'Cable. Are you all right?' someone asks the time-displaced teenage Nathan Summers, who stares back, wide-eyed, 'He. it. Whatever it was. It let me go' Cable utters. He rubs his head and exclaims that he wants payback, but that he is okay. 'Good' the other voice replies, before Cable remarks that Apoth wants the “end of all difference”, which sounds like genocide to him. 'I don't do genocide' Cable adds. Paige Guthrie a.k.a. Husk states that she heard Psylocke went crazy, and asks if she is okay. 'No, Husk. No more than we all are' someone tells her. Husk adds that she thought the whole point of this Krakoa thing was that they don't have to care about what happens to humans. 'Does that feel right to you? Living like that?' someone asks her. 'No' Paige admits, hanging her head. 'Bling?' someone remarks, to which Roxanne Washington tells them that if they are putting together a strike team, then she is in. 'We're not X-Force. We're unofficial. It might put you at odds with this place' Roxy is told. Roxy explains that she doesn't trust this place. 'I trust you. If you trust Psylocke, then I trust her too' Roxy adds. 'Copy that. I'll tell Psylocke we have a squad. And I'd be proud to stand with any of you' Laura Kinney a.k.a. X-23 exclaims as Cable, Bling and Husk all turn to her.
Elsewhere on Krakoa, Kwannon, who now goes by the name “Psylocke” is meditating in an area surrounded by a jungle. 'You hide your breathing and the sound of your movements. But the blades of grass beneath your feet betray you' Psylocke tells X-23 as she approaches her from behind. 'Take it up with the grass' X-23 mutters, before reporting that she has a team, and that when Apoth makes his move, they will follow them into the fight. 'I don't have a reputation, so you must have used yours' Psylocke supposes, before getting to her feet and turning to Laura, she thanks her. 'I didn't see it' Laura remarks. 'That vision you saw in the field. I didn't see it. But I believe you did. So what did it tell you?' Laura asks. Psylocke reports that it told her the world is born of opposites – gods and demons, Paradise and Hell, so whatever Apoth is, its opposite reached out to her to stop it. 'Why won't it... stop it?' Laura asks.
Psylocke asks Laura if she believes in God, to which Laura replies 'If you ask me, I'll sayy now, but like most people, I hope there's something out there. Some kind of power behind it all. That's as far as I get'. Psylocke informs Laura that the first time she killed someone, she wondered if God would stop her – punish her – if she would hear some kind of voice, and she even feared judgment. She glances down as she reveals that she never heard that voice, and remarks that her lover, Matsu'o told her that God creates, but the rest is up to the individual. 'Are you saying God is speaking to you?' Laura asks. Psylocke turns to walk away as she replies 'No. I'm saying whatever it is won't stop Apoth. But it's giving me a chance to. For all I know it's a part of him. As a child, I would have called it kami. Make sense of it if you must. I have to speak with Sinister about evolution' Psylocke calls out.
At Bar Sinister, the diabolical scientist sits on his “throne” and tells Psylocke that he is not the Wizard of Oz – he can't make a lion brave or give a beating heart to a man of tin. 'I know what you are, Sinister' Psylocke replies, informing Sinister that her most charitable description of him is someone who believes in unlocking potential. 'So unlock mine' she asks him. Psylocke adds that when Elizabeth Braddock left her, she took a measure of her power with her, and that her enemy is a consciousness hiding inside of fiber optics. 'I can only destroy him where he exists. Telepathy can aid me, but I need more power' Psylocke adds. Sinister tells Psylocke that she doesn't need power, she needs innovation.
Sinister holds up the Overclock tech and reports that he has analyzed the device she graciously shared with him, and explains that if Apoth uses it as a gteway to minds, he has made it a possible gateway to Apoth, but to test it, he needs to separate Psylocke's consciousness from her body, and the most efficient way to do that is through pain – extreme pain. Psylocke sits down and Sinister places the Overclock tech on the side of her head. He informs her that this is a controlled test – contained and in cyberspace. He explains that if this works, then Psylocke's consciousness will know Apoth's world, and here, Apoth cannot see her, while on Earth, it would be like walking into Apoth's kingdom alone. Sinister warns Psylocke that if it does not work, then her mind might shatter – there are risks, and he has even odds on the outcome. 'Do it' Psylocke instructs Sinister. Sinister leans down and tells Psylocke that she leaps toward pain like someone who feels they owe that to the world. 'Why are you still talking, Sinister?' Psylocke asks. 'Why, indeed?' Sinister replies as he clicks a button on the Overclock tech, switching it on.
Inside cyberspace, Psylocke appears to scream as data streams flash by, and a city materializes before her – Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates. The city is a throne to Apoth. It happens in a moment – a blink of violence and it is done. Apoth decides that this will be a fine place for him, as his servant and disciples attack, ravaging the city as Apoth washes upon their shores – and by peace, vows that he shall destroy many. Communication is broken, the world has no idea that Apoth is evolving – and the most advanced city in the world is now his.
Psylocke drops to the ground as Sinister asks her how it felt to be disconnected and whole at the same time – all mind, no body. Psylocke removes the Overclock tech and informs Sinister that she has felt that before, and asks if she can use this device to find Apoth. 'In his proximity, yes' Sinister replies. Psylocke thanks Sinister, who asks her why she cares about what happens to them, as Apoth can't come here. 'Let him infect the world. You owe it nothing' Sinister points out. But Psylocke tells Sinister that conscience isn't based on debt – conscience is purpose – and finally, she has.
