Klynatar, the homeworld of the alien Symbiotes.
Several of the muck-like creatures move down a hillside, then suddenly come to a halt as a voice calls out 'Well, well, well. Lookit what I've found for myself'. A Symbiote bounty hunter stands over the Symbiotes. Weapon at the ready he declares that he has found a sweet little Klyntar family having themselves an outing – and so far away from the rest of the colony, too – it must be his lucky day. He tells the Symbiotes not to go make this easy on him. 'Run' he orders, and the creatures start to slither and slide away from the hunter. 'Run for your lives. Run right to the traps I set for yew'. Indeed, the Symbiotes suddenly find themselves struck down by mine-like weapons that had been set out on the ground, blasting the Symbiotes apart upon impact.
One of the Symbiotes turns back to try and help its family, but the hunter fires a blast of energy from his weapon, striking the Symbiote. 'Yew shouldn't have stopped. Shouldn't have tried ta help them others' the hunter declares, announcing that he wouldn't have just let this one slide, that his buyers want five fresh Symbiotes. 'But if yew'd kept on running... yew might've escaped what's gonna happen to yew next' the hunter exclaims.
Meanwhile, in Madripoor, on Earth, the time-displaced Scott Summers a.k.a. Cyclops stands on a bridge on the Madripoor-based X-Mansion, holding a device, which depicts the image of his father, Christopher Summers a.k.a. Corsair of the Starjammers. Corsair asks Scott how the connection is, as he thinks they are getting some coronal interference. 'Are you reading me?' Corsair asks. 'Loud and clear' Cyclops replies, informing his father that he had to step outside the mansion, both for reception and a little peace and quiet away from the rest of the team, but the signal is strong. 'How's life as a space pirate, Dad?' Scott asks, smiling. Corsair smiles back and tells Scott that he prefers “Space swashbuckler”, but that all in all the Starjammers are doing well. He admits that they had some lean weeks, but they have been picking up a few jobs, running security for rock stars. He jokes that even intergalactic celebrities need to be shielded from stalker types.
Suddenly, the rest of the Starjammers – Hepzibah, Ch'od, Raza and Sikorsky – appear on the screen Scott is looking at. 'Cyclops! I thought I heard your voice!' Ch'od waves. Hepzibah holds up a mug with a large red X on it, and wraps an arm around Corsair as she tells Scott that it has been too long. 'When are we going to see you out here among the stars again?' she asks him. Raza says nothing, while Sikorsky hovers over Corsair and asks Cyclops how life is on Earth.
'Uh... hey everyone' Scott smiles, before Corsair tells his teammates to give him a few minutes to speak with his son. Corsair smiles and tells Scott to spill the beans: 'How're things going with Jean? Or maybe with – what's her name – Bloodstorm? This old freebooter's counting on you for a little vicarious -' Corsair begins, before Hepzibah throws her cup of coffee at him, hitting him in the head. 'OW!' Corsair complains. 'I'm standing right over here!' Hepzibah snaps.
Scott smiles and asks his Dad if he is all right, adding that looked exactly what he would have expected Hepzibah to do. He is okay with a “saved by the flying coffee mug” moment in this case. 'Yeah. Maybe I deserved that' Corsair smiles, rubbing his head, when suddenly, he turns to a blinding light.
'Starjammers! We've got company! Get ready to repel boarders!' Corsair calls out as he grabs his sword, and drops the tech device he was using to talk to Cyclops. 'Dad?' Cyclops calls out, as strange black tentacles whip into the ship, one of them wraps around Hepzibah's wrist as she fires a gun into the mass of tentacles. Raza leaps forward, sword at the ready, he tells Hepzibah to fall back and that he will hold the brigands at bay while she and the others regroup. Hepzibah tells Raza that she isn't leaving him, that they are in this together – tooth and nail.
