The Xavier Institute for Mutant Education and Outreach, where Old Man Logan has fallen under the control of the diabolical Ahab.
'Get the Beast, Hound! Tear him to shreds for your master!' Ahab orders Old Man Logan, while the time displaced Hank McCoy a.k.a. Beast leans over Rachel Grey a.k.a. Prestige, who is on the ground, clutching her head in agony. 'Logan! No, what are you -' Beast calls out, as Logan just growls at the Beast, who goes wide-eyed with fear. 'Logan!' he shouts.
Searebro, 3,000 feet below the ocean's surface:
The time-displaced Scott Summers a.k.a. Cyclops motions to monitors displaying battles that other X-Men are currently engaged in and tells Jean Grey of the present day that the X-Men need their help, that they have to go back to the Mansion. 'We can't' Jean tells him, with Kurt Wagner a.k.a. Nightcrawler at her side, and Laura Kinney a.k.a. X-23 and Gabby Kinney a.k.a. Honey Badger nearby. Cyclops tells Jean that he watched Ahab kill Bloodstorm. 'If you think that I'm just going to stand around while he -' Cyclops begins, to which Jean reminds him that they made a promise to protect him here – no matter what happens.
In the X-Wing, 30,000 feet above New Jersey:
'... we are keeping your ass far away from Ahab' Neena Thurman a.k.a. Domino tells the time-displaced Jean Grey a.k.a. Marvel Girl. Also in the X-Wing are Sam Guthrie a.k.a. Cannonball, Tabby Smith a.k.a. Boom-Boom, Shatterstr and James Proudstar a.k.a. Warpath. Marvel Girl tells the former X-Force members that the reason she asked to be on their team is because she scanned their minds. 'Rude' Domino mutters, as Marvel Girl reveals that she knows what they are planning. 'You're going after Cable, the kid Cable. You're looking for answers. I want them too' Marvel Girl remarks, as Domino tells her that there is no reason about what happened to Cable – he was murdered.
Back at the Xavier Institute, Old Man Logan roars as he lunges towards the time-displaced Beast, but thankfully this time period's Beast leaps at him, and grabbing Old Man Logan by his head, slams him to the ground. Beast tells his younger self to get out of here, to get somewhere safe. 'We'll deal with this' he assures him. The younger Beast begins to protest, but the Beast shouts 'NOW' while Ororo Munroe a.k.a. Storm and Bobby Drake a.k.a. Iceman battle other Hounds nearby. Logan slices his claws into Beast's side. 'Logan – whatever he's done to you, you can fight this' Beast calls out, while his younger self runs down a corridor. 'No, he can't' Ahab declares boasting that once he, the Master of Hounds, has his hooks into a fresh new Hound, he doesn't let go – especially not when it comes to one who brings as much to the table as Logan does. The Beast grabs Logan's fists and holds him back: 'I know how you operate... torture... brainwashing... it takes years. How did you -?' the Beast asks Ahab – only for Logan to shove his claws into him.
'Easy' Ahab tells Logan, as the two pale-skinned young mutant walk over to him. 'Plunk two helpless muties in front of the X-Men and they'll trample over themselves for the opportunity to save them'. Ahab smiles, adding that it was so easy that this victory barely feels fairly won. 'They're just children!' Kitty Pryde calls out. Ahab looks over her and tells her that is true, but that they are also useful weapons. Ahab explains that Maxime is pretty adept at manipulating the emotions of those around him, which is handy for keeping people calm while Manon implants her psychic bombs, hiding them deep inside brains. 'No need for years of torture when we can implant several years' worth of memories of it' Ahab explains. 'Like the anaesthesiologist and a surgeon. They work quite well together... creating Hounds in an instant. It's really quite spectacular'.
'What have you done with Bobby?' Iceman shouts as he slides towards Ahab firing ice-spikes at him as he asks about his time-displaced self. 'What are you talking about, mutie?' Ahab replies, slamming his staff into Bobby and knocking him backwards.
At that moment, Storm apologizes to Logan as she blasts him with lightning, enabling the Beast to kick Logan off of him. 'You've left us little choice' Storm tells Logan, before turning to the Beast and instructing him to go assist his younger self and make sure that he makes it to safety. Covered in blood, the Beast begins to tell Storm that he won't leave her, but Storm assures him that they will handle this and tells him to go. Storm quickly dodges the spear that Ahab hurls at her, demanding the young Beast. 'Give him to us and this all ends here' Ahab adds 'Not a chance' Storm replies. Ahab tells her that if he can't have the young Beast, then maybe he can have another. 'My Hounds are everywhere. And can be activated with simply... a snap of the fingers' he reveals, snapping his fingers.
