Emma Frost, listening to a voice in
her head, prepares to smother a comatose Hope Summers with a pillow….
Juggernaut, possessed by Kuurth, Breaker of Stone, crossing the bridge
on his way to San Francisco, is met by Cyclops. Juggy’s herald asks if Scott is
ready to abandon the city with all of the mutants. Then a bolt from the sky
hits Juggernaut and he loses the powers granted him by the Crimson Demon Cyttorak.
Then Colossus, the new Juggernaut, crosses from the Crimson Dimension to this
one and fights the old one, his mind is full of delight in destruction. As
Piotr beats his foe into a pulp, various mutants, including Magneto and Pixie,
arrive to ask what is going on. Then Magik and Kitty Pryde return from the
Crimson Dimension and Magik explains that as Colossus pushes Juggernaut back
along the path he trod, the runes he made will fold back on themselves, until
they reach critical mass and destroy everything….
Sixty miles away, Magik and Kitty teleport to the desert the
two combatants have reached. Then the Serpent, having seen that his servant is
in danger of dying, summons him home, ending the threat. But Colossus can’t
stop….
Prince Namor, the Sub-Mariner interrupts Emma Frost as she is
suffocating Hope, breaking through the hypnotic mantra in her mind, assuring
her that she has nothing to fear from Hope. His kiss restores her to her senses
and she is mortified, not that she nearly committed murder but that she
displayed jealousy, begging Namor to keep it a secret. He excuses himself to
return to battle, leaving her to ponder his offer of partnership….
Eventually, the new Juggernaut comes to a stop and Magik, Cyclops,
and Kitty stop by. Cyclops tiers to explain that they sent Illyana because she
could handle something like this but Piotr as her brother felt compelled to
step in. Kitty confronts Piotr, rebuking him for his willingness to sacrifice
himself for others even when it isn’t necessary. She breaks up with him and
departs in anger. Illyana assures her brother it will be all right but he is not
sure anymore that that is….
Cyclops meets with Mayor Sadie Sinclair and reveals that he
knows she planned to destroy Utopia. He has one of the Stepford Cuckoos take
control of her body and tells her that they could kill her in any one of
multiple ways that would seem natural to observers. He then releases her,
telling her they will never be victims again. She asks if he ever considered
the other part of the offer the X-Men betraying the city. “Of course not,” he
replies and leaves….