Ch'od, however, finds himself struggling against the tentacles as they wrap around him, and he is unable to break free. 'They...they're strong! Stronger even – than me!' he calls out. Corsair cries out to Ch'od, but gets no response. He calls out to Hepzibah and asks the Starjammers to sound off. But he gets no response from any of them – and Corsair sees why, as he comes across Hepzibah, Raza and Ch'od, tangled in the strange black tentacles, hanging motionless from the ceiling. 'Dad! Are you all right? What's happening?' Cyclops calls out via the tablet. 'Scott! The Brexian Spire! The fifth planet! Ulgriath! That's where we -' Corsair exclaims, before he is taken down, too. The Starjammers lay motionless on the floor now, and a strange voice calls out 'Well... wasn't that just a jolt to the fun-zone? The Starjammers. For what their pretty little heads are worth, I expected a little more of a fight' the voice utters.
Cyclops listens in horror as the voice orders others to scuttle the ship, and anything of value, meaty or otherwise, comes with them, the rest can stay for the scavengers. 'Dad? Are you okay? What's going on? Somebody talk to mer -' Scott exclaims, when suddenly, someone who appears to be connected to a Symbiote appears on the screen, hisses at Cyclops, then cuts the connection, as Scott is left looking at a screen of static. 'DAD!' Scott shouts. At that moment, Jean Grey a.k.a. Marvel Girl rushes over to Cyclops. 'My Dad... the Starjammers... they were just... I can't be sure if they -' Scott utters. Jean tells him that it is all right, and that she knows. Jean reminds Scott of the psychic rapport they share, and adds that they are permanently attached at the brain. She assures him that she tries to mind her own business as much as possible, but that he was screaming, so she saw everything, right along with him. Jean holds one of Scott's hands, before he pulls away and tells her that he has to do something, that his Dad is in trouble.
Jean reminds Scott that before he lost contact, Corsair shouted out some coordinates, so that is where they should start. Scott tells Jean that at the end of the transmission there was a face, and asks her if she saw it. 'I don't think I'll ever forget it' Jean replies, and points out that they might need the help of an expert on this one, but she doubts he will come along without a little push. 'To me, my X-Men' Jean cries out, telepathically.
Meantime, in New York City, Eddie Brock a.k.a. Venom clings to a wall down an alleyway, where down below, a voice calls out 'I'm not here to haggle over prices! This is top-of-the-line ordnance!' Venom sees the weapons that are being loaded out of a car in the alley and the Symbiote he is connected to tells him to be careful, as those weapons are dangerous and could harm them. 'Don't worry. They'll never get the chance to use them' Eddie utters. One of the men in possession of the weapons tells the gang that this is the kind of equipment that is used to topple governments. 'Not looking to stage no insurrection. We just want our piece of the pie. Ain't that right, boys?' one of the gang members calls out. 'With gear like that, you can have all you can eat' one of the arms dealers boasts, before telling the gang that they need to spend money to make money. 'So, do we have a deal or -' he begins, suddenly cut off as Venom drops down into the alleyway, 'Isn't this sweet? You think those weapons are gonna help you?' he asks.
'Sonova – Spider-Man!' one of the gang members exclaims. 'You wish we were the Spider! We're VENOM! We're the bogeyman!' Venom exclaims as he starts to toss the gang members aside. The Symbiote alerts him to the gang members who have opened fire on him, but the bullets just bounce off of him. 'Got 'em...you jamooks are all mixed up. You're shooting...when you should be running for your worthless lives!' Venom calls out. 'No way, man' one of the gang members responds, but Venom lunges towards him. 'I'll fry you, you -' another of the gang members threatens, raising his arms, which have fire gauntlets attached to them – but before he can blast Venom with fire, an optic blast strikes him and knocks him across the alleyway. The Symbiote alerts Eddie to five more life-forms, not enemies and not hostile. With his hand wrapped around the throat of one of the thugs, Venom turns to the new arrivals and remarks that he doesn't remember calling for backup.
