Scott, Jean and Ororo are all sitting in an office together, talking to a lawyer who says he is glad they could make it. He explains, as he has told the three already, the entirety of the Xavier estate has been passed on to the three of them. The mansion, the few other real estate holdings in the professor’s possession, and what little liquid assets he had will all be under their joint control. The lawyer was told the mansion houses some type of school, which now belongs to Scott, Jean and Ororo. But it looks like the liquid assets would only cover the operating expenses for around three months. The lawyer knows this is none of his business, but he would recommend selling off the school and all the property.
Scott immediately refuses, concluding the professor didn’t leave this to them so they could get rich off of it. Storm wonders why the professor left it to the three of them; why is she here? Jean thinks they’re all there to keep each other honest. She guesses they’re the three students Xavier thought would value the school the most. She doesn’t know for sure, though. Chiming in, the lawyer says that, for whatever reason, the three of them have come into a sizeable real estate holding. They now own a number of warehouses in New York and, he thinks, if they could start renting them out, that it could bring in a substantial profit. To this, Scott asks how many other buildings the professor owned… and what was he doing with them?
Chicago, Illinois. The Academy of Tomorrow…
Colossus emerges from a cab and arrives at the front entrance of the school. Northstar quickly comes running for him and is so glad Peter decided to come, though Peter jokes Jean-Paul shouldn’t be so surprised as he just couldn’t resist. They share a hug, and Jean-Paul says he missed Peter so much. Peter jokes Jean-Paul only saw him two days ago, but… he missed him, too. Jean-Paul asks Peter if he’s okay, and how he’s dealing with… what just happened. Peter smiles he’s fine. He’s Russian, and they are a strong people. He’ll be just fine. Death is not unfamiliar to him. He just needed to get away from the school, and thinks Jean-Paul was right when he said there were too many memories.
As they head for inside, Jean-Paul asks Peter how long he’ll be staying. To this, Peter smiles and asks who said he intends to leave?
Xavier’s…
Wolverine sits on his bed in his room, with a bag next to him. In his hand, he holds his wedding ring and quietly stares at it. Logan puts the ring in his jacket, and dons his cowboy hat. Leaving his room, he sighs, “It was fun while it lasted, Chuck.” He walks down stairs, where Jean, Scott and Ororo have just returned.
In mid-conversation, Storm explains that it’s just a bit much for her. It’s a lot of responsibility and not something she wants to do for the rest of her life. It’s just not who she is. As Scott suggests they discuss this later, Jean notices Wolverine and asks him if he’s going anywhere. Logan explains he has been putting some things off for a while now. He figured now was a good time as any to take care of them. With the professor gone, it’s just not the same around here and he’s certain the others will get along just fine without him.
Jean is surprised to first see Colossus go, and now Logan. She remarks they’re going to have a lot of empty rooms if things keep going like this. When Storm asks him if he’ll need some company on his trip, Logan smiles that, as much as he would love having Ororo along, this is something he has to handle on his own. He thanks her, though, and leaves. As he departs, Ororo calls to him, reminding Logan that, if something goes wrong, he knows where to find her.
Scott again says they’ll discuss this later. He mentions he called a meeting with Lilandra from the Church of Shi’ar Enlightenment, and adds they’ll probably need to rest first for that. Storm jokes she’ll be in her room hiding under her bed. She mocks she’s already looking forward to that talk.
Jean and Scott walk to her room, where she takes off her shoes. Scott wants to talk to Jean, but she’s not really up for it. She was kind of wanting to take a nice long bath, and wash the lawyer off before the creepy religion woman dangles the money carrot in front of them. Scott telepathically asks her if she’ll take a bubble bath, which Jean confirms… but wants to take it alone. Scott notices his earlier birthday gift for Jean still unopened on her desk. He knows there’s never going to be a right time, not for a while at least, but wants her to open it.
