'They're turning into monsters! It's an attack!' a woman shouts. 'Chemical warfare! The bombs – making them sick!' a man exclaims as they run in fear. One man has been transformed into a large gray-skinned being, while another glows with blue energy, and a young man suddenly discovers his hands have become like lobster pincers. 'What is happening to me? Am I... am I a mutant?' he asks, wide-eyed.
Suddenly, Magneto appears above the crowd and tells everyone to remain calm. He introduces himself and assures those transformed that they are not mutants. 'You should be so lucky' he adds. The man with the lobster hands looks even more confused as his human hands return, and the man glowing with blue energy suddenly finds the energy fading away. The gray-skinned man remains the same, however. 'What is this? How did you -' the man with the blue energy begins.
'I did nothing... save for calling in a few favors' Magneto responds, as Exodus and Elixir appear behind him. Magneto explains that Elixir and Exodus deserve the credit for their recovery. Exodus tells Magneto to work quickly, then he will teleport them to the next impact zone. 'What about me? Why am I not... myself again?' the gray-skinned mutant asks. Elixir explains that he is extending his curative field for miles, but he can't cure everyone affected by the bombs – and those who carried the mutant gene to begin with, he can't strip that away from them. 'I'm... stuck like this?' the gray-skinned mutant asks. Magneto clenches a fist and tells the mutant 'This is who you were always meant to be' before reminding his allies that there are many others around the world who have been infected, so they must move quickly if they are to stop Mothervine. 'Point the way, Magneto' Elixir replies, 'And we'll end this'.
In their base, Havok and Bastion watch the situation in Mexico on monitors, 'Magneto's found a way to reverse Mothervine. The bastard's going to ruin everything!' Havok declares through gritted teeth. Arms folded, Bastion adds that Magneto is using mutant designate Elixir to heal the Mothervine mutations, before stating that he is updating mission parameters – in order for the mutant race to survive, Elixir must be destroyed. Havok decides that they should have dealt with Magneto more definitively. 'If this had been his operation...if I had stood against him...he wouldn't have left me dangling as a loose end' Havok realizes, before remarking that Miss Sinister should have some sort of contingency for dealing with something like this. He asks Bastion where Miss Sinister is, before wondering where Emma is.
'I'm right here, Havok' Emma announces as she enters the control room in her diamond form. The X-Men rush forward, taking out more Hellfire guards and also battling Wildside and Toad. 'Emma -' Havok calls out, surprised. Emma tells Havok that it was just a matter of time before their little cabal imploded – so she decided to strike first. 'We have been betrayed' Bastion points out, as chains emerge from his back, iith energy spears attached to them, he activates counter-measures and states that mutantkind must be saved. 'No. I grow tired of lies. Your lies...and mine' Xorn responds as he releases energy that block Bastion's attack. Suddenly, Xorn's helmet begins to crumble, and energy pours outwards, 'This is where it ends, Bastion. For you...and for me' Xorn calls out, as Bastion starts to fade away, pulled into the energy emanating from Xorn. 'No! I was – SKREEEE – trying to save – SKKKZZK –' Bastion utters.
Polaris shields her eyes from the glow and warns the others that Xorn is unleashing the full power of the singularity within him, drawing Bastion in. 'He's focusing the power...but he'll never -' Lorna starts to say, as Bastion is completely sucked into Xorn's vortex – then all of the energy vanishes – all that remains is part of Xorn's helmet, which drops to the floor. 'Xorn?' Toad calls out, picking the remains of the helmet up.
'Who do you think you're dealing with? Do you think I'll just let you take this moment away from me? Do you think I'll let you take it from the mutants?' Havok shouts as he starts to release plasma energy in the room, knocking Daken back, then Gazing Nightshade and Jimmy. 'Mothervine is happening even if I have to kill every X-Man in order to see it through!' Havok declares. 'Stop this, Alex! This isn't you! This isn't who you're supposed to be! You know that' Polaris calls out as she blocks Havok's plasma blasts with a surge of magnetic energy. Polaris warns Havok that if she can't get through to him, make him see that, then perhaps she knows someone who can. Emma steps forward and Havok screams as she enters his mind, bringing Polaris in, as well.
'What are you – get out – this is my mind!' Havok cries out. In his mind, Emma and Lorna tower over him, and Lorna tells him that it is not his mind, that she remembers him – he was a bastard every now and then, he did stupid things, but he was never evil. 'I remember how you were' Lorna adds. 'And his memories...the things Polaris loves about you...the things she hates...are all I need to punch through what's been done to you' Emma explains. Emma tells Alex that she will miss him – she will miss the possibilities, miss the idea of what they could accomplish together. 'But I'm inverting you now' she announces.
Havok stands up, 'I...' he begins as he looks around. 'You're back, Alex. I know how it feels. You were gone... buried under that other personality... trying to claw your way out' Lorna explains. But Havok tells her that is not how it feels – not for him. He admits that he knows that the things he was doing were wrong – but the other him, that's what he feels now – he feels him, screaming to get out. 'I feel like... maybe I've stolen his life from him. Like maybe I'm just the facade... and he's the truth just waiting underneath'.
Later, in the secret base, Elixir stands before hundreds of vials of Mothervine and announces that the serum – the virus – is dying at the source, as he heals, he can destroy it, too. 'The source?' Jimmy asks. 'That's right, Jimmy. I've purged it from your system, too. Mothervine is destroyed' Elixir explains. Havok approaches Polaris and tells her that there are so many people who need her help, that she didn't need to come here to make sure Mothervine was shut down – he would have burned it to the ground. 'Elixir's not just here for Mothervine, Alex' Lorna replies. Havok begins to ask her what she means, and Lorna tells him that it is a fresh start. Havok removes his mask – his handsome face has been restored. 'The scars. They're like my evil self. I know they're gone... but I can still feel them'.
Elsewhere, Magneto is using his powers on a piece of equipment, as civilians begin to gather around. 'Erik – can I have a word?' a voice calls out. He turns, and sees a civilian speaking to him: 'I was hoping we could come to an understanding'. Another civilian speaks: '... that we could put this ugliness behind us'. Then another: 'I know you've been coming after me for some time...' and a fourth: '... but I hope that you can recognize when someone extends the olive branch'. All of the civilians have a blank gaze – and Emma Frost appears amongst them 'I helped you, I helped to save the X-Men' one of the civilians speaks. 'I helped stop Mothervine' another adds. Magneto turns away, 'Ah, Emma. You also put me in a position to harm mutants who were in my care... to kill them. For that... there can be no peace between us. Trust me... I'm coming for you' Magneto snarls.
