Hovering in orbit around the Earth is the Starcore Research station, designed by Dr. Peter Corbeau to study the sun. On board this station, besides the human personnel, are members of the X-Men, as well as the former Avenger, Carol Danvers, a.k.a. Binary. In the main chamber of the complex, Binary, Phoenix, and Cyclops are busy at work. Cyclops is attached to a machine with a guider for his ruby quartz visor that makes precise optic blasts. Binary and Phoenix are also attached to machines to make use of their powers. In the control room of the complex are some personnel, as well as the Beast and Rogue. Below, in a nearby chamber, is Bishop, who is ready to channel the energy that will soon be sent to him.
In the control room, Beast is ready to begin the procedure. Behind him and Rogue are two scientists, mumbling to each other. Both are nervous about Dr. Corbeau’s decision to let the X-Men on board and believe that the mutants may sabotage the reactor. However, their conversation is not unheard by the Beast, who kindly reminds them that the energy being processed through the systems could not be contained by the Starcore energy processor and that, if it were not for Bishop, who is channeling the energy with his powers, the whole station would blow up.
Below the control room, Cyclops and Bishop confirm that they are ready. However, Phoenix notices something going wrong with Binary. The Starcore personnel are alerted to off-scale readings coming from Binary. Beast aborts transfer, but Binary goes out of control and unleashes her powers on the unprepared Cyclops and Phoenix. As the crew attempt to get the dampeners back online, Bishop begins to absorb the extra energy from Binary, but he cannot hold out for long. Without a plan of action, Rogue and Beast smash their way through the control room in to the room below.
As they reach the ground, a mysterious energy encircles Binary that even Phoenix’s thoughts cannot penetrate. Suddenly, a Shi’ar commander in full body armor appears, sent by Viceroy Deathbird, claiming that, because Binary is capable of causing the destruction of the entire galaxy, she must be killed. Not believing anything that a minion of Deathbird says, Beast accuses him of causing Binary to go out of control. The commander, however, denies any involvement as Bishop enters the main chamber.
The on looking personnel believe the X-Men are to blame for this incident as all of Starcore’s systems short circuit. As the power goes out, the X-Men take advantage. Cyclops blasts the Shi’ar away, as Bishop grabs Binary, attempting to siphon off some of her power. Binary escapes Bishop’s grasp and flies off into space, as the five X-Men are teleported off the station. When the teleportation light fades, the personnel are left bewildered at the events. The computers are back online and sensors indicate a large alien craft outside the station. Believing that the X-Men were taken aboard, the personnel start to track the ship’s trajectory, but the ship, War Cry, blasts off at light speed, making that impossible.
Aboard War Cry, the X-Men find themselves on a transportation device, surrounded by hundreds of Shi’ar troops, seeking vengeance for the injuries their commander suffered. Phoenix tells the troops that Princess Lilandra can vouch for the team, but, suddenly, Deathbird appears, telling them that a recent act by X-Force has caused the Shi’ar to lose trust in all the X-Men. Deathbird demands the X-Men be put to death.
Elsewhere in space, Binary feels as she is being pulled somewhere. Hoping that her powers will stabilize, she finds the location of her destination: a white hole she created some time ago to save Earth! Close by, the imperial warbird, Howling Victory, spots Binary. With her powers unreliable and not wishing to harm the space craft, Binary flies away. The ship shoots a plasma ray at Binary, but her powers instinctively put up a shield. The blast rebounds back at the ship and, to her horror, the cruiser is destroyed.
Back aboard the War Cry, the Shi’ar seem to have made Jean angry. Using her powers, Phoenix destroys their ion cannons and the rest of the team stand ready to fight. Cyclops, on the other hand, is trying to reason with Deathbird, who refuses to listen. Having enough with words, the rest of the team start a fight with the Shi’ar troops. While his teammates fight on, Beast goes straight for Deathbird herself. However, she is a hologram and has a defense of her own. When Beast touches the hologram, he is given a good shock.
