Sabretooth stares at Holocaust and asks him what kind of game he is playing. Holocaust grins and tells Sabretooth that this is no trick. If they put aside their differences, then they can get rid of the Timebroker and take back their lives.
Blink looks at Sabretooth and asks him if he really is going to fall for this trick. Sabretooth, however, is doubtful that Holocaust is lying. Why would he come here and talk instead of just attacking when he had the element of surprise. Angry, Holocaust tells the Exiles that he did not attack, because he needs their cooperation. They all have the same problem. He has been in this situation less than a day and he finds it intolerable. Don’t they want to make the Timebroker pay for enslaving them? “Yes,” says Namora, bitterly under her breath.
Holocaust reasons with Sabretooth and reminds him that he could barely stand to serve Apocalypse. How can he serve the Timebroker? Behind them all, a security agent of the Bureau of Mutant Affairs contacts his superiors and informs them that Holocaust is outside the building, with Magneto’s former associate, Sabretooth, and four unknown mutants. Holocaust asks the group if they just stand around, while the humans call for reinforcements. Mimic pops his claws and tells Holocaust that, considering how many people he has murdered, maybe they should continue this conversation with him behind bars.
Suddenly, several tanks and armored troops arrive to arrest Holocaust for crimes against humanity. If he does not submit to an inhibitor collar, then he will be executed on the spot. Holocaust asks Sabretooth if he is satisfied allowing things to get this far. Holocaust then prepares to kill the troops, but Mimic attacks him with an optic blast to stop him. Mimic then lunges at Holocaust with his claws, but Holocaust bats him away and sends Calvin flying down the street.
Blink calls out her lover’s name, but Sabretooth tells all the Exiles to stop. Blink objects, but Sabretooth tells her to stand down. Morph, however, refuses to allow Holocaust to hit Mimic without payback, so he and Namora both rush to attack the son of Apocalypse. Holocaust tells Sabretooth to put a leash on his Exiles, as he grabs Morph and restrains him. He then slams Morph into the ground, as Namora throws herself on Holocaust’s helmet. She asks the man if she can crack him open like a lobster. Annoyed, Holocaust tells her to settle down, as he is not here to fight them. He then raises his gun to Namora and tells her that it would be most unfortunate for him to kill her.
Namora falls back, as Holocaust turns to Sabretooth. What he proposed earlier is true. The M’Kraan crystal is the key to this all. Sabretooth asks what the crystal does. Holocaust explains that it is the nexus of all realities. They have all visited their share of alternate realities - the crystal is what links them all together. He first saw it in his father’s tower. Even Henry McCoy could not comprehend what it was. Later on, it transported McCoy and himself to a parallel Earth, where the Beat told him of the reality-bending properties of the crystal. McCoy planned his jump between realities by teleporting inside the crystal. If they can recreate what the Beast did, but set the destination to match the Tallus’ frequency, then they can take the Timebroker by surprise.
As Mimic returns, Namora becomes reluctant to listen to Holocaust. Does he really plan on surprising the Timebroker, who can apparently monitor all of space and time? How does Holocaust not know that the Timebroker is listening right now? Holocaust tells her that perhaps the Timebroker is listening and will head off his every move, but nothing will stop him from trying. Afterwards, if Sabretooth wants a rematch, then they can have one. However, let them deal with the threat to both of them now.
Morph questions whether the mission given by the Timebroker is true. If the X-Men succeed in their mission, while the Exiles run around on a wild goose chase, then this world is doomed. Blink, however, wonders if Beak and Heather are at the Timebroker’s mercy and if this is their only chance to save them. Sabretooth smiles and tells Holocaust that he has a truce. He has wanted to get his hands on the Timebroker for twenty years now. Sabretooth asks Blink to teleport them all out of there, before some nervous army soldier shoots by accident and causes a mess. Blink asks Mimic if he is okay, but Cal just wonders who put Sabretooth in charge.