Flashback:
'Little worm, look at you now' Kwannon's cloaked mentor utters as they sit in a room lit by candelight. 'You've kept this hatred for so long, haven't you?' Kwannon's mentor remarks. Kwannon raises her blade, as her mentor informs her that she has one more lesson for her. 'After your killing stroke, don't let go of your anger' Kwannon's mentor adds, pointing out that her anger is the only thing that she will ever be able to trust – that she should trust it as a butterfly trusts its wings, and then it will never let her fall. Kwannon's mentor drops her walking stick and tells Kwannon not to waste her time, that she is out of her chrysalis, and that she needs to spread her wings. 'Violence is all you will ever be, Kwannon. I have accomplished my task' the mentor announces, before Kwannon swings her blade, killing her mentor as blood splatters across the room.
Present:
The sun shines down on Betsy Braddock as she stands on a slope, her psi-sword raised overhead,. Kwannon stands several feet away and draws her own blade, copying Betsy's moves as Betsy practices with her sword. 'We. We together. One body and mind. We. Together' Kwannon thinks to herself, kneeling at the same time as Betsy kneels. Kwannon hangs her head, she decides that she cannot blame Betsy, and that she will forgive her – once she can no longer feel her – and they are finally apart. Betsy turns around, sensing Psylocke's presence, but Psylocke is already walking away.
Elsewhere: 'Show me' Laura exclaims as Husk and Bling stand nearby, while Cable stands several feet away from them across a field. Husk announces that she will go first. 'Whatcha got, Baby Cable?' Husk exclaims as she pulls her skin off, revealing a stronger form underneath, that the energy fired by Cable's gun cannot penetrate. 'Lemme hold that for a second' Bling smiles as she places a hand on the gun, and then breaks it in two with ease. 'When you're made of diamonds, the rest of the world feels like paper' Bling declares. X-23 tells Paige and Roxy that that was a good start, and asks which of them thinks they can hit her. 'If I hit you, I'll leave a mark' Husk boasts. 'If you hit me' Laura points out, as she uses the blade on her foot to draw a line in the ground, and instructs the others to cross it.
Husk, Cable and Bling rush towards X-23, who uses her claws to knock back Husk and Bling, and leans back as Cable attempts to punch her in the face. She then blocks Husk who attempts to punch her again. 'Let me not lead them the way I was led. Let me not teach them the way I was taught. Be more than the forces that have created you' Psylocke thinks to herself as she approaches her companions, 'Enough' she calls out to them, informing them that she knows what city Apoth has chosen. Everyone looks over to Psylocke, who thinks that she must be more than this war. Psylocke introduces herself to everyone and tells them that some of them may have known this body, but they do not know her. She tells the younger mutants that she is asking them to leave Heaven to fight with her in Hell, and admits that she does not deserve their trust. 'But if you give your trust to me... I will die to protect you' she assures them. 'I will kill to protect you. Your lives are more important than my own. I give you my word'.
Psylocke kneels before the other mutants and asks them to give her the honor of leading them. 'She always this dramatic?' Bling asks, turning to X-23, who tells hr that she once say Psylocke smile. Husk steps forward and informs Psylocke that her father died in a coal mine, and that she has been fighting her whole life to make that feeling go away. 'I head this...thing...likes killing children. There ain't no paradise worth letting that happen' Husk declares. Husk holds out her hand and adds that if this place is Heaven, then she guesses they are angels. 'When I read the Bible, angels had swords made of fire' Husk remarks, before the others all extend their hands, joining them together. 'Angels are warriors. So let us stop this madness' Bling suggests.
Later, Magneto, the Master of Magnetism floats towards Psylocke and tells her that when he was a boy, in the camps, a man once told him that they are only what happens to them as children. 'I would tell you to let humankind save itself from what it has created. And I would mean those words, Psylocke' Magneto adds. Magneto tells Psylocke that she wants justice – that she wants to be justice, and that the boy inside him will always understand that. Magneto tells Psylocke that she is rare among them, that she understands the gift of Krakoa, she understands Heaven because she has lived through Hell. Magneto informs Psylocke that she never needs to ask his permission to act again, that she has his trust, his will and assistance. Magneto uses his powers to tear open the ground, a large gully forming, as he tells Psylocke to let Apoth know that mutantkind still watches the world. 'Show this god of machines a higher power. And rain your vengeance from the sky' Magneto exclaims, as a jet rises up from the gully.
Elsewhere, Apoth declares that this city his his throne, and soon, the world will be his kingdom. 'She will hear this suffering and she will come. But do not fear. You are safe in the union. Safe from judgment. In Dubai, civilians begin to appear wearing the Overclock technology on their heads, as Apoth tells them that they are part of the one-mind, that the world will join them and difference will end. 'Prepare for everlasting peace' Apoth utters.
Apoth is able to see the jet that Magneto gave Psylocke, and inside the jet, Cable reports that they will touch down soon. Psylocke tells Cable and X-23 to assume from here on out that Apoth can see them. 'Let him see us' X-23 replies as she reaches out and puts a finger on Psylocke's hand.
'Rejoice' Apoth thinks. A hooded figure with a strange body can be seen. 'Mother is here' Apoth utters.
