Two men meet at a restaurant in Kyoto, Japan. The first man gives the second information on an illicit job - blueprints and photos of a building, a lot and item number, and a phone number where the buyer can be reached once the item is obtained. The first man begins to discuss his fee for facilitating the job, but the second man vanishes into thin air.

In Washington, D.C., S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Morales into her superior’s office to discuss the massacre of the Purifiers. He says they are after the same target, and presents her with a file labeled “X-23”.

James Proudstar needs someone to talk to. He calls his old flame Hepzibah, but can’t bring himself to speak. Logan enters his room and Jimmy hangs up. He tells Logan he’s going off to talk to the one person he can - his dead brother, John. Jimmy grabs a duffel bag - daggers packed inside - and leaves for New Mexico.

Elsewhere in Angel’s Aerie, Elixir asks X-23 what the team is going to do with him now that he knows X-Force is operational. Laura tells Josh that Cyclops’ best recourse would be to kill him, but before she can elaborate, Logan enters and says they have work to do. Wolverine suits up and brings them to the Aerie’s racquetball court, then joins Cyclops and an anxious Wolfsbane behind a glass partition. Scott calls for Angel - it’s time to test Rahne to see if the brainwashing she was subjected to by the Purifiers is still present.

Angel steps forward and unfurls his wings. The image immediately triggers Rahne’s transformation to her canine form and she lunges viciously at the glass. The stress of the situation also causes Warren to transform; he changes into Archangel and launches flechettes at the glass. Archangel charges forward but Cyclops blasts him away. Elixir puts Wolfsbane to sleep and Scott gets hold of Warren, who manages with difficulty to fight against his Horseman of Death persona and return to normal. Wolverine tells Scott to call Emma Frost for some telepathic assistance, but Cyclops refuses. He trusts that they can handle Warren and Rahne, but is more concerned about how to deal with Elixir’s knowledge of their activities.

Sometime later, Logan finds Elixir surrounded by the Stepford Cuckoos, with Cyclops and X-23 looking on. He turns on Scott and accuses him of becoming just like Charles Xavier by choosing to mindwipe Elixir. But Laura interrupts and tells Logan she called them to help Wolfsbane, and Elixir says he wants them to erase X-Force from his mind. Josh doesn’t want to be tempted to join them and possibly kill again, but he knows they’re doing what has to be done. Angel then enters and informs the team that “the bad guys are making their move”.

The team watches news coverage of a press conference being held by Graydon Creed. Creed, one of several anti-mutant humans recently resurrected by Bastion and now under the robot’s control, tells the nation that he and his compatriots had not been killed, but were in protective custody due to the mutant threat. He says that despite their miniscule numbers, mutants are still a threat, and that the fate of humanity rests on all of their shoulders. As Creed speaks, the other members of the Human Council find themselves back in positions of influence. Bolivar Trask and Stephen Lang are working with the U.S. military. William Stryker preaches to a congregation. The Leper Queen meets with a group of anti-mutant bigots. Donald Pierce studies photos of some of the young X-Men. And Cameron Hodge raids a warehouse.

Cyclops gets a call, then tells the team that their first target is not the Human Council, but Vanisher. Seven hours ago, he broke into a Japanese lab and stole a vial of the Legacy Virus.

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