The Exiles teleport away but, before heading to the M’Kraan crystal, Holocaust asks Blink to take them to the Yucatan. There, they find a laboratory that McCoy didn’t even tell Apocalypse about. The Exiles find themselves in a deep crater of what used to be a mountain. Now it is partially filled with water, along with the remains of an old lab. Holocaust tells the group that McCoy’s most secret experiments were conducted there. Sinister was considered the master geneticist, but the things McCoy bred down there would even curl Sinister’s hair. McCoy claimed that he kept his secret notes down in the water in his lab. In those notes is everything he knew about the M’Kraan crystal.
Namora swims deep into the water and explores the area around her. She swims through the wreckage and spots several tubes containing some of Beast’s still living experiments, such as the Power Pack, who are all merged into one. One tube is cracked open and empty, with the label “Tiger Shark” on it. Namora is then attacked by the genetically altered Tiger Shark, but is easily able to defeat her opponent with one hit. She then finds the access hatch to McCoy’s lab.
Suddenly, the Timebroker appears by Namora and tells her that she is not a fool like the others. She conquered her own world and ruled it wisely. She knows the truth when she hears it. Namora looks at the Timebroker and then ignores him, as she uses all her strength to rip off the hatch. The Timebroker informs Namora that she has one more chance to stop Magneto before he confronts Sinister and destroys this world. Magneto and a few X-Men are arriving to the Yucatan as they speak. They think the Exiles are in league with Holocaust, though that really isn’t a stretch at the moment. Namora grabs McCoy’s notes, as the Timebroker tells her flatly that, if she kills Magneto, she saves the world. It’s that simple. Namora looks at the Timebroker.
Namora eventually returns to the surface, and Holocaust asks her if she found anything interesting down there. Namora tells Holocuast that what she found bored her to tears. She has it on good authority, though, that they are about to have guests. Suddenly, Magneto and Sunfire arrive behind the Exiles. Magneto tells Sabretooth, Morph and Blink that when he was sent a video of Holocaust and his henchmen attacking the Bureau of Mutant Affairs, he could not believe his eyes. The three of them were some of his best X-Men and now they are working with the son of Apocalypse. Morph raises his hand to speak and quietly notes that he is referring to a different Morph. He is not from these parts.
Magneto asks the mutants if they have any last words before he wraps this whole base around them and kills them all. Holocaust is angry to see Magneto, but Sabretooth tells his former leader that this is not what it looks like. If he calls off Sunfire, then Sabretooth can explain all of this. Mimic, however, is not impressed and points out that only Sunfire is with Magneto.
Suddenly, Gambit pops out form behind and throws a few knives into Sabretooth’s back. Quicksilver speeds by and punches Blink in the back of the head. Mimic uses his speed to catch up to Quicksilver and compliments him on the cheap shot, before wondering if he is a backstabbing jerk in every reality. He then runs the speedster into a wall. Holocaust tries to shoot Magneto, while admitting he thought he wouldn’t get the chance to fight him before leaving this world. Magneto is confused on Holocaust’s meaning and asks him where he has been all year.
Wherever he was, states Sunfire, Holocaust made new friends. Sunfire then sends a blaze of fire after Namora, who dives back into the water. Sunfire begins to boil the water to get Namora out. Concerned, Mimic slams his body into Sunfire and knocks him out of the sky. Nearby, Morph turns into a jockey and rides a horse around to dodge Gambit’s attacks. Morph asks Gambit why he is using blades instead of cards. Does he not play poker in this reality? Gambit tells Morph that he does not know if Holocaust brainwashed him or if he just forgot whose side he was on, but Gambit admits that he never found the man funny.
Gambit then blasts a piece of wall above Morph, which lands on top of him. Gambit rushes forwards to kill Morph, but finds that he accidentally knocked Quicksilver to the ground instead of Morph. Gambit stops his attack, but his blades explode in his own hand. Quicksilver then change back into Morph, who quotes a line from the Dukes of Hazzard, though he bets that show does not exist in this reality.
Nearby, Sabretooth shakes Blink to wake her up, as Holocaust faces off against Magneto. Holocaust recalls being interrupted the last time he battled the master of magnetism. He prayed to be able to finish the job. Magneto shudders to think whom Holocaust prays to, but suddenly Namora flies out of the water and, with one good punch, shatters Magneto’s helmet and knocks him to the ground!
