First Story:
The journey home has been long and full of sacrifices and many regrets. The pain of losing his sister once again burns in him and the fate of a young child name Michael is unknown. He has journey through centuries through space and time to return to this world and era. The era is not his, but it has intertwined itself with his destiny. Nostalgia overcomes the man who steps out of the transmat portal on Ellis Island. His name is Bishop and he has returned back home.
Bishop emerges from the portal and finds himself in front of his teammates, whom he has not seen in quite some time. Colossus, Psylocke, Wolverine, Nightcrawler, Rogue, the newcomer Thunderbird and Cerise, agent of the Shi’ar, are amazed to see Bishop. Nightcrawler tells Wolverine that he was not part of the X-Men when Bishop was a member, but asks the feral mutant if that is really the man he has heard about.
Before anyone can say anything else, Rogue tells Bishop to watch out as someone shoots an energy blast right into the group. High on a ledge, a Skrull tells the humans to die as he tries to get a lock on the team again. Rogue grabs Bishop and flies him out of the way as the Skrull tries to shoot him. Rogue tells Bishop to quit squirming, because she would hate to lose him again seeing how he just got back.
Bishop is still in disbelief over seeing the X-Men once again, even though he knew he would meet them at Ellis Island. Rogue looks up into the sky and sees a space ship heading towards her and Bishop. Before Rogue can do anything, however, the ship launches and energy attack from its cannon. The attack is mostly absorbed by Bishop. Rogue asks Bishop if he is okay. The man, whose eyes glow with energy, tells Rogue to close her eyes. Rogue does so and Bishop unleashes his stored energy on the ship, destroying it.
Rogue swoops low to avoid being hit by the debris and tells Bishop that he always knows how to make an entrance. Bishop tells her that first impressions are always important, because then no one forgets you. Wolverine and Colossus finish taking down the rest of the Shi’ar guards on site. Wolverine tells Rogue and Bishop that he hates to break up the happy reunion, but they need to get out while they still have a chance, unless of course the two would enjoy taking on a whole entire army.
Cerise tells Nightcrawler that, as an agent of the Shi’ar, she will only be seen as a threat or a spy in the forthcoming battle. Thus, it would be best if she leaves them for now. Cerise gives Nightcrawler her best wishes and tells him that she will miss him. Nightcrawler tells her that he will also miss her.
Cerise makes her surreptitious exit and Rogue tells the others that Wolverine is right. They are outnumbered and, since they already got what they came for, there is no use in hanging around. She orders Thunderbird to use his powers to lay a wall of fire to cover their escape. Thunderbird complies and also tells Rogue that he loves a woman who is forceful.
Outside, Bishop tells Rogue that he is happy to see her, but he was told by Xavier that he would be meeting with a skrull telepath named Z’cann. Despondently, Rogue tells Bishop that Z’cann is in a bad way. Forge and Tessa are watching over her at the mansion, but they are not sure if she is going to make it. MP>
Rogue and Bishop land on the ground and Rogue tells him that, before Z’cann lost consciousness, she passed on the crucial information of the plan to her. The “mind meld” also messed up her powers, making them unpredictable. However, the mind meld also let the X-Men know that they had a little errand to run on their way to Ellis Island. Bishop and Rogue look up into the sky and Bishop asks if they came. As Rogue watches the Quinjet descend from the sky, she tells Bishop that of course they came. “They’re the Avengers!”
Onboard the Quinjet, Warbird tells Goliath that their radar is picking up some incoming bogeys. They have less than a minute until contact. Goliath tells her to look out for ground troops as well and then radios the X-Men to tell them to get on board, because they only have about a thirty second window.
The X-Men board the Quinjet and it streaks away from Ellis Island. Goliath tells the X-Men that they have three minutes before they reach their destination. There is a high probability that they will take on enemy fire, so they should make sure their seatbelts are fastened. Rogue tells him that she does not like the sound of that. Warbird tells the X-Men that Hank is understating the situation. When the Avengers last tried to take on Ronan the Accuser’s Citadel, he annihilated their Quinjet. Wolverine sarcastically tells her that it is nice to have something to look forward to.
Bishop interrupts and asks the X-Men if they could only get two Avengers. From what Xavier told him, they would need all of both teams to accomplish their mission. Psylocke tells Bishop that they are lucky that they got even two. The Avengers have been commandeered by the United States government as a result of Maximum Security. It wasn’t until after the X-Men pleaded their case to the Avengers’ security liaison, Duane Freeman, did the government give the X-Men permission to have two Avengers and a Quinjet.
