Ms. Nova and Mr. Trask are in the Master Mold artificial intelligence factory in Ecuador, hovering before a giant sentinel head, discussing the imminent slaughtering of fifteen million mutants. When Mr. Trask refers to the impending victims as people, Ms. Nova corrects him by saying that they’re not people, but “dirty, stinking mutants” instead.
Approaching the factory, Cyclops, Wolverine, and Ugly John are flying in the X-Wing on a mission for Professor Xavier, planning to investigate and find out why a Master Mold facility is up and running in South America. They’re detected and attacked by a squadron of flying wild sentinels and one of the X-Wing’s engines is destroyed. The X-Wing crashes and Cyclops programs the plane to eject the passengers and self-destruct so the wild sentinels can’t salvage any parts. Cyclops, Wolverine, and Ugly John are ejected from the X-Wing wearing parachutes just before the plane explodes, destroying the sentinels that were trying to break it open. During the chaos, Wolverine still finds time to poke fun at Cyclops.
Once they’re on the ground, Cyclops wonders how the X-Men will get Ugly John to safety. Then he and Wolverine discuss how these new sentinels differ from any they’ve encountered before, even though they hunt mutants like always. Soon more sentinels show up to subdue them. During the short battle, Cyclops’s ruby quartz visor is shattered and Ugly John mentions that he has no power besides his three faces, useless in a fight. Soon the sentinels manage to overpower and capture the X-Men and Ugly John.
Meanwhile, in the Xavier Institute, Beast drafts up a letter for his sometimes girlfriend Trish Tilby, congratulating her on her award nomination for news coverage regarding the recent war in Genosha. Beast also struggles to find a way to tell her about his recent mutation toward a more feline appearance. He stops when he notices something strange and leaves his letter for later. In another room, Jean tries to comfort Professor Xavier at his bedside after his psychic attack from last issue. She asks him why he didn’t mention that he carries a gun and he replies that such a weapon would prove necessary should he ever have to make “the ultimate sacrifice” when an enemy tries to take over his mind. The Professor tells Jean that he’s anxious to return to Cerebra to discover the identity of his new foe when Beast enters the room saying he’s lost contact with Cyclops, Wolverine, and the X-Wing.
Back in Ecuador, Ms. Nova helps Mr. Trask rationalize his role in the latest attempt on mutant genocide. He’s apprehensive about becoming the “world’s greatest mass murderer” and sending sentinels to densely populated area of mutants. Ms. Nova gives Mr. Trask a speech on good and evil and calls him by his full name for the first time, Donald Trask III, before she kills him by swiping her hand through his body and brain, mentioning that she’s just copied his DNA sequence after ten hours of work. A sentinel arrives carrying Cyclops, Wolverine, and Ugly John, all incapacitated. Since Ms. Nova now contains Trask DNA, the sentinel spares her and bows to her will. While a newscast about South African sentinel attacks plays in the background, Ms. Nova menaces Ugly John and mistakes him for an X-Man. After John tell hers that he’s not a member of the team, Ms. Nova injects herself with fluid she obtained from Mr. Trask and orders a sentinel to fry Ugly John. The smell of burning flesh awakens Wolverine and he breaks free of containment to attack Ms. Nova. He threatens to stab his claws through her skull. Cyclops frees himself and uses an optic blast to kill Ugly John quickly before the dying man can suffer more pain. Cyclops then tells Ms. Nova that he’ll use his optic blast on her if she causes more trouble, but she smiles, unfazed. Wolverine wonders what she has up her sleeve to make her so cheery despite the situation.
In Genosha, Emma Frost nonchalantly lectures a class when a student mentions that she’s had nightmares about everyone dying. Then the classroom is suddenly blown away as sentinels raze the entire country. Magneto is seen in a wheelchair, right before his citadel is blasted away.
Professor Xavier, Jean, and Beast see the full-scale carnage via Cerebra and balk as the Genoshan population drops from the millions to the hundreds.
