'And the commander says, “He can't fly. He's just an old man in a bird costume”' a voice can be heard saying over a communications system connected to a satellite above Earth. There is a silence from the satellite, so the voice asks 'Dave? Do you copy?' Dave's voice can then be heard, announcing that he doesn't know what he is looking at right now. 'Are you seeing this?' Dave asks. 'Negative. Please describe' the other voice asks. 'I don't know, Houston. It looks like something is growing in Kansas. Why does this stuff keep happening to me?' Dave complains, as in Kanas, a mountain of Multiple Man clones scramble over one another.
Meanwhile, in the Beast's lab at the Xavier Institute for Mutant Education and Outreach, Jean Grey, Ororo Munroe a.k.a. Storm, Betsy Braddock a.k.a. Psylocke, Bobby Drake a.k.a. Iceman, Lucas Bishop and Dr Henry McCoy the Beast have gathered, and are watching several monitors which display disturbing scenes. The Beast hangs from the ceiling of his lab as he tells the others that he is sorry to drag them out of bed so early, but that he thinks they can see why this can't wait – as what they are looking at is not really within their normal parameters – although these are trying times. The Beast informs the others that in the past six hours, reports have begun to come in from across the globe, various animals, some extinct for millennia, have begun appearing, and people are getting hurt.
The Beast tells his companions that the Avengers, Winter Guard, Champions and other groups have all mobilized, but as they can see by the monitors, things are not going well. The X-Men see Captain Britain standing before a huge Megalodon, while Captain America defends himself against giant insects, and Thor and Iron Man are confronted by giant birds, while the Falcon deals with some tentacled creature, and Doctor Crocodile contends with a huge rhino as Vanguard and Crimson Dynamo run from a herd of mammoths.
'In short, the world is trying to kill us all, and we're going to need to fight back' the Beast declares, adding that there are currently no heroes operating in the Rocky Mountain region, and there is a little situation developing and they need to send a team there now.
Indeed, in Montana, dinosaurs, including a huge T-Rex are currently terrorizing the local civilians, destroying everything in their path and setting off a series of explosions.
Betsy tells Henry that she appreciates the severity of all this, but asks about Kitty's disappearance, and Jamie Madrox attacking the senator like a loon and then both of them vanishing – or what about Warren just abandoning her in the middle of that fight. She motions to the monitor with Captain Britain and the Megalodon and points out that she would love to go help her brother with that big fish he found, but she doesn't think they should be ignoring the other issues. Jean reminds Betsy that they have both been scanning for Warren and Kitty, and tells her they will continue to, but that Hank's point is that there are more pressing problems. Jean adds that she is worried about their friends, they all are, but they can't turn their backs on people who need them. 'A slight correction if I may, Jean?' the Beast asks, announcing that it is just a theory, but that based on energy readings and pattern analysis, he ran a dispersal – Bobby interrupts him and tells him to cut to the chase – so the Beast explains that he doesn't think these things are different.
'And the weather I couldn't control in Kalahari?' Storm enquires. 'Possibly' the Beast tells her, adding that they are dealing with things that shouldn't be here appearing, and people that should be here disappearing. He admits that he can't connect all of even most of the dots, the layman in him says weird stuff goes together. Jean suggests that Hank takes a team out to Montana to see what he can find out, but Hank tells Jean that he has a pressing commitment so won't be able to. 'I'll take them' Storm offers. 'Perfect' Jean tells her friend, adding that she will use Cerebro to amplify her powers while she keeps looking for their missing friends. 'Good luck out there, X-Men' Jean tells everyone.
Soon, inside Cerebro, Bobby stands next to Jean who is using the Cerebro helmet and asks her how come the others get to play with dinosaurs while he has to keep her company while she hacks the matrix, or whatever she is doing. 'Because you love me the most, Bobby' Jean replies. 'I do' Bobby admits. Suddenly, Jean finds something – or someone.' Oh, no. He's so confused' Jean gasps.
