The future…
Shard helps Bishop, warning him to get moving as there’s a bad guy coming their way! Bishop still can’t believe he’s back in his own timeline, and that everything with the X-Men was just a dream. He must be hallucinating! Shard slaps Bishop in his face, trying to make him feel that this is all true.
Shard thinks it’s no wonder that Bishop’s mind is messed up, as he spent too many time looking things up from the past. She tells him the past is dead and Bishop should let is stay buried. Bishop’s hand and head bleeds. Shard wants to take a look at it, but he doesn’t really trust her. Shard shouts at Bishop to just let her do it and he allows it. It looks like Bishop got a concussion from the blast, which could be the reason why his mind is fussy.
Suddenly, a familiar face joins the two: Malcolm! Malcolm warns Lieutenant Shard that they’ve located their quarry. Bishop is thrilled to see Malcolm alive, as they could use his help in defeating Mountjoy. Bishop finally remembers that’s what he was doing: the explosion took place while he was chasing Mountjoy, and that this is all wrong. Shard is already dead, being a hologram now. Bishop concentrates, and Shard and Malcolm fade away.
Reality...
Bishop wakes up on the streets, with his head bleeding. Captain Eagleson and another officer help him up, warning Bishop he’s got a concussion. They don’t know how he could have survived that explosion. Mountjoy asks the officers about the other man in the explosion, and if he survived. A bystander confirms that, and mentions he wandered off into an alley nearby. Bishop sees Mountjoy and calls after him, which upsets Mountjoy of course. Bishop wants to chase after him, but the officers suggest that Bishop takes a rest for a moment. Bishop refuses, because, if he does that, people are definitely going to die!
Mountjoy is hungry and wants some food. He finds a drunken hobo lying on the alley he’s in, and wants to absorb him. But on that moment Bishop arrives and warns Mountjoy to get away from him. Mountjoy ignores Bishop and absorbs the hobo, and the poor guy becomes part of him. Bishop opens fire on Mountjoy, who jumps at the top of the roof of a nearby building. He mocks Bishop that surely he can do better than that. However, he realizes that Bishop is probably trying to save the life of the hobo. Or, perhaps, Mountjoy believes, perhaps their earlier skirmish left Bishop unable to shoot straight for a while. Mountjoy claims he has renewed himself, which means Bishop cannot save his victim, and Bishop himself is now his prey. He promises to eat Bishop alive! Bishop refuses to let that happen.
He spots a high security voltage cabinet on the wall. He pulls the cabinet’s wires loose and absorbs their electrical energies. Bishop screams from the pain, but does his best to absorb the energies and rechannel it. He succeeds, and fires his newfound powers at Mountjoy, who jumps away before impact. Mountjoy is impressed at the power display, and knows better things to do when Bishop is acting this way. He tries to escape, but Bishop refuses to let that happen and follows Mountjoy, climbing up a fire escape of a building. Bishop makes it to the top of the building, where he finds Mountjoy waiting for him, holding a pipe he broke loose. Mountjoy mocks Bishop that once again, the hunter has become the hunted, and slams Bishop back down!
Another memory...
Bishop remembers something from his past, when he was a kid and talking to an old blind man called Hancock. He’s surprised to see him again. Hancock asks Bishop if he’s okay, because it was a nasty fall he took. He thought Bishop would be done for, for sure. But now that he’s better, Hancock asks Bishop if he wants some soup, or slop, or whatever it is he’s trying to make. Bishop says he wants some. He asks Hankcock if it’s true what people say, and if he fought in the Summers’ rebellion.
Hancock drinks takes a sip from his soup and confirms it. He even met Summers, claiming he was some piece of work. Hancock had fire in his eyes those days... literally. Up until the backfire burned them out. His soup tastes like garbage, however. He tells Bishop that if that sister of his ever gets back with the herbs he asked for, the soup might become edible, if not palatable. Hancock continues to explain that he and his squad – Southpaw, Hecate’, Pachinko and Dwayne – survived most of the rebellion together. Those were some hard days. Bishop asks Hancock if he ever misses those days. Hancock thinks about it for a while before answering.
Staring at his campfire, Hancock says that it were terrible days back then, full of fear and horror and death. But he also remembers the days before the revolution, when the Sentinels ruled, and they were worse. “Norms” hated anyone who had genetic “talents,” like Bishop’s powers to shove around kinetic energy, and they built Sentinels to wipe out the mutants. Thing is, the Sentinels eventually took over everything. Bad as the rebellion was, it was probably the closest they ever got to the dream. “Ol’ Professor X’s” dream of humans and mutants living together. That’s because they all worked together to overthrow the Sentinels. The war couldn’t have been won otherwise. But the world forgot about it since. And they all lost something in result. So, in that result, Hancock really misses those days.
Shard returns with the herbs Hancock requested. She asks if there is anything else to eat, as she’s starving. Shard sees her brother’s awake, and asks if he’s alright because she thought he was dead. Bishop claims he’s fine and promises nothing’s going to happen to them. But then, Mountjoy appears behind them! Bishop warns Shard to get away, but then remembers something. He never met Mountjoy until he was... older?!
