Twelve Points, Missouri, years ago:
A political parade. A group of agents, Reese, Norris, Armstrong and Logan aka Wolverine watch their secondary subject, Senator Gregory Lee, from different viewpoints.
That’s the guy turning their tax dollars into tactics in the war on drugs, Reese scoffs. He looked a lot taller on Arsenio. Norris, in the crowd, remarks the guy is packing so much security you’d think he already secured his party’s nomination.
What about the primary? Logan asks. Armstrong retorts it would help if they knew what they were looking for exactly. Any specifics? Their guess is as good as his, he replies from a rooftop. God bless sketchy intel, he opines. If anything they’ve heard about Mothervine is true this is a know-it-when-they-see it scenario.
In the crowd, a man steps up to a woman with her young daughter. He whispers something into the little girl’s ears…
In the meantime, the senator is shaking hands, working the crowd. The mother with her daughter steps up to him. He kneels down in front of the little girl Sadie.
Sadie’s eyes begin to glow. Light tendrils emit from her head, smashing things around her. The crowd panics.
Norris confirms her as primary asset. Reese asks for Logan to make the call. Say the word and he can take her down with minimal collateral damage. God help him.
Jumping down from the roof, claws unsheathed, Logan forbids it. He’ll handle this. Hurting the girl is not the op. That ain’t who they are! However, Lee’s security detail is getting ready to fire.
Wolverine tears the tendrils apart. The little girl’s eyes stop glowing and she turns back to normal, asking for her mother. The security men want to take the girl – Sadie – out. Wolverine takes apart their weapons and elbows one in the face.
The mother hugs Sadie and thanks Logan profusely. He tells her not to thank him. Say goodbye to her little girl, because this is the last time she will see her.
He orders Norris to secure the girl and Reese to keep them in sight. The trigger man can’t be far. He wants to talk to him. Said trigger man runs for his life down a side alley, where he is addressed by a striking brunette in a scarlet coat. She jokes he really should leave the field work to someone who hits the gym every now and then. She guesses he just had to see the fruits of his labors first-hand. He screams at her to leave him alone. He’ not going to tell her anything!
She hasn’t asked any questions, has she? She already knows everything worth knowing about Mothervine. How did she find him? Magic, she smiles and snaps her fingers. A moment later, he is shot.
Armstrong and Logan find his body. They wonder who beat them to the punch. Logan sniffs. Can’t be, he mutters as he gets a scent. Pack it in! he orders his people. They’ve got another player on the field. They need to plan their next move!
Today, Utopia:
Jimmy Hudson, Wolverine’s son, once more listens to the hologram message his father left him repeatedly. The other mutants are busy outside. The technopath boy Garab Bashur aka Black Box listens in with interest. He joins Jimmy. What’s he doing? Just talking to his father, Jimmy replies and stops the hologram.
Garab asks him to not turn it off. Is he suddenly interested in his daddy issues? Jimmy mocks. Not really. But he hears a signal behind the words, a hidden message. He reveals a row of pictures of strangers as well as the message “Mother is calling her children home.”
Garab explains it’s hidden in the code. Some sort of prompt turned the on-switch. He offers his help in finding out.
Soon, Jimmy talks to Kitty Pryde. He’s not asking for her blessing. He knows his dad, James Hudson, but he’s never met his biological father. Kitty knows him. Was he the type to leave a hidden message like that without good reason? Just be careful out there, Kitty tells him. He knows. If he’s caught outside the reservation, it will be trouble for all of them. Just be careful, she repeats and hugs him
Later, as they walk away, Black Box wonders how Jimmy got Kitty to allow him tagging along. Jimmy grins. He didn’t tell her, Garab realizes. Sometimes it’s easier to apologize than to get permission, Jimmy informs him.
In a room, a middle-aged man awakes when his cell phone rings. He notes it’s not his normal cell but the special one he’s hidden away in a drawer. Code? he is asked. He enters the code and is told Mothervine is compromised. Burn it down!
He enters a room with several computers. Everything? he asks. Yes, raw materials too, he is told. They knew this day was coming. Once he’s finished, he’s clear to leave.
Suddenly, the person on the other side screams in pain and breaks off. Moments later, something rushes into his room. A red line appears on his throat. He’s afraid he is out of time altogether, Quicksilver, who has slashed his throat at super speed, informs him. All of them associated with Project: Mothervine… their time is up. This is the payoff, flatscan! Consider the last few years a chrysalis state for all those little slaves they tried to breed. Now it’s time for them to wake up! It’s time to see what beautiful butterflies they have become. He speaks the code phrase: Mother is calling her children home…