In a locker room, Storm, Betsy and Bishop are finishing putting their costumes on alongside Lorna Dane a.k.a. Polaris, Kurt Wagner a.k.a. Nightcrawler, Jean-Paul Beaubier a.k.a. Northstar, Jubilee, Sam Guthrie a.k.a. Cannonball and Laura Kinney a.k.a. X-23. Bishop loads his gun and asks Storm if she ever worries that things like going to fight dinosaurs just feels routine these days. 'If helping people feels routine, then I have no worries, Bishop' Storm responds.
Bobby quickly tells Jean that Storm's team is about to take off, but as Jean removes the Cerebro helmet, she tells Bobby that they can't all go, as he is planning another attack. 'Who is?' Bobby asks. 'Jamie Madrox!' Jean exclaims, before announcing that she will take half the team to Montana, while Storm needs to deal with Madrox right now.
Shortly, in Russell Springs, Kansas, Cannonball, Storm, Psylocke, Jubilee and Polaris walk side by side, while Nightcrawler teleports onto a powerpole nearby. Storm tells her team that she knows they are all worried about their friends, but that she needs everyone sharp out here. 'I can't believe Jean took the dinosaur thing from us. That was gonna be so fun' Jubilee mutters. 'Your idea of fun and mine are very different, Ms Lee' Nightcrawler states. 'Yeah, no $#%&' Jubilee retorts. Storm asks Nightcrawler if he will get them closer, and Nightcrawler prepares to teleport again, 'Your wish is my command' he responds.
In Missoula, Montana, destruction and flames surround Jean, Bobby, Northstar, Bishop and X-23. 'Thank you for getting us the dinosaur thing' Bobby tells Jean. 'It's because I love you the most' Jean replies. 'I knew it' Bobby exclaims.
'I CAN'T BELIEVE THEM!' Hisako Ichiki shouts as she strides into the medlab back at the Xavier Institute, where several of her friends and fellow X-Men students are watching over the wounded and unconscious Idie Okonkwo. 'What?' Santo Vaccarro a.k.a. Rockslide asks, as Victor Borkowski a.k.a. Anole sits on a nearby bed, Megan Gwynn a.k.a. Pixie stands at Oya's beside, and Robert Herman a.k.a. Glob is asleep. 'They left without us!' Armor exclaims. 'Who... what? What happened? Who left?' Glob asks, suddenly waking up. 'The rest of the X-Men. Like, all of them' Armor complains. She stands with her hands on her hips and declares that apparently the whole world is falling apart, and they went off to save it without them. 'That's what they think about us. We don't even register when there's an emergency. We're just a bunch of useless kids to them' Armor scowls. 'That's... man, that's not cool' Glob replies.
Sipping from a juice box, Rockslide points out that they did just get their butts handed to them – by Forearm. 'Forearm! The embarassment!' he exclaims. Pixie decides that Rockslide is right, and reminds Armor that they nearly lost two teammates, so if things are that bad, she doesn't blame the others for leaving them behind, as they are a risk. Pixie reminds the others that Beast asked them to stay and keep an eye on Anole and Oya, to which Armor wonders where Beast has gone.
Fairview Medical Laboratories, in Morrisville, North Carolina, where a construction crew is working on clearing the Blackbird that crashed into the laboratory. 'Look at this crap. The x-Men can crash their fancy plane into a medical facility and the government ain't gonna do squat but give them a slap on the wrist' a police officer standing nearby complains. 'And you know it's our tax money going into cleaning this up' another officer mutters. 'Makes me so mad' the first officer adds, before revealing that his brother-in-law up in New York lost his home because of them. 'Yeah?' the other officer asks. The first officer explains that one of them shot some sort of laser beam straight through his living room, missed him by inches but destroyed the whole place. 'Insurance wouldn't even cover it' he remarks, unaware that nearby, the Beast breaks past the police cordon and enters the ruins of the lab. 'A damn crime is what it is' one of the police tells the other. 'We should be able to lock them up on sight' the other suggests. 'Amen' the first agrees. The Beast checks some holographic blueprints of the lab, makes his way through into a room, where he finds a canister. 'There you are' he calls out.
