The fight between the X-Men and the Hellfire Club over the fate of Rachel Summers is interrupted when Nimrod descends upon them!
The X-Men and the Hellfire Club momentarily team up to defeat Nimrod.
As the X-Men and the Morlocks face off against the Hellfire Club over Rachel Summers, Nimrod appears over them in Central Park. In the previous issue, Nimrod stated that their mutant powers make them felons--and that their punishment is death. Meanwhile, Rachel Summers lies elsewhere in Central Park, broken physically and mentally. Her previous attempt on Selene’s life and subsequent fight with Wolverine have left her drained. She senses Nimrod’s presence but is unsure if the X-Men want her help.
Rogue bursts out from under ground, having absorbed Colossus’s powers after Harry Leland used his powers to pull him under in the previous issue. Leland is stunned in Rogue’s surprise attack, giving Kitty the opportunity to rescue Peter. The Hellfire Soldiers attempt to shoot Storm, but Callisto knocks her out of the line of fire. Nightcrawler and Wolverine teleport behind the Hellfire Soldiers, who immediately retreat. Rogue fights Sebastian Shaw. As he absorbs kinetic energy, her physical attacks are pointless. She launches him into Nimrod who reverses gravimetric polarity and blasts him into space. Friedrich von Roehm attacks Storm but is disintegrated by Nimrod. Storm convinces the Hellfire Club to join forces with them to fight Nimrod. Meanwhile, Kitty has finally found Colossus, whose powers have begun to revert back from Rogue. Rogue is flying interference around Nimrod and is now more vulnerable. Nimrod casts a shockweb around Rogue and she falls to the ground.
Rachel sees Rogue fall from a distance. She hears music coming from the Delacorte Theater and breaks in to investigate. Rachel finds herself in the Body Shoppe where Spiral tempts her with the promise of a new body.
Harry Leland is using his powers to increase Nimrod’s mass and slow him down. Nightcrawler attempts to teleport a piece of Nimrod away from his body, despite Storm’s protestations. Nimrod attacks with a flash of flame. Kurt screams and seems to disappear. The strain on Leland becomes too much and he has a heart attack. Before Nimrod can gather his strength, Colossus bursts from underground and grabs him. Kitty phases through Peter’s body and into Nimrod to disrupt his systems. Colossus uses the disruption to smash Nimrod into the ground. Selene binds Nimrod using her powers. Leland uses the last of his strength to bring Shaw back to Earth with the mass of a small meteor. Shaw crashes into the immobile Nimrod and Leland dies. Nimrod teleports away before Wolverine can use his claws to destroy him. With the police on their way, Sage offers the protection of the Hellfire Club and Storm accepts.
In the Body Shoppe, Rachel dances into a portal at Spiral’s urging. Spiral boasts that Rachel will never see her world again and that her life is now Spiral’s to decide.
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