'Venom... we're the X-Men. We'd like to have a word' Cyclops announces, with Marvel Girl standing a few feet behind him. They are joined by their teammates Bobby Drake a.k.a. Iceman, Hank McCoy a.k.a. Beast and Warren Worthington a.k.a. Angel, who hovers above the others. 'Yeah? Well, we'd give you two words, kid...but your innocent little ears might not be able to handle them' Venom snarls. Cyclops walks closer to him and tells him that they are not trying to muscle in on his score, or whatever that is, but they need his help. 'Pass' Venom replies. Cyclops asks Venom to hear him out, 'There are Symbiotes out in space -' he begins, but Venom interrupts him: 'Yeah, that's where they live. Pass'. The voice inside Eddie tells him to hear them out, as Venom turns to walk away. Cyclops calls after him, announcing that the Symbiotes attacked his father. 'That's a tough break, kid. Best of luck sorting that out' Venom responds.
'Are you seriously going to turn your back on us?' Marvel Girl asks. 'It seems to me that's exactly what he's doing' Iceman points out, while Marvel Girl tells Venom that he is trying to be a better person, she can feel it. Venom looks back at Marvel Girl and tells her that she best not be trying any psychic hanky-panky, as she wouldn't like what she would find in this skull. 'We know who you are. We've seen you on TV' Venom informs the X-Men, warning them that they don't know them – 'And we don't want any part of whatever this is. Maybe we are trying to change my ways, but we're doing so in our own way – without babysitting kids'. The Beast steps forward and remarks 'Please, we have reason to believe that alien symbiotes, just like yours, are involved -' but Venom cuts him off, revealing that there aren't any Symbiotes like his, and that hr has his partner, they have got their own deal going on. 'Not a partner if you don't listen to me' the voice inside Eddie's head tells him.
Angel calls down to Venom, asking him if he isn't curious about these Symbiotes. 'I mean, aren't you one of them?' he asks. Venom looks up at Angel and tells him that there are a lot of aliens in the universe, and not all of them are pretty – and not all of them are nice. 'We're just supposed to take your word that Symbiotes are causing your friends trouble?' Venom asks. 'No thanks. There are plenty of problems here on Earth that need my attention' Venom declares, while the voice in his head tells him that this is why no one likes him. Marvel Girl uses her psychic rapport with Cyclops to tell him that Venom is not coming along peacefully. Cyclops tells Marvel Girl that she was right, but believes this was worth a try. 'Back to Plan A?' Jean asks. 'Back to Plan A!' Cyclops exclaims as he fires an optic blast at Venom – who leaps into the air, dodging the attack.
Angel swoops down towards Venom, his wings of cosmic-flame swiping against Venom, who exclaims 'What the hell? What do they feed you at that super hero school of yours? Paste? You came here looking for Mr Nice Guy Venom. Well, the Venom you were talking to was as nice as we get!' Venom then pulls a car door from a nearby vehicle and throws it at Angel, striking him in the back. 'Now you've poked the bear!' Venom snarls, while the voice in his head tells him to stop. Marvel Girl communicates telepathically with the others, telling them to keep Venom busy and distracted. She informs the others that Venom has two brains – one human and one Symbiote – and it will take some work to get through to both.
'We didn't come here for a fight!' Beast remarks as he leaps towards Venom – but his foot doesn't strike Venom, as Venom grabs his foot and slams Beast to the ground. 'Don't spit in our face and tell us it's raining!' Venom exclaims, while Iceman starts to build an ice-wall around Venom, 'Who the hell do you think you're messing with?' Venom roars as he breaks through the ice and asks the X-Men if they think they can come at him, and he won't hit back. 'We've torn new orifices in better people for less of -' Venom begins, before he rubs his head, and the voice inside him remarks 'I'm sorry about this, Eddie', as Venom falls flat on his face. Cyclops tells Jean that she did nice work, but Jean reports that she didn't have anything to do with it, that it was the Symbiote, that it put Eddie to sleep – for whatever reason, the alien is helping them!
