With the Dark Riders standing behind him, Tyler angrily tells his father, Cable, that opportunities are what make life grand. Apocalypse is dead, meaning someone had to take advantage of that opportunity. And that someone was him, and Tyler wants Nathan to help him.
“It is my son,” Cable has to tell himself over and over. It is his son who confronts him and not the ancient madman, Apocalypse. It is his son.
Tyler orders the Dark Riders to kill Domino, Storm and Caliban. Immediately, Spyne grabs at Caliban, smirking that it’s feeding time and he wants to start with the big one. Caliban does his best to defend himself, and gives Tusk a few hard punches. Caliban threatens Spyne that he isn’t his food: he is his enemy. Storm fires a lightning bolt at Deadbolt, correcting the Riders that, in their previous encounters, they caught them unaware. She promises that won’t be the case this time. Nearby, Domino is overwhelmed by Lifeforce and Gauntlet, and she jokingly tells Cable he can jump in to help any time. But Cable is nowhere to be seen.
Cable feels as if he has woken up from a nightmare, only to find out the nightmare had only just begun. Together with Storm; who cannot be matched in her control of the elements; Caliban; the Morlock who possesses an uncanny ability to track mutants everywhere on the face of the planet; and Domino; Cable’s friend, compatriot and pistol-packing-partner for longer than she’d like to remember; they followed the Dark Riders, Apocalypse’s foot soldiers, down a path of death and destruction that took them here to Akkaba in Egypt, which is the birthplace of En Sabah Nur. They found the village burned and the townspeople slaughtered for no apparent reason. In his heart, Cable wishes for the unthinkable to be true: that Apocalypse were alive, even that would be easier to accept than the fact that the man responsible for the blood all around him… is his son.
Suddenly, a loud shot is fired into the air, causing the combatants to stop fighting each other for a moment. Tyler asks his father if something is on his mind. Cable, standing between the rubbles of destroyed buildings, speaks to his son. He tells Tyler that, if this is between the two of them, he suggests he leave his friends out of this. He wants them to be given free passage, and he promises to surrender himself to Tyler unconditionally!
Silently, Cable mentally recalls that he has worn many names in his lifetime. Time traveler; mercenary; rebel. But at this moment, no name weighs as heavily upon him as “father.”
Tyler thinks about Cable’s proposal, and smiles this sure is a day full of surprises. And they’ve still got a very long night ahead of them! Tyler accepts the offer, and orders the Dark Riders to capture him. Domino asks Cable what he’s doing to do if they don’t agree with the suggestion. Cable tells Domino she is so found of telling him: to shut up. Nathan gives his X-medallion to Storm, wanting her to give it back to the Morlock leader, as he won’t be needing it after all. He orders Caliban to make sure the ladies get back home.
Domino whispers to Nathan this isn’t over yet. Storm, though reluctantly, understands, but Caliban sure doesn’t. Cable lets the Dark Riders handcuff him, and drops on his knees. He wants Tyler to live up to his word now. Tyler informs his daddy that his word means nothing to him... but he’ll let his friends go because it happens to fit in his plans… for now. Tyler shouts that the fun is over, and orders Harddrive to teleport them back home.
In a flash of techno-energy, Harddrive does as told and teleports his teammates and leader away, along with Cable.
Once they are gone, Caliban admits he’s confused. He doesn’t remember finding the Morlocks, so he wonders how Storm is going to give them back the “X.” Domino also wonders what Cable’s got up his sleeve. Storm explains it’s a telepathic whisper. It was two words: “open” and “follow”. She opens the X-badge Cable gave her, which has a button inside it. The button starts to bleep, and Storm explains the badge acts as a homing device. Caliban understands now, and promises they’ll find friend “Cable Nathan.” They’ll find him anywhere! Domino tries to correct Caliban about saying Cable’s proper name, but changes her mind, realizing it’s no use. She, Storm and Caliban just move out quickly to find their missing friend.
Somewhere else…
Overwhelming, the smell of burning ozone and nuclear waste is the stench of true evil. This is the last known headquarters of Apocalypse. The Dark Riders have imprisoned Cable in an ivory tower that is built in Apocalypse’s dark image. Tyler finds this place impressive, but he guesses that, when you’ve been around for as long as Apocalypse has, you collect a few things. Cable remains silent. This upsets Tyler a bit, asking if he doesn’t have a snappy comeback. He wonders where that famous Cable gallows humor is?