Thunderbird says that it was not until recently that he dreamed of seeing the stars. Now this is his second trip into space. His life is changing so fast that he has not had time to catch his breath. Colossus tells Thunderbird that he envies him for seeing this all as an adventure. He himself sees it as a recurring nightmare. When he leaves the Earth, he always thinks of his brother Mikhail, who was a Soviet cosmonaut, whom he thought died when his rocket ship exploded. It wasn’t until years later when he learned this was all a cruel lie. However, the memory of dealing with Mikhail’s death still haunts him and space travel will never be easy.
In the front, Goliath tells everyone that they will have full visual in thirty seconds. Wolverine gives everyone a pre-game pep talk and reminds them that this is not just a session in the Danger Room. They need to follow their assignments to the letter and cannot afford any slip-ups.
Wolverine turns to Bishop and asks him if it is like old times. He speaks for all of them when he says that it is good to have the man back. He hopes Bishop sticks around a while this time. Bishop thanks Wolverine and tells him that it is good to be home. Nightcrawler leans up in his seat and asks Goliath, if the first Quinjet was destroyed, what is going to prevent Ronan from destroying the one they are in? Goliath smiles and tells Nightcrawler that he and Tony Stark made adjustments to the Quinjet they are riding in. This time, it is their turn to catch Ronan by surprise. With that said, Goliath presses a button and the Quinjet cloaks itself.
Warbird tells Goliath that the cloaking device is working perfectly. She looks back and sees Logan standing behind her and tells him to get back to his seat. Logan tells her not to worry and that he wants to see what they are up against. Goliath presses another button and suddenly the Citadel appears out of nowhere in front of the heroes. Goliath explains that Ronan has a cloaking device that made the Citadel nearly invisible to the naked eye. The only way they could see the station before was through refracted heat traces. However, now the Quinjet cockpit window has an infrared screen that allows them to see the Citadel in its entirety.
Goliath tells the heroes that he has found a good place to land. Rogue tells everyone to pray when Goliath tells them that they are going in. The Quinjet smashes into the side of the hull and ruptures it. Many Ruul workers are thrown by the crash and resulting explosion. The X-Men and Avengers prepare to disembark the ship, which is half stuck in the hull. Nightcrawler tells Goliath that he thought he was going for a peaceful landing. Goliath corrects himself and says that it was quiet until just this moment. Now everyone needs to take necessary measures to defend themselves from the hostiles outside their Quinjet.
Thunderbird asks Goliath if he is insane and tells the man that they just breached the hull of the station. The decompression will pull them out into the Earth’s upper atmosphere as soon as they exit the ship. Goliath tells Thunderbird that his assessment is not likely, because the fortress is of skrull design, which means that the station is now repairing itself with magno-force technology. With that said, the heroes exit the ship and attack the army of Shi’ar warriors waiting outside for them.
The team takes down the initial wave of troops and has a moment to collect their bearings. Wolverine tells Warbird, Rogue and Bishop that Xavier sent Bishop back to them for this so they should get what they need and get out before anyone knows what hit them. The four heroes sneak by in the shadows. Wolverine pops out his claws and tells them that the others will keep the troops busy, which will give the four of them the opportunity to sneak away and take care of business.
As the four run down a platform, Goliath spots a group of Shi’ar troops hot on their tail. Nightcrawler teleports to the troops and takes them down with his acrobatic skills. However, he cannot take them all down and orders Thunderbird to seal the corridor behind Wolverine and the others. Before the Shi’ar can reach the corridor, Thunderbird has it sealed with his powers. Bishop turns around to see the passage being welded shut by Thunderbird and tells the others they will need to find another way out. Wolverine presumes that Thunderbird shut the passage to prevent any unwelcome guests from getting to them and tells Bishop to worry about that later.
Rogue goes over to a transparent wall panel and tells the others that what she is seeing will help put things in perspective. The others go to the panel and the distraught Warbird tells the others that she did not realize the scope. Rogue tells her that none of them did. The heroes look out the panel to see that over half the Earth has been terraformed by Ego. Ego’s face emerges where North and South America used to be. Florida and bits of the east coast of the United States are the only parts left that were once the western world. Now, Ego has begun to focus his assault more on the eastern side of the world. Wolverine reminds everyone that, if they don’t succeed, there won’t be an Earth to come back to.
Back at the battle, Colossus lifts up several troops and tosses them. He tells Goliath that this is madness, for every enemy he defeats another one takes his place. Goliath smashes two Shi’ar and Ruul troops with his fist and tells Colossus that no one said the battle would be easy. However, they need to the troops to concentrate on them while the others carry out their part of the mission. Colossus tells Goliath that he did not mean he would give up. He would continue unto his dying breath, if necessary.
