In the distant future of 2013, an older Kitty Pryde,
now named Kate Pryde, makes her way through a desolate and run-down New York.
She’s on her way to a meeting with Wolverine, before she gets accosted by a
group of thugs called the Rogues. Wolverine arrives and takes care of the
Rogues, handing Kate a small component for a jammer they’re building, and
promises to come back for her and the others at midnight. We then learn the grim
details of the current state of the world. Mutants have been mostly exterminated,
the few remaining made to wear inhibitor collars that nullify their powers and
put into camps, watched over by Sentinels. Kate makes her way back to her camp,
her excursion under the guise of official Sentinel business, passing the graves
of the many dead mutants and heroes, including those of Professor Xavier,
Cyclops, and Nightcrawler.
Kate reconvenes with the few remaining X-Men,
including Storm and Colossus, conveying Wolverine’s plan to break them out at
midnight. Also interred is an aged and wheelchair-bound Magneto, who expresses
the urgency of their mission, with much particularly falling on the shoulders
of a young mutant named Rachel. Kate, now wife of Colossus, reassures her
husband that their plan to make sure none of this ever happens is the best hope
for both humanity and mutantkind. Franklin Richards, Rachel’s lover and grown-up
son of Reed Richards and Sue Storm, sets up the jammer they’ve been building,
nullifying the inhibitor collars. With their powers now usable, Rachel
telepathically sends Kate’s consciousness back to her younger body, in hopes of
preventing this terrible future.
In the present day, the still teenaged Kitty Pryde
wanders into the Danger Room during one of the X-Men’s training sessions. Angel
and the others do their best to keep her safe, while also focusing on the
threats assaulting them. Just as it seems Kitty and Colossus may get crushed by
a large pile-driver, Nightcrawler teleports into the Danger Room, de-activating
the program in the nick of time. Nightcrawler apologizes for losing track of
time, having watched an interview with Professor Xavier on the mutant hearings
being held in Washington D.C. The time then comes for Kitty’s first Danger Room
test, tasked with simply making her way across the room. Not knowing what will
be thrown at her, Kitty closes her eyes and phases, walking right through all
of the traps laid for her with no trouble at all! In the control room, the
X-Men all have a good laugh that Kitty quite literally completed her first
Danger Room trial with her eyes closed. Just as she reaches the door on the
other side, Kitty suddenly collapses and Nightcrawler rushes her to the
mansion’s infirmary.
At the infirmary, the sensors indicate that Kitty is
unharmed but Wolverine notes that something feels off about her scent. Kitty
suddenly jolts awake, overjoyed to see everyone. She explains that she’s from
the future and that she’s here to prevent her awful future from coming to pass.
On this day, the new Brotherhood of Mutants kill Senator Kelly, Charles Xavier,
and Moira MacTaggert, causing a chain of events, leading to the extermination
and internment of mutants, with the world on the brink of nuclear holocaust!
Wolverine’s instincts tell him that Kate is telling the truth, and they all
quickly head for Washington D.C., hoping Professor X can shed some more light
on the situation. On the way, Kate provides more details about how a few years
from now, as a result of Senator Kelly’s death, the Mutant Control Act will be
instituted, reinstating the Sentinels. They’ll kill a majority of the United
States’ mutants and countless other heroes, seizing control of the entirety of
North America! The rest of the world threatens nuclear response if the
Sentinels invade, prompting the possible end of the world!
Back in the future, the few remaining X-Men make their
way through the sewers, heading for the Baxter Building, the heart of the
Sentinels’ command center. They’re suddenly ambushed by more Sentinels and
Franklin is incinerated, while the others fight back in brutal fashion!
Colossus knocks a building on the remaining Sentinels, and they continue
towards their goal. Back in the present, a woman named Raven Darkholme makes
her way through the Pentagon, ducking into a room and revealing her true
identity as Mystique, where she has assembled her new Brotherhood of Mutants,
consisting of Avalanche, Pyro, Blob, and Destiny. At the United States Senate,
Senator Kelly speaks on the “Mutant Menace”, discussing the potential dangers
of mutants with his guests Charles Xavier and Moira MacTaggert. Xavier notices
his students arrive and is shocked by what he finds when he scans their minds.
Just then, the wall collapses, signaling the arrival of the new Brotherhood of
Mutants, who are quickly intercepted by the X-Men, promising that a battle of
epic proportions is about to go down! To be continued!
Story continued in Uncanny X-Men #142.