Willing Victims Several years ago in Israel, the sadistic Hydra commander known as Catalyst subjects his prisoner, Destiny, to unspeakable torture. When Sabretooth and Mystique show up, determined to confront him, Destiny takes advantage of the momentary distraction and pushes Catalyst into a cauldron of acid, seemingly killing him. In the present, Mystique wakes up, only to discover in shock that Catalyst is alive and well, albeit deformed, and runs his secret island fortress. Catalyst explains he survived the Israel incident thanks to his mutant physiology. More importantly, he has almost completed his Access program, with which he can tap into any existing cyberspace, thus restoring Hydra to greatness!
Meanwhile, Sabretooth manages to infiltrate the bunker and also discovers. Catalyst is alive. Before he can exact revenge on him, though, Catalyst flees. Sabretooth and Mystique quickly discover that the citadel has now been commandeered by the invading forces of A.I.M., led by the nefarious Cypher. Even worse, they are now locked in a chamber about to be filled with deadly cyanogenic gas.
