(in Bishop's World, Earth-63)
'Not again' Lucas Bishop thinks as time warps around him courtesy of Tempo a.k.a. Heather Tucker who folds and twists time over and over, making everyone present relive this awful moment again and again. Bishop is in agony, but knows he must get through to Heather. He grabs her by her wrists and tells her that she has to stop, that she can't keep resetting time. 'I can fix this!' Heather cries. 'I wanted to save him. I couldn't before, but I had another chance' Heather utters. She looks down at this world's version of her father, while explaining to Bishop that after the Struckers attacked and her powers went haywire, she found herself in this timeline and discovered that her father was alive here. 'I knew I had a chance.... A chance to be with him, even for a little while. To hug him. To hear his voice' Heather remarks as Bishop helps her stand, while this world's version of her father lay motionless at their feet.
Bishop asks Tempo where this world's version of herself is, to which Tempo reports that she is at home, asleep in her bed. 'Safe and sound. Happy' Tempo adds. Bishop tells Tempo that they can't stay here, that this isn't their world, or their fight. 'Do you really just wanna go back?' Tempo asks. 'Knowing there's a chance for something better? A chance to have real peace in our lives?' Tempo enquires. 'Does this place look like peace?' Bishop responds, admitting that he feels like they brought all of this with them. 'In some way, in some fashion, all of this destruction, all of this fighting...it follows us' Bishop utters. 'It follows me. His life is completely different. So is Heather's' Bishop remarks as he looks at this world's version of himself, a teacher, frightened and afraid of what is transpiring around him.
'Not anymore. I'd hoped that I could spare her from this pain. But...some things just can't be fixed. No matter how hard you try' Tempo points out. She then tells Bishop that he is right, that it's time to go, and holds up a device containing Blightswill which she can use to recreate the energy that transported them here. 'You sure that's what you want?' Tempo asks. Bishop frowns and tells Heather that it is for the best. 'For all of us, I hope...' his voice trails off, as he looks around at the destruction caused by the Human Liberation Front. This world's version of Bishop crouches beside this world's Jean Grey, who holds a motionless Cyclops, while nearby the Beast holds a wounded scientist.
(Earth-616)
Within the tunnels deep beneath Krakoa, 'Last chance to go back, Struckers!' Cam Long warns Andreas and Andrea von Strucker, the Fenris Twins, who are backed by several Orchis operatives. 'You stupid children...' Andrea begins. 'Do you really think you can stop us?' Andreas asks. 'And every mutant monster from the Pit?' Andrea adds. 'Bring. It. On' Cam frowns. Suddenly, Cam and the Thresholder mutant called Amass are knocked backwards by a surge of energy – energy which signals the return of Bishop and Tempo. 'Well. This is interesting' Bishop remarks as he examines the situation. 'Bishop!' Noriko Ashida a.k.a. Surge calls out as she stands with Aura Charles. 'How very...' Andreas remarks to his sister. '...touching' Andrea concludes, before the twins clasp hands and fire a surge of energy towards Bishop and the others. 'Get 'em!' Surge calls out, while Bishop absorbs the energy and asks the Fenris Twins if they don't understand they are just powering him up.
'Don't let them in the Pit!' Aura Charles cries out, while Bishop releases the energy he absorbed back at the Fenris Twins, slamming them backwards, while Hisako Ichiki a.k.a. Armor and Wrongslide are on hand to support him should he need it. 'I'll hold them -' Tempo begins, but as she starts to slow time down around the Fenris Twins, she collapses. 'I got her!' Cam calls out as they catch Tempo. 'Not here. Not ever' Aura declares as she begins to destroy the Orchis drill machine. 'You're not opening the Pit, Strucker!' Armor declares as she attempts to punch Andreas, but he dodges her. 'Both of you really suck. All the time!' Surge exclaims as she confronts Andrea, who calls Surge a naive child. 'How does it feel to have a child kick your ass?' Surge retorts as she punches Andrea in the stomach, causing her to keel over. 'Are you blind, or just stupid?' Andreas asks as he flicks out his leg and trips Armor up. Armor loses control of her exo-skeleton and falls to the ground, enabling Andreas to stand over her and aim a weapon at her. 'The Pit's open. You've already lost' Andreas frowns.
'No. You lose' Bishop calls out as he appears near Andreas and blasts him with a surge of energy that knocks Andreas through a crevice within the tunnel system. 'Andreas!' Andrea calls out, concerned for her twin. 'Got ya!' Aura tells her as she swoops down and grabs Andrea, then throws her down into the crevice, too. 'I was so tired of them' Wrongslide remarks. 'You wanted the Pit. Now you get to stay in the Pit' he tells the Fenris Twins as he closes the crevice up, trapping the Struckers within the Pit.
'You came back!' Surge calls out as she hugs Bishop, although he doesn't reciprocate. 'Just in time -' Cam begins while they and Amass deal with the last of the Orchis operatives. 'Nobody move!' Magik shouts as she teleports into the tunnel with Dani Moonstar at her side. Bishop looks over at them, while Magik asks 'Did we miss all the fun?'