Meantime, Corsair wakes to find himself in some abandoned room, Ch'od, Hepzibah and Raza are with him, all of them have shackles around their hands and arms. 'Nice of you, Corsair. Joining us again' Hepzibah remarks, while Corsair asks where they are, and where the raiders who hit them are taking them. Hepzibah tells him that the raiders don't seem to want to kill them, and her guess is that they are cashing in on bounties. 'Like hell' Corsair smirks. Hepzibah asks 'They have us over a barrel here, no?' to which Corsair tells her that she must know he still has a few cards to play. Corsair then bites down on his lower lip. 'What are you doing? Your lip -' Hepzibah remarks as Corsair draws blood from his own lip. 'I've got this' Corsair smiles. He then spits some blood onto the floor. 'Well...that's disgusting' Ch'od remarks. 'True enough' Corsair replies. 'But you know what they say about desperate times. And I've done nothing in all my days... if not prepare to take desperate measures' Corsair tells his friends, as a small microbot beeps in amongst the blood on the ground.
Hepzibah looks down at the microbot and tells Corsair that he has had it embedded in his lip for months now. 'I thought I noticed something when we -' she starts to add, but Corsair suggests they don't kiss and tell. 'Just tell me you're impressed' Corsair asks her. 'I'm impressed' Hepzibah smiles as the microbot leaps onto the large shackles around Corsair's arms and hands, and breaks through the shackles, freeing Corsair from the restraints. 'All right. Who's next -' Corsair smiles, before suddenly, a Symbiote tentacle wraps around his neck, and puls him backwards – the Symbiote is connected to one of three strange aliens, who appear in the room. 'Sorry for sneaking around and spying on you while you sweat out what we have planned for you!' one of the aliens with spiked pink hair remarks, joking that this new suit of theirs offers so many adorable little abilities that let them play voyeur. 'Hexxer, Tord and I just had to play a little hide-and-peek!' the alien exclaims, boasting that the added benefit is that they are right here to crush any of the Starjammers' attempts at craftiness! 'What is it you want? Who are you?' Corsair utters as the strange alien pulls him close. The alien introduces itself as Killer Thriller and announces 'What I want is to keep you alive...but just barely so... you'll wish you were dead... but you'll still fetch full price when we sell your sorry carcass!'
Elsewhere: 'When you wake up, Eddie... don't be mad' the voice inside Venom's head remarks as Venom comes to, 'Somebody... is gonna pay' Venom snarls, he gets to his feet and finds himself trapped behind a stasis field. The voice informs him that the X-Men didn't knock him out. 'That was me'. 'LET US OUT OF HERE!' Venom roars, banging against the stasis field. The Beast tells him that he cannot do that just yet. The voice tells Venom that he surrendered. 'You did what?' Venom shouts. The voice tells him to calm down, to which Venom snaps 'Don't tell me to calm down! They can't hold us in here forever! When we get out -' but the voice tells Venom to listen to the X-Men. The Beast reports that his initial examinations have proven quite fascinating, and tells Venom that he was hoping he would answer a few questions for him. 'You... examined me? I dunno what the hell that means... but when we get out of here, we're eating your big brain first' Venom seethes.
'We don't eat brains anymore, Eddie' the voice points out. 'Yes, well... that's vivid' Hank remarks. 'Tell them we don't eat brains!' the voice urges Eddie. Cyclops steps forward and tells Venom to listen. He apologizes for ambushing him the way they did, and tells Venom that he hopes he can understand why they took such drastic action. The voice tells Eddie to keep an open mind, as helping them, helping the Klyntar, is the right thing to do. 'Oh, I understand. You've got a serious death wish!' Venom exclaims. The voice tells Venom that he is now just being stubborn. 'We...or at least I... want the same things as the X-Men'. Cyclops stares directly at Venom and tells him that he watched his father and friends as they were attacked – attacked by people wearing Symbiotes, and that they looked a lot like Venom.
'I don't know what to tell you, kid. Maybe you did see someone wearing a Symbiote, but they aren't like us. The Symbiote's not your problem. It's whoever' wearing it' Venom replies, while the voice inside him points out that Cyclops wants to save his father. Venom tells Cyclops that he can study the Symbiotes' strengths and weaknesses all his wants, but that isn't going to help him fight the person inside. 'We want to help our families' the Symbiote tells Venom, while at that moment, Danger's voice can be heard, telling Henry that she hopes he understands what he is doing, and that it is both impetuous and hazardous. The Beast tells Danger that he is aware and that he is sorry to put her in this position. The Beast is wearing some future tech on his face, as he addresses Danger, who has been transformed into the Blackbird that the X-Men and Venom are currently flying in.
