First Story:
Cyclops is in a prison cell deep within Magneto’s fortress. His hands are shackled behind his back, and a lead shield covers his eyes. He thinks to himself that too much time has passed since Warren escaped, and that he should have been back with help by now. To Scott, this can mean only one thing: the Angel must have been stopped by Magneto somehow, and as such the X-Men are doomed unless he can manage to break free.
As he has rested for a few hours, Scott knows that his powers are now at their peak. Unable to move his hands, he can’t open his visor, but Scott manages to force it open by blasting his eye beams at full force. Although that took already a lot out of him, Scott concentrates really hard, and also manages to blast through the lead band around his head. Turning his head to the side, he is able to destroy the shackles behind his back, effectively freeing himself.
After getting out of his cell, Scott is determined to find his teammates, as he knows he can’t take on Magneto alone. Unfortunately, he has no idea in where in the huge castle his friends are being held, and searching every single room might take hours. Scott lucks out, though, as in the first cell he checks he sees Marvel Girl. However, she is unconscious or in some sort of trance, and Scott decides that, in this state, she wouldn’t be of much use to him. He leaves Jean where she is and sets off to find Iceman and the Beast.
Cyclops’ efforts don’t go by unnoticed, though, as he is spotted by the Toad, who is once more cowering in some shadows. Eagerly, he runs of to warn Magneto of the X-Man’s escape, but is in turn spotted by Cyclops, who goes after him to make sure that the Toad will not reach his master. The hopping mutant manages to avoid Cyclops’ optic blasts and activates an iron panel that closes the hallway behind him. With a well-placed beam, Scott brings the panel to a temporary stop just long enough for him to jump through before the corridor is sealed off. However, he now finds himself in a bigger room with three doors, and has no idea which way the Toad went. However, reminding himself that he is the X-Men’s only chance, Scott refuses to give up.
(one hour before)
The Angel is still flying over the Atlantic. His wings get wearier by the second, but he flies onwards towards New York City, where he wants to alert the Avengers to his teammates’ dire situation. Warren also thinks back to his confrontation with the Red Raven, which caused his delay. He can’t get over the fact that the Raven chose to let him live and trust him with the secret of the bird people’s existence, when he had the chance to kill him. As the skyline of New York appears in front of him, Warren’s attention goes back to the crisis at hand. As he finally reaches the city, the Angel reassures himself that with the Avengers’ help they can stop Magneto’s plan to take over the world.
(present)
Back in Magneto's fortress, Scott has taken a good look at the corridors that the three doors lead into and, noticing a light at the end of one of them, he decides that this one is the most likeliest way that the Toad went. However, on a landing above the corridor, there is not the Toad but Quicksilver working on some machinery. Hearing some approaching, the speedster at first thinks that the Toad is spying on him again, until he sees Cyclops entering the room. The X-Men’s leader senses that he is being observed and slowly walks on, expecting an attack any second. However, Quicksilver doesn’t want a fight; instead he makes his presence known by leaping in front of Cyclops. Pietro says he wishes to talk, but Cyclops doesn’t trust Quicksilver and blasts an optic beam that the speedster is able to dodge.
In the meantime, the Toad has made his way to Magneto and informs him of Cyclops’ escape. Immediately, Magneto blames the Toad, as it was his job to make sure that the X-Men were securely imprisoned. Angrily, he declares that it may have been the last time the Toad has failed him and, despite the Toad begging him not to, Magneto begins to torture him with magnetic energy. The Toad cries out in pain and is shivering with fear as he begs for mercy. Disgusted, Magneto replies that even a sniveling coward such as he should withstand more suffering than that.
Lying exhausted on the ground, the Toad promises to serve in good stead from this day forward if he lets him be and is somewhat surprised that indeed Magneto backs away. However, the master of magnetism didn’t do so because he took pity, but because he considers the trembling, whining lackey before him unworthy of the exertion of his powers. Magneto orders the Toad to accompany him to a huge magna-screen, which he wants to use to check on the other X-Men. Magneto declares that they better are still imprisoned, for if he is even forced to waste a second battling the X-Men another time, the Toad will suffer like never before. Fear in his eyes, the Toad gazes onto the screen that will declare his fate.
