First story:
Wakanda, a South African nation
The X-Men are fighting a horde of sentinel prototypes. These sentinels are human-sized as opposed to the regular hulking behemoths. Colossus stops fighting in the middle of it all and sits down on a pile of skulls leaving Rogue, Sunfire and Sabretooth to handle the onslaught. Colossus starts thinking about his life and how war is all he’s ever known. His teammates yell to him, and even though he hears them he doesn’t respond. He’s sick of fighting, he’s sick of it all. His teammates give up on trying to snap him out of it. Rogue warns him that she’ll have words with him later, and that it isn’t over. Rogue’s words hit hard because he decides it is over. His personal war is over and he has lost.
Later, at the X-Men’s temporary headquarters, Magneto questions a sullen-looking Colossus about his actions earlier in the day. Mags wants to know why Colossus would just stop fighting and put his fellow X-Men in more danger. Colossus can only apologize. He’s not sorry that he stopped fighting, but is sorry that he’s not sorry that he stopped fighting. He recounts the different types of atrocities he’s seen and explains that he’s giving up the fight. He leaves the room, walking past his downtrodden teammates.
He heads to his room and finds Kitty waiting inside for him. She asks him how it went and he tells her that he feels as though he’s betrayed them by giving up. She reminds him of everything he’s done for Magneto’s dream, the sacrifices he’s made. She tells him that this is their opportunity as husband and wife to get away from it all and start a family. They hold each other by the window.
Magneto floats up outside their window. He asks the two lovebirds if he could talk with them. He’s discussed it with the rest of the X-Men and has a proposal for them. Kitty starts to protest, but Magneto tells her that it has nothing to do with fighting. He wants them to use their experience and train the next generation of mutants. He displays five holo-vids, each with a different kid. Magneto asks for an answer.
Second story:
Another day under Apocalypse’s rule, another culling. This time it’s Los Angeles and both Sabretooth and Holocaust are there. Sabretooth is finally fed up with murdering innocent women and children. Off-panel, he hides some children from the cullings. This doesn’t go over well with Holocaust who whoops up on him. He announces Sabretooth’s betrayal to his Infinites and orders them to take him away to prison. There’s an inmate there who ate his last three cellmates and that’s the cell he wants for Sabretooth.
The Infinites wonder aloud why Holocaust would let Sabretooth live. None of them can figure it out, but Sabretooth knows. Holocaust knows Sabretooth is not afraid to die. He also knows that Sabretooth’s only fear is that of the uncontrollable beast inside him. Instead of letting him die, he wants Sabretooth to become the feral monster he has the potential to be. The Infinites toss him into his cell and remove his restraints. It’s dark in there. Sabretooth is greeted by some hissing and prepares to fight.
Something leaps at him and he’s knocked back against the cell bars. It’s Wild Child and he claws away at Sabretooth’s chest. They end up fighting for three days straight. After the forty-eighth hour or so he feels himself weaken. He knows there’s only one way to end it, just like Holocaust knew. Sabretooth gives in to the rage and becomes an animal.
He wakes up, not knowing how much time has passed. He’s fully healed and there’s no sign of Wild Child. The walls are all bloody and there’s an awful stench in the room. He can’t figure out the smell at first, but then it hits home triggering some memories of the fight. He actually let Wild Child live. Why, he doesn’t know. His victory made him the Alpha Male of the cell and Wild Child knew it. Sabretooth marked the cell (his territory) with his urine, which is the odor that triggered the memories. He stops thinking and looks under his bunk and finds Wild Child asleep underneath. Sabretooth finds a chain and makes a leash out of it. Together, they bust out of their cell.
The prison guards are sitting around a table relaxing. They wonder what’s going on with Sabretooth and Wild Child as they’ve been quiet for a long while. Their question is soon answered as they show up in their room. Sabretooth lets go of the leash and sends him into attack mode.
Sabretooth recounts that story as the turning point of his life. It helped pave the way for him to join the X-Men and eventually become Blink’s mentor and friend.
Third story:
The Shinjuku district of neo Tokyo:
Inside a Yakuza-run virtual video arcade, three Yakuza gang members are holding a young girl captive. Her wrists are duct taped and her captors are all brandishing weapons. In walks Weapon X and he’s not too happy. He asks the thugs if they know whom they’re holding. They explain to Logan that the girl, who turns out to be Mariko, used a nano-tech sprite scrambler in her card and sabotaged every arcade game they had in the joint. They don’t really care who her family is; she’s going to get what she deserves.
