Mojowolrd, weeks ago, where Adam X the X-Treme sits behind a desk, “Adam X's Hot Seat” logo is displayed behind Adam X, who wears a blue tank top, revealing his heavily tattooed arms. A camera is focussed on a glass box in the room, where Sofia Mantega a.k.a. Wind Dancer sits cross-legged in a ballet costume. 'You sure about this, sweetheart?' Adam asks, holding a gun. Adam tells Sofia that he will say there was a short in the feed, or something, give her some time to escape. 'Hell, I could even get a patsy to take the shot so there's brains. No one would ever know they aren't yours' Adam suggests. But Sofia tells him 'No. This is what viewers voted for. And I just want to go home. So, let's give the people what they want'. Sofia closes her eyes as Adam gives a shout out to his loyal X-Tremists out there, and thanks them for watching. He remarks that in a recent poll, they said they wanted to see Sofia die on-stream by gunshot. 'So, without further ado, here we go - The Hot Seat(tm) exclusive public execution of Wind Dancer!' Adam declares, as there is a loud BLAM, and blood covers the camera lens.
The Boneyard, on Krakoa, now, where the members of X-Factor and the Five are gathered in the living room area, and have just watched that footage of Sofia's death. 'Et voila. Proof of death'. Jean-Paul a.k.a. Northstar remarks as he pauses the footage on the blood splatter. Sitting on a sofa, Josh Foley a.k.a. Elixir announces that the Five confirm submission of proof, and his teammate Hope Summers states that they accept proof of death. Eva Bell a.k.a. Tempus leans over the back of the couch and utters 'Adam X shot Wind Dancer'. Sitting on a sofa, Daken asks when they can bring Sofia back, and Trevor Hawkins a.k.a. Eye-Boy asks if the resurrection services are back online now. Elixir stands up next to Fabio Medina a.k.a. Egg and thanks X-Factor for being patient with them, and apologizes for the delay. Hope reports that the full cache of fresh resurrection eggs has finally been restored, and Tempus remarks that they can choose to begin resurrection services again now. Kevin MacTaggert a.k.a. Proteus looks over at his Five teammates, as Daken asks them what the hold-up is.
Hope looks over at Lorna Dane a.k.a. Polaris and asks her if she didn't tell them. 'I didn't feel like rehashing a failed resurrection in graphic detail' Polaris remarks, to which Hope tells her that she shares her hesitation in re-opening resurrection services, and remarks that X-Factor can definitely help them determine whether or not it is safe to begin them again. 'Then what is it you need?' Northstar asks
The next day, at the Arbor Magna Hatchery, Elixir approaches David Alleyne a.k.a. Prodigy and asks 'How long's she been out there?' 'Hours' Prodigy replies as he gazes out a large window-like opening in the Hatchery tree. Elixir supposes that she will come in when she is ready, and asks Prodigy if he is hanging out up here. Prodigy looks up at his old friend and asks if that is cool, adding that he has finished his part downstairs. Elixir tells him to make himself welcome, and asks how things were going down there. Hope, Tempus, Egg and Proteus all turn to watch Prodigy as he replies 'I don't know. My powers don't work on him, and it started to make me feel kind of claustrophobic, I guess. If that makes sense. I just needed a breather'. Elixir offers to go check it out, and tells Prodigy to feel free to invite anyone else he can think of who would want to be here today. 'Seriously?' Prodigy asks. 'Believe it or not, it makes re-entry smoother' Elixir explains as he walks away.
Elixir enters another part of the Hatchery, where Northstar can be heard saying 'Again', to which Rachel Summers a.k.a. Prestige responds 'Northstar, my telepathy isn't hit or miss'. She declares that if she said she couldn't find anything definitive, then it means there was nothing to find. 'Fair enough' Northstar replies, before suggesting Rachel try her chrono-skimming this time. 'Good idea' Rachel agrees, before Elixir makes his presence known and asks if there are any updates. 'We're all striking out' Rachel admits as she stands in front of “Rockslide”. As Polaris, Daken and Eye-Boy gather nearby, Northstar tells Elixir that they have so far learned their new friend here lacks things, such as opinions, learned skills, a skeleton and pheromones. 'Yeah, my powers don't work on him unless you want me to try testing the -' Daken begins as a SNIKT sound can be heard when he pops his claws.
Northstar looks at Daken and tells him that his services are not required because Rachel is checking for memories using her chrono-skimming. 'My hands are cold. Sorry' Rachel tells “Rockslide” as she places her hands on his face. 'I'm sorry' “Rockslide” repeats in a strange, distorted voice. 'No. You're okay. You're fine' Rachel tells him, before explaining to Northstar that she is going to move backward in time, since “Rockslide” is physically anchoring her. 'You won't get lost?' Northstar asks. 'Nah' Rachel assures him, and Northstar instructs her to keep the apprised. 'Will do' Rachel responds, as she begins to see images in “Rockslide's” memories.
