Appearing in 1st story
Featured Characters:
- Ariel (Kitty Pryde) (Main story and flashback)
- X-Men (Only in flashback)
Supporting Characters:
- Illyana Rasputina (Only in recap)
- Kate
- Lockheed
- Magneto (Max Eisenhardt) (Main story and flashback)
Antagonists:
- Stryker Crusade (Only in recap)
Other Characters:
- Bess (Only in recap)
- Danny (Only in recap)
- Jill (Death) (Only in recap)
- John Cheever (Only in recap)
- Mark (Death) (Only in recap)
- NYPD (Only in recap)
- Stevie Hunter (Only in recap)
- Anya Eisenhardt (Mentioned)
- Carmen Pryde (Mentioned)
- God (Yahweh) (Invoked)
- Senator Robert Kelly (Mentioned)
- Theresa Pryde (Mentioned)
Races and Species:
Locations:
- Auschwitz-Birkenau (Mentioned)
- Heaven (Invoked)
- Connecticut (Only in recap)
- New York (Only in recap)
- Texas
- San Fernando
- Gold Star Café
- San Fernando
Items:
- Cyclops' Visor (Only in recap)
- Electronic sensor module (Only in recap)
- Wolverine's Suit (Only in recap)
- Psi-screen (Mentioned)
Vehicles:
- Professor Xavier's Rolls Royce (Only in recap) (Destroyed)
Synopsis for 1st story
Present day[]
The city girl Kate is enjoying some alone time peaceful at the Gold Star Café and states that she came to southwest Texas for peace and quiet. Suddenly she smells smoke and notices Lockheed. As she reacts in fear, Kitty Pryde comes up to her, introducing herself and her pet dragon, stating they're both friends of Magneto. Kate talks about hearing that she's a terrorist, to which she responds that she can decide what she is after hearing her out. While talking, Kitty impresses Kate with her phasing abilities and states that she was young like her when she joined the X-Men. Magneto too was young when he got sent to Auschwitz and he has an affinity for young mutant girls because they remind him of his late daughter he couldn't protect.
Kate shows the picture Magneto drew after meeting her to Kitty and states she misses him, to which she responds that she knows he misses her too, but he will instead try to suppress it because of the tragedies he's endured and will never let hope enter his life for fear of another tragedy striking him. Magneto was reminded that he was as vulnerable as a human when she got through his armor. Kitty tells Kate that she wants to help her figure out her path since the younger mutants are the future of their kind and narrates a tale that involved her, Magneto and the fanatic William Stryker.
Flashback[]
Prologue[]
Two young mutant runaways named Mark and Jill are fleeing from a group of religiously motivated anti-mutant group known as the Purifiers. They chase the two children into a playground where they are executed with guns and strung up on a swing set with a sign labeling them as "Muties". Their bodies are found by the X-Men's long time foe Magneto, who vows to make those who have killed these children, and many others, pay for their crimes.
In New York City, the leader of the Purifiers, the popular televangelist Reverend William Stryker finishes reading a Bible passage from Deuteronomy 17:2-5, before getting a call from his operatives. They report to him their findings about the mutant group known as the X-Men, providing him information of their members, powers, and the well guarded secret that they operate from Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. When his aid enters his office to get him ready for his evening broadcast on the ABC network, Stryker hints that he is about to destroy the X-Men.
Chapter 1[]
At the dance school of Stevie Hunter in Salem Center, Kitty Pryde gets into a fight with one of her fellow students after he makes an anti-mutant comment. The fight takes them right out into the street and Piotr "Peter" Rasputin and his sister Illyana try to break it up. When Stevie goes outside to see what the commotion is about, Kitty's fellow dance student Danny tells them that Kitty attacked him when he was talking about how he and his parents were members of the Stryker Crusade and went on an anti-mutant tirade, and called Kitty a "Mutie-Lover". With the situation straightened out, Stevie sends Danny away and tells Kitty to calm down because they are only words. Kitty becomes even more upset that Stevie can be so tolerant of such hatred asking her if she would be just as tolerant if Danny called her a "Nig***-Lover" before storming off back to the Mansion. Stevie thinks Kitty was right.
When Peter and Illyana follow after her to make sure she gets home safe, Stevie considers Kitty's words and realizes that Pryde was right. Visibly upset, Stevie goes back into her dance studio, unaware that Purifiers have been watching the whole confrontation. Further still, she is unaware how close they were to killing her, the only thing saving her life being the fact that she is human.
Arriving at the Mansion, Kitty tells Logan about the scrap she had, and also tells him that she did not have the heart to win the fight because she was not fighting a super-villain or evil mutant, but a kid like her. Later, the X-Men gather to watch Nightline on ABC where their teacher, Professor Charles Xavier appears next to Reverend Stryker in a debate about the danger of mutants in their society. While Xavier maintains his long standing stance that mutants are merely the next step of evolution, Stryker airs his religious belief that mutants are an abomination before God and must be exterminated. When the interview ends, Kitty and the other X-Men are angered by Stryker's words and decide to change into costume and practice in the Danger Room to blow off some steam.
While the X-Men are training, Stryker's aid, Anne, bumps into Scott Summers and Ororo Munroe at the television station, marking them as the X-Men Cyclops and Storm. Anne approaches her leader and tells him that they will be striking the three X-Men when they approach Central Park. Just as planned, when Xavier's Royals Royce drives past Central Park they are attacked by the Purifiers, who gun all three mutants down with tranquilizer guns and blow up the Royce. When the police call the mansion later, they inform Kurt that the Professor and the others have died in a car accident, much to everyone's sadness.
Chapter 2[]
The next day while the other X-Men are in the city, Kitty spends some time alone outside on the Xavier state when she is joined by Illyana. Illyana tends to the grieving Kitty and the two decide to talk a walk. Along the way they come across some strange scanner device that has been setup and directed at the Mansion. Wondering who had set it up, Kitty shorts it out with her phasing powers and the two lay in hiding to see who comes to investigate.
While in the city, Wolverine, Colossus and Nightcrawler investigate the supposed accident site. While Logan and Peter examine the wreck, Kurt surveys the area in secret. When Wolverine identifies that this was no accident, Nightcrawler notifies them that two men in a car have been watching them the whole time. Wolverine decides that they should get the men and change into costume. Despite the men's attempt to flee, the three X-Men manage to disable their getaway vehicle. However these Purifier members are ready to fight using their special armor. They only get one shot in when they are stopped by Magneto, who uses his magnetic powers to destroy their armor and use it as a containment.
Back at on the Mansion property, Kitty and Illyana watch as Anne and other members of Stryker's Crusade arrive to repair the device that Kitty damage. Ariel decides to try and sneak up on them by phasing through the ground. However as she is working herself through, they activate the device and detect Illyana's proximity to them due to her mutant nature. They knock her out with a tranquilizer dart and take her hostage. When Kitty attempts to sneak into their getaway vehicle by phasing through the trunk, Anne detects it and fills the trunk with gas to knock her out as well.
Shortly thereafter, Magneto and the X-Men take the captured Purifiers back to the X-Mansion where Wolverine attempts to interrogate them by threatening to use his claws. When this does not work, Magneto tortures them with is magnetic powers and they learn that Stryker intends to use Professor Xavier to achieve his goal of complete eradication of the mutant race.
Solicit Synopsis
Notes
- Contains material originally presented in Marvel Graphic Novel #5