Cyclops asks Venom if he lets him out of the cell, whether he will try to stay calm and cooperate. 'You jackasses attacked us, remember?' Venom snarls, while the voice asks Eddie to do it for him. Danger tells Henry that he should have waited for Jimmy Hudson and Bloodstorm to return from their mission. The Beast doesn't disagree, but points out that time is a factor here. Danger then tells the Beast that she doesn't appreciate him using his technopathic abilities to prevent her from alerting Magneto. 'Or those like me' the voice tells Venom. 'All right, kid. Where the hell are we?' Venom asks as Cyclops lowers the force field and Venom steps out. 'You're on our ship' Cyclops explains, while the Beast tells Danger that Magneto would have stopped them. 'And he would have been right to do so' Danger declares, adding that they are now running on fumes – and that she was not built for this sort of wear and tear. Danger informs the Beast that her was lucky she is able to maintain basic life support for so long. Venom hears the voice and asks 'Who was that talking? What does she mean when she says we need life support? Where have you taken us?' Venom exclaims. 'Let's just say... we're a long way from home' Scott announces.
Indeed, as Danger descends over the Kariteth Spaceport, on the planet Ulbriath, where various aliens go about their business. 'You kidnapped us!' Venom shouts as he follows the X-Men out of Danger. Hank, Bobby and Warren survey their new surroundings, while Cyclops turns back to Venom and tells him that they are sorry about that, while Jean smiles and tells him to think of it like this – how often does he get to see strange, faraway worlds? 'Too damn often Venom snarls. 'Other worlds. They're always cool' Bobby remarks. 'I'll say' Warren agrees as he watches a green-skinned female alien walk past him. 'Nice wings, handsome' the alien smiles at Warren. Jean announces that she is setting up a short-range psi-sweep, explaining that it should allow them to communicate with pretty much anyone they meet. She tells her team to stay close, as it only works within a few yards of her. Danger reports that she will be unable to accompany the X-Men, as she has suffered quite a bit of damage while in flight, and will need to shut down most of her systems and dedicate resources solely to self-repair. The Beast tells Danger not to worry, and assures her that she has done enough so she can sit this one out.
As they walk amongst the other aliens on this world, Jean tells Cyclops that this is the planet Corsair told him about, and that it is the only spaceport on this planet, so now it is just a matter of finding the Starjammers. 'And hoping they're not already dead' Cyclops remarks. Venom asks Cyclops if anyone ever told him he has a real negative outlook on life. The Beast stands next to an access terminal and informs his teammates that he thinks he can use his future-tech to communicate with the strange devices, explaining that there should be logs of every ship that is docked in the area. A moment later, the Beast announces that he has found the Starjammer, and that it is not far away. The X-Men and Venom make their way to the Starjammer, while an unusual looking alien stares at Venom. 'What are you looking at?' Venom snarls. 'My apologies! My apologies! I mean no harm!' the alien exclaims.
'This is it. The Starjammer' Cyclops announces as they arrive at the spaceship. Jean tells Scott that the ship has seen better days, and Scott tells her thaat he knows. Jean adds that she has a bad feeling about this, and Scott agrees. The group are unaware that the alien who was staring at Venom has followed them and is watching them. As they enter the Starjammer, Jean informs the others that she is not picking up any thoughts. 'Doesn't mean the bodies aren't still on board' Venom points out. Jean turns to him and asks him if he would try a little tact. 'Whatever you say, Red. Tell us, though... does it look like anyone lived through this?' Venom replies, as everyone looks at the destruction inside the vessel.