Jean quickly says she can’t marry Scott. Seeing him sad at her knowing of the present, Jean explains she’s a psychic. She hasn’t been surprised by a gift since she was thirteen years old. But it’s not like she doesn’t like him… she loves Scott. And it’s not like she doesn’t want to marry him… she doesn’t want to marry anyone. She’s got enough changes in her life right now. She mentions she’s young, and there’s a lot going on with her. A lot. It’s just not the right time now. But, she wants Scott to understand, she loves him. Scott replies he knew Jean knew. He just needed an answer. He loves Jean, too. He telepathically suggests they’ll take a bubble bath. “Sure, go get your robe,” she says.
Elsewhere at the mansion…
Iceman is playing his video games, and is watched by Rogue. Bishop is sitting behind them on the coach. Bishop is saying that, with the Professor gone, Bobby can still learn to better control his powers. Bishop sees so much potential in him and doesn’t want to see it go to waste. Bobby reminds Bishop that he’s playing a game now and is in the hardest level. With him talking, his concentration is shot. Bishop just wants Iceman to hear him out. He can create ice. He can do a lot of amazing things with ice, but wants Bobby to think about how he does that. With minimal effort, he is taking moisture out of the air and slowing water molecules down to make them cold. He asks Bobby what else he can slow down. There are some very interesting possibilities regarding Bobby’s powers Bishop would like to explore.
Bobby isn’t really interested, though, and only cares about killing the boss in his computer game. He jokes that, if Bishop gets him a strategy guide, when he’s out he’ll listen to whatever he has to say. Bishop sighs, believing Bobby’s future self must have blocked out all memories of his adolescence. He gets up, mentioning that he’s late for an appointment anyway. Once Bishop’s gone, Bobby asks Rogue if she understood a single word of what he was talking about. Rogue smiles she wasn’t listening. She was having too much fun watching Bobby play this game worse than she ever has.
New York City…
An explosion takes place. Fire is everywhere, caused by an angry mutant. Lots of people run away scared, while the mutant shouts at them to see them spread their mutant-hating propaganda now. “Xavier lives on!” the mutant shouts.
Behind a wall, soldiers are trying to sneak up on the mutant. Their leader wants to see the mutant’s brains on the pavement before he’s got time to blink! The leader is sure the cops will be here any minute and doesn’t want them getting in their way. One of the soldiers mentions they could shoot the mutant from where they’re standing before he even knows what hit him. The leader disapproves, wanting to have the mutant’s blood on his hands. <>
The leader jumps at the mutant, ordering him to stop right there. The mutant declares he won’t be silenced. He wants to bring the truth out. He wants people to know Xavier was murdered. He wants the world to know this. The mutants will rise up and avenge their fallen leader! The leader hits the mutant with a crowbar, telling him to shut up. The mutant refuses and shoots a fire blast at the leader, knocking him backwards.
Suddenly, the police arrive, ordering the mutant to freeze. The leader grins at the mutant to make his choice: a cell or a coffin. The leader’s choice goes out to the latter. On that moment, Nightcrawler teleports in and votes for neither. The police quickly realize that they’re dealing with more mutants now and open fire. Kurt grabs the mutant and teleports them both away, landing on a rooftop nearby.
Kurt tells the mutant that what he did was foolish. He claims Xavier is not one to be defended, as he practiced manipulation. Kurt then notices the mutant has been hit, but he claims it’s nothing. He opens his hand, and a small spark of fire appears. After Kurt asks what it is, the spark spreads out and becomes a huge flame, healing the mutant’s wound! The mutant introduces himself as Pyro, and jokes that fire is his friend. He recognizes Kurt and that he worked with Xavier before it happened.
Pyro explains he has been running with the Morlocks, but he’s sick of spending his time in the shadows… hiding. He wants to be in the spotlight. He wants to be one of the X-Men. Kurt doesn’t know who the Morlocks are, so Pyro explains they’re a gang of mutants living in the sewers. They’re like them both; the Morlocks don’t blend in with the normals. They’ve got a little underground community. Pyro is surprised Kurt never heard of them.
