The Factory, Alaska, home of an X-Men team, who are currently awaiting one of their members to join them for a meeting. 'Seriously, where is she?' Quentin Quire complains. Scott Summers a.k.a. Cyclops, sporting his new black and yellow costume, stands with his arms folded and tells Quentin to be patient, and that he is sure Psylocke is on her way. Also in the room are Magik who is busy with her Soulsword, Temper, who leans over a chair and Juggernaut, who stands near a wall. Quentin tells Cyclops that the briefing was supposed to start a half hour ago – which means it should have ended a half hour ago. 'And now I'm stuck here with you, when I could be doing literally anything more interesting' Quentin mutters, when suddenly: 'Sorry for making you all wait' Kwannon a.k.a. Psylocke remarks as she enters the room. Kwannon claims that her flight from Palmdale was almost canceled due to the blizzard. 'From – what?' Quentin asks. 'Really? That garbage fire of a town? Psylocke, what the %$^& were you doing in Palmdale?' Quentin exclaims.
(a few hours earlier)
Kwannon drops down through a glass ceiling, falling backwards, she shoves her psi-knife through the heads of two men wearing suits as broken glass falls around them all. Several other men in suits begin to run through the warehouse in Kwannon's direction. 'Where the hell did she come from?' one of them calls asks. 'Who even -?' another begins, as Kwannon effortlessly dodges each of them, moving past them eith ease and taking each of them out with her psi-knife. 'She moves like a ninja!' one of them cries. 'Dude, you can't just -' another begins. 'No, he's right – a real ninja!' another exclaims, while others cry out in pain as Kwannon takes them out. With all of the men taken out, Kwannon moves behind a series of boxes stored high, and finds a girl. 'Mila Acker?' Kwannon asks. 'Yes?' the girl responds, before Kwannon uses a katana to slice open the ropes shackling the girl.
Kwannon smiles at Mila and informs her that her father hired her to find her, and that she is here to bring her home. 'But... you're a mutant. My dad hates mutants' Mila remarks as she takes Kwannon. 'His political career doesn't have to be your path forward' Kwannon points out. 'And he's not the one I'm rescuing' Kwannon adds. But as they turn to head back through the factory, more men in suits rush towards them. 'There are more of them! What do we do?' Mila asks. 'You're going to take a nap' Kwannon tells her. 'What?' Mila asks, before Kwannon shoves her psi-knife into the girl's head. 'Lady, did you just kill her?' one of the men asks. 'She killed everyone else, too!' another of the men exclaims. But Kwannon explains that her psi-blades affect the mind, not the flesh, and confirms that no one here is dead. 'But they won't remember any of this. And neither will you' Kwannon declares as she puts Mila over her shoulder and raises her psi-knife as she prepares to confront the other men. The men open fire, but Kwannon dodges them all, and shoves her psi-knife into each of them as she rushes past them. Kwannon leaps back up through the rooftop and tells Mila that it's time to get her home.
Shortly, 'Mila!' Mila's father exclaims when he finds her on his doorstep. 'Dad? I'm okay' Mila responds, while Kwannon watches from the shadows nearby. 'Are you hurt? What happened?' Mr Acker asks. 'I – I can't remember exactly. But I think...I think I got really lucky' Mila responds.
(present)
'Hello? You gonna answer my question?' Quentin snaps, annoyed. '...nothing important' Kwannon responds. 'Glad you made us wait for “nothing important”!' Quentin shouts. 'He complains so much' Magik mutters. 'Don't I know it' Temper frowns. 'All right, everyone. Enough' Cyclops tells his team, before informing them that he has received word of potential 3K activity in Columbus, Ohio. 'Ugh, more adult mutants suddenly activating their x-genes?' Quentin asks. 'That's right. If it is 3K, we need to handle it quickly' Cyclops announces. The team stands up and as everyone starts to leave the room, Kwannon asks when they are leaving for Columbus. 'Right now – but you aren't coming with us, Kwannon' Cyclops responds, informing her that he is benching her.