At that moment on the planet Hala, Deathbird asks her councilors what the chances are that five mutants can defeat one thousand Shi’ar. The chances, one councilor responds, are not good for the Shi’ar. Deathbird sends a message to the War Cry’s captain, telling him to self-destruct the ship, but a hologram of Princess Lilandra appears belaying that order. Deathbird is now enraged, but is left speechless when Lilandra informs all about more pressing matters: the planet of Zenn-La is gone. The culprit appears to have been the Silver Surfer!
Elsewhere in space, three Shi’ar scout ships are attacking the Silver Surfer. The Surfer wraps the ships in bubbles, hoping that will stop them from attacking. However, one of the captains thinks he can shoot through the shield. When they try, the blasts rebounds back to them and the ship is incinerated. The Surfer quickly frees the other two ships and heads to one of the Shi’ar ships for some answers. Aboard the ship, the workers accuse the Silver Surfer of destroying Zenn-La, which makes the Surfer very confused.
On the War Cry, the X-Men are trying to defend the Surfer, as this latest report does not seem to reflect who the Surfer really is: a valiant hero. Bishop, not informed on who the Surfer is, asks about him. Beast tells Bishop how Galactus came to Zenn-La in order to feed on its life force, but Norrin Radd gave his life in exchange for his world. Galactus transformed him into the Silver Surfer and he went on from there, finding only planets with no sentient life for Galactus to feed on. Beast turns to Deathbird and asks her how many planets she sacrificed for the empire. The insulted Deathbird blasts the Beast.
Believing that everyone is innocent until proven guilty, Cyclops asks Lilandra what proof she has of the Surfer’s actions. Lilandra tells them about a freight ship discovered, with all the passengers dead. A recording told them that the Silver Surfer destroyed Zenn-La.
Interrupting his empress, another Shi’ar tells Lilandra that a new energy reading is being recorded that matches that of the ones at Binary’s location and Zenn-La itself. This one, however, is light years away. Beast offers his services to help solve this caper and Lilandra readily accepts. Beast believes that the Surfer is being set up, but will need access tot the Shi’ar files on Zenn-La and data on Binary’s current wherabouts.
Back at the white hole, Binary is doing her best to stabilize the star, but her effort is not showing any results. Streaking through hyperspace, Phoenix is in search for Binary, who, according to Hank, will unwittingly end life as they know it in this section of the universe.
(flashback)
At a computer terminal, the Beast is explaining to the team that Binary’s white star is going into premature supernova. Carol’s unpredictable powers are doing more harm than good by exponentially increasing the speed of the reaction. Postulation a reason for these events, Beast bets that somebody knew that and is taking advantage of it – using her to further their own machinations.
(present)
Jean reaches Binary and sends out a psionic beam towards Carol, hoping she can calm her down.
On Chandilar, Lilandra and her councilors are surveying the situation. One of the councilors reminds Lilandra of the Beast’s predictions of earthquakes from ripples in the fabric of space. He asks if they should evacuate Chandilar, but Lilandra simply remarks that there is no place to go. As another tremor hits, a scout ship enters a stargate towards the Silver Surfer. Aboard that ship is Cyclops and Rogue, who are out to talk to the Surfer. The Surfer thinks that the X-Men are against him and turns to leave, but Rogue goes out after him.
(flashback)
The X-Men, Deathbird, and Lilandra are gathered around the Beast, who is explaining that the three similar energy signatures are uncanny and cannot form naturally like the way they did.
(present)
Rogue, wanting to stop the Surfer, takes off her gloves and touches him. Unfortunately, she is sent flying back by a wave of pure energy.
On Hala, Lilandra and Deathbird are arguing over what to do. Deathbird is enraged that Lilandra is trusting the X-Men, but Lilandra calmly points out that Deathbird’s own scientists have confirmed the Beast’s findings.
(flashback)
One of Deathbird’s councilors confirms what the Beast has hypothesized. If all three stars were to supernova, they would take out, not only part of the Andromeda Galaxy, but part of the Milky Way and others as well. Chandilar, Hala and Earth, the Beast informs them all, are well within in the designated danger zone.
