Charles Xavier gathers his X-Men, both new and old, to
tell them how proud he is of them, as well as his plans for the future of the
team. Sunfire, however, immediately lets it be known that he has no plans to
stick around. He agreed to help out once but cares nothing for the X-Men and
departs, making it clear that he won’t answer if called on again. Professor
Xavier asks the other new recruits if they echo Sunfire’s sentiments. Colossus
is initially unsure, but Storm and Wolverine readily agree to stay. Banshee
initially argues that he’s getting too old for this kind of thing but Xavier
rebukes that idea and Cyclops points out that he would finally have a place to
belong, making up Banshee’s mind. Angel then awkwardly admits to the Professor
that he and the other original X-Men have decided to move on with their lives
and Jean Grey explains to the shocked Xavier that it’s because they’ve grown
up. Wolverine says to skip the sob story, sparking an angry reaction from
Iceman, causing Cyclops to have to subvert a fight between the two, to
Wolverine’s chagrin. Havok then asks his brother what he plans to do and
Cyclops doesn’t have an answer.
Cyclops spends the entirety of that night walking the
halls of the mansion and thinking over what he should do, while cursing his
mutant power and the constant frustration it brings him. The next morning, the
exiting former X-Men find Cyclops still in costume, signifying his decision to
stay. Scott and Jean have an emotional farewell, as their lives go in different
directions for now. Cyclops then gets down to brass tacks and introduces the
new X-Men to the Danger Room, where they’ll hone their skills. Cyclops trains
the new team in the Danger Room for weeks, slowly crafting them into a
functional team. Eventually though, the tiring effort takes its toll and
Thunderbird is injured from a careless mistake. Cyclops reprimands Thunderbird
for his carelessness, causing Thunderbird to push back in defiance and Xavier
to summon Cyclops to his office.
Our scene then cuts to Valhalla, the mountain base of
Norad, the North American Air Defense Command. One of the workers receives a
strange package in the mail. When opened, it opens a portal that lets the
Ani-Men enter the base and make quick work of the guards there. The Ani-Men’s
boss, Count Nefaria, also makes his appearance and uses anesthetic gas spread
throughout the base to bring it entirely under his control. Nefaria recounts
his previous encounter with the X-Men, from X-Men #22-23, as well as his plans
to ransom the world! Back at the Xavier Institute, Nightcrawler comes to check
on Cyclops, to make sure he’s okay after his argument with Thunderbird. Xavier
then psychically summons the two to the briefing room, where a broadcast of
Count Nefaria is playing, detailing his plans to fire missiles from the base on
any country unwilling to pay his price, effectively holding the world ransom.
Turns out, Beast had contacted Xavier about dealing with Nefaria, as the
Avengers are currently occupied.
The X-Men head out to Valhalla in their Blackbird jet.
On the way, they’re intercepted by the U.S. Air Force. Cyclops speaks with
General Fredericks, who doesn’t trust the X-Men but will take any help he can
get. He reveals that Nefaria armed the Doomsmith System, which controls the
missiles, but that after a certain point the system can no longer be shut down,
putting the X-Men on a time limit. The base’s sensors pick up the X-Men
approaching and Nefaria sends out a few missiles to deal with them. Through some
fancy flying, Cyclops manages to avoid most of the missiles, but one sneaks
through, badly damaging the Blackbird. Cyclops hits the eject button, detaching
the escape pod from the rest of the crashing ship. However, this does not
escape Nefaria’s notice, and he fires a disruptor beam which completely
disintegrates the pod, leaving the X-Men to fall to their deaths!