'What? Why?' Kwannon asks. Hands on hips, Cyclops explains that he is putting Kwannon on mandatory vacation leave. 'Vacation – I don't have time for vacation' Kwannon responds. She points out that people are killing mutants. 'They took Krakoa from us, and it wasn't enough for them. It will never be enough until mutants are eradicated from this planet and every other one. You need me on this mission, Scott' the frustrated Kwannon exclaims. Cyclops responds by asking Kwannon when the last time that she slept was. Kwannon folds her arms and looks away, as Scott rubs his forehead and tells Kwannon that being squad leader means he has to do what is best for the team – and that includes her. 'You're not a machine. You're a person. Not a weapon. You need to take care of yourself...and if I have to use my authority to force you to do so, I will' Scott points out. Kwannon just scowls at him, before Scott follows the others out of the room and tells Kwannon to take some time to rest – a week or two, but until then, she is out.
Soon, the X-Men depart and Kwannon stands on a snow-sled, watching her teammates depart. She doesn't like being alone with her thoughts – or maybe it's just that she doesn't want to be alone. It is a new feeling and it scares her. Every time she puts her trust in someone, they have used her – but she doesn't blame them. Beams of light shine from the snow-sled as Kwannon makes her way through the snow-covered terrain. Kwannon tells herself that John Greycrow is different – he knows what she is – and he is not afraid of it – or her. John has blood on his hands, too – he is a criminal full of regrets with a past he will never shake, but he understands her on a level no one else does – and he accepts her without asking for anything in return. The snow-sled comes to a stop near a wooden cabin. Kwannon isn't sure how to deal with John's feelings for her – but she knows she would like to learn. The door opens and John appears. 'Can I come in?' Kwannon asks as she approaches him.
Later, Kwannon and John are asleep under heavy fur blankets. 'No...I can't...' Kwannon utters as she stirs in her sleep. 'Kwannon? Hey, wake up -' John calls out as he leans over to her. 'No...don't touch me!' Kwannon cries out as she suddenly sits up in bed, grabbing John's cybernetic arm and holding her psi-knife against it. She then flips herself around so she is on top of John, raising her psi-knife to his neck, as John calls out 'Kwannon! It's me!' Kwannon suddenly gasps and falls backwards. 'John! I didn't – I'm sorry. I wasn't awake' Kwannon responds. John assures her that it is fine, and that he doesn't even have a scratch. Kwannon puts her hands up to her face and tells John that he shouldn't have woken her up – as she could have killed him. 'That's what my healing factor's for' John responds.
But Kwannon tells John that he doesn't understand: 'I was still asleep and I almost put my psi-blade through your eye' she utters, while reminding John that the Hand groomed her to be an assassin from the time she learned to walk. 'Killing is easy. It's been trained into me so thoroughly that it's a reflex' Kwannon explains, before informing John that is not who she wants to be anymore. 'But I was made for violence. What if violence is all I'm good for?' Kwannon utters. John puts a hand on the anguished woman's face and remarks 'From one weapon to another...we're more than what people tried to make us'. He tells Kwannon that the Hand wanted a heartless assassin, but that there is nothing heartless about her. 'And you definitely need to get some sleep' he adds, to which Kwannon responds 'Sleep can wait' as she places her lips to John's.
The next morning, in Anchorage, Alaska, Kwannon makes her way down a dock where several people in fishing boats are busying themselves. She ignores her mobile phone buzzing in her pocket as she was hoping for a peaceful start to the day. However, there aren't many people who know her number - and only one who calls incessantly. Kwannon sighs as she answers the phone: 'Devon Di Angelo...what is it?' she asks, while realizing that this is a mess of her own making. Kwannon recalls rescuing Devon from an underground lab in Minneapolis where they were being forced to develop anti-mutant weaponry. At the time, Kwannon didn't realize Devon was still a college student, or that they had their fingers in every corner of the dark web.
Sitting at a desk in their room, Devon asks if they called at a bad time, before asking how Palmdale was. 'I got the wire transfer from Mila's dad, soooo I figured the mission went well' Devon remarks, adding that they could have left a message, but they knew she would eventually pick up. Devon appears to be working on some sort of drone, while Kwannon thinks that, apparently, Devon imprinted on her, because she has been getting packages ever since – with gadgets tailored to work with her psychic powers. She never gave Devon an address, or even her phone number – but at this point, she has just learned to accept it. 'I'm starting to regret saving you' Kwannon frowns 'Aw, you don't mean that. Or maybe you do. That's fine' Devon, who wears large round glasses, smiles.