Nightcrawler teleports over some Ruul and tells Colossus that he hopes that it does not come to that. He then spots some ion cannons being brought in and tells Psylocke to take care of the heavy artillery. Psylocke thanks Nightcrawler for the heads up and easily uses her telekinesis to lift up the cannon and chuck it. She then wonders if this is the best that the bad guys have to throw at them.
Thunderbird looks behind him and tells Psylocke that he thinks that the best just came. Goliath turns around and sees Ronan the Accuser right behind him. Ronan tells the heroes that he is amazed by their arrogance. He spared their lives on their last attack on the Citadel. Ronan asks Goliath if he actually believed that he would spare them a second time.
Back in Salem Center, one of the last free places in the western hemisphere, the Skrull telepath named Z’cann lays near death. She is a student of Charles Xavier, who was entrusted with the duty to bring crucial information to the X-Men. That was before she was almost beaten to death by the Blood Brothers. She may perish now, but she won’t go down without a fight.
Forge and Tessa discuss Z’cann’s condition, while the young girl sleeps on the bed near them. Suddenly, Z’cann clenches her teeth and begins to shake. Her eyes dart open and she transforms into a creature of mammoth proportions. She leaps out of bed and grabs the nearest thing to her, which is Forge. Forge yells to Tessa to administer the sedative, as Z’cann begins to crush the man in her arms. Tessa injects the sedative into Z’cann’s arm and the girl reverts back to normal and falls unconscious. Forge thanks Tessa, but is now worried that the fight may have weakened Z’cann. It may take a miracle now to save her.
In the Citadel, Wolverine takes a quick peek around the corner into a room and spots three Ruul scientists. He tells Warbird to take the two on the right and he will take the other one. On three, the two leap into the room, take the Ruul by surprise and take them down. Bishop and Rogue follow Wolverine and Warbird into the room. Bishop searches among the machines in the room until he finds one computer in particular. Rogue tells him that she does not see an on-switch and jokingly asks him if he has some “magic key” on him.
Bishop tells Rogue that he does. Bishop raises his left forearm, which is wrapped up in bandages and tells Wolverine to make an incision about an inch deep and three inches wide and the point is if referring too. Wolverine comments that Charles is getting shifty in his old age if he is putting implants in Bishop. Bishop closes his eyes and winces as Wolverine cuts into him. He tells Wolverine that it was necessary in case he was discovered before he reached Earth.
Wolverine takes out the small device and asks Bishop if he is sure this is going to work. Bishop tells Wolverine that Xavier would not have sent him if he did not think it would work. However, there is only one way to find out. Bishop aims the device at the computer he is at. The device is actually the start switch for the computer and it sends out a focused laser beam at the computer, which turns it on.
Bishop begins to type on the computer and, after a few moments, it becomes clear to Rogue that Bishop may not be one hundred percent sure of what he is doing. Bishop explains that they are at the correct terminal, but the coding is so alien that he is unsure of how to proceed. Warbird stoically tells the others that the computer is of Kree design.
Bishop asks Warbird if she is familiar with it. Warbird tells him that her genetic make-up is both Kree and human. When she gained her powers, she also gained some Kree knowledge. However, she has no idea what to look for.
Rogue turns Wolverine and tells him that she does know what to look for. When she absorbed Z’cann’s memories, she also gained the knowledge that the Professor meant for the X-Men to have. Once she is in the system, they can find what they need. Wolverine realizes what Rogue is implying and tells her that he does not like the direction.
Rogue turns to Warbird and, standing like a scared little girl, she tells Warbird that she needs her help. She knows that she is asking a lot of her and it is the last thing she wants to do. When she stole her powers, she also stole her memories. Normally, she would remember everything that Carol would but, right now, her powers are unreliable, thanks to something that happened when she absorbed Z’cann’s memories. All the memories she has are unclear to her. Rogue continues and says that she does not want to ask this, but the world is counting on them and she sees no other way. If Warbird would allow her to make skin-to-skin contact, so she could gain the Kree knowledge, then she can find the information Professor Xavier sent them to find.
Wolverine tells Warbird that it is her choice and nobody is pushing her to do anything she is uncomfortable with. Warbird tells Rogue that at one point in time she would have trusted the devil rather than her. However, Rogue is right. They need to do this for the greater good. “I’m…I’m ready,” falters Warbird.