Holocaust tells Namora that he did not need her help, but then orders her to get out of the way as she is blocking his shot. Angry, Namora asks Holocaust if he wants to know how she knew Magneto and the X-Men were arriving. It is because the Timebroker told her. He begged her to kill Magneto, which is exactly why she won’t do so. Holocaust is shocked to hear this revelation. Namora holds up McCoy’s journal and tells the villain to remember why they came there. They are trying to depose the Timebroker, not carry out his orders. The Timebroker put Holocaust on this team, because he is a loose cannon. Will Holocaust prove the Timebroker correct?
Holocaust pauses for a moment, but then the Timebroker appears. He urges Holocaust to take the shot. Magneto murdered his father and now he is in his crosshairs. He will never get a better chance. Magneto slowly begins to recuperate and wonders who this Timebroker is. Holocaust stands down and agrees with Namora. He won’t give the Timebroker his satisfaction. He then asks Blink if she remembers the coordinates he gave her earlier. The Timebroker yells at Holocaust and tells him that he is trying to do him a favor. Blink tells Holocaust that she remembers, but it will take a few jumps to get there. Holocaust tells Magneto that they will finish their battle another day.
After Blink teleports the Exiles away, Magneto asks the Timebroker what is going on and why does he want him dead. The annoyed Timebroker tells Magneto that he could care less about him. Magneto asks him if he is in league with Sinister, but the Timebroker fades away and tells Magneto to go save his world. He has bigger fish to fry right now.
At the M’Kraan crystal, Blink asks Holocaust if he knows how to work it. Holocaust tells her that he does not have to. He then calls out for his captive scientist to come out of hiding before he comes looking for him. The scientist comes out and shows him that he stayed like he promised. Holocaust won’t hurt his family, right?
Holocaust shows the scientist the Tallus on Sabretooth and explains that it is a communications device, some sort of inter-dimensional transponder. The Air Force’s scanners saw that the Tallus and his armor have the same frequency as the M’Kraan crystal. The man must scan the Tallus and he should find a second signal, which allows the Tallus to receive transdimensional messages.
Soon, the scientist believes that he has found the second signal. Holocaust gives the man McCoy’s journal and tells him that inside he will find Beast’s method for using the crystal as a gateway to other realities. He has one hour to replicate this experiment. Their destination is to the origin of the carrier signal. Blink is the one who will teleport them, so he should include her in his preparations. If the man fails, he dies.
Morph whispers to Mimic and asks if they really will let Holocaust kill the poor man. Mimic tells Morph that of course they won’t. Right now, though, he is more worried about why Blink is acting like she has never led the team since Sabretooth arrived.
An hour later, the scientist finished calibrating the machines, though he is in disbelief that he and his colleagues didn’t see the answer sooner. He exclaims over how McCoy’s notes were so clear and insightful as well. Blink bitterly tells him that it must make him almost forget that he was a sadistic murderer. The man turns on the machines and tells the Exiles that the crystal is set to the same frequency as the Tallus’ carrier wave. Mimic asks the man if he is sure. The scientist is. All that is left is for Blink to teleport them inside.
Blink is worried, as she tends to avoid blinking into solid objects. Holocaust tells her that they stand on the brink of freedom. Now is not the time for cold feet. Blink turns to Holocaust and tells him that she never backs down from a challenge. She fought him one-on-one once, didn’t she? However, if the scientists misinterpreted the notes even a little, then they are all going to die one very stupid death. Mimic takes Blink’s hand and tells her that it is a leap of faith, but he is there to take it with her.
Sabretooth takes Blink’s other hand, much to Mimic’s chagrin, and tells her that they have faced worse together and come through just fine. Let them take the plunge now. Blink pauses and smiles at the two most important men in her life, and then agrees. She then teleports the Exiles.
The Exiles emerge in what appears to be a crystal palace. Holocaust stands in awe and admits that this is not what he expected. Namora suggests that the Timebroker is hiding. Sabretooth sniffs around as the Exiles look around the pink crystal palace. Sabretooth informs the group that he doesn’t smell anyone. Well, no one human at least. “Curiouser and curiouser…”mutters Blink.
