Continued directly from last issue, Crule has infiltrated the SHIELD IPAC unit that X-Force commandeered. The X-Force team is surprised by the attack. Cannonball tells Shatterstar to engage Crule. Feral also jumps in, grabbing him from behind. The cabin pressure is all screwy due to Crule smashing through the window and the ship starts to sway. Cannonball heads to the controls to stabilize it.
Crule eventually defeats ‘Star and Feral and heads for Sam. Rictor gets in his way. Before they fight, Cannonball asks Crule why he is after him. Crule tells him that Gideon told him about his Awakening. He wants to kill him before he threatens the existence of the other Externals. Sam wants to know about Roberto. Crule tells him that he’s probably dead. This angers Cannonball and he tells Rictor to get him. Rictor hits him with a shockwave so powerful that Crule goes flying through the wall of the ship and onto the ground below.
Boom-Boom worries if Crule is dead. Cannonball assures her that he’s probably still alive, being an External and all. He asks everyone if they’ll help him rescue Bobby. The team agrees. They set a course for Denver to go after Gideon.
Saradegna, Italy:
Deadpool is about to attack Cable. Cable asks him what the deal is with the two Dominos. ‘Pool explains that the real Domino has been a prisoner of Tolliver and that his girlfriend Vanessa (Copycat) was the one with X-Force. This angers Cable. The nearby Tolliver, orders Deadpool to kill Cable.
Cable fires at ‘Pool, but he dodges the gunfire. He uses his sword to slice through Cable’s gun and then kicks him in the face. Cable pulls out a knife and dives at him. He slices him across the abdomen. He then starts pummeling Deadpool in the face. In the background we see Tolliver sneaking away.
After Cable is finished, he helps the real Domino out of her restraints. Deadpool, having recovered quickly, attacks him from behind and sends him smashing into a wall. He has Cable on the ground with his sword at his throat. Before he can plunge the blade in, the newly freed Domino shoots him in the back. Now that Deadpool is defeated, the duo decides to go after Tolliver.
Back at the ship, X-Force mulls over a plan to go after Gideon. All of a sudden, he pops up on a screen with a message. Gideon tells Sam that he’ll let him know where Roberto is only if he agrees never to interfere with the Externals. Sam agrees and the team heads to New Mexico.
In New Mexico, the research team is still working on Bobby. They have exceeded his solar energy absorption capacities by over 3000%. His body is all black and he’s still screaming in pain. A little later X-Force arrives to bust him out. Warpath, Siryn and Cannonball team up and end up finding ‘Berto. Cannonball frees him and flies him up in the air. ‘Berto explodes with all of the excess energy they fed into him.
The X-Force team is worried if they survived. Luckily, Sam’s blast field protected him again. They’re both fine, but Sunspot needs some medical attention. Shatterstar wants to know what they are going to do next. Should they go after Gideon, should they look for Cable and Domino? Sam tells him he doesn’t know.
Back in Italy, Tolliver is running towards his helicopter for a quick escape. Cable and Domino close in fast and manage to grab onto the legs of the chopper. Cable tells her to jump before they get too high. He’s going to blow up the helicopter. She reluctantly agrees. Cable also tells her to find X-Force and help them and to let them know that he’ll be back.
One of Tolliver’s goons fires a few rounds at Cable’s head and misses. Cable returns the favor and starts a chain reaction in the chopper, resulting in its explosion. He body slides out right before he hits the water. Next, we are shown a panned view of the ocean. Tolliver’s clothing is floating in the water along with a facial mask he must have been wearing the whole time.
Near some rocky cliffs, Domino climbs ashore. She doesn’t know what Cable was talking about, but says she’ll look for X-Force.
Inside the villa, Deadpool regains consciousness. He gets up and can’t find anyone, including Vanessa’s body. He sees a blood trail which proves that she must have escaped. He teleports out of there.
On Graymalkin, Cable gets some repairs done to his body. Cable seems upset and Professor wants to know why. Cable tells Professor that he doesn’t feel like he’s made a difference yet. However, he’s going to change that when he gets back in touch with X-Force.
Camp Verde, Apache reservation, Arizona:
Hours later, X-Force lands at their new home. It’s pretty rundown, but the team manages to remain upbeat. Roberto asks to be part of the team and he is accepted. Warpath wants to know what they’re going to do tomorrow. Cannonball tells him they’ll do whatever it takes to survive.
