At Xavier’s Institute Cerebro detects an unknown mutant signature and Forge checks Cerebro to see what it is. Cyclops, Psylocke, and Colossus join Forge in the War Room as Cyclops assumes something must be wrong with Gambit, Rogue, Wolverine, Beast, and Jubilee who had just left on the same road where they are now detecting the new mutant signature. Psylocke confirms it through a psychic distress signal from her psi-link with Wolverine. The three X-Men leave in the Blackbird to help the other X-Men.
Beast wakes up in an ambulance with Gambit, Rogue, and Jubilee next to him; also there are two members of the hand guarding them. Gambit pulls an Ace card from his sleeve and explodes the two Hand members from the vehicle. Beast and Jubilee crash through the cab of the ambulance taking out the driver and passenger. Jubilee takes the wheel as Rogue fly’s ahead to see about Wolverine in the other ambulance ahead of them. Two hand members from his supposed ambulance start firing on Rogue and they hit her back into the ambulance Jubilee is driving, Beast takes over the wheel and stops them before they crash, though they lose track of the other ambulance.
The Blackbird appears overhead of the first ambulance and Cyclops and Colossus jump down to it. Colossus takes out the two hand members in the back, as Cyclops takes out the driver in the front. Just then Psylocke experiences a precognitive flash and finds that there is a bomb on the ambulance; she yells for Cyclops and Colossus to jump off. Cyclops jumps just in time to avoid the explosion and Colossus walks from the fire unhurt, holding Wolverine’s mask. Cyclops says that the uniform is just a red herring to lead the X-Men in the wrong direction, because when Logan left the mansion he was in his street clothes. They head back to Xavier’s mansion to get Professor Xavier’s help.
(the next day)
At a secret facility in Berlin, Wolverine and Omega Red are battling in a field of snow, while Fenris, Matsu‘o Tsurayaba, and Dr. Cornelius watch the battle on monitors. Wolverine thinks he’s finally defeated Omega Red, but he really hasn’t, finally after eighteen hours of fighting Omega Red gets the upper hand and releases his death spoor’s knocking Wolverine out.
(flashback)
Wolverine remembers a patchwork past thirty years ago in Berlin when Logan and Victor Creed (Sabretooth) worked together. Logan is lost in thought as Creed is trying to find out if Logan’s head is into the job they are fixing to do. Logan says yes and they head off to complete their mission.
(present)
Pain brings Wolverine back to the present as members of the Hand are dragging him through metal hallways, Wolverine knows he’s been here before. Dr. Cornelius and Matsu‘o Tsurayaba are looking at the lab reports on Wolverine while an unknown visitor is listening in on their conversation. This unknown visitor, who we find out is named Maverick, calls a report into central saying how theirs no sign of Creed, but he has located Logan. Dr. Cornelius has placed Wolverine in a monitoring/containment contraption with Matsu‘o Tsurayaba, Fenris, and Omega Red watching. The machine was built to read all of Wolverine’s thoughts and process them through a video screen. The doctor says that they will have to wait another two hundred and thirty minutes before trying to coax Wolverine into remembering what happened to the Carbonadium Synthesizer he and the other members of his team stole from the Berlin lab thirty years ago. The doctor explains that too hard of a coaxing would most likely kill Wolverine. Wolverine is conscious while all this goes on, but does not have the strength to fight back yet. They agree to wait, but tell the doctor that next time he better not be so easy on Wolverine.
(24 hours ago)
At the Xavier Institute both the blue and gold teams of the X-Men are in a meeting deciding on how to split the teams to help Wolverine and find out about why Emma Frost has called for the X-Men’s help (see those events in Uncanny X-Men #281). Forge says that between the telepaths at Xavier’s Institute and Cerebro it should be no problem tracking Wolverine down. Beast interrupts saying that it would not be necessary for that, because he tracked the plane to a military airport in Berlin. Storm says that she thinks it is all a trap, because why would Emma Frost need their help the same time Wolverine is kidnapped. Then Jubilee asks why she wasn’t put on any team, because she knows more about the Hand than anyone besides Psylocke does. Cyclops disagrees saying it is to hard of a mission to risk her on. Psylocke intercedes on Jubilee’s behalf saying that she has seen Jubilee against the Hand and believes she can handle herself. Xavier agrees and it is settled. Jubilee thanks Psylocke for her help and Psylocke tells her to save it for when they come out alive. Banshee talks to Xavier on why he wasn’t put on either team and both agree that it would be better if he went after Moira instead. Cyclops and Jean say their good-byes and Jean tells Cyclops to make sure he comes back, and that they both have a lot of things to talk about. A little later as Xavier watches the Blackbird fly off, he looks at a Top Secret file entitled “Project Xavier 1964, classified“. Forge walks in saying that Xavier needs a distraction to keep his mind off of the troubles the X-Men are facing and both of them sit down to play a game of chess.
(present)
Dr. Cornelius releases Wolverine from his monitoring system and puts him in a mobile containment device to take him to a holding area. While Omega Red escorts him through the hallways, Wolverine starts to become more conscious again. Maverick is watching from the ventilation system, he says he doesn’t like what’s going on and causes the lights in the building to go off. This gives Wolverine enough time to break free, take out the guards surrounding him, and to capture a vial full of his own healing cells that Dr. Cornelius had removed from his body earlier to see if they could help Omega Red fight his need for the life force of others. The only two left standing are Wolverine and Omega Red, Omega Red says the only way out is through him and since Wolverine knows he does not have enough strength to fight Omega Red and win, this time he decides to run and try to escape.
(flashbacks / present simultaneously)
While Wolverine is running he remembers the same run thirty years ago, although then instead of the canister he had to save, it was a woman. Logan tried to keep the woman calm while something was after them; the three rescuers and the woman ended up at a dead end and from the foreground you can see what looks like two tentacles fixing to attack them. Back in the present the same two tentacles come from the floor after Wolverine, as he is trapped at the same dead end. Omega Red says that this time he will defeat Wolverine once and for all, but Wolverine says that Omega Red is wrong and busts out the glass and falls ten stories to the pavement. When Omega Red looks out the window he sees no body on the pavement. Matsu‘o Tsurayaba criticizes Omega Red for losing Wolverine.
(present)
From the Blackbird Beast detects Wolverine’s signature, but he is worried because it is not a strong signature he is picking up.
Maverick has Wolverine in the basement of the facility where Wolverine was being held. Wolverine tries to stand, but can not, Maverick tells him to lie back down and give his healing factor time to heal his body. Maverick’s defense alarms go off as he explains that they are tied into Fenris’ security system. Wolverine asks who it is and Maverick explains that the X-Men have arrived to try to save him. As Wolverine passes out he hears Maverick say that once Wolverine heals enough they are both out of there and his friends will probably be dead.
In Malibu California Lila Cheney tries to get Dazzler to remember her past with the X-Men. Dazzler says that she does not remember anything of her past with the X-Men that her mind seems blank. Lila says she should at least remember the cute guys and Dazzler agrees she wants to remember the cute ones. Just then Longshot crashes through a window, but Dazzler doesn’t recognize him. Longshot kisses Dazzler saying she should at least remember that, as Spiral appears, eager to capture Longshot. Lila Cheney teleports herself and her friends away, but Spiral states that it doesn’t matter; Longshot can’t escape, because “Mojo always gets his way.” In the foreground of the last picture we see Mojo’s face on the television screen smiling.
