The Inhumans silently gaze upon Quicksilver, who has bared his chest to reveal the Terrigen crystals are now a part of him. His estranged wife, Crystal, recalls that there was a time when the sight of him would take her breath away. He was so beautiful. What’s wrong? Pietro asks her smirking and addressing her as “my love.” Cat got her tongue? Their daughter Luna asks what’s wrong with him. Crystal thinks to herself Luna should not see her father like this.
Pietro addresses them: he knows what they are thinking, but their priests would do the same if only they had his insight. Medusa demands he explain himself.
It’s actually not as bad as it looks, he replies. It doesn’t even hurt anymore. He did this after the Americans took the crystal from him on Genosha. All he had left were a handful of fragments. But that was enough for what he needed.
Flashback:
He communed with the Terrigen mists for six days and nights. On the seventh day, he experienced a moment of absolute clarity. He saw what he had to do. He stuck the crystals hard into his chest. His body welcomed them. As they pierced his flesh, his mind was filled with a blinding light.
present:
Then he became one with the crystals, Pietro announces. With these hands, he can heal. Do they understand? he demands They chose him. Take him back to Attilan. Tell their precious genetic council that he has the power to bestow Terrigenesis.
Is he insane? Medusa demands. When he was last in Attilan, he committed murder! He stole the sacred mists of Terrigen and started a war. There is a sentence of death upon him, should he ever return.
Crystal thinks to herself that, through all the troubles their race suffered, there has always been one constant. Black Bolt always stood as their center, an island of calm, the perfect example of self restraint. However, unsettled by the words of his mad brother, Maximus, Black Bolt suddenly and wildly attacks Quicksilver and Crystal realizes that no reconciliation with her husband will be possible. She wonders why Pietro doesn’t use his power of timetravel to escape the blows. Perhaps he believes he deserves this.
Luna begs her uncle to stop and Medusa finally restrains him with her hair, reminding him this is not their way.
A part of Crystal is crying out to run to Pietro and hold him. The weaker part. Luna does it though. Pietro tells his daughter not to worry. He could leave here any time but Black Bolt would keep coming after him. That’s why he decided to get this over with. He’d rather take a beating than spend his life anticipating one. A few days ago he timejumped. He will be arriving quite soon, in fact. He’ll still be alive after they leave. He knows because he’s seen it. A few bruised ribs, is all. He thinks he already has those.
Medusa remarks that, while they are aware of his time travel ability, how did he know to come here today? That’s too fortuitous to be coincidence. Not exactly a coincidence, he admits. There’s a child in Mutant Town named Layla. She knows things. She seemed to think it was important for him to see what would happen when they met, to know that Black Bolt is not actually going to kill him.
Luna looks at the darkness she perceives surrounding her uncle.
Outside the building, Layla Miller explains things to Jamie Madrox. For a while, there she was pretty sure Pietro was meant to die but, after she tried that and he survived-- Wait just a second! he orders. She tried to kill Pietro? He is totally evil, she excuses her behavior. If he isn’t killed he’s going to do something bad. Worse than decimation? Madrox asks. Worse than starting a war with the Inhumans? Yup, Layla assures him as they enter the elevator.
Madrox tries to take it in. So Pietro has to die. Actually, no, she replies. When it came down to it, she couldn’t kill him. See, he triumphs, she isn’t such a cold-blooded, little—Layla interrupts. She would have, but she couldn’t and that suggests that the bad things he’s going to do are supposed to happen. So they—have to keep him alive? Madrox asks, completely confused. For now, Layla agrees. They exit the elevator and walk toward the office. Don’t bother to knock, Layla orders. He is expecting them. What’s happening in here anyway? he wonders. Should they have brought Rahne and Guido with them? And what is the baseball bat she brought good for? It’s for him. She presses it into his hands as she opens the door.
Oh crap! Jamie mutters as he sees who is there. Layla on the other hand isn’t impressed. Maybe they haven’t heard, she tells the Inhumans, but they are X-Factor and Mutant Town is their territory! They want to mess with their people, they have to go through X-Factor first!
Layla, shut up, Madrox whispers. Heh, he mutters as Black Bolt towers before and over him. A moment later, the silent king has grabbed him by the jacket. Madrox squeaks hat he realizes they have issues with Pietro. So under the circumstances, he thinks they could make an exception here.
Black Bolt throws him to the ground. Automatically, Madrox creates a dupe. An aggressive one that attacks Black Bolt who hits him, causing another dupe to split off. He’s Madrox, the Multiple Man, Layla explains. They can’t beat him. Every time they hit him, another dupe is created.
With her hair, Medusa grabs one of the Madroxes, the original, and holds him up. Her husband has the power to cause every electron in his body to simultaneously collide with every adjacent electron. He wonders if Madrox has any idea what would happen then. Would each individual collision cause a duplicate to be created? She’s bluffing, one of the dupes claims while the other marvels that would be amazing. Let’s take him! is their decisions. Guys, seriously, the original calls from above. Not a good idea. He dissolves the dupes and suggests they calm down.
