(the Savage Land)
With Xi’an watching him, Victor Ten Eagles gives both human and mutant the courage to continue on with the rebuilding of their home in the Savage Land. Xi’an never thought that this would be possible, not even when he was the leader of the X-Men. An angry Morphine shows up behind them. Somers doesn’t believe in co-existence and believes that, with time, nothing but horror and chaos will come from it.
Below them, Luna and Hodge are working together. Though the two never really liked one another, they have decided to put aside their differences for the common good. Luna is holding one of the barriers up so that Hodge can work on it, but she suddenly doesn’t feel so well. She becomes all sweaty, and drops the carrier! Luckily, Hodge uses his quick reflexes to escape, before the heavy thing can drop on him. An angry Hodge walks away, remembering Luna that they’re responsible for the first habitable construction, and that they’re already falling behind. Luna doesn’t know why, but suddenly, her old hunger for fear appears to come up again. While hiding behind the bushes, Morphine notices it, and believes that, if Xi’an can’t be turned, maybe Luna can.
Hodge sneaks up on Jade, who’s working on some ways to make sure that they won’t run out of electricity and food. So far, things are going well. Hodge thanks Jade for what she told him the other day, and thanks her for at least trying to understand from what kind of hell he comes from. He knows that there aren’t many people who want to do that. Jade thanks Hodge and wants to say it’s nothing, but before she can he’s already gone! Not caring much, Jade continues with her work.
Hodge goes to warn Willow that they’re behind schedule. She has an idea, and transforms in her old teammate Uproar, so and mimics his big size, so that she can work faster. Bloodhawk congratulates her on the transformation, but realizes that she can’t use the welding tools now because her hands are too big. Willow suddenly realizes that nobody has heard from either Uproar or Wulff for a while, and wonders what they are up to. Knowing them, she believes that they’re having the time of their lives.
(the sea)
Uproar and Wulff sit on a wreck, still trying to make it back to shore. They complain about not seeing any rescue boats, and being wet. Wulff thinks that they’re dead.
(Latveria)
With the war over, Spider-Man and Xina have decided to help rebuild the city with the civilians. They mourn about the loss of Doom. Spidey recalls how Doom sacrificed himself to stop the Phalanx, despite the many bad things he has done in his life. With the help of some robot drones, Miguel manages to throw a heavy stone column away from Doom’s former castle. He also worries about Xina, who hasn’t said a word since the explosion. Suddenly, Xina runs past him, and finds Doom’s mask!
Some officers approach Xina, and ask her to give her the mask, since they’ve got orders. They don’t want to explain it, since they aren’t allowed, but the officers do explain that they have been given specific orders on what to do should Doom every die. Xina angrily tosses them the mask and runs away. The officers ask Spider-Man to join them, as he’s invited to join them.
(the Last Refuge)
Krystalin tries to cheer Eddie up, who feels down because he’s infected with a Phalanx virus. Krys asks Eddie to concentrate, so maybe the infection will go away. Eddie doesn’t see the use of it, but does it anyway, and… it works! He’s normal again! But suddenly, alien voices call Eddie. He turns around and sees all of the X-Men infected with the virus, too. They tell Eddie that he’s part of the Collective now, and reach out to him.
Metalhead screams, and wakes up in his bedroom. Rosa is with him. Eddie can’t believe it, and runs to her, but slips. Rosa hugs her lover and calms him down, warning Eddie that he has been comatose for the past twenty-four hours and that his metal skin hasn’t fully healed yet. Eddie looks at his leg, and notices that there’s still a little Phalanx infection left.
Eddie apologizes for not being with Rosa after Joachim was transformed into Darkson, but he was needed here. Rosa knows that he did the right thing, and tells Eddie not to worry about it. She informs that Cerebra and Krystalin have been running tests on her boy all night, and they have consulted that he’ll be just fine. Eddie smiles, and he and Rosa flirt a bit.
They don’t realize that they’re eavesdropped by Maddie. She sees Eddie and Rosa as a happy family, and wishes that her own family was like that. She meets up in the lab with Shakti and Krys, and asks them if Joachim’s ever going to turn into Darkson again. Franklin runs some tests, and doesn’t find any abnormalities in the boy’s body. Joachim wakes up, but freaks out when he sees Franklin. Maddie calms him down, and gets a crush on him. Krystalin interrupts, and decides to take the boy to a quiet room so that he can rest.
