Written by: Michael Edens
In the year 3999 A.D., the mutant Cable and his rebels fight against the forces of Apocalypse, as the maniacal mutant watches from a high viewpoint, before noticing a temporal storm beginning to churn, in which the time-traveling mutant Bishop can be seen within.
Noticing what's happening, Cable is able to find a hiding spot, and he consults his small box-like future-tech computer for what is going on. His computer explains that somewhere back in the past, something happened to cause Cable's present to have to be rewoven as the past timeline has been altered, meaning Cable's future may possibly cease to exist. Wanting answers as to why, Cable is soon shown what led to the temporal storm being summoned in 3999...
Back in Bishop's time of 2055 A.D., Forge reveals to Bishop that his future is still bleak due to some sort of plague that occurred in the past. Deciding he needs to go back to deal with it, Bishop returns to the 1990s to seek the X-Men out for help, this time not getting amnesia from the time travel.
Meanwhile, Jubilee is at the mall to have her CD player fixed after she busted it again with her mutant powers, but an undercover member of the Friends of Humanity infects the store employee Jubilee was talking to with some sort of disease, pinning the blame on her, thus arousing an angry mob against her. However, Storm is able to help Jubilee escape the enraged crowd, and they return to the X-Mansion, learning on the news that many mutants are being quarantined because of the paranoia from the disease, with Storm spotting the same undercover Friends of Humanity operative from the mall as he rallies the crowd in full view of the cameras. As the X-Men head over to investigate, Bishop gets there first, and upon being attacked, uses his own mutant powers to keep the mob at bay, only to be seen by Rogue and Storm when they arrive. After they manage to pick up Bishop and escape, Bishop explains about the plague that has everyone freaking out that is affecting his future, but before the X-Men can delve into it, Beast is due for a Senate hearing in Washington. While there, he is nearly attacked by Friends of Humanity leader Graydon Creed before Bishop intervenes, resulting in Creed being infected by his own plague, which still works to his advantage.
The X-Men tail Creed back to his headquarters in Virginia, but Jean's attempts to look inside the building via her powers results in a huge psychic backlash. When they find him, they discover the man helping him cultivate the plague is actually Apocalypse in disguise, using the Friends of Humanity for his own genocidal plans. In the battle that follows, Bishop sets the lab on fire to destroy the plague, but this only serves to infuriate Apocalypse, causing him to grow to gigantic size and totally annihilate the fleeing X-Men with a single, powerful blast.
Back in 3999, Cable is horrified by Apocalypse's murder of the entire X-Men team, while his computer goes on to explain that while many were saved back then, the lack of antibodies resulted in the plague becoming a deadly virus that slaughters thousands of mutants in the decades to follow, thus the reason for the temporal storm now. Cable faces a difficult decision...To save his own future, he may have to aid Apocalypse in his genocidal plan.
This episode provides examples of:
- Armor-Piercing Question: What really sets off Bishop, as he learns about the plague from Forge.Bishop: Couldn't the X-Men find a way to stop it?
Forge: X-Men? What are the X-Men? - Badass Boast: Arguably one of Apocalypse's most memorable from the show:Apocalypse: [to Creed] I am as far beyond mutants, as they are beyond you. I am eternal!
- Big Bad Wannabe: While Graydon Creed has caused trouble for the X-Men for much of the season prior, here he's shown to be out of his depth when he ultimately ends up being little more than a pawn for Apocalypse, and even ends up infected with the virus.
- Big "NO!": Cable when he learns he has to help Apocalypse in order to save his time.
- Complaining About Rescues They Don't Like: Creed is saved from the fire by Beast.Creed: Put me down.
Beast: Remember, Mr. Creed, a mutant saved your life. - Curb-Stomp Battle: The X-Men are no match for Apocalypse, and when they attempt to withdraw after destroying his virus, he kills the entire team.
- The Juggernaut: Apocalypse's Invincible Villain status is established in this episode. He easily defeats the X-Men and, after growing to giant size, kills them. Over two thousand years in the future, Apocalypse continues his war against humans and mutants, and nobody has been able to destroy him.
- Lampshade Hanging:Bishop: I was tryin' to save lives, yours and millions in my future!
Wolverine: Again? - Laser-Guided Karma: Creed is exposed to the very virus he was helping to spread.
- The Man in Front of the Man: The scientist working for Creed turns out to be Apocalypse in disguise, who had been using the virus with the intent of genocide against mutants and humans alike.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Bishop's reaction, as he feels his changing history that unleashed this plague.
- Mythology Gag: Among the images Cable's computer displays is Colossus beside an ailing Illyana. This references her death from the Legacy Virus.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: While Bishop's actions save some lives, it leads to Apocalypse killing both him and the X-Men, while the mutated plague eventually ends up killing far more people in the long run, wiping out Cable's timeline as a result.
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: In the original timeline, Apocalypse's virus killed millions, but it resulted in the development of antibodies that allowed mutants to survive and continue to oppose his plans.
- Retcon: When Bishop returned to his own time previously, it seemed Forge still remembered Kelly's assassination. Here he's shown to have no memory of it now once Bishop helped avert it.
- Ripple-Effect-Proof Memory: Thanks to his time travel, Bishop is the only one who remembers the original circumstances of his timeline.
- Sadistic Choice: "What do I do?! To save my world, I have to help Apocalypse destroy a past one."
- The Scapegoat: A FOH agent secretly infects a store clerk so that Jubilee will get the blame, thus leading to a mess at the mall. Jean lampshades how mutants are the easiest target for all this mounting hysteria, which is exactly what Creed wants.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Bishop feels the plague is his fault since it occurred after Kelly's life was saved. According to Cable's computer, his attempt to fix this makes it even worse. Bishop blowing up the lab ensures mutants wouldn't be infected, thus saving millions of lives. However, as a result of this change, key antibodies that would've prevented uncontrolled, deadly mutations never came along, thus dooming mutantkind (plus Cable's overall timeline).
- Unwitting Pawn: Creed turns out to be this for Apocalypse.
- Villainous Breakdown: Apocalypse takes his virus being destroyed so harshly that he up and vaporizes all of the X-Men.
- The Voiceless: Despite appearing prominently, Gambit has no dialogue in the episode.