Reality...
Bishop wakes up finding Mountjoy’s hand over his face. He punches Mountjoy off of him, wanting to get away to clear his head. Mountjoy laughs at this, as he loves a good chase, especially when the odds are in his favor. He runs onto the streets, fearing for Shard and Ororo’s lives. He concludes they’re probably safe. He almost collapses and tries to hold himself up against a wall.
Some street punks find Bishop and, when they see his big guns, they want them for themselves. Bishop starts to remember things from his past again, thinking he’s being bullied again by Halfstrak and Billiboy. He fears they’re going to beat him up again like last time, and wants to get Shard into safety. He begs Hancock to save him. The punks start beating Bishop up, but are stopped by a patrolling police car. They arrest the punks and tend to Bishop, who looks pretty bad and bleeds again. He asks the cops who they are.
Bishop’s future...
Recoil and Amazon introduce themselves as X.S.E. agents to Bishop, and they’ve arrested Billiboy and Halfstreak. Amazon tells Bishop that they’re mutants just like him, and that they hunt rogue mutants like those two. Bishop introduces himself, and Amazon smiles she heard of Bishop’s name on the Internet. And they were good things. She asks Bishop if maybe he wants to join the Xavier Security Enforcers. Bishop gets up, telling Recoil and Amazon that, if he joins them, his little sister should come along as she needs protection. He promised he would always protect her.
The present...
Bishop wakes up, and the cops asks Bishop what he just said about his sister. Bishop explains to him that his sister’s dead, and that his head is exploding. Suddenly, arrows are shot at the cops and Bishop, and one of the cops is killed. Bishop, still a bit out of it, thinks that he just saw Shard die and cries for her. The other cop hides them behind his police car, hoping they’ll be safe. Mountjoy attacks the officers and absorbs the two punks into him. Bishop recognizes Mountjoy, and quickly tackles him down. Mountjoy believes that, though Bishop defeated him, he could never kill him. Bishop looks surprised at that statement, and believes Mountjoy is right. Why can’t he kill his enemy, Bishop wonders. He did it in the X.S.E...
Bishop’s future...
At the X.S.E. headquarters, an angry Shard asks Bishop what’s wrong with him. Malcolm, getting the hint that the siblings need to talk to each other, leaves and says he’ll catch up later. Bishop asks his little sister what’s eating her. Shard, still angry, doesn’t want Bishop to patronize him, as she’s his commanding officer! And yes, there’s something eating her. She wants to know when Bishop is going to grow up?! She’s aware he turned down another command position that she spent no little time setting up for him. Bishop says it’s a position he never asked for. Besides, he already has a command position.
Shard knows: Bishop is commanding a squad. She admits to Bishop he has real command potential, but he keeps insisting on pulling street duty with guys like Malcolm and Randall. She knows they’re Bishop’s friends, but doesn’t really understand it. Bishop explains that the streets are where he belongs. It’s she who wanted a big-time command position and now she’s getting it. That’s fine for her, but Bishop doesn’t want that. He thinks he’s embarrassing her.
Shard doesn’t think that’s fair, as she spent a lot of time protecting his position in the X.S.E. and he didn’t even care. Bishop thinks some might call it fair, as he spent a lot of time protecting her before she became a cop. Shard knows. She’s aware she wouldn’t even be on the force if not for Bishop. Her talent hadn’t even materialized yet. And Bishop refused to join unless she joined along. She doesn’t mean to sound ungrateful. Bishop tells Shard she earned her place in the X.S.E... and her position. He respects and admires her for what she achieved here. But it’s just not for him. There are certain things he has to do.
The present...
A bullet flies past Bishop’s head, and the surviving cop demands that Bishop drops his gun. He doesn’t know what’s going on, but he won’t let Bishop kill that “innocent man.” Mountjoy smiles and thanks the officer. Mountjoy jumps back into the sky and escapes. Bishop informs the cop it was Mountjoy who killed his partner, and now he let him escape. Bishop chases after Mountjoy and sees him diving into... the subway? The two cut the line, upsetting the other waiting passengers. Mountjoy misses a train, and thinks he better goes deeper inside the tunnel as Bishop is right behind him.
Bishop runs after Mountjoy, but then his head starts pounding again. He’s lost in his memories. Now is then and then is now... all the same... lost in time... all lost in time... everything is lost in time! Bishop stops for a while, realizing he can’t afford to let this happen. He tries to focus and get his head clear. But, as Bishop does that, Mountjoy sneaks up on him from the shadows, and... absorbs Bishop! Bishop fails to release himself from Mountjoy’s grip, and is lost as well.
Mountjoy triumphs, and proclaims tat he now owns Bishop’s body, memories and powers. Everything about Bishop is open to him, even his fears! And now he knows how to hurt Bishop most. And next, they’re going to destroy what Bishop holds most sacred: they’re going to destroy... the X-Men!