Devon turns to another desk with a series of monitors and informs Kwannon that, either way, they have a new lead for her. Devon reports that an anonymous tipster alerted them to a party hosted by A.I.M., where apparently, they have developed a new variant of Mutant Growth Hormone – only no one is sure what it does, but it is allegedly even deadlier 'The question is, of course...where are they getting their “ingredients” to make it?' Devon asks. Kwannon frowns and asks Devon to send her the coordinates for the party. 'Great. How do you feel about warm weather?' Devon asks.
Lately, in Phoenix, Arizona, the sun begins to set over the city, as Kwannon, wearing a high-cut black dress and a mask over her eyes arrives at the building where the “party” is being held. 'Your invitation, Ma'am?' an A.I.M. operative asks as Kwannon approaches the entrance. 'Of course. Will this do?' Kwannon asks, holding up card, and using her telepathic power to make the operative think it is her invitation. 'Yes, Ma'am. Go on in' the agent responds. Kwannon walks past the A.I.M. operative, the card in her hand is shown to be a “Buy 7 get 1 free” coffee card. Kwannon makes her way through the grand room where the “party” is being held, and telepathically asks Devon if they can hear her. 'Like you're in the room with me. In my head, I mean' Devon can be heard responding. Kwannon tells them that their invention works, to which Devon replies 'Eh, it's just a little thing. Proof of concept'. Kwannon picks up a champagne saucer and walks past a waiter carrying some food.
Devon looks at a monitor and informs Kwannon that the device amplifies her psychic thought projection over long distances, before asking her if she ran into any trouble on her way in. 'All I had to do was touch the security guard's mind and he let me pass' Kwannon responds, before telling Devon that she would like a surveillance update. The monitors in front of Devon display several rooms within the building, and they inform Kwannon that the ballroom has four fire exits, each heavily guarded by mercenaries. Devon reports that there are 24 affluent guests on the list, most of whom are in attendance, and a pair of state senators are doing lines in the third-floor bathroom with the entire c-suite of an oil company. 'Classic' Devon remarks.
Kwannon asks if there are any signs of the A.I.M., while continuing to make her way around the ballroom. Devon informs Kwannon that is the weird thing – they haven't seen A.I.M. all night. Devon adds that, according to the blueprints, there is another room under the stage, but none of the security cameras cover it, before asking Kwannon how the situation is in the ballroom. Kwannon walks amongst the guests and picks up their thoughts with ease. 'God, look at those legs'. 'She's so drunk. Just a couple more flutes of champagne and she won't remember this at all...'. 'Is that who I think it is?' 'Isn't he married? His wife's not here – now's my chance'. 'If we can patent this new type of MGH, we could make billions'. 'I hate him. I hope he dies'. 'I've always wanted to be special' are some of the thoughts that Kwannon picks up on. 'Candy, miss? No MGH in here, but lots of other goodies. Pick a pill and see if you get lucky' a waiter asks, holding a tray of pills towards Kwannon, who replies 'I'm good'.
Kwannon makes her way into another room, whhere a female A.I.M. agent stands on a stage with Donald Pierce and Skullbuster. The A.I.M. agent bids all of the guests a good evening, and remarks that she hopes they are all enjoying themselves. 'On behlaf of A.I.M., thank you for joining us to celebrate this exciting innovation in Mutant Growth Hormone technology' she announces. Devon's voice can be heard in Kwannon's mind: 'Found them. And they've hired Donald Pierce and Skullbuster as security' they report. 'The Reavers? Geez' Kwannon responds, while the A.I.M. agent tells the guests that she is sure they are all familiar with the fast-acting MGH pills and injections, which offer a quick burst of mutant power, only for the effects wear off just as quickly. The agent holds up a small plastic bag containing what she describes as a slow-release microderm needle patch, and explains that one simply applies it regularly to their skin to introduce a highly concentrated steady does of MGH into their body. 'Mutation in a packet' the agent declares, informing guests that they will find a sample in their goody bags.
The A.I.M. agent then suggests that they get onto the main event of the night: 'The auction!' she announces as a platform rises up from the stage – where five children appear to be shackled to the platform. The A.I.M. agent announces that these are five young mutants who have recently come into their power – the perfect ingredients for MGH extraction! Kwannon looks shocked, and remembers her time as a child.
