Flashback:
Deerfield, Illinois, years ago:
Professor Charles Xavier and some of his students are visiting the Pryde family to make their case for young Kitty Pryde to attend their school. Kitty peeks downward from the staircase and immediately figures those people are weird. She also immediately notices Piotr Rasputin and considers him neat-looking.
Kitty’s father suggests she head to the Malt Shoppe with the other students while the Prydes talk with the Professor. Xavier introduces his students to Kitty. Piotr addresses her as ‘Katya’ as he greets her. Kitty likes the nickname. It’s Russian, he explains.
Present?
“Katya?” Piotr asks Kitty. Where did she go? Both are sitting in an outdoor café in the South American republic of San Marco. She admits she was thinking of their first meeting. She thought he was neat looking. He chides her for having been too young to think of him that way. The way he looked, kinda didn’t have a choice, Kitty jokes. And now look at them. She looks at her engagement ring. Piotr muses it feels like a lifetime ago since he put that ring on her finger. She agrees that they’ve been dragging their feet a lot. Does he think said feet are getting cold? He thinks it’s because they were a little busy.
Hends up, cheres! Gambit calls everyone over comm. He thinks they still are, Colossus sighs.
From a rooftop, Gambit announces he thinks he has their boy, staring at an old lady. Still sulking, Piotr mutters it doesn’t look like their boy or even a boy. Impatiently, Gambit replies that that is Mesmero.
Rogue, who is up in the air, points out if he is wrong a dozen cell phones will have footage of the X-Men attacking an old lady in a foreign country. Glad he’s not wrong the, comes the cocky reply.
Rachel Grey, dressed in civilian clothes, suggests she get closer to the old lady and check for herself. Kitty warns her to be careful. Colossus wonders if that is a good idea. Rachel’s Hound flashforwards have been getting more frequent. Kitty believes Rachel can handle Mesmero.
Rachel accidentally bumps against the old lady, who grins evilly. So gushingly lovely to see her again, Mesmero showing his true face states. All those times he’s been in her head… He’s been craving another chance. Rachel groans as he attacks her psychically. Each time they fought, he’s been adding some improvements, he reveals. He hopes she doesn’t mind.
The others realize Rachel is in trouble and Kitty asks for Nightcrawler to teleport Mesmero away. He teleports him up into the air, where Rogue immediately hits him hard. She catches him then flies higher up. One twitch, she warns, and she will drop him. Then a lightning bolt hits him courtesy of Storm, dressed in her Asgardian goddess outfit that comes with the Asgardian mallet Stormcaster.
Kurt teleports back to Rachel’s side and asks if she is all right. Rachel hesitates. She is caught in a flashback of killing Nightcrawler as a Hound. She’s ok, she lies.
Later, they return Mesmero to the Box. Kitty suggests to the warden they not let him escape this time. He could say the same about the X-Men, he retorts. Kitty reminds him that the charges against them were dropped. Not the charge of being mutants, he replies. Their very existence is a risk. Kitty stares at him, then sarcastically thanks him for not being subtle. It is refreshing to meet an honest bigot. The warden insists it’s not bigotry but survival. They are the next step in human evolution, but the previous step isn’t going to go down without a fight.
A high tech facility in the Savage Land:
Lydia Nance is giving the new Nano Sentinel, who now calls himself Alpha, a tour. Practically a steal at five billion dollars, she boasts. Alpha observes he didn’t believe her fortune was so prodigious. With a smile, she explains that the world is full of wealthy people who understand that humanity is fighting a war against its own extinction. When they learned she was working with a Sentinel nanotech, AI they couldn’t write the checks fast enough.
Back at the Xavier Institute, Kitty is talking to Bobby Drake in her office. She criticizes his decision to hire a member of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants while she was in prison. He reminds her she wanted him to lead his own team. Stacking it with supervillains isn’t what she had in mind, she snaps. Pyro and the new Brotherhood attacked the United Nations, kidnapped Logan, nearly got them all killed twice, and that was before Mesmero – his friend Pyro’s friend – got them thrown in prison!
Bobby calmly points out that Mesmero was manipulating Pyro. Playing around in his head. He’s trying to make things right and he wouldn’t exactly be the first Brotherhood member they have on the team. He points at a photo of Rogue.
Kitty thinks for a moment. Provisional basis, she finally decides, and Bobby won’t take his eyes off him. Done. Bobby shakes her hand.
In the Danger Room, Colossus beats up a Doombot. The battle over, Nightcrawler joins him and asks if he is working off some anger. No, frustration, is the reply. With Kitty? Kurt asks and admits Rachel may have sensed something and told him. Is everything ok with the two of them? Peter isn’t sure. In Santa Marco, Kitty suggested they may be getting cold feet. Are they? Kurt asks. Piotr replies they have set a wedding date. Kurt enthusiastically suggests a bachelor party. Las Vegas! Piotr protests that the wedding is a few weeks away but is ignored as Kurt teleports away to make the preparations. Piotr sighs.
Deerfield, Illinois:
Kitty is visiting her mother, Theresa. She looks at a picture of her dead father and admits she misses him. Terri replies she is glad they set a wedding date. Kitty sighs the hard part is making sure the world doesn’t end before.
Kitty asks her mother to walk her down the aisle since she no longer has a father. Theresa hesitates, pointing out that is a man’s job. Kitty rejoins, it’s the 21st century. And she is the leader of the X-Men… they can jettison traditional gender roles. Terri hugs her daughter and agrees.
Las Vegas:
In a club, Piotr’s bachelor party is under way. Simon Lasker (the new Pyro) thanks the X-Men for inviting him along. Piotr curtly asks if he is old enough? Kurt reminds him he was old enough for the casino. Do not remind him about the casino! Piotr groans. Kurt jokes, Piotr has never let his hair down before. It’s going to take him a little time. He turns to Gambit and teases they will be doing this for him one day. Remy retorts they couldn’t handle his bachelor party. Kurt considers that a challenge. Sobered, Remy admits he doesn’t see himself and Rogue tying the knot.
Bobby asks about Kurt and Rachel – they’ve been serious for some time now. Yes, when she hasn’t been comatose or fighting her inner demons it’s been a lovely relationship, Kurt deadpans. At least he is in one, Bobby points out. Piotr leaves for the bathroom and Remy observes he doesn’t seem happy.
Piotr looks at himself in the bathroom mirror: “Chto ty zdes’ delayesh’, moy drug?” he sighs.
Alpha appears behind him. He asks what he is doing here. He will give him the answer. Piotr turns to Colossus and punches Alpha but the nanites simply break apart to reform as he hits Colossus back.
Bobby worries about Piotr and decides to see if he is okay. He suggests they can do something he wants, if this is not up his speed. He finds the bathroom wall ruined and sees Alpha dragging out the unconscious Piotr. He tries to follow but is held back by a forcefield.
Alpha contacts Lydia Nance to inform her he has the target. They are ready to proceed to the next phase of the operation…