First, she sees him apologizing to her just moments ago, then when he appeared before the Quiet Council, as they were advised that Rockslide is dead, with Polaris slumped to the floor over the remains of Santo Vaccarro that were not used to create this new “Rockslide”. Rachel suddenly gasps, and Northstar asks her what she has found. 'I am sorry' “Rockslide” utters, looking at Rachel, before she is sent careening backwards, slamming into the wall of the Hatchery. 'Rachel!' someone cries out.
Northstar asks Rachel if she is all right, to which Rachel tells him that she is fine. 'Is he?' she asks about “Rockslide”, while her Warwolf pup, Amazing Baby, rushes towards her. 'Are you? Okay, I mean?' Rachel asks, turning to “Rockslide”, while Eye-Boy tells Rachel that he doesn't think “Rockslide” can understand what she is saying. 'Listen, Rachel, if he just threw you into a wall...' Elixir begins, but Rachel explains that he didn't – she just hit the beginning of his timeline. 'What does that mean?' Elixir asks. Rachel rubs the back her head and sighs. '$#&%' she mutters, before deciding that it might be faster if she just shows them, and asks Elixir if the Five are up to anything critical right now. 'Why?' Elixir asks, before Rachel mind-links the Five. 'Oh. Hey, Rachel' Hope smiles, while Rachel tells the Five that she is sorry to drop in unannounced, but Elixir said it was fine for her to link up. She asks them if any of them have seen what happens when the film runs out on one of those old-school reel-to-reel movie projectors, and explains that without anything to spool into, the film celluloid just spins around, circling and clicking if it can't catch on to anything.
'I reached the end of how far back I could travel in our new friend's memories – the beginning of his timeline – so it spit me back out' Rachel reveals. X-Factor and Elixir all look at “Rockslide” as Eye-Boy supposes that he is about a week old. 'But as for whether or not he's Rockslide... I don't think we can know that yet' Rachel replies. 'The way we've treated him... he's basically a newborn!?' Lorna exclaims, wide-eyed. Eye-Boy then hugs “Rockslide” and introduces himself. 'We love you already' he tells his new friend. One of X-Factor then suggests that it is time to go welcome back another friend that “Rockslide” doesn't know yet.
At that moment, Proteus and Hope are looking out the large window-like opening in the Hatchery. 'Don't tell me she's still just -' Proteus begins. 'She is. We're just going to have to start without her' Hope announces, as they look down at Emma Frost, who stands between some trees looking towards the Hatchery.
There is darkness, then Julian Keller a.k.a. Hellion can be seen, wide-eyed and smiling. 'Sofia?' he asks. 'Hey, beautiful' Hellion remarks. 'You look good in goo' he tells Sofia as she is reborn, helping her out of the egg within the Hatchery, while several of their old classmates and teammates gather nearby, among them Indra, Wallflower, Loa, Surge, Tag, DJ, Cipher, Dust, Icarus, Mercury, Anole and Pixie. Wind Dancer then suddenly takes flight into the night sky. 'Volksgeist' Proteus remarks to Hope as they continue to watch from the opening above. 'Hm?' Hope asks. Proteus explains that it means folk spirit, or a shared behavior of a people. 'Every time we bring back a flyer who died depowered, their first instinct is always...' his voice trails off, remembering Josh Guthrie a.k.a. Icarus taking flight, and then his sister, Melody a.k.a. Aero also taking flight when she was reborn, and then now, Wind Dancer, too. '...to take flight' Hope Smiles. 'Aye. “Le'spirit de nations”. Spirit of the nation' Proteus adds.
'I missed that' Sofia remarks as she drops down to her friends, where Hellion is waiting with a large sheet for her. Sofia wraps herself in the sheet, and then hugs Surge and Wallflower, while Dust, Prodigy, Anole, Pixie, Tag, Icarus and Loa look on. 'Sofia -' Prodigy calls out. 'Oh, sorry! I didn't mean to brag about being repowered...' Sofia remarks, looking at David, who tells her that it is okay, as he is repowered, too. Sofia reveals that she heard about the Crucible while she was in Mojoworld. 'Is that why you -' she begins to ask David, but he interrupts her, wanting to know why she went to Mojoworld, and why she agreed to get killed for their entertainment. Sofia sits down as Northstar, Eye-Boy, Mercury, Polaris and Indra gather nearby. Sofia explains that she had no other way of escaping, and that Spiral, Adam X and Shatterstar all tried to help her leave other ways, but Mojo keeps a tight leash on the top-five live-streamers. 'They're all trapped there too, you know. We have to rescue them' Sofia utters.
