Nighttime in the Catskill Mountains. Tony Stark and Emma Frost (dressed as Hazel Kendall) are waiting for something on a lonely bluff. Emma snarks, she hopes he hasn’t brought her here for a fake romantic getaway. He explains that all the beautiful mysterium he needs is in space, so they need a ride, and he has called in a favor. Won’t their absence at the Hellfire Club be noticed? she asks, as the light from a landing spaceship blinds her. He has a plan for that, he replies, and the plan becomes clear as two Skrulls, who are meant to impersonate them, exit the spaceship.
Tony instructs them to keep the home fires burning. Be boring and don’t draw any attention to themselves. Emma points out the risk. The two Skrulls copy them and explain that the intermediary who arranged their hiring has told them all about them. Their main traits are that they are vain and both egotists. Emma fumes and Tony tells his double to watch the (still pointy) ear.
After the two doppelgangers leave, Emma remarks that, after the ordeal of the last few months, that poor skull can have her lives as the White Queen, Emma Frost and Hazel Kendall. Tony replies if they are successful, when, he corrects himself, she can be anyone she wants to be.
She could be anyone some remarks from the entrance of the spaceship, but why would she when she is already a visage of beauty perfected. It is the Titanian Eternal Eros aka former Avenger Starfox.
Eros warns Tony that this will settle their debt, but he will still have to pay the Skrulls, and they are expensive. Tony tells Eros to stop flirting with Emma. She is a married woman now. He states, “let’s go get rich,” and they leave for space.
In the meantime, Riri Williams aka Ironheart is making her way off-world with Stark’s designs for the ships that are to take the mutants from Arakko to Earth for the planned invasion. Sinking onto an Orchis platform and disguised by her Mandarin rings, she causes some damage as a distraction. With that done, she steals a shuttle and signals Tony.
In the meantime, Starfox has taken Tony and Emma, now wearing a White Queen outfit but still wearing the Hazel wig, to Gameworld. Do they all know the plan? Emma asks. Eros agrees but asks how married she is (to the plan, of course). Quick in and out, Emma continues. Eros is used to that, right? He is less amused, then complains to Tony he is suffering performance issues. Tony replies that she isn’t falling for his schtick, and they always want what they cannot have. Eros sighs dramatically and announces he is off to get into character.
Tony apologizes to Emma. He should have warned her of Starfox’s ability to charm… Or lack thereof, she finishes drily. And there is no need to apologize; she is sapiosexual. His free love claptrap doesn’t interest her. Tony enjoys her humiliating Eros but asks if she is sure about the mysterium deposits being on Gameworld. She explains that the X-Men stored it here as a bank of sorts, to move the mysterium wherever it needed to go. She supposes they’ll wait in the elevator for the signal from Hornfox.
When they arrive in the storage area, they find an unexpected situation - another heist in progress, with the pirates facing Gameworld’s armed guards.
She telepathically attacks the pirates who aren’t wearing psi-blockers, while Iron Man tries to stun the guards. When she worries about getting hit by a stray shot, she turns into her diamond form. He fires at her diamond form and the rays ricochet off her, hitting everybody else.
With the fight over, Eros enters, poorly disguised as a pregnant woman who got lost on her way looking for sickbay. He is about to pretend going into labor, when Iron Man points out that they are done. Taking off the wig, Eros asks what he is supposed to do now. Help them load the mysterium, Iron Man replies. They find a huge store of mysterium and Eros announces that he will start up the robots. When they are done loading, they send most of the metal with Starfox to get it to the dwarves, while they keep some for the construction of the mark 72 armor.
Tony and “Hazel” return to the Hellfire Club, where their Skrull counterparts are already waiting. The female greets them with a bored insult, causing Emma to admit she is perfect as her. The Skrulls hand them several papers as proof of their work before leaving.
One picture shows them ice-skating and kissing at the Rockefeller Center, and Emma has to admit those Skrulls are better being them than they are. She always wanted to skate at Rockefeller Center. Tony kisses her hand and tells her they are going to win. She knows, Emma smiles.
Soon, the two of them are ice-skating at Rockefeller Center and both admit having forgotten it was the holidays. He asks if she has family. Should he have asked her father before proposing? Smiling sadly, she reveals that her father was a monster who ruined everyone around him… especially her mother. Doesn’t ring a bell, he deadpans. They let themselves enjoy the night.
In the meantime, in deep space, Riri Willians is on her way to rendezvous with the mysterium when she gets a proximity alert. Outside, she sees another small ship, steered by the X-Men’s Forge, who introduces himself when she flies outside. He adds that he almost blew her away, when he saw the Orchis logo. She should be careful what flags she flies out here.
She asks him how he got into space and what is that junky ship. He tells her that he built a sextant. Takes him wherever he needs to be. When she asks how that works, he admits he has no clue. Riri stammers in disbelief; he is the guy who made the Krakoan gates and the Treehouse and he has no idea what he is doing? He knows, it’s annoying, he grins, especially for fellow engineers. He then compliments her suit. He can tell it is homemade.
In a huff she corrects him it was not homemade like his junk ship and whoever told him he was annoying is right. His old girlfriend was always right. It’s her true mutant power, he retorts grimly, then asks cautiously if Storm is alive. Won over, Riri exclaims, he dated Storm? She loves her! What’s she like?
Of course, that moment, an alien dragon attacks, sensing the souls of his Markuan brethren in the Mandarin Rings and demands them. Forge tells him to move along. No Mandarin Rings here, then he sees Riri’s reaction and swears…