Rogue tells Warbird that she will be jealous and then puts her bare hands to Carol’s face. Carol gasps for air as she begins to feel her energy drain from her. Rogue stops and the dizzy Warbird falls back into the arms of Wolverine, who catches her. Rogue smiles, cracks her knuckles and tells the others that they have a world to save.
Ronan swings his hammer at Psylocke and Nightcrawler, who avoid him. Ronan tells the heroes that he has been given the duty of being the warden of their planet. By law, anyone who tries to escape Earth is punished by death. Goliath, who is much larger than Ronan, grabs the man from behind and tells the alien that he is not match for his might. Goliath restrains Ronan and tells the X-Men to watch out for the hammer because, last time, Ronan used it to teleport the Avengers back to Earth. Colossus tells Goliath that Ronan will not have a chance to use it and punches the man in the face.
Ronan uses his strength to rip himself free from Goliath and knocks the Avenger and Colossus down. Psylocke uses her psionic katana on Ronan and tells the man that her katana does not contain like Goliath; it cuts. Ronan screams in pain and tells Psylocke that he did not think it would be possible for someone from Earth to hurt him. He then turns around and shoots an optic blast at Psylocke, but Nightcrawler pushes her to the ground in time.
Ronan picks up his hammer from the ground but is perplexed when he finds that it is scalding hot. Thunderbird speaks up from behind and tells Ronan that his mutant power involves heat and flame. Neal becomes engulfed in fire and tells Ronan that he is heating his weapon to its melting point. He does not know what the melting point is, but is sure that they will all find out soon. Ronan raises his hammer to the air and emits a blast of light, which blinds everyone. Ronan tells the heroes that he has underestimated them, but he will do so no longer.
Ronan runs into another room and asks the Shi’ar men there about the status of the Ego-spore. One of the men tells Ronan that Ego has terraformed almost 60% of the Earth. Ronan tells the man that it is enough. He then asks if all the Earth bound receptors are in proper placement as he instructed. A Ruul confirms this. Ronan tells him to activate the transfer on his signal. He wants the power of Ego to be his. The Ruul tells Ronan the process is premature, but Ronan threatens to imprison the man on Earth for disobedience. The Ruul and Shi’ar men comply with Ronan and start the process. Almost immediately, Ronan is flooded with energy from Ego and it is more than he could imagine.
Nightcrawler and the others find Ronan and realize that they are in trouble. Ronan orders the scientists to give him more power. Ronan spots the heroes and realizes that they have come to witness the birth of a god. Nightcrawler tells everyone that the mission takes precedence and that they need to return back to the Quinjet. Ronan laughs as the group races back to the Quinjet.
Psylocke rounds the corner and immediately stops and tells the others that they have a problem. The four find themselves in front of the Quinjet, but with an army of Shi’ar troops in the middle. Before either side can attack, though, the wall behind Colossus is blown open. Rogue flies in and asks Colossus if they started the party without sending them an invitation. Psylocke asks Rogue if the mission was a success and Rogue shows her the disk they retrieved. She then tells them that they need to get it to the Avengers.
Before the heroes can step one foot in the direction of the Quinjet, Ronan destroys it. He then turns to the others and tells them that he is invincible. Colossus steps towards Ronan, but Rogue stops him and tells him that he has another idea. She goes over to an unconscious alien that was guarding an aircraft and figures that he is the pilot. She kisses him and then orders everyone onto the ship, including Bishop, who will not play martyr now that the X-Men just got him back. That is how they lost Shadowcat. Within seconds, everyone is onboard and Rogue lifts the ship off the ground, through a wall and back to Earth.
A Shi’ar troop asks Ronan if they should pursue the X-Men and Avengers. Ronan tells him to let the heroes go. They cannot go anywhere where he cannot go. Besides, he will need sport in the end and Earth’s heroes will do nicely.
On the other end of the barrier, past Pluto in another space station, an unusual quartet of heroes find themselves in a dire situation. The fours Skrulls, collectively known as Cadre K, sit in their prison cell after they attempted to raid upon the galactic council. Suddenly, the door to their cell opens and they look to see who is coming in. Professor Xavier sits in his hover chair and tells Cadre K that the time for deception has passed. Now is the moment to act and to end oppression once and for all. “One way or another,” says Xavier, “Humanity will no longer be caged.”
Second Story:
Several Years Ago…
Colossus and Illyana Rasputin ride a train back to Salem Center, New York. Piotr asks little Illyana if she had a good time in the city today. In Russian, Illyana tells her brother that the Guggenheim was amazing. Before she can continue any further, Colossus tells her to tell him in English. “Oh,” says Illyana, “I hev...good time.”