She told him she’d bring the cavalry, Layla tells Quicksilver. Now it’s his turn. She turns toward the Inhumans. Pietro has something to tell all of them. She urges him to tell them what he saw. What will happen because of him.
Luna points at Layla, shouting that something is wrong with that girl. Looking at her makes her sick! She doesn’t know what to make of Layla’s aura. Luna makes her feel kind of nauseous too, little miss cute as a button! Layla snaps back.
What did he see? Crystal asks her estranged husband. Hesitatingly he begins that this was after he sent Luna back to her. When he was using the Mists. Towards the end he achieved an altered state of consciousness…
Quicksilver’s story:
Before then he could only timejump a few weeks forward at most and remain in the future for less than an hour. But now he found he could jump further ahead. Months into the future. He was able to remain for several days. Enough time to learn that war had broken out between the United States and the Inhumans. Civilians had been killed and the hawks in the US administration were calling for decisive retaliation.
Suddenly the people on the street shouted out and looked up to the sky in horror. Pietro did too, seeing something terrible happening on the shadowed surface of the moon. A catastrophic release of energy visible to the naked eye. He knew where the explosion was located. The Blue Area. Attilan, he whispered in horror.
present:
What has he done? Crystal sighs. It’s too late for regrets and recriminations, Pietro insists. This event will happen. She has to send Luna with him. Attilan is not safe for her. With him? Crystal scoffs. Look at himself! He looks aside. With the Fantastic Four then, he urges. They are the Inhumans’ enemies now, Crystal replies. Because of him. Then take her to Atlantis or Wakanda, he begs. Somewhere she will be looked after in safety.
Luna speaks up and refuses. She is an Inhuman and her place is with her people. Black Bolt makes a gesture. They are finished here, Medusa translates. She warns Pietro that he is under sentence of death by order of the genetic council of Attilan. If his path crosses that of Black Bolt again, the penalty will be carried out. He shouts at Crystal to wait but the Inhumans teleport away.
Angrily he turns to Layla. This isn’t right. What Layla showed him was he with Crystal. She’ll be back in a few minutes, Layla promises. Just wait here. She and Jamie have to leave.
Outside, Madrox asks her if she is sure what she is doing. 95 percent give or take, she admits. She had to set it up this way or Pietro would have disappeared the moment Black Bolt appeared. He’s not good at confrontations. And what purpose does all this serve exactly? Jamie asks.
It’s very complicated, Layla replies. It’s about despair. Some people have to go all the way to the bottom, before they can start to climb back up. Well, he guesses Pietro is about as low as he can get, Jamie remarks. Not yet, is her reply.
Quicksilver appears before them, now all costumed, clearly from another time. He’s here against his better judgment, he announces to Layla. What is so important he had to jump three days into the future to see it?
Layla explains that Black Bolt has been here and he has worked future Pietro over a little. A few bruises, maybe a couple of cracked ribs. Pietro looks up. And he just took it? Why didn’t he get out? Because Crystal and Luna were here, too. There are some things he needed to say to them. About what he saw. Pietro clenches his fists, denying it. Yes, he does know what she is talking about! Layla insists. Anyway, it’s done. He’s told her everything just like he was supposed to. And when they get up there, he is just supposed to look. Don’t go inside or he will mess up everything!
Inside the building, the other Quicksilver from the present is putting on a shirt when Crystal reappears. He knew she’d be back, Pietro announces. She has something important to tell him, she states. He takes her hands, promising they can fix this. He loves her and Luna. They can be a family again. He has to wake up, she replies. It’s over. When he took Luna she formally applied to the Council for an annulment of their marriage. That annulment has been granted. But their marriage was on Earth- he protests, not—
She’s Inhuman, Crystal interrupts. That’s the only law she recognizes! What about Luna? he pleads. He’s her father. He must have the right-- Sadly she cradles his head as she explains he has no rights. Luna made her choice too. He will never see her again. She’s sorry. She gives him a farewell kiss.
Layla and the other Pietro watch through the slightly opened door but are too far away to understand the conversation. See, fight’s over, Layla tells him. He’s still alive and Crystal came back to make up. All’s well with the world. He’s seen enough, she decides and tries to drag him away. He wants to hear what Crystal said but it’s too late as he switches back to his time.
Madro admits Layla is full of surprises. That was actually kind of sweet. He thought she hated Pietro. She does, Layla replies and looks at present Pietro, dejected and alone. She really does.
On the moon in Attilan, Crystal remembers Pietro and tells herself she does not love him anymore. Luna joins her and admits she is frightened. When they were on Earth with her father—Crystal interrupts her daughter. She must not think about that. He’s sick! She mustn’t worry about what he said. She’s not afraid about that, Luna tells her. It’s her uncle. Black Bolt. She saw something in his head. Something really bad…
Until then, Crystal had always believed in Black Bolt. At the moment, she is certain of nothing. Perhaps this time they will perish with their city. Perhaps the time of the Inhumans is over.
In his jail cell, Maximus is expecting a visitor who prostates herself before him. Medusa kneels as Maximus promises he will make everything better…