Back in Kansas, there is a BAMF over a farmhouse, as Nightcrawler teleports in with Storm, Polaris, Psylocke, Jubilee and Cannonball. 'Mein Gott. I knew it would be bad... but this exceeded even my wildest expectations' Nightcrawler gasps as the team looks down, horrified, to find a literal sea of Jamie Madroxes beneath them.
'Go back home!' one of them calls out. 'No!' another shouts. 'The situation is already under control' one of them declares. 'Leave us alone!' another exclaims. 'Go!' 'You can't be here!' 'We've got it handled!' 'Go now!' ' They're all gone!' ' They're all gone!' 'Our fault!' the many dupes shout. 'You're only going to get in the way!' another dupe shouts, strange blue energy blasting upwards from his eyes – straight towards Betsy, who Cannonball pulls aside before she is struck. 'Whoa, now. Since when can Madrox do that?' Cannonball asks. Betsy reports that there is something not quite right with Madrox, but that she can't get a clear read on his mind. 'Isn't “not right” his normal? Ah mean, that's his brand, right?' Sam asks, suggesting that this is something more not right than usual.
Storm tells Madrox that they are not here to fight him, but that he needs to understand that he is scaring people – first the senator and now this. 'Help us understand what's going on' Polaris asks her longtime teammate. 'They're all gone' one of the dupes calls back. 'We're too late' another exclaims.
Betsy tells Storm that she is trying to read their minds, but it is a mess – they are confused and she can't find Jamie inside them. The X-Men hover over the dupes and Polaris asks 'Who do you mean, Jamie? Who's all gone?'
The X-Men drop down amongst the Madrox dupes, who start uttering 'Kitty' 'Get out of our heads!' 'Senator Allen' 'This is our mess!' 'Stop talking to them'. Another dupe declares 'We'll fix it!'
Storm informs Jamie that he is leaving them with no choice, and the X-Men begin fighting with the dupes. Cannonball blasts towards one, while Nightcrawler is confronted by a dupe who glows with some strange blue energy, and Jubilee finds herself attacked by one who extends a long tongue towards her.
'X-Men – find Jamie Prime and immobilize him -' Storm calls out as she sends a huge crackle of lightning down amongst the dupes, scattering some of them. 'How do we do that, Storm?' Cannonball asks, blasting his way through several dupes. 'Get your tongue off of me!' Jubilee exclaims, firing some plasma fireworks at the dupe who attacked her. 'A thousand showers isn't going to get that ick off' Jubilee complains. Betsy shoves a psi-knife into one of the dupes and tells the other X-Men to pull their punches, reminding them that they don't want to kill him, that they need his help. Hovering overhead, Polaris suggests to Betsy that she might want to plant that thought inside Madrox's head, because it certainly looks like he is trying to kill them!
Another crackle of lightning sends more dupes careening backwards, as Storm asks Psylocke to tell her she can decipher which is Jamie Prime. Betsy knocks back a dupe that has grown large bones on his body and tells Storm that she is trying to, but there is so much confusion, she can't make sense of it. 'You best try harder, 'Locke. We're being overwhelmed out here!' Cannonball calls out as he blasts through the air with a dozen dupes clambering over him. 'We couldn't save Kitty!' one of them exclaims. 'We can clean this mess. It is our mess' another states.
Suddenly, Polaris falls to the ground, and Jubilee reports that Polaris and Cannonball are both down. 'There's too many of them!' she exclaims. 'We didn't want to fight you' one of the dupes calls out. 'You made us do this' another adds, seemingly using some sort of magnetic power to hold Polaris down Several dupes have surrounded Storm and are pulling her down, 'We're so sorry' another calls out as he leaps on top of Storm.
Outside of Missoula, Montana, Jean and her team arrive at a mountain range where dinosaurs are en route to the city. Jean asks Bobby to set up an ice wall behind them to slow the dinosaurs down in case they get through. 'On it' Bobby replies, before Jean announces that she will link their minds telepathically if nobody minds. None of the others say anything, so Jean takes their silence as consent, and then links their minds. 'No matter what, these things don't get through' Jean declares. X-23 pops her claws and Jean tells her 'Well said'. Several dinosaurs move closer to the X-Men, and a T-Rex roars. Jean asks Bobby through the telepathic link how the wall is coming. 'Looks good, Jean' Bobby calls back as he continues to create the wall of ice. Northstar speeds towards one of the dinosaurs and Jean tells him to watch his six. 'I'm all right with you in my head, Jean, not with being micromanaged' Jean-Paul responds. 'Fair enough' Jean concedes, before Northstar flies up and slams his fist into a large dinosaur, knocking it back.