Despite Mariko’s assurances that she doesn’t need Logan’s help, he presses the issue. He wants them to let Mariko go. They threaten to chop his head off. Logan unsheathes his claws and cuts away the duct tape. Then he slices through a nearby motorbike. The Yakuza guys realize who Logan is now and one of them points a gun at his head. The gunman tells Logan that he’s not impressed with his little parlor tricks. Logan puts his claws away and prepares to fight. The Yakuzas, intimidated by the whole thing, take off. They warn Weapon X not to be around when they get back.
Mariko bends down and picks up her sprite scrambler. She’s intent on doing more damage. Logan tries to talk some sense into her. He tells her to get back to school and make something of her self. Because of what she did, he almost had to kill three people. She asks him if her father sent him to look after her. He tells her that he doesn’t take orders from Shingen, but he does owe him a favor.
In teleports the Silver Samurai, Mariko’s half-brother. He’s mad at Logan for protecting Mariko, which he feels is his duty. He takes his sword and plunges it into Logan’s arm. SS comments on how the tachyon field of his sword can cut through anything. Unfortunately for him, the sword stops short in the middle of Weapon X’s arm. It doesn’t cut through adamantium Logan reminds him and then decks him, sending SS slumping against the wall. Logan pulls the sword out from his forearm and throws it back at SS. To the Silver Samurai’s surprise it lands right back in its sheathe. Logan stands above him and asks him if he has anything else to say. SS powers up his teleportation ring and disappears.
Mariko looks over at Logan and tells him it would have been easier just to kill him. Logan responds that the easy choice is hardly ever the right one, but just because it’s the right decision doesn’t mean it’s any easier to live with. He leaves.
Fourth story:
All those who fought so desperately to help Bishop restore his timeline can do nothing but stare up at the sky as the end of their existence is upon them. A bright flash fills the city of New York as the bombs begin to drop. The light then dissipates much to everyone’s surprise.
Nightcrawler can’t believe what’s going on. The bombs are all suspended in mid-air dozens of feet above them. Quicksilver wonders aloud if his father is doing this. The bombs are surrounded by a pink aura and they’re coming apart. Then, there’s a huge explosion.
A section of NYC is on fire. Cyclops’, Weapon X’s and Jean Grey’s bodies are lying on the bridge. On another part of the bridge is Magneto. Rogue and Charles are lying on the ground unconscious beneath him. Magneto kneels down and takes his helmet into his hands. He remarks that the “Age of Apocalypse” is over and then tosses his helmet to the side. He takes Rogue and Charles into his arms. They wake up. Rogue is surprised to still be alive. She remembers the bombs stopping and then the explosion. She asks Magneto if he had anything to do with it. He starts to deny it, but Quicksilver shows up with Illyana in his arms.
He’s so excited. He can’t believe his father was capable of such a feat. Magneto once again tries to deny the fact, but Quicksilver won’t stop gushing. Magneto thinks about it for a second and decides to let them believe what they want to believe. Rogue wonders if Bishop failed since their reality still exists. Quicksilver thinks that he might have found a way for both realities to move on. Either way, Magneto says, they will find out in time. Illyana tells Magneto that she thinks Bishop brought hope from his world and sent it to theirs. Magneto stoops down next to her and tells her she’s right. He states that the time of darkness is over; the light of hope burns bright. He says the people need a symbol of that hope.
Magneto takes to the air and heads over to where the Statue of Liberty used to be. All that’s left is the base, but not for long. He concentrates and lifts debris up from underneath the water. He forms an amazing replica of Miss Liberty. Satisfied he takes off back to the bridge. Logan who’s carrying Jean’s lifeless body in his arms greets him there.
Magneto asks about Jean and Logan tells him that she died trying to save the world and any reason for him living died with her. He wants Magneto to bury Jean, to do him this one favor so Jean can rest in peace. Mags asks Logan what he plans to do. Logan tells him there’s nothing left for him. He tells Magneto that now is his chance to make his dream come true. Logan tells him not to screw it up.
Months later at night, Magneto is sitting as his desk. He yells in anger and magnetically lifts all of the office supplies off his desk and slams them back down. He gets up and walks over to the bathroom. He stares at himself in the mirror and states out loud, “The burden of living this lie…”. A voice interrupts him and asks him if his secret is too much to bear. The voice asks Magneto if he would tell him what really happened on the day the bombs stopped falling. Magneto turns from the mirror and sees Sinister standing in the shadows. “You?!”, he says.