Cable asks Tyler not to do this, reminding him he’s nothing like Apocalypse. He tells Tyler doesn’t know Apocalypse’s evil. That he doesn’t know his hate! As he speaks, the Riders put Cable in a device, which also holds capsules in which the unconscious bodies of Foxbat and Hurricane are contained. In response to his father, Tyler angrily shouts at Cable not to lecture him about hate! From this day on, Tyler speeches, he renounces the name Tyler Dayspring. When he sits upon the throne of Apocalypse, he takes his power. And with it, he will be reborn. He will be… GENESIS!!!
As Spyne crawls his red tentacles over Tyler’s legs, Tyler explains that Nathan will no longer be his father, just “Cable.” He and his cursed future where the rebels die in Akkaba. Where he abandons him to the chaos bringer Stryfe! Tyler wants to change the future here and now! Cable thinks he understands what this is all about. Tyler… slaughtered the innocents in Akkaba today… to keep it from happening in the future? He’s certain that won’t work. He asks Tyler if he doesn’t see how he has set himself up to fail, to which Tyler jokingly says, “Shame on you.” Just because Cable has mastered the art of failure doesn’t mean the rest of them have to follow suit.
Back to the desert, where…
Storm is flying up in the sky, while Caliban holds her hand and holds Domino tight in his arm. Ororo asks if they are close yet and Domino indicates from the bleeping of Cable’s X-badge it can’t be far anymore, as the thing is bleeping like mad. She would suggest to be put down. Caliban agrees, as he can sense Cable, too. Storm drops the two, and Domino notices there’s nothing more than sand in sight for a jillion miles. However, Caliban is sure Cable is there. Domino mocks that means Caliban is a lot like this homing device: decorative, but not very useful. Storm shares she doesn’t think she has met anyone who has so much to say about everything. Domino says she resembles that remark. Caliban again says he thinks Domino is funny. He doesn’t understand her, but still thinks Domino is funny.
Storm finds it odd that there appears to be nothing there, while both Caliban and Cable’s homing device claim that Nathan is. She rises up in the air, and creates a powerful wind to clear the sand out of their way. Ororo says that, if her years as leader of the X-Men have taught her anything, it’s that appearances can be deceiving. In Storm’s hands, the desert winds respond the way a child works with clay. Molding the air into a force ten gale, she blasts back the drifting sand, peeling off the desert floor until it stands revealed: the fortress of Apocalypse! Domino notices that the building has an image of the face of Apocalypse on it, which means this must be the place.
Inside, another secret of Apocalypse is revealed. The Dark Riders’ prey are not always left for dead. There in Apocalypse’s throne, good and evil mutants alike serve as fodder for his powerful siphon. And now, that siphon fills Tyler Dayspring until he becomes… Genesis!
As he sits in his throne and absorbs the energy coming out of several machines, Tyler knows his father likes irony. He mentions Apocalypse had a hand in creating Nathan. And now, Tyler is using both Nathan and Apocalypse to create himself. Telepathically, Cable threatens Tyler that he can stop him if he has to. But the truth is, not even Cable knows if he has enough telepathic strength to back up his claim. At least it will buy him some time, as he telekinetically reshapes the techno-virus infection in his arm and sets to work his restraints!
Meanwhile…
As Domino sees it, the situation is a textbook covert op: get in quickly, eliminate the position, and do as much damage as she can along the way! She jumps down a shaft and jumps down, where she lands in a room. The room was being guarded by Deadbolt, but Domino quickly knocks the Dark Rider out by kicking him hard in the face. Caliban and Storm jump down from the shaft as well. Impatient, Caliban asks when he is going to get to do some fighting. Domino angrily whispers to Caliban to keep his voice down, as another Rider has entered the room.
Spyne informs Deadbolt that his relief has arrived. Not gaining an answer from Deadbolt, Spyne begins to worry. Caliban then quickly grabs the red-skinned Rider by his tail and slams him hard against a wall, and Spyne is knocked out as well. Storm, Caliban and Domino find a huge door and Cable’s homing device indicates Nathan is just ahead of them. Domino asks Storm if she can get them inside, though Caliban is more concerned with asking Domino how he well he did. Domino promises that, if they make it out of there alive, she’ll give Caliban a cookie. Storm lights up her hand, and powerful lightning bolts come from it. She holds her other hand to the locked door, and warns her friends to stand back.
