Dominant Species

Summary

  On the mean streets of White Plains, David tells his mutant girlfriend Mandy that he doesn't care what other people think about them. Mandy says it should, and then Peroski and his bully friends prepare to show him why, but before words become fists, a creepy voice starts repeating the conversation. Then a giant werewolf attacks, and when the bullies challenge it, it eats their bones, and with its werewolf friends turns against David despite Mandy's pleas. Mutants, the inheritors of the earth, should not mate beneath them.

  Warren tries to sleep but is bothered by Californian clichés: "I have issues," "I feel your pain," "I need closure." He used to laugh at such phrases, but now as he agonizes about Betsy, his eyes are opened.

  Paige has issues, not about her suddenly distorted appearance but about men who lie: Jono, her ex-boyfriend (Generation X 23), and Warren, whose company hurts the environment, at least according to a web-site she's reading.

  At lunch the next day, Cain offers to play catch with Sammy and Carter. Sammy says his dad used to, till his nose fell off; Carter says his dad tried to kill his mom, and now they're hiding. Cain just takes them to look for baseball gloves.

  At the next table, Warren broods. He was never dumped, so when he realized Betsy was falling for Neal, he dumped her first (X-Men II:109). But he never stopped loving her, and she died before she could realize that (X-treme X-Men 3). Bobby comes over, joking, and when he realizes Warren is crying, he jokes some more. Then he says everybody was waiting for him to open up about Betsy; Warren says on the mission in Scotland, when he nearly died (iss. 410), she appeared to him to say goodbye.

  Paige broods and smashes a picture of Jono, who never made a commitment to her, and after their break-up had an affair in the tabloids (iss. 396-398).

  Bobby takes Warren to Kurt, to tell him there's no such thing as ghosts, but Kurt says Xavier leaves his body all the time. Bobby says that's different, but Kurt says there's no scientific basis for any of it. Speaking of which, Xavier's floating head summons the team; Bobby objects to skanky Stacy, so Kurt goes to fetch her.

  While waiting, he lies on her bed and reads a book. When he sees her naked, he's surprised for some reason, and when she crudely comes on to him, he says he's a priest. She says she can read his pheromones and kisses him. He hesitates but then leaves, and Stacy goes fetal, having ruined another chance (iss. 412).

  Paige is impressed with Annie's dedication as a nurse, saying it takes genuine love for your fellow man. Annie says it's her job; Paige realizes she's afraid of mutants and asks why, but Xavier's floating head interrupts, scaring Annie.

  Charlotte (another Warren ex, X-Factor 59 to iss. 322) called the X-Men to White Plains: four dead, "Homo-Superior is rising" spray-painted nearby, and Mandy says the mutant werewolves plan to help homo sapiens go extinct. Logan shows up, having caught the scent. Paige pulls off her skin and becomes rubber while she scouts with him. She always wanted to be an X-Man, but she has realized they're flawed, and the scent leads to Lobo Technologies, a division of Worthington Enterprises. Logan rushes in first, promising to save some for the rest of the team.

  When Warren arrives, he's shocked to see he owns the place; Jean-Paul, full of Quebec-hauteur, says he owns just a few thousand shares and he knew all about it. Just then, Logan is tossed through the glass atrium, landing hard. Jean-Paul says he looks like he went through a Cuisinart; Lobo appears, saying it was him.