(present)
The Surfer catches Rogue and brings her back to Cyclops’ ship. He apologizes, telling Scott that his body had a natural reaction to Rogue’s touch. Cyclops is unsure if he should trust the Silver Surfer, but Rogue regains consciousness and confirms the Surfer’s story. The Surfer and Cyclops exchange information and the Surfer wraps the ship in a cocoon. The three go at light speed towards the third white hole discovered.
Meanwhile, back at Hala, Chandilar, the Clench, and Starcore, the tremors return with such strong force that buildings begin to collapse, leaving little hope for the people.
Back at Binary’s white hole, Jean discovers that Binary is being coerced into doing what she is doing. Binary is mumbling something in a different language. However, the one coherent word she seems to be saying is “inciter.” Binary unleashes her extra energy and Phoenix takes advantage of this to free Carol.
The Surfer, Rogue, and Cyclops reach the third anomaly. The Surfer notices a rift in the time space continuum and senses anguish and despair inside. The Surfer and Rogue fly through the breach just as it closes behind them. What they find inside is horrible; before them is a giant techno-skull with red eyes. Green energy is emanating from the monstrosity and its eyes are looking straight at the two heroes. These are the Inciters. They are what destroyed Zenn-La and absorbed its citizens. The Inciters begin to mess with Rogue’s head, bringing her into their collective consciousness. When they take full control of her, they force her to plunge deep within them, absorbing her into them. Rogue is assimilated and begins to attack the Inciter’s only enemy, the Silver Surer.
Realizing their goal, the Surfer blasts Rogue out of the Inciters and she returns to normal. With Rogue freed from the collective, the Surfer guides his board into the construct’s core, which results in a very large and powerful explosion. The Inciters are destroyed, but the billions of people within it were obliterated, too, including those from Zenn-La. A shockwave is felt throughout the galaxy. Back at the War Cry, the Beast and Bishop discover that all three anomalies are returning back to normal. Carol is now free of the Inciter’s control. Cyclops is still waiting for Rogue and Surfer to return. A breach opens and the two return, though Rogue is unconscious. All return back to Hala.
Aboard a loaned ship from the Starjammers, the team wonders what the Inciter’s really were. Bishop wonders why the Silver Surfer left in a hurry, but Jean tells him that he is off to mourn his home world. Lilandra and Deathbird are having a very important meeting as the X-Men and Binary leave. The Inciters were believed to be fairy tale creatures and none knew they existed. Believing that they would cause galaxy wide chaos if the Inciters were revealed to be real, Lilandra decides to announce that a sleeper device of Galactus destroyed Zenn-La. The two sisters vow never to speak of the incident again.
Second story:
It’s Halloween night and the residents of the town Junction are out celebrating their favorite holiday. Of all the costumed people, one person sticks out who is walking down the streets: the unstoppable Juggernaut! Cain thinks of how he never believed that he would be back in Junction, but a twist of fate has led him to this town, and he could not resist the opportunity. Not much has changed to Cain as he walks down the street behind a group of children. Cain reaches Main Street just in time for the best part of the celebration, the parade. Grabbing a beer mug Cain goes to watch.
(flashback)
The place is still Junction, but the people are all different. A young boy named Cain is dressed as a cowboy and walking with his parents who are watching the parade. Cain wants to get a better view of the balloons, so he runs over to a tree. Climbing up a few branches he encounters a teenager named Jeb, who is dressed as Uncle Sam, drinking beer and smoking cigarettes with his buddies. Telling Cain to get off their turf, Jeb flicks his cigarette bud into Cain’s face, causing him to almost fall off. When Cain starts to yell at Jeb, the older boy kicks Cain off of the branch he was hanging on to. An angry Cain picks up a large rock and throws it at Jeb, hitting him in the side of the face and causing him to fall off the tree. Jeb’s buddies come down the tree to teach Cain a lesson. Cain is surrounded, but he kicks Jeb in the knee and runs away with the three boys after him.
