Our story starts at the Canadian Ministry of Defense,
where James Hudson, now called Vindicator, surveilles recent footage of the
X-Men with the Canadian Prime Minster. Just as in UXM #109, the Prime Minister
wants Wolverine back as their operative, and so Vindicator puts the call out to
the various members of Alpha Flight to get the job done. Meanwhile, the X-Men
prepare to finally head out from Japan, saying a pleasant farewell to Sunfire.
Wolverine also says his own farewell to Mariko Yashida, gifting her a white
chrysanthemum to remember him by, as well as telling her his real name. The
X-Men head out and the flight home seems uneventful, as they pass the
international date line near the Alaskan coast. One of the pilots then alerts
Cyclops that there are some strange weather patterns going on, that seem to be
changing themselves so as to reroute the plane. Storm attempts to quell the
weather but discovers that it’s being manipulated by some outside force and her
attempts are doing more harm than good.
The blizzard continues to herd the plane over the next
few hours, until they are forced to land in the small town of Calgary. When
they touch down, Vindicator announces that he wants Wolverine to surrender
himself to him, otherwise he won’t be responsible for what happens. They try to
take off again at Cyclops’ command, but the plane won’t budge. Nightcrawler
looks out the window and sees that someone is physically stopping the plane
with his bare hands! Turns out, it’s the Alpha Flight member Sasquatch, who
then throws the plane, causing it to completely explode in one of the airport’s
hangars! Vindicator searches the rubble but finds no one, as Shaman notes that
one of the X-Men is turning his weather spell against him to cover their
escape. The X-Men reach the main airport, under Storm’s cover, where they then
plan to split up to keep their pursuers off balance, before meeting up again in
the center of town.
Nightcrawler teleports into the town, noting how much
farther his teleporting range has gotten, while his current situation also
reminds him of when Professor Xavier first found him. He’s then suddenly
blinded by a flash of light, courtesy of Northstar and Aurora, before being
knocked out and captured by the duo. Later, some of the group meet up at the
agreed upon location, and Colossus reports that there is no sign of Kurt.
Cyclops notes that Storm, Banshee, and Wolverine have also not arrived and worries
that something may have happened. We check in on some of missing people in
question, as Banshee waits in a mall boutique, having had the idea to get new
clothes for Storm, given that she’s rather conspicuous.
However, Vindicator arrives at the boutique not long
after, their tracking equipment now functional without the blizzard raging. As
soon as Banshee sees Vindicator, he instinctively tries to use his sonic scream
before doubling over in pain. Vindicator has the decency to be concerned about
Banshee, before Storm returns with Colleen Wing and blasts Vindicator right out of the boutique! Vindicator hightails it out of there, knowing he can’t take on
Storm by himself, and his flight trail is spotted by Cyclops on the street
below. Cyclops realizes he made a mistake in splitting up, given that Alpha
Flight must have mutant tracking tech akin to Cerebro, and splitting up has
only made them more vulnerable. Case in point, Wolverine walks alone down a
street, reflecting on his feelings for Mariko, when he’s suddenly ambushed and
knocked out by Sasquatch. Later on, Banshee and Storm meet up with Cyclops and
Colossus to relay their events, and Cyclops realizes that Nightcrawler and
Wolverine have been captured, promising to finish the fight Alpha Flight
started, no matter what! To be continued!