Bishop blasts his gun at one of the dinosaurs and reminds Jean that Beast said this is all connected, but he wonders what on Earth could be big enough to do all these things – extinct species coming back to life, weather patterns changing, people disappearing. 'What's powerful enough to do all of that at the same time...and still hide itself from us?' he wonders. Jean hovers overhead and knocks a dinosaur back with a telekinetic blast, while telling Bishop that she doesn't know, but that everything she can imagine is terrifying. Bishop continues to fire his gun at the dinosaurs and tells Jean that when they get back home, he needs to talk to her and the others about something he found a few days ago. He adds that he didn't know what it meant, and still doesn't, but it may be important.
Bobby encases a dinosaur in ice and asks 'Is everyone ready for me to deliver my “Let's put these guys back in ice” joke?' Jean offers Bobby a telepathic groan on behalf of the entire team.
X-23 slices the head off a dinosaur, but is seemingly unaware that another dinosaur looms behind her. 'Laura! Watch your -' Jean calls out, but too late, as the dinosaur chomps down and swallows X-23 whole. 'LAURA!' Jean screams, before asking Bishop to help her. 'Just... give her a minute' Bishop replies, and suddenly, the dinosaur roars, and blood starts to shoot up from its stomach – as X-23 cuts her way free from the dinosaur's insides. 'That all you got?' Laura asks. Jean smirks and telepathically tells the team that Laura just cut her way out from inside a tyrannosaurus, so they are going to have to up their game if they want to take the Most Valuable Player title for today. 'Yeah, but shouldn't Laura lose points for being eaten in the first place?' Bobby asks. 'I mean... you can try telling her that' Jean suggests. '...pass' Bobby responds.
Back at the Xavier Institute, a large number of protesters have gathered, carrying signs like “Die muties” and “God hates mutants”. A figure in a suit walks between the protestors, closer the mansion, as someone shouts 'Muties go home! Muties go home!'
Armor frowns as she watches the protestors from a window. 'Go home? Where would that even be? We're literally in our home' she mutters. 'We risk out lives – Oya and Anole are still in the med bay – to stop villains from stealing the government's vaccine and this is the thanks we get? Protestors on our damn lawn?' she scowls. 'Most of those people would pee their damn pants if they really saw a mutant up close, Armor' one of the other students calls out, as outside, the suited figure gets even closer to the mansion. 'Muties go home!' Someone else calls out.
Pixie remarks that she is annoyed with the chant, and asks if they can't come up with anything better, as it has been hours and is driving her crazy. 'That's all that bothers you about this? The chanting?' Armor replies. Pixie explains that she doesn't like anything about it, 'But what are we gonna do?' she asks. Glob agrees, and reminds Armor that it is the way it is – the way it has always been.
'Muties go home!' someone shouts outside, as the man in a suit excuses himself when he pushes past a woman.
Armor turns her attention from the crowd to her teammates and tells Glob that if he really feels that way, she doesn't know why he is here. 'Why do you want to be an X-Man?' she asks. Rockslide suggests that maybe they go out onto the lawn and scare the protesters, bust some heads. 'I bet they run before I get within ten feet' Rockslide boasts, to which Armor tells him that they are not doing that.
The protesters continue their chant, and as the man in the suit gets closer to the mansion, a woman tells him not to get too close. 'He's probably one of them' another suggests, while someone wonders what he is doing. 'He's crazy!' another exclaims, before Armor notices him getting close to the house. 'MUTIES GO HOME!' the chant gets louder, as the man knocks on the front door.
Armor, Pixie, Glob and Rockslide open the door, as the man in the suit greets them. He has long hair slicked back and smiles, 'Hi, kids' he remarks, before introducing himself as Legion and telling them that he is Professor Xavier's son – and that he is here to save the day!
