Astonishing X-Men

In the present day, Emma Frost is forced to confront the deal she made so long ago with Cassandra Nova, even as she was sending the Mega-Sentinels to destroy Genosha. In exchange for saving her, by bestowing the secondary mutation of Emma’s diamond form, Cassandra would gain Emma as a plant within Xavier’s group, even though Emma would not remember it until Cassandra allowed it. Now that that time has come, Emma stands with Cassandra, Sebastian Shaw, Ellie Phimister and the one who has brought them all together, the cloaked Perfection, who informs Emma that her game will be first. Elsewhere in the Institute, Logan trains the remaining students in combat himself, since the Danger Room is no longer a high-tech training facility. Meanwhile, Beast and Cyclops each try to lose themselves in their work, shunning the company of others. Miles away, SHIELD Director Hill meets has Special Agent Brand of SWORD meet her at the SHIELD helicarrier, though the meeting is useless. Brand refuses to submit to an administrative lease and storms off the carrier, rocketing to SWORD’s orbital space station, the Peak, where she is informed that they have news. Back at the Institute, Kitty is still unsure of her relationship with Piotr, after a romantic dream of the two of them, which leads into a horrific nightmare of her father, she is even more confused. However, after building up enough courage, Kitty finds herself visiting Piotr in his room and rambling about their relationship, until he defines it once and for all with a passionate kiss. Having witnessed this via her telepathy, Emma intends a little seduction of her own and tries to prompt Scott to their bed. Engrossed in paperwork, he rebukes her, so she uses her powers to wear his “favorite outfit,” the exact form of his former wife in her green Phoenix costume.

In the past, Scott Summers and Phoenix are concluding a romantic getaway at a remote desert location. As they prepare to return, Phoenix realizes the gift she his given Scott, in that using her telekinesis to hold back his optic blasts has given him a chance to see the world without his ruby-quartz lenses. It has also temporarily given him a chance to relinquish the control he so carefully monitors every moment. In the present, the current Scott Summers looks upon the visage of Phoenix again, though he knows that it is only a mental projection of Emma’s. Emma turns Scott’s anger at this around, using it to demonstrate his obsession with self-control, which comes from a seminal moment as a boy, who swore to never lose control. Through a mental trip through his own past and through a nightmarish place called the Bug Room, Emma allows Scott to relinquish control and disables his powers, though leaving him in a catatonic state in the process. Elsewhere in the Institute, Kitty and Piotr finally consummate their relationship, though not without incident, as Kitty accidentally phases though the floor of her room and into the living room below. The next morning, they are greeted by Logan in the kitchen, who immediately senses their awkwardness and tells them that it’s “’Bout time.” Below them in his lab, the Beast greets whom he believes to be Emma – though to his astonishment, it is not. It is his nightmare, Cassandra Nova. Meanwhile, in orbit, Special Agent Brandt and her comrades at SWORD have received notification from the Breakworld that they have determined exactly which X-Man is supposed to lead to their destruction.