Story continued from The X-Men #141.
In the present day, the X-Men stand against the
Brotherhood of Mutants, in order to prevent them from murdering Senator Kelly,
which sets into motion the terrible future Kate Pryde has come to prevent. An
epic battle begins with an attack from Avalanche, and the two teams begin to
pair off. Storm prevents Wolverine from killing Pyro, which would only
exacerbate the country’s growing anti-mutant sentiment. Nearby, Charles Xavier
and Moira MacTaggert are led by a guard away from the area before they are hit
with a dose of nerve gas! The guard reveals herself to be Mystique and she asks
Destiny what the outcome looks like, though Destiny admits that there’s an
unknown factor preventing her from seeing the future clearly. That unknown
factor is of course the older Kitty Pryde, inhabiting the body of her teenage
self, and she thinks of all she’s endured to get here, hoping it will be
enough.
In the desolate future, the remaining X-Men approach
the Baxter Building, the heart of the Sentinels’ main headquarters. Wolverine,
Storm, and Colossus make their way inside, using the old maintenance systems to
access the elevators, while Rachel stays with the unconscious Kitty outside.
Back in the present, the X-Men appear to be losing, but Kate knows she needs to
keep Senator Kelly safe and rushes off to find him. Storm then generates a
strong wind that knocks most of the combatants into the street outside, in
order to give them more room to maneuver. Blob then knocks Colossus out onto
the street, having been the only two left inside, where they continue their
fight, with Colossus struggling to hurt the Blob. The army then arrives with a
special weapons team, blasting Colossus with a tank designed by Shaw
Industries. Pyro turns their flamethrowers against them, molding the fire into
a large monster. Angel attempts to lead it away from the soldiers, but it
splits int two, one following Angel, the other grabbing Wolverine, badly
burning him.
Storm disperses the fire creature, and while Wolverine
heals, he is approached by a seemingly concerned Nightcrawler. However, just
then, another Nightcrawler attacks the other, revealing that one must be
Mystique in disguise. Wolverine plans to attack the two battling Nightcrawlers,
figuring the real one can just teleport out of the way, but Storm stops him.
She tells him that he will listen to her, now that she’s team leader,
and that he will only use his claws on other people in the direst of
circumstances. Colossus and Wolverine then team up to use a girder to flip the
Blob into the air, where Colossus decks him into Avalanche. Storm creates a
monsoon that deals with Pyro and Nightcrawler decks his imposter, revealing her
to indeed be Mystique. Nightcrawler is astounded at the visual similarities
between the two of them and Mystique tells him to ask his adoptive mother,
Margali Szardos, for answers. The X-Men flee from the army, who have captured
the defeated Brotherhood, and Mystique escapes, before the X-Men realize that
Kitty isn’t with them.
In the future, Wolverine, Storm, and Colossus arrive
at the top floor of the Baxter Building. Colossus throws Wolverine at a
seemingly unsuspecting Sentinel, but the Sentinel reacts quicker, turning and
blasting Wolverine in mid-air, incinerating him until only his adamantium
skeleton remains! The other two fight back as more Sentinels arrive, and Storm
is quickly killed too. Colossus flies into a rage that would make Wolverine
proud, tearing through the Sentinels, the last one left. Outside, Rachel mentally
feels all that is happening, and so she feels when Colossus dies as well. She
holds onto Kitty, praying that things can be changed in the past as everything
feels hopeless. In the present, Kate finds Destiny about to shoot Senator Kelly
and she jumps through her, spoiling her aim and ensuring he isn’t killed.
Immediately, everything goes topsy-turvy for Kitty, as the older Kate returns
to her time and the teenaged Kitty returns to her body. The X-Men fly home,
explaining everything that happened to a confused Kitty, and Angel questions if
the future really has been changed. We then get an epilogue in which Senator
Kelly and Sebastian Shaw meet with the President, who introduces them to
Henry Peter Gyrich, planning to build a new series of Sentinels to deal with mutants
permanently, implying that the terrible future may still come to pass!