Later, the Orchis operatives are marched out of the tunnel, while Bishop reports that Brutha Nature will be able to heal Krakoa's Blightswill contamination and notes that it should leave no lastings effects. 'Gotta say it: Well done, LB. You and your class did well' Magik admits. 'I told you they needed training' Bishop responds. 'Really, dude? Really?' Cam snarls at Bishop, who suggests that they talk on the surface. Bishop turns to Magik and asks her what will happen to the Orchis troops. Magik reports that they will take them out via the Treehouse and dump them where the proper authorities can find them. She adds that she doesn't like that Orchis got this close. 'We always know they'll come. And they'll find new ways to attack us' Bishop adds. 'Good thing we have you, then' Magik replies, to which Bishop tells her that he is glad Orchis weren't able to breach the Pit and free any of the inmate. 'And I'm glad the Struckers are finally where they belong' Magik declares.
Meanwhile, in the Pit, 'Where are we? Those vines were all over us!' Andreas exclaims. 'And now we're here...with...him' Andrea mutters as they look up and see Mr. Sinister standing nearby. 'Great. Trapped in a mind prison with the likes of you Nazis. This will not do' Sinister snaps. 'What did they do to us? Those children... those damned children...!' Andreas utters.
Outside the cave system, Bishop, Magik, Moonstar and the War College students have arrived at the surface of Krakoa, seemingly happy to be back in the light. Bishop tells everyone to meet him here tomorrow at dawn for their grades. 'Grades?' Cam snaps. 'What?' Surge asks. 'Oh, come on' Aura complains. 'Geez, dude' Armor mumbles, while Amass asks if this is a joke. 'Grades' Bishop tells his class once again.
In orbit above Earth is the Orchis facility known as the Bloom. 'No need to sulk, Feilong' Moira MacTaggert remarks as she approaches the head of the Orchis organization, who stares out the window down to the Earth below. 'I'm not sulking. I'm disappointed' Feilong retorts as he turns to Moira. 'Yes, yes, yes. We lost some resources. Some personnel' Moira remarks as she stands next to Feilong, who declares that they gained nothing. 'Not nothing. Valuable information. About Krakoa. About who is in the Pit. And who isn't' Moira smirks, reminding Feilong that information is power – real power.
Later, at the Green Lagoon, back on Krakoa, where the War College students raise drinks to each other, and Surge exclaims that no matter what Bishop says tomorrow, they kicked butt. 'Serious butt' Armor agrees. Cam remarks that they wish Bishop would give the team a little break, or a little credit – just something. Aura wraps her arms around Cam and tells everyone that this place is so special, and points out that they protected it. 'It wasn't easy. It wasn't fun. But I feel great about it. We all should'. Cam announces that they feel great. 'I feel fantastic' Amass admits, while Armor decides that she is very happy with herself. 'I'm freaking fantastic' Surge agrees.
In Tempo's quarters, Magik stands over Bishop and Tempo, as Bishop sits on a sofa, and Tempo lies on another one. 'You two had a pretty magical trip, huh?' Magik notes. 'It was...interesting' Bishop replies. Tempo sits up and declares that it was a lot more than interesting – it was eye-opening. 'That there could be another life for any of us. For all of us' she utters. Bishop looks at Heather and asks her if that is what she took away from it all. 'What did you learn?' Heather replies. 'I'm still not sure' Bishop decides, standing up, and Heather suggests that he think about it. 'I'm calling that a win all the way around' Magik announces, and Heather agrees. She then lies back down on the sofa and Magik tells her to take it easy.
(Earth-63)
'Ooofff...' Lucas Bishop groans as he lands on the beach, the water nearly lapping at him. 'You told me not to pull my punches, Lucas' this world's Magik, wearing a gold costume and with long dark hair remarks as she stands over Lucas, energy crackling around her. She helps Lucas stand up as he admits that he knows he did, but asks if they can take five. Magik acknowledges that what went down at the Tucker Clinic was a lot, and asks Lucas if he is sure he wants to do this. Lucas looks out around him and tells Magik that no paradise is ever truly safe – he knows that now – and they all have to be ready.
(Earth-616)
Bishop looks out over the shore of Krakoa and announces that in some other world, some other life, maybe he would have been different – happy, peaceful – and maybe that would have been better. Bishop then turns to his students – Armor, Surge, Cam Long, Aura Charles and Amass. Wrongslide is there, too. He tells them that he would like to think they could all be happy somewhere, but for now, they live here – and if paradise is going to exist, they need to defend it. The students look surprised as Bishop informs them that they all did very well and that he is proud of them. 'You all pass with flying colors' he smiles.
Later, 'For this next go-round, let's try something a little different, shall we? Fighting each other isn't really going to teach you to work together as a team. So instead...come and get me!' Bishop exclaims as his new class of War College students stands on the beach... Gimmick! Specter! Graymalkin! D-Cel! Kafka!
