Without telling the rest of the X-Men, Iceman takes a plane flight to Hong Kong. He reaches his destination and walks through the airport, carrying his luggage. On his way he notices a man and his young son, both very happy. When an airport employee asks Iceman about the nature of his trip, he says he’s on personal business. Then Iceman rides down an escalator and four men wielding guns and flamethrowers, holographically disguised as monks, spot him. They shed their disguises and the men attack. During the fight, Iceman coats his skin with ice and moves a little boy out of harm’s way. When Iceman turns his back, the little boy sheds his disguise, revealing himself as a bald, purple creature. The boy chips a piece of ice from Iceman’s side and runs off before Iceman notices what happened. Then the boy puts the ice in a vial and hops off. Once he leaves, the armed men cease firing on Iceman and one of them says “job’s done” in Chinese. Iceman, ignorant of what really just happened, lets his attackers walk away.
Later, Iceman busts into an office of the Winterbrand Technologies building without an appointment, finding his ex-girlfriend Opal Tanaka working there. Opal seems happy to see him and he asks her about his son. The two of them talk while Opal takes Iceman to see his little boy, Robert Tanaka, in another part of the building. Iceman says that he received an anonymous e-mail of Opal holding a blonde baby, which pretty much spelled out to him that he had a son. Opal tells him she found out she was pregnant after they broke up. She kept it a secret because she thought that Iceman’s violent career as an X-Man was inappropriate for child rearing. They reach the lab and see little Robert inside a containment unit. In some places, the windows of his chamber are frosted over with ice. Iceman is less than thrilled with the whole set-up. Opal tells him that Winterbrand Technologies discovered that baby Robert suffers from a rare genetic condition due to “abnormalities in his genome sequences.” Iceman meets the company CEO Alain Weiss, who explains that he took it upon himself to graciously have his genetics department care for Robert on Opal’s behalf. Then Weiss confesses to sending the e-mail Iceman received earlier. Opal seems surprised. Weiss explains that he needs strands of Iceman’s DNA to produce a serum to cure Robert. Unfortunately, the complicated process would require Iceman to remain in Hong Kong for at least a year. Iceman tells Weiss that he needs time to think before he makes a decision.
Later, in Opal’s place, Iceman talks with her after eating dinner, commenting on her good cooking. Iceman says that the X-Men could probably help Robert just as well as Winterbrand. Opal protests, stating that Winterbrand and Alain Weiss are better alternatives than the X-Men and their constant danger. After Opal goes to bed, Iceman contacts Beast by computer videoconferencing. Beast immediately asks him where he is and why he told no one of his whereabouts. Iceman swears he’s fine and asks Beast to provide information on Winterbrand Technologies. Beast tells him that the company is very large, prestigious, and powerful, but before he can continue, the computer connection is lost. Opal finds Iceman on the computer and becomes alarmed, asking him what he’s done. Suddenly, purplish mutated children just like the one from the airport burst through a window. Iceman creates an ice wall for protection and tells Opal to leave for safety. Alone with his enemies, Iceman fights them and they end up crashing through a window, falling on top of a truck far below. One of the creatures uses something on its back to touch Iceman, causing his ice powers to go haywire. In agony, Iceman stumbles and falls into a lake nearby. His powers growing out of control, he starts to uncontrollably freeze the entire body of water and his nearby attackers.
Upstairs in Opal’s home, Opal and Alain Weiss watch the spectacle through the broken window Iceman crashed through. With an electronic communications device, Weiss speaks to the children, calling them Augmen and telling them to pull back. Then he tells Opal that Iceman forced his hand by contacting the X-Men. Opal says that Iceman’s headstrong, but Weiss thinks he’s just stupid. When Opal asks Weiss if he’s gotten what he wanted, Weiss says that the sample he obtained from Iceman at the airport was a start, but he needs Iceman himself. Since he has Robert Tanaka as bait, Weiss is confident he’ll succeed.