Xavier’s…
Scott, Jean and Storm are in a discussion with Lilandra and her assistant, Gerald. Scott says they don’t know exactly what they’re going to do. This is all a little overwhelming. The professor was a big part of their lives. Lilandra asks Scott why he wanted to meet with her. Scott explains that, before his death, the professor had committed to providing a substantial amount of funding to this school. They just wanted to talk to Lilandra about the possibility of continuing her commitment. Jean adds that, right now, they’re just trying to keep everything as close to the way it was before the professor died. As close as it can be.
Lilandra smiles at that admirable goal. Charles death’ doesn’t make her less committed to the mutant cause. She’s very interested in this school and what it does. As far as she’s concerned, this school is the future. This is where the mutants of today learn to live in harmony with the humanity of tomorrow. If they’re going to continue Charles’ work – his efforts towards peace between humans and mutants – then Scott can count on her continued funding.
Scott smiles the continuing of Xavier’s dream is the first and foremost thing that will be driving them forward. Jean smiles she can’t tell Lilandra how relieved they are to hear her saying those words. Ororo agrees this means a lot to them. Lilandra, however, adds there is a condition she needs to go over with them. Since the three of them are so young and the majority of them are all minors, she’s going to ask that her associate, Gerald Lavine, remains on-site as a liaison between her organization and the school. Scott thinks, if that’s Lilandra’s only condition, they can allow that. To be honest, he feels they could use her guidance. Rising to his feet, Gerald says that he’ll just be here to offer his support on any matters in which Scott deems his input necessary. He promises they’ll hardly notice he’s there. He’ll be there with the X-Men’s best interests in mind. Scott gets up and shakes hands with Gerald.
Later, Gerald contacts someone over telephone, telling someone he’s certain that, with this knowledge, they can return the Hellfire Club to its former glory.
The Academy of Tomrrow…
Sitting on a coach in front of the TV with Jean-Paul, Colossus and he are joined by Warren, who says he didn’t even know Peter was coming to visit. Peter explains that Jean-Paul was kind enough to invite him over to get him over their terrible loss. Warren asks Peter if the professor said anything about him, or why he’s there. Peter says the professor never spoke of Warren since his expulsion from the school, but Peter’s sure the professor was happy Warren was able to enroll. He knows the professor didn’t harbor any ill towards him.
Warren asks if Alison left a forwarding address. He knows she didn’t stay long at the school, as Bobby told him about it at the funeral. Warren was planning to look her up. Peter doesn’t know about it, though. Alison was only at the mansion for less than a day before she left for good. She didn’t leave in a manner that would indicated she wished the X-Men to find her at a later date. Warren understands that. He thanks Peter and leaves. When Northstar asks Peter who Alison was, Peter smiles she’s the one with the tattoos and the light powers. She went by the codename Dazzler. He explains she and Warren were an item, just before she was injured and put into a coma. Jean-Paul jokes it’s a wonder the X-Men ever got anything done. with all the hooking up they do. He calls it ridiculous.
New York State Prison…
Prisoner 104958 has a guest… Bishop. The prisoner asks Bishop who he is. Bishop claims he’s a ghost, nobody important. He just wanted to deliver a message. He tells the prisoner the things he’s experiencing there, the things he’s going through, they’re what he needs to change. As strange as it sounds, this place will make the prisoner a better man. The prisoner asks Bishop what he knows about what it’s like being in here. Bishop smiles that he does know. The prisoner can trust him on that. He wants the prisoner to do his time, pay his debt and get out. He doesn’t need to be in there any longer than he has to be. And he doesn’t even have to think about using his powers. Bishop gets up, telling the prisoner to stay safe. The prisoner smiles and thanks Bishop.
