In the TV news Manoli Wetherell fills in for Trish Tilby and reports about recent developments regarding the situation in Genosha. The US have placed the island under economic and diplomatic sanctions, however Genosha still shows no intentions of releasing the captured mutants and continues with it’s plans to put them on trial with a maximum penalty of death.
At night in Hammer Bay, Rictor and Boom-Boom try to reach the american embassy, but they are recognized by a Magistrate patrol. Suddenly they are hit by fireworks. Jubilee, Wolverine and Psylocke enter the scene and battle the well-trained Magistrates, the patrol leader is able to majorly injure Logan with a special weapon before she is taken out by Psylocke’s psychic knife. The officers are tied up and Rictor asks if they are part of a larger rescue team, but Wolverine declines. As far as he knows they are the only ones (Logan, Jubilee and Betsy last appeared in South Asia). Betsy gathers all of Rictor’s and Tabitha‘s knowledge on Genosha telepathically and fills in Wolverine about the events too. Also she senses that other X-Men and X-Factor have arrived on the island. It is decided that Betsy and Logan put on the Magistrate uniforms and try to infiltrate the citadel to check on Wolfsbane and Storm, while Jubilee is assigned to look after the powerless Boom-Boom and Rictor.
On TV Manoli Wetherell hosts a debate about the Genosha crisis. The two speakers are the Genegineer David Moreau and Moira McTaggert. Moreau makes a reasonable case, that mutants are dangerous and because the X-Men commited acts of terrorism on Genoshan soil, they should also be judged by Genoshan law. Moira reacts angered and points out that one of the captured mutants is her ward (Rahne) and that the girl has never been to Genosha before. The Genegineer replies that the captured mutants themselves claimed to be associated with the X-Men, and that Moira should asks herself why her ward consorts with known criminals. Ms. Wetherell asks if Genosha is aware that capturing a few of the mutants might provoke a response from the other mutants team, but Moreau uses this comment as another chance to point out the danger of mutants. After the interview Chief Magistrate Tam Anderson congratulates Moreau on the way he handled himself. They also talk about the strange manners and clothes of Moira MacTaggert, which seemed to be totally out of character regarding what information they have filed on her (a foreshadowing of her possession by the Shadow King during the Muir Island Saga) Tam fills in the Genegineer that X-Factor and X-Men have arrived on the island, they are both concerned that the decisions of Cameron Hodge and the president will damage the country.
Later Dr. Moreau is alone in his office and stares at a photograph of his son Phillip who left the island together with the mutate Jenny Ransome (Uncanny X-Men 238). He actually questions the whole society system of Genosha as he is surprise-attacked by Storm, who earlier escaped her prison cell. She has a knife and takes Moreau hostage, she even thinks about killing him to prevent the mutate process from ever being used again, but the Genegineer says that Hodge is the real enemy. Suddenly the monstrous Cameron Hodge and President Madame Reneau appear in the office. The commander easily defeats the powerless Ororo with his mechanic tentacles and is about to kill her as the Genegineer demands that she is too valuable for his genepool. For once the president sides with him and Hodge is forced to agree, but only if she undergoes the mutate process without further delay.
Wolverine and Psylocke are on the way to the citadel on the Magistrate’s hooverbikes as suddenly Betsy is able to make telepathic contact with Ororo. Storm is undergoing the first steps of the mutate process and screams in agony, and Psylocke too is in pain from the psychic backlash. Her aircraft spins out of control and Logan jumps over to help, yet they crashland. Since they are still dressed as Magistrates, a rescue team mistakes them for colleagues and Betsy and Logan are brought into the citadel. Once inside they demand to see the Genegineer, but before they can interrupt the mutate process used on Storm, the pair is recognized by Havok. A fight starts and since Havok does not remember his time with the X-Men, Betsy is forced to take him out with her psychic knife. Seeing what became of him she feels guilty for having him sent through the Siege Perilious (Uncanny X-Men 251); being killed by the Reavers would have been a better fate than being reborn as a genoshan Magistrate. The two X-Men try to reach Storm in the mutate processing chamber, but are intercepted by Cameron Hodge. Again they have to fight, but the couple is exhausted and they are no match for the many built-in weapons of Hodge’s mechanical body. Yet they keep him occupied for a short time, during which the Genegineer is able to alter the configurition of Storm’s mutate process without anybody noticing. As Cameron Hodge holds the defeated X-Men, the mutate process cycle is completed and the pod opens. Hodge eagerly shows his captives what became of their former leader. Storm is now bald and has the number 20 tattooed on her forehead; from now on she will only be a mindless mutate.