Maddie asks Shakti how Joachim got turned into Darkson in the first place. Shakti explains to the girl that thought Joachim wasn’t conceived by either Eddie or Rosa that they loved him like he was their own. However, the Bloodsmith called Vulcann abducted the boy, and transformed him into the man who would usher the next generation of mutants. The X-Men defeated Vulcann, but baby Joachim is now trapped in the body of a teenager, and there’s nothing they can do about it – yet. Shakti wants to try help Joachim get at least a chance to a normal life, thanks to the data she found which Reed Richards left behind. She sees this time as a new chance, which the world hasn’t seen since the Age of Heroes. And with now the humans getting their second chance in the Savage Land, Shakti wishes to give the Sisterhood another shot, too.
(the sea)
Uproar is hungry. Wullf notices that he’s got some new senses, and asks Uproar to trust him. He jumps into the sea! Uproar tries to call his friend back, but fails to. He fears the worst when he suddenly sees… blood!
(Latveria)
Nostromo tries to figure out what happened to him. Winn walks over to him, and tries to apologize, but Nostromo instead fights him. Winn tries to explain that they couldn’t do anything before the Phalanx made their move, and is sorry that it cost so many lives, but Nostromo understands that everyone who survived has him to thank for it. One of the officers approaches them, and ask them to join for the gathering. He’s confused as to why Spidey didn’t summon them, but they leave. Winn stays behind for a bit. When Nostromo’s gone, he talks to Spidey, who was hiding in a tree. Spidey feels guilty for almost killing Nostromo. Winn tries to explain that the boy doesn’t remember anything about that, and that no harm was done, but Miguel feels otherwise.
(later, Latveria)
Every one of the survivors has gathered, as well as Xina, Spider-Man, Winn and Nostromo. Dimitri, the leader of the gypsies in Latveria, holds the mask in front of a hologram, and shows an image of Doom. He has recorded the message before his death, and wants everyone in Latveria to threat another person with equal respect. He commands Dimitri and his commander in chief to have equal power to rule the land, and they need to form a new cabinet to overlook the rebuilding of Latveria. Doom also thanks Xina for her help, and calls her an ally of the state, and promises that everything she’ll ever need shall be provided for her. Xina thanks Victor for it.
Doom also keeps his word, and hands Miguel a disk that holds the location of his brother, Gabriel. Doom also mentions that there’s a place for Spider-Man in the cabinet should he be interested. Nostromo smiles, and Miguel thinks about honor, but remembers how he almost shot his friend. Miguel leaves without his costume, and holds up on the thought of joining the cabinet until he has found his brother.
Nostromo wants to run after his hero, but Doom holds him back. Doom explains that he has directed Nostromo’s bloodline for a hundred years. He encouraged Nostromo’s lineage and life’s path. Doom apologizes because he knows that Nostromo thinks that he’s being used, but Doom sees Nostromo as the closest thing to a son, and to an heir! Nostromo is now the rightful sovereign of Latveria, and will be helped by Mr. Winn! Doom bids his people a final farewell, and hopes that they’ll be all right. The citizens of Latveria bow to their new leader, Nostromo, who’s impressed.
(the sea)
Wullf returns with a big fish he killed, and eats it. Uproar doesn’t feel like he knows his friend anymore, which Wulff confirms. He leaves, telling Uproar that he wants some time alone to discover who he is today. Before saying goodbye, he advises Uproar to take a swim, as a boat is approaching. Uproar does and thanks his friend and bids him farewell, until they’ll meet again.
(Transverse City)
Somewhere around what used to be the outskirts of Transverse City, a lone traveler rocks gently as the ocean’s waves roll in rhythmic response to the waving blue moon. Meanwhile, beneath those waves, the barge’s sole passenger descends deeper and deeper in search of a buried treasure. The diver is pleased, though some things are going to need rewired, but once his discovery has gotten a new mainframe, Ghost Rider will finally belong to D/Monix!
