At Summers Cove, the battle between the Marauders against the X-Men and Starjammers still rages. For one X-Man, there is a very vicious surprise, though. Shadowcat has just been severely wounded by a clone of Wolverine whom Sinister has created. As he stands above her, ready to kill her, her mind still refuses to believe it.
Luckily, Sabretooth finds them and attacks his “son.” “Wolverine” swats him aside. He’s gotta be kidding! He ain’t his boy! He doesn’t even get to lay a glove on him!
Having only boneclaws, “Wolverine” enviously ogles Kitty’s admantium claw. Something that dangerous should belong to someone who knows how to use it…. He has all of Wolverine’s rage but none of his honor, Kitty realizes. If he wants her claws, he can come and take them, she snarls, getting ready for a fight and the fingernails on her left hand turn to boneclaws. She slices at him without mercy but he dodges her attacks. He reminds her that he can heal from anything. He bets she ain’t so lucky.
That moment, Gambit attacks, hitting him in the head with a kinetically charged bo staff. He tells Kitty she is safe now and to take a breath. Still charged, she tells him she needs to finish this, even though she can barely stand. He promises it’s over. He fought Logan often for training. He knows full well how to make this one dead.
Sabretooth tells her not to get upset. He’d know Logan’s scent anywhere. This ain’t him. Just another of Sinister’s clones. He steps on the clone’s boneclaws and they break off. Now he only has to take care of the Sabretooth clone, he figures.
Gambit carries Kitty a bit away and tells her he has to go find Nathan. He suggests she stay here and remain intangible. Her powers protected her from serous injury but he still managed to get a piece of her somehow. They’ll figure this out later. She asks to come with him. She’s done enough, he tells her and kisses her forehead.
Sabretooth tells her she will heal. It may hurt but the powers she got from his boy will put her right in no time. She has Logan’s claw, his attitude, a fraction of his healing… what is left of her? she asks. Gambit asks Sabretooth to take care of her. He will be back soon.
Not far away, Cyclops, Corsair and Havok battle side by side. Corsair warns his sons that if they keep fighting by conventional rules they may win but that victory will bleed them dry. They need to change the dynamic of that fight.
Suddenly, Hepzibah is chased outside the house followed by a blast of fire that levels her. Havok fears the worst. After all, Hepzibah was supposed to protect his grandma. He tells his dad to work on his plan and Scott to keep after the Marauders. He’ll deal with Hepzibah’s attacker.
He helps her up. That little creature tried to kill her! she moans. The attacker turns out to be Lockheed. Behind the small dragon, ‘Ro shouts that Lockheed was protecting them from Hepzibah! Hepizbah’s on their side! Havok protests. Not anymore, pet, she replies and draws a gun on him, Time to die!
Ladies first! Polaris shouts and levels her. She tells Alex to look at Hepzibah’s neck, she is wearing the choker Lorna wore when she was possessed by Malice! Don’t touch it or it could grab control of him! Just cut it loose to set Hepizbah free! Alex carefully cuts it loose without touching it. They see Harpoon nearby and Havok and Polaris give chase. Alex orders ‘Ro and his grandma to help Hepzibah. Both groups leave.
Mystique steps into the clearing, takes up the Malice choker and stashes it away. This should be delightful fun to play with, she figures.
On the airstrip, Robyn orders Nate to put on his seatbelt. However, Scalphunter blocks their path and shoots at the wings, crippling the plane. He opens the cockpit, announcing he’s come for the boy. Robyn in panic shouts he’s making a mistake. Scalphunter doesn’t care. He plans to kill her. Suddenly, though, a charged-up card hits him and explodes a moment later.
Gambit kicks him in the face, then hits him with his bo staff. Scalphunter wipes away some blood, admitting he’s impressed, bur warns Gambit he is a killer. So is he, Gambit retorts, when there is a need. Scalphunter can ask his version of Wolverine when he meets him in hell! He charges up the staff and kills him with it, then tells Robyn and Nate they can get out, there’s nothing more to fear.
Leading them away, he muses aloud that Sinister seems to have eyes everywhere. They had Nate’s presence covered but he was found anyway. Robyn wonders if he is suspecting her.
When they find Kitty, Gambit suggests he carry her. She declines; her nerves are so raw she couldn’t stand it. He knows he can’t, Sabretooth announces as he joins them. He thought fighting clones was bad. But it’s better than listening to them flirt. He brings a souvenir, the right hand of the clone Sabretooth. He figures Dr. MacTaggert could try to attach it to him. Maybe even transplant his eyes. Gambit covers Nate’s eyes.
Meanwhile, an enraged Corsair is aboard the Starjammer. He contacts Scott and Havok, telling them to get everyone close. Cyclops orders everyone together around him. Make it look like their last stand! When everyone’s accounted for Jean puts a telekinetic field around the remaining Marauders who find that suddenly the ground is shaking below them. Then the Starjammer comes up much to their terror and Corsair fires at the Marauders till there is no trace left.
Dad never did subtle, Cyclops sighs and asks Jean to check if any of the Marauders are left alive. Nothing left, Jean replies. They were completely consumed by the blast. But she was telepathically scanning right to the end. Their minds went dark and they died a split-second before the energy blast hit. Like someone turning off the light.
Which means they will be back, Cyclops fears. Which means they will kill them for good, Raza announces. Easier said than done, Cyclops warns him.
Sikorsky examines Kitty’s wounds which on first look seemed fatal but have actually caused minimal damage. Sikorsky figures she instantly phased when the blades began to cut. And the experience only felt real. He warns her however to be careful and not make the wounds worse.
Jean wonders what happened to Kitty. She can’t get inside her head. But there is something familiar about these wounds and Kitty is trying to hide it…
Scott asks his son if he is all right. Nate tells him he thought he was dead and left him all alone. He had the rest of his family, Scott points out. That’s not the same, Nate tells him, he wanted his dad! Scott apologizes. He only wanted to keep him safe. Corsair, Deborah and Alex join them and Corsair suggests he think about that. Scott asks if Nate wants to come live with the X-Men but Nate wants to stay with the family.
Scott turns to Robyn who introduces herself. Robyn explains she panicked and tried to get Nate to safety. She thought a plane would be the easiest way. She apologizes to Nate who has no hard feelings.
Nathan aka Sinister watches the scene through Robyn’s eyes, congratulating her on her performance. He walks through a room full of life-sized tubes in which the next batch of Marauders is already growing. He muses that the X-Men still live… and they appear to have such fascinating friends. The spacecraft was incredible! But such things are trivial compared to the boy. The key to ending Burnout is in him. Yet another reason, he decides, to keep news of the X-Men’s survival to himself. He wants to keep this conflict private. It makes things more fun…
A few days later, most of the X-Men leave, as apparently Fury and Daisy need them back. Cyclops says goodbye to Nate, however Kitty stays to recover, causing Gambit, Jean and ‘Ro to stay as well to keep an eye on her.
In the meantime in the woods, the clone Wolverine, badly burned but still alive, slowly awakes…
