| Synopsis
| - Continued from last issue...
A young woman named Infecta, who has the ability to mutate the bodies of normal humans with a single kiss is testing out her newest "Anti-Body" to see if he has what it takes to help her capture X-Factor's sentient ship. He uses his power too much, and burns his body out, leading her to another failure and bringing her back to square one.
Later, outside X-Factor's ship, Cyclops and the other members of X-Factor answer questions from the press regarding what sort of threat their ship poses to New York City, following it's brief attack on the group and it's near detonation of a bomb. As X-Factor are trying to answer questions from the crowd, their combined weight on the condemned pier causes it to collapse, sending them all into the water below. As X-Factor rescues everyone dumped into the water, the Ship speaks for itself as it repairs the dock: It explains that it was under the control of Apocalypse until X-Factor and their charges managed to free it from their control. With the Ship defended, X-Factor promises the people of New York that they will be pulling their ship out of New York Harbor. Among the crowd of people gathered is Infecta and she is not impressed with the news that the ship she wishes to covet is being moved. She uses her powers to charm a businessman from out of town to go home with her and discuss his desire for mutant powers and her desire to get the ship, convincing him that she can grant his wish if he'll grant hers.
Cyclops gets tired of the media circus and storms back into the ship and Marvel Girl follows after him, leaving Hank and Bobby to deal with the press. Hank goes into the ship as well when he spots Trish and gets upset about how she mentioned that he was losing his intelligence on one of her recent newscasts, not understanding the tone she used. This leaves Bobby to deal with the press which he takes with zeal and explains to the group that they fired Cameron Hodge as their PR man due to his anti-mutant propaganda and tells them that even though he took Worthington's fortune, there was not a whole lot of it left following the poor stock market returns and the destruction of X-Factor's old headquarters.
Elsewhere in the city, Infecta lures the man she picked up at the press gathering to the house that she's owned since her father -- an expert in genetics -- left to her after he died. Imprisoning him in a cage, she kisses him transforming him into another one of her subservient Anti-Bodies which she intends to use to try and steal X-Factor's ship.
Inside the Ship, Scott's temper is fuming watching Iceman talk to the press, which is followed by another recap of the X-Men's death, paying particular focus on Madelyne's message to Scott that she loves him and to find their son. As Scott angrily attempts to pack a bag, Jean tells him to calm down and stop torturing himself by watching the same footage over and over. Scott tells her that he feels incredibly guilty that his wife was still alive when they had their moment of passion the other night. Jean tells him that it's not his fault because Madelyne let him think she was dead. Just then Iceman enters the ship and and his good cheer irks Cyclops enough to yell at him to shut up and prepare for the ship's launch. As Iceman, Hank and the children exit the ship for safety, Infecta arrives and tells her three Anti-Bodies that they are to attack and secure the ship before it can fly away.
Inside the ship, Scott continues to play Madelyne's "final words" over and over, and Jean finally gets fed up. She tells Scott that if Madelyne actually cared about him, she wouldn't have abandoned their child or let him believe that she was death all these months. When Scott won't listen, Jean angrily smashes the TV's and walks out of the ship. There she finds Bobby, whom she snaps at when he asks if they are having another lovers spat. She then spots Infecta's Anti-Bodies attacking the ship, prompting her and Iceman to defend it. Seeing the danger outside, Scott goes outside to lend them a helping hand, finding that the Anti-Bodies, while strange -- given that they are attacking them in expensive suits -- are formidable foes.
As the battle rages, Warren Worthington swoops down and grabs Trish Tilby from the roof top where she and the Beast have been watching the battle. He demands to know what information she and Candy Southern were exchanging about Cameron Hodge and the Right before her disappearance, when the Beast attempts to attack him, Warren incapacitates him with his razor sharp feathers. She tells him that news was that Hodge had died in a plane crash. However, Warren believes that he may have survived and leaves to search for Hodge. Down below, Cyclops, Marvel Girl and Iceman continue to fight the Anti-Bodies, and Scott realizes that some of them are actually drunk. As the fight rages, Jean comes to terms with the situation with Scott and decides that she does love him and that it's unfair for her to get upset at him for the situation with Madelyne. Just as soon as the battle begins, Jean tries to end it, grabbing all the Anti-Bodies in telekinetic snares, and before their astonished eyes these monsters revert to human form and their bodies crumble to dust. At first Jean thinks that she has killed them, until Scott points out that they burned themselves out.
Finally breaking down, Jean tells Scott how wonderful he is and that she will be there for him and help him find his missing son. As they kiss, Iceman and Ship assess the situation, and Iceman suggests the best thing they can do is give Scott and Jean some privacy. While not far away, Infecta is upset that her Anti-Bodies failed in their mission, however eyeing Iceman through a telescope, she comes up with a different plan to try and capture X-Factor's ship.
This story is continued next issue....
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![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)