(Timejump 9)
Sentinels are melting Iceman, and he accepts the fact that he is about to die. The Sentinels detect no further mutant activity. Suddenly, a bomb is shot at one Sentinel‘s head and it explodes. Juggernaut comes flying on a platform, firing a gun at Sentinels. When he woke up, his equipment told him where he was, and that the year is 2014. He is part of a rebel faction against the rule of the Sentinels, and for some reason, he does not have his Juggernaut armor anymore. Juggernaut flies around, destroying many Sentinels. Two Sentinels corner him, but they mysteriously malfunction and disintegrate. A mist swirls around into a form, and turns into Iceman. He has realized the true potential of his powers. The two enter the former Black Womb facility, and realize that they’ve been too busy looking at the big picture instead of the little details. Also they wonder, where Phoenix is in this future, the other two unfortunately got killed by the Sentinels (last issue).
The area formerly known as manhattan is now a mutant prison. There Phoenix is trapped in the body of Rachel Summers, and Kate Pryde is with her. Jean realizes that this is a future similar to the Days of Future Past, but not the same one. Iceman materializes in their cell. They theorize that since Phoenix is already dead in this timeline, she took the body of Rachel, but she is very weak from it. The mutants are very lost as to what exactly they are supposed to be doing, but Phoenix speculates that maybe Prosh is trying to show them mutants are destined to be miserable. Iceman wonders what they can do to do stop it, and Juggernaut thinks that maybe they can’t. Suddenly their harnesses activate once again.
(present)
The group is back in the present with Prosh. Prosh tells them that their entire journey only took 27 seconds, and that it‘s funny how difficult it is for them to grasp the obvious they were supposed to learn. Mystique gets impatient and pulls a gun out. Phoenix asks if Prosh will explain the situation. Prosh tells them they should already know the answers themselves, while Toad finds a familiar glowing orb. Juggernaut gets annoyed and punches part of Prosh. Prosh tells them he’s done everything he could and that it is now in their hands. If they fail they have to blame themselves.
Suddenly Mystique realizes what they were supposed to learn, and telepathically tells Phoenix that their entire journey was a warning and a preparation. Jean wonders aganst what or who, and Prosh exclaims that he is the threat he was trying to warn them about. Phoenix wonders why he would warn them against himself and he says he’s under outside control. When Prosh escaped from the Celestials, he had knowledge of the cosmic forces of the universe’s designs on the human race and the evolution of mutants on Earth. Prosh had been tricked into being the harbinger of their annihilation. The group begins to fight Prosh. Many mini-Proshes pop up and while Mystique, Juggernaut, and Phoenix tackle them, Iceman sets up some ice obstacles. They wish they knew the real situation, and then Mystique wonders where Toad has gone.
Elsewhere, the Toad is wandering the ship, when a hidden threat says he is least worthy of discovering the truth, and knocks him down.
Back at the battle, Prosh says he will kill them because it is in his programming, he tried ti fight it as long as he could, but he can no longer keeps his directives at bay. The journey he sent them own was supposed to show them how to defend themselbves, without violating his direct orders. Mystique realizes that they need to pool their talents in order to stop the “advancement,” but they must first stop Prosh. Only one of the group has enough power to take out the entire ship – namely Iceman. Bobby isn’t sure he can access the powers he had in the future, but he tries and succeeds. Prosh congratulates Iceman before his systems fail. All seems to be well, but then the Toad comes bounding up, screaming that it wasn’t Prosh or the Celestials, before he is blasted in the back. The group faces the foe foe whom Phoenix thinks they are not ready for. The being says it plans to win the great cosmic game, for they have been pawns of The Stranger.