Elsewhere in the castle, Cyclops threatens Quicksilver to get out of his way, but the speedster repeats that he would rather talk with the X-Man than fight. Cyclops decides to back down and listen what Pietro has to say. Quicksilver explains that they are both mutants, and as such should be allies rather than enemies. Since the first mutants appeared, baseline humans have been hunting and persecuting mutants, and now they finally have the chance to be at peace, as Magneto has the idea to set up a sanctuary - a separate country for mutants. That’s why, Pietro reasons, they have to follow Magneto; because he may be the best chance they have to ever live like normal human beings. Scott thinks to himself that Quicksilver must be wrong, even though his arguments make sense. Neither man notes that several feet above them there’s an arrow sticking in the wall, with a small device attached to it.
Pietro senses that he is getting through to Cyclops but, just as he wants to bring up further reasons, Scott replies that there’s no way he could be convinced that Magneto would do anything for the good of his fellow mutants. Scott studied under Professor Xavier for too long not to know that Magneto is only interested in his own agenda. He admits, though, that if he hadn’t met Xavier, then he might have fallen for Magneto’s ruse too but, thanks to the X-Men’s late mentor, Cyclops is absolutely sure that the right decision is to not join any movement in which Magneto is involved. Scott also tells Pietro that he must be a hate-blinded fool for not seeing that Magneto really cares about no one but himself.
Quicksilver, in return, considers the X-Men’s words “Homo sapiens sympathizing blasphemy.” He says that Cyclops had his chance to join the ranks of the Brotherhood but, as he declined, he is now their enemy. As he punches the X-Men’s leader in the face, he says that, if he doesn’t reconsider his decision, he may not leave the island alive. Scott tries firing his optic beams at the other mutant, but Quicksilver outruns them and tackles Cyclops from behind. The X-Man manages to grab Quicksilver and hurls him over his shoulder into a nearby wall, but the speedster is quickly on his feet again, not willing to make the same mistake twice.
The battle continues, with Scott being unable to score any direct hits, but his constant blasting forces Quicksilver to keep moving. He also knows that eventually his power will be drained. However, it doesn’t even come to that; Quicksilver rips off some graphite padding from a computer and smashes it onto Cyclops' visor, temporary blinding him.
In the other chamber, Magneto and the Toad observe the battle on the magna-screen. Magneto wonders why Quicksilver isn’t finishing his opponent now that he has the chance, and the Toad suggests that he may be exhibiting his prowess for Magneto’s pleasure. The master of magnetism orders his lackey to be silent, though, and reminds him to confine his eyes to the smaller screen below the big one, showing Iceman, Beast and Marvel Girl in their prison cell. The Toad promises to warn his master if any of the three Mutants dares even breathe, yet escape, but Magneto keeps on ranting and raving.
At that point, the Scarlet Witch enters the room, having heard Magneto’s shouting. She asks what the matter is, when she becomes aware of the huge screen displaying her twin brother fighting an X-Man.
Concerned, she asks Magneto to stop the battle before Pietro gets hurt, but Magneto tells her not to worry, as Quicksilver is more than a match for Cyclops. Not quite convinced, Wanda says that the X-Man looks rather grim and determined, but Magneto repeats that there is no need to worry – he is in complete control. Besides, if the former Avenger could not defeat Cyclops, he wouldn’t be of any use to him at all. In the kingdom of Magneto there will be no place for weaklings, Magneto thinks to himself.
Back at the fight, Cyclops is still unable to see, but he manages to grab Pietro. He knows that Magneto must have learned of his escape by now and that, even if he manages to overcome Quicksilver, he still has to face the rest of the Brotherhood, but he won’t give up. Yet, Quicksilver manages to break free, and takes advantage of Scott’s temporary blindness, landing blow after blow in his opponents face. Just as he starts to blacken out, Scott desperately fires his optic beam blindly. The blast ricochets off a machine and directly hits Quicksilver in the back, knocking him out cold. As his sight returns, Scott looks around and sees Quicksilver’s body before him. He fears he may have killed him and rushes over, finding that the speedster is still breathing and not seriously hurt.
