Somewhere in the South Pacific, Sinsear briefs himself on the information he has gathered about “the Other” and on Cable specifically. The computer informs Sinsear about Cable’s mission in the past, to prevent Apocalypse’s ascension. Even though it is Sinsear’s primary objective to eliminate “the Other”, he has made it his personal secondary objective to bring revenge upon Cable. Events of the past flash through Sinsear’s mind; to events which have not yet occurred in this timeline.
(In Flashback…the Future:)
On a routine patrol, Sinsear’s group is caught in an explosion. Injured and barely alive, Sinsear witnesses the arrival of the members of the Clan Chosen; Cable, Tetherblood and Boak. Examining the bodies, Tetherblood asks if the bomb was one of theirs, but Boak informs him that it is not. Tetherblood has become discouraged, with so much fighting it is starting to become difficult to tell the players apart. Cable disagrees, stating that it does matter and that it’s important to distinguish themselves from those they are fighting.
Cable suddenly notices that one of the patrol is still alive, but Boak informs Cable that with most of his body burnt and with massive internal damage it was doubtful that he would live. Tetherblood raises his gun to Sinsear’s head, and is about to pull the trigger in order to put him out of his misery, but Cable stops him. Instead of killing a helpless foe, he orders Boak to send out a signal beacon to the Canaanite’s camp. He then uses his ability to bodyslide to teleport his group out of there. Sinsear instead calls out helplessly…begging for death.
(Back to the present:)
Cable’s act was no mercy, but a condemnation. As Sinsear reveals that after he had been saved by the Canaanites they turned him into what he had become…a machine of death. After the memory record was finished, he orders the computer to center in on Dayspring, and an image of Cable and two other members of X-Force appear before him.
Camp Verde, Arizona:
Cable, Siryn and Cannonball are in the midst of connecting their piecemeal equipment together, in order to keep in constant contact with the Professor’s computer system and his TDC at the bottom of the Pacific, while still keeping it in contact from his safe house in Switzerland. Cannonball notes that that would come in handy should Cable disappear on them again, at which point Cable agrees with a slight smile. Siryn states how refreshing Cable’s new honesty has become, albeit being somewhat frustrating. Cable goes on to explain that while he understands Cannonball’s hesitation, there will be times when he will need to take care of personal issues on his own without the assistance of X-Force. He does vow that should that time ever come, he will remain in contact with X-Force
. Suddenly, a hologram of Sinsear appears before them, and Cable is finally able to deduce that it was him who had used the Tinex in the future before him. After Cable informs his two fellow members of X-Force who Sinsear is, Sinsear states that he has no quarrels with X-Force and that this is an issue between Cable and him. Before anyone can react, Cable is teleported away in a flash of light, leaving Cannonball and Siryn to wonder how they are going to be able to find him since they are not able to get the comm-link on line.
The South Pacific:
Cable stands before his nemesis, impressed with the fact that Sinsear has managed to time-rip his entire base into the past. Sinsear exclaims that the Clan Chosen had used the first Tinex to transport an entire space station back through time. Cable asks, with all the equipment he has at his disposal, why he just didn’t just kill him with a flick of a button but instead brought them face-to-face. Sinsear explains that Cable could have done the same thing during their first encounter, but chose not to. Now he wants revenge against Cable for not killing him while he had the chance, which allowed the Canaanites to transform him into a machine.
Sinsear strikes out against Cable, using buzz-drones to strafe Cable from above. Cable is barely able to dodge the blasts and runs for cover behind a pylon. Thinking he has a moment to collect himself, he takes stock of what’s available to him through his bionics, which is little to nothing. From above, he is caught off guard by tentacles from the Pylon which then zap him and paralyze his bionics. With half of his body effectively dead, Cable is barely able to move, much less fight.
Sinsear taunts him, saying that he had expected more from him, and asking if the fight has been taken out because he has lost a few battles. Cable fights back, stating that he is not a failure because of a few lost battles, and that would only be true if he stopped trying. Luring Sinsear into a false sense of security, Cable uses his telekinesis to move the tentacle damp-cords onto his enemy, causing them to zap him as well. Using as much strength as he can muster, Cable attempts to make his escape, however the damp-cords have already been used once against Cable, and they did not totally affect Sinsear.
Sinsear unleashes his Peesbee against Cable, ordering it to search and destroy. Seeing the deadly disk coming straight for him, Cable drops to the floor, as the disk just barely misses him. Like a heat-seeker, the disk turns back and this time slices through Cable’s shoulder. Undaunted, Cable continues his seemingly futile attempt at escape, even as he sees the disk coming for another pass. At the last possible instant, Cable ducks his head, causing the disk to embed itself in one of the pylons.
With the disk having cut through the pylon’s armor, Cable rips off some more in order to expose the pylon’s circuitry. He then uses the plasma charge for his hand turrets as an explosive device and causes an explosion within the pylon to effect Sinsear’s systems. With both combatants on equal terms, Cable rises from the smoke and slams his fist across Sinsear’s face.
Another backhand rips off part of Sinsear’s mask, revealing the damaged face underneath. Cable questions Sinsear, asking him if there is enough man left inside the machine, but Sinsear is certain there isn’t…and that he is no longer a man just like Cable. Cable exclaims that he is wrong, because he chooses to be a man instead of a machine, while sending Sinsear flying with an uppercut across his jaw.
With Sinsear defeated, both physically and philosophically, Sinsear ejects a computer chip from his wrist computer and tosses it to Cable’s feet. And with that, Sinsear teleports away, leaving Cable to grumble about how Sinsear goes through all the trouble of getting him there and then doesn’t have the decency to fight to the end. He vows that they will meet up again. Curious about the chip Sinsear had left behind; Cable activates it through his arm computer and projects the information as a hologram. The chip contains Sinsear’s mission: to eliminate “the Other” known as Tolliver. Cable is not only surprised that Tolliver is alive, but a time traveler as well. This leaves Cable to wonder, just who Tolliver really is.
