Within a black obsidian tower exists the brain trust, a group of six powerful telepath brains that help control the prisoners in the by psychically anesthetizing them, thus preventing the mere thought of uprising and escaping. Only a few inmates are immune to the Brain Trust’s psionic sedation. Two of these few, Tommy Chang and Samantha DuPris, are approached by an image of Magneto, intent of helping them escape. Close by Lorna Dane awakes and hopes to go with them, but ‘Magneto’ says he can’t take everyone. ‘Magneto’ leaves and Lorna is distraught as she can’t believe he didn’t recognize his daughter.
Later, Cyclops and Havok are at Apocalypse’ citadel talking about Sinister’s communication with the human council. They meet Apocalypse who isn’t surprised by Sinister’s betrayal. He thinks that Sinister has devised a plan to dethrone him, but he is not worried as Apocalypse always endures. Cyclops tells him that he shouldn’t underestimate Sinister. Apocalypse is impressed by Cyclops and tells him that in the coming conflict perhaps he might stand as his side as one of his Horseman. Havok is not happy to hear this. Apocalypse tells Scott that there will be many trials ahead before he earns the rank of a Horseman, but he’ll be watching him. Havok starts to tell Apocalypse that he has his allegiance, but Apocalypse cuts the conversation off before he finishes. As the brothers leave the complex on their motorcycles, Havok can’t believe how lucky Cyclops is and apparently gets everything handed to him on a silver plate. Cyclops tells him that he never wanted or asked for this. Havok can’t believe that Cyclops isn’t interested in the power and prestige of becoming a Horseman. However Cyclops tells him he is more interested in securing the pens and tells Havok to find out about the previous night’s breakout as he is off to meet with the Bedlam brothers. After Cyclops has gone Havok fires a blast at a wall in anger, he is sick of being treated like a child by his big brother and will kill him to prove his worth if he has to.
In the central security tower of the breeding pens, Havok is discussing the breakout with the Guthries. Elizabeth explains that according to the cameras in the area, the escapees had a helper, but he is wearing a field scrambler that cloaks his appearance. They think that who ever it is must have a damper implant like the Mutant Elite, otherwise he would have been slowed down by the Brain Trust. Liz mentions that the video tape shows a green-haired mutant who must have seen everything. Havok is pleased with her work and they head to sector 7-G to find her. On arriving they find her and Liz picks her up. Sam reports that she is prisoner number 3774, called Lorna Dane, and her file states she is mentally unstable. Havok asks her to tell them about the breakout and she says it was her father. Havok gets angry and asks her to not lie to him. She repeats that it was her father Magneto, but Havok disagrees and punches her in the face. Lorna reacts instinctively and blasts him with a magnetic storm, but is hit with a tazer from one of the Guthries. Havok is surprised to find she had use of her powers, and they wonder if she really could be Magnus‘ daughter, but Cannonball points out that her genetic scan was showed no match. It’s just a fixation on him. Anyway, Havok thinks the Brain Trust should have prevented her from using her abilities. Liz thinks its because she is mentally ill, which appears to give some immunity from the brain trust. Havok decides that he needs to get at the information in Lorna’s head and decides to take her to the Beast.
Arriving in the labs, the three Elite officers find the Beast working on a random generation of a protoplasmic anomaly. The purple/ grayish matter starts to take a human form but then collapses into itself. Beast is angry that it again failed. To cheer him up, Havok presents him with his gift, well aware that the Beast enjoys torture. Amazon straps the green haired woman to one of his devices and tells the Beast to watch out for her powers. Beast explains that he is already knows about her magnetic abilities as when she was captured a year ago, he examined her to see if she was Magneto’s daughter. He tells Havok her History.
(flashbacks)
Lorna’s parents were killed in the first Midwestern culling. She only survived because her latent powers kicked in. However a combination of the transformation and loss of her parents buried the reality of the events in her mind for a more fanciful one where Magneto was her dad. Eventually she later joined up with Rogue until it ended in conflict and Rogue absorbing half of Lorna’s magnetic intensity.
(present)
Havok sarcastically thanks beast for the story. As he walks off Lorna calls out his name and asks for help, however he just walks away.
On Liberty Island, Cyclops and the Bedlam brothers are searching the remains of Apocalypse’s statue for a trace of evidence of Sinister and what his plans are. Unfortunately they can’t find anything. Out of nowhere, the Angel drops in to speak with Cyclops. He tells him that he came to check out the rumors of Sinister’s disappearance. Cyclops thinks that the Angel might have known about it before it even happened, though Warren says that in this case, his contacts weren’t that good. He then tells Scott that he has heard rumors of full scale war with Europe, which would be bad for both of them.
At the Heaven nightclub Scarlett is rubbing Havok’s shoulders as he relaxes. He reminds her that she once tried to kill him, but she tells him that it was only because he was threatening her meal ticket. He tells her that she will soon be with the newest horseman. She thinks it’s the gin talking but he goes onto say that once Scott has gone he will be rewarded for his strength and cunning. She wonders exactly how that will be but he doesn’t want to talk about it. She tells him to be careful and that she thinks she has fallen in love with him. Before she can finish the sentence he tells her to not say it, after all she is a human. He leaves and Scarlett picks up the phone. She tells the person on the other end that Havok doesn’t suspect a thing, however she thinks things are getting to much and she needs a ticket out of there. After all Karma was arrested yesterday, and she fears what will be done to her when they learn that she is working for the Council too.
In the labs, Lorna screams in pain. Beast is attempting to extract the information from her but is not having much success due to the fact despite his inhibitors she is emitting an electromagnetic field that scrambles his equipment. He decides that he is going to have to do it the old fashioned way by cutting into her brain, however Cyclops arrives and stops him. He tells him that he is violating a direct order of the Kelly pact. He doesn’t agree with Beast who says he is only following Havok’s orders and interrogating Lorna. Cyclops tells him that they are on the brink of war and shouldn’t jeopardize a chance for peace. Beast on the other hand thinks Cyclops is naïve to believe that Apocalypse would not try to destroy the Human High Council. The Beast doesn’t like the fact that the pretense of reconciliation with the Human Council interrupts his engineering of the next generation of mutants, which he should be able to do now, with Sinister gone. Cyclops agrees with him in one point - Sinister has gone. That puts him in charge, and he blasts Beast’s machinery. He tells the Beast that if he challenges him again he’ll shut him down for good. He tells him to return Lorna to the pens and doesn’t want anything to happen to her on the way or he’ll be back. Lorna looks at Cyclopes as he walks away and sees ‘Magneto’.
Later that night a cloaked figure wakes Lorna up in the pens. He tells her to be quiet and leads her out of the pens towards the river, where a member of the underground will get her out. On the way Northstar and Aurora spot them. He wonders why they are not patrolling a different sector. Northstar comments that Havok reassigned them and wonders how this person knows so much about their schedules. The masked man hits Northstar with a blast from within his cowl and before Aurora can retaliate she is hit by a large piece of metal that Lorna has thrown at her. The cloaked figure thanks her for her help and they walk off as Havok arrives to see the unconscious bodies of Northstar and Aurora.
Later at a dock on the river, the cloaked figure hands over Lorna to Val Cooper who is amazed that he has been helping, as they didn’t think he was serious at first and thought it to be a trap. She tells him that he has saved many lives, and as the cloak is dropped revealing it to be Cyclops, he tells her he wishes he could do more. From a distance Havok observes them through his binoculars. He thinks to himself that he has finally got Cyclops this time.
