In the past, Erik "Magneto" Lehnsherr attacks several people in Central Park and complains that humans are devouring the world. One of the people he kills is named Alex, and Alex's family cradles his body as he dies.
In the present, the X-Men are playing baseball in Central Park while Kitty "Shadowcat" Pryde and Peter "Colossus" Rasputin watch. Pryde asks how Rasputin is doing, and Rasputin says that he's healing after a recent battle but he is no longer able to shift into his metal form. Pryde reassures him that it's a temporary condition. At that moment, however, the Darkforce Dome begins to lower over Manhattan.
Inside the Xavier Institute, Kurt "Nightcrawler" Wagner and Rachel "Prestige" Grey kiss. When they break apart Wagner says he's surprised and Grey says that she recently sensed his emotions and realized he is attracted to her. She adds that she's recently become psychically attuned to everyone on the island after she finally used her powers to their fullest extent, and that she knows Wagner is still attracted to her. Wagner asks if she's still attuned to everyone and Grey says that she's not reading everyone's minds but can still feel her psychic powers are unusually strong. She begins to reminisce about another time when she felt her powers that strongly, but a younger mutant comes in and tells them about the Dome.
Pryde has Ororo "Storm" Munroe get everyone into the mansion and lock it down until they know what's going on. Stephen "Doctor" Strange soon projects himself into their meeting room and explains that they're now in the demon-infested Darkforce Dimension, which annoys "Old Man" Logan. Strange says there's no way out of Manhattan, teleportation doesn't work at all, and that he has to take care of some problems so he can't talk much longer. Pryde dismisses him and tells the X-Men to form into teams and go on patrol to calm people down.
Later, Pryde, Grey, and Rasputin are talking when Victor "Anole" Borkowski arrives and says a new mutant has been found dead in the mansion. Pryde and the others go to the corpse and check it, finding that it's a relatively new mutant who was named Belen. Pryde asks Borkowski not to tell anyone and then consults with Grey and Rasputin. She says that Munroe and Logan have been investigating mutant killings and the pattern is consistent with this latest body; that means a serial killer of mutants is loose in the mansion.
On the roof, Logan tells Munroe that Wagner just broke up some looters and Munroe sighs that people aren't rising to the crisis. Logan says that some people do, and that crises reveal people's true natures. He sighs that he and Munroe have seen a lot of painful things during their time with the X-Men and he's tired, and he hopes that he can retire soon since Pryde is doing so well as a leader. Munroe says the X-Men wouldn't be the same without Logan. Before they can argue more, though, Logan smells a monster and the two rush off. They reach a demon threatening an old lady and quickly kill the demon. The woman gets away and Logan muses how it feels good to kill a demon again, but then a much larger demon approaches and the two begin to fight it.
Elsewhere, Wagner runs from an angry mob that believes he's one of the demons. He can't teleport and is eventually run down by the mob.
In the Xavier Institute, the serial killer called the X-Cutioner finds a monster restrained in the laboratory. The X-Men captured this monster, whom they dubbed the 'Creepy New Guy,' during a recent battle with the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. The X-Cutioner says he hacked the Brotherhood's files and learned that this monster isn't a mutant, but then decides that since the monster can't understand him he'll stop talking. He frees the monster.
Grey, Pryde, and Rasputin find that the X-Cutioner has killed a young mutant named Oscar. Pryde wonders how their psychics haven't found the killer yet and Grey says the killer might be shielded. Pryde complains that she thought Grey was stronger now, and Grey says she's only intermittently stronger, but she does feel the killer's rage. Meanwhile, X-Cutioner reaches a mutant with many eyes named Trevor "Eye Boy" Hawkins and begins to torture him. X-Cutioner says that mutants are 'gene jokes' and 'disgusting,' and that he blames them for the death of his little boy. He then stabs Hawkins.
Two mutants associated with the Hellions squad, Sooraya Qadir and Santo Vaccarro, walk through the mansion when they find high-powered explosives stacked against a wall. Qadir notes that the bombs will go off in twenty-nine minutes. Meanwhile, Hawkins—who has been stabbed in at least one eye—begs for X-Cutioner not to hurt him but X-Cutioner says that his son didn't even have the chance to beg for mercy. He prepares to execute Hawkins but Pryde kicks him, and when he shoots her the bullets pass through her. She orders Rasputin to get Hawkins to safety and Grey to help her beat X-Cutioner. Grey says she can't use her psychic powers because of X-Cutioner's mask, and Pryde begins trying to knock it off. He manages to fend her off but is knocked down by Rasputin, who has returned after saving Hawkins. X-Cutioner, though, pulls out a gun and shoots Rasputin in the head.
Tropes
- Eye Scream: X-Cutioner puts out at least one of Hawkins' eyes.
