Now:
In the HQ under the aviation graveyard in Nebraska, Forge fixes some explosives even as the authorities are preparing to enter. Forge teleports to the others and triggers the explosives, before the feds can enter. The headquarters blows to hell.
The group gathers in a dark side alley of a city. Cable announces they are in a tight spot. Everyone will be looking for them now. He doubts they’ll look here first. He tells the others to take a few days and lie low. He’ll come find them when it’s time. Time for what? Domino asks. Colossus suggests they turn themselves in and explain. They can’t. Not yet, is Cable’s cryptic reply as he walks away.
Great, Dom mutters. Dr. Nemesis wonders if there are any hat stores around here specializing in vintage fedoras. He’s feeling a bit naked without it. Speaking of naked, Domino decides Peter is going to buy her obscene quantities of Tequila. Play along, she orders and drags him away, leaving Forge and Nemesis. Forge asks Nemesis how he feels about some fish tacos. He feels like eating seafood from a street cart is a fine way to procure a bacterial bowel infection, is the reply. Forge offers to pay. He could eat, Nemesis decides.
Hours earlier:
Cable’s team has attacked the Eat-More plant to find the plant workers have already been mutated into aggressive mindless monster by the Girth. They are too late. This is what they were trying to stop.
As one of the monsters tosses Colossus against the wall, he asks what the plan is. Cable fires his rifle at the creature. The plan was to get in, kill the virus and get out unseen. The plan is shot to *&%$&/!
He decides they gotta knock the guys out first. Give the doctor a chance to science up a cure. But one way or another, they contain that thing at the factory. It cannot get out!
Nemesis informs him that, if he keeps blasting them open at the belly, he’ll be too busy sewing to have much time for a cure. Colossus agrees. They mustn’t hurt them. Nemesis suggests something a bit more humane. He fires tranquilizer darts at them, but they don’t even slow them down. Their metabolism must be burning white hot. He supposes that explains why they are so hungry, he muses, as one of them tries to eat Colossus (without much success). He orders Cable and Colossus to keep kicking them about. He has an idea.
Nonnom time, tubby custards! he tries to entice them. Come and get it! He tosses a chicken at a Girth-infected man. Chicken does not seem like a long-term solution, Colossus weakly protests. A moment later, it explodes in the creature’s mouth. Dinosaur tranquilizer bombs, Nemesis explains, as the creature falls unconscious. One of the tools they’ve been developing for Savage Land field study. He’ll sort this and get started on a cure. Surely there is something around her that needs punched or blown up, he dismisses them.
Almost always, Cable agrees and orders Peter with him. They’ll need to secure the rest of the building. Cable tells him, to make sure the outbreak didn’t spread past the door. But first and foremost they take out every contaminated delivery truck. The overnight trucks park in the south loading bay, Colossus tells him.
Cable is concerned. An outbreak in the plant doesn’t add up. This is different from the visions. Something’s changed. What happened just before the &%$/ hit the fan? Did he see anything or anyone?
Flashback:
Peter had scheduled his break early to let them in when no one would see. But it was already past time and he was starting to worry they’d miss their window of opportunity. He didn’t see the processing tanks explode but he heard them. By the time he got back out to the floor, it was chaos. He tried to save the others but--
Present:
If someone came in here and caused this he didn’t see them.
He leads Cable to the bay but the trucks are already gone. Cable notifies Forge and asks him to figure out their travel routes and work up some kind of contingency intercept. This is gonna be real tight, he warns Forge. They need the trucks off the board or this is all for nothing.
Colossus notices a hole in the wall that’s not supposed to be there. That moment, a Deathlok comes out. Primary mission parameter now complete, the cyborg announces. Expected resulting outcome 84.9% probability.
He caught a Deathlok! Colossus shouts as he grabs him. Deathlok fires at him. Deathlok identifies Cable as hostile and calculates an appropriate response. Cable warns him to holster his weapon. Command override Alpha! Deathlok announces. Passive response initiated. Before Cable can shoots him, Deathlok teleports away to base.
Cable orders Forge to find him everything he can on Deathlok. He asks Colossus what’s on the other side of the wall. They hear a gurgling noise to find more Girth-mutated creatures. Cable orders Forge to extend those truck routes a few more miles. It’s gonna be a minute.
Elsewhere, Nemesis announces treatment 19a seems to have had zero effect with the possible exception of a faint pork smell, which may or may not be related. Commencing with treatment 19b. Starting invasive cardiac injection. The fat begins to degenerate and the skin turns more elastic. He hopes for a change in brain functions but becomes disappointed as the creature mutates further (and with a tentacle wipes off his fedora).
Elsewhere, Colossus and Cable are still fighting, as the Girth creatures are far too strong. Colossus reminds Cable that there are innocent men under there. None of this is their fault. Cable agrees, they could just use a break, is all.
That moment, Domino drives a van through the wall and asks if it is just her or are these fat guys a real pain in the ass? She did the trucks? Cable asks. Domino agrees. She had to do ‘em loud and dirty, but yeah. He tells her she is the best. News to no one, she agrees.
They hear a booming noise and the monster mutated by Nemesis - now merged with others – tears a hole in the wall. Domino asks if she can shoot hat and then decides to do it. Nemesis shows up, telling her to fire away, but it will accomplish less than nothing.
What are they looking at? Cable asks. Nemesis explains he attempted a very dangerous trick with a flesh-eating virus and a cellular de-stabilizer. It backfired. The Girth mutated to match. Options? Cable asks. Nemesis replies he only has one bullet left, but it’s a good one. He weaponized the transmode sample Domino brought back from Miami Beach. If he sets it to attack the Girth, it will find and eradicate anything infected. This will very likely work… but it is a kill solution.
Colossus refuses to entertain this option. Those are still men in there.
Forge tells them whatever they are going to do, get to doing it! Looks like local P.D. caught a glimpse of Dom’s handiwork with the trucks. Followed up with a police chopper. It’s about to get crowded there!
Colossus still refuses to give the men up. Cable patiently asks him if he still sees these men in there. They failed them and, if they don’t pull the plug right now, they’re gonna fail a lot more like them. Do it! He orders Nemesis and physically stops Colossus from interfering. Nemesis fires and the virus attacks the Girth-mutated men.
He wanted a normal life like these men had, Peter shouts. Now he helped murder them. They watch as the virus eats away the Girth, leaving the men normal… and dead.
Now what? Dom asks. Nemesis explains the transmode virus will dissipate shortly after it consumes the last of the Girth virus. A built-in failsafe. They’ll just need to wait it out.
That’s not what she was asking, Dom replies as they hear reports identifying them as the culprits. Authorities have released security images of the terrorist group now referred to as X-Force. Eat-More CEO Payton offers a million dollars reward for information leading to the capture of Cable and X-Force…