And, suddenly, in Searebro, Nightcrawler cries out in pain and clutches his head, before he teleports into the air above Cyclops and drops down towards him: 'Mutant...' he utters, while Jean calls out to Nightcrawler, asking him what he is doing. 'No' Cyclops exclaims. '... kill the...' Nightcrawler begins, before he suddenly teleports away again.
In the X-Wing:
'... mutant...' Shatterstar exclaims as he falls under Ahab's control, he lunges forward to Marvel Girl, attacking her with his double-blade sword, but narrowly missing her. 'What the hell, man?' Domino calls out. 'Kill the mutant!' Shatterstar exclaims.
Back in Searebro:
'Where did they go?' X-23 asks. Jean tells her she is trying to track them, before Honey Badger points out into the sea surrounding them: 'There... in the water' she calls out as Nightcrawler teleports into the water and releases Cyclops, who struggles to breathe. 'Why's Kurt trying to drown Scotty?' Honey Badger asks. 'No! The pressure will kill him!' Jean exclaims as she throws a telekinetic shield around Cyclops and orders the medical bay ready.
In the X-Wing, Warpath holds Shatterstar back and asks him what has gotten into him. Cannonball stands with them while Marvel Girl reports that someone has done something to Shatterstar's mind, filled it with memories.
'If you guys keep bumping me, I swear you'll make me crash this jet!' Domino warns the others as she continues to pilot the jet. 'Kill the mutant!' Shatterstar shouts as he pulls himself up against Warpath's body and kicks Cannonball backwards, before slamming his head back into Warpath's face.
Marvel Girl informs the others that Ahab is making Shatterstar do this, trying to make him kill her, he doesn't know what he's doing, he is confused. 'Confused? I once brought a dollhouse kitchen table set off Ebay because I thought it was full-people sized. That's confused. This ain't' Boom-Boom exclaims as she slams a plasma blast into Shatterstar's face. Domino tells Marvel Girl that she needs to shut Shatterstar down with her “mind thing”. 'I'm trying! I can't reach him!' Marvel Girl responds, wide-eyed, while Cannonball looks at Shatterstar.
In the medlab at Searebro, a now shirtless Cyclops has been hooked up to a respirator to help him breathe. Jean and Trinary are at his side, while X-23 and Honey Badger stand nearby. 'Is he -?' Honey Badger starts to ask. 'No. But he's not in good shape' Jean replies, adding that the pressure of the ocean could have crushed him. Jean puts a hand on Scott's chest and remarks that she hopes they got to him soon enough. The women then fall silent.
'Kill the mutant!' Shatterstar shouts once more inside the X-Wing, knocking Warpath off of him. 'Enough'a this. Y'all keep going. Ah'll handle Shatterstar!' Cannonball calls out as he suddenly blasts forward within the X-Wing and bursts out of the jet, forcing Shatterstar out with him.
Inside the Xavier Institute, Ahab searches for the time-displaced Beast, calling out that he only needs one thing of him – that he give himself up and then the others can walk away from this. Storm battles Old Man Logan still while Iceman and Glob Herman fight other Hounds. Two Hound scamper along at Ahab's feet, as Ahab warns the young Beast that if he continues to run, then young Cyclops, Angel, Jean or Bobby must take his place. 'Are you able to live with that? Knowing that one of your teammates gave their lives because you were too cowardly to do the same for them?' Ahab grins.
Down another corridor, both Beasts are pursued by Hounds. 'Keep running! I'll handle these -' the older Beast calls out as young Beast runs ahead – then suddenly, bullets are fired and knock down the Hounds. 'Huh?' Beast calls out as he looks up and sees his younger self who has been grabbed by the mysterious time-displaced Cable. 'What are you -?' young Beast asks. 'This is for your own good' the time-displaced Cable tells him, as he pulls the trigger on a stun device, knocking the young Beast out. 'Bodyslide by two' Cable utters, before he and the young Beast vanish, as the older Beast leaps towards them, Henry!' he shouts, before he slams into the wall. Bruised and bleeding the Beast contacts Kitty via communicator, informing her that they got his younger self. 'The younger Cable. He took him. I couldn't...' Beast gasps, before hanging his head, he begins to cry, and utters that he is sorry.