Thinking that Pietro could tell him where Iceman and the Beast are being held, Scott tries to revive Pietro, when suddenly a voice behind him threatens him that Quicksilver is better unharmed. Scott turns around and finds Giant-Man pointing a finger at him. Next to him are the Black Panther, the Wasp and Hawkeye, ready to spring into action. The Avengers have arrived and they are not too happy seeing Cyclops on top of their fallen teammate.
Second Story:
Having learned the plight of a young mutant in Nassau County, Professor Xavier has dispatched his first X-Man, Scott Summers, to rescue Bobby Drake from a vengeful citizenry. However, after blasting a hole into the bars of jail’s window and venturing inside, Cyclops finds that Bobby Drake doesn’t want to be rescue. The teenager says that he only used his powers in self-defense and wants to await his trial to prove his innocence.
However, at the same time, a few angry citizens gather in the jail’s vestibule and argue with the local sheriff. They’ve brought rifles and want to kill the mutant before he has the chance to using his freezing powers again. The sheriff, though, tries to convince them to go home.
Climbing out of the window again, Scott tells Bobby that he wants to help him, but he needs to cooperate. After all, he reasons, there is no telling of what the angry townsfolk might do in their panic, so it would be better to leave now, while he still has the chance. Quite the stubborn one, Bobby still insists on staying. Cyclops decides to get rough, and uses his optic beams to blast a hole into the wall behind Bobby. Leaping forward towards the teenager, Cyclops pushes him through the hole he just created. The jail being located in the building’s first floor both Scott and Bobby are now in free-fall.
Acting on a reflex, Bobby suddenly ices up all over, which he has never done before. In their current situation, though, the two mutants hardly have the time to bother about the full extent of their powers. Fortunately, before they hit the ground hard, a large awning cushions their fall.
Hearing the noise outside, the angry townsfolk become even more agitated. Grabbing their guns and rifles, they rush outside, while the sheriff reminds everyone that there’ll be no shooting unless he gives the word. Once they reach the street, they become witness to the two mutants fighting.
Bobby Drake encases Cyclops’ upper body in a block of ice, but the X-Man has no trouble to free himself. As apparently the mutant teenager is not willing to listen to reason, Scott thinks there’s is only one way to save him, namely by defeating him. He punches Bobby in the face, trying to knock him out, but Bobby takes the punch better than expected. Thinking Cyclops to be some criminal who is trying to get him into trouble, Bobby runs away and hopes to elude the other mutant, so that he can turn himself back in to the authorities later. Scott chases after him, though, once again trying to convince the younger mutant with arguments rather than fists.
Seeing the pair of mutants run away, the sheriff is now also convinced that the Drake boy is up to no good, and tells the citizens not to let him escape – “no matter what.”
Having reached the nearby waterfront, Bobby finds Cyclops still hot on his heels and decides to try get away from him by boat. Scott shouts for his fellow mutant to wait and listen, as an angry mob is coming after them, but Bobby jumps on a motorboat and speeds away. The angry men coming closer, Scott turns around and uses his optic beam to destroy the landing stage, causing the sheriff and several others to fall into the water.
Still having his eyes on Bobby, Scott rushes to the far end of the dock, where he jumps of a bridge, right into the speeding motorboat. With a well-placed punch, Bobby tries to push Scott out of the boat but, as he doesn’t pay attention on where he’s driving, the boat crashes into a piling. The impact hurls both mutants back onto the pier, and the battle continues. Bobby creates blocks of ice to throw at Cyclops, who tries to keep the young mutant off balance by involving him in a hand-to-hand combat.
(ten minutes later)
Both mutants are rather exhausted, neither one has been able to beat the other. Bobby feels his ice power fade and Scott too has used up his entire supply of optic power. Right then, the sheriff makes his presence know. Standing behind the two mutant teenagers and pointing a rifle at them, he orders them to come along peacefully, or he’ll blast them into kingdom come. Too weak to even raise his hands, Bobby mutters, “No -- wait!!”