Piotr is happy to hear that and jokes that soon they won’t be able to keep her quiet. Suddenly, Piotr remembers that he forgot to stop by the Strand and look for the Sorolla book that he has been trying to find. He begins to wonder if he can find the time to go next week when the woman behind him asks him if he was at the museum today. She tells Piotr that she and her friends had a hard time seeing around him all day, because he is huge. Piotr smiles and apologizes, because his size can sometimes be a problem.
Piotr introduces himself and Illyana, who waves at the young woman in the baseball cap. The girl takes off her hat and introduces herself as Lex. She goes to the Rister School in Sleepy Hollow. Piotr recognizes the school name and realizes that Lex wants to be a painter. He then points to Lex’s shoes and tells her that he would probably not think she is an accountant. Lex looks down at her shoes and realizes that Colossus is referring to the drawing of the woman on her right shoe. Lex tells Piotr that he wins that bet, but wants to know more about him. She asks Piotr if he is Russian. Piotr says he is and tells Lex that he is an exchange student of sorts.
Outside the train, a stalled pick-up truck sits on the tracks. The man in the truck desperately tries to get his truck starting, as the train approaches him. He realizes that he attempts are futile and runs out the truck in terror, as the train is about to his the truck. Violently, the train hits the truck and derails.
In the train, all the passengers are thrown out of their seats. Piotr turns into his steel form and catches Illyana. The lights in the train go out and he asks Illyana if she is all right. The girl is fine and Colossus tells her that he will try to see if they can get her out of the train and then help others who may be hurt. Colossus uses his strength to rip open the side of the train. The passengers disembark, but Illyana asks Piotr where Lex is. Colossus tells her to get to safety and he will look for her. He goes back into the train and calls Lex’s name and asks if she is all right. Suddenly, he stops and looks at the ground before him at the dead body of his new friend, Lex.
The next morning, Colossus goes into the woods and begins to punch his fists into a large boulder on the mansion grounds. From behind him, Wolverine appears with some flowers in his hand and asks Piotr if this has been going on long. Colossus asks Wolverine how long he has been watching him. Wolverine knows that Colossus is trying to change the subject and tells him that he is hiding something. Colossus tells him that he is not hiding something and just wants to be alone.
Wolverine lights a cigarette and asks Colossus if he saw the morning news. Last night there was a train wreck, which led to a lot of damage and loss of life. Survivors apparently saw a metal man. Colossus picks up another boulder and chucks it. He tells Wolverine that he was there. Wolverine asks if Colossus caused the wreck. Colossus tells him he did not and that he does not want to talk about it. Wolverine continues to persist and asks Piotr if he did what he could.
Colossus tells Wolverine that he would not understand, because he is not “cursed with feelings” like the rest of them. Wolverine takes out his cigarette and tells Piotr that he is right. However, they were talking about Colossus, not him. Colossus tells Wolverine one more time that he does not want to talk about it and turns away. He pauses and then tells Wolverine that he met a nice girl on the train. She was killed in the accident and there was nothing he could do to stop it.
Wolverine tells Colossus not to be stupid, because they are all bound to lose once in a while. Colossus punches his fist into the boulder again and tells Wolverine that there is more. He was so concerned with saving Illyana that he ignored everyone else until it was too late. He was being selfish. His conduct goes against everything Xavier taught him and now Lex is dead because of him. Colossus stops punching the boulder and tells Wolverine that maybe it would be best if he just went back to being a farmer.
Wolverine is upset and tells Colossus that he does not care about Lex or Illyana. He has barely been here for a year and, at the first sign of trouble, he wants to pack his bags. That sounds more selfish than anything. Wolverine flicks his cigar at Colossus’ head and tells him that the X-Men are better off without a loser like him.
In a rage, Colossus smashes the boulder that Wolverine is on and knocks him to the ground. He holds the man down and asks him how he could be so callous and cruel. Wolverine pops his claws out and bets that adamantium can beat steel. Wolverine tells Colossus to let him up and then tells him that they cannot save them all. Colossus falls back and asks Wolverine why they cannot. Wolverine gets up and says that there in no point in asking. They just have to deal with it.
Colossus tells Wolverine that he wishes that he had acted differently. He was only thinking of something important to him. The other passengers deserved better. Wolverine tells Colossus that, between saving a stranger and Mariko, he knows who he’d pick. He then picks up his flowers and says that he is late for his date with her. He asks Colossus if he is going to be okay. Colossus gets up and says that he just has to deal with it.
Colossus looks at the picture he smashed into the boulder, which is the same drawing of the woman that Lex had on her shoe. As Wolverine walks away, he reminds Colossus that no one lives forever.
