Seeing Dust lying dead on the floor sends Rockslide into a “berserker rage” and he attacks Donald Pierce brutally and relentlessly. Meanwhile, Ink races over to Dust’s body and tries using his caduceus tattoo to revive her.
In an alternate future, a demented Dust has cornered in the ruins of the Xavier Institute the final X-Men and the world’s last mutants: Emma Frost, Graymalkin and Anole. Having abandoned her Islamic niqab, Dust now wears a costume and grins devilishly from her exposed face.
In the present, Ink confirms that his tattoo isn’t working on Dust, which sends Rockslide over the edge. Wolverine tops him before he kills Pierce, telling the young mutant that he isn’t worth it. Rockslide finally stops at Anole’s urging and he breaks down and weeps.
As the Young X-Men come to grips with the loss of their friend, Anole states that being part of the X-Men is pointless and that their team of Young X-Men is nothing but cannon fodder and all they do is die. Ink sits in silent thought, as Graymalkin tries to convince him that Dust’s death wasn’t his fault.
Cipher enters and tells them that she and Moonstar are finished preparing Dust’s body for burial and that Angel has found a nice location for her on the hillside. She reminds the team that Dust must be buried within 24 hours, according to her religion. Unable to move on so quickly, Rockslide begins to think Anole is right. Ink, however, gets up abruptly and storms out, saying “Screw this,” surprising Anole and Rockslide who didn’t think he cared.
In the future, Dust battles the last X-Men, flaying the skin off of Graymalkin’s bone and suffocating Emma Frost. When Anole is the last one standing, he questions why she’s doing this. Dust states that mutants are a plague upon the earth and she is the storm that wipes them away. With that, she flays the skin off Anole in one final sweep.
In the present, Ink approaches Dust’s body and says how she was the last person who deserved to die. Ink admits that he’s “kind of a %@#$” but he also has a lot of power. He points to the Phoenix tattoo over his eye and questions if he can use it to bring her back to life.
In the future, Dust finally makes her way to Ink, who is wheelchair bound and frail. Dust believes that Ink is responsible for corrupting her soul. Ink tells her that she can blame him but not every other mutant on Earth. Dust says that it’s too late but that she didn’t mind killing them because they couldn’t prevent her death in the first place. Dust apologizes as she kills Ink, knowing that his heart was in the right place.
In the present, Ink uses his Phoenix powers on Dust’s body. A moment later, Dust wakes up and finds Ink comatose on the floor, now without his Phoenix tattoo.
Beast runs tests on both Dust and Ink. He confirms that Ink used his Phoenix tattoo to resurrect Dust but states that it’s illogical to think that such energy could be transferred through something as simple as a tattoo, meaning that they are dealing with something entirely new. Beast tells Sunspot and Cyclops that, although Ink still has brain activity, it’s very subdued, as if it’s been overcharged.
The Young X-Men run into the room and begin to rejoice over Dust’s return to life, which Rockslide states is something you get used to as an X-Man. When Rockslide tells her that her death causes them to consider calling it quits, Dust questions their reasoning and tells them that they’re still X-Men.
Suddenly, Moonstar interrupts to tell the team that the Neo are back and advancing on San Francisco. To this, Dust asks her teammates if they are in fact still X-Men, to which Anole responds with a “What the hell?”
The Young X-Men come together once again as a team and jump into battle against the Neo.
