Bishop’s statements: It’s been raining death over Dunduine all morning. They came out of the mountains, like they have for years... preying on the people of this city... a city with walls, yet no protection from the sky. They are the Kith: a savage, though dwindling race whose time on this world is short. In what would be their “last hurrah”, the Kith king, Kalin, forged an alliance with our sworn enemy; Trevor Fitzroy.
Along with the forces of the Chronomancer, the Kith would sack the city. Blood would run; people would die. It’s been raining death all mourning. But if Bishop can help it, this won’t last all day!
Scorch, Nom, Link and Jinx step out of the sewers and look at the stampeding people. He wants Jinx to back against the wall, believing that not even Nom can protect them from being trampled. They all look up in the skies, and see lots of Kith soaring above, with Chronotroopers riding on their backs! Luckily, on the horizon, Jinx spots something else. She doesn’t know how he did it, but she thinks their enemies may have their own problems. In the sky, Bishop arrives, riding on Kinlan’s back.
Kalin attacks some of the Kith, causing them to lose their balance and drop into the city of Dunduine, while the Chronotroopers fall off of them. Kalin tells Bishop that his people are long-lived, but also corrupted. He believes their time is past. He would fight them to his last bone and claw to right what his brother Kalin has done wrong, but Kinlan realizes they won’t be able to defeat the Kith on their own. Bishop corrects his friend he doesn’t think they’ll have to.
Scorch is surprised to see Bishop riding on one of the Kith. Jinx adds that Bishop’s Kith is also wiping the floor with the rest of the Kith, but also realizes they can’t do it alone. The evil Kith start surrounding the mutants. He wants Jinx to get the people as flat to the ground as possible, while he’ll take care of these abominations. Scorch flames up uses his flames to destroy one of the Kith, hoping it hurts. Unfortunately, one of the Kith sneaks up on Scorch and hits him from behind. Scorch, in pain, has to power down.
Jinx tends to her fallen friend, telling Scorch that his bravery impressed her long ago. She wants him to rest now, and leave the battle to the others. Nom stands before his friends; ready to protect them. The ground below him trembles as Nom prepares for the coming attack, and holds a staff ready in his hands. He knows the Kith were the ones who took him earlier, and was held in stasis to be stored as food. One of the Kith with a Chronotrooper on his back soars towards Nom. He puts his staff right through the Kith’s stomach, and sticks it further up towards the Chronotrooper; killing him as well. The crowd watched this happening, and whispers a new nickname for Nom: Kithslayer.
Witch “clak-ing” stone limbs given life means we cannot understand, the Chronomancer’s forces move into the town on foot. They’re slow. They’re many. But for the first time that any of the citizens of Dunduine can remember, they are not afraid. As Scorch leads the people, he announces that, if they want to be free, they’ll have to fight. And the citizens do, and clash swords and sticks with the Chronotroopers. The city mayor, Duncan, is speechless. He tells his spearmen to look at his countrymen; how they fight for their freedom. The spearmen promise they will join the countrymen as soon as they’ll get him to safety.
Bishop and Kinlan fly over Duncan’s head, causing him to become even more stunned. He can’t believe that Bishop actually did it. From the small sewer windows, Michael watches the battle and has also seen Bishop. Thrilled, he informs the Witness, who’s sitting next to him, that Bishop and the others are winning the battle. Witness can’t help but warn Michael to be careful, as he got them down there for a reason. Link enters the sewers again, and informs the Witness about how awful it is up there. It’s a battle that needs fighting. She can understand that. However, she fears that, if the Chronomancer is allied with the Kith, she wonders why she and her friends weren’t killed at first sight when they were taken to the Kith aeries. They were at their mercy!
The Witness thinks Fitzroy doesn’t want everyone on the team dead; just Bishop. He recalls how old the battle between Bishop and Fitzroy is. In that case, Link asks why the Kith attacked, though the Witness doesn’t know. The woman off the Clan Hellfire wearing the red hood and her companions enter, with her explaining that, in this world, there is a power... and a balance... in which it exists. Sometimes, one powerful entity will seek to tip the scales, leaving the rest of the world to bow to a new status quo... or to fight back! But, Clan Hellfire bows to no one! And so, the Chronomancer attacks!
Link asks the strangers if they know why they have been sent to this place. The woman claims they were sent so the change could begin. And she would advise Link to wag her finger elsewhere, lest she rues the day she ever crossed a Shaw. She asks her teammates, Fold and Trickster, to teleport them to the surface. Fold and Trickster go stand around Shaw, and start teleporting away. Shaw’s final words are to let the future begin.
The Witness tells Link it’s good she and her team came to Dunduine like he told them. Now, he wants Link to keep listening to what Shaw just told her. The Witness knows that the Chronomancer has gotten too powerful. That balance needs to be set right. He learned that, when something gets too big in this world, something else gets knocked down. Link thanks the Witness for always having been there for her... and for the rest of the team, as well. She doesn’t know what the Witness is doing with those Hellfire Clan people, or what he has kept secret from the team, but she does promise to try to understand. The Witness thanks Link for that, and for always trusting him. As the Witness walks away from her and goes back to Michael, Link wonders in herself, if the Chronomancer is the one who’s too powerful and needs knocking down, why would he attack the Witness?