Polaris tells her that X-Factor agrees, but explains that it will be difficult because they have been permanently banned after retrieving her remains. 'But we couldn't let them livestream your autopsy or feed you to the clone mother' Polaris adds. 'They – they were going to do what?' the horrified Sofia asks. Eye-Boy puts a hand on Sofia's shoulders and suggest that they table this for tomorrow morning. 'We should be celebrating and grieving right now' Eye-Boy remarks. 'Right? Please?' he asks a stern-faced Northstar.
A moment later: 'C'mon, Amazing Baby! Race us to the Boneyard!' Prodigy calls out as he runs from the Hatchery, followed by the Warwolf pup. Aero flies above them, while Rubbermaid can be seen running next to Amazing Baby. Surge follows, holding the hand of a younger mutant, while Dryad can be seen next to her.
At that moment: 'Since you're still out here, Emma – I'm assuming it's for a good reason' Dani Moonstar remarks as she walks away from the Hatchery, towards the forest where Emma Frost is still standing in the shadows. 'Because you love these kids' Dani adds. 'Yes' Emma confirms. 'Look at them, Dani. Thriving. Joyous. Do you ever cease marveling at how miraculous it is that all of our lost former students are now returned to us, hale and whole?' Emma looks to the ground as she remembers Santo, who is dead and never to be resurrected. 'I am out here because I didn't want to cast my pall over their joy' Emma explains. She reminds Dani that they taught Rockslide, cared deeply for him – and now he is lost to them forever. 'But I'm the only one who consistently courts this manner of tragedy. So, what is so wrong with me that even in a world where mutants have overcome death, I still manage to fail these children again and again?' she asks.
'It's your heart' Dani tells Emma. 'What?' Emma asks, surprised. Dani remarks that most people would never put themselves in a position to be hurt the same way. 'But not you. You suffered loss, and instead of hardening, you keep caring. You choose to love again, over and over' Dani explains. Dani tells Emma that it is awful – like a kind of curse. 'So, here's to having brutal hearts, Ms Frost' Dani smiles. Emma puts a hand on Dani's back and they start to walk through the forest, with Emma offering to buy Dani a drink at the Green Lagoon. 'Everything is free on Krakoa' Dani reminds Emma. 'All the more reason to let me' Emma tells her.
Soon, at the Boneyard: 'Welcome to the Boneyard! C'mon, buddy. Lemme show you around' Eye-Boy remarks to “Rockslide” who walks beside him as Eye-Boy welcomes dozens of students into X-Factor's home and headquarters. Among the students gathered Rainboy, Onyxx, Flubber and Quill can be seen walking together, while nearby, Boggart, Naiad, Pinpoint, Trovao, Umbra and Xenon are all grouped together, too. 'Buddy?' “Rockslide” asks in his distorted voice, while on a nearby mezzanine walkway, Daken looks down below to the group and asks 'He's for real, huh?' 'Who, Trevor?' Polaris asks as she approaches Daken, while Armor can be seen walking past them. 'Yeah. That whole kumbaya thing of his. It's not an act?' Daken asks. 'Are you asking me if he is genuinely nice?' Lorna queries. 'Yes, he is'. Lorna tells Daken that she is sure kindness offered without reservation probably looks highly suspect to him, but that he should keep in mind Eye-Boy wasn't raised with the same kind of childhood trauma that he was.
'Ha. This whole time I just thought it was either an act, or was on something or he was – you know – kind of simple. I mean “Eye-Boy”? The #$%& kind of alias -' Daken begins, before Lorna holds her arms at a strange angle, making herself look larger, she mocks: 'Back in my day, I had to walk fifteen miles in the snow, uphill both ways just to have Daddy issues until a ripe old age – that's you. That's how you sound' Lorna tells Daken, who laughs, then pops his claws – so Lorna uses her powers to pull Cessily Kincaid a.k.a. Mercury towards her. 'Sure, Lorna... you can metal-bend me into a shield... that's cool' Mercury mumbles. Daken laughs some more, before he sees Jeanne-Marie Beauber a.k.a. Aurora walking nearby – then she speeds away down a corridor.
The celebrations continue through the night, and as Aurora flies outside and up to the top of the Boneyard tower, Hellion, Surge, Pixie and Dust can be seen on the flight deck. 'Pull!' Surge shouts as Hellion telekinetically throws some large rocks into the air, and Surge blasts them with her powers, to the delight of Dust and Pixie. Northstar and Kyle's penthouse suite is empty, while Polaris and “Rockslide” sit on a ledge overlooking the ground below them, Polaris is playing some sort of hand-held electronic game, but realizes that she doesn't know how to play this, and that she isn't sure why she brought it. Inside, Elixir enters a kitchen where Northstar is with the rest of the Five. Elixir informs them that Gorgon has been resurrected from Otherworld, but that he is acting strangely. Daken is in a guest room where he has taken up residence, sketching images onto the walls, while in a living room, several of the young mutants are watching footage from Mojoworld. 'No, like – full-on dancing chorus line of Rachel spiky costume cosplay' one of them remarks. Rachel and Kyle Jinadu-Beaubier are in large hall where most of the other young mutants are partying. 'We're chaperoning an impromptu prom' Kyle realizes. 'Yup' Rachel agrees.