Inside, Cable continues talking telepathically to Tyler, but he is starting to sweat from the effort. He informs Tyler he knows Stryfe twisted him enough until he would come to hate him, but he still sees Tyler as his son and wants to help him. Tyler answers telepathically back with a grins that it’s a surprise to see his father also having telepathy, and jokes it’s yet another surprise in a day full of them. He invites Cable to come inside his head, but warns him it won’t be very pleasant.
Nathan knows Tyler sees Akkaba as a show of force and tells him he is wrong in that. He killed those people for nothing! Their sacrifice hasn’t given him any power! He’s certain Tyler can’t change the future with any certainty, because if that would be possible, Nathan would have already tried doing that. This massacre may be the event that drives Apocalypse! Nathan wishes he could have stopped this, and tells Tyler he has no idea what he has done. Tyler angrily calls his dad a liar. He’s confident he changed the future and that nothing will ever be the same.
On that moment, Storm’s lightning bolts blast through the door, and she and her companions storm through it. Ororo orders Caliban to take out the Riders, and he begins doing just that, promising not to disappoint her. Ororo herself will try to disable as much machinery as she can, and she orders Domino to be responsible for Cable’s safety. Gauntlet starts shooting at Domino but she dodges all of his bullets. Instead, some of the bullets hit the device Cable was trapped in, causing it to smash open. Domino thanks Gauntlet for saving her the trouble.
Explosions begin throughout the battle. Domino thinks things have got a way for falling into place for her, but she has a feeling she’s pushing her luck right now. Lifeforce joins the action and Domino kicks her in the face, while Gauntlet is still shooting behind her, but keeps missing. Cable has jumped out of his “prison” and approaches Tyler. He is angry with Nathan and swears that before this day is done, Cable will bow before him and call him “Genesis.” Cable refuses and angrily grabs Tyler by the arm. He pushes Tyler against a wall, and starts talking to him telepathically again.
Nathan desperately tries to explain to his son that Stryfe brainwashed him, filled his head with lies about the world, about their relationship and about how Tyler was taken away from him. That Tyler could embrace anything having to do with Apocalypse doesn’t fill Nathan with anger, only with sadness for the innocents lost. He promises there isn’t a day that does not go by when he thinks of Tyler, knowing he’s out there, hoping that someday he’d come back to him. Tyler is almost speechless and wants to say something to his father, but then…
An explosion causes the platform Tyler and Cable were standing on to rip apart, and Tyler falls off. Cable quickly reacts and grabs his son by his arm, and tries to pull him back on. Cable refuses to let Tyler go and wants him to come back with them. Cable knows people who can help him. He can help Tyler. Domino shouts at Cable and warns him they’ve got to leave… NOW! Hesitant, Tyler tells Nathan he can’t come back to him… yet. He won’t relinquish the power he now holds. He won’t do that for his father or anyone else. Tyler orders Harddrive to teleport him and the Riders away, and it is done. Cable angrily promises the absent Tyler that this isn’t over, as he has gone too far.
The base ends in a fiery explosion. Luckily, Cable and Domino were able to escape by themselves, and Storm was able to fly herself and Caliban out just in time. When Domino asks Nathan if he’s all right, a visibly angry Cable lies he is: they beat the Dark Riders, got out alive… what more could he want? Nathan runs away from his friends, leaving then very confused. Caliban asks why Cable-Nathan doesn’t want to be with his friends. Storm suggests Domino go after Cable, but she doesn’t want to. She thinks Nathan needs to be alone right now.
This mission has given Cable and the others a lot to think about. Domino in particular. Just when she is certain she has figured Cable out, she feels like she doesn’t know him at all. For years, Cable was seen by everyone, Domino included, as a man who was so hardened by battle, his heart had gone cold. And now she knows a different truth: Cable is a man who fights for a better tomorrow, to save the world from the pain he carries with him today.
Cable keeps moving further into the desert until he finally stops. He pulls a purple thing out of his utility belt, and rolls it’s open. It’s an old photo of his wife, Jenskot, with a young Tyler in her arms. Cable stares at it, and a tear falls out of his eye.
Later…
Time passes. Cable and the others return to America and the drama that is their lives. What was once the hallowed fortress of Apocalypse lies undisturbed. A graveyard filled the folly of those who would follow a madman. Apocalypse is dead… isn’t he?
From the shadows of the destroyed fortress, a huge man crawls out the rubble. He has furiously glowing red eyes, a grey skin and a blue hand…
