In the Ginza section of Tokyo, Wolverine and Rogue
interrogate some guys about Nabatone Yakuse, the leader of the Yakuza.
Wolverine gets the information he needs, knowing Nabatone will lead them to
Silver Samurai and Viper. Meanwhile, Yukio attempts to take Storm to a
safehouse but she is turned away, Nabatone having put a hit out on them, proven
when they are accosted by some street toughs. At Nabatone’s house, Wolverine
and Rogue sneak past his defenses, Wolverine even saving Rogue from a blast
triggered by a trip wire beam. Rogue leans in to kiss Wolverine as thanks and
Wolverine makes it clear that she should never threaten him or any of the other
X-Men with her powers, even as a joke. Further in the house, the two find
Nabatone dead. Wolverine surmises that he’s been dead at least a week and
realizes that they’ve been suckered; the Nabatone at the meeting was an
imposter, and they’ve now left the X-Men and Mariko defenseless!
Back with Storm and Yukio, they finish off their
attackers, with Yukio’s carefree attitude having a severe impact on Storm, who
revels in the fight! At the hospital, Viper arrives with a horde of ninjas,
cutting down the guards with plans to do the same to Mariko and the X-Men!
Rogue arrives at that moment, knocking Viper and the ninjas out of the building
and into the courtyard outside. Viper slips away while Rogue is busy with her
lackeys. Inside, Wolverine stands in the way of Silver Samurai. The two then
engage in an intense, brutal, no-holds-barred fight! After an epic back and
forth, Wolverine has Silver Samurai at his mercy but Mariko stops Wolverine
from killing him! Viper then arrives and fires an energy gun at the two of
them, which is blocked in the nick of time by Rogue, who pushes Wolverine and
Mariko out of the way! Viper continues to fire until her gun overloads in her
hand, having done significant damage to Rogue! Viper escapes with Silver
Samurai, and Wolverine lets Rogue absorb his healing power to treat her wounds,
even at risk to himself.
A week later, on the eve of Wolverine and Mariko’s
wedding, Mariko is approached by a mysterious figure who wishes her well, while
subtly influencing her. Wolverine greets more visitors for his wedding,
including Professor X and Lilandra. Cyclops then arrives with Madelyne Pryor
and the rest of the Summers clan. Lilandra in particular reacts strongly to
Madelyne, Colossus even holding her back, before Xavier assures her that
Madelyne is not Jean Grey. Storm then arrives
sporting a new outfit and hairdo, to reflect her recent inner changes and Kitty in particular does not take it well, running off in tears.
Later on, Kitty gets ready for her part in the
wedding, a sort of Maid of Honor, receiving a playful compliment from
Nightcrawler. Kitty asks Madelyne to look after Lockheed for her, while
Madelyne wonders just what Scott’s gotten her wrapped up in. The time comes for
the wedding, a traditional Shinto ceremony. Mariko arrives, taking Logan’s
breath away, before she announces to everyone that there will be no
wedding. When Logan asks why, all Mariko says is that he is not worthy. Without another word, Mariko exits the hall,
passing a grinning Mastermind as she does, the one who greeted her earlier.
Everyone else stands shocked and concerned while Logan sheds a tear.