Back on the ledge, Polaris is still trying to figure out the game, while telling “Rockslide” that he can ask Krakoa for a place of his own whenever he wants, but that he can stay here at the Boneyard for as long as he needs. In the kitchen, Northstar asks about the Hellions who died in Amenth, to which Proteus explains that they have all returned keener, like a whetted blade. 'Amenth death sharpens ye' he adds. Northstar asks if the Council knows, and tells the rest of the Five that he would be wary about making this information public knowledge. In his guest room, Daken continues to draw on the walls, while in a living room, 'Don't mind us! We're leaving!' Eye-Boy calls out, covering his face with one hand, while Loa drags him out of the room by his other hand and asks him why he is covering his face. 'You have eyes in the back of your hand!' she reminds him, as Bling and Mercury make out on the sofa nearby. Eye-Boy tells Loa that he is respecting the lesbians. 'Those eyes are closed!' he declares.
Sitting on the large staircase that spirals up through the Boneyard, Sofia tells David that she doesn't understand, and asks him how he got repowered. 'Same as you, I guess' David responds. 'You mean you asked someone to kill you? Because what Adam X did to me is no different than what Apocalypse does in the Crucible' Sofia remarks, before David reveals that he thinks he was murdered.
Back at the “prom”, Network can be seeing waving to someone, while Kyle approaches a young mutant, DJ, and asks him what his powers are. 'Oh, uh – it's an advanced form of acoustikinesis! Basically, I get a different power based off the music I'm listening to. Any music' DJ explains, smiling. '$#%&. I'm texting Dazzler. She's gonna love this kid' Rachel mutters as she gets her phone out, while Amazing Baby looks up at her.
'Hey' Daken remarks as Aurora steps into his guest room. Aurora doesn't say anything, so Daken tells her that he wasn't flirting with Polaris before. 'I know' Aurora replies as she loks at the sketches Daken has drawn on the walls. 'She's like a sister to me' Daken explains, and Aurora smiles, assuring him that she knows.
Later: 'I wondered why I couldn't sleep' Jean-Paul remarks in his native Quebecois French as he walks across the flight deck to where Jeanne-Marie is standing outside, gazing up at the moon. Jeanne-Marie glances back at her brother and tells him that she isn't going to jump, if that's what he was thinking. 'It wasn't' Jean-Paul assures her, before telling his sister that he can tell there is a lot she still isn't comfortable confiding in him about Bellingham, and that is all right, and he won't pressure her. 'Take as long as you need' Jean-Paul adds, reaching his hand out to his sister, who looks wide-eyed and steps back, 'You know we can't do that!' she utters. But Jean-Paul smiles and reminds his sister that she is in a new body, and therefore Langkowski's genetic experiments won't have carried over unless she had wanted them to. 'I asked the Five about it to be sure' he smiles. 'Really?' Jeanne-Marie replies.
'Yes. So, I'm ready to try again if you are' Northstar tells Aurora, who takes her brother's hand and tells him that it's time to show Krakoans what the Beaubier twins can do. A brilliant, colorful light suddenly fills up the night sky. The twins look up at the effects of their powers, and Northstar tells Aurora that no matter what it is she isn't telling him, he hopes she knows that she is profoundly loved. 'I am trying' Aurora replies.
In his penthouse suite, Kyle sits up in bed and looks out at the brilliant night sky. 'Whoa...' Eye-Boy utters as he sits up from the floor, which is littered with sleeping young mutants. Among the scattered bodies on the floor, Specter can be seen, sleeping. Daken is awake and lying on his bed, arms behind his head, he stares up at his ceiling. Prodigy is awake, too, but his back is turned to his window, busy on his laptop, he doesn't see the beautiful colors behind him. Neither does Rachel, who is sprawled out asleep on her bed in her basement room. But Polaris sees it, still sitting on the ledge with “Rockslide” who utters 'Beautiful'. Polaris smiles as she looks over to him. Suddenly, there is a horrible, piercing scream that tears through the night. Polaris looks over to the direction the scream came from, while “Rockslide” covers his ears.
'Siryn' Northstar utters as he and Aurora speed over to the direction of the scream, and find Theresa Rourke Cassidy, lying motionless on the ground, her body twisted, blood splattered on her face. 'She's... dead' Aurora gasps. Northstar looks up at the cliff above them and remarks that the way Siryn landed looks like she fell to her death. 'You say that as if it were impossible' Aurora tells her brother, who remarks 'Well, Siryn can fly!'
