The Juggernaut, having just defeated the X-Men, crashes through the countryside on his way to find an aircraft to fly to Europe so he can join Factor Three. The military attempts to stop him, but they are easily fought off and sent packing.

Back at the Mansion, the X-Men begin trying to figure out a way to deal with the Professor, who has been in a coma since the Juggernaut's attack. Jean digs up the Professor's Mental-Wave Amplifier in the hopes of using it to learn a key secret in defeating the Juggernaut and possibly reviving the Professor as well. In the Professor's memories, Jean learns that he had learned the secrets of the Crimson gem of Cyttorak. Centuries ago, the Ancient One came across the Crimson gem of Cyttorak, and was attacked by its protector, Xorak the outcast. After a brief mystical duel, the Ancient One cast a spell trapping Xorak in the gem to never threaten a mortal again. Jean stops her probe for fear of harming the Professor and they turn their attentions to Cerebro. The group decides that the key to defeating the Juggernaut lies within a prototype gem that is within the Crimson Gem of Cyttorak and that they must seek out the Ancient One to learn how to get it.
X-Men Vol 1 33 page -- Xorak (Earth-616)

Repairing the machine, the X-Men try and use their computer to locate the Ancient One to see if he can help them defeat the Juggernaut. However, instead of finding the Ancient One, they are visited by the spectral form of his successor, Dr. Stephen Strange, the Master of the Mystic Arts. He tells them that he is on an important mission, but he stops long enough to impart the X-Men with a means to enter the gem. He cautions that only two of their members can venture within, and that they must return from within the gem within an hour, otherwise they will be trapped in the Crimson Cosmos forever. Cyclops volunteers himself and Marvel Girl insists that she travel with him. Cyclops accepts and orders the rest of the X-Men to keep the Juggernaut busy while they venture into the Gem. With the decisions made, Dr. Strange imparts the incantation into Cyclops and Jean's mind and teleports them to Korea to search for the Gem in the ruins of Cyttorak's temple.

The two X-Men materialize before some Communist soldiers, and easily fight them off with their mutant powers before unearthing the cavern where the gem has been buried for years. Speaking the incantation, Cyclops and Marvel Girl are pulled into the gem and find themselves into the strange Crimson Cosmos, where they are greeted by Xorak, who tells them that in this realm he is known only as the Outcast.

Back on Earth, the other X-Men fly the X-Copter to the nearby airport where the Juggernaut has gone. He is there to steal an airplane so he can fly himself to Europe and rendezvous with the masterminds behind Factor Three. The Juggernaut sends the security guards fleeing. While he is busy, Iceman, Angel and Beast attempt to keep him at bay with the powerful wind generated by the X-Copters rotor blades. This proves only a minor delay for the Juggernaut who manages to smash his way through the vehicle.

Meanwhile in the Crimson Cosmos, the Outcast attempts to wrap up Scott and Jean in the Scarlet Circles of Doom, however Jean manages to fend them off with her telekinetic powers. Redirecting them back at their attacker he is seemingly destroyed by them upon impact. Traveling further through the Cosmos, they find out that this is a false assessment when they are caught up in mystical coils and pulled toward a gigantic facial image of Outcast, however Cyclops' optic blasts easily shatter this apparition. With Outcast the only thing between them and the prototype gem, and their time dwindling fast, the two X-Men manage to defeat the creature not with their mutant powers, but by the ticking of Jean's watch which has been keeping track of the time they have spent in the Crimson Cosmos. Throwing the watch at Outcast causes the creature

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