Cain is running out of breath as he enters an alley. Unfortunately, the alley leads to a dead end. Cain is now cornered. Jeb laughs as he and his boys punch Cain into the ground and begin to kick him repeatedly. Suddenly, a silhouette of an angel appears in the alley and sees what is going on. Recognizing her as the reverend’s daughter, Jeb and his boys run away. The woman, who is dressed as an angel, is Marie. As she comes to console Cain, the young boy begins to cry and runs away.
(present)
Cain is done reminiscing about his old times and vows that no one will get the best of him again. He watches the parade from behind a large group of people in costumes, but three kids dressed as Frankenstein, a pirate, and Elvis notice him. Wanting to cause some trouble for Cain, the kids pop a giant balloon above Cain, who wanted to keep a low profile. The remnants of the balloon fall on Cain’s head as the kid dressed as Elvis shouts to the crowd the he saw Cain pop that balloon.
Juggie is angry now of being taken advantage of, so he chucks one of the floats down the street. The pirate and Elvis scream that the Cain is going to kill everyone and a group of men start tossing glasses of beer at the angry powerhouse. Wanting to take advantage of the situation to get an excuse to demolish the town, Juggernaut rips off a chunk of the road and wreaks havoc. He begins to ram buildings, chuck cars, and rip up cables in the ground. The whole town’s populace is running for their lives.
After the events of Onslaught, Cain was left trapped inside the Crimson Gem of Cyttorak, which gave him his superhuman power. His time in the gem led him to battle Cyttorak the Destroyer, whom he destroyed. Cain was sent back to his reality, but more powerful than over. This is the first opportunity he has had to cut loose. Entering a gas station, Cain tears the place apart, resulting in a large explosion.
When the Juggernaut turns around, a small child, dressed as a ghost with a white bed sheet, is standing in front of him. The small child tells Cain that he is disappointed in him and that he is wasting his power. When Cain goes to remove the clothes from the boy, he discovers that it is no boy at all, but Gomurr the Ancient. Cain believes that Gomurr has been stalking him, but the old man replies that he wants to show Cain something. As the two start to walk down the street, Gomurr is appalled at the amount of damage Cain has wrought in so little time. Cain, however, is much impressed with his work. Chiding the brute, Gomurr tells Cain that he is wasting his power and that he has learned nothing from his time from in the Gem of Cyttorak. The two stop and Gomurr repeats something that he said to Cain some time ago: if Cain continues going on rampages, he will destroy all his friends, too.
Cain replies that he has no friends, but Gomurr quickly points out a woman next to them lying in some rubble. The girl is wearing an angel costume, and Cain recognizes her as the one who saved him years ago in the alley, Marie Cavendish. She is still alive, but is in need of medical attention. Cain, feeling remorse for what he did to her, picks her up and begins to carry her to the hospital. Gomurr gives Cain a cryptic message about inescapable fates, but Cain shoves him to the side. When Cain turns around again, Gomurr is gone. Not phased by what Gomurr said, Cain continues on, believing that his destiny is in his hands.
A little bit later, Cain reaches the hospital, where the doctors had to start treated the patients outside. One patient sees the Juggernaut and alerts all. Believing that Juggernaut has a hostage, the patients and doctors back away. One doctor approaches Cain, who is told by him that he was only trying to help. However, the angry doctor tells Cain to put Marie down, as he has probably caused much internal injury to her. Juggernaut puts her down and turns to leave, only to be pelted with eggs by the angry patients, whose town was just demolished. Cain blocks the eggs, but does not retaliate back. Remembering what Gomurr said about destiny, Cain runs off, unable to believe that he is in no control of his future. Cain continues through town and finds and grabs Gomurr, who tells Cain that his life is no longer his. There is no escaping the curse of the Juggernaut.
Having enough of Gomurr, Junction, and the events of the day, Cain puts the little wizard down and leaves Junction, walking out into the night.