Suddenly, a robotic voice calls out 'No! No! The Starjammers are alive!' It's Sikorsky, who flies towards Cyclops and adds 'At least they were when I saw them!' Cyclops picks up Sikorsky and asks him what happened and where his father is. Sikorsky informs Cyclops that they were attacked, but he supposes Cyclops saw that much. Sikorsky reports that they were brutal and more terrible than anything he has encountered, and that he only evaded them by crawling into the ventilation shafts. 'They thought I was destroyerd in the initial explosion' Sikorsky points out. Sikorsky informs Cyclops that they plan on collecting bounty on the Starjammers, and were wearing Klyntar Symbiotes, using them as armor – as biological weapons.
'Are you listening? We have seen Symbiotes used as weapons – and recently' the voice inside Eddie tells him. 'I remember. How could I forget?' Venom replies, as the voice tells him that this is why they must help the X-Men. Venom reports that the Symbiotes are bad news, at least, the people inside them are. The voice inside Venom recalls that in another universe, Klyntar, Venom Symbiotes were used to destroy – and were almost wiped out. 'And you guys are just kids. Maybe you should call on – I dunno – the grown-up X-Men to handle this' Venom suggests. The voice inside Venom recalls that the Symbiotes had no free will, they were wasted and used up, ity frightened him – frightened them both. Cyclops tells Venom that they don't have time to call for backup – the people who have his father, they have to find them and stop them, for if they don't, they will be turned over to God-knows-who. 'I'll never see him again' Cyclops adds. Sikorsky looks up at Cyclops and tells him to leave him here, as he will only slow them down. He assures Cyclops that it looks worse than it feels and he can still perform some basic repairs. 'Physician, heal thyself' Sikorsky jokes.
Cyclops leads the X-Men and Venom out of the Starjammer, as the Symbiote within Eddie tells him that he knows he doesn't want to be drawn into another fight to save his species. 'We're going to get ourselves killed!' Venom shouts, but the Symbiote tells him that they don't have any choice. 'Aw, Crap. I'm gonna have to watch over these damn kids, aint I?' Venom realizes. 'Whatever makes this work for you, Eddie' the voice replies.
The X-Men and Venom enter a drinking establishment, where several assorted aliens look up them. Jean points out that if they are looking for troublemakers, this seems like as good a place as any to start. Cyclops tells everyone to watch each other's back. 'This isn't like the movies, is it? It's a lot...sweatier' Bobby remarks, while Venom tells the X-Men that if they get out of here without getting their throats cut they will be lucky. Bobby tells Angel that they really should have waited for Jimmy and Bloodstorm to come back from whatever dark-ops mission Magneto sent them on. Angel tells Bobby to relax. 'You can turn into an ice-monster and I have fire wings. We'll be fine' Angel assures him. 'Still, a vampire and a Wolverine would be nice company' Bobby jokes.
Venom tells Beast that when they find these space pirates or whatever they are, sonics and flame is what they need – those are the only real weaknesses the Symbiotes have. The Beast notes this and thanks Venom for his willingness to share secrets like that. At the bar, a multi-limbed bar-tender tells Jean and Cyclops 'Nope. Nuh-uh. Not here. This may be a festering puke-pile of a tavern, but we don't serve brats like you. You got get your joy-juice elsewhere, kiddos. We've got to have some standards' the bar-tender declares. Cyclops informs him that they are not here to drink, they just need some information. 'I know the kind of questions you're gonna ask' the bar-tender mutters. 'You do?' Cyclops replies, but the bar-tender tells him that any answers he gives are going to mean trouble for him. 'You came here with a Klyntar war-brute' the bar-tender exclaims as he sees Venom.
The bar-tender tells Cyclops and Marvel Girl 'You're either looking for Haze Mancer... or you're after -' but he is interrupted as a voice calls out 'Hey, punk! You looking for us?' The mutants turn to see five aliens with Symbiotes looming behind them, including two who were with the Starjammers, as well as the alien who was following them, cowering away from the other five aliens. 'This is why they don't want kids in bars, you know?' Bobby mutters. 'It always – always – ends in a brawl with alien nightmare creatures'. 'Yeah, here we go' Venom declares, clenching a fist, ready for a fight.
