Out Of The Loop

• Writer - Terry Kavanagh
• Penciler - Ben Herrera
• Inker - Scott Koblish
• Inker - Rodney Ramos
• Colorist - Matt Hicks
• Lettering - Comicraft
• Lettering - Richard Starkings
• Lettering - Jason Levine
• Editor - Jason Liebig
• Editor in Chief - Bob Harras

Summary

  Nate sees a newspaper headline than Jean's niece and nephew are missing (iss. 30). He smells Coldsnap-9 (iss. 28) and finds himself in a devastated city, littered with the poisoned corpses of heroes. He sees Stryfe's crest on the Latverian embassy (iss. 47), and sees his own reflection merged with Caliban.

  Spider-Man, Morbius, and their vampires attack him, and he begins to realize someone is playing with his mind. He flies off and sees Dark Beast's Brotherhood fighting the X-Men, and joins in. Fever Pitch kills Rogue, and Nate realizes he can't touch any of them: he's a ghost. Hemingway smushes Bishop; Storm electrocutes him; Fever Pitch catches Xavier, Wolverine, and Storm together and fries them all. Kitty is alone and surrounded; Nate reaches out with his psi-power and fells all of the Brotherhood (about five minutes too late).

  Nate realizes this is what would have happened if he had never come to earth. The illusion dissolves; Caliban has been testing him.

  He finds himself in Egypt, in Apocalypse's lair.

  Note: this is part of Apocalypse: The Twelve story line, which concludes in X-Men II:97.