(flashback)
A young Kwannon and and one other child remain as a third child is dragged away by a Hand ninja. 'Two candidates left. Which will you pick to train, Master Hayashi?' one of the ninjas asks. 'I'll take them both' Master Hayashi responds, pointing at the children. Kwannon frowns while the other girl looks scared.
(now)
The A.I.M. agent announces that bidding begins at $500,000 for mutant number one. 'Do I hear 500L?' she asks. 'Oh, God. They're selling off children. Wait. Psylocke – where are you going?' Devon can be heard asking as Kwannon moves closer to the stage. '510K!' a man calls out. '550K!' a woman offers. The bids keep increasing – 575K, 600K, 620K – then suddenly, Kwannon pushes the people at the front of the group aside, while Devon warns Kwannon that there are too many of them, and that security is on high alert. 'We have to wait for the right -' Devon begins, before Kwannon grabs a surprised man's bidding number and holds it up in the air, announcing that she will take all of the children. 'Perfect. The set of five will be $2.5 million' the A.I.M. agent responds. 'Done' Kwannon tells her. 'Here it is' Kwannon reports as she leaps up and shoves her psi-knife through the agent's head.
'You $#%&! I'll put you in the ground!' Skullbuster boasts as he opens fire at Kwannon while she pulls the children to safety. 'Watch out!' Kwannon exclaims, while Donald Pierce asks Skullbuster what he is doing. 'We were hired to protect the guests, not gun them down!' Pierce exclaims, to which Skullbuster suggests that they had better run faster. 'Hide! Now!' Kwannon tells the children, before she leaps upwards and darts across the stage in spectacular display, dodging all of the shots Skullbuster fires at her. 'Why won't you hold still?' Skullbuster shouts, before Kwannon drops down behind him and shoves her psi-knife into his head. 'No one ever taught me how' she tells him as he screams, and pleads for her to get out of his head. Searching through Skullbuster's head, Kwannon eventually finds the children in his memories. 'I see them...did you listen when they told you to stop?' she asks him as Skullbuster pleads for Kwannon to stop.
'You and A.I.M. tore children from their families. This is the least you deserve' Kwannon responds, before warning Skullbuster to tell her where he found the children, or else she will peel his mind like an orange. But Kwannon soon learns that the children were trafficked from everywhere – not just this country. 'Help! Help me!' one of the children pleads. 'Please let me go home' another asks. A disturbed Kwannon learns that there are more children, too, before she exits Skullbuster's mind, and Donald Pierce appears, pushing her back as he snaps 'You weren't on the invite list, mutant!' Skullbuster crawls away and thanks Pierce, but Pierce just tells Skullbuster to shut up, and points out that if he had done his boj, then he wouldn't need to clean up after him. 'Hey, you wanna know how to deal with a mutant who can outrun a machine gun?' Skullbuster asks. Pierce holds Kwannon up by her neck, and tells Skullbuster that he is an idiot.
Skullbuster reaches towards the MGH patches which have dropped to the stage nearby. Each of those MGH patches has a different effect. Now I'll get to see all of them in action!' Skullbuster responds as he slaps the five patches onto his bare neck. 'Five times the patches, five times the power! Look at me! I'm -' Skullbuster calls out as his arm begins grow deformed, and suddenly, he breathes fire from his mouth. 'Whusshappen...' he utters as his body continues to distort further. 'Pieerrcce...' Skullbuster groans. Kwannon looks over to where the five children are still hiding, and she realizes that the fire Skullbuster breathed is starting to spread. 'I won't – no I can't let them die!' Kwannon tells herself as she reaches behind her shoulder and pulls a small blade which she then uses to cut Pierce's arm off, causing him to release his hold on her.
Muscle memory kicks in, and every moment is natural for Kwannon as she leaps towards the transformed Skullbuster, which blasts energy at her. She dodges the blasts and shoves her blade into Pierce's side as he continues to attack her. Kwannon knows that her blade is an extention of her – her will and her resolve. She rushes towards the transformed Skullbuster once more, and she wonders why her resolve wasn't enough. She shoves her katana into Skulbuster's chest, and he begins to revert to his regular appearance. Kwannon remembers telling Greycrow that killing was a reflex. This isn't what she wants to be, but it was so easy to fall back into it. It's horrifying, she knows she should feel horrified – but what scares her – is that she doesn't. As the flames spread, Kwannon stands on Skullbuster's body, blood-soaked katana in one hand, and telepathic butterfly signal glowing around her face.
