After being aboard the Jinguichi Maru, the Japanese
ship that picked them up last issue, for six weeks, the X-Men arrive in Japan
to discover that huge firestorms are spread out all over the city! Wanting to
help somehow, Cyclops has Nightcrawler teleport to shore, where he signals the
all-clear for the others to fly over. With no identification or money, Cyclops
decides they should head for Sunfire’s ancestral home to ask for help from him.
They make their way through the city, helping those they can along the way,
until they make their way to the residential district hours later. They stop to
rest and Storm whips up a wind to keep the smoke at bay, while the fires
continue to rage over the city. Wolverine reads in a newspaper that most of
this area was evacuated due to early warnings of an earthquake, the cause of
the fires, revealing that he can read Japanese. Feeling that this disaster was
anything but natural, Cyclops feels it’s as imperative as ever that they
contact the Professor.
Speaking of, deep in space, Charles Xavier flies in a
Shi’ar imperial starship, accompanying Lilandra back to her home world. Back
with the X-Men, they finally make it to Sunfire’s home and Storm summons a fog
so they can enter undetected. While they make their way through the premises,
they are suddenly confronted by Sunfire himself, who is none too pleased that
the X-Men are skulking about his home. He’s prevented from arresting them by
Misty Knight, who reveals that the Prime Minister wants the X-Men inside, while
Cyclops wonders what Misty is doing there. Meanwhile, a mysterious truck pulls
up nearby with plans to strike at midnight! Inside, Sunfire argues with the
Prime Minister and his niece, Colleen Wing, that they don’t need the X-Men’s
help, despite Japan being threatened, while Colleen argues that they can use
all the help they can get.
Cyclops goes to find a phone and finds Misty finishing
up a call with her boyfriend, Iron Fist. Cyclops tries phoning the mansion but
finds that all of the phone lines have been shut down, before Banshee tells him
that Colleen is looking for him. Elsewhere, Wolverine muses about how he never
expected to return to Japan, before he spots a woman who takes his breath away
in the garden. She introduces herself as Mariko Yashida, Sunfire’s cousin.
Wolverine is about to tell her his real name when another earthquake strikes!
Wolverine protects Mariko, shielding her through the debris and finds that the
other X-Men are doing the same with the other civilians. Suddenly, the wall
explodes and the X-Men are confronted by the Mandroids, men in large mechanized
suits that Cyclops recognizes were designed to fight the Avengers.
They blast Sunfire, and Cyclops orders the X-Men to
hit them hard and fast! Nightcrawler jumps around, before teleporting from in
between two of the Mandroids, causing them to blast each other. Colossus
attempts to join the fray but gets swatted away, feeling like he hasn’t been
contributing much to the team lately. Wolverine, Cyclops, and Banshee take down
more of the Mandroids, before Storm settles the battle with a freezing rain,
obliterating the last of the mechanized suits. The drivers attempt to escape in
the truck but are stopped by Colossus, reaching up from the crater he landed in
and ripping the entire front axle off. As the X-Men finish up, a hologram
suddenly emanates from the Mandroid armor, showing their boss Moses Magnum, as
he promises to sink Japan if it’s not handed over to him! To be continued!