'Beast? Are you there? BEAST?' Kitty shouts, but gets no response. At that moment, Ahab finds the now unconscious Beast and tells his Hounds that their target is gone and it is not worth the risk for them to remain. 'Hounds...we are done here' Ahab announces, as he and his Hound vanish. Kitty, Storm, Iceman, Armor, Glob and Rockslide suddenly find themselves fighting no one. 'Where'd they all go?' Armor asks. Bobby asks Kitty where kid Hank is. 'Please tell me they didn't -' he begins, to which Kitty hangs her head. 'He's... he's gone' she utters.
Inside Cable's base, the time-displaced Beast has been placed in a stasis tank alongside his teammates Bobby Drake a.k.a. Iceman and Warren Worthington a.k.a. Angel. Cable looks at a monitor, when suddenly, someone screams He goes over to another part of the base where Calvin Rankin a.k.a. Mimic is strung up, his wings clamped behind him. Cable asks his computer system, Professor, why Mimic is awake, so Professor increases the dose of isofluraine. 'When I get out of here, I'm going to... kill...' Mimic threatens Cable, before he passes out from the increased drug, and Cable thanks Professor.
The X-Wing is on a downward spiral as Domino struggles to control the jet, 'He couldn't have opened the hatch first?' Domino shouts, remarking that it is time to put all the cards on the table. Domino declares that Cable led them when they were called X-Force, turned them into the people they are today, so they owe him everything. Domino adds that Cable put his life on the line for them countless times, before Boom-Boom points out that Cable and Domino used to be a thing. 'They used to take baths together all the time and it was pretty G-R-O-S-S to have to listen to' Boom-Boom exclaims. Domino looks at Marvel Girl and reminds her that she read their minds, so she knows they are not planning to just sit on their butts while Cable's killer is still out there. 'That's why we should have gone back -' Marvel Girl begins, but Domino tells her no – that X-Force doesn't do things the way she and the rest of the X-Men do.
'When we find the son of a bitch who killed Cable... there's no talking. No discussion. Just a bullet in the brain pan' Domino frowns, putting two fingers to her head imitating a gun. 'Or an explosive' Boom-Boom suggests. 'I'll slit his throat from ear to ear' Warpath boasts, to which Boom-Boom points out that it really depends on who gets to him first.
Domino tells Marvel Girl that it is going to get dirty, it is going to get ugly, and that if she can't agree with that, or if she is going to get in the way, then she will drop her off with the Avengers or whoever so they can babysit her while they take care of business. 'You done lecturing me?' Marvel Girl asks. 'For now' Domino replies. 'Good' Marvel Girl tells her, before instructing her to take a right up here, as she is headed in the wrong direction.
Meanwhile, a horrid flying pirate ship called the Pequoud is Ahab's base of operations and is currently 50,000 feet above New York. Nightcrawler teleports onto the bridge and informs Ahab that it is done – he left young Cyclops at the bottom of the ocean. 'He is surely dead by now' Nightcrawler remarks. Ahab tells him that assurances are not enough, that he wants his body. Nightcrawler explains that the pressure was too great, he had to leave before he was killed, too. 'Then you should have stayed and died with him' Ahab mutters, before instructing one of his Hounds to set course for Searebro, and they will make sure that the job is done. Ahab wonders about the young Iceman, Angel and now Beast, where did they go and why do the X-Men think he has already taken them? Maxime suggests that there is another player in the game. 'Who?' Ahab asks the boy. 'Cable' Manon reveals, adding that whatever he is trying to do, he is too late.
Back at Cable's base, Cable instructs Professor to expand the scan perimeters by two degrees longitude and latitude. Professor complies and Cable instructs Professor again to report any anomalies in the scan – any blackouts or anything that could be someone trying to cloak their position. Professor continues to scan, and Cable wonders where the others are. Professor soon reports that he has located the time-displaced Jean Grey. 'Where?' Cable asks, before an explosion rocks his base and knocks him backwards. Professor issues some warning signals and reports that they are under attack. 'You don't say' Cable mutters, before asking where the breach is. 'Right here' a voice calls out, and Cable looks up to see Marvel Girl, Domino, Warpath and Boom-Boom have blasted their way into his base. 'Dude, your security system sucks' Tabby points out. 'Oath...' Cable gasps.