Xavier’s…
Bobby asks Bishop if he got him the strategy guide, but Bishop just calls him an embarrassment. He says hi to Storm, who does the same. Scott and Jean enter the room. Scott is glad they caught everyone, as he has something to say. When Jean wonders what it is, Scott tells her this is important to her, and wants her to sit down, which she does. Scott says that all of them know he, Jean and Storm have been left in charge of the school. As the team leader of the X-Men, Scott has been trying to shoulder the responsibility left behind by the professor. He has been thinking a lot about the professor’s legacy and his dream and everything he stood for. He has thought about what the professor tried to teach them, his efforts towards harboring a peace between humans and mutants and where he’s gotten in the time he had. And Scott thinks the professor was wrong.
Jean doesn’t understand, and Bishop asks Scott what he’s talking about. Scott doesn’t think the best way to show people they can coexist in peace is to have a mutant militia running around, enforcing their own laws, fighting in the streets for all to see. He thinks there’s a better way.
Cable said the Professor did something to affect the future. That he had to die to prevent it. Scott isn’t saying Cable was right, far from it, but he looked around them now, and he doesn’t see them living up to their potential. They’ve got an opportunity here. The resources to become a safe haven for mutants across the world. Not to train them to fight in some ridiculous strike-team, but to train them to live in their world, peacefully and without fear. They can teach those mutants to use their powers for the betterment of all mankind, not as a means of self-defense. They’re going to make this place what it always should have been… a school.
Which is why, effective immediately… Scott is disbanding the X-Men!
They’re going to have an open enrolment period… this is going to be a school. No X-Men, no jets, no trips across the world to fight God-knows-what. A school. Nothing more, nothing less. A place for mutants to learn… a place of peace. Everyone is welcome to stay here, to help out. Scott would love for them all to become teachers here, when they’re old enough, when they’re ready.
Bishop says that’s a fine idea on paper, but he wonders what about those who don’t learn through peace? What about those who hate and fear the X-Men… the evil in this world? What about the ones who need the X-Men to protect them? Scott can’t carry that burden. He doesn’t think it’s his responsibility. Bishop thinks Scott has lost his mind. He can’t let things end with Xavier… they’ve got to defend his dream! Scott thinks Bishop doesn’t see it… Xavier is gone. The dream is dead and Xavier won’t come back. They can’t do this without him. It would be foolish to even try. Bishop wants to say something to Scott, but he doesn’t want to hear it. He wants the others to trust him. He wants to honor Xavier’s memory, he wants his dream to live on, and this is the best way for him to do that. If Bishop wants X-Men… he has to go make their own! To this, Bishop’s face is as stony as it is silent.
The future…
Every building lies in ruins and the streets are in rubble. The sky has turned yellow and it rains. On one street sits a dome in the middle, by itself. Inside is Cable, who is getting his broken metal arm repaired by a large robot. When he asks about the X-Men, the robot explains that, according to all reports from that timeline, the X-Men are grieving in the passing of their mentor. Bishop currently resides with them, trapped, since Cable destroyed his timeslide device. Bishop will have no choice but to remain there.
Cable thinks that’s good, meaning everything is going according to plan. He asks the robot if he’s about through with his arm, which the robot confirms. It then adds that Cable’s pestering did, in fact, cause him to speed up the process. Cable smiles at the robot he’s a riot… bub. He tests his arm out and compliments it’s as good as new. The robot is glad Cable approves of his craftsmanship. He asks if Cable will be needing him for anything else.
Cable asks if the X-Men believe he’s dead, that he died in the explosion. The robot denies that. There was a malfunction in the timeslide and Cable’s drone could not be placed in the heart of the explosion in time. The X-Men believe Cable survived the explosion. But that doesn’t matter to him. They’ve got no means of tracking him down, or any reason to think they need to. He wants the robot to wake their guest, and it leaves to do so.
Cable walks over to a holding tank, where he holds the unconscious body of… Professor Xavier?! He looks at Xavier, who has a power-dampening collar around his neck. Cable says to Charles Xavier they’ve got a lot to talk about.