Above...
Bishop compliments that, in his eyes at least, Kinlan has restored his people’s standing and his father’s name. Kinlan knows that his people’s time has come and gone. He realizes that may sound cold, but cold was his father’s way as well. Kinlan thinks his father would be sick to know what the Kith have become, but proud that he ended it today. Bishop promises to spread the legend of the Kith. In that case, Kinlan suggests Bishop lets the legend grow with his. Kinlan apologizes and flies up in the air, as there is still one thing left he needs to do. That goes for them both, Bishop says. He wishes Kinlan good luck.
In the city, Jinx scouts ahead and informs Scorch that it looks like the Kith have broken off. Scorch agrees, but thinks this battle still isn’t over. Meanwhile, Bishop sneaks behind a wall, stares at some houses and holds a knife in his hand.
In the air, the remaining Kith wonder what to do. Kalin had led them to war, but now it looks as though he’s leading them to defeat. And the last few of the usually loyal Kith don’t seem to be taking that very well, and start flying off. Kalin wants to know where his troops are going, but doesn’t gain an answer. He calls them all cowards and hopes they die in shame. Kinlan appears behind his brother and challenges him to a battle, and hits Kalin in his face!
Below, Bishop states that it has been raining death all morning, but it looks like they’re close to end it. He can feel it in his bones. The Chronotroopers try to sneak up on Bishop, but their armor makes too much noise and Bishop starts fighting back. However, the troopers open fire on him, and Bishop has to run into safety.
Kalin angrily shouts at his brother that the empire belongs to him! However, Kinlan points out that the Kith are leaving Kalin’s side, and are even knocking off the Chronotroopers of their backs. He knows the Kith know disgrace when they see it. The brothers start fighting each other again.
Down the streets, the Chronotroopers open fire on Bishop! He tries to protect himself, but the bullets hit him! But, suddenly, the shooting stops... and Bishop is unharmed?! How? He looks up, and sees Shaw landing from above, having used magic from her hands to help him out. She tells the X-Man not to worry, because the Chronotroopers hate her much more than they hate him!
Kinlan states to his brother that for so long he has been his prisoner. While Kalin took the throne that wasn’t meant for him, he led the Kith to this ugly end. A deadly injured Kalin tries to respond, but can’t. Kinlan uses his claws and sharp toenails to strike his brother again, reminiscing that Kalin always was a jealous one. He even calls him unworthy to be a son of their father. He knows Kalin wanted to be so much like their father. Kinlan thinks he can take care of that and suddenly throws Kalin hard against Dunduine’s wall, hoping that he’ll join their father in death.
Bishop asks his new companion who she is. She introduces her herself as Samarra, of the House of Shaw. But on that moment, the wall of Dunduine starts crumbling! Samarra reveals to Bishop that he is important to her and her people. In time, she promises to explain more. But first, she wants to make certain Bishop lives through this day. Just as the Chronotroopers start surrounding Bishop, Samarra flies him and herself up in the sky. The wall collapses and crushes down on the Chronotroopers, destroying them all.
Samarra throws Bishop on the ground, and he lands before his friend’s feet. Kinlan telepathically contacts Bishop, and tells him to look up in the sky, should he need him. He flies away, wishing Bishop good luck. Now... and forever. Bishop wishes Kinlan the same thing. Bishop then looks around, and notices that Samarra is gone already. He asks Scorch if he saw the woman who was with him. They get interrupted by Jericho, who wants to talk to his... friend.
Bishop tells Jericho that he has a wall to repair, and some questions of his to answer. But first, he wants Duncan to inform his people that Dunduine is free. And that if the Kith should choose to attack again, they’ll have friends to call upon. Jericho promises to rebuild, and tells Bishop they are in his debt. Bishop tells Jericho that he has someone else to thank besides him, and thinks about Kinlan. Bishop looks outside the broken wall, and all the formerly imprisoned people stand on the plains. Jericho immediately spots his daughter, and he and Justina share a hug.
Jinx finds some of the remains of the white uniforms of the Chronotroopers, and gets an idea and asks Scorch to help her with it. The Witness and Michael appear behind Bishop, and the Witness thinks it’s time he gave Bishop some answers. He told the team to come to Dunduine... and he is glad they did. They won a big fight today, and made allies he knows Bishop is going to need. Bishop is glad to see Michael and asks if he’s all right, to which Michael replies that he is. Bishop demands to know who the Witness thinks he is to test him.
Samarra, Fold and Trickster appear again as well. Samarra tells Bishop to save his questions for later, certain he’s going to have plenty of time to compose them later... away from those who don’t need to know the answers. She asks Fold to, together with her sister Trickster, to take them away from here. Fold and Trickster start teleporting everyone away, with Bishop and his team realizing that they are actually being unmade.
As the pleased citizens of Dunduine watch in awe as how their saviors depart, Jericho stares at the new “X”-Flag Jinx raised up in the city. He thanks his friends for the final time for their help.
